Chapter7
"Pikachu! Look!" exclaimed a startled voice of a young pokemon master. Pikachu surveyed the scene of the city before him. Of all the cities that they had ever been to this was the biggest. It went on for miles! The only thing that Ash and Pikachu could see was tall buildings and a lot of people.
"Kolbind city. The city of dreams. So large it is home to three pokemon centers and two gyms which are constantly in competition." Sang out a computerized voice. Ash had pulled out Dexter.
"Pika!" Ash turned his head in surprise.
"Pikachu. I couldn't understand you right now!" Ash's pokemon looked up at him startled.
"Pika?" Ash was puzzled until he tried to move a hair away from his face. It wasn't yellow anymore!
"Pikachu I figured it out! I can only understand you when my hair turns yellow. Boy, THAT'S a relief."
"What? That your hair can turn yellow on a moments notice?" Ash sighed. His hair was yellow again.
"No, that I can't understand you all the time. We're going to have to do something about my hair though, before we do anything else." Pikachu jumped up onto Ash's head. It was turning from blonde to black and back again.
"Maybe we should just dye your hair blonde? Pika chu pika pi pikachu anyway." Ash shook his head.
"Could you repeat what you said last Pikachu? I didn't catch that." Pikachu gave a grin and snickered.
"I said it would look better that way anyway. Yellow is a very fashionable color." Ash laughed a bit and argued.
"You're just saying that because you are yellow."
"No, I'm saying that because of your mother." Pikachu retorted. Ash went silent. Pikachu was right of course but he didn't want to think of that right now.
"I wonder why my hair is going blonde anyway? Is it a side effect of what team rocket did? Or am I going blind?" Pikachu gasped in surprise. Pikachu remembered that Ash still didn't know what was going on!
"Umm.. Ash? We need to talk."
In the City
"I can't believe it!" growled Jessie. "We've been wandering around all night and no sign of the twerp."
"Figures. The twerps show up when we least expect it and when they're not wanted. When you go to look for them, they disappear without a trace." Said James.
"Quit flapping your gums and get back to work." Snapped Meowth. "No trainer can resist this tournament. The prize is the king at the next festival and a mystery pokemon."
"The twerp won't be able to resist." Snickered Jessie. Team rocket were in vender outfits and were serving the trainers as they went by into the stadium.
"This plan is foolproof! We first find him then we bust up the tournament to get Mew." Meowth was handling the main stand.
Shut up! Here comes a customer." Meowth was serving a very familiar trainer.
"What do you want girls? It's my treat." Gary called back to his fan club.
"Hey, Isn't that the snob?" whispered James to Jessie. "You know, the one that gives Ash such a hard time?"
"You know, I think for once you're onto something." Smiled Jessie. "I'm almost tempted to blow our cover to steal his pokemon." She snickered.
"Thank you come again." Said Meowth. Meanwhile, in Gary's mind were some upset thoughts.
'I can't believe Ash is missing. My rival finally surpassed me and then he goes missing.' Gary put on his mask and rejoined his fans.
"Here you are girls!" Said Gary as he passed out the drinks.
"Gary! Gary! He's the coolest
He'll put the others to the test!
Yeah Gary!" Gary had a bit of a sweatdrop form on the back of his head.
'I wonder if Ash is all right. Anything could happen to him now that he has Mew.'
The forest
Pikachu was explaining what the Ultimate Trainer was. Why Ash had Yellow hair, why the pokeball pattern and why he could understand Pikachu. Ash was sitting on a log trying to listen to Pikachu's story. It was overwhelming! Ash couldn't believe what he was hearing. Ultimate Trainer? What it really meant was slavery in Ash's mind. Command all pokemon? Did they have a choice in it? Probably not.
"I've heard enough! Pikachu, is there anyway I can become normal again?" Pikachu was shocked at his friend's outburst.
"Not that I know of." Sighed Pikachu. "Why? You finally have achieved your dream. You're the worlds greatest pokemon master." Ash looked Pikachu in the eye.
"I had a hard enough time being the chosen one in the orange islands. Now I'm the Ultimate Trainer? What's next? Ruler of the universe? No thanks! I wanted to be a pokemon master but, not the Ultimate Trainer!" Ash growled and fell off the log backwards.
"Ash!"
"I'm fine." Ash said in a quiet voice. His back was on soft grass, his arms were behind his head and Ash stared up at the sky. "Pikachu come here for a moment."
"You're not Ok are you?" Pikachu had jumped on the log and was looking into Ash's eyes. Ash had tears coming down his face.
"I never wanted this to happen." Ash's voice cracked. "Pikachu? Promise me you won't leave me. I can't stand losing you too over this."
"I'll never leave you Ash." Pikachu had crept from his perch and laid his head on Ash's chest.
"Thanks Pikachu." That was all they said for a moment. Ash stared at the sky while clouds passed and the trees made shadows on the trainer and pokemon. Then a pokemon popped out of its pokeball.
"Ash? We should go now." Mew stared Ash in his eyes. The pokeball had opened over Ash's face and Mew was hovering in Ash's personal space. Before Mew could move, Ash smiled and asked something that had been bothering him lately.
"Why did you decide to come to me?"
"Pardon?"
"Why did you decide to be one of my pokemon? Is it just because I'm the Ultimate Trainer? Or did you become my pokemon because you liked me?" Insisted Ash. Mew hovered blankly over Ash.
"What do you mean?" Ash sighed and sat up.
"Did you become one of my pokemon of your own free will or did something force you to be my pokemon?" Mew hovered to the side to let Ash sit up.
"Guess you'll never know 'cause, I'm not telling you." Ash gave out a groan.
"What are we going to do with you? I can't just bring you into town like that. We'll be mobbed for sure and I sure can't battle you."
"That's where my physic power comes in. What kind of pokemon have you always wanted? Has to be around my size though." Ash thought for a moment.
"I always wanted a dragon pokemon but I guess it's your choice." Ash gasped as Mew began to glow. There was a brilliant flash of light as Mew changed. It wasn't like Ash's transformation inside of team rocket but more like a changing of an outward shell. The shell began to change and warp itself into something that looked familiar to Ash. A nearby trainer with a Pikachu at his side saw the light and began to run.
"How's this?" Asked the now changed Mew to Abra. Ash took a look at the pokemon before him.
"Not bad! By the way, what attacks do you know? I can't battle a pokemon if I don't know its attacks."
"Physic, Recover, Triattack and Hyperbeam in this form." Ash gave the Abra a once over and was impressed. Ash lifted an eyebrow.
"In this form? You have more than one?" Before Abra/Mew could answer, a trainer crashed through the bushed.
"Richie?" Ash gasped in disbelief. Before him was another friend he had met on his pokemon adventure.
"Ash! Are you Ok? I saw a bright flash of light and-Hey! Is that Abra yours?" Richie was still Richie; just as wild about pokemon as Ash was. Ash gave Richie the biggest smile he could muster and replied.
"Sure is! I just caught it a little while ago. How are you Richie?" Ash held out his hand and Richie shook it.
"Just fine! Was your Abra responsible for that light we saw a little bit earlier? Sparky and I came to check it out."
"Ahh, he he, Yeah. That was Abra here." Ash said as he put one arm behind his neck and sweatdropped. Richie was suspicious of Ash's behaviour because he was acting like he was hiding something.
"So what were you two-"
"Pika!" Pikachu interrupted.
"Sorry! Three doing here? Training?" That's when Richie noticed something. "Ash, where is Misty and Brock? Don't they travel with you wherever you go?" When Richie saw Ash's face fall, he knew he had hit a sore spot.
"I-I don't want to talk about that right now. What brings you to these parts? Going out for the pokemon league here?" Richie laughed and gestured to Sparky on his shoulder.
"Nope, Sparky here has to go to a specialist in Kolbind." Ash looked at the Pikachu on his shoulder. The only thing out of the normal was the tuff of hair that resembled Richie's hair and the Pikachu's red cheeks were more red than normal.
