The blossoming of ashley

by Aceina

At the start of his journey, Ash Ketchum's life takes a very different path meeting new friends leading to new adventures. Not without stumbles, but she will climb to the top of the Indigo Plateau. Join Ashley as she blossoms into her real self and embraces her identity, and becomes all of whom she was meant to be.

3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3: Clear Cutting in Viridian Forest Part 1

"C'mon…"

Ashley watched, tapping her boots against the grass and fighting the urge to anxiously bite her fingernails.

In front of her, the net ball shook, rocking in place. The encounter with Vivillon was her first real wild pokemon sighting since the Spearow onslaught.

"Come on…" she whispered, pleading to Arceus Himself that she captured this Pokemon. The ball shook once more, the Pokemon inside clearly trying to get out.

"Ashley… you really should have used Hope to shock that Vivillon," Erika said. "A weak, or better yet unconscious Pokemon is far easier to capture."

"I know, I know! But," Ashley bit her fingernails, ignoring the Look that her traveling companion gave her. "But Vivillon, I just saw it and I wanted, no I needed to capture her right now! I threw the ball without thinking!"

"Well, it's going to be really embarrassing if it breaks out," Erika said. "I'm going to try to avoid saying 'I told you so' but I make no promises."

"Oh ye of little faith," Ashley said, a little bit smugly. "Just watch, you'll eat your words!"

"We'll see…" Erika replied.

And then the poke ball shook a third time, before letting out a little 'ding' marking a successful capture.

"ALRIGHT!" Ashley said, raising the ball and her newest capture up high. Flashing a peace sign, she said: "I caught a Vivillon!"

"Pi-Pikachu!" Hope chorused.

"Well then, well done," Erika said with a nod. "Just don't get too cocky, it's almost never that easy."

"Hah, we'll see who has the last laugh. This is Viridian Forest, there's so many Pokemon here I'll go on a catching spree! Maybe a Scyther, or a Beedrill! Maybe even a Butterfree!"

"Well just be careful, you may end up with more Pokemon than you can reasonably train," Erika said.

"Ultimate Pokemon Master, remember?" Ashley replied, a little smugly.

"The jury is still out on that," Erika said.

"Well I have a Vivillon which isn't even native to Kanto! I think it sensed my upcoming greatness and flew all of the way here just so I could capture it!" Ashley bragged before being bopped on the head by Erika's paper fan.

"Actually the Vivillon migration is happening around this time of year. The poor thing probably got caught in a wind storm and blown off course and landed here," Erika said. "Actually, it might have been for the best that you caught it. Otherwise it could have become a nuisance at best and at worst an invasive species. That'd mean more work for the Pokemon Rangers."

"Well whatever, I have a rare Pokemon," Ashley said before snickering. "I bet Gary hasn't even caught one yet, I bet he's already ran home to his sister crying!"

"Gary?" Erika asked.

"Professor Oak's grandson," Ashley sighed, hanging her head. "He's always thought he's better for me just because of who his grandpa is!"

"Ah, so a typical teenage boy then," Erika said before nodding. "All the same, it's hardly proper for a lady to brag so much."

"Pi, Pikachu, Pi…" Hope sighed.

"I believe now would be a good time to break for lunch. I will handle making lunch today. You can make dinner tonight, and seeing as how your mother owns a restaurant I am looking forward to seeing how much of her skill passed to you," Erika said, sweetly.

Ashley swallowed, remembering the last and only time she'd helped her mother in the kitchen. "Hehe, yeah, uh, yeah that sounds good…"

Erika begins taking supplies out of her travel pack. Carefully, she sat out a beautiful blanket on the ground.

"Onigiri, maybe?"

"Oni-what?" Ashley asked.

"Rice balls."

"Oh! Those! I always thought they were jelly donuts," Ashley blinked and Erika face-faulted.

"Watch the camp," Erika said. "And when I say watch the camp, I don't mean go off and hunt for forest Pokemon. I don't want to have to come find you lost in the forest or under attack by angry Beedrill."

