"Good evening board members of Celadon University, League officials, and fellow Pokémon researchers around the world. I am Professor Oak, the lead authority on Pokémon in the Kanto region.
"As I'm sure many of you know, it was only a few short decades ago that two new Pokémon typings were documented and officially recognized. Namely, the dark and steel types, increasing the number of known Pokémon typings from fifteen to seventeen. As a result of that discovery, some moves' typings were reclassified, such as the Bite attack from its previously thought normal-type classification to its current dark-type classification.
"Many of you are probably wondering where I'm going with this, so I won't make you wait any longer. I am here to submit an eighteenth Pokémon typing, which I have dubbed the 'fairy' type. The highlight of the fairy type is that it is entirely invulnerable to dragon-type attacks. Our other preliminary findings suggest that the fairy type is resistant to fighting, bug, and dark types and weak to poison and steel types. Details on the fairy type's offensive strengths are actively being researched, though we have confirmed that fairy-type moves are especially effective against dragon types.
"To demonstrate the fairy type in action, I've asked my granddaughter, Daisy, for assistance. She has a clefairy, whom we have confirmed is a fairy type, not a normal type as previously thought. Daisy?"
Lance Blackthorn, champion of Indigo, leader of the Pokémon G-men, and topmost eligible bachelor according to Pokémon Magazine, watched the demonstration on television from his league office with a scowl on his face. One mirrored by the large dragonite curled up behind him.
"It was going to get out eventually. Clair's going to throw a fit about this." Lance chuckled at the thought. "Maybe I'll give her a call later, just to see how she's taking it. Actually, I should talk to Ryu if I want the full version."
Dragonite grunted, his hot breath ruffling Lance's hair.
"Yeah, yeah, big guy. Fairies are no match for you," Lance said with a hint of sarcasm.
Lance muted the TV and picked up the file lying on his desk, skimming through the details inside. His eyes widened before picking up the phone and dialing a number.
"Lance here. This report you sent me, where did you get this information? … Rota? … If what this says is true, then I want eyes on him!
"… What do you mean you don't know his current location? … I see. Find out where he is, then assign someone we trust for the job."
Lance ended the call, then sighed. "If even my best men don't know where he is, he must be a master of evasive maneuvering," he mused as he flipped to the next page, showing a photo of a young man with short, messy blonde hair, blue eyes, and a green-eyed Eevee on his shoulder.
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Despite how much it pained him, Ethan took a back seat when it came to navigating. He was sure they turned northwest at some point in the past few days, but he didn't say anything. He didn't want to prevent Ash from meeting the other Pokémon he was supposed to befriend.
Plus, he still had plans for Damian and wouldn't miss it for the world.
"Are you sure this is the right way?" Misty complained. "We've been walking this way for hours, and I'm tired."
"Don't worry. I'm positive this will take us back to the right path," Ash assured.
"Positive, huh?" Brock muttered under his breath.
"You know, I thought you guys would know your way around Kanto, seeing that you're from here," Ethan teased. Eevee giggled from her sprawled position on his head.
"Doesn't mean I know this part of Kanto," Ash muttered.
"I knew it! You have no idea where we are!" Misty yelled.
"Well, neither do you!" Ash retorted.
"Eevee, why do I tend to passive-aggressively insult people without realizing it until after the fact?" Ethan sighed as the yelling devolved into something about broken bikes.
Eevee shrugged and patted him comfortingly on the head.
"I know what we need," Brock whispered before clearing his throat. "Oh boy, I could sure use a break. Good thing I made sandwiches! I think I see a good spot to take a break over there."
Ash and Misty's stomachs growled, and their arguing ceased.
Ethan nodded appreciatively. "Brock, you are a miracle worker."
Some small conversation picked up after settling on some flat rocks clear of any tall grass and distributing a light lunch for humans and Pokémon alike.
"Ash, how's your training coming along?" Ethan asked.
"It's going great! Pikachu's getting really fast, and his attacks are more powerful."
Ethan looked at Pikachu, who was stuffing a pellet in his mouth while looking at the two of them. "I can tell. Hard to believe such a handsome little Pokémon was hiding under all that extra yellow fluff all this time."
Pikachu couldn't help the smile that came to his face as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.
"Butterfree got Confusion down. Nidoran learned Double Kick and Poison Sting. I think Pidgeotto learned a new move, though Dexter doesn't have any information on it," Ash said. "Maybe you could tell me what it is?"
Ethan leaned forward in interest. "I'll try. Describe the move to me."
"First, she flies up, then does a mid-air somersault before diving down and leveling out close to the ground. Then, it's like she disappears before she hits her target."
Ethan thought for a moment. "That sounds like it could be Aerial Ace. It's an extremely fast flying-type attack that rarely misses."
