At last! We are done with this episode!

Hey readers - here we are with the next chapter, and I am SO glad to be posting it : )

I don't know what it is about this episode, and this chapter in particular, but I have NEVER had so much trouble getting a chapter written for this story. Seriously, this whole episode has felt like a nightmare from start to finish, so I'm glad that this chapter marks the end of it. Hopefully it'll mark the end of my writer's block as well : D

Anyway, let's move on to something a bit more positive, like the winner of the last voting topic. I'm honestly quite surprised to say that the winner was... Koffing!

Not gonna lie, I truly thought that people would have gone for one of the Nidoran lines, but I'm not disappointed since this will be a fresh change of pace. I don't think I've ever had a Koffing on my team before - which is strange now I think about it since it's Shiny form is one of my favourites ; )

Finally, I'd like to say a MASSIVE thank you to everyone that have reviewed, favourited and followed this story. It really helps motivate me to keep going with it, so thank you all so much, and please keep it up : )

Please remember that Pokemon is not mine, only my OCs are.

I hope you enjoy this chapter : )

Ash Catches A Pokemon - Part 7

The tension in the air was practically palpable as Nolan and Ash both glowered darkly across the forest clearing at the thieves that were threatening to steal their Pokemon away. Their expressions were filled with complete and utter loathing as they regarded their opponents. Honestly, the golden haired trainer felt like his blood was scorching in his veins, he felt so angry. Nothing but utter determination was flooding his mind in that moment, and a burning desire to protect his Pokemon was growing stronger within him with every beat of his heart. There was nothing that Nolan wouldn't do in that moment if meant keeping everyone that he cared about safe. His resolution was absolute, and there was no obstacle that he'd allow to get in his way of achieving that all important goal. All of which amounted to one simple, single fact. It meant that Team Rocket had better watch out, because plain and simply - Nolan Locke meant business.

The idiots just hadn't realised it yet.

Across the clearing from the furious boys, Team Rocket still had their cocky, arrogant smirks fixed firmly in place, which only served to aggravate Ash and Nolan even further. It couldn't be more obvious that the criminals found the two of them to be trivial, a nuisance rather than a threat, and completely expected any defence they mounted to be easily swept aside. They thought that Ash and Nolan were nothing more than a pair of weak children. The boys couldn't wait to put them right about that.

And fortunately, they weren't going to have to wait too long.

"Koffing - it's time to knock these little twerps down a peg or two" James was the one to get things started, gesturing towards his partner Pokemon with the fake rose that he liked to carry, "Sludge attack now!"

Hurling himself at them both like a sentient cannonball, Koffing decided to attack Pidgeotto over Meadow, knowing that she'd be immune to his Poison Type attacks seeing as she part Poison Type herself. In response, Pidgeotto took off higher into the air, and Koffing followed after her, firing off numerous blobs of sticky smell gunk as he tried to pin her down. Fortunately, Pidgeotto was much faster than Koffing, and was able to dodge each and every one of his attacks, much to the frustration of Team Rocket.

"Nice dodge Pidgeotto!" Ash couldn't help but compliment his newest Pokemon after she pulled off a particularly graceful manoeuvre. He was just about to order a counterstrike, but unfortunately Jessie beat him too it.

"Ekans, go get your dinner!" the magenta haired woman snarled angrily, glaring at Pidgeotto who was still dodging every attack thrown her way, "Use Bite!"

Wanting to get his timing just right, Ekans waited for a couple of moments until Pidgeotto was forced to get closer in order to dodge another of Koffing's Sludge attacks. Once she was within range however, the serpentine creature opened his jaws as wide as he could, and his fangs gleamed menacing as he prepared to pierce her flesh with then. Ekans might even have succeeded in taking an enormous chunk out of Pidgeotto's wing, had Nolan and Meadow not been on the ball that was. They were on the case before Ekans could even get close to their new friend.

"Oh no you don't!" Nolan growled and clenched his fists angrily, not liking the way that Team Rocket seemed to be ganging up on Pidgeotto, "Meadow, use your Vine Whip attack!"

Meadow was ready, and she was more than willing to attack these awful Pokemon for willingly following such bad humans. Launching her Vine Whips, Meadow's aim held true, and she successfully managed to ensnare Ekans, grabbing him by the tail. The long purple screeched in pain as the vines tightened around him, and he valiantly struggled to shake them off. He was completely distracted from Pidgeotto, who swooped past Ekans unharmed, much to Nolan and Meadow's relief. Ekans hissed in frustration as he realised that that had been their plan all along.