"You say that like it's a certain thing."

"You, judging by the Spearow and Team Rocket, are a trouble magnet," Erika said. "My heart rate's been through the roof lately, even as adorable as you are. So stay right there and I mean it. I'm going fishing, I'm going to be making Unagi and for that I need ingredients."

Erika walked to the nearest river, pulling out a fishing rod and sitting on a stump. Now all she needed to do was wait, and see if she got a bite. Of course, she supposed that relied on if anything was biting today.

"Rafflesia, use Sweet Scent please my darling," she said, calling out her Gloom. "Draw a Huntail in if you will for me, okay?"

"Glooommmm…" her precious flower Pokemon said, as she released a sweet enticing scent. Erika smiled, most people thought Gloom was the worst smelling Pokemon in the world. That the flower smelled like a rotting corpse in the sun. But what they didn't know was Gloom was her trade secret, with Rafflesia being a key ingredient in her many perfumes.

"I suppose if I don't draw in a Huntail, I have other options," Erika mused aloud as she sat and waited for a bite. "A Tangela would make some nice noodles, or Exeggcute could be boiled up as an omelet. And like every river, there's likely to be Magikarp that I could fry up…"

Thing was, she couldn't help but notice the forest smelled just slightly off today. As someone who made perfume, her nose had been trained to be extra sensitive. Maybe it was just her imagination betting the better of her, but she had a bad feeling about this. It only grew deeper when she saw a flock of Pidgeotto and Pidgey flying above her. One broke off from its flock, flying in another direction with an angry cry. But most of them, it was like they wanted to get out of the forest as fast as they could.

"Rafflesia, return," Erika said, that pit in her stomach getting deeper with every passing second. "Something's wrong, I just know it. Normally, the more curious forest Pokemon would have wandered in for a snack."

Hurrying back to her traveling companion, she hoped she was wrong and it was just her imagination getting the better of her.

"I swear, if that girl has wandered off I'm going to be hitting her with my fan again…" she muttered to herself.

LINE BREAK

"I feel like I'm dying here…" Ashley said aloud, as her tummy rumbled.

"Pi-Pika…" Hope said, and Ashley turned to see the Pikachu hugging her trusty ketchup bottle.

"...Gimme that, I'm starving!" Ashley said, probably about to receive another Thunder Shock. Thankfully, Erika showed up about then to save her.

"I'm gone for half an hour and you're starving to death and resorting to theft. Just wait for a moment longer and we can eat. I just need to prepare the food," Erika said, holding up a struggling Huntail.

As Erika prepared the food, she'd brought out a small portable radio. "And now viewers, it's a good time to catch up on current events. Over to you, Cat!"

"Hello this is Cat Grant here with Cat's Eye News. Just last night, a Team Rocket attack at the Viridian City Pokemon Center was foiled by a rookie trainer just out of Pallet Town named Ashley Ketchum along with Celadon City's own Erika Tachibana."

"Hear that Erika, we're famous!" Ashley grinned, nudging her with her elbow.

Erika just sighed, she'd rather not have the attention of Team Rocket.

"And the Saint Anne has recently completed its repairs and will be giving out free tickets to lucky trainers. More information to follow. In other news, Cinnabar gym leader Blaine had a fall recently but was otherwise fine saying he is not gonna let his advanced age slow him down. And now for a riddle about… No I'm not reading this stupid riddle live on the air when we've got more important news to get to.

"Like Celebrities! Dragon Master Lance himself has recently been spotted in Cerulean City on vacation, although he asked for people not to bother him. I can't blame him though, not after dealing with two warring wannabe Gyms in Dark City! Ah, classic Lance, always one to turn down a photo op!"

Ashley sat straight up at that. "Wow, Lance himself! If we hurry we can meet him!"

Erika frowned, she never liked Lance. Something about him has always bothered her though she could never place why she felt so uneasy around the man. In her opinion, there'd always been something off about him. She couldn't stomach most men, but Lance made her want to turn and run. Maybe it was the fact he had such powerful Dragon-types, including Salamence and Gyarados. It said something about his abilities as a trainer if he could tame even them. Although it still made Erika feel little better about the frankly cold and stern man.

