This is Chapter 24.
Well, I got this out in under a month. Technically. It would have been out last week, but I had computer troubles. And the last bit took a while. I still don't like it, and I was just going to update part of the chapter, but I figured you all earned a finished chapter for sticking with me. :P
If there are more mistakes than usual, please, please let me know. The computer kept messing with my documents, and they wouldn't save right. And now, I'm using a different computer, and the keyboard is weird.
Thank you to everyone who added this story/me to their favorites/alerts. And a special thanks for reviewing to Dragon of Yin and Yang, Guest, Guest, The challenger, Z, Neph Champion, Ranmaleopard, Superspartan117, BlazingBlueFire14, Firehedgehog, The Quotable Patella, CrazyCartoonistOtaku, Mark Andrew, Guest, RineTheHedgehog, bmagana595, Kiochii, Samster687, Stormfly1124, Pegasus Sword Master, avidreader-everafter, Bptex, Marth The Latios, random bug, Aura Keeper, AngelinaAngel, TheInnerBeast, Bookmaster, KaliAnn, Capricon Aquarius FOZ, Uranium235, FANatic Writer, Reader Of Fate, merlinfrostG, Guest, thor94, A Fan, Teddi 8347, LL, kris-dragon, M1551NGN0, Kiomori, Yana5, randallxcon, Galeforte, voidwalker23, ec-direwolf, NinjaFang1331, Modnightshadow35, xKimsel, BlueMoonChaos, Brie45, and Pokemon Trainer Tom.
Thanks for correcting me on the Pokémon's name. I was reading the reviews, going, Whoops! Sorry! So, sorry. It really was Kabuto, not Kaboodle. *looks down in shame and bites lip*
So, here they meet Lieutenant Surge, a battle is had, and maybe Ash is smarter than people give him credit for.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, 98. I don't own Pokémon, 99. I don't own Pokémon 100. There! I did like they said. *whispers* but I would really like to own Pokémon, 1.
I added a picture to this story! Tell me what you think!
Anyways, enjoy!
"Oh, thank you, thank you!" Misty cried out as they stood under the sign welcoming them to Vermillion City. "Bath, here I come!"
"And I need someplace to do my laundry." Brock sighed with relief.
Ash rubbed at his bangs, which were stiff with sweat and dirt. He didn't mind so much, having jumped in a few ponds along the way, but with Brock and Misty complaining the whole way about wanting warm water to bath in, he couldn't wait either. Besides, they hadn't come across anything bigger than a puddle in two days.
"We need more supplies, too." Brock said, nodding to Pikachu, who'd dropped to the grass next to Bulbasaur, panting.
Ash had been supplementing their supplies with nuts, berries, and roots he'd dug up, but there was only so much he could do for three people and three Pokémon.
"I hate to admit it, but I agree with the trainer. I'm hungry." Squirtle groaned.
"We're all hungry." Bulbasaur snapped. "If all you're going to do is complain, go back into your Pokéball."
"Leave me alone." Squirtle glared.
"I think we're all tired and hungry." Ash quickly interjected, lifting Pikachu into his arms and stepping in between the squabbling Pokémon. "Let's find the Pokémon Center before we do anything else."
"Um, okay." Misty replied, watching as Ash kept himself between Squirtle and Bulbasaur. It hadn't been hard to see that the two Pokémon didn't like each other. Tired and hungry was a bad combination for their grudging truce, it seemed.
They reached the Pokémon Center quickly. Ash and his friends headed up to the front desk.
"Hello? Can I help you?" the Nurse Joy who worked in Vermillion City asked from behind the desk.
"They're hungry." Ash answered, setting Pikachu down onto the counter. He then lifted Bulbasaur and Squirtle onto the counter to sit next to Pikachu.
Nurse joy raised an eyebrow at the sight of so many Pokémon traveling outside their Pokéballs. She picked up a tray. "Do you have any still in their Pokéballs?"
"Of course." Ash unclipped them from his belt and placed them in a tray Nurse Joy held out.
"Hurry!" a boy's voice cried out. Ash, Misty, and Brock looked back to see the doors open and a Pokémon being rushed into the Pokémon Center on a gurney, followed by his frantic trainer. "You'll be okay, Rattata. Hurry!"
"I hope that Rattata'll be okay." Brock murmured.
Nurse Joy sighed. "That's the fifteenth one brought in this month."
