Disclaimer: Pokémon and its characters are not mine, but I do own this story.
A/N: Just so that you don't complain of inconsistencies: At the time of writing, (in the series here) Ash is still training before entering the Orange League, and I have only watched the first three movies.
Anyway, I've decided to set this story some time after the 3rd movie, and after Ash parted with Squirtle (I don't know when he did that)
Ch. 6 – Continuation
It was the day after Sakhr had revealed the Earth Shrine to the Chosen one. The Guardian sat on the floor, cross-legged, waiting patiently. They should be arriving right about…
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"
…now.
Ash stumbled through the wall dragging Misty and Brock along and sending Pikachu tumbling off his shoulder, just like before.
"Why must that… that thing… chase us each time we come into the mountain?" Misty complained.
Sakhr laughed. "Don't worry, my friends. The Sentinel Rhydon is just doing its duty to keep those scientists and other people from meddling too much in the Shrine. But in this case and yesterday, it was just trying to send you in here. Besides, you are the Chosen One, it would never hurt you. You also receive certain… benefits… from the world with your status."
"Benefits?!" Ash spluttered. "I almost got killed two days ago!" Brock didn't flinch for Ash had already told him about what happened and how he lost his jacket.
"I had no control over what happened, and I'm not completely sure why it did that…" Sakhr said thoughtfully. "However, you are still alive…"
"I'm only alive 'cause Togepi saved me!" Ash said stated.
Sakhr stood up and walked over to Misty. He gently took the egg Pokémon from her and looked at it closely. Togepi trilled cheerfully at him, unlike the time when Ash and Brock first tried to take it as their own Pokémon.
"This little one will become a powerful Pokémon," he said. "There is currently only one of it alive. The rest are still in their eggs, not yet ready to hatch. I cannot see what its future is, for there has been no Prophecy about it…" he trailed off and handed Togepi back to Misty.
"You know all the prophecies?" Ash asked with interest.
"Yes. The realm of Time is not stable, but the Prophecies foretell many events. They are not in any language, but are 'sensed' by chosen seers. All major events will be foreseen many millennia before their occurrence, and due to the changing world, they may not be understood until the actual event takes place. The most recent example of this is the Prophecy concerning disruption of the elemental balance.
"The last sentence, 'lest the world turn to Ash', was confusing. We thought that it meant that the world will crumble. The previous Chosen One would still be young during the happenings told by that Prophecy, except that he mysteriously vanished. You, Ash Ketchum, were born immediately after we sensed the disappearance, and became the new Chosen One."
"Wow…" Ash didn't know what to say.
"And… speaking of prophecies, we are worried." Sakhr said with a frown. "The power of Darkness seems to have gotten considerably stronger over the past few days. This usually means bad news, yet there is no Prophecy which mentions anything happening anytime soon."
"When is the next Dark activity supposed to happen?" Misty asked.
"That, I am not allowed to tell you. It is not during your lifetime nor are you Seers, so that knowledge cannot be revealed to you." Sakhr replied.
"Why not?" Brock was curious.
"There are many things in this world you don't understand," the Guardian said. "We, the Guardians of the High Elements, are best described as demi-gods, but there is also much we ourselves do not know. The world only reveals what it deems necessary."
"Oh…" the three of them said in unison.
"However, I am allowed to let you know that the trainer whom you fought two days ago has Dark signatures around him, though he does not seem to be aware of it. His Pokémon are also severely tainted, which is why the Sentinel Rhydon dealt so much damage to them."
"Well, dark or not, I can still beat them!" Ash said with zeal.
Sakhr smiled. "Would you like a battle?"
Ash's face lit up immediately. "Would I?"
"Pika pika!" Pikachu echoed Ash's enthusiasm.
"Very well," the Guardian said, straightening himself. He waved his hand and the familiar pattern of a Pokémon battlefield appeared on the floor. He and Ash walked into their boxes while Misty and Brock shouted encouraging words at Ash.
"Let's make this one-on-one, shall we?" Sakhr said with a slightly unGuardian-like grin. "I choose Terraneon!"
A lump of the ground rose up until it was about the height of Ash's lower chest. It then quickly developed the features of a brown-coloured, rough-skinned, four-legged creature which looked a lot like a fox. Ash took out his Pokédex but it didn't reveal any information.
