I don't own Pokémon. I do enjoy it though.
Previously: "I'm level 10! And my attack stat is 25, by the way!" Tadewi boasted, before finishing the battle.
Not too far away, in Viridian city, a single small, heartbroken Riolu walked out, now entering route 1.
"Not too far now," he muttered to himself, shifting uneasily as he tried to be as unnoticeable as possible.
At the same time, a well-known couple in the Contest circuit were camping with their five year old daughter. They were waking up from their nice rest when the mother let out a shrill shriek.
Ep. 4 Conversation of the Four (Several days after Chapter 1)
"So let me get this straight," an elderly woman began skeptically. She wore an old-styled sort of blouse/dress, and had graying blond hair. She was standing by help of a wooden stick. "You're telling me that Ash Ketchum is no longer in Pallet town due to an attempt to kidnap him by Team Rocket, but luckily he managed to run away, where he was found by a family of flying types? Flying types that somehow managed to convince you to let him stay with them?"
"It's… not that simple," Lance shook his head, "Agatha, we made a mistake in the past. We were too lenient. Pallet town was barely ever watched over, only with occasional patrols. We were lucky this family found him, and besides," he winced, "they could likely hold out in a fight even better than AuraKnight."
"Better than AuraKnight? Are you quite certain, Lance?" a shirtless, huge and muscular man asked quietly. Lance nodded.
"I had the level calculating machine with me, and when it looked like a fight was going to break out, I pointed it at them. Their levels are… simply unbelievable," Lance said, telling them the number.
"They're a threat then! We need to take them out ASAP if they are so strong!" another woman declared, her long red hair falling as she shook her head, her glasses threatening to fall off before she pushed them back up.
"Lorelei, Bruno, neither of you have ever fought that high of a level before… both Agatha and I have. Believe me when I say that those two alone would be enough to take on all of us. Besides, they've shown a willingness to protect young Ash, and that's all that matters, right?" he asked, looking around and locking eyes with all of the members.
"I… suppose they cannot be that bad anyways. Though I would still like to meet these Pokémon. What species are they anyways?" Agatha asked, curious.
"A Pidgeot and a Golbat. Apparently they were once a part of an all-flying squad of wild Pokémon, the best of the best, from what AuraKnight has explained to me so far. The group they are a part of is known as Talon-Strike, and they were the top of all squadrons."
"Wait, what's a squadron?" Lorelei asked.
"It's something new that I've learned from AuraKnight. He doesn't talk to many Wild Pokémon anymore, but recently he did talk to a giant Dragonite near Bill's lighthouse. Apparently, a few years back, actually around the time in which we were first together, and we still had a champion, battling squadrons began to form. They started simply, a trend in the Sinnoh region, by a Fighting/Steel type named Lucario. Lucario is a very special being that can harness Aura, but that's beside the point. Basically, he created a group that was dedicated to helping wild Pokémon with any issues they had in life, as well as put down any mutiny or something similar, which is why we don't have the intelligent Pokémon all attacking our cities relentlessly. They're a bit like the Police, actually, and there is at least one squadron for every type, though the major one's are spread throughout the continents. They also keep the mindless Pokémon under control, the one's that aren't sentient, that is," Lance explained. The group pondered for a while.
"I believe we should make contact with these groups, perhaps coordinate our efforts," Bruno spoke up. Lance nodded.
"That was my plan of action for later. It doesn't have to be immediate though, we have time to spare. In other news though, I may have told Ariel we would be using her area as a day-care for her, so Ash would be safer so uh… anybody got any baby Pokémon?" Lance asked. The members of the Elite Four looked at each other, before shrugging.
"A while ago, my two Gengar mated. I have a baby Gastly now, though I'm already keeping him at the daycare on the Sevii Islands. I suppose I could get a teleport over and get them," Agatha said.
"My Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee have mated again. The child is actually with them right now, in my home," Bruno explained.
"I actually haven't got any baby Pokémon right now. I mean, I have a baby Lapras, but I'm not going to take him out of my home on Sevii. I suppose that leaves you guys."
"I have a Dratini," Lance said helpfully.
"So that's the plan then? We go and get our little ones and drop them off at these wild Pokémon's place? Forgive me if I don't think my own Pokémon will like that," Agatha said sarcastically. Lance shook his head.
"No, of course not. We'll let Ash talk with our Pokémon, and maybe our own will be willing to stay there, after meeting the two."
"What if we have challengers?" Bruno asked.
"Well I won't be dropping off any Pokémon anyways, and it's been ages since anybodies gotten past me, so I suppose it's fine, right?" Lorelei asked. Agatha nodded.
"In any case, we'll all go to meet them as soon as we can. Lorelei, you're with me, Bruno and Agatha, go collect them. We'll be flying above Route 1; it shouldn't be too hard to find us. Let's go now, unless anybody has anything else to say?"
Ep. 5 Meeting the Neighbors and opening a daycare
"Wow so you're really the Speaker?" a Rattata asked Ash. Ash smiled nervously, before nodding.
"Y-yeah, I guess. I just understand you guys well. It's nothing," he said honestly.
