It's finally time for the first Pokémon movie to be featured in the "Ashley Ketchum's Journey" series! I've been looking very much forward to this so I hope you readers will like it.
Disclaimer: I do not own any Pokémon characters! I only own my OCs!
Chapter 42: Mewtwo Strikes Back – Part 1
After everything that happened on Three Island, Ash and I returned to One Island for a couple of more days of training and to inform Nurse Joy to no longer be on the lookout for Aria's school. She was relieved to hear the good news and made sure to remove the note she wrote down about the lookout.
Despite being close to a volcano, I still felt the chilly air of early October. I couldn't help but be in awe that my brother and I had been on our own without Misty and Brock and we did quite well. Of course, we were staying in the Pokémon Center for the nights, but it was an odd feeling to be independent. It felt nice. Is this what it felt like to be an adult?
Or was I being a little overconfident?
Maybe it was the later because my brother and I had just won a battle against a Trainer named Raymond. He had heard rumors about a pair of twins coming from the remote Pallet Town and how they had earned eight badges within a short time. He wanted to find out whether we really had the rights to have those badges, so he challenged us to a battle. Ash and I took turns of battling in single battle against Raymond. He got frustrated for each defeat and lost his cool after his fourth Pokémon fainted and sent his two last Pokémon at once. Ash and I used Firered and Ivysaur to defeat his Golem and Ursaring with only a few moves.
"Nooo!" Raymond screeched in shock at the sight of his two final Pokémon defeated and resting on the ground. "I lost…to a pair of bumpkins?!"
"We did it!" Ash cheered in joy.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu cheered as he stood next to my brother.
"Great job, Firered, Ivysaur!" I told our partners.
"Rawr…!" Firered smiled as he turned around to embrace me with his wings.
"Ivysauur!" Ivysaur cheered as he also ran to Ash to receive a hug.
My brother and I couldn't help but laugh as we cuddled with our precious Pokémon partners. It was an odd feeling when I thought back of how small Firered and Ivysaur were when we met them for the first time in March, and look at them now. So large and strong!
Raymond called his Pokémon back to their Poké Balls with a loud and frustrated grunt. "Don't think you'll win next time!" he threw some cash on the ground before he ran off. "I'll crush you at the League!"
"We'll be waiting for that rematch!" Ash smiled as he waved bye to the retreating Trainer.
I walked over to the ground where Raymond had thrown the coins and bills and picked them up before counting how much we got in total. "1,000 PokéDollar? I don't remember when we received this much last time…", I mumbled as I walked back to Ash and gave him his share of 500 PokéDollar.
"We've been saving up a lot lately", Ash grinned as he pocketed the money. "Soon, we should be able to pay for Misty's new bike."
"Yeah, that's a debt we still owe…", I laughed sheepishly.
"Pikapi?" Pikachu tilted his head to the side.
"If we keep training like this, we'll have a good chance in the Pokémon League", Ash said.
"Yes, but we better give our Pokémon some rest too", I pointed out. "It's bad to just train all the time."
"Yep, and that's why we'll have a break back in Pallet Town", Ash nodded before his eyes widened in realization. "Wait… What's the time?"
I pulled back the sleeve of my jacket and checked the watch. "12:15 p.m.", I replied.
"It's time for lunch!" Ash exclaimed happily as he put down his backpack. "Good thing we packed the food."
"Sauur!" Ivysaur smiled widely.
"Yeah", I nodded before I pulled out a handkerchief from my backpack and unfolded it so I could sit down on the ground without getting dirty. "And in a few hours, we'll take the ferry back to Vermilion City."
"And then a fly back to home sweet home!" Ash cheered as he prepared bowls with food for our Pokémon. "I can't wait to see Mom, Professor Oak, Misty and Brock again."
"Me too", I nodded as I prepared my part of the lunch.
"Rrrwr… Rawr?" Firered made a strange noise.
I saw him looking at something up in the sky, so I followed his glance. I spotted a black flying dot hovering above us, but it was difficult to see what it was. It released a cry, so I had a feeling it was a Pokémon. It soon flew away, leaving us alone to have a peaceful lunch.
"What was that…?" I mumbled quietly before I shrugged and decided to ignore it. Maybe it was a wild Pokémon that thought it could snatch some food from us, but realized it would be impossible with Firered guarding us.
I had no idea how wrong I was back then.