"What is that?!" He asked.
"It's an evolved Eevee." Sakhr informed him. "It does not use an elemental stone to evolve. Instead, it changes when it has stayed underground for a long time. They are very rare as Eevee usually don't go underground. There is one evolution of every element for the Eevee. You just need to know how to get them to change."
"Very interesting, but we'll beat it! Go for it, Pikachu!" Ash called out. Pikachu gladly obliged and stepped out, his face reflecting Ash's determination.
"Ash, Pikachu is weak against ground-types!" Brock shouted.
"We can beat anything!" Ash said confidently. "Pikachu, use your Agility!"
Pikachu started circling the strange new Pokémon with ever-increasing speed. Soon, the electric rodent was nothing but a lightning-fast blur, yet the Terraneon just sat there calmly.
"Ground Manipulation!" Sakhr commanded.
The earth Pokémon concentrated hard to follow Pikachu's location with its pitch-black eyes. A piece of the floor erupted upwards right in front of Pikachu, causing him to swerve suddenly to avoid slamming into the makeshift wall. As a result, he lost his speed.
"Pikachu, use your Tackle attack!" Ash shouted.
Obeying, Pikachu hurtled towards Terraneon, but his opponent nimble dodged.
"Compress!" The Guardian called out. Terraneon seemed to slightly shrink in size.
"Pikachu, Tackle again!" Ash urged him on.
"Pi… ka… CHU!" The yellow rodent ran straight at Terraneon and slammed into it. The attack sent Terraneon rolling away, but Pikachu also looked stunned from the impact.
"Alright, let's try a simple Take Down!" Sakhr commanded.
Terraneon decompressed itself and leapt at the still-dazed Pikachu. Having no time to dodge, he merely released a powerful Thunderbolt. The attack did little damage but managed to push Terraneon away. Ash cheered at this.
"Impressive," Sakhr admired. "But enough toying around. Terraneon, use your Fissure attack!"
Focusing its energy on the ground, the Pokémon created a deep crack in the floor. The kinetic energy hit Pikachu, who gave a final cry before getting knocked out.
Ash gasped and ran towards his yellow friend, also followed by Misty and Brock. "Pikachu! Are you all right?"
"Pika…" The little rodent weakly opened its eyes and gave a little nod.
"It's okay, you did great!" Ash told him.
"Indeed," Sakhr said, walking over. "That Thunderbolt was powerful enough to force away a ground-type Pokémon. Your Pikachu is very strong."
He then made the lines on the floor vanish and called up another bubbling pool. "Here, this spring should revitalize you."
Pikachu took a dip in the pool and instantly looked refreshed and relaxed. "Cha!" He smiled and laid back, enjoying himself.
The Guardian laughed. "I didn't quite mean for it to be a bath, but I suppose you could use it that way."
"Tell us more about the Terraneon," Brock requested with interest.
Sakhr beckoned for the earthen Pokémon to come over. It complied and sat in front of the Guardian, completely still.
"This Eevee evolution is just another ordinary Pokémon. It is just one of the several hundred others which humans have not yet discovered. The Terraneon tends to stay underground, but it performs just as well out in the open. There is not much else to say about it, though."
"What about the attacks it used?" Ash inquired.
"That, my friend, is a sign of advanced connections with the elements. A Pokémon can be trained to be highly attuned to its element, as well as others of opposing elements. Most Pokémon don't do that themselves. That is where a trainer can really help. You can try to teach your Pikachu a special power."
"Great!" Ash exclaimed. "C'mon Pikachu, try to do a more powerful attack!"
"Pikachu can attack fine. You should try a defensive move, instead." Sakhr advised him.
"Oh, okay…" Ash racked his brains for a while. "I know! Pikachu, try to build an electrical shield around yourself!"
"Pi?" The little Pokémon looked puzzled.
"You can do it! Just try to concentrate and keep the electricity from being released wildly." Ash encouraged his friend.