"No, it's really cool! Oh how I wish all humans were like you…" the Rattata shook its head.
"What's your name?" Ash asked, curious. The Rattata ducked it's head nervously.
"My name is TimidFang, pleased to meet you! What's your given name?" TimidFang asked.
"My name is Ash Ketchum. How is it being a Pokémon?" he asked curiously. TimidFang tilted his head.
"It's… interesting, I guess. It's a bit scary sometimes, but other than that, everything's fine," he said.
"Oh cool uh… what's that?" Ash asked, pointing at a green little bug nearby.
"Oh that's a Caterpie. The ones around here are the feral ones; the actually intelligent ones live near the Viridian Forest. Pidgey around here eat them," TimidFang explained.
"Oh…! Hey, do you think you could tell me about that? The whole, intelligent-not intelligent thing?" Ash asked.
"Sure. There are intelligent and feral Pokémon in the world. The feral ones are the ones that are generally able to keep out of trainers' ways, that's why hardly any humans know about them," TimidFang explained.
"So… you eat them?" Ash asked, seeing a Pidgey swoop in and eat the Caterpie he had been staring at.
"Pretty much. It is a Pokémon eat Pokémon world out here, after all, but eating another intelligent isn't viewed well. Eating feral's is perfectly fine, but not intelligent's."
"Oh, okay! Thanks!" Ash said, before seeing Tadewi conversing with some of her fellow Pidgey. He walked over to them to talk to Tadewi.
"So you really are a level 10 then!" was the first thing he heard.
"Y-yeah, I guess I'm a bit strong for this area then, huh…?" Tadewi said sheepishly. Her fellow Pidgey didn't get angry though.
"It's fine, it's fine! Honestly, it's interesting having someone so powerful here! Of course, your parents must be leagues ahead of us as well, but that's all fine. H-hey, what's that?" the Pidgey asked, pointing a wing at the sky. A large shadow had appeared, and was slowly circling the small clearing. Pokémon after Pokémon began to disappear, whether into the trees or into the bushes and soon, there were none left except Venom, Ariel, Tadewi, Ash and Zack and his siblings, all of which were perched on Ash now.
A large wind blew as a large Dragonite landed at last, with two serpent-like Pokémon on either side of it, each having blue skin, a horn, marble at their neck, and miniature wings on their heads. On the Dragonite was Lance.
"Hi AuraKnight!" Ash called. Lance hopped off of AuraKnight, the three Pokémon trailing him. He then lent a hand to allow Lorelei off, who brushed herself off before staring at the gathered with a critical eye.
"Hello Ash, I'd like you to meet Lorelei, she's another member of the Elite Four," Lance began, smiling, hoping Lorelei wouldn't do anything stupid.
"You two!" Crap. "I want to challenge you!" Lorelei called, pointing at Ariel and Venom.
"Ash, honey, tell her we don't really battle anymore, and we never have," Ariel told Ash gently. Ash repeated what Ariel said, but Lorelei shook her head.
"Tauros shit. I know you guys are strong, otherwise, Lance wouldn't have told us you two are level mmph-!" Lorelei cried, after Lance put a hand around her mouth.
"Please excuse her, I think she isn't well, the heat must be getting to her," Lance smiled, before turning around with her, getting behind his dragons. "What are you thinking, Lorelei! We want them on our side, not against us! Don't doubt their strength for even a minute!" Lance whispered.
"And why not? What if your level calculator was wrong, huh?" Lorelei whispered back furiously.
"…I'd much rather risk them actually not being that high of a level than invoke their wrath. Lorelei… go home," Lance said, shaking his head. Lorelei glared, before nodding, taking out her flyer and leaving.
"I'm sorry about that. As I said, Lorelei can't really take the heat, since she's actually an ice type trainer, so on her behalf, I apologize," Lance said, bowing. Ariel shook her head, and Lance needed no translation to know that he had been forgiven.
"In any case, I've brought with me these two siblings that'll be staying here, if you don't mind," Lance said.
"I don't mind at all," Ash translated for Ariel. Lance smiled, before nodding.
"Thank you. As AuraKnight is named AuraKnight, these two Dragonair are named AuraSentinel and AuraSlice, they are brothers and AuraKnight's young students. My last Dragonite, my female one, her name is AuraQueen and she is currently at our home, but she and AuraKnight have agreed to leave their child here, a baby Dratini we have yet to name. Perhaps you would like to, Ash?" Lance asked, opening a Pokéball. Out sprang a serpentine Pokémon much smaller than the two Dragonairs, yet still much larger than Ash himself. The Dratini moved towards Ash uncertainly, but eventually curled around his legs.
"I think he likes you," Lance said, making everyone smile.
"Hi there," Ash said. The little Dratini was too nervous to respond, and instead just stayed there, still wrapped around Ash. Turning to the two Dragonair that were staring at him, he smiled and waved at them also.
"Hi AuraSentinel! Hi AuraSlice!" he said cheerfully. The two Dragonair looked at each other before speaking.
"I'm AuraSlice," one said gruffly.
"And I'm AuraSentinel," the other said in the identical voice. Ash blinked, before smiling.
