This is Chapter 18.
Holy crap, this came out fast.
This is only about a quarter of the actual chapter, but I needed to break it up somehow. It's already forty pages long, and not finished. And this by itself is twenty-four pages. And, this was the only spot where I could end it without a weird cutoff place, so…
Don't kill me!
Thank you to everyone who added this story/me to their favorites/alerts. And a special thanks for reviewing to The Chronicler's Forge, major wallace, McKennaC, deannamd, Cato Yugi, thor94, Teddi 8347, random bug, ghwaaron, KaliAnn, Bptex, Omega-Saber, Samster687, Uranium235, Pokemon Trainer Tom, Stormfly1124, tjizthebest, and SilverWhiteDragon.
So, Ash, Pikachu, Brock, and Misty are still lost, get stuck up trees, almost killed, and meet new people, not in that order.
Disclaimer: I don't own this. At least, that's what the nice people with the white coats tell me.
Anyway, enjoy.
A day of walking had brought them no closer to any sort of path. Instead, they found themselves fighting to make their way through a clearing full of chest-high grass.
Misty sighed, brushing her sweaty hair out of her face. "I thought Giselle said to go this way."
"Yes, but this is a forest. We could have easily gotten turned around." Brock placated.
"Or maybe she didn't realize just how far it was to the path." Ash offered. He was in front of his two friends, with Pikachu sitting on his backpack, leaning against his head. "She might not have had to walk the distance."
Misty shook something in her hand. "Yeah, you're probably right. If only my compass was working."
"What's wrong with it?" Brock asked just as Ash reached the edge of the grass and stopped walking.
"It's stuck. It just keeps pointing to south, no matter what direction I point it in."
Brock waded through the tall grass, and Misty handed him the compass. He inspected it, trying to figure out what was stopping it.
Ash gazed into the tiny area before him. There was a small waterfall, pooling in the now-exposed rock. An Oddish was lapping up the water with her tongue.
"Oh good. I'm out." He commented.
Pikachu twisted around to see the pool. "I'm thirsty too."
Ash knelt next to the Oddish. The Oddish squeaked and looked at him, frightened, but Ash smiled at her. He cupped his hands and dipped them into the water before bringing them up to his mouth to drink. Pikachu jumped down from his pack and, leaning down, began lapping at the water.
After a moment, Ash realized that the Oddish was still watching him warily.
"Sorry. I was thirsty." He explained, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Her eyes bugged out. "I didn't mean to startle you."
"You can talk!" She exclaimed.
Pikachu snorted. "Of course he can talk."
"Pikachu, be nice." Ash murmured. Pikachu stuck his tongue out at Ash, who grinned.
Oddish laughed. This human and his Pokémon were strange, but it was a good kind of strange. She leaned down and drank more water.
"Ash?" Misty called as she realized she couldn't see him anymore.
"There's a clearing with a pool." Ash called back.
After a moment, Brock and Misty escaped the grass and made their way into the clearing.
"Ooh, what's that?" Misty asked as she caught sight of Oddish.
"Oddish." Ash answered.
Oddish looked at these new humans, and decided to leave. Sure, this Ash person and his Pikachu were nice, but who knew about these ones.
"I'm gonna catch it!" Misty announced. She pulled out a Pokéball. "Go, Staryu."
Staryu appeared, and Misty ordered, "Watergun, now."
Staryu shot water out of her gem, hitting Oddish and knocking her down. Misty opened her mouth to give another order, but Ash cut her off.
"Misty, wait!"
From the forest, red eyes watched the human enter the clearing. Said eyes narrowed as Ash walked over to where Oddish was drinking. He tensed, ready to leap out and protect the Oddish, but the human merely got down on his knees and began drinking the water using his hands.
The Pikachu that was riding on the pack on his back jumped down and eagerly began lapping at the water.
The boy rubbed the water away from his mouth and looked at the Oddish. His mouth moved, but Bulbasaur was too far away to hear what he said. Whatever it was, Oddish looked thunderstruck.
The Pikachu looked up, and said something in response. The boy's mouth moved again, and Pikachu stuck his tongue out at the human, who grinned back.
Oddish laughed, and went back to drinking water.
Bulbasaur was about to relax when he heard a female voice calling human words. The boy in front of him called back, and two other humans came through the tall grass.
