"Are you sure we're on the right direction to Vermilion City, Ash?" Laoise questioned patiently.
Right now the group is walking through the long grass through the forest without a compass, trying to find the path to Vermilion City. Ash and Misty are fighting, as usual, this time over who led them astray, while Brock tried to keep the peace.
Laoise glanced about remembering how to tell directions according to the position of the sun. Song lyrics helped her recall, "Certain as the sun, rising in the east…" she looked in direction of the sun and pointed. "That means it's – are you guys listening to me?!"
"Alright." Misty was saying to Ash, "But remind me to yell at you some more when we get to Vermilion City."
"MISTY!" Laoise snapped.
After minutes of wandering, the group took seats on some large rocks near a creak. Laoise was glad to do so, she was parched and she pulled out a bottle of water to drink.
Just then Ash noticed something just three feet away. There was a Pokémon drinking from the creek. It looked like a blue plant bulb or a root vegetable. It had a round body, beady red eyes, a small mouth, and ovoid feet. Five large, green leaves sprout from its head.
"Oh, wow! A Pokémon!" He got out his Pokédex to analyze it.
Dexter could be heard saying, "Oddish. This Pokémon is typically found roaming the forest scattering pollen as it walks around."
"I'll catch it." Both Ash and Laoise said simultaneously.
Misty stopped them. "Hold it!"
"What for?" Ash looked at her.
Misty replied, "Because I'm gonna catch that Pokémon."
Ash protested. "Ah, no way, Misty. I saw it first."
Laoise put her hands on her hips, "I want the oddish."
"But we found it around the water, and water is my specialty." Misty said.
"We found it in the forest!" Laoise corrected irritably, "Besides, having a grass type with all your water types means is just gonna have a mismatch effect on your team."
The Oddish had already started to hurry away.
"Go Starmie!" Misty called.
Starmie materialized and lands in front of the Oddish, the plant pokèmon stopped in it tracks momentarily before running another way.
"Water Gun, now!"
The attack sent the Oddish into the air.
Misty grinned. "Now that's the way to spray! Tackle it, Starmie!"
The attack landed and Oddish is knocked out.
"That weakened it! Gotta catch it, now! Pokéball, go!" Misty tossed the pokéball.
However, the Pokéball is knocked out of the air by another Pokémon.
"Uh oh." Misty blinked.
Everyone saw a Bulbasaur standing in front of the Oddish.
Ash gaped, "Whoa! What's that?!"
Laoise was surprised. "Hey, another Bulbasaur!"
Ash's eyes shined with amazement, "Wow! I can't believe it! A Bulbasaur!"
He analyzed the Bulbasaur with Dexter. "Bulbasaur. It bears the seed of a plant on its back from birth. The seed slowly develops. Researchers are unsure whether to classify Bulbasaur as a plant or animal. Bulbasaur are extremely tough and are very difficult to capture in the wild."
Brock questioned, "Isn't that the starter Pokémon you have, Laoise?"
Laoise nodded, "Yeah, but this one's a little bit bigger than my Bulby."
The Bulbasaur attacks and defeats Starmie. Ash sends his Butterfree after the Bulbasaur with a Sleep Powder attack, but Bulbasaur literally blew the powder right back at Butterfree, causing it to fall asleep. This let it tackle Butterfree and send it up in the air, knocking it out in the process. Then both the Oddish and Bulbasaur retreated into the forest.
"Oh! The Bulbasaur!" Ash groaned indignantly, "It's not fair! I want it!"
Pikachu commiserated a little. "Pika."
Laoise silently grumped. "I wanted the oddish."
The quartet soon came across a wooden rope bridge. Laoise was a little hesitant to cross, but she didn't want to lose sight of the others.
"Ha ha ha! I bet there are Bulbasaur all over this place." Ash laughed confidently.
Misty glanced down briefly, "But, where is this place?"
Brock was looking at a map. "I can't find this bridge on my map."