"Something wrong with its cheeks? They look a little swollen." Richie looked a little startled at Ash's inquiry but, then remembered that Ash had a Pikachu of his own.
"Yeah. For some reason Sparky here is having a hard time with his electricity sacks. The best thing that Sparky can come out with is a thundershock attack." Pikachu leapt into Ash's arms and then onto Ash's hat to speak with Sparky.
Translation
"So, what happened to you? You look like you're holding tennis balls in your mouth." Asked Pikachu to Sparky.
"I overdid an attack and I can't seem to get any electricity to come back into my glands. Does it really look that bad?"
"It could be worse. You could look like you're holding basketballs in your mouth instead." Pikachu and Sparky laughed. Sparky suddenly stopped laughing and held it's cheeks.
"Ohhh! Don't make me laugh. It hurts to laugh." Pikachu made a face.
"It never hurts too much to laugh." Sparky mimicked Pikachu's face and began to laugh again. Ash and Richie both laughed about the way their pokemon were acting.
"You may be right about that. I feel better already." Pikachu smiled and began to get caught up in some gossip. Totally ignoring their trainers, Pikachu began to tell the story of Ash being the Ultimate Trainer. While Pikachu was telling Sparky about the situation, Ash and Richie were setting up camp.
"So here we are. Mew is actually Abra and Ash is on the run from his closest friends and team rocket.
"You're kidding! Ash is the Ultimate Trainer?! Does he have the mark? This could just be a team rocket trick."
"The mark?" Pikachu said dumbly and then remembered the hair problem. "You must mean his hair. Yes, it changes from black to blonde on a moments notice. It's really funny because of the way he acts; you would think someone had tried to kiss him or something." That made both pokemon laugh.
"He panics that much?" Laughed Sparky.
"Yeah. It's really funny to watch." Just then the two boys came back with an armload of firewood each and Abra. Sparky remembered what Pikachu said about Abra being Mew and got nervous fast.
"So how do you say hello to such a rare pokemon?" whispered Sparky. Pikachu smiled and jumped onto Ash's hat.
"Easily, just walk up and say hello." What Pikachu failed to recognize was that his sudden perch on the trainer's head made Ash lose his balance.
"Pikachu! I have an armload of firewood I would like to put down before I drop it on my foot." Pikachu jumped off and watched as Ash began to drop the firewood. Before the load could topple on Ash's foot like he predicted; an aura of purple light helped him regain his balance. "Thanks Abra."
"You're welcome Ash." Said Abra telepathically.
"Hi, I'm Sparky." Said Sparky nervously as he held out a paw to Abra. Abra took Sparky's paw and shook it. "Is it true that you're really a Mew in disguise?" Abra gave a psychic laugh and nodded.
"Yes I am Mew. Pikachu told you everything then?" Sparky nodded. "Good! Then tonight I would like you to help me with something concerning Ash. Sparky shifted uncomfortably on his seat on the ground.
"What kind of help would a Mew need? I'm sure you can handle it." Mew laughed.
"You'll see what type of help I'll need tonight and why I need your help."
Translation off
"You ready to tell me why Misty, Brock and you split?" Asked Richie. It was something that had been bothering Richie all day. They had agreed to go into town together for the tournament Richie had heard about and go for the gyms later on. Ash had not been his usual bright and cheery self Richie noticed and it was killing him not to know what was going on. They were eating dinner around the fire and their pokemon were eating too.
"It wasn't Brock or Misty. I-I sort of left." Ash started quietly.
"Waaa?" Richie almost fell off the log he was sitting at. "YOU left THEM? Why?"
"I'm telling you this because you're a fellow pokemon trainer and you can understand my feelings. It wasn't their fault, more like my mothers." Richie looked at Ash as if he was from another planet.
"What would your mother have to do in this?" Ash closed his eyes and took a deep breath to gather his courage.
"She practically forbid me to train pokemon anymore and wanted me to go home." Ash went silent for a moment before continuing. "I know that if I left with Mist and Brock, eventually they would drag me home. I can't have that." Ash felt a hand on his shoulder. When he looked up Richie was there with a sympathetic smile.
"I understand Ash. I don't know if I could just walk away from friends like that though. You should call them in town to let them know that you're all right. That way they can have peace of mind." Ash hadn't thought of calling them from afar. Richie gave a winning smile to Ash and held up a thumb.
"Why don't we travel together for a while? Just until you're back on your feet. That sound OK?" Ash wiped away a tear that was threatening to fall.
"That sounds great to me." Pikachu, Sparky and Abra gave an applause in the background.
"I guess it's settled then." Smiled Richie. The pokemon gave a yell of approval and Pikachu climbed onto Ash's back onto his shoulder. Ash, for the first time in the last two days, felt happy.
"Richie?"
"Yeah Ash?"
"After I phone everyone, can you umm.. errr.. oh heck! How are you at dyeing hair?"
The next day at the hospital.
Ring! Ring! Ring! A phone was demanding that someone pick it up. A person at reception picked up the phone. The person that appeared on the phone was a young boy with black hair, a black shirt, a white and blue over jacket and was sporting an official pokemon league hat.
"Hello? Is Delilah Ketchum there?" asked the boy to the receptionist.
"May I ask who is calling?" asked the blue haired, fingernail painting nurse joy look-alike.
"Tell her that it's her boy calling."
"One minute." The receptionist aired the message over the P.A. system. "Please hold." The receptionist had put Ash on hold on line three. Ash hated to be put on hold. One minute later, the receptionist was surprised to see a large group of people running towards her station.
"There's a call for Delilah Ketchum?" asked the Officer Jenny in charge of the group.
"Y-yes. There is a call for her. What of it? I know your name isn't Delilah."
"I must speak to that boy right away! Grant! Becker! Get your tracers on this phone now!"
"I'm here!" panted a middle-aged woman with brown hair and brown eyes. "There's a phone call for me?" She was quickly joined by a black haired boy and an orange haired girl. The receptionist recognized the boy as Brock because he had tried to hit on her during her coffee breaks in the cafeteria.
"Are you Delilah Ketchum." The woman nodded. "Line three please." The woman snatched the phone like a person that was drowning snatching a life preserver.
"Ash is that you?" The screen popped on to show the boy that had called earlier.
"Hi mom, just calling to tell you that I'm alright." The woman gasped in relief.
"Oh Ash. I thought team rocket had caught you again. Where are you?"
"Don't tell her that!" Interrupted Officer Jenny. "The line could be tapped by team rocket."
"Don't worry mom. I'll be alright." Insisted Ash to his mother. "I'll make you proud mom. Goodbye!" The line went dead.
"Ash! Ash! Ohhh…" Tears were streaming down the mothers face. "Ash. Be safe my baby."
"That didn't take long." Commented Richie as Ash left the phone booth.
"I wasn't in a talkative mood. You got the hair dye?" Richie held up a bag that held two types of hair dye but, they were the same colour; yellow.
"I don't know why you want to dye your hair blonde but, it won't be easy because your hair's dark to begin with." Ash groaned.
"Well, it could be worse. I could have shaved my head." Richie gave a smirk.
"You could still have to."
"Waaaa!" Ash yelled screamed in panic. He clutched his hat closer to his hair.
"Just kidding!" Richie added quickly. "We should go do this at a pokemon center." Ash calmed down enough that he nodded in agreement.
"Just remember that I AM NOT SHAVING MY HEAD!" growled Ash. Richie smacked his back.
"You may want to when I'm through with you." That made Ash turn three shades of blue. "Just kidding."
"You had better be!" Pikachu got a smile and gave a Sparky a wink.
"Pikachu- Pika?" Asked Pikachu. Sparky gave an evil smile and put his paws on his head.
"Pikaaaaaaaa!" The Pikachu's burst out laughing and got Ash even more upset.
