Chapter Text
Credit to @LukasThadeauArt!
"And, well, you know how people are. It apparently doesn't matter if it clashes; they're going to judge it on intention, not color schemes," Dawn said almost nastily, remembering how one of the critics had viewed Piplup and Buneary's outfits during their brief modeling performance in Hoenn. "Of course, that woman thinks all orange seals are a good statement piece for any Pokéball," she continued, rattling on. "Paris was with me. We knew that just wasn't true!"
"Uh… Yeah! Right!" Ash struggled to keep up with Dawn's rambling about fashion and colors, occasionally exchanging sympathetic glances with Pikachu. "Orange is, like, totally out of croak, or whatever."
"It's out of vogue," Dawn corrected, taking Ash's fibbing at face value. "Don't get me wrong - it can compliment certain aesthetics nicely, but it's just not a pleasant foundation! And certainly not flexible…"
Ash and Pikachu, together, sighed heavily. They respected her and her work, they really did, but talk of fashion quite frankly bored them to tears. It was nearly enough to put them to sleep! Ash hastily glanced around the woods they were trekking through, looking desperately for a sign of anything interesting to make the topic of conversation. Trees, trees, and more…
...More trees with gashes and craters carved into them. Dislodged branches. Logs running along a nearby riverbed they'd walked parallel to for probably the past hour.
"Hey Dawn," Ash tapped the girl's shoulder, interrupting her latest tangent. "Check this out."
"...Oh, wow! This place looks like a bomb went off, or something… no, not quite. The damage is too random. Something ugly must've happened here." The girl blinked, while Prinplup walked off, poking at the damaged foliage experimentally with his wing. "How did I not notice, until now?"
Before Ash could make the mistake of opening his mouth about the prior conversation, a flash of light popped from Dawn's belt, taking the form of a growling Absol.
The Disaster Pokémon reared back, red eyes darting left and right with no explanation.
"Absol!?" Dawn exclaimed. "I didn't call you… did something catch your attention?"
"It must be some new danger." Ash frowned, darting his eyes around to assist the Pokémon, should she miss something in her blind spot. "Look sharp, everyone. No telling what it is!"
Pikachu and Prinplup joined the group, sticking close enough together to fight, should anything pop up. The mouse's ear twitched, then, as he seemed to hear something nearby. "Pika!"
The loud rustling of leaves alerted the group to a nearby bush, which shook intermittently. It looked as if something was about to pop out, any second! Could it be a territorial Rattata, or a Mankey…? Maybe even an Arbok! Whatever it was, it was stepping out now.
Faint, pink fur. Triangle-shaped ears, with a puff of curly hair in between. Wide, circular emerald eyes. All of these came together on a very round creature, who uttered its name in a criminally saccharine, high-pitched voice. "Jigglypuff!"
"It's a Jigglypuff!" Dawn exclaimed. Her shoulders sank, as if she'd expected something greater. She wore a somewhat exasperated, yet amused half-smile. "Well, that was anticlimactic… I was expecting something scary. Right, guys?" She turned back to her companions. "...Uh, guys?"
Absol hadn't eased, and Prinplup looked entirely underwhelmed. Ash, Pikachu, and Rosa, on the other hand, were frozen in place, leaning back on their heels all in synchronicity. Each of them was blue in the face with fear.
Dawn squinted. "Are you guys serious!? You look like you've seen a ghost - no, wait, even those don't make you this scared! Come on, it's just a Jigglypuff!" She gestured with both hands to the creature, as if to make her point.
"That… ain't an ordinary Jigglypuff," Ash managed, poking a finger towards the instrument Jigglypuff held in her stubby hand. It seemed to be a microphone.
"Piiiika. Pikachu!" Pikachu waved his paws, trying to pacify the puffball.
~Hey, hold on! Hold on!~ Rosa waved her paws in the air. ~You're not gonna sing, are ya!?~
"Wait, Rosa?" Ash asked. "How do you… Oh, right." If she saw that through his memories, Jigglypuff must've left quite the impression on him. And it looked like she was intent on making an even greater one.
"Puff!" Jigglypuff squeaked out defiantly, hopping on top of a nearby stump. The microphone was situated neatly between her paws. She inhaled, prepping her lungs. "Jiiig…~"
"Hey, you! Get back here!" A far-off, scratchy voice shouted, interrupting the serenade, and it was quickly growing closer. "You can't just run away from me like that!"
The group turned their attention to the voice, which seemed to belong to a scrappy-looking boy, sprinting their way.
"Puff…!" Jigglypuff fumed, her entire body inflating with fury. Seemingly finding the moment ruined, she swerved around on her tip-toes, and leapt up to trounce on Dawn's face, and then Ash's, hopping off and fleeing the scene. "Jiggly-jiggly-jiggly-puff~!"
"Ow!" Dawn exclaimed, rubbing her head. "Hey, you! What's the big idea!? That's my face you're trouncing, not a footstool!"
"What're you doing!?" The boy shouted, showing no signs of slowing down. "Move it, move it! You're in the w-" His words stopped short, when he collided with Dawn. Due to his shorter stature, he was the one who fell to the ground with a thud.
"What's even going on, anymore?" Ash deadpanned with a frown, his pointer finger still hanging lamely in the air.
