Pokémon Summit
Chapter 2
Disclaimer: I do not own anything affiliated with Pokémon
Ash was dozing lightly beneath a large Willow tree, he was resting his chin on his clavicle and his cap was pushed down to hide his face from the brief slivers of sunlight that cut through the gently swinging branches and splayed onto his face. The heat of the sun was a nice contrast to the cool breeze; the river they were resting near was crystal clear and shimmering in the sunlight.
He could hear Brock pottering around getting food ready for their lunch; Dawn was splashing around with Piplup near the river. Her shrieking and the splashing sounds stopped him from sleeping completely.
His legs were stretched out and crossed at the ankles, Pikachu rested on his legs where a large beam of sunlight came down not blocked by the droopy branches. It had been a while since the group had stopped for any great period of time, even overnighters in towns were just that, they would arrive into the nearest town at night with barely any time to check into Pokémon Centers at all - if they weren't full to begin with - and then would keep going early that next morning.
Their travelling had not only worn them down, but their Pokémon as well. When they had found the idyllic spot it had been an easy decision to sit down, take a load off and rest for however long they deemed necessary.
"Not a cloud in the sky!" Dawn sighed happily as she came back up the riverbank with a chirping Piplup. Ash nodded gently and continued dozing against his tree, the two sat in silence with their Pokémon, enjoying the sunshine.
Dawn didn't last long to Ash's amusement, she and Piplup were full of energy even with the amount of non-stop travelling they had done recently. Ash could hear Brock patiently answering Dawn's questions about lunch and possibly dinner, trying to block out the voices Ash breathed in the scent of the area and nearby flowers native to the region.
"Fancy a battle, Trainers?" Ash finally cracked open his eyes and turned his head up so he could have a look from under his cap visor. Two young Trainers stood on the road looking down at them; Ash quickly surveyed the Pokéball's held in a belt at each of their waists – six each. He wondered how many actually had a Pokémon in them.
Brock raised a hand in greeting with a genial smile on his face while Dawn waved energetically and greeted them loudly, "hi!"
The two trainers came off the road and made their way towards their small camp, Ash was content to sit and watch as the two nosied around their camp uncaring of how rude they were being. Ash was pretty sure they hadn't noticed him yet; he could feel Pikachu's ears twitching and knew that his Pokémon was awake and aware they had company.
"Nice little set-up you have here," they complimented the cooking utensils and such that Brock had picked up over their many years of travelling, they were happy and friendly but Ash had felt the implied ruthless challenge they had offered a few moments before.
Dawn was already up from her seat next to the cooker, eager to chat. Brock was more cautious; he sent a subtle but telling look to Ash who threw up a quick hand gesture to show he was conscious of what was happening.
Ash knew that Brock was more than capable of taking on most trainers; however the two of them knew better than to underestimate any trainer, especially in the situation they were in. Already their Pokémon were tired and the group was still fairly far from the nearest Pokémon centre that any of them knew of. Dawn, while being a more than capable Coordinator, still wasn't the most intuitive Trainer and tended to focus too much on flowery attacks and not enough on her defense.
The last thing they needed was an over-the-top battle with some hot-shot young trainers who didn't know when to give up and would no-doubt send out some powerful attack just to show-off.
"Where are you guys headed?" The two Trainers looked at each other before answering Dawn's question, "not really sure, just the nearest town. "
Dawn nodded lightly, "where did you start from?" She continued her conversation with the two as Brock finished the food preparation. Although she probably didn't know it, Dawn was helping to provide Ash with useful information. His eyes had narrowed when they had answered Dawn's first question, it was a fair distance between towns, so for the two to be so cavalier about their journey made Ash wonder what exactly it was they were doing out on the road.
While there was the obvious – collecting badges to enter into the region's League, there was also heading to towns that held competitions for Coordinators and such. As far as Ash was aware, there were no competitions for coordinators in the nearest town nor was there a gym to prepare for battles.
Many Trainers had no set goal in mind and just set off on journey with their Pokémon; however by the looks of these guys Ash suspected that it wasn't quite the case, he also wondered as to the state of their Pokémon.
"So how's about that battle?" One of the Trainers managed to sneak in between Dawn's continuous questions, he clipped off a Pokéball from his belt and let it fly into the air releasing a menacing looking Furret.
In the midst of one her questions, Dawn stopped briefly and turned to look at Brock who stood-up. "Thanks, but we are here for a rest not a battle. You're welcome to share our lunch with us before you continue on your way."
