After the situation with Melvin and the Exeggutor, Ashlyn and her friends arrived in a peaceful village.
"Here we are, Mossgreen Village." Brock announced.
"What a small little town." Misty observed.
"That's not necessarily a bad thing, small towns are more quieter and much more relaxing." Ashlyn said, "It somewhat reminds me of my hometown."
Ashlyn knew that they'll meet a girl named Cassandra who was having trouble getting her Paras to evolve. Not to mention that Team Rocket will also show up soon as well.
"Even though I'm partly surrounded by technology most of the time, I kinda have to agree with you on that, Ashlyn." Volkner agreed.
"Should we stop here?" Flint asked.
"Well we do need some potions and antidotes seeing as how we ran out, so we need to make a rest stop here." Brock informed them.
"Brock's right, besides we need a break anyway after the whole Exeggutor fiasco at that carnival." Ashlyn said.
"Don't remind me." Misty groaned.
"(I wanna rest up here, too.)" Lucario said.
"Raichu rai (Me too, I'm kind of tired)." Tesla agreed on Ashlyn's right shoulder.
"Pika (I'm hungry)." Levina added while on Ashlyn's left shoulder.
After no more arguments they headed into town heading right towards an herbal shop to purchase some new medicine.
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They soon arrived at the herbal shop and stepped inside.
"Hello, is anyone here?" Ashlyn looked around.
Her question was answered when they spotted an old woman grinding herbs, hearing Ashlyn's voice she responded.
"Can I help you?" the old woman asked.
"Yes, we were wondering if we could buy some potions or antidotes from you?" Brock asked politely.
"Hmmm, how about instead of potions and antidotes I give you a snake root that will cure insomnia and grow hair on your nose and tongue." The old woman suggested.
Ashlyn, Volkner, and Flint sweat-dropped, "Um, no thanks."
"Uh, does it come in a no-hair formula?" Brock asked.
"That sounds really gross." Misty commented.
"Grandmother don't try to sell them such weird things!" a young woman appeared from the back.
This young woman was Cassandra.
"I didn't mean to scare anyone." the old woman teased.
"I know, but we're here to help trainers with our miracle Potions, not scare them away." Cassandra stated.
Brock suddenly pushed Ashlyn, Volkner, Flint, and Misty away, "My name is Brock, are you the owner of this Pokémon pharmacy?"
"Yes, with my grandma." Cassandra replied.
Ashlyn, Volkner, Flint, and Misty exchanged a look before looking at Brock in annoyance.
"I'm interested in Pokémon Potions, if you're not doing anything tonight, maybe we could have dinner together and talk about them." Brock flirted.
Ashlyn sighed, "He never gives up."
Cassandra looked at all of them and smiled, "Are all five of you Pokémon trainers?" she asked.
"Uh, well--" Brock started.
"Instead of dinner, how about a Pokémon battle?" Cassandra asked.
Ashlyn suddenly pushed Brock out of the way with a grin, "Okay! You can battle with me." she said.
"That's great, we can battle out in the back," Cassandra said, "My name is Cassandra."
"My name is Ashlyn, this is Tesla and Levina," Ashlyn introduced herself and pointed at Tesla on her right shoulder and Levina on her left. Then she gestured Lucario who stood next her, "And this is Lucario."
"I'm Volkner and this is Raichu." Volkner said and pointed to Raichu who stood by his feet.
"I'm Flint." Flint greeted.
"I'm Misty." Misty said.
Ashlyn looked over at a sad Brock, "You've met Brock."
"Let's go, shall we?" Cassandra asked.
"Yeah." Ashlyn agreed, and they followed her out.
"Come on, Brock." Ashlyn heard Misty saying behind her and she looked over to see Misty grabbing Brock by the shirt and dragging him after them.
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They walked to the backyard and Cassandra pulled out a Pokéball and released a Paras from it.
"This Paras will be your opponent." Cassandra said.
"A Paras, huh?" Ashlyn asked, "Then I'll choose Levina."
Levina jumped off of her shoulder and walked closer to Paras.
"Pika-chu." she greeted and held her paw out, but Paras quickly backed away in fear and hid behind Cassandra.
Cassandra knelt down to pet Paras. "Paras, you can't give up already." she encouraged.
"Uh, Cassandra, I don't mean to be rude but it seems like Paras doesn't even want to battle." Ashlyn stated.
"You're right, I would love for Paras to evolve into a Parasect very soon, but it's too cowardly to battle." Cassandra explained.
