Disclaimer: The following is a work of fan fiction written by someone who enjoys Pokémon and creature features. Pokémon is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, The Pokémon Company, Creatures Inc. and Satoshi Tajiri. Please support the official release.
Listening to as I hunt Bigfoot: In the Swamps Dark Center (Sly Cooper)
Lycan Mystery Dungeon: The Cryptid
To say it rained the next day would be an understatement. To say it poured would not do the weather justice. A better description would be to say that Kyogre somehow traded its fins for a pair of wings and flew all the way over to Pallet Town where it decided to soar around in circles for hours on end.
The rain was so thick that whenever Ash looked over at the window he was briefly convinced someone placed a waterfall just outside his house. It was safe to say that nobody was going anywhere in that weather. Not that Ash even felt like going outside to begin with.
Throughout the storm Ash kept replaying the events of the previous day in his head. Gary's Pokémon journey announcement, nearly biting Gary, the professor's barley contained anger, as much as Ash tried to forget about it and move on, he just couldn't put it out of his mind. As a result Ash spent most of that evening sitting in his room, watching Pokémon League videos on his computer.
When Ash's mother returned, she immediately knew something was off. Initially she gave Ash some space when he kept quiet, but came a knocking the next morning. The empathy she natural felt towards Ash as his mother multiplied when her body made its usual midnight switch from human to Lucario.
Predictably, Delia wasn't pleased when Ash confessed that he almost broke one of her most important rules: no biting humans. However, through Ash's aura she could feel that the boy was genuinely sorry for his actions. As such Delia kept Ash's punishment relatively light. Ash was grounded from watching Pokémon League videos, playing video games, and card games until further notice. Normally cutting Ash off from his favorite past times would have sent him into a frenzy, but oddly enough Ash couldn't bring himself to care. If anything it was kind of a relief to have his usual comforts taken away as at this point it felt like they were taunting him with a destiny he couldn't obtain.
The somber atmosphere, not helped by the rain, lasted the rest of the day. Delia tried to snap Ash out of his funk by inviting him to help her with some baking and family games, but the boy maintained his depressed demeanor. When Pichu showed up the next day to ask if Ash could play, Delia practically threw Ash out the front door with the orders to have a wonderful day. An order that was made a little more difficult thanks to the town's new swampy terrain.
Thanks to the intense storm, Pallet Town and the surrounding areas were completely soaked. There was a layer of moisture coding every inch of plant and earth drenching Ash's feet with every step he took. Said steps were accompanied by audible squishes and splashes as there was a puddle or plot of mud every few feet. Even the air was wet creating a murky fog that caked the air.
With everything turned into a wet mess, Ash and Pichu decided to grab Ash's fishing gear and head over to Route One. While the heavy rain made most Pokémon and humans miserable, water Pokémon predictably enjoyed the boggy weather causing them to become more active. And more likely to bite.
"Why are you so down?" Pichu asked from his vantage point atop Ash's head.
Ash took a deep breath. It was awkward enough explaining it to his mother, but he might as well get it over with and clue Pichu in. "A new guy moved into town this last week, the professor's grandson. He's been a real pain. Making fun of me, skipping school, and he just seems to get rewarded for it. I got mad and almost bit him."
Pichu peaked down over the brim of Ash's hat. "That's not a big deal. You're a dog. Cats scratch, birds peck, electric types shock, and dogs bite. Pokémon attack when irritated, nothing wrong there."
"Maybe it's not a big deal for wild Pokémon," Ash explained as he readjusted the fishing rod on his shoulder. "But giving a human a good bite could seriously injure them. My mom is very strict about biting."
Ever since Ash was little, his mother drilled into him to never bite humans. He could bite his food, he could bite his toys, he could even playfully nibble other Pokémon. But his teeth were forbidden from even so much as touching another human's skin. One time he began to playfully wrestle with one of the kids from town. During that event he almost gnawed at the other boy's leg out of reflex only to be yanked away by his mother. She didn't let him get close to other kids for a while after that.
Mirroring Ash's frown, Pichu climbed down to his human friend's shoulder. "Well, we can't change what happened. Why don't we just do some fishing? It beats moping around."
"I guess you're right," Ash concieded as the duo settled at the riverside. Settling down on the least muddy section of the river, Ash cast the line and waited.
It didn't take long for Ash to feel a tug at his line. Sitting up, Ash pulled and reeled until a large, orange fish with yellow whiskers and yellow and white fines. The fish, which was a Pokémon called Magikarp, flopped around on the line until its wide eyes spotted Ash and Pichu.
"Ah! A fisherman!" exclaimed the Magikarp. "You may have tricked me with a juicy worm this time, but I won't fall for your tomfoolery again!"
The Magikarp then let go of the hook and dropped back into the water. Ash and Pichu shared a mischievous smirk before grabbing another worm for the hook and recasting the line. They successfully hooked the same Magikarp.
"You got me again!" exclaimed the Magikarp.
Both Ash and Pichu burst out laughing. Before the Magikarp could once again flop back into the water, Ash heard a familiar voice come from the other river. "Chill, it's just a Magikarp"
Gary! There was no escaping this guy! In addition to his usual wardrobe, the boy was wearing a long sleeved, black jacket and had a pair of head phones around his neck. Judging by the pole his was carrying, Gary was also out to do some fishing.
Spotting Ash's glare, Pichu leaned over to Ash's ear. "Is that the guy?"
"Yep," Ash muttered.
"Is that your Pichu?" Gary's voice snapped Ash out of his conversation.
"No, he's just a friend," Ash answered. After their last interaction, Ash was determined to have nothing to do with Gary. "Could you go away? This is our fishing spot."
"Your fishing spot, huh?" Gary replied with a hint of mockery in his tone. He then sat down on a nearby rock and cast his own rod.
A low growl emitted from Ash's throat. He cut it off when he felt a nudge from Pichu. "Ignore him."
"Yeah, yeah," Ash muttered turning his attention back to the river.
"You say something?" Gary called out.
"I said yeah! Go ahead and fish here. I don't care!" Ash called back.
Shrugging, Gary placed his headphones over his ears and began attending to his own rod.
"If he bothers you so much, maybe we should just go to a different spot," Pichu suggested.
Ash scowled. "No way! I was here first!"
"Oh brother," Pichu sighed.
The three sat in silence for a good long while until Ash felt a tug on his line. Ash gave it a firm yank, but whatever was on the other end pulled back harder. So Ash gave an even firmer yank. In response the line pulled back even harder.
Standing up, Ash gripped the rod and continued to pull. He moved and shuffled around in an attempt to get a better vantage point. It was as Ash moved around that he caught sight of Gary. The Oak boy seemed to also have a bite and was tugging at his line in the opposite direction off Ash. Catching Ash's eye, Gary yanked his poll. As the other boy yanked, Ash's line gave a powerful tug.
"Your line's interfering with my catch!" Gary called over to Ash. "Let go!"
"You let go!" Ash fired back, pulling at his own line.
From his spot on Ash's shoulder, Pichu watched the dueling fishing lines with a glazed over expression. "You know, you guys might just be fighting over trash."
"Not now, Pichu," Ash said as he continued to pull at his line.
The pair of boys continued to fuss and fight over their lines. As their game of tug of war went on, they found themselves moving down the river bank and near a bridge. Finally, Ash put all his power into one final pull. Though he was not in his Riolu form, Ash was still a very physically fit kid and his superior strength won out causing Gary's line to snap.
The force of the snap resulted in Ash to falling backwards. His rod slipped out of his hand and went flying back into the tree line bringing his catch along with it. Ash didn't get a good look at what it was that tangled the lines, but whatever it was gave a small glint before disappearing into the foliage.
"What was that?" Ash wondered out loud.
