AN: Apologies to everyone who read the last chapter before I could fix the formatting. FFN ate my line breaks. It's fixed if you want to give it another read. If not, here's the current chapter.:AN
Morning the next day found Ash rubbing sleep out of his eyes as the alarm on his pokédex's internal clock beeped. He groaned.
Last night Ash had stood second watch. He had never had to stand watch before and he certainly had never had to stand watch in the middle of the night, after having already gone to sleep. And then he had been expected to get back to sleep for the final part of the night!
How did everyone else do it? Ash pinched himself to wake up, glared at Pikachu who was gently snoring nearby and hadn't joined Ash in standing watch, and then got up to have some breakfast.
While he was munching on a non-perishable, nutrient rich, energy bar of some sort, a bar that tasted of chocolate and cardboard, Ash noticed a faint orange light coming from behind him.
Charmander, right? Ash asked as the fire-type joined him.
It's actually Little Guiding Light, not Lizard of Fire, Charmander corrected.
Sorry, Ash said, rubbing the back of his head. They stood around for a few seconds of silence before Charmander spoke again.
So, um, do you know, or, actually, I mean, er, Charmander rambled. I heard a little bit about your adventures and do you know how your pokémon got so strong? Did you do it or were they just strong?
They were all pretty strong when I got them, Ash replied. But I'd like to think I've helped them too.
Do you know how they got that way? Charmander asked eagerly.
Umm…. Ash thought back on what he had heard from his pokémon. I know Pikachu did a lot of practice… Pidgeotto I don't think did anything special… Butterfree….. hmm…. what did Butterfree do when he was Caterpie… he ate a lot of leaves I think…
Okay, Charmander nodded. So, I have to practice and eat a lot of leaves to get strong.
I'm not that'll work for you, Ash said. Can you even eat leaves?
I know my teeth are sharp, but I'm actually an omnivore, Charmander replied. But, uh, I usually eat fruit, not leaves….
Maybe you should just focus on the practice part, Ash told the fire type. What moves do you know?
I can scratch, I can do Ember, Charmander answered, and I can sort of do Flamethrower…..
Ash sighed as Charmander trailed off and fidgeted. He could guess the problem. Are you just doing an Ember attack that looks like Flamethrower?
I don't know, Charmander admitted, looking down at the ground and clasping his claws behind his back. I thought if it looks like Flamethrower then….
It's okay if you can't do Flamethrower, Ash replied. But unless it's a trick you shouldn't make Ember look like Flamethrower either. There's more to the move then just the shape.
Like what? Charmander asked.
Well, intensity of the flames, Ash answered, rubbing his chin. He didn't think it actually helped with thinking, but he thought that it might be worth a try. And then there's the amount of hot air you mix in after you've made the flame. And then there's the power, which is different than the intensity, but I'm not sure I really understood what Growlithe was saying there…..
Hot air? Charmander peeked up briefly and then looked back at his feet. Oh right, of course, I know what they mean by that-
I know I'm not the best at this sort of thing, Ash interrupted, but I'm pretty sure that you're lying right now.
Yea, Charmander scuffed at the ground with his foot, avoiding Ash's gaze.
If you want your fire attack to have concussive force, you need to mix in air, Ash explained. You need to use the attack to heat it so it expands and hits your target at the same time as the flames.
Do you know how to mix the air in? Charmander inquired, still not looking at Ash.
Sorry, Ash frowned. I mean I think I might, but I'm not sure if the basics are the same for every species, though they might be,…. Umm….. I'd help you practice but we can't really afford to have any fires to give away our position right now.
Okay, Charmander replied. Ash thought he saw something wet in the fire-type's eyes. You don't need to waste your time with me.
No, no, I'd like to help you figure this out, Ash said quickly. I just don't want Team Rocket to find us right now. I'll have to wait at the pokémon center a few days while Brock and Misty catch up with us, so I can help you practice then, okay?
It's fine, Charmander said, turning away and looking at the ground. You don't need to-
Yes, but I want to, Ash told the fire type. Let's turn that fake Flamethrower into a real Flamethrower!
