Ash Ketchum (サトシ) (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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pokemonthenovel2016-08-25 07:32 pm
2bamaster) wrote in pokemonthenovel2016-08-25 07:32 pm
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Chapter 3: Spearow on the Day of Departure (English terminology)
Ash changed out of his pajamas and began his journey, carrying his rucksack.
However, things were rough right from the start.
The hill overlooking Pallet Town that would normally take thirty minutes to climb had taken Ash two hours. The fact that the primary school's bell had just rung to signify the end of the school day proved that.
The fact he could even still hear the school bell from the town square was indicative of the fact he hadn't gotten very far. He was going so slow that if I compared his speed to a turtle, a Squirtle would probably phone up to complain.
The reason for this was Pikachu's complete lack of cooperation.
Not only would he not enter a Poké Ball, but he also refused to follow Ash.
In order to force Pikachu, who refused to walk a single step, to come with him, Ash had no option but to create a leash using his washing line.
He was wearing the rubber cooking gloves to protect himself from electric shocks and tugging hard on the line, it was not a very dignified sight.
Stuck walking with a Pokémon who wouldn't listen to a word its master says.
At the top of the hill Ash took a breather and decided to attempt communicating with Pikachu again.
“Um. Pikachu. Are you going to be like this the whole way?”
Pikachu turned away in a huff.
“Do you really hate me that much?”
Pikachu politely nodded twice, thrice.
“I like you.”
Pikachu pretended to ignore Ash and scratched at his face using his forearms.
“Anyway, you're the Pokémon I'm training now. Can you just open your mouth and let me know the truth?”
Pikachu showed off his teeth.
“Uh... Are you going to bite me with those teeth?”
Ash took up a defensive pose as Pikachu shook his head and pointed at his teeth.
“Eh? Ah... You're showing you have teeth?”
Pikachu nodded.
“Ah, I said the truth. Not the tooth. Don't you want to talk?”
Pikachu nodded with an expression that seemed to say ... Finally, the moron gets it...
“I don't feel like having this turn into a comedy skit. So how about you act like an actual Pokémon and get inside the Poké Ball? Like it says in the Pokédex.”
Ash got the Pokédex he received from Professor Oak from his pocket.
On top of the Pokédex, there was a sensor similar to that on a TV remote control's switch.
When pointed at a Pokémon, it would display a description of the Pokémon in question on the screen.
It was an essential item given to all trainer candidates getting their first Pokémon from an official laboratory.
Ash pointed the Pokédex at Pikachu and read from it.
“Pikachu, a species of Pokémon that commonly live in forests and eat berries, they have a kind disposition, are highly intelligent, are highly charming...”
Ash deliberately emphasised the words like kind and charming.
Pikachu... simply nodded as if all this was completely obvious.
“All this here is describing your species...”
Ash stopped partway as he reached the passage he wanted to discuss with Pikachu.
“Ah, look at this, it's written right here... A Pokémon that gets along well with its owners. ... See? This is typical Pokémon behaviour, so you should act accordingly.”
Pikachu pressed a button on top of the Pokédex.
The screen changed. It was a proverb in the encyclopedia's appendix.
“Hm?”
Ash read it.
“Every rule has its exceptions. This is the one rule that governs all rules.”
Pikachu pointed at himself.
“So there's always going to be at least one Pikachu who isn't going to listen to what its owner says.”
Ash muttered. ... That's right! Pikachu puffed his chest out having gotten his point across.
Ash came to the realisation that any further discussion wasn't going to go anywhere.
“Fine. We should get along as best we can then. Let's end this nonsense.”
Ash untied the line around Pikachu's neck, removed his rubber gloves and offered his hand for a handshake.
... Too little too late... seemed to be Pikachu's reaction based on the sulky 'Hmph!' he made.
“If a handshake won't do, how about this?”
Ash offered his index finger.
He recalled a movie his mother Delia had on video, which had left her in tears.
It was a story involving an alien and a boy who gained a connection by pressing their index fingers together. In Ash's childish view it was just a dumb story to make girls cry, but he was willing to try anything to get along with Pikachu at this point.
However Pikachu, obviously unfamiliar with old movies, just turned away in a huff...
“Yeah, that was a dumb idea... It's not going to work like with the alien.”
Pikachu shrugged his shoulders as if to say he was stating the obvious.
Suddenly, at that moment.
Pikachu's eyes immediately locked onto a point in the long grass.
He completely ignored Ash's presence to stare intently at that spot.
“Hm? Is something there?”
Peering over as Pikachu parted the grass, he spotted the tiny bird Pokémon Pidgey, which was moving about pecking at the ground.
It was likely looking for something to eat.
The tiny bird Pokémon was a common species that Ash had often seen around all year.
Even so, he went ahead and pointed the Pokédex's sensor at it.
The description on the display was as follows...
“Pidgey... Tiny bird Pokémon that flies... Among Pokémon that fly, it is the most gentle and easy to catch. One of the best Pokémon for a beginner trainer to test their abilities on...”
“In that case... Alright, Pikachu. Let's catch it!”
In order to catch a Pokémon, you must first have your own Pokémon weaken it in battle before capturing it in a Poké Ball.
That's the basics of how to catch a Pokémon.
However, upon realising that his opponent was a Pidgey, Pikachu instead decided to lie down and relax.
“Pikachu, what are you doing?”
Pikachu, irritatedly, pressed a button on Ash's Pokédex.
It relayed another proverb.
“A wise Pikachu does not waste its electricity... This means that strong prefer to not pick meaningless battles with the weak... This proverb is also known for being used by power companies during energy conservation campaigns.”
Pikachu... nodded in agreement to this.
“So you're not gonna fight?”
Pikachu feigned ignorance.
“Why not?”
As if to say... shut up..., Pikachu climbed a nearby tree and spread himself out.
“Understood. I see now. That's how it is. Alright. If that's how you're gonna be, I'll catch it myself. Becoming a Pokémon Trainer is my dream. Right, I'll become the ultimate Pokémon Master... Yeah. I'll declare it now to all the world's Pokémon. I've decided. I'm going to become the greatest Pokémon Master.”
Ash was now shouting less at Pikachu and more at himself.
“If I couldn't even catch a single Pidgey all on my own, then I might as well... Yeah!”
Ash nodded to himself and dropped his bag by the base of the tree.
He turned around his prized Pokémon cap, which he had won from Pokémon Comic... and gripped a Poké Ball in his hand.
“This is my ceremonial first pitch.”
He held it up high. Lifted his leg high in the air.
“Pidgey, you're mine now... Poké Ball. Go!”
The Poké Ball was set free from his fingers.
It was a straight shootball, he was confident in his control.
In school baseball games, his pitches were so controlled that they were always dead center leading to nine consecutive hits and a changeover.
“My straight never misses!”
It was perfect. His aim was dead on.
“Got...”
Ash started to say “Gotcha”.
However... the Poké Ball hit Pidgey, let off something resembling smoke and fell to the ground.
Pidgey didn't even seem surprised by the attempted capture.
“Poh”, it simply yawned.
“Why... didn't that work?”
The Pokédex displayed new info...
“Use Poké Balls after weakening... Poké Balls should be used on Pokémon when they are tired or weakened. Using a Poké Ball against an unweakened Pokémon is largely ineffective.”
Ash muttered to himself as he went to collect the dropped Poké Ball.
“I'm aware of that, but...”
“Pipipipikachu.”
Up in the tree, Pikachu laughed uproariously, clutching at his stomach.
Ash ground his teeth.
“Damn Pikachu! ... Just you wait, wait and see, I will, I'll have the last laugh! ... Hm?”
Ash took notice of his bag at the base of the tree.
“Right. Let's pick at you...”
He wasn't calling to Pikachu. He'd had an idea.
Ash pulled his burnt pajamas from his bag.
He then snuck up to a Pidgey lying down in the grass.
“Stay riiiight there, don't be afraid.”
Kss... Ash's footsteps rustled the grass.
... What the?... Pidgey looked right at Ash.
“Ah... Hello.”
... Who?... “Pidgey?” ... Pidgey tweeted as it cocked its head.
“Now! Forgive me!”
He leapt upon the Pidgey with his outspread pajamas.
Pidgey was inside the pajamas.
“Alright! Pidgey! ... Got”
Ash was about to say “Gotcha” once more.
With a sound like an electric fan, the pajamas began to inflate.
“Ah... What... What's happening?”
As confirmed with the Pokédex at a later time... It was Pidgey's special move, gust.
The pajamas stood up fluttering, shooting a fierce dust cloud from the armholes.
This was a special move known as sand attack.
The buttons flew off the pajama top and it exploded like a popped balloon.
Pidgey continued its fierce sand attack... which was more like a sandstorm.
Ash was covered by the sand.
“Pidgey. Pidgey.”
Pidgey laughed mockingly at the sand covered Ash from up in a tree.
He was used to seeing a Pidgey come out of a clock to announce the time, but...
