Hey! Sorry for not updating last week. I had a contest. (Terrible excuse, I know.)
In addition, I'm thankful that you guys are okay with me stalling out this fanfiction because I don't really want to edit the following battles. Strategies are so hard to write out...(and the ones I wrote in 8th grade were pretty bad).
Here is an extra-long review time to make up for the past two chapters.
Lectori Salutem: Is it better now? Thanks for your help! And I'll keep your suggestions in mind!
ultimateCCC: We'll never know...
Johnny Spectre: Hahaha. I'm a jerk, aren't I... xP
MalayTheDynamo: AHHHHHH!
Brosiff: I searched up Pokemon Outlaw a week ago. Never thought I'd be so similar to a ROM hack. Guess what I'm doing over Spring Break...
Pokeevee57: I hope Ash gets to meet Nathaniel. Have you watched the first movie?
LuckyKittens: Unfortunately, I'm a terrible person, so Ash'll have to keep stalling the inevitable.
bladetri: xD xD
Lianne: I'm never bored of your reviews. They always encourage me to write more (especially after I check my grades :P)!
multyfangirl18: Thanks for your comment! I'm glad (and sorry) that my story kept you up so late. Don't worry, the Poke-thief has his way of getting around without being caught. He'll be back. Meanwhile, Gary's field of research is...debatable.
Noxlux013: Thank you! Unfortunately, I'm trying to stall that Elite Four challenge because my battle writing is pretty...uh...yeah. I just keep adding more and more scenes that are probably irrelevant... :P
"There it is!" Swellow exclaimed. "The peak!"
Daro the Tauros shook his head. "You're just hallucinating aga…" He trailed off mid-sentence, eyes widening at the sight of the pinnacle of their journey.
It was Hawlucha who spoke up next.
"Dang."
Mount Silver had been conquered.
Time to get to work.
"Ash! Ash Ash As—"
"Whadda-ya-want?" Ash muttered groggily, groaning a little as the Eevee continued to hop on the Trainer's stomach in excitement.
"It's training tim—"
"Alright, I'm getting up…"
Ash couldn't decline an opportunity to train. Especially when it was—he peered outside his tent—around four in the morning.
Yep. He was going to get chastised by Greninja for his inability to keep to his own schedule.
"Is everyone else up?" the teen asked his Normal-Type. The sky was shimmering with stars that night, and a quarter moon lit the peaceful-looking clearing.
"Yep! They just finished their warm-up!"
Ash stood up and proceeded to put away his supplies in the messenger bag (it didn't really matter how it was physically possible to fit a tent in it). With a sigh, he looked over to the Evolution Pokemon and covered a yawn with a free hand. Vivi pointed into the distance, where the Trainer could just barely see the glow of Charizard's flame.
He shook himself awake, rubbing his eyes and picking up the Eevee. "Okay, okay. I'm awake now."
A few seconds of silence passed as the Trainer proceeded to set up a table with his free hand.
"Ash?" Vivi spoke up.
"Yeah?"
"Is Garchomp cooking again?" the Normal-Type asked.
The teen tried to hide his flush of embarrassment. He knew that his cooking was bad; there was no need to remind him about it, especially by his own Pokemon. (Though his stew was decent from watching Brock, Cilan, and Clemont, in his opinion.)
"I'm sure Garchomp would love to cook again."
Vivi jumped out of Ash's arms. "Yay!"
With a flash, the Eevee sped off with a Quick Attack.
Gallade and Greninja were excellent sparring partners. Even though the Blade Pokemon had a slight advantage—the Psychic and Fighting-Type was particularly proud of his Close Combat—the other Pokemon was still able to keep up, even at five in the morning.
"Garchomp, Earthquake!" Ash yelled. "Everyone else, jump!"
As the ground started to tremble, and as shockwaves started to cover the field, Pikachu used Magnet Rise to lift himself off the ground and into a Volt Tackle at Charizard, who had shot up into the air. Vivi used Psychic to lift herself up. Greninja used Hydro Pump at the ground, with Gallade following him, Teleporting through the air. Sceptile looked around for inspiration, then shot into the air with Leaf Storm.
