Ok everyone, I know how long it took for me to write this, and I earnestly beg your forgiveness, that is if anyone is still reading this story. But I decided not to send the fake warning chapter because I was just SO anxious to publish it before I wound up losing every single reader I had. And as promised, I will now reply to anonymous reviews.
SulliMike23: Glad you understand dude.
lightningblade49: Well we'll see about Brandon and Ash, I realize that's coming up soon, and I'm honestly looking forward to it. And yeah, after getting Mamoswine to obey her, I think Charizard would be willing to listen to Dawn now.
dewdrop6: Glad you like it. Hmm, Twinleafshipping? Well we'll see, I won't make any promises on either side just yet.
tray125: Yeah you said dude a lot, but that's ok. xD
Aditya Shukla: Thanks.
sparky1001: lol, yeah he's cool. xD
Polly: Thanks. Oh, and as for Pidgeot, I actually just now came up with an idea, but IF it comes into play, it won't be for a LONG time. And as for Staryu, well, just read the chapter. And I'm not hinting anything about the evil Togepi, sorry. =P
Anna: Well Charizard opens up a lot of possibilities that weren't available before, and since Ash is a much smarter and wiser trainer now, he knows when it's necessary to use him. I do try to keep the focus on other Pokemon, but Charizard is Charizard, what can I say? xD Oh, and as for Dustox...I'm afraid not. Dustox went off with its true love and that's the end of it. I can't just undo that. My apologies.
BossCandi: Glad you like the story. Oh, well even if I'm wrong about Dawn, it really doesn't matter in my opinion. xD It's a fanfic, I could make Dawn 20 for all I care. xDD I chose thirteen because I wanted Dawn and Misty to be close enough to each other that they could relate to each other.
Agent900: It's not necessarily school that kills me. I do a lot of work in my church and I usually have a lot to do there and at home and a whole bunch of different places. Plus I do have a second obligation to the Dash Adventure and making sure that stays alive. Oh...um...fan character...yeah see, I have issues with that kind of thing. I planned Brad and D. Shad out myself, I can't just take requests and make it connect. Saban from the gangster episode was also planned out myself, even if the chapter was requested by looneytunerian, the characters were mine. I'm sorry, but I doubt I'll be able to use your character. =(
Hoenn Master: Sigh, I'm sorry for all the things that have happened to you, and I will pray for you believe me, but if I may make one request please. Don't spam up my review pages with prayer requests. If you REALLY wanna get ahold of me, I have a deviantART page, I'm a moderator on the Sonic ZONE forum, I have Chatango, I have MSN, and of course you could get an account here and PM me. But PLEASE don't send a bunch of reviews telling me what's wrong. I don't want you to stop reviewing, or stop talking to me, I'm just saying there are other ways to contact me.
Ok, now that that's all over and done with...next chapter time! I own nothing except the story.
_
Chapter 49
Misty's POV
We had a pretty scary experience a couple days ago, we had lost track of Dawn when she went to get water thanks to a rogue Aggron. We spent the whole day searching for her and Piplup, and after a while, Charizard disappeared too. The whole time that was going on, Ash was growing more and more worried. I wasn't offended by Ash's concern for Dawn's well-being, maybe a month or so ago I would've been, but a lot's happened since then. Ash was worried about one of his best friends, and also one of his best Pokémon friends too since Charizard disappeared as well.
After a while we were forced to give up the search until the next day, the sun was going down and we just couldn't search in the dark. We were tired, we were hungry, and we had been blasted at once or twice by that angry Aggron. Ash was really worried still, and now that it was dark, he was still getting more and more anxious. I reassured him that both Dawn and Charizard would be fine until tomorrow; it took a little bit of doing though mind you. I may be his girlfriend now, but when he gets worried about someone, it's REALLY hard to get his mind off of those people, even for me.
Honestly if Ash had had his way, we probably would've been searching all night. It's amazing how much his energy seems to last when he's determined. What finally cooled him off completely was that Brock reassured him that we'd begin the search again at dawn. Little did he know that Ash had taken that statement to heart. The EXACT moment the sun peeked over the horizon, Ash was up and already waking US up. He kept saying that it was dawn. Now we thought that he meant Dawn was walking up with Piplup and Charizard so we got up to see what was going on. But we were pretty disappointed and also a little annoyed when we found that it was dawn the time, not Dawn the person.
But Ash kept shoving Brock's promise into our faces so we pretty much had no choice but to go out and look for her again. We packed up our stuff and headed on out again, with our two remaining aerial search parties, Staraptor and Gliscor, flying around the surrounding area to see if they could spot Dawn or even the angry Aggron. Eventually Gliscor came back, fell on Ash during its descent, and pointed to where it had spotted Dawn. Gliscor seemed to be worried, so we hurried over to see what was going on; we found Dawn and her Mamoswine facing off against Team Rocket's machine, no surprise there.
Mamoswine and Charizard combined to knock out Team Rocket and send them blasting off, and then the angry Aggron returned for a rematch. But this time, Dawn was ready as Mamoswine had apparently regained respect for the coordinator overnight. Dawn and Mamoswine worked as one and managed to send that Aggron crying to its mommy wherever she was in the forest. Dawn explained that Mamoswine had gotten hurt defending itself against Aggron, and she took care of it all night long, it was great to see that Dawn had finally overcome her first somewhat rebellious Pokémon, which did wonders for her confidence level, although some things didn't change, as Mamoswine immediately went and had a victory feast on the bananas Dawn had picked for it the day before, proving that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Now with our group back together, we went back on our way towards Snowpoint City, and we eventually found ourselves staring at a spectacular view.
Normal POV
"Fantastic view, isn't it?" Brock said as he stared out towards all the beautiful green treetops.
Misty whole-heartedly agreed as she gently laid her head down onto Ash's free shoulder, "There's something kind of relaxing about a view like this, it just feels so calm and peaceful." she sighed contentedly.
Ash couldn't help but softly laugh when his beautiful red-headed girlfriend decided to rest herself on his shoulder, not that he would mind, as far as he was concerned, Misty could perch on him anytime she wanted. "You know what? I want Riolu to see this too." Ash reached for a Pokéball and gently tossed it down, releasing his newly obtained Pokémon.
Riolu emerged from the Pokéball and hopped up to land on Ash's other shoulder, which forced Misty to have to stand up straight once more. "Isn't the view awesome Riolu?" Ash asked. Riolu looked out past the cliff and gasped in awe at the natural beauty of the treetops.
"Looks like Riolu agrees with us alright." Dawn smiled at the happy and awestruck face the little emanation Pokémon was making, as a new Pokémon in a big world, it was no surprise to anyone that Riolu would be amazed at such a simple yet eye-pleasing sight.
The rest of the teens also smiled, and then turned around when they heard a faint sound coming from behind them. They looked up into a nearby tree and laughed happily when they saw four Cherrim, with their leaves blossoming thanks to the sun's rays stimulating them, and they did a small dance together as if they were welcoming the teens to their part of the forest.
"Aww, look at the Cherrim!" Dawn clasped her hands together in happiness as she watched the grass-types do their little dance, "They're so cute!" she squealed.
