Pokemon: The Journey

(AN: For those of you who thought that it was just about dark emotions at the beginning, this fic has yet to show its fangs truly. What happened at the end of the previous chapter will not occur again, though. I even found out some of the material I was going to cover had been mixed up badly. I have also been attending college with a fever, a migraine, an average sleep schedule of 1-2 hours of daily sleep for the last 5 months, no coffee for months, got threatened to be beaten up by a department for attending college during an unplanned bunk, and nearly got evicted too. I am still suffering from the medical ones, but they are manageable now. After posting this chapter, I will be getting some much-needed sleep.)

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The afternoon weather was bright.

The sun was shining brightly in the sky.

The sky was clear except for the storm clouds on the horizon.

Flowers were blooming.

A duo of a child and a mouse were walking like dead zombies...wait, what?

Focusing on the unusual sight, we see Ash and Pikachu looking sickly green and sometimes swaying from side to side. Their eyes looked hollow as well. They were also using a stick of their size to walk too.

"P-Pikachu?"

"P-Pi?"

The sheer pathetic way they were sounding would have probably earned the sympathy of even criminals.

The good news was that they seemed to be recovering from whatever they had gone through, though if the less weight being pressed on the sticks and their slowly recovering faces were any indication.

"Y-You understand their language, right? Do you know of any reason why they would do that? The Raticate was giving a speech, though."

"P-Pi."

Pikachu nodded and shrugged, as if signifying that he might have understood but did not know if it was true.

You might ask how they were being so nice to each other.

Well, trauma bonding's a thing.

It might also be the fact that Pikachu blamed himself entirely for what had transpired. If he had not stopped Ash from throwing the Poké ball...

Before Pikachu could spiral into dark thoughts, Ash said with some heat, "I do not think that I would be able to look at a Rattata or Raticate the same ever again."

Pikachu scowled and nodded, too.

They were pissed at the line. Safe to say that they were never to catch a Rattata to relieve those memories and were going to take out their frustrations on any trainer that had a Pokémon of that line.

They were traumatized for life, thank you very much.

"Pikachu, we shall never forget her, okay?"

Pikachu nodded sadly, too.

They had regained their ability to walk properly by then, too, so they threw the sticks in one direction as they no longer needed them.

They barely got a foot forward when,

"ROW!"

Stopping completely in their tracks, they looked at the side where they had thrown their sticks and saw a Spearow with two potatoes on its head looking at them with murderous, tear-filled eyes.

It was then that the Pokédex spoke up,

"Spearow, the Tiny Bird Pokémon. A Normal/Flying dual type. Although inept at other aspects of its flying, such as height and distance, Spearow is still capable of flying quickly to protect its territory. However, it must flap its wings at high speeds to stay aloft. Spearow's loud shrieks can be heard over half a mile (one kilometer) away and are used to warn others of its kind of danger. Spearow sees in black and white and will chase its foes in a large flock. Spearow are found naturally in open habitats with warmer climates, mainly desolate wastelands and fields, where they hunt for insects."

The blank look on Ash and Pikachu's faces was priceless as they heard and saw the Spearow doing exactly what the Pokédex said by calling out for its flock.

Pikachu also remembered a part of the speech he had heard the Chief Raticate give.

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(Flashback begins)

"Rat-rat-ti-rati-raticate"("As I have recovered now, the dastardly Spearow flock shall not be able to keep a hold on the different berries any longer. Today will be the last day we eat what we have eaten to survive for our comeback.")

(Flashback end)

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He mentally put away that piece of information to tell Ash, as there were other important matters to handle right now, like escaping from the Spearow flock.

He will never be able to remember to tell Ash, as he would have forgotten completely about it, trying to survive what was to come.

Looking at each other, Ash and Pikachu decided to high-tail it out of there as if their life depended on it.

It was.

They had only thought in their minds when they started to run.

'I hate today!'

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Ha...ha...ha...

The muscles were getting tired.

The flock was closing in on them.

They had been running away from the flock for some time at their full speed.

The head start had helped, but they were getting tired.

Hearing something, Ash had started running towards something after scooping up Pikachu, who was slowing down.

Pikachu also heard it and smelled water.

They had arrived at a river.

Knowing it was possibly the only way to survive the flock, they decided to jump in with no hesitation or second thoughts.

SPLASHHH...

The water was cool to the touch and was cooling their burning exhaustion.

It felt good.

Calm.

Peaceful.

Free of worries.

They started to swim in the direction the river was taking them.

Increasing the speed with which they escaped the Spearow flock was paramount.

They saw the water above darkening as if something was covering the skies.

'Spearow'

Both of them thought the same thing and increased their pace.

Only when their lungs were starting to burn with oxygen deprivation did they resurface to take in air.

They mentally prepared themselves for an attack by the Spearows.

SPLASHH...

HOOOOOO...HAAAAAA.

Holding onto themselves, they took in deep breaths to stabilize themselves.

The attack never came.

They looked at the sky.

Storm clouds were filling the sky from the direction they were coming from.

The Spearow were in the distance, flying towards them, but they might just escape the flock at this rate.

With relief in their hearts, they saw where they were and noticed something else that had immediately crushed that ruthlessly.

Fast.

They were going too fast to be stationary.

Perking up upon hearing something, Pikachu turned his head slowly towards where the water was flowing and froze.

Seeing Pikachu's face, Ash's stomach dropped again that day, and he turned his head towards the direction he was looking.

He also heard it then.

The roaring sounds of a waterfall.

They were heading towards a pretty high waterfall.

Survival instincts and desperation kicking in, they started swimming towards the shore.

