Pokémon: Road to Indigo Glory

Time to be Brave

"Hello." Humans 

"Pika-chu." Pokémon addressing humans

"Hello." Pokémon addressing Pokémon

As the days of summer came to a close, they could all tell not just by the calendar saying it was the last week before school. The night drew on longer, causing changes to many of the Pokémon's routines. The wind began to grow stronger and colder, rustling the trees and grass, forcing many to seek shelter from the encroaching cold. Even the leaves and grass began to change, beginning to turn an autumn blend that they all knew. However, at the Ketchum household and the Oak Laboratory, they were in a hard-pressed state.

Try as he might, Ash fought against the closing wounds to continue his work. Most of them had been dulled from pain, leaving only a few that began to form jagged and brutal looking scars that still gave him trouble. It was, by all accounts, on the good Arceus's name that it was a miraculous recovery. Ash, however, was the only one that thought differently. And he made it quite clear after he dropped a bucket of Pokémon feed on his foot due to the pain.

"OWWW!!!" Ash roared as he hopped around on the now very painful foot. "Stupid cuts on my arm!!"

This caused a flurry of activity as Lillie, Gary, Pikachu, and Caterpie rushed over to see Ash hopping around on his foot like an enraged Hitmonlee. It would be comical in any other circumstance than what had happened earlier in the month.

"I wish they'd take these stitches out and those cuts stop hurting. I can't work like this." Ash growled before picking up the bucket again, feeding a group of Rhydon's and Ponyta's in a trough.

The others sighed as Lillie spoke up first. "Ash, we already told you. They used dissolvable stitches on your injuries that will disappear on their own eventually." she explained to the senior assistant.

"Yeah, Ash. You just gotta tough it out until they're healed. The stitches should be dissolved enough by then." Gary reminded his longtime friend.

"It's not the stitches that are the problem." Ash growled as he went off to grab a hay bale.

"Let me give ya' a hand with that, Ash. You're still recovering." Gary told him, walking over to help out.

"I got it, Gary. I don't need help. I'll manage." Ash said in a softer tone, as he slowly picked it up with a grunt.

"You may be as strong as a Tauros, Ash, but you're still human. You can't push yourself too hard while you're still healing." Lillie gently but firmly insisted.

"Caterpie, Caterpie!" Caterpie pleaded, rushing over and hugging his trainer's leg, looking up at him with dewy eyes.

Ash sighed. "Alright, fine. Mind giving me a hand, Gary?" he replied, asking his friend.

"Of course, Ashy Boy." Gary answered with a smile, and the two started heaving hay over to feed some Rhydon.

As Lillie and Caterpie watched, the Bug-Type turned and noticed Pikachu standing by the doorway, not getting very close. Confused, Caterpie came over to check on him, causing the Electric Mouse Pokémon to flinch.

"Are you okay, Pikachu?" Caterpie asked, his eyes looking over him with more and more concern.

"I'm fine, Caterpie. Just… thinking about some things…" Pikachu replied, clearly wanting to be left alone.

Caterpie cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Well, if you ever need to talk, I'm very good at listening. At least, that's what Lillie and Delia tell me." he answered, trying to extend an offer of help to his teammate.

Pikachu sighed and gave the Bug-Type a small smile. "Thanks, little buddy. I appreciate it." he replied, patting Caterpie gently on the head.

The small bit of affection did make the little caterpillar cheer up and cheerfully returned to Lillie's side. However as soon as he was out of sight, Pikachu returned to a far dourer stance. He kept thinking back to that day… and how he messed up.

"Alright. That will keep them full until dinner." Ash said, wiping his hands in satisfaction. "Right, I think that's everything for now. The professor is still at the Post Office, so I guess we got some free time."

"What do you wanna do, Ash?" Gary asked, getting up and stretching.

"I think… wait. Do you guys hear something?" Ash asked, as he craned his head towards the door to the outside.

"I do. What is that?" Lillie asked, having heard the sound as well.

Rushing outside, they saw a scene of absolute bedlam. Caterpies, Weedles and Paras were rushing about for any form of cover they could find. Few tried to defend themselves as they were being attacked by a flock of Pidgey. While it produced initial surprises, it was clear that unlike the Spearow flock, they were attempting to hunt.

"We have to get the Pokémon to safety!" Ash cried out. Caterpie, however, rushed up into Ash's coat pocket. "It's okay, little buddy. Nothing's gonna happen. Just stay strong, okay?"

