I couldn't help but laugh as I wrote this chapter, this episode was one of my favorites even without Misty, so now it's just plain epic. xD I'm ashamed that it's taking so long for me to update, but I guess time makes quality, right? I would really like some more reviews, I acccept anonymous reviews, so please, if you take the time to read this, tell me what you think, it fuels me! At any rate, enjoy this chapter! I own nothing but the story.
_
Chapter 25
Misty's POV
Of all the people to meet up with in the middle of nowhere…we met up with Gary Oak? The coincidence was almost too much to handle. On the other hand, I was kind of glad we ran into him, he gave Paul a bit of a reality check. Speaking of Paul, I now thought that I might've been wrong about Paul being TOTALLY heartless towards Pokémon. His Torterra seemed to have a place somewhere in that angry soul of his. But that didn't mean I didn't have fun bashing his head in with my mallet, it had soooo much satisfaction involved.
And to top it all off, Ash's Gligar evolved into Gliscor and conquered its fear, and all it cost was…Ash's shoulder. I couldn't believe he didn't tell me about the pain he was in right away, I would've backed off instead of snaring him into a kiss…or would I have?
At any rate, we eventually bandaged him up so he could recover. Later on, we wound up in Hearthome City and Ash ran right for the gym to challenge the gym leader. And wouldn't you know? Ash did lose it when the leader still wasn't back. I tried to cool him off calmly, lovingly, eventually sternly, but he was really steamed. So I did something I was really wishing I would only have to save for Paul. I whacked him.
He calmed down really quickly then. Then, Dawn found someone she saw out of a magazine: Paris, the Pokémon Stylist. She had a gorgeous Lopunny with her, and when she saw Dawn's Buneary, she suggested that Dawn enter the Pokémon Collection. This was basically a Pokémon Fashion Show.
Ash was all for it, but I opted to stay out of it. I didn't want to be anymore like my sisters than I had become already. And there was this one really mean girl named Cocoa. She laughed at Buneary and practically called it ugly! Buneary felt just awful after that. But I managed to coax Pikachu into going to comfort her.
After a bit of friendly encouragement from Pikachu, Buneary felt on top of the world again and gave the coy electric-type a hug, which Pikachu very, VERY, slowly reciprocated. I guessed that Pikachu would eventually turn from Ash's old personality into Ash's newer, mature one. No one was more surprised than Buneary when Pikachu actually reciprocated the gesture.
Pikachu might've crawled out of his own skin if Dawn didn't go get Buneary so that they could design their outfits. Brock ended up designing Ash's outfit, and Dawn did her own thing. The next day the competition started, and believe it or not, Dawn won! And all she and Buneary wore was a simple yet beautiful white dress.
She used her coordinator skills to make the perfect design that would show off her Pokémon's natural abilities and appearances; I thought Pikachu's eyes were gonna pop out of his head as he watched Buneary skate across the ice of her own 'Ice Beam'.
Speaking of Pikachu, I had myself one heck of a long laugh when Ash and Pikachu came out on stage in their outfits, and the rest of the audience did too. Ash practically had no clothes on! Just enough to cover the important parts, but Ash seemed to have no shame; he marched along the stage with Pikachu, having the time of his life, but I made sure to give him a good-natured heckling afterwards.
But this event did not go without its bad turning points. Team Rocket appeared AGAIN to try and take Pokémon AGAIN, and we sent them packing AGAIN. Same old, same old.
Oh, and I did I mention that Cocoa ran away crying when she lost? Maybe it was wrong that I was happy about that, but hey, she deserved it. After everything ended, we said goodbye to our new friend, and headed to Celestic Town for Dawn's next contest, which we were doing right now, as we walked through a narrow ravine.
Normal POV
"How much further Brock? My feet are killing me." Misty groaned. "According to the map, Celestic Town is right past this ravine." Brock replied. "I can't wait to get there, we'll be able to chill out and relax until Dawn's contest." Ash said. "You better rest that shoulder of yours Ash." Misty warned. "Oh yeah? What if I don't?" Ash asked. "I'll put you in traction if you don't." Misty replied.
"Love you too Mist." Ash said as he rolled his eyes at his fiery girlfriend. "Rolling your eyes can be a dangerous thing to do with a girlfriend." Misty warned playfully. "Uh, hey guys, what's up there?" Dawn asked.
Sure enough, there was something up ahead. The group trudged forward and saw a trio of Psyduck, holding their heads in their hands from the constant headache they always had. "Great, one Psyduck isn't enough, now here's three more." Misty said, annoyed.
"Psyduck, the duck Pokémon. When a Psyduck's headache gets severe, it starts emitting odd powers." Dawn's Pokédex said.
"It takes a lot to do that, believe me." Misty groaned. "Well, they're in our way, and we have to get through here!" Dawn exclaimed. "We could always ask them." Brock suggested. Ash did just that.
"Hi, mind if we get through?" Ash asked. The Psyduck suddenly growled, and their eyes began to glow an eerie purple color. "I don't think I like this!" Brock exclaimed nervously. Before the teens knew it, they were being held in mid-air by the Psyduck's 'Confusion' attack. They were sent thrown back, and poor Ash grasped his pained shoulder that had been healing well up until now.
"Hey! What do they think they're doing?" Dawn screamed. "We were only trying to pass by!" Brock added. "Brock, come over here and help me re-bandage Ash's shoulder." Misty said, resentment for the Psyduck growing stronger in her voice.
Ash quickly let go of his shoulder and stood up. "Forget it Misty, I'm fine!" Ash insisted. "But Ash, you've got to heal!" Misty exclaimed. "Worry about me later, but if those Psyduck want to play rough, I'll play rough!" Ash yelled determinedly.
Ash and Pikachu both charged the Psyduck in hopes that they would back down, but instead the Psyduck fired a 'Hidden Power' attack that knocked them right back where they came from. "Ash! If you keep this up, your shoulder will end up broken instead of bruised!" Misty screamed.
With MUCH reluctance, Ash kneeled onto the ground and let Misty tend to him, but his gaze never averted from the Psyduck. "What's up with them anyway?" Ash asked angrily. "It looks like the Psyduck have put up some kind of roadblock." Brock said.
"Or maybe they're just being pains like they're supposed to be." Misty spat. "I thought you liked ALL water-types Misty?" Dawn asked. "Not when they purposely hurt my friends." Misty replied. "We could always try another way." Brock suggested.
"What is the fastest alternate route?" Dawn asked. "Let's see…if we can't get through here…we'll have to retrace our steps and go all the way around." Brock said, as he scanned the map for another way.
