Chapter Seventeen: Home Again
It was the salty sea breeze that greeted Ash as he hopped onto Pallet Town's southern docks. As the clouds above broke into clear skies, he smiled. He was finally home.
He walked past the several piers that made up the docks and along the dirt path that led to Pallet Town. He looked back, waiting for Misty to catch up, before picking up the pace until they could finally see houses in the distance.
His smile, if possible, grew even wider. A wave of almost nostalgia crashed into him as he realised it had been months since he'd been home. The weeks spent camping in the wilderness had made him almost forget the comfort of home. And his mother - he couldn't wait to see her, and talk to her, and hug her above all this.
"Hey, wait up!" Misty cried as he broke into a run, but he ignored her; as soon as he saw his house, it was as if he felt a primal urge to simply get home as quickly as he could. He ignored the burn in his lungs as his legs moved with a mind of their own. He just wanted to get home.
His arm wavered nervously as he raised a hand to knock on the white door. He could almost imagine his mother rushing to the front door as he heard her say, "One moment!" He waited long enough for a heaving Misty to catch up to him, before the door swung open.
There was a split-second of silence as Delia looked at her guest; then, an instant later, Ash was swooped into a bone-crushing hug as his mother gasped. He squirmed, wiggling his arms to hug her back as she embraced him tenderly for quite some time before finally letting go.
Her smile was watery as she gingerly held his face, caressing his cheeks. "You're home," she gasped; she sounded like she was going to cry.
"Hey, Mom," he said hesitantly. He laughed.
"I'd expect more than a 'hey'," she quipped, chuckling. She pulled him into another hug. "It's so good to see you, Ashy."
He smiled. "It's really good to see you too, Mom."
She stepped back and pushed open the door fully. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend, Ash?" she asked, smiling at Misty, who returned with a nervous dip of her head.
"Oh, yeah. This is Misty - no, Mom, she's just a friend!" he interjected, blushing furiously as his mother smirked at him. ".She's been travelling with me since Celadon."
"Hello, Ms Ketchum. It's a pleasure to meet you," she said, shaking Delia's hand.
"The pleasure's all mine," said Delia. "We'd be glad to have you over for lunch, Misty, if you don't mind."
"Not at all!"
Delia smiled. She kissed her son's forehead one more time before walking back in and inviting them in her home.
Ash smiled as he stepped in, smelling his home after what felt like an eternity. There was no place like home.
XxXxX
The last time Ash had such a magnificent spread was in the Big Riddle Inn, but even Blaine's cooking compared to nothing in front of Delia's feast. The first bite of his mother's famous Cinnabar burgers even better than he had remembered. The embarrassing stories Delia regaled to Misty was a small price to pay for the magnificent lunch prepared for him.
Misty had left soon after. Her plan was to train for a while in Cerulean until she was ready to hit the road again. Ash was too stuffed to properly bid her goodbye, but he did remember lying across the couch as he burped a farewell.
"How many gym badges do you have now?" Delia asked curiously, once they were past their tearful reunion. Ash had changed into his pajamas - after all, he was going to do nothing but sleep today. He could explore the rest of town and meet the professor tomorrow.
"Five," Ash said, smiling as he lazed on the sofa. "We battled Blaine at Cinnabar, but…we lost." He sighed. Losing to Blaine had knocked down his self-confidence.
"Oh." Delia gazed at him sadly. "It's alright, Ashy. You can't expect yourself to win every time. I'm sure you'll manage to snag a win the next time you challenge him."
Ash nodded numbly. "But my pokémon have grown loads stronger," he continued, moving past the touchy subject, "and most of them have evolved already!"
Delia smiled. "That's great! I remember you telling me about your Bulbasaur evolving in a gym battle…but you really haven't talked about your other pokémon much."
"Do you want to see them?" he asked, grinning as her eyes lit up. He suddenly felt much more lively now that his mom was going to finally meet his entire team. He grabbed the belt of pokéballs from the coffee table, unclipped the devices and smirked as his mother looked up eagerly at him. He primed the first pokéball and tapped the release button.
The red energy coalesced and gave form to Saur, who seemed confused and surprised as he looked around the living room. "It's okay, Saur!" He walked up to his friend and knelt down to pet him. Instantly, the Ivysaur calmed and rumbled under his touch. "This is my home. We're back in Pallet Town. You remember my mom, don't you?"
The Ivysaur looked up to see the woman slowly walk up in awe and adoration. She too got down to Saur's eye-level and tentatively scratched under his jaw. He relaxed almost instantly. "It's great to see you, Saur! You've gotten so much bigger and stronger since the last I saw you."
"Yeah, yeah, soak it all in," Ash remarked, smirking as Saur puffed up at Delia's praised. As Saur nuzzled Delia, who giggled at his reciprocity, he reached for the rest of the pokéballs on his belt and sent out Atlas and Screecher - he wanted to send out the rest of his pokémon as well, but he explained to his mother that they'd feel far better out in Oak's corral than in their small house.
For now, he let himself relax and join his mother as she laughed and gushed over Ash's friends. It felt good to finally be back home.
XxXxX
Ash was stripped off of any lingering exhaustion when he awoke late the next morning. He'd found it slightly odd to sleep in his bed the night before - it was a bit too comfy than he'd been used to on his journey, but he wasn't going to complain. He walked down to the dining room to be greeted by the smell of hot pancakes and thick syrup.
After downing his rather heavy breakfast, Ash decided to head to the professor's lab with his mother. They caught up a bit with each other as Delia led the way - she told him that they'd renovated the restaurant, and how all the parents held weekly dinners ever since Ash and the rest had embarked on their journey. Ash was just happy to hear that his mom had been doing well these past several months with him on the road. He wondered how Red was doing. From the last time he'd talked to his mom about his older brother, he hadn't been heard from in quite some time. He hoped he was safe, wherever he was.
The cacophony of pokémon grew louder as they neared the magnificent lab. Ash couldn't say he didn't miss the professor - while he'd missed his mother the most, Oak was a close second. Besides, he could now get his mentor's help first-hand instead of the dull video-calls they had every now and then.
Professor Oak was, unsurprisingly, in the lab working on something with his aides, who gave Delia and Ash warm smiles as they entered. Oak looked up as their footfalls grew louder - his frown of concentration transformed in an instant. "Ash!" he called, dismissing his aides. "It's good to see you, my boy. I didn't expect to see you so early."
Ash grinned. "I guess I'm just too excited to be back home," he said. Oak laughed.
"How are you coming along, my boy?" Oak asked. "I haven't seen your pokémon for quite some time."
Ash grinned. He was never not eager to talk about his friends. "They're doing great! I was hoping you'd be able to evaluate my team, Professor, to get some insight into my team - could you help me figure out training regiments for them?"
"Of course!" Oak exclaimed, taking off his glasses. "Let's head out back, shall we?"
"So I finally get to see your whole team, huh?" said Delia, grinning.
Oak led them out into the wide fields that made up his corral - there were hundreds of different pokémon wandering around, either resting or playing with each other. The professor took them out to a more vacant area of the corral, where Oak was more comfortable with Ash letting out his team without the other pokémon in the enclosure interfering.
