A/N: Hey everyone! Merry/Happy (insert your holiday here)! I hope everyone is enjoying their holidays! I sure am. I got the newest Seether album! Yay! Also, if this chapter seems a little shorter, that's probably because of the fact that I am really busy with Christmas stuff. Yes, I am Christian, and if you don't like it, then get over it. I believe in Jesus, so there.
Anyway, Happy Holidays, and remember to leave your reviews! I'll consider each one as one more of my presents!
Part Eleven – Secrets Told and Plans Discussed
"Tell your friend a lie. If he keeps it secret, then tell him the truth." – Proverb
I had somehow made it up the stairs to my room, and I was glad to be able to flop down onto my bed. I was just about to drift to sleep when…
"Ash, don't you fall asleep yet! You still have to tell us what happened back there!" Misty yelled.
'Cruses, foiled again!' I thought. I forced myself to sit back up. I saw that Raidon was sitting next to me, and Misty and Carol were in the two chairs. Tyler and Brock occupied the floor, and I saw Lucky sticking his head out of my backpack.
"I'm not going to show you yet; this isn't the best place to show you," I said. "It's too public."
"So why did you bring us up here?" Misty asked.
"I wanted to let you meet the newest members of our team," I said, opening my backpack. Making special notice to hide the egg, I pulled out Lucky and the other five Pokeballs that held all of his friends.
"Alright, guys, it's time to meet my friends," I said, tossing the Pokeballs up. They opened, and before us stood the five oddly colored Pokemon. I set Lucky down and made it six.
"Misty, Brock, this is Lucky, Flare, Chill, Fright, Leaf, and Switch," I said, pointing to each respectively. They all looked at Brock and Misty, studying them carefully.
"Guys, this is Brock and Misty," I explained. "They were traveling with me before I met you. They were forced to go home for a little while, but now they're back."
"Hey!" Leaf said. "Nice to meet you."
"What did he say?" Brock asked.
"He said that it is nice to meet you," I translated.
"Oh, well it's nice to meet you, too," Brock said.
"Hey, Ash?"
"Yes, Misty?"
"Could you explain why the Oddish is named Flare, and the Growlithe is named Chill, and the rest of the names?"
"Sure," I said. "I'm not exactly sure why or how, but the color that they are represents their type. Flare is fire, Chill is ice, Fright is ghost, Leaf is grass, and as for Lucky and Switch…"
"Well? What about them?" Misty asked.
"I'm not sure what Lucky is, but I would have to guess that he's dark type. Switch, however, is currently a ground-fighting type," I explained.
"What do you mean by currently?" Brock asked.
"Switch strangely has the ability to change between types, but it happens randomly. She can't control it."
"I really have no idea what triggers it, but every so often, I just switch types. Sometimes, I even become types that I'm not sure even exist," Switch said.
"Please translate," Carol said.
"Sometimes, I wish that I wasn't the only one who can understand Pokemon," I sighed. "She said that she has no idea what causes it, and that sometimes, she becomes types that may not exist."
"That's neat," Misty said, and I nodded.
"So, when are you going to explain to us about what happened?" Brock asked. All of the Pokemon out had a curious expression on their face as if to say, "Wait, what happened?'
"After Grom is released from the ER. I don't want to leave him just yet, and I can't explain this to you here."
"What do we do until then?" Misty asked.
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to be sleeping for quite a while," I said, and before they could ask any more questions, I was out cold.
After I fell into that dreamless sleep, I stayed that way until about five o' clock. I woke up on my own, and I slowly sat up. I noticed that all of my friends had left me to have some time to rest. I silently thanked them for that.
I looked down next to me and saw Raidon and Lucky lying next to me on either side. The rest of the Pokemon were on the floor, either quietly playing or sleeping.
I yawned loudly, getting the attention of all the Pokemon who were awake. I stretched, accidentally waking up Raidon and Lucky. They all gathered around me, curious to know about what I did. I smiled and said, "Sorry guys, but you'll have to wait until we leave, just like the others."
They all moaned, except for Raidon and Lucky, who had their ideas of what happened. Knowing them, they were probably correct.
I woke up the rest of the Pokemon, and they had the same curious look. I told them all what I told the rest, and they all had the same exact reaction. After that, I enjoyed a little playtime with them. We ended up getting into a little tournament between a few of them, and I tried my hand at sparring with them, just for fun.
I ended up beating Kiyoshi, Flare, and Chill. Then I faced off against Leaf and lost. I guess that some of my Pokemon strengths and weaknesses stay with me in my human form.
After a while, I decided that it was time to go see my friends and check up on Grom again. I returned everyone into his or her Pokeball, and put Lucky into my backpack. Then, Raidon jumped up onto my shoulder, and I headed out.