The once friendly look had now vanished from the Trainer's faces at Brock's suggestion, "you can't reject an offer of a battle!" It was the only response Brock received before the Furret suddenly launched into a tackle meant for Piplup.
"Hey!" Dawn shouted, Brock's hand flew to his belt but Ash got there first.
"Pikachu – Thundershock," with a quick leap up Pickachu had sent a strong electric current towards the Furret who let out a squeak of pain when the shock met its intended target.
Piplup had fainted and was now resting in Dawn's arms; Dawn was sitting behind Brock who had released his Forretress in defense of himself and Dawn.
Ash idly walked over to the two trainers, he kept his face deliberately obscured. The last thing he needed was people seeking him out for more battles when they heard he was around. Pikachu was having a stare-down with the opposing Furret.
The two Trainers had balked at Ash's arrival "where did you come from?" One asked while looking around, as if he had expected Ash to have magically sprung up from a hole in the ground.
"Are we battling or not?" Ash responded, not even bothering to answer the question. Pikachu let sparks fly out of his cheeks as a challenge, to the Furret's credit he didn't back down, although his trainer now didn't look as willing.
Ash finally surmised they had thought Dawn and Brock easy targets, easy to win against. Young Trainers with big egos and yet not willing to play with the big boys. Little did they know that had any of them been at full strength, all three of them could probably lay waste to the two of them.
"One-on-one, your Furret against Pikachu." Ash spoke commandingly and barely giving the trainer time to nod his agreement, he gave Pikachu his next attack.
"Pikachu – Iron Tail."
Pikachu darted forward and his tail started glowing in preparation.
"Hold up!" The Trainer with the Furret shouted loudly with a panicked tone, he held up his hands up in a surrender gesture, however with one well-practised flick of its tail Pikachu connected with the Furret's mid-section and sent the poor Pokémon flying backwards up and onto the road.
"Furret!" Its Trainer almost fell up the bank in its hurry to see the Pokémon; Ash kept a close eye as he watched the Furret push away the offered help to get up. It was shaking from the effort to remain standing and one of its eyes was half closed, Ash didn't want to smile but he couldn't help it, the Pokémon had more guts than the two Trainers combined. He waited patiently while the Furret made its way down the grassy bank back to face Pikachu again.
Looking at the sheen of its coat Ash noted that the Pokémon was probably very well cared for, but like their little gang these two Trainers had probably been travelling a lot and didn't realize the effect it would have on their Pokémon. Pokémon didn't automatically heal once they went back into a Pokéball and by the looks of the Furret and how in only two moves Pikachu, even in his own tiredness, had managed to reduce Furret to this state; Ash reckoned that these two Trainers probably hadn't understood that fully.
Finally stumbling back into place, the Furret straightened itself and waited patiently for its trainer's next command.
Ash took a peek at the two trainers, they had followed the Pokémon back down the bank but now looked at a loss at what to do next. Ash gathered they had probably thought that the match would end after two moves – from their side.
"Are you going to call out a move?" Ash lowered his head back down slightly, Brock was standing to the side of the make-shift arena and was looking seriously at the two trainers opposite Ash while waiting for them to answer him, "if you are not going to call out a command for your Pokémon then this match will be forfeit and you will lose."
It seemed to wake them out of their stupor, the two Trainers quickly came together and started whispering, Ash smiled to himself as he watched Brock roll his eyes and then he turned around to check on Dawn. She was still sitting on the ground quietly and holding Piplup, she was watching the match calmly but Ash could see the hard look in her eyes that revealed her anger at the situation.
Ash turned back to the other two Trainers who were just coming out of their huddle only to have the breeze pick up slightly and catch his hat from behind to lift it off his head. He caught it quickly but the damage was done, he could see the recognition in their eyes.
He cursed quietly to himself as one of the trainers pointed at him, "I know you – you're Ash Ketchum, the Four Region Champion!"
"Three," Ash said and placed his hat back firmly on his head.
"Huh?"
"It's three regions, not four." Ash finally raised his head to properly take a look at his opponents; they seemed to have forgotten about the match entirely and were now gazing at him with wonder.
The Trainer with the Furret slowly counted on his fingers, "It's definitely four, I remember! Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh -"
"Considering it's my title, I think I know what number it is," Ash interrupted firmly. "I've never won in Kanto. Ever."
The Trainer stood dumbly for a minute before waving off his claim with a laugh, "that's just a technicality! There is no Champion of Kanto and Lance is the highest ranked trainer there. You have already beaten him!"
Ash wondered what the Dragon Master in question would do if he found out these guys were talking about his defeat so casually, and using his first name like they were buddies.
