Hey readers - Here's the next chapter : ) I was actually hoping to have this up last week, but last weekend was really busy and I just didn't have the time to finish this chapter off. Then I got sick and couldn't pull myself together enough to finish it until today. But it's all done now : )

Now, this time there's been a little problem with the vote for the topic I posted in the last chapter. I won't go into it too much right now, I'll save it for the closing note at the end. Let's just say that right now, I don't actually know what the outcome of that vote is ; )

Finally, I want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone that has supported this story by reviewing, following and favouriting it. It means a lot, and it really gives me the motivation to keep going with the story, so thank you all so much : )

Please remember that Pokemon is not mine, but my OC is.

I hope you enjoy this chapter : )

Pokemon! I Choose You! - Part 7

Nolan couldn't help but feel a swell of pride as he clipped his new Pidgey's Pokeball on to his belt. He had really gotten through to the Tiny Bird Pokemon, earning the flying type's trust and co-operation, which had laid the foundations of what Nolan hoped would one day turn into a beautiful friendship. Already he was beginning to feel more accomplished as a trainer, and it was still just his first day.

It made the boy think about where he and his team might be in a year's time, when they would hopefully be competing in the Indigo League. Nolan couldn't help but smile dreamily at the thought. He could scarcely even imagine what other Pokemon friends he might have made by then. One thing was for sure though.

He couldn't wait to find out.

The blonde boy was still relishing in his and Meadow first major success together, when he heard the sound of soft footsteps approaching him from behind. Looking up, Nolan saw Ash standing before him with look of awe and an excited smile that matched Nolan's own expression. The raven haired boy was practically bouncing from foot to foot, he was so ecstatic for his best friend.

"That was so cool!" he yelled before the blonde boy had the chance to even open his mouth, "The way you managed to communicate with Pidgey like that was just amazing! I know I apologised before, but I definitely take everything I said back now! You totally know what you're doing Nolan!"

Nolan grinned widely, blushing a delicate shade of red under all compliments his friend was showering on him.

"Thanks Ash" he smiled, ducking his head modestly, "But don't forget, Meadow deserves a lot of the credit too".

Meadow puffed out her chest in pride, nodding her head importantly.

"Saur!" the little grass type exclaimed happily, pleased that her hard work in securing this victory was not being overlooked.

Ash grinned down at his best friend's partner.

"Of course!" the raven haired boy nodded vigorously in agreement, "You were awesome out there Meadow!"

He knelt down and patted the little grass type on her head, making her coo happily.

"Bulba" she preened under the attention she was getting.

Ash's smile widened, and he was about to praise the little grass type Pokemon some more, but before he had the opportunity to, something yellow darted past him in the direction of Nolan, distracting the boy completely.

Nolan, having also seen the yellow blur, blinked and looked down.

What he found at his feet was Pikachu, who had come down from the tree, and was now standing before him. The electric type Pokemon was staring up at him with wide begging eyes, his tiny paws clutched together desperately.

"Pi! Pika! Chu! Pikachu!" the Mouse Pokemon whined in an obviously pleading tone.

Hopelessly confused by the yellow creature's behaviour, Nolan turned his gaze to his own Pokemon partner, hoping for some kind of clarification. Meadow smiled as she obliged.

"Bulbasaur, bulb, saur" the little green Pokemon translated for her human.

Given the short span of time that they had been together, it was remarkable that Nolan even had a grasp on Meadow's language at all. This time took a little longer for the blonde boy to puzzle it out, but when he did, his icy blue eyes widened in shock. He turned back to Pikachu in astonishment.

"Pikachu... I'm really flattered... But you must know that there's no way I could ever possibly agree to that" Nolan let the electric type Pokemon down as gently as he could.

Ash threw his best friend a thoroughly confused look.

"Pika! Chu! Pi!" Pikachu whined again, pitifully slumping down to his knees as he continued begging.

Nolan felt an intense wave of unadulterated guilt wash over his entire body. If he had interpreted Meadow correctly - and judging by Pikachu's behaviour he had - then the little yellow creature's request had the potential to spiral into a very serious problem. At the very least it would undoubtedly spark yet another fight between Nolan and his best friend. The blonde boy quickly tried to hide the expression on his face before Ash noticed, but he wasn't quite fast enough.

"Nolan..." Ash said slowly, sensing that something was off, "What's going on? What did Pikachu ask that you can't agree to?"