"I DON'T want to know what our pokemon are talking about." Said Ash. Then both trainers and pokemon began to laugh. The fifth of the group felt a little out of place because it hadn't been paying attention.
"Abra? Abra-ab-ra?" The laughter began anew.
Later at the second Kolbind Pokemon center.
"It doesn't -look- too bad Ash." Snickered Richie. Ash rolled his eyes at his friends comment.
"Then why are you trying not to laugh?" Richie had just unwrapped the towel around Ash's head and got a glimpse of the new Ash. Ash had been a blonde for about three hours the day before and didn't like the idea of being a permanent blonde.
"Because-hmmph-it-oh no! Ha ahahahahahaha! Sorry! I couldn't -humph- keep it in! You look so funny! Seriously though. I would have never known you weren't a real blonde if I didn't know beforehand what you looked like."
"Thanks for the support." Ash sighed as he looked into his reflection. He looked totally different with the blonde hair and new cloths he was wearing. Ash wouldn't dump the Official Pokemon league hat in a trash bin but couldn't wear it. His old cloths and hat were in his new pack with Pokegear as they called it. The Pokegear was in an enormous backpack that could hold items, pokeballs, it even had room for tms. Ash bought the Pokegear so he could listen in to the radio broadcasts; more importantly the police radios. Sadly, it cost a lot of money to buy.
"Don't worry, I'm sure the look will grow on you." Ash looked down at the camouflage pants and white shirt he wore. The pants came with a matching jacket but Ash still felt like he was still missing something important.
"I need a new hat." Richie smiled and brushed Sparky with a special Pokebrush.
"We can look for one after we get Sparky to Doc Pine in the D district of town." Ash got up and put on his new backpack.
"Pikachu. We're leaving. Pikachu?" Ash looked around for his pokemon to find the Pikachu and Abra in the lobby in a corner.
"Pikachu pika-chu-pi?" asked Pikachu to Abra/Mew.
"Abra, ab-ra-ra." Was her answer.
"There you are. Come on, we're leaving with Richie." The two pokemon took one look at Ash and turned around quickly. When Ash came closer he heard laughter. "Ok, I know! I look funny. Let's get out of here before they leave us."
"PI!" Pikachu and Abra/Mew got the point and assumed a perch on either side of Ash's shoulders.
"Lets go!" Ash said happily as he bounded out the door to follow Richie.
Section D of town
"I don't think I like this part of town." Ash whispered to Richie. The homes were rundown, there were no lawns or grass. To make matters worse, there were pokemon trainers everywhere and they all looked like thugs.
"You should fit in perfectly here. You look like one of them." Ash had steam blowing out of his ears.
"What do you mean by that?!!!" growled Ash.
"Open your eyes. What are they wearing?" Ash stopped for a moment and surveyed the people on both sides of the street and realized that Richie was right. All the people who looked threatening where wearing something similar to him; pokemon trainer or not, they all had something that was camouflage on.
"Did you know about this beforehand?" Growled Ash. Richie shook his head.
"No, but I'm glad that you decided on looking tough instead of prissy. Else you and I would be lunch meat." Whispered Richie. Both Pikachu's were nervous while Abra/Mew was calm.
"Why are you so calm?" demanded Pikachu. Ash sighed inwardly; he could understand Pikachu again.
'Good thing we dyed my hair first.' Ash though.
"We could take care of everyone here." Stated Abra/Mew. Pikachu fell anime wise and groaned.
"It's not the pokemon I'm worried about. It's the trainers!" growled Pikachu. Then Sparky interrupted the two of them.
"We don't have to be here you know." Ash started to ignore the people around him and listened in on the pokemon conversation.
"It would probably settle Richie's nerves if you saw this lady anyway." Said Pikachu. Besides, we don't know if what Mew did worked."
'What Mew did?' Ash thought. 'What did they do last night?' Ash wondered as Richie squeaked in alarm.
"Ash! We got trouble." Ash focused his attention on the sidewalk before him; three tough looking trainers with one pokeball in hand were blocking them.
"Where do you think you're going punks?" Growled the leader of the tough trio. Richie told Ash later that he thought it took guts do to what he did later but, the truth was Ash panicked and grabbed Snorlax's pokeball. "Oh, you want to battle? Heh, you came to the right place."
"Battle?" Ash asked with as much courage he could.
"Two on two. No time limits." Snarled the teenager. Ash studied the teen. The lug could have easily snapped Ash in two but, Ash bet that he could outrun him easily enough. Especially if fear was a factor in the running. "Over there." The teen pointed to an empty lot to their right.
"Ash!" squeaked Richie. "Don't do it." The teen had done something Ash couldn't resist, he had given Ash a challenge.
"Your on!" growled Ash as he brushed past the two lackeys the brute had with him. Ash was in position on the right of the junk heap.
"What's your name boy?" smirked the teen. Ash resisted to pull his hat backwards and call out Ash of Pallet town. Then Ash remembered he didn't have a hat or that he wanted anyone to know his name. Ash pulled out his first pokemon and held it out in front of him.
"If you win, I'll tell you my name." Ash called out as he held out a pokeball almost pointing a challenge at the teen.
"Heh! I guess I'll learn your name soon enough then. I'm Darrel of D district. Your move first punk." Ash motioned out for Pikachu to go out first..
"Pikachu, I chose you!"
"Pika!"
"Darrel calls out Inferno!"
"Growlith!" A Growlithe with a scar down the left of its eye popped out of the pokeball Darrel threw out. Ash surveyed the pokemon. From his experience in battling, this pokemon was very experienced but, still no match for Pikachu.
"Pikachu! Agility!" Pikachu in a blur of speed began to run around it's opponent. The pokemon was frozen on the spot as it was confused by Pikachu's speed.
"Snap out of it! Inferno, Flamethrower!" roared Darrel. Darrel's voice fell on deaf ears. The Growlithe was confused and hurt itself in its confusion. Ash smiled and knew that this was going to be an easier victory than most.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt now!" Pikachu heard the signal to attack and obeyed. Pikachu jumped in the air and let out a battle cry.
"Pika-chuuuuu!" said the pokemon as it hurled a massive amount of electricity at the fire puppy.
"Inferno! Get out of the way!" yelled Darrel in warning to no avail. The fire pokemon came out of its confusion just as it saw the electricity screaming toward it.
"Growllll." Was the last thing the pokemon said as it was electrocuted by a thunderbolt that was the equal to two thunder attacks from any other electric pokemon.
'That's odd.' Ash thought as Darrel recalled his pokemon. 'I thought I said Thunderbolt not Thunder.'
"You OK Pikachu?" Ash yelled out to his pokemon.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Was Pikachu's reply. "Bring on your best." Ash sighed at his pokemon's enthusiasm. Ash could tell Pikachu was pumped but wondered where all the extra energy was coming from.
"Let's see your pokemon handle this." Yelled Darrel as he held up a pokeball. "I call out Umbreon." Yelled Darrel. Ash began to pale at the mention of an umbreon. That was a dark type of pokemon that Gary trained and from what he remembered, that was on tough looking pokemon.
"Umbreee." Bellowed the dark pokemon as it emerged from its pokeball. This pokemon was no different from Gary's; it was well cared for and experienced.
"Pikachu! Watch it!" Ash yelled out to his friend.
"This guy will be no trouble." Was his pokemon's reply.
"Don't get cocky!" added Ash. The Umbreon looked at the Pikachu and then back at Ash as if it was trying to figure something out.
"Umbreon! Faint attack!" The umbreon shook itself out of the trance and powered up for its attack.
"Pikachu! Double Team now!" Ash yelled out to the electric pokemon. Pikachu responded with making more than thirty replicas of itself.
"What?" Gasped Darrel in awe. Never before had he seen this level of pokemon before. The Pikachu had taken down one of his best pokemon and was making sport of his very best.
