Chapter 2- The Great Escape
"Before we dismiss for the weekend, who can recite the organizational structure for Team Rocket for us?" Ash's teacher asked the class.
"It goes Grunt, Agent, Officer, Executive then Admin. Each rank is assigned a numerical value that correlates with power level of Pokemon as well as Pokemon that one is allowed to have. For instance, a grunt is only allowed to have one Rank 1 Pokemon, while an Officer could have up to three Pokemon, each at a Rank 3 power level if so desired. This creates a large gap in power between each rank." Ash rattled off hurriedly.
It had been two weeks since Buzz had first learnt Iron Defense, and Ash knew he was ready to evolve. He could hold the steel type energy for a solid 10 seconds, which Ash thought was the best he could do in his current form. Ash was supposed to meet Jonathan and Dan after class to train, and he was planning on having Buzz evolve at that time. That would allow Ash to rank up, get a new class schedule for the next week and then have Buzz spend the weekend getting used to his wings with the hive in Viridian forest.
"Well Ash? Do you have an answer?" The teacher asked. Ash had been lost in his thoughts and totally missed whatever was just said.
"Um, I'm sorry what was the question?" Ash asked as the other students laughed.
"Since you answered the first question so well, and pointed out the power gap for ranks, the question was why is that power gap essential? Please continue to pay attention."
"Oh. For fairness. It wouldn't be fair for someone who hadn't been in school as long to have Pokemon as powerful as the older students. This is the same reason why if a Pokemon evolves past its current trainers ranking then it is taken away. It simply wouldn't be fair." Ash responded to the teacher.
He didn't really agree with this logic at all, but he had already had detention a couple of times for arguing with his instructors regarding this so he knew it was better to play it safe.
"Correct. Thank you Ash. And with that, you guys are dismissed, have a great weekend!" The teacher said back.
X
"Are you sure we have to battle for this to happen?" Jonathan asked Ash anxiously.
Ash had explained his plan to get Buzz to evolve, and they were currently in the front yard of Jonathan's house. Ash had released Buzz underneath a large tree in the middle of the yard. Ash also explained that since he had spent so much time training Buzz and keeping Buzz back from evolving that he wouldn't be able to evolve without having a battle. After seeing how seriously Buzz took his training, and how little damage Rattata had done the last time they trained together, Jonathan was reasonably worried.
"Yes, I'm sure. Please? The Pokemon Center isn't that far away and it's not like Buzz is going to be trying to end your Rattata, just knock it out!" Ash tried to say reassuringly. He was really trusting on Jonathan to help him for this. He imagined he could find a way to evolve Buzz without a battle, but this was the easiest way that he knew.
"Okay then, but you're in for a surprise! Hurry up Dan, let's get him!" Jonathan said as Dan came into the view of the two other boys. Ash turned around and looked surprised as he saw the other boy approach, but Jonathan began to explain.
"Since your Kakuna is so much stronger than our Pokemon, it wouldn't be fair to have a 1v1 battle. So we are going to go 2v1!" Jonathan said.
Ash simply laughed but agreed that it would be okay, "You've still got this Buzz, no problem!"
Buzz chittered back as Jonathan released his Rattata and Dan released his Ekans.
"Quick Attack!" "Wrap it up Ekans!"
The pokemon were quick to follow their orders, as Rattata sped up too fast for Ash to follow as he charged the Kakuna. Ekans slithered after the Rattata, intent on squeezing the life out of the bug.
Ash simply watched as the Rattata crashed into Buzz. The attack knocked Buzz back a little bit, but it didn't seem to do too much damage. The Ekans followed it up by coiling itself around the immobile bug and squeezing as hard as it could.
"Good job girl! Keep squeezing it, we've got him in a pickle now!" Dan said triumphantly.
"Your guys Pokemon are really getting a lot stronger! That was a great quick attack Jonathan!" Ash said to the other boys.
"Hey, this is a battle! Don't be so cheery when we are kicking your little bugs butt!" Dan sneered at Ash.
"Let's finish this! Now that it's stuck charge it with quick attack and then use bite!" Jonathan said to his Rattata as it took off with a blur of energy.
"Yeah, that's a good idea! Use Bite too Ekans!" Dan said smugly.
"Iron defense." Ash said. Buzz immediately channeled the steel energy to cover his shell with a thin layer of iron. Both of the other pokemon didn't realize the danger they were in as they attempted to pierce Buzz's hide with their teeth. Their reactions were priceless as they tried latching their jaws onto the steel.
Jonathan's Rattata yelped as it bounced off of Buzz. It was now panting hard and it looked like the attempt to bite into straight steel had caused the rat to lose a couple of teeth. The Ekans also recoiled with a hiss as it pulled back from its attack. It loosened its coils on reflex as Ash saw his chance to end the battle.
