Ilex Forest
"Eevee, use Bite!" Jackson called out, and Eevee unleashed snapping jaws at a Spinarak that was attacking them. She chomped down with glowing fangs, and Spinarak flew backwards, falling to the ground.
Jackson had already parted ways with Naoko, her Espeon, and Celebi, the latter vanishing into a wormhole in time. Once they returned to Azalea Town, Jackson gave the Farfetch'd to the charcoal maker, who crafted the charcoal into a necklace for Cyndaquil to wear, so his Fire-type moves would improve. With that out of the way, they went back to the forest, and followed the instructions Naoko gave them to find the Moss Rock to help Eevee evolve. It was then they encountered a hostile Spinarak in the forest.
"Jackson, he's open!" Eevee called out.
"Right." Jackson replied, pulling out a Pokeball, "If you're gonna get hostile with me, I'll capture you!" He was about to throw the ball when it got shot out of his hands thanks to some thick, sticky string. Jackson was caught off guard, but looked up to see larger spiders with white horns, red and black bodies, and yellow and purple legs.
"What the heck?!" Jackson questioned.
"What are you doing to one of our children?!" one of the spiders, who had a feminine tone called out.
"Your children?!" Jackson asked, pulled out his Pokédex. "Ariados. The Long Leg Pokémon, and the evolved form of Spinarak. Ariados's feet are tipped with tiny hooked claws that enable it to scuttle on ceilings and vertical walls. This Pokémon constricts the foe with thin and strong silk webbing."
"You attempted to capture our child, you foolish human?!" the other Ariados, with a masculine voice questioned, "Take this! Night Shade!" He shot a a dark burst of energy shot from Ariados's eyes, causing Jackson to back off and hitting Eevee head-on.
"Eevee!" Jackson cried out to his partner, but saw her appear with no effect from the attack whatsoever.
"No worries. It was a Ghost-type move, so it had no effect on a Normal-type like me." Eevee assured, "That won't last long, though."
"True..." Jackson agreed, looking to the angry spiders, "Listen, your Spinarak kid attacked me first, so I had to fight back! I didn't know his parents were around."
"A likely story!" the female Ariados growled, shooting a web from its mouth down at Jackson and Eevee. However, Jackson took out his sword and slashed it multiple pieces. This surprised the Ariados.
"I'm not lying." Jackson responded, looking to Spinarak, who was starting to regain itself, "I don't attack those unless they attack me first like he did."
"It's true!" Eevee added, "Spinarak went and shot us with Poison Sting as we passed by!"
The two Ariados looked to each other, then down at Spinarak, before the female asked, "Is this true, Spinarak?"
The little one looked up at his parents, tearing up before saying, "I was just trying to keep people out of our territory!" He then began to cry, bawling his eyes out as he didn't want to be at fault. The two Ariados's sighed as they knew their son was at fault.
Jackson and Eevee sweatdropped at the situation, before Jackson muttered, "Well...sorry to intrude. Weeeeee'll just be on our way. Let's go, Eevee."
"Yeah, definitely." Eevee answered, hopping onto Jackson's shoulder, and they took off at high speeds with Jackson's Air Shoes. This was clearly a diversion better left behind.
(Insert 'Never Give Up' By Sonar Pocket)
Instrumental Opening
(Jackson stands at the top of a cliff, looking out into the vast landscape of the Johto region. He turns to the camera with surprise, grins, then draws his sword and swipes it across the screen, transitioning to white with the logo appearing.)
What tough heart! Once I decided that I'd keep up the fight
My road has never stopped unraveling
(Camera circles around Jackson as he runs along an open-plain path with his Eevee, who after a couple seconds, leaps onto his shoulder as he activates his Extreme Gear and shoots even faster onto the path.)
Carrying a small bit of pride
With my fists clenched
(The screen shows a brief image of Professor Elm, dropping papers from his clipboard, and smiling as he rubbed the back of his head. It shifts to a visual of Kris, Ethan, and their starters, with Ethan punching his fist forward, while Kris spun around with her arms out wide.)
I aim for the goal again step by step
Racing towards it with all my might!
