I apologize for the long wait. I wanted to finish the next chapter of my CSP series before continuing with the Pokémon series. I also had to change some of the future plans with Ashley's Journey series, but I won't spoil things now. I hope you'll enjoy this action packed chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own any Pokémon characters! I only own my OCs!
Chapter 30: Celebi the Voice of the Forest – Part 2
With Celebi being healthy again, we began the trip back to the village. Celebi flew above us while we walked among trees that were more than one-hundred years old. Wild Pokémon showed up every once in a while, but they never attempted to harm us. They just wanted to make sure Celebi was in safe hands. We stumbled upon a tree full of ripe Cheri Berries and snacked on them and even picked some to save for later.
Thankfully, we never ran into Iron Mask, my nickname for that evil Team Rocket person, so we were able to set up a small camp for the night and have dinner with Cheri Berry compote as dessert. I fell asleep immediately and slept for a few hours before I woke up by some soft noises. I rubbed my eyes before I sat up on my sleeping bag, seeing Ash and Sam sitting by the tiny campfire looking at the brunet's sketchbook. Pikachu and Celebi sat against a stump and slept against each other.
"Ash… Sam…", I yawned and stretched my arms. "What are you doing…?"
"Oh… Did we wake you up, Ashley…?" Sam whispered.
"Kinda…", I replied before I walked over to the boys and sat down on Sam's right. "You two couldn't sleep…?"
"Kinda…", Ash replied with a sheepish chuckle and glanced back at Sam's sketchbook. "I saw Sam was drawing something, so I got curious… You draw really well."
That spiked up my curiosity. "Can I look too…?"
"Sure", Sam passed the sketchbook to me.
I flipped gently through the book, each page covered by sketches of all kinds of Pokémon that Sam must have seen. I stopped by the page featuring Pikachu and Celebi, leaning against each other in their sleep. "You are so talented, Sam…", I smiled. "It feels like I'm looking at a Pokédex…"
"That's what I told Sam too…", Ash chuckled.
"These are just a few of the Pokémon I've seen so far…", Sam mumbled and stared up at the starry sky. "You two must know a lot about the future…more than I do…"
I looked at the sky watching the stars blinking with the large moon taking its place as a queen. "Yeah, maybe… But some are saying that it's best not to know too much about the future because it might affect the history… Although I'm not sure what it actually means…"
Ash was quiet for a moment before he spoke up again. "Do you…miss home, Sam…?"
"I do…", Sam nodded, a sad gleam in his eyes. "I often think about my mom and wonder how she's doing… She must be worried about me…"
Ash and I shared a glance before I suddenly felt a little homesick. "I guess so…", Ash mumbled.
"What about your mom…?" Sam asked us. "Does she miss you two…?"
"Yeah, I think so…", Ash replied with a tiny smile. "I guess…that's what moms do when their kids leave home for a journey…"
"If I were a mom… I would be worried about my children too…", I nodded, trying to imagine what it's like to be a mom with a child or two, seeing them leave home to fulfill their dreams.
A growl was suddenly heard from Ash's stomach, which made him chuckle sheepishly. "Whenever we talk about mom, it always reminds me of her delicious cooking…"
"I think I have something we can snack on…", Sam hurried to his backpack and put away his sketchbook, replacing it with a loaf of bread that had been wrapped up in big leaves. "Diana's grandmother gave this to me forty years ago, just before Celebi teleported us…"
"It still looks fresh, though…", Ash commented before he accepted a piece of bread from Sam.
The brunet even gave me a piece that I first inspected. I smelled the bread and detected no bad scent and it felt soft like it had been baked hours ago. It was full of dried berries and some nuts. It looked safe to eat so I took a bite of it. There was like an explosion of flavors in my mouth, making me hum in delight.
"It tastes so good…", I spoke, trying to keep my voice low to not wake Misty and Brock up.
"It tastes like it was baked just yesterday…", Sam nodded.
"We should have this for breakfast with everyone…", Ash suggested.
Pikachu woke up and ran past our feet with Celebi following him. We followed the two Pokémon into the forest and stumbled upon a horde of Metapods that were evolving into Butterfrees. We watched the scene in awe as the newly evolved Butterfrees flew up to the sky, their wings releasing shiny powder that glittered in the darkness just like the stars in the night sky.
"It's beautiful…", I mumbled in awe.
"Yeah… I love watching the wonders of Pokémon", Sam nodded with a big smile on his lips.
"That's what a true Pokémon Trainer thinks", Ash smiled. "We all love Pokémon and we still have a lot to discover…even you, Sam."