Ash smirked to himself amused, Lance didn't have 'buddies.'
"I've been a fan of yours since you took on Steven Stone at the Ever Grande Conference, that battle was-"
"Thank you, however right now we should be more concerned with this battle," Ash interrupted quickly lest this became a small tale waxing lyrical about his battle prowess and directed his eyes down to the two Pokémon who were still waiting patiently.
"Oh right, well of course we forf-ah!"
Ash raised up his hands quickly, out of nowhere the dust from the road rose up and swirled around their campsite, "Pikachu?!" He yelled out to his Pokémon and was relieved to feel the familiar weight on his shoulder not soon after. Keeping one hand up to shield his eyes and one on his head to keep his hat on, he steadied himself against the onslaught. Ash could feel small twigs hit and poke at him and he was pretty sure he tasted leaves at one point through the abrupt wind outbreak.
The small outburst left almost as soon as it arrived and within a few seconds Ash found himself blinking and rubbing his eyes to be able to see properly. He quickly turned around to look for Brock and Dawn, Dawn had clutched Piplup tightly to her and remained on the ground, she was slowly uncovering herself as the squall stopped.
Brock was still standing and was trying to rid himself of the dust in his eyes; his Forrestress had taken refuge at Brock's feet so as not to get blown away. Satisfied that his friends and Pokémon were in no immediate danger, Ash turned back to the two trainers and stopped instantly.
There standing on a few feet away from him was a Dragonite and not just any Dragonite by the looks of it. As though feeling his stare, the Dragonite turned around and pinned on him a stern look; Ash inadvertently took a step back upon feeling the weight of such a gaze.
"Chu…" Pikachu let out a few warning sparks and was getting ready to attack at his command.
"It's alright buddy," Ash raised a comforting hand to the Pokémon on his shoulder, but he knew that Pikachu recognized the Dragonite as he did. It was Lance's, or more aptly, the Pokémon he had the hardest time beating during the Johto Conference.
This Dragonite did not like losing and had more than adequately displayed that time and time again during his final battle with Lance all those years ago. It had been his Charizard against Lance's Dragonite and never had there been two more stubborn Pokémon. The amount of times people in the crowd had stood up in their seats to see which Pokémon had fallen to the other had been numerous.
More often than not Ash had believed it to be over, seeing his Charizard stand time and time again had astounded him, after being hit with not only very strong Hyper Beams and Body Slams, Lance had also of course taught his Dragonite one of the strongest moves he had ever seen – Draco Meteor.
After that move Ash had expected to have seen his Charizard in a coma for months on end. However, slowly out of the dust he had seen his Charizard standing - albeit slightly shakily. Ash had relished the look on Lance and his Dragonite's face then, it had been one of complete and utter astonishment and the respect that had followed was something he cherished far more than his title.
Although, while he still had the respect, this Dragonite still didn't like him and had always made it very clear much to his and Lance's amusement.
Not wanting to break eye-contact with the slightly temperamental Dragonite, Ash noticed from his peripheral vision the two trainers he had been battling before; they looked like they had had the wind knocked out of them. The poor Furret had fainted, no doubt on its last legs and unable to handle a Dragonite using it's supersonic speed.
"Is that…?" Brock asked bewildered as he made his way over to Ash who nodded his affirmation.
"Yeah, that's Lance's Dragonite."
"What's it doing all the way out here?" Dawn asked from Ash's other side.
With an impatient snort and with movements so quick they could barely be followed by the group, Ash suddenly found himself looking directly at a deep purple envelope.
Blinking away his confusion, Ash looked over the presented envelope to stare at Dragonite. The Pokémon wasn't looking at him and in fact, looked less than thrilled to be giving him the letter. The look on Dragonite's face was extremely disgruntled, Ash wondered if it was because what was in the letter, or if because it was just him in general.
Not wanting to rile the Pokémon any further, Ash took the proffered letter and turned it over to have a look at it. There was nothing really outstanding about it, other than the fact it was a deep purple and it had a seal that Ash immediately recognized.
He flung his head up and found, to his surprise, Dragonite staring straight at him. This time, the annoyance was replaced by a serious look. The Pokémon looked at him and then looked down at the letter in his hands, she repeated this action a few times until Ash realized what it was the Pokémon was trying to convey.
The letter was extremely important and he needed to read it, hastily Ash flicked his thumb under the envelope flap to break the seal. He pulled out the thick, off-white card and read its contents.
"Ash?" Brock asked slightly alarmed, he watched the colour drain from his friends face as he read the note he had been given.