"Aerial Ace," Ash repeated.
"Where did you learn so much? Did you go to a Pokémon academy?" Misty asked.
I played the Pokémon games and watched the anime, Ethan thought. "No, I just studied a lot at home. I wanted to learn as much about Pokémon and their abilities as I could, and I picked up a lot of little tidbits."
"Like what?" Brock asked.
Ethan hummed in thought. "Well-"
"Hey look, it's a Pokémon!" Ash interrupted.
An oddish skipped merrily to a spring, oblivious to the presence of the humans nearby, and began to drink.
As Ash and Misty argued over who would get to catch it, Ethan's mind nagged him that this was supposed to be familiar. Wait, we're near the hidden village!
The oddish began to flee but was blocked by a Water Gun from Misty's Starmie and then tackled. Misty reeled her arm back and threw a Pokéball.
A vine shot out of a nearby bush. Its owner deflected the Pokéball, then positioned itself in front of the trembling oddish. It looked pissed.
"A bulbasaur!" Ash gushed excitedly before pulling out a Pokéball. "Butterfree, Confusion attack!"
Butterfree formed and immediately focused, surrounding the bulbasaur in a light blue glow, causing it to grit its teeth in pain at the super-effective attack.
"Now, use Sleep Powder!"
Ethan blinked, then snickered.
"Vee?" Eevee asked.
"Don't worry about it," Ethan said. "It's just something ironic."
Eevee shrugged and resumed watching the battle.
Bulbasaur inhaled deeply and blew the powder back at Butterfree, who struggled to regain altitude before being tackled away, giving Bulbasaur and Oddish the window they needed to escape.
"Oh man," Ash groaned before checking Butterfree for injuries.
"As I was about to say," Ethan said, lips quirking upward, "one little tidbit I picked up is that grass types are entirely unaffected by spore moves like Sleep Powder."
"Are you serious?!" Ash exclaimed as Pikachu sympathetically patted him on the back.
Ethan shrugged helplessly as he started walking in the direction the wild Pokémon fled. "I didn't make the rules."
Up next was the bridge, if Ethan recalled correctly. That shouldn't be too hard. Just wait for that inevitable gust of wind to pass, then just make sure they don't all cross at the same time. What could go wrong?
----------------------------------------
Ethan jolted back to consciousness, coughing and sputtering. He felt himself being turned on his side as liquid was forcefully expelled from his throat.
"-an? …-than! Can -ou hear me?"
Ethan coughed some more before trying to breathe. He slowly pushed himself into a kneeling position, supported by an arm around him.
He blearily opened his eyes and looked around. He was soaking wet; a swath of flattened grass and disturbed dirt came from a river to where he was sitting, and a redhead was kneeling next to him, holding him steady. What was her name? She looked familiar.
Misty, he thought. The events leading up to now then flooded his mind.
"We-," Ethan coughed. "We fell off that bridge, didn't we?"
"More like it fell out from under us," Misty replied. "You were right not to trust it. Are you okay?"
Oh, come on! Seriously?! Ethan coughed again. "Where's everyone else? Where's Eevee?!"
"We were the only ones that fell off. You sent Eevee across with Ash and Brock first. We got unlucky with a sudden gust."
Ethan sighed. "Oh, right. Glad I took some precautions. At least I'm not a complete idiot."
"You couldn't have known the bridge would collapse."
Except I kind of did. "General rule of thumb, Misty. If you find a suspended rope bridge in the middle of nowhere, don't trust it."
Ethan pulled off his glasses and flicked some droplets off of them. "Remind me to leave a review for whoever made these. I would have thought they'd fall off in the rapids."
Misty laughed. "Your sarcasm's intact, so you're fine. Come on, let's make sure we got all the water we could get out of your lungs. You don't want to catch pneumonia."
After taking a few minutes to catch his breath, Ethan stood and called out his second Pokémon. "Jade, we got separated from Brock and Ash. Follow the river upstream and see if you can spot them, please. If you don't find them before you get to the bridge, come back."
"Fwee!" Jade nodded in acknowledgment and flew off.
"Now then," Ethan said as he closed his eyes.
Misty looked at him curiously. "What are you doing?"
"I'm trying to see if I can stretch my aura to sense Eevee and what direction she's in. We have a strong bond, so I think I can pick her out from everything else."
"Oh, that's cool," Misty said. "Why send Jade to look for them then?"
"Well, if this doesn't work, then we save some time."
Ethan focused and opened himself to the world around him. He still hadn't figured out aura sight, but he could still feel things and tell what direction they were coming from. He felt curiosity from the trees to his left, probably some Pokémon who don't often see humans. He felt a couple of small auras a little farther away that were experiencing intense feelings of… okay, moving on.