"Hi AuraSlice, hi AuraSentinel!" he said again, this time pointing to the correct ones. They both nodded to him, before returning to AuraKnight's side in the same slithery way. Ash then turned his attention to the Dratini that was curled around him.
"Amazing, I've never seen a Dratini warm up to someone so quickly," Lance commented. "Except for AuraKnight, when he met me," he thought.
"Aw… you're so cute," Ash gushed, petting the Dratini. It cooed into his touch and seemed extremely at peace. Lance watched closely as a small, nearly invisible light glowed from Ash's hand, and the Dratini calmed even further.
"H-hi…" the Dratini said shyly. Ash smiled at it.
"Hi there. What do you want your name to be?" Ash asked. It stared at him. Dragon was larger than boy.
"I… anything is fine…" the Dratini said, curling. Ash hummed thoughtfully.
"Oh I know! Lance, you call your Dragons with 'aura', right?" Ash asked. Lance nodded.
"What does Knight, Sentinel, and Slice mean?" Ash asked again.
"A Knight is someone that is noble and helps the best they can. A sentinel is someone who watches for trouble. And AuraSlice is called with a Slice because he really likes attacking, slice is cutting something," Lance tried to explain. Ash nodded slowly.
"Okay then um… what does it mean to protect someone?" he asked. Lance smiled, deciding to give Ash some humor in the name of his Dratini.
"Like a Guardian?" Lance asked slowly. Ash's face lit up.
"That's perfect! Your name can be AuraGuardian!" Ash said. The newly named AuraGuardian smiled, and coiled around Ash a few more times, circling to avoid strangling him.
"Nice to meet you, AuraGuardian! My name is Tadewi!" Tadewi said, bounding up to the Dratini.
"Hiya AuraGuardian, I'm Tadewi's cousin, Zack! Oh and these are my little brothers and sisters!" Zack introduced, lifting a wing to his seven younger siblings. AuraKnight shyly said hi.
"Aw… he's so cute… hey Elite. Tell your master I said thank you, it is very nice of you to leave one of your own here, and to let little Ash here name her. I… I didn't know Pokémon would do that," Ariel thanked. Venom nodded as well. In the wild, it was an honor to name another Pokémon's hatchling, especially one of a different species.
"It's quite alright. Though I do wish Lance didn't make another 'Aura', I agree it fits the boy. Especially with the… you know," AuraKnight said pointedly. Lance nodded, still staring as Tadewi, Zack, AuraGuardian and Ash played, other wild Pokémon slowly coming out in curiosity. Ash was too engrossed in his play to notice what Lance had said.
"HELLLLLOOOOO DOWN THERE!" a cheerful voice called, just as TimidFang came out again. He looked up with a squeak and ran back into the bush. Ash and his new friends all looked up, confused, while Lance's dragons all either shook their heads or put their paws over their eyes. Venom, however, narrowed his eyes, as did Ariel.
Suddenly, with a loud 'whoosh!' a large, purple bat landed, four small wings on all corners of its body, piercing red eyes and a round body in the middle. It was smiling though, making its features even more frightening. From its back rode a graying old lady with a blouse, who landed softly a while later with her bat. Before that, however, a large, bulky man with long scraggly hair wearing no shirt jumped from its feet, hitting the ground with enough force to create a crater. He slowly stood; eyes squinted as he viewed the people and Pokémon alike around. Suddenly, his eyes fell on Ash, and he smiled, nearly laughing with happiness.
"Little one! You are alright!" he called. Ash smiled widely, breaking the silence.
"Uncle Bruno! It's you!" he said happily, rushing forward. Ariel watched him closely, but Venom's eyes were elsewhere. He, along with another Pokémon in the area, disappeared very suddenly, nearly nobody missing their disappearance.
Everyone else was distracted with a tan hulk and a little child laughing and hugging each other.
"I'm happy to see that you two are still close," Agatha said drily, a smile threatening to creep up onto her face. Bruno laughed Mareepishly. Ash simply got off Bruno and charged at Agatha, who sighed.
"Grandma Agatha!" he cried happily. Agatha smiled wryly.
"It's always good to see you, Ash. But you know calling me that makes me feel old," she chastised.
"I don't care!" Ash cried, clamping his arms around Agatha, surprising her. "I thought I might never get to see you again…" he said softly. Agatha sighed, cursing her melting heart, before patting him on the head gently. They stayed like this for a while, before Ash remembered something.
"Oh yeah! Grandma Agatha, Uncle Bruno, do you guys want to meet my new friends?" Ash asked. They nodded, both smiling. Ash grabbed both of their hands, pulling them with him as he went up to his Pokémon friends, who were all nervous. AuraGuardian immediately slithered behind Ash, as did Tadewi and Zack, as they all hid from the two intimidating figures. Ariel, however, surprised them by using her wing to force them out, though AuraGuardian managed to stay hidden.
