Chapter 13
Despite being crowned luckiest of Cherrygrove City, their journey after departing the town was uneventful. Whether or not this was a good or bad omen was still up in the air, but the pair of Pallet Town natives continued their journey nevertheless. Following the flow opposite of the river north for quite some time, they traveled for a few days until finally, they arrived at the first sign of a town since Cherrygrove. The town was called Happy Town, a quaint, quiet town. It was very small, but the locals couldn't be determined, mostly because they had arrived somewhat late in the night.
Most of the residents had retired for the night, and with the town as small as it was, it didn't have much of a nightlife. Ash could tell from the way the lights were on in most of the houses, but barely a soul outside. But what was most ironic, was the name of the town. As the pair were anything but.
"My feet are... so sore..." Gary murmured. He could barely lift them up, and dragged them across the concrete they walked on.
"So are mine," Ash added. "And I'm starving..."
"We need to find a place to stop for the night or I'm going to collapse." And as they passed the center of town, a building that stuck out amongst the rest caught their eyes. A one-story building with a domed, red roof and a welcoming 'P' over both the doorway and on the roof. The sight of the building brought a smile to both of their eyes.
"Hey look! Gary, it's a Pokémon Center!" Ash said, his voice filled with obvious relief. A spurt of energy filled their aching muscles and they rushed ahead. "They'll have lots of food and soft beds!"
"And I'd kill for a nice hot shower!" Gary added. The path was lit up by a pair of streetlamps, and when they reached the door, Ash tried to pull open the doors, but it buckled and stayed shut. The smile that had so quickly grew on Ash's face withered as he tried the door once again as if there were some kind of error.
"Eh, I'd hate to tell you this, but I think it's closed," he reported.
"Closed?!" Gary repeated. "It's not anywhere near curfew."
Ash's knuckles tapped on the glass of the door after trying once more and confirming the door was locked. "Hello in there! Anybody home?" He knocked again, this time a bit louder. "Hey, Nurse Joy!" There was no answer, and Ash's arm lowered in defeat. "Sure is funny; I wonder where she is." His exhaustion overtook his logic and he raised his arm again to knock. "Anybody-" But he never got a chance to knock before the door opened on the dark-haired boy, throwing him onto his back. As Ash groaned, his face throbbing in pain, a large figure appeared in the now-open doorway and looked down at Ash.
"Blissey?" it questioned, blinking in confusion and worry as it looked down at the boy.
Peeling himself off the concrete, Ash rubbed his head where the door had made contact with it. "Ow, my head..." he groaned.
"Blissey Blissey," the pink Pokémon said with worry, holding out its stubby hands helplessly. Taking this as an apology, he smiled and stood back up.
"That's okay! Gary's always telling me I have a thick skull," he assured the pink Pokémon. Now that he was looking across at it, he saw that it wasn't a Chansey like he had thought originally. Though very similar in the fact that it was round, pink, and had an egg in its pouch on its stomach, it was larger and different kind of tufts grew out of its head between the nurse's cap sitting comfortably on its head.
"Blissey! Blissey, blissey!" Seeing Ash's smile brought a grin of its own to its face, and it danced happily from foot to foot. The pendant around its neck glistened gold in the street lamp's light.
"That's certainly no Chansey," Gary observed curiously.
"Well, let's see." And Ash took out his Pokédex and scanned the new Pokémon.
"Blissey, the Happiness Pokémon. It is kindhearted and loves helping people. Blissey is the evolved form of Chansey."
"It certainly looks like an evolved form of Chansey," Gary said with a smile. "I bet the change from growths to fur on the sides of its head helps ease the younger Pokémon and children."
"Blissey!" The Happiness Pokémon nodded and grinned at Gary, though they weren't sure if it was because it agreed or if it was just smiling along with the youngest Oak boy.
Just then, a loud grumble filled the night air, and Blissey and Gary looked over to see Ash rubbing his stomach. "Oh, my stomach's reminding me it's empty..."
"Blissey! Blissey blissey!" The Normal-type Pokémon perked up hearing this, and it grabbed Ash's hand in its own before pulling him into the Pokémon Center. Gary followed close behind as Ash was dragged in by the Pokémon nurse, and it turned the corner and brought them into the cafeteria part of the Pokémon Center.
"H-hey, where are you taking me?" Ash asked. Finally, Blissey let go of his hand and rested its hands on its chest.
"Blissey, blissey!" it said to them before turning around and disappearing behind a pair of doors.
"I wonder what Blissey's doing," the Pokémon Trainer wondered aloud.
"Yeah..." Gary agreed, and both of them peered through the small window that was off to the side of the door, where they could see Blissey with its back turned to them humming happily and jumping back and forth excitedly. It seemed to be doing about a hundred things at once, but its body was so bulky they couldn't see past it.
"Whatever it is, it sure sounds happy."
"It almost looks like..." Gary began, but his suspicions were confirmed when Blissey stepped out of the area. The Happiness Pokémon was carrying three trays of food that had been stacked one on top of the other and held them forward like a trophy.
"Blissey!"
"Look! Blissey made a ton of food for us!" Ash grinned.
"Looks and smells great!" The compliment brought a smile of the highest degree to Blissey's cheerful face, and it skipped happily and ran across the linoleum to them, though it paid absolutely no mind to the way the trays were wobbling in its hands.
"W-woah, take it easy, Blissey," Ash warned as the pair flinched back with nerves.