The girl's eyes lit up and Bulbasaur's eyes narrowed. He didn't like that look. He began to move closer.
He wasn't able to move fast enough as the girl released a Staryu and the Pokémon attacked Oddish.
Growling, Bulbasaur bent his legs, but was surprised when the original boy yelled, "Misty, wait!"
The girl paused and Bulbasaur took the opportunity to spring forward.
Ash jumped when a Bulbasaur jumped out of the bushes and trees surrounding them. He placed himself in between Staryu and Oddish, growling.
Bulbasaur leapt forward and slammed into Staryu, knocking the purple Pokémon back into Misty.
"Staryu!" Misty cried, hugging the Pokémon to her.
"Oddish, go." Bulbasaur commanded. The Oddish glanced at Misty, shivered, and ran away into the forest, Bulbasaur in hot pursuit.
Ash watched them leave, and then turned to Misty, his hands on his hips. "What did you do that for?" he demanded.
Misty looked startled. "What?"
"You hurt Oddish."
"I was trying to weaken it so I could catch it." Misty said, eyebrows furrowed.
"That's how humans get their Pokémon." Pikachu reminded Ash, thinking about how lucky he was that Ash wasn't like that.
Ash sighed. "I understand. I don't have to like it, but I understand." He turned around. "Come on, let's keep going."
Misty watched him walk off, shoulders slumped, Pikachu keeping easy pace next to him. She glanced at Brock, who looked just as shocked and confused as she felt.
Quickly, she returned Starmie to her Pokéball and caught up to Ash, who was crossing a long wooden bridge, and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. He stopped walking and tensed, but didn't turn around.
"I'm sorry I upset you. I was just trying to catch the Oddish." She said softly.
Ash sighed again and finally looked up at her. "I know. It's not your fault. I get it, I just don't like seeing Pokémon hurt."
Misty bit her lip. "Are you mad at me?"
"No. I'm not mad."
Brock came up behind them. "I can't find this bridge on my map."
Ash looked incredulous. "You have a map?"
Misty was incensed. "You couldn't have pulled that out earlier?"
Brock blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "I, uh, I forgot about it?" he offered.
Ash chuckled, and Misty and Brock were pleased to see his usual humor and happy demeanor coming back.
A strong wind blew around them, and the bridge shook and groaned. Ash scanned the ropes, his eyes widening when he saw one beginning to unravel.
Cursing, he shouted, "Grab on to something!" He should have seen it. He was just thinking so hard about Misty and that Oddish… he should have been paying more attention.
"What?" Misty asked just as the rope snapped. The bridge swung wildly until it only hung from one side.
Ash managed to grab an intact railing loop. Pikachu grabbed his backpack and hung on tight. Misty caught his let and clung to it, putting more strain on Ash's arm.
Brock was not so lucky. His fingers scrabbled for purchase on the wooden planks that made up the bridge, but he couldn't get a good grip. He slipped off and fell down into the river below.
"Brock!" Ash screamed as he watched his friend fall. Brock was quickly carried away by the rapids.
"Ash, pull us up!" Misty cried, hugging his leg tighter.
Ash reached up with his left hand, trying to reach the rope. His glove ripped as the rough wood caught it, and sliced his hand. He hissed, but ignored it and, heaving once with his right hand on the rope loop, managed to grab the one next to it.
"I've got a good hold. Climb up and grab the rope." He said to Misty, trying to stay still.
Misty could feel Ash trembling, but she wasn't sure she could do it. She closed her eyes and pressed her face into Ash's leg, shaking her head.
"Pikachu." Ash managed.
Pikachu understood immediately. Ash was strong, but he couldn't hold his weight, Misty's weight, and Pikachu's weight for much longer. Pikachu climbed up, using Ash's head, until he was holding the rope. Releasing Ash, he began pulling himself along the broken bridge.
Ash transferred all of his weight to his left arm and let go with his right.
"Misty."
Misty opened her eyes to see Ash hand hanging in front of her face.
"Grab my hand. You can…" he winced at the pain in his shoulder and hand. "…pull yourself up with that."
Misty took a deep breath and let go with one hand. She blindly reached up and grabbing his hand.
It connected, and she used it to lug herself up. Ash yelped, so she clung to the rest of his body and shimmied up until she could grab the rope railing herself.
