YAY! I didn't have to break my weekly updates : D
Hey readers - here we are with another new chapter. Thankfully the pain eased off in my fingers around the middle of the week, so I was able to get this written for today : )
Now I mentioned last time that there were some points that were brought up in a couple of reviews that I wanted to talk about. Firstly, I just want to say thank you to those readers that left them, because I do appreciate constructive criticism as long as it's done kindly, which these reviews were. I do want to talk about them in quite a bit of detail, so I'm saving them until the footnote. Please take a look after you've finished the chapter : )
On a different note, let's talk about the winner of the last voting topic. I am SUPER excited to announce that the winner was... Meadow the Bulbasaur! Honestly, I could not be any happier about being able to evolve this one. As the starter, Meadow was always going to be a special member of Nolan's team, and now I really hope that she'll get to become a Venusaur : )
Anyway, I'd just like to say thank you to everyone that has reviewed, favourited and followed this story. I really appreciate it so thank you : )
Finally, please remember that Pokemon is not mine, only my OCs are.
I hope you enjoy this chapter : )
Challenge of the Samurai - Part 5
Ash found himself positively shaking, he was getting so riled up, as he glowered darkly across the forest clearing at the Samurai and his Pinsir. The raven haired boy could scarcely believe just how badly this day was working out for him, and it wasn't even noon yet. And it was all the Samurai's fault. If that weirdo hadn't just turned up out of nowhere and caused total confusion, Ash would be making friends with his newest Pokemon right about now. Instead, the wild Weedle had escaped. It was enough to make Ash's blood boil.
Things had quickly gone from bad to worse though. Much worse.
His temper quickly flaring, Ash hadn't even paused to second-guess himself before accepting the challenge posed by the Samurai. Without even stopping to think about any potential strategy, he had just thrown Pidgeotto out into the battle. That was a foolish mistake given how tired the Flying Type Pokemon already was, but Ash wasn't about to admit that out loud. It had been done due to a head full of steam, and even though Ash knew deep down that that was his own fault, it was much easier to place the blame at the Samurai's door. He was a much more convenient target for Ash's righteous anger. But this wasn't the time to focus on such things, not if he wanted to get this battle back on track and put things right. Gritting his teeth, Ash tried to rein in his brewing temper, as he decided it was time to get serious. He and his Pokemon had to win this match.
They just had to.
Across the clearing, the Samurai responded to Ash's scowl with a smug smirk. His Pinsir wore much the same expression. The pair were giving off an air of superiority, practically brimming with confidence, as they regarded their opponent. It only served to irritate Ash even further.
"I offer you an opportunity to save yourself from further humiliation, Novice" the Samurai sneered condescendingly at Ash, looking down his nose at the raven haired boy, "Surrender now, and I'll allow you to leave with some of your dignity still intact!"
Ash's whole face turned an unpleasant shade of red at those words.
"Why on Earth would I wanna do that?!" Ash spat back at him in retaliation, his fists clenched tightly in his bubbling anger, "Me and my Pokemon are just getting warmed up!"
The Samurai let out a low scoff of derisive amusement.
"That would be far easier to believe if my warrior had not just triumphed over yours with remarkable ease, Novice" the eccentric boy jeered whilst Ash flushed, embarrassed by the somewhat accurate remark, "But if you insist upon losing your honour as a Pokemon Trainer, I cannot stop you. Send out your next chosen warrior!"
"Alright, you asked for it!" Ash snarled angrily, once again allowing his emotions to get the better of him. The raven haired boy made a point of quickly tossing the pokeball that was in his grasp, "Metapod! I choose you now!"
Both Ash and the Samurai- along with Nolan and Misty, who were still watching the battle with keen eyes from the sidelines - looked on as the red and white sphere arched through the air. Eventually it snapped open, and in a burst of crimson coloured light, Ash's chosen Pokemon appeared on the makeshift battlefield.
"Pod... Meta..." the jade green chrysalis creature said slowly as his vivid yellow eyes calmly opened.
"Metapod!" Ash called over to his Bug Type Pokemon, attracting said creature's attention, "We're in our first official trainer battle, and we're already losing! I'm counting on you to pull this around for us, so give it your very best shot!"