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The lunch was quiet and peaceful by the beautiful beach. Our Pokémon enjoyed their food just as Ash and I liked the sandwiches I had prepared shortly after breakfast this morning. After learning a lot about cooking from Brock, I've been experimenting and even attempted to make homemade food for the Pokémon. The first few tries went well, but it was clear our Pokémon didn't like the food, so I added a little more berries for…nutrients…? Was that the word I was looking for?
Anyway, thanks to the added berries, the Pokémon really enjoyed the food now. I made sure to write down notes on which berry they preferred the most. Firered, for an example, liked spicy berries, so I made sure to add Razz Berries to his diet.
Throughout the whole lunch, Pikachu and Luna shared a bowl together. They even sat close to each other, as they usually did every time they were out of their Poké Balls. It was more and more clear that they liked each other more than as siblings.
I was about to eat the last bite of my sandwich when I heard a weird noise coming from the ocean. The next thing I knew, something big and fast flew right past us and threw us all around, including our food. The tea in my thermos got spilled out onto the sand and the final bite of my sandwich flew into the water.
"Oww…", I hissed in pain as I rubbed my back after I had fallen onto it.
Ash sat up as he rubbed the back of his head. "What was that?" he asked as he looked around.
I sat up just as the fast object settled down in front of us. I blinked my eyes to make sure I wasn't seeing things. It was a Dragonite, but it was carrying some kind of a bag, so I quickly realized it must belong to a Trainer.
Our Pokémon got up after getting pushed by the force of Dragonite and got a little frustrated that their lunch got disrupted. The majority of them glared at the dragon Pokémon, but Dragonite was apologetic and bowed its head before it opened the bag to pull something out of it.
"Hey, can you look around where you fly?" Ash scolded the delivery Pokémon.
"Gooh…", Dragonite rumbled softly before it held out an object to my brother.
Ash and I stood up from the sand and brushed the dirt off before we checked what the item was. It was an envelope, but it was clear there was something inside of it. Ash pulled out the item that turned out to be some kind of a device. I wasn't really into technology as long as it didn't directly involve Pokémon.
"What's this?" Ash wondered.
Seconds later, a light shone out from the center that turned out to be a holographic projector. In the middle of the light was the hologram of a woman in a burgundy dress with a headpiece that covered her hair.
The woman curtsied before she straightened up. "Greetings, Pokémon Trainers. I bear an invitation", she said automatically, so I figured it was a recorded message. "You have been chosen to join a selected group of Pokémon Trainers for a special gathering. It will be hosted by my master, the world's greatest Pokémon Trainer, at his palace on New Island."
New Island? I have never heard about it and I had studied the map of the whole Kanto region. Was the island located in international water?
The hologram of the woman was replaced by a map that showed the way from Vermilion City to the mysterious island somewhere located in the middle of the ocean. "A charter ferry will leave from Vermilion City to bring the Trainers to the island this afternoon", the woman continued explaining before her hologram returned. "Only Trainers who present this invitation will be admitted. If you decide to attend, you must reply at once. My master awaits you."
With the message said and done, the hologram woman curtsied again before the device shut down. I didn't know why, but I got weird chills by this message. It was something about the whole thing that didn't make sense.
"The greatest Pokémon Trainer wants to meet us…", Ash mumbled in awe before grinning widely. "We should go! It'd be an honor to meet the master of all Pokémon Trainers and maybe even get a chance to battle and learn from him!"
"I don't know, Ash…", I said hesitantly. "There's something about this that bothers me…"
"It must be your nerves, sis", Ash said as he patted my shoulder. "I'm a little nervous too to meet the greatest Pokémon Trainer, but I'm very excited for it!"
I hugged my right arm as I looked down and dug the front of my shoe right shoe onto the sand. "That's the thing", I spoke up. "No one has been declared the greatest Pokémon Trainer for as long as I can remember. I think it's a…hoax."
Ash hummed as he took another look at the hologram projector. He was silent for a minute before he made his choice. "We should still go", he decided. "We won't be the only ones there, so if it turns out it is a hoax, we can leave anytime. What do you think, Ashley?"
My brother could be very stubborn when it came to meeting strong Trainers, so I knew my words had little effect on him. "Okay… You win", I sighed. "But we will leave when we both realize it's bogus. Okay?"
"Okay!" Ash nodded before hugging me. "Thanks, sis."
I hugged him back, but not with much affection. I still didn't like the thoughts of this event.
