Chapter 12: Backtracking
"Again!" Ash yelled as Totodile slammed his tail into a tree. Blizz squeaked something to the aggravated Pokemon as Totodile tried again to summon the energy needed for Iron Tail. Ash had hoped Totodile would have figured Iron Tail out by now, but he couldn't be disappointed with the Crocodile's performance so far. It had been 5 days since Ash had left Buzz with the Beedrill Hive, and all of his team had been training hard. Leaf had been able to secure a ship for them to travel to Cinnabar on, and it was supposed to be arriving tomorrow. Ash had spent the past five days training with Leaf in the morning before continuing his own training during the day as she went to bed. The space where they trained was an hour walk from the Pokemon Center, but judging by the lack of paths or cleared foliage Ash could tell they were the only ones who went to this part of the abandoned Safari.
Ash was thankful for Leaf's guidance and her Pokemon, as they were able to help his team with their elemental attacks as well as actual battle strategy. Ash enjoyed his days alone with his team much more though, as they were able to plan and dream and be their selves without having to worry about Leaf picking on them. Ash missed Buzz a lot, but Buzz had been by to visit a few times and seemed to be having a great time with the hive. Ash knew that they could teach him much more than he could.
Ash was proud of his team. Clefairy had mastered Thunder Wave, and had started learning Shadow Ball, Incinerate and Charge Beam. Each move required a different energy from her, and they were all coming along slowly. Charge Beam was coming along the best, and Ash had to assume that was because of the Thunder Wave TM that he had given her.
Blizz had been making excellent progress with Shadow Claw and Aqua Tail. He had both of these moves almost completely mastered and his Aqua Tail was as powerful as Totodile's. He had begun working with Ivysaur on Protect, but he didn't seem to be making too much progress on it. Ash felt like Blizz would be ready to evolve soon and was glad he was able to snag an Ice Stone before leaving Cerulean.
Totodile had made tons of progress and was only struggling with Iron Tail. He had successfully infused dark energy into his Bite, and was well on his way to turning it into Crunch. He had mastered Slash and Aqua Tail, and had begun working with Houndoom and Crawdaunt on Scald. He was getting bigger and his soft blue fur was beginning to lighten. Ash also noticed that the thick spines on his back and tail were getting larger, and when he pet Totodile on the head he could feel some bumps underneath the skin.
"Yes, good job! You did it!" Ash exclaimed as he watched a dent come out of the tree that Totodile had been practicing on. Totodile jumped in glee as he looked at his tail and made it gleam with steel energy once again.
X
"Sparring time! Today is Clefairy and Blizz!" Ash said as the day began winding down. Ash always liked to end their training with a spar before making the trip back to the Pokemon Center. He would only do 1v1 sparring so he would have someone left to walk back with him. Even though he had his teammates, Ash didn't like walking outside at night and always made sure to make it back to the Pokemon center before the sun went down.
Ash watched as Clefairy and Blizz lined up on either side of each other. Ash didn't give any commands for their sparring matches, since they were both his Pokemon and it would be unfair one way or the other. He looked around and saw the familiar sight of many different pairs of eyes watching from around the woods. Ever since he started doing the sparring matches, the local Pokemon always seemed interested in checking out the battles. Normally Ash would have been afraid, but he felt confident in his team to protect him. He simply said "Begin," and they went after it.
Clefairy started by firing a few Dazzling Gleam at Blizz. Blizz stood still and took the ineffective attack as he launched a few Icicle Spears at the fairy. Clefairy dodged as Blizz charged her. Ash watched as the battle started similarly to the others these two had. Clefairy was at a disadvantage because her current move pool was very ineffective against Blizz's typing, and as soon as he got close enough to grab onto her there wasn't anything she could do.
The battle continued with Clefairy firing blasts of Dazzling gleam as Blizz tried to corner her. He landed a couple of Icicle Spears which visibly slowed the other Pokemon down, but the game of Persian and Rattata continued.
Finally after running herself out of breath and taking quite a licking from the Icicle Spears, Clefairy turned to face her opponent. This was normally the moment where she would release a Flash and then try to Pound Blizz into submission, so Ash prepared to shield his eyes. Blizz leapt forward, his head shining from his use of Iron Head as Ash watched Clefairy use Fla-
Clefairy surprised everyone by using Thunder Wave. The paralyzing attack slammed straight into the head of Blizz as all of his muscles tightened. Unfortunately for Clefairy, he was already midair and still slammed straight into her with his head. She tumbled back as Blizz shook on the ground from the electricity.
