Chapter
2- The Life of a Trainer, The Destiny of a Master
(
“ASH,
you moron!” Misty yelled at him, “You’re telling me that you’ve been outside,
at night time, by yourself, FIGHTING GANGSTERS?!”
Ash
cringed, but then straightened up. “I wasn’t alone! I had Muk with me the whole
time!”
“The
whole time, huh? How come Muk came to the center by himself, and you weren’t
around?!” She yelled, “Nurse Joy just told us about that Missingno gang! You
could have been hurt! No… not hurt, KILLED!”
Ash
rubbed the back of his head “Well, I may have a few bruises, but I’m fine!
During the past few years, I’ve been zapped, scorched, half-drowned, whipped,
frozen, thrown over cliffs, or just plain beaten to a pulp, on more than one
occasion! I’m alive, and unharmed! What more could you want?”
Misty
slapped him in the face, and glared at him, her face was red and burning with
anger, and there was a small tear in the corner of her eye, “You can start by
not being so stupid!” With that, she stormed out of the room, slamming the door
behind her.
“Is it
safe to come in now?” Brock unlocked the door and walked out of the bathroom.
He locked himself there the second he saw Ash come in. They knew what was
coming. If there was one thing that truly frightened everyone, it was Misty’s
lethal temper. According to Misty’s sisters, when she was mad, all the pokémon,
even the Gyarados dived down and huddled in the deepest, rockiest, darkest
corners and caves of the aquarium.
Ash
rubbed the side of his face where she slapped him, “Man, that girl is SO UNCUTE!
What is her problem?!”
Brock
looked at him, “She thought you might have been hurt, or worse with all those
Rockets out there. Just after hearing about the Missingno gang, she started
freaking out! She almost had a fit back there!”
“(In
other words, she was acting normal” Ash muttered, “She didn’t have to slap me!
If she was so worried about me getting hurt, why’d she do it me herself?”
“She
didn’t mean to hurt you, she was just worried to have lost someone who means so
much to her” Brock answered
“Huh?
What do you mean?”
“Ash,
you’ve been traveling with her for a while. Can’t you take a hint? She was
really worried about you.” Said Brock, “As for the hitting, she was going much
easier on you lately”
“What
are you talking about?” Ash asked, even more confused.
“Ash,
Ash, Ash…” Brock said, “It’s so obvious. The yelling, the daily arguments and
then making up later on… those are all the signs of a very close couple.”
“What
are you getting at Brock?” Ash eyed him
“I’m
just saying…” Brock started speaking “The way she acts around you. It means
that she really, REALLY likes you… but is just too shy to admit it and uses the
bike as an excuse. I mean, you’ve more than repaid your dept, saved our lives, gave
us an unforgettable adventure through places no one has ever been, and it was
thanks to you she got Togepi… I’ve seen couples like that many times. Those
kind of girls with a lot of spunk, they are almost always the most caring, and
loving people. I tell you, you should be happy! Kids these days! They never
appreciate the good things life gives them. You’re a really strong trainer and
possibly destined to be a master, and you also have a girl like her who likes
you, there’s no better prize than that!” Brock said, and saw nurse Joy walk by
in the hallway, he goes all red and talks in an idiotic tone, “Of course, I
could be mistaken!”
“Knock
it off!” Ash punched him hard on the back of the head. “Quit talking like that!
You’re embarrassing me!” he added, his eyes closed and had an angry expression,
but his face was red.
“Seriously!”
Brock said, getting up with a large bump on his head, “I thought that when I
left the group temporarily back in the Orange Islands, because you two would be
alone, that would give you enough privacy and the opportunity to tell her…”
“Oh
yeah! I remember!” Ash interrupted “That was when you stayed on that island
with professor Ivy!”
(A cold
wind blew through the room and background turns black and Brock turns a shade
of blue) Brock looked like he was just hit by lightening, “THAT… THAT NAME!” he
huddled in the corner sulking.
“Hmph,
that shut him up!” Ash said, leaving the room and headed for the lobby, his
eyes closed, angry expression and his face red
“Oh
Ash!” Nurse Joy called, running up to him and next to her, Pikachu, “You’re
pokémon are all healed!” she held up a tray with five pokéballs
“Thank
you nurse” He said, accepting them. She walked away and returned to her work. “Pikachu!
