Chapter 49
It wasn't a surprise any longer that Mimey had woken up Ash that morning. In fact, it always seemed like Mimey's morning chores had to happen when Ash was asleep. This time, however, it wasn't the vacuum that woke him up, but rather the broom. The hard bristles scratching his face across his eyes instantly woke him up from a deep sleep, and he shot up and cried out in pain whilst holding his face. It stung where the needle-like straw had swept them, but Mr. Mime wasn't thrown off by the sudden movement at all, and simply continued its task without any hint that it had hurt the boy.
Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Ash headed down the steps after throwing on his every day clothes to find Brock at the stove. The smell of cooked eggs filled the kitchen, and Ash greeted the Pokémon Breeder with a loud and long yawn as he sat down at the table. It wasn't long before Brock turned around with a plate of food in his hands, and placed the hot food in front of the young Pokémon Trainer. "Two eggs sunny-side down for Ash," he said. Ash smiled but his thanks was drawn out by another yawn, and he began to dig into his food.
A few bites in, Mrs. Ketchum came in through the front door. She had been outside tending her garden, as they could tell from the dirt on the knees of her long apron. Hanging the sunhat she had been wearing on the coat rack, she gathered some of the fresh daises she had picked and filled a small vase with water. "Ash, since you're taking a break from training, why don't you help me in the garden? When you finish breakfast."
Horrible flashbacks of his days before he started his Pokémon journey filled his head, and his lips peeled away from his teeth as his eyes widened, and he sputtered out a response. "I-I am training! I got a lot of training to do today!"
"Oh, is that so?" Delia Ketchum asked nonchalantly, and put the flowers in the vase. "Where're you training today?"
Ash was taken aback by the question, and hummed loudly as he struggled for an answer. "Uhhh, well, I..." Finally, a lie formed in his head and he pointed a finger in the air matter-of-factually. "Well, today we're all going to climb up into the mountains for some really tough training!"
"Ash, you never mentioned anything about going into the mount-" Brock started to speak up, but was cut off when Ash pulled him down and faced him and his friend away from his mother.
"Just play along, okay? And I'll explain when we get outside..." he whispered, and then gave his mother a guilty laugh before standing up and waving. "Well, bye, Mom! See 'ya!"
"Hey, wait for me!" Brock called after his traveling companion, and only had time to throw his vest on because Ash had to quickly grab his hat before both of them were heading out the front door with haste.
"Hurry up, let's go!" Ash urged, doing everything but pulling Brock's arm along. When they made it to the front gate, the Pokémon Trainer let out a sigh of relief and waved his arms frantically. "You don't know my mom! I'd rather climb mountains than do chores for her! She'd have me working so hard in her garden that I'd be too wiped out to battle in the Pokémon League!"
"I bet your mom would make a great Pokémon Trainer..." Brock commented quietly.
To prove Ash's point, the eldest Ketchum came out from the backyard struggling to carry a huge wheelbarrow behind her. "Oh kiiiids! On your way back from the mountains, could you stop by the Xanadu Nursery for me and pick up three or four hundred pounds of fertilizer for me?" The pair of boys both flinched back and cried out in horror.
"Told 'ya!" Ash exclaimed, and twisted his heel with Brock in tow. "Run for it!" As he and Brock abandoned the Ketchum residence and ran down the dirt road, Mrs. Ketchum was still struggling to pull the huge wheelbarrow out from the yard.
"Waaaaiiiiittt!"
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They didn't stop running until they were deep in the woods at the foot of the mountains they were supposed to train in. Taking a minute to stop and catch their breath, Ash's palms rested on his knees. "That was close!" he managed to sputter out between breaths. Pulling himself back up, he looked at the sky to see where the sun was, but among the trees, a foreign structure was built in the distance. Since nothing was on the agenda for that day, the pair decided to approach it to see what it was.
When they eventually found the structure, they saw it was a huge building that was dome-shaped. The exterior was made completely out of glass, and had ivy plants crawling alongside it at various places. Not only that, it was huge, and towered high over the forest so it matched heights with even the tallest oak trees. "Looks like a greenhouse!" Brock observed as they approached.
"It's the Xanadu Nursery – the place my mom was talking about," Ash told him as his dark eyes traced the many plants that could be seen inside the glass. "We used to come here all the time. I'm surprised it's still in business; the man who owned it moved away a long time ago. I wonder who runs the place now."
