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Listening to as I mess with the pipping: Team Rocket Encounter (Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver)
Lycan Mystery Dungeon: The Breach
The next day everyone was talking about the Gyarados attack. Apparently the noise made by the sea serpent's rampage didn't just attract Ash's pack. Curiosity got the better of some of the townsfolk and they went investigating only to find a decapitated corpse.
As Gyaradoses are well renowned for their raw power, everyone was gossiping over who had done it. Theories ranged from the Route One Monster, to a high level, traveling trainer, to Professor Oak taking care of the Gyarados before it could harm anyone in town. That last theory was correct, though Ash was pretty sure no one would believe how the professor actually did it. Heck, he witnessed the deed first hand and he still didn't believe it.
After school was let out, Ash had gone to visit the dead Pokémon, only to find that its carcass was in the process of being picked clean by some of the wild Pokémon in the area. No words of mourning, no prayers. None of the Pokémon in the area were close to the Gyarados. To them she was just an apex predator who finally bit off more than she could chew. All that was left was to make use of the free meal and wait for another Pokémon to claim the newly vacant top Pokémon position. Nature could be cold, but one could never accuse it of being inefficient.
Ash then made his way over to the lab to check on Professor Oak. The old man was back to his usual self, asking Ash how he was doing and apologizing for the incident yesterday. While Ash knew the return to status quo should have been a relief, he couldn't help but to feel a little unnerved.
"Uh, Professor, why did you kill Gyarados?" Ash asked cautiously.
"Ah yes," Professor Oak frowned. "It was a bit of a split second decision. As you know, we've been monitoring that Gyarados for a while. Even spoke to her way back when and brokered a peace agreement. We made sure she was left alone, and she wouldn't harm anyone. When I saw you, Pikachu, and Gary were in danger, I assumed she broke the contract and acted a little rashly. Sorry you had to see that."
"Okay," Ash replied, uncertainly. His aura powers may have been dulled in his human form. But even now he could tell that the professor wasn't telling the entire truth.
Without Ash pressing him, Professor Oak continued, this time in a formal tone he hardly ever used with Ash. "On that note, I do want to thank you for looking after Gary yesterday."
"It was kind of a team effort. Pikachu helped. And Gary stopped us from shocking ourselves and got rid of a couple of trappers." Ash said bashfully. "How is Gary by the way?"
That question elicited a confused look from the professor. "I should be asking you that question. Since school was let out for the day, he's been on the computer in his room. Did something happen at class?"
No. Nothing happened.
Contrary to last week, Gary had been fairly subdued. The Gary Ash met last week would have jumped on the chance to talk about his encounter with Gyarados while probably throwing in some bits to make himself look like the hero. Today, Gary kept to himself unless someone addressed him. At one point Ash overheard someone ask Gary if he saw the Gyarados only for Gary to shrug it off saying that he wasn't in the area.
Ash could have chalked this change in attitude to Gary's brush with death. Maybe almost being obliterated by an angry water type caused Gary to chill out? This would have been fine, though Ash couldn't help but to wonder if there was something else going on. He caught Gary staring at him multiple times that day and could practically feel his eyes when he wasn't looking.
It was weird.
"Not much," Ash replied. He never considered himself a tattle tale. If Gary continued to watch him tomorrow, he'd talk to Gary himself. Actually, while they were on the topic of the professor's grandson. "Are we still meeting for the full moon tonight?"
Professor Oak took a deep breath. "Actually, there's going to be a small change to our routine."
Delia
"You'll be staying home alone tonight!" Delia announced to a stunned Ash.
Predictably, a regular human staying at the laboratory heightened the chances of the pack being discovered. Samuel felt Gary need a bit more time to settle down before letting him in on the secret. Given that it sounded like the boy was going through a rebellious phase, Delia had to agree. Letting a troublemaker in on the existence of WerePokémon would be a good way to sink the thousand year old secret.
The problem was the location. Delia and Samuel had to retreat to the kennel out behind the lab, where Gary lived. Delia had hoped that Gary would make a friend during his first week at school and a sleepover could be arranged (plus it would be nice for the boy to have a new friend given what he had been going through). But it sounded like Gary, despite his popularity, wasn't close to anyone. Thus Samuel had to resort to plan B: wait until Gary fell asleep, lock him in his room, and have Dragonite guard the boy.
With Dragonite guarding Gary, Delia felt it was best for Ash to stay home. Having an energetic Riolu running around the lab would risk waking Gary who may notice something was up. Since Ash was still a tad bit too young to be dangerous on the full moon and hadn't shown any signs of the berserker state, Delia didn't see any issues with leaving him, mostly, by himself.
"Really!?" Ash asked. Through her Lucario's form's aura abilities Delia could sense both confusion and excitement from her son. Understandable. This arrangement was the latest in a series of departures from the norm. However, it was also the first time Delia left Ash (mostly) home alone for the night. Delia remembered how enthusiastic she felt when her parents finally trusted her to be by herself.
"Well, mostly alone," Delia corrected herself. "Mimey and Pikachu will be staying with you."
At the mention of Pikachu, Delia could feel Ash's jubilation soar. Thanks to the curse, Ash never experienced a sleepover before. Granted there would be no sleeping for Ash thanks to the full moon, but it was kind of a tradition for kids to try and ignore the sleep portion of a sleepover anyway.
"I'll be doing chores around the house. Just holler if you need me!" Mimey cheerfully instructed.
"Now," Delia spoke in a stern voice, grabbing her son's attention. As she spoke, the Lucario began piling papers and items in Ash's arms. "I'm going to temporarily pause your grounding, but I don't want you vegging on the couch. If you want to go outside, stick to our territory. I don't want you wondering into the homes of any of our neighbors, human or Pokémon. In case of emergency I put together a first aid kit and a list of numbers to call. I already cooked you, Pikachu, and Mimey some dinner, it's labeled in the fridge. All you have to do is warm it up. Here are some towels in case of a mess. Also, I left some blankets in the living room if you and Pikachu want to build a fort. I checked the contents of these board games and all the pieces are there except some spare dice and the shoe for Monopoly. Do not open the door for anyone, complete your homework, and leave it on the kitchen table so I can check over it in the morning. I also expect you to do the dishes. Here are some candles and a flashlight in case of a blackout. Now, if a-"
"MOM!" Ash yelped. He placed the ever growing pile in his arms to the side. "I'll be fine!"
Delia paused her rambling to look over Ash. Since yesterday's Gyarados encounter Ash had felt a bit anxious. She couldn't blame her son. The shock of watching one of the adults in his life go feral and kill a Pokémon in cold blood would spook any sane person. More concerning to Delia personally was that she empathized with Samuel's state and what happened in the heat of the moment.
The second the Gyarados's roar echoed across the town, Delia could feel her inner beast press out against her mind. Just the knowledge that Ash was so close to a dangerous, territorial, sea beast pushed her towards the edge. It was only thanks to years of learning how to deal with those instincts that Delia was able to keep herself from completely snapping.
Delia was worried that she would have to face an injured or dead Ash by the time she arrived on the scene. She was surprised when she learned that Ash and Pikachu were able to fend off such a powerful Pokémon. What's more, Ash was using his powers to protect his friends, like a man.
"My little baby is growing up so fast," Delia gushed while wagging her tail.
"Mom," Ash muttered, his face turning pink at Delia's words.
It wasn't long before Pikachu arrived and bounded over to Ash. The two began animatedly talking about how they were going to spend their evening from Ash showing Pikachu some movies, to sneaking off to the woods to run around, to turning dinner into an eating contest. As Delia exited the front door, she could hear the boys scrambling around to get Ash's console plugged in.
A wistful smile passed over Delia's face. It seemed like only yesterday the doctor's placed Ash in her arms. He was such a tiny baby, but every bit as energetic as the boy he was destined to become. Now he was almost ten, the very age so many children left home to find their way in the world. A dream that Ash had to skip out on.
Mimey, who had stepped out to do some weeding in the garden, regarded Delia with a concerned look. "Are you okay, Delia?"
"Tomorrow," Delia said. "I'll tell him everything tomorrow."
