A/N:
Alright, I got another review asking me to update and I just wanted to again state that it doesn't work. After I wrote and published the last chapter I had three days until an exam, kind of had to focus on that. Of course, that doesn't excuse the fact that was in February (I have actually rewritten the A/N for once because frankly, I felt the need to say this), and I have had trouble writing this since.
Most of my reviews this time weren't questions, so I will simply thank all my reviewers and get on it.
I also want to inform you that this time I didn't update speedily due to school work and the fact that I was polishing and writing a bit on the other two fanfics I write, though neither of them has been posted yet.
I still do not own Pokémon, or anything associated, and I make no profit doing this writing.
Onward to the chapter!
Rough Reunion!
Ash rejoined Brock and Dawn in the lounge, the trio sitting in comfortable silence sipping hot chocolate. Until Ash finally felt he couldn't wait anymore and dialed the number for the APEO, waiting only a few moments before the line opened. On the screen came the faces of Roark and Doctor Fowler, both their faces lit up upon seeing Ash. Ash gently returned the smiles, and the two APEO heads started speaking over each other again. Ash sighed before he intervened, "Doctor Fowler, Roark! You are trying to talk at the same time, again! I can't understand either of you when you do that."
The doctor and Gym Leader looked chastised, and regretful, but eventually Doctor Fowler started to speak again. "Would you happen to have managed to ascertain the veracity of your earlier report?" The question made Ash blink, and Roark groaned while palming his face.
"The veracity of my…? Doctor Fowler speak plainly and in general terms please, even though I'm not stupid I know that I'm not the most intelligent guy in the world either. If you're asking whether I have proof that there are ancient Pokémon and plants in the glacier, the answer is yes. I'll wire the photos over now, but there are a few things you need to be aware of. Families are living down there, and you will have to be careful due to that," Ash stopped to take a deep breath, having spoken nearly without breath.
Roark nodded along, "Of course, Ash. While we would like to study ancient life, we wouldn't risk the currently living Pokémon for that purpose. I'll arrange an expedition tomorrow. Anything we should bring specifically?" Roark was simultaneously speaking to Ash, and glaring Doctor Fowler into submission, as it seemed the Doctor wasn't quite in agreement on the matter of extinct and living Pokémon.
Ash also noticed Doctor Fowler's behavior and made a mental note to have the G-Men do a covert check into the good old doctor, though he turned to Roark as he answered. "Aside from warm clothing, a Pokémon that can deal with Ice-types is probably a good idea. There is a rather hostile Froslass down there, and a few of the families of Ice-types down there seems to have young hatchlings so they might be defensive if they perceive you as a threat," the statement came quickly and easily, flowing from Ash's lips without pause. Roark seemed to accept the judgment without question, though Fowler was less pleased by the advice.
The two kept up the conversation for a little while longer, Ash trying to retell most of the locations that were either difficult to access or completely inaccessible. Most of them because of families having settled nearby or in the danger zones. After the call finally ended, Ash discreetly sent the report to the G-Men hoping that it turned up to be nothing. Afterward, the trio simply sat in quiet, comfortable conversation and discussed their route over the last piece of Mt. Coronet, as the Pokécenter they were resting at resided in a Valley quite far up the mountain.
"I think we should get some sleep, the road is going to be difficult tomorrow," Brock finally stated when the last pieces of the sunset disappeared behind the ridge of the mountain. Ash nodded slowly, gazing over the horizon one last time before he got up and went to his room. Dawn simply smiled, following him slowly, and quickly kissed him goodnight as they separated into their rooms to sleep. The following morning, after Ash's morning training and they had eaten their breakfast, the trio started moving toward Hearthome once more.
"What's the best route to take, Brock? Do you have any ideas?" Ash asked when they hit a diverging path about two hours later. One path seemed to go further south and around the mountain, while another would take them up a rocky hike to go over it, and the third and last possible route took them into what seemed to be a carved and supported cave passage through the mountain. As Brock considered his answer carefully the midday sun was waning behind a gathering of dark clouds, and the wind brought the telling smell of petrichor. "If it helps you make a decision it's about to rain, Brock," Ash stated casually, as he was the only one capable of picking up in the subtle smell from just a whiff on the wind.
