Chapter 25: The Mysterious Lighthouse and Bill!
"The road has just gotta be here somewhere..." said Ash, before Brock reminded the younger Ketchum brother of what somewhere was.
"Everything's somewhere." retorted Brock, causing Yellow to frown as she had noticed the time it was, as the sky was getting darker and darker for each second that passed.
"Guys, I'm a little worried. It's getting dark and we might have to camp out here... again." Yellow put in, with Chuchu giving a cry of agreement.
It was sundown and the end of another long day for Isamu, Ash and their friends after their meetings with Bulbasaur, Oddish and Melanie at the Hidden Village, Charmander after his fallout with Damien and Squirtle and Luna's Eevee and her brother following a run-in with some poachers and the Squirtle Squad.
Right now, the group finds themselves once again lost in a forest and with Ash at the helm once more. But, it seems like he got everyone lost for the umpteenth time much to Misty's annoyance and Yellow's worry as they continued to walk.
"Ash, have you gotten us lost again?" Misty griped.
"Well, there's nothing we can do right now except follow the path in front of us. There's no point in whining about it now," Isamu muttered. Eevee sighed while Vulpix yawned a little as the little Fox Pokémon started to get tired again while riding on his shoulders.
The elder Ketchum brother had let Vulpix out to let her enjoy some time with her parents and to travel around as the walking would give her some exercise. But after for a while, things started to make Vulpix bored as she looked like she wanted to have a nap.
"Maybe we should've gotten a map first before we left the Squirtle Squad's new hometown," Luna put in as she, Arcanine and Ninetales walked alongside Isamu to keep up with him.
"Still... even if we're lost, we did manage to meet some people and big bro, Luna, and I have our Badges to brag about! Pretty impressive, right?" Ash bragged, showing off the Boulder and the Cascade Badge.
"You didn't earn those Badges... You got them just 'cause Brock and my sisters felt sorry for you," scoffed Misty, much to Ash's annoyance as he glared at her,
"I did, too!" Ash snapped, before Yellow piped up with a reminder.
"Misty, what about Isamu and Luna? Luna won your Badge after your battle with her and Isamu won yours along with Brock's after his battles." Yellow piped up, while the elder brother sighed, sounding rather annoyed with the youngest Sensational Sister.
"Geez, Misty, and I never thought someone who whines a lot like you would smarten up about the Pokémon League and how to do it." Isamu scoffed, earning a glare from her.
"What's that supposed to mean, Isamu?!" Misty shot back, causing Brock and Luna to butt in and back up Yellow's argument and defuse the tension between Ash, Misty and Isamu.
"Yellow's right, guys, chill out. Besides, we're forgetting one thing here..." Luna replied.
"Yeah, don't you remember, guys? Either way, Ash has two Badges and six Pokémon. Isamu has the same Badges but he also has five Pokémon under his belt and Misty, Luna has your Cascade Badge along with three Pokémon." Brock reminded.
"From what I know about the Pokémon League... A Trainer needs about six Pokémon as well as the eight qualifying Badges as per the limit in order to compete in the Pokémon League. Ash currently has six but I need one more and Luna needs her remaining three if we're all going to enter." Isamu spoke, remembering the basic rules.
The elder Ketchum brother remembered the Pokémon that he had gained on his journey, with the same going for Luna.
"I've had Eevee with me from the very beginning, and caught Pidgey... Nidorino... Vulpix... and Oddish. Luna had Arcanine and Ninetales at the beginning, before catching Eevee. And little bro has..."
Ash started to name his Pokémon to respond for his brother, leaving Misty to be annoyed again while Brock remained indifferent.
"Their names are Pikachu... Pidgeotto... Butterfree... Bulbasaur... Charmander... Squirtle! And I caught them all fair and square!" Ash declared, bragging causing Yellow to remind the younger brother of how he obtained some of the Pokémon.
"Didn't some of your Pokémon follow you around, Ash?" Yellow quipped.
"Huh? Eh-heh-he, well, they're all mine and that's all that counts." Ash objected, only to be stopped by his brother, who reminded him of how he caught some of them...
