Chapter Six: The Follower
Route 11 was a long road, Ash reflected as he began to make camp for the night. It was mostly prairie, with large patches of tall grass that he wisely avoided. In that tall grass were Ekans and Raticate, who could be aggressive if startled. Ash also heard that there were Drowzee around, but the psychic types didn't actually cause any harm to passing trainers. They fed on dreams, which was harmless unless Drowzee attacked with malicious intent. The only noticeable change for the individual would be a night of dreamless sleep.
There were Spearow flocks as well, but again, they weren't aggressive until they were provoked. That is, unless a Fearow was leading them. The evolved Pokemon were what made Spearow dangerous, what with their highly aggressive temperament and short fuse. They were the real threat, but Ash was confident that he could handle any of the birds.
Over the course of the week he spent traversing the prairies, he fought every trainer that he possibly could and defeated all of the people he encountered. Most were training to defeat Lt. Surge, so he supposed that was the reason why he won each of the battles. He only met a couple of trainers that gave him an actual challenge, which made most of the fights somewhat boring. He did earn a good bit of money though, so that was a plus.
Ash pushed his team as hard as he could whenever they stopped for the night. They all went to bed with sore muscles. Even Eevee, because the little normal type spent the whole day walking with Ash and Pikachu. She hadn't warmed up to him much, but she had been watching the rest of the team's training sessions with more interest as of late.
Once camp was ready, Ash set his team loose. There weren't many targets to practice moves on in the prairie, so they just sparred against one another. He waited for each of his Pokemon to adjust themselves upon release from the confines of their pokeballs before addressing them.
"Okay guys, tonight is another round of sparring," Ash told them. "Douse, try to help Pyro learn Mega Punch. Warm up with that and then practice some close range fighting, okay?"
Douse nodded and cracked his knuckles. Pyro lashed his tail from side to side, the flame on the tip already burning brighter than normal. Ash smiled at that. Those two got along marvelously. Douse was just easy to befriend and Pyro seemed to like anything that could fight him on equal terms.
"Sobek, you and Pikachu are the other pair," he continued. "I want you two to work on improving speed and endurance. Start doing fifties and keep at them until I come over to you, alright?"
Pikachu nodded, but Sobek gave Ash a deadpan look. The boy smirked. "Don't give me that, Sobek. You need to improve your speed and you know it."
Sobek rolled his eyes and growled with displeasure. The croc hated these exercises. They were straight from Surge's training advice- simply running back and forth over a short distance nonstop until they could run no further. None of the team were particularly fond of the brutal sprints, but Sobek hated them with a passion.
Ash glanced at his team and nodded. "Alright then, get to work. You have ten minutes to warm up and then we'll be working for at least an hour."
A chorus of voices answered him as the four Pokemon separated into their groups. Ash went back to the camp and sat down, watching them exercise for a few moments before pulling out his PokeNav and looking up their current position. He was only two days from Lavender Town. One more day on the prairie, then another on the extensive wooden bridges that made up the northern section of Route 12. Ash had never been that far east before, but he would be lying if he said he wasn't a little excited about it.
Eastern Kanto and Lavender Town were as far as the Indigo League extended in that direction. Further to the east lay the regions of Fiore, Almia, and Oblivia. All three were run by the Ranger Union and now denied access to any Pokemon trainers because of the Shadow Pokemon War against Cipher. The Orre region where Cipher had originated from lay to the west, far along the coast beyond Johto. It was a roughneck country full of criminals and lawlessness. Only a few areas were populated because of the titanic desert dominating the region. Even fewer species of wild Pokemon resided there, due both to the harshness of the environment and the damage done in the war.
To the southwest of Kanto lay the Hoenn region, a massive tropical expanse that was formed by the eruption of Mt. Chimney millions of years ago. It was home to the Hoenn League, an ally to Indigo that had also fought in the war against Cipher. Champion Drake had led the Hoenn forces at that time. He had since retired his mantle as Champion to become a member of the Hoenn Elite Four, but he was still infamous.
Drake had helped train the Indigo Champion Lance and was widely considered to be the greatest Dragon Master of their time. The man's Salamence was a monstrosity- the pinnacle of dragon types. As ancient as its master, the dragon was arguably still the most powerful Pokemon in Hoenn and was said to be stronger than Lance's Dragonite. Ash had heard stories of Drake and his Salamence crushing Cipher forces in Orre to the point that the organization actively took extreme measures to avoid all contact with the Dragon Master. The current Hoenn Champion was a master of the equally tough steel type, but he had only been recently indicted and for the life of him, Ash couldn't recall his name.
The Hoenn League actually had a different structural system than Indigo. It consisted of four trainers making up the Elite Four, and then a Champion. Indigo also had four trainers that made up the Elite Four, but Lance doubled as a member of that rank and as the Champion. Ash had heard rumors that his home region would soon be adopting a similar structure, as Sinnoh was attempting the same in its early development and the far-off Kalos region had recently gone through the change itself.
Sinnoh had been subject to internal power struggles for the last few decades, torn apart by a conflict between its eastern and western sides. It had recently settled down and a tentative League had been established, but from what he understood their Elite Four and Champion changed frequently. Apparently, there weren't any trainers yet strong enough to maintain those titles.
Far off to the west was Unova. Ash knew little about the region aside from the fact that it was Sobek's home, but he knew it was old- as old as Indigo, Hoenn, and Kalos. The League there was led by Champion Alder, who was Drake's rival when the pair of them were young. Ash knew little else about the old Champion and nothing about Unova's Elite Four, but if Alder was Drake's rival then he suspected they were probably quite strong.
Kalos was a place Ash knew a little more about, but only because a friend of his had moved there years ago. It was far across the sea to the east, and some researches suspected that Kalos and Kanto had once been a single land mass. Continental drift had caused them to split apart and their separation also led to the formation of Oblivia, which was, in fact, a small chunk of both regions. Kalos had many species of Pokemon considered native to Kanto, but it also had unique breeds that were impossible to find anywhere else.
Ash smiled to himself. He remembered doing all that research on Kalos when he was eight because he wanted to make sure it was a good place for his friend to move to. No amount of protests had prevented the move, but he was still glad he knew as much about it as he did. At least his friend learned about her new home before she left Kanto.
Champion Diantha had recently taken up the mantle in Kalos. She was the youngest Champion to date- only eighteen years old. Ash remembered watching that battle on TV. Her Gardevoir had single-handedly annihilated half of the previous Champion's team. The psychic type was insanely talented at picking apart her opponents with judicious use of teleportation and overwhelming power. Ash was pretty sure Gardevoir was even more powerful than Sabrina's infamous Alakazam. After that, Diantha only needed to use two more of her Pokemon- a strange flying type called a Hawlucha and an ice type called Aurorus.
He looked eastward on impulse and wondered for a moment how his childhood friend was doing. She was his age- maybe she'd become a trainer…?
A yip got Ash's attention and he glanced down at Eevee. The normal type was giving him an annoyed look and jerked her head towards the others. He realized that he'd spent more time than he'd intended on the PokeNav and jumped up.
"Thanks, Eevee. Sorry guys, I'm coming now!"
"Pyro, Slash!" Ash commanded.
The Charmeleon ducked underneath a Water Gun from the Seadra they were fighting and lunged while it was still in the air. The water type had jumped out of the sea to strike, leaving itself open to a counterattack.
Pyro lashed out with sharp claws and cut right through the tough scales covering Seadra's body. The water type screeched angrily and tried to spit a Bubble Beam at him, but Pyro slashed through the bubbles and then smashed into Seadra with a vicious tackle. The Dragon Rush proved to be too much for Pyro's opponent and battered Seadra into unconsciousness.
