I'm back, everyone! I was so excited when I finished this chapter, because I finally came to a realization. Over 10,000 words in a single chapter! When I first started this I couldn't believe I would write over 5000 words, but here I am, four months later, achieving what was thought as impossible.
Unfortunately, nobody bothered to review this story after the release of the last chapter, so there will not be any review responses today. Now, on with the story!
The Eighteen
Chapter 11
The Start of Something New
December 7, 2002. Unknown Location. Morning.
Ash's eyes shot open, and he got up off the floor immediately. He turned to scan his surroundings, but all he could see was darkness all around him.
Ash began to walk, not knowing where he was going at all, as he was just trying to find a way out of this dark place.
"Okay… this is getting really creepy… ", mumbled Ash as he continued to walk around, only to see darkness all around him and nothing in the distance.
After what seemed like a few hours of just walking in plain darkness, a white outline of a door became visible in front of him.
Ash, relieved that he had might have found a way out, rushed up to the door, and put his hand on the doorknob, and gripped it tightly.
"Well… here goes nothing!", exclaimed Ash as he thrust open the door, and the unknown room revealed itself to be a long hallway that seemed narrower.
Ash slumped through the doorway and into the hallway, still seeing darkness all around him. "Whoever's doing this, it's not funny! Get me out of this place!", shouted Ash as he sat down on what seemed like a floor.
However, the door at the end still beckoned to the raven-haired teenager, and so Ash got up and continued to walk toward the end of the hallway, which seemed to go on forever.
Having grown tired of waiting, Ash began to run to the door, only to see it seemingly go even farther away from him.
Ash, seeing this, began to run towards the drifting door like never before. The only other time he felt this fast was running from all those Spearow along with Pikachu all the way back on Route 1 in April 1997, the first day of his journey.
He managed to get the chance to look down at his body while he was running, and he was shocked by what he saw. His body was surrounded by a blue glow, and he seemed to be moving much faster than he had ever done.
While that fact was still being processed in Ash's brain, another series of realizations made the teenager even more surprised about himself. If his Aura flared up subconsciously, then that would put a whole lot of issues to rest, like how he once jumped over 50 feet into the air from the ground to Team Rocket's balloon back in Hoenn.
Ash continued to sprint towards the door, determined to reach it and find out what was inside, and as he ran the final yards, all he could think about was getting to that door.
Suddenly, the door seemed to stop a few yards in front of Ash, but the boy was still sprinting towards it, and so he had no time to stop himself short of the door.
Ash tried to slow down as best as he could, but to no avail. Once he knew he had no chance of stopping, he just put out his hands and hoped that they would break his sprint.
Unfortunately, his left hand instantly grabbed the doorknob, and Ash's full weight slammed into the door, swinging him inside the room and falling onto the floor at top speed.
Ash laid on the floor for a couple of seconds, and then shot straight up onto his feet. He then looked around to see what was inside the room, and then his jaw absolutely dropped to the floor when he saw what, or who, was in front of him.
"What took you so long?", asked Sir Aaron.
December 7, 2002. Coast of Kanto Bay. Morning.
"No! Ash!", cried Misty as the the raven-haired teenager fell down into the depths of the Kanto bay below, and there wasn't anything she could do to save him.
Suddenly, Leaf grabbed one of her Pokeballs and released a Musharna, which fell into the air, grabbed Ash, and Teleported itself along with Ash onto the top of the cliffs.
"Now! Over there!", shouted Leaf, as she flew away on her Noctowl towards where Ash was, laid down on the grass, unconscious.
The rest of the group landed alongside the cliffs, returned their Pokemon, and rushed toward their fallen friend.
"Is he okay?", asked Brock, being the first to reach the cliffs. He knew a lot about how to treat Pokemon thanks to his role as a Pokemon doctor, and he hoped the same principles he learned could apply to humans as well.
Brock tried to feel for a pulse, but only found a faint heartbeat. His face was grim as he turned to face the others, who were crowding around in support of Ash.
"There's only a faint pulse. He needs help, now!", exclaimed Brock, and the others shared an equally grim expression a they stared at the unconscious Ash.
Misty then broke the unbearable silence and ran up to Ash, and shook him, trying to get a response from him. "Ash! Ash! Please tell me you're okay!", she cried.
The others just continued to stand on the top of the cliff, not knowing what to say besides what had already been said, while the fires from the destroyed Rocket Base continued to burn along the cliff face.
"Is there anything we can do?", asked Serena, tears flowing down her face, which was a similar reaction for everyone else standing at the scene and looking at their friend's unconscious body.
"He needs to get to a Pokemon Center, there's a wing for human injuries. There's one in the center of Celadon. Let's move!", exclaimed Leaf as she started to run towards the center of the city, and the others followed suit.
"Commander! What should we do?", asked one of Leaf's agents, who were still standing near the edge of the cliffs, waiting for further instructions.
"Agents, stay back and scan the perimeter of the base for any escaping Rockets. The police will be here soon, so you should help with that.", explained Leaf, and her team nodded and ran off towards the burning Rocket Base.
"What are you waiting for?", said Leaf as she started to run down into the streets of Celadon, followed by the others, who were carrying Ash on their backs.
They ran through the streets, not knowing where to go, except for Brock and Misty providing some sense of direction, even though they hadn't been in the city for around five years.
Their disguises were nothing much, just some hoods and sunglasses being worn on their faces, but it was enough to snoop through the big city, past the unsuspecting residents and their skeptical looks.
While they were walking through the city, desperately trying to find the hospital, Dawn went up to Brock and started to talk to him.
"Brock… what Ash did there at the base… don't you think that looked familiar?", asked Dawn curiously, catching Brock's attention.
Brock thought to himself for a moment, and then came up with an answer. "Well, it did seem familiar to what Riley did back on Iron Island to stop Team Galactic from blowing up those ruins."
Dawn nodded her head. "Yeah, that's why it felt so familiar. I remember Riley also tried to contain the bombs with Aura… that's probably why Ash did the same because he saw it before… "
"But, we can't reflect on that now. We have to save our friend, and that's what we should be focused on.", exclaimed Brock as he continued to walk along with the others, and Dawn followed suit into the city streets.
