By popular demand and the need to add an extra chapter, I will briefly make this chapter about Ash's other friends preventing the spread of the shadow virus. I wish I could go into more depth about their adventures as well, and I might, but I have to make sure I don't overlook any detail at all. And as for Michael's team, yes I'm using the ones I gained from playing "Gale of Darkness" years ago, but that will be for all of you to read for yourselves as the tale progresses.
So now, please enjoy…
Seven months ago…
The apocalyptic spread of wild, unrestrained darkness had begun the moment they left for intensive training of their newly acquired abilities. The remaining dutiful friends had split up into their planned pairs, traveling to preplanned locations across the wide lands of Kanto and Johto. These two regions, as far as anyone was concerned, was basically quarantined as soon as the word about Shadow Giratina and the infectious ShadowPokérus had made their infamous debuts into the terrified public. No one was allowed to leave or enter both Kanto and Johto unless there were extenuating, dire circumstances involved, such as the Elite Four stepping up to defend their homes.
The shadow virus had spread inconspicuously under Cipher's clever manipulation over a species' migratory pattern. It was only a matter of time until the secret could no longer be kept under wraps, considering that lives of precious Pokémon and frail, weak humans living nearby were at great risk. Few people knew where the ShadowPokérus had plagued exactly. Only with the right technology and access to satellite viewing could anyone decipher the plagued areas. So far, Gary and his partner Brock had made the first attempt of purification in the Viridian Forest.
The first Kanto duo entered the gaping dark entrance, finding the surrounding fauna to be eerily quiet and empty. The graying, monotonous leaves of the huge crowding trees fluttered noiselessly. Gary held his arm out in front of Brock, forcing him to stay in place.
"I'll go first," Gary announced, keeping his breathing pace even and steady. Brock could still tell that he was nervous. He had to speak out to him.
"Gary, the Viridian Forest was the first place to be hit because of that Spearow flock, led by the Fearow Paul captured months ago," Brock said, examining the shrouded regions of the forest for signs of possible life. "Perhaps the flock chased the forest-dwelling Pokémon out of here?"
A loud, nasal scream echoed within the deep chambers of the forest, enough to instigate the hasty flight of innocent Pidgey hiding from danger.
"Not everything's out of the forest yet," Gary said, tossing a Poké Ball in the air and calling out Umbreon to his side.
"Umbre!" Umbreon growled, crouching down on its fours as a way to pounce upon the first sign of an enemy. Its wide red eyes glared, examining the possible threats that posed before its Trainer.
Soft, rapid footsteps could be heard echoing down the dark grassy corridor. From their end, the volume of the footsteps increased. Whatever was making the ruckus, it was approaching Gary, Umbreon, Brock, and his released Croagunk. The same scream was heard again, only it was louder this time to point out that it was coming in closer.
"Get ready," Brock advised his Croagunk. The Toxic Mouth Pokémon took a few steps forward next to Umbreon and resumed his calm crouching.
"Croa… Croa… Croa…," Croagunk breathed calmly upon every inflation and deflation of his poison sacs.
"AAAAAHHH!"
"Here it comes!" Gary yelled. The duo and their Pokémon stood tall, planting their feet firmly into the ground. A silhouette of a short boy was made out from the entrance of the Viridian Forest. Visible light revealed him to be some sort of bug catcher, garbed in samurai armor with a katana hanging loosely in the sheath tied to his waist.
"Get out of the way!" the boy cried, running madly for his life past Gary and Brock.
"… Uh, who was that?" Brock asked.
"That's just that Samurai guy I faced very early in my journey," Gary explained casually, brushing off Samurai's dramatic theatrics from his memory. "Samurai insists himself on fighting young Trainers from Pallet Town. I easily beat his Pokémon with just my Squirtle, well back then anyway. I wonder if Ash fought him…"
"Uh, Gary?"
"Hmm?"
"Shadow Beedrill swarms!"