Ash breathed a sigh of relief. That had been one of the toughest foes he'd met on the way to Lavender Town thus far. Seadra's trainer, a fisherman, recalled the water type and approached him.
"That was some fight!" Exclaimed the man. "It's not everyday someone beats my Seadra, especially a fire type. Your Charmeleon is something else, kid."
"Thank you," Ash smiled back. "That Seadra really was strong. I thought it was going to beat us a few times there."
"I appreciate the kind words," replied the fisherman. He handed Ash the prize money he owed graciously and then poised a question. "Say, where are you headed to?"
"Lavender Town."
The man arched an eyebrow. "You might think about heading in the opposite direction, kiddo. There've been some creepy stories coming out of that town. Well, creepier than normal."
"Creepy?" Ash replied questioningly.
"Yeah. The town is a historical haunt of ghost types, but word is lately that those ghosts are behaving nastily. I wouldn't risk getting attacked. They're dangerous, those ghosts."
The boy smirked. "Actually, those ghosts are the whole reason I'm going there. I wanted to capture one for my gym battle against Sabrina."
"Sabrina, eh?" the fisherman snorted. "Yeah, I'd say you'll need one to stand a chance against her. I think I'll hit one of the lesser gyms before I risk fighting those beasts of hers. Anyway, good luck with the ghosts kid."
Ash nodded and then went on his way. He was just a few hours away from Lavender Town and none of the warnings he'd heard about the place were going to deter him. Ash was getting a ghost- he'd travelled too far to turn away because of a few scared people.
Pyro nudged his trainer's arm and growled to get his attention. Ash smiled at his starter and scratched the horn on the Charmeleon's head. Pyro made a happy rumble in turn and the pair of them continued walking. Ash readjusted his hat in the face of the midday sun. The only downside of being so close to the sea at this time of year was it was ridiculously hot. Pyro loved it, but Ash was sweating bullets.
Doing his best to ignore the heat, he continued on his way.
Upon arrival at Lavender Town, Ash noticed two things that stood out: One, the locals were downright rude. Not a single one was kind enough to point out the Pokemon Center when he asked and just brushed him off. Ash ended up wandering for a while before he finally found the place, still sweaty and now irritated by the annoying behavior of the town residents.
Two: Lavender Town was unusually chilly. Once he'd walked into the town, the temperature plunged and Ash got the primal sense that he was not supposed to be anywhere near the place.
He was relieved that at least Nurse Joy was still polite despite the rest of the town.
"Welcome to the Pokemon Center!" Joy said kindly. "How may I help you?"
"My Pokemon need a checkup, please," Ash told her, setting his pokeballs on the counter.
"Of course. I'll call you when your Pokemon are fully healed," she told him.
Ash nodded. "If it's not too much trouble to ask, what's going on in the town? I heard rumors on the way here that the ghost types are acting strangely."
Joy frowned. "Yes, they have been more aggressive lately. No one seems to know why, but all the ghosts are congregating around Pokemon Tower. They attack anyone that tries to enter the upper levels of the tower and seem driven by some otherworldly force."
"It's that bad?"
"Under the circumstances, the League dispatched one of their agents to deal with the problem. But she hasn't returned yet…" Joy glanced at the phone at her desk. "It's been a day already. I've thought about calling the League again. This town is actually the home of Elite Four Agatha, but she was otherwise occupied when the call came in. Now…"
Ash thought about it for a moment. "Actually, I was thinking of entering the tower to pick up a ghost type. Is that possible right now?"
Joy fixed him with a glare. "Now listen here. These wild ghost types aren't anything to scoff at. The agent the League sent in is an Elite Four class trainer. If she can't handle the problem, you can't-"
"-I don't mean the upper levels of Pokemon Tower. You said the problem was concentrated up high, right?" Ash replied. "I'll stay on the lower floors. And if I find that agent, then I can tell you if she needs help or not."
"Well…" Joy hesitated, pursing her lips. "I can't encourage you to go. But if you really do insist on going, I can't exactly stop you, either. Although I recommend you meet with Mr. Fuji. He runs the Pokemon Day Care here and he used to be a Pokemon Professor as well. Talk to him first."
"I'll do that," he promised. "I'll go talk to him while my Pokemon are being healed."
"Very well. The Day Care is just a short walk from here. Mr. Fuji built it close to the Pokemon Center in case any of the young Pokemon became sick."
Joy gave him directions to the Day Care and Ash took off. He couldn't enter Pokemon Tower yet, but he could at least get some idea as to what was going on.
A small girl answered his knock at the Day Care. She blinked at Ash and hid behind the door slightly. "C-can I help you?"
Ash smiled and tried his best to look friendly. "I was wondering if Mr. Fuji is here?"
"Yeah, he is," she squeaked. "He's my grandpa. Do you know him?"
"No, but I need to talk to him. Please?"
The girl seemed to consider, then nodded. "Wait here a moment."
She closed the door and Ash heard the sound of footsteps running off. He inwardly sighed. Even the kids here behaved very oddly around strangers. Ash was tempted to pin that on the presence of so many ghost Pokemon, but decided against it. There were plenty of ghost type trainers that didn't behave like this. Agatha, for one. The Elite Four member was fierce and not at all against human contact. Well, that was what he had heard of her.
His train of thought ended as the door swung open, revealing an old man with a curious expression upon his face. "Yes? May I help you, young man?"
"You're Mr. Fuji, right?" He asked. At the elder's nod, he went on. "My name's Ash. I'm a trainer. I came here to catch a ghost type, but Nurse Joy said I should come talk to you first because of all the strange things happening around here."
Fuji gave him a scrutinizing look that made Ash slightly uncomfortable, but he nodded again. "Very well. Come inside, please."
"Thank you."
Ash stepped in and looked around. The Day Care was a small and relatively simple affair. Several wooden stables gave the Pokemon their own space, though some of the stables had two or even three inhabitants. Those were small Pokemon though, so Ash assumed they were juveniles or even babies.
Fuji led him to the back, where there was an office of sorts. It was filled with books and research papers on subjects that Ash probably hadn't even heard of. Their owner did used to be a Pokemon Professor, after all.
"Now then," Fuji sat down in a chair and looked at Ash again. "You said you were here to capture a ghost type?"
"Yes sir," Ash replied. "I've been thinking about ways to defeat Sabrina. She's still a long way off for me, but I like to plan ahead. I've got a Krokorok right now, but there's no way he could defeat her whole team on his own. I think a ghost type would be a really great member of my team."
"Hm. What would this ghost type be to you once it has served its purpose, Ash?"
Ash frowned. "Served its purpose? What do you mean?"
Fuji was eyeing him analytically. "You say you wish to capture a ghost to defeat Sabrina. Is that all it would be to you? Simply a means to an end?"
That made him scowl. "If this is a joke, it's not funny."
"It's not meant to be funny. Please, answer my question."
"It would be a member of my team," Ash snapped. "That makes it part of my family. Of course I would battle with it against Sabrina, but I'm not just going to discard it once I win the badge. What kind of trainer does that?"
Fuji smiled mysteriously. "More than either of us would be entirely happy about, unfortunately. Very well, you've convinced me. I apologize for the…interrogation, but good trainers are in short supply these days and I'm unwilling to help out those without the best intentions."
He thought the man had an odd way of finding out such information, but didn't say that. Fuji was probably the only one in Lavender Town that knew what was going on with the ghost types.
"First of all, I should enlighten you as to the purpose of Pokemon Tower," Fuji stated. "It serves as a resting place for deceased Pokemon. The people of Lavender Town have buried their partners there for centuries. As a result of all the departed spirits resting there, ghost Pokemon were attracted to the site. Our ghost type trainers made a pact with them long ago, to protect the tower and the people of Lavender Town. In exchange, the ghosts could come and go as they please, as residents of the town itself."