"It's for the best," Mimey nodded.
With that, Delia bid Mimey a good evening and headed off toward the lab.
Later
After playing multiple rounds of Pokken Tournament, eating dinner, and rushing through his homework, Ash decided it was time to show Pikachu his first movie. But which one? Let's see, there was The Luxray King, Noivernman Begins, How to Train Your Dragon Types, Galvantula-Man, Poke Wars, oh hey! How about this one?
About an hour later or so, Ash and Pikachu were sitting comfortably on the couch munching on snacks and watching a movie about ancient curses, tomb robbers, and the restless undead. Ash took a long sip of his drink as he watched a man with a mummified mouth make moves on a captive woman.
"Hey! Get your ugly face off of her!" demanded the hero as he stormed into the room.
The monstrous man turned around to speak to the hero in an ancient language.
In response, the hero held up an Espurr. "Look at what I got!"
The Espurr, an adorable, grey, bipedal feline with folded ears, narrowed its wide eyes, raised its tiny paws, and hissed at the monstrous man. This action elected a terrified roar from the monster who evaporated into sand and fled the room.
"So," Ash asked Pikachu between sips. "What's it like now that you've evolved? Is it still like being a Pichu but bigger?"
"Not really," Pikachu replied. He nibbled on a tortilla chip. "It's kind of like chewing on a wire, getting zapped with a whole bunch of electricity, and retaining it. I'm taller, sure. But the real difference is how much more power I have. It's actually kind of scary in a way. Like we were afraid of me electrocuting us by accident yesterday with all that water. Now I feel like I don't even need the water to do some real damage."
"Wow," Ash muttered thoughtfully. He always felt a power boost on the full moon. Even now in his human form he felt as though he could take on a Rhydon if it randomly decided to break into his house. What was it going to be like when he evolved into a Lucario?
Pikachu continued. "The other change is Mom. Now that I'm too big for her pouch to fit both me and Josie, Mom's showed me how to make my own nest. She said she wants me to start doing more independent foraging and to start thinking about where I want to go."
Ash tilted his head. "Why?"
"Now that I'm evolved, it's only a matter time before I'm supposed to move out," Pikachu explained. He grabbed a nearby ketchup bottle and squirted a tiny bit on a chip. As he chewed, he elaborated. "It's a Kangaskhan thing. When the babies start getting too big, the mothers start teaching them how to fight and take care of themselves. Since I helped fight off a Gyarados, Mom thinks I'll soon be ready to head out on my own."
For a moment, Ash felt a sting of envy. Here he was, just starting to come to terms with his imprisonment in Pallet Town. Meanwhile, his best friend was about to become free and go anywhere in the world he pleased. Ash looked over at Pikachu who was finishing up his chip. "Any idea on what you are going to do?"
"Still figuring that out," Pikachu replied. He looked back at the humans running around on the TV in contemplation. "I could stake out some part of the forest to build a burrow, preferably somewhere with less predators and plenty of food. But if I find a place that good I'll probably have to fight for it. I could also hang around urban areas and live off of excess human food. But then humans might brand me a vermin and send some pest control Pokémon after me. Or I might get captured by some random human who's going to do Arceus knows what to me."
Finished listing the pros and cons of his options, Pikachu sighed and leaned back into a pillow. Ash watched over his friend with a small frown. "I can ask Mom if you can stay here, if you want."
At first, Pikachu's ears perked as the mouse considered Ash's offer. His face then scrunched up. "I don't want to impose."
Before Ash could respond, there was a knock at his door. Pikachu leapt up from his spot on the couch and looked at the door. "What's that?"
"A door knock. It's how humans ask if someone is at home," Ash explained, watching the door in confusion. Who'd be coming over here this late?
"I figured out that much. Give me some credit, Ash," Pikachu said with an eye roll. "Are you going to answer it?"
Ash's mother instructed Ash not to answer the door while she was out, so that should have been a no. Then again, nobody should be out so late at night. His curiosity perked, Ash decided to at least check the peephole. When he saw who it was, Ash opened the door. "Gary!?"
"Hey Ash," Gary greeted before inviting himself in.
"Wow. This guy has been popping up everywhere lately," Pikachu commented.
"What are you doing here?" Ash asked in surprise. Ash was up at this hour because of the excess energy from the full moon. But it was way past bedtime for the rest of his classmates.
"I snuck out. Apparently Gramps decided to lock my door. Talk about a lack of trust. Good thing he didn't think I would be able to make it out the window," Gary replied. The way he said it Ash would have thought this was an everyday event for him. Gary then spotted the TV and swung himself over the top of the couch onto where Ash was sitting and grabbed some popcorn. "Nice, I like this movie."
A part of Ash wanted to grill Gary for crashing his sleepover. He was stopped when he noticed the clock on the wall. It was getting way too close to midnight for comfort. Ash had to get his new friend back home before the midnight hour forced Ash to transform.
"Okay, it's nice to see you. But shouldn't you go home?" Ash asked assertively. Slowly, Ash made his way over to Gary getting ready to grab him and pull him out of the house. Prior experience told Ash that blatantly telling Gary what to do would result in Gary refusing to cooperate. Ash would have preferred resolving this problem peacefully, but if Gary continued to be Tauros headed then Ash would have to get forceful.
Without looking around, Gary spoke to Ash. Though Ash couldn't see Gary's face, he could hear the smirk. "Nah, I think I'm going to stay here. I'm curious about what Riolus do for fun at night."
Ash went ridged. From the corner of his eye, he could see Pikachu freeze up too. What?
"That's what you are, right?" Gary turned around to look Ash in the eye. "You're a Riolu in disguise."
"I'm not," Ash was about to correct Gary. He was a shapeshifter who could switch between a human and a Riolu at will. Not a Riolu who somehow figured out how to pull a Zorua. He caught himself before he could finish that sentence. Better to deny the entire premise. "I mean, that sounds crazy. What makes you think that?"
"Let's see. That Riolu at the lab that was wearing your hat, you sniffing the carpet, growling at me, and the way you talk with that Pikachu were all a little weird, but didn't necessarily indicate you're a Pokémon," Gary elaborated. He looked Ash up and down as expecting something to happen. "But then there was that moment when I saw your tail sticking out of your pants yesterday. That casted those previous moments in a new light."
Ash paled. "You saw the tail?"
"Just before it sank into your butt," Gary smirked.
"Oh," Ash said weakly.
That was all the admission of guilt Gary needed to do a victory lap. He continued explaining his thought process. "Of course, I had to do a little research to make sure I wasn't just seeing things. Turns out, a Pokémon disguised as a human isn't that farfetched. Pokémon like Zoroark and Kadabra have been known to hide themselves with illusions. Put that together with historical accounts of Lucarios such as the one owned by Sir Aaron learning how to communicate with humans and you've got the perfect set up for a Riolu pretending to be a boy."
Personally, Ash felt like Gary's explanation was a bit of a stretch. While there were Pokémon who could disguise themselves, Riolu wasn't one of them. Plus speaking directly to humans via telepathy was an extremely rare skill even amongst psychic Pokémon. On top of that, Pokémon who could actually talk like humans were even rarer unless said Pokémon mimicking voices like a Chatot.
On the flip side, Gary saw Ash's tail and was able to come up with a theory. A theory which, to be fair, had more precedent than humans turning into Pokémon. He was just missing a lot of key data. Ash would have been fine letting him know more, but he was pretty sure Professor Oak wanted to be the one to let his own grandson in on the secret.
Oh no.
Ash was already in trouble for almost biting Gary. Was he going to be in even deeper trouble for screwing up and revealing himself and by extension the rest of the shifters? Or would it all be okay because it was an accident in the middle of an emergency? Should he go back to denying? No, it was too late for that. Ash basically admitted he had a tail. What if he told Gary what was going on and then asked Gary to fake being surprised when Professor Oak finally let him know?
While Ash's mind struggled to come up with the next step, Gary continued to talk. "So, was that Lucario I saw heading towards Gramp's bunker your mom?"
Gary's question broke Ash's train of manic thoughts. "Bunker?"