"There it is! That's the Pokemon Center!", exclaimed Barry as he raced onto the courtyard in front of the massive building. However, instead of walking straight through the front door, Leaf continued to walk around the giant building and towards the back of the Pokemon Center.
"Wait up!", shouted Clemont as he and the others ran towards Leaf, making sure to keep their disguises on as they went towards the back door of the building.
"Hold it. Are you sure you know where you're going?", asked Paul skeptically as he caught up to Leaf, who had taken out some tool.
Leaf turned to face Paul. "I'm a G-Men agent. It's my job to know these things.", she exclaimed as she bent down and started to pick the lock on the back door.
The group waited around Leaf as she broke open the lock and opened the door, and the gang started to walk inside the Pokemon Center.
"Man, how come the Pokemon Centers in Kanto are so big?", asked Trip. "I never thought something so cool would come from the boonies.", he muttered as Gary stared at him.
"Whaddya mean, boonies?", asked Gary suspiciously towards Trip, and the Unovan trainer tried to back away from Gary's menacing stare.
"Be quiet! This isn't the time to fight!", hissed Leaf, which immediately shut up the two quarreling trainers, and the gang continued to walk through the building, trying to find the human treatment wing of the Center.
"How are we gonna find our way in this place?", asked Kenny while the group was still struggling to navigate the Pokemon Center and find the place they needed to go to inside the building.
"There they are! Get them!", shouted a voice, and the gang could hear footsteps racing from the other side of the hallway.
"We really should have thought this through… ", muttered Drew as he saw himself and the others cornered while a figure approached from the other side.
Officer Jenny stepped into the main corridor, only to see a bunch of what looked like teenagers carrying an unconscious boy on their back on the other side.
"All right, what's going on here?", she asked.
December 7, 2002. Unknown Location. Morning.
Ash was absolutely speechless. Standing right in front of him was the legendary Aura Guardian Sir Aaron, complete with his outfit and staff. Once he finally managed to regain his composure, all he could spill out of his mouth was a few stutters.
"W-What the… h-how… ", stuttered Ash, still extremely confused as to why a guy who had died almost five hundred years ago was standing in front of him, very much alive.
"I would have thought you would have come here much earlier, but better late than never, am I right?", exclaimed the Aura Guardian.
"B-But… how can you be here? I thought you were dead!", said Ash, causing Sir Aaron to shake his head and stare at the boy.
"Dead? That's not a nice way to talk to your great-times one-hundred-grandfather, young man!", said the Aura Guardian, causing Ash to go into another state of shock, right after the first one had worn off.
"G-Great-times-one-hundred grandfather… ?", Ash mumbled, still completely speechless, while Sir Aaron started to walk towards him.
"Loosen up, kid. We've got a lot to go over.", exclaimed Sir Aaron as he walked towards the shocked Ash and motioned him over to the other side of the room.
"So let me get this straight. I got knocked out from using too much Aura, and so I got sent here, met you, and as it turns out, I'm your direct descendant? This is all too much to take in.", exclaimed Ash as he put his head in his hands.
"It's fine, honestly. I was pretty shocked when I first came here as well.", said Aaron as he walked back in front of the teenager.
"Well, what even is here, anyway?", asked Ash. "You never bothered to tell me earlier, and I was just curious."
"Well, just think of this as inside of your mind, and so when you were knocked out your consciousness got transported here. And as for me, I still am dead, but this is only a fraction of my spirit.", exclaimed Aaron, trying to fill out all the missing details that Ash was looking for.
"I guess that makes sense. But why did I go here when I was knocked out?", exclaimed Ash, still looking for answers.
"Because I wanted to talk to you, that's why.", exclaimed Aaron. "You see, ever since the incident at the Tree of Beginning a while back, a portion of my trapped soul exited the crystals of the tree and went inside your mind."
"Uh, isn't that an invasion of privacy?", asked Ash, who was worried about what his ancestor would say next.
"Not really. I hadn't appeared to you in three years, it was you that came to me in here. An old tradition of the Aura Guardians was to choose an apprentice through a person's mindscape.", exclaimed Sir Aaron.
"Interesting… but what does this have to do with me?", said Ash, who was still confused about this whole encounter, not having all the answers he felt he needed.
"Well, it seems that the time has come, Ash. You have the power of Aura inside of you, but you don't know how to control it yet.", exclaimed the Aura Guardian as he opened his knapsack and brought out an old, worn-down book.
"Well, how do I control that power?", asked Ash out of curiosity. He was definitely intrigued by this possibility, but he wanted to know what risks he would have to take in order to achieve that power.
"Well, normally it would take years of training to do it, but from what I've seen, you don't have that kind of time. So, I'll have to try something different.", exclaimed Aaron as he opened the book he was holding.
"This book contains all my life's work on Aura and its properties. I believe it's time to pass on my knowledge to somebody else, and it'll have a better chance of working because our Auras are the same,", said the Aura Guardian as he put his hands in front of him and started to concentrate.
"So, what knowledge will you be transferring to me?", asked Ash, while Sir Aaron's hands started to glow azure blue.
"I'll be giving you the mental information on how to use the many aspects Aura, but you will have to learn how to master them yourself. Plus, you'll get some fancy new Aura Guardian clothes.", smirked the Aura Guardian, his whole body now glowing an azure blue color.
"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that Lucario says hi. He was the one that originally recommended you for this.", exclaimed Aaron, leaving a smile on Ash's face. He was glad that Lucario still remembered him, and even mentioned him and his deeds to the legendary Sir Aaron.
Ash moved to respond to his ancestor, but the Aura Guardian cut him off with a wave of his arm. "Just stand still, okay?", he exclaimed as he turned towards Ash and thrust his glowing arms in front of him, which generated a gigantic Aura Sphere that glowed in contrast to the darkness of the room they were in.
As Ash stood in front of Aaron, he watched in awe as the legendary Aura Guardian summoned all of his spirit into this one Aura Sphere, and paused for a moment, its power ready to be unleashed.
"Good luck, Ash. You're going to need it.", exclaimed the Aura Guardian as he threw his arms towards his descendant, releasing the gigantic Aura Sphere onto an unsuspecting Ash.
Ash braced for impact, but he never expected something like this. A blinding azure light washed over Ash's entire body, making him see nothing but bright blue through his eyes.
