Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations from Pokémon, which I do not own. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
A/N: The place where I live is pretty far behind in the shows. We're still at the Orange Archipelago...!! *curses the local station* So anyway, I decided to write a story quite independent of the official timeline (and I prefer Brock for some reason, so I left Tracey out of the story). I'll also be using some "traditional" anime effects. Okay, I'll shut up now. I hope you enjoy the story! R&R!
* * * * *
Ch. 1 – The Warped Mountain
It was a clear and sunny day. An occasional warm breeze blew past, but other that that, the air was still. Ash, Misty and Brock were trudging along in who-knows-where.
"Are we there yet, Brock?" Ash asked for the third time in that minute.
"No Ash, be patient. We should arrive at the next Pokémon Centre in about fifteen minutes," Brock replied, studying the map he was holding in his hands.
"Isn't that what you said an hour ago?" Ash continued to whine.
"Hmm, it wasn't me who decided to snatch the map from Brock and declare a shortcut," Misty commented, smirking. Togepi trilled cheerfully in her arms, as if agreeing with her.
Ash shot her a poisonous look. "Hey, Brock handed it to me the wrong way up!"
"Pika…" Pikachu jumped off his resting place on Ash's head, not wanting to get in the way of Misty's mallet.
"If you'd learn how to read a map properly, we—"
Brock stepped between the two of them before they decided to claw each other to bits. "Okay, that's enough. Remind me to buy a roll of tape the next time we get to a shop."
Ash and Misty broke off with a "humph" each and they continued their trek in silence.
Brock was the one who spoke up first. "There, the Centre is right behind that bend." He pointed at the path which ran behind a tall cliff which joined with the mountain.
They picked up their pace, eager to get some rest. But then, Brock stopped abruptly, causing the others to crash right into him. "Uh… where's the Pokémon Centre?" He frantically studied the map again. The path had led right to a dead-end in a small space between the rocks.
"See? I'm not the only one who gets us lost," said Ash, grinning smugly. Misty and Pikachu sweat-dropped.
"Brock, this isn't funny!" exclaimed a very tired Misty.
"Uh… I… the map— whoa!" Brock was cut off from his stammering when a building materialized in front of them. It had a large Pokéball above the door. Everyone stared, transfixed.
Ash snapped out of his daze. "Cool! Let's go!" he raced towards the Centre, but Pikachu seemed a bit reluctant.
"Uh… Ash, do you think it's safe?" Misty asked nervously. "It could be a… um… something ghostly!" Her words were ignored as Ash went right through the door.
"Well, I don't hear any screaming, so it should be okay," Brock said, smiling. He walked through the door followed by Misty and Pikachu, albeit hesitantly.
Inside, they were greeted by a magnificent sight. The interior of the Pokémon Centre was exquisitely decorated like a high-class hotel. They met Ash not far from the doorway, staring.
"Wow, this place is so beautiful!" marvelled Misty.
"But not as beautiful as Nurse Joy…" Brock went red in the face and started to drool slightly. Nurse Joy was indeed dressed beautifully. She was wearing what looked like a cross between a nurse's uniform and a ball gown.
The trio walked over to the counter. "Hey Nurse Joy, why's this place so high-classed?" Ash inquired.
"Is there a fancy restaurant here where we can have dinner toget— Ow!" Brock got walloped by Misty.
"Please try not to embarrass us…" Misty stored her mallet. Nurse Joy merely gave a little laugh.
"I'm surprised you've never heard of this place. This is one of the most famous stops for trainers and vacationers alike." Nurse Joy explained. "The mountain exerts a special energy field that has strong effects on Pokémon, even affecting the fabric of space. Scientists are still studying the phenomenon."
"Wait, my father told me about this place. He's been here before. What's this mountain's name again? Warping Mountain or something…?" Brock racked his brains, trying to recall what Flint had told him.
"It's called 'Warped Mountain'," Nurse Joy said helpfully. "But personally, I think it's a strange name."
"Who cares?" Ash interjected. "There's special Pokémon here, I wanna check it out! Can we stay here for a while, Brock?"
"Figures," Misty muttered. Ash ignored her.
"Sure," Brock said. "I'm very interested in the phenomenon myself."
"Woohoo!" Ash immediately raced for the door. "C'mon, guys!" Everyone sweat-dropped.
"Wait!" Nurse Joy shouted. Ash stopped and turned around.
"What is it, Nurse Joy?"