“I guess a real Pidgey isn't like the one in a Pidgey Clock.”
Without even looking to the Pokédex, Ash recalled a certain proverb.
... A Pidgey in the hand is worth two in the bush...
This whole day had been nothing but one disaster after another, and it seemed like it would end on a sour note.
But Ash didn't have time to complain.
Something terrible had happened to his bag left at the base of the tree.
At some point, a small Pokémon had snuck up and started eating at it.
Ash shooed it off in a fluster.
However, the bag was already in tatters.
“Oh, come on.”
Pikachu, looking down from up in the tree, simply gave an indifferent shrug.
“What was that...?”
Ash pointed the Pokédex at the small Pokémon, still peeking out from within the tall grass.
“A wild Rattata. A forest mouse Pokémon... It likes tough nuts and cheese...”
“Hold it, this isn't a forest. It's an open field.” Ash objected to the Pokédex's explanation.
“It occasionally comes into fields to steal food from stupid travellers.”
“St... Stupid, me?”
... That's right... Pikachu nodded to agree with that statement.
Pidgey also mocked him, poking its head out of the long grass to laugh, pippipippi, sounding like a clock.
It seemed this Pidgey would be staying out of his hands and in the bush.
“Uuurgh... I'll get you for that!”
Losing his cool, Ash picked up a small rock and hurled it at Pidgey.
But he missed.
Not even Ash's control of his aim is always perfect.
Ash was really fired up now.
“You won't get away with this!”
He stormed after it into the long grass.
Pidgey mockingly just flew away.
“Tch... How did it come to this... Hm?”
Beyond the long grass, he caught sight of another Pidgey facing away from him.
It hadn't noticed Ash.
“Alright! I'll get it this time.”
Ash threw a small rock.
Konk! The noise echoed out as the rock, right on target this time, got it right in the head.
“Oh yeah! Take that!”
A large lump swelled on the Pidgey's head.
However, the Pidgey turned around and... something wasn't right. That is to say, this Pidgey was not actually a Pidgey.
It had mean eyes, a sharp beak... And its cry...
“Gwagyah!”
“Gwagyah... Wait, what.”
Ash pointed the Pokédex at it.
The Pokédex displayed the Pokémon's information.
“Spearow... Also a tiny bird Pokémon, but unlike Pidgey has violent tendencies. It will commonly attack both humans and other Pokémon...”
“It attacks humans? Ah...”
Spearow had already taken flight and was swooping at him.
“Hieh...”
Ash covered his head and ran back under the tree where Pikachu was.
The Spearow grazed Ash's sleeve as it swooped. But it hadn't given up on him yet.
Here it comes! Spearow was heading straight for Ash this time.
However, it suddenly changed the trajectory of its swoop.
It had set its sights on Pikachu up in the tree.
Spearow had switched targets and was after Pikachu.
“Eh?” “Pika?” Ash and Pikachu were both surprised by this turn of events.
Pikachu instinctively dodged, narrowly avoiding Spearow's attack.
Spearow turned in the air and came for Pikachu once more.
Pikachu signalled a nope pose with his forelegs. ... Chill, I'm not after a fight... He tried to explain as he dodged.
But Spearow was persistent and kept swooping at him over and over.
Ash looked to the Pokédex.
“I was the one who threw the rock at Spearow. Why is it targeting Pikachu?”
He pointed the Pokédex's sensor at Spearow and the display explained...
“Wild Pokémon have a tendency to show more hostility towards human trained Pokémon than they do to humans themselves.”
“No way... Well then...”
Ash called out to the Spearow.
“Back off! Pikachu has nothing to do with this. I threw the rock at you.”
However, at this point Spearow had no interest in paying him any attention.
It was focused only on attacking Pikachu.
Spearow's beak grazed Pikachu's shoulder.
Pikachu lost his footing in the tree.
Spearow's beak closed in on the falling Pikachu.
Pikachu was moments away from impalement.
... He was all out of options now.
Pikachu rotated mid-air as he fell to defend himself.
The only way to defend himself mid-air would be to fight.
Spearow instinctively faltered.
“Pikachuu!”
Lightning flashed.
One blow.
Spearow fell back into the grass.
“Alright...”
Ash rushed over to Pikachu who had hit the ground.
But Pikachu just shook his head.
He glared at the spot where the Spearow fell.
Suddenly, the Spearow resurfaced, its face burnt black.
It pointed its wing at Ash and Pikachu.
“Gwagyah.”
It gave a high pitched cry. In Spearow's language, it probably meant something like “Get them!”
After the signal cry, the grass shook and they rose up.
That is, a whole host of Spearow.
Their numbers were... almost uncountable. There were a lot of them.
Just the sound of their wings flapping were louder than a biker gang revving their engines at the beach on the weekend.
If we were to stick to just comparing it to other flying things, it would probably also be louder than a fleet of helicopters.
Ash's jaw dropped... However, when he finally found his voice he asked Pikachu a question.
“Run away?”
“Pikachu...” Pikachu barely squeaked out his reply.
There's no real need to translate Pikachu's answer here.
This was the first time Ash and Pikachu ever agreed on anything from the moment they met.
Ash and Pikachu began to slowly back away, not letting their eyes off the mass of Spearow.
They then nodded in unison as they turned tail and ran.
As if on cue, the Spearow began to give chase.
Their target was, of course, Pikachu.
Pikachu and Ash ran and ran.
As they ran, it seemed like they were passing a lot of other Pokémon.
But Ash had no time to pull out the Pokédex and point it at them saying...
“Ah... That's...”
Which was natural given their current situation.
Running, running. And running some more while running.
While the host of Spearow was large to begin with, friends called more friends, continually increasing their ranks.
At this point, rather than a large group, it felt more like half the sky itself was chasing them.
Fleeing, fleeing. And fleeing some more while fleeing.
“Hang in there! Pikachu. I promise, I'll save you!”
The fleeing Ash declared this as he had overtaken Pikachu.
“Pikachu...”
... Whatever... Pikachu then shot ahead of Ash.
“Ah, I just said I'd save you! Owowow.”
Ash's head was pecked at by the leaders of the Spearow pack.
However the Spearow's attacks were more focused on Pikachu than Ash.
The pecks and wing beatings were giving Pikachu some nasty injuries.
Pikachu could barely even keep standing.
Even so, Ash and Pikachu ran. And ran. And continued to run while running.
Fleeing, fleeing and fleeing some more... But as they fled... a cliff stood up ahead... a waterfall flowing from it.
Ash and Pikachu had been cornered on the edge of the cliff.
Hesitation, consideration and thought... Time was short as the Spearow closed in on them.
“Well. Here goes.”
Ash held Pikachu close as he leapt towards the waterfall.
Ash and Pikachu fell down the waterfall.
Past the waterfall there was a plunge basin, beyond the plunge basin was a fierce current which was highly disorientating.
All Ash could do was continue holding onto Pikachu so they wouldn't get separated.
Even grasping for straws, there were no straws to grasp at, so he simply held tight to the tiny Pikachu.
The harsh current gradually weakened and they were spewed out into a lake, Ash then felt himself burbling down deeper under the water.
... Wha... I'm drowning... Not good...
Ash strained to look around underwater...
He caught a sudden glimpse of large unknown fangs.
He couldn't identify the Pokémon properly through the murky waters, but it seemed pretty clear that it considered Ash and Pikachu as nothing but food.
Ash struggled to swim to the surface to avoid certain death.
However, he only had one free arm since he was still holding Pikachu.
It didn't feel like he was getting any closer to the surface.
The dark abyss beyond the fangs was rising behind him... Or rather, it was something's mouth.
That something was still after Ash and Pikachu.
“Hieh...!”
Ash struggled furiously.
He caught something with his fingertips.
It was like a shining thread.
As long as it was something to grab on to, he'd even accept a spider Pokémon's thread.
Grab it, grab it. As long as there's something to hold on to, go for it.
Ash wrapped the thread around his hand and held on tight.
***
A lone girl sat by the lake with a fishing rod.
She was about the same age as Ash.
The girl was at this lake, Nameless Lake, to try and catch a mysterious Pokémon rumoured to live in it.
Almost any lake would have legends of mysterious Pokémon living within. A few famous instances would include Nessie of Loch Ness, Kussie of Lake Kutcharo or Tunoyssie of Lake Tunoy. In this lake, there was Namelessie.
It was impossible to say whether or not such a Pokémon really existed, it's possible someone mistook some other Pokémon for it, however discovering the truth for yourself is half the fun.
On her journey, the girl had heard about a lake being nearby and had been camping there for three days with her fishing rod. So far, she hadn't managed to catch anything notable. But still, if you don't put down a line you definitely won't catch anything, the legend of the mysterious Pokémon maintained an air or romance to it. Fishing was a romantic adventure to the girl.
All she had caught today were small fry Pokémon like Magikarp... It was almost sunset and she was about to start preparing to leave.
The float on the girl's fishing rod began to bob up and down.