"That's often the case for you and Pidgeotto's a real catch for you along with Butterfree when he was a Caterpie. But, Bulbasaur decided to join you as per Melanie's wish for him to grow happy and strong after he left the village with us. And, what about Charmander and Squirtle? Charmander decided to join us after we helped him break away from Damien and Squirtle chose to come with us after everything he and the Squirtle Squad put us through wanting a new life."
Ash winced at the large explanation, but the truth that his brother brought out while Luna explained of how she obtained her Pokémon.
"Your brother's right, Ash. And, besides, Arcanine and Ninetales joined us to protect and look after me and Eevee joined me after she chose to go with me with her brother's blessings and by my promise to look after her for him. Even Vulpix wanted to come with Isamu after he and Eevee rescued her from Team Rocket."
"Even Isamu managed to capture Nidoran along with his Pidgey through battling with them. Plus, Oddish made the choice to join him and us through a battle too after she decided to leave Melanie's village to become stronger if she finds her friends again and protect them. Besides, real Pokémon trainers often capture Pokémon on their own, right?"
The younger brother could only slump down at the bitter truth that his brother and Luna brought out, as he groaned, feeling depressed from what he was hearing... and one of them was his own elder brother!
"Ooh, you never give me a break, guys..." Ash groaned, causing Isamu to continue.
"Why not, little bro? You kept on bragging about your badges when we should be focusing on training for the Pokémon League and capturing and looking up Pokémon for the Pokédex for Professor Oak." Isamu reminded, before Brock and Misty shot more bullets into the younger brother's mind.
"It's not uncommon for trainers to capture 20 or maybe 30 Pokémon," Brock added.
"You're lucky your Pokémon followed you everywhere and don't forget, we all helped you, too." Misty reminded.
"Yeah, don't forget about that, Ash." The bitter truths the two spouted out and the nods of approval that all Isamu, Ash, and Luna's Pokémon were all were giving caused the younger brother to feel even more depressed.
"You're always putting me down. But, I'll show you! I'm gonna prove to you that I can do it! I'm going to be a Pokémon Master!" Ash declared before he took a big step, as he looked back at his companions.
"Stand back and watch me work!" Ash called out as he brought out a Pokéball before he began to run off.
"Hey! Little bro!" Isamu called as he watched his brother run off, leaving him and the others behind.
"Where have we heard that one before?" Luna deadpanned quietly to Isamu who sighed in response as Ash left to find a Pokémon to catch on his own.
With the younger brother running ahead, the others decided to follow him to make sure he doesn't get himself into trouble but also deciding that they also should find a Pokémon to battle and catch, too.
"You better not run into trouble by the time we catch up, little brother..." Isamu thought as he walked ahead with the others following.
(Pokémon Opening: Aim to Be a Pokémon Master! English Subbed)
(I'll get you, Pokémon!)
(Japanese Opening appears)
Even if in fire, in water, in grass, in forests
In ground, in clouds, in that girl's skirt (eek!)
(Charizard, Blastoise, and Venusaur shoot their attacks in the air)
(Pikachu and Eevee run together past Ash and Isamu, and a girl)
It's very, very,
Very, very difficult but
(Pictures of different Pokémon appear in each box sections)
I'm sure I'll get you!
I'll get you, Pokémon!
(Ash twists his cap and throws a Pokéball; Isamu throws his Pokéball in the air)
(Ash and Pikachu sits together on a Lapras)
Farewell, bye-bye, Pallet Town
(Ash and Isamu stand together, seeing Pallet Town from the hill)
I'm leaving on a journey with him (Pikachu!)
(The two brothers walk together with Eevee and Pikachu)
Racking up wins with the moves we've trained
(Ash throws a Pokéball, summoning Pidgeot; Isamu throws his Pokéball, summoning Nidoking)
Making friends, and then off to the next city
(Ash's Pidgeot and a Fearow battles each other; Isamu's Nidoking faces and battles against a Machamp)
(Brock and Misty stands with the two brothers together)
(Luna and Yellow joins in with the two)
Always and forever doing well
(Team Rocket appears with Meowth, Ekans, and Koffing; Gary smirks and shows a Pokéball)
Though there's no guarantee of that... (That's true!)
