And here we go! Not as quick as the last couple of chapters I posted, but took less time than chapter 3. This chapter finally features the introduction of the Seel Ash received from Misty! It also features the first fully scripted battle of the story. In all honesty, that's why this chapter took a touch longer to get out than the last. I tried my best, but I just wasn't sure. After a while though, I just said 'screw it' and finished it. Hopefully it turned out all right. If not, I'll just try harder next time. Also, a trigger warning. The opening paragraphs detail a nightmare of Ash's. And while not that bad from my perspective, I figured I'd let people know what to expect in case they feel like skipping it. Anyways, enough of all that, time for the actual story!
Ash's dreams that night were as vivid as they were unsettling.
It started simply, with Ash standing on the edge of the small lake he had met Misty at. In the dream scenario, Ash had decided to release the Seel Misty had given him as a parting gift/bribe. The red light of release coalesced into the form of a Seel. Its features were indistinct, in a way Ash could only describe as generic. It looked around for a bit before its eyes locked upon Ash, where its previously placid features took on a look of fury.
"Rocket scum!" The Seel roared in a feminine voice.
Before Ash's eyes, the Seel transformed. Its body lengthened, turning purple and sinewy. Its horn disappeared as its cheeks widened into a large hood. It's eyes slitted and its tongue turned forked. Where there once stood a Seel, there was now a large Arbok. But not an ordinary Arbok. This one sprouted teal hair that quickly wound itself into a familiar style, and the markings on its hood morphed into a familiarly terrifying face.
"I knew I should have finished you the first time around!" The Officer Jenny that tried to kill Ash hissed. "But this time, I won't miss."
The Arbok Jenny opened its fanged maw, but instead of Poison Stings as Ash expected came a deluge of fireballs. As they flew through the air, the fireballs took the form of fiery Spearow, streaking through the air with a cacophonous fury. Ash braced himself for impact, but found himself pushed out of the way.
"Ekaans!" Hissed a familiar tone as Salmissra pushed Ash out of the way, taking the attack for Ash. Dark fire surrounded his starter as numerous heavy gashes appeared on its body. Almost in slow motion, Salmissra fell to the ground, her eyes turning glassy and dull.
"No… Sal, no…" Ash cried, crawling to his Ekans and cradling her to his chest. Out of the corner of his eye, Ash saw a flash of pink. Standing at his side was the Viridian City Nurse Joy.
"Nurse Joy, please, save her!" Ash cried out, holding Salmissra out, practically shoving the Ekans into her arms.
"I'm afraid I can't do that." The Nurse Joy said in a dull tone of voice. "After all, the dead can't help anyone."
Suddenly, Ash noticed a stream of blood coming out of the nurse's mouth. Looking down, Ash saw that Salmissra had morphed into a vicious-looking dagger, which was now buried in the Nurse Joy's chest. A deluge of blood leaked from the hole in her chest, staining Ash's hands red.
"No… No!" Ash cried out, backing away in shock. Staring at his blood-covered hands, Ash attempted to wipe it off on his shirt. At his touch, Ash's clothing darkened to black. The red seeped from his hand and crawled onto the fabric, settling into a bloody crimson 'R'.
"You see, it's just as we said." Another voice said from behind Ash. Turning around, Ash saw the Team Rocket Trio. Jessie, the one who had spoke, had her hand on the Arbok Jenny's neck. "It was only a matter of time before you joined us.
"Indeed." James said, idly flipping what looked like a bottle cap into the air. "You were already halfway there anyway."
"Welcome to da Team, twerp!" Meowth said, running up to Ash and nuzzling against his leg.
"Team Rocket eh?" Sounded yet another voice. Turning yet again, Ash beheld the massive form of Rhyperior, but its face had seemingly been replaced with that of Giovanni's. "I let you scum get away once, but no more!" The drills on the Rhyperior/Giovanni began to spin ominously. "I was going to grant you two more days of life, but my patience is at its limit!"
"HORN DRILL!" Called out the numerous voices simultaneously as Giovanni/Rhyperior rushed forwards, murder intent on its face…
With a loud gasp, Ash woke up.
Sweat cascaded down his face as Ash drew in ragged breaths, trying to calm down down from the intense nightmare. Once his breathing got under control, Ash hurriedly checked clothing. Seeing as he had gone to sleep without changing, Ash still wore the previous day's clothing. It was covered in dirt and soot smudges, and even some blood from when Ash rushed to Salmissra's side. But his clothing weren't pitch-black, and there was no 'R' on his chest.
