"Missss!" Ophelia squealed as she chased an orange maple leaf down the dirt path, an equally excited Ziggy hot on her heels.
Ash kept a watchful eye on them from behind, enjoying the early Saturday morning sun and steam from the apple cider he had picked up before leaving Pewter. Rayna sat on her trainers' shoulder, stealing sips of cider whenever the teen brought the cup to his lips.
Ash could just make out the tip of Noelle's fluffy tail up ahead as she stalked a poor Rattata, waiting for it to slip on the ice trap she'd hidden under the many fallen leaves littering the ground. Beside her trainer Amaryllis slithered, Fletcher perched on her head. Ash kept a leisurely pace the serpent could easily keep up with.
"Miii," Amaryllis trilled as her giant head gently nudged Ash, greedy eyes on his backpack.
"Haven't you had enough already?" Ash asked with a raised eyebrow, trying to sound stern but unable to fight the grin creeping over his face. The boy was already swinging his pack over one shoulder so he could retrieve the package of the fresh fruit hidden inside.
Amaryllis huffed, her large eyes swiveling to Rayna who had all but commandeered her trainers drink.
"Alright," Ash chuckled as he gently tossed a whole cluster of cranberries into the water types waiting mouth. "Here you go."
Unsurprisingly Ash was then accosted by Ziggy and Fletcher, both drooling and demanding their own treats, forcing their trainer to stop. The teen made sure to save a handful of grapes for Noelle who judging by the yelp he'd just heard would be joining them soon.
Leaving Pewter behind was a bit of a relief. One day Ash wanted to go back. Go back and experience the many other museums he'd missed the first time, visit the Slate siblings again and explore the campus both his parents had once called home. Just preferably once all the Halloween decorations have been taken down.
The group trekked for a few hours on the lightly forested mountainous path, battling a few trainers they came across and just enjoying each other's company as the sun crept higher into the sky. Around midday when Ash could hear the gurgle of a stream nearby, which Amaryllis was all too happy to roll in, they stepped off the road for lunch and some actual training.
"Nice work Ziggy!" Ash shouted up to his Noibat who had just used a perfect Agility to speed past a slightly offended Fletcher, whom until just now had always been the faster of the two.
"Noi!" Ziggy chirped as he came down for a landing, huffing but still grinning ear to ear.
"I want you to keep practicing Agility," the trainer said as he knelt to pet the dragon's head briefly. "Remember to come down for a break when you feel like you need it. I want to use you in battles later."
"Noi!" Ziggy chirped in affirmative before taking off again, leaving a small cloud of dust in his wake.
"Don't worry about Ziggy getting faster than you," Ash assured his grass type as he reached a hand up to stroke Fletcher, who had perched himself on the teens shoulder. "His final evolution is much better built for speed than yours. You and your evolutions are best suited to be sharpshooters. If I'm remembering correctly that's your dream, right?"
"Row," Fletcher trilled begrudgingly, heaving as much as a sigh as his beak would allow.
"So why don't you show me how far your Leafage has come?"
Before the words had fully left Ash's mouth three dozen serrated leaves blasted through the center of the paper target the boy had set up at the beginning of their training session.
"Well then…" Ash nodded as he observed the carnage Fletchers attack had left in its wake. "How do you feel about learning Astonish? I'm sure Ophelia would be all too happy to give you some tips."
Ash's suggestion that Fletcher learn from Ophelia was met with a deadpan.
Chaos was the only word that could be used to describe the Pokémon Center situated before Mt. Moon Ash stepped into Monday afternoon. Indigo Ace Trainers and Pewter police officers took up every nook and cranny of the lobby. They leaned against every wall and sat on almost every available inch of floor space. Some even perched themselves on the laps of their comrades who had been lucky enough to nab a seat. Most of them were sporting an arrayment of scarps, cuts and torn dirtied uniforms. All seem frustrated as they glared at clipboards on their laps. Brock, arms crossed and mouth stretched into a straight line, loomed over them.
At least until he noticed Ash.
"Ash!" the gym leader called, his stern frown melting into a warm smile and his hand coming up to wave to the younger trainer. "You got here faster than I expected."
Every single eye in the lobby swiveled to stare at the new arrival and the Riolu occupying his shoulder, recognition swirling in the gazes of a few older looking Ace Trainers.
"…Hey Brock," Ash answered hesitantly as he stepped over the legs of an Ace Trainer who Rayna was gracious enough to wave at. The man, ecstatic with the distraction, joyously waved back.
"What's going on?" Ash asked as he slid up next to the young adult.
Brock pursed his lips and tilted his head.