"The cellar in the field behind Gramp's lab," Gary explained. "I saw a Lucario heading toward it earlier. Didn't see much else, the entrance is just a bit out of ways from my window. She definitely went in there, though. She left tracks in the burnt dirt leading to the doors."
Burnt dirt. Ash knew which underground entrance Gary was talking about. He himself had passed by that entrance multiple times, though he had never went in. The professor and his Pokémon had forbade Ash from going down there, but for what reason Ash didn't know. He was told it was just storage, which begged the question of why it was so forbidden. Ultimately, Ash never felt the incentive to investigate. Why go down into the dusty old basement when there was plenty to be done with the plethora of Pokémon on the surface?
Gently, Pikachu prodded Ash's arm. "She may have just been grabbing something from the bunker before her hunt."
That sounded sort of plausible. Still, something felt off. What would a Lucario need before a hunt? Ash looked back at Gary. "Did she come back out with anything?"
A victorious smirk crossed over Gary's face at the word "her." Clearly, that was another admission that his family of disguised Pokémon theory was right. "Didn't see. I would have gone down if my Gramp's dragons weren't on patrol. Although…"
Gary's expression shifted from smug to focused. "Gramp's Nidoking was out there earlier too. He was carrying some large canisters down that same cellar. Charizard was burning the land around there as well."
That shouldn't be too concerning. If the cellar was for supplies it would only make sense that Nidoking would go down there to store those canisters. Also, Mrs. Charizard and other fire type Pokémon did like to practice in that field about once a month. Though Ash couldn't help but to think back to that time when Professor Oak's family was hospitalized and Mrs. Charizard was torching the plants for who knows why. Adding that together with the uncharacteristic attack on Gyarados yesterday and Ash wasn't sure what to think.
"It took an hour of plumbing, but never fear! The clog is gone and the upstairs bathroom is once again useable! I even sprayed it with a fresh lemon scent," Mimey's voice came from the other side of the room. The clown was wiping his hands with a towel and wearing a proud smile on his face. His smile was replaced with a look of shock when he saw Gary lounging on the couch. Mimey pointed an accusing finger at the boy. "You! You're not supposed to be here!"
Immediately, Mimey marched over to the phone and began dialing. The only response he got was the answering machine. So, he hung up and tried again. Curly foot tapping, Mimey turned towards Gary. "The second I can get someone to pick up, you're in big trouble, Mister!"
"Hey Ash, can you translate?" Gary laughed. "Is he calling about me or trying to order a pizza? Huh? Where are you going?"
A part of Ash told him there was nothing to worry about. That there were perfectly reasonable explanations for all the activity around that cellar. His gut said otherwise and he wasn't going to get any answers by just staying put. With those thoughts in mind, Ash dashed out the door.
"Ash!" Pikachu shouted after his friend.
"You don't have to go to the lab!" Mimey called out. "I'm sure someone will answer soon!"
Ignoring everyone's cries, Ash bolted down the road. Pikachu was probably right. Nidoking and his mother were just grabbing items and Mrs. Charizard was doing some practice or letting off steam. And yet, when Ash awoke that morning as a Riolu all he could feel in the air was tension. Tension from his normally cheery mother. Between her mood and the professor snapping, Ash just had to at least check and see if they were okay.
Ash slowed down when he arrived at the foot of the lab's stairs. From down there everything looked normal. So far so good.
"ASH!"
Looking around, Ash found himself tackled by an angry Pikachu. "Pikachu? What are-GAHH!"
Electricity erupted from Pikachu's body enveloping Ash. When the shock died down, Ash pulled Pikachu off him and let the mouse drop to the ground. "What was that for!?"
"For ditching me!" Pikachu huffed. "Would it kill you to at least let me know when you're about to run off?"
"Sorry, Pikachu," Ash apologized before turning his attention back to the lab. "I know you think everything's fine, but I've got to at least look."
Pikachu studied Ash for a minute before sighing. "Fine. But I'm checking with you."
"Fine by me," Ash smiled. He then spotted someone coming up behind Pikachu. "Gary, what are-"
"This way!" Gary ordered. Before Ash could protest, Gary grabbed Ash and yanked him into the bushes. Curious, Pikachu followed.
The three of them hunched in the foliage, watching the night sky. Well, Gary and Pikachu hunched. Ash squirmed out of Gary's grasp.
When Ash successfully slid out of Gary's arms, he rounded on the boy. "Why'd you do that?!"
In response, Gary wordlessly held one finger up to his mouth in the silence motion while point to the sky with another. Following the gesture, Ash could make out a pair of dragon silhouettes flying across the full moon sky. One silhouette, was carrying a plum of fair at the end of its tail. It must have been Mr. Dragonite and Mrs. Charizard.
"Looks like they figured out I'm gone," Gary muttered. When the dragons disappeared, he came out of the bushes and dusted off the leaves and twigs. "Locks his grandson up at night and then sicks his guard dragons on him, Gramps is crazy."
From where Ash was standing, that Professor Oak's actions where actually pretty reasonable given that Gary spent half of last week ditching school. He was about to point this out to Gary only for a Pokémon cry to exit his throat. "Rioool."
Midnight had finally come to pass and Ash's body immediately began to shift. Following his bark, blue and black fur sprung from his skin covering his entire person. His fang filled gums pressed forward past his lips while his aura feelers slid off his cranium like melting skin. Next, Ash's body compressed and shrank.
As Ash worked to remove his now oversized clothes, Gary and Pikachu watched with mixed looks of fascination and disgust.
"I would have thought you would look like a Zorua dropping an illusion or at least glowed like a Ditto using Transform," Gary muttered, not taking his eyes on the body horror before him. "This is just gross."
Now fully transformed, Ash the Riolu folded his arms and stuck out his tongue. "I'm not any grosser than your face!"
"You remember he can't understand you like this, right?" Pikachu deadpanned.
"I know," Ash grinned. Despite Gary's snark, Ash was feeling oddly relieved. It was liberating that a human outside of his pack sort of knew what he really was. Who cares if he messed up by spilling the beans!
Gary, meanwhile, bent down to get a better look at Ash. It was kind of funny. Despite the boy's disdain for his grandfather, Gary kind of resembled the professor as he gently poked and observed Ash. "That didn't look like an illusion. A lot closer to an ugly evolution. Or de-evolution. Hey Ash, can you talk like this?"
Ash was about to bark a "no," when a loud BOOM sounded off from the lab. Looking back toward the lab, Ash didn't see any smoke causing his eyes to narrow in suspicion.
"What was that?" Gary voiced everyone's thoughts.
Spotting the look in Ash's eyes, Pikachu walked up next to the Riolu. "Are we going in?"
"We're going in," Ash confirmed. Both he and Pikachu jogged up the stairs toward the lab, Gary following behind.
Following his gut, Ash didn't bother looking in the lab for the source of the explosion. Instead, he headed straight for the cellar out back. Ash's suspicions proved correct when he not only found the door to the bunker open, but an unfamiliar smell wafting from within. Oddly enough, the smell was not unlike bubblegum.
Before the group could descend, Ash turned around and held up a paw in a stopping motion. He knew that Pikachu could handle himself if the situation got out of hand, Gary not so much. The boy didn't have any Pokémon to protect him and Ash didn't want a repeat of the Gyarados encounter.
Seeing the Riolu's gesture, Gary snorted. "Do you really think you can keep me out of my own basement? You and I both know I'm not going to march back to your house to watch movies with your clown butler while something suspicious is going on in my backyard."
With that, Gary walked past Ash and Pikachu leaving the two Pokémon to stare after him. Ash tried calling after the boy. "Gary! Wait!"
"He's not going to listen," Pikachu sighed. "The best we can do is just make sure he doesn't get in over his head. Come on."
Ash groaned. He considered following after Gary, picking him up and throwing him out, but quickly tossed that idea to the side. Ignoring how difficult it would be to get a good grip on a human that was now taller than him, Ash was sure the second he pushed Gary out the boy would find his way back in just to spite Ash. He supposed he could break Gary's legs, but that just wasn't Ash's style. Ash wasn't the kind of guy to severally hurt another human or Pokémon and as far as he was concerned, there was no power in the world that could make him do otherwise.
