A New Journey - Ash Ketchum {2}

Chapter 66 - Fowl Play!

As Emma and her friends continued on their journey for Goldenrod City, they were walking through a thick, dark forest until the female Pikachu spotted something while sitting on her trainer's head. "Pika?"

They stopped and looked at her. "What is it?" Emma asked. The female Pikachu pointed on one of the trees, "Pika."

Misty was the first to follow where she was pointing, "Hey, guys, look at that." Emma and the boys looked to the tree and spotted a birdhouse. "Hey, that's birdhouse," Emma said. "I bet that's where flying Pokémon go to roost," Misty said.

Ash nodded, "Yeah. I wonder what kind."

"It's hard to say for sure just by looking," Brock said, "It may be too big for a small Pidgeotto, and too small for a big Pidgey, but.... on the other hand, maybe the reverse could be true." Right then, a Pokémon landed next to the birdhouse.

It is an avian Pokémon that resembles an owl. It has light brown plumage with a darker brown pattern of triangles on its chest. Its fan-like tail is the same dark brown, while its wings are a slightly lighter shade of brown with light brown undersides. It has red eyes with black rings around them and a second, cream-colored ring around the first. Above its eyes are bushy, cream-colored feather 'horns' that resemble large eyebrows. Its small beak and talons are pinkish, and its feet are cream-colored with three toes facing forward and one backward.

"Hey, there's one now," Ash said as they stared at the Pokémon. Brock shushed him, "Quiet. Let's go hide. If it sees us, it might get scared away." They quickly moved to the bushes and looked back at the bird. Ash pulled out his Dexter to see what Pokémon it was.

Noctowl, the Owl Pokémon. The evolved form of Hoothoot. This highly intelligent Pokémon often twists its head 180 degrees when it is thinking. Noctowl is a nocturnal Pokémon.

Brock frowned, "Hey guys, nocturnal means it moves around at night, but here it is out in the afternoon."

"I wonder why?" Emma asked. "Maybe because this forest is so dark, the Noctowl thinks it's night-time even though it's day," Misty suggested. "Yeah, you're probably right," Brock said.

The Noctowl started to investigate the birdhouse, but someone sent it off with a tree branch, surprising Emma and her friends, "Shoo, scat, vamoose! You're not the Noctowl that I want. Now beat it."

The Noctowl flew away quickly. "Did that Noctowl just get chased away by... a tree branch?" Ash asked, frowning at his own words. Misty raised an eyebrow, "That's what it looked like to me."

"Hey, look there," Brock said as another Noctowl landed, but its colours were different. "This Noctowl's a different color than the last one."

"It's a Shiny one, that's so cool," Emma said with a smile. 

"Ah, there you are, my colorful little Noctowl. I've been waiting for you." Emma and her friends watched as whoever was holding the branch raised a branch with berries on it. "Easy, now. Doesn't this food look yummy? That's right, just take a little--"

However, the Shiny Noctowl attacked and knocked the branch out of the stranger's hand before ramming its head into the tree to make said stranger fall. However, the stranger, a man, caught himself, only for the Noctowl to start pecking his fingers, "Wait! Cut it out! That hurts! Don't do that, Noctowl! Don't!"

The man finally fell to the ground, so Emma and her friends stepped forward. "Hey," Ash said, "Are you alright?"

"Can we help you, mister?" Misty asked. The man sat up with a frown, "Not Mister! The name's Doctor Wiseman!"

"We're sorry, but at first you looked like a mister," Brock said, "Anyway, what were you doing up in that tree, Doctor?" Dr. Wiseman huffed, "I was attempting once again to capture that unusually colored Noctowl. Once again, he outsmarted me."