"What? But that'll take days and days! We'll miss the contest!" Dawn exclaimed. "Don't worry, we're getting through here or else!" Ash yelled angrily. With a newly bandaged arm, Ash stomped up to the Psyduck trio with clenched fists. "If you're gonna be like that, then I'm gonna be like this!" Ash said menacingly.
"Ok! Turtwig, I choose you!" With his good shoulder, Ash tossed out his grass-type's Pokéball and got himself pumped for the battle. Turtwig appeared and did the same.
"Turtwig, use 'Razor Leaf'!" Ash ordered. Turtwig complied and launched a flurry of leaves at the three water-types. But the three Psyduck easily countered with their 'Hidden Power', and Ash did not appreciate that at all.
"Turtwig, now use 'Bite'!" Ash ordered. Turtwig charged the three Pokémon and managed to bite onto one of their heads, but the remaining two Psyduck used 'Confusion' to remove Turtwig and throw him back towards his master.
"Turtwig! You alright?" Ash asked with concern. Turtwig nodded in response. "Good. Turtwig, return." Ash said, as he returned his grass-type to its ball. "I think I'll give it a shot next!" Misty exclaimed as she clutched a Pokéball in her hand.
But out of the blue, Piplup began chirping in an attempt to communicate. "You want us to leave this up to you?" Dawn asked. Piplup nodded, and walked up to the three Psyduck and began chirping away.
"Piplup's up to something." Ash said. "It almost sounds like Piplup's negotiating." Dawn said. "Piplup? Negotiate?" Ash asked in shock. "We tried negotiation already; we got thrown out as a result." Misty hissed. "Maybe they'll listen to another Pokémon then?" Brock said hopefully.
Their hopes were shot down when the three Psyduck launched another 'Hidden Power' attack at the small penguin-Pokémon. Piplup was knocked to the ground, but it quickly got up in a rage; Dawn, ironically enough, had the same rage because her Pokémon had been maliciously attacked.
"You can't do that to my Piplup! 'Bubblebeam', let's go!" Dawn ordered. Piplup fired, but the attack was merely sent back to hit Piplup thanks to the Psyduck's 'Confusion' attack. "Piplup, use 'Whirlpool'!" Dawn ordered.
Piplup launched its most powerful attack at the three duck-Pokémon, sure that this one could not be so easily stopped. They were half right. It wasn't easy, but the three Psyduck were able to divert the whirlpool away from themselves, and then send Piplup flying as well.
When Dawn went to check on Piplup, she found that it had fainted. "Those Psyduck." she hissed angrily, "Take a long rest."
"That did it! I'm fighting water with water! Misty calls Staryu!" With a strong softball-like throw, Misty's sea-star Pokémon emerged with a battle-shout.
"Use 'Water Gun'!" Misty ordered. Staryu launched a high-powered stream of water at the duck-Pokémon, but they merely countered with their own attack of 'Hidden Power'.
"Alright, use 'Swift'!" Misty ordered. Staryu spun and launched a flurry of stars at the three Psyduck. But once again it was countered, by yet another 'Hidden Power' attack. "(Growl) Alright, ram them down with 'Rapid Spin'!" Misty ordered.
Staryu attempted to charge them, but it turned into a failure as the Psyduck used 'Confusion' to take Staryu off course and slam it into the side of the ravine. Staryu's red light began a weak flashing, signaling its defeat. "These Psyduck are nothing like mine." Misty hissed.
"Croagunk, come on out!" Brock called out his poison/fighting-type and readied himself for battle. "Use 'Poison Sting'!" Brock ordered. Croagunk fired sharp needles of poison at the trio of Psyduck, but again the attack was diverted back at them by 'Confusion'.
"Quick Croagunk, use 'Poison Jab'!" Brock ordered. Croagunk charged ahead to try and punch the Psyduck with a poisonous hand, but their 'Hidden Power' kept Croagunk away. The they used 'Confusion' once more and smashed Croagunk into the wall, leaving it fainted.
"Croagunk's had it!" Brock yelled. "These Psyduck haven't launched a single water-type move at us. Maybe we can use some fire-power!" Misty exclaimed.
"In that case, Chimchar, I choose you!" Ash threw out another Pokéball, and this time his small fire-type emerged to face the Psyduck. "Use 'Flamethrower'!" Ash ordered.
Chimchar spewed a powerful flame at the three Psyduck, but they easily countered with the one move they hadn't used yet: 'Water Gun'. Chimchar was knocked back by the combined water jets and rolled backwards before finally stopping.
"They're just too strong!" Dawn exclaimed. Ash returned Chimchar to its Pokéball, and then an evil ring of laughter was heard from the top of the ravine.
"Team Rocket!" the group yelled.
"We've been monitoring your twerpish mayhem!" Jessie exclaimed. "That trio of troublemakers seems to have you sad sacks stymied!" James added. "You're more yellow den dey are!" Meowth added.
"Oh yeah? And I suppose YOU could do better than US?" Ash yelled angrily. "As a matter of fact, our knowledgeable knowhow will get us past them lickety split!" James said smugly. "Oh please, you don't have the brains to pull something like that off!" Misty screamed.
"Well twerpette, I don't see you coming up with any bright ideas. But since we're grownups the word 'can't' is not part of our vocabulary!" Jessie exclaimed. "Really? Bet 'loser's' part of it!" Dawn jeered. Team Rocket face-faulted and groaned. "Good one Dawn!" Misty cheered.
Misty high-fived the younger girl on a heckle well done. "Quit stealin' da punch line and watch this!" Meowth yelled. Team Rocket leaped down into the chasm, rather impressively in fact, and approached the Psyduck with a strangely high amount of confidence.
"Alrighty then Meowth, your move." Jessie said. "It's time to find your negotiation groove!" James added. "Just watch me sweet talk these three wacky worry warts!" Meowth exclaimed. With that, Meowth began talking to the Psyduck, trying to find some way to reason with them.
"Are they negotiating too?" Ash asked. "Your guess is as good as mine." Brock replied. "Do you think it'll work?" Dawn asked. "Same with your guess as well." Brock replied. "All I know is that if it does work, I'll need someone to use 'Water Gun' on my face." Misty said. "Why's that Misty?" Dawn asked. "To prove I'm not dreaming." Misty replied.
After a bit more mumbling from Meowth, the Psyduck had had enough. They used 'Confusion' once more and held Team Rocket in mid-air. After slamming Team Rocket's heads together in the air, the Psyduck sent them packing.
