AN: Sorry for the long wait guys, my life has been busy and is only going to get worse. My Assisted living home is open so I might not have a ton of writing time. But have faith my readers because big things are coming. First and foremost, Facing the Past is finally in the remake stages. Seeing as how many stories that are similar to it I decided to take the story in a familiar yet completely different path. All I will say is that Ash's heart will be very black in this version and he won't be objected to using pokemon to bring harm to people. :) lol
Chapter 7
Ash, Misty and Luxio stood in front of a moderate sized city that lined the coast. From their position on the hills near the city, they could see a multitude of people moving around for their daily lives. A large portion moved down the main center street towards a large construction site while others moved in the direction of the port that had three large ships stations in and around the docks. Misty smiled at the sight of the ships, "Those are the luxury liners that travel between Kanto and the different regions. The big one in the middle is the S.S. Anne, the one on the left side of the harbor is the S.S. Aqua from Johto and the final one over on the right is the S.S. Tidal which runs to Hoenn. From there it connects to another ship that takes you to Sinnoh or Unova depending on what you have in mind."
Ash looked at his girlfriend, "What's with the sudden burst of knowledge Mist?"
She blushed lightly, "I love water pokemon and anything to do with the water. There are so many different pokemon in the world that I kind of looked up the quickest routes to the other regions."
Ash smiled and kissed her cheek, "Glad I'm not the only one who obsesses over pokemon."
Misty giggled and clutched Ash's hand, "Let's get to the Pokemon Center so you can get your next badge." Ash smiled and ran forward with Misty. Luxio rolled his eyes and quickly rushed to catch up with his trainer.
*PSOR*
The group of three arrived ten minutes later in the center and walked up to the desk. Ash returned Luxio and handed his pokemon over to Nurse Joy for them to be healed. While that was happening, Ash walked over to the video phones and made a call. He waited a few moments before Professor Oak appeared on screen, "Ah Ash my boy I'm glad you called."
Ash looked at Professor Oak, "What do you mean?"
Samuel moved off screen and appeared holding two pokeballs, "These appeared on my desk early this morning and they are registered to you. I must say I am very impressed with the pokemon inside and would like to know something."
Ash nodded for the Professor to continue, "How in the blue blazes did you capture two fossil pokemon?"
Ash scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, "Well you see…I uh…I was given them by a scientist in the Pewter City Museum."
Professor Oak looked at Ash, "He just gave you two fossils pokemon."
Ash nodded slowly, "Well, they were still fossils but yeah he did."
Professor Oak rubbed his forehead, "And this didn't seem at all odd? Ash I would have thought you would have had more sense than that. What if these pokemon are part of the underground market? For all we know they could be from someone's personal collection."
Ash nodded, "I am well aware of this Professor but the man wouldn't take no for an answer. Are the pokemon alright?"
Professor Oak looked up and smiled, "Yes they are, both Kabuto and Cranidos are in fine health. I have uploaded their data to your pokedex and can send them over if you wish."
Ash thought a moment, "That's fine, by the way, how are Nidoking and Eevee doing?"
The Pallet Town Professor glanced out his window, "They are back to full health, although I would have to say that Eevee is still somewhat depressed over the matter. Nidoking has taken to being her bodyguard of sorts so I would suggest that you take both of them with you at a time. I would also suggest that you limit the number of pokemon you have on you at a time. I realize you don't want to limit the time spent with them but it might be easier on you. You know the white buttons on your pokedex? Those enable you to switch your pokemon out without being at a Pokemon Center. Simply activate the locking trigger on the pokeballs you wish to alter and then complete the switch. You can try it now."
Ash nodded and decided to keep nine pokemon with him, Ivysaur, Charmeleon, Wartortle, Luxio, Spearow, Kadabra, Scyther, Cranidos, and Kabuto, while keeping a space open for a future capture. Once the transfers were complete, Ash finished talking with Professor Oak and decided to spend a day training. From the research he had done, Ash was able to find out about Lt. Surge, the electric type gym leader. Surge had a powerful team of electric type pokemon that helped make him one of the most powerful gym leaders in Kanto. His starter was a Raichu and it had led him to many victories. His flaw was that he viewed many trainers that came his way to be weak and often took to insulting them.
