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Episode 18

A Wise Horn

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The sun had only just risen in the sky. The orange streaks of light and the fluffy white clouds painted a picture that reminded him of the artwork his mother and Gary adored. A dull ache developed in his chest. Ash was adjusting to life on the road, but after having his brother so close for nearly a week, he found himself thinking of home. His dreams were filled with Acaya and Arca blazing through the fields with yipping Growlithe and Houndour at their heels. Plains and Pins patrolling the borders of their territory with Dora hopping after them. His grandfather riding Wave as the old Gyarados and Fearia brought fish for the young Pokemon. Then Fearia and Granyte would fight over the biggest tuna. After being on the same team for over fifty years, you'd think they wouldn't fight over a fish.

A light cough brought Ash back to the present. "So... thanks for everything," the trainer offered clearing his throat. Ash went over the supplies he'd bought yesterday again in his head. Potions, bandages, antidotes, and food. A ton of food. I think Gore's appetite evolved with him.

"You're welcome for everything," Mr. Fuji told him with a chuckle. Gore huffed and bumped his tusk against Talc's bone. The old Marowak grunted and returned the gesture. Ash shuffled, then turned and strode out of the town's gates. Gore gave an annoyed grunt and strode after him. The boar nudged his side hard enough to make him stumble when he caught up. The young trainer glared at him. "Be sure to drop by when you can!" the veteran called.

"I will!" Ash shouted over his shoulder. After walking for half an hour he gave the Piloswine a sly look. "Your loyal trainer walks without telling you and you attack him," the boy muttered, shaking his head and tugging on the bill of his hat. The swine squealed and stomped his hooves. "And now you're throwing a tantrum! I really should have gotten that Rhyhorn Gramps offered," Ash lamented with a sigh.

Gore narrowed his eyes at him and pawed at the ground. "Or better yet, a loyal Nido!" the trainer added a smirk developing. The Piloswine stared at him, too horrified to give any other reaction. "I mean, they're a much better species than the Swinub line! They eat less, they're smarter, oh and they're less racist," Ash said with a cackle. Gore stared at him blankly, as though truly seeing his partner for the first time. The trainer stopped walking when he realized his Pokemon hadn't moved. Ash's brow furrowed when he saw Gore was still staring in his direction.

The Piloswine's brown eyes were glazed over and unblinking. "Gore?" he ventured taking a step toward the boar. Ash continued when his partner still didn't respond. "It was just a joke, well, the Nido part was, they're re~ally prejudiced and the barbs are a nightmare, Daisy told me Pins poisoned her more times than their opponents." Gore blinked, then his nostrils flared and he displayed his tusks. Ash took a step back. "Uh, G-Gore, you know I'd never actually make a ham outta you right?"

The Piloswine snarled and charged with the white glow of Take Down. The trainer squawked and dove away from the enraged boar. All this for a bad joke? Ash flinched as the crash of his partner ramming reached him. He leaped to his feet and spun. Gore roared and shook his head wildly in an attempt to free himself. Is it a blood rage? Ground and dragon Pokemon were known to run wild without reason occasionally. But Gore had never lost his temper without reason. No matter how slight the reason he always had one.

Ash clutched air as he reached for King's Pokeball. Okay, Willow! Again, his belt was empty. He swallowed. Gore wrenched himself free with a bellow. The swine flipped toward him and spat a gust of snowy wind at him. Ash flinched and brought his arms up to shield his face. He shuddered as the cold passed over his head coating his hat with a thin layer of frost. The trainer uncovered himself slowly.

Gore wasn't glaring at him, he realized, the swine was glaring at something behind him. The swine pawed at the ground and snorted frost. A cackle made the hairs on the back of his stand up. Ash flipped around, and paled at the sight before him. The Fog grinned and waved her three-fingered claw at him. The trainer backpedaled so quickly he stumbled. Gore bellowed and pushed Ash behind him.

Pressure crashed onto him making him gasp and buckle. He managed to catch himself before he was pushed onto his knees though. Why is it weaker? Doesn't matter. Ash glared at the Gengar. They didn't stand a chance if they ran, and they couldn't beat it. But we have to at least draw blood! If she had blood. "Icy Wind!" Gore grunted and shot a burst of powdery wind at the legend.

The Fog's grin widened, then she shot a black beam, that tore through the wind and into Gore. Horror gripped as he saw the large red patch developing on Gore's back. The swine seemed dazed for a moment, before his legs gave out. The Gengar cackled and Ash's breath left his lungs. "Gore!" he screamed, rushing to the boar's side. He fell to his knees and pulled out his Super Potion.