How’re ya doing buddy?” He asked
“PIKA
PI!” Pikachu happily responded and held up a peace sign.
“Great
to see you all rested up!” Ash said, kneeling and petting Pikachu’s head
“Our
top story tonight, crime rates are on the rise as local police are helpless
before Missingno gang!” The local news reporter on the TV spoke, Ash stood up
and looked at the TV. “Citizens of
“Well
what do you know. Someone actually won that crazy competition” Ash said “And
what the ‘Super Fiends’? Just who are they?”
“Allow
me to answer that Ash” A familiar voice answered.
Ash
turned around, “Ebi!? When did you get here?!”
“Shortly
after you” he answered, straightening his glasses, “Well anyways, you wanted to
know about the Fiends? You see… the Super Fiends can are the ultimate
anti-heroes. Each of them is an incredibly tough fighter, legendary for their
strength and skill, and they do not know defeat. The number of pokémon trainers
to fall to them are beyond count, and what’s more amazing is that don’t even
use pokémon. . They are truly a force to be reckoned with… from time to time,
they work as mercenaries for hire, and they are currently working for the
Missingno gang.”
“So
that’s what you were warning me about?” Ash asked
“Well
duh, you think a bunch punks and gangsters who can’t beat up one boy anything
to be worried about? When I said that the Missingno gang wasn’t to be messed
with, I was mainly referring to the Super Fiends. You won’t believe how strong
they are… frankly, that small group can easily wipe out the whole gang.”
“Okay,
Ebi. That changes a lot of things. I don’t have to worry about the Missingno
punks and gangsters, only the fiends?”
“Yeah,
if you want to get killed. Don’t forget, the Missingno gang doesn’t have any
problems with killing guys like you. Whoa! Look at the time! Gotta go!” Ebi
said, walking towards the exit of the pokémon center.
“Yo,
Ebi!” Ash called out, running to him, “Is it safe for you to go out? I mean you
being a defenceless guy with all those thugs out there?”
“Perfectly
safe” Ebi replied calmly and held out a strange looking device, “Take a look at
this.”
Ash
walked closer and Ebi touched him with the device. (Camera-view switches to
outside the pokémon center. You see HUGE flashes of light and lightning through
the windows) Ash was laying flat on the floor, charred and smoking, and there
were small bolts of electricity running around his body.
“I
would have been able to defend myself earlier, but my custom made super
ultra-deluxe Hyper-Volt, Giga-Thunder Ebi-brand Taser was out of power. It
holds enough energy to give about a thousand shocks before running out of
power. I bring it with me for two reasons. One is for self-defence, and two is
just for kicks, mostly just for kicks, but mainly for self-defence. This time
was for kicks” He laughed, “But… it ran out of power. I came here to have the
electrodes power it up.” He looked at it and gasped, “Whoa! I’m sorry! I
accidentally set this thing on kill!” Ash was still face-flat on the ground,
but he twitched a little, “Okay, that’s a good sign, you’re still alive. You
see, I’m an expert at designing gadgets and such, and I make a ton of money for
them. I get paid thousands of dollars designing the traps, items and arenas
they use in the Smash Bros. Tournaments…”
Ash got
up and gave Ebi a HUGE punch in the face, sending him flying, crashing through
the doors, tumbling down the cement steps, and rolling out flat on the
sidewalk, “You jerk! That really, REALLY HURT! Consider yourself lucky that I
didn’t have to get rough on ya!”
“Owww…
JEEZUS CHRIS’!” Ebi yelled, and got up, “If you’re gonna give me that kinda
attitude, then don’t expect any more help from me!” And with that, he walked
off. Ash watched, him head out of sight, into the darkness and quiet… which was
broken a in a flash of light and electric bolts flying everywhere, and men
screaming. Ebi was just out zapping some more guys with that Ultra Ebi-Taser
thing.
“So
Ash, who was that?” Brock asked, walking up to Ash,
“Some
guy” Ash answered plainly
“That
guy isn’t a trainer, is he? With all those Missingno thugs around, is it safe
for him to walk the streets at night?” Brock asked
(You
see a huge flash of electricity and lightning bolts flying, and you hear guys
screaming) “He’s safe enough” Ash answered flatly, “I’m really tired, I’m going
to bed now.” He finished and walked to the bedrooms.
