Chapter 24

With Azalea Town free of the drought's clutches at long last, the gang now were gathered at Kurt's estate. While his house wasn't exactly a mansion, it was clear that he certainly had enough room for him and his granddaughter to live together in. According to Kurt, the house had been in his family's possession for generations.

Sitting beside each other in front of an old fashion low-standing table, Ash and Gary sat across from Kurt and his young granddaughter Maizie. A young girl who looked to be nearing double-digit age but not quite there yet, with her dark brown hair tied into two large loops on the sides of her head and cute button-nose appearance, there was hardly no resemblance to Kurt's more rough features at all.

"Thanks a lot, you guys!" Maizie thanked them after the story had been told to her while Brock went to the kitchen to make tea. "You really helped us out! We sure are lucky you came along! The whole town owes you for saving the well, but I'm just glad you helped Grandpa."

"She's right," Kurt nodded in agreement. "I just wish there was some way to show you how grateful we are."

"We're just really glad we could help," Ash brushed off by folding his hands behind his head. And suddenly, like he was being timed on a game show, Brock came rushing in carrying a tray of cups and a matching tea pot as well. Wearing the familiar pink apron that he had been wearing when they had left him at Professor Ivy's back on Valencia Island, Kurt and Maizie seemed almost used to the rushing former Gym Leader as he hurriedly placed the cups down on the table and hastily poured the pungent piping tea into their cups before running back into the kitchen to drop off the carrying tray.

When he disappeared from the room again, Ash and Gary exchanged confused looks while the other two at the table sipped their tea. "I have a feeling we're never going to learn what happened at Professor Ivy's..." Ash whispered to his traveling companion.

"She probably dumped him," Gary hissed back, but shushed Ash when Brock came back into the room and plopped down beside the winner of the Indigo League.

"Now then," Kurt began once Brock had rejoined them without his apron. He folded his arms into the sleeves of his deep blue kimono and his face hardened into his stone-like mask. "Didn't you say you had something for me?"

"Actually, yeah," Ash replied with a nod of his own.

"We're here on an errand from my grandfather, Professor Oak," Gary told him. At this, Kurt's eyes widened in a faint show of emotions.

"Really?! You're the grandson of Professor Oak himself?"

"Who's Professor Oak, Grandpa?" his granddaughter asked him.

"Now Maizie; I'm sure if you think back on all your lessons, you'll remember that Professor Oak is the greatest Pokémon researcher in the world!" Hearing Kurt say this sent a chill down Ash's spine. It was so odd to hear people praise the Pokémon professor that he had known all his life – he always just thought of him growing up as a goofy old man who loved Pokémon.

"Oh," Maizie droned. "But if Professor Oak is so great, what does he need them for?"

"He asked us to come here because we obtained a certain Poké Ball that my grandpa can't figure out," Gary explained. "We don't know anything about it, but the... professor who discovered it has called it the 'GS Ball'." Gary made sure to skip over Professor Ivy's name and sent a look in Brock's direction when he did, but even then, Brock choked on his tea at the brief flashback.

"The GS Ball..." Kurt murmured, and his dark eyes pondered in quiet thought.

"Why don't you give it to him, Gare," Ash suggested, and the auburn-haired Trainer nodded before rummaging through his bag and retrieving the special Poké Ball.

Kurt took the ball and pulled it close to his face, inspecting it closely before giving a gasp. "Why this ball..."

"Do you know what it is?!" Gary jumped.

"C'mon, the suspense is killing us!" Ash added. "We're begging you!"

"All right..." Kurt continued with a faint shadow spreading over his face. "It's clear that the ball is..."

"It's clear that the ball is..?!" Ash, Gary, and Brock parroted at the same time.

Kurt continued to think of a moment to put his thoughts into words. "...some kind of Poké Ball." After a beat, the three of them all groaned and fell back in their seats.

"Next thing you know he'll tell us it's round..." the black-haired Trainer murmured under his breath.

"Or gold and silver..." Gary added with exasperation.

"I'm so sorry," Kurt apologized bashfully. "I really do hate to disappoint you children." Beside him, Maizie seemed to stare at the Poké Ball in her grandfather's hand with eyebrows reaching her forehead. "Once I've looked at it more closely, I should be able to say more."

"Don't worry, you guys!" Maizie assured them. "If anybody can figure this out, it's my grandpa."

"Thanks a lot for trying to help us out, Kurt," Ash thanked with a slight smile.

"Would it be all right if I used your phone, sir?" Gary questioned, standing up from his seated position. "I'd like to let my own grandfather know that I've dropped the ball off with you and give him an update."

