Hey guys! Here's the next chapter ^^
For now I'm going to say that each chapter will be up every week, roughly. I will inform you whenever I get any buffer chapters and can update faster or if something comes up to alter this schedule.
Thanks for your patience! Enjoy! :D
Ages:
Ash: 19
Misty: 19
Brock: 23
Gary: 18
May: 18
Max: 13
Drew: 18
Dawn: 18
Paul: 19
Cilan: 22
Cress: 22
Chili: 22
Iris: 20
Ritchie: 18
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Clemont: 18
Serena: 18
Harley: 24
Solidad: 25
Zoey: 19
Barry: 19
Kenny: 19
Nando: 25
Stephan: 19
Bianca: 20
Cameron: 18
Trip: 19
Georgia: 19
Burgundy: 19
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Various others:
Delia: 37 (based off her age of the novelization according to bulbapedia [29] + 8 years from the start of Ash's journey.)
Giovanni: (Unknown) but in this story: 58
Prof. Oak: 64
Redrick(Red Ketchum): 38
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Normal Talk
Thoughts
Lucario talking unless stated otherwise
Zoroark talking unless stated otherwise
Mienshao talking unless stated otherwise
Let the journey continue...
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
The sun rose about thirty minutes after everyone had finally gone to sleep. Reggie had pretty much stayed awake and walked out to go check on the pokemon in the daycare. The front door shutting, woke Pikachu from what little sleep he could get. The rodent's eyes opened into slits and a sigh escaped from his mouth.
ZZZ-pokemon translator, activate-ZZZ
"You okay?"
Pikachu tilted his ear towards Ellie who was laying beside and slightly behind him, "Yeah… I guess."
"We got Ash back, so why are you so depressed still?" Ellie asked in a compassionate way.
Pikachu sighed again, "You didn't see what I saw…"
Ellie's ears drooped, "That bad?"
"It was some kind of machine. Ash couldn't even start to fight through the pain… He just started screaming like he was dying," Pikachu muttered and tried to bury his face deeper into the covers. He glanced over at Ash's face. At least he seemed peaceful for now. Pikachu could remember the few times Team Rocket had actually harmed him by messing with his electricity and for the first time he understood a kind of anger that Ash might have felt towards them for hurting his friend.
"…I'm sorry."
Pikachu turned in surprise to Ellie, "Huh? Why?"
"I'm sorry that your hurting and that I wasn't strong enough to help you, Lucario, and Ash more."
Pikachu smiled slightly, "No… you did great Ellie." Pikachu stuttered as a blush flashed across his face, "You know, for a newbie." He gave her a sneaky grin.
She laughed softly as a pink blush made her cheeks glow even rosier, "Thanks. I'm sure things will be okay, Pikachu."
Pikachu smiled and nodded, "Yeah… Ash is strong. He may be a bit off afterwards, but he'll always be Ash and I'll-We'll all be there to help him through anything."
Ellie nodded back, "Get some sleep. Dawn's here and we need rest after how far we ran."
Pikachu huffed, "Don't know if I can. My heart's still pounding."
Ellie crawled up closer and matched her pink cheek to his red one, "Don't know until you try." She gave a sweet smile before she closed her eyes. Pikachu sighed somewhat happily and curled his tail around her body since she had done the same to him. Pikachu glanced once more at Ash's face. Misty's head was on the bed next to his. Pikachu let out a soft breath and his eyes never left Ash's face as he slipped into sleep.
ZZZ-pokemon translator, deactivate-ZZZ
zzz-Reggie-zzz
Reggie was frowning this morning. Most often he was always smiling when he took care of all the pokemon under his care. He was preoccupied though this time. Everything he had been told was a bit much. He had known Paul was doing some traveling and trying to get into a kind of tournament, but that had been all he had been aware of. Learning that in fact Paul had been traveling with other people, much less Ash and his friends, was shocking. Silver popping up in their home, a prophecy that included his brother to be fulfilled, Ash turning up with such injuries, and even Paul being in a relationship… with someone as bubbly as Dawn.
A Shinx nudged his arm when he accidentally ended up spacing out again. He flinched and then smiled sheepishly at the various pokemon around him.
"Sorry guys, a lot's happened recently. Paul is visiting and he seems to have changed some," Reggie smiled, "I think for the better, but they all seem to be in trouble. I guess I'm just thinking about all of it and got distracted."
The pokemon chirped and cried out in understanding. Reggie looked over everyone and seemed confused, "Where's the other two thirds of the group?"
The pokemon all frowned and a Manchop grabbed Reggie's apron as they lead him around to the window of the guest room. There Reggie saw the other pokemon sitting under the window, trying to see in and looking worriedly at… Ash.
"Huh? Why are all of you…" Reggie mumbled.
The pokemon are aware that their Guardian has been harmed. They are worried for his well-being.
Reggie yelped and turned around to see Ash's Lucario, "Oh… You're Ash's Lucario, right?
Yes I am the student of Ashton Satoshi Ketchum de Rota. By reading your aura you are similar to both the red haired man that left and Paul, my Master's friend. You must be a family member… brother perhaps?
"That's right," Reggie nodded. He glanced back at the pokemon, "So… they know innately that he's an Aura Guardian? and they're worried about him."
