Disclaimer: I own nothing save for my OCs and I'd like to thank StormWolf77415 for allowing me to use the Crimson Fox for my saga and for Lily Nadesico and NEBSparky86 for becoming my co-writers plus for those who like this saga, I highly recommend both Lily's Rise of the Young Adventurers fic and Sparky's Rise of the Pokémon Princess fic.
Pokémon Rise of Heroes
Bill The Pokémanic
By EmperorDraco7 and co-written by Lily Nadesico and NEBSparky86
The next day, the group of young Pokémon trainers, with Misty among them, was walking along the road that lied beyond Nugget Bridge, heading towards the place where Bill, the famed inventor of the Pokémon Storage System, lived. After Misty's sisters had promised to take better care of the gym, allowing the youngest of the four to pursue her own dreams away from home, Misty felt a lot more at ease, and was now pleasantly chatting with Ash, Anna and Brock as they walked along a worn-out road on the side of a small hill.
"So, Misty… you said you've known Bill for quite a long time!" Anna said, holding her Clefairy in her arms. "Can you tell us something more about him? I mean, what's the guy like, what does he like to do… and things like that?"
"Well, it's not like we grew up close or anything…" Misty wanted to clarify. "Still, considering he often came to Cerulean City to do stuff, I met him quite a few times, and we've been talking to each other quite a lot. Anyway, yes, he's quite the technology geek, as you might imagine! He's one who just can't stay still when there's something new to try out on a computer… and he's also into that weird fashion trend of dressing up as Pokémon. I don't remember what it's called…"
"You mean, he's into cosplaying?" Ash asked, remembering the right word on top of his head. "I heard about that… people dress up as Pokémon, or as their fave characters from movies, cartoons, or stuff like that, and they try to act like them."
"Yes, that's what I was trying to say…" Misty stated. "Anyway… he's a cool guy, really, he's just a little… odd, I guess you could say! But I'm sure you'll become good friends with him!"
"That's good! I can't wait to know this guy!" Pikachu squeaked, giving Misty a thumbs-up sign. "Afterall that fighting, I kind a missed a relaxing day!"
"Yeah, me too, little buddy!" Ash said with a joyful laugh. "By the way, Misty… how much longer till we get to Bill's place?"
"Not much, really… about half an hour of steady walking, and we'll be there!" the redhead answered, pointing at the higher hills in front of them. "Once we're there, well… just try not to be impressed at all the technological gizmos you see around, okay?"
"We'll try and remember that…" Brock answered with a nervous smile, asking himself what kind of strange person this Bill guy might have been. Of course, the answers would not have been long in coming…
"Okay, guys, here we are! This is… well… Bill's humble abode!" Misty stated, a slightly sarcastic edge to her voice as she showed Ash, Anna and Brock the place where Bill lived. All of them, along with Pikachu and Clefairy, were pretty dumbfounded at what they were seeing: Bill's house looked very modern and hi-tech, with a modern-looking entrance door surmounted by a security camera, and tall windows that seemed to have been designed to allow the rays of the sun to light up the whole place. The roof was dome-shaped, and a modern-looking tv antenna was jutting out of its center, with a huge tangle of electrical wires coming out of several points upon the semi-spherical surface. All in all, it looked like an highly advanced and rather messy place to live in… but then again, Brock reflected that this shouldn't really surprise him, as the one who had created the Pokémon Storage System was obviously a technological expert.
"Wow… I never knew humans could create things like that! This is really awesome!" Clefairy commented. "Hey, Anna, have you ever seen anything like that?"
"No way!" the girl answered, smiling and shaking her head. "But still… this is nothing compared to what humans are capable of creating! I'm sure we will see many things ever more wonderful than this during our journey!"
"Wow…" the pink Pokémon stated, raising her eyebrows. She was really wondering what kind of wonders was she going to see along the way…
"Anyway, guys, you're about to meet with Bill. Hold on a second as I announce ourselves to him…" Misty stated, and pressed a button on the side of the entrance door, before standing in front of it and waiting for Bill to answer. However, several moments went by… and still nobody came to answer the door, which puzzled Misty quite a bit. She knew Bill almost never went out of his house… "This is strange..."
"What is?" wondered Ash, raising an eyebrow.
"There's no one home" explained Misty, trying to figured out what's going on and that it wouldn't make sense for this place to be empty. "Not to mention, I know that Bill wouldn't usually be out most of the time... or even this long for the matter."
Anna decided to push the button to see if there would be a response and so far, there was none at all. "I have a feeling that Misty is right..." she said to herself, a bit confused by what was happening when Clefairy heard something behind them. "What's wrong Clefairy?"
I thought I heard a voice somewhere... began the Normal-Type, heading to where she thought the sound was coming from with Pikachu joining with her. Hello! Anyone there? There wasn't a response after a few seconds. Don't worry, we won't bite!
It was then that the two Pokémon noticed something and went to where it was. "Hey wait up!" yelled Ash, following them with Anna, Brock and Misty close behind, whatever it was it was fast for sure and it was making its way towards the bridge in front of the house. "What was that?"
I have no idea but from the looks of it, I have a feeling that it might be a Pokémon explained Pikachu, it took nearly two or three minutes before they eventually caught up with what they were going after.
Huh? wondered Clefairy, upon closer inspection... the Pokémon in question looked a lot like her, thought the surprising difference was that the other Clefairy had strange green hair on its head unlike Anna's Normal-Type. Another Clefairy?How is that possible? In fact, why does it have green hair?
