Greetings….Now thanks for all the votes on the poll really getting's loads in now. I am not keeping the Poll up for much longer now, if you haven't got your vote in now is the time to do so now. Now back to the story.
Chapter 36: Together
Not too far away from the city of Saffron city with evening approaching was the people of the city who were thrown out of their own city by the criminal organisation who currently hold it. Under the cover of the forest allowed them all to rest. It was no comfort though due to being kicked out yesterday.
Some were innocent families with Children below six, partners, spouses, show owners, the police force and even a great amount of trainers were hiding out after being kicked out of their homes. In one part of the population nurse joy and a doctor were attending to a woman whose arm had been hurt during the conflict. "Okay now stay still they should help dull the pain a little.
The doctor placed a needle into her arm and applied it on quickly before removing it. The woman grunted in pain as Nurse Joy was sat beside her "Now don't you worry that will fix you right up". The doctor and Joy looked to each other and said "How much medication do we have remaining Joy" The nurse looked around to see some of the bags placed next to a tree stomp "We have plenty for the Pokémon that were injured during the battle but we only have two bag's worth left for any of the people"
"Team Rocket didn't give us much of a chance to grab enough medication" Nurse Joy looked over to Officer Jenny with another police officer and a Pokémon trainer discussing their predicament "But Officer Jenny we need to take our city back now. We have plenty of trainers who can mount into an army and the police force. We could take them by surprise if we hit them now"
But Jenny was quick to dismiss the idea "I'm afraid not, we were attacked and Team Rocket beat us down. Even if we got the surprise on them we would be overwhelmed again and our Pokémon could be put in a worse position. We might have had a chance if Sabrina was here right now"
The trainer looked down furious towards this statement "Yeah, why did she go to the Orre region anyway. I know gym leaders have their right to but she should have known something like this would have happened" Nurse Joy walked over to the group and she spoke "Officer Jenny, I'm afraid we don't have a lot of medication left. We are going to have to spare as much as we can for now"
Jenny looked down to the ground with her hands clenched into fists "We really could use a miracle right now. I hope to Pokémon league are doing something about this" The trainer crossed his arms as well "Those pencil pushers, what are they going to do, send a letter to them" Nurse Joy held her hands together "I don't know but let's hope they can do something about this mess or we may end up paying the price for this".
Suddenly they heard a very loud noise which sounded like a soothing yet powerful roar. Everyone looked around to see if they could hear what it was. But nothing was in sight to them. "What was that sound?" The people were all full of curiosity until a trainer looked up to the sky above the tree line and could see a silhouette of a large Pokémon approaching them from the air.
"Hey what is that up there?" He pointed and everyone looked to see the approaching Pokémon but couldn't make it out yet. "What kind of Pokémon is that?" As the large Pokémon approached people were able to make it out but Officer Jenny was shocked "What kind of Pokémon is that".
Another person spoke up "I think I see someone on its back" The Pokémon finally arrived and begun beating its wing's as it came in for a landing. People were not able to identify the Pokémon but it was revealed to be Ash riding on Lugia's back the gust from Lugia's wing's caused a big breeze which did push people a little but moved back as Lugia came down and landed down on the ground on his feet.
People were awestruck by the powerful looking legendary Pokémon as he held his wing's and made a powerful roar before he balanced down with his wings for a complete landing. People finally got a clear sight after the commotion and saw Ash jump off of Lugia's back with Pikachu on his shoulder. He walked up to Lugia's face and placed a hand on the side of his face and stroked across a little before he walked over Lugia leaned up with his wing's to observe.
A trainer spoke out upon identification "It's…It's the Champion". People were bringing smile's to their faces and moments of relief upon seeing the young Champion who walked forward as Officer Jenny went to meet him head on "Thank heavens you're here Champion Ash…We were beginning to lose hope"
He stood before them and brought his first question "I came as soon as I could. Is everyone alright?" Nurse Joy stood beside Jenny and said "Yes everyone is accounted for nothing we can't handle but we have been better" This brought a nod from Ash who looked to his left "Yeah I have seen what they did to Saffron city. It is like a fortress now". A trainer stepped forward to speak "Yeah, they caught us all by surprise and without Sabrina we weren't organised to fight back".