"Sure," Kurt replied, though he didn't take his eyes off the mysterious Poké Ball in his hands. "Just down the hall and in the parlor." They all stood, and with Kurt and Maizie heading off in another direction, Ash and Brock followed Gary after Kurt's instructions and they sat down at the video phone set up against the wall.

The Pokémon Trainer typed in the phone number he knew by memory and waited for the line to pick up. After only a single ring, the phone answered and screen lit up. "Hey, Grandpa," Gary greeted as his grandfather appeared on the screen.

"It's us!" Ash butted in, excitedly pushing Gary out of the way. "Guess what? We're calling you all the way from Kurt's house in Azalea Town!"

"Ah, so you finally made it there." The Pokémon professor's face stretched into a wide smile, and his eyes danced across the screen and fell on Brock. "Good to see you, Brock. I'm glad they finally met up with you." His eyes then fell to the center of the screen where Gary had just shoved Ash away from. "Have you had a chance to give Kurt the GS Ball like I asked you to?"

"Yeah, I gave it to him."

"And? What happened?"

"He's never seen anything like it, so he has no idea what it is, either," Brock answered.

"Really?"

"He did promise us he'd try and figure it out, though," Ash asserted.

"In that case, I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know the minute you learn anything new."

"Okay!" Brock answered for them all.

"Muk, muuuuuukk!" a cry sounded over the speakers, and soon Ash's Muk's gooey figure filled up half of the screen and attempted to form itself around Professor Oak.

"Hello, Muk! I'll be off the phone in a minute," the gray-haired professor told it with a slight chuckle. But the Poison-type Pokémon kept fighting and soon, Professor Oak let out a cry as he tumbled to the floor with Muk on top of him. After a moment or two of a blank screen that only showed the back wall of Professor Oak's lab, the man appeared on screen again and wiped the sweat off his forehead with a handkerchief. "Anyways, good to know that it's in capable hands, even if Kurt didn't know what it was right away."

"What's so great about this Kurt guy anyway? What's the big deal?" Ash asked.

"The big deal? He's a legend, my boy. Kurt's an expert craftsman who's skilled in making Poké Balls out of Apricorn."

"But... what's an Apricorn?"

"You should be able to see some growing right near Kurt's house," Professor Oak told him. "Take a look."

"I'll show them, Professor," Brock said, and gestured around the corner. "Just look out that window there." With their curiosities peaked, both Ash and Gary peered around the corner. At the end was a small hallway where the sun was beaming through a large sliding glass door. Just on the other side was a large tree that almost resembled an oak tree, but the bark was white, and there were similar-colored white fruits growing on its branches.

Even though they weren't near the monitor, they could still hear Professor Oak's voice. "As you'll see, Poké Balls that are made out of Apricorn have all sorts of special qualities that set them apart from the Poké Balls you're used to using."

"Interesting..." Gary murmured.

"That settles it!" Ash declared. "I'm gonna get an Apricorn Poké Ball of my very own!"

"You can't just decide that out of the blue."

"What do you mean, Gary? Don't you know you never get anything unless you ask?" he replied with a coy smile, and without any regard for any of them, or without even saying good-bye to Professor Oak, he ran down the hallway.

"Uh, wait a second!" Brock called after him, but Gary let out a sigh.

"He isn't gonna hear you. That boy is so stubborn it blocks his ears."

Leaving the house behind, Ash went to the small workshop that was connected to the house by an outside path covered over in an old roof. Slamming the wooden door shut behind him, his excitement was overwhelming as he hurried to the open door of the dark workshop. "Hey, Kurt!" Ash bellowed. "I was wondering if you could make one of those special Apricorn Poké Balls for me so I could-"

"Shhh!" Maizie hissed, coming from around the corner of the workshop and putting her index finger up to her lips. The sound surprised Ash and he skidded to a halt.

"What's wrong?"

"It's hard enough to craft a Poké Ball without all that noise!" she scolded. "Keep quiet for a while so Grandpa can concentrate."

"Okay... Sorry, Maizie," he apologized. The sound of metal hitting metal sounded from inside the workshop, and Maizie turned around and peered in, and Ash did the same. Inside, the old man was hard at work. Though the room was dark, it was aglow with flames coming from the bottom of an old-looking stove. Kurt's face shimmered with sweat in the fire as he held a glowing orb in a metal instrument in one hand, and smashed the top of it with a hard hammer of some kind. Each time he brought it down on the object glowing with heat, sparks flew off it. "That's hard work."

"It truly is," Brock's voice spoke up, and Ash turned around to see that him and Gary had finally met back up with him. Brock's finger curled around his chin and a small knowing smile curled his lips. "No matter how many times I see it, I'm still amazed at how hard he works."

