Chapter 6 – Chilling with the enemy

Ashachu knew this was probably not a good idea…that it could put him in danger, or at the very least get him into a lot more trouble with his parents.

But, at this moment, he definitely did not want to go back and join his friends. And there something almost magnetic about Blade. He wasn't sure why, but he really enjoyed the time he got to spend with the Sneasel and was keen to follow him.

And so, he went with Blade through the jungle and out onto yet another stretch of sandy beach, somewhere on route 105 on the north coast of the island. Ashachu recognised where they were – our heroes had entered the island from here only yesterday.

The beach here was much more secluded than closer to Dewford town. There wasn't a single human insight, and the only other Pokémon were a flock of Wingull flying overhead, and the Magikarp that kept leaping out of the waves.

"Here we are," Blade exclaimed happily, giving Ashachu a slap on the backside as he did so. "Arceus, I love it here. Why can't live somewhere like this."

Ashachu, rubbing his backside, frowned at Blade. "I thought Sneasel lived in cold places."

"We do, usually," Blade replied. "Don't mean I like them. I grew up in a miserable, cold damp chasm. One of the many things I hated about growing up. Honestly, I hate the cold. C'mon."

They wandered out of the jungle and onto the sand. Just before they reached the water's edge they came across a large umbrella with a single beach towel lying beneath it. And resting on the towel, with his body outstretched was..

"Hey Meowthy," Blade sang out. "I'm back. And I've got him…"

Ashachu felt a thrill of fear run through him as he recognised the scratch cat Pokémon lying decked out on the beach towel. Had Blade just brought him straight to team rocket. He thought about running. He was quick. He could get into the trees before Blade noticed, right?

Meowth did not respond to Blade, causing the Sneasel to groan and roll his eyes. "Right. Seems this calls for…Ice beam." And he leaned forward and shot an electric blue beam of energy from his open maw.

It struck Meowth in the stomach, just above his belly button. At once a solid block of ice developed around him, trapping him from the neck down.

"Yahhh." Meowth's eyes shot open. He tried to get up, only to realise he was trapped. His eyes darted this way and that, looking for his assailant, until they found Blade. "Oh, it's you!" His eyes narrowed. "Ya know. Ya did not need ta use Ice beam."

Blade grinned at him. "Oh yes, I did. You know how hard you are to get up!"

The ice encasing Meowth shattered, allowing the scratch cat to push himself to his paws. "Yeah yeah. Gimme a break, its my day off." He then noticed Ashachu, and a curious expression crossed his face. "What's twerpachoo doin' here."

Ashachu glowered at him. "I could ask the same thing! And stop callin' me that."

"Aww come on Meowth, lay off the kid," said Blade. "His boyfriend just broke up with him."

An irritatingly smug smirk spread across Meowth's face. "Really. You and dat scatterbrained twerp's Riolu just broke up."

"He didn't break up with me," protested an irritated and embarrassed Ashachu. "He just wanted to a break. And his name's Hunter."

To Ashachu's uttered annoyance, Meowth burst into laughter. "Hahahaha. Just wanted a break. Ha. Sure."

Ashachu coxed his head. "What are you talking about."

Meowth clapped a paw on his shoulder. "Listen kid. If he said he wanted a break, it means he's break up with ya. Trust me, I heard 'em all before…" He lifted up his paw and started counting out the number of break up lines he supposedly heard. I like you as a friend. Purloin's a guy. Skitty, use fury swipes. You're a freak…"

Ashachu brushed Meowth off him, slapping his paw with his tail. "We have not broken up! And it' none of your business." He then glowered at the Sneasel. "Blade, why did you bring me here… Wait, this isn't a trick is it. Your looser trainers aren't about to jump out and grab me are they?"

It was Meowth's turn to glower. "Jessie 'n James ain't my trainers. I'm my own Pokémon." He pointed to his chest with his thumb as he said the words own Pokémon.

Ashachu folded his arms. "Where are they then?"

Meowth shrugged. "I dunno. I told ya. D'ey ain't my trainers."

"Come on you two," said Blade. "We're all friends here."

Ashachu turned to face away from Meowth. "He is not my friend."

"Oh, come on Hikari." Blade slid up behind Ashachu, and for the second time that morning, placed his claws on his shoulder. "I told you, you need to relax after what happened." He started rubbing Ashachu's shoulder's again, making Ashachu's tail twitch. "Unwind, let go. Meowth's just here to have a good time too. We can all be friends for a couple of hours. Can't we."