"Meta!" Metapod exclaimed, clearly promising his beloved trainer that he would do just that.
Across the clearing from Ash and Metapod, the Samurai gave them both a flat look. It was clear that the eccentric boy was not remotely impressed by his latest opponent.
"Ha! This shall be child's play!" the boy exclaimed in a gleeful tone of voice, earning himself an irritated look from Metapod and another outraged scowl from Ash, "Watch and weep as Pinsir crushes your Metapod in half!"
As if to emphasise the point that its trainer was trying to make, Pinsir clicked its pincers together menacingly, a hungry glint in its eyes as it threw Metapod a look that practically oozed with superiority.
Upon hearing those words, Ash couldn't help but recoil in horror.
"No!" a small gasp slipped past Ash' lips against his will as, in his mind's eye at least, he saw Pinsir effortlessly split Metapod clean in two with those giant horns, slaughtering him. It was not a pretty mental image, and the raven haired Pokemon trainer found himself praying that it wouldn't become a reality. He wasn't sure he'd be able to endure the heartbreak if it did, "Those claws..."
The raven haired boy eyed Pinsir's gigantic pincers with no small amount of nervousness.
"Pin... SIR!" Pinsir snarled, clicking its pincers together even more quickly. Ash and Metapod both gulped at the motion.
"Ash!" a voice called from behind him.
The raven haired Pokemon trainer pivoted on the spot, and saw that Misty had walked up to his side. Her face was the perfect picture of concerned as she looked at him with wide, imploring eyes.
"Call off Metapod!" she urged him, hoping against hope that her stubborn friend would heed her advice, "Not even a bug deserves this!"
Ash opened his mouth to rebuke her words, to point out that to do that he'd also have to give up the battle, but unfortunately for the raven haired boy, he never got the chance to. For at that exact moment, his golden haired best friend finally broke into the conversation as well.
"She's right Ash!" Nolan chimed in, his voice heavy with concern, "It's better to forfeit the battle than risk having your Pokemon being seriously injured, or worse!"
Loathed though he was to admit it, Ash knew that Nolan had a point there. The moment that he had captured Metapod, back when he was just a little Caterpie - Ash had immediately assumed any and all responsibility for the Bug Type Pokemon's wellbeing. Putting him up against an opponent like that Pinsir where he was so obviously outmatched wasn't just reckless. It was downright dangerous. Ash felt his heart sink at the realisation that his friends were right.
He opened his mouth to call back Metapod and forfeit the battle, but sadly, he never got the opportunity to.
"I already gave you a chance to back down and you didn't take it!" the Samurai reminded his opponent, and Ash flinched, suddenly feeling guilty for risking Metapod's safety in favour of his own desire to win, "What happens next is your own doing. Pinsir! Use your Vice Grip attack!"
At the command, Pinsir immediately lowered its pincers, and charged forwards. The ground was almost trembling as it charged towards its prey; Metapod!
"PINSIR!" the brown coleopteran creature screamed out a fierce battle-cry.
"No!" Ash let out a panicked gasp.
Thinking furiously, it mercifully only took Ash a split-second to come up with a somewhat reasonable plan. The raven haired boy just prayed that it would work, or else Metapod might just end up paying the very steepest of prices.
"Metapod! Harden!" Ash commanded urgently, hoping against hope that this strategy would be enough to save his Bug Type friend from harm, "Defend yourself!"
The jade green chrysalis creature reacted to the command of his trainer instantly, and with an intense flash of light, Metapod began to glow with an ethereal green glow. A moment later the glow fizzled out, but everyone noticed that Metapod now looked... different somehow. He looked sturdier and his skin looked a lot thicker. It was clear that the move had been successful, and that the Bug Type Pokemon had managed to significantly raise his defences.
It was just in the nick of time too, for less than a split-second later, Pinsir was upon him.
"Pod... Metapod" Metapod grunted indignantly as he was unceremoniously hoisted into the air, and held there by Pinsir's humongous horns.
"Sir... Pin... Pinsir!" Pinsir snarled fiercely, and once it was sure of its grip on the bright green chrysalis, it began squeezing its pincers together as tightly as it could, crushing poor Metapod between them.