"Yeah, but you know? I kinda get restless on a day like this; I just can't wait to battle it out at the gym in Snowpoint City!" Ash clenched his fist with determination and stared off into the distance, perhaps imagining the exhilarating experience of battling at the gym.
"Oh yeah!" Dawn exclaimed, turning her attention to the still slightly mesmerized trainer, "You seem totally ready for it too!" she said.
"Of course I do, I'm always ready!" Ash replied matter-of-factly. Riolu then hopped off of Ash's shoulder, which gained some attention, "What's up Riolu?" Ash asked with some confusion. Riolu then began to punch and kick the air, albeit rather clumsily as he was still just a baby, he was feeding off of Ash's determined aura and showing how he felt about it. "Looks like Riolu's ready too." Ash laughed.
Misty shook her head in exasperation, although her face still bore a playful smile, "I feel sorry for Riolu." she said, hoping that Ash would comment.
Ash of course obliged, "Feel sorry for Riolu? Why? Because he won't be able to battle at the Snowpoint Gym?" he asked, positive that that was what Misty was referring to.
"No, for having you for a trainer, it must be like having a twenty-four hour adrenaline rush." Misty smirked at her boyfriend, who was slowly beginning to smirk back.
"I'll have you know that I can be very relaxed when I wanna be." Ash bent down to pick up Riolu and hold him. The trainer held the excited little Pokémon at shoulder's length, "Isn't that right Riolu?" To respond, Riolu innocently punched Ash in the nose with his tiny paw, which gained laughter from everyone except Ash who was just smiling with slight embarrassment.
"Too late big guy, you've already got Riolu's energy up." Brock laughed as he watched his friend struggle with the baby Pokémon in his hands.
"In that case, maybe what he needs is a good workout, what do you say to that Riolu?" Ash asked. Riolu squealed excitedly and shoved Ash's hands away so he dropped to the ground, "I'll take that as a yes." Ash laughed.
"Well if we're gonna stop here, maybe I should start lunch up so that we have something to eat after Ash is finished wearing out Riolu." Brock suggested.
"Sounds good to me Brock, I'll help you unpack." Dawn went with Brock to the nearby clearing to start unpacking equipment, leaving Ash and Misty to do some training.
"So what's first Ash?" Misty grabbed two Pokéballs and held them out for Ash to choose, "Should I use Azurill again so Riolu has an equal match, or do you want one of my older Pokémon to go easy on him?" she asked.
Ash looked down at the two Pokéballs, then back up at Misty. He raised an eyebrow at her and smirked, "I want you to use Staryu against Riolu, but don't go easy on him Mist! Because then when it's time for a real battle to start, Riolu won't be able to handle it!" he said.
Misty frowned and pulled the Pokéballs back, "But Ash you know that my Staryu is WAY stronger than Riolu is right now, I don't wanna hurt him." Misty looked away as if she felt guilty.
Ash smiled reassuringly, "You're not gonna hurt him Mist, Riolu's tough." Ash used his finger to redirect her gaze back at him, "Besides, you won't even know what we're up to half the time, I'm gonna be using my aura to tell Riolu what to do." Ash winked and grinned mischievously.
Misty smirked as well and raised an eyebrow at him, "Well fine then Mr. Aura Guardian slash Pokémon Master, but don't be surprised if Staryu and I come out on top anyway." Misty grabbed her older Pokéball and rushed off to one end of the field and prepared for her second battle against Ash's Riolu.
"Come on Riolu, let's do this!" Ash hurried over to the other end of the field, with Riolu running as fast as his little legs could carry him to keep up with his much faster trainer. "Alright Misty, make the call!" Ash exclaimed determinedly.
"Misty calls Staryu!" Misty under-handed her oldest Pokéball, and her faithful and longtime partner emerged from it with a determined "Hyahh!". "Welcome back to the battlefield Staryu, let's show them not to ever underestimate your power!" Misty exclaimed determinedly.
"Wow, it seems that every time Ash and Misty battle, the excitement really starts building between them." Dawn said as she looked back and forth between her two battling friends.
"That's Ash and Misty for ya." Brock chuckled and went back to starting a fire for their lunch. "Hey, if you guys need a referee I can wait a little while." he said.
"Nah that's ok Brock, we'll wing it!" Ash exclaimed determinedly, "Your move Misty!"
"Alright then! Staryu, let's start this battle off with 'Water Gun'!" Misty ordered. Staryu obliged immediately and launched a powerful stream of water towards the emanation Pokémon, who was slightly intimidated by Staryu's power.
Ash then began to speak through his aura in order to calm Riolu down, "It's ok Riolu just stay cool! Use 'Quick Attack' to dodge it!" Ash ordered. Riolu regained his determined expression and swiftly got out of the way of the blast of water. "Now get up close and use 'Force Palm'!" Ash ordered.
"He's probably coming with 'Quick Attack' Staryu, so use 'Rapid Spin' to move out of the way!" Misty countered. Staryu quickly spun to go into the opposite direction, expecting Riolu to run right by it with a 'Quick Attack', but Riolu was easily able to stay on target due to Staryu's premature dodge, and hit the sea star with a powerful 'Force Palm'. "Gah, I forgot about that 'Force Palm'!" Misty grumbled, slapping her forehead with her palm in disbelief.
"Aww yeah, time to keep the momentum going!" Ash exclaimed aloud. "Now Riolu, I want you to use 'Quick Attack', but DON'T try to hit Staryu, just run in circles around it and try to make it dizzy!" Ash ordered. Riolu acknowledged the aura command and began running around in circles around the sea star Pokémon. "Wait for the right move Riolu…"
"Ok fine, you wanna make Riolu a target? Staryu, use 'Swift'!" Misty ordered. Staryu waited for the right time and fired the flurry of stars at the emanation Pokémon, and Riolu reeled back in pain from the attack. "Follow up with 'Bubblebeam'!" Misty ordered. Staryu continued to attack and nailed Riolu with another special attack.
"Aw no, Riolu!" Ash cried. Riolu hit the ground with a painful thud, and struggled to get back up and continue the battle. "Come on Riolu, don't give up yet!" Ash exclaimed. Riolu fought and fought, but just couldn't handle the battle any longer and submitted to the exhaustion. Staryu was obviously the more powerful and experienced Pokémon, and Riolu just couldn't keep up. Ash walked over to Riolu and picked him up into his arms, and the emanation Pokémon was obviously distraught over his second loss to Misty and her Pokémon.
"Hey, don't feel bad Riolu, you were up against a really tough opponent, and you did great!" Ash said reassuringly. Riolu whined a little and looked away from Ash sadly. "Aww, come on Riolu, you just need some more experience and you'll be able to battle with the best of them! All you gotta do is not give up!" Ash said. Riolu looked up at Ash and smiled slightly, and Ash smiled back at the little emanation Pokémon. "Why don't you go and help Brock make lunch?" Ash put Riolu down and allowed the little one to walk over to Brock.
"I had a feeling I shouldn't've let Riolu battle Staryu, it's just too strong for him." Misty said, shaking her head slightly in guilt.
