Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!
Hey readers - I cannot believe that it is Christmas Day again already! Where has this last year gone?! Why, in two days' time this story will be one year old already, and that is just mad : D Seriously though, I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday if you celebrate it, and a Happy New Year : )
Now, onto something a bit more story related - the latest winner of our voting topic : ) Thank you to everyone that voted on the last chapter and broke the tie, and I'm pleased to say that the winner was... Meowth! Honestly, this kinda feels like a Christmas Present to me, because as you probably know, I LOVE Meowth, and I'm so happy I get to add one to Nolan's team in this story. I think he's gonna be a really fun character to write : )
Finally, I want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone that has supported this story over the course of the last year. The support shown is so appreciated, so please keep it up in 2023. Also, please remember that Pokemon is not mine, only my OCs are, and I hope you enjoy this chapter : )
Merry Christmas Everyone : )
Ash Catches A Pokemon - Part 4
Almost two hours had passed by the time that Nolan called a finish to his team's first proper training session, and he had to admit, he was incredibly pleased about how it went. Whilst Meadow and Welkin had achieved very little in the way of physically mastering the new techniques he had set for them - which in all honesty, Nolan had foreseen since they were only just starting out, and he wasn't expecting any miracles - at least both of his Pokemon had a thorough grasp on the theory behind the new moves they were hopefully going to master. That was good enough for now. It was a solid foundation that they could build on later, and that was exactly what Nolan planned to do. Right now though, they needed to be making their way back to their group's campsite. They could pick up where they left off in their next training session.
Now Nolan was carrying Meadow in his arms, and Welkin was perched upon his shoulder, as the golden haired boy walked through the forest to regroup with the rest of his friends. Both of his Pokemon were a little tired, but Nolan was proud of them for how much effort both of them had put in. He just hoped that their enthusiasm would remain, especially if their new moves took them longer to master than any of them hoped for. It was certainly something that the new trainer would be keeping his eye on in their future training sessions. Nolan couldn't help it when a somewhat goofy smile appeared on his face at the thought.
Training sessions.
Nolan Locke, after a lifetime of waiting, was finally holding training sessions. Training sessions with his very own Pokemon. There just weren't any words to accurately describe just how amazing the boy felt about it. It really was like a dream come true for him. The golden haired Pokemon trainer was still grinning about this latest milestone on his journey when he finally came within earshot of their campsite. The moment he did so however, his smile faded away, as the first tell-tales signs of shouting reached their ears.
"Oh dear" the blonde boy shook his head, a wave of exhaustion suddenly washing over him, "I hope Ash and Misty aren't fighting again".
After the high he had just been feeling, having to referee another slanging match would certainly bring Nolan back down to Earth with a bump. A bump he could quite frankly do without.
"Saur" Meadow sighed sadly.
The little Grass Type Pokemon really didn't like it at all when her partner's human friends argued with each other. Not only did it create an atmosphere that they could all do without, but it put Nolan in the middle, and she didn't think that was very fair at all.
"Pidgey" Welkin chirped curiously from his spot on Nolan's shoulder.
Since he had been inside his pokeball for the majority of recent events, Nolan had taken the time to catch his Flying Type Pokemon up to speed on everything he'd missed before they'd gotten down to any training. So Welkin knew who Misty was, and about the attack on the Pokemon Centre back in Viridian City, and that now she was travelling with them. Nolan had also mentioned that Ash had caught a new teammate, but Nolan hadn't told him what type of Pokemon the new member of their group was.
Now concerned about what they were about to walk into, Nolan allowed another forlorn sigh to escape his lips, before he resumed his walking. It wasn't long until his worries would be proven unfounded however, for soon enough he could actually make out the words that were being yelled by his friends, and Nolan quickly realised that Ash and Misty weren't in fact fighting at all.
"NOLAN! WHERE ARE YOU?!" called Ash's voice, his words echoing through the trees.
"NOLAN?! MEADOW?!" Misty's voice added.