(The six run through a rainstorm; Officer Jenny, Prof. Oak, Delia, and Nurse Joy stands and nods together)
Forever and always, I'll live true
(Ash, Misty, Isamu, Luna, Yellow, and Brock sits together in a campfire night)
Because they're here
(Ash, Isamu, Pikachu, and Eevee runs together with an Arcanine and Rapidash)
(The three legendary birds fly in the air; Mewtwo and Mew flies above the world in space)
Ah! I long to be a Pokémon Master
(Ash opens his eyes, seeing himself in the middle of the battlefield stadium)
I want to be, I have to be
(Ash takes out a Pokéball in his left hand; Isamu takes out a Pokéball in his right hand)
I know I'll be one!
(Ash and Isamu hold their Pokéballs into the air, with Eevee and Pikachu standing with them)
(Brock, Luna, Yellow, and Misty watches the two with smiles on their faces)
[Opening Ends]
"Whoa!"
The younger brother managed to find his way out of the woods, and discovered a beach that had a sparkling blue ocean. But remembering what he truly wanted to do, he sighed in disappointment.
"I don't want to watch the sunset... I want more Pokémon- Huh?" Ash started, before he heard something scuttling under him as he looked to see that a small crab-like Pokémon was scuttling under as it went past him!
"Hey, wait. Stay here. Don't go. Come back." Ash called out before he smiled, taking out a Pokédex.
"It's a Pokémon..." He said as the device scanned the Water Type Pokémon.
"Krabby, the River Crab Pokémon. It lives near the shore, and its average height is about 16 inches." Ash's Pokédex explained, causing Ash to look at his device before looking back at the River Crab Pokémon.
"A Pokémon's a Pokémon, I guess. But this Krabby sure is shrimpy." Ash commented, which the Water Type heard as bubbles started to come out of its mouth.
Thinking that its feelings were hurt, the younger brother blinked before he tried to apologize to the little Water Type.
"Uh, I didn't mean to insult you, Krabby. You're a cute little-" Ash started to compliment it, but a pinch on his finger from Krabby's pincer made the younger brother wince and twitch before...
"AHHHHH!" Ash shrieked as Krabby let go of him before it hissed, opening its pincers several times to show that it was ready to take the young human on, whenever the younger Ketchum brother was ready.
Recovering from the little pinch he had taken, the younger brother glared at Krabby, as both sides remained silent except for the pincers opening up several times from the River Crab Pokémon.
The ocean water was all they could hear before the younger brother grew confident about his ability to catch his seventh team member.
"Showdown time. Tiny or not, you are a Pokémon, and I'll show big bro, Luna, and the others that I can catch you." Ash declared as he and Krabby faced each other before the two charged at each other!
The younger brother grabbed a stick to fight, only for Krabby to easily destroy it. But it was at that moment when Ash twisted his cap backwards and took out an empty Pokéball to use.
"Pokéball, go!" Ash shouted out as the ball hit the River Crab Pokémon before it sucked it inside! As it landed on the ground, the ball began to shake back and forth with the younger brother watching carefully.
Soon, after a few moments, there was a click and a smile came to Ash's face at seeing his success of capturing a Pokémon of his own.
"Hm-hm... Now I really caught one. Good try, Krabby, but not good enough!" Ash chuckled. But just as he was about to celebrate his moment of catching his seventh Pokémon, the Pokéball all of a sudden began to glow!
"Huh?" was all Ash could say as he watched the ball glow and crackle a little before it disappeared out of his hand!
"What happened? Where'd my new Krabby go? Huh...?!" Ash panicked as he searched around for the Pokéball that disappeared, only to see no sign of anything, causing him to pale a little.
"I don't see it anywhere. Where'd it go?" Ash panicked, until a familiar voice stopped him from doing so.
"Didn't you know that a Trainer can only keep six Pokémon?" Misty called out as the younger brother turned to see his brother, Luna, and the rest of his companions coming over, as they seemed to have seen or heard Ash catching his seventh Pokémon.
"Huh?" Ash grew a little confused before Misty explained further.
"Trainers can only have six Pokémon, and the rest are transported." Misty explained, with Brock agreeing.
"Yeah, but you can switch one Pokémon for another by pressing the white button inside your Pokédex." Brock explained, causing the younger brother to check his device and see which button the former Gym Leader was talking about.