Ash choked on a sob when he saw the wound. A hole the size of the boy's head had been melted through Gore's front to his back. The trainer's vision, blurred then he buried his face into his partner's thick brown fur. His partner, whom he had raised since his hatching was gone. Gore would never steal his food when he wasn't looking. He wouldn't ride on Wave's back again or chase after Pins, or beg his mother and Daisy for scraps. Ash's shoulders shook with the force of his anguished sobs.

The Fog floated in front of the trainer, her eyes dancing with mirth. She extended her right arm and formed a Shadow Ball. Ash shuddered as the now familiar dread crashed into him. He raised his head to glare into the legendary Gengar's eyes. Impossibly, it seemed her grin widened further. Something small and warm burrowed into Ash's side.

An instant later, the purple flames appeared over his head, and soared into the ghost's face. The Fog shrieked and swiped the fire away. She floated several yards away from the flames with a frown. A ball of shadowy energy developed in her palm. The purple fire formed into a ball and shot at the Fog. The Shadow Ball and his defender's attack met, and Ash's world was consumed by a white light.

His eyes snapped as he shot up. Ash panted heavily, vaguely aware of the heat moving and a scurrying sound at his right, and put his face in his hands. A familiar snort made his heart clench. The trainer sucked in a breath and turned to his left. Gore stared back at him and tilted his head to the side.

The pig squeaked in surprise when Ash wrapped his arms around the Piloswine's thick neck tightly. Gore gave a confused grunt before snorting and nuzzling his cheek. The swine moved to hug him with his stubby legs, but only managed to tap Ash's sides. A familiar appendage poked the back of his head lightly. The boy released his partner with a heavy exhale. Though he had just woken, Ash's limbs felt oddly heavy and his head was swimming. Willow shuffled and poked his forehead.

He gave Willow a bright smile and shook the limb gently. The action seemed to reassure the saurian as she curled back up on her pillow. Wait a minute! When the hell did that become her pillow? Ash sighed. I wonder who's training who here? The trainer pushed himself out of the tent. The orange streaks of the rising sun's light made him swallow. It was just a dream. But that's what happened when we said goodbye to Mr. Fuji.

The only difference between the dream and reality was the Fog taking the place of an angry Pidgeotto as Gore's opponent. Pretty damn big difference, though. "Hey, where are the other two?" Ash asked, glancing around the camp. Willow was lying on her pillow, King was lying between a cacti cluster around forty yards away, and Gore was struggling to get out of his tent. Wait, how did he get in there? Question for later. Hellfire and Vulpix weren't anywhere to be found. Usually Hellfire would be curled up on the fire, while Vulpix would lie as close to the flames as she could while avoiding the Houndour. King found their enmity amusing and would often position himself to better watch their antics.

Ash knelt and narrowed his eyes. It was a bit difficult to tell in the poor light, but there looked to be tiny paw prints coming from his tent. The prints led past King and out of the camp. As he followed them, he saw another pair of prints that dwarfed the dainty Vulpix's. Hellfire. The trainer crept around King slowly. Ash knew the crab's hearing was sharp to make up for his poor vision. He didn't think death by his own Pokemon's claw would make his grandfather proud.

He repressed a relieved sigh when he crawled past King without him budging. His eyes widened when saw a small path in the cluster that had familiar paw prints. Ash twitched when he heard a rustle, the instinctual fear of a predatory Pokemon making his neck hair stand. The Ekans line would be resting with full bellies in their dens at this time, and the Nido line wouldn't want anything to do with Gore or King. The Sandshrew line was far less predictable in their patterns, and were far more capable than most gave them credit.

Ash knew better than most. He'd seen Granyte defeat Mr. Robert's prized Onix then turn around and thrash Tracey's Azumarill after all. He would not be killed and eaten by a giant mouse. At least, he wouldn't be eaten before beating the idiot within an inch of his life. Even then Ash would prefer to at least be killed by a Tyranitar or a Gyarados.

The boy wasn't picky.

He winced when he heard a hiss and a pained squeal. It seemed Gore hadn't been able to get by King without waking him. Ash flinched, receiving several spines for his trouble, as he heard his partner squeal and trundle through the path. Ash sighed in relief when he reached the end of the cluster. Standing at his full height hadn't felt so good since Ash had tried following Granyte in a tunnel.