"PIKA! PIKACHU!" even Pikachu's voice could be heard, calling out for them in concern.
Groaning, Nolan realised that he might be in trouble. He'd honestly expected to be back before any of them woke up. Thinking about it now though, he actually had no idea if Misty was an early riser or not. He knew that Ash wasn't, so he could only assume that the Water Type Specialist had woke up, realised that Nolan wasn't there, and sounded the alarm to the others. Nolan immediately felt guilty for being so careless. He hadn't meant to cause anyone any worry. Groaning again, the boy quickened his pace, knowing that it would be better just to face the music, rather than prolong everybody's torment.
Within seconds, Nolan and his Pokemon were back at the campsite.
Pikachu was the one to hear the sound of rustling branches and crunching leaves. Realising that the noise was coming from behind him, the small yellow Pokemon turned, immediately spotting Nolan, Welkin and Meadow emerging into the clearing. He breathed a sigh of relief, before turning back towards Ash and Misty, who had yet to notice the arrival of their no-longer missing friend.
"Pika pika!" he exclaimed, pointing his tiny paw in the direction of Nolan and his Pokemon.
Ash and Misty both heard the soft exclamation from Pikachu, and turned to look down at him. Realising that the Electric Type Pokemon was pointing at something, they both allowed their gaze to follow his little paw, and almost immediately clapped eyes on a sheepish Nolan. Instantly, they both exhaled in relief.
"Nolan!" Ash cried out a little breathlessly, "There you are!"
"We were really worried about you" Misty added, and whilst there was a hint of accusation in her tone, it was mostly just full of concern, "Is everything okay?"
"Where were you?!" Ash demanded to know.
"Pika!" Pikachu added towards Meadow, frowning disapprovingly.
Nolan looked down at the ground out of unadulterated shame, shifting his feet awkwardly under the annoyed expressions of his friends.
"I took Meadow and Welkin out for an early morning training session" the golden haired explained quietly, feeling very scolded, even if it was rightly so, "I thought we'd be back before any of you woke up. I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to worry you guys. I should have left a note or something. I'm sorry".
"Bulba" Meadow hung her head too under Pikachu's stern gaze.
"Pidgey" Welkin looked ashamed as well. They all felt bad knowing that whilst they been out having fun, their friends back at camp had been worrying about them.
Sensing the sincerity of the heartfelt apology, and knowing how guilty Nolan and his team felt based on their expressions; Ash, Misty and Pikachu all softened, and smiled reassuringly at their friends.
"It's okay Nolan" Misty told him kindly, "We know that you wouldn't worry any of us on purpose. But maybe just tell us in advance next time? Or leave a note?"
"I will" the blonde boy quickly swore, "I promise".
"Good" Ash nodded at his best friend firmly, "Because I was starting to think that you and Meadow had been eaten by wild Pokemon, and that would of really sucked".
Nolan couldn't help but look at him with a deadpan expression, because of course that's where his best friend's mind had jumped too. Him being eaten alive.
"Thanks Ash" Nolan shook his head sarcastically.
Ash smirked in response to the golden haired boy's put-out expression, and was about to start teasing him, when the rest of what Nolan had said before actually registered with him. His russet coloured eyes lit up, and a true smile eclipsed his face.
"Wait a minute! You took Meadow and Welkin for a training session?!" Ash repeated, excitement colouring his tone as any previous irritation over the little incident was immediately forgotten, "How was it?!"
Nolan couldn't help the wide grin that returned to his face at Ash's question.
"Amazing..." the golden haired boy replied in an almost dreamy tone, "Just... amazing!"
"It must have been your first one, right?" Misty asked, knowing that since the boys were still very new trainers, it wasn't an unreasonable assumption.
"It sure was" Nolan eagerly nodded his head, "I was everything I'd ever hoped for and more!"
Misty couldn't help but smile at her friend's enthusiasm and excitement.
"Cool!" she replied kindly, before curiously asking "So, what area of your team's development did you decide to focus on?"