"It was nothing" Nolan immediately refuted.

"Nolan..." Ash insisted.

The blonde boy sighed, his entire body slumping miserably. Considering that today was meant to be epic, it was so unfair that so many problems had arisen in quick succession.

"Pikachu... He, err... Well..." the blonde boy stammered lamely, "He kinda... Well, he begged me... To be his trainer".

He said those last few words very quickly, as if to lessen their impact and therefore the pain that was sure to come with them. Like ripping off a bandaid in some respects.

For a moment there was a tense silence.

Then...

"WHAT?!" the raven haired trainer bellowed in horrified disbelief.

Ash turned his gaze away from Nolan and back to Pikachu, his russet eyes shimmering with unshed tears, his expression full of hurt, betrayal and disappointment.

"Pikachu..." he whispered, almost crying at the misery he felt.

Ash had honestly never felt so rejected in his entire life. He didn't even know what he had done to the yellow Pokemon that was so terrible that it warranted Pikachu being so desperate to get away from him. It stung Ash's heart in the worst way possible.

"Chu!" Pikachu glared at the disheartened boy with loathing, before he jumped up into the air with surprising agility, and neatly landed on Nolan's shoulder.

This time Ash couldn't stop a single tear from rolling down his cheek in heartbreak.

Nolan couldn't even begin to imagine how terrible Ash must have felt in that moment. He had no idea how he'd have coped if he and Meadow hadn't clicked so easily and so quickly. The blonde boy really wanted to fix this, to make Ash happy again, he just didn't know how. One thing he did know however was that he had to set Pikachu straight on something; right here, right now.

Reaching up, he gently plucked the small yellow Pokemon off his shoulder, before carefully setting him down on the ground before him, trying to ignore the flash of guilt he experienced when Pikachu whined sadly.

"Pikachu... I'm touched that you think I'm worthy of being your trainer, really I am" Nolan explained earnestly to the saddened electric type Pokemon, kneeling down to be on the same level as him, "But I can't just take you as my Pokemon. By law you're Ash's Pokemon, and I understand that you might not be happy with that, but I promise you that if you give him another chance, you won't regret it".

"Chu! Pikachu!" Pikachu protested, pouting unhappily.

"I know, I know" Nolan said in what he hoped was a reassuring tone, "He's reckless, impulsive, he hardly ever engages his brain..."

"Gee, thanks a lot Nolan" Ash grumbled sarcastically in the background.

"But" Nolan continued as though he hadn't heard the other boy's remark, "He does have the biggest heart ever, and he will take the very best care of you if you'll just let him".

Pikachu looked at Nolan, then back at Ash, then back to Nolan. The scepticism was clear on his furry little face.

"Please Pikachu" Ash gently broke into the conversation, his tone somewhat desperate, "I just know that you and I could be the very best of friends someday if you give me another chance, and that together we'd be able to catch all sorts of new Pokemon friends".

Pikachu's scowl remained firmly in place. It was obvious that the stubborn little Pokemon wasn't going to change his mind so easily.

Ash's shoulders slumped miserably. In that moment, the boy was the utter definition of defeated.

Nolan felt really badly for his best friend in that moment.

He knew that Ash meant well, but he had really screwed something up when it came Pikachu. It was going to take a lot to repair that damaged trust, but he had hope that Ash would manage it. After he had earned Pidgey's trust, Nolan saw no reason why his best friend couldn't do the same when it came to his own partner.

The blonde boy was just about to offer his thoughts and some further encouragement to his best friend and the furry yellow creature, when he caught sight of movement behind the raven haired boy, drawing his attention. Against his will, an amused smile etched itself into Nolan's face when he registered what was happening.

Oh... Ash really wasn't going to like this.

"Well, I'm not really sure what you can do to improve your relationship with Pikachu" the blonde boy smirked in amusement as Ash returned his focus to him, "But you might get the chance to try catching a Pokemon sooner than you'd think".

Ash stared at him in bewilderment.

"What do you mean?" the raven haired trainer asked when his best friend failed to elaborate on that statement.

Grinning like a fool, Nolan just silently nodded at a point behind Ash. Utterly confused, Ash slowly turned around, only for his eyes to widen in shock.

Then all his frustrations came flooding back ten-fold.