"What kind of negotiation was that?" James yelled. "Da wrong kind!" Meowth replied. "Not on THEIR part!" Jessie added.
"We're blasting off again!" *Ping*
"They need to get a hobby or something." Ash said with a sweat-drop. "I'm actually kind of glad they failed." Misty said. "Why's that Misty?" Dawn asked. "Now I know for sure that I'm not dreaming." Misty replied. The group face-faulted at that.
"Well, obviously those Psyduck won't respond to the gentle approach, and they're too strong to fight." Dawn said. "Maybe if we had a mixture of both." Brock suggested. "What do you mean Brock?" Misty asked. Brock called out his Happiny who gave a happy squeal upon release.
"Maybe they won't fight back against a baby Pokémon." Brock suggested. "Oh no, you're not getting Azurill anywhere near those three!" Misty screamed defensively, holding Azurill's Pokéball far out of reach. "Come on Misty, we've gotta try!" Ash exclaimed. "We just can't go all the way around!" Dawn exclaimed pleadingly.
Misty gave a sad sigh and released Azurill, who emerged in her arms. "You listen to Uncle Brock, ok?" Misty said. Azurill nodded and nuzzled Misty's cheek affectionately before joining Happiny to face the Psyduck on the dusty trail.
"Happiny, Azurill, think you could get those Psyduck out of the way?" Brock asked. Happiny and Azurill nodded. "Ok, then let's get to it!" Brock exclaimed. Happiny and Azurill charged the trio of Psyduck.
But despite the fact that they were baby Pokémon, the Psyduck attacked anyway, although with noticeably less power than their previous 'Hidden Power's'. Both Happiny and Azurill were knocked into a nearby rock, and they landed on the ground with a thud. Azurill began crying, but Happiny was now steamed.
"Azurill!" Misty cried. She ran to pick up her baby water-type and console it, but not before giving Brock the iciest glare she had ever given in her life. "Sorry, but we had to try." Brock said nervously. Misty merely glared again before going back to softly cooing in the sniffling baby's ear.
Suddenly, Happiny got up and picked up an enormous boulder, practically daring the Psyduck to stop the next attack. "Whoa, look!" Dawn exclaimed. The group watched in awe as Happiny held the huge boulder, but became nervous when Happiny began to falter.
"H-Happiny! Put down the rock please!" Brock cried. That, unfortunately, was not an option. The group ran around frantically to avoid being crushed by the enormous boulder. Happiny eventually tripped up, and the boulder was smashed to pieces upon impact with the ravine walls.
"Happiny, are you ok?" Brock asked worriedly. Happiny opened its eyes to its master, but eventually fainted just from pure exhaustion.
"I've got an idea!" Dawn exclaimed suddenly. "It better not involve Azurill." Misty warned, hugging Azurill to her chest. "Don't worry; this is a one Pokémon plan." Dawn reassured. "Then knock yourself out." Misty said.
"Swinub, it's your turn! Take a shot!" Dawn called out her newest Pokémon, who readied itself to take its first official orders from its new master.
"Dig', let's go!" Dawn ordered. Swinub did just that. It dug a hole to avoid its attack being countered by the three Psyduck. "I'm sure it'll work if Swinub launches an underground attack!" Dawn exclaimed. "Great idea!" Ash exclaimed. "A much better plan than what SOMEONE came up with." Misty sneered; still upset that Brock's plan had caused Azurill pain.
Just when the group thought they had figured out an effective strategy, the trio of Psyduck used 'Confusion' once more, lifting Swinub up and out of the hole, and then they let go, sending Swinub plummeting down to earth.
"Swinub! Are you alright?" Dawn asked worriedly. Swinub gave a pained moan before Dawn returned the pig-Pokémon to its Pokéball. "So much for that idea." Misty moaned. "Now what're we gonna do?" Ash asked. "There's just got to be some explanation as to why those three are acting in such an angry and forceful way." Brock said.
"I've got it! Misty, don't you have a Psyduck too?" Dawn asked. "Hey yeah! Maybe Psyduck can find out why those Psyduck are acting the way they are!" Ash exclaimed. "You guys do remember who you're talking about right? My Psyduck can't even walk straight." Misty groaned.
"Come on Mist, what've you got to lose?" Ash asked. "My dignity for one thing…fine…I'll call out Psyduck." Misty said reluctantly. She grabbed Psyduck's Pokéball and almost tossed it, but Psyduck popped out while the ball was still in her hand, giving Misty a slight shock.
"Why can't you just wait until I call you?" Misty moaned, already regretting the whole idea. "Psy." (Sorry.) Psyduck replied. "Psyduck, go and talk to those other Psyduck and find out why they won't let us by." Misty said.
Apparently understanding, Psyduck turned and walked up to its wild counterparts. But for quite a few moments, the Psyduck merely stared at each other, observing the other. "At least the Psyduck aren't attacking this time." Ash said. "But it doesn't look like we're getting anywhere with this." Brock added.
After a few more moments of staring, Misty's Psyduck finally did what it was told. It asked the three Psyduck why they were making the roadblock. For the first time all day, one of the Psyduck actually spoke up and explained their situation. Apparently the Psyduck had an extremely valid reason, because upon the explanation ending, Psyduck's eyes grew in shock before it turned to walk away.
"Awesome job Psyduck! So what'd they say?" Misty asked, beaming with pride at her normally dopey Pokémon. Misty's pride vanished almost immediately and was replaced with rage. Psyduck had purposely pushed the return button on his Pokéball and disappeared from sight.
"Psyduck! Get back out here!" Misty screamed angrily. Psyduck was forced back out of its ball, and it looked up at its master with confusion. "Psyduck, what…did…they…say?" Misty asked through clenched teeth. Psyduck merely shook its aching head. "Whaddya mean NO?" Misty screamed furiously. Psyduck ignored its master's rage, and withdrew back into its ball.
Misty growled and picked up Psyduck's Pokéball off the ground, swinging her arms frantically with pure rage. "The one time I ask you to do something and you refuse to do it? You just stay in there you…you…dope." Misty threw down Psyduck's Pokéball and huffed, crossing her arms in frustration.
The trio of Psyduck freaked out upon seeing their fellow Psyduck being abused by the red-headed girl and used 'Confusion' on Misty to get her to stop. "Aah! Ash, help!" Misty cried. Ash tried to help. He ran underneath Misty wherever the Psyduck held her.