Gary, meanwhile, ran across the bridge and past Ash. "I'll find out!" he called over his shoulder.
"Hey!" Ash shouted. He immediately scrambled to his feet, almost dropping Pichu in the process, and gave chase.
Even though Gary had a head start, Ash was fast. He was able to catch up to Gary just as the other boy was about beat him to the lost rod. Right before Gary could reach down to pick up the item the rod hooked, Ash leapt forward and pounced on Gary sending both boys tumbling forward.
TWING!
The boys landed in a section of the woods that had a suspiciously numerus amount of leaves on the ground. The second their bodies made contact with the leaves a massive net encircled the group and hauled them upwards.
"What the-"
"Ow!"
"Hey! Get your foot out of my face!"
"Stop poking me with your elbow!"
"Pi! Pichu!"
After a fair bit of kicking, squirming, and several electrical zaps, the three captives had managed to untangle themselves. Ash and Pichu were taking up half the net while Gary leaned up against his side.
"Who put this net here?" Gary asked in annoyance.
"No idea," Ash responded. He turned his upper body to get a better look at the net. The ropes were thick and sturdy. Whoever laid this trap was after something big. "Can you chew through this, Pichu?"
The little mouse leaned forward and gave the rope a quick sniff. "I think I can, but it'll take a bit."
Pichu then squeezed himself out of the net and climbed until he reached the main rope suspending the trap. While the little rodent went to work gnawing at the rope, Ash turned his attention back to Gary.
"So," Ash said slowly. "What was on the lines?"
Rolling his eyes, Gary tossed a small object to Ash. "Here. You can keep it if you want it so bad."
"You were chasing after it too," Ash grumbled as he caught the object. Looking down Ash found that the object that tangled their lines was a Poke ball. The ball was tiny, indicating it was disarmed when it was lost. Its shell was covered in scratches and rust, making it clear that the ball was now nothing more than a useless husk of metal.
"A broken, old Poke ball?" Ash said.
"Told you it would be trash!" Pichu called down in a teasing tone.
"You don't have to rub it in!" Ash shouted back up to his friend. "No need to be so high and mighty about it!"
"I'm the one who has to get you two out of this mess," Pichu mocked. "I'll be as high and mighty as I want!"
"Shut up and chew," Ash muttered.
From across the net, Gary looked at Ash like he was a crazy person. "Why are you talking with your Pokémon?"
"Okay, one, I told you earlier Pichu's not my Pokémon. He's just my friend," Ash huffed. "Two, trainers talk with their Pokémon all the time."
"There's a difference between saying a sentence or two to a Pokémon and pretending to have full on conversations with them," Gary said pointedly.
Ash was about to respond when he heard the voice of a man. "Over here! There's something in this trap!"
Another voice, this one female, joined in. "It must be the Route One Monster! Time for a promotion!"
"Told ya twos coverin' the forest with traps was a good idea!" came in a third voice.
SNAP!
It was at this moment that Pichu finished chewing through the main rope causing the net and its captives to fall to the forest floor. Pichu quickly scurried down the trunk of the tree and to Ash's side. Groaning, Ash slowly got to his feet. When he stood, he was met with the sight of three people wearing trench coats, sunglasses, and fedoras.
The first of the trio was a woman with long, magenta hair sticking out from under her hat. She regarded Ash and Gary with an annoyed scowl. "That's no Route One Monster," she said with a click of her tongue. "It's just a couple of twerps."
Coming up next to the woman was a man with blue hair. He bent down to inspect the ropes of the net. "My hands still hurt from weaving together all those nets," he scowled at Ash. "You have some nerve ruining all that hard work!"
Ash glowered at the man. "It wasn't like we were trying to get caught in your net! Why do you even have a net here anyway? Just who do you think you guys are?"
At Ash's question, the woman smirked. "You want to know who we are? Well then, you better prepare for trouble."
Right as the woman finished her sentence the man stood tall. "And you should make it double."
For a moment it sounded like the pair was ready to recite…something. But before they could continue the third member of their group, a very short man, leapt in the air and began clawing at their faces. "Shut up! Shut up!"
Had there been music starting up as the two made their introduction, this would be the part with a record scratch.
While the other trench coated humans whined and nursed their faces, the short human turned to face Ash. This man seemed to have some kind of dwarfism judging by the size. He was so short that even a kid like Ash towered over him. What's more he had an abnormal amount of hair on his round face making it look like he was covered in cream colored fur and whiskers. There was also a faint feline smell whiffing from him. Poor guy must get a lot of stares.
The short man spoke with a fanged mouth. "Please ignore my associates," he said in a thick city accent. "Dey have a tendency to get theatrical if you know what I mean."
The woman sniffed and turned her attention towards Ash and Pichu. "Rude interruptions aside, it looks like someone chewed straight through our net!"
From his spot next to Ash's legs, Pichu's eyes darted back and forth. Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Pichu awkwardly stepped back behind Ash's leg.
"Well, well. That's a guilty look if I'd ever seen one," smirked the woman. She then shifted her gaze toward Ash. "Seeing as how your Pichu chomped our ropes, you should pay for the damages. Or else."
Ash opened his mouth to argue, but was cut off by Gary. "Or else what? You'll call the police on us? Actually, that sounds like a good idea."
As soon as Gary finished that thought, his hand slipped into the pocket of his jacket and took out a device. "If you'd like, I can call up the police and they can help us sort out this rope deal. And while we're at it, you guys can explain to them why you set up the trap to begin with. I'm assuming you have the proper license for this kind of thing."
The trio of trappers stiffened at the mention of the cops.
"License?" asked the blue haired man weakly.
"Well, yeah. Setting up Pokémon traps without a license would be pretty bad. That and I think we may have been injured when YOUR net snagged us helpless by standards," Gary began pressing some buttons on the screen's surface. "I'm also assuming you have legal clearance to place all those other traps scattered around these woods you mentioned earlier, right?"
The trio began to sweat bullets. The short man spoke up again, this time in a more nervous tone. "Der's no need to bring the local authorities into this. It's just a little misunderstandin'."
Gary brought his phone up to his ear. "Hello? Officer Jenny?"
That made the trio jump in the air. They began running around the clearing in panic, grabbing the net and any other piece of equipment they left behind for the trap. The three then jetted out of the clearing yelling something about going to clean up the rest of the evidence.
Smirking, Gary pocked his phone and started walking away.
"Uh," Ash said slowly. "Shouldn't we stay and wait for the police?"
"The police aren't coming," Gary replied. He took his phone back out. "This isn't a phone. It's just plays music for my headset."
As the other boy walked away, Ash and Pichu shared a quick look. Ash then scooped Pichu up and proceeded to follow Gary. "Hey! Gary!"
"Hmm?" Gary stopped and looked over at Ash.
"Thanks for scaring those guys off," Ash said as he caught up.
"It was no big deal," Gary smirked. He tried to sound modest, but Ash could hear the usual smugness creep into his voice. "Like I was going to let a bunch of dumb weirdos get away with netting me."
Gary continued to walk off. "Route One Monster," he scoffed.
"The Route One Monster hunters do seem to keep getting crazier," Ash agreed. At least once a month there were some group of cryptid hunters that would visit the area in an attempt to get a glimpse of now infamous monster. These groups ranged from small time UFO enthusiasts to teams from famous monster hunting shows. Ash's pack was fairly familiar with the latter as their TV teams would usually pop into his mother's diner for a meal and a strategy session. The TV crews would also try to interview Professor Oak for any insight, though much to their disappointment the professor would always tell whoever asked that the monster was probably just a misidentified Pokémon.
"I don't know," Pichu said as he climbed from Ash's arms to his shoulder. "I don't think anyone's going to top those guys who tried to dump blended festival food around the woods."
Ash's statement caught Gary's attention. "You know about this monster?"