"Now I see what Grandpa meant," Gary mused.

Lifting the round orb off the anvil he had placed it on, Kurt brought it close to his face and studied it for a moment before nodding. He trotted over to an area behind him and began to pump a handle that rose from the ground over a box. With a few squeaks from the rusty handle, water began to pour out of the spout and fill the box. When Kurt stopped and the water settled, he dipped his subject into the water, and when hot met with cold, it let out a shriek and steam rose up and coated Kurt's face.

"That water he's dunking it in is from the Slowpoke Well," Maizie explained.

"Seems like you guys count on that well, too, huh?" Gary observed.

"We sure do! And if it wasn't for you guys, it would have been ruined!"

Back in the workshop, Kurt took out the object from the water with the forging tongs and placed it back in the oven. "One more blast should just about do it," he said to something beside him. A dark shadow, lighter than the rest thanks to the fire, shuffled beside him, and a small fox-like Pokémon with red fur sent out a blast of fire into the cinders at the bottom of the oven.

"Vuuuulll!" it cried.

The fire now ignited once again, Kurt petted the Pokémon on the curls atop its head and closed the heavy steel door before letting out a whistle and wiping the sweat from the top of his head. "Thank you, my friend." Just then, he turned around, only now noticing that he had an audience, and stood and smiled. "Hi kids; I thought I heard something."

Twisting out a crick in his back from kneeling, he stepped out from the darkness and came to the doorway to greet them. Beside him, the Fire-type Pokémon that had assisted him, Vulpix, trotted past the old man and rubbed up against Brock's leg. "Brock, is that your Vulpix?"

"Yeah," Brock nodded, bending down and petting his prized Pokémon. "Vulpix has been helping Kurt with its Flamethrower."

"And just like its Trainer, it has been a wonderful help," the Poké Ball maker grinned.

"Kurt, I was wondering-" Ash began, but the old man cut him off with fallen brows.

"You'll have to give me a little more time to give you an answer on the GS Ball," he admitted. "I've fallen a little behind in my work."

"Actually, I was gonna ask you something else! I was wondering if you would mind giving me an Apricorn Poké Ball!"

"You could say please," Gary shot, but Kurt only chuckled and walked back into his workshop.

"Now now, no need to worry about that," he said, and climbed a small step-stool to a double line of shelves built against the wall of the shack. Pulling two round objects from it, he came back over and held them out. "Here!" Resting in each of his hands were a pair of Poké Balls, but unlike regular Poké Balls, they had what looked like a lightning bolt on the top over the silver button, and two yellow circles on the either side.

"You're giving them to us?" Gary asked with a cocked eyebrow. "Are you sure about that?"

"Of course I am!" the old man happily replied. "Think of it as a thank you for helping me in that well! Help yourself!"

"We didn't mind helping, but thanks a lot!" Ash thanked, and him and Gary each took one of the two balls and inspected them as though they were jewels. "So this is what an Apricorn Poké Ball looks like!"

"Actually, that one's made of White Apricorn, so it's called a Fast Ball," Maizie explained.

"It's a Fast Ball?"

"That's right – it's meant to be used on Pokémon that can run away quickly. Y'see, Apricorns come in seven colors: white, red, blue, black, pink, green, and yellow. There's a different Poké Ball made from each color Apricorn, and every kind of Poké Ball has its own name, its own special colors, and own specific uses."

"I get it! There's more than one kind of Apricorn Poké Ball," Ash surmised. "In that case, I'll have to get one of each color!"

"Can't you just be happy with the one you have?" Gary said, giving him a side-eye as he put away his own Fast Ball.

"If you really want them, I'd be happy to make some for you," Kurt interjected.

"You really mean it?!"

"Sure, Ash; all I need you to do is bring me the Apricorn."

"In the backyard, we only grow White Apricorn," Maizie told Ash. "All the other kinds grow up in the hills behind the house." And with a wink, she jabbed her elbow into Ash's stomach. "I can take you there if you want me to."

"Sounds great, right Gary? Want to come into the hills with us and help us find some Apricorn?"

"Not really," Gary responded, and the answer seemed to shock Ash.

"You don't?"

"No. The reason I came here was to deliver the GS Ball, and I did just that," his rival responded. "Now that Grandpa's errand is over, I'm going to travel on my own."

"Are you sure? Don't you want to see if Kurt can find anything out about the GS Ball?" The corners of Ash's mouth fell slightly – as much as his rival annoyed him at times, it was certainly inspiring traveling with Gary and see what a Trainer he had become.