“Hm? It's come. It's here. This is a big one...”
As she pulled on the line, she would soon learn just how big this catch was.
“Maybe it's really Namelessie... Oof.”
The girl chuckled to herself as she timed reeling it in just right.
Fishing is all about timing. If timed just right, then even a ten year old girl can reel in a whopper.
Besides, this was a girl who had made it into the top four of a local boy's and girl's Pokémon fishing contest for three consecutive years. She was more than capable of reeling in even Pokémon heavier than her own body weight.
“Now!”
The girl had chosen the timing to land it.
She let out a fierce yell. And some surprisingly superhuman strength to go along with it.
And with a splash of water, Ash was fished up.
“What. A human, huh... That's even worse than small fry.”
Having been caught up in the dream of catching a mysterious Pokémon, the girl seemed quite uninterested in the mystery of why she had caught a human.
Even so, she soon took notice of the Pikachu that Ash was holding.
“Oh? That's a Pokémon...”
Having been pecked at by the Spearow, Pikachu was covered in wounds.
“What nasty injuries... Are you okay?”
However, Ash had also been thoroughly pecked by the Spearow.
He mistook the girl's concern as being for him.
Ash thanked the girl.
“Thanks, you saved me, I'm...”
“Not you.”
The girl suddenly slapped Ash across the cheek.
“What's wrong with you?”
“That's my line. Why is your Pokémon in this condition? The poor thing...”
The girl glared as Ash while gently rubbing Pikachu's head.
“You think that's my fault? ... Look, I'm in pretty bad shape here too...”
The back of his jacket had been torn to shreds by the Spearow's attacks.
“Don't argue with me, it needs medical treatment asap. It's not far from here...”
The girl pulled a map from her pocket and laid it out.
“There's medical treatment available at the Center in Viridian City...”
“There's a hospital?”
“Not for you. A Pokémon hospital.”
“Ah... I see... So... Which way to Viridian City?”
“That way.”
The girl pointed at a straight path through the forest.
The time had come. From beyond the lake, that horrible noise rang out.
The noise of the Spearow's flapping wings. The sunset in the west was covered by the giant flock of Spearow like a cloud. Their numbers were so great that the air itself trembled, ripples formed on the water's surface in the lake.
The bubbling waves gradually closed in.
“Hey? You see that?”
Ash asked the girl.
“Yeah, I see it.”
She nodded.
“Sure are a lot of them.”
“Should we run?”
“It's not my problem.”
“Well, it's mine. They've got a grudge against me.”
“In that case, you better start running.”
“Yeah. I should do that.”
Ash noticed a bicycle next to the girl.
Ash placed Pikachu into the bike's basket and rode off on it.
“I'm borrowing this!”
“Ah... That's my bike...”
“I'll give it back someday.”
He left those words behind as he began pedalling. And off he shot. Full speed down the path ahead.
“My bike... How am I going to get back without it... Ugh, wait up!”
The girl chased after Ash.
But there was no way she could keep up with a bike.
The mass of Spearow passed over the girl's head.
“No way.”
The girl was blown off her feet by the sheer force of the wind generated by their flapping wings.
The host of Spearow paid the girl no mind as they pursued the bike.
Their only interest was in Pikachu and Ash.
But with such a huge flock, it seemed likely that the girl's bike would become collateral damage.
The girl turned pale as she imagined her bike being destroyed.
“Hold it, wait a sec.”
The girl called out to the Spearow fading in the distance.
“Hey, my bike is innocent in all this! You better not damage it!”
The girl became increasingly annoyed.
... Seriously, that asshole... How could he let such a cute Pokémon end up like that. Then he steals my bike without asking... Next time I see him, he'll pay... Ugh, seriously, I have the worst luck with men... I won't forgive him...
Let me remind you, this girl who has terrible luck with men is still only ten years old.
***
On the forest path, Ash and Pikachu were still speeding along on the bike.
“Hang in there! We're almost at Viridian City!”
In the basket, Pikachu was struggling to breathe as he looked at Ash.
The damage Pikachu had taken from the Spearow was even worse than it first seemed, he could barely even move a muscle.
Lightning flashed past the mountains in the distance.
Drip drop, drops of water rolled down Ash's cheek. It was raining. The sound of thunder rang out.
But, louder still was the sound of the Spearow's flapping wings. Normally, tiny bird Pokémon wouldn't be flying in the rain. However, the Spearow were so caught up on chasing Pikachu and Ash, that it seemed as if they hadn't notice the rain at all.
The rain soon became a fierce downpour.
Even so, the Spearow wouldn't call of their attack.
As if becoming one with the rain, the Spearow began swooping and attacking.
The road had turned to mud, the bike's handles had become slippery and difficult to grasp.
With dark clouds and the Spearow surrounding them, the sky seemed pitch dark.
With large drops of rain striking, the road ahead was barely visible. With the roar of thunder, the Spearow's attack became even fiercer.
The wheels slipped. He lost balance. And fell.
Ash and Pikachu were thrown from the bike as they collapsed.
“How did it come to this!?”
Why had things turned out this way?
Ash smashed his fist in a muddy puddle.
He was half angry and half sad.
And it wasn't just due to falling off the bike.
The broken alarm clock. Running late. That jerk Gary. Not having any choice for my Pokémon. Pikachu refusing to get in the Poké Ball. The Pidgey mocking me. Rattata. Being pecked at by the Spearow, almost drowning underwater, almost being eaten by some crazy monster Pokémon, getting slapped in the face by some random girl and now, finally, I'm lying in a puddle of mud.
Why was it today had to be a day like this?
Do you have any idea how much I looked forward to this day?
The day I left home as a Pokémon Trainer... The day I'd dreamt of.
It wasn't supposed to be this way.
Ash continued to punch the mud over and over.
At that moment, a bolt of lightning flashed.
He saw Pikachu lying on the ground before him.
“Eh...? Pikachu?”
Pikachu's body was half submerged in muddy water, he could barely breathe.
Ash picked Pikachu up in his arms.
“Pikachu! What's happening?”
“Pikachu...” He spoke in a soft voice, almost a sigh.
“It can't end like this!”
Looking up above, the Spearow were waiting for the signal to launch an all out attack.
An Spearow with a burnt head cried out. It was the Spearow that had originally been shocked by Pikachu. It seemed it was leading the attack.
The entire flock of Spearow moved to attack.
Having all those beaks plunged in to peck them at once, Ash and Pikachu would be goners for sure.
Ash wondered what he could do, before making his decision.
Ash pulled out a Poké Ball and showed it to Pikachu.
“Pikachu... Get inside.”
Pikachu stared at Ash.
“You should go inside.” Ash stated plainly.
Pikachu looked back and forth between Ash and the Poké Ball.
“I know... you hate going... inside there. But if you go in, then at least you'll survive. So, go inside, I'll take things from here.”
Ash placed the Poké Ball down in front of Pikachu.
Then he turned to shout at the mass of Spearow...
“Hey you, do you know who I am? I'm Ash from Pallet Town, the man who'll become the world's greatest Pokémon Master! I'll never lose to the likes of you. I'll get every last one of you.”
Ash stood up and spread his arms.
The Spearow stopped their charge midair as if to ask, what is this idiot thinking...
“You understand? Don't you dare lay a hand on Pikachu. I'm your opponent.”
Pikachu stared intently at Ash's back.
Ash spoke to Pikachu behind him without turning around, glaring at the Spearow.
“Pikachu. Get in. Are you inside... the Poké Ball? I hope you're in there.”
Pikachu looked back and forth between the Poké Ball and Ash's back.
“Spearow. You've only been hawking me with a sparrow spearhead, but what's scarier than a hawk? It's me! Speary. Bring it.”
Ash waved his hand provocatively.
... Why you!... The Spearow lost their temper.
Pikachu was astounded by Ash, he'd thought him nothing but a huge idiot. ... But now, he was actually starting to feel something for Ash.
Pikachu made one last glance at the Poké Ball.
He then made a faint smile.
Pikachu knew what he had to do.
Ash spread both arms and shouted.
“Come on! You squawking sparrows.”
The Spearow leader signalled to charge with its wing.
The Spearow dived straight for Ash.
Ash closed his eyes and whispered.
“Gotcha...”
It was that moment.
“Pikachu!”
Pikachu mustered all of his strength, climbed up Ash's back, onto his shoulder and above his head... jumping towards the swooping mass of Spearow.
That same Pikachu was then struck by lightning.
The combination of Pikachu's electric shock and the thunderbolt's shock blasted away the pouring rain.
The Spearow were blown away.
Once the lightning and electric attack faded... The only ones left standing were Ash with his arms spread and Pikachu on top of his hat, also with his arms spread. However their bodies were battered and broken...
“Got 'em?” Ash whispered, asking no one in specific.
“Pikachu...” Pikachu nodded.
Ash and Pikachu maintained their posture, their bodies completely stiff, as they collapsed onto their backs.
