I hope everyone's enjoying the holidays. Here's to a great 2012!
Chapter 27: Re-Igniting the Flame
With his Gym battle in Treetop Town growing closer with each step Ash knew he had to have his Pokémon in top shape, which is why they had decided to stop for a quick training session next to a small lake. Because he hadn't had much training lately Ash was having Quilava battle Donphan. The rest of Ash's Pokémon were out of their Poké Balls and were training on their own. Pikachu was paired with Totodile while Absol was paired with Ivysaur. Nikki and Buneary stood on the sidelines to observe.
"Okay, guys. Let's get in some quick practice battles," Ash instructed. All the Pokémon responded with various calls as they began their practice battles.
"Quilava, you'll be battle with me against Donphan," Ash said.
"(Sounds good to me,)" the Volcano Pokémon responded.
"(Me too,)" Donphan agreed.
"Alright then, let's get started!" Ash shouted. Donphan decided to make the first move, charging towards Quilava using Take Down.
"Use Smokescreen!" Ash shouted. A thick cloud of smoke poured from Quilava's mouth shortly after, obscuring Donphan's vision as well as putting an end to his attack.
"Now use Swift!" Ash instructed. A barrage of yellow stars flew from the Smokescreen and pelted Donphan, catching the Armor Pokémon by surprise.
"(How do you like that? Not too bad, huh,)" Quilava bragged as the Smokescreen dissipated.
"(I'll admit you surprised me with that one, but it won't happen a second time!)" Donphan bellowed. He then curled into a ball and rolled towards Quilava.
"Counter with Flame Wheel!" Ash shouted. Quilava also curled into a ball and then wrapped himself in flames before speeding towards Donphan. As the Flame Wheel and Rollout attacks continued on their inevitable collision Absol's instincts kicked in.
"(Hey, what's wrong?)" Ivysaur questioned. The Disaster Pokémon didn't respond and turned his gaze towards Quilava and Donphan's battle, seeing the two attacks on a collision course.
"(No! Stop the attacks!)" he barked. His warning, unfortunately, came too late. The two Pokémon hit head-on with Donphan clearly possessing the strength advantage. Quilava flew through the air and fell into the lake, quickly disappearing beneath the water.
"No, Quilava!" Ash shouted.
"We have to help him!" Nikki yelled. Upon hearing the trainers' panicked cries the rest of the Pokémon ceased their battles and ran towards the lake. Air bubbles towards the center of the lake were the only indication of Quilava's whereabouts.
"We have to get him out!" Nikki shouted.
"Right! Let's go, Totodile!" The normally jovial Pokémon was all business as he and Ash dove into the lake.
"Good luck, you two," Nikki silently said.
As soon as they were below the water's surface Ash and Totodile went to work trying to locate Quilava. Their only lead were the bubbles they spotted, and Ash soon discovered they were easier to see on the surface than underwater.
"Come on… where are you, Quilava?" Ash wondered.
"(Look!)" Totodile shouted, pointing further down. Squinting Ash could barely make out what looked like a small limp body.
"(I think that's him!)" Totodile stated. With a nod Ash instructed him to swim further down. The Big Jaw pokémon dove deeper down, Ash swimming right next to him. The two of them soon reached the body, confirming what they first believed.
"It is Quilava!" Ash thought. "We have to get him, back to the surface." He grabbed the Volcano Pokémon and instructed Totodile to begin swimming back to the surface. As the two ascended Ash prayed that he and Totodile had gotten to Quilava in time.
Back on the surface Nikki and the rest of the Pokémon anxiously waited for Ash and Totodile to return, hopefully with Quilava. They hadn't been underwater for long, but the fact that Quilava was a Fire type worried them greatly.
"I hope they get back soon. The longer Quilava is underwater the more danger he's in," Nikki fretted. Standing next to her was Donphan, who was feeling guilty about the situation.
"(I never should have used Rollout,)" he said, his eyes filled with worry. Seeing this Nikki placed a comforting hand on his head.