Ash then quickly spoke up "Okay if any Pokémon are still injured. Latias can help if needed. They know Heal pulse". Latias had floated beside Ash and Nurse Joy bowed her head "Thank you, a couple of Pokémon still need healing up". Ash looked towards Latias and she nodded to follow Nurse Joy. She saw an injured Electabuzz and Nurse Joy then pointed "Here this one" Latias raised her claws and a green wave begun flowing toward the electric type.
Ash smiled at this before he turned serious again "I know why Team Rocket attacked the city. I was able to sneak in earlier and find some information but they have fortified that place well. They attacked the city because they want to steal all the Technology and items of value from the city and if they can turn it into a new base".
Everyone was shocked by this discovery with some gasping and murmuring around the majority of the people. Jenny was however in an understanding state over this "It does not surprise me, Silph have been working some new stuff up and not just for Pokémon. But I don't know the specifics though".
Ash turned to his left a little "I'm still trying to find out what their true motive with these technologies is. They have done many things this year so I am still trying to piece together what's going on" He turned back towards the large amount of people in front of him "But right now we must move fast, Team rocket are finishing their fortifications and there is not much time left"
He was about to continue before he heard a voice "What do you need from me Ash?" The young Champion and some of the people turned towards the voice to see a man was passing through a small crowd. It was only until the person passed through the crowd that Ash was able to identify who it was even though years had passed since they saw each other face to face.
"What are you doing here? …I didn't know you visited Kanto" The man smirked a little as he walked forward "It has been too long Ash…I actually only came here not too long ago" Ash's shock immediately turned to delight "It has been too long Tobias, it sure has been years since we met in Sinnoh"
The man was revealed to be Tobias, the new and currently Champion of the Sinnoh region after defeating Cynthia for the role. He didn't look too different from years ago as he was in his early 30's now. Tobias nodded as some of the crowd were murmuring "Wow the Sinnoh Champion." "Yeah Team Rocket are in trouble now"
Tobias now spoke again as he crossed his arms together "I heard about Saffron city so I made my way here as soon as possible to help out" Ash felt relieved to have such a powerful ally by his side on this "Well glad to have you here Tobias, because I think we are going to need your help here".
Tobias held his hand out and Ash accepted it and they shook hands as the Sinnoh Champion said "Glad to help Ash, so what is the plan in action" The only reaction Ash was able to give was crossing his arm's "I haven't been able to form one together yet. It wasn't long ago that I got out of there. So I need to think of a plan"
This earned a nod of approval from the Sinnoh Champion "Let's develop one then, I was coming here to see Kanto again but Team Rocket have knocked that plan and caused harm to these innocent people so I need to pay them back to". Ash looked towards Officer Jenny who was waiting calmly "Officer Jenny, could you tell everyone to sit tight while Tobias and I develop a plan, one way or another we will take Saffron back".
Jenny nodded to the idea "Sure once everyone is informed I will join you" Ash smiled towards the officer "Great, we will need someone who knows the ins and outs of Saffron" It is coming to evening so we will hopefully carry out our plan tomorrow of it is ready" The officer immediately turned away to inform people. Ash knew the stakes for these people, they needed their city back and it was their way of life.
Ash turned away and walked back towards Lugia who was still landed and was looking up into the air. Tobias upon seeing the massive Pokémon was awestruck "Lugia…why is a Lugia here" Ash looked back towards him and said "He is with me…didn't you see me land?" Tobias while looking to the legendary Pokémon shook his head "No, I was tending to a family just on the other side of the tree with a woman who is severely injured from the fight. Nurse Joy is with her now".
He stepped forward as he was intrigued by the Legendary Pokémon "So this Lugia is with you?" Ash nodded to confirm this as he brought a smile to his face "Yeah, he joined me not too long ago actually, we saved him from a Team Rocket force with an outrageously powerful ship called the Eclipse and it was upgraded with technology from experiments on Pokémon which had caused great harm to Lugia".
"Once we disabled the ship we took Lugia back to Professor Oak for recovery and he asked to join us and I said yes" Lugia having heard everything turned his head slightly towards Ash with a slight smile on his face before he looked back up. Tobias was amazed "Wow…such a marvellous Pokémon. Is he your only Legendary Pokémon?"