***
Water dripped drop by drop from the leaves of the trees... glistening in the evening twilight.
The rain had stopped.
The unconscious Ash was finally coming to his senses.
The fallen bike had been warped out of shape by the electrical discharge earlier.
Pikachu had collapsed beside him. Ash picked Pikachu up in his arms.
“Pikachu!”
Pikachu opened his eyes slightly.
“I... yeah?”
... I'll be myself, I'll be Ash, Pikachu'll be Pikachu, from here on it's me and Pikachu... yeah? There was a lot he wanted to say, but the only two words he managed to say were “I... yeah.”
Pikachu simply gave a single small nod.
It was at this moment. Ash and Pikachu saw it.
It was flying into the sunset.
It flew majestically on its great wings.
Backlit by the bright red sunset, they could only see a silhouette.
It sprinkled small particles of light upon Ash and Pikachu.
“What... is that?”
Ash pointed the Pokédex at it.
The Pokédex's explanation was blunt.
“Unidentified. It is definitely a Pokémon, however there are many Pokémon in the world yet to be identified.”
“An unidentified Pokémon...”
However Ash soon came back to his senses. He held Pikachu close to himself.
“We need to treat your injuries right away. Hang in there. Just hang on until we reach Viridian City.”
Ash hurried down the road to Viridian City.
Chapter 3 appendix
(... If you're in a hurry, feel free to skip ahead to chapter 4. ... However, there may be some important information written here that nobody has ever seen before.)
... Pokémon Related Warning 1...
Portable Beast Behavioural Study – Condotara Laurence, Safari University Amazon Branch Professor
... Interaction with Pokémon...
Until now, there has been a lot of media depicting Pokémon, including anime, films and novels. However, it can be said that none of these have ever depicted the truth of Pokémon. The Pokémon depicted in these works are merely a human interpretation of Pokémon.
To use a fancy word, they are anthropomorphised Pokémon.
And so, this may sound harsh, but Pokémon are viewed in a way that is convenient for humans.
Pokémon are often seen with various expressions... Joyful, crying, angry, etc. However, this is just how human perceive it, but from their personal perspective... Or rather, since they're Pokémon, not people, Pokélly would perhaps be a better word than personally? (Audience, polite laughter) ... But I digress, the point being that we can't ask them directly about their feelings.
To start with, there are Pokémon with pleasant temperaments who appear to comprehend human speech, but we can't be truly sure they actually understand, as we can't ask them personally... Pokélly.
Unfortunately, our research has not yet reached the point where we can decipher a Pokémon's speech. Also, it's not sure whether Pokémon communicate amongst themselves through speech, or by some other form of conveying information.
And so taking the recent Pokémon boom into account, this is something that Pokémon researchers, Pokémon trainers, Pokémon pet owners and anyone else involved with Pokémon should reconsider their thoughts on the matter.
The truth is we know nothing about the thoughts, feelings or actions of the Pokémon we associate ourselves with.
It's like the tale of The Ant and the Grasshopper. I'm sure many of you are familiar with this ancient tale. It's the tale of a hard working ant and a fun loving grasshopper who spent all its days singing. However, it's humans who decided that the ant was a hard worker. The ant itself may not personally consider itself to be working. By that same token, the insect known as the grasshopper may not be singing for the fun of it. It may not even consider its cries to be a song. It's humans who think of it as some kind of karaoke fan who refuses to let go of the mic.
The animals known as dogs, are often said to be highly loyal to humans. The animals known as cats, are often said to be moody. Now wait a minute. These are all merely based on human perception.
Perhaps from the dog's perspective, humans are a loyal animal that brings them food.
Speaking of dogs, long ago, there was the legend of the faithful dog Hachiko.
The dog Hachi went to the station every day to meet up with his master.
The man passed away, but even so, he continued to wait, and wait, and wait outside that station for his master to return, right until the day he died.
And so, people thought.
Hachiko waited for his master right until he died.
What an incredibly loyal dog.
The tale moved many pet owners to tears.
As a result, they had a bronze statue of the dog erected in front of the station.
But, are we really sure that Hachiko was waiting for his master?
It may merely be the interpretation of humans that the dog was there waiting for his master.
It's possible the reason Hachiko came to the station was because of a delicious food vendor or the presence of a cute female dog.
It may even be that as a dog, he may have had some special dog reason that can only be understood using a dog's logic.
Anyway, since humans can't talk to dogs, there's no way to clearly define his reasons.
I may be raining on your parade by ruining such a nice story, but the point I'm trying to make is that making assumptions about an animal's actions based on human logic can be dangerous.
Dogs coexisted with humans since ancient times. That is an indisputable fact. However, with that said, determining whether they really were friends to humanity or loyal servants to humanity is less than certain.
Even humans who can communicate through words resort to betraying each other. They can lie. As such, even in conversation you can have as little understanding of your partner's thoughts as you do a dog's.
Most likely, the reason that dogs have associated themselves with humans since ancient times is simply due to some special dog logic reason... It's a good way to think.
I may seem to be repeating myself, but I'll say it again anyway.
When interacting with other creatures, we cannot make any assumptions about them based on our own human standards.
Currently, among Pokémon trainers and pet owners of exotic Pokémon, there have been various incidents resulting from “doing things with your Pokémon”.
Examples of such violations of common sense include, being electrocuted when attempting to bathe together with a moody Pikachu. Or being pecked at by your Pidgey when you take it out for some chicken kebabs. (Audience, forced laughter)
You may be laughing, but these are quite common incidents that occur.
The owners then get mad saying “I just wanted my Pikachu to be clean. But as soon as I was naked it betrayed me.” or “I just wanted to give Pidgey something tasty, but it didn't understand.” And so, in a rage the Pokémon are abandoned. As a result, there are countries where the increasing number of stray Pokémon is becoming an issue. While in reality, the owner was the one at fault.
Putting aside such nonsense, there are also instances where vicious Pokémon have injured or even killed their owners. Though they are often unwilling to admit it due to embarrassment, according to unpublished records, 86% of Pokémon Trainers have sustained injuries caused by their own Pokémon.
Many of these incidents occur due to the human arrogance of thinking “It's my Pokémon, so it should do whatever I tell it.”
These mistakes often arise as a result of the preconceived notions they have from depictions of Pokémon in anime, films and novels.
The most dangerous mistake is attempting to capture a Pokémon that moves in large hordes of allies.
Pokémon are not creatures that exist simply for human convenience.
Pokémon are Pokémon. They have various ways of life in this world.
Wild Pokémon in particular are especially unpredictable.
People need to wake up from the sense of security they feel catching or domesticating wild Pokémon, and heed this warning from the Portable Beast Academic Conference.
... Excerpt from a special lecture at the 99th International Portable Beast Academic Conference
Note #1) Professor Condotara Laurence's speech decrying the Pokémon boom is a minority opinion and is largely disregarded. Most of the academics at the conference were excited about the research of a recently newly discovered Pokémon.
... Pokémon Analyst who watched the 99th International Portable Beast Academic Conference on satellite TV
Excerpt from a reflective memo by Bill Sonezaki
Note #2) The novel “Pocket Monsters” may be considered as a work that views Pokémon in a way convenient to humans. That is, this book you're reading.
However, I will not retaliate to Professor Laurence's accusations. This novel is not written by Pokémon or for Pokémon, it is written by a human for humans.
It's only natural that I have to write in a way that humans will understand.
... Excerpt from an unpublished message from the author of “Pocket Monsters” to Professor Condotara Laurence
Translation Notes:
• Truth, not the tooth. In Japanese, Ash asked Pikachu to speak (hanashi) with him, Pikachu interpreted this as no teeth (ha nashi).
• Lake Kutcharo is a lake in northern Hokkaido. Its Sinnoh equivalent in Diamond & Pearl is Lake Acuity. Oddly enough, Kussie is actually supposed to live in Lake Kussharo in eastern Hokkaido, equivalent to Lake Valor in Sinnoh.
• Lake Tunoy was Lake Biwa in Japanese. Lake Biwa is Japan's largest freshwater lake. It is equivalent to Johto's Lake of Rage. The lake monster described was Biwahoussie, who not an actual lake monster as far as I can tell and is a silly pun on Biwa Houshi, who are lute playing monks. In an attempt to provide a similar pun of “Too Noisy”, I changed the name of the lake for this version of the chapter.
• Not really a note on my translation, but the girl slapping Ash actually happened in the Japanese version of the anime. It was cut from the English dub by 4Kids.
• You've only been hawking me with a sparrow spearhead, but what's scarier than a hawk? It's me! In Japanese, Ash told the Spearow that they're "merely a big brother sparrow". The word used for merely in this instance was "taka", which can also mean hawk. Big brother sparrow in Japanese is "suzume no oniichan", a pun on Spearow's Japanese name, Onisuzume.