"You are unfamiliar with the mountain's behaviour and the rules of this place. Here, read this." Nurse Joy held out a brochure.
"Huh?" Ash took it and stared at it blankly.
"What's the matter, Ash? Don't know how to read?" Misty commented mockingly.
Brock plugged his ears with his fingers. "Here we go again…"
Ash patted Brock on the shoulder. "Don't worry Brock, I will not allow myself to get into a fight because of an immature pinhead like Misty."
"Why you…!" Misty pulled out her mallet, swung it with full force and knocked Ash silly.
Nurse Joy laughed and turned to Brock. "Are those two a couple?"
"NO WAY!!!" The answer came instantly from both of them.
Nurse Joy laughed again. "By the way, we only have one room left. We're constantly building extensions, but they never seem to be enough. Will you take it?"
"Sure," Brock said. "I can have the bed, and Ash and Misty can work out who takes the couch and who gets the floor."
"Hey, since when did you get to be the one who decides that?" Ash asked indignantly.
"Since I'm the one who's paying, and since I'm in need of a good rest after putting up with your constant bickering." Brock took the keys from Nurse Joy and threw them to Ash. "Go decide now, and I don't want to hear you two fighting over it, okay?" He then turned back to Nurse Joy.
"Now, about that dinner, I— waaaa!"
"Come on, Romeo," Misty sighed, pulling Brock along with her by his ear.
Ash opened the door and stepped into the room, followed by Brock.
"Wow, it's unbelievable that the rates here are the same as any other Pokémon Centre…" Brock examined every little detail of the magnificent room. The floor was covered with pearly marble tiles, the large table in the middle of the room was made of exotic wood, all the chairs had velvet covers…
"Cool, cable TV!" Ash leapt onto the couch and started fiddling with the remote.
Misty sat down beside him. "Slow down, will ya? I can't even see what comes on the screen!"
"Here!" Ash thrust the remote into her hands and took out the brochure. "There's nothing interesting to watch, anyway."
Misty rolled her eyes and channel-surfed at a comfortable pace.
Brock came out of the bathroom, having finished his 'inspection'. "Man, this place is great! We should stay here for a while."
"Nah, according to the map I read just now when we were still outside, the next gym is pretty far away. We shouldn't stay here for too long."
"Or, the map was too complicated for your simple brain and the gym is actually a few minute's walk away." Misty said automatically.
"I never see you doing any navigating!"
"I bet I can read a map more accurately than you when my eyes are closed!"
"SHUT UP!!!" Brock screamed.
They did, but Brock wasn't done. A fire flared up in the background and Brock's head grew larger with annoyance as the other two shrank in fear.
"YOU TWO ARE THE MOST IMMATURE PEOPLE I'VE EVER MET!!! YOU FIGHT OVER EVERYTHING, AND I MEAN EVERYTHING, IN EVERYDAY LIFE!!! YOU'RE EVEN WORSE THAN A MARRIED COUPLE!!! THERE'S NOT A SINGLE WEEK I'VE HAD WITH SOME PEACE AND QUIET!!! IF YOU EVER DO GET MARRIED, CIVILIZATION AS WE KNOW IT WOULD PROBABLY BE BROUGHT CRASHING DOWN BY YOU!!!"
With that, he calmed down and everything went back to normal, except that Togepi had started wailing.
Misty took it out of her backpack and tried to comfort it. "There there, Togepi, it's okay, that was just Brock yelling at Ash for being immature…"
"See why I always get into fights with her?" Ash said to Brock. Misty promptly flattened him with her mallet and continued cooing to Togepi.
"I totally give up. You two are hopeless," Brock said exasperatedly, throwing up his arms. "I'm going outside for a while to check out the rest of the centre." He wore a goofy look on his face as he walked out.
"Probably going to check the Reception area," Ash said, still lying on the floor and twitching.
"Pi!" Pikachu popped out of his hiding place inside a lamp.
"Yeah, Brock the Scare Extraordinaire is gone," Ash told him, grinning. He picked up Pikachu and sat beside Misty who was watching television. Then, he saw that Misty's mallet was still next to her.
"Uh… don't you usually put that away after using it?" he said nervously. Misty glanced at him sideways and said nothing.
"Um… never mind…" he quickly reached for the brochure which had fallen to the floor and pretended to read. Misty gave an evil grin.
"Hey, says here that trainers who wish to train on the mountain must get permission from Pokémon authority, and tourists can rent Pokémon bodyguards!" Ash exclaimed.