"No one's blaming you, Donphan. Accidents happen, especially during battles," she said.
"(Besides, Ash and Totodile will save him. Just you watch,)" Pikachu reassured him. Right then, as if on cue, Ash and Totodile resurfaced with Quilava.
"Ash!" Nikki exclaimed. She and the Pokémon all backed up as Ash carried Quilava onto dry land.
"How is he?" Nikki asked. One look at Quilava told them what they needed to know. He was still unconscious and his fur was completely soaked and his breathing was heavy.
"He's not looking too good," Ash commented. Nikki placed her hand on his forehead.
"He's burning up, and not in a good way," she gasped. "He needs medical attention, and fast."
"In that case we need to get him to a Pokémon Center. Where's the closest one?" Nikki took out the map and quickly scanned it for the closest Pokémon Center to their location.
"Okay, so we're here… and the closest Pokémon Center is… oh boy."
"What is it?" Ash wondered.
"The closest Pokémon Center to us is here," she said, pointing to the next town on the map. "Even if we rush it's still at least a day or two away on foot."
"That'll take too long. Quilava needs help now," Ash said. "If only I hadn't sent Pidgeot to Professor Oak's lab. Then we could have flown there easily."
"Yeah," Nikki agreed. With that option not available Nikki realized there was only one way to help Quilava now.
"I'll treat him myself," she announced.
"Can you?" Ash wondered.
"I have treated sick Pokémon before, granted it was with my mother's help," Nikki admitted.
"Even so we don't have any other option. Please Nikki, do whatever you can to help Quilava," Ash pleaded. The desperation in Ash's voice came across loud and clear, and though she knew there was no need to ask Nikki agreed to help Quilava.
"If I'm going to help him we need to see how bad his condition is," Nikki stated. She placed a hand on Quilava's forehead. As soon as she touched it her facial expression changed to a concerned one.
"That's a real nasty fever he's got," she commented. "We need to do something to bring that down."
"What should we do?" Ash asked.
"Well, before we address that fever we need to get him somewhere where he's not out in the open," Nikki suggested. With a nod Ash picked up his ailing Fire type and followed Nikki, their Pokémon following right behind them.
After searching for a while they group came upon a rather large tree. Using leaves to create a makeshift bed they placed Quilava at the base of the tree. After making sure he was as comfortable as possible they focused on their next task.
"So how do we bring down his fever?" Ash asked. Nikki brought her hand to her chin as she thought for a moment.
"Well, whenever we had a Pokémon come down with a fever my mother would make some medicine using Candyss Grass," she explained.
"Candyss Grass? What's that?" Ash inquired. Reaching into the backpack Nikki took out the first-aid kit her mother packed and retrieved the medical handbook from it. She then turned to the section about medicinal herbs and began searching for a picture of the herb they needed.
"There. That's Candyss Grass," Nikki said, pointing at one of the pages. The herb looked like a bushel of grass, only it was noticeably darker than normal grass and the tip had a slightly reddish tint to it.
"So all we have to do is find that and we can cure Quilava's fever, right?" Ash assumed.
"That's right. I just hope we can find enough of it," Nikki replied.
"How much do we need?" Ash wondered.
"To be safe we need as much as we can find," Nikki said.
"Okay, then. Let's start looking." Before Ash could begin searching Nikki stopped him.
"We can't all leave. Someone needs to stay here and keep an eye on Quilava," she said. "I'll go and look for some Candyss Grass." Though he wanted to help Ash agreed to let her search.
"At least take some of the Pokémon with you," he suggested. "Pikachu, I want you, Ivysaur and Absol to go with Nikki and Buneary. Donphan, Totodile and I will stay here with Quilava."
"Okay. We'll be back as soon as possible," Nikki said. "Alright, guys. Let's go."
"(Lead the way,)" Ivysaur said. Nikki led the four Pokémon in their search for Candyss Grass, leaving Ash, Donphan and Totodile to watch over the resting Quilava.
