Chapter 15:
Cats: The Not-Musical
Route 4 – Baa Grasslands
With Ash's second badge and Serena's second ribbon, the group finally left Burole Town behind and continued their journey through Tandor by taking Route 4, also known as the Baa Grasslands. It was a fairly long route that connected Burole Town with Comet Cave, as well as Route 10. However, for the time being, the group would head towards the former.
As the name implied, the Baa Grasslands were mostly green grass fields, plenty of shrubbery, and small forests, with nothing but a natural-formed path that wasn't green. The route was also split in two by a river that led to the sea. Fortunately, there was a sturdy wooden bridge that allowed safe passage to the other side.
To the east, they could see some more beaches, with palm trees growing on them, not dissimilar to the beach they had spent the day in while they traveled Seabreeze Way. This time, though, they felt it would be for the best if they didn't spend time playing around in the sand. Baa Grasslands was a long route, and the quicker they crossed it, the better. They've been walking for two days, and they hadn't even reached the halfway point.
"Boy, we've been traveling for two days straight, and we're nowhere close to Comet Cave," Bonnie complained. "Maybe we should have asked those bikers to give us a ride..."
"Come on Bonnie, where's the hurry?" Serena asked. "I thought you didn't mind a long travel since that means more time with your brother before he goes his separate way."
"Yeah. Where's your sense of adventure?" Ash asked. "You should enjoy the sights of each place we visit."
"I already did, yesterday. All there is is grass, grass, more grass, and some trees," Bonnie continued, waving her arms towards the small forest to their left for added emphasis.
"Normally it hasn't taken us more than a day to go from one town to another," Clemont observed. "And I believe the longer distance is taking a toll on Bonnie's patience."
"How about if we stop and take a rest until lunchtime?" Serena suggested. "It should make the long trip until Comet Cave more bearable. Plus, our Pokemon could use the time to stretch their legs."
"Well thought, Serena!" Ash agreed, before pointing forward. "Look, that spot between the edge of the forest and a small lake is perfect to set camp."
Nobody contested the idea, and the group decided to take a rest from all the morning they've spent walking. The Pokemon certainly appreciated being let out after spending most of the previous day inside their respective capture devices.
The moment the Pokemon went out, they either yawned, stretched, happily greeted both each other and their trainers. Greninja, however, the moment he was let out, took a look at the rest of his teammates, and the moment he spotted Colarva, he then fired an Ice Beam towards an empty spot next to them. With great skill, Greninja managed to build a rudimentary shelter made of ice.
"Co! Colarva!" the Snow Mite Pokemon happily cried, as he rushed towards the icy construct. "Cooooooo..." he squealed, enjoying the coldness of the artificial cave.
"Great idea, Greninja!" Ash told his Kalosian starter. "That will help Colarva until he gets used to warmer temperatures."
"Gre," Greninja nodded. Then, all of sudden, Greninja tensed up. "Ninja?"
"Greninja? Something's wrong?" Ash asked.
Greninja looked upwards, and his trainer followed his eyes. There was something in the sky that was flying towards them. As it came closer, Ash could see it was a Staraptor, with somebody riding on its back. It was a young woman with light green hair dressed in a dark blue and green uniform Ash had already seen before.
"You can relax, Greninja. She's a Tandor Ranger," Ash told the Ninja Pokemon.
The Staraptor landed, and the Ranger quickly hopped off its back.
"Hey there, Ms. Ranger," Clemont greeted her, before awkwardly adding. "Is there any problem we should be aware of?"
"As a matter of fact-" the Ranger began.
"Whoa, you're quite the keeper!" Bonnie said, as she walked towards her. "Will you-WHOA!"
"No," Clemont resoundinlgy cut her off, snatching her with his Aipom Arm before his sister did have the chance to embarrass him.
"You didn't even let me finish!" Bonnie protested.
"I don't need to! I know what you were going to do!" Clemont replied.
Serena shook her head as she chuckled a little nervously, before she walked towards the Ranger. "You were going to tell us something?"
"I was, yes. My name's Wendy, and as you can see, I'm a Ranger of Tandor. Given that I saw that you're about to set camp here, I should inform you about a series of thefts that had happened around the area," the Ranger told them.
"Thefts?" Ash repeated. This also got Clemont and Bonnie's attention.
"Thefts. Many people who traveled through this area had reported disappearance of some of their belongings, usually after they had set up camp to rest, just like you're doing right now," the Ranger confirmed. "And according to some of our witnesses' reports, the thieves are a group of Pokemon."
"Well, we do have some experience with Pokemon thieves," Bonnie chimed in.
Despite the fact that the young girl didn't look at anybody, some Pokemon, most notably Chespin, shot Minicorn a dirty look. The Foal Pokemon smiled awkwardly at them, while Pancham patted her on the back.
"The strangest part is, they're from species not know to work together, so it's possible that they may be working for a trainer. Though the fact that there doesn't seem to be a clear pattern regarding stolen goods puts this idea in doubt, since they just steal about anything they can carry," Wendy further explained. "Anyway, some Rangers are patrolling this zone in case we catch the thieves, while also warning everybody who travels through this route, just like yourselves, so try to stay sharp."
"Don't worry, we will. Thanks a lot for warning us!" Ash replied.
"Good," Wendy said, as she hopped back onto her Staraptor. "And remember, if you have any information regarding the thieves, please contact any Ranger as soon as possible."
With that final request, the Staraptor flapped its wings, raising a gust of wind as it took off, before shooting into the sky. In no time, Ranger and Pokemon disappeared into the clouds.
Ash then turned around towards the Pokemon, both his and his friends'. "You heard the lady! Keep your eyes open in case you see those thieves!"
They all nodded and cried in agreement.
After a few moments, both humans and Pokemon found something to do in order to pass the time: Ash and Pikachu trained with Colarva, Dunsparce and Aveden. Chespin, Bunnelby, Pancham, and Dedenne played with Bonnie. Sylveon, Eevee, Eletux and Selkid took a bath on a nearby pond, playing in the water, with Eevee continuing his efforts to woo Sylveon. And lastly, Greninja, Luxray and Braixen watched over them; the former two kept an eye on outside threats, while the later watched over the younger Pokemon.
