I originally wanted to skip this episode, but then I thought I wanted to see Ashley's reaction of her brother being transformed into a Pokémon.
Disclaimer: I do not own any Pokémon characters! I only own my OCs!
Chapter 43: Hocus Pokémon
The weather had cooled down now that we were in a forest in the middle of the mountain heading toward Blackthorn City. According to my PokéGear, the month had switched to September a few days ago after we left the hot mountains. The air was fresh and clean and the atmosphere felt so peaceful.
"It sure is peaceful here at this part of Route 44", Misty commented.
"Togiprii!"
"Yeah, fresh air is the best in the middle of summer", Brock agreed.
"It feels a little odd to think that the Johto League is only a couple of months away", I said, getting Butterfrees in my stomach.
"And we're soon gonna get our final badges to compete", Ash smirked determinedly.
"Murkroow krow!"
A Murkrow came out of nowhere and flew toward us. It cawed repeatedly and acted very friendly. Pikachu even greeted it with a wave.
"Wow, that's a Murkrow!" Ash smiled and grabbed his Pokédex.
Murkrow, the darkness Pokémon. Dark and flying-type. Feared and loathed by many, it is believed to bring misfortune to all those who see it at night. It is said that when chased, it lures its attacker onto dark mountain trails where the foe will get lost.
"It's unusually friendly for a wild Murkrow", Brock pointed out.
"Maybe it belongs to a Trainer?" I wondered.
"Murkrow!" a young woman shrieked happily as she dashed toward us carrying a bag. She was dressed like a wizard with a large pointy hat and a cape. Her eyes lit up when she saw us. "Ah! You found a Pikachu! This is great! Our search's been fruitful!"
For a second, I thought she was going to run into us like a bowling ball. Thankfully, she stopped at the nick of time and snatched Pikachu from my brother's shoulder. It wasn't like in Team Rocket style, it was more like admiration. "What a sweet little baby!"
"P-Pika…!" Pikachu whimpered while the girl rubbed her face against him.
"U-Um, excuse me, but who are you?" Ash asked confusedly.
"Oh, how rude of me!" the girl giggled, finally noticing us. "The name's Lily. I'm a Pokémon Magician!"
"Pokémon Magician?" the four of us repeated confusedly. I had never heard about a Trainer class called Magician before, so this was new to me.
"That's right!" Lily smiled eagerly and put Pikachu down to the ground where he and Murkrow started playing. "I'm so glad I found this Pikachu. I need its Thunderbolt for a new trick I want to master before my next show. I've been looking for one for months and even considered trying finding a Raichu to use a pinch of its fur for a capture Pikachu spell, but both Pokémon are so hard to find in the wild. You get what I mean, right?"
She was speaking so fast and in a weird accent I had a little hard time understanding what she said. It was even worse compared to Pryce's friend Sheila.
"Y-Yeah, Pikachus and Raichus are rare Pokémon", Ash laughed sheepishly. "By the way, I'm Ash Ketchum, nice to meet you."
"I'm Ashley, his twin sister", I introduced myself.
Brock pushed me and Ash back so he could introduce himself with red cheeks. "My dear Lily the Magician, my name is Brock. I think one of your tricks have already worked on me, 'cause I'm under your spell-"
"Step aside, Romeo!" Misty shoved him aside after she put Togepi down on the ground so she could play with the Pokémon. "I'm Misty. Could you show me some of your magic, please?"
"Of course, but why?" Lily wondered.
"When I was a little girl, I loved watching every magic show that came to town", Misty confessed eagerly. "I even wanted to become a magician."
"That was new", Ash spoke. "You never told us that, Misty."
"Everyone has some secrets they want to share later, Ash", Misty retorted irritably before turning back to Lily. "Pretty please?"
"Well, I can't possibly say no to a fellow magician", Lily smiled. "Give me a sec to prepare." She crouched down and opened her bag which contained different tools and labeled bottles. "You see, Pokémon magic is part of science as well. It gets its power from different items involving Pokémon."
