Chapter 16:
Not-Cats: The Musical
Route 4 – Baa Grasslands
After their clash with the Pokemon thieves and Orchynx joining Ash's team, he and his friends continued their trip through the Baa Grasslands, heading towards Comet Cave. Thanks to the favorable weather, they managed to cover a lot of distance, including crossing a bridge that went over the mouth of a river, which signaled the halfway point of the route. As noon aproached, they agreed to stop, rest, and then have some food before continuing.
Despite the fact that they had dealt with that Feliger, Greninja and Luxray continued to keep watch over the camp, in order to make sure no more thefts happened. For them, it was much better safe than sorry.
And until that time came, Ash and Serena decided to have a sparring session. Ash decided it was time for Colarva to get a taste of battle, while also start his training on Orchynx so she could catch up as fast as possible with the others. Serena was also using her two most recent captures, Selkid and Minicorn. Clemont, Bonnie, and some of the Pokemon watched the match with interest.
"Now Selkid, Water Pulse!" Serena ordered.
"Sel, sel!" Selkid cried, as she formed an orb of water between her tiny arms, before thursting them forward, sending the projectile at Colarva.
"Colarva, freeze it with Powder Snow!" Ash called.
"Co, co!" Colarva chirped, as he blew a gust of freezing wind towards the incoming attack, turning Selkid's water orb into a sphere of ice.
"Good! Now Orchynx, push it back with Energy Ball!" Ash continued.
"Orch!" Orchynx opened her mouth, creating a sphere of green and yellow light in front of it, before shooting it towards the sphere of ice.
The Energy Ball smashed against the frozen orb, and like a cue ball impacting against another one, the sphere of ice was then pushed towards Minicorn.
"Good counter, Ash, but that won't be enough to beat us!" Serena confidently said, her voice full of energy. "Minicorn, Horn Attack!"
Minicorn neighed, as her horn started to glow with a white light, while increasing its size a little. Lowering her head, Minicorn stabbed the incoming sphere of ice with her horn, shattering it into a hundred tiny ice shards that glittered under the strong midday sun.
"That would have made you lose quite a few points if we were in a contest battle," Serena remarked.
"Yeah, it would. Nice counter to my counter," Ash earnestly praised. "You're getting better at thinking on your feet."
"Hehe, thanks," Serena smiled somehwat bashfully. "Guess I have a really good teacher. Though, if you liked that combo, just wait to see this: Selkid, hop onto Minicorn!"
Just like Pancham did before, Selkid jumped onto Minicorn's back, though unlike Pancham, she did it with far less grace.
"Now, Minicorn, charge forward and use Charge Beam! Selkid, Ice Beam!"
As the Foal Pokemon galloped forward, her horn began to glow with an electric yellow light, while Selkid opened her mouth, forming an orb of freezing energy in front of it. The two Pokemon then fired their attacks, a yellow lighting bolt and a beam of concentrated cold flying towards Colarva and Orchynx.
"Quickly, dodge!" Ash ordered. Both his Pokemon did so, but that didn't stop Serena's Pokemon, who continued to fire their beams of elemental power towards the fleeing Kitten and Snow Mite Pokemon. "Colarva, String Shot towards Minicorn's legs!"
Serena gasped, holding her hands in front of her face. "Minicorn, turn around, quickly! Selkid, hop off of Minicorn!"
But Minicorn's momentum was too high to change course, and Colarva's thread of silk wrapped around the Foal Pokemon's front legs, tying them together, causing Minicorn to trip and fall face-first, just before Selkid managed to jump off her back.
"Minicorn! Are you okay?" Serena worriedly asked.
Fortunately, it seemed that Minicorn wasn't hurt, as the Foal Pokemon was back on her hooves in no time, much to her trainer's relief.
Still, Serena couldn't help but sigh dejectedly. "And that blunder would have costed us some points."
"Hey, at least you had the foresight of having Selkid jump off of Minicorn, or else you would have lost even more points," Ash told her.
"Guess that-"
"Gren!"
"Lux!"
The Ninja and the Gleam Eyes Pokemon tensed up, and looked towards the north, warning them that something was coming from that direction. Everybody quickly turned around sai direction, and indeed, they saw that something was coming towards them.
"Hey, isn't that...?" Serena began, narrowing her eyes to see the distant figure better.
As the figure approached, they could see it was a young teen with bright red hair with a yellow streak in the middle. So far, there was only one person they knew in the region with such a distinctive hair color.
"It's Theo!" Ash exclaimed.
And indeed, the third kid from Moki Town was coming towards them, taking angry steps, his brow heavily furrowed, clearly being upset over something. It didn't take long for the redheaded kid to notice the gang.
"Oh, hey, it's you guys!" Theo said, his mood brightening a little. "Long time no see!"
"I think we haven't seen each other since we parted ways in Moki Town," Serena said.
"We saw both Vitor and Natalie a couple times since then," Bonnie chimed in. "I wondered if we'd ever run into you."
"Oh you, know, I've been pretty busy! Catching new Pokemon, winning Gym matches, being awesome in general," Theo said, acting all high and mighty.
"Really? That's great!" Ash said, ignoring Theo's tone. "So, how many badges do you have?"
"I'm glad you asked!" Theo said, pulling out his badge case from a pocket, and opening it. There were two badges inside. "Two badges already! Pretty impressive, huh?"
"Oh, so you have the same badges as Ash?" Clemont asked.
"What!? You also have two already!?" Theo asked, almost outraged to hear his accomplsihments have been matched. "How is that even possible?"
"Theo, Ash is pretty experienced, so it wasn't too difficult to win two badges since he started out," Serena gently said. "In fact, I'd say that if it wasn't for my contests slowing us down, Ash could have three right now."
"Come on Serena, don't say that. You aren't slowing anybody," Ash reassured her.