"Don't feel bad Mist, it was my suggestion and my responsibility, I thought using our aura would give us enough of an element of surprise to balance it out." Ash sighed sadly.
"So…now what? Do you wanna train with someone else? Remember you do have gym battle coming up." Misty said, looking back up at Ash who was still slightly dazed.
"Yeah I guess I do, don't I?" Ash sighed. Ash clenched his fists and looked up, trying to pump himself back up, "Well Charizard probably doesn't need any training…alright Mist, I want you to use Grotle again, and I'm gonna use Chimchar. That way Grotle can work on applying his defensive techniques, while Chimchar can work on getting more power behind his attacks." Ash said determinedly.
The change of heart and attitude that had become apparent in Ash forced Misty to smile, and she eagerly nodded and snagged Grotle's Pokéball off of Ash's belt. "I'm ready Ash!" she exclaimed, her determination and excitement building as well.
"You sure are grabby with those Pokéballs." Ash laughed, hanging his head down and shaking it back and forth. Ash looked back up and smirked at his girlfriend, "How about next time you ask for it huh?" he said.
"That wouldn't be as much fun!" Misty exclaimed cheekily. Misty got ready and got into her windup, "Alright, Misty calls Grotle!" Misty threw the Pokéball, and Ash's large and bulky grass-type emerged ready for battle. Grotle was slightly surprised for a moment to be facing Ash upon his release, but when he looked back and saw Misty had summoned him, he couldn't help but give a pleased smile. "Ok Grotle, you ready to go?" Misty asked. Grotle nodded and faced Ash again with a determined look on his face.
"Alright Grotle, I like that look on your face!" Ash exclaimed approvingly. Ash reached for another Pokéball off his belt, "Now Chimchar, I choose you!" Ash threw the Pokéball onto the field and his small fire-type emerged ready for battle. "Alright Chimchar, we're doing some gym training for the Snowpoint City gym! You're facing off against Grotle so I want you to give it your all!" Ash exclaimed. Chimchar chattered determinedly and stared down Grotle. From the sidelines, Riolu was watching in awe. "Get us started Misty!" Ash exclaimed.
"You got it! Alright Grotle, use 'Razor Leaf'!" Misty ordered. Grotle acknowledged and reared back for a moment and then jerked his body forward to unleash a barrage of razor sharp leaves at the tiny fire monkey.
"Now Chimchar, dodge it and use 'Flamethrower'!" Ash countered. Chimchar nodded and leaped up into the air and managed to dodge the 'Razor Leaf' attack, and then when the smoke cleared, Chimchar landed and immediately retaliated with a powerful flame.
"Quick Grotle, dodge it and use 'Bite'!" Misty ordered. But Grotle didn't move, the order to dodge had stunned him and he instead took the super-effective attack full on. "(Gasp) I'm sorry Grotle!" Misty cried guiltily, both hands now covering her mouth in shock. But Grotle simply shook off the pain and lumbered forward to bite down on Chimchar's arm. "Whoa, awesome Grotle!" Misty exclaimed cheerfully.
"I can't believe how much more powerful Grotle's gotten lately." Brock said as he took a sip from his coffee mug.
"I know! It's almost impossible to believe that Grotle ever had any problems to begin with!" Dawn replied. While this was going on, Riolu was still watching in awe, he was amazed at the level of power the other Pokémon battled on, and he couldn't wait until he got to their level.
"Chimchar, knock Grotle off with 'Flamethrower'!" Ash ordered. Chimchar nodded and turned back to Grotle, launching a powerful 'Flamethrower' at point-blank range, and forcing the huge grass-type to back off. After Grotle shook off the pain, he and Chimchar exchanged friendly smirks. "Alright, that's enough for now." Ash said.
Upon hearing that, Grotle let his guard down and began panting with fatigue after taking two really powerful hits from the fire monkey. Chimchar walked over to Ash and Misty who were now standing over the weary grass-type. "Hey, nice job Chimchar." Ash said. Chimchar chattered in thanks. "You did awesome too Grotle, for a tough matchup you battled really hard." Ash knelt down in front of Grotle and placed a hand on his hard shell, "I bet you're tired, why not heal yourself with 'Synthesis'?" Ash suggested.
Grotle nodded in agreement and looked up into the sun, letting its rays beat down on the bushes on his back. Grotle began glowing in a gentle light, and slowly began to heal after the tough battle. "I didn't know Grotle knew a healing move." Misty said.
Ash got back up to face Misty, "Well Grotle knew 'Synthesis' all the way back when I first captured him as a Turtwig." Ash explained. Just then, Riolu sensed something strange in the vicinity, and relayed the message to his master via aura. "What's wrong Riolu?" he asked.
Suddenly, a freakish gust of freezing wind blew in from out of nowhere, freezing the entire group in a huge chunk of ice. Unbeknownst to the group, the culprit behind their freezing had hopped out from behind a bush and was currently celebrating over its prank well done. But the culprit then spotted something that made it nervous, Chimchar's flaming tail was slowly thawing it out of the ice, and the culprit behind their freezing quickly scurried back behind the bush to watch what would take place. Chimchar finally completely thawed out, and fell down on his butt, shaking his head woozily over what had just happened.
Finally Chimchar came back to his senses, and noticed that Ash and the others were still completely frozen. Chimchar quickly got up and launched a 'Flamethrower' at the chunk of ice, thawing out the other members of the group, and they too fell to the ground in shock, groaning woozily. "Man, that came out of nowhere." Dawn groaned.
"That must've been what Riolu was trying to warn us about." Ash said, as he tried to get his still half-frozen limbs to work, "What kind of weird weather was that anyway?" he wondered.
"I think we should take that as a sign and get going." Brock got up and shook off the leftover ice shards, then went over to pack up their supplies. Ash, Misty, and Dawn soon followed suit.
Meanwhile Riolu was searching around with his aura, looking for the source of the feeling he had felt before they were frozen. "Hey Riolu, come on!" Ash exclaimed. Riolu hesitated, but eventually gave in and rushed over to his master to help pack up the supplies and equipment.
After a while, the group got back to walking, and Riolu was still keeping an eye out for their apparent antagonist. Unfortunately in doing so, Ash was starting to get stressed thanks to their connection. "Come on Riolu, try to relax, you're starting to make my neck hurt." Ash pleaded as he rubbed his aching neck. But then, Riolu stopped in his tracks as he felt something, then he tried to take one cautious step forward, but instead fell onto his face rather clumsily. "Hey are you alright Rioluuuuuu!" Ash tried to step forward as well, but he too fell onto his face.
"Are you alriiiight!" Brock had tried to check on both Ash and Riolu, but for some reason he too fell onto his face.
Both Misty and Dawn were amused at Ash and Brock's clumsiness, as they couldn't help but giggle a little. "Look at you two, why don't you get it togethaaaaah!" Finally only one teen was left standing, as Dawn fell to the ground as well. "Man that hurt." she groaned.
"What was that you said about getting it together?" Ash chuckled and sat up straight, helping Riolu to do the same.
