Uncovering the Past
Broken
Diamond
By the Davids
(DK and Darth David)
Chapter Four: Uncovering
the Past
Ash stirred, blinked twice,
and regained his senses. He found himself reclining comfortably
in a velvet chair and quickly bolted to his feet. His eyes darted
back and forth and studied his surroundings. He was in a dark,
enclosed room, the only light coming from the half-closed blinds
covering a small window. His first instinct was to reach for his
Poké Balls.
They were gone. For all he
knew, his Pokémon could be dead.
Suddenly he felt
claustrophobic, like the walls were closing in on him, and he
felt strangely alone and imprisoned in this place. He was a
single man taking on an entire criminal organization. He was far
from home and he had no allies, let alone Pokémon, to pull him
out of this pothole. Instinct surged up from within him, and he
knew he had to somehow get out of this prison cell. He
wasn't thinking straight and he knew it, but he'd
figure how to get Misty and his Pokémon back later. For now his
top priority was getting out of here. He made a mad dash for the
window.
SMASH.
He felt no impact, but by the
steady trickle of blood from his nose and mouth he knew he'd
collided with something similar to a brick wall. He struggled to
his feet, dazed, and looked about him for any clues to the
mysterious barrier. His eyes locked onto a pair of glowing white
eyes. As he squinted harder, the light from the eyes glinted off
something curved, metal. A spoon. His eyes scanned to the left.
Another silver crescent.
Alakazam.
A psychic barrier to prevent
him from escaping. But why? Why was he held here? There were too
many why?s screaming out in his mind, and one of the
loudest was, Where is Pikachu? Surely, his little yellow
buddy had somehow survived. Filled with new hope, he stood,
wiping his nose with the back of his hand and straightening his
clothes like a military tunic.
"As the Pokémon Master,
I order you to tell me the location of this house." Ash
tried to keep his voice as firm and booming as possible, but what
came out was a high-pitched collection of dry squeaks and
gibberish.
The glowing eyes reverted to
normal, withdrawing into the darkness.
No answer.
Ash knew his voice was hoarse.
Perhaps the Pokémon had not heard correctly. He cleared his
throat rather loudly, and tried again. "Tell me the location
of this place."
Silence.
Ash could no longer keep his
emotions restrained. The question exploded from his mouth like a
shell from a tank. "WHERE THE HELL AM I?!? TELL ME OR
DIE!" Ash felt a bit better, but his breath was pronounced
in short, ragged gasps; he was greatly fatigued. Suddenly, a
voice, distinctand in his head. Had the Alakazam chuckled?
[I take no orders from anyone
other than my trainer,] the psychic voice replied finally.
Ash's face showed little
sign of emotion, but the Alakazam saw right through his eyes.
"And who is your trainer?"
The Alakazam's mouth
twisted up in what may have been a smug smirk. [The Pokémon
Master.]
Ash chuckled.
"Impossible. I'm the current Pokémon Master. I
received my title less than two weeks ago."
The Alakazam shrugged
indifferently. [Yes. But Masters never lose their titles, once
they win them.]
A light clicked on in
Ash's head. It wasn't charged to its full brightness,
but it began to dawn on Ash what the Pokémon meant. He
didn't become the Pokémon Master by being an idiot, or Gary
would have been crowned by default. "A former Pokémon
Master?"
[A former Pokémon Master is
still a Pokémon Master.]
"Well, that's great.
But just tell me where I am, and how I got here." Ash folded
his arms across his chest and glared hard at the psychic
Pokémon. "You have no reason not to answer me, I don't
have my Pokémon and have no way of defending myself, let alone
harm you. What are you afraid of?"
The Alakazam regarded him
silently, then consented. [Fair enough. You are in the house of
Professor Chris Hanz, Pokémon researcher, in the city of
Cerulean, under house arrest.]
"House arrest?" Ash
asked aloud. Then the memories hit him like a tidal wave; Team
Rocket assaulting the city, tracking Misty here, fighting against
the leader of Team Rocket. He shook his head painfully.
"I'm assuming it was you who brought me here."
[An understandable
assumption.]
"If this is true, and you
rescued me, why are you keeping me in here?"
[For the sole reason of your
importance to my trainer. If not for that, I would not have saved
you.]
Ash's curiosity had been
sparked. "Why am I important to him? ChrisHanz was it?
I've never heard the name in my life."
[You will soon find out just
how important you are,] the Alakazam replied smugly in an
irritatingly calm voice.
