No Silver Lining
Authoress's Notes : This follows my AU, where Johto never happened, but the Orange Islands did. Sounds confusing, it's really not. Basically, he has none of the Johto-region Pokémon. Ash is now a teenager, and has now competed twice in the Pokémon League but has yet to win it. He did win the Orange Islands League.
Brock and Misty have since left to travel by themselves; Misty has returned to Cerulean Gym and become its leader again, and Brock is still traveling with his Pokémon, eyeing every lovely female he sees. Ash keeps in touch with his friends and with Pallet Town.
Text written like this is Pokémon speech.
Disclaimer: If you know who the character is when the story starts, it's not mine. If you've never heard of the character, chances are, it is mine. Making money off this ? Unlikely ! Easy enough !
Part 1: The Foundling
Mauvetown.
Barely big enough to make it onto the map, it was nevertheless locally reputed for its beautiful location on the cliffs overlooking the sea. Waves crashed continuously against the sheer rock, and there were several places in town where you could charter a ferry for a cruise, or passage to the many ports further along the coast. The town was bordered to the east, north, and south by forest, a popular habitat for many Pokémon. Little Mauvetown was, effectively, isolated.
Despite its picturesque appeal, it was not a large town; the biggest and busiest building was the welcome sight of a Pokémon Center, headed by, yes, Nurse Joy. (Second cousin to the Viridian City Joy.) A road through the eastern forest led to Cobalt City, about an hour by vehicle and a pleasant half-day's walk.
In the center of the town was a large fountain depicting a trio of Gyarados twining around each other and spouting water in a steady flow. When the sun hit the cliffs to the west, and the light caught the spouts of water, it looked as though the Gyarados were spitting liquid fire. Around the fountain were benches, and it is here that the story begins…
Prologue: The Calm Before The Storm
In the dying light of the setting sun, Ash Ketchum stared at the map from all angles, as he walked around the fountain, but it refused to make any sense to him. The sign at the town gate had said, "Mauvetown" but he couldn't find it anywhere on the map he held. Pikachu sat on one of the benches and watched Ash wander as he tried to get his bearings.
"I don't get it, Pikachu." Ash said finally. "I don't know where we are."
"Pika-pi." Answered the Pokémon, raising a paw to point at the enormous ball that marked the Pokémon Center.
Ash grinned and folded up that map. "You're right, Pikachu. I guess we can ask there."
Behind them, the sun slipped beneath the horizon, and as they walked across the town square, dusk was already gathering. Ash pushed the door to the Center open, and he and Pikachu stepped inside. There weren't any trainers in the main room, and the Nurse Joy was typing away at her computer. She looked up when the bell above the door jingled.
"Good evening." she said pleasantly. "I don't think I've seen you here before."
"I'm Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town." The teen trainer introduced himself.
"Pallet Town's a long way from here." The Nurse Joy observed. "What brought you to Mauvetown, Ash ?"
"Pi-pi-pi. Pikachu." Pikachu chortled.
"I didn't get lost." Ash protested, "I just didn't end up where I was headed for."
"Pika-pi-chu." Pikachu retorted.
"No, that's not the same thing."
"Pika-pi-pi-chu ?"
What was the difference ? To that, Ash had no answer, and instead, he held out the map that he had purchased of the area a few towns back. "Can you show me where we are, please ?" he asked.
Nurse Joy smiled a bit and pulled out a red marker, leaning over the desk a bit. Without hesitation, she blotted a little red mark on the paper map right on the coast. "That's Mauvetown here." She said, and underlined another name in tiny print. "And that's Cobalt City, up the road. Is that where traveled here from ?"
"No, we came through the forest." Ash said. "But Cobalt's where I wanted to go. There's a Gym there, isn't there ?"
Nurse Joy nodded. "Sicora's gym, yes. You must be a pretty good trainer if you want to battle her; she's a psychic trainer."
"We can beat her." Ash said confidently, and Pikachu added his encouragement. Joy couldn't help but smile at their enthusiasm. She had seen Ash's type before -- they pulled through even when the odds were stacked against them. "Come on, Pikachu ! We're going to Cobalt City."
"Wait," exclaimed Joy, nodding towards the window, "Look outside; it's getting dark and there's a storm blowing in from sea."
Ash looked, following her gaze out the window. Heavy clouds were rolling over the cliffs, and the tempo of the crashing waves had picked up their crescendo outside. Far out to sea, a bolt of lightning zigzagged it's way to meet the ocean. Ash looked crestfallen.
"You can stay here." Joy offered, "All the rooms are empty. We don't get many trainers here."
