Ash approached the group who were watching them with suspicion, "I come in peace and have offerings for you."
The Alpha Sceptile eyed him, "Sceeeep."
Lucario, -You are right we want something in return. Our family member over there. You kidnapped Taillow.-
Sceptile looked at the flying Pokemon who glared back making him snort, "Tile scep."
Lucario, -Meema, we will get Taillow back if we do him a favour.-
May, "A favor? Um... What sort of favor?"
Abra, -He wants us to help tend to the fruit trees that are the main source of food for them.-
Ash blinked, "I see. Let me call Meganium, in the mean time, Typholsion, Feraligatr you two should get some rest."
Typholsion rumbled out his agreement and hugged him before returning to his pokeball, "Phol."
Feraligatr nuzzled Ash then nodded, "Gatr."
Ash noticed Sceptile was eyeing Meganium as she appeared with interest, 'Oh dear! I hope he is not in love with Meganium. She already has a mate in Paul's Sceptile.'
Molly watched the grass type Pokemon around her with curious wide eyes. She had read about the three starter Pokemon before and how they flock together in large numbers in the wilderness. The Treeko were eating in different circles while the Grovyles were near the Alpha Sceptile and one little Treeko was following her cousin around. Molly was very intrigued by their behavior and took out her laptop to start cataloging the behaviors of the wild starter Pokemon. Beside her Mudkip kept vigilant as he watched his young trainer start making notes in her laptop, while be was friends with the Treekos the good Professor raised, wild ones were a different matter.
Ash, "Meganium, what do you think?"
Meganium checked the trees, "Mega meganium mega."
Lucario, -We can call brother Venasaur to aid us, sister. There is no need to push yourself too far. Not to forget....-
Meganium twitched seeing the Alpha eye them, "Mega meganium nium."
Ash chuckled, "We will leave after we take care of these trees. Do not fret too much."
Lucario, -I will get brother Venasaur to join us, the faster we fix this place the better.-
May, "I think it is cute he likes you."
Max, "Maybe but it is not exactly feasible in this matter."
Gou, "Beside I think that little guy over there has decided he wants to be yours Ash."
Ash looked at Treeko who was following him around for a while now, "Looks like it."
Treeko, "Tree tree ko, treeko."
Ash, "I do not mind having a new companion little buddy. But you need to get along with the other Pokemon I have okay?"
Treeko nodded, "Ko."
Ash gave a smile and agreed to call for Venasaur to help them with the current predicament. Venasaur after appearing through the transporter and looked around while the Alpha Sceptile eyed him with a very interested gleam. Venasaur had a chat with Meganium in detail and the two pulled Ash along with them then started to work together. Venasaur explained the trees were stressed because of providing food non stop and required a break and Ash looked around the area. Gou, May and Max were also helping find a new area for new fruit trees to grow so that the older ones could have a break.
Molly, "Ash, what about that grassland over there? We could plant berry shrubs there."
Ash, "True, I have a few berry seeds but we have to inform the Sceptiles on how to care for it too."
Sceptile, "Scep sceptile tile."
Lucario, -He knows how to care for berry plants and will happily accept it.-
Ash, "That is great news. Let's get to work everyone. We have a long day ahead of us."
May, "Tomorrow too. It will take a while to plant enough for the entire colony."
Molly muttered, "They have a lot of Treekos in their group."
Gou, "We will figure this out. Ruby might get worried if we do not reach Rustboro City soon though."
Ash, "Do not worry about that. I already sent him a message saying we are helping the Sceptile colony out."
Max, "Good idea."
The conversation tapered out after that and they worked the whole day planting new berries and tree seeds on the ground. Both Venasaur and Meganium coaxed the plants to grow though they did not force them to flower yet. It would end up killing the plant if they pushed it too far too fast and after the berry shrubs were grown they turned their focus to the trees. They were still holding fruits and by the time the fruits finished the berries would be ready to be eaten. After two days Ash requested a meeting with the Alpha Sceptile to inform him they did everything they could at the moment.
Sceptile eyed him then nodded, "Sceptile tile."
Lucario, -He says we should rest for tonight it is already late. And it is dangerous to be out and about at night in these parts.-
Ash bowed, "Thank you for your hospitality, we really appreciate it."
May looked at the night sky from the camp they made, "I have to admit. The stars are brighter out here compared to the City."
Max who was cuddling beside her hummed in agreement, "I think we can see more stars because there is less light pollution sis."
Ash pat Molly's head gently, she was already asleep hugging Mudkip, "Get some sleep you two. We are hitting the road again tomorrow."
Gou was watching them with a smile, "I am just happy we were able to solve this peacefully."
Taillow was sleeping next to Noctowl who was keeping a vigil as the only nocturnal Pokemon among the group. The next day came bright and early with Venasaur requesting to be sent back to Jhoto - Kanto, he was worried about the others. In a way, Ash understood, his Charizard was leading hid own group working with Rangers to bust poachers on land and Blastoise was doing the same in the oceans. Venasaur was the only healer in the two regions his Pokemon trusted to even go near them so the grass type's presence to calm them down was important. Meganium talked a bit more with Venasaur before promising to learn everything she can and joining their fellow starter in taking care of others.
Ash, "Let's go everyone. And Treeko, welcome to the group."