"Just… Just a dream… A terrible dream…" Ash groaned, holding his face in his hands. Suddenly, he shot out of his bed. "Salmissra!" He exclaimed, rushing out of the room and to the wrecked lobby of the Pokécenter.
In his rush, Ash didn't notice that almost all of the debris of the previous evening had been cleared away, only caring that nothing stood in his way as he made his way to the pink-haired figure standing behind the dented counter.
"Nurse Joy!" Ash cried out frantically as he approached, terrifying a couple of people that had been talking to her.
Thankfully, Nurse Joy was either very perceptive or had anticipated such a reaction. Politely excusing herself from the people she had been conversing with, the nurse reached under the counter and retrieved a small box. Walking up to Ash and intercepting him before he got to the counter, the Nurse Joy smiled as she held out the box.
"Here you go Ash!" The Joy smiled. Ash briefly wondered how she knew his name, but realized she must have overheard it from when he talked to Giovanni the night before. "It may have looked bad last night, but your Ekan's injuries healed up quickly and with no trouble! I also healed and registered you as the owner of the Seel."
At her words, the tight knot in Ash's gut loosened. It didn't completely go away, and wouldn't until he saw Salmissra for himself, but the Nurse Joy's words were enough to calm him down.
"Thank you, Nurse Joy." Ash said sincerely. "It means more to me than I can express knowing the Salmissra is safe."
"I'd tell you that after saving me last night you've more than earned the right to call me by my first name, but I honestly don't think either of us could stomach it right now." The Joy said, a touch of sorrow on her features as she remembered the events of the Rocket raid.
Ash's mind stalled for a moment, but he wasn't one of Oak's students for nothing. Neurons in his brain fired, and a few seconds later he had his answer. "Your first name's Jessie, isn't it?" Ash asked, both him and the Nurse Joy flinching a bit at the name of the red-haired Team Rocket member.
"It's actually Jessica, but I do commonly go by…you know…" The Joy looked to the side nervously. "I… I think I'll be going back to using my full name for a while."
Ash nodded, but didn't say anything. The two stood in awkward silence for a while, both not wanting to end their conversation like that but unable to think of anything else to say until Ash remembered the key still in his pocket.
"Here's the key back, Nurse Joy." Ash said, careful to avoid using her first name so as not to bring back the awkward environment. "I ended up in room three." He neglected to mention that the reason why he chose that one was because the other two had been damaged in the attack.
"Oh, yes! Thank you so much! I had honestly forgotten about it." The nurse confessed, a blush almost as pink as her hair spreading across her face as she pocketed the master key she had lent Ash the night before. "Just one second."
The Nurse Joy hurriedly headed back to the dented counter, rummaging through a drawer before drawing out a keycard and heading back to Ash. "Here you are."
Ash nodded and accepted the card, idly realizing that in the exhaustion-induced fog of last night he must have missed the card scanner that the key card must go to. "Thank you again." He then glanced at the people still hanging awkwardly around the counter. "I don't need help with anything else if you have something else to do."
The Nurse Joy followed his line of site before giggling. "Just some contractors that needed my input before the finished fixing up the lobby. And one of them's a local, a real sweetheart. He was just checking in."
"If it's not too much trouble, you mind apologizing to them on my behalf?" Ash asked, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "I realize that I wasn't exactly the picture of poise when I can out."
"Maybe not, but if training doesn't work out I think you can make a good extra in a B-grade horror flick." The Joy said, a mischievous smile on her face.
Ash pretended to clutch at his heart as he took a step backwards. "Low blow." Ash said jokingly, before giving one last incline of his head. "Joking aside, I'll take my leave now." Ash turned to leave, but was stopped as one last thought entered his head. "Actually, one last thing. Is there a training field nearby?"
"Three official ones and two unofficial ones." The Nurse said, rattling out the information as if on automatic. She probably was, it was likely a common question among visiting trainers. "The gym has one, but I doubt it's available right now. There's a facility dedicated to training with lots of specialized equipment, but it's expensive. There's an official battle area behind the center that's also commonly used for training, and there's two parks where the local youths like to train and battle. Not officially allowed, but Giovanni and the police force turn their heads as long as nothing catches fire."