"Umbr?" The dark type pokemon didn't know what to do. It was ready to use its attack but there were too many pokemon around. There wasn't one Pikachu anymore, there was thirty! Umbreon's defense fell and Ash took advantage of the scared pokemon.
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Pikachu unleashed as much electricity as last time.
"Pika-chuuuuu!" This time the attack missed the enemy though. Umbreon was lucky enough to see the attack coming and dodged by a hair. The blast from the electricity though sent umbreon flying into a garbage can.
"Umbreee!" growled the now angry pokemon. Then without orders from Darrel, began to attack Pikachu with a quick attack.
"Pikachu agility! Keep ahead of that attack!" The pokemon did as Ash said and kept one move ahead of the enraged Umbreon.
"Umbreon! Stop!" yelled Darrel. The dark pokemon ignored Darrel's orders and continued to chase Pikachu around the junkyard. Pikachu then saw what Ash was doing by having Pikachu running from the dark type and prepared for Ash's signal.
"Pikachu! Now!" Ash roared. Pikachu jumped up and did a flip to face it's opponent. The Umbreon too angry to notice the trap and charged Pikachu.
"Pikachu!" grunted Pikachu as it gave a lot of energy into the last jump of the battle and jumped straight up.
"Umbreee?" squeaked Umbreon as it saw the Pikachu leap over him. When the Umbreon tried to stop it realized the trap. BAMMM! The pokemon slammed into a pile of garbage again and this time it wasn't angry when it reappeared, more like trashed.
"Good job Pikachu!" Ash laughed as the pokemon turned tail and ran straight to Ash's outstretched arms.
"Pikachu!" cried Pikachu happily as Ash rubbed the top of its furry head.
"Umbreon return." Said a quiet voice. Ash looked over to Darrel and felt pity for him; it didn't look like he took failure well. Darrel was in the dirt with a look of total and utter shock on his face. Ash walked over and offered his hand. When Darrel looked up to see the hand, it was another shock to his system. When he took the outstretched hand of Ash's, a cheer went up from all sides.
"Hail the new D district champion!" yelled kids from all sides. Ash had never seen so many pokemon trainers before in his life. Ash couldn't find Richie in the crowd and he would have stuck out like a sore thumb.
"Looks like I've finally been dethroned." smiled Darrel. Ash couldn't believe what was happening. Never in his whole life did he have this many kids his own age cheering for him. Gary would have been jealous! Darrel clapped his hands together for silence and it came.
'What did I get myself into now?' Ash wondered as Darrel put a hand on Ash's left shoulder. (Mew was on his right.) Ash began to look for an escape to find that he was surrounded by boys his own age and older. On second glance Ash recognized that they were mostly trainers.
"What's his name?" called a person from the crowd.
"Yeah! What's the new champions name?" yelled another person from the crowd.
"Better tell them something or they'll bug you forever!" whispered Darrel. Ash panicked and told him his name.
"Ash." Was all Ash said and the word went out.
"Ash! Ash! Ash!" chanted the crowd. Ash stood there dumbly as Darrel clapped his hands again. Silence eventually came back to the odd assembly.
"This young punk had proven himself more than able to be a D district champion and by our rules he has earned the D districts loyalty. So shall we celebrate this whelps accomplishment?" Before Ash could ask what was going on, the crowd closed in and he was hoisted onto shoulders. Darrel at the front, lifted high a yell that the kids echoed.
"To the park!"
"To the park!" roared the crowd and Ash was packed off, pokemon and all, down main street with an entourage of kids his own age. As they passed more streets kids came out of the woodworks! By the time they had reached Kolbind park, the crowd of kids had quadrupled. Ash had never been so embarrassed in his entire life.
"Halt right there D district!" yelled a voice as soon as they entered the park. Darrel gave a motion that Ash didn't recognized and the massive group stopped. When the group stopped, Ash seized the opportunity to get down from his perch on shoulders.
"Put me down. I want to know what's going on." Ash ordered to the two who had a strong grip on his waist. Instead of putting him down they made their way to the front of the crowd. When Ash came closer to the head he recognized an Officer Jenny's voice.
"Not another one of your parties Darrel! As the D district champion, your duty is to keep the training in that district clean, not to party whenever you feel like it." Ash was close to the front of the crowd.
"Hate to break it to ya toots. I'm not the champ anymore." Ash wasn't close enough to see her face but, her voice betrayed her fear.
"Someone beat YOU!! The three time indigo and crystal league champ? Impossible!" Ash almost fell.
"I thought so too but you should have seen this kids pokemon." Said Darrel.
"Pokemon nothing! You should have seen the battle! I've never seen anyone battle like that before!" yelled a voice from the crowd. Ash was not only blushing furiously but was in shock from what he had heard from Officer Jenny.
'If I could curl up and hide right now I would.' Ash thought. Then Ash couldn't believe what happened next.
"I don't believe you. Where is this kid you talk about?" If Darrel could have known that Ash had a few run ins with Officer Jenny's in the past, he might have left Ash well enough alone.
"Hey! Bring the champ here! Bring his pokemon too." Yelled Darrel. Ash was hurried forward and set down. "There he is." Smiled Darrel.
"Uh hi Officer Jenny." Ash said sheepishly. Darrel had a look of surprise cross his face before he came and put Ash in a headlock. "Gak!" Ash muffled as his hair was being ruffled.
"See! This is the kid that defeated my best two pokemon with his Pikachu. Hey! Where's this punks Pikachu?" roared Darrel. Pikachu and Abra were brought up to the front of the crowd by two pretty young girls about Ash's age.
"Pika!" said Pikachu happily. The girl that held Pikachu was rubbing his tummy and Pikachu was enjoying it. Ash couldn't see the girl's features very well because he still was in a headlock.
"So, this is the new champ." Said Officer Jenny as Ash was let out of the headlock. Ash was studied for a moment by Officer Jenny. "You look familiar. Have we met?"
"No. I've met plenty of your cousins though." Ash said as casually as he could. Officer Jenny took another once over of Ash and then turned back to Darrel.
"He's obviously here for the tournament. I suggest you take him to be registered before any party happens. Do I make myself clear?" Darrel gave her a salute and turned to the crowd.
"Change of plans people. Party after registration. Everyone set up until we return." The crowd gave a roar of approval. "Don't start the party without us."
"D district forever!" roared the crowd. Darrel made a motion with his hands and three people came from the crowd.
"Honour guards move out." Ash inwardly groaned as he was picked up again. Ash gave a look to Darrel. "Tradition." Was his reply.
'This wasn't supposed to happen.' Ash moaned. 'I wanted to remain anonymous and here I am being paraded around by people I don't want to meet in a dark alley.' Ash was rushed out of the area with an crowd of about twenty people. Darrel was in the lead of course with Pikachu and Abra/Mew in tow. Ash came next on the shoulders of two big guys and then a group of about seventeen fans.
"D district forever! We got a new champ!" Was what they chanted over and over again. Ash frightened out of his mind that he noticed decided to try and be as compliant as possible; he wanted this thing over and done with.
At the tournament registration
"Get your goodies here! Nutritious and delicious!" Yelled James.
"Popcorn and chocolate bars here!" Echoed Jessie.
"Our business is doing great!" announced Meowth. "We got enough money here to live easy for three months." Then in the background, the busy trio heard the cheers for the D district hero.
"What's going on?" Asked Jessie as all their customers made a hasty retreat to see him. Meowth was the smarter one of the trio and tripped a kid as he was running by.
"Hey kid, What's going on.?" Asked Meowth to the kid as he got up. The boy snorted and brushed himself off.
"You're not from around here are you? Well to make a long story short. We have a champion for each district. The D district is the roughest district of all and the champ has just been overthrown. Right now he's registering to enter the tournament. Now if you'll excuse me, I want to see if I can get close enough for an autograph." The kid turned and ran off.
