Holy shit, I actually finished this chapter, it only took years... but it happened, just like I said it would after I finished the Sonic and Attack on Titan crossover one shot. I swear to god should never make fanfics at all if this is the pace in which the chapters will be released. I'm deeply sorry about this, all small amount of people who were waiting for a new chapter and waited all this time because of my unbelievably high laziness and overall lack of responsibility. I was so occupied with enjoying myself I forgot that other people also like to enjoy themselves, and instead of bringing more chapters, I just fucking procrastinated... and if you think this means I'll be coming back full force... no, I won't. I'll try to update the stories more frequently like I did at the start, but I won't promise anything.
So now, without any further ado.
Outskirts of Viridian City.
"Woof, woof!"
"Huh...?" Ash stopped his track midway after hearing the barking sound behind him.
Currently walking on the single and deserted paved road that would lead to the entrance of Viridian City, Ash turned around to see a small orange Pokémon barking at him for no apparent reason. Ash and Raiden, who still resided on his right shoulder, looked at each other and wondered why the Pokémon was barking at them nonstop.
"Feh..." huffed Ash, turning around once again and making his way to the City, he was in need of a hospital check up, and he needed it as soon as possible. He heard the Pokémon barking once again, but ignored it as he kept treading forward.
"Stop right there young man!" a strong female voice sounded called him, making him stop once more.
Sighing in annoyance, Ash turned around to see a female green haired police officer wearing blue colored uniform beside her Pokémon partner. She had her knuckles rested on her hips as she stood in front of our yet to be officially registered Trainer.
"What is it?" he asked rather harshly to the officer in front of him, which resulted in his little partner sucking his lips and widening his eyes, it seemed that they had a tense situation unfolding right here.
"It's 'Yes, miss police officer' to you young man" she reprimanded him on the spot, which made Ash roll his eyes in annoyance "You are under the suspicion of Pokémon theft and possible murder" her words were strong and determined.
"I... what!" Ash asked in shock, why the hell was he being accused of Pokémon theft? Or even murder?
Oh yeah, the blood...
Ash quickly recomposed himself with a head shake and sent her an annoyed glance "Look miss, I'm not in the mood for any of your bullshit right now, so if you excuse me" he replied harshly to the officer, who just frowned when he told her that.
Ash turned around with his hands in the pockets of his pants and strode back in the direction of Viridian. He suddenly cried out in pain as something assaulted him from the back, the hit was enough to jolt his entire body and cause his broken ribs to ache.
As he fell to the ground, the small Pokémon that had barked at him stood on his exposed back and sit there, waiting for his Trainer to come over. His Pikachu on the other hand, hand jumped off Ash's shoulder the moment he was thrown forward, and instead of trying to help Ash like a Pokémon should to do to its trainer, he just chuckled at his, yet to be official, Trainer's state with a smart ass smirk adorning his small muzzle.
Yep, they were going to be great partners, alright.
"Raiden... you traitor" Ash mumbled in pain, moving his right arm to hold his left side.
"Good job Growlithe" the officer thanked the Pokémon as it jumped off Ash's back, and not wasting any time, she grabbed his arms forcefully and cuffed his wrists behind his back.
"My ribs... you bitch!" he cursed her under his breath.
The officer however, heard the last part of Ash's phrase and quickly jabbed him on the back due to his insolence. Ash responded by hitting his forehead against the pavement and holding a scream of agony.
"You are under arrest for resisting cooperating with an authority, insulting a police officer and the possibility of a murder" she told him in a strong manner, holding him down to show that she was in command and must be not only be respected, but also listened to.
"I'm taking you for interrogation young man" she said, hoisting him up so he could stand in too legs. Ash just responded with some heavy pained grunts, resulting in the police officer to look at him curiously "Are you okay?" she asked, a sudden change of tone from strong to worried.
Ash looked at her weirdly, how can an officer worry like for a possible criminal that? Either way, he decided to answer her question.
"Yes, of course, my ribs are fucked up and you just told your dog to assault me" Ash grumbled as she guided him to the police booth on the side of the road "I'm doing fantastic"
"Well, you shouldn't have turned your back on me then" she reprimanded him for his rash decision.
"Point taken..." Ash grunted, his face wrinkling in pain as he accidently took a heavy step, causing his ribs to hurt even more "Can you at least take me to the hospital?" he asked her, breathing heavily "I'll answer all of your questions there" he breathed out.
"Alright" she agreed "But you better keep your end of the bargain" she threatened him with a glare.
"Will do" he complied, not that he had any choice in the matter anyway.
So, instead of leading him to the booth, she led Ash to the booth's garage where she kept her motorcycle in case she needed a fast transport for a police operation. She placed Ash on the side car, Raiden sitting on his lap, and returned Growlithe to his Pokéball before heading to Viridian City Hospital.
XXXXXXX
Viridian City Hospital.
...
"Hmmm... three broken ribs, bruised chest, and bite marks on the right shoulder blade" a doctor described Ash's situation as he kept examining his torso and inscribing what he felt on his clipboard.
Ash sat on the hospital bed while the doctor kept feeling his chest, it was very weird and it creeped the hell out of him. But Ash knew that no matter how weird it looked, this was a common procedure in hospital and the doctor was just doing his job.
The Police Officer, who had introduced herself as Jenny while she drove him to the hospital, was waiting for the doctor to finish checking up on Ash so she could start the interrogation. Raiden was supposed to be out of the room too, but he managed to sneak into the room without the doctor noticing, and when he noticed, Ash warned that the Pikachu would end up shocking him if he tried grab him or something.