Ash decided to get another day of training in before challenging the gym. It gave him a chance to bond with his two newest pokemon and he was very pleased with them. Kabuto was a very happy pokemon and loved to have his shell polished while Cranidos was very calm. The headbutt pokemon seemed to calculate things out before taking the quickest action to end the potential conflict. Ash knew that Cranidos had almost legendary level attack power once he evolved but his other stats suffered greatly from this. To help counter that, Ash had his new pokemon team up with Ivysaur to help build up his endurance. Kabuto was good when it came to his stats but he lacked attacks to make him very useful in battle. To counter this, Kabuto was tasked with working alongside Wartortle to learn Aqua Jet and Surf. Misty was less enthusiastic about more training so she spent the day at the pokemon center sleeping in a bed for the first time since Cerulean.
Around late afternoon, Ash found himself in the Pokemon Center's library with several book open with a notebook sitting in front of him. He had a list of all his pokemon along with their moves on the first page. The second page listed his pokemon and moves that he was considering teaching to them. Personally, Ash couldn't wait until he arrived at Celadon City so he could buy tms and shorten the learning process, but seeing as he still had a long time before that would happen he would have to take the long route or purchase via mail.
Teaching pokemon new moves was very time consuming as it required the pokemon to be ready both mentally and physically. The reason most pokemon learn new moves upon evolving was because of the influx of power their bodies get. The Pallet town trainer kept making a bigger and bigger list until he had a full page of moves that he was going to look into in addition to pokemon that he was going to consider capturing.
*PSOR*
Ash yawned and rubbed his eyes as he realized how late it was. He closed up the books he had been working with and slowly moved up to his room. He arrived and found Misty lying on her stomach watching TV. "Hey Mist, sorry I took so long…I lost track of time." His girlfriend smiled weakly but didn't say anything.
Ash picked up on that and sat down, "Is everything alright?" Misty shrugged which caused Ash to roll his eyes, "Misty you can tell me." She looked at him and Ash was shocked to see tears in the corner of her eyes. "I got a call from my sisters. Apparently they entered a beauty contest and the results were very positive. If they win the final round then they win an all-expense paid trip around the world." Ash was surprised by the news and felt a lump in his throat. He tried to swallow but found that his mouth had suddenly run dry, "Um…when will they find the results?"
Misty shrugged, "They didn't say. All they told me was that I had to come and take care of the gym while they are gone, should they win." She looked up at Ash, "I don't want to put my journey on hold because of their stupidity."
Ash remained silent and wrapped Misty in his arms, "Let's just try and stay positive. This is a world level competition; the actual odds of your sisters winning something like this are too large to count. We will worry about it if they actually win."
Misty nodded into Ash's shoulder and remained silent for several minutes. The next sound Ash heard was the slow even breathing of Misty as she slipped into sleep. He smiled lightly and positioned her in a bed before kissing her forehead, "Night Mist." Her lips twitched into a light smile before Ash turned around and went to take a shower.
*PSOR*
The next day, Ash and Misty stood in front of a large gym with a lightning bolt on the top of the entrance. Ash clenched his hands into fists as he got into the right frame of mind for his battle. The young couple walked up and opened the door to find two people waiting, a man and woman, "I'm here for a pokemon battle with Lt. Surge."
The woman smirked, "You think you can take on the boss? Oh well, it's your funeral."
The man standing next to her looked over his shoulder, "Hey boss, another victim for the emergency room."
Ash felt his heart rate skyrocket when he saw a massive shadow stand up from a large chair.
The man was huge and there was no other way to put it. He stood at a very impressive six feet eight inches and was built like a tank. His blonde hair was kept in a fashionable military style cut and his body was covered in camouflage clothing. "Well I see that my next victim is just a baby. How long you been a trainer kid?"
Ash gritted his teeth, "Just under three months." Surge burst out laughing and waved his hand at Ash, "Sorry kid but this is a gym for experienced trainers…not babies."
Misty growled, "Hold on just a second Surge…you know that it is the duty of every pokemon league gym to accept the challenge of a trainer…not just the ones you deem worthy."