Ash's jaw dropped. "What?" he gasped.
Nurse Joy sighed and led them into the recovery room, carrying the tray of Pokémon. Brock lifted Bulbasuar up and carried him, but Squirtle refused to let Misty touch him. Instead, he wobbled unsteadily into the room. Ash rolled his eyes and lifted the struggling Pokémon onto a gurney. Brock set Bulbasaur next to Squirtle, and Ash reluctantly placed Pikachu next to Bulbasaur.
"They all lost to Lieutenant Surge, the Vermillion Gym leader." Nurse Joy explained, setting the tray of Ash's Pokéballs next to Pikachu.
"Now would be a good time to start our mission." Squirtle commented.
"Squirtle's right, but that trainer seems like a hard one to beat." Pikachu pointed out, eyes scanning around the beds.
Squirtle shrugged. "Yeah, but that's just something we'll have to overcome. Not every trainer's going to be easy."
"Ash, can you please return your Pokémon to their Pokéballs for a little while, so I can make them better?" Nurse Joy asked.
Ash looked at his friends. "Not a chance, hatchling." Bulbasaur said with a fierce glare. Pikachu nodded in agreement.
Squirtle shrugged. "I will. I'm exhausted. Just take me back out when this is all over and tell me what happened. Or during the battle if you need me."
Ash nodded firmly and recalled Squirtle to his Pokéball. He placed it gently on the tray with the others.
Nurse Joy waited expectantly, and frowned when he made no move to recall his other two. "I meant all of them, please." She repeated, her hands on her hips.
Ash rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "They won't go, Nurse Joy."
Her eyebrows skyrocketed. Misty and Brock snickered. "Well then, I'll just need to bring them over here."
"Pidgey!" a boy's voice screamed as another gurney was rushed past. Nurse Joy rushed to get Ash's Pokémon set up before rushing over to the Pidgey.
Ash's temper spiked. "It's not right." He muttered under his breath, eyes raking over the injured Pokémon resting in beds around the room. "No Pokémon should get this injured, even in a battle."
"It's not right." Brock agreed. "But it does happen. Some trainers will do whatever it takes to win."
Ash ground his teeth, and stalked over to where Nurse Joy was treating his Pokémon friends. Pikachu looked up as he came closer, munching on an apple. He offered it to Ash as the boy approached.
Ash refused the apple, instead lifting Pikachu into his arms and cuddling his close. "It's not right." He repeated into Pikachu's fur.
"Squirtle was right." Pikachu said softly. "We have to show people that this isn't okay. That people can't just treat us like this."
"But what if you get hurt?" Ash protested in a whisper.
Bulbasaur butted his head against Ash's abdomen. "That's a chance we have to take." He reminded Ash. "We all knew this would be dangerous. We agreed to do it anyway."
Ash wrapped an arm around Bulbasaur, still holding Pikachu.
Nurse Joy came over to check on the Pokémons' conditions. She blinked in surprise, and then smiled warmly when she saw the hugs in progress.
An alarm went off, and Nurse Joy stepped closer, catching Ash's attention. "That means your Pokémon are all set."
"Good." Ash said. He set Bulbasaur onto the floor, clipped his Pokéballs to his belt, and set Pikachu on his shoulder. "Let's go."
"You're not going to battle Lieutenant Surge, are you?" Nurse Joy asked, aghast.
Ash shrugged. "It's not really my decision."
"How can it not be your decision?" she demanded as Brock and Misty came over, rubbing at their faces with wet towels. Misty passed one to Ash.
"It's theirs." Ash said, nodding to his Pokémon. "If they don't want to, fine. But if they do, I'm not going to stop them."
"And how will you know if they don't want to?" Nurse Joy demanded. "Are you just going to back out of a battle?"
"Yes." Ash replied simply. "I will. I won't force them to battle."
Nurse Joy's eyebrows were in danger of disappearing into her hairline. "Okay. If you say so." She said slowly.
"Come on Ash. We found the bathroom." Misty said, taking Ash's arm. "We can clean up before whatever crazy scheme you have planned this time."
"Okay." Ash followed his friends to two bathrooms next to each other in the hallway. Brock and Misty entered, leaving Ash to sit cross-legged against the wall and converse in a barely-audible voice with his Pokémon.
"So we're going through with this?" Pikachu asked.
"I guess so." Bulbasaur answered. "Who are you going to use?"