All pokemon can recognize an Aura Guardian… but only a few groups will actually bother to honor them or worry… That is until a Guardian is knighted by Arceus himself. All pokemon will then show him at least some sort of honor as they do the legends. It all just depends how trusting they are willing to be. Those that are more intelligent or more used to good humans tend to show more respect.
"Wow, so they're all kinda sitting vigil to watch Ash?" Reggie asked.
That is correct, some might even be willing to protect him should those villains attempt to come here. These pokemon recognize his importance regarding the fate of the world.
Reggie nodded and started to comb his fingers through the fur of a Sentret that was nearby. He smiled, "Paul really has changed… huh."
Lucario nodded, I have noted the slow change in his aura. An aura that was once dim has grown brighter with every step he has taken.
Reggie smiled bigger, "I guess now then I only have to hope they all stay safe… I've always wanted the best for Paul. I mean that's what older brothers are supposed to want, you know?"
Of course.
"And he even has a girlfriend now. How wonderful," Reggie sighed and released the fur from his fingers.
I can sense your aura is more at ease now. Your brother's happiness means a lot to you.
"Yep, I'm very happy for him. I will help them all as much as possible while they're here," Reggie stood up from kneeling on the ground, "I guess I need to get the pokemons' food ready. Think I should give them their food here?"
They will most likely remain here so that would be best. I will leave you to your duties, Sir Reginald. Lucario turned and walked off into the forest surrounding the daycare.
Reggie sweatdropped, "It's Reggie… Nevermind."
zz
In the late afternoon, everyone began to slowly awaken. Most of them lazed around within the house while Cilan, Cress, and Chili prepared a small meal once more. Brock helped Misty watch Ash after she had also woken up and Gary had also walked in to wait in the guest room with them. Everyone was pretty relaxed until they heard a knock at the door.
Paul glanced over at Drew and Drew nodded. Thy both waved at the others to shut the doors and quietly hide. Drew offered to open the door while Paul waited on the other side of the door. Drew slowly opened the door.
"Hiya! What are you doing in Reggie's house?"
Paul flipped around the door and grabbed the person's wrist only to realize who it was.
"Whoa! Paul, what the?"
"Hush."
Drew and Paul yanked Maylene inside, "Yikes!" and shut the door.
She blinked when she saw all the people peering from behind doors and such.
"What is going on, here…" Maylene trailed off when she looked and could see into the guest room. She saw Ash lying in the bed, "What on earth happened to Ash?"
"Maylene!"
She turned and saw Reggie closing the door behind him, "I'm so sorry I guess I should've called you. I forgot you were visiting today. There's a lot to explain."
"You can't tell her. She's a blabber mouth. These are important secrets, Reggie," Paul grumbled.
"Paul, she's my girlfriend. I can't hide these kind of things from her," Reggie sighed and placed his hands on his hips.
"Oh wow, really!?" Dawn squealed.
Maylene chuckled and rubbed the back of her head, "It' great to see you again, Dawn."
"Then I guess we should start with introductions. You know Ash, Dawn, Brock, and Paul, my name's Drew Hayden, and this is-"
The group then started to introduce themselves and then went through the task of explaining everything to her.
zz
"Whoa, that's nuts," Maylene spoke from the couch beside Reggie. She glanced over at Ash and Misty, who was still sitting next to the bed. "How long has he been like that?"
"About seven hours. We aren't sure what kind of sedative they used on him, so… he could still be out for a while," Brock murmured.
Everyone turned to look however when Misty yelped. A thin aura of blue was around Ash.
"Rah-u," Maylene's Lucario stated in awe.
"Ash… you there?" Misty whispered. A tendril of blue floated from his form followed by several more. They slowly started to wrapped around Pikachu, Ellie, and Misty, who were closest. The tendrils glowed a brighter blue briefly before retreating quickly and the aura disappeared.
"Hey Lucario, do you know why Ash's aura did that?" Chili asked as Ash's Lucario entered the room.
"Whoa, Ash has Lucario?" Maylene spoke out as the blue and black pokemon strode past.
Indeed he does… Lucario replied as he stopped in front of the door to Ash's temporarily room.
"Did… did that pokemon just talk?" Maylene stuttered.
Always about the talking… Yes Ashton's strong aura gave me the ability to talk. He has gifted me with many things. As for Ash's Aura… I think perhaps whatever machine those evil people used on him might have attacked his energies directly. One's aura is one's spiritual barrier against bad things. It is most likely searching for any nearby evil auras or unfamiliar ones.
"Does that mean Ash is waking up?" Misty asked hopefully.
Not necessarily, but… I can sense that his consciousness is trying to come back. It shouldn't be much time from now.
Misty nodded and stroked Ash's bangs out of his face again. She flinched when she saw his hand twitch, "You're trying hard aren't you, Ash?" she spoke with a smile.
Everyone rested around the house a couple hours and did various things trying to pass time. Misty and Gary were in the guest room. Misty was sitting in the chair next to his bed still and Gary was eyeing Ash, while he leaned against the wall. The researcher watched Ash's slow breathing closely. He then felt a rush of guilt again and turned to look out the window. The sight of the trees and the sky suddenly reminded Gary of a memory…
zz-Gary's Memory/seen only by reader and Gary-zz
"So is the professor going to give you all of your dad's pokemon, Oak?"