Unable to believe his latest turn of bad luck, Ash ground his teeth in pure frustration. There, bold as brass, was a wild Rattata with its head poking inside of Ash's discarded backpack, rummaging around it, no doubt in search of food.

"Hey!" the boy yelled angrily in disbelief, "Get out of there!"

Nolan couldn't help but giggle as he looked on, watching as the source of the disturbance quickly shuffled his way out of the bag, scooting away from Ash's snatching hands before the raven haired boy could grab him. It hissed and snarled threateningly at the small group of travellers, who were all watching it in interest.

Scowling in annoyance, Ash decided that he wanted to know more about the small purple creature, so he withdrew his pokedex from his pocket and pointed it at the Rattata.

"Rattata - the Mouse Pokemon" the pokedex announced once it had identified the little critter, "A forest dwelling Pokemon. Rattata likes cheese, nuts, fruits and berries".

Ash glowered down at the device in his hand in frustration.

"Yeah, but we're not in the forest yet, we're still on the outskirts" the ticked off boy grumbled aloud, "This is an open field!"

Across from him, Nolan was gaping at him in disbelief. The blonde boy turned to look at the two Pokemon by his feet, thoroughly nonplussed.

"Do you think he realises that he's arguing with a machine?" he asked them incredulously.

"Saur!" Meadow laughed in amusement.

"Pi!" Pikachu scowled up at Nolan, almost as if to say 'do you see what type of moron you're asking me to work with?'

Nolan opened his mouth to respond to the irritated Pokemon's expression, but Dexter spoke up again before he had the chance to.

"Rattata also comes out into open fields to steal food from stupid travellers" Dexter finished its analysis.

Ash nervously looked down at his pokedex with wide eyes.

"That means... I'm stupid?" Ash couldn't help but wonder aloud.

A moment of silence fell over the clearing.

Then...

"PIKA! PI! CHU! PIKA!" Pikachu fell down the ground, rolling about and clutching at his belly with his paws as he laughed uncontrollably.

"BULBA! SAUR! SAUR!" Meadow wasn't much kinder, also laughing her head off at Ash's dim-witted remark.

Nolan snorted, but just barely managed to hold back his own laughter that was desperately trying to escape his lips. He covered his mouth with a hand to hide his smile, but there was no denying the twinkle of amusement in his eyes.

Ash could feel the blood pounding in his head, so hot it felt molten lava in his veins.

The poorly disguised laughter echoed vindictively in his ears, making the raven haired boy's whole body tremble with anger and frustration. Not only was he buckling under the strain of a disastrous relationship with his partner, but now his pokedex, a machine, was giving him flack?!

He had honestly just about had enough for one day.

And call him crazy, but Ash had a sinking feeling in the bottom of his stomach that things were only going to get worse before they got better.

"Pidgey" a gentle coo echoed through the clearing.

For a split second, Ash wondered if he had gone mad and was hearing things. When he decided that he was still sane, he whipped around and saw to his dismay that this time, not one but three Pidgey had swooped down from a nearby tree and had landed in the clearing.

Even though he knew it was ridiculous, Ash couldn't help but feel like they were mocking him. That they were a reminder that he had failed whereas Nolan had succeeded. His mind felt like it was burning, the boy was getting so worked up.

It wasn't long before Ash simply couldn't stand it any more.

With a deafening roar of pure and unadulterated frustration, Ash snatched up a small pebble from the ground and hurled it in the direction of the three flying type Pokemon. Fortunately he missed, but it was still enough to send the group of Pidgey scattering, each of them squawking indignantly.

Nolan stared at his best friend in shock, completely aghast by the other boy's actions.

"Ash! What on earth do you think you're doing?!" the blonde boy exclaimed in horrified disbelief, "You can't just throw rocks at innocent Pokemon!"

Ash turned to look at him, a scathing retort on the tip of his tongue, when he remembered their disagreement from before. He had been wrong and Nolan had been right, and he knew that the same was true this time as well. Sighing, he reined his temper in before he responded.

"What else am I supposed to do Nolan?" he asked in a dejected tone, "It was easy for you because Meadow likes you and listens to what you say. How can I possibly catch any other Pokemon when Pikachu hates me and won't listen to me?"

Nolan's heart almost broke for his best friend when he heard the tremor in the other boy's voice. He wished more than anything that there was something he could do to help, but given Pikachu's earlier plea to get away from Ash, he was honestly all out of ideas.

"I don't know" Nolan admitted sadly.

