Chapter 9
Both literally and figuratively, Ash and Gary had now made it out of the woods. It was the first city that they had been in since they left New Bark Town, and they had never been more happier to see buildings in their life. Leaning over the metal railing that stopped those exiting the forest from tumbling over the edge, Ash couldn't help but let out a breath of air with a big smile on his face. "Hey! A real city!"
The city was a cluster of buildings of all shapes and sizes. From the bird's-eye view they got, they could see a park in the center of the city, but that didn't mean the surrounding area wasn't filled with life as well. It looked to be the perfect mix of nature and structure.
"It looks like this city's called Florando," Gary read as he thumbed through the guidebook. "I'm not quite sure there's a Pokémon Center, though, so we'll have to look around."
"Well, what are we waiting for?!" Ash asked rhetorically. "Let's see the sights!" The dark-haired Trainer hurried down to get down to the city without even waiting for Gary's response. The said response, was an exasperated sigh and running his fingers through his hair.
"Don't you ever get tired?"
o 0 o
The city sure was bustling for being in the middle of the day. Normally, people were going through their day to day activities, including work at this time of day, so it wasn't out of the ordinary to see people, but definitely not as many people as were out today. The city was also a lot more bigger now that they were inside it than they first realized. They had refilled their supplies and was trying to find something to eat, but was overwhelmed by how much there was going on.
"Wow. There's so much to see," Ash murmured, looking down at the main road as they crossed on a bridge overhead. There were umbrellas set up on the road below whose bright colors drew their eyes.
"I wonder what's going on that is making this place so popular," Gary wondered aloud. To answer his question, a young girl in a pink dress cradling a stack of papers in her arms came running up to the pair, and greeted them with a smile.
"Check out the Pokémon exhibition!" she told them, and gave Ash one of the yellow pieces of paper from the stack.
"What's a Pokémon exhibition?" he asked, glancing down at the paper.
"It's a giant outdoor Pokémon entertainment festival," she answered. "Every year, Trainers and Pokémon from around the world come here to put on Pokémon shows! It's what Florando's famous for."
"Now that you mention it, I think I do remember reading about the Florando Pokémon exhibition somewhere," Gary muttered, and Ash turned around to his traveling companion and smiled.
"Hey, you think I could do a show with all of my Pokémon?"
"If they need a clown, I'm sure they'll let you know," Gary sneered. The girl laughed nervously and walked away to go hand out her fliers elsewhere, and a smile soon pulled the corners of Ash's lips as he read over the pamphlet and held it up so his childhood rival could read it too.
"We should check it out! I'd love to see what it's all about!"
Gary frowned at the suggestion, but glanced down at the river of people slowly making their way toward some location in the city – most likely where the exhibition was being held. "Only for a little while. I don't want to stay here for too long-"
"Great! Then let's go!" Ash cut off excitedly, and took off into a run to the other side of the bridge while Gary hurried after him – something which seemed to be a normal occurrence now.
o 0 o
It was easy to find the town square where the festival was taking place; all Ash and Gary had to do was follow the flow of people. Eventually, they made it in front of a large park that was sitting in front of a large orange building whose front entrance had a large stage under a large Poké Ball structure. But the spectacle wasn't the building itself, but the Trainers and their Pokémon performing on the concrete in front of it.
There were many crowds of people scattered throughout the area, each one of them viewing a different show and performance. As they approached the square, even Gary had a smile that was wide at the spectacles they were able to see. Ash's eyes first fell on a Flareon. Its Trainer, a blue-haired young woman, held her hand out toward a burning ring of fire that was held up, and the Flareon was hopping back and forth through the ring. Despite how fluffy its fur was, the Flame Pokémon wasn't even touching the flames.
They continued walking, and Ash chuckled when he saw an Oddish balancing on top of a rolling Electrode. The Ball Pokémon was rolling around in circles, and the Grass and Poison-type on top of it managed to stay perfectly balanced while still smiling out at its audience.
Belly laughter grabbed their attention as they continued on, and instead of a Pokémon being a center of attention, the Trainer was. A young man with slicked back black hair and sunglasses was dancing in the middle of a ring of Mankey. The twelve Fighting Pokémon all moved in complete synchronicity while their Trainer grooved to his own music.
Finally, they stopped in front of a man with long, curly brown hair that reached past his shoulders. A goldenrod Pokémon with brown armor-like sections on its upper body held a small spoon in one of its hands, and in the other, holding it up was a larger spoon as big as its body. The Pokémon was focusing heavily on it, and soon a blue glow appeared around it. "Woah! What Pokémon is that?" Ash asked, and took out his Pokédex to scan it.
"Alakazam, a Psi Pokémon. This Pokémon uses Psychic attacks to overcome its opponents."
"I'm impressed. It's no easy feat to train an Alakazam," Gary mused with his hands on his hips.
"Ala... ka... zam..." Finally, the Psychic Pokémon raised its arm holding the huge spoon, and its eyes flashed open. Seconds later, the open part of the spoon bent from its Psychic powers. The audience clapped, and Ash and Gary followed suit.
