Chapter 10 The Exchange
It has been months since Ash had left Pallet Town to begin his pokemon journey, and, according to the plan he made before he left, Ash was ahead of schedule. With thirteen pokemon caught and six of them trained to the boys current desired level, all he needed now was to exchange his pokemon.
As the sun began to set, Ash and Pikachu found their way to a beach. The light breeze whispered past him and crashing against the shore, small waves washed seaweed onto the land. Untouched golden sand covered the ground beneath his feet s the cool, salty air filled his nose. It has been a while since he had been to the beach.
Hearing a clicking sound down by his feet, Ash and Pikachu looked down to see a small crab-like Pokemon scuttling between his legs. Slowly, the creature scurried away giving the boy just enough time to scan it was his Pokedex.
"Krabby," the mechanical voice of the hand-held machine said,"This Pokemon live on the shore. Its average height is sixteen inches."
Ash decided to leave this Pokemon alone for now. After all, he still has nine other Pokemon to train.
"So, as Ash watched the sun go down he set up camp just beyond the tree line. He then instructed them on what they needed to improve on, this time taking both Pidgeotto and Zubat aside for a mock battle. On this occasion, Ash would be giving orders to Zubat, while Pidgeotto had to use its initiative.
"Zubat," Ash shouted. "Start off with supersonic."Sound waves rippled through the air towards Pidgeotto, who dived to the ground in order to avoid the attack. Pidgeotto the retaliated with sand attack, however this did very little as Zubat was a blind Pokemon and would not be affected by sand being in its eyes.
"Zubat, use bite," the trainer commanded and the purple bat Pokemon shot towards Pidgeotto with impressive speed. Pidgeotto also decided to speed towards Zubat.
The two Pokemon collided in a flurry of wings as one bit down hard on the other, while the other sent its strong beak into its opponents stomach before the two eventually pulled apart. Sitting in the air, the bat Pokemon began to glow a blinding white light, as its form grew and changed into its evolved body.
"Amazing," Ash muttered in awe. This was the third time he had seen a Pokemon evolve and it still looked as beautiful as ever.
"When the glow receded Zubat had became Golbat. A large bat-like pokemon with small slit pupils and a massive mouth containing four sharp fangs. When scanned the pokedex said, "Golbat, the bat pokemon. Attacking with its fangs, this pokemon can drain three hundred cubic centimeters of blood per bite. This Golbat is female and knows the moves bite, supersonic, air slash and poison fang."
It was at that time that Ash realized that he had yet to scan Pidgeotto with his pokedex. It said "This pokemon is very protective of its sprawling territorial area and will fiercely peak on any intruders. This Pidgeotto is female and knows the moves tackle, sand attack, air cutter, agility and quick attack."
"That is great Golbat, Pidgeotto!" exclaimed the black haired boy. "You two deserve a nice long break after working so hard. Go have fun for a bit, but stay close."
The next day Ash and Pikachu awoke as the sun began to rise. The ocean waves seemed much stronger than the night before and the boy did not feel comfortable staying on the beach any longer, and neither did Pikachu.
"Pika, Pika," the yellow electric mouse Pokemon said pointing to a tall building at the edge of the cliff.
"A light house," Ash smiles as he stares at the dark town with a light circling the top.
It did not take the boy long to travel to the light house, but the closer he got to it the more hesitant he became. This light house looked different from the other that he saw closer to Pallet Town and in pictures. The front door itself stretch far higher than Ash had ever seen, equaling almost threes the black haired boys size. Each door had multiple carvings of various pokemon such as Scyther and Growlithe.
Pushing the door bell, Ash did not expect ancient, ghostly chimes to echo through the building. Nor did he expect a chill to creep down his spine. Maybe he should just continue on his way before someone answered, the boy's mind whispered to him.
However before he could consider the thought further a voice from the monitor said, "Who's there?" The voice sounded old yet confident, but with a hint of some else.
"Sorry to bother you, Sir," Ash apologized. "I am a traveler and was hoping that I could take shelter hear until the ocean settles. I will be happy to help you any way I can until then."
"Can you cook without using tofu?" the strange man questioned, causing the boy to frown in confusion.
"A little bit. My mom taught me enough so that I could prepare myself meals while ob my journey," the boy responded.
"That's good, my cook left on holiday and all I have been eating is tofu," cheered the man. Then the large oak downs groaned as they slowly began to open.
Beyond the doors was a large hall with red carpet running up some stairs towards another doorway. The was no lights, thus casting the room in shadows and darkness, nor was there any furniture that Ash could see. The trainer and his Pikachu though this was very odd, after all who would need a room without anything in it.
Ash walked toward the second doorway, asking as he went, "Would you mind if I borrowed your phone?"
The voice replied once more saying that there was a phone right near him, and to Ash's surprise, there was. As he turned towards the space that he originally thought was empty, he allowed for the shadows to reveal the videophone that they had been hiding from the boy.
"Thank you," Ash called back.
The black haired boy dialed Professor Oak and soon enough the screen in front of him flashed on. The image that greeted him was that of the elderly Professor making himself dinner.