He turned to face the approximate direction of the bridge and narrowed his focus. Then, taking a deep breath, he expanded his senses further.
The more he pushed his aura, the more he felt the strain and load of information. He did his best to ignore what he wasn't looking for and pushed further. A familiar aura popped up, seemingly in the air and moving away. Jade. She seemed pretty happy to be flying around.
He pushed a little further before stopping and sweeping a little to the left. What he found broke his heart.
"Found them! I think," Ethan said. "Oh, poor Eevee."
"You think?" Misty asked.
"Give me a break. I'm still figuring this aura stuff out," Ethan half-heartedly huffed as he opened his eyes again. "Ohh, that's really disorienting."
Ethan waved her off when she reached a hand out to him. "I'm fine. Let's start moving. Jade will find us."
"If you're sure. Just a second, though," Misty said. She reached into her bag and pulled out two Pokéballs. "Thanks, you two! Goldeen, Staryu, return."
The two Pokémon Ethan hadn't noticed waiting patiently in the river were returned to their balls. As Misty and Ethan started walking, a realization came to him.
"I almost drowned."
Misty glanced at him but didn't say anything.
"That means you performed CPR."
Misty tensed and took a sudden interest in the greenery around them.
"Thank you."
Misty stumbled. "Oh. You're welcome?"
Ethan smiled. "You don't sound too sure there. Did you think I was going to say something else?"
"N-no! Shut up! Shouldn't you be more concerned that you nearly drowned?!"
That gave Ethan pause. Have I been through so much trauma already that nearly drowning doesn't phase me?
"Maybe," Ethan conceded. "But I have a good friend who bailed me out, so I'm not going to dwell on it."
After a few more moments of silence, Ethan cleared his throat. "Um, so, how's your Pokémon training coming along?"
"Is that all you know how to talk about?" Misty seemed grateful for the change in topic regardless. "Well, we haven't had many chances to train. My Pokémon can't battle on land for long or at all. Goldeen can't breathe air, and Staryu and Starmie will dehydrate if they're out of the water too long."
Ethan hummed in thought. "Sounds like you just need to find a way to work around that or catch some water Pokémon that can battle on land. Or both. Both would be good."
"If you have an idea how to make it possible for Goldeen to battle on land, I'm all ears."
"Just some crazy theories that I don't know will work," Ethan admitted. "Does Goldeen know Water Sport?"
"Yeah, but how would… Oh. Oh! That's brilliant! That could work. Could it work? Why didn't I think of that?" Misty exclaimed as the gears in her head went into overdrive.
Ethan took her hand in his and quietly guided her through the forest as she thought out loud. Water Sport could resolve the issue of breathing on land, but he wasn't sure if it would allow Goldeen to swim. Then again, this world's laws of physics often seemed to make exceptions where they shouldn't. Didn't Misty's luvdisc swim in the rain in the anime?
"Rain Dance would probably work, too," Ethan added.
"Rain Dance? I don't think I've heard of that move," Misty said. "What does it do?"
Ethan involuntarily shivered as he answered. "It pretty much creates a localized rainstorm. Boosts the power of water-type moves and makes it so Thunder and Hurricane don't miss. I'm sure there are a few more effects, but that's the gist of it."
"Oh no, Ethan, you're shivering. You need to change into some dry clothes," Misty said.
"I'll be fine for a bit. I want to find Eevee first," Ethan replied.
Misty sighed. "Well, don't say I didn't warn you when you catch a cold."
"Is that some kind of Pokémon?" Ethan laughed before getting punched in the arm. "Ow! You know, at this point, I don't know if you're trying to help me or hurt me."
"You know exactly what I meant!" Misty yelled.
"I know, I know. Sheesh, you hit hard. Hope this doesn't bruise," Ethan winced as he rubbed his arm.
A spike of fear accompanied by a hint of curiosity hit Ethan's senses. Compared to everything else he was feeling, this aura felt more… human. How he knew that he didn't know. He stopped Misty and faced the direction it came from.
"Who's there? We're friendly, I promise," Ethan called out.
A few moments went by before someone spoke up. "Are you trainers? What are you doing here?"
"We were washed downstream when that bridge collapsed," Misty said. "Who are you?"
"Oh dear! I'm so sorry about that. My name is Melanie," Melanie said as she stepped into view.
Is that her natural hair color? Ethan wondered. Melanie had waist-length blue hair tied back in an oversized bow, which somehow complemented her red overalls and light pink shirt. That'd take a long time to dye if it isn't.
"I'm Ethan, and this is Misty," Ethan introduced. "Quick question: Have you seen anyone else in the past thirty minutes or so? We got separated from our friends."
"There's more than you two here? I hope they don't fall into the other traps around here," Melanie worriedly said.
"Other traps?" Realization dawned on Misty's face. "WAS THAT BRIDGE A TRAP?!"