Or least, Pinsir was trying to crush Metapod between them.
Thanks to the quick thinking on Ash's part, the strategy of using Metapod's Harden to their advantage was working out great. No matter how hard Pinsir tried clamping down on him, Metapod seemed to be protected and unharmed. Ash, along with Nolan and Misty behind him, all took a collective sigh of relief.
"It worked!" Misty happily observed. After all, regardless of her intense Bug phobia, she didn't want Ash's Pokemon to be harmed in any way.
"Thank goodness for that" Nolan smiled, pleased that Metapod was enduring the ferocious attack as well as he was.
"Good work Metapod!" Ash cheered so loudly that of couple of nearby wild Pidgey were startled right out of their tree. He just couldn't help it though. The raven haired boy was ecstatic that his Pokemon was handling himself so well, "Keep it up!"
"Pika!" Pikachu was quick to call out some encouragement of his own to his teammate.
"Bulba" Meadow added with a smile.
Their kind words seemed to be enough to spur Metapod on, because before their very eyes, the Bug Type Pokemon suddenly started to glow with that faint green light once more. And just like the last time, when the light faded, Metapod's defensive state had been raised once more. Ash and his friends all cheered.
Across the clearing from the group, the Samurai wasn't quite so thrilled.
"Grrr... tighter Pinsir!" the eccentric boy demanded of his Pokemon, his sharp eyes narrowed in angry determination, "Unleash every last ounce of your strength my warrior, and crush that Metapod!"
The muddy-brown coleopteran was quick to follow through with its trainer's orders.
"Pinsir! Pin!" Pinsir let out a low grunt as it visibly strained its body. It was clear that the Samurai's Pokemon was pouring every last bit of its strength into the Vice Grip attack. Fortunately however, Metapod only seemed to be mildly uncomfortable as opposed to in pain or distress. Ash took that as a positive sign and grinned widely.
"Keep using Harden Metapod!" the raven haired boy urged, truly feeling for the first time since this match began that Metapod might actually stand a chance, "You're looking good!"
Once again, Metapod began to glow with that enchanting green light, raising its defences yet again. At the same time, Pinsir kept up its assault and squeezed Metapod with its pincers even tighter. For a few tense moments, nothing seemed to be happening, and everyone watching realised that the battling Bug Type Pokemon seemed to be locked in a stalemate. It was also obvious though that it wouldn't last for long. Sooner or later, something would have to give.
And a couple of moments later, something did.
"PINSIR!" the large brown Pokemon screamed as Metapod's defences proved to be insurmountable. Behind the wailing creature, the Samurai winced, as the backlash of the failed Vice Grip attack was particularly nasty indeed. Not only were Pinsir's pincers forcibly pried apart by the force of the failed move, but several of the small sharp barbs on its horns snapped off under the strain as well. It must of been agonising for the poor creature.
At long last, Metapod was able to wriggle himself free from his opponent's harsh grip. The green chrysalis creature landed softly in the dirt, and looked up at Pinsir with a smug twinkle in his eyes.
"No! Pinsir!" the Samurai cried out, utterly horrified to see his chosen warrior in such pain. The boy might be pompous and eccentric, but it was obvious that he also cared very deeply about his Pokemon.
"So, now who's the novice?" Ash leered unpleasantly across the forest clearing at the other trainer, his tone taking on a nasty lilt. The raven haired boy felt that it was justified though, considering all of the trouble that the Samurai had caused him.
The Samurai glared darkly at Ash in response, not liking the situation that he found himself in at all. But then his eyes drifted over to Pinsir, who was still moaning in pain, and he softened. Pinsir wasn't just his strongest warrior, but also his most faithful companion. There was no way that he could ask his partner to continue fighting. With that realisation, the Samurai grit his teeth and plucked a pokeball off of his belt. He quickly pointed it in the direction of the coleopteran creature.
"Pinsir, return!" he called, and in a beam of scarlet light, Pinsir let out one more grunt of pain before it was returned to the confines of its pokeball.