"I wonder why we all tripped like that." Brock wondered.
"Hey Misty, aren't you gonna join the rest of us klutzes down here?" Ash joked.
"No thanks, I'd rather stay on my feet." Needless to say, Misty was not about to keep the pattern going, so she cautiously looked around, and spotted something wrapped around her shoe. She lifted it up slightly and pointed it out to the others, "Hey guys, check this out." she said.
The group looked at Misty's shoe, and then Brock looked at his own shoe, and noticed that he had the same thing wrapped around it. "Hey, we all have these things…kinda looks like a 'Grass Knot' attack, doesn't it?" he said.
"Do you think a Pokémon did this?" Dawn asked.
"If that's the case, then that freak snow storm from before must've been 'Powder Snow'!" Brock said as he helped Dawn back to her feet.
"I'll bet you anything that the culprit is still hanging around too, probably watching us fall for its tricks." Dawn said angrily.
"That must've been what Riolu was on the lookout for." Ash realized, "Alright Riolu, you're the one who sensed the culprit, where is it now?" Ash asked. Riolu closed his eyes for a moment and pointed towards over a nearby bush. "Looks like Riolu senses something behind that bush over there!" Ash exclaimed.
"Then let's get over there and check it out!" Dawn hissed, stomping over to the bush.
"The others did the same, "Yeah, whoever did it is gonna get it big time!" Ash growled.
Then suddenly, Riolu stopped and suddenly ran away, which confused the group, "Hey Riolu, what's wrong?" Ash asked. The group soon found out EXACTLY what was wrong, as large root-like objects suddenly shot out of the ground and grabbed them. "What's going on?" Ash yelled, as he tried to wrestle with the roots and break free.
"I don't believe this." Brock growled as he too tried to break free.
"Let us down right now whoever you are!" Misty screamed furiously.
"No DON'T let us down!" Dawn screamed, as she looked down and saw just how high up they were.
The group wrestled with the vines a little more, but then Ash spotted something that seemed to be dancing on the ground. "Hey, check that out!" he exclaimed.
"It's a Snover! Now I get it, this must be Snover's 'Ingrain' attack! I bet the 'Grass Knot' was its idea too." Brock explained.
Ash pulled out his red Pokédex and scanned the Pokémon that had been messing with them. "Snover, the Frost Tree Pokémon. Snover live mainly on snowy mountains with little human contact, but are known to approach people out of curiosity." The Pokédex chirped.
"That's one way to put it, guess it had to catch us before it approaches us." Dawn moaned.
"Hey let us down from here already! This isn't the right way to make friends you know!" Misty shouted as she tried to wrestle out of the vines again.
Just then, Riolu came from behind a bush and charged to attack Snover, "Yeah, go for it Riolu!" Ash cheered. Riolu launched a 'Force Palm', but missed when the panicky Snover leaped straight up to avoid being nailed. "Don't give up Riolu! Go with another 'Force Palm'!" Ash ordered. Riolu turned around, but never got the chance to move forward again as Snover had created another 'Grass Knot' to trip up the Emanation Pokémon. Then Snover used 'Ingrain' again, and one more root shot out of the ground and wrapped up Riolu, who immediately began struggling to get free. After a few moments though, Riolu sighed and gave up. "Don't feel bad Riolu, you did your best." Ash consoled.
"So now what are we gonna do? It doesn't look like Snover's gonna let us down anytime soon." Dawn said, as she watched the Frost Tree Pokémon jump up and down in joy over its victory.
"I know what to do!" Ash reached for his Pokéballs and managed to grab one, "Now Grotle, I choose you!" Ash threw the Pokéball down to the ground, and Grotle emerged from it ready for battle. "Grotle quick, use 'Razor Leaf' and get us down from here!" Ash ordered.
"Ash wait!"
Grotle acknowledged and jerked its body forward, sending a barrage of razor sharp leaves at the roots holding its master and his friends up. When the leaves hit the roots, as expected, they were chopped down, but then the group fell to the ground with a painful thud, and Riolu immediately got back up and charged to attack again.
Snover backed up a few steps, and calmly plucked off a piece of grass and started playing a mystical sounding melody, and immediately Riolu began to grow drowsy and stopped just short of Snover. "Oh no, that's 'GrassWhistle'! Be careful, don't listen to it!" Brock yelled, but as he grew drowsy as well, it was obviously too late, "Or else you'll fall asleep." Brock fell flat on his face and started to snore, along with everyone else who were forced to do the same.
Snover stopped playing once the group was asleep, and calmly went over to Ash and started gently shoving on his shoulder to wake him. Ash groaned a little and started to wake up, "Morning Mist…" But when Ash finally opened his eyes, he remembered what had just happened to them, and as expected, there was Snover right there. Ash sat up with a start and shouted, "Waah! Snover?" Before Ash could react, Snover was hugging Ash friendlily, which only confused Ash even more. "Uh…glad to meet you too."
By now the 'GrassWhistle' had worn off and the others were waking up on their own. Dawn was the first to notice that Ash was being smothered by Snover, "Aah Ash! What's Snover doing to you?" she asked worriedly.
"I guess Snover's showing me what it's like to be friendly." Ash replied, still really confused by what was going on. Then Snover released Ash and pulled a small white ball off of its body, and held it out to Ash. "Hey, what's that?" Ash asked.
"I think it wants you to eat it Ash." Brock replied.
"Be careful, for all we know it may be another prank." Misty said, her eyes narrowed towards the Frost Tree Pokémon.
Ash gave in and took the ball from Snover and examined it for a moment. "Looks normal enough." he said.
Now the other three humans came in closer to take their own look, "Is that thing even edible?" Dawn asked skeptically.
Ash broke the ball in half and handed the other half to Misty, "Here, take a piece."
As Misty examined her half of the white ball, Snover plucked another one off of its body and handed it to Dawn for her to try, "Um…thanks Snover." Dawn said nervously. Dawn took the white ball and broke it in half as well for Brock to have a piece, and together the group warily ate the small white pieces, but were soon greeted by an extremely pleasant outcome.
"Wow! This is delicious!" Brock exclaimed.
"And cold! It tastes just like an ice pop!" Dawn added, covering her mouth with her hand to try and warm up her mouth a little.
"Yeah, and it's really sweet too!" Ash added.
"Who would've thought there could be a Pokémon that makes ice cream wandering around?" Misty added.
"Hey, thanks a lot Snover, that was delicious." Ash said. Snover was about to reply, but the still skeptical Riolu was still upset at Snover for everything it had done before. Snover backed off slightly in fear. "Hey, relax Riolu! Sorry Snover, Riolu's still a little upset about what you did to us before…hey I've got an idea, why don't you let Riolu try one of your ice balls?" Ash suggested. Snover smiled and plucked white ball off of its body and handed it to Riolu. Now Riolu's curiosity had been peaked, and his anger quelled for the moment. Riolu took a small bite, and he too was overcome by the pleasure of the sweet taste as he squealed with glee.
"You like it a lot, don't you Riolu?" Misty giggled. Riolu nodded at the redhead and squealed again, which only caused Misty to giggle some more, "You're so cute."