Uh oh. An angry Misty is a scary Misty. It took everything Ethan had to restrain her in a full nelson. "Misty! Don't do anything you'll regret!"
"How would I regret this?!"
Ethan scrambled to make something up. "B-because I've heard rumors that there's a place called the hidden village near here and that the caretaker of that village nurses sick and injured Pokémon back to health. Melanie might be that caretaker!"
Misty stopped struggling. "The hidden village? The one rumored to have a goddess that heals Pokémon?"
"That rumor? O-oh, I'm not a goddess," Melanie giggled nervously. "But I do take care of any Pokémon I find that needs help."
"Fine, but why trap a bridge? We could have died!" Misty snapped as Ethan cautiously let her go.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
Ethan nodded in agreement. "Yeah, she's got a point there. The bridge was way overkill."
"Fweee!"
Ethan looked up to find Jade slowly descending. "Jade! Did you find the others?"
"Fwee!" Jade nodded.
"Great! Lead us to them, please," Ethan said.
"Oh, let me go with you," Melanie said. "I can guide you around the traps."
Ethan nodded. "That… would be much appreciated."
----------------------------------------
"Hey, Brock?" Ash began. "Do you think Ethan and Misty are okay?"
"I'm sure they're fine. Don't forget, Misty has her water Pokémon," Brock replied.
"But what if Misty couldn't call out her Pokémon in time? What if they–"
"Ash, stop," Brock warned as he gestured at Eevee. Eevee's tear-stricken face spoke volumes of how distressed she was, and no amount of comfort had gotten through to her. It didn't help that they all had no personal space in this net trap they found themselves in. There wasn't enough space for Brock to reach his hunting knife or for either Pikachu or Eevee to attack their way through the net.
"They're fine," Brock reiterated. "They're fine, they'll find us, and they'll get us out of here."
"You're right," Ash sighed. "I'm just worried about them. Do you think Ethan knew the bridge would break like that?"
Brock thought for a moment. "Maybe his powers in aura give him some kind of precognition in the form of a 'bad feeling', as he put it. It makes sense in a way, him being an empath and all."
"So, we should take Ethan more seriously when he gets those feelings?" Ash asked.
"I think we should."
Ash and Brock resumed their silence while Pikachu kept on trying to comfort Eevee. Eventually, Pikachu's and Eevee's ears perked up, and they looked steadfastly in the same direction.
"Hm? What is it?" Ash asked as he looked to see what caught their interest.
A familiar shiny butterfree appeared above the foliage, followed by Misty, a stranger, and–
"Eeveev!" Eevee cried out in joy.
"Hang on, Eevee, I'll get you down," Ethan yelled as he ran over to where the net was anchored. The stranger joined him and showed him what he needed to do.
Misty looked up at Ash and smirked. "What are you doing hanging around here?"
"Oh, haha. Very funny, Misty," Ash rolled his eyes as he and the others were gently lowered to the ground.
----------------------------------------
"C'mon, Eevee. You didn't think a little water would get me, did you?" Ethan asked as he rubbed Eevee's cheeks, who refused to be anywhere but his arms. "I mean, we've been through worse. Much worse."
"Eeveev, you're not allowed to leave me ever again," Eevee mumbled into his shirt.
"Wish I could still understand you. I'll add that to my aura to-do list. Seriously though, Eevee, I need to change out of these wet clothes. I'll only be a few minutes, okay?"
Ethan set Eevee down, and she finally didn't hop right back into his arms. He sighed as he walked into Melanie's cabin and closed the door behind him.
"Hi, uh, was that your trainer that went inside?"
Eevee tore her eyes off the door and looked at the oddish who spoke. "Yep! Hey, you're that oddish we saw earlier, aren't you?"
Oddish nodded nervously. "Y-yeah. That girl isn't going to attack me again, is she?"
"You mean Misty? No, she won't. She's actually a nice human."
"She yells a lot, especially when that other boy is around. I don't like that."
"Well, she's not as nice as Eeveev or Brock, but she's still nice."
"Oh, which human is Brock?" Oddish asked.
Eevee looked back at the cabin door, then stood. "Come on, I'll show you. He makes the best food."
Oddish closely followed Eevee to the tallest human of the group, who was helping Melanie prepare lunch.
"Well, hello, Eevee! Looks like you made a friend," Brock said. "Ready for some grub?"
Eevee nodded.
"Alright! For you, I've got the usual. For Oddish, I've got my special blend made for grass-and-poison types," Brock said as he set a couple of bowls down. "Enjoy!"
Eevee watched Oddish as they took a hesitant sniff, then as they grabbed a pellet in their mouth and bit down.