"I admit that deploying such a tactic was clever, at least for a Novice" the Samurai remarked, and Ash couldn't help but preen slightly, despite the backhanded nature of the compliment, "Alas, we now find ourselves with one warrior apiece. This shall be our final showdown".
Ash straightened his back slightly at those words, and a serious expression grew across his face. Now that Metapod had managed to pull this back, the raven haired boy didn't want to blow it by getting too caught up in their victory. Still, that didn't mean that he shouldn't praise his Pokemon when it was deserved though.
"That was amazing Metapod!" Ash crowed excitedly, puffing his chest out, "I'm very proud of you!"
"Metapod!" Metapod sounded pleased with himself upon hearing those kind words.
"Your Metapod may have triumphed over my Pinsir" the Samurai cut in bluntly, partly just to remind his opponent of his presence, and partly because he wanted to continue the fight, "But can it snatch a victory from this particular specimen? Pokeball! Go!"
And with a flourish, the Samurai tossed the pokeball in his hand up into the air. Ash, Metapod and all the others watched with baited breath to see what type of Pokemon would be released.
Whatever it was that they'd all been expecting, it wasn't what they saw.
"Eek!" Misty squeaked anxiously in fright.
"No... way!" Nolan gawked, his jaw hanging wide open out of sheer and unadulterated disbelief.
Ash's eyes practically bulged out of his head as he stared down at the creature that was to be their latest opponent. He could scarcely believe it, and he actually rubbed his russet coloured eyes a couple of times just to make sure that they weren't playing tricks on him. But they weren't. Standing in the clearing across from Metapod... was none other than Metapod!
"Urgh! Two Metapod?!" Misty groaned in frustration and disgust, her phobia once again rising to the surface, "I didn't know when I was well off!"
"So the Samurai has a Metapod of his own..." Nolan mused aloud, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he shrewdly looked at the eccentric boy in question, "And every other Pokemon that he's used has been of the Bug Type. I wonder if that makes him a specialist like you Misty".
Overhearing that particular theory from the golden haired boy, the Samurai smirked at him in acknowledgement.
"You once again show just how perceptive you are, Observant One" the Samurai nodded at Nolan approvingly, impressed that the other boy had picked up on that little detail, "I am indeed a champion of Pokemon that are of the 'Bug' elemental group".
"Fascinating, but in case you've forgotten, we're in the middle of a battle here!" Ash rudely broke back into the conversation, cutting off any potential response that Nolan might have made, "Besides, your Metapod isn't anywhere near as good as mine! We can beat it hands down!"
"Meta..." the Samurai's Metapod actually growled, clearly ticked off by that remark. It was a sentiment that was shared by its trainer.
"We'll see about that, Novice" the Samurai snapped back, taking dark pleasure at how Ash scowled at the title, "Metapod! I'm depending on you to restore the honour we have previously lost! So use Harden! Like his!"
This time it was the Samurai's Pokemon that glowed with the pleasant green ethereal light.
Narrowing his eyes, and feeling a little mocked by the fact that he was being opposed by a duplicate of his own Pokemon, Ash immediately turned his attention to his own Metapod. He felt validated by the fact that his friend seemed just as annoyed by this latest turn of events as Ash himself did.
"Maximum hardness Metapod!" Ash bit out.
Ash's Metapod also began to shimmer with a soft emerald glow, and it quickly became a contest between the identical enemies to outshine the other, literally. Both of the Metapod continued to look sturdier and stronger with each passing moment, whilst from opposite ends of the clearing, Ash and the Samurai both watched on intently.
And that was how the battle continued for quite some time moving forwards.
Neither of the Metapod made any attempt to actually physically attack each other. Instead, the two green chrysalis creatures simply continued to use Harden at their respective trainers' commands. It became clear pretty quickly that this had now become a battle of wills, as opposed to a traditional Pokemon Battle. That was a sentiment that Ash and the Samurai were fully invested in as well. Both of the boys were slowly turning red in the face, as they strained as hard as their Pokemon currently were.
"More... power... Metapod!" Ash managed to grunt out. His jaw was clenched so tightly that it was a wonder that the raven haired boy could even speak at all, "Samurai's... is... weakening!"
Across from him, the Samurai wore an expression of equal determination on his face. His sharp gaze was trained solely upon his own chosen warrior.