"Yeah… My era still has much to learn about Pokémon, so…", Sam sighed deeply before he put on a brave smile. "I want to go back and learn more so I can share my knowledge to the new Trainers in the future… Your future."
"Who knows… Maybe everything we know now…is all thanks to you, Sam", I smiled.
If my theory was correct, then Sam has been with me and Ash ever since we were born and gave us more than just knowledge about the world of Pokémon.
"I hope so", Sam chuckled. "My dream is to become a Pokémon Researcher and live together with Pokémon."
"That's one of the best dreams ever and I know you can do it, Sam", Ash smiled.
The sun was crawling up in the horizon, its light shining through the forest. We climbed up a tree to not just watch the sunrise but also how the Butterfrees flew away to create a new nest with their mates and begin a new life as parents. It was these majestic views that made the journey so worth it to discover the wonders and beauties of the world where we humans lived together with Pokémon in harmony.
It even made me forget about the danger that was still lurking in the forest, the little piece of shadow that was threatening the peace…
XXXXXXXXXX
It didn't take long before Misty and Brock woke up and we ate breakfast featuring Sam's loaf of bread. Once we finished packing our stuff, we walked as fast as we could toward Arborville. It took just a few hours before we reached the moss-covered shrine where we found Sam, so we were almost on safe ground.
That's when all chaos broke loose.
A mechanical arm-like grappler ejected from the trees and nearly grabbed Celebi who flew in the air, but it dodged the trap. The ground shook as Iron Mask's machine walked out from its hidden space and blocked our path.
"You again!" Ash yelled at the man.
"Yahoo, twerps!"
We looked over our shoulders and saw Jessie, James and Meowth were blocking the path behind us, the humans holding landing nets. "It's been a while, twerps!" James chuckled.
"Are you teaming up with that jerk?!" Misty yelled and pointed at Iron Mask.
"Yep! Vicious is our superior, so we work together as a team!" Meowth nodded.
"You've given me a hard time finding you, but now I can finally catch Celebi!" Vicious laughed.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash yelled.
"Pika…CHUUU!" Pikachu released a lightning bolt toward Vicious' machine, but it was reflected back by a force shield, sending lightning bolts around us. They even pushed Celebi away from us, forcing it to fly around in the air while dodging the two grapplers and landing nets.
"Celebi!" Sam yelled worriedly.
The grapplers knocked down several trees around us when Celebi tries flying away, blocking its path, but it also served as a distraction. Before I knew it, one grappler caught Celebi and brought it to Vicious.
"Celebi!" I shrieked worriedly before I coughed by dirt that tickled my throat.
Celebi fought against the grappler, trying to get free, but Vicious didn't let it free. Instead, he harmed Celebi by electrocuting it. Ash and Sam tried running toward the machine to stop Vicious, but the other grappler pushed them back.
Things went in slow motion. Celebi got thrown in the air before Vicious threw a Dark Ball and caught the Pokémon with it. I couldn't believe my eyes that an evil person had caught a Mythical Pokémon in such a dishonorable way.
"Celebi…is MINE!" Vicious yelled, holding the Dark Ball with a proud smirk.
"NOOO!" Sam yelled as he and my brother ran toward the machine now that it stood completely still.
"Release Celebi!" Ash demanded and started climbing up the machine, determined to rescue Celebi from the literal evil clutches.
A couple of Pidgeys flew out from the trees and distracted Vicious by pecking him on his head, even though his helmet protected him from their sharp beaks. It gave Ash enough time to climb up and pounce onto Vicious. He grabbed the adult's arm and tried ripping the Dark Ball out of his hand, but Vicious refused to let go. The wild Pidgeys assisted my brother and continued pecking Vicious, pushing him back in the open cockpit.
All of the sudden, the machine began moving, tumbling backwards with the grapplers swirling in the air, forcing the Pidgeys away from Ash and Vicious. Sam almost got stomped by one of the machine's legs, so he ran back to us as the rest of us watched the scene terrified. The machine stumbled around us before it crashed against some trees and collapsed on its side. The vegetation blocked our sight, so we rushed toward the scene to see if Ash were okay.
I gasped in horror when what was happening. Ash had fallen to the ground with the Dark Ball in his hands, but Vicious was scraping his boot against my brother's hands and fingers, making him yell out in pain.
Anger surged through my body seeing an adult harm my brother. Without thinking twice, I ran to Vicious and pounded my fists on his bulky back. "Leave Ash and Celebi alone!" I yelled and hit Vicious' back, only to pull my hands away as they throbbed in pain. Instead of hitting his back, I had punched some kind of mechanism strapped on his back and hidden underneath his short cloak.
