The Eighteen
Chapter 7
December 5, 2002. Cameran Palace. Sunrise.
"Your Highness! Something is going on with the Tree!"
Queen Ilene of Rota awoke to her maid rushing over to her and helping her get up as quickly as possible. After getting dressed in her royal robes and getting ready for the day, her main hurried her outside to the nearest balcony.
From there, she saw the Tree of Beginning shine bright green, just like that day almost three years ago. The queen never really understood what Mew was doing in the tree, but now she could understand that something definitely was going on.
"Okay, now I get it. Send a Lucario to investigate the matter.", said the queen in the most proper voice she could manage at that time.
"Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go get some more sleep.", muttered Ilene as she went back to her royal quarters. Her maid bowed as she left the balcony.
Meanwhile, all across Rota, people were waking up to the amazing sight that was being displayed at the Tree. People soon crowded outside the palace to see this amazing sight for the first time in almost three years.
"Mommy, is this like what happened before?", asked a young girl to her mother. Her mother smiled down at her daughter and nodded her head.
The girl looked in awe at the green light shining throughout the ancient kingdom, as her mother did the same.
December 5, 2002. Northern Kanto. Morning.
"What… what is that?", asked Dawn. The rest of the group was still in awe at the green light coming off the tree, and was still staring in amazement.
"I… I have no idea… ", murmured Drew. Everyone was staring in shock, but Ash, May, Max, and Brock were extremely surprised because they actually knew what was happening.
"Ash… is that… ", stuttered Max. Ash, still mesmerized, turned to Max and nodded his head. Max gasped and stared back around at the Tree.
May and Brock were also staring at the sight, marveled by the amazing light that they had seen for a second time now, but it did look even more amazing from a distance.
The group continued to stare at the sight, until a blue and black blur caught their attention. Dawn and Barry stepped back in shock to see a Lucario race up the cliff and stop right in front of the ledge with its eyes closed.
"Is that… a Lucario?", asked Drew in surprise. Ash looked at him and nodded his head, and Drew noticed that while turning around to face the others.
"Yeah… but what's it doing here?", asked Serena.
Ritchie shrugged. "I have no idea.", he exclaimed as he looked at the others, who also had similar expressions.
The Lucario looked at the group, its eyes still closed. "Hmm… ", the Pokemon mumbled.
Paul was staring in shock. "How's it talking?", he asked in surprise.
"Telepathy, I guess?", answered Max. Then, the Lucario straightened itself out, and spoke again, still with its eyes closed.
"So this was the source of the Aura I had sensed… interesting… ", said the Lucario. Ash tried not to show a reaction, but he did let out a small gasp. Brock, May, Max, and Dawn also had a reaction to this as well, while the others stared at them.
"Ok, but I don't know what you're talking about, and I don't know why you bothered to corner a bunch of teenagers! What do you want with us anyway?", shouted Gary. He had put away his camera after taking some spectacular pictures of the view from the ledge.
The Lucario tilted to his head to one side, perhaps surprised by Trip's reaction.
Gary was getting ready to yell at the Pokemon some more until Ash ran up to stop him. "Gary, you really shouldn't be doing this!", shouted Ash as he tried to hold his rival back.
"Yeah, and why not? This guy's just asking for trouble!", said Gary.
The Lucario, in one swift motion, perked his head up. The teens just stared as the Lucario started to charge up a massive Aura Sphere. They tried to run away, but they got knocked out before they could leave.
"Well, that's for me to know and you to find out.", muttered Lucario as he ran back to the palace, eyes closed the whole way down.
December 5, 2002. Pallet Town. Morning.
Lance, along with the other Champions, stood in the clearing. The workers were getting everything set up for the memorial, and a few guests had arrived already.
Besides the beautiful sunrise, the sun was almost getting covered by the clouds, and it was getting cloudy fast. The whole setting seemed right, as if the sky itself was mourning for these lost kids.
As the finishing touches were being applied to the preparations, Lance looked at Cynthia.
"So, are you ready?", asked Cynthia, raising an eyebrow.
Lance stared at the Sinnoh Champion.
"I have to be. It's the only way I can be a good leader.", said Lance.
"Well then, what are you waiting for?", asked Cynthia. Lance nodded and turned to face the audience. Many people had shown up, and even some wild Pokemon had come to watch as well.
Lance, taking a deep breath, straightened himself out and took the microphone. "Here goes nothing", he muttered to himself.
"Thank you all for coming here today. This nation has been brought to its knees with the loss of these trainers, and it is my job to help get that nation back on its feet. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, including leaders, and it is now my job to help this nation stand up to our threats. However, we must pay our respects to these amazing Pokemon Trainers, Coordinators, and Doctors that have helped us out in our endeavors."
Lance stepped down and handed the mic to the funeral manager, who went along with the memorial as planned.
The memorial was spectacular. Since no bodies were found, empty caskets were put into the ground to signify the deaths of these kids. Flowers were put on each and every one of those eighteen caskets as they were lowered into the ground.
After the memorial was over, most of the audience stuck around for the free food that was being served. The mood did not change, as close relatives and family members chose to speak about their lost family.
"Once again, thank you all for coming. My name is Delia Ketchum." The audience turned to stare at the woman behind the microphone, and listen to her.
