With Courage I Will Face
Arc I: Viridian
Chapter Three: Lightning Strikes Twice
Ash cleaned himself off the best he could, but under all the dirt and blood was a lot of scratches that he could now clearly see. He put his clothes through the wash too, hopeful they weren't ruined already, and changed into his sleepwear. He decided to call his mom first before he called it a night. It would make them both feel better.
The lobby was empty, so Ash took the nearest available phone and dialed. Immediately, the line was picked up and he saw his sister beaming at him.
"Ashy, I told mommy you'd call!" Elaine cried out happily. "Mommy, Ash is on the phone!" She wailed up the steps before turning to him. "Where are you? Did'ja catch any Pokemon? Can I see?"
Ash sweat dropped at his sisters frantic pace but humored her.
"No, didn't see much on the way here. I mostly just tried to talk with Pikachu." Ash fibbed, but his mom would kill him herself if she ever found out what really happened today. "We're in Viridian City now."
"Viridian City already? How wonderful!" Delia's excited voice carried to the phone from the stairwell. She wasn't yet dressed for bed like Elaine or Ash was, it was only a little after ten thirty, but she too had just showered. "You know, it took your father a whole week to get there."
Well, he probably didn't have the added motivation of a thousand Spearow chasing him through all of route one, Ash noted silently.
"We didn't stop much." He settled for instead. He scratched his cheek, eyes flicking to the doors Pikachu disappeared into earlier. "Didn't want to get caught in the storm."
They talked a little more about nothing, what Elaine had done that day, what Ash had eaten and when Delia had to be awake tomorrow, until Ash let out a yawn.
"Thank you so much for calling Ash, I know it meant a lot to your sister, but you should go to bed too." Delia said with a smile. "We all have an early start tomorrow, I'm sure." She nodded slightly at her youngest child, and Ash smiled.
"Okay, you guys can go to bed. I'll call again soon, 'kay?" Ash promised.
"Goodnight sweetie, love you!" Delia said happily.
"Night Ashy!" Elaine echoed.
"Love you too, 'night!" Ash chuckled back, and the screen blipped off. He hung up the phone and sighed. He glanced at the clock; eleven-sixteen. He went over to the bench beside the door Chansey had taken Pikachu through and sat down.
With his head leaned back on the wall, he was asleep in seconds.
The sound of the Pokemon Center doors sliding open was just enough to rouse Ash from his light sleep. He sat up a little straighter and started to rub the sleep from his eyes while looking around the room, noticing its new occupant.
She was a girl, probably about his age, with fiery orange hair tied up in a ponytail on the side of her head. She wore a simple plain yellow top and short blue jean pants. Attached to her pants were red suspender straps, looping over her shoulders along with the worn red drawstring bag she carried. She looked around for a second before she noticed him.
Ash waved first, and she gave a small smile in return and walked up to him.
"Y'know," She began teasingly, "When trainers come to the Pokemon Center its usually for a better night's sleep than sitting up against a wall in a cave or tree in a forest."
"I didn't want to leave Pikachu." Ash said lowly, glancing away again. The girls features softened a bit, but Ash smiled back. "And don't trainers usually come to Pokemon Centers before the middle of the night to sleep?" He teased back lightly. The girl let out a grunt.
"Jerk." She said with a playful smile. "What happened to your Pikachu?" she asked, sitting next to him on the bench.
"We, uh, we got into some trouble on the way here." Ash stammered. "We got attacked by this flock of Spearow and had to make a pretty long run for it. We both kinda got more beat up along the way than we realized."
Ash still wasn't sure what the best way to accurately summarize the day's events was, if he was being honest with himself. It all felt so unreal but all too real at the same time.
"I bet that wicked storm didn't do you any favors, huh?" She said, grabbing at her ponytail. Ash could just make out a subtle darker hue over some parts of her hair. "I got caught off guard by how nasty it got so quick; I didn't even have time to take down my camp let alone make it into town. I was waiting out the rain and dozed off a little." She paused. "Someone really ought to call the League about those Spearow, though. You could've been seriously hurt, someone else might not be as lucky."