"In regards to what is happening now, I have only a slight clue. There are ghost types that have been relatively unaffected by the strange behavior that has inflicted the rest of their kind. They have informed me that there is an unusual energy flux in the highest floor of Pokemon Tower, caused by a massive gathering of spirits. Why this is happening, I have no idea, but it has the ghosts riled up for some reason."
Ash frowned. "Are they harmful, somehow? The spirits?"
"No. Spirits themselves are simply presences. Ghosts can sense and interact with them, but spirits are not able to actually hurt anyone. No, something else has them on edge and I don't know what. That's what the League Trainer went to find out, but she has yet to return…"
The room was quiet for a moment. Ash suddenly felt a slight breeze on his neck and turned. He screamed a second later at the sight of a skull and a single, glowing red eye. He fell flat on his rear and stared with wide eyes at the skull, which turned out to simply be a mask. The owner of said mask made a cackling laugh and watched him with obvious amusement. Aside from the skull mask and large red eye, the small ghost was simply a wispy black body floating in the air.
Fuji chuckled. "Don't be alarmed. This ghost has been unaffected by the odd influx of spirits. He often stays here and keeps some of the younger Pokemon company."
Ash stared at the ghost curiously. "What is he?"
"A Duskull," Fuji told him. "They're native to the Hoenn region, but you can find them wherever spirits congregate. They are guides of sorts for wandering souls seeking the afterlife. That might sound ominous, but believe it or not they are actually quite friendly."
"Duskull," Ash repeated. He had recovered from his shock and stood back up. The ghost type slowly floated around his head in a circle, scanning Ash with his eye. He apparently liked what he found, because Duskull used the wispy appendages on either side of his body to pick up Ash's hat and lay it upon himself.
Fuji chuckled again. "He likes you."
"I can see that," Ash smiled. Duskull flew to Mr. Fuji and tapped his forehead with a wispy limb. Fuji tapped the center of the ghost's skull mask in return. The old man frowned in thought for a moment more.
"I think you should take Duskull with you to the tower," Fuji said at last. "He is a resident of the tower, after all. He can guide you through the dangerous areas."
He blinked when the ghost appeared to agree and floated back over to Ash. Duskull tapped his forehead this time, surprising Ash with how solid the seemingly wispy appendage felt. The boy smiled back and mimicked Fuji by tapping Duskull in the center of his mask, which pleased the little ghost.
Ash glanced at Mr. Fuji again. "I still have to pick up my team from the Pokemon Center, but then I'll go to the tower. Is there anything else I should know?"
"Just a bit of folklore, if you feel like you have the time," the old man offered. When Ash nodded, he went on. "Pokemon Tower has actually been here since the ancient times. In fact, it was here long before Lavender Town was formed. We believe that a long-extinct culture made the tower in honor of a Legendary Pokemon, in the time when Kanto and Kalos were still one landmass."
That had his attention. Ash suddenly felt eager to find out more. "What Pokemon was it?"
"Well, there are a few hypothesis," Fuji admitted. "There isn't much evidence for researchers to identify for sure one or another. However, I believe the tower was designed as a roost."
"A roost?"
"Have you heard of the Bell Tower in Johto?" Fuji asked. Ash shook his head, so the ex-Professor enlightened him. "The Bell Tower is, like the Pokemon Tower, an ancient construct. It was built in honor of the Legendary Pokemon Ho-oh, and served as a roost for it. The people who care for the tower still pass on this legend and continue to preserve it in hopes that one day, Ho-oh may return. However, there was another tower that is much less known since its reconstruction- the Radio Tower in Goldenrod City. It used to be a shrine as well, a roost for Lugia. It is another Legendary Pokemon, though the tower built to serve as its roost was destroyed long ago."
"I believe that given the geographical location of Pokemon Tower here in Lavender Town, it served as a roost for a Legendary Pokemon thought to reside in Kalos- Yveltal. I think Yveltal used to live here before Kalos and Kanto split apart. The tower was on the edge of the continental drift and simply wasn't a part of the mass which became Kalos."
"Yveltal?" Ash repeated. He'd never heard of such a Pokemon. Ho-oh and Lugia were names he was familiar with, but Yveltal was alien to him.
"Yveltal is considered among Legendary Pokemon to be an incarnation of death. Its power drains the life force from all that around it. How and why are questions we may never have the answer to, for no one has actually seen an Yveltal in the flesh. All we have of it are ancient descriptions and paintings. It would bear a certain irony that Yveltal may have once resided in Pokemon Tower, wouldn't you say?"
Ash nodded. That certainly made sense to him- a Pokemon that embodied death resting in a place meant for the departed to be at peace. He wondered if that had ever made Yveltal sad- that its only companions would be those with no life left in them. It seemed like a lonely existence.
Fuji smiled to himself and shook his head. "Anyways, I think that's enough rambling on my part. Go on, Ash. Good luck exploring the tower. I hope you find your ghost."
"Thank you," Ash replied. Duskull floated out of the room (still wearing his hat) and the boy turned to follow, but paused when Fuji stopped him one last time.
"If for whatever reason you do find yourself climbing the higher floors of the tower, do not attempt to enter the top floor. The ghost Pokemon guard it jealously and only Agatha is allowed access. I think it is a special place for them, though for what reason is beyond me."
He nodded again. "I'll remember that. Thanks again."
After picking up his team from the Pokemon Center, Ash followed Duskull to the massive tower on the eastern edge of town. The construct was enormous- far bigger than he'd expected. It was probably twelve floors high and jet-black. There was something about the place that seemed to warn him away, but Ash had come too far to just leave. Duskull led him to a large door and the two of them entered Pokemon Tower.
It was quite dark inside. Ash couldn't see much of anything, aside from countless tombstones that lined the floor in rows. He reached for a pokeball, but Duskull tapped his forehead slightly harder than before. Ash paused. Apparently, releasing one of his Pokemon wasn't a good idea.
"So, where are the ghosts, Duskull?" Ash asked quietly.
Duskull started to float away, turning for just a second to let Ash know he was supposed to follow. He walked after the small ghost. It was easy to keep up with him- apparently, Duskull wasn't one for speed.
They walked throughout the tower for a while. Ash climbed three flights of stairs and stopped at the fourth, the warnings from Joy and Mr. Fuji ringing in his ears. Yet Duskull persisted and Ash's own curiosity gave way to the ghost's beckoning. They hadn't seen a single ghost type yet and the absence of them was eerie.
They were at the base of the stairs that would take them to the sixth floor when Duskull tapped his forehead again to stop him. He paused and Duskull did the same, the single red eye narrowing. Ash thought that the ghost looked angry and decided that whatever was above them was not friendly. The ghost gave Ash his hat back and then vanished though a wall. He waited quietly; Duskull obviously had something in mind.
He heard two dull thumps and then Duskull appeared at the top of the stairs, beckoning him to follow. Ash ran up and froze when he saw two men unconscious on the ground. He had no idea what Duskull had done to them, but they were still alive.
Then he saw the black uniforms with the characteristic red "R" on the shirts and realized why Duskull had attacked.
Alarm and then rage went through him as he comprehended the sight. Team Rocket. The same group that had been ambushing trainers in Mt. Moon to steal their Pokemon for profit. They were operating here, probably capturing ghosts for their own personal gain. It also explained why the League trainer hadn't returned- they had probably captured her or worse.
Even if they were unconscious, Ash wasn't willing to leave them there armed. He grabbed their pokeballs and stuffed them into his bag. They'd do something about the Pokemon inside later.
Now in a hurry, the ghost led Ash to the base of the stairs for the next floor and stopped when they heard footsteps coming down. Ash hid behind a tombstone and gripped Pyro's pokeball. If it came to a fight, he was more than ready to fight off the Rocket grunts. They weren't very powerful on their own, as he recalled. It was when they were in a group that they were the most dangerous.