"Harder!" the eccentric boy furiously demanded, his heartbeat thundering in his ears, he was so unwilling to relent in this match, "You're... the stronger... Metapod!"
From the sidelines, Nolan couldn't help but exchange a somewhat weary look with Misty. He noticed however that her vermillion green eyes were also twinkling in amusement as they observed the spectacle before them.
"This is gonna take a while, isn't it?" the golden haired boy groaned in sheer exasperation.
"Probably" Misty giggled, rolling her eyes fondly as she watched as Ash continued to get redder and redder in the face, "We should probably make ourselves comfortable. I don't think we're going anywhere anytime soon..."
Nolan couldn't help but let out a long-suffering sigh at her words. Judging by the unrelenting expressions plastered all over the other two boys' faces, she was definitely right about that. Grumbling, the golden haired boy then flopped down to the ground, sitting so that he was watching the 'battle', for lack of a better word, a dark scowl very much present on his face.
This was going to be a very long day.
Nolan just knew it.
Meanwhile, perhaps a mile or so east of where the less than exciting 'battle' was taking place, a particular trio of miscreants were trudging through the forest. It was Team Rocket, but it wasn't the infamous blood-red 'R's on their chests that was so striking about the gang of criminals this time. No. This time what was so was noticeable about them was the fact that Jessie and James were carrying a large homemade cardboard 'tank' between them. The 'tank' was over their heads, with only their legs exposed as they marched on through the forest. Meowth wasn't offering his two human friends any help at all. In fact, he was currently enjoying a nice little cat-nap, riding on top of the 'tank', perfectly content to be carried around. After a long time of trekking through the woods in this fashion, one member of the group simply couldn't stand it anymore, and decided to let his feelings by known.
"I'm tired" James announced from his spot at the front of the 'tank', his tone little more than a pathetic whine.
From her spot at the back of the 'tank', Jessie's gaze hardened into a glare. It was so intense that it could have seared a hole in the back of James's head.
"James, stop whining!" she barked at him, in no mood to listen to any complaints today.
Unfortunately for Jessie however, James wasn't willing to let it go.
"But Jessie" he persisted, his whiny tone starting to grate on his female counterpart's ears, "What's the point of dragging this tank around?"
Jessie allowed an exasperated sigh to slip her lips. Sometimes it really did feel like she was working with a child.
"To protect us from Beedrill" she retorted in a tone that suggested she was speaking to an idiot, "Ever been stung by one? It hurts!"
All of their bickering was enough to rouse Meowth from his slumber. The Scratch Cat Pokemon's eyes snapped open, and he scowled heavily in displeasure.
"Hey down there!" he hissed in annoyance, attracting the attention of Jessie and James for the first time since they'd began their voyage through the forest, "Quit chattering! Get a move on!"
Needless to say, Jessie and James most certainly were not impressed by the Normal Type Pokemon's attitude.
"What are you doing up there?!" Jessie demanded to know hotly.
"Why don't you come help us?!" James echoed her, his tone still full of a whine.
Above their heads, Meowth stretched his body out before reclining back, making himself comfortable. It was obvious that the Scratch Cat Pokemon was quite enjoying himself.
"Wish I could, but I'm riding lookout" Meowth purred, his tone practically oozing with smugness.
His words did little to appease Jessie's boiling temper.
"Oh yeah? Well look out for this!" the female criminal snarled, and before Meowth had a chance to react, Jessie deliberately bucked the 'tank'.
Caught completely off guard by the action, Meowth was flung off the roof of the 'tank' before he had the chance to save himself. With a soft grunt of pain, the Scratch Cat Pokemon hit the ground and landed face-first in the mud. Realising that he was now totally exposed, Meowth quickly scrambled to his feet, glancing nervously around the forest, wary of any nearby Beedrill that might try to sting him.
"Hey wait a second!" Meowth pleaded as Jessie and James continued trudging along, leaving the Scratch Cat Pokemon behind to fend for himself, "Come back! Meowth!"
And in that fashion, Team Rocket continued on their way through the Viridian Forest, their goal perfectly clear in each of their minds.