"(Think they'll be alright?)" Totodile asked.
"Nikki's more than capable of taking care of herself," Ash said. "And besides, she's got Buneary, Pikachu and the other Pokémon with her. They'll keep her safe." As Ash reassured Totodile about Nikki's safety Donphan stared at Quilava, a look of guilt plastered on his face. Despite what the others told him he still felt it was his fault Quilava was in the situation he was in at the moment. He was snapped out of his thoughts when he felt Ash place a hand on his head. Looking up he saw his trainer smiling down at him.
"Don't worry. Quilava's going to come through this just fine," he reassured the Armor Pokémon. Though he still felt guilty Donphan nodded to let Ash know he understood before turning his gaze back to Quilava.
"How long have we been walking?" Jessie whined.
"Too long if you ask me," James replied. The Team Rocket trio had been following Ash and Nikki for a while before losing their trail and were now aimlessly wandering, hoping to find something that would set them on the right path.
"How do we even know the twerps came this way?" James questioned.
"We don't, now quit your whining," Meowth snapped.
"You don't tell me what to do!" Jessie yelled.
"Someone needs to!" Meowth argued.
"Come on, do we have to do this?" James begged.
"Yes!" Jessie and Meowth shouted. Before the two of them could get started with their argument again another set of voices caught their attention.
"Let's try looking here." Intrigued by the new voice the trio hid behind a nearby bush and peeked through.
"It's the twerpette," Jessie commented upon seeing Nikki and the Pokémon accompanying her.
"I wonder what she's doing here by herself," James said. They continued to watch as she and the Pokémon scoured the area. Eventually Pikachu approached her, carrying something in his paw.
"(Is this it?)" he asked. They watched as the Mouse Pokémon handed something to her.
"Yes. This is exactly what we need," she confirmed. "We need to find more of this."
"Find more of what?' James whispered.
"Remember, the more Candyss Grass we find the better," Nikki instructed. As she and the Pokémon continued their search Team Rocket wondered what exactly it was they were looking for.
"You guys have any idea what this Candyss Grass is supposed to be?" Meowth asked.
"No clue," Jessie replied. "How about you, James?"
"I vaguely recall learning about Candyss Grass when I was young," James recalled. "If I remember correctly it's supposed to be a medicinal herb used to help Pokémon suffering from fevers."
"If the twerpette is looking for that then that means one of their Pokémon must be sick," Meowth assumed.
"A perfect time for us to swoop in and snatch up the healthy ones," Jessie schemed.
"Then all we have to do is wait for her to lead us back to the rest of their Pokémon," Meowth added. With their plan set they remained hidden, waiting for Nikki to lead them to their goal.
"Okay, just a little bit more and we can head back." In the short amount of time they had been searching Nikki and the Pokémon found an abundance of Candyss Grass. Nikki, however, wanted to find just a little bit more before heading back to make sure they had enough to help Quilava.
"(Found some!)" Buneary called. The Rabbit Pokémon found some growing on the side of a steep rock wall.
"Good job, Buneary," Nikki praised. She approached the wall to pick it, but Absol stepped in front of her.
"(Wait. It may be dangerous,)" he warned.
"But we need that Candyss Grass," Nikki argued.
"(I'll get it,)" Ivysaur said. Making sure to keep a safe distance away he used Vine Whip to grab the herb. With one yank he pulled it away from the rock wall, but upon doing so he dislodged some of the rocks. Nikki gasped as she watched the rocks come crashing down, realizing that had she tried to get it herself she would have been crushed.
"Thanks, Absol," she said. The Disaster Pokémon nodded, acknowledging her thanks.
"Okay, we have enough now. Let's head back," Nikki announced. With their search for Candyss Grass done the group began to head back to where Ash and the others were waiting, unknowingly bringing along some uninvited guests.