"Oh, look! Water Pokémon!" Ash cried, hurrying toward the stairs by the orange hall. What looked like an old-fashion doll display held a variety of Water-type Pokémon, including two Psyduck, a pair of Wartortle, a Slowpoke on either side, and two Krabby. A Starmie was in the center of the display, and each of them were firing a small Water Gun to resemble a fountain. "That's cool!"
To Ash's right, a loud cheer of excitement grabbed his attention, and he turned his head to see two green Pokémon bouncing through the air. Curiosity getting the best of him, he left the Water Pokémon and walked closer. As he did, he realized that the Pokémon had skirts of green and yellow leaves, and had a pair of red flowers on the tops of their heads. Once again, he smiled and took out his Pokédex. "Hey! What are they?"
"Bellossom, the Flower Pokémon. When these Pokémon move, their delicate petals rub together, creating a pleasant sound. They're also known for their unique acrobatic dancing abilities."
"They sound pretty neat!"
"I've never seen a Bellossom up close before," Gary commented. "Let's get closer." Ash nodded in agreement, and they found an opening in the crowd. This was by far the busiest part of the grounds, but it certainly was lively. The two Bellossom were dancing and flipping wildly through the air in sync with one another. In the center of them was a young girl with dark brown hair tied into a wavy ponytail, and she was clapping along, both to the music and to direct her Pokémon. They were performing a series of flips, hand springs, and expertly timed spins. They looked just like gymnasts.
Finally, they stopped and the young woman walked forward and held her hands up in the air to grab everyone's attention. "And now, ladies and gentlemen! Our gravity-defying grand finale!" That was a cue the Bellossom knew well, and one of them backflipped three times before landing firmly and facing the other one. Once it had, the young lady looked at each of her Pokémon, and though she spoke quietly to them, Ash and Gary were close enough to hear her. "Now just stay relaxed and we'll get it this time," she assured them. Both of her Bellossom nodded, and she looked at the one on her left. "Go!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, the Bellossom ran toward the one that had just backflipped with its arms wide open, as if going in for a hug. Opposite the Grass Pokémon, the other Bellossom put its hands together and held them close to the ground. Once the running Bellossom came in close, it jumped until its hands. "Som!"
"Bella!" the stationary Bellossom cried, and with a mighty heave upward, it tossed the first Bellossom into the air. The Flower Pokémon flew backward through the air with its back parallel with the concrete.
"Bell-loop-de-loop!" the young Trainer called, and Bellossom cried out and flipped backwards whilst flying through the air, but suddenly, the Pokémon seized up and its cry turned into one of horror as it lost its happiness and replaced it with fear. This threw off its descent and it was flying through the air like a rag doll. The young woman cried out in horror, but it was Ash that let out a loud cry – the Bellossom was coming right toward him. All he needed to do was open his arms, and the Grass Pokémon collided with his chest. Though he was knocked onto his backside, the Bellossom was all right.
"I'm so sorry!" Bellossom's Trainer rushed up to him with her second Bellossom at her feet. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," Ash assured her, and handed her the blinking Pokémon. "I made a lucky catch!"
"You were in the right place at the right time for us," she replied, holding the Pokémon in her folded arms, and reached an arm down to help him back onto his feet.
o 0 o
With the performance over, the crowd dispersed, and the young woman knew her Pokémon needed a break. Being the gentleman that he was, Ash offered to help her bring her accessories – a pair of pink stairs that the Bellossom would jump off – back to wherever she was heading. The young woman agreed, much to Gary's annoyance, and the three of them walked down the road where her RV was parked, and as thanks for helping her and her Bellossom, she offered them a place to rest their feet and gave them a soda pop each. Not even Gary could turn down the offer, as it had been quite a long time since they had drank anything other than water from a canteen.
Once they had all popped the tab, the young woman stood up and held out her aluminum can. "Here's a toast to you and your friend for saving my Bellossom!"
"Thank you for the great show!" Ash countered.
"Yeah, you really trained your Bellossom well," Gary added. They all raised their cans and sipped the bubbly liquid it held inside. Feeling it slide down their aching throat was like instant medicine.
"I don't think we've introduced ourselves," the dancer realized once she pulled her can from her mouth. "My name is Bailey, and these very talented Bellossom are my two star performers: Belle, and Bella." She gestured down to the Bellossom sitting beside her, and they both spun around in unison, and ended with their hands in the air and eyes closed.
"Bellllll... la!" they said at the same time.
"My name's Ash," he introduced.
"Pleased to meet you."
"I'm Gary," Gary said with a small smile.
"Are you and your Bellossom gonna try that trick again at the exhibition tomorrow?" Ash asked after another sip from his drink.
"Well, that was our original plan..." Bailey said, her eyebrows dropping along with her blue eyes toward the ground. At the mention of it, one of her Bellossom also seemed to deflate, and the other one patted its back to soothe it. "I'm afraid our Bell-loop-de-loop just hasn't been working out lately."
"Yeah, I kinda noticed that..."
"Belle used to do it perfectly, but ever since we got here, we've been having problems with it."
"Belle..." Belle muttered, turning away from the group and hiding its face in shame.
"Sounds like stage fright," Gary commented.
