Disclaimer: I don’t own Pokemon. If I did I’d be rich…*teardrop*…

 

~Four~

~Love is in the Air~

 

Valeri sighed. It was a beautiful day. The sky was as blue as ever. The air was fresh after the earlier rains, only a few trails of white cloud remained in the sky. The trees were a luscious green with water trickling over the leaves. She couldn’t believe that on a beautiful day like today she was trudging around a forest looking for three clowns.

Team Rocket. An evil organization known for their terrorist schemes, cruelty to Pokemon and general abuse to everything around them. However this branch of Team Rocket did not live up to that criteria, in fact Valeri wondered how they were still even employed.

They had probably never done a proper day’s work due to their obsession with one Pokemon, Pikachu.

It clouded their judgement. But she doubted they’d had much to begin with anyway.

One thing was bothering her though.

They had said that she’d be a good member of Team Rocket. They had liked her style. Ash had said that she reminded him of Team Rocket. Was she really suitable to be part of an evil crime syndicate?

Inside she knew that she was good and pure and all of that jazz but she had to admit there were some aspects of the things Team Rocket did that she admired, like Pokemon genetics for example, her parents had also been interested in that aspect of Team Rocket and openly studied their history and experiments and such. She’d spent many nights reading through her parents hand written articles and files on Team Rocket.

But whatever the case she knew she would never join Team Rocket, they’d hurt her too much for her to do that. They’d hurt her family too much for her to do that.

After that thought she returned to the situation at hand, she was supposed to be helping Ash find his pokemon.

Apart from that she’d also noticed that somebody seemed to be following them, every time she turned around she saw a shadow, or sometimes the figure of a cloaked person.

It was unnerving.

She quickened her pace so that she was walking level with Ash, Pikachu and Brock. The three of them stopped as they heard voices through the bushes.

 

“Where are the twerps? I’m getting so bored,” James drawled, he was stretched out like a cat in on the dusty floor.

“Stop complaining they’ll be here soon, not too soon I hope, I’m starting to get a good tan,” Jessie was lying on a recliner (don’t ask me why she lugged a recliner around) donning a pair of mirrored sun glasses.

Meowth on the other hand was pouring over some diagrams, recently he’d been increasingly secretive, keeping to himself whole day and making mysterious phone calls at night.

“Meowth what are you doing?” James peered over the scratch cat’s shoulder. Meowth snatched up its papers.

“Respect my privacy will ya’s?” The Pokemon moved to a new spot and began its plotting again not before leaving three scorching red cuts down James’ face.

The blue haired youth settled against a tree, twiddling his fingers pathetically, he was bored out of his mind. Maybe Jessie would provide some entertainment for him.

He snuck up behind her, he leaned over the back of the recliner and planted a kiss on Jessie’s cheek, “Guess who?”

If you’ve ever seen water boiling in a kettle then you’d know how the blood rushed to Jessie’s face but less out of anger than embarrassment.

She was blushing.

James was puzzled at her reaction, he’d expected her to go loco on him and chase him round the camp site.

He noticed the bird Pokemon they’d stolen gazing at him, it seemed to be smirking in amusement.

“What are you looking at?” he shouted at it angrily.

“Nothing,” Jessie said to him, thinking he was talking to her. Her voice sounded strangely feminine and serene unlike her usual domineering self.

James looked at her and his face softened for a few seconds before…he found himself lying on the ground.

“You can’t just go kissing people like that!” Jessie shrieked, her face was still flushed and despite herself she looked a little pleased. James clutched the bruise where she’d hit him, he knew she was back to normal…slightly.

A rustling sound was heard in the bushes.

Jessie and James turned to look at where the sound was coming from.

Ash, Brock, Pikachu and the new girl, Valeri, entered Team Rocket’s camp site.

“Prepare for trouble!” Jessie began the motto.

“We’ve already heard it today,” Valeri interrupted.

Jessie and James were somewhat put off. Meowth hadn’t even acknowledged the twerps’ presence.

“So um…what was going on before we walked in?” Brock said while trying to keep a straight face.

Jessie’s face went ten shades of scarlet.

“Well I decided to give Jessie a ki-” Jessie covered James’ mouth with her hand. “Shut up you imbecile.”

 “What was that last part, James?” Brock asked.

“Our private affairs are none of your business,” Jessie snapped.