"Uh... you mean this button?" Ash asked, causing Isamu to nod.
"That's right... Once you press that, it sends a signal to activate the system that makes the exchange." Isamu explained, causing the younger brother to frown and whine a little about it.
"But I don't want to exchange my Pokémon..." Ash protested, causing Misty to glare at him with an annoyed tone.
"Then shut your Pokédex and quit whining." Misty snapped, allowing Ash to close his device and protest that he wasn't trying to whine about it.
"I wasn't whining. I just wanted to know where my Krabby went." Ash explained, allowing the Viridian girl to explain with a soft smile.
"Oh, that's easy... From what I know from the Trainers who got their Pokédex, the Pokémon that's transported from them gets transported somewhere, like a storage of some sort." Yellow explained, making Ash curious.
"Where does it get transported to?" Ash asked, allowing Yellow to explain further.
"To the one who gave you and Isamu your Pokédexes... I'm sure you know him very well." Yellow reminded, allowing the younger brother to realize who the Viridian girl was talking about.
"Then that means Krabby must be with..." Ash started, before he recalled the Kanto Professor that had given him Pikachu when he and Isamu headed over to his laboratory to begin their journey together.
"It's with Professor Oak." Ash replied, now remembering the man as Brock nodded.
"That's right. Krabby just got transported automatically to Professor Oak's Pokémon laboratory, so don't worry about it." Brock assured, causing the younger brother to think of the Professor.
"So, Krabby's with Professor Oak, huh?" Ash started as he remembered that when the last time he and Isamu called Prof. Oak, the Kanto Professor was ordering pizza. And he knew how much of an eater the Professor could be.
So as he thought about him, he began to think that with Krabby being so small, it could possibly be the new meal for the Professor to eat.
Isamu noticed the grim look his brother had and realized what he was thinking as he tried to prevent his brother from thinking of the Professor in such a way.
"Ash... I don't think the Professor would do such a thing to a Pokémon... even if that Krabby of yours was pretty small." Isamu assured, only for Ash to sigh but grow even more concerned of his newly caught Pokémon.
"Yeah, but... just thinking about it is making me doubly worried. Isn't there any way I can make sure it's okay?" Ash asked, causing Luna to frown.
"I don't think that'll be possible. In order to check on Krabby, we'd have to call Prof. Oak... but we haven't passed any phones in a while and it's very unlikely that this beach will have one..." Luna explained sadly.
"There's got to be a phone around here someplace. I've got to check on Krabby." Ash spoke, causing Misty to frown as she looked at the sky to see it getting even darker as they've spent a bit of time talking about where other Pokémon go.
"I'm more worried about having to camp out again tonight. I'm sick of sleeping in sleeping bags." Misty groaned, causing Isamu to glare at her.
"Your complaining isn't going to help any of us. There's still a bit of time before night falls. So we should just search around and see if there's a building or a place that we could be for the night." Isamu spoke up, causing Ash to nod.
"Yeah... I'm just worried about finding a way to find out if poor little Krabby's okay." Ash spoke, causing Luna to smile sympathetically.
"Don't worry, Ash. I'm sure it's just fine." Luna assured, before the three little ones looked to see something up ahead.
"Eevee! Vee!"
"Vul! Vulpix!"
"Pika! Pika!"
"Hm? What is it, you three?" Isamu called before the group noticed a building up ahead that seemed familiar to them.
"What's that?" Ash asked, before Misty looked closer to see...
"It's a lighthouse." She answered, much to Ash's joy as he grinned at the sight of it, as he realized what the building could have.
"A lighthouse! Every lighthouse has to have a keeper, and he'll have a phone. And I'm going to use it to call Professor Oak." Ash exclaimed, while Misty smiled as well, remembering the other benefits that a lighthouse could have.
"And there'll probably be some extra beds. A sleeping bag is no way for me to get my beauty sleep." Misty sighed, with Brock adding in a third benefit of the idea.
"Yeah, and there'll be somebody there to tell us where we are." Brock added, causing Yellow to smile.
"That means we won't get lost anymore when trying to find Vermilion City. It's perfect!" Yellow exclaimed as the group got ready to head to their new destination for the day.
"Let's go!" Ash cried out as he took the helm of running ahead as the others followed.