"Area of development?" Ash repeated slowly, a little confused by what those words meant.
Unfortunately for the raven haired boy, he wouldn't receive an answer to his question, since his best friend was already focused on answering Misty's question instead of his own. He couldn't help it when a little pout tugged at his lips as a result.
"We're working on expanding the number of moves at our disposal right now" Nolan informed them, happy that his friends were taking so much interest in this, "For now, they're both trying to learn a new move each - Bullet Seed for Meadow, and Quick Attack for Welkin".
"Not bad moves for younger Pokemon to learn" Misty mused aloud, nodding her head in approval, "It's a good place for them to start out at at least".
"Wait!" Ash cut in, looking at Nolan in awed surprise, "You're already teaching Meadow and Welkin new moves?! But you've only just got them!"
Nolan just shrugged at his best friend, unsure how to respond to his outburst without sounding a little patronising.
"So?" he replied, a bit more bluntly than he'd intended, "Why not start as we mean to go on? You guys wanna get stronger, right?"
"Saur!" Meadow cheered from her position in his arms.
"Pidgey!" Welkin eagerly nodded as well.
"You see?" Nolan grinned at Ash, who could only nod his head silently, a little dumbstruck by what his best friend was saying, "And as their trainer, it's my job to help them in any way I can. I promised that I'll do my best by them, and helping them to grow is a big part of that".
Ash nodded as he let those words sink in, before his thoughts immediately turned to his own Pokemon, and what he should be doing to try and help them.
"I wonder if I should try teaching some new moves to Pikachu and Caterpie..." the raven haired boy wondered aloud, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
Nolan opened his mouth to respond, about to suggest that Ash try looking through their entries in his pokedex for ideas, but sadly he never got the opportunity to. For as soon as the word 'Caterpie' had slipped past Ash's lips, did an entirely new situation blow up in their faces...
"PPPPPIIIIIDDDDDGGGGGEEEEEYYYYY!"
Nolan was almost buffeted off his feet by the force at which Welkin took off from his shoulder, soaring up into the air at top speed, his calm demeanour from just moments before now but a distant memory. The golden haired boy could do little more than gape at his feathery friend as he rocketed up into the sky, taking on a completely different personality, as if the use of that single word had somehow flipped a switch in his mind. He wasn't a docile creature in that moment.
Welkin was a Pokemon on a hunt.
"PPPPPIIIIIDDDDDGGGGGEEEEEYYYYY!"
The suddenly enraged Pokemon let out another chilling shriek, the noise piercing through the tranquillity of the forest like a war-cry. Down below, Nolan and the others could do nothing but stare up at him as Welkin circled in the sky above the clearing, each of them utterly bewildered by the abrupt change in the Flying Type Pokemon's behaviour.
"Welkin?! What is it?!" Nolan called up to him, close to panicking a little, "What's wrong?!"
His Pokemon didn't even seem to hear him, he was so preoccupied with his searching. Because that's clearly what Welkin was doing. He was searching from the sky for something. Suddenly, Welkin's sharp eyes landed on his prey, and he screamed out another battle-cry.
"PPPPPIIIIIDDDDDGGGGGEEEEEYYYYY!"
Nolan watched on with building anxiety as Welkin suddenly dived, and realising that his Pokemon had clearly spotted whatever it was that he was after, quickly looked around the clearing that they were in, trying to figure out what it was that Welkin was so fixated upon.
The boy quickly discovered the answer.
Caterpie.
His Pokemon was flying at break-neck speed towards Caterpie.
Welkin was hunting Ash's Caterpie.
Oh crap.
"Welkin! No!" Nolan yelled in horror as he felt the unpleasant sensation of his stomach dropping out from beneath him, "Don't!"
It was already far too late though.
Welkin dive-bombed out of the sky towards the spot where Caterpie stood, and unfortunately the little green Bug Type Pokemon didn't realise until the last second that he was the object of the Tiny Bird Pokemon's attention. Having no chance to dodge as a result, Caterpie soon found himself clutched in Welkin's talons, before he was carried off into the air.