"Anyway, where are you going?" Clemont asked. "Judging by your direction, you come from Comet Cave."
Upon hearing the name of the cave, Theo's mood soured once again. "Yeah, that was the plan. But a couple of dumb Rangers didn't let me cross it and forced me to turn back. They say it's 'too dangerous' for me. Bah!"
"Dangerous? Why?" Bonnie asked. Both her and her older friends were dreading another incident like that in Passage Cave.
"Apparently, something happened that caused the Pokemon in the cave to go berserk and attack everybody who sets a foot on the cave," Theo explained. He kicked the grass. "My Pokemon would wipe the floor with all the wild Pokemon in that cave! But since I'm alone, they don't allow me to pass!"
"We were heading towards Comet Cave. Do you want to come with us? I don't think the Rangers would object if you're part of a large group," Ash offered.
Theo looked unamused at the suggestion. "I guess I have no choice but to accept if I want to cross that stupid cave. Though, once we're out, I'm traveling on my own again!"
"Trust me, I don't think anybody is going to be sad to see you go," Bonnie deadpanned.
"Bonnie! That was very rude!" Clemont chastised.
"He was being rude first! Ash offered him the means to cross the cave, and he didn't even thank him!" Bonnie retorted.
"So, so say you caught new Pokemon?" Ash interceded, trying to avert a potential argument with the younger boy. "Can we see them?"
"Of course!" Theo said, clearly happy to have another opportunity to brag, as he picked out four pokeballs. "Marvel your eyes before the awesomeness of my Pokemon! Come out, everyone!"
Theo threw his four pokeballs into the air, which opened up, torrents of light pouring from each of them, before forming into a Pokemon each. There was his starter, Orchynx, as expected. There were also a Fortog and an Owten. The last and fourth Pokemon, though, was something neither of them had seen before.
The Pokemon in question looked like a puppy, with light brown fur, reddish-brown feet, ears and tail, which wagged happily. It had two golden crescent moon shaped parts on its chest, and two more above each of its eyes in place of eyebrows. Ash and Serena took out their Pokedex in order to scan the new Pokemon:
"Lunapup, the Loyal Pokemon. Ground/Fighting. Although small, it is very brave. It won't hesitate to protect weaker Pokémon in danger. They can often be heard howling at the moon." The Pokedex explained.
"It sounds like a really neat Pokemon to have," Serena said, as she and Bonnie crouched around the puppy, with Bonnie petting it.
"What about you guys? Are those your Pokemon?" Theo said, watching the large group of Pokemon around him. "Guess they don't look too shabby..." Theo began, as his eyes drifted towards Ash's Orchynx. "Wait, you have an Orchynx too? How?"
"Ah, yes. I caught Orchynx only a day ago. It's a long story," Ash began. He didn't feel very comfortable airing Orchynx's dark past without her consent.
"If you caught that Orchynx yesterday, then it can't be stronger than the Orchynx I've been training since I left Moki Town."
"I guess not. But with enough time and effort-"
"I challenge you to a battle!" Theo suddenly shouted, while pointing a finger at Ash's face, startling the Pallet Town trainer. "Your Orchynx versus mine!"
Ash was taken aback by the suddeness of the challenge, especially since he was requested to use a Pokemon he had barely trained due lack of time. Then, again, Ash smirked, being someone unable to say no to a challenge.
"Hey Orchynx, what do you think?" Ash asked. "Do you feel like fighting Theo's own Orchynx?"
"Or, orch!" Orchynx happily nodded.
"If she feels ready to face you, then so do I," Ash stated.
"Good!" Theo said.
They all made room for Ash and Theo to battle. Their respective Orchynx were in front of them, ready to duke it out. Clemont would take the role of referee.
"This will be a one on one fight between Ash and Theo. No time limit. Whoever is able to faint the opposing Pokemon first will be the winner," Clemont explained. "Begin!"
~Ash (Orchynx) VS Theo (Orchynx)~
Impatient as he was, Theo called the first move. "Alright Orchynx, let's begin with Leech Seed!"
"Or!" Theo's Orchynx meowed, as it spat multiple seeds at the opposing Pokemon.
Ash didn't even bother to say anything, and merely watched how his Orchynx batted away the harmful seeds with a swipe of her tail.
Theo's eyes opened wide, as his jaw fell. "What? How did my attack fail?"
"Leech Seed has no effect on Grass-type Pokemon," Serena pointed out, sounding like she was chiding him.
Bonnie snorted. "I thought you'd had learned that by now."
"That attack has never failed before!" Theo protested. "How I was supposed to know that?"
"Well, you certainly do now," Bonnie chuckled.
"Uh, nevermind! That was only a little blunder!" Theo tried to save face. "Orchynx, Magical Leaf!"
Theo's Orchynx's body began to glow with a faint green light, as the Kitten Pokemon summoned mutliple razor sharp leaves, which flew towards its enemy counterpart.
"Deflect them with Metal Claw, quickly!" Ash called.
Orchynx's front claws began to glow with a silvery light, and quickly began to deliver a flurry of swipes at the leaves that came at her, shredding them to tiny green bits.
"That failed too!? But... how? Magical Leaf is supposed to be unavoidable!" Theo protested.
"Attacks that can't be avoided can still be parried or deflected," Ash told him. "There's no such thing as an unstoppable attack."
"Oh..., well, you aren't going to be so lucky a third time! Orchynx, Vine Whip!" Theo commanded.
A pair of vegetal whips grew from the sides of Orchynx's body, and shot themselves towards Ash's Orchynx.
"I think it's about time to move onto the offensive, don't you think, Orchynx?" Ash asked, his lips curving into a smirk. "Dodge that Vine Whip and get in closer!"
Orchynx obeyed, gracefully avoiding her counterpart's lashes, before rushing closer towards it.
"Now, Bullet Seed!" Ash said, throwing a punch forward.