So, there they were. A Riolu, a Pikachu, and a human navigating an underground bunker. The more they walked through the subterranean area, the more apparent it became that this bunker more of a maze. Despite the professor's insistence that this place was a storage area, there wasn't much down here. Occasionally there would be a dusty box sitting in a corner or a bottle of medicine halfheartedly discarded on the floor, though it was not nearly enough to consider this place a storage unit.
Though a maze like this one would have been difficult for a normal human to navigate, Ash was able to lead his group just fine thanks to his nose and aura senses. Through his sense of smell Ash could pick up that multiple people had been down here recently. There was Nidoking and his mother, just as Gary said, as well as Professor Oak, and three new scents that Ash vaguely recognized. Next to Ash, Pikachu frowned when he ran his nose over one of the new scents.
While smell was good for telling who passed through, Ash's real guiding sense was aura. Through it, Ash could feel that Nidoking and several other people were still on this floor. It was just a matter of finding the proper path to them. By combining smell and aura, Ash and his group were able to find that path. All the needed to do now was turn the corner and…
"You guys!?" Pikachu exclaimed.
Deeper in the Kennel
Delia lumbered around her cage, her body at war with itself. Even though she was deep underground she felt the power of the full moon flowing through her, charging her up, sending her instincts into a frenzy. Much to her frustration, she couldn't act on those instincts thanks to the foul fog that filled the room!
All throughout the chamber, the air was thick with a blue-purple fog that smelled of herbs and berries. Whenever Delia inhaled the sweet and spicy gas, her body turned lethargic sapping her strength and making it difficult to think straight. Whilst she knew she could break out of the cage she was barred in, Delia couldn't summon the strength so long as she was breathing in that troublesome air!
Growling in frustration, Delia fell to all fours and slowly plodded over on to a large, stuffed dummy of some kind of Pokémon. It was hard to tell which one it was as the dummy had been maimed beyond a recognizable form. Upon reaching the stuffed doll, Delia bit down on one of the still intact limbs and gave it a halfhearted tug. Even with the air handicapping her, Delia still felt the drive to chase, to rip, to hunt. What she wouldn't give to be out on the surface tracking down some prey.
Laying down, Delia grabbed onto the dummy with one of her claws and held it down while she continued to tear into to it. As she worked out her bottled up aggression, Delia spared a glance at the cage opposite hers. Inside that cage was another member of the pack. Her foggy memory informed her that that Pokémon used to be her mentor at some point.
Bereft of any real memories, her mind made up images of a monstrous Leafeon showing a young, female Riolu how to hunt down food and defend herself from would be attackers. It was pathetic to see that Leafeon in its current state, flopped down on the ground looking less like an apex predator and more like a compost pile.
Though she couldn't blame the Leafeon for its sorry state. A combination of the stupid air and old age had left the grass type slow and feeble. To make matters even more stressful on the old Pokémon, he was dealing with some personal issues. Delia couldn't quite recall all the details, but she was sure it was a rowdy pup.
That line of thought lead Delia to remembering her own pup. He's almost at the age where he'd be old enough to hunt for his own food and form his own pack. Or take over this one. That last one would be a bit tricky as he would have to fight Delia and the old one to prove himself worthy and neither of them were going to hand the puppy an easy win. It was a tough world out there and Delia would be doing her puppy a disservice by pulling her punches.
Delia's ears leaned back and her head fell down on the dummy using it as a makeshift pillow. Her pup wanted to scamper out of their den and into the world, but would he be able to care for himself? If only she wasn't in this cage, then Delia could go on a proper hunt with her pup. Show him how to properly sneak up on his prey. Demonstrate how to fight food that didn't know how to submit. Allow him to savor the sensation of his dinner squirming in his jaws in a fruitless bid for its life.
Suddenly, Delia's head shot up. New aura entered the underground labyrinth and one of those auras was her pup! As the air cleared up, Delia reared up on her hind legs. It would take a while to be back at full strength, but she would use every ounce of her power to make her way back to her child and—
HISSSH!
Before Delia could make her move, the chamber refilled itself with more of the foul air. Just as fast as she was up, Delia found herself stumbling back onto the ground. A small whine of frustration escaping her throat as she did so.
Back with Ash
After turning the corner, Ash found himself and his group looking into a large room. One side of the room held a number of large gas canisters, some of which were hooked up to some kind of contraption in the back. The contraption looked to be a mess of pipes and knobs. The best Ash could guess was the pipes were carrying whatever was in those canisters off to a different room. For what reason was anyone's guess.
Not far from the pipes was Nidoking who, for some reason, was stuck to the wall. Everything from his hefty tail, to his large feet, to his clawed hands were tied up in a glob of pink goo which reminded Ash of chewed gum.
Spotting Ash's group, Nidoking tried to say something. But thanks to the goo that was sticking half his face to the wall, all Nidoking could get out was "MMMM!"
Nidoking wasn't the only individual in the room. Standing on the other side of the contraption were three very familiar figures.
"You guys!?" Pikachu exclaimed.
The female trapper from the other day turned to look at Ash's group, Gary in particular. She scowled. "Oh, this twerp."
"Is he going to call the police again?" asked the man with blue hair. He was kneeling down next to what looked like an empty bazooka. Ash could detect a strong scent of gum wafting from the mouth of the bazooka.
"Doesn't matter because we ain't budgin' dis time!" grinned the short man who smelled like a cat. "Not when we've come so close to our goal!"
"Goal? What goal?" asked Gary in a mix of surprise and rage. An emotion Ash could relate with. He'd feel pretty upset if a group of burglars broke into his house and hog tied Mimey.
"Why the most noble goal of all: theft!" the woman elaborated shamelessly. "Our goal is to steel the most rare and valuable Pokémon available."
The blue haired man shared the woman's smile. "Word on the street is there is a Pokémon hiding in this lab that fits that description. We want to liberate it. For ourselves."
From his spot gummed up to the wall, Nidoking began to grunt and squirm.
"The Pokémon at this laboratory belong to their trainers!" Ash growled at the thieves. He slammed a fist into an open palm. "If you don't leave now, you guys are in for a world of trouble."
Much to Ash's surprise, the short man grinned and translated. "Do you hear dat guys? The guard dog says we're in for trouble."
The threat only seemed to amuse the woman. "Oh, I think you'll find that it is you who needs to prepare for trouble."
"And you should make it double," added on the blue hair man who was now standing next to the woman.
The pair than began to recite some kind of motto. They bounced off each other seamlessly and with such perfect synchronicity that Ash could practically hear villainous theme music playing in the background.
"To protect the world from devastation," recited the woman with flare.
"To unite all peoples within our nation," followed up the man. Where did he get that rose?
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"To extend our reach to the stars above."
With one swift motion, the pair somehow managed to throw off their hats and coats revealing their true work clothes underneath. Both robbers were wearing white uniforms with the woman's cut short to show off her midriff while the man's had long pants instead of a skirt. The robbers also wore black boots and gloves, though the woman's were a lot longer to compensate for the short skirt and sleeves on her top.
The woman whipped her long, magenta hair back and struck a deva pose. "Jessie."
The man tossed the rose in the air. As it flew up in the air, the petals fell off the stem showering the pair. "James."
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!" declared Jessie.
"Surrender now or prepare to fight," James said pointing toward Ash's group.
The final member of the trio threw off his disguise to reveal that he wasn't a short man with whiskers and a strong cat scent but, get this, a Meowth! "Meowth that's right!"
Ash, Pikachu, and Gary stared at the three slack jawed. It's not every day a burglar puts on a show before they try to rob you. Finally, Ash broke the silence.
"That the Meowth can talk!" Ash exclaimed.
"Nice of you to notice. As it turns out, I am one of those rare Pokémon who is intelligent and gifted enough to emulate the human tongue," Meowth explained while he smugly shinned his claws on his chest fur. Looking up, he shot Ash a toothy grin. "Jealous?"
"Like we'd be jealous of a dirty crook!" Pikachu spat.