"You were in my way!" The boy barked, now fully in view, since he was no longer sprinting at them. Sporting messy brown hair, a Poké Ball-pattern t-shirt, shorts, and a raggedy-looking backpack, he bore his canines. "I need to catch that Jigglypuff, so move it or lose it!" Without waiting for a response, he pushed himself onto all fours and sprinted after the fleeing Pokémon.
"He was sure determined," Dawn remarked.
"I don't know why he wants 'er, but I feel like we should at least warn him. Pikachu, Rosa, let's go!" With that, Ash ran after the boy. His two Pokémon vocalized their support, and dashed ahead.
"Warn him of what!?" Dawn scoffed, and ran ahead. "Ugh, come on, guys!"
Absol quickly raced ahead of Dawn, who kept a steady pace ahead of Prinplup. The penguin scoffed indignantly; he seriously needed a quicker method of transportation…
"Puff-Puff-Puff! Jiggly-puff~!"
The pale pink puffball was still ahead of the boy, but only barely. All of its luck seemed to run out, when a dense grove left the Pokémon cornered. Jigglypuff flicked its gaze left and right, realizing its folly.
"Finally!" The boy exhaled, resting his hands on his knees to catch his breath. "I've… got you… now!" Wheezing out his declaration of victory, he grabbed a Poké Ball, and sloppily tossed it forward. "Go… Zubat! Use… Supersonic!"
The small bat appeared, ready to disorient Jigglypuff with disruptive sonic waves. But the poor thing had no chance, as Jigglypuff rudely smacked it away with its Pound attack. She was down for the count!
"Here we go again," that stupid older boy drawled behind him.
The boy growled, pointedly ignoring Ash. "Zubat! I'm sorry, buddy. Don't worry, we'll defend your honor!" He recalled the floored Pokémon, calling out another. "Go, Rattata!"
"Rrrrrat!" The small field rodent hissed. Only then, though, did it seem to notice that they had an audience, looking behind him. He then sheepishly gave off a buck-toothed grin.
'Don't tell me he's got stage fright…!?' The boy shook his head. "Don't worry, Rattata! We've got this!"
"Can you please tell me what's going on!?" The girl he'd bumped into asked.
"It's that Jigglypuff," the boy answered. "We've run into it many times before."
"And…?"
"Rattata, use Hyper Bite! I mean Super Bite! Hyper Fang- no, no, not Hyper Fang. Super Fang. There!" Why were all of Rattata's moves so similar!? The only standout one was Quick Attack.
"Rattata!" The mouse cried out before leaping at Jigglypuff.
Of course, things only got worse from there. Rattata proved to be a bit faster than Zubat, managing to sink its fangs into the very unhappy Jigglypuff. A high-pitched cry of pain was uttered, round emerald orbs leering upon the rodent.
Its cheeks puffed out, its entire body inflating into a surprisingly intimidating balloon. "Jiggly… PUFF!" The angry Pokémon retaliated with a brutal Double Slap attack, pummeling the poor rodent with several relentless slaps.
The Rattata was made of tougher stuff than the Zubat, if only slightly. While the Double slap knocked him heavily to the ground, the mouse refused to stay down.
"Attaboy! Now, try for Quick Attack!" He ordered.
"It's her Sing," he heard from behind him, rolling his eyes. As if he didn't know the story already. "She loves to put on a show, and once she gets started-"
"Will you shut up, already!?" The youth snapped, whirling around to shout out at the two teenagers. "I'm trying to battle here, and I need that Jigglypuff! Can it and help, or scram!"
"Right, sorry." The teenage boy frowned, rubbing the back of his neck. He awkwardly pointed towards the field. "So, should I step in now, or…?"
"Huh?" The boy turned back to the action. "Oh, dang it!"
Rattata laid out in front of him, with several red slap prints on its cheeks and swirls in its eyes.
"Now, look what you did!" He shouted back at the teenagers.
"Alright, alright! I've got it covered." Reaching for his belt, the elder boy grabbed a single Pokéball, ready to toss. "Alright, Gengar! Help us out…!" When he was about to toss the ball, though, a familiar sound dominated the air. One that made him and his Pikachu freeze in horror.
"Jigglypuff… Jiggle-yy… Jigglypuff~!"
The world was becoming cloudy. Like a haze had infected his brain. That… that stupid move, again… that…
"...The song… ears…!"
"'S just si… singing…"
"Ka-chu…"
The obnoxious' stranges' voices filtered in and out like static, drowned out by Jigglypuff's song. That very annoying… very useful… incredibly relaxing... The youngest boy's legs started to wobble. While the oldies had already collapsed in a heap, he struggled to cling to consciousness.
"Nahh… You won't… just… get away, again…!" He yawned loudly. Even the dirt was looking awfully comfy, right now. That was his last thought after hitting it. Through drooping eyes, he saw a very angry puffball withdrawing a marker from her microphone.
Then, everything faded to black.