"Yes," Bailey agreed, and seeing her Pokémon was upset, she gave it a smile as warm as sunshine and knelt down beside it. "But we'll keep doing the best we can; isn't that right, Belle?" Hearing its Trainer's kind words, Belle raised its eyes and though it looked sad, seeing its Trainer wasn't disappointed in it in the slightest brought a smile to the Bellossom's face, and it nodded.
"Belle."
Standing back up straight, she smiled down at the pair. "Are you two planning on staying until the exhibition tomorrow?" Ash smiled and opened his mouth to respond, but Gary cut him off.
"No, we just stopped for a little bit of a rest," he told her.
"Well, I'd like to stay!" the younger boy stated with a glare, but Gary only closed his eyes.
"And that's why you got so far behind all of us in Kanto." Ash opened his mouth, but realized that Gary was right, and he shut it again. His whole journey was basically trying to catch up with the other Pallet Town Trainers, and only got so far ahead because two of them didn't make it to the Pokémon League. "Stay if you want, but the sooner I get to Violet City, the sooner I can win my first Johto League Badge." Gary downed the rest of his drink and stood up. "It was nice to meet you, Bailey, and I wish you and your Bellossom luck in the exhibition tomorrow." In a surprising change of emotion, Gary bent and smiled down at the young lady's Belle. "From what I saw, you both did really well. And it's clear your Trainer believes in you. You just gotta believe in yourself!"
The pair of Bellossom stared up at him and blinked, but then they both smiled and nodded their heads. "Bella!" they replied at the same time.
"See 'ya." Gary waved two fingers at Bailey, and he threw his duffel bag over his shoulder before walking away. Ash was still staring in awe at the rare show of emotions he gave to Bailey's Bellossom, and reality set in when he saw that Gary was leaving. He quickly finished up the rest of his drink as well, and bowed to Bailey.
"Thank you for the break. Good luck to all of you tomorrow," he said hurriedly, and rushed after Gary while the three of them by the RV waved at them.
"Good-bye! Thanks again, you two!" Bailey called with a hand over her head, and Ash and Gary gave one more wave in her direction before turning the corner and disappearing out of view.
o 0 o
A couple of days went by, and after leaving the forest on Route 29, they now hit a string of cities. After Florando, they passed through a small city called Catallia City. This city too didn't have a Pokémon Center, so they were forced to stay in a hotel for the night. Ash was quickly realizing how much he missed Brock, as the Pokémon Breeder was always up for sight-seeing and exploring the cities. But Gary was quite the opposite, and only wanted to rest when needed. As soon as the sun rose and they were both showered and checked out, they continued onward.
The next town along the way was a city known as Palm Hills. Currently, they were passing through a neighborhood that seemed to be only composed of mansions, and Ash and Gary marveled at their structures as they passed by. "Look at all these humongous houses!" Ash exclaimed, barely able to keep his vision on one object for very long.
"It looks like Palm Hills is famous for its sprawling estates and sweeping lawns," Gary read from the guidebook in his hand.
"I'll say," Ash agreed, glancing up at a palm tree that momentarily blocked the sun from view with its fan-like leaves before brown irises danced over to a property that looked to be the size of Professor Oak's lab. "Wow! It's huge!" he exclaimed, running up to the closed metal fence and peeking inside. The house itself was pink and at least five stories tall, and looked more like a giant hospital than a house, but it was just a speck in the distance. The entire property was squared off with a brick wall that ran as far as they could see, and on the lawn itself, there were many hedge mazes and art sculptures to decorate it. "Sweeping lawns, huh? I wouldn't even want to mow it."
"This puts both my grandpa's and my granduncle's lawns to shame," Gary commented. The fact that Gary was astounded by the size of the yard really showed something, seeing as he came from the richest family in Pallet Town.
"Have you searched everywhere?" a voice asked behind them, and the sound of running feet grabbed their attention and pulled their eyes away from the mansion. Behind them, three men in smart-looking suits were breathing heavily, and talking amongst themselves.
"All the usual places," the second answered with a frown.
"You keep looking, and I'll keep Madame from getting frantic," the first man told them, and the other two nodded in agreement before all splitting up once again, leaving Ash and Gary blinking in confusion.
"Looking for what?"
o 0 o
Leaving the large mansions behind, the pair finally made their way into the edge of the shopping center. And while it looked like a normal, run-of-the-mill town with big, giant houses looming over from all over, the restaurants all had very pricey food that – to be put bluntly – neither of them could fit into their budget. "We're never gonna find something to eat..." Ash complained at the same time of letting out a large sigh.
"There's not even a Pokémon Center here, either," Gary said as his eyes danced across the pages of the guidebook. "Looks like we're just gonna have to skip this town, too." A loud ruckus drew their eyes upward, and from around the corner, a loud, orange and black-striped Pokémon came barreling around the corner. Its eyes were closed as though it were in pain, and it was wildly thrashing its backside back and forth as it ran while barking erratically.
"Hey! A Growlithe!" Ash recognized, but the Pokémon didn't even react to the sound of his voice. "Something's making Growlithe really upset..." He knelt down as the Fire Pokémon got closer, and placed his hands gently on its shoulders to hold it in place. "You gotta settle down now, Growlithe; otherwise we can't even try to help 'ya." Growlithe was now stationary, but the Fire-type continued to flail and stomp about, kicking up loose dirt from the cement. Though the dust was forever moving, something pink flailed about in Ash's peripheral vision, and his eyebrows furrowed as he looked past Growlithe. Attached to the Puppy Pokémon's tail was a pink object with blue spots.
