Dawn's Wedding Day

Chapter Three

"Professor, something's wrong. My Sunflora is missing!"

"Max, I'm sure it's all right. Pokemon don't just go running away without their trainers."

"But I seriously can't find her anywhere!"

The lab door burst open, and a distraught girl entered. "My Leafeon's gone. Do you know where she might be, Professor?"

"No, I can't say that I've seen any Leafeon around here."

Gary came in after they had a short silence. "Grandfather, there's a Pokemon unaccounted for in Ash's catchpool. In other words, it has left the habitation, and he can't have it, for he already has four on his belt and Ambipom as well as Pikachu out of balls."

"Which one is that?"

"Bulbasaur."

Next, Tracy entered with no small amount of noise. "Ash's Bayleef and two Oddish are no longer anywhere to be found! It's like they just scampered off somewhere, probably affected by Sweet Scent."

"What's with all these missing Pokemon?" Professor Oak wondered.

"Wait!" Max exclaimed, using his powerful deduction skills. "My Sunflora, Sakura's Leafeon, Ash's Bulbasaur and Bayleef, and two Oddish have all vanished into thin air, as the saying goes. They all are the Grass-type, and my hunch is that they left together."

"But why?" Sakura asked.

"I haven't the foggiest," Samuel Oak admitted.

Meanwhile, Misty was just arriving at Fortree City, where the annual Leaf Festival was being celebrated. It was in honor of the wild Tropius that inhabited the routes nearest the town, and every year the most exotic fruits were gathered and sold at breakneck prices.

She had chosen to come here precisely for this reason. If Gleeblum was out there, a festival honoring Grass-type Pokemon was sure to entice it to come out of hiding. And if she wanted to win Ash's affection away from Dawn, her only option was to hunt that Pokemon to the ends of the earth.

One problem, she knew, was that she had no Grass-type Pokemon of her own. She had once thought of catching a Lombre, but something about it was very repulsive. It came to her that it was for this very reason that Gleeblum had left without becoming hers—she had always had a predilection for Water-types and always would. Actually, the more she thought about it, the more it came to her that another reason might be that she was not yet experienced enough to train Gleeblum. If the latter was the case, then at twenty years old, she must now be ready to do so.

But the thing that was uppermost in her mind was catching a Tropius. As difficult as it might be, given the disadvantage her Pokemon had, she was sure she could manage it.

She traipsed along Route 111 and entered a clearing. There she saw two wild Tropius, with their necks entwined. They were apparently of the opposite gender.

"Go, Stamie!" Misty called, and her familiar purple Pokemon appeared. "Use Ice Beam."

A ray of ice shot forth and froze the male Tropius. This caused the female to get angry, and charge at their assailant.

"Starmie, quick, use Thunderbolt!" A jolt of lightning hit Tropius' wings, and the Pokemon became so exasperated that it used Solarbeam.

This caused Starmie to faint, and Misty called it back. "You deserve a nice, long rest. But now I choose Poliwhirl!"

Misty's latest Pokemon twirled about as he made his entrance; he was always one for class. Tropius then used Razor Leaf.

"Dodge it, Poliwhirl, and use Mega Punch!"

The attack hit Tropius directly on its head. Then Tropius used Magical Leaf, which Poliwhirl could not escape. Another one of Misty's Pokemon was down.

"Go, Golduck! Use Fury Swipes!" Four scratches ran across Tropius' face, before the latter threw Golduck into the air.

"Golduck, get up and use Confusion!"

A blue light encircled Tropius. It was lifted up twelve feet and then hurled crashing down.

Tropius used another Solar Beam, forcing Misty to recall Golduck.

I'm running out of Pokemon. I can't use Luvdisc's Attract, because my Luvdisc is female and so is this Tropius. So I'll try Corsola, even though I know it's a long shot, seeing how both of Corsola's types are weak against Grass.

Corsola emerged from its Pokeball, looking sassy, which was its nature. "Now, use Ancientpower!"

Giant rocks lifted from the earth as Corsola channeled their energy. The Wild Tropius prepared a Razor Leaf, but its wings were scathed by the Ancientpower.

"Pokeball, go!" Misty shouted.

Tropius entered it, but a few seconds later it came out again.

"Corsola, Spike Cannon!"

A plethora of needles were sent into Tropius' body, practically tearing the flesh. The wild Pokemon tried Solar Beam, which knocked Corsola to the ground, eyes dazed.

"Corsola, Recover!" Misty exclaimed, and once this was accomplished, she ordered it to use Ancientpower.

This time Tropius was breathing very heavily. Misty threw another Pokeball.

It struggled to break free for a couple of minutes, and the red light went out. Tropius was now hers!