"No, I doubt it. We're still deep in Viridian City and you have to battle Brock when we get to Pewter. It's likely by the time we finally arrive at Cerulean Gym he'll be long gone."

Ashley pouted. "Damn it meeting any champion would be fantastic, like okay well it's fine a great trainer like me will meet all of the Champions! Why I bet you 1000 Pokedollars that I'll encounter Cynthia herself in Gringy City!"

Erika groaned, the farther she stayed away from that polluted nightmare the better. As she prepared the food, Erika said a prayer to Arceus apologizing for sacrificing this Pokemon for sustenance.

"Alright, eat up everyone!" Erika said, releasing her Pokemon. "Itadakimasu!"

Ashley soon followed with her own thank you, repeating the phrase. "Itadakimasu!"

Erika smiled at her companion's manners, at least she knew how to thank the gods for the food they'd blessed her with.

Her sweet Leafeon patiently sat at a bowl waiting for her share. Her Gloom just lazily sat in front of her bowl, and Erika wondered if Rafflesia had fallen asleep at the dinner table.

Ichigo meanwhile, threw kicks at a nearby rock while he waited.

Ashley let out her own Pokemon, with Hope diving into her precious ketchup. Shocking open the bottle, Hope was covered in the red substance and let out a happy 'cha!' of delight.

Her Spearow on the other hand, just looked disgusted by the fact that he had a trainer now. He, when given a food bowl, flatout refused it. He turned his head away and shoved the bowl away with his talons.

Vivillon meanwhile fluttered about shyly, rather timid about the whole affair actually.

Erika, as she passed out the food, gently smacked the Spearow with her paper fan. Sweetly, she gently lectured the tiny bird saying: "Now, be nice to Ashley. She's only making sure you get a proper meal. You can't battle other Pokemon if you don't keep up your strength, correct?"

Reluctantly, Spearow conceded Erika's point and began to eat, pecking away at the meat and tearing into it with his claws.

As Erika sat down some berries for Vivillon she paused and her eyes hardened, narrowing in anger. Her heart nearly stopped in her chest as she rubbed ash off the Scale Pokemon's wings.

"What is it? Is Vivillon…" Ashley swallowed worriedly and Erika blinked back tears reminding herself that Ashley was still only a child. "...is she, like okay?"

"She'll be okay, but I found a suspicious amount of soot on her wings."

"Did she encounter a Koffing, or something? That could be why. They do live in caves and there's a few of those around here."

"No, a Pokemon isn't at fault here…" Erika said, with an angry growl in her voice. "This is the work of a human. Humans did this."

"Wait, a human did this? That's so cool, I didn't know humans could use Pokemon attacks!"

"NO! HUMANS CAN'T USE-" Erika shouted before taking a deep breath to calm herself. "I apologize for losing my composure, but this sickens me. Something's wrong in this forest, can't you tell?"

"...now that you mention it, I haven't seen a single Pokemon since we started walking through this place…" Ashley paused for thought. "But this is Viridian Forest! There's miles of wilderness! It's not just, like empty!"

"Correct, this is a protected forest for the unique species of bug and grass types that can be found here," Erika said. "So for so few Pokemon apart from our own not to be found… Yes, something's deeply wrong here and it disturbs me."

"Spearow, spear!" Ashley's Spearow called out, in apparent fright.

"What's with…" Ashley said before sniffing the air. "...you smell that? It smells like…"

"Smoke," Erika said, looking up to see a tall pillar of smoke rising up from somewhere deeper in the forest.

"A forest fire?" Ashley said in alarm, reaching for her Pokedex. "I'll call the local fire department!"

"If this was a forest fire, they would have already noticed from a watchtower. And the smoke, there's not enough for it to be a wildfire," Erika said, in thought. "Combine that with the soot I found on Vivillon's wings… No, I know exactly what's going on here."

