Hi everyone, it's time for another update : ) I'm really trying to get these chapters up now because I want to get Nolan and Ash out on their adventure properly - so I can get my Nuzlocke properly going too : ) There's just quite a few things to be set up first, but we're getting there : )
Anyway, the result of the votes was pretty interesting this time around.
They ended up in a tie - Caterpie vs Geodude. I honestly wasn't expecting this to happen so early on in the story : ) I wasn't really sure what to do at first, since I figured putting it up for vote again would just end in the same way. In the end, I decided that in order to keep this completely random and out of my control, the fairest thing to do would be to flip a coin. So it ended up being Heads for Caterpie and Tails for Geodude. And the result was...
Tails!
So Geodude has joined my team.
I'm sorry Caterpie fans, but I figured this was the fairest thing I could do to break the tie : ) Honestly, I've never really used Butterfree, Golem or Arbok in my teams when I play the games, so I'd have been happy with any of them. I'm pretty interested to see what Geodude can do though : )
Anyway, I just wanted to say another huge thank you to those of you that have reviewed, favourited, and followed this story. The support it's been getting has been great, so thank you all very much: )
Finally, please remember that Pokemon is not mine, but my OC is : )
I hope you enjoy this chapter : )
Pokemon! I Choose You! - Part 5
With his earlier anger at the other boy having faded now that they were finally setting out on their journey, Nolan now found himself feeling rather sympathetic towards his best friend. The small group of four was on the outskirts of Pallet Town, beyond the farmlands close to the settlement's border. And of those four, three of them were perfectly content in each others' company. The last member of the party... not so much.
And unfortunately for the raven haired trainer, Pikachu was making his resentment about the current situation crystal clear.
The little yellow menace was doing everything in his power to go out of his way to make things difficult for Ash. The electric type Pokemon would at random intervals simply sit himself down and refuse to take another step. If Ash tried to touch him, he'd unleash powerful Thundershock attacks. At one point, the small furry Pokemon even tripped Ash by deliberately scurrying under the boy's feet. Pikachu sniggered to himself as Ash lay on his back in the dirt.
The sounds of that vindictive laughter was the final straw for the new trainer.
Grinding his teeth together in sheer frustration, Ash angrily tore Pikachu's pokeball off his belt and aimed it at the small yellow creature, who was still sniggering away to himself for his latest trick. When a beam of crimson light tried to absorb him however, Pikachu darted out of the way, refusing to allow himself to be recalled. He then fired another Thundershock attack at Ash.
The raven haired trainer's entire face turned scarlet as he fumed.
Meanwhile, Nolan and Meadow could only look on in shock, both of them sweat-dropping, as they tried to take in the spectacle before them. After a brief moment, they shared an incredulous glance.
"Let's make a promise to each other right now" Nolan deadpanned in a low voice to avoid drawing Ash's or Pikachu's attention, "Let's never act like those two. Agreed?"
Meadow looked up at him with a half amused, half bewildered expression.
"Bulba" she nodded in agreement.
The sound of furious yelling quickly recaptured their attention, and Nolan and Meadow both turned back to the feuding duo they were supposed to be travelling with.
"I'M NOT GONNA SAY IT AGAIN PIKACHU!" Ash yelled at the top of his lungs, fists clenched so tightly his knuckles were turning white, "GET BACK INSIDE YOUR POKEBALL RIGHT NOW!"
He tried three more times to return the electric type.
And three more times, Pikachu effortlessly dodged out of the way of the red beams.
"Chu!" Pikachu sniggered in amusement.
Nolan swore that he could see the veins in Ash's forehead actually bulging, his dark haired friend was getting so worked up by his partner's taunting and misbehaviour. Feeling a fresh wave of sympathy for the other boy, the blonde stepped over to him to offer some advice.
"Ash, take it easy, okay" he said soothingly, "If Pikachu doesn't want to go into the pokeball, just let him stay out here with us".
Ash rounded on Nolan with narrowed eyes.
Nolan looked right back at him, unperturbed. Out of the two of them, Nolan knew he was the more fierce. There was little that could intimidate him, and certainly not Ash. Usually, at any rate.
"Let him stay out?!" Ash exclaimed as if Nolan had taken leave of his senses, "Did you not see how he tripped me before?!"
"Pi!" Pikachu tittered with laughter once more.
Nolan allowed a soft sigh to slip his lips.
"I did - but I can also see how riled up you're getting, which in turn is encouraging Pikachu to keep acting this way" Nolan reasoned objectively, "So just let him stay out here where you can keep an eye on him".
Ash glanced down at the offending Pokemon, who merely smirked mischievously back up at him.