Something about the slumber after Jigglypuff's Sing was just as hypnotizing as the affliction, itself. Ash felt like he'd been sleeping on a cloud, lulling through dreamland. It was all a blur, really. Images of exciting adventures and battles came and went. With a smile on his sleeping face, he muttered something out groggily. "Pikachu… use Thunderbolt…"
Nearby, the mouse's ear perked up. "Pi… ka… Chu!" His red cheeks sparked, before unleashing a sizzling bolt that shocked himself and a yelling Ash awake. The mouse blinked, and the electricity stopped. "Pi…?" He seemed to be sitting in a bed, with a soot-covered Ash.
"Ergh… What's the big idea, Pikachu?" Ash sat up, finding himself to be sitting up in a stiff, single-person cot, with a dense, clearly hand-knit blanket over his legs and half of Pikachu. Pink, floral wallpaper lined the walls, and a standard alarm clock sat on the ornate wooden night table. He felt like he'd somehow sleepwalked into one of the elderly couples' houses, back in Pallet Town. Truthfully, he was a little creeped out. "Wait. Where the heck are we?"
"Wha…? Ash?" With the night table's distance between them, Dawn sat up, groggily rubbing her eyes. She occupied a different bed, with Prinplup laid out across her legs. The penguin was starting to come to. "What's going on, here?"
"What in th' blazes is goin' on in here?" A balding man walked in through the doorway, sporting overalls and spectacles. He looked to be in his earlier golden years, the creases of his frown prominent. "All this shoutin'...!"
"Er…" Ash stammered off.
Dawn frowned. "Who are y-"
"Eustace? What's all the hub-ub?" A heavyset woman with snow-white curly hair (one they could assume to be the man's wife) wandered in afterward. "Oh! You're all awake. Y'had me worried, y'know."
"Uh… thanks," Ash settled on. "But who are you? And where are we? Last I remember, we were in the middle of the forest, and…"
"Oh! Where're my manners?" The woman cut in. "I'm Muriel, 'n this is my husband, Eustace. We found you in the middle of the road, 'bout an hour or two ago. Our Ursaring carred y'in. Bless your hearts…"
"The two of ya were lucky that Gyarados took pity on ya. Could've eaten y' alive."
Ash, Dawn, Pikachu, and Prinplup exchanged glances. Of course. After Jigglypuff had put them to sleep… but, that still didn't explain what in the world the elderly couple was talking about.
"Er, excuse me.. I mean, thank you," Ash decided on. "But, what Gyar-"
"Riooo…" By Dawn's side, Rosa groaned, rubbing her eyes irritably. ~Why is everyone SHOUTIN'!?~
"Rosa…?" Ash just now noticed that the pup was seated with Dawn and not himself.
"My stars. Did that Pokémon just speak!?"
"Sounds like the old tales of the one fr'm the Kingdom in Rota," the man replied. "Either that, or we've ALL lost our marbles."
Growing more and more irritable, Rosa clutched her head with her paws. ~Shaddup! Too loud…~
Presented with a very irritable Pokémon, but with very little maternal instincts, Dawn patted Rosa's head with some uncertainty. It seemed to do the trick, at least, when the Pokémon laxed some.
"Rosa!" Ash scolded, leaning forward to address the Pokémon. "That wasn't nice. I know you're cranky, but they helped us. Let's give 'em an apology, huh?"
The pup grumbled something or another, avoiding eye contact. ~Sorry,~ she eventually settled on, seeming none too happy for it.
Ash accepted this, putting the issue behind him. "She must be groggy from that dirt nap… hey, I just noticed. You left her with Dawn?" He asked, feeling slightly offended that she wasn't assumed to be his.
"The little tyke was closer to your friend, she was," Muriel answered. "Plus, they both share that lovely shade of blue!"
The thought jogged Dawn's mind, as she looked down at the Riolu that'd slid into her lap. Clearly showing a preference for the familiar human who hadn't just scolded her, for the moment. Muriel's suggestion put a glowing smile on her face. "We do both sport a strong blue, don't we…?" Was that pride welling up in her chest?
"Eh. I woulda guessed that she belonged to both of ya's. Does a young couple good to raise a Pokémon together," he said gruffly in approval, though without much interest, judging by the way he was absently wiping off his thick-rimmed glasses.
"A young couple!?" Ash and Dawn blurted out in unison. Hearing the other, they were forced to make eye contact, before immediately breaking it. The streak of red stayed on Ash's face for a good moment. Dawn, more clear in her feelings (but quietly wishing the old man would shut up about it and not blow her cover), was distracted by something else entirely. Her, raising Rosa…? Was she something like a mother to her!?
The Riolu looked between Ash and Dawn momentarily, as if asking the same question. Before Dawn could work up the nerve to even ask Rosa, she decided to curl up and fall back asleep in her lap. That was, until Ash recalled her with a flash from her native Poké Ball.
"I wonder where that kid is," Ash resumed, putting the train of thought behind them.
"I guess he ran off before we woke up," Dawn reasoned, which assured Ash enough to nod along in agreement.
"Other kid…?" The man raised a brow. "We only saw the lot of ya, lying in the road. What're ya talkin' about?"
"You didn't see him either?" Ask asked. "He was like, young trainer age. Brown, messy hair?"
"A really worn-out looking backpack?" Dawn added, having far more of an eye for accessories. The answer seemed to strike a chord in the old couple, each of them exclaiming in worry. Their faces even looked slightly pale…!