"I never really believed everything my son said about his journeys. The parts about encountering new people and Pokemon, and all the adventures he had with his friends.", said Delia.
"But seeing you all here… that makes me think that he was right. Thank you for honoring my son and his friends today.", said Delia as she stepped down from the podium. The audience gave her a standing ovation as she went back to her seat, comforted by Professor Oak and Tracey.
As other people were speaking, Reggie was at a table along with Maylene and a few other people. He was in the best mood he could be in at a funeral, until he spotted someone in the corner of his eye.
A gruff man with graying hair in a green coat was standing in the audience, listening to the current speaker. Reggie's eyes narrowed, and he soon turned his attention back to his girlfriend.
Maylene noticed Reggie's distress and asked him a question. "Reggie, what's wrong?"
Reggie winced one more as his girlfriend spoke, and that caught the older man's attention. The man turned around and started to walk towards the table, until Reggie stood up and went towards the man.
"What the hell are you doing here!", whisper-yelled Reggie, trying not to attract any attention.
"What are you so mad about, Reginald?", said the man. Reggie winced, but he didn't back away.
"I'm just here to pay my respects. That Ash kid was a good trainer for sure.", said the man.
"Damn it, Brandon! Why show up now, after everything that's happened!", yelled Reggie. The man, now revealed to be Brandon, the Pyramid King, put his head down and started to walk away.
The breeder followed the Frontier Brain until they were away from everyone else, and then Brandon suddenly stopped.
"What is it, Reginald? Am I not allowed to mourn my son?", said Brandon.
By this point Reggie was furious. "How dare you call him your son! You lost that right when you left me and Paul for ourselves!"
"I only did that because I had a job. And besides, you could have taken care of your brother, which is why I left.", said Brandon.
"That's exactly why! You just left us to fend for ourselves! Sure we survived, but people should have a father in their lives!", said Reggie, who was seething in anger.
"Hmmph. You're too young to understand.", muttered Brandon as he walked away. Reggie decided not to go after him, and soon went back to the memorial.
"What was that about?", said Maylene. Reggie looked up to face her, and answered her.
"Nothing to worry about. I'll be fine.", said Reggie.
December 5, 2002. Cameran Palace. Morning.
"Ohh… Arceus… where are we?"
Ash had just woken up in a strange room, not knowing how he had gotten here. The last thing he remembered was him holding back Gary from attacking a Lucario, and then nothing.
'Maybe the Lucario knocked the whole group out and transported them here', he presumbed. As he was sitting up, he saw the others wake up as well and sit up along with Ash.
"Hey Ash, do you know where we are?", asked Misty. Ash turned around to face her.
"I have no idea, Misty. Only thing I know is that we're in someplace fancy.", said Ash.
Gary chuckled. "Thanks, Ashy-boy. That really clears things up a lot."
"Hilarious", mumbled Ash as he turned away from Gary. As he turned to the others, he came up with an idea.
"Well, since we're all awake now, why don't we go check this place out?", asked Ash. The others were about to respond, until a different voice cut through the conversation.
"How about you all come with me instead."
The teens turned to see the same Lucario that they had met earlier walk into the room followed by a Mime Jr. He motioned them to come with them, and the teens reluctantly went along with them.
Ash was scanning the massive hallway that they were in, along with the others. They were all shocked to be in such a beautiful room with lots of old paintings and murals.
Brock suddenly shot up, as if he recognized something. His eyes started to become dreamy, and he looked as if he was in a daze.
Misty noticed this, and turned around to slap some sense into him. However, she already saw Max and a Croagunk already beside Brock to make sure he didn't embarrass himself again.
"Geez… Brock! What's your problem!", shouted Misty.
"So… beautiful… ", muttered Brock. Misty and Max decided to leave the Pokemon Doctor alone while Croagunk Poison Jabbed him to the ground.
After walking for a while, the hallway opened up into a huge room, with an amazing mosaic in the back left corner. Ash, May, and Max gasped in shock, while Brock, who had gotten back on his feet, also had his jaw dropping and eyes dreamy.
The Lucario and Mime Jr. went in front of the teens stood at the side of a woman in royal robes, who then stood up
"Well, I should have believed Lucario when he said you all were alive, huh?", said Queen Ilene as she stood up and stepped off her chair.
December 5, 2002. Pallet Town. Late Morning.
Lance cleared his throat. Since the memorial had ended, people were allowed to speak about their lost family, and the press had been at all of their throats since then.
It was now Lance's turn to make a special announcement along with the other Champions concerning the fate of the upcoming League circuits, and he had managed to get Mr. Goodshow's approval for this.
As he stepped onto the podium for the second time that day, he took a deep breath. This announcement would definitely cause some controversy, but it was greatly needed.
"Attention, everybody. I would like to make an announcement concerning the upcoming League circuits in Kanto and Johto.", said Lance. The whole audience quieted down, anticipating Lance's next words.
"I have declared that the Indigo Plateau will be suspending any League events or battles until this situation with Team Rocket is dealt with, and my fellow Champions have done the same to their respective regions.", he said as he turned to face his colleagues and Mr. Goodshow, who had also shown up for the memorial.