"Iika!" Pikachu yelped below us.
Ash pulled back before he checked his partner. Pikachu had a card in his mouth that must have fallen out of the envelope. My brother picked it up so we check it. The card has two squares with one that said "YES" and the other said "NO".
"We must cross this and give it back to Dragonite to let them know our answer", Ash concluded. "Do you have a pen, Ashley?"
"Yeah…"
After I fished the pen up from my backpack, Ash grabbed it and crossed the "YES" square. He gave the card to Dragonite who put it away in its bag before nodding as in saying thank you. It then nodded to our Pokémon before it ran toward the ocean and flew up to the sky, leaving a cloud of sand that engulfed me and Ash once again.
I covered my mouth and nose and tried fanning the sand away together with my brother. Our Pokémon almost breathed in the sand as well and tried shielding their faces from the sand cloud. It took seconds before the sand flew down to the ground, but I felt itchy by the dirt in my hair and clothes.
"Note to add; we better not eat on the beach next time", I commented.
"Yeah, I agree with you there, sis", Ash laughed sheepishly before he gasped loudly. "We better hurry back to One Island and catch the ferry back to Vermilion City!"
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Ash and I made it to the ferry that sailed back to the mainland of Kanto. While we were in the ferry, I washed myself to get rid of the sand in my hair. Ash took a shower too so we both were clean to visit the greatest Pokémon Trainer's palace.
Another thing that stuck out was the woman in the recording never gave us a name of her master. Didn't people usually introduce themselves with a name to clarify who they were?
The ferry went fast because, on the last few nautical miles, a storm appeared out of nowhere. It wasn't violent at first, but it got stronger for each minute. I almost got seasick and feared that the ferry would sink, like what happened to S.S. Anne months ago. That still traumatized me, but I remembered the mysterious shadow in the depth of the ocean that saved me. What was that creature?
The ferry docked to the harbor of Vermilion City, so the passengers quickly got off and ran to the closest building that was the indoor waiting room. Ash, Pikachu and I didn't get so wet and it was warm inside, so I didn't freeze.
The waiting room was packed with Pokémon Trainers and their Pokémon. Many mentioned New Island, so I figured they had been invited by the mysterious Pokémon Trainer too.
"Man, that storm came out of nowhere!" Ash commented as he flapped his wet jacket to dry it.
"Prrrrr!" Pikachu shook his body to dry himself.
"It is weird, though…", I mumbled. "It's not the hurricane season…"
"Well, if it isn't the twins from Pallet Town!" a familiar voice spoke up.
I turned around and spotted our first rival sitting on a bench right next to us. "Gary!" Ash and I exclaimed simultaneously.
"In the flesh!" Gary smirked. "Long time no see."
"If you're here, then that means you got an invitation to New Island too!" Ash figured it out.
"Precisely!" Gary smiled proudly. "The greatest Pokémon Trainer must've heard about my accomplishments and decided to invite me! I'm surprised they invited you two, but I guess you've earned his respect."
I quickly noticed something was missing. "Where are your fangirls?" I asked.
"I told them I needed some alone time to train my Pokémon after I got the Earth Badge", Gary explained. "That Gym battle was a piece of cake!"
"Congratulations, I guess…?" I said quietly.
It was really odd to see Gary being this nice. Maybe he had decided to grow up a little just like me and my brother had done during the journey.
"So we'll see each other at the League?" Ash asked with a smirk.
"Yep, and I'll defeat both of you", Gary smirked in return.
"Attention!" a voice called from the loudspeakers in the waiting room. "Officer Jenny and harbor manager Miranda have an urgent message for the passengers who are expecting the ferry to New Island! Please come to the front of the waiting room for more information. Thank you."
"That doesn't sound good…", Ash cold sweated.
"Pika?" Pikachu cooed confusedly.
Gary stood up from the bench. "Let's go and see what it's all about."
The Trainers quickly gathered by the entrance of the waiting room. I didn't feel comfortable with the crowd, so I held hands with Ash as we pushed ourselves to the front with Gary. Pikachu had climbed up onto my brother's shoulders so he wouldn't get squeezed by the people. Officer Jenny stood by the entrance with another woman who had sky blue hair and was dressed as an office woman. She must be the harbor manager.
"The ferry to New Island is cancelled?!" a male Trainer, a couple of years older than us, exclaimed in shock.
"But I've got to get there! I have an invitation!" a female Trainer, looking around the same age as the male Trainer, said in panic.