"Is it like those fairy tale movies when the witch cooks a potion in a cauldron with different weird ingredients?" I wondered.
"Precisely!" Lily replied. "Minus the cauldron."
"So you're both a scientist and a magician?" Misty asked.
"Yep! To master magic, you need to master science first!" Lily wined.
"I don't think I've ever met a Pokémon Magician before", Brock said.
"Well, that's 'cause it's dying off, so it doesn't surprise me at all", Lily replied while she set up her equipment. She grabbed a book from her bag and flipped through it. "Let's see, where's the magic I want to cast?"
Ash and I looked over her shoulder, realizing the book didn't contain a single modern letter. "I don't recognize those letters. Is it a foreign language?" my brother asked.
"It looks like an ancient script", Brock mumbled.
"This book's been with my family for centuries, so it's very old", Lily explained. "It's been passed down from generation to generation."
"So it's like a family heirloom", I realized.
"Is that a book that contains different magic and spells, Lily?" Misty asked.
"Yep", Lily nodded before she stopped by a page. "There it is! Now, Misty… How would you like to have softer and smoother skin?"
"Softer and smoother skin?" Misty's eyes lit up by the sound of that. "I would love that! My skin's gotten a little rough lately and I need some good skin treatment."
"Your skin looks the same to me, Misty", Ash commented.
"That's because you're as blind as a Zubat!" Misty yelled back angrily.
"Geez, Ash! You should know better not to question a girl's appearance", Brock warned him and pulled my brother back before Misty could grab his collar and shake him.
"What? I was just telling the truth", Ash replied confusedly.
"What about you, Ashley?" Lily asked. "Do you want some skincare too?"
"Umm…", I hesitated and touched my cheeks. They felt a little dry, but I had some lotion with me that I applied every night before bed. "No thank you. I'll pass."
"Guess all the skincare is for me", Misty giggled.
Lily poured some water into a cup and placed it on top of a tiny desk. She turned a small heater on under it and adjusted the heat so the water started boiling gently. She then grabbed some bottles and poured ingredients into the cup. The stuff was pulverized or liquid, not whole like from what I used to see in those movies.
"Earth dug up by a Dugtrio, hair from a Flaaffy's neck and one tiny dried scale from a Magikarp." As soon as Lily dropped the red Magikarp scale into the cup, the liquid started bubbling and foaming like crazy around us. I was a little scared by the development, so I hid behind my brother. I didn't want to get anything weird on me and get affected by it.
"It's almost done", Lily told Misty. "Are you ready?"
"Oh, I'm more than ready!" the redhead nodded excitedly. "I can't believe I'm about to get a beautiful complexion with Pokémon magic!"
"Let's go, Dugtrio! Flaaffy, Flaaffy Dugtrio! Make your magic now, let's go!" Lily started chanting and danced around before she threw one final ingredient into the cup that was some kind of black liquid. "Now, Magikarp, do your part!"
The foam switched instantly into a black color that engulfed Misty. Not only that, but something fell from the trees and landed in front of us. "What was that?" Ash wondered and looked down.
"It's three Spinaraks", I replied, seeing the three green spiders.
They started using String Shot on Misty who panicked as her body slowly got transformed into a mummy in the middle of the foam. "What's going on?! Stop it!"
"What are they doing?" Ash wondered.
"I got it!" Brock exclaimed while holding Misty's Togepi. "The spell attracted the Spinaraks and they're using the web from their String Shot as a layer for skin treatment!"
"Bingo!" Lily nodded. "And the type of silk Spinarak produces is known to be the best silk for skincare."
The foam cleared up and revealed a mummified Misty lying on the ground. She must have lost her strength after the surprise of Spinaraks treating her. "I hate bugs…"
"You okay, Misty?!" Ash hurried to her and helped her sit up by supporting her back.
"No, I'm not okay!" Misty shrieked. "Look at me, I'm covered in web! Get it off me!"
"She's starting to sound like Jessie", I commented while Ash and Pikachu started plucking the sticky web off the redhead's body.
