A/N: I haven´t gotten any comments or such at the start of this chapter, which isn´t really weird considering I uploaded the first chapter (The Prologue, even though I forgot to actually specify that) about 2 minutes ago when I´m starting this. I decided that chapter should be around 6000-9000 words each and the last one landed there, and I found a spot I felt was good for a chapter ending. I will still try to incorporate new ideas and such that I receive from you guys, and I will answer questions at the end of this chapter if I get them before I post it.
This chapter revolves around the arrival on Mt. Silver, and a few surprises or not so surprises if you are smarter than I have given you credit for. Sorry if that´s the case, but I ain´t too confident in people nowadays.
I´m still not the best at spelling or punctuation. And seeing as I forgot to actually put it in the first upload:
I do not in any way own Pokémon or its creations. I make no money off of this and am simply writing this for the fun of it!
Chapter 1:
The Mount Silver Welcome!
As Pidgeot climbed high into the air, with Ash still clinging to her back, the wind got rougher and rougher. Pikachu hid inside Ash´s jacket, not too keen on battling the wind on his own. The lightning flashed around them as Pidgeot floated on the wind forwards, neither her nor her trainer too concerned about the weather.
The cold rain stabbed at her feathers and had completely drenched Ash, but it was naught more than a minor inconvenience to them. A sudden gust of wind knocked her slightly off course and sent her directly into the path of a thunderbolt. "Pikachu?" Ash asked confidently, trusting completely in his partner.
The yellow powerhouse nodded and appeared from Ash´s jacket, situating himself on Pidgeot´s head, directly in front of Ash. From his position, he redirected or simply absorbed the lightning that flew too close. After about 20 minutes of the constant battle against storm winds and lightning bolts both Pikachu and Pidgeot started feeling the strain, and though Ash was confident that his friends could overcome the weather for a long while yet he wasn´t about to allow his friends to be hurt nor break his promise to his mother.
Which meant that it was better to be safe than sorry, and Ash asked his prideful bird to land in a small clearing he could see in the light from a few lightning flashes around him. Though she bristled, unable to acknowledge that she might have problems navigating the sky in a storm, she followed her order and a few minutes later she touched ground in the small clearing of Viridian Forest Ash had spotted.
The forest was dark and devoid of any wild Pokémon, the storm had driven them back. The raging winds and rushing downpour didn´t worry Ash in the slightest down here on the ground though, and he simply started his short trek down to Viridian City.
-I wonder what time it is? The sun disappeared before I left Vermilion and I do tend to lose track of time when I train or battle, Ash thought to himself and raised his new X-Transceiver to check the time. According to the X-Transceiver, the clock had already passed 17.00 and was drawing closer to 17.30. Ash´s eyes widened slightly, he had never thought his excursions today had taken so long.
He laughed easily and heartily, as he trekked through the dense forest. Though it took him a lot longer than he had first thought he reached Viridian before the day was through, drenched to the bone and extremely tired.
"Welcome to Viridian, how might I assist you?" the Nurse Joy welcomed him as he passed the threshold of the Pokémon Center. "Well, I need a room for the night, and I would like a bite to eat if you have anything?" Ash answered. Nurse Joy looked up from her computer and looked directly into Ash´s face, her eyes lighting up in recognition. "Young Ash Ketchum, you have come a long way from the first time you entered my Pokémon Center the first time," she stated mildly amused.
"You recognize me? I mean you meet dozens if not hundreds of trainers each day, and you recognize me out of all of them? I´m honored," Ash bowed deeply to the young woman behind the counter. Her soft thrilling laughter sounded heavenly to his ears, making him smile softly. The scent of fresh bread and a few dozen plants floated through the tranquil white painted room.
"Well, how could I not? The very first visit you had here you protected my Pokémon Center against Team Rocket, and just today a picture of you sitting side by side with Lance in conversation was released as a preview of the Champion´s interview tomorrow evening. I do believe you are the subject of that interview?" she teased the young trainer, making him blush in embarrassment.
"Eh, maybe? I mean I did meet Lance earlier today, but I don´t see how I´m that interesting to anyone." Nurse Joy laughed heartily at the look on the young man´s face, her experience pointing to the fact that the shy and humble trainers usually proved more interesting than the bragging and outgoing type. "Well I…What are you doing here!?" she exclaimed midway through her next comment and shouted towards the door.
