BP: I know this is my first time writing a journey like fanfiction, but I decided to try writing this since I still have inspiration for it and I ran out of ideas for my FS and AV, and could only write a couple thousand words at best, which would not do, considering the average length of my chapters.
Hence, I would try my best writing what I can for other stories, so I hope you'd all forgive me for putting AV and FS on hold until I can find inspiration for those chapters.
Furthermore, I haven't come up with a list of the award winners for each of the version (read previous chapter or the latest chapters of FS/AV Author's notes) as I didn't receive any suggestions, so I am out of ideas, especially for FS until I finish the list.
A small brown bird flew over Ash and Pikachu's head, and Ash looked up. He immediately recognized it as a Pidgey, who was cooing as it flew. Even though Ash knew a lot about Pidgey due to his studies, he still pulled out the Pokédex from PAL, mostly to document what he saw in his journey.
Pidgey came on the large screen of the tablet and a male computer voice said, "Pidgey, the Tiny Bird Pokémon. Pidgey has an extremely sharp sense of direction. It is capable of unerringly returning home to its nest, however far it may be removed from its familiar surroundings. It usually hides in tall grass. Because it dislikes fighting, it protects itself by kicking up sand. If disturbed, however, it can ferociously strike back."
Ash nodded, knowing the Pidgey around here were easy for beginning trainers to capture, though they probably need to be weakened first. Still, he didn't want to collect Pokémon for the sake of getting them all, and decided to move on.
"You aren't going to catch it?" Pikachu was surprised.
"It's not worth it." Ash sighed, walking on. "I'm not catching them for the sake of collecting them like they are stamps or something. Pokémon aren't collections." He then heard footsteps on the ground that sounded like scampering, and he saw a purple rat-like creature looking and sniffing around for food.
"Rattata..." Ash muttered, opening his Pokédex. "Rattata, the Mouse Pokémon. Its fangs are long and very sharp. They grow continuously, so it gnaws on hard things to whittle them down. Rattata is cautious in the extreme, and its hardy vitality lets it live in any kind of environment. Even while it is asleep, it constantly listens by moving its ears around. It is not picky about where it lives - it will make its nest anywhere. It eats everything. Wherever food is available, it will settle down and produce offspring continuously. Bites anything when it attacks. Small and very quick, it is a common sight in many places. It likes cheese, nuts, fruits, and berries."
"And it also comes out into open fields to steal food." Ash muttered, as he sensed the Rattata sniffing near him.
"Alright Pikachu, use Thunder Shock on that Rattata." Ash ordered, deciding to test his new Pikachu.
Pikachu sighed, "Sorry." He then released multiple bolts of yellow electricity from its cheeks at Rattata, shocking it and fainting it.
"Nice job, Pikachu." Ash smiled, as they walked on. Pikachu blinked at a bush and said, "Oh look, a Razz Berry!"
"I won't go if I were you, Pikachu." Ash muttered, but Pikachu wasn't listening and was jumping towards the bushes to enjoy some food. He sighed and said to Espeon, "We might as well stop here for some quick food." He could practically hear Espeon's stomach growling at the mention of food.
"Yep, you're hungry alright." Ash nodded, as Espeon blushed. He set up lunch by taking out two boxes of lunch out of the many Amethyst had packed, handing one to Espeon. A Thunderbolt, probably done by Pikachu, flashed in the distance, but Ash paid it no mind.
A few minutes later, Ash packed the lunch boxes into another bag to recycle later. He was halfway through standing up when he suddenly stopped. He felt like his instincts were screaming at him that something was wrong.
"ASH! HELP!" Pikachu was screaming, running out, or rather, limping out into the clearing towards them.
"Was that Pikachu?" Espeon asked nervously, not liking the sound of Pikachu's screaming.
Sure enough, when Pikachu limped out, he was chased by a flock of Spearow and Fearow.
"What did you do?" Ash asked, looking at Pikachu, who was injured all over the place.
"I was hungry and got another Razz Berry, but this Spearow wanted it as well…so I shocked it and ate it, and it ran off. But I didn't know it'd call for his family!" Pikachu panicked, explaining why he was being chased down. "They all attacked me at once, and you can see how well it went."
"I told you: You shouldn't have gone." Ash reminded the Pikachu, as he quickly scanned the Pokémon.
"Spearow, the Tiny Bird Pokémon. Spearow has a very loud cry that can be heard over half a mile away. If its high, keening cry is heard echoing all around, it is a sign that they are warning each other of danger. It busily flits around here and there. Even if it is frail, it can be a tough foe that uses Mirror Move. Eats bugs in grassy areas. Very protective of its territory, it has to flap its short wings at high speed to stay airborne. Its reckless nature leads it to stand up to others—even large Pokémon—if it has to protect its territory." The Pokédex said.
"Anyway, zap it with your Thunderbolt!" This time, the Pikachu didn't hesitate one bit as it let loose a bolt of electricity at the oncoming flock.
While some fell to the ground, others resisted it, especially the stronger Spearow and Fearow, who was incensed, and one Spearow saw Ash using telekinesis to get Pikachu to his arms and screeched, "There's a human here! Get him!"
Suddenly, hundreds of Spearow and Fearow came flying out of the trees, heading straight towards the three of them.
"I swear, Pikachu." Ash sighed, taking out his sabre, and switching it to Electric Dust. "Espeon, protect Pikachu and run. I'll handle this." He knew that Pikachu had been weakened greatly earlier and didn't have the stamina or energy to do one more attack. Even if he did, it was unlikely that he would take down the flock.
"What about you?" Espeon asked.
"I'll catch up with you." Ash smiled, and he turned to the flock, just as a thunderstorm started, and it rained heavily.
"Leave Pikachu alone." Ash said coldly, as Espeon used Psychic on Pikachu and ran. Some of the Fearow and Spearow tried to chase after them, but Ash put up a barrier to prevent this.
"Your opponent is me." Ash declared, using his electrified aura (thanks to Pikachu shocking him earlier) to strengthen the moves from the Electric Dust.
The hundreds of Spearow and Fearow went in for a pecking attack all at once, only for Ash to vanish. They looked up to see Ash above them, and slicing some of them with an electric attack, effectively taking them down.
Before they could even attempt their more powerful moves like Hyper Beam, Ash was using the trees as a momentum to strike them with an electric- based attack, effectively knocking them out. He then noticed a lightning about to strike and smiled as he knew he could redirect it towards them, non-lethally.
The lightning struck Ash's sabre, and he used his aura to downplay the lethality of the lightning, before firing it at the remaining flock. This caused a huge flash to occur like an explosion, covering a large area.
The absorption of the lightning somehow stopped the thunderstorm as the skies cleared and a rainbow could be seen. Ash looked up to see a Ho-Oh flying towards the rainbow, and smiled and opened his Pokédex. "Ho-Oh, the Rainbow Pokémon. Ho-Oh's feathers glow in seven colors depending on the angle at which they are struck by light. These feathers are said to bring happiness to the bearers. Legends claim this Pokémon flies the world's skies continuously on its magnificent seven-colored wings and is said to live at the foot of a rainbow. It will reveal itself before a pure-hearted Trainer by shining its bright, rainbow-colored wings."
"What's a Ho-Oh doing here? I thought they were from Johto?" Ash wondered, remembering what he read about them. Just then, he blinked as something fell towards him- a mystical feather shining with rainbow colors. He swore he almost heard a voice say that in time, they would meet again and he would be watching him, as Ho-oh disappeared into the rainbow.
Meanwhile, Pikachu was barely conscious, but he knew Espeon was carrying him with Psychic and running from the fearsome Spearow and Fearow flock, with Ash trying to stall them. The last thing he saw was his trainer's back and readying a sabre to protect him.
"Espeon!" Ash called out to them. Espeon smiled at her owner, who was unscathed. "Let me take a look at Pikachu."
Espeon handed Pikachu over to Ash, who frowned, and decided to use his aura to heal him. Pikachu whimpered as his bruises disappeared and cuts close, effectively bringing him back to health.
"You are so childish." Ash sighed and Pikachu blinked tearfully at him. "And dim-witted, and hyperactive, and don't get me started on your attitude. I suppose I do have high standards, but if we're going to do this, we're going to have to do this together. I'll be nicer if you quit being stubborn and listen to me."
Pikachu nodded quietly, as Ash picked him up and they walked on towards a stream for Pikachu to get some water and rest. Pikachu licked Ash's cheek, indicating he liked and trusted him now.
Pretty soon the trio were resting by a stream when he sensed a girl coming up in a bicycle. Ash motioned for them to hide, as he had a bad feeling about the girl.
"Hey! What are you doing here?" The girl shouted at Ash, who rolled his eyes. "This is my private fishing area!"
"One, this isn't really a private fishing spot. I am sure every trainer from Pallet Town comes through here on the way to Viridian and vice versa for other trainers headed to Pallet Town, so you can't just claim it as yours. Two, I am resting, so unless you're blind you don't have to ask me that question. Three, if you need to be alone while fishing, you aren't a good fisher in the first place." Ash ticked these things off his fingers.
This made the girl glare harder at Ash, who simply gave her a blank look.