"Grandma Agatha, Uncle Bruno, this is Tadewi the Pidgey, Zack the Zubat (and his little siblings), and AuraGuardian the Dratini. She's actually Lance's but he let me name her!" Ash said cheerfully, as Tadewi and Zack shook under the view of the two giants in the Pokémon world (one literally)
"How cute," Agatha said. She leaned down as much as she could and pet Zack on his fur softly, yet strongly, making him calm down after a while. Bruno simply stared at Tadewi, before snapping his fingers. He pulled out a small bag from who-knows where and took out a light-blue colored jellybean. He held it in his hand and put the colossal hand near Tadewi, the sweet smell prompting Tadewi to gobble it up.
"Th-this is really good!" Tadewi exclaimed.
"Hey what is that, Uncle Bruno?" Ash asked curiously.
"This is a Gummi, Ashling. All Pokémon love them, you just have to know the right color for each Pokémon," Bruno said, a twinkle in his eye.
"Wow old lady, how do you know how to pet us so well?" Zack asked, a little dazed, as Agatha pet him and his siblings.
"Well I do have a Crobat, after all. Acid wasn't always the old Pokémon he is today," Agatha explained.
"W-wait, you can understand us!?" Zack exclaimed, turning around. Agatha laughed.
"Half of understanding other beings is from hearing, the other half is all from the eyes. Your facial expressions give everything away."
"B-but that shouldn't be enough to-!" Zack continued. Agatha stared at him for while longer, before bursting in laughter.
"Oh, I apologize. I'll explain now. Come out DreamCatcher!" Agatha called.
"You're no fun," a creature said, appearing out of thin air. It's completely purple, large ears on its head. Down its spine travel poisonous spikes, and it had red eyes and a large mouth that is currently pouting. It has two arms and two legs, each ending with a few claws. A Gengar.
"Ah!" Ash cries, stepping back, making AuraGuardian move back as well. Zack simply faces the Gengar, who stares back. The two continue to do so for a while, before the Gengar bursts back into a grin and begins laughing comically, as Zack himself grins as well.
"Yes, yes I can read minds! And that was hilarious! I think I like this one, Agatha!" Gengar 'spoke'. However, unlike when other Pokémon spoke, Ash and the others could hear him in their minds.
"Whoa how are you doing that?" Zack asked aloud. Gengar grinned again.
"Trade secret," he said, leaving it at that.
Several miles away from Pallet and Route 1, on a small, secluded island in the ocean, two figures landed, dust flying up from their gentle descent.
Venom and Acid faced each other coolly, with Venom emitting more anger than he could contain.
"So… you joined the Elite?" he asked. Acid simply nodded, no longer smiling. The two continue facing each other, before Acid breaks the silence.
"Settling down with Ariel for a family? Jeez, older brother, I never thought you'd be calm enough for that. Tell me, do you ever act too strict for her to bare?" Acid asks. Venom spits.
"Quiet you slave. Belonging to a human is of the highest disgrace to a former member of the Talon-Strike squadron. Leader would be ashamed of you," he replies coldly.
"And how did he respond to you wanting to retire? All Sunny Day's and smiles? I doubt it. We all chose our own paths, older brother. Don't fault others for your own mistakes."
"And should you really be one to talk? At the very least I am not shackled by a capsule, chosen to fight when my Master bids me do so. You really hit the bottom of the ground this time."
Acid growls now, shifting into a more aggressive stance.
"Take that back. Nobody insults master Agatha, and you shouldn't either, seeing as your own Master sees her as his grandmother!"
"Ash is no master of mine!" Venom spits, before rearing up, wings stretched back. His large forehead began to glow a faint pink, making Acid's eyes widen as he quickly threw up his top wings, creating a barrier.
The Zen Headbutt hit the hastily erected Protect, ringing across the empty clearing. Acid gritted his teeth as his shield slowly, slowly cracked, before Venom simply disappeared.
Finally noticing the trap, Acid hastily drew his wings together, before launching a ball of sludge behind him, directly where Venom appeared, before the sludge went straight through him. The Sludge Bomb attack missing due to the quick Double Team.
Acid warily checked his surroundings as slowly, a ring of Venom was formed, closing in slowly.
"Damn it Venom I just came to talk!" Acid protested, trying vainly to make a shield, but not knowing where to block.
"Then you shouldn't have called Ash my 'master'," Venom spat. Acid continued to turn, trying to catch Venom, until he just barely avoided an invisible blade that cut through the air. Eyes widening, Acid continued in vain to dodge as the group of images began to form and entire dome around him, slowly enclosing the sunlight. Everywhere, the Air Cutter attack came, and unlike normal ones, where a bit of white signified the blade, this was completely invisible, only Acid's species sense of wind direction saving him.
"Don't do this Venom!" Acid cried out in pain as his front left wing got cut. No reply.
Venom began spinning faster and faster around a wounded Acid, more and more cuts steadily being inflicted. Unbeknownst to himself, Venom began to glow red in the eyes, spinning faster and faster around Acid.
"Now!" Venom thought, this time sending a blade straight for one of the only fatal spots on a Crobat. Their heart, which was directly next to the left most wings. Thus far, he had avoided any fatal injuries, but this was it. He would finally kill his damned brother! He would finally-!
A combined wave of intense heat and destructive wind sent him from his flying position in the crowd of his own images to pinned to the ground. The attack wasn't as piercing as his own, but more of a blunt, strong force; more designed to bludgeon than to stab. The very fact that the attack was a combination move meant that the one Pokémon he didn't want to come into the scene had seen what had happened.