Laoise whimpered a little but held on… and made the mistake of looking down. Her head began to spin and she started to have double vision. "Ohhhh! I looked down!"
Before the others could say anything to her, the wind started picking up which began rocking the bridge and causing it to rip apart.
As a result, Brock fell into the river below, while Misty and Pikachu clung to Ash and Laoise grabbed the rope. Ash ultimately managed to pull them up, and the four make their way to the end of the bridge. They then climbed down to the river and go looking for Brock.
Inadvertently Misty falls into a pit trap, not unlike those made by Team Rocket. Laoise and Ash pull her out, and they go on looking.
"Brock?! Hey, Brock!"
"Brock, where are you?"
"Brock?"
Misty wondered, "Do you think he washed this far down stream?"
As our heroes kept walking, Laoise saw something on the grass. Strange, it didn't look like a stolon or a vine. Then against common sense, she touched it.
"Hey guys, look at this…!" Laoise was then abruptly snared upwards by her left hand. "WHOA! HELP!"
The sudden noise and sight of Laoise hanging by her hand took the others by surprise. At the same time, Ash, Pikachu and Misty get caught in a net!
Laoise groaned from her spot, "Aw man, not you guys too."
Ash babbled. "Hey! How'd we get up in a tree?"
Misty griped, "It's another trap! Do something!"
"What can I do?"
"Try wiggling. See if the net will open."
Ash wiggles around but can't break the net. "Oh, this is dumb!"
"If you got any better ideas, let's hear em!"
"Pi! Pika Pi!" chided Pikachu.
Laoise suggested. "Try reaching upwards to find the net opening."
Everyone soon hears a familiar sound, the sound of a Bulbasaur, the very same one from earlier.
"Bulbasaur!" Ash noticed.
The Bulbasaur just smirked and walked away.
Ash yelled after it, "Hold it there, Bulbasaur! I want a match!"
Misty whined, "Now you're wiggling too much! Ouch! You kicked me!"
"Bulbasaur!"
Laoise sighed, "Forget him, Ash. First we gotta get out of these traps!"
After fifteen minustes of unsuccessfully trying to get out. The rest were just there trying to regain their strength, though in Laoise's case, her arm was getting sore.
"Gee, I wonder what happened to Brock." Ash said.
"I wonder too." Misty said.
Laoise asked, "Why'd you guys stop? You should be trying to reach for the top of the net to get out!"
Ash speculated, "Maybe the river carried him far away, all the way to the ocean. Then some pirates spotted them and brought them aboard their ship, and one of the pirates has a wooden leg."
Misty remarked, "You have a crazy imagination!"
Pikachu agreed. "Kachu."
Laoise mumbled, "Better than the grim scenario."
Ash added, "Then came the storm."
"Ahoy!"
To the group's surprise, Brock showed up alive and well.
"Why are you hanging around in that tree?" He called up.
"Never mind that, just get us down." Laoise replied.
Brock cuts Ash, Misty, and Pikachu down and they screamed as they come crashing down. Ash groaned holding his head, Pikachu looked dazed and Misty's knees buckled.
"Thanks, but maybe next time you can let us down a little more gently." Misty said.
"Yeah, sure. Sorry." Brock said apologetically.
"A little help. Please?" Laoise called, "My arm's getting sore."
Laoise was the next one to be cut down from the snare then Ash asked, "We saw you fall in the river, then what happened?"
Brock explained he was rescued from the rapids by a girl. "Come on, I'll introduce you."
The group followed Brock and then they see a girl. She had long blue hair tied back in a braid with a green ribbon and dressed in red overalls, tending to some pokémon.
Brock introduced, "Melanie, this is Ash, Laoise and Misty."
Laoise waved shyly. Ash greeted, "Hello."
Melanie smiled, "So your Brock's friends. They told me all about you."
Misty smiled brightly "Great. Wow! Look at that!"
Like Laoise, she'd noticed the variety of Pokémon here.
"Do all these Pokémon belong to you?"