"A-Ashley, stay away!" Ash yelled through gritted teeth.
Vicious glared over his shoulder which made me realize I had put myself in danger. "Stay away, you brat!" he spat before he grabbed my arm and literally threw me back.
I flew in the air before I crashed onto my back, the backpack cushioning the fall so I didn't get hurt, but I still felt sore after the impact. I forced myself up on my elbows in time to see Ash had fainted after enduring the pain Vicious had inflicted onto him. The adult grabbed the Dark Ball and held it like a trophy.
Pikachu, Sam, Misty and Brock ran to me and gasped in horror at Ash's fallen body. They were about to call their Pokémon when the Pokémon living in the forest appeared out of nowhere and surrounded Vicious, each and every one of them growling and screeching at him, demanding him to release Celebi.
Vicious didn't look intimidated by the Pokémon even if their number was probably one-hundred and beyond. "Don't waste your time with this nonsense! Your little Celebi friend doesn't exist anymore!" With that said, he threw the Dark Ball and released Celebi.
Everyone got quiet when the adult called out Celebi, stunned to see he had actually let out Celebi. The little Pokémon's back was turned to us, but I could sense this was no longer the adorable Celebi we got acquainted with for the almost twenty-four hours.
"Celebi, get rid of these Pokémon!" Vicious demanded.
To our horror, Celebi listened to his commands and used its psychic powers to not just push the wild Pokémon away but even hurting them and the forest, knocking down both young and old trees.
"N-No… This can't be happening…", I stuttered in fear. I may have encountered Legendary Pokémon before, but none of them wanted to intentionally hurt humans and Pokémon.
Vicious walked past Ash who was still unconscious, ignoring my brother as he had his eyes on the sight of destruction created by Celebi. Now that the adult was no longer paying attention to Ash, Sam and Brock grabbed him by the arms and pulled him back behind some fallen trees where we took cover.
"Excellent, Celebi", Vicious praised the now evil Pokémon. "Your power exceeds my expectations. Now, show me more of your power!"
Without responding with a single chirp, Celebi activated its power and used it to grab every single material the forest had to offer. Branches, leaves, twigs, thorns, even rocks and pebbles swirled around Celebi creating a mysterious orb that grew larger the more material it gathered for whatever it was doing.
"With your power, I'll become unstoppable!" Vicious laughed as the wind grew violent for each second due to Celebi's power.
We had to hold onto the trunk of the trees where we took cover so we wouldn't get caught in the force of Celebi's psychic power. I spotted our usual Team Rocket hiding by a broken tree too, but Jessie got pulled along and flew among the debris, disappearing inside the mass.
That mass turned into a large cocoon with spikes which Vicious easily jumped onto and took his place. I tried locating Jessie, but I couldn't see her. Maybe she was inside the cocoon just like Celebi.
"Let's go, Celebi! We shall conquer the world!" Vicious yelled.
The cocoon made some sort of noise of acknowledgement before it floated toward the depths of the forest, turning away from Arborville. It knocked down trees forcing the wild Pokémon to run away so they wouldn't get crushed.
"Celebi…", Sam mumbled sadly as we watched the cocoon vanish from our sight.
"Piika…", Pikachu whimpered worriedly.
"We need to stop Vicious and save Celebi!" Misty called out.
"Togiii…", Togepi whimpered in her arms, rubbing her face against her Trainer's bust.
"Yeah, but we can't leave Ash", Brock said as my brother now rested on his back. We had turned him around when the boys brought him to safety. "And we also need to come up with a plan on how to stop Celebi."
"Vicious is controlling Celebi with that Dark Ball", Sam pointed out. "If we can grab it from him and destroy it, Celebi might return to normal."
"But if that doesn't work…?" I mumbled as I gently caressed my brother's cheek, praying he would wake up soon.
"I… I don't know…", Sam shook his head, looking defeated.
"Pika…", Pikachu mumbled sadly, his ears lowered.
A grunt erupted from Ash's lips which caught our attention immediately. Ash slowly opened his eyes, making me sigh in relief that he was okay. "Ash-"
"Celebi!" Ash exclaimed and pushed himself up on his elbows. "I must save it-!" He tried standing up, but he let out another grunt and clutched his abdomen in pain.
"Ash, take it easy!" Misty told him worriedly. "You must have gotten hurt."
"T-This is nothing…compared to what Celebi must be feeling right now…!" Ash grunted and pushed himself up on his feet. I helped him stand up, but I held his shoulders before he could run after Vicious.