"Pretty much everyone in Pallet Town knows about it," Ash responded. "Almost ten years ago a large fire type Pokémon showed up to a festival that was being held on Route One. The Pokémon went on a rampage burning down the festival and killing humans and Pokémon alike."
"What did the Pokémon look like," Gary asked. Surprisingly, he didn't give off a hint of insult or sarcasm as he spoke. He actually sounded curious.
"Most versions of the story say the monster was a canine," Ash explained. "From there, nobody really agrees exactly what it looked like. Some people say it stood on four legs, some say two. Some say it had a crocked jaw that constantly spat fire. Other people say it had spikes covering its arms."
"I'm guessing nobody captured it?" Gary asked. A reasonable assumption. If someone captured the creature, then people would defiantly know what it looked like.
"Actually I think they did, but it escaped," Ash said.
"And nobody took a picture or registered it to their Pokédex?" Gary probed skeptically.
"I think it was taken to a Pokémon Center, but the security cameras were undergoing maintenance that day," Ash said slowly. When you said it out loud, it did sound fishy. "Scary Stacey says that some people believe the camera maintenance was just a cover story. They think someone from the Pokémon League pulled the footage."
Gary looked confused. "Scary Stacy?"
"She's the girl who sits in the back with the ghost hoodie," Ash explained. Gary should know who Scary Stacy was. Ash was pretty sure that the girl tried to slip Gary a love potion last week. Or maybe it was poison. It was hard to tell with that girl.
"Oh, that one," Gary hummed. He fell silent for a moment before addressing Ash again. "Do you know where the festival was held?"
Ash blinked. "Why?"
"I want to check it out," Gary replied. Ash could almost hear the "duh" at the end.
"What for?" Ash asked incredulously. He squinted his eyes. "You're not going to try look for the monster are you? You do know it doesn't exist, right?"
"Of course I don't believe it exists," Gary laughed. "A Pokémon that destructive would have showed up more often. I just want to see the spot where this festival took place."
Ash thought over Gary's request. The site of the attack was just a short hike away. His mother wasn't expecting him back until later, so time wasn't an issue. Plus, the Pokémon on Route One were fairly harmless. Well, except for one Pokémon but so long as they steered clear of her territory they should be fine. Ash looked over at Pichu. The mouse caught his eye and gave a little shrug.
And just like that, Ash found himself on a hike with Gary. Given the events from the previous week, Ash would have expected this adventure to be a painful babysitting mission, looking after the professor's smart-mouthed grandson. As it turned out, the most difficult part of the hike was navigating the soggy terrain. Maybe it was because it was because Gary had more time to settle in or perhaps it was because they were doing something Gary was mildly interested in, but Ash found himself meshing a lot better with the new kid.
Throughout the trek to the fairgrounds, Ash and Gary were actually able to have some civil conversations. They talked about Pokémon battles.
"Did you catch that match between Lance and Steven?" Ash asked. Lance was the new champion of Kanto and Johto. He was supposedly form the Ice Mountains that ran along the border between the two regions, though it was hard to say for certain. Not much was known about the man aside from his preference for dragon and dragon-like Pokémon.
"Of course I did. That's probably going to be his only match for the year," Gary replied, using a large stick to push away some of the tall grass.
"What do you mean?" Ash asked in confusion. Champions, elite fours, and other professional trainers did exhibition matches all the time.
"Haven't you heard? The guy's hard to schedule," Gary said as he swatted at another thicket of grass, causing a Pidgey to fly away. "He's a prima dana. He'll only make a televised appearance if the people filming him use a special digital camera and he won't allow live audiences."
"That is weird," Ash agreed. "It was still a good match though."
"Oh, no question about that. The guy's got skills," Gary nodded. "But that's just going to make it all the more satisfying once I take him down."
"You think you're going to take on a champion?" Ash asked dubiously.
"Why not?" Gary smirked. "Half of his team has a glaring ice weakness. I just need to find a Pokémon who can deal ice damage and tank his dragons' attacks and that champion title will be as good as mine. Besides…"
Gary turned around and gave Ash a challenging grin. "Don't tell me you haven't even thought about challenging him to a battle."
Even though Ash didn't respond to Gary's jab, internally he had to admit yes. Yes he had daydreamed on so many occasions on taking on the dragon master and the rest of the champions. It hurt to think about it given his current situation, but he wanted it so bad.
After discussing some other match ups they talked about Pichu.
"So you hang out with a Pichu, but you haven't caught it," Gary asked looking at how well behaved and tamed the wild Pokémon was.
"Pretty much," Ash affirmed. He then held up a few fingers clumped together towards the mouse. Not missing a beat, Pichu leaned forward and high-fived the fingers with one of his tiny palms. "We met when Pichu and his sister were attacked by a Nidorina. I saved them!"
"After I softened her up for you," Pichu scoffed.
"How did you deal with the Nidorina?" Gary asked. "You don't have a Pokémon, do you?"
"Uh no," Ash's mind rushed to come up with an explanation that omitted him fighting the Nidorina in the body of Riolu. "My mom bribed it with some sandwiches."
"Technically true," Pichu said with a nod.
Luckily Gary accepted the simple explanation and left the story at that. The conversation then moved on to Gary's Pokémon journey.
"I'm thinking of taking Squirtle," Gary declared. "If I can get it to evolve into a Blastoise I'll have a party member who can tank hits and hit back even harder."
"I'd just go with Squirtle because the Squirtles at the lab are always fun to hang out with," Ash admitted. "It would also be pretty cool to go with a Pokémon who can help you out in a water fight."
"That's a good reason too," Gary agreed. "So what would be your back up choice? Because I'd go with Charmander."
"I mean, Charmanders are cool, but you should probably know that the nearest gyms use rock and water types," Ash warned. "You'd be better off with a Bulbasaur."
"That doesn't matter. I'm so good that I can work with any handicap," Gary bragged. "I'll tell you what, on the off chance you beat me to the starters, my Charmander will defeat your Squirtle in our first official battle."
A premature declaration of victory against him should have gotten Ash fired up. Instead he just felt somber. "I'm not going on a Pokémon journey."
That statement earned Ash a droopy eared look of sadness from Pichu and a questioning glance from Gary.
"Why?" Gary asked.
"My mom is worried that I'll run into trouble or something," Ash lamented. "And Professor Oak's not going to give me a sponsorship without her permission."
"Sorry, Ash," Pichu said sadly. In response Ash gave his friend a small smile and scratched the mouse's chin.
"Then don't ask for permission," Gary suggested. "Sneak out when your mom's not looking."
Ash froze at the suggestion. Sure he wanted to go on a Pokémon journey and it was looking like there was no way to do it by the book, but to go behind his mother's back? That just felt too cloak and dagger for Ash's tastes. Besides, Ash could think of several problems off the top of his head. "What about supplies? Or a starter Pokémon?"
"A starter Pokémon's easy. All you need is an empty Poke ball. Just toss it at low level Pokémon and boom. Starter. Heck, you could probably use it on your Pichu friend since he already likes you," Gary explained. "As for supplies, just check to see if you have any loose change around the house and use it as a starting fund. Do some foraging and some odd jobs on the road and you should be fine."
While Gary explained Ash's new option, Ash felt his heart race. He had been trying for a long time to convince his mother to let him go on a journey and at least see the rest of Kanto, but was met with a no at every turn. Given that pretty any trainer who came through Pallet Town got their starter and sponsorship from Professor Oak, Ash never considered another option. "What about the league? The Indigo Plateau needs parent's permission for kids."
"Go somewhere else," Gary said with a sly smile. "There are other leagues out there and some of them don't even ask for parents' permission in their paperwork."
A war raged within Ash. If he took Gary's idea, then he would basically be stealing from his mother and running away from home. On the other hand, he tried to play by her rules and was getting nothing.