"I doubt you're a strong trainer if you need to take a break between Pallet Town and Viridian, considering your age." The girl said arrogantly, smirking at Ash. "I bet you only got Pokémon straight from the lab or something!"
In the bushes, Espeon shot Pikachu a look, who looked guilty, knowing he was the reason they were even resting.
"Actually, only one of my Pokémon comes 'straight from the lab' like you said and that's only because he's my 'official' starter. I have another Pokémon that had been with me since I was a child." Ash answered, not liking this girl one bit. "And please don't assume my age just because I don't look like it."
"I think my Pokémon is better than yours. I am going to be a Water Master after all." The girl said cockily, releasing a Starmie and a Staryu.
Ash sighed. There was no arguing with this girl, is there? He wondered if he should use his psychic powers to make her hallucinate that he had better Water-type Pokémon, or should he make a very quick trip and ask Jude to lend him some of his Water Pokémon to show off? He decided to go with the former, as he knew it might make for a good show later.
Ash held out a hand to Espeon and Pikachu, signalling for them to wait, as he concentrated on the girl's and her Pokémon's mind, and changed Espeon and Pikachu's appearance to a Milotic and a Vaporeon respectively. He nodded for them to come out once he's done, and the girl was flat on her ass, gaping at the "Water-types".
"Just play along." Espeon said to Pikachu, who looked puzzled. However, Misty heard the "correct" Pokéspeech as Ash had messed with her hearing as well.
"But those Pokémon are almost impossible to find in Kanto! Where did you get them?" The girl stuttered, looking at Ash's "Water-types".
Ash secretly took out his sabre and switched to Water Dust. "Does it matter now? Milotic, Hydro Pump!" However, he told Espeon not to do anything. To Misty, it looked like Milotic had fired off a powerful Hydro Pump, knocking all three to the ground, when it was really Ash using his Water Dust to perform the feat.
"See you later." Ash glared at the girl as he recalled his Pokémon in Misty's eyes, when in reality he simply made them invisible so that neither Misty nor the Pokémon would find out they aren't Water types, and they walked away from Misty.
"Hey, wait a minute! I'm the one going to be a master of Water Types! Hand them over!" Misty demanded, grabbing Ash by the arm. However, he grabbed her and threw her on the ground, saying coldly, "Just because you're a girl doesn't mean I give mercy."
With that, he walked off quickly towards Viridian City before she could get up. As he reached Viridian City, he heard Officer Jenny announce, "Attention, pedestrians of Viridian City, attention, pedestrians of Viridian City! We have reports about Pokémon thieves in our area! Being on the lookout for suspicious looking strangers! Repeat - Being on the lookout for suspicious looking…"
Ash did not listen and just dashed into a Pokémon Center nearby, deciding to get Pikachu checked, knowing his psychic illusions would mean Officer Jenny wouldn't be able to spot his Pokémon. That was fine. He didn't need to be stopped and be suspected as a Pokémon thief.
He may have healed Pikachu, but it was still a good thing to let Pikachu have a check-up in case his healing missed some of the injuries, since he was not as proficient as his mother in that aspect.
"A wanted poster. How flattering." A female voice said, as she took their pictures off the wanted board.
"Flattering? This picture makes me look terrible." A guy replied, as they rode a hot-air balloon that was in the shape of a Meowth.
"Then you should be happy that the photographer captured the real you." The woman scoffed.
"Exactly." The boy smirked.
"We'll show these bumpkins." The woman said.
"The people of Viridian City will be sorry they ever saw this face." The guy declared.
"We're all sorry to see your face. Stay focused. We're here to capture rare and unusual Pokémon. Don't forget, Meowth." A Meowth said.
"Absolutely." The female said.
"But of course." The male added.
"And just remember, I'm the top cat." The Meowth said.
"You got it." The boy agreed.
As the pink-haired nurse took Pikachu away, Ash sighed with relief, and sat down on a plush sofa, while waiting for the results. His Espeon asked what was on his mind.
"Nothing much." Ash replied, thinking about the Rainbow Wing that he had picked up after protecting Pikachu, and how careless Pikachu was tonight.
"What happened?" A trainer asked in concern, seeing the stony look on Ash's face.
Ash blinked as he sighed, composing himself. He wondered what he should do, as he never really talked to people his age group before.
"Well…I was on my way here from Pallet Town and went to stop and rest for a while at a stream nearby, you know that one, right?" At that, the group of trainers at the lobby nodded.
"Yeah but why'd you have to take a rest?" One trainer asked causing Ash to sigh.
"Because my Pikachu foolishly separated from me to get some berries, engaged a whole flock of Spearow and Fearow despite my warnings, and they attacked him pretty badly, so we had to quickly run away from them." Ash answered, not elaborating and hoping they would not press for answers. Much to his chagrin, they did.
"What did you do? How did you escape?" One asked, looking at Ash and noting he was unscathed.
"We hid at the bushes near the stream until they gave up." While that was a lie, he figured the trainers won't catch on.
"Oh, that flock." Another trainer scowled. "I hate that flock. They attack for no reason, or the slightest action is perceived as a provocation and then they attack."
"Then what happened? You got attacked by another Pokémon or something?" Another trainer blinked, and Ash inwardly sighed. Why won't they drop the topic already.
"No." Ash answered shortly. "I was simply disturbed by some orange haired girl who said the place was her private fishing spot. Said something about her goal of being a Water Type Master, that's all. You know what, I'm going to ask Nurse Joy how my Pikachu is doing."
Ash was about to stand up when Viridian City's Officer Jenny came into the Pokémon Center with a crying orange-haired girl behind her. The girl's eyes instantly zeroed in on Ash before she grabbed onto Officer Jenny's arm.
"There he is officer! That's the thief that stole my Pokémon!" The girl wailed, pointing at Ash. Ash facepalmed, knowing where this was going.
"And you're the insufferably irritating bitch that demanded that I hand over my Pokémon because you're the one going to be the Water Type Master." Ash retorted dryly. Many trainers frowned at Misty, not being happy with her attitude.
"Young man, this young lady said that you have assaulted her and stole two of her Pokémon before running away." Officer Jenny said.
"What Pokémon did she say I took?" Ash asked calmly.
"Milotic and a Vaporeon." Officer Jenny answered, making Ash grin wider.
"I'm sorry Officer Jenny, that cannot be possible." Ash shook his head. "I do not own either of those Pokémon, and I only own an Espeon and Pikachu. See for yourself." He handed Officer Jenny his Pokédex as proof to indicate he only had two Pokémon on hand and that he did not release any Pokémon.
"I…see…" This caused Jenny to frown in confusion, before turning her glare towards Misty, who gulped.
Ash blinked, sensing something approaching, and nodded to Espeon. At the next second, he rushed out with his Espeon, and jumped onto the rooftop with such speed anyone who actually saw him would only see a blur.
"Stop right there." He said coldly to his five adversaries, two humans, three Pokémon, readying his sabre at his back.
"Oh, how dare you act like we're criminals. You should welcome Team Rocket." The woman scoffed.
"Well, no matter. We'll teach you to fear that name." The feminine man added.
'Team Rocket?' Ash thought, having familiarity with that name, considering his parents talked about them, and not in a good way. His mother even mentioned they do human experiments to children to give them various abilities and the members birth children for that sole purpose.
Espeon froze at this too. "Oh shit!" She said, as she watched Ash tilt his head down with his shoulder twitching at the words, "Team Rocket".
The talking Meowth frowned then laughed, "Oh, is the little boy scared of Team Rocket already. Don't be afraid now, little boy. We won't bite…if you hand over your Pokémon." He started to laugh along with his buddies when they felt the temperature around them drop.
They looked at Ash again, who was laughing to himself, but not in the warm, cheerful kind. It was more like the dangerous type, a laugh an assassin might make before going in for the kill.
Ash looked up to them with a bloodthirsty grin, his eyes like chips of ice. "Oh, I can't wait to battle you. I've always wanted to annihilate Team Rocket to prove myself, and you'll do nicely…" Ash said with a chilling smirk at the group, who gulped and wondered if it was a good idea.
"Ekans, Koffing, a-attack!" The woman and man yelled in unison, not even bothering with their motto.
Ash mouthed a few words to Espeon which they did not hear, and Espeon's eyes glowed blue, throwing Koffing, Ekans and Meowth up in the air. While they were blasted to the sky, Ash threw a Poké Ball in the air to catch Meowth.
When Meowth was captured and the ball wriggled, Ash froze the Poké Ball in Ice Dust so that it'll be much harder to break out.
"I…he…" The woman stuttered, as Ash levitated them, his icy blue eyes glowing. They felt like they have met the devil himself.
"Now, let's make a deal, shall we?" Ash smiled, not in the nice way, holding the sabre to the man's throat. "You surrender and give up your Ekans and Koffing, and I won't show you what I am really capable of."
"And if we d-don't?" The woman gulped.
"And if you don't, I am pretty sure you'll be meeting your Pokémon and family in the afterlife…I'll send your family after you too. After all, I know where they live, who they are…especially your little Growlie." He then turned to the man.
"H-How did you even know about it?" The man screamed as he wetted his pants at the look on Ash's face. "Who are you?"
