Chapter 2- Trapped
Sitting horror-struck and sinking into the creases of the couch cushions, Ash couldn't believe what he had just read on the letter he had received from the highly powerful leader of the Elite Government and the four Masters. Living a true lie, Delia glanced down upon the letter and read it with her own eyes. The only sentence which caught her eye made her heart sink with joy. "You have specially been chosen," was the sentence, which made her a believer. She looked into Ash's matching golden brown eyes and smiled. Professor oak took the letter and felt he was about to have a heart attack—a man his age; anything could be possible with news like that.
"I-I-It can't be?" Ash choked, nearly falling to his knees. "Me— they chose me! Hell, I haven't been in pro-training for three years!" Ash's sudden urge to cheer crossed his mind, and he rose to his feet and shot up his arms and pounced upon his mother. Delia gave a quick gasp of air; Ash wasn't that little anymore. Anyways, as a good mother, she held him and congratulated him on his promotion— which was more likely to change his life. Every centennial anniversary, the top masters of the world would gather, categorize trainers upon their success and skills, then sort them to levels of which they had reached in training. Those who were the strongest would qualify; the top two would be matched together and fight for their identity as Genesis. Being Genesis, he or she would be identified as the leader of the Centro Terra palace until the passing of their life.
"Congratulations Ash, you do deserve this," Professor Oak said without getting up from his chair. Obviously he was disappointed that he wouldn't be able to see the day when his grandson Gary would sit upon the throne. Yet, he was faithful to his word and happy to see a well-respected trainer from his own town reach the possibility. "I suggest you begin training again— December is only two months away. And to be precise (he said getting up and raised his finger) it is two months to the day!"
Ash rolled his eyes, and beamed across the room to where he saw a calendar hanging above a library of research books that hadn't been used for years. Each book had at least two centimetres of dust upon them.
"Training—" Ash sighed "—hopefully I will still have the respect of my Pokemon." He continued. He hadn't thought of how all of his other Pokemon would react if he just appeared before them, expecting a welcome or greeting. All he could image in his mind was a pact of Pokemon turning their noses up to his face, and walking away from him. He clenched his fists as he analyzed the situation.
Professor Oak stepped in on Delia's cheering, "Now would also be a good time to pay your loyal friends a committed visit, although you will notice some of them will not be present," the genius suggested, nodding slightly.
"What do you mean some won't be present?" Ash replied, knocking his leg into the side of the glass coffee table, giving out a grunt of pain.
"Follow me," Professor Oak answered.
It was news after news for Ash. Being accepted and learning that not all his Pokemon had stayed with Professor Oak was quite overwhelming to take in one after another. Professor Oak led them down narrow hallways, and through certain stations of his laboratory where he would study the generics of each Pokemon type and species. Models after models of life like creatures hung from the ceiling and sat on cabinets entrapped with glass. Delia also took the opportunity of looking at the older pictures that were sketched from their old friend and companion, Tracey Sketchit. Her favourite was a spell casting attack from the might, yet timid, Celebii. A small creature with great powers to kill and lead one of trouble into the future, past, or present. It's shallow green arms and lightened pearly eyes glowed a circling aura of light as it was enduring its power. Another figure, which caught Ash's attention, was the G.S Ball; a solid and impossible gold and silver Poke Ball that was damn near impossible to open and release whatever was lying inside.
As they exited the lab, they walked through a sliding door that separated the wild fields from the inside. There, they could see bright and wavy green fields. Enriched with nature's elements of thick fur tress, willow trees, and pools of fresh shimmering water, the preservation land was like a heaven for resting Pokemon. Each creature was running, playing, eating, or sleeping under the shade of the nearest tree and out of the scorching sunlight. Ash squinted his eyes and looked hard for a glimpse of what was left of his Pokemon. First he sighted his Tauros, which wasn't hard, all you had to do was look for a circling cloud of brown dust. Also his mighty Snorlax, the tiny Bulbasaur, the evolved Magnium, Typhlosion, Feraligator, and the rare red-winged Noctowl. Disappointed as he was, Ash wasn't that all surprised that those who had left didn't care about him anymore. Leaving your Pokemon for more than three years without returning was abandonment, which most trained Pokemon feared.