Two grunts appeared at the base of the stairs. They looked around and called out. "Hey, you lazy bums! You're on the job! Respond when we call you-"
Duskull suddenly floated in behind them and his single eye glowed brightly. Red energy coalesced in a faint outline around the two men. They froze and grimaced tightly before falling to the ground. Ash recognized the move as Disable.
He switched his hand from Pyro's pokeball to Douse's and set the Poliwhirl loose. The grunts were unable to move, but Duskull had left them conscious. That was enough for Ash.
Douse seemed confused by the situation. Ash pointed at one of the Rocket grunts and muttered quietly. "Use Hypnosis. I need to find out why they're here, Douse."
The Poliwhirl nodded and stood in front of one of the grunts. Ash pulled up the immobilized man's head and made him look at the spiral pattern on Douse's belly. The pattern began to swirl, enrapturing the grunt through his eyes. When the man's gaze became sleepy, Ash got started.
"What's Team Rocket doing here?"
"Catching ghost types," the grunt responded sleepily. "The creepy monsters are rare and worth a lot of money."
Ash's eyes narrowed. "How many of you are there?"
"Standard squad. Twenty grunts and an Admin."
"Who's the Admin?"
"Lady Ariana. She's the head of research for Team Rocket. Real beauty, she is."
Ash rolled his eyes. He didn't care if the Admin was a supermodel. She was an enemy and a criminal. "A League trainer was sent to the tower not long ago. What happened to her?"
"Ariana insisted we keep her," the grunt muttered. "She had some badass Pokemon, but Ariana's got a nasty Vileplume. The little monster blasted the League trainer with Sleep Powder before she even knew we were here. And that chick is hot, let me tell you…"
"Please don't," Ash snapped. "Where are you keeping her and her Pokemon? Also, where are all of the ghost types?"
"Next floor. Ariana didn't want her in the way of all the stuff happening on the top of the tower. We caught most of the ghosts. The rest of em are just floating around somewhere."
He nodded. "Douse, put him to sleep."
Douse's spiral pattern sped up a bit and then the grunt passed out completely. Ash stood up with clenched fists. He was gonna give the Rockets a taste of their own medicine. Snatching the pokeballs from the unconscious grunts, Ash gave his orders to the two Pokemon beside him.
"Duskull, find out if there are any other grunts on the next floor. Douse, you're with me. We're going to help out that trainer and then beat Team Rocket senseless."
The ghost vanished quickly. Douse just nodded and followed his trainer. Ash knew that Douse had never encountered Team Rocket before, but he had to rely on him. Hypnosis would be invaluable for incapacitating the grunts they ran into.
Ash and Douse waited until Duskull returned. When the ghost reappeared at the base of the stairs, he shook his head. There were no grunts on the next floor. The ones they had just knocked out were likely the only ones that had been guarding the League trainer. Without further ado, they made their way the next floor.
Duskull led them straight to the League trainer, who was tied up and still asleep from what had probably been a nasty dose of Sleep Powder. To Ash's surprise, he recognized her.
"Cynthia?" Ash snapped his fingers in front of her eyes to get her attention. He glanced nervously around the room. They had no way of knowing when the next group of grunts would come downstairs to check things out. "Cynthia, wake up. C'mon."
She wasn't waking up anytime soon and he felt kind of bad for what he was about to do, but they would need her strength to beat down Team Rocket. "Douse, use Wake-Up Slap…gently."
Douse offered the sleeping teenager a sympathetic look before delivering a (by his standards) fairly gently slap to her face. Ash winced. The move wouldn't even make most Pokemon flinch, but that was a decent slap by human standards.
Cynthia's eyes shot open and she glared at him furiously. She opened her mouth to snap, but froze in surprise when she recognized him. "What the- why are you-"
"Shh!" Ash quickly put a finger over his lips. "There are still Rockets here. They're the ones who knocked you out."
Her eyes widened. "Rockets? Wait- what happened? I was climbing the tower…"
"You took a nasty dose of Sleep Powder from their Admin's Vileplume," Ash told her. When she gave him a questioning look, he embellished. "I had my Poliwhirl hypnotize a couple of grunts on the floor below this one and got some answers out of them. You've been here for two days. I'm sorry for waking you up like that, but you were really out of it."
"No, you probably just saved my life…what are you doing here, Ash?"
"I came here to catch a ghost type Pokemon. Then I ran into the Rockets and well…you know the rest. I didn't know you were the League trainer they were talking about, though. That was just chance."
Cynthia nodded. "Are my Pokemon still here?"
"I think so. Duskull-"
He was cut off when the little ghost floated over with six pokeballs orbiting around him. Ash blinked and gestured to Duskull. "Well, there you go."
"That's a relief. Can you get these binds off of me?"
Ash set Pyro loose immediately. The Charmeleon looked bewildered by the odd situation, but didn't question Ash when he ordered the fire type to cut Cynthia's bonds. Once she was free, Pyro looked at his trainer again.
"There are Rockets here in the Pokemon Tower," he told his starter quietly. "We're going to give them a taste of their own medicine."
Pyro's eyes narrowed into slits and his lip curled in the beginnings of a snarl at the mention of Team Rocket.
Cynthia stood up and took her pokeballs from Duskull graciously. "Thank you. But Ash, you need to leave. If what you said is true, there's another Rocket Admin here. You remember how strong Proton was in Mt. Moon, don't you?"
Ash protested immediately. "I want to stay and help! What if you get knocked out again?"
"That was sheer dumb luck on the Rocket's part and not something I'm going to let them repeat," she muttered. Her eyes flashed dangerously and Ash inwardly shivered- Cynthia could be menacing when she wanted to be.
"Very well, I'll let you come along," Cynthia said. "But you stay with me. Engage only the grunts and stay away from the Admin. I will deal with that one. They're on the upper floors, correct?"
Ash nodded. "Yeah. The Rocket we hypnotized said there were twenty of them and an Admin. There are only sixteen grunts left now since we knocked out four of them. The Admin is a woman called Ariana. Apparently, she leads research for Team Rocket."
"Does she? Not for much longer. Come. We need to move quickly."
The next few floors were the same as the previous ones- guarded only by pairs of grunts. That was the case up until the final floor, where ten Rockets likely protected their Admin. Ash and Cynthia had yet to see them, but they had sent in Duskull to scout as he had done for the previous floors of the tower.
It also became apparent that there was an unusual power growing on this last floor. Ash had no idea what the power was, but it scared Duskull. The little ghost was shivering from the force Team Rocket had instigated. It was making them uneasy.
Once Duskull reported back, Cynthia picked out one of her pokeballs and looked as Ash. "I'm going to set one of my Pokemon on them. When the fighting starts, you stay behind me and do not stray. Do you understand?"
"I understand."
Cynthia nodded and tapped the release. Ash's eyes widened when a massive beast appeared before his eyes. The creature was easily seven feet tall and had powerful claws and teeth. It had dark blue scales covering its body, fins on its arms, back, and tail like a shark, and a sheer presence that could only belong to a dragon type.
"This is Garchomp. She was my starter Pokemon," Cynthia lifted her hand to rub the dragon's snout fondly. Garchomp rumbled a greeting to her trainer and then fixed pale yellow eyes on Ash. He did his best not to show the tension he felt- Garchomp held the same presence to her as Giovanni's Rhyperior, maybe even more so.
The dragon seemed to deem him acceptable and then looked back to her trainer for instruction. Cynthia murmured something quietly to her, and Garchomp's eyes flared with aggression. Ash didn't get to ask what she said because a second later, Garchomp had blurred up the stairs to the top floor and begun her assault.