She took a deep breath to hold back the rising tide that was her temper.

"Those bas…" she quickly corrected herself, a lady never resorted to that sort of language. "They're clear-cutting the forest!"

"But it's supposed to be protected!" Ashley said, eyes widening in shock.

Erika nodded, her eyes narrowing once again. "Exactly."

"Ashley, do exactly as I and your pokemon wait here, I'm going to investigate," Erika said, as she started to head off.

"No way in hell I'm going to let you go alone," Ashley said. "I'm a pokemon trainer, I love Pokemon! I can't let them be put in danger like this! If I'm going to be a Pokemon master, I-"

"Exactly, you're a trainer. One who's only a few days into her journey at that," Erika said, kindly. "I can't let you throw yourself into more danger. I'm a Gym Leader. Part of our job is to protect Pokemon from dangerous criminals, and keep them out of harm's way. Their trainers as well. I can't put you at risk. Your mom would never forgive me."

"Don't you think I know that?" Ashley said, snapping at her. "But there's no way in Hell I'm letting you go off alone like that!"

"I won't be alone, I have my Pokemon," Erika said.

"If you think just three Pokemon are going to be enough, you've got another thing coming! Between the two of us, we have six Pokemon!" Ashley said. "Three plus three, equals eight right? Plus, there's no way in hell I'm letting you out of my sight!"

Her eyes watered.

"...you're the first friend I've had in a…" she wiped her eyes. "...Well, a while actually."

Erika blinked, stunned at the ferocity from Ashley. Then, she smiled and chuckled. She'd forgotten how much she loved Pokemon, and Ashley despite her flaws truly loved them. Looking at her Pikachu, she knew the two were of one mind.

"Alright then, your questionable math skills aside…" Erika sucked in a breath. "You're absolutely right. The more, the merrier in this situation. But the moment things get too dangerous, I want you to head for Pewter City as fast as you can. Find the Officer Jenny stationed there, and tell her what's going on, understand? I want you to listen to me, okay Ashley?"

Her hands were on Ashley's shoulders, as she looked her dead in the eyes daring her to try and argue.

Ashley nodded. "Understood. Now let's go save some Pokemon!"

LINE BREAK

As the duo raced through the forest, they came across It. Their eyes widened, seeing the Machine in front of them, belching smoke and fire like a demon from Hell itself.

"...by the Reverse World…" Erika swore quietly. "What in Giratina's name is that thing?"

The Machine was massive, made up of a bright orange steel. Its underbelly was bone white, and it had a massive crab claw for its right arm with a huge chainsaw substituting for its left. On its back was a huge container with trees being ripped up out of the ground and tossed in the back.

The most frightening thing was, besides how coldly methodical the machine was, was how silently it moved through the forest. Gathered around it were men, dressed in logging gear and cutting apart more trees.

"TIMBER!" one of the men yelled, as a tree came crashing down right in front of the duo nearly squashing them.

"Machoke!" said the bodybuilder of a Pokemon by his side, tossing the tree into the back of the machine. Nearby, a Kingler used one of its massive claws to chop down another tree with Crab Hammer.

The roughnecks, and their Pokemon were like an army of muscle and power clearing a path through the woods. Their machine continued to belch smoke, and cough up soot from massive pipes erupting from under the sides.

Erika stared in horror at the destruction, looking at all of the devastation all around her. All caused by that mechanical monstrosity. Her grip on Rafflesia's Pokeball tightened so much that it almost cracked in half.

"Lot of open space, plenty of room for a battle if… no when it comes to that," Erika thought to herself, observing the sight in front of her. "Assessing the situation… Ok, let's see here. There are about 12 of them down here on the ground. 2, no possibly 3 up in the cockpit can't be sure without getting a closer look. They're all wearing masks, likely to protect themselves from sawdust so using sleep powder is out. And there goes Ashley charging in, thatta girl… Wait a second. Ashley!"

Erika groaned to herself, rubbing her forehead with a hand.