• Hachiko the dog really existed, his owner Hidesaburo Ueno was a lecturer at Tokyo University who passed away during a lecture in 1925 after a cerebral hemorrhage. Hachiko waited for him at Shibuya station for over 9 years, passing away in 1935.
However, things were rough right from the start.
The hill overlooking Pallet Town that would normally take thirty minutes to climb had taken Ash two hours. The fact that the primary school's bell had just rung to signify the end of the school day proved that.
The fact he could even still hear the school bell from the town square was indicative of the fact he hadn't gotten very far. He was going so slow that if I compared his speed to a turtle, a Squirtle would probably phone up to complain.
The reason for this was Pikachu's complete lack of cooperation.
Not only would he not enter a Poké Ball, but he also refused to follow Ash.
In order to force Pikachu, who refused to walk a single step, to come with him, Ash had no option but to create a leash using his washing line.
He was wearing the rubber cooking gloves to protect himself from electric shocks and tugging hard on the line, it was not a very dignified sight.
Stuck walking with a Pokémon who wouldn't listen to a word its master says.
At the top of the hill Ash took a breather and decided to attempt communicating with Pikachu again.
“Um. Pikachu. Are you going to be like this the whole way?”
Pikachu turned away in a huff.
“Do you really hate me that much?”
Pikachu politely nodded twice, thrice.
“I like you.”
Pikachu pretended to ignore Ash and scratched at his face using his forearms.
“Anyway, you're the Pokémon I'm training now. Can you just open your mouth and let me know the truth?”
Pikachu showed off his teeth.
“Uh... Are you going to bite me with those teeth?”
Ash took up a defensive pose as Pikachu shook his head and pointed at his teeth.
“Eh? Ah... You're showing you have teeth?”
Pikachu nodded.
“Ah, I said the truth. Not the tooth. Don't you want to talk?”
Pikachu nodded with an expression that seemed to say ... Finally, the moron gets it...
“I don't feel like having this turn into a comedy skit. So how about you act like an actual Pokémon and get inside the Poké Ball? Like it says in the Pokédex.”
Ash got the Pokédex he received from Professor Oak from his pocket.
On top of the Pokédex, there was a sensor similar to that on a TV remote control's switch.
When pointed at a Pokémon, it would display a description of the Pokémon in question on the screen.
It was an essential item given to all trainer candidates getting their first Pokémon from an official laboratory.
Ash pointed the Pokédex at Pikachu and read from it.
“Pikachu, a species of Pokémon that commonly live in forests and eat berries, they have a kind disposition, are highly intelligent, are highly charming...”
Ash deliberately emphasised the words like kind and charming.
Pikachu... simply nodded as if all this was completely obvious.
“All this here is describing your species...”
Ash stopped partway as he reached the passage he wanted to discuss with Pikachu.
“Ah, look at this, it's written right here... A Pokémon that gets along well with its owners. ... See? This is typical Pokémon behaviour, so you should act accordingly.”
Pikachu pressed a button on top of the Pokédex.
The screen changed. It was a proverb in the encyclopedia's appendix.
“Hm?”
Ash read it.
“Every rule has its exceptions. This is the one rule that governs all rules.”
Pikachu pointed at himself.
“So there's always going to be at least one Pikachu who isn't going to listen to what its owner says.”
Ash muttered. ... That's right! Pikachu puffed his chest out having gotten his point across.
Ash came to the realisation that any further discussion wasn't going to go anywhere.
“Fine. We should get along as best we can then. Let's end this nonsense.”
Ash untied the line around Pikachu's neck, removed his rubber gloves and offered his hand for a handshake.
... Too little too late... seemed to be Pikachu's reaction based on the sulky 'Hmph!' he made.
“If a handshake won't do, how about this?”
Ash offered his index finger.
He recalled a movie his mother Delia had on video, which had left her in tears.
It was a story involving an alien and a boy who gained a connection by pressing their index fingers together. In Ash's childish view it was just a dumb story to make girls cry, but he was willing to try anything to get along with Pikachu at this point.
However Pikachu, obviously unfamiliar with old movies, just turned away in a huff...
“Yeah, that was a dumb idea... It's not going to work like with the alien.”
Pikachu shrugged his shoulders as if to say he was stating the obvious.
Suddenly, at that moment.
Pikachu's eyes immediately locked onto a point in the long grass.
He completely ignored Ash's presence to stare intently at that spot.
“Hm? Is something there?”
Peering over as Pikachu parted the grass, he spotted the tiny bird Pokémon Pidgey, which was moving about pecking at the ground.
It was likely looking for something to eat.
The tiny bird Pokémon was a common species that Ash had often seen around all year.
Even so, he went ahead and pointed the Pokédex's sensor at it.
The description on the display was as follows...
“Pidgey... Tiny bird Pokémon that flies... Among Pokémon that fly, it is the most gentle and easy to catch. One of the best Pokémon for a beginner trainer to test their abilities on...”
“In that case... Alright, Pikachu. Let's catch it!”
In order to catch a Pokémon, you must first have your own Pokémon weaken it in battle before capturing it in a Poké Ball.
That's the basics of how to catch a Pokémon.
However, upon realising that his opponent was a Pidgey, Pikachu instead decided to lie down and relax.
“Pikachu, what are you doing?”
Pikachu, irritatedly, pressed a button on Ash's Pokédex.
It relayed another proverb.
“A wise Pikachu does not waste its electricity... This means that strong prefer to not pick meaningless battles with the weak... This proverb is also known for being used by power companies during energy conservation campaigns.”
Pikachu... nodded in agreement to this.
“So you're not gonna fight?”
Pikachu feigned ignorance.
“Why not?”
As if to say... shut up..., Pikachu climbed a nearby tree and spread himself out.
“Understood. I see now. That's how it is. Alright. If that's how you're gonna be, I'll catch it myself. Becoming a Pokémon Trainer is my dream. Right, I'll become the ultimate Pokémon Master... Yeah. I'll declare it now to all the world's Pokémon. I've decided. I'm going to become the greatest Pokémon Master.”
Ash was now shouting less at Pikachu and more at himself.
“If I couldn't even catch a single Pidgey all on my own, then I might as well... Yeah!”
Ash nodded to himself and dropped his bag by the base of the tree.
He turned around his prized Pokémon cap, which he had won from Pokémon Comic... and gripped a Poké Ball in his hand.
“This is my ceremonial first pitch.”
He held it up high. Lifted his leg high in the air.
“Pidgey, you're mine now... Poké Ball. Go!”
The Poké Ball was set free from his fingers.
It was a straight shootball, he was confident in his control.
In school baseball games, his pitches were so controlled that they were always dead center leading to nine consecutive hits and a changeover.
“My straight never misses!”
It was perfect. His aim was dead on.
“Got...”
Ash started to say “Gotcha”.
However... the Poké Ball hit Pidgey, let off something resembling smoke and fell to the ground.
Pidgey didn't even seem surprised by the attempted capture.
“Poh”, it simply yawned.
“Why... didn't that work?”
The Pokédex displayed new info...
“Use Poké Balls after weakening... Poké Balls should be used on Pokémon when they are tired or weakened. Using a Poké Ball against an unweakened Pokémon is largely ineffective.”
Ash muttered to himself as he went to collect the dropped Poké Ball.
“I'm aware of that, but...”
“Pipipipikachu.”
Up in the tree, Pikachu laughed uproariously, clutching at his stomach.
Ash ground his teeth.
“Damn Pikachu! ... Just you wait, wait and see, I will, I'll have the last laugh! ... Hm?”
Ash took notice of his bag at the base of the tree.
“Right. Let's pick at you...”
He wasn't calling to Pikachu. He'd had an idea.
Ash pulled his burnt pajamas from his bag.
He then snuck up to a Pidgey lying down in the grass.
“Stay riiiight there, don't be afraid.”
Kss... Ash's footsteps rustled the grass.
... What the?... Pidgey looked right at Ash.
“Ah... Hello.”
... Who?... “Pidgey?” ... Pidgey tweeted as it cocked its head.
“Now! Forgive me!”
He leapt upon the Pidgey with his outspread pajamas.
Pidgey was inside the pajamas.
“Alright! Pidgey! ... Got”
Ash was about to say “Gotcha” once more.
With a sound like an electric fan, the pajamas began to inflate.
“Ah... What... What's happening?”
As confirmed with the Pokédex at a later time... It was Pidgey's special move, gust.
The pajamas stood up fluttering, shooting a fierce dust cloud from the armholes.
This was a special move known as sand attack.
The buttons flew off the pajama top and it exploded like a popped balloon.
Pidgey continued its fierce sand attack... which was more like a sandstorm.
Ash was covered by the sand.
“Pidgey. Pidgey.”
Pidgey laughed mockingly at the sand covered Ash from up in a tree.
He was used to seeing a Pidgey come out of a clock to announce the time, but...
“I guess a real Pidgey isn't like the one in a Pidgey Clock.”
Without even looking to the Pokédex, Ash recalled a certain proverb.
... A Pidgey in the hand is worth two in the bush...