As for the two remaining humans, Clemont thought it was a good moment to try to decrypt more of the data he downloaded from the Team Omega base, while Serena was about to start a new project.
"Minicorn, come here for a moment!" Serena called.
The Foal Pokemon quickly got out of the water, shaking the water off her wet body, before getting close to Serena. Serena, surrounded by many fabrics and sewing supplies, took a mesurement tape, and used it to take some measurements of Minicorn. After writing them down, she allowed the Foal Pokemon to return to the water.
"Hey Serena, what are you doing?" Serena heard Bonnie ask. The young girl had stopped playing with the Pokemon –who continued to play without her– curiosity piqued by what Serena was working on.
Serena smiled proudly at Bonnie's interest. "I'm glad you asked. Remember the outfits my Pokemon wore when they were doing Showcases?"
"I totally do! Those clothes made your Pokemon even cuter than they are!" Bonnie began to gush. "It's a pity they don't dress Pokemon for contests."
"My thoughts exactly," Serena agreed. "That's why I decided to make something about it."
"Really?" Bonnie asked.
"Unfortunately, unlike Kalos, clothes for Pokemon don't appear to be a thing in Tandor, so I'll have to make the clothes myself," Serena told her. "They will be only used for the Appeal Round, though. They'd end up completely torn apart during a battle."
Bonnie didn't seem to mind that. "Can I help you?"
"If you want, sure," Serena said, smiling at Bonnie's eagerness.
And thus, Bonnie helped Serena making clothes for the latter's Pokemon. Serena did most of the skilled work, while had Bonnie do the easier and less complex tasks.
As Serena and Bonnie worked on the clothes, Ash trained, and Clemont worked on his laptop, both Greninja and Luxray quickly grew tense.
"Gre!/Lux!" both cried in unison, as they looked towards several shrubs, which began to rustle. Everybody, both human and Pokemon, noticed this, and held their breath wondering what was coming to them. Were those Pokemon thieves going to attack them?
"Chy?" a high pitched voice said, as a Chyinmunk emerged from behind the shrubs, looking at the group with curious eyes.
Everybody looked at the newcomer, and let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, it's just a Chyinmunk. I was afraid of something bigger coming."
"It doesn't even look malicious," Clemont observed.
Chyinmunk looked around curiously, in a way that reminded them of the first time they met Aveden when he was a Birbie. And just like Aveden back in the day, Chyinmunk looked at the ball, smiled, and asked something to the Pokemon playing with it, probably if it could play with them. The other Pokemon happily obliged, and Chyinmunk joined the fun.
"Heh, it just wants to have some fun with the other Pokemon," Ash said, chuckling.
"Maybe Chyinmunk wants to join us later," Bonnie observed. "Like Birbie did."
Despite everybody relaxing and dropping their guard with Chyinmunk, there were two Pokemon who did not: Greninja and Luxray watched the small rodent intently with distrustful eyes. They clearly didn't think that the Chipmunk Pokemon wasn as nonthreatening and it looked.
"Come on Greninja, I don't think a little Chyinmunk is going to pose any danger," Ash told the Ninja Pokemon.
"Ninja!" Greninja said, as he continued to watch the newcomer alongside Luxray.
Ash merely shrugged, and decided to continue the training with the other Pokemon. Despite thinking that Greninja was a little paranoid, he trusted the Kalosian Pokemon wouldn't do anything unprovoked. So far, all Chyinmunk was doing was having fun playing with a ball. Everybody else also continued doing whatever they were doing before Chyinmunk joined them.
The next fifteen minutes were mostly pleasant and uneventful, as people and Pokemon continued with their activities undisturbed.
"Bonnie, fetch me some golden thread, please," She asked the younger girl, as she pulled out a needle.
"Coming!" Bonnie replied, as she looked for the small case where Serena kept all her thread reels. However, despite looking around, she didn't find it. "Uh... Serena? The thread reels aren't here?"
Serena turned at her, a look on obfuscation on her face. "That can't be right. You've been giving me thread reels when I asked you to." She stated, as she began to look around as well, but the case was nowhere to be seen.
"The sheets of fabric aren't here either!" Bonnie exclaimed. "And they were a few minutes ago!"
"Did we just get robbed?" Serena shouted.
The shout, naturally, drew the attention of everybody else, human and Pokemon, who quickly went to check on her.
"Everybody, look if there's something else that's missing!" Serena urged her male companions.
Ash and Clemont nodded, and quickly went to check their backpacks. They ruffled them for a few seconds, before the expected reactions came.
"Some of my clothes are missing!" Ash shouted.
"Some of my tools and books are missing too!" Clemont said.
"We just got robbed! But... how?" Ash asked, looking around franctially, as if the thief or thieves would be still close. "We had Greninja and Luxray watching for potential thieves!"
"Gre?"
"Lux..."
"Yes, but..." Clemont began. "They were rather fixated on watching that Chyinmunk that joined the Pokemon who were playing with the ball..."
Both Pokemon opened their eyes wide in shock once Clemont's implication hit them, as a feeling of shame washed over them.
"Speaking of which," Bonnie chimed in. "Where is Chyinmunk?"
Everybody looked around, and realized that the Chipmunk Pokemon was nowhere to be seen. The implications of its absence soon became evident.
"Gren!"
"Luxray!"
The shame both Pokemon were feeling for failing to stop the theft quickly faded into both validation over realizing that they were right to trust their instincts and not trust the newcomer, and anger over realizing that Chyinmunk had still played them, being an intentional decoy rather a potential thief.
"Even with Greninja and Luxray distracted, how were they able to steal anything with all of us here?" Serena asked, throwing her hands in the air. "Somebody must have seen something!"
"It's not that we didn't have our attention elsewhere. All of us were occupied doing something," Clemont said.
"How are we going to get the stolen stuff back?" Bonnie asked. "Should we just look for the thieves?"
"Of course! We aren't going to let a bunch of little looters get away with all our things!" Ash energically said, punching his palm. "Come on Pikachu, let's go!"
"I'll go with you!" Serena offered. "Pancham, Sylveon, with me."