"Damn it girl, I told you to wait and stay behind me! …oh, who am I kidding, she never would have listened to me anyways!" Erika said to herself, shaking her head.

Ashley had rushed forward, pointing and shouting angrily at a particular mountain of a man.

"What do you think you're doing! You can't do this! What about all of the Pokemon who live here in the forest!"

The man was tall, burly wearing a flannel shirt about two sizes too small for him. A long beard, more like moss growing on stone fell down over his open shirt. A yellow hardhat sat upon his head.

"What the hell are you doing here, you're just a kid! …wait, are the Rangers actually taking in recruits as young as you, boy?"

"My name isn't Boy. I'm not even a boy at all. My name is Ashley Leaf Ketchum, and I can't let you do this! This forest, it's protected! You're breaking the law!"

The lumberjack sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Look, kid, I don't really want to have to beat up a little girl but orders are orders. We're getting paid to clear away this forest for new construction, so… Machoke, please, move her aside before she gets hurt."

The man's burly Machoke, burlier than even him, stepped forwards but Ashley? To her credit, she refused to budge even one inch.

"I don't care what kind of crappy orders you have, I'm not letting you do this. I'm not just going to stand by and watch as you guys wreck this forest, and so many Pokemon's homes!"

"Machoke, tie her up. It's for her own safety," the lumberjack said.

"Machoke," the muscle-covered Pokemon said, albeit reluctantly.

"Hope, Thunder Shock!" Ashley called out, as her Pikachu leaped off her shoulder with an angry cry. The Machoke let out a cry of pain.

"Come on, you're going to let a little rat stop you? Machoke, use Karate Chop!"

"Machoke…." the Pokemon said, striking at Hope with his hand.

"Quickly, jump up its arm, and grab onto its head!" Ashley said, and her Pikachu blinked in confusion for a moment before shrugging.

Running up the burly Pokemon's arms, she held on as tight as she could. All the while, the Machoke tried to throw the little mouse off.

"Now stick your tail inside it's mouth, and let him have it!"

Hope stared, not quite sure she'd heard right before realizing that yes, she had. Shoving her heart-shaped tail inside the Machoke's mouth, she let out a cry of "PIIIIIIIKKKKKKAAAAACHHHHUUUU!"

The roughneck groaned, before pulling out two more Pokeballs. "Timburr, Kingler, get in there! Help Machoke1 out!"

Ashley stepped back as the two Pokemon appeared, the Timburr spinning its wooden staff dangerously. The Kingler, meanwhile, snapped at her with his claws. "Hold on, you can't use three Pokemon at once! That's-"

"Against the rules?" the lumberjack chuckled. "Kid, what makes you think I even care about the rules? Besides, Triple Battles do exist even if you don't normally see them here in Kanto. So this, what I'm about to do to your Pokemon is perfectly legal."

"Well then I guess we don't need to worry about them either! Now, my darling Meadow, use your Energy Ball on that Kingler!" Erika said, as her Eeveelution dashed in, firing off a glowing green orb at the giant enemy crab.

"I told you not to rush in without a plan," Erika said, quite a few of the roughnecks backing up when they realized who she was.

"Oh shit, that's the Celadon Gym Leader!" one of them said.

Ashley really wasn't paying attention to what her mentor was saying, focused on the developing battle in front of her. "Spearow, I choose you! Use Peck on the Timburr! It's a fighting type, so your attacks should be Super Effective!"

"SPEAAAAAAARRRRROWWWWWW!" her Pokemon said, diving in with his beak glowing.

The Timburr evaded the attack, but the already wounded Machoke stumbled right into it.

"Ma…" it groaned out before Hope shocked it with another lightning bolt. The fighting-type slumped forwards, unconscious.

The roughneck gritted his teeth, before shouting. "DAMN IT! SAM, JIM GET YOUR HAIRY ASSES OVER HERE AND HELP ME!"

Two more of the loggers rushed over to help. One was a fair woman with red hair and a rather curvy figure. She didn't look like she belonged on a logging site though Ashley quickly noticed some muscles on her. She tried not to stare for too long.