"Sorry to disturb you, Professor," said the boy, who then scratch the back of his head in embarrassment.
"That is quite alright Ash, I am just making dinner," the old man smiled at the boy. "It is quite a surprise to see you calling me, though. Where are you?"
" I am at an old light house, on top of a cliff. I am not exactly sure where though," the boy answered the question, avoiding out right telling the Profession that he had wondered off the trail to look for a good place to train. He did not want to admit that he was lost, even to himself.
"Oh," the Professor claps his hands together. "That must be Bill's light house. He is a Pokemon researcher that knows even more than me, you should take the opportunity to learn from him while you are there."
Ash nodded his head in agreement to the recommendation.
"And by the way Ash, did you know that Gary has already caught forty-five Pokemon," the man informed the boy proudly. "In fact, look at his most recent catch."
The man then turned the camera showing Ash a Krabby that was almost five times as large as the one that he saw at the beach.
The boy felt jealousy and anger shoot through him like a bullet, but he convinced himself to calm down. After all, while forty-five was an impressive number, Gary would not be able to train them all. However, Ash and his thirteen pokemon had plenty of time to improve and evolve together. Furthermore, it was not like he was limiting himself in how many pokemon he will catch, he was just controlling himself more. The boy had already planned to catch enough pokemon to create a third team, while training his second team. That means, that after he had trained the next batch of pokemon he exchanges, Ash will have sixteen pokemon.
"That is great Professor Oak," Ash signed. "I was actually calling you to tell you that I am on my way to the next Pokemon center in order to exchange some of my Pokemon."
The elderly Professor was his hand at the boy,"Ash there is no need to go to a poke center to change your Pokemon, your Pokedex has that ability. Just press the white button."
"What!" Ash exclaimed as he flipped open his pokedex and push the button. The screen then told him to select one of his pokemon from his current team and one of the pokemon at the lab in order to exchange. "Why did you not tell me sooner?" the boy questioned frustratedly (this is a word according to the English dictionary).
"Oops," Professor Oak chuckled. "I guess I must have forgotten, sorry Ash."
Sighing once more, Ash said to the Professor, "Oh well, better late than never. I will talk to you later, Sir. Bye."
The screen turned itself off as Ash hung up the phone and began to select the Pokemon he wished to exchange. He sent Pidgeotto, Mankey, Oddish, Rhyhorn and Golbat to the lab and exchanged them for Metapod, Poliwag, Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle.
He already knew that Metapod had the ability harden, but he had no clue about his other Pokemon, so Ash decided to scan them.
"Poliwag, the tadpole Pokemon. It has no arms but its tail makes it a strong swimmer. This Poliwag is female and knows that move water gun.
Squirtle, the tiny turtle Pokemon. After birth, its back swells and hardens into a shell. This Squirtle is male and knows the moves tackle, water gun and withdraw.
Charmander, the lizard Pokemon. This Pokemon obviously prefers hot places and, when it rains, steam is said to spout from the tip of its tail. This Charmander is male and knows the moves growl, flamethrower, ember, and smokescreen.
Bulbasaur, the seed Pokemon. A strange seed was planted on its back at birth. The seed sprouts and grows with the Pokemon. This Bulbasaur is male and knows the moves vine whip, growl, and tackle."
"Okay guys, we are going to start training," Ash pumped his fist into the air enthusiastically. "But first... everyone return."
Each Pokemon glowed and happily returned to their Pokeball's as Ash spun on his feet and walked further into the light house.
"Hey, Mister," he shouted as he went. "I will cook you something to eat now."
Suddenly, the light house was filled with a brilliant yellow and the bulbs on the ceiling began to glow with energy.
"No need to shout, I am right here," the voice of the stranger, that Ash supposed was Bill, came from his left.
Ash jumped and spun to face the man, however, it wasn't a man he ended up staring at. Instead, he saw a human-sized Kabuto, with a large brown shell and two glowing red eyes.
"Um, Sir, is that you?" Ash asked unsure of what to make of the thing standing in front of him.
"Yes, it is me. I am Bill, a Pokemon researcher," Bill said confirming the boy's suspicions, allow him to relieve some of the tension that Ash could suddenly feel on his shoulders. "This is a costume, I am stuck inside it."
"Do you want some help?" Ash asked as he made his way over to the Kabuto costume, already trying to work out how to remove the thing.
"Yes, just push the button under my arm," the man said with relief flooding his voice.
The black haired trainer did as he was told and watched as the costume's arms unlocked and fell to the ground. The front of the Kabuto suit fell forwards and the shell fell backward, revealing the man inside.
Bill, as it turned out, was not old at all. In fact, he looked rather young, with moss green hair and coal black eyes. Ash could not help thinking that his lime green tie looked horrid with his crimson red suit.
"Thanks for helping me. I have been stuck in that costume since last night!", the strange Pokemon research said.
"That's okay. I am happy to help," the black haired boy smiled.
Yet, another chapter for you guys. I am on a roll!