The walk through Route 3 was quiet.
Crunch… crunch… snap… crunch… crunch… snap…
The rhythm of their footsteps filled the silence, the occasional snap of twigs punctuating the steady grind of shoes over loose gravel. The soil here was harder, baked by sun and wind, and every step seemed to echo faintly in the stillness. The trees that had once shadowed them near Pewter were now thinning, giving way to rougher, more mountainous terrain. Jagged boulders jutted from the earth like broken teeth, and the air carried a faint mineral tang, the smell of stone and dust.
Yellow trailed just behind Ash, her hand curled into the fabric of his jacket. Pikachu padded at his side, ears twitching at every sound, while Eevee trotted close to Yellow's boots, tail flicking nervously. The world felt too open here, the cover of the forest replaced by wide stretches of rock and scrub.
Then it came — a sound that didn't belong.
A soft, distant hiss.
They froze as one.
The hiss was followed by a rustle, a bush by the edge of the path shaking violently for a few seconds before falling still. The silence that followed was heavier than before, pressing down on them like a held breath.
Ash's instincts flared. His hand twitched toward his belt, his body leaning forward, ready to chase whatever Pokémon had revealed itself. A battle here could mean a new ally, a chance to strengthen the team before Mount Moon. His foot lifted, ready to take that first step.
And then Roshi's voice cut through his mind like a blade.
You are going to leave her here?
The words stopped him cold.
Ash's eyes flicked sideways. Yellow was staring at the bush too, her lips pressed tight, her body already sliding unconsciously behind him. Her fingers clutched his jacket, knuckles white, while her other hand fumbled shakily toward the flute at her side.
Ash's stomach dropped, a cold weight settling in his gut.
Stupid, he cursed himself. How could he have forgotten? Viridian Forest had nearly broken her. She had barely managed to steady Doduo with her flute, and Weedle hadn't responded at all. Throwing her into another sudden fight without thinking was reckless — selfish.
He forced his hand away from his belt, though his fingers still itched for the Poké Ball. Instead, he crouched slightly, his body tense, eyes locked on the bush. Pikachu mirrored him, dropping low to the ground, sparks flickering faintly across his cheeks.
The seconds dragged.
The bush swayed once more, a faint tremor of leaves, and Ash's breath caught. He braced himself, every muscle taut, waiting for the rush of claws or fangs. Yellow's flute slipped in her trembling grip, the faintest squeak of wood against her bandages breaking the silence.
And then… nothing.
The bush stilled. The hiss faded into memory. The forest around them remained quiet, the only sound the faint whistle of wind through the rocks.
Minutes passed.
Finally, Ash let out a slow breath he hadn't realised he was holding. His shoulders sagged, though his eyes stayed sharp, scanning the undergrowth. Pikachu's ears twitched once more before he straightened, though his tail remained stiff.
"False alarm," Ash muttered, though the words felt hollow.
They didn't relax fully, not really. The tension lingered in their bodies, in the way Yellow's hand refused to let go of his jacket, in the way Pikachu's gaze kept darting back to the bush. But they moved again, step by cautious step, the crunch of gravel resuming beneath their feet.
This time, though, their eyes were sharper. Every shadow seemed deeper, every rustle louder. The road to Mount Moon stretched ahead, but the memory of Viridian clung to them still, a reminder that danger didn't always announce itself until it was too late.
And so, they walked on, more vigilant than before, the silence between them heavy but shared.
--------------------------------------
It was noon by the time they stopped to rest. The heat of the open road was starting to wear on them. Neither had much experience travelling, and the early summer warmth was already sapping their stamina. The thinning trees and the lack of shade did not help matters.
They walked a bit away from the path and sat down under one of the trees' shades. They dropped their bags, and Ash peeled off his jacket, spreading it on the ground for Yellow to sit on. It took a little convincing — she was worried she might ruin it. They rested their back against the tree. Taking out a bottle from his backpack, he took a few sips before giving the bottle to Yellow, who looked ready to doze off. She barely took any sips from the bottle and handed it back to Ash before sleep claimed her. Giving out a breath and looking amused at her as she leaned into him, he returned the bottle to his bag and leaned his back against the tree to rest as well.
Ash stroked Pikachu, who settled himself in Yellow's lap to rest before Pikachu found himself being held in Yellow's hands as she unconsciously hugged the squirming Pikachu like a plush toy. Seeing that Pikachu was nearly ready to electrocute her, Ash put his hand on Pikachu's head to get his attention. Pikachu looked at Ash to see him shaking his head before patting his head to calm him down. Pikachu pouted before he let himself be hugged in sleep. It didn't feel so bad, he realised. In fact, it felt... more natural, almost peaceful.
Ash breathed out a few moments longer before being consumed in his thoughts about what had happened in the city.
'We have to be careful from now on, you know.'
'Hmm, that I do, but it still hurts with how we were treated in the city.'
'What would you have done if you found an unknown person near the destroyed hospital who was being accused of being related to it? Would you have defended that person, or join the crows to take out your frustrations, especially after the same person was found in the spot of another explosion as well?'
Ash did not answer the question. As loath as he was to admit it, he would have followed the crowd as well without thinking about anything else. Giving out a shaky breath, Ash looked up at the sun rays falling through the treetop while taking a bite out of an Oran Berry from Yellow's pouch. As the sweet taste melted in his mouth, he thought of closing his eyes for a few minutes. Nothing will happen for a few minutes, right?