Charmander fidgeted until Ash put a hand on his shoulder and knelt down to look the fire-type in the eye.
Okay? Ash asked again.
Charmander finally met Ash's eyes. The fire-type's eyes were wide and wet.
Okay, Charmander replied.
"Another day," Brock groaned and stretched. "And I'm not even getting paid for this anymore."
"You got paid for this?" Misty groaned as well, arching her back with a small crack.
"Perks of being a gym leader instead of a dependent of the gym leaders," Brock told her. "I got a salary. You got an allowance."
"Just my luck," Misty groaned again, stretching. "Same strategy today?"
"No," Brock shook his head. "They'll be ready for you being in the tunnels if we try that again. I think we'll harass them from range today."
"My pokémon aren't trained to be artillery," Misty pointed out. "What about yours?"
"Onix and Geodude both know Rock Throw," Brock answered. "You'll be covering me today."
"Fine, let's eat and go," Misty said, reaching into her backpack for a protein bar.
They ate their breakfast, consisting of cardboard tasting bars, in silence. Brock occasionally glanced over at Misty with a worried expression on his face.
"What?" Misty grunted the third time he did so.
"Are you okay," Brock asked.
"Yes," Misty growled. "Why wouldn't I be?"
Brock fidgeted a bit before speaking. "You were having, well, nightmares I guess, last night. I heard you tossing and crying when I was standing watch."
"So, I had a bad dream," Misty replied, scowling. "What about it?"
"I think you've been having nightmares for a while," Brock said carefully. "I'm not sure because we've never needed to stand watch before, but I think I remember hearing sounds from you at night."
"You haven't," Misty said flatly, before taking another bite from her breakfast. She looked away from Brock and chewed.
"Are you sure?" Brock asked. "If you need to talk-"
"Shove it," Misty growled. "I'm fine."
"If you say so," Brock sighed. They ate in silence for another minute.
Misty drew in a deep breath.
"Look, if you're worried that I'm- that I've got some trauma, you're… you're not being an ass," Misty said eventually, deliberately looking in Brock's direction but not at him. "I'm still dealing with some things from earlier. From Viridian. But I think I've got a handle on them."
"You're the one who would know," Brock said in a neutral tone, not trying to force eye contact.
"I admit that having to fight like this isn't helping me," Misty went on. "But I can handle it."
"There's no shame if you can't," Brock said gently.
"That's a bit condescending coming from the sixteen-year-old gym leader," Misty rolled her eyes.
"Former gym leader," Brock corrected.
"That's beside the point," Misty said. "You were a gym leader for, what, two years was it?"
"Yes."
"Two years. I'm sure you had to kill some people during that time." Misty went on. "If you can deal with it-"
"Misty, it took me a year to learn how to deal with it," Brock informed her. "I was a mess that first year. I had to balance the gym, my siblings, and dealing with the stress that came with both. Don't you remember all the letters I sent to everyone?"
"Yeah, I thought that was a little strange," Misty admitted. "I figured something was wrong, but…."
"I was trying to reach out to my fellow gym brats for help, but I couldn't figure out how to put it in words," Brock told her. "Funnily enough it wasn't a gym brat who figured out I needed help. It was Erika."
"How did she figure it out?" Misty asked, scowl no longer on her face.
"Mai left one of my letters out in the open," Brock said. "You know how she gets."
"Well, in her defense, Celadon Gym is very relaxing," Misty replied. "If you were going to develop a habit of napping everywhere, that would be the place to do it."
"I mean, whenever there was a gathering there everyone usually did end up falling asleep at some point…." Brock mused.
"My sisters still have pictures of that pile everyone was in," Misty huffed, crossing her arms. "Aya and Janine have tried to steal every copy, but my sisters keep making backups."
"I'll keep that in mind next time they want something from me," Brock said. "But, back to my point, Erika helped me learn to deal with the stress that comes from having those fights and from having to kill."
"Good for her," Misty muttered.
"And part of it was just talking about what happened," Brock continued. "I'm not a therapist, but I can help if you need it."
"Thanks," Misty muttered, crossing her arms, "but I'm doing fine. I'm dealing."