"Aaah!" Nolan, Misty and Ash all exclaimed in shock, Ash of course looking particularly horrified by this latest turn of events. Pikachu and Meadow were both equally stunned by Welkin's actions as well.
"PPPPPIIIIIDDDDDGGGGGEEEEEYYYYY!"
"CCCCCAAAAATTTTTEEEEERRRRR!"
Everyone present, even Misty, winced sympathetically when they heard the unadulterated sheer terror in Caterpie's screams as the defenceless little bug was swept higher and higher into the air by Welkin, who was looking quite pleased with himself for successful snatching up his prey. Looks like breakfast was sorted for him. Licking his lips, Welkin decided to eat his meal whilst it was fresh, and quickly landed in the branches of a nearby tree. Easily maintaining his grip on Caterpie, despite how desperately the little green creature was flailing about in his panic, Welkin held the hyperventilating Pokemon up over his head, and opened his beak as wide as he could...
Down below, the three young Pokemon trainers were aghast by what they were witnessing.
"Aaaah! NO!" Ash let out a particularly high-pitched yelp of horror, his blood turning to ice in his veins, "Welkin's gonna eat Caterpie! Nolan! DO SOMETHING!"
Knowing that he'd never be able to stand the guilt if he allowed Welkin to devour one of Ash's Pokemon, Nolan frantically nodded at his best friend, before charging across the clearing, coming to a stop at the base of the tree that Welkin and Caterpie were in.
"WELKIN! STOP!" Nolan intervened, bellowing the command at the top of his lungs.
Up above the blonde haired boy, Welkin jolted on his perch in surprise. Nolan had never spoken to him in such a way before. Peering down at his trainer, Welkin was shocked to see that the human was glaring back up at him, and he was beyond furious.
"Good!" Nolan ground out through his teeth when he saw that Welkin had in fact paused in his actions, "Now bring Caterpie back down here to me!"
Welkin looked between his trainer and his breakfast, but made no move to surrender his meal.
"THIS INSTANT!" Nolan barked in a tone that invited no argument.
Realising from his tone that Nolan was not messing around, Welkin sighed deeply, but did as instructed. Softly beating his wings, Welkin fluttered down, until he was hovering in front of his irate trainer. Welkin had a confused expression on his face. He didn't know what he'd done wrong, but he was about to find out.
As soon as he was within reach, Nolan immediately snatched Caterpie out of Welkin's talons, and hugged the poor creature tightly against his chest. The little Bug Type Pokemon was shaking, he was so traumatised by what had just happened.
"Gey!" Welkin whined unhappily, upset that Nolan had taken away his breakfast. Nolan fixed his Pokemon with a stern glare before responding.
"Welkin! How could you do that to poor Caterpie?!" the golden haired boy scolded hotly, "You can't treat friends like that!"
"Pid?" Welkin cocked his head to the side in confusion. Nolan heaved a great sigh, suddenly feeling exhausted once again.
"Caterpie is Ash's newest Pokemon" Nolan explained to the little brown creature, whose eyes widened in obvious surprise, "Remember I said that he caught a new teammate? Well Caterpie is that teammate!"
Pidgey just stared at his trainer incredulously, before turning his attention back to Caterpie with a hungry glint in his eyes.
"Caterpie!" Caterpie squeaked in fear.
"No Welkin!" Nolan scolded him again, immediately cutting off his Flying Type Pokemon's train of thoughts, "Caterpie is our friend, not food! Which means you can't eat him!"
"Pidgey!" Welkin whined in dismay.
Nolan just sighed again, shifting Caterpie into the crook of his arm to free up one of his hands. He then ran said hand down over his face, already feeling the weight of the day upon him. It wasn't even 8:00 am yet!
Suddenly Ash was at the blonde boy's said, and he had a very angry expression on his face. In one swift manoeuvre, he plucked Caterpie out of Nolan's arms, and began checking him over for injuries. He was pleased when he found none.