Brock glanced over at Ash before he turned to look up at the clouds noticing that the sun didn't shine as brightly anymore. Turning back, he had a slight hint of a smile on his face, "Cave it is then, no need to get wet unnecessarily." With that, all three of them quickly walked into the cave entrance, just in time as the rain seemed to materialize right behind them upon their entrance. Brock looked back out, commenting lightly, "Now that was timely, wasn't it?" The three companions chuckled together as they rummaged around their bags for their flashlights, none of them wishing to traverse the cave in darkness.
As he rummaged in his backpack, Ash commented on the apparent darkness in the cave, especially as now that they were inside, they could clearly see it was manmade. There were wooden support beams and hooks for lamps and lanterns, spreading forward like a safety net to secure the passage. "It's kind of weird that not one of the lanterns or lamps shines, isn't it? Is the passage not maintained any longer?" he asked curiously before he finally located his flashlight and pulled it out triumphantly. Turning it on, he immediately continued his statement, "Of course, it could also be on purpose." The lanterns seemed to have been smashed, and the wires for the lamps had been cut to prevent any light from illuminating the passage. "Noctowl come on out, I need another pair of eyes here," he continued, releasing the newly retrieved Owl Pokémon.
Having never seen the Pokémon before, Dawn immediately pulled out her Pokédex and scanned Noctowl. It took a moment, but then the Pokédex whirred to life and the monotone, robotic voice began giving the information she was looking for. "Noctowl the Owl Pokémon, and the evolved form of Hoothoot. Having adapted to hunt in the dusk or darkness of night, these Pokémon's eyes are specially adapted to concentrate even faint light. This Pokémon flips its head into a seemingly unnatural position in order to do its heavy thinking, often worrying others around it. It has one of the best success rates hunting in the nights among Pokémon, also sometimes being called 'the emperor of dark nights'." Having said its piece, the Pokédex calmed down again, and the metallic buzzing subsided.
Dawn looked at the picture showing on her Pokédex's screen, and then up at Ash's Noctowl before looking down again. Finally, she voiced her confusion, "How come your Noctowl doesn't have the same coloring as the one on the Pokédex? And since when did you have a Noctowl on your team?" Her questions were met by smiles by both boys before Ash started to explain quietly.
"Sometimes a Pokémon will be born with a genetic mutation which alters their coloring, though it's very rare. They have all the same capabilities as other of their species, the only difference being their colors. Despite that many of them are left alone because of the difference, such as my Noctowl. I made a few transfers last night from my room, and aside from Pikachu, Noctowl is my only Pokémon not caught in Sinnoh right now," he stated, trying to explain clearly but not getting longwinded.
Dawn nodded slightly showing she understood before she reached over and gently scratched Noctowl's plumage, eliciting a few soft, pleased hoots from the Owl Pokémon. While Dawn was getting to know his Noctowl, Ash signaled Brock to release some of his Pokémon as well and to be on guard. The thought had crossed his mind that this could just be regular vandals and hooligans, but it could also be something more sinister and Ash wanted to be prepared to react. Brock seemed resigned but did release two of his Pokémon. Namely his Crobat and Graveler, both for reconnaissance and battling.
Feeling adequately prepared the group started their trek into the tunnel, Ash going first with Dawn just slightly behind him and Brock bringing up the rear. As they kept walking inward, the sound of the falling rain gradually diminished into nothing and the only sounds they could hear were their own steps and the occasional water droplet falling from a stalactite. The smells on the inside of the cave seemed off to Ash though, as if something had recently disturbed the natural formations of smell. The trio pressed on despite this, Ash just slowing the pace down even further to err on the safe side of things. The cave was dark enough that the group saw little to nothing outside the cones of lights emitted from their flashlights, and that cone was rather narrow compared to what the two guys would have preferred.
Ash suddenly stopped, so suddenly that Dawn barely had time to stop from stepping right into his back, and seemed to focus on trying to hear something. Noticing what Ash was trying to do, Brock lowered his voice but asked gently, "Should we have Noctowl and Crobat scout the path ahead, Ash?" The question was soft, and the tone calm, yet it was still obvious that Brock had tensed upon realizing that Ash had caught something he himself had not. Ash turned to the two of them and seemed to struggle with a thought before he asked carefully.