Surge blinked in surprise before looking down at Misty, "Well if it isn't the youngest Waterflower. I'm surprised that you are away from the gym. You actually trust those sisters of yours?"
Misty shook her head, "No but if I want the gym to be respectable I need to make sure I have a team of Pokémon that can back it up."
Surge nodded his approval, "At least one of you four has brains…those sisters of yours aren't the sharpest tools in the shed."
Misty nodded, "As much as I agree we aren't talking about my stupid sisters. My boyfriend is here for a challenge and you will abide by the rules set down by the Pokémon League or I will file a complaint."
Surge rolled his eyes, "Chill out Misty, I was just playing. I will battle the kid." The electric type gym leader turned to Ash, "What's your name kid?"
Ash hardened his eyes, "Ash Ketchum."
Surge nodded, "Alright Ash, the battle is a one on one with no time limit…that fine with you?" When Ash nodded Surge pulled a pokeball, "Alright Raichu let's go!" The ball burst open to reveal a large orange mouse with a long tail. At the end of the tail was a lightning bolt shape that was colored yellow.
Ash thought for a moment, of all his team members Nidoking was the best suited to battle the lightning trainer but the problem was that he was at the lab.
Ash's smartest choices would be either Ivysaur, Luxio, or Kadabra. The Pallet Town trainer cringed at the thought of his psychic type seeing as it still wouldn't listen. If anything it would launch a powerful psychic attack at either Ash or his pokemon which was the main reason behind him keeping it in his pokeball. Misty had suggested that he release him but Ash refused just as he refused in sending the powerful pokemon back to the lab, he was going to get Kadabra to obey him. "Alright Ivysaur I need your assistance!" Ash's grass starter appeared and growled as soon as he looked upon his opponent. Surge's Raichu growled and sent sparks from his cheeks in an intimidating display.
"You think just because you have a grass pokemon that it will help you win? Your funeral kid, Raichu, give him a thunderbolt!" Surge's pokemon hissed as electricity roared to his call before giving a mighty cry and firing a powerful stream of yellowish orange energy. The attack slammed into Ivysaur and caused the pokemon to grunt in pain.
"Ivysaur stab your vines into the ground!" Heeding his master's call, the grass type sent four vines into the gym floor with tremendous force. The electricity then coursed through him and into the ground causing less damage.
Surge smirked, "So you are a smart one that won't save you. Raichu get in close with a mega punch!" The large electric mouse ran forward utilizing the legendary speed of his species and slammed a glowing fist into Ivysaur's side.
"Ivysaur use razor leaf!" A powerful stream of sharp leaves rushed forward from the flower bulb on his back. They slammed into Raichu and cut into his fur and skin. The electric type cried in pain before bringing his tail around and wrapping it tightly around Ivysaur's neck.
Ash's eyes widened as Surge chuckled, "Sorry Ash, you have yourself a spirited pokemon but spirit won't win a battle. Raichu let's wrap this up with hyper beam!" The electric type pokemon smirked coldly as an orb of pink and white energy formed in front of his mouth. It grew to the size of a grapefruit before it seemed to pulse and a powerful stream was fired. The resulting explosion sent dust and debris flying all over and left Ash and Misty speechless.
"IVYSAUR!" Ash ran into the smoke to find his partner unconscious with burns, bruises, and cuts all over. Ash bent down and cradled the head of his starter into his lap, "You did great buddy, I'm proud of you." His pokemon called out weakly before falling asleep to Ash's gently touch.
The young man looked up to see Surge walking over with Raichu on his shoulders, "I will give you this Ash, you are a spirited young man. Train for a little bit and come back. Ivysaur is a strong pokemon in his own right." Ash nodded with determination and returned his partner before walking out with Misty right behind him.
*PSOR*
Several hours later, Ash and Misty sat in the pokemon center with Ash leaning over in a chair staring intently at his clasped hands. Misty was trying to think of words to say but she ended up getting a stomach ache from over thinking. "I should have prepared better."
Misty looked at her boyfriend, "What do you mean?"
Ash looked up and Misty was shocked at the coldness that was coming from them, "I should have figured that Surge would have been prepared. I was stupid to think otherwise."
Misty tried to be reassuring, "Ash it was one loss. This isn't the end of the world. Do you know how many other trainers have lost to Surge on the first try?"