(Bedrooms)
Although
she was very exhausted, Misty just couldn’t get to sleep. It wasn’t Ash’s
occasional snoring that was keeping her awake; it was the situation they were
in. Over the years on their adventure, they’ve encountered many problems and
enemies and overcame them all, but this isn’t a situation they’ve ever handled
before. Team Rocket had put up an extremely tough fight, and they didn’t quit
even though they were beaten dozens of times. But now, they’ve got a deadly
gang after them. No, they’re after Ash. Normally, Misty would take it calmly
because she knows Ash can handle himself against any enemy, but this gang didn’t
want to have a pokémon battle with Ash, they wanted to kill him. “Why did it
have to be us?” She asked quietly, rolling onto her side, “Why does it have to
be him?”
“A
pokémon trainer is like a warrior. Day in, day out, the fighting never ends.
Ash already knew he would be fighting more than just pokémon battles when he
became a trainer” Brock answered out loud from the top bunk on his bed.
Misty
gasped, “Brock! Y-you’re awake!” She felt so embarrassed. Brock heard her!
“Yeah,
I can’t sleep either. I just can’t relax” He lay on his back, speaking quietly,
not to disturb Pikachu and Ash, “Even though Ash knows what he’s in for, I can’t
believe he’s taking this so calmly! I’ve just heard about those Super Fiends,
and judging by their descriptions, I don’t know if any of us could stand a
chance”
“Do you
think we stand a chance?” Misty asked
“I don’t
know, but now’s not a good time to think about these things. We should get some
sleep, before Ash wakes up.” Brock said
After
that, none of them spoke, and slowly, they sunk into a deep sleep. But one
person was still awake. Ash sat up in his bed, he had heard everything,
“(They
are right)” He thought to himself, “(Team Rocket and Missingno gang, if I want
to stand a chance, there is only one way)” He stood up and looked out the
window to the sky. Moonlight shone through the window as he gazed at the stars,
he then looked down at his clenched fist and spoke quietly “When I left my home
in
(
The
group headed on to Scarlet’s sister city, Teal Ville. Although Tracey wasn’t
supposed to be there for about another week, Ash would be training there, and
Team Rocket wouldn’t know where to find them. When leaving the city, Ash saw
them looking for them, and that meant that they won’t know that they’d be in
Teal. It also meant that they’d be away from the Missingno punks and gangsters.
They
continued deeper and deeper into the woods. Back in Scarlet, Ash had run into a
lone Team Rocket grunt, and before the grunt could call up any pokémon, Ash had
beaten him down because a battle would attract too much attention, especially
from other Team Rocket and Missingno members. After beating up and tying up the
Team Rocket Grunt, he took along with some super potions, an accurate map of
the area. They had to take the long walk through the northeast path in the dense
forest area. According to Team Rocket’s map, the base is exactly North of
Scarlet, and further north is Teal. If they didn’t want trouble from an entire
criminal organization army, they had to walk around it. Plus the dense forest
will provide excellent cover.
“Uh…
Ash,” Misty said nervously as they reached a fork in the pathways. One led
North through open woods and sunlight, the one to the right went into an
extremely deep and dark area and had a danger sign planted on the ground “That
wouldn’t be the dense Green forest area we have to cross, would it?”
“No, it
wouldn’t be” Ash answered, Misty and Brock sighed in relief, but saw that Ash
had a grim look on his face, “The Green forest dense area is deeper in the
middle of the forest, and that’s where the Team Rocket base is. Green forest
ends at the pathway to the right. From then on, its Dark forest time until we
reach the east side of Teal”
Brock
gulped. He remembered this situation. In deep forests like that, lots of dark
pokémon hide out, and especially the ghost types. Oh, how he hated ghost
pokémon. Misty was nervous because that’s the kind of area where you’d find
tons of bug pokémon. Ash was fine because if there were to be lots of pokémon
attacking, then there’d be more battles and experience for him. They walked
into the dark forest, not knowing what dangers they would find.