"Oh, dear! Little Terrence…!"
"Say it ain't so." The elder man, who'd been stoic up until now, dabbed at his forehead with a handkerchief.
"Hey, don't worry!" Ash assured, raising his hands. "I'm sure he's fine! We were all just put to sleep by a Jigglypuff. That gal's a nuisance, but she's not dangerous… usually." A beat, and Ash had a question of his own. "Hey, hold on. How come our faces are all clear? That's weird."
"What, those marks? We thought that was just some new fad of you yung'uns," the man replied.
"I wiped your darling faces off, when we set you down. Walkin' around like that, in the outdoors… people will think you're delinquents!"
"Wiped… our faces… What!?" Dawn exclaimed, feeling entirely lost. To her confusion, Ash looked as if he completely understood what just transpired.
"Eh, maybe they are. I told you there was no sense in wipin' it off, when they'll probably just do it again." Eustace scoffed. Before this burned into an argument that would leave the two youths and their Pokémon feeling very uncomfortable, though, he dropped the subject with a sigh. "Bah.. A Jigglypuff. There's no way they'll be able to help, then."
"Oh, dear…" Muriel frowned, resigning herself with linked fingers over her blouse. "And we were really hoping a couple of strong trainers could take care of the problem."
"Hey, who said we're not strong!?" Ash snapped. Realizing his rudeness, he held his cap in his lap, which he'd found hanging on the bed post. "I mean, that's no ordinary Jigglypuff.."
"Help you with what?" Dawn asked, back to the point. "What's wrong?"
"Oh, you really haven't heard… You not've been through Cream Town, yet," Muriel replied.
Ash quietly noted the name of the town, which worried him. He'd never heard of it before! They weren't lost, were they…?
"It's a Gyarados," Eustace continued. "Blasted thing's been thrashing the area! We've been hoping for a powerful trainer to come through and take care of it. But, a couple o' youngsters who got trounced by a Jigglypuff won't do."
Ignoring the man's rudeness, Dawn blinked with a realization. "That's what Absol was warning us about! It figures that she wasn't actually worried about Jigglypuff…" Then, she realized. She hadn't heard a peep from her, since they'd gotten here. "Absol…? Where's Absol!?"
"Absol? We saw one of 'em, lyin' around near all of you."
"And you didn't bring her along?" Ash urged.
"An Absol? In our house!?" Eustace scoffed. "Bah! Those things are a bad omen! I'd never bring that fortune down upon our roof!"
With that, Dawn was up and out of bed, excusing herself past the old couple. "I've got to find Absol. If it's been a few hours, she could be worried sick, looking for us!" Prinplup followed after her with gusto.
"Right," Ash agreed, hopping out of bed. "And while you'll do that, we'll deal with Gyarados. Come on, Pikachu!" He offered his extended hand to the mouse, who quickly scaled his shoulder.
"You!? Fighting that thing one on one?" Eustace grimaced. "You'll get chewed up and spat back out!"
"I may not look it to you, Mr. Eustace, but I'm a capable trainer." Ash adopted a stern expression, slipping past the both of them. "Don't you worry. We'll fix things up, in no time!"
"Pika!"
With that, the four guests slipped out the door. Muriel sighed, wrought with worry for the bunch. "Teenagers. So quick to rush out into danger…"
"It has to be around here, somewhere…"
Ash mulled to himself, walking alongside the small river that ran parallel to Cream Town. It was a pretty small, insulated community, with old-looking homes and shops. In hindsight, he wasn't too shocked that he'd never heard of it before.
Word seemed to travel fast, too; he'd been asked a couple of times about being dragged in from a Gyarados attack. No one seemed to believe that he could take it on, either… Not that it mattered. He and Pikachu would settle the matter themselves! Speaking of his partner…
"Pi." Pikachu piped up, one of his ears twitching. "Pika. Pikachu!" He pointed over Ash's shoulder, gaining his attention.
The waters started to stir where Pikachu had pointed. First, bubbling with a few disruptions rippling through. Then, a loud crash erupted from the water's surface, and a behemoth towered with a blood-curdling roar.
"GROOOOOOOARH!" Gyarados surfaced, looking every bit as vicious as the old couple described. A giant, unwieldy tail surfaced, bashing into a nearby shed in some poor resident's backyard, smashing it to pieces.
"There it is! Let's go, Pikachu." Ash narrowed his eyes, and ran towards the destruction. He overheard citizens shouting and gasping in worry. He sincerely hoped that they ran indoors, but there was little time to check, as the creature spat out errant Twister attacks from its mouth. Roofs rattled, boards flew loose, and nearby Pidgey scattered and squawked in fear.
"Heyyy! Gyarados!" Ash shouted from the edge of the river, waving his arms over his head. Pikachu was doing the same atop his head. "Knock off all this destruction, already! You're going to hurt someone!"
Ash's ideal outcome was the Gyarados listening to him and taking a chill pill, but somehow, he didn't expect it. A furious titan challenging him to battle, or at least plain attacking him, though, were on his list of possibilities. Strangely enough, even that didn't happen.
The giant Pokémon was completely ignoring him.
"Er… You think it has something caught in its ears, Pikachu?"
"Pika…" Pikachu frowned. He wasn't quite sure, himself.
