A New Journey - Ash Ketchum {2}

Chapter 37 - A Sappy Ending

Emma and her friends were still on their way to Violet City. They were strolling through a beautiful, leafy forest, and Togepi was walking on the ground while holding hands with both the Pikachu, and the kids were behind them.

They all slowed to a stop when they looked around and noticed several of the trees were missing their leaves without showing any other signs of damage. "Hey, that's weird," Ash said. "What happened to those trees?" Emma asked.

"The whole forest is green, except for those trees, there," Ash said. "They don't have a single leaf left on their branches," Misty said. Brock frowned, "The trees don't look burned, and it's not fall yet, so it's too early for the leaves to drop off."

"Pika-chu," the male Pikachu said. He and the female Pikachu suddenly sensed something. "What's out there, Pikachu?" Ash asked. "Guys, look over there!" Brock said and Emma saw he was pointing forward.

"What are they?" Misty asked as they saw a tree covered with what looked like giant stag beetles. Emma took Togepi into her arms and the kids stepped closer. "Wow, what's that Pokémon?" Emma asked.

It's a bipedal, beetle-like Pokémon covered in a blue exoskeleton. There is a long, pronged horn on its forehead. The horn ends in a cross. On either side of the horn is a short antenna with a spherical tip. It has oval, yellow eyes. Its forearms have a pair of spikes near the wrists, while its thighs have a single spike each. It has two claws on its hands, and a single long claw on each foot. There is a single pair of wings covered by its carapace.

Misty looked horrified, "They're so, creepy. I just can't stand bug Pokémon." Emma sighed, "Of course," she muttered. "Togy!" Togepi said happily, as Ash pulled out his Dexter.

Heracross, the Single Horn Pokémon. Though gentle and docile, Heracross possesses great strength and power. Their favorite food is the fresh sap of leafy trees.

Ash smiled and put Dexter back to his pocket, "I'm gonna try and catch all those Heracross." He pulled out a Poké ball, "I can save the tree, and get some neat Pokémon."

"Hold it, young man." The kids turned to see a man standing behind them. "You're free to catch the Heracross if you like, but if you do, you might be responsible for causing more harm to this forest than you know."

"Who are you?" Ash asked, blinking. "My name is Woodruff. I'm a ranger for the Forest and Wildlife Bureau," Woodruff said. Ash put away the Poké ball, "My name's Ash."

"My name's Emma."

"And mine's Brock."

"And my name's Misty."

"Well, I imagine that you are all experienced trainers," Woodruff said. "Right," Ash said. "Well, I'm sure you're eager to catch as many Heracross as you can, but you might cause great deal of damage to this forest if you do," Woodruff said.

"Really?" Ash asked. "It's important to understand how delicate the balance of nature can be," Woodruff said. "Whaddya mean?" Ash asked as Emma looked back at the Heracross.

"That's a close example, and here's a closer one. To survive in this forest, Butterfree need Heracross to live with them side by side," Woodruff explained. "How's that help the Butterfree?" Ash asked. "Hey, look," Emma said.

Her friends turned to follow her gaze and saw some Butterfree flocking to the tree the Heracross were feeding on. "I see what you mean. The Butterfree are too weak to dig into the trees," Ash said.

"They need the Heracross the breakthrough the bark of the tree and start the sap flowing," Brock said. "The Heracross eat their fill, and the Butterfree lick the leftovers," Ash said, "Everybody eats, and everybody's happy."