Episode 10! Wow! I can’t believe I actually wrote this many! I just wanted to expand the original version a little, and look at how long it is now! I haven’t even gotten to the Johto League yet, or Giselle! Not even the final judgment. This is cool! J

Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon. I only own some Neo pokemon cards, a copy of Pokemon Adventure, and pokemon bed sheets festooned with pikachus and squirtles. Nothing else.

Note: 2 days after Episode 9

Usul-lover888, no, there is no shonen ai here, and no, I wouldn’t trust Gary with a sword! He gets a different weapon…

Tmp – yes, there is more coming! Don’t worry!

Hollow shadows – don’t worry, you’ll see the funky outfits soon!

Everyone else, thanks for reviewing! And yes, I’m sure they’ll be shocked when they figure out Ash is a legendary pokemon. Hehehehe…

Episode 10: Love is a factor in catching! Don’t forget!

“Yay! We’re finally out of that forest!” Ash said happily. He couldn’t wait to ditch Todd. The photographer clung to him like a burr.

“Hot baths and a real bed sound good.” Pika-chan said in his ear.

“First, I gotta take Ponyta, Storm, and you to the pokémon center.” Ash told her.

“Oh, right! Well, I can definitely use some rest and relaxation.” Pika-chan said.

“Well, see you!” Ash said. He waved to Pika-chan and the others as he left them with Nurse Joy a few minutes later. Then, he headed to the pokemon mart.

“Let’s see, I found a Nugget in the woods. Thank goodness I had the Meowth card. It sure came in handy!” Ash remembered how he had caught the Meowth card one night in Pallet. He hadn’t planned to use it again, since it wasn’t a very powerful pokemon, but when he had been forced to accompany Todd on a midnight trek in the woods in search of wild Oddish, he had released it, since it was nocturnal.

Well, the Meowth had come in handy. Otherwise, they would never have found their way back to the campsite.

Ash checked his backpack. “Let’s see, I need to get more Potions, and probably a couple of Antidotes as well. I also need to stock up on food. I wonder if there’s a Laundromat where I can wash my clothes?”

Ash wandered around Viridian city for a while. He did find a Laundromat, to his relief, and a grocery store. Ash loaded up on candy and packaged cookies, plus some hot dogs and hamburgers that could be roasted over the campfire. When Ash had finished buying all his supplies, he returned to the pokemon center to meet with his friends. His pokemon, of course, not Todd!

“Look!” Pika-chan said softly, as Ash entered the ‘reserve’ inside the pokemon center, where newly healed pokemon were kept. Ash followed her line of sight and his eyes landed on a Dragonair curled up next to Storm. It would have been unnoticeable, but Ash had sharper eyes than most, thanks to his magically enhanced eyesight, and he spotted the thin band of gold scales just below the tail.

“So it’s lying out here in plain sight.” Ash said. He waved to Storm, who nodded her head back at him. The other Dragonair shifted to see what his friend was doing and spotted Ash. But instead of fleeing like all the other pokemon cards had done, this one just lay there and waited for him to make the first move.

“How are you going to catch it? There are security cameras here, plus I see at least two assistant nurses working there.”

“Say, isn’t that my mom?” Ash asked, shading his eyes.

“So it is!” Pika-chan said in a slightly louder voice.

“Hey, mom!” Ash said.

Ash’s mom looked up. “Oh! Ash, I didn’t know you were in Viridian City already!”

Ash smiled. “I guess I didn’t expect to find you here either. How are things at home?”

Delilah smiled and immediately got a dreamy look in her eyes. “Everything’s just wonderful. I miss you, of course, but Giovanni is always there to comfort me.”

Ash wisely did not say anything else on the subject.

“So, did you catch any new pokemon?” Delilah asked. “It’s the goal of every pokémon trainer to get a full pokédex, isn’t it?”

Ash looked down. “Well… only one. I caught a pikachu.”

“Oh how wonderful!” Delilah said. “It seems very attached to you.”

Pika-chan waved from Ash’s shoulder. Delilah laughed and waved back. “It’s so cute!”

“Yep. Say, that’s Ponyta over there. Let me introduce her to you!” Ash whistled and Ponyta walked over.

“Hi, Ponyta. This is my mom.” Ponyta rubbed her head against Delilah’s shoulder. Delilah smiled, delighted.

“You have such well-behaved pokemon, dear. It’s nice to know that you’re training them with love and care. Your father would be proud.”

Ash nodded, not saying anything on that subject. Who knew what his mom might say about his father?

“Well, I suppose you’ve come to claim them. Did you remember to wash your underwear?” His mom inquired solicitously.

“Mom!” Ash turned an alarming shade of crimson as his mom nudged him.

“Sorry, dear. Well, I suppose I’ll get them for you.” Ash’s mom went over and told the Nurse Joy that Ash was going to reclaim his pokemon. Joy nodded and continued shouting orders to her Chanseys. There had been a car accident downtown, and now a Scyther and a Jolteon needed to be cared for.

Ash quickly left, after he reclaimed his pokemon. Storm looked sad, she must like the Dragonair card.

After Ash left, he turned to Storm. “Do you like him?”

Storm turned pink around the eyes and nodded her head.