Mr. Goodshow took the microphone from Lance and was explaining the effects of the League suspension, but many audience members were talking to each other at that time.
"This is just, like, great. My sister leaves me in charge of the gym, and like, then dies, and like, now the gym is suspended from battling? This is, like, a weird chain of events.", exclaimed Daisy, who was sitting next to her sisters and Tracey.
"Daisy, I'm sure it'll be fine.", said Tracey, while her sisters nodded.
"Yeah, like, we can focus on our modeling more now!", exclaimed Lily. Daisy glared at her, signaling that this was not the time for that.
Meanwhile, Delia was sitting at a table next to the Professor. "Oh, Ash, why did I have to lose you too!", she cried to herself.
Professor Oak shot a look at Delia before turning his head back around. She was alone now, without a husband or a child to care for.
He knew Delia would take this los extremely hard, since Ash had meant the world to her, but she would have to pull through for her own good.
"Delia? How about we go back to the laboratory.", said the Professor. Delia looked up and smiled before responding.
"Ok, Samuel. I've had enough of this for one day.", said Delia, as she went to throw away another tissue before walking away with the Professor.
December 5, 2002. Cameran Palace. Morning.
The group was in shock, for at least the third time that day. Not only were they standing in one of the most majestic palaces they had ever been in, but they were also in Rota, one of the most ancient kingdoms on the planet.
Brock suddenly rushed up to the Queen, who looked startled, but was thankfully pulled back by Misty and Max's ear pulling.
Ash, May, and Max bowed, and the others saw and did the same. "Hello, Your Highness.", greeted Ash.
The Queen smiled. "Thank you for the pleasantries, but we do have somewhere to go. Lucario?", she said as the Lucario from earlier walked up to her side, and started to walk away. The Queen followed the Pokemon, along with the rest of the group.
"So, do you even know why we were brought here, Your Majesty?", asked Gary, trying to be polite.
"Well, the Tree was shining green again, so I asked a Lucario to investigate. He's much better than I am at this Aura stuff.", exclaimed the Queen. Ash perked up, and went over to Ilene.
"Was the Tree shining again… because of me? You were there last time… ", whispered Ash. The Queen shrugged, and responded.
"I don't know, Ash. We'll all find out once we get to the Tree. I just hope Mew can let us in without letting her defense mechanisms on us.", exclaimed the Queen. Ash shuddered at the memories of the Regis and the Tree's "white blood cells" attacking him and the crew during their last adventure here.
"What are you talking about? Tree? Mew? Aura? What is all this?", exclaimed Misty. Ilene stopped to look at her, and came up with a response.
"Please, be patient. We'll all know what's going on when we reach the Tree of Beginning.", said Ilene. The rest of the group got quiet and started to walk.
After a while walking the group reached the entrance to the mountain that was known as the Tree of Beginning. Queen Ilene stopped and asked for Lucario to call Mew.
"Mew? Mew! Please let us into the Tree!", shouted Lucario. Meanwhile, Dawn turned to Paul and asked him a question.
"Do you really think there's a Mew in there?", asked Dawn. Paul looked at her, then grunted.
"Hmmph. Do you really expect to see a live Mew in this thing? I wouldn't think so.", exclaimed Paul while he was looking at the ground.
"You'll be surprised, Paul.", muttered Ash as he kept walking, and Paul whirled to face him, but then turned away and started to walk away.
Serena turned to Clemont, who was busy fiddling with his inventions. "Clemont? What's wrong?"
Clemont turned around, face in despair. "My… my inventions are freaking out! There must be some sort of electromagnetic interference in this mountain that's causing this… ", he muttered while Serena sweatdropped and backed away.
Max heard some footsteps and jumped back in fear. May noticed this and asked her brother a question. "Max, what's wrong?"
"I thought I heard something back there… AAAAHH!", shrieked Max as a Registeel, Regirock, and Regice came hulking into the passageway.
The others winced, realizing the extent of the situation. Then, the Lucario turned around to face the group.
"New plan, we run!", shouted the Lucario.
The rest of the group bolted in the opposite direction, away from the Regis. Suddenly, Iris spoke up.
"Is this what you mean by defense mechanisms!", she shouted. Brock looked ahead into the passageway, and winced.
"You haven't seen half of it!", he shouted before stopping dead in his tracks. Many white blood cells were gathering in the passage, waiting to exterminate any human intruders.
Brock pointed towards the cells before whirling back around, only to see the Regis lumbering towards the group.
"Arceus… we're trapped.", muttered Ash. May, Max, and Brock all had similar expressions, while the others looked confused.
"How come! Can't we walk just past those orange blobs?", demanded Drew.
Ash grimaced. "Those things completely suck you up. You're risking your life if you want to go through that.", he exclaimed. That shut up the others for a while.
As the Regis and the white blood cells were closing in, the group didn't know what to do. After everything they had been through so far, they definitely didn't want to die like this.
"Mew!"
The Queen smiled as Mew came flying into the passageway, much to the surprise of the teens. Mew motioned for the Regis to back away from the group, and then the white blood cells dissolved back into the tree's many crystals. The Lucario started to follow Mew, and the group followed suit.