"Fine" Ash growled through clenched teeth.
"Good, now come on" Nolan smiled brightly as they quartet resumed their hike, albeit completely reluctantly in Pikachu's case, "We're still have a ways to go before we're out of Pallet Town. Then we'll be out in the wild".
The blonde boy's nerves tingled with excitement at the thought.
He had never been out in the wild without his father there before, but now that he was a trainer, he was going to have to get used to it. Nolan couldn't wait. He'd longed for these types of new experiences for so long. It was almost surreal that he could now finally experience them.
Only a few more steps were taken by the group however, before Pikachu was at it again.
Planting his tiny paws firmly in the ground, the small electric type Pokemon simply refused to budge. And clearly not learning his lesson from before, Ash once again tried to move his stubborn partner with brute force. He didn't seem to realise that that approach simply wasn't going to work. Not with this Pikachu at least.
"PIKACHU!" Pikachu yelled as he unleashed another powerful Thundershock attack.
"AAAHH!" Ash screamed in agony, before collapsing on the ground, his hair frazzled and his clothes a sizzling mess.
Nolan and Meadow both winced in sympathy for him.
That had to hurt. A lot.
Before either of them had the chance to grow too concerned about their travelling companion however, a roar of pure and unadulterated outrage escaped from the raven haired boy.
"THAT'S IT!" Ash screamed as he lunged to his feet, shaking the soot off his clothes and skin, his blood burning hot in his veins as any semblance of calm left him entirely.
"Pi" Pikachu merely blinked up at him, a bored expression on his face.
Nolan on the other hand knew that the electric type had finally pushed his best friend to his limit. Opting to keep out of it this time, the blonde boy watched as a steaming Ash all-but-flung his backpack off his back and to the ground in frustration.
Furiously digging around through the bag's content, Ash smirked darkly as he retrieved what he was looking for. Taking a closer look, Nolan was surprised to see his friend holding the washing line and the rubber gloves that Delia had packed for him. He honestly had no idea what Ash was planning to do with them.
The answer became apparent to him soon enough.
Nolan pinched the bridge of his nose in complete exhaustion the moment he twigged where this was going. At his side, Meadow sighed and rubbed her front paw down her face. Together, they watched as Ash put his new plan into action.
Thrusting the rubber gloves on over his hands and arms, Ash furiously stomped over to Pikachu, who was busy still laughing and generally taunting the boy to be too concerned with what he was doing. Smirking himself now, Ash then plucked Pikachu's pokeball off his belt once more.
"Last chance Pikachu" Ash glared down at his partner, albeit in a more calmer tone this time, "Return now!"
Once again, Pikachu sneered at him before dodging out the way, moving to the left...
And right into Ash's awaiting arms.
"CHU!" Pikachu was not impressed to find himself snatched up by the human he'd somehow ended up stuck with, and had no qualms about letting his frustrations be known. Unleashing yet another powerful burst of electricity, the small yellow Pokemon was stunned when he saw it had no effect on the boy.
Ash smirked victoriously.
"Pi?!" Pikachu gasped in horrified shock.
"Yeah, that's not going to work this time" Ash sneered at the defiant creature in his grasp.
Nolan couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the other boy, mildly impressed that this time he had actually managed to get the drop on his stubborn partner. By pretending to return Pikachu to his pokeball, Ash had managed to trick the Pokemon into lowering his guard. The blonde honestly didn't think his friend had it in him.
"Chu!" Pikachu was very unhappy, and this time tried to bite Ash in order to free himself.
Expecting a violent retaliation however, Ash was fully prepared for Pikachu's antics this time, and allowed himself to fall down to his knees where he stood. Quicker than Nolan could blink, Ash had Pikachu pinned face down in the dirt, holding the furious creature down with one hand.
"PIKA!" Pikachu unleashed more and more blasts of electricity, each to no effect.
"Ash..." Nolan started slowly, beginning to feel worry brewing in the pit of his stomach, "I'm not sure about this... I think you might be going a little too far here".
Ash glanced back up at him, but firmly shook his head.
"Not this time Nolan" he refuted, whilst with his free hand, he held up the washing line, "No. This time I'm going to do it my way. This'll show the little pest who's boss around here!"
Nolan frowned, but chose not to speak up again.
The blonde boy watched as Ash continued to hold Pikachu down, the small yellow Pokemon furiously squirming and thrashing about in outrage, whilst the boy tied one end of the washing line securely around the electric type's waist like a leash. He ignored every one of Pikachu's protests.
Nolan's sympathy had by this point shifted away from Ash and instead to Pikachu.