Ash nodded and thanked the Nurse Joy one last time before heading back to his room.
Swiping the card to enter, Ash had no sooner finished closing the door before he reach for Salmissra's pokéball. Quickly identifying it, Ash tossed the pokéball into the center of the room.
In a flash of crimson light, the long snake-like body of his starter materialized. Take a split second to adjust to her surroundings, Salmissra quickly took stock of the room and determined it to be safe, before throwing herself at Ash.
"Woah girl!" Ash said, reeling back as Salmissra slammed into his legs in an unmistakable, to him, gesture of affection. The dark-haired trainer leaned down and carefully gathered up his Pokémon before holding her close. "You're safe, you're ok." Ash crooned softly. "And so am I. We're both ok. I promise."
Ash held Salmissra silently for a few more seconds before carefully setting her down. Once he did, he explained the events of the previous night that Salmissra had missed after she had gone down.
"I'm not gonna lie Sal, we got lucky last night." Ash confessed. "Stupidly, unbelievably lucky. Lucky that instead of destroying us, they tried to do a sales pitch. Lucky that Giovanni headed straight for the Pokécenter instead of one of several other locations. Lucky that we survived, instead of died."
Ash and Salmissra both stood in somber silence as they digested that.
"We got lucky, but that luck's not gonna last." Ash growled. "And frankly, I don't like relying on it. We're gonna train, we're gonna get stronger, and next time this happens? They will be the ones crying in defeat."
Salmissra hissed, nodding her head in agreement. She had gotten attached to this trainer of hers surprisingly quickly, so much so that it honestly kind of shocked the cold-blooded Pokémon. Being unable to defend him, being defeated so easily? It burned her.
"And not just us." Ash said, idly toying with the other pokéball in his hand. "It's time for us to meet our new teammate." Ash then glanced down, only just now truly registering the horrific state of his clothing. "Maybe after a shower and a change."
After a brief shower, and a quick snack for the both of them from Ash's ration stores, Ash and Salmissra ended up in the training area behind the Pokémon center. Ash was nervously tossing the Seel's pokéball from hand to hand, while Salmissra waited patiently by his side. Ash didn't know why he was so nervous, he had met Salmissra in a similar way after all.
Maybe it was because the Seel was wild?
It made sense, after all Salmissra had been a Pokémon Professor Oak had been studying. Even if he hadn't actively trained her, the constant exposure to humans had mellowed Salmissra to the point where she didn't react negatively to humans unless provoked.
But the Seel had been wild, had been forced to earn its own niche in a harsh world. And it had been harshly pulled from that. And then unceremoniously handed off to a different trainer. Ash was honestly right to be nervous. Unless the Seel was unexpectedly mellow for a wild Pokémon, it would probably be more than a little ticked off.
Ash took a deep breath. He would have to release the Seel sooner or later, and delaying this moment would be delaying both its and Salmissra's training.
"Pokéball, go!" Ash shouted, pumping himself up a touch as he launched the ball into the field.
In a familiar red flash, the Seel emerged from its containment. Its entire body was an almost pure white, and it had two large flippers in front with its back end ending in a powerful-looking tail. Two tusks protruded from the bottom of its mouth, and a small horn emerged from the top of its head. From horn to tail, it looked to come in at just over a meter long.
The seel came out dazed and confused, which wasn't unusual with freshly caught Pokémon. The stasis effect of the pokéballs and the sudden shift in environments tended to confuse them.
The Seel shook its head as it gained its bearings, while Ash waited patiently for it to notice him. Eventually, the Seel's confusion faded and it noticed the human and Pokémon looking at it. With a challenging bellow, the Seel began to charge Ash.
"Fuck!" Ash thought as he backed away. That Seel was surprisingly fast on land! Ash managed to dodge the initial charge, but tripped in doing so. As Ash struggled to get back on his feet, the Seel rounded on him for another charge.
"Salmissra! Intercept!" Ash managed to get out as the Seel began its second charge.
With an angry hiss, Salmissra launched herself at the Seel, wrapping herself around it so as to trip it up. With a startled yelp, the Seel's charge was interrupted and it face-planted on the ground. Salmissra took that opportunity to disengage, slithering away from the Seel to position itself between the Pokémon and Ash.