"Ekans, throw it off!" Jessie commanded, just as annoyed as her partner Pokemon was, "Make that puny little Bulbasaur let go of you!"

Unfortunately, that was easier said than done.

Spurred on by being called puny and little, Meadow only became all the more determined to keep her prey in her grasp, and no matter how much Ekans squirmed and wriggled about, he just couldn't quite shake off the vines as Meadow clung on for dear life. She tightened them even further around the long violet coloured creature's tail, eliciting another yelp of pain from the Snake Pokemon.

"Ekanssss!" Ekans hissed at his captor in what was supposed to be a threatening manner.

"Bulba! Bulbasaur!" Meadow growled back, smiling darkly to show that she was not intimidated in the slightest.

The two Pokemon continued to tussle for several more moments, but not much changed regarding their current situation. Jessie groaned in irritation, annoyed that her partner was still unable to free himself from Meadow's vice-like grip when she was supposedly a pipsqueak, whilst across the clearing, Nolan was simply ecstatic about how events were playing out.

"Good job Meadow!" Nolan commended, a large grin growing across his face as his partner continued to hold the upper hand, "Now toss it!"

Smirking with a surprising amount of malice considering her usual kind-hearted nature, Meadow had no qualms about following through with her beloved human's instruction. Pouring every ounce of physical strength that her small body possessed into her vines, Meadow reared back, flinging her shrieking captive backwards over her head. With a sickening crunch, Ekans' head collided with the forest floor, hard.

"EKANS!" the serpentine Pokemon moaned in agony.

"Again! Keep tossing it Meadow" Nolan cheered her on from the sidelines, "Let's teach these crooks a lesson they'll never forget!"

"Saur!" Meadow nodded eagerly, and with a casual flick of her vines, she sent Ekans flying in the opposite direction, slamming him against the ground once more.

"EKANS!" Ekans let out another soft whimper of pain.

"Oh no! Ekans!" Jessie exclaimed in a horrified tone, and for the first time since he'd met her, Nolan thought he saw a trace of genuine concern on the woman's face, "Ekans, come on! You have to break away!"

Dazed, Ekans quickly shook himself, before he redoubled his efforts to wriggle and squirm out of Meadow's grip. The little Grass Type Pokemon struggled to hold on, not wanting to risk losing the upper hand when the battle was going her way.

Whilst all this had been going on, James and Koffing had been engaged by Ash and Pidgeotto. The two Pokemon were engaged in aerial combat, but neither one of them seemed to have gained the upper hand as they fired off their respective Sludge and Gust attacks to keep each other at bay. Noticing the predicament that his friend's Pokemon was in however, James decided to change tactics, and called out new instructions to his own partner Pokemon.

"Koffing, leave the bird for now" the cyan haired man commanded, and firing off one last Sludge attack at Pidgeotto just for good measure, Koffing turned his attention to his human partner, "Ekans needs your help! Get in there!"

Grinning wickedly, Koffing immediately began floating over towards where Meadow stood, streaking across the sky before Pidgeotto had the chance to intercept him. Deciding to use the same tactic as the one that he'd used against Pikachu, the Poison Type Pokemon began preparing another Sludge attack as he got into position. Meadow was so preoccupied by swinging Ekans around that she didn't see him as Koffing approached. Thankfully, Nolan did.

"Meadow! Heads up" the golden haired trainer exclaimed to his beloved partner Pokemon in worried concern, "Watch out for Koffing!"

Hearing the frantic warning from her precious human, Meadow's gaze immediately snapped upwards, and she finally noticed Koffing hovering down, a devious grin plastered all over his face. The violet spherical Pokemon spat out a blob of slimy goo, but Meadow instinctively ducked her head, and thankfully the attack missed. It still served its purpose however. Completely distracted by trying to avoid being blinded like poor Pikachu had been, Meadow had relaxed her vines for just a moment, but it was enough for Ekans to wretch himself free of her slackened grip. Across the clearing, Jessie took a sigh of relief.

"At last" she muttered, before turning to smile gratefully at James, "Thanks for the assist".

"No problem" he smirked back at her, before gesturing towards Nolan and Ash with the fake rose in his hand, "But what do you say we demolish these little brats once and for all?"

A smile that was practically evil personified crept across Jessie's face.