He first released Saur, after which he released the rest of his team. His mother, who had met only a couple of his friends the day before, gushed over each one of them as Ash introduced her and filled his team him. They were all equally receptive, although Delia was careful as she approached Kratos, and examined a surly Snorlax from a fair distance.
"You've got quite the balanced team, Ash," Oak commented as his trained eyes surveyed the creatures in front of him. He crouched to his knees to get a closer look at Saur. "He looks ready to evolve, doesn't he, Delia?" said the professor, marvelling at Saur's massive, ripe bud.
Delia nodded energetically. Sometimes, Ash forgot how enthusiastic she was about pokémon; after all, she had once dreamed of becoming a researcher, before Red and Ash came along. "I noticed that too. His bud looks ready to bloom any day now."
Saur looked quite proud as he let Delia and Oak rave about him. Ash, too, looked equally excited - while he had his suspicions for a long while now, Oak's assessment solidified his expectations. Saur was finally going to grow into the powerful Venusaur he was destined to be.
As Oak moved to Zeus, Ash noticed Delia's confusion. "Ashy, I could've sworn you had a Clefairy," she mused.
He felt his heart drop. He hadn't thought of Luna in a while now. He'd been so preoccupied with training and partaking in the gym circuit that he hadn't thought of his old friend almost ever since she'd left. "Oh." His voice had gotten far softer, and lost much of the zeal he'd had since the morning. "Luna…I traded her away for Kratos - my Scyther." Even though he no longer felt bad about the trade, the callousness of his words made the knot in his stomach grow heavier.
Through the corner of his eye, he could've sworn he saw Hydrus glare at him at the mention of the Clefairy's name.
Delia blinked. "What? Why?" She sounded absolutely shattered.
Ash looked away. "She wanted to pursue coordinating instead of battling, Mom. I couldn't keep her doing something she hated instead of letting her do something the actually liked," he mumbled bitterly.
"Oh," Delia whispered. "That's okay, Ash. You did what you thought was right - you let your pokémon choose her own path than keep her for your own interests." She put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. "I'm sure you're quite happy with Kratos, aren't you?"
"Yeah," he said shortly. He did - he really was happy with Kratos, and he was sure the Scyther would say the same. But he wondered what it would be like to still have Luna by his side. He sighed.
He still had Dawn's trainer information saved on his pokédex. Maybe he could reach out to her and ask if they could meet up. Surely there wouldn't be any harm in that?
He shook his head and focused as Oak snapped for his attention. "Your pokémon seem to be in perfect shape, although I'd suggest you keep your Ivysaur from any training until he evolves. If you'd like, I can send you a few training regiments for your pokémon, in order to help them perfect their strengths and work on their weaknesses. Most of them are fully evolved - and out of the half that aren't, they need evolutionary items to trigger their metamorphosis. For now, I'd suggest you stick to maximising their potential before stressing about when they're going to evolve. I find far too many trainers more concerned about how quickly they can evolve their pokémon rather than focusing on developing their team properly." He smiled. "If you would prefer, we can further discuss this tomorrow."
Ash nodded. "Thanks, Professor."
"Ash, you haven't told me their names yet," Delia interjected. She was carefully caressing Delphi's crest, which the Xatu seemed to like a lot.
"That's Delphi," he said, pointing at the tall bird. "You've met Atlas and Screecher already; then there's Kratos, Zeus and Hydrus," he introduced. "Monferno didn't want a nickname, and I don't think Snorlax ever will want one." Delia looked towards the massive creature as he talked about him.
"I remember Red's Snorlax back in the day," Oak reminisced, smiling slightly. His eyes seemed to glaze over as he sifted through the many memories he had. "That one never acted out as much as yours, Ash. Maybe you just aren't feeding it enough!" He laughed.
"My bank account says otherwise," Ash remarked, and Oak chuckled harder.
"Has Red contacted you lately, Samuel?" Delia asked. Oak's wide grin transformed into a frown of disappointment.
"The last I talked to him was when he asked me to transfer over his Skarmory - a few weeks ago," said Oak. "It's been radio silence since then…as usual." He sighed.
Ash frowned. He should've been used to it - it was an old habit of his brother's to disappear for several weeks at a time without warning, and for reasons he never shared, not even with Delia, despite her constant pestering. He figured it must've been something important for him to leave for prolonged periods at a time, but it was no excuse to simply vanish off the grid without so much as a notice.
"If anything does come up, you'll be the first to know, Delia," Oak said.
She sighed. "Let's hope we do hear from him…"
"Professor," Ash interjected politely, "I'll have to take my leave. I was thinking of getting some training done today, after all." Hearing them worry about Red gave him a headache.
Oak waved his hand. "Of course. My training fields are at your disposal - although I'm sure you'd opt for solitude. In that case, you can head for the hills north of town."
Ash nodded in thanks. "Don't forget to be on time for dinner, Ashy!" his mother called as he motioned for his pokémon to follow him outside the lab. "We'll be having Samuel and Daisy over!"
He blurted out a quick mumble of assent, but he was more focused on getting out as quick as possible. While it was a vacation, he figured a little bit of training couldn't hurt.
XxXxX
Choosing the open wilderness of Pallet's outskirts had been the right choice for Ash; he was enjoying the thinning trees and wide expanse far more than he would've liked destroying Oak's comparatively smaller training fields. Now that they were crossing into November, the grass was growing sparse and it was much colder. Within another few weeks, snow would begin to fall and blanket the earth with sheets of white snow; Ash reminded himself to pack gear to counter the cold months that would soon be upon them.
For now, the area in front of him would do. He trekked and arrived at the site a few moments later, where they would have enough time to train without any disturbances.
Saur dropped next to him, his paws flattening the thin grass under him. He had to catch up with Ash, despite the bright sun triggering his Chlorophyll ability. Ash knew, in a few days, his friend would evolve, and he couldn't wait.
Delphi swooped down and landed with such speed that it sent tremors as she did so. Her abrupt landing scared Screecher enough for her to shakily fly out of the shadow she was hiding in. Delphi did her best to ignore the Misdreavus' stink-eye.
"Alright, guys," he began as the rest of his group arrived. He released Snorlax, who decided to be carried in his pokéball rather than walk all the way. "Start warming up. I'll be with you guys soon enough."
There was a response of eager growls, grunts, trills and chirps. Ash grinned and cracked his knuckles as his group split off - save for Saur, who stayed upon his trainer's command.
Hydrus and Zeus each picked off the largest of boulders in sight, as always, while Screecher moved around aimlessly as she searched for an appropriate target, with Atlas following her like a child. Delphi immediately set off to moving a few large rocks with her psychic powers. Snorlax promptly fell asleep, but Ash quickly woke him up and glared until his pokémon whined and lumbered over to the trees. He noticed Monferno moving with far less gusto than usual, but Ash didn't give it much thought.
As he gave his team some time to themselves, he flipped open his pokédex and went over his notes. He had several plans on his mind to help his team to get stronger and cruise through the rest of the Kanto gyms. While he was eager to return to Cinnabar and challenge Blaine once again, he decided against it - he would focus on Sabrina for now, and exact revenge on the fire-type master later. Sabrina was no pushover, however - he would have to train extra hard these next few weeks until he traversed all the way to Saffron and battled their leader and her team of tricky psychics.