"That's no fair! His pokemon were really strong!"
"Everything handed to you on a silver platter, huh?"
"Oh leave him be!"
"Hey, wait! Oak, where you running off to!?"
"Gary!"
zz
He kept running until he slipped into the forest. Why? Why did they have to taunt him so? Just because he was part of a somewhat famous family… Just because his parents had died… He wondered how Ash was dealing with it… His father had left a couple years ago and after a while he had seemed to except it. Didn't the kids mess with him? Ash and… Leaf… They were the only two that didn't tease him. He kept walking and staring at the ground until he noticed a presence in front of him. A large shadow was over him; Gary glanced up in fear into the eyes of a very mad Nidoking.
"NIDOOOOOO!" Nidoking roared viciously into Gary's face. He rose his clawed arm to strike.
"Wait!"
Gary's eyes widened at the sight of Ash standing in front of him and before the Nidoking, "Nidoking, he's good! He's a friend!"
To Gary's amazment, the large pokemon froze and grumbled something to Ash.
"Yeah! I bet he'd love to play," Ash smiled brightly and turned to Gary, "Hey Gary you wanna-Oof!"
Ash was tackled by five small purple and blue pokemon. Three Nidoran males and two Nidoran females licked and chirped at him.
"Cut it out guys! Ha ha, that tickles!" Ash laughed a loud and once he settled some, he turned back to Gary, "You wanna play hide and seek!? It's their favorite."
Gary stared at Ash in shock, "They're your… friends?"
Ash's face fell slightly, "Yeah I guess… I mean you and Leaf are nice enough, but the others tease me a lot when we play games. You know how clumsy I can be." His face then brightened, "But these guys don't care and will laugh with me and not at me."
Gary nodded and smiled, "Ok."
The two boys and five young pokemon played several rounds of hide and seek throughout the day, with a watchful Nidoqueen and Nidoking watching after them. As the sun started to go down, Ash and Gary said goodbye to the pokemon and walked home. As they walked into Pallet, Leaf spotted them.
"Ash, Gary!" She ran to them and started walking beside them, "I was worried when you ran off like you did, Gary."
"I'm fine, geez Leaf," Gary grumbled as a faint blush came to his cheeks.
"Were the other kids messing with you?" Ash asked Gary curiously as a frown came to his face.
"They weren't being nice to him," Leaf replied.
The three young friends walked home, talking and laughing until they split up to go home.
zzz
"Come on Ketchum! Kick it here!"
Ash focused hard and went to kick the ball towards Zach with all his might, but Daniel ramed into his shoulder at the last moment, causing the ball to curve and land right in the river nearby. Ash fell on his butt from the shove soon after.
"Aww man…"
"Ruined it again, Ketchum."
"You're so clumsy."
"How could you possibly be Redrick's kid?"
"Maybe… that's why he left you."
Leaf gasped and Gary stared hard at Zach. The kid was smirking ever so slightly. Ash went rigid.
"Zach! How could you say something like that!?" Leaf yelled angrily.
"What? It's the truth."
"You don't know that," Ash murmured, "No one knows why."
Zach turned towards Ash, "I'd think it's pretty obvious why."
-Pop!-
"Ouch!" Zach yelped and hit the ground. He looked up at Gary who was towering over him. His fist was still clenched.
"Shut-up!" Gary growled. Zach huffed and pulled himself off the ground. His hand went to his cheek.
"Whatever, I'm out. Don't wanna hang around the rich kid and the loser," Zach mumbled. He turned to Leaf once the other kids had followed after him, "Come on Leaf, let's go."
Leaf shook her head, "You were being mean, Zach."
Zach growled and then turned before walking away, "Have fun with the weirdos."
Leaf huffed and turned to look at Ash who was still sitting on the ground quietly, "Ash, you don't listen to those dummies! They're just jealous."
Ash, to both Gary and Leaf's surprise, turned and smiled sadly at them, "Yeah… but they're probably right… I… I won't be any good at battling. I forget all the facts from the lessons Professor Oak teaches us, I fumble over my commands to the pokemon the professor lets us use… Dad… he was a Master… maybe he was… disappointed."
Ash yelped when he suddenly found his shirt in Gary's hands. His friend had grabbed his shirt collar, "Snap out of it! You're supposed to wanna battle! You and me were gonna be the best, remember!?"
Leaf watched Gary in awe.
"Gary…" Ash glanced away, "but-"
"No buts!" Gary replied and then let go of Ash, who fell back onto his butt again.
Ash stared at him and then smiled, "Thanks Gary."
"I can't have a loser as a rival! But most importantly I can't have a quitter as one," Gary smirked.
Ash huffed, "I'm neither of those."
"Prove it!" Gary sneered.
Ash's face became set into one filled with determination, "You better believe it!"
Leaf smiled at the both of them as a blush flushed her cheeks, "That's the spirit! Both of you are great!"
Ash and Gary smiled at her.
As the three walked home Leaf smiled at Gary, "That was really nice of you."
"Well I made a promise to beat Ash and he wanted to beat me at battles when we became trainers," Gary nodded.
"Gah such a competitive stubborn fellow," Leaf teased.