"Oh, sweet Shaymin, this is the best thing I've ever had!" Oddish squealed in delight as they took another pellet. "Do you eat like this every day?"
"Almost every day, but everything Brock or Eeveev gives me is great."
Oddish munched on another pellet, then walked up to Brock and rubbed against his leg. "Thanks for the food, Mr. Brock! It's delicious."
Brock chuckled. "Guess you like it, huh? You're welcome!"
"Wow," Melanie said. "That's the first time I've ever seen Oddish show affection for someone else."
"Well, you know what they say," Ethan said as he joined in the conversation. "The way to a Pokémon's heart is through their stomach. Or something like that. I bet Oddish will follow you around the rest of our time here."
"You think so?" Brock asked.
"Your food is one of the many reasons I stick around," Ethan chuckled.
Eevee finished the last of her chow and hopped into Ethan's arms.
"Good, you've eaten. I'm thinking of taking a nap. Almost drowning takes a lot of energy. Want to join me?" Ethan asked.
Ethan winced as Eevee slapped the bruise on his arm with her tail before she noisily yawned and nodded.
"Good! That tree looks like a good spot," Ethan said as he walked out of earshot of Brock and Melanie. He grabbed two Pokéballs from the strap of his satchel and enlarged them. "Before I forget… Jade, Sandshrew, come out."
His other two Pokémon materialized in front of him and took in their surroundings.
"Jade, Sandshrew, go ahead and get something to eat. Jade, keep an eye on the sky after you're done. Team Rocket may be dropping by soon. Sandshrew, you may do whatever you'd like when you've finished. Just don't go too far."
Both girls nodded, and Ethan sent them off with head scratches before lowering himself under his selected tree. "I feel like my old man," he chuckled as he lay down, Eevee curling up on his stomach.
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Ethan found himself in an empty white void. His feet felt like they were on solid ground, but there didn't appear to be anything there. Another vivid dream?
"Hello again, Ethan."
Ethan turned around to see the echo of Sir Aaron standing there.
"Aaron? I guess this isn't a dream, then," Ethan said in his grown-up voice.
"Not quite, though this is still your mindscape. Why don't you imagine up a couple of chairs for us? I have something urgent to bring up with you."
Ethan thought for a moment before a room materialized around them.
"Nice place," Aaron said before taking a seat in a recliner. "What's this based on?"
"It's the front room of my parents' home," Ethan replied before taking a seat on the couch.
"Nice. I've been watching your progress, and you have a good grasp of your empathic abilities. What you did today would have taken an apprentice in my day several more months to accomplish."
Ethan chuckled. "That instills some confidence."
"Confidence is good. If you are always as confident in your abilities as you were earlier today, I think you'll make much faster progress," Aaron replied with a smile.
Ethan raised a brow. "I know confidence is a key component in anything you set out to do. Is it more so with aura?"
"In my experience? Yes, it is." Aaron thought for a moment. "My master always told me that you need to be confident in your abilities for them to grow. He was usually right.
"Something I wish my master told me from the start is that aura can," Aaron waved a hand around as he tried to find the right words, "...guide you? Guide you. Like a little voice or feeling that tells you what's possible and what you need to do."
Ethan considered what he heard. "So, it's kind of like an exercise of faith? In order to achieve an end goal that you can't see, you keep working at it until you enjoy the fruits of your efforts."
"That's a way to put it," Aaron nodded. "This was a good little chat, but I'm afraid I don't have as much time as I'd like. I'm here with a warning and a heads up to be on the lookout. I've been sensing an especially dark presence in Kanto lately, and it reeks of malicious intent. I believe they're trying to track down your party."
"What?! That doesn't sound good," Ethan exclaimed. "I have no idea who would want to track us down. Is there anything else you can tell me about them?"
"That's all I know so far, unfortunately," Aaron admitted. "Be on guard. You don't want to be caught by surprise. You should be capable of keeping your aura sense up all the time when you're awake."
"I'm pretty sure it stays on when I sleep, too. I just don't always pay attention to it." Ethan sighed as he leaned back into his seat. "Are you only able to visit when I go through a traumatic experience?"
Aaron blinked, then laughed. "I guess I've made you think that haven't I?"
The room around them began to fade, and Ethan's eyes grew heavy.
"Remember, Ethan, be confident in your abilities and let your aura guide you."
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Ethan awoke to twenty pounds of fluff jumping up and down on his stomach, causing him to grunt and catch Eevee with an arm before she could touch down again.
Ethan yawned. "We're rather chipper right now, aren't we?"
Eevee giggled as she hopped down and rubbed her cheek against her trainer's.
"Okay, okay, I'm up!" Ethan laughed. He grabbed Eevee again and stood up, bracing himself against the tree as a bout of light-headedness hit him. "Ohh, I got up too fast again."