"Quick, Use a stringshot on the tree limbs to climb out of the Ekans coils! Then use poison sting on Rattata and Electroweb on Ekans!"
Buzz followed Ash's instructions as he shot a strand of silk towards the tree to propel himself upwards.
"Don't let it out!" Dan said, but the Ekans was too concerned about the pain in its mouth to respond in time. By the time it realized what was happening the Kakuna was already being pulled up by its silk strand.
Buzz expertly aimed his stinger at the Rattata and shot a few poison stings right into the rats side.
The Rattata let out another yelp as he was hit square on with the stingers of poison, and they caused him to fall on his side. Ash didn't think he was going to get back up, but he was too busy watching Buzz to really care.
Buzz was still gaining elevation from his string shot when he fired off the poison stings, but now it looked like he chose to release the string and turned in midair to face the Ekans as he began to fall.
The Ekans hissed at the falling bug as Buzz opened his mouth and fired a web crackling with electricity at the snake. The web landed right on the Ekans face, and it starting slithering around trying to get it off as the electricity sparked.
After a few moments of slithering blindly around, Ekans slammed into the base of the tree that Buzz had just used and fell down, twitching occasionally.
Both of the other boys recalled their Pokemon as Ash cheered Buzz on. "That was so awesome Buzz! Great job, I wasn't sure if you could do that! And you stuck the landing too!" Ash said as he congratulated Buzz.
Buzz started to chitter back but then stopped as a crack showed up on his shell.
"Is it okay? I don't think the shell is supposed to do that!" Jonathan said worriedly. He knew his Rattata would be fine after seeing Nurse Joy, but he didn't think that Kakuna's shells were supposed to crack.
Buzz let out an excited chitter as a few more cracks appeared in his shell before he was surrounded by a blinding white light.
"That's what happens before they evolve, don't worry!" Ash said excitedly.
Ash watched the best he could as the form underneath the white energy began to expand. He saw two wings grow out, as well as two long lances as the energy faded and he was faced with a Beedrill.
"Oh wow that's so cool! He looks so strong!" Dan said as he looked at the new bug.
"Yeah he does, doesn't he?" Ash said with glee as he eyed Buzz.
Buzz wasn't as big as the Queen bee was, but he was definitely bigger than most freshly evolved Beedrill. He stood around 4 feet tall, and his lances were absolutely massive compared to his little body. Ash walked up to Buzz and knocked his fist against the bug's abdomen.
"Hard as a rock," Ash said. Buzz chittered excitedly at that, glad that all of his training had given him such a good base to start with.
"We better go and talk to the registrar. I'm going to recall you now, okay Buzz? Thank you guys so much for helping us out. Don't forget to take your pokemon to the Poke Center!" Ash said as he recalled his Pokemon and went running off towards the Registrar. It was time to make history.
X
"So let me get this straight," the Rocket Officer that Ash had been talking to in the Registrars office said slowly. She was standing on the other side of a giant desk with a clear plexiglass border separating her from Ash. She was probably around 18 years old, with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. "Your Kakuna just evolved on a weekend, and you came to report it immediately? You do realize that Beedrill is a Rank 2 Pokemon right? That means you won't be able to keep it anymore." The Officer said to Ash with a sad tone.
"Well actually, I came here to get promoted to Agent so I could keep Buzz and so I could get a new class schedule , And so I could get the patch added to my uniform." Ash said. Every Team Rocket member had to wear a Rocket uniform. Grunts and Agents had the same Grey uniform with a Red R on the front, while Officers wore a black uniform. The only thing that separated the Grunts and the Agents was a military style patch on the left shoulder that signified a higher rank. Officers also had patches for pseudo-ranks, but Ash didn't really care much about that. It seemed that most people topped out at the Officer level, but Ash planned on making it past that to Executive and beyond.
"Oh honey, I'm so sorry but that's not how it works," The woman said to Ash. "If every time someone evolved a Pokemon they got to rank up to that Pokemon's rank, our world would be in shambles! I'm sorry, but that simply wouldn't be fair. Just because a Pokemon evolves doesn't mean you rank up or that you can keep it. That's simply not fair and Team Rocket is all about fairness!" The Registrar said back.
"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that!" Ash said. This girl must not know about the double evolution rule he thought to himself.
"It's okay kid, you didn't know. Now I'm sorry but you'll have to hand over that pokeball…" She said as she looked expectantly at the boy.
"Do you have a copy of the Rocket Rules and Regulations? Could you open up to Section D subsection J paragraph 2? Under the footnotes?" Ash asked. He had memorized the specific passage just in case this happened, but he was still very nervous.
"Why sure," The lady responded, as she reached onto a shelf behind her and pulled out the big book. She flipped to the section Ash had specified and read it out loud.