Once the group reached the open main chamber of the Tree, Ash couldn't help but stare at the main crystal in the center. He had watched Sir Aaron's Lucario sacrifice himself to save the Tree, and lie down there, dying, while Ash couldn't do anything to save him.
He noticed that there was a second time flower near the base of the crystal, signifying that his adventure with Lucario had been etched into history. That did make him smile, but it still didn't change the overall mood of being back in this chamber.
"Greetings, Mew. Why is it that you have signaled the Tree to shine now?", asked Lucario.
Mew tried to tell the group using hand motions, but nobody understood her at first. After thinking for a minute, she decided to talk to everybody telepathically.
"Sorry about the telepathy, but it was the only way I could talk to you all.", exclaimed Mew. The group gasped in shock when they heard another voice in their heads.
"What the? How can you talk too?", exclaimed Trip, who was taking even more pictures of the chamber on his camera.
"Telepathy, right? Didn't I just explain that? Anyway, the only reason I made the Tree light up was because of the massive Auras I sensed just this morning.", said the Psychic-type.
"Okaaay, so what does this have to do with us? This Lucario said that we were the source of some Aura he sensed or whatever, but what does that mean?", asked Drew. May had a grim expression on his face, as if Drew was in for something bad.
"Well, why don't you see for yourself?", said Mew as the Legendary Pokemon motioned Lucario to one of the time flowers, and opened up the first one.
Unknown Date. The Tree of Beginning. Unknown Time.
"Please, Mew! Accept the Aura!"
The Legendary Aura Guardian Sir Aaron stood in the same chamber in which the teens were in, only this was a memory from long ago. The sick Legendary could barely function in this memory, which is why Sir Aaron had to save her.
The Aura Guardian charged up a massive Aura Sphere that completely enveloped Mew, but at the same time depleted his life force. His form started to turn blue and he started to convulse, but that wouldn't stop Sir Aaron from saving Mew and ending the war.
"The… Aura… is… with me!", shouted Sir Aaron as he sent out the last of his Aura reserves into Mew, fully healing it and allowing the Tree to light bright green and signal a sigh of peace.
Sir Aaron collapsed against the main crystal, completely exhausted. He knew he was going to die, but that didn't matter right now. He had saved the kingdom, but he knew he would never get to see Lucario again.
"Lucario… I'm sorry… NNGh!... I only sealed you to make sure you wouldn't intervene… it was the only way to save the kingdom… NNGH!... goodbye… "
Sir Aaron took in his last few breaths staring out at the amazing sight he had caused, and that he knew he would be remembered for generations.
December 5, 2002. The Tree of Beginning. Late Morning.
The first time flower closed, and the memory faded away back into the flower. The group was startled, as they had witnessed the memory of the death of one of Kanto's mightiest warriors.
"I only thought Aura was just a myth! How did this happen!", exclaimed Gary while Ash laughed.
"Gary, you're talking to a guy who has saved the world a bunch of times, and trust me, you get used to it after a while.", said Ash.
"Wait, there's another one of those! Why don't we look at that one!", exclaimed Serena, while Brock turned to look at Ash. His expression had changed in an instant to one of grief and sadness, and Brock was pretty sure as to why.
"Are you sure you want me to open this next one?", asked Mew.
"Yeah, why not? Let's just check it out.", exclaimed Ritchie. The Legendary shot a glance at Ash, who sighed and made his point.
"Fine. Just play the memory. It's only a few years old anyway.", he muttered as Lucario and the group stared at him, not before touching the second flower and igniting the memory within.
March 15, 2000. The Tree of Beginning. Afternoon.
There's a way to save the Tree… by using the power of Aura?", asked a Lucario. Mew nodded, and flew over to the center of the chamber. Lucario was about to start the process, before a woman intervened.
"But Lucario, if you use the power of Aura to save the Tree, you'll end up in the same suspended state as Sir Aaron!", exclaimed Kidd Summers.
Lucario paused for a moment. "Yes, I know.", he exclaimed.
"The Aura… is with me.", said Lucario as he attempted to transfer his Aura to Mew, while Kidd stood there, startled.
The Aura Sphere soon disappeared, and Lucario was grimacing. "It's not working; I'm not strong enough."
Suddenly, a younger-looking Ash stepped into the frame, and everyone was set in shock, while Ash was looking down at the ground, with a tear in his eye.
"Remember what you said about me before?", exclaimed Ash in the memory.
"Ash… ", muttered Lucario, but he was unable to stop him as he grabbed Sir Aaron's gloves that were placed onto the crystal in the previous memory.
As Ash pulled on the ancient gloves, he spoke again. "You said that my Aura was like Sir Aaron's. It's time to test if that's really true.", he said as he put his hands in front of him and focused on the sick Mew.
The people who were not with Ash on this adventure were in shock. Ash never disclosed any of this information to his other traveling companions, and he felt it was best for him to do that.
The Ash in the memory focused and created a small sphere of Aura, which slowly became larger. Ash's friends gasped at the sight, while Ash still couldn't bear to relive what had happened.
"Ash, no! It's too dangerous! You'll end up destroying yourself!", yelled Kidd, trying to reason with the boy.
"If I don't do this, the Tree will die, and so will the Pokemon that live here.", exclaimed Ash.