"I'll decide when I get there." Ash replied. "I don't know what Pokémon this gym leader likes to train."
"Point." Pikachu mused.
Just then, Brock came out of the bathroom, still toweling off his spiky black hair. "Your turn Ash."
Bulbasuar nudged Ash's leg. "Go on hatchling. I'm trusting you not to get into trouble in a small bathroom."
Ash scowled, marching into the bathroom and slamming the door, Pikachu hot on his heels. Brock, startled, looked down at Bulbasuar.
"Sometimes I wish I could understand you." He commented. Like Ash can, he thought. Still so many questions… but he'd wait. Ash's friendship was worth it.
Ash quickly showered and dried off, dressing in his only clean set of clothes back. He frowned at his hats. He had two, but both were caked in dirt and grime, and he was hesitant to put either on his now clean, dripping black hair.
Ash shrugged and shoved his dirty hat into his backpack along with his other dirty clothes. Zipping it up, he stepped out of the bathroom. Brock and Bulbasaur were waiting for him.
Bulbasaur nodded in satisfaction and seeing Ash clean and uninjured. The hatchling got himself injured far too frequently for Bulbasaur's taste.
There were a few moments of silence, before Brock said, "I thought you didn't like to battle."
"I don't." Ash admitted. "But someone pointed out to me that most trainers don't treat their Pokémon right. We've know of at least two trainers that just abandoned their Pokémon without a second thought already. I want to show people that we can all work together, as equals. That's the way it should be, and I'm going to prove it."
Brock smiled wryly. That sounded like the kind of crazy plan Ash could and would come up with. Before he could respond, Misty came out of the girls' bathroom.
She stopped short at the look of resignation on Brock's face and the determination on Ash's. "What stupid thing have you decided to do this time?" she demanded, her hands on her hips.
"I'm going to prove that Pokémon and trainers can work together as equals, that we're stronger that way." Ash informed her.
"And you're going to do that how?" Misty asked, stomach sinking.
"By battling the gym leader." Brock answered for Ash. He shrugged helplessly at Misty's furious look. "It's no use talking him out of it."
"Yeah, he does have that look." Misty conceded, ignoring Ash's grumbled, "Hey!" "So, when are we going?"
"Now." Ash said, lifting Pikachu into his arms. The Electric Pokémon climbed onto his shoulder, holding his damp head for balance. "Better get it over with."
"Wait!" a voice called.
Ash glanced over his shoulder to see Nurse Joy running to them down the hall. "Yes?" he asked.
Panting, she held out a box.
Ash eyed it suspiciously. "What is that?"
"It's the only way you might stand a chance." She answered, opening the box. In it was a translucent blue stone with a gold lightning bolt in the center.
"It's a Thunderstone." Brock stared. Those were really rare.
"What's that?" Misty asked.
"It'll make Pikachu evolve." Brock answered.
Ash was frowning at the stone, holding Pikachu in his arms protectively. "And what if I don't want it?"
"Then you'll lose." Nurse Joy answered. "But you have to think carefully. Once Pikachu evolves, he'll never be the same."
Ash loosened his grip on Pikachu. "It's not my choice." He repeated to Nurse Joy, nodding to Pikachu. "It's his."
"You want it?" Bulbasaur asked Pikachu.
Pikachu shook his head and jumped back onto Ash shoulder. "No. If I battle, I want to beat this trainer fair and square, and as myself. I don't need to evolve to win."
Ash reached up a hand and scratched Pikachu under the chin. "I guess the answer's no." he replied with a careful shrug. "Come on guys, let's go."
Misty and Brock sighed as one, before following Ash and his equally determined Pokémon out of the Pokémon Center and to the Vermillion City Gym.
Ash looked up at the gym. It was a large bluish building, with gold zigzagging lightning bolts crossing it and jutting out at odd angles.
"I guess we know for sure what Pokémon he uses now." Bulbasaur muttered. "It makes sense why that nurse was trying so hard to get you to force Pikachu to evolve."
Misty grabbed Ash's arm. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" she asked, biting her lip.
"No." Ash answered freely. "But I've gotta do it anyway." He stepped forward and shoved the doors open.
The inside of the gym was fairly dark. There were two people standing in front of the door, a man and a woman. The man was wearing a black leather jacket and the woman was wearing a cropped red shirt.
"I've come to challenge the gym leader." Ash said, peering behind the pair. There was a figure sitting behind them.