"Exactly!" Ash exclaimed, though he was careful not to take his frustration out on Nolan again, "So I've got to try something!"

So without waiting for a response, Ash stooped down low again and scooped up another small rock. Returning to his full height, the raven haired boy began searching for a new potential target. His plan was to hit a wild Pokemon on the head with the rock, stun it, and then throw an empty pokeball at it. He could only hope that would be enough. Within seconds, the frown on Ash's face morphed into a wide grin.

He had found his latest target.

Only the dark silhouette was visible to him, but even from a distance Ash could tell that it was definitely a Pokemon. The general shape resembled the increasingly familiar form of a Pidgey. Smirking, Ash arched his arm back as he prepared to lob the stone.

If only his emotions weren't running rampant so badly, the raven haired boy might have noticed that the silhouette was most definitely not that of a Pidgey...

Nolan looked on in disapproval, but refrained from protesting any further.

The more he thought about it, the more the blonde boy realised that throwing rocks wasn't nearly as bad as having Pokemon attack each other, so he really shouldn't comment on it. Still, he hoped that Ash's latest scheme wouldn't hurt his target too much. He turned his eyes on to the aforementioned Pokemon...

And they immediately widened in sheer terror.

"Ash wait!" the blonde boy screamed in panic, "Don't do it!"

But it was already far too late.

Ash threw the rock was as much force as he could muster, and Nolan was powerless to do anything but helplessly watch it sail through the air towards its target. The blonde boy prayed to every legendary Pokemon he'd ever heard of that the pebble would miss, but alas, the new trainer's prayers went unanswered.

Ash's aim held truth, and the rock struck its mark.

Before their eyes the figure jolted at the impact, clearly surprised not to mention in what must have been agonising pain. Already a large bump was beginning to form on the Pokemon's head, swelling up at an impressive speed. A huge grin lit up Ash's entire face, whilst Nolan could only look on in horror.

It was obvious that Ash had no idea about the catastrophic mistake he'd just made.

"I got it!" Ash cheered happily.

"I really wish you hadn't!" Nolan gasped in fear, his panic levels rising.

"What?" Ash blinked, turning to look at Nolan in a confused manner, "Why?"

He'd get his answer soon enough though.

Nolan swallowed hard, hands trembling anxiously with fear, as he and Ash watched the figure slowly turn around, the latter with a slightly puzzled expression on his face. The avian Pokemon glared at them with tears of pain in its eyes, whilst the bump on its head had now reached the size of a cricket ball.

Its expression was nothing short of murderous.

Ash quickly realised that the Pokemon before them wasn't a Pidgey like he had initially assumed, but something else entirely. Sensing his best friend's fear, Ash turned to him, just instinctively knowing that Nolan knew exactly what that Pokemon was.

"What is it?" Ash asked the blonde boy next to him, "You know, don't you Nolan? I can tell".

Grimacing, Nolan turned to face him with a serious look in his eye, hoping to convey the magnitude of the mistake Ash had just unwittingly made.

"Ash, that's a Spearow" the blonde boy whimpered, eyeing the furious creature before them nervously, "They're really aggressive Pokemon that will attack with no or little provocation".

Horror flared up in Ash's eyes as realisation finally dawned on him.

"So... Throwing a stone at one..." the raven haired boy gulped fearfully.

"Probably wasn't the best idea, no" Nolan anxiously finished for him.

The two new trainers watched the wild Spearow with an air of fear, whilst the flying type Pokemon glowered back at them, making no secret of just how furious Ash's actions had made it.

Swallowing hard, the ebony haired boy decided he wanted to know more about the livid creature before them, so he cautiously withdrew his pokedex from his pocket and pointed it in the direction of the Spearow.

"Spearow - the Tiny Bird Pokemon" Dexter announced once its analysis had been made, "Unlike Pidgey, Spearow has a terrible attitude. It is very wild and will sometimes attack other Pokemon and humans".

"A lot of trainer magazines also recommend that new and inexperienced trainers avoid trying to catch Spearow, since they're really difficult to tame to the point that they'll actually obey you" Nolan also informed his best friend.

Ash gulped again, his earlier feelings of fear intensifying, as he turned his attention back to the wild Pokemon he had just made an enemy out of. Praying that he and his friends would make it out of this situation unscathed, the raven haired boy was about to be disappointed, as seemed to be the recurring pattern that day.