Ash smirked at a sound, realizing Meowth's capture was complete. He unfroze the Poké Ball and used telekinesis to keep it shut, tossing the Poké Ball up and down.
"Who am I matters not to you or you." Ash answered, pointing to the woman and man respectively, as Espeon held Ekans and Koffing high over the sky, and taking out his Hunter's License, shocking them that he had authority to kill. "Do we have a deal? Or do I have to ask Espeon to let go?"
"We surrender! We surrender!" Both screamed. Ash smirked as he pocketed some of their money and Poké Balls they had their Pokémon in, and dropped them from the rooftop to the ground, as Espeon gently let the Pokémon down. He heard a crunch, indicating those two broke some bones.
While Ash did know there are bad Pokémon such as Meowth himself, some Pokémon only did bad things because their masters were cruel. He wondered what to do with Koffing and Meowth, considering he wanted to keep Ekans. Ash smiled wickedly, and knew he should send them to his mother as "servants". She'll love it.
With that thought, he jumped down, landing on the injured duo on his feet, injuring them further, and walked back to the Pokémon Center to transport his Pokémon to his mother. He watched in amusement as Misty was being taken away by Officer Jenny to evaluate her mental health as she had apparently hallucinated his Psychic and Electric type as Water types.
After receiving his Pikachu, who was confirmed to be of perfect health, Ash decided to walk on to Viridian Forest, on the way to Pewter City, which was where he would get his first Badge.
'Hmm, I can handle myself well.' Ash thought, walking into Viridian Forest with his three Pokémon. 'At least I didn't kill yet.' He blinked as he sensed something, and saw a Caterpie, one of the Bug Pokémon.
He considered his choices. Should he try to catch it? Well, he could use a Bug Pokémon. With that choice made, he decided to test his Pikachu. "Pikachu, use Thunder Shock."
Pikachu nodded, and fired yellow sparks of lighting at Caterpie, shocking the caterpillar, before Ash threw a Luxury Ball wordlessly. The Luxury Ball wriggled, and dinged, signalling it had been captured.
"Well, looks like we've got a new friend." Ash turned to his Espeon and Pikachu.
"Yay!" Pikachu was celebrating.
"Glad both of you like it." Ash smiled, letting Caterpie out. "We'll see what other new friends we can get into our group. Here, Caterpie, climb up on my shoulder."
"Hi." Caterpie was wriggling its tail, as Ash sat down and offered it an Oran Berry from his medical kit to restore Caterpie's health. "Ooh, berries! I like you already."
"As do I." Ash assured him. "Well, it's getting late, we might as well set up camp." With that, he took out his tent, pointing his staff at the misshapen canvas, which in one fluid motion rose into the air and settled, fully constructed, on to the ground, landing with a final thud at the end of a guy rope.
"Impressive." Pikachu was awed when he entered the tent, which resembled a small home. Espeon wasn't surprised, while Caterpie's eyes were shining. Ekans was hissing curiously as she was let out as well.
Ash set a fire in the fireplace, and the four Pokémon and trainer enjoyed the lunch boxes his mother had packed, with his birthday cake as dessert. Ash made a mental note to stock up or make some Pokémon Food once the abundant supply of lunch boxes run out.
As Ekans slithered over to him, curious, Ash said, "You're a beautiful snake, aren't you?" Ekans tilted her head. "I mean it. You're very pretty."
The Ekans looked at the boy and she gave a faint hiss. "Really?" No one had ever complimented her before, not even her previous owner.
Ash smiled at her, and the Ekans saw no danger or anything mildly bad in the boy's eyes but sincerity. She slithered up Ash's body and let her tongue tickle Ash's face. Ash laughed at the Ekans' actions, deciding she was an adorable one.
'Smooth, Ash.' Espeon thought, noting Ash won over Ekans with words alone and didn't fight Ash at all regarding him owning her. Ash smiled at the Ekans and petted her scales gently, earning a pleased hiss from her and she nuzzled her new trainer.
Ash also spent time with the other Pokémon, playing games like throwing treats and letting them catch it, and vice-versa. They then cuddled around the fire while he told a story over marshmallows.
"Alright, everyone. Time for bed." Ash announced, when the Pokémon started yawning. He helped his Pokémon onto the top bunk bed and he himself took the bottom bunk. As he went to sleep, however, he felt a slithering body at his feet. He looked and saw Ekans curl into a ball in between his feet. He used his feet to stroke her scales gently, and Ekans purred in content.
"Goodnight, everyone." Ash said, earning the same from his Pokémon. He wondered what tomorrow would bring.
Unknown to them, when they were sleeping, a Pidgey was looking for a place to rest and was hungry. Seeing the interior of Ash's tent through a small hole, the Pidgey let out a happy cry and pecked a hole to gain entrance.
Pidgey blinked at the packed up leftover food at one of the lunch boxes, and opened it with its beak. It tasted the food, and cried out in delight at how delicious it was and finished the food very quickly. Now that it was full, it now wanted a place to sleep, and those bunk beds seemed like a great place to sleep for now.
As it looked around and saw a trainer sleeping, it decided to sleep at the remaining space of the pillow his head didn't cover. Something about his aura made it feel safe, as it snuggled and drifted off to dreamland.
Ash was in for a big surprise the next day.
It was morning. Pidgeys were calling out to one another and other bird Pokémon were chattering to one another. Ash groggily opened an eye to the sounds and as the sunlight rays shone. Something cream coloured was near his face, and his eyes focused on a bird sleeping near his face. He blinked, and saw a Pidgey snoozing near him.
"Ah!" Ash was startled, almost toppling off the bed.
"What's wrong? What's happening?" Espeon asked, having been woken up by the shout. Pikachu and Ekans woke up as well, the former scratching his head and the latter blinking sleepily.
"What this Pidgey doing here?" Ash asked, pointing to the Pidgey, who chirped in affection.
"I got hungry and found your tent, so I decided to rest. Thanks for the food and bed." Pidgey answered, jumping around energetically. Ash took it in his arms, and Pidgey gave him innocent eyes.
"Ugh…" Ash groaned, seeing the empty lunch box. "You're welcome, I suppose. Do you want to stay for breakfast?"
The Pidgey nodded, as Ash chuckled and took out more lunch boxes for each of them. "Well my mum prepared a lot, so we may as well enjoy them."
After eating breakfast, Ash had repaired the hole Pidgey made, and got his tent to fold itself and the boxes to arrange themselves into another plastic bag, before packing it in his backpack.
After breakfast, Pidgey decided to stay with Ash for a while, as Ash decided to start training them, knowing if he wanted to beat Brock, he would have to make his Pokémon learn some moves.
"Now, the first thing I want you all to learn is…dodging attacks." Ash said to the Pokémon after breakfast. "Espeon and I would be firing moves at you, so it is up to you to use the environment or your abilities to either dodge or deflect the attacks Espeon or I send to you. Any questions?"
"How are you going to-" Pikachu asked, only for a blue bolt to disintegrate a tree. Pikachu gulped, as Ash's hand was outstretched.
"Ready…start!" Ash announced, as Espeon fired Shadow Balls while Ash fired blue bolts of aura, forcing all of them to run around and dodge, or use their moves to deflect it.
"That Psybeam packed a punch!" Ekans winced as her side was grazed.
"You're telling me! I was barely able to throw that Shadow Ball somewhere else!" Caterpie added.
"Come on, show me more!" Espeon demanded, using Swift to bombard everyone else. "You think you've got it bad? I've faced worse trainings than that!" As she said this, she winked, and pink hearts flew out. Ekans gasped, and took the hit for Pikachu, but it had no effect.
Caterpie screamed as he was thrown towards a tree by Psychic, but used String Shot to tie around a tree branch, and swung on it.
'Am I safe?' It thought, before Ash waved, and flicked it off the tree branch with his finger. Caterpie fell, screaming. However, Pidgey caught him, and said, "This is cool! I want to join in!"
"So, you decided to join in?" Ash asked Pidgey, placing his rapier at his side. When Pidgey nodded, Ash swapped the cylinder once more, and blew Pidgey back. Pidgey clung to the tree branch with her claws to prevent herself from being blown off.
"That's it!" Pikachu screamed, using his tail as a last resort to bat back the Psybeam. Unknown to him, his tail had glowed metallic, allowing him to absorb the Psybeam, and defect it back to Espeon, who backflipped to dodge.
At one point, Ash had stopped, and decided to sit down and meditate in order to focus and stabilize his demonic powers. For some reason, they were clamouring to be used during training, but Ash knew how dangerous using his demonic powers were, especially towards inexperienced Pokémon, which he deemed most of them as.
In the end, while it was gruelling and all of them lasted only fifteen minutes at best against Espeon's onslaught of attacks, the Pokémon ended up learning some new moves in the stimulated danger both Ash and Espeon posed. In fact, Caterpie evolved into Metapod in the process.
Ash nodded his approval at a first attempt well done and congratulated Metapod for evolving. He then healed them up before giving them their lunch break. After that, he told them they are continuing their way to Pewter City.
While walking, Ash detected yet another Bug Pokémon. He blinked and saw a yellow worm-looking Pokémon with a small horn on its head. It crawled closer, and tilted its head curiously at the trainer, who crouched down and scanned it with his Pokédex.