"Pikachu, use 'Thunderbolt' and get those Psyduck to let her down!" Ash ordered. Pikachu charged the Psyduck with sparking red cheeks, and unleashed a furious 'Thunderbolt' on the three Psyduck. Forced to stop their attack and counter, the Psyduck dropped Misty onto the waiting cushion that was Ash's body and countered Pikachu's 'Thunderbolt' with a blast of 'Hidden Power'.
"Oof, you alright Misty?" Ash strained. "I feel a little dizzy…but otherwise I'm ok." Misty said woozily. She slowly got up to her feet and steadied herself, while Ash took in a deep breath and stared down the three Psyduck with rage.
"No one does that to my friends! It's time for the heavy artillery! Charizard, I choose you!" Ash called out his most powerful Pokémon to teach the Psyduck a lesson they'd never forget. "Alright, get them out of the way with 'Steel Wing'!" Ash ordered.
Charizard charged ahead with glowing wings of steel, but the Psyduck were not just going to stand there and be hit. They teamed up for 'Water Gun' and tried to hold Charizard back. And although Charizard was substantially slowed down by the damage the water was doing, it eventually broke free of the attack and sent one of the Psyduck flying.
"Yeah Charizard! One down, two to go!" Ash cheered. But his cheer was premature, as one Psyduck fired 'Water Gun' at the large fire-type to keep it at bay, and the other used 'Confusion' to bring back the one that Charizard had seemingly gotten rid of.
"You've gotta be kidding!" Misty screamed. "Alright Charizard, show them your 'Flamethrower'!" Ash ordered. Charizard spewed a flame that almost doubled in power in comparison to Chimchar's 'Flamethrower', but the three Psyduck were just barely able to hold it back with the combined 'Water Gun' attacks.
"That does it! Use 'Seismic Toss' on all of them!" Ash ordered. Charizard charged ahead once more to grab the trio of Psyduck and knock them out simultaneously, but the three Psyduck's 'Confusion' attack slowed Charizard down.
With its master's encouragement ringing in its ears, Charizard broke free of the psychic-attack and grabbed the three Psyduck, did three mid-air flips, and then slammed the Psyduck trio into the ground, leaving Charizard exhausted, but nevertheless, victorious.
"You did it Charizard!" The group cheered for the powerful dragon who had exhausted himself from attacking and withstanding attacks. But just when they thought they'd actually get through, they couldn't believe what they saw coming from the other side of the ravine.
"Please tell me I'm seeing things!" Dawn cried. "I wish I could, but here come some more Psyduck!" Brock replied. Sure enough, a new trio of Psyduck now stood in their way, allowing the defeated Psyduck to walk away with no further damage. Charizard's jaw dropped in disbelief. All that work only to find out that…
"They work in shifts!" Misty cried. Indeed they did. And the battle had carried over to their shift, so the new Psyduck combined their attacks for one strong 'Water Gun', and Charizard could take no more. It fainted.
"Thanks for your help Charizard…return." Ash sadly recalled his powerful friend, and looked at his human friends with an expression of utter exasperation. "Now what?" he asked.
The group sat in a circle on the ground, as if in a huddle trying to pick out their next strategy. "How's your head?" Ash asked. "Ironically, now it hurts like one of those Psyduck's. Getting hit with a psychic-attack is no fun." Misty replied, holding her head like a Psyduck.
Ash placed the red-headed trainer's head on his good shoulder, allowing Misty to relax and try to ease the pain of her mild migraine. "How's your shoulder?" she asked. "Ahh, it's a little sore, but I think I'm alright." Ash replied.
"Here Misty, take this for your headache." Brock said, handing Misty two pills and a water bottle. "What are these?" Misty asked, as she swallowed Brock's prescription. "Calcium and Magnesium. It'll take care of that headache in no time. Until then, try to relax." Brock said.
Misty gingerly nodded her aching head and leaned back onto Ash's waiting shoulder. "Now let's think about this, what could be so important that the Psyduck have to fight to keep us away?" Brock asked. "Maybe the Psyduck are trying to warn us about trouble ahead." Dawn suggested. "But that's not worth keeping a secret. If there was trouble, why did Psyduck refuse to tell us what they said?" Misty asked.
"I don't know, maybe it's just your Psyduck being loopy?" Dawn asked. "Psyduck, believe it or not, has gotten me out of jams before." Misty said. "Yeah, I remember when Team Rocket captured you and Psyduck found us and told us where you were." Ash said.
"Then Psyduck should have a valid reason for not telling us." Brock said. "Well we've got to find out one way or another, any ideas?" Misty asked. After a bit of looking around, Ash spotted a ledge where the answer to their question would be found.
"Maybe I can get up there to see past the Psyduck, I'll just fly over them!" Ash said. "But Ash, Charizard's had enough, I don't think he can fly you over them." Misty said. "Besides, Charizard would be too easily spotted by those Psyduck." Brock added.
"No sweat, I'll just use Gliscor and hang onto his legs." Ash added. "Ash, are you sure?" Dawn asked nervously. "No need to worry, everything will be fine." Ash reassured. "One question big guy, you intend to climb up there with YOUR shoulder?" Brock asked. "Hmm…that might be a problem." Ash said, clutching his aching shoulder.
"I can get him up there. If Charizard can be a plane, then Gyarados can be an elevator." Misty said. "Thanks Mist. Alright, we have a plan!" Ash exclaimed. The group stood up to give Misty some space. Brock gave noticeably more than everyone else.
With a light toss, Misty called out her water-dragon who gave an intimidating roar upon release. The three Psyduck cringed and tensed, but slowly relaxed when Gyarados made no hostile movements against them. "Gyarados, get us up to that ledge please." Misty said. Gyarados nodded and lowered its head for Ash and Misty to climb on.
It then slowly raised its head up to the ledge, and safely deposited Ash and Misty onto the ledge. "Thanks Gyarados." Misty said. Gyarados nodded before returning to its ball. "You sure you don't want to think about this Ash? I mean…Gliscor?" Misty asked. "Don't worry Mist, Gliscor can do it." Ash reassured.
Misty gave Ash a look that said she didn't believe that statement. "Ok fine, he can try at least. Besides, like you said, Charizard's exhausted." Ash said. "I'm starting to regret pointing that out." Misty said. Ash gave a small chuckle and pulled out a Pokéball.
"Ok, Gliscor, I choose you!" Ash called out the fang-scor Pokémon, who had apparently learned its lesson and decided to land on the ground and not Ash's face. "Ok, here's the deal. We need to fly there." Ash said, pointing off into the distance.