Ash shook his head almost immediately to this "No, I also have a Zapdos, he is in his poke ball and Latias". Right on cue the eon Pokémon arrived back from healing beside Ash "I have done my best with healing, but it will be some time before I am able to materialise another Heal pulse as that uses up a lot of my energy". Hearing that Ash took out an Oran berry and gave it here "There you go, that should help".
Latias happily accepted with a sweet smile "Thanks Ash that will be needed" Latias begun nibbling away at the Oran berry and eating it calmly while Tobias was amazed "Wow Ash, I only saw the end result of your challenge to Lance as I was busy at the time, You sure have changed since the Sinnoh league"
Ash nodded before he got serious "Now we need to decide the course of action". Tobias quickly shook the interest of Ash's Pokémon aside "Yes, so what is the situation at Saffron right now before you left". Ash quickly tapped to his C-DEX "Let's put this to use, Professor Oak did invent this for me" He quickly detached the C-DEX from his arm and placed it on the ground before it showed up a digital screen.
He swiped through and pressed a couple more buttons before the screen retracted. Tobias was curious towards Ash's actions until suddenly light emerged and produced a digital 3D map of Saffron which came up to Table height. Tobias was impressed by this and said "Wow…Professor Oak created this. This is quite advanced for a small hand-held device" Ash produced a grin on his face as Pikachu and Latias gathered "Yeah, it is called the C-DEX. It is a new prototype Pokedex but it was very expensive to create this is the only prototype of the C-DEX, I am not aware if he has made another yet but it took a lot of time to".
Everyone focused their attention on the map of the city and Ash begun "Right now here is the current available map of Saffron city of course without Team Rocket's modifications to it" Tobias nodded and he crossed his arms "So what do you remember of it?" Ash looked to the map and pointed at the entrance ways "From what I remember when I was there. They had placed gates at each of the entrances so they can control who gets in and out. They also fortified the walls so lookouts will be on".
Tobias understood and he pointed towards the streets "From what I understand the bulk of their members will be situated in the streets" Ash nodded as Officer Jenny and a trainer came over and stood with them. Officer Jenny came over "Okay everyone has the news. Danny came over to help as he is one of the Ace trainers of Saffron city" the trainer identified as Danny spoke up "So do you have a plan yet?"
Ash shook his head as he looked to the map "We are looking it over now. With the fortified walls and entrances that will be the first obstacle to get past as the gates will stop ground access and the lookouts will be able to spot Pokémon in the air. The majority of members will be in the streets as I remember seeing". He pointed towards the Pokémon centre at the south east corner of the city.
"When I was at the Pokémon centre, the concentration of their members were less so it will be easier to get that section back from Team rocket" This earned approval from the Sinnoh champion "I will see to that. When we go Ash, and once we are in the city I can see to that" Ash nodded and pointed further into the city "The Silph Company building is Team Rocket's target and their HQ in the city so I imagine the amount of Team rocket members will be more numerous there"
"I will need to find a way into there so I can find out why they truly attacked and try to capture their leadership in there…But" Nurse Joy saw the hesitation in him and voiced her concern "But what Ash?" The young Champion crossed his arms and had an expression of worry "But if I am correct and there are a high number of members at the building then it will delay me long enough for them to evacuate and if the past has any indication they will have transports on stand-by to evacuate their science team and leadership".
Ash know gave out a sigh of frustration "I afraid this is too big for me and Tobias to handle alone…There are just too many members, they will eventually overwhelm us…especially as the element of surprise is gone" Officer Jenny and Danny looked shocked by this considering they are champions as Tobias spoke "I am afraid Ash is right, even with the Pokémon we have, their technology can also provide them an advantage over the two of us".
Ash looked away for a moment before he looked to them "We will need help, this is something we can't do alone. We need your help". Danny and Jenny looked to each other and Danny said "Well I am flattered but I fail to see what us two can do compared to you two" Ash quickly shook his head "More than you know and I am not just saying you two. Every trainer available here. We will need them to help if we are going to take Saffron back".
Officer Jenny gasped upon hearing this "Are you saying we form an army of our own to combat their force. Many innocents could be hurt by this. The police force would be more than happy to help but putting our trainers with this….a lot could go wrong". Danny nodded in agreement to the officer "I agree, I would help to but it is a lot to ask, a lot of these people are hungry and have no shelter".