Ash flinched as a violent tremor wracked the tower. The yells and screams of the Rocket grunts were easily audible above the furious growls of Garchomp as her wrath was unleashed. Cynthia had a satisfied smile on her face as she led Ash upstairs.
The whole place was chaos. Garchomp was darting at anyone in a Team Rocket uniform, knocking them out with swift blows from her fins or tail. Any Pokemon that the grunts tried to send out were defeated before they had even the foggiest idea what was happening. Ash caught sight of a woman in a white uniform barking orders and surmised that she was probably the Admin he'd heard of.
Cynthia had noticed her too. Once Garchomp had crushed all of the grunts, she strode towards Ariana with a firm glare plastered to her face.
"I'm going to be civil despite the fact that you saw fit to knock me out for a couple of days," Cynthia told her stiffly. "Give yourself up."
Ariana's response was to send out a Vileplume and a huge Arbok, which hissed and lashed its tail furiously. The serpent's hood spread and it managed to look legitimately intimidating. At least, it did to Ash.
Cynthia had no such reservations. "Garchomp, do it."
The dragon bared her fangs with fiendish delight. She lunged at Arbok and her body became enveloped in blue-green energy- Dragon Rush, Ash realized. But a Dragon Rush that had been perfected to a degree that he hadn't even dreamed of. Arbok fired a Hyper Beam and Garchomp blazed right through it, impacting the serpent with devastating force. Vileplume frantically tried to hit the dragon with Sleep Powder, but then Garchomp unleashed a tongue of flame from its maw that cooked the grass type instantly. Ariana's Pokemon were out not five seconds after their release.
Ariana looked shocked. "Who are you?!"
"That's none of your concern," Cynthia had a frown on her face. "Surrender. I'm not above letting Garchomp knock you out."
Garchomp sneered at Ariana, making the woman flinch briefly. For a moment, it seemed like she was going to surrender.
Then the temperature plummeted a good ten degrees and they all froze.
Ash startled as Duskull literally tried to hide himself in his bag. The ghost was frantic- no, he was downright terrified. Ash looked back up as Ariana spun away from them to stare at a strange rock on the floor. To his surprise, it wriggled. A moment later a blast of horribly dark energy erupted from the small stone and repelled himself, Ariana, and Cynthia away. Ash winced when he fell hard, but managed to look up just as the energy began to swirl around the stone, creating a vortex of purples and greens.
He wondered if this thing was the reason why the top floor of Pokemon Tower was banned to all but Agatha, but didn't get to think about it any longer when the vortex suddenly grew a pair of slanted emerald eyes and a similarly colored fanged maw. The creature blinked and its eyes narrowed with anger. The three people watching could only stare as its ethereal mouth briefly closed.
The roar which tore from the creature's fangs made Ash's skin crawl and mashed down on every single primal instinct in his body. It was a command to flee from this creature's very presence, for it was not of this world and held no pity nor mercy for any living thing in its path. The ghost was uncontrollable fury incarnate.
Nothing had ever made him want to run before, but this thing was doing a better job of it than anything else he had encountered prior.
Ash saw ghostly black energy start to gather at its mouth and realized it was about to fire a Shadow Ball. He reached for Sobek's pokeball, knowing that the dark type was probably his only hope of fighting this thing, but he was stopped as Ariana threw a pokeball at the creature. It was sucked in before it had the opportunity to attack, and the pokeball hit the ground with a clatter.
There was a pregnant pause of utter silence. Then the pokeball exploded and the creature sprang free with its eyes widened in surprise, but the shock was brief. The emerald orbs glared daggers at Ariana a second later and the Rocket Admin turned and ran for the stairs. But the creature roared again and unleashed a howling gale of black wind, blowing her away and the limp bodies of the unconscious Rockets lying all over the room.
Ash dove behind a tombstone to hide from the blast and cringed at the bloodcurdling howl the creature made. It was beyond reason. It would kill them all before letting even one of them escape, and it would not differentiate between the Rockets and himself.
Then Garchomp roared and lunged at it. The creature seemed surprised that something was actually attacking it, and shrieked when Garchomp spat a sphere of emerald energy at it. Ash watched as the Dragon Pulse made contact and exploded, knocking the creature back. It generated a second Shadow Ball and fired it this time, but Garchomp blocked it with the fins on her arms and roared at the creature again.
Cynthia was calmly giving orders to the dragon- Ash had no idea how she was doing it in the face of this terrifying entity, but it was awe-inspiring to watch. The creature that was making him freeze up was helpless in the face of Garchomp's onslaught, and he watched, incredulous, as the fury in its eyes turned to hesitance, then panic. Garchomp was overpowering it, proving attack after attack that she held more raw power than the ghost.
In desperation it seemed, the ghost tried to hit Garchomp with a Hyper Beam. The dragon again braced herself with her fins and took the harsh orange beam head-on. She blew it away when the Hyper Beam sputtered out and fired another Dragon Pulse, this time hitting the stone that the creature had originated from.
It gave out a wailing cry and suddenly all the violet and green energy retreated back into the stone. Cynthia had a pokeball flying through the air before Ash could blink, sucking the creature into it. This time, the ball wriggled on the floor and went still shortly after it had been contained.
Ash let out a breath he wasn't aware he'd been holding. The temperature went back to normal and the malicious air the creature had exuded was gone.
He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Cynthia watching him with concern. "Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah," he managed. "I'm fine."
She nodded and looked up as Garchomp came over with the pokeball containing the creature in one of her claws. Cynthia took the ball gratefully and looked at it with a frown. "It seems as though we found out what was causing the influx of spirits here."
Ash blinked. "Wasn't that caused by Team Rocket capturing all the ghosts?"
"No. Their presence disturbed the ghosts, yes, but it didn't cause this," Cynthia told him. She held the pokeball up. "This is a Spiritomb. It's a ghost Pokemon that forms by gathering hundreds of spirits and concentrating them in the stone we saw- an Odd Keystone. It likely had been slumbering here until the Rockets came. They probably tried to awaken it in order to capture Spiritomb and use it for themselves."
"Well, they definitely woke it up," Ash managed. "But I think it woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Even Gary isn't that cranky when you wake him up early."
Cynthia smiled with amusement. "Well, I'll keep Spiritomb with me for now. I'll have to talk with Agatha to decide what happens to it. Come on- we should get to the Pokemon Center. I have a call to make to the League. These Rockets can't just be left here to escape. Garchomp, watch them."
Garchomp grinned and nodded, stalking over to the unconscious form of Ariana and sitting down beside her. Ash had a feeling that the Admin wouldn't be moving much, even if she woke up.
That was fine with him. He just wanted to get out of the tower.
A few hours later, Ash watched as League forces came out of the tower with the Rockets in custody. He had given them the pokeballs he retrieved from the unconscious grunts on the lower floors once they arrived. Cynthia was currently speaking with the leader of the group, but whatever they were talking about was lost to Ash.
"Seems you didn't find your ghost."
He jumped and spun around, but relaxed when he found the voice belonged to Mr. Fuji. The old man smiled with amusement. "Though you look like you sure have seen one."
Ash rolled his eyes. "Ha ha. Very funny."
"It is, depending on your point of view," Fuji chuckled. "Still, I'm glad you made it out of the tower alright. We owe you a great deal, boy. If you hadn't insisted on going, those Rockets probably would have made off with many of our town's precious ghost Pokemon."
"I didn't really do much," he protested, embarrassed by the praise. "Cynthia did all the real work. I just woke her up."
"Still, without you, who knows what may have happened? Don't sell yourself short, Ash. Few trainers would have had the courage to keep climbing the tower."
Ash shrugged helplessly, but Fuji just smiled. "By the way, where is Duskull?"
"Oh, he dove into my bag when Spiritomb…huh?" Ash looked into his bag and frowned. "Um…he was here a little while ago."
