Pokemon: Radical Redux

"Hey, who put this stupid tree here?!" Whitney said, getting off her bike and grabbing a driver from Van 3. She shook him. "I had this race won! Whose fault is this?"

"Not mine, please believe me!" the driver said.

Ethan got off his scooter and walked up, looking at the tree. "What? Why would you make a race with a tree in the middle of the road?"

"Grr, look! Now he caught up!" Whitney said in annoyance as she put the man down and pointed at the tree. "I'll deal with it myself. Miltank, [Rollout]!"

Miltank nodded, rolled up, and shot her body forward, tackling the tree. But it only shook a little and stood strong.

As Miltank was sent flying back, Whitney ran over and helped her up. "What kind of tree is this?"

"I'll show you how it's done! Aibo, go!" Ethan commanded as Aibo jumped off his shoulder and punched the tree with his tail. The tree shook but didn't budge.

"What the heck kinda tree is this? How am I supposed to win with this thing in the way?" Ethan said.

Whitney was being held back by Miltank. "That's my line!"

Meanwhile, in Van 1, where Mary, Ash, and Green were, Ash and Green looked at each other with the same Are they serious? Expression.

Mary spoke into the mic. "What is this? An indestructible tree blocking the way? How can they possibly deal with this?"

Green looked at Ash. "Should we tell them?"

"Nah, let them figure this one out on their own. I wanna see where this goes," Ash responded.

Ethan shook his head and grabbed another Pokéball. "Alright, then let's burn this thing down. I choose E—"

Right before Ethan threw out his Pokéball, they suddenly heard rumbling and stomping—heavy footsteps.

As they quickly looked around, an especially big Rhydon emerged from the forest, ripping a tree out of the ground. It rubbed its head, as if something had hit it.

It stomped forward, inspecting the tree before walking past it. Then, it looked down and curiously eyed Ethan and Whitney.

The Rhydon let out a loud roar. "Rhyyyyy!" But in reality, what it actually said was: [Hey, you two! Have you seen a stupid, annoying tree? That nerd owes me five berries!]

But, of course, neither Ethan nor Whitney understood Pokémon, and Ash was too far away to translate. They immediately took it as a sign of aggression.

Whitney glanced at Ethan, who was gawking at the massive Rock-type. She smacked him on the back of the head. "Don't just stand there, you idiot! That's a Rhydon! It'll crush you without a second glance we need to attack!"

Whitney jumped into action, commanding Miltank to charge at Rhydon. Miltank grabbed onto the large Pokémon, turned, and slammed it into the ground.

Rhydon, who had previously been fine just leaving them alone, grew angry. It pushed Miltank back, headbutted the cow in the face, and used the tree it had ripped out earlier to smack her.

This Miltank wasn't Whitney's main one—it was just a random Miltank she got from her uncle to start training, so it was significantly weaker. Meanwhile, this Rhydon was actually very strong for a wild Pokémon, and it was overpowering Miltank.

Rhydon flipped its arm, throwing Miltank into the ground. Then, it turned to Whitney, who now looked panicked. She quickly reached for her Pokéball belt, but before she could grab another, Rhydon stretched out its arm, grabbed her, and tightened its grip—preventing her from reaching her Pokéballs.

"What the heck?!" Ethan yelled as he saw Rhydon running away with Whitney in tow.

"Hey, Whitney!" Mary shouted as she watched her friend get taken. Then she turned to the vans and announced into the mic, "Our Gym Leader's been kidnapped by a wild Rhydon! The race is off, we need to save her!"

As the vans started up, Ash hopped out, followed closely by Pikachu, who had been sitting next to him. "I'll go after her on foot!"

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed.

"Not without me, you're not," Green said as she jumped out too. "Been a while since we had an Ash and Green adventure. Let's go!"

Mary nodded. "We'll cut it off on the other side. Be careful!" Then the van sped off, with Miltank running alongside it.

Only after the vans had driven away did Ethan finally look up and notice Ash and Green. "Huh? You two? What are you doing here?"

Green smacked him on the head. "You're an idiot. We've been here the whole time! I thought you were just too focused on Whitney, but did you seriously not notice us?!"

"W-wah, no way!" Ethan stammered. "Next thing you're gonna say is that Whitney was the Gym Leader or something."

Green buried her face in her hand. "Now I feel bad for Gary. Is this seriously how we act with him…?"

"Come on, we don't have time. We have to go after that Rhydon," Ash said, grabbing Green's wrist and tugging her along.

Green yelped. "Eep! R-right, let's go!"

Ethan got ready. "I'm going too—"

But Ash stopped him. "Deal with this tree first, then catch up. Give it a 'watering' if you know what I mean." He and Green then ran off into the woods.

As Ash ran, he pulled out his Pokédex and accessed the PC function. "Green, hold on!" he said before grabbing her and throwing out a Pokéball. From it emerged his main Tauros. Ash jumped onto Tauros's back, pulling Green up behind him, and they rode off after Rhydon.