"Guess Bonnie and I will stay here to ensure that the thieves don't come back and steal even more of our belongings," Clemont said, before letting out a sigh.
…
Minutes later, Ash, Serena and the Pokemon they took with them walked through the forest at the edge of their campsite, both humans and Pokemon as alert as they could be, trying to find anything suspicious. They encountered many Pokemon minding their own business, but it was impossible to tell if they were the thieves or not. They also saw several Chyinmunk, but Pancham confirmed neither of them was the Chyinmunk that had played with him earlier.
"So, Ash," Serena began. "Do you know what are we looking for?"
"I've been thinking about the potential thief. It managed to evade our sight, and they only stole small things that weight very little. So it's probably a small Pokemon, like Chynmunk. Maybe even smaller," Ash explained as he continued to walk with a resolute step.
Serena weighed his words, and couldn't find any flaw in his logic. "That makes sense. So we're looking for a nest or a lair...?"
"Yeah, pretty much," Ash agreed.
"Ash... not to sound pessimist, but the Rangers had been looking for those thieves for quite some time, and they didn't find them," Serena pointed out. "What are our chances to find them?"
"I know this is like trying to find a needle on a haystack, but what's the alternative, letting them get away with stealing our belongings?" Ash replied, his voice carrying a hint of anger, though thankfully not directed at her. "I never ever let anybody, be human or Pokemon, steal from me and get way with it, and I don't plan to start now."
"Pikapi!" Pikachu energically nodded.
"I see you're not going to give up until we find them," Serena observed. "Well, I admit I don't like the thought of letting whoever took our things to get away with it either."
"Besides, I'm sure those Rangers have other duties to attend and thus don't have enough time to search properly," Ash said, with Serena wondering how much of that hypothesis would be true, and how much of it was Ash presuming they'd had better luck. Still, the girl chose not to say anything.
They continued walking in silence, looking around for any possible clue. They didn't feel that they were doing much progress, since the forest appeared to never end, and they didn't find any lead, small as it may be.
"You know, I'd suggest splitting in order to cover more ground," Ash said. "But we might get lost if we wander too far away from each other."
"That won't be a problem. We can know where each other is through our Pokegears' GPS function," Serena told him.
"The Pokegear has GPS?" Ash asked, dumbfounded.
"...yes? Unless it's manually disabled, you can use it to track the location of all your contact numbers," Serena told him. "Didn't you know it?"
"No. How did you know about that?" Ash asked.
"It was on the instruction manual. Didn't you read it?" the Kalosian girl asked, hands on her hips.
"Ehhh... it may have slipped my mind, hehe," Ash sheepishly said, scratching his cheek and averting her gaze.
"Pika..." Pikachu shook his head.
After Serena showed him how the GPS radar worked –and to ensure Ash's GPS signal was active– the group split off, Ash and Pikachu going one way and Serena and her Pokemon going the other way.
Trainer and Pokemon wandered around the forest, but they didn't have any luck. The most interesting thing they found was a shallow pond that had a small, insect-like Pokemon that Ash never saw before, with blue, round bodies with four bulbs at the top of it, four dark blue eyes and six little legs.
"Sponee, the Sponge Bug Pokemon. Bug. They are covered by a bizarre sponge-like material. When dropped, they bounce," the Pokedex droned.
Being alerted by the Pokedex's voice, the Sponee quickly turned towards Ash and Pikachu, and before either could do anything, the group of Bug-type Pokemon quickly scampered off, disappearing behind the shrubbery.
"Huh. Guess they're a shy lot," Ash commented, as he was reminded of the group of Smore that they encountered a few days ago which reacted the same way.
That moment, Pikachu began to sniff in the air.
"Pika! Pika-pi!" Pikachu shouted to draw his trainer's attention.
"Huh? Something wrong, buddy?" Ash asked. Pikachu smelled the air again, and began to move. Ash didn't take long to realize what his Pokemon was doing. "Did you catch the smell of my clothes?"
"Pi!" Pikachu said.
"Well done! Come on Pikachu, lead the way!" Ash said, as he followed his starter. He was about to call Serena to give her the news, but decided to wait a bit to see if they could find their stolen belongings first.
They advanced through the forest, making a lot of twists and turns. Ash realized that, the deeper they penetrated the forest, the less wild Pokemon they saw, until they didn't see anyone. The trainer from Pallet had a bad feeling about that.
"There parts are almost devoid of life," Ash said, looking around with unease. "Does this mean we're getting close to the thieves' lair?"
"Pika," Pikachu agreed, nodding, as he continued to smell the air.
"In that case, let's keep our eyes peeled. I'm sure those thieves don't want people poking their noses on their turf," Ash warned Pikachu.
"Chynx," a voice meowed.
Ash and Pikachu stopped, and saw an Orchynx lying on a low tree branch, her head resting on her paws, looking at them with a curious expression. While one of Ash's first thoughts was that Orchynx could be one of the thieves, she didn't look very threatening. Then again, better not let his guard down.
"Um, hi," Ash cautiously said.
Then, Orchynx got on her feet, and with cat-like agility, hopped from the tree branch, landing in front of Ash, somehow not making any noise.
"Pikaaa..." Pikachu hissed, as sparks jumped from his cheeks.
Orchynx didn't pay Pikachu any mind, and once she reached Ash, she started to rub her body against her legs affectionatedly.
"Heh, you're quite a loving Pokemon, aren't you?" Ash chuckled, as he crouched began to scratch the Grass and Steel-type Pokemon behind her ear. Orchynx purred in delight.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu protested, tugging the trouser leg of his trainer.
"Oh, right, sorry," Ash said, rising to his feet. "Sorry little guy, but we need to go."
"Or?" Orchynx asked, tilting her head.
"You see, we're trying to find a group of Pokemon thieves. They stole plenty of our stuff, and we want to take it back," the trainer explained.
Upon hearing that, Orchynx perked up, and grew excited. "Or, orchynx! Or!"
"Wait... do you know where those thieves are?" Ash asked, his excitement matching that of the green feline. "Can you lead us to them?"
"Pika-"
"Orchynx!" the Kitten Pokemon said, speaking over Pikachu, before turning around and running.