"Weedle, the Hairy Bug Pokémon. A Common sight in forests, they usually eat leaves. It has a sharp venomous two-inch stinger on its head that secretes a strong poison to protect itself. A Weedle has an extremely acute sense of smell. It distinguishes its favorite kinds of leaves from those it dislikes by sniffing with its big red proboscis."
'Hmm, it does evolve to Beedrill, which can Mega Evolve.' Ash thought, and offered the Weedle some food from a lunch box. The Weedle sniffed it curiously, before consuming it, squealing at the taste of the food.
"You're one cute bug, aren't you?" Ash cooed. The Weedle blinked at the nice trainer's aura, and nuzzled his hand. This was one human it didn't mind to be with, and Weedle could tell he was strong too. It even hopped onto his palm and pointed to a Luxury Ball he had in his hand.
"You want me to catch you?" Ash was surprised. Weedle nodded, and was caught without a fuss.
"You won't have your mother's charm, you said." Espeon smirked, as they walked on, his new Weedle in a Luxury Ball.
"Shut up." Ash muttered.
There were footsteps behind him and Ash heard, "Greetings. Am I addressing the Pokémon trainer that comes from Pallet?" Ash turned and looked at saw a podgy, armoured skirt, samurai helmet wearing figure.
Ash shrugged and said, "You can say that. But I'm in a hurry right now." He did not notice the glint in the samurai's eyes.
"I have found you at last." The samurai said pulling out his sword. Ash narrowed his eyes at the movement he sensed, and took out his sabre and blocked the sword strike. Ash switched to Flying Dust, and blew the samurai over. He then threw the samurai boy against the tree with telekinesis and pointed the rapier at his throat.
This led to samurai doing the only thing his body could do…he pissed his pants in fear of the glowing icy blue eyes that seemed to look into his very soul.
"How cute, having a toy sword to challenge me." Ash whispered menacingly. "So, who are you and are you here to steal my Pokémon?"
"I-I-I am no Pokémon thief, I swear!" Samurai shit his pants when electricity ran down the rapier. "My name is Samurai and…"
"And now you stink." Ash stated calmly. "Now state your reason for searching for a trainer from Pallet Town, and you might be able to keep your family jewels."
'I keep thinking I am shrewd, fearless and completely invincible in combat. Now I know I am wrong. Way wrong.' Samurai thought in fear. "Ok, ok! I wanted a Pokémon match. That's all, I swear!"
"Oh really?" Ash said, glaring into his eyes. "I have a feeling if I were to be in the middle of catching a Pokémon, you'd put your battle first, interrupt me and causing me to let it escape, and then blame it on my poor Pokémon handling. Is that right?"
'Help!' Samurai thought, looking at the half-demon in front of him.
Ash stared flatly at the sheer stupidity of the boy known as Samurai. Who even attacks a trainer with a sharp blade just to challenge them to a Pokémon Battle?
"How foolish." Ash muttered making sure the boy could hear him, he watched him flinch before sighing and saying "If it's a Pokémon battle you want, then it'll be a Pokémon you get. Do your worst. Or do you want to die now?"
Ash then dropped Samurai onto the ground, and he dusted himself off, whimpering at the mess he made at his pants.
Ash non-verbally sent out Ekans and the purple snake curled up, observing the trainer in front of her. She wrinkled her nose at the smell coming from the samurai.
"Ah! You have an Ekans. I wasn't expecting a trainer such as yourself to own one. It takes skill to have one." The samurai observed.
"A skill you evidently don't possess." Ash retorted. "Well? What Pokémon are you going to show me?"
The samurai looked at the Ekans, trying to ignore the fact that he was frightened. Extremely so. "Hmmm…Alright. Let's go with this battle. Pinsir! Assume battle mode!" Out popped a Pinsir, and Ash smirked. He had learnt a lot about Pinsir so he knew what it could do.
More importantly, he knows their weaknesses.
"Pinsir, use…" Before he could say anything, Ash said, "Ekans, Toxic. Follow it up with Venoshock!" The Ekans released a spray of purple gas, poisoning Pinsir, and followed it up with a stream of purple, poisonous liquid from her mouth at Pinsir, fainting it instantly.
"Pinsir!" The samurai yelled, as Pinsir collapsed on the ground and did not move.
"What a novice." Ash sighed, shaking his head.
"Pinsir return!" cries Samurai, calling back his fainted Pokémon, as Ekans celebrated her first win.
"Well, let's see what other type of Pokémon you have." Ash gave him the "bring it on" gesture. Samurai then grabbed his other Poké Ball, and threw it, releasing a Metapod.
Ash twitched an eyebrow. 'Really? Ok, his loss. Let's switch the Pokémon.' He switched to his own Metapod, returning Ekans with a thanks.
"Metapod, use Harden!" Samurai commanded. His Metapod got ready to harden its body to increase its defense.
Samurai saw the chilling smirk on Ash's face, and Ash said, "Metapod. Use String Shot." Metapod fired a white string to tie Samurai's Metapod. "Now, swing it around."
Ash's Metapod swung Samurai's Metapod around and around, making it dizzy, much to Samurai's shock, and inwardly regretted challenging Ash.
Metapod threw Samurai's Metapod up in the air, and used String Shot to tie a tree branch to use as a momentum to swing above Samurai's Metapod, slamming it on the ground with Tackle, instantly fainting it.
"Y-You're even worse than all the other trainers from Pallet combined!" Samurai stuttered, looking at his fallen Metapod.
"Other Trainers from Pallet?" Ash looked darkly amused. "Have you fought Pokémon matches against Gary and the others?"
"Yeah." Samurai looked dejected. "There were three spectacular matches, each more challenging than the last! Those trainers really knew how to raise Pokémon, even though I was defeated all three times I was inspired to redouble my own training! I have been eagerly preparing for that day when finally, I would beat the next Pokémon trainer from Pallet!" He thought back on how Pinsir being burned by a Charmander, Metapod being blasted away by a Squirtle and Pinsir again getting a beating from a Bulbasaur.
"So that's why you've been waiting for me to show up." Ash folded his arms. "Sorry, but I am not as merciful as the other three." At that moment, his Metapod glowed, and evolved into Butterfree.
Ash then sensed something dangerous and grinned widely. Time for the boy to learn his lesson and not to mess with him.
With that, he returned his new Butterfree, and hugged Pikachu and Espeon and concealed his presence. He winked at Espeon, who snickered.
"Huh? What's that noise?" Samurai whipped his head around, and screamed when he saw the approaching, buzzing swarm of wasp-like Pokémon. "A Beedrill swarm approaches! Oh no, Metapod, return!"
Samurai returned the fainted Metapod to the Poké Ball, and started running towards his cabin, screaming at Ash to have a good day.
"He won't be able to make it." Ash commented, watching the swarm fly past him towards the samurai boy. "He should just lower his head and lift his buttocks to lessen the stings."
Ash can't help but chuckle as when he walked past Samurai, he was full of stings and his face and arms and legs were swollen and he could hardly walk, and the Beedrill was very relentlessly pecking at the helpless samurai. They did not notice Ash or his Pokémon due to their concealed presence and silent steps.
Ash sighed and shook his head, flipping open his phone and called the ambulance to come get a guy that had been stung by Beedrill, trying not to laugh as he reported the incident and the location of the attack.
"You're so mean, Ash." Pikachu chuckled, as Ash revealed a wallet with Pokédollars that he pickpocketed from Samurai.
"He'll survive. He needs to learn things the hard way." Ash shrugged, grinning. "The poison takes quite a while to sink in anyway. They can get to him by then and treat him."
"That's not your money." Espeon pointed out.
"I almost feel sorry for him." Pikachu remarked.
"I don't." Ash stated. "I figure if I have to deal with idiots like him, I might as well get paid."
Ash, Espeon and Pikachu were walking down a rocky pathway that lead into Pewter City. He looked ahead and saw the ledge. Smiling, he ran to the edge on a big boulder with the wind blowing his hair. He looked down at the scenery, amazed.
"So, this is Pewter City." Espeon nodded coolly.
"Pewter City is grey, the colour of stone," mumbled a low voice. "This town has always been famous...for stone."
Ash peered down on the boulder and saw an older man sitting down on the ground sitting near a bunch of rocks. He was a tanned-skinned man with dark brown hair with a wild beard. He wore a red beanie. He had a very short-sleeved yellow t-shirt and his pants were a worn-out forest green and had hiking brown boots on. Ash couldn't really see his face because of him being on the rock, but he was almost certain that the man was wearing a disguise.
"Huh? What the?! Who's this old guy?" Pikachu asked.
"How should I know, I never met him." Ash shrugged.
"The name's Flint. And you're sitting on some of my merchandise young man." The man named Flint stated.
Ash just stared the man down as he gracefully stepped off of the boulder before giving him a stare that made Flint have the impression that he was bored. The man visibly started and took a step back, flinching as he came closer. However, Ash then turned to examine the price tags on the rocks.
"They're Pewter City souvenirs. Want to buy some?" Flint squeaked.
Ash examined each of the rocks, using his Aura to scan them. He blinked as he felt one of the larger ones having an impression of a skin sail.