Gyarados whipped around to lash its tail against the water's surface, starting a colossal wave… or, perhaps it only looked colossal because it was towering over Ash and Pikachu.
The two screamed, gearing up to run out of harm's way, but found no such luck. The wave came down upon them with a mighty crash, rolling on through, before its running waters started to ease, and sink into the dirt. Still standing, miraculously, were a soaking wet, hunched over Ash and Pikachu.
"Well…" Ash coughed, sputtering up water. He decided to take off his cap to wring it dry. "That could've gone better."
"Prrrriiii~!" Pikachu purred, shaking his fur dry, only to douse Ash some more.
"Pikachu."
Pikachu frowned, his ears falling in apology. "Pikapi."
"Don't sweat it." Ash smirked, placing his cap back atop his head. "I've got an idea hatched. Pikachu!" He declared ceremoniously, making a wide pointing gesture towards the river. "Hit the water in Gyarados' direction, with Iron Tail!"
Pikachu leapt off Ash's shoulder without question, sprinting to the river's edge before somersaulting forward. His tail coated in steel, slamming into the water's surface. "Chuaaa… Pika!"
The collision kicked up a large wave of its own, which splashed the rampaging Gyarados. The gigantic Pokémon paused, turning around slowly to stare daggers at the tiny, awfully rude mouse.
Landing back on solid land, Pikachu smiled uneasily, very soon in Gyarados' shadow. "Pi…"
"Pikachu," Ash whispered, gaining his partner's attention. For a tense moment, he was quiet.
"...RUN FOR IT!"
Ash sprinted along the side of the river, soon feeling the weight of Pikachu once again taking up his shoulder. With Gyarados in a mad pursuit, he grinned, looking over his shoulder. 'Awesome. Just a little bit longer, and we'll be way out of Cream Town. Then, we can fight without worries!' With his plan decided, he poked the bear, as it were. "C'mon, Gyarados! Can't ya move any faster than that?"
A Twister flew past Ash, and just to make matters worse, he mockingly smacked his own rear. "You were almost on target, that time!"
"Piiiih!" Pikachu joined in, pulling his eyelid down with a stuck-out tongue.
A series of taunts they very nearly regretted, when an errant tail swung over their heads.
"Okay," Ash breathed out. Looking around him, he saw no more homes, shops, or townsfolk walking around. (If there were any, after all, he probably would've been scolded for those juvenile taunts, to begin with…) He stopped in his tracks, skidding to a halt to face Gyarados.
The large Pokémon roared loudly, looking even more ornery than before.
"Pikachu!" Ash gestured forward. "Use Thunderbolt!"
"Pikaa… Chu!" Pikachu took to the air, patting his cheeks to work a current of electricity from his head down to his tail. With a flex of his body, he assaulted Gyarados with a vicious flash of gold.
Gyarados writhed around, roaring in pain under Pikachu's assault. In fact, he collapsed atop the water before the mouse finished his attack. Pikachu suddenly stopped, caught off-guard by this.
"Huh… I know it's super-effective, but I didn't think it'd go down that easy." Ash blinked, watching the out-of-control Pokémon. Though, it hardly looked ornery now. Gyarados was floating along lazily, covered in marks of soot from the Thunderbolt. It groaned, wearily lifting its head. "I think we might've overdid it… That Gyarados isn't too strong."
"Pikachu." Pikachu landed, guiltily rubbing the back of his neck.
"In that case… I've got just the thing to fix this!" The trainer slung his backpack off his shoulders, reaching into its compartments until he came across a small, round object. He fished it out, and tossed the device towards Gyarados. "Poké Ball, go!"
The Poké Ball bounced off Gyarados' head, and opened. A red light enveloped the serpent… before breaking off. The ball bounced back onto the shore with nothing to show for.
"Pika!?" Pikachu exclaimed.
"Then, that means… It's already caught!?"
"Absollll?"
"Priiin!"
"C'mere, Absol! We're looking for you!"
"Prinpluuuup!"
Dawn sighed, coming to a halt. Her legs were starting to get sore… That was the result of falling asleep in a pile in the middle of the road, it seemed. "She's gotta be around here, somewhere."
Hearing his trainer lose resolve, Prinplup felt only one course of action was appropriate. "Priiiin-lup-lup-lup!" He spat a minimized Bubble Beam right in Dawn's face, knocking her on her rear. Realizing he'd overdone it, Prinplup squawked, waddling over to offer her a flipper.
"Ergh… I think I needed that. Thanks, Prinplup." Dawn reached to take her partner's wing, when a loud rustling sound alerted the both of them. The bushes nearby were rattling, like something was about to jump out!
Prinplup dutifully stood in front of his trainer.
A dark navy horn broke through the foliage, and then an almost humanoid face with it, framed with a fluffy white mane. "...Sol!" Absol stared at the two wide-eyed, and hopped through the bushes to approach Dawn. "Sol. Absol!"
"Absol! There you are!" Dawn leaned forward to hug her Pokémon, ecstatic. "I was getting worried… Sorry about going missing. The thing is, we…"
"Out of the way! Move it or lose it!" A boy's voice interrupted Dawn, as the brunette came through the clearing, nearly running into Dawn a second time.