"(Hey! They're back!)" Totodile shouted. It had been close to half an hour since Nikki and the other Pokémon left to go search for some Candyss Grass for Quilava. Upon reaching them Nikki and the Pokémon placed the Candyss Grass they gathered in a pile on the ground.
"Do we have enough?" Ash wondered.
"Definitely," Nikki confirmed. "Now we need to boil it. Ash, do you think you could go gather some firewood for me?"
"Sure thing," Ash said. While he went to gather firewood Nikki stayed behind to keep an eye on Quilava. Unknown to her, though, Team Rocket was spying close by.
"Well, it looks like that walking matchbox lost his flame," James commented.
"All the better for us," Jessie added. "With one less twerp Pokémon to deal with stealing the rest should be easy."
"And I know a way to make it even easier," Meowth announced.
"Oh, do tell," James requested. While Meowth went over the details of his plan with his companions Ash returned with some firewood. Minutes later Nikki had a fire going and was boiling the Candyss Grass.
"Oh man, that stuff reeks," Ash commented upon getting a whiff of the boiling grass's scent.
"Believe me, it doesn't smell half as bad as it tastes," Nikki stated. After a few more minutes of boiling the Candyss Grass medicine was ready. Nikki poured some into a bowl and brought it over to Quilava.
"Here, Quilava. Drink this," she instructed. Though he trusted Nikki the Volcano Pokémon still had to inspect the medicine. He sniffed it a couple of times and quickly turned away from the bowl.
"(It… stinks,)" he griped.
"I know it smells bad, but it'll help you feel better," Nikki pleaded. "Please, Quilava. You have to drink this." Though his nose told him one thing he knew that Nikki had his best interest in mind. He cautiously took a sip. Immediately his face scrunched up and he recoiled in disgust.
"(Yuck! It tastes even worse!)" he squeaked.
"I know it tastes bad, but I promise this will get you back on your feet in no time," Nikki promised. Every fiber of Quilava's being was pleading with him not to take any more of that medicine, but he knew Nikki was telling the truth. Even though it smelled terrible and tasted even worse Quilava drank the rest of the medicine, much to the relief of Ash and Nikki.
"There. Now all you need is some rest," Nikki stated. Now that was something Quilava had no problem with. Laying his head back down he closed his eyes and drifted off into a peaceful slumber.
"How long do you think it'll take for the medicine to work?" Ash wondered.
"I don't know. The medicine is supposed to help, but to be honest I'll feel a lot better getting him to a Pokémon Center as soon as possible," Nikki replied. Ash nodded, agreeing with her. A short while later they heard what sounded like a siren echoing through the woods.
"What is that?" Ash wondered. Then, as if on cue, an ambulance drove into the clearing. After coming to a stop two EMTs, a man and a woman, stepped out and approached them.
"Remain calm. We're here to help," the woman announced.
"Umm… okay. But how did you know we needed help in the first place?" Ash asked. Rather than answer his question they approached the now-awake Quilava.
"We need to isolate this Pokémon," the woman said. She motioned for the ambulance. The vehicle backed up a few feet before coming to a stop. The man then opened the back doors.
"All the healthy Pokémon need to enter the ambulance," he instructed.
"The healthy ones? Why them?" Ash wondered. The two EMTs seemed to become slightly nervous when asked that, but it went unnoticed by Ash and Nikki.
"Well… they'll be… easier to move than the sick Pokémon," the man responded.
"And we really shouldn't move the sick one yet," the woman added. They hoped their answers would satisfy the two trainers. Luckily for them it did as Ash and Nikki allowed them to continue to lead their Pokémon into the back of the ambulance.
"Step lively, now. We don't want any of you to get sick as well," the woman urged. Now Nikki was really suspicious.
"Wait just a minute! What makes you think the rest of the Pokémon are going to get sick?" she asked.
"Look at that Quilava. It's clear he is sick, which means that the other Pokémon could get sick just from being close to him," the woman explained.