"Don't worry about it. I'm sure he'll come around before too long," the old man told him. "He's probably in the Day Care as we speak, playing with some of the little ones."
Their conversation was cut short as Cynthia walked over to him. Ash faced the teenager with a question.
"The Rockets are taken care of?"
"Yes. They'll be taken to a prison for the time being until we can get someone from the League to interrogate them. It seems Ariana has quite a bit of information regarding their organization- we'll probably have Sabrina get it out of her."
Ash nodded and Cynthia gave him an apologetic smile. "That said, with the current state of things, I'm afraid Pokemon Tower is going to have restricted access for a while. Only Agatha and her people will be allowed inside. You'll have to put your ghost hunt on hold."
He smirked. "That's okay. I'm just happy I got to cause Team Rocket trouble."
That got him a brief frown, but it disappeared from the tall girl's face just as quickly. "What will you do now, Ash?"
"I'll probably make my way to Celadon," Ash replied. "That was the plan after I caught a ghost type. Besides, I need to hit the department store there. A few of my Pokemon need TMs to make their move pools bigger."
Cynthia was quiet for a moment. "How about this? The fastest way to Celadon is through Saffron City. I'll come along with you as far as Saffron, if that's alright with you. I need to speak with Sabrina."
"Um, sure!" The offer caught him by surprise. Ash didn't really know much about Cynthia, but he knew that she was a powerful trainer classed at the Elite Four level. There was a lot he could learn from her- first and foremost how to help Pyro master Dragon Rush.
She smiled. "Great. We'll be staying here for the night, but we can leave first thing tomorrow morning. Does that work for you?"
"Yes," he agreed.
"Excellent. Well, I've still got some things to take care of. I'll meet you in the Pokemon Center tomorrow, alright?"
He nodded. Cynthia turned to Mr. Fuji and bowed slightly to the old man, who returned the curtesy. Then she spun around and left, her long blonde hair swaying behind her.
Mr. Fuji looked back at Ash. "I'd best head home. The young Pokemon are sure to be a little nervous from all the commotion out here."
"Alright," Ash replied. He held his hand out to the elder, who shook it with a grateful smile.
"Again, thank you Ash. I wish you luck on your journey."
They said their goodbyes and parted. Ash headed to the Pokemon Center, suddenly feeling exhaustion from the intense day catching up with him.
The next day he was immediately faced with a problem- his hat was missing. Ash practically tore his room and bag apart looking for it, but no matter where he checked, he could not find it. He briefly worried he had left it in Pokemon Tower, but dismissed the thought. He had taken it off just before going to bed, he was certain.
He searched for an hour before finally giving it up. It was frustrating- after all, it was a great hat- but there was no point in going nuts over something that could be replaced. Ash sighed. That wasn't exactly the best way to start out his day. He was more than ready to leave Lavender Town now.
No ghost type on his belt and now his hat was missing. Wonderful.
Cynthia was waiting for him in the lobby of the Pokemon Center. She watched him sit down and blinked at the annoyed expression on his face. "Is something wrong?"
"My hat went missing," he muttered. "I know its not that big a deal, but I really liked that hat."
She smiled sympathetically and waited for him to start eating breakfast before she began to talk. "This trip shouldn't take very long. A few days tops, I believe. Route eight isn't very long and it's basically just a straight road between Saffron and Lavender Town."
Ash took a drink and swallowed. "I was wondering if you could help me with a move my Charmeleon knows."
"And that move would be?"
"Dragon Rush," he answered. Cynthia looked surprised, so he continued. "It's an egg move- my mother and Professor Oak bred it into my starter. But Charmeleon just can't seem to get the right kind of energy for Dragon Rush. He just tackles opponents as hard as he can."
"Hmm…" She considered what he told her thoughtfully. "At best, Garchomp can only teach Charmeleon to feel the energy he needs to use Dragon Rush."
Ash looked at her questioningly. Cynthia elaborated. "Dragon type moves aren't easy to learn because the energy they use is so difficult to grasp. Even dragon Pokemon have to train intensely to perfect one of those techniques. It's even harder for a Pokemon that isn't a dragon type. If we had more time, then perhaps I could help you more, but given that we only have a few days…"
"Anything at all would be helpful," Ash assured her.
"Well, then we'll do what we can with the time we have," she promised.
Their first day of travel was actually rather quiet. Few trainers were traveling back and forth between Lavender and Saffron it seemed, though that might have been due to the high temperature. Ash battled as many of them as he could, while Cynthia simply watched. She analyzed every fight Ash took part in, silent for the most part. When they got back on their way, she would offer a few comments regarding the battle.
They stopped for lunch at midday and made themselves comfortable under the shade of a small tree. It was baking hot outside and any relief from the heat was more than welcome.
Ash set his team loose and passed each of them a can of Pokemon food. Pikachu, Eevee, and Douse settled down close to him because they weren't keen about the heat. However, much to his amusement, Pyro and Sobek went straight into the burning sunlight and started napping together. He knew they loved really warm temperatures, but watching the pair of reptiles actually pile up in a tangle of scaly arms, legs, and tails was funny.
They loved the heat and piling up like that made them happy. It made him happy too, seeing his most aggressive Pokemon getting along so well.
Cynthia seemed to find it amusing as well. "They're right in their element, aren't they?"
"Yeah," Ash agreed, chuckling when Sobek opened his huge jaws and closed his eyes in bliss. That was the croc's way of expelling excess heat, but he knew that Sobek was really doing it just to show off his fangs.
"I have to say Ash, I'm impressed," Cynthia remarked, gesturing to his team. "Last time I saw you, the only Pokemon you had were Charmeleon, Pikachu, and Sandile. You've built up quite the team."
"Thank you," he replied. Pikachu rubbed up against his arm and Ash scratched the mouse's ears fondly. "They did all the hard work."
Her eyes lingered on Eevee. "If you don't mind my asking, where did you get Eevee? They're quite rare."
Ash frowned slightly. "Actually, I adopted her from Officer Jenny in Cerulean City. She had been confiscated from an illegal Pokemon mill and didn't like people at all. I'm taking care of her as best I can, but…she still won't train with me. She doesn't really get along with anyone on the team, either."
Eevee offered him a rebellious look, as though she were backing up his words without placing herself on his side.
Cynthia hid a small smile at the little Pokemon. "It looks like she's healthy. You've done a good job caring for her, even if she won't train with you yet."
She pondered Eevee for another moment before pulling out her own pokeball. "I have an idea. Perhaps Eevee should meet one of my Pokemon. I think she's more likely to get along with this one."
Ash watched curiously as Cynthia tapped the release and set loose a small, canine Pokemon with beautiful icy silver fur. It had deep blue eyes and what looked like ice crystals on its forehead. To his surprise, Eevee perked up at the creature and stared at it intently.
"This is Glaceon," Cynthia introduced. "She's an ice type evolution of Eevee. Glaceon, this is Ash and his team. They're new friends of mine."
Glaceon's elegant tail waved slightly as she made a soft call, breathing cool air upon Ash and his team. He shivered slightly and wondered how powerful the ice type was- the temperature around her was dropping, and in the extreme heat, that meant she was strong to say the least.
Eevee was actually the first one to approach Glaceon and sniffed her curiously. Glaceon watched the little normal type and sat down, patiently waiting for Eevee to complete her inspection. Ash smiled at the sight- he didn't recall ever seeing the small Pokemon so interested in someone else.
Once Eevee had finished taking in Glaceon, she sat down and looked up at the ice type, unsure what to do next. Glaceon's eyes glittered with amusement, then she used one paw to herd Eevee closer to her. Before Eevee could react, Glaceon was licking at her fur. She tried to protest briefly, but the ice type made a low purr of sorts that settled the smaller Pokemon down. Eevee slowly relaxed, giving Glaceon the chance to groom the youngster.