"That's rich coming from a rodent," Meowth sneered. His tail twitched. "Shouldn't you be at some farmer's house gnawing on his dumb crops?"
"I'm here because Ash is my friend," Pikachu shot back. His checks began to spark threateningly. "And I'm not just going to sit back while his pack is being robbed."
"Same here!" Ash said, stepping forward and raising his paws in a fighting stance. Nidoking was gummed up, Mrs. Charizard and Mr. Dragonite were out looking for Gary, Mimey was probably meeting with them, the rest of the Pokémon kept at the lab were all locked up, and his mom and the professor were…who knows where. It was up to Ash and Pikachu to get rid of this robbers!
"Ha!" Meowth grinned and addressed his cohorts. "It looks like da twerp's puny Pokémon are looking for a fight."
"I'd like their chances better than yours," Gary fired back. "Seeing as how these two Pokémon took on the same Gyarados that sent you running."
"A likely story," Jessie sniffed before smirking at Gary. "But just to be safe. James!"
"On it!" James nodded before swiftly grabbing the bazooka and aiming it at Ash's group. He then pulled the trigger and…nothing happened.
James tried again and again to fire the bazooka to no avail. While Ash and his friends were startled at first, bracing themselves to dodge the blast, now they were looking at gun with expressions of confusion mirroring Team Rocket's. Finally Meowth had enough.
"Don't tell me you twos didn't bring enough ammo!" shouted the cat in rage.
"Excuse me! Do you know how many hours we spent concocting that goo?" Jessie placed her hands on her hips. "My jaws still hurt from chewing all that gum. If you wanted more ammo, you should have joined in!"
"I was busy risking my life, scouting out dis lab!" Meowth argued back. "I spent hours trapped in a tree after a dumb Growlithe chased me around!"
"In our defense, we didn't think we'd be using up all the ammo on one Pokémon," James added in. "That Nidoking was tough."
In speaking of Nidoking, Ash looked over at the retired champion Pokémon. The poison type was still trying to escape by pulling at the sticky goo that bolted him to the wall. He only stopped when the metallic grinding of pipes moving sounded from behind the wall. That sound of stressed pipes caused Nidoking to freeze up and stop his struggle.
Upon hearing the pipes, Ash felt a wave of fear emanate from Nidoking. Ash's best guess was that Nidoking was afraid that he might accidently tear apart the wall and bring down the room on everyone. Ash gave Nidoking a thumbs up to reassure the drill Pokémon. These Team Rocket goons didn't look too tough.
Despite Ash's reassurance, Nidoking's ears folded back against his head making him look even more worried.
Meanwhile, Gary watched Team Rocket argue with a raised brow. "So, what do you guys plan on doing now that you're out of gum-goo or whatever that junk is? Are you going to steal my gramp's super-secret Pokémon that he probably doesn't even have with your own hands? Because let me tell you, that thing's a fighter."
"Snarky brat," Jessie scowled. She reached down to her belt and grabbed a Poké Ball. Pressing the button in the middle, the tiny ball grew to the size of a baseball. "Time for plan B! Go Ekans!"
With that, Jessie tossed the ball. The ball split open releasing a flash of light that took shape on the floor. When the light died down, it revealed a coiled, purple rattlesnake with a yellow belly, neck, rattle, and slit eyes.
"I'm ready, Massster!" hissed the snake.
Following Jessie's lead, James tossed out his own ball. "Weepinbell, take them head on!"
Another Pokémon took to the battlefield. This one resembled a yellow, pitcher plant with a pair of green leaves for arms and a short, brown stem growing out of the back of its "head." Said head was actually the pitcher as indicated by the googly eyes located toward the back of the pitcher tube and the pink, peristome mouth. Said mouth was currently chomping on James's face.
"I said take them head on! Not take on my head!" James's exclaimed.
Taking her partner's struggle in stride, Jessie focused her attention on the battle. "Ekans, poison them with your Acid!"
Obediently following his trainer's command, Ekans's mouth opened up unleashing a thick, purple liquid. The acid flew through the air straight at Ash and Pikachu causing the two to leap to the side. A sizzling, hiss emanated from the acid when it hit the ground. Though the acid was not corrosive enough to eat through the floor, Ash was glad it didn't touch his skin.
"If that's how you want to play, then fine by me!" Pikachu declared. The electricity already sparking from his checks began to emanate from his entire body. "Thundershock!"
Lightning flew from Pikachu's body straight at the snake. Before Ekans could get zapped, James finally managed to pull Weepinbell off his face and toss it into the battle. Right in front of Ekans.
"GAAAAH!" Weepinbell cried out in pain. Electricity engulfed the plant leaving him slightly charred.
"Excellent work, James!" Jessie congratulated her partner in crime.
"Ah! Weepinbell!" James cried, clearly not intending for his Pokémon to take the hit.
Not letting the plant shield go to waste, Jessie gave her next command. "Now Ekans, use Dig!"
Ekans sprang up into the air and dived head first into the concrete floor. Normally such an act would result in a cracked skull. It was thanks to the move Dig that Ekans was able to tunnel through the sturdy floor as though it was made of soft dirt.
Ash's aura sensors stiffened. Looks like the floor was thick enough for the Ekans to tunnel through, but not nowhere near deep enough to escape Ash's aura senses. Through the snake's aura, Ash could tell Ekans was passing Pikachu and circling around for a behind attack.
Just as Ekans was about to spring up from the ground, Ash leapt over Pikachu to meet the snake. Ash's plan worked and when Ekans surfaced, he met a Force Palm to the face. It was super effective.
With Ash busy taking care of Ekans, James decided to strike. "Weepinbell, retaliate with Razor Leaf!"
Weepinbell began throwing his leaf arms back and forth. As he did so, multiple razor-edged leaves sprang from his main leaves. The leaves flew forward and rotated in the air like disks. The bladed leaves were about to hit Ash's exposed back, when Pikachu leapt in front of Ash and sent a blast of electricity at the leaves, knocking them out of the air.
"Thanks for having my back!" Ash grinned at Pikachu.
Pikachu returned Ash's smile. "Right back at ya!"
"Hey!" Gary called from the side lines causing Ash to jump. He'd almost forgot about his new friend. "Keep your heads in the game!"
Ash mentally kicked himself. He and Pikachu scored a couple good hits, but Team Rocket wasn't down just yet. As good as it felt to have his first battle with Pokémon trainers (granted he wasn't acting as a trainer himself), these people weren't here for fun and Ash had to stay serious!
"Try to deflect this! Ekans, Acid!" Jessie ordered Ekans.
Once again, Ekans spat out a glob of acid at Ash and Pikachu. While the pair was dodging the poison, James gave Weepinbell his next order. "Weepinbell, stop them with Stun Spore!"
Weepinbell inhaled deeply before releasing his breath. When he did so, a cloud of golden spores puffed out into the room heading straight for Ash and Pikachu. What's more, the range of the spores were quickly widening leaving no room to dodge.
"Can you deflect it like with the leaves?" Ash asked Pikachu.
Pikachu shook his head. "No way. The spores are too small."
As Ash's mind raced, Gary called out to him again. "Do either of you have a long distance move or something that can whip up a wind?"
Oh yeah! Ash slashed his arm forward creating a wind blade. "Vacuum Wave!"
The wind blade flew forward causing the air around it to create a small gust. The move successfully dispersed the Stun Spore leaving Ash and Pikachu unharmed. Ash barked a thanks to Gary. This was the benefit of having a trainer. Not only did it help to have another pair of eyes, but sometimes it was hard to come up with plans in the heat of battle.
Still, Gary wouldn't be too much help if he doesn't know all of Ash's moves. Perhaps he needed a demonstration of what else Ash could do. So far Ash has only shown off two moves: Force Palm and Vacuum Wave. Of Ash's remaining moves he had one offensive and one defensive. The defensive move only really worked in tight situations which left the offensive move.
"Hey Gary!" Ash barked. "Check this out!"
After charging energy to his feet, Ash jumped in the air. When Ash came down, he delivered a kick to Ekans's side. Before the snake could retaliate, Ash used the same move to make a speedy retreat.