Thunder rumbled in from the sea. "Thanks, Nurse Joy." Ash said. Actually, he was beginning to realize that he was pretty tired. The hike that had led them to Mauvetown was completely uphill; which made sense, considering the cliffs were the highest land point around. "Is there a videophone so I can call home ?"
"There's one in every room."
"Pika-pika." Pikachu chirped at Nurse Joy, and the woman smiled back. "You're both welcome. Have a good night's sleep. The morning PokéBreakfast is at 7:00."
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Ash lifted the receiver on the videophone and dialed in his mother's phone number. It rang a couple of times, and then her image appeared on the screen.
"Ash, honey, I hope you're not out in this weather," were her first words.
"No, Mom, I'm staying the PokéCenter in Mauvetown."
"Where's that ?"
Ash held up the corrected map for his mother to see. "Really tiny place." He said, peeking over the top of the map so he could keep talking to her. "Pikachu and I are going to Cobalt City tomorrow. There's a Gym Leader there named Sicora that I want to challenge."
Pikachu jumped on to Ash's head, but the brim of his hat wouldn't support the Pokémon and Pikachu ended up sliding into the videophone's screen. The image on both ends flickered.
"Hi Pikachu." Delia said cheerfully. "How are you ?"
"Pika ! Pikachu !" exclaimed the Pokémon.
Ash groaned. "I did NOT get us lost." He said, aiming a playful cuff at Pikachu, who ducked out of the way. Outside, thunder boomed, and Ash and Pikachu jumped. The storm had rolled in a lot faster than they'd expected. He waited until the rumbles had died off, then said,
"Just called to let you know where I am, Mom. I'll call you again, after I beat Sicora." He said, and grinned. She just shook her head fondly.
"That's my boy. Future Pokémon Master."
Ash beamed and bid her goodnight, and her image disappeared. He was just about to close his half of the connection when the console went dark. It took him half a second to realize that it wasn't just the console; everything had gone dark. All the lights were off. "Pikachu ?" he called, and felt the Pokémon jump lightly onto his shoulder. Electricity danced around the sensitive spots on his cheeks, dimly lighting a radius around the pair. Ash dug through the nightstand by the bed and found a flashlight. He clicked it on, and swept the strong beam over the room.
"Nurse Joy ?" he called, and went to the door. The hallway was empty, so he walked down the staircase, taking the steps one at a time until he reached the main floor.
"In here, Ash." Came her voice from somewhere in the back of the PokéCenter. Ash slipped behind the counter and shined the flashlight around. As his eyes adjusted to the dark, he saw the faint white glow from Joy's uniform. She was standing in front of the fuse box, which was dark. There was a faint smoky smell in the air. "I think the Center was hit by a lightning strike." She said. "Watch out for the glass. The fuses didn't just burn out, they exploded. And I don't have any more here right now. I forgot them the last time I went to Cobalt City."
Ash walked over to the window and looked out. The trees on the edge of town were leaning heavily to one side. Every few seconds, a flash of lightning would illuminate the tiny town, closely followed by a crash of thunder. "Looks like the whole town lost power." He said.
"That makes sense." Joy said, "Mauvetown's so small that all the buildings are hooked to the same circuit. So even if the fuses weren't blown, I doubt we could get the power back on. At least, not until morning, when we can look for the problem in the daylight. Did you get your call in ?"
"Yeah," Ash said, "Right before the power went out. Don't worry about the lights for tonight, Nurse Joy. We don't sleep with them on anyway. Right, Pikachu ?"
"Pi-pi-pi."
"I guess you're right." Joy said, and closed up the fuse box. "Goodnight, Ash."
Back in their room, Pikachu jumped up on the bed while Ash took off his backpack and jacket, and removed his shoes, setting them by the door. His eyes had almost completely adjusted to the dark, and since the room was lit every few seconds with flashes of lightning, he could see relatively well. Outside, the storm was pounding furiously at the windows, but Ash drew the curtains to block out the insistent lightning. Out of habit, he filled a glass with water from the bathroom sink and put it on the nightstand next to his belt full of PokéBalls. Then he climbed under the soft blankets. Pikachu curled up on the other half of the pillow, and Ash reached over and scratched behind the Pokémon's ears.
"Piii." Pikachu said happily.
"Night, Pikachu." Ash said, and despite the storm's best intentions, drifted off to sleep.
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"Come on, I'm getting mud all over my boots. Just throw it in already." The voice, female, sounded pained, as though muddy boots were literally the end of the world.
"The stream ain't that deep here." This voice was male, gruff.
"So ?" Annoyance. "I'm not standing outside all night so you can pick the perfect spot in the river."
"Fine, fine. Remember, it was your call." A splash followed, then the suction sound of the mud as the two walked away.