The trainer's eye twitched as more of Gore's pained squeals assaulted his ears. The boar burst from the cacti with a triumphant cry. The trainer was fairly certain the Piloswine had more spines on him than the cacti. "When did I get a Sandslash?" The furious huff, he received made him smile. He yanked the cactus spines out of his shoulder with a grimace. Probably could have been gentler about that. Ash sighed and knelt next to his partner. "You're gonna have to stay still, and you'll probably have to tough it out a bit here." Gore grunted and raised his chin.

After several removed needles and pained squeaks later, he rose. "Smell anything?" Gore glared at him before slamming his nose to the ground. The swine recoiled with a squeak and shook his head vigorously. Ash winced as he saw the small spines lodged in Gore's bloody nose. Vines stretched out and yanked the spines out of the boar's nose. Gore shrieked until a spray of green powder engulfed him.

Sleep Powder? "So you were curious," Ash remarked as Willow strode out of the cluster. Yanking the spines out was a bit much. He wouldn't be correcting her on that at this hour though. King shoved his way out of the cacti a moment later with an annoyed hiss. Several spines rolled off the crustacean's red armor when he shook himself slightly. Gore gave a weak whine, as if to remind the team he was there. King shot a gentle spray of bubbles that washed away the Sleep Powder and blood. Then the crab shot a small burst of snow into Gore's face.

The Piloswine blinked before shaking the frost off. Gore lowered his nose to the earth and rubbed it gently. Really good he's a pig, or that might get him infected. Ash's eyes narrowed, his Pokemon's tracks looked to have been wiped away. Vulpix? Something cold settled in his chest. Ash had come to care for the manipulative and sadistic little creature. if she were gonna make a break for it, she would have a long time ago. It kind of looks like something smoothed the ground over. Like a tail? A really big tail. Almost looks like something didn't want to be tracked. "Oh, crap," he muttered.

Willow and King turned to him with an alarmed and an inquisitive look. Gore was still whimpering and rubbing his injured snout against the dirt. "Do, you, er, see any prints around? Or smell anything?" Ash asked, taking a deep breath. Pins laying in a pool of his own life. They're just hunting. A pit of unease settle in his belly.

The Kingler narrowed his eyes before turning to scour the area. Willow cooed and joined him. The young cow didn't hear the undercurrent of panic in his tone. There were only two reasons he could think of, that could explain the complete disappearance of tracks. Hellfire and Vulpix both being picked up by a bird Pokemon was unlikely at best. They're just hunting. Ash tugged on the bill of his hat.

A powerful earth manipulator could hide their tracks and scent easily. Only other desert dwellers, earth molders, and the greatest trackers could find them if they didn't wish to be found. Their skill could be so great that they didn't even leave tracks when they moved. Rhyperior and Nidoqueen were known to hide their herds, they had no reason to hide themselves, subconsciously. Come to think of it That colossal Onix we met outside Mt. Moon had to have been thrice as heavy as three average Onix combined. But it hadn't left a mark on the trail as it winded its merry way with that weirdo fairy. And it didn't make any sound either. Ash shook his head. He could worry about that later. Hopefully, never. Meeting the Fog had somewhat tempered his desire to fight such beasts.

There's something strong here. If they were fortunate it would just be a young mother or an ambitious Nidorino. If the team wasn't lucky, it could be a grandmother capable of leading a herd and fending off furious bull Donphan. They would need everything to survive her. Willow's quaver and King's frustrated chirp didn't assuage his nerves. They can't smell whatever it is. "Gore!" Ash barked, making the Bulbasaur and Piloswine jump. "Find them! Now!"

The swine Pokemon blinked. Then he huffed and lowered his snout to the earth. Gore sniffed and snorted at the earth before striding ahead with a bellow. Ash raced after him with the team following a moment later. The trainer paled when he heard Hellfire bark. The idiot doesn't know what he's messing with! Gore turned right and barreled through another cactus, making Ash wince.

A roar deeper than the Rocket Nidoking's drew a growl from the swine. Willow's vines grabbed the boy by his shoulder, then he felt a light tugging. Ash gave the Bulbasaur an annoyed look after she landed on his shoulder. Gore slammed his hooves into the earth forcing Ash to a stop as well. A rock larger than he was crashed into the earth, making the team jump in alarm.

Ash hacked and waved the dislodged dust away. The rock, that must have been quite a bit larger than the trainer, was lodged so deeply into the earth that it came up to his chin. It hardened the earth and shot it without enough force to get a foot in the ground. Willow leaped from his shoulder and raced to a thick cluster of cacti to their right. Ash cursed when she disappeared into a small path that had been burned the cluster. Gore bolted after her with a squeal and charged through the cluster. Ash swallowed heavily as he stared at the impressive spines. King glanced at before motioning for Ash to follow with a claw.

