Third chapter and the beginning of the first story arc, I hope you like and enjoy the chapter.
Arc 1: The One Who Carries All the Weight of the World
The trip to Sinnoh went smoothly for the pair of friends, especially for May, who discovered a free buffet for passengers and practically consumed her entire supply of food herself, much to the shock of everyone around her, leaving Shirou at her side. side laughing in embarrassment as he tried to salvage what little dignity his friend still had.
May, embarrassed by all the attention she was getting, took Shirou's hand and practically ran back to their seats as they relaxed and waited for the ship to reach its destination.
It took four hours of travel until the ship arrived in Sandgem Town, to the delight of May, who could barely hide her excitement. She ran out of the ship with Shirou walking calmly behind her.
Sandgem Town's harbor was small and not very busy, not having anything very interesting to look at, so the pair made their way to Professor Rowan's Pokémon research facility. Norman had contacted Professor Birch in Hoenn and the professor had contacted Rowan in Sinnoh to let him know that the duo was coming to his residence so they would not arrive unannounced.
Sandgem Town was a small and peaceful town, with a lot of trees native to Sinnoh, creating a harmony between human constructions and native fauna and flora. Various Pokémon of different types could be seen flying in the sky or running excitedly in the wooded parts of the city, which made May smile excitedly, she was thinking about catching some Pokémon but decided that her priority was to get to the Pokémon research center, she would have plenty of time to find Pokemon for his team.
After a few minutes of walking the pair spotted a huge white building, with a large sign saying "Sandgem Town Research Center run by Professor Rowan Eifsberg".
May and Shirou stopped in front of the front door, and the excited girl rang the bell. It didn't take long for a man with gray hair and a long white mustache to greet them with a slight smile, his face already showing signs of his age as he wore a white coat and black pants with black shoes.
"Well, if it's not May and Shirou. Birch warned me that you would be coming to Sinnoh and would stop by my house, don't be shy, come in, soon a young girl from Twinleaf Town will come to catch her first Pokémon, in the meantime I can show you the facilities of my research center." The friendly professor guided the pair as they showed them around the different areas of their large property. Shirou was impressed with the large area dedicated to Pokémon being able to live free, he always thought that Pokémon should live without being tied to a Poké Ball or something, but he understood that it was not slavery as he initially thought. They still had their free will, but for the most part they chose to fight alongside their trainers. Unconsciously, he put his hand in his pocket, holding Raiquaza's Poké Ball. He hadn't interacted with the Legendary of Hoenn since Arceus handed him over to the mighty creature. Shirou would need to resolve his differences with the creature soon, but it would be difficult to keep such a large and powerful creature a secret while May was by his side at all times.
This was a problem for a later date, so the pair were guided by the professor to other parts of the facility, and May looked curiously at the tubes containing strange chemicals while robots worked independently. When Rowan took them to where the three starter Pokémon were being kept, Shirou had to hold May so she wouldn't hug the little blue penguin, as the girl had found him adorable. Next to the penguin that May was interested in was a small red primate and some sort of green turtle. Rowan said that the penguin was a water-type Pokémon called Piplup, the primate was a fire-type and was called Chimchar, and the turtle was a grass-type and was called Turtwig.
Shirou was curious about the creatures and started asking Rowan a lot of questions, from the natural habitat of each of the species, to food and individual characteristics of each of the Pokémon. As a researcher, it was gratifying for the professor to find a young man interested in the technical characteristics involving Pokémon, most young trainers only thought about the power that each Pokémon possessed.
May looked with a dejected face at her friend and the teacher, they were reminding her of her younger brother Max when he started talking about Pokémon. She loved Pokémon, but was never a student of the subject and had no interest in studying the fantastic creatures of her world.
The teacher's conversation with the gray haired boy went on until a moment when a question confused Shirou.
"So Shirou, would you be able to show me your Pokédex? I see that you are very interested in studying Pokémon, so I could update your device's database to have the Pokémon information in Sinnoh, since you and May are from Hoenn. This also goes for you May, I would like to update your pokédex as it will help you a lot."
While May handed over her Pokédex without question, Shirou nervously looked at the teacher as he spoke shyly.