"Geez, thanks for stating the obvious" Ash said sarcastically, drawing a glare from the doctor, to which Ash ignored "No wonder you managed to graduate from College, your intellect is unmaAAARGH..." he howled in pain as the doctor pressed his finger harder on Ash's injury.
"What the fuck is your problem?" Ash growled to the doctor while he held his side, to which this time was the doctor's turn to ignore his foul mouthed patience "Stop laughing Raiden!" this time he growled to Raiden, who was chucking beside Ash.
"I want no sarcasm, nor cursing in my hospital okay?" he told Ash with a very serious tone, to which the teenager could only nod "You're lucky that none of the broken ribs punctured any of your internal organs, otherwise your state would be critical" he warned Ash, who now listened more carefully to the doctor.
"How bad is it then?" he asked, hoping to get an insight of how busted up he was and possibly how long he would be out of commission. The doctor raised his clipboard and started reading all he had listed about Ash's state.
"Your ribs aren't broken per see, they're actually fractured, so there is no need for surgically implanting a metal plate inside you if that's what you're thinking" the doctor confessed to Ash, who sighed in relief "The big bruise on the left side of your thorax are going to hurt but it's nothing major. The bite marks on your shoulder could've been a serious problem if you didn't clean that, so good job on managing to keep yourself in the best condition until reaching this hospital" the doctor finished explaining Ash his state.
"How long will I have to stay here?" Ash asked the doctor in hopes of having at least an estimative of how long he will be out of commission.
"Hmm..." The doctor hummed, cupping a hand on his chin "I'd say a week at best" he told Ash, surprising the patient.
"Only a week?" he asked curiously.
"Not exactly" he opened his eyes and eyed his patient "The bruise on your chest and injury on your shoulder will be able to heal in a week's time" he explained "And you will also be discharged from here, but you I must warn you to be very careful, your ribs won't be fully healed by then, so I must ask you to take it easy and not do anything rash" the Doctor explained the situation to Ash "You also don't need to stay here since all you need is rest, you can stay in the Pokémon Center instead seeing that you're a Pokémon Trainer"
"I see" Ash said, nodding in an understanding manner.
"Alright, now if you excuse me, I have another patient to attend to, so shoo" the Doctor said making shooing motions with his hand, Ash nodded and walked to the door, but before he could open it the Doctor called him "Remember, don't overexert yourself too much, all you need is rest, if you put too much pressure on your body you may break you ribs for good" the Doctor warned Ash, who only gulped in response.
"Let's go Raiden" Ash called his Pokémon as it jumped up to his shoulder.
"What did I just tell you?" the Doctor pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance.
Ash just waved his hand at the Doctor's statement, ignoring it completely.
Getting out of the room, he looked for Officer Jenny and found her sitting on one of the chairs just outside of the Doctor's office, lightly waving her legs and humming a tune for herself while she waited for him with his belongings beside her. She noticed him walking in her direction and stood up, picking up his bag with her. She signalized him to follow her as she gave him his bag back.
"C'mon, I'll take you to the Pokémon Center" she told Ash as they made their way through the corridor. Jenny's statement made him look at his partner with an eyebrow lifted, who responded with a shrug.
"The Pokémon Center? Why?" he asked her, confused as to why not just take him to the Police Station and interrogate him.
"Because first, you need a bath ASAP..." she said bluntly, to which Ash looked back at his body and remembered he was drenched in dry blood. He still wondered how people did not freak out in the hospital.
'...they must think is paint or something' he thought to himself.
"And second, because you took so long in there and I had nothing to do, I decided to take a look inside your bag and..."
"You what?" Ash interrupted Jenny angrily,
"I... I looked into your stuff..." she said that in a meek voice, completely different from the confident persona she had moments ago "I'm sorry, I was really, really bored and I had nothing else to do while I waited for you" she stopped in front of Ash and turned to him, hands clasped and eyes closed in hopes that he would forgive her.
"You looked into my stuff because you were bored?" he asked with the usual cold tone toward strangers returning. The adrenaline rush from that incident made quite a number on his behavior.
"Yes, I'm sorry" she opened one of her eyes to see his reaction and closed it right after, he was not pleased in the slightest.
*Sigh*
"You're a really weird police officer you know that?" he asked her, staring right back at her eyes.
"I get that a lot..." Jenny confessed out loud in shame, turning her eyes away from his, not wanting to meet his disapproving gaze.
"Anyway, let's get going shall we?" Ash sighed in response "I think we already wasted too much time in this hospital" he said to Officer Jenny.
"Alright" Jenny said, reverting back to her regular and more confident persona.
'How does she do that?' Ash thought to himself as he followed her.
"Anyway, back on topic" she started talking again "When I was looking into your stuff..." she heard him growling behind her and let out a small embarrassed laugh "... I found your Pokédex, and it pretty much told me everything I needed to know about you" she told him.
"My Pokédex?" he asked to himself "Oh yeah, the old man did tell me it acted as an ID" he crossed his arms and nodded to himself.
"After seeing the information on your Pokédex, I noticed that the information I had from the possible Pokémon thieves and yours didn't connect" she told him, to which he nodded in understanding "Especially because the info I got suggested that there were two Pokémon thieves and they were both adults" she told him.