Clefairy got up with a look of determination and spat her attempt at Incinerate towards Blizz. The half formed stream of fire hit Blizz, who was still wrenched with spasms. He yelped in pain and curled into a ball, hoping the Defense Curl could keep him from the worst of the heat. Luckily for him, Clefairy wasn't able to hold on to the stream of fire for long and it soon died down. Blizz noticed his opening and sprung out of his ball ready to attack. He prepared his Icicle Spears before looking at Clefairy, who was bent over panting. Apparently the attempt at Incinerate had taken a lot out of her. Blizz released the Icicle Spears, knowing that their sparring match was over.
Ash clapped his hands as he approached the two Pokemon. "Clefairy, that was wonderful! Way to use the new moves that you've been learning. Pretty soon you'll have Incinerate down no problem." Ash said as he hugged the little Pokemon. She looked back at him pleased, but obviously exhausted.
Ash went over to Blizz and congratulated him for a good fight as well. Blizz preened under the compliment. After spending another few moments in celebration Ash turned to leave when he saw the outline of a person walking towards him. He couldn't see very well as the sun was in his eyes but Ash's heart started beating faster as he prepared for the worst.
"Who.. who goes there? Don't come any closer!" Ash stuttered as he stood and backpedaled. Blizz, Totodile and Buzz instantly gathered in a triangle in front of Ash. The person stepped out from directly behind the sun and Ash realized it wasn't a person at all, but a Hitmonchan!
Ash took a sigh of relief as he chuckled, "Well hello there, you had me frightened. Honorable and noble Hitmonchan, what can we do for you today?" Ash asked the Pokemon. He had learned a little bit about addressing wild fighting types from training with Hitoshi.
The fighting type, who was about the same height as Ash, looked him up and down before pointing to Totodile and pounding its fist into its chest. It then moved its feet in such a way that Ash recognized from when Tyrogue had prepared for battle. Totodile bared his teeth as he stepped forward.
"So you want to have an Agni Kai with Totodile?" Ash asked. The Hitmonchan perked at the name Agni Kai and nodded its head up and down. Apparently Agni Kai wasn't just a human tradition.
"Okay, but there will be a wager." Ash said as he reached into his bag. "If you win, I'll leave all of these potions out here for you and your friends," he dumped out a handful of the healing medicine from his bag.
"But if we win, you join our team and train with us." Ash said as he held out a Pokeball. The Hitmonchan was silent for a moment before nodding its head in acceptance. Ash signaled for Blizz and Clefairy to get out of the way as backed up and the battle began.
Totodile began the fight by charging at the Hitmonchan with his head lowered, intent on landing a Headbutt into the stomach of Hitmonchan. The Hitmonchan patiently waited until Totodile was close enough before stepping to the side, dodging the attack and giving Totodile a punch as he launched past.
Totodile stumbled past but quickly turned back around and eyed his enemy with new appreciation. He charged forward again, this time with more caution as he readied an Ice Punch. Before he got close enough to hit the Hitmonchan fired off a Mach Punch with its longer arms that hit Totodile across the snout. This stunned Totodile and the Hitmonchan quickly followed up with a few more punches that sent Totodile scurrying away.
Once Totodile was out of range he looked at his enemy with rage and desperation. The Hitmonchan had barely moved from its original spot but Totodile was helpless with his shorter range. "Use your tail, it's your only chance at hitting it. Bite it if tries to punch you again!" Ash called out as Totodile began another charge.
Ash watched as Totodile jumped and flung his tail around in mid-air to try and hit the Hitmonchan with Aqua Tail. The other Pokemon dodged and went to punch Totodile in his underbelly but Totodile quickly reached down and grabbed its fist in his mouth. He clamped down with his tough jaws as he worked to imbue his bite with the proper dark energy.
The Hitmonchan, who had been totally calm up until now started shaking its arm frantically trying to get Totodile off. Ash saw some flames come out of Totodile's mouth, which he could only assume was a Fire Punch. Ash was glad that Totodile had been working on Scald and was use to extreme heat in his mouth.
The Hitmonchan finally realized it wasn't going to free its arm from inside the mouth and started hitting Totodile with Ice Punches from its free arm. After a few hits Totodile let go, but spun around and hit with an Aqua Tail as he was falling to the ground.
The Hitmonchan stumbled a few feet back from the blow before catching itself. It paused for a moment before smiling and charging forward towards Totodile. Totodile did his best to dodge as it rained down a flurry of blows at him, but he wasn't fast enough and ended up getting hit a few times before Hitmonchan landed a clean blow to the body that took Totodile off his feet and soaring a couple feet backwards. The Hitmonchan turned its back and started heading towards the pile of potions that Ash had taken out.