Ash and the others were equally as confused by this strange Clefairy, as they remember that Clefairy can only be found at Mt. Moon as they remembered encountering them earlier while they were previously travelling to Cerulean City. Not to mention there is the fact that they have never seen green-hair on any of the Clefairy they've seen before. What do you supose with do? asked Pikachu.
I have no idea, from the looks of it... It seems to be running away from us answered Clefairy with a small frown on her face. Of course, she was hopping to befriend with it too though it couldn't be helped due to how it must have reacted. For now, maybe we should find it and try to ask why it is running from us before we do anything.
Good idea, the question is where exactly would it go from here?
Clefairy remained silent for a moment, thinking about it and she let out a small sigh then said in a soft tone. Your guess is as good as mine.
As the group entered the house, they unaware that they were being tailed by the notorious trio from Team Rocket, Jessie, James and their talking Meowth partner.
"So the boss wants us to capture that Bill guy, right?" James asked his two partners as they hid in a bush about 200 meters from the door to Bill's house.
"Yeah," answered Meowth with his thick New York-like accent. "Seems the boss wants to take all Pokemon that in this kid's Pokémon Storage System. Thanks to the twerps, they led us right to him."
James and Jessie each gave an evil grin, as did Meowth before beginning to formulate a plan. They were intent on ensuring their plan succeeded no matter the cost. Unknown to the dastardly trio, they were being watched by a white Ghost Pokémon as she slightly stuck her head out of a tree she was hiding in and listened to Team Rocket's plan. She was able to catch slight bits of important information. The white ghost Pokémon from the Sinoh Region got what she believed to be enough information and reported back her trainer, still hiding in the shadows.
"Well done Kagura," said the 10 year old girl she stepped forward, staying slightly in the shadows.
'Thank you,' replied the white Ghost Pokémon, known as Froslass. 'But may I ask a question?'
"Yes, go ahead and ask your question," answered the Froslass's trainer, who went under the assumed identity Lily Yamada.
'Why must we stay in the shadows?' asked Kagura. 'I don't think we should be hiding in the shadows. It's pretty obvious that Team Rocket's leader is bound find out that we haven't left this Kanto region after the you won the Kanto Pokémon League tournament.'
"We had our time in spotlight Kagura," the shiny Froslass' trainer explained to her. "Now it's time for mantle to be passed on to someone else."
'And you believe that those sibling trainers from that small town, Pallet Town, are the ones that we should pass the mantle to?' asked Kagura.
"Yes," answered Lily as she pulled back slightly more into the shadows even though her aqua blue dress didn't help her hide in the shadows any. "You have my word Kagura, we will reveal ourselves to them. I just ask that you bear with me until the time is right."
Kagura then rubbed her lavender temples and then brushed her bright pink obi of any dirt she might've gotten on it during her spy mission on Team Rocket. Kagura then eyed her trainer; oh she trusted her trainer, but living in the shadows, for her, wasn't her idea of lending a helping hand.
'Just promise me that we won't stay in the shadows the whole time,' requested Kagura. 'I do wish to see sunlight every now and then.'
Lily chuckled with a gentle smile on her face as she took her emerald green jacket off and replied, "You got it Kagura. You know I haven't gone back on my word."
'And you know we always hold you to your word,' added Kagura.
In the meanwhile, Ash and his friends had entered Bill's house, and they were looking around for the mysterious green-haired Clefairy that they had seen. Sadly, it was not going to be easy – such a small Pokemon could easily hide himself anywhere, and he seemed to be careful not to leave any tracks behind.
"Okay… this is really strange!" Misty said with a frown. "First, Bill is nowhere to be seen, and now there's this strange green-haired Clefairy. I'm thinking this might not be a coincidence… but now the question is, where can that Pokemon have gone to?"
As they looked around the strange house, outfitted with all sort of hi-tech gizmos and furniture, Ash, Anna and their Pokemon couldn't help but think what kind of person this Bill guy was. However, Misty's words quickly recalled them to the situation at hand. "I have no idea…" Anna answered, before looking under a desk. "He's so small, he can fit pretty much everywhere! I have no idea where to start looking…"
"Maybe I should be the one to start searching around…" Anna's Clefairy stated, taking a good look around in order to find some tracks. "Hmm… still, Anna, you're right, there are many places where that guy could be hidden. But I'm not going to give up so easily! Pikachu, can you help me with this?"
"Sure thing!" Pikachu exclaimed, raising his lightning-shaped tail as if it was some sort of radar. The two Pokemon began sneaking around, looking behind every corner, while the other trainers tried to aid as well, including moving some of the furniture around. However, for several minutes, nothing showed up, and Misty was beginning to get really worried. This really wasn't like Bill…
Suddenly, Clefairy took a look around a wardrobe, and stopped, raising her hand in order to call for attention. "Guys, look here! I've found something!" she exclaimed in her shrill voice, before looking closely… and seeing that it was exactly the green-haired Clefairy they were looking for, who was looking at Anna's pink Pokemon with a rather frightened expression. "Hey… hey, don't be afraid, we're not here to hurt you! We just… need you to tell us what's going on here! Who are you, and where is the owner of this house?"
"Are… are you serious?" the green-haired Clefairy stated, as the other trainers began gathering close to the place. "How do I know you're not Team Rocket agents? How can you prove that?"
"Well, maybe because Brock and I are Gym Leaders?" Misty stated, showing that Clefairy her Badge just like she had done with the Officer Jenny they had met before Ash and Anna had tackled Nugget Bridge. "Here. This should be proof enough."