Flying in the sky above as if simply perched on a tree with relaxation, Ariel's normally kind and sweet eyes now had a solid cold to them, as if she could freeze an Ice type. She gently landed on the remains of what she had aimed her combination attack at, and as was her own style when she was a member of the squadron, she declared her attack afterwards.
"Hot Hurricane Wave," she said coldly, wings spread, beak to the ground in a bow, before she collected herself. She stared at the two bats, before sighing.
"Tried to kill your brother again, did you Venom?" Ariel asked. Her attitude and way of speaking is completely different from before: gone is the sugary sweet in her voice: now all that remains is cold hard fact.
Neither Venom nor Acid speak, and Ariel grunts.
"If you want to fight anyone, fight me. Come on, Venom. So what he joined the Elite. It was his own choice. Do not forget that despite our even levels, I still am stronger than you, and was ranked higher. Don't make me use that privilege of mine, Venom, Acid," Ariel continued. When nobody answered her questions, she sighed.
"You two flew all the way to the nearest abandoned Squadron grounds just to have a petty quarrel? Perhaps we should contact Leader again, if you two can't conform to civilian life," Ariel declares. Venom shakes his head, as does Acid.
"Good. Now let's go back, and act like civilized Pokémon. Any more fighting from the two of you like that and I'll send in your bounties under the 'Dangerous Feral Pokémon' list." Ariel threatened. She suddenly snapped into her sugary sweet personality, asking, "And would you like any berry juice, Acid deary?"
"I'm surprised you managed to come by so quickly," Ariel said curiously. AuraKnight shrugged, Lance standing off on the side, watching all the interactions.
"Well what you said made it quite clear that you expected the Elite Four to show up and help. We couldn't just let that request slip by now, could we?" AuraKnight replied.
"Oh of course. Now, will you explain to me as to who exactly wants to attack Ash? I may have only had him under my wings for not even a day, but that doesn't mean that I'm not worried for him. If things really get bad with this person going after him," Ariel's eyes tightened, "I'll take them out myself."
"The… the man's name is Giovanni. He is the leader of Team Rocket, a criminal organization. We don't know all of his motives yet, but it can be inferred that he wants nothing good with Ash. Even if he means no harm, we must deal with him," AuraKnight explained. Ariel nodded.
"I understand. A while ago, there emerged a massive feral Tentacruel near the city of Cerulean. We were tasked to eliminate it, despite the fact that it hadn't done anything destructive. Better to eliminate the threat before it becomes a threat," Ariel turned her head sharply, "speaking of which, I'd better go. I'll be back in a bit, I trust you and the other three humans will be willing to take care of the little ones?"
"Yes. Do what you must," AuraKnight acknowledged. Ariel nodded her thanks, before taking off.
"So this man that came to see your mother… was there anything you remembered about him?" Bruno asked suddenly. The older Pokémon and people flinched in some way, but Ash simply tapped his chin.
"Umm… well, he was wearing a lot of black… and there was a weird red 'R' on his hat… I think. Why?" Ash asked curiously. Bruno smiled, not giving away the turmoil he felt.
"It's nothing, Small One. Oh, that's right. Your new caretaker… what was her name again?" Bruno asked.
"It was Ariel, Bruno," Agatha answered.
"Right. She said that she wanted us to bring some of our own Pokémon here… you know, to make the place a small daycare. So… I brought Kick and Punch's child."
"Kick and Punch had a baby?" Ash squealed.
"Yes, yes they did," Bruno said, "His name is Lion. I thought it appropriate for the child of those two."
"Oh cool! Where is he?" Ash asked. Bruno brought out a tiny Pokéball. He pressed the release mechanism, and out sprung a Pokémon called Tyrogue.
It is a humanoid Pokémon with a predominately pale purple body and brown hips and feet that resemble short pants and shoes. It has three blunt protrusions on the top of its head, yellow eyes, and circular sections on each side of its head that resemble protective padding. There are white bands resembling bandages on its torso and wrists. It has thin limbs, and its hands have three fingers each.
"Hello!" the Tyrogue said to Ash. Ash waved back, smiling.
"Hi there! So, you're Kick and Punch's baby, huh?"
"I sure am! My name is Lion, nice to meet you all!"
"Hi Lion, I'm Tadewi! This is my cousin Zack, and his siblings."
"Hi Lion," AuraGuardian said softly. Lion turned towards her.
"Oh hey! Did you ever get a name?"
"Y-yes… Ash here named me AuraGuardian."
"Oh really? That's cool! Hey Ash! Wanna fight?" Lion asked. Ash, who had been pleased with just listening to the Pokémon interact, was snapped out of his stupor by this.
"Wait, me? But I can't fight." he said.
"Lion, I don't think it's really appropriate to challenge Ash," Bruno phrased carefully. Lion shook his head.
"But Memma and Papa always just wipe the floor with me! I want to fight another hatchling, someone that I have a decent chance of beating! Come on, sir!" Lion begged, simultaneously using his hands to make strange gestures.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Zack asked. Lion turned to him.
