Pikachu looked left, then right, then left again. All was clear, for
now. Carefully, he curled his paw behind him, then stepped out into
the open.
Behind him, a mixed group of baby pokemon, some of them carrying their
still-egged siblings, huddled in fear but stayed with him. The menace
would soon return; they could either stay and end up like their
parents, or follow this outsider and possibly live. Half-paralyzed by
fear as they were, they still opted for survival.
Pikachu dared not run, lest his charges get even more scared and
scatter. Merely walking dragged the short jog to a nearby cave into
several agonizing minutes, but they eventually made it to within sight
of the shelter. He waved the young ones on, knowing that a rear guard
was what they now needed.
Unfortunately, he paused to check on them just as their enemy burst out
of the bush.
---
Ash, too, walked towards the cave, but more out of lethargy than out of
caution. Burying the dead parents had taken more out of his heart than
out of his body. Even so, his human legs, more than three times as
long as the entire body of the tallest of the refugees Pikachu was
leading to safety, got him to the rendevous point in time to see his
friend go down under a mean hoof.
Tauros - but just one, probably lost and confused, looking for its
herd, and growing angrier when it could not find them. Ash's
assessment of the bull masked his emotions from processing what had
just happened, as did a further analysis of its tragectory: straight
for the kids.
With no time to summon another pokemon, Ash yelled out. No one
listened to the words he used: the kids, if they could even understand
him, were too scared; Pikachu was already mercifully unconscious; the
target was too angry; and even Ash himself was only aware of selecting
a random taunt. It worked, though, since the bull turned course and
headed for Ash.
Ash's first reaction had been lightning-fast, but he made the mistake
of thinking about his next move.
---
"Get back here, Togepi!"
The partial egg led her mistress on through the forest. "To ge! To
ge!"
"I said..." Misty paused to avoid tripping over a root. "...get back
here. When I said we should split up to find Ash, I meant Brock and
myself, not you."
"TO GE!" Togepi beckoned with one arm. She was small enough that the
dense forest presented no problem for her, but Misty was having a tough
time getting through, to say nothing of keeping up.
"The way you're going on...wait, are you saying *you* know where Ash
is?"
Togepi nodded, then parted some bush. "To ge to ge prri!"
"In here? I see his cap next to the red puddle, but what's-"
Recognition came almost too quick.
---
Brock clung desparately to Onix's back as it steamrollered a path
through the dense foliage. That was either Misty or a new kind of
pokemon, and either way, Ash was probably close by.
When the rock snake slowed, Brock looked down from above the treetops,
then quickly jumped down and checked the pulses of the three
unconscious figures. Misty had merely fainted, but it was easy to see
why. Even Brock got a little queasy seeing his friend's current state,
but fortunately Ash still had a pulse. Pikachu, too.
Not knowing how much time he had, he summoned his remaining pokemon and
lifted Ash. "Vulpix, Zubat: keep Togepi and Misty safe, and don't let
Togepi wander off until Misty gets up. Geodude: grab Pikachu and
follow me. Onix: we need to get back to the pokemon center fast, but
I'm not sure Ash could survive a ride. Clear a path for us."
All four of Brock's friends voiced their assent, acting almost as
extensions of his will.
---
Chansey furrowed her brow in concentration. Most people and pokemon
thought that her "Softboiled" move, as they called it, was just some
kind of medical magic. It could be called that, but only because it
was in fact poorly understood technology. Or so Chansey told herself;
it was her dream to someday put this power into a device that could be
manufactured and given out, so that everyone could use and understand
her power.
She concentrated on the egg in her pouch, slowly pulling off a chunk of
it and rubbing it on the human's wounds. She knew almost every kind of
pokemon flesh and organ, and had to, to make best use of this
technique. It would not do to, say, put a copy of the electric sacs
from this human's apparent partner inside the human's lung. Although
she was used to working on pokemon only, an emergency was an emergency,
and there was enough of this person still intact to clone the needed
tissues.
Doing this all day took a lot out of her - literally, considering how
much egg mass she used most days. But she could regenerate. Death,
disease, and discomfort were facts of life; she could but chase them
away when they crossed her path.
---
"I don't know, Jes."
"Oh, come on, James. You saw how badly beat up that twerp was. This
is a perfect chance to grab Pikachu."
"Pikachu looked in pretty sorry shape too. I'm sure the boss doesn't
want dead pokemon, but until they're healed..."
Meowth shook his head, unnoticed. Personally, he sided with James, but
what could be done? Jessie would not be talked out of it, and as much
as he enjoyed fighting the kids, attacking now might be mistaken for a
serious attempt on Ash's life. He knew how Misty would take that, and
he did not want to risk retaliation in kind. But what could he do?
Then he remembered...
---
Giovanni watched the herd of dragons come around for another pass, only
to shrink dramatically in number as most of the pokemon dissapeared into
poke balls. "Don't leave any of them behind."
Meowth looked up as the team of Rockets prepared to obey. "Why not?
We're only bein' paid to nab 10, and we've already got that many."
"Dratinis, even ones as young as these, can remember people. If left
to grow up on their own, one of them might seek revenge. Better to
indoctrinate all of them."
"Yeah, right. What could one single pokemon do to Team Rocket, boss?"
Giovanni smiled. "'The power of one is to do something. Anything.'"
---
Meowth smiled. And did something.
Jessie and James never did know why the balloon burst that time, but
they knew the drill of what happened next.
******
[I'm not feeling too good about that one now that it's written. Which
probably means it's either great or a total flop. But now that it is
written...what do you think?]