"Garchomp, keep jumping up and down. Then attack with Draco Meteor!"
The Dragon and Ground-Type wasted no time in shooting a ball of energy into the sky, where Greninja was being fervently chased by a cackling Gardevoir. ("Thou cannot escapeth mine blade, you churlish, raw-boned frogget!") Ash, who was gliding in circles above his team and providing light with an Aura Sphere, had to dodge one of the fiery meteors that had strayed from their original path.
Sceptile speeded past the Trainer with a Quick Attack-Leaf Blade combination, cutting up the glowing spheres.
"Alright! I'm turning off the light!" the teen announced. "Garchomp, Draco Meteor! Again!"
As the sky momentarily lit up with Dragon-Type energy, Ash had to spin away from another attack. An explosion woke up half of the Pokemon in the nearby forest, and the Trainer made a note to himself to apologize in the morning.
"Wherefore doest my fate befall me…"
As Ash disappeared into the forest to appease some angry Beedrill that morning, the rest of the team sat around the folding table (no one knew how Ash managed to carry around a table, tent, sleeping bag and Pikachu with relatively no problem—except Pikachu, of course—but nobody questioned it by then), watching Garchomp stir something in a pot.
"I have cards," Greninja spoke up, lifting a pack. "Stole 'em from Noivern before we went back to Kanto." he turned to Pikachu. "Anyone want to play?"
"Let's bet on food portions," Pikachu decided. "I'm in."
"What type of deck is that?" Sceptile asked, drumming his fingers on the table and letting a twig hang from the corner of his mouth.
"TCG."
"Alright," the Grass-Type agreed.
Charizard smirked. "Sceptile hasn't beaten me in months," he bragged. "Count me in."
"How do you play?" Vivi asked, jumping onto a nearby log to see the cards.
Garchomp turned to the Eevee from his pot. "Gambling is bad," he remarked.
"You're a terrible sport," Pikachu quipped, laughing aloud.
"She should play for Ash," Charizard suggested. "Then she won't have to lose anything."
"I'll just watch," Gallade spoke up. "They don't play this in Kalos." He turned to Greninja, who was twirling the card deck in his hand. "I mean, not where I come from."
"I'm from Lumiose City too, you know," the Ninja Pokemon asserted.
"Shhh…"
That morning, Ash wondered why Pikachu, Sceptile, Charizard, and Greninja seemed a bit fatigued as they trained with each other.
His suspicion ended when Vivi declared her passion for gambling during the lunch break.
"Hey, Sceptile."
The Grass-Type didn't look up from a book. "What do you want, Charizard?"
"What does 'edgy' mean?"
"Anxious, nervous, or apprehensive," the Forest Pokemon replied, looking up at the Fire and Flying-Type and putting down his novel and sticking his twig in it as a bookmark. "Why?"
"Greninja said it. Then he called himself a 'wannabe edgelord.'"
"I don't think the word was used correctly," Sceptile thought aloud. "Is it a new slang thing, like 'Arceus forbid' or 'screw you?' Teens these days…" he trailed off, sighing.
Charizard shrugged. "I heard that he got access to the black market. But then again, it's just a rumor."
"That lucky kid. I thought Palkia banned them centuries ago. Something about a Human that turned into a Pokemon in another universe; at least, that's what I heard."
Gary and Umbreon scrolled through Ash's Sinnoh Pokedex, which had been acquired from 'gramps' as soon as the Gym Leader promised that he wouldn't break it.
"So Arceus can be identified as the creator of the world while Dialga and Palkia obviously represent time and space. So what does Giratina represent? It was named the Renegade Pokemon by Professor Westwood, but Ash told me that he made up some of the Pokedex entries because most of his work was from collected data," the Researcher remarked, writing some information down in his notebook.
"Giratina was said to have been forgotten in the Original Story," Umbreon added in. "He later made peace with the world but is still known to almost no one."