“Affairs sums it up enough,” Valeri said.

Ash began singing, “Jessie and James sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G…”

He was cut off by Jessie who threw out her Seviper. “Seviper poison sting!”

A cloud of glowing poison needles shot wildly out of Seviper’s mouth, all of them directed at Ash.

Pikachu blasted them out of the way with a thunder shock.

Everybody turned to look at Pikachu who had supposed to have secretly picking the lock on Pidget’s cage.

Valeri slapped her hand against her head in exasperation.

“Pika?”

“Gettum Cacnea,” James ordered his cactus Pokemon. Pikachu managed to open Pidget’s cage. The brown bird swooped into the air, it flapped its wings blowing cacnea and seviper away.

“Pidget blow them away for good!” Ash cried, and Pidget whipped up a wind that threw Team Rocket skyward.

“We’re blasting off again!” Jessie and James squealed.

(Ting!)

 

Ash patted Pidget on the head. “Great to have you back buddy.”

“Is it hurt?” Valeri inquired. Once again she noticed movement in the corner of her eye. The stalker was still following them.

“A little, its wings are in slightly bent but a trip to the Pokemon centre should sort that out,” Ash patted Pidget’s sides affectionately.

They joined Brock who was setting up a camp fire for the night. “We should make it to the next city by morning. I can’t wait to sleep in a proper bed!” Brock stretched.

Valeri and Ash were deep in conversation about Pokemon training, once again they were debating the correct way to train Pokemon. Brock sighed. Pikachu sighed.

The debate gradually began to grow into an argument. Ash was standing at one end of the clearing and Valeri at another, bellowing at one another.

Brock and Pikachu calmly ate their dinner, observing the fight with mild interest, it was best to let them run out of steam.

Just then Valeri scowled and stormed off into the surrounding forest.

“I can’t stand her. She just annoys me. I hope she gets lost in that forest and never comes back!” Ash stomped off into the forest.

“Pikachupi…”

Both Brock and Pikachu jumped out of their skins as a cloaked individual entered the clearing.

“Where’s Ash?” he/she demanded, its voice was on the high side so they both assumed that it was a girl.

Brock managed to stutter out, “H-he w-w-went into the f-f-forest you just missed h-him.”

Pikachu shook its head.

The individual ran after Ash into the forest leaving a terrified Brock and an exasperated Pikachu.

 

Valeri sat on top of a small mound of dirt, it had a thin layer of grass covering it, so she wouldn’t get dirty.

She had her arms over her knees. She wondered if she’d made a mistake asking Ash if she could come with.

Things weren’t working out so great. It made her think of Vale…those were happier times.

Vale would’ve been there to help her, to keep her going, if she felt down. She sighed. This was supposed to be fun not spent arguing over stupid things.

It was then that Valeri heard foot steps behind her, she half hoped that it was Ash and half hoped that it wasn’t.

An individual swathed in black came out of the bushes and ran straight into her. She only felt a light tap on her back but it seemed the individual might’ve been injured.

“Get away from me!” The cloaked soul yelled and ran off. Valeri could not help but feel mildly annoyed.

Valeri returned to her stewing. Ash was just such a jerk. The least he could do was apologise. Or maybe it was her fault? It might be the reason why her only friend was an Umbreon.

She sat in silence staring into the shadowed trees. She pulled at the pokeball around her neck. It fell open on the ground, Mix blinked as it appeared outside, it seemed to have been sleeping.

It looked up at its trainer. A sheet of hair shielded her emotions.

Mix nuzzled Valeri to try and comfort her.

“Mixy do you think I train you and Milo too hard?” Valeri asked, while running her hands through the fine hairs on cyndaquil’s back.

The Pokemon gazed up at her, it shook its head. “Cyndaquil quil.”

“You’re just saying that. You like my training?”

Mix squeaked softly.

Valeri gathered the Pokemon in her arms and hugged it.

You make me happier…

They sat there until the moon rose. It shone its pale brilliance over the world, lighting up the tiny less obvious features of things and making them beautiful. Dark trees became silver trees, leaves were lined with silver, the ridges and faults in the earth were accentuated perfectly, the Pokemon in the forest glowed with moon light, anything the moon touched immediately became that much more perfect.

Even Valeri.