(The screen shifts to Sonic & Tails, the former giving a thumbs up, while the latter waved his hands above eagerly. The screen shifts to Cypher, who glared at the screen with a Pokéball held close to his face.)
Sometimes it'll be a bad day
Where nothing goes the way I want it to
But even if the sky blurs through my tears
(Jackson is sitting by a campfire, his expression full of emotional pain as shadows of his past with red eyes creeped all around him. He curled himself into a ball as the shadow of his father appeared over his head.)
I'm sure my smiles will come back tomorrow
So it's okay!
(Shadows started getting blown away one large piece at a time, until light broke out around Jackson, who looked up to see his Pokémon all standing there, protecting him from his trauma.)
There's nothing out there to fear
I'll keep believing that 'I'm strong'
And get going!
(Silhouettes of the Gym Leaders appeared as the screen scrolled upwards through a gold, silver, and crystal colors behind them. It shifts to the emblem of Team Rocket, with darkened faces of grunts, with the four admins in front, holding their Pokéballs. Jackson readies his blade, as he tosses a Pokéball forward, which opens up and blinds the screen in a white light.)
'With you around, there's nothing to worry about now'
I felt as if the sky was saying that to me with a laugh
(Eevee leapt forward, unleashing a Swift attack from her tail, with Ledian flying next to her, using Flash to blind the scene. Dewott and Weavile shoot through the Swift attack, unleash double Night Slash, slicing the stars, before dismissing their blades, and Dewott angrily looking at the calm and collected Weavile.)
With the sweat and tears I build up
I'm sure I'll come out dazzling
(Cyndaquil turns to face the Team Rocket logo, before unleashing his Flamethrower. Cyndaquil sighed in relief as Scyther flew over him, before slashing with his mantis claws like a swordsman.)
Even if I end up feeling anxious after it all
As long as I believe I can do it
(An Aeroblast and Sacred Fire came from the sky, shooting down at Jackson's team, but Jackson stepped in and unleashed several sword beams, countering the attacks and making them explode. He and his team endured the shockwaves and smoke from the explosion, before looking up into the distance, and saw the silhouettes of the Tower Duo flying over the two towers that represented each.)
These footsteps have taught me to
Always
Never Give Up!
(Jackson's Pokémon come to his side as he looked to them, before grinning eagerly, and the group leapt up into the air, taking on the new threat and the new adventure. The screen goes white before showing Jackson standing with his sword stabbed into the ground, his Pokémon companions surrounding him.)
"Well, that was a sidequest." Jackson muttered a few minutes later, going into a normal walk as they wandered through the forest, with Eevee walking next to him.
"It's like I told you before, Pokémon in the wild can get hostile if you are not careful." Eevee reminded him, "Whether it's out of jealousy, testing their power, or tormenting the Pokémon for being owned by people, some Pokémon have a hostile nature to that."
"Why would Pokémon want to bully those who belong to trainers?" Jackson asked, "It makes no sense."
"It's due to a Pokémon's pride." Eevee answered, "They think we threw away our pride as Pokémon to be with humans, instead of improving ourselves without their assistance."
"Ah, that makes sense." Jackson understood, "But what's your opinion on that?"
"My honest opinion is that I was happy that I got to meet you, Jackson." Eevee told him, "I am happy to be your Pokémon. And there is this feeling like I needed to be with you."
Jackson thought for a bit as he walked, before asking, "So, I am just curious, but what was your life before you met me? I mean, how did you get captured?"
Eevee stopped and looked back at Jackson. "You wanna know that?" she asked.
"If that is not too much trouble." he replied, "Or is it too painful to explain?"
"No, it's no trouble." Eevee replied, hopping onto Jackson's shoulder, "Let's see here. My earliest memory was after I hatched from an egg. I remember my mother, who was a Sylveon."
"Sylveon?" Jackson echoed, pulling out his Pokédex and examining the name. "Sylveon. The Intertwining Pokémon, and the evolved form of Eevee. It wraps its ribbonlike feelers around the arm of its beloved Trainer and walks with him or her. It sends a soothing aura from its ribbonlike feelers to calm fights."