"Ash!" Pichu's squeaky voice sounded surprisingly firm. "Don't do it! I know you want to go on an adventure, but you shouldn't do it by back stabbing your pack. They love you!"
Pichu's words caused Ash's shoulders to slump. Now he felt like a huge jerk for even considering Gary's idea. Ash looked over at the other boy. "Thanks, Gary. But Mom and Professor Oak care about me and I don't want to betray them."
Ash half expected Gary to laugh and make fun of him for being such a sap, but was surprised when the boy's face darkened into a scowl. "Maybe your mom cares, but don't be fooled by gramps. He could care less."
With that statement, Gary continued down the trail. Ash stood in a stunned silence at the amount of venom in the boy's voice. Jogging forward, Ash spoke to Gary. "What do you mean?"
"Gramps is just following the parent's permission rule. I doubt he cares about any of the kids he sponsors. He just wants them to go out and gather data for his dumb job," Gary spat.
Okay, that defiantly didn't sound right. Thanks to aura, Ash's Riolu form was pretty good at telling whether people were being genuine or not. During his time volunteering at the lab, Ash witnessed the professor interact with a whole bunch of trainers. Whether it was happiness for a trainer for winning a competition or concern for a kid that was about to head into a dangerous area, Ash could sense that Professor Oak was a very genuine man.
"That's not true. I've known the professor my entire life. He's a really caring person who tries to help both humans and Pokémon," Ash said. As Ash spoke he remembered the fear Professor Oak felt when Ash almost bit Gary. "I also know he really cares about you."
Gary's anger spiked so high that Ash could even sense it in his human form. Ash could practically feel the boy glare daggers into Ash. "Then where was he when my family were on their death beds?!"
Caught off guard Ash froze. Suddenly, the annoyance Ash felt in Gary's aura when he spoke to the professor the other day made sense. Gary wasn't mad at his grandfather for scolding him about skipping school, his anger went even deeper.
With no response from Ash, Gary continued. "I was stuck in that hospital for days. Hoping everything would turn out alright. While I was there I saw a whole slew of people come in and visit their families. There was even this one guy, who everyone said was a workaholic, which came by every day to check on his daughter. Meanwhile my grandfather doesn't even show up to the funeral!"
As Gary spoke his eyes began to water. "He then comes by later, takes me in, and tries to pretend everything's hunky dory. Offers to give me a starter Pokémon so I can go to the Indigo League, like that's going make everything better!"
Seeing the sympathetic look on Ash's face, Gary marched ahead. Ash could see his arm move up, probably in an attempt to discreetly wipe away the tears. "But you know what? That's fine. I'll just take what I need and go."
While Gary went on ahead, Ash's mind raced. He knew it wasn't true. He felt the professor's love for his family first hand. The scientist even took time off, something he almost never did, to grieve for his family's passing. Which begged the question: why didn't the professor go to visit his family in their hour of need?
With the mysterious trio
After that tattletale twerp went and called the cops, the trio of trappers got straight to work removing their nets. You can't arrest someone if you can't find evidence of a crime! Normally the trappers would retreat, but they had orders from their boss to search the area for any signs of the Route One Monster. Given that the three were on thin ice with their boss for more than a few previous mess ups, they dared not return to headquarters without the mysterious Pokémon.
"Trap number twenty-five," sighed the blue haired man as he disarmed the net. "Still no monster."
Scowling, the woman turned to the shortest member of their group. "This is all your fault!"
"My fault?!" balked the short, furry man.
"Yes, your fault," the woman cross her arms. "You're a Pokémon. Why don't you just ask the local wildlife where the monster is so we can get out of this dingy dump of a forest?"
Scowling, the short man removed his hat and sunglasses revealing a pair of brown triangular ears and large slit eyes. A cream and brown colored tail with a curled end slithered out of his pants confirming that this man was indeed a Pokémon. A feline species called Meowth.
"For your information, I had been talkin' with the local Pokémon," Meowth hissed. "Whenever I asked dem about dat monster dey just tell me to look out for a Lucario and Leafeon."
"A Lucario and a Leafeon?" questioned the blue haired man. "But the reports said the Route One Monster set a festival on fire. Neither of those Pokémon are fire types."
"Dat's what I'm sayin'!" exclaimed Meowth. "And any time I press dem for more info dey tell me to leave before I cause trouble."
"Humph. As far as I'm concerned these freak-outs just confirm that there's something lurking around here," sniffed the woman.
"Hey look!" exclaimed the blue haired man. "There's something in that trap!"
The woman and Meowth looked over to where the man was pointing to see that yes. There was something squirming around in the trap down by the river. Excited, the trio hurried over to open up the Net. It was only when they opened the trap that they realized they only got the creature's head. As the rest of the body rose, the Pokémon glared down at the trio.
Back with Ash, Gary and Pichu
Their hike concluded, Ash, Gary, and Pichu successfully arrived at the old fairgrounds. Despite the wild events that happened almost a decade ago, the wide field looked perfectly peaceful. Wet and quaggy like the rest of the route, but peaceful nonetheless.
"Well, this is unspectacular," Gary remarked.
"I don't know what you were expecting," Ash said dryly. "The attack happened forever ago."
"I know," Gary sighed as he walked around the site. "But that monster was the only thing that was kind of exciting about this backwater town."
"Hey! This place isn't that bad!" Ash argued.
"This backwater town is our home!" Pichu said in agreement.
"Sorry, sorry," Gary responded with a shrug. "I was just hoping for some excitement. Is that too much to ask?"
Just then, the three trappers from earlier came barreling right past the group of kids screaming. Wait a minute, was that short man a Meowth? That couldn't be right. Pokémon can't speak human.
"What was that about?" Pichu asked.
"GRAAAAH!"
Pichu just had to ask.
Turning their attention to the direction the trio was running from, the kids saw a massive outline come slithering out from the fog. Towering above the group was a blue sea serpent with a cream colored underbelly. A series of pronged spikes ran down the beast's back ending in a wide fin at the base of the tail. The monster's face was framed by a pair of short, white fines, a pair of long whiskers, and had a trident crest resting just above the eyes created a permanent glare. The sea serpent, known as a Gyarados, opened its wide fanged mouth and roared.
Ash felt his insides clinch. It was common knowledge to the local populace to steer clear of the deepest parts of the river as a Gyarados had made it her home in recent years. Judging by the pieces of net caught on the spike closest to her head, the trappers either didn't see or flat out ignored all the warning signs that decked out the area.
Gyarados glared down at the boys. "What do we have here?" she hissed. "More trespassers?"
"Leave them alone!" Pichu shouted up to Gyarados. "These humans aren't the one who set up all the nets around here!"
"I don't care! I'm done with humans constantly coming into my territory to catch Pokémon or look for a diseased dog!" Gyarados snarled. Her eyes narrowed as she stared down at Ash and Gary. "Maybe people will finally get the message if I give them a couple of examples of what happens to invaders."
With that, the blue and purple flames began to build in the Gyarados's mouth.
"Run!" Ash shouted to Gary.
The other boy didn't need to be told twice. He bolted right before the Gyarados fired a stream of fire down at the humans below. The first Dragon Rage missed. The second and third were too close for comfort. By the time the fourth bout of flames blasted apart the ground, Ash decided he had enough.
"You want a fight, fine!" Ash began growling. Not only were he and Gary blameless, but this Gyarados was also ripping apart the surrounding environment. They were lucky it rained as hard as it did or else all these Dragon Rage attacks would have started a field fire or even a forest fire. Not that the Gyarados seemed to care, her kind were infamous for their temper. "Ready, Pichu?"