'Interesting.' Ash thought, wondering if the man knew if it had a fossil in it. Well, there's only one way to find out. Ash placed a hand to the stone that held the object and used his Aura once more, sensing the minute trace of a life force emitting from it. He smirked, as he knew he finally found a fossil of his own.
"That one is 400 Pokédollars, kid." Flint spoke, looking at where the child was pointing at. Or was he a preteen?
Ash blinked and stood staring at Flint for a few moments, wondering if he should tell him about the Fossil, considering the Pokémon it contained wasn't even from Kanto. Flint didn't know that though and he started sweating under Ash's icy gaze. He felt like he was a Caterpie that is facing down a Legendary Pokémon and croaked out, "Ok, ok, for you kid, it'll be 200 Pokédollars, half price…ok?"
Flint prayed that Ash would just stop giving him that look. It was like he was the devil reincarnate. If only he knew of Ash's heritage.
Ash finished his inner debate regarding the fossil he sensed, before nodding to Flint and pulling out his wallet to pay. After all, he knew just how the fossil could be restored.
Besides, money was never the issue with him, considering who his family was, and some money he took from Team Rocket, samurai and a few other trainers he ran into on the way out of Viridian Forest. Taking out 200 Pokédollars, he handed it over to Flint.
"You need help with that, kid?" Flint asked, gesturing towards the large stone.
Ash shook his head, and nodded to Espeon, who used Psychic to lift it easily. Ash would have done it himself, but it'll raise suspicion that he was not who he seemed.
Ash and Espeon arrived at the Pokémon Center, where Ash walked over and grabbed a Poké Ball tray and placed all the Luxury Balls and Pikachu was sitting on the tray itself.
"Please take care of my Pokémon." Ash said politely.
Nurse Joy smiled, "Sure! Right away Ash."
Once Nurse Joy left, Ash turned to the stone that contained the Fossil and used his Aura to pinpoint where exactly the Fossil was. Once he did, based on where he felt the life force was strongest, he took a deep breath before using a finger to flick a weak point, sending a powerful pulse of Aura.
In an instant, the slab of stone crumbled to powder and revealed a perfectly intact and carved Fossil. Ash then placed the Fossil securely in a box that had cushions in it, and placed it in his backpack.
"Have you seen that poster?" asked Joy as she returned to the counter. Ash turned and saw the poster that advertised Pokémon League Regional Championships and encouraging Trainers to enter, as the trainers of today are the masters of tomorrow.
'The usual 8 Badges requirement.' Ash thought, sighing inwardly. 'What else is new?'
"Think we can do it?" Espeon smirked.
"With enough time, yes." Ash nodded, as they sat down on a nearby table outside to eat, with Ash giving them lunch boxes and cake as usual. The good thing was, his mother prepared differing dishes for each lunch box, so they do not end up eating the same thing.
"Don't tell me that you plan on challenging Brock the Pewter City Gym Leader?" Flint said, walking towards Ash.
Ash turned his glare at Flint, causing him to say hastily, "Never mind, good luck with your match!" And ran away.
"Coward." Ash muttered. 'Gym Leaders may be different from the everyday Pokémon trainer, but when had that ever stopped us? If I am not wrong, Brock uses Rock-type Pokémon.'
After his meal, they made their way back to the Pokémon Center and Ash found that his Pokémon were healed.
"Well Ash. No more waiting. Your Pokémon are all in full health." Nurse Joy said with a smile.
"Great. Thank you, Nurse Joy." Ash said with a grin.
She nodded and watched him walk off. "Good luck Ash."
Ash looked at the Pewter City Gym, which was made out of huge boulders. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm the anxiety in him, as he knew it would be the first step to prove his skills as a trainer.
He didn't even need aura or psychic powers or even look at his Espeon and Pikachu to know they were concerned about him.
'Alright, no matter what happens, I must stay calm and think of my next move.' Ash thought. 'No point in panicking when the opponent does get a drop on me.' With that, Ash suddenly snapped his eyes open, his eyes flashing for a second. He was ready.
After ensuring so, he took that final step and entered the building. The first thing he noticed once inside was that it was pitch dark so he used his Aura to scan the gym. He sensed someone, presumably the Gym Leader, sitting on an elevated rock on the far end of the room was someone.
His eyes narrowed with determination and with that determined look on his face, he walked towards the main area of the Gym.
"Who goes there?" a voice boomed.
Ash did not answer, as he just kept his eyes firmly on the Gym Leader as his eyes adjusted to the dark. He heard the slight hum of electricity, indicating the lights around that person would be turned on soon, and Ash did not waver at that. 'What a lame tactic.' Ash thought.
The lights turned on, and the person sitting on the rock was revealed. He was a tanned-skinned looking boy with wild brown spiky hair and had a stern looking face and eyes shut. He wore a copper coloured T-shirt and a light forest green vest. He was wearing a pair of light brown jeans and dark brown belt and black shoes.
'He must be the Gym Leader, Brock.' Ash thought, as Brock's stern gaze wavered and he visibly flinched at Ash's icy blue gaze on him.
Brock jumped off his seat from the boulder and walked towards Ash, still trying to intimidate the boy before him. Now that the lights were on, he could tell the challenger was a preteen like himself…or so he thought.
"Thanks, but I'm only ten." Ash corrected dryly, shocking Brock. He must have said that out loud.
Now that Brock thought of it, something about him told him the challenger was new to the Pokémon League, but nevertheless Brock stood tall as he finally reached to the front of Ash.
"I am Brock, Pewter City's Gym Leader." Brock said before pausing for effect and continuing "What is your name, challenger?"
Ash stared at the Gym Leader. He was as tall as him despite their age gap being around five years. He could instantly tell that he was unnerving the Gym Leader and raised his eyebrow. What was he so afraid of? He wouldn't bite after all.
"I am Ash…Ketchum of Pallet Town." Ash told Brock calmly. "Leader Brock, I challenge you to an official Pokémon battle…do you accept?"
Brock tried and failed to suppress the shiver that went down his spine at Ash's cool tone but he nodded his acceptance before walking quickly towards the other side of the field, wanting to be as far away from Ash as possible.
"The rules are in accordance with the Pokémon League's code so therefore it will be a 2 vs 2 Pokémon battle. Only you, the challenger, is allowed to substitute between your chosen two Pokémon and the battle ends when either side's Pokémon are unable to continue. Do you understand, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town?" Brock asked.
"Undoubtedly." Was Ash's quiet response. He narrowed his eyes and said, "Let's get this over with." At that moment, Brock felt that the look in Ash's eyes looked very similar to someone he knew, but couldn't quite put his finger as to who.
"Then let's begin." Brock stuttered, as the lights above flashed on, the walls rise up and before Ash's eyes, large rocks are rolled out onto the battlefield. Brock then threw a Poké Ball into the air, opening it to reveal a Geodude.
Ash sighed. 'Really? How's a Geodude supposed to test new trainers?'
Just for show, he pulled out his Pokédex to scan the Rock-type Pokémon.
"Geodude, the Rock Pokémon. The longer a Geodude lives, the more its edges are chipped and worn away, making it more rounded in appearance. However, this Pokémon's heart will remain hard, craggy, and rough always. When Geodude sleeps deeply, it buries itself halfway into the ground. It will not awaken even if hikers step on it unwittingly as it is easy for them to be mistaken for boulders. In the morning, this Pokémon rolls downhill in search of food. It is impossible to distinguish from rocks at rest. It slams against others in contests of hardness. Carelessly stepping on it will sometimes make it swing its fists angrily." The Pokédex said.
Ash considered his choices of Pokémon and the battle strategies and moves he could use in battle, before deciding to go with a disadvantage to throw Brock off. After all, it wasn't as if he had hacked into the cameras to watch Brock's previous battles for nothing and could come up with over two hundred battle scenarios and outcomes based on that and what he knew about Rock types. With that in mind, he took out his Poké Ball and tossed it into the air.
"Pidgey, lend me your aura." Ash said.
Brock was incredulous. Didn't Ash know that Flying types were weak to Rock types?
"I know that." Ash gave a calm smile, but it looked chilling to Brock. "You may have the first move."
"Geodude, let's use Tackle!" Brock commanded, and Geodude charged towards Pidgey to execute the attack.
"Pidgey, use Gust." Ash commanded. "And then use Double Team." He whispered the last part. Pidgey created tornadoes to cover herself, but due to Geodude's strong defences, it was able to soldier on to his Pidgey…or so he thought.
"Gotcha!" Brock smirked, watching Pidgey hit the ground.
"Are you sure?" Ash asked, smirking. At the next moment but Brock gasped at the copy of Pidgey fading. Brock looked around for Pidgey, only to see her dive down towards Geodude from above, and Ash said, "Use Steel Wing."
Pidgey's wings became metallic, and it used them to hit Geodude in the face, making it crash into the ground and creating a giant crater under him from the strength of the attack.
Brock widened his eyes at the casual display of power the little Pidgey had, and noticed Geodude was on his last legs from the attack alone.
Brock knew at that moment, he couldn't win, and decided to try and take his opponent down with him. "Geodude use Explosion!"