"And how the hell did you fucking confuse me for two adults!" he raised his voice above his normal tone at her as they got out of the hospital and neared Jenny's bike.
"I'm not a good thinker under pressure" she turned to him with a sheepish smile and her eyes closed, when she opened her eyes she saw him giving her the middle finger alongside a blank stare "Hah... I deserve that" she sighed.
"Let's just get to the damn center already" he pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance.
XXXXXXX
Viridian City's Pokémon Center.
"Well, here it is, Viridian's Pokémon Center" said Officer Jenny, taking off her helmet.
"I guess this is my stop then" Ash said to the officer, he got off the sidecar alongside Raiden and turned to her to offer a hand shake "Thanks for the ride... I guess" he said with a little bit of shyness on his voice, the concept of cooperating with strangers was still unknown to him, he offered his hand as to not look impolite in front of her... again.
"Nah, it was nothing" she took his hand and happily shook it, a smile crossing her features "It was the least I could do after what I got you through" she let go of his hand and placed the helmet back on her head "See ya" was the last thing she said before she drove away at insane speeds.
Ash shook his head, that has got to be the weirdest police officer he have ever met.
"C'mon Raiden, let's go inside, that Jenny wasn't wrong when she said I needed a shower ASAP" he commented to his rodent partner.
"Pika" Raiden responded with a nod.
As they approached the front doors of the Pokémon Center, they slid to the sides, allowing Ash and Raiden to enter the building without any hassle. Upon entering said building, the two of them noticed that the place was brimming with aspiring trainers, like himself. Ash frowned almost immediately after seeing so many people in here, he could easily handle being around two people, especially if they were professionals like the doctor and the officer, but staying in a place full of people he did not know made him quite uncomfortable.
"Just my day" Ash sighed, Raiden sighed as well, still not used to being around so many people "Just ignore them and they'll ignore you..." he muttered to himself as he made his way to the nurse behind the balcony.
During his brief walk, some of the people around noticed the shirtless teenager covered in red substance and a Pikachu perched on his shoulder. They may not have noticed that the red thing was blood, but the few Pokémon that were out of their Pokéballs, either playing, being fed, or just laying around, noticed the odor that was being emitted from the shirtless and realized it right away.
All the Pokémon stopped what they were doing and turned to Ash and Raiden to glare at them, the blood gave of an aura of danger, and their instincts told them to be cautious in order to protect them and their respective trainers. Raiden just glared back at each of them, but stopped when Ash told him not to, as it could attract unnecessary attention, it took him some time to stop, but he did it anyway.
"Miss Joy?" Ash asked for her when he reached the balcony, her back was currently facing him as she was registering something in a computer at the back of the balcony.
"Yes?" she responded back, turning around to face him with a smile "What can I hel -Oh my!" with a hand in front of her mouth, she quickly took a double take at the appearance of the teenager in front of her.
"Yeah, I know" Ash responded, knowing that she was about to state the obvious "Can you heal my Pokémon for me?" he asked her as nicely as he could, picking Raiden from his shoulders and placing it on the balcony.
"O-of course I can" Joy regained her composure and answered him with a smile "I suppose you also want a room to stay" she asked him, seeing both his current state and that it was starting to get dark out there.
"Yes please" as Ash nodded in response, she picked up a key and gave it to him, with a note giving directions to the room.
"Can I have your name mister?" the nurse Joy asked Ash after giving him the note.
"Ash" he answered her question with his made up nick name "Just Ash" he continued, she just nodded in response
He was about to leave Raiden with the nurse when he remembered who she was going to pick up. Before the nurse could grab the Pokémon, Ash stopped her from doing so and told Raiden that he could trust the miss with pink hair, according to Professor Oak, the nurses were some of the most trustworthy people that existed and that he was in good hands with her.
She smiled at his nice words, even though they were delivered in a rather uninterested tone, as if he didn't mean anything that he said.
"Also" he started, before she could pick up his Pokémon once again "Try not to do anything that might upset him, he will not hesitate on hurting you for that" he warned her.
"You have nothing to worry sir" she reassured him, calmly picking up Raiden within her hands "I've handled dozens of different types of Pokémon, and Pikachu are no exception, I know how to work with them" she said, proving her point by rubbing Raiden behind his ears, which made him relax almost instantly.
"Chaaa..." Raiden released a pleased cry, clearly liking the treatment he was being given.
Ash nodded to the nurse and started making his way to the room. Passing through the main area of the center, he took out the note and guided himself to his room. Upon reaching the room he was designated to, he used the key give to him to open the door.
Entering the room, he noticed that it was nothing too fancy, just a normal room, it had a single bed, a desk, and another door that led to the bathroom, which was his main priority at the moment. Getting into the bathroom, it had the obvious stuff that a bathroom would have, plus a washing machine that was also a dryer, to which Ash thanked the gods for. Now he could finally wash all the blood off his clothes.
After placing all his clothes, and his empty backpack, into the washing machine, he went to take a shower to wash all the blood off himself. Sometime during the shower, Ash's mind wandered back to the event that took place the day before in the forest of Route 1.
He could still remembers very vividly the brutal display of violence toward Raiden's family, but the most prominent thing that came back was red, the color red. All the scarlet liquid that painted the entire clearing was now embed on his mind forever, he started feeling sick by just remembering that. And then was his assistance in helping Raiden kill all those Ekans and their leader, Arbok, which just made him feel worse.
He felt bad, really bad.