"It's sure filled with a lot of beautiful things," the former Gym Leader commented. "Trees, and vines, and flowers, and plants, and..." He suddenly trailed off as he focused on something past the glass that Ash couldn't see, but before the boy could get a good look, Brock quickly closed the distance between himself and the glass and slammed into it. "That... girl's more beautiful than any flower I've ever seen!" he droned with his face and hands pressed against the window.
"What are you talking about, Brock? I don't see any beautiful girl," Ash asked, looking at his friend in exasperation.
"I saw her right there... Right there in that clearing!" Brock was barely audible with his mouth against the glass like a suction cup, but his fingertip tapped against the glass, so Ash peered in and looked among the greenery for any sign of movement. He found some, in the form of a small blue Pokémon with a strange flower on its head. He recognized the Pokémon, and gave a look of confusion.
"Huh? You're getting misty over a Gloom?"
"What are you doing here?" The new voice came from behind them, and the pair turned around to see a young man taller than both of them, and he wore an apron over his clothes, but their eyes were immediately drawn to the backpack he wore that connected to a nozzle that he pointed at them.
"Ahh! Watch out!" Brock yelled, and immediately, both of them raised their hands high above their heads so he wouldn't shoot them with the flamethrower.
"Don't shoot! We weren't doing anything! Honest we weren't!" Ash protested loudly. The young man with the long hair tied up in a ponytail blinked and looked down at the tool in his hand.
"This... isn't a flamethrower...?" he told them, and as if to show them, twisted the nozzle. Instead of shooting fire, a small mist of water came out and sprinkled over the grass before he turned it off again. Feeling absolutely silly, both of them lowered their hands slowly and chuckled with embarrassment.
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"So, you're training for the Pokémon League?" the young man asked, his back to them as he continued his rounds of watering the plants. He had led them inside after telling them he was only watering the plants outside as part of his duties when he heard the commotion going on. "I always wanted to be a Pokémon Trainer. My name is Potter and I work here in the nursery. A lot of Trainers visit cause their Grass-type Pokémon love it."
"Good idea!" Ash spoke up, and instantly plucked a Poké Ball from his belt. "Bulbasaur! I choose you!" The bottom of the red and white ball tapped on the dirt pathway and the top opened up. The light that poured out in front of it before soaring back to Ash's hand formed into the blue and green Pokémon.
"Bulba-saur!" it uttered as it appeared, and with no opponent in front of it, glanced its ruby eyes up at its Trainer.
"C'mon, Bulbasaur, want to look at all the flowers and stuff?" he asked it.
"Bulba!" it replied energetically, and hurried off down the path and letting its nose lead the way.
"Hey! Wait for me!" Ash giggled and ran after his Pokémon, but Brock stayed behind to talk to Potter.
With Bulbasaur's nose leading the way, they left the main path and wandered into the trees and bushes. Never had they been in such a green area with such a fragrant aroma – this place even had the Celadon Gym beat when it came to flowers. As such, excitement overcame Bulbasaur, and the Seed Pokémon quickly disappeared into the brush. Its bulb blended in with the foliage around it, and even its blue body was lost to the many colors of the flowers all around.
"Where's Bulbasaur?" Ash asked himself, looking around and past a field of long white flowers that resembled daisies like from his mother's garden. He pushed past a perfectly-trimmed branch where he found his Pokémon on the other side of the area. His Bulbasaur was walking around and sniffing the various flowers. When it reached the white flowers that was the main attraction in the center of the garden, its eyes opened wide as if it were surprised for a split second, and then suddenly, a red blush settled on its face as its eyelids lowered lazily.
"Saur..." Ash noticed this and furrowed his eyebrows together when his Pokémon slowly swayed as it walked up to him, and, purring like a cat, rubbed its head and neck against his leg. He had never seen Bulbasaur act this way before. Then, as if it didn't have the energy to stand up on its own feet, collapsed onto its stomach. But it wasn't hurt – it still had a strange smile on its face while doing so.