"And we've also been fighting Team Rocket ever since we first set foot on Mt. Moon." Ash added, before showing the two Badges pinned on the inside of his jacket. Anna did the same with hers. "So… you have nothing to fear from us! We have nothing to share with those people."
The green-haired Clefairy seemed to be in awe for a second… then, as he realized that there was nothing to fear from them, he sighed in relief. "Phew… is that so? Well then, I'm happy to have met you… and it's great to see you again, Misty! Boy, you sure have grown taller from last time!"
"Hm? What is he talking about?" Brock asked, to which the red-haired Gym Leader wrinkled her nose and shook her head.
"I have no idea… do I know you?" she said, addressing the green-haired Clefairy, who rubbed his head in embarrassment. Now that she could get a closer look at him, though, Misty had to admit that there was something oddly familiar about him…
"Actually… yes, we've already met… it's just that I was not like this!" the green-haired Clefairy answered. "I know it may sound incredible to you, but… truth is, I'm actually Bill, the owner of this house!"
That had all trainers and Pokemon widen their eyes in disbelief and surprise! "WHAAAT? Hold… hold on a second here! How… how is that possible? You are Bill, you said? Then… why do you look like a Pokemon now? What's the meaning of this?" Ash asked, his finger pointed to the pink Pokemon, who chuckled sheepishly and began telling what had happened.
"Well, as you might already know, I'm a bit of a computer nerd…" he stated, pointing to the many computers and machinery. Misty nodded at that, prompting him to go on. "And I have also invented a few things, such as the famous Pokemon Storage System, which I still count as my biggest achievement! Now… a few days ago, I was working on an experiment on Pokemon teleportation, with a Clefairy who had volunteered to help me. Something unexpected happened, there was an explosion… and next thing I know, I ended up combining myself with Clefairy! I… tried to reverse the experiment, but right now, I'm too small to reach the controls!"
"Well… we can help you with that now!" Misty said. "Just tell us what to do, and we can get you back to normal!"
Bill sighed again, feeling relief at not having to be in a Pokemon's body anymore. "Thanks, Misty… and thank you, everyone! It was really fortunate that you happened to pass by! Okay, let me show you to the machinery room, and then I'll tell you how to reverse the process!"
"We're all ears!" Ash said, following his friends as Bill showed them the way.
The machine Bill wanted Ash and his friends to operate was a sinister-looking apparatus with several strange lights blinking on and off around it, and two capsules, large enough to accommodate a human-sized person, in front of it. Anna correctly guessed those were used for the teleportation experiment that had fused Bill and that Clefairy together.
"See? Those two capsules were needed to try out the new teleportation… but as you can see, it's not exactly been a roaring success…" Bill murmured. "Anyway, there's a button console on the side of the machine. That thing is used to control the sliding doors, the teleport function… and everything else about the machine! If only one of you could get there and operate it…"
"I'm already on it!" Brock said, as he walked to the controls. He could easily see that the button console was in fact too high for a small Clefairy to be able to reach it. "Hmm… okay, I'm not an expert on this kind of things, but if you can tell me what to do, I shouldn't have problems."
"That's good…" Bill stated. "Okay, Brock… do you see that yellow button on the far left of the console? That one is used to open up the doors."
"Okay, then…" Brock said, pressing the button. The capsule doors opened up with a low hiss… and just then, there was a flicker in the house's artificial lights, which turned off all of a sudden, and the machine stopped abruptly, catching everyone off guard!
"Huh? What's the matter now?" Anna asked in surprise. "Looks like there's a black out!"
"This is impossible… I checked my home's generator only hours before the experiment began, and it was working correctly!" Bill answered. "How is it possible that it turned off so suddenly?"
"I have no idea…" Ash said, looking around. Luckily, it was early in the afternoon, and illumination was not an issue. "Though I'm thinking that someone might have done on purpouse…"
"Hohohohooo! You got that right, twerp!" a shrill female voice answered, causing Ash and Anna to wince and look at their respective Pokemon in embarrassment! "It was all our work!"
"Oh man… not those three again!" Pikachu squeaked, rubbing his forehead as if he was nursing a headache!
Indeed, as soon as Pikachu said that, the team looked up at the entrance door, just to see Jessie, James and their talking Meowth stand there, in victorious poses! Jessie had her arms folded on her chest, James was holding his trademark rose in front of his face, and Meowth was standing between them, his front paws up as if he was ready to pounce.
"Prepare for trouble!" Jessie exclaimed.
"And make it double!" James went on.
"To protect the world of devastation!"
"To unite all people in our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our power to the stars above!"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket, blasting off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth! That's right!"
"You again…" Anna sighed as she rubbed her forehead. "You just won't learn your lesson, will you? And what's up with you two being here?"
James waved his rose, scattering a few petals in the air. "Isn't that obvious? We have shut down the main generator, and we now have the key to activate it again! We are only going to give it to you after you comply to a few of our requests…"
"And what would that be?" Brock asked with a frown.
"Oh, nothing much…" Jessie stated. "We just want Bill here to give us the access password to the Pokemon Storage System! In this way, Team Rocket will be able to take all the Pokemon they want, whenever they want!"
"And how about we take another option?" Ash stated, taking out a Pokéball as Pikachu got ready to fight. "We can defeat you and retake the key to the generator, so you'll end up dry once again!"
"Oh, is that really so?" Jessie smirked. "Fine then, if you want to do this the hard way… go, Ekans!"
"You too, Koffing!" James continued. Both criminals threw their Pokéballs, which snapped open upon contact, and released the purple rattlesnake and the gas-filled Pokemon, who both gave a battle cry as they got ready to fight!