"Pikachu! Look!" exclaimed a startled voice of a young pokemon master. Pikachu surveyed the scene of the city before him. Of all the cities that they had ever been to this was the biggest. It went on for miles! The only thing that Ash and Pikachu could see was tall buildings and a lot of people.
"Kolbind city. The city of dreams. So large it is home to three pokemon centers and two gyms which are constantly in competition." Sang out a computerized voice. Ash had pulled out Dexter.
"Pika!" Ash turned his head in surprise.
"Pikachu. I couldn't understand you right now!" Ash's pokemon looked up at him startled.
"Pika?" Ash was puzzled until he tried to move a hair away from his face. It wasn't yellow anymore!
"Pikachu I figured it out! I can only understand you when my hair turns yellow. Boy, THAT'S a relief."
"What? That your hair can turn yellow on a moments notice?" Ash sighed. His hair was yellow again.
"No, that I can't understand you all the time. We're going to have to do something about my hair though, before we do anything else." Pikachu jumped up onto Ash's head. It was turning from blonde to black and back again.
"Maybe we should just dye your hair blonde? Pika chu pika pi pikachu anyway." Ash shook his head.
"Could you repeat what you said last Pikachu? I didn't catch that." Pikachu gave a grin and snickered.
"I said it would look better that way anyway. Yellow is a very fashionable color." Ash laughed a bit and argued.
"You're just saying that because you are yellow."
"No, I'm saying that because of your mother." Pikachu retorted. Ash went silent. Pikachu was right of course but he didn't want to think of that right now.
"I wonder why my hair is going blonde anyway? Is it a side effect of what team rocket did? Or am I going blind?" Pikachu gasped in surprise. Pikachu remembered that Ash still didn't know what was going on!
"Umm.. Ash? We need to talk."
In the City
"I can't believe it!" growled Jessie. "We've been wandering around all night and no sign of the twerp."
"Figures. The twerps show up when we least expect it and when they're not wanted. When you go to look for them, they disappear without a trace." Said James.
"Quit flapping your gums and get back to work." Snapped Meowth. "No trainer can resist this tournament. The prize is the king at the next festival and a mystery pokemon."
"The twerp won't be able to resist." Snickered Jessie. Team rocket were in vender outfits and were serving the trainers as they went by into the stadium.
"This plan is foolproof! We first find him then we bust up the tournament to get Mew." Meowth was handling the main stand.
Shut up! Here comes a customer." Meowth was serving a very familiar trainer.
"What do you want girls? It's my treat." Gary called back to his fan club.
"Hey, Isn't that the snob?" whispered James to Jessie. "You know, the one that gives Ash such a hard time?"
"You know, I think for once you're onto something." Smiled Jessie. "I'm almost tempted to blow our cover to steal his pokemon." She snickered.
"Thank you come again." Said Meowth. Meanwhile, in Gary's mind were some upset thoughts.
'I can't believe Ash is missing. My rival finally surpassed me and then he goes missing.' Gary put on his mask and rejoined his fans.
"Here you are girls!" Said Gary as he passed out the drinks.
"Gary! Gary! He's the coolest
He'll put the others to the test!
Yeah Gary!" Gary had a bit of a sweatdrop form on the back of his head.
'I wonder if Ash is all right. Anything could happen to him now that he has Mew.'
The forest
Pikachu was explaining what the Ultimate Trainer was. Why Ash had Yellow hair, why the pokeball pattern and why he could understand Pikachu. Ash was sitting on a log trying to listen to Pikachu's story. It was overwhelming! Ash couldn't believe what he was hearing. Ultimate Trainer? What it really meant was slavery in Ash's mind. Command all pokemon? Did they have a choice in it? Probably not.
"I've heard enough! Pikachu, is there anyway I can become normal again?" Pikachu was shocked at his friend's outburst.
"Not that I know of." Sighed Pikachu. "Why? You finally have achieved your dream. You're the worlds greatest pokemon master." Ash looked Pikachu in the eye.
"I had a hard enough time being the chosen one in the orange islands. Now I'm the Ultimate Trainer? What's next? Ruler of the universe? No thanks! I wanted to be a pokemon master but, not the Ultimate Trainer!" Ash growled and fell off the log backwards.
"Ash!"
"I'm fine." Ash said in a quiet voice. His back was on soft grass, his arms were behind his head and Ash stared up at the sky. "Pikachu come here for a moment."
"You're not Ok are you?" Pikachu had jumped on the log and was looking into Ash's eyes. Ash had tears coming down his face.
"I never wanted this to happen." Ash's voice cracked. "Pikachu? Promise me you won't leave me. I can't stand losing you too over this."
"I'll never leave you Ash." Pikachu had crept from his perch and laid his head on Ash's chest.
"Thanks Pikachu." That was all they said for a moment. Ash stared at the sky while clouds passed and the trees made shadows on the trainer and pokemon. Then a pokemon popped out of its pokeball.
"Ash? We should go now." Mew stared Ash in his eyes. The pokeball had opened over Ash's face and Mew was hovering in Ash's personal space. Before Mew could move, Ash smiled and asked something that had been bothering him lately.
"Why did you decide to come to me?"
"Pardon?"
"Why did you decide to be one of my pokemon? Is it just because I'm the Ultimate Trainer? Or did you become my pokemon because you liked me?" Insisted Ash. Mew hovered blankly over Ash.
"What do you mean?" Ash sighed and sat up.
"Did you become one of my pokemon of your own free will or did something force you to be my pokemon?" Mew hovered to the side to let Ash sit up.
"Guess you'll never know 'cause, I'm not telling you." Ash gave out a groan.
"What are we going to do with you? I can't just bring you into town like that. We'll be mobbed for sure and I sure can't battle you."
"That's where my physic power comes in. What kind of pokemon have you always wanted? Has to be around my size though." Ash thought for a moment.
"I always wanted a dragon pokemon but I guess it's your choice." Ash gasped as Mew began to glow. There was a brilliant flash of light as Mew changed. It wasn't like Ash's transformation inside of team rocket but more like a changing of an outward shell. The shell began to change and warp itself into something that looked familiar to Ash. A nearby trainer with a Pikachu at his side saw the light and began to run.
"How's this?" Asked the now changed Mew to Abra. Ash took a look at the pokemon before him.
"Not bad! By the way, what attacks do you know? I can't battle a pokemon if I don't know its attacks."
"Physic, Recover, Triattack and Hyperbeam in this form." Ash gave the Abra a once over and was impressed. Ash lifted an eyebrow.
"In this form? You have more than one?" Before Abra/Mew could answer, a trainer crashed through the bushed.
"Richie?" Ash gasped in disbelief. Before him was another friend he had met on his pokemon adventure.
"Ash! Are you Ok? I saw a bright flash of light and-Hey! Is that Abra yours?" Richie was still Richie; just as wild about pokemon as Ash was. Ash gave Richie the biggest smile he could muster and replied.
"Sure is! I just caught it a little while ago. How are you Richie?" Ash held out his hand and Richie shook it.
"Just fine! Was your Abra responsible for that light we saw a little bit earlier? Sparky and I came to check it out."
"Ahh, he he, Yeah. That was Abra here." Ash said as he put one arm behind his neck and sweatdropped. Richie was suspicious of Ash's behaviour because he was acting like he was hiding something.
"So what were you two-"
"Pika!" Pikachu interrupted.
"Sorry! Three doing here? Training?" That's when Richie noticed something. "Ash, where is Misty and Brock? Don't they travel with you wherever you go?" When Richie saw Ash's face fall, he knew he had hit a sore spot.
"I-I don't want to talk about that right now. What brings you to these parts? Going out for the pokemon league here?" Richie laughed and gestured to Sparky on his shoulder.
"Nope, Sparky here has to go to a specialist in Kolbind." Ash looked at the Pikachu on his shoulder. The only thing out of the normal was the tuff of hair that resembled Richie's hair and the Pikachu's red cheeks were more red than normal.