"And what makes you think Quilava's illness is contagious? Do you even know what's wrong with him?" Nikki inquired. The nervousness that went unnoticed earlier returned with a vengeance.
"Well… uh… h-he's suffering from… umm…"
"You really aren't EMTs, are you," Nikki accused.
"W-What? Of course we are!" the woman argued. The Pokémon, who by now were all gathered in the back of the ambulance, looked on with a bit of suspicion.
"I don't believe you!" Nikki retorted. "You're not acting like real EMTs!"
"If we're not EMTs then who are we?" the woman asked.
"You tell me!" Nikki challenged. At that moment a head popped out of the driver's side window.
"Forget it, Jess! We got the Pokémon, so let's scram!" he called.
"Jess?" Ash shouted. Before he and Nikki could make a move the EMTs jumped into the back of the ambulance with the Pokémon and shut the doors. Immediately after that the ambulance sped off into the forest.
"Hey! Get back here!" Ash demanded. He and Nikki started to give chase, but before they could get far a familiar Meowth-shaped balloon rose up from behind the trees. As it climbed higher they could see a cage hanging from the basket, and contained in that cage were their Pokémon.
"(Ash!)" Pikachu called.
"(Get us out of here!)" Buneary shouted.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Nikki yelled. Right then the EMTs appeared in the basket.
"I'm afraid not, twerpette," the woman said. The EMTs then cast off their disguises, revealing their real identities.
"Out of the sky, falling with grace.
A spark in the eye, arriving with haste.
Ready and willing to put twerps in their place.
Jessie!
James!
Meowth's the name!
Team Rocket, burning a trail!
Blazing a path!
Kickin' some tail!
Wobbu Wobbuffet!
Mime Mime Mime Mime!"
"Team Rocket!" Ash shouted.
"Let our Pokémon go now!" Nikki demanded.
"I think not," Jessie refused. "We went through a lot of work to steal them and there's no way we're going to give them back." Expecting that response Nikki grabbed her remaining Poké Balls.
"Then I guess we'll have to take them back!" she declared. "Shinx, Swablu, Vulpix, we need you!" She threw the balls and called on her remaining Pokémon. Before she could issue any commands three arms shot out of the basket, grabbed them and threw them into the cage with the rest of the Pokémon.
"No!" Nikki cried.
"And now we have all of your Pokémon!" Meowth taunted.
"(Not… quite!)" To everyone's surprise Quilava had managed to stand up despite his weakened state.
"Quilava, no! You can't battle in your condition!" Ash protested.
"(I… have to!)" the Volcano Pokémon argued.
"Ash is right. You need to rest," Nikki said.
"(If I don't battle them… they'll get away… with everyone,)" Quilava argued. During this Team Rocket looked on.
"While we'd love to see how this will turn out we really need to get going," Jessie said.
"Yeah. We've got some nice gifts for our boss," Meowth added. They began to pilot their balloon away, but were brought to a halt by a stream of fire.
"(I may be weakened… but I still have enough strength… to beat you clowns,)" Quilava spat. Jessie glared down at him, a Poké Ball in her hand.
"If that's how you want it then so be it!" she shouted. "Yanmega, teach him a lesson!" Her Poké Ball opened, releasing her Ogre Darner Pokémon.
"Steel Wing!" she ordered. Yanmega went into a high-speed dive, her wings glowing with Steel-powered energy. Seeing her coming Quilava let loose a Flamethrower. Because of his weakened state the Fire-type attack lacked both power and accuracy, making it easy for Yanmega to dodge and strike him with her Steel Wing. The weakened Quilava was hit hard and sent flying backwards for a few feet.
"Ancientpower!" Jessie ordered, wanting to keep the pressure on. Yanmega created an orb of Rock-type energy and hurled it at Quilava. The super-effective attack struck home, causing massive damage to the Volcano Pokémon.
"(Had enough?)" Yanmega taunted.
"(Not… on… your… life!)" Quilava replied, struggling to his feet.