Gliscor looked into the distance nervously, which was quickly picked up by his trainer. "Oh, I get it. You're worried that there's not enough wind." Ash said in understanding. "Remember when you came to get me Ash? You used Staravia for wind." Misty said. "Hey yeah! Ok, Staravia, I need your help too!" Ash threw out another Pokéball, and Staravia emerged with a shrill cry.
"Alright, when I say go, I want you to flap up some wind!" Ash exclaimed. "Ash, remember to be careful!" Dawn exclaimed. All of a sudden, Brock returned, wearing a Mexican outfit and a sombrero, holding six Pokéball maracas. "What…are those? And why are you dressed up like that?" Dawn asked in shock.
"I thought if we could distract the Psyduck, they wouldn't notice Ash while he's in the air with Gliscor. Now come on, let's hurry!" Brock exclaimed.
Despite Dawn's cries of protest, Brock grabbed the bewildered coordinator by the wrist and handed her two maracas, while Ash and Misty laughed at the scene from the ledge. Brock was now dancing in front of the Psyduck, keeping them occupied. "For the girls, yeah! Mmmm!"
Dawn watched awkwardly as Brock continued to dance. "Dawn, you too!" Brock exclaimed quietly. "Come on, you're not serious, are you?" Dawn asked. "I'm afraid he is!" Misty exclaimed with a laugh. "Misty, I've got some for you too!" Brock exclaimed. "Err, no thanks, I have to stay here and watch for Ash." Misty replied.
"Suit yourself; we'll just have some fun down here!" Brock exclaimed. Brock continued to dance and chant, and reluctantly the blue-haired coordinator danced along. "I look like an idiot doing this!" she thought bitterly.
"Poor Dawn, I feel sorry for her." Misty said, as she quietly snickered at the coordinator's misfortune. "Well, this is it. Wish me luck Mist." Ash said. With a quick peck on his cheek, Misty did just that. "Good luck Ash, and be careful."
"Alright, Staravia, let's flap up some wind!" Ash ordered. Staravia complied and flapped its wings, creating a powerful gust. "Alright, Gliscor, get going!" Ash yelled. Jumping into the gust of wind at its back, Gliscor flapped frantically and plummeted to earth, but eventually regained its composure and swooped back into the air.
On Gliscor's next pass, Ash grabbed onto its legs and held on, leaving Misty to watch and wait for his return. "He's toast." Misty thought. She tried to keep her mind off of Ash by watching the amusing show which consisted of Brock making a fool of himself and Dawn being humiliated to even know the wacky breeder.
Ash's POV
"Yeah, Gliscor you're doing really great!" I tried to encourage my newly evolved Pokémon to fly in a straight pattern, but I couldn't stop myself from thinking that I would prefer to ride Charizard any day. But as long as Gliscor was flying straight, I wouldn't complain.
"Alright Gliscor, keep it going! Now we're getting somewhere!" I noted that we had now passed the three Psyduck sentries, and we were soon to finding out exactly what was going on. But I felt my heart skip a beat when Gliscor's flight pattern began to falter.
"Gliscor, we're not there yet! Ok, Staravia, more wind!" Barking out that order would prove to be a mistake. With the extra wind backing it, Gliscor began to fly wild, and we headed straight for the canyon wall.
"Gliscor, change direction!" I yelled, "Change direction! CHANGE DIRECTION!" *Bang* We smashed into the side of the cliff.
"I told you to get away from the cliff!" *Bang* We crashed again.
"Fly straight! PLEASE fly straight!" After that, Gliscor did fly straight. Straight into the cliff. After crashing into the cliff, we tumbled back to the ground with a painful thud. Miraculously, my shoulder didn't get any worse, although my head was throbbing a bit.
"Well…guess we're gonna have to work on your flying some more." After I said that, Gliscor's eyes watered up again. I guessed Dawn was right. Old habits die hard; at least he didn't smash my face as often.
"Hey, it's ok! One step at a time!" I said encouragingly, "Gliscor, return."
After returning my emotional Pokémon, me, Pikachu, and Staravia headed through the canyon. "I betcha we're gonna find out why the Psyduck are trying so hard to stop us real soon." I said.
My Pokémon got on guard, ready for whatever we would find on our investigation. We ran through the nearby forest that happened to be on the other side of the ravine, and what we saw when we got there was a complete surprise. "Whoa, more Psyduck…but what're they all doing?"
I walked around the body of water, trying to stay out of sight of the Psyduck that surrounded it. And who would've guessed what we saw: the trio of Psyduck that Charizard had previously defeated and of all the things they were holding…
"They've all got Psyduck eggs! So that means they're taking turns protecting those eggs!"
Now that we had the information we needed, we snuck away from the lake and headed back to the canyon. I climbed up to another ledge and called out Gliscor once more. I hoped with every fiber of my being that Gliscor could fly right this time.
Normal POV
Back at the Psyduck roadblock, Brock was still chanting and dancing; Dawn had given up dancing a long time ago, and Misty was still keeping a watchful eye out for Ash.
"For the girls, yeah! Mmmm! La la la la la la, I kinda like this song, la la la la la la!" Brock was apparently enjoying music that came from his own mind, and he showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. "Would you shut up already Brock? You're making my headache come back!" Misty screamed from above. She rolled her eyes when Brock ignored her completely.
"How much longer are you going to do this? I don't think the Psyduck are even watching anymore!" Dawn exclaimed. Apparently the tired and sweaty breeder had heard her, and had also worn his Mexican outfit for too long, as he answered back with a loud and despaired: "Qué?"
Meanwhile, Misty had spotted something in the distance. "Here comes Ash!" she shouted. Indeed he was coming, and he was shouting something desperately.
"Please Gliscor, you gotta pull up! Please, please pull up! Pull up now!" Ash yelled. Gliscor simply could not comply. He continued to inadvertently descend; they got so low that eventually Ash's foot whacked one of the Psyduck in the back of the head. The Psyduck trio looked around in bewilderment, and their sight finally locked onto the wacky Gliscor.
"Straighten out! No, left! No, no, left! LEFT!" Ash yelled desperately. All cries of protest were quickly put to a halt. Ash and Gliscor crashed into the side of the canyon, which brought sweat-drops from Misty, Dawn, and Brock.
Ash and Gliscor hit the ground with a thud, and his friends wasted no time tending to him. "You ok?" they asked simultaneously. "Yeah, I'm fine." Ash replied. Perhaps Ash was fine, but Gliscor moaned a bit. "Thanks for your help Gliscor. Return." Ash said.