~~~~
David Ketchum stared at the
doorknob leading to the room in which his only son was held for
what seemed like an eternity, contemplating whether he should
reveal his true identity or simply let him go. No, he
couldn't, this was his own damned son, for crying out loud!
Whether he wanted a son or not, this was partly his creation, his
effort, and, he couldn't deny, his hopes and dreams embodied
in the form of a young boy. Cursing himself for his
"obnoxious creation", as he called him, the big man
laid his hand on the knob, and turned. Strangely, this simple
motion of the wrist and fingers against a circular brass object
would change his life forever.
Just like it had changed his
life before
he opened a door long
closed.
As the darkness hit his eyes
he squinted closely at the shadowed figure leaning against the
wall, conversing with his Alakazam. When his eyes focused, he
knew he was staring straight at an almost exact copy of himself
twenty-five years ago. There was no doubt. This was his son.
When his son noticed him, he
straightened and looked straight into his eyes. Those piercing
eyes, David thought. More than ten years ago he'd stared
into those same eyes, tickled him, fed him, changed his diapers,
thrown him into the air, laughed and played with him
Unable to face his past, David
looked away, silently reprimanding himself. Growing up
hadn't changed a thing, he was still the same scared,
insecure David underneath the tough exterior. Finally, breaking
the silence, he spoke. "Ash."
Ash glared hard at the
"Chris Hanz" character. At first he was going to ask
how the stranger knew his name, but then he realized the folly of
the question; after all, he was the Pokémon Master. He
changed things up a bit, then inquired, "Who are you? And
what do you want with me?" There. The question was
straightforward enough.
"My name is Chris
Hanz," David said in reflex as he sat down beside Ash and
beckoned him to the floor also. Ash was reluctant to join him at
first, but then he remembered that this man, mysterious as he
was, had saved his life. He owed him that and much more.
The man sighed. "No,
that's merely an alias." Before Ash could reply, he
continued on in his deep, gravelly voice. "You're the
Pokémon Master now, Ash."
Don't you think I know
that? Ash wondered.
"Everyone knows you by
face and reputation. They're going to see things in you they
wouldn't look for in ordinary people. And you're going
to see different things in others, too. You're not going to
like or understand them at all," the man said slowly and
quietly. He subconsciously rubbed his hands together and caught
himself in the motion. A sure sign of his own guilt, he
couldn't conceal it even from himself anymore. He decided
that it wouldn't be fair to conceal it from Ash as well, and
grimly he pressed forward.
"Ash"
"What?" Ash demanded
angrily. What does this guy want from me, anyway? So he saved
me. Now he's going to keep me in his house and lecture me?
David frowned at the
boy's impatience; it certainly didn't make things any
easier. The kid acted as though he couldn't tolerate
listening to anyone speak. But David held his tongue. He
recognized the same thing in himself once, and knew how to deal
with such things.
"There's only one
way you'll understand." He gestured with his hand, and
as if it were a signal, Alakazam disappeared and shortly
reappeared, dropping a safe Pikachu into his arms. Ash hugged the
mouse Pokémon tightly to his chest. "Pikachu! You're
alright!"
"Pikaaaa!" Pikachu
squealed in agreement, clutching onto Ash for dear life.
Ash watched Chris rise to his
feet. "Battle me."
Ash was confused. What was
this guy trying to pull? First he'd saved his life, then
imprisoned him. Now he was trying to humiliate him? Take his
title away?
"What?" The
confusion in his voice was evident.
"I said, battle me. Trust
me."
Ash had learned quickly in the
last twenty-four hours not to trust anybody, but Ash figured the
man was being sincere, so he didn't hesitate to send Pikachu
out. "I choose Pikachu."
"Very well. I choose
Alakazam." The psychic Pokémon's eyes gleamed in the
darkness as it eyed the Pikachu with obvious distaste, then
raised its spoons threateningly. "Ready when you are."
Ash smirked. "I was born
ready," he said as he stretched out an arm towards Alakazam.
"Pikachu, Thunder Wave!"
"Alakazam,
Substitute," the man countered.
Ash cringed. Alakazam was
faster than Pikachu, he knew. He also knew that Substitute would
bounce the Thunder Wave perfectly. On top of that, he would have
to destroy the substitute before he could even so much as touch
Alakazam. Ash had underestimated him. Who was this trainer that
could anticipate his every move so perfectly? Perhaps the
Alakazam was right. This was a former Pokémon Master.
"Now, Alakazam, a Thunder
Wave of your own!" the man commanded.
"Pikachu,
Thun" Ash was speechless. Pikachu was
paralyzed from the Thunder Wave. Not only that, but Ash still had
to finish the Substitute before taking a bite out of Alakazam.
Chris Hanz had turned his own strategy on its head. He wished he
could start the battle over again, with hindsight. This battle
was already going the wrong way, no sense in being cautious now.
"Pikachu, Light
Screen!" Ash yelled. The barrier would protect against
Alakazam's psychic power. Hopefully, Pikachu would survive
its next attack.
A bad mistake.
"Seismic Toss!" came
the powerful voice. Alakazam's attack was unaffected by the
Light Screen. Ash's strategy had been anticipated. Again. He
wouldn't make Pikachu pay the penance for his lack of
foresight, chance or no chance. Ash knelt down beside his fallen
friend and gently applied a Full Restore, reviving it quickly. He
stood up and turned to the man, who returned his Alakazam into a
Poké Ball and tucked it into his jacket. "Okay, you win. I
know that you're powerful, perhaps even as powerful as me.
You told me there was only one way I'd understand. Now what
exactly am I supposed to understand?"
The man wasn't hesitant
in his answer. "That none of us really know what to expect.
That none of us are perfect. That sometimes we make mistakes, big
and small." He plopped down on the ground once again. This
time Ash hurried down with him, as an eager pupil to his teacher.
"My name is David
Ketchum," the man said after a long pause. He watched Ash
out of the corner of his eye, awaiting a reaction. He got it
immediately.
Ash shot up on his feet as
though he'd been electrocuted. He opened his mouth but no
words came out.
"I am your father,"
David finished.
Well, this is certainly
like a scene out of Star Wars, Ash mused. But how could this
be? Was this really his father? It seemed almost impossible.
Although they did seem to resemble each other quite a bit
"That's"
The elder Ketchum was silent
for a minute. "Hard to understand?"
Ash shook his head violently.
"Impossible to understand."
The man that was supposedly
his father looked away. "It's true. I know it the
moment I saw you lying on the ground." That reminded Ash of
another defeat, at the hands of Jup Zing, when he should have
lost his life.
"Yousaved me."
"Yes, I—" He
reminded Ash of the boy he was before the man he'd become.
"You abandoned me!"
Ash blurted, bounding towards the door. To his disappointment he
found it locked, and struggled in vain against the rusty doorknob
before slumping to the floor in hopelessness. He glanced at David
Ketchum, who was still looking at the ground. Then his head
raised, and he spoke.
"Running away won't
help anything. And I wouldn't rush out if I were you. Your
friend Jup has been scouring Cerulean for you. You wouldn't
last two minutes. Also, you remember that I still have the rest
of your Pokémon. If you want them back, I suggest you sit down
and quit acting like a frightened two-year-old."
Ash was furious. Who was this
man to tell him what to do, only mere seconds after he found out
that he was his father? He hadn't even given him time for
the shocking news to sink in. Ash opened his mouth to answer when
a deep rumble filled the room with the sound of crumbling stone.
And a familiar voiceof all consuming granite.
"CITIZENS OF CERULEAN,
THIS IS JUP ZING OF TEAM ROCKET! WHAT YOU HAVE JUST HEARD WAS THE
DESTRUCTION OF YOUR POKéMON CENTER! EVERY HALF HOUR I WILL
DESTROY ONE OF YOUR BUILDINGS AND KILL TEN OF YOUR NUMBER UNTIL
THE TWO INDIVIDUALS KNOWN AS THE POKéMON MASTERS SURRENDER
THEMSELVES TO ME! I WILL LEVEL THIS ENTIRE CITY BUILDING BY
BUILDING, PERSON BY PERSON, SCREAM BY SCREAM UNTIL I HAVE THOSE
TWO MEN! IF YOU FEAR FOR YOUR OWN LIFE OR THE SAFETY OF YOUR
FRIENDS AND FAMILY, YOU WILL BE WISE TO FIND THESE TWO REBELS AND
BRING THEM TO ME!"
"He means me," Ash
and David said together. As soon as the words escaped their lips,
they stared hard at each other. Neither spoke for a long time.
Finally David broke his gaze,
unlocking the door and gathering a few Poké Balls stashed inside
a desk drawer. "I'm going. Innocent lives don't
need to be taken for two people. Coming?"
Ash sneered as he motioned
Pikachu to climb atop his shoulder. "What makes you think
you have a chance against these terrorists?"
"What makes you?"
"I asked first," Ash
said, bouncing the question back.
David was silent for a moment
as he stared at his son, his creation, the thing his life had
once revolved around. Then, he shrugged.
"I am the Pokémon
Master."