"Pika!" Pikachu gave a determined nod and climbed out of his little bath. He squeezed his eyes shut and concentrated hard. Sparks flew from his cheeks, chaotically at first, but soon formed a distinguishable sphere around him. Ash cheered him on as the field grew stronger, but then the sparks around his cheeks crackled louder and the field flickered dangerously.
Brock, Misty, Sakhr and Terraneon backed away at the sight of this. Brock started to call out, "Uh Ash, it doesn't look very stable. You probably shouldn't stand too—"
"CHUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!" Pikachu couldn't hold it back anymore and released all the energy in a violent Thunder attack.
"—close." Brock finished lamely. Ash lay on the floor, smouldering. Everyone rushed over to help him.
"I'm okay…" he said groggily, standing up. "It's alright, you did great!" Ash told his Poképal, who was busily apologising.
"That was very good for a first try," Sakhr complimented Pikachu. "With a few more practices, your shield should be perfect. Terraneon, show them your electric attack!"
Terraneon turned its head upwards and its eyes glowed yellow. The air above it crackled to life as yellow sparks danced around. Several seconds later, there was a ball of concentrated energy. The Pokémon suddenly snapped its head downwards and the ball flew towards the wall and fizzled. Everyone stared in awe.
"Wow, I wouldn't mind having a Pokémon like that…" Ash marvelled.
The Guardian smiled. "This Terraneon admires your abilities as a trainer—" Upon hearing this, Ash grinned widely at Misty, who rolled her eyes. "—but will only agree to follow you if you manage to catch it though battling."
"Reminds me of how I got Bulbasaur," Ash piped. "So, Terraneon, you wanna battle?"
The quiet Pokémon suddenly leapt backwards and assumed fighting stance, its eyes alert.
"Alright, go Bulbasaur!" Ash threw the Pokéball and the plant Pokémon appeared. "Use your Vine Whip!"
"Bulba!" Twin vines raced towards Terraneon. It summoned a wall which blocked Bulbasaur's vines. The wall crumbled, but Terraneon was untouched.
The earth Pokémon countered with a chain of erupting earth, making it seem like a Dugtrio was tunnelling underneath.
"Look out!"
Bulbasaur leapt away right before a particularly sharp bit of earth sprouted out at the spot where it was. Without giving its opponent time to recover, Terraneon fired its powerful legs and flew towards Bulbasaur.
"Bulbasaur, use your Leech Seed!"
When Terraneon crashed into Bulbasaur, a seed popped out from the grass Pokémon's bulb and embedded itself in Terraneon's underbelly. The two Pokémon broke apart, both looking woozy. Ash threw a Pokéball at Terraneon, who was then engulfed in a beam of light and disappeared into the Pokéball.
"Alright! I caught Terraneon!" Ash exclaimed happily and did his pose. The others cheered as well. "Great job, Bulbasaur!"
"Congratulations, Chosen One." Sakhr said. "Take good care of it."
"I will!" Ash replied readily.
"Unless you wish to explore some more, there is nothing else in the Shrine that is of interest. Would you like to continue your journey now?" The Guardian asked the trio. After some discussion, they decided to move on.
"I'll go back to the Pokémon Centre to check out," Brock announced. No sooner than the words came out of his mouth, the entrance appeared in the wall.
"Do you mean check out Nurse Joy?" Misty called after him. He chose to ignore the comment and went inside.
"So, where is the Ancient Steelix?" Ash questioned while waiting for Brock to return.
"It is resting," Sakhr informed him. "It may not come out unless of dire need."
"Oh…" Ash said. He tried to think. Something didn't sound quite right. But what?
"Okay guys, let's go!" After a few minutes, Brock reappeared, carrying their bags.
"No need," The Guardian said. "Here's a shortcut." He straightened his body and spread out his arms. A bright blue, swirling vortex appeared. "This will lead you to wherever you want to go."
Waving goodbye, the trio and Pikachu stepped into the vortex, with Ash last in line. He had one last question.
"Can't you give me any hints on where the other Shrines are?"
"I have provided hints in yesterday's story," Sakhr told him. "There is not much more I can say. Good luck, Chosen One."
"Oh, okay." Ash said, slightly disappointed. "Goodbye!"
With that, he stepped inside the vortex. The last thing he heard before a loud roaring overcame him was, "…and by the way, you've already met another Guardian!"