"Brock, isn't it rather strange that we haven't heard a single Pokémon down here?" The question struck Brock like lightning, and even Dawn realized that it was highly unusual. Brock had to take a few moments to think it properly through before he nodded his agreement. Not only was it unusual, but it should also be downright impossible if nothing had scared them away, and purposefully at that. Seeing the others agree with him spurred Ash on to continue talking, "I don't know what anyone could want here that required them to clear out the Pokémon, but I highly doubt it could be anything good. That said, I don't think it'd be a good idea to get involved unless absolutely necessary."
The statement was compounded by the slight flinch Ash made as his back stretched painfully under his bandages, the shift allowing just a tiny waft of the burn salve's aroma to slip out. The smell was disgusting, and Dawn scrounged her nose trying to block it out, though neither Ash nor Brock thought much of it. The two had their minds on other things, as they settled down to wait patiently for Crobat and Noctowl to scout a bit ahead. Seeing the chance to have a bite to eat for lunch, Brock retrieved his premade sandwiches from his backpack and handed a few to both Ash and Dawn, before taking a bite out of his own. About fifteen minutes later their two scouts returned with little to report, though admittedly not having gone far.
Having finished their slight stop, and their bite of food, the trio kept going at a sedate pace, careful to be as quiet as possible. After Ash pointed out the discrepancy with the lack of Pokémon sounds the quiet seemed almost deafening, and the slight sounds that had seemed so quiet thundered in their ears. Ash was the first to notice a change in their path, which he quickly and quietly related to the others. They all turned off their flashlights and quietly crept up to the cave opening in front of them, which was flooded with light. Ducking behind a cropping of stalagmites, the trio carefully made their way closer to the gathering of people in the cave.
When they were so close that they could hear the conversation clearly, Ash finally took the chance to peek up over the stalagmites to see what they were dealing with. The sight in front of him forced Ash to smother the curses trying to force themselves out of his mouth before he sat down to continue to go unnoticed. In the middle of the large cavern stood two groups of people, one group was wearing all grey uniforms with a dark grey vest over lighter grey tracksuits. The others also wore uniforms, these Ash recognized from the Valley Windworks however. In addition to the two groups of obvious henchmen were two people wearing significantly different uniforms, one of which Ash instantly recognized.
Standing in the middle of a circle, consisting half of each group, wearing her usual grape-colored battle coat and ruby tracksuit underneath was Hunter J, her stance relaxed and her weaponized gauntlet pointing downward. She was conversing with the other uniquely dressed person there, which Ash assumed was the leader of the other group. This apparent leader was wearing all black, segmented pants with just the tips of his silver-colored boots visible underneath. His jacket had black-colored arms and the neck with a single stripe of black dividing the white vest-like design that seemed to tie into his henchmen's uniform. Emblazoned in the middle of his chest was a stylized golden G, and he obviously carried himself with more authority than anyone else present except Hunter J. His most defining feature however was his blue hair, styled into two horn-like points on top of his head.
As Ash and the others settled and became quiet, he focused on the conversation to hear what was said instead of simply recognizing that the conversation was carried. "That isn't exactly a simple task, Saturn. Quite frankly I am unsure whether it's worth my time," the irritated voice of Hunter J spoke, an icy tone conveying the disdain she had for the group in front of her.
A low, rumbling chuckle was heard, probably coming from this Saturn person, but none of the trio were in a position to see that for themselves. "Relax, J," a smooth masculine voice spoke, the group could hear Hunter J's henchmen drawing sharp breaths at the disrespect. "We simply need you to obtain the Pokémon themselves, not find their locations. That will be our job, and surely you cannot argue with the pay you've been offered? We were quite certain it is the richest payday you've ever been offered," the voice continued, heedless to any tempers he might have frayed.
There lay an ominous silence between the two before J finally answered. The ice in her voice had become even more pronounced, and her temper seemed to be flaring. "What paydays we've scored previously is none of your concern, Saturn. As for the assignment itself, if we truly do not have to track the Pokémon down it is certainly doable for the price discussed. Now if you'll excuse us, you are not my only clients and I am on a deadline." There came a noise similar to gravel shifting under a boot, from Hunter J turning on her heel Ash guessed. He heard shifting of feet and a bit of mumbling, probably from J's henchmen, and just when he thought they'd be fully gone they heard J speak again. "Oh, and if you ever disrespect me like that again, Saturn…" she let the threat hang silently in the air, no need to expand upon it. Ash carefully chanced a glance from behind the stalagmite, and saw the blue-haired leader, Saturn, with his hands casually raised in a mock surrender still wearing a rather infuriating smirk. Hunter J huffed, but turned around and kept walking out of sight without another glance backward.