This whole day had been nothing but one disaster after another, and it seemed like it would end on a sour note.
But Ash didn't have time to complain.
Something terrible had happened to his bag left at the base of the tree.
At some point, a small Pokémon had snuck up and started eating at it.
Ash shooed it off in a fluster.
However, the bag was already in tatters.
“Oh, come on.”
Pikachu, looking down from up in the tree, simply gave an indifferent shrug.
“What was that...?”
Ash pointed the Pokédex at the small Pokémon, still peeking out from within the tall grass.
“A wild Rattata. A forest mouse Pokémon... It likes tough nuts and cheese...”
“Hold it, this isn't a forest. It's an open field.” Ash objected to the Pokédex's explanation.
“It occasionally comes into fields to steal food from stupid travellers.”
“St... Stupid, me?”
... That's right... Pikachu nodded to agree with that statement.
Pidgey also mocked him, poking its head out of the long grass to laugh, pippipippi, sounding like a clock.
It seemed this Pidgey would be staying out of his hands and in the bush.
“Uuurgh... I'll get you for that!”
Losing his cool, Ash picked up a small rock and hurled it at Pidgey.
But he missed.
Not even Ash's control of his aim is always perfect.
Ash was really fired up now.
“You won't get away with this!”
He stormed after it into the long grass.
Pidgey mockingly just flew away.
“Tch... How did it come to this... Hm?”
Beyond the long grass, he caught sight of another Pidgey facing away from him.
It hadn't noticed Ash.
“Alright! I'll get it this time.”
Ash threw a small rock.
Konk! The noise echoed out as the rock, right on target this time, got it right in the head.
“Oh yeah! Take that!”
A large lump swelled on the Pidgey's head.
However, the Pidgey turned around and... something wasn't right. That is to say, this Pidgey was not actually a Pidgey.
It had mean eyes, a sharp beak... And its cry...
“Gwagyah!”
“Gwagyah... Wait, what.”
Ash pointed the Pokédex at it.
The Pokédex displayed the Pokémon's information.
“Spearow... Also a tiny bird Pokémon, but unlike Pidgey has violent tendencies. It will commonly attack both humans and other Pokémon...”
“It attacks humans? Ah...”
Spearow had already taken flight and was swooping at him.
“Hieh...”
Ash covered his head and ran back under the tree where Pikachu was.
The Spearow grazed Ash's sleeve as it swooped. But it hadn't given up on him yet.
Here it comes! Spearow was heading straight for Ash this time.
However, it suddenly changed the trajectory of its swoop.
It had set its sights on Pikachu up in the tree.
Spearow had switched targets and was after Pikachu.
“Eh?” “Pika?” Ash and Pikachu were both surprised by this turn of events.
Pikachu instinctively dodged, narrowly avoiding Spearow's attack.
Spearow turned in the air and came for Pikachu once more.
Pikachu signalled a nope pose with his forelegs. ... Chill, I'm not after a fight... He tried to explain as he dodged.
But Spearow was persistent and kept swooping at him over and over.
Ash looked to the Pokédex.
“I was the one who threw the rock at Spearow. Why is it targeting Pikachu?”
He pointed the Pokédex's sensor at Spearow and the display explained...
“Wild Pokémon have a tendency to show more hostility towards human trained Pokémon than they do to humans themselves.”
“No way... Well then...”
Ash called out to the Spearow.
“Back off! Pikachu has nothing to do with this. I threw the rock at you.”
However, at this point Spearow had no interest in paying him any attention.
It was focused only on attacking Pikachu.
Spearow's beak grazed Pikachu's shoulder.
Pikachu lost his footing in the tree.
Spearow's beak closed in on the falling Pikachu.
Pikachu was moments away from impalement.
... He was all out of options now.
Pikachu rotated mid-air as he fell to defend himself.
The only way to defend himself mid-air would be to fight.
Spearow instinctively faltered.
“Pikachuu!”
Lightning flashed.
One blow.
Spearow fell back into the grass.
“Alright...”
Ash rushed over to Pikachu who had hit the ground.
But Pikachu just shook his head.
He glared at the spot where the Spearow fell.
Suddenly, the Spearow resurfaced, its face burnt black.
It pointed its wing at Ash and Pikachu.
“Gwagyah.”
It gave a high pitched cry. In Spearow's language, it probably meant something like “Get them!”
After the signal cry, the grass shook and they rose up.
That is, a whole host of Spearow.
Their numbers were... almost uncountable. There were a lot of them.
Just the sound of their wings flapping were louder than a biker gang revving their engines at the beach on the weekend.
If we were to stick to just comparing it to other flying things, it would probably also be louder than a fleet of helicopters.
Ash's jaw dropped... However, when he finally found his voice he asked Pikachu a question.
“Run away?”
“Pikachu...” Pikachu barely squeaked out his reply.
There's no real need to translate Pikachu's answer here.
This was the first time Ash and Pikachu ever agreed on anything from the moment they met.
Ash and Pikachu began to slowly back away, not letting their eyes off the mass of Spearow.
They then nodded in unison as they turned tail and ran.
As if on cue, the Spearow began to give chase.
Their target was, of course, Pikachu.
Pikachu and Ash ran and ran.
As they ran, it seemed like they were passing a lot of other Pokémon.
But Ash had no time to pull out the Pokédex and point it at them saying...
“Ah... That's...”
Which was natural given their current situation.
Running, running. And running some more while running.
While the host of Spearow was large to begin with, friends called more friends, continually increasing their ranks.
At this point, rather than a large group, it felt more like half the sky itself was chasing them.
Fleeing, fleeing. And fleeing some more while fleeing.
“Hang in there! Pikachu. I promise, I'll save you!”
The fleeing Ash declared this as he had overtaken Pikachu.
“Pikachu...”
... Whatever... Pikachu then shot ahead of Ash.
“Ah, I just said I'd save you! Owowow.”
Ash's head was pecked at by the leaders of the Spearow pack.
However the Spearow's attacks were more focused on Pikachu than Ash.
The pecks and wing beatings were giving Pikachu some nasty injuries.
Pikachu could barely even keep standing.
Even so, Ash and Pikachu ran. And ran. And continued to run while running.
Fleeing, fleeing and fleeing some more... But as they fled... a cliff stood up ahead... a waterfall flowing from it.
Ash and Pikachu had been cornered on the edge of the cliff.
Hesitation, consideration and thought... Time was short as the Spearow closed in on them.
“Well. Here goes.”
Ash held Pikachu close as he leapt towards the waterfall.
Ash and Pikachu fell down the waterfall.
Past the waterfall there was a plunge basin, beyond the plunge basin was a fierce current which was highly disorientating.
All Ash could do was continue holding onto Pikachu so they wouldn't get separated.
Even grasping for straws, there were no straws to grasp at, so he simply held tight to the tiny Pikachu.
The harsh current gradually weakened and they were spewed out into a lake, Ash then felt himself burbling down deeper under the water.
... Wha... I'm drowning... Not good...
Ash strained to look around underwater...
He caught a sudden glimpse of large unknown fangs.
He couldn't identify the Pokémon properly through the murky waters, but it seemed pretty clear that it considered Ash and Pikachu as nothing but food.
Ash struggled to swim to the surface to avoid certain death.
However, he only had one free arm since he was still holding Pikachu.
It didn't feel like he was getting any closer to the surface.
The dark abyss beyond the fangs was rising behind him... Or rather, it was something's mouth.
That something was still after Ash and Pikachu.
“Hieh...!”
Ash struggled furiously.
He caught something with his fingertips.
It was like a shining thread.
As long as it was something to grab on to, he'd even accept a spider Pokémon's thread.
Grab it, grab it. As long as there's something to hold on to, go for it.
Ash wrapped the thread around his hand and held on tight.
***
A lone girl sat by the lake with a fishing rod.
She was about the same age as Ash.
The girl was at this lake, Nameless Lake, to try and catch a mysterious Pokémon rumoured to live in it.
Almost any lake would have legends of mysterious Pokémon living within. A few famous instances would include Nessie of Loch Ness, Kussie of Lake Kutcharo or Tunoyssie of Lake Tunoy. In this lake, there was Namelessie.
It was impossible to say whether or not such a Pokémon really existed, it's possible someone mistook some other Pokémon for it, however discovering the truth for yourself is half the fun.
On her journey, the girl had heard about a lake being nearby and had been camping there for three days with her fishing rod. So far, she hadn't managed to catch anything notable. But still, if you don't put down a line you definitely won't catch anything, the legend of the mysterious Pokémon maintained an air or romance to it. Fishing was a romantic adventure to the girl.
All she had caught today were small fry Pokémon like Magikarp... It was almost sunset and she was about to start preparing to leave.
The float on the girl's fishing rod began to bob up and down.
“Hm? It's come. It's here. This is a big one...”
As she pulled on the line, she would soon learn just how big this catch was.
“Maybe it's really Namelessie... Oof.”