Ethan stood there, confused for a moment as he watched them disappear into the trees. Why did Ash tell him to take care of this tree? And, more importantly, why was he supposed to water it? Wouldn't burning it be better?

Then it clicked—this was Ash—and with all the weird stuff that happened around ruins and ancient places, Ethan figured he should trust him. He took a deep breath, swapped Pokéballs, and threw out a different Pokémon.

"Polibo, go!"

From the Pokéball emerged a green frog Pokémon—Polibo, the Politoed—who landed with a happy croak.

Ethan pointed at the tree. "Polibo, [Water Pulse]!"

Polibo saluted, leaped into the air, and fired a blast of water at the tree.

Before their eyes, the tree began shrinking—**and shrinking—**until it revealed itself as a Sudowoodo, who had clearly been hiding from the Rhydon.

Ethan and Aibo blinked owlishly, then looked at each other. "You were a Pokémon this whole time?"

"Sudo!" Sudowoodo nodded happily.

Ethan scratched the back of his head. "Man… now I feel bad. If we'd left you alone, that Rhydon would've walked right past you. We could've saved you, and everyone else a lot of trouble."

Ethan looked up and stared into Sudowoodo's eyes. "So what happens when that Rhydon comes after you again? Sooner or later, you're gonna have to stand up to it!"

But Sudowoodos by nature are cowards, why else would they hide as trees, so Sudowoodo was shaking and shook his head in fear. 

Ethan didn't back down. "Come on, you're definitely strong! You brushed off Aibo and that Miltank's attacks like they were nothing!"

Still, Sudowoodo hesitated.

"Okay!" Ethan clapped his hands, making Sudowoodo flinch. "I'm going to save you from yourself. I'm going to teach you how to fight!"

—---

Rhydon charged through the forest, crashing through trees as it ran, while Whitney struggled against its grip.

"Let me go, you meanie!" she yelled, thrashing around. "I know I'm adorable, but I'm not for Pokémon!"

Rhydon gave her an offended look. "Rhy—" [The heck? I just asked you a question, and you attacked me! That means you're in cahoots with that big nerd who owes me my berries! So I'm holding you ransom until he pays up!"]

Of course, Whitney understood none of this, so she kept struggling. As she wriggled, she started slipping free, but Rhydon noticed and instinctively tightened his grip.

The problem was, he was made of stone.

A sickening crack echoed through the forest. Whitney's arm bent at an unnatural angle. Her anguished screams flooded the trees, "Ahhh! My arm! You broke my arm!!"

Rhydon looked down, realizing what had happened. He hadn't meant to do that. He was about to react when suddenly-

A green blast struck his face, making him roar in pain.

Standing atop a nearby tree, Green smirked, Wigglytuff at her side. "Alright, do it again!" she commanded.

Wigglytuff absorbed sunlight, only charging halfway before firing another [Solar Beam] directly at Rhydon's face. The attack hit hard, forcing him to release Whitney as he clutched his head in pain.

Whitney tumbled downward. Normally, as a country girl, she could recover from a fall, but with her broken arm, shifting her weight was agony. She screamed.

"Ahhhh!"

Just then, Ash and Pikachu riding atop Tauros charged in. Tauros lowered its horns and slammed into Rhydon's side, sending the Rock-type stumbling. Ash leaned over and caught Whitney mid-fall.

"I got you! Tauros, your turn!"

Tauros snorted, steam exhaling from his nose as his hooves glowed green. He unleashed a [Trailblaze], slamming into Rhydon once again, knocking him back further.

Rhydon grunted, shaking off the impact, then raised his massive fist, preparing to strike.

Whitney clung to Ash, panic in her eyes. "Ash-!"

But Ash didn't flinch. "Pikachu!"

Pikachu nodded, leaping from Ash's shoulder. Midair, his tail glowed silver as charged up a [Iron Tail] as he flipped forward and clashed against Rhydon's fist. Sparks flew on impact, but Pikachu was stronger. With a powerful push, Rhydon stumbled backward, struggling to regain balance. Pikachu landed gracefully, while Tauros took off, carrying Ash and Whitney to safety.

Ash whistled toward the tree where Green stood. She grinned.

"Alright, Wigglytuff, no more holding back. [Solar Beam], full power!"

Wigglytuff giggled, absorbing even more sunlight until she was fully charged. Then she unleashed a massive [Solar Beam], the golden energy roaring across the battlefield.

Rhydon barely had time to raise his arms in defense before the beam slammed into him, engulfing his body in a fiery explosion.

As the smoke shifted, they looked where Rhydon was, for a moment it was silent, but then the big guy roared again and stomped out, albeit he was very damaged, but non the less he was standing as he stuck his hands into the ground, and pulled out chunks ready to throw them. 

"Uhhh, Ash? A little help here!" Green yelled as Rhydon prepared to throw.

"On it! Just jump on!" Ash called, adjusting Whitney so she could sit more comfortably on Tauros.