That night...
"Whew. That was farther than it looked." Ash panted as the group had to run all the way there. And by the time they had reached the big building, the sky was already dark as it was night.
"This lighthouse looks weird." Brock commented as the group looked up to see the giant doors that blocked their way. And on the doors were different kinds of Pokémon pictures... ones that the group has never seen before.
"What's weird about it? You mean the way it looks, or the way this door looks...?" Isamu asked, causing Yellow to frown.
"I'm guessing both..." Yellow responded before Misty noticed a doorbell with a speaker on it.
"Guess we better ring the bell..." Misty spoke, causing Ash to volunteer.
"I got it." Ash spoke before he tapped on the button that rang the bell. But as it tolled, it gave a mysterious feeling that gave the six Trainers the shivers as they all shook just from the sound of it.
As it stopped tolling, a man's voice came from the speaker of the doorbell.
"Who's there?" The voice called out, causing the group to tense before Brock began to explain their situation to the speaker.
"Uh, excuse us, sir, but we're travelers, and we're lost." Brock explained, causing Luna to sweat drop.
"That's putting it bluntly..." Luna commented, before Ash explained of what he needed from the man.
"We've got a small emergency here, and we need to use your telephone, please, sir." Ash explained before Misty pushed him out of the way to add in more details to explain their current situation.
"We've been camping out for quite a while, and I'd sure appreciate a nice, comfy bed." Misty added, before Brock added in another thing that they needed.
"And I wonder if I could use your kitchen to make some bacon double cheeseburgers for our group. And I'd be more than happy to make something for you." Brock explained, causing content to be heard from the man.
"That's great. Can you cook without using tofu?" The man asked, causing Brock to smile proudly at the question.
"Oh, sure, I can cook lots of things without using any tofu." Brock assured, causing relief to be heard from the speaker.
"That's good. I've been eating nothing but tofu since my cook went on vacation." The man spoke, causing Isamu to sweat drop.
"Nothing but tofu... That's just... sad and unappetizing." Isamu stated with a sweat drop.
"You've got that right, young man. Come on in." The man spoke before the giant doors began to open up, revealing a large hallway for the group to see and enter as they looked around to see where the man was.
For Ash, he was more interested in searching for the phone as he called out to the man for his permission.
"Would you mind if I borrow your phone?" Ash asked, causing the man to respond to his request.
"There's a phone right near you." The man spoke, causing the group to turn and see a videophone with a Bellsprout figure that had the numbers and a speaker for the person to hear and to talk to.
"Hey, it's a videophone. Oh, that's cool." Misty commented, causing Ash to smile as this was his chance to know how the River Crab Pokémon was doing.
"I'll call Professor Oak now, and see if he has my Pokémon. The Professor won't mind if I call him collect." Ash spoke as he dialed the number for the laboratory that Prof. Oak lives in.
The others got in close and watched as the videophone showed a screen of the Professor looking like he was cooking up something. That got Ash to flinch as he believed that his previous thoughts might be true.
"Well, hi, Ash. Isamu. You boys caught me cooking dinner. My cook is on vacation and I've got to fend for myself till she returns." Prof. Oak explained, causing Isamu to widen his eyes a bit before he narrowed them, as he began to understand why his brother was a bit nervous.
"Prof. Oak, what exactly are you eating right now?" Isamu asked with narrowed eyes.
"You're not eating my Krabby, are you?" Ash added, feeling more concern, only to get a smile from the Kanto Professor before he showed the boys of the younger brother's newly caught River Crab Pokémon.
"Don't worry, Ash. I'm taking good care of your Krabby. It's right here."
The Professor showed a small fish bowl that Krabby was in so that it would be comfortable around water.
"Anyway, that Krabby of yours is too small to make a very hearty meal. On the other hand, the Krabby that Gary caught would make an excellent dinner. Much better than tofu." Prof. Oak explained as he began to eat his meal.
What? You mean Gary caught a Krabby too?" Ash asked in surprise, causing the Professor to confirm that it was true.
Yes, it's quite a catch. Take a look for yourself." Prof. Oak spoke before he turned the video over so that the younger brother and the others could see that it was true. The Krabby that was next to Ash's Krabby was much bigger and stronger looking!