Ash narrowed his eyes at that move. He knew that was generally a coward's move, and not even his parents dared use those types of moves just to gain a win. In fact, they had specifically told their Pokémon not to use it unless they feel a need to and the Pokémon used it at their own discretion. After all, it is not really a win if you are willing to risk your Pokémon's well-being just to even things out.
"I commend you for risking your Pokémon to win." Ash said sarcastically and coldly. "But I'm afraid I'll have to prevent this…Pidgey, contain Geodude with Hurricane and use Protect."
Brock flinched at the icy tone in Ash's comment and he realized that Ash was true to his word for Geodude was surrounded and thrown around in the strong move and while it was being blown around, Geodude had finished charging Explosion and exploded violently. Pidgey wasn't hit due to the Protect absorbing most of the energy, leaving her safe.
Ash watched passively as Geodude fell from a great height, and hit one of the rocks with swirls in his eyes, and collapsed on the ground. While Ash wished that the battle ended differently, he wasn't feeling very sympathetic towards Brock either for using that move.
Brock returned Geodude, a sigh of defeat coming out of his mouth.
"Ash…I-I…" Brock began only to be cut off by Ash.
"So, do you surrender…" Ash said, "Or do you want to risk another Pokémon?" At the last sentence, his icy blue eyes glowed blue.
Brock swallowed nervously, thinking that this boy definitely wasn't normal. His skills, strategy and effortless control over the battle in general was way beyond some novice trainer and he wondered what kind of trainer he just had the misfortune to underestimate.
'I can't surrender now!' Brock thought. "Sorry Ash, but I can't give up this battle…Go Onix!"
Ash shook his head. Brock cannot fool him with that tone. He had already heard his voice waver very slightly and he knew his mind wasn't completely focused, full of panic and domination has been established.
"Pikachu, go." Ash nodded, and Pikachu jumped onto the battlefield, sparks emitting from his cheeks.
'I may look like I'm at the advantage due to Onix's immunity to Electric-type moves, but this is just a façade.' Brock thought, inwardly panicking.
While Brock was deep in his thoughts, Ash decided to scan the Onix.
"Onix, the Rock Snake Pokémon. Onix has a magnet in its brain. It acts as a compass so that this Pokémon does not lose direction while it is tunnelling. It twists and squirms through the ground at 50 mph using its long and rugged body. It always eats large boulders or massive amounts of soil while burrowing, and the thunderous roar of its tunnelling echoes a long way. The tunnels it leaves are used as homes by Diglett. As it grows older, its body becomes increasingly rounder and smoother and the stone portions of its body harden to become similar to a diamond, but colored black." The Pokédex said.
Brock decided to make the first move. "Onix, use Tackle!" Pnix charged towards Pikachu, about to tackle him into the wall.
Ash knew he would do that, taking advantage of size. "Pikachu, jump and use Fling." Pikachu jumped high up in the air with his tail, and throw something into Onix's mouth, causing it to wonder what Pikachu put in his mouth.
"Now, use Thunderbolt." Ash commanded, smirking as he knew what item Pikachu threw into Onix's mouth. Pikachu fired a large amount of yellow electricity at Onix, shocking an hurting it, to Brock's surprise.
"What?" Brock was surprised.
"What Pikachu threw was a Ring Target." Ash explained. "It removes type immunities. Pikachu, Iron Tail!" Pikachu's tail grew metallic, and it slammed Onix on the head, causing it to crash to the ground. However, Onix wasn't down for the count yet.
"Onix, use Bind!" Brock shouted desperately.
"Pikachu, Magnet Rise." Pikachu's body glowed yellow as he floated upwards, avoiding the tail about to be wrapped around it. "Follow it up with Rain Dance."
Brock gasped, as he knew Onix was weak to water.
"ONIX!" Brock cried in warning, but Ash was faster.
"Finish it with Thunder." Ash knew Thunder won't miss due to Rain Dance.
Brock watched helplessly as the high-powered electric attack struck Onix at point black, with Onix howling in pain for a while. When Thunder ended, Ash commanded for Pikachu to use Iron Tail once more. The impact of the Iron Tail was enough to make Onix cough out the Ring Target, and the Rock Snake Pokémon fell forward and crashed onto the ground, unconscious.
"It's over." Ash said to Brock. Brock sighed before returning Onix, as Ash petted his Pikachu affectionately for a job well done. "Thank you for the battle. I wished you didn't use such a dangerous move, though."
Brock winced but he nodded and apologised sincerely for that action during the match, and Ash nodded his acceptance of the apology. He blinked, as he sensed something, or rather, someone in the gym with them, and he had a good idea of who it was.
"Leader Brock, I believe that your father wishes to have a moment of your time but due to his lack of confidence, he was unable to find the courage to approach." Ash nodded faintly, and pointed. "If you ask me, you should approach him before he runs away through the side door over there. I shall be at the Pokémon Center should you wish to present me with my badge." With that, he turned and exited the gym.
Ash walked over to the Pokémon Center, and quietly requested for his Pokémon to be checked, specifically his Pidgey and his Pikachu. Not that they took any damage from the Gym Battle, but still they did fire off some powerful moves, which required stamina as well. When Nurse Joy nodded her assent, Ash walked out of the Pokémon Center, and found an alley.
Making sure to cast an illusion to compel others not to look at the alleyway, Ash opened his compact that Phillip had given him and dialled his mother.
"Hello, Ash." Amethyst appeared on the screen as a hologram. She was sitting on a chair, apparently grooming the bunch of Pokémon gathered around her.
"Hello, mother." Ash smiled.
"Honey, is everything okay? Where are you, Ash?" Amethyst tried to ignore the Skitty pawing at her hair.
"Pokémon Center in Pewter City. I just won a Gym match." Ash replied.
"Oh, already? As expected of my son." Amethyst nodded proudly.
"I still have lots more to work on." Ash answered. "It's only the first step."
"Oh Ash, you're doing fine. You're my son, you can go through anything." Amethyst encouraged. "Now I'm sure you didn't call just to say hi now, do you?"
"Of course not, mother." Ash replied coolly, as he removed the Fossil he had obtained from his backpack. "This is a Pokémon Fossil that I have obtained and I wanted to know just what Pokémon is in there and if you could revive it."
"Sure. Send it over." Ash nodded, and typed a few commands into the hologram keyboard, teleporting the Fossil to his mother, who received it. He sighed as the moment his mother walked off screen, presumably to Phillip.
Not even a few minutes later, his mother returned with a quadruped, dinosaurian Pokémon that resembled a sauropod. It was light blue with a white underbelly and had a long neck, a short, stubby tail, and a single white claw on each hind foot. Above each of its large, deep blue eyes was an iridescent, sail-like structure.
"It's an Amaura. Isn't she cute, Ash?" Amethyst asked, transporting the sleeping Pokémon back to him.
"Yeah." Ash smiled as he gently caressed the Tundra Pokémon's head, using his aura to soothe the sleeping Pokémon. There was an immediate reaction as Amaura immediately woke up, and blinked when she saw Ash's icy blue eyes. She blinked, and when she finally moved, she nuzzled Ash with a happy noise.
"Hmm…well, revived Pokémon usually do behave similarly to a hatched baby Pokémon at times." Amethyst said thoughtfully, smiling as she watched Ash ponder this with a soft smile as he petted Amaura.
'Hello, Amaura. My name is Ashura.' Ash introduced himself via aura. 'If you wish to be raised by me, be prepared for hard work and gruelling training as I would do my best to make you the strongest Pokémon out there. Are you up for it?'
The Amaura was awed by the human that was able to communicate with him other than speaking to it, and knew he likely would understand whatever she was saying, so she chirped her assent, and adopted an expression that screamed pure determination.
Ash had to chuckle at how cute she was, and turned back to his mother. "Thanks, mum."
"You're welcome, Ash. Wait until the others hear you won a Gym Badge already!" Amethyst gushed. "They'll be thrilled."
"It wasn't too hard." Ash shrugged. "He let his guard down when he thought he had the advantage."
"Ah, you won despite a type disadvantage? Even better!" Amethyst winked. "Have you been training every day?"
"Yes, mum." Ash rubbed his head at that question. After all, in addition to training the Pokémon, he had to train himself as well.
"I look forward to hear from you again, Ash!" Amethyst smiled. "Bye, Ash. Love you!"
"Bye, mum. Love you too." Ash grinned back.
Later, Ash sat at a table, eating one of those lunch boxes once more with his Pokémon, and sipping some tea that he had ordered while waiting for Pikachu and Pidgey to be examined by Nurse Joy.
As Brock came in to the Pokémon Center lounge, wearing a travelling pack for some reason, he spotted Ash eating, and handed his Pokémon to Nurse Joy, before taking a seat across him. Ash nodded politely towards him when Brock greeted him nervously.
"Want one?" Ash offered a lunch box, and Brock politely accepted. When he ate, he wished he knew who made it, as it was supremely delicious and was the best thing he ever tasted.
"There's more where that came from." Ash said, eating quietly. "So, how can I help you, Leader Brock? Judging from your body language and expression, you seem to want something from me."
"Well first of all, I wanted to officially give you your Boulder Badge." Brock replied as he took a shiny, sparkly, boulder-shaped Badge out of his pocket and slid it across the table between them. "I also wanted to thank you for helping my family with my father…Thanks."