Whilst he knew that the Pokemon was being impossibly difficult, and that Ash was not a cruel person in any way, shape or form, and that he had merely been pushed to his limits - the blonde trainer couldn't help but think that this was going a bit too far. To tie Pikachu up like that just seemed so... harsh.
Judging by the horrified expression on Meadow's face, the grass type agreed with her trainer's frame of mind.
"Saur..." she whimpered.
Hearing this, Nolan glanced down, and felt his heart sting painfully at how genuinely frightened his partner looked as she took in the unpleasant sight before her. Sighing, Nolan knelt down and picked her up, giving the small green Pokemon a reassuring hug.
"Hey, hey" he whispered soothingly to her, "I know it isn't very nice, but Ash isn't doing this because he's mean. He's just frustrated with Pikachu, and to be honest, I can't really blame him. But I promise you Meadow, I would never allow that to happen to you, okay?"
"Bulb" Meadow whined but nodded.
She trusted her new trainer and knew that his promise was utterly sincere.
Pleased that Meadow believed him, Nolan patted her on the head, earning a happy coo from the grass type, before he returned her to the ground at his feet. Watching together, they looked on as Ash finally released Pikachu from his grasp.
"CHU!" Pikachu snarled as he clambered to his feet, glaring up at Ash defiantly.
The small yellow Pokemon furiously tugged at the washing line bound around his body, but no matter how hard the electric type tried, he couldn't free himself from his new bindings. Ash smiled in satisfaction as he picked up his backpack and put it on, all the time holding tightly on to the other end of Pikachu's makeshift leash.
"Right" he said with false cheer, which only served to intensify Pikachu's glare upon him, "Now that we've got that sorted... shall we be going?"
And without a backwards glance, Ash whirled on the spot and marched off, his mask of calmness barely able to hide the frustration at what he'd been forced to resort to brewing beneath the surface.
"Pi!" Pikachu whined as he was forcibly dragged along behind him.
Nolan and Meadow could do nothing but gape after the pair of them, both of them stunned into silence. It was a few moments before either of them could pull themselves together enough to break it.
"Does it make me a bad person to admit that right now, I'm really starting to wish I hadn't agreed to go travelling with my best friend?" Nolan couldn't help but groan.
"Saur" Meadow slowly shook her head.
"Oh good, I was worried for a moment" Nolan gave his partner an incredibly strained smile, "Think we can ditch them until they work out their... issues?"
"Saur!" Meadow's tone was shocked.
"I was just kidding!" Nolan laughed weakly, before shrugging, "Still, it's not a terrible idea..."
"Bulb" Meadow smirked up at him knowingly, "Bulbasaur! Bulba".
Nolan couldn't help but chuckle at her.
"Are you saying that they need a peace-keeper too much to be allowed to be left on their own together?" he wondered.
"Bulba" Meadow nodded vigorously.
Laughing again, Nolan smirked as he nodded his agreement. Gesturing with a beckoning hand, the blonde boy and the green Pokemon slowly started following after the other half of their group, albeit keeping their distance in case their... issues, flared up again.
Neither one of them much fancied being caught in the cross-hairs of Pikachu's Thundershock after all.
And so it was with a heavy silence looming over them all did the four of them set off once more. It went without saying that their travelling arrangements were less than ideal. Nolan just wished that Ash could hurry up and find a way to get through to Pikachu and earn the creature's trust and respect.
Their journey was going to be unbearable otherwise.
For almost twenty minutes the quartet continued in this fashion, the only sounds coming from any of them were Pikachu's unhappy whines. They were just on the cusp of the fields and woods that surrounded Pallet Town, when Ash finally just couldn't take it anymore.
Anger and frustration completely fading away, the raven haired boy allowed his shoulders to slump in dejected defeat. The new trainer allowed a sigh of utmost misery to pass his lips as he came to a halt and looked down at his partner, who glared up at him loathingly.
Nolan and Meadow also stopped when they realised that Ash was no longer moving.
The blonde boy was about to question his best friend about the abrupt stop, but before he had the chance to, Ash began talking to Pikachu. There was no fury or impatience in the boy's voice now. Just hurt and disappointment.
"Pikachu..." Ash sounded as exhausted as Nolan felt after the day he'd endured, the day which was supposed to be fantastic and instead had been one disappointment after another, "Are you gonna be like this the whole way?"
Turning his tiny nose up at him, Pikachu nodded smugly.
Nolan barely held back a groan as he looked on. Beside him, Meadow did much the same. Both of them knew that Pikachu wasn't joking or exaggerating. He really was going to keep this attitude up the way time.
It only promised to be even more taxing from here on out.