"Well Rowan, I don't have a Pokédex, see, I've never been interested in training Pokémon to be honest, I only have one Pokémon with me, but well, it's kind of complicated to deal with and I hardly ever use it." This surprised Rowan and made May curious about what Pokemon Shirou had, he had never said he owned a Pokemon.
"Hey Shirou, you didn't tell me you had Pokémon, what's its name? Can you show me?" May asked curiously, and Shirou scratched the back of his neck not knowing how to act.
"He's quite temperamental, I promise I'll introduce you to him, but not right now." May tried to persuade her friend, even with the infamous puppy dog eyes, the most lethal weapon used by girls throughout the ages, and even that didn't work. Rowan watched the happy duo as they decided what to do to help Shirou.
"Well it's your lucky day Shirou, I have a spare Pokédex and I would have no problem giving it to you, all I need is your Poké Ball to register your pokémon, and I should warn you that any captures you make will have as my laboratory destination. If you agree to these terms, I have no problem registering you as a pokemon trainer." Although Shirou had no interest in training Pokémon, he saw no reason to deny the help of the friendly gentleman who had welcomed them into his home, agreeing to the terms, Shirou handed the Poké Ball to Rowan, but first warned the man.
"Professor, I ask you not to say my Pokémon's name out loud, you might be surprised by it." Rowan looked confused but agreed to the strange request. May also didn't understand why her friend was so mysterious with his Pokémon, but she shrugged her shoulders in acceptance as it wasn't something that concerned her.
Rowan took out a blue Pokédex and scanned the Poké Ball, as he set up the device, his eyes dilated and he started to shake as he looked at Shirou as if he were a freak of nature.
"Shirou, this is impossible! Why do you have a Raiq..." He was interrupted by Shirou who looked at him intensely, remembering the man in the deal, now the whole mystery made sense. If it were discovered that the boy had such a powerful Pokémon in his possession, it would draw unwanted attention, especially from a certain criminal who terrorized trainers throughout the region. May watched the pair's interaction curiously, wondering why Rowan acted in such a way, the professor sighed and looked solemnly at Shirou.
"Boy, I don't know how you got this Pokémon, but I understand now your fear of showing it. Be very careful when using it, as a criminal with the moniker Hunter J has been haunting Sinnoh for years looking for rare Pokémon, and if she finds what you have, I guarantee she'll follow you to the ends of the earth. Shirou made a mental note to get more information about this Hunter J, while May felt out of place with the conversation between her friend and the teacher.
The group's attention turned to the facility's front door when the doorbell rang. Shirou offered to answer, which Rowan readily accepted, as he still hadn't finished setting up the Pokédex, he handed the Poké Ball to the boy and Shirou went to the door, opening and welcoming whoever had arrived with practiced ease.
He bowed slightly as he brought his left hand to his chest while his right still gripped the knob. Lifting his gaze he spoke calmly to the group of 3 teenagers who were in front of him.
"Good afternoon, my name is Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, but you can call me Shirou. Welcome to Professor Rowan's residence." Shirou's way of speaking surprised the group, and soon the older teenager introduced himself.
"Hi, my name is Brock and I'm a pokémon breeder, I'm traveling with my two friends, we came to accompany Dawn so she can catch her first Pokémon.
The younger boy with a strange yellow mouse on his shoulder came out of his stupor and plastered a big smile on his face as he extended his hand in greeting, which Shirou accepted and the boy introduced himself.
"My name is Ash Ketchum and I'm a Pokémon trainer, I arrived in Sinnoh yesterday and I intend to compete in the Pokémon League of this region, and this little guy on my shoulder is Pikachu." The mouse extended one of its paws which Shirou gently took in greeting while smiling. "Pi Pikachu" said the friendly Pokémon. Ash thought of the name of the boy who had received them and his eyes widened as he remembered the conversation he'd had with Max the day before.
Looking at Shirou he pointed his finger and spoke excitedly. "Wait, you're the Shirou Max told me about yesterday! If you are here does that mean that May is also in Sinnoh, is she inside the lab?" Asked Ash excitedly, Shirou with a nervous smile at the boy's excitement nodded as the girl in the group closed her fist in anger and hit Ash on the head, comically taking him to the ground while Pikachu jumped on Brock's shoulder to avoid the same fate.