"Something tells me they might not be a problem anymore." Ash muttered after a pause. He replayed the scene in his head, Pikachu turning into a giant ball of electricity. His face started burning again and he unconsciously scratched his cheek.
"Think the storm scared them off for good?" she asked, leaning back against the wall. "That'd be pretty nice."
Ash stared down at his knees, hands clutching into fists on his pants. He wasn't sure how much of what happened he would be able to explain without sounding mad, but he didn't want to lie either. Luckily, he was saved from answering as the doors beside them flapped open and out walked Nurse Joy and her Chansey.
"I thought I told you to get some rest, young man." Nurse Joy scolded Ash upon seeing him sitting in the lobby.
"I did I rested right here!" Ash protested weakly. "How's Pikachu?" He switched gears immediately, looking up at her.
Nurse Joy couldn't help but give a small smile at the boys' earnest care. She gave a small sigh.
"Well, it was definitely exhausted beyond belief. It looked worse than you did when you got here, and frankly I'm surprised that either of you were conscious in your condition. But all its wounds were superficial, I gave minimal treatment and then focused on restoring its electricity. Electric-type Pokemon depend on voltage to survive, if it gets too low the effects can become life-threatening. Your Pikachu was dangerously close to as low as it gets, but after a while longer it should be back to healthy levels of electricity." Nurse Joy explained.
Ash looked visibly relieved at the news before he launched himself to his feet.
"Can I go see Pikachu? Please?" Ash asked, clasping his hands together. The nurse and his new friend both couldn't hide a smile.
"Ordinarily I'd say no." Nurse Joy said, putting her hands on her hips. "But ordinarily trainers wouldn't show this level of concern for their Pokemon, so I'm willing to make an exception." She winked a little, stepping out of Ash's way.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Ash jumped forward to bush through the doors, but he paused as his hand made contact and turned towards the girl he had been talking to. "Catch ya later, okay? Promise." Then he darted through the doors and down the hallway.
Just as the door swung shut behind him, two Pokeballs were dropped through the glass skylight.
Ash found Pikachu's room rather easily, hearing an electrical generator pumping from inside. Pikachu looked much better than he had before, with clean fur and a few small bandages, most of the damage was easily hidden. The minute Ash clicked the door shut, Pikachu's ears twitched, and his eyes fluttered open.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu cried, moving up to a sitting position.
"Heya buddy!" Ash crouched down and patted his starter on the head gently. "How're you feelin?"
Pikachu gave a chirp as he clenched his fists and generated a few sparks. They flew from his cheeks, past the suction cups attached to either side. Ash smiled.
"Glad to see those Spearow didn't keep you down long." He said, sitting on the bed. "I was really worried about you, y'know?"
Ash moved from patting Pikachu's head to scratching his chin while Pikachu couldn't help but stare at Ash's eyes. They were honest and warm, and for the second time Pikachu resolved to himself he wasn't leaving this humans side. Pikachu wriggled out from under the blankets and up to Ash's side, pressing against the leg he was sitting on the bed with.
They both took just a second to enjoy each other's company. It was what they both needed after their harrowing first experience together. Although it wasn't long before their second harrowing experience together begun with the sound of explosions.
"What d'ya think is goin' on out there?" Ash asked. He stood up swiftly and peaked his head into the hallway. The tiny windows in the double doors were quickly filled with dark green smoke that started to seep through the gaps underneath and between the doors. More small explosions were heard along with cries from Nurse Joy.
"How much better did you say you were feelin'?" Ash asked skeptically. He was anticipating a battle but unsure if Pikachu was up to it.
"Pi-Ka!" Pikachu stood on his back legs, fists clenched and sparked his cheeks again. The sparks were bigger this time. Ash nodded at him.
