xXxXxXx
The rest of the journey to Castelia was relatively peaceful. The only hiccup had been an encounter with a trio of duckletts, but Pikachu was able to finish off after a battle reunion with the Sandile from the hot springs. Ash was bemused by the fact that the pokemon followed them all the way, and had invited the newly evolved Krokorok to share dinner with them. The next day Krokorok was gone, determined to train so that he'd win get stronger the next time they met.
Training went as smoothly as it could. After Nacrene, Ash decided to focus on Oshawott's deflection abilities. He and the other pokemon would throw berries at the little otter which Oshawott then had to be fast enough to block with his shell. They'd gotten to the point where Oshawott could avert three incoming attacks about seventy per cent of the time.
Scraggy and Sewaddle fought often, but Sewaddle was leagues above Scraggy. She was only a little lower than Oshawott's level, and so Ash practiced with her accordingly. Scraggy was a bit harder, but Cilan had the wonderful suggestion of using Axew as a training partner, which worked out really well.
"You said I had to try my best as well, didn't you Ash?" Cilan smiled when Ash thanked him for the idea. "I'm going to try harder to find helpful training advice for you guys."
Actually getting into Castelia turned out to be the actual challenge. They encountered a gh—ghost, and although she had turned out to be friendly in the end, Ash would have been okay with never experiencing that again.
Castelia itself was much more pleasant, with large sections of natural gardens and trees everywhere. Weirdly enough however, they seemed to be known more for their ice cream than their natural scenery, though first and foremost Ash wanted to sample their gym.
"Come on," Cilan suggested, leading the way. Once again Ash thanked whoever was up there for a companion who could understand the complicated city maps. "Let's take the shortcut through the central area."
"I still want ice cream first," Iris complained. "We know Ash is gonna win anyway, so there's no need to rush about like this."
"That's not fair to Burgh," Ash replied, bemused. Of course, he didn't have any intention of losing. "Besides, if we go eat ice cream first, my pokemon won't be as focused during the battle. It'd be better to use it to reward them afterwards."
Iris sighed, raising a hand to scratch Axew's ear, "So you have a sensible reason, huh?"
But Ash's attention had been drawn elsewhere. They had been talking whist they walked, but a familiar figure caused Ash to stop entirely.
"Burgh?" Ash asked in surprise.
Burgh, who had been frowning at something atop a tree, glanced over distractedly at the sound of his name. He blinked in surprise as he spotted them, "Ash?"
Ash waved, running over. Iris let out a sigh of frustration and rushed after him.
"Mou!" she muttered under her breath, "How can you say something that sounds wise one moment and then act like such a kid in the next? This is why I can't take you seriously!"
Cilan let out a small chuckle and followed at a more sedate pace.
"I was just thinking about going to the Castelia Gym to challenge it," Ash was saying excitedly to the gym leader.
"I see," Burgh replied, an expression of amusement on his face. A second later, it became troubled. "But could you wait a little longer? There's something bothering me."
"Is there something wrong?"
Burgh nodded, and began explaining. Bug pokemon could perceive electromagnetic waves that humans could not, and as such, were often sensitive to big changes in the world or hidden dangers. They'd all begun acting strangely, and it was the duty of the gym leader to find out why.
Iris was quick to offer her help, even though her brand of help lead to the ice cream shop rather than any real disturbance. She received a lot of teasing for that. It wasn't a completely wasted trip however, for Pikachu did find something in the entrance to the sewers. They descended to explore and were able to rescue a Venipede as a result of it, though they didn't find anything else.
They emerged again in the city proper to pure chaos. Venipede were everywhere, overturning cars and attacking indiscriminately. People were screaming as they pushed to get off the streets.
"What is happening?" Ash gaped.
Officer Jenny's vehicle screeched to a halt in front of them. She told them in terse tones that an outbreak had occurred, that Professor Juniper was trying to find the reason why. She also told them to run away.
It was just then that something exploded in the direction of the Pokemon Center.
They all looked at each other, and went rushing off. They all knew that the hospital was the sole place that Castelia could not afford to lose.
"You should move more carefully," Iris scolded Ash as they ran, "you're still recovering from the Venipede poison."
"Ahaha," Ash grinned. "Don't worry about that. As my mum always said, I'm a stubborn idiot. It'll take more than that to get me down."
The Venipede that they had found had been a little frightened of them. To get it to hold still long enough to treat it, Ash had to calm it. Unfortunately, it involved a lot of contact, which resulted in him inadvertently getting poisoned. But Cilan had been carrying the antidote with him, and he'd taken the medicine, so Ash thought he was OK. Besides, there were more important things to worry about now.