"If it would just sit still, we'd be able to see what's wrong," Gary said with concern in his eyes. Suddenly, Growlithe gave a loud howl and kicked its back legs backwards. As if gaining a wild amount of energy, it managed to kick whatever was attached to its tail and head for the hills, completely blowing past Ash and Gary in the process. As the pair of Trainers watched the Fire-type disappear in the distance, they heard something thump to the ground, and both of them whipped their heads around to see a pink and blue-spotted Pokémon sitting on its backside. "Hey, that's a Snubbull!"
"Snubbull," the Pokémon uttered as it looked up at them with a disgruntled look.
"Cool!" Ash commented, and took out his Pokédex from his pocket. "Let's see what Dexter says!"
"Snubbull, the Fairy Pokémon. While it may appear gruff and grumpy, deep down, Snubbull is a kind and caring Pokémon."
"Just goes to show that looks ain't everything," Gary said with a smirk, but this quickly faded and his eyebrows came together in the middle of his face. "Hey, look at those ribbons; it must be a female Snubbull."
"I guess you are, huh?" Ash asked it, resting his hands on his knees. He then smiled up at Gary with a finger in the air. "A grumpy girl who's not afraid to chase Pokémon – kinda reminds me of my mom when she's angry." Snubbull retaliated with a low growl, but Ash quickly put his hands up in front of him. "In a good way!"
"There you are!" Ash and Gary both turned around to see one of the men they saw in front of the large mansion hurrying up to them, but his eyes were locked on Snubbull. A bright smile stretched across his face, and he raised his hand in the air. "Madame, your Snubbull has been found and she's perfectly all right!" For the millionth time that day, Ash and Gary craned their neck in a different direction, and they saw a heavyset woman wearing jewels from head to toe over her red dress come running up with her arms high in the air.
"Hello, Snubbull! Here I am!" she sang, and ran up to join them. Huffing just a bit, she looked at the man dressed in the velvet suit. "Thank goodness. Are these children the ones responsible for saving my precious Snubbull?"
"They are," he nodded.
"I simply cannot thank you all enough!" she said, and looked down at her Pokémon. "Snubbull disappeared last night, and ever since I've been in a terrible state of panic imagining the poor thing lost." She stepped forward, and it almost looked like the Fairy Pokémon was going to stand up and walk away, but the woman snatched the Fairy Pokémon up in her grip and held it close to her face. "Come here, precious! There, there! Isn't that better now?"
"Snubbull, snubbull!" her Pokémon responded, but it tried to shimmy out of her grasp.
"Snubbull, I know you've had a scare," the woman frowned. "But there's no need to be upset. After all, you're going home now." The purple-haired woman stood up and turned to face Ash and Gary. "Please join us for lunch!"
Still processing what had just occurred within the last few minutes, Ash and Gary blinked and exchanged a glance. "Uh, okay," the black-haired Trainer agreed. At least they were going to get food.
o 0 o
Coincidentally, the house that the two Trainers had been ogling earlier at the edge of the fence was where the rich woman lived. After arriving onto the property, she introduced herself as Madame Muchmoney. And from the way they rode a moving sidewalk through the front gate and across the yard toward the door, they had a feeling her surname was understatement of the year.
"I don't know what it is, but all of a sudden, I feel like I'm at the airport..." Ash murmured as they stood single-file, watching the yard and all of the yard decorations pass by. But while the dark-haired boy was watching the shrubs and hedges move along, Gary's eyes were stuck on Snubbull. The Fairy Pokémon was wiggling in its owner's arms, though the woman seemed to have absolutely no clue, and only held onto her Pokémon tighter.
"That Snubbull doesn't seem too happy to be going home..." Gary murmured quietly, and Ash, hearing this, glanced in the direction of Snubbull. But before they knew it, they had reached the front door. Upon stepping up to the front entrance, the doors opened, and the three men who they had overheard speaking earlier in the day were waiting on the other side with one of their arms outstretched and a respectful bow curling their spine. While Madame Muchmoney thanked her butlers, Ash and Gary marveled at the size of the foyer. Just the room itself was larger than Professor Oak's own lab. It was almost like a palace.
"It's like a castle!" Ash said in awe.
"It's filthy outside, so we mustn't forget to wipe our feet!" the rich woman sang, and rubbed her Snubbull's feet on the plush pink carpet beneath their shoes. Snubbull didn't seem to enjoy this in the slightest, and continued to try and worm out of her grasp. Quickly taking the hint, Ash and Gary both hurriedly wiped their shoes on the carpet as well.
Once Gary was done, he continued to glance around at his surroundings. "So, just how many rooms are in this place, anyway?" he asked.
"Jeeves would know the answer to that," Madame Muchmoney answered, her eyes looking to the ceiling of the foyer, though it was more in thought than in admiration unlike the other two. She then glanced up at the butler who had found them with Snubbull. "How many rooms do we have, Jeeves?"
"Eighty-six, at last count."