"Hey, wait a minute!" Ash said, before running after Orchynx. "Not so fast!"
Ash and Pikachu followed Orchynx as the green feline ran through the forest. Thankfully, the Kitten Pokemon stopped whenever Ash and Pikachu lost her, patiently waiting for them to catch up. After almost ten minutes of running, Orchynx finally stopped.
"Are we there yet?" Ash asked, looking around. A sense of unease began to form in his stomach as there was nothing ressembling a potential lair or nest in the area. "Orchynx?"
The Kitten Pokemon walked towarda a nearby bush with many berries growing on it. She plucked a berry with her mouth, and placed it at Ash's feet, before doing the same with an unamused Pikachu. She then went and ate a berry herself.
"Orchynx...!" Ash groaned, slumping his shoulders. "I said we're looking for thieves, not food!"
"Pikaaaaa!" Pikachu growled at Orchynx again, his cheeks sparking with anger.
Orchynx merely titled her head, confused at the human and Pokemon's reaction.
"Pikachu, can you track back the smell of my clothes again?" Ash asked.
Pikachu began to smell the air once again, several times while facing different directions, but he was unable to pick it up again.
"Chuuuu..." Pikachu said dejectly.
Ash crouched behind Pikachu, and patted his head to console him. "It's okay buddy, you did your best."
That moment, Ash's Pokegear began to ring, as Serena's name flashed on the screen. Pressing the "accept call" button, Serena's face appeared on the screen.
"Hey Ash, we've been looking around this area of the forest, but no luck," the Kalosian girl told him. "Did you find anything?"
"We had a lead, but sadly we lost it," Ash told her.
Serena frowned, disappointed. "Such a pity. Then again, this forest is pretty big. Say, shall we return with the others?"
Ash sighed, as he looked towards the direction of the campsite. "Yeah. I think it's better if we regorup for now."
"Alright. See you later," Serena said, ending the call.
…
Ash and Serena returned to the camp, and told Clemont and Bonnie their failure in locating the thieves and recover their stolen belongings. Pikachu could tell Ash was both angry and disappointed, even if he did a good job hiding it. Not only with the thieves, but also with himself for not being able to track them and help their friends when they needed them.
They agreed to pack everything up and continue towards the next Pokemon Center, and rest there, given that staying any longer in this area risked losing even more things to the thieves. Especially if they also showed up at night. Thus, they recalled all their Pokemon back into their pokeballs, and began to return everything to their backpacks.
Serena walked towards Ash, and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey," Serena said.
"Hey," Ash replied.
"You okay?" Serena asked, sounding a little worried.
"Of course not!" Ash snapped, as he angrily shoved a rolled blanket inside his backpack. Remorse didn't take long to make itself known. "Sorry. It's not you I'm angry with." He then stopped putting things on his backpack, his shoulders slumping. "I can't stand the idea of having to leave and let those jerks have our stuff."
"I feel the same. I was planning to do some really cute clothes for my Pokemon, but now I have to wait until we get to the next town or city to buy more materials," Serena explained.
"It's not just that. I felt that I failed you guys," Ash confessed.
Serena titled her head, before she crossed her arms. "Failed us? How? Come on Ash, it's not your responsibility to keep us safe or anything."
"I'm the most veteran trainer here, so it should be," Ash insisted. "Besides, I felt that we're giving up too soon."
"We can't stay here forever looking for those thieves," Serena replied. "I already told you before: if the Rangers had a hard time finding them, what chances did we have?"
"Pikachu found a lead. We would have found the thieves with all our belongings if it wasn't for that-"
"Orchynx!" a new voice meowed, drawing Ash's attention.
…
"Orchynx!" a new voice meowed, making Pikachu's blood boil.
No way. Did that interloper have the nerve to follow them, after she costed them such a promising lead? Pikachu was going to make sure the dumb feline wasn't welcome there, but much to the mouse's chagrin, Ash and Serena got in the way before he could.
"Hey! What are you doing here?" Ash asked.
"Ash? You know this Orchynx?" Serena asked.
"An Orchynx!? Where?" Bonnie asked, frantically looking around, before she saw the green cat, and rushed towards her.
"Yeah. I followed this Orchynx thinking that she could lead us to the thieves, but all she did was show us some bushes with berries on it," Ash explained. "I guess she thought we were hungry or something."
"Chyyynx..." Orchynx purred, as she rubbed her body against Ash's legs.
Clemont chuckled. "Heh, I think she likes you."
"So it seems. This isn't the first time she's doing this," Ash said, chuckling as well, the cat's affection seemingly soothing his bad mood.
"Aw, no fair! I also want Orchynx to rub against me!" Bonnie pouted.
Upon hearing that, Orchynx stopped rubbing her body against Ash's legs, and playfully pounced Bonnie, knocking the young girl on her rear, before Orchynx started to lick her face.
"Hahaha! Come on Orchynx, stop, that tickles! Hahaha!" Bonnie laughed, as she played with the cat.
Pikachu, meanwhile, crossed his arms, fuming. Ugh, were Ash and his friends so easy to charm by this dumb cat? They were willing to drop whatever they were doing to indulge into her childish whims and give her attention. Some might say that Pikachu was jealous, but no sir, he wasn't! He knew that there was something fishy with that cat!
"Pika..." Pikachu said, realizing that something was indeed wrong. This image, of everybody playing attention to the newcomer... it felt familiar. A feeling of unease washed over the Mouse Pokemon as he turned around, looked at Ash's backpack in the ground, and could see and hear something within it. The thieves. "PIKA! CHUPIKAPI!"
Hearing Pikachu yell, everybody turned around towards the electric rodent, who was urgently pointing at Ash's backpack. All of them saw that there was indeed something inside it. And not just Ash's, but Serena and Clemont's respective backpacks as well.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing!?" Ash yelled, as he stomped towards the backpack.
Having been found, a Chyinmunk rocketed out of inside the backpack, thankfully taking nothing with it, as a pair of Sponee emerged from the other two backpacks. The trio of thieves and Orchynx quickly high tailed out of there.
"After them!" Ash shouted.