Ash watched as Totodile landed in a heap. He got up looking more angry than Ash had ever seen and as he charged towards the Hitmonchan he was surrounded by a white light. "I don't think it's over yet!" Ash yelled to the Hitmonchan.
It turned around just as Croconaw slammed into it. It tried to move but was pinned to the ground by the newly evolved Pokemon as he started throwing Ice Punches at the downed Hitmonchan. Hitmonchan fired back with its own punches but Croconaw was relentless with his assault. Ash watched as he used Slash on Hitmonchan before picking it up in his teeth and throwing it across the makeshift battlefield. Croconaw let out a challenging roar as Hitmonchan shakily got to its feet.
Hitmonchan smiled again as Croconaw charged forward. It still had the reach advantage, but Croconaw was twice the size he was as a Totodile so not by much. They came together in a flurry, both of them trying to dodge the other and gain the upper hand. They continued this way for what felt like forever to Ash before Croconaw finally gained the advantage with a nasty spinning Iron Tail that nailed Hitmonchan across the face. The fighting type fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Yes!" Ash shouted as he ran forward and threw a Pokeball at the Hitmonchan. He watched as it shook once, twice, three times and then a click signifying the Pokemon was caught.
"Look at you! You evolved!" Ash said as he gave Croconaw a hug. Croconaw let loose a giant Water Gun in celebration that arced through the sky. Blizz and Clefairy both came up to check out Croconaw's new form. Croconaw, now the tallest of the three of them, strut around showing himself off. Ash laughed as the in battle adrenaline wore off and he stumbled over his much larger tail. They all admired Croconaw for a few moments before a silence occurred as they all looked at the Pokeball in Ash's hand. Ash pulled out his Pokedex and scanned it.
Hitmonchan, the punching Pokemon. Hitmonchan are said to possess the spirit of ancient fighting types. They are tough Pokemon who seek out challenges and never give up.
This Hitmonchan is Female and knows the moves: Rock Smash, Mach Punch, Fire Punch, Ice Punch and Mud-Slap. It's ability is Iron Fist, which increases the strength of its physical attacks.
"It's a girl Clefairy! Now you won't be the only girl on our team." Ash said as Clefairy did a little dance.
Ash looked down at the pile of potions he had wagered to the Hitmonchan before looking out at the eyes that were watching the battle.
"You guys probably need these more than I do," Ash said as he left the pile for the wild Pokemon and headed back to town with his team.
X
It was almost dusk when Ash arrived back in Fuschia. He was still bubbling with excitement from his new teammate and hardly noticed when he accidently bumped into a person on the street. "Watch it kid!" The Blonde man called out. He looked to be about Leaf's age but Ash didn't see any Team Rocket garb on him so he wasn't too concerned about it. He muttered an apology as he made a beeline for the Pokemon Center.
Ash gave his typical introductions with Nurse Joy and made it around back with Nurse Joy before telling her all about his new teammate.
"That's super exciting! No wonder you're back earlier than usual. Leaf doesn't usually wake up for at least another half an hour." Nurse Joy said to him as she looked at the clock.
Ash looked at the clock. She was right, he had made it back very fast. "Dang. Can I just wait here for her? I don't want to miss her and she's the kind of person who would just leave if she didn't see me. She normally comes and checks in with you first right?" Ash asked.
"Of course! Leaf always comes and chats for a moment before heading out. I'll show you the break lounge, there's a nice couch in there that you can rest on until she comes." Nurse Joy said as she showed Ash a small room. He would have thought it was a closet but once he got inside he saw that it had its own refrigerator, television, a couch and a couple of chairs. Ash thanked her as he sat down on the couch and waited for Leaf.
He laughed as he looked at the TV screen and saw how dusty it was. "If this is a break room it probably doesn't get used because Nurse Joy doesn't take brakes," He said out loud to himself, amused.
X
Ash woke up and yawned, eyes still closed. He had a very exciting day previously and was ready to see how Hitmonchan would train with the rest of his team. More than that, for the first time ever he had woken up before his alarm went off. He really felt like he was getting this trainer thing down and decided it wouldn't be too bad if he went back to sleep until the alarm did go off. He went to roll over-
Ash fell off of the couch he had been sleeping on. He opened his eyes with a start, realizing that he was still in Nurse Joy's break room. He looked up at the clock on the wall and was stunned when he read it. "7 o'clock! I must have been in here all night!" Ash said as he looked around, confused on why Leaf didn't come in and wake him up. "Probably another one of her dumb tricks," Ash mumbled to himself. Now he had missed her leaving for the night and coming back and wouldn't be able to tell her the good news at all.