Ash screamed, as the unrelenting pain was too much to take. The blue light seeped into Ash's body, and filled the boy with the full potential of the power of Aura.
Sir Aaron watched on as his descendant took part in this agonizing process, but he knew Ash would manage to pull through. Lucario told him that the boy had supreme potential, and he was really showing it now while showing extreme determination during this transfer of knowledge.
Ash had to use all of his strength and will to bear through the insurmountable pain, and at the same time he felt himself slipping away, into another place, and another world.
December 7, 2002. Pallet Town. Late Morning.
It took a long while for the Champions to deal with the press and the aftermath of the incident on Shamouti Island, and so it was close to noon once they arrived back at Pallet Town, in front of a huge crowd outside Professor Oak's laboratory.
"Professor Oak! How will you be handling these recent string of events?", asked a reporter, followed by many more. Lance could tell the old Pokemon Expert couldn't handle the assault of the media, and so he ran up to the microphone in front of the Professor.
"Leave him alone! I'll answer your questions from now on. Got it?", exclaimed Lance as Professor Oak staggered off the podium, and followed by the other Champions inside the laboratory, while Steven followed Lance to answer the media's questions.
"Lance! How will you and the other Champions plan on stopping Giovanni! And what will you do to help repair your people?", asked one reporter belonging to the Kanto News Network.
Lance sighed to himself. It always felt like he and the other Champions were being targeted by the press more and more each day, and it was starting to get extremely annoying by this point in time.
"My, my. What exactly happened at Shamouti Island back there?", asked Professor Oak, who was scared about the incident, but intrigued at the same time due to its scientific possibilities.
"Giovanni had purposely targeted the three Legendary Birds, just like that Collector four years ago. But this time, there was no "Chosen One" to save them, along with Lugia as well.", said Cynthia.
We're lucky to have Lugia safe and not captured, and to have Moltres and Zapdos safe as well, but Articuno… Giovanni captured him.", exclaimed Cynthia to the people sitting around her, which included Professor Oak, Delia, and Wallace, who had just woken up.
"If this is like four years ago, then the weather would be affected, right?", asked an intrigued Wallace, who had just joined in the conversation.
"Unfortunately, yes. Due to Articuno's capture, temperatures have begun to rise at an alarming rate, more than in the last five years combined.", exclaimed Professor Oak.
Cynthia nodded grimly, then spoke again. "Delia, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this must be revealed. It's about… Ash."
"I-I'm afraid Giovanni might have planned this from the start, by targeting Ash and his friends. I'm an expert in mythology, and I realized something about the Shamouti Prophecy, that Giovanni chose to exploit.", explained Cynthia, sending shivers down the others' spines.
"Delia, did Ash tell you everything about what happened four years ago on Shamouti Island? Everything?", asked Cynthia. Delia paused for a moment, then began to speak.
"Well, he talked all about how there was this huge adventure, and that he was destined to save the world. He even he said he rode on a Lugia… , but he was only twelve. I didn't believe what he said, because he was probably exaggerating most of the details.", exclaimed Delia.
"I see.", said Cynthia, her head down. "I'm afraid what Ash said was all real. He was the Chosen One, destined to save the world whenever it needed saving.", she exclaimed, causing Delia and the Professor to gasp in shock.
"So… you're saying that everything was real? Everything my son rambled on and on about… was real?", asked Delia, tears in her eyes.
"Yes… and that's exactly why Giovanni wanted to kill him. So the world's "Chosen One" could not stop his plans for world domination.", exclaimed Cynthia grimly.
The others in the room stared at the floor in silence, unable to fully process what the Sinnoh Champion had just revealed to them, until the sounds of footsteps came from upstairs.
A half-dressed Alder came tumbling down the stairs, grabbed a slice of bread, and collapsed onto the couch, feet out onto the couch as well, to the surprise of the others sitting in the laboratory's living room.
"So, what'd I miss?", exclaimed Alder, while laughing to himself as the others stared at his utter lack of presenting himself.
December 7, 2002. Celadon City. Late Morning.
"I said, what is going on here!", shouted Celadon's own Officer Jenny. The gang were absolutely terrified that they had been caught, right when they needed help for Ash at the moment.
Brock, however, was in his usual infatuated state at the moment, and it took all of Misty and Max's will to restrain him from coming up to Jenny.
Jenny then noticed the unconscious boy that these kids were carrying, and immediately had a change of heart. "I don't know who you are, or what your motives are, but I won't let down a person that needs help. Come on, I'll take you to the treatment center.", exclaimed Jenny as she motioned the gang to follow her.
"That was an extremely close call, wasn't it?", asked Iris as the gang followed Officer Jenny along the halls of the Center.
"I don't think we're safe just yet. I bet you that after Ash gets treated for, we'll be treated for a bunch of questioning, which is bad. According to the media, I've been off the grid for five years, and you all are supposed to be dead.", exclaimed Leaf, sending shivers down the rest of the gang's spines.
"If we are questioned, what do we do to keep our identities safe?", asked Zoey out of curiosity, and Leaf turned to face her and spoke.
"Don't worry about that just yet. We have a friend to save now.", said Leaf, as the group continued to follow Officer Jenny, until the policewoman stopped in front of a door, which she then opened.
"Nurse Joy! There's been an emergency!", exclaimed Officer Jenny as she rushed into the hallway, where a Nurse Joy was standing, out of breath, but determined to do her job.
"I've left the Pokemon Treatment wing to my trainees, so I'm fully open here. What's the emergency?", asked Nurse Joy. "And Jenny, I don't care who these people are. I just want to help them out here."
Nurse Joy grabbed a spare gurney and wheeled it over to the others who then put Ash onto it, making sure to keep his sunglasses and hood on his face as Joy wheeled him towards an empty room, while the others and Officer Jenny followed suit.
"Okay. I've run some procedures, and your friend appears to be in a coma. I'm afraid I won't know when, or if, he'll wake up at all.", explained Nurse Joy, sending a grim mood to the rest of the group.
"Thank you so much, Nurse Joy. You did all you could.", exclaimed a disguised Misty, who was on the verge of bursting into tears.
"Okay, now that this is over with, it's time you reveal yourselves! Just who exactly are you all?", asked Officer Jenny suspiciously.