She looked embarrassed at Shirou for her friend's actions and introduced herself. "I'm sorry for Ash's actions, I've known him less than two days, but I've learned that he can be very impulsive when he wants to be, my name is Dawn Berlitz by the way." She held out her hand with a smile, and Shirou's next actions left everyone in the group shocked.
He took the girl's hand and kissed it, surprising Dawn and making her blush furiously as he looked at her with a soft smile. "Dawn, like the dawn of a new day, a beautiful name. I'm glad to meet you, welcome, Professor Rowan is waiting to present you with your first Pokémon. If you need anything I can help you with, there's no need to ask, I'm at your service, Miss Berlitz." As Shirou released the girl's hand, Dawn still blushing furiously took her hand to her chest trying to calm down. She'd never been treated this way, and it didn't help that the boy was handsome. She felt like butterflies were in her stomach and she breathed quickly trying to calm down. Her heart was beating so fast that she seemed to want to go out of her mouth, and as everyone else entered the lab,
Shirou noticed that Dawn still hadn't come in and went back to the door, extending his hand to the poor girl. "Miss Berlitz, won't you come in? Rowan is waiting for you."
Dawn took Shirou's hand, still bewildered, and followed the boy. When the pair met with the teacher and the other teenagers, mixed reactions occurred.
Rowan smiled at the young woman who would start her way as a trainer, Ash looked curiously at his new friend holding Shirou's hand while Brock looked with his mouth open at Shirou, who had gotten into the girl's good graces in less than five minutes.
May looked at the scene with a frown. She was excitedly talking to Ash when she saw Shirou's interaction with the girl at the reception and a feeling of jealousy was present in her heart. She knew it was a petty feeling, but who does this girl think she is? Shirou was her friend the longest and this Dawn person was all attached to Shirou in less than 5 minutes? And worst of all, the girl had the audacity to hold her friend's hand.
In an impulsive act she approached the duo and practically pushed Dawn away from Shirou, which left both the boy and the girl confused. May took Shirou's hand and led him towards Rowan to get his Pokédex, which the boy accepted.
Soon it was Dawn's turn to choose her starter pokémon, she was in doubt about which of the three to choose. She interacted with the Grass-type and Fire-type, but didn't feel like she would be comfortable with either, and when she turned to Piplup, the little penguin jumped into her arms while happily snuggling up to the girl. Dawn made her decision by choosing the water type. Rowan gave the girl a pink pokédex and registered her first pokémon, and after receiving her equipment, the girl looked shyly at her friends, more specifically at a certain gray-haired boy.
"So what do you think of Piplup? Did I choose correctly?" Brock smiled in agreement as Ash gave a thumbs-up with Pikachu repeating his trainer's action. May was still uncomfortable around the girl, but she agreed with Dawn's choice, and Shirou smiled and went to talk to the young woman.
"If you're comfortable with your Pokemon it's a good choice, and I think it suits you, they're both cute and I think Piplup will be a good friend for you." Said Shirou innocently. Dawn blushed at the comment as Piplup puffed out her chest in pride. May frowned at Shirou's comment. She'd agreed that her main reason for coming to Sinnoh would be to try to make her friendship with Ash evolve into something greater, but why did she feel like she was losing Shirou? A feeling of doubt filled her heart and for the first time since she arrived in Sinnoh, May didn't know what she really wanted.
The next hour was spent with Dawn being briefed by Rowan on the basics she would need to know to begin her journey, she returned her Pokémon to the Poké Ball and when she had finished talking to Rowan, everyone agreed to actually start her journey.
The young blue-haired girl quickly got close to Shirou, always catching the boy's attention, especially when May tried to talk to him, much to the annoyance of the girl in the bandana. May also grew frustrated with Shirou for apparently ignoring her since she met Dawn, and began to give her friend a cold treatment, much to the poor guy's confusion.
She decided to talk to Ash about what he had done while on Pallet, in part to catch up with her friend and love interest, and also to try to make Shirou realize that she was ignoring him. It was petty, but she wanted her friend to have eyes only for her again.
The plan didn't go very well, as Shirou thought that May was mad at him for some reason and decided to leave the girl alone, and as May was close to Ash, and knowing that she liked the boy, Shirou decided not to interrupt the duo, to help your friend. And with that he turned his full attention to his new friend, who was talking excitedly about contests, as her mother was a retired Top Coordinator. This generated interest in May, but she didn't want to talk to the girl at the moment and decided to save this information for another time.