"Ready!" Pichu chirped as he hopped on top of Ash's head. Though he couldn't see the mouse, Ash could feel the electricity in the air spike as Pichu's cheeks began to release small bolts of lightning.
"What are you?! Stupid?!" before Pichu could unleash any kind of attack, Gary slammed into the pair stopping the attack. The trio then scrambled to their feet and ran into the trees before the Gyarados could unleash another attack.
The three ran through the trees for a bit before Ash spotted a ledge. Grabbing Gary, Ash dragged the other boy over the ledge and huddled up against the side. The group squatted silently, waiting. After what felt like an eternity, they heard the slithering of a massive body passing by. They waited for a while after they heard the serpent pass before getting up and heading back to town.
"What was that about?" Ash snapped now that he was sure the lake monster was out of ear shot. "Why did you attack us when we were trying to save you?"
"Because you were about to use an electric attack!" Gary fired back.
"Uh, yeah. Gyarados is a water and flying type," Ash argued. "Electricity is super effective."
"Duh," Pichu agreed.
Gary just gave Ash an annoyed glare. "Do you know why electricity is strong against water types?"
"Water conducts electricity?" Ash answered, not sure where Gary was going with this.
"And what are we surrounded by?" Gary's hand motioned to the ground.
Ash looked down to see that the forest, just like the field, was a minefield of puddles. Puddles of water. Realization struck. If Pichu fired off his Thundershock, he wouldn't just be shocking Gyarados. He may have electrocuted everyone else.
"Oh!" both Ash and Pichu chorused.
"Let's just go home," Gary sighed.
Even though all three hikers were eager return to safety, they all knew that so long as an angry Gyarados was on the loose they had to be vigilant. Pichu took point atop of Ash's head with his sensitive ears perked. This choice of look out paid off when Pichu jumped down to Ash's shoulder.
"I think I hear her up ahead," Pichu whispered.
Nodding, Ash grabbed Gary. Before the other boy could say anything, Ash held up a finger to his mouth in the quiet gesture. Immediately the other boy shut his mouth and just in time. The pair could see Gyarados swimming in a small pond just beyond the next tree line.
Ducking behind some nearby trunks, Ash, Gary, and Pichu peered around at the snake. She probably guessed they would be coming this way and decided to cut them off. For a second, Ash considered just walking away and finding a longer, safer route, away from the murderous water type.
Unfortunately, Ash's plan immediately failed when he tried to take a step. His foot landed atop a large, moist clump of grass which release a very audible squish. Hissing, the Gyarados's head swerved over to where the boys were hiding and she began to swim over.
Catching this, Gary reached down and grabbed a rock. He quickly turned around and gave the rock a good toss. The rock hit the water a good distance away creating a loud splash. The Gyarados gave the tree line one last look before swimming towards the splash and sinking into the water.
With one way blocked off by noisy foliage, Ash and his group carefully made their way to a more sturdy, and dry looking strip of land that lead around the lake. The group attempted to quietly sneak over and…where did Gyarados go?
"GYRAAAA!" Gyarados roared as she rose back from the water, closer to the area Ash and company were at. The serpent glared down at the boys.
"Did you really think I would fall for such an obvious trick?!" snarled the Gyarados. She then raised her tail and summoned a vortex of water around it. The Aqua Tail attack slammed down on the ground sending Ash and his friends flying in different directions.
Thanks to his years of practice fighting and scampering around the town, Ash was able to catch himself and land on his feet in a hunched over, almost bestial motion. Gary wasn't so lucky and was sent flying into a tree where he fell down limp, knocked out. And as for Pichu…
"AHHHH!" screamed the mouse, now trapped in the coils of the Gyarados.
"Pichu!" Ash cried out for his friend.
On reflex, sparks flew from Pichu's checks. "Thunder-AH!"
Seeing her prey was firing up an electric attack, Gyarados squeezed harder cutting off Pichu's air thus choking the mouse and stopping the attack. Watching Gyarados effectively torture Pichu, Ash's mind began to race.
A couple years back
Being as young as he was, Ash wasn't ever assigned anything too dangerous when hanging out at Professor Oak's research laboratory. Most of the time it was doing household chores or taking inventory. Boring.
The fun jobs came when Ash was asked to interact with the Pokémon on the reserve. Feeding, grooming, interviewing, it was always a blast to meet and play with the trainer owned Pokémon. By now Ash was fairly familiar with almost every species found in the Kanto region, which made tasks with foreign Pokémon extra exciting.
Ash, in his Riolu form, scampered circles around Professor Oak. "What are we doing today?" he barked.
"Save your energy, Ash. You'll be needing it for this next assignment," chuckled the Leafeon. "As for which Pokémon we are meeting, I found a message this morning from a trainer who is currently competing in the Galar League. He requested one of the Pokémon he's keeping at the lab for an upcoming battle."
"And you need me to help find the Pokémon?" Ash asked as galloped to the professor's side.
"What I need you to do is," the professor began to explain before he caught a scent. He raised his nose to give a couple of confirming sniffs. "Ah! Here she is!"
Following the professor's line of sight, Ash spotted a Pokémon he only saw once or twice while running around in the fields but never really had a chance to investigate. This Pokémon was humanoid in shape and was around the same height as Ash's mother's Lucario form. However this Pokémon wasn't a canine. It was a rabbit.
The rabbit's lower body was covered in orange fur with a blue waistline and golden fluff just above the knees making the rabbit look like she was wearing shorts. Adding to the rabbit's athletic appearance were her blue lower legs and orange toes which resembled the high socks soccer players wear to cover their shin guards.
As for the rabbit's upper body, it was mostly white save for some stripes of blue around the shoulders. The rabbit's ears stood tall with a golden inner ear and a golden, trident crest above the eyes. Between the ears was a short mane of orange fur.
The rabbit's ears perked when she spotted the Professor. She raised a paw and waved. "Good morning, Professor!"
Professor Oak trotted forward. "And good morning to you, Cinderace! I was just looking for you. It seems your trainer gave us a call last night. He'll be needing you for his team soon."
"Oh, I'd love to help. But," Cinderace's bright smile fell as she looked at the bushes behind her. "My paws are kind of tied at the moment."
"Mommy! Mommy!" squeaked the voice of a little boy. "Look what I found!"
A small, white bunny with orange tipped ears and feet came charging out of the bushes. Across its nose was a rectangular, yellow patch and in its paws was a decent sized pebble.
The bunny ran up to Cinderace and proudly held up the pebble. "I found the perfect rock to start practicing with!" he announced. The bunny then tossed the pebble in the air. When it came down he kicked it back up. He continued these motions, kicking and punting the pebble around like a hacky sack.
"Good job, Scorbunny!" Cinderace said, beaming down at her son. She then turned towards Professor Oak. "As you can see, my kid is growing up fast. But, I feel it's a bit too early to leave him alone."
"That shouldn't be a problem," Oak responded. "Dragonite is currently running an errand for me, but he'll be free to babysit your son when he returns. Until then, I'm sure Ash will be willing to look after Scorbunny."
Ash eagerly nodded. "I promise to take good care of Scorbunny, Cinderace!"
Cinderace looked down at Ash and considered him for a moment. She then put her hands on her hips and smiled. "You look like an energetic lad. Alright, I'll trust my boy to you. Scorbunny! Come here!"
Scorbunny paused his game and dutifully looked up at his mother. Now that she had her kit's full attention, Cinderace motioned to the Ash and Oak. "I'm going out of town for a bit. Mr. Dragonite is going to look after you while I'm gone. Until then, Ash is going to play with you. I expect you to be on your best behavior. Am I understood?"
Scorbunny's eyes squinted as he studied the two new Pokémon. He pointed at Professor Oak. "You're that old Leafeon, aren't you?"
Though Ash could feel a spark of embarrassment from the professor, the Leafeon just chuckled at Scorbunny's observation. "I wouldn't say I'm that old."