Persistent little pest," Jessie commented. "Yanmega, use Sonicboom!" With one powerful flap of her wings Yanmega sent out a wave of air, striking Quilava and knocking him back to the ground.
"Keep it up!" Jessie shouted. Yanmega complied and sent out one Sonicboom after another, each one pounding Quilava.
"Quilava, no!" Ash shouted.
"Stop it! Can't you see he's too weak to fight back!" Nikki pleaded.
"We know. We just don't care," Jessie retorted. As Yanmega continued her assault Quilava struggled to find the strength he needed to fight back, but so far he was doing all he could to just withstand the Sonicboom barrage.
"(Just give it up! You're too weak to be of any use to them!)" Yanmega taunted. That one comment seemed to trigger something inside of Quilava, for at that moment the Volcano Pokémon fired a Flamethrower that struck Yanmega, ending her onslaught.
"(I'll… show you… who's too weak!)" he roared. Right then his body became engulfed in a white light.
"Oh no! Don't tell me he's doing what I think he's doing!" Jessie screamed.
"I'm afraid so!" James confirmed.
"Quilava's evolving!" Nikki gasped. As he continued to glow Quilava stood straight up. Moments later his body grew much larger. When the light faded away a loud roar filled the air.
"He evolved into Typhlosion!" Ash cheered. By now Yanmega had recovered and was ready to continue, but as soon as she saw her newly-evolved opponent she began to have second thoughts.
"(Now… you were saying something about me being too weak,)" Typhlosion growled.
"(Well… um… that is…)" Yanmega stuttered.
"(Let me show you… HOW WEAK I AM!)" With that the Volcano Pokémon let loose a massive Flamethrower, engulfing Yanmega and blasting her back into Team Rocket's balloon.
"No, not my Yanmega!" Jessie wailed.
"I can't believe this! I thought we had them for sure this time!" James griped.
"We're about to get something else!" Meowth screamed. Down below Typhlosion had curled into a ball, wrapped himself in flames and launched himself towards them. The trio screamed in fear as Typhlosion's Flame Wheel ripped through their balloon, causing it to explode.
"I thought he was too weak to fight!" Jessie griped.
"So did I! What happened?" James questioned.
"I'll give you one guess!" Meowth said.
"We're blasting off again!" the trio cried as they disappeared over the horizon. With the balloon now destroyed the cage holding Ash and Nikki's Pokémon plummeted towards the ground.
"No! The cage!" Ash shouted.
"It's going to crash!" Nikki screamed. As the cage continued to fall Typhlosion reversed direction and used his Flame Wheel to destroy the cage, allowing the captive Pokémon to land on the ground safely. With the danger now passed Ash and Nikki ran to their Pokémon.
"Is everyone alright?" Ash asked.
"(Yeah,)" Pikachu answered.
"(We're all fine,)" Buneary added.
"Thank goodness," Nikki sighed. "You have no idea how worried we were."
"Yeah, but at least everyone's safe now, thanks to Typhlosion," Ash commented.
"Thank you, Typhlosion," Nikki said. The Volcano Pokémon smiled at the praise he was receiving.
"Guess that Candyss Grass medicine worked," Ash assumed. At first glance the medicine appeared to have done its job, but moment later Typhlosion laid down on the ground.
"Typhlosion, what's wrong?" Ash asked, his voice slightly panicky.
"(If it's alright with you… I'd like to… get back… to… my… nap…)" With those final words the Volcano Pokémon drifted back to sleep. Ash, Nikki and the Pokémon couldn't help but smile. Ash reached out and gently pet the top of Typhlosion's head.
"You rest now, Typhlosion. You've earned it," he whispered. As Typhlosion rested Ash couldn't help but think about how this would affect the rest of his Legenda journey… and what this meant for future battles.
What started off as a bad situation turned out good as Quilava evolved into Typhlosion. What does this mean for Ash in the future? Will he be able to use Typhlosion in his next Gym battle? Find out in the next chapter of Search for Power!
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