"Pffft!" Gary chuckled and blew a raspberry at her. He was stunned into a frozen state when suddenly she kissed his nose quickly and ran off to her house. Ash turned to look back at Gary when she ran past him.
"What was that about?" Ash smiled and looked at Gary then with confusion, "Gary?"
Gary's face was red as a beet.
"Your face looks funny," Ash murmured.
Gary's blush vanished and he turned sharply to start marching past Ash, "Well yours looks dumb!"
"Does not! Yours looks like one of mom's yucky red vegetables!"
"Ha! You wish your face looked like mine, Ashy-Boy!"
"No way!"
"Yes way!"
zz-End memory-zz
Tying with you is just as bad as losing… Gary murmured to inwardly. I just knew that… I had to win because… he was the Master's kid. It was just the way it was and I couldn't settle for second place. I had so much to prove and so did he. Both of us wanted so badly to prove to the other that we were strong enough to keep our promise. Gary clenched his fist as he finally made himself look back at Ash. He would do better to have his pal's back, just like Ash had done for him. That was the unspoken agreement, rivalry or not… They would always have each other's back. Gary flinched, Pikachu and Ellie's ears twitched and Misty took in a breath of air when a soft groan came from Ash's mouth.
Ash's eyes slowly started to open. He clenched his teeth and furrowed his brow in some discomfort before he relaxed again and his eyes worked to open more. Quite suddenly Ash gasped loudly and shot straight up in his bed.
"Ash!"
"PikaPi!"
Misty grabbed him quickly before he could struggle and fall off the bed. He seemed to be quite disoriented and even Pikachu's cries weren't snapping him out of his panicked state. Gary started moving forward when he saw Ash draw back as if to punch Misty. Gary got in front of her quick enough but as he went to try and grab Ash's fist, it slipped past his hand and found a place under his eye and on his cheek. Gary grunted in pain from the strike but managed to grab both of Ash's wrist and his other fist before he could do anything more.
"Easy… brother," Gary murmured quietly. Ash's eyes changed from dilated and somewhat enraged to normal size. He sighed and slouched back. He would've flopped over the other side of the bed if Gary hadn't been gripping his wrist and fist. Misty grabbed Ash's torso and slowly laid him back down on the bed. His eyes slid closed in sleep.
"You okay, Gary?" Misty asked quietly.
"Pika?" Pikachu added and Ellie watched closely.
"I' fine, Red. I think the sedative has worn off mostly. He probably just sleeping now," Gary nodded, "He'll most likely wake up again real soon. I'm going to get an ice pack or something. Heh, Ashy-Boy popped me good… Guess I deserved a good punch from him after so long." He turned and left the room before Misty could reply.
Gary exited the guest room and Drew popped a question, "Hey everything okay? We heard some commotion in there."
"What happened to your eye!?" Iris yelped.
Gary nodded, "Ash woke up temporarily. I think he was disorientated from the sedative and he tried to punch Misty but hit me instead. I suppose I deserved it though. He'll probably wake up for good soon, and he'll be more aware then. I was just getting a ice pack."
"I understand, let me help," Brock nodded and followed Gary into the kitchen.
Paul rose and walk over to the door of the guest room and looked inside. Misty was still sitting by his side. As Gary walked back into the main room with Brock, Paul flinched at the doorway and everyone rose as they started to hear a familiar voice.
zz
Misty continued to watch him carefully and held her breath when she saw Ash start to open his eyes again. He let out another small groan and his aura flared out before flickering slightly as though weak. Lucario, who had been resting in the corner of the room, rose as he noticed his Master wakening once more. Ash's eyes opened halfway and he glanced around the room and blinked a few times before his eyes landed on Misty.
"Mist?"
"Hey, Ash… You feel okay?" Misty whispered and rubbed his hair out of his face once more.
"Mmmm feels like I ran a marathon… My muscles feel like jelly," Ash murmured, "Mmmm jelly."
Misty giggled and rubbed his hand. She could hear the others behind her crowding the door. Pikachu rubbed his cheek against Ash's and Ellie cooed from his stomach. Lucario was watching with a smile.
"Where are we? How'd you guys… Hunter J…" Ash muttered.
"We'll Pikachu and Lucario followed your aura to find you and then Pikachu brought down a helicopter to get you back," Misty smiled.
Ash glanced over at Pikachu, "Is that true, buddy?"
Pikachu frowned slightly and stared at his feet, "Pika chu chu pi pika kachu pika PikaPi."
Ash smiled and worked to prop himself up. He pulled Pikachu into a hug, "Thanks, pal… and you could never fail me."
Pikachu was somewhat emotionless at first until Ash had spoken that last sentence. His face was buried in Ash's shoulder as his trainer hugged him close. This… This right here is what the bond between humans and pokemon was supposed to be. Pikachu then let tears glide down his cheeks and his gripped Ash's shirt tightly. "PikaPi…"
Suddenly a bright blue light erupted from Pikachu's form and as a tendril of blue it connected to a tendril that came from Ash's chest. Ash's eyes filled with blue light and then as suddenly as it started, it stopped.
Congratulations Master, I'm pretty certain that your Loyalty aspect has been unlocked. You only have the Emotion aspect remaining.
Misty was smiling brightly since she figured Pikachu's conviction to help his trainer had caused their bond to deepen even more and just enough to cause this to happen.