Orchynx opened her mouth, and expelled a barrage of seed-like projectiles at the opposing Orchynx, most of them area it squarely in the face, making it wince in pain. The attack wasn't strong, but hitting a sensitive zone made it hurt.
"And now, Metal Claw again!" Ash shouted.
Taking advantage of Theo's Orchynx's predicament, Ash's Orchynx quickly bridged the distance between them, and delivered a pair of quick slashes with claws covered in a silvery aura. Theo's Orchynx meowed in pain as it was pushed backwards by the attack.
"Orchynx!" Theo cried, seeing his starter taking such a hit.
"Follow up with X-Scissor!" Ash said, pressing the advantage.
Ash's Orchynx's claws began to glow with a light green aura this time. She jumped into the air, slashing the air with both paws in opposing diagonal cuts, creating and launching an X-shaped blast towards Theo's Orchynx, who was still getting back on its feet.
"Orchynx, quickly, Dig!" Theo called.
"Orch!" Orchynx obeyed, jumping into the air, spinning like a drill before burrowing underground, avoiding the other Orchynx's attack.
Ash's confident smirk faded a little. He wasn't expecting Theo to have taught any of his Pokemon such an attack. "Orchynx, watch out! It can attack from anywhere!"
Orchynx send the ground beneath her feet tremble a little, before Theo's Orchynx burst from underground just beneath her, slamming its head against her gut, launching her upwards.
"Orchynx!" Ash cried.
"Ha! Take that! Direct hit!" Theo gloated, as he began to thurst punches forward, as if fighting an imaginary opponent. "I taught Orchynx that mostly to deal with Fire-type Pokemon, but Dig is such a good and useful move, it works with almost any opponent!"
"Indeed it is. You had quite the insight teaching your Orchynx Dig," Ash agreed, his smile returning. "But that's not going to be enough to beat us! Orchynx, use Bullet Seed again!"
"Orch, chynx!" Orchynx meowed, as she fired yet another barrage of energy seeds at her counterpart.
Theo smiked cockily. "You're slow to learn, aren't you? Orchynx, Dig again!"
As it did before, the Kitten Pokemon turned into a living drill, and dug underground, avoiding its counterpart's attack.
"Orchynx, quickly, jump and fire Energy Ball to the ground below!"
"What!?" Theo asked in confusion. The redheaded boy watched his opponent's Pokemon jump as it formed a green sphere of energy in front of her mouth. That moment, the spot where Orchynx had been began to crack, just as Theo's Orchynx's burst from underground. "Orchynx, wait-!"
Too late. Ash's Orchynx fired the attack, which landed squarely on Theo's Orchynx's face, blasting it back towards the ground, while Ash's Orchynx landed on her feet near him.
"Time to finish this! Orchynx, X-Scissor!" Ash ordered.
Once again, Orchynx's front paws began to glow with a light green aura, as the Kitten Pokemon ran towards her counterpart. She then delivered a pair of diagonal slashes in opposite directions, forming an X-shaped blast that smashed against Theo's Orchynx. The attack sent Theo's starter rolling backwards, before it fell on its back. It didn't make any attempt to get back on its feet
Clemont raised an arm. "Theo's Orchynx can't battle anymore. The winner is Ash!"
"...what?" a dumbfounded Theo asked.
"Yes!" Ash shouted, pumping his fist. "Good job, Orchynx!"
"Pi, pikachu!" Pikachu congratulated the cat on her first victory as well.
"Or, orchynx!" Orchynx happily meowed. She returned to Ash and rubbed her head against his legs affectionatedly.
Theo angrily recalled his own Orchynx, before he stomped towards Ash.
"This doesn't count! You cheated!" Theo shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at Ash.
"What? I didn't cheat at all!" Ash indignantly replied. "I won fair and square, everybody saw it!"
"Then you're a liar!" Theo said, stomping his foot. "There's no way you could have defeated my Orchynx, which I've been training for weeks, with a Pokemon you just caught!"
"Theo, being a trainer isn't just about how much time you have had a Pokémon with you," Serena interceded. "Like we've told you many, many times, Ash's greater experience is more than enough to make up for Orchynx being new to the team."
"Yeah, the way he baited you to use Dig... even I saw what was he doing, and I'm not even a trainer yet!" Bonnie mocked.
"Listen, Theo," Ash began, trying to keep his voice even. "Losing is part of a trainer's journey. There will always be somebody that's better than you for one reason or another. And there's nothing wrong with that. I myself suffered countless defeats, especially when I was a rookie."
Theo looked at Ash, his lips quivering, a glint of anger remaining on his red eyes. He then turned around, clenching his fists.
"And what did you do when you lost?" Theo asked.
Ash smiled gently. "I kept going. I trained harder. I sought other people to help me out. I tried to come up with new strategies. Anything that makes victory more likely. Never give up until the end."
"Failure tends to be the best teacher," Serena interceded. "I'm sure you learned a thing or two about battles from fighting Ash."
"I guess using Dig twice in a row was kind of a dumb move," Theo admitted. "No wonder Ash already had a counter prepared."
"See? That's the spirit!" Ash said.
"Though, next time make sure you fight against a opponent more suited to your skill level," Clemont advised. "It will take some time until you can be a match for somebody like Ash."
"How about you, Serena? You don't look as strong as him. Fight me! I still have three other Pokemon that can battle," Theo challenged her.
Serena's eye twitched a little at the implied insult, but decided to ignore it. "No, thank you. I'm not a Gym Challenger like you or Ash. I'm a coordinator."
"Coordinator? Oh, that's what Vitor is doing, right?" Theo asked, scratching his head. "Though, that doesn't explain why don't you want to fight against me. You were fighting against Ash when I arrived."
"Because Ash knows how to emulate the fighting style of coordinators in order to help me prepare for contests," Serena retorted.