"I was born in a mansion in a different region." Eevee continued, "My mom was owned by a trainer who lived near a city called Heart-something. My memory of that is a bit rusty. We spent good times together. Suffice to say was I was a little pampered by my owner."
"What happened after that?" Jackson asked, curious to know what made her leave such a luxurious life.
"I'm not entirely sure." Eevee answered, "One evening, I had this sudden feeling. A feeling like I was meant to be somewhere else. With someONE else. I am not entirely sure where this feeling came from, but the feeling was so strong, I wanted to follow through on it. So, one day, when a girl approached my trainer, my mother, and I... I think the person's name is Bebe. Well, anyway, when that person said she was looking for an Eevee to send to a colleague, I jumped at the chance. I thought to myself 'this was my chance!', and chose to be sent to wherever this would take me."
"Did your mom or her trainer have any say in it?" Jackson asked.
"A bit, but I convinced my mom to let me go." she replied, "So, that's how I got captured. The next thing I knew, I was in front of you."
"I wonder..." Jackson muttered, "Do you think that feeling you had may have been linked to being with me?"
"I want to think so." Eevee answered, "Having you as my trainer just feels right. Does it feel right for you to have me as your first Pokémon?"
"Absolutely." Jackson answered, smiling at her as he scritched her ear, making her coo in pleasure, "Every one of my allies that I caught have been important to me."
The forest got denser as they ventured through, but Jackson used his sword like a machete to cut a path through areas that were too difficult to just walk through.
"How did Naoko get through here?!" Jackson questioned, brushing off a vine, "Did she find an alternate path or something?"
"Hey, I would like to ask YOU something." Eevee told Jackson.
"Swing it. What's up?" Jackson replied.
"You... already informed all of us of your past, save for Cyndaquil." Eevee started, a little hesitant to not trigger her trainer, "But why did you come to our world?"
Jackson stopped and looked up at the canopy in the forest, before answering, "I want to become the person I was before. The person who was led by his anger and rage that was developed by his sick and twisted father. I use to be so proud of myself, and had so much faith and trust in my own choices. So many people trusted me, counted on me to save them whenever evil arose. But when I lost that person, I left to go search myself, and for some reason, I ended up here."
"So this place was just coincidental for you?" Eevee summed up.
"I don't think so..." Jackson answered, looking to her, "Remember the Ruins of Alph?" They recalled the prophecy written on the walls, to the moment Jackson held up the ring that matched the picture of ring on the wall, to the Unown that gave him the warning. Jackson then thought of the scene that Celebi showed him before, to himself slashing down that twister.
"After everything we just witnessed, I don't think anything was coincidental." Jackson explained, "It almost feels like...fate. Like I was meant to come here."
"Well, regardless of that, do you think you found yourself yet?" his partner asked.
"Not yet." he replied, "But I do feel myself improving since coming here. Slowly, but surely, I am getting there. But now, let's improve you by finding that Moss Rock."
"Okay!" Eevee replied, and the pair continued onward.
After several minutes, the pair found themselves in a clearing, and they stood together, looking in front of a strange rock, with most on top of it that a sort of glow to it, even on the parts where the sunlight didn't hit.
"Is this it?" Jackson asked Eevee.
"I can feel it..." Eevee muttered, taking a few steps towards it, "I can feel a connection to it. This is the Moss Rock!"
Jackson stepped towards it, and touched the stone. "It almost seems like an ordinary rock, but I can feel something from it; a sort of energy coming off of it." He took a few steps back to Eevee, finishing, "The Pokémon world is definitely strange, but if this can help you evolve, then who am I to complain?"
"Should I go in?" Eevee asked, about to step towards it.
"Not so fast." Jackson halted her, "Let's get everyone out here. They should witness your evolution." He pulled out the other Pokéballs, and shouted, "Come on out, team!" He tossed the balls up, and out came Dewott, Weavile, and Cyndaquil.
"What's goin' on here?" Dewott questioned, looking to Weavile, "And why am I out here with him?!"
"I wanted all of you here to watch Eevee finally evolve." Jackson told the team.
"Seriously?!" Dewott asked.
"Good for you." Weavile told the little Pokémon.