"Y-yeah, don't move too fast when you're carrying trays like that." But the warnings fell on deaf ears, and out of fear of getting the food dropped on them, the pair turned tail and ran. Blissey only saw this as a game, however, and upped its speed to try and keep up with the pair.
"C'mon, Blissey! If you don't slow down, all that stuff is gonna-" Ash tried to spout, but he tripped and landed on his stomach. Pulling himself off the ground, he turned around just in time to look up and see the tower of food fall all over him. Ash's scream echoed through the whole cafeteria as hot eggs, sausages, rice, and tea covered him head to toe.
Blissey looked at Ash with a curious look, almost as if it were wondering how the boy had got so dirty in the first place despite being at fault. But, it perked up almost immediately and ushered Ash toward the exit. "Don't worry about it, Blissey; it was an accident!" Ash told it. "I know you were just trying to help." Blissey ushered Ash toward the back of the Pokémon Center where a communal bathroom sat in the very back. Seeing the shower, Ash smiled and looked over at Blissey. "I'll eat after I wash up."
"Blissey, blissey!"
Walking into the wash room, Ash immediately stripped and gave his clothes to Blissey so the Normal-type could throw them in the washing machine. Steam immediately filled up the room, and he used a sponge given to him by Blissey to scrub off the food that had fallen onto him. While it wasn't the best of circumstances that he was here, Ash couldn't help but hum a quiet song as the hot water opened his pores and gave relief to his aching muscles. He was just happy to no longer be traveling around.
Much to his surprise, the door to the washroom opened up, and he looked to see Blissey peeking its head instead and waving its arms excitedly. "Blissey! Blissey blissey blissey! Bliss!"
It took a moment for Ash to realize what it was asking, and a chuckle erupted from his throat. "Oh, sure, Blissey! It'd be great if you could wash my back!" Sitting on the stool in the room, he turned with his back facing the Normal-type as it closed the door behind it, and dropped the soapy sponge on the floor for Blissey to use. "It's been quite a while – I could use a good scrub!"
"Blissey!" the Normal-type chirped, and strangely enough, didn't pick up the sponge as it approached. "Blissey!"
Suddenly, a sharp pain raced up Ash's back, and an involuntary scream rose from his throat and echoed, once again reverberating through what seemed like the whole Pokémon Center. Ash jumped to his feet, wincing in pain and brought a hand to his back. It was extremely tender, and when he touched where Blissey had quote-unquote washed him, it made his skin scream out more. Flinching back from the pain, he looked at his hand and saw watery blood on his fingertips. His eyes widened, and he looked up finally to see Blissey staring at him, holding a sharp-bristled broom.
Blissey's eyes were filled with worry, and when it saw the blood on Ash's fingertips, its eyes widened, and immediately grabbed Ash's hand and tried to pull him out of the washroom. Quickly wrapping a towel around his waist so he wouldn't get dragged through the Pokémon Center completely naked, Blissey pulled him to a patient room, and seconds later, Gary emerged through the front door carrying Ash's backpack and his hat. His eyes immediately shot to Ash's back as the boy was laid on his stomach in the room, and widened.
"W-what happened?!"
"Uh, Blissey offered to wash my back..." Ash groaned, biting his lip from pain.
"Uh... well I think it's safe to say you won't need your back scrubbed for a while..." It was obvious that Blissey was feeling terrible, as it kept speaking to Ash and bowing its head while rummaging through the medicine cabinet that was to the right of the bed he laid on. "I think it's trying to apologize."
"Don't worry about it, Blissey," Ash told it. "I know you didn't try to hurt me on purpose. Do you have something you can put on it?"
"Blissey!" Hearing the words of forgiveness that left Ash's mouth, Blissey's face lit up and it happily rummaged through the cabinet before turning around with a cotton ball at the end of a pair of tweezers. Skipping up to the bed, it dipped the cotton ball and let it soak in the contents of the bottle before pulling it out absolutely dripping.
"Is that... rubbing alcohol...?" Ash sputtered.
"Oh no..." Gary whispered, wincing in anticipation. Without waiting for it to drain, Blissey put the cotton ball straight onto Ash's back, and for the third time that night, the Pallet Town boy let out an echoing howl, this time seeming to fill all of Happy Town with his scream.
While Gary attempted to calm Ash's thrashing about, Blissey immediately winced back, dropping the tweezers and cotton ball, and putting down the container of rubbing alcohol. "Blissey, blissey..." it muttered worriedly, and trotted over to the medicine cabinet once again. This time, it came back with a roll of gauze.
"C'mon Ash, sit up," Gary told him, trying to get his traveling companion into a sitting position. He mostly succeeded, but Ash was still writhing in pain from the stinging of the alcohol. This seemed to make Blissey stressed, and it fidgeted while unraveling the gauze. With a bit of panic in its face seeing Ash in a lot of pain, Blissey quickly wrapped the gauze around and around Ash's body. Slowly, his face started to rest once the gauze covered his back.
"Thanks, Blissey," Ash thanked, sighing with relief. The word of appreciation brought a big smile to Blissey's face, and it bounced excitedly so that its nurse's cap and broken gold pendant bounced.
"Blissey!" it sang, and excitedly began to wrap Ash more and more and hurriedly. Ash opened his mouth to scream, but before it could escape fully, Blissey covered his mouth with the bandages, and even the top of his head and down to his arms. Gary could only watch in silent horror as Blissey mummified his childhood rival before him. Finally, the last of the gauze was wrapped around Ash, and Blissey tied it off at his wrist and smiled at its work.