"I guess that's why Snover was using all those moves on us, it was so we couldn't do anything else except stop and give this delicious stuff a try." Brock said.
"If you ask me, I think Snover just wants to be friends." Dawn added.
Yeah, but that was a pretty intense way of stopping us though." Ash chuckled. Snover also laughed sheepishly, as it scratched the back of its neck embarrassedly. "Hey you know, now that I've eaten something, I just realized that I'm really hungry." Ash laughed.
"Ash, you're ALWAYS hungry." Misty rolled her eyes at her boyfriend, but soon blushed out of embarrassment when her stomach began to growl as well. "Well…isn't a girl entitled to a small hunger pang every now and then?" she said nervously. The group laughed and decided to set up camp right where they were since the sun was beginning to go down.
The sun went down completely after a while, with the only source of light being the crackling fire that Brock had cooked dinner over. Snover had joined the other Pokémon, and was enjoying a bowl of Brock's homemade Pokémon food. "Wow, check that out." Ash said, taking a moment from his meal to glance at the Pokémon.
"Snover must've been really hungry; it does a heart good to see such a healthy appetite." Brock said, taking pride in his job well done.
"How do you like Brock's Pokémon food Snover?" Ash asked. Snover waved back happily, acknowledging that it was indeed enjoying its meal.
"I hope it's at least half as good as your berries! Now you make sure to eat it all ok?" Brock said. Snover rocked from side to side in happiness, for the first time in a long time, it was surrounded by other Pokémon and even trainers who had given it kindness, companionship came only once in a very long while for Snover, so it was as pleased as it could be.
But eventually dinner ended, and the other Pokémon were withdrawn back into their Pokéballs for the night, which meant it was time for Snover to go. Brock picked up its bowl and waved goodbye to the Frost Tree Pokémon as it slowly walked away. "Seeya Snover, take care of yourself!" Brock called out. Snover waved back and took a few steps, but then turned around again and waved, calling out farewells in its own language.
"Bye Snover, take care!" Ash exclaimed, still waving goodbye to the grass/ice-type. Snover turned to walk away again, but it just couldn't keep its eyes off of the group it had grown to like in such a short period of time. It turned back to the group with a sad expression on its face, which the group couldn't help but notice.
"Snover looks kinda sad." Dawn said, her face now showing the same sorrowful expression as Snover's.
"No…it looks…lonely." Misty said, her voice obviously showing sympathy for the Frost Tree Pokémon.
"I wonder…if maybe Snover doesn't have any friends." Ash said, rubbing the back of his neck in thought. "We can't just let Snover go like that…Hey, hold on Snover!" Ash called out, using his hands as a megaphone, "Do you wanna have breakfast with us too?"
Upon hearing that, Snover immediately turned around, its eyes wide with shock, once the shock wore off, it ran over to Ash, its arms flailing uncontrollably. Snover continued to call out "thank yous" in its own language in a desperately grateful tone, as it hugged Ash's legs tightly for allowing it to stay for the night. "Hey, you're welcome Snover." Ash laughed.
"Now that that's settled, let's hit the hay! I dunno about you guys but I'm exhausted." Dawn said, as she stretched and yawned with fatigue. Her eyes drooped slightly after doing that, and she trudged into the tent for a little privacy while she changed into her pajamas.
"You did good Ash." Misty said, reaching up to knock Ash's hat off and ruffle his hair playfully.
"Hey, cut that out." Ash laughed and reached down to put his hat back on. "Well I just couldn't let Snover go like that, you know?"
"I get what you mean." Misty nodded, "I can relate to it you know. Loneliness is everything it's cracked up to be."
Ash and Misty watched as Pikachu and Buneary cuddled up next to each other next to Dawn's sleeping bag. "Well that's two Pokémon who don't have to worry about being lonely." Misty said, admiring the sweet sight of the Pokémon couple enjoying each other's company. Then Snover naively walked over to the two Pokémon, and sat down in-between them, and hugged them close to it as a gesture of friendship. "Make that three." Misty giggled, sweat-dropping in the process. Pikachu and Buneary laughed and sweat-dropped as well, while Snover merely looked back and forth at the two Pokémon in confusion.
Later on, the group finally fell asleep in their sleeping bags. Ash and Misty were holding hands as they slept in adjacent sleeping bags, Pikachu and Buneary had carefully moved over once Snover so fell asleep so they were in front of the Frost Tree Pokémon instead of being cut-off from each other. Little did they know however that they had a trio of stalkers watching them. A mechanical arm suddenly weaved its way out of a nearby bush, and started trying to make a grab. "Careful Meowth! Don't disturb the drowsy duo!" Jessie hissed.
"If you do we're guaranteed to get a premature blastoff right here and now!" James added.
"Hey if you tink it's so easy den you do it! Using dis dumb ting to nab one a dose Snover berries without bumpin' Pikachu or Buneary is like tryin' ta thread a needle with a sledgehammer!" Meowth replied angrily, as he used his trusty remote control to maneuver the mechanical arm without disturbing the group. Meowth finally got over to Snover, but froze when Pikachu's ear twitched. Team Rocket whimpered in fear at the sight of Pikachu regaining consciousness, but were relieved to find that Pikachu had only become conscious for a moment just to cuddle up closer to Buneary.
Team Rocket sighed with extreme relief, and finally caught their breaths when Pikachu comfortably dozed off once more with no suspicion of their presence whatsoever. "Thank goodness for hard heads and soft hearts." Jessie commented. Finally the mechanical arm managed to discreetly snag a Snover berry off of Snover's body, and quickly retreated back behind the bush.
Team Rocket split the berry into three pieces, "Bon appetite!" they each took their piece of berry and ate it, and just like the teens, they were overcome by the pleasurable sensation on their tongues. "Our taste buds are in paradise!" they all exclaimed quietly.
"One taste of perfection and there's no turning back!" James said passionately, tears flowing from his eyes and his fists clenched softly out of reflex.
"Full speed ahead to Shangri-La!" Jessie pointed at Snover, signaling Meowth to make the official grab and steal Snover for their own needs. Meowth had the arm grab a large net, and it reached over and instantly scooped up the now panicking Snover. Fortunately, its cries had not gone unheard, Pikachu and Buneary were now wide awake and watching it all happen, and they shouted to wake the humans up.
"Not you guys again!" Ash growled, letting go of Misty's hand in order to form an angry fist.
Jessie: "Isn't that just like a twerp to be in denial?"
James: "When it comes to Snover berries we're masters of guile."
Jessie: "On the wind!"
James: "Past the stars!"
Meowth: "And sticking with style!"
Jessie: "We're Snover berry picking at a breakneck pace!"
James: "Dashing all hope while I'm stuffing my face!"
Jessie: "A berry by any other name's not as sweet."
James: "When my tummy's full my work is complete."
Jessie: "Jessie!"
James: "And it's James!"
Meowth: "Meowth! Dat's a name!"
Jessie: "Putting the do-gooders in their place!"
James: "We're Team Rocket!"
Team Rocket: "And we're in your face!"