"Something wrong with its cheeks? They look a little swollen." Richie looked a little startled at Ash's inquiry but, then remembered that Ash had a Pikachu of his own.
"Yeah. For some reason Sparky here is having a hard time with his electricity sacks. The best thing that Sparky can come out with is a thundershock attack." Pikachu leapt into Ash's arms and then onto Ash's hat to speak with Sparky.
Translation
"So, what happened to you? You look like you're holding tennis balls in your mouth." Asked Pikachu to Sparky.
"I overdid an attack and I can't seem to get any electricity to come back into my glands. Does it really look that bad?"
"It could be worse. You could look like you're holding basketballs in your mouth instead." Pikachu and Sparky laughed. Sparky suddenly stopped laughing and held it's cheeks.
"Ohhh! Don't make me laugh. It hurts to laugh." Pikachu made a face.
"It never hurts too much to laugh." Sparky mimicked Pikachu's face and began to laugh again. Ash and Richie both laughed about the way their pokemon were acting.
"You may be right about that. I feel better already." Pikachu smiled and began to get caught up in some gossip. Totally ignoring their trainers, Pikachu began to tell the story of Ash being the Ultimate Trainer. While Pikachu was telling Sparky about the situation, Ash and Richie were setting up camp.
"So here we are. Mew is actually Abra and Ash is on the run from his closest friends and team rocket.
"You're kidding! Ash is the Ultimate Trainer?! Does he have the mark? This could just be a team rocket trick."
"The mark?" Pikachu said dumbly and then remembered the hair problem. "You must mean his hair. Yes, it changes from black to blonde on a moments notice. It's really funny because of the way he acts; you would think someone had tried to kiss him or something." That made both pokemon laugh.
"He panics that much?" Laughed Sparky.
"Yeah. It's really funny to watch." Just then the two boys came back with an armload of firewood each and Abra. Sparky remembered what Pikachu said about Abra being Mew and got nervous fast.
"So how do you say hello to such a rare pokemon?" whispered Sparky. Pikachu smiled and jumped onto Ash's hat.
"Easily, just walk up and say hello." What Pikachu failed to recognize was that his sudden perch on the trainer's head made Ash lose his balance.
"Pikachu! I have an armload of firewood I would like to put down before I drop it on my foot." Pikachu jumped off and watched as Ash began to drop the firewood. Before the load could topple on Ash's foot like he predicted; an aura of purple light helped him regain his balance. "Thanks Abra."
"You're welcome Ash." Said Abra telepathically.
"Hi, I'm Sparky." Said Sparky nervously as he held out a paw to Abra. Abra took Sparky's paw and shook it. "Is it true that you're really a Mew in disguise?" Abra gave a psychic laugh and nodded.
"Yes I am Mew. Pikachu told you everything then?" Sparky nodded. "Good! Then tonight I would like you to help me with something concerning Ash. Sparky shifted uncomfortably on his seat on the ground.
"What kind of help would a Mew need? I'm sure you can handle it." Mew laughed.
"You'll see what type of help I'll need tonight and why I need your help."
Translation off
"You ready to tell me why Misty, Brock and you split?" Asked Richie. It was something that had been bothering Richie all day. They had agreed to go into town together for the tournament Richie had heard about and go for the gyms later on. Ash had not been his usual bright and cheery self Richie noticed and it was killing him not to know what was going on. They were eating dinner around the fire and their pokemon were eating too.
"It wasn't Brock or Misty. I-I sort of left." Ash started quietly.
"Waaa?" Richie almost fell off the log he was sitting at. "YOU left THEM? Why?"
"I'm telling you this because you're a fellow pokemon trainer and you can understand my feelings. It wasn't their fault, more like my mothers." Richie looked at Ash as if he was from another planet.
"What would your mother have to do in this?" Ash closed his eyes and took a deep breath to gather his courage.
"She practically forbid me to train pokemon anymore and wanted me to go home." Ash went silent for a moment before continuing. "I know that if I left with Mist and Brock, eventually they would drag me home. I can't have that." Ash felt a hand on his shoulder. When he looked up Richie was there with a sympathetic smile.
"I understand Ash. I don't know if I could just walk away from friends like that though. You should call them in town to let them know that you're all right. That way they can have peace of mind." Ash hadn't thought of calling them from afar. Richie gave a winning smile to Ash and held up a thumb.
"Why don't we travel together for a while? Just until you're back on your feet. That sound OK?" Ash wiped away a tear that was threatening to fall.
"That sounds great to me." Pikachu, Sparky and Abra gave an applause in the background.
"I guess it's settled then." Smiled Richie. The pokemon gave a yell of approval and Pikachu climbed onto Ash's back onto his shoulder. Ash, for the first time in the last two days, felt happy.
"Richie?"
"Yeah Ash?"
"After I phone everyone, can you umm.. errr.. oh heck! How are you at dyeing hair?"
The next day at the hospital.
Ring! Ring! Ring! A phone was demanding that someone pick it up. A person at reception picked up the phone. The person that appeared on the phone was a young boy with black hair, a black shirt, a white and blue over jacket and was sporting an official pokemon league hat.
"Hello? Is Delilah Ketchum there?" asked the boy to the receptionist.
"May I ask who is calling?" asked the blue haired, fingernail painting nurse joy look-alike.
"Tell her that it's her boy calling."
"One minute." The receptionist aired the message over the P.A. system. "Please hold." The receptionist had put Ash on hold on line three. Ash hated to be put on hold. One minute later, the receptionist was surprised to see a large group of people running towards her station.
"There's a call for Delilah Ketchum?" asked the Officer Jenny in charge of the group.
"Y-yes. There is a call for her. What of it? I know your name isn't Delilah."
"I must speak to that boy right away! Grant! Becker! Get your tracers on this phone now!"
"I'm here!" panted a middle-aged woman with brown hair and brown eyes. "There's a phone call for me?" She was quickly joined by a black haired boy and an orange haired girl. The receptionist recognized the boy as Brock because he had tried to hit on her during her coffee breaks in the cafeteria.
"Are you Delilah Ketchum." The woman nodded. "Line three please." The woman snatched the phone like a person that was drowning snatching a life preserver.
"Ash is that you?" The screen popped on to show the boy that had called earlier.
"Hi mom, just calling to tell you that I'm alright." The woman gasped in relief.
"Oh Ash. I thought team rocket had caught you again. Where are you?"
"Don't tell her that!" Interrupted Officer Jenny. "The line could be tapped by team rocket."
"Don't worry mom. I'll be alright." Insisted Ash to his mother. "I'll make you proud mom. Goodbye!" The line went dead.
"Ash! Ash! Ohhh…" Tears were streaming down the mothers face. "Ash. Be safe my baby."
"That didn't take long." Commented Richie as Ash left the phone booth.
"I wasn't in a talkative mood. You got the hair dye?" Richie held up a bag that held two types of hair dye but, they were the same colour; yellow.
"I don't know why you want to dye your hair blonde but, it won't be easy because your hair's dark to begin with." Ash groaned.
"Well, it could be worse. I could have shaved my head." Richie gave a smirk.
"You could still have to."
"Waaaa!" Ash yelled screamed in panic. He clutched his hat closer to his hair.
"Just kidding!" Richie added quickly. "We should go do this at a pokemon center." Ash calmed down enough that he nodded in agreement.
"Just remember that I AM NOT SHAVING MY HEAD!" growled Ash. Richie smacked his back.
"You may want to when I'm through with you." That made Ash turn three shades of blue. "Just kidding."
"You had better be!" Pikachu got a smile and gave a Sparky a wink.
"Pikachu- Pika?" Asked Pikachu. Sparky gave an evil smile and put his paws on his head.
"Pikaaaaaaaa!" The Pikachu's burst out laughing and got Ash even more upset.