The last thing Samurai heard after he acquired a safe distance from the bizarrely deranged Beedrill was a conglomeration of battle cries from the Trainers and Pokémon he blindly ran past mixed with the ominous buzzes of the Beedrill's rapid wings. As he stopped to catch his breath, beads of sweat heavily raced down his heavy armor and dripped off coldly. Underneath the rim of his helmet, he cautiously examined the ravaged and dull route that was once teeming with carefree Pokémon.
"Ugh, what's going on with this world?" Samurai mused restlessly, briefly looking back at his old home of the Viridian Forest. "Years of coexisting peacefully with the Bug Pokémon then one day I'm surrounded in tight silk webbing and poisonous stingers. I get out of the house fleeing for my life instead of grabbing the last berry off my favorite tree. That's just not right!"
"That makes two of us, half-pint," a gruff voice concurred. Samurai froze, mechanically lifting his head up. A tall stranger with a strong physique and a Chikorita on his right shoulder stared down at him gravely. Samurai stumbled back on his feet, giving the stranger some space.
"Uh! W-Who are you?" he asked shakily, attempting to steady his hand while searching for his sword. "A-Are you from Pallet T-Town?"
"Pallet Town?" the stranger repeated, laughing hoarsely at his innocent question. "Well, I know a few people from Pallet Town. But that's not the point." He reequipped his serious persona. Samurai found himself standing up straighter and stiffer.
"Then, what do you want, sir?" Samurai asked, clenching his teeth in fear of this powerful man. The man and his Chikorita replied with rough smirks. They meant no harm, but Samurai could not help on controlling his trembling.
"Did you happen to see two Trainers around here, half-pint?" the man asked as lightly as he could. "One of them happens to be the grandson of the famous Professor Samuel Oak and his partner happens to be the older brother of the current Pewter City Gym Leader."
"W-Why?" Samurai replied, involuntarily pointing back to the entrance of the Viridian Forest. "Are y-you going to help them with the insane Pokémon?" The man and his Chikorita chuckled lightheartedly.
"As much as I want to, this is something only they can do," the man explained, followed by the nods of Chikorita. "I'm here doing some recon of my own. So just stay out of trouble, half-pint. Got it?" Samurai nodded furiously without question. "Just so you know, I called all small Trainers 'half-pint.' Don't feel flattered."
The muscular man abruptly walked off in the direction of the Viridian Forest, the tails of his beige coat floating in the quiet, but frigid winds. Samurai regained his breath once the man was out of his sight, resuming his run from the madness that took over his home along with the rest of Kanto. Following the man's advice, he ignored everything else in his path and was set on finding a way, attainable in his lowly power, to help stop the darkness. His safest bet was to run to a Pokémon Center.
"Hi! Are you two Coordinators Drew and Zoey?"
"Who wants to know? A fan, perhaps? Ow!"
"Drew, be nice! … So what's your name, handsome?"
"My name's Ritchie!"
"Pika Pi-ka!"
"And this is my partner, Sparky."
"Hmm, Ritchie… Did you know you look just like—?"
"If you're going to guess 'Ash,' then my recon should be worthwhile."
"Hey, Zoey. Even though this guy looks like a perfect clone of Ash, I already found a noticeable difference between the two."
"What's that, Drew?"
"If Ritchie here can figure out that people confuse him for Ash before they ask him, then he must be ten times smarter than the original."
"Oh, Drew…"
"Eh heh heh… Gee, guys. I wouldn't say I'm smarter than Ash, but I often think ahead before going into action."
"See? There you go, Zoey. What more proof do you need?"
"Mm-hm…"
"… Something tells me you're not convinced enough."
"GYYUUUUOOO!!"
"… Drew? I think that starting our Purification plan inside the Rock Tunnel was a horrible idea."
"What makes you say that?"
"GYYUUUUOOO!!!"
"Drew!"
"Okay! So, I'll… talk to you later! Bye!"
"Ritchie, wait!"