"Don't jinx it, Ashley", Brock sweat dropped.
"Togi togiprii!" Togepi chirped happily.
I ignored his remark and grabbed a Poké Ball from my belt. "Ash, wait. Let Lily take care of this."
"Me?" Lily pointed at herself with a confused expression.
"No, my Pokémon", I told her before I called out my Lily. "Come out, Lily."
"Espeoon!" Lily barked.
"Aha! You nicknamed your Pokémon Lily!" human Lily bumped her fist into her palm in realization. "What an odd coincidence!"
"Murkrow kroow!" Murkrow nodded.
"Lily, can you use Confusion to remove the silk from Misty as gently as possible?" I asked.
"Eon!" Lily nodded. She walked over to Misty whose face was entirely visible after Ash and Pikachu managed to remove the web. Lily activated her psychic powers with the help of her red jewel and enveloped Misty with a blue aura. Slowly and surely, piece by piece, the web was removed from the redhead's body.
"Thank you…", Misty mumbled tiredly as she got help from Ash to get up from the ground. "I'm exhausted already…"
"But your skin does look better", Ash said. "It's almost glowing."
"Really?" Misty recovered swiftly and looked at her arms, seeing how smooth they were compared to before. "You're right! My skin looks a lot healthier!"
"So the magic really worked!" Brock gasped in awe.
"With the cost of Misty facing her fear of bug Pokémon", I added and crouched down to pat Lily's head. "You did a great job removing the silk from Misty. Thank you."
"Eon!" Lily barked happily.
"Thank you so much, Lily!" Misty thanked the magician. "It was worth it enduring those Spinaraks! My skin looks the same as my sisters'!"
"Happy to hear you liked the skin treatment", Lily smiled.
"Hey, didn't you say you needed Pikachu for a new trick?" Ash asked.
"Pika?"
"Right! Almost forgot!" Lily exclaimed. "That trick lets you read a Pokémon's mind."
"Read a Pokémon's mind?" Ash's eyes widened in surprise.
"Right! It's a magic that nobody has ever been able to cast", Lily explained. "I want to become the very first successful magician who cast that spell. There is only one step missing and that's Pikachu's Thunderbolt."
"If humans and Pokémon are able to communicate with each other better, imagine what a better place the world might become", Brock hummed.
"But I've heard some psychic Pokémon can communicate with humans through telepathy", I spoke out, remembering our encounter with Mewtwo months ago.
"Speon!"
"I know that too, but this spell works in a different way", Lily said.
"I want to help you out, Lily!" Ash said. "With your spell and Pikachu's Thunderbolt, we can make it work!"
"Pika pika!"
"Thanks a lot!" Lily smiled before she went through her stuff and checked her book for the list of ingredients. "Let's see… I've got Shuckle's secret cure, powered Stantler horns, yoghurt made from a Miltank's milk, a flower petal marked with the kiss of a Jynx, but I'm missing a couple more ingredients."
"And what are those?" Misty wondered.
"I need Stun Spore from a Parasect", Lily replied. "I've heard Parasects live in this forest, hence why I'm here."
"Murkroow!"
I didn't realize Murkrow had flown away, but now it was back and cawed like crazy.
"You found one?!" Lily exclaimed in relief. "Great! Let's go get it!"
"We'll help you get the Stun Spore!" Ash offered.
"Ugh… As much as I hate bugs, I'll help too…", Misty groaned.
"You sure you're okay, Misty?" I asked, noticing a green shade on her face. "You're looking a little green."
"I'm fine…"
We followed Murkrow who showed us where it found a Parasect. We found the wild Pokémon wandering around a small clearing minding its own business.
"That Parasect looks strong and healthy", Brock commented.
"Which means its Stun Spore will be extra effective", Lily giggled. "Now we just need to agitate it so it does release a nice puff of that spore."
"I'll do it!" Ash said before he and Pikachu rushed to the Parasect. "Let's go, Pikachu!"
"Pika!"
"I hope he doesn't make anything stupid", Misty sighed.