"Grunts can be promoted to Agent after three semesters and a written test proving competency, as specified above. However, if a Grunt manages to evolve pokemon twice, the second should not be taken from them. The Grunt should rather be promoted to Agent, and allowed to keep his or her newly evolved pokemon.…" The girl stopped reading out loud and reread the section again.
"You see, I got my Beedrill as a Weedle about a month ago! It evolved very shortly after that into a Kakuna and now it's a Beedrill! I have witnesses who can prove this so by the rules I should be promoted. I believe it's only fair to follow what the handbook says." Ash stated to the Registrar.
"Huh, I guess you're right. I've never seen that in there…. But hey, rules are rules for a reason! Let me go and get your stuff!"
Ash waited as she wandered off behind the desk to get all the things that Ash had requested.
After a few minutes she returned, carrying with her a patch as well as a piece of paper with his new schedule on it.
"Alright, here you go! Have fun, and you will be in those classes on Monday!"
"Thank you!" Ash responded as he took off, heading towards the forest.
X
Ash released Buzz from his Pokeball and allowed him to spend the whole entire weekend out in the forest with the wild Beedrill. It felt weird for Ash to not have Buzz with him, but he knew that the best way for Buzz to get stronger was to spend time with the experienced fliers. They would help Buzz learn how to use and care for his wings, as well as run him through some aerial combat tactics. Ash was sure that flying with the Beedrill was way better training than anything he could have come up with.
Buzz was in a very unique situation, Ash reflected. Most of the time a Beedrill was either raised by a trainer or out in the wild by a hive. Buzz got to have both simultaneously, which Ash hoped would improve Buzz's strength and dexterity.
Since Ash didn't have Buzz with him all weekend, he spent that time making plans for how to train the Beedrill, what moves they should learn next, and what Pokemon he should get since he had ranked up. Agents were only allowed to get a second starter, it wasn't until Officer ranking that they could choose or catch something outside of the select few. Ash considered getting a Koffing or Zubat, but he wasn't too sure. Ash decided he would look at the Rank 2 pokemon that were currently being held, either from grunts who had evolved them too early or Officers who no longer wanted their starters and so left them behind. If he couldn't find anything good there he decided he might just have to raise another Weedle.
X
Ash walked into his third class and let out a sigh as he sat down at a desk. He had hoped that the classes for Agents would be more difficult and beneficial, but after listening to "Rocket Mission 201" and "How we were founded- RSS 200" He realized this was the same stuff as the grunts had. Ash wondered when he would get to learn something useful.
"Hey kid, I think you're lost. This is a class for Agents, not Grunts. Now scram before I make you," Ash heard a voice say as the class grew quiet.
Ash looked up to see the same kid that had tried to mess with him earlier- Gary he recalled- standing in front of the class staring right at him.
"I am an Agent now, I was the fastest Grunt ever to become an Agent. Historical, really. Now why don't you sit back down so we can learn from the teacher of this class?" Ash snapped back. He really wasn't in a mood to deal with this.
"Oh it's Weedle boy! I recognize that attitude from anywhere!" Gary sneered back at Ash. "For your information, I am the teacher of this class and you're getting a detention for that. So what your silly bug grew some wings? That doesn't mean it's good for anything other than to be splat against the wall."
Ash realized with horror that Gary was wearing the darker suit, signifying that he was indeed an Officer. Last time Ash had seen him he had been in a gray uniform, but of course he had mentioned something about a promotion.
All of this was going through Ash's mind as he realized exactly what Gary was saying. Personal insults he could take, but Buzz had worked so hard for this and had proven himself to be powerful. Gary had no right to say such a thing. In fact, this boy probably knew nothing about actually training a Pokemon.
"I'd like to see you try," Ash said before he even realized the words were coming out of his mouth. He was steaming with rage over the dig at Buzz.
"I was hoping you'd say that!" Gary said as he laughed. "Okay class, today we are going to have a lesson on the difference between Agents and Officers and why such a barrier exists. This will also go to show you all why you must respect your higher ranking elders. Come on down to the front Weedle boy, it's time for a battle."
Ash got to his feet silently and made his way through the lecture hall and into the front area where Gary stood. If it was a battle Gary wanted, it was a battle he would get. Ash released Buzz in a flash of red light.
"He has challenged our honor, Buzz. This is to protect the good name of the hive. We will show no mercy." Ash said to the bee. Buzz looked back at Ash and chittered in a serious tone, staring down Gary and prepared to prove the strength of the hive to anyone who dare defy it.
"Oooooh he makes threats, how scary ooooh," Gary mocked as he grabbed a Pokeball off his belt. "I just picked this guy up yesterday, and your silly little bug is no match!" Gary threw the pokeball into the air, releasing a dark blue, almost purple turtle. Ash examined it and saw that its ears and tails were a different shade than the rest of its body, almost as if they were purely cartilage compared to the muscle and bone covering the rest of the turtle. Ash recognized it as a Wartortle.