The group stared at each other worriedly. This was the moment that they would be found out, their identities revealed, and the whole media would be on their backs from this moment until the day they died.
Suddenly, Leaf stepped in front of the rest of the group, and held out some sort of badge. "Agent Greene of the G-Men. They're with me. Okay?", exclaimed Leaf, and Officer Jenny was clearly confused.
"The G-Men? This is no time for games, little girl. I have a job to do, and that is figuring out who you all truly are!", shouted Jenny as she started to corner the teens into the back wall.
"Hello, Lance? Yes, it's Leaf. Can you please tell this incompetent officer that I'm the real deal? It seems that she can't see straight.", exclaimed Leaf into her X-Transceiver, and another voice soon came through the speakers of Leaf's device.
"Officer Jenny of Celadon, I assure you that Ms. Greene actually is a G-Men agent, and a good one at that.", came Lance's voice out of Leaf's X-Transceiver, causing Jenny to be filled with fear.
"Y-Yes, sir, Lance! I won't disrespect you or your agents again.", muttered Jenny as she slumped down the hallway, away from Leaf and the others.
Leaf sighed and put her head down. "I hate it when I have to call Lance for help. Can't people just see that I'm a perfectly capable G-Men agent by themselves?", she muttered to herself.
"Leaf, I'm sure you'll be fine. Someday you'll prove to everybody out there that you're just as capable as any other G-Men agent, I just know it.", exclaimed Gary enthusiastically.
Leaf smiled at her old friend, then turned back to Ash's unconscious body. "Thanks, Gary, but there just seems to be too much riding on my shoulders, including Ash's life. I've spent the last five years training so hard that I could command a mission, yet I still can't pull it together.", she mumbled while staring at Ash's body.
"Leaf Greene, get yourself together! I can't just stand here and watch you mope around while somebody else's life is in danger! We have to stand up, as a team, and as friends!", exclaimed Gary, trying to knock some sense into his old friend.
All of a sudden, a blue glow started to surround Ash's unconscious body, becoming a brighter azure blue by the second. The group, including Leaf, turned to look at their old friend, and the blue glow all around him.
"Brock? W-What is that?", whispered Max, who was even more terrified than he was during this entire journey.
The rest of the group stared in awe as the Aura surrounding Ash began to get brighter and brighter, almost blinding to the group, who were covering their eyes from the light.
Then, the blinding light died down, leaving Ash still in the hospital bed, but with a complete wardrobe change. Dawn, Brock, May, and Max all gasped in shock, while the others continued to stand behind the bed, speechless.
Suddenly, Ash's eyes shot open, and he sat up almost immediately, smacking Brock in the head when he tried to sit up.
"Brock? What the… where am I?", exclaimed Ash as he looked around the room. It seemed to be some sort of hospital room, which he was confused about, but he became even more confused once he looked down at his body.
Gone were the jacket and pants he wore in Kalos, and they were replaced with a complete set of Aura Guardian garb, similar to what Riley wore back in Sinnoh, and he still had Sir Aaron's gloves on his hands as well.
Brock watched in awe as his friend looked around the room. His jaw then dropped even further once he saw Ash's eyes, which had changed color from brown to a blazing Aura blue.
Ash then felt his brain stir with activity, and he felt new ideas, new tactics, and things he had never seen or heard of before in real life now inside of him. He had a hunch that those were the ideas of Aura Sir Aaron had gave to him, and if that was true, he would be ever grateful to his ancestor.
"Ash! Thank Arceus you're okay!", yelled Misty as she ran up to him and hugged him for a good minute, then pulled away, tears in her eyes.
"Do you know how dangerous that was back there, Ash Ketchum? You could have died out there if we didn't save you!", exclaimed Misty, while Ash looked on, confused.
"But… I was doing it for you guys… I was trying to save you… ", mumbled Ash, but Misty wouldn't back down.
"But you could have died out there. I-We don't want to lose you. I really don't!", exclaimed Misty as more tears started to fall, while Ash sat there with a blank expression.
Drew, who was watching the scene unfold in front of him, turned to Brock and whispered in his ear. "Is this what you meant earlier? That he's so dense?"
Brock turned to face the Coordinator, and nodded. "Yeah. He can't take a hint, can he?", he exclaimed, and Drew shrugged comically.
"There's only one thing I can tell from here, and it's that Misty is madly in love with him.", whispered Drew, and Brock rolled his eyes.
"Well, if you were there from the beginning, it was obvious from the start.", said Brock, and Drew chuckled to himself.
Meanwhile, Serena stood on the other side of Ash's hospital bed, completely furious, and it took all of Clemont's strength and his Aipom Arm to hold the Pokemon Performer back from absolutely pummeling Misty.
"Misty… thanks… but how exactly did I end up here in the first place?", exclaimed Ash in confusion as to why he was in a hospital room.
"We'll tell you that, once you explain to us how in the world you suddenly changed clothes, Ashy-boy.", smirked Gary, and Ash grinned.
"Wait a minute. So after you got knocked unconscious, you traveled to another dimension, met Sir Aaron, and he sent you back here with knowledge on how to use Aura? That sure is a lot to take in.", exclaimed Brock.
"You're right, but it didn't feel so crazy in the moment… ", mumbled Ash, and Brock laughed and rolled his eyes.
"Ash, seeing as to what you've been through, I bet to you it didn't seem so crazy either.", exclaimed Brock, who was chuckling, along with the all of the others.
"You've got a point there, Brock. Now you all have to spill. How did I get here?", asked Ash, and the others turned to answer.
"Okay, let me try to summarize. So I got knocked out of the Rocket Base due to me losing control of my Aura barrier, and I got rescued and brought to the Pokemon Center's human treatment wing. Is that right?", asked Ash, and the others nodded.
"Oh yeah… about the clothes. Aaron did say I would be getting a wardrobe change once I got back to the real world.", explained Ash while chuckling to himself.
"I think it suits you, Ash. Almost three years in the making.", said Brock, while May, Max, and Ash rolled their eyes.
"Whatever. Wait, what are you all waiting for? Let's get out of here!", exclaimed Ash as he got up from the hospital bed, breaking all of the tubes and wires that were attached to him.
"You know what, I'll just leave a note.", mumbled Leaf as she took out a piece of paper and began to write on it.