"I would love to see you evolve!" Cyndaquil exclaimed, "I only wish I would evolve, too."
"Your time will come, eventually." Eevee assured Cyndaquil.
She turned to the large moss rock, and approached it. She was within paw's length when she stopped, turning back to Jackson and the others. Jackson nodded in approval, and Eevee turned to the Moss Rock, and tapped her paw on it. She suddenly lit up before their eyes, amazing them in the awe of it. Eevee's body suddenly grew up, her fur thinning and replaced with grassy protrusions. Her tail grew and flattened out.
When the light died down, she stood there, a tan body with brown paws, a green tuffs on her legs, chest, and on the back of her neck. She had a grassy tuft on her forehead, and her ears and tail looked grassy and went from tan to green. Her eyes were also brown.
Jackson stood for a second, startled as he recalled in his memory of the future Celebi showed, with the same, grassy-tailed Pokémon standing by his side. 'It really is fate, isn't it?' Jackson asked himself, before shaking his head and smiling happily at his new partner, saying, "Congratulations! We finally got you to evolve!" He approached her and hugged her. A sense of tranquility came across him as he smelled something off of her.
"Well, it isn't THAT hard to do." Dewott scoffed, "I mean, there are so many evolutions she can do, after all."
"This form suits her." Weavile pointed out, before looking down at Cyndaquil, "Don't you agree?"
"Y-Yeah..." the fire mouse Pokémon nervously replied.
"Thank you." the evolved Pokémon told them, "I must admit, this newly-evolved form of mine feels quite nice."
Jackson parted from his partner, pulling out his Pokédex as he said, "Let's see what the Pokédex has to say about you, now." "Leafeon. The Verdant Pokémon, and the evolved form of Eevee. It basically does not fight. With cells similar to those of plants, it performs photosynthesis inside its body and creates pure air."
"You don't fight?" Jackson asked, surprised, "That's troublesome if we're heading to other gyms."
"Do not worry. The Pokédex is usually wrong about things like that." Leafeon assured him, "In fact, I gained a new move thanks to this evolution."
"Oh, yeah, you're right!" Jackson replied, noticing a new move that replaced Swift, "Let's see it then. Use your Razor Leaf!"
Leafeon looked to some trees nearby, and concentrated, her tail glowing. She leapt up and spun as she whipped her tail, sending leaves flying from it like shurikens, slicing the branches of a couple trees clean off.
"Awesome!" Jackson exclaimed, "That'll be awesome for future battles!"
"I know, right?" Leafeon replied, "I promise to put this new form to good use."
"Uh, Jackson?" Dewott called out. Jackson looked to him as he pointed to the trees Leafeon shot her attack, and everyone turned and paled as one. Out of the canopy of the trees was a swarm of Beedrill, all with stingers at the ready, all very, VERY angry. Leafeon's Razor Leaf accidentally disturbed their nest, and they were out for vengeance.
"Run for it!" Cyndaquil squealed, and they took off as one, all but Weavile in a panic.
They ran through the forest anyway they could, which was difficult since it was thicker than the normal paths at the start of the forest. Jackson couldn't even use his Extreme Gear in this situation. The Beedrill didn't stop pursuing them as they started to shoot off Pin Missile down at the group, causing the team to jump, duck, and swerve around the green energy shots hailing around them.
"Maybe we should've tried that attack somewhere else other than the trees!" Jackson cried out, ducking as a Pin Missile shot nearly struck him in the head.
"That's true! Plus, I now have a weakness to Bug and Poison-types thanks to this form!" Leafeon pointed out, shifting to the right as a Pin Missile nearly struck her feet, "We need to get out of here, fast!"
"Agreed!" Jackson replied.
At this point, Dewott, Weavile, and Cyndaquil had separated themselves from Jackson and Leafeon, trying to attract some of the swarm. Some did, while most only pursued the trainer and Pokémon that angered them. Leafeon leapt high as more Pin Missiles struck the ground beneath her, blasting her out of control in the air, sending her past Jackson. She noticed a tree ahead of her, and quickly reacted. "Quick Attack!" she shouted, going rinto high speeds and tackling the tree to bounce off of it. She landed on the ground as the tree shook, and as Jackson caught up with her, something yellow fell out of the tree, slamming onto Jackson's head, and caused him to hit the ground.