She guided Ash's hand back to the loop he'd been holding before quickly reattaching to her own.
Moving as quickly as he could, Ash swung himself hand-over-hand to the cliff edge that they'd been trying to reach, using the wood to kick off of. Misty copied his movements.
When they finally pulled themselves up onto solid ground, where Pikachu was sitting, trying to regain his breath, they collapsed.
Ash was panting and shaking. Misty crawled over to him, her heart pounding. "Ash?" she panted.
"Uhm." He mumbled.
"We have to go." She said as she slowly recovered. "We have to find Brock."
"Brock." Ash threw a worried glance at the edge, where the river lay below. He got his trembling arms under him and pushed himself up.
Misty grabbed his shoulder and helped him stand. Holding two people and a Pokémon by one hand had been hard work, not to mention the scare itself.
"Ash?" He turned to her. "Thanks."
"For what?" Ash asked, furrowing his eyebrows and pulling away to stand on his own. His shaking was dying down, although his arms ached and his hand throbbed.
"For catching me. You saved me." Misty hugged him. Her shaking was increasing as the reality of the situation set in.
Ash's arms felt like lead but he forced them to wrap around her and he held her until her breathing evened out and her trembling stopped.
When she was calm again, he pried his arms away from her and let them hang by his sides.
"Ash, are you okay? What hurts?" Pikachu demanded.
"Let's walk until we find a way back down to the river. There's path over there." Misty said, wiping her eyes and pointing.
"Let's go." Ash agreed.
"Is it your arms?" Pikachu asked as the trio started walking. Ash nodded, and Pikachu hissed and crooned in sympathy and sadness.
Misty snuck a glance down at Pikachu and then fixed her eyes forward again. Pikachu didn't usually make noises like that. They only really happened when Ash was hurt. She decided to keep a close eye on Ash, although her mind was filled with worry for Brock.
"How far do you think the river took him?" she asked.
Ash shrugged, then winced. "I dunno. It could have been very far, or not at all." When he received no reply, he stopped and looked back. "Misty?"
She was nowhere in sight, but there was a deep hole in the ground.
"Ash?" he heard from inside the hole.
Ash tensed. It was a trap. He'd seen some, when he lived with his Kin, and they hurt the Pokémon they managed to catch. He'd been caught in one once, and he'd hated it. It was a rope net in a tree, and he'd been forced to hang there and cry and whimper until his kin came and set him free.
"Can you help me up?" Misty asked, feeling bad for asking it.
Ash bit his lip. "Um, can you use one of your Pokémon to give you a lift out?"
Misty blinked, and then pulled out Starmie's Pokéball. She lifted her arm and aimed down at the small space next to her, releasing her Pokémon.
"Starmie, mind giving me a hand up?" Starmie nodded and bent slightly so she could step in between his arm and top spike.
With Starmie's help, she grabbed the lip of the hole and, overbalancing as Starmie shifted, tumbled out of the hole.
She stood up and recalled Starmie. "This just isn't our day." She commented, shaking her head.
"Be careful." Ash cautioned, his voice quiet. "There may be more traps."
They continued down the riverbank. Ash kept his center of gravity low and his footsteps almost silent. Misty glanced around, worried about trappers and traps and Brock.
She was so worried about everything that she missed the slightly upraised rope laying on the ground.
Ash had seen the ropes and instinctively moved aside to avoid them, but when Misty's foot slipped under the rope and pulled it up, the net came up and snapped around them both, taking them and Pikachu up into an overhanging tree.
"Another trap." Misty exclaimed. "Try wiggling. See if the net will open."
"No. Keep still." Ash reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a switchblade. Extracting the blade, he began to saw at the net. He'd always carried something sharp with him after that first hanging trap.
As he was cutting the net, Pikachu said, "It's that Bulbasaur."
Ash didn't look down. He focused on the strands of rope as they separated. As the last one he needed snapped, forming a big enough hole, he said, "Pikachu, head down."
Pikachu climbed around him and jumped down from the net. Ash wriggled around until he could stick his legs out of the hole and lowered himself out, landing in a crouch on the ground.
Misty watched them and then began wiggling her own way out of the net.
Ash looked at Bulbasaur, who growled at Misty and backed away into the forest. Ash went to call out to him, but Misty's shout followed by a thud distracted him. He looked back to see Misty rubbing her behind and muttering as she sat on the ground. He looked back at the Bulbasaur, but he was already gone.