Already the Spearow had taken to the air, and was charging towards his targets.

Namely... Ash and Nolan.

Both of them letting out somewhat panicked screams of fright, the two boys wasted no time in making a hasty retreat. Nolan ducked just in time to avoid being struck in the face by the furious Pokemon's wing, whilst Ash ran when the Spearow then decided to make him its primary target. The raven haired boy dived towards his backpack on the ground, using it as a shield to avoid the lethal talons that were intent on slashing him to pieces.

"Ash! Look out!" Nolan exclaimed as he helplessly watched in terror, as the Spearow tried pecking at his best friend's eyeballs.

Fortunately, the raven haired boy was able to dodge in time, and thus was spared the absolute agony that could quite possibly have rendered him blind for life. He was far from out of the woods yet though.

Again and again the enraged Spearow came at him, viciously pecking and slashing at any part of Ash he could reach. The boy was desperately trying to fend off his attacker by swinging his backpack at it, which after a few attempts, actually seemed to be mildly successful. The annoyed Spearow didn't leave however, he just decided that Ash was simply too much trouble.

That was when it turned its attention on to Nolan.

Unable to help but shriek in fright as the wild Pokémon shot toward him like a small feathery bullet, Nolan just barely managed to avoid having his nose torn off by those talons. He dropped to the ground, cowering as he desperately tried to shield his head from any further attack.

Furious at the attempted assault on her human partner, Meadow growled angrily and leapt forwards. The little grass type didn't care that she was at a severe disadvantage or that she was still weak from her earlier battle with Pidgey.

She was going to defend her trainer no matter the cost.

As the Spearow rounded in for another attempt, Meadow quickly unleashed her Vine Whip, grabbing the wild Pokémon by the wings, catching it completely off-guard. Before he could react or try to escape her clutches, Meadow brought the Spearow down through the air, smashing him into the ground with as much force as she could muster.

"Spearow!" the Tiny Bird Pokémon screeched in pain.

Incensed at the little grass type's intervention, Spearow cawed angrily before using his strong wing muscles to break free of Meadow's grip on him. As her vines retracted back into the space beneath her bulb, the flying type that was Meadow's opponent shot towards the small green Pokémon, intent on trying his super-effective Peck attack. Thankfully Meadow was able to dodge it in time, but it was close. Much to close for comfort.

"Meadow! Try your Leech Seed attack!" Nolan yelled in a desperate attempt to help his partner.

Nodding, Meadow prepared herself as she tensely watched as her enemy drew in closer. Her bulb began to glow with a faint green light, before a similarly glowing seed was fired out of the top of it. It shot towards the Spearow and...

Missed.

Nolan and Meadow couldn't help but grimace when the Spearow effortlessly twirled through the air and danced out of the draining seed's path. They watched as it harmlessly fell to the ground and disintegrated.

Fortunately, despite not being successful, the attack did manage to achieve one positive thing.

It had made the Spearow think twice about attacking them. The only down side was that it caused the outraged flying type to change the target of his aggression once more. It was by no means ready to leave them in peace just yet. Not until its need for revenge had been satisfied.

And this time, it was Pikachu that fell in the Spearow's crosshairs.

Letting out a shrill squawk of fury that almost sounded like a war-cry, the Spearow barrelled towards the frightened electric type Pokemon. Pikachu squeaked in fear, just barely ducking in time to avoid the talons of the angry avian Pokemon.

"Pi!" Pikachu whimpered as the Spearow wheeled through the air in order to make a second attempt.

Moving so fast that he was little more than a yellow blur of motion, Pikachu scampered up the same tree he had been in before, trying desperately to get away from the Pokemon that was attacking them.

Despite the bleak situation they were all in, the small yellow Pokemon couldn't help but feel a fresh wave of resentment towards the idiot he was stuck with as a trainer. This was all Ash's fault. It wasn't fair that once again, they were all being made to suffer for it.

"Row! Spearow!" Spearow screamed as he spotted Pikachu trying to hide from him. The flying type Pokemon shot towards him to try another attack.

Seeing this from his position at the base of the tree, Ash hatefully glared up at the aggressor that was attacking him and all his friends.

"Hey! Leave Pikachu alone!" the dark haired boy yelled in defence of his frightened partner, "He didn't throw the rock! Leave him, Nolan and Meadow alone! They had nothing to do with it!"

