CHAPTER 10



“Hey,” Machop exclaimed, “Look, they’re coming down!”

Every Pokemon in the group looked up to see Volbeat and Illumise gently gliding down towards them. Upon landing, they all crowded around the pair like an excited mob.

“Did you find him?” asked Marill.

“Does he have any Pokemon with him?” asked two tiny mouse-like creatures beside her.

“Is he everything Big Sis expected?” inquired a Pidgeotto.

“Easy, gang,” Volbeat interrupted them, “We found him, he has a Pikachu, and yeah; he’s great!”

“The perfect friend for our Big Sis,” Illumise triumphantly added, “And she’ll be so surprised when we get Ash back to the island.”

The entire group gasped. They all thought Illumise was talking crazy; how would they be able to get a thirteen-year-old human boy out of there?

“Don’t worry about that,” Illumise said, apparently reading their doubt, “I’ve got that covered. Bellossom, Machop, and the Taillows” (she pointed to four of those small blue and red birds Ash had seen earlier) “will come back up with us…”

“Wait a sec,” Volbeat broke in, “I thought you said that only Bell…OW!” Before finishing, his sister had abruptly yanked on his antennae again.

“Stop interrupting me when I’m trying to put a plan together!” she hissed, and then she turned back to the crowd. “Like I was saying, you guys will come back up with us. Bro,” she added, turning back to her brother, “Go tie the rope around the Shoal Shell---and make sure you do it right; we don’t want it to fall!”

Emitting a low grumble, Volbeat walked over to where the giant seashell had been left. If you were to look at that thing, you’d think it belonged to a seven-foot-long oyster: rough and brittle on the outside, yet smooth with a brightly colored gloss on the inside! It was strong and thick too, making it ideal for carrying heavy loads. It took a while for the little bug boy to tie the rope securely (the length of the rope itself looked to be more than twice that of the distance to the window)---and he almost got himself trapped underneath in the process, but soon he was finished.

Machop and Marill helped him push the shell right underneath the window. Illumise then took the other end of the rope and gave it to Pidgeotto.

“You see that thing up there?” she asked, pointing to a long flagpole sticking out of the building above their destination, “Loop the rope over it, then we can pull ourselves back up.”

When Pidgeotto flew up to accomplish his task, Illumise told Volbeat, Machop, and Bellossom to get on the shell.

“What’s gonna happen now?” Volbeat asked as soon as he was on board. His sister put on a secretive smile.

“You’ll see,” she replied as Pidgeotto flew back down and returned the rope. “Nice work,” she praised the bird, and then handed the rope to Machop, “Okay, Machop, pull!”

Machop instantly knew what to do; he gave it a mighty tug and the entire shell was lifted several inches off the ground. Little by little, the superpower Pokemon raised the shell higher and higher towards the window. One time, when it was more than 3¼ of the way, a slight breeze caused the shell to sway back and forth---nearly knocking off all four Pokemon. In about less than six minutes, they were hanging right across from their target.

“Okay, this is perfect,” Illumise told Machop, “Now let’s get inside and do this.” The window had been left open a crack so as not to let in too much wind; they entered the room and approached the bed. Machop and Bellossom were in complete awe when they saw Ash.

“Hey, you two weren’t kidding,” Machop whispered.

“Yeah, he is perfect for Big Sis,” Bellossom agreed, “But what about Pikachu?”

“That’s where you come in,” Illumise said to her, “We have to do this as smoothly as possible, but we can’t afford to wake them. Sprinkle them with enough Sleep Powder to keep them sleeping until morning.”

Bellossom stood on the bed’s metal railing with a smile, “Sure, I can do that---but you guys will have to stand back or it’ll get you too.” The others bolted over to the door in a flash, and the flowering Pokemon twirled around and around in a hypnotic dance, releasing a bright lime-green powder from the folds of her leafy gown.

Ash and Pikachu squinted and mumbled in their sleep as the green powder fell over them like a gentle snowfall. At first, the others were afraid that they would wake up before the powder took affect, but grew very relieved once the boy and mouse settled down.

Bellossom immediately stopped dancing. “Okay, they’re under,” she announced.

“Great,” Illumise said once she'd inspected the two sleepers, “Now let’s get to work: first, let’s take the bottom blankets off the bed and put them on the shell.”

“Should we bring the pillow too?” Volbeat asked, “So he’ll have something to put his head on?”

Illumise thought, then nodded, “Okay, why not? At least he won’t have a headache when we get home.”

The four Pokemon worked carefully to pull the sheets and pillow out from under Ash (who proved to be much heavier than they thought) and Pikachu. Once that was managed, Bellossom and Illumise took the sheets and spread them over the glossy inside of the Shoal Shell, placing the pillow on the left side.

Volbeat was looking through Ash’s backpack, deciding what to bring for the young boy. He threw out a variety of things: the PokeGear Delia brought along, a pair of scissors from the First-Aid kit, the flashlight, a Hoenn guide book, two Super Potions, a Full Restore, and all his unused Great Balls. He was examining Ash’s PokeDex when the two females walked in.

“Hey, Sis,” he called, holding up the PokeDex, “Do you think Ash will need this?”