After that light display, everyone else crowded into the room to talk to Ash now that he was awake. They informed him that they didn't know for certain what happened to Hunter J or where Robles disappeared to.
"Um… where are we anyway?" Ash asked after everyone had finished talking.
"Paul's house," Dawn answered with a smile, "See?"
Reggie and Maylene edged from around the crowd and smiled at Ash.
"Oh wow, we ended up all the way in Veilstone," Ash nodded and then turned slightly to look at Gary and Brock as they joined everyone in the room. Gary was pressing some sort of compress to his cheek. Both were smiling though.
"Hey there, Ash," Gary said simply.
Ash smiled sheepishly, "Look… Gary I'm-"
Gary rose his hand to interrupt Ash's apology, "I think we're both sorry. Let's leave it at that and try to put it behind us. I said some stupid stuff that was uncool. I hope you'll forgive me for opening my big mouth in the first place." There was a hint of apprehension that danced in Gary's eyes.
Gary and Misty seemed to notice a bit of pain flash through Ash's eyes before his spoke, "Of course, Gary. It's no big deal."
Gary nodded his head on the outside but on the inside he felt only guilt fill him. Why did Ash always have to be nice when the big stuff happens and frustrated with the little stuff? He also knew from the look in Ash's eyes that his forgiveness had some hesitancy to it. Ash was still hurt from his words; Paul was right, it would take some time before Ash's full trust in him returned. At least now they had time, since they had taken him back from Hunter J and Team Rocket. Gary was brought from his thoughts by Ash's voice.
"What happened to your eye?"
Gary looked up and chuckled, "Funny thing, the super cool Gary Oak was in deep philosophical thought when a door jumped out and smacked me in the face. Laugh it up all ya like Ashy-Boy but that door wasn't there previously."
Ash chuckled though everyone else seemed to nod at Gary for the white lie, "Nice one Gary." No one seemed to notice the tiny bit of blue in Ash's pupil as Gary spoke.
Gary only smirked and pulled the compress away from his face temporarily before placing it back again.
"I hate to bring this up, but what's our plan now? We can't stay here forever. Those goons will probably start canvasing the whole city," Drew grunted.
"Best thing is to split and continue our previous path south. Though checking the library would've been nice so we could maybe find out some things about Turnback cave. We probably need to find it. I think the last time Ash, Dawn, and I traveled here I heard something about it being between Veilstone and Lake Valor," Brock murmured.
"How about this, we need a way to get Ash out of here without being noticed too much. We're a bit better off since we aren't the target. Someone can go get a cloak or some from a store and some can go to the public library here," Cress suggested.
"A cloak? Hmmm… I guess that would do," Ash murmured, "So when we going?"
"You mean when are they going, you're staying right here," Misty huffed and eyed Ash. Ash pouted slightly but said nothing. "You need as much rest as possible before we try to get out of here, okay?" Misty spoke with a sweeter tone than her previous statement.
Ash nodded, "Alright." He then gave her a gentle smile.
"I'll lead whoever wants to go to the library," Paul offered. Reggie seemed a bit fearful but remained quiet.
"I'll go."
"Same here."
"Sure."
"I think I know where a cloak could be found," Dawn offered.
Ultimately Paul, Brock, Cilan, Cress, and Chili left to check the library for info on Turnback cave, while Dawn went off with May, Drew and Iris to look for a cloak. The rest offered to stay and hold down the fort.
"But, May I want to go with you," Max explained.
May smiled, "Max I need you to stay here. I know you're tired of hearing this, but you're not as equipped to handle these guys yet. Besides I'm sure you'll do great watching here with Misty, Gary and Ritchie. Ash needs ya, kay?"
Max nodded, "Alright, yeah! I'll go watch outside." Max smiled and ran out the door to go into Reggie's fields.
Thus the groups split up.
zzz-Dawn, May, Drew, and Iris-zzz
Dawn lead them to a clothing store and as they entered, Drew walked up swiftly to the counter where a clerk was.
"Excuse me ma'am, do you happen to have a cloak or something? The quality really isn't important," Drew asked politely.
"Um… well sadly none that are ready for sale," The female clerk explained.
"Please ma'am we really need one. We'll pay any price," Dawn expressed.
The clerk furrowed her brow in frustration, "I'm sorry but no. We have regulations to follow."
"Ma'am do you see those strange people walking around the city?" Iris suddenly asked.
The clerk glanced outside and could see a few Galactic grunts strolling between two buildings.
"They are trying desperately to find our best friend and take him from us. We absolutely need a cloak to help get him out of the city, please miss," Iris begged.
"Those crooks are after a boy?" She asked softly.
May nodded, "They're really bad people, miss. I imagine if we leave they'll figure it out eventually and leave here too."
The woman nodded, "I guess I can get one from the back and out of the crates, but maybe you kids should take your friend to the international police. That Looker is the greatest. He protects everyone. He's like a real life superhero." The clerk gushed suddenly before turning the disappearing into the back.
"He's like a real life superhero," Drew muttered imitating her voice then he asked a question, "What does that make us, huh?" May elbowed him.
"Hush you, we just now got a cloak for Ash," May spoke but couldn't stop a giggle at his joke.