Just as his eyelids began to feel heavy, Pikachu's ears, which had been relaxed, suddenly started twitching. Just as the twitching grew, Pikachu flicked his ears here and there before he started squirming out of Yellow's hold, which stirred her up and got Ash's attention.
"Pikachu?"
Then he heard it too - the rustling of leaves from the bushes. Ash tensed, pushing himself up with one hand braced against the tree and the other hovering near his belt. Then a figure burst from the bushes and skidded to a stop just a few feet away.
"I challenge you to a battle!"
Wait, what?
Seeing their confused stares, the boy in bug catcher clothes repeated himself. "Hey, I am challenging you to a battle! Do you accept or not?"
"I..." Ash started to speak.
"Coulton!"
Hearing a girl's voice, the boy, identified now as Coulton, stilled and looked back. Looking past Coulton, Ash saw two figures approaching - a young boy and a girl. Upon arriving there, Coulton opened his mouth.
"Janice...Ouch!" The girl, now identified as Janice, pulled Coulton's ear, while the other boy snickered at the sight from behind.
"What have I told you about challenging random people out of nowhere? Have you learnt nothing about etiquette?" Now turning to Ash's group, Janice bowed a bit. "I am sorry about my brother disturbing you guys."
"It's alright," Ash assured her while still keeping his guard up as he helped Yellow to get up from the ground.
"Ah! Where are my manners? My name is Janice, and these are my younger brothers, Coulton and Ben."
"Hello!" The now identified Ben greeted them as Coulton rubbed his ear. Ash and Yellow nodded to them in response, as they saw that indeed, the two brothers were younger than even them, but why did Coulton challenge him if he did not have a trainer license?
Janice continued, "I am really sorry for Coulton to disturb you guys while you were resting. Can you please forgive him? I will make sure he learns a lesson not to do so again."
"Hey!"
Janice glared at Coulton, "Don't 'Hey!' me! You are in big trouble when Mom and Dad return, young man."
"You are in so much trouble~" Ben was just adding fuel to the metaphorical fire.
"It's alright." Ash placated the clearly angry sister. "We were resting and should have been on the lookout for anything amiss as well. Plus, a trainer can always challenge another one to a battle. Though, why did your brother challenge me to a battle when he is clearly too young to be a licensed trainer?"
"Ah, that! He's not actually an official trainer. Our parents gave us their Pokémon, and Coulton here wants to prove that the Bug types are the best..."
"They are!" Coulton cut off Janice.
"No, they aren't. Mine are better." Ben countered.
With that, the two brothers started bickering among themselves, while Janice looked on helplessly at them.
"Happens a lot?" Ash offered helplessly.
Janice just nodded at him, defeated, before taking a breath — then slammed her hands down on her brothers. "Keep quiet, you imbeciles!"
The two were now scared of their sister and hid behind Yellow, who was hiding behind Ash. "Protect us from the demoness, big brother and sister!"
"Come out from behind them and be a man, you two!"
"Meanie!" they said as they showed their tongues at their sister.
Squinting her eyes at her brothers, she leapt faster than they could move and grabbed them by their collars.
"Now, who is the demoness? Can you please tell me again? I might have forgotten about it."
With their faces paling, Coulton stammered out, "W-what demoness? You are clearly an angel, right? Right?!" Ben nodded along with Coulton as he said "Right!" repeatedly.
While this was going on, Yellow's mouth started twitching from whatever was going on, and she had to hide her smile behind her hand as she silently enjoyed the scene. Ash just looked on with a bit of amusement as well.
"Ahem!" He fake-coughed to get their attention. Janice and the two brothers looked at them before blushing in embarrassment.
"Hehe...Sorry about that." Janice apologised.
"No worries. It's alright, really. You guys don't know how much it helped us. Now, about that battle..."
"I will battle first!" Coulton declared excitedly.
"Coulton..." Janice growled. "What did I say about manners?"
"But sis..."
"No buts, Coulton."
"Okayyy."
"It's alright, you guys. There was no harm done." Ash placated Janice to keep her from scolding her brother. Turning to Coulton, Ash directed his next words to him. "For your question, I will accept your challenge..."
"Yes!" Coulton cheered while being held up by his collar, while Ben complained, "No fair! I want to battle too!"
"Ben!" Janice chided her other brother.
Turning to speak to the other brother, Ash apologised, "Sorry, I would not be able to battle you. There isn't a Pokémon Centre nearby to heal my Pokémon, so I can just battle your brother here."
"If that's the issue, then you could go to the Pokémon Centre that's just near here," Ben said to Ash.
"Well, Pewter City is a bit behind, so..."
"Ben wasn't talking about the Pokémon Centre in Pewter City." Janice took over from her brother. "He was talking about the Pokémon Centre that falls on the way to Mount Moon, near the end of Route 3."
Ash, Pikachu, and Yellow looked surprised at that. Ash asked the question that was on his group's mind. "Why did I never hear about the Centre before?"
"Well, it might be because it was recently opened, and it is not shown on many maps, so I can't just blame you for not hearing about it," Janice answered.
"Huh, that's news to me." Turning to Ben, he addressed him. "It would seem that I might be just able to battle you."
"Alright!" Ben cheered.
"Giving out a sigh, Janice said, "Now, even I want to battle." Turning to Yellow, she asked, "Would you care to battle me?"
Turning her head frantically to her sides, Yellow looked for any people whom Janice had just challenged. Finding none, she pointed a finger at herself, dumbfoundedly.
"Who else would I be talking to, except you?" Janice asked Yellow.