"We're just finishing up a raid on some Rockets that were found digging around the lower levels of Mt. Moon. The mountain is closed until tomorrow at least."
Suddenly the banged-up Ace Trainers made sense.
"Was anyone hurt?"
"There were a few trainers who were kidnapped and their Pokémon stolen when they accidently stumbled upon the Rockets. Besides being slightly starved they're physically all okay and their Pokémon have been returned to them. These guys are just a little roughed up but it's nothing they can't handle."
Someone moaned. Ash nodded anyways.
"Why don't you get your team checked out and get a room for the night. I'll make an announcement later tonight in the common room about when trainers can go into the tunnels again."
"Okay," Ash agreeded as he made his way towards the front desk. The setback was a little annoying, but it seemed like Brock was wrapping up his operation and Ash could be on his way soon. Besides, Ash still didn't have a plan about what he was going to do after getting out of the mountain other than challenge the Cerulean Gym. He also still hadn't looked into what Pokémon and strategies Misty usually deployed against second badge challengers…
Brock waved merrily after him before turning back to his unit, once again becoming a stern taskmaster.
"No one is allowed to leave until I get every single mission report turned in!"
Ash's first order of business after healing his Pokémon, settling into his room and taking a shower was to head out to the training fields to see if he could find someone to battle and maybe earn some cash. With Mt. Moon closed for the time being the center was swarming with trainers, most of them antsy for something to do.
"Is your team fresh?" came the eager question as soon as Ash stepped through the glass sliding door. About a half dozen heads instantly turned towards the newcomer, leaving Ash caught off guard for the second time that day. The short pink haired boy who had asked Ash the question bounced lightly on his feet as he waited for an answer.
"Yeah, they just got healed."
The teen, who looked to be about Ash's age, instantly lit up.
"I call dibs!" the boy yelled as he grabbed Ash's hand and dragged him towards an empty field.
"I'm next!" another teen proclaimed seconds later much to the annoyance of everyone else present if the disparaging comments were anything to go on.
"Ah, sorry for coming at you so suddenly," the pink haired boy said as he deposited Ash on his side on the field. "Most of us have been here for a few days with nothing to do. You can only battle the same person so many times in a row before things start to get a little repetitive. I'm Coby by the way."
"Ash. Have you guys just been battling or actually doing any training?"
Coby sweat dropped.
"That…would probably be helpful."
Ash nodded; his eyebrows raised.
"Anyways you just started this season, right?"
"Yep."
"Cool. Me too. Does a two-on-two sound good to you?"
"You're on!" Ash smirked as he flipped the bill of his cap around backwards just to put a little umph behind the statement. Coby sent Ash a savage grin as he jogged off to his side, palming his belt full of pokeballs as he went. For once Ash decided to do his opponent a favor and release his Pokémon first.
"Let's go Ziggy!"
"Noi!" the purple flying and dragon type screeched as he burst onto the field.
Coby stopped short just as he was about to throw his own pokeball.
"What is that?"
"Trouble," Ash sneered in jest.
Ziggy snicked, baring his fangs as he did so.
Coby blinked, put the pokeball he was about to toss back on his belt before selecting a new one.
"Go Gligar!"
"Gligar," Ash's pokedex read aloud as soon as it was directed at the Pokémon. "The Fly Scorpion Pokémon. Gligar glides through the air without a sound as if it were sliding. This Pokémon hangs on to the face of its foe using its clawed hind legs and the large pincers on its forelegs, then injects the prey with its poison bard."
The two purple bat like Pokémon stopped short once they caught sight of each other. They took a second to confirm that they weren't of the same species before resuming the typical pre-battle glaring.
"You can have the first move!" Ash called. The teen had observed in all his past battles that almost all rookie trainers with a poison type move in their arsenal would start with it, hoping to shorten the battle. And based on Gligar's pokedex description it was bound to have one. While a good strategy it was also becoming predictable.
"Poison Sting!" Cody ordered, just as Ash had expected.
"Use Gust to blow them away!"
Gligar opened its mouth and released a dozen purple glowing stingers with a cry as Ziggy took to the air. Ash's dragon quickly beat its little wings to kick up a rush of air that stopped the stingers in their tracks, earning an annoyed huff from Gligar.
"Quick Attack!" Cody shouted, pumping his fist.
"Dodge with Agility and then Confusion Bell! Keep away from its tail!"
Gligar burst toward in a rush of speed hoping to slam into its opponent, but Ziggy was already gone in the blink of an eye. The Fly Scorpion Pokémon stopped short and looked around wildly, not finding its adversary.