"Quick Attack, nice," Gary smiled in approval. "Try combining it with your Force Palm."
Taking Gary's suggestion, Ash dashed across the room and plowed his palm into Weepinbell's face. Once again, he used Quick Attack to retreat. He did this again and again, hitting Weepinbell from different sides and angles causing Weepinbell to go dizzy from trying to keep up and momentarily stopped fighting back.
So occupied with beating down Weepinbell, Ash almost missed Ekans sneaking up on him. Just before the snake could land a Bite, Pikachu bolted forward and slammed his body into Ekans sending the snake tumbling to the side.
Ash noted the increase in energy Pikachu used to speed up his attack. "When did you learn Quick Attack?"
"Just now," Pikachu grinned. "You just gather the energy at your feet, right?"
"Uh, yeah," Ash confirmed. His shoulders drooped in a little. He didn't get that move right until a little kid-bunny came along to tutor him. "How did you learn it so fast?"
"It's a pretty basic move," Pikachu said modestly. "Once you understand the basic principle, it becomes easy to execute."
Well now Ash just felt a little dumb. The only move he got correct off the bat was Force Palm. His other moves came from Pokémon instructing him. Did certain moves come easier to certain Pokémon, or was he just slow?
Gary whistled at the pair. "Bad guys at twelve o'clock. Ash, Pikachu, circle Ekans while Weepinbell is down."
Sharing a nod, Ash and Pikachu zoomed forward to run circles around Ekans. Ekans tried to fight back by biting or spiting Acid at the pair, but every time he zeroed in on one target the other Pokémon would use that as an opening for an attack. Just as it looked like Ekans was going to faint, Weepinbell sprung back into battle.
"Weepinbell, use Slam!" called out James.
"Ash, Vacuum Wave behind you!" Gary ordered.
Sensing the incoming Weepinbell, Ash spun around and dragged one of his arms through the air. The spin in combo with the arm motion created a large air wave which blasted Weepinbell back. Ash's tail wagged when he saw the powered up move. "I'll have to remember that one!"
"Quick! While the Riolu's busy! Use Acid!" Jessie cried out.
Ekans zeroed in on Ash's back and opened his jaw.
Gary didn't miss a beat. "Pikachu! Grab Ekans and shock him!"
Pikachu jumped forward and grabbed Ekans. "Do you like hugs?"
Ekans paused his attack and gulped. "Pleasse sstop hugging me."
"Too late," Pikachu announced. Electricity cackled across both his and Ekans's body, stunning the snake.
Seeing that the snake was now stunned, Ash grabbed Ekans by the tail. He addressed Pikachu. "Mind if I take this?"
"By all means," Pikachu said, letting the snake go.
With Pikachu now off Ekans, Ash tightened his grip and began spinning the snake around. The two spun around and around with Ash serving as the center of the makeshift top. Finally, Ash released Ekans allowing the snake to fly across the room and collide into Weepinbell. The snake and plant then went crashing into a wall where they both released pained groans.
"Alright! We won!" Ash cheered. He bounded over to Pikachu to give his friend a high-five. But just before he could congratulate the mouse, Meowth leapt across the room and scratched both Ash and Pikachu causing them to stumble back in pain.
"Don't forget about little ol' Meowth," purred the cat as he backed away to safety, smugly flexed his claws all the way.
While Ash and Pikachu were recovering from Meowth's surprise attack, James grabbed another Poke Ball from his belt. "Koffing, use Sludge!"
The ball cracked open revealing a floating, round, purple Pokémon covered with bulbous pores. Just below the Pokémon's fanged, smiling face were white markings which looked a lot like a skull and cross bones. Koffing spied Pikachu and spat out a glob of dark, brown goo.
Koffing's goo shot through the air nailing Pikachu in the eyes. Though Pikachu grabbed and pulled, the goo stayed fixed to his face like a blind fold. While Pikachu struggled, Ekans and Weepinbell got back up with the former diving back underground. Both combatants were bruised, but not completely out.
Ash looked around wildly. Weepinbell was on onside, Meowth was on the other. Koffing floated overhead, Ekans was working his way underneath. He was surrounded. Growling in frustration, Ash barked at Meowth. "Four verses two isn't fair!"
"Of course it ain't fair," Meowth preened. "We're the bad guys!"
"And as the bad guys we don't have to care about rules of engagement," Jessie added in with a smirk. She then pointed at Gary. "Ekans, grab the twerp!"
Before Gary could react, Ekans shot up from the floor and used his Wrap attack to bind the boy.
"What's going on!?" Pikachu asked in a panicked voice. His ears twitched as he looked around wildly.
Ash's heart began to pick up the pace. Nidoking was still trapped, Pikachu was blind, and Gary was basically a hostage. Oh, how the tables had turned.
"Why don't you be a good doggie and stay there while we get our work done," jeered James.
Ash growled. He couldn't just let these guys get away with robbing the professor. Ash tried to think of a way out, but if he tried attacking any of the Pokémon that would just leave him vulnerable to attack from the others. The same applied if he tried to clean the slime off of Pikachu or wrestle Ekans away from Gary.
Still growling, Ash sat down on the ground. "Fine. You win."
"That's a good puppy," Jessie cooed in a voice that made Ash want to puke. She reached into the sack and grabbed a metal collar. When she tossed the collar at Ash's feet, it popped open. "Now, if you'll just put on that shock collar, we'll get you into your cage so that we can ship you out of here when we're done."
"Cage!?" Ash exclaimed.
"Ash! I can feel the electricity in that thing. It really is a shock collar. Don't put it on!" Pikachu shouted. He clawed more aggressively at the sludge on his face, but to no avail.
Despite the threat of a snake attack, Gary decided to throw his two cents in. "I thought you guys were just here for that dumb Route One Monster!"
Jessie waved her finger back in forth. "Tisk, tisk. Didn't we just get through explaining that we go after rare and valuable Pokémon? Riolus fit both of those criteria."
"And besides, it'll be a good safety net incase our current lead on the Route One Monster is a bust," James threw in.
Ash glared down at the collar in disgust. This was not how you captured a Pokémon! Ignoring the fact that Ash was actually half Pokémon, a trainer was supposed to earn a Pokémon's loyalty by proving themselves in battle or through their deeds. Not with dirty tricks!
Desperate to find a solution, Ash took one last look around the room. He could see Meowth and Weepinbell inch closer to Pikachu and Ekans tighten his grip on Gary. To the side, Ash caught Nidoking giving him an apologetic look. Sighing, Ash spoke to Pikachu. "Pikachu, if I can't escape please tell my mom what happened."
"Ash!" exclaimed Pikachu.
"Don't worry," Ash said as he reached down for the collar. "I'll find a way out of this."
Pikachu's checks sparked. "Don't be an idiot!"
Slowly, Ash brought the open collar to his neck.
"STOP!" Lightning sprang from Pikachu's body and branched around the room, shocking everyone. Team Rocket yelped in pain as electricity coursed through their bodies. Ekans and Gary were sent flying back when a bolt lashed against Ekans's coils. The collar in Ash's paws exploded from the overload. Ash himself winced in pain, but thanks to the vitality supplied by the full moon he was able to muscle through it.
Over against the wall, Nidoking was still trapped and looking more destressed than ever. Wait. Nidoking was a ground type, the electricity shouldn't affect him. Why would he look so destressed? Following Nidoking's line of sight, Ash saw that the gas canisters were shocked loose by Pikachu's attack. As a result, a sweet and spicy smelling gas began to leak out of the canisters and into the room.
Deeper in the Kennel
Delia rose to her feet and sniffed. Odd. The foal air wasn't blowing into the room any more.
Curious, Delia looked around. The old one's body began to twitch, indicating he was also breaking out of the effects of the bad air. Also, the Nidoking that usually came around by now with food was missing.
With a lack of immediate information, Delia decided to reach out with her aura. Beyond her cell she could sense Pokémon in their burrows perfectly content, nothing unusual. The plants were starting to stir now that the old one was waking up, only a matter of time before they begin to swarm the prison.