Patient is fully recovered and has left the Center. Thank you for your cooperation.
-Agent Greene, Indigo-G-Men.
As the gang began to walk out of the hospital room and back into the halls of the Pokemon Center, Dawn went up to Ash, who looked more different than he had ever been in the last six years.
"Ash… you might want to look at yourself for a moment.", exclaimed Dawn as she brought out a portable mirror she always carried with her, and opened it up in front of Ash, who then looked shocked at his own reflection.
"What happened to my eyes?", asked Ash out loud, extremely confused, and Brock turned to face him.
"What do you think, Ash? They're Aura blue, isn't that right?", exclaimed Brock, and Ash had a sudden realization. Sir Aaron really did make it work. He had the knowledge, the clothes, and the eyes, but all he had to do was to master it all in person.
The gang soon walked out of the Pokemon Center and back onto the city streets, despite having the occasional suspicious looks from others on the sidewalks, but anyone who went up to them was shot down by Leaf.
As Ash and the others were walking through the city streets, Ash decided to try using his Aura for the first real time. As soon as he thought about what to do, he heard some sort of procedure inside of his head, telling him exactly to do.
Ash listened to the information he somehow had in his head, concentrated on the process, and focused on his Aura, and when he looked down he saw that he had successfully made an Aura Sphere in no time. It was at this moment that Ash had another realization, that Aaron actually did it.
The legendary Aura Guardian had actually transferred all he knew and had seen to Ash in order to let him become an Aura Guardian and make use of the dormant power inside of him.
Ash let his instincts take over and closed his eyes, and was shocked on what he saw. He could see everything in the near distance, all outlined with azure blue. Ash swung his head around, and he saw that his friends and his Pokemon had a sharper and brighter blue outline, complete with their own different Auras.
Ash opened his eyes with a start, and ran towards his friends, who were by now near the city borders. "You guys! You have to listen to this!", exclaimed Ash as he stopped where the others were walking.
"Sir Aaron actually did it! It's so much easier to use Aura now, I can hardly believe it!", said Ash enthusiastically, while the others just stared at him.
"Seriously? I won't believe it until I see it.", exclaimed Max, pulling his glasses closer to his eyes, and the others started to watch intensely as well.
In a matter of seconds, with some focus, Ash was able to produce a normal-sized Aura Sphere that made the others look on in awe at the sight.
"All right, I believe you, Ash.", exclaimed Max, who then high-fived his old friend, while the others held similar expressions of awe on their faces, except for Paul, who had walked up to Ash.
"I don't want to spoil the fun, but there are people nearby, and we're reaching the start of Route 8, so you might want to put on some disguise.", muttered Paul as he started to walk away, but Ash stopped him.
"Thanks a lot, Paul. I almost forgot about that.", exclaimed Ash as he looked around his Aura Guardian outfit for anything to put on, until he found that he was wearing a cloak with the hood down, so he took off his hat, put it in his backpack, and put the hood over his face.
"You know, I like it. Suits the whole 'mysterious Aura Guardian' vibe you've got there.", exclaimed Dawn as she and the others began to walk onto the short, but grassy, Route 8 that led from Celadon to Saffron City.
A short while later, Ash and the others were continuing to walk along Route 8 until they saw a group of people in the distance. The group stopped to see what was going on, only to see said people walk closer to them.
"What do you think they're doing?", asked Ritchie, who could only see their silhouettes from afar along with the rest of the group.
"I don't know. We'll just have to wait and see.", exclaimed Gary, reading a Pokeball, and the others soon followed suit, ready to battle if necessary.
As the silhouettes walked closer, the gang could see what they actually looked like, causing Ash, Brock, and especially Misty to gasp in shock.
Standing in front of them were three people who couldn't have been younger than fourteen. One was skinny with blue hair, another was short and with spiky red hair, and the last one was fat and had brown hair. As soon as these people were in sight, they performed a series of what looked like karate poses in front of the group.
"Kail!", shouted the blue-haired boy.
"Kim!", exclaimed the brown-haired boy.
"And Kai!", said the red-haired boy.
The three began to speak all at once. "Beware, for we are the Invincible Pokemon Brothers! Hand over your Pokemon at once!", they exclaimed, finishing off with more karate poses as the group just stared at them weirdly.
"Now, just who do you think you are?", asked Gary. "Don't you have better things to do than to take other people's Pokemon?"
"Yeah, and besides, since Gym Battles have been postponed, there's barely anyone on the routes! You're just wasting your time here.", exclaimed Dawn.
Kail walked up to Dawn smugly, and spoke in her face. "True, but the ones who are on the routes now are always the stronger trainers. So hand over your Pokemon, or else.", hissed Kail, and Dawn looked absolutely terrified at the moment.
"Get away from her!", yelled Paul as he ran up towards Kail, and punched him right in the face. Kail staggered back, clearly hurt, while Paul went back to help Dawn.
"Man, what was that for? What's your problem?", asked Kail, still covering parts of his face, while Paul stood in front of him, fists clenched.
"My problem is that you don't know when to shut up, that's what.", exclaimed Paul, who was grinding his teeth in anger.
Kail went behind his brothers, who then went up closer to the group. Kim and Kai went up close to Brock and Misty, and began to speak.
"You two… you look awfully familiar.", exclaimed Kim, while Kai continued their duologue. "Where have we seen you again?"
"Please, mister, I have no idea what you're talking about. Just leave us on our way and we'll be out of here.", exclaimed Brock, and Misty nodded, just trying to get this conversation over with as fast as possible.
After a minute or so of getting nowhere, Kim and Kai turned their attention to Ash, who still had his hood covering his face at the moment.
"So, who are you? Lost on the way to the Dungeons and Dragonite convention?", asked Kim mockingly, but Ash didn't seem fazed under his hood. "You know, Lavender Town is that way, along with the ghosts.", added Kim.
"You seem like the strongest of the bunch, wouldn't it seem? How about we take your Pokemon first?", asked Kai, but Ash still didn't say a word.
"We'll take that as a yes.", answered Kim and Kai as they got out their Pokeballs. Then, a blue light flared out from underneath Ash's hood, causing Kim and Kai to jump in shock.
"W-What the… what's that?", asked Kail, who was busy standing behind Kim and Kai, who were backing away in fear at the Aura Sphere Ash was building up with his hands.