"Oh this? This is a human thing called 'sign language'. It lets me talk with mister here! Too bad he can't understand me normally."
"Oh that's really cool! But still, Lion, I don't know how to fight," Ash protested. Lion tilted his head.
"Don't know how to fight? But all Pokémon know how to fight, how could you not?" he asked.
"Huh?" Ash asked. For a moment, everyone that could understand Lion was quiet, then, realization set in, and everyone began laughing, even Bruno, albeit lightly.
"What? Why are you all laughing at me?" Lion asked. Ash coughed and tried to stop laughing.
"Lion, I'm not a Pokémon though. I'm human," Ash said, spreading his hands. The small Tyrogue shook his head.
"No, you're a Pokémon. There's no way you could understand me otherwise. Come on guys, stop laughing!" Lion protested.
"But he's not a Pokémon, he's human!" Tadewi said between laughs.
"Hey…! I said, fight me!" Lion said, having had enough. He really did think that Ash was a Pokémon, and that he'd be able to defend himself properly against him. So he charged at Ash, springing into the air with a flip, foot going down. Bruno tried to lunge forward to intercept, but he was too far, and the flying type children were all watching, too slow to counter. Even Agatha couldn't move fast enough, her old bones preventing her. The two Dragonairs and Dragonite were too far to intercept, and they weren't even paying attention. DreamCatcher wasn't aware either. Ash himself only watched as Lion's foot hammered down, straight at his skull. An attack that could easily crack his head in half.
To everyone's surprise, a sudden small yellow energy surrounded Ash, and before he could even think, he reached out and grabbed the offending foot, stopping Lion's progress immediately.
Not a mile away, a lone Riolu stepped out of the shadow of a tree, darting forward with alarming speed before disappearing once more. He was starting to get lost, but he would allow the Aura to guide him. Speaking of the Aura…
Someone that wasn't of his evolutionary line was using Aura, a spike of it occurring. This sudden spike made him freeze for a moment, before he ran towards it, now knowing where to go.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Ash apologized to Lion, who he had accidentally flung fifty feet into a tree. The small Pokémon shook its head a few times, shaking the stars out of its eyes, before grinning wide.
"Hah! I told you all he was a Pokémon!" he declared. Ash sighed, turning back to the others. To his surprise, they were all looking at him with startled expressions, although Bruno looked more satisfied than anything.
"What is it guys?" Ash asked, confused. At this moment, Ariel, Venom and Acid landed in the clearing once more, Acid looking worse for wear. Ariel was confused, as were the two bats, about what had happened.
"What's going on, everyone? Why is everyone staring at Ash like that?" she asked. Tadewi gulped.
"Memma… he just stopped Lion in midair and… and threw him from here… to there…" she said in a sort of awe.
"THAT WAS AWESOME!" Zack and his siblings said simultaneously, snapping everyone out of their stupor. Zack covered the fifty feet in less than a second, popping up straight in Ash's face, making him yelp and fall on his back from it. "You've got to teach us how to fight, Ash! That was so! COOL!"
"Uh…" Ash said dumbly, still on the ground. The sound of two Pokeballs snapped him out of his stupor, and he looked to see Kick and Punch, Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee, standing nearby.
"Lion… what did you do this time?" the Hitmonchan asked, sighing. All of a sudden, the outgoing Tyrogue shied a bit, trying to avoid his mother's questioning gaze.
"Nothing Memma… I was just sparing with Ash here. He won though…" Lion said dejectedly. Immediately, the two turned to Ash in astonishment.
"A human beat a Pokémon in a straightforward fight? Bruno, what is going on?" the Hitmonlee signed to Bruno, who sighed.
"Quite the interesting development that will have to wait for another day. Until then, Punch, Kick, I would like to introduce you to Venom and Ariel, the ones your Lion will be staying with for a while, and should you desire, you yourselves as well."
"Interesting. What about challengers?" the Hitmonchan signed. Bruno nodded.
"Lorelei will take care of them. If any get past, which is unlikely, we should still be able to handle them. So what do you say?"
"I don't know. Ash, Lion, do you want one of us to stay? We don't have to," the Hitmonchan said. Ash smiled.
"I would love it if you guys stayed! Sorry for hurting Lion by the way…" Ash apologized, looking down. The two laughed.
"It's alright, Ash. He challenged you, not the other way around. Alright then, Bruno, we'll stay."
"Marvelous! In which case, Agatha, do you think you'll bring out your own Pokémon now?" Bruno asked. Agatha nodded.
"I think it's time. I must warn you, Ash dear. He is a bit childish… he might pull a few pranks," she warned. Ash smiled and nodded while he introduced the two fighting type parents to the rest of his friends. Agatha slowly released her Pokéball, and out popped a floating purple head surrounded by gas and vapor. The Gastly looked around curiously, before DreamCatcher caught its attention.
"I introduce to you all; Specter, my Gastly," Agatha said, holding her arm out. The Gastly continued looking around, a little bored, before his eyes fell on Ash. He burst out laughing, to Ash's confusion.