"Ash, we are all worried about Celebi, but we can't rush into battle without a plan", I said.
"Ashley's right", Sam nodded. "We need to immobilize Celebi and make it snap out of its hypnotic state."
"H-Hypnosis…?" James' voice cracked as he and Meowth peeked out from their safe spot.
"V-V-Vicious is a whola lot vicious that I thought he was…", Meowth whimpered with his tail low.
"James? Meowth? Vicious left you two behind?" Brock asked confusedly.
"Y-Yeah, and Celebi took Jessie when it used its powers to create that weird cocoon", James nodded with a worried expression.
"This is such a big mess…", Misty sighed tiredly.
"Togii?"
I looked up at the sky when I heard the noise of a propeller approaching from above. To my relief, it was Mr. White flying his balloon boat. "Heeeeey!" he yelled as the vessel descended toward the ground.
"Is everybody okay?!" Diana shouted from the boat with a wave of her hand.
"Diana!" Brock exclaimed in relief.
The vessel landed on the grass next to us, showing Towa had also joined the rescue cavalry. "Oh no…", she gasped in horror as she saw the destruction around us. "What in the name of Arceus happened here?"
"An evil man called Vicious captured Celebi with a weird Poké Ball that made him take control over it!" Sam explained, fear littering his voice.
"Somebody caught and forced it to harm the forest?" Towa's eyes widened in terror.
"Yes, and we need to go after them before Vicious forces Celebi to destroy the whole forest!" Ash shouted.
"Pikachuu!" Pikachu shrieked and jumped onto my brother's shoulder.
"Climb onboard! We can catch up with them from the sky!" Mr. White nodded.
We climbed onboard the vessel, including James and Meowth even though it got a little cramped. We took off to the sky and followed the path of fallen trees created by Celebi's cocoon. It was a devastating sight, seeing the nature being destroyed by the very thing that was supposed to protect it.
"How cruel can a person be, forcing the spirit of the forest to destroy its own home?" Towa growled, clutching her cane in anger.
"We're gonna stop him, I swear!" Brock exclaimed determinedly, mainly to impress Diana who held her grandmother's shoulders.
It didn't take long before we caught up with Vicious and Celebi. However, now that cocoon had metamorphosed into a monster with features resembling the Legendary Pokémon. It had huge naked wings and a pair of arms that resembled the blades of a Scyther. It had teeny tiny legs and instead of walking it was levitating. It looked so hideous like it came out from a horror movie. It was a little bit taller than the trees, being taller than any Pokémon I've ever seen. I quickly realized we were actually heading back to the Lake of Life.
"What is that?!" Diana gasped at the monstrosity.
"I bet it was Evil Celebi who created that from the cocoon from before!" Brock growled.
"Anyone of you got a plan already?" James asked, his voice shaking.
"We need to get as close to Celebi as possible and snap it out of its trance", Sam suggested.
"It's going to be risky, but here goes nothing!" Mr. White called and steered his vessel toward the head of the monster where we suspected Celebi was inside.
"Celebi! Celebi!" we all shouted simultaneously, hoping our calls could wake up Celebi.
Unfortunately, it didn't work and instead got Vicious' attention. "You guys again?! Celebi, destroy them!"
The monster groaned, the noise created by Celebi's psychic power, and turned its head so its open mouth was aimed at us. Energy gathered inside the mouth, preparing to fire a blast at us.
"Hold on!" Mr. White warned us before he steered the vessel away.
He did that in the nick of time just as Celebi fired a beam at us. It missed the main boat, but struck one of the balloons. We held onto the boat as it floated swiftly toward the ground. Mr. White still had some control over the craft, so we landed on the lake. The danger wasn't over, though. I saw Evil Celebi was collecting energy to fire another beam. "Guys!"
Everything after that happened so fast. The boat took off after it got disconnected from the intact balloon just as the beam struck the lake right behind us. The boat was sent flying before we crashed right outside of the lake. I groaned as I slowly got up after the crash, sensing my body was sore. Thankfully, we were all alive.
"Is everybody okay?" Mr. White called out.
"Yeah…"
"I'm okay."
"I think I'm okay…"
"Grandma!" Diana called as Towa struggled to stand up, even with her cane.
"I'm okay, but that was a shock", Towa grunted before she glared at the monster. "We must stop that thing before the forest is ruined."
"I'll take care of this! Let's go, Pikachu!" Ash shouted and jumped out of the boat, running toward the monster.
"Piika!" Pikachu hissed as he ran next to my brother.
"Ash!" Sam called and ran after the duo.