Ash on the other hand was equally as determined, and just as stubborn as Pikachu was proving to be. The raven haired boy knelt down to Pikachu's level in order to better converse with the difficult creature.
"Is it because you don't like me?" Ash asked in a dejected tone.
"Pika pika" Pikachu nodded again.
Nolan flinched at the deeply saddened expression on his best friend's face. Once again he felt a surge of relief course through him that Meadow had indeed been so open to getting a new trainer, and found Nolan worthy of holding that title. If she had reacted as Pikachu was right now... well, Nolan wasn't sure what he'd have done.
"That isn't very nice Pikachu" Nolan couldn't help but interject, causing the small yellow creature to look up at him curiously, "Ash really is a great guy once you get to know him. Can't you at least give him a fair chance?"
"Pi!" Pikachu stubbornly shook his head.
Ash, for his part, was touched that Nolan was defending him and trying to help make peace between him and his new partner - especially considering how angry he had made the other boy just hours before. It really said a lot about the friendship they shared.
"But why not?" Nolan tried again.
"Pika pi pi chu" Pikachu bit out in aggravation.
Nolan was a little lost this time. He tilted his head to the side in confusion. Spotting this, Meadow nudged his ankle with her front paw, attracting the boy's attention and making him look down.
"Saur bulba bulb saur" Meadow murmured to him.
For some reason - probably because they were already growing closer and closer to each other - Nolan had less trouble understanding what Meadow was trying to communicate to him. Eyes widening, Nolan turned back to Pikachu.
"Wait - did you say that you don't trust Ash? Nolan exclaimed in surprise.
"Pi!" another nod of confirmation.
Ash recoiled in horror, whilst Nolan frowned and bit his lip at this piece of information. The blonde boy wondered if it meant that Pikachu was just naturally untrusting, or if Ash had inadvertently done something to upset Pikachu and make the electric type suspicious of him.
Knowing Ash, either was possible.
"Chu chu Pikachu!" Pikachu continued chattering.
"Errr... so it's that, and you really just don't like him?" Nolan sweat-dropped.
"Pi!" Pikachu nodded, glaring at Ash once more.
"But I like you a lot!" Ash broke back into the conversation, trying to reason with the stubborn yellow Pokemon, "And since you're the Pokemon I'm training, don't you think you could be a little nicer and just open your mouth and tell me what's wrong?"
At this, Nolan honestly help but roll his eyes.
If Ash had been listening, he'd know exactly what the problem was.
The blonde boy silently shook his head. He sensed that if this was ever going to get resolved, he'd have to get involved and clue Ash in on a few things. Their journey was going to be a complete nightmare otherwise.
Before Nolan had the chance to say anything however, Pikachu decided to show Ash a little more of his sassy attitude.
In response to Ash's words, Pikachu allowed his jaw to drop, revealing all his small but sharp teeth.
Ash slapped a hand to his forehead in exasperation.
Nolan snorted but quickly covered his mouth with his hand to prevent any further laughter from escaping. It did not go unnoticed by Ash however, who threw his best friend a betrayed look.
Meadow on the other hand had no such restraint. Bursting into laughter, the grass type almost fell over she was giggling so hard. She just couldn't help it. The expression on Ash's face was just too funny.
"M-Meadow" Nolan gasped out, trying to fight off his own fit of giggles, "D-don't laugh at Ash. This is a really serious problem he's trying to deal with!"
"Saur" Meadow managed to control herself, but was unable to hide her wide smile.
Ash glared at the two of them for a moment, before turning his attention back to his electric type partner, who was smirking up at him, obviously enjoying the boy's frustration.
"That's not exactly what I meant" he ground out through clenched teeth, "Is your name all you can say?"
"Pika" Pikachu confirmed that it was.
"Well then" Ash smiled bracingly, clearly trying to get Pikachu around to his way of thinking, although Nolan personally thought that was lost cause, "You're just like all Pokemon, and you should act like one, and get inside the pokeball - just like it says in the pokedex".
Nolan couldn't help but scoff at this.
"Ash, just because the pokedex says that, doesn't mean every Pokemon wants to be shut away inside one of those things all the time!" Nolan lightly scolded his friend, "Look at Meadow here!"
"Bulba!" Meadow nodded in agreement. She didn't much like the sound of being locked up inside a pokeball day and night either.
"But... but the pokedex says that Pokemon should stay inside them!" Ash argued, pulling said device from his pocket in order to emphasize his point, "Here, listen to this!"
He flipped open the pokedex - which had been programmed to respond to the name Dexter - and pulled up the relevant information.
"While being trained, a Pokemon usually stays inside its pokeball" Dexter stated in a computerised male voice.
"You see?" Ash smirked at his best friend.
