1.Ash's Story (Part 2: Johto)

Chapter 3: Forest Balance

Sentret moved like fear had taken hold of its tail and dragged the rest of its body forward.

The little Pokémon darted between roots, stopped only long enough to make sure we were still following, then vanished through another gap in the trees. Every time the metal crashing ahead grew louder, Sentret flinched, but it did not run away from the danger.

Pikachu sprinted beside me with sparks jumping from his cheeks. His meaning came through hard and clear: "Togepi is close. Machine smell. Team Rocket smell too."

"I knew it," I growled, pushing through the brush.

Lillie ran beside me, one hand pressed against her chest as if she could still feel Togepi's missing weight. Her voice shook, but her steps did not slow.

"Sentret is trying to help us, right?" Lillie asked urgently.

Sentret looked back with wide, desperate eyes. Its meaning struck Lillie and me in broken flashes: "Baby in loud thing. I tried to stop. Could not stop. Family near trees. Danger coming."

"You are not in trouble," Lillie called gently. "Just take us there."

The others could not hear Sentret's exact meaning, but East read the way it kept pointing ahead with both paws. Reisa's face went pale from the panic in its cries, and Kris held Megaree close while trying to keep up.

A tree ahead shook violently.

Then a huge metal shape burst through the brush.

The machine looked like a giant Arbok twisted into tank armor, bouncing and grinding over the forest floor with no control at all. Branches snapped against its sides. Its metal head jerked left and right, and through a cracked window I saw Togepi tumbling helplessly beside the controls.

Lillie screamed Togepi's name, and the fear in her voice cut through the grinding metal.

Togepi's frightened meaning reached us in tiny, spinning pieces: "Too loud! Want Lillie! Stop!"

Sentret cried out and pointed toward a hollow beneath a tree where several smaller Sentret were huddled together. The machine was heading straight toward them.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt near the ground, not at Togepi!" I shouted.

Pikachu fired a controlled bolt into the dirt in front of the Arbo-Tank. The blast threw up soil and slowed one side of the wheels, but the machine lurched instead of stopping. Lillie grabbed her Poké Ball and threw it without hesitation.

"Seadra, Water Gun under the wheels!" Lillie ordered.

Seadra appeared in a flash and fired a hard stream across the dirt. Mud spread under the machine, making it slide sideways instead of crushing the hollow. East pointed toward a fallen log near the route.

"If we turn it there, the log can jam the wheel!" East called.

"Onix, help us block it!" I called.

Crystal Onix burst from his Poké Ball, his body glittering through the forest light. The sight made Ethan stumble back in shock, but there was no time to explain. Onix lowered himself across the path, forming a living barrier that the machine could not ignore.

The Arbo-Tank crashed into him with a ringing impact. Onix groaned but held.

Onix's meaning came through like stone under pressure: "Heavy. Not stronger than me."

"Hold it a little longer!" I called.

The top hatch flew open, and Meowth's head popped out with his fur standing on end. "We told ya kids! We didn't steal the machine this time!"