Cynthia smiled. "Nothing quite calms a young Pokemon like being with an older one of the same line. You'll find that many species are like that."
"I'll definitely remember it," Ash promised. He was amazed at how easily Glaceon had calmed Eevee and gotten close to her. It had taken him a month just for Eevee to accept him, and she still didn't really like or listen to him at all.
While Eevee dozed under Glaceon's care, Cynthia looked over to Pyro. "So your Charmeleon is the one that knows Dragon Rush?"
"Yes. But like I said, he can't really use it well," Ash scratched the back of his head.
"I'd like to see him use it," she told him. Cynthia stood up and took another pokeball out. This one released Garchomp, and the sight of the massive dragon startled all of his team except for Eevee, who Ash was pretty sure was asleep.
Garchomp apparently liked the warmth too, because she immediately walked over to the sun and growled happily as heat washed over her scales. Cynthia glanced at Ash. "Bring your Charmeleon over."
Ash nodded eagerly. "Pyro! Get up, buddy. Training time."
Pyro untangled himself from the pile of scales (much to Sobek's annoyance) and walked over to Garchomp fearlessly. He made a growl and the dragon looked down at him for a moment before snorting. She apparently found him to be more amusing than threatening.
Cynthia also seemed amused by the fire type's aggression. "Ash, have Charmeleon use Dragon Rush on Garchomp. She needs to see where he's at to work on it."
Ash glanced at Pyro. "You heard her, Pyro. Do it."
The fire type growled with delight and leapt back from the dragon several meters. He tensed for a moment, irises narrowing to slits, then lunged at her. Garchomp simply stood and waited, not even flinching as Pyro crashed into her head-on.
When the impact only jarred him, Pyro stumbled back and looked at the dragon with a dumbfounded expression. It felt as though he'd charged headfirst into a steel wall. Garchomp bared her fangs in what looked like a grin and made a chuffing sound that Ash interpreted as laughter.
Cynthia had her arms crossed as she analyzed the attack. She got Pyro's attention by whistling sharply and gestured at Garchomp. "Again."
The Charmeleon glanced at Ash first, but when he nodded, the fire type repeated the attack. Again, Garchomp did not move- literally not even an inch. She was so much bigger and stronger than Pyro that his attacks couldn't even make her budge. Cynthia had Pyro repeat Dragon Rush three more times before she looked at her Pokemon.
"Garchomp? What do you think?"
Garchomp considered Pyro with a surprisingly thoughtful expression for several moments. Then she looked at Cynthia and made a light rumble in the back of her throat. The trainer nodded and looked at Ash next. "We'll give you a visual example. One of the best ways for a Pokemon to learn a new move is by watching another use it. Your Charmeleon understands the rough concept of Dragon Rush, but he lacks the finesse required to master it."
Cynthia turned back to Garchomp. "Go."
Garchomp growled at Pyro, getting the fire type's undivided attention. She crouched slightly, bending at the knees and lowering her blunt skull. Ash felt his skin tingle from the gathering dragon type energy before he saw it, coalescing around Garchomp in a blue-green aura. The dragon's irises narrowed into slits and she suddenly launched herself across the grass with unnerving speed. The sheer force of the charge was enough to send a blast of wind strong enough to almost knock Ash over in every direction.
Pyro stood his ground against the wind and simply stared, transfixed by the power Garchomp had displayed. The dragon came to a stop, turned, and then performed the move again. When she was done, she looked at Pyro and made a series of growls and hisses. Whatever she was saying, Pyro understood the gist of it.
The fire type crouched slightly to mimic Garchomp and lowered his head, though he must have done so a bit too much because the dragon stalked over and used her claw to lift Pyro's chin a few inches. She snapped her jaws together loudly and Pyro lunged.
Ash was intrigued. Before now, Dragon Rush had been little more than a rough tackling attack. Pyro didn't bother on technique because blunt force was usually enough to do the job. However, Garchomp's Dragon Rush was far more refined than that. Whereas Pyro's technique was just an overpowered tackle, Garchomp's turned her body into a weapon like a spear- overwhelming raw power with a focal point to concentrate the damage upon.
Pyro's Dragon Rush looked better just after the first try. He didn't charge recklessly and seemed to be focusing on something. But Garchomp was obviously dissatisfied because she growled again and had Pyro repeat the move at least a dozen times. She then provided another example and had her fire type charge practice again.
Cynthia got Ash's attention and gestured back to the shade. "We can leave them to it. Garchomp isn't about to stop now that she's gotten started."
Ash nodded and followed her. There wasn't anything he could do for Pyro, anyways. Garchomp was his teacher now, and Ash had a feeling that her new student would not be getting a break anytime soon.
The dragon had high standards and he doubted she would settle for anything less than perfection.
Their daily pattern over the next few days repeated in a similar fashion; they would travel for a few hours, Ash challenging any trainers he came across, then settled down for lunch at midday and later in the evening to make camp. During any long stop they made, Garchomp dragged Pyro away from Ash and ran him ragged in the training for Dragon Rush. Once, she actually snatched Pyro's pokeball off of his belt before he could even sit down and released the fire type with a tap of her claw. His starter was dead tired by the time they stopped for the night and Ash always gave him a sympathetic look when Pyro passed out.
Garchomp was a great teacher, but she really was utterly merciless.
While Pyro continued his harsh training, Ash focused on the rest of his team. He often pitted Sobek and Douse against each other, making sure that they stayed on their toes. Sobek hated getting hit by water type moves and Douse did not enjoy being bitten by his crocodilian team mate. Needless to say, this resulted in a variety of tricks on either side in their efforts to strike without being stricken.
Ash had actually gotten an idea with Pikachu's training- he had a problem with Volt Tackle that was similar to the one Pyro had with Dragon Rush. Both moves were rough and not all that refined. With that in mind, he let Pikachu attend some of Pyro's lessons with Garchomp in an effort to make Volt Tackle more effective. When the mouse wasn't working with them, Ash had him practicing Electro Ball. The move wasn't difficult to learn (as Surge had told him in Vermillion) but it did require concentration that Pikachu had yet to learn. Still, he was pretty sure Pikachu would have it down before too long.
He considered the most progress to have been made by Eevee. Glaceon's presence was a boon- she had single-handedly helped Eevee relax and open up. Ash had almost startled when Eevee crawled into his lap one evening after a particularly long grooming session with Glaceon and fallen asleep. She had never willingly gotten that close to him.
Eevee had even begun to train, though only with Glaceon. She was obviously behind the rest of his team, but he had to admit, her Shadow Ball attack was actually quite powerful.
Ash really enjoyed traveling and training with Cynthia. It was the most fun he'd had in a while, and the elite trainer was incredibly knowledgeable. She often told him of legends from the Sinnoh region, ranging anywhere from the two lunar islands to the deities that were said to govern time and space. By the time she had run out of things to tell him, Ash felt a great desire to see Sinnoh personally. One day, he promised himself.
However, all was not sunshine and daisies on their trip. Every night, Ash got an eerie feeling that they were being watched. He hadn't noticed anything unusual and Cynthia said it was possible that the Spiritomb she had captured was emanating negative feelings from inside its pokeball, but that didn't seem right to him. What he felt wasn't negative, just creepy.
It got to the point on their final night of traveling that he couldn't bring himself to sleep. Ash glanced around the camp warily, but found that everyone was asleep and apparently unaffected by what he was feeling.
He gave up after a while that he would see anything and decided to have a drink before sleeping. Ash opened his bag-
-he barely stopped himself from shrieking when he found a skull and a glowing red eye staring back at him. He threw a hand over his mouth and took a minute to calm his pounding heart. Meanwhile, Duskull floated out of his bag and made a quiet snicker.