Misty moved closer to him, losing her hostility. "Lemme see!" She took the brochure from Ash. "Hmm… well, you can probably ask Professor Oak about that. It's strange that so many tourists would come if it's dangerous enough to require bodyguards…"
"Pi, pipipipi!" Pikachu, who was sitting on Ash's shoulder, pointed excitedly at something.
"What is it, Pikachu?" Ash looked at the picture he was pointing at.
"It's a Rhydon," Misty said. "…with metal plating?!!"
The picture showed a Rhydon which looked like any other, except that parts of it was covered in metal.
"Wow…" Ash marvelled. "It would be great if I could catch one like that!"
"Don't get your hopes too high. Look at this," Misty pointed to the article next to the picture.
"The energies of this mountain have allowed many unique Pokémon to evolve, particularly ones that are of Rock, Ground, and Steel types. The Rhydon in this picture is one of the most commonly seen and is also one of the most ferocious. Many attempts have been made to capture it, but all have resulted in the Rhydon getting severely aggravated and causing serious injuries to the trainers and their Pokémon. No scientist with their high-tech equipment have succeeded in bringing this Pokémon down, either. All trainers are strongly advised NOT to attempt this."
Ash immediately stood up. "No problem, I'll just be the first trainer to subdue it! Right, Pikachu?"
"Pika!" The yellow rodent tried to look confident, but didn't quite succeed.
Misty shook her head. "Don't you ever change?"
"Well, I am the future greatest Pokémon Master, after all…"
Misty sighed and continued watching television. Ash went back to his reading.
"The mountain's effects on the fabric of space allow the local Pokémon Centre to move itself onto anywhere on the mountain. This happens automatically and the building will go to the person who needs it most. No evidence has been found to show the cause of this, but some theories suggest that anyone's panic has effects on the mountain's energy field, which causes a shift in the fabric of space. However, it seems that only the entrance moves. Tests, although rather inaccurate, all point towards the fact that the rooms at remain stationary….."
Ash gave up reading and yawned. "This is boring. C'mon, I wanna go out…"
"Aw c'mon, Ash, this show is really interesting!" Misty's eyes never left the screen. Ash glanced at the TV and saw that she was watching a mushy soap opera.
"No thanks, I'll pass…" he slumped back into the couch and handed the brochure his best Pokémon pal. "Here Pikachu, find something interesting and I might read it…" He then proceeded to stare into space.
"Chu…" Pikachu shook his head. He went through the photographs, ignoring the words.
After a while, Misty switched off the TV and got up. "Okay, we can go now."
As if on cue, Brock, bearing a red handprint on his cheek, walked in.
"Um… what's that on your face, Brock?" Ash questioned, grinning.
Brock looked at a mirror. He probably didn't even know that the mark was there until he did. "Oh, um… I went out for a walk, and this strange leaf floated down from a tree I have never seen before. Probably a product of the mountain's energies. Anyway, it was in the shape of a human hand, and was sticky for some reason. It got stuck on my face and I hand to yank it off. It hurt quite a lot."
"Nice try, Brock!" Misty laughed, joined by Ash's sniggering.
Brock huffed. "A—nyway, there's a small town not too far from here. I'm heading over to buy some groceries."
"But we're going to explore the mountain now," Ash told him. "Why don't you join us?"
Brock shook his head. "No, we're out of food, and the restaurant here is too expensive. I'll join you tomorrow. It'll be dark soon."
"Suit yourself. Oh, and get a few bottles of ketchup for Pikachu, will ya? He hasn't had any for quite some time now."
"Pi!" Pikachu immediately leapt to Brock's side. Ash stared at him.
"Hey, what about our training?"
Pikachu kept looking back and forth at his master and the person who's going to get him his beloved ketchup. He felt guilty, but he so desperately wanted a treat. "Pi…" He got all teary-eyed.
Ash laughed. "Okay, you can go with Brock. Just make sure you don't finish all of it before you get back!"
"Pika!" The little rodent instantly looked happy again. He leapt onto Ash and gave him a quick hug, then stood next to Brock again.
"C'mon, Misty!" Ash said, eager to set off on his next adventure.
Fetching their stuff and making sure that the door was locked, the three friends headed off towards the lobby.
* * * * *
A/N: There, first chapter's all done! I know, nothing's happened yet, but I've nearly finished the next chapter so it should be out in a day or two. Anyway, please remember to review! I think I may have overdone some parts, but what do you think? I'll accept all comments, constructive criticism included.