"Oh, Caterpie!" the raven haired boy cooed down at his trembling Pokemon in a soothing tone, "I'm so sorry that that happened! Are you okay?"
"Cater..." Caterpie whimpered, curling up in Ash's arms in fear.
"Welkin! You owe Caterpie an apology! I don't care if eating bugs is in your nature!" Ash snapped at his best friend's Pokemon, a deeply angry expression on his face, "Don't ever do that again!"
The little Flying Type Pokemon glared back at the irate human intensely. Whilst Welkin was prepared to take a scolding from Nolan since he was his trainer, he wasn't about to listen to one from Ash. Not after the incident with the pyjamas before Nolan had captured him. So quicker than the eye could blink, Welkin darted forwards through the air, and swiped at Ash's cheek with his beak. Ash yelped in pain when it immediately stung painfully. Thankfully the minor nip hadn't drawn blood, but it had left a nasty red mark.
"Ouch!" Ash cried out, his hand flying up to cover the already sore spot.
"Welkin!" Nolan gasped out disapprovingly.
"Hey! What was that for?!" Ash angrily demanded to know.
"Pika!" Pikachu was also upset on his trainer's behalf.
"Gey! Pidgey! Pid! Pidgey! Gey!" Welkin glowered back. Sighing for what felt like the hundredth time in the last five minutes, Nolan pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers, suddenly feeling the urge to go back to bed and start this day all over again.
"I'm guessing that he's still mad at you over the whole pyjama incident" Nolan shook his head tiredly.
"Still?!" Ash cried incredulously.
"Pika" Pikachu snorted to himself, remembering those events and still finding them absolutely hilarious.
"Pyjama incident?" Misty repeated, her tone utterly bemused.
The two boys just shared an exasperated look with each other in response to the question, but neither of them answered her. There would be time to share that story later. Instead, Nolan got back to the situation at hand.
"Welkin..." he started, before he trailed off with a great sigh, "Just... don't try to eat Caterpie again, okay?"
"Pidgey" Pidgey whined, but begrudgingly nodded his head.
"Good boy" Nolan said, briefly stroking Welkin's feathery little head, before reaching down to his waist and unclipping a pokeball from his belt, "Return for now".
In an flash of scarlet light, Welkin was consumed by the red and white sphere, which Nolan immediately replaced on his belt. As soon as Welkin was confined to his pokeball, Caterpie heaved a great sigh of relief from his spot in Ash's arms.
At long last, his nightmare was over.
Feeling a new tension growing up between them, Nolan awkwardly turned to face Ash, who met his sheepish expression with a stern glare. It was obvious that he was most displeased about what had just happened.
"Ash, Caterpie - I'm really sorry about what just happened" the blonde haired boy bowed his head apologetically, "I promise, I won't let anything like that happen again".
His jaw clenched tightly, Ash mutely nodded at him, allowing some of the tension between the two young boys to melt away. He opened his mouth to verbally respond to the apology that Nolan had delivered on Welkin's behalf, but unfortunately for the raven haired boy, he was interrupted before he had the chance to say even a single word. This time by the sound of fluttering wings. Looking around the clearing in confusion since he had just seen Welkin go back into his pokeball, Ash quickly spotted the source of the newest disturbance, as did everyone else.
The raven haired boy's eyes immediately lit up in excitement.
Having just swooped down from the sky and now grazing in some tall grass was a large avian Pokemon. The creature was similar in colouring to Welkin, although this Pokemon also had crimson and gold plumage and tail feathers. It was also quite a bit bigger than the Tiny Bird Pokemon as well.
"Wow!" Ash couldn't help but cheer in amazement, the sight of the new arrival immediately driving all memory of the incident between Caterpie and Welkin out of his head, "It's a Pidgeotto!"
Nolan was surprised to see the evolved form of his own Pokemon out here in the forest. From the books he'd read, he'd been under the impression that Viridian Forest mainly housed Bug Type Pokemon. Clearly that wasn't all it was home too.