Melanie shook her head, "Oh, no."
Brock said, "This is a place where Pokémon can rest and relax."
Ash asked, "You mean like summer camp?"
"Well, sort of, but all year long. You see, when Pokémon get abandoned or injured, they can come here. Melanie takes care of them until they feel better, then they leave."
Misty guessed. "So, this is a Pokémon Center, and Melanie is a Pokémon doctor."
"Oh, no. I'm unqualified to be a Pokémon doctor." Melanie shook her head.
Brock added, "This is more like a Pokémon health spa."
Laoise looked at the pokémon, "More like a rehabilitation center."
"Here, the Pokémon don't battle with one another. They relax and try to enjoy themselves until they've recovered." Melanie explained.
"Melanie collects plants to use for medicine. She knows all about which plants can help a Pokémon feel better or grow stronger when it's too weak." Brock elaborated.
Ash glanced at Brock, "So you and Melanie both love to take care of Pokémon."
Brock agreed. "We do."
They watched Melanie interact with the Pokémon and how well they respond to her.
Misty gave Brock a sidelong glance, "Well, it looks to me like there's something else Brock might love."
Brock blushed and shushed her, "Be quiet! She might hear you!"
Ash then said, "I wonder who put those nets and that snare trap up in the trees."
Laoise added, "I wanna know too."
"Probably the same person who dug that hole I fell into," Misty surmised.
Melanie apologized. "I'm sorry, I was the one who set those traps. I wanted to catch Pokémon trainers before they reach the village. Since you got caught, I guess they really work."
"But why?" questioned Misty.
Melanie said, "There are so many injured Pokémon here, I have to protect them."
Ash gasped, "So the bridge was a trap too!"
"Yes."
Laoise then questioned, "But what if you injured someone with the traps and they couldn't get medical help?"
Brock interrupted, "I promised Melanie we wouldn't capture any Pokémon here."
"And did you seal the promise with a kiss?" giggled Misty goofily, teasing Brock.
Ash agreed, "Well, I guess I'll have to keep your promise."
Misty said, "Only bad guys try to capture sick Pokémon."
Ash speculated, "But are those traps tough enough to keep robbers away from this place? I mean, you'd have to be pretty stupid to fall into one of those holes."
"Hey!" Misty glared at him.
Hilariously, Team Rocket, proved Ash's theory by falling into their third hole in a row!
"This is the third hole we've fallen into! How come nobody ever falls into our traps? We always fall into theirs!" Jessie growled, laying uncomfortably at the bottom of the hole next to James.
"Well this one was cleverly hidden, well made..." started James.
"I'm glad you're enjoying it!" hissed Jessie.
"Meowth," sighed Meowth.
Back at the village, Brock pours some water from the lake onto Staryu with Ash observing. Ash asked, "Feel better yet, Staryu?"
The Staryu animatedly shook itself, that could only be a yes. Several feet away, Laoise was either gently petting or helping feed the pokèmon, in her hazel eyes was child-like innocence. At least the mineral water she got was fine to drink.
And the Oddish she'd seen in the forest earlier approached curiously.
"Hello Oddish." She patted it's leaves, tickling it. Then Laoise held up her water bottle. "Do you want some water? The regular mineral one, not the sparkling kind."
The oddish nodded. Laoise dripped a little onto the Oddish's leaves, which it soaked up gratefully.
Misty then walked over much to Laoise's chagrin. "Sorry about what happened in the forest."
The Oddish stared. "Oddish"
Misty said, "I shouldn't have surprised you like that. You must've been scared."
"Oddish." Nodded the Oddish.
"Melanie told me your old trainer got rid of you. Was it really because he thought you were too weak?"
"Odd." Oddish nodded.
"Personally, I think he's a dumbnick," Laoise said bluntly. "Whether you got strong or not, I think you're great."
Misty gave her a look before turning to Oddish, "You know, some trainers can be insensitive. But not all of us are mean like that." She giggled and petted Oddish. "You just need to find a trainer that understands you.