Caterpie nodded, even as he shivered in fright. As Ash, Lillie, and Gary grabbed objects to fight them off and help the Bug-Types inside, Pikachu stood there. Frozen. His eyes glazed over as the scene of the Spearow flock played in his head on loop. Then his face made a far more mirthful expression. A dark and destructive look no one had seen from the normally mischievous and chipper Pokémon. As great sparks began to form on his red cheek pouches.

"Pikachu, no!" Ash cried out, but it was far too late…

"Piiiika-CHUUUUUUUU!" Pikachu called out, unleashing a full power Thunder Shock aimed right at the airborne bird Pokémon.

What unfolded was nothing but complete carnage. Caught completely off guard, unaware Pikachu was even there, there was no hope of dodging or defending. The monstrous bolts of raw, electric-yellow lighting surged through them, bouncing off Pidgey after Pidgey. Soon they dropped out of the air like Butterfree in a strong wind, hitting the ground with scorch marks visible on their feathers. Twitching with sparks coming off them as not even one was left conscious while the Bug-Types were left unharmed. However, none of the trainers had a chance to say a word to Pikachu before it happened.

A shadow streaked out of the sky and dove towards Pikachu. Before he had a chance to realize what had hit him, in a pale irony of what he had just done to the Pidgey, the assailant slammed into Pikachu faster than a speeding bullet and hit him hard enough to knock the wind from his lungs. He soon was lifted off his feet and rocketed hard into the side of the building, the metal shingling bending as Pikachu wheezed in pain with what little air was left in his lungs. All before falling face first onto the ground, trembling from the pain.

"PIKACHU!" Ash called out in concern, trying to run over to his partner.

"Ash! Look!" Gary called out, pointing up into the tree, causing Ash to look after getting over to Pikachu.

Sitting on a large branch sat a bird approaching the height of Lillie, with brown and cream coloring like the Pidgey's. However, it had a large pinkish red crest flowing down its back like long hair, and its tail feathers a mix of that pinkish red and cream. All it did was stare down at them with a stern, almost wrathful gaze. At that moment, Ash put it together.

"That's its flock… it's after us after Pikachu shocked its flock." Ash said as he picked up Pikachu.

"If it's a fight he wants, he's got one!" Gary called out, pulling out his Squirtle's Pokéball only to be stopped by Ash.

"Gary, hold onto Pikachu for me. This is my fight." Ash said with seriousness and sternness in his voice that caught both Gary and Lillie off guard.

"But Ash, how are you going to battle it? Pikachu's in no shape to fight and your only other Pokémon is…" Lillie began only to realize Ash's intentions.

"I know Caterpie can do it." Ash said, only to feel a trembling intensifying in his coat pocket.

Looking down, to his shock, Caterpie was far from scared. Instead, the little caterpillar had a fire lit in his eyes Ash had never seen before. A fire of pure, unbridled fury at the sneak attack on his teammate. However, he smiled, grabbed him out of his pocket and held him up to his face.

"I know you can do this Caterpie. Let's do this!" Ash said with his trademark smile, which only got Caterpie fired up.

Nodding, Caterpie hopped out of Ash's hands and glared at the predatory bird Pokémon before him. "Get down here and fight, you coward!" Caterpie called out to the Pidgeotto.

To everyone's shock and annoyance, the bird at first sat there in silence, before he began to crow and quack. It was… laughing. Laughing at what was set up before it. Which further enraged Caterpie.

"If you won't come down, I'll bring you down myself!" Caterpie called out before firing a surprise String Shot.

The string of webbing hit Pidgeotto, wrapping him up before Caterpie pulled down with all his strength. The powerful tug brought Pidgeotto slamming to the ground in a small cloud of dust, leaving the bird Pokémon coughing and struggling to get loose. However, once the bird Pokémon did get its bearings, it burst through the web with shocking ease. Quicker than anyone thought it would. With its freedom of movement, the Pidgeotto ruffled its feathers out before turning to stare at the Bug-Type. The only damage it did was to its pride, which began to leave Caterpie with a pit in his stomach.

"Remember, little bug, the first lesson in combat. If you're going to do a sneak attack, then you better make it count." Pidgeotto coldly answered, cracking its neck in preparation.

"I-I'm not scared of you, you big bully! You're gonna pay for what you did to Pikachu!" Caterpie called out, sounding a bit more nervous than he would have liked.