"I say let's do it!" she crowed with gleeful malice, before turning her attention back on to her partner Pokemon, "Ekans! It's time for revenge! Use Wrap attack on that Bulbasaur! See how it likes being all tied up!"

"Koffing!" James added, deciding that they should tag-team Meadow for the moment, "Provide some cover with your Smokescreen!"

As a vengeful Ekans quickly slithered across the forest clearing towards Meadow, Koffing shot up higher into the air and belched out a large cloud of thick black smoke. The ebony cloud grew and grew until practically the entire clearing was shrouded in it, effectively hiding Ekans from sight. Nolan immediately gagged and began choking as the disgusting stench entered his nostrils as he and he friends were engulfed by the smoke. Misty and Pikachu had much the same reaction, whilst at Nolan's side however, Ash already had a plan to deal with it.

"Pidgeotto! Quick!" Ash coughed out as the smoke invaded his lungs, making them feel as if they were on fire, "Blow the Smokescreen away with your Gust attack!"

"Geotto!" Pidgeotto cawed as she gracefully moved through the air, beating her wings together quickly and summoning up a vortex of powerful swirling air. Pidgeotto launched her Gust attack in the direction of the inky black cloud, and it cut straight through it, quickly causing the cloud to fizzle out and disperse.

The sight that met their eyes when the last of the smoke finally cleared, most certainly was not a pleasant one.

Having used the distraction and everyone's lack of sight to his advantage, Ekans had managed to get close enough to Meadow, and before Nolan's beloved partner had the chance to react, Ekans used his entire body like a lasso and quickly bound her up with his Wrap attack. As he constricted tightly around her, Meadow couldn't help but whimper softly in pain. She tried to struggle free, but Ekans' grip was too strong.

"Saur..." she groaned as Ekans continued to squeeze her tighter.

"No! Meadow!" Nolan called out in panic as Meadow was all-but-smothered by Ekans' thick coils.

"Quick Pidgeotto! Help Meadow!" Ash called out, almost as concerned about the little Grass Type Pokemon as his best friend was, "Use your Wing Attack on Ekans!"

Pidgeotto streaked across the sky in an effort to help the other female Pokemon, but before she could attack Ekans, Koffing unfortunately intercepted her, and she was forced to dodge an attack instead.

"Now Ekans, let's see how that Bulbasaur likes being tossed around" Jessie smirked in cruel amusement, whilst across the clearing from her, Nolan looked horrified, "Toss it!"

Eager to further his own revenge, Ekans nodded and uncoiled from around Meadow. The little Grass Type Pokemon immediately gasped in great big lungfuls of air, but couldn't move in time to stop Ekans from wrapping his long time around her body again. With one simple flick, the serpentine Pokemon sent Meadow flying through the air, whilst Nolan was helpless to do anything but watch.

CRUNCH!

Nolan couldn't help it when a small scream escaped from his lips. Meadow, unable to control her fall at all, brutally smashed into the towering trunk of a nearby tree. With a shriek of pain, she crumbled to the ground, her body bruised and in excruciating agony.

"MEADOW!" Nolan practically howled. Racing across the clearing as fast as his legs could carry him, the golden haired boy crashed to his knees at her side, immediately pulling his fallen partner into his arms and hugging her close, "Oh Meadow, no! Are you okay?"

"Saur..." Meadow groaned out weakly.

Nolan, although highly relieved that she was fit enough to answer him, couldn't help but grimace as well. He knew that there was no way whatsoever that she was in any condition to continue fighting, and that she wouldn't be for some time. Which meant that it was all up to Pidgeotto now.

Cringing, the golden haired boy turned his attention back to the battle, as it became a two on one.

"Ha! One down, one more to go!" Jessie cackled gleefully upon realising that Meadow wouldn't be coming back from that impact.

"Then let's get this over with!" James smirked darkly at her side in agreement, "Go Koffing! Use Sludge Attack - rapid fire!"

Koffing immediately began firing off a barrage of attacks, and sludge fell down like rain as it took all of Pidgeotto's energy to dodge them. She couldn't even try to fight back as it took all of her focus just to avoid being hit by the filthy, smelly cascade.

"Ekans, help Koffing out!" Jessie commanded, deciding to use their superior numbers to their advantage, "Use Dig!"