The all-too-familiar sound of yelling grabbed Ethan's attention. He found Misty and Ash going at it again while the oddish that Misty had tried to capture earlier ran and hid behind Brock's leg.
Then Bulbasaur charged out of a nearby bush and bowled Misty over.
"Oh, great," Ethan sighed, keeping a firm hold on a growling Eevee as he walked over.
"...You're just mad because I was gonna beat you, and you chickened out–"
"Hey, Ash?" Ethan stared evenly at Ash and flicked him on the nose. Hard. Eevee slowly brought a paw up to cover her own nose.
"Ow!" Ash said as he held his stinging nose. "What was that for?!"
"For provoking Misty and scaring Oddish!" Ethan admonished. "Misty was pouring her heart out because she feels bad for what she did to Oddish, then you come along and ruin the moment!"
"Yeah, you tell him, Ethan!"
Ethan turned to Misty and flicked her nose as well, though not as hard as he did to Ash. Eevee quickly brought up her other paw.
"Hey!" Misty yelled.
"That's for taking Ash's bait! He was purposely trying to get a rise out of you." Ethan shook his head. "Seriously, you two act like an old married couple."
Misty's face turned tamato red while Brock poorly disguised his chuckles. Ash just looked confused. Bulbasaur could only watch, dumbfounded at what was unfolding before him.
"Please, stop fighting!" Melanie pleaded. "And don't be upset with Bulbasaur. He volunteered to guard our village, and he protects the injured Pokémon when he feels they're threatened."
"So that's why Bulbasaur attacked me…," Misty realized.
Eevee managed to wriggle free and hop down, standing in the way of Bulbasaur, who was trying to move closer to Ash. "Eevee! Eev vee vui?"
"Bulba, bulbasaur saur!" Bulbasaur growled back.
"What are they talking about?" Ash asked.
Ethan hummed for a moment. "Don't know, but Bulbasaur has a lot of enmity directed at us."
"It's not specifically you," Melanie explained. "Bulbasaur just doesn't like Pokémon trainers."
"Why does he hate trainers so much?" Ethan asked.
Melanie hesitated. "I… think it's because he used to have one, and he was abandoned. When I found him, he was badly injured and crying over a shattered Pokéball. It took a long time for him to start trusting me."
Brock's hand curled tightly. "Who could be so… irresponsible and heartless?!"
I was afraid it was something like that, Ethan thought, sharing Brocks' feelings.
"Even after all Bulbasaur's gone through, he put others first… He's such a great Pokemon," Ash whispered.
"Fwe fwee!"
"Shrew, sand sandshrew!"
Ethan looked up to find Jade descending with Sandshew on her back. It looked like it took Jade little effort to stay airborne. Sandshrew jumped down, taking Ethan by surprise as he barely got his arms out in time to catch her.
"Hey, Sandshrew," Ethan grunted. "I didn't know you liked flying."
Sandshrew shook her head. "Shrew, sandshrew…."
Ethan shifted her so she was facing him. "Ah, you wanted to try it, then found out you didn't like it?"
Sandshrew nodded, embarrassed.
"Hey, there's nothing to be ashamed of. You tried something new, and now you know you prefer the ground. Good on you for trying new things," Ethan smiled as he tickled her under the chin, eliciting a gravelly giggle.
"You're so good with your Pokémon," Melanie cooed.
"Ethan and Ash are both like that," Brock said. "In a way, it makes me a little jealous how well they hit it off with any Pokémon they meet."
"Fwee!!" Jade yelled, exasperated.
At Jade's insistence, Ethan looked up at the sky and saw a dark shape far in the distance.
"Guys, we've got company," Ethan said as he pointed to the object in question.
Brock took out a pair of binoculars and put them up to his eyes for a few moments, adjusting the focus to get a better look. "It's Team Rocket!"
Ethan was already thinking of what to do. "Melanie, Ash, Misty, get the wild Pokémon to safety. In the cabin or the forest, I don't care where! Brock, you're with me."
"But-"
"Hurry!" Ethan interrupted Misty. "There's not much time until they see what we're up to. Knowing them, they're here to steal the Pokémon, and I don't want them to see more Pokémon they might try to take."
"Fine, but as soon as the Pokémon are safe, I'm coming back to help," Ash said.
Ethan nodded as Melanie and Bulbasaur, along with Misty and Ash, gathered the Pokémon together and departed into the forest behind them.
"Jade, Sandshrew, return for now. I'll call you back out if we need you," Ethan said as he expanded their Pokéballs and returned them before stuffing them securely into a pocket.
"What's the plan?" Brock asked as Team Rocket's machine overshadowed them and began its descent.
"Play it by ear," Ethan said as he tugged on his gloves. "And be ready for them to fight dirty."