Scorbunny shook his head. "Everyone says that you're part human and humans live longer than rabbits. That must make you super old!"
"Scorbunny! We don't go around calling people old!" Cinderace scolded her son.
"Even if they're really old?" Scorbunny innocently asked. "Wouldn't that be lying?"
"It doesn't matter if it's true. It's rude!" Cinderace looked back over at Oak. "I'm so sorry…Professor?"
The Leafeon was currently sitting to the side, back to the group and head bowed. His ears, tail, and every miscellaneous leaf on its body were flopped down. Ash could swear that he saw a dark cloud hanging over the professor's head.
"For a species known for their kicks, you sure don't pull your punches," sulked Professor Oak.
"Uh, shall we got the transporter?" Cinderace asked clearly looking to change the subject.
Remembering his job, Professor Oak perked up. "Ah, yes. Right this way."
Before the pair left, Cinderace waved to Scorbunny. "Good-bye, Scorbunny!"
"Bye, Mommy!" Scorbunny said, waving both of his front paws.
Ash decided this was a good time to introduce himself to the little rabbit. "Nice to meet you, Scorbunny. My name is Ash. Do you want to play a game? I'm up for whatever you want."
Scorbunny's paw moved to his chin as he thought. Finally, he darted forward and tapped one of Ash's legs. "Tag! You're it!"
With that, Scorbunny began darting across the field. Ash, every bit as energetic as the rabbit, gave chase. When it looked like Ash was about to catch up to Scorbunny, the rabbit's outline glowed with a dim, white light. Recognizing this as a Quick Attack, Ash began activating his own Quick Attack to continue his pursuit. Unlike before, Ash couldn't keep up with Scorbunny.
Noticing his playmate falling behind, Scorbunny stopped running. "Why are your dragging your feet?"
"I'm not dragging my feet!" Ash barked. He came to a stop right in front of Scorbunny. "I'm just not as fast as you."
"You should use Quick Attack," suggested Scorbunny.
"I was using Quick Attack. Watch," Ash's form emitted a low, white glow.
Scorbunny looked Ash up and down with a pout. "You're not doing it right! Here, watch!"
Once again Scorbunny's body began to glow. He hopped up and down and began kicking the air. "My mommy says that if you want to want to use Quick Attack to its fullest you've got to focus most of your power into your feet!"
"My feet?" Ash looked down at his hind paws. His mother never really taught him how to fight, probably because she was a chef and restaurant manager by trade instead of a battler. Most of what Ash knew either came from instinct or was pieced together by watching and talking with other Pokémon.
"Your feet! Your feet!" Scorbunny cheered. He then launched himself off the ground and began hopping around. He jumped from a rock to a tree trunk and straight over Ash's head.
"My feet," Ash closed his eyes in concentration. Before long, he felt a majority of his energy pooling down his legs and into his back paws causing them to prickle with extra power.
Looking over Ash with a satisfied smile, Scorbunny nodded in approval. "Now we can really play!"
Now
Looking around, Ash took in his environment. Gyarados wasn't too far from the shore putting her well within range of attacking. Gary was pushed over a few trees away by the Aqua Tail and was down for the count. He wouldn't be able to see what Ash was about to do and even if he did, this was an emergency.
Kicking off his shoes, Ash focused his power to his feet. In response, his body began changing. His feet stretched out of his soggy socks giving his legs a more digitigrade shape. Crouching down, Ash could feel energy begin to flow throughout his entire being. Perfect.
Shapeshifting was a mix between controlled and random. Often Ash's body responded to what he wanted by prioritizing certain parts, but it was no guarantee. It also didn't help that the pace of the transformation varied with some shifts happening quickly while others took their sweet time. The point during the transformation when Ash could use Pokémon moves was almost entirely random which meant that sometimes Ash could use his moves while he was still mostly human while other times he couldn't do a thing until he was a full Riolu.
Today it looked like was the former situation. Wasting no time, Ash used a Quick Attack to launch himself forward and upward straight at the Gyarados.
Snarling, the Gyarados came forward to meet Ash. Dark energy formed around her lips creating a second pair of jaws. Gyarados used Bite before Ash could make contact with her causing the boy to flinch. Ash was about to drop into the water, but threw his hands out. He managed to grab ahold of one of the spikes, stopping his fall, and placed his back feet on the serpent's side. By this point his lower legs resembled a pair of human-sized Riolu lower legs giving Ash a spring when he kicked off her side with another Quick Attack.
Once again, Gyarados blocked Ash's attack. This time she brought her tail up to stop Ash and bat him away. Ash landed back on the shore line and growled. Quick Attack wasn't working. Maybe if he-
"AH!" Pichu yelled. His scream was then silenced by a choke as Gyarados squeezed tighter.
At that moment, Ash felt all rational thought leave his mind. All he could hear was the sounds of his friend suffering. An even more feral snarl left Ash's lips as he once again threw himself at the Gyarados.
Once again the Gyarados tried to strike at Ash with a Bite. This time, Ash was ready. Seeing the lake monster diving forward for an attack, Ash raised a now clawed human hand. He held his hand flat, allowing energy to pour into his palm, before thrusting it forward straight into Gyarados's face.
The newly learned Force Palm hit is mark with so much force, the Gyarados's upper body crashed into the water. Noticing the serpent's weakening tail grip out of the corner of his eye, Ash twisted around in the air and swiped towards the snake's coils. A Vacuum Wave of wind blasted forward knocking Pichu out of Gyarados's grasp.
Both Ash and Pichu hit the water with a loud splash. Immediately Ash swam forward to grab his friend and head towards the safety of land. Once the pair was back ashore, Pichu released multiple coughs.
"Thanks, Ash," Pichu said once he got his breath back. He looked over to where Gyarados was temporarily knocked out. "How did you do that? That was amazing!"
Ash looked down at his hands. At his point they were completely covered in fur and the fingers were being sucked into his palm to create a pair of paws. He wasn't really sure where that came from. He already knew Quick Attack and Vacuum Wave, but Force Palm came completely out of nowhere. What's more, that power. It was way more than anything he managed to perform before.
Seeing that Gyarados was starting to get back up, Ash turned to run away. "I don't know, but I'm going to grab Gary and leave."
"Okay, but won't she just follow us?" Pichu pointed out.
Shoot! Ash froze up. That serpent was still very much mad and Ash's rising aura sense could tell that her bloodlust was not yet sated. And given that Gyarados had a reputation of destroying towns…
"Alright new plan," Ash announced. "I'll have to knock Gyarados out cold."
Pichu climbed up to Ash's shoulder. "WE will have to knock Gyarados out cold."
A roar announced that Gyarados was back in action. This time, water began to gather in her mouth. Ash darted away right before she could hit them with the stream from a powerful Brine attack.
While Gyarados was busy blasting the shore with water, Ash crouched down and used another Quick Attack to leap back at Gyarados. Once again, he flattened out his paw and thrusted his palm forward.
"Take this!" Ash shouted. "Force Palm!"
It's not very effective.
This Force Palm lacked the might of the previous attack, only pushing Gyarados back an inch. Gyarados took this time to swerve around and prepare another Brine attack. Her charge was interrupted by Pichu.
"Thundershock!" Pichu yelled. A small bolt of electricity nailed Gyarados between her eyes causing her to lose focus.
Taking advantage of Gyarados's falter, Ash threw both his front paws forward to try and grab onto her scales. A loud screech similar to nails on a chalkboard emitted from the spot where Ash slid down the monster. Though Ash's claws were feeling extra sharp, Gyarados's scales were as hard as steel. Ash had no choice but to kick off the serpent's belly and retreat back to shore.
