Chapter 3

Claiming that you will kill an elusive monster is one thing- actually carrying out this plan is an entirely different process. Unfortunately, this did not occur to the young Ash as he stomped through the wilderness, slapping aside branches and muttering encouragement to himself. He was so completely wrapped up in his idea that he thought nothing of possible failure.

"When I come home carrying that monster's body, Dad will forgive me, and Mom will be proud of me- up wherever she is now. And then I'll finally be able to prove myself!"

His brave words made him feel a bit better about himself and his feeble accomplishments, and when he finally broke through the trees exactly where he wanted to, he reviewed his plan one last time in a quiet voice.

"Alright, I'm here at the beach. Nobody's here- of course they aren't. They're all picking up after the raid. I'll be alone- and the monster will be caught off-guard. I'll find it fishing or whatever, get up behind it, and stab it in a sensitive spot. Dad always said to go for a Pokemon's neck, the middle of its back, or the eyes. I'll just get it right in the middle of its spine- snap the whole thing in half. It won't even know what hit it. Hmph! So much for being strong, eh, Monster?"

He waved his shard of glass in the air, watching its edge flicker in the sunlight, and beamed brightly. This would be easy! He sheathed it once again and began to climb down the somewhat precarious slope.

He himself had never actually been to the beach, but his mother had described it enough over the years for him to have a good idea of its geography. It was a small beach, positioned about two miles east of his village. The only way you could get down into it was by climbing down the rocky cliffs that surrounded it from all three angles. He slipped a few times, but his boots were a mighty help in this process. He finally leapt off of a tall boulder and landed in the sand, feeling it sink slightly beneath his weight. He glanced down at it, and knelt down to grab a clump of the sand in his hand. It crumbled with pressure, slipping out from between his fingers. Wow. Sand was nice... no wonder Delia always came home cheerful, no matter the outcome of her fishing. The beach was just so relaxing. Ash's face fell at the thought of her. Well, at least, she used to... now she would never come bursting into the kitchen with her smiling face and a Magikarp in either hand, or plant a kiss on his cheek before sitting down to tell her son an exciting fishing story of the day, cheeks flushed and eyes sparkling.

A single tear tried to well up in his eye, but he quickly wiped it away and frowned, straightening himself.

"Chiefs don't cry. Now... time to find the monster!"

He pivoted on his heels and stalked down towards one end of the beach. The waves crashed against the shore, and Wingull screeched above him. Other than that, the only noise he could hear was the sound of his boots crunching the sand beneath him. He kept one hand on his weapon of choice and combed the beach for any sign of the Pokemon's presence. Nothing.

Sighing heavily as he reached a wall of solid slate, climbing almost fifty feet up, he turned and made his way towards the other end. He'd find it- he just knew it would be here!

Ash finally heaved himself up to the top of the cliffside with a sour face, rolling over to catch his breath. He hadn't found a thing. No footprints, no floating baskets, not even an area of disturbed sand. It was like the beast had never been there at all... the thought hit him like a charging Rhyhorn, causing him to sit straight up and gasp in surprise.

What if it hadn't been on the beach at all?

Perhaps it had been chased some other way. Maybe it was hiding in the forest instead- perhaps it had seen him coming and fled! His proud grin returned. Yeah, that made sense. It was cowering down in a hole somewhere, praying to whatever Pokemon god it worshipped that he wouldn't find it.

"Wimp!" he called out, hearing his voice echo across the rocks. He forced himself to his feet and set off into the woods without a further word. He was determined not to stop until the day was over- or until he was standing triumphantly over the dead monster. Preferably the latter, but he wouldn't mind waiting. He wasn't terribly patient unless he put his mind to it- but when he did, he could wait for days upon days for whatever such the thing was.

Before long, he was deep inside the woodlands again. The trees rose up around him, and the twitter of unfamiliar bird Pokemon filled his ears. He breathed in slowly, before letting all his air out in a slow motion. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. It would keep him calm- his mother had taught him the breathing exercises when he was much younger. The memories were fuzzy, but he could faintly recall a smaller version of him sitting in Delia's lap, breathing in time with her on the floor of the loft.

He growled in frustration as another tear attempted to make itself known. He blinked it away. He was fine! Delia would've wanted him to avenge her! There was no reason to sob over it. He'd finally become the son she- Ash glanced up and gasped at what he saw.

A thick area of bushes had been violently uprooted, a pathway ground deep into the dirt that led into foliage too thick for the boy to see into. He frowned and slowly crept forwards. Something poked his leg, and he looked down.

A strange throwing star was embedded halfway into the soil.

He yanked it out, studying the weapon curiously. It had four deadly sharp points to it, and was glowing a soft blue with some unknown material. He tapped it with his other hand, and its shape rippled. His brown eyes widened in surprise. How... strange. He brought it up close to his face.

Flash!

Delia laying in the dirt, eyes half-closed. The shuriken sticking out of her neck.