Just then, the door to the patient room opened up, and Nurse Joy's head peeked in. "Oh, Blissey!" she called, and when her eyes fell upon Ash, a scream of shock filled the room. Once she realized that Ash was a human under there, she blinked and looked between him, Gary, and Blissey. "W-what in the world is going on?!"
"Nurse Joy!" Gary said with relief, and Ash gave a muffled cry of relief as well. "We didn't think there was a Nurse Joy in this Pokémon Center!"
"I'm very sorry! I suffer from migraines, and had one this afternoon," she explained, hurrying inside. She wasn't dressed in her normal nurse's uniform, and instead looked as though she had just gotten out of bed. "We didn't have any patients and it was a quiet afternoon, so I closed up the shop and had Blissey watch over the center while I took some medicine and a nap. How long have you two been here?"
"We just showed up a bit ago," Gary told her. "We had just rolled into town and Blissey let us in. And it's been one disaster after another."
"Well, I can certainly see that," she chuckled, walking up to Ash and starting to untie the knot that Blissey had made in the bandages on his wrist. "I'll get this all straightened out. Why don't you start by telling me why this young man is all bandaged up?"
And so, as Nurse Joy undid the wrap job that Blissey had done, Gary explained to her the chain of events that had happened since they came in – Blissey making them food and spilling it all over Ash, offering to scrub Ash's back but ended up scraping it instead, and up to stinging his back with more-than-enough rubbing alcohol. Once the story was finished, Nurse Joy had properly bandaged the boy's back. All the while, Blissey had gone back and gotten Ash's clothes out of the washer. Those were at least done correctly, and Ash hurriedly slipped on his jeans so as to not feel so naked.
"I can't tell you how sorry I am for all the trouble my Blissey has caused for you, Ash," Nurse Joy apologized with a bow of her head.
"Blissey, blissey," the Happiness Pokémon added with a bow of its own.
"I just hope you can understand that Blissey only wants to help."
"Well... you think Blissey could help a little less?" Ash asked with a nervous chuckle, and Gary tried his best to stifle a chuckle.
"I know how you must feel, but Blissey's heart's always in the right place," Nurse Joy rejoined, looking sadly down at her Pokémon. "Anyway, I just want you to know that Blissey always tries very hard to be the best nurse it can be. Isn't that right?"
The positive words from its Trainer perked Blissey right up and it smiled up at her. "Blissey! Blissey!"
"Now, I'll set you guys up with a room, and breakfast will be on us tomorrow," Nurse Joy stated, smiling at them. "It's the least I can do to make up for Blissey!" And as she left the room, Ash's face fell along with his bare shoulders.
"Breakfast?"
o 0 o
The room that was provided to them was quite comfortable with two bunk beds inside. Gary took one of the beds, and Ash took the other. Exhaustion had swept over the older Pokémon Trainer and all he wanted to do was get to sleep, but Ash had something that was keeping him up: his stomach.
In the silence of the room, the sound of his stomach gurgling echoed almost as loud as his screams he had done throughout their arrival. "Some night... I didn't do anything wrong and I still got sent to bed without any supper..."
"Stop complaining, Ash!" Gary snapped, sitting up in his bed. "I'm just as hungry as you are! Or in case you forgot, the dinner that was supposed to be for me ended up on you! So go to sleep so we can have breakfast sooner!"
"Tell that to my stomach..." he moaned.
o 0 o
After a restless night of hearing Ash's stomach grumble all night, the pair were up bright and early and sitting at a table in the cafeteria in the Pokémon Center. With her migraine completely gone, Nurse Joy was now providing all of their Pokémon with food while Blissey was working hurriedly in the kitchen.
"Here's the moment you've been waiting for, Ash," Gary joked.
"Yeah! Blissey's cooking up something special!" he answered excitedly. Just then, the door to the kitchens opened up, and Blissey came skipping out carrying a stack of trays in a repeat of what had happened the night before. Both Ash and Gary screamed and leapt from their seats in fear with their eyes locked on the bouncing trays. "Aaaahhh! Not again!"
"I'm starting to get a sense of déjà vu!" But despite their terrors from the night before, Blissey skipped up to their table and gently put the plates of food down in front of them. The food had made it safely on the table, and they both let out a sigh of relief.
"That was a close one..." Ash sighed, and then his face lit up. "But Blissey came through! Let's dig in, Gary!" And without any further ado, they both began to dig into the hot meal that was given to them.
"Blissey, blissey!"
"Thanks, Blissey!" both Trainers said with their mouths full.
o 0 o
A burst of energy took Ash running tirelessly up a large hill. The energy source wasn't from anything he had done, but more of what lay on the other side of the grassy plateau: they had finally arrived at Violet City.
At the top of the hill with his chest heaving but a smile on his face, he looked down at the city with starry eyes. From the distance they were at, they could see the whole city in a bird's eye view. Taking a few seconds to let his lungs gather enough air, he turned around to look at Gary, who was still making his way up the hill as if he were in no rush himself. "Hey, c'mon, Gary! Let's hurry up! We gotta get down there!" The older boy ignored him and didn't quicken his pace, so Ash looked forward and smirked down at the city. "Violet City Gym – here I come!"