The trainer smiled, relieved and raced after the surging crab Pokemon. King's dominant claw took on a metallic sheen as he swiped at the cacti, cutting a path through the cluster with ease. Ash leaped over a now tiny cactus and rolled beneath another cactus's arms. He couldn't help the wild grin that grew. Evolution had pushed King to heights it would have taken years to reach while a Krabby.

The expression grew feral as the crab burst from the cluster with a battle cry. Ash slid to a stop just before exiting the cacti. His team stood around their foe in a half circle with King and Gore on the circle's edges. Where's Vulpix? Ash tugged on the bill of his hat and turned to the enemy.

Their opponent was around eleven feet tall, had stone spikes running down her back that looked to have been about a foot long, and was about as broad as Ash was tall. She was a bipedal, gray creature with a cream colored belly and a horn over thirty inches long. A Rhydon, and as he feared, a very experienced specimen judging by the countless small scars on her chest and belly. There were three boulders surrounding the creature behind Rhydon. The mammal was defending an unmoving gray quadrupedal Pokemon with a tiny hump on its nose. Ash's eyes narrowed. He would need to have a serious talk with his Pokemon. The Rhyhorn was a calf, but its mother would have been a Rhydon of several months at the least. A tough opponent for King or Gore. Ash would need to have a serious talk with his predatory Pokemon.

Rhydon roared and swung a trunk-like arm at Willow. A blade of stone ripped from the earth and soared at the saurian who darted away from it with ease. King and Gore hissed and shot bursts of chilly wind at Rhydon. She grunted and thrust both arms out raising two boulders in the snow's path. Hellfire shot a Flame Burst at her chest, making her lip twitch. Rhydon bared her canines in a grin as the Houndour's ears fell. "Stick to Dark moves!" Ash ordered clenching his jaw.

A Rhydon could live in magma over three thousand and six hundred degrees comfortably. Incinerate and Fire Spin were worthless. Damn. I should have focused on Snarl. "Guys, listen up! Her armor's weaker on the back! Try and give Willow a clean shot if you can!" Ash barked falling to a knee. To his delight, his older team members kept their eyes trained on their opponent as they voiced their understanding.

Hellfire couldn't help sending glance at Ash. Rhydon's eyes narrowed at the perceived disrespect and punched at him, launching a rock larger than the dog's head with such speed that the Houndour couldn't turn back. The Smack Down drew a pained yelp from the dog and knocked him onto his side. Ash's eyes shut tightly. Wave's black and red scales melted by a Dark Pulse. Gore roared, snapping him from his memory, and charged the cow with Take Down. Rhydon spun and smacked the swine with her giant tail, sending the squealing boar tumbling several yards away.

King shot a large spray of bubbles at her that she blocked with one of her boulders. The boulder's surface dented and cracks grew on it, but it held easily under the crab Pokemon's assault. Willow slid to a stop behind Rhydon and shot two seeds into her massive head. The ground-type spun and swiped at the saurian with her tail. Willow's eyes widened in alarm before she flattened herself against the ground. The force behind Rhydon's blow dislodged a cloud of dust that obscured the tiny dinosaur. Her Stone Sense is too advanced! Whether it's a frontal attack or not, she'll be ready.

The old cow cocked her fist back with narrowed eyes. A Bubblebeam slammed into her back, making her bellow in alarm and stumble. Glowing vines sprung from near her head and wrapped around her great horn. Rhydon bellowed angrily and swiped at Willow, who darted away with a squeak. The giant stomped her massive hoof dislodging a blade of rock larger than Ash's head. The rock flew at Rhydon's horn and ripped off the Leech Seed with ease. "Bubblebeam, Icy Wind!" the trainer roared.

King chirped and shot the strongest spray of bubbles he had ever produced into Rhydon's back, making her stumble. Gore shoved himself to his feet and blasted a gust of powdery snow at her. Rhydon's massive tail slammed into the ground, forcing a boulder as tall as she was to take the attack. Then Vulpix leaped over the rocks surrounding the calf with a bark. Rhydon only managed to raise a trunk-like arm as the vixen fired ray of shadowy energy. She shrieked and backpedaled into her own shield when the Confuse Ray burst before her.

Willow slid to a stop in front of Vulpix and shot a seed at the stunned giant's head. The seed exploded in a yellow burst, forcing the old cow to steady herself. She snarled at the younger females and swiped at them with her tail. Willow and Vulpix leaped over the attack, then they rolled away from two Mega Punches that made dents in the earth. The Bulbasaur leaped back fired a cloud of green dust that made the drew a snort from the older cow. Vulpix leaped as far as she could and shot an orb of purple fire into the Sleep Powder.