"That Orchynx! She was keeping us distracted while her friends robbed us blind!" Serena said in realization.
"Like that other Chyinmunk did before!" Clemont added.
They chased them through the forest, hoping that the Pokemon thieves would lead them to their hideout. Upon seeing that they were about to get caught, the Sponee changed course, disappearing behind some bushes, while Orchynx and the Chyinmunk tried to climb a tree. Chyinmunk proved to be the faster climber, quickly leaving the Grass and Steel-type Pokemon behind.
"They're getting away!" Bonnie shouted.
"Oh no, they won't!" Ash said, pokeball in hand. "Colarva, I choose you! Quick, use String Shot on that Orchynx!"
The capture device released Ash's most recent Pokemon, which, upon landing his eyes on the Orchynx, fired a string of sticky web towards her. The string latched onto her back, and Colarva tried to pull her down, but Orchynx sunk her claws into the tree bark, anchoring herself. Unfortunately for the cat, Pikachu, without waiting for a command, used Quick Attack on her in order to knock her from the tree, causing her to fall to the ground. Once down, Colarva quickly covered her in sticky strings, almost forming a cocoon, leaving her completely immobilized.
"Well done, Colarva!" Ash praised. "You too, Pikachu!"
"Co! Co!" Colarva chirped, happy to be useful.
Ash then glared at the immobilized Orchynx, and so did his friends. The caught cat whimpered in fear. It was time for her to pay.
…
The group looked down at the immobilized cat, who whimpered as if trying to move them or have them show her some mercy. However, neither Ash nor his friends were planning to forgive her until the matter of the thefts was resolved.
"Alright, speak! Tell us where you and your buddies are hiding all our stuff! If you refuse to speak, Dedenne here will make you talk the hard way!"
"Nenene!" Dedenne replied, trying to sound threatening and failing miserably.
"Bonnie... what are you doing?" Clemont asked, a little baffled at his sister's sudden aggression.
"Obviously, the 'good cop, bad cop' routine. Dedenne and I are the bad cops," Bonnie explained. "Don't you remember those police shows we used to watch?"
"And who's supposed to be the good cop? Me?" Clemont asked.
"Well, duh. I mean, no offense big bro, you have a lot of good qualities, but you lack the edge needed to intimidate a suspect," Bonnie explained, crossing her arms.
As Clemont and Bonnie discussed the merits of applying a TV series trope to real life, Ash, arms crossed and brow furrowed, looked at Orchynx. She looked frightened, and was trying to avert their gazes. Even if the fact that her interference cost Ash a promising lead still stung, Ash couldn't help but feel that the fear the Kitten Pokemon was feeling wasn't aimed exclusively at them. There was something fishy going on, and against his better judgement, Ash decided that a hard stance wasn't going to cut it here.
He crouched besides Orchynx, and tried to give her a reassuring look. "Alright Orchynx, don't be afraid. We aren't going to hurt you. All we want is our things back," Ash began. Orchynx looked at Ash intently, as if deciding if he was trustworthy or not.
"Oh look, Ash makes a pretty neat good cop too," Bonnie observed.
The trainer from Kanto ignored her. "You don't like doing this, don't you? Stealing from other people. I can tell that you're uncomfortable doing this. Is somebody else forcing you to do this? A human?"
Orchynx shook her head.
"...a Pokemon?" Ash ventured.
After a few seconds of hesitation, Orchynx nodded.
"I see. Alright, now, I'm going to release you. But you must promise me that you won't try to run away. Deal?"
"Pika!?" Pikachu asked in shock.
"What?" Serena asked, surprised. "Ash, what are you doing?"
"Following a gut instinct," Ash replied.
"Ash, you just told me this Pokemon tricked you once. Are you really sure she can be trusted?" Serena shouted, motioning her arms for added emphasis.
"I know I'm taking a big risk here, but... just trust me, okay? I feel like there's more to this Pokemon than we believe," Ash said. Orchynx tilted her head, while Serena crossed her arms and shoot Ash a disapproving look.
However, Serena quickly deflated. "Alright Ash, you win. Sometimes it does feel like you have a sixth sense when it comes to understanding Pokemon. Let's hope it doesn't fail you now."
"Good," Ash said, before turning back at Orchynx. "What do you say?"
After a few seconds of contemplating her options, Orchynx finally nodded.
"Great," Ash said, smiling. "Pikachu, cut the web with Iron Tail."
While unhappy with his trainer's decision, Pikachu complied. True to Orchynx's word, however, the Kitten Pokemon didn't attempt to escape.
Orchynx then lead the group towards what they hoped would be the lair of the Pokemon thieves. Orchynx walked at a steady but not too fast pace. The Kitten Pokemon knew that the moment her pace was too quick, the humans would take it as a sign of trying to run away, and they would stop her.
They spent about half an hour treking through the forest. And like it happened before, the more they advanced, the less and less wild Pokemon they saw, and the few they did quickly ran away from the strangers. Ash looked around, and realized that this part of the forest was similar.
"I believe that this is where we met Orchynx the first time," Ash said.
"Pi," Pikachu agreed, as he began to sniff the air, before growing excited. "Chupi, pika!"
"Did you catch the scent of my stolen clothes again?" Ash asked. "Awesome!"
They continued walking until they reached a wall of clumped trees and shrubbery. There was a small nook between two trees that could be used to cross it. Orchynx then stopped next to said nook.
"So, this is the place?" Ash asked.
"Chynx," the Kitten Pokemon nodded.
"It may be a trap," Bonnie pointed out.
"Fortunately, there's somebody who can tell us if it's safe or not," Clemont said, pulling out a pokeball. "Luxray, go!"
After a flash of light, Clemont's strongest Pokemon appeared in front of them. He looked at his trainer, waiting for orders.
"Luxray, use your x-ray vision to see what's behind those trees," Clemont said.
"Ray!" Luxray nodded, as he directed his gaze to the aforementioned trees. His eyes glowed as his vision pierced through them. He moved his head a little to the sides, as if scanning the entire area for potential threats. After a minute or so, Luxray gave his approval. "Lux, luxray!"
"Luxray says it's safe," Clemont said.