Finally, Delia zeroed in a cluster of auras several floors above her. One of them belonged to the Nidoking, though he was a lot more stressed than usual, and most were strangers. A few felt familiar, but she wasn't sure where they met before.
The last aura in that room was most defiantly her pup. Delia could sense the fatigue and adrenalin, indicating her pup was in a fight. Even more alarming was her pup's stress. Someone had upset her pup. Someone was putting her pup in danger. Someone was going to pay.
Snarling, Delia grabbed ahold of the bars of her cage and pulled. The second her claws wrapped around the bars a massive jolt of electricity coursed through her body. Yelping in pain, Delia momentarily backed off before charging the side of her cage and breaking the bars down.
Now free of her cell, Delia gave her body a quick shake. She was still feeling sluggish from the gas that was still in her system, but not enough to keep her away from her pup. Raising her clawed hand, Delia brought it down on the door breaking it open and letting her loose.
Back with Ash
The gas swirled around the room assaulting Ash with its thick scent. As far as Ash could tell, it was a mix of herbs and berries though he couldn't tell right away which ones. When he sniffed the air to get a better picture, Ash immediately felt the gas's effects.
Tense muscles when slack and Ash's eyelids began to droop. The Riolu tried to stand up straight, but his body immediately began to flop. Inwardly Ash began to feel woozy. Despite all the danger, Ash wanted to lay down.
Shaking himself, Ash tried to reorient. Through the thin fog of gas and the noise of Team Rocket's confused panic, Ash could sense both Pikachu's and Gary's auras. Pikachu, though blind, could take care of himself. Gary didn't have any electric powers to fight back with, so Ash decided to free him first.
Sluggishly, Ash made his way over to Gary. The good news was that between the battle and Pikachu's massive Thundershock the Ekans looked to be on his last legs (so to speak). The bad news was that after breathing in that gas, Ash wasn't feeling to up to battling himself. Gary, aside from occasionally coughing from either the gas or the snake strangling him, was fine.
Though he was weak, Ekans still managed to give his tail a rattle. "Put that collar on like Jessie commanded."
Instead of dignifying that threat with a response, Ash growled and made for an attack. He tried to hit Ekans with a Force Palm, but missed. Ekans took advantage of this blunder and bit down on Ash's back before throwing him away.
Shaking, Ash tried to get back up on his hind legs. His will and shaky body were able to compromise and Ash stood up on all fours. He then charged forward, which looked more like a clumsy fast walk, and bared his teeth. The gas may have been messing with his ability to perform regular Pokémon moves, but he could still fight the old fashioned way. Opening his jaws, Ash leapt forward to give Ekans a bite.
"OW!"
Surprised, Ash let go and shook himself. Getting a good look at where he attacked, Ash saw that Ekans moved his head out of the way in time causing Ash to bite into Gary's neck instead. Growling at the now laughing snake, Ash got ready to charge in again.
CRACK!
The gas that was already slowly making its way out of the room now drained away faster thanks to a new hole in the floor. The source of this hole was a massive, blue, clawed hand that was currently sticking out of the concrete like a zombie hand clawing up from its grave. Everyone stared at the clawed hand, frozen in shock. Behind him, Ash could feel Nidoking's fear spike.
Then, slowly, the claw withdrew back into the hole. There was a minute of silence where no one said anything. Finally, James spoke up. "What was-"
"LUCAAAAR!" came a loud roar. The floor shock several times, feeling as though something was knocking from below. Finally, it burst open.
Climbing out from the cracked open floor was a massive Lucario. Spikes along the arms, glowing, red eyes, and thick fur. When the Lucario finally managed to crawl into the room, it stood up revealing it was tall enough to scrap the room's ceiling with its head. No, not an it. Ash could tell from the scent that this mutant of a Lucario was a female. A very familiar smelling female.
"Mom?" Ash asked drowsily.
Though Ash couldn't see any pupils in the Lucario's red eyes, he could feel her spare him a glance before turning to face the cowering Team Rocket.
"I-is that it?" James stuttered.
"I think so," Jessie shook.
"Quick! Plan C! Plan C!" Meowth shouted anxiously.
"Right!" Jessie and James coursed. The pair reached into a bag and threw a pair of metal balls at the Lucario. The balls broke open revealing a pair of contraptions that looked like metal ropes. The metal ropes sprang at the Lucario and wrapped around her body, momentarily binding her.
"Now! While she's trapped! Attack!" called out Meowth with a bit more courage.
All the other Team Rocket Pokémon went to work. Weepinbell began rapidly firing Razor Leafs across the Lucarios body while Koffing went up to her head and puffed a large cloud of Poison Gas in her face. Ekans ditched Gary and slithered off to start spraying Acid at her ankles.
It was not very effective.
None of the attacks seemed to bother the Lucario. If anything she just looked annoyed, staring at Team Rocket with a furrowed brow and pursed lips. This was followed by a loud SNAP as by just flexing her muscles she was able to break out of her restraints. She then began to reach for the now screaming humans.
CRACK!
Nidoking finally broke free from the wall. Still covered in the sticky substance and now peppered front and back with pieces of the concrete ceiling that fell on him as he made his escape. With the floor, ceiling, and some of the wall compromised, the room began to give.
Planting himself between the Lucario and Team Rocket, Nidoking grabbed the Lucario's claw and shoved it back. The Lucario growled and brought down another claw in a slashing motion. Nidoking brought up a cement armored forearm, allowing his makeshift arm guard to take the damage instead of him.
As the Lucario reached down to grab Nidoking, the drill Pokémon looked over at Ash. "Ash, take Gary and Pikachu and leave!"
"What's going on!?" Ash barked back. With the gas cleared out, he could slowly feel his head clear and body steady.
"I'll explain later!" Nidoking yelled. Electricity sprung from his spikes and hit the Lucario square in the face eliciting an angry snarl from the beast. "Go! Now!"
Ash was about to refuse, when he felt Pikachu tugging at his tail. The mouse was pulling him away from the crumbling room and toward the exit. Next to the exit, Gary rose from the ground, one of his hands scratching the area where Ash bit him. Ash spared Nidoking and the Lucario one last glance before following his friends and leaving the room. The wall collapsed behind, sealing them out.
While the trio retreated down the hallway, Pikachu continued to wipe the slime from his face. He grunted in frustration as he pulled and wiped at the substance to no avail. Finally, Gary brought their group to a stop.
"Hold on, I think there might be some water in these boxes," Gary said before heading over to one of the dusty boxes sagging against the wall, scratching at his side as he did so.
Something was off about Gary. Ash wasn't quite sure what it was, perhaps it was just in his head. Tonight had been very taxing on his sense of normalcy. But now that they had successfully escaped the bandits and that monster of a Lucario, Ash was able to spot a number of oddities with Gary. His scent was off, smelling more like a mix between his normal odor and something else. Ash was sure he knew that scent, he just couldn't recall where from. What's more his clothes were looking a little looser than earlier and there was a large, black smudge on the boy's nose that Ash was certain wasn't there a minute ago.
The biggest oddity was the scratching. As Gary rummaged around for water, he would reach up to either his side or back and give it a quick scratch. Not a fan of silence, Ash voiced his thoughts.
"Wow, you're itchy," Ash said. He watched as Gary finally fished out a water bottle and used it to dampen the hem of his shirt.
"Yeah, I don't know why," Gary agreed. He rubbed the dampened hem across Pikachu's eyes, clearing away the sludge. "Maybe I'm allergic to whatever was in that smoke."
"That could be it," Ash nodded.
…
Gary stopped cleaning Pikachu and swerved around. His eyes were wide with surprise that matched the shock in his aura, though Ash could also sense some annoyance. "You could talk this whole time!?"
Now it was Ash's turn to be surprised. He stepped back, ears perked, and tail standing straight up. "You can understand me?"
"Who's understanding who?" Pikachu asked, rubbing away what was left of the slime from his eyes.
"Holy!" Gary's head circled back around to stare at Pikachu. The annoyance swirling around his aura was replaced with pure confusion.
So, it wasn't just Ash. For some mysterious reason Gary could now understand Pikachu too. Again, Ash recalled the weird gas. "Do you think this is because of that gas?"
