Author's Note: Hmmm...been a little while since I put up a new chapter...well longer than normal I guess. You can give thanks to life for you know making me busy and stuff. Enough small talk time for the show. Here it is the latest installment of When One Ends!!.
Summary: About 5 years have passed since the gang saw Ash, he reappears out of the blue in his hometown of Pallet much to the surprise of everyone. Ash decides it's time for him to settle down and open a gym in Pallet. What new trials and tribulations await our young hero? Rated M for adult situations that will occur later on in the story. AshxMisty,MayxDrew,BrockxSoldat. Takes place after the Sinnoh League
Disclaimer : Pokemon belongs to Nintendo and , I do however claim all OC's created by myself in this story
Please Read and Review, constructive criticism welcomed.
Chapter 11: Phase 1 Underway
"One, Two...One, Two!!" came a shout that pierced through the normally quiet morning in Pallet Town. "Come on! You know your faster than that!...Ha! Ha! That's it! One, Two...One, Two! High! Low! High! High! High! Low! Low! Mid!"
The voice belonged to Pallet Towns' most loved son, who was currently geared out with pads, busily working with his Infernape's close combat abilities. It had been two weeks since Ash returned from Cerulean and in those two weeks Pallet Town was starting to adjust to the surge in activity and liveliness that it experienced on a daily basis. If it wasn't the bustle caused by Ash and Kai training their Pokémon it was Kai or Ash dodging water gun and ice beam attacks from Melanie's Spheal.
"They sure are going at it this morning." commented Daisy as she sat on the porch in the Ketchum's backyard.
"It seems they have been increasing the difficulty as each day passed by." replied Mrs. Ketchum. "Probably trying to get his Pokémon used to their normal training regime."
"Wow, didn't expect that response from you Delia."
"I did raise a Pokémon Master after all Ms. Oak. I think I would pick up a few things along the way." said Mrs. Ketchum with a smirk on her face.
In the distance Kai was sitting next to his Gallade. The pair sat underneath the cool shade of a tree and meditated to train their mind.
"Find your center...breathe...focus...focus...focus...control it...and exhale..." instructed Kai smoothly. Gallade followed his instructions to the tee and repeated the actions that Kai had just performed.
"Talk about different approaches." commented Daisy as she eyed Kai training his Gallade.
"I still don't understand how Ash and Kai can co-exist. They are complete opposites of each other." said Mrs. Ketchum.
"I guess the saying is correct, that opposites attract and all that stuff."
"That normally applies to men and women, I don't think either one of them are into that kind of thing."
"Thank God..." muttered Daisy underneath her breath.
"Melanie, keep still." said Mrs. Ketchum with a slightly stern tone. Mrs. Ketchum was doing her best to continue doing Melanie's hair but the young toddler was resisting at every opportunity she could get. After trying to do something more complicated, Mrs. Ketchum grew tired and simply pulled her hair back so that the lavender locks did not flow in front of the young girl's eyes. "There you go sweetie." said Mrs. Ketchum with sigh.
In an instant Melanie took off in the direction of Ash and Kai. Her companion seeing that she was free from the clutches of Mrs. Ketchum followed behind her faithfully.
"She's becoming a tomboy right in front of my very eyes." commented Mrs. Ketchum.
"Don't worry about it. If she's following after those two it can't be that bad huh?" replied Daisy.
Daisy's remark put a small smile on Mrs. Ketchum's face. "Yeah, it should be alright."
Melanie made her way over to the area Ash and Kai had dubbed "The Arena" and called over her Spheal. Her arrival had caught the attention of Ash and the slight distraction almost caused him to receive a blow to the head.
"Water Gun!" ordered Melanie in a confident tone that surprised Ash.
Melanie pointed to a Spearrow that unfortunately landed on the fence at the time. Spheal puffed his cheeks and then expelled a deluge of water at an alarming pace. The attack connected and sent the startled Spearrow into the air. Thankfully it was a flying Pokémon because as soon as it recovered it flew away to avoid another attack connecting. Spheal on the other hand didn't give up and continued to fire Water Gun attacks rapidly connecting with its target in the sky. Thankfully for the Spearrow its position in the sky caused the blasts to lose most of their sting.
Ash who had just witnessed the incident was quite amazed at the accuracy of Melanie's Spheal. This shock caused a kick to the midsection from his Infernape to send him skidding towards the gate. Ash got up wincing and rubbing his midsection slightly. Infernape who was worried at first, broke out into laughter as it realized that its master was fine.