Ash then silently released the Aura Sphere, which slammed into Kim and Kai, causing an explosion and shock waves that slammed into Kim, knocking the three brothers onto the ground.
"Let's get outta here!", shouted the three brothers as they ran the other way, past the group and towards Celadon City, and the group just began to walk past and continue their way along Route 8.
"Man… that was a close one… ", huffed Ritchie, who was sweating in fear at the time, and the others held similar expressions as well.
"I thought we were done for, for sure.", exclaimed Kenny, who was leaning on a tree to support himself, along with the others.
"Whatever. We should leave before anything else happens.", mumbled Paul as he began to walk in front of the group, and the others reluctantly followed him back onto the route.
The group had been walking for an hour or so down the route, and at that time Ash noticed Misty walking closer to him, but keeping her head down as he walked.
"Misty? What is it?", asked Ash, who had noticed her after a few minutes of her walking alone, and Misty lifted his head at the question.
"I've just been thinking… about those three. I remember them in Viridian, and they even tried to sabotage my Gym exams. I could have taken them on myself, you know.", explained Misty.
Ash nodded. "But… I felt like I needed to do something… to make some use of my Aura… ", he mumbled, only for Misty to shake her head jokingly.
"It's just like you, Ash, always wanting to be the hero… ", she ranted, while smiling at the same time, and Ash rolled his eyes.
"No, it's not! I just do what's right!", exclaimed Ash, only to receive Misty's perplexed stare, and he finally realized what he was saying.
"Okay, okay, maybe I do like being the hero.", mumbled Ash, and Misty sighed in relief before talking again. "Hey, it's extra practice for that whole 'Chosen One' deal, wouldn't you think?", said Misty while laughing.
Ash groaned. "Oh, don't get me started on that. It's like the Legendaries can't do anything by themselves, yet they're supposed to have control over the world. So they end up choosing a kid who is totally unprepared for anything, and expect him to save the world multiple times. Who would like that?", explained Ash.
"Well, those adventures always felt good in the moment, that's for sure.", said Misty, and Ash nodded. "I have to agree with you there, but after a while it sounds like I'm basically Arceus's slave here."
Misty raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? Slave?", she asked, but Ash cut her off before she could say anything else. "You know what, I'll just change the subject. Okay?", asked Ash, and Misty nodded.
"About what happened this morning… why did you save me? I was doing the right thing there… and you would have been okay.", mumbled Ash, until Misty scowled and turned on him.
"Are you serious? Did you seriously expect me to leave you there and not save you? You're my best friend, Ash! I… I… oh whatever… ", exclaimed Misty, finishing out her speech with a whimper.
"Thanks, Misty… I didn't know you cared for me that much… ", mumbled Ash, as his head was down, looking at the ground.
"Thanks, Ash… I would do anything to help you out.", said Misty as she walked away, feeling half happy and half depressed at the same time.
In her thoughts, she wondered to herself. Why couldn't Ash get what she was trying to say? She had been dropping hints like crazy, but the dense boy still kept on going without realizing what he was seeing.
Then again, that was one of the reasons why Misty liked him so much. She just hoped that she could get a lucky break and have Ash finally realize what she was telling him.
Misty sighed and walked towards Brock, who was crossing his arms and had a normal expression on his face.
"Did you do it?", he asked in wonder, as Misty sighed and shook her head. "No luck. Why am I even trying anymore?", she asked.
"You'll get him someday, I know that. I've known for over five years.", explained Brock, and Misty nodded. "I guess you're right, Brock. I just want this to end, though."
Misty, feeling at least content with herself, walked away from Brock, and sighed. She felt like she was battling Ash and that she couldn't keep up with him and his denseness, which would snatch her love away from her.
December 7, 2002. Unknown Location. Morning.
"What do you mean, destroyed?", yelled Giovanni. He had just arrived from the Orange Islands, and had returned his Flygon and was still euphoric about the Legendary he had captured, but this was some bad news.
"Sorry, boss… but that's the report we got.", stuttered Jessie, and James spoke up next. "We don't know if Archer or Domino are alive, because they were stationed there at the base when it happened.", exclaimed James.
"009? She was supposed to stay in Johto, and now two Elites are dead!", yelled Giovanni, while Meowth shuddered in fear before speaking. "Do ya want me to alert Proton to move more south in Kanto?", asked Meowth in fear.
Giovanni nodded before speaking again. "Alas, that is no matter to me anymore, for I have acquired a major tool in our plans.", he exclaimed as he brought out a Dark Ball, which the Trio gasped at.
"This Dark Ball contains Articuno from the Orange Islands. Even hours after its capture, the world's temperature has gone up by a number of degrees, while we drain this Pokemon of its power and use it for our gain!", cackled the Rocket Boss while the Trio walked away and whispered to themselves.
"Orange Islands… no way.", muttered Jessie. "If he managed to get Articuno, and the Chosen One didn't stop him, then it was done on purpose.", muttered James.
"What do ya mean, on purpose?", asked Meowth, and James continued. "Remember the last time we were on the Orange Islands? We helped out the twerp and Lugia?", asked James, while Jessie and Meowth nodded.
"We helped the twerp save the world, he was the Chosen One, and we know that from everything else that he's been in. So let's say you want to take over the world, but the Chosen One is in your way, so you kill him and his friends. Doesn't that sound like a good plan?", exclaimed James, which brought realizatio to Jessie and Meowth's faces.
"So… the boss killed the twerp just to have a shot at world domination? To he honest, that's kind of a low blow.", exclaimed Jessie.
"Sure, we wanted to take da twerp's Pikachu, but we never tried to kill him before.", said Meowth, while Jessie and James nodded in agreement. "I just tink dat dis is going to far for da boss."
"I agree, Meowth. He looks almost insane with that grin of his, but he used to be so cold and calculating. Do you think all that power he could have is going to his head?", asked James.
"I don't know. We'll just have to wait and see before we can come to any conclusions.", exclaimed Jessie.
Giovanni exited the elevator to the base's gigantic basement level and walked towards his personal balcony on the level, looking over the whole room. His personal subject was still in temporary stasis, but that was due to change soon.