"I'm going too!" I shouted and climbed out of the boat, running after the boys.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash yelled.
Pikachu launched a lightning bolt at the monster, mainly at the claw where Vicious stood on. The adult dodged the move by jumping onto a thick branch of a tree. "Celebi, destroy the children!"
The monster groaned and floated toward us, its mouth glowing again as it gathered energy for another attack. From my observation, Evil Celebi could swiftly collect energy to fire the beam, so we only had seconds to run to safety.
I froze when I suddenly smelled the scent of wind. It smelled and felt a little cold like it had come from the north. A blue and purple blur appeared out of nowhere and forced me and the boys to climb onto its back just as Evil Celebi fired the attack and hit the ground where we had just stood. Smoke filled the air around us, but the creature we sat on leaped out of it revealing its true form.
"Suicune!" I exclaimed in surprise, recognizing the hound Pokémon.
"Kuuuuh!" Suicune howled in response and ran back to the battlefield. It jumped onto the branch Vicious stood on and broke it, making the adult fall down to the ground, but he landed safely just as Suicune.
"Did you come to help us, Suicune?" I asked.
"Kuuh!" Suicune barked. I may not understand Pokémon speech, but I could tell by the tone that bark meant yes.
"Suicune, we need your help to get to Celebi and help it!" Ash begged, Pikachu sitting on his shoulder.
"Kuuuuh!" Suicune nodded, understanding its mission.
"A Celebi and a Suicune…! With two Legendary Pokémon, I shall become the most powerful member of Team Rocket surpassing Giovanni!" Vicious shouted as he called out his Tyranitar. "Tyranitar, Hyper Beam!"
Tyranitar opened its mouth, preparing one of the strongest moves in history when all of the sudden flames engulfed the aggressive Pokémon in a Fire Spin. "Raaaah!" a roar followed after that before a brown hound jumped out from the woods, standing between Tyranitar and Suicune.
"Entei!" Ash yelled in surprise.
"Pika pika!" Pikachu cheered in relief.
"Wow… I can't believe it… Two of the Legendary beasts are standing right in front of my eyes…", Sam mumbled in awe.
Suicune and Entei shared a glance which I noticed. I nodded to myself after I made a quick decision. I jumped off Suicune and patted its head. "Suicune, help my brother and Sam rescue Celebi, okay?"
"Kuuuh!"
"Ashley?!" Ash called concernedly.
I turned to my brother with determined eyes. "I'll stay here to take care of Vicious and his Pokémon with Entei! You focus on Celebi!"
Ash didn't protest and nodded in acknowledgement. "You heard her, Suicune! Let's go!"
"Be careful!" Sam yelled.
"Kuuuuuh!" Suicune howled before it dashed toward the monster as it had slowed down on its tracks.
Tyranitar slashed the Fire Spin and made the flames disperse, freeing it from the trap. Entei bared its teeth and roared at the evil Pokémon, which didn't intimidate the dual type Pokémon. I snatched a Poké Ball from my belt and threw it to call out the chosen Pokémon. "I choose you, Hikaru!"
"Flaaaffyy!" Hikaru bleated as his ears sparkled, ready to battle.
"TAAAAAR!" Tyranitar roared and fired a new Hyper Beam. Entei intercepted the attack with a big Flamethrower, creating a new explosion of thick smoke. I coughed as I covered my face, hearing noises from the two large Pokémon.
As soon as the smoke faded away, I noticed Entei's body glowed in red and glared at Tyranitar. In response, Tyranitar started looking very dizzy and stomped around like it was drunk. I quickly realized Entei had used Swagger to throw the dual Pokémon off guard.
"Now's our chance! Hikaru, use Cotton Spore to slow down Tyranitar!" I yelled.
"Flaaaaaa!" Hikaru released lots of cotton balls from his mouth and aimed them at Tyranitar's face. The dual type Pokémon clawed the cotton on its face, desperate to get rid of the obstacle in its eyes. When it didn't work, it fired another Hyper Beam that struck the forest, scaring several wild Pokémon away.
"Hikaru, try paralyzing Tyranitar with Thunder Shock!" I shouted.
"Flaaa…FFYYY!" Hikaru launched a blue lightning bolt at the rock Pokémon, just barely tickling it. Unfortunately, the electric move scorched the cotton and burned into ashes. Tyranitar scratched the last of the ashes off and roared before stomping toward Hikaru.
"Look out, Hikaru!" I shouted worriedly.
"Raaah!" Entei jumped in front of my Pokémon and breathed a Flamethrower at Tyranitar. The evil Pokémon stopped in its tracks and withstood the fire. Entei took a leap and crashed its body onto Tyranitar, forcing it down on its back.