"Very well. Then you can pay for your electric friend's attack upon my flock." the bird Pokémon answered, with a clear admiration of the courage shown by the Bug-Type. No matter how misplaced it may have been.

"Be careful, Caterpie! This Pidgeotto is going to be strong!" Ash called out, causing Caterpie to refocus his mind.

"Gary… is it possible for them to win this?" Lillie nervously asked.

"If Ash plays it smart? Maybe…" Gary replied, watching the match with interest. With Pikachu having a deeply worried look on his face as he lay helpless in Gary's arms.

"Ash… Caterpie…" Pikachu called out weakly in concern.

"Caterpie! Use Tackle, full speed!" Ash called out, throwing his hand forward in a pointing gesture.

To everyone's surprise, Caterpie charged in with surprising speed as Pidgeotto prepared to take flight. However, to the bird's surprise, his wings were still stuck together with excess webbing. He could not fly yet. Thinking quickly, Pidgeotto flapped his webbed-up wings as hard as he could at the ground, kicking up enough sand for a Sand Attack. The dust cloud kicked up by the flap of his wings created a smokescreen that threw off Caterpie's aim, allowing Pidgeotto to hop aside and only be grazed by the worm Pokémon's Tackle attack.

"Caterpie! Use String Shot on the tree and swing yourself around to hit him again!" Ash cried out, shocking everyone present.

"What!?" Pidgeotto called out in shock from the dust cloud, unable to believe what the human had just said.

"Fire!!" Caterpie cried out before launching the webbing at the trunk of the tree.

Tugging on the webbing, the Bug-Type began to swing around the trunk of the tree. Building up momentum for a big hit. Pidgeotto could only stare in stunned shock as he tried to flap his wings and get airborne, the feathers still stuck together with excess webbing. Finally, at the height of his swing, Caterpie released his grip on the string and sent himself flying at Pidgeotto like a Zubat out of the Reverse World. Turning to look as he began to get some airtime, Pidgeotto found himself too late to evade the Tackle attack that slammed into his chest, hitting him hard and sending him skidding back as Caterpie landed on his feet, the force of his own momentum pushing him back as well after the perfectly timed slingshot maneuver.

"That's it, Caterpie!" Ash cheered out, raising his arms up in the air, before flinching due to aggravating some of his wounds. "Damn that still hurts…"

"Hah! I'll bet that one stung a bit, bird brain!" Caterpie called out, preparing to keep going as Pidgeotto shook himself off.

"Lesson two of fighting, little bug. Never get complacent." Pidgeotto answered before this time launching himself into the air.

Flapping his wings as hard as he could, Pidgeotto finally broke the webbing of the String Shot and took to the skies. Glaring down at Caterpie, he dived down in a high-speed Quick attack. Thinking quickly, Caterpie used String Shot to pull himself out of the way of the dive bomb, barely avoiding a direct hit. However, the glancing blow still launched Caterpie aside, the force of the Quick Attack dive bomb hitting him hard.

"Caterpie! Get out of there with your String Shot!" Ash cried out, concern leaking into his voice at what a glancing hit did. He dared not think what a full one would do.

Acting quickly, Caterpie used String Shot to take to the trees, launching himself into the branches and hiding amongst the leaves. Looking around, Pidgeotto used his keen eyesight to look for any signs of movement. Even a single disturbed leaf to tell him the little bug's location. Eventually, he caught sight of a rustle of leaves as a String Shot launched itself from within the foliage. Barely dodging the string, Pidgeotto saw Caterpie slingshot himself at him again, trying to go for another slingshot Tackle attack.

"Try my Gust attack, little bug!" Pidgeotto called out, flapping his wings hard enough to send a strong gust of wind out at Caterpie.

Though Caterpie once again evaded a direct hit, the Flying-Type attack still grazed him and hit him hard enough to launch him into a tree. Crying out in pain as he slammed into the trunk, Caterpie slid down and shook himself hard as he tried to get his bearings.

"It's over, little bug! The moment I land my next attack, you're finished!" Pidgeotto called out, preparing for his next move.

Caterpie looked up at the looming specter of death before him as he made his ascent for a dive, determined to crush the poor Bug-Type between its own mass and the tree. It seemed hopeless. There was no way he could beat it. However, that was when he heard Ash call out to him.

"Caterpie! Get out of there! You can do this, so don't stop now! Don't let that bird get in your head!" Ash roared out; a look of confidence marked over his face as his words hit home in Caterpie's soul.