Ash looked towards the door and saw his Pokeballs sitting neatly on a desk. He grabbed them and put three of them in his backpack before hooking Clefairy's on his belt next to Buzz's empty one. He briefly considered putting Hitmonchan on his belt but realized she would still be harder to explain than a Clefairy. He went to open the door and exit the room, but when he did he found that the door was locked.
That's strange Ash thought as he looked at the door handle. It locked from the inside, so either he locked it last night or Nurse Joy used her key to lock it. Ash's stomach grumbled and he shook his head as he undid the latch and headed towards the main lobby. As he was about to round the corner from the backside of the Pokemon Center he was stopped by Nurse Joy's Chansey.
"Hey there, I'm just trying to go get some food." Ash said but the Chansey didn't budge. Instead it started walking towards him and pushing him back. Ash took a few steps back, confused. "What's going on Chansey? I'm just trying to leave." Ash said as his heart began to race. Chansey were typically super helpful and kind Pokemon, but this one was acting strange and he was starting to get scared.
Chansey didn't say anything, it just kept pushing Ash back until he was next to the healing machine that Nurse Joy used in the back. It stood there, looking at Ash and almost daring him to move. After an eternity to Ash, Nurse Joy came out and looked at Ash and Chansey.
"Oh thank you Nurse Joy. I don't know what happened to Chansey but she's acting very strange!" Ash said as Nurse Joy approached. "Ash, there's something I need to tell you," She said as she stopped.
Ash didn't like where this was going and reached down to grab Clefairy's Pokeball. He could feel his pulse pounding throughout his body. Nurse Joy saw his hand go for his Pokeball.
"Oh Ash it's not like that." She said somberly as she told Chansey to back down. Ash didn't release Clefairy but was still ready. "Last night Team Rocket captured Leaf. They had sleep powder outside her door and your door so when you guys opened the door it would fall and put you asleep. They dragged her out of here and there's been someone waiting for you to return all night."
"Where did they take her?" Ash asked numbly. His mind was racing with all the possibilities.
"I don't know. They could be taking her to Sabrina in Saffron, or to Surge in Vermillion, or really anywhere. They don't tell me that stuff. I'm sorry Ash." Nurse Joy said.
"It's not your fault," Ash said back. "I… I have to go find her."
"Ash that's a suicide mission. You can't do that, that's crazy!"
Ash had made up his mind and looked Nurse Joy in the eye. "I have to. I've watched everyone else get taken by them and I have no idea how to get where I need to go without her. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't at least try. Is there another way to get out of here that isn't through the front?" Ash asked with resolve in his voice.
Nurse Joy sighed but showed him where the backdoor was. He thanked her before heading out towards the forest.
Ash tried to remain hidden as he quickly moved through Fuschia city. He felt like every Team Rocket member was watching him and knew exactly who he was. He kept his hand on Clefairy's pokeball as he tried to stay calm and walk through the town. He knew it would only draw more attention if he started running. Once he got onto the path into the forest, he couldn't contain himself anymore and sprinted towards where he last saw Buzz.
Ash was sprinting full speed through the forest as a foot came out from the shrubs and tripped him. Ash rolled on the ground as his backpack flew open and his pokeballs flew everywhere. Ash cursed as he saw the blood covering his hands and knees before trying to grab Clefairy's ball from his belt.
He was stopped as a much larger boy jumped on him and trapped both of Ash's arms underneath his legs. Ash looked up with blurry eyes and saw a sick smile on the older boy's face. The boy had bright red hair that was a little bit longer than Ash's, and a wiry mustache that hadn't fully come in. The worst part was the black uniform with the giant red R that he was wearing.
"Well well well, what do we have here?" The boy sneered as he looked down at Ash. His voice was much higher than Ash was expecting, but that didn't change the severity of the situation Ash was in.
"I'm just… just trying to get some exercise sir!" Ash coughed back as he tried to figure the way out of the mess he was in.
"Likely story," The older boy said as he stripped Ash's pokeballs off of his belt. "What's an Agent like you doing with 5 Pokemon?" He asked as he counted the pokeballs that had fallen out of Ash's backpack.
"They belong to Executive Proton. He asked me to watch them for him," Ash lied back as he hoped the Officer would be afraid of Protons reputation.
"Oh." The Officer said as he thought for a minute. "Well if that's the case…" he said as he started getting off of Ash.