“Okay. I’ll help you.” Ash told her. That night, he had Pika-chan scramble the security system and Haunter cloak him in mist as he went to find the Dragonair. Much to his relief, it was still in the pokemon center.

But when Ash walked over, the Dragonair didn’t attack him. It just stared. Ash turned to Pika-chan.

“Why isn’t it attacking? All the other ones did.”

“I think Dragonair likes your Dragonair.” Pika-chan said. “There are some naturally peaceful pokemon, and Dragonair is one of them, and unless provoked, it does not enjoy attacking.”

“Cool.” Ash said. He readied his staff and turned to he pokemon. “Return to your true form, pokémon card!”

When Ash finished, he did a little twirl. Pika-chan cheered.

“Good job, Ash!”

“Thanks, Pika-chan!” Ash said, petting his guardian on the head. “So where do you want to go now?”

Pika-chan put a hand under her chin as she thought. “Well… we could hit the Charmeleon Café.”

Ash sweatdropped. “Pika-chan, you do know that it is three in the morning, right?”

Pika-chan shrugged. “So?”

Outside the window, Todd smiled happily as he recorded the new adventure. It was too bad Ash hadn’t stopped by to ask for a costume first, that would have looked really cool! He smiled as he turned off his video camera and took off.

Ash shrugged and picked up his guardian. “Come on, we should go to bed! Tomorrow, we head to Pewter city!”

“Don’t we have to go through Viridian Forest?” Pika-chan inquired politely. “Maybe there will be more pokemon cards there.”

Ash looked interested. “Maybe. But that means we need our sleep!” He grabbed the unsuspecting guardian and raced to his room.

“But I’m hungry!” Pika-chan complained. “And midnight snacks are in style!”

Ash rolled his eyes. “Pika-chan, do you think with your head or your stomach?” Pika-chan glared.

“I need food to give me energy so I can stay alive!” Pika-chan pointed out.

“Okay, okay! I have some food in my backpack. But we can’t go out to eat! Okay?”

“Okay!” They shook hands (or paws) on it. Then, Ash returned to his room. On the way back, he bumped into Todd, who was in his pajamas, carrying a big bulky object. He also had an armful of cloth…

“Todd? Shouldn’t you be asleep?” Ash questioned.

Todd quickly held up his video camera. “But I had to record the adventures of Card Captor Ashura!”

Ash’s eyes widened to the size of saucers. “WHAT?!”

“Well, it’s true!” Todd explained.

Ash took a few very deep breaths. * Must not kill annoying photographer, since I did allow him to travel with me. Must not kill. Must not kill. *

“Can you leave him alone?” Pika-chan pleaded. “You’re making my Chosen nervous and irritable! That’s not a good combination!”

Todd shrugged. “But this would make such a good movie!”

“You’ll do no such thing!” Ash said harshly. He deliberately turned his back on Todd and left.

Todd made a face. “Well, it would! Besides, I have this great new costume!” He stared after Ash’s retreating back with fire burning in his eyes. * This guy doesn’t know how to grab opportunity by the throat, does he? *

When Ash got back to his room, he procured a box of lemon meringue cookies and handed it to Pika-chan.

Pika-chan’s eyes lit up. She immediately pounced on the box. Within seconds, all the cookies were gone.

“Just how fast can you eat anyways?”

Pika-chan looked offended. “For your information, I can eat very fast and not get indigestion.”

“I know. But how can I get Todd to stop following me around with a camera?” Ash asked. “And what about those ‘costumes’ he insists on making?”

Pika-chan nodded and thought hard. “Maybe we could convince him to follow Gary!”

“Hey, that’s a good idea.” Ash said. “I’ll pop it on him tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, Gary is out in a forest…

“Pidgeot, finish off that bug!” Gary shouted. Pidgeot nodded and focused another round of wing attacks on the battered Scyther.

“Gary, Gary, he’s so cool! When he fights we know he’ll rule! Go Gary!” His cheerleaders shouted.

Gary smirked at the Scyther, which was still glaring at him defiantly. “Heh. You can’t escape now!”

He nodded to Pidgeot and threw it an ofuda. Pidgeot nodded and slapped the Scyther on the head with the mystical ward while delivering yet another Wing Attack.

The Scyther glared, but obligingly faded into a card, due to the power generated by the ofuda.

“Well, at least Ashy-boy won’t be getting his hands on this one!” Gary said proudly.

Ruby, one of the cheerleaders, came out of his car and put her arms around him. “Gary, can we go back to the hotel now?”

“Okay girls, time to head back!” Gary announced.

Ruby wound her arms tighter around him. “It’s lucky you didn’t send your Pidgeot back to Professor Oak.”

“Yes.” Gary said. He petted Ruby on the head. He actually enjoyed the company of his cheerleaders. After all, where was the fun in traveling by yourself? He knew that with the supply of ofudas he had gotten from that old Shinto temple, he would be able to catch at least twenty more pokemon cards. It was lucky that he had ‘felt’ Scyther’s aura earlier today. Now, he was possession of a powerful pokemon card.

The group headed back to their hotel, where they slept soundly. Sunrise might bring a new adventure? Who knows?

And back in his room, Ash and Pika-chan plotted how to get Todd away from them.

End Episode 10!

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