Tensing up, Caterpie was soon engulfed in a light green light, catching everyone completely off guard. Even Pidgeotto was forced out of its dove and diverted at the blinding light before it. Yet they all saw from inside the light, Caterpie was changing. Plates began to engulf him as he grew twice his own size, and several more times in mass. Then the light faded into a cloud of butterflies of many different shimmering colors before dissipating into sparkles. Before them was not a Caterpie, but what Gary and Ash instantly realized was a Metapod.

"Meta-pod." he cried out in a more droning, almost monotone voice.

"Caterpie… you evolved!!" Ash cried out in both joy and pride.

"Looks like Ash brought the little guy out of his shell at last!" Gary called out, pleasantly surprised.

"Metapod… I'm not familiar with that Pokémon." Lillie said in confusion, pulling out her notepad.

Pulling out his Pokédex, Gary let the machine explain. "Metapod. The Cocoon Pokémon, and the evolved form of Caterpie. Generally remaining motionless to prepare for its next evolution, its armored plates are as strong as steel to protect itself against predators. Pidgeotto being one of its principal foes." the machine explained in a robotic, but professional voice.

Lillie smiled as she finished jotting down her notes. "That means that they finally have a chance!" she noted with joy.

"It would be better if it evolved again though…" Gary muttered, while in his arms Pikachu sat there in amazement.

"Go, Metapod!" Lillie cheered with joy.

Pikachu let out a small smile. "I knew you had it in you…" Pikachu quietly said to himself.

"Evolution or not, you're still a bug! You're no match for me!" Pidgeotto snapped, going back into rising for a dive bomb Quick Attack.

"Then you can learn the true strength of my evolution. Harden!" Metapod replied, with a far more even-tempered and calm voice than he ever had as a Caterpie.

Soon a light blue aura appeared around Metapod briefly. Pidgeotto did not take heed of this as he rocketed towards him. However, when he slammed into Metapod, the result was not what he expected. When he slammed into the Cocoon Pokémon, he felt like he had hit a wall made out of tempered steel, his body bouncing off the hardened plates of the Bug-Type as he cried out in pain.

"GAGH! That hurt! He's so hard now!" Pidgeotto called out in pain, shaking his head and hoping he did not just give himself a concussion.

"Metapod, time to try out that move we've been working on! Use Bug Bite!" Ash called out.

With a stoic call, Metapod used String Shot to slingshot himself at Pidgeotto. However, due to his increased weight, the momentum of the maneuver also increased. As he swung faster and faster, he sent himself flying at more than six times his previous speed. Spectral bug fangs then began to glow in front of his face as he soared at the Flying-Type predator.

"Oh, what is that supposed to… oh fluff!!" Pidgeotto squawked as he saw what was now barreling towards him.

Metapod's Bug Bite attack hit Pidgeotto with the force of a twenty-pound rock being flung by an Olympic Hurling Champion. The force of the impact slammed into the predatory bird like a small catapult, sending him flying into the trunk of a tree and impacting it hard. Crying out in pain, Pidgeotto slid down as the impact rattled his hollow bones.

"Okay… that hurt…!!" Pidgeotto called out in pain, shaking himself as he tried to get up and took back to the skies.

"Don't let up, Metapod! Use Tackle!" Ash cried out, sensing an opportunity to go in for the finish.

"Yes, Ash." Metapod called out stoically and calmly, preparing to go for a full-strength leap.

"I don't think so, Bug! My strongest Quick Attack will finish this for certain!" Pidgeotto called out, flapping his wings to go as high as his remaining strength could carry him for a full power finish of his own.

"We will see about that." Metapod answered as he then launched himself at the exact same time Pidgeotto made his dive.

The two attacks collided midair. However, to the shock of everyone except Metapod and Ash, the resulting clash was a draw. The two attacks unleashed a small shockwave as they clashed before the two combatants were launched away from each other. Metapod landed clearly while the weakened Pidgeotto barely managed to pull himself out of a drop, flinching in pain. Seeing an opening, Ash got an idea.

Reaching down, he grabbed one of his four Pokéballs and pressed the button to expand it. In that moment, it caught both Gary and Lillie off guard.

"Ash, you're not thinking of catching it…" Lillie said nervously.

"It's the only way the problem is going to get solved. Pokéball, go!!" Ash yelled as he threw the ball as fast as he could.