"Right," she nodded, and smiled back at the pair. "We're planning an addition to the west wing." Ash and Gary's mouth quite literally fell open in shock, but she seemed to not notice, and stood up whilst clutching her Snubbull. The Pokémon had grown too exhausted to struggle any longer, and sat limply in her arms. "There's no time for the grand tour, but perhaps you'd like to see Snubbull's wing!"
"Uh, sure," both boys replied at the same time, and even blinked in unison. Snubbull had its own wing?
o 0 o
The house itself was a maze that rivaled the Viridian Forest. It seemed like even Madame Muchmoney had trouble navigating it herself, seeing as she always had at least one of the butlers lead the way. The hallway was decorated with large framed paintings and pictures of Snubbull. The wallpaper was pink and decorated with ribbons similar to the one the Fairy Pokémon wore on its ears. All in all, it was interesting, to say the least.
The first room that Madame Muchmoney brought them to was a bedroom that was larger than the entire first floor of Ash's house. A large, king-sized bed sat in the center, and the room looked like it belonged to a princess rather than a Pokémon. "This is Snubbull's bedroom on Saturdays," Madame Muchmoney told them. "She watches all her favorite cartoons here every weekend!"
She then brought them further into the room, and opened a pair of double doors that entered into an area that was larger than Ash's bedroom in Pallet Town. "This is Snubbull's walk-in closet," she said after the pair ooh'd and aah'd. There were many small outfits hung on hangers all around the room, and there was even a mannequin in the shape of a Snubbull in the corner that was wearing a red dress with white polka dots all over it.
"More like a drive-in closet..." Gary murmured, his eyes trying to take in all the many colors of outfits that were lined against the wall.
"It has to be roomy, because I couldn't bear for Snubbull to wear the same thing twice!" she said, scoffing as if it were completely obvious.
The next room she took them to was a couple doors down, which meant they had to walk a block in order to get to it. Inside were all sorts of exercise equipment, and the only room that they had seen so far that was not covered head to toe in shades of pink. "We all know how important exercise is, so I had this workout room built to keep Snubbull in tip-top shape!"
"Seems nice, but I think if I was Snubbull, I'd rather be running around in that gigantic yard down there..." Ash said as he glanced out the window that showed a sea of perfectly cut green grass that stretched out as far as the eye could see.
"I'm trying to keep Snubbull healthy, so I hate to send her out with all that horrible sun and polluted air!" Madame Muchmoney explained as Snubbull tried once again to squirm out of the woman's large arms. Unbeknownst to Ash, Gary wasn't looking around the room, and only wore a stone-cold mask as his eyes locked on the Pokémon in her arms.
The next room that was on the Snubbull Wing tour was a heavy, moisture-filled room with a large swimming pool in it. The water was green and smelled of mint, and the reflective windows that lined the back half of the room only seemed to keep the steam in like a greenhouse. Along with the shrubbery inside along the outside of the pool, a water spout in the shape of a Gyarados was constantly pouring in hot water into the in-ground pool. "And this is her private Snubbull-bubble bath!" The smell of mint was refreshing and even just being in the steam opened up Ash's pores.
"Well, I don't see too many bubbles, but Snubbull sure is lucky to take such good care of it!" Ash grinned, looking at his own reflection in the water.
"Thank you, dear! I spend no expense to make sure my Snubbull is perfectly happy!" the woman said, smiling a lip-stick covered smile down at her Pokémon, though remained ignorant to the fact that it attempted to wiggle out of her grasp again.
"Perfectly happy?" Gary repeated quietly, earning a confused look from Ash that the older boy ignored.
At that moment, the large clock in the center of the windows struck twelve, and a loud gong rang out loudly. "Oh, it's time for Snubbull's lunch!" Madame Muchmoney said, looking up at the clock's face. "I certainly hope you'd still like to join us?"
"We're starved!" Ash quickly answered with a hand raised in the air like a teacher had just asked a question. Summoning one of the three butlers as they exited the room, the three were escorted down to the first floor where the main dining hall was. It was two stories tall inside, and their eyes were immediately drawn to the large table in the center of the room. The food had already been placed down prior to their arrival, and the two other butlers, as well as a single cook, were waiting for their master and her guests to arrive.
Madame Muchmoney sat at the head of the table, and Ash and Gary took either side of her. Each of the butlers pulled out the chairs for them, and it was almost an uncomfortable feeling for Ash, who felt like he was in a fancy restaurant. Quickly taking off his hat as a sign of respect and bunching it up on his lap, he continued to soak in the high-ceiling room. "This is one of the biggest dining rooms I've ever seen..." Gary marveled aloud.
"That's because this isn't the dining room, dear," she corrected. "It's only our humble little breakfast nook." Small glasses of iced tea were placed down for each of them, and finally, the butlers all took the covers off the plates of food to reveal small bite-sized cookies, cakes, and finger sandwiches spread out in such a professional manner that Ash couldn't believe this was a home-cooked meal. The main course, placed in front of them, was a steak with salad.
"Even the food's rich!" he said, his eyes growing wider by the second.
"Please, you two: help yourselves."
"Thank you! We will!" they both said at the same time, pressing their palms together and closing their eyes before picking up their forks and knives and starting on their steak. The meat simply melted in Ash's mouth, and the variety of flavors was even better than anything his mom could ever make – though Ash would never admit that out loud.