The woman returned soon after with a long brown cloak. It fastened around the shoulders by a circular badge that was blue with a gold rim. "Will this do?"
"It's just fine," May nodded happily.
"That'll be a thousand poke'," The clerk said cheerfully while the small group froze as a cold wind blew past. "You did say any price!"
"Me and my big mouth," Dawn groaned.
zzz-Max-zzz
Max was squatting in the middle of Reggie's fields. He had released Sceptile and Mightyena to watch around. Mightyena had run off excitedly to start sniffing around for trouble while Secptile had decidedly stayed closer to Max.
"Do you think I'm strong, Sceptile?" Max murmured as he plucked a bit of grass from the soil. Several pokemon were playing tag around him and he was looking out but also idly picking at the turf.
"Scep scep tile tile," Sceptile spoke with a smile and sat down next to his trainer. He patted him on the shoulder and gave him a smile.
"Thanks pal," Max smiled. He then started thinking about before he was a trainer, about how Ash was when he met him and a shocking thought came to him. "I'm as old as he was when we met…" Max whispered. Max had kinda thought Ash was just some decent trainer that was a bit arrogant, really he only joined the group at first since it was an opportunity to travel and see pokemon without being a trainer yet, but as time went on he realized Ash slowly became more than just an aqantance. He became a reliable friend and then a mentor and perhaps somewhere deep inside, someone Max wanted to be like. Ash had been able to do things Max wasn't allowed to do. Max grew a tad frustrated. Why was he still considered too young to do things when Ash had done innumerable things that were dangerous, even at thirteen. Max sighed. Perhaps that had more to do with Ash's destiny or what not, regardless, that didn't make Max feel any better.
"Hey there."
Max flinched and turned sharply to see Reggie standing behind him. He was holding something in his arms and smiling.
"Oh hey there, Reggie," Max smiled, "You kinda spooked me."
"Oops I'm sorry," Reggie chuckled. He came closer and kneeled next to Max, "I was thinking real hard about something. I could see how disappointed you were when May told you to stay here. I started thinking and I could remember how grumpy Paul would get before he was allowed to become a trainer. So I wanted to give you this, I'm pretty sure you haven't cared for one all yourself yet and I think it would be a great experience for you and maybe even for your sister to see that you can be responsible and adult." Reggie handed Max the object which turned out to be a yellow egg with black stripes.
"Reggie… you mean it?" Max asked softly and stroked the egg.
"Absolutely. Honestly I wish I could give all of you a gift of some kind. You guys helped my brother grow and become more the person I knew he could be. Ultimately I realized I could never repay any of you enough for that. It means everything to me to see Paul happy now, truly happy even under all that grump," Reggie smiled brightly.
Max smiled right back, "I've only known Paul for a few months, but I've seen him change slowly," Max smiled and looked down at the egg, "You're right, I've never cared for an egg all on my own before. I mean I saw May with hers and Manaphy's and Ash with his Phanphy…"
"I'm sure you'll take good care of it Max," Reggie nodded kindly.
"Yeah you bet," Max nodded and hugged it closer, "I will protect it."
"Sceptile!" Sceptile cried out in agreement and craned his neck down to get a better look at the egg. Mightyena wandered up at the same time and sniffed it carefully before licking it's smooth surface and laying at Max's feet.
"Well, I'm going to feed the pokemon their dinner with Maylene," Reggie smiled and stood back up.
"Can I help?" Max asked.
"Sure! I can even get a proper incubator for your egg too. So it's better protected," Reggie smiled. Max got up and walked off with Reggie, clutching his egg happily with his pokemon trailing behind.
zzz-Paul, Brock, Cilan, Cress, and Chili-zzz
"Wait," Paul whispered and everyone mashed themselves into the shadows of the ally as much as possible. Two grunts walked passed the ally and didn't notice them. "Come," Paul whispered again and everyone started after him once more. A few more steps later and they found themselves inside the public library of Veilstone.
"One minute," Brock spoke and jogged over to ask the librarian where the different sections were. A moment later Brock came back with a brochure, "According to this I would say there are a few places we could search. The Folklore section, History, Pokemon Research section, and perhaps the Topography of Sinnoh."
"Oh! I call Folklore!" Chili shouted and then everyone flinched as the librarian shushed them and gave Chili a glare. Cress gave Cilan a bemused look and grabbed Chili's wrist before wandering off to find the Folklore section. Cilan took up the chance to check out the Topography of Sinnoh saying happily that he was a map connoisseur. Brock then left for the History portion and Paul took the last option.
After a good amount of time, the five boys met back up and shared what information they found.
"The only few interesting things I found were that obviously being a legendary pokemon, not much is known about it. It is said to control Anti-matter and live in a world all its own. Scientifically that's all they've felt comfortable publishing as everything else is unfounded here-say," Paul explained and snapped his book shut, "However they are eagerly awaiting Professor Newton's data and info on the titan once he returns to publish all his findings."
"In these two History books, one states that the people of Sinnoh didn't populate the furthest east side of the continent. The coastline was oddly left uninhabited for quite some time. And according to this one here, a shrine was set up to please the lost souls that would wander the areas east of Lake Valor," Brock sighed and rubbed his head, "I wish there was some more specific info here."
