@Scytherwolf; @Soups;

Episode 50: Forest Grumps (part 1)

(what Brock tells

Ash's song)

"I hope Goldie will be all right with Prof. Oak..." Misty smiled as the group made their way down a forest path.

"I think so...she looked relieved to be with Prof. Oak and not that Dr. Wiseman guy..." Ash replied. "I still shudder at what he was planning to do to her when he caught her..."

"Well, what matters is she's safe and in good hands with an ethical researcher..." Brock assured Ash. "Prof. Oak doesn't look like the type to be doing shady experiments..."

Ash was about to answer when a female voice calling "Ya-ho!" got his attention. "Oh, hey! Ethan and Lyra are making camp by that lake!" he called as the trio emerged from the brush into in open clearing, where sure enough, Ethan and Lyra had made camp by a lake.

"Fancy finding you guys again!" Ethan smiled as the group arrived. "If you're curious, Dundee has behaved himself since we last went our separate ways.

"If you're hungry, we're about to have lunch." Lyra offered.

"We'll take you up on that...come on out, everyone!" Ash called, heaving his own Poke Balls skyward.

"You guys too!" Misty did likewise, releasing her own team.

"And you guys!" Brock also released his team.

"Good thing I made enough chili for all of us..." Ethan smiled as he checked a small pot simmering over the campfire. "Thanks again for the recipe..." he told Brock.

"Anytime." Brock replied. "It works over a campfire as well it does on a stovetop...and heats up very nicely in the microwave the next day!"

"I have to ask, though--what gives it its kick?" Lyra asked. "Hot sauce?"

"Nope--taco seasoning." Brock replied. "Easy way to give it a bite without setting your mouth on fire. I will warn you to use it sparingly--a little bit goes a long way."

"Point noted." Ethan replied before giving Brock a spoonful to taste test.

"Hm...I like how you added actual onions instead of onion powder." Brock explained. "Adds a little sweetness to it."

He was about to say more when something shiny in the air caught his attention. "What's that?"

Misty realized the shiny object was a net. "JUMP!"

The group and the Pokemon scrambled out of the way as the net landed on the grass. "You're not trying anything funny today, Team Rocket!" Ash called in the direction of some bushes, where the net had come from.

He waited to see if Team Rocket would come out and say their "To protect the world from devastation" spiel, but balked in surprise as Kamon emerged from the bushes. "Kamon? That was you that built that net?"

"Yeah...just little old me, and not those Team Rocket goons." Kamon smirked. "I meant to move all your friends' Pokemon out of the way so we could fight one on one, but it appears my net didn't work..."

Just then, a hum and a PYEOW! of a Hyper Beam filled the air, sending Kamon diving into the brush to avoid the bright orange beam.

"What was that?" Lyra asked, confused as to where the beam had come from.

"I have a bad feeling about this...everyone, return!" Misty called, recalling her team.

"And you guys!" Brock agreed.

After everyone had recalled their teams and broken camp, Ethan noticed a group of large bear Pokemon approaching where their camp had been. "We'd better get out of here before those bear Pokemon turn us into toast!" he cried as the bear Pokemon charged at the group.

The group raced as fast as they could through the brush, the PYEOWs of Hyper Beams raining around them as they leaped over tree roots and locks, avoided thorn patches, and climbed through logs. But as the group approached a three way fork in the road, Brock and Lyra dashed down the left path, Misty and Ethan continued on the main path, and Ash, Tintri, and Kamon hurried down the right path, unaware that the group had been split into three smaller groups.

"Did we lose them?" Ash asked as he and Tintri came to a stop some moments later.

"I think we did...and now that we're both together, we can finally battle so I can prove you're not as wonderful as you think, Wonder Boy!" Kamon growled as he drew a circle in the dust with a stick, then drew a line to split the circle in half, so it more or less resembled a Poke Ball.

Growls got Ash's attention. "Now's not the time to battle, let's go!" he called to Kamon as more Ursarings arrived.

---------

"Whew...they're gone, but where did the others get to?" Misty asked as she and Ethan stopped to rest by a stream.

"I think in all the confusion, we got separated from each other." Ethan replied before calling into the brush "Lyra!"

"Ash! Brock! Where are you?" Misty called.

When no reply came, a determined look formed on her face. "Ethan...if we're gonna find everyone, we'll have to be a team--can you do that?"

"Sure." Ethan replied. "Good friends stick together, no matter what."

Just then, more growls alerted Misty to some approaching Ursarings. "Well, as our first act as a team, we need to run!"

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"Okay...I'm pretty sure those beam-bears won't find us here." Kamon mused as he and Ash arrived by a still pond. "Although if we're gonna battle, our referee's nowhere to be found..."

"I think our battle's gonna have to wait..." Ash confessed. "We've lost everyone else."

Kamon sighed. "Okay...if it means getting out of here in one piece, I'll do what I can to help you find your cohorts, Wonder Boy."

He noticed Ash's Pokedex peeking out of Ash's bag. "Can't you use that Game Boy-thingy to find out more info on those beam-bears?"

"Sure..." Ash retrieved the Pokedex and allowed Kamon to see a picture of the bear Pokemon that had been chasing them:

"Ursaring, the hibernator Pokemon. Its keen nose can pick out any scent, even that of food buried deep underground."

"Wow...no wonder they've been able to find us." Kamon was impressed. "If you can make us a camp, I'll keep an eye out for crazed Ursarings."

"Got it!" Ash replied before unpacking his own camp gear.

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"Misty!" Lyra called as she and Brock searched down the path. Brock then whistled in hopes that Misty would hear him, but no answer came.

Lyra, meanwhile, slumped against a tree. "It's no use...we're never gonna find them at this rate..."

