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Pokémon Fan Fiction

The Adventures on the Crimson Isles

Rated 'M' for Language, Violence, and Suggestive Themes

Chapter 4: Landing on the Gloomy Isle

With his hard-earned Scorpion Badge from Gym Leader Sandy safe in his Badge Case, Ash and his friends depart from the Desert Isle, their sights set on the location of Ash's next Gym Badge. With the Rocket Boss abducted, and Team Pluto slowly closing their vice around the Crimson Isles, how will it affect our heroes? Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Pokémon, GameFreak, or Nintendo.


Desert Isle - Desert Cathedral

The elite Team of Officer Jennys were spread throughout the Desert Cathedral in search of the Crumble Bomb. They used flashlights and the abilities of their Fire-types to provide ample lighting for the space they were working on. Some of them had tablets and were running scans. All of them trembled in fear, to some degree or another. They worked in silence.

"Why's it so creepy in here anyways?" a random Jenny blurted. Half of her fellow officers jumped at the sudden sound.

Another officer responded. "They say a lot of Pokémon died in the construction of this place. When they fell, their corpses were simply...incorporated into a wall, or the floor, or a pillar. Apparently this place is haunted by the souls of the Pokémon still trapped within the architecture.

That was probably not the best thing to say, and the officers seemed to be even more on edge now than before. So they resumed their work in utter silence.

Finally, while investigating one of the pillars, an officer stumbled upon the bomb. It was small; a bit smaller than a basketball. It was spherical in shape and was spray-painted brown. Black cracks and fissure designs were added on the sides of the bomb, looking almost like veins. They snaked their way across the whole surface of the bomb. A thick metal band wrapped itself around the middle, and on the band was a red button, a small screen, and a retracted antenna. The officer who had found it hastily pulled on a pair of latex gloves before picking up the object, so as to not add fingerprints of her own on it.

"Sir, I think I've found something," the officer called to the lead Jenny.

The lead Jenny walked swiftly over to the object and stared at it whilst chewing the inside of her mouth.

"My god," Jenny breathed. "The International Police will have our asses for not getting onto them sooner."

"What is it, sir?" The officer dared to ask.

Jenny closed her eyes tight as of pondering whether she should tell or not. She opened her eyes and quickly said, "A bomb this size could send the entire Cathedral down in minutes."

She shook her head in disbelief. "Radio HQ. Send them a report ASAP and get me on the line with the Champion. If he can get in contact with International, then maybe they can shed some light on what the hell Team Pluto is trying to accomplish."


Desert Isle - Horus City

Serena's eye's bolted open at exactly 7:15. She took a deep, layered breath before recalling her conversation with Iris last night.

"He treats you...different. It's like you...complete him."

Those words rang in her mind while she got ready. Ash was still asleep, and after his Gym Battle and all the training he did afterwards, she knew he's be beat. Quietly, she got herself ready in the bathroom, before exiting the room to do a tiny bit of shopping around town before her friends awoke.

Ash woke up about a half hour later, the sun blinding him once more as he sat up. He glanced at the still sleeping form of Pikachu, then saw Serena's empty bed. He frowned. She usually slept in as much as she could, when she could. He wondered briefly what may have changed her mind, before seeing a piece of paper on his bedside table that wasn't there the night prior. He frowned again and leaned over to grab it.

Ash-
I hope you don't mind if I do a bit of shopping before breakfast. Just call me when you need me back; my Holo-Caster's on! Oh yeah, good morning!
Serena

He smiled, reading the note again. Serena had been occupying his thoughts a lot recently. He simply felt more confident in her presence, always feeling 100% sure of himself when she was cheering for him. Somehow, she was different from all the other girls he'd befriended. It was almost like...she completed him.


Iris awoke right around the time Ash did, and ten minutes later, the both of them stood outside in the hallway together, ready and tidied up for breakfast.

"Hey, you didn't wake Serena up?" Iris asked.

Ash took the note that Serena had given him out of his pocket and gave it to Iris.