"Giovanni, sir! We're all ready for the testing to begin. We'll start on your command.", exclaimed the head scientist, and the Rocket Boss nodded.
"Come out, Articuno!", shouted Giovanni as he released the Titan of Ice, which was under his control thanks to his Dark Ball. He commanded Articuno to fly through the room and into a smaller cylindrical chamber filled with small machines and cameras next to the big one housing the unknown test subject.
The chamber closed around Articuno, and the scientists began to start the testing process. The chief pushed some buttons on his setup, then pulled a huge lever on the side of the wall.
The smaller chamber lit up with light as Articuno's Legendary aura was absorbed into the machines at the top of the chamber. The scientists shielded themselves from the blinding light as the Aura was being transferred to the test subject.
Giovanni cackled as he could see Articuno being drained of its power and said power being given to his test subject, who was beginning to remove itself from its stasis.
The subject now looked stronger, and more powerful in Giovanni's eyes as the testing ended, and once the smoke cleared, Giovanni stood in awe of his subject's awesome power.
Suddenly, the subject began to get out of control, ramming into the walls of the containment chamber and attempting to break out and free itself.
"My Blinding One! What is this?", shouted Giovanni, and the scientists picked up on their boss's cry. "The subject is too powerful for our containment! He needs to be controlled!"
Giovanni grabbed his radio and pushed a button for direct communications. "Proton. I need you to move south. Find anything useful to control the subject.", he muttered into the radio, and only one response came out.
"Yes, lord Giovanni.", exclaimed Proton through the radio, and Giovanni smiled as he put it away. Even though the Rocket Boss had faced countless troubles and setbacks in this plan, he always had a backup plan, a way out, or reinforcements to keep his plans for world domination on track.
"Giovanni, sir! We can hold him for a few days, or a week at most, but by then the subject will have escaped!", shouted the head scientist as Giovanni left the room and entered back into the elevator and went up back to his office on the top floor.
As Giovanni sat back on his desk, he was immediately greeted by his secretary, Matori, who already had a lot of messages for her boss.
"Sir, Petrel insists he needs more reinforcements. After all, he is the only one stationed in Johto at the moment.", explained Matori.
"We shouldn't have that problem, because 009 was supposed to be in Johto! Pesky teenagers and their crave for adventure. Can't they follow instructions once in a while?", shouted Giovanni while Matori continued to read off more messages.
"Proton has received your command and is now heading further south into Kanto in order to find a source of control for the subject.", said Matori.
"Good. Dark Balls won't do a thing to the subject, nor will those special Pokeballs made down south, so tell him to find anything worthwhile and report back to me.", exclaimed Giovanni as he disconnected from his secretary's call.
He smiled to himself. He didn't care about those kids, nor did he worry about the situation at the moment. He had lots of trump cards he hadn't even revealed to the rest of his team, and especially the rest of the world.
December 7, 2002. Kanto Route 8. Afternoon.
The group had been walking on this route for a few hours now, enjoying the sights and the calmness that the route brought them, and not overexerting themselves by a lot.
The only person not in a great mood in the sunny afternoon was Dawn, who was caught in a conflict of emotions in her mind. She couldn't stop thinking about what had happened earlier with those three oddballs, and why Paul had come to her aid.
After walking by herself for a while, Dawn finally mustered up the courage and walked up to Paul, who had his head down and was also walking to himself, away from the others.
"Okay, tough guy, spill it. Why did you want to help me out there? I could have handled it myself, you know.", exclaimed Dawn as Paul noticed her yelling in his face, and turned to face her.
Paul grunted before responding to Dawn's question. "The reasons as to why I do things are on a need-to-know basis. And you don't need to know. Got it?", explained Paul as began to walk further away, but Dawn grabbed him by the shoulder, startling him.
"Just give me a reason as to why! Why would you go all out just to help me out! You barely even know me!", shouted Dawn, but Paul didn't move an inch this time.
"A little impression can go a long way. That's all I'm saying.", explained Paul as he kept on walking, but Dawn continued to talk to him.
"Sorry for the outburst… I just was so confused as to why you would punch somebody in the face… just for me.", mumbled Dawn as she kept her head down.
"I… I just didn't want you to get hurt. That's all.", muttered Paul, and Dawn felt another confusing rush of emotions swirl through her brain at that moment.
"Well, I just wanted to say thanks for what you did there. I really appreciate it.", said Dawn with a smile, and Paul hesitated for a moment before giving a thumbs up towards Dawn then walking off with a slight grin on his face.
Dawn walked back towards the rest of her friends, as she still had a lot of questions about Paul and his personality, but there was one thing she was certain of, and that was that Paul was definitely a complicated guy, but Dawn would be there to figure out his puzzle.
"Man, what was that about? Paul smiling? I can't believe it!", exclaimed Ash in laughter as Dawn continued to tell him about her conversation with the purple-haired trainer.
"I don't know why, but it sure was fun!", said Dawn. The whole group was gathered around a fire, while they were eating dinner and retelling events and memories while sharing them to the others.
Ritchie soon tapped Ash on the shoulder, and the teen went up to talk to his old friend about old memories and new adventures, while Dawn and some of the others continued to talk together.
"Yeah? I don't buy it. The only time I saw Paul was at Snowpoint City, and he was acting like a piece of crap to all of you!", exclaimed Zoey, who was crossing her arms.
"He just has his own way of doing things, that's all. In the end, he got over his hatred for Ash after he lost to him at the Sinnoh League, so that's nice.", said Brock, who was managing the dinner while listening to the conversation.
"Well, that's good to hear. He always seemed like he had some unknown grudge against you three whenever we met in Sinnoh.", said Kenny, and the others nodded.
"I'm sure everything's alright with us and Paul now, and besides, we shouldn't be worrying about the past. We should be focusing on the future!", yelled Ash enthusiastically as he butted into the conversation again.
"Dude! Can you keep it down?", asked Trip, who was in the middle of talking with Iris and Cilan about old stories from Unova.
Dawn honestly didn't know what to think. One minute, Paul's all this independent lone wolf that doesn't bother to change for the better, but then he's this like-able guy that helps you out? This was all to confusing to her, but she promised herself she would break through and get to Paul's nice side.
As Dawn and the others continued to talk about their adventures, Paul sat away from the others, eating his dinner in silence as the stars shone from above, along with reflecting on what had happened earlier.