Brock informed the group that they should head to Oreburgh City, where Ash would register for the Pokémon League and have his first gym battle. The group agreed and continued their journey along the dirt road on the plain that divided the two cities.
While May was talking to Ash and Brock was looking intently at the pokénav she had bought for her new journey, Dawn was trying to learn more about the boy who had caught her interest.
"So Shirou, are you a pokemon trainer or coordinator?" asked the girl curiously. Shirou smiled and answered her.
"I'm not a coach and I'm not a coordinator either. To be honest, I'm not interested in Pokémon training, I'm mainly here because May asked, so you can say I'm just enjoying the trip." As Dawn nodded in understanding, May was encouraged to hear from Shirou that he had come for her, but the girl didn't voice her opinion, she was still annoyed by the duo's interaction and turned her attention to Ash.
While May was talking to her friend, she got closer to him than usual, even reaching for the boy's hand, much to Ash's confusion, who didn't stop her, but didn't understand the reason for her friend's act.
Shirou watched May's actions with a smile as Dawn saw this and was a little relieved. She knew that May was jealous of her interaction with Shirou, but it seemed like she was more interested in getting closer to Ash. She liked her new friend, but Shirou was simply everything she dreamed of in a possible love interest. Handsome, physically strong but not looking like a muscular freak, with good taste in clothes and polite. She saw an opportunity and was going to take it.
Shirou turned his attention to Dawn and continued the conversation. "And you Miss Berlitz, you said your mother is a retired coordinator, are you going to follow in her footsteps or intend to be a coach?" Dawn smiled and answered her friend.
"I want to be a coordinator. I like battles, but contests are just in the Berlitz family blood, and you can call me Dawn, you're my friend, I don't mind having you use my first name." She smiled at Shirou, who agreed to the girl's request.
During the trip, Dawn grew bolder and bolder, going so far as to hug Shirou's right arm and rest her head on his shoulder while talking animatedly to the object of her interest, ignoring the rest of the group. Shirou gave his new friend his full attention, interested in the stories she told him about Sinnoh and also wanting to know more about the young girl.
May watched the duo's interaction with frustration and did the same to Ash, who looked confused at his old friend.
"May, why are you doing this?" asked the boy innocently. Pikachu brought his paw to his face not believing his trainer's level of density, and Brock shook his head in denial. His friend was dense as a brick wall, it was obvious to anyone who watched the two that May liked him more than just a friend, the only one who didn't notice was Ash himself. He thought for a moment about talking to his friend about what was going on, but then he was against the idea. This was something Ash needed to figure out for himself, Brock just hoped it wouldn't take too long.
After a few hours of walking the group decided to stop for lunch, and Shirou offered to help Brock cook, which the older teenager quickly accepted. Ash had mentioned Shirou to him, and if what Max had said was true, he finally had someone to share the responsibility of feeding the group.
Ash went to get sticks for the fire while May released the group's Pokémon. Dawn offered to feed them and a tense atmosphere formed between the two girls.
May was uncomfortable around Dawn, and the poor blue-haired girl wanted to strike up a conversation with the older girl, but didn't know how.
After a few minutes, Dawn took a deep breath and decided to take the initiative. "So Shirou told me that you are a Coordinator who participated in two big festivals, this is impressive." May was surprised by the girl starting the conversation and perked up a little when talking about contests.
"Yeah, I still can't believe I've come this far in such a short time as a Coordinator, if it wasn't for Ash I wouldn't even have started Pokémon training." May spoke with an affectionate smile thinking of her love interest. Dawn noticed and a mischievous smile appeared, she approached the girl while nudging her shoulder teasingly.
"So... how long have you liked Ash?" May blushed at the question and promptly denied the claim.
"It's not like that, I like him only as a friend." Dawn didn't believe the statement for a second.
"I know…and I'm a Mamoswine. It's no use denying it, it's obvious how you act around him. I don't judge you, he's cute, but you can rest assured that I only see Ash as a friend. I'm interested in someone else." Dawn looked at Shirou as she adopted a dreamy expression. May realized this and conflicting feelings arose, she didn't know how to react to it.