"I DON'T want to know what our pokemon are talking about." Said Ash. Then both trainers and pokemon began to laugh. The fifth of the group felt a little out of place because it hadn't been paying attention.
"Abra? Abra-ab-ra?" The laughter began anew.
Later at the second Kolbind Pokemon center.
"It doesn't -look- too bad Ash." Snickered Richie. Ash rolled his eyes at his friends comment.
"Then why are you trying not to laugh?" Richie had just unwrapped the towel around Ash's head and got a glimpse of the new Ash. Ash had been a blonde for about three hours the day before and didn't like the idea of being a permanent blonde.
"Because-hmmph-it-oh no! Ha ahahahahahaha! Sorry! I couldn't -humph- keep it in! You look so funny! Seriously though. I would have never known you weren't a real blonde if I didn't know beforehand what you looked like."
"Thanks for the support." Ash sighed as he looked into his reflection. He looked totally different with the blonde hair and new cloths he was wearing. Ash wouldn't dump the Official Pokemon league hat in a trash bin but couldn't wear it. His old cloths and hat were in his new pack with Pokegear as they called it. The Pokegear was in an enormous backpack that could hold items, pokeballs, it even had room for tms. Ash bought the Pokegear so he could listen in to the radio broadcasts; more importantly the police radios. Sadly, it cost a lot of money to buy.
"Don't worry, I'm sure the look will grow on you." Ash looked down at the camouflage pants and white shirt he wore. The pants came with a matching jacket but Ash still felt like he was still missing something important.
"I need a new hat." Richie smiled and brushed Sparky with a special Pokebrush.
"We can look for one after we get Sparky to Doc Pine in the D district of town." Ash got up and put on his new backpack.
"Pikachu. We're leaving. Pikachu?" Ash looked around for his pokemon to find the Pikachu and Abra in the lobby in a corner.
"Pikachu pika-chu-pi?" asked Pikachu to Abra/Mew.
"Abra, ab-ra-ra." Was her answer.
"There you are. Come on, we're leaving with Richie." The two pokemon took one look at Ash and turned around quickly. When Ash came closer he heard laughter. "Ok, I know! I look funny. Let's get out of here before they leave us."
"PI!" Pikachu and Abra/Mew got the point and assumed a perch on either side of Ash's shoulders.
"Lets go!" Ash said happily as he bounded out the door to follow Richie.
Section D of town
"I don't think I like this part of town." Ash whispered to Richie. The homes were rundown, there were no lawns or grass. To make matters worse, there were pokemon trainers everywhere and they all looked like thugs.
"You should fit in perfectly here. You look like one of them." Ash had steam blowing out of his ears.
"What do you mean by that?!!!" growled Ash.
"Open your eyes. What are they wearing?" Ash stopped for a moment and surveyed the people on both sides of the street and realized that Richie was right. All the people who looked threatening where wearing something similar to him; pokemon trainer or not, they all had something that was camouflage on.
"Did you know about this beforehand?" Growled Ash. Richie shook his head.
"No, but I'm glad that you decided on looking tough instead of prissy. Else you and I would be lunch meat." Whispered Richie. Both Pikachu's were nervous while Abra/Mew was calm.
"Why are you so calm?" demanded Pikachu. Ash sighed inwardly; he could understand Pikachu again.
'Good thing we dyed my hair first.' Ash though.
"We could take care of everyone here." Stated Abra/Mew. Pikachu fell anime wise and groaned.
"It's not the pokemon I'm worried about. It's the trainers!" growled Pikachu. Then Sparky interrupted the two of them.
"We don't have to be here you know." Ash started to ignore the people around him and listened in on the pokemon conversation.
"It would probably settle Richie's nerves if you saw this lady anyway." Said Pikachu. Besides, we don't know if what Mew did worked."
'What Mew did?' Ash thought. 'What did they do last night?' Ash wondered as Richie squeaked in alarm.
"Ash! We got trouble." Ash focused his attention on the sidewalk before him; three tough looking trainers with one pokeball in hand were blocking them.
"Where do you think you're going punks?" Growled the leader of the tough trio. Richie told Ash later that he thought it took guts do to what he did later but, the truth was Ash panicked and grabbed Snorlax's pokeball. "Oh, you want to battle? Heh, you came to the right place."
"Battle?" Ash asked with as much courage he could.
"Two on two. No time limits." Snarled the teenager. Ash studied the teen. The lug could have easily snapped Ash in two but, Ash bet that he could outrun him easily enough. Especially if fear was a factor in the running. "Over there." The teen pointed to an empty lot to their right.
"Ash!" squeaked Richie. "Don't do it." The teen had done something Ash couldn't resist, he had given Ash a challenge.
"Your on!" growled Ash as he brushed past the two lackeys the brute had with him. Ash was in position on the right of the junk heap.
"What's your name boy?" smirked the teen. Ash resisted to pull his hat backwards and call out Ash of Pallet town. Then Ash remembered he didn't have a hat or that he wanted anyone to know his name. Ash pulled out his first pokemon and held it out in front of him.
"If you win, I'll tell you my name." Ash called out as he held out a pokeball almost pointing a challenge at the teen.
"Heh! I guess I'll learn your name soon enough then. I'm Darrel of D district. Your move first punk." Ash motioned out for Pikachu to go out first..
"Pikachu, I chose you!"
"Pika!"
"Darrel calls out Inferno!"
"Growlith!" A Growlithe with a scar down the left of its eye popped out of the pokeball Darrel threw out. Ash surveyed the pokemon. From his experience in battling, this pokemon was very experienced but, still no match for Pikachu.
"Pikachu! Agility!" Pikachu in a blur of speed began to run around it's opponent. The pokemon was frozen on the spot as it was confused by Pikachu's speed.
"Snap out of it! Inferno, Flamethrower!" roared Darrel. Darrel's voice fell on deaf ears. The Growlithe was confused and hurt itself in its confusion. Ash smiled and knew that this was going to be an easier victory than most.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt now!" Pikachu heard the signal to attack and obeyed. Pikachu jumped in the air and let out a battle cry.
"Pika-chuuuuu!" said the pokemon as it hurled a massive amount of electricity at the fire puppy.
"Inferno! Get out of the way!" yelled Darrel in warning to no avail. The fire pokemon came out of its confusion just as it saw the electricity screaming toward it.
"Growllll." Was the last thing the pokemon said as it was electrocuted by a thunderbolt that was the equal to two thunder attacks from any other electric pokemon.
'That's odd.' Ash thought as Darrel recalled his pokemon. 'I thought I said Thunderbolt not Thunder.'
"You OK Pikachu?" Ash yelled out to his pokemon.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Was Pikachu's reply. "Bring on your best." Ash sighed at his pokemon's enthusiasm. Ash could tell Pikachu was pumped but wondered where all the extra energy was coming from.
"Let's see your pokemon handle this." Yelled Darrel as he held up a pokeball. "I call out Umbreon." Yelled Darrel. Ash began to pale at the mention of an umbreon. That was a dark type of pokemon that Gary trained and from what he remembered, that was on tough looking pokemon.
"Umbreee." Bellowed the dark pokemon as it emerged from its pokeball. This pokemon was no different from Gary's; it was well cared for and experienced.
"Pikachu! Watch it!" Ash yelled out to his friend.
"This guy will be no trouble." Was his pokemon's reply.
"Don't get cocky!" added Ash. The Umbreon looked at the Pikachu and then back at Ash as if it was trying to figure something out.
"Umbreon! Faint attack!" The umbreon shook itself out of the trance and powered up for its attack.
"Pikachu! Double Team now!" Ash yelled out to the electric pokemon. Pikachu responded with making more than thirty replicas of itself.
"What?" Gasped Darrel in awe. Never before had he seen this level of pokemon before. The Pikachu had taken down one of his best pokemon and was making sport of his very best.