This time, though, Absol placed herself between Dawn and him, making the boy trip right over her back.
"Aaahhh…!" He yelped, before landing face first in dirt. "Ouch." He groaned, sitting up to shoot Dawn a dirty look. "You, again! Quit getting in my way already, will ya!"
"Hey, just because you're upset about Jigglypuff doesn't mean you have to give me an attitude," Dawn shot back.
"What'd you say!?" The boy sat up, gritting his teeth.
"Jiggly~!"
Jigglypuff's voice alerted the group, and they all went silent. The kid gestured Dawn to crouch behind the bushes, and she followed suit, motioning Absol and Prinplup to do the same.
Past the foliage, the rotund Pokémon was prancing about a clearing, orbiting a stump that she seemed to be inspecting as worthy of being a stage.
"So, Terrence," Dawn whispered.
"Terry," he pointedly hissed.
"Terry," Dawn corrected herself, knowing very well how it felt to be given a name she didn't like. "What's with that Jigglypuff, anyway? Why do you want to catch them so badly?"
"Here's the thing," Terry hushed. "I caught a Marikarp, a little while ago, and he just recently evolved into a Gyarados. He's been throwing a total tantrum ever since, and he's been attacking the village!"
"So that's the Gyarados they were talking about," Dawn mused to herself. "And you want Jigglypuff because she could put it to sleep…?"
Terry nodded. "That's the plan."
"Got it." Dawn nodded, raising a hand to her chin in thought. "Well, Ash already agreed to help out with Gyarados, so we might as well do our part, too!"
"But, how're we gonna get past that singing?"
"No need to worry." Dawn smirked, a glint of mischief shining in her eyes. "I have an idea."
Atop a lone stump in the clearing, Jigglypuff stood, tip-toeing around the flat surface while humming a quieted tune. A rehearsal, it seemed; luckily for Absol and the humans (and Prinplup) waiting in the bushes, she wasn't singing her full-blown song.
The Disaster Pokémon took that as her cue, stepping forth. "Jigglypuff." She addressed, approaching the stump. "I have a bargain to make with you."
"A bargain…?" Jigglypuff tilted her head. "I don't understand."
"We need your song," Absol replied. "The child who's been trying to capture you was doing so for a very specific purpose. You'd be helping a great number of people if you assisted us."
"You… need my song…?" Jigglypuff echoed, incredulously. Then, her face showed full-blown joy. "Oh, that's wonderful~! But, why wait until then, when I can regale you all with my sweet voice, right here!? You did say 'us.' Your friends are hiding in the bushes, aren't they~?"
A squawk could be heard from behind Absol, as Prinplup ducked his head. The Dark-type grimaced. 'Drat. She's pretty cunning, for someone caught in her own little world.' She coughed. "Ahem. That's a very nice offer, but no. We'd lie here asleep, unable to escort you. I'd rather wait."
"Well, maybe I don't feel like waiting!" Jigglypuff argued back, taking her microphone neatly between her paws, inhaling to prelude her favorite song. "Jii-"
Absol promptly smacked the device out of Jigglypuff's grip with her horn. "I don't think you heard me clearly. We need to escort you. Show some humility for once in your life, why don't you?" Perhaps being this provocative was a bad idea. But, from the little she'd gleamed from Ash and his Pokémon, this Pokémon was a continual menace. The gall of it irritated her.
"You… How DARE you!?" What was once an unassuming, doe-eyed puffball now towered over Absol, having inhaled as much air as possible to increase her size. Worse yet, her furious leer made poor Absol sweat. "No one denies me my stage! Forget the song - I ought to slap you silly!"
Absol leaned onto her back feet, somewhat intimidated. 'I didn't think she'd have such a hot fuse… Just a little more, now. You'll see our way, yet.' Future Sight was probably moments away, with the window Dawn had allotted before she approached Jigglypuff. If this had gone smoothly, they could have hustled out before it even came. But, now…!
"Enough!" Absol barked back, responding with glowing red eyes - a dreadful Leer. "Your self-absorbed nature shows in your stature! You ought to be brought down to size!"
Jigglypuff did acknowledge Absol's Leer, but she didn't back down to it, leaning further into her personal space. "That's awfully big talk, coming from someone half my size! I'll make you regret-"
Spatial portals opened in the air above before Jigglypuff could finish her threat, giving several colorful blobs of psychic energy to rain down upon her with a bang, and then some.
"Hmph." Absol huffed condescendingly, waiting for the smoke to clear. A rather dazed Jigglypuff emerged from the ashes, no longer inflated. She now had to look up at a leering Absol, and shivered.
"...Very well. But the stage better be grand." Jigglypuff dusted herself off, clearly trying to pretend that she hadn't been shaken.
"Oh, don't worry." Absol nodded her head in the opposite direction, and turned to lead. "It will be."
Back on the riverside, Gyarados was still thrashing, albeit with far less vigor than before. Its tail smacked against the shore, before another errant Twister fired past Ash and Pikachu.
"Gyarados! C'mon, listen to us!" Ash pleaded, waving his arms.
"Pika Pikaaaa!" Pikachu mimicked Ash, hoping he'd get through to the Atrocious Pokémon. But he was having no more luck than his trainer was.