"The hard way it is, then!" Anna answered. "Go for it, Clefairy! We've got another battle to face!"
"And I'm ready for it!" the pink Pokemon said, getting in a fight pose.
"Okay Koffing, let's start things out with a smokescreen attack!" ordered James, with his Poison-Type forming black smoke around the entire house so their opponents wouldn't see what will be coming to them.
"Oh great…" muttered Brock, gritting his teeth while knowing that Smokescreen is capable of lowering the accuracy of the opposing Pokemon.
"Now it's my turn," grinned Jessie with a nod. "Ekans, use your Poison Sting attack on that Pikachu!"
"Oh no you don't!" snapped Ash, waiting for the attack to get closer before he makes his move but he also needed to be quick on what he is about to do as well. "Pikachu, counter with Thundershock now!"
Pikachu's cheeks sparked and he let out a powerful Thundershock attack to stop the Poison Sting in its tracks but what they didn't know was that is what the trio was hoping for as well. "Koffing, Sludge attack him now!" commanded James.
"Quick Cleffairy, use Gravity now!" countered Anna.
I'm on it! said the Normal-Type, using Gravity to pull Koffing onto the ground before he could spit out his sludge onto Pikachu. You need to be a lot faster than that!
Issss thissss fassster for you? Came Ekans' hissing voice as he managed to sneak up from behind Clefairy and was squeezing her with his wrap attack. I have you in my grasssp and watch asssss I sssqueeze you into ssssubmissssion.
"That's right Ekans, give that Clefairy what's coming to her!" laughed Jessie, finding it amusing by how the trainers were trying to deal with them.
"Oh yeah, Pikachu use Iron Tail to get Clefairy free!"
Got it! yelled Pikachu, jumping into the air with his tail glowing white and slammed it right into the snake Pokemon's face, causing him to lose his grip on Clefairy. Are you okay?
She nodded her head and said. I'll be fine, thank you… Let's get back to the battle!
Remaining silent, he confirmed and turned his attention back towards Koffing and Ekans. While this is happening, Meowth took this chance to try and get Bill so they can proceed with phase 2 of their new plan with the four trainers being preoccupied with facing Jessie and James. Perfect, everything is going according to plan and if we're lucky, we'll be able to get Bill and both Clefairy and Pikachu as well. He thought with a very wicked grin on his face as he extended his claws out, waiting for the right moment to straight. I just hope those two would keep this up until we have what we came for.
The shadowy figure and two of her Pokémon had advanced up towards Bill's house and continued to observe the situation.
'We need to do something and help them out,' Kagura said to her trainer they still hid in the shadow of the tree lines.
The shadowy figure said nothing as she watched the scene unfold and watched as Team Rocket was doing battle with Ash and his sister once again. It seemed like they were having a slow start but gained an upper hand after seeing Pikachu free Clefairy from Ekans's grasp.
"We may not have to help," the figure said as she turned to her Froslass before going back to watch the scene unfold.
The figure along with Froslass and oddly colored Porygon watched the battle unfold until they saw Meowth moving to snatch Bill in his Clefairy form.
Meowth silently crept his way towards towards Clefairy Bill. He bobbed and weaved through the two on two battle between Team Rocket and the Ketchum siblings. It wasn't easy for Meowth as he had to remain silent watch his step as he made his way towards Bill, transformed as a Clefairy. Koffing and Ekans were being thrown around and knocking Pikachu and Anna's Clefairy around. Meowth was able to get close enough and nabbed him while he wasn't looking and was being drug off by Meowth.
"I got 'em!" exclaimed Meowth as he made his way towards the exit.
That was Jessie and James's cue to escape as well as they couldn't nab Ash's Pikachu and Anna's Clefairy as along with Bill in his form as a Clefairy. They quickly recalled Ekans and Koffing, and made their escape, with Pikachu, Clefairy and the trainers hot on ther heels!
'Okay, now we have to do something!' the Froslass, Kagura, exclaimed to her trainer.
The Froslass's trainer gave a slight nod giving Kagura the okay to go intervene and also looked to a Porygon that let itself out of its Pokéball. This Porygon happened to be unlike all Porygon known to be offered at the Celadon Game Corner. The Porygon had a lime green mouth and legs with an orange head and torso. It floated along with the Kagura eager to help out Ash and his friends.
'I certainly hope Kagura and Dearka don't get reckless,' the trainer as she watched her two rare and special shiny Pokémon went to help Ash and his friends.
'Alright Dearka, I need you to be a battery and keep those crooked humans from escaping,' Kagura instructed her Porygon partner.
'You got it Kagura,' acknowledged Dearka as he gave his partner a slight nod.
'One last thing Dearka,' Kagura said to her partner before disappearing, 'use the element of surprise and camouflage yourself with trees and rocks.'
Dearka gave a slight nod once again and made his way to the nearest rock before planting his feet on the ground after the electric energy dissipated under his feet.
Kagura then disappeared into the ground and silently made her way towards Team Rocket. Once she was in position, she slightly appeared out of the ground, turned towards her Porygon partner and signaled him to begin the attack.
Dearka, from his position slightly appeared from out his camouflaged position, used his Lock On and fired an Ice Beam as Team Rocket was about three meters away from being home free and ready to blast off in their Meowth hot air balloon. Team Rocket had grins on their faces that they didn't see the wall of ice made by Dearka and ran into the ice wall. Kagura then fired off a Thunderbolt at the dastardly trio. Kagura had to come out of her hiding place for a brief minute to fire off a Thunderbolt attack.