"If he can't see how cool you are, it's his loss." Laoise said to Oddish.
The Oddish smiled sadly at her while nodding a thanks.
"Anyway, I'm sorry for what I did and I hope we can become friends." Misty then shed a few tears.
"Oddi." The Oddish wiped away Misty's tears. "Oddish, Oddish."
Misty smiled, "You're sweet, Oddish. I am sorry. All I think about lately is winning. I hope I'm not becoming heartless."
Laoise mumbled. "Could've fooled me."
"You were always heartless!" guffawed Ash
"Mind your own business!" Misty snapped, jumping to her feet.
Then abruptly the Bulbasaur they'd seen earlier, charged right in. Laoise since she saw it coming and dodged, but Misty wasn't so lucky, and as a result, she was hit from behind.
"HEY! It's rude to tackle people!" growled Misty, glaring back at the satisfied looking Bulbasaur.
"She's right," agreed Ash.
"Bulba..." growled Bulbasaur, pawing at the ground and not backing down an inch.
Ash said sternly, "I get it. You're just mad because I was going to beat you and you chickened out and ran off."
"That must be it!" Misty agreed.
"Maybe he just doesn't like people." Laoise shrugged.
Ash readied to battle, "Then let's see how tough you really are!"
Melanie rushed in and stands in front of Bulbasaur, "Please, wait! Please!"
Laoise pointed out. "But he attacked us!"
Melanie explained, "Bulbasaur is only trying to protect Oddish. Bulbasaur volunteered to guard our whole village. It protects all the injured Pokémon whenever enemies try to attack them. Bulbasaur is the bravest and most loyal Pokémon I know."
"So that's why Bulbasaur attacked me." Misty speculated, "It must've thought I was taking Oddish from the village."
Bulbasaur then began to push itself Ash's legs.
"Now what?" Ash looked at down at it.
Melanie said, "Bulbasaur doesn't like Pokémon trainers. It wants you to leave the village now."
Misty protested, "But we're not here to capture Pokémon. We wanna help you!"
Melanie nodded. "It's true, Bulbasaur. These are our friends."
But Bulbasaur kept pushing Ash.
"Bulbasaur was worried about the other Pokémon, so it decided to be the village bodyguard. Now that's what I call bravery. It would be great to have a Pokémon like that." Ash said in admiration.
"Yeah, but only if he wasn't so judgmental."
"Laoise!"
"But its true." Laoise then wagged her finger, "Bulbasaur, don't make me embarrass you by picking you up and cuddling you like I do with my Bulby."
The Bulbasaur grumbled angrily in response almost as if saying 'You wouldn't dare!'
"Besides we're not the enemies… Cuz those are the bad guys right up there!"
Up above the village, Team Rocket floats in on a floating stadium reciting their usual motto.
Soon the floating stadium shows up as Our heroes watch as Team Rocket lands their stadium
"It's Team Rocket!" Laoise pointed.
Ash grumbled, "Here we go again!"
Jessie said, "Today only at Jessie stadium, it's the Team Rocket Pokémon challenge!"
James shot her a reproving look. "The flying stadium was my idea."
"Oh."
A giant vacuum hose extended from the stadium and started attempting to suck up the Pokémon in the village.
Jessie said, "All Pokémon are invited to enter the stadium."
James added, "Step right up."
"Yeah! We're not hosing you! Well, maybe we are." Meowth quipped.
Ash was able to grab onto a Staryu to keep it from getting sucked in. "They never run out of ideas, do they?"
Oddish began to lift up, but is stopped by Laoise, grabbing it in time.
"I gotcha. You alright?" She asked it.
The Oddish nodded appreciatively. Brock urged everyone to get inside. The pokémon and Melanie didn't need any telling twice. Laoise holds Oddish as Misty takes her hand and pulls her.
"Hang on!"