Down in the ER, everyone was sitting there, conversing. I entered, and said, "Hey guys, how's it going?"
"Well, look who finally woke up from the dead to join us!" exclaimed Tyler.
We all laughed at this, including Grom, who previously wasn't able to laugh without being in pain.
"Grom, it's nice to see that you're feeling better," I commented.
"I know, I feel good as new!" he said. "The stitches are already out."
"Oh, I'm sorry that I wasn't here for that," I said.
"No, no, it's fine. You were getting some well deserved rest," he said.
I nodded, and turned to my friends. "So, how exactly is he?" I asked.
"He's doing great, according to Nurse Joy," Carol said.
"Yeah, she said that he is actually ready to be released at any time," Misty finished.
"She's just waiting for your word," added Tyler.
"Well then, what are we waiting for?" I said. "I'm sure that Grom here is more than ready to get back on his feet!"
I looked at Grom as I said this, and he nodded.
"Alright, then. Let's go get Nurse Joy and tell her that I'm ready to let Grom go."
My friends nodded, and we left the room.
Nurse Joy was in the lobby, where she usually is. My friends hung back, sitting at the table and discussing something else. I went up to Nurse Joy, and she said, "Ash, I see that your feeling better."
"Yeah, I just needed some rest," I said. "How's Yasuo?"
"He's doing just fine," she said. "I don't know what you did, but it didn't injure him; it only knocked him out."
"That's great! What's he doing now?"
"Well, we're trying to get him to rest, but he just won't sit still! He keeps attacking the table, shouting at the top of his lungs," explained Nurse Joy.
"Does the table happen to by in any way shiny?" I asked. Nurse Joy looked at me funny, but then nodded.
I laughed briefly, and then told her, "If he's acting like that, then there's nothing to worry about. Yasuo always acts like that; he really likes shiny objects. However, we still can't figure out why."
"In that case, get Tyler over here. If he's acting like you say is 'normal' for him, then I guess that I should return him to Tyler," Nurse Joy said.
I called Tyler over, and he came right away. Nurse Joy was holding the Gligar as best as she could, and when he saw Tyler, he jumped out of her arms and onto Tyler's head. Yasuo looked at me, but not with a look of hatred, but a look of respect.
"I underestimated you. You will be a great adversary," he said, almost calmly. He then took off flying around, like usual.
I didn't exactly know what he meant, but I figured that I would soon.
"So, my friends told me that Grom is ready to go, and that you're waiting for my word," I said, turning back to Nurse Joy, who was trying to recover from trying to hold Yasuo still.
"Oh, yes!" Nurse Joy said. "Since you brought him in, it is up to you to say when to let him go. Are you ready for him to be released?"
"Yeah, I think that he's even more ready to go than I am!" I said, giving a short laugh. Nurse Joy laughed too, and she went back to enter the release time into her computer.
"Ash, I don't know how to thank you for everything that you have done," Grom said.
"Remember what I said to you this morning?" I asked.
"You mean about you just wanting my permission to save my family?"
"Yes, that's all I want," I said.
We had just gotten out of the Pokemon Center, and we were only a few yards away from it. It had been fairly simple, I just had to wait until Nurse Joy had cleared it in the computer, and then I could take Grom out.
"OK, but don't you need some help getting into the Team Rocket base? Surely you'd like to have me there to help," Grom offered.
"No, I can't afford to risk another Pokemon's life in this mission. There's already too much at risk," I said. "And don't call me Shirley," I added, smirking. I remembered that from a movie called Airplane that I saw at a friend's house one night.
"What?"
"It's an inside joke," I said.
"Oh."
"Well, I guess that this is where we part paths," I said.
"Yeah," Grom said. "Oh, I guess that I should tell you where my cave is so that you can take my family back there once you're done."
"OK, Tyler, get out the map," I said.
He did so, and I held it up so that both Grom and I could see it. "It's right there," he said, pointing his claw at a rocky area right outside of Goldenrod.
"Wow, if you live there, then you must have been rampaging for quite a while before we found you!" I exclaimed.
"A couple of hours, you know, the usual," Grom said as if it were nothing.
I was astounded, but I shook it off once I noticed that Grom was leaving.
"Bye, Grom! I'll see you once we save your family!" I yelled.
"What family?" Misty asked.
"I tell you later, but right now, let's find somewhere that I can show you my secret."
They nodded, and we walked until we reached a small clearing that could fit us all as well as all of our Pokemon. It had a pond, which was lucky for Misty, since some of her Pokemon required water.