"Togi?"
"I'll step in if anything happens to him", I said, still having my Pokémon outside.
"Espe."
"Hey, Parasect!" Ash blocked said Pokémon's path. "Sorry to bother you, but we need your help with something that requires your Stun Spore. Let's have a battle for it!"
"Pika pika!" Pikachu stood in front of Parasect, his cheeks sparkling.
"Paraaa…!" Parasect hissed aggressively.
"Pikachu, use a mild version of Thunderbolt!"
"PikachUUU!" Pikachu fired a tiny lightning bolt that tickled Parasect's large mushroom.
"Para!"
"C'mon, Parasect! Show me your Stun Spore!" Ash called.
Parasect responded by releasing a cloud of spore, but it wasn't the kind we were looking for. "Para…!"
"Waah!" Ash panicked when he saw the white spore. "That's Sleep Powder, not Stun Spore!"
"Murkrow, use Whirlwind!" Lily called quickly.
"Krow! Murkroow!" Murkrow flew to Ash and moved its wings swiftly, blowing the Sleep Powder away before my brother and Pikachu were put to sleep.
"Thanks, Murkrow!" Ash thanked it.
"Pika pika!"
"Murkrow murkrow!"
"That was a close call", Misty sighed in relief.
"Don't give up now! Try again!" Lily called.
"Right!" Ash nodded. "Pikachu, use the same move again!"
"Pika!" Pikachu nodded and made his body sparkle once again. "PikachUUU!" The new lightning bolt tickled Parasect for the second time, this time with result. Parasect vibrated its body as it released a familiar orange cloud of spore.
"That's the Stun Spore!" Lily called out and swiftly ran into action. She used a mini-vacuum machine to collect the spore before it could touch and paralyze Pikachu. "I've got it!"
"Alright! Let's finish this battle!" Ash nodded. "Pikachu, go all out with Thunderbolt!"
"Pika pi! Pika…CHUUU!"
Pikachu unleashed a real Thunderbolt and electrocuted the wild Parasect. It shrieked in pain as its body and mushroom got scorched by the lightning bolt. It scattered away in a panic, knowing it wasn't strong enough to defeat Pikachu, so the battle came to a peaceful end.
"Great job, Pikachu!" Ash praised his Pokémon.
"Pika-chu!" Pikachu smiled.
"Alright! Only two more ingredients to go!" Lily cheered after she poured the spore in an empty bottle.
"What are the remaining ingredients?" Brock wondered.
"Espeon espeon!" Lily suddenly barked in a panic.
"What is it, Lily?" I asked her.
The answer came from the sky when a mechanical arm grabbed Pikachu and retreated to the balloon belonging to Team Rocket. "PIKAAA!"
"Pikachu!" Ash screamed worriedly.
"Hello again, twerps!" Team Rocket greeted sarcastically.
"Team Rocket!" the rest of us, minus magician Lily yelled out.
"Give Pikachu back!" Ash growled.
"You burned us really hard last time in the mountains, so we're taking compensation from you!" Jessie said while she powdered her face with makeup, trying to hide some burn marks.
"Pikachu is more than enough to pay for the repairs!" James chuckled.
"PikaCHUUU!" Pikachu tried destroying the mechanical arm with his Thunderbolt, but it didn't work.
Meowth cackled amusingly. "We've learned our lessons hundreds of times, so the machine is insulated! Try escaping that, Pikachu!"
"Kyaaah!" Lily suddenly shrieked out like a fangirl, her high pitch voice almost destroying my eardrums. "What a cute Meowth!"
"Huh?" Meowth looked very confused, which was perfect as distraction.
"Lily, use Psybeam to destroy the machine holding Pikachu!" I shouted.
"EspeeeeON!" Lily fired a rainbow colored beam from her beam and struck the arm grasping Pikachu. The machine wasn't immune against psychic powers, so it was destroyed in a few seconds. Team Rocket panicked when Pikachu fell down into Ash's waiting arms.
"Pikachu! Thank Arceus you're safe", my brother hugged him.