Yellow pointed at Ash.
"...Fair enough. Why aren't you speaking, though?"
Panicking at the question, Yellow hid behind Ash, as if that would deflect the question away. Ash took over to cover for her. "She is very shy and doesn't like to talk to people. She just got her Pokémon yesterday and doesn't like to battle at all."
Seeing the reluctant look in Yellow's eyes, Janice's expression softened. "It's alright, I didn't know. Wait, if she is not the one battling, how will she survive? You need the money you get from defeating trainers to help yourselves on the road. Wait, are you the one who is earning in the group?" Janice asked the question to Ash, to which he hesitantly nodded.
Whistling at that, Janice said, "So, you are a man earning money to get food on the plates. I am impressed."
Ash felt a flush of heat creep up his neck. "I... well, we manage," he stammered, unused to such direct praise, especially after being treated like a pariah all morning. He wasn't a "man earning money"; he was just trying to keep them both safe.
He was saved from having to say more by Coulton, who was practically bouncing on the balls of his feet, his earlier scolding completely forgotten. "So, does that mean we can battle now? Please?!"
Ash looked from the eager Coulton to the slightly calmer Ben, and then to Janice, who gave him a small, approving nod. A real, genuine smile finally touched Ash's lips, chasing away some of the lingering tension from the city. This felt normal. This felt right.
"Alright," he said, his voice steady and clear. "One at a time. Coulton, you challenged first, so you get the first battle. Anything you want to add?"
"Three battles."
"You mean three one-on-one battles?"
"Yep."
"What about you two?"
"Two." Both of them said at the same time.
"I will only be able to battle you two if my Pokémon are still conscious. Is it alright?"
"Okay!"
Looking around them, Ash asked them, "You want to battle here? We should get a little distance away."
"Why?"
Giving an unamused expression to Coulton, Ash replied, "So that the attacks don't hit our bags."
"Oohh. Okay!"
"Yellow, can you keep an eye on our bags?" Ash asked Yellow, to which she nodded.
Turning to the siblings, Ash asked, "Which one of you two will be the referee for this match?"
"I will," Janice said.
"Alright. You ready, Coulton?"
"Yeah!"
Just as they were getting in the position to send out their Pokémon, Roshi spoke out in Ash's mind. 'You know, these will be the Standard format of battle, right?'
'Hm?'
'Remember what Flint said about the different modes of battle? Didn't he say that Survival is only available in the Gym Battles, and nowhere else?'
'Oh, yeah. He did say something like that, didn't he?'
sigh. 'You should start paying more attention to what other people are saying and remember them.'
'Sorry, sorry. I will try to remember from now on. Thanks for the head-ups, though.'
Ash finished talking with Roshi by the time everyone was in their position. Just before Janice was going to start calling out the rules, she paused and looked sheepishly at Ash.
"Can you please tell me your names? I don't think we got them."
Ash couldn't help but smile a small, amused smile. After everything, the most basic of introductions had been forgotten. "My name's Ash," he said, his voice calm. He gestured with his head towards Yellow. "And this is Yellow."
Yellow gave a shy, hesitant wave.
"It's nice to meet you both, Ash, Yellow," Janice said, her cheeks still a little pink. She shook her head as if to clear it and straightened up, adopting a more serious, official posture. "Alright then!" she declared, her voice carrying across the clearing. "This match will be three one-on-one Pokémon battles between the challenger, Coulton, and the trainer, Ash! The battle is over when one Pokémon is unable to continue. Are both trainers ready?"
Both of them gave a nod.
"Begin!"
Coulton, without waiting a moment, sent out a Poké Ball. "Go, Caterpie!"
The energy released from the ball coalesced to form the Bug-type that Ash was very familiar with.
Taking out a ball from his belt, he threw it as well.
"I choose you, Spearow!"
Spearow, with a scar on its right eye, came out of its Poké Ball and gave a screech. He was ready to fight! He was going to win! He would show who was better! He was... disappointed when he saw who he was up against. Turning his head to look at his trainer, he pointed a wing at the Caterpie.
"Spear?"
"Sorry, buddy, you wanted to fight whoever came to fight us next, remember."
Feeling as if that Spearow and Ash were looking down on his glorious Caterpie, Coulton called out. "Hey! My bug is far more powerful than that bird brain!" Caterpie chittered his approval.
"Coulton!" Janice was aghast at Coulton's behaviour.
Turning slowly to look at the bug and the human who dared to disrespect him, Spearow decided that he was to destroy that human's team thoroughly. Nobody gets away with disrespecting him! Nobody! Spearow screeched out loud at the opposing team, which had Pikachu aghast at the crude words, while Yellow thought what 'bloody vermin' meant.
Ash raised an eyebrow at Spearow's aggressive screech but didn't have time to comment. Coulton, fired up by the perceived insult, jabbed a finger forward.
"Don't underestimate us! Caterpie, use String Shot! Tie him up!"
With a chitter, the small Pokémon spat a thick, cohesive stream of silky thread. It shot through the air, aimed directly at Butterfree—no, Ash corrected himself, Spearow. He was so used to using Butterfree in these situations that the instinct was automatic. He really needed to use all of his team members from time to time, before he developed a bad habit from it.
Having trained and fought against Butterfree when he was Caterpie too, Spearow knew just how frustrating it would be to be on the receiving end of that attack. Without needing to be told, he automatically dropped down to the ground before flying out of the range of the sticky silk threads. Rising to the level of the lower level of the tree branches, Spearow circled the Caterpie, looking out for any attack, but that did not stop him from blinking, which completed the scar on his right eye, and then screeching out insults at the bug.