"This is not bad at all!" Ash said, though the elation on his face showed that he was certainly enjoying it a lot more than he was letting on.
"It is delicious," Gary agreed, waiting until he at least swallowed his mouthful to compliment it. His smile quickly disappeared though when he glanced over at Snubbull. The Fairy Pokémon smelled the steak in front of it, and quickly put its nose up.
"Don't you like it, Snubbly-wubbly?" Madame Muchmoney asked her Pokémon with a slight frown on her face. "I'm sorry, Jacques, but you'll have to clear the table and bring back something that Snubbull will actually eat." The chef, Jacques, looked almost as horrified as Ash did.
"But, Madame, I have tried everyssing I know! But still, Mademoiselle Snubbull will eat nossin!" he argued. "Perhaps she is... simply not hungry."
"That just can't be," Madame Muchmoney retorted. "There just must be something special you can make for her..."
"Why don't we try this?" Gary suggested, and ducked behind the edge of the table. He could be heard rummaging through his duffel bag, and when he raised his hand, he held his hand out and placed a few pellets of Pokémon food down on the tablecloth.
"But Gary, Snubbull's not gonna want to eat that when there's all this great food around," Ash pointed out. But, much to his surprise, Snubbull started to sniff the air, and its head whipped around and it glanced down at the food that Gary had just put down.
"Snub?!" Ash was soon eating his words when Snubbull reached out and snatched up the pellets of food hungrily before quickly devouring them with a smile on its face forming for the first time since they had seen it.
"Well! If that isn't the most adorable thing I've ever seen!" Madame Muchmoney squealed in happiness. "What exactly is the recipe for that?"
"It isn't a recipe at all," Gary told her with a small smile, and retrieved the bag of Pokémon food from his satchel. "It's just store brand!" The plump woman's eyebrows rose slightly, but seeing that her Pokémon was happy brought a smile to her face and she grinned down at the Pokémon in her arms.
"Well, I'll just see to it that from now on we have an endless supply of the finest Pokémon food money can buy!"
"I'm not sure you should go that far, ma'am," Gary told her. "I have a feeling that Snubbull likes the food because it is cheap." The purple-haired woman seemed confused by the statement, but brushed it off and looked down at her Snubbull happily eating.
Suddenly, a loud alarm rang out throughout the house – this one in a much different manner than the brunch alarm. Ash nearly choked on his food from the sudden interruption and looked up at the ceiling. "What in the world is that noise?!" he shouted, clapping his hands over his ears.
"That alarm means that someone's broken into the gardens!" Madame Muchmoney told him loudly, wincing at the shrill. When she did, her grip let up slightly, and her Snubbull quickly took advantage of the lack of pressure around its body and jumped out of her arms before running on all fours and disappearing out the door. "Snubbull! Come back, darling!" she cried, but the Fairy Pokémon had already darted through one of the open doorways. "Hurry, we must go after Snubbull before she gets hurt!"
"I'll go after Snubbull! You two go to the source of the alarm," the lead butler told the other two, and they nodded in understanding before splitting up.
"Let's go with them!" Ash said to Gary, and without waiting for an answer, the Pallet Town Trainer hurried after the pair of butlers.
Once they got outside one of the side entrances, one of the butlers blew into a whistle produced from the jacket of his uniform, and in a matter of moments, a Growlithe appeared from the bushes and barked before joining them on their run.
The backyard was a hedge maze that would have been completely inaccessible to Ash and Gary if it weren't for the butlers who they accompanied. And, along with Growlithe's nose, they were soon able to find what had set off the alarm. Or who. "Hey, you hold it right there!" the butler who had gone after Madame Muchmoney's Snubbull cried. Standing between them and the other butler was a young woman with flowing long chestnut hair with her bangs pinned up. She wore a black dress with a pink hem, and at her side was a Rattata. Standing beside the Rattata was Snubbull.
"What do you think you're doing with that Snubbull?!" another butler, the one who called the Growlithe, demanded, and the Fire-type Pokémon bent close to the ground and bore its teeth.
"Oh dear, Rattata. It seems we've been caught red-handed," the woman said in a posh accent, frowning in exasperation. "Though it seems you are mistaken: I do not want that darling Pokémon – only this bit of silver!" She fished out a twisted silver spoon from the purse she held in the crook of her arm, and held it up for all to see. "My siblings would say I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth, but with all this money the owner of this property has, I'm sure she wouldn't miss this one bit."
Suddenly, her Rattata let out a shrill cry and leaped high into the air. All eyes darted to the purple Normal-type and saw that Snubbull had chomped down on the end of its curled tail. The woman jumped back in surprise upon seeing that Snubbull had attached itself to her Pokémon, and stepped her heeled foot out of the way as Rattata ran circles around its Trainer in an attempt to get Snubbull off it. However, the pink Pokémon simply dragged on the grass and smiled with elation.
"Who are you?! What are you doing here?!" Ash demanded, and much to his surprise, the young woman curtsied and bowed her head.