They arrived at the Pokemon Center to find that it hadn't been the pokemon hospital that had been trailing the leading smoke after all.
"What happened here?" Iris gasped.
Off to the side, there were a group of Venipedes that looked to be down for the count. A number seemed hideously injured, burn marks scratched across the surface of their shells. Smoke emitted from the center of the group, lifting up to the skies. In front of the Pokemon Center were a variety of trainers, and their fire pokemon.
"That's…" Ash's eyes widened as he spotted a familiar face among them. He raised his voice, "Trip!"
Trip turned, an expression of surprise crossing his features when he spotted them. And then his eyes brightened, "Ash! It's great that you're here! You can help us."
"Help…?"
Trip nodded eagerly, summoning a lamp-like pokemon to his side. Turning fiercely back to face the Venipedes, he threw out an arm in command, "Alright everyone, Flamethrower!"
Ash's realized exactly what Trip meant the second the other trainers repeated Trip's command. The variety of other pokemon in front of the hospital sucked in deep breaths or started to glow in different colours. Ash stumbled forward, a hand rising on reflex.
"Wait!" Ash cried out.
He was too late. Fire roared towards the Venipedes. Ash saw the outcome flash before his eyes. Dozens of helpless bug pokemon, injured and scared, this fight escalating to something neither side would ever want to see. No.
"Zorua!" A sharp, dominating voice broke through the howl of flames. "Hidden Power!"
A torrent of water blasted out seemingly from the middle of nowhere, meeting the inferno head on. Steam spat outwards where the two forces met, briefly obscuring the area. When it cleared, the Ventipedes were shown unharmed. In front of them was a green haired boy in a baseball cap, glaring fiercely at them. At his legs was a purple cat-like pokemon, and at his waist, a chained rubik's cube swung.
"It's you!" Ash blurted out in surprise. The memories of the trainer was quick to materialize at the surface of his mind, as if it was never far from reach.
Steel grey eyes flickered to the Sinnoh finalist, before moving on to Pikachu on his shoulder. "Pikachu's companion." The green haired teen's body was stiff, and despite his calm veneer, he seemed to be burning with anger. "So I see you're back to attacking helpless pokemon without discrimination."
"It's not like that!" Ash immediately protested, his voice mixing with Pikachu's outraged 'pika pi!'.
"Oh they're hardly helpless," Trip sneered. "They're the ones attacking humans arbitrarily. Getting rid of them is only a matter of course."
The green haired trainer's eyes narrowed.
"Wait, stop!" Ash said hurriedly, putting up both hands in a placating gesture. "I'm sure we can all find a peaceful solution to this. There's no need to fight." He took a breath. "Trip, the Venipede are just scared. It's not their fault. Professor Juniper's looking for the cause right now. Please wait with the attacks."
Trip frowned, but didn't have time to reply, because that was when the Mayor showed up.
"Mr. Shootie is correct," the middle aged custodian of the city said as he marched up towards them, a severe expression on his features. "We have to deal with this rather quickly. At this rate, the functions of Castelia City will come to a halt. Besides, the Venipedes' poison is dangerous. Seeing how the citizens' safety has top priority, removing the Venipede forcibly is inevitable."
"It's funny that you say it like that," the green haired trainer said coolly, his body falling into a more relaxed stance. It was a dangerous stance. "It's like the safety of pokemon have no meaning for you. And yet they are the ones who make cities like this work."
The Mayor's brows knit.
"Look," Burgh cut in quickly, as if to diffuse the situation. "If you remove them with force, the Venipede will obviously resist. In the case of a fierce fight, both sides will suffer great losses!"
"Do you have a different idea, then?" The Mayor demanded.
Burgh paused in thought, but the nod he gave spoke of supreme confidence. "We'll temporarily gather all the Venipede in the Central Area and keep them there. Then we'll find out the reason for their mass movement."
The Mayor didn't look convinced.
Officer Jenny was quick to give assurance. "Mr. Mayor, Professor Juniper is already looking into it."
"But how will you lead the Venipede to the Central Area?"
"If we find the leader and guide it, the other Venipede will follow suit," Burgh was swift to explain.
The Mayor turned away. And then, he let out a sigh. "I see. I got it. Let's try that plan, then. However, if you're unable to gather them in the Central Area, I'll have them forcibly removed. You must do your duty as a gym leader then, too, Burgh. Is that acceptable to you?"
Burgh's face was grim, but he nodded, "Thank you for the opportunity. We'll go and search for the leader right away, then."
The green haired trainer's eyes were dark, "A giant cage, is it?"