"Well, I'm glad you think so, but please don't tell Ash how I feel, it's something I have to deal with myself." May smiled at Dawn and the girl smiled back.
"No need to worry, your secret is safe with me." The blue haired girl adopted a mischievous smile and spoke to the girl next to her. "But tell me, how did you meet Shirou? You're very lucky to have someone so handsome and polite traveling with you, and since you've got your eye on Ash, well...care to give me a hand with your friend? Come on, I promise to help you with Ash, it may not seem like it, but I'm pretty good with these kinds of matters." As Dawn smiled at May, the girl was unsure how to respond, and reluctantly agreed. As much as she was interested in Shirou, she had Ash as her goal and it would be selfish of her to want two boys for herself, and Dawn seemed like a good girl, it wouldn't hurt to help her with her friend.
"Alright, I'll help you with Shirou, but listen to what I'm going to tell you. I don't care if you're just friends or boyfriends in the future, but if you hurt him in any way, there's no place in this world you can hide, am I clear?" May looked menacingly at Dawn, who was afraid of the girl's change in attitude, and reluctantly agreed to the demand.
May's expression changed back to her usual glee as she chatted with her new friend, talking about what she had learned about Shirou since meeting him. Dawn listened intently as she learned more about the boy she liked, and the conversation continued until Ash returned with the kindling and started the fire.
The two girls parted ways, with May moving closer to Ash to talk to her friend, while Dawn walked back to Shirou. May watched the girl hugging Shirou and her friend smiling at her new friend. May tried to be happy for Dawn, but for some reason her chest tightened. It felt like she was missing something and even though she was happy being around Ash, it just didn't feel right to her.
She felt like she was missing out on something important in her life.
Ash noticed that May had a sad and worried expression and spoke to her friend.
"Hey May, you're fine, we were talking and all of a sudden you got low." May smiled at Ash and stroked Pikachu's cheek on her shoulder, much to the Pokémon's delight.
"I'm fine Ash, just thinking about a few things, nothing important. Well, let's eat, looks like lunch is ready." She excitedly took Ash's hand and led him to the campfire, where Brock and Shirou were serving lunch for the group. Everyone praised the food made by the pair of boys and when everyone finished eating, they put out the fire, packed up the camp and continued the journey.
The rest of the afternoon was spent with the group following their journey, with Brock leading the way and the two teenage couples lost in side conversation. While Dawn and Shirou were getting more and more comfortable with each other, Ash was starting to get uncomfortable with May's actions. He was used to the girl being cheerful, but since the incident at the Sea Temple, she has been acting strangely towards him. Ash talked to his mother about it, and she shook her head in disappointment saying that he needed to learn this on his own. It was the same with the teacher and when he asked Garry for help, her friend laughed at him saying he was too naive.
He wanted to stop and ask May what was going on, but her friend looked so happy holding his arm that he just couldn't stop her. Her reverie was interrupted with a rubber hand picking up her Pikachu, much to the group's amazement.
Looking in the direction the mouse was taken, the group saw a Meowth-shaped balloon with two humans and a Pokémon identical to the balloon on board.
Pikachu was placed in a glass tube, and the poor electric mouse tried to fire thunderbolts, but was unsuccessful as the glass insulated his electric attacks.
Ash pointed his finger and yelled at the trio. "Team Rocket!" Brock and May sighed in dismay as Shirou and Dawn looked confused at the situation.
Shirou spoke for her friend when she asked in confusion. "Team Rocket? What is this and why did they take Pikachu from Ash?" The trio in the balloon perked up. The man had short blue hair and wore a uniform consisting of a white long-sleeved shirt with the shirt having a large red 'R' on it, black gloves, and a black shirt underneath his white shirt. A purple belt and white pants with black boots completes his uniform.
The woman next to her had dark pink hair with a gravity-defying hairstyle, two green circular earrings, a white long-sleeved top with a black top underneath showing her exposed midriff, black gloves, an thigh-length skirt, and shoes. black with long socks that went to the knees.
The Pokémon accompanying the duo was very cat-like, but bipedal and with a gold coin on its forehead.
To Shirou and Dawn's surprise, the Pokémon spoke. "Jessie, James, looks like the idiots have two new friends, a blue-haired brat and that white-haired priest project." The woman titled Jessie looked at the pair with interest.