During their motto, Team Rocket had neglected to notice that the whole group had changed out of their pajamas and were now back in their regular clothes, Ash himself had just finished strapping on his right glove as he glared furiously at the trio. "What do you think you're doing with Snover?" he growled.
"I don't think, I KNOW!" Jessie said, holding up her hand dismissively, "We're gifting this cute little frozen berry machine to the big boss!"
"No you won't!" Ash grabbed a Pokéball off his belt and threw it, "Grotle, I choose you!" Grotle emerged from the Pokéball and stared down the trio of thieves, "Razor Leaf', go!" Ash ordered. Grotle acknowledged and jerked its body forward, sending a barrage of razor sharp leaves at the net that held Snover captive. The net was chopped open, and Snover fell with a thud, but quickly got up and scampered over to Ash and hid behind his leg.
"Hey! I thought you had good taste!" Jessie exclaimed angrily, her fists clenched and a sweat-drop on her head.
Now Ash got back to the battle and barked out another order, "Quick Pikachu, use 'Thunderbolt'!" Pikachu jumped up and wasted no time in shocking the three thugs with a high voltage blast of electricity. Team Rocket groaned and fell on their faces, but they definitely weren't ready to give up yet.
"Impudent little imps!" Jessie reached for a Pokéball, "Yanmega, use 'Silver Wind'!" Jessie threw the Pokéball, and her dragonfly Pokémon came out and launched a barrage of silver, half-moon shaped blasts of wind at the group, who were now desperately trying to dodge them.
"Carnivine, come out and fight the good fight!" James also threw out a Pokéball, and his grass-type emerged for battle as well, but as usual, Carnivine turned back and bit onto James' head affectionately, "Come on! I said fight the good fight not bite the good bite!" James threw Carnivine back in the direction of the battle and barked out an order, "Now 'Bullet Seed'!" Carnivine acknowledged and launched its own barrage at the group, and that gave Team Rocket the chance they needed to escape.
"And with that, we must fly." Team Rocket jumped back into their balloon and started to float away, "Bye bye!"
Needless to say, Ash didn't appreciate being used for target practice, so he got his head back in the game and barked out an order, "Grotle, use 'Razor Leaf' again and don't let them get away!" Grotle acknowledged and launched the attack, but the range the attack needed was so great that it fell just short of the balloon. Grotle growled at that fact. "Ok Pikachu, use 'Iron Tail'!" Ash ordered. Pikachu jumped onto the side of the cliff and started bounding towards the balloon. When he finally got close enough, Pikachu leaped up and activated the 'Iron Tail', and successfully put a huge tear inside the balloon, sending Team Rocket blasting off.
"Who said you could deflate our egos?" And with that, Team Rocket vanished into the sky.
"Serves you right!" Misty shouted, swinging her fist angrily.
"You ok Snover?" Ash asked. Snover nodded happily at Ash in response.
"Well now that that's over with, let's get back to sleep." Brock suggested.
The group quickly got back into their pajamas and tried to head to sleep, but Snover was still slightly nervous. "Hey Snover, would you feel better if somebody stood guard for you?" Ash asked. Snover hesitated, but eventually nodded again out of fear.
"Pika pika chu Pikapi." (We'll do it Ash.) Pikachu said, waving off his master so he could get some sleep.
"Thanks Pikachu. You too Buneary." Ash replied, lying back down onto his pillow.
"Bun buneary bun." (You're welcome.) Buneary replied, sitting down next to Pikachu. The humans finally fell asleep, leaving Pikachu and Buneary as the only ones awake, Snover had easily fallen asleep thanks to the presence of its two bodyguards.
"Why do you think Team Rocket wants Snover?" Buneary asked, wondering what was so important about Snover.
"If you want my guess, I'd say they're just hungry and they were thinking through their stomachs. Those berries Snover grows sure are tasty after all." Pikachu replied dismissively.
"You think they'll try again?" Buneary asked.
"I always think of it this way: They don't give up on something until they blast off a second time. So until we launch them again, keep your guard up." Pikachu replied.
Buneary nodded and finally settled down into Pikachu's soft yellow fur and dozed off, giving Pikachu the first watch, this time to protect Snover. The next morning, the group woke up and were pleased to find Snover happily playing with the other Pokémon, and Brock immediately began work on breakfast.
"Wow, what a beautiful day it's going to be today!" Dawn exclaimed happily.
"Yeah I'll say." Ash agreed.
"Nice day for travel." Brock added.
The group turned and watched Snover interact with the Pokémon, and couldn't help but laugh when Snover grabbed a piece of Chimchar's food after pointing to something in the distance to distract the fire monkey, and Chimchar reacted rather angrily as it pointed an accusing finger at the Frost Tree Pokémon, who immediately smiled and gave Chimchar its food back, invoking laughter in all the other Pokémon. "Boy I'll tell ya, Snover sure likes pulling practical jokes." Ash said with a smirk.
"Just don't get any ideas about catching it; with Haunter and Rotom back at Prof. Oak's ranch, he's got enough trouble to put up with." Misty said, eyeballing her boyfriend suspiciously.
"I say we get ready to head on out before Ash's trainer instincts kick in." Brock laughed, taking a drink of his morning coffee.
"Alright alright, we'll get ready." Ash laughed with a sweat-drop. Ash got up and called out to the Pokémon. "Hey guys, as soon as you're done eating we're getting out of here!"
The Pokémon shouted their acknowledgement, and in no time at all, the group was packed up and all the Pokémon were returned to their Pokéballs, with the exception of Grotle who was last up. "Ok, now for Grotle." Ash was about to return Grotle to its Pokéball, when his face fell in confusion at the sight he saw.
"What's the matter Ash?" Misty asked, looking up from packing her backpack and noting her boyfriend's facial expression.
"Take a look at that." Ash replied, still obviously confused.
Now Dawn and Brock looked up as well, "Look at all those wild Pokémon." Brock said.
"They're all perched on Grotle's back." Dawn also noted.
The group walked over to Grotle and figured out why all the tiny flying-types were perched on the grass-type's back. "There are nuts growing on its back." Ash said in shock.
"And I'll say this much, Grotle's a lot more tolerant about this kind of thing than your Bulbasaur is." Misty said.
"I guess this sort of thing happens once Grotle adjusts to its evolution." Brock guessed.
"That's awesome!" Ash reached for one of the nuts, "You mind Grotle?" he asked. Grotle shook its head and smiled. Ash took a nut and examined it for a moment, "I wonder if they're any good." Ash nibbled a piece of the nut, and groaned a bit at the flavor. Curious as to what it tasted like, Pikachu took the nut from Ash and bit onto it himself, and his reaction was the total opposite of Ash's, as Pikachu not only approved of the taste, but liked it so much that he actually finished it off.
Brock couldn't help but laugh, "Guess you either love it or hate it right?"
"Ok, so Snover grows berries on its body, and Grotle grows nuts! Pokémon are so full of mystery!" Dawn exclaimed.
"Of course that's part of what makes them so intriguing." Brock replied.