"Too cowardly, huh?" Volkner asked, "That's a huge problem."
"You're right about that. The best way for Pokémon to evolve is by winning battles, the more battles they win, the quicker they evolve." Brock said.
"But, why do you want Paras to evolve so fast for?" Misty asked.
"Because I have to have Parasect's mushrooms." Cassandra replied.
"What for?" Flint asked.
Cassandra petted Paras, "You see, after Paras evolves, I'll use it's mushrooms to make a new Potion especially for Pokémon, and I'll use the new Potion to help Pokémon all over the world."
"Sounds amazing." Ashlyn said with a smile. Then she knelt next to Levina, "Levina, take it easy on Paras okay?" She said gently.
"Pikachu (Alright)." Levina nodded.
"Levina, use as small Thunderbolt." Ashlyn said.
Levina sent a small thunderbolt at Paras but it ended up knocking the poor little guy out anyway.
"Oh, no!" Cassandra cried as she went over to Paras.
"I guess that was too much for it." Ashlyn said.
"Pika (I guess so)." Levina commented.
"Hey Ashlyn, why not try using Squirtle? Paras has the type advantage over water types." Misty suggested.
"Good idea, Misty. Levina swap out for Squirtle, okay?" Ashlyn said.
"Pika (Okay)." Levina went over by the others.
"Squirtle, come on out." She sent out the water type.
"Squirtle (What's up)?" Squirtle said.
"We're in a battle right now, but I want you to hold your punches for this one, is that okay?" Ashlyn asked.
"Squirtle Squirt (Leave it to me)!" Squirtle declared.
"Cassandra, is Paras okay to continue?" Ashlyn asked.
Cassandra nodded, "Yes."
"Alright, Squirtle use a small Water Gun." Ashlyn ordered.
Squirtle used a small Water Gun on Paras but that proved hopeless too as that also caused Paras to pass out again.
"Well that didn't work." Flint sweat dropped.
"Obviously." Volkner said sarcastically.
"Raichu! (Unbelievable!)" Raichu exclaimed.
"Trying to get Paras to evolve is harder than we thought." Ashlyn rubbed the back of her head, "Okay time out, Cassandra. This is getting us nowhere. What we need to do is get your Paras into shape before we continue battling."
"The young lady is right, Cassandra," Cassandra's grandmother appeared, "Your Paras needs to build up confidence, Cassandra."
"That's right," Ashlyn agreed, "If we build up Paras's confidence it won't be afraid of battling."
"Good idea young lady, would you be willing to help out with that?" the elder asked.
"Of course I would," Ashlyn agreed, "Cassandra, what are Paras's attacks?"
"Um, it knows Scratch, Stun Spore, Poison Powder, Absorb, and Fury Cutter." She listed off.
"That'll work." Ashlyn said.
"You have something in mind, Ashlyn?" Misty asked.
"Maybe, if we get Paras to train with the attacks it already knows then it'll gain some self-confidence and want to battle." Ashlyn theorized.
"Its worth a shot." Brock said.
"Is that alright with you, Paras?" Cassandra asked.
"Paras (I'll do it)!" Paras gave her a determined look.
=========================================================
Ashlyn had let out Bulbasaur to help out Paras while she was letting her other Pokémon to train as well. When she checked Natsu's moves, he was capable of learning some powerful moves like "Dragon Rage" and "Flame Burst". She showed him the list of moves and thought that he would choose "Dragon Rage", but he surprised her when he chose "Flame Burst". He told her that he didn't feel ready for "Dragon Burst" and he'll wait until he evolves. So she respected his decision and was able to learn "Flame Burst".
========================================================
"In all my years I have never seen such loyalty between Pokémon and trainer," Cassandra's grandmother observed Ashlyn and her Pokémon, "They fully listen to her, even that Charmeleon."
"What do you mean?" Misty wondered.
"You may not know this but the evolutionary line of this particular fire-type has a habit of not listening to their trainers once they evolve into Charmeleon their second form of evolution. They are known for their disobedience due to lack of respect towards their trainer's, but this young lady seems to have gained her Charmeleon's respect." The woman explained.
"Makes me wonder if I should get a Charmander or not." Flint commented.
"I thought you wanted to catch a lot of Fire type Pokémon, Flint." Misty pointed out.
"True, but there are some problems with Fire types like their attitudes." Flint told her.
"Well at least I don't have problems with my water Pokémon." Misty stated, smugly.