For now he wanted to let his pokémon perfect their moves and also teach a few of them new ones. He didn't have many TMs on hand now, except for the few Red had given him at the beginning of his journey - which meant he'd have to make a pit-stop at Celadon and pick a few TMs from the departmental store. Maybe he could challenge Erika once again while he was there, too.
He figured for now it would be enough to simply teach a couple of his friends some a few new moves to help widen their move pool. He called for their attention and recalled Monferno, Screecher, Delphi and Hydrus, before taking out his TM case.
He'd decided to teach Delphi and Screecher Double Team, as they were the fastest on his team, right behind Kratos. He had seen how effectively the Scyther used his speed and illusory copies to distract opponents enough to go in for a quick strikes, and he wanted the Xatu and Misdreavus to gain the same skill. He waited for the TM case to work its magic, before switching Delphi's pokéball for Screecher's and repeating the process.
Once the machine was done whirring, he kept their pokéballs aside and picked up Hydrus', while the Double Team TM was replaced with Protect. While it was perfectly fine for Hydrus to rely on his impressive strength during battles, he also wanted his friend to have a way to defend himself during up-close fights. He'd seen how many times Protect was used during his gym battles. If he wanted to overcome them easily, he'd have to start playing their game.
"One to go," he murmured to himself as he put Monferno's pokéball in the slot by the side. He was going to teach the fire-type Stone Edge. He didn't really have a diverse move pool - his skill set was only comprised of fire-type and fighting-type moves. Until he visited Celadon and scourge for more TMs, he wanted his friend to expand his friend's range. Plus, by the time he revisited Blaine, he wanted a few tricks up his sleeve.
The TM case took a few seconds longer to download the basics of Stone Edge to Monferno's minds, but soon he was done, and he released the four pokémon back again. They looked slightly disoriented - an expected side effect after using TMs - but they were back to their normal selves in a moment.
"Alright." The four of them perked up at the snap of Ash's fingers. "Delphi, Screecher - you'll be mastering Double Team under Kratos' charge." The Scyther looked up, but nodded without missing a beat. "Hydrus, you'll be practising Protect - no, don't look at me like that," he added sternly, as Hydrus looked offended, clearly expecting to be taught a powerful new move. "You might be strong, but Protect will help you a lot. You can't expect yourself to scream your way through every battle."
Hydrus still looked annoyed, but Ash's gaze brokered no argument. He spun around, disgruntled as he walked away, but Ash didn't really care.
He then looked at Monferno. "I don't know much about how Stone Edge works, but I'm sure we'll get through it in no time." The fire-type's lack of a response was unnerving, but Ash figured he just needed to warm up. "I've got some tips over here, so if we follow them you'll have it under control pretty quick."
The Monferno nodded, and walked back to his selected boulder without much talking. Ash frowned. He hoped nothing was wrong with his friend.
While the rest of his team practised their new moves, Ash and Monferno walked a few yards where they could be alone. Saur plodded diligently behind, as Ash had decided to follow Oak's advice.
Ash pointed at a tree. "Alright, Monferno. Let's aim for the tree, yeah?" He grinned as Monferno readied himself, staring straight ahead at the thick bark.
Ash frowned; a few tries in, Monferno had done nothing other than made the ground shudder and hiss with each punch to the ground. But a few moments later, Ash realised it wasn't because of a lack of strength, but a lack of motivation.
He called for Monferno to stop and knelt beside his friend, looking over him in concern. Even Saur seemed to have noticed, as he too peered from next to his trainer. "Monferno, is something wrong?"
Monferno shook his head, but he could tell that it was half-hearted, and he was far from convinced. "What's the matter?" He tried to put comforting hand on his friend's shoulder, but he shrugged it off, and Ash's brows furrowed.
Now, he was really worried. This didn't seem to be the fleeting bout of melancholia Ash expected his friend to have after the loss in Cinnabar - this was something serious. He stared at Monferno, who's face was inscrutable. But he could still see flickers of anger and exhaustion and sadness through his mask.
"Monferno," he began gently. "I need you to tell me what's wrong, buddy."
Monferno looked at him exasperatedly, but when he looked away, Ash called for Delphi, who teleported by his side after a few yells of her name.
Delphi still wasn't too great with communicating, but for now, it'd do. He- angry. Her voice was fuzzy in his head, still echoing, as if she was speaking multiple times at once.
Ash frowned. "Angry? Monferno, are you mad about the gym battle?"
He seemed reluctant to answer, but the fire-type nodded shortly. Ash's frown deepened.
"Hey, buddy. It's alright if we lost. I mean, you can't expect yourself to win every battle, Monferno. We'll just have to train harder, and when you evolve, we-"
He faltered when Monferno interrupted with an angry bark. Next to him, Delphi shook her head. He doesn't want- evolve.
Ash blinked. "What do you mean, you don't want to evolve?"
Delphi's voice surfaced in his mind again. Beat Blaine. Then evolve.
Ash frowned. "So you want to wait until we beat Blaine before evolving?" With the smallest of movements, Monferno nodded, looking away. His face was still contorted in anger, but he seemed to have relaxed slightly as Ash slowly understood his predicament.
Ash deduced that the only reason for such a choice was Monferno's honour. He wasn't surprised if his friend's pride had been terribly wounded by the loss at Blaine's hand, especially since the fire-master had pit Monferno against an older relative. He still hadn't forgotten how effortlessly Blaine's Infernape had taken out Monferno in the volcano that day. Perhaps Monferno wanted to fight Infernape again with the same stakes - and win in his lower form.
"Monferno, if you want to put off your evolution until you think you're ready, I'm all for it."
He whipped around, surprised by his trainer's words. "But we'll have to work harder than ever before if you want to beat Blaine this way," Ash continued quickly, chewing his lip nervously. Monferno was not one to shy away from hard work, however - his face tightened with determination and passion, his low-spirited demeanor disappearing instantly. Ash knew that the pokémon was far from okay, but at least he was feeling better, for now. He'd need Professor Oak's advice to help his friend get through this as smoothly as possible.
"Alright, Monferno." He crept closer to the monkey, ignoring the heat from his tail. "Do you want to take a break right now, or train?" He pretended not to notice Delphi rolling her eyes.
The fire-type yipped, eyes narrowing as he straightened. Ash grinned as he stood, backing away quickly with Saur. "Stone Edge," he said, pointing at their target.
The Monferno grunted, punching his fist into the ground. The earth rumbled, cracking as a short spire of stone burst forth from the ground a few seconds later and slammed into the tree roughly. He could tell Monferno had the basics down; now, they had to finesse it.
Monferno looked at the rock in annoyance, as if disappointed with his display. "Again."
XxXxX
Working with the new TM moves had its predicable mix of results, but Ash was confident that his team would have them down with a few days of practice.
Double Team was an easy one for Delphi and Screecher to master, especially under Kratos' tutelage. While Delphi was a few steps behind Screecher, who could conjure the copies out of thin air, he was sure that the Xatu would be able to overcome any difficulties. Until she could teleport the clones by her side instead of having them split off her actual body, she would just have to practice.