Illumise looked at the object, “Nah! What would he need that for? Throw it away!” Hearing this, Volbeat tossed the PokeDex among all the other discarded items. He was just about to close the backpack when Bellossom walked over.

“Here, put these in there too,” she said, handing him the Poke Balls containing Ash’s other Pokemon.

“What are they?” Volbeat asked.

Bellossom smiled and giggled, “Probably little toys for Pikachu---we’re bringing him along too.” Volbeat smiled and packed the balls. Then he closed the backpack and threw it over his own back, and the two of them rejoined Machop and Illumise. The four Taillows flew in as they did so.

“Good, just in time,” Illumise said when she saw them, “Time to bring our new friend home. Machop, grab his legs; the Taillows will grab his shoulders. Bellossom, get the blanket; we can’t have him catching a chill in the night air. Bro, take Pikachu.”

Each Pokemon took hold of what they were assigned. Machop and the little birds carried Ash over to the window, while Volbeat struggled to keep hold of Pikachu. Getting the boy through proved to be a chore, since he was slightly wider at the shoulders. The heaving creatures had to tilt him to one side in order to manage at all.

Once Ash was safely on the shell, Pikachu was laid beside him, and both were covered snuggly with the blanket.

“Bellossom and I will go down first,” Illumise suddenly said, “The rest of us will stand below while you two lower Ash down. But do it carefully so that he doesn’t bump against the wall!” With that, she flew down to the crowd below, followed by Bellossom (who was being carefully carried down by the four little birds).

With Ash and Pikachu lying asleep on the Shoal Shell, Volbeat and Machop had constant difficulty maintaining a steady hand; it was so heavy. Even with his super-powered partner helping out, the boy bug seemed to find the whole ordeal even more grueling.

“Easy,” Illumise called from below, “Lower it a little more!”

“She says she’s helping,” Machop growled, “But we’re the ones doing all the work.”

“Yeah, I know,” Volbeat answered glumly, “And every time you argue with her, she tugs at your feelers, tails, or whatever…Whoa!” During the small talk, Machop had let the rope slip a bit, nearly causing Volbeat---who was still holding it---to loose his balance, “Oh, feet don’t fail me now!” he wailed.

“Uh-oh!” Illumise gasped: The left side (where Ash’s head was) had begun to tip downward; both he and Pikachu were in danger of falling. “Don’t drop hiiiiiiim…!” she sang nervously.

Despite the confusion, the two hard-working Pokemon recovered themselves and began steadying the shell. Even though one side was still lower than the other, it momentarily stopped slipping. Illumise breathed a sigh of relief, but then rounded fiercely on the two above.

“You almost dropped him!” she yelled, and then regained her focus on the task at hand, “Now a little more to the left…lower, lower…now a little more to the right…I mean the left! No, no, no, I did mean the right…the right!”

Once again, things got confusing for the “boys;” Illumise was giving out too many instructions, and they started moving in different directions, trying to guide Ash safely to the ground. During this time, the shell chose to start tipping again. All the Pokemon grew increasingly frightened.

“It’s slippiiing! Carefuuul!” exclaimed an equally scared Illumise.

“I got it!” Volbeat cried, but then, “No I don’t---it’s got me! Yaaaa!” He tripped again; he held the rope tightly, but tried to keep a firm grip on the windowsill with his toes. Machop wound his section of the rope around his tail, grabbed his friend’s feet, and tried to pull him back up. In doing so, however, the shell swayed to the left---out of Illumise’s reach!

“No, that’s too much to the left!” she called, trying to catch it, “Go back!”

“I'm trying!” Volbeat screamed as he steered the huge cradle to the right. By that time, it was close enough for his sister to touch, but it carried her far to the right as she grabbed it (she was hopping on one foot the whole time).

The other Pokemon gathered around her as the dangling shell centered, hoping to catch them both. Finally, Ash was safely on the ground. But…

“YAAAAAA!” Machop and Volbeat had lost their footing, and were literally free falling towards their friends. With a loud thud, they both landed hard on the grass.

Feeling a little woozy, Machop sat up and rubbed his aching back. His ears were soon ringing as well---but not from the fall…

“You two are so incredibly clumsy!” Illumise screamed, “Do either of you have any idea what could’ve happened if the shell toppled…wait, where’s Bro?”

Machop gasped and stood up faster than lightning. Right under him, and lying face-up, was Volbeat; he was covered in dirt, and his eyes were spinning like a couple of whirlpools. Illumise picked him up by the collar and shook him violently.

“What have you got to say for yourself, you klutz?” she demanded, “Well, answer me!”

Volbeat uttered a low moan before speaking, but his voice was slightly slurred:

“Oooo…but Sis…Plusle and Minun ate all the Mago Berries…ooooo…” After one last moan, he passed out.

Illumise was so enraged that, if she had the time, she would have screamed loud enough to wake everyone in the city.

“Enough,” Kadabra calmly uttered---in a voice like that of a wise old man, “Our time is almost spent; dawn approaches.”

Hearing this, all the Pokemon (Machop carried the still-unconscious Volbeat) formed a circle around Ash and Pikachu. Kadabra closed his eyes; a ball of blue energy instantly surrounded the entire group. The energy soon turned into a bright flash. When it faded, all the Pokemon, Pikachu, and Ash…were gone.