"Thank you," Ash said as he started to get up.
"Gotcha!" The officer yelled as he kicked Ash square in the gut. Ash coughed from the impact as he fell into the fetal position.
"Come on kid, you think I'm dumb enough to fall for that? You match the exact description of the kid we are looking for. Now get up, it's time to go."
"Go where?" Ash spat as looked up at the Officer.
"You, my very lucky friend, get to go and see the psychic herself. From what I've heard Sabrina has quite the interest in you and your friend. I'd be surprised if you ever regain sanity after she's done with you." The older boy cackled as he grabbed Ash by the collar.
"Let me go!" Ash yelled as he punched the Officer in the gut. The Officer groaned from the unexpected hit as he released Ash. Ash turned to run as he shouted "BUZZ! I NEED YOU!"
"He's a runner Jake! He's headed your way!" The Officer yelled between exaggerated breaths. He had his hands on his knees as he tried to regain his breath.
Ash looked back as he ran before he was knocked to the ground by another Officer who he hadn't seen before.
"What's the problem Sean? Did this little runt get the best of you?" The new Officer asked as he looked down at Ash. He was about the same height as the other Officer, but had short blond hair and bright blue eyes. Ash tried to crawl and run away but received another kick for his efforts. He groaned in pain.
"It was a lucky shot," Sean said back as he came to stand next to Jake. "He got me when I wasn't looking."
"Just let me go," Ash pleaded as he saw there was no chance of escape. "I haven't done anything to hurt anybody. Please I just want to be with my team."
The two Officers looked at each other before laughing. "From what I heard you caused quite a ruckus in Celadon," Jake said as he grabbed Ash off the ground. "If it wasn't for our informant you might have gotten away with a whole lot of valuable supplies!"
Sean finished grabbing all of Ash's belongings as Jake yanked one of Ash's arms behind his back. "Try something quick on me like you did to Jake and I'll break your arm runt," He said right into Ash's ear. He was so close Ash could feel his breath as he spoke the words. Ash shivered as he tried to figure out some way to escape.
"Let's get out of here already. These woods give me the creeps," Sean said as he looked around.
"Quit being such a baby man! We're the only ones out here and no wild Pokemon is going to mess with us." Jake said back. "Although I almost wish they did, my Pokemon could use a good workout."
"Let me go and my team will give you a good workout. I bet you couldn't ev-" Ash yelped in pain as the Officer yanked his arm further back.
"As much as I would love to teach you some respect, you're not worth my time," Jake responded as he continued to lead Ash out of the woods.
Just then Ash saw something move in the trees. "What was that?" Sean said as he pointed to the trees. "I saw something move over there!"
"It's just your eyes playing tricks on you man. Calm down." Jake responded.
"No man, I'm serious!" Sean said as he looked around wildly. "There's something over there too!" He said as he pointed to a different tree.
"I'll prove it to you that there's nothing out there," Jake said back as he grabbed a Pokeball off of his belt. He pressed the release and a giant three headed bird appeared in a flash of red light. "Dodrio, scan the area for any signs of Pokemon." Jake said as each of the Dodrio's heads moved in different directions.
Ash watched the bird in amazement as it moved. Each head twisted and turned completely out of sync from the others. There were a couple of times when Ash thought the necks would get twisted up but they were able t remain separate as the Pokemon scanned the area. Suddenly one of the heads let out a squawk as it focused on to something in the distance. A moment later a second head did the same thing, leaving only the middle head still searching.
"See! I told you there was something watching us!" Sean said as he pressed the release on all three of his Pokeballs. Ash watched as a Marowak, Arbok and Rhyhorn appeared. Ash had never seen these Pokemon in real life before, only from pictures on the Pokedex or videos he had seen. The Arbok looked at him as it stuck it's tongue out and hissed towards the boy.
"There's something out there guys! Be alert and ready for anything!" Sean said to his Pokemon. They all looked around, prepared for whatever challenger might come.
"Just because Dodrio saw something doesn't mean that it's going to attack us." Jake said back, although he didn't sound as confident as before. "Let's keep moving." Jake said as he continued marching Ash back towards Fuschia. As they walked, Dodrio's middle head continued scanning the area as the other two stayed locked onto whatever they had seen before.
They went a couple hundred feet before Dodrio squawked again as the middle head pointed directly in front of them. They all stopped as the humans strained to try to see whatever it was the Pokemon's keener eyes had spotted.