"Ah..." Ash couldn't believe what he was seeing while Brock and Yellow on the other hand, were amazed.
"That's one big Krabby..." Yellow commented in awe, before the Professor reminded the boys of how much Pokémon Gary has caught so far.
"And boys... I want you two to know that my grandson Gary has already caught 45 Pokémon." Prof. Oak explained, shocking Ash while the elder brother just raised a brow at the Kanto Professor.
"45 Pokémon... Ugh..." Ash groaned, as Isamu sighed.
"We never asked you to brag about your grandson, Professor. We just wanted to know how Ash's Krabby is doing. We'll just hang up now." Isamu spoke bitterly, as he was about to finish the call when the Professor stopped him.
"W-Wait...! At least tell me where you two are calling me from!?" Prof. Oak called out, causing Ash to explain as he took the phone from his brother.
"We're at an old lighthouse way up on top of a cliff." Ash explained, allowing the Kanto Professor to realize where the group was at.
"Oh, that must be Bill's lighthouse. He's a young Pokémon researcher who knows even more than me. See what you two can learn from him. He could teach you just about everything about Pokémon, and then some." Prof. Oak explained.
"He says that there is a person who knows about Pokémon more than he does... Why isn't that man a Professor like Prof. Oak?" Luna thought, frowning at the thought before the man, now known as Bill spoke up from a speaker.
"This is Bill, Professor Oak. Good to hear from you." Bill spoke up, as the Professor heard before he greeted his acquaintance back.
"Hello, Bill. Please give my friends a crash course in Pokémon." Prof. Oak requested, causing Isamu and Luna to both frown together.
"Friends?" Isamu thought with narrowed eyes, remembering the belittling or criticism that the Professor gave to him and Ash the first time back at the Pokémon Center and right now.
"I thought he would've given us some advice about Pokémon, but he's allowing another person to explain it to us..." Luna thought before the Professor looked to see his dinner all cooked.
"Uh oh. Tofu's done."
With that, the phone hung up, ending the call as the group turned to see Bill speaking up once more.
"Well, there's no way I can ignore a request from the great Professor Oak." Bill said as the lights in the hallway shone, causing the group to be startled by the sudden brightness of the hall before they turned to see...
"I am Bill of the lighthouse." Bill spoke, introducing himself.
But to the group's shock, they expected to see a human, but up ahead wasn't a human... but a big Pokémon! It looked some sort of ancient Pokémon with claws and red eyes. And most of all, it was standing up!
"A... Kabuto?" Isamu spoke in disbelief.
"Are you... really Bill?" Luna asked in shock as the six stared at the Kabuto in disbelief.
To be continued...
Isamu's Team:
Eevee: (F): (Tackle, Bite, Sand Attack, Quick Attack)
Pidgey: (M): (Gust, Sand-Attack, Quick Attack, Tackle)
Nidorino: (M): (Double Kick, Poison Sting, Body Slam, Peck)
Vulpix: (F): (Ember, Quick Attack, Roar, Dig)
Oddish: (F): (Poison Powder, Mega Drain, Sleep Powder, Acid)
Next chapters:
Chapter 26: The Mysterious Sound Appears Big!
Chapter 27: The Shocking Gym Battle! Pt. 1
Chapter 28: The Shocking Gym Battle! Pt. 2
Chapter 29: Aboard the St. Anne! A Big Challenge?
Chapter 30: Battle at the St. Anne! Abandon Ship!
Next chapter preview:
Bill: There are many kinds of Pokémon than the ones you Pokémon Trainers know of...
Ash: So many, huh... I only have seven of them so far while big bro has five...
Luna: It's amazing... How do you do it, Mr. Bill? How do you research all the Pokémon... even the ones that should be extinct?
Bill: Oh, that's easy. I put on some costumes to try and understand what they're feeling of... at least that's what I think.
Ash: Guess that's why you were stuck in there for so long... Why put it on if you can't even get out?
Bill: Well, that's... Hm? Ah! It's here! The Pokémon that is alone and the one that I want to make friends with!
Events that occurred:
- The group meets Bill in his lighthouse
- Ash learns that any new Pokémon that he catches gets sent to Prof. Oak