Behind Ash Team Rocket had entered the Pokémon Center, though they displayed none of their usual vigor. In fact, they seemed quite beaten and bruised, James was even bleeding from a wound on his temple. Ash, even though he mistrusted the three of them, had to admit it did seem they hadn´t come to fight. "What happened to the three of you? Tried stealing the Pokémon of a trainer that wasn´t as nice as I am?" Ash asked condescendingly, feeling no pity for the three of them at all.
"No, actually we have quit the thievery business," Jessie answered quietly, somehow whatever had happened had quelled her temper significantly. "Really? I find that hard to believe," Ash responded, though he was curious why the three of them smelt like gasoline. "I understand that, but we speak the truth," James answered, cutting in before Jessie had a chance to respond. "Yeah, not that we really had a choice," Meowth continued, several injuries visible on his body.
"Explain," Ash beckoned them, he was still tense but he´d at least allow them to explain themselves. "The boss kinda fired us," Meowth answered, wincing as he strained his side. "You were fired?" Ash asked incredulous, not understanding how you get fired from a criminal team. "We were. The boss…Giovanni, wasn´t pleased with our constant failures so he tried eliminating us," Jessie explained further, tears slowly trickling from her eyes.
"Eliminating?" Nurse Joy gasped, horrified at what they were saying. "Well, it isn´t like he managed," James joked crudely, coughing a small amount of blood into his hand. "Wait here I´ll get some first aid kits, and take a look at your injuries," Nurse Joy stated, before walking hurriedly from the room to fetch her supplies.
"He really threw you away for your failures? Just like that?" Ash asked in disbelief, he had always found that Jessie, James, and Meowth had one redeeming quality in their loyalty. Even though said loyalty was misplaced in his opinion, and now he had been proven correct.
The previously pleasant smells of bread and flowers had by now been overtaken by the metallic scent of James´ blood and a kind of pungent odor Ash associated with the poison type attack Acid. "Aye, said he had no use for agents that couldn´t even win over a child and told a few grunts to take care of us," Meowth answered, his throat constricted as he was nearly overcome by emotion. "Luckily for us, we weren´t made agents for our failures," James grinned, "Before you, we had a nearly flawless record of success. Guess that didn´t count for anything in Giovanni´s eyes after our failures with you." His voice had grown hard upon the mention of Giovanni, a steely glare in his eyes.
He turned to Ash, looking him in the eye, "I won´t apologize, and I don´t expect forgiveness or even pity from you. Right now I simply want to get through the night, so I can have a choice in where to go from the morning."
Ash nodded, he didn´t feel pity for the three of them even if they had been treated so horribly, and he had a long process before he could forgive them. "Alright, I will be finding a bed anyways," Ash said before he walked off in the direction of the guest rooms of the Pokémon Center leaving the three behind.
-I wonder if I´ll ever be able to forgive the troubles Team Rocket have caused for me in the past, Ash thought to himself. "Pii-pika-pi-pikapi-chu," Pikachu tried communicating with his partner. "I know, Pikachu. Trust me I know, but it isn´t that easy," Ash yawned, "Never mind that for tonight, go to sleep buddy." Ash fell asleep nearly the second his head hit the pillow, snoring slightly as Pikachu sat by his side in silent contemplation.
As the morning sun hit his face, Ash let out a groan and moved his hand to block the rays from hitting his eyes. "Good morning, Pikachu," were the first words out of his mouth, before he opened his eyes and saw that Pikachu was nowhere in his room. "Pikachu?" Ash rose his voice slightly, trying to ascertain if he just didn´t see Pikachu. When he got no response he decided to head downstairs and see if Pikachu had gone to Nurse Joy to get a bite to eat in the early morning hours instead of waiting for him.
In the lobby, he did indeed find Pikachu and Nurse Joy, but Team Rocket too sat at the breakfast table eating slowly and savoring every minute of the food. "Good morning," Ash made his presence known. The smells of cinnamon and strawberry jam came to his nose from the table, along with toasted bread and a multitude of others. "Pika!" Pikachu squeaked and jumped into his arms.