"Umbr?" The dark type pokemon didn't know what to do. It was ready to use its attack but there were too many pokemon around. There wasn't one Pikachu anymore, there was thirty! Umbreon's defense fell and Ash took advantage of the scared pokemon.
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" Pikachu unleashed as much electricity as last time.
"Pika-chuuuuu!" This time the attack missed the enemy though. Umbreon was lucky enough to see the attack coming and dodged by a hair. The blast from the electricity though sent umbreon flying into a garbage can.
"Umbreee!" growled the now angry pokemon. Then without orders from Darrel, began to attack Pikachu with a quick attack.
"Pikachu agility! Keep ahead of that attack!" The pokemon did as Ash said and kept one move ahead of the enraged Umbreon.
"Umbreon! Stop!" yelled Darrel. The dark pokemon ignored Darrel's orders and continued to chase Pikachu around the junkyard. Pikachu then saw what Ash was doing by having Pikachu running from the dark type and prepared for Ash's signal.
"Pikachu! Now!" Ash roared. Pikachu jumped up and did a flip to face it's opponent. The Umbreon too angry to notice the trap and charged Pikachu.
"Pikachu!" grunted Pikachu as it gave a lot of energy into the last jump of the battle and jumped straight up.
"Umbreee?" squeaked Umbreon as it saw the Pikachu leap over him. When the Umbreon tried to stop it realized the trap. BAMMM! The pokemon slammed into a pile of garbage again and this time it wasn't angry when it reappeared, more like trashed.
"Good job Pikachu!" Ash laughed as the pokemon turned tail and ran straight to Ash's outstretched arms.
"Pikachu!" cried Pikachu happily as Ash rubbed the top of its furry head.
"Umbreon return." Said a quiet voice. Ash looked over to Darrel and felt pity for him; it didn't look like he took failure well. Darrel was in the dirt with a look of total and utter shock on his face. Ash walked over and offered his hand. When Darrel looked up to see the hand, it was another shock to his system. When he took the outstretched hand of Ash's, a cheer went up from all sides.
"Hail the new D district champion!" yelled kids from all sides. Ash had never seen so many pokemon trainers before in his life. Ash couldn't find Richie in the crowd and he would have stuck out like a sore thumb.
"Looks like I've finally been dethroned." smiled Darrel. Ash couldn't believe what was happening. Never in his whole life did he have this many kids his own age cheering for him. Gary would have been jealous! Darrel clapped his hands together for silence and it came.
'What did I get myself into now?' Ash wondered as Darrel put a hand on Ash's left shoulder. (Mew was on his right.) Ash began to look for an escape to find that he was surrounded by boys his own age and older. On second glance Ash recognized that they were mostly trainers.
"What's his name?" called a person from the crowd.
"Yeah! What's the new champions name?" yelled another person from the crowd.
"Better tell them something or they'll bug you forever!" whispered Darrel. Ash panicked and told him his name.
"Ash." Was all Ash said and the word went out.
"Ash! Ash! Ash!" chanted the crowd. Ash stood there dumbly as Darrel clapped his hands again. Silence eventually came back to the odd assembly.
"This young punk had proven himself more than able to be a D district champion and by our rules he has earned the D districts loyalty. So shall we celebrate this whelps accomplishment?" Before Ash could ask what was going on, the crowd closed in and he was hoisted onto shoulders. Darrel at the front, lifted high a yell that the kids echoed.
"To the park!"
"To the park!" roared the crowd and Ash was packed off, pokemon and all, down main street with an entourage of kids his own age. As they passed more streets kids came out of the woodworks! By the time they had reached Kolbind park, the crowd of kids had quadrupled. Ash had never been so embarrassed in his entire life.
"Halt right there D district!" yelled a voice as soon as they entered the park. Darrel gave a motion that Ash didn't recognized and the massive group stopped. When the group stopped, Ash seized the opportunity to get down from his perch on shoulders.
"Put me down. I want to know what's going on." Ash ordered to the two who had a strong grip on his waist. Instead of putting him down they made their way to the front of the crowd. When Ash came closer to the head he recognized an Officer Jenny's voice.
"Not another one of your parties Darrel! As the D district champion, your duty is to keep the training in that district clean, not to party whenever you feel like it." Ash was close to the front of the crowd.
"Hate to break it to ya toots. I'm not the champ anymore." Ash wasn't close enough to see her face but, her voice betrayed her fear.
"Someone beat YOU!! The three time indigo and crystal league champ? Impossible!" Ash almost fell.
"I thought so too but you should have seen this kids pokemon." Said Darrel.
"Pokemon nothing! You should have seen the battle! I've never seen anyone battle like that before!" yelled a voice from the crowd. Ash was not only blushing furiously but was in shock from what he had heard from Officer Jenny.
'If I could curl up and hide right now I would.' Ash thought. Then Ash couldn't believe what happened next.
"I don't believe you. Where is this kid you talk about?" If Darrel could have known that Ash had a few run ins with Officer Jenny's in the past, he might have left Ash well enough alone.
"Hey! Bring the champ here! Bring his pokemon too." Yelled Darrel. Ash was hurried forward and set down. "There he is." Smiled Darrel.
"Uh hi Officer Jenny." Ash said sheepishly. Darrel had a look of surprise cross his face before he came and put Ash in a headlock. "Gak!" Ash muffled as his hair was being ruffled.
"See! This is the kid that defeated my best two pokemon with his Pikachu. Hey! Where's this punks Pikachu?" roared Darrel. Pikachu and Abra were brought up to the front of the crowd by two pretty young girls about Ash's age.
"Pika!" said Pikachu happily. The girl that held Pikachu was rubbing his tummy and Pikachu was enjoying it. Ash couldn't see the girl's features very well because he still was in a headlock.
"So, this is the new champ." Said Officer Jenny as Ash was let out of the headlock. Ash was studied for a moment by Officer Jenny. "You look familiar. Have we met?"
"No. I've met plenty of your cousins though." Ash said as casually as he could. Officer Jenny took another once over of Ash and then turned back to Darrel.
"He's obviously here for the tournament. I suggest you take him to be registered before any party happens. Do I make myself clear?" Darrel gave her a salute and turned to the crowd.
"Change of plans people. Party after registration. Everyone set up until we return." The crowd gave a roar of approval. "Don't start the party without us."
"D district forever!" roared the crowd. Darrel made a motion with his hands and three people came from the crowd.
"Honour guards move out." Ash inwardly groaned as he was picked up again. Ash gave a look to Darrel. "Tradition." Was his reply.
'This wasn't supposed to happen.' Ash moaned. 'I wanted to remain anonymous and here I am being paraded around by people I don't want to meet in a dark alley.' Ash was rushed out of the area with an crowd of about twenty people. Darrel was in the lead of course with Pikachu and Abra/Mew in tow. Ash came next on the shoulders of two big guys and then a group of about seventeen fans.
"D district forever! We got a new champ!" Was what they chanted over and over again. Ash frightened out of his mind that he noticed decided to try and be as compliant as possible; he wanted this thing over and done with.
At the tournament registration
"Get your goodies here! Nutritious and delicious!" Yelled James.
"Popcorn and chocolate bars here!" Echoed Jessie.
"Our business is doing great!" announced Meowth. "We got enough money here to live easy for three months." Then in the background, the busy trio heard the cheers for the D district hero.
"What's going on?" Asked Jessie as all their customers made a hasty retreat to see him. Meowth was the smarter one of the trio and tripped a kid as he was running by.
"Hey kid, What's going on.?" Asked Meowth to the kid as he got up. The boy snorted and brushed himself off.
"You're not from around here are you? Well to make a long story short. We have a champion for each district. The D district is the roughest district of all and the champ has just been overthrown. Right now he's registering to enter the tournament. Now if you'll excuse me, I want to see if I can get close enough for an autograph." The kid turned and ran off.