"Take it out with Swift." Jake said as he saw something coming towards them from the distance. Dodrio opened its middle mouth and shot out a number of stars that went soaring towards the target. The small Pokemon dodged a few of the stars as it got closer before being hit and vanishing into thin air. Dodrio's middle head cocked sideways in confusion.
"What happened to it?" Sean asked as he looked around hurriedly. Ash kept silent as he thought he recognized what the Pokemon might have been.
"It was an illusion!" Jake yelled as he yanked Ash's arm further up before shoving him to the ground. "What are you trying to do?" He asked Ash as he jumped on the boy's chest. Ash smiled through the pain and replied, "You said you wanted a good workout."
Suddenly the trees came alive with the sound of buzzing as Dodrio released more stars from all three heads. No sooner had it done this than a number of Beedrill came crashing down on their position, launching volleys of Poison Stings and Twineedles.
"Attack!" Sean yelled to his Pokemon as he ran to find cover. Jake cursed as he punched Ash in the face and released his two other Pokemon. He quickly got off of Ash and ran to get out of the fight also, but not before kicking the smaller boy a few times.
Ash groaned as he rolled over on his side to get a better view of the battle. He looked at the two new Pokemon that Jake had released. They both were both covered in blue fur, with one standing on all fours and the other having a red gem in the middle of its head. Ash recognized the newcomers as a Vaporeon and a Golduck.
All six of the grounded Pokemon were firing shots at the swarm of Beedrill, with the two water types using Water Gun, the Dodrio using Swift, and Rhyhorn and Marowak trying to shoot mud on them using Mud-slap. The Arbok was using Poison Sting, which was a very ineffective approach against the poison bugs.
Ash watched as a number of the bugs were hit by the attacks and taken down, but their assault was relentless. Whenever one fell, another was there to take its place. They weren't afraid to get close either, and would continually dive in to jab the opposing Pokemon before trying to escape. Ash saw 4 Beedrill swarming around the Marowak as it rose its bone club in preparation. It threw the club towards one of the bugs as it charged another. The first one easily dodged the club as it shot needles out of it's abdomen towards the Marowak, but was knocked out as the club came back to the Marowak and slammed into the back of the Beedrill's head. The second bug easily dodged the Skull Bash and gave the Marowak a few jabs with its lance before being hit by a blast of mud from the Rhyhorn. Marowak quickly grabbed it's club and finished the bug off with a hit straight to the center of its chest. Marowak turned to face the other two Beedrill as they rained poison stings at it.
The Rhyhorn turned to face the three Beedrill that were swarming it after having helped the Marowak out. It let loose a battle cry as it charged towards one of the bugs with its horn lowered. The Beedrill easily dodged it as the other two jabbed it in it's back with their lances. It roared as it turned around and tried to spit mud at the bugs. They dodged the attack easily as they fired more needles out of their abdomen. Suddenly they were knocked to the ground as Arbok slammed into them. It lashed its tail out at one as it bit into the other bugs carapace with darkness imbued into it's jaws. Ash looked to where it had just come from and saw almost half a dozen Beedrill laying on the ground, unconscious. The Arbok was wreaking havoc as the bugs had no moves that could really effect the snake.
The other three Pokemon were standing back to back, effectively protection each other from any sneak attacks as they fired the ranged attacks that they had. Ash could see a few stingers poking out from the water types, and he hoped that poison would soon overtake them. Each Water Gun or burst of Swift took down another Beedrill, and it looked like the battlefield was littered with a couple dozen of the poor bugs now. Ash's memory flashed back to when he found the Queen and the destruction of the original hive back in Vermillion.
He groaned as he tried to get to his feet. I have to release my team to help out! Ash thought to himself as he pulled himself up and tried to locate the other two trainers. His eyes scanned the area before he found them, on the totally opposite side of the battle than he was. He either had to run straight through all of the commotion or try to go around. After taking one look at all of the needles and attacks being thrown, he tossed the idea of going through and began shuffling around the edge of the battle towards the other boys.
Jake seemed pretty composed as he was shouting orders to his Pokemon. "Battle Formation 4!" He yelled as his team was surrounded once again by Beedrill. Sean, on the other hand, was not handling himself very well at all and just kept yelling "Get it! Get that one!" At his Pokemon as they tried to fight. Both the Rhyhorn and the Marowak looked like the poison was wearing them down, but the Arbok was looking as lively as ever.