After scanning it quickly, Iris gave it back to Ash, who thrust it back into his pocket. Iris threw on a grin, a grin that went unnoticed by her friend. It was *interesting* how Ash held onto the note, rather than throwing it away in the nearby trashcan.

"I'm calling her," Ash said promptly. After hitting several buttons on his own Holo-Caster, he called Serena. It rang once before Serena picked up. Her holographic face didn't pop up, indicating a voice call and not a visual call.

"Hey, morning Ash!" Serena said cheerfully.

"Hey Serena, I got your note. Me and Iris are going to breakfast. Anything, you want me to order for you?" Ash said, a large smile displayed on his face.

She thought for a moment before deciding. "A caramel coffee would be nice. Thanks Ash."

"You're welcome Serena." And with that, the call ended.

Ash noticed Iris looking at him with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

She rolled her eyes. "Nothing," she said, her voice laced with a hint of exasperation.

He shrugged and started running down the hall towards the cafeteria alongside Pikachu.

"Pika-chu...," Pikachu said, shaking its head and slapping its forehead as it ran.

Iris gave one last mischievous smile, and followed her friend down the hall.


Fifteen minutes later, Serena arrived back at the Pokémon Center's cafeteria, her merchandise put away in a small box in her knapsack.

Seeing Iris, she walked over to her and took the seat next to Ash, who seemed to had gone back for more food. Purposefully avoiding eye contact with Iris, she carefully put her belongings under her seat, before releasing Delphox. A steaming and exquisitely styled cup of coffee sat in front of her, complementing a plate of pancakes and fresh berries.

"Good morning Iris," Serena said cheerfully, digging onto her pancakes.

"Morning Serena," she said, swallowing a bite of nut bread. "So'd you see anything interesting out shopping?" She asked.

Serena nodded. "Yeah, I got something."

"Clothes?"

Serena giggled. "No, not this time."

Iris raised a brow and leaned in close. "A little something for Ash then?"

"Hey, welcome back Serena!" Ash said, sauntering back to the table with a heaping plate of food for himself in one hand, and a plate for Pikachu in the other.

Serena quickly turned to him as Iris leaned back, the mischievous glint still in her eyes.

"Hey, Ash! Back for seconds already, I see," she replied, giving nothing away to the aspiring Dragon Master.

Ash chuckled in embarrassment. "Yeah, sorry for not waiting for you."

Serena waved her hands in front of her face. "Oh no, that's fine Ash. Thanks for getting my food, by the way."

"No problem..."


Desert Isle - East Harbor

As usual, the sun was sitting lazily atop its cerulean throne, radiating a scorching heat to everyone beneath it, and drenching them in perspiration. The East Harbor looked very familiar to the South Harbor, the place at which the Firespray had arrived. A small flight of stone steps led down to a sandy wooden dock. From the docks extended piers of various lengths and widths, and a single jet black yacht was tied to one of the rusting support beams. As Ash and his friends would soon find out its name: the Sea Reaper, as it was the vessel that would transport them to the next Isle.

"Ugh, why's it so hot out here!" Serena complained, frantically waving her hat in front of her in an attempt to cool herself down.

Ash seemed to be ignoring the heat. Instead, he was looking for anything that might tell him the name of the next Crimson Isle, the name of its Gym Leader, and their type. Jumping from kiosk to kiosk and signpost to signpost, he seemed to be emulating Serena's resolve.

Iris, however, simply walked over to a large map just beyond the stone steps and scanned it carefully. "So the next Crimson Isle...," she muttered quietly. Seeing its name and the single offset picture of the Isle, she frowned in skepticism. The picture was an overhead shot of the entire Isle at midnight. Around the entire circumference of the Isle was the most horrific mountain patterns she'd ever seen. They shot up into the inky sky like the twisted backbone of a behemoth creature. Dark wooded areas made up a concentric circle within the mountain patterns, and amidst the trees, at the center of the Isle, she could barely make out what looked to be some sort of town or village. Then she noticed something odd on the southeast part of the Isle. Although, she wasn't positive, it looked like a tall tower had been built on the edge of a cliff among the mountains, cleverly camouflaged among the uneven rock formations. Frowning some more, she decided it was nothing more than an eerie lighthouse. Still, something made Iris uneasy about the building; maybe it was the fact that it could be so easily mistaken for part of the mountain, or maybe its precarious location, or maybe the entire Isle in general made her feel...cautious.