"Let's go then, see what this is all about." Ash left the room with Pikachu jumping down after him.
They both held their breath as they approached the doors to avoid choking on the smoke. They could head movement and noises on the other side but couldn't make out any specific words. His heart raced.
"Now or never, I guess." He muttered and burst through the door, doing his best to take in the scene through the thick smoke.
There were two pokemon, both purple in color. One was a purple snake, the other a purple ball that was releasing the dark green smog from geyser-like ridges on its body. Through the smoke Ash hear Nurse Joy's voice pleading for the smoke to stop and other voices laughing back. He quickly made his way to Joy's side and found himself face to face with the offenders.
There was a man with short blue hair and a woman with long magenta hair. They both wore white uniforms with black gloves, boots, and belts. The uniforms were devoid of any other color except for a large red 'R' on their chests, that Ash recognized from the news as belonging to the criminal organization Team Rocket. There was another Pokemon with them, besides the two purple ones, that Ash also recognized. A Meowth, standing on its hind legs between the Rockets.
"Just who do you think you are?" Ash shouted, stepping in front of Nurse Joy.
"Don't be frightened, little boy." The girl sneered at him through the smoke. The boy chuckled alongside her.
"Allow us to introduce ourselves." he said, thrusting his arm out.
"To protect the world from devastation!" The girl sang.
"To unite all peoples within our nation!" The boy followed suit, singing next.
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth, that's right!" The Meowth sang next, causing Ash, Pikachu, and Nurse Joy to gasp in shock.
"Did your Meowth just talk?" Nurse Joy asked.
"And what was he talking about?" Ash asked next, just as confused.
The woman, Jessie, scoffed.
"He just doesn't get it, does he?" She rolled her eyes at him.
"We're here for the Pokemon." James spelled it out.
"You aren't taking Pikachu, or any other Pokemon!" Ash declared.
"We aren't interested in your precious electric rat," Jessie all but spat at him.
"We seek only rare and valuable Pokemon." James finished.
"You're wasting your time, there are only weak and injured Pokemon in this center right now." Nurse Joy replied.
"That may be so," Jessie started stepping forward. "But I wouldn't be surprised if we found a few Poke-gems surrounded by all this junk."
"You guys are really starting to bug me." Ash scowled. Pikachu grunted in agreement. Ash and Pikachu shared a glance.
"Isn't that cute?" Jessie fanned herself with a chuckle.
"The boy is bugged." James mocked.
"Then let's squash 'em!" Meowth added happily.
"Koffing, attack!" James ordered at the same time Jessie shouted, "Ekans, go!"
Ekans and Koffing lunged across the room at the same time.
"Pikachu, use ThunderShock!" Ash cried as he grabbed Nurse Joy's wrist and dragged her to the side.
She let out a gasp as Pikachu leapt forward and shot out a stream of electricity that connected with the Ekans, sending it flying backwards.
"Watch out!" Ash cried to Pikachu as he glanced back.
He watched as Koffing rammed into Pikachu as he was focused on shocking Ekans. The Koffing then turned to Ash and Nurse Joy.
"Koffing, Smog attack!" James ordered.
Koffing opened its mouth and prepared to send a glob of smoke, only to be interrupted by Pikachu firing another ThunderShock at it from behind. The glob weakly fizzled out as Koffing begun floating lower to the ground in pain. Pikachu was taken by surprise by Ekans, who had recovered and wrapped itself around the electric type, much to Ash's horror.
"Bite it, Ekans!" Jessie cried out.
"Let loose another ThunderShock!" Ash commanded again. "Nurse Joy, get the Pokemon out of here!"
Joy ducked down a corridor at Ash's command while Pikachu lit up again with electricity, shocking the Ekans enough for it to let go. Pikachu jumped forward, pushing off the hesitantly floating Koffing for a boost and landing in front of Ash.
"This twerp isn't the brightest, he sent away his only reinforcements." Meowth joked as he stepped forward to stand beside Koffing and Ekans.