Ash blinked boredly and said, "Whatever. It wasn't hard to deal with your father anyway."
Brock just huffed, but gave a genuine smile "Seriously Ash… may I call you Ash?"
At Ash's nod he continued "Then please call me Brock but if I may ask, Ash…who were your parents?"
"I'll answer your question if you'd answer mine first." Ash answered, and Brock nodded.
"Brock, you get more pleasure from raising Pokémon than from making them battle, don't you?" Ash asked. "You'd rather be a Pokémon Breeder."
"How did you know that?" Brock was surprised.
"I saw it through the way the Pokémon was raised." Ash shrugged. "Why didn't you, though?"
"Because I have to look after my brothers and sisters. But my father offered to take care of them for me, and I just finished giving him instructions for my siblings, so now I could fulfil my dream." Brock grinned, indicating the travelling pack that was on his back. "So, can you answer my question?"
"Could you keep a secret?" Ash asked, lowering his voice, and Brock nodded.
Ash sighed, hating to share a secret with a stranger, but he knew he could make sure Brock doesn't talk anyway, so he took out a family picture, and gave it to Brock.
Brock widened his eyes at the picture. It was the Dragon Duo!
"I-I knew they had a son, but it was you?" Brock whispered, as Ash snatched back the picture. No wonder he looked familiar. He was an uncanny resemblance to Shiki Kurobane. "But why would you have an alias?"
Before Ash could say a word, it was announced that both their Pokémon were fully healed. Ash and Brock went over to the counter to collect their Pokémon, with Pikachu jumping into his arms.
"Well then, best of luck to you, Brock." Ash nodded, about to take his leave.
"Wait, Ash!" Brock called to him. Ash turned to him and Brock said, "Is it ok if I come along with you?"
Ash turned to his trusted Espeon, who said, "Come on Ash. You probably would be less lonely on the travels. You can keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn't spill your secrets."
"Do what you want." Ash answered, and Brock took that as a yes.
Ash and his new companion started hiking their way to Mt. Moon, where Ash was idly looking at the landscape around them. Ash liked this forest hiking trail.
"Well, to get to the next city we'd have to go through a cave called Mt. Moon. Legend has it that there are Clefairy and Moon Stone in there." said Brock to Ash, who nodded quietly. "People say that a meteor crashed into the mountain back in prehistoric times, which was how the Moon Stone came by."
Ash sighed, disinterested. They made it to the entrance of Mt. Moon, only to see a man being attacked by a bunch of angry Zubats. The man on the ground was trying to make himself small to avoid getting attacked by the Zubat.
"That man's in trouble!" Brock said. "Let's help him."
Meanwhile, Ash took out his Pokédex to scan Zubat. "Zubat, the Bat Pokémon. They form colonies in perpetually dark places. A blind Pokemon with supersonic powers, it uses reflection of the ultrasonic waves from its mouths to identify and approach targets and to check for objects in its way. Zubat remains quietly unmoving in a dark spot during the bright daylight hours. It does so because prolonged exposure to the sun causes its body to become slightly burned."
'Not these Zubats apparently.' Ash thought, rolling his eyes. "Alright, Pikachu, let's help that guy. Use Thunderbolt."
Pikachu's cheeks sparked with electricity, and zapped all the Zubats with a yellow beam of electricity. This forced them to fly back into the cave, and Ash watched disinterestedly as Brock threw a Poké Ball at one of the one of the weakened Zubats and caught it. Ash shrugged, not wanting a Zubat for himself.
"You alright, mister?" Ash said, raising his eyebrow.
The man seemed to have a lot of energy, despite being attacked by the Zubats earlier. He quickly stood up with a big smile on his face and immediately jumped towards Ash shouting about amazing rescues but before he could even reach for Ash, he found himself pinned on the ground hard.
Ash stared blankly and said, "Don't touch me without permission next time." With that, he got off the man, allowing the man to get to his feet and dust his clothes off. "Got it, sir?"
The man nodded slowly before crying out dramatically, "Never call me Sir! You may call me Seymour…Seymour the Scientist."
'Ugh really?' Ash thought, already irritated with this man. "Very well then, Mr. Seymour. Care to explain why the Zubat felt the need to openly attack you?"
"The Zubats were attacking me because they were confused." Seymour answered, taking them inside Mt. Moon to see the place was lit with lights. All the Pokémon around the area were acting weird: Paras were planting their mushrooms everywhere and the lights were drying the Sandshrew up.
Ash clenched his fists as he saw the poor brick-patterned yellow coated mouse panting. He walked over and knelt down to talk to it. "Hey little one, are you alright?"
"I'm thirsty…" The Sandshrew squeaked.
Ash gave a sad and small smile, and dug into his bag, getting out a large bowl and filling it up with water with his magic. "Here you go, little guy. Some water for you and your friends." Pikachu gave a smile and nuzzled at his trainer's kindness. Brock blinked, but smiled at Ash's surprising kindness.
Seymour blinked in astonishment and said worriedly, "Anyway, these lights were put up just recently and I'm trying to find the troublemakers behind this madness."
"But why would anyone want to do that?" Brock asked.
"I'm afraid it's because of the Moon Stone." Seymour sighed. "The Moon Stone originated from this place, so it belongs to the Pokémon. We humans must not take them!"
"They must have done this to steal the Moon Stone." Ash whispered, his eyes glowing with anger. Ash was pissed. Who dares to cause such harm to the Pokémon just because of this? If he ever found out who did it, they were going to pay!
They were interrupted, however a small pink Pokémon jumping past them holding a rock in its hands. Ash blinked, and took out his Pokédex to analyse it.
"Clefairy, the Fairy Pokémon. Clefairy has many admirers for its magical and cute appeal. It's very rare and only found in certain areas. On every night of a full moon, groups of this Pokémon come out to play. Bathed in moonlight, its wings glow faintly. Without even flapping, Clefairy rises into the air, where it dances around. It is said that happiness will come to those who see a gathering of Clefairy dancing under a full moon. When dawn arrives, the tired Clefairy return to their quiet mountain retreats and go to sleep nestled up against each other. It flies using the wings on its back to collect moonlight." The Pokédex said.
'Hmm…one of the Pokémon my mother owned. I can see the appeal to the female trainers.' Ash thought. Just then, he felt a tug on his jeans, and looked down to see the same Sandshrew from before.
"Hey, little guy. I was wondering where you went." Ash said, taking the bowl the Sandshrew offered.
The Sandshrew hugged his leg, nuzzling it. Ash chuckled a little and rubbed its head, making it squeak with happiness.
"Help!" Ash heard the distant cry for help, but the rest didn't. "Well, I can't stay here, little guy. I have a Pokémon to save."
"Take me with you!" Sandshrew squeaked.
Ash slipped away without Brock or Seymour noticing and slid into the next pathway to spot a man in a black uniform with a giant red R on the front and back. He had cornered the Clefairy and was advancing on it with an aura that had malice in it.
"Don't be scared. Just hand over that Moon Stone, Clefairy." He gave a dark grin.
Ash took out his sabre, knowing he was from Team Rocket and was likely behind those lights in the cave. He silently walked up to the man and pierced him through his throat, causing him to choke on his own blood. Blood splattered on his clothes, but it didn't matter.
Ash nodded for Clefairy to go, and Clefairy ran away in fear, hugging the stone she was carrying.
Ash wiped the blood from his sabre, as Sandshrew blinked at him, before shrugging and hugging his leg again. Ash cleaned himself with a spell and walked back towards Brock and Seymour, who had noticed him gone.
"What were you doing?" Brock asked. "You were gone!"
"Just exploring. Don't worry." Ash answered coolly, putting away his sabre. He frowned as he sensed more presence outside the cave. It was likely like the trio, the man didn't work alone.
"We need to follow the Clefairy." Ash said, pointing to the Clefairy that was running away. 'Something tells me that the other members would be waiting for it.'
Meanwhile, the Clefairy bounced over a hill still clutching a piece of the Moon Stone in its paws, and both Brock and Seymour gave chase, struggling to climb after it. Ash, however managed to climb quickly and efficiently to the top, with Sandshrew on his head, Pikachu on his shoulder and Espeon on his back.
True to Ash's predication, as Clefairy jumped on the grassy part of the mountain, standing on a natural bridge over a nearby river, she realized a pair of Team Rocket grunts were waiting for her.
"We've got you now, little Clefairy." A man smirked.
Ash scowled as Brock and Seymour slipped in surprise, and was about to fall into the river below them. He sighed as he took out the staff his mother gave him, and conjured an inflatable boat beneath them to catch them, before using his hand as a momentum to jump up to face the Team Rocket members.
"Not so fast, Team Rocket." Ash said emotionlessly. "You'd have to go through me."
"Oh cute, a toy staff." A woman laughed, only to stop laughing when a blast from the staff incinerated the member next to her, and she found herself pinned to the tree with telekinesis.
"Fire-based spell." Ash answered quietly. "I was willing to let go of one Team Rocket team once for trying to steal sick Pokémon. But harming Pokémon while trying to steal something that doesn't belong to you…is the last straw." His icy blue eyes glowed, and the woman's head exploded.