* * * * *
Ash found himself lying on the grass. "Tricky fellow!" he exclaimed. He told the others about what Sakhr said.
"Who could that be?" Misty wondered.
"Hey, what's that?" Ash asked.
"What's what?" Brock turned around but saw nothing.
"I saw a bright flash coming from over there…" Ash stated.
"Must've been the sun," Misty said matter-of-factly.
"Hey, where are we?" Ash asked suddenly. This question hit every one of them. Sakhr had said that the vortex would take them to where they wanted to go, but they didn't exactly plan that yet.
"Um… in a forest?" Brock offered lamely.
"Only one way to find out!" Ash immediately marched off towards the spot of the glinting object.
He stopped short when a large Venusaur stomped out of nowhere and placed itself in his path.
"Wow, it's huge!" Brock exclaimed.
Why, thank you. A deep 'voice' rang in their heads.
"Whaaa?!!/Pikaaa?!!"
Do not be so surprised, Chosen One. I have been around for a long, long time, after all.
"Is this the… uh… Plant Shrine?" Ash inquired immediately.
Ha ha ha ha ha… The Venusaur laughed heartily with a sort of smile on its face. No, the Plant element is not a High Element. However, this is a significant elemental place.
"Can we explore?" Ash asked eagerly.
The Venusaur's expression grew sober. I am sorry, the… time… is not right. As much as I regret to do so, I must ask you to leave this area.
"Hey, he made a pun!" Misty said jokingly. "Leave this area!"
This earned her a piercing glare from the Venusaur. She immediately shrank back in fear.
Please do as I tell you. I currently have… other matters to attend to. With that, the colossal Pokémon trudged away into the think woods.
Seizing the opportunity, Ash continued his search even though Pikachu was pulling on his trouser leg, asking him to leave.
"Ash, I don't think you should be doing this…" Brock said worriedly.
"Relax, what could possibly go wrong?" Ash replied.
They came upon a green marble column which was about four feet high. On top was a golden pedestal, approximately ten centimetres thick. A perfectly round socket was in the centre.
"What is this?" Ash wondered.
Stubbornness and disobedience are undesirable traits.
The trio and Pikachu spun around and saw the Venusaur, looking displeased.
Since you have refused to depart willingly… the large Pokémon trailed off. Within moments, a large swarm of Beedrill appeared.
"Uh oh…" Three voices said together
In a blink of an eye, all four of them were screaming and running blindly, the Beedrill right behind them.
They ran for about five minutes, and during that time the word 'tiredness' wasn't in their vocabulary.
"YAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!" Brock screamed as he suddenly plunged downwards.
"What?" It took Ash a while to realize that the floor was suddenly several metres below, and then he joined Brock at the bottom of the ledge; Pikachu followed and crashed onto Brock a split-second later.
An ear-piercing scream filled the air as Misty, too, saw the drop too late. Togepi flew out of her arms and the both of them plummeted. As quick as a flash, Pikachu got on his feet and hurried over to catch Togepi. Misty on the other hand, landed on top of Ash.
"Ow…" Ash groaned. "Lose some weight, Mist." One look at her face told him that this was a big mistake.
"What. Did. You. Say?" Misty was glaring daggers at him, while Brock and Pikachu stood at the side, ready to pull them apart or bolt, depending on what happens.
"Uh… I meant… that is… you're not heavy at all! You're pretty scrawny… I mean…" Ash gave up trying to cover up and ran for his life.
"AAAAAAASSSHHH KEEEEETTCHUUUUUUUUUUMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Screaming bloody murder, Misty pursued him in a vengeance hunt, mallet swinging wildly.
The other two sweat-dropped.
"Do you think we're actually completely wrong about those two being together?" Brock asked Pikachu as he saw yet another tall shrub collapse.
"Pika pi…" The little yellow Pokémon merely sighed.
*********
A/N: Another chapter up! I hope I'll finish the next one by next week. My daily schedule is pretty tight at the moment.
~Artic Winds: Sorry, you didn't get any of them right. I've practically given the answer for one of them in this chapter though.
~Silverclaw: Sure you can use it. Please give me the credit, though. BTW, give me the link to your story, will ya?