In order to get to the Pokémon Center, they had to pass through the residential area of the city first. Now that they had finally reached the destination that they were aiming for, there was an extra pep in Ash's step, and he was practically skipping ahead of Gary. "I wonder where the Gym is," Ash wondered aloud, and as if anticipating Ash's question, the older boy was already nose-deep in the guidebook.
"The guidebook says it's a little bit north of here," Gary relayed. Suddenly, the auburn-haired boy stopped in place and turned to the right where his eyes fell upon two pairs of smaller eyes peeking out at him from around a brick wall. Ash stopped after hearing Gary stop, and turned around just in time to hear one of the eyes speak up.
"Hey... were you in the Pokémon League?" a young boy's voice asked. Gary was taken slightly aback both by the question and the sudden appearance of the two children, and he blinked.
"Uh, yeah..." No sooner had he said his response, the two children – now revealed to be a boy and a girl – came running out and jumped on him. The two each grabbed one of his hands, and began to pull at them.
"See Lizzie, I told you he was the Pokémon League winner!" the boy with the dark hair said to the other girl.
"I bet you have lots of Pokémon! Can I have one?!"
"No, I want a Pokémon! I saw him first!"
"No, I did!"
"Hey, I was in the Pokémon League, too!" Ash piped up, jumping forward and raising his hand.
"We don't care," the two children said at the same time whilst glaring daggers at him, and the blunt force of their words caused Ash to collapse onto his back.
"Zackie! Lizzie!" an older woman's voice called out, and they all looked over to see a woman running from the nearby building with worry clear on her face. She looked very professional in her light blue dress and black blouse, both of which complimented her pinned up dark blue hair whose curls bobbed and weaved to and fro as she ran. "You should be in class! What are you doing out here?"
"We were just out here trying to find Pokémon," the boy with the messy hair explained to her nonchalantly.
The young woman caught up to them outside of the gate and after evening her breath, bowed to Gary and Ash in apology. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I hope my students haven't caused a problem!"
"Miss Priscilla, this guy is a Pokémon Trainer who competed in the Pokémon League!" Zackie told his teacher excitedly, and then turned back to Gary. "We know all about Pokémon training because we're gonna be Trainers when we graduate from the Pokémon Academy!"
"The Pokémon Academy?" Ash repeated, pulling himself up off the ground.
"Yes," the teacher nodded. "The Pokémon Academy is a special school where I teach very young children who want to be Pokémon Trainers all about Pokémon, how to train them, and how to take care of them."
"That's pretty cool," Gary complimented. "I'm Gary Oak from the town of Pallet. If you'd like, I'd be more than happy to give a lecture about the hardships of being a Pokémon Trainer."
"You would really do that?"
"But Gary, what about the Violet Gym?" Ash whispered, but Gary gave his rival one of his trademark smirks.
"I'm always happy to spend time with my fans – no matter how young." Ash's eyebrows fell over the top of his eyes with complete annoyance as soon as the words left his mouth.
"Well, we'll have to talk it over with the principal, but I'm sure something could be arranged," Miss Priscilla said, and the two students cheered and jumped in place before the group headed toward where the teacher had run out from.
Inside, it didn't take long for the principal of the school to come down from his office into the classroom. The pair were surprised at how eccentric the man was as he twirled in. His hair curled in the same way that his mustache did, and he was dressed in a tight purple leotard despite the fact that he was a husky man. Around his waist was a tan cloth that blew in the breeze as he twirled. "I velcome you two to the Pokémon Academy!" he said and twirled around and around with one hand in the air and one foot tucked against his opposite inner thigh. "I hereby name you honorary teachers so you can tell our students all about Pokémon!"
Ash and Gary didn't seem all that thrilled, and in fact were greatly taken aback by the man. The children, however, were extremely excited by the approval, and cheers and laughs of glee erupted throughout the classroom. "This is our principal, Mr. Earl Dervish," Miss Priscilla introduced.
"So, vhat do you say, Trainers? Join us! Give teaching a whirl!"
"Is he always this... er, eccentric?" Gary asked the teacher in a hushed whisper, but she only chuckled.
"I just love a person who dances with that kind of energy, don't you?" Gary hesitated in response, but only opted not to respond at all.
Mr. Dervish twirled out of the room, laughing gaily as he did, and left them all with the children's eyes staring at them full of glittering excitement. Of course, Ash being Ash, volunteered to go first to talk to the children about Pokémon, and as he took the podium, Gary and Miss Priscilla stepped off to the side.
Taking his hat off his head and crushing it nervously in his hands, he cleared his throat. Now that he was up on the center stage, he was now drawing a blank on where exactly to start. "The most important thing a new Pokémon Trainer has to remember is..." He slammed his hand down on the polished top of the wood, hoping the answer would come to him, but none came, and he soon could feel sweat collecting at his temple. "Uh, let's see now... what was it... It's on the tip of my tongue..."
"Why don't you just tell us about Pokémon battles?" Ash looked up and saw that it was the young boy that had discovered Gary who had spoken up. The class murmured approvingly, and the Pallet Town native perked up.
"Have you battled a lot of Pokémon, Ash?" the girl sitting beside him asked.
"I've battled all kinds of Pokémon!" he responded now that he got his stride once again, and smirked as he placed his hat upon his dark locks once again. "I made it to the top four when I competed in the Pokémon League at the Indigo Plateau!" Once again, a murmur of excitement splashed over the children, and they all chattered approvingly at their classmates, and this was all going straight to his head. "I don't want you to think I'm bragging."