(
It hasn’t
even been half an hour, and they’ve already lost the trail. The trees were all
so full of leaves and close together; it was as dark as night and the forest
was more like a cave. Misty clutched Togepi tightly; she did not like this
place one bit. Every once in a while, she would feel like someone, or something
was watching them. Ash pushed some branches out of the way and pushed through
the thick bushes. Ash wished he had something to cut them out of the way. He
could always use Bayleef, but the flash of Bayleef coming out of the pokéball
and the sound of the razor leaves slicing through the undergrowth would be too
risky. There’s supposed to be a small Team Rocket outpost here. Until now, Ash
had never known Team Rocket was this dangerous.
Ash
looked behind him at his friends, Misty was nervous and was constantly looking
left and right for any signs of danger, but Brock wasn’t acting that way, “Hey
Brock” Ash called, silently, “(You seem awfully calm, even for a place like
this”
“I’m
only calm because I know there’s no ghost pokémon here. It’s surprising,
because in a place like this, they’d usually be swarming in packs”
“How
would you know there’s no ghosts?” Ash asked
“Because
his eyes are as much use in the dark as they are in the light! It wouldn’t make
a difference if it was a bright afternoon!” Misty said angrily
“That’s
not true!” Brock said, “You know I can see!”
“Maybe,
or maybe because blind people have better senses of hearing and smell!” Misty
said
“I’m
not blind! I just squint because my eyes are very sensitive to light, and dark!
If I were blind, then how does that explain why I’m walking around without
bumping into trees? (Thump) OW!” Brock bumped into a tree, “Joke, and I’ll kill
you…”
“SHHH!”
Misty hissed, “We don’t want any trouble just because you can’t keep quiet!”
she said angrily
“Jeez
guys, what’s the problem with this place?” Ash asked both of them, “The only
ghosts we ever see are pokémon and they can all be beaten and captured now. To
you, this place may be scary, but I’m not the least bit frightened”
“Ash!
When are you ever gonna drop the big hero attitude?!” Misty asked him, trying
her best to keep her voice down
“Be
quiet! I hear something!” Brock hushed them both. They all listened into the
forest. They heard something… the sound of a battle, coming from far away. From
what they could hear, it was a tremendous one. A monstrous roar echoed in the
distance, it sounded like it came from some horrible monster, followed by
complete silence. The silence was suddenly broken by a shrill, piercing scream
that made the hair on Ash’s head stand, Brock covered his ears, Togepi
immediately withdrew deep into the shell and Misty grabbed on to Ash’s shoulder
in fear. Pikachu’s cheeks began to spark and Ash was shaking.
“What
was that!?” Ash gasped, his fists were shaking.
“It… it
seems like, l-like there’s more in this forest than Rockets and pokémon…” Brock
was shaking.
Misty
held on to Ash even harder, “A-Ash! I want to get out of this forest now!” She
was scared beyond belief. Not even in her nightmares has she ever been so
frightened.
“I want
out of this place too…” Ash held her back. Now that he knew there really was something
in these woods, he wanted out. “Let’s hurry up, it’s supposed to be a bright
afternoon right now, yet it’s as dark as night! If the sun sets, it’ll probably
be pitch black. Let’s… move ahead, and get out of here!”
Although
scared beyond their worst belief, they continued northwards. Ash kept his hand
close to his pokébelt. Misty had a mallet in one arm, and the other’s was
linked to Ash’s free one (surprise, surprise). Brock had Onix’s pokéball in one
hand, ready to throw, and his frying pan in the other. Crobat was flying a bit
above their heads so it could detect any movement from any side. Pikachu rode
on Ash’s shoulder, sparking and anticipating an attack. However… they didn’t
realise it yet, but they were being watched…
Meanwhile,
high over the forest, up in the air, another party was following them.
“Jessie!
Do we actually have to go down there?!” James whined
“You
heard the bosses orders! We’re lucky enough to only be sent to
“Yeesh,
who knew the boss could be so harsh on anybody?” Meowth asked, “Normally, when
any Rocket messes up enough times, we get stationed in that place. Apparently
there’s something in those woods, that’s been attacking the Rockets, and I
heard an Elite Team Rocket 00 Agent went there to check it out.”
“Which
Rocket agent is it this time?” Jessie asked
“I not
sure… but I think it’s 001” Meowth answered
“001?