"He's cute, but our priority is Pikachu." James nodded as he braced himself to introduce himself to new people.
"They need to know the greatness of Team Rocket, we will offer them the honor of listening to our motto." Dramatic music began to play from the balloon as they began to speak in a rehearsed manner.
"Prepare for trouble"
"Double trouble!"
"An evil as old as a hymn..."
"...Sent here to fulfill our destiny!"
"And there's me!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our power to the stars!"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"And I'm Meowth!"
"Wherever there is peace in the universe..."
"...Team Rocket..."
"...will be there..."
"...to make everything worse!"
A blue bubble-shaped Pokémon with a black handle having two circles in the shape of eyes and a funny expression on its face appeared from a Poké Ball sticking out of Jessie's waist while screaming with one of its paws on its forehead.
"Wobbuffet!" The Pokémon said excitedly, only for Jessie to start banging her head in annoyance.
"How many times do I have to tell you to stay inside your Poké Ball you useless blue bubble, we're introducing ourselves to the two new idiots and you've spoiled our evil first impression." As the criminal trio fought among themselves, Ash, Brock and May looked with nervous smiles at the common scene in their lives, while Shirou and Dawn looked confused at everything that was happening.
"What was that, a kind of Aria? But there is no Prana in the air." Shirou said without understanding, and Dawn asked curiously. "What is this Aria and Prana you are talking about?" The girl was confused as Shirou looked at her friend mentally punishing herself for saying that out loud.
"Nothing important Dawn, but why did you take my friend's Pokémon?" asked Shirou now turning his attention to the trio in the balloon.
Jessie perked up and looked haughty. "That's obvious, we're stealing Pikachu to deliver to our boss." James raised his fist excitedly as he completed his friend's sentence. "With him we will finally be respected on Team Rocket!"
Meowth smirked as he completed. "And with that we might even get a promotion!" The trio grew more and more excited, and as four of the five youths looked on in outrage and prepared to retrieve their friend's Pokémon, Shirou adopted a cold glare as he looked directly at the three criminals.
"Are you telling me that you intend to steal Ash's Pokémon just to gain fame and a promotion in the hierarchy of your criminal organization?" As Shirou spoke, the atmosphere seemed to have cooled down, and everyone looked at him in surprise as the gray-haired boy started to walk calmly towards the balloon.
James looked with uncertainty and a little fear at the boy. "Well, yes? That's what we've been trying to do for years, nothing personal, but Pikachu here has been a target of ours since we met the idiot in the funny hat." Shirou stopped and the look he sent the trio made them feel primal fear, it wasn't the same kind of fear they felt when Pikachu hit them with a Thunderbolt, not even the fear they felt when they had an audience with the boss.
It was a primal fear.
Fear of death.
A small black circle appeared in the air and Shirou stuck his right hand inside it, pulling out a sheathed Katana, startling everyone with the action. He closed his eyes as he unsheathed the weapon, and when he opened his eyes, enormous pressure surged through the air, causing the balloon to fall immediately as Pikachu's prison was destroyed, with the Pokémon rushing towards its trainer.
As Team Rocket looked fearfully at the boy in priest robes, Shirou threateningly wielded his katana as he approached. Driven by fear, Jessie and James sent their pokémon, being a Seeviper and a Cacnea.
"Seeviper, use Poison Tail on the white haired idiot." Jessei ordered shocking everyone by deliberately attacking a human with his Pokemon. James followed suit, fear always got the best of people.
"Cacnea, use Poison Jab, finish this guy!" He ordered Team Rocket member, causing Seeviper and Cacnea to carry out their trainers' commands.
Shirou stood still while his friends yelled at him to get out of his place, and when the attacks would connect on his body, Shirou again shocked everyone.
Using his Katana, he stopped Seeviper and Cacnea's attacks, pushing them away with sheer force, and then advancing at superhuman speed, delivering a blow to each pokémon.
Seeviper suffered a cut to its face, causing the snake to agonize on the ground, while Cacnea suffered a cut to its back, causing the cactus Pokémon to fall unconscious to the ground. The members of Team Rocket returned their Pokémon to their Poké Balls, startled by what had just happened, and before they could do anything else, Ash and his Pikachu took the lead in combat.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" The electric mouse Pokémon obeyed, and powerful thunder erupted from its body, hitting the trio and sending them soaring, with them soon disappearing into the blue sky.