Tobias crossed his arms and spoke in a serious tone "Which is why we need to pull this off. I know it is a lot to ask of these innocent people but it is all we got". Officer Jenny was at a loss for words over the developing situation until Ash stepped forward "Let me at least ask the trainers here…This is their home…they deserve a chance to fight to protect it".
Danny and Jenny looked to each other and nodded in unison as Danny said "We will assemble everyone who is able. But anyway who is injured needs to rest" Tobias agreed to the trainer's statement "Of course, let's give them some time. They need their rest before we go about asking them for this". The two begun to walk away and Jenny said "We will get all the trainers and anyone with Pokémon together. Take some time and then join us"
Ash looked down for a second before he turned around slowly "This is bad, having to get trainer's to help us" The young Champion looked up towards Lugia who had a serious expression all over him "Powers are about to do battle Ash and these innocent people could be hurt if this goes wrong. However there is some justification as this is also their home…and they do have the right to protect it like we do. Take note of that Ash and they will help us"
Pikachu was in agreement with the guardian of the sea and said towards his partner "Yeah Ash, It may look bad but they have the right to battle just as we do…I am sure they will want payback for Saffron. You would feel the same if it was pallet town" Hearing that made Ash realise something.
He would stop at nothing to reclaim his hometown if it had been taken by Team rocket. What Lugia and Pikachu were saying did make sense. These trainer's may want to or they may not. Tobias looked towards Ash in slight worry "My concern is Ash if we do bring these trainer's in with us, that they could get hurt or their Pokémon put in harm" Ash's hands clenched into fist's and he looked up "That is why if they do we look out for them and we take the front of it".
Tobias formed a smile over him to this "Good…well I am going to check on some of the trainer's" With that the Sinnoh champion walked away leaving Ash with his Pokémon. The young Champion looked to Latias and Pikachu "I hope these trainer's really do want to help or this will be very difficult…Let's go check on the families".
With no arguments present they walked towards the cluster of people all huddled close away from the other groups. With many people here it wasn't easy to keep track of people as Nurse Joy and the Chansey were concentrating mainly on the families right now. Ash arrived to see mothers were holding their young children. Ash saw Nurse Joy handing out blanket's for the little ones.
Ash saw a Chansey with a pile of Blankets nearby and decided to help out "Shall I give out some of these blankets" The Chansey bowed her head with a smile as Ash picked up the blankets and made his way towards a big group. There was at least seven children with five adults.
He walked up to them and stood close "Hey, does anyone need blankets?" The majority of the group looked to him with approving faces as one of the kid's happily spoke "Ahhh. It's the champion" Ash took that as a sign and begun passing out the blanket's to the kid's one by one and one of the adults who were injured "Thank you Champion Ash"
Ash smiled but spoke out "It is alright, just call me Ash. How is everyone holding up" One of the adults identified as a Father to some of the kids spoke "Were not that bad, the kid's just need rest" Before he could speak again they heard a voice "Mister…my grandma, she doesn't look good"
Everyone looked to see an elder woman was lying against a rock looking very weak with a child and a young woman around her. Ash quickly moved and squatted down close to her with the last blanket "Here this should help here". They placed the blanket over her before Ash spoke "Do you know what is wrong?" No one was able to provide him with a good answer "We don't know, she is running a fever" Ash went and placed a hand against her forehead.
He was shocked by this "She is very weak. She will need some medicine" The ill woman slowly opened her eyes to see her family. She took in a few breaths before she was able to speak "Don't worry kids…hehe…gran is still here" She looked to see Ash squatting down close which brought a smile to her face "Champion Ash…I knew you…would come to…help us"
Ash felt hurt seeing people like this with a worry for her "You get your rest in. I will make sure you and your family will get to go back home, Team Rocket won't get away with it". The woman smiled deeply at him "Thank you Ash…I knew you would come to help my family and everyone. Team Rocket have no right to do what they are doing. My family needs their home"
The woman suddenly coughed a little and the woman beside her spoke "Mom please get your rest" The grandmother held her daughter's hand "I will be fine" She looked back towards the young Champion "Please Ash…my family didn't want this to happen…This region looks up to you now Ash…please get my family back home to Saffron so the children can grow"
She held her hand out for which Ash held it "I promise I will do everything in my power and my friends we will get Saffron city back. And we will end Team Rocket once that is done. Their organisation will not last forever. And it will start with Saffron" The grandmother nodded happily "Thank you Champion"
She dropped her hand down to the floor and the family looked alarmed by this before the daughter spoke "Mother stay strong, just hold on". The grandmother smiled amusingly "Don't…worry about me…all of you need to stay strong more. This old girl isn't going to be beaten by a fever…so easily".