James had a bandage around his head, only small amounts of his blue hair showing through the openings, and Jessie had let her hair down allowing it to flow down her back like a cascading scarlet waterfall. Meowth also had a bandage wrapped around his torso, and one of his claws was in a sling. "How are you three feeling?" Ash asked casually, almost stoically if you knew him. "I´ve been better, kid," Meowth answered with a shrug, before going back to his juice and sausages.
Ash smiled lightly and turned to Jessie and James, "How about the two of you?" James wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin, straightening his back. "I am feeling better, thank you." Before Ash could continue, James interrupted him. "I said last night that I wouldn´t apologize. That wasn´t entirely true, I do want to apologize. I didn´t want you to think the apology came from me being about to die," he explained shortly, bowing his head to Ash. "My most sincere apologies for all the misfortune and problems I have caused for you."
The sudden apology and the sincerity of the words came as a shock to Ash, who had no way to respond before Jessie continued after her longtime partner and friend. "I also wish to apologize to you. My actions in themselves are inexcusable, but I regret ever joining Team Rocket to make them in the first place. I was... We were young and dumb when we joined, and we never truly took in the consequences of our actions. And for that I apologize," by the end of it, she had the slight glimmerings of tears in her eyes.
"I…I don´t know what to say to this. I can´t forgive you, not right now or so fast. I can, however, allow you a new chance to prove you really mean what you say," Ash answered slowly, uncertainly at first but growing more confident. "Travel the world as honest trainers, find something to pride yourself in, something to fight for. And perhaps if I can say I respect you not only as trainers but as persons when next we meet I might be able to forgive you then."
James and Jessie looked at one another, their eyes meeting and a silent conversation was spoken in the span of a few seconds. "That is better than what we hoped for," Jessie stated with a slight smile on her lips, a thoughtful look on her face. "I did enjoy being a coordinator, perhaps I should travel as one?" she mused quietly, making James smile beside her. "You should, I really enjoyed your performances and I will be with you every step of the way," he assured her, a smile on his face.
The Pokémon Center had started to wake, near silent chatter drifting from the guest rooms and aromas of flowers mingling with the delicious smells of food. Ash took a deep breath, enjoying the peaceful sensation in the air. He rose from the table, smattering a napkin to his mouth to wipe the sausage grease from it and headed towards the entrance. "Then you have your answers, the road lies clear in front of you. I wish you luck," he told the three over his shoulder and walked out into the cool morning air.
"Pidgeot, let´s go!" The large avian screeched loudly as she appeared standing on the pavement, her large wings stretching to the sides. Ash laughed, running his fingers gently through her plumage, "We should continue onwards to Mt. Silver, girl." "Kid." Ash turned around to see James standing behind him, his hands crossed in front of his chest. "What´s up?" James seemed uncertain if he should continue, but apparently decided it was best to finish what he had begun. "I wanted to give you this," he stated, a large envelope in his hand that had been offered to Ash. "It isn´t meant to bribe or buy you. It´s a thank you for the opportunity you have given us, and a sort of restoration payment for some of the trouble we have given you over the years."
Ash rose an eyebrow but accepted the envelope. "I guess we might see each other around then…James," he added the name at the end hesitantly. "We will see, won´t we…Ash," James responded quietly and headed back into the Pokémon Center.
Ash climbed onto Pidgeot´s back, grabbing hold with his legs and signaled her to take off. The storm had died off during the night, giving way to a calm sunny dawn, allowing Ash and Pidgeot to simply relax as they drifted silently towards Mt. Silver.
-It´s curious, my journey has had its ups and downs, the downs mostly caused by Team Rocket, and yet I find myself already missing the three of them. The last week alone has changed my journey in ways I couldn´t have imagined before, Ash´s mind floated in a lake of flowing thoughts.
The travel between Viridian and Mt. Silver was the longest one he and Pidgeot had traveled before, and Ash used this extra time to think up training schedules and routines. –Ah! I can call Professor Oak and talk to him while we fly! Ash suddenly thought, raising his X-Transceiver. A few presses later and his X-Transceiver was calling the Professor´s number. Due to the wind blowing around him Ash decided that it might be prudent to use the ear-plug that had followed with the X-Transceiver.