"You know, Ash rode on his back once. At least, I think he did."
"You're kidding me!"
The Pokemon paused as he noticed something. "Wait. Gary, stop scrolling."
"Huh?" the Trainer asked.
"This here says that Giratina's powers were opposites of Dialga's and Palkia's."'
"So you're telling me that Giratina is more like a reflection. Like chaos is to order, or another dimension. Antimatter. Something like that?"
The Dark-Type jumped up on Gary's lap. "Maybe."
"Okay, I guess that makes sense. I'll just ask Ash later. Mesprit, Azelf and Uxie are easy to find out, though."
"Hey Gary," Umbreon piped up after a while, pointing at the computer screen again, "This says that touching Mespirit will make you lose your emotions."
"How do you know?"
"Mom used to tell me these myths all the time. She said that this particular myth referred to the Lake Trio."
"Wait, really? I thought—" Gary paused. "Well, I guess Mesprit allowed Dawn to touch her; that would be logical." At the Researcher's words, Umbreon nodded.
"And as for that part about Azelf, I don't know. We haven't gotten reports from police about Team Galactic in a long time, although I could ask," Gary suggested.
"Oooh, and don't forget: never refer to Arceus as 'god,'" Umbreon reminded his Trainer.
"Why?"
"Have you not seen the Peeko dogmatists? The Helix extremists? Or the Mew-fanatics?"
"...No. I just assumed that everyone knew who Arceus is," Gary replied, bemused.
The Dark-Type shook his head, pointing to the Pokedex. "You didn't even know he existed until you went to Sinnoh."
"Good point. I'll keep that in mind," Gary conceded.
"Hello?"
The Gym Leader looked up from scolding her Psyduck and went to the front door to greet her guest. As she opened the door to the lobby, a girl with wavy, blonde hair that fell just above her shoulders. Her eyes sparkled a cerulean blue, and she wore a strange combination of pink, black and white, complete with a blue ribbon centerpiece. A foxlike, Fire-Type Pokemon trailed behind her, looking around the Gym in reverence and a bit of excitement.
"Oh, hello!" Misty greeted. "Sorry, but I'm not supposed to take challenges until tomorrow. Who are you?"
The girl smiled shyly. "I'm Serena, and this is Braixen," she gestured to the Pokemon, "and—um—we were wondering if you know Ash from Pallet Town."
There were a few seconds of an awkward silence before Misty laughed aloud, walking up to the fair-skinned girl. "I'm Misty, the Gym Leader here…although I think you already know that. And as for your question…I do know him. We used to travel together when he was a stupid rookie."
"Really?" the Kalos Trainer asked, unsure if she believed the other girl. Ash…stupid? No correlation. Maybe she meant 'dense.' Ah, that's it; surely Misty would—
"If putting a Pikachu against a Cubone isn't stupid, I don't know what is," the Gym Leader recounted, reminiscing about her adventures with a smile, which contagiously spread to both the other girl and her Pokemon.
Serena giggled a little. "Did he win?"
"Surprisingly, yes. That girl was a horrible person, too. Good riddance."
"Uh…" Serena didn't want to pry, "do you know where he is?"
"Nope. He disappeared off the map a month or two ago, but that's okay; we all know he's going to come back in a few years, ranked as one of the best Trainers in another region we've never heard before."
"So, I shouldn't worry?" the Pokemon Performer asked.
"Of course not," Misty assured, glaring at the Psyduck that was inches away from falling into the pool—again. "It'll get you nowhere. Besides, Ash always turns out alive. At least, he does in the end, but whatever…"
It wasn't very convincing, but Serena accepted the answer anyway.
Ash wasn't around Cerulean either…
It was a bit sad to think that her worry started when the Trainer stopped returning her texts over Pokegear. And his mom was just as apathetic about him as Misty was.
Serena was missing something…
"Greninja, I want you to spar with me."
"Ash? No offense, but I'm afraid that you will get hurt if we spar."