"Also, it helps me learn quite a few tricks from contests that can be useful for gym fights," Ash helpfully added.
Theo huffed and kicked some grass, angry to be unable to wipe out the bitter aftertaste of defeat from his mouth. Of course, the idea that Serena might have been able to trounce him just as badly as Ash never crossed his mind.
"Why don't you train alongside Ash? I'm sure you can learn much more things from him," Serena suggested, before she looked at Ash and added: "If you're okay with it, of course."
"Sure," Ash happily said. "What do you say, Theo?"
The younger boy managed to supress his ego for enough time to accept Serena's offer. "Alright. Since I'm stuck with you guys for the time being..."
"Great! I already saw what your Orchynx can do. Now show me what your other Pokemon have in their arsenal."
…
"Alright Aveden, one more time!" Ash said.
"Ave!" Aveden chirped affirmatively, as he began to flap his wings, creating a pair of blades of compressed air that slammed against a rock, leaving two small cuts on it.
"Alright Owten, now try it yourself! Air Cutter!" Theo yelled.
When Ash had asked Aveden to help him train Theo's Owten, the Bliss Bird Pokemon quickly agreed. How could he tell him no? Aveden managed to grow so far thanks to Ash and his Pokemon's help, so it was only fair that Aveden helped younger and weaker Pokemon to reach their full potential. Even if they weren't Ash's Pokemon.
Theo's Owten had spirit, but was a little impatient. This caused it to rush its attacks without properly building them up, failing in their execution. Fortunately, Pikachu also realized of this, and was quick to explain what the Observer Pokemon was doing wrong. The next time it tried Air Cutter, it worked better.
"Yes, you did it, Owten!" Theo excitedly cheered.
"It still will need a little more practice until it can master the move and use it without trouble," Ash pointed out. "But with persistence, it will have the move down in no time."
"Now that Owten knows a new move, let's do Fortog Next!" Theo suggested.
"Very well. I think your Fortog could learn a thing or two from my Dunsparce," Ash said. Oh, Aveden didn't envy that poor Fortog in the slightest. Especially that maniac grin Dunsparce had on his face as he looked at the amphibian. "Thanks for your help, Aveden. Take a rest now."
"Den!" Aveden nodded, and flew away, leaving the other Pokemon to their own devices.
Aveden knew what to do now. He'd knew what to do for quite some time. He was eagerly waiting for Ash to relieve him from training duty, but he didn't want to look like he wanted to be elsewhere. He could never do that to his beloved trainer. So he worked alongside Ash, as he tried his best to ignore the enticing song that came from the spot where Serena's Pokemon were training.
Except he didn't need to ignore that song anymore. He was now going to embrace it. Ah, there she was, the source of that beautiful voice, an equally gorgeous Pokemon. Even if they belonged to different worlds, he to the skies and she to the seas, he didn't care about that in the slightest. They belonged together in the world of music.
While Serena was training with Sylveon and Minicorn, Selkid was to herself, singing as usual. How the other Pokemon around her could continue with their work without letting such an angelic voice get the best of them was beyond him. Oh well, if they couldn't appreciate what they had in front of them, it was their problem.
Time to impress the object of his affections with his own, clearly inferior but still not too shabby singing.
And thus, Aveden followed Selkid's voice with his own, the two of them forming a duet, the Bliss Bird Pokemon doing his best to match his singing with the Sea Nymph Pokemon. This seemed to draw the attention of Serena and her Pokemon, who stopped what they were doing in order to listen to their song. Serena smiled and followed the rhythm of the song with head bops.
This filled Aveden with confidence, and started to sing more vigorously, trying to push his voice range as much as he could but careful not to drown Selkid's singing. He didn't want to upstage her after all.
Until it became impossible, mostly because Selkid had stopped singing. It took Aveden a few seconds until he realized he was singing alone. A feeling of awkwardness washed over the blue bird, he stopped singing alone and looked at Selkid, who was glaring at him, her arms crossed.
"Selkid?" Serena asked, looking at her with worried eyes. "Is something wrong? Why did you stop?"
That's something Aveden wanted to know as well. The way Selkid was looking at him, as if his very presence annoyed him, didn't fill him with confidence.
"Sel! Selkid, sel! Kid!" Selkid angrily began.
Aveden gasped. Selkid thought he was just trying to eclipse her? But... weren't his intentions clear?
"Av, ave, den den!" Aveden whistled, tried to explain that he just thought that singing a duet would be something fun.
Selkid's frown, though, didn't disappear. "Kid, selkid sel!"
Aveden gasped. So apparently Selkid didn't sing for "fun", but considered it something serious and important, especially now that her singing was a key part to win contests. And that if he only wanted to sing for fun, to get lost and not bother her.
Tears formed around Aveden's eyes as Selkid's words of rejection tore his heart to shreds. Distraught, the Bliss Bird Pokemon turned around, and flew into the nearby forest.
"Selkid! What did you tell him to make him react like that!?" was the last thing Aveden heard Serena say before leaving.
…
"Ash, Ash!"
Ash was in the middle of training with Theo, as Greninja showed Theo's Fortog his Ice Beam so the Round Toad Pokemon could copy it, when Serena ran towards them, looking rather agitated.
"Serena?" Ash asked. "Something wrong?"
"I'm afraid yes. It's Aveden," Serena told him.
"Aveden?"
The honey blonde then explained to Ash what Aveden tried to do, probably in an attempt to woo Selkid, before the Sea Nymph Pokemon rejected him in a rather brusque fashion, causing the bird to go away, leaving a trail of tears in his wake.
"You better find Aveden. The poor bird looked like he could use some comfort," Serena urged him.
Ash nodded vehemently. "Don't worry, I will. Come on Pikachu!"
"Pika!" Pikachu said, as the rodent climbed Ash's, and took his usual spot on his shoulder.