Green hesitated for only a moment, then she saw the rock coming to the tree, and she looked at Wigglytuff, who looked back at her, and they both jumped off, as the rock hit the tree breaking it, meanwhile, they landed on Tauros with Ash. 

Whitney looked back to see the Rhydon still getting ready to attack them, "That thing is sturdy, we have to take it down," She said, but she still clutched her broken arm. 

"Don't worry about it. Backup's here," Ash smirked as Tauros shifted, dodging another barrage of stones.

Just as Rhydon stomped forward, a Pokéball suddenly rolled in from the side, popping open as Sudowoodo leaped out.

From the forest, Ethan's voice rang out: "DO IT!!!"

Sudowoodo gulped, then clenched his tiny fists. His scrawny arm suddenly swelled, muscles bulging, as he swung forward with a [Hammer Arm].

The blow slammed into Rhydon's stomach, knocking the air out of him. With a loud crash, Rhydon was sent flying backward into a tree.

He tried to push himself up but his body wobbled. His eyes turned to spirals, and he collapsed with a heavy thud.

Sudowoodo exhaled, relieved, while Ethan pumped his fist, "Yosh! We did it! We took down that Rhydon!"

Ash, Green, and Whitney looked at each other silently, like Ash and Green didn't put in most of the work, but there was genuinely no point in arguing with him. 

Ash shook his head and turned to Whitney, who was still cradling her arm. "We need to get that treated."

Whitney winced. "I don't think it's that bad..." she muttered, though she didn't let go of her arm.

Ash hopped off Tauros and helped her down, guiding her to sit against a tree. Then, he dug into his bag, pulling out a small med kit.

"Alright, take this Acetaminophen, it'll help while I check your arm," he said, handing her a pill.

Whitney, Green, Ethan, and even Pikachu blinked at him in confusion.

Ash sighed. "It's extra-strength Tylenol."

That made more sense. Whitney took the pill as Ash carefully examined her arm, "Legally, I can't give you painkillers or morphine. Well not today, at least."

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

Green shook her head. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot—you still haven't answered me! You're getting your medical license?! Since when? How? And when are you doing it?!"

"Not important." Ash dismissed her questions with a wave. "Also, I recommend you guys look away. Thankfully, the fracture isn't too bad—it's just an oblique break—but I need to set it back in place."

He handed Whitney a piece of wood. "Bite on this. And don't look—none of you. This isn't going to be pretty."

Whitney nodded, taking the wood and closing her eyes. Green and Ethan also turned away.

With a quick motion, Ash reset the bone with a satisfying crunch. Whitney let out a muffled yell, while Green and Ethan flinched at the sound. At the same time, Ash discreetly used a small burst of Aura to numb her pain before anyone could notice.

Once done, he grabbed an orthopedic splint, wrapped her arm securely, and fashioned it into a sling around her neck. Then he glanced at Green, who still had Wigglytuff out.

"Can I get a little help here?" he asked, releasing Clefairy from its Pokéball.

Green nodded, and both Clefairy and Wigglytuff used a synchronized [Heal Pulse], washing a soothing glow over Whitney's arm to help with the pain.

"Alright," Ash said, standing up. "You should be good, but don't use that arm. I'll check on you tomorrow to see how it's healing. If all goes well, you'll have full use of it in about six or seven days."

Whitney smiled despite the situation. "Thanks… and also, thanks for saving me back there."

Ethan flicked his hair dramatically. "No problem. You may be annoying, but I'd never let a pretty girl stay in danger."

Whitney gave him a deadpan stare. "Not you. I still don't like you."

Ethan grinned. "Hate me or love me, I still technically won. After all, you can't ride a bike with that broken arm of yours."

Whitney was about to snap back, but Ash gently pushed her back down, "He's right. You can't. As a doctor, I can't let you."

Green scoffed. "You don't have a license!"

"I'm taking the exam tomorrow, okay?! There, you happy?!" Ash finally snapped.

Green blinked, then smirked. "And when were you going to tell me?"

Ash shoved her back by the face. "I wasn't."

Before they could argue further, the distant rumbling of approaching vans cut through the forest.

"Looks like we have to cut this short," Ash said. "First priority is getting Whitney somewhere she can rest."

Green crossed her arms. "Fine. But I still demand an answer."

"...No." Ash deadpanned, helping Whitney to her feet. "Besides, even if I wanted to tell you, what would you even get out of it? You're not trying to be a doctor. And we both know you may stoop low, but asking me for painkillers and morphine is something not even you would do."

Green huffed, then sighed. "That's… well, actually a very good point." She shrugged. "Fair enough. I guess you don't owe me anything."

Ethan suddenly perked up. "Okay, okay, but I have something important to say."

Ash, Green, and Whitney turned to him as the vans came into view.

Ethan straightened his jacket, took off his hat, and ran a hand through his hair, "Do I look good? I want to look my best for Ms. Mary~"