"Don't you have a problem with Psyduck's headaches?" Flint retorted, brow arched.
Misty's head slumped down at the mention of that.
Volkner gazed at Ashlyn with admiration. He could easily tell that Ashlyn's Pokémon love and respect her as a trainer. She had told him how she rescued most of her Pokémon especially Natsu. He hated how cruel some trainers are to their Pokémon. Perhaps that's why some trainers had lost to him, they're too focused on winning that they don't care about their Pokémon.
However, he had a feeling that Ashlyn will be able to win the Indigo League. The reason why...is because she believes in her Pokémon.
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"Ashlyn." The raven-haired girl looked over her shoulder and saw it was everyone.
"Oh, hey you guys." Ashlyn greeted.
"So how's it going?" Brock asked.
Ashlyn smiled, "Natsu learned Fire Fang, so now I'm having him learn Flame Burst instead of Dragon Rage."
"Why not teach Natsu Dragon Rage? Most fire types want to learn that move." Flint questioned.
Ashlyn shook her head, "He said he wanted to wait until he evolves to use the move. He also said he wasn't ready for it yet."
"Really? I didn't think Natsu would wait to learn a dragon-type move." Brock said.
Ashlyn smiled, "Natsu's special."
"So what about your other Pokémon?" Volkner asked.
"Squirtle and Bulbasaur have improved on their Bubble and Razor Leaf, so for Squirtle I'm having him learn Rapid Spin and Bulbasaur work on Take Down." Ashlyn explained.
"Sounds like a good plan to me." Volkner said.
"Tha-" Ashlyn was cut off by a loud noise near where Cassandra and Paras were.
"What was that noise?!" Misty yelled.
"Don't know, but its over by Cassandra and Paras!" Brock said.
"Let's go see what's wrong!" Ashlyn turned to her Pokémon, "You guys come along, too!" all of his Pokémon nodded as they followed him to where Cassandra and Paras were.
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When they arrived they spotted Cassandra's grandmother just sitting there watching Paras face off against Arbok and Weezing all by itself.
"What are you doing?! Why aren't you helping them?!" Flint yelled at her.
The old woman merely gave him a calm expression, "Because this is something that needs to happen."
"Needs to happen?! Its two against one?!" Misty yelled this time.
The Pokémon took notice of Meowth who had heart shaped eyes.
"(I think Meowth has a crush on Cassandra.)" Lucario said.
"What?! A rival in love?!" Brock exclaimed.
Misty rubbed her temples, "Brock, zip it."
The Pokémon shook their heads.
The gang saw Arbok attack Paras first trying to head butt it but Paras was smart enough to avoid it but unfortunately didn't see the tail that was behind it.
Ashlyn couldn't just stand there and watch, "I can't just stand here and do nothing, Natsu use Fire Fang on Arbok's tail!"
Natsu charged quickly at the serpent before opening his mouth his fangs lighting on fire as he bit down on Arbok's tail damaging it and forcing it to back away from the two.
"Stay out of this twerps!" Jessie growled.
"Like I'd listen to you!" Ashlyn yelled.
"Young lady, don't interfere!" the old woman ordered.
"What?" Ashlyn looked confused.
But then she understood. Cassandra's grandmother wanted to let Paras fight because she wanted Paras to prove that its training wasn't all for nothing.
"Paras! Are you going to let Charmeleon fight your battles for you?! Are you that much of a coward?!" she yelled.
"Grandmother!" Cassandra cried out.
"That's going too far!" Misty yelled at the elder woman.
"No, she's right, Misty." Ashlyn said making everyone look at her, "Natsu, come over here. Paras needs to do this on his own."
Natsu nodded going back over to his trainer standing next to her, "Paras needs this. Besides he's not alone because Cassandra's with him." she returned all of her Pokémon who didn't resist being returned.
The elder smiled, "Precisely, well Paras? Are you just going to stand there or are you going to battle?"
Paras looked over at his trainer who gave him an encouraging smile before looking back at Team Rocket but looking more determined this time, "Paras Para (I'm ready to fight)!"
"Paras?" Cassandra was surprised but then smiled, "Right, we can do this!"
"Tackle it Arbok!" Jessie ordered.
Arbok came at Paras again, but this time Cassandra and Paras were ready, "Dodge it!" Paras jumped up avoiding the tackle attack. "Now, use Fury Cutter!" Cassandra commanded.
Paras repeatedly slashed at Arbok without hesitation and it was actually doing some damage!