"Awesome!" Ash raved right behind her, snapping Iris out of her thoughts. "Gloomy Isle, here I come!"

Serena quickly jogged up to her two friends wondering what all the fuss was about. "Hey, what's going on?"

"We're off to the Gloomy Isle," Iris stated, pointing to the image of said Isle.

Serena frowned. "Um...that?" She said uncertainly.

"Oh man, I can't wait to get my second Gym Badge!" Ash exclaimed, pacing wildly in front of the map whilst throwing his hands up in cheer, Pikachu imitating his partner's reaction.

Iris scowled. "What a little kid."

Serena sighed. She was sure nothing good would come out of the Gloomy Isle.


Ocean - Sea Reaper

The trio stood on the port side of the yacht, taking in the breathtaking sight of some Water-types splashing and swimming next to the ship. The salty smell of the sea whipped through the air like a crackling fire, momentarily silencing Serena's former doubts about the Gloomy Isle. Iris's, however, were more difficult to rid.

"Ah, the ocean," Serena said merrily, bending over the edge of the railing to catch a glimpse at a school of Remoraid swimming just under the surface of the water.

"Yeah...," Iris said distantly, her thoughts currently centered around the Gloomy Isle.

Serena noticed her friend's trouble and walked over to her. "Hey Iris, are you feeling okay?" She asked.

Without moving her head to look at the Performer, Iris responded. "I'm fine. Just a little queasy is all," she lied.

Serena raised her eyebrows. "You don't strike me as the type to get seasick."

This time, Iris did turn to Serena. "Fine, something's bothering me. Let's fine somewhere inside to talk."

Serena smiled and called back to Ash. "Hey Ash, we're going to the back of the ship!"

Ash nodded in acknowledgement and continued marveling at several Wailmer swimming in front of the ship.


"So what's wrong?" Serena questioned.

The two girls had gone around the yacht and were now sitting on a bench overlooking the wind whipped water the Sea Reaper left behind. As the propeller churned out water and sea foam trailed the mega yacht, swarms of Wingull honked noisily above and schools of Remoraid swam gracefully below.

Iris squirmed in her seat. "I've been thinking a lot about Team Pluto recently," she answered, as if that cleared up everything.

The honey-blonde threw a confused duck face on. "What about them?"

Iris stood up and walked over to the railing. "The Gloomy Isle seems like the perfect place for them to make base, and for once, I'd like to see the world without having to look over my shoulder for some crazy group trying to control or destroy the world. I mean, there was Team Plasma in Unova and now Team Pluto here."

"And Team Flare in Kalos," Serena lamented.

Iris chuckled. "You'd think after all this time, the bad guys would stay in whatever sewer they were born in after seeing so many evil organizations defeated by a single boy."

Serena also smiled. "That Ash Ketchum is something special..."

"Don't lose him," Iris said, turning back to the bench. "You'll be one unlucky girl if you do!"

"Uh uh," Serena said, shaking her head, a grin plastered on her face. "We're talking about you, not me!"

The violet-haired Dragon Master grinned back. "I've said my part. Let's talk Serena and Ash!"

Serena blushed furiously and chased Iris back to the front of the ship where a certain raven-haired Trainer was waiting.