The Wartortle wobbled forward and almost fell, not quite used to its own size. Ash realized that it had probably just evolved and not given a chance to get used to its form yet. Ash wondered how often Team Rocket just stuck Pokemon into stasis as soon as they hatched or evolved. It was really a bad method, and one that Ash planned to exploit.
"Wartortle, use Skull Bash! Let's end this silly little bug!" Gary said.
The Wartortle's skull glowed a silverfish color as it charged the necessary energy up and began rampaging towards Buzz. Skull Bash was an advanced technique and the Wartortle obviously hadn't mastered it yet, so the attack was much closer to a glorified Tackle.
"Um, just fly out of range." Ash said to Buzz.
Buzz lifted off with his wings moments before the Wartortle came charging in full steam. It jumped at the flying Pokemon trying to hit it, but Buzz was too high up to be hit and the Wartortle fell and tumbled as the energy from the skull bash dissipated.
"Super good, hit the flying bug with a physical attack. Super smart idea," Ash said to Gary as a few of the students in the room laughed.
"You think you're so good, well you won't be prepared for this! Water gun!" Gary commanded with a red face. He did not like being embarrassed.
Ash looked at the Wartortle and realized this was a perfect chance to test just how strong Buzz' hide was. "Tank it, and shoot a few Poison Stings back. Let's see how much damage it can do." Ash said to Buzz.
Buzz nodded his head in agreement and steadied himself midair as the water gun exploded into his abdomen. Ash winced, but he saw that Buzz was barely taken back and realized that either Buzz was just very strong or the Wartortle was pretty weak, or both.
"We've got it on the run now! Keep using Water Gun." Gary commanded, tasting victory. He hadn't even realized that his Wartortle had taken a couple direct shots from the Poison Sting, and probably had poison coursing through its bloodstream.
Ash knew that Buzz could take a few more shots, but there was no reason to allow Gary to just hit Buzz for no reason.
"Dodge the first Water gun then fire an Electroweb at its face! Let's end this thing!" Ash said to Buzz.
As the beam of water was approaching Buzz, he flew to the side to dodge it and let loose a web arcing with electricity towards the Wartortle.
"Blow the web away with another water gun before it can hit you!" Gary said stupidly. What Gary didn't realize was that the moment the web touched the stream of water the electric current would carry straight through the water and into the water type's mouth.
This is exactly what happened, and Wartortle began to twitch as the supereffective energy surged through his body.
"Another Electroweb, try to get it on his face! Send out a couple Poison Stings and Twineedles while you're at it too!" Ash said. He knew that Buzz could produce the poison stings from the giant lances on either of his arms. He also knew from Buzz's training over the weekend that he was capable of shooting the bug type move Twineedle out of his stinger attached to his abdomen.
"Withdraw you stupid turtle! Don't let him hit you!" Gary said in horror as he saw the myriad of attacks coming at him from the Beedrill. Wartortle tried to go into his shell with no success, as he was still moving slowly from the first Electroweb that had shocked its system.
The barrage of attacks jabbed into the Wartortle directly. The electroweb covered his face, while the poison stings had hit each of the arms and the twin needles were aimed at the soft underscales of Wartortle.
The pokemon stuttered and fell, unable to stay up after taking so much damage. "Just give up Gary, I've got the upper hand. This is over." Ash said.
"Never! Use water gun, get it back!" Gary screamed at his Pokemon.
Ash watched in awe as the determined little guy attempted to open his mouth and let a high powered stream of water come out. What ended up happening was much worse for the poor turtle. As the water starting rising in the Wartortle's mouth it connected with the Electroweb that sent Wartortle into a convulsion. The poor Wartortle had to be recalled as it was left twitching unconsciously.
Gary stormed out of the room, telling Ash he would get him back. Ash could care less as he looked around at his new classmates as they all cheered him on. Ash could get used to this.
X
Ash was walking through the halls after his next class when he saw three men in Black shirts approaching him. He noticed the one in the middle was Gary, pointing at Ash as he said something to the other two Officers.
Oh great, this will be fun; Ash thought to himself as he waited for the approaching officers.
"That's the little runt who did it! Get him!" Gary said as they approached Ash. Ash noticed that the other two with Gary were much older than him, and also had the patches on their uniforms that showed they were the highest ranking that an Officer could get.
"Hello there!" The man on the left said. He had bright blue hair, with almost grey eyes, "My name is Proton, and this is Carl. We are the Senior Officers on duty for Pallet, Viridian, and Pewter. We heard your Beedrill defeated Gary's Wartortle in a battle, is that correct?"
"Yeah, I smoked him! Are you guys here to promote me?" Ash asked eagerly. Proton seemed nice enough. Perhaps Gary's plan backfired on him.