"This is Professor Oak´s lab, who am I… Good morning, Ash. How nice of you to call," Professor Oak answered the phone in his usual jovial mood. "Good morning, Professor. I´m currently flying Pidgeot from Viridian City, had a few more errands last night. I was wondering if there is a way to check my Pokémon´s moves? I found that I didn´t know Muk´s current moves since it was so long since we battled together last."
The winds whistled around his ears and hadn´t he chosen to use the ear-plug he might well have missed the Professor´s reply. "Oh, why yes there is. The Pokédex has a feature that allows for just that, it allows you to check all the information on your Pokémon that I have. And I do mean your personal Pokémon, Ash. I find out everything I can while they stay with me to better care for them."
-I hadn´t realized, Ash thought to himself feeling slightly stupid. "Oh, and while we´re talking is it possible that you might increase my carry limit? I mean Lance said that as an…" "Already done it. Didn´t you wonder why Primeape and Haunter´s Pokéballs are still with you? I raised your carry limit shortly after you left, I forgot to mention it while you were here. Let me tell you, your Pokémon did not approve in the slightest. I was going to inform you when you called me from the Mt. Silver Pokémon Center…Which I now remember I forgot to inform you about… How forgetful have I become?" Professor Oak started to muse aloud.
"Not important. My carry limit is increased and there´s a Pokémon Center on Mt. Silver, any more information I need to know while I have you on the phone?" Ash asked, a tad bit concerned about the Professor starting to become forgetful. "Not that I can think of right now…So there is definitely something, I´ll call you on this number when I remember. I think I should get checked," Professor Oak said mildly, though you could detect a tinge of fear in his voice.
"I´m sure it's nothing Professor," Ash tried reassuring the old man, who looked older than he had before. "Thank you for trying Ash, but I fear this isn´t nothing," Professor Oak stated his closing words before the call was ended from his end.
After another two hours, the flight between Mt. Silver and Viridian City being both longer and more taxing than any other, Pidgeot touched the ground at the bridge that led into the Mt. Silver Preserve. –I assume I need to find the Preservation Center and inform the Rangers of my presence, Ash thought to himself as he slowly crossed the bridge.
At the very same second he had full crossed the bridge and stood ground in the Mt. Silver Preserve, a huge explosion rocked the air and Ash saw the dust cloud billow into the sky above the trees. "Let´s go, Pikachu! Someone might need help!" Ash exclaimed before the two rushed toward the explosion site.
Shortly before he arrived at the spot the first explosion had happened, the boom of another explosion reverberated throughout the forest. As Ash burst into the clearing he heard a harsh voice spit, "Come on it´s just one lousy Pokémon, keep it under control!"
Not even having to think about it Ash realized that these were poachers, trying to catch one of the protected species of Mt. Silver. "Bulbasaur and Squirtle help me out!" The two first stage Pokémon appeared looking ready for battle, narrowed eyes and crouched positions.
In front of Ash were four black-clad men, one in a trench coat of some sort and three in uniforms that reminded him of Team Rocket´s. Along with them were six Pokémon, two Graveler, two Golbat, one Houndoom and one Golem. "What the heck?!" the trench coat wearing man exclaimed, probably the leader by Ash´s reckoning. "Squirtle use Hydro Pump and Bulbasaur use Razor Leaf!" Ash roared, his mind furiously strategizing for how he would beat these four.
Apparently, the poachers weren´t much good as trainers since both the Gravelers were defeated in the very first exchange of attacks. "What the…?! Who is this kid!?" one of the grunts yelled, returning his Graveler. The leader squared himself against Ash, calling the Houndoom and one Golbat to him. "Don´t know, don´t care. Golem keep that merchandise down, Kane and Josh help Golem. Trevor get the truck, we need to get out of here in a hurry," he commanded, giving further credence to his role as the leader.