"Ha...ha...ha...laugh it up Infernape." said Ash. Moving his attention from his fire Pokémon to that of Melanie and her Spheal. He began to take off the pads attached to his hands and made his way to the trunk where he kept his training equipment. He walked over to the fence and then began positioning a few plastic targets on top of the posts.
"Melanie come over here for a sec will ya!" shouted Ash to his next-door neighbor and her Pokémon. In a flash Melanie was in front of him. "Order Spheal to hit those targets as fast as he can. I just want to time and see something."
Melanie nodded and simply looked at her Spheal who in return clapped and barked in acknowledgement as if it understood what she wanted him to do by her eyes alone. Ash with his timer in hand motioned for Melanie to get into position.
"Alright ready....Go!" said Ash as he pressed the timer. Ash's eyes almost bulged when he saw the time that the pair took to dispatch fifteen targets. Spheal clapped and applauded its performance even as Melanie scooped him up and hugged him.
"Did I do good Ash?" asked Melanie softly.
"I don't think good is the right word to use..." Melanie's eyes began to sadden slightly. " ...that was AMAZING!! Melanie that was completely AMAZING. Your Spheal beat my Lapras' best time by a half second."
Melanie's eyes began to beam brightly and a small smile came onto her face as she heard Ash rain compliments on her.
"And look at this! All of the targets were hit in the center, well almost all but that can be worked on. "
"Why all the commotion?" asked Kai.
"Sorry for disturbing your meditation but look at this." Ash began to show Kai the targets that Spheal hit and then showed him the time in which it did it. Kai looked at Ash as if to ask him if it was real and when Ash nodded he whistled. Kai walked over to Melanie and used his hand to ruffle the young girl's hair.
"Good Job Mel. You too fur ball." said Kai.
"I wouldn't call it fur...ball" said Ash who was attempting to warn Kai but it was too late. Kai had already received a miniature blizzard to his face.
The afternoon sun was now beginning to rise to its peak and the group decided it was time to call it day. As they made their way towards the porch where Mrs. Ketchum had cold lemonade prepared Ash and Kai both began to hear a faint mechanical sound coming their way.
"You hear that Ash?" asked Kai.
"Yeah, sounds like helicopters...more than one at that."
"You don't find that strange?"
"Not at all, I think I know who it is." said Ash in response. 'At least I hope it's who I think it is'.
Ash walked towards the patio and by this time the sounds of the choppers were getting louder. "Hey Mom we're going to head off towards the gym site all right?" he shouted to his Mother who was inside the kitchen. Ash motioned towards Kai and began to run through his house and out through the front door. Out of the corner of his eye he could see two figures trying to keep up with him and Kai. "Not this time Melanie. Stay with Mom alright?"
Melanie froze in her tracks and simply nodded, turning around and bolting towards Mrs. Ketchum in the kitchen.
In a few minutes Ash and Kai stood near the docks staring into horizon. As the noise grew louder and louder a few black specks dotted the afternoon sky and as the minutes passed the helicopters came more into view. Ash felt a wave of relief as he noticed the Devon Corp logo emblazoned on the sides of the flying machines. Ash looked in awe as the helicopters flew overhead. All except for the lead helicopter seemed to be carrying cargo of some sort, as they flew over the enclosed property that belonged to Ash they began to drop their cargo one by one. The resounding thud surely echoed throughout Pallet Town and probably into the nearby town, maybe even in Cinnabar Island. Ash noticed that the lead helicopter had turned around and was hovering above them. It then began to descend causing Ash and Kai to shield their eyes. A figure emerged at the door and jumped from the helicopter landing in front of them. Kai who was startled backed off immediately and went into a defensive stance. As the helicopter rose and the dust began to settle Ash assured Kai that everything was fine.
"Its good to see you again Ash." said the figure as it stood up from its crouched position.
"The pleasure is all mine Mr. Stone...I mean Daisuke."
"Well if you haven't guessed by now. It's time that we start working on your gym and if you are the slow type well that's your problem. The boat with the workers should arrive in the next hour or two but that shouldn't stop us from getting some work done in the mean time." said Daisuke as he looked away from Ash and surveyed the property. He turned his head and saw Kai out of the corner of his eye. "Who's this?" said Daisuke gruffly.