"Young man," Burgh said seriously, "I wish I had a better solution, but this is the best we can do now. Please bear with us."
The trainer's shoulders were tense, but he inclined his head in agreement. His expression said he was far from pleased, but he wouldn't fight them on the issue. "Very well."
"Can't you help us?" Ash asked, turning to the other. "You can hear the voices of pokemon, can't you?"
Surprise flickered across the taller boy's face, "How do you know that?"
"Pikachu told me," Ash replied, before pausing, remembering who he was talking to. He laughed, scratching the back of his head, "I mean, he didn't tell me per se, like he could probably tell you, but like I said, I can practically understand whatever he says now because we've been together for so long. He was defending me back in the forest, and you replied to him, didn't you? That means you had to have understood what he said. Coupled with your earlier question, it only makes sense that you can talk to pokemon, right?"
In the background, he heard Iris whisper a confused 'they know each other?' to Cilan, and Cilan mutter something in response. But his attention wasn't on them.
Curiosity overtook the surprise on the green haired youth's face. "I find that most people wouldn't have jumped to that conclusion."
Ash could only shrug helplessly in response. He'd met a pokemon that could talk to humans, and a girl who could connect her heart to legendaries. It wasn't so big of a stretch to find someone who could speak the language of pokemon, although it still amazed him.
"Anyway," he pressed on, "can't you help us find the leader of the Venipedes?"
The taller trainer considered Ash for a long time, causing the Kanto trainer to squirm uncomfortably. And then he turned away. His voice was calm again, lacking that edge of desperate passion that had been so close to bursting out earlier. "Very well, but only because I do not wish to see these Venipede hurt more than they already are."
With that, the trainer crouched down. He began saying something to the Venipedes, and amazingly, the Venipedes responded.
They found the leader at the City Plaza, atop one of the towering buildings. Burgh, Iris, Cilan, Ash, and the one that had led them there gathered at the center of the square.
"That Venipede's so much bigger than the others," Ash observed in surprise, craning his neck up to see.
"That's one of the conditions for being a leader," Burgh explained with a smile, "also, if that's the leader, it should immediately challenge any approaching opponents to a battle."
As if it had heard Burgh's words, it was just then that the Venipede tilted its head downwards and glared at them. Letting out a hiss, the Venipede pushed itself off the building, rocketing at them. It landed before them with a loud thud, hinting at its heavy weight.
"You're the leader, aren't you?" Burgh said gently as he knelt down in front of the poison pokemon and held out his hands invitingly, "If you stay here, your entire swarm will be in danger. Follow me."
But the Venipede's antennae just twitched, and without warning, a cannonball of mud went flying towards Burgh.
The bug based Gym Leader just barely managed to dodge out of the way. "Oops! Wait, please calm down, Venipede!"
The Venipede's antennae trembled again, and it was then that the green haired boy moved forward, and the Venipede seemed to instantly calm.
"Please wait my friend," the green haired boy said soothingly, dropping to one knee in front of the Venipede. "This human is telling the truth. I can tell that your dearest desire is to protect your clan. I know it'll be uncomfortable, but please bear it and follow this human until I can find the source of your troubles, alright?"
The Venipede twitched, and Ash tensed. But then it took a step forward.
And it was just then that Trip's voice came sweeping across the streets, "Flamethrower!"
Lampent let out a billow of flame towards the Venipede leader. The Venipede looked up just in time, and quickly leapt away, just barely avoiding the blistering attack. The distance between them widened again.
Venipede hissed.
The green haired trainer whirled towards Burgh, fury in his eyes and fists clenched at his sides, "Is this what you meant by giving the Venipede a chance?!"
"No I—" Burgh looked genuinely distressed as he turned to the interloper in their midst, "Trip, what are you doing?"
The surrounding Venipede began to close in, to see what was happening or to defend their head if it came to that.
"If I defeat the leader," Trip responded with flat intonation, "the swarm will scatter, making it easier to remove. That's all."
"What's with you, saying such selfish things?" Iris demanded.
"The promise was that they shouldn't be attacked because we're moving them to the Central Area," Ash added.
"I respect you, and I think that if anyone can pull that off, it'd be you, but I can't take that chance. Didn't you see that Venipede attack Burgh just moments earlier? In the end, I value human lives more than that. Lampent, remove them forcibly!"
Lampent nodded in understanding, spreading out its arms. A dark ball of energy formed between its hands, and was released in an instant towards the direction of the Venipede leader.
Ash was moving forward before he even saw Lampent nod. He leapt in front of the Venipede, "Watch out!"
Lampent's Shadow Ball hit hard, knocking Ash off his feet and his back to land on the ground painfully.