"Good news is this," Cilan smiled and slid the book to where everyone could see the pages, "See that? In the mountainside. There is a pond with a small cave there. People rarely go there because strange things happen there. I bet the lake is Sendoff Spring, too. What do you all think?"
"Seems possible, better than anything else we could uncover no doubt," Paul nodded.
"Well check this stuff out," Chili said and started to read from the book he had found, "The lost go there to find peace or be condemned. Those with good hearts are drawn to the spring, while those with corrupt hearts are obsessed and stolen by the darkness of the caves. Mortals shouldn't enter lest they never find their way through and face judgement before their time."
"Not creepy in the slightest," Brock murmured.
"Then we did find a little something here about Giratina's role in these matters," Cress expressed, "The keeper of the other world moves amongst the mist. He guards the evil souls and makes sure they are punished as he…" Cress sighed and shut the book, "Just about the same thing as what Regigigas said. If I hadn't been there I would've said not to take these tales too seriously, but now… heh."
"Well I imagine that's all we can figure for now. I say we head south and look for any clues on the route to Lake Valor," Paul nodded, "For now we need to get back to my house and get Ash ready to leave. I bet we've over stayed our welcome."
The others nodded and rose before returning the books to the librarian. They left for Paul's house.
zzz-Together-zzz
"A pokemon egg, huh? That's really cool, Max," Ash grinned from his place on the side of the bed. Misty had been anxious but Ash had insisted that he try to at least sit now before trying to walk or in the worse case, run. Ash was certain he was mostly okay, but his muscles still were stiff.
"Oh… I remember when my Togepi hatched," Misty cooed and Togetic chirped from behind Ash on the bed. Pikachu and Ellie smiled.
"You mean my Togepi… I found him remember?" Ash huffed.
Misty gave him a slight glare, "Maybe… but Togepi chose me as his mother and trainer."
"That's because you were the first one he saw," Ash muttered. He looked over and saw Togetic was cocking his head at Ash and Misty. Ash let a smile come to his face, "He's kinda a family effort anyways though, right? I found him, Brock cared for his egg, and Misty raised him. I think we did a pretty good job."
Misty smiled brightly, "I couldn't agree more."
"Looky what we have for you, Ash!"
Everyone in the house turned to May's voice as her small group wandered through the den. She had in her hands a brown folded cloak.
"Whoa, thanks guys," Ash smiled.
"Try it on. I imagine the others will be back soon and we'll be leaving after that. It's only a matter of time before the goons start knocking on doors," Drew nodded.
Ash rose and was handed the cloak. After a moment, the cloak was wrapped around him with the hood down.
"Wait… what about Pikachu and Ellie. Even off your shoulders they're… kinda a dead give away," Iris whispered.
Ash seemed frozen in thought before he glanced at Pikachu and Ellie, "That's a good question."
"Pika pika chu chu pika chu pi chu chu Chupi PikaPi," Ellie spoke and came to the very edge of the bed.
"What'd she say?" Dawn asked.
Ash stared long and hard at his pokemon before speaking, "She said she'll go into her poke ball."
Everyone grew very silent.
"What about… Pikachu?" Misty whispered and everyone's eyes landed on the male rodent.
Pikachu was looking at them and then directly at Ash. In a flash, his mind was filled with the images of Ash being taken from him and then his vision of those evil people hurting him.
"Pika pika chu PikaPi," Pikachu spoke evenly.
Everyone turned to Ash and saw his eyes had widened, "You mean that? I mean… are… are you sure?"
Pikachu was silent and nodded his head, "Pi, pika chu chu PikaPi."
Ash finally smiled and reached out his hand, "Deal, buddy." Pikachu chirped and shook his paw with Ash's hand.
"Wow, I can't believe it," Max murmured.
Ash pulled the string from his backpack which had Pikachu and Ellie's poke balls on it. He turned to face them both, "See you in a little bit, buddy."
Two beams of light shot out from the spheres and connected to the mice. In moments both disappeared inside. He placed the string around his neck as Misty handed him his pedant. He put that on as well and then stuffed his hat into his backpack. At that moment, Paul and the others walked in.
After a few moments of sharing what info they found, they prepared to depart. Everyone gathered their things and Ash pulled his hood over his head, which obscured his face. Maylene suddenly ran into the room.
"Guys I think you need to go out the back," Maylene said worriedly.
"What's wrong, Mae?" Reggie asked.
"Those goons are a couple houses down knocking on doors," Maylene said quickly.
"Let's go," Gary snapped. Everyone followed as Reggie led them.
"I'll keep them occupied at the door while you lead them out, Reggie," Maylene nodded and ran to wait in the kitchen so she could then come to the door when they knocked.
Reggie lead them to the back door and out through the fields. At the far end where the forests around Veilstone bordered his land, Reggie opened the gate for them to exit and go into the forest to escape. The pokemon had all followed and were seemingly watching Ash carefully.
Reggie turned to look at Paul as they all passed outside the fence and the pokemon remained by Reggie's side, "Be careful Paul. I couldn't lie and say I wasn't worried after all this."
Paul looked into his brother's eyes, "I know one thing and that's that I've never been more sure about something before. I'll try my best, brother."
Reggie seemed to flinch at being called brother by Paul but smiled soon after, "Be careful all of you."