"Above you!" Cody cried.
But it was too late.
Ziggy appeared once again in another burst of Agility, latching himself onto the top of Gligar's head with his tiny claws. A green glow surrounded both Pokémon as Ziggy started to suck Gligar's energy with Absorb.
"Sting it!" Cody yelled; his fist clenched.
Gligar swung frantically in the air as it wailed angerly, trying to find an angle that its barbed tail could reach the smaller bat like creature on its head without stinging itself. But try as Gligar might, it couldn't reach or dislodge Ziggy.
"Dive bomb the ground!" Cody ordered, sensing the danger his Pokémon was in as its movements started to become sluggish. Cody knew that because of Gligar's hard exoskeleton she would survive the impact with the earth with minimal injury. If Ash's more delicate looking Pokémon choose not to let go it probably would take enough damage to even the battle out.
Ash couldn't hide his smirk.
Gligar dropped into a dive, its wings prepped to spread the moment Ziggy let go. And about ten feet from the ground Ziggy did let go. The Noibat kicking his back legs into Gligar and shot off a Supersonic as his own wings spread to catch the air draft that would take him to safety.
Thrown off balance by Ziggy's kick and the still hitting Supersonic attack Gligar wasn't able to adjust herself to take flight in time to avoid a crash, hitting the ground headfirst.
After the dust settled Ash could see Gligar was standing but just barely, teetering back and forth like she was drunk. Ziggy flapped his wings one more time without prompting to finish off his opponent with a Gust attack but Gligar was returned to her pokeball before the attack could hit.
The other rookie trainers around them had stopped their own battles so they could watch. Even some of the veterans had stopped to observe the foreign Pokémon in action.
"Your both pretty good," Cody complimented as he enlarged another pokeball. "But you're not going to win!"
Coby's pinched face didn't match his words and the boy started to tap his thigh as his Pichu appeared in a burst of red light.
Ash took a moment to study the new arrival. Judging from the size of its cheek sacs Pichu couldn't be very old, hence what little electricity it could produce the Tiny Mouse Pokémon wouldn't have much to any control over. Pichu was most likely a type advantage hail mary attempt from Cody and unless it had any hidden tricks up its sleeve Ziggy could easily handle it. But Pichu's youth and most likely lack of experience made it a good battle candidate for another of Ash's Pokémon he'd yet to have an official battle with.
"Come back Ziggy," Ash ordered with a wave of his fingers as he plucked a pokeball from his belt.
"Noi?" the dragon questioned with a tilted head but flew back to Ash's side anyways. The small yellow mouse that had been sent to battle him didn't look like much fun to fight anyways.
"Go Ophelia!" Ash cried as he flung his pokeball.
"Missss!" the Screech Pokémon cooed once she had materialized. Her eyes landed on Ash and Ziggy right away and she went to merrily drift towards to greet them as usual.
"Stay there Ophelia," Ash said much to the ghost's confusion, her eyes wide. "You're in a battle. We'll do this just like we practiced. You up for it?"
"Misss!" the Misdreavus agreed as she swung around to face her adversary. The Screech Pokémon had been waiting impatiently for the chance to prove herself to her trainer. She might be much younger than the others but she could still fight!
"Pichu?" the electric type whimpered as it looked back at its trainer in concern.
Cody looked between his Pichu and Ophelia, chewing his bottom lip as he did so before his eyes firmed as he came to a decision.
"You'll be fine Pichu. That Misdreavus looks younger than you and I think you have more experience. This'll be good practice for you both," Cody said as he nodded at Ash, who returned the gesture.
Pichu still looked unsure but puffed out its chest anyways as it faced Ophelia. The ghost smiled wickedly at her opponent, her tiny fangs visible in the afternoon sunlight.
"You can have the first move this time," Cody offered.
Ash nodded.
"Psywave," Ash ordered, keeping his voice steady. Ophelia gave a war screech as a rainbow beam of psychic power shoot from the center pearl of her necklace towards Pichu.
"Dodge and then use Nuzzle!" Cody countered.
Pichu jumped to the side of Ophelia's attack before zipping towards her, a rush of wind left in its wake. The Tiny Mouse Pokémon rubbed its sparking cheek against the surprised Misdreavus, causing the ghost to cry out and flinch back.
"You're okay," Ash comforted his whimpering Pokémon, keeping his voice level. "Use Astonish."
Ophelia waited no time at all vanishing into thin air, only stopping long enough to direct a sneer at Pichu.
"Be on alert," Cody advised his electric type. "Its going to try and sneak up on you."