The girl chuckled to herself as she timed reeling it in just right.
Fishing is all about timing. If timed just right, then even a ten year old girl can reel in a whopper.
Besides, this was a girl who had made it into the top four of a local boy's and girl's Pokémon fishing contest for three consecutive years. She was more than capable of reeling in even Pokémon heavier than her own body weight.
“Now!”
The girl had chosen the timing to land it.
She let out a fierce yell. And some surprisingly superhuman strength to go along with it.
And with a splash of water, Ash was fished up.
“What. A human, huh... That's even worse than small fry.”
Having been caught up in the dream of catching a mysterious Pokémon, the girl seemed quite uninterested in the mystery of why she had caught a human.
Even so, she soon took notice of the Pikachu that Ash was holding.
“Oh? That's a Pokémon...”
Having been pecked at by the Spearow, Pikachu was covered in wounds.
“What nasty injuries... Are you okay?”
However, Ash had also been thoroughly pecked by the Spearow.
He mistook the girl's concern as being for him.
Ash thanked the girl.
“Thanks, you saved me, I'm...”
“Not you.”
The girl suddenly slapped Ash across the cheek.
“What's wrong with you?”
“That's my line. Why is your Pokémon in this condition? The poor thing...”
The girl glared as Ash while gently rubbing Pikachu's head.
“You think that's my fault? ... Look, I'm in pretty bad shape here too...”
The back of his jacket had been torn to shreds by the Spearow's attacks.
“Don't argue with me, it needs medical treatment asap. It's not far from here...”
The girl pulled a map from her pocket and laid it out.
“There's medical treatment available at the Center in Viridian City...”
“There's a hospital?”
“Not for you. A Pokémon hospital.”
“Ah... I see... So... Which way to Viridian City?”
“That way.”
The girl pointed at a straight path through the forest.
The time had come. From beyond the lake, that horrible noise rang out.
The noise of the Spearow's flapping wings. The sunset in the west was covered by the giant flock of Spearow like a cloud. Their numbers were so great that the air itself trembled, ripples formed on the water's surface in the lake.
The bubbling waves gradually closed in.
“Hey? You see that?”
Ash asked the girl.
“Yeah, I see it.”
She nodded.
“Sure are a lot of them.”
“Should we run?”
“It's not my problem.”
“Well, it's mine. They've got a grudge against me.”
“In that case, you better start running.”
“Yeah. I should do that.”
Ash noticed a bicycle next to the girl.
Ash placed Pikachu into the bike's basket and rode off on it.
“I'm borrowing this!”
“Ah... That's my bike...”
“I'll give it back someday.”
He left those words behind as he began pedalling. And off he shot. Full speed down the path ahead.
“My bike... How am I going to get back without it... Ugh, wait up!”
The girl chased after Ash.
But there was no way she could keep up with a bike.
The mass of Spearow passed over the girl's head.
“No way.”
The girl was blown off her feet by the sheer force of the wind generated by their flapping wings.
The host of Spearow paid the girl no mind as they pursued the bike.
Their only interest was in Pikachu and Ash.
But with such a huge flock, it seemed likely that the girl's bike would become collateral damage.
The girl turned pale as she imagined her bike being destroyed.
“Hold it, wait a sec.”
The girl called out to the Spearow fading in the distance.
“Hey, my bike is innocent in all this! You better not damage it!”
The girl became increasingly annoyed.
... Seriously, that asshole... How could he let such a cute Pokémon end up like that. Then he steals my bike without asking... Next time I see him, he'll pay... Ugh, seriously, I have the worst luck with men... I won't forgive him...
Let me remind you, this girl who has terrible luck with men is still only ten years old.
***
On the forest path, Ash and Pikachu were still speeding along on the bike.
“Hang in there! We're almost at Viridian City!”
In the basket, Pikachu was struggling to breathe as he looked at Ash.
The damage Pikachu had taken from the Spearow was even worse than it first seemed, he could barely even move a muscle.
Lightning flashed past the mountains in the distance.
Drip drop, drops of water rolled down Ash's cheek. It was raining. The sound of thunder rang out.
But, louder still was the sound of the Spearow's flapping wings. Normally, tiny bird Pokémon wouldn't be flying in the rain. However, the Spearow were so caught up on chasing Pikachu and Ash, that it seemed as if they hadn't notice the rain at all.
The rain soon became a fierce downpour.
Even so, the Spearow wouldn't call of their attack.
As if becoming one with the rain, the Spearow began swooping and attacking.
The road had turned to mud, the bike's handles had become slippery and difficult to grasp.
With dark clouds and the Spearow surrounding them, the sky seemed pitch dark.
With large drops of rain striking, the road ahead was barely visible. With the roar of thunder, the Spearow's attack became even fiercer.
The wheels slipped. He lost balance. And fell.
Ash and Pikachu were thrown from the bike as they collapsed.
“How did it come to this!?”
Why had things turned out this way?
Ash smashed his fist in a muddy puddle.
He was half angry and half sad.
And it wasn't just due to falling off the bike.
The broken alarm clock. Running late. That jerk Gary. Not having any choice for my Pokémon. Pikachu refusing to get in the Poké Ball. The Pidgey mocking me. Rattata. Being pecked at by the Spearow, almost drowning underwater, almost being eaten by some crazy monster Pokémon, getting slapped in the face by some random girl and now, finally, I'm lying in a puddle of mud.
Why was it today had to be a day like this?
Do you have any idea how much I looked forward to this day?
The day I left home as a Pokémon Trainer... The day I'd dreamt of.
It wasn't supposed to be this way.
Ash continued to punch the mud over and over.
At that moment, a bolt of lightning flashed.
He saw Pikachu lying on the ground before him.
“Eh...? Pikachu?”
Pikachu's body was half submerged in muddy water, he could barely breathe.
Ash picked Pikachu up in his arms.
“Pikachu! What's happening?”
“Pikachu...” He spoke in a soft voice, almost a sigh.
“It can't end like this!”
Looking up above, the Spearow were waiting for the signal to launch an all out attack.
An Spearow with a burnt head cried out. It was the Spearow that had originally been shocked by Pikachu. It seemed it was leading the attack.
The entire flock of Spearow moved to attack.
Having all those beaks plunged in to peck them at once, Ash and Pikachu would be goners for sure.
Ash wondered what he could do, before making his decision.
Ash pulled out a Poké Ball and showed it to Pikachu.
“Pikachu... Get inside.”
Pikachu stared at Ash.
“You should go inside.” Ash stated plainly.
Pikachu looked back and forth between Ash and the Poké Ball.
“I know... you hate going... inside there. But if you go in, then at least you'll survive. So, go inside, I'll take things from here.”
Ash placed the Poké Ball down in front of Pikachu.
Then he turned to shout at the mass of Spearow...
“Hey you, do you know who I am? I'm Ash from Pallet Town, the man who'll become the world's greatest Pokémon Master! I'll never lose to the likes of you. I'll get every last one of you.”
Ash stood up and spread his arms.
The Spearow stopped their charge midair as if to ask, what is this idiot thinking...
“You understand? Don't you dare lay a hand on Pikachu. I'm your opponent.”
Pikachu stared intently at Ash's back.
Ash spoke to Pikachu behind him without turning around, glaring at the Spearow.
“Pikachu. Get in. Are you inside... the Poké Ball? I hope you're in there.”
Pikachu looked back and forth between the Poké Ball and Ash's back.
“Spearow. You've only been hawking me with a sparrow spearhead, but what's scarier than a hawk? It's me! Speary. Bring it.”
Ash waved his hand provocatively.
... Why you!... The Spearow lost their temper.
Pikachu was astounded by Ash, he'd thought him nothing but a huge idiot. ... But now, he was actually starting to feel something for Ash.
Pikachu made one last glance at the Poké Ball.
He then made a faint smile.
Pikachu knew what he had to do.
Ash spread both arms and shouted.
“Come on! You squawking sparrows.”
The Spearow leader signalled to charge with its wing.
The Spearow dived straight for Ash.
Ash closed his eyes and whispered.
“Gotcha...”
It was that moment.
“Pikachu!”
Pikachu mustered all of his strength, climbed up Ash's back, onto his shoulder and above his head... jumping towards the swooping mass of Spearow.
That same Pikachu was then struck by lightning.
The combination of Pikachu's electric shock and the thunderbolt's shock blasted away the pouring rain.
The Spearow were blown away.
Once the lightning and electric attack faded... The only ones left standing were Ash with his arms spread and Pikachu on top of his hat, also with his arms spread. However their bodies were battered and broken...
“Got 'em?” Ash whispered, asking no one in specific.
“Pikachu...” Pikachu nodded.
Ash and Pikachu maintained their posture, their bodies completely stiff, as they collapsed onto their backs.
***
Water dripped drop by drop from the leaves of the trees... glistening in the evening twilight.
The rain had stopped.
The unconscious Ash was finally coming to his senses.