"So long as we stick together, everything will be okay." Brock assured Lyra.

A hopeful smile formed on Lyra's face. "I think in our rush to get away, we all got separated...so the others can't have gone very far."

"That's the spirit!" Brock smiled. "Are we a team?"

Lyra nodded. "Lead the way, O fearless leader."

---------

"No sign of the boys yet..." Misty sighed as she and Ethan continued down the path. "I wonder if they are looking for us at all..."

"I'm sure they are, and I know Lyra's looking for me." Ethan replied. "She may look like a sweetheart, but she and her Pokemon are a great team."

He noticed another fork in the road in the distance. "How bout it? Should we keep going this way, or take one of the forks?"

Misty dug a coin from her pocket. "Heads, we go left, tails, we go right."

With that, she flipped the coin... only for it to land on its side! "So, what do we do if it landed on its side?" Ethan asked as the coin continued to spin on its side in the dust."

"Let's just keep going down the way we're on." Misty sighed. "For all we know, those two forks are dead ends!"

---------

As the stars came out for the night, Brock and Lyra arrived near a large pond. "It's getting late, so let's just make camp here for the night." Brock suggested.

"Good idea." Lyra suggested as she unloaded her camp gear and watched Brock start a campfire.

She next tossed two Poke Balls skyward. "Hana, Saphir, come on out!"

"How nice to see you again, Miss Hana." Brock smiled as the Chikorita watched him cube some potatoes.

He then noticed a Marill by Hana. "This must be Saphir, yes?"

Lyra nodded. "Seeing Misty with Ami and Ash with River inspired me to get a Marill of my own. Saphir's still a little shy though, so don't take it personally if she doesn't join in the campfire sing alongs at first."

[H-hi...] the Marill stammered at Brock before looking at the pot simmering over the campfire. [What's in there?]

"Our dinner for the night--baked potato soup." Brock explained as he added some chicken stock to the pot.

After adding some bacon chunks and cheese to the pot, Brock let the soup simmer for an hour before spooning it into bowls. "Okay--it's ready."

"Mm...this is good!" Lyra raved. "Better than my mom's recipe!"

"Well, when you have to cook for a large family that is various degrees of picky, you have to maintain a balance between broadening horizons and something you know they'll eat." Brock explained. "Of course, it's always nice when you find something everybody can agree on, like chili and baked potato soup."

Lyra ate a little more of her soup, than asked Brock "Think you could spin one of your Lore Stage yarns? It would keep me from going nuts worrying about Ethan."

"Sure." Brock replied. "Any requests?"

[Tell the one about the hermit that helped win the princess!] Hana requested.

"Okay..." Brock then started the story. "Long ago, there lived a very rich man who had three sons--their names are not important just yet. When he felt his time was approaching, he divided his property between them, making them share and share alike, both in money and land."

[That's fair...] Saphir smiled.

"Now, the king of the land where they lived had a daughter--we'll call her Wendy." Brock explained. "One day, he told all the heralds to proclaim throughout the land that whoever could build a ship that sail as easily on land as it could on water would have Princess Wendy's hand in marriage...."

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"I knew we should've taken one of the forks..." Misty grumbled as she and Ethan continued down the path. "For all I know, we could be going around in circles!"

"Let's just make camp for the night--it's getting dark." Ethan suggested as he motioned for Misty to follow him to a hill.

"Okay..." Misty sighed, more out of relief than anything else. "What are we gonna have to eat, though?"

"I have some sandwiches from yesterday..." Ethan replied as he got out a small cooler filled with drinks and food. "Ham, turkey, or roast beef?"

"Ham." Misty smiled as she took one of the ham sandwiches and added some Cheddar cheese and mustard to it.

But before she could take a bite, a growl got her attention. "Our sandwiches will have to wait, the Ursarings found us!" she screamed as she motioned for Ethan to follow her, moments before some angry Ursarings crashed through the brush...

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"Okay...I don't think Ursarings will be able to find us in here..." Ash assured Kamon as the two of them crawled into a cave overlooking a pond.

"Just arrange the sticks we found into a nice pattern, and I'll get a fire going." Kamon suggested as he reached for a red lighter in his pocket.

After starting their campfire and putting a Combusken breast over a makeshift spit to roast, Kamon told Ash "You know, Wonder Boy...Ash...you're actually not that bad to be around. In fact, I'm surprised anyone would want to hang out with me after all the grief I've given you..."

"It doesn't matter, I'd still give anyone stranded in the forest a safe place to camp, food, and a bed." Ash assured Kamon. "Including someone like you."

Once the meat and vegetables were ready, and the boys and Tintri had eaten, Kamon asked "So, what do we do for entertainment? Robin Hood's the rockstar with the guitar--unless you've got a guitar in there."

"I'm more of a wind instrument person, anyway." Ash explained before fishing a silver whistle with a green mouthpiece from his bag. "Any requests?"

Kamon winced when he saw the whistle in Ash's hands. "Oh great...bad memories of third grade music class coming on..."

He sighed. "What're you gonna play, Wonder Boy? 'Mary Had a Little Mareep'?"

"Nope...how about 'Jelan's Prayer' from 'The Song Mage Chronicles'?" Ash suggested as he prepared to play the familiar song.

With that, he started a familiar prayerful melody that rang out from the cave, across the pond and over a plain, where Misty and Ethan had made camp.

Misty smiled as she heard the familiar song in the distance. "You think that's Ash playing, Ethan?"

"I'd like to think so..." Ethan replied as he looked up at the starry sky and listened to the whistle's song ringing through the forest. "In fact, I believe Ash is telling you 'Don't worry, I'm coming to find you guys' in that song."

To Be Continued...