"Raaa-aaarh!" Entei roared as it looked over its shoulder, telling me to attack the evil Pokémon now that it had it pinned.
"Hikaru, use Charge and then attack with Thunder Shock!" I shouted.
"Flaaaaa…!" Hikaru bleated before he collected his energy to charge up the electricity within him. His body sparkled in blue light before he suddenly started running toward the bundle of Entei and Tyranitar. "FFYYY!"
The next thing I knew, Hikaru's body started glowing in white, catching me off guard. His body grew taller and the wool on his body disappeared and his right arm sparkled in yellow light. The white light vanished, revealing Hikaru's evolved form.
"Amphaaaroos!" Hikaru bleated and punched Tyranitar just after Entei jumped off the evil Pokémon.
"Taaaaar!" Tyranitar screeched as it got electrocuted by Hikaru's new Thunder Punch move. Its body sparkled by electricity, indicating it finally got paralyzed.
"Amphaaa!" Hikaru bleated determinedly.
"Raaah!" Entei barked, keeping its eyes on the fallen Pokémon.
Onix joined us after Brock called him out to assist us. "Oooooo!" he roared and swung his tail, throwing Tyranitar up in the air and into the lake.
"That's one problem left!" Brock shouted from a small hill where everyone else was minus James and Meowth before he recalled Onix.
"Thanks, Brock!" I shouted before I returned Hikaru to his Poké Ball. "You were amazing, Hikaru. Congratulations on evolving." The Poké Ball shook in my hand, which made me smile before I strapped it onto my belt.
A deep shriek from the lake caught my attention. The monster Evil Celebi had created was now floating above the lake. Suicune got caught in some vines from the creature, but I couldn't see where Ash, Pikachu and Sam were. Vicious had at some point jumped back onto one of the monster's claws.
Entei stood next to me, so I sought some comfort by leaning my hand against its fur, watching the monster slowly sink into the Lake of Life. Wild Pokémon had gathered around the lake and cried desperately, wanting the voice of the forest to wake up from Vicious' grasp.
I clenched my other hand into a fist and rested it above my heart. "C'mon, Ash… Sam… Save Celebi…", I mumbled worriedly, clutching Entei's thick fur.
As if Arceus had heard my prayers, the monster started crumbling apart. The twigs and other materials Evil Celebi had created the monster with fell into the lake. I quickly noticed the lake started looking very murky now and not as clean as we saw it yesterday, but my eyes went back to the monster as it sank into the water. I could see three figures flying in the air who I presumed were Ash, Sam and Celebi.
I climbed onto Entei before it ran to another part of the lake where the boys and Celebi were coming down. The others followed us while Suicune dashed around the forest to join us. Entei got to the lake first, so I climbed off and ran to the edge. Ash and Sam were wading toward us in a slow pace, Ash now cradling Celebi in his arms. I could tell something was wrong since his head was down, the cap hiding his face. Even Sam and Pikachu looked very concerned.
"A-Ash…", I called out as our friends had now gathered behind me. "Is Celebi…okay?"
"I don't know", Ash replied with a soft shake of his head. "But something's wrong."
Just as he said that, Celebi's body started shifting colors into a sickening brown color, its body withering like nature when its time was coming to its end. I choked back a gasp as I realized the horrible truth. Celebi was dying in my brother's arms!
Everybody else figured it out too and gasped in horror at Celebi's withering form. "Quick! Get Celebi in the water!" Brock shouted.
Ash crouched down and put Celebi in the water, hoping the lake could revive the fairy, but nothing happened. "It's not working."
"Why not?" Misty asked, her voice shaking a little.
"The forest is wounded", Towa spoke up. "The water has been tainted by the soul who wanted to use the voice of the forest's power for his evil deeds. The Lake of Life…is dying."
"No…", I spoke sadly, biting my lower lip to hold back the sobs that tickled my throat.
"Wait!" Diana called and turned to Suicune with hope glimmering in her eyes. "The folklore says Suicune has the power to purify water!"
"Suicune, if you purify the water we can save Celebi! Please!" Sam begged the hound.
"Kuuuuuuh!" Suicune howled as it activated its power. Its body began glowing in bright blue before it dashed out on the water. It jumped across the surface with light feet, each touch purifying the murky lake and the power expanded until the whole lake was covered with the magic power. Suicune came back to us and Entei just as the light faded away, revealing a crystal clear lake.
"It's true! Suicune really can purify water!" Misty exclaimed in relief.
"Try again, Ash", Mr. White said.
