Well, that was unexpected, Squirtle said as Ash rushed back out of his tent. His clothes were disheveled and his pack was haphazardly slung over his shoulder.
You don't say… Pikachu drawled.
I hope Bulbasaur's okay, Butterfree said quietly.
He's strong! Charmander said loudly, with only a tiny quiver in his voice. He'll be fine!
Ugh, why is this happening at night? Pidgeot moaned. I'm useless at night.
Try being me, Magikarp said. I'm useless all day and night!
What are we waitin' around for? Primeape asked, pounding his hands together. We should be taking off after them!
We needed Ash you dummy, Pikachu said. And he needs to bring potions and stuff. And the other humans, so they can use their pokemon.
Well, I'm ready, Ash said, joining them and looking around.
"Aaron, you are cursed," Brock declared, rushing out of his own tent. "There is no doubt in my mind. You. Are. Cursed. No one else could get one of their pokemon kidnapped by a group of bulbasaurs in the night."
"Well, if you listen to my sisters after they've had a few drinks, roving gangs of grass-types are a danger if you stray too far from the coast," Misty said, climbing out of her tent. "But I'm pretty sure they were just trying to scare me."
"Yeah, before today I would have said they were just making shit up," Brock said. "And I'm still sure they were, given that they've never traveled with Aaron."
"Quit acting like this is my fault," Ash said, crossing his arms. "And do you know what that bush thing was?"
"It must have been some grass-type move," Brock replied. "I just don't recognize it."
"Well, I don't think we've got time to research it," Misty said. "We need to move."
"Right," Ash nodded. "Pidgeot, Charmander, you two stay out for now. Everyone else, return."
Ash recalled his pokemon and then Pikachu jumped on his shoulder, Charmander stood by his side, and Pidgeot hovered next to him.
"Let's go!" Ash said and then started running in the direction the bulbasaur kidnapping bulbasaurs had gone.
The group could barely follow the trail by the dim light of Charmander's tail. If the bulbasaurs had made any effort to hide their trail then Ash and the others might have lost them. But, as it was, there were plenty of tracks and recently trampled young plants to follow.
They jogged along for ten minutes, deeper into the forest than they had previously explored. Things became strange. As the trees grew thicker, the season seemed to grow later. Buds progressed to stems. Grass grew in the clearings they passed. Bushes were green. And there were vines on the trunks.
"This is weird," Brock said as they ducked under some branches.
"I know," Misty agreed. "It's like those tales where a bunch of fairy types lure unwary travelers into a place outside of time and when they get home it turns out they were gone for centuries."
"Yeah, but doesn't a celebi usually return them in those stories?" Ash asked.
"Do you see a celebi around here?" Misty replied.
"No," Ash shook his head.
"Then we're screwed."
"Knock it off," Brock said. "Those are just children's stories anyway. Besides, we're chasing bulbasaurs, not fairy types."
They went deeper into the forest, the world growing greener the further they went. Soon it was like they were in late spring, with flowers blooming, a green forest floor, and the leaves in spring glory.
"I will concede that this is very strange," Brock said. "Even for one of Aaron's incidents."
"Quit blaming this on me!"
"Who else could be to blame?" Misty said. "I mean, you're not the one making the flowers bloom, or putting the leaves on the trees, but you're probably the reason thatwe'reseeing this."
"Is that a bad thing?" Ash asked, looking around at the strange night.
"Well, no…" Misty admitted "At least if there wasn't a kidnapped pokemon," she finished, crossing her arms, but the corners of her lips quirked up.
"We're complaining about the danger, not the strangeness," Brock clarified. "It's just that those two happen to go hand in hand around you."
"Well, it's not my fault," Ash said, stomping on ahead. "I like the weird stuff; I don't really like the danger. Ow!"
Ash fell backwards, rubbing his forehead. It felt like he had been hit with a thin branch hard enough to leave a welt.
"What happened?" Brock asked, rushing forward, to kneel in front of Ash.
"Tree branch, but-" Ash's eyes widened as he caught movement behind Brock. He threw himself into the young man, knocking him off of his feet and out of the way of another swinging branch.
"Go Staryu!" Misty shouted and then white light blazed in the night. "Freeze that branch!"
White-blue light shone and then the branch was encased in ice. Brock and Ash scrambled back, out of reach of those trees.
"Okay, that's much scarier than any of the stories my sisters told me," Misty said in a matter-of-fact tone that didn't fit her suddenly pale face. "I vote we run screaming."
"We need to rescue Bulbasaur," Ash reminded her, dusting himself off.
"Well, normally I'd suggest that we ride Onix through here, but I'm fairly certain that whatever is behind this has some powerful grass-type attacks," Brock said. "And he would be an easy target, especially if he gets tied down. I don't want to use him except as a last resort."
"So, what do we do instead," Misty asked.
"Stay small, uh… you know, together, tight group?" Ash said, trying to think of the word.
"Compact?" Misty suggested.
"Yeah!" Ash nodded. "That! We stay compact and force through! Go Primeape!"
"Go Geodude," Brock said. The two pokemon materialized in front of the humans.
