19. Seymour the scientist

"Pikachu use Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded to Pikachu.

Pikachu cried out as he used Thunderbolt as the attack was going towards a blue Nidoran.

"Dodge it and use Poison Sting!" Shu commanded immediately.

Nidoran jumped to the side and managed to dodge the attack and used Poison Sting on Pikachu. But Pikachu also dodged the attack and used Tackle to the blue Pokemon, but Nidoran also used Tackle as both Pokemon ran towards eachother.

As both Pokemon were about to reach eachother Pikachu managed to move his head in a way to dodge Nidoran's horn as both attacks connected. Both Pokemon jumped back as they looked at each other while their respective trainers were looking at them seriously.

"Tackle again!" Shu shouted out the command.

"Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded as sparks escaped Pikachu's cheeks.

"Pikachuu!" Pikachu used the attack as large amounts of electricity went towards Nidoran.

"Don't let up! Keep on running and dodge it!" Shu commanded to his Pokemon.

Nidoran managed to narrowly dodge the attack as it destroyed the ground a bit and charred it. Nidoran skidded to a stop as he looked at Pikachu.

"Confusion!" Shu commanded the attack.

Nidoran's eyes glowed blue and Pikachu was surrounded by the same blue colour as he was pulled up as he moved his limbs in response. Nidoran used his Confusion and threw Pikachu into the air.

"Use Poison Sting!" Shu shouted the command with a smile.

"Dodge it Pikachu!" Ash shouted in worry when he saw that.

But Pikachu wasn't able to do that as the attack hit him head on as he cried out in pain before he fell to the ground.

"Pikachu! Can you fight?" Ash asked his partner in worry.

Pikachu gave a faint cry as he tried to get up but his face was a bit purple showing that he was poisoned as Pikachu gave a faint cry before laying on the ground.

"Let's stop it Ash, Pikachu has been poisoned." Shu said to him as he saw that.

"Yeah Ash, I won't be good to tell Pikachu to keep on fighting." Brock said to him seriously.

"Okay, let's stop." Ash said when he heard that.

He ran to Pikachu and picked him up before he ran to Brock.

"Don't worry Pikachu, Brock can help you." Ash said to the electric mouse as Brock pulled out a medicine.

Brock sprayed the medicine on Pikachu as the effects were immediate as the purplish hue on his face was gone quite quickly as Shu and Nidoran reached the two.

"Shu - 2, Ash - 0." Misty said in a smug tone from her place on the tree stump.

"Oh shut up Misty." Ash said with a groan.

"What? He got the gym badge on his first time battling Brock. And now he has beaten you in a Pokemon battle. I'm sorry for Pikachu." Misty said with the same tone.

"Alright Misty, that's enough." Shu said with an eye roll.

"Fine fine. Is Pikachu okay Brock?" Misty asked Brock with a worried face.

"He will be fine. Just wait for a few minutes." Brock said to her in response.

He then gave Pikachu back to Ash who cradled him. Ash's Butterfree and Pidgeotto looked at Pikachu with concern. Meanwhile Nidoran ran and met with Mankey, Beedrill, Aerodactyl as the four Pokemon talked with each other.

"We're about to reach Mt. Moon, aren't we?" Shu asked Brock as the former gym leader was looking at a map.

"Yeah. At this pace I think we will reach there by evening." Brock said with a smile as he calculated the time.

"That's good then." Shu said with a smile.

"By the way, how are you planning to defeat the Cerulean City gym leaders?" Brock asked him with a curious tone.

"Why are you asking me that so suddenly?" Shu asked him a bit surprised.

"I know that Ash isn't someone who always has a plan but you are smarter than him and I know that you make plans to fight. So I was curious about what you want to do." Brock said to him with a smile.

"Right now I don't have much of a plan. None of the Pokemon I have currently have any type advantage so I will just have to do what I can with what I have." Shu said to him as he shook his shoulders.

"I see. I look forward to see what you do in your gym battle." Brock said with an interested look.

Shu just nodded to his words before he went to his Pokemon and started to play with them as it was time for them to rest for a bit. He looked at Mt. Moon as he was able to see it from their place.

'Well, I should use this chance to get myself some Moonstones.' Shu thought to himself as he looked at the large mountain.