There was a loud rip from the back of Ash's pants announcing the arrival of his tail. Ash fell to all fours and jumped away from a Dragon Rage which obliterated the rock he was standing on moments ago. While Ash ran, he noticed Gyarados was retreating deeper into the water, away from the shore. Looks like she was tired of swatting Ash off her body and was going for some long rang sniping.
A knot of extra brow formed between Ash's eyes as he squinted them in concentration. The only long distance move Ash knew was Vacuum Wave and he wasn't feeling too optimistic on its ability to put the water dragon down.
Ash's eyebrows spread out into a black, furry mask as he called back to Pichu. "Pichu, can you fire off a bit Thundershock?"
From his back, Ash could feel Pichu's hesitation. "Wouldn't that electrocute everyone?"
"I'll grab Gary and move out of the way before the attack," Ash assured Pichu.
Though Ash could sense that Pichu didn't like the idea, he felt the mouse jump off his back. As Ash continued to lead Gyarados's Dragon Rages away from Pichu, Ash could sense a buildup of electricity from Pichu using a Charge.
As Ash ran, he felt his aura sensors push out from the back of his skull. With them, Ash was able to get a clearer view of the aura around the lack. There was Gyarados, anger nowhere near close to dispersing. Behind Ash Pichu was still Charging up for an attack and in front of him Ash could feel Gary.
The young Oak's aura was beginning to stir, become more active. Ash almost froze. Gary was waking up.
Pushing his Quick Attack to its limit, Ash shot forward. By now he looked like a very humanoid Riolu. Ash's mind raced. Should he start changing back to hid his shifter status, or should he risk losing his Pokémon moves and abilities to preserve his secret?
Before Ash could decide, Gyarados darted forward and slammed an Aqua Tail down right in front of Ash. Her tail then circled around Ash, cornering him. Now towering over the boy-Riolu hybrid, Gyarados powered up another Brine attack.
"I've got you now," Gyarados growled.
"Ash!"
Just as Gyarados was about unleash a point blank Brine, Pichu came charging down the shore and leaping straight up at Gyarados. The little mouse was brimming with excess electricity and was just about to unleash it on the Gyarados.
It was now or never.
Though the Gyarados's tail tried to rise and push Ash back, Ash managed to grab onto one of the spikes and hauled himself forward. He dropped to the ground and snatched up Gary. Using his fighting type muscles, Ash maneuvered Gary onto his back and turned around to see Pichu firing off the biggest Thundershock Ash had ever seen in his life.
Lightning branched off from Pichu and spiked out in multiple directions. The dark, gloomy sky was lite up in a massive flash, voltage sparked off the surface of the pond, and Gyarados roared in pain. Meanwhile, a glow engulfed Pichu causing the already bright light to become practically blinding.
True to Ash's word, he jumped back and landed on a nearby tree, carrying Gary with him. The wood insolated most of the electricity and served as a good platform for Ash to leap again and catch his friend. Once the lightning died down, Ash caught a smoking Pichu and held the mouse to his chest. For some odd reason the mouse was feeling a little heavier.
Seeing Gyarados fall down into the water, Ash bolted away from the pond. As he ran Ash could feel Gary's aura strengthen. He was almost awake. Ash practically shouted in his mind to start changing back.
'Faster, faster, faster!' Ash mentally whined. He felt his fur recede into his skin followed by his aura sensors. His paws branched out into human hands giving him a better grip on his passengers, but it came at the price of losing his strength.
Ash tripped forward over his feet as they changed back dropping both Gary and Pichu. Now laying on the ground barefoot, Ash groaned. He was going to need a new pair of shoes.
"Ash? Ash are you okay?" came a new voice. "Please tell me you weren't hit by the Thundershock!"
"I'm fine," Ash grumbled. When he pushed himself up, Ash's eyes widened in surprise. "Whoa!"
The owner of the new voice was a Pikachu! This Pokémon was an electric mouse, just like Pichu, but was slightly larger with a pair of long, pointed ears, and a lightning bolt shaped tail. Color-wise, Pikachus were a slightly darker shade of yellow than Pichus save for the black at the tips of their ears, their red cheek pouches, and the brown at the base of their tails and stripes on their backs.
"What? What's wrong?" Pikachu asked with a head tilt. His voice sounded like Pichu's but less squeaky and more mature.
A smile stretched across Ash's face. "Take a look at yourself!"
Blinking in confusion, Pikachu looked down at his body. His eyes widened in surprise and he began inspecting every inch of his new form from patting his new cheeks to giving his longer tail a few experimental waves.
"Congratulations!" Ash grinned.
"Thanks, I-uh oh," Pikachu shared Ash's grin for a split second before a look of worry washed over his face.
Following Pikachu's line of sight, Ash could see Gary was now awake and staring at him. Oh no! His tail! Did that change back?
"I can explain," Ash said quickly.
Gary stared at Ash with a look of shock. He then met Ash's eyes. Ash stiffened trying to think what to say next.
Gary beat him to it. "Could you cover yourself up? I can see your crack."
Ash's eyes glanced down at his behind. Looks like his tail disappeared just in time. With a mix of relief and embarrassment, Ash flipped himself over. "You wouldn't just so happen have a sewing kit on you?"
With an eye roll, Gary took off his jacket and handed it to Ash. "Here. Use this."
Once the two boys were back on their feet and Ash had tied Gary's jacket around his waist covering the hole in the back, Gary addressed Ash. He spoke with a slow and careful tone. "What happened to that Gyarados?"
Grinning. Ash hoisted Pikachu onto his shoulder. "Pikachu was able to evolve and use Thundershock to knock Gyarados down for good!"
Pikachu grinned bashfully. "It was nothing."
Gary studied Ash. "That was all Pikachu? By himself?"
Before Ash could answer, a blue and purple ball of fire came down form the tree line, almost hitting the boys. Both kids dropped looked up in horror. There was Gyarados, charred but not finished.
Pikachu leapt down in front of Ash and Gary, electricity sparking from his cheeks. "Are you ready for round two? Because I am!" he shouted, angry but confident.
"I'll kill you," Gyarados hissed. "I'll kill you brats if it's the last thing I do!"
With that, the Gyarados fired up another Dragon Rage. Down on the ground, Pikachu got ready to fire off another Thundershock. His attack was interrupted when something else charged past him and the boys and leapt straight at Gyarados.
"GYRAAA!" Gyarados cried out in pain. There, biting down into her throat was a Leafeon.
Relief flooded through Ash. Glancing over his shoulder he could see a few more figures charging in their direction. Wither it was Pikachu's massive Thundershock or all the commotion caused by Gyarados's rampage, their fight had attracted attention. The cavalry was here!
Next to Ash, Gary watched the lone Leafeon snarl and continue to hold onto Gyarados despite her thrashing. "Where did the Leafeon come from?"
"That Leafeon's from your family's lab! You've probably seen him around," Ash said. A mischievous smile tugged at his lips. Technically, he was telling the truth. Now all they had to do was capture the Gyarados and then they could hand her off to someone to relocate-
THWAP!
While Gyarados tried to throw off the professor, the edges of the Leafeon's tail leaf stiffened and glowed. With one swift motion, the tail slid across the Gyarados's neck, separating her head from the rest of her body. Ash watched with horror and surprise as the Gyarados's corpse fell to the ground below. The professor landed next to the neck stump, panting form all the energy he used to run over and fight the snake.
Ash felt his blood run cold. Sure, the Gyarados had just tried to kill him and his friends, but Ash couldn't find it in him to wish death on the Pokémon. Then there was the professor. Ash had never seen the scientist like this. The Leafeon stood tall with a slight arch in his back. Every leaf on his body from his ears to his tail were sharp and stiff. As the old eevultion panted, Ash could see his lips were still parted into a snarl showing off his fangs. Most alien of all was the look in his eyes. They were angry yet distant. No thought, no warmth. Just a cold glare.