Ever since he was a little kid, he had always loved Pokémon, it was one of his greatest passions, and to kill some of these creatures he appreciated so much... he didn't want to keep thinking about it, but his mind wouldn't let him rest after the deeds he had committed inside that forest, and it made him remember in very gory detail the death of the leader of the snake Pokémon group.
The feeling of sickness started growing stronger, the puke quickly rising up from his stomach. He couldn't handle it anymore, and rushed out of the shower and directly to the toilet, emptying all of the contents inside of his stomach into the toilet bowl. He cringed as he the foul the foul flavour of his own vomit. Why was he feeling sick just now? A day after the events that led to this very situation? It didn't make any sense to him. Maybe it was the heat of the moment? That seemed to be the most plausible answer.
After that little episode, Ash rubbed off with his arm the drops of puke from hi mouth, and went back to the shower to finish cleaning himself. The only thing that kept him from going into some sort of depression over the death was the fact that, if he hadn't stepped in, all of Raiden's family, and Raiden himself, would have died. He had done the best he could, and thank to his actions, the Pikachu and Pichu that survived were able to safely escape from the clutches of Arbok's gang, even if the rest unfortunately didn't have the same fate.
"Stop thinking about it..." Ash muttered to himself as he turned off the shower. If kept thinking about what happened the day before, he would end up depressed just like he was years ago.
Getting out of the bathroom, Ash picked up a clean folded towel from a small cabinet placed just outside of it. Thankfully, he had some spare clothing he inside of his backpack, and thankfully once more, it didn't get all messed up with all the blood. He picked up the spare jeans and put them on, as he sat on the bed, ready to start drying his hair with the towel. He was about to start when he heard the nurse Joy calling for him through the Pokémon Center's intercom system.
"Mister Ash, your Pokémon is healed" He heard the nurse calling him "You can come and pick him up now" he knew she had finished warning him as he heard a click coming from her end of the line, and no more sound came from the speakers.
Ash just groaned and stood up unsteadily, still feeling the effects of emptying his stomach so suddenly. His mind was so messed up right now, that he went out to pick his Pokémon without putting on a shirt. Going the opposite direction of way he used to reach his room, Ash found himself nearing the balcony, where he found Raiden waiting for him on top of it.
"Hey Raiden" Ash called out for his Pokémon in between some heavy breathings when he got to the balcony "Are you all healed up now?" he asked to his little partner.
Raiden heard the raspy breathing of his unofficial trainer, but instead of trying to know why he was like that, Raiden answered Ash with a confident 'Pika!'
"Great!" Ash nodded with a genuine smile on his face, happy to see that his Pokémon was okay.
"Hmm... M-mister?" he heard the nurse Joy talking to him from behind the desk.
"What is it?" Ash asked as he turned to her with a lifted eyebrow, with Raiden jumping up to his shoulders.
"This is a public area..." she meekly said, a faint blush crossing her features was barely visible as she tried her best not to stare at him. Only then he remembered that he had gotten out of his room without a shirt and with his hair still wet.
"So what?" he asked back, his regular monotone voice. His eyes trailed to the side a little and he saw a few people staring at him due to his lack of shirt, their Pokémon however, ignored him this time "At least I'm not naked" he responded to her in a somewhat annoyed tone.
"I think it's best if you go back to your room to properly dress yourself up" she commented to him "Your current attire is... bothering some of the other trainers" Joy said, still not trying to look at him.
"Yeah, I've noticed that" he answered slowly, he still didn't want to bring any attention to him and his Pokémon. Sometimes, his 'I don't give a shit' attitude ends up making him the center of attention even when he doesn't intend to "Thanks for taking care of Raiden for me miss" he nodded respectfully in her direction and made his way to his assigned room.
"Hmmm... Mister?" nurse Joy called for him once again.
"What is it?" he responded slowly, getting tired of her really quick.
"I-I failed to notice this before but..." she started, a little afraid of the way that Ash was staring at her. He was getting worked up and she could see it "... you're breathing quite heavily, and you look a little pale, do you feel alright?" she finally asked Ash, worried about the young, shirtless trainer.
One of Ash's eyebrows lifted in wonder, he knew his breathing was raspy, and he knew why, but pale? What was she talking about? Seeing the way he was looking at her, she pulled a small pocket mirror from behind her desk and handed it to him. Ash looked at his reflection on the small mirror and saw the he was indeed paler. He just sighed in annoyance at his predicament and handed the mirror back to the nurse.
'Well, shit' he thought, as he lightly pushed his head left and right to get a good look of his face.
"Thanks for warning me" he thanked with a small nod and started making his way back to his room at a slow and sedate pace.
"It was nothing" she responded back with the usual smile on her face, even if this time it was a little bit forced.
Reaching his room, Ash closed the door behind him and almost immediately fell back. He hit his back against the door and slid down toward the floor. Raiden, who seconds ago was perched on Ash's shoulder, jumped down and looked worriedly at his trainer. Ash's breathing got heavier and raspier, and he could see dark circles under his eyes as well, Raiden knew of two situations where this can happen, lack of sleep, or sickness.
"Pika..." Raiden said half of his name worriedly, indicating that he was worried about his trainer.
"Don't worry Raiden..." Ash placed his hand upon his Pikachu's head and rubbed it "I'm alright, just tired" he warned his little fellow with a smile on his face so he wouldn't be worried "Really tired"
But it didn't work too well because Raiden was having none of that crap. He knew Ash wasn't okay, and glared at him this time, pretty much demanding him to tell what was happening. Ash noticed his Pokémon's glare and gave in to it, it wasn't like he could do a lot either.