"Oh, this is Kai. He's going to be the assistant gym leader." said Ash as he introduced Kai to Daisuke.
"Pleasure to meet you" said Daisuke as he extended his hand. Kai returned the favor and shook Daisuke's hand with a firm grip. Daisuke being himself, tightened his grip to see if Kai would wince at all but there was no change on his face. "Well it seems you chose correctly Ash. A vice like grip this one has. "
Ash just looked at Kai who shrugged his shoulders in innocence.
"Back to the main event. I'm going to need any Pokémon of yours that can alter terrain as well as any that can deal with heavy lifting."
"Well I can use Tyranitar and Salamence for heavy lifting."
"My Snorlax should be of assistance as well." added Kai
"They should do fine, but my Rhyperior is going to need some help leveling this place."
"Well I do have a Torterra I could use..."
"Why didn't you say that before, get the lead out and lets get to work. I intend on keeping my spring deadline!" shouted Daisuke as he clapped Ash strongly on his shoulder.
After a few minutes Ash finally returned from the lab...
"Ok I got Torterra now what?"
"Well we need to move all those supplies to the far east of the compound. Now let's get moving."
As the trio entered the compound Daisuke threw a hard hat at each of them. "Just in case."
After a few more moments of walking the trio now stood in front of a towering stack of steel and other building materials that dwarfed the three above average height gentleman.
"Time to get to work...Rhyperior lets get to it!"
"Tyranitar! "
"Snorlax help out where you can!"
As the light died the three huge Pokémon stood next to each other. Rhyperior and Tyranitar looked at each other and it seemed as if an eternity passed as the two tensely stared at each other. After a few moments the two clashed fists and roared in unison. Ash found himself letting out a sigh of relief.
"Enough of the formalities ladies, let's get these out of the way."
In a matter of moments the building supplies were moved over to the left wing of the property, mostly thanks to the competition between Tyranitar and Rhyperior as to who could carry the most.
"That went a lot better than expected." said Ash as he threw his final load to the ground.
"The power of competition blazes a fire that nothing else can match. Springing from it the succulent fruit of labour." stated Kai.
Daisuke just eyed Kai strangely. "Interesting friend you have there Ash." Ash just grinned sheepishly in response. "Now!" shouted Daisuke startling Ash. "Time to get to the main event. Ash your Tyranitar knows dig right?"
"Yeah, but I haven't used that in a while."
"Well it's not something complicated. Those two giants over there are going to simply dig up this ground that's all. You said you brought your Torterra right?"
"Yeah I picked him up from the lab."
"Knows earthquake?"
"Yeah he does. Why?"
"You'll see." said Daisuke with a smile.
Daisuke walked up towards the combination of Rhyperior and Tyranitar. "You two, it's time for a new competition." The two turned their attention towards Daisuke and listened intently while glaring at each other. "I need this ground torn up, but I also need the ground below it as well. About 10 feet underneath it as well can you two do that?" The two roared a response that Daisuke could only assume that meant yes. "All right let's get started on the opposite wing shall we." said Daisuke and after that the pair bolted off as ordered. Daisuke walked over towards Ash and Kai.
"I think we should stay on the outside of the fence for this one." As soon as they were outside the perimeter Daisuke bellowed. "GO!!"
As soon as they heard the order the two began their descent into the ground below, with Tyranitar using a controlled hyper beam to get a jump-start on Rhyperior. The two dug deep into the ground and the proceeded to tear up the ground in their respective halves. As the two began digging through the hardened gravel below, the ground above was becoming displaced. It looked as if two giant gophers were tunneling below by the looks of the large lumps that appeared on the surface.
"So what do you need my Torterra for?" asked Ash as he watched the unique way that Dig was being utilized.
"You'll see." was Daisuke's only reply as he observed the work of the Pokémon pair.
It took them about a half hour but the pair got the job done. As they emerged from the ground below the two seemed to be completely exhausted, both not even caring who was the victor at least not for the moment. Their respective trainers made their way over and returned them to their pokeball habitat.
"Good job Tyranitar."
"Decent days work, rest up for tomorrow." said Daisuke. "Now Ash, bring out your Torterra."
"Ok." Ash then threw the pokeball into the air. "I choose you! Torterra!". As the light died down the final evolutionary form of Turtwig emerged and immediately rushed towards Ash nudging Ash with its head. Ash was a bit relieved that Torterra did not glomp onto him as Turtwig would have done. He rubbed Torterra's head "It's nice to see you again too buddy. Ready to help out." Torterra nodded its head vigorously in response.