"Wait, you haven't heard?" Pikachu asked, engaging in an electric brawl with a hyperactive Jolteon.
"Heard what?"
"He's heard," Charizard called out as he tried to Seismic Toss his training partner, Sceptile, but was pounded to the ground with, well, a Pound.
"You know I can use Aura, right?"
"Yeah."
"It kind of gives me an advantage over you 'cause Aura Sphere is a Fighting-Type move, and you're a Dark-Type," the Trainer explained. "It'll be perfectly fine; I spar with Pikachu every other day."
"I have a feeling you're not telling me everything," Greninja remarked.
"He's convinced that Ash isn't feeling well," Pikachu muttered under his breath, just loud enough for Garchomp to hear. "I mean, he's probably right, 'cause that hand problem isn't going away, but still…"
"Think of it as a challenge," Ash insisted. "You have to think on your feet during the challenge, no?"
"I see. Well, bring it on."
"Say that some of the information came from personal experience," Umbreon suggested.
"Why?" the Pokemon Researcher asked.
"You were in Sinnoh when the Team Galactic thing happened, right?"
Gary nodded, turning to his keyboard. "True, although most of this comes from Ash."
"Then write that down too."
"Blindfold training," Ash announced, raising his left hand, which held seven colored scarves. "If none of the Elite Four uses Sand Attack or Sandstorm, they're probably a hoax."
"Uh, how are we supposed to see?" Charizard asked as his Trainer proceeded to tie the pieces of fabric around the eyes of each member of the team.
"You don't," Sceptile replied.
"You're such a big help."
"By adding impediments to the field, the Elite Four Members give the Trainer a disadvantage, too. That's why I'm also training with this," Ash explained, carefully tying scarves over the eyes of his Pokemon with a bit of trouble (his palms were still healing…and useless).
"This exercise isn't really that hard if you haven't been relying on sight in your battles," he continued. "Maybe I'll even give you a daily run with those." The Trainer smirked almost evilly. "Now, attack."
"Attack who?" Garchomp asked, trying not to crash into anything (or anyone) important.
"Charizard and Garchomp, Sceptile and Gallade, Vivi and Greninja. Pikachu, with me." Ash turned on his Aura Sight, spotting his opponent, who was sniffing the air with a confused expression plastered on his face.
"Go!" the Trainer shouted.
"Hello?" Charizard asked, before trying a Flamethrower.
"EARTHQUAKE!" his sparring partner announced, managing to injure his opponent (as well as everyone else in the clearing) before Charizard decided to take his chances with repeatedly using Aerial Ace, even though half of his attempts were stopped by a Draco Meteor.
Sceptile and Gallade hadn't even hit each other yet. They were busy waiting for the other to make a sound.
In Sinnoh, a videophone rang, alerting a few drowsy office workers.
"Hello? I have an appointment with this police station concerning the whereabouts of Team Galactic."
"Name?" Officer Daria Jenny asked.
"Gary Oak: Gym Leader of Viridian City," the Pokemon Researcher replied, instinctively reaching down to pet the Umbreon resting on his lap. "I'm researching Legendary Pokemon, and could use some information on the aftereffects of the events at Mount Coronet a few years ago."
The police officer nodded. "Okay. I'll send our available files to your Gym. Thank you for calling."
Vivi used Extrasensory, then turned into Jolteon and charged with a Volt Tackle. Greninja barely was able to dodge; the other Pokemon had come into contact with his left leg earlier on, and it still stung a bit.
"Clemont, I've found a—"
"Bonnie, where did she come from?"
"I have to admit," Jesselina remarked, looking around the Gym, "you live in a snazzy place."
Ash was in Saffron City for the afternoon, followed by his loyal Greninja and Sylveon, who were the winners of the blindfold tournament that had been held the day before (honestly, Vivi was cheating and Greninja was…Greninja), so they were rewarded with a small excursion to the big city in order to buy training weights while the others stayed at the campsite to train in accuracy.