He snarled towards Ash, cracking his knuckles to ready himself for the battle. "Houndoom use Flamethrower to roast that plant, and Golbat use Air Slash on the turtle!" he commanded of his Pokémon. "Squirtle cover for Bulbasaur with Water Gun! Pikachu Thunderbolt the Air Slash away!" Ash commanded, deciding that playing by the book wasn´t how these battles went. Once upon a time, he would have been fighting fair, but he had long since come to the conclusion that fair wasn´t needed against criminals.
Pikachu sprang from his shoulder, releasing a devastating Thunderbolt which completely evaporated the Air Slash and clipped Golbat in one blow. Squirtle, however, wasn´t having any such luck, as the Houndoom proved to be way stronger. "Bulbasaur strike Houndoom with Vine Whip, and muzzle him!"
-It worked against Harrison, so it should work here too, Ash thought to himself. After all, Bulbasaur was more experienced than Bayleef and should be able to replicate the event. Ash was proven fallible though as Houndoom took the attack, but broke the muzzling after just a few seconds. "Now Pikachu use Thunderbolt and Squirtle use Hydro Pump!"
The combination attack neared Houndoom in record time, but Houndoom´s trainer snapped his fingers. Obviously, a signal of some sort, since Houndoom threw itself out of the way. The attack being a complete miss, and allowing Houndoom to escape didn´t sit right with Bulbasaur. Without being commanded Bulbasaur used his Vine Whip and lifted Houndoom into the air, before smashing it into the ground as hard as he could.
Houndoom managed to get to its feet, but it staggered greatly. Behind the criminal leader, Ash spotted a net and correctly assumed that the Pokémon they had captured was trapped within it. "Bulbasaur! Leave Houndoom and use Razor Leaf on that net!"
Trusting fully in his trainer Bulbasaur did exactly as Ash asked, launching his Razor Leaf towards the net. A few of the leaves actually almost cut Ash´s opponent as Bulbasaur´s target was directly behind him. "Shit, the net!" the leader, the only unnamed of the criminals, roared to his accomplices. There was no react fast enough to stop the leaves from shredding the net and releasing the Pokémon within, and a blue floating Pokémon was revealed. "Pupitar!" it roared, and Ash recognized it as the evolved form of Larvitar.
"Squirtle use Hydro Pump, Bulbasaur fire Solarbeam and Pikachu use Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded, capitalizing on the criminals' shock. The attacks crashed into their targets, taking out Houndoom, and the last Graveler and Golbat. The area that the battle had been fought in looked like a ravaged badland with deep trenches and singed ground. "Pupitar!" the freed Pokémon roared and slammed into the ground causing the ground to shake uncontrollably. –Pupitar´s using Earthquake! Ash thought desperately, returning both Squirtle and Bulbasaur. Pikachu had terrible difficulty on the ground and jumped back onto Ash´s shoulder, trusting him to be able to keep his balance.
The poachers had already gotten flung to the ground from the powerful seismic activity, and only their leader was partially on his feet. "Golem, respond with Hyper Beam!" the leader shouted, looking a tad bit queasy. The powerful orange blast shot from Golem´s mouth towards Pupitar, who simply floated to the side and thus completely dodged the attack. In retaliation an orb of purple energy condensed in front of Pupitar´s mouth, before the powerful attack was sent at high speed to crash into the already damaged Golem. –And a Dark Pulse, Ash thought in recognition of the attack.
As the dust from the explosion settled it was easy to recognize that Golem was completely defeated, having been knocked out with swirls in its eyes. "Shit! Move out!" the leader commanded, spinning on his heels to flee into the forest. Only to realize there would be no escape this day. In front of him stood two Rangers and a rather nasty looking Tyranitar with chipped armor on her chest. –Isn´t that…Yes, it is, that´s Larvitar´s mother! Ash screamed in his mind as he recognized the behemoth.
"Alright, the four of you are coming with us! You´re under arrest!" the rangers spoke with authority. "Four? Wait a minute! I´m not one of them, I was trying to help Pupitar!" Ash protested, only for the Ranges to scoff. "Trying to abandon you´re friends because you´ve failed, very original crook!"
Ash nearly exploded in anger. It was one thing to misunderstand that he was there to help, but another matter entirely to mock him and call him both a coward and a liar. "Now you listen here…!" Ash started, almost taking a step forward. The Rangers seemed to tense, ready to fight when a Hydro Pump struck the ground in front of them. "Jackson! Millicent! Back off, right this instant!" a familiar voice ordered from above them.