Time skip

Soon, the group of four had managed to reach the foot of the mountain by evening, as per Brock's calculations which was a good thing for the group. As they were nearing the entrance to the mountain the cry of someone stopped them as they looked at the cave.

From inside the mountain a bespectacled man with brown hair and fair skin while wearing a lab coat ran out of the cave while being chased by a swarm of Zubats.

"Someone save me!" The man cried out in pain.

"Don't worry I'll help you. Help him Geodude!" Brock said as he threw his Pokeball.

Geodude appeared out of the Pokemon as it let out it's cry before it looked at the Zubats. Geodude didn't waste any time to use Tackle on them as it's natural composition made sure that the simple attack packed quite the punch.

One Zubat fell on the ground from the force of the attack while the rest dispersed and went back inside the mountain.

"Alright, now's my chance." Brock said as he pulled out his Pokeball.

Brock used this time to use his extra Pokeball on it. Zubat was pulled into the Pokeball as it shook a bit before it clicked showing that Zubat has indeed been caught by him.

"Yes, I caught Zubat!" Brock said happily as he picked up his Pokeball.

"Thank you for helping me. I don't know what would've happened to me if you hadn't interfered." The guy who had just been saved said as he looked at Brock with a grateful look.

"It's my pleasure. I'm glad that you aren't hurt much." Brock said to him with a smile.

"Who are you and why were the Zubat attacking you?" Misty asked him curiously and with confusion.

"I'm Seymour, a scientist. I was conducting a study on Mt. Moon, but something strange has been happening in here and I'm trying to find out who did it." Seymour said to her with a smile.

"Did you find out about it?" Ash asked him curiously.

"Not really. Someone installed very strong lights inside the cave and this has disturbed the natural stability of the ecosystem of the Pokemon living inside the cave." Seymour said to them seriously.

"Why would anybody do something like that?" Ash asked confused.

"It's probably because they are after the Moon stone." Seymour said seriously.

"Moon stone?" Ash asked confused.

"It's a big boulder, it's believed to be million years old or more and is hidden inside Mt. Moon. Fragments of the stone are said to increase a Pokemon's power." Seymour said to them seriously.

"Moon stones also help some Pokemon evolve into their next stage. My Nidoran is one such Pokemon who needs a Moon stone to evolve." Shu said to them as he also put his own input.

"So it's an evolution stone like the Thunder, Fire and Water stones." Misty said with a look of realisation.

"I'm happy to hear that there is someone among you who know about the Moon stone. Anyways, I believe that the Moon stone has its power because the resident Pokemon in the mountain are actually from outer space and they had used the large moon stone to travel to Earth." Seymour said to them with a smile.

"Are you... talking about space Pokemon?" Ash said confused.

"Yes! Moreover..." Seymour said before trailing off as he looked behind the group.

The four of them looked at him before looking behind them to see a Clefairy standing behind them. It looked at them as it held a stone in its hands before jumping away.

"Hey wait, Clefairy!" Seymour shouted as he ran after it.

"Hey!" Ash shouted when the scientist suddenly ran.

"What's gotten into him?" Misty asked surprised at his sudden action.

"Maybe he was too excited to see a Clefairy. Let's follow him." Shu said to them as he watched him run.

"Well, we also need to know what the problem with Mt. Moon is, so let's go after him." Brock said to them with a shrug.

Misty and Ash, Pikachu and Nidoran shared a look between each other before nodding as they followed after the scientist. They then saw the Clefairy standing still while Seymour is watching it. Ash pulled out his Pokedex with Shu doing the same as they got the information regarding the Pokemon from it.

"It's a rare Pokemon. Let me catch it." Ash said as he grabbed his Pokeball.

"No don't!" Seymour immediately said as he stopped Ash.

"Why?" Ash asked confused at his behaviour.

But any further discussion was halted as Meowth appeared and trapped Clefairy as he looked at the Pokemon with a grin on his face.

"You can't run now." Meowth said with a grin.

"We won't let you escape now." Jessie said with a smile as she appeared beside Meowth.

"We will get what we came here for." James said to the Pokemon as he also appeared.

Ekins and Koffing also appeared at the side of their trainers as they looked at the group.

"Team Rocket!" Ash and Misty said in unison when they saw them.

At their words the three of them started their speech and finished it as they looked at the group.

"Are you the ones who put those light inside the cave?" Seymour asked them a bit angrily.