Treeko puffed up, "Ko treeko."
Sceptile nodded at the young one, "Scep sceptile."
Treeko grinned, "Treeko."
Gou snorted, "You mean he caught himself in one of your poke balls because you were taking way too long."
May laughed, "Yeah, he was getting really annoyed waiting for you."
Max giggled, "This was not the first time a Pokemon did that either."
Molly, "Yeah, I remember you telling me Kingler did the same thing as a Krabby."
Ash, "Yeah, that happened before, didn't it?"
Diance, "Ance?"
Lucario pat her head, -You will meet him soon, do not fret.-
Diance chirped happily at that, "Di dian."
The group started to travel again after saying farewell to the Sceptile colony though Sceptile gave Meganium a flower. It was very sweet and Meganium accepted it as a farewell gift with a lot of exasperation while Ash pat her neck. May still thought it was sweet but did not push beyond that and they started to talk about other things like May's upcoming contest. Treeko meanwhile was approached by Diance and Phanphy who pulled him into playing with them while Eevee and Absol were sticking closer to Lucario talking about how a shadow ball worked. The walk was peaceful and nothing much happened till they reached an opening around noon and decided to have lunch.
Ash, "Next stop Rustboro City, we have to stock up on our food."
Max, "True, but I personally think we should get desserts more. We travel a lot so the extra sugar can be welcome as energy."
May perked up at that, "That is a great idea, Max. Oh! Maybe I can get ingredients to make my special almond cookies."
Molly, "Ooh! I love your cookies. They are delicious and it goes really well with Gou's honey and ginger tea."
Ash, "I agree with you Molly. They are very delicious so how about this. May, you focus on making desert while Gou and Max focus on lunch. I will focus on dinner."
Molly, "I will help you prepare dinner Ash. I really like the pork and pumpkin stew you make. It is so delicious especially with freshly baked bread."
Ash grinned, "Great to hear. We can get prepped ingredients enough to make the dish for a few days and make something else for other days."
Molly, "Yeah!"
May, "What are you making today Gou?"
Gou grinned, "We still have frozen shrimp we got from Petalburg City. I was thinking fried shrimp and veggies with salad and steamed rice."
Max, "Sounds good. We have a few chicken eggs left too. I will put them on boil. You want half boiled of hard boiled?"
Molly and Ash asked for half boiled eggs while May and Gou requested hard boiled ones to eat. The lunch was peaceful, well as peaceful as it could be with hyperactive Pokemon running around them. Treeko climbed up a tree and chirped at Diance, he was encouraging her to climb as well, while having a natural gravitational ability was useful it would be better if she had control over it. Diance was having fun as she and Phanphy trued to climb the tree, Diance by trying to float up and Phanphy using roll out to try and get to the branch. Eevee and Absol on the other had were now sitting next to Ash chatting softly while Abra was clinging to Ash's back.
Max, "Ash, is Abra ok?"
May, "I have noticed he has been clinging to you a lot."
Ash, "I talked to Sabrina a few days ago. She says it is because he will soon be going through first growth."
Molly, "First growth?"
Ash smiled, "You know the Alakazam line has a natural armor on their body, right? The armor grows with them and takes a lot of energy."
Max, "Does this mean his armor is changing and he is in pain?"
Ash, "Not in pain no, but it can be stressful and exhausting. Having someone to hold on to just feels better."
Abra nuzzled Ash's back, -Meema's aura feels good.-
Ash, "You are welcome and I am glad you feel better."
Gou sat down as they started on lunch, "I am glad I got Alakazam as Alakazam, I would have been at a loss."
May, "I think it is really cool."
Molly, "Your Abra is an albino right?"
Ash nodded, "Yes, and he is the sweetest Abra in the world."
Abra cooed as he crawled to the front and Ash fed him along side Diance who chirped happily with him. Treeko was watching them from his place on the tree as he ate his own lunch next to Noctowl and Taillow. The two bird Pokemon were enjoying the food as the cool summer breeze blew through the clearing making the day enjoyable. The group luckily had a very peaceful day and nothing crazy happened this time, Ash was very relieved by that fact. After the busy two days with the Alpha Sceptile and his newly formed colony and of course said Alpha trying to claim Meganium and the rest as his own as well. The peace was very calming and welcome despite the boredom that followed it.
Treeko looked at the bush with a frown, "Treeko tree."
Taillow, "Low!"
Noctowl hummed and flew down next to Ash, -Partner, there is something in the bush beside us.-
May, "Leave it to me. You made lunch I will check it out."
Max, "Not alone, you will not. I am coming with you."
May grinned at her brother as she headed to the bush where the Pokemon had seen the probl in the first place. On searching through the bushes she was attacked and would have been hit if Honchkrow did not pull her back quickly. May's Staryu that she had caught while visiting Kanto attacked the Pokemon that had almost bitten their trainer on her shoulder. May though was very taken by the beautiful scales on the Seviper that appeared and wanted to have it. Honchkrow had an exasperated expression on his face as he watched his ridiculously hyper trainer try to get Seviper to join her and when Seviper disagreed it led to a battle.
Gou, "She looks like she's enjoying herself."
Ash, "Yeah, I knew she caught some Pokemon in Kanto. I wonder who else she caught."
Molly, "Staryu is pretty cool."