Caterpie chittered back angrily in response.
"Caterpie, Tackle!"
Caterpie started to run and then stopped before looking at Spearow and then at his trainer, and then back at Spearow.
"...Okay, how do we hit that Spearow?"
"Row," Spearow called out while looking down at them with a smirk on his beak.
Okay, he was just being disrespectful and gloating right now.
Deciding to end this farce fast, Ash called out a command for the first time in the battle.
"Gust."
"ROW!" Spearow screeched out, before flapping his wings and generating fast-moving winds at the Caterpie, which lifted the bug along with the dust from the dry ground, and slammed it against the tree on its head, knocking it out.
THUD!
"Caterpie!"
Janice went to look at the fallen Caterpie before calling out, "Caterpie is unable to battle. This round goes to Spearow!"
"That Spearow was cheating!" Coulton called out, which got the attention of the rest in the clearing.
"How so? He did nothing wrong." Janice asked Coulton, with whom the others agreed as well.
"He was too high to be hit!"
"...Spearow is a 'Flying type' Pokémon." Ash slowly said in the stunned silence.
"So?" Coulton countered.
"Spearow is going to fly to fight, Coulton. Just like mine do." Janice said to her brother, exasperatedly.
'Wasn't there a limit to how high a flying type can fly in an official match?' Roshi mentally asked Ash.
'...Yeah, there was, but...'
"See, Ash is himself quiet on this! So, he must have cheated, and he knows it too!" This caused everyone else to look at him.
Breathing out a sigh, Ash told them, "You're right, there is a rule about how high a Flying-type can fly in a battle..."
"See! He cheated!"
"...but the rule is that the Pokémon just has to be visible to the opponent and the referee," Ash finished calmly. "Spearow was never out of sight, so it was a fair move."
"Fine...If that Spearow was on the ground, then I would have won instead!"
Spearow, hearing that, flew down and landed on the ground, as if challenging that notion.
"Continue the battle, sis. I am gonna show that bird who is better. Return Caterpie!" Coulton angrily returned the unconscious Caterpie to its ball before taking out another ball and throwing it to call out a Weedle.
Janice reluctantly called out the next round. "Spearow vs Weedle. Begin!"
"Hah! You won't escape this. Weedle! Poison Sting!"
Spearow just looked on impassively at them as Weedle took a breath, before concentrating on the big needle on its head, gathering energy and poison to attack its opponent.
"Steel Wing!" Ash called.
"Huh?" Janice, Ben, and Coulton asked in confusion before Spearow gathered energy in his wings and turned them silvery grey just as Weedle launched its attack.
"Swat away!"
Spearow swung his wings just as the flying needles arrived and swatted them away, the Steel-type energy and coating protecting his wings from the poison and the attack.
"Gust!"
Spearow flapped his wings again to generate winds that picked up the dust along as they reached the stunned Weedle.
"Hang on, Weedle!" Coulton called out.
Weedle tried its best to stay on the ground with the suction cups on its legs to ground itself, but the road was dusty, lowering any form of traction that could have been found. Weedle tumbled back with the winds and injured itself with the stones on the ground, digging itself into him and scratching him up, before it came to a stop, and struggled to come up.
"Weedle, you can do..."
"Quick Attack!" Whatever kind of counterplay Coulton and his Weedle were planning, if any, just dissolved as Spearow gathered Normal-type energy in his legs and ran to the struggling bug. His ability, along with the STAB-boost, increased his speed and power as he neared the Weedle.
"Strin..." Coulton called out desperately, but it was all futile as Spearow had neared Weedle and put his leg down hard on it and screeched out a "Row!"
Weedle heard the "Row!", which was translated to "Food!" The poor Weedle thought that it was going to be eaten by Spearow just as it fainted.
Coulton looked aghast at his downed Weedle, who was stuck underneath Spearow's leg, was scared as Spearow slowly turned his head to look at him and was furious when that damned bird smirked back at him with a shine in his eyes.
"Weedle is unable to battle, Spearow wins again!"
Snarling, Coulton brought out Weedle's Poké Ball and called it back, before blinking back his tears. He would hurt that bird, even if it was the last thing he would do!
Bringing out his last Poké Ball, he sent out a Caterpie, which chittered upon being called and was scared a bit of the mean-looking Flying-type it was facing.
"Trainers, ready?" Upon receiving nods, Janice began the match. "Begin!"
"String Shot! Bind that bird down!"
"Leer!" Ash called out.
Just as Caterpie took a breath before shooting out the String Shot at Spearow, it looked up at the being that was casting a shadow on it. Shadowed to a silhouette and blocking the sun from its vision, Spearow was standing, stretching out its wings and looking down at Caterpie, the sharp, pointed edges of its beak reflecting like razors in the blocked-out light. Caterpie saw Spearow open his eyes that glowed with embers with bloodlust in them.
Choking on the generating silk with fright, Caterpie passed out in fear, with the silk foaming out of its mouth.
The clearing fell into a stunned, heavy silence.
For a long moment, no one moved. The only sound was the faint rustle of leaves as a breeze passed through, and the low, rumbling coo of triumph from Spearow's chest. He stood over the fainted Caterpie, a feathered tyrant surveying his conquest, the silhouette that had terrified the poor bug now just a normal Pokémon in the harsh afternoon sun, before he actually saw what he had done and started poking the fainted bug with his wings and then looking at the trainers with pure confusion.