"Even though you are, Ashy-boy," Gary muttered with a roll of his eyes.
"Who cares! We want to listen to Gary! He was the winner!" Zackie spoke up, and instantly, Ash's head fell like a hot air balloon that had burst.
"Wise guy..." he grumbled. Before Gary could step up and let the attention be on him, Ash's face lit up like the idea in his head and smiled out at the class. "Hey, why don't we all go outside for an early recess and you can all meet our Pokémon!"
The screaming of excitement was unanimous, and the kids instantly jumped from their seats. The sound of the legs scraping against the floor didn't even come close to the commotion of enthusiasm that was erupting from the children, and they could barely manage to get the kids in a single-file line to lead them outside.
Once they finally had spilled out into the front yard of the school's property, they all gathered around Ash and Gary, and the older Pallet Town Trainer stepped up first with his Poké Ball in his arms. "Get ready, kids," Gary said, and then threw his six Poké Balls forward. One by one, his Pokémon appeared on the ground facing the kids. Venusaur shook its flower as it appeared, and both Nidoking and Nidoking roared lightly, but stopped when they saw the children. Arcanine howled lightly and let the wind blow through its fur, and Pinsir and Hoothoot looked around. Instantly, Hoothoot glared at Ash and shot at him like a rocket, hooting loudly before landing on the boy's head and pecking at him through his hat.
"Ow ow ow ow!" Ash cried, trying to bat away the Owl Pokémon, and the children laughed at the scene. Once the Pokémon Trainer was able to knock away Gary's Pokémon, he threw his own Poké Balls forward. "Come on out, everybody!" Handfuls of light burst from the five Poké Balls thrown forward, and each one appeared at the same time.
"Bulba-saur!"
"Herla-cruh!"
"Blastoise!"
"Chika!"
"Chaaar!"
Now that all of the Pokémon were out, the kids cheered with excitement and rushed out to go play with them. But while the kids ran toward them, Chikorita ran in Ash's direction, and snuggled up between him and Blastoise.
A young boy seemed to be completely enthralled with Ash's Bulbasaur, and Heracross attempted to take advantage of the distraction by sneaking up behind the Seed Pokémon to suck on its bulb, but Bulbasaur sensed this and glared behind it before whipping at the Single Horn Pokémon with its vines, earning a few laughs.
Gary's Pokémon, though slightly intimidating, seemed to do all right with the children. Especially Arcanine and Nidoqueen. Arcanine was popular with the young girls, and it let each of the kids take turns riding on its back. Nidoqueen was very motherly by nature, and let children swing on its arms. Nidoking did the same, but Pinsir stood off to the side uncomfortably, and whenever a child got close, it would clip its pincers together, weeding away the weak, but keeping around the stronger-willed.
The young boy, Zackie, walked up to Gary and looked up. "Gary, where is your Blastoise that you had in the final battle of the Pokémon League?" he asked, and curled his fingers around his eyes. "The one with the sunglasses."
"Oh, he's at home in Pallet Town with my grandfather along with a lot of my other Pokémon," Gary explained. "I only brought a few that I caught in the Kanto region along with me." Zackie seemed to frown slightly, and then disappeared in the background while the three oldest of the group watched with smiles on their faces.
"I can still remember how happy I was the first I played with a real Pokémon," Ash said while he watched how happy they all got.
Gary's dark eyes scanned the children with a light smile on his face, but then something in the distance caught his eye and he pointed ahead. "Excuse me, ma'am, but what's that tower over there?"
"Oh, that's called the Sprout Tower," she answered. It was a tower that stood out high above the trees with a dark blue roof that resembled traditional Japanese architecture.
"Sprout?"
"I know it may sound strange at first, but it actually makes a lot of sense. The tower's supported by one beam that sways back and forth – just like a Bellsprout does."
"Uh, if the beam moves back and forth, how come the whole tower doesn't move?" Ash asked.
"It just so happens that I'm taking my class on a field trip to the tower today, so if you're interested, you two can come along and see the Sprout Tower for yourselves."
"Sure, that sounds great," the two boys agreed.
Meanwhile, off to the side of Ash, Blastoise was staring down at a young boy who was looking up at it with intense blue eyes. The boy was Zackie, and he was just looking into Blastoise's eyes as though looking into its soul. Blastoise looked extremely uncomfortable as the two stared in silence at each other. Finally, Zackie spoke up. "C'mon, Blastoise."
"Blast?"
"Forget about Ash and be my Pokémon." Blastoise raised one of its brows, as if it didn't believe what it was hearing. "What's so great about him anyway? Wouldn't you rather be my Pokémon?"
"Blast-toise," Blastoise scoffed, and turned its nose into the air to finally break eye contact.
"Okay, then I'm just gonna take 'ya!" And Zackie then launched himself onto Blastoise and wrapped his limbs around the Pokémon. Unfortunately, Zackie was only big enough to wrap himself around Blastoise's leg, and be nothing more of an annoyance to the Shellfish Pokémon.
"Blast, blastoise," Blastoise grumbled, and shook its leg wildly enough to fling Zackie off it like an old piece of gum. As Zackie bounced off the ground, Ash heard the commotion and turned around.
"A-ah! Blastoise, what are you doing?" he asked with alarm. Running up to Zackie, who was sitting on his back end, he reached out to him. "Are you okay?"