Ash, beaming at this latest stroke of good fortune, gently placed Caterpie on the ground at his feet before he eagerly took out his pokedex, quickly pointing it in the direction of the wild Flying Type Pokemon.
"Pidgeotto - the Bird Pokemon" Dexter reported after successfully identifying the creature before the group of humans, "Pidgeotto is the evolved form of Pidgey. It is armed with sharp claws and dives from the sky to capture its prey. Unlike the more gentle Pidgey, Pidgeotto can be dangerous. Approach with extreme caution".
Ash's smile widened even further as he returned his pokedex to his pocket, eyeing the wild Pidgeotto, contemplating the challenge that it posed. He was just about to leap into action, when a thought suddenly crossed his mind, and he turned to his best friend, who was watching the Pidgeotto with interest as well.
"Hey, Nolan" Ash said, grabbing the golden haired boy's attention, "Do you mind if I try to catch this one? I know that I just caught Caterpie, but I..."
Ash trailed off when Nolan held up a hand placatingly, a kind smile on his face.
"It's fine Ash" Nolan reassured his best friend, "Besides, I already have Welkin on my team, and if I'm lucky, one day he'll evolve into a Pidgeotto anyway. So you go for it, and good luck!"
Beaming at the other boy, Ash nodded his appreciation for being given the opportunity, before he eagerly got down to business.
"Alright Pidgeotto!" Ash called out, attracting the attention of the wild Pokemon for the first time since it's arrival, "I'll show you who's the dangerous one around here!"
And with that borderline arrogant remark, Ash reached down and unfastened an empty pokeball from his belt. Nolan tried to call out a warning to him, but it was already too late, as Ash had already flung the pokeball with all his might.
"Pokeball! Go!" the raven haired boy cried hopefully.
Ash looked on in excitement as the pokeball soared through the air towards where Pidgeotto stood, whilst at his side, Nolan couldn't help but clap a hand to his forehead in exasperation. He'd have thought that Ash would know better than that by now, but obviously that wasn't the case. It didn't take a fortune-teller to know how this was going to turn out, and sure enough, moments later Nolan's prediction came true. With one sweep of its wing, Pidgeotto effortlessly batted the pokeball away. It uselessly rolled back across the clearing, coming to a stop by Ash's feet. The disheartened trainer picked it up, frowning in disappointment.
The capture had been a complete failure.
"Ooh!" Ash hung his head miserably.
"I'm sorry to say it Ash" Misty said as she walked over to join her friends, flanking Ash on his other side and looking across the clearing at the Pidgeotto as well, "But I don't think you're gonna have such an easy time catching this one".
Ash turned to face her with a puzzled expression on his face.
"What do you mean Misty?" the raven haired boy asked in an even tone, unsure if she was trying to tease his capabilities or not. It turned out that she wasn't though, as she gave him an honest reply.
"I mean that just throwing a pokeball to capture a Pokemon rarely ever works" she informed him, holding up a placating hand when Ash showed signs of interrupting her, "I know it turned out good for you when you did that with Caterpie, but it won't be the same story here".
"But why not?" Ash whined unhappily.
Misty sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, willing herself to remember that this was all new to Ash, so he didn't really know what he was doing just yet. She knew that she needed to be patient with her friend right now.
"Okay... now please don't think that I'm trying to be mean because of my phobia when I say this..." Misty said, trying to give Ash fair warning that he might not like what he was about to hear, "But Caterpie is quite a weak Pokemon".
Ash opened his mouth to protest, but Misty gently cut in over him before the raven haired boy could do so.
"Hear me out" she requested, and when Ash nodded curtly, Misty continued, "Now when I say that they're weak, I'm not talking about your Caterpie specifically Ash. I'm talking about them as a species".
Ash nodded his understanding at the clarification.
"Now because Caterpie are at the base stage in their evolutionary line, they tend to be a bit weaker than other Pokemon, which is why just tossing an empty pokeball at him worked before" Misty continued, and despite the delicate nature of the subject, Ash couldn't deny that his friend was talking a lot of sense, "Pidgeotto on the other hand, as I'm sure you're aware, has already evolved once before".