"Pi," Pichu agreed as it slunk down onto all four paws, ears up and alert as its eyes darted to every suspicious shadow. Too bad for the little creature Ophelia was too experienced in the art of scaring. The moment the electric type turned its head to check in with its trainer the ghost struck.
"MISSSSSSSS!" Ophelia screeched as she appeared not two inches from Pichu's face, her own distorting into impossible shapes as she slammed her adversary with ghost type energy.
"Pichu!" the Tiny Mouse Pokémon squealed as it tumbled backwards and scrambled away, herded by Ophelia away from its trainer.
"Psywave again," Ash commanded, trying his best not to let his voice rise in excitement lest his baby Pokémon lose focus.
"Thunder Shock," Cody desperately called for, knowing that in her panicked state Pichu couldn't outrun the Misdreavus attack.
Ophelia fired off another multicolored beam from her necklace, this time hitting her targets back and sending Pichu tumbling again, its own attack going wide.
"Thunder Shock again!"
"Spite!"
Pichu didn't bother to get to its feet before firing off another shock, hoping to keep the specter far away. The Misdreavus easily dodged the erratic attack and fired off a white smokey ball from her mouth just like her trainer had asked.
"Get out of the way Pichu!" Cody yelled, his eyes bulging.
But it was too late. All the extra training Ash had been doing with Ophelia paid off. The Spite attack was too fast and too well-aimed to miss. The spiritual ball of energy hit Pichu in the face, dissolving into a gas cloud as it did.
Both Pichu and Cody blinked. What the world had that done?
"Psywave," Ash ordered, snapping Cody out of his confusion.
"Dodge and use Nuzzle!"
Pichu's ears perked up as it dashed away from the incoming attack and then towards its opponent. It was feeling more confident now that it had apparently escaped such a scary looking attack with no repercussions and was ready to make its trainer proud.
"Float up!" Ash commanded. Ophelia wasn't fast enough to outrun Pichu in a race but that she could escape it in the air.
Pichu jumped skyward towards Ophelia with all the might it could muster as soon as it was close enough, soaring a good ten feet into the air, but still missing its mark. Several safe feet away Ophelia blew a raspberry at the Tiny Mouse Pokémon. Pichu stomped its foot and huffed, directing the nastiest glare it could manage at the Screech Pokémon.
"No matter," Cody declared, raising Pichu's spirits. "Use Thunder Shock!"
Pichu eyes screwed up in concentration as its cheeks started to spark, building up its attack.
"PICCCHU!" The electric type yelled as it released the pent-up energy it was storing. Or at least that's what should have happened instead of the absolutely nothing that did.
"Pichuuuu!" the Tiny Mouse Pokémon screamed as it tried again to no avail. "PICHUUUUUU!"
"Psywave."
The confused Pichu didn't even attempt to dodge, too caught up in its panic at the apparent loss of its more powerful attack. Ophelia's Psywave hit it right in the face. Cody didn't even wait to see if Pichu was actually knocked out before returning it.
"Mis?" Ophelia questioned as she turned her large eyes towards her trainer, confused as to where her opponent had gone.
"You won!" Ash congratulated as he ran onto the pitch, a cheering Ziggy on his footsteps.
"Mis, mis!" the ghost sang happily as she let Ash grab her and spin her around, proud of herself for winning and pleasing her trainer. The celebratory mood was further intensified the by jolly ring Ash's pokedex gave as it registered his winnings.
Ash turned towards Cody to properly thank him for the battle but found the way blocked by a horde of trainers eager to challenge Ash. The girl who had declared herself as next earlier was leading the way with an eager grin. The senior trainers had given up on their own battles and had gather around the sidelines to watch the rookies, their faces displaying various levels of amusement and intrigue.
"I believe I'm next," the black-haired girl at the front declared as she stepped into Ash's personal space. "That is unless you don't want to battle anymore."
Ash smirked.
"Never."
"I'm pleased to say Mt. Moon will once again be open to the public at six tomorrow morning," Brock announced from the front of the common area to the cheers of the gather travelers. "But only the central route straight through the mountain. All paths going into the upper or lower levels will continue to be closed indefinitely as we continue out investigation assessing the damage to the wild Pokémon populations, ecosystem and what measures need to be taken to restore them."
This time Brocks declaration wasn't welcomed with quite so much zeal.
"All trainers going into the mountain tomorrow are required to travel through it as quickly as possible, only stopping to eat, drink and take a quick rest. You wouldn't be allowed to battle each other, wild Pokémon or catch any wild Pokémon. All trainers going into the mountain will also be required to spend the night at a league camp halfway though. We will be closing the entrance at noon tomorrow to make sure all travelers have ample time to make it to the camp before evening. Ace Trainers will heavily be patrolling the main route to ensure all rules are being followed and to keep you safe."