Ash's heart hammered in his chest, and he glanced at his companions. All three had light sheens of sweat covering their brows and were taking deep but quiet breaths. "Are we certain this is the best choice, Commander Saturn? This Hunter seems…" a voice cautiously spoke, before falling dead silent. Ash took a glance over the stalagmite to see what was going on and saw Saturn stare furiously at one of his own henchmen. The murderous rage on his face had every grunt there shivering and unconsciously take a step away.
"Since when is it your place to question the decisions of the Boss, grunt?!" Saturn snarled furiously, before visibly struggling to get himself under control again. "The Boss decided to hire J and her motley crew, with support from us Commanders. I trust the Boss to know the best way for this to work, despite my personal loathing for that woman," he continued, his voice smoothing itself into a calm tone once again.
-The Boss? And for what to work exactly?, Ash thought to himself, thoroughly confused about what they had overheard. All he really had figured out so far was that whatever this organization's goal was they had no compunctions about hiring Hunter J to achieve it, nor were they worried about the obvious expense it would bring. The trio stayed hidden for another long while, waiting for the group of oddly dressed people to leave as well. When they had finally gone, and the caverns were once again silent as the grave, the trio cautiously got out from behind the stalagmites and into the enormous cavern proper.
Ash stared into the tunnel J had disappeared into, but shook out of it shortly later. Even with Pikachu on his shoulder he simply didn't have the firepower to go against J right at this moment, not to even factor in all the henchmen and the other group at the same time. He gritted his teeth, almost drawing blood from his own lips doing so before he turned to Dawn and Brock. "We should get out of here, we don't know whether they'll return," he stated easily, the deceptively calm voice sounding almost wrong even to his own ears. Even so, both Dawn and Brock obviously agreed with him, and they hurriedly left the cavern through the passage Brock figured to be the one toward Hearthome.
Throughout the entire rest of the cavern hike, Ash let his mind race with thoughts about what this assignment could be, that even Hunter J was unsure whether it was worth the payday. Obviously, he hated thinking about it in that way, but if he wanted to understand he had to try to see it from a Hunter's point of view. However, try as he might he could not point out any assignment that could have that effect on the seasoned and ruthless Pokémon Hunter. Brock and Dawn left him to his thoughts as they walked, the two of them conversing on lighter topics as they moved.
Ash didn't notice they were about to leave the cave until the sudden aromas of wildflowers and berries hit his nose with all the force of a sledgehammer, the contrast between the smells of the caverns and the mountainside was simply that striking. After the smells had registered with the group it only took them about five more minutes to actually get to the outside, and feel the brightly shining sun on their skin once more. The entire trip through the cavern system had probably taken less than four hours in total, and yet the only sign of the earlier rain was the slight dampness to the ground and a few scattered drops still clinging to the vegetation.
Fairly close to the cave opening they just ascended from was a rather large open plateau, with a few scattered boulders and similar obstacles. "We should take a slight break here, we're all somewhat tired from the hike. How about you try training a bit?" Brock casually stated the question at the end aimed more toward Dawn than Ash.
Dawn quickly caught on and smiled brightly at the two boys. "That sounds like a great idea! Guinevere and Morgana gave me a few tips to get Altaria to listen to me, and I can't wait to try," Dawn stated, her wide smile bringing Ash out of his thoughts as he simply couldn't help but smile back. Knowing he would be outvoted even if he tried to push on, Ash raised his hands in surrender to the two and they all settled for a short break.
"Alright, Altaria come on out!" Dawn called, and her Humming Pokémon made an appearance in short order. She smiled at him and came closer to him, slowing her walk slightly when he seemed to tense at her approach. He still let her get close though and seemed genuinely interested when she pulled a hairbrush from her bag. "Alright, I thought we should bond a little more. We didn't really start off in the best way, did we?" she spoke calmly as she carefully brushed Altaria's wings. Altaria actually seemed to preen at the sensation of getting brushed, the feeling of being groomed seemed to be enticing to the Humming Pokémon.
Ash smiled at seeing his girlfriend carefully groom her overly prideful, yet undoubtedly, strongest Pokémon. "She has the potential to go really far, especially if she gets Altaria to listen to her. Don't you think, Brock?" His question went unanswered for a while, which confused Ash until he turned over and saw why. Brock was totally ignoring everything around him as he sat and polished the stone he was giving to Happiny, who herself was sitting right in front of him and staring intently at the entire process.