The other was a small, rather wimpy-looking nerdy type with glasses He had short, balding black hair and was holding onto a clipboard.

"Ugh you meathead my job is to make sure the klawvler is operating smoothly. Really I should be up there in the nice air-conditioned cockpit but no, those nitwits would not let me saying its for the important people. WELL I AM IMPORTANT DAMN IT AND I DON'T DESERVE TO BE TREATED LIKE A COMMON TOOL!"

"...Jack, you're getting beaten up by a couple of kids," Sam sighed as she rolled her eyes and put down her axe. "This is just embarrassing."

"Shut up, or I'm docking your pay!" the lumberjack said

"Okay, finnnnnnneeeeee. Someone didn't get their coffee this morning," Sam snarked. "Alright then, let's go. Koffing 1 and 2, Timburr, Voltorb! Let's go!"

She sent out two Koffings, the floating gas bags letting out blasts of toxic smog. Her Timburr twirled his bo staff and her Voltorb sparked angrily.

Jim meanwhile, sent out a Magnamite and Porygon.

Jack meanwhile sent out two more Machokes.

Ashley swallowed at the sight before her.

"Heh, want to turn and run kid?" Sam asked. "I don't blame you. Frankly, beating up on kids was so not on my to-do list today, or ever."

Erika put a hand on Ashley's shoulder. "Looks like you're getting a crash course in Pokemon battling today. I know there's a lot of them, but in reality… they're the ones outmatched. Rafflesia, Ichigo! I need your help!"

Ashley nodded, although her early bravado had been considerably shaken by the rapidly worsening situation.

"Come on out Vivillon," Ashley said as she looked at the timid bug "I'm sorry your first day with me has been, heh, so rough but if we make it through this… I'll buy you a super size jar of honey when we reach Pewter!"

"Vivi…" she says somberly but understandingly.

The duo's Pokemon formed a circle around them, as one of the Machokes rushed in. His fist was glowing white with a Mega Punch thrust forwards to Hope. The little mouse leaped to the side, even as Ashley called out: "Spearow, Peck attack now!"

Spearow dived forwards, letting out a warcy when suddenly a thunderbolt from a Voltorb went flying towards him. Hope jumped in, taking the attack for herself, tanking it. She slid backwards in the grass, and gave a sassy grin.

"Pikachu!" Hope said, her whole body crackling with electricity. Spearow made contact with the Machoke's face, and it stumbled backward from the super-effective move.

"Now, before he can recover! Meadow darling, if you would please trip that one with a Vine Whip! Ichigo, follow up with Agility into a hard Double Kick to his left shoulder!" Erika commanded, staying completely cool despite the situation.

"Leaf!" Meadow said, swiping at the Machoke with her vines. The Machoke stumbled over them, caught off-balance.

Ichigo dashed forwards, the little grasshopper a blur of motion. Leaping forwards, he flipped into a diving kick. The Lokix's legs glowing white, Jim's Porygon flew in taking the blow.

"Porygon, Conversion 2!" Jim said, and the Porygon's type changed to that of Ichigo's attack rendering it useless.

Sam's Voltorb did a rolling tackle into Pikachu, sending Hope flying.

"Hope!" Ashley called out, even as Rafflesia caught her. Her pedals softened the impact and Hope said a grateful 'Pika-pi!' to the flower pokemon.

"Thank you my darling Gloom," Erika said. "Now, Meadow don't let up. Don't let that Machoke recover! Keep lashing at him with your Vine Whip!"

"Leaf!" Meadow yelped, striking the Machoke again and again. Ashley's eyes widened and she let out a gasp of sheer awe.

"...so, that's what the power of a Gym Leader is like…"

Erika whispered to her. "I have a plan, we can't knock out their trainers but we can knock out their Pokemon en masse. You follow me?"

"Yeah, I think I do. Ready Vivillon?"

"Viiiiiiiiiiiii!" the butterfly chirped, even as she looked around at the sheer chaos around her.