The man glanced behind him at the figure. "Hey boss. Another victim for the emergency room."
The figure rose and stepped forward. "Which one?" the gruff voice asked. The man reached over to the wall and flicked a switch, causing a dome of metal to slide away from a large skylight and flood the room with light.
Lieutenant Surge was huge. Ash standing on Misty's shoulders might have barely put them eye level. The man had spiked blonde hair, and was dressed in green pants, a green vest, open to show a muscled physique, and silver-studded black gloves cut off at the knuckles.
"Is he this gym leader you have to beat?" Misty gasped.
"He's huge." Brock hissed in worry.
"Welcome to Vermillion City Gym." The man swooped down and wrapped Misty in a hug. "Oh. My next challenger's a cute one. Don't think I'll go easy on you." He scolded lightly, letting go of Misty.
Misty's face was bright red, clashing horribly with her hair. "I'm not the challenger." She shuttered.
Lieutenant Surge's face crinkled up in confusion. "Then who?"
Ash stepped forward. "Me."
Surge glanced over and laughed. He stepped over to Ash, looming over the boy. "Oh, you?" He ruffled Ash's hair. "Okay baby."
Ash scowled, flattening his hair with a hand. Beside him, Bulbusaur grumbled under his breath, and Pikachu mumbled, "If he comes near us again I'm gonna shock him."
"Just don't hit Ash." Bulbasaur reminded.
Pikachu snorted. "Duh."
Ash tried valiantly to ignore them, though his lips turned up slightly. "I'm not a baby." He told Surge, who blinked. The gym leader was shocked that Ash finally answered after being silent for almost a minute.
Surge shook it off and laughed. "I call everyone who loses to me baby."
Ash frowned. "But I haven't lost yet." He pointed out.
Surge shrugged. "You will." He caught sight of Pikachu, still sitting on Ash's shoulder and cackled. "A Pikachu. Hey, look at this." He called back to the man and woman. "Baby brought along a baby Pokémon." They snickered.
"Stop making fun of Pikachu." Ash snapped.
"Why?" Surge asked, grinning. "I got ya beat already." He pulled out a Pokéball and threw it to the ground in front of him. It released a Raichu.
"I'm ready." Raichu yelled. He saw Pikachu and snickered. "Is this it?"
"If you wanna quit, now's your chance." Surge informed Ash.
"Buh-bye." Raichu waved, smirking.
"Why you little—" Ash grabbed Pikachu before the Pokémon could attack Raichu. "Lemmie at him!"
"I guess we're not backing out now." Ash remarked, still holding a struggling Pikachu.
"Save it for the match." Bulbasaur told Pikachu, who stilled. Ash quickly placed his friend on the floor.
Pikachu hissed at Raichu, who seemed amused at the show of defiance. "I've beaten Pikachu before." Raichu informed the smaller Pokémon smugly.
"You haven't faced me." Pikachu snarled.
"What could a baby like that do?" Surge demanded, bemused by the kid. "If you's wanna become a Pokémon Master, you should make your Pokémon evolve as soon as you catch it."
"That's horrible." Ash snapped. "Forcing a Pokémon to evolve before it's ready." Ash crouched down next to Pikachu and rested a hand on Pikachu's yellow fur. "Besides, I like Pikachu just the way he is."
Surge barked out incredulous laughter, echoed by his two groupies. "Wrong, baby." He said, wagging his finger at Ash. "Electric Pokémon are only useful once they've learned all their different electrical attacks. You keep it puny like that, it's no more than a little pet."
"That's… not true." Ash said slowly, eyeing Surge as though he'd lost his mind. "It's really not."
Ash vividly remembered several fights he'd seen involving electric Pokémon. If the Pokémon could avoid the attacks, they already had a leg up. Not all fights were about strength and brute force. A lot had to do with speed and agility.
And that could only be learned, for Pikachu and Raichu, in the Pikachu stage of life.
Misty caught change in Ash's expression. "Ash?" she asked hesitantly.
Ash ruffled Pikachu's fur gently. "Agility." He murmured quietly.
Pikachu's head whirled around. "What? Agility?" he questioned.
Ash gave him a slightly-feral grin. "We can win this." He said louder, in the human language.
"I think he's got a plan." Bulbasaur commented.
Raichu snorted. "What does it matter? I'll crush you, plan or no plan."