"Okay. I can listen whenever you need to talk." Brock said. "Slightly off topic, but do you think Aaron's been doing okay?"
"No," Misty replied. "Given how eager he was to get into this mess it's clear that someone surgically removed his sense of self-preservation."
"I meant; do you know if he's been having nightmares too?" Brock asked.
"I- I don't think so," Misty answered. "But I haven't been keeping watch either."
"I should have this talk with him too," Brock sighed.
"Have it with him instead of me you mean," Misty corrected, finishing off the last of her breakfast. "Now can we quit talking and go attack Team Rocket?"
It was early in the afternoon. Ash, Melanie, and the pokémon were heading down a gentle hill. The sun shone through the forest's autumn canopy and fallen leaves crunched beneath the feet of the travelers.
Melanie and Aoba were leading the way this time, along with a section of the Squirtle Squad, and Charmander who was sticking close to Melanie. Ash, Pikachu, and Bulbasaur brought up the rear. Ash kept looking up at the sky, keeping an eye out for Pidgetto who was off scouting.
So, uh, Ash began, trying to think of the correct way to phrase things. What's the story with Charmander?
I imagine that two pokémon felt close to each other and then they mated, Bulbasaur said dryly. There was an egg and then the egg hatched into Charmander.
Oh, ha ha ha, Ash replied.
That reminds me, Pikachu said. Did you ever get the mating talk or do I need to give it to you?
I know how mating works, Ash said, rolling his eyes. And I know how the human version works too. Between school, Poison Lance, Flygirl, and Pocket Watch I know more than enough.
Good, because soap operas might be big on everything surrounding human mating, but they never got into the process of how it actually works, Pikachu said.
Anyway, why's Charmander so….. Ash struggled to think of the right word and failed. Well, why is he the way he is.
His trainer was an asshole, Bulbasaur grunted. Damien, I think that was his name, well he kept getting mad at Charmander for being weak.
Huh? Ash asked. I mean yeah, he's clearly a young pokémon. As a trainer you're supposed to help pokémon like that get stronger.
That's what you're supposed to do, Bulbasaur agreed. But whatever Damien was trying to do wasn't working.
Well, then he needed to get help to train his pokémon, Ash said.
But that would mean admitting that the issue was on his end, Bulbasaur pointed out with a grin that didn't seem very happy. Which would mean that he would have to admit he'd have a problem. Which wouldn't be good for his ego. And if there's one thing humans ain't inclined to do its things that don't feel good for their egos.
Hey! Ash protested. There are plenty of pokémon with overinflated egos. Take a look at Pikachu!
Hey! Pikachu protested, giving Ash a mild shock on the hand.
Most pokémon with ego problems get eaten rather shortly, Bulbasaur said while Ash winced and shook out his hand. Your Pikachu is the exception. Humans with ego problems tend to live longer. Anyway, after a few months of Damien being an ass and Charmander suffering under his 'care', Damien abandoned Charmander. Left him on the side of the road and told him to wait until he got back. Bulbasaur was growling by the end of his statement.
That's- that's just evil, Ash said, feeling a bit sick.
Oh, it gets better. It started raining! Bulbasaur said gritted out, eyes drawn into a glare. Charmander nearly died 'cause his trainer was either too cowardly to tell him that he was being abandoned or 'cause he wanted to play some sort of sick game!
Errgh, Ash grimaced, hands flexing, stomach twisting. From what he had learned, in school, extra-curricular courses, and from his caretakers, releasing a pokémon into the wild was sometimes ethical an ethical thing to do, in fact it was sometimes the only ethical thing to do, but that was when the pokémon knew what was going on. And generally, the pokémon had agreed to being released or requested it.
Some pokémon-trainer matchups just didn't work out. That was when it was best to trade the pokémon away or release it, whatever the pokémon wanted.
But to abandon it, lie to it, and then leave the pokémon in danger…
Just how did someone…
How did he survive? Ash asked forcing himself to move on.
He found some shelter by the side of the road, Bulbasaur answered. But it was close. I found him the next day and his tail flame was nearly out. I had to carry him back to Melanie.
Oh, Ash said in a small voice.