"Theo, I need to leave for a moment. Will you be okay if you continue to train without me?" Ash asked.
"Of course I will! I'm a trainer too, who do you think I am?" Theo replied, almost insulted.
Ash wouldn't have left such reply unanswered, but now he had more important matters in his mind. Like Aveden.
"Um, Ash," Serena said, clutching her blue ribbon in one hand, and the other hand on her wrist. "I'm sorry. For what Selkid did to Aveden."
"It's okay. Whatever Selkid told Aveden, I'm sure she didn't pick up from you," Ash said, sending Serena a reassuring smile. "Now Pikachu, do you think you can find Aveden by tracking his smell?"
"Pi, pika!" the Mouse Pokemon nodded in affirmation.
"Great. Then let's go!"
"Meanwhile, I'll talk with Selkid so she understand what she did was wrong and she can apologize to Aveden once you bring him back," Serena told Ash.
Ash just nodded, before he and his starter got into the small forest. They started to look around, seeing some of the native Pokemon from time to time, but Ash paid them no mind and the Pokemon replied in kind. After five minutes of walk, Ash and Pikachu finally found Aveden, sadly perching on a low branch, his head hunched over. The Kanto native was relieved that to find his Pokemon relatively soon.
"Hey, Aveden!" Ash asked.
Aveden was snapped out of his funk, and looked at Ash. Cawing happily, the Bliss Bird Pokemon flew towards Ash, who held his arm, allowing Aveden to land on it.
"Hey there, pal. You got us a little worried there, flying away like that," Ash said, trying not to sound chastising.
"Chupi," Pikachu added, nodding.
"Den..." Aveden cawed sadly, lowering his head, as if asking for forgiveness.
"Hey, it's okay. At the very least, you didn't go too far away. I was afraid I might have to scout this huge forest to look for you, hehe," Ash chuckled, scratching his cheek with his free hand.
"Av, ave!" Aveden cawed energically, as if saying that he'd never force Ash to do such a thing.
"Though... Serena told me what happened. I'm sorry to hear how Selkid rejected you like that," Ash said, petting the bird on the head.
"Den..."
"Honestly, I wish I knew what to tell you here, but I'm afraid I don't understand much about what you're going on," Ash sheepishly said.
"Pika..." Pikachu groaned lightly, shaking his head.
"Though, if I were to tell you something... I'm sure one day Selkid will see how awesome you are, Aveden," Ash began. "And if that day never comes... somebody else will. I'm sure of that."
Aveden didn't say anything, seemingly accepting Ash's words.
"Pi, pika," Pikachu told Ash.
"You're right. We should probably get back before they get too worried," Ash said, before looking at Aveden. "Are you ready to go back?"
Aveden merely nodded. Ash was about to walk back to the camp, when the Bliss Bird Pokemon's head suddenly perked up, and looked into the forest. Pikachu's ears also twitched, looking towards the same direction as Aveden.
"Guys?" Ash asked, a little worried. "Is there something wrong?"
But all what he met was silence. Or, at least, that was what he heard at first. After a few seconds, Ash was able to pick up a faint voice coming from the forest, almost as if it was singing. It didn't sound like Selkid, though.
"Ave, aveden!" Aveden happily chirped, as he took off and flew towards the direction of the voice.
"Hey, wait! Where are you going?" Ash asked, as he chased his first Tandorian Pokemon.
Fortunately for Ash and Pikachu, Aveden was flying slow enough so they'd be able to keep up with his speed. After a few minutes of running, they entered a clearing in the forest, and in the middle of said clearing, the source of that voice. Sitting on a tree stump, there was a Pokemon Ash had never seen before. It was small, only a little bigger than Pikachu, with four legs, with the head of a bird but no wings and four legs. Its body was covered in grass-like green feathers. Its black beady eyes were covered in two red wing-shaped marks that flared upwards.
Surrounding the stump were many other Pokemon that Ash already knew, intently listening to the singing. Ash pulled out his Pokedex.
"Chicoatl, the Green Chick Pokemon. Grass. Chicoatl are shy, but can be affectionate. They are said to be related to both dragon and bird Pokémon." The Pokedex explained.
"Related to birds and dragons, yet she's a Grass-type," Ash mused, as he put his Pokedex back on his pocket. "Well, she does look like a bird at the very least."
The trio continued to hear Chicoatl song with interest. While Selkid's songs used to be slow, melodious and solemn, the tune of Chicoatl's song was something much more festive, something that induced somebody to dance to the melody. The Pokemon around Chicoatl weren't dancing, but they were bopping their heads or their bodies at the same rhythm as the song.
"Ave!"
Then, all of sudden, Aveden began to fly in circles above Chicoatl, and much to everybody's surprise, the Bliss Bird pokemon started to sing as well, trying to match Chicoatl's song.
"Chic?" Chicoatl's chirped in surprise, looking upwards towards the source of the new song, interrupting her own. The rest of the Pokemon listenting to her also looked towards the interloper.
"Uh oh..." Ash said, worried.
"Pika..." Pikachu tensed up, getting ready to get his Tandorian companion from a potential mess.
But much to both Kanto natives' surprise, Chicoatl continued her song, allowing Aveden to join as well. They continued singing together, trying their best to match each other's tunes. The Pokemon of the clearing not only bobbed their heads and moved their bodies with more enthusiasm, others were downright dancing at the rhythm of the duet.
"Whoa, look at that Pikachu. It seems like Aveden found his singing partner way sooner than we thought," Ash said, smiling at the spectacle before him.
"Pikapi," Pikachu nodded.
"Oh, the others must see this!" Ash said, as he opened up the Pokegear on his wrist. "I'm going to send a message to Serena telling her and the others to come here. They're going to love it!"