Within seconds after receiving the order, Ekans had smashed his way through the forest floor, and burrowed underground until he vanished out of sight completely. Pidgeotto tried to keep track of her enemy through noise alone, but unfortunately Koffing was still keeping up his toxic rain of sludge, successfully keeping her preoccupied. Pidgeotto was so distracted in fact that there was nothing she could do when Ekans suddenly burst up from the ground. Using this to his advantage, the violet serpentine Pokemon struck her hard from behind.

"Geotto!" Pidgeotto shrieked in pain.

She wasn't out of the woods just yet though. Seizing upon the opportunity that his battle partner had created, Koffing rammed his entire body into his opponent's, sending poor Pidgeotto streaking across the sky. Then, before the poor Flying Type even had the chance to try and catch herself, Ekans swung his long body around, and smashed his tail into her back, sending her on a downwards path. Broken and bruised, Pidgeotto simply couldn't stop herself in time.

With a sickening crunch that echoed throughout the entire forest, Pidgeotto crashed into the ground in a crumpled heap. She let out a feeble moan, but did not get back up.

Pidgeotto had been defeated as well.

Ash let out a small cry of horror, whilst Nolan closed his eyes in despair. Now what were they going to do?! He guessed that he could try Welkin, but he severely doubted that he would be enough if his evolved form hadn't been. Pure and unadulterated hopelessness was threatening to consume Nolan as he watched Ash reluctantly recall Pidgeotto back to her pokeball.

The raven haired boy let out a short growl of utter frustration, before his righteous anger got the better of him, and he lost his head completely.

"Argh!" Ash ground his teeth together so tightly it was a miracle they didn't all crumble to dust instantly, "I'll show you!"

And with that, Ash charged across the clearing to take on Team Rocket himself with his bare hands, ignoring Nolan and Misty as they called out for him to stop. Ash quickly reached Team Rocket and prepared to land a punch, but before he could James merely stuck out his hand, pressed it against the furious boy's forehead, preventing him from getting any closer. Immediately, Ash began windmilling his arms, trying to hit any part of the criminals that he could reach.

"Alright! Let's go!" Ash exclaimed, not caring if he looked like a complete idiot right now. If it meant protecting Pikachu and keeping him by his side, Ash would do anything, "Put 'em up!"

The three main members of Team Rocket just stared at the young raven haired boy incredulously.

"Ha! What a fool!" Meowth was the first to recover, laughing and pointing at Ash mockingly, "In battles only the Pokemon are meant to fight each other, not the trainers you little twerp!"

James couldn't help but roll his eyes at such a display of utter ridiculousness.

"Buzz off!" the cyan haired man said irritably. He then proceeded to use a single finger to flick Ash on the forehead directly between the eyes.

Caught off guard by the action, Ash instinctively took a step backwards, and unfortunately tripped over a stray tree root. The raven haired boy tumbled backwards, landing on the ground a few yards back across the clearing. Nolan and Misty were by his side in an instant, still cradling Meadow and Pikachu in their arms respectively.

"Are you okay?" Nolan immediately asked his best friend, concern colouring his tone.

"I'm fine" Ash grunted, quickly scrambled to his feet, glaring at Team Rocket.

"Guess you've got not choice" Jessie sneered down her nose at the three younger trainers, "Let Pikachu in and watch Team Rocket win!"

Ash, Nolan and Misty all just glared at her with loathing. Despite not seeing any other way out of this, none of them were quite ready to admit defeat just yet.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu exclaimed in fear upon hearing Jessie's words.

The little yellow Pokemon began flailing about wildly in Misty's arms, unwilling to go anywhere with these horrible people without a fight, but Misty held him firmly in place.

"No Pikachu" she lightly scolded her friend's Pokemon, gently rubbing a cloth across his eyes, trying unsuccessfully to once again clear away the gunk blinding him, "You can't battle in this condition".

"Pi..." Pikachu whimpered, his ears drooping sadly, knowing that Misty spoke the truth. He still couldn't see anything at all. How could he possibly fend off opponents he couldn't even see?

Fortunately, Pikachu needn't have worried.

Although he seemed to be quickly running out of options, Ash was no where near ready to admit defeat. He would protect Pikachu with his dying breath if need be, and so it was understandable as to why the raven haired boy was desperate enough to make such a foolhardy move as the one he was about to make. He plucked the only pokeball off his belt containing a Pokemon still possibly able to fight.

"Ash, what are..." Misty gaped at him in astonishment as she caught on to what he was planning.