We let out all of our Pokemon, and I surveyed the huge group. There was Brock's Onix, Geodude, Vulpix, and Zubat. Misty's Goldeen, Psyduck, Staryu, and, of course, her Togepi, who was in her backpack. Most of them were greatly intrigued by Lucky, Chill, and the rest of the oddly colored Pokemon, except for Togepi, who was more interested in clapping and looking at Misty.
"Well, this should probably answer your question, but it will more than likely bring up about a thousand others," I said, getting everyone's attention.
"What does that-" Misty began to ask, but she was cut off as I willed myself to change, and I began glowing.
I finally finished glowing, and I noticed that everything was much larger again, and Brock and Misty were staring at me. I also noticed that Brock's eyes were actually open. It was a miracle!
"So, does that answer your question about how I knocked out Yasuo?" I asked. When all Misty, Brock, and most of the Pokemon did was stare, I decided that I needed to wake them up. I tried to use Screech, but for some reason, I couldn't. So instead, I asked Raidon to shock them, but I made special notice to say lightly.
After everyone recovered from the light shock, I asked my question again.
"Not really…" Misty said.
I sighed. "Well, I believe that it was because Larvitars can use the move thrash, and since I am technically a Larvitar, I can use that move while I am a human, which is exactly what I did," I explained.
"OK, we get that now, but why the heck are you a Larvitar?" Brock asked.
I looked at him, then at Misty, who was now holding Togepi in her arms. Togepi was looking at me strangely, and I heard her ask, "Why is my daddy a Pokemon? I thought that he was a human like mommy."
I smiled at this, and then looked back up at Brock.
"I was afraid that you would ask that," I said before I explained everything to them. I made sure that I left out the golden egg, but everything else I revealed to them.
"OK, Ash, forget about high gear, you've been in overdrive!" Brock exclaimed.
"Seriously, you got three Legendary Birds from some eggs you found, and they gave you some strange powers? Amazing!" Misty exclaimed.
"Yeah, I guess so," I said. "I guess that catching nine new Pokemon, gaining the ability to talk to Pokemon and become one, learning that I am once again the chosen one for something else, and planning to infiltrate a Team Rocket base is a lot to happen in a few days."
"Wait a second, infiltrate a Team Rocket base?" Misty said. "You never said anything about that!"
'Ooh, darn it! Forgot about that!' I thought.
"Oh, I guess I forgot to mention that," I said, rubbing the back of my neck as best as I could while I was a Larvitar.
"Ya think?" Misty said. Isn't she just a joy to be around?
"So why are you planning to infiltrate a Team Rocket base?" Brock asked.
"Well, since Lucky had a nightmare about where he and all of the others were tortured by Team Rocket, Tyler, Carol, and I decided that Team Rocket has gotten away with too much without punishment," I explained.
"What kinds of things have they done that are that bad?" asked Misty.
"Well, first off, while Tyler was challenging the Gyms a few years ago, he was in Goldenrod staying at the Pokemon Center when it was raided by Team Rocket. They stole his other two Pokemon, a Lanturn and an Espeon," I told them. They looked at Tyler who sadly nodded.
"Then," I continued, "there's the fact that when Carol here was eight, a Team Rocket thug killed her parents while they were out helping her catch her first Pokemon."
I looked at Carol to see that she was trying her best to hold her tears back. Mika was doing her best to comfort her, and Kane was lying in her lap.
"You already know how annoying Jessie and James are, and how many times they have screwed up our lives, plus the fact that Mewtwo was created by Team Rocket, and it nearly destroyed me."
Brock and Misty nodded and looked at each other.
"They tortured Lucky, Flare, Chill, Fright, Leaf, and Switch in their base," I said, looking at them. They were all shivering with fear, trying to repress bad memories.
"And finally, they attacked Grom and his family, hurting Grom really badly and taking his mate and son," I finished up.
"Wow, I never knew that they were that bad," Misty said.
"Yeah, neither did I. That's why they need to be stopped, but before we try anything, we need to figure out where they are," I explained.
"Well, first, before we talk about their location, could you please return to being a human?" Brock asked. "Talking to a Pokemon is kind of strange."
"You don't know the half of it," I muttered.
"What?"
"Nothing," I said, returning to human form.
"Thank you, Ash," Brock said. "Now, how are we ever supposed to find them?"
"Well, during Lucky's nightmare, he saw that he was in a large city with a Gym, lots of tall buildings, and a really tall black building with two towers," I explained. "Tyler, Carol, and I looked at all of the cities with Gyms and tall towers."
"We narrowed it down to Celadon, Saffron, Goldenrod, Ecruteak, and Olivine," Tyler picked up.