"Pika pika!"
"Thanks, sis!"
"Welcome, brother", I winked and gave him a thumbs up.
Jessie wasn't happy to say the least. "Hey, how dare you-"
"The timing couldn't have been better!" Lily shrieked out, interrupting the evil woman. "One of the remaining ingredients is powered claw of a Meowth! Murkrow, go and get one of its nails!"
"Murkroow!" Murkrow delightfully flew to the basket and started pecking Team Rocket.
"Owowow, get off, birdbrain! I'm not a Meowth!" James yelped.
"Watch the hair and my makeup!" Jessie hissed.
"Get your beak off me! I'm not givin' you my claws!" Meowth shrieked as Murkrow tried grabbing one of his claws.
"Go, Murkrow, go, Murkrow!" Lily cheered for her partner like a cheerleader. "You can do it, you can do it!"
Her cheerful attitude infected Murkrow who started pecking around without looking. Before it knew it, it had accidently pecked a hole on the balloon, the air hissing rapidly as the balloon flew away like a jet plane.
"NOOOOoooo…!" Team Rocket screamed as they vanished into the forest.
"No! Come back, Meowth, I need your claw!" Lily shrieked and rushed after the evil trio.
"Lily, wait!" Misty yelled after the magician.
"C'mon, let's go after her!" Ash told us. "She doesn't seem to know Team Rocket is dangerous!"
XXXXXXXXXX
Team Rocket's air balloon hung onto a cliff that was ready to crumble under their knees as they tried crawling to safe ground. Lily was so blinded of getting the claw from Meowth she didn't even care about the danger. I had my Pokémon on standby to use Confusion and levitate the magician if she were to fall off the cliff. Lily plucked a loose claw from Meowth and rushed back to us before the cliff collapsed by the weight of Team Rocket's balloon. I may not like Team Rocket, but I hoped the trees under the cliff managed to cushion their fall and they didn't get seriously injured.
"I've got two important ingredients in less than half a day! This is brilliant!" Lily cheered happily after she crushed Meowth's claw into powder with a mortar and poured it in another bottle. "Now the only ingredient left to get is an Aipom's tears."
"An Aipom's tears?" Misty repeated confusedly.
"How can we get tears from an Aipom?" I questioned. "I don't think Aipom can learn the move Fake Tears."
"Fake Tears are useless for the mindreading spell", Lily informed us. "We need genuine tears from an Aipom as long as it sheds happy tears."
"And then we can cast the spell, right?" Ash asked eagerly.
"Yep!"
"Muurkrow!"
"Aipom, come out, come out wherever you are!" Ash started calling out in the woods like that was going to do the magic trick of luring a random Aipom to us.
"Ash, you don't seriously believe that's gonna work", Brock murmured like my brother lacked common sense.
"Yeah, there's no way an Aipom will waltz up to us like that", Misty said unimpressed.
"Eon!" Lily barked as she turned to the bushes next to us. An Aipom walked past us, but it stopped and turned to see who was standing next to it.
"Aipoom?"
"Your call worked, Ash!" Lily shrieked enthusiastically. "You summoned an Aipom! Aipom, give me some of your tears, please!"
"Aipooom!" Aipom panicked and ran away, getting scared by Lily's eagerness.
"Nooo! Come back, Aipom!" Lily whined and rushed after the monkey Pokémon.
We followed her and tried cornering Aipom, but it outsmarted us. Just as I was about to tell my Espeon to use Confusion to grab the wild Pokémon, a net appeared out of nowhere and caught Aipom. The culprits were none other than Team Rocket who had quickly repaired their balloon after the first fiasco.
"You guys again?!" Ash growled angrily.
"Aipooom!" Aipom shrieked for help as it struggled to free itself.
While we were distracted by the evil team's entrance, a new mechanical arm snatched Lily's bag of ingredients and equipment. "Hey! My bag! Give it back!"
"Nu-uh!" Jessie wagged her index finger. "We're taking over the profession now, young little witch."