"Rafflesia/Vivillon, use your Sleep Powder!" both Erika and Ashley called, pointing at the loggers' Pokemon.

Vivillon even as she flew up high, saw Rafflesia letting out her Sleep Powder. She rapidly flapped her wings, but to little effect. In her panic, she'd forgotten how to actually even use the move.

And to make matters worse, a Timburr was leaping upwards her spinning his wooden staff above his head. Suddenly, Ichigo leaped up and took the attack, knocking the Timburr away with a kick. Mouth glowing green, he grabbed the Timburr by the arm and bit down with Bug Bite.

Swinging the Timburr around with a seemingly impossible amount of strength for such a small bug, he threw the Pokemon into a boulder. The boulder cracked, and then shattered.

The Lokix then turned and faced the scared Vivillon and gave her a thumbs up. "Lok Lok LOKIX LOK!"

Whatever he said, Vivillon's eyes were shining with tears from it. She flapped her wings as hard as she could, letting out large clouds of her Sleep Powder. Spearow grabbed Hope, and carried her up and out of the dusty orange cloud. His one good eye glared down at the loggers and their Pokemon.

Erika and Ashley had held their breath and saw the plan was working.

"Meadow, Sunny Day!" Erika said as the sun beat down around them. "Rafflesia, charge up your Solar Beam!"

The Gloom began to glow white, even as Ashley grinned up at her Pikachu. "Hope, charge up a Thunder Shock now! Let it fly, little buddy!"

Ashley's Spearow wisely got clear, even as Hope landed atop a nearby branch.

"PI PI PIKACHHHHHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!" she called, bringing a massive lightning bolt down on Sam's Voltorb.

The bomb ball of a Pokemon began glowing white and too late his trainer realized what was going to happen.

"Get clear, he's going to blow!" Sam said, pulling her co-workers backwards.

The Voltorb self-destructed, smoke and dust filling the battlefield leaving everyone coughing and hacking. As the smoke began to clear, the battle resumed. Jim's Porygon let out a sharp Discharge knocking Ashley to one knee. Machop rushed in with a Mega Punch, his fist drawn back.

"Koffing! Both of you, Smoke Screen!" Sam said.

"Koffing!" both cried out, letting out a blast of toxic gasses from their bodies.

"Spearow, blow all of that smoke away now!" Ashley called out.

Spearow let out another cry and flapped his wings creating a strong wind rushing through the clearing.

Porygon however, was rising up for another attack and his whole body glowed with the power of Return.

"Hope, protect Spearow!" Ashley quickly cried. "I'm sorry, I know this will hurt but you've got to protect her any way you can!"

Hope slid back in the dirt, even as the attack struck her. Her eyes narrowed, electricity building up around her whole body.

"Pi… Ka… CHUUUUUUUUUU!" Hope said, letting the lightning fly. The Porygon was shocked so hard, it was completely knocked out.

The Timburr grabbed a rock and threw it at Hope, hurling it with all of his might. No, it wasn't a Timburr, not anymore. Mid throw, it evolved into the much larger Gurdurr.

Ashley's eyes widened, and then time itself seemed to slow down. Everything looked black and white, except for the Pokemon. She could see all of them, even those hiding in the forest. Every one of them glowed with a light.

"Vivillon, Light Screen to protect Hope! Spearow, I know you haven't cleared the smoke yet but 25 degrees southwest there's a Koffing right below you. Hit it with a Fury Attack!" Ashley said and true to her words a Koffing was found. It cried out in pain again and again, as her Spearow's talons ripped into its hide.

"Erika! Quickly have Meadow fire an energy ball right there and have Rafflesia use Bullet Seed on that annoying Gurdurr!"

Erika stood slightly in shock, while Ashley felt exhaustion began to creep up on her. Even as Meadow fired off her Energy Ball, Ashley felt like she wanted to collapse right there.

Erika was supporting her, she suddenly realized. Her arm was wrapped around her, keeping her upright.

The Magnetite who'd been sitting back this entire time, fired off a Thunder Wave trying to paralyze its opponents. Ichigo however, had none of it.