The city had grown even more since the last time the Trainer visited. Large skyscrapers towered over the people, Pokemon ran around between the alleyways, and open-air markets sold fresh fruit and vegetables to whoever walked by. Vivi, in Sylveon form, grabbed the Water and Dark-Type's hand with a ribbon, dragging him around to see the various sights of the city. Ash couldn't blame her—the Fairy-Type had probably only been to a city one other time in her life.
A shop displaying flatscreens depicted a news segment about a Tangela styler. The Trainer let his two Pokemon wander toward the store as he bargained with a woman selling jewelry for Mega Stones.
"Are you here to buy?" the lady asked, gesturing to a stack of armbands, necklaces, collars, rings, and scarves.
"Uh, yes," Ash replied. "I'll need five stone holders for a Charizard, Sceptile, Garchomp, Gallade, and Gardevoir. Is that okay?"
The woman's eyes widened, but she immediately hid her surprise with a laugh. "Five is a bit much," she remarked. "You must be a good Trainer."
Ash shook his head politely as he picked up an armband. "Nah. I still have much to learn, ma'am." He pointed to the ornate design on a wristband. "How do these work?" he asked.
The woman chuckled. "A Mega Stone converts its matter into energy, you see," she explained. "Our jewelry is designed to mimic that effect by emulating the atomic structure of the stone that correlates with the Mega Stone of a certain energy signature. By finding the specific wavelength of each stone, we can—"
"Sorry," Ash interrupted with a sheepish look. "I'm already lost." He moved his hand to the nape of his neck with a sheepish grin. "But I heard that since your jewelry is handmade, it has better quality than even Devon Corporation's stone-holders."
The woman shook her head, smiling. "You're just flattering me. Actually, you know what? I'll give you these for half the price. We have a deal?"
"Ash! We're on TV!" Vivi exclaimed, and Greninja, feeling like a father, was pushed towards another electronics store where a few people were standing and talking amongst themselves.
"And an anonymous Trainer is taking on the Elite Four Challenge, facing off against Kanto's best and brightest: Lorelei, Bruno, Agatha and Lance, who has been undefeated for ongoing 29 years of being Kanto's Champion. Join us in two days as we will cover—live—another battle for the titles of 'Kanto Champion' and 'Pokemon Master.'"
"Now for other news. The Silver Conference will once again be held next week at the base of Mount Silver, where…"
"I thought our match was next week," Greninja thought aloud as he exchanged puzzled looks with his Trainer and teammate.
"Honestly, me too," Ash spoke using Aura to both Pokemon.
"Then we'll have to train harder!" Vivi exclaimed in joy, encouraging both the Trainer and the other Pokemon.
"It seems like we've gained some publicity," the Water and Dark-Type remarked.
Ash shrugged. "I guess my recommendation letters were good enough."
"Diantha, Cynthia, and Brandon. They're a good bunch."
Vivi jumped into her Trainer's arms, ignoring the strangled grunt that escaped in an attempt to balance a box of dumbbells, a bag of Mega Stone jewelry, and a Sylveon. "This will be fun!"
A Poochyena trotted by, casually listening to the commotion around her. When she heard the conversation between two foreign Pokemon, she stared at the trio near the TV shop before deciding that the Trainer was too young to be even half as experienced as Lorelei.
Yes, I know this is a 'short' chapter. It's not Winter Break anymore, you know. I have tests and homework now. (:P)
Whew. Those comments were awesome to write. Thank you so much!
Fanservice Announcement: I have a poll on my profile that asks about your favorite character in the story. When you guys vote, it gives me a better understanding of who you would like to see in the future. Plus, it'll make me feel like a better person.
Haha. That last episode of Sun and Moon made me laugh so hard. It reminds me of Team 7 from Naruto (Litten=Sasuke, Popplio=Sakura, Naruto=Rowlet). Meowth or Stoutland can be Kakashi or something. :P And the facial expressions...(that one scene with Team Rocket was hilarious).
Will Ash be able to prepare for the league in two days?
Find out next time!
~Crestilia