"No; I'm going to focus on my training. I already told Grandpa my plan and he's fine with it," Gary said. "Since we stepped foot into this region, it's been clear that you've done nothing but slow me down." Though his words were harsh, he spoke them matter-of-factually as if he were just telling Ash the weather. "I'm not gonna fall behind just because you're a lazy Trainer." Ash opened his mouth to shoot back an angry retort, but Gary cut him off before he could start with a smile – a friendly on – and stuck out his hand. "Good luck, Ash. See you at the Pokémon League?"

Pulling in a deep breath and letting out his anger through the air of his nose, Ash's brows furrowed, not with anger, but with a determined smirk. "See you at the Pokémon League."

o 0 o

Though it was strange not having Gary there, it was certainly familiar traveling with Brock once again. And though it was just a short walk up the hilly expanse behind Kurt's house, with Maizie leading the pair, it felt just like old times when him and the former Gym Leader was traveling through Kanto.

They didn't have to climb or travel through the woods too far before Maizie stopped and pointed out a tree whose bark was brown, but seemed to have magenta hues throughout it. Similarly, the fruit growing on its branches and dotting the tree like Christmas lights were light pink. "This one's a Pink Apricorn tree," Maizie told them.

"Oh, cool!"

"These are used to make Love Balls. They work best when you're trying to catch Pokémon of a different gender."

Just then, a pink flush sprayed over Brock's cheeks and a finger curled around his chin while a goofy smile grew across his lips. "Hm, do you suppose that a, uh, Poké Ball made from this kind of tree would help me catch Nurse Joy or Officer Jenny?"

Ash let out a sigh of exasperation, and his palm dug into his face. "Oh boy; some things never change..." Wiping away the look of annoyance, he approached the tree and reached an arm up. "Cool! I'll just take a couple!"

"No you won't!" Instantly, Ash recoiled his hand back and turned back to see Maizie glaring at him with her hands on her hips. "Don't even touch 'em! Those Apricorn aren't ripe enough yet!"

"Maizie, he didn't know," Brock said in an attempt to soothe her anger.

"Never pick an Apricorn before it's ready, and never ever pick too many Apricorns at once!" she said with her turquoise eyes flashing. "Otherwise, you'll just end up damaging the whole entire tree!"

"Sorry about that," Ash apologized, walking back to join the two.

"That's Kurt's granddaughter for you," Brock chuckled, and the words seemed to take her off-guard, but she quickly hid this and smiled proudly with her nose in the air.

"That's right!"

With the Pink Apricorns a no-go, the group continued further up the path. Now that they were going further away from Kurt's house, the trail started to go more uphill, but this kind of terrain didn't bother Ash just yet. But as the dirt path curled to the left, Maizie stopped and pointed straight ahead to a small grove. "See that one? That's a Yellow Apricorn! It becomes a Moon Ball," Maizie told them. "They work on Pokémon who use Moon Stones to evolve."

"You could use it to catch Pokémon like Clefairy," Brock added.

"This should only take a second!" But as soon as Ash ran ahead to collect one, Maizie stopped him with another yell.

"Get back here!"

"Now what?" he whined, his spine slumping in defeat.

"Look there! See anything else in the tree?" She pointed up into the branches of the tree. Ash's eyes narrowed as he tried to focus up past the foliage. The surrounding trees had unripened Pink Apricorn that were more seashell colored than anything, but Ash was focused on the Yellow Apricorn tree. But as he took a step closer, he saw among the yellow fruit were round blue-green fruit. However, he soon saw eyes staring down at him and realized they weren't fruit at all, but Pokémon.

"Pineco!" they uttered, staring down at Ash with large red eyes on the underside of two of the wooden scales on its body, and it hung down from the branches with a silk stem coming out of the spike on the top of its head.

"It's a Pineco!" Brock told Ash as his face lit up like a light bulb. Ash stared at the strange Pokémon for a moment, and then decided to take out his Pokédex and scan it.

"Let's see..." he murmured as the device came to life.

"Pineco, the Bagworm Pokémon. Appears calm as it hangs sedately from tree branches, but it will Selfdestruct at the slightest provocation."

"I've been studying these since I've been here!" Brock said. "I think they're cool! Now I think I've done enough research to catch one!"

"Brock, the Pokédex said that they Selfdestruct," Ash warned as he put the red device back into his jacket pocket.

"What Breeder could pass up a challenge like that?" Ash gave his friend a doubting look, but Brock continued. "Sometimes, a Breeder's road is more like a rocky path, but it's important to meet all challenges head on!" And, much in Ash-style, he ran on ahead without a second thought.