Jackson massaged his head as he got into a sitting position, and saw more yellow bodies land on the ground around him. Jackson's team stopped and turned, looking in horror as they saw the yellow bodies were very familiar cocoons.
"Are those...?" Dewott asked, looking scared.
"Kakuna." Weavile finished his sentence, sweating a bit in fear. Cyndaquil looked completely scared to even move.
Jackson was paralyzed in fear as Leafeon watching from afar as they all suddenly glowed blue. They were evolving together, turning into Beedrill that flew all about the trainer, with the pursuers joining them. "No...no...!" Jackson muttered, seeing the swarm surrounding him, their stingers glowing to prepare Pin Missiles or Poison Jabs. Others were prepared for Fury Attack or Twineedle. Jackson's pupil's shrunk in horror as the bees suddenly lunged down at him, firing away or thrusting their needles at him.
At this point, Bugsy was in the forest, looking about with his Scyther and Ledian at his side. "I know that there is a small part in the forest nearby that has a whole swarm of Pineco." Bugsy told the pair, "They are an incredible Pokémon, as they are easily mistaken for Grass-types, when they are really Bug-types. I'd like to make a document arguing the proofs behind what make them Bug-types."
"He really does talk about nothing but Bug-types, huh?" Ledian asked Scyther, untranslatable to Bugsy.
"Get use to it, kid. He is all about that." Scyther answered.
Suddenly, a high-pitch, blood-curdling scream rang through Ilex Forest, catching the ears of the team. "A girl is in trouble!" Bugsy gasped, hearing the scream.
"Who made that?!" Ledian questioned, hearing the screaming continue. The person was taking a lot of pain.
"It came off in this direction!" Scyther noticed, flying into the woods.
"Wait for me!" Ledian cried, following him.
"Scyther, Ledian, wait!" Bugsy cried out, before pursuing the pair.
It took the two Bug-types about five minutes of flying before arriving at the scene. From a distance, they saw ice, fire, spheres of water, and leaves flinging about in the air. When they got close, they could see why. Leafeon, Weavile, Dewott, and Cyndaquil were fighting off the swarm of Beedrill in the scene, while a battered and damaged character was on the ground. One Ledian recognized.
"Jackson!" he screamed, flying in to see him with purple bubble coming off of him from being poisoned, to the bruises and cuts that were all over his body.
"Ledian! What are you doing here?!" Leafeon asked, backing away to join his side.
"Wait... Eevee?! You evolved?!" Ledian asked, recognizing the Pokémon.
"Yeah, and unfortunately, testing out my new power caused us to be in this predicament!" Leafeon admitted, "But regardless of that, we got to keep the swarm away from Jackson!"
"Understood! Silver Wind!" Ledian shouted, unleashing glowing winds at the swarm of Beedrill. Scyther joined in, unleashing Wing Attack to deal super-effective damage to the targets. By the time Bugsy arrived on the scene, the six Pokemon sent the Beedrill packing.
"That was close..." Cyndaquil sighed, crumpling to the floor.
"Not exactly. Jackson did get heavily injured." Weavile noted, looking to see the Gym Leader approach Jackson.
"Jackson!" Bugsy cried out, kneeling down to him, "He is seriously in trouble! We need to do emergency medical treatment before we move him!" He grabbed his bag, pulling out potions, berries, and bandages. "I'm fresh out of Pecha berries. I'm sure there are some nearby. Someone go get some so we can cure Jackson of his poison!" Leafeon, Ledian, and Weavile all took off to find some berries, while Scyther, Dewott, and Cyndaquil stayed to be with Jackson as Bugsy did all he could to heal him up.
A few minutes later, the berry pickers came back with Pecha berries, and gave them to Bugsy, who mashed them up so that Jackson could easily digest them, and force-fed him the concoction. Once the poison was gone from his system, they treated his wounds and bandaged him up. Then, with Scyther and Ledian's efforts, they flew him out of the forest.