The pokedex still clutched in Ash's hand suddenly flashed to life, almost making the boy jump out of his skin. With all the emotion of the moment, the raven haired youngster had honestly forgotten that he was still holding the device.

"Wild Pokemon tend to be jealous of human-trained Pokemon" Dexter informed the rookie trainer.

Ash couldn't help but scowl darkly at that little nugget of information.

Nolan and Meadow rushed over to Ash's side, all three of them looking up at the scene unfolding in horror. High up in the tree, Pikachu was still ducking and dodging for his life, as the Spearow attacked him again and again with unrelenting fury. Before their very eyes, the yellow creature slipped off the branch he was standing on, causing them all to cry out in alarm.

"Chu!" Pikachu gasped, clinging on to the branch with his tiny paws for dear life.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried out in panic. Whilst he and the electric type Pokemon might still be at odds with each other, the last thing he wanted was to see any harm come to the little guy.

"Hold on!" Nolan fretted, feeling utterly helpless as he watched his best friend's partner struggle to maintain his grip.

"Bulba!" Meadow was also very concerned for her fellow Pokemon.

The group of four could only look on in horror as the Spearow drew closer and closer to where Pikachu was precariously dangling, a vindictive glint of malice in his eyes. It was more than a little obvious that the flying type was rather enjoying their unadulterated fear of him.

"Pi!" Pikachu whimpered, clearly very frightened now.

"PIKACHU!" Ash screamed in horror, feeling extremely guilty about the awful predicament he'd accidentally involved his partner in.

Nolan was furiously trying to think of a way to get them out of this nightmare. It took a few moments, but eventually the golden haired trainer gasped as an idea popped into his mind.

"Meadow quick!" he shouted in an urgent manner, "Use your Vine Whip and get Pikachu out of there!"

"Saur!" Meadow nodded in agreement, wanting to slap herself for not thinking of that sooner.

The little grass type Pokemon prepared to unleash her vines, but never had the opportunity to do so. Suddenly, much to the astonishment of all those present, bright flickers of electrified energy seemed to radiate from Pikachu's entire body. With a sharp cry of utter determination, the small yellow creature unleashed every last ounce of the power that had been building.

The blast of electricity struck the Spearow head on, drawing an agonised scream from the aggressive creature.

"Row!" it shrieked and writhed about in crippling pain.

The slightly charred Spearow immediately dropped to the ground with an audible thud. It was so stunned by the unexpected turn of events that it couldn't even move due to its state of horrified shock.

It wasn't the only one rendered speechless in surprise.

Nolan could only gape in astonishment, whilst beside him, Ash took a deep sigh of relief. It took a few moments, but once the reality of what they had just witnessed had sunk in, both boys' faces broke into identically wide grins.

"Pikachu, you got it!" Ash cheered in delight.

Pikachu, who had dropped down from the tree and landed on his feet by Ash's side, glared up at his partner in annoyance. The yellow creature was making no secret of the fact that he held the raven haired boy entirely responsible for that whole debacle.

Nolan, sensing that Ash might have just made his turbulent relationship with his partner even worse with that foolhardy stunt, chimed in before another argument had the chance to break out. Even though he too was cross with the other boy for that display of sheer stupidity, Nolan had had more than enough arguments for one day, so decided to just let this one go.

"That was amazing Pikachu!" he complimented his best friend's partner Pokemon.

Pikachu smiled up at the blonde boy, blushing slightly under his praise.

"Pikachu" he rubbed the back of his head modestly.

Meadow stepped closer to the electric type Pokemon, smiling warmly at him. He had taken down a serious threat to Nolan's safety. For that, he had Meadow's gratitude.

"Saur" she thanked him, tone utterly sincere.

Pikachu nodded at her, and was about to verbally reply. Before he had a chance to however, a low groan of pain cut the yellow Pokemon off.

All four of the travellers turned to the source of the disturbance, and grimaced when they saw that the frazzled Spearow was gingerly dragging himself to his feet. They all mentally tried to prepare themselves for another fight, since judging by the expression on his face, the Spearow's temper hadn't cooled down at all. If anything, the Tiny Bird Pokemon was now apoplectic with fury, trembling in sheer and utter outrage.

One thing was for certain... It wasn't finished with them just yet.