"Go away!" Zackie snapped, lashing out an arm in warning. Ash flinched back, but then chuckled and smiled at the young boy.
"Anything I can do?"
"Yeah, you can let me have your Blastoise!" The statement caught Ash by surprise, and the Pallet Town boy gasped. "Give me Blastoise!"
"Now you know I can't do that," Ash tried to reason with him, but the boy soon began to cry and flail his arms around in a temper tantrum.
"I want Blastoise! I want Blastoise! I want Blastoooooooiiiiiiissseee!"
"I'm stumped, Blastoise..." Ash murmured to his starter Pokémon, running his fingers through the hair that was peeking out under his hat. Blastoise sighed in annoyance at the boy's temper tantrum. "What do I do now?"
With Ash's guard down, Zackie stopped the crocodile tears and his eyes flashed while he smirked. Jumping to his feet, he ran at Ash and pushed into him. The push wasn't enough to knock Ash down, but enough to make the boy stumble backward. Zackie caught his bearings and whipped around before holding out his hand. In between his fingers was a Poké Ball, and with a press of the button on its face, it grew in his hand. "Thanks a lot for the Poké Ball, Ashy."
Ash's eyes widened when he realized that he had been played, and he held out his hands and waved them wildly. "No, Zackie!"
"I'm gonna catch a Blastoise!" Zackie declared, pulling his arm back to throw the ball. But Blastoise was faster. Glaring down at Zackie, it let its cannons out from its shell and let loose a small Hydro Pump from them down at the young boy. The Water-type attack hit the ground by Zackie's feet purposefully, but it was still powerful enough to send the boy flying through the air and clattering to the ground some distance away. The boy's eyes widened and he blinked in disbelief at what had just happened, and then suddenly, tears started to form at his water-line.
"Z-Zackie!" Ash cried, but when he took a step forward, the boy jumped up, and with the empty Poké Ball still in his grip, he ran past the gates of the school and disappeared around the corner. "Zackie, you're not supposed to leave the playground!" Gary and Miss Priscilla saw this last part unfold, and rushed up to join Ash just as Zackie disappeared. "I'm so sorry, Miss Priscilla. Blastoise doesn't normally do that kind of thing – I think it was just uncomfortable."
"No, it's okay. Little Zackie gets so caught up in wanting to catch a Pokémon that he sometimes gets carried away," she told him. "His favorite Pokémon is Blastoise, and it is all he can ever talk about when he talks about Pokémon."
"This is kind of our fault, buddy," Ash said to Blastoise. "I think we better go look for him before he gets too far." Blastoise gave a sideways grimace, but agreed nevertheless and nodded. "Everybody, return!" One by one, Ash recalled each of his Pokémon back into their Poké Balls – aside from Blastoise. The children who were playing with the Pokémon frowned with disappointment as Ash's Pokémon were converted into energy and disappeared.
"When you find him, bring him to the Sprout Tower so he doesn't miss the field trip," Gary told his rival.
"Okay," Ash agreed, and he and Blastoise headed toward the gate. "I'll see you over at the tower in a little while, guys!" And with that, they left the school grounds and headed into the nearby woods.
o 0 o
The forest wasn't very big, and with the silence hanging over it, it was easy to find Zackie. All the pair had to do was follow the sound of his crying. Ash and Blastoise pushed through the bushes and trees for only fifteen minutes max until they reached the younger boy. When they caught up with him, he was sitting on the ground and hugging his knee. Ash could see a scrape under the hem of his dark green shorts, and a little bit of blood was running down his leg. "Zackie! Are you okay? What happened?"
"I tripped and hurt my knee..." Zackie muttered, sniffing up a trail of mucus that was dripping from his nostril. He wiped the remaining with his bare arm and then wiped his tears. "What are you doing here?"
"We were worried about you, weren't we, Blastoise?"
"Blas..." his Pokémon muttered, barely audible, but a glare from Ash made it plaster a false toothy grin on its face.
"Blastoise is really sorry that he blasted you like that, Zack. You just have to understand: Blastoise is my first Pokémon and best friend; I can't just give it away." Zackie was quiet and his eyes simply stared at the ground. "Why don't you give me back my Poké Ball, and we can go meet your class at the Sprout Tower after we help your leg?"
"Fine..." the young boy murmured. "I dropped the Poké Ball when I tripped..." He stood up and stepped off into some bushes. But when he emerged from the bushes, he smirked mischievously and threw the Poké Ball. "Blastoise, you're mine!" The Poké Ball left Zackie's fingers and flew through the air, and Blastoise winced completely out of instinct and waited for the Poké Ball to make contact with it, but instead, the ball opened up in midair. Much to everyone's surprise, the ball released a flash of plasma from inside that poured down onto the mossy ground, and the light came together to form a skinny Pokémon with two leaves on the side of its body and a yellow head.
"Bellsprout. Bellsprout. Bellsprout, Sprout. Bellsprout," it chanted. All three stared with wide eyes blinking as the Pokémon swayed back and forth in place.
"Huh?" Zackie sputtered.
"It's a Bellsprout..." Ash observed. "You must have accidentally caught it when you tripped." Neither of them knew what to do at this point, so Ash used a little bit of cloth from his backpack – plus some of Blastoise's water to soak them – and wrapped up Zackie's leg best he could. "There, now you'll feel better in no time. Now let's head off to Sprout Tower."