"Bulbasaur! What's the matter?" the Pallet Town native asked, kneeling down and helping his Pokémon up. That was when he noticed the information sign beside the flower patch. The plant was known as Pokénip. He didn't have time to read it before Bulbasaur summoned the energy to stand and almost pushed Ash over trying to lick his face. He chuckled nervously, and Bulbasaur sauntered away from Ash to go sniff another plant. "Hey, take it easy, Bulbasaur."
But Bulbasaur ignored him and went over to another plant, this time smelling what looked like pointed, long leaves. In its inebriated state, Bulbasaur drew in a deep breath. "Be careful, will 'ya?" Once again, Bulbasaur flinched back as it absorbed the plant's aroma, but this time, drool dripped down the corner of its mouth and it fell onto its stomach limply. Ash's eyes widened and he hurried over to his Pokémon. "Bulbasaur!" He worriedly glanced as he kneeled down to help the Grass-type, and then his eyes locked onto the plant that Bulbasaur had smelled before collapsing. "Uh, what is this?" he asked, and leaned forward to smell it.
"Stop! Don't smell that plant!" a voice warned him, and Ash looked up at a metal walkway above them to see a young girl with long lilac-colored hair that went past her hips looking down at him. "That's Stun Stem; if anyone – Pokémon or human – smells that leaf, they become totally paralyzed!"
Ash let out a yell and looked at the plant in a new light, then quickly glanced down at his Pokémon. "What do we do?! Bulbasaur already smelled it!" The woman, however, nodded her head and then glanced down into the bushes on the other side of the railway.
"Gloom, quick; bring Bulbasaur into the house."
"Gloom-gloom, Gloom!" The same Gloom that Ash saw before they went into the greenhouse then stepped out from the bushes and walked up to Bulbasaur. The Weed Pokémon bent at the knees and attempted to lift Bulbasaur onto its back, but was struggling greatly from Bulbasaur's limp body. Gloom struggled to stay upright, and eventually began to shake, but then Ash saw how much it was struggling and helped by lifting Bulbasaur from behind. Together, the pair, plus the girl who stepped down from the elevated level, brought them to a mansion that was off to the side of the greenhouse.
Like the greenhouse, it too was covered in ivy, which was fitting for a house beside a flower shop, though it looked to be very old. Ash remembered it from his childhood, but he had never been inside before. He didn't have time to admire the interior, however, since all he was focused on was trying to save Bulbasaur.
When the pair exited the greenhouse, they were seen by Potter and Brock, and quickly followed after them. The young girl, who introduced herself as Florinda Showers, was the owner of the house and the daughter of the previous owner of the Xanadu Nursery. Since her parents moved away, she had been given the responsibility of the nursery. But after telling Ash this, she seemed to have a faraway look in her eyes.
Finally, they reached the top of the stairs and she brought him into a bedroom that overlooked the greenhouse. Florinda had Ash place Bulbasaur on its side on her bed while her Gloom jumped up with it. While everyone gathered around, Gloom inched as close as it could to Bulbasaur and squeezed its flower petals together. A sticky nectar was secreted out of the pistil in the center of its head and dripped into Bulbasaur's mouth. The Seed Pokémon licked its lips as the liquid fell onto its tongue, and the whole room was deadly silent. The seconds seemed to pass by like hours to Ash, but as Gloom stepped back, Bulbasaur slowly opened its eyes and blinked.
Smiles crossed everyone's faces as Bulbasaur managed to pull itself up, and Ash let out the largest sigh of relief of them all. "Bulbasaur, you're okay!" he breathed.
"Saur!" his Pokémon responded, and both of them wrapped their arms around each other.
"It's a good thing Gloom's been tending the Stun Stem in the nursery for so long," Florinda said, smiling down at her Pokémon. "It's built up a strong resistance to it, and developed that antidote. Your Bulbasaur should be fine now."
"Lucky for us. Thanks, Florinda," Ash thanked gratefully. Bulbasaur also showed its thanks by walking up to Gloom, though the way it looked at the other Grass Pokémon seemed to confuse Ash. "Bulbasaur?"
"Saur."
"Glooooooom! Gloom Gloom."
"Bul... ba..."
"Gloooom..." Both Pokémon had red hues coloring their faces, and like it had when it sniffed the Pokénip, Bulbasaur sauntered up beside Gloom and rubbed its face on it.
"Saur, saur, Bulba, bulbasaur bulba," it said.