Oh yeah… I remember him!” James “He’s one of the oldest members of Team Rocket,
and has been there decades before we even joined! From what I heard, he’s also
one of the strongest, he was even defeated one of the Elite Four! I think it
was… it was Agatha he defeated!”
“Agatha?!”
Both Meowth and Jessie exclaimed at the same time, Agatha, despite her age, she
was one of the strongest members of the Elite Four, although she’s probably
retired by now, and Lance has left to go wandering. “Well… if there 001 is that
strong, and he’s down there, then I don’t think we’d have to go down there and
fight the twerps!” Jessie said happily.
They
all started cheering at the good news. Not going down there meant not having to
fight Ash’s team, which also meant no blasting off today! Suddenly, Meowth
stopped cheering, “Uh, guys? Do you feel… something?”
“What
do you mean?”
Meowth
looked down at the forest. “Well, earlier on, that creepy forest was further
down, but now…” They looked down; they were barely over the trees! “We’re going
down!” Meowth then looked at the flame, which kept the balloon up. It was very
weak and struggling to stay lit. “No! Stay up!” He yelled, horrified. If there
was any place he did not want to be, it was
“I
think it was James’s turn to replace it this time.” Jessie answered
“You
moron!” Meowth jumped up and slashed James on the face
“EEEAAA!”
James screamed, holding his face
“Calm
down Meowth! If we’re in this situation, we have to work together! So what if
we’re gonna land in that creepy wood? Those twerps have survived countless
dangers because of Teamwork, and so will we! We will work together, and we’ll
make it through!” Jessie spoke, “James! Get the spare gas tank!”
“Um, we
don’t have that one either…” James spoke nervously, “I used up all the gas for
last night’s barbecue. I didn’t think it would run out so fast! But I have to
say! I don’t think I’ve ever had such great ribs…” His speech was cut off when
Jessie kicked him off the balloon.
(Meanwhile,
down below)
Ash,
Misty and Brock trudged nervously through the dark forest. Each one of them was
scared beyond belief. They kept feeling like there was a pair of eyes watching
them. Although they have been walking for more than an hour, they seemed to be
getting nowhere.
Ash
shone a flashlight onto the Team Rocket map. They couldn’t use it to light up
the way, because it didn’t have that much energy and should only be used for
emergencies, so in order to preserve energy, he had to use it sparingly. By the
looks of things, the formation of the trees, they were in the East wood part of
the dark forest. They’re directly east of the Team Rocket base, and from here
on, they would have to travel North a few kilometres, then curve Northwest,
walk a little bit more and then they’ll reach the Eastern entrance to Teal
Ville.
“It’ll
be impossible to reach Teal before nightfall” Brock said, “It’s over twenty
kilometres away, and its already sunset. The only way we’d get there in that
amount of time is if we sprint the entire length of the woods.”
“And
none of us could do that” Ash said, “It just keeps getting darker and darker.
We’ll just have to stop and rest here until it gets brighter…”
“Ash!
We can’t sleep here!” Misty said
“But
Ash is right. There’s nothing better we could do, other than stop and rest. In
a few hours, it’ll be pitch black. We should set up camp.”
“But
what about those sounds we heard earlier on?!” Misty yelled
“Figments
of our overactive imaginations?” Ash said hopefully
Misty
whacked him on the head with the mallet “That has got to be one of the
stupidest things I’ve ever heard… I wonder why I even bother following you this
far!”
“Hey, I
wonder about that too.” Ash said, “But let’s talk about that later. But this is
the best place we could set up camp. This is the only clearing big enough to
sleep in. It wasn’t big enough to light a fire, but everywhere else in the
woods the trees are about four feet apart, five tops. Over here, it’s also
covered under the shade of the thick leaves, but it’s several square meters
open.
(Five
minutes later)
They’ve
unrolled their sleeping bags. Unfortunately, they couldn’t light a fire. Not
enough room in the clearing for both a fire and the sleeping bags. The fire lit
anywhere else would cause this forest to go up in flames, although that did
seem like a good idea. But no fire meant no hot food, which was inconvenient
because they were all very hungry.
“Ugh,
fried noodles taste awful when un-fried!” Ash complained to Brock, eating the
dry, stick-like, plastic tasting noodles.