Ash then turned to Daisuke. "What is it that you want me to do exactly?"
"Simple, let your Torterra send out a tremor to level the ground again."
"Ok." Ash turned to Torterra. "You can do that buddy?" and once again Torterra nodded. Ash then turned his attention back towards Daisuke. "If you wanted the ground to be leveled why didn't you leave it as it was?"
"That's because it would be impossible to lay the foundation properly if the terrain below it was still solid as a rock."
"Oh." was all Ash could say as he was informed.
"Well let's get to work."
"Ok. Torterra! Earthquake!" Torterra let out a shout and lifted off its front legs and the came crashing to the ground. As soon as the front legs came in contact with the ground a tremor was felt.
"A little harder this time." shouted Daisuke. Torterra went onto its hind legs once again and then came down with more force. The intensity of the tremor had definitely increased as Ash and Kai used the fence to brace themselves. Daisuke on the other hand stood still and a smile was seen on his face as he watched the loose earth begin to shift itself into place. "Again!" Once again Torterra sent a tremor in the ground causing the earth to move and eventually fall into place. Ash was amazed at what he saw and Kai even let out a whistle. The loose earth had not just simply leveled it seems it also dropped down a few feet into the surrounding earth.
"The tunnels that those two dug underneath the ground, those were collapsed by the Earthquake that your Torterra just used and the dirt simply fell into that space creating this nice base for a foundation that you see right now."
"I see..."
That is when the group turned their gaze suddenly to the port as they heard the blaring of a ship's horn.
"It seems that the rest of the team has arrived." said Daisuke as he saw the figure of the boat on the horizon.
"Umm I have one question Daisuke. Where is a boat load of people going to stay in Pallet Town?"
"On the ship of course. The ship basically carries a small amount of supplies but its main purpose is housing quarters. If we need more equipment for a phase, I simply call in the copters. "
The group waited on the docks as the Devon Corporation ship made its way into the port. As soon as docking was complete, the crew began to disembark and made their way over to the site . As the ground workers made their way a very attractive young woman dressed in business attire made her way towards Daisuke.
"Mr. Stone. Your brother insists you finish doing these reports."
"For the last time Ms. Burke, I will do those when I do them. When since do I need a document to say that I'm working on a project."
"Company protocol sir."
"I made the company and I don't remember ever putting that protocol into place. Now if you excuse me I have to talk with my team."
Ash and Kai just watched as Daisuke walked away leaving them alone with the obviously angered Ms. Burke.
"I guess we should be going..." said Ash trying to make a quick escape.
"Of all the people why do I have to be assigned to Mr. Stone." she said. "You there who are you? This is private property."
"Well I'm Ash Ketchum...I think I own this property" said Ash softly who hated to admit that he was a little intimidated.
"So your the reason for this personal escapade of his. Right when we were finally able to keep Mr. Stone in office for a few months you come around and rekindle that flame in him again."
"The flame burns in us all and for it to be extinguished means that we are dead."
"You are?"
"Kai Nirvana."
"Uh-huh, well listen here you monk or prophet or whatever. Mr. Stone is an elderly man who is in an executive position for one of the world's largest corporations. He needs to be resting and enjoying the fruits that he has worked so hard for."
Ash chose this time to interject. "Well if you look at him, it seems he's enjoying himself right now doesn't it." Ash motioned Ms. Burke to look at Daisuke as he was explaining his plans to his assistants. The laughter and focus on his face made him seem as if years were being stripped away from him. "Ms. Burke, there are some people in this world who are never happy unless they are doing the thing they love. The day that they can't participate anymore, they die. If I was the reason that Mr. Stone is enjoying his life once again. I would gladly do it over again."
"You two slackers over there! This is your gym we are building! Get your butts over here and help out!"
"It seems we have somewhere we need to be. Good day Ms. Burke." said Ash as he walked off.
Kai bowed before her before taking his leave and following Ash. Ms. Burke just stood there by the dock; she crossed her arms and huffed but as she observed the expressions on Daisuke's face a small smile came across her face.
"Maybe Mr. Ketchum is right..."
Author's Note: Yep there you have it the latest installment of When One Ends. I know it might not be action packed or anything but it is necessary. The story will kick up again shortly =)