"Row?"
Coulton stared, his mouth slightly agape, his face a mixture of disbelief and humiliation as he stared at Spearow poking his fainted Caterpie, as if it could not comprehend the bug being taken out so easily.
"W-what just happened?" Ben stammered out the question that was on everyone's mind. Everyone else in the clearing looked at the person who had given the command for an explanation, but like the others, Ash himself was confused as to why it had happened. He had just given the order to lower the Caterpie's defence, nothing else. He didn't want to finish the battle in one move, and definitely without even attacking!
'I-I think that Spearow intimidated Caterpie enough for it to faint on the spot.' Even bewildered himself, Roshi told Ash.
'You sure?'
'I don't know. Got any better ideas?'
Seeing no other way to explain what had happened, Ash told them, "I think that your Caterpie fainted from seeing Spearow's intimidating look."
"You think?!"
"I don't know, man! Even I am surprised it finished so fast and in such a way!"
Spearow lost his confusion, was radiating smugness upon hearing what he had done. Then he went to sit by Yellow's side to look at the next battles and started gloating about his superiority to Pikachu, who just looked at him in annoyance, and Yellow was petting them both.
Coulton just groaned in defeat upon hearing that. "Just my luck." He returned his fainted Caterpie to its Poké Ball and then looked at Ash before going to him, giving him the prize money, and then going to sit beside Yellow to look on from the sidelines. Sitting by their side, he looked at Spearow, who was perched on Yellow's right shoulder. Spearow, who was enjoying the pets, looked at Coulton before giving the poor boy a smirk with a side eye and looking down at him from his higher elevation.
Coulton's eye twitched in irritation, while Pikachu was just shaking his head and silently lamenting that Spearow did not get a hit on him during his battle. He was going to hold that over the others forever. Ash was just shaking his head at their interaction.
"Now, it's my..." Ben started saying before being cut off by Janice.
"Hold on. I will go now. Nobody beats my brother so badly and gets away scot-free. You be the referee. I will battle him."
"But..."
"No buts. I am your elder sister, so I get to decide what will be the order of battle."
"It's not fair!" Ben complained.
"Elder sibling rights." Janice countered.
"Go get him, sis!" Coulton cheered on.
"Ugh, fine! Don't cry when you lose badly." Ben said.
"Whose side are you even on?!"
"The side that will enable me to have a battle!"
While this was going on, Ash thought that if it was this bad with three siblings, how bad must it have been for Brock?
"Alright, alright. Let's get this going. The next match is of two one-on-one battles between Ash and the weird sister, Janice..."
"Hey!" Janice protested.
"...I, the great Ben, will be the referee of my demon sister's downfall." Ben continued while smirking at his sister. "Trainers, send out your Pokémon!"
Gritting her teeth and mentally making a note to make Ben suffer afterwards, Janice took out a Poké Ball while Ash did the same.
"Go!"
"I choose you!"
"Pidgey!"
"Pidgeotto!"
The light from the Poké Balls solidified to reveal a Pidgey on Janice's side and a Pidgeotto on Ash's side. Hearing squawks from one side, Pidgeotto looked to the side to see... Was Spearow rage-baiting that kid? What was it about this being untouchable? She looked back at Ash and pointed with the shake of her head to Spearow.
Understanding, Ash told her, "I will tell afterwards." Both of them focused back on the match with Janice's voice.
"Uh oh."
"Begin!" Ben declared.
"Sand Attack, Pidgey!"
"Gust to blow it away, Pidgeotto!"
Pidgey, who was on the ground, picked up dirt with its wings and threw it at Pidgeotto, but she used Gust with her powerful wings to blow the dirt away and hit the Pidgey, who braced himself far better than Coulton's bugs.
"Tackle, Pidgey!" Janice ordered just as the Gust stopped.
Pidgey flapped its wings before taking off to hit Pidgeotto.
"Drop and Gust!"
Just as Pidgey neared her, Pidgeotto stopped flapping her wings and dropped to the ground, the attack missing her by a few inches before she used Gust upside-down to disorient Pidgey's flight path to have it hit the tree. This resulted in her speeding towards the ground.
"Stop in one wing!"
Pidgeotto stopped sending energy in one wing, which ended up with her spinning. Just as she saw the ground, she reapplied the Flying-type energy to both her wings to slow her down. She barely missed hitting the ground before she took off. Her Keen Eye definitely helped her in not losing the momentum. Pidgeotto stared back at the Pidgey, which was staying near the tree, flapping its wings to stay in place.
This battle had just become a battle of attrition, all of the participants realised, which Pidgeotto clearly had more of.
Ash gritted his teeth. If Pidgeotto blindly used Quick Attack, she might end up hitting the trees and get hurt, backfiring on them. They would need to get a clear view and hit for the battle to finish. Unknown to him, Janice thought the same thing as well and cursed inwardly as it was the same for her Pidgey as well, but she did not have much scope for getting hurt. Pidgey's stamina was lower than Pidgeotto after all.
'I need to draw this battle out.' Janice thought before barking an order. "Pidgey! Stick to the trees and fly around them. Do not give them a chance to hit you!"
Pidgey, acknowledging the directive, started flying randomly through the trees and sometimes between the branches as it was small enough to do so, while Ash and Pidgeotto looked on in frustration as Pidgey just became harder to hit.