It was a near thing, Bulbasaur went on. But she managed to get him healthy. In body at least. He still thinks it's his fault that Damien left him.
There's no way it is! Ash growled, clenching his fists.
I know, but try telling him that, Bulbasaur agreed.
There were several seconds of silence before Ash spoke again.
I want to help him, Ash told the grass type. But I don't think I can, can I? Because if I could do it in the time we'll have, then you could've done already, right?
I've been trying for months, Bulbasaur sighed. But you never know. You might get lucky. Just don't do anything too crazy.
Ash once tried to fight a tyranitar with nothing but his bare hands, Pikachu spoke up, grinning. You'll have to be more specific about what you consider too crazy.
I did not, Ash protested, while Bulbasaur gave him a sidelong glance. I tried to send my team away to get help because they were all tired and then I went to go see if I could help Misty, who was fighting the tyranitar.
With her bare hands? Bulbasaur asked.
No, with her pokémon, Ash answered.
But you tried to help her fight a tyranitar without your pokémon, Bulbasaur asked.
I found something I could do, Ash protested. She gave me a stun baton and sent me after the tyranitar's trainer.
Well that doesn't sound too bad-
And the trainer beat me up and threw me to the tyranitar to kill me, Ash continued. It really hurt.
-And it sounds bad again, Bulbasaur finished with a sigh. I ain't gonna regret asking how you managed to survive, am I?
We had to save him at the last minute, Pikachu exclaimed. Butterfree was Metapod then, so we just chucked him at the tyranitar. And then Pidgeotto distracted it and I killed it with lightning!
Lighting? Bulbasaur looked at Ash who nodded. Bulbasaur closed his eyes. I am going to regret asking you about that, ain't I?
There was a storm, and this idiot had been sharing facts about lighting, Pikachu explained. I was able to manipulate the electric charges to hit the tyranitar with a bolt of lightning.
You taught your pikachu how to summon lighting, Bulbasaur gave Ash a flat look.
I didn't mean to, Ash replied.
That doesn't make it better! Bulbasaur protested. Do you know how many electric types fry themselves trying to play with lightning? Or how many trainers get themselves fried trying to do so?
Huh?
What the idiot said!
Every electric pokémon gets it in their head to try and summon lightning, Bulbasaur groaned. Most either get over the idea, try it once and realize it's a bad idea, or fry themselves. But your pokémon gets lucky and manages it once and now he thinks it's a good idea!
In my defense I've told him he's not allowed to do it again for a very long time, Ash said. We have a lot of training to do first.
Spoilsport, Pikachu said, sticking out his tongue at Ash.
That's good, but why try it again? Bulbasaur asked. It ain't like you can use it most of the time. You have to be outdoors during a storm.
Because it's awesome! Pikachu exclaimed, throwing up his arms, and grinning. And this idiot can be surprisingly creative. He'll think of some way to use it.
Do not try and teach Charmander how to make a volcano or to use a wildfire, Bulbasaur told Ash. That would be crazy and stupid and wouldn't actually help him.
I was just going to talk to him! Ash protested.
That's all you did to me and I learned how to summon lightning! Pikachu added.
We're all doomed, Bulbasaur groaned.
"Incoming!" One of Aki's personnel shouted, pointing up at the sky.
Another large rock sailed through the air while Aki and her people scattered. A few pokémon that knew water type attacks fired off pressurized jets of water at the stone, drilling holes in the projectile. Two machops then stepped up. One ran forward and the other knelt down, cupping its hands, and helped the first jump. The machop flew through the air, aiming to intercept the boulder.
There was a shattering sound and the sound of rock grinding against rock as the machop struck the boulder with one precise blow, shattering it in midair. And then there was a whistling sound and the machop turned their head to see a smaller rock that had been thrown in the same arc as the first rock, hurtling right towards him.
Oh shit! The machop twisted himself in midair to avoid taking the rock to the head. It hit him in the side. His face went pale and there was a sickening snapping sound from his chest. The machop was sent tumbling back towards the ground.
A beam of red light intercepted the machop before it could hit the ground. The machop's trainer, a woman with blonde hair, turned towards Aki and grimaced.