"Hey, what's so funny!?" Ash asked. The Gastly didn't answer, preferring to continue laughing. Lion saw Specter and immediately ducked behind his parents, being afraid of ghosts. The rest of the Pokémon, however, didn't seem to be scared of Specter.
"Agatha. Bruno. We've got to head back now," Lance called, reminding them. The two elite members nodded back, and they each spoke with their Pokémon and Ash, telling them to be good to Mrs. Ariel and to be nice. Ash hugged the two as hard as he could, before the three finally left.
"Well that was educational, I didn't think they would be so nice to let us leave some of our Pokémon there," Agatha commented from her Crobat. Bruno was hanging onto a flier to Lance's left, while Lance himself rode AuraKnight.
"They were nice when I first met them as well. If a bit intimidating. What did you think, Bruno?" Lance asked. Bruno remained silent for a moment, before speaking.
"I thought they were fine, but what worries me a little is that little Ash's Aura is already starting to grow, and at a rapid pace. The fact that he was able to fend off Lion without a scratch slightly troubles me," he said honestly. Agatha shook her head.
"I know what you mean, but what is there to fear? It shouldn't be too surprising that he has a ridiculous amount of Aura, especially since we already know he's a Speaker and Healer class human. The Aura really is strong with this one, so I guess we might even be able to add 'fighter class' to that description," Agatha said. Lance sighed.
"Actually I think he might be an Empath as well. When I first released the newly named AuraGuardian, she was really shy and scared, as her species normally is. When she went up to Ash though, a small light formed near Ash's hands, when he pet her. I think he calmed her down enough to make her trust him."
"A quadruple power person… are you sure, Lance? Perhaps she just realized he was a Speaker and wanted to go near him?" Agatha asked uncertainly. Lance shook his head.
"Positive. I hadn't even told her to go up to him yet. It was his own broadcasting of his kind heart that made AuraGuardian go up to him, nothing else. I was a bit disappointed with Lorelei though. She immediately challenged the two flying types to a fight when she got there," Lance said sadly.
"Unfortunately, she is still much younger and more naïve than the rest of us. I do, however, hope they don't take that as a slight to them. We don't need them as enemies."
Ash smiled as he and the rest of the younger Pokémon sat around and played with the local Pokémon. He, Tadewi, Zack, his siblings, Lion, AuraGuardian, and Spooks were getting along well enough. There hadn't been any major arguments yet, and ignoring Lion and his boisterous nature, there weren't any real incidents. Tadewi had returned to chatting with her fellow Pidgey, Zack and his siblings were flying through the shady trees, Lion was practicing some sort of fighting style, AuraGuardian was still with him, and Spooks was pulling pranks on some of the feral Caterpie nearby. TimidFang was talking to Ash again, having recovered his wits after the older Pokémon had left. Unknown to the other Pokémon in the clearing, Bruno's Hitmonchan was watching them all, making sure none of them fought for any reason.
The day ended peacefully, and soon, Bruno's Hitmonchan called the Pokémon + Ash inside to go to bed. Tadewi simply found a place to roost and did so, Zack and his siblings hung upside down, Lion found a bed to sleep in, and Spooks simply disappeared. AuraGuardian stayed wrapped around Ash's arm and didn't let go, so Ash slept in beg with AuraGuardian curled up to him. The older Pokémon, however, had a meeting immediately after putting the tired children to sleep.
"Now then, I suppose we should have a good, real meeting without the children listening. My name is Ariel, former lieutenant of the Talon-Strike Squadron, and former leader of the Mass Assault squad team of the Talon-Strike Squadron, the 'Harpies'. During our time here, I expect you all to refer to me as Ariel, nothing more." Ariel began the meeting, making the other Pokémon surprised at what she said.
"I'll follow up on that. My name is Venom, former lieutenant of the Talon-Strike Squadron as well, though I only became that after Ariel here was said to be KIA on a mission. I became third in command right after. I am former leader of Assassination and Intel team of the Talon-Strike Squadron, 'Night'. You may call me Venom during your time here." Venom added, the Pokémon shifting a bit, uncomfortable. "Go around and introduce yourselves. There are things you may have left out earlier as Ash was there, say it now. We need to know your strengths and weaknesses, so we may adequately guard Ash and the Children."
"My name is AuraSlice, and this is my brother, AuraSentinel. We have linked minds, and although it isn't as powerful as the Bond of Psychic's, it is still abnormally powerful. We request that you treat us as one person when assigning missions, for our efficiency is improved when we are together," AuraSlice said. Ariel nodded.
"Noted."
"My name is Kick, and this is my spouse, Punch. We are called what we are as a sort of irony when Bruno is calling us to fight, but we are special members of our species."
"How so?" Ariel asked.
"Despite being a Hitmonchan, I can still use many Hitmonlee-based moves. This is generally a pretty large shock for opponents, and it works really well. I can use all of the elemental punches as well, though with more proficiency than my mate," Kick said, her mate agreeing.
"My name is DreamCatcher. I have the abilities all Ghosts do, though with much larger proficiency. I have the unique disappearing ability, as does my child. Because of this ability, it will usually be a good idea to send me on solo patrols, I believe," DreamCatcher informed. Ariel shook her head.