Ash straightened. His eyes were alight with a fevered gleam that startled Surge. "We can. All you've done is train your Pokémon to be a bully. But we can win this."
Surge was thrown off-guard by this kid's sudden decision, but he scowled to cover it up. "Whatever. Are we gonna battle or not?"
Ash stepped forward so that he was standing even with Pikachu. "Okay. Where?"
Surge and Ash stood across from each other on a battlefield. Raichu was next to Surge and Pikachu was next to Ash. Bulbasaur hung back to stand with Misty and Brock, not wanting to get in the way during the battle.
"Can Pikachu beat Raichu?" Misty asked Brock.
Brock was watching the scene worriedly. "I seriously doubt it." He replied. "Especially if Raichu knows all the electric attacks."
Ash rolled his eyes. "Thanks for the vote of confidence." He called. Brock paled and Misty shook her head.
"Okay baby." Surge said, crossing his arms across his chest. "You ready? One Pokémon each, no time limit."
Ash nodded firmly.
A bell was rung by one of the groupies. "Go, Raichu!"
Ash smiled at Pikachu. "Go ahead, Pikachu."
Ash held back from giving Pikachu an order of what to do. Instead, he scrutinized Raichu.
"Aren't you going to attack? Or are you just afraid?" Surge taunted. Every other trainer had rushed into the battle because of nerves, and it gave Surge the advantage.
"I noticed you didn't attack yet either." Ash said, his eyes flying around the gym now.
Surge growled. "Raichu, body slam."
"Pikachu, quick attack! Get out of the way" Ash countered.
Raichu threw himself at Pikachu, who quickly dodged out of the way. Growling, Raichu lunged toward Pikachu again, but the smaller Pokémon jumped out of the way and ran behind Raichu.
"What's happening?" Misty asked, wide-eyed.
"Raichu evolved too fast." Brock answered, quickly realizing what Ash had known from the start. "He never learned the speed attacks they can only learn in the Pikachu stage."
"Pikachu, quick attack. Run around Raichu in circles." Ash was hoping to confuse the Pokémon. Raichu tried to keep up with Pikachu, he really did, but he just wasn't fast enough.
Surge got frustrated. "Raichu, shut it down with thunderbolt!"
"Take—that!" Raichu snarled.
"Pikachu! Ground yourself!" Ash screamed. He didn't know if Pikachu heard, him, having to cover his eyes to avoid being blinded by the lightning flashing through the building a second later.
Ash heard Surge laugh cruelly. "The end of the match." Ash's eyes flew open, and he lowered his hand in time to hear Surge's confused. "Huh?"
Pikachu was balancing on his tail in the center of the battlefield. He had grounded himself, just as Ash had yelled.
"Okay!" Ash cried out as Pikachu leaned forward and landed back on his feet.
"Raichu, give it another thunderbolt!" Surge shouted.
Raichu tried, he really did, but the only thing that happened was sparks formed around his cheeks. "What's going on?" he demanded of no one in particular.
"Raichu ran out of electricity." Brock breathed. Misty cheered.
Ash met Surge's eyes coolly. "Raichu doesn't have the stamina or attacks he would have had if you hadn't forced him to evolve." He informed the older trainer. "And he hasn't faced anyone who could challenge him in too long."
Surge glared. "Raichu, do something!"
Raichu, panting for breath, lunged at Pikachu. "Pikachu, quick attack." Ash yelled.
Pikachu raced toward Raichu in a quick, zig-zagging line. Raichu tried to body-slam Pikachu, who jumped out of the way and smacked Raichu across the face. Raichu stumbled, and Pikachu followed up with jumping off Raichu's back and sending the bigger Pokémon slamming into the ground.
Pikachu charged up his tail and beat Raichu across the head a few times, until he was sure the bigger Pokémon wasn't going to be getting up anytime soon.
"Ash won!" Misty gaped.
Ash seemed to realize the same thing. He turned wide brown eyes on Pikachu, who was running to him. "Ash, we won! We won!" the electric mouse cried in joy.
A laugh escaped Ash's throat and he ran forward. He knelt down and Pikachu jumped into his arms. Pikachu nuzzled against Ash, unable to keep still in his excitement.
"We won." Ash whispered. "I'm so proud of you, Pikachu!" Pikachu purred and licked Ash's cheek.
Surge watched as Ash's friends hurried to his side. A smile broke out across his face.
"I'm proud of you both!" Bulbasaur rumbled.