"Okay, maybe alright isn't the best way to describe it" Ash let it out in a sigh, hand still on Raiden's head "I was thinking back of what happened yesterday on the forest" he started telling the small rodent of what he was feeling "Was it right to kill those Pokémon? Was it the right thing to do?" He took his hand off Raiden's head and plopped his elbows onto his knees.
After hearing his trainers true thoughts, Raiden started speaking to him, or at least trying. He kept repeating his name over and over again with different intonations each time. Ash knew that Raiden was trying his best to make him feel better, and the once rebellious Pokémon who tried to kill did make him smile a little bit, even if he couldn't understand a single word coming from the Raiden's mouth.
"Thanks for the kind words Raiden" Ash said, feeling a little bit better after hearing his Pikachu talking. Raiden just smiled followed by a 'Pika!'.
Ash slowly stood up with a groan and headed toward the bed, Raiden following closely. He sat on the bed and looked through his stuff that he had taken out of his. He picked up his Pokédex and looked curiously at it, he haven't even used it yet, not even once. With a shrug, Ash decided to test it out on Raiden, he flicked open the small machine, aimed it at his Pikachu, and pushed a button to scan him.
"Pikachu, the mouse Pokémon: This species of Pokémon are known for storing huge amounts of electricity on the pouches located on their cheeks. If you try to yank a Pikachu's tail, it will try to bite you" the Pokédex said in a robotic, monotone voice.
Ash lifted an eyebrow at the last piece of information the phone looking device gave him. He looked at his partner, who also had listened to what the Pokédex said about himself. Pikachu noticed the look Ash was giving him and immediately hugged his tail, sending him a glare that said.
'Don't even think about it'
Ash lifted his hands up in a 'you got me' manner and smirked toward Raiden. He then remembered that the Pokédex could also make calls, but only toward regional professors, which wasn't a problem since the Old Man was the one he wanted to talk to anyway. Using the devices D-pad, Ash selected the phone option, which had only one number, Oak's Laboratory, and pressed the same button he used to scan Raiden to select the Old Man's number.
...
...
"Hello?" Ash heard the Old Man's voice coming from the Pokédex, the small screen on the Pokédex showed the professor on the other side of the line, back in lab.
"Hey Old Man" Ash greeted professor Oak through the Pokédex.
"Satoshi! Thank god you're safe!" the professor sighed in relief after seeing Ash in one piece "Now I don't have to worry about dying anymore" he said with bright a smile on his face.
"Umm... what?" Ash asked in confusion, why would the professor say something like that?
"Oh! It's nothing you should worry about!" the Old Man quickly realized what he said and brushed it off as fast as he could. Ash frowned a bit about that, but decided not to press on the matter "So... you called me for something, what is it?" the Old Man asked.
"Well, say hello to my new friend..." the aspiring trainer turned his Pokédex around to face Pikachu.
From the other side of the line, Professor Oak looked at the screen confusedly, new friend? What new friend? Did he met someone on the way and decided to travel with it? His questions were all casted aside however, the moment he made eye contact with a small, yellow Pokémon, who blew him a raspberry.
"... y-you... did it?" were the Old Man's words, he was flabbergasted, Ash actually managed to get the rebellious Pikachu. While he did have faith in the boy, he wasn't a hundred percent sure that he would get the Pokémon.
"Of course I did it" Ash arrogantly smirked to the professor "I told you I would make this Pikachu my partner" Raiden frowned a bit. He wasn't caught, he decided to come with the boy, there was a difference.
"Well, congratulations on getting your first Pokémon, and by yourself no less" Oak praised Ash's achievment with a happy and proud smile on his face "All you need to do now is get your official Pokémon League Trainer-ID, or just Trainer-ID, for short" he explained as the young aspiring trainer nodded in understanding, but soon frowned and rubbed the back of his head, to which professor Oak noticed "What is it?" he asked worriedly.
"Well... the Pokéball I brought to try and get Raiden back is kind of broken right now" Ash confessed as he scratched the back of his head. Oak lifted an eyebrow and the name Ash had spoken, but guessed it was the name given to the Pikachu. Ash have always respected Pokémon's individualities, and giving them a name accentuated it.
"I see, so you need me to send you a new Pokéball so you can officially 're-catch' it, and have me register him as your first Pokémon" Oak deduced the situation in the blink of an eyes. Ash leaned back, a bit of surprise easily visible on his features.
'No wonder he's a worldwide famous Pokémon Professor and Researcher' were Ash's thoughts about Oaks deducing speed "Yeah... pretty much" Ash admitted to the Old Man.
"I guess I'll give it to you. I suppose you're on the Viridian Pokémon Center?" Oak asked the boy, who nodded positively in response "Then I'll ring the Nurse Joy so we can start the transferring process"
"Thanks Old Man" Ash closed his eyes and smiled warmly "I can always count on you"
"It's nothing Satoshi, always happy to help" the professor smiled back, but in the blink of an eyes it turned into a frown "Satoshi, I've been meaning to ask something to you since the moment you called me..." he looked seriously at his ex-assistant.
"Ask away..." Ash looked a little tense after the professor's change of demeanor, but still complied to his request.