Robotically, Ash passed the letter to Brock who quickly swiped it out of his hands to read it. He held it so Dawn could read over his shoulder, his eyes flew rapidly over the cursive as he took in all the note had to say.
"What's a Summit?" Dawn finally asked into the silence, she looked up at Brock who was looking at Ash; she turned her attention to Ash who was looking pensive.
Not sensing a forthcoming response from Ash, Dawn turned back to Brock. "Hello?" She waved a hand in front of his face, "seriously, what's a Summit?"
"It's..." Brock seemed to falter with his words which made Dawn bite her lip; it was always worrying when Brock wasn't able to explain something.
"It's a meeting for those of high rank who deal with anything to do with Pokémon," Dawn turned back to Ash, surprised that he had answered her. "The Elite Four – in this case the Kanto Elite Four host it and Gym leaders, Trainers, Professors, Breeders...everyone considered to be of high rank are asked to come."
"So…it's like a party?" Dawn ventured hopefully, although with the look on their faces she knew her hope was misplaced.
Ash snorted and Brock let out a shaky laugh and picked up where Ash left off. "Not exactly, there's a reason you haven't heard of a Summit before Dawn, they are extremely rare. In fact," he passed her the envelope and card which she read out loud.
"…Summon Master Ketchum and Company to the Indigo Plateau for the 3rd Pokémon Summit. So there have only been two?"
Brock nodded, "yes, only two and that has been counted since the Elite Four's inception."
Dawn's mouth dropped open, "but that's been-!"
"Centuries," Brock finished for her and rubbed his eyes tiredly, he turned to look at Ash who was absently scratching Pikachu's back, "are you going to go?"
"Of course he's going!" Dawn argued back, "you said it's for people of high rank, you don't get much higher than Ash when it comes to Pokémon!"
"It's a bit more serious than that Dawn," Brock replied patiently, Dawn crossed her arms and looked at him expectantly.
He let out a sigh, "I told you that Summit's were rare," Dawn nodded to show she was listening, "there is only one reason why a Summit is held," Dawn found she didn't like the Brock's tone and was dreading the rest of the answer. "It's held when the Elite Four have no other option and when they have no other option, then whatever is happening is extremely serious, potentially fatal."
Dawn didn't quite understand, "if it's so bad, then why would they want to put other people at risk? Surely they must know that people won't come if it's meant to be that bad?"
"It's not that they want to Dawn," Brock threw a comforting arm around her shoulders.
"It's that they have to." Ash finished quietly, the group stood their silently for a few moments before Ash held out his hand, Dawn reached out and gave the letter back to him. He perused it for a few moments before turned back to Lance's Dragonite.
She had been waiting there patiently for his answer, the fact she hadn't immediately left after giving him the letter meant that Lance was depending on an answer, he needed a yes or no before Ash even arrived back onto Kanto soil.
It meant Lance had a plan, one that Ash was part of and if Ash said no then the plan would need to be changed. The fact that a plan was already in motion was startling and spoke volumes about what was possibly happened out there that the group weren't currently aware of.
"Tell your Master that Ash Ketchum has received his summoning and will arrive within two weeks, he is currently unaware of how many he is bringing with him-"
"One," Brock spoke up, Ash turned back and caught his old friends eye and nodded gently.
Not to be outdone, Dawn piped up as well. "Two! He's bringing two with him."
Ash nodded at Dawn and turned back to Dragonite, "I will be arriving in two weeks and bringing two guests with me, a highly capable and knowledgeable Pokémon Breeder and a very competent Coordinator."
Dawn blushed and grinned at Ash's praise while Brock just rolled his eyes and smiled, they both watched as Ash put the letter back into the envelope and tuck it away into his jacket.
Satisfied with the answer she received, the Dragonite nodded back at Ash and turned her back on him. Ash stepped back as the Dragonite immediately shot up and flew off, within a few seconds it was like she had never been here.
The whole group was silent for a few moments; thinking about the implications of what had just happened, Ash noticed that the trainers from before had disappeared along with the Furret. Ash didn't blame them, although he was worried about how much they may have heard.
Summit's were normally kept very quiet lest panic set in over the general public. Ash knew there was one person he would have to inform and he really was not looking forward to it.
Ash turned back to Brock and Dawn his face was grim, but determined.
"So, what's the quickest way back to Kanto?"
End.
Introduction to Ash and crew, a little bit older maybe wiser, - we'll see. =)
Any questions, comments or concerns? Please review.
I hoped you enjoyed this chapter, please let me know what you think.