Ash looked up at the sound of applause. Surge was clapping, a wide grin threatening to break his face in half.
Surge walked closer as Ash stood up. He quickly recalled Raichu and clipped the Pokéball to his belt. "Good match, Ash." He told the younger boy. "You're no baby."
Ash smiled. "Thanks, but it was both of us." He said, hugging Pikachu to his chest. Pikachu gave a small yip and licked Ash's cheek again. Ash giggled.
Surge nodded in approval. "You should be proud. You and your Pikachu fought good together."
"Congratulations." Misty said, beaming. Brock nodded behind her.
Surge held out a Thunderbadge. Ash looked at the badge. It was a red stone surrounded by yellow triangles. He reached out and took it.
"Never thought I'd be happy to get one of these." He muttered. Surge frowned.
Misty smirked. "Yeah, but this time you came in here for a badge." She reminded.
"No I didn't." Ash said. He turned on Surge. "You shouldn't be so hard on the other Pokémon. Even if you can beat them, sending them in critical care to the Pokémon Center is too much." Ash lectured.
"And you battled to show me that?" Surge asked. "How is that showing me anything?"
"Well, I showed you that Pokémon training isn't just about power, and that working with your Pokémon is more important than just looking at what your Pokémon can do for you." Ash pointed out. "Besides, you wouldn't have listened to me if Pikachu and I hadn't beaten you."
Surge chuckled. "Yeah, that's true." He conceded.
Misty and Brock hugged Ash and Pikachu. "We're so proud of you." She squealed.
Brock grinned. "Yeah. That was amazing."
Ash was blushing fiercely. "Thanks guys." He managed to get out.
Pikachu basked in the attention, but he soon decided that that was enough and released a tiny electrical charge. "All right, all right, get off."
Misty and Brock let out shocked cries and jumped back.
"Pikachu." Ash scolded.
"I'm hungry." Pikachu said instead of an apology. "Can we got get some food?"
"I think our winner's hungry." Ash told his friends. They laughed.
"Well then, let's all go get some food." Brock said as they turned to leave the gym.
Surge watched them go, shaking his head. "That kid's gonna go far." He murmured to himself, before shrugging and heading out himself. Raichu had a date with Nurse Joy.
"Oh." Ash said suddenly as they were entering a restaurant. "I need to tell Squirtle what happened."
"You can wait." Bulbasaur grumbled. "Keep him in his Pokéball for now. Nothing terrible happened here, yet, and I'd like to keep it that way."
Pikachu sniggered.
"You can take him out once we're finished eating." Brock offered as they were seated.
Ash nodded. "I will."
He purposefully ignored the groan from Bulbasaur and the snickering from Pikachu. This was a good moment. Bulbasaur's issues with Squirtle would not ruin it for him. Or Pikachu, although Pikachu didn't seem to care much.
Ash beamed at his friends, who smiled back, and tucked the thunderbadge away into the zippered pocket of his backpack with the other two.
Pikachu sat in Ash's lap, just as proud of Ash as Ash was of him. He chirred quietly and held Ash's hand in between his paws. Bulbasaur, next to Ash in the booth, lipped at Ash's free hand, making the boy giggle.
Ash sighed softly in contentment and opened his menu.
Misty and Brock watched with proud grins laced with affection. This had been good for Ash and Pikachu. Neither Misty nor Brock had ever seen Ash look so happy, so contented, especially not right after a match.
Misty wondered when Ash would trust them enough to tell them his secrets, but she wasn't really bothered by it. Just being with Ash, especially when he was this pleased, was enough for her. She playfully began ribbing him about the match, and about their time in the forest as they searched for Vermillion City. Ash teased back, and Brock added in his own two cents when he felt like it.
For right now, this, just the way it was, was enough. This was perfect.
So, it's not what I was hoping for, but I hope it was good anyway.
I got rid of Team Rocket for this chapter because they don't do anything and I didn't want to bother writing them in if I didn't have to. They'll be back, when they fit properly into a chapter again, and have something to add to the plot.
Suggestions and ideas are great, reviews are amazing. Even one-word reviews are appreciated. Constructive criticism is good. Flames will be used to light bonfires to keep people getting snow this week warm.
Thanks for reading. See you next chapter! And feel free to leave suggestions about what you want to see in the story! And I'll try to update sooner, although I can't promise anything. :(
And remember to tell me if you like the new picture or not!