Ash's eyes widened in alarm as the powder ignited drawing a roar more of surprise than pain, from Rhydon. She tripped, her four-thousand pounds made the earth shake as she crashed into it. "Aim for the shield's top!" King fired a Water pulse that made the boulder shake while Gore charged it with Take Down. The Piloswine rammed the stone shield with a squeal, making its vibrating increase. To Ash's horror the boulder remained standing, then a flare of flame hit the rock and exploded. The shield shook before falling onto its mistress, making her shriek. Hellfire threw his head back and howled triumphantly.

The trainer cheered and rushed to the dog. Ash threw his arms around Hellfire's neck grinning so widely his face hurt. The dog yelped when he touched his eyes. "Sorry buddy," the trainer offered with a wince. The dog's left eye was swollen shut, and he had a long, thin cut next to the eye. Ash winced. Even the Nidoking couldn't claim such raw power with a Smack Down. Gore strode up to them and butted his partner lightly. "You were great too!" Ash laughed, wrapping an arm around as much of the boar as he could.

King gave the Rhydon a dark look before sauntering toward them. The Kingler gave him a salute, then slumped with as much dignity as he could manage. Willow wobbled up to them favoring her left side with Vulpix helping to steady the Bulbasaur with her head. "That was awesome," Ash said, giving them a small smile. Probably gonna have to have a talk about their using Blast Powder so close to themselves later. His smile fell into a frown.

"That's not enough to do more than stun her," the trainer declared, pushing himself to his feet. "We need to move, as soon as Rhyhorn wakes up and starts crying she'l-" A sound like a crack of thunder cut him off. The boulder flew through the air and landed a few yards behind the team. Ash paled. It can't be- Already? "She's snapped run!" he ordered directing them to the cacti cluster. Ash grabbed Gore's ear as the boar tried to charge. "Run!" A blade of stone as large as the shield crashed into the earth before their path.

They turned as one toward the furious grandmother. Rhydon roared, the furious sound reminiscent of grinding boulders, and raised a giant hoof. A whine from behind her made the ground Pokemon freeze. She clenched her jaw and lowered her foot slowly. Ash pushed himself past Gore and King slowly. "Trust me," he said when they gave him furious looks. "Rhydon," he called swallowing heavily when she turned her rage-filled dark eyes to him.

"You're strong. Much stronger than we are. If we keep going you'll beat us worse than when Gore tried dueling with Pins-" Gore squealed a denial until King smacked him with a claw. "But, if you go all out, the calf will get caught up in it for sure!" Rhydon bared her canines and took a step forward. "So, let's… just forget about all this and go our, er, separate, ways," Ash offered twitching under the old cow fierce gaze. In the back of his mind, Ash noted, Gore stiffening and a light vibration in the earth. When he thought he saw the fury give way to reason he continued. "Your daughters and their calves need you right? And every second you're fighting with us leaves them vulnerable to predators…"

Rhydon stood at her full height and narrowed her eyes. Ash's eyes widened in horror as several gray forms strode into view. Rhydon, Rhyhorn, and a few tiny Pokemon he guessed he were the calves. Her herd! Vulpix tugged at the leg of his jeans urgently. Ash swallowed and took a step back. The herd, doubtlessly Rhydon's children, were only thirty yards away. Then Rhydon waved her arm. The boulders surrounding the babe were sent soaring through the air with the motion.

The old cow dragged her hoof against the earth and huffed. The ground beneath the calf sprung up with such force that it was sent flying and squealing at its grandmother. Rhydon snagged the three-hundred-pound calf out of the air with one dull claw. Gore relaxed and King slumped again when she snorted. Rhydon gave the team a curt nod and placed the babe on her shoulder, before turning and striding to her bellowing children.

Ash sank to his knees feeling as though he'd run a lap around the corral. The Rhyhorn line, like the Onix line had to be at least one-hundred years old to evolve in the wild, without very special circumstances. That was an absolute rule even for the greatest prodigies. If he were to guess, he'd put that Rhydon over ninety percent of the Rhyperior in the world. She's definitely way more impressive than Proton's anyway. Willow crawled onto his lap and buried her face in his chest. "And that," he began with a sigh, when the rest of the team surrounded him, "Is why it isn't smart to hunt Pokemon yet." Hellfire barked an agreement.

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Next chapter is one I've been wanting to write for sixteen chapters now.

Vs. Misty.

Everyone, thank you for reading!