Gloomy Isle - Blackshark Bay

One hour later, the trio stepped off the Sea Reaper and onto the mushy earth of the Gloomy Isle. The Sea Reaper was moored at the only harbor in Blackshark Bay, notorious for its fierce wild Sharpedo clans. The harbor sat in a valley between two huge mountains, pieces of the mountain range that blockaded the entirety of the Isle. The harbor looked to be the only spot on the entire island where mountain did not touch the coast. Moldy docks led back to the island, which then sloped up into a vicious hill riddled with roots, gnarls, mushrooms, and other wild shrubbery.

Passengers filed off the yacht and quickly dispersed at the bottom of the hill, hiking further down the coast, up the hill, or down on the beach. Outside was blustery and Ash and Serena held onto their hats as the wind howled through the air. The sky was very dark and Iris immediately whipped out her Pok dex to check the time.

"What?!" She exclaimed. "It's only a bit past noon! Where's the sun!"

As if on cue, the captain called out to those remaining in the vicinity. "Don't be alarmed by the darkness. The mountains obscure the sun so the Gloomy Isle only gets about four hours of sunshine a day. You wanna find the Gym, head to Corvus Village. It's three miles north, and I'd say you can't miss it, but to be honest, you can, so keep those eyes peeled." He pulled down the skin under his eyes for effect. "Now get outta here," he said, waving his hands in annoyance at the passengers as if they were some kind of disease.

Ash shrugged and walked forward. "Alright, let's head out to Corvus Village!"

"Pika pikachu!" Pikachu cheered.

Serena nodded and followed the raven haired Trainer.

Iris took one last piercing look at the mountains to her right before following her two friends. Although she was the only one that made any motion, Iris knew all three of them were thinking about Team Pluto.


Gloomy Isle - ?

A middle aged woman paced back and forth down a hallway decorated with jail cells. Within the cells, various men and woman seemed to be screaming at the top of their lungs, demanding to be released, or at least told why they were being imprisoned, but the plasma barriers were soundproof, so the hallway remained quiet. The woman's lip curled into a faint smile. These were no ordinary people, though at first glance it might have seemed that way because of the identical black and violet prisoner's garbs they wore. In fact, these were incredibly important individuals within the Pokemon world; some were rich, some were smart, some were powerful, but they were all imprisoned because of the one criterion they all met. They had the potential to be a threat to Team Pluto.

The woman herself wore a similar outfit to the normal Pluto Grunts, although her robe was a deep, dark purple as opposed to black. Her hair was short and maroon in color. She had a tight face and and perma-scowl; she was not someone that could be pleased easily. She rarely smiled.

Suddenly, the Holo-Caster on her wrist started beeping, indicating a call. Seeing that it was one of the Grunts from her reconnaissance team, she opened the call with and scowl and a sharp, "What?"

"The kids from the Desert Cathedral have arrived Countess. How should we proceed?"

The Countess started to smile, but stopped herself and said, "Is our agent that was tasked with tailing them still on the yacht?"

The Grunt nodded in affirmation.

"There should be a duffel bag under the seat he was sitting on during the ride. Tell him to change into the clothes in there and lead the kids here"

"Will that be all, Countess?"

"See it done," she responded. She ended the call and calmly finished her stroll to the other side of the hall. She turned to the cell on the left, a cell that had become occupied quite recently.

Giovanni silently glared back at her, pure hatred pouring from his injured form.

The Countess tapped a button on the control pad beside Giovanni's cell, disabling the soundproof layer of the plasma barrier.

"Release me at once," he said in an quiet, infuriating tone.

"I have no orders for your release. Until I do, you will stay here until I receive said orders," the Countess said flatly. "Now answer my question or feel eternal pain." She took a step towards the barrier. "Where do I find Omega Crystal?"

Giovanni paused and laughed. Quickly, it turned to coughing, but a smile remained on his face. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"We know you have a hidden vault full of the Omega Crystal. All you have to do to prevent yourself from entering world of pain is tell me where to find it."