"Hey, stay away from there!" Maizie yelled, holding out her hand as if to stop him, but Brock ignored her and instead fished out a Poké Ball and held it in his hands.

"Ready or not, here I come, Pineco!" But as he approached the tree, his foot dug into a rock jutting into the ground, and he stumbled forward. Instead of falling flat on his face, his face collided with the tall Yellow Apricorn tree in front of him. This shook the whole tree, and startled the Pineco that had occupied it as their home.

"Pineco!" they all cried, and their eyes crunched together as a blue hue appeared around their grenade-like bodies. They lowered closer to Brock just as the Pokémon Breeder pulled himself off the grass, and he realized what was happening just in time for the Pineco to use Selfdestruct and explode all around him. A moan could be heard through the smoke, and Brock's ash-covered body came flying out and back in the direction he came from before flopping on the ground.

"You met it head-on, all right!" Ash cried as him and Maizie ran forward to make sure the older boy was okay.

"Like I said, it's a rocky path..."

"In his case, that's true in more ways than one..." Maizie sighed with a shrug of her arms.

o 0 o

Continuing up the winding trail that seemed to take them on a tour of the hills, Maizie actually moved them off the path and gestured toward bushes off to the side. Shifting through the foliage was easy work, and the treasure at the end was a tall trio of trees which bore green Apricorn. They almost blended in with the leaves around them.

"This grove is full of Green Apricorn!" Kurt's granddaughter said. "These are the kind used to make Friend Balls!" This time, Ash didn't act on his instinct to run out and pluck one, and instead waited on Maizie to give the okay. Much to his relief, she did. "Go ahead – these ones are ready, so you can take some if you want."

"All right!" Ash cheered, and ran on ahead out of the bushes. Despite running into other trees, this was the first one that he was allowed to pick one, and so he rushed on ahead. Just then, a loud buzzing filled his ears, and before he knew it, a wall of yellow Beedrill blocked the trees with their arm stingers held up high. He skidded on the grass and instantly felt his blood run cold. "Beedrill!" he screamed, and whipped around and shot like a bullet the way that he came.

Maizie and Brock were already one step ahead of him, and did the same. "Run for it!" the Pokémon Breeder cried, but the swarm was already chasing after them, angry for entering their territory.

"I'm sorry!" Maizie yelled as she ran with her arms out. "There weren't any Beedrill the last time I came here, I promise!"

"You can apologize later! We just need to get away from them!" Ash shouted. But the group were too busy running in fear of getting stung by the Poison Bee Pokémon that they weren't paying attention to where they were going, and suddenly came to a stop at a drop-off. Though Brock and Maizie were able to stop in time before tumbling over, Ash didn't quite see them, and ran straight into them. They all cried out as they toppled over the edge, but suddenly hard ground met them all. The drop was only a small six-foot drop, and though it was enough to cause a slight ache, it certainly wasn't enough for anything more serious. While the group of three moaned in pain, the Beedrill buzzed over them. Apparently, they had not seen the three drop down, and continued onward until their yellow abdomens were no longer in sight. "Woah, that was close..." the black-haired Trainer moaned with his chin against the ground.

Thanks to the Beedrill, they had since lost the path completely, but luckily, Maizie seemed to have a pretty good idea where they were, as she had grown up here her whole life and could be wandering these fields with her grandfather for as long as she could remember. Though the path was no longer beneath them for comfort, Maizie led the way through the grass and up a hill that seemed to get steeper as time progressed.

"I'm starting to get tired," Ash complained lightly with a dejected frown on his face. They had encountered several different types of trees so far, and they didn't have a single Apricorn to show for it. "I didn't realize this would be so hard."

"Grandpa always says making Poké Balls is lots more complicated than people think it is," the brunette stated with her eyes closed matter-of-factually. And as soon as the sentence left her mouth, she opened her eyes back up and stared ahead. "That tree right there's a Red Apricorn. That's what we use to make Level Balls."

"Finally!" Ash breathed, his exhaustion gone with a smirk of his lips. "Nothing's gonna stop me from getting one of those Apricorns!" Maizie gave no word of opposition, and with her silent blessing, Ash ran ahead and kept his brown eyes locked on the red fruit above.

Unfortunately, it was because of this that he failed to realize the ground had opened up underneath his foot as he stepped onto the grass, and his stomach leapt into his throat as he fell through the air only to be swallowed by the earth. He looked down and saw nothing but pitch darkness, and completely out of reflex, he wrapped his hand around a Poké Ball on his belt and threw it into the air. "Bulbasaur!" he shouted. In a matter of seconds, the Grass-type Pokémon appeared at the edge of the pitfall and reacted quickly, immediately using Vine Whip to wrap its vines around its Trainer's stomach and stop his descent.

