The Kanto Trio

in

"A Threesome's Tales"

Tale 1: The Trickster King (Ash)

(real tale: The Clever King)

"Here we are, gang!" a red haired girl smiled as she led her companions into the park. "A whole week of swimming, fishing, hiking, and generally enjoying the wonders of nature!"

"Let's not forget sharing songs and stories around the campfire!" a black haired boy agreed before some crunching in his bag got his attention. "Pikachu, you weren't supposed to get into the chocolate bars yet." he sighed when he found the small electric mouse happily munching on a chocolate bar.

"What happened?" an older boy with brown hair and tan skin asked as he began pitching his tent on near the center of the camp site.

"Pikachu found the chocolate bars we were going to use for s'mores, Brock." the boy explained.

Brock stooped down to Pikachu's eye level. "How many of those did you eat?" he asked.

"Pika pi." Pikachu replied, holding up the single bar's wrapper as proof.

"Okay, you can have that one, seeing as you're half done with it." Brock warned before getting up. "But no more until tonight, okay?"

"Pika." Pikachu replied.

The girl, meanwhile, studied a piece of paper. "Let's make sure we didn't forget anything...tents?"

"Check!" Brock reported before entering his tent.

"Food, check." the girl mused as a small pink humanoid brought her a bag of food.

Brock smiled at the humanoid. "Thank you for helping Misty with the food, Happini."

"Pini pi." Happini replied before running out to assist someone else.

"I have cooking supplies, first aid, and my guitar." Brock reported as he brought over a cooler. "Ash should have the s'mores ingredients...."

"I also brought more food, some games and toys, and fishing gear." Ash added before shooing Pikachu from his bag and pitching his own tent. "And I didn't forget the whistles and my Pokeflute either!"

"Great!" Misty smiled. "As for me, I brought some more games, first aid supplies, a park guidebook, and my fiddle for jamming around the campfire.

"That's everything, at least for me!" Ash smiled. "This'll be the best campout ever!"

That night...

The mood was festive around the campsite that night as the three friends celebrated being together for the first time in a while. Brock had made his special chili to complement the hamburgers and hot dogs, with s'mores for dessert. Once the meal was finished, music--both played and sung--filled the air.

The set list was endless as ancient songs from long ago rolled into beloved melodies from the 50's, 60's and 70's, only to be followed by spirited dance tunes, which led into haunting solos. Then the voices would return, and the cycle would begin anew.

It was when Ash concluded his rendition of "Traveler Among the Stars" that the first story of many was told. "There was once a boy who lived with his sister. While she did most of the chores, the boy--I'm gonna call him Todd--was well known for playing tricks, but not much else."

"So, did his sister tell him to go seek his fortune, or what?" Misty asked, fascinated.

"She told him to go seek his fortune, and the first place Todd went was the royal palace." Ash continued as he set his Pokeflute by a rock. "Now, the king of the land was very vain, and believed he was the very best at everything."

"Now who does that sound like?" Misty gave Brock a sly smile.

"Ash may be a great trainer and musician, and not too shabby a storyteller, but I don't know if he's the best at everything..." Brock mused.

Ash ignored his friends' commentary and continued his tale. "When the king saw Todd outside the royal palace, he challenged Todd to try and trick him. Todd told the king he'd left his bag of tricks at home, and it was too far away to walk all the way back there."

Pikachu, Azurill, and Happini laugh at this. "So the king gave Todd a Ponyta, but as soon as Todd got to town, he sold the Ponyta." Ash continues. "Understandably, the king was mad when he found he had been tricked."

"And then?" Brock asks, interested.

"However, Todd was prepared for this sort of situation--he first boiled a pot of water, and when he heard the king and his men coming, he set the pot on the floor, and started stirring vegetables." Ash explains. "The king wondered why a cooking pot was on the floor, and Todd said it was a magic pot. The king immediately offered to buy it, but Todd said it was not for sale. The king kept offering more and more gold, until Todd finally relented. The king threw a big party that night, and filled the pot with water, meat, and vegetables. But when the royal cook stirred it, the pot didn't boil. Everyone howled with laughter when they saw the king had been had."

Everyone laughs as they picture the king's reaction. "This is too funny!" Misty comments as she wipes away a tear of laughter.

"Keep it up, Ash--you're doing great!" Brock agrees.

"Pini pi?" Happini asks.

"Todd was taken to the palace and sealed in a barrel." Ash explains. "The barrel was taken to a high cliff, where it would roll into the sea in three days." He pauses his story to retrieve a whistle from his bag. "What the king didn't know was that Todd had a whistle with him in the barrel, and he spent the next two days playing any and every dance tune he knew."

Misty leads the clapping as Ash plays a set of tunes for effect. "The music attracted a rich miser, and asked Todd what he was doing in the barrel." Ash continues. "Todd explained that the king was sending him on a grand journey to the heavens. The rich miser was intrigued at what the heavens were like, and paid Todd a thousand gold pieces to take his place. Todd then went out and bought all manner of fancy clothes, jewels, and other finery."

"Pika?" Pikachu asks, stifling a giggle at the king's likely reaction.

"The king nearly did a double take when he saw Todd all dressed up, and wondered how in the world he survived being thrown into the sea." Ash replies. "Todd explained that he had met Manaphy, the Prince of the Sea, and received all his finery as a gift. The king was enamored at Todd's stories of the undersea kingdom, Manaphy's palace, which gleamed with gold, silver, and jewels, and how generous Manaphy was. So the king sealed himself in a barrel, and it went rolling into the sea."

Brock's laughter is the loudest as Ash concludes. "Todd was then crowned the new king, and invited his sister to serve on his court. He ruled for many years with a kind and just hand, and the people of that land remember him as the trickster king."

"Bravo!" Misty led the applause.

"I have trained you well as a storyteller, Ash." Brock smiled. "Keep practicing, though!"

"Well, now that we've heard your apprentice tell, why don't we hear from the master?" Misty suggested, her eyes shining with excitement at what sort of story Brock would tell...