"Wow Grotle, that's awesome." Ash said. Suddenly though, all the Pokémon perched on Grotle's back flew off at once, confusing the group.
"Hey, what's with the hasty retreat?" Misty wondered.
Then out of nowhere, a cage came out of the sky and grabbed Grotle and Snover, forcing the humans to jump back to avoid getting grabbed. Grotle and Snover cried for help as the cage rose into the air thanks to an all-too familiar hot-air balloon. "Team Rocket!" Ash growled.
"That's right! And we've just added two productive new members of our nutty little family!" Jessie cackled, waving mockingly at the group below.
"Rare fruit and nut berry Pokémon are always welcome!" James added.
"And since da Boss is gonna love the fruits of our nutty labor we'll be fat with cold cash!" Meowth added.
"We're on the fast track to fortune so we've gotta dash!" Jessie exclaimed.
"Gone in a flash!" they shouted.
Ash immediately leaped into action, "I don't think so! Quick Pikachu, use 'Thunderbolt'!" he ordered. Pikachu fired a powerful bolt of electricity at the Team Rocket balloon, but when the attack hit, the balloon was left unscathed. "Now what?" Ash growled.
"We're so glad you brought that up twoip!" Meowth grinned evilly.
"We're impervious to 'Thunderbolts' which makes YOU thunderdolts!" Jessie mocked.
"We love revolts!" James added, making faces at the teens down below.
Ash growled and barked out a different order, "Alright fine! Grotle, use 'Energy Ball' and destroy Team Rocket's cage!" Grotle acknowledged and charged a powerful 'Energy Ball' in its mouth. Grotle fired, and the cage burst open immediately, and the balloon slowly began to rumble and descend. Unfortunately, thanks to the shaking, Grotle was slowly losing grip and was starting to fall out of the open cage. Finally Grotle fell out, and began the long fall to the ground. "No, Grotle!"
Snover panicked for a moment, but quickly regained its senses as its eyes began to glow green, and a multitude of vines burst out from underneath Grotle, and caught and slowly lowered Grotle to the ground. "Grotle are you ok?" Ash shouted, as he and the others ran to chase after Team Rocket. Grotle nodded in response. After getting the acknowledgement, Ash turned his attention back to Snover, "Hey don't worry Snover! Just go ahead and jump and we'll catch you!" But unfortunately Snover was too afraid to jump, as it clung to the bars of the cage for dear life.
"We're one step ahead of you!" Jessie said matter-of-factly.
"Meowth, show them what Jessie meant!" James exclaimed.
"Big dough well spent!" Meowth pulled out a small remote and pressed the button, and two rockets came out from the sides of the basket, and when they kicked in, Team Rocket started blasting away.
"We'll never catch them on foot!" Misty exclaimed.
"Then it's time for Charizard!" Ash threw out a Pokéball and the mighty dragon emerged with a roar. "Let's go after them Charizard!" Ash leaped onto the back of his dragon and took off after the hot-air balloon.
"Talk to the flames twerps!" Team Rocket cackled as they continued to put distance between them and the teens.
"Let's try and slow them down for Ash! Ash, pull up a second!" Misty shouted. Ash nodded and had Charizard pull up. Misty grabbed for a Pokéball and threw it out. "Alright Surskit, use 'Ice Beam'!"
"Piplup, let's help them out with 'Bubblebeam'!" Dawn also ordered.
Surskit emerged from its Pokéball and fired the ice-type move and flanked Piplup, who was already firing his own attack. But unfortunately Team Rocket was moving too fast and the attacks couldn't reach them. "They're going too fast!" Misty hissed.
"Looks like it's up to us Charizard! Floor it!" Ash exclaimed. Charizard roared and accelerated further, but even then he couldn't catch up to Team Rocket. Meanwhile down below, Misty, Dawn, and Brock were still running after Ash and Team Rocket, but Grotle tripped up again as its lack of speed stopped it again. Grotle just laid there on the ground, disappointed that it couldn't help its new friend. But a few flashbacks of its short time with Snover reignited its determination, and with a loud battle-cry, Grotle stood back up and stared into the sun, activating its 'Synthesis' move. Once Grotle became reenergized, Grotle's claws suddenly extended out, and Grotle roared out another battle-cry.
"Get back here with Snover!" Misty screamed. Suddenly the group noticed Grotle running along the side of the canyon. "What's Grotle doing?" Misty asked.
"Grotle's using 'Rock Climb'!" Brock replied, "Hey Ash! Backup's on the way!"
"Come on Charizard, you gotta go faster or Team Rocket's gonna get away!" Ash pleaded. Charizard glared at his trainer, he was already flying at full speed, he didn't need Ash to remind him that he was going too slow. Then suddenly, Ash looked over to the side of the canyon, and saw Grotle running along the side of the canyon. "Grotle, wha?" Ash reached for his Pokédex to scan Grotle and figure out what was going on.
"Rock Climb'. A Pokémon using this move can scale rocky surfaces." The Pokédex chirped.
"So Grotle's using 'Rock Climb'…that's awesome Grotle! Go for it!" Ash shouted.
"Hey, what's with the sidewinder?" Jessie asked nervously.
"Does it have Velcro on its feet or something?" James added.
Grotle was now side by side with Team Rocket, angrily growling at them. "My sixth sense is telling me this is not cool." Jessie said, her eyes narrowed at the Scratch Cat Pokémon.
"Don't forget dat sticky green stinka can't touch us if we're flying high in our beautiful balloon." Meowth replied, pointing towards the sky.
"Airtight argument." James commented.
Team Rocket emerged from their basket again, "Up the throttle! Bye dear Grotle!" Jessie laughed. Team Rocket's balloon began to ascend, and Team Rocket cackled evilly as they were sure their escape was guaranteed. But Grotle would not be denied. Grotle leaped onto the top of the cliff and used the power of 'Rock Climb' to propel itself high into the air with its front-right claw extended out. "Grotle can fly too?" the trio cried out. Grotle blasted through the balloon and shredded it to pieces, sending Team Rocket blasting off once more as the balloon and basket exploded. "We're blasting off again!" *ping*
Grotle landed on the top of the cliff once more and spotted Snover tumbling helplessly towards the ground. "Snover, snap out of it!" Misty screamed at the top of her lungs. Snover couldn't respond, but Grotle had heard and was determined to save its new friend no matter what. Grotle leaped against the canyon once more and activated 'Rock Climb' again to catch up to the falling Snover.
"Happiny, come on out and catch Snover, quick!" Brock tossed out a Pokéball, and his super-strong baby Pokémon emerged from it and scampered off to try and catch Snover.
"You should've thrown it harder Brock! Happiny won't make it in time!" Misty exclaimed.
"Come on Charizard, let's grab Snover!" Ash exclaimed. Charizard swooped down and got Ash in range, but when Ash reached for Snover, he missed by an inch and Snover continued to fall, "Aww no, Snover!" Ash shouted. There was only one more chance; it was up to Grotle now. Grotle yelled out one last battle-cry and used 'Rock Climb' to leap into the air and snag Snover in mid-air with its mouth. Grotle made the catch, and Snover regained consciousness and looked behind it to see Grotle happily smiling at it. Grotle then looked down and saw that Happiny was now in range, and dropped the Frost Tree Pokémon down to the ground where Happiny made an easy catch.