His heart pounded in his chest as he hung suspended in the air like a puppet, but he tried to get the adrenaline to stop rushing through his veins by letting out a sigh of relief. "Great work, Bulbasaur," he called up to his Pokémon.

"Bulbasaur," the Seed Pokémon responded, and reeled in its vines like a fishing line. When he was back on solid ground, Ash fell forward onto his knees and almost felt like kissing the ground.

"Ash! Are you all right?" Brock asked his friend, and him and Maizie ran up to the boy while also keeping their eyes to the ground.

"Yeah, but what in the world dug that hole?" he replied with a question of his own.

The pair didn't have to answer his question, as in the ground closer to the tree, mounds of upturned soil bubbled up, and soon small brown heads poked out from the surface. "Diglet-di!" they chanted like a song, bobbing up and down like a buoy on the water.

"Diglett!"

"The Diglett watch over and protect the Apricorn trees," Brock told him.

"That's cause if the Apricorn trees get hurt, the forest will be ruined," Maizie elaborated. "And if the forest gets ruined, the mountains do, too! And if the mountains gets ruined, then none of the Pokémon around here will have a place to live."

"That makes sense," Ash said, pulling himself back onto his feet again. "The Apricorn trees and the nearby Pokémon rely on each other." Stepping back away from the hole that had opened up in the ground because of the Diglett, he waved to the Ground-type Pokémon. "Sorry to bother you, Diglett. I won't pick any of these Apricorn."

o 0 o

The hills began to flatten out as they were able to look down over Azalea Town. Kurt's house was a speck in the far distance as they approached the next grove with Maizie's guidance. "You can probably tell by looking, but those ones are Blue Apricorn," she said. Lined up like soldiers in front of their lieutenant, a series of trees stood tall among the rest. Blue badges of honor spotted their many arms, sparkling like turquoise gemstones in the sunlight.

"Oh, wow! Just look at them!" Ash breathed. Out of all the Apricorns he had seen that day, these were definitely the most healthiest-looking bunch.

"Grandpa uses the Apricorn from these trees to make Lure Balls," Maizie told them with her hands folded behind her pink shirt. "Which are the best kind for Water Pokémon." She grew quiet as her head scanned the trees before finally pointing to the middle tree. "See those ones in the front? Those are all ready to be picked!"

"All right!" Ash grew excited, but knew better than to rush forward, and this time, with a bit more caution, he stepped forth to the trunk of the tree. With no sign of Diglett at the ground, and Pineco in the branches, he reached up and twisted one of the hard fruits off the branch. "I got it!" He smiled down at the light blue seed. The sturdiness and shine reminded him of the cap of a Poké Ball, which was probably why they were used in their creation.

As he was admiring his first catch of the day, he heard Maizie give a gasp behind him. "Look at how big that Black Apricorn got!" Ash and Brock looked up, and at the very top of the hill, a lone tree baring dark fruit the color of Ash's hair speckled the trees. "They're used to make Heavy Balls, which are really good for catching Pokémon that weigh a lot!"

"Oh? I bet that would come in handy, too!" Ash said as a Snorlax flashed through his mind's eye. Throwing caution to the wind, he puffed up to the top of the hill and finally made it to the tree. Slowing into a walk, he took only a few steps forward before movement lowered itself from the branches. There were four Pineco, and Ash almost didn't see them as they blended in with the dark color of the Apricorn they co-existed with.

"Pineco!" they chanted, causing Ash to freeze in his tracks. The group of two finally caught up with Ash, but Brock's face lit up upon seeing the four and let out a whoop before rushing ahead.

"Now's my chance!" he cheered, and stepped forward before pointing his finger at them. "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, catch a Pineco by the toe..."

"Brock, be careful," Ash warned. "Remember what happened last time you tried to catch one."

"This time I'm prepared," Brock assured him, giving him a smile over his shoulder before pulling out a Poké Ball and rearing it back. "Okay Onix, pluck one of those Pineco out of the tr-" As the Pokémon Breeder's wrist went limp in preparation to throw the ball, a flash of light burst from the pocket of his vest, and it came together into the form of Brock's Psyduck.

"Psy-yaiy... duck?" it murmured, holding its head in its arms and cocking it. Brock stared down at the Water-type Pokémon in front of him, still holding Onix's Poké Ball in his hand as if he had been hit with an Ice Beam, and finally slumped.

"Psyduck, I was calling for Onix, not for you."

"Psy-duck?"