Azalea Town, two hours later
In the medical room, Jackson slowly stirred until he woke up abruptly. He looked at the ceiling above, before sitting himself up, wincing at the injuries, but still able. "You woke up!" said a voice, and Jackson turned to see his Pokémon team suddenly approach him, along with Bugsy and Nurse Joy.
"Where am I?" Jackson asked, looking down his half-naked body to see the bandages around his body.
"You got attacked in the forest, but we were able to bring you back and patch you up." Leafeon explained.
"I'm honestly surprised to see you woke up so quickly." Nurse Joy pointed out, "Injuries like that would take someone a full day at the very least to recover from."
"Well, I've dealt with all sorts of injuries from my martial arts lessons in the past." Jackson argued, "But that nearly killed me there. All those bees..."
"Jackson!" cried out a voice, and Ledian flew into the room, floating above him.
"Hey, Ledian. Hasn't been too long, has it?" he greeted his Pokémon.
"Ledian was certainly worried about you." Bugsy chuckled, as his other three Pokémon were at the doorway.
Jackson looked and saw Bugsy's Beedrill, and shrieked in fear. He fell off the medical bed, and scrambled to a corner far away from the door. "Whoa! Whoa! Take it easy!" Dewott called out him, approaching him along with his Pokémon.
"Careful! Your injuries!" Nurse Joy told him.
"KEEP THAT BEE THE HILT AWAY FROM ME!" Jackson shouted, thrusting a finger at Beedrill at the door.
"Hold on, what did my Beedrill do?" Bugsy asked, looking to his partner, who felt offended.
"The stinging...the poison...the pain of those buggers surrounding me!" Jackson whimpered, "I NEVER WANT TO DEAL WITH ANOTHER BEE POKEMON IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!"
His Pokémon were surprised at his nature, but Nurse Joy sighed as she muttered, "I have heard cases of people being attacked by Pokémon, developing a strong fear for them. I believe Jackson has developed a strong fear for Beedrill, possibly all forms of bee-like Pokémon."
"That's a shame. Beedrill aren't actually bad Pokémon. They're just very territorial." Bugsy noted.
"Look, I get you're a Bug-type gym leader, but please keep that Beedrill the hilt away!" Jackson pleaded. Bugsy sighed and went over to Beedrill, apologizing and returning him to his Pokéball. Jackson took a sigh of relief now it was gone.
Some time later, Jackson was up and ready. Jackson's clothes were fortunately not badly damaged by the attack, and any tears he did have, he sewed them up. Once everything was set, everyone but Leafeon was called back to their Pokéballs. Bugsy did the same with all but Ledian. They stood outside the Pokémon Center, with everything set to go.
"Well, now that I took care of everything I need from Ilex Forest, I'm gonna plow right through it." Jackson told Bugsy, "Gotta catch up with the others, and I do not want to deal with another swarm of Beedrill like that again."
"I hope you are able to recover from your trauma." Bugsy told him, "Beedrill and other bug Pokémon are not bad. I will continue my research to show everyone that truth!"
"I wish you the best of luck." Jackson replied, "As for me, I don't think I'll recover anytime soon. Maybe a couple years, and we'll see."
"Hopefully not THAT long." Bugsy chuckled.
"You train hard, Ledian." Leafeon told her friend.
"I will! You do the same to help Jackson in becoming better!" Ledian replied, "And just wait. Next time you call for me, I will be so strong!"
"I look forward to that." Leafeon replied.
"Okay, Leafeon. Hop onto my shoulders." Jackson told his partner.
"Are you sure? I'm a lot bigger than I was before." the Verdant Pokémon pointed out.
"You're lightweight, so it'll be fine." Jackson assured her. Leafeon took a pause, before bounding onto Jackson's shoulders. She wrapped around the back of Jackson's neck, but she was able to be comfortable.
"Buh-bye!" Bugsy waved goodbye to Jackson as he activated his Air Shoes.
"Yep. Catch you when I can." Jackson replied, getting into starting position, "Leafeon, let's blade things up a notch, and slice through the forest!" He took off at high speeds, causing Bugsy and Ledian to brace themselves. Jackson clearly wanted to go in and out of Ilex Forest as quickly as possible, and make his way to the next gym.