Misty
wasn’t enjoying her dinner either, “At least you’re eating human food!” Pikachu
and Togepi were definitely enjoying it, but Brock’s pokémon food tasted awful
to her. “Do you have anything that’s edible for humans!?”
Brock
searched through his bag, there had to be something that could be eaten cold,
then he found it. “Yes! Here it is! The rice balls!” This caught both Ash and
Misty’s attention. He pulled out a yellow, plastic container and opened it, “Well,
there is one left. What do you say we draw straws, or flip a coin…?” He looked
and screamed as both Ash and Misty pounced on him to try and take it. It flew
into the air, and Ash caught it.
“Oh
yes, it’s mine!” He exclaimed happily.
“Oh no,
it isn’t!” Misty grabbed his wrist and pulled his arm down and started twisting
it, trying to get him to drop it.
Ash
shook her off, but she turned around and uppercutted him, sending him flying a
few meters away, and the rice ball into the air. She jumped up to catch it, but
Ash got up, ran, leapt, and pushed her out of the way. As she dropped to the
ground, in midair he snatched it and opened his mouth to eat it. But instead, a
large rock flew and hit Ash in the mouth, painfully tilting his head back,
causing him to let go of the rice ball and fall headfirst onto the floor,
hitting his head and chomping the rock.
Misty
clapped her hands, and ran to get it as it fell from the air. Ash sat up,
reached with both hands and yanked out the large stone stuck in his mouth and
spat out a few bits of gravel. (You can see very deep teeth marks on the rock)
Brock
stared at them and sweatdropped; he might have stepped in to stop the fighting,
if it was verbal.
Misty tried
quickly to bite it, but she wasn’t quick enough. Ash’s hand shot up from behind
and grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back and causing her to stumble. He
clenched his teeth when he pulled with one arm and his other arm reached for
the rice ball. Misty’s teeth were clenched as well. One hand was pushing at Ash’s
face, trying to get him away, and the arm with the rice ball was stretched,
keeping it away from Ash.
“Give…
it… to… me!”
“No… I
won’t! It… is… MINE!”
“Whew”
Brock whistled. He sat and watched them, and Pikachu and Togepi as well. “This
even better than wrestling!” Pikachu and Togepi cheering for whomever they
thought would win.
“All
Right! That’s does it!” Misty yelled
“You
wanna fight?! Well bring it on!” Ash yelled back
Misty,
with one arm grabbed Ash and flipped him over her head to the ground, “Ha!”
“Whoa…
along with wrestling, Misty knows Judo as well!” Brock sweatdropped
She
laughed, sensing victory. Ash’s leg kicked out at the back of Misty’s tripping
her. “EAAH!” She fell over, but held her arm up, trying to keep the rice ball
from Ash.
“And
Ash also knows street fighting! That evens things up! This is an exciting
match, but who’s gonna win!?” Brock spoke, acting like an announcer at some
freestyle-fighting match.
Misty
was kneeled on the ground, her left hand was pushing at Ash’s face, her right
was stretched out, keeping the rice ball away from Ash. Ash was kneeling at her
left, struggling to breathe because her hand was covering his mouth. Both his
arms were focused on Misty’s right arm. Misty’s mood was reaching it’s lethal
point.
“THAT
DOES IT ASH! YOU’RE GOING DOWN!” She yelled
“Hmmm?”
Brock wondered what was she going to do, watching them from a safe distance.
Pikachu and Togepi watched, then Pikachu immediately closed his eyes and
covered Togepi’s eyes while Brock turned his head and covered his eyes as well.
SLAM!
Ash was
lying, face flat on the floor, with a HUGE bump on his head. Misty’s hair was
all messed up, and she was covered in dirt, and so was Ash. She was sitting on
Ash’s back, eating the Rice ball, and holding a metal folding chair, with a
very large dent in it.
“Whoa!
She gave him the chair!” Brock cheered along with Pikachu and Togepi, “And the
winner is… Misty!”
Well…
okay. So I guess teamwork is something that still needs to be worked on, for
both our heroes and Team Rocket. Ash had sworn a new goal, one that he intends
to carry out, and unfortunately, this one is a whole lot harder than his first.
Can he and his friends overcome the dangers and escape the dark forest? Read
on!
(TO BE CONTINUED)