While everyone is being herded into the cabin, Oddish got caught in the suction with Laoise and Misty being able to grab on. Bulbasaur rescued Oddish with its Vine Whip at the last minute, and Ash helps block the wind so it can carry Oddish to the cabin.
As they continue, everyone is finally safe inside Melanie's cabin.
Jessie glowered down at the scene, "That rotten little pest! He's always ruining our flawless plans!"
James said, "Not this time. He's gathered them all in one place for us."
"Our super vacuum will suck em up!" Meowth insisted.
The vacuum hose got closer to the cabin and attempted to suck it and everything and everyone inside it up.
"Let's go team! To steal em is our dream! Let's go rocket! Put Pokémon in our pocket!" Team Rocket crowed.
Bulbasaur jumps on the roof of the cabin and tries to knock the vacuum away with its Vine Whip.
"Gotta give him a hand!" Laoise said.
"Right with you." Ash said, "Pidgeotto, I choose you!"
"Skyler, Bulby, give the Bulbasaur a helping hand!" Laoise cried tossing her pokèballs.
"Pidgeotto, Gust attack!" Ash called.
"You use Gust too, Skyler!" Laoise called, "Bulby, help Bulbasaur push away that vacuum."
Both Ash's Pidgeotto and Skyler use Gust. It's strong and Ash's Pidgeotto had more experience but Skyler is far more determined. Then he began glowing white much to the other's surprise.
"You don't think…?" Melanie questioned.
"Yes, Laoise's Pidgey is evolving!"
Laoise gasped. Skyler had evolved; though he'd always had a sort of golden sheen to him, making Laoise and the others suspect he was a shiny type.
"Skyler, you and Pidgeotto use gust together!"
The two combined Gust attacks, so the opposing wind currents were enough to mix Team Rocket's vacuum wind into tornado. Team Rocket screamed as they get blown away by the tornado along with their stadium
"So what are we gonna do now?!" yowled Meowth.
Jessie hollered, "Try and take up wind surfing!"
"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" Meowth's voice fades as the tornado carried Team Rocket and the stadium away. They won't be bothering anyone for a while.
Melanie did a quick head count. "Is everyone feeling okay?"
Ash quipped, "I just had the wind knocked out of me."
Laoise went to her newly evolved Pidgeotto. "Skyler, you look amazing!" she said petting it's head and back gently.
Pidgeotto! " Skyler chirped.
"You did good too, Bulby!" Laoise praised her smiling bulbasaur.
Ash said, "This village is well protected with Bulbasaur here."
Melanie then look at him, "Ash, don't you think that Bulbasaur would make an excellent addition to your team?"
Ash grinned. "Oh, yeah! Would he ever?!"
"I think Bulbasaur should go with you." Melanie said, and picked up the Bulbasaur into her arms, "Bulbasaur stayed here to protect the weaker Pokémon, but this village is too small, the bulb on its back can't grow, it needs to go out into the world now. And I know you'll take good care of it. Please do me this favor. Take Bulbasaur with you on your journey, he'll be a good companion."
Misty inquired, "But what will happen to the village without Bulbasaur?"
Brock added, "Yeah. Who's going to protect you?"
"It's true that Bulbasaur has done a great job, maybe too great a job." Melanie mused. "You see, these Pokémon shouldn't remain in this village forever and ever. After they recover, the Pokémon are supposed to leave, but it's too safe here, so none of them wants to go away. They don't want to return to the outside world."
"Guess that's true." Laoise shrugged.
"But I think it's important that all of them return to the wild, that's where Pokémon belong. And hopefully, someday, they'll find good trainers like all of you." Melanie said, "Of course, taking care of sick Pokémon will always be my mission, but I know that my job isn't finished until they return where they came from. So it's the day a Pokémon leaves that is the most rewarding to me."
Brock began, "Melanie, I..."
"So, you see, it's time for Bulbasaur to leave here. Please take it with you. It won't be a burden, I promise. Bulbasaur still has a lot of growing to do. I want it to be in a place where I can be sure it can grow strong and happy. I'm sure that place is with you, Ash."