…
After Serena's reprimand, Selkid was understandably in a bad mood. So, that annoying bird comes, disrupts her singing practice to play games, but she's the bad guy here because she told him to shove it? The nerve!
The worst part was the thought of making Serena upset. After everything the trainer had done for her, Selkid felt like she was repaying her with such an unbecoming behavior. Even if part of her claimed that she had done nothing wrong and that bird just had it coming.
"I thought you had more tact than that," Serena had said, as she looked at her in disappointment, arms crossed. "Once Ash comes back with Aveden, you're going to apologize to him, alright?"
Selkid had no choice but to agree. And it wasn't just Serena looking at her like that, Braixen also shared their trainer's disappointment as well. The Fox Pokemon had added that, if Aveden's presence wasn't welcomed, Selkid could have voiced her thoughts in a more civilized manner. The rest of the team didn't say anything, but tried to keep their distance from Selkid.
They treated her as if she had an aggression problem or something.
That moment, Serena's Pokegear beeped a couple times.
…
"A message from Ash," Serena read the screen, and frowned, a little confused. She began to read aloud: "'Come here quickly, you guys HAVE to see this! It's so amazing!'. Well, Ash seems he had found something interesting during his little trip into the forest."
"Let's go! I want to see what is it!" Bonnie urged, excitedly bouncing up and down.
"Knowing Ash, it's probably some new Pokemon he wants to catch," Clemont guessed.
"If that was the case he would have caught it and then showed it to us," Serena replied. "Come on, let's follow his GPS signal. I'm curious to see what did he find."
"Yeah! If it's an amazing Pokemon, I want to catch it before Ash does!" Theo shouted.
The four humans and all their Pokemon entered the forest –well, not all of them. Being the ones often taking on the task, Luxray and Greninja stayed back in order to watch over the camp– following Ash's tracks. As they got closer to their companion, Selkid started to hear something. It sounded like a song. Were some Pokemon singing?
"Hey, do you guys hear that?" Bonnie asked, perking up her ears.
"Yeah, it sounds like... some Pokemon singing?" Theo asked.
"So it seems," Clemont said. "The closer we get to Ash, the clearer the song is heard."
After a couple more minutes of walking, they finally reached Ash's position, a clearing in the middle of the woods. They found the teen boy there, watching the spectacle in front on him: a multitude of wild Pokemon (and Pikachu) dancing to the tune of a duet between Aveden and a green bird-like Pokemon. Serena quickly scanned it with her Pokedex, which identified her as a Chicoatl.
"Hey, guys!" Ash said, motioning for them to get closer. "Take a look! This isn't something you see every day, huh?"
While Theo didn't look that impressed, Serena and Clemont nodded and smiled. Bonnie and Dedenne even joined the dancing wild Pokemon, wanting to take part in their fun. Serena noticed Aveden singing and dancing with Chicoatl, who looked like he was having the time of his life.
"Look at that. It seems Aveden found a new singing partner after Selkid rejected him," Serena pointed out.
"Yeah. They make a good couple, don't they?" Ash replied.
Soon, most of their Pokemon –and even some of Theo's– joined Bonnie's example and joined the impromptu dance party.
…
Not every Pokemon had joined the dance party: one of them was Selkid, who was watching the scene in front of her with her arms crossed, as a whirlwind of emotions stirred within her.
So, this was what it took for that bird to move on? Really? Did she really mean that little to him? Sure, she had rejected him, but come on! She was expecting to dwell a little on the rejection, or even insist a little further. Though, it's not that she wanted Aveden to do so or anything, no sir!
And she definitely wasn't jealous over how that Chicoatl managed to get her claws on him. Or how she definitely didn't regret not giving Aveden a chance before writing him off. If anything, she should be happy that the bird had found somebody else who wanted to pay him attention.
"Parce," a voice said.
Selkid groaned and rolled her eyes. "Sel, selkid!" she wasn't in the mood to deal with Dunsparce right now.
"Dun, dunsparce," the Land Snake said. Yeah, like hell she was going to believe that he wasn't up to something.
"Selkid!" she shouted, trying to shoo him away, but the yellow Pokemon didn't bulge.
"Dun, parce dun," Dunsparce amicably said.
"Selkid," the Sea Nymph Pokemon nodded. Well, of course Selkid was much better singer than that forest hussy. Her species were known for their heavenly voices after all. At least the malevolent worm had some taste.
"Dunsparce," he pointed out.
"Sel!?" Selkid replied in shock. So what if no one ever broke into dance upon hearing her singing? It's not like she sung for them to dance!
"Dun, dunsparce, parce," he suggested.
Show Chicoatl who was better singer? Hmmm... that didn't sound like a half bad idea. Yeah, it was about time to show everybody who was the best singer!
As Selkid walked towards the stump were Chicoatl and Aveden were, she missed Dunsparce's evil grin, unaware that the Land Snake Pokemon had played her like a fiddle.
…
As Dunsparce manipulated Selkid in order to create drama for his own amusement, Ash and Serena continued to watch the espectacle in front of them, smiling happily as they enjoyed the festive mood of the place, even if they didn't directly partake on it.
"You know, if Selkid was okay with singing with Aveden, maybe we could have these kind of dance parties with our Pokemon," Ash commented.
"I know, right? However, Selkid seems to be more of a solo singer. And outside of contests, she doesn't seem to like to sing for an audience," Serena pointed out, thinking how Selkid always tended to keep some distance from the others when she practices her singing.
"Guess it can't be helped," Ash said, shrugging.
Realizing of something, Serena looked at Ash, raising an eyebrow. "Though, coming from you, that's a little surprising. You aren't that much into dancing, are you? I'd thought you'd prefer to spend the time with your Pokemon training."
"I'm not very good at dancing, I give you that," Ash sheepishly said, and chuckled. "Though I wasn't saying it for me. I mean, look at the Pokemon, how happy they look and how much fun they're having. Little parties like this would do wonders helping them unwind and relax."