"And since Goldenrod was closest, we decided to head for there," Carol finished.
"That makes sense, but how are you going to find the building? Team Rocket could be anywhere, and I know that they won't be advertising their location to anyone who passes by!" Misty said.
"Lucky also did see in his nightmare that he was in a warehouse, and that it was underground, so we'll search for all of the underground buildings that we can find," I said.
"Yeah, that might work," Brock said. "The city will surely have a map somewhere, since it's such a big tourist attraction."
"Alright, glad that that is settled, but it's too late for us to be continuing our journey," Tyler said.
"Yeah, it is getting late," I said. "Brock, why don't you go ahead and cook us something for dinner while we get camp set up?"
"Sure thing, Ash!" he said, pulling out his cooking ware. Tyler went over and offered to help, and Brock gladly accepted. Misty and Carol started setting up the tents, while most of the Pokemon went to get firewood. As I was about to go join them, Raidon came up behind me, followed by Geodude and Onix.
"Hey, since you're partially a rock Pokemon now, I figure that we could be kind enough to take you to learn how to perform some of your moves, since you're new to this kind of thing," Onix said.
"I guess so, I mean, why not?" I said. "I could use some training on how to use my moves. They could come in handy during our attack on Team Rocket."
Onix and Geodude nodded, and Geodude said, "Just make sure to bring your backpack and TM's, too. I don't think that Larvitar can naturally learn Dig, and I think that it would be useful."
I nodded, and grabbed my backpack. Then, I hopped on Onix's back, and he took off to a close by, smaller clearing, where I got off and set down my backpack.
"So, do you have the TM for Dig?" Onix asked, and I rummaged around a little until I found it.
"Yeah, here it is," I said, holding it up.
"Alright, put it on the ground, and then transform back into a Larvitar," Onix said. I did as he told me, and then I asked, "What now?"
"Now put your forehead on the center of the TM," Geodude instructed me. "If it works, then you should have Dig learned in a few seconds."
I did just that, and the second my head touched the TM, I felt a strange mix of knowledge and a very large headache. It almost felt as if someone were drilling a hole in my brain, and then flooding it with information. It hurt more than the first time Raidon shocked me.
As soon as it was done, the TM broke, and I fell back. "Holy crap, that hurts!" I yelled, getting a few snickers from Raidon, Onix, and Geodude.
The rest of the night I spent training and learning how to use my moves. I found out that Onix's real name was Daichi, and Geodude's real name was Katashi. I was a natural at using Dig, but that was because the TM taught me instantly how to do it. At the end of the training session, in Larvitar form, I was able to use Bite, Leer, Sandstorm, and Dig easily and Screech and Rock Throw were starting to get easier. In human form, I was able only to use Leer and Sandstorm after concentrating really hard, and I couldn't use Bite at all. The only move that I could do really well was Dig.
By that time, dinner was ready, and we all returned to the campsite. Nothing much happened during dinner, but I did learn that Togepi's real name was Megumi, and that she thought that I was her dad. I also learned that Vulpix's name was Mitsuko, Zubat's name was Shou (SHU), Psyduck's name was Tsubame, Staryu's name was Hoshi, and Goldeen's name was Youko (YŌ-kō).
After dinner, we played with our Pokemon for a while, and I continued to practice my moves in my human form, attracting the attention of my friends. It definitely felt strange performing Pokemon attacks when my best friends were watching everything that I did. I just shrugged it off and told myself that I should get used to it and that there would be many people out there that would have the same reaction.
After a while, it got to be so late that we all said our goodnights and went to sleep. However, no matter what I did, I still had the creepiest feeling that someone was watching me.
General POV:
"Well, this is getting more and more interesting," said the man in the red cloak. He was still in front of the large TV screen, watching every move that Ash made.
"What would you like me to do, my lord?" said that same voice as before.
"Hmm, I do believe that he is going to go and invade the Team Rocket lab in Goldenrod. Maybe we should be there to welcome him," said the cloaked figure.
"Would you like me to get your staff, my lord?"
"Yes, and get my travel orb as well," the strange figure said. "I wish not to walk all the way there."
"As you wish, my lord," said the voice. The man could hear quick footsteps leaving the room.
"Well now, Ash, it is time that you and I met and discussed a few things," said the man before turning away from the screen and following his accomplice out of the room.
End of Part Eleven
So, how was it? Consider it as my holiday gift to all of you faithful readers out there! Make sure that you review, and PM me any of your ideas, and I'll try to use them. I will make sure to give you credit for the idea, of course.
Happy Holidays!
Wingman11, Keeper of Fates, Overlord of Shiny Objects, Master of the Plot Twist