Ekans and Koffing

The ground was becoming warmer as spring took hold of the grassy plain east of Vermillion City. Elliot the Ekans was finding it easier to get around, now that the winter cold was no longer freezing his blood, and motivation. Today, he wasn't looking for a meal; he'd caught something days ago, when it had been groggy from post-hibernation weakness. Those around him were still struggling to find food, but he wouldn't need to eat again for a few days more.

Instead, he was checking out his territory for any changes that had occurred. With his tongue flicking in and out, he could learn invisible information that hung in the air. A nearby rival had been patrolling lately too, as his scent lingered on some grasses. Elliot would probably be out fighting him again when it was closer to summer. At the dirt path the humans used, he found signs of winter damage which the humans hadn't gotten around to fixing yet. They probably would fix it soon, so he'd need to stay out of their way. They brought in machines to do that, machines that could crush an Ekans' body on accident. Although he noted other signs, they weren't quite as worrisome as his rival and the humans.

While he slithered back into the tall grass, he felt vibrations in the ground that had to be human footsteps. Elliot took a moment to carefully examine this human's scent. It was a female, one of those 'teenagers', wearing a Leppa scented hand lotion, carrying a scent of two Pokemon (Kadabra and Gloom), although neither of those two Pokemon were around. From that, it was safe to assume this was a Trainer. Feeling no desire to be captured, he slipped further into the grasses and out of her path.

"I wonder if Kevin is around," he thought aloud. He took a careful taste of the air. As Kevin was a Koffing, he was impossible for a scent sensitive Pokemon like an Ekans to miss. There was a slight tinge of his sour scent; he had been here a few hours ago. Elliot slithered around until he figured out which direction Kevin had gone, then went after him.

His search took him away from the dirt paths and into the dense woods where the humans never went. He occasionally thought of moving back here instead of staying out near the paths. If he did so, he wouldn't have to deal with humans. But, doing that would require fighting other Ekans, or even other Pokemon. After all, it wasn't like territory was something his kind traded.

After avoiding potential confrontations, he came to a small clearing where a horrid stench kept others away. Elliot was always careful to not taste the air around places Kevin was staying. It could take hours to get rid of the nasty bitter taste of poison if he got a strong taste. However, the Koffing was his friend. The odd friendship helped, in that others were less likely to challenge Elliot, in case Kevin was around.

Kevin was in the middle of the clearing, resting on the ground enough to put a flat area on his normally spherical bubble body. It was unusual; he normally floated, just off the ground if he was dealing with Elliot. With his eyes looking down and half-closed, he looked sad. As the Ekans came closer, he could see that the poison gas buildup in his body was dense. It was normally a mass of swirling colored particles, but not today.

"Are you feeling ill?" Elliot asked. "You don't look well."

"Huh?" He opened his eyes fully and looked over at him. "Oh, hi Elliot."

He smiled a bit. "You're getting good at identifying me."

"Well you're the only Ekans who'll come up to me willingly, so even though your kind is over common, I know you now."

"But you haven't answered my questions. Are you sick? What's wrong?"

"It's nothing you need to worry about," he replied, looking back at the ground. "I've just felt lousy the past couple of days."

Elliot brought his front half up off the ground, to be more on eye-level with the Koffing. "Is that why you came looking for me?"

"Looking for you?" His attention was back at the Ekans as some visible vapors curled off the top of his body. The yellow markings on his front brightened, something he did when embarrassed or frightened. "What makes you think that?"

"Well you say you've felt lousy the past few days," he pointed out. "But I caught your scent only hours old in my territory. And you're the only one of your kind around Vermillion as far as I know, so it couldn't have been anyone else. So, it seems you were looking for me."

"Huh. Guess I can't fool you on that. I felt like talking to somebody and you're the first one I thought of." He got quiet.

"What do you want to talk about?" Elliot finally said after a while of awkward silence.

"You know why I'm the only Koffing around here? My Trainer kicked me off his team. Over the winter, I've been looking for a new Trainer."

"It's not going well then?" While Elliot didn't care to join the humans, he knew a lot of his peers wanted to. He wouldn't argue against them. Although, he would miss Kevin if he was captured.

"Not exactly," Kevin replied oddly. "I was caught quite a few times. However, every single time, I was immediately released."

That didn't seem right. Humans were capturing Pokemon just to let them go? "Why? That doesn't make sense."

"I didn't understand it myself, but the last time, a week ago, I found out a reason. The boy who caught me was excited that he had a new entry for something he called a Pokedex and ignored me completely at first. Then he said that he didn't need me any more and released me. Apparently they just want some information and nothing else."

"That doesn't seem like humans I've met before," Elliot said. "Maybe this Pokedex is some new fad thing. Humans like fads, but they never last long." He knew about fads because he'd once been trapped unwittingly near a group of female humans having a picnic. While he hid under a bush to avoid notice, they talked continually about how important it was to keep up with the latest fad. As he'd listened to the conversation, the whole concept of fads had struck Elliot as dumb. Why change yourself constantly to keep up with some vague far away fad leader?

"Maybe. Or maybe I am just a lousy Pokemon."

"You aren't lousy," he replied. "You're nicer than most Pokemon I know."

"I might seem that way to you, but nobody else will stay around me. You're the nice one."

"I wouldn't worry about what the humans say and do. They're so hard to predict as it is." He dropped down and slithered around. "Why don't you blow yourself up? You always say there's nothing like a good explosion to cheer you up. And it looks like you could use it."

Kevin gave a negative sign, shaking back and forth slightly. "I don't feel like blowing up today."

"Are you sure about that? You look like you're stuffed, or dense, whatever your kind says about it. It probably would help."

"I don't think so. If I'm not a good Koffing, then I shouldn't have the right to self destruct."

Normally, he'd flick his tongue out as a sign of challenge. But Elliot managed to hold back his regular responses. "If you won't make yourself explode, then you're definitely not a good Koffing. Come on, do it. Or are you that weak?"

"I am not weak," Kevin countered, finally showing some of his usual pride.

"Well then prove it. Make an explosion loud enough to get the attention of the human Trainer you want."

"Okay, I will. But you'd better back off."

Nodding, Elliot slithered to the edge of the clearing. He turned in time to see the Koffing's body condense, then release all his stored gasses in a clamorous explosion. A cloud of dark violet hung in the air for a minute; it would have knocked the Ekans right out if he had been in range. Right under the toxic cloud, grasses went into shock trying not to be killed by the poisons. As the breeze started to clear the area, Elliot came back in to find Kevin deflated. His body looked odd like that, a collapsed gel-like sack that was almost fully see-through.

It only took a minute for him to breathe back in enough air to fully inflate himself again. "Phew. I guess I was holding a lot in."

"You feel better now?"

"Yeah, I shouldn't be worrying too much about the humans. Thanks Elliot. If there's anything I can do for you, just ask."

"I'm just helping you as a friend, Kevin." The Ekans lifted his violet scaled body off the ground again. "Although, if you could help me stake a good claim around this forest, that would be a great thing."

The Koffing lifted himself an inch off the ground and grinned. "Sure thing. What kind of place do you have in mind?"

...

Ekans Fire Red entry: A common sight in grassland, etc. It flicks its tongue in and out to sense danger in its surroundings.

Emerald entry: Getting up close to a Koffing will give you a chance to observe, through its thin skin, the toxic gases swirling inside. It blows up at the slightest stimulation.

I got an interesting reaction to the original posting of this story. Apparently Koffing and Weezing have a lot of fans.