"We don't need reinforcements for you!" Ash declared boldly. Pikachu growled in agreement.
Before anything else could happen, a brown blue tackled the three rocket Pokemon to the side. Ash saw the Pokemon after, a brown star-shaped Pokemon with a red core. A Staryu, Ash realized.
"But they wouldn't hurt!" Misty's voice called urgently, running into the room, and standing by Ash's side.
"How cute, he brought a date." James mocked them.
To both of their credit, they remained unfazed.
"Pikachu, use Tail Whip!" Ash ignored their comment. Pikachu mockingly turned his back to the rocket trio of Pokemon and wagged his tail teasingly, smiling cutely at them all.
"Staryu, hit 'em with Rapid Spin!" Misty shouted.
While the rocket Pokemon were focused on Pikachu, their defenses were lowered and the spinning Staryu slammed into them all from the side, throwing them down to the ground.
"Use ThunderShock!" Ash continued.
"Not so fast, twerp. Ekans, Poison Sting!" Jessie interrupted.
This time Pikachu wasn't fast enough, and as he was charging electricity in his cheeks, he was struck in the forehead with a purple needle fired from Ekans' mouth. Pikachu whimpered in pain, forgoing charging electricity to clamp his hands over his head.
"Now it's Meowth's turn." Meowth pushed up and leapt towards Pikachu. "Fury Swipes!" It's claws began to glow white and extended to nearly six inches in length.
"Staryu, Water Gun!" Misty 's command came in the nick of time, and Staryu fired a jet of water from the top of one of its appendages and forced Meowth back down to the ground, gurgling up water. Staryu kept up the attack long enough to soak Meowth, Ekans and Koffing for a few seconds before beginning to tire.
"It's not over yet, Koffing use Poison Gas!" James cried. Koffing opened its mouth to prepare another onslaught of gas, but Ash was faster this time.
"Finish it Pikachu, ThunderShock!" Ash cried out.
Koffing began to seep out more gas and Pikachu's cheeks sparked again. Pikachu, frustrated, released his attack first and began electrocuting the pile of enemy Pokemon. Staryu quickly moved, fearing for its own safety in the crossfire, while Meowth and the poison-types writhed. They were soaked from the water gun and were conducting even more electricity.
The small mercy only came when Pikachu's electricity started jumping rapidly to the spare water puddles made by Staryu, reacting with all the electronics in the area and Koffing's highly flammable gas that had been released into the room multiple times now. Ash knew it was only a matter of time, so he ignored Misty's brief shriek and pulled them both to cover.
The explosion was a loud one, and Ash and Misty had to hit the floor to avoid all the debris that came their way. Ash couldn't believe the heat generated from the explosion, having felt like he just cooled down from having lightning in his veins. He clenched his eyes shut, more anticipating pain than feeling it, while he heard the thieves shouting their own grievances.
There was plenty of small explosions, wind rushing, shouting. Then all at once, there was nothing. Ash jolted up right away, worriedly looking for Pikachu. Luckily for him, Pikachu had the same idea and was by his feet in seconds. Ash was immediately relieved, crouching down to pet Pikachu as Misty approached from behind him.
"That was some attack," She commented. "If he wasn't an electric Pokemon he might've been hurt pretty bad from being so close that explosion." She paused. "Good thing I returned Staryu while you had us tucked away."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to leave Staryu out to dry. You guys were a huge help, I just acted when I heard the explosions start." Ash apologized. Misty looked like she was getting ready to wave him off when Nurse Joy rushed back into the room.
"My goodness, what was all that?" She came to a stop and looked around, surveying the damage. She noticed the teens in the middle of the room, no sign of the two Rockets. "Well, whatever you did you got rid of Team Rocket."
Ash started a bit, as if just noticing that they weren't in the room with them. He looked around to make sure they weren't simply hurt on the ground, but it appeared as if they disappeared into thin air.
"They got away." Misty's voice was low, almost a growl.