Hydrus was surprisingly having a harder time grasping Protect than Ash had expected. He was slow to project the protective barrier, and while it had the impregnability he was looking for, Ash noticed that it took the shape of a regular-sized shield rather than a dome and lasted for only a number of seconds. It was obvious that he needed practice, so Ash left him to it and moved on to the rest of his pokémon.
"Good job, Saur!" Ash praised as he paused to see the Ivysaur in motion. For now, Ash wanted his friend to become proficient in his hereditary moves: Power Whip, Leaf Storm, and Grassy Terrain. He still didn't know how the latter worked - he could always consult Oak, or refer to his pokédex, but he was well-versed in the mechanics behind the other two. Power Whip was simply a superior Vine Whip. Leaf Storm involved releasing a barrage of energy-infused leaves and using some wind energy to fire them in a cyclone. It would need far more attention, and teaching Saur to manipulate the wind was going to be tricky.
He winced as Saur's glowing vine cracked into the tree, sending splinters flying as the bark compressed under the force. But the current display would compare to nothing once Saur would be capable of using Power Whip to its fullest.
He moved on from Saur after admiring another powerful lash, and walked over to Zeus and Snorlax, who he'd asked to wait a few moments earlier. Snorlax looked imperious as ever - Ash was beginning to wonder whether the normal-type would ever be friendly. While he had certainly become far more relaxed within the group, Snorlax didn't really get along with anyone. He ate by himself, and preferred to train alone - he only ever really trained when Ash hounded him about it, however. Ash could only hope that Snorlax would open up soon.
In the meantime, he concentrated on the matter at hand. "You and Zeus will be learning a new move today. It'll be easier for Zeus to learn, though, so I want you to help Snorlax out when you've got it down," he told Zeus. Snorlax grunted, as if offended by the statement, but did nothing.
He fished out his pokédex as he continued to speak. "We're learning Thunder Punch. If you two need any help, I'll be there, but this should be fairly easy. Once you guys are done, come find me."
Zeus nodded eagerly and Snorlax harrumphed. Ash moved closer, showing the two of them the video on his pokédex. They watched attentively as an Electabuzz screamed, rushing forward as its claws sparked. Blue electricity cloaked its fists rapidly as its momentum increased; then, as it closed in on the opponent Machoke, it struck the fighting-type across the face, and electrical energy exploded violently.
While Zeus seemed enraptured by the display, Snorlax turned away, as if disinterested. Ash frowned. "I want the both of you to dedicate yourself to learning Thunder Punch. Got it?"
Ash only smiled when Snorlax dipped his head, and he backed away. "Alright, have at it."
XxXxX
Atlas let out a furious screech as another trigger of energy devolved into another Earth Power. So far, his attempts at learning Earthquake were a mess. Despite Ash's instructions, he found it difficult to channel the energy all across the field rather than focus it in a single area - even so, Ash figured that he would need to double the momentum and energy released with each of his stomps.
He frowned. Atlas was strong - he'd give him that - but he was still nowhere near the level of anyone else on Ash's team. Even Screecher, who wasn't really the epitome of dedication and determination, was scores ahead of him. The memory of Arcanine crushing the Trapinch under his paws was still fresh in his mind.
He knew Atlas was doing his best - despite the childishly innocent antics and playfulness, Ash could see his determination during training sessions. The problem was his own limitations. While his kind had surprising strength for their size, they were equally, if not more, fragile. At least until he evolved into a Flygon…but that would take a long time.
Dragons were freakishly strong, and that strength came with a price. They had the potential to amass monumental power as they grew. There was a reason dragon-type pokémon lived in the harshest of conditions nature could provide - Dratini made their homes in blue holes, for example. Bagon took the tallest mountains, Gible nestled deep underground, Trapinch thrived in scorching deserts, and so on.
But they matured at a far slower rate compared to the average non-dragon pokémon. From what Oak had told him, Gible took five years to mature into Gabite, and then another three to evolve into Garchomp. It was what made dragon tamers, such as the Blackthorn Clan and Hoenn's Drake, so respected and feared through the world.
He honestly didn't know how long Atlas would take to evolve into a Vibrava, but he assumed it wouldn't happened for a long time. Until then, he would be a glass cannon in battle, getting swept away repeatedly. Ash was far from upset with Atlas, but he could not help but feel frustrated.
Another try at harnessing Earthquake trickled down into an Earth Power. Tired, Ash sighed as chunks of dirt flew into the sky, but he tried a smile as Atlas immediately glanced at him expectantly. They definitely work.
They stopped training as the trees crowned the setting sun, and headed back to Pallet Town. Cool air was picking up as the orange skies slowly began to blend into a dark night sky. He was sweaty and tired and, above all, starving. They were having dinner with the professor today, so there was no doubt that his mom hadn't prepared a feast for his presence.
Delia immediately told him to shower before he could even take a whiff of the kitchen. He relented with a disgruntled walk, but he couldn't deny that the warm water hitting his skin wasn't refreshing. Still, he was hungrier than ever. He hoped his mom wouldn't yell at him for getting out of the shower so quickly.
Ash took a double-take when he noticed another person as Oak arrived. It was someone he hadn't seen in a very long time - Daisy Oak. She was as pretty as ever, he remembered as he blushed. "Daisy?" he said, as if questioning her existence.
Her laugh was rich. "Yes it's me, Ashy!" she exclaimed. "I thought you'd have forgotten about me."
"Oh Samuel, you shouldn't have," Delia said, taking a box of rage candy bars the professor had brought along.
Ash blinked, moving in as Daisy hugged him. "You look older."
She slapped his arm in mock-anger. "Rude," she said, feigning indignation. "You look good. Your hair's still as unruly as ever, though." She ruffled his long hair, giggling at his scowl.
Delia smiled as she pulled Daisy in a warm embrace. "How long are you here for, Daisy?" she asked, setting the table.
"Indefinitely." She took off her coat. Ash could tell it was really expensive. "I was supposed to come after the Grand Festival, but…the Wallace Cup was enough for me."
"Wait, aren't you competing in the Grand Festival?" While Ash didn't know much about coordinating, he knew that Daisy was a top coordinator - the Grand Festival must've meant a lot for her. After all, it was the equivalent of Conferences for pokémon coordinators.
Daisy face told him that she didn't really care. "I was supposed to come back and work on my researcher's license later next year, anyway. Thought I'd get a head start." She winked at Oak, who chuckled benignly.
"I've needed someone on coffee duty for a while now," he joked.
Having Daisy around gave them a lot more to talk about around the dinner table. Ash enjoyed hearing her adventures in `Sinnoh, but he was busier devouring every plate put in front of him like a starved Snorlax.
Saur was munching from a bowl of vegetables mixed with extra supplements that he seemed to be heavily enjoying. Monferno and Hydrus were eating the standard pokémon food - the same was given to Snorlax outside, but at a far larger quantity.
He was happy to see Atlas being an absolute glutton as he fawned over his bowl of passho berries - which was a good thing, as otherwise he would occupy himself with everything shiny in the house. Ash never figured out his friend had a taste for them until his mom had fed the Trapinch - he was almost as bad as Ash and practically inhaled the soft, blue fruits. Ash would have to remember that once he hit the road again.
Ash grinned at the high rumble Atlas made when he petted his massive head - and immediately pulled his hand back as he felt grains of sand stick to his palm. Making a grimace, he headed to the sink and ignored the laughter around the table.