"We're gonna use the mindreading spell to conquer every Pokémon on the planet!" James explained.
"What?!" Lily shrieked in horror. "B-But my tricks are meant to unite people and Pokémon!"
"Team Rocket is a group of bad guys who wants to catch every powerful Pokémon!" Brock explained it for her.
"Murkrow, get my bag quick!" Lily told her Pokémon.
"Krow!" Murkrow nodded and flew toward the basket.
"Hah! Not this time, birdbrain!" Meowth launched the mechanical arm at Murkrow after Jessie took Lily's bag. The hand clenched into a fist and punched Murkrow down to the ground. It could have taken a nasty fall, but Brock jumped in and caught the bird Pokémon before that happened.
"Don't worry; we'll add your name in the footnote!" Jessie laughed as the balloon floated away with Lily's belongings and the wild Aipom.
"No!" Lily cried and collapsed on her knees. "They got my stuff and that Aipom! I'll never be able to cast the spell!"
"Don't give up until it's over, Lily!" Ash told the magician. "We're gonna find them and get your stuff back! They're gonna regret messing with us this time!"
"Pika!" Pikachu hissed angrily.
"Lily, use your powers to find Team Rocket", I told my partner.
"Certainly, Master."
"Huh?" I blinked confusedly when I heard that unfamiliar feminine voice in my head. I looked around to see if there was somebody else with us. I glanced back at Lily who stared at me with her big eyes. "Did you…speak, Lily?"
"H-Huh…?" the magician sobbed while she wiped her tears.
"I spoke to you through telepathy, Master", the voice called out.
"Telepathy? So you are the one talking to me, Lily?" I asked.
"Wait! Is your Espeon talking to you, Ashley?" Misty asked.
"Yes", I nodded. "This is the first time she's spoken to me through telepathy."
"Your Espeon must have either matured or become strong enough to be able to communicate with you, Ashley!" Brock exclaimed.
"Guys! We can discuss about that later!" Ash called out, reminding us of the current situation. "Lily, think you can find Team Rocket?"
"Of course", Lily nodded. She must have spoken in a wider area because the others flinched in surprise.
"I heard her voice in my head too now!" Misty gasped.
"What an amazing sensation!" the magician shrieked delightfully. "This must be what we will feel and hear when we cast the mindreading spell!"
"Krow murkrow!" Murkrow cawed happily after it got treated by Brock.
Lily activated her gem that glowed of flowing psychic powers. She looked around before she stiffened in one direction. "This way!"
We rushed with Lily as she led us to a tiny canyon where we found Team Rocket's balloon. Jessie was just about to punch Aipom to get some tears from the Pokémon, but my Espeon swiftly used Psybeam and knocked the bad woman to the ground causing her to release her grip on the poor Pokémon.
"Party's over, Team Rocket!" Ash yelled at them.
"How'd the twerps find us?!" Meowth asked in disbelief.
"It must be the twin-twerp's Espeon", James replied.
"Exactly!" I nodded, glaring at the bad guys.
"Leave that Aipom alone!" Misty yelled while said Pokémon climbed up a cliff to stay safe.
"And give Lily's bag back!" Brock demanded.
"My stuff doesn't mean anything to you crooks 'cause only I can translate the spells in my family book!" Lily growled.
"Murkroow kroow!"
"You're wrong, your stuff means the whole world to us!" Jessie spat back after she recovered from the Psybeam and threw a Poké Ball. "Go, Arbok!"
"Shaaaarbok!"
"You want it back, come and get it!" James threatened and threw a Poké Ball. "Weezing, go!"
"Wheeezing!"
"Arbok, use Poison Sting!" Jessie commanded.
"Shaaaar!" Arbok fired dozens of poisonous barbs from its mouth, heading straight toward us.
"Murkrow, blow them back with Icy Wind!" Lily shouted.
"Muuurkroow!" Murkrow started flapping its wings faster to blow a chilly wind at the incoming Poison Sting attack. The barbs were blown back at Arbok along with the Icy Wind that struck the purple cobra and threw it back into the basket of Team Rocket's air balloon.