"This is getting nowhere." Ash frowned, reaching for his cap to fix it backwards atop his head. "Wait here, Buddy. I'll get through to 'im."
"Pikapi!" Pikachu scolded Ash. His partner knew exactly what he was about to do, and Ash knew it.
"Sorry," he apologized. "But you know there's no other way!" Truthfully, Ash had no clue whether that was true. For that matter, he didn't even know what he planned on doing once he got there. But that didn't stop Ash from rearing back and sprinting towards the riverside. "Here I come, Gyarados!"
With one magnificent leap, Ash cleared the waters below him, and clung to Gyarados' segmented, serpentine body. "Nngh…! Gotcha!"
Gyarados seemed to feel the comparatively tiny human clinging to it, when its piercing gaze glowered down upon him. In that moment, though, Ash couldn't help but notice that he wasn't being bore down upon with malice and rage. Something about its eyes looked… fearful?
"Hey, it's okay." Ash smiled, even with a maw that could snap him up lingering mere feet from him. "I don't know what's bothering you, but we're gonna figure it out together, okay?"
"Pikapi!"
Pikachu's voice could be heard, back on land. He was pointing somewhere, when Ash looked over his shoulder to spot him. The trainer's eyes followed his partner, towards part of Gyarados' body that snaked out of the water. There seemed to be something jammed between two of its segments.
"So, that's it," Ash concluded. "Just stay stiiii-iiill!" He yelped, now hanging on for dear life as Gyarados thrashed angrily about. The movement was bound to make Ash dizzy, if he wasn't thrown off over the horizon, first. 'C'mon… I can't help 'im if he keeps moving around like this!'
"Ash!"
Just in the nick of time, Dawn emerged from the nearby woods, accompanied by Terry, Prinplup, Absol, and… Jigglypuff!?
"Ash! You need to get off of Gyarados!" Dawn called out, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Get ready, Jigglypuff. We'll need you to sing in just a moment."
Absol nudged Jigglypuff forward with her horn, prompting the puffball, who gave Absol a sour look, before strutting forward as if she hadn't been shoved at all.
"No can do," Ash shouted back to Dawn, still clinging to Gyarados for dear life. "Gyarados needs my help! Do your thing, Jigglypuff!"
"Puff~!" Jigglypuff cooed, needing no further introduction. She gripped her mic, regaling all present with her signature melodious tune. "Jiiiig-ly-puff~ Jigg-l-yyyy-yyypuff~. Jigglypuff~!"
To everyone present, it was a soothing sound like no other. Dawn and Terry started to wobble on their feet, the former purposefully lying back on the grass in a way that wouldn't give her a bedhead. The Pokémon started to slump with the humans, falling towards slumber, shortly afterward.
"Raohhhh…" Even Gyarados started to nod off, ceasing in his thrashing. With heavy eyelids, he lowered his head towards the riverside, giving in to slumber.
"Just… a little… further…" Probably the last spectator awake, Ash stubbornly crawled down Gyarados' serpentine body, fighting the alluring call of dreamland with all of his willpower. His vision started to blur, and he smacked his own cheeks. "C'mon, Ash…!" He yawned loudly as he scooted himself along. "Focus…!"
There it was. Jammed between Gyarados' segments was a large, grey slab. Ash gripped the protrusion with his fingerless gloves, yanking with all his might. "C'mon…!"
"Jigglypuff~! Jigg-l-y-puff~"
Resistance finally gave away, and whatever it was Ash had pulled on hit the water with a splash. A cool mist washed over Ash's skin, and that was all he needed to slip into a slumber.
"...Puff~!" Jigglypuff cooed, bringing her favorite song to an end. She flashed the cutsiest of smiles, awaiting the applause and adoration that she'd been promised. To her horror, she received neither.
Her entire audience had fallen asleep! Again!
"Puff…!" Furious, the Pokémon inflated, and pulled the cap off her favorite marker.
It was hard to tell exactly how much time passed, while the group slept their day away, but it couldn't have been more than a few hours, since the sun still hung high, only making marginal gains to the west.
It was enough time, however, to stir worry in old Eustace and Muriel. The old, married couple made their way down the riverside, accompanied by their Ursaring, luckily finding the passed out bunch before going terribly far.
"Oh, dear…" Muriel cupped a hand over her mouth.
"Either that Gyarados tired itself out, or they were't lyin' about that Jigglypuff," Eustace huffed. "At least Terrence is looking no worse for wear."
"It's Terry." The child was the first to wake, snapping up to attention specifically to shoot down the name. He sat up to take in the scene, still groggy. "Ugh… Well, it looks like Dawn's plan worked."
Dawn stirred at her name next, followed by Ash and their Pokémon. "I told you!" Dawn boasted, resting her hands on her hips. "I knew we could get Jigglypuff to listen to us! All we had to do was appeal to her vanity." Speaking of vanity, Dawn blinked, turning her eyes from one face to the next. Everyone except Eustace and Muriel had ridiculous drawings all over their faces… Even Gyarados! "What on Earth…!?" Why was no one reacting to this!?
"Prinplup…?" Prinplup tilted his head. Looking over at Dawn, he started to snicker. When she looked his way, he swiftly turned his back to her to hide his smirk.