"You look pale... are you alright?" Oak asked worriedly. The only time Ash have ever heard this tone was back when he first revealed to Oak what had happened between him and his mother.
"I'm alright Old Man, there's nothing for you to worry about" Ash put up a fake smile to try and deceive the Old researcher, but he just kept staring at the boy with a frown crossing his features.
"I said, I'm okay!" Ash spoke louder to the professor, yet, he just kept staring back. The more Oak stared at Ash, the more uneasy he felt.
"I... I..." Ash started staggering with his words, he knew Oak was worried, but he didn't want him to feel worried. But the Old Man would not let go of his stare until Ash gave in to it "... I'm not okay..." Ash sighed as he angled his head toward the floor in sadness.
Oak saw the manner the young trainer looked down and got even more worried, it had been years since the last time Ash looked this sad, and something very serious must've happened for something to make him act this way.
"I need someone to talk to, Old Man" Ash confessed with another sigh as he leaned his face on his open palm.
"Then why did you try to dodge my question?" Oak asked, giving up his hard stare for a more worried look.
"Because I didn't want to..." Ash said, much to Oak's confusion and dismay "I didn't want you to worry about me" He said quietly, completing his sentence, giving Oak what he wanted to say.
"Satoshi..." Oak said quietly to himself "Tell me what happened" he asked to the boy.
"I... I killed a Pokémon, professor..." Ash confessed, his voice seemed a little weak. Oak's eyes widened for a brief moment before he set his face into a neutral expression.
"Well... that's a rare way to start you journey, it's not every person who manages to take down a wild Pokémon right off the bat " Oak blurted out, more to himself than to Ash. However, the aspiring trainer didn't take that too lightly.
"Professor, this is serious..." Ash raised his voice to the old man "I killed someone..." his voice quickly died down though. Ash looked really shaken by this particular event, and Oak felt it was his job to guide Ash through this. He too had gone through this, and he too had someone to help him, he's not simply going to let Ash live with the guilt in his mind.
"Tell me, how did it happen?" Oak asked to his young ex-assistant. He needed to hear what Ash had experienced in more detail, otherwise he can't help him.
"It all began when I was trudging through the forest surrounding Router 1 looking for Raiden..." Ash started his tale as the professor listened carefully to him.
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"... and then Raiden used his Thunder Shock to electrocute the Arbok to death from the inside out through the knife I had stabbed it with" Ash was almost finishing his story, his eyes looked distant for a moment, as if he was reliving the event from the day before at that very moment "Arbok just screamed in agony as he was burned alive from the inside. It was so hard to watch, and yet I couldn't take my eyes from what was happening... and then after, Arbok just exploded, spilling blood and guts everywhere..." Ash finished his tale, he looked somber, and Oak didn't like that.
"..." Oak didn't respond right away, he didn't expect anything like that, but he wasn't shocked either. Oak didn't have a look of surprise on his face, he looked dead serious as he heard about Ash's story. Do not get him wrong, he was very impressed with what Ash had to go through, especially since he was still a novice, but he himself had gone through worse, a lot worse, so it didn't faze him in the slightest.
...
"Satoshi" Oak started very seriously, the tone of his voice making Ash immediately bring his head up to listen to him, he had only witnessed Oak sound this seriously when he had opened up to the old man about his life.
"Listen to me, and listen well" Oak continued "What happened in that forest was not your fault-"
"But profe-"
"I told you to listen" Oak interrupted Ash's interruption, making the teen visually retract, like a small child being lectured by their parents, he had never seen the old professor this serious before.
"What happened was not your fault" He repeated himself, and glared at Ash, daring the boy to interrupt him once again "You couldn't have foreseen the events that led to the death of those Pikachu, what happened would have happened whether you set your foot on that clearing or not."
"And the death of the Ekans and Arbok at your hands... Satoshi, the world is a dangerous, dangerous place. Pokémon aren't pets, they are not toys, they are wild, savage creatures, and they act according to their main instinct, survival. When they feel threatened, they hunt for food, fight for dominance, or even fight just for the thrill of spilling blood, they won't hesitate to kill, ever, so you shouldn't either. You did what you had to do to survive, killing is just part of it, it was either kill of be killed."
"Survival is a big part of being a Pokémon Trainer, not only for yourself, but for your Pokémon as well, what you witnessed was just the tip of the iceberg. You're going to kill, and you're going to kill a lot, this is no game, this is life, and life isn't going to be nice to you. You're going to have to kill to protect, and to feed, both yourself and your Pokémon. I know I sound harsh, but you have to get over it, you can't go and get depressed every time this happens, because if you don't man up, you'll get you and your partners killed."
Ash visibly flinched at the last part, and a different type of guilty quickly passed through him at the thought of someone dying because he couldn't react accordingly.
"I..." Ash started speaking, but he couldn't find his voice for a moment "I'm an idiot, ain't I?" he asked to both himself and the professor.
"Yes, you are" Oak answered, plain and simple.
Ash just let out a low disheartened at the old professor's response.
"To think I spend years working with you, only to let something this basic fly by me" the young new trainer raised a hand and stared at, as if there was something missing "It only serves to show how unprepared I was" he said, tightly clenching his fist. Both Ash and Oak just stared downward, no conversation took place after Ash's statement, they stood there, musing over what was said by both parties over their current situation.
...
"Are you going to give up?"