They had a group of bratty twerps to track down.
They had a Pikachu to steal.
Two hours.
That's how long this so-called 'battle' had taken from all of their lives so far. Two hours. Even calling it a battle at this point was being charitable. It was more like a staring contest. Needless to say, Metapod vs Metapod had hands down won the title of the most boring match in history.
A soft sigh of utter frustration slipped past Nolan's lips as he wondered how much longer this was going to go on for. After all, for the first half an hour of this ridiculous nonsense, the golden haired boy had tried to make his best friend see just how pointless this was. He quickly gave up after that benchmark though, realising that it was a hopeless endeavour. Ash was simply far too stubborn, and it was clear that he wasn't going to listen to reason.
Since then, Nolan had flopped down to the ground, and began flicking through his pokedex, specifically looking up the move-sets of Meadow and Welkin. After all, if he was going to be stuck here for the foreseeable, he might as well do something useful. And ironing out his future plans for what moves he wanted to teach his beloved Pokemon after they had mastered Quick Attack and Bullet Seed was definitely something useful in Nolan's eyes.
Misty, Meadow and Pikachu on the other hand had all decided to take this opportunity to relax, sprawling back on the ground, and soaking up the rays of the sun. Meadow in particular seemed to be enjoying this, for the sunlight was helping her to recover some of her strength.
Things with Ash were not quite so relaxing though. In fact, the raven haired boy was actually starting to sweat quite heavily.
"A little more!" Ash grunted out through clenched teeth.
"Metapod! Full power!" the Samurai exclaimed, his shoulders tense.
Both Ash's Metapod and the Samurai's Metapod used their Harden again, casting an eerie green glow throughout the clearing. Seeing this, Misty raised her head, and scowled in the direction that the 'battle' was taking place.
"We could be stuck in this forest for the rest of our lives" she remarked dryly, shaking her head in exasperation, "Boys can be so stubborn".
"Not this boy" Nolan said as he finally looked up from his pokedex. He casually flipped the device shut and put it back in his pocket.
It was just in time too, for it seemed like the intensity of the 'match' had finally gotten too much for both Ash and the Samurai. The two boys had strained themselves so much that their bodies probably just couldn't take it anymore. At the exact same moment, they both fell over backwards. Nolan looked over at his best friend in concern, and saw that Ash was as rigid as a statue.
"Don't... give... up..." Ash just barely managed to gasp out.
This latest display of utter ridiculousness seemed to be the last straw for Misty. Faster than the eye could see, the Water Type Pokemon Specialist was on her feet and angrily glaring down at the prone figure of her friend on the ground.
"You two are more hard-headed than your Metapod!" Misty yelled at both Ash and the Samurai, fed up of this utter stupidity now.
"She's right! Nolan concurred as he also lost all patience with this situation, "Enough's enough! This got silly a long time ago! Just call it a draw already!"
If Ash was going to respond to his best friend's heated demand, he sadly never got the chance to. For at that exact moment, the air suddenly became alive with a faint buzzing sound. Nolan, Misty and Ash all looked around in confusion, whilst the Samurai immediately turned a ghastly shade of white. He actually looked quite ill, as the sound got louder and louder, echoing through the entire forest.
"What's that noise?" Misty wondered aloud as the buzzing seemed to intensify. Nolan just silently shrugged his shoulders at her, clearly perplexed.
Behind the two of them, the Samurai quickly scrambled back to his feet. He had a frantic expression plastered all over his face.
"A Beedrill swarm approaches!" he exclaimed urgently to the other three Pokemon Trainers in the forest clearing.
With those four simple short words, Nolan Locke suddenly felt sick to his stomach. The golden haired boy instantly turned an unpleasant shade of green as traumatic memories from long ago assaulted his mind. Nolan had had an unfortunate encounter with a Beedrill back in his youth after all, and it was fair to say that the encounter had left its mark on the boy. He shivered just thinking about how painful their stings were, and how sick he felt for days afterwards because of their venom. It most certainly was not an experience he was in any hurry to relive, thank you very much.
"Our match must end!" the Samurai declared wisely, unknowingly dragging Nolan back from those less than pleasant memories. The Samurai produced a pokeball and quickly pointed it towards his Bug Type Pokemon, "Metapod, return!"