The Spearow might be down but it was far from out, and he still had one more trick up his beak. Smirking darkly, Spearow turned away from the meddlesome quartet, and focused all of his attention on one specific tree out in the middle of the field they were in. For this wasn't just some random tree on the outskirts of the forest. No, this tree was where Spearow happened to live. Him and the rest of his flock.

Nolan and Ash had no idea just how doomed they really were.

"Spearow!" the wild Spearow screamed at the top of his lungs, only one purpose in mind. To bring about an end to these fools that had utterly humiliated him with their rocks and electric blasts. To Spearow, it was nothing less than they deserved.

To the livid Pokémon's immense satisfaction, the effect of his call was immediate.

Like a gathering thunderstorm, the bright blue sky seemed to darken before their eyes as it was suddenly filled with dozens and dozens of Spearow, all pouring out of the tree that the original Spearow had called out to. Their wings threatened to block out the sun, there was so many of them, and each and every one of them was screaming and squawking in outrage, furious that someone would actually have the sheer audacity to attack a member of their flock.

To them, it didn't matter just how powerful their opponents might be. They were going down... Hard.

Nolan could have sworn that the blood in his veins turned to ice in that moment. The blonde boy's face turned a ghastly shade of white, whilst beside him, Ash's eyes widened in terrified horror as the severity of the situation before them sunk in.

"Uh-oh..." Ash whispered weakly, fearing that his knees were about to give out from under him.

'Uh-oh' was just about the understatement of the century.

Even between all three of the Pokémon that the new trainers had at their disposal, they didn't stand even the slightest chance against a whole flock of peeved Spearow. Meadow was at too much of a disadvantage to even think about trying, and Pidgey was probably still too weak from the earlier battle to be of much use. Even Pikachu, whose electric attacks would be super-effective against Spearow, didn't possess the raw power they'd need to knock out a whole flock of them. Nolan honestly didn't see what chance they had at this point.

They were totally screwed.

Almost in perfect synchrony, every Spearow's eyes glinted with an air of danger, like a storm of lethal blades, as they focused their attention on Ash, Nolan and their Pokemon. With screams loud enough to rattle the sky itself, the flock swarmed towards them.

Nolan and Ash couldn't help but tremble with terror.

Nothing in either boys' life had ever prepared them for a situation like this, and all Nolan could think about was how much he wished his dad was there to help them. Shaking those thoughts away, the blonde haired boy tried desperately to think of something, anything, that they could do to escape this awful situation. He was coming up empty though, and that terrified Nolan more than the Spearow flock ever could.

It really did seem as though all hope was lost.

"What should we do Nolan?" Ash desperately looked to his best friend for guidance in this bleak situation they had found themselves in, "Should we run?!"

Feeling faint with nerves, and looking as though he was about to throw up, Nolan could do nothing but nod numbly.

Trembling with a fear so intense it was like nothing he'd ever felt before, Ash quickly gathered up Pikachu in his arms, who was so terrified at the moment that he didn't even protest. Nolan did the same with Meadow, cuddling the whimpering grass type Pokémon against his chest protectively. No matter how scared Nolan was for himself right now, he still wasn't about to let any harm come to her. Not whilst there was still breath in his body at least.

The flock was almost upon them now, and the two best friends exchanged a grim look, neither of them saying a single word as they both nodded solemnly at each other.

Nolan and Ash both ran for their lives.

What a cliff-hanger to end on : )

I am SO glad to almost be done with this episode now. To be honest, it's getting to the point now where it feels like it's dragging a bit, but everything that's happened so far is necessary to the story, so oh well.

Now, on to the results from the last chapter's voting topic.

For those of you that remember, I asked you guys to vote between which Pokemon I can use in my Nuzlocke, and thus the Pokemon that Nolan will catch in the story. The options were Oddish, Diglett and Abra.

The problem is only one reader voted, and in that vote they mentioned both Abra and Diglett. I honestly read that review about ten times, and I still can't work out which one they want me to go with. I even tried PMing the reviewer to clarify, but I never heard back from them.

Since this wasn't really a tie between two reviewers like the Geodude/Caterpie situation, I really didn't want to just toss a coin to decide. So in the end, I decided that the fairest thing to do was simply put it up for vote again. Since Oddish wasn't included in the review, I won't be including it here.

Please, please vote in a review between Diglett and Abra, and help me clear this up once and for all. Their genders, abilities and natures can all be seen listed in the previous chapter : )

Finally, thank you so much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the story so far.

Until the next time, keep on reading : )