Zeus was curled up in the middle of the living room, fast asleep. Ash kept him out as he no longer let sparks fly when he snored. Daisy had fallen in love and wanted to wake up the Ampharos, but settled for watching the soft glow on his tail-orb.
Kratos was quietly eating the standard pokémon food like the others. Delphi was most likely flying around Pallet - she had eaten very little before using her psychic powers to unlock the door. Ash didn't really mind, but he hoped she was close.
And Screecher was…somewhere. Ash didn't really know what she was up to. For all he knew, she was giggling in his own shadow.
"Mind telling me about your journey so far, Ashy?" He looked up from his shadow and grinned at Daisy, who eagerly watched as Ash burst into stories.
XxXxX
He woke up rather early the next morning - which was a bit of a surprise, considering how late they'd concluded dinner the night before. He wasn't going to complain, however. It just meant more time for him to train his pokémon, and maybe fit in a visit to Professor Oak.
"Honey!" He stopped himself from swinging the door shut as his mother called, his fingers lingering over the knob. "Take the keys with you - I'll be home late today!"
"Alright, Mom," said Ash, picking it off the key holder. He smiled at Delia one last time before turning to leave, adjusting his belt of pokéballs.
About fifteen minutes later, Ash found himself at the lab. He could hear pokémon chattering all the way from the corral, and he hoped Oak wasn't too busy for him today. The glass doors split open and admitted him into the air-conditioned room, away from the growing heat outside.
Professor Oak was nowhere to be seen in the lab's main area, but he was led to the videophones by a helpful aide. When the professor noticed Ash through the corner of his eye, he ended the call as quick as he could and walked over with a genial smile.
"Good morning, Ash," Oak greeted. "Did you come for assistance with your pokémon?"
Ash nodded. "I needed to ask you something about my Monferno."
"Oh?" Oak gestured to the chairs. "What seems to be the matter?"
He shifted as he sat down opposite the professor. "I've been having problems with him," he said, wincing. "It's been going on for a while now, but it first happened in Celadon City. He…"
Ash frowned. "He goes crazy during Blaze. Wild. Nurse Joy checked him out for me - she told me that he's been suppressing memories of a traumatic event and those memories resurface only when he enters Blaze, but…Well, I thought it would've healed over time, but it hasn't. It got really bad when we were up against Blaine."
Oak was quiet as he spoke. "Wild, you say?"
He nodded. The knot in his stomach hadn't loosened. "It's like he's out of control, like all he wants to do is rampage." Ash sighed. "I don't really know how to go about helping him, and since your field of research is human and pokémon relationships, I thought I could ask you."
His nervousness grew as the professor remained silent. Then, he began to talk. "What your Monferno is going through is not unheard of. Pokémon being exposed to traumatic events in the wild is not unheard of. In many cases, they will often suppress the memory of said event. It is a survival mechanism built into humans and pokémon alike to help us continue function and survive after being exposed to trauma.
When a traumatic experience happens, Ash, it leaves a deep impression in your memory," continued Oak. "These memories are too painful for them to confront - which is why there is a good chance the victim will have suppressed the traumatic memory. They'll continue to live as though nothing has happened, of course, but eventually something will trigger parts of that memory to resurface - and it keeps playing over and over, like hearing a CD stuck on 'skip'."
He sighed. "From what I've heard, your Monferno must have gone through something heinous. Blaze triggers those traumatic memories to resurface - and they keep looping, making it believe as if those events are happening right that instant. It's in those moments that he relives his worst moments."
Ash scratched his head; it was a lot to process. "Is there any way to prevent this?"
"We can't prevent this from happening," said Oak, smiling wryly. "I'm a professor, not a god."
Ash scowled. "But there has to be some way to help Monferno," he said, practically pleading. "He can't be like this forever!"
"Of course there are treatments, Ash, but it'll be a long time until Monferno can truly heal. Besides, these therapies are for the more extreme cases. Now I'm not saying what's happened to your Monferno isn't serious," Oak added quickly when Ash angrily opened his mouth, "but compared to the thousands of occurrences throughout, your Monferno's falls into the more common manifestations. No pokémon clinic will take your case seriously."
Oak pinched the bridge of his nose. "There is another way, but it is far less convenient and can have adverse effects if done extensively."
"What is it?" Ash asked, a bit hopeful. He ignored Oak's warnings; if it could help his friend quickly, he wanted to take any chance he got.
"Memory reemergence," Oak said, "is when a psychic visits those traumatic memories and shares said memories with the patient via a psychic link. It's a painful procedure - it forces the pokémon to confront the heinous event. While often it helps a pokémon come to terms with its memories much faster, it sometimes harms any progress and can make it far harder for the pokémon to deal with them in the long term."
Ash exhaled, tired. He hadn't imagined Monferno's situations was something so serious. He could feel a bubble of despair and anxiety expand in his chest as he thought over what Oak had told him. This memory reemergence thing - it sounded risky, but he wanted Monferno to get better, and he wanted that to happen as quickly as possible. He didn't really want to think about what he'd do if his friend lashed out again. Oak had told him about things going wrong, but…
"Can we give it a try?" he asked hesitantly. When Oak frowned, he quickly continued. "I know you told me about the possible side-effects - but we can't say it won't help if we don't try. I just want things to be okay for Monferno, that's all."
Oak looked at him pointedly. Then he sighed. "Alright, Ash. I can't fault you, and I understand how you must be feeling. But if anything goes wrong…"
Ash gulped. "I'll get Alakazam later," Oak said, rubbing his eyes. "She's well-versed in maintaining psychic links, but you have to understand the seriousness of what we're going to do. You have to keep a safe distance, and you'll listen to my orders without hesitation."
Ash nodded, answering the professor's unasked question. "I understand," he said.
Oak's serious frown transformed into a smile. "Good. Is there anything else you need assistance with?"
"To be honest, there is something I could use your help with…" Ash shook his head. "But you're probably really busy-"
"Nonsense," Oak cut in, scoffing. "It's not like I've got a pressing study at the moment - besides, helping you out counts as work. Perhaps not as critical as other work, but work nonetheless."
Oak grinned at Ash's laugh. "Follow me, then."
XxXxX
Ash hadn't seen Dragonite in a long time. The last he'd seen the dragon was when a flock of Spearow had attacked Pallet Town a few weeks before his journey. He'd thought the Fearow leading them was mean, but he realised how laughable the raptor was against Oak's battle-scarred Dragonite.
Still, he was a refreshing sight to see. Ash wondered if he'd grown bigger, but he figured it was just his mind playing tricks. It wasn't as if Dragonite was small to begin with, anyway - he was positively gargantuan, almost eleven feet tall, with his thick scales glinting golden in the sunlight. His claws left prints in the grass as he lumbered over to Oak and gently bumped the professor, knocking him to the ground. Ash laughed.
"Yes, yes, it's nice to see you too, Dragonite," Oak said sourly as Ash pulled him back up. He brushed off the dirt and dust that marred his previously pearl-white lab coat. "Are you done with your greetings now?"
Dragonite grunted non-committally. Ash almost felt the drake's deep grumble thrum in his bones.
"Ash, if you could release your Ampharos," Oak said. He nodded.