As Kagura fired off a Thunderbolt attack, she was spotted by Anna who caught a glimpse of the Snow Maiden Pokémon. She quickly pulled out her Pokédex and aimed at Kagura and her Pokédex was able to identify the unknown Pokémon.
'Froslass, the Snow Maiden Pokémon,' chirped Anna's new Pokédex. 'Froslass is known capture prey, freeze it and put it on display.'
"What a strange Pokemon…" Anna said to herself. "I don't think I have ever seen any Pokemon like that before…"
There was no more time to think about that, as Kagura's Thunderbolt almost struck the Meowth hot air balloon head-on! The Team Rocket trio screamed in surprise as the sphere-shaped electric blast passed dangerously close to their balloon, which swerved and lost altitude… only to crash into a large wall of ice that Dearka the Porygon has created with his own powers!
"Aaaaargh!" Jessie screamed in anger and surprise. "Who's the wise guy that thought about having a wall of ice built right here? I wanna have a word with him!"
"Darn! Our prisoner is escaping!" Meowth said. In fact, during all the confusion, the green-haired Clefairy that was Bill had managed to get away, disentangling himself and then jumping off the hot air balloon and on the branches of a nearby tree, easily making his way down.
Well hidden among the foliage, Dearka smirked cunningly to himself. The cybernetic Pokemon knew it couldn't be detected, as it didn't have any smell, and could turn invisible… and from there, he could easily use his own powers to ruin Team Rocket's day!
Kagura took aim and fired another Thunderbolt attack… and this time, her aim was true, and the hot air balloon was hit head-on and electrocuted, causing the trio to scream in pain and surprise before the balloon exploded in a huge blast, and sent the three airborne, their clothes blackened and their hair charred!
"Aaaaargh! I can't believe it! We almost had them this time!" Jessie screamed in anger.
James had waterfall-like tears streaming down his face as he whined. "Why is it that even in these stories, we are the ones that end up losing?"
"Sigh… well, guys, let's go through this again…" Meowth sighed in resignation.
"Looks like Team Rocket is blasting off again!" they all screamed in unison, as they flew upwards and became a twinkle in the sky!
Bill reached the ground just then and easily landed on his feet as Ash, Anna and their friends gathered around him and looked in surprise as the trio of criminals that disappeared in the distance. They all were surprised at the strange Ice / Ghost Pokemon that had just intervened, and didn't know what to make of it… other than the fact that it seemed they did have someone watching over them! First that Crimson Fox guy, and now this…
"Hey, Bill… are you alright?" Misty asked as she came to fetch her friend and picked him up in her arms. "You aren't hurt, are you?"
The green-haired Clefairy breathed a sigh of relief, glad to be out of danger. "Thanks, guys… no, I'm okay, though I have no idea where that wall of ice and that Thunderbolt attack came from…" he said.
"I'm sure I saw a strange Pokemon there… I don't think I have ever seen a Pokemon like that before!" Pikachu answered, looking towards Kagura as she took a look at them, and then disappeared from his and Clefairy's sight with an enigmatic smile. Dearka, for his part, had turned invisible and was now sneaking away, returning to his trainer's side. "Ash, guys… do you happen to know what was that?"
"Sorry, Pikachu… never saw that Pokemon myself…" Ash answered, before turning to Anna, Brock and Misty. "What about you guys?"
Anna shrugged. "You're asking the wrong girl, Ash. I know as much as you do."
"I have never seen a Pokemon like that myself…" Brock said. "However, I think it might be from Sinnoh, just like that strange Pokemon Paul used against me in our fight."
"We don't know much abut Sinnoh…" Ash answered, looking at Anna straight in the eye. The girl shrugged and tipped her hat to the side. "Though, I'll admit, I would very much like to visit it one day… and if I want to become a Pokemon Master, I'll have to go there eventually."
"Anyway, that's not important right now…" Brock said, bringing everyone back to their current situation.
"Oh right, Bill... we almost forgot about him" muttered Anna, hitting her forehead at having forgotten about Bill as he's still in the form of a Pokemon and they needed to help him change back to his normal form. "Okay, what should we do?"
"When I'm inside the teleporter, please activate its cell separation sequence" explained Bill before going towards the machine itself and Anna went to bring the generator back online in order to make the process work while Ash prepares to separate Bill from the Clefairy. About 5 minutes later, the lights went back on which the doors opened and Bill went inside, wishing the trainers luck as the doors closed shut.
Remaining silent, Ash began to activate the teleporter's cell separator and prays that it would work as the teleported activated. "Okay, here it goes..." he said to himself as he pushed the red button, causing the teleporter to hum to life. Remaining silent, the others waited to see what will happen and hope nothing else goes wrong.
The machine began emitting some strange wheezing sounds and beepings as it continued its process, and the Ketchum siblings took a step back, a little intimidated by that strange reaction. Finally, after what had seemed to be hours to them and their friends, Bill's teleporter slowly turned itself off, and the door slowly opened as Bill began stepping outside. Not knowing what to expect, the team stood in wait, hoping they would see Bill back to normal…
And after a few tense seconds, they could make out a Clefairy speaking her name jumping for joy as she was happily making her way out of the cottage and soon afterwards a human figure steped out of the teleporter: a young man about a couple years older than Misty, with curly light green hair and wearing a red t-shirt, jeans and trainers. He was looking at his own hands in satisfaction and relief, and Misty smiled as well as she recognized him.
"Cool! It worked, I'm back to normal! Phew, for a moment I was actually afraid I would have to spend the rest of my life as a Pokemon!" the young man, who was obviously Bill in his real human guise, said to no one in particular, before glancing up and towards Misty and her friends. "Good to see you, Misty… and thank you, everyone! You really got me out of a pretty nasty pinch!"