The smile on Giovanni's face faded, quickly replaced by an expression of anger and exasperation. "We're protecting the Crystal so nut-jobs like you can't make use of their power! I'll be the first to admit that as a crime boss, I've made mistakes. I've hurt some people and Pokémon, and it haunts me every night that I can't fix such a finality. But your endeavors surrounding Omega Crystal will not just destroy all existence..." he yelled, taking a breath. "...but, news flash, you as well!"

The Countess's expression had changed from a drawl smirk at the beginning of his rant, to a maniacal grin. "Existence will not be destroyed, you fool; it will be altered...changed for the better. Now give me your vault's location, or say goodbye to whatever pitiful ideals you still hold!" When Giovanni stayed silent, she pressed another button on the control pad. A small part of the ceiling opened above Giovanni, and a sleek, chrome nozzle lowered itself into the cell. Slowly, a thin red mist trickled out of the nozzle and Giovanni backed away from it cautiously.

"That's the gaseous form of Houndoom's Flamethrower attack. We call it Doom Gas," the Countess explained. "I'm sure you've heard the legends about Houndoom's fire. Where it touches will burn forever."

Giovanni gave one last lingering smile, as if he knew something the Countess didn't, before the mist engulfed him and he howled in terrible agony, his screams echoing down the hall as the gas tore his skin to shreds.

The Countess returned his smile and reactivated the soundproof state of the cell, once again plunging the hallway into silence, while Giovanni writhed and screamed in pain on the floor in his cell.


"Howdy kids, can Ah interes' you in uh bit o' help?" A warbling voice said behind Ash and his friends.

They turned around, looking a bit further down the steep hill they were climbing. The source of the voice turned about to be a man clad in a rumpled blue collared shirt, bulky tan cargo shorts, a floppy canvas hat, a huge backpacker's backpack, and a camera with cracked lens around his neck. He could've been anywhere between thirty and sixty years of age; the dirt and rough wrinkles on his face, plus his balding head of gray hair made it impossible to tell how old he actually was.

He quickly joined the trio further up the hill. "Y'all should know Ah'm actually uh licensed tour guide. An' Ah can help you get tuh Corvus Village."

Serena glanced nervously between her friends, hoping it wouldn't be interpreted as rude. Iris spoke up first.

"How do you know where're going to Corvus Village?" She questioned.

The tour guide faltered as if he'd just misspoken, but he soon began cackling. "Well where else would young Trainers like yerself be headin'? There ain't no nothin' for youngin's like you 'cept ol' Corvus."

Ash connected eyes with Serena, both of them thinking the same thing. It could be a trap.

Again, Iris spoke. "If your a tour guide, you should know everything there is to know about this Isle right?"

The guide nodded, flashing a toothless grin. "Yep, that's right. Ah know every nook and cranny on his hunk o' rock."

"So do you know of any tower, or some kind of tall structure somewhere over there?" She asked, pointing in the general direction of the tower she'd seen on the map.

The man's eyes darted from Iris's finger, to the direction she was pointing in, then back to Iris, the smile on his face replaced with a look of...confusion? Iris couldn't tell. "Yeah, Ah know of somethin' out there," he said, falling back into his awkwardly excited state. "That'd be the Gloomy Tower. It's the center o' Corvus Village!"

Finally, Ash spoke up. "Really? You wouldn't mind taking us there?"

The tour guide shook his head as if the idea was so preposterous it shouldn't even be considered. "Nah, it won't be a problem at all. Righty this way then. Mah name's Tucker, by the way," he said, thrusting a mangled I.D. wrapped in plastic into all of their faces.

"Great, let's go then," Serena said, mock enthusiasm lacing every word.

If Tucker had detected any hints of sarcasm, he didn't say so, instead leading the trio right, up a rocky slope, instead of the forest in front of them.

They'd been walking for a good ten minutes when Serena piped up with her first question. "So Tucker, do you know what's in that forest we would've gone into if you hadn't come along?"

"Why Ah sure do, missy," Tucker replied. "Yah see, that forest is known as the Blackrock Woods, an' it's in there that a woman bah the name uh Lilith lives. She's super duper territorial and'll attack anyone who goes in her neck o' the woods. I'll tell ya, her Dark-types are a mean bunch."