A pair of eyes peeked curiously around the corner of the cabin as Team Rocket's machine touched down.
----------------------------------------
"There's a cave up ahead," Melanie said. "We can hide everyone there."
"Good," Ash said. The earth shook for a few moments as something heavy landed where they came from. "Let's hurry!"
Misty went into the cave first, leading the Pokémon inside while Melanie took a headcount. She did a double-take and counted them again.
"Oddish is missing!" Melanie gasped.
"Bulba?!" Bulbasaur said as he looked around.
"We were in such a hurry to get out of there. We must have missed them," Misty said.
Ash looked back to where the cabin was. "Misty, you stay here and protect the Pokémon. I'll go find Oddish." He turned to leave, only to be stopped by a vine that wrapped around his wrist.
"Bulbasaur saur!" Bulbasaur growled.
"What are you doing? I have to find Oddish!" Ash said as he locked eyes with the Kanto grass starter.
They held their staring contest for a few moments until Bulbasaur nodded and released his wrist. He then ran ahead of Ash before looking back and gesturing to him. "Saur, saur!"
"Bulbasaur wants to save Oddish as well," Melanie said. "You should go together."
Ash looked at Melanie, then back at Bulbasaur. "Okay, let's go, Bulbasaur."
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Ethan knew what might have happened if he didn't do anything. Perhaps Team Rocket would have been foiled anyway. He didn't want to take any chances, though. Now that he was in the picture, he wouldn't stand by and do nothing, hoping that things would turn out exactly as they originally did. He knew his actions were changing things little by little, for better or worse, and doing nothing wasn't a risk he was willing to take.
"Today only at Jessie's Stadium, it's the Team Rocket challenge!"
"The flying stadium was my idea," James grumbled.
Meowth swept his gaze over the ground below and frowned. "Hold the phone. Where are all the Pokémon? And the rest of the twerps?"
"We'll find them later. We can still grab the two twerp's Pokémon," Jessie said as she pressed a button on the remote in her hand. A hose extended out of the stadium and began to suck in the air surrounding it.
"Brock!"
"Right. Onix, cover us!"
Onix emerged from his Pokéball and immediately coiled around Brock and Ethan, giving them a pocket of air unaffected by the winds.
"We need to stop that vacuum before Melanie's cabin gets swept up," Brock yelled as the winds continued to increase in speed.
"I don't think Jade is strong enough to stop winds that strong psychically, and even then, that would only be a temporary solution!" Ethan said.
Brock peeked over Onix's bulk. "I have an idea! I need you to divert that–"
"Oooddiiiiish!"
Brock lunged for Oddish as they tumbled through the air overhead and managed to grab them, only to start drifting himself when he didn't come back down.
"Eeveev!"
Ethan hugged Eevee against him with one arm as he reached for Jade's Pokéball with the other, only to be preempted as a set of vines wrapped around Brock's waist.
"Hold on! We'll reel you in," Ash yelled as he held Bulbasaur down.
Ethan watched for a moment as Ash and Bulbasaur struggled to pull Brock and Oddish to safety. It's not enough!
"Jade, use Confusion on that hose. Point it at the sky!" Ethan yelled as he sent her out. "Onix, use Rock Throw. Make it big enough to plug up that hose!"
Both Pokémon got to work. Jade took the end of the hose in her psychic hold, and pointed it away, causing Brock to tuck and roll when he fell to the ground. Onix uncoiled and dug his tail underground. With a mighty roar, he flicked his tail up and launched a boulder into the air, leaving a sizable hole in the ground.
"Pikachu, use Electroweb to stop that Poison Sting!"
An orb of electricity flew by and intercepted the attack coming from Jessie's ekans intended for Jade. Ethan nodded in thanks.
Ethan dropped Eevee to the ground. "Eevee, Swift attack on Ekans!"
Eevee's tail briefly flashed as dozens of stars formed before shooting in an arc toward where Ekans was presumably located on top of the stadium.
The boulder came back down and landed perfectly in the opening of the hose. The sudden loss of air intake caused the hose to collapse back in on itself and into the stadium, bringing a quarter-ton of rock with it and tearing through the stadium before going out the other side.
"It looks like…," James began as the floor underneath them sparked.
"…We struck out," Jessie finished as the sparks intensified.
Then, the stadium roof exploded.
"Wait, did they seriously stand in the one spot that could explode?" Ethan asked himself as Team Rocket blasted off and out of sight.
He shook his head and looked around to inspect the damage, sighing in relief when he saw the cabin and everyone else was in one piece. "Everyone okay?"
Brock looked up from where he was checking on Oddish. "We're fine. I have to agree with Sandshrew that I prefer to keep my feet on the ground."
Ethan laughed at that. "My heart's still hammering. There was so much going on, and I had a hard time keeping track of it all. Good thing Ash and Bulbasaur came when they did."