"Rule number one of patrols: no one goes alone. You won't believe how many times Venom here saved my hide, despite my power. If you go on patrols, I expect you and Venom to go together. Despite my strength, his skill set seems to work better with yours, and considering you have a teammate that is a Crobat, I suspect you have worked with his kind before.
Ignoring that, we will have patrols daily, mainly on the night shift. Otherwise, I expect the children to be watched at all times, though they don't need to know it all the time. As I said, teams are two Pokémon, not one. The night patrols will take place from the time the sun drops to the time the sun rises, no excuses. The patrol will encompass everything from here to the river, in a diameter similar to it that is marked by a large tree with feral Butterfree on the opposite side. The north and south patrol borders will be a large black rock and a collapsed abandoned human home respectively. The day watch of the children will have a different set of Pokémon than the night shift, and the order is as follows, commit it to memory: AuraSlice and AuraSentinel, Kick and Punch, DreamCatcher and Venom.
The pattern, for anyone that can't figure it out right away, will be a patrol Day, the next Night, then the Day after the day after the Night. You will have every third day free, in essence. I will replace those that need a break for a day, but otherwise, I will be traveling around once a week to see if I can find out some more about this Giovanni character. Those are your orders."
The special Aura had strangely disappeared completely. It trouble the young Riolu, but what was he to do? Nothing, that's what, his journey had proven worthless. His parents were dead. It was all over for the little fighter, and he knew it. He sat near a river, tears silently pouring down his face.
Then, a sudden spike of Aura, randomly shooting up near him. Was he close? Was it him?
No. That signature wasn't the one he was looking for. Yet at the same time, it seemed there was another one nearby. The Aura being released showed how sad and frightened the person releasing it was. Without hesitation, the Riolu got back on his feet, before running towards the signature. They weren't far away, he may as well see who it was.
To his surprise, he found a little girl wearing a beanie, her feet in the same river that he had been sitting next to. The girl didn't seem too surprised when he came and sat down next to her, but instead continued to hug her knees.
"I miss them…" she cried. She was talking about her parents, who she had no idea as to where they were. Her long, blue hair was quite crazy-looking, seeing as she had been too distraught to brush it. At least she still had her brush though.
By now, she had noticed the Riolu, but still didn't do anything.
"Do you think you could help me find them? Probably not, huh… you feel sad also. Why is that?" the girl said suddenly, startling the Riolu.
So she was an Empath. A Human with the ability to sense emotions? Interesting. If only she was a healer… she could fix up the numerous scars he had from walking so far.
"Your feet are scratched up," the girl said softly. The Riolu turned towards her, before nodding. Slowly, the girl put her hands above the air where the Riolu's feet were. A green Aura surrounded them, before the cuts closed up, his stamina returning to him. The Riolu thanked her by bowing to her, before sitting back down, sighing.
"I guess you're looking for someone also, huh? I wish you luck," the young girl said, as the two both looked up to the full moon, wondering what to do.
Alright then, I hope you all liked this chapter! To those that were guessing who the girl was, I'll tell you: it's Dawn. Yep, PearlShipping defeated all the other ships for me, though this may turn into a harem if I'm not careful…
So you get to meet the Pokémon of the Elite Four! Or some of them, at least. I hope the battle was good, I know there aren't many epic fighting scenes so far.
To those that have realized, this story of mine will be much closer to that of the manga universe than that of the anime universe. The anime one, I believe, has too many inconsistencies, and despite how I hold it close to my heart, I enjoy the manga a lot more.
I really hope you all liked my implementing of the idea of human powers and that of feral Pokémon, both were put in for one reason or another. The idea of human powers was put in mainly because of their use in the manga, and because I'm trying to go with a 'connected-to-Pokémon' theme with my story, I decided it would make more sense. The idea of feral Pokémon was put in to correct one of the many Pokémon inconstancies. The fact of what everyone eats remains a bit of a mystery, and I simply can't use the game mechanics for my story. Only Pidgey and Rattata in route 1? Not going to work, especially with how big I intend my Pokémon universe to be. I aspire to have the Kanto region be at least the size of the state of Texas, and considering it is 268,820 sq miles (696,241 km²) that means that every route of Kanto is, seeing as there are around 28 routes in the Kanto region, 10 known cities, and Texas has 96.97 people living in every square mile, I can do an estimate in size for the Kanto region, popping out to the Kanto region being around 4 square miles. However, this is only because this is the number of people in each city considering game values, which I don't believe is accurate enough for size. So I'm going to say that the size of Kanto is the exact same as Texas, but the actual population of the Kanto region is much larger than 391. Even then, it isn't even close to the millions. It's more around 900,000, though I'll leave that as an estimate for the population I want right now. The majority of the Kanto region will be inhabited by Pokémon, which is why they are such a big threat to humans. The size of the largest city in the Kanto region, the city of Celadon City, for example, will be 627 square miles, or the size of Houston. This whole thing confuses even me, so I'll elaborate more on this over time. Just know that a route is much bigger than they are in the games, and that the majority of the Kanto region is wilderness.
Damn that's a lot of mumbo jumbo. Alright then, that's it.
MG TLE
DBJ JY