Gliscor happily returned to its Pokéball for a well-deserved rest. "How's your shoulder?" Misty asked. "Believe it or not, it doesn't feel any different. But wait until I tell you what I found!" Ash replied. The teens got back into their huddled circle to listen Ash's scouting report.
"So all the Psyduck had eggs?" Dawn asked. "Yep, all of them! They were all just hanging out, keeping them warm." Ash replied. "Now I know why Psyduck wouldn't tell. It was too personal." Misty said.
"And at such a personal and important time like this, it makes sense that they don't want people coming anywhere near them." Brock added.
"You know, if we could just let them know that we mean them no harm, I'm sure they'd let us through!" Ash exclaimed. "But every time we try to get near them they attack." Misty said. "Oh yeah, good point." Ash said.
Suddenly, an explosion was heard nearby and the despaired quacking of the three Psyduck was heard soon after. "What now?" Ash yelled.
Jessie: "It's not a matter of what, but rather who!"
James: "Though asking why is strictly taboo!"
Jessie: "On the wind!"
James: "Past the stars!"
Meowth: "I see you!"
Jessie: "Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace!"
James: "Dashing all hope, putting fear in its place!"
Jessie: "Rocking your twerpish world in a snap!"
James: "Making everything worse while fitting the flap!"
Jessie: "It's Jessie!"
James: "And it's James!"
Meowth: "Meowth, now dat's a name!"
Jessie: "When you're a team, you're a team all the way!"
James: "And that means Team Rocket!"
Team Rocket: "Here to stay!"
"Yeah, like a bad dream!" Dawn screamed. "They're worse than that, bad dreams go away; they're more like warts. You can't get rid of them!" Misty added.
"Funny, taking that trio will be easy when they forget to DUCK." Jessie said, ignoring the insults thrown at her and her two male teammates. With a push of a button, three suction cups descended from the balloon, ready to snag the Psyduck trio.
"Stop it! Those Psyduck are only trying to protect their friends!" Ash yelled. "You have no right to take them, ESPECIALLY at such an important time!" Misty added. Team Rocket ignored them completely. The suction cups grabbed onto the heads of the now panicking Psyduck.
"They're asking for it now!" Misty screamed. "You've got that right, let's teach them a lesson!" Dawn added.
"Alright Staravia, use 'Aerial Ace'!" Ash ordered. Staravia popped out of her Pokéball with a shrill cry, and wasted no time going into the attack. "Knock 'Aerial Ace' on its face!" James countered. With a push of a button, a mechanical arm came out from the bottom of the balloon and nailed Staravia with a punch. The stunned bird fell to the ground, leaving Ash stunned as well.
"My turn! Misty calls Gyarados!" With a powerful and threatening roar, Gyarados emerged and stared down the holder of the remote control. James almost literally melted with fear at how close Gyarados was to him, and he dropped the remote before going into a fetal position. Jessie and Meowth sweat-dropped at that.
"Use your teeth and pop that balloon!" Misty ordered. Gyarados backed up to build up speed, and then leaped towards the balloon with gleaming fangs. "Time to break a few teeth!" Jessie exclaimed, taking over on the remote control. The arm charged towards the water-dragon to knock it back. But Gyarados' power was too much to handle.
Gyarados ripped through the metal of their arm and obliterated the balloon with one powerful chomp. After a loud shriek from Team Rocket, the balloon quickly crashed, leaving the trio of Psyduck on the floor. "Hey you Psyduck, are you alright?" Ash exclaimed, as he and his friends ran to check up on the ducks.
Team Rocket was stunned for a moment, but they quickly got back up, ready for a battle.
"Quick Yanmega, move it!"
"You join the party too Carnivine!"
After Carnivine took a detour to bite onto James' head, the two Pokémon got into battle-ready stance. "Alright Yanmega, use 'Sonic Boom'!" Jessie ordered. With one powerful swing of its wings, Yanmega sent a shock wave of sound towards the group.
"Quick, Buneary, 'Ice Beam'!" Dawn threw out a Pokéball and joined the battle, sending out her rabbit Pokémon to counter Yanmega's 'Sonic Boom' with a powerful ice-type attack. The attacks collided with a bang, and the battle continued with neither side taking damage.
"Carnivine, go! Bash them with 'Bullet Seed'!" James ordered. Carnivine complied, and small energized seeds started raining down on the group.
"Chimchar, come out and use 'Flamethrower'!" Ash's smaller fire-type came out and spewed a flame to counter the grass-attack. Although the flame was slightly weaker thanks to Chimchar's brief battle with the Psyduck, it was more than sufficient to counter Carnivine's 'Bullet Seed'.
"Your turn Politoed! Use 'Double Slap'!" Misty threw out another Pokéball, and this time her frog Pokémon emerged and slapped Carnivine with multiple strikes.
"Let's finish the job! Chimchar, 'Flame Wheel', let's go!" Ash ordered. Chimchar complied and enveloped itself in fire; it then charged the two Team Rocket Pokémon to send them flying.
And with a little help from the Psyduck's combined 'Water Gun', Yanmega and Carnivine were knocked back hard, and the explosion from the finished attacks sent Team Rocket into the air.
"This is ridiculous!" Jessie cried. "An insult!" Meowth added. "For the second time…" James paused so that they could say:
"We're blasting off again!" *Ping*
After that, Ash and Co. recalled their Pokémon and cautiously made their way up to the trio of Psyduck. "Hey you Psyduck, thanks for saving us." Ash said. The Psyduck turned and stared, but showed no signs of hostility.
"Now that you know we mean you no harm, can we please go by?" Misty asked. Suddenly, Misty's Psyduck popped out of its ball, for seemingly no reason. "Now what do you want Psyduck?" Misty asked with annoyance.
Before a response could be uttered, yet another Psyduck came running from the other direction, calling the Psyduck bodyguards to the lake. The three Psyduck ran after the messenger, and Misty's Psyduck chased after them in a rather zig-zag manner.
"Psyduck, come back here!" Misty exclaimed. "Come on; let's find out what's going on!" Ash exclaimed. The group ran after the Psyduck through the ravine, and they eventually wound up where Ash had found the lake.
They gasped in awe at what they saw. "A little Psyduck!" Ash exclaimed. "What a cutie!" Dawn gushed. When one of the adult Psyduck started chasing after the curious baby Psyduck, Misty looked around for her Psyduck.
