I’ve just been having no will to write. *Sigh*

Writer’s block is the pits

DISCLAIMER: Pokemon belongs to Nintendo and Shogakukan Comics. This non-profit, non-copyright infringing fanfic belongs to me!

Notes: <> for telepathy, ** for thoughts, italics if a pokemon talks

Timeline: T-W-T, during Houen… I’ve taken liberties of altering Ash’s team and all that wonderful stuff fic writers do…. I don’t like any league except parts of indigo and Johto, so…

Dedicated to Darkringer for suggesting the plotbunny, although I’m not going to follow all the parameters

Started 9/28/04

Title: Pest Control

Chapter 1

“Again?” Lance asked, seeing Whitney’s face on the Videophone. “You’re telling me that it’s raining acid smog in Goldenrod city again?”

Whitney nodded. “I put the armor coating on my gym, the center, the mart, and the Radio Tower just like you said, but it looks like it’s starting to melt…”

“Hmm… the same thing is happening in Celadon and Saffron.” Lance frowned. “I’ve gotten a call from Steven in Houen too. Apparently Ever Grande, Mossdeep, and Rustboro there are having the same problem. And then Charlotte called from Cosmos and said that Topaz City and Moonstone City were having the same problem. Unfortunately, none of them want to go take care of it personally. Thanks for calling, Whitney. I’ll see what I can do. ”

Hanging up, Lance sighed. “Here we go again.” He highly doubted any of the other Elites were going to volunteer for this job…

So…

It’s up to me to save the world again, ne?

Well, Goldenrod had it worst of all the cities, most of the houses had actually been destroyed because of the rain, and most of the population had fled to Azalea.

Charlotte and Steven might have been lying to save face, but their cities were dealing with much less damage.

Therefore, the base seemed to be in Goldenrod.

Lance added Articuno’s poke ball to his belt just in case anything happened. Father would be very angry if anything happened to him this time…

He’d already gotten scolded for that Lake of Rage incident almost a year ago. That hadn’t even been his fault! If not for those interfering busybodies… those… _children_ didn’t know how serious the problem had been.

In any case, that Rocket base was gone but he had blown his cover. That was an absolute no-no.

This time, he wasn’t taking chances. “Hakuryuu, Kairyuu, Ptera, Gyarados, you ready?”

His five-pokemon team nodded. Lance paused for a second. Just in case there _were_ wild pokemon…or trained clones for that matter…

I’m _not_ going in there in regular clothes. No way. Besides, this way, who’s going to know it’s me?

Lance nodded as he opened the false back of his closet and took out a black robe embroidered with white. The material was undulating in waves of blue as he put it on. Dragon scales mixed with silversteel…

He carefully drew out the mask that went with it. Satisfied, the Dragon Master resealed his room and exited.

To goldenrod!

“Say, have you heard?”

“Heard what?” Ash asked, busy eating a lemon-lime Icee in one hand and a vanilla ice cream in the other.

“They say that Goldenrod City’s under attack by mutant smog!”

“Cool.” Ash said, absentmindedly taking a few more bites. It was a while before it clicked. Mutant smog?

There was no such thing!
It must be a pokemon!

And if it was a powerful pokemon, then he should go capture it! After all, he wanted to be pokemon master!
Such was Ash’s thought progression as he released Charizard, picked up Pikachu, and took off for Goldenrod.

Rare pokemon!

Once in Goldenrod though, it was a bit difficult to figure out where the smog was coming from. The entire city was coated with it.

He spotted one lone man sitting on a park bench – in full toxic waste handler’s gear. Oh dear.

Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea…

No! He wouldn’t give up! He would become a pokemon master! And that meant catching this pokemon!

Ash finally pinpointed the Goldenrod Pokemon Mart/Shopping Mall as the source. There… now, he had to get in.

It was getting awfully hard to see…

Ash inched along the roof until he Pikachu shocked him lightly, drawing his attention to a small trapdoor.

Bingo!
In they went. Snorlax made a good landing pad…

Now, to sneak…

Mewtwo laughed as he observed the boy. Oh, this was rich! He had spared Ash’s life once in New Island – wait, no that wasn’t right! He had killed him once before – did he have to kill him again?

What a waste of time.

Nah… the boy’s training skills were horrible. A few of his clone pokemon could take care of that problem…

With a thought, he sent several of them in Ash’s direction.

Pests.

Well, he wasn’t about to stir himself for something like that…

Ash’s first feeling of foreboding came when a blue Pikachu attacked him.

Sure, Heracross took it out with a good Earthquake move, but…

Blue pikachus?

Pikachu looked nervous. Maybe we shouldn’t be here…

“I don’t know, Pikachu.”

I’m scared!

Charizard yawned. Snorlax slept back inside its poke ball.

That was when the green-and-pink Blastoise turned up. Charizard was fast, but it was faster.

Hydro Pump!
Pikachu shrieked, and reacted instinctively, frying everything – and everyone – in sight. That was _not_ a good thing.

Ash and his pokemon all blacked out.

After all, spilled water conducts electricity very well…

Who knew pikachus could self-KO using lightning?

End Chapter

Completed 9/28/04