With the threat of Team Rocket over, eyes turned to Shirou, who had made his katana disappear and was nervously looking at the group, not knowing how to explain his feat.
May was the first to run close to him as she bombarded him with questions. "How did you do it? Why didn't you ever tell me you were a samurai, do you know how to use magic? If you raise your hand, does cool armor appear on your body?" A bead of sweat appeared on the back of Shirou's neck as he tried to calm his friend down.
"May, please slow down your questions. About my abilities, what I can say is that I had to learn to defend myself in my old job, and I won't answer any questions regarding how I used Katana or any of my abilities, it's not that I don't trust you, but let's just say, it's not worth the risk." This unnerved the group, and soon they continued their journey in silence.
Shirou broke away from Dawn and walked a little away from the group, while Dawn went to talk to May.
"Hey, do you know why Shirou is being so secretive about what he did? I'm not going to lie, I was scared of what he could do with that gun, but he just defended himself so I don't know what to do." May looked at her friend and sighed, she had similar thoughts.
"I don't know Dawn, I've only known Shirou for a short time and I only have good things to say about my friend, but this is so different from the Shirou I know that I don't know what to expect. When I met him he suffered from amnesia and now he says that his abilities are a consequence of his last job. Either he's remembering memories of him or he's lying, and I sincerely hope it's the former." The two girls looked doubtfully at their silver-haired friend, and decided not to comment further on the matter for the time being.
After a few hours they arrived in Oreburg and headed to the Pokémon Center. While Ash signed up for the Pokémon League, May and Dawn signed up for the Pokémon Contest season, and after everyone left their Pokémon with Nurse Joy to be taken care of, they booked rooms for the night. Ash and Brock took a room, while May and Dawn took another. None of them noticed that Shirou hadn't reserved a room for him, they were all so caught up in their thoughts about what had happened during the day that it didn't even cross their minds.
The group went to dinner and Shirou said he would go for a walk outside the Pokémon Center. He handed May an envelope and told her she couldn't open it until the next day, which confused the entire group.
Her friend agreed and saying goodbye to everyone, Shirou left the pokémon center. A few hours passed and the four teenagers became very sleepy, giving up waiting for their friend, and went to sleep.
Meanwhile Shirou looked at the moon while thinking about the events that had occurred during the day, and mentally punished himself, he had revealed part of his secret, regardless of being in a new world, being a mage was walking with death, and he never he would forgive if any of his friends were hurt by his imprudence.
He made a decision and turned to look at the Pokemon center one last time. He'd grown attached to May, considered her a close friend, and had gotten along well with the other teenagers, but he couldn't be fooled anymore. He was someone with blood on his hands, and if it weren't for Ash, he would have killed criminals in front of people who hadn't yet had their souls stained with the malice of the world.
No matter he is in another world, there will always be people with darkness in their hearts, he was a fool to think he could have a normal life. Now he knew that there was at least one organization that needed to be annihilated for the good of the world, and he remembered what Rowan had said about Hunter J. He might not be able to realize his utopia where no one else would die and everyone would be happy, but he would ensure that those with malice in their hearts would perish by the blade of his sword.
A sad smile adorned his face as he turned and started walking away from the Pokémon center.
As he walked away, he spoke to himself. "May, thanks for being my friend, I'm sorry but I won't be able to keep my promise. Good luck with your plans for Ash, and may you succeed in your Pokémon contests. Dawn, I have known you for a day and I know you are a girl with a pure heart who dreams of seeing what the world has to offer, I wish you success in your dreams. Ash and Brock, you are the most experienced of the bunch, protect the girls and always guide them on the right path." A tear trickled down his cheek as he summoned a black hooded cloak, putting it on for camouflage in the night.
"I took an oath where I decided to be the final bastion of humanity, and if I have to get my hands bloody one more time to secure the future of the next generation, I will do so with no regrets. I will always be praying for you and protecting you, goodbye." And with that, Shirou ran through the dark streets, quickly disappearing, while his friends slept peacefully, not imagining the surprises they would have the next day.
Amakusa Shirou Tokisada had left to continue his eternal fight against the evil of the world.