"Great! Let's go!" Ash said.
Lead by Ash, the group entered the nook between the trees, which led to a clearing in the forest, surrounded by trees and a cliff with a cave on it. There were many Pokemon on the clearing: Chyinmunk, Kinetmunk, Ekans, Pahar, Sponee... all of them looked on edge at best and downright upset at worst. They quickly took notice of the newcomers.
"Ekans?" one of the Ekans asked, looking at Orchynx.
"Chyin?" A Chyinmunk chirped, looking at Orchynx with disbelief.
"APE!" a new voice yelled.
That moment, all the Pokemon in the clearing shivered in panic, and vacated the area as quickly as they could, leaving the group and Orchynx alone. Orchynx, also trembling in fear, hid behind Ash's legs. And that moment, two Pokemon emerged from the cave: one of them was a Primeape, the other looked like a Baashaun, only that it walked on two legs and had less wool over its body, and longer horns that curved upwards. Ash and Serena quickly scanned the new Pokemon.
"Baaschaf, the Hard Horn Pokemon, and Baashaun's evolution. Dark/Fighting. Now that it is able to stand on two legs, it can use more kicking and punching attacks. Unlike its previous evolution, however, it is rather playful," the Pokedex explained.
"Well, that one doesn't look very playful to me," Bonnie said.
"Ape, ape, prim!" Primeape yelled, galring daggers at Orchynx, who trembled behind Ash's legs.
"Baa," Baaschaf bleated, crossing its arms smugly.
"Are those the Pokemon who forced you to steal, Orchynx?" Ash asked the frightened Grass and Steel type.
However, before he had the chance to get an answer, a third Pokemon emerged from the cave. It was a feline Pokemon that looked like a Feleng, only much, much bigger and bulkier, with a brown furry mane covering its neck. The new Pokemon walked between Primeape and Baaschaf, who remained in place, almost looking like bodyguards, while the giant cat fixed the newcomers a hateful stare.
"FEEEEL!" it growled.
"Just... what the heck is that?" Ash asked, scanning it with his Pokedex.
"Feliger, the Fat Cat Pokemon, Felunge's evolution and Feleng's final form. Normal. Many trainers are disappointed when Felunge evolves because it gets fat and lazy. It can crush foes under its enormous body mass," the Pokedex drone.
Given its sheer size, they wholeheartedly believed the last part of the Pokedex's description.
"That must be the boss, the other two its minions. The three of them probably force the Pokemon of the area to steal for them," Clemont quickly surmised.
"And they don't appear too happy about us getting in the way of their operations," Serena said, locking eyes with Feliger's hateful glare. She reached for one of her pokeballs. "Sylveon, go!"
When the pokeball touched the ground, it released Serena's first Fairy-type Pokemon in a flash of white light.
"If you can keep the two minions busy, Pikachu and I will deal with the boss," Ash said, before looking at his starter. "What do you say, buddy? You already defeated a Felunge before. Do you think you can take its evolved form?"
"Pi, pika!" Pikachu energically nodded.
"GER!" Feliger roared, and at its order, Primeape and Baaschaf dashed forward, both of them preparing a fighting type move, their fists glowing with white light.
"Sylveon, Protect!" Serena ordered.
"Luxray, Swift!" Clemont shouted.
Sylveon got in the way of Primeape's way as she generated an energy shield around her, which successfully blocked Primeape's attack, while Luxray waved his tail, releasing a flurry of golden stars towards Baaschaun, forcing the Hard Horn Pokemon to stop and use his attack to parry the barrage of missiles.
"This is our chance, Pikachu! Thunderbolt on Feliger!" Ash said.
"Pika!" Pikachu jumped into the air towards the Fat Cat Pokemon's direction, as his body crackled with yellow sparks. "CHUUUUUU!"
"FEEEEEEL!"
But just as Pikachu released a powerful lightning bolt, Feliger's raised one of its front paws, which was covered in a coat of electricity, and with a quick swipe, swatted the Thunderbolt away.
"Pika?" a confused Pikachu asked, seeing his attack deflected.
"What a powerful Thunder Punch," Ash said in awe.
Feliger didn't waste any time, and charged towards Pikachu, moving deceptively fast despite his large girth. The claws of its front paws were glowing with green energy. Ash immediately recognized the attack.
"Pikachu, watch out, that's Dual Chop!" Ash warned him. "Dodge with Quick Attack!"
Using the attack's speed boost, Pikachu rocketed to the side just as Feliger struck the spot Pikachu was in twice, opening small craters on the ground with each impact. Pikachu then started to run circles around the large feline, before slamming into its side with his whole body. Feliger meowed in pain, as the force of the attack pushed him sideways.
"Feeeeel..." Feliger hissed, piercing Pikachu with its green eyes. Feliger then charged towards Pikachu, its body surrounded by a fiery white aura with spiraling yellow streaks of light around it, raising a trail of dust as it moved.
"That's Giga Impact! Quickly, dodge it!" Ash ordered.
Pikachu didn't need to be told twice, as he managed to move out of the way in the nick of time, with Feliger smashing against a tree instead. However, the attack carried so much power and momentum, the base of the tree was shattered into splinters, causing the tree to topple.
"Such power! No wonder that Feliger rules this forest with an iron fist," Ash thought, who couldn't help but feel some admiration for the wild Pokemon's raw power, as well as disappointment that it chose to waste such strength like that. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt, now!"
As Giga Impact left Feliger briefly immobile, Pikachu jumped into the air, using once again his most powerful move. This time, Feliger didn't have the chance to deflect it with Thunder Punch, and took the attack in full.
"Feeeeeeeeel!" Feliger meowed in pain.
Ash allowed himself a second to see how his friends were doing. So far, it seemed that, while not dominating the fights, they were slowly wearing Feliger's minions down. Once they were out of commission, they could help us taking Feliger down.
"Let's press our advantage, Pikachu! Iron Tail!" Ash said, throwing a punch forward.
"Pi!" Pikachu agreed, leaping towards Feliger, as his tail began to glow with a silvery gleam. "Pikaaa...!"
"Liger!"