Gyarados started to grumble and move, much to the gasping elders' horror. The creature admittedly looked a little ridiculous, with a monocle drawn around its eye, but it showed no aggression when Terry ran over to hug its face. In fact, it nuzzled into him! "Groaahr!"
"So, Gyarados was Terry's Pokémon!" Ash put two and two together, sitting jovially atop Gyarados's tail.
"Goodness!" Muriel gasped. "I had no idea."
"Y'had that monster wreaking havoc all over town!?" Eustace scolded. "Why didn't ya tell anybody?"
"He's not a monster!" Terry snapped back, pouting. "He just… evolved recently. And I knew I'd be in for it, if you found out. So, I wanted to calm him down and help him, myself! I don't know what went wrong, though…"
"I think I've got the answer!" Ash grinned, drawing everyone's attention to him. He welcomed a leaping Pikachu into his lap, petting Gyarados' scales with his free hand. "Your pal Gyarados had something caught in his scales. I was, like, too far gone to figure out what it was, but I yanked it out. Must've been a rock or a stick or something. Gyarados was acting up because he was hurt. Am I right?"
"Gyaah." Gyarados nodded to Ash, leaning in to nuzzle him, next.
"Ahahaha, hey! Hey! That tickles!" Ash laughed, but made no effort to remove himself despite his protests. "You should probably get him checked out at a Pokémon Center, though. Just to make sure everything's on the up-and-up."
That was when Terry's face fell. "We don't have a Pokémon Center in town, though…"
"Aye, we never did," Muriel affirmed. "'Fraid it's too small to warrant one."
"Then, can I bring him back and have you guys look at him? Please?"
The elderly couple exchanged glances, frowning. "After all that ruckus!?"
"C'mon!" Terry pleaded. "He'll be good now, I promise!" To embellish his point, Gyarados nodded his head.
"Well… I s'pose it can't be helped," Muriel relented. "But remember that he's your responsibility, he is."
"Of course!" Terry agreed.
Ash felt he could rest easy, now that everything seemed to be falling into place. Though, he couldn't shake a particular train of thought that was starting to nip at him. "Sorry for taunting you, back there, Gyarados. You know I was just doing that to keep the village safe, right?"
"Gyah!" Gyarados nodded, bearing a surprisingly friendly smile. It was difficult to stay mad at the trainer that freed him from the source of his pain!
"Hah, cool!" Ash chuckled. "Thanks, big guy." He gently rubbed the side of Gyarados' face. Even with that settled, though, he still felt a tinge of guilt. 'If I'd sensed Gyarados' feelings from the get-go, maybe I could've handled that a lot quicker… I wouldn't'a had to Thunderbolt him, either. Riley said I was supposed to help people with my powers. It's time I commit to it!'
"Pikapi?" Pikachu nudged Ash, tilting his head.
Ash smiled, shaking his own. "It's nothing, Buddy!"
"Oh, yeah. Thanks for helping me put Gyarados to sleep, Dawn." Terry rubbed the back of his neck. "Guess I owe you an apology."
"It's all thanks to Absol!" Dawn smiled, petting the snow-white Pokémon's mane. "She's the one who sensed the danger, all along! And she got Jigglypuff to go along with our plan." As sunny as Dawn's demeanor was, though, it went ice cold in an instant. "And, you two owe Absol a big, fat apology!" She accused, pointing at Eustace and Muriel.
"You oughta respect your elders more, y'know!" Eustace gruffed back.
"Aye, she's right, dearie," Muriel relented. "We've been a touch cruel t'things the younger generations understand a tad more than we do. Maybe there's still a thing or two we can learn."
"Bah, I guess you're right." Eustace frowned. "Sorry 'bout all that, Absol. We owe ya our thanks."
The look on Absol's face was tough to discern. If she felt pride swelling over the praise, perhaps, she didn't show it, stoically nodding her head before turning it towards the horizon behind her.
Perhaps there was no end to the world's dangers, outside their group. She'd remain vigilant. But, she very much did like her group. She subtly leaned into Dawn's hand.
"Great! Now, with that out of the way… Can someone tell me what's up with everyone's faces!?" Dawn blurted out.
"Er… You see, Jigglypuff..." Ash stammered out, questioning whether to speak up or not.
"What about ours? You should see your own!" Terry snorted.
Ash found it wise to cling closer to Gyarados. "Shut up, Terry!"
"Huh…?" Dawn quickly pulled out her pocket mirror, getting a look at her visage. A stuck out tongue was drawn under her lips, with crude nose hairs drawn under her tiny, pointy nose. She shrieked. "Oh, someone thought this was real funny, huh!? I ought to give them a piece of my-!"
"That was Jigglypuff?" Eustace laughed in the first show of humor since the group had arrived in Cream Town. "I thought it was just an awful new trend youngsters kicked up!"
"You thought-!? Ugh! To think that I'd come up with something so tacky!"
Dawn's outburst, unfortunately for her, only made the group burst out in laughter, much to her loud chagrin. Although a fashion dysfunction was the least of the group's problems they'd stumbled into today, they could leave Cream Town knowing they'd changed a couple lives for the better. What was that saying, again?
All's well that ends well.