Pikachu had been paying close attention to the exchange and what the pokedex had said. Completely unimpressed, he jumped up and hit one of the buttons on the pokedex with his tiny paw. He was eager to prove Ash wrong after all.
"However, there are many exceptions" the pokedex continued, greatly surprising Ash and causing both Nolan and Pikachu to smirk smugly at him, "Some Pokemon hate being confined".
"Told ya" Nolan teasingly winked at his friend.
Ash blinked in surprise, before he looked back down at Pikachu, who regarded him coldly.
"Are you one of those Pokemon, Pikachu?" Ash asked curiously, "Do you not like being inside a pokeball?"
"Chu!" Pikachu nodded.
"Okay then" Ash smiled brightly, "Then I won't put you inside it. And if you stop misbehaving, I'll even get rid of this" he gestured at the washing line he'd been forced to use as a makeshift leash.
"Chu" Pikachu narrowed his eyes at him distrustfully.
Still smiling, Ash removed the washing line from around Pikachu's waist and took the rubber gloves off his arms, putting them back in his backpack. He looked down at Pikachu with an air of hope, and tentatively held out a finger towards the small yellow Pokemon.
"How's that?" the boy asked.
Unmoved, Pikachu coldly turned away.
"Still not good enough?" Ash's voice was heavy with disappointment.
"Pika" Pikachu stubbornly confirmed that it wasn't.
Ash couldn't help but allow another miserable sigh to slip his lips, his eyes drooping closed in exhaustion. He was honestly at a total loss as to how he could possibly try to improve the horrible situation that was brewing between them. He desperately looked over at Nolan, who raised an eyebrow at him.
"If you want to make things better between you and Pikachu Ash, you need to start listening to him" was all he said.
"What?" Ash blinked in confusion, "I already said that he doesn't have to go into a pokeball if he doesn't want too!"
Sighing, Nolan ran a hand tiredly down his face.
"That's not what I meant" the blonde boy shook his head, before walking over to the troublesome pair and crouching down in front of Pikachu, who eyed him with suspicion but not outright dislike like he did with Ash, "Pikachu, you said before that you didn't trust Ash?"
"Chu" Pikachu nodded his head.
"But is it because you've only just met him, or is there something else? A specific reason you don't trust him?" Nolan wanted to know. He knew that talking would be the key to hopefully improving things in their dysfunctional relationship.
"Pi Pika Pikachu Chu Chu" Pikachu explained to the friend of the human he was stuck with.
Again, Nolan was unable to follow Pikachu's chattering, so he turned to his own partner for assistance.
"Saur Bulbasaur Bulba!" Meadow said, hoping her trainer would understand what she meant.
Nolan nodded slowly, believing he had managed to grasp what the Pokemon were trying to tell him.
"So Ash did something that upset you, and he doesn't realise what it was" Nolan said, whilst at his side, Ash's eyes widened in horrified shock, "And because he doesn't even know it, that's why you're behaving like this?"
"Pika" Pikachu nodded in confirmation.
Nolan turned to look at Ash expectantly.
"Nolan, I didn't do anything!" Ash protested his innocence, drawing another angry glare from Pikachu, "I swear! I don't know why Pikachu doesn't like or trust me!"
"That's the point" Nolan calmly reminded him.
The blonde boy's mind was racing. He was trying to figure out exactly what Ash had done that might have upset the small yellow creature so much. He knew that the whole leash thing was pretty harsh, but he had a feeling it wasn't about that. Pikachu had already made his dislike for Ash well known by that point. The same was also true for when they were at the goodbye gathering organised by Mrs Ketchum. It had to have taken place before those events. Which left...
"Ash..." Nolan said slowly, looking his best friend straight in the eye, "What exactly happened when you were in Professor Oak's lab? The moment you and Pikachu first met each other?"
Unfortunately, the boy never received an answer.
For at that exact moment, before Ash the chance to respond, close by in the grassy plain they had taken their unexpected break in, there came the sound of harsh scurrying footsteps. The noise immediately alerted Nolan, Ash and both their Pokemon that they had company.
Glancing over, Nolan and the others saw a small brown and cream coloured Pokemon that the boys could easily identify from years of seeing them flying over the skies of Pallet Town.
"A Pidgey!" Ash exclaimed in surprise.
"Hmm... this'll be a good chance to try out the Pokedex" Nolan mused thoughtfully to himself. He dug around in his pocket and withdrew the device, pointing it at the small flying type.
"Pidgey - the Tiny Bird Pokemon" Dexi identified in her cool soft-spoken voice, "Pidgey is a flying Pokemon. Among all the Flying Type Pokemon, it is the gentlest and easiest to capture. Pidgey is a perfect target for the beginning Pokemon Trainer to test his Pokemon's skills".