In a beam of bright red light, the Samurai's Metapod was called back into the confines of its pokeball. Barely even a split-second later, the Beedrill swarm was finally in sight, breaking over the horizon like a buzzing storm of doom. Within seconds, the air was full of them.
"There's the swarm!" Ash cried out in alarm, but his warning was a little unnecessary. They could all see the hundreds of deadly Beedrill after all. The raven haired boy quickly pulled out his pokedex, and pointed it in the direction of the mighty horde that was fast approaching them.
"Beedrill - the Poison Bee Pokemon" the pokedex reported after identifying the yellow and black Pokemon, "This Pokemon is the fully evolved form of Weedle, following its Kakuna stage. Its sting is highly poisonous".
"The pokedex is right about that!" Nolan gasped breathlessly, quickly gathering an anxious Meadow up into his arms, "I've been stung by a Beedrill before, and let me tell you, it was without a doubt the worst week of my entire life!"
The Samurai harrumphed loudly.
"Well if you end up getting stung again, you can blame it on the Novice" the Samurai said sharply, glowering at Ash, who was gingerly picking himself up.
"Say what?!" the raven haired boy cried indignantly. The Samurai trained him with a firm glare.
"Isn't it obvious?! The Weedle that got away from you has informed the rest of its kind that you tried to capture it!" the Samurai bit out in a tone that suggested he thought that Ash was an complete idiot, "Now they are after you, and the rest of us must flee because of your incompetency!"
And without so much as a backwards glance, the Samurai then turned tail and fled, quickly disappearing off into the trees. Ash was left fuming, clearly stung by the accusation that this was all his fault, but before he or anybody else could say anything else, another problem quickly presented itself to the group.
Namely, a Beedrill swooped down out of nowhere, and snatched up Ash's Metapod!
"Huh?!" Ash and Misty could do nothing more than gawk in bewilderment as the Beedrill quickly took off into the sky again, stealing the jade green chrysalis away from them.
"Oh no! It got Metapod!" Nolan gasped in horror, before he glanced down at his beloved partner, who looked equally as horrified from her spot in his arms, "Quick Meadow! Grab Metapod with your Vine Whip!"
"Saur!" Meadow quickly extended her vines, and by nothing more than a stroke of sheer luck, she managed to snag a grip on Metapod.
"Nice work Meadow!" Nolan couldn't help but cheer happily, "Now bring him back!"
The little Grass Type Pokemon quickly followed through with her trainer's instruction, and began trying to reel Metapod back in. Unfortunately however, the Beedrill swarm simply wasn't having it. One of the deadly Poison Bee Pokemon quickly jabbed at Meadow's vines with its large stingers. The venom in them had no effect on Meadow due to her Poison Type immunity, but it still hurt.
"BULBA!" Meadow shrieked in pain, and instinctively caused her vines to recoil slightly. Unfortunately it was enough, and the Beedrill was able to shake her off, still whilst holding Metapod captive.
Thankfully, Meadow's attempt at rescuing their friend had taken just enough time for Ash to snap out of his stunned reverie. The raven haired boy quickly reached down to his belt, removed one of the pokeballs there, before he pointed it in the direction of his beloved Bug Type Pokemon.
"Metapod! Return now!" Ash cried urgently.
Activating the capture device, Ash tried six separate times to return Metapod to the confines of the red and white sphere. It was just no use though. Every time Ash tried to recall his Pokemon, the Beedrill managed to dodge out of the way of the red beams of light. Helpless to do anything but look on, the group could barely stomach it when the Beedrill suddenly fled into the thick forest canopy, vanishing from sight and taking poor Metapod with it.
"It got away!" Nolan gasped, covering his mouth with his hand, his eyes very concerned.
"METAPOD!" Ash screamed in panic.
Unfortunately, the group of youngsters barely had any time at all to process the magnitude of what had just happened. Before any of them could even draw breath, another Beedrill was upon them. Ash, Nolan and Misty all cried out in alarm, but fortunately Pikachu was there and the little yellow Pokemon was more than ready to protect all of them. He leapt up to meet their aggressor head on.