"Thanks Salmissra." Ash said with a quick glance down at his beloved starter. "As for you…" Here, Ash turned his attention to the Seel as it was getting back up. Small gouges in the ground from its face-plant showed the sharpness of its horns and tusks. "I understand that you're confused, and likely more than a touch pissed off. And that's understandable, but the fact remains is that you're caught. It doesn't have to be a bad thing though, with a trainer you never have to worry about food again. And I can help train you into a powerful Dewgong."
While true that for as many Pokémon that wanted to evolve there were just as many that didn't, predator types like Seel tended to lean towards the 'want it' spectrum. This especially applies to when they live in packs, as strength determined hierarchy in the wild.
Ash's hopes that the offer of training would win the Seel over vanished when it scoffed before lowering its horn threateningly.
"I-I mean… Do you WANT to evolve?" Ash stammered out, suddenly on the back foot.
Seel's response to this was a short and sharp spurt of water shooting from its mouth and nailing Ash in the face. Thankfully, it seemed like the Seel was no longer intent on killing him as the Water Gun merely stung.
Ash frowned as he examined the Seel. What was its issue? The water to his face indicated to Ash that the Seel DID want to grow stronger and eventually evolve. This was reinforced by its obvious aggressive nature.
With a growl, the Seel charged at Ash again, horn lowered and obviously intent on impaling him. Salmissra stopped this charge with a well-placed Poison Sting, causing it to veer to the side and miss Ash.
"What the hell?" Ash though as he and Salmissra reoriented themselves so that they were both facing the Seel with Salmissra between it and Ash. "I can understand if it just doesn't want to be captured, but the fact that it was willing to listen to me for even an instant indicates that it's not COMPLETELY opposed to the idea. So why does it keep trying to attack me?"
Ash pondered this as the Seel charged again, Salmissra again managing to divert it. Suddenly, the answer clicked and a rueful smile appeared on Ash's face. " I see." Ash said out loud, looking the Seel in the eye. "You're not opposed to being captured. You're not opposed to training and evolving. You're opposed to me since I wasn't the one to catch you."
The Seel, which had been preparing another charge, froze. It eyed Ash but kept silent, its head slightly tilted as if to indicate 'go on' to Ash.
"You want a battle." Ash said, more pieces clicking into place. "I wasn't the one who battled you initially, so I haven't earned the right to have you on my team. Is that about right?"
"Seel!" The Seel barked, giving a brief nod of its head.
"I see." Ash said, chuckling to himself. "The funny thing is, I was having similar thoughts. It doesn't feel right just being handed a new member to add to my team." Ash grinned at the Seel. "So what do you say? One battle. I win, you officially become part of my team. You win, I carry you just long enough to get you to a body of water and I release you. Sound fair to you?"
"Seel! Se-Seel!" The Seel barked out, nodding its head as it accepted Ash's terms before getting into a battle position. Its body lay flat, head lowered, and tensed forward. In that position it could easily charge again, curl up in defense, or simply raise its head to use a ranged attack.
"You ready then Salmissra?" Ash asked his Ekans.
"Ek-Ekans!" Salmissra hissed, as happy as her trainer for the opportunity to battle the Seel. The small battles in the forest leading to Viridian were nothing. But this. This was a battle worthy for one who would one day be queen of the serpents!
"Then start things off with Poison Sting!"
With a loud hiss, Salmissra opened her jaws wide as numerous purple needles were expelled from her mouth at high speeds towards the Seel. The Seel, however, managed to dodge by using a Water Gun attack on the ground, turning it into mud and then slipping across it.
"Clever." Ash thought, watching the way the aquatic Pokémon dodged. "And if it learned to do that in the wild, it'll be a beast when combined with actual training!" While Ash had wanted to win against the Seel before, now he was all the more fired up to do so.
"Careful Sal! It's clearly able to compensate for its species slowness on land!" Ash warned his Pokémon. "But he's not as fast as you! Get close and use Wrap, and then Bite!"
With a reluctant hiss, Salmissra obeyed. She didn't want the mud dirtying her scales (or worse, getting underneath them. That itched like crazy.), but she knew she had to put up with it to win the battle.
Compensating for the slickness of the mud wasn't as easy as her trainer thought, but Salmissra was able to quickly catch up to the evading Seel, using Wrap as Ash had commanded.