Looking around to get any clue to get out of the established status quo, Ash was thinking of any way to not get Pidgeotto hurt and thought about any moves that would help here. There were a few options, but they needed a way to get a clean hit. Pidgeotto could fly into one of the trees and fight the Pidgey there. She was caught and trained mainly in the Viridian...
Wait.
Widening his eyes, Ash looked around the clearing properly. The trees and their foliage were less dense than the ones in Viridian Forest! How did he not see them before? Clicking his tongue, Ash rebuked himself for only thinking about that damned forest. It would seem that he was so used to that forest that he forgot that the other areas are not like that. Then, that move will definitely work better here.
"Pidgeotto!" Ash called out after getting his attention back to the match. Pidgeotto looked at her trainer. "Follow that Pidgey and get as close as you can!" Pidgeotto trilled and nodded before going after its pre-evolution.
"Get into the treetops, Pidgey!" Janice ordered. Pidgey flew into the foliage of one of the trees.
"Now what are you going to do?" Janice smugly asked Ash.
Ash was just looking at his Pidgeotto as she neared the tree that Pidgey was hiding in before he gave an order, which was the answer to Janice's question.
"Whirlwind!"
Now, a funny thing about the movie Whirlwind is. It basically 'blows away' the opponent with a lower 'level' so that it can be replaced by another one. It can even be used to propel some moves or objects forward in a random pattern, making a really good display. It is also a spread-out wind move, so accuracy isn't a problem here. So, this Normal-type move is given a STAB boost by Pidgeotto, a Normal/Flying type, which is further made powerful by her better-developed wing muscles. With Pidgey, a bird smaller than its evolution, Pidgeotto, hiding among the less dense trees of Route 3, it can be considered a light 'object' that can be found in the tree. With Pidgeotto's Keen Eye, she can spot the Pidgey in the tree and launch her attack directly at it, without worrying much about the accuracy.
The poor Pidgey resting on a branch in the tree, looked out for Pidgeotto, expecting to run out as soon it hit or swerved around the tree branches to escape using its small size, did not expect to be hit to be with powerful winds that shook the tree and was sent tumbling through the foliage, hitting the branches and the trunk on its head instead. Barely able to control its flight, the Pidgey crashed into the ground headfirst, knocking itself out before it got covered in the leaves of the tree it was hiding in.
Janice just gaped at the now leafless tree that her Pidgey was unceremoniously thrown out of. Everybody in the clearing waited for Pidgey to get out of the leaves for some time. When Pidgey was not coming out, everyone went there, and Janice dug out Pidgey, only to see a visible bump on its head as there were swirls in its eyes.
"...Eh, I think that means that Pidgeotto wins?" Ben stated/asked.
Ash just looked at the tree and then at Janice as she returned her Pidgey, before wordlessly returning to her place, the subtle vibrations in her arms giving her anger away.
'That worked better than expected.' Ash thought to himself.
'Far better than expected.' Roshi gave his few cents as well.
Ash looked at Pidgeotto to see her panting a little and asked, "You want to continue?"
Pidgeotto gave a nod in answer.
"Alright. Just don't push yourself, okay?"
Upon receiving a confirmation, Ash returned to his spot and was a little scared seeing Janice glaring daggers at him. It would seem that she was far more hurt emotionally than expected. He would have to finish the next battle fast.
Ben, taking his place as the referee, asked, "Can you send out your next Pokémon, Janice?"
Janice just glared at her brother before taking out her other Poké Ball, before throwing it harder than expected to call out her other Pidgey.
Ben shivered before continuing with his duties, "Are both of you ready? Begin!"
"Alright, Pidgeotto, use..."
"Gust and then Tackle!" Janice shouted out at her Pidgey, cutting Ash off.
Pidgey complied with its trainer's commands and used Gust on Pidgeotto before she could use any moves, making her work a bit to get her balance back, during which Pidgey launched itself at her with Tackle.
"Steel Wing! Protect yourself!"
Pidgeotto used Steel Wing to cover her front side with her wings, during which she started falling, but the Pidgey followed her to hit the wings. The wings lowered the damage sustained by her and caused a bit of recoil damage to Pidgey's head, but it also propelled Pidgeotto faster towards the ground. She tried to orient herself but was unable to do so in time, crashing into the ground and hurting herself.
"Pidgeotto!"
"Tackle! Do not let up!" Janice snarled out. She was out for Pidgeotto's blood.
Pidgey dive-bombed on the recovering Pidgeotto, the gravity giving her attack more power than normal.
Thud!
The sound of flesh hitting flesh rang out in the clearing. Pidgeotto was hurt more and was struggling to get up and orient herself.
"Sand Attack! Do as many as possible. Make that bird not able to hit you, Pidgey!" Janice called out.
Pidgey took out dirt from the ground and started throwing it at Pidgeotto, lowering her accuracy further, at least according to Janice and Pidgey.
Pidgeotto used this time to orient herself as dirt was being thrown at her, angering her. She did not like being covered in dirt, damn it! Did that human not know how hard it was to get dirt out of the tough spots?!
Pidgeotto finally oriented herself by the time the dirt stopped being thrown at her and glared at the Pidgey from across her with her whole being.
"Quick Attack!" Ash called out the attack. As Pidgeotto started gathering the energy to hit that bird, Janice grinned, thinking that it would not be possible for Pidgeotto to hit her Pidgey. Her smirk fell as Pidgeotto launched herself at Pidgey with a war cry and hit it, sending it tumbling out of the way onto the ground.
"Steel Wing!"
"Pidgey, get out..." Janice started calling out, but Pidgeotto stood over the downed Pidgey before using Steel Wings to slap the hell out of her object of ire.
THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!...
By the time Pidgeotto stopped and got the anger out of her system, Pidgey had red prints on its cheeks and swirls in its eyes. It was knocked out quite effectively.
Blinking at how the battle ended, Ben took some time to come to terms with himself before calling out, "Pidgeotto wins! So, the winner is Ash!"
The clearing fell into a stunned silence, broken only by Pidgeotto's ragged breathing. She stood over the fainted Pidgey, her feathers slightly ruffled, and let out a single, sharp cry of victory before her posture slumped with exhaustion.
Janice stared, her face a mask of disbelief. The controlled, tactical battle she had planned had devolved into a furious, one-sided beatdown. Wordlessly, she recalled her Pidgey, her movements stiff.
Ash walked onto the field, a complicated expression on his face. He knelt beside Pidgeotto, gently stroking her head. "You did great, Pidgeotto," he said quietly. "But... maybe a little less slapping next time?"
Pidgeotto just cooed wearily, leaning into his touch. She was too tired to be angry anymore. Seeing her fatigue, Ash recalled her to her Poké Ball. "You've earned a good rest," he murmured.
From the sidelines, Coulton, who had been sulking, was now staring with wide, awestruck eyes. "Whoa... that was awesome!"
Janice walked over, her anger from before replaced by a look of grudging respect. She stopped in front of Ash. "You're... really strong," she admitted, her voice low. "You and your Pokémon. You fight with everything you have. Can you tell me what the move was, which you called 'Stell Wing'? Can you tell me how to do it?"
"Thanks," Ash replied, meeting her gaze. "You're a good trainer. Your strategy almost had us. The move is a Steel-type move for Flying-types like Pidgeotto and Spearow. I will tell you after the battle."
The brief moment of sportsmanship was shattered by Ben, who bounced onto the field, unable to contain his excitement any longer. "Okay, my turn! My turn now!" he yelled, taking his position. "That was so cool! I'm ready!"
Sighing at her brother's antics, Janice spoke to Ash, "Destroy him."
"Hey! I am your brother! You should support me, not him!"
"I can support whoever I want," Janice spoke to Ben before turning to Ash. "Beat the lights out of this menace, for me, now, will you?"
Saying that, Janice went to her place as the referee without waiting for Ash's reply and completely ignoring the incredulous looks Ben was shooting her.
Ash just placed his hand on Ben's shoulder to show his support. Ben looked at Ash before groaning on hearing Janice's fake coughs and going to his position to start the battle.
"This will be a match consisting of two one-on-one battles between Ash and Ben. The battle ends only when one Pokémon is unable to battle. Trainers, send out your Pokémon!" Janice called out.
Taking out their Poké Balls, Ash and Ben sent out their respective Pokémon. Eevee appeared on Ash's side, and with a flash of light, a purple, serpentine Pokémon appeared, coiling on the ground and letting out a low hiss on Ben's side that prompted Eevee to shiver.
An Ekans with Intimidate. This was going to be tricky.
"You have an Eevee?! That's so cool!" Ben complimented Ash.
"Aww, you should have used that cutie against me." Janice pouted in resignation before straightening up and continuing the match. "Are both trainers ready?" Two nods. "Begin!"
"Leer, Ekans!"
"Close your eyes, Eevee! Then Swift!"
Eevee tried to close his eyes, but he unfortunately saw the intimidating shine of Ekans' eyes as its rattling filled the impromptu battlefield and shivered, lowering his defence and making himself more vulnerable to attacks. It prevented him from launching his attack right off the bat, but he was able to do so.
"Counter with Poison Sting!"
Just as Eevee unleashed a volley of golden stars at Ekans, the Ekans fought back with a barrage of Poison Sting that hit the stars en route, destroying some of them. The rest of the stars managed to hit Ekans, hurting it, but less than what both Ash and Eevee would have liked due to their lowered Attack.
They needed to get close to hit that snake; otherwise, it would dodge the attacks by slithering away.
"Quick Attack! Get in close!"
Eevee gathered energy in his legs, enhancing the muscles, before taking off towards the Ekans, the priority move being to make sure to hit it.
It was too late by the time Eevee was near the Ekans when Ash saw Ben's smirk.
"Get out..."
Ash was never able to finish, as Eevee finished hitting Ekans with a thwack that rang out.
"Wrap!"
With a gleam in its eyes, the Ekans recovered from the hit and coiled around the very close and very vulnerable Eevee, trapping him. Eevee cried out in pain, while Pikachu shivered, remembering how close the same situation was to him in the gym.
"Eevee!" Ash shouted in concern.
Eevee squirmed as it got hurt in the Ekans' Wrap.
"HAHAHA! See how great I am? Ekans, Poison Sting!"
"Swift on the face!"
Eevee gritted his teeth in pain and frustration, before using Swift on Ekans' face and body as Ekans used Poison Sting point blank. The combination of the attacks exploded on both of their faces, hurting both of them, but it ended with them separating from each other.
Both of them panted as they got up from the separation, but Eevee twitched for a few seconds. There was a clear purplish tint to his face. Eevee was poisoned. They were running out of time.
"Yes!" Ben cheered.
Gritting his teeth, Ash called out, "Hang in there, Eevee!"
"Alright, Ekans, go for Wrap again!"
"Swift! Make them stay away from you!"
Just as Ekans was about to hit Eevee, Eevee hit it with a barrage of Swift, but Ekans pushed through and had nearly fainted from the assault.