"Yeah..." Ash nodded slowly, "From a Pidgey like Welkin".
"Exactly" Misty nodded, pleased that Ash knew about the concept of evolution, so that she wouldn't have to explain that to him as well, "Now because Pokemon grow stronger as a result of evolution, you'll find that Pidgeotto is a much tougher opponent than the other wild Pokemon you'll probably have encountered so far".
"It is" Nolan nodded in confirmation from Ash's other side. Unless one counted the Gyarados in the river, or that mysterious rainbow creature in the sky that seemed to practically radiated power, than Pidgeotto was the strongest wild Pokemon he and Ash had encountered on their journey so far.
"Right" Misty nodded, before turning back to the lecture she was giving to Ash, "Basically what I'm trying to say is that you'll need to work a little harder if you want to catch Pidgeotto. I'm sure if you put your mind to it though, you'll be able to get it done".
Ash, although deep down had known most of what she had told him, was glad to have her spell it out a little more clearly for him. He nodded at her gratefully for the words of wisdom.
"Thanks a lot Misty" he told her sincerely, "That was actually really helpful".
"I do what I can" she playfully winked.
"I know what I have to do now if I'm going to catch myself a new teammate" Ash continued enthusiastically, his confidence after his earlier flunk quickly returning.
"Yeah?" Nolan asked from his side, wanting to be sure that the message had properly sunk in. He'd previously tried to explain all this before to Ash himself, but he had a feeling that with the words coming from Misty, the message might stick in his mind a little bit more.
"Yeah!" Ash nodded his head eagerly, taking a few steps forwards, whilst from across the clearing, Pidgeotto watched his every move closely, "It's time to have a Pokemon Battle!"
And so with that bold declaration made to the heavens above, Ash immediately sprung into action, hoping to prove his abilities to his admittedly more knowledgeable friends, and further his career as a Pokemon trainer all at the same time. The raven haired boy was nothing if not determined, as he stared down the latest opponent that had chosen to wonder into his path. Only one thing was for certain in that moment. He was going to give this battle everything he had and then some.
It was time for Ash Ketchum to catch another Pokemon.
And that's Part 4 done : )
Honestly, I have no idea where this chapter came from. I just started writing, and somehow Welkin trying to eat Caterpie for breakfast is where I ended up at XD I found it to be quite fun and light-hearted though, so I decided to keep it in. Plus, I wanted to do some character development for Welkin, since the character in my head is definitely capable of holding a grudge against Ash for a long time : ) I was going to include Ash catching Pidgeotto in this chapter, but I felt like the chapter is long enough, so I decided to wait until the next one before Ash catches his next iconic Pokemon. I'm happy about how the interactions with Misty at this point in the episode have changed from canon though : )
Anyway, let's move onto other things - such as this chapter's voting topic! And as promised, now that the tie from last time is broken, we finally get something other than a new Pokemon to decide - namely, which of Nolan's Pokemon get to evolve since I've defeated Lt Surge in my Nuzlocke : )
This time it's quite a list, but here are your choices: - Welkin the Pidgey, Kadabra, Geodude, Voltorb, Growlithe, Poliwag, Meowth, Jigglypuff, and for the first time since this story began, Meadow the Bulbasaur is eligible to evolve as well : D
It's pretty cool seeing all of the team (except for Gyarados) all being able to potentially evolve here. There's a few Pokemon listed here I've never really played with on my team before too, so my Nuzlocke is getting pretty interesting, not to mention fun : ) But anyway, please make my Christmas by leaving your view in a review, and as a little something to bare in mind, the next evolution vote is gonna to be a little bit different from all the rest. Just something to keep in mind, as if there's someone you really want to evolve in this story, you might wanna make your vote for this one count ; )
Finally, I just want to say thank you again for the support you guys have shown over the last year, and Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate it.
Until the next time, keep on reading : )