With new hope in our hearts, Ash crouched down once again and made sure Celebi touched the water. "Celebi! The water's clean again", my brother called. When seconds passed by and Celebi didn't show signs of movement, the hope started fading away.
"It's not working…", Towa mumbled sadly.
"Then we have to try something else…!" Ash said, trying to sound determined, and sat down on the edge of the lake. He picked up a Cheri Berry from his jacket that he had foraged last night. "Look. These are the berries we found yesterday. Here… Have one."
Ash gently rubbed the berry against Celebi's dried mouth, but it slipped out of his fingers and fell into the water. He grabbed another berry and tried coaxing Celebi to open its mouth, but the attempt failed again. I could feel my heart clench in pain as I knew there was nothing we could do to save Celebi. It was too late!
"Celebi, you can't die!" Ash shrieked and started crying as he dropped the rest of the Cheri Berries, tears dripping down onto Celebi's lifeless body as he cradled it in his arms.
I collapsed on my knees behind Ash and hugged him tight, resting my face against his free shoulder where Pikachu wasn't holding on. My tears ran down my cheeks and got absorbed by our clothes. Our friends began crying behind us as the wild Pokémon began crying around us, the forest mourning the loss of the voice of the forest.
"C-Celebi didn't do anything wrong…", Sam choked on his tears. "It was a human being who forced Celebi to destroy the forest. Celebi never had a choice… A-And now… It can't have a choice. Now it's too late to choose 'cause Celebi is dead!"
Hearing the truth coming out from somebody's mouth hurt my heart even more, causing me to sob even harder. I knew Pokémon had a limited lifespan just like humans, but witnessing a Pokémon's death was awful, especially since I love Pokémon of all kinds, even with my fear. But for a Pokémon to die because a human had used it for their selfish needs was the worst way. Every living being deserves to sleep in peacefully when their time comes to an end.
Our cries were drowned by the wild Pokémon's cries and the two Legendary hounds' howls as they sent their goodbyes to Celebi. My ears rang as I tried calming down, but my sobs kept escaping my lips. I could have sworn I heard a ringing noise, but I ignored it as I breathed against Ash's neck, taking deep breaths to relax and not overwhelm my body.
"A-Ash… Ashley…!" Misty gasped.
I opened my eyes and noticed a strange light had engulfed the lake. I glanced up with tears in my eyes, seeing a weird light far above us. The trees were engulfed in that light, which I soon recognized. It was the same light we saw when Celebi had transported itself and Sam to our time.
A beacon of light erupted from the light orb before it opened a portal. Dozens of Celebis flew out and descended toward us, flying in circles. I even spotted a pink Celebi, but it blended in well among the green Celebis because they were all glowing in bright green colors.
A couple of Celebis floated down to Ash and picked up our withered Celebi with their psychic powers. They levitated it up to the other Celebis before they began dancing. The air was filled with a harmonious hum that sounded like angels were singing along with the Celebis. Their powers engulfed themselves and our Celebi while we kept watching in awe, wondering what they were doing.
It didn't take long before we saw movement from our Celebi. I held back a gasp of relief as I realized its friends had revived it. "Biiiii!" Celebi shrieked in joy, thanking the other Celebis.
Everyone sighed in relief, wiping the last of their tears. I could still feel one last sob coming out of my throat, but it was a sob job of joy. "The spirits of the past and future can travel through time as well, so they have all come here…to revive our Celebi", Towa said.
"They must have sensed Celebi was in danger, so they came to help it", Sam nodded.
Witnessing this miracle made my heart sing in relief. I never wanted to see another Pokémon die like this ever again. The other Celebis flew back to the time gate where I could have sworn I saw a silhouette of another Pokémon that looked far different compared to the fairies. I squinted to see what Pokémon it was, but the portal vanished in a bright light as soon as the last Celebi flew inside of it.
The wild Pokémon shrieked and cried in happiness as Celebi flew around in the air and enjoyed being alive again. We waved our arms as it flew toward us above the lake. Sam held his arms out for Celebi to fly into and give him a hug.
Sadly, while we were in the midst of joy, we had forgotten about the culprit.
Just meters away from us, water splashed up from the lake before Vicious jumped out from the spray and grabbed Celebi. "Celebi!" Sam yelled in shock.
"Now I have everything I need to rule this world!" Vicious declared, tightening his grasp on Celebi.
Ash immediately rushed into the water to help Celebi, Pikachu still sitting on his shoulders. "Let Celebi go!"
"Ash!" I yelled worriedly as my brother pushed himself through the water as it came up to his chest.