Ash glared at the ghost and hissed under his breath. "Duskull, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be back in Lavend- that's my hat!"
The ghost was wearing his missing hat and seemed to take even more mischievous glee out of the astonished look on Ash's face. He made to grab the hat, but Duskull easily evaded him. Ash's glare returned tenfold. "Duskull, give me my hat back."
Duskull shook his head and used one of his wispy appendages to take the hat off. He held it away from Ash and then pointed at the boy with his spare limb. Ash frowned. "What do you want?"
Duskull again gestured to him, but Ash's frown didn't go away. The ghost rolled his single eye and then in one smooth move, plopped the hat on Ash's head and tapped an empty pokeball on his belt. The boy blinked as Duskull was sucked into the ball and settled there in moments.
Ash didn't really know what to do. Duskull was in a pokeball on his belt…was he supposed to wake someone up and say something about this? A ghost had been tagging along with them for days and no one had noticed. He helplessly wondered what to do for a few more minutes before shrugging and giving up. He'd figure out what to do tomorrow morning.
At least he had his hat back.
A/N. And that's chapter six. Chapter seven should be out soon and eight after that, but I'm going to need some help for chapter nine- I'll need OCs for a tournament because I anticipate that nine (perhaps ten) will be the chapter that goes into the events on the St. Anne. I'll likely only use five or six OCs, but I'd still like to see a few suggestions that I might use in later tournaments.
The rules for OCs are simple: Just give me a brief description of the character (age, gender, behavior, etc.) and list the team they have. No OP Pokemon or legendaries and go easy on the shiny Pokemon as well. If you need a reference of where they need to be power wise, anywhere in between three-five badges is fair game. List four Pokemon you would like them to have because these won't be full battles. Other than that, have fun with it. Now, to the review response for chapter five:
Mateusz: Nice chapter! The in-depth explanations regarding pokemon are interesting as always, but I'd suggest expanding that attention to detail to cover the world as well. An excellent opportunity to do this would be the S.S. Anne, so I'm looking forward to seeing what you have planned. Also looking forward to seeing you move the plot beyond simply obtaining badges, since I suspect that's why you're having him conquer all the gyms so quickly.
-Wish granted! I expanded a little on the world of Challenger in this chapter. I'm taking it slowly otherwise because I would like the readers to learn about this world as Ash travels and learns about it himself. In regards to the plot, you are correct to an extent, but that's not something I'll be truly referencing yet.
Lezaroth: Great job writing this story! It's much better than my own, haha. The gradual changes before evolving are interesting to follow. I'm curious what ghost type will pop up but I'm hoping for a Shuppet. The Banette line needs more love. The fact they are discarded matches Eevee, giving those two a small connection. Giving it a prankster nature bonds the Shuppet to Pikachu, making a link in the team. But those are just my thoughts about it, haha.
-Thank you for the praise! I've never written a Pokemon fanfic before, so I'm just trying to keep it interesting. As for what ghost type Ash is getting, that's been established now. Sorry it wasn't Shuppet, but I do have reasons for going with Duskull rather than its counterpart. You are right in saying that the Banette line needs more love (I have a Mega Banette I use in competitive battles on my Omega Ruby version. Savage little bugger he is!) and I think I will give it some later in the story. As for the pranking nature, I think you'll find Pikachu has plenty of that in common with Duskull.
BlackZackFan: So far I'm guessing that Ash's Eevee will either evolve into Espeon,Umbreon, or Sylveon due to the fact that Ash needs to work on its friendship with him and his team.
-Hmm, I guess we'll just have to wait and see~
Captain Buggles: I can definitely see that you were strongly influenced by Traveler here, lol. Not that that's a bad thing, but there are quite a few things that play out very similarly, and even the title is a similar style. I do like fics that go out of their way to explain Pokemon in more detail though, which you definitely do in this fic. I gotta admit I rolled my eyes when you introduced Paul, but I came around when I saw that you removed everything that made him infuriating in the anime. Now he seems serious in an understandable way, and not like he's just a clumsy attempt to make an "edgy" character... But I'll keep it at that, since ranting about anime-verse Paul here would be unfair to you. I also like how Gym Leaders don't come off as weaklings. I often don't like how the anime handles them, and Kanto was probably the worst offender of all, so any time a fic makes them more competent it's great.
It was a little disappointing to see that you've also gone down the "Pokemon have to evolve or else they'll quickly hit a limit" route, but I understand from a 'realistic' standpoint and I'm not truly upset. It's just that I get tired of how a lot of people automatically condemn anime Ash for not fully evolving enough Pokemon, when I think it's honestly very kind and in-character of him to value a Pokemon's wishes over strength. But I think the negativity towards it might even be why XY has moved away from that. (Honestly, in comparison to earlier regions, the XY anime sometimes seems like an official Smart Ash, lmao). Meanwhile, I'm part of the group that feels like the problem isn't that, it's that the anime doesn't try hard enough to explore and justify why it could be a viable option. I always thought that it would be an interesting concept to carry that over to a fic, but then specifically show that Ash and that Pokemon fight and train very strategically and creatively to overcome their disadvantage. After all, in gameverse, unevolved Pokemon learn moves faster, which is something a lot of people don't bother to incorporate. I imagine it's an efficiency thing. They need to learn how to do more with less, basically. The short version is that I'm a fan of creativity over raw power. But this story is creative regardless, so what I said wasn't meant as criticism or trying to make you go that route, I just wanted to share a thought.
And one last thing... Will Ash be showing any bigger flaws or negative character development? It may seem like a weird question, and I'm not trying to say that this interpretation of him is flat, but so far it seems like he's overall a very kind, intelligent, brave, talented kid at only the age of ten. Although he did underestimate Team Rocket, extreme bravery to the point of potentially hurting yourself is such a common mark of a "badass" that it's often viewed positively, which kind of weakens that particular flaw... Plus, it was a similar situation to Traveler. And this brings me to the following: I think that some kind of important flaw or mistake could be a great way to diverge from the Traveler template a bit more and have this story gain some more independence... Kinda like how Traveler had that Golduck that Ash had to release, but in this case I'm talking even deeper. A bad situation or complication that is well and truly Ash's fault. Something he can't just run from, something that can't be fixed too quickly, something with true consequences that strongly matter to him and will keep sticking with him... Everyone has moments like that, so I think it'd add some depth and realism. Again, not trying to force a route on you, just an idea. Overall, I'm impressed.
-I'm pretty sure this is the single biggest review I've ever gotten for one of my stories, which is saying something. I'm really happy about it! Yes, I was definitely influenced by Traveler. It's an incredible story and I greatly admire the author's talent. In regards to Paul, I made him less of an irritation because I approached him as a beginning trainer. He doesn't have the experience to really be arrogant yet, so with that in mind, I figure that in tandem with his role in the story later on will paint a different picture of him.
In regards to "Pokemon have to evolve or else they'll quickly hit a limit" route I took, it's not so much because they hit a limit as it is that they simply mature as they grow. Evolution is just another stage in their personal growth. They don't have to evolve necessarily, (the Pokemon that require trade or items to evolve, for example) but it is a factor in their life cycle. I'm not going to get into the errors or flaws in the anime because the XY series is doing a fantastic job right now (minus the Goodra incident) and I really don't want to jinx anything.
Will Ash be showing any flaws or negative character developments...well yes, but you'll have to keep an eye out for it, as I won't directly address it until later in the story. I would not call him a "badass" at the moment. He did, after all, almost get himself killed during his first real battle against Team Rocket. Ash isn't really powerful enough to be considered a badass now anyways, and you'll see in this chapter that he's still learning about his own Pokemon. Whether he will really ruin something later on is something you'll have to wait and see about.