Ash shot up out of his chair, "I'm not like the others!"
Misty gasped at Ash, "For years Misty I have had to deal with jerks like Gary always being one step ahead of me. Now I get the chance to shine and I screw it up by not thinking things out properly."
Misty put a hand on Ash's shoulder, "Ash you will be fine. Just train a little more and then go after Surge. Use Nidoking…he is part ground so that would instantly help you out."
Ash thought a moment before nodded slowly, "I guess…I'm going to go think for a while." Misty sighed as she watched Ash slowly walk away.
*PSOR*
Ash was leaning on a small rock near the entrance of Diglett cave. It was a route that took the traveler back towards Viridian City without having to go back around the long routes that one must normally take. The downside is the hundreds upon hundreds of Diglett and the occasional Dugtrio. These two pokemon were some of the fastest pokemon in the region and would make anyone's day a struggle. Many trainers got arrogant and tried to walk through the tunnel without planning and ended up running for their lives from an angry Dugtrio.
Ash closed his eyes and listened closely to the sounds of the earth around him. He was surprised when he felt a stream of what he could only describe as energy flowing into him. He took a deep breath and felt his eyes open but found himself looking into a strange world of dark blue, white, gray, and black. The colors swirled around each other and formed the landscape around him. Ash's surprise was increased when he found the shapes of people forming from the city and he found that he could identify who they were from this strange energy. Everything from the grass, rocks, trees, water and even the ground was connected to the energy. Ash was getting excited but found himself growing weak so he took a deep breath and closed his eyes again, focusing on the way everything was before.
The connection went away and Ash found himself back in the normal world. Blinking rapidly the young trainer looked around and found that he was on the ground sweating heavily. "What in the world?" He groaned and forced himself up despite his muscles screaming. Groaning, Ash pushed the thoughts of this strange event into the back of his mind and focused on his current problem…defeating Lt. Surge.
Misty had made a point in suggesting that Ash use Nidoking…but the poison type needed time to recover from his mistreatment at the hands of Damien. A smart trainer would be able figure out a way to defeat Surge. Ash sighed to himself as his pulse finally started to slow down from his strange experience. Most trainers stuck to their path and went gym to gym until they achieved all eight badges. Then they took the time to train before the league.
Ash's eyes snapped open, "That's it. Most people simply go along their own way and assume that they need to challenge the conference in their first year of training. But if I take my time and train…then I could appear and have a better chance."
The fifteen year old trainer slowly started making his way back to the pokemon center slowly planning out his journey. He arrived at the Center and found Misty sitting at a table with a book on water pokemon. "Hey Mist I have an idea."
His girlfriend looked up, "What is it Ash?" The Pallet Town trainer sat down opposite of her, "Well, I have been think that we take the time to really train our teams before even considering going to the next city."
Misty tilted her head, "Ash we do that already."
Her boyfriend shook his head, "No, I mean really train….weeks maybe months at a time." Misty's eyes got wide, "Months?"
Ash slowly nodded, "Most trainers think they need to participate in the yearly conference that is held in the year they start. They rush in and end up losing to trainer who have more experienced."
Misty nodded slowly in agreement, "I guess but really Ash…that long?"
He sighed, "I don't know Misty…we still have a year and three months before the conference is held so we very well could make the next one…I just don't want to make a mistake and lose like I did today."
Ash's girlfriend looked sadly at him, "Ash…losing isn't the worst thing ever. It gives us a chance to learn and grow."
Ash's eyes flashed at the mention of losing. "But, if you feel that you need to train more to achieve your goals then I will be there with you." Ash looked at her, "What if your sisters win their contest?"
Misty looked down, "I don't know. I don't want the gym to close down but I don't want to leave you. I guess I could go home and we could try a long distance relationship but that is unfair to the two of us."
Ash nodded, "Let's wait and see what happens…for now, we need to train and become the best we can."
*PSOR*
So that is what happened…Ash called Professor Oak and collected his entire team in order to train. Misty was right there with him and the young couple spent two full weeks of constant training with their teams. The newest members of Ash's team, Nidoking, Eevee, Kabuto, and Cranidos all took to training with vigor. Eevee was trying to prove to her new trainer that she wasn't weak like Damien had thought but it got to the point that she started to push herself too far.