With a flourish of his hand he tapped the release button, and Zeus slunk out with a ripple of light. He trilled happily, puffing out his chest and making sparks fly across his body, but his air of importance died the instance he turned around and noticed Dragonite.
Zeus looked nervous as Dragonite's reptilian face split into something Ash recognized as a smile. He glanced back, eyes comically wide as if asking if he had to battle the monster, and Ash laughed. "No, you don't have to fight him!" he exclaimed, pleased.
That seemed to relieve him, but he was still tense as Dragonite regarded him coolly. Oak was amused. "Enough, Dragonite."
Dragonite made a deep, gravely chuckle, but his entire posture relaxed.
"Well then," Oak began, a glint in his eyes, "are you ready, Ash?"
Ash grinned. "Of course!"
The professor straightened, excited to be in a teaching mood. "Dragon Pulse is not a rare technique, but it is invaluable to a dragon, and is one of the few attacks that most dragon-types learn naturally, the other being Dragon Rage. They are two sides of the same coin, with Dragon Rage being a large blast of raw draconic energy, and Dragon Pulse being a more refined version. There are a few select pokémon that can learn Dragon Pulse despite not being a dragon-type - the Horsea line, although that's technically untrue as they evolve into Kingdra. A better example, however, are Ampharos." He laughed as Zeus chuffed at those words, his arrogance ballooning. "Although, I'm surprised you know that Ampharos have the potential to harness draconic energy, Ash. Looks like you've been doing your reading!"
The boy smirked, adjusting his cap. "Well, it was Dr Fuji who told me, really, so it's all his fault anyway," he said wryly.
Oak blinked. "Fuji? Akira Fuji?" he asked, eyes widening when Ash nodded.
"Yep." Ash leaned against Zeus, ignoring the static electricity that pinched him when he did. "That's a whole other story, by the way. Oh!" He hopped on the balls of his feet as he remembered his talk with the renowned scientist. "He actually gave me something - it's really cool…"
He really needed to organise his backpack. It was a complete mess to look for the jewels Fuji had given him, but after a bit of deep digging, he gasped in delight as his fingers closed around the large megastone. He couldn't remember the last time he'd taken a look at it - it was almost the size of a baseball in his hand, and gleaming furiously as he took it away from the darkness and let it bask under the bright sun.
Oak's eyes bugged out the second he laid his eyes on the precious gemstone. Even Dragonite, who had been lazily scaring away the curious corral pokémon that neared it, seemed to be attracted by the sphere.
Zeus was immediately affected by the presence of the megastone. The bulb on his tail glowed brighter than ever, his eyes glazed as he stared deeply into the golden jewel. Ash quickly held it away from his friend.
"My stars," Oak whispered. "Is that-?"
"A megastone," Ash completed, sounding smug. "Isn't that awesome?"
"Akira gave you that?" Oak yelled. He sounded utterly gobsmacked, and maybe slightly furious. "How?"
"I helped him out with something," Ash said, conveniently glossing over his encounter with the Rockets. His ribs began to ache as he remembered the Primeape that nearly killed him.
The professor didn't need to know about that.
"You must've saved his life if that's what he handed out," Oak muttered, scowling.
Ash stifled a laugh. Yeah, you could say that.
Oak leaned closer, fascinated as he inspected the light gliding within the orb of sharp yellow and earthy brown. "It's beautiful," the professor whispered, tilting his head. "Do you have a keystone as well?"
Ash nodded. Oak gingerly cradled the sphere as it was handed to him, and seconds later, their presence was greeted by a second, far smaller, gemstone, embedded in a silver bracelet. As Oak held the two stones close, they began to pulse, matching in time, as though they were trying to sync up.
"It's been a long time since I've seen a megastone," Oak murmured, lost in thought. His eyes were locked onto the two stones, as if trying to memorise every inch. "The last I saw one was during my trip to Kalos. Augustine has quite the collection himself."
The keystone and megastone were now glowing and pulsing in sync, and Ash had turn around to keep Zeus from grabbing them. With how greedily the Ampharos was eyeing the orb, Ash didn't want to take the chance of him triggering something accidentally.
"You should consider yourself incredibly lucky," Oak murmured, holding the bracelet at eye-level. "Mega evolution is not quite scare in regions like Hoenn and Kalos, but it is a rarity to be found in Kanto. It is reserved for the likes of the Elites and Champions - from what I recall, Cynthia is a frequent user, and Agatha has managed to get his batty hands on a few as well." He laughed.
"Keep it safe," Oak cautioned, pushing the stones back in Ash's hands. "Until you learn how to use and harness this power, I would suggest you keep stow it away from general view. You don't know who or what may realise the power you have and decide to take it from you."
Ash nodded. He knew Oak's warnings were reasonable, but he thought the professor was being a little too paranoid. Nevertheless, he decided to heed his mentor's words. He carefully stuffed the megastone and the mega bracelet back and watched it disappear into the hammerspace backpack.
"I think we should stifle our awe and excitement for the time being and return to the matter at hand," Oak said wryly, smiling as Ash flushed. He snapped his fingers at Dragonite, who looked ready to sleep. The dragon-type yawned lazily, displaying the rows of razor-sharp teeth lining his mouth.
"Zeus, let's get ready," Ash told his friend. It took a second for Zeus to look away from Dragonite's huge body, but he grew attentive as his trainer talked. "We've got all day, so we're going to start on the next phase of training. We're going to be learning Dragon Pulse, and Professor Oak and his Dragonite are going to be helping us. Don't make that face, he's not going to eat you!" Zeus grew red at the statement, scowling at his trainer as Dragonite laughed deeply.
"As I was saying, you're really good at your electric moves, but it's time to expand our horizons. Besides, if you're able to harness dragon-type energy, mega evolution will be well within reach." He smirked as Zeus' eyes lit up at that, and the electric-type was instantly pumped up.
Oak cleared his throat. "We could easily watch a clip of Dragon Pulse in action, but it would be far more ideal to have a live representation. It'll give your Ampharos an idea of what the attack is, as well as push him in the right direction in realising exactly what kind of energy is used, and how it is formed and released."
He asked Ash and Zeus to step back, which they did. When they were at a safe distance away and Oak joined them as well, Dragonite readied up, locking his hardened gaze onto a cluster of trees in the distance.
There was a glint in Oak's eyes as he shouted, a spark Ash had rarely seen in the old man. "Dragon Pulse!"
Dragonite instantly sprung into action and roared. It felt like it was second nature to the wyvern as he collected draconian energy at his mouth, accumulating it all to create a crackling sphere of turquoise energy, and a core of deep purple. If his gaze was sharpened enough, he could see the outline of the invisible aura that swirled around the globe of swirling sea-green.
Ash yelped as a shockwave erupted from when the Dragon Pulse was release. It ripped across the rugged terrain like a viper and slammed into the trees with an overwhelming impact. The trees were quickly pulverised into crushed bark.
"Good job," Oak said, walking over to pat his pokémon's scales. Ash wondered if the gargantuan beast even felt it. Dragonite simply looked smug, snorting as if to say it was nothing.
Zeus turned to face Ash, his eyes wide and face pale. He was supposed to do this?!
