@Scytherwolf;

Episode 9: A Very Deer Friend (part 1)

"Ah, such a beautiful day..." Ash smiled as he led the way down the path. "Sun shining, bird Pokemon singing..."

A strange orb in a bush got his attention. "Huh?"

"What would an orb be doing in a bush?" Misty wondered as she and Brock caught up to Ash and Tintri on the path.

Brock noticed the orb begin to move, and saw it was attached to the pale yellow antlers of a small brown deer Pokemon. "A small deer Pokemon...wonder what it's doing out here?"

Ash, meanwhile, brought up the Pokemon's picture onto Dexter's screen."Stantler, the big horn Pokemon." Dexter began. "Its magnificent antlers were once traded at high prices as works of art. As a result, this Pokemon was hunted close to extinction."

"The Pokedex's picture depicts a full sized Stantler, and this one's smaller..." Misty noted. "Which means that this one must be a baby!"

"That still doesn't answer my question of what a baby Stantler could be doing all the way out here." Brock mused as he got out a bag full of fresh Pokechow that he had made the night before. "So maybe if we lure it closer, we may figure out why it's alone out here..."

"Separated from the herd?" Misty wondered as Brock made a trail of Pokechow leading to the group's location.

"Let's see if a food bribe will get it to come closer." Brock smiled as he wiped Pokechow crumbs from his hands. "If that doesn't work, I could mimic a mother Stantler in attempt to coax it over here."

Sure enough, the baby Stantler approached the group, pausing to nibble at the Pokechow nuggets Brock had left behind. Misty, however, noticed the baby Stantler was limping a little. "The Stantler's hurt!"

"So it is..." Brock mused as he hurried to the Stantler's side with some first aid supplies. The Stantler shied away at first, but tumbled to the ground as Brock assured it "It's okay, little guy...I only want to help you..."

"Try telling that to those other Stantlers..." Ash gasped, noticing a crowd of angered Stantlers charging in Brock's direction.

About then, Brock saw the angered herd headed for him and the wounded Stantler. "Uh oh...guess my trying to help you will have to wait!" he stammered.

"RUN!!!" Ash lead the way back down the pathway, every so often looking back to see if the Stantlers were following them.

He was never more relieved to hear a police siren in his life as Officer Jenny met them on a branch of the path leading to a ranger's outpost. "Is everything okay?" she asked. "We received reports from the rangers that there was a Stantler stampede in the area..."

Brock, however, had other ideas. "There was a stampede of lonely hearts headed for your beauty and brave heart..."

This was as far as he got in his euphoric confession of love before Ami sprayed him. [Were you ever told to respect authority?] she scolded as a ranger gave Brock a towel to dry off.

"We found a wounded baby Stantler near the woods, and when my friend tried to clean and dress the wound on its leg, a bunch of adults thought we were trying to hurt it." Ash explained.

"While your intentions were noble, it was still very dangerous--the Stantler herds have been terrorizing the surrounding areas." Officer Jenny explained. "If you find this Stantler again, it's better to notify the rangers and have them try and help the fawn."

"Okay." the group replied.

"It may be better to try and travel through the night...the Stantlers are less active then." a ranger suggested as he brought the group some snacks and drinks.

"What we don't understand is who or what could be riling up the Stantler." Officer Jenny mused. "We haven't found evidence of Team Rocket activity..."

"Good--I'm not in the mood to deal with them today." Ash grinned as he offered Pikachu some Oran Berry juice.

"Not that we've found them anywhere so far, and I'd prefer not to find them now." Misty agreed as she relaxed on a cot, watching the comings and goings of the rangers as they went about their evening patrols.

The group did not, however, spot Kamon listening in from a crack in the wall. "So wild Stantlers live here...since I couldn't get that Totodile, maybe a Stantler will do instead..."

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Surprised gasps and chatter filled the outpost that evening, startling the group from their sleep. "What's going on?" Ash asked, glancing around the room in hopes of finding the suspected intruder.

"This baby Stantler came to the outpost, as if looking for someone." a ranger explained as he and his partner led a familiar baby Stantler inside the room. "It has a wounded leg, but the wound is not consistent with any known predators in this area..."

"Maybe I can help!" Brock volunteered as he climbed from his cot, retrieved his first aid kit, and went to work cleaning and dressing the small gash on the fawn's left front leg.

After wrapping some gauze around the wound to hold it in place, he took a step back to admire his handiwork. "There we go."

"We'll take the Stantler to the medical wing for observation, then release it in the morning." another ranger smiled as he and his partners led the Stantler away.

"Judging from how the Stantler came looking for you, you'd think it would want to join your team, or something." Ash mused as he climbed back in his cot, petting Tintri all the while.

"As tempting as it is to call that Stantler mine, I also know its true home is back with its mother, where it belongs." Brock explained as he climbed back in his own cot. "It is still a wild Pokemon, and it wouldn't seem right to catch it when it is not old enough to be separated from its mother."

"That's fair." Misty smiled. "Let's get back to bed, then..."

TO BE CONTINUED...