The fallen bike had been warped out of shape by the electrical discharge earlier.
Pikachu had collapsed beside him. Ash picked Pikachu up in his arms.
“Pikachu!”
Pikachu opened his eyes slightly.
“I... yeah?”
... I'll be myself, I'll be Ash, Pikachu'll be Pikachu, from here on it's me and Pikachu... yeah? There was a lot he wanted to say, but the only two words he managed to say were “I... yeah.”
Pikachu simply gave a single small nod.
It was at this moment. Ash and Pikachu saw it.
It was flying into the sunset.
It flew majestically on its great wings.
Backlit by the bright red sunset, they could only see a silhouette.
It sprinkled small particles of light upon Ash and Pikachu.
“What... is that?”
Ash pointed the Pokédex at it.
The Pokédex's explanation was blunt.
“Unidentified. It is definitely a Pokémon, however there are many Pokémon in the world yet to be identified.”
“An unidentified Pokémon...”
However Ash soon came back to his senses. He held Pikachu close to himself.
“We need to treat your injuries right away. Hang in there. Just hang on until we reach Viridian City.”
Ash hurried down the road to Viridian City.
(To be continued in chapter 4)
Chapter 3 appendix
(... If you're in a hurry, feel free to skip ahead to chapter 4. ... However, there may be some important information written here that nobody has ever seen before.)
... Pokémon Related Warning 1...
Portable Beast Behavioural Study – Condotara Laurence, Safari University Amazon Branch Professor
... Interaction with Pokémon...
Until now, there has been a lot of media depicting Pokémon, including anime, films and novels. However, it can be said that none of these have ever depicted the truth of Pokémon. The Pokémon depicted in these works are merely a human interpretation of Pokémon.
To use a fancy word, they are anthropomorphised Pokémon.
And so, this may sound harsh, but Pokémon are viewed in a way that is convenient for humans.
Pokémon are often seen with various expressions... Joyful, crying, angry, etc. However, this is just how human perceive it, but from their personal perspective... Or rather, since they're Pokémon, not people, Pokélly would perhaps be a better word than personally? (Audience, polite laughter) ... But I digress, the point being that we can't ask them directly about their feelings.
To start with, there are Pokémon with pleasant temperaments who appear to comprehend human speech, but we can't be truly sure they actually understand, as we can't ask them personally... Pokélly.
Unfortunately, our research has not yet reached the point where we can decipher a Pokémon's speech. Also, it's not sure whether Pokémon communicate amongst themselves through speech, or by some other form of conveying information.
And so taking the recent Pokémon boom into account, this is something that Pokémon researchers, Pokémon trainers, Pokémon pet owners and anyone else involved with Pokémon should reconsider their thoughts on the matter.
The truth is we know nothing about the thoughts, feelings or actions of the Pokémon we associate ourselves with.
It's like the tale of The Ant and the Grasshopper. I'm sure many of you are familiar with this ancient tale. It's the tale of a hard working ant and a fun loving grasshopper who spent all its days singing. However, it's humans who decided that the ant was a hard worker. The ant itself may not personally consider itself to be working. By that same token, the insect known as the grasshopper may not be singing for the fun of it. It may not even consider its cries to be a song. It's humans who think of it as some kind of karaoke fan who refuses to let go of the mic.
The animals known as dogs, are often said to be highly loyal to humans. The animals known as cats, are often said to be moody. Now wait a minute. These are all merely based on human perception.
Perhaps from the dog's perspective, humans are a loyal animal that brings them food.
Speaking of dogs, long ago, there was the legend of the faithful dog Hachiko.
The dog Hachi went to the station every day to meet up with his master.
The man passed away, but even so, he continued to wait, and wait, and wait outside that station for his master to return, right until the day he died.
And so, people thought.
Hachiko waited for his master right until he died.
What an incredibly loyal dog.
The tale moved many pet owners to tears.
As a result, they had a bronze statue of the dog erected in front of the station.
But, are we really sure that Hachiko was waiting for his master?
It may merely be the interpretation of humans that the dog was there waiting for his master.
It's possible the reason Hachiko came to the station was because of a delicious food vendor or the presence of a cute female dog.
It may even be that as a dog, he may have had some special dog reason that can only be understood using a dog's logic.
Anyway, since humans can't talk to dogs, there's no way to clearly define his reasons.
I may be raining on your parade by ruining such a nice story, but the point I'm trying to make is that making assumptions about an animal's actions based on human logic can be dangerous.
Dogs coexisted with humans since ancient times. That is an indisputable fact. However, with that said, determining whether they really were friends to humanity or loyal servants to humanity is less than certain.
Even humans who can communicate through words resort to betraying each other. They can lie. As such, even in conversation you can have as little understanding of your partner's thoughts as you do a dog's.
Most likely, the reason that dogs have associated themselves with humans since ancient times is simply due to some special dog logic reason... It's a good way to think.
I may seem to be repeating myself, but I'll say it again anyway.
When interacting with other creatures, we cannot make any assumptions about them based on our own human standards.
Currently, among Pokémon trainers and pet owners of exotic Pokémon, there have been various incidents resulting from “doing things with your Pokémon”.
Examples of such violations of common sense include, being electrocuted when attempting to bathe together with a moody Pikachu. Or being pecked at by your Pidgey when you take it out for some chicken kebabs. (Audience, forced laughter)
You may be laughing, but these are quite common incidents that occur.
The owners then get mad saying “I just wanted my Pikachu to be clean. But as soon as I was naked it betrayed me.” or “I just wanted to give Pidgey something tasty, but it didn't understand.” And so, in a rage the Pokémon are abandoned. As a result, there are countries where the increasing number of stray Pokémon is becoming an issue. While in reality, the owner was the one at fault.
Putting aside such nonsense, there are also instances where vicious Pokémon have injured or even killed their owners. Though they are often unwilling to admit it due to embarrassment, according to unpublished records, 86% of Pokémon Trainers have sustained injuries caused by their own Pokémon.
Many of these incidents occur due to the human arrogance of thinking “It's my Pokémon, so it should do whatever I tell it.”
These mistakes often arise as a result of the preconceived notions they have from depictions of Pokémon in anime, films and novels.
The most dangerous mistake is attempting to capture a Pokémon that moves in large hordes of allies.
Pokémon are not creatures that exist simply for human convenience.
Pokémon are Pokémon. They have various ways of life in this world.
Wild Pokémon in particular are especially unpredictable.
People need to wake up from the sense of security they feel catching or domesticating wild Pokémon, and heed this warning from the Portable Beast Academic Conference.
... Excerpt from a special lecture at the 99th International Portable Beast Academic Conference
Note #1) Professor Condotara Laurence's speech decrying the Pokémon boom is a minority opinion and is largely disregarded. Most of the academics at the conference were excited about the research of a recently newly discovered Pokémon.
... Pokémon Analyst who watched the 99th International Portable Beast Academic Conference on satellite TV
Excerpt from a reflective memo by Bill Sonezaki
Note #2) The novel “Pocket Monsters” may be considered as a work that views Pokémon in a way convenient to humans. That is, this book you're reading.
However, I will not retaliate to Professor Laurence's accusations. This novel is not written by Pokémon or for Pokémon, it is written by a human for humans.
It's only natural that I have to write in a way that humans will understand.
... Excerpt from an unpublished message from the author of “Pocket Monsters” to Professor Condotara Laurence
Translation Notes:
• Truth, not the tooth. In Japanese, Ash asked Pikachu to speak (hanashi) with him, Pikachu interpreted this as no teeth (ha nashi).
• Lake Kutcharo is a lake in northern Hokkaido. Its Sinnoh equivalent in Diamond & Pearl is Lake Acuity. Oddly enough, Kussie is actually supposed to live in Lake Kussharo in eastern Hokkaido, equivalent to Lake Valor in Sinnoh.
• Lake Tunoy was Lake Biwa in Japanese. Lake Biwa is Japan's largest freshwater lake. It is equivalent to Johto's Lake of Rage. The lake monster described was Biwahoussie, who not an actual lake monster as far as I can tell and is a silly pun on Biwa Houshi, who are lute playing monks. In an attempt to provide a similar pun of “Too Noisy”, I changed the name of the lake for this version of the chapter.
• Not really a note on my translation, but the girl slapping Ash actually happened in the Japanese version of the anime. It was cut from the English dub by 4Kids.
• You've only been hawking me with a sparrow spearhead, but what's scarier than a hawk? It's me! In Japanese, Ash told the Spearow that they're "merely a big brother sparrow". The word used for merely in this instance was "taka", which can also mean hawk. Big brother sparrow in Japanese is "suzume no oniichan", a pun on Spearow's Japanese name, Onisuzume.
• Hachiko the dog really existed, his owner Hidesaburo Ueno was a lecturer at Tokyo University who passed away during a lecture in 1925 after a cerebral hemorrhage. Hachiko waited for him at Shibuya station for over 9 years, passing away in 1935.
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