He didn't even know why he had helped out Dawn. Sure, she was a nice person, but he was supposed to be the lone wolf, the independent guy who doesn't need friends. His brain was in a total split, flipping from one end to another on his reasons and judgement of the situation that happened a few hours ago.
"All right, guys! We got seconds!", shouted Brock, and the rest of the group ran over to get more of their dinner. Paul was the last to react to the news, and so he ended up at the back of the line.
As the others all got their seconds and went back around the fire to eat and enjoy the warmth, Paul looked at the tray, only to see nothing left, so he went back to where he was sitting. He was fine without any food, and besides, he had many nights without food when he was on his own journeys.
"Hey, Paul!", exclaimed Dawn as he walked over to the purple-haired trainer, who looked up at her. "I saw you didn't get any seconds, so I thought I would bring some over.", explained Dawn as she started to put some of her food on Paul's plate.
Paul didn't know what to say. Before the 2002 Sinnoh League, he didn't listen to anyone who tried to help him change, including his brother Reggie, but after his loss to Ash he learned to be more open to others, so he took the extra food without saying a word.
After a few seconds of hesitation, Paul stood up and spoke. "Why? You could have ate all that extra food, so why give some to me?", he asked, but Dawn just smiled.
"Just think of it as repaying the favor. You helped me out, I'll help you out.", exclaimed Dawn as she left and walked back to the campfire. Dawn still didn't know what to expect from Paul, but she knew that it was nice to finally talk to him a lot.
"So, Dawn. What was it this time?", asked Kenny suspiciously as she went back to the benches along the campfire and sat down next to the others.
Dawn raised an eyebrow, then began to speak. "No need to worry! He didn't get any seconds, so I decided to give him some of mine. Besides, it was just repaying the favor for what he did earlier today.", she explained as she began to eat more of her food.
"Hmph. I think he doesn't deserve any of that attention. He's still a jerk.", mumbled Kenny as he walked off and sat down on the ground, pouting.
Dawn stayed silent as her childhood friend walked off and sat on the ground, eating his seconds in silence, until Barry spoke up.
"Dawn, just leave him be. He'll get over it in the morning, no doubt about it.", exclaimed Barry as he began to shovel his food into his mouth at an alarming speed, prompting Ash to do the same and start a competition while the others sweatdropped at the scene.
"Typical Ash, doing anything to win a food-eating contest.", said Misty as she walked over and sat down next to the Pallet Town trainer. "I don't do it all the time! I barely get any competition!", he yelled, still having some food in his mouth.
As Ash and Barry continued to shovel more and more food into their stomachs to see who could come out on top, Misty sighed to herself and looked up into the beautiful night sky.
She barely knew Dawn, only meeting her from the occasional video phone call Ash and Brock had made from Sinnoh, but she had respect for her already. Misty never had the courage to go straight up to Ash and tell him something directly, but Dawn was able to do it almost instantly.
'Maybe', Misty thought to herself, 'it's time to make a change. How about I go straight up to Ash and finally tell him how I feel. I know it'll take time, but I'm sure it'll be worth it in the end.', she finished as she smiled, looked up at the stars, and continued to enjoy the beautiful night she was having with her friends.
Ash, finished off from a close victory against Barry in the food-eating competition, went back to the campfire and sat down next to Misty. He knew there was something different about her than his other female traveling companions, but there was just something he was missing from the equation.
"Hey, Ash." Ash looked up to see Misty facing him, and she put a hand on his shoulder. "Enjoying the night?", she asked as Ash thought to himself for a second.
"Yeah… this is great. We all needed a break from the whole 'Rocket trying to kill us' stuff, don't you think?", exclaimed Ash as he went closer to Misty on the bench.
"Ash! Misty! Who else wants to play Manhunt?", yelled Ritchie from behind a nearby tree, and the two friends got up immediately and joined the others for, finally, a much-needed break from the tension from the past week.
December 7, 2002. Kanto Route 10. Night.
Proton adjusted his newly-made Rainbow Rocket hat as he walked down Route 10 along with his personal team of Rocket Grunts as he stared out onto the rest of the trail.
He had requested reinforcements from Giovanni earlier that day, considering that he was the only Elite in Kanto after the incident at the Celadon Base. However, he was confident that his small team was able to at least make the trek to the next town before reinforcements came in.
He and his team of Grunts continued to walk under the cover of darkness, completely unnoticed by any trainer who was surprisingly out this late and also making the trek down south.
"Proton, sir!", exclaimed one of his Grunts, which made the Rocket Executive turn around to face him. "Yes. What is it?", he asked, in confusion.
"We've received word from the boss that reinforcements will be arriving from Johto at midnight, which will be made up of… uh… Petrel and his entire team.", explained the Grunt, leaving Proton in shock.
Why would the boss send Petrel and his team to him? Last thing he knew, Petrel and Domino were stationed in Johto, with their own team of Grunts, but he guessed that due to the Celadon incident and Domino's supposed death, Giovanni had decided to send Petrel over to Kanto, having no more use to the west.
As Proton and his team kept on walking in the night, the stars shone brighter and brighter on the team of Rocket Grunts, and so they had to hide under some rocks that were located on the bottom of the mountainous terrain on this route.
The small squad of Rockets eventually climbed up a small detour off the main path to a nearby cliff, and decided to enjoy the view of Southern Kanto for a bit before continuing their trek.
Proton stared at the skylines of the southern cities of Kanto with a steeled look on his face. He was meant to serve Giovanni, and following his boss's orders meant that he would go through these cities and scour them for any useful information or ideas.
His eyes soon turned to a small area of lights, capped off by a large tower which stood out from the small buildings around it. Proton was sure that something seemed off about this town than any of the other cities, and maybe that oddness would contain some useful information inside.
Proton went back to his team and gathered them all together. "What is it, Proton? Where are we going?", asked one Grunt, to which the Executive pointed directly south.
"Start preparing for Lavender Town."
That chapter was really a lot to get through, and I'm relieved I finally did it. And for any Contestshipping fans out there, it is coming. I've made sure to put some scenes with May and Drew in later chapters, but this one belongs to the other pairings I've made out in the story. As always, feel free to review, and I'll see you in the next one!