"Okay, let's go!" Ash said. "Primeape, cover us!"
"Geodude, don't let those branches hit us!" Brock echoed.
The group took off again, charging deeper into the forest. Tree branches whipped at them, reached at them, bark creaking and cracking, as the forest moved. Primeape and Geodude took the lead, fists blurring as they beat back the branches. Wood shattered and twigs went flying as the two cleared the path ahead. Staryu froze any branches that attempted to attack them from behind.
Footsteps pounding on the earth, they continued deeper, and the forest reacted. Vines slithered off the trees, strangling tendrils grabbing at the humans and pokemon. It reminded Ash of the tactics that Team Rocket's bellsprouts had used when he was guarding Melaine.
"Charmander!" Ash shouted. "Fire-Bloom!"
Bursts of fire flared around them as Charamnder's flames fended off the vines, but more reached out. Ash instinctively reached for Bulbasaur's pokeball, before remembering the whole reason they were in this situation.
"Pikachu!" Ash shouted. "Thunderbolt the vines! Pidgeot! Bite them if they get too close!"
On it! Pikachu answered, cheeks sparking.
Will do, Pidgeot replied.
They continued through the gauntlet, electricity and a sharp beak helping to fend off the vines while Primeape and Geodude's fists held the branches at bay.
The further the group fought on, the more the forest was coming into full bloom. Flowers carpeted the forest floor, gray in the night until the light of Charmander's tail revealed their full beauty. Blossoms adorned many of the branches and fruit was growing on bushes and trees, while thick grass grew in the clearings.
"This is amazing!" Brock exclaimed and then ducked as a piece of tree branch sailed at him. "Or it would be if the forest wasn't trying to kill us…"
"Okay, we need to talk to a grass-type specialist, because I've never heard of anything like this before," Misty said, dodging a vine that got past the pokemon. "And from now on, let's stick to the ocean, okay?"
"No way!" Ash said, grinning. "This is too cool!"
"Of course, you'd say that," Misty muttered.
"Wait, where's the trail?" Brock asked. Ash looked back at the ground. He had been certain they were still following the trail last time he had checked, but now all signs of the passage of the bulbasaur's had vanished. He couldn't tell if they lost the trail or if the forest had covered it up.
"Doesn't matter!" Ash cried out, grabbing a pokeball. "Butterfree! Find Bulbasaur!"
This way! Butterfree said right as he materialized. He's nearby!
"Looks like he's got the trail!" Misty said.
"Follow that butterfree!" Brock added.
They followed Butterfree through the gauntlet as the trees and the vines stepped up their assault. Primeape was covered in sweat and breathing hard from the exertion as he fought off the barrage and Geodude was starting to lose tiny bits of stony skin.
"Return!" Brock said, holding up the rock-type's pokeball. "Sorry, Aaron, Geodude can't keep this up!"
"It's alright!" Ash replied. "Pikachu, Thunder! Clear us a path!"
Time to quiet down you lightning magnets! Pikachu shouted as he jumped off Ash. There was the roaring buzz of intense electricity and the humans shielded their eyes from the brilliant yellow light of Pikachu's attack.
Bits of soot and cinders rained down around them and a corridor of scorched trunks and burned off branches greeted them.
"Come on!" Ash shouted, continuing forward. Everyone followed, Primeape sprinting ahead to take the lead once more.
They got another fifty meters before the forest played a new card. Same as back at camp, a brambly thicket shot up out of the dirt, turning into a wall of thorns to block their path.
"Will you quit it!" Ash shouted. "I'm going to get Bulbasaur back no matter what you do to stop me! Charmander, Fire Bloom!"
Charmander unleashed a plume of flame into the brambles. Fire washed over them, blackening thorns, but the brambles held firm. And when Charmander's flames ceased, the blackened surfaces fell off, revealing that the plants had regenerated even as they burned.
"Oh, come on!" Ash growled, clenching his fists at his sides. He began to try and think of other ways that they could get through the barrier, but was interrupted by Misty stepping up beside him.
"I've got an idea," Misty said. "Staryu, Ice Beam, strong as you can! And Brock, get Onix ready!"
"What are you…. Oh, I see," Brock nodded, grabbing Onix's pokeball.
Starmie glowed with white-blue light and then a coruscating beam of the same color shot out from one of its prongs. Ice cracked as it engulfed the thicket, penetrating through the vines and thorns.
"Go Onix! Smash that!" Brock commanded. White light blazed and Onix roared. The tremendous stone serpent reared back and then surged forward, smashing into the iced over thicket. It shattered into crystal dust, leaving an icy gulch.
"That was great!" Ash exclaimed. "Let's go!"
Red light flashed as Brock recalled Onix and the group continued. There wasn't much further to go.
Right as they left the ice, they came across a large clearing. They were gathered around a large brown-gray tree, a squat tower crowned with crimson leaves. Before the tree, like a woodland stage, was a stump that looked like it had belonged to a similar tree that had been cut down long ago, leaving its sibling alone.