"Gloom!" The two Pokémon leaned against each other, and Bulbasaur brought out its vines and tickled and teased Gloom slightly, though the Weed Pokémon didn't seem against it, and smiled and leaned into its touch.
Though Ash didn't completely understand what was going on, he still crossed his arms and smiled at the scene. "It's nice to see two Grass Pokémon with so much in common getting together." He looked to where he thought that Brock was, but the space was no longer occupied. Florinda was gone as well, and when he scanned the room, he saw that the pair had made their way out onto the terrace that faced directly into the towering greenhouse. The two were talking quietly among themselves.
"The Xanadu Nursery has been in my family for generations, and now they need me to run it. But I'm a big failure at raising Pokémon – I can't even help my Gloom evolve into a Vileplume! And if I can't do that, how will I ever be able to run a huge nursery?" The heavy conversation made Ash stop in his tracks, and he lingered in the doorway somewhat hidden, not wanting to interrupt.
"But I'm sure you've taught Gloom some attacks," Brock tried to reason with her.
"A few," she replied, but lowered her head. "But my Gloom deserves a better Trainer. And my family deserves a better daughter." The statement made Ash's jaw drop slightly, and he looked over at Potter, who was looking sadly at the scene as well. He looked as though he had heard this before and was powerless to stop it.
"She's tried..." he murmured quietly to Ash when he saw the dark-haired Trainer staring, and glanced at the fireplace in the back of the large room. Ash followed his eyes to see a stone with a leaf on the face of it. It was displayed in a fancy case with a pillow-like interior for the precious stone to rest in. "Florinda even got a Leaf Stone and used it on her Gloom so it would evolve into a Vileplume, but it just didn't work."
"It's all my fault," Florinda continued on the balcony. "I guess the reason Gloom won't evolve is because I haven't given it enough love."
"No!" Brock declared, and stepped closer to the girl. "Florinda, don't you see? You love Gloom so much that it doesn't get gloomy, and that's the reason that it doesn't evolve!"
Florinda glanced back at Brock and blinked a few times at his words, and a small smile appeared on her lips. "Maybe..." But as quickly as it appeared, it faded, and her eyes fell to the ground. "Still..."
"This problem has nothing to do with loving a Pokémon too much or too little!" This voice grabbed everyone's attention, as it didn't belong to anyone from the group that was part of them now, and everyone all turned at the fireplace where the voice came from.
"Professor Oak?!" Ash and Brock exclaimed upon seeing the Pokémon professor. He was pulling the Leaf Stone from its display case and looking at it closely. After confirming something, he turned around and held it up with a frown prominent on his face.
"This Leaf Stone is a fake!"
"A fake?!" Ash wasn't sure if he was in shock from the declaration, or from Professor Oak's sudden appearance. "Professor, what are you doing here?"
"I've been getting reports of some con-artists who've been peddling phony Evolution stones, so I decided to do a little investigating on my own," he answered.
"Florinda, what did the people who sold you the Leaf Stone look like?" Brock asked the young woman.
"Well, there was... a guy who had short hair but it was longer in the front, like this," she answered, and held her pointer fingers and thumbs at a right angle up at the top of her head, mimicking bangs. "And a girl with long hair like this." She held her arms out behind her and down her back but jutting out at two different angles like pigtails.
"Hmm, doesn't really sound like anyone we've seen recently..." Brock murmured. The revelation of her stone being fake seemed to sap the life out of Florinda, and she drew herself into a more saddened state than she had already been in. Potter could see this, and said he would go make a pot of tea, and disappeared down the stairs while everyone gathered around the table that was out on the terrace. Other than the humans, Bulbasaur and Gloom sat off to the side coddling each other, ignorant to the world around them.
When Potter returned and poured them each a tea cup, Florinda was on the verge of tears. "I can't believe I let con-artists trick me into buying a fake Leaf Stone! But maybe it's just as well as they did," she began with her voice and body quivering. "It proves that I'm not smart enough to run this nursery by myself. I'm just so useless!" At the last statement, she covered her face in her hands and began to cry. Instantly, Brock was on his feet and placing his hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry! I'll get you a real Leaf Stone!" he assured her, which prompted Ash to clear his throat and tap his traveling companion on his shoulder to knock some sense into him.