"Alright, Paras learned Fury Cutter!" Ashlyn cheered.
"Tackle!" Cassandra ordered again.
Paras tackled Arbok this time sending it back a little, "We're not done yet Paras, use Scratch!"
The bug type scratched Arbok sending it flying backwards towards its trainer with swirls in its eyes. Paras had defeated Arbok!
"He defeated Arbok!" Brock said.
"Nice job!" Misty congratulated.
"Way to go, Paras!" Flint cheered.
Cassandra hugged Paras, "You did it! I'm so proud of you!"
"Paras (Thank you)!" Paras said with tears in its eyes as its body suddenly started glowing.
"Its evolving!" Ashlyn smiled.
In the place of Paras was an orange, insectoid Pokémon that has been completely overtaken by the parasitic mushroom on its back. It has a small head with pure white eyes and a segmented body that is mostly hidden by the mushroom. It has three pairs of legs, with the foremost pair forming large pincers. The fungus growing on its back has a large red cap with yellow spots throughout.
"Parasect!" it announced.
"It finally evolved into a Parasect!" Ashlyn grinned and took out her Rotom phone.
[Parasect, the Mushroom Pokémon. It battles using poison spheres that spread from the mushroom canopy on its back.]
Cassandra had tears in her eyes, "You did it! You finally evolved into a Parasect."
Parasect smiled at the girl, "Para Parasect (Thanks to you)."
Ashlyn turned to Team Rocket, "As for you three. Tesla, Levina, Boltund, Thunderbolt! Lucario, Aura Sphere!"
"Raichu, Thunderbolt!" Volkner ordered.
All attacks were launched at Team Rocket and sent them flying.
"I can't believe we wasted all of our precious time on helping that Paras instead of capturing those twerp's Pokémon!" Jessie growled.
"No kidding." James agreed.
"She's pretty when she's battling~" Meowth gushed.
"WAKE UP ALREADY!" Jessie and James yelled in unison, "TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF AGAIN!" They screamed as they disappeared into the sky.
Cassandra pulled Parasect into another hug, "I'm so glad you evolved! You're not shy anymore either."
"Parasect (That's right)." Parasect smiled.
"Looks like it finally gained some self-confidence during its evolution." The elderly woman came up to Cassandra smiling.
Cassandra nodded as she stood up, "Ashlyn, thank you so much for all your help."
Ashlyn smiled, "You're welcome, Cassandra, but I didn't do anything. Paras responded to your feelings and evolved into a Parasect."
Parasect nodded, "Parasect (That's right)."
"Thank you anyway." She thanked Ashlyn.
"Instead of a thanks how about you and me-" Brock's ear was yanked by Misty.
"How about I thank her by getting you as far away from here as possible!" Misty dragged him away.
"He's very persistent." Volkner stated.
Ashlyn smiled nervously, "Anyway, we better get going."
"Take care of those Pokémon of yours young lady for they are fiercely loyal to you." The old woman told her.
"Yes ma'am." Ashlyn said before walking away along with the others waving at Cassandra and her grandmother as they departed.
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Having helped their new friend Paras evolve into Parasect, Ashlyn and her friends are on the road once again as they head off to Cinnabar Island where Ashlyn will earn her next gym badge.
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Pokémon on hand: Raichu (Tesla)(F), Lucario (M), Pidgeot (F), Bulbasaur (M), Shiny Charmeleon (Natsu)(M), Squirtle (M), Shiny Gyarados (Rory)(M), Boltund (M), Shiny Rapidash (Comet)(M), Shiny Raikou (Thor)(M), Shiny Umbreon (Mani)(M), Espeon (F), Glaceon (F), Leafeon (F), Shiny Sylveon (Parisa)(F), Pikachu (Levina)(F)
Prof. Oak's Lab:
Mienfoo (F), Jolteon (F), Flareon (M), Vaporeon (F), Clefable (F), Sandslash (M), Butterfree (M), Pink Butterfree (Momo)(F), Gengar (M), Rockruff (M), Raboot (M), Braixen (F), Kingler (M), Magnemite (Genderless), Muk (M), Nidorina (M), Nidorino (F), Marowak (F), Cubone (M), Dewgong (M), Persian (F), Horsea (F), Vulpix (F), Eevee (F), Abra (M), Kangaskhan (F), Growlithe (F), Tauros (9), Porygon (Genderless), Shiny Suicune (Azure)(F), Dratini (F), Shiny Entei (Searius)(M), Primeape (M), Scyther (F)