Ash couldn't help but beam in delight.
"This is great!" the raven haired boy cheered happily, making Nolan turn to look at him curiously, "It's our lucky day!"
Nolan threw his best friend an astonished look. After everything that had happened today, Ash had to be positively insane to say those words.
"You're going to try and catch it?" he couldn't help but ask.
"Of course!" Ash nodded enthusiastically, bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement, "This is the perfect opportunity to show off my skills as a Pokemon Trainer. Get in there Pikachu!"
But Ash's excitement was to be short-lived.
Pikachu, who showed no signs of warming up to Ash, or at least letting up with his attitude, had no intention whatsoever of following any command that came from the boy. To emphasize this point, he turned his nose up at the order and turned his back on Ash.
The smile instantly fell the raven haired boy's face.
Nolan pinched the bridge of his nose tiredly. Ash really ought to have seen that one coming. Did he really think that Pikachu's feelings about him were going to change in the past two minutes?!
"Aren't you ever gonna listen to me?" Ash demanded in a tone of dismay.
"Chu" Pikachu smugly confirmed he wasn't.
"But why not?" Ash asked, his voice little more than a whine.
Nolan wasn't able to help himself this time.
"For goodness' sake Ash!" he burst out, drawing a startled look from his best friend, "We were literally talking about this two minutes ago! Pikachu doesn't trust you - what makes you think he'd be willing to battle for you?"
Ash floundered for a response, but found he didn't have one.
Clearly bored with the conversation at this point, Pikachu decided to just ignore Ash altogether. The electric type simply darted away, all the way up the mossy trunk of a nearby tree, until he was sitting in one of its lower-hanging branches.
"Chaa!" he settled himself down mockingly.
Down below, Ash had finally been pushed to his breaking point.
"Okay! I get the message!" the ebony haired boy snapped up at his defiant partner angrily, "I don't want your help, or need it! I can get that thing all by myself!"
Nolan's eyes widened in surprise.
"Ash! Hang on a second!" Nolan cried out in warning.
But Ash was far too annoyed to want to listen to him or anybody else by this point.
Flinging his backpack down by the base of the tree Pikachu had taken up residence in, Ash plucked an empty pokeball off his belt and held it up to the sky, a determined expression lining his face as his eyes narrowed in on the opposing Pidgey. Nolan couldn't help but eye him curiously, wondering what his friend's plan of action was.
It wouldn't be long until he found out.
"Alright, I've pledged to get all the Pokemon in the world" Ash muttered to himself as he hyped himself up, "Now I'm ready to take the next step to be the number one Pokemon Master!"
Nolan chose not to make a quip at that comment. He didn't want to spoil this moment for his best friend after all. If he was actually successful, that was.
Clicking the button on the pokeball and enlarging it, Ash smirked as the small Pidgey finally seemed to take notice of the fact that they were standing there.
"Enjoy your last moments of freedom, Pidgey!" the new trainer boldly declared, "Cause you're mine!"
And with those loaded words, Ash hurled the pokeball.
Despite the fact that his entire focus was on the wild Pokemon before him, Ash still felt the bubble of sheer excitement that formed in the pit of his stomach. That was his very first time throwing a pokeball. He'd waited years for this moment, and it was just as exhilarating as he'd always imagined it would be. He could feel it in his bones that everything was finally coming together.
How very wrong that feeling would turn out to be.
Nolan looked on as the pokeball sailed through the air, whilst Ash grinned in delight as his aim proved true. The red and white sphere hit the Pidgey head on, and in a haze of crimson light, the small flying type was pulled inside. The pokeball snapped shut and fell down into the dirt.
Ash could barely resist the urge to jump up and down with joy.
"I did it!" he practically screamed in ecstasy.
Unfortunately for the raven haired trainer, things weren't quite as they appeared. Nolan on the other hand saw exactly what was going on.
"Err... sorry to disappoint you" he said slowly, watching the pokeball intently, "But I don't think you did. Look!"
"Huh?" Ash frowned in confusion.
Before the two boys' eyes, the pokeball on the ground began squirming and struggling, and mere moments later, the device snapped open again and returned to Ash's hand. The Pidgey was free once more.
The capture had not been successful.
"I... blew it!" Ash groaned in disappointment.
Both he and Nolan looked on at the Pidgey, who levelled Ash with an extremely dirty look. Meanwhile, up in the tree, Pikachu giggled in amusement, clearing enjoying his trainer's misfortune.
"Sorry Ash" Nolan patted his friend on the shoulder comfortingly, "But I don't think you're going to catch anything if you keep trying to that way".