"This is more than just some rain!" Officer Jenny spoke in her authority voice, silencing everyone who complained about the cancellation of the ferry. "The harbor manager believes this is the worst storm ever recorded in Kanto's history!"
"Hear me out, Trainers!" the harbor manager called out. "The prophets have predicted the return of the winds of water. For years, I have prayed that mankind would never witness that deadly storm ever again."
"Isn't it just a legend?" Officer Jenny asked.
"The ancient script tells that the storm wiped out all but a few Pokémon", the manager replied. "It is said that the surviving Pokémon's sorrow, the water of their tears, restored the lives lost in the storm, but there are no more Pokémon tears today. Only waters that no one can survive."
"And that's the reason why the ferry to New Island is cancelled!" Officer Jenny told the crowd.
"That's no problem for me!" another male Trainer in his late teens called out. "My team consists of water Pokémon! I can just swim all the way to New Island!"
The other Trainers began mumbling to each other after hearing how one of them thought about riding one of his water Pokémon to the island. Some thought it was a good idea, but the harbor manager interrupted them. "Heed my warning! The waves of savage might claim your life if you act recklessly", the woman said.
"Besides, if your Pokémon gets hurt in the ocean, we'll be unable to help you because the Pokémon Center is still closed down!" Officer Jenny told the Trainer who wanted to challenge the storm.
"The Pokémon Center is closed down…?" I mumbled to myself in confusion.
"Excuse me!" Ash called while he raised his hand. "Why's the Pokémon Center closed down?"
"Because the nurse in charge disappeared mysteriously a month ago", Officer Jenny answered before she pulled out a rolled paper sheet from a pocket on her uniform and rolled it open to reveal the photo of the missing Nurse Joy. "If anyone has seen her, contact me at once!"
I checked the photo of Nurse Joy. She was the same nurse who was in charge of the Pokémon Center in Vermilion City when Ash, Misty, Brock and I arrived to the city months ago to challenge Lt. Surge. Brock would've been able to track down Nurse Joy since he was somehow able to spot the tiny differences between every Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny.
I got a weird feeling in my stomach when I saw the photo nurse's eyes. I felt like I have seen them before, but where…?
"I'm still going!" the water-type Trainer yelled. "The greatest Pokémon Trainer is waiting for all of us and I won't sit back and wait the storm out!"
With that said, he ran past Officer Jenny and the harbor manager and out of the building to the now empty docks.
"I'm going too!" another male Trainer shouted. "I'll fly over there with my Pidgeot!"
"Me too!" a female Trainer called. "I don't want to pass on this opportunity!"
More Trainers began rebelling and forced their way out by pushing Officer Jenny and the harbor manager to the side. Ash, Gary and I quickly stepped aside so we wouldn't get stomped down to the ground by the crowd. There were a few Trainers who stayed indoors, not wanting to risk their lives to travel to New Island. Officer Jenny and the harbor manager ran after the Trainers who were willing to put their lives in danger just to meet the world's greatest Pokémon Trainer.
As soon as the turmoil calmed down, Ash, Pikachu, Gary and I ran outside to check the situation. Some Trainers got cold feet as they were about to call out their Pokémon to either fly or swim to New Island, but several of them had already gone out to the storm.
"We're going too!" Gary exclaimed.
"What?!" I yelled in shock.
"The greatest Pokémon Trainer is waiting for us! If the other Trainers can go through the storm with their Pokémon, so can we!" Gary explained.
"I'm with Gary on this one, Ashley!" Ash said. "I refuse to miss this golden opportunity! That Pokémon Master has given us Trainers a chance to grow and become stronger!"
"Pika!" Pikachu nodded determinedly.
"NO! I don't want to go!" I shrieked. "I'm scared of this storm! We're going to drown even if we ride on our Pokémon!"
Ash looked shocked by my outburst. "Sis…", he mumbled worriedly.
My body shook as I recalled the events on S.S. Anne. "I-I almost drowned this year… All I remember is seeing black and the pressure in my lungs becoming so high that I thought I was going to explode…", I stuttered as tears began running down my cheeks along with the raindrops. "I can't do this…"
Gary looked to the side and rubbed the back of his head with a pensive expression. Ash carefully wrapped his arms around me before pulling me into a hug. "I'm sorry, Ashley… I didn't know you got that scared after what happened on S.S. Anne", my brother apologized.