"Ah, don't mention it… we just did what everyone would have done in our place!" Ash chuckled lightly. "Anyway, you're Bill, right? My name is Ash Ketchum, and there are my twin sister Anna… and our Pokemon, Pikachu and Clefairy!"
"Hello there, Bill!" Pikachu greeted the computer nerd. "We've been hearing about you for sometime now!"
"Misty here decided we should pay you a visit…" was Clefairy's comment.
The young man named Bill took a good look at Pikachu and Clefairy, before nodding in approval. "Hmm… so there are your favorite Pokemon, huh? I have to say, they look very well trained! I'm quite impressed, if I have to be honest." He commented.
Misty chuckled a little. "Well, you can say that! Ash's Pikachu managed to defeat my Starmie during our gym battle, and Anna used her Beedrill to great effect against me!" she stated, before rubbing the back of her head with one hand. "Granted, it may just be that I'm terrified of Bug-type Pokemon, but that Beedrill really packed a punch!"
"That's quite amazing, I have to say." Bill stated, nodding at Ash, Anna and their Pokemon. "And in any case, I need to thank you for helping me out of that nasty situation. Let me see, where did I put them…?"
Ash, Pikachu and their friend looked on with some puzzlement as Bill walked towards a drawer and began searching through it, finally coming up with four small colorful sheets of paper. "Ah, there they are! I was given these tickets of admission to a great party that will take place on board the S.S. Anne, a large cruise ship that will be moored in Vermilion City Harbor, to the south of Kanto. They told me I could go myself and bring three friends along for the ride… but the truth is, these high-class ships aren't my thing. I'd much rather let you four attend to that event along with your Pokemon. So… please accept these as a token of my gratitude."
Ash and his friends were quite surprised that Bill would willingly give up his own chance to attend to a party on board of a luxurious cruise ship. "Well…" the young boy said, accepting the tickets. "We would surely love to go to that party, but are you sure you really don't want to go? That's quite a big prize you're giving us, you know." He said as he looked at the tickets, his sister peeking at them from over his shoulder.
Bill chuckled at that. "Hehehee… don't worry, guys, I don't really like fancy dos, so I'm glad if you guys can go in my place!" he answered. "And really, you saved me from a bad situation, so it's only fair that I pay you back."
"Don't mention it, it wasn't really all that hard." Brock stated. "Although, I am curious to know… how does this storage system work? I know that a trainer can have no more than six Pokemon at a given moment, but… how do any extra Pokemon get stored?"
"It's all quite simple, really…" Bill answered, smiling as he relished his chance to explain how his invention worked. "You see, this system stores Pokemon by converting them into computer data, and leaving them in a virtual reality simulation that continuously runs in the main server. While they are there, Pokemon have no need to eat or drink, and they can roam in the simulation to their heart's content, just like they can do in the wilderness. It's an environment that I have programmed myself in order to let the Pokemon enjoy their time there and not make them feel constricted or in discomfort."
Misty whistled. "Now that's a great idea!" she said. "I am amazed at how you managed to create such a virtual environment!"
"Nothing is impossible, when you know the right instructions!" Bill said with a smile. "Anyway, as you can see, Pokemon can exist in this virtual environment for as long as they, or their trainers, want, and are recalled from it whenever the trainer accesses the database and picks them up from there! Should a Pokemon be caught when the six-Pokemon-limit is reached, it will immediately be transferred to the Storage System, so you don't need to worry about not being able to catch a Pokemon you need."
"Wow… now that is brilliant!" Anna's Clefairy commented. "So… you don't need to always keep a spare place in your Pokemon team, huh? Talk about a useful feature, huh, Anna?"
"Yeah, you're right… It's a really great idea, and we'll make sure to use your Storage System during our travels!" Anna said, nodding cheerfully to Bill. Before the group could keep their conversation going, Ash looked out the window and saw a little crab Pokémon walking around.
"Awesome, another Pokémon to catch," Ash said as he pulled out his Pokédex and aimed it at the crab Pokémon.
'Krabby, the Crab Pokémon,' reported Dexter. "Krabby is known to live in dug in burrows on sandy beaches. It's own pincers fully grow back if ever broken in battle.'
Ash reached for his belt and was going for Butterfree's Pokéball, but grabbed Rattata's Pokéball instead and said, "Go Butterfree."
Much to Ash's surprise, Rattata came out rearing to fight. But Rattata turned to Ash and said, 'I'm not Butterfree. Don't forget that again.'
"Um sorry about that," Ash said sheepishly as he scratched his head. "Now go Rattata."
'Alright,' replied Rattata with enthusiasm. 'I'm ready to go here.'
"Rattata, use Quick Attack on Krabby," ordered Ash.
Rattata complied by rapidly charging at Krabby, who had turned his back to Rattata and didn't see the Quick Attack coming and skidded for a few meters, face in the ground. The Krabby then got back up and faced Ash and Rattata.
'Hey, what's the big idea attacking a Pokémon from behind?' demanded the Krabby as he wasn't happy that Ash and his Rattata attacked him from behind.
'I shouldn't have to say 'Hey, I'm attacking you from behind' before landing a good hit on you,' countered Rattata. 'It takes all the fun out of a battle between two Pokémon.'
'Really?' challenged Krabby. 'I'll show you the fun I can bring.' Krabby's eyes glowed blue as the attack caused Rattata's fur to stand on end.
"That looked like Krabby's Leer attack," observed Brock.