The family all begun huddling round as Ash stood up and allowed some space. Seeing this was affecting towards the young Champion. Just seeing one family put in this situation because of the criminal Team Rocket, it was hard for him to keep calm knowing this is all their fault. Ash glared a little and grunted in frustration as he turned away "All of this happening just for them and their selfish desires. These innocent people being put in these situations"
Pikachu was slightly sparking electricity from this "So wrong…what drives them to do this?" Ash was still thinking to himself "That is a good question…What really drives them like this? Why do they want to rule the world so badly? Giovanni has a lot to answer, but what drives him like this. I would like to ask him one day"
"But now Team Rocket are leaving Saffron city, today they are. One way or another we will end them. They can't keep this up forever". Ash with Latias and Pikachu walked back over to Lugia who was looking up before he turned his attention back to them. Ash stood there in front of them with him looking down "Why do I feel like I am letting people down?"
Latias and Pikachu looked to each other for a split second before Latias placed a claw on Ash's arm "You aren't Ash, You are doing a lot for these people. You have been protecting people from Team rocket for a while now. You have done everything you can" Ash sighed in depression to this "But those families they are suffering now because of this. I feel like I haven't done enough".
He next heard a voice from Lugia "Ash, the fault is not of yours. Don't forget if it wasn't for you and the others. Zapdos, Articuno and I might have been captured by them as well if you hadn't arrived. The fault for the suffering of these people lie with the evil of that team Rocket" Hearing those words made look up to the trio as Pikachu smiled to Ash and nodded with intent. The three looked confident in him and he forced a smile to form on him "Thanks guys…I just feel I could do better". Latias nuzzled the side of his face with a hopeful smile "They couldn't ask for better Ash".
Ash felt touched by that and placed his hand on the side of her face before he narrowed his eyes a little with a look of intent "Then let's get these people home" They looked towards Officer Jenny who approached them and said "Ash we got everyone together if you are ready now"
He turned towards her and said "Thanks let's do this, Lugia be on watch for a moment" Lugia acknowledged him before he lifted himself off the ground up to the tree line. Ash begun to walk towards the massive group of people that had been assembled. The group walked up in front of the group where Tobias had his hands crossed along with Danny who stood beside him and Officer Jenny walked back over stood to the right with the three of them on a ledge overlooking the trainer's.
They were on the opposite side where a line in the middle was made for Ash to pass through to other side where Tobias and the others stood. He walked through the massive congregation where some of the trainer's where nodding to him in approval, some were saying his name as he passed while other's remained silent.
He walked up the ledge once he reached it and stood beside Tobias in the middle who nodded to him "Now is the time Ash" He remained silent as all eyes were finally on him before he took a heavy breath to clear his head. When he was ready he stepped forward and begun addressing "Trainer's" Everyone was now giving the young champion their full attention.
"I heard you all did well to keep your people safe when the city was attacked. You were able to get them out safely and hold them off long enough for everyone to get out. It may seem like a defeat that they took the city but the people are more important and that there is a victory alone and you all should be proud of that".
He earned some smiles and approvals from some of the trainers before he continued "I am sorry however that I wasn't there to help as I was too busy with the junior cup and that doesn't excuse the fact that in all my time of battling Team Rocket that I didn't think they would try something like this"
"….But I will find a way for all of you to go home. The city has been taken against your will today…and I intent to see you reclaim it today" A wave of cheering and clapping filled the air as the massive group of trainer's. In the crowds were even members of the city who weren't trainers. "But in this case it is something I cannot do alone with my Pokémon"
People were shocked to hear this as they wouldn't expect that from a champion as Ash lowered his head for a moment "The force of the invaders is huge in the city where my Pokémon and I would get overwhelmed…So I am asking for your help in this matter…Help me take back Saffron city and give it back to its rightful owners…You" There was murmuring among the crowds as people were being hesitant to speak their thoughts. Ash was beginning to think that his request had fallen on death ears. But he heard a voice "I will Champion" They all looked to see an adult trainer step forward "You have done a lot for the people of Kanto in protecting them so far and no one asked for it to begin with. It is time for us to help you continue that role"
A smile begun to fill Ash's face as another trainer stepped forward "Count me in…It is time for them to pay and show we are not to be messed with". One by one all the trainer's begun to step forward and show their willingness to help. Tobias brought a smile to his face and grinned very impressed by the young Champion in his speech. Ash stepped forward and proudly said "Thank you…this is brave for you all to undertake" His face begun to fall serious after he said that.