"Yes we are. The Moon stones that we can get from the mountain will be quite valuable. Of course, catching a rare Pokemon like this will also be good for us." Jessie said to them with a smile.

"We'll see about that. Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted as he threw Pikachu into the air.

"Uh-oh, Ekins attack!" Jessie immediately ordered.

"Koffing you two!" James ordered his Pokemon.

"Oh no you don't! Confusion!" Shu shouted as Nidoran's eyes glowed.

"I'll also help. Zubat! Use Supersonic!" Brock said calling out Zubat.

Zubat immediately used Supersonic causing the group to become disoriented. Koffing was then surrounded by blue energy before it was made to ram into Ekins by Nidoran as both Pokemon fell on the ground and we're entangled with each other.

"Ekin!/Koffing!" Jessie/James shouted in worry when they saw it.

"Pikachuu!" Pikachu used Thunderbolt as it reached them.

"Oh no." Jessie and James said before they were electrocuted alongside Ekins and Koffing.

Then an explosion happened as they were sent flying just like usual.

"We're blasting off!" Jessie and James shouted as they were blasted away.

"Misty, Meowth." Shu said to the girl as he pointed at Meowth who is running after Clefairy.

"Got it! You're not going to get away from me! Come out Staryu!" Misty shouted as she called out Staryu.

"Uh-oh." Meowth said when he saw the star Pokemon.

"Water gun!" Misty shouted out the command.

Staryu in response used Water Gun as it hit Meowth right in his mouth. His belly started to grow as he became bloated due to the water before he was pushed into the air by the force of Staryu's attack.

"I'm blasting off!" Meowth shouted before the water inside him started to gush out of his mouth as he was sent flying.

"Well, at least that went well." Shu said as he looked at Meowth who disappeared into the sky.

'If memory serves right we will see then again.' Shu thought to himself before he looked at Brock.

He was tending to his new Zubat as he gave the bat Pokemon some pokefood as the Pokemon ate it.

"Thanks you guys. You really helped Clefairy." Seymour said to them with a grateful look.

"It's fine." Misty said with a smile as she recalled Staryu.

"And it looks like Pikachu, Clefairy and Nidoran have also become fast friends." Ash said as he looked at the two Pokemon talking with each other.

Shu smiled at the sight as he is happy to see his Pokemon getting along with the others. Soon, they decided to have some food as Brock set on preparing Pokemon food while he gave sandwiches to the rest to eat.

"These are really tasty Brock." Ash said as he ate a sandwich.

"Thanks. I'm happy to hear that my cooking tastes good." Brock said with a smile as he made Pokemon food.

"I don't remember the last time I've had such tasty sandwiches." Misty said as she ate one.

"Yeah. You really have a talent for cooking Brock." Shu said as he ate one sandwich as well.

He looked at his Nidoran who is still talking with Pikachu and Clefairy. Though from the looks of it it's like Pikachu and Nidoran are asking while Clefairy is the one answering.

'I should ask Nidoran about evolving.' Shu thought to himself as he ate his sandwich.

After that Brock had finished making the Pokemon food and Seymour sampled it and said it was good. Ash also tried it out of curiosity only to say that he doesn't like it's taste. Shu just checked as Seymour explained that the flavour would be likeable to a Pokemon rather than a human.

Shu kept his eyes on the conversation of the Pokemon and when they separated to eat the Pokemon food that Brock prepared he let out his other Pokemon as they also ate it while he made his way to Nidoran.

"Hey Nidoran, I want to talk about something." Shu said to him catching his attention.

"Nido?" Nidoran said as he looked at him.

"I want to get a Moon stone to use on you. But I want to ask if you want to evolve or not? Since you, once you evolve you can't turn back." Shu said to his partner.

"Nido. Nidoran!" Nidoran said to him with a nod.

"You want to evolve?" Shu asked him curiously.

"Nido! Nido!" Nidoran said as he nodded to him.

"I'm glad to hear that. Let's train to get more stronger, alright buddy?" Shu said to him with a smile.

Nidoran cried out in agreement before he went back to eating. After that Shu talked with his other Pokemon as he also rubbed them as well. After that he went and talked with Seymour and Brock while Ash and Misty were doing their own thing.

'Well, we can take care of the three of them without any problems so our trip through Mt. Moon will be easy. I should try to find a Moon stone for myself in the meantime.' Shu thought to himself as he looked at the mountain.