The red eyes of the bulbasaurs were on them. A field full of the grass-types was watching Ash and his friends as they arrived, bulbs filling the clearing like a densely packed garden. In the center of the group, bound by vines, was Ash's pokemon. Bulbasaur was struggling, shouting words Ash couldn't quite make out, kicking and glaring.
"Let Bulbasaur go!" Ash shouted, running forward.
Sharp leaves thudded into the ground in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. A pack of bulbasaurs spilt off from the main group and ran to bar his way, vines outstretched.
Back off human, one of the bulbasaurs growled. This isn't any business of yours.
You took our comrade, you made it our business, Pikachu growled, jumping off Ash's shoulder to face them.
Yeah, give us back Bulbasaur! Charmander shouted, joining Pikachu.
Or we start fighting, Pidgeot snarled, spreading her wings menacingly.
Please give us back Bulbasaur, Butterfree trilled. It would be better for everyone if you did.
Or do we have to ask again with our fists? Primeape pounded his hands together.
"Why'd you take Bulbasaur anyway?" Ash demanded. "What did he do to you?"
Tell your human that Bulbasaur's presence was requested by the Elder Flower, the lead bulbasaur said. He can have him back when she's done with him.
She can tell me herself, Ash snapped, stepping forward. The bulbasaurs stepped back, their eyes widening.
"What did you just say?" Brock asked, taking his eyes off the grass-types to look at Ash.
Ash went still, a jolt of ice running through all his limbs, a terrible void in his stomach that seem to electrify his limbs.
"I said, 'give me bulbasaur'," Ash lied, not looking at Brock and then took another step forward. "Let him go!"
That human spoke properly… One of the bulbasaurs said.
It doesn't matter if they were speaking using the leaves of the Tree of Life, the lead bulbasaur replied. The Elder Flower wants that bulbasaur here so he's going to stay here.
"Staryu, what are they saying?" Misty asked her water-type.
They're saying that they were told to bring Bulbasaur here, Staryu said to its trainer, pointing at the Misty's mouth, then at the bulbasaurs, then at Bulbasaur, and then at the ground.
"Someone told them to kidnap Bulbasaur?" Misty asked and Staryu nodded with the top half of its body.
"These look like wild pokemon, so who could have told them to kidnap Bulbasaur…" Brock asked, rubbing his chin and turning his gaze away from Ash.
"It doesn't matter!" Ash growled. "Pikachu! Thunder! Pidgeot, follow up with Gust!"
No, you don't! The lead bulbasaur shouted. A barrage of razor leaves cut through the air, straight at Ash, only to be consumed by crimson flame as Charmander jumped in front of his trainer.
Yes, we do! Pikachu shouted, body crackling with galvanic power as he jumped into the air. A pair of vines slapped him down with a loud crack. Pikachu snarled and blasted them away with a Thundershock, lighting up the bulbasaur who owned the vines with yellow power.
Back off, Pidgeot cried out, wide wings flapping as she summoned up a windstorm. Bits of grass and debris pelted everyone as the miniature tornado roared into being. The bulbasaurs scattered, but two were still caught in the storm and carried off into its spiral.
"Go Squirtle! Go Magikarp!" Ash shouted, calling his remaining pokemon into the fight. White light blazed and the two water-types stood, ready to join the fight.
"Aaron, stop!" Brock shouted. "Call your pokemon back! We don't want to take this fight!"
"We're heavily outnumbered and they've got type advantage on Brock and I!" Misty added, Starmie's pokeball in her hand.
Ash grit his teeth and didn't say anything. He knew that he couldn't fight all these pokemon, but he also couldn't just leave Bulbasaur-
ENOUGH! A low voice roared, loud enough for Ash to feel it reverberate in his bones. Stand down!
From an opening in the red leafed tree's roots came a large cyan pokemon. It was quadrupedal, with squat thick legs, and a wide flat body. From its back sprouted a large plant, with tropical leaves at its base, a wooden stem, and a pink-red flower on top. Ash recognized it as a venusaur, the final evolution of the bulbasaur line.
The venusaur stomped out from under the tree and stood on the stump.
Let our guest's trainer come forth, the venusaur announced. The others may watch but do not let them approach.
The garden of bulbasaurs parted, opening a path to the venusaur.
You heard the Elder Flower, the lead bulbasaur said, glaring at Ash and his pokemon. Come on.
Ash didn't bother replying. Pikachu jumped on his shoulder and then he walked forward down the path. Brock, Misty, and his pokemon made to follow him, but the Bulbasaurs barred their way with their vines.
"Aaron, be careful!" Brock called after him.
"I know it's probably useless to ask, but try not to do anything stupid!" Misty added.
"No promises!" Ash called back, the beginnings of a grin twitching on his lips. He then turned back to the venusaur and glared.
AN: I'd like to thank Amationary for beta reading
Slowly rebuilding my buffer. It's not ready for my old schedule, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel... dimly and I'm afraid it's an oncoming train, but I can see the light!
(Buffers are very important because I forget to include things until weeks later and a buffer is a great way to correct for that mistake)
Anyway, I think I'll be able to resume the old schedule in January, after I'm done with the end of the year craziness. Next chapter will be released on 12/1/2021.
Don't forget to review! Concrit is welcome!