"I think he's going to be out of the fight for a few days," she told Aki.
"I hate it when the enemy starts getting clever," Aki growled. They had lost one operative and three pokémon to the barrage of rocks. They had lost two more operatives and five pokémon to the onix yesterday.
She shielded her eyes from the sun and looked back in the direction that the rocks had come from. Aki had a good estimate of where the enemy trainers were holed up, on a ridgeline to the west. It was a spot that offered cover, elevation, and plenty of large rocks to hurl with deadly accuracy.
Aki growled deep in her throat. It was too far away, potentially too well defended. They wouldn't be able to launch an assault on the ridgeline, not while they were being pelted with boulders.
"We're going to need to scatter again," she told the people under her command. "We'll regroup in the night, two kilometers northeast from here. Keep an eye to the sky for any flying pokémon, that's probably what they're using as a spotter."
Her people nodded and began to withdraw, each person going their own way. Aki though stayed where she was, right out in the open, looking up at the sky. If she could figure out what pokémon was doing the spotting then she might be able to have Scyther take it out.
If it was a flying type.
Aki knew that there were many conceivable ways that her enemies might be observing her. The enemy might have been using a ghost type hiding invisible in the trees, relaying information to a fast pokémon to run back to their trainers. The enemy might have been using a psychic type detecting her and her team's minds. Or maybe the enemy was using a weaker psychic, to relay the information from a different sort of pokemon observing her and her team.
Aki knew that her team would be more vulnerable after splitting up. At least they would be if her enemies had some pokémon that she hadn't spotted. If enemy didn't have any pokemon that they hadn't already shown, then her people would be safer split up.
Yesterday she had made sure to note the other pokémon that her opponents had brought with the onix. There had been one geodude, one staryu, and one starmie. None of those would make good spotters or scouts, so there was at least one more pokémon, probably the pokémon that had used Gust against Scyther when the onix first appeared, which was probably a flying type. And then either the starmie had used electric attacks or there was one more pokémon.
Or maybe the electric type was with the target? Aki had noticed that there hadn't been any electric attacks yesterday while the onix was attacking them. And the onix had made sure to scatter them then, just as they were scattered now, which would have been an opportune time for the electric type to attack.
Aki had distracted the stone snake and its trainer yesterday with hit and run attacks to stop it from going after her people while they were vulnerable, but if the trainer with the water types had broken off and joined up with the electric type and the flying type, then they could have hunted down and eliminated the scattered elements of Team Rocket's forces.
If the electric type was with the target and the flying type was the spotter, then Aki could save her people by remaining in her enemy's crosshairs again. This would distract the enemy and give her a chance to find the pokémon acting as a spotter.
Another ten minutes ticked by. Another ten minutes of Aki staring at the sky. Another ten minutes of large rocks hurtling through the air. Another ten minutes of her dodging deadly projectiles and their shrapnel as they broke trees and smashed the land.
And then Aki saw it.
Moving between the sharp stones and clods of dirt sent flying by the impact of the latest projectile, she saw something small, up in the sky. It was either a random flying type in the wrong place or it was the spotter.
"Scyther!" She shouted, grabbing her pokéball. While the bug type couldn't fly long distances, but she had trained it to be able to attack aerial targets. White light blazed and the green pokémon with bladed arms stood before her. "See that?" Aki asked, pointing at the speck in the sky.
Her pokémon nodded.
"Go get it!" Aki commanded. Her pokémon nodded again and then leapt into the sky, wings buzzing as it soared towards his target.
Aki watched from the ground as Scyther became little more than a speck himself.
Zubat had been flying in circles all day, occasionally letting off focused supersonic pings as Brock had trained him to do when he was over a target. Brock had bought a supersonic receiver while he had been in Cerulean City. It was sensitive enough to pick Zubat's pings and could filter out noise on other frequencies. Based off the direction and number of pings, Brock could use the signal to then giving instructions to Onix and Geodude about where they should be aiming.
Zubat had found the whole endeavor to be boring. But Brock was counting on him and Brock made sure to take very good care of him. So Zubat could endure a little boredom while grousing to himself that this would be unnecessary if Geodude and Onix would just learn Supersonic themselves.