"I wouldn't promise that if I were you. You don't have any idea where to find a Leaf Stone, do you, Brock?" Realization settled in and Brock stammered before turning back to the courted girl.
"A-ah, but first I'll track down those con-artists and get all your money back!"
"I don't think you have any idea how to find those two either," Ash reminded quietly with a playful smile on his face.
Florinda didn't even lift her head from her hands before suddenly, an alarm on the computer in Florinda's bedroom began to beep rapidly. The noise grabbed everyone's attention, but realization colored both Florinda's and Potter's faces. "Oh no! Someone's in the greenhouse stealing plants!" the chestnut-haired young man exclaimed. He rushed over to the computer and pressed a few buttons on the keyboard, and the live camera footage popped up on the monitor.
The culprits were wearing masks over their mouths and nose, and baskets on their backs that were about halfway full of the plants they were collecting. They were a male and female duo, with the male having short green hair aside from bangs that brushed against his eyebrows, and a female with long bright orange hair that fell in pigtails behind her back. As they looked upon the pair hard at work, unknown that they were being watched, Florinda gasped loudly in recognition. "The guy with the short hair but was longer like this, and the girl with the hair like this!" As she spoke, she mimicked the arm movements she had done previously to describe the ones who sold her the phony Leaf Stone, and finally pointed forward. "They sold me that Leaf Stone!"
Immediately, Ash and Brock jumped into action, with Bulbasaur close behind. "C'mon!"
"Let's get 'em!" Brock agreed. Running ahead of everyone and into the greenhouse, they made their way around the maze-like greenhouse, and up on a metal walkway, they found the thieves still digging at the plants, still ignorant to the fact that they had been discovered. "Okay, freeze!" The pair looked up as Brock yelled to them, and quickly stood and took off their facial masks now that they were a safe distance away from the plant.
"Looks like we've got company," the female of the group stated. Now that they were closer, the two Pokémon Trainers could see that the pair were wearing black uniforms that had a familiar red 'R' on the front of them.
"I recognize those outfits! It's Team Rocket!" Ash exclaimed.
"C'mon, let's throw 'em out of here!" Brock declared. At that time, everyone else had caught up to them, and while Professor Oak and Potter ran after the other two to confront the thieves, Florinda and her Gloom stayed behind up on the walkway and gasped.
"Stop that! Those plants are like children to me!" The pair of thieves smirked evilly at her statement.
"Well, well, fancy runnin' into you here," the guy said in a raspy voice.
"I see your Gloom didn't evolve? Such a shame," his partner teased.
"How low can you two go? You were the ones who sold her that phony Leaf Stone!" Brock shouted once they were on the ground level with the Team Rocket grunts.
"It was such a brilliant scheme – we made a killing," the orange-haired girl said with a lipstick-covered smile.
"Would you believe the scheme was stolen as well?" her partner added, and both of them threw their heads back and cackled.
"That's not funny!" Brock grumbled, and closed his hand into a fist of anger. Then, he looked at the orange-haired woman and gasped. "Wait, I recognize you! You were the one that ran that Pokémon Breeding Center in Hinshu City!"
"Brock, how can you tell?" Ash asked, turning back to his traveling companion.
"I never forget the face of a pretty girl, Ash..." Brock murmured quietly, as if not wanting to admit too loud that the Team Rocket grunt was attractive.
"I'm not gonna deny an involvement with a plan, especially one that went so successfully as that," the woman stated.
"Since they recognize us, we should at least give them a name to our face so they know the honor of who stole their Pokémon!" her partner suggested.
"Prepare for trouble and make it double!" they both said at the same time, and the orange-haired Rocket stepped forward.
"To infect the world with devastation!"
"To blight all peoples in every nation!" her partner stated.
"To denounce the goodness of truth and love."
"To extend our wrath to the stars above."
"Cassidy."
"Butch."
"We're Team Rocket, circling earth all day and night!"
"Surrender to us now or you will surely lose the fight!"
"That's right!"
"If you think we're impressed, we're not! We've heard that garbage before!" Ash yelled.
"Bulba!" Ash's Bulbasaur added.
"Gloom, gloom!" Florinda's Gloom cheered from above.
"We're in a greenhouse, right? So we need a Grass Pokémon like Bulbasaur!" Brock stated.