"Actually, no." Carl said with a sneer back. Carl was the tallest of the group, standing a full head and shoulders over Ash. He had medium length black hair that hung on his head greasily. It didn't seem like he knew what the purpose of a shower was.
"We are here to commandeer your Pokemon. That Pokemon is too powerful for you and Proton seems to have an empty slot available on his team for it. If you wouldn't mind, we'll take it now." Carl finished.
"And don't try to pull any of that battle crap on us kid, we are both way more experienced than little Gary and will skunk your bug before you can even think." Proton added. Maybe he wasn't as nice as he looked.
"But, but Beedrill is only a Rank 2 Pokemon. I'm allowed to have that as I am an Agent, that's the rules!" Ash stammered back.
"Ah yes, normally that would be the case. However, your Beedrill defeated a Rank 3 Pokemon, which means that even though it is technically classified as a Rank 2 Pokemon, its power level has exceeded that and therefore must be taken away." Carl said with a smirk.
"Uh, well I don't have it with me. It's at the Pokemon Center." Ash lied. He had no idea what else to do, but there was no way he was giving up Buzz.
"Likely story kid," Proton said as he pushed Ash up against the wall. Proton was several years older than Ash and much bigger, so he practically threw him onto the wall as he searched Ash's possessions.
"Well Well, what do we have here? How can you have a pokeball if your pokemon is at the Center?" Proton asked as he grabbed Ash's pokeball and tossed it to Carl.
"Buzz doesn't like being in his ball so Nurse Joy took him back without it," Ash said off of the top of his head. He had no idea how he was lying so well, especially since Proton had slammed his head against the wall and was still holding him off the ground, but he prayed that it would work.
"Oh yeah sure. So I assume when I scan this Pokeball I won't find anything in it then huh?" Carl said as he reached for something in his bag.
"Scan it?" Ash asked blearily. He was losing all hope now, and was truly frightened.
"Oh yes, didn't you know? All Team Rocket Pokemon get micro chipped before they are given out. I believe it is part of the covenant you sign, All Pokemon belong to Team Rocket. It's in case any trainers like you try to run off with Pokemon too powerful for their own good." Carl said as he grabbed the device he was looking for.
It was a black device about the size of a wallet with a giant red R on the front of it. Carl pushed a button on it as a red light appeared. He pointed it towards the Pokeball for a moment before looking at the device with a confused expression.
"Huh. I guess the kid wasn't lying, there really isn't a Pokemon in here." Carl said after he scanned the Pokeball one more time. "Let him go Proton, let's head down to the Pokemon center to pick up the twerps bug."
Ash was very confused. He was sure that Buzz was in the Pokeball, but how did the scanner not recognize him? Realization dawned on Ash as he realized that he had switched the Rocket Weedle with Buzz the same day he signed the Rocket contract.
"Can I at least keep the Pokeball for my next Pokemon? For memories sake?" Ash asked, trying to sound pitiful. Buzz was still in there and he needed to get the bug back.
"Sure kid. Don't say I'm not passionate and caring. Rules just have to be followed." Carl said as he tossed the Pokeball to Ash. Ash dove after it and caught it before it hit the ground, afraid that the button might accidently be clicked and Buzz would be released.
Gary, Proton, and Carl simply laughed at the display as the boy went prone in order to grab the ball. They walked off with their backs turned.
Ash, on the other hand, sprinted out of the building.
X
Ash slammed the door open to his house, frantic to grab anything that he could take with him on the road. He had no idea what he was going to do or where he was going to go, but he knew he had to warn the hive of the danger that was coming.
"Hey Ash! Why are you home so early?" Delia asked as she came into the living room. "What's wrong honey?" She asked when she noticed the boys' frantic pace.
"I beat an Officer and then they said they were going to take Buzz but I was like no he's at the Pokemon Center then they were like nuhuh but I was like yeah and they took his Pokeball and and and" Ash said as he ran out of breath.
"Calm down honey. Just breathe. Tell me slowly," Ash's mom said as she placed a hand on her son's back.
Ash took a breath and recounted the whole experience to his mom. Ash hadn't realized he was crying until his mother brushed a tear off of his face with her hand.
"Release Buzz, have him go and warn the hive before you get there." Ash's mom said with a serious voice. Her expression had changed as she got up and went into the closet and pulled out a large oak chest. "You are going to go to Pewter City. There is a man named Brock that you should be able to find in the building behind the old Museum. Once you find him, tell him that you have something for Samuel Oak and that it is imperative that he gets it. Do you understand?" Delia said to Ash as she found the key that went to the chest and began to open it.
"What are you talking about mom? Did you not here anything that I just said? Who is Samuel Oak?" Ash asked irritated. He had never seen his mom acting like this before and it didn't help.