"Ash… ", muttered Lucario got the second time, as Ash kept up his Aura Sphere and placed it around Mew.
Meanwhile, Lucario had stopped reasoning with Ash as he too produced another Aura Sphere and combined it with Ash's, while Kidd and Ash's Pokemon stood in awe.
"I'm not gonna give up!", shouted Ash as he fought through the pain and kept up his Aura Sphere around the Legendary.
Ash and Lucario were fighting through the pain, but they were losing a lot of their life force, and both of them were turning blue and convulsing due to the pain.
Suddenly, Lucario pushed Ash to the side, which made him fall down and take off Sir Aaron's gloves as well, while Lucario had to heal Mew now on his own.
"Lucario-", Ash exclaimed until he was cut off by the jackal-like Pokemon.
"Ash, leave the rest to me! The Aura… is with me!", shouted Lucario as he pushed all of his life force into mew, healing the Psychic-type completely. As Mew flew up to light the Tree bright green again, Lucario collapsed onto the crystal.
"Lucario… you can't leave us now!", shouted Ash, who was in tears.
"I have to go, Ash… Aaron is waiting for me… ", whispered Lucario as he faded into the crystal, leaving Ash and Kidd behind.
December 5, 2002. The Tree of Beginning. Late Morning.
As the memory faded away, the group was brought back to the chamber, and they saw Ash fall to his knees in tears. Gary tried to go to him, but Brock managed to stop him.
"He just needs some time alone, Gary. Leave him be.", exclaimed Brock, as Gary reluctantly sat back down.
The rest of the group was also not in their best mood, as they had just seen a tragic memory that only Ash had gotten to experience firsthand.
Misty, however, stormed towards Ash, who was on his knees, and ran up to him.
"Ash… you almost died there… why did you do that!", shouted Misty, who seemed really upset at what she saw in that time flower.
"Well, I wanted to save the Tree and the Pokemon there… ", muttered Ash, while Misty stood there, tears falling down her face.
"Ash… I just don't want to lose you…", muttered Misty.
Ash frowned upon seeing Misty like this. "Misty… I'll be fine. Just trust me."
While Ash and Misty were talking, Drew turned to Brock, who was staring at the scene in front of them.
"Yeah… I see what you mean now, Brock.", whispered Drew. Brock smirked at this, and turned to face him. "She sure cares about him a lot, right?"
"So… are you done yet?", asked Mew, who was waiting impatiently. Ash and Misty sweatdropped, and turned back around, serious looks on their faces.
"Ok, good. Now where was I?", said Mew, while the others looked at each other.
"Well, the Tree was lit up bright green, and this Lucario commented about Aura sources, and now Ash can already use Aura as well. Yeah, that's right.", said Trip sarcastically.
"Well, Ash could already use Aura, since that was basically three years ago. And of the other stuff, there seemed to be more Aura detected in the area, which is important because nobody can really use Aura anymore except for a few people. I only allowed the Tree to shine because of those multiple Aura sources."
"I guess that clears some stuff up… muttered Ritchie, while the others nodded their heads at what he said.
"How about we all go back to the palace. It's been an eventful morning, to say the least.", said Queen Ilene as she started to walk out of the chamber.
"Oh. And Ash? You might need these later on.", exclaimed Mew, as the Legendary pointed to Sir Aaron's gloves sitting on a crystal. Ash went over and put the legendary gloves in his backpack before walking out with his friends.
December 5, 2002. Pallet Town, Kanto. Late Morning.
"I knew Drew since his first contest in Hoenn… it's a shame that he had to go… and May too… she was a good friend… ", murmured Solidad to Harley. Ever since bolting out of the G-Men Headquarters just two days earlier, she had gone to Blackthorn along with Harley and the Champions, and from there to Pallet.
As the two teenagers who had survived, the press had been all over the two Coordinators, and it would get really stressful at times to deal with the annoying reporters who kept asking her questions.
"Solidad, it's fine. We all have to deal with it, and you are no exception. The only thing you can smile about is that Drew and May are probably together in heaven right now.", snickered Harley, which made Solidad smile a little.
"Thanks, Harley.", she said as she walked over to an unoccupied couch and sat down on it. "That means a lot."
"Yeah, quit with the sadness, hun. Now let's get back to eating!", the Coordinator shouted as he dragged Solidad off the couch and back to the table to eat more lunch.
'Typical Harley… ', thought Solidad to herself as she got more food and sat down to eat. She was sad, but Harley always knew how to lighten the mood in any situation.
December 5, 2002. Cameran Palace. Afternoon.
"Well, that was an eventful morning.", exclaimed Queen Ilene once she saw the teens getting ready to leave. They all had their disguises set in place, and were getting ready to leave the palace.
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about you all.", said the Queen, and the teens heads perked up at this.
"Thank you, Your Majesty.", exclaimed Ash. Ilene said that she would allow them to stay, but the group refused, saying that they just felt the need to keep traveling. The queen didn't argue, as she was only an observer to these kids and their plans.
The teens walked out of the palace and onto the main route, making sure to have their disguises on and to try and blend in as best as they could before they got to the secluded areas to the north.
Misty was walking close to Ash, much to Serena's disgust, and was not willing to leave the raven-haired teen's side. The tension between the two girls was beginning to risen, and Brock especially noticed that.