Leaving the forest, the three of them followed the trail, with the large tower in the distance hanging high above the treeline like a beacon calling to them. But, following close behind Zackie was Bellsprout. The Flower Pokémon stayed close to the small boy and wobbled back and forth with each step, all the while looking up at the dark-haired boy. Opposite it, Zackie looked at the Grass Pokémon with an unsure grimace on his face.
Finally, with a huff, Zackie turned his nose into the air to break the eye contact. Bellsprout huffed as well, and mirrored him. The schoolboy noticed this and glared. "Quit copying me!" he snapped. Bellsprout just about jumped a foot off the ground and wiggled in distress.
"Zackie, I know you caught your Bellsprout by accident, but don't you think you ought to try and make the best of it?"
"I wanted Blastoise, not some wobbly little Bellsprout," he puffed, his chest heaving up and down.
"I think it's kinda nice."
"I WANT BLASTOISE!"
"I know..." Ash replied nervously, rubbing the back of his head and glancing back at his Blastoise. They continued walking, and Zackie was quiet for a few moments before he smiled.
"Hey, I know! How about if I trade you! My Bellsprout for your Blastoise!"
"Nooooo way." Now it was Ash's turn to raise his nose in the air. The act made Zackie's tears start up again, and the boy once again began to cry. "C'mon, Zackie, Bellsprout could be really fun."
"Bellsprout, Bellsprout." The Pokémon spoke to gain its new Trainer's attention, and when Zackie looked down at it, it waved its body in a way so that its head would wobble from side to side as it moved. It bobbed around like a buoy on the surface of the ocean. As it did, it chanted, "Bell. Sprout. Bell. Sprout. Bell. Sprout." Slowly but surely, a smile grew on the schoolboy's face, and this encouraged Bellsprout to go farther, and it spun around and around, almost similar to how Earl Dervish was earlier that day. Zackie's tears dried as he placed his hands on his stomach, and giggled. His giggle was contagious, and soon Ash was laughing as well.
o 0 o
As soon as they approached the tower, Miss Priscilla immediately ran forward. Similar to the look she had when they first met her, she looked worried, and something told Ash this was something that Zackie put her through constantly. "Zackie! Are you all right?! I was worried sick about you!"
"We made it through all right," Ash assured her, exchanging a smile with Zackie as the party of two merged with the class.
"Late as usual, Ashy-boy," Gary smirked. "We were about to head up to the higher floors of the tower." Walking in through the front entrance, Ash's mouth opened wide as he looked at the structure ahead. The description that Miss Priscilla had given them at the school had been accurate, but whatever Ash thought in his mind couldn't compare to the vision he saw in front of him. A huge square column was in the center of the room with wooden beams to block passage further. The wooden beam swayed back and forth, creaking with age as it did so. But strangely enough, the tower did not. It was quite a sight to behold.
The group walked single-file up the wooden stairs to get to the next floor. This floor looked very similar to the ground floor – polished floor that orbited the beam that rocked back and forth. "Wow! This is simply incredible," Ash complimented.
"Ah, you must be from Earl's Pokémon Academy," a new voice spoke up. Miss Priscilla looked ahead and saw an older man with a goatee donned in violet and goldenrod robes approaching.
"Yes, we are. We appreciate you opening the tower for us, sir," she replied, giving a slight bow, and then turned to Ash and Gary. "This is the Elder Sage Li – he is the Elder of the Sprout Tower Sages who look after the Sprout Tower."
"Nice to meet you," Gary said, bowing his head politely.
"What a cool place to work," Ash breathed, unable to take his eyes off the swaying beam, but when he did, he got struck in the back of the head by Gary.
"You need to be more polite," the auburn-haired boy hissed.
"S-sorry."
But, surprisingly, the elder man chuckled and waved a hand. "No apology needed. This tower is certainly fascinating, and it is what drew my eye to Violet City when I first came here as a boy."
"Can I ask the reason why the beam is the only thing that sways back and forth?" Ash questioned, and the sage nodded and turned to the beam after he tucked his hands into his sleeves.
"Legend has it that the Sprout Tower's swaying beam was created from a 100-foot tall Bellsprout," he answered.
"One hundred feet?!" Ash and Gary exclaimed at the same time.
"Yes. And as such, the swaying pillar protects the building from sudden earthquakes. But most importantly, a lot of Trainers come to Violet City stop here on their way to the Johto League. Us sages teach others the delicate and peaceful natures of the Bellsprout, and to train those who require it for the Johto League."
"The delicate and peaceful natures... of the Bellsprout?" Ash heard Zackie whisper, looking down at his own Bellsprout, who also seemed enthralled in the swaying beam.
"So you mean people come here to train for the Violet Gym?" Ash asked after looking away from the younger boy. Ash's eyes lit up, but even before the elder could answer or Ash could follow up, Gary moved in front of his rival and placed a hand on his chest.
"My name is Gary Oak, sir, and I was the winner of the Pokémon League at the Indigo Plateau. I'm looking to challenge the Violet Gym, and I'd be honored to battle with you." The old man peered at Gary, studying him for a moment, and then let out a breath of air that moved his mustache under his nose and nodded.
"I would be honored to do battle with such a profound Trainer," he responded.
"How about it, kids? Do you want to see Gary have a battle with Elder Li?" Miss Priscilla asked, and all of the children cheered with excitement. Everyone looked happy, aside from Ash, whose cheeks puffed out in jealousy.
"I wanted to challenge him..."