Shrugging, Ash stepped over a rock in the path and Misty stood up and met him half-way.
"I hope Brock's okay. We're not doing a very good job of finding him, are we?" She wrung her hands together.
"Ash? Misty?"
Misty gasped and Ash turned around to see Brock coming up the path toward them.
Before Brock could blink, Misty sprinted over and threw her arms around him. "Brock!"
Brock looked stunned. Ash grinned as he walked over, feeling relief wash over him. "We saw you fall. We were worried."
Brock nodded. He'd heard Ash's scream as he fell. It had torn through him; he'd wanted to make it stop, but then he hit the water, and the current carried him away from his friends.
"Yeah, the rapids carried me really far downstream." He told them.
"How did you get out?" Ash asked as Misty pulled back, flushed and embarrassed.
"A girl pulled me out." He smiled dreamily. "She was incredibly beautiful."
Misty flicked the side of his head, drawing him out of his daydreams. "Oh! Well, follow me. I'll take you to her. It's really awesome."
"What is?" Ash asked curiously.
"Is he talking about the girl or wherever he's taking us?" Pikachu asked wryly.
"This girl, Melany. She runs a place for Pokémon. Well, runs might not be the right word. But she does own it. It's a place for Pokémon who were injured or abandoned to go. There, the Pokémon can rest and relax. When they're better, they can leave."
"So, it's like a Pokémon Center." Misty said.
"Not exactly."
They entered a clearing with a small pond and a small hut. There were Pokémon of various types. Some were playing, some were eating, and some were simply resting.
A teenage girl with dark blue hair tied back in a big yellow bow, blue eyes, and red overalls came out from behind the house, carrying a bag of Pokémon feed. She started at the sight of them.
"Oh!"
Brock stepped forward. "Melany, these are my friends, Ash and Misty. Guys, this is Melany."
Misty smiled. "It's nice to meet you."
Ash looked at her with concern and a dark expression. "You need to be careful. There are traps in the woods near here. And the bridge gave way earlier on us."
Melany put a hand to her mouth. "Oh. I'm sorry about the bridge. I was the one who set up those traps."
"You? Why?" To Ash, traps like that were bad. They caught Pokémon.
"They are to try and keep out the Pokémon trainers. These Pokémon need rest and care, not to be captured." Melany explained.
"But you could accidently catch Pokémon in your traps." Ash pointed out.
"Yeah. Like me." Pikachu huffed.
Melany looked shocked. "Oh, they're not meant to do that. I check them twice a day. If I find anyone, I send them on their way. I've never caught a Pokémon in them."
"But it might happen." Ash was firm. "Maybe a sign, to warn trainers away, would be better. Like, tell them the woods are dangerous or that it's illegal to go any farther."
Melany was nodding slowly. "That does make sense. I never thought of that. I was just so worried about the Pokémon."
Ash softened. "I think what you're doing here is really good."
Brock smiled, seeing his friend warming up to the sweet girl. "I promised her that we wouldn't try and catch any Pokémon while we're here."
Misty nodded. "Only bad guys try to capture sick Pokémon." Then she grinned mischievously. "Did you seal the promise with a kiss?"
Brock ignored her, but a pink flush appeared on his neck and cheeks. "Melany knows all sorts of plants that help a Pokémon heal and get stronger."
"So you both love Pokémon." Misty said, then added, "But I doubt that's the only thing you love around here."
Brock slammed a hand over her mouth, his face red. "Don't say that! She might hear you."
Ash was alarmed by his friend's actions, but when Brock removed his hand and Ash saw Misty's smirk, he rolled his eyes.
Spotting the Oddish from before, he gestured to her. "Misty, I think you should apologize."
Misty saw what –or rather, who— he meant.
"That Oddish was abandoned by it's—"
"Her." Ash interjected.
Melany smiled at him and continued. "Her trainer. I was nearby when it happened. The guy thought she was too weak."
Misty didn't bother asking how Ash knew this was the same Oddish from before. She just walked over cautiously.
The Oddish looked up. She was worried, but Misty sat down cross-legged in front of her, her hands in plain view on her lap.
"I'm sorry for earlier." Misty started.
"Are you really?" Oddish asked skeptically.
I shouldn't have surprised you like that. You must have been scared."
Oddish looked down at the ground sadly. "Yeah, I was scared."
"Melany told me about your old trainer. Some trainers can be insensitive, but not all of us are like that. You need someone who understands you." She rubbed her eyes. "Anyway, I really am sorry for what happened. I hope you can forgive me."
Oddish was startled by the tears. Concerned, she raised up a leaf and wiped Misty's tears away.
"Please don't cry."
"Oh, you are sweet, Oddish. I'm so sorry. I hope we can become friends." Misty gave a wobbly smile.
"Get away from her!"
The shout was followed by Bulbasaur ramming into Misty, knocking her several feet away and to the side of where she'd been sitting.
"Hey!" she yelped. "It's rude to tackle people."
"She's right." Ash said, striding over, Pikachu and the others at his side.
Bulbasaur growled and pawed at the ground. "Stay away from Oddish." He snarled.
"Misty isn't going to hurt her." Pikachu snapped at the angry Pokémon.
Bulbasaur ignored the electric mouse and instead turned on Ash. He remembered Oddish's strange encounter with the human, but frankly he didn't care. Nice or not, this boy was a Pokémon trainer, and he had to go. They all had to go.
Bulbasaur pushed at Ash's leg with his head, trying to make him move.
"Bulbasaur, these are friends." Melany was quick to explain. "Bulbasaur doesn't like Pokémon trainers. It wants you to leave the village. It protects the other Pokémon."
"Yeah, but I'm not going to hurt them." Ash protested. "And he's a he."
"Move." Bulbasaur barked.
"Cut it out!" Pikachu ordered. "Ash wouldn't ever hurt a Pokémon."
"He's a Pokémon trainer. All they do is hurt us." Bulbasaur disagreed. "All humans do it."
Ash's whole body seemed to fall in on itself at those words. "All right. I'm going." His voice betrayed his hurt.
"Please Ash, don't go." Melany pleaded. "Bulbasaur, Ash and his friends aren't going to hurt the Pokémon here."
"Ash…" Misty bit her lip, unsure of what to say. Honestly, she'd never seen a Pokémon reject Ash before.
Brock stepped forward. He didn't know what to say either. Ash looked crushed.
"I'll go wait in the forest. You guys stay here and help Melany. Maybe if I leave, Bulbasaur will feel safer." Ash turned and began walking to the surrounding forest.
"But Ash…"
"Don't worry. I'm okay." He disappeared into the trees.
"You're horrible!" Pikachu hissed at Bulbasaur, who blinked in surprise. "How dare you talk to Ash that way?"
"It's not like he could understand me." Bulbasaur disregarded.
"And that really shows you don't know him. You really hurt his feelings." Pikachu stomped away. He needed to find Ash, not waste time with this stubborn idiot.
Bulbasaur stopped, considering Pikachu's words. He was ready to discard them out-of-hand, but Oddish spoke up.
"Pikachu was telling the truth. Ash did talk to me at the waterfall. In our language, not the human language." She informed him. "You need to go apologize. You had no right to say those things to him."
"Fine, fine, I'll go talk to him." Bulbasaur grumbled, lumbering toward the forest after Pikachu and Ash.
The humans blinked at the strange interaction as the Oddish shook her leaves at Bulbasaur and said something that vaguely sounded like a lecture of some kind, before Bulbasaur shook his head and started for the forest, making grumbling noises.
Misty and Brock exchanged a knowing look, and Misty turned to Melany with a smile on her face, although she kept sending worried looks in the direction of the forest.
"So, is there anything we can do to help you while we're here?"
Really, really don't kill me. The rest of the chapter, or most of it, should be up really, really soon. I won't leave you hanging on this, not where I just left it, but the chapter might be split into three parts. We'll see.
And Ash hurting from the rope bridge is not really whump, because you try holding up your weight, your friend who weighs more than you, and a small mammal with one hand holing a rope and see how you feel.
Suggestions and ideas are great, reviews are amazing. Even one-word reviews are appreciated. Constructive criticism is good. Flames will be used to making flaming arrows. Whoot! Illegal reenactment of various middle ages sieges.
Remember, if you kill me, I can't tell you what happens between Ash and Bulbasaur in the forest.
So, see you in a little while for the next chapter. And thanks for reading.