Then, Serena saw it. Chicoatl and Aveden had created a really good chance for a moment with Ash that could be both fun and intimate. She took a deep breath.
"You know, Ash," Serena said, unable to hold Ash's gaze, as she began to play with her hair, her cheeks turning pink. "You know... dancing isn't something Pokemon alone enjoy..."
"Oh...?" Ash dumbly asked, as he looked at Serena with mild curiosity.
"Yeah..." she rubbed her arm. "Maybe would you like to dance with-"
"Hey, what's Selkid's doing?" Clemont's voice interrupted Serena.
Both Ash and Serena followed Clemont's gaze and saw that Selkid was stomping towards the singing Aveden and Chicoatl. Serena's frustration over being interrupted quickly faded into worry over what the Sea Nymph Pokemon was going to do.
"Selkid..." she whispered, hands over her mouth.
The moment Selkid got close enough to the two singing birds, who hadn't noticed her presence, the Water and Fairy-type Pokemon cleared her throat and began singing, raising her voice so it could be heard above Aveden and Chicoatl's. It wasn't the slow, melodious serenade she often favored, but something similar to what the two birds were singing, something more festive and fitting for quick dancing, but different enough to deliberatedly disrupt the duo's singing.
At first, Aveden and Chicoatl were surprised into silence, and the Pokemon in the clearing stopped dancing, watching the singing Selkid, some confused, other curious, and everything in between. Still, some of the Pokemon there quickly grew to like Selkid's song, and resumed their happy dancing as if nothing happened.
And, seeing it as an invitation, Aveden left Chicoatl and joined Selkid's side, singing alongside her. This time, though, Selkid welcomed the Bliss Bird Pokemon's attempts at forming a duet, smiling victoriously while shooting the Grass-type Pokemon a smug look. Soon, the dance party resumed as if nothing happened.
"Chico? Chi, chico!"
The Green Chick Pokemon met Selkid's look with a fierce gaze of her own, and would have pouted if she had the facial features. However, as Selkid was about to find out, Chicoatl wasn't going to let this marine interloper steal her thunder in a such blatant way.
So she took a deep breath, and Chicoatl resumed her singing, raising the volume of her voice so it could be hear once again above that of Selkid and Aveden's. And once again, everybody stopped dancing, and Aveden stopped singing.
Selkid, however, not only didn't she stop singing, but sang even louder, not to let Chicoatl outdo her. And in turn, Chicoatl sang even louder.
As the two divas tried to out-sing the other, the Pokemon on the clearing became confused, then a little uncomfortable with Selkid and Chicoatl angrily singing at each other. The mood being no longer one of festivity, the wild Pokemon slowly dispersed, leaving the clearing until there was nobody but the humans, their Pokemon, and Selkid and Chicoatl, which their singing was more akin to yelling at that point.
"Uh, guys? Shouldn't you do something about that?" an annoyed Theo asked, covering his ears to shield his eardrums from the high pitched yelling that resonated through the forest.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu agreed, though he was barely heard.
"Selkid and Chicoatl might strain their throat if they keep up like this," a worried Ash contributed.
"I... I think they have a point," Serena said, a bit unsure on how Selkid would react to being told to drop it. "Um, Selk-"
However, before Serena could say or do anything, Selkid fell victim to a coughing fit, interrupting her singing.
"Selkid!" Serena cried, kneeling besides her Pokemon and patting her back. "Selkid! Are you okay?"
"Chi! Chicoatl!" Chicoatl cried in triumph, seemingly declaring her victory over their little duel.
Selkid gasped in shock. Then, upon realizing that she had lost, she puffed her cheeks angrily as she fixed Chicoatl with the most hateful glare she could muster.
"Seeeeeeeel...!" the Sea Nymph Pokemon seethed.
"Now Selkid, calm down. This doesn't mean that-" Serena tried to argue.
"SELKID!" Selkid shouted, and launched a Water Pulse into Chicoatl's face.
The attack hit the surprised Green Chick Pokemon in the face, knocking her on her back. The action drew a collective gasp from everybody watching.
"Selkid!" Serena shouted.
Chicoatl got back on her feet and looked at Selkid as tears gathered on her eyes, before the Grass-type Pokemon ran away, crying, disappering behind the shrubbery.
"Selkid! That was completely uncalled for!" Serena angrily chastised.
"Sel!" Selkid huffed, and crossed her arms.
"First you're so rude with Aveden, and now this!" Serena said, throwing her arms into the air. "Just what's wrong with you today!?
"Selkid?" she asked, almost surprised at how angry Serena was at her.
"Is singing such a big deal to you that you get mad when other Pokemon do it? Do you feel like they're overshadowing you or something?" Serena continued.
"S-Sel..." Selkid replied, unfolding her arms, her posture slumping a little. Serena's reprimand was quickly chipping away her bravado and anger. Her trainer could tell that Selkid was starting to feel bad, though if it was because she understood the weight of her actions, or because she didn't want to disappoint Serena, she couldn't tell.
Not that it mattered that much. Serea sighed, and tried to calm herself down, before kneeling before Selkid, and placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Selkid, I know that singing is very important to you. But there are others, both people and Pokemon, who see it another way. A way to have fun, or a way to connect with others. And that's okay," she began. "Neither Aveden nor Chicoatl trying to outdo you or humiliate you or anything like that. Do you understand that?" she asked.
"Kid..." Selkid nodded.
"Then you'll also understand that the way you reacted to the two of them was wrong, and you ended up hurting them," Serena continued.
Once again, Selkid nodded.
"So now it's up to you to fix this mess," Serena said, standing to her full height, towering over the small Water-type. "And the first thing you must do is apologize to Aveden, don't you think?"