"You think you're up for it, buddy?" Ash asked expectantly. Zeus gulped, but he yipped in acceptance, shifting closer to his trainer. He was definitely up for undertaking the task in front of him - if he could match even half of the impressive display Dragonite had put up, he would be happy with himself.
Ash grinned in sync with Oak, who rubbed his hands eagerly. "Let's begin. The first thing you need to understand is…"
XxXxX
Ash ran his fingers along the fearsome Mega Beedrill printed on the heavy book in his hand. He had thought Beedrill were fearsome in their standard form, but their mega-evolved form made them tame in comparison. Its lances had doubled in number, and had grown, if possible, even sharper, and were now massive, like silver javelins. Every feature of it had become more enhanced for the betterment of its survival. Its eyes were longer and sleeker, and its antennae had grown shorter and more sensitive. It's two pairs of wings were accompanied by a third to make its flight faster and last longer. Its bulbous thorax evolved into a conical one, with an even larger stinger to make its body more streamlined. Its was now more segmented, far sleeker, more defined, making it the apex predator it truly was.
He shifted in his bed, folding his pillow to make it more snug. Ash definitely appreciated Oak giving him the book from his massive library. It looked like a long read, but so far he was enjoying it. While Augustine Sycamore had been made regional professor relatively recently, he had done a good amount of research on a topic that was known very little about. As Ash took a last glance at the Mega Beedrill and turned to the next page, he made a note to purchase his own copy of A Guide to Mega Evolution.
But despite Sycamore's extensive knowledge over the subject, there was still not much know of the mechanics and methods to attain mega evolution. The only universally agreed fact was that there had be three things present - a megastone, a keystone, and a strong bond of love and trust between the trainer and pokémon involved. Experts didn't really know exactly how to define said bond - after all, there were records of trainers unable to mega evolve a pokémon they spent years training, and a few cases of trainers achieving mega evolution with a pokémon that was relatively new (it was peculiar that most of the latter cases involved Lucario, but Ash didn't give it much thought).
It definitely made him uneasy. If it turned out that he couldn't mega evolve Zeus when they were ready, it would be more depressing than embarrassing. He definitely thought he had a strong bond with Zeus, but what if he was wrong? What if his relationship with Zeus was shallower than he thought, or that the Ampharos was only his friend because hewas in Ash's team? He forced himself to read up about Pidgeot. He didn't like imagining that.
His mind drifted off and he wondered how Paul was doing. There was no doubt his Lairon had evolved after so long. Was he working on strengthening a bond with his pokémon, or had he already achieved it? Ash shook his head.
The sound of footfalls distracted him, and he craned his head over to see Atlas bound into his room, head bouncing. Ash giggled. "Hey, boy!" He reached his hand out, bracing it as Atlas gently nuzzled his palm. The Trapinch yipped, and Ash grimaced as he felt sand scratch against his skin.
"Did you dig another hole in the garden?" he exclaimed accusingly, shaking off the sand on his palm. Atlas whined, as if offended at the claim. He had been bribed with enough passho berries to keep him from destroying Delia's prize garden. There was no way he was going back on his word. Unless they were out of passho berries, that is.
Ash frowned. Where was all this sand coming from? "Do you know where the others are?"
Atlas cocked his head and thought for a second, before shaking his head. Ash sighed. He'd asked them to be back by lunch, and of course they hadn't listened.
I did, he heard a familiar voice surface in his mind. He smiled, rolling his eyes. Delphi was probably outside the house, because he hadn't heard the door creak open for her to enter. Either way, he was impressed at the way she was improving her telepathic abilities, which only meant her psychic reservoirs were growing by the day.
Ash smiled as Atlas scuttled over to his round bed in the corner, circling before settling down and closing his eyes. It was originally meant for Red's Bulbasaur so he was surprised his mom still had it, but he was glad she did anyway. Atlas loved it.
He returned to the book in his hand, but he was disturbed once again - this time, it was the buzzing of his pokégear. Frowning, and wondering who had decided to message him, he fumbled for it and opened the message.
He blinked - it was from Dawn. He hadn't really given his text to her much thought, but now that she had actually replied, his heart was racing. What if she didn't want him to meet him? What if Luna didn't want to meet-
"Just read the damn thing," he grumbled to himself. He increased the screen's brightness.
Heyy! It's so nice to hear from you after so long! I'm doing great. I hope everything's good with you and your League season!
I'd love to meet. I'm actually omw to Terracotta Town. I'll be there in two weeks time! If you're in the area, lmk, or we can meet another time where it'll be convenient for the both of us, but I'm hoping to see ya!
-Dawn
Sent from my Pokétch
Ash opened up his map to check Terracotta Town. It was a large, seaside town situated below a range of steep cliffs, and it seemed to be located near Pewter City and Pallet. He could definitely make it there in time.
"Ash, lunch is ready!" he heard his mom's voice resonate from downstairs.
"COMING!" he yelled back, a bit too loud.
His fingers flew across the keypad as he hastily typed out a response. "Sure, I'll see you there," he murmured, sighing as he pressed 'send'. Well, at least there was something he was looking forward to once he hit the road.
"Ash!" his mother called again, sounding exasperated.
Ash sighed. To be honest, he was starving - but when was he not?
XxXxX
You're too slow.
"Yeah, give me a pair of wings and you'll be the one catching up," Ash grumbled, racing after Delphi. He heard her chuckle in his mind, and then with a flap of her wings she darted away, levitating in the sky as she watched Ash get breathless. Her eyes danced with amusement.
"Not again," he groaned, whining as Delphi began to soar once more. His legs were hurting already. He'd practically had to run all the way up the hill with barely any stops.
She laughed again in that low, feminine voice of hers. Maybe you need to- train as well, she jested, her voice crackling.
He would've said something if he wasn't out of breath. Instead, he simply scoffed as his lungs burned. She was almost teasing him as he followed her to the training spot where Oak was with the rest of his pokémon - she waited every now and then for Ash to catch up and, right as he was about to join her, she flitted away once again. It was infuriating.
Still, Ash enjoyed the mental conversation they were having. She was more fluent, and he could understand her far better now. Her voice rarely flickered anymore. Besides, he liked being able to at least understand his friends. It was a refreshing change from the grunts, shrieks, barks and quacks that filled his ears on the road.
The Xatu seemed to have taken pity on her trainer, because eventually she slowed enough for Ash to match her pace. Their training zone was quite far compared to the one Ash had originally settled on, but Oak knew the best spots for them to train in solidarity.
They reached the cliff in no time. Emerald grass flattened under his shoes as he rushed over to meet his friends. It was a lot colder now that they were so high up; cool breeze made his jacket flutter and his shirt hug his body. A beautiful view of a lake welcomed him from across the cliff. As Ash ignored the cloying scent wafting from Saur's ripe bud, he took some time to gaze as the warm sunlight shimmered through the dewdrops that adorned the wintry plains.
"All set, m'boy?" asked Oak. Ash wordlessly raised Screecher's pokéball, which he had accidentally left behind on his first trek up the hill. Oak chuckled and tossed him the flask of water, which Ash immediately downed in an instant.
He really enjoyed the next few hours of training with the professor - it gave Ash a sense of serenity and nostalgia he hadn't felt in quite some time. While Dragonite took over mentoring Zeus, Ash took Oak's help in shaping up the rest of his team.
