Weathering The Storm... (A Pokemon OC Story)

Chapter 22: Battle with the Tree-Trunk Tribe...

"So, my gut feeling was right.", Lucas said as Crobat rose over the hollow, large tree trunk that they had arrived at moments ago. And, inside of that tree trunk, under a net of orange and green leaves, was a tribe of Slakoth and Vigoroth. Then, he could see that at the back of the tree trunk, was Ellie and Seijo sat dangling on a wall, held up by some tight vines around their arms and legs. They hadn't yet noticed that Lucas was there, and just chatting away. Seijo looked worried about being captured while Ellie seemed more relaxed as if she was sure that she was going to be saved. But, Lucas noticed that Torchic was nowhere in sight, but he managed to spot a large doorway that lead into a downward slant. Clearly, Torchic was being held there.

Lucas watched with intent and looked around to see if Slaking was anywhere in sight. Lucas knew that if he was going to go face to face against that goliath of a Pokemon, he'd need some way to disarm it and rush in to help Ellie and Seijo. But, Lucas had hope that maybe it wouldn't require any sort of fighting to free Ellie and Seijo. He did have Slakoth in his bag, so he could just try to give back Slakoth and hope that all goes well.

But, he needed a plan in case that didn't work and dropped to the side of the tree trunk. He then hopped off of Crobat and looked at the group that he had. Mudkip, Zorua, Crobat, Ralts, Vigoroth and Taillow. A really good mix of the bunch. But, he needed something that would be able to restrain the Slaking, and no one looked like they would be able to do it. Crobat was definitely the strongest, but its wings were for slicing, not constricting. But, there was one Pokemon that he had neglected to think about. The Pokemon sitting in a Pokeball in his pocket.

He tossed out the Pokeball and Shroomish popped out, looking confused as to why it had been released. Then, further confusion racked its brain as Lucas pulled out his Pokedex and scanned it so that he could learn of what Shroomish knew in terms of moves. He found standard ones, like Tackle and Headbutt, but found the most interesting thing to be Leech Seed. Lucas looked up and asked,

"Hey, can you use Leech Seed for me, please?"

Shroomish nodded and popped out five seeds from the top of its head, the seeds inserting themselves into the thick grass and dirt. But, they grew very short vines, and Lucas knew that they would be useless against Slaking. But, an idea popped into his head, and he asked Mudkip,

"Can you shoot some water at the vines?"

Mudkip nodded and shot water at a few of the vines, the vines suddenly outbursting and growing out. The Pokemon backed up quickly, with Shroomish hopping onto Crobat to get to safety. The thorns on the vines did manage to pierce a layer of skin on Lucas's leg, but he didn't really care. All he cared was that he finally had some way to constrict Slaking if absolutely necessary. He then looked to Shroomish and said,

"Alright, I know I said you wouldn't need to get involved. But, that Leech Seed will be extremely helpful, just in case things go awry."

Shroomish looked terrified and tried to hop back into the Pokeball that Lucas was holding. But, he held it just out of reach and said,

"Look, my friends are in there, and I don't want them getting hurt. You'll be protected by Crobat and Mudkip while you're in there, so you have no cause for concern. I promise."

Shroomish looked to Lucas, then to Crobat and Mudkip, who both smiled at Shroomish without any fear, encouraging what little courage Shroomish had brewing inside. Shroomish looked to Lucas, he smiled, and then he picked up Shroomish softly, walking around the overgrown vines and placing it on top of Mudkip's head. Lucas chuckled as it looked like Mudkip was wearing a hat of some sort, and then placed Mudkip on top of Crobat.

Zorua then huddled around Crobat, and Zangoose and Taillow standing at a distance away from the rest of the Pokemon. Lucas looked at all of them and said,