Selkid weakly nodded, and walked towards the Bliss Bird Pokemon, standing on the ground next to ass. "Sel, kid, selkid, sel."
"Aveden! Ave!" Aveden happily chirped back. Thankfully, it seemed that Aveden wasn't somebody to hold a grudge.
"Good. Now, we need to find that Chicoatl so Selkid can apologize to her," Serena said.
"Good luck with that. Who knows where Chicoatl is now," Bonnie said, looking around. "This forest is pretty big."
"Leave that to me!" Theo interjected. He waved a hand at his Lunapup. "Lunapup have a really great sense of smell, so I'm sure mine will be able to track that Chicoatl."
"Arf, arf!" Lunapup happily barked in agreement.
"Come on buddy, find that Chicoatl!" Theo told him.
The group returned all of their Pokemon to their pokeballs minus Selkid. Lunapup began to sniff the air, and in no time, he managed to find Chicoatl's track. It seemed that the Green Chick Pokemon didn't go too far away, since they only took a few minutes of walking until Lunapup found her, lying at the edge of a small pond. After thanking his Pokemon for a job well done, he returned Lunapup to his pokeball.
Serena dug into her pocket, pulled a macaron, and handed it to Selkid.
"Here, give this to Chicoatl as a peace offering. Hopefully it'll make her more open to listen to you," Serena instructed the Water and Fairy-type, who nodded.
While the rest of the group stayed behind, the two of them walked slowly towards Chicoatl, who still hadn't noticed their presence. That's it, until Serena cleared her throat, alerting the Green Chick Pokemon, who quickly jumped to her feet and turned around, shocked to see the humans and Selkid back. This time, though, she appeared to be ready to fight back if necessary. Both trainer and Pokemon froze on the spot.
"Chi, chico!"
Serena raised her hands defensively. "Please, calm down. We didn't come here to fight you. I know that what Selkid did to you was awful, but she has something to tell you. Will you listen to her?"
Chicoatl narrowed her black beady eyes at the Water-type Pokemon, clearly not trusting her. Unlike before, Selkid was unable to hold the Green Chick Pokemon's fierce gaze. Eventually, Chicoatl nodded.
"Coa."
"Come on Selkid," Serena enocuraged her.
Selkid closed the remaining gap, and mustered enough courage to look at Chicoatl in the eye.
"Sel, selkid, kid, sel," Selkid began, sounding sincere.
"Chi..." Chicoatl said, her body still tense.
"Sel?" Selkid asked, offering the macaroon.
Chicoatl looked at the piece of food suspiciously. She sniffed it a little, before her eyes grew wide. She tentatively bit a small piece with her beak, and tasted it.
"Chico...?" she asked, as her taste buds enjoyed the flavor. "Chico, chicoatl!"
Chicoatl opened her beak wide, snatched the macaroon from Selkid's hands, and basically swallowed it in one go.
"Chi, chico, coatl!" Chicoatl happily chirped. Judging by her reaction, that macaron was the tastiest treat the Green Chick Pokemon had ever savored.
"So, everything's all right?" Serena asked, hoping the macaron was enough to placate the wild Pokemon. "As Selkid's trainer, I once again apologize for her behavior. I hope you liked that macaron."
"Chi, chico!" Chicoatl agreed.
"You have an amazing voice, Chicoatl. Keep singing and bringing joy and smiles to the Pokemon in this forest," Serena said.
"Chi?" she asked, titling her head.
"Well, I think we're done here," Serena turned at Selkid. "I sincerely hope this doesn't happen again, Selkid."
"Sel..." Selkid shook her head.
"Good. Return," Serena recalled the Water and Fairy-type back to her pokeball, before walking back towards the boys and Bonnie. "Alright, we're done here. Shall we return to the camp?"
…
After making peace with Chicoatl, the group returned to their camp, where they trained and played with their Pokemon before it was time to have lunch. After that, they packed their things, and continued their journey towards Comet Cave.
And after a couple hours of walking, the group finally saw a small mountain rising in the horizon.
"There it is! Comet Cave!" Theo excitedly said, as he began to run towards the mountain. "This time those Rangers won't be able to stop me from crossing it!"
"What are we waiting for? Come on!" Ash said, running after Theo, and quickly catching up to him.
"Theo, calm down! It's not that the cave is going anywhere!" Clemont said, as he and the two girls looked the two excitable trainers rush forward. "Why is that everybody likes to run so much?"
Serena giggled a little. "I guess it's in their nature."
And thus, the group, as well as Theo, prepared to cross a cave for the second time since they arrived to the Tandor region.
"Chico!"
And unbeknownst to all of them, a certain green, four legged bird Pokemon who had been following them for the past few hours would cross that cave as well.
Author's Note: It's been a while since the last time we saw Theo, didn't it? And I believed that this was a good place for him to finally make an appearance after his debut (and if you played Uranium, you'll understand why).
The plot of this chapter was quite the challenge, given that it came after the heels of a chapter that had a pretty standard plot of rogue Pokemon causing trouble for the group. So here I had to wrack my brain in order to come up with somthing different, such as being one of the group's Pokemon who starts the trouble, and the main conflict being soemthing that can't be solved with violence. Hope you liked the end result.
Many of you said you liked scenes from Pokemon's point of view, so I hope you enjoyed those from this chapter as well.
If you're interested in what the Pokemon were singing:
Selkid's Song: Melodies of Life (from Final Fantasy IX)
Avden's Song: Hopes and Dreams (from Undertale)
Chicoatl's Song: Saria's Song (from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarine of Time)
Thanks to Viroro-kun, 61394, cricketlaxwolvesbandy, Fox McCloude, DryBonesKing and hirowriter for reviewing last chapter. And many thanks to Viroro-kun for his help on this chapter, whose edits and suggestions made it so much better.
And as usual, don't forget to leave a review while you wait for the next chapters. Your reviews is what keeps me going :)