Ashachu wasn't sure. Somewhere, deep inside his head, was a little voice telling him to run. To run as fast as he could, back to his parents. Back to safety and away from Blade and Team Rocket. But being just being around Blade was…intoxicating. He couldn't really describe it, but he really enjoyed being around Blade, and didn't want to leave.

Without warning, Blade spun him around and he found himself face to face with Blade. The Sneasel's face was very close to his and he could see right into his eyes. There was something calming about those clear red eyes, and as he looked into them, he could feel the apprehension draining out of him. The little voice in his head telling him to run was getting muffled.

As if he could read Ashachu's mind and understood his concerns, Blade then said to him kindly, "Look Hikari. Meowth's not going to try to kidnap you. I'm not going to let him. I promise. I protected you from Shadow, and I'll protect you from Meowth. I am not a member of Team Rocket. Trust me!"

And Ashachu did. "Okay," he said. "I trust you!"

"Just try to focus on having a good time, alright. Like I said, we're all friends here!" He clapped Ashachu playfully on the shoulder, before turning back to Meowth. "Now, did you get the good stuff?"

"You know it, Bladey," Meowth replied with a wink.

Ashachu momentarily wondered what they were talking about, before he noticed the picnic basket sitting beside the base of the umbrella. Meowth opened it and produced a long tall bottle, full of a brown liquid. He cracked open the lid, took a swig, then handed it to Blade.

"Ahh good on ya!" Blade snatched the bottle off him, raised it to his lips and tipped it up, pouring the contents into his maw. He took a long drink before dropping the bottle and letting it swing in his left paw, while wiping his mouth with his right. "Yeah, that's the good stuff. If there's one thing humans are actually good for!"

He handed the bottle out to Ashachu, who froze. He knew, or suspected he knew, what was in the bottle. And he knew that it would be a bad idea to drink it. "Errrr. I don't know."

"Go on take it," Blade said, shaking the bottle. "If any Pokémon here needs this, it's you." When Ashachu remained hesitant he added, "trust me kiddo, I am not going to let anything bad happen to ya!"

Ashachu reached out and took the bottle from him. The bottle was as tall as his tail was long, and wide enough that he needed both paws to hold onto it. The contents of the bottle were giving off a pungent aroma. A sweet yet burning smell. Just breathing it in made Ashachu feel a little lightheaded. He wrinkled his nose.

The voice in his head was getting louder. Telling him not to, under any circumstances, to drink the liquid in the bottle. That it was bad. That it would make him sick, or that something bad would happen if he did. And still, Blade had told him he wouldn't let anything happen, hadn't he.

Ashachu took a deep breath and took a sip. Of course, given the bottles size, taking a sip proved a challenge. He was forced to sit down in the sand, and balance the bottle against his chest, leaning back, in order to tip some of the contents into his mouth.

Almost at once he wished he hadn't. The liquid burned the back of his throat as if it were liquid Charizard fire. He sputtered and coughed, a little of it pouring out of his maw and onto his chest and dropped the bottle. It landed on the sand, its contents spilling out.

Meowth dashed over and seized it before too much could escape. Blade went and slapped Ashachu on the back. "Hehehe. You alright kid."

Cough…Cough… "What the heck. Blade that stuff burns."

"Hehe. It's supposed ta."

"You could have warned me."

"Ah relax would ya. I told ya. I'm not going to let anything bad happen to ya. Now, let's have some fun."

[Pokémon]

"You have got to be kidding me," exclaimed an exasperated Ashachu, giving Blade a wide eyes stare.

"Oh, come on, kiddo," Blade replied with a chuckle, giving him another slap on the back. "It's just what you need to help you get over your little spat with Mr. Riolu. Nothing like a battle to help you get all the stress and aggression out of you. And with all of your little Pikachu mind focused on the battle you won't be able to think about him."

Ashachu grumbled at the words little Pikachu mind, making Blade chuckle again.

"Come on, what's wrong scaredy-chu," Meowth taunted him. "Frightened ya gonna loose."

Ashachu glared at him. "Yeah right. Me scared of you. How many times have you fought us and when have you ever won?"

"We were mostly fighting Pikachoo on those occasions," Meowth replied, and Ashachu was pleased to see a scowl cross his face. "I don't remember battlin' you."

"I don't seem to recall you doing much fighting for Team Rocket either," Ashachu retorted. He sighed then rolled his eyes. "Fine, you know what I will battle you. Then I'll wipe the smirk off your face."

"That's the spirt," said Blade beaming. He gripped hold of Ashachu's shoulders, again, and pushed the mouse onto his all fours. "Now remember," he whispered in Ashachu's ear. "Your trainer ain't here to do! All you've got is your instinct. Use it."