"Dark-types, huh?" Ash mused. "Hey, that reminds me!" He exclaimed. "Do you know who the Gym Leader is here on the Gloomy Isle?"

Tucker laughed. "Yes, I know that too. Funny you should ask, 'cause the Gym Leader...well he uses them Dark-types too. 'Is name's Vladimyr. Some think he hates the sun, some think he has a skin illness, an' some even think he's a vampire!" Then Tucker's expression turned serious. "Ah'm a part of that last group o' folk, jus' so yah know."

The trio exchanged concerned glances, and Tucker simply whooped loudly and bounded further up the mountain.


It was an hour later when the group of four finally arrived at the Gloomy Tower. The building itself was solid granite, cylindrical in design, and it didn't sport so much as a scratch. The walls were smooth up to the very top, where it domed. Ash thought it looked sort of like a phallus, but his primary thoughts were elsewhere. Not single house or building lie in sight, apart from the imposing Tower.

"This definitely isn't Corvus Village," Ash noted obviously.

Iris had been prepared for such a situation, and already had an enlarged Pokéball in hand. "Take us to Corvus Village," she growled.

Tucker turned around. "Now...we can do this the easy way, or the hard way." His crazed inflection was gone, replaced by a cold, almost vicious tone.

As soon as the last word left Tucker's mouth, twelve robed figures seemed to appear out of nowhere, surrounding the trio.

"Team Pluto," Serena spat, withdrawing her own Pokéball.

Tucker motioned to his cohorts. "There's no way you can defeat us all. We outnumber you, four to one. Surrender now, and I promise you no harm will come to you or your Pokémon. But choose to fight, and we will have no choice but to respond with lethal force."

"Now, now," a voice sounded from the Tower. "That's no way to treat our new guests."

The two Grunts closest to the Tower parted, and a fierce looking woman strode into the circle. Her deep purple cloak billowed in the wind, and she threw her hood off to reveal a pixie cut of bright red hair.

The twelve Grunts and Tucker fell to their knees. "My Countess," they all said monotonously in unison.

The Countess gave a sarcastically shrill laugh. "That's a bit melodramatic, don't you think?" She turned back to the trio. "You can call me Macaria." Her calm demeanor quickly hardened into one of demanding nature. Personality changes seemed to run through Team Pluto like inherited traits. "Stand down Grunts! I will defeat Ash Ketchum myself." The Grunts widened their circle.

"If you think you'll be fighting Ash alone, you must be terribly sick in the head!" Serena shouted.

Macaria snapped her fingers, and two Grunts joined her within the circle. "Take on these young ladies while I wipe the floor with this youngster."

The two Grunts deployed their Pokémon; a Weavile and an Aegislash, while Serena and Iris sent out Delphox and Fraxure, respectively. Next Macaria threw out her first Pokémon: Crobat.

Ash glared at the Pluto Countess before sending forth Pikachu.

"Pika! Pikachu!" The Mouse Pokemon growled menacingly.

"Crobat, use Cross Poison now!" Macaria roared.

"Dark Pulse!"

A coil of dark energy spiraled from the sky straight into Crobat, ceasing its attack.

Seventeen heads whipped towards the sky, but it was Ash, Serena, and Iris who recognized three all too familiar faces riding in a silent black helicopter.

Next - Chapter 5: Out of the Shadows


Author's Note

As promised, no battle! Not a real one, anyways. Sorry for such such a long wait, but if you saw my profile, you'd know that since I'm currently grounded, writing has become much more difficult. While we're on the topic, you can look at my profile for updates and other notes, as well as a synopsis for the following chapter (which should go up shortly after publishing a chapter).

Secondly, sorry for changing the name of this chapter, but as I wrote this chapter, it became inappropriate. Don't expect it to happen often, but there's that. Anyways, that's all for now. Until next time, I'll be signing off!

Subject 666