"Uh, Leafeon," Ash carefully called out to the old fox-cat. He took a step forward half expecting the professor to relax and apologize for his rash behavior, but all he got was a warning snarl.
Before Ash could respond, a familiar Lucario swiftly placed herself between him and Professor Oak. Delia released her own warning growl while aura began to flow out of her body. At first Ash wondered if they were going to fight. That option was tossed out the window when Mr. Dragonite landed between the two and held his arms out.
"Alright, that's enough," Mr. Dragonite said in a more serious tone than Ash was used to hearing from the friendly dragon. "The children are safe. Everyone needs to calm down before this gets even messier."
From the side Ash could see Kangaskhan protectively scooping Pikachu up in one claw while using the other to shield Josie's eyes. Mimey, who was panting even harder than the professor, jogged up to Ash.
"Look. Delia," Mimey managed to say between breaths. "Ash. Is. Okay."
Seeing that the boys were in fact okay, both adult canines relaxed. Oak blinked a couple of times before looking over at the Gyarados. His tail fell and his eyes widened in horror. "That, that I…I."
"It's probably for the best," Dragonite said gently. "She told us that she would keep the peace if she was left alone, but a Gyarados's rage can last for a month. If it wasn't her, she would have taken out someone else or worse."
"…That's a good point," Professor Oak agreed, though his voice was still stiff with fear. He slowly approached Gary, but his grandson practically bolted back. Nobody could blame him. From the kid's perspective the professor was a deranged guard dog. Ears leaning back, Oak looked over at Mr. Dragonite. "Could do me a favor?"
Nodding, Mr. Dragonite walked forward to start guiding Gary home. Professor Oak followed behind, from a distance.
"What was that about?" Ash asked watching the uncomfortable group leave.
"You gave us all a fright," Delia said with a relieved sigh. She turned to look up at Ash. "Could you tell me exactly what happened here?"
"A couple of trappers set Gyarados off and she took her anger out on us," Ash explained. "But Pikachu was able to save us."
"Hey now," Pikachu leapt down form Kangaskhan's claws and stood by Ash. "I can't take all the credit."
The pair recounted the events of the past day. While they talked, the group walked away from the Gyarados corpse. By the end of the story, both mothers were sharing looks of concern while Mimey was gripping at his chest complaining that they were going to give him a heart attack. Josie on the other hand…
"You took down a Gyarados with a single Thundershock?!" Josie asked with starry eyes. "That is sooo cool!"
"It was Ash's idea," Pikachu said modestly from his spot on his mother's shoulder. "He did most of the work. I just delivered the finishing blow."
"That's still an impressive feat," Kangaskhan hummed in approval. Though the kangaroo was clearly concerned for adopted son, there was a spark of pride in her eyes.
"And you managed to evolve. That's pretty big too," Delia added on. "In human culture moments like these deserve a celebration. How would you like it if I cooked dinner for everyone tonight? Whatever you want."
Pikachu looked thoughtful. "Do you know a food that uses a lot of ketchup?"
"Ketchup again?!" Josie groaned. "You're obsessed!"
"You only say that because you still haven't tasted heaven," Pikachu sniffed.
Eventually the group would make it back to Ash's home where his mother managed to whip up a small feast. Though everyone else seemed to enjoy the meal, Ash's mind was stuck on the headless Gyarados.
Seriously, what happened back there?
With the mysterious trio
Meowth and his human companions were hunched over wheezing. At some point they somehow managed to ditch the Gyarados, but no one dared to stop running. Safe to say at this point the day was a complete bust. Ratted on by a couple of twerps, hours of hard work and traps down the drain, one angry water monster, and what did they have to show for it? No Route One Monster, that's for sure.
Suddenly, Meowth's ears perked. Scampering across the ground just a few feet away were a pair of Rattata.
"I hear there's a kid living at the lab," said the first Rattata as he passed by. "Want to go digging through their trash? See if there's more food now? I could really go for a half-eaten pizza crust."
"No way! It's the full moon tomorrow," snapped another Rattata.
"Oh yeah," the first Rattata said in realization. "Don't want to take any chances the you-know-whats will break out of the basement."
"Meowth?"
Meowth looked back over to his human partners. Both of them were regarding him and the rats with curiosity.
"What are they saying?" asked the man.
A fanged smile split Meowth's face. "I think we have a new lead."
New Pokémon Stats!
Ash (Riolu)
Trainer: None
Ability: Inner Focus
Nature: Plucky young adventurer
Item: Official Limited Edition Pokémon League Hat and his less important clothes
Moves: Quick Attack, Vacuum Wave, ?, Force Palm
Pichu-Pikachu
Trainer: None
Ability: Static
Nature: Adamant
Item: None
Moves: Thundershock, Charge
Wild Gyarados
Trainer: None
Ability: Intimidate
Nature: Hates tourists
Item: None
Moves: Bite, Dragon Rage, Brine, Aqua Tail
AN: "Now I learned a lesson I won't soon forget. So listen and you won't regret. Be true to yourself, don't miss your chance. And you won't end up like the fool who went and ripped his pants!" ~ Spongebob Squarepants
Huh, I wonder who those three individuals were. They seem familiar, but their sunglasses and trench coats leave me baffled.
Remember that Gyarados featured in episode 1? Pepperidge Farm remembers.
Alright, we've got some states here so let's go through them. In terms of abilities I gave Ash Inner Focus as Ash is a brave kid who doesn't often back down from a fight or in this case, flinch. Pikachu's cannon ability is Static, easy. And Intimidate is Gyarados's standard ability. It didn't play a big role in this fight, but it was there.
In terms of moves I gave Ash Vacuum Wave and Force Palm as those were moves his Riolu knew in the anime. I added on Quick Attack to give Ash a bit more mobility as his style of fighting focuses on speedy and powerful attacks.
For Pichu I used Thundershock for the standard electric attack and I wanted to also give him Quick Attack, but apparently that's not part of his move pool. It didn't feel right for Pichu to only have one move, but most of the moves Pichus learn (Play Nice, Sweet Kiss, Nasty Plot) just didn't feel like they matched Pikachu's personality. In the end I used the egg move Charge to help the mouse fire up its over powered lightning attacks we all know and love.
For Gyarados I used Bite and Aqua Tail for close range moves (it's a snake-fish, there aren't many body parts to work with). For far ranged I used Brine to give it a decently threatening water attack and Dragon Rage because that was kind of Gyarados's signature move for a while.
KirgizovVlad: Thank you very much for checking out my fic. Updates are going to be irregular, but I do have a story (mostly) planned out and will be updating. Bite-wise, the werePokemon curse has been around awhile in this AU so most of the lycanthropes in this story aren't going to be infected by Ash. And no, not every character is going to be a…werePokemon :).
The One Who Reads and Writes: Without giving too many spoilers, Gary isn't going to be a full on villain (there are forces at work that go way beyond troubled pre-teen rebellion). However, he is going be more of a rogue than his cannon counterpart. Cannon Gary is a jerk, but he doesn't really cause any problems aside from one instance of vandalism. This Gary has and will continue to be getting the raw end of the deal making him more open to some morally dubious antics.
They should tell Ash that he's a werePokemon, shouldn't they :)
The mystery dungeon elements will start to pop up at the climax and resolution of this arc.
Pokémon Introduced
Pikachu: Electric, The Mouse Pokémon
Meowth: Normal, The Scratch Cat Pokémon
Gyarados: Water/Flying, The Atrocious Pokémon
Magikarp: Water, The Fish Pokémon
Scorbunny: Fire, The Rabbit Pokémon
Cinderace: Fire, The Striker Pokémon
Next Time: It's a full moon. The pieces are set up. Let's get this party started.