The young Ritchie left before either Zoey or Drew caught him fleeing into the infinite darkness of the Rock Tunnel. His direction was left a blur once he left the bright circular area of Absol's illuminating Flash. He left no sign once the quaking started to worsen off even more. Geodude and Graveler began their attempts to crush the flamboyant couple from the ceiling while several Onix slithered menacingly from underground. Their deep roars still can be heard, echoing throughout the hollow cave.
"Absol, you ready for this?"
"Sol!"
"Let's not forget to invite Gastrodon to the party, Drew. I'm sure they'll LOVE my guest of honor."
The commotion grew louder and more dangerous. Ordinarily, these Pokémon would not stand a chance against experienced, confident Trainers like them, but their disease forced them out of hiding. A narrow mind, focused only to battle and nothing else. Their aggressive numbers could prove fatal if given the chance to overwhelm their prey.
Ritchie and Sparky breathed heavily outside the Rock Tunnel's exit, the one closest to Lavender Town. Sparky looked back into the pitch-black cave, worried about the pair they were forced to leave behind. They can still hear the quarreling activity taking place, reinforced by more tremors and the collapse of several small boulders from the top.
"Pika Pikachu," Sparky said, its tone worrisome.
"I'm sorry, Sparky," Ritchie apologized, "but as much as we want to help them, Silver said that we cannot interfere. Only they can bear the burden of these strangely behaving Pokémon."
"Pika Pika?"
"He told us that we've been doing these guys a favor just by weakening the Pokémon for them to finish off. All we can do is to barricade them into one place for these guys to cure or something."
"Pika Pi-ka! Pikachu!"
"I don't like it either. But if there's any chance for us to step in, we'll take it. With OR without Silver's input!"
"Pi Pikachu!"
Seven months later…
RUMBLE!
FLASH!
"That takes care of the last of them," Gary said, lifting his gloved hands off the round head of a purified Bellsprout.
He, Brock, Drew, and Zoey, having teamed up at last, managed to clear another route near Fuchsia City within a record time of five days. The same days after Ash, Anabel, and Paul departed for Orre. The four of them combined sought out every destroyed nest and habitat of all the wild Pokémon living nearby, even around the borders of civilization itself. Their greatest motivation, the factor that pushed them forward in their progress to help save the world was to make their central friend, the foundation of their tower of friendship, proud. Ash was the main hero, no doubt. But what they have committed themselves to have made them heroes of both Kanto and their own individual justified rights.
"We're almost halfway done with Kanto by now," Brock said, pulling the Purification Gauntlets off his hands and stuffed them into the side pocket of his backpack.
"Does this mean more downtime for us?" Drew asked, casually pulling Zoey by her waist to his side. His free arm recalled both Roserade and Houndoom. "I mean, it almost takes us two weeks to make sure this ShadowPokérus is gone for good… or at least return into its benign form. His sassy redhead giggled, lightheartedly amused.
"Always trying to find the easy way of things, aren't you?" Zoey asked lightly.
"Easy? I worked hard in becoming a Top Coordinator," Drew said strongly. "It's only the things that interest me like Contests that I actually give a—."
"Same thing," Zoey interrupted, dismissing it with a swipe of her hand. "We're doing this for the better for the world. Ash, Anabel, and Paul are doing all the big work by confronting Cipher on their home turf and you're worried about a green bang falling out of place?" She was answered with a gentle flip of her bangs by Drew's hand.
"You can't fake this kind of looks," Drew replied, smirking widely and flashing his pearly white teeth. Zoey sighed graciously when he flipped his bangs, shaking her head in mock ignorance.
"What are we going to do with you?" Zoey asked, still shaking her head softly. She noticed Drew's expression turn rigid as she felt a sharp pinch on her left ear. Her face expressed the same feeling of surprised pain as Drew's.
"What we're doing… " Gary began; tugging Drew by his pale ear as he narrowly glanced at Brock on the other end.
"… Is teaching you about the value of control," Brock finished, pulling Zoey by her ear alongside Gary and mysteriously, his Croagunk.