"Pretty soon it's going to turn into an all-out war.", commented Brock to Gary. Gary smirked, and said, "Yeah, but how about us bachelors get girlfriends first, huh?", said Gary while Brock sighed in defeat.
"Yeah… don't remind me… ", exclaimed Brock as he put his head down and kept walking.
Ash had gone up to Misty after walking alone for a while, and he was going to ask a question only she knew about.
"Hey Misty… I need to talk to you about something.", said Ash. Misty's heart thundered in her chest, could this be the moment? "Yeah… what is it, Ash?"
"Well… Mew told me to take these with me… ", he exclaimed as he took out Sir Aaron's gloves, which Misty was awed at seeing it up close.
"Mew told me that I would need them… so I was wondering. Could this be part of the prophecy?", said Ash. Misty looked confused for a second, and so Ash reworded his sentence.
"You know, that whole Chosen One thing?", Ash whispered, trying not to attract anyone else's attention. Misty's eyes widened at that.
"I don't know, Ash, but from what you've told me, you've saved the world more times than just that, so it's not out of the question.", whispered Misty.
Ash sighed. "Yeah, I get that, but does it always have to be me who does this? Why is it my responsibility to save the world? Can't the Legendaries do that instead?"
"Ash, you should be flattered. After all, they chose you for that whole thing.", exclaimed Misty with a smile.
"Well yeah, but it does get annoying after a while. But that does mean a lot, Misty.", exclaimed Ash. He was going to say something else, but was interrupted.
"What are you talking about?", exclaimed Serena, interrupting Ash and Misty's conversation.
"Uh, nothing. It wasn't important.", stammered Misty. Gary saw this, and smirked.
"Well, it sure seemed personal for an unimportant conversation, huh?", snarked Gary, but he started to back away once he saw Misty storm towards him with her mallet.
"Oh, that is it!", shouted Misty as she began to chase down Gary. The researcher ran around the area trying to avoid the Gym Leader's wrath, but to no avail. Mity walked back onto the path, her mallet in her hands, while Gary straggled around with a huge bump on his head.
"Okay… can we keep moving now?", asked an annoyed Trip, while the others looked on in concern at Gary.
"Yeah… let's get going already. We don't need any more delays, do we?", continued Clemont. The group nodded and continued on their path, and for a while most of the group was silent and walking on their own.
"Hey Dee Dee, wouldn't you think that being able to use Aura would be cool or what?", asked Kenny with a smirk on his face. Dawn sighed and turned around to face him.
"Well, it would be cool and all, but can you please stop calling me Dee Dee? I tell you this every time, but you still do it!", complained Dawn.
Kenny shrugged. "Well, that's what makes it fun.", he smirked towards his childhood friend, who grunted and walked away.
As Dawn was walking away from Kenny, she saw Paul approach her and stop next to her. "Do you seriously think that Aura thing is real?", he asked in her face.
Dawn came up with a response immediately. "Well, I saw Ash use it in that memory… but do you not believe that?", she asked.
"That was probably just an illusion or something. I'll only believe it when I see it in person.", exclaimed Paul. Dawn sighed. "Whatever you say, Paul. Believe whatever you want.", exclaimed the bluenette as she kept walking ahead of Paul.
December 5, 2002. Pallet Town. Afternoon.
"What are we going to do now?", asked Steven. "The League circuits are postponed, so we don't have anything do do with that. So now what?"
"Well, we could focus our efforts into the G-Men and stop Giovanni, you know.", exclaimed Alder. Right now, the Champions were by themselves in one of the laboratory rooms that the Professor let them have to discuss this situation.
"Fine, but where will we run our operations from? We'll have to all be in one place to maximize our forces.", exclaimed Lance. As he finished his speech, Professor Oak opened the door silently, trying not to attract the press who were at the lab.
"I couldn't help but not hear what you all were discussing here, and so I definitely could lend you rooms in this laboratory to help with your issues against Giovanni.", explained Professor Oak.
"Thank you, Samuel, we'll definitely consider that.", exclaimed Diantha as the professor walked out of the room.
Cynthia continued the conversation. "The only problem is Giovanni and his forces. What if he has many more grunts and Pokemon up his sleeve? We have to do something to prevent a total takeover.", exclaimed the Sinnoh Champion.
"We'll just have to wait and see what happens next.", said Wallace.
Steven stood up off one of the chairs he was sitting on. "Well, how about we start by setting up operations here? The professor already said he would be glad to have us, and our Elites can take care of operations in other regions. I say we do it."
"I second that.", answered Cynthia immediately. Soon after, the other Champions expressed their agreement for this, and went down to the Professor to tell him the good news.
"Samuel? We've decided to stay here.", exclaimed Lance as he went downstairs to where the Professor was. Oak turned around and looked very happy.
"That's great! I'll help you all out any way I can, so thank you for your decision.", exclaimed Professor Oak.
"No problem, Samuel.", exclaimed Cynthia, who had also walked downstairs to tell the Professor the good news.
As the Champions walked back upstairs, the Professor lamented to himself. With the arrival of six regional champions, the town was bound to get lots of press and attention, but he hoped that nobody would reveal the fact that they were in Pallet in the first place, as that would maybe attract too much attention for the town to handle.