Ash glanced upwards, meeting Mason´s gaze. "Mason, it´s good to see you again," Ash acknowledged the leader of the Preserve Team. Mason jumped down, sliding down the hillside as if she was riding a snowboard on an icy slope, and came to a halt midway between the Rangers and Ash. Beside her was a large blue alligator Pokémon with red fins going down its back. "I see your Croconaw evolved into Feraligatr."
"He did indeed, long time no see Ash. I expected you here yesterday when I got Professor Oak´s call, what happened?" his old friend responded, her back straight and a loose smile on her lips. Ash laughed nervously, "Well I met up with an old friend in Vermilion and got back my Primeape in addition to Squirtle, and decided to see if another old friend would come with me in Saffron. And then the storm happened." He rushed his explanations, making Mason burst out in laughter.
"Well I see you´ve met another of your old friends then," she stated. Seeing the confused expression on Ash´s face, she pointed to the Pupitar. "He´s the Larvitar you brought back." Following that statement, Ash blinked several times rapidly, before almost shrieking, "WHAT!?" "Pupi-Pu-Pupitar," the Pupitar gently rumbled, nudging Ash with its head. Before Ash could say anything Pupitar floated over to and seemed to converse with Tyranitar, almost as if he wanted something and was asking permission.
When Tyranitar nodded its head with a wide grin on its face, Pupitar returned to Ash´s side happily and flipped in the air. "What?" Ash asked, not completely understanding what Pupitar wanted. "I think Pupitar wants to come with you, Ash," Mason stated easily and unconcerned. "That isn´t possible, Mason! You know it isn´t allowed to capture Pokémon in the Preserve!" one of the other Ranges cut in angrily, Jackson if Ash remembered correctly.
Mason rose an eyebrow at being scolded by her own employee, "You do realize you work for me right, Jackson? You aren´t my boss or even equal in rank. So what makes you think you can take that tone with me? Especially after you already overstepped your boundaries once today." The stern expression on Mason´s face told Ash that this probably wasn´t the first time Mason had reprimanded Jackson for forgetting the chain of command, something which seemed to annoy the normally mild-mannered Ranger greatly. "Overstepped my boundaries!?" Jackson roared back, "I captured four poachers while you were taking a stroll!"
Even Jackson´s partner, Millicent, saw that was going too far, as she backed away from the enraged man. "YOU captured four poachers?!" Mason roared right back, "YOU didn´t do anything! Ash captured three of the four poachers in the area, including the leader! What you were doing was trying to arrest an innocent who helped us, and who happens to be friends with Lance himself!" Mason was so angry that spittle flew from her mouth at every word, as she stepped closer to Jackson.
"As for me, I´ve been watching since Ash started battling them! I know Ash, and I knew he didn´t need me getting in his way! Now you will be going back to the Preserve Center, back your bags and be gone by the time I return! You are hereby reassigned from the Preserve Team!"
Even Feraligatr, Mason´s closest friend and partner, seemed frightened by the amount of rage Mason was displaying towards the male ranger. Jackson paled to the point of being white by the time Mason was done shouting at him, backing away before he threw himself around and sprinted toward the Preserve Center.
"Not that I´m questioning you Mason, but Jackson was sort of right…It isn´t actually allowed to capture Pokémon in the Preserve," Millicent stated cautiously. The area around them had started smelling slightly of sweat and sulfur, mixed with some small hints of urine. "Unless you have the recommendation from a Regional Professor and the Champion Master," Mason explained, pointing to Ash she continued, "Both of which he has."
"Oh," was all Millicent could utter before she bowed and asked Tyranitar to carry the three poachers for her. When she had gone Ash turned to Mason, "I can´t remember getting a recommendation from Lance?" Mason blinked before she sighed. "Don't they teach you anything anymore? You´re an Elite Trainer, Ash. To become one you need the recommendation of a Regional Champion, that´s kind of the reason there aren´t too many of your rank."