"Ah, Ash!" Trip called out in worry.
"Ash!" Iris cried as she ran over to him.
"Trip!" Burgh said harshly. He took a breath, and his voice softened, "I think that's enough attacking, don't you?"
"I—I didn't mean to—"
Iris helped Ash to a sitting position, and it was just then that he noticed that something had changed among the Venipedes. A small Venipede wearing a white band aid on its back scuttled out of the swarm, waving its pincers as it danced around the leader.
Ash's eyes widened, "You're…"
The Venipede looked over and nodded, quickly scuttling to Ash's side. It laid its arms on his stomach, voice filled with anxiety, "Veni, veni veni?"
Ash nodded, smiling, "Yeah, don't worry, I'm fine." With that, he looked up at Trip, "See Trip? Venipedes are actually very kind pokemon. So there must be a reason why they've become aggressive."
"That…" Trip bowed his head, his bangs hiding his face. His voice was no higher than a whisper, "I don't really care about the reason. It's what happens that anyone remembers. I don't really care if everyone hates me by the end." He turned to leave. "But… I didn't mean to hurt you, Ash, and I've probably done more than enough today. Sorry."
"Ah, wait—"
But Trip was already gone.
"I have never heard a wild pokemon speak of a human that way," the green haired trainer said in wonderment. He was staring at Ash as if they were meeting for the first time.
"Ah, haha," Ash laughed awkwardly, scratching his head. He pushed himself back up to a sitting position, but was sure to be gentle with the Venipede in his arms. "I don't know about that." He winked at the little bug that was still on him. "Thanks for the stellar review."
"Veniii," the bug pokemon preened.
The green haired trainer examined him for a moment more, before turning back to the leader.
"I'll believe in your intentions," the taller trainer murmured, his eyes hidden beneath the shadow of his cap, and then knelt down to speak.
Ash watched in amazement as the Venipede leader turned to the others of his swarm and seemingly barked out orders. And then the Venipedes began moving towards Central Area. The Venipede on the outside of the hoard would occasionally make a detour to usher stragglers into the formation. It was like a parade.
"Alright!" Burgh said, clapping his hands together with a smile. He turned to the green haired trainer. "Thank you. We couldn't have done this without you. Buuut. There's still work to be done. Will you all help?"
They agreed to do so. Iris went to get Nurse Joy in order to heal the injured Venipede. Cilan was sent to find Officer Jenny to help facilitate the civilians and for her guard dogs. Ash was ordered to rest despite protests, and the green haired trainer was asked to make sure Ash got to the Pokemon Center before Burgh went off to set up the Central Area. The taller trainer did not look pleased, but he did not argue.
"You don't have to come with me," Ash winced as he staggered to his feet. Pikachu made a noise of concern, trying to help steady him despite the pokemon's size, and Ash couldn't help but smile down at his partner. "I don't actually need help. This is nothing. I think Burgh is worrying too much."
"That attack wasn't nothing," the green haired boy said crisply, pivoting back to face Ash. "And accompanying you isn't the problem, anyway. I just don't like the Pokemon Center."
"Why's that?" Ash asked curiously.
The other trainer's lips thinned. He looked away.
"I just don't understand," the green haired boy said suddenly, fists clenched, "how can you be so adamant about defending the Venipede, when you were so cruel to the Pidove?"
Ash reeled back as if struck. "I…" He looked down, shame colouring his voice, "You know, it never occurred to me that trying to catch pokemon might be anything bad until you told me off about it." He smiled faintly, looking up again, "You were right. I shouldn't have done as I did. And so I don't want to make that same mistake again in the future."
The capped trainer was staring at him. His eyes were wide and disbelieving.
"You…" There was something strange in the the green haired boy's voice. And then he shook his head, his tone soft and almost gentle, like it had been when he'd spoken to the pokemon, "To so easily say that you're wrong… You astound me." He paused. Closed his eyes. Breathed. Opened them again. It felt like some significant choice had been made. His next words were steady, though they held the quality of something peculiar. "My name is N. What is your name?"
"Ash," the Sinnoh finalist gave. His smile grew brighter. "I'm Ash Ketchum." He tilted his head towards the yellow mouse pokemon at his feet. "And this is Pikachu, although you probably already know."
N's eyes brightened with pleasure. He looked down at the cat-like pokemon at his heels, and with a purr, it bounded up, mewing at Ash.
Ash laughed, understanding the introduction for what it was. "Hello, Zorua."