"Psyduck, where are you?" she called. Misty searched the lake for what should've been the clumsiest Psyduck, that would obviously be hers, but she didn't have much time to look however. "Misty, come here! The eggs are hatching!" Ash called.
Misty ran back to the group to see the sight of the glowing eggs. "The miracle of life." Misty swooned. The group watched in awe as three more baby Psyduck hatched from the eggs right before their eyes.
"Now they've got three little Psyduck!" Dawn squealed. "And to think they hold their heads right from birth." Misty added. "That's one of their unique characteristics." Brock said.
"I just wanna go and give one a big hug!" Dawn squealed. "Well go ahead, I'm sure they trust us by now." Misty replied. The group walked closer to the newly hatched Psyduck, but the familiar trio stepped in front with their arms spread, telling them to back off.
"Oops, then again, maybe we're not totally trusted yet." Misty said. "No, I don't think you understand, we're your friends!" Ash said defensively. "Too bad Misty's Psyduck isn't here; it could explain it to them." Dawn said. "Somehow, I don't think Psyduck would be able to help anyway." Misty said.
"There's got to be a way to get them to trust us." Ash said. "Maybe if we gave them a sort of peace offering." Misty suggested. "That's it Misty! I can whip up some special food for the little ones!" Brock exclaimed.
"Perfect! I bet once they get a taste of your food they'll trust us completely!" Dawn exclaimed. "I'll get right on it, Dawn I could use your help." Brock said. "Why can't I help Brock?" Misty whined. "Because Dawn is better with food than you are." Brock replied simply.
Misty crossed her arms and huffed, while Brock and Dawn went to prepare the special food. "Look at it this way Mist; you're definitely better at battling." Ash said. "What does that have to do with anything?" Misty asked. "Well, I guess…we can't be best at everything?" Ash said nervously.
Misty glared at the nervous trainer, but her frown slowly turned into a mischievous smirk. "You're right, I am better at battling, I'm better than you too." Misty said a little too cheerfully. "Hey, I've beaten you almost every time we've battled recently." Ash said. "I was taking it easy on you because I didn't want to bruise your frail ego." Misty said.
"You were not."
"Were to."
"Were not!"
"Were to!"
To ensure that she got the last word, Misty quickly snared Ash into a kiss, and Ash seemed to forget what had happened as he kissed back. When they broke it, Ash looked at her dreamily. "What were we talking about?" he asked, still in a daze.
"Oh, nothing." Misty said sweetly. Ash almost wrapped her into a hug, but stopped when he noticed something. Misty seemed hurt by Ash's sudden negative reaction towards her affection, as she looked at him with confused eyes. "What's wrong Ash?" she asked.
When Ash pointed behind her, she turned and blushed when she saw why Ash had stopped. They had gained an audience of Psyduck that were watching them enjoy their tender moment. Ash cleared his throat and put his hands behind his head, while Misty rocked back and forth from her toes to her heels.
"Let's uh…go check on Brock and Dawn." Ash suggested. Misty nodded and followed without a word. After the awkwardness wore off, Ash and Co. took a bowl of food to the Psyduck, who stared at the food with a thoughtful expression.
"Go on, try it." Ash encouraged. "When it comes to making the best Pokémon food around, Brock's number one." Dawn said. With some reluctance, the Psyduck took a piece and sampled it. After a bit of chewing, it concluded that the food was indeed delicious.
"We told you it was good! Now why don't you go and give some to the little ones?" Ash suggested. They did just that. They brought three of the baby Psyduck to try the special food. The baby Psyduck took a bite of Brock's food, and squealed with glee before eating the rest of it.
"Good job Chef Brock, they love it." Misty said. "And they must be hungry after all that time they spent hatching and stuff." Ash added. "You know something? I think we owe those Psyduck that Charizard beat an apology." Brock said.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Ash said, suddenly regretting using Charizard on them. Brock made another bowl of food and found the three Psyduck that had been beaten by Charizard. "Hey, sorry about the whole Charizard thing, if I knew you were protecting your eggs, I never would've done it." Ash said.
The three Psyduck looked at Ash with expressions that said they accepted his apology. "You know what? We should probably start calling the little Psyduck: Psyducklings." Dawn joked. "Hey, that's pretty clever!" Misty said.
After they finished their meal, the Psyducklings and the adults splashed into the lake, and soon the sound of despaired quacking was heard. "Misty, I think we found your Psyduck." Dawn said. Indeed, there was only one Psyduck in the whole lake that was floundering desperately.
Misty grabbed the non-swimming Psyduck by the waist and saved it from its version of danger. "I know you wanna play with them Psyduck, but try to stay out of the water, ok?" Misty said. Psyduck sighed sadly, and them Misty put it down.
As she straightened up, Misty suddenly looked at the lake full of Psyduck and stared. "What's wrong Misty?" Ash asked. "Just look at that lake." Misty replied. "What am I looking at?" Ash asked, as he scanned the lake.
"Doesn't something seem weird about it?" Misty said. "Come to think of it, yeah." Brock said. "You see what she means Brock?" Dawn asked. "Yeah, this lake is awfully tiny for all these Psyduck to make their home here." Brock explained.
Ash and Dawn scanned the lake and gasped as they realized what Misty and Brock meant. "You guys are right, it's like a pond." Dawn said. "According to this map, Lake Psyduck is a totally different body of water." Brock said.
"So the big question: Why are they here?" Misty asked. "Maybe something bad happened to Lake Psyduck." Dawn said. The Psyduck exclaimed in despair at the mention of their home, confirming the group's suspicions.
"So something DID happen." Brock said. "These Psyduck need our help, we've gotta see if we can help!" Misty exclaimed. "Right, let's go check it out." Ash said. The Psyduck bodyguards motioned for the group to follow them; they knew the way to the lake.
"I think the Psyduck want us to follow them." Misty said. "Then let's do it!" Ash exclaimed. The group followed the Psyduck to a much bigger body of water, surrounded by trees filled with berries. "Now this is the kind of place the Psyduck should be living in." Misty said. "It's definitely big enough for all of them." Brock added. "And there's plenty of food too." Ash added.
"This lake is perfect for them!" Dawn exclaimed. "So why did they move to that other lake?" Ash wondered out loud. "Maybe there's something wrong with the water." Misty suggested. "How do we find that out?" Dawn asked.
"I know. Vaporeon can give it a sniff and find out." Misty said. Misty softly tossed a Pokéball, and Vaporeon soon emerged with a small stretch. "Vaporeon, smell the water please." Misty said. Vaporeon walked up to the water's edge and gave it a sniff.