"That's probably for the best," Nurse Joy sighed. "The last thing you need is the full weight of Team Rocket coming down on you."
"Yeah but," Misty started to rebut but Joy cut her off.
"No but's, the important part is they're gone and all the Pokemon are safe. You did an excellent job transporting most of them before Ash sent me to help." Joy complimented. "And Ash, you did such a great job holding off those creeps! I can't thank you both enough."
"We couldn't have done it without Misty, she really saved us out there." Ash glanced at her with a smile. "Me and Pikachu just did a little stalling. And they kinda blew themselves up anyway." He chuckled a little.
The sound of sirens interrupted them, and Officer Jenny skidded into the building through the hole in the wall.
"What in the world happened over here?" Jenny said in awe.
Ash, Misty and Joy gave half-smiles as they began to recount the nights events.
Far above, in the skies of Viridian City a Meowth-shaped hot air balloon floated through the skies. Jessie, James and Meowth were climbing up a rope and into the thick green passenger basket the Meowth carried.
"This is just great," Jessie grunted. "We have the only cat in the world who loses to a mouse."
"Hey! That Pikachu is no ordinary Pikachu!" Meowth defended himself.
"It's power level is certainly very rare." James piped up, flopping onto the floor of the basket. "I have a theory."
Jessie and Meowth paused, glancing at him. He took the chance to elaborate.
"It could very well be… that Pikachu." He said. They blinked. "From Celadon City." Realization flashed in their eyes.
"Do you think that…" Jessie began.
"We just found…" Meowth continued.
"I believe we just might have!" James exclaimed. "Now the next step is to catch it and get it back."
The three shared a light chuckle.
"Then, we'll be rich!" They cried together, laughing into the night.
Ash laid down on the soft hotel bed faster than he could even process. Pikachu was curled into his side and Misty mimicked him in a bed of her own on the opposite side of the room. The Pokemon Center was too destroyed to put them up for the night, but due to the circumstances Jenny convinced a local motel to put them up for the night, free of charge.
They appreciated the gesture way more than they could express, both eager to fall asleep. They held on just a bit longer to exchange a few words.
"Thanks for sticking around, Misty. We really needed your help tonight." Ash said, his eyes already closing. Misty hummed.
"I know." she said confidently. Ash grunted a laugh. "Thanks for being a decent trainer and sticking up for Nurse Joy and those Pokemon." She said more seriously.
"Don't mention it," Ash brushed off. "Anyone woulda done it."
No, they really wouldn't have. Misty thought but remained quiet. Partially due to awe and the other part due to tiredness. A few moments passed and Misty spoke up again.
"'Night, Ash. See you tomorrow." Misty yawned. "Or today. However that whole thing works."
"G'night Misty." He yawned too, hers contagious. "See ya tomorrow."
Another one in the books! Here we see most of our main cast for the first time. Yes, Jessie and James will be considered main cast. They won't be here as often as they were in the anime but they will have a very important roll to play throughout the story so sorry to those of you who aren't big Team Rocket fans.
I think everyone has an idea of what's coming up next so I'll take this moment to address my reviewers!
RightHandofPalpitine: Thank you so much! I appreciate the kind words! It's always been a pet peeve of mine when stories make Ash into someone blatantly not Ash, especially with no explanation. I am trying to make the world a tad more mature/realistic, whatever you want to call it, so it's nice to hear that part connected with you! Hope you liked this update too!
justsomerandombastard: Thank you! Hope you think so here too!
Talushi Leibinkier: I'm glad that part of the story resonated with you, it was my favorite part about "I Choose You!" the Movie's take on Ash and Pikachu's journey! Your English is fine, all language is made up anyway. Thanks for the review!
The Female Jiraiya: Thank you! Hope you came back for more!
RagingSceptile: I'm glad to see you back here! Can always count on you for a review, isn't that right my NPC? I'm glad you enjoyed this so far, look forward to hearing your thoughts about this one!