But Seel wasn't out of tricks yet! The second Salmissra's coils started to settle around it, the Seel began exuding a thin layer of water around its body. This, plus the mud, made it almost impossible for Salmissra to hold on to it.
Ash cursed as he saw Salmissra about to lose her grip. With the Seel's surprising mobility, both with and without mud to ease the passage, the battle became a lot harder as Ash had initially been hoping to win through the use of hit-and-run attacks using Salmissra's superior speed and mobility. Wrapping it was the only way to restrict its movements.
"Salmissra! Change of plans! Point-blank Poison Sting!" Ash ordered. It was a gamble, Bite would certainly deal more damage, but if Ash could just get some of Salmissra's poison into the Seel…
At Ash's command, Salmissra opened her mouth wide and let loose another wave of poisonous needles just as Seel managed to throw her off. Most of them went wide, what with Salmissra finally losing her grip on the Seel's slippery body, and of the ones that did hit most just bounced off the thick hide. But a few had managed to penetrate, and there was even one or two that looked like it managed to go in deep!
Ash grinned as he noticed the small hints of purple marring the Seel's white skin. It didn't look like much, but even a little bit of poison could have drastic consequences in a drawn-out battle. And that's exactly what Ash intended to do.
"Salmissra! I want you to focus on dodging now! Keep your distance, and fire more Poison Stings if you think the angle's good!"
Salmissra instantly obeyed, zig-zagging away from the Seel as it let loose shot after shot of Water Gun at its serpentine opponent.
The Seel growled in frustration. Already it could feel the poison of the Ekans it fought making its way through its body, slowing it down and sapping its strength. This battle needed to end! But the snake it was battling and its trainer were smart enough to keep the Ekans at a distance while its poison did the work for it. But the Seel had one more trick up its figurative sleeve.
With a deep breath, the Seel let loose a gust of icy-cold air. As it touched the mud and puddles left behind from its previous water attacks, the ground slowly began to freeze. "Seel!" The Seel barked out in triumph, using its new icy terrain to take off like a rocket towards the snake.
Ash cursed aloud as the Seel froze the field. Not only did that speed up the Seel even more, but the frigid environment would have a negative effect on the cold-blooded Salmissra. This negated the advantage of poisoning Seel, as now Salmissra was on a clock as well.
While Ash hurriedly tried to think up a countermove, Salmissra was struggling. The frozen environment was slowing her down, and the icy ground was giving her trouble as she struggled not to slip and slide.
All of a sudden, the Seel came barreling towards Salmissra, scoring a sold hit on the poison-type. Quick thinker that she was though, Salmissra managed to squeeze out a few Poison Stings as she went flying, scoring a few more hits on the Seel.
"Salmissra!" Ash called out in worry as his starter went flying. The snake Pokémon crashed to the ground a fair distance from where she had been tackled, but she wasn't out for the count yet. Sluggishly, Salmissra managed to re-orient herself, glaring weekly at the Seel.
The Seel in question was getting to be in pretty rough shape as well. Ash could only assume that it had a lower tolerance for poison than normal, as that was the only explanation Ash could think of for why it was so affected by so little poison in its system. Even including the extra dose Salmissra had managed to give it earlier.
By unspoken consent, both Pokémon were taking a moment to breath and formulate their next course of action. They both knew that the next exchange would likely be the last. Seel's low tolerance for poison was causing it to wear out quickly, and Salmissra low tolerance for cold was slowing her down. Any longer, and either one of them would collapse. The next exchange would be all or nothing.
"Salmissra! I have an idea." Ash called out from the sidelines. "It's a bit reckless, but right now I think that's what we need. I need you to follow every command I give the second I give it, can you do that?"
"Ekans!" Salmissra hissed, indicating her trust in her trainer and her willingness to trust him in this.
"All right then! Charge the Seel! Full power!"
A touch confused her her trainer's sudden request for a frontal assault, Salmissra nonetheless obeyed, charging the Seel. The Seel, in turn, let out a mighty bellow and began rocketing across the icy ground towards Salmissra.
As the two got closer together, Ash waited. And waited. Right up until the crucial moment where both were utterly committed to their respective charges. Finally, at the point where neither could turn back, Ash gave his order. "Salmissra! Use Leer!"