"Leer?" asked Ash as he looked to Brock.
"Leer is an attack that lower an opposing Pokémon's attack," answered Anna. "You should've been paying attention to stuff like that Ash. Geez, sometimes you can be so dense."
Ash ignored Anna's sarcastic comment and then noticed that Rattata was beginning to glow. Krabby charged forward and then sent a jet of bubbles at Rattata.
"Dodge it and use Sucker Punch," countered Ash.
'Now that's what I like to hear,' replied Rattata before feeling funny fully glowing.
"What the?" Bill asked as he was watching the scene unfold.
"Wow little Bro, your Rattata is evolving into Raticate," observed Anna with a grin on her face. After a few seconds, the Pokemon reappeared, having transformed into a bigger, stronger version of itself, with unruly chestnut brown fur, long whiskers on his face, a long naked tail and a pair of razor-sharp incisives that forced his mouth half-open. He was standing on his hind legs, showing short but vicious claws adoring his forepaws.
Ash whipped out his Pokédex and aimed it at Raticate.
'Raticate, the mouse Pokémon,' chirped Dexter once again. 'The evolved form of Rattata. Raticate is known for having powerful fangs and gnaw through even cinder block.'
"No way…" Ash was surprised by this but smiled at his newly evolved Pokemon and said with a look of confidence. "Let's finish where we left off and use Sucker Punch right now!"
Raticate nodded and used his Sucker Punch attack to quickly hit Krabby in the face though that isn't all that he's got. "Alright now use Super Fang!" ordered Ash and his Normal-Type managed to deliver a power bite onto his opponent then the black-haired trainer produced a Pokeball. "Okay, Pokeball let's go!" He threw a Pokeball at the Water-Type and watched it get sucked inside, then it began vibrating repeatedly for a few seconds before a sound was made, signifying that the Pokemon was successfully captured. "Alright, we've captured Krabby!"
Raticate was relieved at this and Pikachu went towards the Normal-Type then said. "You did a pretty good job out there."
"You really think so?"
"Yeah, I mean it" answered Pikachu as Ash was proud of Raticate's efforts as well not just the fact that he captured a new Pokemon but also that he was glad to have gotten it with his help.
"I must say, that was some intriguing display of battle tactics you've used there" began Bill, quite impressed with what happened. "I have no doubt that you would be able to hold your own against the Gym Leader of Vermillion City."
"Thanks Bill" smiled Ash, though he turned his attention towards Pikachu and Raticate before continuing. "Though I think most of the credit goes to Raticate, I wouldn't have been able to capture Krabby without him."
Raticate remained silent and didn't know what to say about that though a smile formed on his face never the less. It was then that Misty spoke. "Well now that that has been taken care of, why don't I show you guys the Cerulean Cape while we're here?" she suggested.
"The Cerulean Cape?" wondered Anna in surprise. "I've never heard of that place."
"You'll love it, especially since it's the kind of place to bring someone when you're on a date and the sunsets are the best part of being there."
"Wow…" Ash and Anna were amazed at this as were Raticate, Pikachu and Clefairy, they were certain that a tour of the Cape itself won't hurt at all as it sounds like a very interesting spot to check out before they head for Vermillion City.
The walk to Cerulean Cape wasn't actually that long – in about 15 minutes, the whole team had managed to get there, walking along a winding road that went up a small hill, not very far away from Bill's house. As soon as they got on top, they could enjoy a rather breathtaking sight of Cerulean City and the tall, majestic mountains all around it. The setting sun, casting an orange hue on the vista, was an added bonus!
"Wow… that's a really romantic place!" Misty said, looking around herself with an enchanted expression on her face. "You were right, Bill… and to think I didn't know such a place existed!"
"Yeah, it's just… wonderful!" Anna said. "I'm glad we decided to take a walk here… ifI hd a boyfriend, this would be the very first place I'd want to go on a date with him! Don't you think so as well, Clefairy?"
"Well, I do hope you can find one soon and have a walk around here!" the pink fairy Pokemon cheerfully answered. Anna giggled and rubbed the back of her head with one hand, her cheeks turning pink.
Brock, for his part, seemed a little dismayed. "Awww, I wish I had known that sooner – about this place being used for dates, I mean." He murmured. "If only I had spoken to Nurse Joy or Officer Jenny about these places, maybe they would have accepted…"
Bill blinked in confusion, but Misty waved an hand in order to tell him to dismiss Brock's weirdness. "Never mind him… he always tries to hit on every pretty girl around his age he meets!" she explained. "I swear, sometimes I don't know what to do with him…"
"Haaa… I see…" Bill said sheepishly, before coughing and getting back to the situation at hand. "Anyway, yes… this is a place that holds some very fond memories for me. Have you ever heard of the mysterious Pokemon of the lighthouse?"
Everyone stood in silence for a while, and looked at each other as if trying to find an answer… and after a few moments of silence, Pikachu shrugged his shoulders at Clefairy. "Well? Have you ever heard of that?" the electric mouse asked. "Have you ever heard of a Pokemon that showed up at a lighthouse?"
The pink fairy shrugged. "I'm sorry, can't say I have…"
"I did hear a few rumors…" Misty admitted. "From what I know, there were rumors about a strange dragon-like Pokemon that sporadically appeared near the lighthouse, emitting some sort of melodious call. Some people are saying that it's a Dragonite, or a similar Dragon-type Pokemon."
"A Dragon-type Pokemon?" Ash asked. "I didn't remember there was this type of Pokemon…"
Anna sighed in mock annoyance. "That just goes to show that youshouldn't sleep when people tell us about the Pokemon types. It's not as simple as Fire beats Grass, Grass beats Water and Water beats Fire, you know…" she said with a shrug.