Grinning, Ben gave a command, "Poison Sting!"
"Iron Tail! Block it!"
Eevee jabbed his tail into Ekans' open mouth before the needles fired, blocking it. Ekans glared at Eevee, but Eevee shivered as the poison worked its way against his stamina and breaking his concentration on Iron Tail.
Ekans bit down on poor Eevee's tail, making him yelp before glaring at it.
"Wrap!"
"Swift! Finish it!"
Eevee let out the attack again just as Ekans was about to wrap around him, covering it in golden stars. Ekans' bite on Eevee's tail slackened, and he fell out of the hold just as Ekans fainted from the attacks.
Seeing swirls in Ekans' eyes, Janice called the result. "Eevee wins!"
"Eevee!" Ash shouted in concern as he went to pick him up.
"Aw, man! I had you guys!" Ben whined.
"You, okay?" Ash asked Eevee, and Eevee nodded before twitching again from the poison. "You are not fighting anymore now, Eevee." Eevee protested with the decision.
"You are injured and poisoned."
Eevee shook his head to show that he was fine, but ended up proving Ash's point when he twitched again and felt weaker.
"I thought so. You don't get a say in this." Ash told Eevee as he returned him to his Poké Ball.
He clipped the ball back onto his belt, his expression grim. Eevee needed treatment, fast.
Ben recalled his fainted Ekans, looking disappointed but still fired up. "Okay, okay, you got me there," he admitted, grabbing his second and final Poké Ball. "But I saved my best for last! You won't be able to beat this one so easily! Go!"
He threw the ball high into the air. The flash of light faded, leaving a small, purple Pokémon standing on the dusty field. Its whiskers twitched, and its large, red eyes blinked in the afternoon sun, letting out a sharp, high-pitched "Rattata!"
For a split second, the world seemed to freeze. The cheerful energy of the battle, the siblings' banter, the warm sun on Ash's face—it all vanished, replaced by an icy, suffocating dread. The image of the common Pokémon was a key in a lock, and it turned, unleashing a flood of horrific memories.
He wasn't on Route 3 anymore. He was back in the suffocating darkness of the forest, the coppery scent of blood thick in the air. He heard the wet crunch of feasting, saw the vacant, staring eyes of a skull being picked clean. His own breath caught in his throat, a cold sweat breaking out on his brow.
But his own terror was nothing compared to Yellow's.
A choked, strangled gasp escaped her lips. Her hand, which had been resting loosely on her knee as she watched the battle, flew to her mouth. Her entire body went rigid, her eyes locked on the Rattata, wide with a horror that saw nothing else. She wasn't looking at Ben's Pokémon; she was seeing a monster from a nightmare made real.
She stumbled back, scrambling away from the group, her breath coming in short, panicked rasps. Her face had gone deathly pale.
"Yellow!" Ash cried out, his own fear instantly forgotten, replaced by a surge of pure, protective adrenaline.
The battle, the siblings, everything else ceased to exist. He turned away from the field, away from Ben's confused "Hey, what's wrong?", and rushed to her side. He grabbed her shoulders gently, trying to ground her. "Yellow, hey, look at me. It's okay. It's not them. You're safe."
But she couldn't hear him. She was shaking uncontrollably, her eyes still fixed on the Rattata, her hands flying up to cover her mouth as if to stifle a scream.
"Pika-pi!" Pikachu, sensing the wave of sheer terror coming from her, abandoned his battle-ready stance and rushed to her side, nudging his head against her trembling legs. Eevee's Poké Ball trembled on Ash's belt, sensing her distress even from within. Spearow, perched on the nearby bags, let out a low, concerned coo, his earlier arrogance gone.
"Ben, quiet!" Janice's voice cut through the confusion, sharp and commanding. She had seen the raw panic on Yellow's face and understood immediately that this was something far more serious than simple shyness. "Recall your Pokémon. Now."
"But—"
"Now!" she snapped.
Startled by his sister's tone, Ben immediately recalled the bewildered Rattata. The field was empty again, but the damage was done.
Janice and Coulton hurried over, their own faces now etched with concern. "What's wrong? What happened?" Coulton asked, his earlier bravado gone.
Ash didn't answer them. He was focused entirely on Yellow, who was now curled into a tight ball on the ground, her hands over her ears, rocking back and forth. "It's okay," Ash whispered, kneeling in front of her, his voice low and steady. "It's gone. I'm here. Pikachu's here. We're all here. You're safe." He placed a hand gently on her back, rubbing slow, steady circles.
He looked up at the three siblings, who were watching with wide, horrified eyes. He had to say something.
"We... we had a bad experience in Viridian Forest," Ash said, his voice strained. "With some wild Rattata. A really bad one."
The understatement hung in the air, heavy and suffocating.
"What had happened?" Ben asked with concern.
The silence that he received in return was more than enough for Janice to understand that something really bad had happened to them.
"I don't think that we should pry about their experience," Janice told her brothers, before turning to Ash. "We should take her to the nearby Pokémon Centre to rest. Our Pokémon also need healing. It will be best for everyone to go there. You agree?"
Ash just nodded as he held the trembling Yellow protectively in his arms. He could not think about the battle or the prize money, just her.
It took some time to get their things before they went to the Pokémon Centre, Ash's only thought being the broken girl in his arms, whom he had sworn to protect.
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(AN: I am back from my exams, people! As an apology, this is the biggest chapter so far! I don't know if the quality is up to the mark, but if there are any issues, please do tell in the comments!)