"What do you mean Nolan?" Ash asked curiously.
"Well, to capture a wild Pokemon, trainers normally have their own Pokemon battle it first to weaken it and make it easier to catch" Nolan informed the other new trainer.
"Now he tells me" Ash grumbled in annoyance.
"Sorry, I assumed you already knew that" Nolan quipped in a deadpan voice, "You know, in order to pass the exam to get your licence".
"Oh yeah" Ash rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
By this point, Pikachu was rolling around with laughter up in the tree, frustrating Ash even further and drawing a glare from the raven haired boy.
"But I have to do everything myself!" he yelled at the yellow creature angrily.
"Don't blame Pikachu, Ash" Nolan scolded his best friend, "Don't forget, he outright said that you did something that upset him so much he doesn't want to work with you!"
Ash's face soured at the reminder.
Pikachu meanwhile actually smiled - not a smug smirk but a genuine smile - when he heard Nolan sticking up for him. The yellow Pokemon was actually beginning to quite like the blonde boy. He wished that he could be his partner instead of Ash. It would be a major step up in the electric type's opinion.
Turning away with a huff, the annoyed expression on Ash's face melted away as his eyes landed on his backpack.
"Wait!" he murmured to himself, his mood brightening, "I've got an idea!"
Nolan watched curiously as Ash rummaged around in his backpack, finally withdrawing the shirt from the pyjamas he'd changed out of earlier. He grinned as he held it up with both hands.
"Ash... what are you doing?" Nolan shook his head, sounding exhausted.
Ash merely smirked at him.
"Oh, you'll see" he beamed at his best friend, "I'll show you Nolan. This is how you catch a Pokemon by yourself!"
And with that, Ash began creeping forwards, slowing edging closer and closer to the Pidgey, who cocked its head as it stared at him. At the flying type's sharp look, Ash halted in his tracks, barely less than a metre from the small brown Pokemon.
Nolan arched an eyebrow in complete bewilderment.
"Saur" Meadow breathed, just as confused by the scene before her as Nolan was.
For a moment, Ash and the wild Pidgey just stared at each other, neither human nor Pokemon moving a muscle, not even to draw breath. They were completely silent.
Then the moment shattered.
"Hi, little friend" Ash whispered, before he sprung into action. Bringing the pyjama shirt up high over his head, Ash quickly brought it crashing down in one fluid motion, right down on the poor Pidgey, scaring the living daylights out of the small Pokemon, "SORRY BUDDY!"
Needless to say, it was hardly an elegant moment.
Nolan's jaw dropped wide open in absolute astonishment. At his side, Meadow's did much the same. The two of them were literally unable to process the spectacle that they were witnessing. Nolan wanted to scold his friend for his quite frankly appalling behaviour, but he was so stunned that the words got stuck in his throat.
He just stood there, gaping in pure disbelief.
"PID! PIDGEY! GEY! " the Pidgey was cawing frantically from beneath its fabric prison, obviously terrified.
Thrashing about wildly, and shrieking so loud it was miracle it didn't wake the dead, the wild Pidgey flailed around, desperately trying to free itself, whilst Ash clung on with every ounce of strength he had. The human and Pokemon both struggled fiercely, but it was obvious that something had to give.
And soon enough, something did.
Pidgey, recovering from its initial shock, had decided that it had had enough of all of this nonsense. Unleashing a powerful Gust attack, the small flying type was able to send both the shirt and its owner soaring through the air. With a low moan of pain, Ash landed in a crumpled heap by Nolan and Meadow.
"Urrr..." Ash looked up at his blonde friend, rubbing his head in pain, "What happened?"
Nolan's jaw, if possible, dropped even further.
"What happened?" the blonde repeated in sheer disbelief, "What happened?! You... you attacked that poor Pidgey with pyjamas you lunatic - that's what happened!"
Ash moaned, but clambered to his feet.
"Okay... maybe that wasn't the best idea I've ever had" the raven haired trainer winced in pain.
"You think?!" Nolan cried incredulously at him.
"Well I didn't know it was going to... what did it do to me?!" Ash exclaimed defensively.
Nolan opened his mouth to reply, but from Ash's pocket, Dexter cut him off before the blonde trainer had the chance to explain.
"Pidgey's Gust attack can create tornadoes" the device informed him helpfully, "It also has a Sand Attack".
The second that Nolan heard those words, his eyes widened in horror.
For a moment, Ash was confused by his friend's reaction, but then realisation struck him.
"Sand?!" he exclaimed fearfully, just knowing what was coming next. With the way his and Nolan's luck had been turning out all day, there was no way that it could not.