"Ash Ketchum, you listen to me right now!" Delia yelled. "Release Buzz and tell him to warn the hive. Go to Pewter City and find Brock, he should be in the building behind the old Museum. Give him this," Delia said as she handed Ash something solid that was wrapped in a cloth. It felt like a medium sized rock. "And tell him that it is for Samuel Oak and it is imperative that he gets it. Do you understand?" Delia asked again firmly.
"Yes Ma'am." Ash said as he moved to release Buzz. He explained the situation to the Beedrill before opening the door and letting it fly away.
"Good, now I am going to pack you and Buzz some food for your journey. Go upstairs to your room and grab your backpack and some extra clothes. And don't forget extra underwear!" She added as Ash ran to his room.
Ash packed as quickly as he could and came running back down the stairs. Doing the menial task of grabbing clothes out of his dresser had helped clear his mind. "Mom, I don't want to go. I don't want to leave you." He said as he saw his mom in the living room.
"Enough of this nonsense. Kids used to leave at this age to start their journeys anyways. What would you do, abandon Buzz to someone who wouldn't take care of him? Is that the kind of child that I raised? No. No no no no no. You will do as you were told. You will learn many things and I am sure that you will come back safely to me." Delia said fiercely. Ash had never seen his mother this way, but by the strength in her voice he believed every word.
"The world is different than you think it is. It will do you well to learn the truth of things. Now go!" Delia said as she finished putting the food in Ash's bag. "Hurry fast, and whatever you do don't lose the package for Samuel!" She said as she pushed Ash out of the door of the house.
And Ash ran.
X
Ash was almost to the small path that would lead him to the hive when he saw a lone Beedrill approaching.
"Is that you Buzz?" Ash asked as he stopped to get his breath. He had ran the whole two miles to the forest. He needed to stay ahead of the Rocket Officers, who no doubt knew by now that he was lying about Buzz being in the Pokemon Center.
Buzz chittered a confirmation as he hovered next to Ash. "Okay, let's get to the hive." Ash said grudgingly. He knew the Queen would not be happy with him for how much trouble his idea had caused.
As Ash walked through the hidden trail to the clearing, he thought about what he would say to the queen and how he would explain the situation.
What he wasn't expecting when he emerged from the path and into the little Valley was the lack of any Weedle or Kakuna hanging from the tree. All he saw in front of him were four Beedrill.
Ash examined the four closely. He saw the one on the far left was missing a lance, the next one had wings much too small for its body, and then he saw two green and black bees that stood much taller than the other two.
Ash gaped as he realized what that meant. There was another Queen. Ash couldn't quite believe it, as he vaguely recalled what he had read in Koga's book.
Queen Bee's choose when to lay the next Queen egg. They have complete control, and as such there are only two times when a person would see two Queens next to each other. Either an unfamiliar Queen is trying to expand her territory, in which case the two Queens will fight to the death, or there is a peaceful transfer of power as one Queen prepares to breathe her last. Beedrill only live around 10 years in the wild, and they instinctively know when to lay an egg to prepare for the hive to go on.
Ash realized that he didn't know how old the Queen bee was. He had saved her life 4 years ago, and she had a decent sized swarm before that, so she could be 10 years old. The scar on her abdomen could have also cut short her life.
Ash was brought back from his awe when the old Queen flew up to him. He saw that she had a little Weedle crawling on her. She stared him in the eye and chittered once at him.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't plan for this to happen! I had no idea, trust me I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt!" Ash started, but stopped when the Queen put a lance on Ash's shoulder.
Another chitter. The Queen pointed to the clearing. Another chitter.
"Yes, you did clear it out fast. How did you guys do that so fast? It should have taken days…" Ash said as he began to realize what had happened.
"Unless you were already leaving the clearing. The hive was outgrowing it anyways. And with the new Queen…."
The old Queen nodded and chittered. She signaled to the other Beedrill to come over to Ash. They did, and Ash looked at them one by one.
The one missing a lance came up to Ash and touched his head to Ash's. A chitter of acknowledgment. Of thanks.
The next to approach was the one with the short wings. It looked at Ash and chittered as it shot two poison stings into the air from either of its lances. Then it flew out of the clearing.
Finally the new Queen came up to Ash. He had never seen it before, not even as a Weedle or Kakuna, and realized they must have been hiding it from him. That must have been why they were acting so weird last time he had come to talk with them.
She stared Ash in the eyes. Ash stared back. They stayed like this for a few seconds before she turned to Buzz, who was behind Ash and chittered something to him. Buzz chittered back, and then she turned to the older queen and chittered at it. Finally she turned her eyes back to Ash.
She stared at Ash for a moment before flying back to the old hive tree and then returning with something in her mouth. She motioned for Ash to hold his hand out, which he did and she dropped the item into his hand.