The children all moved to a safe distance behind Gary, and with Ash and Zackie in the front, they waited in anticipation as the two challengers took their positions on the polished wooden floor. "We shall engage in a one-on-one battle."
"Right," Gary nodded in agreement.
With the rules set, Elder Li reached into his sleeve and produced a Poké Ball from inside it. "Go!" He waved his arm and threw his Poké Ball, and in a flash of light, a Bellsprout appeared in front of him and crossed its leaves similar to how the elder had his arms crossed underneath his sleeves.
"Bellsprout!" it stated.
"The elder of Sprout Tower has a Bellsprout?!" Zackie exclaimed, looking at his own newly-caught Bellsprout.
"You should pay close attention to this battle, Zackie," Ash told him. "You may learn that Bellsprout are a lot more powerful than they look."
Gary looked upon the elder sage's Bellsprout and his choice was soon clear. Pulling out a Poké Ball, he held it up and threw it forward. "I choose you!" The ball opened in the air, and his Hoothoot came flying out of the light.
"Hoo-hoo!"
Gary didn't even give Hoothoot a chance to land on the ground before declaring the first attack. "Hoothoot, hit it with your Peck attack!" Flapping its wings as fast as it could, Hoothoot shot at Bellsprout with its red eyes glaring daggers. Both the elder and his Bellsprout sat in silence, waiting for the right moment.
"Bellsprout, use your Reflect attack," he finally said upon opening his eyes.
"Bellsprout!" the Grass-type responded and held out its leaves. An orange barrier appeared around the Flower Pokémon's body just as Hoothoot drove its beak toward its opponent. Its beak collided with the shield, and it shattered, which surprised Hoothoot and drove back Bellsprout slightly.
"That Reflect attack was one of the strongest ones I've ever seen," Gary muttered in amazement. "Peck is a super-effective attack, but Bellsprout hardly looks like it took any damage at all."
"Bellsprout, now use Swords Dance," Li commanded. Hardly giving Hoothoot any chance to recover from blocking its attack, Bellsprout went on the offensive. Stepping forward, it sliced at the air repeatedly with one leaf after another. Hoothoot began to flap its wings wildly, both to dodge Bellsprout's assault and because it was caught off-guard by the onslaught of attacks.
"Bell! Sprout! Bell! Sprout!"
"Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!" Back and forth, Bellsprout sliced the air with its razor-sharp leaves, and Hoothoot dodged as quickly as it could, but it was being forced backwards as well. With each swipe, Bellsprout took a step forward, and Gary could see that he was quickly being cornered.
"Hoothoot, you've got to fly!" Gary cried.
"Too late!" Elder Li declared, his eyes flashing. "Bellsprout, Cut attack!"
"Bellsprout!" Bellsprout suddenly dashed forward, and before Hoothoot could flap its wings to shoot into the air, it slashed across Hoothoot's body and landed behind it. The Normal and Flying-type gave a final hoot before it collapsed to the ground on its side with swirls in its eyes.
"Gary lost?! Against a Bellsprout?!" Zackie exclaimed, his mouth dropping open. "But he won the Pokémon League!"
"That was quite a strategy," Gary complimented, smiling as he recalled his Pokémon into its Poké Ball. "Using Reflect to draw me in, and then exhausting Hoothoot with Swords Dance while also raising Bellsprout's attack, and then delivering the final blow with Cut."
"You see, Zackie?" Ash asked the younger boy. "You can't judge a Pokémon by how it looks. All Pokémon can be raised into powerful ones if you give them the right amount of love and training."
"You battled marvelously, young man," Elder Li said, and bowed his head after he recalled his Bellsprout. "I wish you luck in your Gym battle."
o 0 o
Class was wrapping up for the day, and soon the children would have to go back to their homes. But not before seeing their new temporary teachers off. Standing at the front gate with both Miss Priscilla and Mr. Dervish, Ash and Gary looked back at the smiling faces and bright eyes. "And so, future Pokémon Trainers, I wish you..." Ash hesitated before scratching the back of his head and chuckling. "Come to think of it, I'm not sure what I wish for you. Except good luck and great Pokémon!" He waved two fingers at the children and winked at them.
"And I hope you have good luck in the Johto League," Zackie replied, smiling brightly at Ash while his Bellsprout gyrated beside him. The change in Zackie brought a smile to his face, and he gave the boy a thumbs up.
"He'll have to beat me first," Gary piped up with one of his trademark smirks, and Ash growled at his rival while the others chuckled.
"Hey Ash, if we train hard, do you think I can make my Bellsprout evolve into a Weepinbell and then into a Victreebel?!"
Ash nodded without a second of hesitation. "And then maybe someday we can battle each other!"
"Great!"
"Beee-eee-eeelll!" Bellsprout added, sensing its Trainer's excitement and rolling its body in response.
Ash:
Party:
Blastoise (Poké Ball) (m)
Moves: Skull Bash, Dig, Hydro Pump, BubbleBeam
Bulbasaur (Poké Ball) (m)
Moves: SolarBeam, Vine Whip, Razor Leaf, Tackle
Charmeleon (Poké Ball)
Moves: Flamethrower, Fire Spin, Skull Bash, Slash
Heracross (Poké Ball) (m)
Moves: Horn Attack, Tackle
Chikorita (Poké Ball)
Moves: Razor Leaf, Tackle, Vine Whip
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
Stantler (Poké Ball)
Moves: Hypnosis
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: Rock Smash, 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: