Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or "The Shining." Both these belong to their respective owners. Just thought it would be fun to combine them! Please note: I began to write this before Ash received his first Johto Badge. Don't worry--I saw that episode!
So there is no confusion, all the characters are the same age and appear as they do in the TV Series.
Last time, Ash, Misty, and Brock discovered that the huge mansion they had let themselves into was the Fireside's Warmth Hotel, owned by ex-gym leader Mr. Vrenden. After guaranteed free rooms for the night, Ash challenges Mr. Vrenden to a battle for his first Johto League badge.
Summary: Ash thinks he's battling for a badge. But what he really gets is something he would have never expected.
Midnight! Pokéball Go!
by Spruceton Spook
Part 3:
Ash's Unusual Battle
Mr. Vrenden led Ash, Misty, and Brock down a long, beautiful hallway of the Fireside's Warmth Hotel. Even though it was very dimly lit like most of the hotel, the three kids could see the gorgeous flower patterned wallpaper and many other impressive paintings on the wall. Very antique looking furniture was placed carefully in numerous corners.
Ash only glanced at them briefly. A huge smile stretched across his face from ear to ear. He was going to battle for his first Johto Badge, and he could hardly believe it. He looked up at Mr. Vrenden, who also looked quite pleased, and Ash figured that he must be happy to battle trainers again. Besides them, the hotel had not another soul in it. It confused Ash, but then he thought of the hotel's outside appearance, and wondered if that was what ward off visitors.
"Well, sorry to tell you this," Mr. Vrenden began, "but I really don't have much of a gym here." He smiled and laughed softly. "However, I think this will do for now."
He pushed open two large, beautifully wood-carved doors. Ash, Misty, and Brock found themselves staring into what happened to be the hotel's enormous dining and reception room. It was utterly awe-inspiring. Huge bay windows covered every inch of the back wall, displaying a magnificent view of the mountains in the distance. Three glamorous, colossal chandeliers hung from the high ceiling. All of the tables were conveniently pushed back into one corner of the room, with all the chairs piled neatly upside down on top of them.
Mr. Vrenden looked at the amazed kids. "So, what do ya think?"
"It's great!" Ash replied.
"Gorgeous," added Misty.
"This is the perfect place to battle," Brock commented. "Very spacious."
Mr. Vrenden nodded proudly. "Good, I'm glad." He looked at Ash now, who was positively glowing. "So, ready?"
"I'm always ready!" Ash answered determinedly, grabbing a Pokéball in his hand.
Mr. Vrenden motioned Ash to stand at the opposite end of the dining hall. Ash cracked his knuckles. The smile that he had on his face a moment ago turned into his serious I'm-ready-to-battle-this-is-business look. Pikachu stood at his feet, small electrical sparks flying from his cheeks. The Pokémon was trying to look as ferocious as he could. Misty and Brock grabbed two chairs from off on the tables and sat down.
"Come on Ash, you can do it!" Misty called to him.
Ash gave her the thumbs-up sign. "Don't worry, I'm going home with a badge!"
"You're that sure of yourself?" Mr. Vrenden asked him, grinning slyly.
Ash nodded, returning the sly grin. "I'm experienced enough."
"So then you can handle a one-on-one Pokémon battle?"
Even though one-on-one battles weren't exactly Ash's favorite, he nodded. He always liked at least a two-or-two battle so that he wasn't completely out of it after one Pokémon. But he decided right then that it was okay. Besides, he wasn't planning on battling that night anyway. If he lost, he could think of it as a warm-up for the real battles he was planning.
"One-on-one is fine with me!" Ash said positively. "Choose your Pokémon."
"If you wish," Mr. Vrenden replied. With that, he tossed up a Pokéball into the air. "Go Charmander!"
Instantly, a rather large Charmander emerged from its Pokéball. It stood very still, and looked seriously into the face of its opponent. Ash smiled. This was going to be easy.
"Squirtle! I choose you!" he yelled as he threw Squirtle's Pokéball into the battle. Squirtle came out and immediately matched his opponent's glare.
There was no pause in beginning the battle. Mr. Vrenden jumped in instantaneously.
"Charmander, flame thrower now!" he commanded. Charmander prepared to torpedo his flame of power.
But Ash acted quickly. "Squirtle, withdraw!"
Squirtle's head and legs were sucked in rapidly, causing the flames to hit nothing but the shell. As soon as they were gone, Squirtle came out, looking more determined than ever.
"Squirtle, water gun attack, now!" Ash shouted, and without hesitation Squirtle fired a blast of water at Charmander.
The water hit Charmander right on target, and the poor Pokémon was knocked down. It shook his head in a state of confusion from the major hit.
"Charmander, get up and use ember!" Mr. Vrenden said.
As Charmander wobbled around on his weak water-blasted legs, Ash took immediate advantage.
"Squirtle, don't let Charmander get up!" Ash shouted. "Quick! Use skull bash!"
Squirtle sucked his head back into his shell, and performed the most forceful skull bash attack Ash had ever seen him do. He struck Charmander, and the Pokémon crashed to the floor. It rolled over a few times and then stopped. Eyes closed shut and shuddering, Charmander tried to get up again.
Ash knew it was over. He glanced up at Mr. Vrenden, who looked down at his defeated Pokémon. Surprisingly, he did not have an upset look on his face at all. Misty and Brock noticed this as well. Finally, Charmander ceased struggling to get up. Ash beamed as Mr. Vrenden recalled Charmander.
"Squirtle, you did it!" Ash rejoiced as he lifted Squirtle above his head.
"Squirtle, squirtle!" Squirtle replied happily.
"Pika! Pikachu!" added Pikachu.
Misty and Brock jumped up out of their seats and began a series of whoops and hollers for Ash's triumph. Ash looked at his friends and shot them the victory sign. Misty and Brock nodded, and as Ash recalled Squirtle, they looked at each other strangely.
"That was kinda quick," Misty observed.
Brock nodded. "For a battle for a badge, that was sort of pathetic. I mean, Ash did very well, but I expected more out of Mr. Vrenden."
"Well, pathetic or not, Ash seems satisfied," Misty said.
Ash hopped up and down ecstatically with Pikachu in his arms. "Yes, I got a Johto Badge! All right!"
Mr. Vrenden walked up to Ash, and graciously extended his hand to Ash. A smile swept across his face. "Well done, Ash. You've defeated me."
Ash gleamed. "Yeah....uh, thanks!" he replied shyly, shaking Mr. Vrenden's hand.
Misty and Brock joined them in the center of the dining room. Ash couldn't wait to hold his first Johto Badge in his hands. The feeling was exhilarating. Sweat poured from his brow, both from the battle and his anticipation. He bounced up and down excitedly.
Misty laughed and grabbed Ash. "Settle down, Ash!"
"Well, so I suppose you'd like something for your victory now, wouldn't ya?" Mr. Vrenden asked, crossing his arms almost proudly.
"Yes sir!" Ash replied happily. "I've been waiting a long time for a badge!"
Mr. Vrenden chuckled softly and turned away from the three kids. Ash, Misty, and Brock all threw confused glances at each other.
"Um, Mr. Vrenden?" Ash asked. "I--I did win a badge, didn't I?"
Mr. Vrenden returned his attention back to Ash. "You most certainly did, my boy. You're standing in it right now."
Ash looked baffled at him. "What?!" he asked, matched instantly by Misty and Brock's looks of bewilderment.
Mr. Vrenden shot his arms up into the air. "Congratulations, Ash. The Fireside's Warmth Hotel is now yours!"
Ash's eyes flew wide open. His knees started to shake. Pikachu uttered a 'pika' out of shock. Ash looked at his friends, whose mouths had nearly dropped to the floor.
"Excuse me?" Ash asked, his voice quivering. "Wha--what did you just say?"
"You just won yourself a hotel," Mr. Vrenden said. "I don't want to own it anymore. I just don't have the energy. So the other day I promised myself that I would give it to the first Pokémon trainer who defeated me."
"But you should have told me that before the battle, Mr. Vrenden!" Ash yelled, sweatdropping.
But before Mr. Vrenden replied, he had already run to get his coat on. Ash, Misty, and Brock followed after him. At the lobby of the hotel, Mr. Vrenden handed Ash an important looking document.
"I'll leave you here to sign this," he told him. "When you do, the hotel is yours."
"But Mr. Vrenden--" Ash began.
Mr. Vrenden held his hand out. "If you excuse me, I'm on my way to the Orange Islands. Adios."
As the three shocked and confused kids stood gaping, Mr. Vrenden pulled three large suitcases out from behind the front counter. He then looked into the eyes of Ash's, filled with fear and surprise, and nodded. "Good luck."
Mr. Vrenden then left the hotel. Ash, Misty, and Brock watched him leave without saying a word, and even after the door was slammed behind him, they listened to his car speed away speechlessly. Misty and Brock exchanged shocked looks while all Ash could do was look at the paper in his hands. Suddenly, as though he realized the paper was carrying an infectious disease, he dropped it and let it fall slowly to the floor.
"What just happened?" the poor boy asked, looking for comfort in his friends' eyes.
Misty and Brock shrugged.
"Why--why didn't he just give me a badge like I wanted?" Ash cried, panic and anger rising gradually in his voice. "All I wanted was a badge! He told me he was goin' to give me a badge!"
"Pika pi," Pikachu said, trying to calm Ash down. He tugged lightly on his pants.
"Ash, calm down!" said Brock, grabbing Ash's shoulders. "It's okay!"
Ash settled down and his eyes swept over to Misty's. A small shudder ran down his spine when he saw the face the Misty was giving him. He had seen it sometimes on her, it was the face of "what did you think you were doing?". Feeling funny from the look, he lowered his eyes to the ground.
"I'm sorry, guys," he said softly, particularly towards Misty. "I--I didn't expect this."
"It's okay, Ash," Brock assured him. "Look, it's nothing to worry about tonight. We can deal better with this I think if we get a good night's sleep." He turned to Misty.
"Right?" he asked her, hoping for her support.
"Yeah," she muttered. She shuffled her foot along the carpet. She didn't like the way Mr. Vrenden was acting about the battle from the beginning. She saw it in his eyes, and now she was sorry that she hadn't said anything. Tried to stop Ash. Convince him somehow to wait till the morning. But she could never resist the spark in his eyes when he was about to battle, especially for a badge. She liked to see him excited and happy.
Feeling as though now this could all be rested on her shoulders, she took a deep, comforting breath. At least Ash was scared about this sudden turn of events. She realized that she would have killed him if he was excited about owning the hotel, knocking some sense into him. Now that she didn't have to do that fortunately, she gently picked the deed off the floor. She scrutinized it over and over again. Sure enough, it was no doubt the hotel's ownership paper.
"Let's not get this lost for now," she said, placing it behind the front counter. "Whether you sign it or not."
Ash didn't say anything. He wished now that he hadn't won the battle.
"Come on, let's go to bed," Brock suggested.
"Yeah, but where?" Misty asked.
Brock smiled. "We're in a hotel! What do mean 'where'?"
Ash had walked around to the back of the front counter in the meantime. He glanced down at the deed, exactly where Misty had put it minutes ago. Shifting his eyes away from it, he noticed a rather large floor plan laminated and taped down on the counter. Interested, he began to scan over it. He didn't ever look at the other floors, but ran his finger over the rooms of the ground floor. Besides the dining room, there was another rather large room, which were labeled 'the caretaker's quarters'. Unemotionally, he turned back to Misty and Brock.
"Hey guys, let's check out the caretaker's quarters," Ash said, walking down the main hallway.
"Yeah, but where are they?" Misty called out after him.
"I don't know, I'll find them," Ash answered, walking directly of course toward the dining room. He didn't know why he just didn't tell her that he had found the floor plan. Right now, he didn't feel like doing much of anything. "Trust me, they're somewhere."
In no time, they did find the quarters, Ash leading the way almost precisely. Nothing of the battle emerged from any of the kids' lips, and they figured it was better that way. As the frigid winds blasted the windows, they were just relieved that for a change they weren't out in the freezing cold.
There was on large bedroom, along with a small one. Ash offered the large on to Misty. Misty refused however.
"I'm not the owner," she said with a sly grin on her face. "You get the big one."
"Hey, I'm not the owner yet, either!" Ash exclaimed. But when he looked into the bedroom and saw Pikachu asleep already on the bed, it seemed to end the argument. Brock seemed quite suitable on the couch, especially when there was only one bed left.
Nothing much happened afterwards, they were all too tired to worry about anything. Misty fell asleep as soon as she hit the pillow, Togepi tucked into her arms. Brock relished in one of things he missed while traveling: TV. And Ash lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, recalling his evening. It had begun so normal. Without warning at some time, he eyes shut and he drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
TO BE CONTINUED. . .