It felt cool to the touch, as he looked at the interesting thing. It was clear like a marble, with a swirl of black and yellow in the center. Ash noticed how it was the exact shade of the yellow on Buzz's exoskeleton. It was about the size of a large marble, small enough to keep in one's hand, but large enough that it wouldn't get lost if it fell on the ground. However, with the amount of care the Queen had used on this Ash was sure he wouldn't be dropping it anytime soon.
"Thank you, your highness," Ash said as he continued looking at the stone in his hand.
The new Queen let loose a short chitter before flying above the rest of them. It let loose a short cry before flying off.
Ash tucked the stone safely in his bag just as the short winged Beedrill flew back into the clearing. It chittered furiously at the other bees. They all tensed up and started looking at the trees in the direction that Ash had come from. Ash turned around and backed away as Buzz pushed him towards the far side of the clearing.
"Buzz, what are you doing? I'm fine," Ash said as he heard something coming from the area he had just been in.
"He's lucky we don't just burn this whole forest down! Who does this kid think he is trying to pull something fast on us like that?" A voice said.
Ash recognized the voice as Proton's as he realized that the other Beedrill had been acting as a lookout.
Ash watched in horror as the forms of Proton and Carl made their way out of the trail and into the clearing. Gary was following right behind him.
"Oh good kid, you're here, ah and it looks like you made some friends!" Proton said as he saw the three Beedrill standing in-between them and Ash.
"That's the largest Beedrill I've ever seen!" Carl said as he spotted the old Queen.
"That's the one that Ash fought me with! I can tell by the different color!" Gary lied, trying to justify his defeat. "See that scar on its stomach? That's gotta be from where Wartortle used Water Gun!"
Ash turned around to look at Buzz but he was gone. Ash turned back towards the scene and yelled to the men. "The Weedle you are looking for is right in front of that Beedrill!" Ash said as he realized it had crawled off of the queen. "Just capture it and leave them alone!"
"I think not, Ashy-boy. Your little friends are going to pay with their lives for this!" Carl said as he grabbed a pokeball and threw it into the air. "I was kind and compassionate to you and this is how you repay me? By running off into the woods? I think not!" Carl added.
Ash watched as an ugly red snail materialized on the ground. It looked like it was oozing and the ground around it immediately turned black as it was charred from the heat radiating off of the snails body.
"Oh no, your Magcargo doesn't get to have all the fun!" Proton said as he released his own pokemon. What appeared was a large lizard, dark red and with a burning flame on its tail. The Charmeleon let out a roar and a burst of flame from its mouth as a dare for anyone to defy it.
Ash watched in horror as the three Beedrill took to the sky. Even though they were the oldest Beedrill in the forest, Ash knew that the two were by far the weakest, and that the Queen was far past her prime. They would suffer a horrible fate at the hands of the two Rank 3 fire Pokemon.
"I guess they don't want to back down eh?" Proton said. "Flamethrower Charmeleon! Roast the bugs!"
Charmeleon let loose a wave of flames from his mouth up towards the flying bugs. They all dodged it easily, and then countered with a bevy of Poison Stings and Twineedles. Ash realized that Electroweb would be very helpful in this situation, but none of the current bugs had the ability to use it. Where was Buzz? He could help even the odds.
The Charmeleon jumped, rolled and dodged the attacks while the Magcargo simply flared its body heat and all of the weak poison and bug type attacks melted in the air before reaching him.
"Is that all you got? This is way too easy!" Proton yelled as he watched the bugs miss all of their attacks.
The Queen chittered angrily at this and suddenly the wind changed. Ash watched as the wind blew faster and harder around the fire Pokemon, and then suddenly a silver energy bursted with the wind and knocked both of the fire types over.
The Queen sagged a little from the effort of the attack, but otherwise looked fine. Ash wondered what move it had just used. Somewhere in the back of Ash's mind he realized that the Queen was much more powerful than he had thought, and that Buzz was still a long ways away from that level.
"Enough playing around, let's end this." Carl said. "Magcargo, Overheat!"
The ugly lava Snail surged its energy together and then let loose a giant ray of flame that bathed the sky where the three bugs were. The queen and one-lance were able to fly out of the way, but the Beedrill with the short wings was unable to move fast enough and got hit square on with the flames.
It didn't even have a chance to shriek as the superheated flames charred the bug's exoskeleton to a crisp.
Charmeleon saw its opportunity as the other two Beedrill were stunned by their friends demise and he launched another flamethrower at the one armed bee.
It hit the unsuspecting bug straight in the abdomen, which sent that bee falling to the ground as well, shrieking and covered in flames.
"Two down, one to go!" Gary cheered as he watched the Beedrills burn.
The Queen bee cried out in rage as she dashed at the Charmeleon. She suddenly went invisible before reappearing to hit the lizard on the shoulder, causing it to spin and fall as it was hit with the incredible speed that the bug had displayed. The bee was quick to shoot a few Twineedles and Poison Stings into the unsuspecting lizard as well, trying her hardest to end the thing.