"My name is Tuscany; it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance," she introduced. "I am a collector of items, you see. And if my research is correct, this spoon holds a lot more value than the owner originally thought. So I thought I would take it off her hands and into my pockets!" She chuckled behind her hand, and when she did, her Rattata jumped into her arms with Snubbull still attached to it, and she pulled out a Poké Ball. "My, aren't you quite a persistent dear. Please return, dear Rattata." In a manner of moments, Rattata was pulled inside the Poké Ball, and Snubbull blinked in confusion as the tail it was happily crunching on disappeared between its teeth. But before it could plop to the ground, the woman known as Tuscany snatched it up in her arms. "Oh my, aren't these pink bows simply darling?"
"My Snubbull!" Madame Muchmoney cried, finally appearing and huffing heavily as she approached.
"We've got you surrounded, miss!" one of the butlers told her. "And the police are on their way. Give up!"
"I think not, dearie. Now after I went through all that trouble at getting this rare and valuable item!" Tuscany replied, and produced another Poké Ball from her purse with a free hand. "I choose you, Kadabra!" The ball opened in the air, and a flash of plasma came pouring out of it and onto the grass. Seconds later, a light brown Pokémon holding a spoon and donning a pink star on its forehead and a short mustache sprouting from its nose appeared.
"Kadabra!" it cried, its voice echoing mystically.
"Kadabra dear, please blow them away with your Psychic attack!" Kadabra's eyes began to glow red, and it pointed its free hand toward the three butlers and their Growlithe. A blue glow appeared momentarily around the four of them before they froze in place. Eyes widening like saucers, they rose inches into the air as if they were suspended by strings before flying backwards.
Acting fast, Ash quickly pulled out a Poké Ball of his own. "Go, Heracross!" he called. The blue beetle-like Pokémon appeared in a blink of an eye, but no sooner did it cry out its name did it dart over to a flower garden and began to suck from a tulip like it was a teacup. Seeing this, Ash fell over onto his side with a groan. Quickly jumping onto his feet and feeling a blush burn his face, he yelled at it. "Heracross, stop that! Quick snacking and start attacking!" The Single Horn Pokémon pulled its face away from the flower it had been sipping on, and its eyes locked on the Kadabra before it.
"Herla!"
"Heracross, use your Horn Attack now!" Ash commanded. Leaping forward, Heracross lowered its head and rammed its horn straight into Kadabra's stomach. The Psi Pokémon gasped for air as all the breath in its lungs were forced out, and it fell onto its back.
"Kadabra, dear!" Tuscany cried. As she did, Madame Muchmoney's Snubbull managed to wriggle out of her grasp and jump to the ground. But instead of running over to its owner, Snubbull instead trotted over to Kadabra's bulbous tail and looked down curiously at it before biting down on the end.
"Kada-bra-a-a-a-a-a!" Kadabra shrieked, leaping into the air with involuntary tears of pain forming in the corners of its beady eyes.
"Oh! Stop behaving that way, Snubbull! You're going to get hurt!" Madame Muchmoney shouted with worry. "Stop it right now!"
"Great job, Snubbull! What a great Bite attack!" Gary cheered loudly beside her, earning a look of horror from the woman.
"How could you?!"
"Snubbull is defending her property," Gary explained to her. "You should try it. Tell your Snubbull to use her Tackle attack." The plump woman was simply aghast, and looked out onto the grass as Kadabra managed to shake Snubbull off its tail. The Fairy Pokémon fell onto its back, but quickly recovered and jumped back onto its feet. And, in fact, when it did, it bounced up and down with joy, as though it were having the time of its life. This was so astounding for the woman that the look of horror faded, and she only blinked behind her glasses.
"T... Tackle attack..." the madame sputtered out. Snubbull's ears perked up at the command, and it leapt forward in the blink of an eye. Kadabra was still recovering from its tail being in pain that it didn't have time to counter, and it skidded backwards.
"See! Snubbull looks like it's having fun!" Gary told the woman, who was uncharacteristically quiet.
"All right!" Ash cheered from the sidelines.
"That is not nice!" Tuscany barked as her eyebrows clashed together. "Kadabra, hit it back with your Headbutt attack!"
"Kadab!" the Psychic Pokémon responded, and floated into the air before darting forward and striking Snubbull with its forehead. Snubbull fell onto its back, and laid there for a moment before pulling itself back up onto its feet. Surprisingly, the attack didn't seem to do much, and Snubbull retaliated by glaring at Kadabra with dark shadows seeming to accentuate the folds in its face.
"There's her Scary Face attack!" Gary reported, and while Kadabra flinched back in shock and fear, Snubbull took advantage of the situation and once again bit down on Kadabra's tail. Kadabra once again cried out, and as Snubbull locked its jaw, the Psychic Pokémon stumbled around in an attempt to get it off.
"Snubbull's got a great Bite attack!" Ash commended. Finally, without needing a command, Snubbull let go of Kadabra, and shot off the ground before hitting it with another Tackle. While the Pokémon was lying on its back, Snubbull stood atop it and bounced up and down like it was a trampoline.
"Snubbull! I never knew you had so much extra energy!" Snubbull's owner said, a smile now forming on her chubby face as she folded her fingers together.
Just then, a loud uproar could be heard behind them, and Ash and Gary turned around to see that the police had finally arrived, and they were all running to join them with their nightsticks in the air. Tuscany's eyes widened in shock, and she quickly hurried over to her Kadabra to help it onto its feet. "Kadabra, quickly! Let us take our leave."