While Hydrus and Monferno helped each other perfect Protect and Stone Edge respectively, Ash was pleased to see the progress with the rest of his team. Delphi and Screecher impressed both Ash and Kratos with their swiftness and ease in producing clones around them.
Snorlax was still as stony as ever, but Ash was happy to see him taking a determined interest in practising his moves rather than just be interested in battling. He had taken to rehearsing Thunder Punch on barren tree far from the general area, and Ash could definitely notice the leaps and bounds in improvement. As soon as Snorlax would achieve his current objective, Ash had plans to teach him the rest of the elemental punches as well.
Ash and Oak watched Atlas from a distance as he pounded the earth with his tiny feet, sending shockwaves of energy. For now, it was nothing more than tremors that crawled through the dirt, and it would be quite some time before Atlas would be able to tear up the battlefield - but Ash was filled with joy that his friend had gotten past the obstacle of having Earthquake devolve into Earth Power.
An angry quack broke through Ash's reverie and made his head snap to his right. Hydrus was lying on his back, dazed as he held himself up by his elbows. Monferno hopped over a spire of stone just few feet away from where Hydrus lay. From what he could garner, Monferno's Stone Edge had shattered Hydrus' barrier and accidentally knocked him down - which Ash wasn't too surprised with. Protect was difficult to keep up even for practiced users due to the sheer amount and energy and focus it required to pull off, so Ash was kind of impressed Hydrus had managed to erect so many barriers in quick succession.
He scowled when Hydrus smack away Monferno's attempts to help him up and blasted the fire-type away with a Water Gun. "Hey! Knock it off!" Ash screamed as Monferno tensed up. Fortunately they listened, but Hydrus keep glaring haughtily at Monferno, as if threatening to soak him again. Ash sighed.
Then Hydrus spat another stream of water that beaned Monferno square in his face. Ash groaned and moved to run over-
A split-second later a blade of stone punched out from underneath Hydrus and slammed into his gut. He flew away like he'd been struck by an uppercut and landed with a terrible crash, rising confusedly. Ash blinked.
Well, at least Stone Edge was getting better.
XxXxX
It was well past midnight, dark and cold as wintry breeze skittered through the clearing. Lucid moonlight coloured the grass silver as it shone down softly. The trees overhead circled the clearing, as if their branches were crowning the moon. Ash was barely able to stifle a yawn, but he his need for sleep would never be as important as the event he was about to witness.
The clearing was empty, save for a massively wide stump that rested right in the middle. Saur stood on it like it was meant to be a throne, his demeanor serene and calm as his bud twitched. With each passing second, Ash's tension only rose, and the rest of his team waited at either side of his with baited breath as they watched their friend undergo the ritual that many of its species experienced to evolve.
Ash had been up all evening, waiting for Saur to finally reach that tipping point he'd been so close to hit for so long. Ever since Oak had confirmed that the Ivysaur would definitely evolve today, he couldn't really care about doing anything else.
He'd studied all about their evolutionary rituals. At yearly intervals, wild Bulbasaur prepared for evolution would congregate under the watchful eye of the elder Venusaur, and evolve synchronously, staying together to keep them safe from predators during this period. Beyond this ritual, however, Ivysaur nearing evolution were left to fend for themselves - and, upon evolving in solitary, had to form their own herd.
Saur already had his herd in place - he was their leader, after all; second-in-command after Ash, a friend to all teammates. All he needed to do was evolve.
There was an odd silence that took over the clearing. Wild Oddish took to hiding under the shadows of the tall trees as they gazed at the resting Ivysaur from afar. Ash's team was quiet. Even Snorlax, who was barely interested in half the things his teammates did, looked on the display with baleful interest.
Then, it happened.
Slowly, but surely, the bud on Saur's back began to flit open, uncurling excruciatingly slow. As as a burst of powder turned the air cloyingly sweet, Saur glowed with incandescent light. Ash's eyes were fixated as more energy surged, and the blinding light became almost painful to stare at. As more and more energy enshrouded his friend, Ash saw distinctive changes through the silhouette of white: the bud had rapidly bloomed; his body had more than doubled in size; his fronds fluttered as they grew in size, writhing with light.
When the light seemed to keep going, it gently rippled out, pushing forth a wave of thin mist that washed over the grass. Ash covered his eyes, and so did his friends; then, the silence was broken by a gentle, yet deafening roar that boomed through the night.
When his ears were done ringing, Ash's eyes fluttered open and his jaw slackened in awe and pure joy as he slowly reached forward to examine the Venusaur. Despite being younger, he was almost as big as Erika's Venusaur - nearly seven feet long and over five feet tall, discounting the massive red flower on his back. A thick, rugged trunk held it high and upright, displaying it proudly, and leafy fronds crowning the base. Thick forest scales covered his body, which was now much bigger and stockier. His massive jaws now carried rows of sharp teeth that could easily rip a chunk out of him.
His clawed feet trampled the grass as he stepped off the stump he was resting on. Reverently, Ash walked to Saur, who regarded him impassively with sharp, ruby eyes. With a split-second of hesitance and a skip of a heartbeat, Ash pressed the palm of his hand on the Venusaur's massive forehead.
The silence was overbearing, and Ash broke it. "You're beautiful," he whispered, laughing.
The Venusaur crooned.
XxXxX
Trainer:Ash Ketchum
Pokémon in possession:
Saur – Venusaur
Delphi – Xatu
Zeus – Ampharos
Hydrus – Golduck
Monferno
Snorlax
Screecher – Misdreavus
Kratos – Scyther
Trapinch – Atlas
I'm finally back in the swings of writing! Parts of this chapter fought against me, but I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. My update rate in the part has been atrocious, but I'll be cranking out chapters at a severely more reasonable pace.
There are a couple things I want to talk about in regards to this story. The first thing is stuff like Mega Evolution, Z-Moves and Dynamax/Gigantamax. Mega Evolution is definitely going to exist in this universe - Game Freak might've given up on it, but I haven't lol. I'm still a bit hesitant about Z-Moves, but they will most likely make an appearance, while Dynamax/Gigantamax is completely retconned. It's not because I don't like the mechanic, but because it serves no importance in this story and doesn't affect anything in the slightest. So there's that.
Another thing is the importance of legendary pokémon and how powerful they are in this universe. They will not be uncontrollable forces of nature like in Traveler. I want them to be monsters, but monsters that can eventually be defeated. Of course, their strength will be varied depending on how important and revered they are - Kyogre and Groudon will be able to impact whole nations, for example; the Eon Duo, however, will not be overly destructive, but still more powerful than the average mon. I don't really want to talk a lot about it, but I want you guys to at least have a semblance of how they'll be depicted in this story.
The third is something that Guest Reviewer Sherlock brought up - pairings. I'm not against pairings - in fact, I love writing fluff - but romance will not be much of a focus, even if I do plan on writing that in. After all, this is about Ash's journey, his relationship with his team and how they develop over the course of Ash working to become a Master. Even so, I really don't know who I might even put Ash with, so I really apologise for those who had high expectations regarding a ship :|
I think that's all, really - regardless, thank you all for reading, following, and marking this story as a favourite. I'd love to read your thoughts about this chapter, and as always, have a good one!