Flash!

Ash abruptly dropped it and shook his head. He had no reason to keep it- and besides, bad memories were connected to it. He sighed gloomily. No need to uproot them. Glancing over at the foliage, his gaze immediately hardened again. He had a monster to take care of.

He slowly moved through the path of bushes, now knowing for certain that at its end, the beast was hiding. He wasn't too sure on why it had been so frantic, but he didn't honestly care.

About halfway to the wall of leaves, he began to hear a chilling noise. The sound of breathing- and it wasn't his own. It was oddly patterned- not slow and steady like it should've been. Irregular sharp intakes of air, combined with shorter quick breaths that seemed extremely unusual. Probably fear. He reached the tangle of bushes, and it became louder than before. Yep. The Pokemon was definitely just beyond.

He gritted his teeth, feeling his heartbeat speed up drastically. He felt his courage begin to wither away. Could he really do this? What if it got to him first? What if-

"No! I won't do this to myself! I am going to stab the beast and kill it, and avenge my mother. No need for this wimpy business!" Ash hissed quietly. He unsheathed his blade of glass- and lunged through the bushes.

What he saw ground him to a complete stop.

It was the Pokemon, alright. Every bit of it that he remembered. The sleek outline, the scarf flapping in the wind- but it didn't look particularly frightening at all. If anything, it was a piteous sight.

How could anything look scary with an axe sticking out of its stomach and a heavy net pinning it to the ground?

He swallowed painfully, backing up towards the wall of foliage again. This wasn't like the Pokemon he was used to killing- or watching his father kill. The deaths he experienced were always quick and usually painless. Sure, a few seconds of frantic thrashing, but then they fell limp with their eyes frozen wide.

He peered hesitantly at the creature, feeling his bravery return in a quick burst. It couldn't hurt him. It would be an easy kill. He gripped his blade tighter and moved forward to the helpless Pokemon.

Up close, he realized many things that he had not noticed before. It was a slim animal, definitely resembling a frog, with wide-webbed feet and dark blue skin. White spots dotted its knees and elbows, and smaller ones were located above each of its eyes.

It was curled up in the fetal position, a yellow-tinged axe he knew well sunk about a foot deep into its gut. The wood handle was stuck deep into the dirt, snared by roots and soil. It had most likely fallen down and jabbed the axe deeper into its own stomach. A net with metal balls at every end had also fallen over it, wrapping its limbs up tightly against its flanks. It was completely still, eyes shut tightly. The only thing that moved at all was its chest- the irregular breathing sound was coming from it. It was alive, but definitely dying. Nothing survived a wound like that- nothing!

Ash's face flickered over with pain and anger.

"This is for my mom, you evil Pokemon!" he hollered, holding the glass shard in both hands and bringing it high above his head.

The frog-like beast made a soft noise in the back of its throat- almost like a whimper. The boy hesitated, his glance softening slightly. He couldn't kill such a helpless animal! It... it wasn't right. He wasn't the one who inflicted such a devastating wound- his father had. He wouldn't truly have avenged his mother if he killed it now.

But that didn't mean he didn't want to destroy it anyways. Why not? It had done nothing but kill humans and destroy the village he loved. It had slaughtered his mother without any pity, and dug its stupid throwing stars deep into the heads of many others too. It was a mindless killing machine.

The glass shard came down, whistling through the air as it cut a straight path towards the frog.

Crack!

The wooden handle of Thunder Blade groaned underneath the force of the shattered glass, and a web of cracks appeared in it. Ash grimaced as he snapped it off, leaving the metal blade inside of its stomach. He took the largest piece of remaining glass and cut away the fibrous ropes as quickly as he could. Then he leaned back on the balls of his feet and sucked his teeth slightly.

"There. You're free," he muttered.

"NIN-JAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Ash screamed in fear as the Pokemon lunged forward, grabbing him by both shoulders and pinning him to the ground. The creature was shockingly heavy for such a slim figure, and it used its back feet to keep his legs from kicking. He was completely immobile.

The Pokemon's eyes were a deep shade of red, reflecting cold fury. It leaned forward slightly, coming face-to-face with the terrified young boy. Its pointed nose flared, sending a hot blast of air straight into Ash's face. He whimpered feebly and shut his eyes, expecting the worse.

Hours seemed to pass before he opened them again. The creature's face was no longer the same. It hadn't lost its anger, but something else shone there too. Confusion.

It growled softly, and released its grip on him. It then stood, stumbled, and began to sink lower to the ground. Ash watched in silent horror as it fell to all fours, and then leapt an astounding distance over him, landing in a tree. The oak shook under its weight, and it lunged towards another one. It missed, smashing into the trunk and falling to the ground. It veered again, hopping in slow motion in some other direction. Seeing the boy stand up, however, it immediately shot off- falling right over the cliff and spiraling out of sight towards the beach below.

Ash blinked once, twice, and then collapsed in a dead faint.