"Don't be stupid," Gary remarked, rolling his eyes. He reached up to the spot where Ash bit him and began scratching at it in a rapid manner similar to how some clawed, quadruped Pokémon alleviated an itch. Was it just Ash, or was there extra hair trailing down his neck? "It would take more than just breathing in a gas to understand Pokémon!"
"Says the guy who's talking to a Riolu!" Ash fired back. Looking away from Gary, Ash folded his arms and thought. "Do you guys think that's why the professor kept this place secret? So that he could work on a Pokémon translation gas?"
"Maybe," Pikachu said. The mouse frowned and his ears twitched curiously. "It might also be to hide that monster Pokémon back there."
Right, the monster Lucario. Thinking about it sent a shiver down Ash's spine. It wasn't just the scent of the monster that put him off. The creature's aura was erratic and unstable. Even now Ash could feel the Lucario's frenzied aura like an out of control fire burning her alive and threatening to consume everyone around her. That wild aura was like nothing Ash had ever seen. Yet it, like the monster's scent, was familiar.
"I think that monster might have been my mom," Ash muttered.
"Ash," Pikachu began, concern clear in his voice.
"It makes sense! Mom's the only Lucario in Pallet Town, plus Gary saw her go down here earlier!" Ash exclaimed. Earlier this evening Ash would have thought his mother and the professor would be dashing through the woods or hunting a late meal to burn off excess full moon energy. Now he wasn't sure what to think. "Do you think this is where she and the professor go every full moon?"
"Full moon!?" Gary exclaimed.
Looking back at Gary, both Ash and Pikachu jumped in astonishment. It looked like the hair was indeed traveling down Gary's neck, and up his arms, and across his face. What's more, the black smudge had completely taken over the tip of Gary's nose. His teeth had sharpened into fangs while his pupils had dilated to the point where they almost consumed his eyes.
"You said this happens every full moon, right?" Gary urgently asked.
"Gary…your hair," Ash managed to say in a shaky voice.
Confused, Gary reached up to feel the hair on his head. It was as he reached that he noticed his now hairy hand. Shaking, Gary turned both his hands around to see that they were both sprouting more hair by the second. Alarm growing, Gary grabbed the bottom of his shirt and brought it up revealing even more hair. Gary cast his now fearful eyes down at Ash. "Y-you bit me earlier."
"Uh, yeah. That was an accident. Sorry about that," Ash apologized, rubbing the back of his head bashfully. Looking back up at Gary, Ash noticed the hair around his neck was growing out and lightening from brown to a creamy white. Ash stepped forward. "Look, you don't have to worry about the bite. I had my shots. But right now you've got bigger problems."
"Stay back!" shouted Gary. The normally cocky boy's body was almost ridge with fear. He held out a hand in a stopping motion to create some semblance of a barrier between him and Ash. No sooner had he done so that his arm begin to shrivel until it disappeared up his sleeve.
Gary let out a startled cry which sounded like a cross between a human yelp and the yowl of a scared animal. While he tried to wiggle around his stub of an arm, his fuzzy ears sprang out from his head becoming thin and long. Finally, the rest of his body followed his arm and Gary shrank into his clothes.
Both Ash and Pikachu watched the transformation frozen in place with twin looks of horror. Pikachu was the first to recover and dashed over to the now squirming pile of clothes. When he pulled back Gary's shirt, he revealed a small Pokémon shaking from head to toe.
This Pokémon was mostly covered in brown fur save for the fluffy cream colored mane around its neck. The Pokémon's body was quadrupedal with four paws similar to those of a feline or a canine. The Pokémon's face also seemed to be a cross between those two families of Pokémon with a short muzzle, long ears, and some extra fur atop its head. Ash immediately identified the Pokémon as an Eevee. Mostly an Eevee. All that was missing was the-
FWOOF!
A fluffy, vulpine tail sprouted from Gary's rear completing his transformation.
Though surprising, Ash was able to quickly reason through this turn of events. It actually made a whole bunch of sense when he thought about it. Professor Oak's Pokémon form was a Leafeon so why wouldn't Gary turn into an Eevee? Good news for the professor, turns out his grandson did inherit the shapeshifting gene! He was probably just a late bloomer.
Wagging his tail to try and put Gary at easy, Ash stepped forward again. "Okay. So Professor Oak was going to let you in on the secret, but I guess the Meowth's out of the bag. You see my mom and I aren't Pokémon disguised as humans. We're really-"
Gary backed away from Ash, stumbling over his clothes. Keeping his eyes fixed on the Riolu, Gary finished Ash's sentence for him. "WerePokémon!"
New Pokémon Stats!
Meowth
Trainer: None
Ability: Pickup
Nature: Top Cat
Item: Thieving tools
Moves: Fury Swipes, Bite, Nasty Plot, Snatch
Ekans
Trainer: Jessie
Ability: Shed Skin
Nature: Docile
Item: None
Moves: Wrap, Acid, Dig, Bite
Weepinbell
Trainer: James
Ability: Gluttony
Nature: Naughty
Item: None
Moves: Razor Leaf, Wrap, Slam, Stun Spore
Koffing
Trainer: James
Ability: Levitate
Nature: Impish
Item: None
Moves: Smokescreen, Tackle, Sludge, Poison Gas
AN: There! There Pokémon. There laboratory. What? You guys don't want me to talk this way? Suit yourself. I'm easy.
Update: I'll be working on this story slowly as my main project is The Crest of a Master. However, I'll try to update this at least once every two months. Consider this chapter the January/February update. I'll try to have the next chapter out by March/April.
To answer an inquiry from an earlier chapter, Eevees and their evolutions are kind of a mix between foxes, cats, dogs, rabbits, and other animals that would be considered cute and cuddly. Some eeveelutions lean more into one animal like Espeon being a cat and Glaceon's artic fox influences and blah, blah, blah. In any case, I'd say Eevees and their evolutions are canine enough to be included in the curse. Plus there are a lot of them which gives me a lot more Pokémon to work with.
So yeah, Gary is an Eevee. It's pretty much just as I explained in chapter 3. Moving on.
For Jessie's Ekans I gave it the moves Wrap (for kidnapping), Acid (poison type needs a poison move), Dig (for escapes and break-ins), and Bite (close range attack). Its nature is docile as it has been shown to be pretty chill without Jessie giving it orders and its ability is Shed Skin because Team Rocket has the uncanny ability to recover from almost any wound.
James's Weepinbell gets the moves Wrap (for grabbing), Slam (close range attack), Razor Leaf (ranged grass attack), and Stun Spore (easier to steal something if it doesn't move). It gets the nature Naughty and the ability Gluttony because of its tendency to attack James the second it's let out of is ball.
While we are talking about it, yes James gets a Weepinbell. Yes, I know James didn't get a Victreebel until episode 52 or something. However, it was a Pokémon he said he had as a Weepinbell and he was happy it evolved so we can assume he had a Weepinbell before that. I'm just going to assume that he had it on him the entire time but was squeamish about sending it out to battle since James has been known to be protective of some of his Pokémon (see Chimeco and Mime Jr.). I'm keeping its face eating personality for the laughs.
As for James's Koffing it gets the ability Levitate (we all float down here) and the Impish personality for its smile combing with its criminal status. Move-wise it gets Smokescreen and Poison Gas to fulfill its main job as the getaway distraction, Sludge to blind its opponents, and Tackle for a simple melee attack.
Meowth isn't really a combatant, but I decided to at least give it the basic four moves. He gets Fury Swipes and Bite because those were some of the few moves he can use in cannon. This cat is always coming up with harebrained schemes, so we're going to translate that to the move Nasty Plot. Finally, he's a thief so he gets the move Snatch and the ability Pickup.
Pokémon Introduced
Eevee: Normal, The Evolution Pokémon
Ekans: Poison, The Snake Pokémon
Koffing: Poison, The Poison Gas Pokémon
Weepinbell: Grass, Poison, The Flycatcher Pokémon
Next Time: Momma Werewolf vs Purple People Eater and Grandpa Plant Wolf wakes up from his nap