Clefairy sniffled, and Ash got his Pokémon to comfort her to the best they could, while he cleaned up the area of evidence, and taking some of their money on hand, and releasing their Pokémon. It was a good thing he was able to control what he could actually burn with his fire-based spell, he thought, as he removed the charred corpse's undamaged Poké Balls.
'Maybe next time I shouldn't openly kill in front of a Pokémon.' Ash thought, as Clefairy started clinging to him in affection.
Ash, Brock and Seymour soon found themselves eating the lunch boxes Ash had passed to them in a small clearing off the beaten track that was protected from view by trees and large boulders after sending the Clefairy back to the cave and taking care of the lights in the cave.
Ash, however, was thinking that the troubles were far from over. It was likely they won't send just three people to do the job, there's likely more people to take care of. He couldn't believe he was already killing this early in the journey. Now he knew why his parents gave him the Hunter's License. To protect all those Pokémon from people like them.
'So, Team Rocket has finally begun to move once more, but why now of all times?' Ash thought. 'Could it be that their leader needed more resources to take down someone? What's their target then?'
Ash widened his eyes, knowing the target could have been the Dragon Duo's son. Him. Everyone knew his age and was awaiting the day he appeared in the Pokémon journey. However, his mother had made the plan, and he had gone along with it. Could it be that the reason why she made the plan in the first place was because of this?
On the big boulder behind them Clefairy and Sandshrew sat watching the trainers, specifically Ash, and chatted to each other.
"I like him." Sandshrew said. "He is a kind trainer and clearly values Pokémon."
"Yeah, he willingly killed them to protect me…" Clefairy replied, tightening her hold on the little Moon Stone in her arms.
"I want to go with him." Sandshrew stated.
Clefairy thought about it, and nodded at him liking the idea too. She called for their attention as she walked off, prompting the others to follow her. It led them down a pathway in the woods with Clefairy jumping happily and Sandshrew trotting behind her.
"Where are you taking us, Clefairy?" Brock asked, as Clefairy pointed to another cave, with the group walking down the pathway and following Clefairy. It led them straight down the path and when they got to the opening, they stopped and stared.
In the circular cave with no roof, letting the moon shine down on a large glittering rock surrounded by an almost unbroken ring of Moon Stone Fragments.
"It's the core of the Moon Stone." Seymour said with wonder in his eyes.
"So, the Moon Stone legend is true." Brock said with amazement.
Ash watched as Clefairy put her Moon Stone rock in between the other rocks around the Moon Stone core. The moment this was done, each small stone started to glow a soft aqua blue, along with the core. Then, other Clefairy started to come out of the cave openings and walked their way to the Moon Stone.
Ash, however, knew he had no time, as he made his way to the entrance of the cave, knowing whoever was behind this operation had been tracking them. As Brock and Seymour was too awestruck by the display of Clefairy and the Moon Stone, Ash made his way to the entrance cave, concealing his presence.
"You followed them there?" A voice asked.
"No doubt the Moon Stone is here." Another agreed. "Has Terra got back to you?"
"No, the three members have been MIA after going after that Clefairy." The first voice said.
"Ugh, what have they been doing?" The second person demanded. "Could you try and contact them again to come here?"
"They won't be here." Ash said, stepping out of the cave, and sealing the entrance with his aura, glaring at them with his icy blue eyes. Espeon and Pikachu glared at them as well.
"W-Why not?" The man stuttered, frightened by the look in his eyes.
"G-Get out of our w-way, boy!" The other man added, trying to sound intimidating, but Ash knew he was frightened of him.
The first man tried taking out a Poké Ball, only to see it sealed with magic, making it difficult to open them.
"Spare us!" The first man wet his pants, as he couldn't move, and Ash was approaching them slowly.
"Don't we get a choice?" The second squeaked.
Ash took out his sabre and said, "I'll let you choose…the way you die."
An electric-like explosion happened so afterwards, the sound shocking Brock and Seymour. When they looked around, they realized Ash was missing. "Ash?" Brock called.
"Who called?" Ash asked, walking into the cave.
"Where were you?" Brock asked, as in the background the floating pieces in the air fell down, evolving some of the Clefairy into Clefable. "You went off again!"
Ash shrugged and said, "Just had some things to take care of." He had known what would happen after all, and wasn't too interested in seeing it throughout. Although he must say, seeing it evolve like this was a sight to behold.
Ash took out his Pokédex to scan Clefable, yawning and wondering if that was what his parents did when they were his age. "Clefable, the Fairy Pokémon. A timid fairy Pokémon that is rarely seen. It will run and hide the moment it senses people. They appear to be very protective of their own world. And its ears are sensitive enough to pick up sounds from far away, so it does not like loud noises or busy places and usually hides in quiet places. Clefable moves by skipping lightly as if it were flying using its wings. Its bouncy step lets it even walk on water. It is known to take strolls on lakes on quiet, moonlit nights. Some scientists believe that it gazes intently at the sky on nights with a full moon because it's homesick. According to tradition, people who see a pair of Clefable skipping by can look forward to a happy marriage." The Pokédex said.
As they watched the Clefairy and Clefable chant and dance all the way back to the Moon Stone's resting spot, Seymour turned to Ash and Brock. "I decided to move here with the Clefairy." He said, smiling.
"Huh?" Brock was shocked, while Ash looked on impassively.
"It's been my life's dream to find the moonstone. Someday I'll travel to the stars with the Clefairy." Seymour explained.
"When you do visit outer space. I hope you remember to send us a post card." Brock replied with a grin.
'Honestly, I could care less what he does.' Ash thought.
The next morning the group was getting ready to leave. Brock turned and waved at Seymour, "So long! Seymour! Goodbye, Clefairy!"
Ash only nodded curtly towards Seymour and the group of Clefairy. They were about to walk off when he heard two voices say, "Wait, please!" Both of them all stopped and saw a pair of Pokémon running towards them, a Clefairy and a Sandshrew. Both of them grabbed on Ash's legs.
"Can we come with you?" Sandshrew asked.
"Please? I may not have evolved but I want to come." Clefairy was in tears for not evolving with the Moon Stone.
'Clefairy.' Ash talked to Clefairy through telepathy. 'It's ok if you didn't. Evolution isn't everything. I rather teach you everything before evolving you, rather than evolving you immediately with a stone.'
'Really?' Clefairy looked hopeful. 'Would you take me even if I didn't evolve?'
Ash gave a single nod, making Brock wonder what kind of non-verbal communication are they having.
Sandshrew squeaked and nuzzled Ash's leg as Ash smiled and petted both their heads.
"You want to come?" Ash asked them, and they both nodded. "If you're both sure. Welcome to the team." With that, he threw two Luxury Balls at them that hit them gently on the head.
The two Pokémon were instantly caught, and was teleported back to Professor Primula's lab, and subsequently, back to his mother's PokéResort. Knowing his mother, she would have built a facility specifically for his Pokémon by now.
Ash and Brock walked out of the forest surrounding Mt. Moon and entered a fork in the road. They looked and saw a sign in the middle of the road, and Brock said, "This road leads to Cerulean City." Then the older boy noticed something.
"Hey there's something else scribbled here." Brock muttered.
"Childish people sometimes writes stupid notes." Ash rolled his eyes, coming up to see what the note said.
Gary was here! Ash is a loser!
Ash blinked blankly at the message, not saying anything. Brock shivered as he felt the temperature drop by at least ten degrees. While his expression looked normal, something about his icy blue eyes made the look in his face scary. Brock knew at that moment, he didn't want to be this Gary guy.
Ash simply walked on, his expression blank and unchanging. Brock hurried after him, and both headed towards Cerulean City. What awaits there, only time would tell.
BP: Well, FS and AV would have to wait for a while since I need to assemble that list that I showed you on the previous chapter's Author's Notes. If you'd like to send any suggestions, do so through review or PM, doesn't matter, since I want to assemble that list to finish the last chapter of FS. So, I would be working on this fanfiction for a while until I can work on FS' last chapter as I had this idea for a long time coming, and would like to express it in writing.
I would try to write this fanfiction in the way that it completely differs from the original anime, and I may skip some of the episodes per say if I feel it isn't important enough to write it in, since I didn't like some of the episodes which I considered a filler and replace it with scenes of Ash training with his Pokémon or himself. I'll also let my writing do the talking to show you how Ash is like after being raised by his parents, who probably weren't the best in raising a child, but nevertheless wants him to be happy. I'm looking forward on developing my writing during the course of this story like I did FS…or so I hoped I had done in FS.
I'm considering letting Ash catch more Pokémon that he didn't, such as an Eevee which he'll evolve, since I'm so miffed that whenever an Eevee pops up, it's caught by one of the female travelling companions, like May, Serena and Lana! I don't even like the Sun and Moon anime or the companions to be honest.
I also consider making this a little darker, since in the anime, I hate how Team Rocket keeps following Ash for ALL the regions he has been through. I mean, don't they ever get tired of their plans failing again and again? Hence, I had Ash pre-empt this from happening, though they may meet again, who knows, and replace them with actual threatening Team Rocket members whom Ash would probably have no problem taking out, but who knows? You never know if Team Rocket has a secret weapon to counter people like Ash.
Well, I have nothing much to say about this one, other than do remember to Favourite, Follow and Review!