"I know you're still weak from battling Pidgeotto..." the raven haired boy said gently to the pokeball in his hand, his eyes full of regret that things had come down to this, "But now Caterpie you're my only hope! Just give it your very best shot! Caterpie - go!"

"But Ash..." Nolan tried to protest as he continued cradling Meadow, but it was already too late.

Ash hurled the pokeball in his hand through the air with every ounce of strength he possessed, and in a flash of scarlet light, Caterpie materialised on the field. He still looked a little beaten up from the previous battle, but nothing too serious.

Immediately, Jessie, James and Meowth all sweat-dropped, their jaws hanging open as they stared incredulously at the small green Pokemon that was to be their latest opponent.

Honestly, Nolan couldn't even blame them, though he would never admit that out loud. The golden haired boy knew that Ash didn't really have any other choice, but seriously - what exactly was he expecting Caterpie to do? Even if the little green creature hadn't been weakened from the last battle, it would still be two Pokemon against one, three if you counted Meowth. The golden haired boy doubted that Caterpie could fend off an attack on that scale. And whilst Nolan knew that Ash probably had all the faith in the world in Caterpie, he couldn't help but hope that it wasn't totally misplaced.

"What's that?" James sneered down at Caterpie's lightly quivering form in disbelief.

"Huh?" Jessie was just as incredulous as her male counterpart.

"It's a bug!" an equally stunned Meowth burst out, condescension practically oozing from his tone, "A measly little bug!"

It took a moment or two for that declaration to really sink in...

Then...

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Each and every member of Team Rocket threw back their head and laughed loud and hard. James was clutching his stomach and wheezing, his laughter was so intense. Meowth breathlessly banged his fists against the ground as he fell about laughing.

"Let's get the Bug Spray!" Jessie mocked cruelly through a snide cackle.

James and Meowth only hooted even harder at the taunt she'd made. Their malicious laughter thundered through Ash's brain, making his blood boil as they so brazenly mocked his Bug Type Pokemon, regardless of the effect it might have on poor Caterpie's feelings.

"Hey! Knock if off!" the raven haired boy snapped, but he was completely ignored.

Team Rocket merely continued to roar with cruel and mocking laughter, whilst on the other side of the clearing, both Nolan and Misty had doubtful expressions on their faces. The exhausted Meadow in Nolan's arms, as well as the still-struggling-to-see Pikachu in Misty's also looked like they thought that this match-up was a terrible idea. Only time would tell if they were right or not.

And as it happened, they wouldn't have to wait too long to find out.

Evidently coming to the conclusion that Ash was playing some kind of sneaky trick or bad practical joke on them, Ekans and Koffing decided to just put that puny little thing out of its misery once and for all. Rearing up together, the two Poison Type Pokemon lunged for Caterpie at the same time.

"EEEEEKKKKKAAAAANNNNNSSSSS!"

"KKKKOOOOFFFFFFFFIIIINNNNGGGG!"

Poor Caterpie didn't know which way to look first as Ekans and Koffing both towered over the little green creature menacingly. Both of the Rocket Pokemon revelled in the sheer and unadulterated terror they could practically smell rolling off the small Bug Type Pokemon in waves as they drew closer and closer to where he stood quivering.

"Caterpie! Cater!" Caterpie whimpered in fright, lowering his head to the ground and curling up into a ball, trying to protect himself as best he could.

From his spot in Misty's arms, Pikachu's sensitive ears picked up on all of this, and the small yellow Pokemon immediately called out some encouragement to his friend.

"Pika!" he squirmed about slightly.

Misty bit her lip, trying not to take a step backwards as the stress of her phobia kicked in, but she forced herself to stay where she was, a look of genuine sympathy etching itself across her face.

"Hang in there..." she whispered a word of encouragement.

Likewise, the collapsed Meadow strained herself to move upon seeing the situation that their Bug Type friend was in, but Nolan kept her firmly in his arms. She was still far too weak to rejoin this fight.

"Saur! Bulbasaur!" she settled for cheering him on instead.

"Please be alright..." Nolan breathed in a low tone, feeling utterly helpless.

Everyone watched as Ekans and Koffing continued storming through the air towards Caterpie, Team Rocket's side with glee, the others with horror. Ash grit his teeth and clenched his fists, praying that he hadn't just made a terrible mistake for which Caterpie was about to pay the ultimate price. No. He couldn't think like that. Ash knew that he needed to have faith in his Pokemon. So with that thought spurring him on, the raven haired boy quickly sprang into action.