"Okay, I have faith in you!" Brock assured it, pocketing Onix's Poké Ball and pointing up at one of the Pineco. "Use your Water Gun attack!" The Duck Pokémon stood still for a moment with a vacant look on its face that mirrored the Slowpoke's from the well, and Ash stared, wondering if the Water-type Pokémon had even heard its Trainer's command. After a beat passed, Psyduck turned back and cocked its head at Brock.

"Duck?"

"You know, Water Gun!" he told it, and made an arching motion out of his mouth with his finger.

"Psy-yai-iay!" Psyduck stated, and faced forward. Throwing the top of its head back, it held its beak wide open. "Duck!" However, instead of a blast of water coming out like the attack normally would, a small stream poured out and puddled in the grass in front of it. The three humans behind it fell to the ground at the feat – or lack thereof – while Psyduck turned around and smiled, seemingly proud of itself.

"Good to see that Psyduck hasn't changed, either..." Ash muttered with a nervous laughter.

Picking himself up like a collapsed Jenga tower, Brock rubbed the back of his head as he sat into a sitting position with his legs crossed close behind his Psyduck. "That's okay, Psyduck. Think you can get them down with your Confusion?"

"Duck?" Psyduck only blinked at Brock, acting as if he had spoken to it in another language.

"Yeah, I know..."

"Ash, what's wrong with Brock's Psyduck?" Maizie asked quietly. "Why didn't it use Confusion?"

"Psyduck can only use its Psychic attacks when its headache becomes really severe," Ash explained to her, though she only looked back with an arched eyebrow.

"Psy-yaiy!" Just then, Psyduck's eyes lit up, as if the gears in its head finally began to click together.

"Oh! You remember how to use it?" Brock translated happily, and jumped onto his feet before pointing forward. "Okay Psyduck, then use Confusion!" Giving a loud cry, Psyduck's brow furrowed over its face, giving what was supposed to be a determined look. But instead of its eyes glowing blue or purple as it normally did, Psyduck instead raised one of its clawed hands. It bolted forward suddenly, aiming at the trunk of the tree and raked its claw across the bark of the tree.

Three scratches raked across the front of the tree, and Psyduck stood still like a samurai that had slashed his victim, but instead of sheathing a sword, Psyduck instead bounced from webbed foot to webbed foot, holding its hand in pain and involuntary tears forming in the corners of its eyes. "Psy-yaiy-yaiy-yaiy-yaiy-yai!"

Brock opened his mouth to say something, but the sudden Scratch attack disturbed the tree, which in turn, disturbed the Pineco that inhabited it, and like before, they lowered from the silk coming out of the tips of their heads, and began to glow light blue. Brock let out a cry while Psyduck stared vacantly, and they were suddenly engulfed in smoke as the Pineco all used Selfdestruct. The smoke cleared, and both Brock and Psyduck were standing and covered in soot and ash from the resulting explosion. "Psyduck you... remembered the wrong... move..." he moaned, letting out a puff of smoke from his nose.

This time, Ash couldn't help but hold back and laugh, and as he did, a single Black Apricorn dropped down and fell directly onto Psyduck's head. The yellow Duck Pokémon's eyes widened slightly, and its beady black pupils stared into space as it held its head, and as the Apricorn rolled toward Brock's shoe, Psyduck began to breathe heavily.

"Psyduck..?" Brock asked with a cocked head, noticing a stranger-than-normal behavior from his Pokémon.

"Duck... duck... duck... duck..." it uttered over and over, almost as if it were a pulse or a heartbeat. All of a sudden, a blue glow appeared in Psyduck's eyes, and it raised its face skyward. The four Pineco that had used Selfdestruct were all covered in black soot, and fainted from using the attack, but they still shone with a light blue aura and rose into the air. Ash, Brock, and Maizie all gasped in wonder as they watched Psyduck lift the four Bug-type Pokémon into the air with Confusion, and with a loud cry, Psyduck sent them flying into the woods behind them.

A silent scream escaped Brock's throat as his hand reached helplessly in the air after the Pineco as if he could catch them, but they disappeared far into the distance and became submerged in the distant trees. "Now you use Confusion..."

"Duuuuuuuu-duck?" The soot slowly evaporated off Psyduck's body, rising into the air like heat before suddenly, the blue glow faded from its eyes, and it looked at Brock with a cocked head and the normal vacant mask it normally wore.

"Well, Brock! You didn't get a Pineco, but at least you didn't come out empty handed!" Ash pointed out, smiling and pointing down at the Black Apricorn by Brock's slumped arm.