Ash grinned as he softly shook his head and looked back at his girlfriend, who actually seemed to be making some progress in getting the Humming Pokémon to listen. His hand was idly scratching Pikachu's head, who had seated himself right beside Ash and was cooing softly in happiness. "Alright Pikachu, let's get some training in ourselves, shall we?" he asked, getting up and starting to move. Pikachu gave a cry of agreement and ran in front of him to an open part of the plateau. "Everyone, come on out!" he called, giving Dawn some space before he did.
In front of him his Sinnoh captures, along with Noctowl, appeared with happy cries and determined expressions. "Staravia and Vespiquen I want both of you to work with Noctowl on long-range Flying-type attacks, alright? Turtwig, I want you to continue training your Energy Ball, just pick a boulder. Luxio, go with Pikachu and get started on accuracy with your Discharge. That leaves you with me Gible," he quickly gave out his training orders, before turning toward his newest capture. His egg was safe in its container inside his backpack, sitting just a slight bit further away. Gible nodded seriously, ready to take on Ash's training with all seriousness it could gather.
The training session came to an end about forty minutes later, leaving all Ash's Pokémon except Noctowl and Pikachu winded and panting. Ash rose an eyebrow at that, "I suppose we need to get some endurance training going soon." The statement was simple and casual but brought wide eyes to all of his Pokémon's eyes. Pikachu almost fell over from laughing too hard, and Noctowl's mirth was easily visible in his eyes.
Noctowl gazed over at Dawn and Altaria, who seemed to be finished with their grooming. A thoughtful look seemed to settle onto Noctowl's face before it called out. "Noct! Noct-noct-owl!" the cry seemed to catch Altaria's attention, which was its intention. Taking off casually, Noctowl hovered in the air gently signaling to Ash that it was time to battle.
"Noctowl, what are you doing? Dawn and Altaria aren't to the point that they're battling yet," Ash softly admonished his old friend, only to be surprised that Noctowl stayed adamant. "Alright, I guess. Dawn, are you and Altaria up for a sparring battle? Noctowl seems very insistent," he gave in and looked over to his girlfriend.
Dawn bit her lips lightly, but before she managed to get an answer out they all heard the low rumble of an explosion and saw a slight smoke cloud rising not too far away. "I think we should get that checked out. Altaria, I'll leave you out so can I count on you if we're battling?" Dawn quickly took control of the situation, seemingly dodging Noctowl's challenge to Noctowl's displeasure. Altaria seemed somewhat bored but did nod his head signaling he would listen to his trainer.
The trio quickly left the plateau to hurry towards the apparent battle, as more sounds of explosions and smoke regularly gave evidence of an ongoing battle. When they arrived in the large clearing, they had not expected the large crowd that seemed to have gathered to watch the battle, and Ash got really curious about what was going on. Carefully pushing his way through the crowd, with Brock and Dawn straight behind him, he finally laid eyes on the battle. In the middle of the clearing, a large tortoise with a tree growing out of its shell and three sharp-looking boulders seemingly stuck was fighting an oxford blue Pokémon with a shark-like fin on its back and two similar fins on its arms just underneath two wicked-looking ivory claws.
However, the two Pokémon were not what truly caught Ash's eyes, their trainers were. Casually ordering her ace Pokémon was the Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia Shirona, and the large tortoise Pokémon's trainer was none other than… "Paul!?" A sharp gust of wind blew through the clearing, whistling fiercely through the rustling leaves and groaning branches.
A/N:
Alright, I finally managed to buckle down and write this chapter to the finish. It is slightly shorter than I would have liked it to be, but I hope I will be able to make up for that later. I must admit I am not wholly confident about the quality of this chapter, and there are a few things I am unhappy with or just uncertain about. But you truly deserve another chapter after waiting on one for so long, and while I can't make any promises, I do hope I will be able to update again shortly.
So how did you like the chapter? Anything specific you all think I could do better? How did you like the interaction between Saturn and Hunter J? And how long do you all think it will be before Altaria will listen completely to Dawn?
I do apologize for the wait, and I sincerely hope you like the chapter. I can't really write anything more than that, I look forward to hearing from you.
Till next time (hopefully not too long from now)!