"Arbok!" Jessie shrieked worriedly.
"Weezing, use Sludge!" James yelled.
"Wheeez!" Weezing spat sludge from its two mouths toward us.
"Intercept with Psybeam, Lily!" I shouted.
"Espeooon!" Lily screeched and fired a Psybeam at the sludge. The slosh split apart and scattered across the field, almost hitting us. The Psybeam kept going and struck Weezing with a critical hit and sent it crashing onto Team Rocket plus Wobbuffet who had popped out of nowhere. Weezing and the others were sent flying into the basket, crashing on top of Arbok who hadn't had time to recover from Murkrow's attack.
"Your turn, Ash!" I told my brother.
"Gotcha!" Ash nodded. "Pikachu, send them flying away with Thunderbolt!"
"Pika!" Pikachu jumped off my brother's shoulder and charged his body up. "Pika…CHUUU!"
Team Rocket shrieked as they got electrocuted along with the balloon. The Thunderbolt lasted until the balloon exploded and sent the bad guys and their Pokémon far up into the sky and away to the unknown.
"LOOKS LIKE TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF AGAaaaain…!"
"WOOOBbuuufeeet…!"
"And that's another victory for us!" Ash cheered happily.
"Pika pika!"
Lily rushed to her abandoned bag and inspected it. "I've got everything! Thank Arceus they didn't throw them away!"
"Aiipoom aipoom oo-oo-oom!" the wild Aipom was cheering and laughing so hard at Team Rocket's demise that it actually shed some tears.
"Guys, the Aipom's tears!" Brock called out in a panic.
"We need the tears before they evaporate!" Misty shouted.
"Lily, get the tears with Confusion!" I panicked.
"Eon!" Lily barked and made her eyes glow by Confusion. Aipom's tears were caught with her psychic powers before they could drop to the ground.
The magician swiftly grabbed an empty bottle and opened it so Lily could put the tears in there. As soon as the two heavy drops were in the bottle, human Lily screwed the cap on and cheered happily. "Yay! The hunt is finally over! I've got the Aipom tears for the spell!"
"Murkrow kroow!" Murkrow cheered alongside his Trainer.
"That was quick thinking of you, Ashley", Ash said.
"I actually panicked", I confessed with a sheepish laugh.
Aipom wiped its eyes dry before it waved goodbye to us and ran off to the forest. We followed its example and went to a clearing where Lily could finally cast the spell. Before that, I rewarded my Lily with a nice treatment of brushing her fur clean and fed her some fresh berries I foraged.
"Thank you for all your help today, Lily", I thanked her while I prepared calling her back to her Poké Ball.
"It was my pleasure, Master."
"Yeah, I should thank you as well, Poké-Lily", the magician crouched down and gently scratched the back of my Pokémon's ear. "I couldn't have gotten the Aipom tears and my bag back without your help. Thanks a lot!"
My Espeon purred in delight by the affection she received. I recalled her to her Poké Ball so Lily the Magician could prepare everything for the spell. She set up her mini-laboratory with a new cup of water and started pouring one ingredient after another.
"Shuckle's secret cure, powdered horn of a Stantler, yoghurt made from a Miltank's milk, flower petal marked with the kiss of a Jynx, Parasect's Stun Spore, powdered claw from a Meowth and…the tears from an Aipom."
As soon as the tears dropped into the cup, it started bubbling and created huge foam that swept around us. "Who wants to be the first volunteer?" Lily asked.
"Me! Pick me!" Ash waved his arm eagerly.
"Alright, Ash! Now I need Pikachu's Thunderbolt to activate the spell", Lily informed him.
"This is it…", I mumbled concernedly and stepped back so I wasn't engulfed by the foam. Misty and Brock did the same thing so Ash would be the only one affected by the spell.
"Shuckle shall run amok, Stantler's horn and all the rest, finish it off with Pikachu's best!" Lily chanted and spun around with a wink which made Brock clutch his chest like his heart was giving him pain.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash called.