He then let go of Blade and went to stand by the sidelines. Ashachu watched Meowth carefully. The scratch cat got into position, spreading his legs apart and lowering his tail to keep his centre of gravity low, and extending his claws.

Ashachu did the same. He wondered whether this was a good idea. Was it one of Meowth's traps? Was there a pitfall trap in the sand, that he would fall into? Blade had assured him that nothing bad would happen to him.

Whatever had been in that drink was starting to have a strange affect on him. He felt…buzzed. Like a fog had filled his mind, making it hard to think straight.

"Battle begin!" Shouted Blade.

Meowth launched into action straight away… "Fury swipes." He leapt into the air, brandishing his claws at Ashachu.

Instinct…. Ashachu didn't think, he just reacted in the best way he knew how. He fired off a thunderbolt attack at the oncoming Meowth.

Suddenly Ashachu's vision turned red and he felt as if hot knives were raking across his face. He cried out with a loud, "Pika!" What had just happened?

The blows stopped and he opened his eyes. He saw Meowth standing in front of him, claws brandished.

"Ooh," called out Blade from the sidelines. "That's gotta hurt. Need to work on your accuracy there kid!"

It took Ashachu about a second to work out what had happened. His thunderbolt attack had missed, allowing Meowth to strike…Meowth wasted no time in following up his attack. He launched himself at Ashachu again, his tail turning a metallic colour.

Ashachu's jaw dropped. "No way. Since when he knows iron tail?"

He tried to dodge but was too slow. He felt the solid tail collide with him, just under his chin. The force of impact knocked him off his feet and the next thing he knew he was lying on his back in the sand.

"Come on kid, use your instinct," bellowed Blade. "Arceus are you really not able to fight without a human shouting moves at you!"

"Pika." Annoyed by this comment, Ashachu forced himself back to his feet and charged at Meowth. "Alright Meowthy," he muttered to himself. "Let's see how you like volt tackle." Sparks formed around his body as he ran, and his vision turned yellow.

Then…

BAM!

He felt his forehead collide with something hard, as if he'd just run into a brick wall. Some opposite force that had collided with him. He felt the impact in every inch of his body, his bones jarring. And, not for the first time that battle, he felt his paws leave the ground…

Ashachu wasn't entirely sure what happened next. He must have blacked out again. The next thing he knew, he was lying on his back in the sand, Meowth standing over him, a triumphant expression on his face, with his right foot paw pressed firmly on Ashachu's chest.

His heart sank with the realisation he had lost. "Oh crap!"

Meowth just grinned. "See, not so tough," he teased, pressing his foot a little harder against Ashachu's chest, just to drive the point home. Ashachu's face turned a brilliant shade of vermillion.

"Get off me."

He managed to push Meowth off him and get to his feet. Immediately, Blade came up to him and draped an arm around his shoulder.

"Oh man, did that suck," the Sneasel said with a laugh, to Ashachu's great annoyance. "Have you not listened to anything I told you about instinct. You'd better hope your trainer never releases ya, cause you would be dead meat in the wild."

Ashachu glared at him. "First, Ash would never release me because Ash loves me. Second, I couldn't concentrate properly."

"You're not supposed to concentrate," said Blade. "You're suppose to act on instinct. Your brain's preprogrammed to know what to do in these situations. If the opponent's bigger and stronger than you, you flee. If they're weaker than you, you fight. If you've no way of escaping, you fight like the distortion world. You don't get clever, you don't save energy, you throw everything you've got at them until one of you is dead."

"Some survival strategy," mumbled Ashachu. "Fight to the death."

"It's the only survival strategy," Blade replied. "Out here in the wild there are no humans to protect you, and you can't always rely on other Pokémon. Being prepared to use your moves and your claws can be the only way to survive sometimes. Pokémon don't have what the humans call laws, you know. Sometimes, it eat or be eaten."

Ashachu sighed and rolled his eyes. Even after all the suffering he had endured in his short little life, he still didn't know why Blade has such a bleak, cynical and often in compassionate worldview. Especially about other Pokémon…Most of his would-be assailants had been humans.

"Yeah you say that" said a sceptical Meowth. "You who had a protector in da form of a Darkrai."

Blade smirked. "Who do you think first taught me to fight on instinct. It was all Shadow. He taught me everything I know. Well, him and life experience."

Ashachu coxed his head. "Okay, did somebody hurt you," he asked.

Blade brushed the question. "Ha. That's a long story for another day. And I'll need to be far drunker." He clasped his claws together and then said dramatically, "Now how about another round. And this time we'll make it interesting."