Ash grinned, "Well, if you really want me to."
Bulbasaur grunted. "Bulbasaur."
Melanie chuckled.
"What did it say?"
"On one conditions he wants to battle you." Melanie responded. The Bulbasaur confirmed.
Ash was more than ready. "Ha! If you want a match, you'll get it!"
Misty pleaded, "Oh. Please let me battle with Bulbasaur! Please?! Pretty please?!"
Ash shook his head, "No way!"
Ash sent Pikachu, who dodged Bulbasaur's vines but is tackled. Bulbasaur used its Vine Whips to slam Pikachu into the ground, but Ash called for a Thunderbolt, which Pikachu used Bulbasaur's vines as wires to shock it into submission, allowing Ash to catch it.
The Pokéball hit, Bulbasaur goes inside. It wiggles for a few seconds, but soon pings, indicating that Bulbasaur was caught.
Ash crowed. "Yes! We got Bulbasaur!"
Pikachu cheered. "Pi Pikachu!"
Melanie smiled gently, "Bulbasaur, I'll miss you."
Soon, our heroes prepare to head out and continue their path to Vermilion City.
Melanie bid them well. "Have a safe trip."
Ash said, "I promise to take good care of Bulbasaur."
Melanie petted Bulbasaur's head, "Bulbasaur, thank you for watching over us."
Bulbasaur replied, "Bulba."
Brock was blushing as he went to talk to Melanie. "Uh, Melanie? I've been thinking."
"Yes?"
"Well, since Bulbasaur is leaving, I wouldn't mind staying and helping you out."
"It's very kind of you, but we'll be okay. I wouldn't want to keep you from all your wonderful adventures."
Brock looked mildly downcast, "Oh. Yeah, I guess you're right."
"Oddish."
The Oddish was looking at Laoise contemplatively, and began following. Melanie then figured out that Oddish may have found its new trainer.
Laoise noticed the Oddish following and knelt to pet it. "What's the matter, little fella?"
Melanie said, "Laoise. Why not take Oddish with you, it's obvious that it's taken a liking to you."
Laoise was surprised, "Are you sure?"
"Positive."
"If it wants to," Laoise then addressed the oddish. "Do you… wanna come on the journey with me? And if you need to just hang out with other pokèmon to unwind, you can always kick back in Professor Oak's lab until you're up for it. Is that okay?"
The Oddish hopped up and down happily.
Laoise giggled. "That's settled. Welcome to the family!"
Misty looks crestfallen. Laoise threw the Pokéball as Oddish willing jumped up and goes inside.
Laoise then picked up the pokéball happily, "Yes! I've got an Oddish!"
Finally it was time to say goodbye.
"Goodbye, Melanie!"
"Take care of yourself! And the Pokémon too!"
Melanie waved, "Goodbye! Good luck!"
Bulbasaur bid his friends in the village farewell, "Bulbasaur!"
Ash said, "Don't worry Bulbasaur, you'll see your friends again. As soon as the Pokémon feel better, they'll leave this village, too."
Bulbasaur acknowledged his words with a nod, "Bulba."
Melanie called, "Take good care of each other! Goodbye!"
Brock sighed and Misty teased him, "So, what did Melanie say when you said you loved her? Did you kiss her goodbye?"
This made Brock blush furiously. "That's enough stupid questions! Would you please stop embarrassing me already?"
As Brock goes on talking, the others just stand and watch in confusion.
"Uh, did we miss something? What's going on?" Ash wondered.
"Less we know, the better. For Brock's sake." Laoise waved it off.
Laoise found a new friend and pokèmon in Oddish. And ash is building his dream team with Bulbasaur as a part of it. Now it was on to Vermilion City.
Author's note: Scuse the lack of details. This was to show that Laoise has her less then sensible moments such as foolishly triggering a trap and her forthright way of speaking. And due to votes she got a new pokèmon. Don't worry, I will try to put two episodes in one next chapter.