Then Grotle landed with a loud thud, causing dirt to fly up all around it from the rumble it made. Grotle then took a few cautious steps to turn around before falling down from exhaustion. The first ones on the scene were Ash, Pikachu, and Charizard, and Ash wasted no time leaping off of the dragon's back to embrace his exhausted grass-type. "Grotle! You were incredible!" he exclaimed happily. Snover also came over now and hugged Grotle out of thanks for saving its life. "You were awesome too Charizard, thanks for your help." Ash added. Charizard just crossed his arms and puffed out a weary ember, he wouldn't admit it, but that really long full-speed flight had left him winded.
Now the other humans finally made their way over to Ash and the others, and put their hands on their knees and panted breathlessly. "Grotle, you did great." Misty complimented, speaking in-between breaths. Grotle thanked Misty for the praise wearily.
"You did good too Happiny." Brock made sure to say. Happiny thanked Brock for the praise as well, and returned to its Pokéball without a second thought.
"That was the most amazing teamwork I've ever seen!" Dawn exclaimed, her breathing also extremely heavy. Grotle just chuckled softly in the arms of his trainer and his new friend Snover, there was a distinct satisfaction in doing what it had just done, but it would be more than content to not have to do that again for quite a while.
Once the excitement wore off, and the three sprinting humans got their breath back, the weary Pokémon returned to their Pokéballs, and the group resumed their walk towards Snowpoint City, and it wasn't long before they reached their next checkpoint. "Alright, we're almost at the foot of the mountain." Dawn said.
"Ok Brock, which way do we go now?" Misty asked.
Brock pulled out his map book and analyzed it, "Let's see…getting to Snowpoint City…" Brock was suddenly cutoff when a young voice cried out in excitement.
"Wow it's a Snover!" the voice, apparently male, exclaimed.
Then the group started hearing many other young voices, and they saw a bunch of little kids running towards them, and one other young lady trailing behind them. "Now now, don't rush or you're likely to trip and fall." she said gently. And of course, Brock was the first one to take notice of her.
"Wow excellent!" he exclaimed passionately. Brock ran over to the kids and young woman and stared into her eyes, "Excuse me kind and beautiful teacher! My name is Brock!"
"Here we go." Dawn sighed with a sweat-drop.
"Brock's gonna be an awful influence on those kids." Misty added, a sweat-drop also evident on her head.
Meanwhile, Brock was busy trying to impress the teacher of the children, who was merely staring at Brock in confusion. "I happen to have some delicious Snover berries, why don't we relax with a cup of tea? My friends can watch your children and I'll put the kettle on right away." he said chivalrously. But Brock's attempt was once again cut short when Croagunk executed a sharp 'Poison Jab' into his backside. "Aaaaaah! Just…as soon…as the pain…subsides…" After doing many different poison induced poses, Brock finally fell over and was dragged away by the poison frog, leaving the teacher in bewilderment. The children on the other hand, were luckily young and naïve enough to not understand what had just happened.
Now Ash, Misty, and Dawn made their way over to them with Snover. "Hey there." they said.
"You'll have to excuse our friend; he's got a weakness for beautiful women." Misty rolled her eyes as she said that.
"I suppose I should be flattered that he finds me attractive then." the woman replied with a sweat-drop.
Then Snover greeted the children with a wave of its hand, and the confusion immediately wore off as the children swarmed Snover and started playing with it, and Snover happily played along with them. Then Snover pulled off a few berries from its body and held it out to the children and teacher. "I think Snover wants us to eat it." one of the little girls said.
"I wonder if it's good." One of the boys added.
"Are you sure we can have it?" the teacher asked skeptically.
Suddenly Brock came back, and rushed over with the answer, "Have no fear! Snover berries are absolutely delicious!"
"You recover fast." Dawn commented.
"He always has." Misty added.
Satisfied with Brock's reassurance, the teacher took the berries and split them into six equal pieces. "Then let's eat!" they exclaimed. They each took their piece of berry and tried it, and they all happily commented on how delicious the berries were.
The teacher leaned over to face Snover, "You're sweet too, thanks Snover." she said gratefully. All the children also thanked Snover, and went back to climbing all over the Frost Tree Pokémon, who was more than happy for all the attention.
"Look at all those kids playing with Snover. That's great." Ash said.
"Kinda makes me wish I were a little kid again." Misty sighed happily, leaning on Ash's shoulder.
"Say, are you four Pokémon trainers by any chance?" the teacher asked.
"That's right! I'm challenging every gym I can so I can get into the Sinnoh League!" Ash exclaimed determinedly.
"As for me, I'm a Pokémon coordinator." Dawn added.
"A coordinator? So you must be here to compete in the Sandalstraw Tournament!" the teacher assumed.
Sandalstraw Tournament? Why does that sound so familiar?" Dawn wondered to herself.
"You mean you didn't know?" the teacher moved aside and directed the group's attention to a small town in the distance. "Look, that's Sandalstraw Town over there, and very soon they're having their contest." she explained.
"Hey that's super-close to here." Ash said.
"Duh Ash, we're looking at it." Misty sighed exasperatedly. Ash chuckled sheepishly at that.
"Now I remember! Kenny's mom told me about the Sandalstraw contest a while back. She never was really good with timing and places." Dawn said.
"You know what that means, Kenny's probably gonna be there too." Misty replied.
"Hey yeah! That settles it! I wanna be in the Sandalstraw contest too!" Dawn raised her hand towards the sky.
"Great, be sure to give it your all." Ash replied.
"That's what I do! There's no way I'm gonna let Kenny beat me again!" Dawn exclaimed determinedly.
"So we're stopping in Sandalstraw Town before Snowpoint City." Brock said.
"Now there's just one last thing to take care of." Ash walked over to Snover, who was still playing with the little children. "Snover, we gotta go. But look at you and all your new buddies, I'm glad. There's nothing better than a bunch of good friends."
"He's right you know. And if you ever get lonely, you can always come visit them right here." Dawn added.
"You're ALWAYS welcome to come back anytime Snover." the teacher said, affirming the suggestion.
Finally the group started on their way, and was given a cordial farewell by Snover, the teacher, and her young students. "Well that worked out great, whaddya say we head on over to Sandalstraw Town?" Ash asked.
"Sounds good to me Ash." Misty replied.
"Yeah! And one thing's for sure, Kenny's gonna see up close and personally just how good I've gotten!" Dawn exclaimed determinedly.
And so with a full head of steam, Dawn led the way over to Sandalstraw Town, where her next contest would take place, and Kenny would most likely be waiting for them.
_
A/N: Well you may have noticed I used a different style of writing this time. I made a new paragraph everytime the speaker changed. Jolly Green suggested that I do this, to prevent too much confusion. So now it's up to you everyone. Do you prefer this style? Or would you like me to go back to the old way I did things? Review and let me know. By the way I PROMISE I'll try to get the next chapter out faster!