Pikachu was too small to make any progress, so Ash took him in his hands and swam towards the shore.

Far.

It was too far.

They would not make it.

They were being swept away too fast to be able to make proper progress.

They knew it too.

They did not want to accept it.

The waterfall's edge was coming close.

It was too close for comfort.

Then...

They were thrown out of the water and fell.

They took a deep breath and braced for impact.

SSPPPLLLLAAAAASSSHHHHH...

Pain.

It hurts.

It freaking hurts.

Nearly losing his hold on his breath after falling into the water, Ash bruised his back trying to protect Pikachu.

The water felt cool.

Calming.

He wanted to let go and relax in the cooling sensation.

He nearly let his breath and hold give away.

He felt Pikachu squirming in his arms.

He focused on the present and tightened his hold on Pikachu.

It was hard to focus with the water blurring his vision and the pain in his back, but he saw something...

Big.

Blue.

Long.

Wide mouth.

Remembering seeing the Pokémon in Professor's lab, and knowing about its reputation, caused who in Kanto or anywhere to be wary.

Gyarados.

A Gyarados was coming towards them.

It was going to eat them alive.

Adrenaline and desperation kicking in again, he barely moved out of the way of Gyarados' mouth, but was not able to escape its tail.

It hurt.

He was somehow able to manage to hold onto the Gyarados' tail end with his free hand.

His lungs were burning.

His back hurt.

His hand was straining to hold onto the tail and could lose the grip anytime now.

His stomach was flipping.

He was scared.

He felt his hand slipping.

The tail flicked.

He was hit on the back and sent in a direction.

He released his hold on the air.

Instinctively trying to breathe air, he took in water.

He was starting to drown.

He started to flail around.

Desperate.

Scared.

Approaching death.

Losing consciousness.

There was a tug on his jacket, which had been snagged on something.

SPLASH...

He landed hard on the ground.

Safe.

Though not for long.

He heard a girl's voice, "Hey, you alright?"

Throwing up the water, he said, "Y-yeah, thank you..."

He never got to finish.

Pain.

He was hit in the face.

He was cradling his face while trying to throw up water and not throw up his stomach contents on the ground.

He failed.

Speaking to him in disgust, "I am not talking about you, moron. I am talking to your Pokémon, who is hurt. You do not take care of him properly, and you are a trainer? You should be ashamed of yourself. Take him to the nearest Pokémon Center to treat him now. I don't care about your excuses."

Feeling angry after everything had happened and concerned about Pikachu, he looked at a bicycle that was there and was about to take Pikachu and take him to the Pokémon Center using it.

Alas, he was recovering from the hit and trying to get his bearings.

Remembering the Gyarados, he started to compare it to this girl and thought, 'Angry Gyarados.'

"HUH! YOU ANGERED A GYARADOS?!"

He spoke out about his lack of self-control.

He felt a hand trying to reach for Pikachu, but he held Pikachu tightly in his arms.

He was kicked in the stomach.

Gasping in pain, he nearly let go of Pikachu when the hands tried to take Pikachu. He tightened his grip and heard the girl from before yelling out to him while still kicking him and trying to get Pikachu out of his grasp.

"GIVE ME YOUR POKEMON! YOU HAVE STUPIDLY ANGERED A GYARADOS AND I DO NOT WANT THE POKEMON TO DIE FOR THE CARELESSNESS OF THEIR TRAINER! GIVE! UP! YOUR! POKEMON!"

She was trying to steal his Pikachu?!

After kicking him for some time, she let out a screech of a banshee and hit both him and Pikachu towards the water.

They landed on the edge.

Still gasping in pain, he heard the sound of a bicycle being mounted and stared with half-closed eyes in pain towards the direction of the sound.

"YOU AND YOUR POKEMON CAN DIE WHILE I GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HERE!"

The girl pedaled away on her bicycle fast.

Taking some time to orient himself and using his anger at the situation to stop focusing on the pain, he looked up when the skies started to get dark.

The storm clouds were here.

The Spearow Flock must be near then.

Picking himself up slowly, he took some time to orient himself and started to run/walk as best as he could to escape.

The rain started pouring.

He felt mentally tired.

He heard a splash behind him.

The Pokédex spoke up as if proclaiming a death sentence,

"Gyarados, the Atrocious Pokémon. A Water/Flying dual-type. The evolved form of Magikarp. The process of Evolution causes a change in its brain structure that is believed to cause its violent nature. Gyarados's fangs can crush stones, and its scales are harder than steel. Gyarados is feared for its fierce temper and wanton destructive tendencies since ancient times. In some regions, Gyarados is called the "deity of destruction" because of this. It appears in times of conflict and destroys the surrounding area. Its rampages have been known to last a month at a time. These rampages can occur even during a harsh storm. A Gyarados's rage won't stop completely until everything is destroyed. Some believed any human settlement is fated to be destroyed should a Gyarados appear. Gyarados lives in both fresh and salty waters. The move Hyper Beam is often associated with Gyarados due to it being powerful enough to instantly destroy everything it hits."

He was physically tired.

He heard the flapping of the wings of the Spearow flock as if proclaiming death's arrival.

Desperation.

Fear.

Approaching death.

It started to rain.

Thunder could be heard in the distance.

THA-THUMP

He could feel his heart in his ears.

Yellow-whitish energy started to gather behind him.

He was the top of the ledge.

Gyarados roared, Spearow screeched, and the clouds rumbled.

The light from behind grew brighter, and the sky cracked with lightning.

A scream echoed through the surroundings.

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(AN: If you are asking about you-know-who's actions, you have come here after reading the Pokédex Entry, too. Do not ask. Use common sense.

So, how was the chapter?)