December 5, 2002. Unknown Location. Afternoon.
"Will Executives Proton, Petrel, Archer, Ariana, and Domino please report to Floor 5, effective immediately.", said Jessie, trying to be cheerful and upbeat in the PA system.
"I can't believe we're stuck to doing announcement duty!", muttered Meowth, as James took the mic.
"Also, Agents Cassidy and Biff are cleared to be sent out on their mission.", exclaimed James into the microphone, trying not to laugh. He then put the microphone down and started smirking towards Jessie and Meowth.
"Well, Botch is going to get back at you for that too, huh Jimmy?", snarked Meowth.
"Why, yes he is. And don't call me Jimmy!", seethed James.
Jessie sighed. "Will you two ever shut up?", she said as James and Meowth turned to look at their long-haired friend. "What are you two looking at?"
"Nothing, nothing! I swear!", yelled James as Jessie chased him and Meowth out of the soundboard room.
"Come in, Executives. I have a mission for you.", exclaimed Giovanni as the five elite Rocket Members came into the Boss's office, each sporting their custom Rainbow Rocket uniforms.
"What do you want from us, Boss?", asked Domino. She was the youngest of the group, but she could be argued as one of the strongest Executives with her skills in espionage and fighting.
"Well, I've finished our portion of Phase Two, and it is for you to scour Kanto and Johto, looking for people or items that could help our cause, while I and my council will be continuing our portion of Phase Two.", explained Giovanni.
"Petrel, Ariana, and Domino, you will take Johto, and Archer and Proton will scout Kanto for useful information or people.", finished the Boss.
"Yes, Boss!", shouted the Executives as they stood firm in front of their leader, and then walked out of the office to get prepared for their missions.
Now that the lower levels of Phase Two were going into effect, it was time for the next stage of Rainbow Rocket's conquest to begin. Giovanni smiled. He would have control of this world, and with powerful people and Pokemon at his disposal, he would not be stopped.
"Matori? Tell the council that the first stages of Phase Two are underway.", exclaimed the Rocket Boss to his trusty secretary.
"Yes, Boss. I'll do it right away.", replied Matori as she hung up the call.
December 5, 2002. North Kanto. Late Afternoon.
"Seriously, Paul? You saw two memories of people using Aura! How can you not believe it?", complained Barry.
"I'm telling you, I don't believe in magic or that kind of stuff, okay? Now, just leave me alone.", exclaimed Paul as he walked away.
"Sheesh, what's his problem?", asked Barry.
"Barry, for the last time, let him believe what he wants! Everyone can have their own opinion!", yelled Dawn.
Kenny stepped up and intervened. "C'mon, Dee Dee, why are you defending him? He just seems like a big jerk anyways.", he said.
"Well, Kenny, I'm just trying to be nice, and since we're traveling together for a while, shouldn't we try to be friendly with each other?", exclaimed Dawn.
Kenny stormed off in defeat, unable to make a comeback towards Dawn.
"Why is Dawn defending that guy? What's her deal?", mumbled Kenny in disgust, until Zoey came up to him.
"You know, she can do whatever she wants, so stop being like that.", said Zoey, which made Kenny sag down even further.
"Oh, great.", muttered Brock. The others ran towards the Pokemon Doctor to check out the situation, and were surprised that they were right near Pewter City.
The Kantonian city skyline was in full display, and there was nowhere to go besides into the big city.
"What are we going to do now?", asked Ash. "We can't attract any attention in the city, so how are we going to go through it?"
"I have an idea, but it'll be risky. We can sneak around the back of the city, where the museum is, and make sure we get onto the north side of Route 3 without attracting any unwanted attention.", exclaimed Brock.
"Well, if that's the only chance we've got, then let's take it.", commented Gary.
The group made their way into the city with their disguises on, making sure to evade any other people.
As the group was running throughout the city streets, Brock motioned the group towards a large building set on a hill.
"There's the science museum, guys. Let's go.", muttered Brock as he sneaked his way towards the museum, and the others followed suit.
Once the gang reached the museum, Brock motioned them to go around the back, and to make sure that nobody was following them.
As they were making their way around the back of the famous Pewter Museum of Science, Cilan had noticed a few people in black sneaking out of a back door while carrying some boxes.
"Come on, Buzz, can't you carry more of these? How come I have to do all the work myself!", shouted a uniformed woman with that black uniform.
"My name is Butch, for Arceus's sake! And you know that, Cassidy!", shouted the other member, who had green hair and was also carrying storage boxes and planting them in a van.
"Be quiet! You'll blow our cover!", whispered Cassidy.
Butch nodded and finished carrying the boxes into the van, and they finally turned around to reveal their black uniforms with a rainbow R stylized on the front.
"What are those two doing here?", whispered Misty.
"You know them?", asked Clemont.
"Yeah, they're also members of Team Rocket, but not as incompetent as Jessie and James.", exclaimed Ash.
While the group was talking amongst themselves, Butch took notice of a few heads popping up behind a door. He pointed towards the door and yelled to his partner.
"Cassidy, we've got some intruders!", yelled Butch. The teens cursed to themselves.