I sobbed softly as I leaned my face against my brother's shoulder. "I… I don't want to be scared…but I am…", I mumbled.
Ash gently pushed me back and tucked my wet bangs to the side to tap my forehead, a gesture he had been doing since we were small to show he was going to make a promise. "Ashley, I promise nothing bad will happen to us", he promised before he gave me a wink. "Besides, I got a secret weapon on me."
"Y-You do…?" I sniffed as I calmed down.
Ash grinned brightly. "Yeah! You should know too, Ashley. After all, you're the wandering Pokédex."
I closed my eyes and tried remembering what Pokémon he had on his party right now. Which one was it that could help out in this terrible weather?
Wait…
Weather… Pokémon…
Ash turned around as he grabbed a Poké Ball from his belt and threw it. "Dragonair, I choose you!"
"Kyruu!" Dragonair shrieked as she expanded the wings on her head so she was flying in front of us.
Gary's jaw dropped at the sight of the beautiful dragon Pokémon. "What?! Since when did you have a Dragonair, Ash?!" he yelled in shock.
"Dragonair, can you use your power to calm down the storm?" Ash asked while ignoring our rival's question.
Dragonair nodded before flying higher up in the air. "Kyruuuu!"
The orbs on her body began glowing as she enveloped herself in a gentle aura. Her long and slim body glowed as the clouds above us made a hole that slowly became bigger in the same pace as the wind and the waves of the ocean calmed down. A little sunlight shone through the open clouds and cast a warm light that heated up my wet body.
"If we can swim on Wanda while Dragonair control the weather, we can make it safely to New Island", Ash told me.
"Pika pikachu!"
I wiped a tear from my eye before laughing at myself for forgetting Dragonair's ability to control the weather. I got too emotional by remembering the traumatizing event that took place this summer. "Thank you, Ash…", I spoke in a raspy voice. "I might be able to do this now…"
"Glad to see you're doing better, Ashley", Gary commented as he held a Poké Ball. "Let's go, guys!"
I nodded before I grabbed Wanda's Poké Ball. "Come out, Wanda!"
The energy released from the Poké Ball dived into the water before Wanda broke through the surface and swam to the dock. "Ghyaaa!" she roared.
"Blastoise, I choose you!" Gary shouted as he called out his Pokémon.
"Blastoooise!" the large shellfish Pokémon growled as it bumped its hands against its own stomach.
"Blastoise, we're going to swim to New Island with the twins and their Pokémon", Gary informed his partner.
"Blast!" Blastoise nodded before it jumped down from the dock and floated so its shell was above the water.
Ash and I climbed onto Wanda while Dragonair kept flying above us with her body still glowing while controlling the weather. "Let's hurry before Dragonair uses up all her energy to keep the weather under control!" Ash called.
"Pika pika!" Pikachu nodded as he sat on top of my brother's shoulders.
"Right!" Gary nodded before he jumped over the edge of the dock and landed on Blastoise's shell in a crouch.
"Let's go, Wanda!" I shouted. "To New Island!"
"Ghyaaah!" Wanda screeched before swimming toward the darker clouds of the storm with Blastoise next to her.
"Kyruuuh!" Dragonair shrieked as she flew above us and used her power to calm down the ocean the deeper we swam into it.
Deep in my heart, I prayed we were going to survive the storm.
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Ashley's party:
Firered the Charizard (male)
Luna the Clefairy (female)
Sunny the Rapidash (female)
Chanchan the Hitmonchan (male)
Volt the Jolteon (male)
Wanda the Gyarados (female)
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Ashley's Pokémon at the Lab:
Kobra the Arbok (male)
Hunter the Aerodactyl (male)
Oliver the Vileplume (male)
Queendra the Seadra (female)
Rina the Nidoqueen (female)
Kabo the Kabutops (male)
Aria the Lapras (female)
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Ash's party:
Charizard (male)
Wartortle (male)
Pikachu (male)
Dragonair (female)
Ivysaur (male)
Beedrill (male)
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Ash's Pokémon at the Lab:
Squirtle x4 (males)
Krabby (male)
Muk (male)
Tauros (male)
Gengar (male)
Pidgeotto (male)
Hitmonlee (male)
Mimey the Mr. Mime (male)
Omastar (male)
Rhyhorn (male)
Poliwrath (male)
Snorlax (male)
Exeggutor (male)
Nidoking (male)