 

Ash had his hands in his pockets. He kinda felt bad about fighting with Valeri again. It was the second time that day and it was only the first day they had travelled together. He wondered if he’d made the right choice letting her travel with him. If only Pikachu had come with, it’d know what to do. It’d help him.

“Maybe I should apologise?” Ash wondered out loud.

He sensed a presence in the clearing with him. He turned just as a cloaked somebody lunged for him. He moved out of the way and clutched a pokeball at his belt, deciding whether or not to use it.

The figure shuffled around under its cloak, it seemed to be distangling itself, “Maybe the cape wasn’t such a good idea.” He heard the muffled statement.

After a few more minutes the figure drew itself up to full height, which by the by was not very tall and pointed one hooded finger at Ash.

“You Ash Ketchum owe me…” The figure whipped off its cape, revealing orange locks, tied up in a side ponytail balancing precariously on the her head, it was Misty. “Ash Ketchum you still owe me a bicycle!”

“Oh and thanks a lot for dumping me in Cerulean with my sisters Ash, you know I hate it there!”

Ash did a double take, “Misty, you wanted to stay there. And I thought we sorted out the whole bicycle thing.”

Misty was not done.

“Who was that girl that I saw fighting with you? I thought fighting was our thing?” Misty had her hands on her hips in a ‘you’ve got some explaining to do’ fashion.

Ash was dumbstruck, he’d had no idea that fighting was their ‘thing’

Women…he thought.

“That’s just my friend…well person called Valeri, she’s a bit strange.”

Misty did not look convinced. “Well Ash I hope you’re happy I travel all this way to find you and I don’t even get a hello.”

“That’s probably cos you were prancing around in a cape,” Ash commentated.

Misty scowled, “Whatever Ash just let’s get back to Brock, I’m starved.”

“You go ahead I got to find Valeri,” Ash trudged off to find the raven haired girl.

Misty raised her eyebrows at him.

 

Ash had no idea how long he’d been searching the woods for Valeri. It seemed like forever. For all he knew she’d already gone back to camp.

He decided that he wouldn’t give up ‘til he found her. It was executing this task that was proving more and more difficult.

He heard the sound of crackling fire and knew it wasn’t the campfire. He ran towards the sound, closing in on a warm glow.

Long shadows fell across his feet and he saw a girl and her cyndaquil sitting against a fire, warming their hands, well the girl was, cyndaquil didn’t really need to.

“Val?” Valeri looked up, it was the person she didn’t really want to see…or did she?

Ash sat down beside her.

“Why aren’t you at camp?” she asked.

“Why aren’t you?” he replied.

She sighed. “I’m not going to travel with you anymore. I think we’ll fight too much, and you’re the only friend I have. I don’t want to ruin that.”

Ash was surprised he didn’t know Valeri considered him a friend. It seemed that that night there was a lot of things he didn’t know, actually it was every night but this night just seemed like it was ten times worse.

“Oh I wanted to say I was sorry…” they sat in silence. And then Valeri did a surprising thing, Ash found himself bound together in a hug.

He had no idea what to do so he patted her on the back.

“Although you don’t consider me your friend…or even a prospective friend… I still consider you one. Thanks for that,” she let go of him and turned her attention to the fire.

The flames were flickering, enchanting them to continue staring into its depth.

Ash was quiet, “I do consider you a friend.” And he really meant it.

Valeri gave a small smile.

“Now are you going to come back with me to camp?” Ash asked, and held out his hand.

She nodded and took it. Mix climbed onto her shoulder and the three of them walked back to camp.

 

Brock and Misty were eating dinner by the time they got back. Pikachu ran to greet Ash, it jumped into his arms happily.       

“Hey buddy,” Ash put his League cap on Pikachu’s head. The pokemon’s large soulful eyes peered out from under the rim of the cap.

Misty was checking Valeri out, eyeing her up and down. Valeri noticed the unwanted attention and threw Misty an evil glare.

Who hears cat fight?

The boys were oblivious to the female power struggle that was about to unfold.

 

To Be Continued

Will Valeri and Misty take their immediate dislike of one another to the next level?

Are they fighting over Ash?

Who will claim Ash as their own?

What is going on between Jessie and James?

 And what is Meowth planning?

Find out next time in the Evolution Gene. All reviews accepted!

Regards

The Abstract Noun