"Pika!" Pikachu nodded and fired a Thunderbolt right into the cup. The foam immediately transformed into thick yellow smoke that engulfed Ash. We couldn't even see his silhouette, it was that thick.
"Guys… I feel like I'm getting into Pikachu's mind…", Ash commented, but his voice sounded different.
We waited anxiously for the smoke to clear up and when it did… I screamed in horror of what I saw. "A-A-A-Ash! What happened to you?!" My mind was going into overdrive by the spell's effect.
"What?" Ash blinked confusedly. "Why are you panicking, Ashley? Wait… Why are you guys so big?"
My brother had transformed into a Pikachu! He was the exactly same size as Pikachu, but the fur on his head was similarly shaped like his hair and he wore his signature cap.
"Um, Ash… You're the one who shrunk and…", Misty crouched down and grabbed her hand mirror from her bag. "This is what you look like."
Ash stared at the reflection for a couple of seconds and blinked before he realized what had happened to him. "I'm a Pikachu?! How did this happen?!" He started panicking and pulled himself to see if he could peel the skin off, like it would make him turn back into human.
"Strange. That's not how it's supposed to happen", Lily mumbled confusedly.
"Can you turn him back to normal?" Brock asked concernedly.
"Let me check…", Lily opened her spell book, but gasped in shock when she flipped a few pages. "No way!"
"What is it, Lily?!" Brock panicked.
"The spell goes on to the next page, but they are smudged by Weezing's Sludge I can't read it!" Lily cried and showed us the dirt pages caused by James' Weezing and its Sludge attack. "What have I done?!"
"D-Does this mean…Ash will be a Pikachu…forever?" I asked worriedly, feeling a little nauseous.
"No, thankfully, spells don't last for long, so Ash will be back to normal in less than twenty-four hours", Lily calmed down.
My brother calmed down after hearing the happy news. "Well, in that case, this is awesome! I'm a Pikachu! Pikachu, Togepi, Murkrow, let's play!"
The Pokémon happily joined Ash and they started playing around and having fun. Now that I had calmed down too knowing he will become human again, I giggled at the sight. My brother always had a unique way communicating and attracting Pokémon ever since we were kids. I was getting a little jealous, but I got over it. I now had a psychic Pokémon that I could communicate with through telepathy, so it was a win for me.
"You know what, maybe the spell did work on Ash", Misty commented.
"Yeah, Ash is definitely inside the mind of a Pikachu", Brock nodded.
"Maybe in his past life, Ash was a Pokémon", I joked.
We decided to have some lunch and shared the food with Lily and Murkrow before we split up to continue our way to Blackthorn City.
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Ashley's party:
Cedric the Pupitar (male)
Mystic the Togetic (male)
Victor the Houndoom (male)
Lily the Espeon (female)
Queendra the Seadra (female)
Poseidon the shiny Gyarados (male)
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Ashley's Pokémon at the Lab:
Trica the Furret (female)
Wanda the Gyarados (female)
Aria the Lapras (female)
Hikaru the Ampharos (male)
Axel the Scyther (male)
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Ashley's roaming Pokémon:
Crystal the Suicune (genderless)
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Ash's party:
Pikachu (male)
Bayleef (female)
Cyndaquil (male)
Dunsparce (male)
Heracross (male)
Phanpy (male)
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Ash's Pokémon at the Lab:
Tauros (male)
Ivysaur (male)
Snorlax (male)
Kingler (male)
Poliwrath (male)
Wartortle (male)
Shiny Noctowl (male)
Croconaw (male)
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Ash's roaming Pokémon:
Entei (genderless)
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Misty's party:
Staryu (genderless)
Psyduck (male)
Togepi (female)
Poliwhirl (male)
Lanturn (female)
Corsola (female)
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Misty's Pokémon in the Cerulean Gym:
Goldeen (female)
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Brock's party:
Geodude (male)
Onix (male)
Crobat (male)
Pineco (male)
Magcargo (male)