Magcargo watched as its friend was being pummeled for a second before shooting a Flamethrower at the preoccupied Beedrill.
It hit the queen on her side, burning part of her wing and causing her to come to the ground, unable to fly any longer. She turned and stared down the Magcargo, all of her rage pooling inside of her. Both of her oldest friends were gone. They had to abandon their safe hive. They were threatening the boy who saved her life and they had the audacity to challenge her?
She opened her mouth, unsure of what was happening but certain that this ugly snail needed to die for its offenses. A white energy started forming around her mouth as she pointed it towards the Magcargo.
"Protect!" Carl yelled as he saw the Hyper Beam ready to fire at his pokemon.
Magcargo raised a shield of bluish green energy right before the beam of rage was fired at it. The power from the attack caused the dust to rise in the battlefield, obscuring Ash's view of the battle.
Ash jumped as three Beedrill came behind him and lifted him up.
"Stop, we have to help her!" Ash said as he squirmed in their arms. When he realized his attempts of escape were futile, and that they were above the treeline now, he stopped flailing and looked back down to the clearing where the battle had raged.
He watched in horror as the dust cleared to reveal Magcargo without a scratch, while the Queen bee was down on one knee. It had taken all of her rage and energy to use that last attack, and now she was all out.
It was at this moment that the Charmeleon got up on shaky feet and blasted the bee with a fire ball. It was cut and bruised, but that only seemed to anger the lizard even more. The Charmeleon walked over to the now burning bug, and started slashing it into the ground. Ash was sure it wouldn't stop until it was recalled. All he could hope was that the poison working through its veins would make it stop sooner rather than later. He turned away from the scene and vomited, before looking to the Beedrill carrying him.
"Where are you taking me?" Ash asked as he looked up, a lump forming in his throat. His oldest friends were now dead, he was on the run, and he couldn't even call his mother. To say he was having a bad day was the understatement of the year.
Ash recognized the Beedrill that looked at him as Buzz. Buzz stared at him for a long while, trying to take some of the pain away from Ash without knowing how to. Finally he chittered slowly and the three Beedrill brought Ash to the ground.
Ash looked around and realized that he was near the end of Viridian forest. He had only been to Pewter City once before, but he recognized this as the pathway out of the forest and onto the path that would take him there.
Ash sighed as he looked up to Buzz. "Well, I guess we better go take this stone to Brock." Ash said. He didn't know what else to do, but he knew that Team Rocket would be after him so he had to keep moving. News about his escape probably hadn't reached Pewter yet, so he would still be safe from the Rockets that set up shop there.
However, Ash realized that he was still in his Team Rocket uniform. Disgusted by the thought of this, he quickly changed out of it and put on a faded pair of jeans, his black shirt with his favorite vest over the top, and an old hat that he had. He absentmindedly tucked his Rocket uniform back in his bag as he thought about how to get to the old Museum.
"Okay Buzz, I think it's on the far side of Pewter. I'm going to have to recall you to blend in. I still look young enough to be one of the kids who isn't old enough to sign up, but it would be a dead giveaway if I had a Pokemon." Ash said. Buzz chittered back in acknowledgement as Ash recalled him and put the pokeball in his backpack. Normally he would clip it on his belt, but he wasn't supposed to have any pokemon if he wasn't a Rocket.
Ash started walking out of the forest. 'I guess this was how they wanted it', Ash thought to himself. The old Queen had protected her hive and the kid who saved her life. Ash knew she didn't have much life force left in her anyways. It comforted him a little to know that the three Beedrill had planned the sacrifice, but only a little. It was still his fault they had to go that way.
'I have to train and get stronger so this won't happen again' Ash thought as he set his gaze towards Pewter.
X
It had taken a couple of hours and a scary moment when Ash thought a Team Rocket Officer was after him, but Ash made it to the abandoned building his mom had mentioned. Ash had to jump the fence for the Museum, but he made sure nobody was watching when he did it.
Ash looked at the old building behind the museum with interest. His mom hadn't mentioned it being abandoned, but it obviously was by the state of it. The roof was falling in, the walls all looked burnt like they had been in a fire, and there was a sign on the door that said 'KEEP OUT'.
Ash surveyed the area and saw that no one was around, so he reached inside his bag and released Buzz.
"I don't see anybody, but this is where mom said to go," Ash said to Buzz. "Let's go in and check it out," Ash said as he blatantly ignore the keep out sign on the door and walked in to the building.
It was a small building, with only one large room and nothing else in it. It seemed extremely bare, with no paintings or art on the walls at all, and Ash wondered what kind of person lived here before it had been in a fire. The building felt eerie, as if he was being watched by the walls.
Ash kept walking through the house, looking for any clues onto who Brock was, when suddenly the ground beneath him gave way and he fell, letting out a cry as he plummeted into darkness.
XX