"Stop them with your Horn Attack, Heracross!" Ash commanded with a wave of his arm. Heracross cried out and opened its elytra to fly forward.
"Kadabra, use your Teleport," she said to it. Kadabra's body began to glow white, and soon, its Trainer's did as well. Just as Heracross was about to hit Kadabra with its Horn Attack, the pair disappeared. The group all sat in silence, but Tuscany did not reappear.
"Well, it's a shame that she got away, but you did a great job, Snubbull," Ash complimented the small Pokémon.
"You really showed 'em, Snubbull," Gary congratulated, and even Madame Muchmoney had nothing but nice words to say.
"I'm so proud of my brave Snubbull!"
"Snuuuuu!" Snubbull replied, smiling up at the three of them.
o 0 o
The food was cold, but Madame Muchmoney was nice enough to have her chef pack it up for the pair of traveling Trainers. Now that things had settled down, it was time for the pair to head back on the road. The plump woman stood outside the front door of her home holding her Snubbull, and this time, the Fairy Pokémon didn't look to want to get out. Surprisingly, it actually looked quite content. "It is certainly nice to see Snubbull not be so grumpy anymore," she smiled down at the pink Pokémon. "And today was to be the day she was going to be married to another Snubbull named Winthrop, too, but I had to call that off in case that young woman comes back."
"Would you like us to stay just in case she does?" Ash offered, but the woman shook her head.
"No. Now that I've seen her battle, I know she can be very independent." She smiled a lipstick-colored smile down at her Pokémon. "From now on, I'm going to be less overprotective and let her lead a more normal life."
"Then I'm sure she will be happy," Gary nodded. "Without needing to get married." And bending down, he petted the top of the Pokémon's head. "Take care, Snubbull."
"Snubbull certainly will. In fact, I'm turning a part of the garden into an exercise yard, just for Snubbull. Hopefully that will help get some of that extra energy out," she told them. "And I've ordered some... store-brand Pokémon food that should be arriving any moment now."
"Then I guess it's time we get out of here," Gary said to Ash, and the dark-haired boy nodded in response.
"Good-bye now, Snubbull," Ash said, also petting the top of its head before the pair turned around and stepped onto the moving sidewalk so it could take them to the front gate.
"Good luck on the rest of our journey," she called to them as it started to move.
"Thanks!"
"Thank you so much for everything you've taught me about Snubbull!"
"Bye!"
And finally, as the electronic sidewalk deposited them out of the gate, Ash and Gary's shoes finally stepped on pavement and they began their journey through town once again. "You've really changed, haven't you, Gary?" The statement seemed to throw off the older boy, and Gary's head whipped around and he shot his rival a look of surprise.
"How do you mean?"
"You really saw how unhappy that Snubbull was, and went out of your way to make sure it wasn't miserable," Ash said with a smile.
"Well, I can tell you one thing that hasn't changed," Gary retorted.
"What's that?"
"I'm still a much better Pokémon Trainer than you are!"
"H-hey!"
Ash:
Party:
Blastoise (Poké Ball) (m)
Moves: Skull Bash, Dig, Hydro Pump, BubbleBeam
Bulbasaur (Poké Ball) (m)
Moves: SolarBeam, Vine Whip, Razor Leaf, Sleep Powder
Charmeleon (Poké Ball)
Moves: Flamethrower, Fire Spin, Skull Bash, Slash
Heracross (Poké Ball) (m)
Moves: Horn Attack, Tackle
At Professor Oak's Lab:
Tauros (Safari Ball) x2 (m)
Moves: Fissure, Horn Attack, Take Down
Kingler (Poké Ball) (m)
Moves: Water Gun, Bubble, Crabhammer, Hyper Beam
Muk (Poké Ball)
Moves: Poison Gas, Sludge Bomb
Primeape (Poké Ball) (m)
Moves: Thrash, Mega Kick, Scratch, Seismic Toss
Pidgeotto (Poké Ball) (f)
Moves: Gust, Quick Attack, Whirlwind, Double-Edge
Kanto Badges:
Boulder Badge
Cascade Badge
Thunder Badge
Marsh Badge
Rainbow Badge
Soul Badge
Volcano Badge
Earth Badge
Diamond Badge
Indigo League Rank: Top 4
Johto Badges:
Gary:
Party:
Venusaur (Poké Ball) (m)
Moves: SolarBeam, Vine Whip, Razor Leaf, Mega Drain
Arcanine (Poké Ball)
Moves: Take Down, Fire Spin, Fire Blast, Flamethrower
Nidoqueen (Poké Ball) (f)
Moves: Strength, Hyper Beam, Mega Punch, Double Kick
Nidoking (Poké Ball) (m)
Moves: Horn Attack, Earthquake, Tackle
Pinsir (Poké Ball)
Moves: Fury Attack, ViceGrip
Hoothoot (Poké Ball)
Moves: Foresight, Peck
At Professor Oak's Lab:
200+ Pokémon
Kanto Badges:
Boulder Badge
Cascade Badge
Rainbow Badge
Seven unknown Badges
Indigo League Rank: Winner
Johto Badges: