Me: Hello and welcome to my new story.
An orange yellow sun yawned downward over the mountainous horizon of the sky across the wandering forest below. In an opening a roaring fire was lighting up the small area around it, cracking from the ashes colliding and the energy flashing into smoke and it flew into the sky before getting rushed by the wind and disappearing as if it were in a magic act. Down in the clearing sat three figures, all eating what looked like their dinner.
"This stew is good Brock." The female of the three said. Her blue hair cascaded down her back and down to her waist. She wore a black sleeveless shirt with a thigh high pink skirt. Covering her head was a white beanie with a pink half pokeball symbol and the sides of her hair held two yellow clips.
"Pip Piplup!" The little blue penguin sitting beside her agreed as it chomped down on the pokemon food sitting in-front of it.
"Dawn's right brock. This by far is your best stew. Did you use anything different in it?" A raven haired boy agreed. The smiling boy had on a yellow and black striped vest with a white collar and denim jeans matted with some dirt. His spiked raven hair was contained by a red baseball cap with a black and green half pokeball.
"Pika!" A little yellow mouse with red cheeks cooed as it nibbled on some of his pokechow as well.
"Thanks guys. And I added a little extra salt and some onion. Normally I wouldn't put onion in my stew but I thought I'd try it and see if it tastes good." A dark skinned man informed finishing up his homemade stew. He was dressed in a brown and orange jacket that was opened a little so you could see his green shirt and wore brown and black jeans with many pockets so he could carry more stuff than he normally could.
"It gives it a unique but great flavor. You should do that more man." The boy known as Ash Ketchum commented as he finished the rest of his stew. Standing up he walked over to their set up picnic table and placed it so it could be cleaned later. Not a minute later the female known as Dawn finished as well. Standing up she patted the dust off her skirt and walked over to the table, Piplup and Pikachu following with the empty bowls on their heads. Ash took the bowls and set them on the table next to the pots and pans used to make dinner.
Ash stretched his arms and back, "Well, I'm gonna turn in for the night. See ya guys tomorrow." He said after checking the time on his watch, notifying him it was 10:00 p.m. He waved his two companions and dragged his tired legs over to his tent, his faithful little mouse following him. Dawn and Brock agreed, seeing it was time for them to turn in as well. Following Ash's example they said goodnight to one another and walked to their tents for a good night sleep. As the moon shown in the middle of the sky a low buzz rumbled on the ground near Ash's sleeping bag.
Ash woke, tired, "Huh, what is that?" He felt around the ground and grabbed his vibrating phone. Washing the sand out of his eyes he glared at the small screen and saw Professor Oak calling.
He answered, "Hello?" He asked groggily.
"Ash, I need you to do something important, but it involves taking a detour on your journey." The professor informed. Ketchum noticed a tone that he rarely heard from the professor and nodded intently, the sleep depriving itself a little.
"Go on." The professor nodded and started explaining what was done. About 10 minutes later Ash took in what the professor had wanted and nodded, eyes narrowing.
"Got it. I'll be at Johto in about 5 days." Ash informed in a tone even he rarely used. He shut off his phone and made sure to get ready for an explanation tomorrow. Dawn came over the mountains faster than Ash had expected. But despite the sun shining through the plastic window of his tent he refused to get up but his fellow little mouse had other plans. Wanting Ash to get up before breakfast called Pikachu gave a small shock to his ribs causing Ash to jerk upwards, wide awake.
"Huh, what happened?" His head shot back and forth, his ribs tingling with pain.
"Pi Pika!" His Pikachu screeched in annoyance. Ash laughed, embarrassed.
"Sorry. Hey, how about we take a vacation?" Ketchum asked his faithful pokemon.
"Pi?" The mouse tilted his head, confused. Ash chuckled at his mouse.
He patted his head, "Don't worry, I'll give the details at breakfast. What time is it?" He asked, yawning. Said boy checked his watch and saw it was...
"Did you really wake me up at 6:00 a.m.?" He asked half-angry, half-tired.
Pikachu scratched his head, embarrassed, "Pi, Pika." He apologized but soon the mouse's face turned serious, "Pika Pi, Pikacha Pi." Ash bit his lip, Pikachu knew about the call last night.
Ash sighed, putting his head in his hand, "Fine, I'll tell you, but you can't tell anyone else, got it?" Pikachu nodded and Ash told the Pikachu who listened intently throughout the entire thing.
Pikachu nodded and gave a small smile, "Pika Pi. Pikachu Cha." The little mouse held out a paw, showing his master he would support him and help him through this journey. Ash smiled and shook his first pokemons' paw. Checking his watch again Ash saw it's been 20 minutes. Seeing as there was no point in heading back to sleep the 14 year old boy stood as best as he could and un-zipped the tent and stepped out onto the dewed grass, stretching his spine back into alignment from sitting forward, groggily for that matter.
"Morning Dawn." Brock said without turning away from his cooking.
"May I ask when I became a girl Brock?" Ash smirked and Pikachu snorted a chuckle. Brock flashed around, shocked that Ash was awake this early.
Brock flushed from embarrassment, "Sorry Ash. I didn't know you were up this early. Why are you up this early anyway?"
Ash glared down at Pikachu, "Pikachu gave a little shock to my ribcage. I think I might be feeling that for a few more days. Plus I wanted to discuss something with you and Dawn." Pikachu and Ash nodded silently at each other, both knowing what the little rodents master had in plan.
Brock nodded, "Ok. Dawn's not up yet and I underestimated how much water I needed. Could you grab some more for me?" Ash nodded and Brock tossed two canisters to Ash who caught them easily and strolled off into the woods, his fellow mouse following. Soon Ash got to the lake and sat down, Indian-crossed legged style and opened one of the canisters and slid it into the water, the roaring waves of the river splashing onto his hand as it filled one of the containers to its brim. A rustle heard in the bushes was heard to Ash and he snapped his eyes to its location, trying to act as casual as possible. When he snapped the cap on a figure shot out from its hiding spot and ran towards Ash.
"Pika!" Ash's first pokemon warned. Hearing his cry Ash threw the closed canister to the side and rolled in the opposite direction, dodging and incoming fist. Regaining his balance Ash snapped from the ball and slid on his hands and feet, the rocks scratching his skin.
"Your reaction times are getting faster Ketchum, I'm impressed. But you can't rely on your Pikachu warning you forever." The figure spoke as he reclined his fist from the rocks and dirt from where Ash was before, smacking the dirt off. Ash stood, looking at the person who attacked him. He wore a metal chest plate with dragon skin outlining the form. The middle of the dragon-metal chest plate held a small design, a vortex with two dragons being sucked into it on opposite sides. The lower part of his body held what looked like heavy armor made of iron it looked like. His helmet he wore was a mask from a game Ash used to play. Ninja Gaiden was it? (A/N: No Copy Right intended)
Ash patted the dust off his clothes and rolled his eyes, "What are you doing here? I thought you were gathering info on Team Rocket?" He seethed a little.
The masked warrior shook his head, "Professor Oak sent me here to give you some info about your mission and a little protection as well. Here's the info." He cleared his throat and pulled out a paper.
"It turns out the DMA is in danger once again. Unfortunately before I could get any info they spotted me so I had to bail with the info I had. I did find out about this though: they plan to use it as a distraction so they can steal their main target, which will be used to power a weapon the Leader of Team Rocket is building to take control of something. I need more details on that. But here are some extra details about your assignment and this as well. It was your fathers." The masked man handed Ash the paper holding the details and unclipped something from his chest and handed it to Ash.
Ash took the paper and the item, "This was my fathers?" He gazed at the belt and noticed a sword attached to it. The sword was coated in a sheath and had a simple pommel, hand grip, and cross guard. Ash clipped the belt to his waist and pulled the sword from his sheath and saw it was primarily made of wood. Pulling the sheath off its 'holster' Ash saw some designs to it. It had little metal designs, with a small metal design near the hilt, and another small metal design half way along the blade. The last quarter is has a metal covering and finishes to a point.
The man nodded, "Yes. Good luck on your journey and make sure no one finds out what we're doing." The man was about to leave when Ash called him.
"Wait! How am I supposed to hide the sword?" Before the man could answer Pikachu showed his voice for once in this conversation.
"Pika Pikachu!" Pikachu pointed to the sword and him, and then made little notions only Ash could tell.
Ash nodded, "'K then, well try your plan. Here, but be careful." Pikachu nodded and took the now sheathed sword.
Ash turned to the man, "Hey..." He couldn't finish as the man left without a trace. Ash nodded, a small smile lit on his face. Ash filled the last canister and grabbed the one he tossed and headed back to camp ahead of his little mouse so his friends won't be freaked out or scared at the sword that belonged to his father. Ash headed back to his friends and luckily for him they were too occupied to see Ash was gone for longer than he would normally be. Pikachu took this chance and snuck into Ash's tent, no one the wiser.
Brock noticed his return, "Hey Ash! Bring back more water?" He asked, noticing Ash held two canisters. Ash nodded and fast walked over to the table and slid the canisters to Brock. Said man grabbed them and slid one canister open and emptied about half into the pot. The extra water being forced into the pot caused steam to rise from the pan, making the temperature around it hotter. Brock stirred the noodles for his breakfast and reminded his friend something.
"Hey Ash, weren't you gonna tell us something?" The oldest of the three asked his old friend. Dawn was intrigued by this.
"What were you gonna tell us Ash?" The youngest was confused but exited. Ash noticed she was bubbling.
I swear at times she has ADD... Ash trailed off but cleared his throat, "I was thinking: why don't we take a vacation?" Both the coordinator and breeder were shocked at this and Dawn almost spat out the water she had.
"Ash, are you sick? This doesn't normally sound like you." Brock stuttered a little, almost messing up his cooking. The boy just chuckled a little and continued.
"I'm fine Brock. Here's this, I have seven Gym Badges and we've been training for non-stop since getting the last badge against Candace. Why don't we just take a break and relax, and hopefully get away from Team Rocket for a while." All three humans chuckled at the trio that was still making failed attempts at trying to catch Ash's Pikachu.
"That sounds like a good idea Ash, but the nearest ferry is," Brock stepped back from his cooking pot and pulled his map out, "Well, it would be back at Snowpoint, but I'm not too sure if a ferry can operate there. If not, then it's back at Canalave. It would take months to get back there unless we have some strong flying types, and Staraptor's the only one." Ash inwardly cursed, he hadn't thought of that. They started pondering on what to do when Dawn suddenly shot from her seat.
"Why don't we call Zoey! Her home is back in Snowpoint so I can just call and ask her if the ferry is up." Brock and Ash nodded with small smiles, thanking Dawn. She waved them off and excused herself from the table and walked towards her tent and used her Poke Gear to call Zoey. Dawn waited anxiously and was about to give up after 30 seconds of waiting when a red head appeared on her screen.
"What is it Dawn? I'm trying to take a nap." The red head asked groggily, a little annoyed as well. Dawn giggled embarrassed with a small blush on her face.
"Sorry Zoe. But Ash was wondering; is the ferry where you are working? I heard it didn't work after the horrific snow storm 2 years ago." 2 years prior to Ash coming to Sinnoh a horrific snow storm unlike anyone had seen ripped through Snowpoint, knocking out most of its resources and transportation from the ferry.
Zoey thought about that and nodded a few moments later, "Yeah. It got back up and running a few days later after you guys left. Why?"
"Ash thought it was a good idea for us to take a vacation, after all we went through Snowpoint," Dawn tapped her head and shrugged, thinking of nothing else.
Zoey raised an eyebrow, "Ash, thinking? Wow, never thought I'd see the day." Both the females laughed while Ash sulked.
"I can never get a break can I?" Ash mumbled. Brock patted his back, a sweatdrop forming on his head. The females stopped laughing and Dawn nodded, wiping a tear from her eye.
"Haha... Thanks for the info Zoey. We'll be popping by Snowpoint in a few days." Dawn informed with a cheery smile and closed the line. Turning her head to the group she noticed Ash rocking back and forth, in the fetal position. Dawn sweatdropped, a creeped out look etching across her face.
"Um... Is he going to be ok?" Dawn asked, not noticing his transition of mood during her call with Zoey.
Brock chuckled lightly, "Nothing really important. Ash, you can calm down now, everyone knows that you think." It seemed to work...a little. Yet just enough to get Ash out of his depressed state of mind. The fourteen year old sat up and rubbed his eyes.
"So, based on your call I'm guessing that the ferry is working and we can head to Johto?" Ash asked, relaying the phone conversation into one sentence. Dawn nodded an affirmative causing Ash to smile lightly, "Good then. When should we set off?" He stood up from his seat on the table and glanced between his two friends awaiting their decision.
"Well if we start packing up now we can leave and arrive in Snowpoint by noon tomorrow." Ash nodded and stood up, fast walking towards his tent and entered. Dawn and Brock shrugged and started to pack up their stuff in and around their camping grounds. Inside the tent Ash sat on the ground, rolling his sleeping bag up when Pikachu held out his paws, his masters' sheathed sword in hand...uh paw.
Ash smiled, "Thanks Pikachu. Let's hope I don't need to use it though." Pikachu new that his Pikapi hated killing anyone, be it human or pokemon. Ash took his sword and slid it through his zipped open backpack, carefully maneuvering it around his stuff as to not break anything, whether be it his sword or his supplies. After making sure it stayed and wouldn't be swayed, Ash smiled lightly and zipped his pack up and started to pick everything up in his tent and finishing up rolling up his sleeping bag. A minute later Ash shimmied out of his tent, following after the backpack he slid out first. Stepping out he noticed the campsite, well where they eat, was completely deprived of their stuff, all stuck in Brock's somehow endless backpack.
Ash whistled, "Wooooww, you guys cleaned house." Ash chuckled lightly seeing the immaculate camp site before him. Brock and Dawn nodded happily, seeing their work wasn't just for show. They scurried towards their tents and basically repeated what Ash was doing, without the sword moment. Ash started to undo his tent from the ground and start to pack together in a case. As soon as he was done Ash slid his back down a nearby tree, thinking about the data and the plans the masked warrior and Professor Oak told him.
Who was that masked warrior anyway? For as long as I've known him I've never seen his face before. Who is he? Those and many more questions rolled through Ash's head as he waited for Dawn and Brock to finish up packing up. Not more than a few minutes later did Dawn and Brock finish packing up their tents and set them on the ground near Ash's.
Brock knelt down and waved a hand in-front of Ash's face, "Ash, are you there? Hello, earth to Ash." Snapping out of his trance Ash shook his head from all thoughts that garbled together in those few minutes of thinking.
"Ya, what is it Brock?" He asked, standing up, his Pikachu following suit. Seeing the looks his friends were giving him Ash raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong?"
Broke spoke up, "You ok Ash? You looked extremely spaced out there for a minute?" Ash just shook his head, wasn't he supposed to worry about them, not the other way around?
"I'm fine Brock, just hoping we can get to Johto alright. You guys ready," He asked. They nodded their heads and grabbed their tents, Ash nodded, a grin on his face, "Then let's head out. Brock you have the map right?" Brock nodded, a silly smile on his face remembering the times Ash got them lost because: A) He held the map upside down, B) He lost the map, and C) He was to headstrong for his own good to listen to a piece of paper that wouldn't surely find their way around, no...because Ash new where he was going. Let's just say his ego was deflated when all they found was trees...trees...and more trees.
Ash followed suit, a silly smile on his face, "Ok then, back to Snowpoint!"
Time Skip AWAY!
(A/N: No, I will not show any traveling, if there is any...)
Arriving in Snowpoint just a few days later, the snowflakes nipping lightly at their skin. The three companions shook off the excess snow on their coats and walked towards the pokemon center. They would've left immediately after entering Snowpoint but the next ship wouldn't leave dock until about next day, around 7:00 a.m., plus when forgetting to wear your coats for half the trip the tiredness and coldness can get to ya.
When they entered the pokemon center Dawn broke the silence, "Wow that was cold!" She referred to the jacketless portion of the trip.
Ash chuckled lightly, smacking the snow off his jacket, "I agree with that Dawn. Maybe we should've been smarter and slid our jackets on before we saw the snow, not after we were two feet deep in it." All three shared a laugh before Brock realized something...
"Nurse Joy!" He yelled happily, seeing his "true love". Yet right as he started running towards her Ash clotheslines him and sends his longtime friend to the ground in a lump.
"I am so lucky that I called in early to book a room..." Ash mumbled, slightly scaring Dawn at his altering mood.
Ash walked up to Nurse Joy, "Hi again Nurse Joy. Not to sound blunt but can I get the room key I reserved?" Nurse Joy smiled and nodded, handing him two room keys with J-3 typed onto it. Ash mouthed thanks and walked back to Dawn.
"Hand me yours and Brock's poke balls so I can let Nurse Joy heal them. Here," He snatched a poke ball from Brock's belt and held it out towards Dawn, "Take Happiny and have her bring Brock up to our room," By this time he tossed a room key into Dawn's open hand, "And I'll be there in about 5 minutes." Dawn nodded and gave her poke balls to Ash while the 14 year old took Brock's two poke balls attached to his belt and walked over to Nurse Joy again, this time holding his friends' pokemon while Dawn and Happiny took care of Brock.
"Here Nurse Joy, can you heal mine and my friends' pokemon?" The nurse nodded and held out a small bucket, seeing how many poke balls there were. Ash placed Dawns, Brocks and his in respectively. Pikachu, since he didn't stay in his ball, just jumped onto the table and let Nurse Joy pick him up. Nurse Joy walked off leaving Ash alone. Seeing nothing to do and not wanting to go up to his room just to go back down later he just popped a squat on a couch nearby. Surprisingly no one was at the center, because normally every time Ash would enter one of these hospitals for pokemon it would be half to ¾ packed with people. About a minute later of waiting Ash heard a light growl of a pokemon.
"Ab..." Ash glanced to his left to see the disaster pokemon Absol, and it did not look friendly.
Ash gulped, "Uh... Hi?" Smart move...now you might end up just flesh... Ash said and thought at the same time. Seeing that Ash was scared the Absol let about a small laugh as best as he could given his race and let a small smirk cross his face. Ash was confused for a second; his face was downright laughable because of what he was seeing from this Absol. Ash shook his head seeing something glimmer around Absol's neck. Stretching his hand slowly, he reached out towards the object but stopped about 5 inches in. Seeing what Ash was going for Absol stood still and waited. Seeing that the Absol wasn't going to attack Ash reached out and held his hand around the necklace, feeling its odd eight pointer star shape. The pendant was an Angel Star pendant. Ash was surprised, only three of these existed, the Angel Star, Angel Star – Ruby, and Angel Star – Sapphire.
"Like the pendant Ashy?" Ash's eyes widened, he knew that voice, and it scared him. He turned his head slowly, and saw the only female that scared him...more than Misty, and that would be Kaori. He met Kaori during his adventures in Hoenn while training for his gym battle against Brawly. While training he got lost, (As usual) and came across the female training with her Absol. When he first met her Kaori was an outrageous flirt, making Ash's brain fly into overdrive. Now, after getting to know her better, she was a sweet female, good at heart, but she had her wild side, and half the time it didn't end well for Ash.
"Uh..." Ash was at a loss for words. Kaori was sitting on top of the sofa, her eyes sizing him up, a small grin on her face. Her black hair had grown, reaching down to her upper back, some strands floating near her violet eyes. She wore a dark blue t-shirt with a slashed heart at the chest and black jeans. To keep herself warm she wears a purple-black jacket, almost sweatshirt kind of style with a hoodie. Kaori's grin widened and she jumped onto the floor, the Angel Star – Ruby pendant necklace flailing around her neck.
She turned to face Ash, "So, do you like the pendant?" She asked again, a small smile adorning her face as she whisked a few lashes behind her ears. Ash was speechless for a few more seconds before snapping out of his trance.
"Ya..." Ash trailed off, not knowing what else to say. Seeing she made her impact Kaori smirked, seeing Ash flustered so much gave her a sense of pride.
"Good to see you still remember me. Well, change of subject, what are you doing here? I thought you already got your gym badge here?" She asked, taking a seat next to him. Ash scooted away slightly, still scared by the black haired female.
"Well, me and my friends decided that we take a vacation, with all the traveling we did so far I think we deserved it... Wait how did you know I had my gym badge? The only time you ever traveled with me was when you were helping me get back to my friends!" Which took a day and a half for that matter. Ash thought and said. Seeing as she was caught Kaori bit her lip and blushed.
"Uh... I saw you battling Candice over T.V." Luckily she made it sound like sentence and not a question so Ash bought it and shrugged. Yet before he could speak again Nurse Joy called him.
He walked up to the counter and Pikachu jumped on his shoulder, "Thank you Nurse Joy. Have a good day." He grabbed his poke balls and strapped them to his belt, then next grabbed Dawn's and Brock's and held them in his two arms, Pikachu on his shoulder. He ignored Kaori and fast walked past her up the stairs and got to his room. Having shifted the poke balls into one arm he grabbed the handle and opened the door, to see Brock unconscious on one of the bottom bunks and Dawn was in the bathroom, taking a shower. Ash shrugged and placed the poke balls next to the sleeping Piplup on where Ash guessed was Dawn's bunk.
"You stay here, I gotta go do something." Ash whispered to Pikachu. The small mouse nodded and jumped onto the bunk above Dawns bed. He slipped his pack off and set it on the floor next to the door. Zipping it open slightly he pulled out his father's sword and strapped it to his belt. He slipped out the door and down the stairs to where Nurse Joy was?
He walked up to the counter, "Hey Nurse Joy, sorry to keep interrupting you but is there a blacksmith in town?"
"It's no problem at all sir. And yes, there is a blacksmith. After exiting the building go right until you reach a four-way path, and, still facing forward, take a left. You'll reach the building there. Don't worry about the man as well; he's nice despite the way he looks." Ash nodded and mouthed a 'thanks'. He rushed out the building, hoping to not catch Kaori in another conversation. Unfortunately she noticed his father's sword gleaming in the light, causing her to raise an eyebrow.
Since when did Ash get a sword? I thought he didn't like hurting a human and/or pokemon? She thought curiously, but shrugged in the end. She would get answers from him soon enough. She started grinning wildly...
Ash followed the nurse's instructions only getting lost about five times. Soon he came across a normal house and questioned if this was the blacksmiths house but his confusion was put to rest seeing the ever so obvious sign on the door: 'Blacksmith's Residence'. Ash sighed, how stupid could he be? Knocking on the door Ash heard a faint grunt and a, 'come in'. Ash opened the door to come across a regular residence, but no sign of a human. That soon ended when someone came from a different room. His clothes were matted with metal shavings and sparks. His face was hardened showing he was used to strenuous labor and his muscles showed through his clothing. He had short grey hair with a dark grey beard, a few scars across his face, and one giving a close shave near his left eye. He wore a black long sleeve shirt with a fire proof apron, knowing he was dealing with lava and dark blue jeans and black gloves.
The man grinned, "Hello young lad! What can I do for you?" He walked towards Ash and looked down at him, the blacksmith a good foot – foot-and-a-half taller than him.
"Hello there. Names Ash Ketchum. I want you to see if you could modify this sword." Ash pulled the sword from the sheath and handed it to the blacksmith. The taller looked it over and gave a hearty smile.
"Ah yes, I remember you! I saw your battle against Candice over my T.V. I must say I'm impressed with your battle! I'm known as Gavin Johnson. And about this beauty, I can help you with modifying it! Just follow me and I can help you with your dilemma!" Ash smiled lightly and nodded, following the man now known as Gavin. Reaching Gavin's bedroom the blacksmith opened a hatch and trailed down the stairs, flipping the light switch along the way. Ash followed, hoping that Gavin could fix the 'family memento' as you could call it. There was one thing Ash knew: This was gonna be one hell of a journey.
Me: AND...DONE! Wow, my second longest chapter... The chapter itself is 5,050 words long and I must say I'm impressed. Now, the Angel Star Pendants were something I found online and thought that I could use those for this. And about the warrior, ignore the chest armor if you think it's stupid. I would go back and fix it but I would probably screw up so much of the story then. The pendant Absol wears I believe is just a little different than the one I found online. Anyway, by the time this goes up Chapter 2 is going up between now and 30 minutes after.