Everyone said farewell and disappeared into the forest. Reggie watched them vanish with a bittersweet smile gracing his face. He turned to look back at his house as the coming twilight covered it and hurriedly closed and locked the gate tight before jogging back towards the home. He needed to be there to help Maylene.
zzz-Maylene and Reggie-zzz
-Knock—Knock-
Maylene walked through the room from the kitchen when she heard the knocks on the door. She was worried honestly; she easily got nervous and could already feel sweat collecting in her palms. Would they notice her nervousness? She kinda wished Reggie was back already. She took a calm in breath and opened the door.
"Hello?" She asked and saw two Galactic grunts looking at her. The female was the first to reply.
"Hello there, we were wondering if you have seen a boy around the age of nineteen. He has black hair and brown eyes though sometimes he… wears contacts to change them to the color blue. He is armed and dangerous and we want to make sure he causes no harm to anyone," The female grunts expressed while her male counterpart remained silent.
"Umm no I haven't seen anyone like that," Maylene replied. Armed and dangerous? How dare they say that!?
The male grunt narrowed his eyes as he glared into hers, "Mind if we check your home? We are wondering if Mister Paul Rebolledo is… visiting."
"No he isn't and no you can't come in. You need a warrant to enter someone's home if your police or other officials. As for Paul he's isn't home at the time being. May I ask why you care?" Reggie said suddenly and appeared at the door.
The male grunt growled, "It seems your brother is getting into something he shouldn't be and if you don't want to have bad things happen to your breeding center here. You'll tell us where he is next time he calls you."
"Regardless, have a good day," The female cut in suddenly and sent a sharp glare towards her partner.
Moments later Reggie had shut the door and walked with Maylene over to the couch. They sat and held each other for a moment.
"What will we do?" Maylene whispered, "I wonder if the league knows about all this craziness."
Reggie stared off into the nearby wall, "Probably not the full picture, though the others said they needed the League and others not to know."
"They can't do it on their own…" Maylene murmured, "I mean I believe in destiny to some degree… like me meeting Dawn and becoming a better gym leader… but saving the world?"
"I'm torn because I believe they could," Reggie murmured, "Something that could cause the conviction I saw in Paul's eyes… can't be everyday. They are truly wrapped up in something big. At the same time… I can't override my worry for them."
Maylene seemed to freeze as she glanced out of one of the home's window, "We may not need to worry anymore… I think the League knows a bit more than we all thought."
Reggie stood up and walked over to look out the window in time to see Cynthia on Garchomp, Steven on Metagross, and several G-men agents riding various pokemon about the city. Rumbling commenced from attacks fired and grunts were scattering about as citizens hid in buildings and homes. In the dusk that was setting, the sky was lit more by fire, lighting, and powerful light than by the coming stars or moon.
Reggie and Maylene glanced at each other in worried concern before they ran out to herd the pokemon inside to wait out the storm…
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Hmmm... I suppose it was only a matter of time before the League started catching on. Ash seems alright now and GASP what is this blasphemy? Pikachu going into his pokeball for the first time in EVER? (of his own will).
Guesses on what kind of pokemon is in Max's egg? I suppose it isn't too hard to figure out if you think about it :)
ZZZZZ
Answers to some questions:
Great: When will Ash start unlock his other two links, I Wonder?
NoSignal: Well I suppose this chapter half answered your question :D
Intensity215: Will we ever get to see red? And also, will yellow, gold, Chris, etc. be involved at all? I love all the dexholders and I was just wondering ;)
NoSignal: Sadly I can't answer that completely. It's kinda a surprise. So sorry! XD
Guest: I have a request though... Uhm... Can you please make a chapter where Ash have to lost Misty? I mean well not like she's dead or the fight with each other like that, but Misty got captured or something since you know I fell bad at Misty who always have to feel the feelings to lost someone she loves since Ash really is selfless so I guess let Ash feel her pain too like in Arbok incident! XD But of course if you can that is... Hehehe
NoSignal: First of all, welcome to the Master Challenge! I'm so glad you are enjoying the story :) As for your request I'll see what I can do. No promises though since I don't plan intermediate events like that in advanced.
ghost509: loved it and loved how you made gary feel regret also I think this should be ash/harem with misty, Cynthia, maylene, gardenia, etc
NoSignal: I'm glad you are enjoying the story :D However I will not be doing any kind of harem or reverse harem in this story. I'm pretty tame about things and tend to not go into that territory. I do hope however you will continue enjoying the story ^^
Thanks again for all the amazing reviews guys! :D
ZZZZZ
I've decided to give you guys a list of the new pokemon caught after each chapter so that new pokemon aren't spoiled but you also can remember which pokemon are new and aren't on the list at the start of the Arc.
Ash: Luxray/(Shedinja)/Cranidos/Hippopotas(male)/Ralts(male)
Misty: Tentacool/Buizel
Ritchie: Gible/Sneasel
Brock: Anorith/Magnemite
May: Shinx
Max: Egg
Paul: Stunky
Dawn: Glameow
Cilan: Egg/Snover
Cress: Bidoof
Chili: Magby
Iris: Cranidos
So there you are I hope this helps some :) If you ever need the full list, minus the newest additions, it's at the beginning of the Arc.
Follow, Fav, Review, and most importantly, Enjoy! :D
NoSignal, out!