Then, much to Ash and Pikachu's surprise, Feliger rose on its hind legs, its front claws glowing with a green light once again. He used the first strike of Dual Chop to parry Pikachu's attack, and the second one to deliver a devastating counterattack, which sent Pikachu crashing against the ground with such force, he opened a crater once his body hit the grass.
"Pikachu! Are you okay?" Ash cried in horror, rushing towards his partner. While that attack had made a number on the Mouse Pokemon, Pikachu could still get back on his feet and continue the fight.
"Pika..." Pikachu said.
"Let's make sure you don't take another hit like that. Its strength is downright monstrous," Ash observed, looking at the Fat Cat Pokemon with caution. "Then again, we managed to score quite a few hits. A few more, and it should go down."
However, Feliger wasn't planning to go down anytime soon. Much to Ash and Pikachu's confusion, the Fat Cat Pokemon lied on its belly, and let out a yawn, as if it wanted to take a rest from the battle. Then, a green, wavy aura washed over its body, and all the burn marks and bruises left by the previous attacks vanished.
Ash clenched his teeth. He had seen that attack before: Slack Off. If on top of hitting like a truck, this Feliger could heal itself once it took enough damage, then this Pokemon was an even more formidable opponent than Ash had anticipated.
Then again, if there was something Ash prided in, was in never giving up, no matter how hard things became.
"If you can heal yourself, then we'll take you down so fast you won't have any chance to recover!" Ash boasted.
"Pika!" Pikachu agreed.
…
As soon as the battle had started, Orchynx found a place from enough distance from the fight, but still close enough to see it.
Then again, why did she want to see the battle? She already knew the result. Maybe Feliger's goons would go down, but Feliger was going to tear those Pokemon and their human masters to shreds. And then, things would go back to the way they always were. It's a pity, she liked that human. He was kind and compassionate, willing to listen to her and treat her with gentleness despite the fact that Orchynx didn't give him any reason to.
Then again... she still held some hope that a miracle might happen the humans might win, and she won't have to steal for her despicable master anymore. But with the way the battle was going, it was unlikely. Unless somebody else helped that Pikachu, Feliger would crush him.
Then, an intrusive thought entered her mind. "You're here. You can help them."
But Orchynx pushed that thought away from her head. It was stupid. She was too weak to face Feliger. She saw Feliger crush, sometimes literally, Pokemon much stronger than her. Then again, wasn't risking some pain better than continue living this miserable life? An opportunity for a new, better life was at hand, and she might regret her indecision in the future.
And she was done living with regrets.
…
"Pikachu, Electro Ball!"
"Pika!" Pikachu said, jumping into the air, forming a sphere of electricity on the tip of his tail, and throwing said ball at Feliger with a mighty swing.
Feliger, however, swatted it away with a Thunder Punch, before charging forward, his front paws glowing with green light, ready for another Dual Chop. Pikachu, however, was able to dodge the attack, which pulverized a nearby boulder.
Despite the uphill battle, Ash wasn't planning on giving up. A second Pokemon out could've helped Pikachu, but Feliger was still a single wild Pokemon no matter how powerful. He trusted Pikachu to be able to deal with him
Ash watched how Feliger charged once again with another Dual Chop. He was about to tell Pikachu to dodge and to prepare a counterattack, but suddenly, out of nowhere, a barrage of green glowing bullets slammed against the Fat Cat Pokemon's face. Feliger shut its eyes, and growling in pain, took a step back.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt, now!" Ash quickly ordered.
"Pika...CHUUUUU!" Pikachu channeled a powerful lightning bolt through his little body, hitting Feliger in full, who was unable to deflect it like it did before. That attack alone, however, wouldn't be enough to end the fight, not by a long shot.
"Chynx!"
Then, much to the two Pokemon and the one human's surprise, Orchynx landed next to Pikachu, facing Feliger, her body adopting a battle stance, revealing herself as the source of the Bullet Seed.
"Orchynx..." Ash said.
"Pi?" Pikachu asked.
"FEL!?" Feliger growled at Orchynx, looking at her with hate filled eyes, almost as if questioning how did she dare to challenge it.
The moment the larger feline's gaze fell upon her, Orchynx's legs began to tremble, but the Kitten Pokemon fought the fear she no doubt was feeling and held her position.
"Orchynx? Do you want to fight alongside us?" Ash asked, feeling a little moved.
"O-Or!" Orchynx agreed.
"Alright! In that case, let Pikachu take the brunt of the battle. Try to attack when there's an opening, understood?" Ash said.
Orchynx didn't say anything, just nodded nervously.
And thus Orchynx joined the battle. Pikachu would attack, and when Feliger tried to deflect a move, Orchynx would attack from a distance with Bullet Seed in order to distract it, allowing for Pikachu's attack to land. And when Feliger moved onto the offensive, she would obstruct Feliger in order to give Pikachu an easier time to dodge.
Feliger eventually caught up to this, and rather Pikachu, centered its attention on Orchynx. First, it feigned to use Giga Impact against Pikachu, but when Feliger was about to obstruct the attack with an Energy Ball, Feliger changed course and barreled towards her.
"Chynx!?" the Kitten Pokemon cried, as she was paralyzed by the sheer horror of Feliger's massive body coming towards her, the Energy Ball dying before it could fully form.
"Pikachu, quickly, protect Orchynx!" Ash urged.
Pikachu rushed towards the stunned Orchynx, but he knew he wouldn't arrive in time.
"Pa!"
Not that Pikachu's intervention would be needed, as a red blur dived from the skies towards Orchynx, moving her away from Feliger's path, causing the Fat Cat Pokemon to miss once again and smash against a tree.
"Feee..." it growled in pain and anger, before something it saw caused its blood boil with rage. "Liger!?"
Much to everybody's shock, Orchynx was in the air, being carried by a Pahar. Other Pahar were also flying around her. Ash remembered there were a few of them in the clearing when they first entered.
Then, several Chyinmunk led by a single Kinetmunk emerged beneath the shrubbery, and surrounded Feliger.
"Munk munk!" Kinetmunk chirped, its cheeks sparking with electricity, as it and its smaller brethren fired several Thundershocks at Feliger. The attacks weren't very powerful on their own, but together, they made Feliger flinch.