Ash's eyes widened and brought his head up to meet with the professor's eyes, who still looked dead serious. The question was so outlandish and came so out of nowhere, that Ash just had his mouth hanging open. He was about to say no, of course not, why would he? But then... the events that took place the day before came back full force, and for a moment he thought over what the old man proposed to him.
Should he give up? He have been working, studying and preparing himself for his journey for years, he thought he was ready to take on anything on his way and just keep going forward. Yet... here he is, having an emotional breakdown because he's incapable of getting off his head the fact that he helped kill a group of Pokémon, it just ate him up inside knowing he had a hand in that.
If Oak asked him that question before he went into Route 1 forest, he wouldn't immediately said no and ask if the old man had hit his head, but now he's not so sure anymore.
"I..." the young trainer placed a free hand over his head "I... I don't know professor..." Ash's words were slow and lacked any sort of energy or sassiness they would usually have "I need some time to think about this..." he admitted to the old professor.
"I know you do" Oak agreed with the boy "I just hope you make the right decision once you're done" those were the old man's last words before he said his goodbyes and signed off.
Ash just kept staring at the now grey, blank screen of his Pokedex after Oak's image disappeared, and with a heavy sigh, Ash let himself fall to the bed's mattress on his back, this time, diverging his sight to the grey ceiling of the room. He wondered about what Oak had said, and what he had thought after, about the possibility of just giving up, the concept seemed so alien to him, a day ago he was deadset on becoming a fully fledged Pokémon Trainer and make a name for himself, but now he was not so sure anymore.
Oak warned him about the perils that came along with being a Trainer, but Ash just ended up taking his words for granted, never taking them seriously enough, and in the end, it came to bite him in the ass, now he feels like a complete retard. If this is the life of a Trainer, having to live each day with his life at stake, having to kill to survive, and having the responsibility of keeping his partner well...
Ash let out another sigh as he brought the back of his hand to his forehead, what a mess of a situation he got himself into, and right at the beginning of his journey too. He still wanted to become a Trainer, to make Pokémon friends and see the world, but the fear of failing and letting them die because of either from his inability to steel himself, or from just flat out not being capable of helping, is holding himself from blindly going forward with his goal.
And then there's the fact that, despite being a competitive sport, Pokémon battles are still fights of the fittest, and can end in death if one is not careful and fast enough to take their Pokémon out of the fight before something happens. All this came crashing down on Ash's consciousness at the same time, all the valuable information that he pretty much ignored in favor of other that would benefit his abilities to take care of Pokémon.
"What the hell have I been thinking..." Ash said to no one other than himself, but Raiden heard it of course, and he also listened to the depressed tone in his new partner's voice.
"Pika..." was Raiden's only response, not that Ash could understand it anyway.
The teenager looked to his left to see his yet to be official Pokémon looking at him with a worried expression. It managed to get a small smile out of Ash's face, as he stretched his left arm and scratched the yellow rodent's head, behind his ears. It soothed his mind to know that Raiden was worried about him, despite the fact that they have been together for less than two days.
Pokémon sure are incredible creatures, should be what's coursing through Ash's head. They are wild and dangerous, yet much more emotionally adept than humans, to the point they can feel the emotions of others, especially if they are attached to these others in any way. And the thought made Ash's smile grow a little more, that Raiden already considered Ash as a friend in such a short amount of time.
He sighed in and decided not to dwell on the matter anymore for the day. He was tired, his partner was tired, both of them were seriously in need of some well deserved rest. And who knows, all this stress he's feeling might just be a product of his exhaustion. Ash brought both his legs up and covered himself with the bed's sheets, with Raiden staying at the bed's foot, and slowly drifted into sleep.
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Next day
The next day Ash could be seen sitting on one of the benches outside, on the back of the Pokémon Center, with his now official partner, Raiden, sitting right next to him. His clothes were already washed and, dry, but he decided to come out without the jacket, gloves and hat. He was dressed in plain black t-shirt, jeans and shoes. He and Raiden were watching a battle take place on one of the two standard ground battle fields for Pokémon Battling. Two teens around his age, one with a Rattata, and one with a Mankey were facing off in an official Pokémon battle.
Ash analyzed the fight as it happened before his eyes, the boy with the Mankey held a considerable amount of advantage over the one with the Rattata, not only he showed more experience while commanding his Pokémon, but the Pokémon himself was clearly the stronger and was dominating the fight.
The pig monkey Pokémon danced around the rat while the poor thing tried his best to connect an attack under the command of his less experienced trainer, but the difference in skill was staggering. Soon, Mankey's trainer commanded him to use Scratch attack, and Mankey charged forward with incredible speed and started pummeling the Rattata with his claws and finished with an uppercut that sent it flying back to its trainer. The Rattata's trainer shouted his Pokémon's name in worry as he saw it get beat up but the far more experienced one, it had a few light but extremely stinging gashes all over his body, and could barely get itself up.
The fight however, almost took a darker turn when Mankey's trainer told him to use Low Kick on the rat Pokémon. Ash knew what happened when a super effective move hit its target, and it wasn't pretty. Pokémon types had natural weakness against other types, and their achilles' heel is too fragile, a super effective hit could potentially kill the opponent if the Pokémon was unable to control itself.
"Stop!" Rattata's trainer screamed, and the Mankey stopped himself from attacking the clearly defeated Pokémon "Rattata can't fight anymore" he pulled his Pokéball and recalled his Pokémon. Ash nodded to himself in reaction to the trainer's decision, it was wise of him to stop the match before it got unnecessarily bloody.