Ash frowned a little. "I know that, Anna… there are at least 15 Pokemon types out there, and they all have their strengths and weaknesses… but I just didn't remember there was a Dragon-type at all!"
"Oh boy…" Raticate squeaked, his tail whipping the ground in nervousness. "For a Pokemon trainer, he's quite the ignorant one…"
Bill cleared his throat and began explaining. "Well, Dragon-type Pokemon are considered to be the toughest of all, and for good reason – they are resistant to all four of the main elements, that is to say Grass, Water, Fire and Electric. From what I know, only Ice or Dragon type attacks can really hurt them." he explained, earning some impressed looks by Ash and his friends. "Anyway… yes, there is this Dragonite that sometimes appears near the lighthouse, calling out for someone, or something. I… remember that I have seen him, one day, when I was very little and my grandfather took me here to see the stars! I've never been able to forget it…" Bill now had a dreamy expression on his face as he recalled the day of so many years past, leading his newfound friends and their Pokemon as well to try and imagine just what kind of sight that mysterious Pokemon must have been…
"Man, that must have been pretty awesome…" Ash finally stated, looking at the lighthouse that now seemed lonely and deserted. "I wish I could have a Pokemon like that one day…"
Bill smiled, willing himself back to reality. "I'm sure you will find a Pokemon like that, one day… and it will be a shining star in your team! You know, Ash Ketchum… I think you and your sister have a great destiny in front of yourselves. Don't ask me why, I just feel this is going to happen, and I wish good luck to both of you in your journey!"
"Thank you, Bill… we're just trying to do our best, right, Clefairy?" Anna said, winking to her fairy Pokemon, who answered by turning to her and giving a victory sign with her small fingers.
Bill chuckled at that and rummaged through one of his pockets to retrieve something… which turned out to be a series of paper sheets with some data written upon them, each one sporting a picture of a different cat-like Pokemon. "I'm sure you will do great… and by the way, I would like you to have these! You can say these are reference sheets for a very special Pokemon… just see for yourselves, and you'll know what I mean!"
Ash accepted the sheets of paper from Bill, and Anna, Brock and Misty quickly gathered near him to take a look, with Pikachu and Clefairy climbing on their trainers' shoulders as well. What they saw was quite unexpected: the first sheet described a cute Pokemon that looked ike a cross between a squirrel and a rabbit, with a soft mane, brown fur and long pointed ears… while the others were seven Pokemon, each looking quite different from the other, but all of them sharing some qualities: they all had deep eyes and pointed ears, and all of them looked quite majestic in their own right: one of them had golden hair done in spikes all over its body, one looked like a blue mermaid, then there was a black one with golden rings painted on its body… and so forth.
"Well, the first one is obviously an Eevee, but… What kind of Pokemon are those others?" Anna asked in wonder. "Are you telling me that all those are the possible evolutions of an Eevee?"
"Exactly! You catch on quickly, girl!" Bill answered. "As a matter of fact, Eevee is a Pokemon with a rather unstable DNA, and it can evolve in different ways according to several situations! That's what makes it a very rare and sought-for Pokemon! By the way, I've heard that some guy in Celadon City is particularly fond of Eevee… you know, if you're lucky, you might even get one from him!"
Brock chuckled. "Well, that would be just great!" he stated. "After all, I think a Pokemon like that might just be what Ash and Anna need to give their team an extra oomph… am I right about that?"
"Well… we'll have to think about it!" Ash answered as he finished examining the sheets. His attention had been caught by a cute Eevee evolution with a forked tail, light purple skin and deep black eyes, identified as Espeon, a Psychic type. "For now… well, I guess we need to decide what our next destination might be. We need to get all the training we can, in order to take on the next Gym."
"I agree. For now, it was relatively easy, but the difficulty is only going to ramp up from now on." Misty stated. "And your next destination, VermillionCity… isn't exactly known for a Gym Leader that goes easy on his opponents!"
"She's right… so, how about you stop at my home for tonight?" Bill proposed. "Tomorrow, you can wake up early, and continue on your way. Speaking of which, I'd suggest you take a detour to the Hidden Pokemon Village, on the way to the Underground Passage! I'm sure you'll find something interesting there!"
"Thank you very much, we'll follow your indications." Anna said, before taking out her Fame Checker and taking a look at it, sporting an astute smirk. "But before that… I'd like to check something on my Fame Checker! Of course, if you don't mind, Misty…"
"Huh?" the redhead asked in confusion… which soon turned to dismay when it was revealed that, in fact, the Fame Checker was updating itself!
"Information: The Cerulean Cape. It is a well-known place for romantic dates, and it is said that Misty, Gym Leader of Cerulean City, has high hopes for this place."
"AAAGH!" Misty screamed, trying to chase after the younger girl as Anna laughed and began running away. "You did not do just that, you little sneak! Give it back! Erase that!"
"Hahaaa, first you'll have to catch me, Misty!" Anna tunted playfully. In confusion, Ash and his friends could do nothing but stare in wide-eyed wonder at the two girls running around…
"You weren't supposed to know that!"
"But now I do! And there's nothing you can do about it!"
"Give it to me, now!"
"I told you, you have to catch me!"
Finally, as the girls kept chasing each other, Ash and Pikachu sighed and looked at each other, smiling at the unusual sight.
"Girls…" Ash started.
"…will be girls!" Pikachu finished, wagging his lightning-shaped tail around.
TO BE CONTINUED…