It didn't end there: an Ekans emerged from underground just below Feliger, wrapped its body around the feline's neck, and sank its fangs onto Feliger's flesh. Feliger cried in pain, as it shook its head violently, trying to get rid of Ekans, until the Snake Pokemon couldn't keep a hold of the larger Pokemon's neck anymore and was launched against the canopy of a tree.
But just as Feliger did that, the Pahar above it bombarded it with multiple Incinerate and Air Slash, while several Sponee that had been hidden among the shrubbery fired a multitude of Water Guns towards the large feline.
Greatly sore and confused from the constant streams of attacks, Feliger's eyes began to water as it watched how all the Pokemon that used to be its minions gathered around Pikachu and Orchynx, which no longer trembled. None of them looked afraid in the slightest, and glared at their former master with eyes full of bottled up anger and resentment.
"Ape...!"
"Baa...!"
As for the last nail in the coffin, Serena's Sylveon and Clemont's Luxray had just defeated its two chief enforcers, which ran away when it was obvious the battle was lost.
And seeing how Feliger was vastly outnumbered and overpowered, he also decided to run away, having enough punishment for a day.
There was a moment of silence as those in the clearing, both human and Pokemon, processed that the long battle had finally come to an end.
"We won!" Ash said, breaking the silence.
All the Pokemon gathered there loudly cheered, happy to finally be free from Feliger and not having to steal from humans for him.
Ash walked towards Orchynx, and crouched besides her. "Did you see that, Orchynx? This victory was thanks to you. You inspired those other Pokemon to rally against that trio of bullies. Now that Feliger and its cronies will think twice before forcing anybody to steal for them."
"Orch..." Orchynx softly meowed.
"Hey, guys!" Bonnie's voice came from within the cave. "There's a lot of stuff here! Those guys must've been using this cave to store all their loot! I'm sure our things must be somewhere around here..."
…
And indeed, all the stolen items were there. After recovering their belongings, the group contacted the Rangers, and told them about what had happened. A couple hours later, the same Ranger from before, Wendy, met with them in order to talk about the clash with the Pokemon thieves.
"First you guys dismantle that Pokemon trafficker cell, and now you deal with that band of Pokemon thieves we Rangers have been trying to locate for weeks," Wendy began, shaking her head. "You're trying really hard to make us look bad, aren't you?"
The group of teens could only chuckle awkwardly in response.
Wendy, however smiled. "Relax, I'm not chiding you or anything. In fact, your help today has been invaluable. Once we deal with that Feliger, this route will be safe to travel once again."
"What do you plan to do with it once you find it?" Bonnie asked, showing a surprising (or unsurprising) amount of worry for the Fat Cat Pokemon.
"We'll take it somwhere else where it can hurt any other Pokemon or human again, and we'll try to reeducate it to be more civil before releasing back into the wild," the Ranger explained. She smiling reassuringly at Bonnie. "Don't worry girl, this is far from the first wayward Pokemon we had to deal with."
"That's good to hear," Clemont said.
"We'll also make sure that everything those Pokemon stole is returned to their rightful owners," Wendy told them, as she walked towards her Staraptor. "Anyway, once again, thanks a lot for what you've done here," Wendy said, as she mounted on her Staraptor. "Until we meet again! Take care!"
As they watched the Ranger disappear among the clouds, the group decided it was time for them to resume their journey as well. However, there was somebody who wanted to meet them again before they could leave.
"Orch!"
They turned around, and saw Orchynx there, sitting in front of them. She was smiling, her body language far more relaxed, and her tail wagging lazily.
"Pi, pika!" Pikachu said as he went to face the Kitten pokemon, and offered her a paw, probably as a sign of respect or gratitude for her help earlier. "Chu?"
Orchynx looked at the paw quizzically, before, giving it a friendly lick.
"Pika..." Pikachu awkwardly said, as he took the paw back.
"Oh, hey Orchynx!" Ash said, smiling back at her. "Did you come here to say goodbye?"
Orchynx then walked towards Ash, and began to rub her body against his legs affectionatedly. The Kitten pokemon might have done that to cajole Ash before, but now the trainer from Kanto could tell it was a genuine show of endearment.
"That... doesn't look like a goodbye to me, Ash," Serena said, giggling a little.
"So it seems, hehe," Ash agreed. He crouched next to Orchynx, and began to rub her ear. The green cat purred playfully. "So... do you want to come with us, Orchynx? You don't have to be afraid to stay here anymore. That Feliger won't bother you again."
"Or, orchynx!" Orchynx insisted, looking at Ash expectantly.
"In that case..." Ash said, rising to his full height, while pulling out an empty pokeball. "Pokeball, go!"
Ash tossed the capture device at Orchynx, who didn't make any attempt to dodge it. The sphere opened up, and absorbed Orchynx inside, before closing and falling to the grass below. It didn't even shake before dinging, confirming that the Pokemon had been captured. Grinning, Ash picked up Orchynx's pokeball.
"I caught an Orchynx!" Ash cheered, raising the pokeball above his head in a dramatic way.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu cheered alongisde his trainer.
After his friends congratulated Ash for his capture, the group decided to continue the journey. They still had a long way to go until they would reach Comet Cave. But they would walk the rest of the trip with a new friend among them.
Author's Note: And Ash catches a Pokemon, yay! With Orchynx, two of Tandor's three starters are accounted for, with only one more to go!
Yeah, not much else to say here. Despite the lower-stakes nature of this chapter, I had a lot of fun writing it, and I hope you guys liked it just as much. Plus, writing scenes from Pokemon's POV is always pretty fun.
Fun fact: despite Staraptor not being in Tandor's Pokedex, there's IS a recurring female Ranger in the game that flies around on a Staraptor (and she even gives you a ride at one point in the game).
Thanks to Fox McCloude, 61394, Viroro-kun, hirowriter and Guest23 for reviewing last chapter. Also special thanks to Viroro-kun for his invaluable help with editing and suggestions for this chapter.
Well, see you next time. In the meantime, don't forget to leave a review with your thouhgts on this chapter. Your reviews mean a lot to me :)