Leaping forwards into another Double Kick, he slammed the floating magnet into the newly evolved Gurdurr. Both Pokemon were left wide open, and seeds shot into them like bullets from a machine gun.

"Alright!" Ashley cheered, looking at the workers and their tired Pokemon. "Are you giving up yet… or are you thirsty for more?"

Truth be told, she wasn't feeling so hot herself but she really didn't want to let it show.

"...so, what are you going to do?"

LINE BREAK

As the roughnecks Pokemon all collapsed, our heroes were looking exhausted but they were victorious.

Jack and his friends were slowly clapping, not looking impressed at all. Jack said, sarcastically: "Oh wow you really showed us. Whatever will we do? HEY THE REST OF YOU LUGHEADS GET OVER HERE!"

The remaining workers, all in a variety of builds, walked over. Some even cracked their knuckles and looked positively giddy.

"PIIIIIIIIDGEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" came a cry.

"...wait, I know that Pokemon…" Erika said, seeing the lone Pidgeotto from before flying towards the roughnecks.

The flying type flapped her wings over and over, creating a miniature dust storm.

"PIDGEOTTO!" the bird cried, which was a clear enough statement of 'run for your lives!'

Erika and Ashley wisely took the hint, limping back into the forest. Their savior was right behind them, and as she looked the bird in the eye Ashley swore a sense of familiarity passed between her and the Pidgeotto. Almost as if they knew each other from somewhere.

The moment quickly passed however and Ashley clutched her side in pain even as she sat down on a rock.

"That was… holy fucking shit that was insane, like that was nuts."

It was telling Erika didn't even bother to chide her for her language.

"Watch out!" she suddenly cried, as a ninja leaped out of the trees with a knife in hand.

A knife, dripping with a purple oozing poison. Erika's eyes widened, that was Tentacruel venom! Deadly, without a cure.

The ninja threw off his robes to reveal he was dressed in the attire of Team Rocket.

The ninja/Team Rocket grunt lunged forwards with his knife. He wasn't even given a chance to strike.

"King Triton, Hydro Pump!" came a voice that Ashley had only heard on the radio and on TV.

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR!" a very familiar Gyarados roared, firing off a blast of water as a streaming torrent at the grunt.

A cape flew in front of Ashley's face, its owner having burning red hair as bright as the evening sun.

"Lance…" Ashley's eyes widened as the grunt went flying.

As the grunt goes flying, Lance gave him a look colder than the ice his dragons so feared. "Trash, nothing but worthless trash."

He then smiled as he turned to look at Ashley.

"Hello, Ashley Ketchum," the Kanto champion said, stroking his Gyarados' scales. "So you're the one that's the talk of the town lately. And Erika, it's lovely to see you again my dear."

"A pleasure," Erika said, curtly.

"I wonder, how did you ever awaken to such a rare power, Ashley? Few have it in the world today, it hasn't been seen… Not since the time of… I wonder…" Lance pondered aloud.

Ashley just blinked in confusion.

"Still, it makes my heart beat to know I'm not the only one investigating the stolen Silph Co logging device," Lance said. "They call it the Klawver, right?"

Ashley and Erika exchanged a look.

"Whatever it's called," Lance said. "We have to stop it now, before more innocent Pokemon get hurt. You've got a loyal partner in Pidgeotto there, I'd advise catching her. Who knows, she might end up helping you in a mega fashion one day…"

Notes: Brick: And that's the end of part 1. Don't worry, even with Lance himself here, this will NOT be suddenly made easier for our heroes. Even with his Big Damn Heroes moment, they're going to have to struggle to stop Team Rocket's plot. Curious if anyone can spot any of the references we made in this chapter. Find out what happens next, in part 2 so you'll wanna stick around for this! Also, apologies if we freaked you out by Erika casually thinking up recipes for food made with Pokemon. I personally blame Dungeon Meshi for that honestly. Plus, well I doubt all of those Tauros are being raised for breeding if you know what I mean...