"Oh, that was probably what Professor Oak forgot," Ash mused aloud, a hand rubbing his chin. "Well, if I catch Pupitar I´ll have nine Pokémon on me, which of course will still be within my limit. You want to come along, Pupitar?" The last was directed to Pupitar, who was floating nearby waiting to be addressed. "Pu-Pupitar," Pupitar answered, with what Ash assumed was a smile. As Pupitar didn´t retreat or enter a battle stance Ash assumed he didn´t need to battle, and so he simply tapped a Pokéball to Pupitar´s shell.
The familiar red light enveloped Pupitar, drawing him into the Pokéball and catching him with ease. –Well, this is kinda weird, Ash thought to himself. –I was coming here to train my already caught roster and ended up with Primeape returning and two new additions even before the training has started.
"I think I´ll head to the mountain and see if I can find a clearing or something similar to train in, that ok with you Mason?" Ash asked, not wanting to step on the Rangers toes. "Mhm? Yeah sure, I was thinking more what to report to the Ranger Union about Jackson," Mason acknowledged, though she seemed entirely preoccupied.
Ash bowed respectfully to the Ranger and headed into the dense forest surrounding the Mt. Silver peak standing proudly in the distance, the massive peak an intimidating sight. Several places in the forest Ash noticed that the wildlife was paying close attention to him, the many glowing eyes standing starkly in contrast to the shadows.
-Now, what are the most common Pokémon in forests such as these? I know Stantler and Ursaring are regular sightings, and I guess Ponyta and Rapidash wouldn´t be out of place. Tangela, Weepinbell and Noctowl most certainly, and probably Butterfree and Beedrill too, Ash thought to himself. As he walked alone in the forest he calmly analyzed the clearings, water spots and food to get a reading on which Pokémon he had to prepare for.
About two hours into his trek he ran into the first wild Pokémon attack, a huge Donphan whose territory he had wandered into. "Bulbasaur you´re up!" Ash called his trusted friend to help him. "Alright, let´s start up with Vine Whip!" Ash commanded, jumping back to create some distance between himself and the battle.
Bulbasaur´s vines slapped into Donphan´s chin and sent it careening backward, leaving it open for a Razor Leaf attack, which Bulbasaur released at a slight nod from Ash. The leaves slammed into Donphan´s underbelly, doing massive damage to the wild Pokémon. "Now take it down with Solarbeam!"
Bulbasaur´s quickly charged Solarbeam met heavy resistance from Donphan´s Take Down attack, but in the end, Donphan was sent backward against a tree and knocked out. "Great job, Bulbasaur. We need to have a chat later ok?" Ash praised Bulbasaur before he ended with his question and only returning Bulbasaur upon receiving confirmation.
Gazing on the downed Donphan, Ash made a decision. Kneeling down by the downed fighter he left two Oran Berries, wishing the Pokémon a speedy recovery and left the clearing.
It took him another three hours to find a spot he felt good about using for training, and so he sat up camp there. By now the sun had started setting and very little sunlight was left, prompting Ash to light a campfire for light.
The training spot had a waterfall and a field of rocks for variety, in addition to a small pond and a few trees inside the clearing. A few meters away from the pond there was a cave going into the mountain, which Ash vowed to check out the following morning.
The day had taken a toll on the young man, he gathered his tent and sleeping bag and laid down to rest for the night.
As he slept soundly he didn´t recognize the ominous feeling of Ghost-types seeping from the cave, nor did he recognize the screaming you could hear from deep within the cavernous system.
A last shrill scream woke the young man with a start, forcing him to come face to face with a slightly older man sitting by the cinders of his very own campfire.
"Who are you?" Ash asked, only to gasp in recognition at seeing the older man´s bearded face. Sitting by the campfire breathing in short ragged breaths, and looking very much worse for wear, sat his father, Top Ranger Michael Ketchum.
A/N:
So I decided to end the chapter there. Partly because I wanted to try my hand at a cliffhanger, which I hope I have managed somewhat ok at least. In addition to that, I have pretty much done what I wanted with this chapter and thought I´d leave some for the next one. So next chapter we´re exploring Michael´s story, the ominous ghost cave and might start the training on top of Mt. Silver.
Oh, and before I forget, I wanted to thank Dragon´s Blaze pointing me to Grammarly. It´s been a great help.
Till next time!