Seconds later, Ash was proved right.
Kicking up a load of dirt, the flying type Pokemon hurled it in the trainers' direction. Nolan was lucky, and managed to jump out of its path in time, also shielding Meadow, who cooed at him in gratitude. Ash on the other hand wasn't as fortunate, and was completely engulfed by Pidgey's Sand Attack. Coughing and spluttering, Ash was very relieved when the attack finally ended, although he was covered from head to toe in sand.
"Guess it's not my lucky day" Ash said weakly.
Nolan pressed his lips together and ducked his head to refrain from laughing.
"Well... you did just scare the life out of the poor thing" he reasoned with a hint of amusement in his voice, drawing an irritated look from his friend, "So you did kind of have that coming".
Ash clenched his teeth in utter frustration.
"You know, I'm getting really sick and tired of you thinking you know it all Nolan!" Ash bit out angrily.
Nolan blinked at him in confusion.
"What do you mean?" he asked, perplexed by Ash's words.
"You! Ever since we left Pallet Town all you've done is criticise me and act like you're some sort of expert" Ash complained, his face turning red in frustration, "You only started your journey today as well Nolan! You're still at the same level as me! You don't know it all yet!"
Nolan scoffed in disbelief.
Whilst he understood that Ash was just frustrated from his failure to catch the Pidgey - as well as Pikachu's continuous lack of cooperation - that did not mean that Nolan was going to let Ash take his anger out on him.
"I know that you've managed to alienate pretty much everyone you've come into contact with today!" the blonde boy snapped back angrily, "I know that you have been a walking disaster since you woke up this morning! I know you did something to upset Pikachu and still haven't fixed it yet! And I know you just traumatised that poor Pidgey!"
He gestured at the wild Pidgey, who by some miracle was still hanging around instead of flying off. Its eyes were wide and unsettled however, a clear sign that it was still somewhat panicked from Ash's earlier shenanigans with it.
"Even if you did manage to catch it, at this point I doubt you could train it properly" Nolan continued smartly, "No doubt it's frightened of you now. You'd have to work really hard to earn its trust, and let's face it, you've already messed that up once today".
Ash ground his teeth together and clenched his fists tightly.
"Well if you're so clever, why don't you go catch it then?!" Ash roared, losing his temper completely.
"Huh?" Nolan tilted his head to the side.
"The Pidgey!" Ash yelled, gesturing towards the startled brown Pokemon, "You think you can do a better job than me? Prove it!"
Nolan considered the flying type for a moment, before turning back to face Ash with a defiant glare of his own.
"Alright" he agreed with a smirk, "I will".
Stepping forwards with confidence, Nolan glanced down at Meadow, who looked back up at her partner with curiosity brimming in her large crimson eyes.
"This'll be our first time working together Meadow" he reminded her, the little green Pokemon nodding seriously at his words, "You think we're up to it?"
"Saur!" Meadow nodded with the same determination Nolan felt.
"Then let's do it!" Nolan cheered.
Taking a few more steps forward, Nolan locked eyes with the Pidgey, who glared back at him defiantly, though also with a hint of caution. It had already tangled with a human once today after all. It was obvious that Pidgey was going to be ready for them this time, and that it wouldn't be taken by surprise again.
Nolan and Meadow stood together, resolute, both determined to get the job done.
It was time to catch a Pokemon.
And there's another one : )
Little cliff-hanger, but who doesn't like one of those every now and again ; )
But yay! I'm really excited that its time to add another Pokemon character to Nolan's team. I've got an idea in my mind about what I want Pidgey to be like, so hopefully it'll be fun for you guys to read : )
Anyway, I have another thing I need you guys to vote on : )
Back in chapter one, I mentioned that I had implemented a rule concerning my ability to evolve Pokemon in my Nuzlocke. This also means that the number of evolutions in this story will be limited. To evolve a Pokemon, I need to defeat a gym leader or elite four member. Well, I've defeated Brock : )
So which of my team members shall be allowed to evolve?
The options are Pidgey, Magikarp or Geodude.
It also doesn't have to be an immediate evolution. For example, I couldn't evolve Geodude right now because my level cap is currently level 21, since I haven't defeated Misty yet. But if you choose Geodude, she will be able to evolve as soon as my level cap includes her evolution level. Hopefully that means sense ; )
Please leave your vote in a review. Honestly, I think any of these evolutions would be a great addition to my Nuzlocke team and Nolan's team in the story. I'm really excited to see what you guys pick : )
Anyway, I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter, and please leave a review, even if you don't want to vote, since I would love more feedback concerning my story.
Until the next time, keep on reading : )