Vaporeon's face soon turned into a disgusted sneer, its eyes squinted as if something smelled horrible. "Va po va!" (Disgusting!) it squealed. "That takes care of that. Something is wrong with the water." Brock said. "But what? It doesn't look bad." Dawn said. "Uh, guys, I see something in the water." Misty said.
Sure enough, three shadows were slowly moving towards them. "I'll get a closer look." Ash said. "Be careful Ash." Misty said pleadingly. Ash gave a quick thumbs-up before creeping to the water's edge. As he got closer, the water began to show signs of disturbance and soon after, three Muk appeared and roared menacingly. "Whoa! Look at the Muk!" Ash exclaimed in shock, jumping back from the surprise attack.
"Muk, huh?" Dawn exclaimed, as she pulled out her pink Pokédex. "Muk, the sludge Pokémon, and the evolved form of Grimer. A horrible toxic liquid seeps out of its body." her Pokédex said. Without hesitation, one of the Muk launched a disgusting slime at Ash, who quickly jumped back to avoid being smothered.
"That's 'Sludge Bomb'!" Brock exclaimed. "No wonder the Psyduck had to move! These guys polluted the water by just being here!" Misty exclaimed. "That means the Muk must have FORCED the Psyduck out of Lake Psyduck!" Ash added.
Hoping to avoid an unnecessary battle, Pikachu tried a peaceful approach and tried to reason with the Muk. Unfortunately, the Muk were unwilling to give up what they had taken and blasted at the electric-type. "Looks like democracy won't work here!" Misty exclaimed.
"Then it's time for a battle! Buizel, I need your help!" Ash threw out a Pokéball, and his rough and tough water-weasel emerged with crossed arms. "Ambipom, you too!" Dawn also threw out a Pokéball, and the two-tailed monkey appeared.
The enraged Muk fired another 'Sludge Bomb'. But Buizel, Vaporeon, and Ambipom easily dodged. "Buizel, use 'Aqua Jet'!" Ash ordered. Buizel charged ahead to slam into the toxic body of the Muk, and the power of the attack stunned the Muk.
But as one Muk was getting stunned, another was readying another attack. "Here comes 'Focus Punch'!" Brock yelled. "Quick, Ambipom, 'Double Team'!" Dawn countered. Ambipom seemingly split into over five individuals, and easily dodged the powerful punch. "Now, use 'Double Hit'!" Dawn ordered. Ambipom's tails glowed purple, and they slammed into the Muk's body with lightning speed.
The third and final Muk fired another 'Sludge Bomb'. "Vaporeon, dodge and use 'Water Pulse'!" Misty ordered. Vaporeon complied and leaped out of the way toxic attack, then fired an energized ball of water at the sludge-Pokémon.
"Now we're getting somewhere!" Ash exclaimed. The three Muk suddenly regrouped, and teamed up for one ultra-powerful 'Sludge Bomb'. "Dodge it!" the three trainers ordered. Buizel, Vaporeon, and Ambipom quickly dodged the nasty slime, and readied for another attack.
"Buizel, use 'Sonic Boom'!"
"Vaporeon, 'Water Pulse' again!"
Ambipom, use 'Swift'!"
The three attacks were fired, and the trio of Muk were now helpless against the powerful assault. "We've got them now! Pikachu, use 'Thunderbolt'!" Ash ordered. Pikachu's cheeks sparked wildly, and the furious electric-attack sent the three Muk blasting off.
Luckily for the three Muk, they landed in an already polluted lake, coincidently, there were three female Muk in the lake, and they quickly fell in love.
Back at Lake Psyduck, Vaporeon gave the water another sniff test, and this time it checked out perfectly. "The water gets Vaporeon's seal of approval gang!" Misty exclaimed. "Once the Muk were gone, the water stopped being polluted." Brock added.
As if on cue, the Psyduck and Psyducklings appeared, happily reuniting at their home. "Those Muk are all gone now." Ash said. "Now you can all live here in peace." Dawn added. And the Psyduck wasted no time doing just that. They happily splashed into the water and played together.
"Of course, all their road blocking days are over." Brock said. "Which means we'll make it to Celestic Town for Dawn's contest with time to spare." Misty added. "Aww, the contest can wait, I wanna play with the Psyducklings!" Dawn squealed.
Suddenly, Psyduck popped out of his Pokéball once more, and ran to go join the other Psyduck in the water. Unfortunately, it had apparently forgotten one important detail. "Psyduck! You know you can't swim!" Misty cried, as she yanked her drowning Pokémon out of the water for the second time that day.
"On the other hand, maybe we should go before Psyduck commits accidental suicide." Dawn said with a sweat-drop. "I think that's a good idea." Misty replied. The group turned to leave, and all the Psyduck waved goodbye in thanks. "You all remember to be real nice to each other!" Dawn exclaimed, sad to be leaving the cute little Psyduck so soon.
The group walked back into the forest, where they would reach the ravine and complete the short walk to Celestic Town. "Those little Psyducklings were so cute!" Dawn squealed. "I guess they were, but I still think that ONE Psyduck is enough." Misty replied.
"Well Dawn, as soon as we get through this forest, it's about a two day walk to Celestic Town." Brock said. "That'll give me plenty of time to spare to train for the contest!" Dawn exclaimed excitedly. "Do you have any idea what you'll be doing?" Misty asked. "As a matter of fact I…" Dawn paused, as she noticed what seemed to be a floating apple.
"Do you guys see that?" Dawn exclaimed. Ash, Misty, and Brock turned to see what Dawn was looking at, but saw nothing. "See what?" Ash asked. "How can you not see…where'd it go?" Dawn said, looking around frantically.
"I…I-I could've sworn I saw a floating apple!" Dawn exclaimed. Ash, Misty, and Brock sweat-dropped as Dawn continued to search. "I think the excitement's getting to you. Look, the ravine's right over there, let's go huh?" Misty said, leading the confused coordinator by the wrist. "Am I seeing things?" Dawn thought.
Whether she was seeing things or not, the group had reached the ravine, and now they were back on their way to Celestic Town for Dawn's next contest.
_
A/N: lol, Anyone know what it was Dawn saw...? No? Good! That means I did my job! xD Feel free to take guesses, but I'm willing to bet that you'll never figure it out. Anyways, if you took the time to read this chapter, please review and fuel my ambition! Also, on a side note, this chapter gets me past the 200,000 word mark. w00T! Like I said, I own nothing but the story.