Whatever good mood was left in the room had long evaporated, including Ash's own. He'd been hoping to spend a week or two exploring some of the higher levels to train and try out some of the evolutionary stone finding tricks Steven had taught him back when they were in Diglett Tunnel together. Having to go straight through the mountain would mean him arriving in Cerulean five days earlier than he planned and not as prepared as he hoped to be.
Not seeing any point in sticking around in a room full of annoyed people the teen made his way back to his room as soon as Brock dismissed them, already pulling his pokenav out and bringing up Riley's contact info. There was nothing on Route 4 Ash wanted to see, do or catch so it was safe to say he'd be in Cerulean in exactly a week if he didn't run into anymore setbacks.
Ash pressed the call button as the door to his room swung shut behind him, a small beep sound indicating it had automatically locked. All his Pokémon were currently with Nurse Joy after the ridiculous amount of battling they'd been put through not an hour earlier.
"Hello Ash," Riley answered just as Ash was falling into the chair by the door, distractedly toeing off his sneakers.
"Hey," Ash said with a grimace as he accidently sent one of his mud crested shoes sailing into the wall by using a little more force than necessary to get it off. "I just wanted to update you about where I am."
"Ahh," the Aura Guardian mused. "I'm assuming you're at the Mt. Moon center. Lance called and let me know that you were leaving Viridian a few days ago."
The teen couldn't hold back an embarrassed flinch.
"What else did Lance tell you?"
"Nothing invasive, I promise. Just that at Delia's insistence that you've started to see a counselor and it might be productive to talk to you about signing a disclosure agreement."
"Disclosure agreement?"
"Yes," Riley went on. "It would allow your therapist and I to communicate with one another about your treatment and how best to help you. I don't know what aura techniques if any I can be teaching you to help if I don't know exactly what's going on."
"Oh," Ash said monotonously, leaning back in his chair and throwing his hat onto the bed. He wasn't sure how he felt about this. While the trainer trusted his mentor he was already feeling overexposed, vulnerable and humiliated. Ash wasn't sure he wanted to do anything that would amplify those emotions. But he could also see how the arrangement could be beneficial and help him get back to normal faster.
"You're not obligated to say yes," Riley assured, catching onto Ash's mood with practiced ease. "I understand that you and I have a more familiar relationship than the profession one you have with your therapist. I recognize that allowing me to know these things is a little different than say, the family doctor."
"…Can I have some time to think about it first?" Ash finally questioned, directing most of his attention towards a particularly interesting groove in his seat. "And maybe talk to my therapist first."
"Of course," Riley said quickly before changing the subject. "I presume your calling because you know when you'll be out of the mountain now."
"Yep!" Ash exclaimed, taking the bait that had been thrown. "Team Rocket apparently got caught doing illegal mining in the lower levels so only the main path through the mountain is open. Everyone is required to go through it as quickly as possible. Plus there's nothing really interesting on Route 4…"
"So you'll be in Cerulean must earlier than planned," Riley finished. Ash could vividly imagine the man playing with the brim of his hat, eyes unfocused as he got lost in thought.
"Yeah. I'm pretty sure I'll be there by next Tuesday but I'm not sure what I going to do once I get there. I planned to spend at least a week training in the mountain but that's no longer possible."
"What about meeting me in Cerulean and then the two of us can head to Route 24 and 25. There plenty of private spots along Cameran River and Cerulean Strait for us to train and for your team to practice against water types."
"That's perfect," Ash nodded, already making a mental list of what wild Pokémon he knew off the top of his head to live in that area.
"I'll let Lance know where we're heading. He mentioned that himself and Steven will be setting off on their own little backpacking trip and wanted to meet up with you for a few nights."
"Okay, thanks Riley."
"Of course. So I'll meet you at the Cerulean Pokémon center sometime in the evening next Tuesday?"
"Yep! See you then!"
After hanging up with Riley Ash checked in with his mom briefly and spared a few minutes to touch base with all his friends from home. After a quick glance at the clock informed him that he still had about another hour before he could pick up his Pokémon and dinner. It was time to do for some well overdue research on Misty.
I'm back!
As you guys probably noticed that this chapter is a bit shorter than usual. From here on out I'm going to be aiming for 4000-5000 words instead of the normal 8000+ to get chapters out quicker for you guys and to make writing them a little less daunting.
As always let me know what you think!