And then it suddenly wasn't so boring.
Zubat's supersonic sonar picked up something coming up from the forest below. It was moving fast and it was coming right for him.
Zubat immediately began to wing it back to his trainer. Brock had told him to retreat at the first sign of combat.
But whatever was coming from the ground was faster than him. Zubat could hear a harsh buzzing as it grew closer. And then his sonar got a more accurate image and Zubat could tell that the attacker was a bug type of some sort with bladed arms.
Zubat waited until the approaching pokémon drew near him and then folded his wings in and dove. Bladed limbs whistled through the space he had been, as the newcomer made their first attack, barely missing Zubat.
Zubat let himself fall, furling his wings in to become more aerodynamic. The bug type followed suit, but it was bigger, bulkier. If it wanted to catch Zubat then it would have to fly down instead of letting gravity do its work.
Supersonic waves emitted from Zubat's mouth and engulfed the bug type. The enemy pokémon continued unperturbed, it hadn't seemed to have been affected by Zubat's attack.
Zubat looked down at the forest below. It was getting very close very fast.
He flared out his wings and turned some of his vertical momentum into horizontal momentum. He zipped through trees, dying leaves and healthy pine needles brushing over the pokémon's skin as the flew through small openings between branches in the autumn forest.
He could hear the sounds of snapping branches and rustling leaves behind him. Zubat's sonar told him that his enemy was no longer flying after him. Instead it was leaping from branch to branch as it chased him, bladed arms cutting through the forest as it somehow managed to gain on Zubat.
Zubat unleashed another Supersonic, leaving a harsh, intolerable ringing sound echoing through the forest, but it had no more effect than the first. Zubat then forced himself to the side, wings starting to burn from exhaustion. The tip of his foe's blade carved a shallow furrow of fiery pain into Zubat's back.
Zubat cried out and spasmed in pain, but the wounded pokémon forced itself to keep flying. He swept upward into the branches of a pine tree. His green opponent tried to follow, but the density of the branches finally slowed him down just enough for Zubat to put some distance between them.
The chase resumed, Zubat swooping and swearing between branches and his pursuer slicing through them like they weren't there. They wound their way through the forest, making their way to the ridgeline where Brock and Misty were camped.
Zubat's wings ached with each stroke. His cut was a line of fire down his back. Sweat covered his body, drops flying off of his wings.
The green pokémon pursuing him didn't seem tired. The green pokémon wasn't wounded. The green pokémon continued to pursue him with the same speed and power that it had always had.
Zubat fluttered down and came to rest on a branch, too tired to keep going. He turned and faced his foe. The blue and purple pokémon drew in one last deep breath. His foe got closer, blades at the ready to slash Zubat to pieces.
And then Zubat fired off the most powerful Supersonic he could. His opponent actually flinched under the concentrated sound and tumbled out of the air. It managed to land on its feet and then stagger drunkenly into a tree.
Zubat huffed and took off, forcing himself to fly fast again. He took the opportunity presented by his pursuer's confusion to slip away.
"I'm so sorry," Brock cooed to Zubat, spraying a potion on the cut on his back. "I didn't think they would be able to reach you up there. They didn't use any flying types yesterday."
"It must have been that scyther," Misty pointed out, looking at the cut. "At least I think that's what it's called….."
"I think that's what's it's called too," Brock said, gently stroking Zubat's head. "We won't be able to use this tactic again."
"We'll have to get in close again," Misty turned away so Brock couldn't see her grimace.
"Honestly, we might not have to," Brock said, turning his gaze away from Zubat to look at Misty. "As long as they're not going after Aaron for the next few days, we don't have to fight them."
"But we should," Misty argued, still not facing Brock. "It's safer for Aaron and Melanie if we fight."
"It is," Brock agreed hesitantly.
Misty drew in a deep breath. "So that's what we'll do," she said.
AN: I'd like to thank BlackCatSpecialist92G10 for beta reading
Things in real life are heating up, so I'm going to take the next week off from releasing.
Don't forget to review!