Suddenly a giant web came shooting towards the three Pokemon that were firing shots out. The Vaporeon tried to blast it out of the sky but with no success as it landed on the Dodrio's middle head as that was the tallest thing in their circle. The bird shook as the electric energy coursed through it's veins. The other two heads tried to find the aggressor but were twitching and unable to locate it. They didn't have to wait long, however as another few Electrowebs came shooting towards the group of Pokemon. The Golduck and Vaporeon both scattered, leaving the stunned Dodrio stuck to absorb all of the super effective attacks.
It seized and jolted as the webs landed on it's body. A giant Beedrill made itself known as it slammed into the bird and nailed it with a couple of Poison Jabs. Buzz spat a copious amount of nasty looking sludge into one of it's faces for good measures before turning towards the water types.
"Yes!" Ash cried out as he watched Buzz dodge a couple of Water Guns. Buzz flew towards the Vaporeon as he released another Electroweb. The water type quickly dodged the incoming attack, but was surprised as Buzz used a very powerful Pin Missile to hit it with 5 stingers. Buzz charged forward and stabbed it with Poison Jab before it could throw him off of it with an Aqua Tail.
Buzz was about ready to charge the Vaporeon again before he was hit with a burst of water from the Golduck. The Vaporeon quickly hobbles over to the Golduck as Buzz tumbled back a small amount. He quickly split into a couple copies as he circled the two Pokemon.
Ash looked around and realized that there were no other members of the hive still conscious. They had either left or were lying on the battlefield. He also saw that the Dodrio had been recalled, as had the Rhyhorn and Marowak. All that was left now was the two water types and Sean's Arbok. Ash looked at the other two boys and realized that they were both looking at him with smiles on their faces.
"Nice try runt, but you're outgunned now! Surrender before we squish all of these bugs just for the fun of it!" Jake yelled across the battlefield. Ash hardly noticed as he began formulating a plan for Buzz.
"Focus on the Vaporeon, it's taken the most damage! Get in close and use Electroweb on the Golduck, we can worry about the Arbok later!" Ash called out to Buzz.
"Battle Formation 2!" Was the response from Jake as Vaporeon moved behind the Golduck and they both fired out Water Guns.
"Silver Wind!" Ash called out as he saw an opportunity. Buzz quickly changed plans as the apparitions still charged forward but the real Buzz hung back and began beatings his wings hard. Luckily the two Pokemon on the ground were focused on the copies of Buzz and took out all of the copies of Buzz before realizing where the real Beedrill was. By the point they found him Buzz had got the Silver Wind going, and just like Ash had hoped the force from the attack knocked the other Pokemon backwards.
Vaporeon was right at Golduck's knee height, and as the Silver Wind hit the two Pokemon Golduck was knocked backwards and toppled over the top of it's ally as the two were left in a heap on the ground, struggling to get up.
"Electroweb, Now!" Ash yelled as Buzz raced forward and fired the web into the Golduck that was sprawled on the ground. It tried unsuccessfully to crawl out of the way but was unable to as it was struck by the web. Buzz jabbed the Vaporeon with it's lance before biting into the Pokemon and throwing it to the side. Buzz turned to shoot another Electroweb at the Golduck before he was struck by the Arbok that charged into him.
Arbok bit into Buzz as Ash called out, "Iron Defense!"
Buzz's carapace shone silver as he channeled the necessary energy to protect himself. Arbok wrapped itself around Buzz as it tried constricting the life out of him. Both of his lances were trapped against the side of his body, but since the Arbok had bit into his midsection his head was still free to move.
"Electroweb!" Ash yelled out as he saw no other option. Buzz would probably shock himself, but there was no other choice as time was running out for how long Buzz could hold Iron Defense. Ash feared that the constriction of the Arbok would be enough to take Buzz out of commission.
Buzz shot the web directly down as it hit Arbok and himself. They both shook from the electric attack as the Arbok involuntarily released from the spasms. Buzz pushed himself free from the coils and began stabbing the Arbok with Rock Smash.
After a few blows Buzz was struck with a Psybeam from the Golduck that had finally recovered from the electric attack. The Psychic attack hit Buzz straight on as he shot another Electroweb at the downed Arbok before turning to face his opponent.
He was blasted again by a Psybeam as he faced the Golduck. It hit buzz square in the chest as the blast forced him to take a step back before shooting a Sludge Bomb out of his mouth. The Golduck rolled to the side as Buzz got airborne on shaky wings and began firing needles at the Golduck.
Golduck countered with a Water Gun that knocked the needles off course and caused Buzz to dodge out of the way or be hit by the forceful water. Both of the Pokemon faced each other as Ash tried to figure out the best way to win this battle. Buzz was injured and couldn't take many more hits, if any. Ash knew the Golduck was in a similar boat, but he also wasn't sure how well Buzz would be able to dodge the quick psychic attacks.