"Team Rocket…they have sent us a message, not just us but to everyone in Kanto…that they can take whatever they want, whenever they want from us and we can't stop them. They believe they are so powerful that nothing can stop them from taking over this region" He could tell the anger in the crowds was coming on.
He pointed forward "Well we will send them a message back…You all have great potential…You…your Pokémon, our allies, friends and family to us….This is a bond that Team Rocket do not understand" People were becoming aroused by this "We will show them what this bond truly means, that it is more powerful than anything they have"
A few were excited to this and a couple were quietly cheering as Ash held out his arms "You fly now…with me…my Pokémon. Together we will all show Team Rocket…that they cannot take whatever they want and they cannot do whatever they want" The cheering was becoming louder slowly for the entire population of Saffron were listening.
"We will show them that the people of Kanto are strong…and we will not bend to their desires and we all are united" Ash now proudly spoke out "And we will defend it now because this….THIS IS OUR LAND" The massive crowds went into an uproar of cheering and threw their arm's up yelling out in unison.
Ash looked on towards the people looking proud of their willingness to protect their people. He spoke again "Now come…We will show Team Rocket that they have no right to Saffron and we will take it back NOW" With all the massive crowd of trainers fired up he looked to Tobias who spoke "Impressive Ash, you will make a good leader. This is your show Ash, what do you need me for?"
Ash nodded to him and quickly spoke "Lead the trainer's on the ground. I will take to the sky with Lugia" Tobias nodded and took out a poke ball "Let's go now" He threw the poke ball and it opened up and spooled energy to form a Pokémon. It was shown to be an Entei, one of the legendary beasts of Johto which roared in triumph. "An Entei". Ash would be surprised but he knew this was Tobias and he quickly turned around towards Latias and Pikachu who both nodded "Let's go we have a city to win back".
Ash begun running forward down through the crowd straight through as Lugia came in and landed just outside the massive congregation of trainers which could amount to an army. Lugia landed down on his feet and wings and lowered himself as Ash came to him side and jumped onto his back as Latias floated beside them and Pikachu jumped on Ash's shoulder.
The Champion nodded to Lugia who immediately raised himself to stand on his legs and held his wings up in the air. He then roared out a triumphant roar where all the trainers yelled in cheer towards before Lugia leaped up and begun to take flight into the sky. All the trainer's begun to take their poke ball's and release a Pokémon each. Consisting of many flying and dragon types like Pidgeot, Charizard, Dragonite, Salamance, Fearow, Skarmory, Flygon, Unfezant, Braviary, Tropius and many other Pokémon. Ash flying above them circling around with Lugia watches as they all mount their Pokémon and one by one take off into the sky.
Many more trainer's release ground walking Pokémon like Arcanine, Rhyhorn, Tyranitar, Onix, Gyarados, Ninetails and many more Pokémon and they also mount onto their Pokémon and all begin to move following behind Tobias who had mounted onto Entei's back. Lugia then turned with a few beats of his wing's and begun to fly away being followed with an armada of Pokémon and trainer's flying behind and around him.
All the remaining People staying behind cheering and applauding the army of trainers setting off to reclaim their home. Ash could see Tobias on his Entei leading everyone on the ground. He looked up and exchanged a nod to Ash who returned it before he looked forward and speed on with Lugia with the massive army of trainer's by their side. Ash had a thought to himself "Get ready Team Rocket, now you will see what happens when you go too far against innocent people. We will end you"
Wow…that was a long Chapter for me. Not my longest in history but actually not far off. Hope you enjoyed this massive chapter and all it brought to light. I bet you are all excited now to see what happens next as Ash and Tobias…bet you didn't see him here take their army of trainers to reclaim Saffron. Stay tuned and look forward to the next part. This is a part of the story I intend to overdrive myself in. See you next time.