Vicious pressed a random button behind him that activated the mechanism I had punched before, revealing it was some kind of jetpack. He took off to the sky, but Ash managed to grab onto one of his legs and flew along with the adult.
"Ash!" Misty shrieked as we followed them with our eyes.
"We need to help Ash and rescue Celebi!" Mr. White called.
"But none of us has Pokémon that can fly as fast as that jetpack!" Brock exclaimed.
The little panic got interrupted when we heard Pikachu's faint cry along with a Thunderbolt electrocuting Vicious and Ash. A small explosion erupted after that, clearly Pikachu had destroyed the jetpack, but now my brother, Pikachu and Vicious were falling down heading toward the forest instead of the lake.
Thankfully, Celebi caught Ash and Pikachu with its psychic powers and levitated down to us safely. That couldn't be said for Vicious. He got his punishment by crashing down the trees and onto the ground where he got surrounded by the angry wild Pokémon and the natives. The bug Pokémon trapped him with String Shot after he realized he had lost all of his Dark Balls with the rest of his Pokémon and tried talking out of the mess he had created.
He got karma, that's for sure.
Now that the forest was safe and Celebi was alive, the Legendary hounds prepared themselves to leave. "Entei! Suicune!" Ash called. "Thanks for your help!"
"Pika pika!"
Entei and Suicune nodded in response before they ran off, heading to wherever they wanted to go. I felt a little sad seeing Suicune leave, but it was for the best. Legendary Pokémon were meant to roam safely across the planet and protect our world.
"See you again, Suicune…", I whispered, smelling the last cold breeze coming from the water hound.
"Bii!" Celebi yelped and floated up to the sky before it activated its power. "Bii-ii!"
"I think Celebi is ready to travel back to the past", Towa spoke up. "And it wants to bring you too, Sam."
"Can you really bring me back home, Celebi?" Sam asked the fairy Pokémon when it approached him.
"Bi!" Celebi nodded.
I have almost forgotten Sam had come from the past. We have only known him for two days, but he already felt like an old friend after everything we've been through.
"Looks like…this is goodbye, Sam", Ash spoke, his voice cracking a little by the emotions he held back.
"Y-Yeah…", Sam responded with the same voice, his eyes turning glassy by unshed tears.
"B-But even so…", I mumbled as I held back my own tears. "We will always be friends…through time and space."
Sam nodded silently before he got levitated by Celebi and floated toward the time portal together. "Thank you, Ash, Ashley, everyone! Thank you for everything! Maybe…we'll meet again someday!"
"I know we will!" Ash cried and waved his arm frantically. "See you soon!"
"Goodbye!" Sam's voice echoed as he and Celebi were engulfed by the time power and disappeared from our sight.
I shed a few tears along with my brother as I hugged him from behind, knowing Ash took it worse because he had formed a bond with Sam that only boys could create. "We will meet Sam again, Ash… I know we will…", I whispered in his ear.
"H-How do you know, Ashley…?" Ash mumbled as he bit his bit to hold back the sobs.
I didn't want to tell him my theory, so I kept it to myself for now. "I just know…"
Ash didn't say more, but he grabbed one of my hands and held it tight as we shared the tearful moment before it was time to return to civilization and turn Vicious in to the authorities.
This adventure may have left a heavy weight in our hearts, but it was part of life. With good things came bad things and vice versa. It was also a test to see how much we could learn and grow from different goodbyes and circumstances.
I prayed this was the first and only time I would ever have to witness a human being take control over a Legendary Pokémon and involuntarily kill it in the end.
XXXXXXXXXX
Ashley's party:
Cedric the Larvitar (male)
Hikaru the Ampharos (male)
Mystic the Togetic (male)
Victor the Houndoom (male)
Axel the Scyther (male)
Lily the Espeon (female)
XXXXXXXXXX
Ashley's Pokémon at the Lab:
Trica the Furret (female)
XXXXXXXXXX
Ash's party:
Pikachu (male)
Bayleef (female)
Cyndaquil (male)
Croconaw (male)
Shiny Noctowl (male)
Dunsparce (male)
XXXXXXXXXX
Ash's Pokémon at the Lab:
Heracross (male)
Wartortle (male)
Tauros (male)
Ivysaur (male)
Snorlax (male)
XXXXXXXXXX
Misty's party:
Goldeen (female)
Staryu (genderless)
Psyduck (male)
Togepi (female)
Poliwhirl (male)
Chinchou (female)
XXXXXXXXXX
Brock's party:
Geodude (male)
Onix (male)
Crobat (male)
Pineco (male)