"PIKACHU!"
In a burst of dazzling light that seemed to explode outwards throughout the forest clearing, Pikachu unleashed his powerful Thunder Shock attack. Miraculously, his aim was spot on... or at least to a point it was. For it wasn't just the attacking Beedrill that had been electrocuted by the attack. Oh no. Sadly, Ash had also been caught up in it.
Unsurprisingly, the raven haired boy was screaming in sheer agony by the time the attack finally ended.
Nolan had been forced to shield his eyes from the intensity of the bright light, so when he could finally see again, he was pleased to notice that the Beedrill was gingerly retreating, looking a little worse for wear. His smile quickly faded though when he looked at Ash. His best friend looked utterly shambolic, and was swaying very unevenly on his feet. Concerned, the golden haired boy rushed over to help steady him. Moments later, Misty did much the same.
"Come on!" the orange haired girl shouted over the cacophony of buzzing, "Let's move it!"
Misty quickly linked her arm through a still dazed and frazzled Ash's, and began dragging him away. Nolan quickly shifted Meadow in his grasp so that he was carrying her with one arm, before he grabbed Ash's other arm. Supporting his weight between them, Nolan and Misty finally managed to get Ash moving.
"But... Metapod..." Ash protested weakly.
Nolan's heart clenched painful for his best friend. He knew exactly where Ash's thoughts must have jumped too, and he knew how guilty the other boy must be feeling right now. Therefore he tried to look as reassuring as he could as he replied.
"I know. And we will get him back Ash" Nolan swore to his best friend in a tone that was utterly sincere, "I promise you that. But we need to get to safety ourselves before we can do anything to help Metapod, okay? Now shift!"
Very begrudgingly, Ash didn't protest again, and instead allowed Misty and Nolan to steer him off through the woods. They fled in the same direction that the Samurai had previously taken off in, all the whilst painfully aware of the buzzing that was getting louder and louder in their ears until it became a fierce roar with each passing moment. All three of the young trainers knew exactly what that meant after all.
It meant that the Beedrill swarm was surely closing in on them...
And there's another one done : )
Not much I really have to say about the actual content of this chapter today, so I'm just gonna jump straight into the points that were brought up in reviews a couple of weeks ago.
To begin with, the main issue that people brought up was something I myself was already thinking about, and that is the pacing of this story. I'll admit, I wasn't expecting it to take me nearly thirty chapters to get to the first gym, but at the same time, I do feel that everything that's happened in the story so far has been necessary, both because a lot of the time it is exploring one of the character's first experience with something (first trainer battle, first time catching a new Pokemon, etc), and for another, a lot of its comes down to character building, not just Nolan but his Pokemon too.
Having said all of that, I do see where you guys are coming from, and to be honest I feel the same way. I want to get all the setting up done so I can get to the more interesting bits of Nolan's Kanto journey. So once I've got past the first Gym Battle, most of the 'firsts' will be done at that point, so the emphasis will be taken off them.
My goal is to aim for roughly four chapters per Canon Episode, but I'm going to try really hard not to go over five : ) I'm not setting that as a rule or anything, so I might end up going over or under it from time to time. Four chapters per episode is my aim though : )
The next point that was brought up was that people would like to see a little more divergence from canon. Again, I can kind of see where you guys are coming from, because I have been subtle with some of the changes I've made in my rewrite.
Never fear though, because now that a lot of different elements of where this story is going have been established thanks to you guys voting on the topics posed each week, the bigger changes will come, perhaps even sooner than you might think ; )
Again, I just want to say thank you to those readers that brought these topics up. I do appreciate the constructive criticism : )
Now, let's move on to today's voting topic, and it's another new Pokemon vote! Here are the options for this one : )
Pokemon Options: -
Kindle Road - Rapidash - Male - Lax Nature - Flash Fire Ability
Safari Zone (Area 4) - Tauros - Male - Bashful Nature - Intimidate Ability
Mt Ember - Machop - Male - Brave Nature - Guts Ability
And I think that's just about everything for this week. Thank you all so much for reading this chapter, and I hope you're enjoying the story so far : )
Until the next time, keep on reading : )