They took some time to greet each other, Ash and the pokemon. N stayed quiet, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. Finally Ash suggested that they head to the Central Area and help out, since Ash felt fine and Burgh would probably believe that he'd gotten treatment after this amount of time. N agreed readily enough after a personal check.
The Venipede situation was fully resolved by evening. It was also at that time that Professor Juniper finally arrived and explained what was causing it. She showed them the energy readings for the Desert Resort, and Ash's group was quick to volunteer for an investigation. At first she had not wanted to endanger them, but they wore her down. Burgh opted to stay in Castelia city to watch over any further disturbances.
"What's up with that guy?" Iris hissed to Ash as she pulled him aside.
"Huh?" Ash asked gracefully.
"The pokemon whisperer! He's so creepy." Iris shuddered. "Did you catch the way he doesn't blink when he's talking?"
"Iris," Ash reprimanded. He'd laughed about Conway with Dawn more times than he could count, but the green haired trainer was someone Ash admired. "N's a really nice guy."
"Oh really?" Iris snorted. She jerked her head towards the teen in question. He was conversing with Professor Juniper about her machine, using terms which were completely incomprehensible to anyone else listening. Despite that, it wasn't difficult to trace the thin coating of condensation which lined his voice.
"Yeah, okay, he's a bit abrasive," Ash admitted sheepishly. "But he means well, I think."
Iris only frowned, "I just… there's something off about him, Ash. It's my gut feeling. I don't want to see you hurt."
Although he still didn't agree with her, Ash was touched. It completely drained his ability to tease. A sincere smile touched across his lips, "Thanks, Iris, for looking out for me."
Iris flushed, and shoved him back towards the group, "Wh—whatever! Someone has to, since you're such a kid!"
It was the next day that they took off. It was deemed too dangerous to fly across the desert at night. Iris, Cilan, Ash, N, and Professor Juniper piled onto the helicopter. Officer Jenny acted as the pilot.
For a long stretch, they saw nothing. But as they came nearer and nearer to the source of the energy as indicated on Professor Juniper's machine, they started to see more signs of disturbances. And then—
Ash's eyes were wide, "What is that?"
'That' was a palace in the center of a wide, circular hole in the earth. Cranes and pulleys lined the outer rims, and stairs both artificial and natural descended to the entrances. They didn't get the chance to examine it further. It was at that moment that a wave of pink light burst from the palace, and the helicopter's electronics went haywire.
The machine rocked forward, causing everyone to cry out as they struggled to not fall into the pilot's seat. Officer Jenny's eyes were wide as she stared at her screen's readings. And then she pushed hard against the helm, jerking them into a shallow dive.
"What was that?" Cilan asked in panic.
Officer Jenny gritted her teeth, her grip on her controls tightening. "I don't know, but I'm lowering our altitude. If we're hit again, this thing won't—"
It hit them again.
Iris screamed as the helicopter plunged from the air. Everyone flew up, the sensation of zero gravity taking hold as they fell with the vehicle. Officer Jenny swore and twisted her controls hard, attempting to give them any semblance of a survivable landing. They crashed in a plume of hot sand and twisted metal.
Two clouds of dust came towards them, one from the area of the palace, and one from elsewhere. The smaller cloud reached them first. It was a beige coloured jeep. The driver poked his head out, letting out a series of words that went by too quickly for Ash's pounding head to understand.
He could only stare upwards. The driver looked a lot like Looker. But that couldn't be right. Looker was in Sinnoh.
Iris, Professor Juniper, and Officer Jenny were scrambling into the vehicle. Cilan appeared in Ash's field of vision. The gym leader bent down, taking Ash's arm and tugging him upwards.
Ash cried out. Stars filled his vision, and for a moment, he blacked out. When he came to again, he was back on the ground, panting heavily into the sand.
"—chase across the desert too dangerous in his condition. I'll stay with him." N was saying, looking up at the rest of them in the jeep. He turned and said something to the two pokemon beside him. A moment later, a reluctant Pikachu and Zorua jumped onto the vehicle as well.
"Why you?"
"Considering what I can do, I think I have the best chance of getting the two of us out afterwards. Look, there's no time to argue! Inspector, just go!"
"He—hey, I'm not dooooo—"
The rest of the sentence faded in a half scream, partially drowned out by the roar of an engine. Looker had not waited, gunning the jeep into overdrive as soon as N had said the word 'go'. It took Ash only a moment later to figure out what was happening.
The earth around them shook as the echo of numerous footsteps greeted them. Vicious pokemon and human alike in familiar red and black uniform surrounded them, cutting off any chance of escape.
Team Rocket.
N raised his hands, the picture of calm as he gazed upon the encirclement of enemies. "We surrender."