"Caterpie!" he barked out, his tone filled with the utmost determination, "String Shot! Now!"

Still clearly very frightened, and not having much confidence in his own abilities at all, Caterpie weakly picked up his head to look. He cried out when he saw that Ekans and Koffing were almost upon him, but not wanting to disappoint Ash or disobey him, Caterpie mustered up the courage to follow through with his trainer's instruction.

"Cater..." Caterpie began using his String Shot, but rather than launching it in sticky globs like he usually did, this time Caterpie sprayed it out continously in the form of a fluid silvery web.

Koffing was the first Pokemon to fall victim to the String Shot.

Pausing in the air and hovering in place, the jovial spherical Pokemon could only look on in stunned astonishment as his entire body was shrouded in the stream of webbing. Within seconds Koffing's whole form was cocooned by the stringy substance, which immediately solidified and became as hard as a rock. The shrouded Koffing then dropped out of the air like a lead balloon, hit the ground with a soft thud, and moved no more.

Then it was Ekans' turn.

The violet serpentine Pokemon bore down on Caterpie with his jaws extended, intent on shredding the small green creature to pieces with his lethal poisonous fangs. By some miracle however, Caterpie was able to move faster, and turned the fountain of webbing still pouring from his mouth on to Ekans. Almost like a lasso, the String Shot wound its way around Ekans' jaw, forcing it shut and binding it that way. Caterpie didn't stop there though, and pouring more of his energy into the attack, the String Shot proceeded to cloak Ekans' entire head in the gooey webbing. Ekans recoiled backwards, but was helpless to try and free himself.

"CCCCCAAAAATTTTTEEEEERRRRR!"

With a surge of renewed confidence, Caterpie decided that it was time to end this once and for all. Charging across the forest clearing as fast as his stubby little legs would carry him, Caterpie then rammed his entire body into the prone form of the cocooned Koffing. The momentum sent the spherical Pokemon crashing into Ekans, the force of which sent them both hurtling backwards.

CRASH!

The two tied up Poison Type Pokemon slammed painfully into the thick mossy trunk of a nearby tree. They both crumbled to the ground like ragdolls. They did not get back up.

Silence fell over the entire clearing as everyone struggled to process what they had just witnessed. Even Ash appeared to be stunned, but nobody was more shocked than Caterpie himself. With a tiny squeak, a smile began to grow across the Bug Type Pokemon's face.

"Uh... beaten by a Caterpie?!" James gawked at the two fallen Pokemon is utter horror and disbelief.

"That really bugs me!" Jessie curled her lip in disgust, unable to believe that this was actually happening, that their partners had single-handedly been taken down by this pathetic little bug.

Scowling darkly, Jessie and James both reluctantly returned their unconscious partners back to their respective pokeballs. Meanwhile, Meowth decided that it was time to try his own luck, and took a few threatening steps closer to Caterpie, a smug grin plastered all over his furry little face as he sneered at the Bug Type Pokemon before him.

"Now watch a real Pokemon in action!" he boasted to his human cohorts arrogantly, raising his claws in preparation for his Fury Swipes attack.

Unfortunately for Meowth however, he wouldn't be getting the chance to use his claws.

"CCCCCAAAAATTTTTEEEEERRRRR!"

Taking further courage from his earlier victories, Caterpie wasn't scared in the slightest now as he faced Meowth head on. Without even waiting for an instruction from his trainer, the small green Pokemon decided to simply deploy the same tactic. Why stop if it was working after all. So within seconds, Caterpie began spraying his String Shot again, and directed the webbing towards Meowth before he had the chance to do anything about it.

"Meowth!" the Scratch Cat Pokemon cried out as the web began to engulf him, wrapping around him like a thick, silvery cloak, "Hey! No! Meowth!"

In a matter of moments, Meowth had come to meet the same fate that Ekans and Koffing had previously. Completely cocooned from head to toe, the only part of Meowth that was left visible was his eyes. They blinked silently in incredulous disbelief.

Jessie and James looked on in horror at the display.

Both of them were mortified by this most unexpected turn of events, but they also knew that they had lost. They had no more Pokemon left to battle with, and thus there was little more they could do here. The two humans immediately picked the almost statue-esque Meowth up between them, glaring daggers at the three young trainers all the time.

"It's time Team Rocket blasted off!" Jessie snarled, loathed though she was to admit it.