The Pokeball disappeared. Misty had six Pokemon with her, and she'd have to swap one of the ones she kept with Tropius through Wuberta, the woman who held all Pokemon for the Cerulean City Gym.

She turned around to head back to Fortree, when she heard something that sounded like ice cracking behind her. However, her curiosity being taxed, she took no heed of this noise, until she felt a sharp leaf scratch her arm, and then vines reach out and grab her. Tropius flipped her about till she was facing it. She would have to suffer for catching its mate. He brought her closer and closer to his body, apparently preparing to headbutt her in a way that would result in death. She tried to free herself, but it was to no avail.

Misty's eyes became hazy. She heard a cry, and a creature that appeared to be another Tropius rammed into the side of this one. The vines released her to combat the new adversary.

Her focus came back, and she saw that Tropius was falling asleep. Feeling relieved at the passing of danger, she almost didn't see her rescuers. However, her sight did not take long to direct to these particular individuals. First to catch her eye was a Leafeon, followed by a Sunflora, a Bulbasaur, Bayleef, and two Oddish.

"Bulba," said Ash's Pokemon, holding out its vine to show that it knew Misty.

"Bay," Bayleef said obstinately. The other Pokemon had forced her to rescue Misty; she could care less about the girl.

Leafeon brushed against Misty's legs to reveal familiarity. Sunflora and the two Oddish stood aloof. Their trainers did not know Misty well, and thus they regarded her with mistrust.

"Is it possible?" she wondered, shaking Bulbasaur's vine in greeting, as people shake hands. "You guys came to help me find Gleeblum?"

"Bulba, Bulba!"

"Great, I can use all the help I can get. But I can't keep all of you," she said, looking around at them. "A trainer can only carry six Pokemon, and although none of you'll belong to me, there are still rules one must follow. Granted, there are six of you. However, Corsola must remain with me, and I just caught a Tropius. When we get to the Pokemon Center, we'll decide what to do."

She went to the Viserophone to call Professor Oak, but there was a boy in a tweed jacket in front of her. At first she thought she'd wait her turn patiently. But then she heard the unmistakable sound of Samuel Oak's voice saying, "I'm sorry Tash, but you're Strawberry is missing, as are a great number of Grass Pokemon."

"Did someone steal them?" the boy asked.

"No; they just vanished."

"Professor!" Misty shouted, coming from behind the boy.

"Oh, Misty, how are you? We've had some pretty strange things going on since you left. I half expect to see flying Mankey when I wake up tomorrow."

Bayleef poked her head out from behind Misty,

"That's Ash's Bayleef! But how did you come to find it?"

"It came to me, along with several other Grass Pokemon."

The others came into plain sight. "There's Ash's Bulbasaur, Sakura's Leafeon, Max's Sunflora, and—"

"Strawberry!" shouted the boy with glee. He hugged one of the Oddish.

"Professor, these Pokemon have come to help me find Gleeblum."

"Gleeblum? The Legendary Grass-type Pokemon? You'd have better luck finding a Shaymin. So those Pokemon just came to you? You didn't take them without asking or leaving a note?"

"No, they just appeared here. Bayleef rescued me from a Tropius."

"That was very kind of Bayleef."

"Yes, but Professor, I can only hold six Pokemon, and although these are not mine, I suppose there will be a conflict."

"There will indeed. But I have one thing to say that will perhaps lighten your load: Bulbasaur is needed here."

"Bulba!" the Pokemon exclaimed, as if finding delight in being needed.

"That's grand! Now I'll have six Pokemon, once I send five of mine to Wuberta and get the Tropius I just caught."

Bayleef scowled.

"I'll send you Bulbasaur's Pokeball so that you can transport him back here," Professor Oak said. This was done with utmost speed, after which Misty phoned Wuberta, who was happy to take her Pokemon and send her Tropius.

She hung up, and turned around. She sought Nurse Joy for a room, but the boy who had found his Oddish followed her. "Hello, I'm Tash. I'm so glad you found Strawberry; I needed her for the Leaf Festival."

"You're welcome."

"I don't think that Bayleef likes you very well."

"What makes you say that?"

"It was jealous of that Bulbasaur. They have the same trainer right? I heard there was a guy named Tom Ato who had Grass Starters from every region: Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Finero. Surely that's not his Bayleef?"

"No; it belongs to Ash Ketchum."

"Oh, that fellow! And who are you to be carrying around his Pokemon?"

"I am Misty from Cerulean City."

"You're the water Gym leader in Kanto? But you're so young—you can't be hardly older than twenty."

"No, I'm not."

"You need some protection, and I've got plenty of it."

"Good. I'll ask you when I think I need it, Tash," she said, sarcastically. Then she ran off to Nurse Joy.

When she awoke next morning, she was struck by the realization that Tash's name rhymed with Ash.