Ash finally sat the small normal type down one afternoon and pointed to the team, "Eevee, I don't want you to push yourself to hard. You are young and have to grow more." The little pokemon pouted and looked down before glancing at Nidoking who was taking hits from Wartortle in an attempt to up his endurance.
Ash smiled and scratched her behind the ear, "You will get there. With us working as a team, you will become the strongest of your kind." The little pokemon cooed into Ash's hand before getting a determined look and running towards Luxio.
*PSOR*
A day later, Ash and Misty were looking though a catalog from Silph Co. The two trainers were currently on the list of tm's available for order and seeing as they had a ways until Celadon City, they would have to order through mail. Tm's or Technical Machines were small discs that contained data that would be transferred to a pokemon in order to learn a new move. It was the fastest way for a trainer to get powerful moves for their team members. Up until recently, tm's were only available for one use but a breakthrough in the coding of the discs made it so they could be used any number of times. This caused the individual prices of the discs to skyrocket with the more desirable ones being around 20,000 dollars. To help trainers with this cost issue, Celadon Department Store developed a trade in program that would allow trainers with used tm's to exchange or reactivate them for a small price of 5,000.
Ash made a small x by each of the tm's that he was interested in while Misty but a check mark. He groaned as his list kept growing and growing. Granted his parents had been kind enough to provide him with a very generous trust fund…but that didn't mean he felt any better by spending massive amounts of money.
Misty pointed at one section, "Hey look at this Ash, they have the three elemental punches as TM's."
Ash's eyes widened, "I thought they were discontinued?"
Misty nodded, "They were, this is a promotional thing. It appears you get all three of them if you order six or more TM's at once."
Ash's eyes widened, "I guess that really would make them rare then."
His girlfriend looked at him, "I see that look Ash."
He grinned cheekily, "Well, if I bought six TM's and got those three I could reactivate them and then you could use them after we get to Celadon."
Misty thought for a moment, "That would be nice…but that is a lot of money to be spending. What ones would you chose?" Ash thought about his team before smiling and deciding.
Alrighty then. Chapter 7 is finally out.
Again, I'm sorry for the long wait but I have no time. I will try to post sooner but no promises. I'm not giving up. I love to write and it is a nice little relaxation after a long work week.
Let me know who you would like to Ash get as a TM.
Also…in regards to his pokemon team. I'm going to be a little more selective with it as I don't want to completely go off of the anime. I might have him get a couple more pokemon but he already has a ton for his first region. Keep letting me know what you would like. If the pokemon is from a different region, please give a reason on how it gets to Kanto and how Ash would get it.
As always, send in ideas and reviews.
KingFatMan25
Ash's Team
Ivysaur: Tackle, Growl, Leech Seed, Vine Whip, Magical Leaf, Razor Leaf, Energy Ball
Charmeleon: Scratch, Growl, Flamethrower, Ember, Dragon Rage, Metal Claw, Protect, Flare Blitz
Wartortle: Tackle, Tail Whip, Bubble, Water Gun, Aqua Jet, Protect, Water Pulse, Surf
Luxio: Tackle, Growl, Charge, Spark, Night Slash, Shock Wave, Protect, Iron Tail
Spearow: Peck, Leer, Aerial Ace, Agility, Fury Attack, Protect, Mirror Move
Gyarados: Dragon Rage, Tackle, Hyper Beam, Water Pulse, Bite, Flamethrower
Butterfree: Confusion, String Shot, Sleep Powder, Gust, Poison Powder, Psybeam, Silver Wind
Pidgeotto: Quick Attack, Twister, Gust, Tackle, Sand Attack, Steel Wing
Scyther: Quick Attack, Pursuit, Wing Attack, Bug Buzz, Slash
Kadabra: Psycho Cut, Confusion, Psybeam, Teleport, Disable
Nidoking: Horn Attack, Hyper Beam, Take Down, Earthquake, Mega Punch, Mega Kick
Eevee: unknown
Cranidos: Headbutt, Leer, Focus Energy, Pursuit, Take Down
Kabuto: Harden, Absorb, Leer, Mud Shot, Sand Attack