Both boys then walked and met at the middle of the field, where they traded handshakes and compliments. When they turned back however, Ash saw an annoyed look on the Mankey's trainer's face, he clearly wanted to finish the fight, even if it meant possibly crippling the opponent's Pokémon, after all, it isn't illegal to maim the opponent's Pokémon, or even kill, if the fight is still going.
Someone once tried to create a law that would prevent trainers of making their Pokémon fight more viciously during battle, but it was overruled because no matter what they did, once a battle started, the Pokémon would think of almost nothing but fight, it was their instinct to fight viciously, it was in their blood, and no matter how much they tried, turns out it wasn't just the trainer, but the Pokémon too who wanted to fight like that.
The Mankey's trainer noticed Ash had been watching the match alongside his partner, and started making his way toward our protagonist.
"Hey there" the boy spoke, now that he was close, Ash could get a look at the boy. He wore a blue t-shirt and a pair of men shorts. His hair was short and brown in color. All in all he looked very average, if it wasn't for that irritating smirk on his face "Is that Pikachu yours?" he asked, pointing his finger toward Raiden.
"Yes" Ash's response was swift, and in a tone that showed he didn't want to chat. But the boy apparently didn't realize that.
"How about a battle?" he proposed "Mankey here still need to blow off some steam, and that last Pokémon didn't even put up a decent fight" he signalized to his Mankey who as glaring daggers toward Raiden, who in turn glared back.
"How about no" Ash responded harshly, which took the boy by surprise "I just caught him, and he's my first Pokémon, he's not ready to fight yet" he responded, looking at the boy with his trademark uninterested look. He didn't want to fight the boy, at least not right now, he was already having his own problems, and battling would not help. Raiden turned his head back to his trained when he heard that he wasn't ready to fight yet, he was more than ready to fight.
"Oh, I see" the boy started speaking, with his shit eating smirk getting wider "You saw how strong Mankey is, and you know your puny Pikachu can't win this fight?" he spoke with mockery seeping through his voice, with his Mankey mocking Raiden as well.
Ash was mostly unfazed by the boy's mockery, sure, he wanted to sink his fist into his teeth, but he had enough self control to remain calm, and he also couldn't do anything rash otherwise his ribs would get even worse. Raiden on the other hand looked beyond pissed that there was someone calling him weak without even knowing what he could do. The yellow rat turned to his trained and started flailing his little arms up and down, he knew what Raiden wanted, he wanted to fight.
"Alright" Ash sighed, and stood up, glaring at the boy, who now looked a little fazed after noticing that Ash was a head taller than him, especially when he was sent a quick glare "You sure have a lot of nerve opening that shit hole you call a mouth to speak like that to my Pokémon " was what Ash said before he walked up to the other side of the field "I hope you can back that up" Ash finished while he and Raiden waited for the boy.
The boy looked shocked for a second, before realizing what Ash had said, and barring his teeth at the insult. He stomped his way to the side opposite to the one Ash was standing and told Mankey to get ready. Besides their trainer box, a small compartment on the ground opened and a small tower rose from the from it, with a scanner at the top. Ash pulled his Pokédex while the boy across the field took out his Trainer Card and they placed it upon the scanner, after a brief moment, they took their belongings as the scanner went back down into the ground.
Their match have now been officialized.
"Mankey, use Low Kick!" the boy shouted the order to his Pokémon, who immediately complied and charged directly to Ash's Pikachu.
"Use Quick Attack to dodge!" almost as if it was instinct, Raiden used his Quick Attack move to easily dodge Mankey's attack "Now tackle him with it" using his leg to pivot himself, Raiden turned around and shot straight into Mankey's face, sending him flying backwards.
Mankey rolled a bit before straightening himself up and shot himself toward the yellow rat. He jumped up and tried to land a flying kick onto Raiden's face, but it was evaded at the last second, he kept going with his onslaught, sending punches and kicks, but all he could hit was air, Raiden was much faster than him.
Without anyone knowing however, the fight was having an effect on Ash. Seeing Raiden in the middle of the fight, fearing of him getting hit, anger for the boy badmouthing his Pokéon, and joy for his partner managing to hold his own, it made him feel different, something he only felt on very short occasions before... Ash felt alive, having all these emotions running through him at the same time was like burst of adrenaline, and he liked it.
"Get behind him and use Thunder Shock!" Ash shouted excitedly, bringing his arm forward dramatically.
Raiden side stepped an uppercut meant for his face and got close to Mankey's own face, smirking at his Trainer's excitement and his opponent's impending demise as the Pikachu jumped over the Mankey, landing perfectly behind him where he grabbed a handfull of Mankey's fur with each of his little paws and released a powerful electric discharge at the poor pig monkey Pokémon. Raiden kept shocking him for a whole ten seconds while the Mankey screamed in agony, before Ash said it was enough, and true to his words, when Pikachu stopped, Mankey fell to his knees and then on his face, with his white fur all charred and burns all over his body.
His trainer had his eyes widened and mouth agape at the course of events.
Ash on the other hand, looked down on his hands and clenched them tightly, what he felt during battle, he enjoyed it, and Raiden, he felt it too, the emotions swirling inside and the excitement that came with the danger... Ash he had his answer clear now. It didn't matter if it was too dangerous for him and his Pokémon, he will make it through all the hardships along with all the friends he will make in his journey.
He will become the best.
Once again, I'm really, really, really sorry for this.