"Bulbasaur's the number one seed!" Ash said with a smirk, and pointed forward. "Bulbasaur, go to it!"
"Bulba-zaur!" his Pokémon cried, jumping forward.
"Tie 'em up with your Vine Whip, Bulbasaur!" Ash commanded. Bulbasaur let out another cry and released its vines from underneath its bulb. The vines quickly wrapped around the pair's torsos, pinning their arms to their bodies. With a quick tug from Bulbasaur, the pair were forced to the ground.
"Oh, Bulbasaur! That was wonderful!" Florinda clapped from above. Her Gloom mimicked her movements as well.
"Nice work!" Ash praised, but his smile quickly faded when he saw Cassidy and Butch chuckling to themselves.
"You think just because we're tied with these vines means we're whipped?" Cassidy questioned rhetorically.
"We came prepared if we ever did get caught," Butch continued.
"And what's that?" Brock asked.
"This!" Cassidy and Butch yelled at the same time, and a ball was kicked out by them both. The ball soared through the air and hit the ground right in the middle of everyone, where it exploded into an orange powder. Everyone began to cough as the powder filled their lungs, and instantly, Ash's whole body seemed to seize up. At the same time, it felt as though all the energy was draining from his body, and his arms and legs began to feel numb, as though he had been sitting on them for too long.
"Oh! Watch out! Don't breathe in any of that powder! It's very powerful Stun Spore!" Florinda warned them, but the damage had already been done. Ash collapsed to the ground, and as did everyone else around him.
"I breathed in..." he admitted.
"I... I can't..." Brock muttered painfully, struggling to stay on his feet but unable to, and he fell backward.
Professor Oak did the same, and it seemed to take all his energy just to hold himself up on his palms. "All the strength has been drained out of me..."
Bulbasaur was also affected by the concentrated dose of Stun Spore, and as it collapsed onto its stomach, the vines that were wrapped around Team Rocket fell loosely around them. With matching smirks, they easily stepped out of the vines and chuckled evilly once again. To rub salt in the wound, Cassidy walked forward and picked up the helpless Bulbasaur. "N-no, Bulbasaur!" Ash cried helplessly.
"You only have yourself to blame for being a weak Pokémon Trainer," Cassidy told him as she tucked the Seed Pokémon under her arm and went to go join her companion once again.
"Bulbasaur...!"
"Florinda, hurry!" Brock cried out weakly. Since she was on the elevated walkway, she and Gloom were the only ones who hadn't been affected by Team Rocket's trap. "Use your Gloom to battle Team Rocket!"
"Oh, I couldn't!" she protested nervously. "I haven't trained my Gloom well enough for it to be in battle! I just know my Gloom wouldn't stand a chance of winning a battle against their Pokémon!" She then stepped to go run off. "I'll just go run and get some of my healing herbs!"
"Florinda, you have to! They'll run off with Bulbasaur if you don't!" Ash yelled, his whole face seizing to the point that he couldn't even open his eyes.
"Florinda, don't run away..." Brock managed to gasp out. "Your Gloom is our only hope! You can do it!"
"I... can't..."
"Please, Florinda!" he begged. The two locked eyes, and she read his face thoroughly, and didn't see an ounce of disbelief on it. "I know you can do it..." This seemed to instill some confidence in her, and the some of the fear slowly melted from her face with a nod.
"I'll do my best," she assured him, and then looked down at the blue Pokémon beside her. "Gloom, go!"
"Gloooom!" Her Pokémon nodded and smiled, and jumped from the balcony and landed protectively in front of its fallen comrades. Facing Team Rocket, it looked at them blankly. "Gloom gloom!"
"Ha! That wimpy weed is no match for Team Rocket!" Butch said with a hand on his hip.
"But we did come here for Grass Pokémon. Let's steal it, too!" Cassidy pointed out. Both of them produced Poké Balls and threw them forward. "Raticate, go!"
"Victreebel, go get 'em!" The balls burst open at the same time, and a pair of Pokémon formed in between their Trainers and Gloom. On Cassidy's side, a rat-like Pokémon covered in light brown and cream colored fur appeared, baring its powerful teeth. Beside it, a large flower Pokémon that resembled a flytrap and leaves sticking out of its sides let out a loud cry.