"Bulbasaur and Pikachu were both awesome! We still have some work to do on Electroweb, though. It didn't come out quite right," Ash said as he rubbed both Pokémon's heads.
"Well, Pikachu didn't use Electroweb, Ash. That was an Electro Ball. The faster Pikachu is than his opponent, the more damage the move will do. That's a great move for Pikachu to have in his arsenal."
Ethan looked around and saw that the hole Onix left in the ground was quickly filling up with water. "You might want to give Misty and Melanie the all-clear. And let Melanie know she's got a new pond."
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After getting everyone back together, sweeping the stadium debris into a large pile (Melanie said she knew some people who could help her get it removed later), Ash catching Bulbasaur, and surprisingly, Oddish refusing to not go with Brock, the gang got back on the road.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm glad we got lost," Ash said as he walked behind his Bulbasaur, who was unsure of why Nidoran was sticking so close to him.
Misty huffed. "I guess I can let you even saying that pass this time. But don't let it happen again!"
"Give him a break, Misty. I'm pretty happy we got lost too," Brock said as he gave another bit of food to Oddish, whom he was holding in his arms.
Ethan was lost in his own thoughts, his legs on autopilot following the group.
I've been sensing an especially dark presence in Kanto lately, and it reeks of malicious intent. I believe they're trying to track down your party.
There's no way that dark presence could be Jessie, James, and Meowth. They were softies at heart. He also doubted Team Rocket could have found out what he was. There wasn't any other antagonist that seemed to fit from the first season of the Pokémon anime that he could remember either.
There just wasn't enough information. Ethan grimly accepted the fact and resolved to do as Aaron suggested, hoping they could deal with whatever was coming their way.
Should he tell the others? What would he say? That a man from 2000 years ago visited him in his dreams and told him to watch out for an unknown threat?
No. At least, not yet. Ash needed to catch Charmander and Squirtle to complete his primary Kanto roster. Krabby, Muk, Primeape, and Tauros were all secondary. If he told the rest of the group anything now, would that make them decide to take a different route?
Ethan blinked. Was that him, or was this his aura 'guiding' him?
Some laughter drew Ethan out of his thoughts and his eyes up to Ash and Pikachu. "Today was the best birthday ever!"
Birthday? Ethan checked his watch and his eyes widened when he saw that, indeed, the date was May 22nd. Where did the time go?
"Wait, wait, wait. Hold up, Ash. Today's your birthday?" Ethan asked.
"Yep! I'm 11 years old now."
Impossible, Ethan thought as he chuckled sheepishly at himself. "Mine was yesterday, but I lost track of the days and kind of forgot. Oh! I have something for you."
Ethan opened his bag and fished around inside.
"My gift to you, your hat," Ethan said as he offered it to Ash. Ash quietly accepted it and thumbed the brim of the cap before smiling and putting it on.
"That feels so much better. Thanks!" Ash said. "What's in the box?"
"This is a birthday gift to you from your mom. I have no idea what's in it. She wouldn't tell me," Ethan said as he handed it over.
"Mom?" Ash tore the box open and pulled out a note. "Dear Ash, Happy birthday! I wish I could have given this to you in person. I was going to give you something on the day you left on your journey, but you surprised me by picking Pikachu as your starter, so it took me some time to find this again. Pikachu should know what it is. Love, Mom. P.S. Don't forget to call every once in a while."
Ash smiled as he set the note in the box and pulled out the other item, a yellow, translucent orb. Pikachu's ears pointed straight up, and he reached out for it.
"Eevee vee?" Eevee tilted her head.
"What is it?" Ash asked.
"That's a Light Ball!" Brock said, amazed. "Those are extremely rare. It's an item that only Pikachu can use."
Ash looked between the ball and Pikachu, then gave the eager mouse the orb. As soon as it made contact with Pikachu, the ball glowed a bright yellow before being absorbed into his body.
Misty was the first to speak up. "Okay, did anyone else see that?"
"No one's sure why that happens," Brock explained. "Man-made items for Pokémon don't do that, but natural-made items, like that Light Ball, can be absorbed. It's not permanent either since Pikachu can take it back out if he wants to."
"Huh. The more you know," Ethan mused.
"That's pretty cool. What does the Light Ball do?" Ash asked.
"I think I know the answer to that," Ethan said. "It increases the potency of Pikachu's physical and special attacks. In short, Pikachu will hit things a lot harder."
Brock nodded at Ash's inquisitive glance.
"That's so awesome! Pikachu, we're doing some special training tonight!"
As the excitement died down and the group resumed their trek, Ethan thought again about who their mystery pursuer could be. He looked at Ash, wondering just who exactly was being targeted and what this dark presence intended to do.