Before Pidgeotto could make a counter move against it, the ball hit its right wing, engulfing it in a red light. Soon, it landed on the ground softly in the grass. It shook once, then twice, and, for a moment that lasted longer than anyone would have liked, it sat there. Then it made the third shake and clicked shut. Several stars flew from the ball as it did. Ash beamed with excitement as he rushed over, fighting through the pain with gritted teeth, and scooped both the ball and Metapod up into his arms.

"You did it, Metapod! You did it! We caught the Pidgeotto!!" Ash cried out, throwing the Bug-Type cocoon up into the air and catching him in joy repeatedly.

"Meta-Pod…!" Metapod called out in stoic joy, his eyes closed.

"He did it. He actually did it." Gary said in surprise, blinking a couple of times to make sure he was seeing this right.

"You two were incredible!" Lillie called out excitedly.

"Pikachu!!" Pikachu cried out before leaping from Gary's arms onto Ash's shoulder.

Ash gritted his teeth from the impact, but soon petted Pikachu on the head. "I'm glad to see you're okay, buddy. And you did great before you got sneak attacked." Ash said, scratching Pikachu behind the ears.

"So… big bird here was protecting the munchkins." Gary said simply. "Wait… where are they?"

"Up there." Lillie said, pointing up to the trees.

High in the tree's Caterpie and Pidgeotto were dueling in, was the flock of Pidgey's cowering in fear. They could see without their protector, the now caught Pidgeotto, they were not a threat. At that moment, Ash realized why they attacked. Rushing inside, he soon came out with a large set of bowls for Pokémon food.

"You guys were hungry, weren't you?! That's why you attacked the Bug Pokémon?" Ash called out to them. "You don't have to be afraid. I'm sorry we hurt you like that."

"Should we really be giving them what they want?" Gary asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Gary. They're not a threat anymore. And we can't just send them away hurt and hungry. You really think Professor Oak would be happy if he heard we did that?" Ash asked his friend.

Gary nodded, seeing Ash's point. "Fair enough. Come on, Lillie. Grab the Flying-Type food and pour it into the bowls." he replied, going to get the bags of food.

"Maybe you should let Pidgeotto out Ash. They might be less afraid then." Lillie said as she grabbed a bag of food.

With a nod Ash activated the Pokéball, and in a blinding blue light Pidgeotto appeared. He was still banged up, but he seemed in his short time in the Pokéball had at least composed himself. Though he was more surprised and confused at his current situation.

"Huh. I'd thought you'd be taller." Pikachu said dryly, hopping down from Ash alongside Metapod.

"Watch it, Mouse. We may be teammates now, but I haven't forgotten what you did." Pidgeotto replied, moving over to begin eating.

"We both were merely defending who we care about." Metapod calmly and eloquently said.

"What?" Both Pikachu and Pidgeotto asked in unison.

"Pidgeotto was defending his charges after Pikachu shocked them, and I was defending Pikachu after he attacked in kind. And it's clear now your charges were attacking the lab's Bug-Types because they were hungry. Therefore, my trainer and companions wish to give them food to solve the problem." Metapod explained in detail.

"... It's… gonna take some getting used to hearing you talk like that, buddy…" Pikachu noted.

"Likewise." Metapod answered, tilting his body a bit to nod.

"Well… then welcome to the team, I guess, Pidgeotto…" Pikachu said, looking to the bird Pokémon.

"It is good to make… a proper acquaintance." Pidgeotto answered nervously, not entirely sure how to handle this situation.

"If you would not mind calling your charges down to eat, that would be lovely. We wouldn't want the food to go stale." Metapod asked politely.

"Right. Come down to eat, everyone! It is safe now!" Pidgeotto called out to his flock.

With that, the entire flock came down and swiftly began to devour the food, forcing Gary and Lillie to get more. As they ate, Pidgeotto turned to look at Ash, as if asking them wordlessly what would happen to his flock. To his surprise, Ash gave it a warm smile.

"Don't worry Pidgeotto. Your flock can stay at the Lab. Here, they have a safe place to fly around and sleep and get several square meals a day. And if any get hurt or sick, we will make sure they make a speedy recovery." Ash smiled, reaching down to gently pet the bird's head.

This left Pidgeotto in shock but soon had a look that was its best attempt at smiling with a beak. With its fears alleviated, Pidgeotto joined its young charges and began to eat. Before a loud, rumbling growl soon was heard by all. Turning to look, they saw it came from Metapod.

"Sorry…" Metapod sheepishly answered before everyone soon hugged the little bug that could. This made Metapod happier than it ever had been in its life. He found a place where he truly belonged and could stand bravely.