"Bel!" it grumbled.
"Rrrrrraticate!"
"Victreebel, Toxic attack!" Butch commanded of his Pokémon. Victreebel opened the leaf on the top of its mouth and it released a thick black smog from its body that enveloped Gloom and covered it from view.
"Gloom!" Florinda cried with horror as she stepped down the stairs and ran to join the others. Inside the smog, Gloom let out a scared cry. "See? Gloom can't battle and it's all my fault!"
"No, Florinda, you can't give up!" Brock encouraged. "Now think! You must have taught Gloom to be good at some kind of attack! Please, don't give up! Just try!" As Victreebel's Toxic attack faded, Gloom stumbled backwards, but its narrow eyes looked back at its Trainer. It was looking for a command of some kind, but then it sat straight up again, standing firmly and confidently despite its two intimidating opponents. This seemed to give Florinda some confidence as well, and her eyes widened in realization.
"Oh! Gloom, maybe you can give your... er... Double Team attack a try!" she suggested.
"Gloooooom!" it agreed, and a blue outline appeared around its body. Both Rocket members raised their eyebrows at the strange glow.
"What's that?" Cassidy asked. But her question was answered for her when Gloom's body glowed white, and two lines of Gloom doubles shot out from either side of Florinda's Gloom. Each one of them flickered with movement, and they didn't stop until they met on the other side of Team Rocket, successfully surrounding both Trainers and their Pokémon. All of their heads swiveled around, trying to figure out why there were so many Glooms around them. The Gloom spun around and rotated around Team Rocket, and even Raticate and Victreebel were panicking as they couldn't figure out which Pokémon was the right one. The two eventually came closer together and collided, and Victreebel let out another Toxic attack in confusion, this time managing to envelop their side instead.
As Cassidy and Butch coughed from the smog that covered them from view, Gloom's Double Team attack faded, and all eventually slipped back into the correct Gloom. "Ah! It's working!" Brock said with a smile. "Now's your chance to win the battle with a more powerful attack!"
"Oh!" Florinda perked up when an idea struck her. "Brock, do you think a SolarBeam attack would be good?" At that, Brock let out a cry.
"You taught Gloom the most powerful Grass Pokémon attack?!"
"Oh, do you think I shouldn't have? I saw it in a Pokémon magazine and I thought I'd give it a try..."
"N-no, I just hope it works!" Brock stated, pulling himself up onto his backside. "Give it your best shot, Florinda!" His words of encouragement brought a smile to her face, and she nodded at him.
"Right!" Pulling her eyebrows down into a look of determination, she faced forward. "All right Gloom, let's try your SolarBeam attack!"
"Glooom!" her Pokémon cried, and leaned its head forward. The pistil in the middle of its flower began to glow yellow, and yellow sparkles from the sky above drifted into it, looking like it was drawing in fireflies.
At that moment, the smoke from Victreebel's Toxic attack faded, and now that they could see, they looked forward to see Gloom storing up energy for its attack, and both let out a cry of horror. Bulbasaur could see this as well, and, using all of its strength, reached one of its vines up and slapped Cassidy with a Vine Whip attack. The attack caused her to cry out in pain, and she threw Bulbasaur completely out of reflex. It landed off to the side, and smiled that its plan had worked. Now it was out of blasting range.
Finally, Gloom's attack was finishing charging, and a ball of bright yellow energy formed in front of its flower, and fired forth as a beam of the same color with a powerful cry. The blast seemed to shake the greenhouse as it was let loose, and Cassidy and Butch's screams could only be heard as they were enveloped by the bright beam. The Grass-type attack shattered through the glass above it, and carried Team Rocket and their Pokémon out with it. "WE'RE BLASTING OFF AGAINNN!" they cried as they disappeared from view.
Once the falling glass finished raining down and settled, Florinda held a hand uncomfortably to her chest and frowned down at Brock. "Well Brock, was that okay?"
"That was okay, Florinda..." the Pokémon Breeder responded, and it brought a smile to her face.
"That was the most impressive SolarBeam I've ever seen," Professor Oak complimented, his eyes widened in awe as much as they could be despite being paralyzed.