"Great..."

o 0 o

Back-tracking to Kurt's house took most of the day, but at the verge of sunset – just as the sky was starting to turn from blue – they made it back to the Poké Ball maker's workshop. Though they weren't rolling in Apricorn as Ash had figured when they first set out on their trip to collect them, neither of them came out empty handed. Ash ended up with a Blue Apricorn, and Brock ended up with a black one.

They arrived back in the hot and humid shack to find Kurt and Vulpix hard at work on making other Apricorn Poké Balls. The pair had evidently kept themselves quite busy while the three of them were gone. "Grandpa, we're back!" Maizie announced as she appeared through the doorway of the dark shop. The pair politely waited behind her, and Kurt dragged his forearm across his brow to wipe any excess sweat off it, and made his way back.

"Good to see you," Kurt greeted. "I trust your journey was a successful one?"

"Not as much as I was hoping, but we didn't leave empty-handed!" Ash told him, and handed the Blue Apricorn to Kurt. After Brock bent down and dragged his hand over his Vulpix's fur in greeting, he also handed Kurt his own Apricorn.

"All you have to do is leave it to me," Kurt assured them, holding the Poké Ball-sized fruits in his hands. "I promise you that when I get through with them, these'll be the finest Poké Balls yet!"

"I can't wait to see how they come out!"

"Speaking of Poké Balls, did you happen to find out anything about the GS Ball yet?" Brock asked as Kurt handed the two Apricorns off to his granddaughter.

The old Poké Ball designer hummed in thought and retrieved the gold and silver Poké Ball from the inside of his robe. Looking at its face, he wore a gruff mask of regard. "It's simple, yet complex. Classic, but bold. Advanced while still somehow primitive." Ash and Brock stared and blinked at the old man, trying to fit together his words in their heads. "In other words..."

"Yeah?" they both said at the same time.

"I don't have a clue." The words made the pair stumble for the second time that day, but they quickly caught themselves, though they didn't collect their frowns.

"You're kidding, right?" Ash asked.

"I have no idea who designed this thing, but it's protected by a very powerful lock," he explained further. "There must be a way to break that lock, but I don't know what it is."

"There's something you don't know, Grandpa?" Maizie asked in disbelief.

"I meant I don't know yet!" he said sternly. "I'm positive I can get to the bottom of this with enough time." Letting out a breath of air, he turned back to Ash and smiled. "Would you mind terribly if I kept the GS Ball a little bit longer?"

"It's perfectly okay with me!" Ash answered.

"Just as long as you promise to let Professor Oak know about it whenever you find out anything new," Brock added.

"Sure," Kurt agreed. "I take it from your tone that you plan on leaving Maizie and I?"

"Yeah," Brock nodded. "I'm very grateful for your hospitality and for letting me learn what I did while I was here, but I was mostly here to wait for Ash. Now that he's here, we can travel through Johto together while I further my studies to become a Pokémon Breeder."

"We'll definitely miss having you around, Brock," Maizie said with a wide smile.

"And I'll certainly miss having my new friend around to help me with my work," Kurt joined, smiling down at the Vulpix sitting at Brock's feet.

"Vulpix!" the Fire Pokémon replied happily.

But Ash wore a smile for a different reason. "This means it's time to win some Badges!"

"That reminds me," Kurt spoke up as he put the GS Ball back in his robe. "I heard that now that the drought's finally over, the Azalea Gym has opened up again."

"Now you're talking!" Ash cheered, already feeling the excitement of battle building up in his chest. "Let's go, Brock!"

"Wait up, Ash!"

And with their backpacks settled securely on their backs, Ash and Brock headed out, leaving Kurt's workshop behind and toward their next destination: the Azalea Gym.

Ash:

Party:

Blastoise (Poké Ball) (m)

Moves: Skull Bash, Dig, Hydro Pump, BubbleBeam

Bulbasaur (Poké Ball) (m)

Moves: SolarBeam, Vine Whip, Razor Leaf, Tackle

Heracross (Poké Ball) (m)

Moves: Horn Attack, Leer, Take Down, Fury Attack

Chikorita (Poké Ball)

Moves: Razor Leaf, Tackle, Vine Whip

Cyndaquil (Poké Ball)

Moves: Flamethrower, 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

Stantler (Poké Ball)

Moves: Hypnosis

Training at Charicific Valley:

Charizard (Poké Ball) (m)

Moves: Flamethrower, Fire Spin, Skull Bash, Slash

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:

Zephyr Badge

Brock:

Party:

Onix (Poké Ball)

Moves: Tackle, Bind, Dig

Psyduck (Poké Ball) (m)

Moves: Scratch, Water Gun, Disable, Confusion

Vulpix (Poké Ball) (f)

Moves: Fire Spin, Flamethrower, Agility, Quick Attack