"You may have won this round, but we'll be back!" James threatened them darkly.

And without so much as a passing glance back at Ash, Nolan and Misty - Team Rocket took of running into the woods, disappearing out of sight through the trees a couple of moments later.

The three youngsters could do little more than stare after them in disbelief, taken aback by their abrupt departure. Misty was the first one of them to recover though, and a small smirk pulled at her lips.

"Come back anytime!" she called after them mockingly, hoping that her voice would carry through the trees so that they'd hear her, "We'll be glad to beat you!"

And just for good measure, she childishly stuck her tongue out after them.

Meanwhile, Nolan was just relieved that they had all got through other encounter with Team Rocket unscathed. Naturally, the golden haired boy was nervous about the threat that James had made, that they hadn't seen the last of the criminal gang, but for now he decided to just celebrate the fact they were still all together.

"Meadow, we did it!" he cried, cuddling his partner tightly, who seemed to be perking up a bit, "We got rid of them!"

"Bulba!" Meadow cheered happily.

Ash was the only human member of their group that had yet to make his feelings about their victory be known. As Nolan and Misty turned to face him, they found the raven haired boy just standing there, his eyes wide with astonishment, his jaw hanging open in disbelief. Nolan couldn't help but chuckle at his best friend's expression, but he understood why he was wearing it. After all, if Nolan hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he'd never have believed that Caterpie had taken down three dangerous Pokemon all by himself. It just proved that you should never judge a book by its cover.

"We did it..." the raven haired Pokemon trainer uttered softly as he finally found his voice, though it still shook with emotion, "We did it! We fought off those losers and protected all of our Pokemon! Yeah! Yeah! YYYEEEAAAHHH!"

Ash jumped up and down on the spot with glee, fist pumping the air furiously, as the emotion of the moment finally caught up with him. They had won and everybody was safe... and that was just... fantastic.

"Caterpie! Pie! Cater!" Caterpie looked very happy with himself, and was wriggling around excitedly, almost as if he was doing some kind of bizarre victory dance.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried happily, glad that things had turned out the way that they had. Any alternative simply didn't bare thinking about.

"Bulbasaur!" Meadow looked very relieved as well. She wouldn't have been able to stand it if she had been forcibly separated from her beloved human partner.

A sentiment that all of them could agree with.

Practically skipping, he was so delighted, Ash hurried over to where Caterpie was still celebrating and pulled the small green Pokemon into his arms. He beamed down at Caterpie proudly as he cuddled him close to his chest.

"Caterpie! I'm very proud of you!" Ash said sincerely, grinning as Caterpie happily soaked up the praise, "You really did your best, and we won because of you!"

Caterpie beamed, and puffed out his chest with pride, glad that he hadn't let his trainer down.

Ash wasn't the only one to offer Caterpie some well-deserved praise though. Following their raven haired friend's example, Nolan and Misty stepped closer to the pair as well, along with Meadow and Pikachu.

"We all owe you a big debt Caterpie!" Nolan told the small Bug Type Pokemon earnestly, "You protected us all when it looked like we were about to lose! Thank you!"

"Yeah! You're a lot stronger than you look Caterpie" even Misty was able to compliment the little guy, though she still kept a noticeable distance away from him.

"Pika!" Pikachu concurred with what they said.

"Bulbasaur!" Meadow voiced her agreement as well.

Caterpie beamed around at all of them in turn, his eyes shining with unshed tears, as he was totally overwhelmed by their gratitude and praise. And after winning those battles, he realised that he didn't have to feel so afraid all of the time anymore. Really, he felt almost ten feet tall in that moment. He felt like he could do anything. In fact... he almost felt like he could...

A dazzlingly bright white light suddenly illuminated the entire forest clearing.

Ash, Nolan and Misty all cried out in surprise, shielding their eyes against the intensity of what felt like a mini-supernova as they tried to figure out what the source of it could be. Each of them looked around in wonder as a strange energy seemed to be surging around the clustered group, radiating a sense of power that even the humans could feel.

Then it clicked, and they realised what the source of the mysterious glow was.

Caterpie.

It was Caterpie that was glowing so brightly that he threatened to outshine the sun.

"Wha...what's going on?" Ash cried out in alarm, concerned that something might be wrong, as he hastily placed Caterpie on the ground at their feet.

Neither Nolan or Misty had the chance to reply to him, although both of them suspected that they knew what was happening. They simply watched on in awed amazement as the burning white silhouette of Caterpie threw back its head and released another fountain of String Shot. The silvery webbing, illuminated by the dazzling light, fell around Caterpie's form in waves, hardening to form a new, slightly jagged shape around him.

After what felt like an eternity, but in reality was just a couple of seconds, the light faded away, and since all of this had started, the group got their first good look at Caterpie.

Or should that be... Metapod!

"What's happened?" Ash stared down at the unfamiliar form in front of him, his face the perfect picture of confusion, "Where did Caterpie go?!"

He looked up at Nolan and Misty in concern, but was surprised to see two huge grins looking back at him. The raven haired boy could do little more than blink at his friends out of pure bewilderment.

"Ash" Misty said in a gentle voice, realising that her friend hadn't twigged yet, "Caterpie is right in front of you!"

"Huh?" Ash looked back down at the unfamiliar form at his feet.

"Ash, your Caterpie just evolved!" Nolan told his best friend excitedly, and at long last realisation dawned across the raven haired boy's face, "Now he's a Metapod!"

"Oh wow..." Ash gasped in awed joy, "This is so great!"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu cheered as well. The little yellow Pokemon had been lucky to see it, having only just managed to wipe enough of the gunk out of his eyes to be able to see again in the nick of time. He was glad that he hadn't missed witnessing his teammate's first evolution.

"Bulbasaur!" Meadow was quick to offer her congratulations as well.

Swelling with affection and pride for his Pokemon, Ash knelt down and pulled his beloved Bug Type friend into his arms. He immediately noticed the rough and bumpy texture of his freshly evolved Pokemon's skin, but that wasn't enough to stop Ash from grinning as he pulled out his pokedex, wanting to know more about what his Pokemon had turned into.

"Metapod - the Cocoon Pokemon" Dexter droned in his mechanical voice after identifying the creature in Ash's arms, "Metapod is the evolved form of Caterpie. Using a hard shell to protect its body, it prepares for its next evolution".

Ash couldn't help the excited expression that grew across his face as he absorbed the information that his pokedex had just relayed. He quickly put away his pokedex as he eagerly turned back to the others.

"Hey! Maybe that means that he'll keep on changing, and evolve into the next stage right away!" Ash crowed in eager anticipation.

"Maybe" Nolan nodded softly in agreement.

Pikachu and Meadow both approached Metapod, moving into his line of vision since his mobility was so severely restricted now. The jade green chrysalis did however manage a smile upon seeing his friends.

"Pika!"

"Saur!"

"Meta... Pod..." Metapod said slowly and with obvious effort. They all noticed that in addition to his new appearance, his voice was now much deeper as well. Grinning widely, Ash affectionately stroked his hand down the length of Metapod's crescent shaped body.

"It's nice to meet you, Metapod!" Ash cheered happily, hugging his freshly evolved Pokemon close, practically bursting with pride for him.

"Meta..." Metapod droned back, making Ash laugh happily.

Nolan and Misty stood together behind him, both of them watching the scene unfold with fond smiles on their faces as the same question echoed through each of their minds simultaneously. And that question was a simple one. What else might be waiting out there for them, as they ventured deeper and deeper into the wonderful world of Pokemon?

Only one thing was for certain.

The young Pokemon Trainers couldn't wait to find out.

And there we go : )

A slightly longer chapter to round everything off nicely for this episode. Sorry if it reads as slightly rushed in places, but I REALLY just wanted to get this chapter and this episode over and done with ; ) Thankfully I'll be able to move on to something different in the next chapter, which I think will help : )

Anyway, I don't really have too much to say today, so let's just move on to the newest voting topic, and this time it's a new evolution : ) Now as you might recall, a couple of chapters ago I mentioned that this one is going to be a little different. Why you might ask, well the answer is simple.

Eevee.

Yep, it's time for me to get my gift Eevee in my Nuzlocke, and I refuse to have a Pokemon called the Evolution Pokemon on my team without evolving it : )

So this time, you guys aren't gonna have different Pokemon to choose between, but rather which Pokemon this one will turn into. I'm limiting the options to Vaporeon, Jolteon and Flareon for this Eevee, but considering Nolan will be getting others in later generations, the other Eeveelutions will become options then : ) So please vote for which of the three original Generation One Eeveelutions that you want in a review : )

Beyond that, thank you so much for reading this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it a lot more than I enjoyed writing it XD

Until the next time, keep on reading : )