Leer was a basic move, with a rather simple basis. It was pure intimidation, with just a little bit of a Pokémon's innate energy thrown in to bypass mental barriers. And it would only work when the recipient had cause to worry about the Pokémon using it. For example, Salmissra's Leer wouldn't even cause a Steelix to blink as it had nothing to fear from her. But the Seel? One who was battling Salmissra and knew her hiss was backed up by a poisonous bite? It could be affected.
And to Ash's immense relief, Seel was indeed affected by Salmissra's Leer. Its hardened gaze as it charged softened, a flicker of fear appearing in its eyes as Seel momentarily froze, though its momentum still carried it forward.
Ash smiled, all according to plan. Granted it was a half-baked desperation plan, but according to plan nonetheless. "Ok Salmissra, now use Iron Tail!"
Comprehending Ash's plan, Salmissra hissed in excitement as her tail took on silvery glow of metallic energy. Though it had only been a couple of days, Ash's training regime was already bearing fruit as the silvery glow on Salmissra's tail was less patchy and glowed brighter.
"Ekans!" Salmissra hissed, whipping her tail around at the Seel, aiming her glowing tail right between its eyes.
Between Seel's and Salmissra's momentum, the power of the Iron Tail was doubled. This was clearly shown as Seel went flying all the way to the end of the field.
"S-Seel…" The Seel groaned as it managed to get to its feet. Or rather, flippers.
Ash had to admit to being impressed by the Seel's persistence. And worried as well, judging by the way Salmissra was panting and struggling to stay upright. Ash was worried about what further battle in the chilly environment would do to his starter.
Luckily, it turned out that Ash needn't worry any further.
"Seel…" With a final groan, the Seel closed its eyes and collapsed. It was defeated, and the battle was over. Just in time too as with an almost silent hiss, Salmissra collapsed as well.
A thin, red beam suddenly hit Salmissra and her form began to dissolve into light. The light was then sucked into the pokéball held in Ash's hand. "You did well Salmissra." Ash murmured. "It was a tough battle for the both of us, but you won it. And won us a new teammate as well."
Clipping Salmissra's pokéball to his belt, Ash then pulled out the Seel's pokéball and recalled the water-type as well. "As for you…" Ash smiled down at the Seel's pokéball. "I hope you hold up your end of the bargain. After all, I have big plans for you."
The battle is over! And the winners are... Ash and Salmissra! Hopefully ya'll enjoyed it. I'm still not too sure, it just seems too short for me. But I wanted Ash to actually battle the Seel, and didn't realize until I was looking at its low-level moves that it knew an ice-type move and that'd be bad for Salmissra. So that quickened the pace of the battle a bit. Now one thing I'd like to point out. Some eagle-eyed readers will note that Seel used Water Gun. The knowledgeable ones will know that Water Gun isn't actually in Seel's moveset. Researching Seel for the team, I was surprised to learn that Seel didn't learn ANY water type moves by level until gen 4! Strange considering it's a pure water type. But considering how basic a water-type move it is, I added Water Gun into its repertoire anyway. One last thing to note is that I tried not to mention Seel's gender. It's stupid, but I figured that Ash wouldn't know from a glance so I'm holding the gender pronouns until Ash actually scans it. Just a small nod to my ongoing attempts to make the world I'm building as realistic as possible. Anyways, how about some answers to a couple of review questions?
thor94: Ash will get strong, but at a reasonable rate. He's not going to be thrashing Jessie and James like he does in the anime anytime soon, and he's not going to win every battle. But he'll get progressively stronger.
mermizle: I've read a few other Pokémon stories where Ash had an Ekans on his team. And even one other where his starter was an Ekans. But yeah, Ash having an Ekans on his team is incredibly rare and is part of the reason I started this story.
And that's about it! One more chapter is planned for Ash's time in Viridian City, and then it's time for Viridian forest! That's where Ash will catch either a Murkrow or a Zubat. So if you want a vote, now's your last chance! Anyways, I'm gonna wait a bit before starting the next chapter. Not much, just a few days. While ya'll are waiting on me, why not try reading A Child of Two Worlds by arielrapunzel1250? It hasn't updated in a few years, but it's still interesting. As a child, Ash is raised by Pokémon until he is found and adopted by Delia Ketchum. Because of him being raised by Pokémon, he can understand them. This leads to a lot of interesting situations as Ash gets even closer to his Pokémon, can communicate with the Pokémon him and his group help, and Ash trying to hide the ability from those who would try to exploit it.