"Everyone, split up!", whispered Brock. Since the Rainbow Rocket agents were so focused on that door, they didn't manage to notice the others scattering to other places.
"Where do you think you're going?", shouted Cassidy as she held Ash in her arms. Luckily, his hood hadn't managed to fall off yet, so the agents did not know who he was yet.
"Ghh… let me… go!", yelled Ash as he tried to get out of Cassidy's grasp and while trying not to let his hood fall down.
"Don't try anything, mister. Now we're taking you to the boss.", exclaimed Butch before laughing maniacally.
As the two Rocket agents were carrying Ash, Butch had an idea. "Hey Cassidy, let's see who's really under this hood, what do you say?"
"Arceus.", cursed Brock to himself. If Botch tore off that hood, then their conspiracy would and and they would be targeted by these guys and the press as well.
"Get… off me… AAH!", shouted Ash as Butch was about to tear off his hood.
Suddenly, a bright blue light emerged around Ash's body, and Butch gasped in fear.
"What… what is that?", shouted Butch, as Cassidy came over from the truck to investigate.
"Biff, what the hell are you doin-AAAAH!", yelled Cassidy as the blue light sent the Rocket Agent flying into Cassidy, making them hit the wall, unconscious.
Ash managed to get back on his feet with his hood still on, and his friends rushed over to him while Cassidy and Butch were still knocked out.
"Uh… my head… ", murmured Ash, still tired from what had just commenced.
Brock turned to stare at him. "Okay, let's get out of here. Now.", he muttered as he directed the group away from the museum and the two Rocket Agents.
Once they were safely away from any other commotion, they took a look at where they were before. Cassidy and Butch had gotten up again, and they looked terrified.
"What the hell was that, Biff? What do you think you were doing?", shouted Cassidy.
"I-I don't know! Either way, let's bolt!", he shouted as he ran towards the truck. Cassidy raced after him, and soon the two were driving away.
"Ash, how did you end up doing that?", asked Barry.
"I don't really know… maybe my Aura activated without me knowing it… ", continued Ash.
"Either way, it was so cool! It really helped us get out of trouble there.", commented Clemont.
"So now what, Paul? Still don't believe what you saw there, huh?", snarked Kenny, trying to rub Paul's apparent beliefs in his own face.
"Hmmph. Whatever.", mumbled Paul as he walked away from the Coordinator, while Dawn shot him another look.
The gang soon began to walk out of Pewter City's west gate, traveling around the north area of the city. That mishap of what happened behind the Science Museum was behind them, and they were ready to move on.
"So, Ash, why were those two even in Pewter anyway? And what was up with those uniforms too?", commented Max.
"Well, at Indigo we were attacked by a group of people with those same uniforms, and so maybe this is just like some new organization or something.", commented Ash.
Brock had caught on to something that Ash had said, and quickly went over to him, and motioned Misty to come as well. When the three of them were walking together out of earshot, Brock began his conversation.
"Ash, when you were talking there, I remembered something.", exclaimed Brock. "On Mount Quena, that man… he said he was the leader of Team Rocket… I think he was the same one at Indigo Plateau."
"That might be true, but how does he remember us? I thought Mewtwo wiped all of the Rockets' memories besides Jessie and James.", commented Misty.
"Yeah… I actually met him again in Unova. I hid my reaction because I knew he didn't remember me, and he was the one in charge of the Rocket operation in eastern Unova.", explained Ash.
"I heard about that… but why is he after us if he doesn't remember us, or barely remembers you, Ash?", said Misty.
"I don't know… ", explained Ash, but he did have a theory. Why was that stupid prophecy getting him and his friends into danger all the time? It was just bad luck of being a world-saving hero, he guessed.
December 5, 2002. Unknown Location. Evening.
"Boss, we came as soon as we could. We encountered something you might be interested to hear about.", explained Cassidy.
"Yes, I heard. What is it?", asked Giovanni.
Butch gulped inside his throat. 'Well, boss, we encountered a kid who was spying on us, and we tried to see who he was, but then this… blue… thing came up-"
Cassidy pushed her fellow agent to the side and continued the story. "Well, I was getting the supplies in the truck while Biff over here dealt with the kid, and then this wimp started shouting in fear. I came over to check it out, and then some blue thing came off the kid and pushed Buzz right into me, knocking us both unconscious. When we woke up, we decided to report back to HQ and inform you of our situation.", finished Cassidy.
"Hmm… interesting.", exclaimed Giovanni. "Now, please excuse yourselves. You will be sent out into the region again tomorrow, so be prepared for anything this time."
"Yes, Boss!", saluted both Cassidy and Butch as they exited the office.
"A blue glow, you say… I thought there was only one lineage who still had that power… interesting… ", exclaimed Giovanni. Even though his agents were defeated by a random kid, this incident had brought about a change of plans for the Rainbow Rocket Boss.
"Well, this is a surprise to be sure, but I will make my way past it… like I always have… ", exclaimed Giovanni, as thoughts of new schemes and plans raced through his head as always.
Well, another chapter is in the books! I decided to give Paul a Kaiba-like attitude towards all this "hocus-pocus magic stuff", and I think it suits him well. Anyways, feel free to review, and I'll see you in the next one!