"You were great," Potter agreed, smiling up at his co-worker. All eyes turned to Gloom, who was pulling Bulbasaur out from the bushes it had been thrown into. A blush crept onto Bulbasaur's face yet again, and it licked Gloom's face a couple times before smiling up at its savior.
"Bulba! Saur!" it said, and nuzzled against the Weed Pokémon.
"Gloooom!" Gloom replied bashfully, a blush appearing on its own face and rubbing where Bulbasaur had licked it.
o 0 o
One by one, Gloom's antidote was administered to them all, with Bulbasaur and Brock being the first to get it, of course. Without their help, they wouldn't have been saved. As the sun was setting, Gloom and Bulbasaur went out to enjoy the sunset and Florinda followed after them, a smile settling on her face from how happy her Gloom was. While Potter administered the rest in small vials, Brock hurried out after the lilac-haired girl.
The antidote worked miraculously. It tasted almost like a sweet honey, but with the bitterness of medicine, but no complaints rose from Ash, who was just happy his joints weren't throbbing and frozen.
When him, Professor Oak, and Potter left after Florinda and Brock, the pair looked to be having a talk of some kind, and as Brock turned around and looked away from the girl, she rushed up to Potter and looked deep into his eyes, and feeling uncomfortable listening in on it, Ash walked up to his friend, but he found him sitting there talking to himself. "I've always dreamed of having someone like you! Someone who's kind and talented and beautiful as you are! And now you've made all my dreams come true! Yes, Florinda darling! Yes! I'll share my life with you!" Brock whipped around and came inches away from Ash's face before stopping himself.
"Hey Brock, are you talking to somebody?" the black-haired boy asked him as Brock reeled back in confusion. He blinked and then turned his eyes behind Ash where Florinda and Potter stood. The owner of the nursery was holding her hands nervously in front of her, and dug the point of her shoe into the ground.
"I was wondering... well..." A blush that rivaled her Gloom's appeared on Florinda's face. "I'd like it very much if we could run my family's nursery... together!"
A red color danced across Potter's face as well. "Do... you mean..?"
"Yes! I mean I love you!" Potter blinked at the announcement, but then a smile curled his lips.
"Florinda, I love you, too!" he replied, taking her hands in his own. "I've loved you since the day I saw you but, I was too afraid to tell you!" Everyone seemed to be happy for them, all except for Brock, who fell to his knees as though he had been hit with a second dose of Stun Spore.
His head hung sadly to the ground. "Rejected by the one girl I loved... I'll never find another one like her again!"
"Eh, don't worry Brock!" Ash assured him, and patted his friend's back nervously. "You'll find plenty of other girls to reject you!" He looked down at his Bulbasaur and erased the nervous look. "C'mon, let's get some flowers for my mom and head home!"
"Saur!" Bulbasaur responded with a nod, and side-by-side as though they were connected at the hip, Bulbasaur and Gloom walked together toward the greenhouse.
-end-
Ash:
Party:
Blastoise (Poké Ball)
Moves: Skull Bash, Dig, Hydro Pump, BubbleBeam
Pidgeotto (Poké Ball)
Moves: Gust, Quick Attack, Whirlwind, Double-Edge
Bulbasaur (Poké Ball)
Moves: SolarBeam, Vine Whip, Razor Leaf, Leech Seed
Charmeleon (Poké Ball)
Moves: Flamethrower, Fire Spin, Skull Bash, Slash
Tauros (Safari Ball)
Moves: Fissure
Primeape (Poké Ball)
Moves: Thrash, Mega Kick, Scratch, Seismic Toss
At Professor Oak's Lab:
Muk (Poké Ball)
Moves:
Tauros (Safari Ball)
Moves:
Krabby (Poké Ball)
Moves: ViceGrip
Badges:
Boulder Badge
Cascade Badge
Thunder Badge
Marsh Badge
Rainbow Badge
Soul Badge
Volcano Badge
Earth Badge
Brock:
Party:
Onix (Poké Ball)
Moves: Tackle, Bind, Dig
Geodude (Poké Ball)
Moves: Seismic Toss, Tackle
Zubat (Poké Ball)
Moves: Whirlwind, Supersonic
Psyduck (Poké Ball)
Moves: Tail Whip, Water Gun, Disable, Confusion
Vulpix (Poké Ball)
Moves: Fire Spin, Flamethrower, Agility