Their business was done for now. The northern part of Kanto down to the center line was free from the influence of the ShadowPokérus. Their remaining work, however, involved the boundless scenery of the sea routes below, connecting to the Seafoam Islands, Cinnabar Island, and back to Pallet Town; both over and under the ocean blue. But for now, the four needed to rest. The job was troublesome, but someone had to step up to the challenge. It was time they went back to Fuchsia City and planned their next movement.
On top of the steep rocky cliff overlooking the Trainers that cleansed the route of Shadow Grass and Flying Pokémon, two mysterious characters that knew of their attempts of saving the Pokémon watched over them like guardian spirits. They both were rather impressed with their dedication of stopping a common foe they found through the wrongful use of a Pokémon's body and emotions through a formerly harmless virus.
The Chikorita, belonging to the man, ran up to him, urging him and his young partner to follow. Swaying its head leaf into the group's direction from below, the Chikorita rather insisted, strongly following its intuitive connection to nature. After all, the natural wildlife on the route they were on was a complete wreck. Trees were pulled and chopped off their roots. Various wild Pokémon, purified and terrified, rested upon the ground beaten and weak from their corrupting ordeal.
"You're worried about them and your fellow Pokémon, aren't you?" he asked, picking up his worried Chikorita.
"Chiko Chik-a!" Chikorita cried, squirming restlessly in his arms.
"Silver?" the boy asked, his face anxious as his Chikorita's. "Sparky can also feel the disturbance that the Shadow Pokémon made here."
"Pika-chu," Sparky agreed, its deep eyes sullen.
"Look, I told you, half-pint," Silver scolded, "we can't do a thing about this disaster Team Rocket caused." The boy looked at him, scared. "… Sorry, Ritchie. You must understand."
"But Team Rocket's broken up now, Silver," Ritchie reasoned, gripping his muscular arm. "No one found traces of the leader still alive after what happened back in Sinnoh. During Ash's awesome coronation…"
"Bah! I'm not easily convinced," Silver spat, recoiling his arm harshly out of Ritchie's hands. "At least some form of Team Rocket still exists somewhere. I don't know where exactly, but it was because of them that this happened."
"Silver," Ritchie sighed, pressing his temple tightly to quell his irritated mood. "How long are you gonna go about this 'Team Rocket is responsible for the world's destruction' business?" Silver merely scowled at the boy and his Pikachu, turning away heatedly. He was unable to look him in the eye, fearing that his own temper would get the better of him and that he might commit a regrettable act of consequence.
"Kid… Their agents used me to get to Moltres!" he snarled, pounding his fist into his chest. Even his own Chikorita cowered at the burning temper that raged like an erupting Camerupt struck in the face. It hopped off, running to Ritchie's side. "I'm not going to endanger a beautiful, powerful bird like that to scum like Team Rocket! I truly cannot face Moltres unless I can assure myself that there are no interferences ever again!"
"Then get your act together!" Ritchie retorted, suddenly covering his mouth and recoiling away. Silver calmed down, also mystified by his impulsive youthful defiance. His determinism reminded him of another. With a confident grin, he patted his young protégé on his capped head.
"We've seen what the young do-gooders we researched are capable of," Silver said. "Perhaps one more day we'll allot before we formally confront them. No doubt they've been brought together for a common cause." Ritchie smiled, looking in the dusky direction of the town they went to.
"And a common friend," he added.
"Pikachu!"
"Chik-a!"
A short chapter with not much action, yes. But this merely focused on building the anime Silver's part in the story. And including Ritchie as his apprentice was just icing on the cake. Rest assured that they'll be seen in major events of the story as time progresses.
What of May, Max, Dawn, and Kenny in Johto, you may ask? If you can figure a pattern here, then the next time I deviate from the main story to their friends' quests, you can be sure they'll meet someone important along the way. An Elite Four member? GSC Silver? Officer Looker? Maybe even Barry?
If you would please review, it will be appreciated. I want to know of your thoughts regarding this chapter.
Ciao!