As Ash was trying to figure out the next move Golduck stumbled and fell to one knee. Ash watched as it looked at Buzz with determination and fired out a haphazard Psybeam. Buzz dodged it easily as the Golduck succumbed to the poison coursing through its veins and fell unconscious.
Ash turned towards Sean and Jake as they recalled their unconscious Pokemon and tried to run.
"Poison Sting on them both." Ash said as he walked towards the boys. Buzz cockd his head sideways at Ash before flying in front of the Team Rocket members and softly firing a poison sting into both of their chests.
They stood there, stunned from the gravity of their situation. "Silver Wind, knock them down." Ash said as he continued his approach. He looked at all of the innocent Beedrill that were laying unconscious on the ground. Some of them were never going to get back up. These Officers had done this to the Beedrill, they had tried to separate Ash from his team, and they were going to pay.
Buzz released a weak Silver Wind that pushed the two humans to the ground. He released it as Ash reached them. Ash knelt down and grabbed his backpack away from the older boys. "Was that a good enough workout for you?" Ash asked rhetorically.
"Pl.. please don't kill us. We were ju.. just following orders." Jake stammered out as the poison took its affect.
"You didn't care at all if I died! You didn't give a crap about me or my Pokemon or anything 20 minutes ago! Why in the world should I show you any mercy?" Ash screamed back.
"Please," Sean started. "I have a.. I have a family. Please I want to see my mom again." He begged.
Buzz placed a lance on Ash's shoulder. Ash looked at his first Pokemon before breaking the gaze and reaching into his bag for an antidote. As he was shuffling through his bag he noticed a piece of paper that was folded in half.
"First you're going to tell me who your informant is," Ash said as he remembered their conversation from earlier. "You better hurry too, you probably only have a few minutes before you pass out from the poison."
"We don.. we don't know his name." Jake stammered out. "all I know.. all I know is that his Pokemon just evolved." He finished. Ash's mind immediately went to Hitoshi. He remembered Leaf's warning about who to trust and who not to.
"Thank you." He said as he tossed two antidotes to the boys. He released Clefairy and said, "Watch these two. If they try to go anywhere take them down." She grunted an affirmative. Ash turned and started headed back to the clearing where all of the Beedrill were. He opened up the piece of paper that he found in his bag. It was a simple handwritten note.
Not Safe Pokecenter. Head East to water, bike near edge of woods. Will ferry you to Oak
-A
Ash read the note again trying to figure out who A was. He had no idea how the note had gotten into his backpack, but whoever had sent it tried to warn him about the Pokemon Center. He had hoped it was Leaf, but he knew that wasn't the case as Nurse Joy had seen her taken out in custody. Ash shook his head and shoved the note in his pocket as he arrived at the battlefield.
Ash opened his backpack and pulled out all the potions that he had. It wasn't a lot, as he had left most of his potions with the Pokemon the day before and had only restocked a little from the Pokemon Center, but he hoped it would help at least a little. He started with the one super potion he turned his attention to Buzz first. After covering all of his friend's wounds he turned and began helping the rest of the hive. They went through the camp, examining all of the unconscious Pokemon and trying to help out as best as they could. By the time they had used up all of the medicine, a few of the bugs were starting to stir.
"Thank you so much for all that you did. I would have been lost without you guys," Ash said to one of the Beedrill that began to fly. It looked back to him and chittered before flying through the woods. Ash guessed it was going back to the hive to get some rest.
Ash sighed as he made his way back to Clefairy. When he got there, he noticed that Jake was shaking in place as Clefairy eyed Sean. She looked up when she saw Ash and Buzz arrive. Ash let out a laugh as he looked at Jake spasming on the ground.
"It looks like somebody tried to escape!" Ash said as he knelt down next to Jake. The other boy looked him in the eyes but was unable to say anything due to the Thunder Wave coursing through his body.
"Don't worry. It will wear off in a few hours. That'll give me enough time to get out of here though," Ash said as he directed Clefairy to shoot the other boy with a burst of paralysis.
"No Please Dooooooooooooo-" Sean started as he was hit with electricity. Ash turned to leave the forest.
"Come on guys, we've got to go rescue Leaf." He said as Buzz and Clefairy followed him.
X
A/N: Why is it so much easier to start something than to finish? I have this story complete in my head and yet getting it down and out is so hard. It's been 7 months since the last update, and I apologize. Although I know your world isn't revolving around my story, I feel like I've let everyone (myself included) down. Here's to finishing strong!