"Well, your free to reunite yourself with them—if they turn away, don't disturb them!" Professor Oak warned him and nudged him through the circular door.
At first, Ash walked slowly, noticing a small eye connection with his Magnium but the rest seemed to be occupied with themselves and didn't care to look up to him. So he paced forward more quickly, anxious to reunite with his old companions and friends. The air was fresh as it pressed against his skin and sank into his pores. It softened his tense muscles as it caressed them. As he drew nearer, all but Magnium waited on their hind legs and feet. Magnium was larger than normal. Its large tropical flower that was spiralled around its neck was brightly colourful— warding off a brilliant aroma. It smelled as fresh as it did when Ash caught it up in the mountains when it was only a determined little Chikorita.
At long last he came face to face with his second catch in the Johto region. Ash bent down and supported himself with the stump of the great tree. "Wow, you've grown so much," Ash whispered politely to the female creature who used to have a crush on him. Magnium looked away from his face for the first time in minutes. "I-I understand if our bond is destroyed —and I don't blame you (the other Pokemon began directing their attention to his apology) because I had no right to abandon you." Ash covered his damp eyes with his hands. It was the first time he was crying for plead in years.
Magnium hesitated to forgive, but gradually looked deep into her trainer and remembered how it was when they were together. She looked at him with her two big red eyes, a grown boy—more likely a grown man. She could remember how jealous she was of Pikachu and still, her rival had never left Ash's side. It was trust and Magnium was ready to start that bond with Ash once again. She stomped her feet and knelt beside the sulking trainer in despair. With her brontosaurus-like head, Magnium rubbed her neck against Ash's broad shoulder. She whimpered and retrieved Ash's attention. He raised his face and saw that all what was left of his Pokemon were observing Magnium's forgiveness towards Ash.
Ash sniffed his nose and gulped a breathe of warm air. He wrapped his hands around the large and calm Pokemon he had so longed to communicate once again with. He missed he touch of her head against his body, the constant jealousy and affection, and just the fact of being with her again. If only the other Pokemon felt the same way.
"Magnium," Ash breathed, "thank-you— thank-you!" He continued to hold hi arms around her body and giant flower. She nodded and waved her head forgivingly. When they parted, she led him over to another shaded area under a tree where a small burrow of grass had lied. Piles upon piles of thick brown and green grass covered three little lumps that sat beneath. Magnium cleared the blanket of grass and revealed three mid-sized speckled eggs that were incubating safely under the tree.
"Your going to be a mother?" Ash bellowed. He cupped his hand over his mouth with disbelief. Magnium moved the eggs around with her mouth and covered them again with the grassy blanket. "I always knew you'd make a good mother!" Then it hit his head, the image of the scrunched letter in his mind reminded him on how he had cursed verbally at his mother and crushed all the hard work she had done to make him happy and the strong person that he was today. His stomach dropped and he could feel butterflies flying violently into the sides of his stomach walls. He imagined on how many tears Delia must have shed when she held the letter in her hands, and the thought of her cleaning up the smashed china in the family room.
Together, Ash and Magnium sat alone on a cliff side and communicated in their own personal way with head adjustments and hand movements. Pikachu backed agreed to back off for a while and grasp upon the others to persuade them to give Ash some sign of them not hating him for what he had done. For hours they sat under the setting sun and watched the day pass before their eyes. Ash could sense the 'mother' inside of Magnium because she was constantly looking back at her nest to see if her eggs were secure. Luckily, Noctowl was there to sit above and guard the eggs.
Colours of reds, oranges, pinks, and yellows, stretched across the velvet sky as the sun was taking its chronological role to rest and reach into other parts of the world. It sunk slowly beneath a mountain range just outside of the town barriers. Giving off one last shine for the day through the cracks of the mountain range, Ash and Magnium parted. Calling Pikachu to his side with a little whistle from the mouth, they walked back up to the laboratory and called it a day. It was past seven and they could both feel the fresh sushi sinking into their mouths. The craving for food famished them as they drew each and every step closer. Right before he entered the laboratory doors the sky rumbled and a flash of jagged chain lighting stretched madly across the starry sky. Ash jumped off his feet as Pikachu began to power up lighting within her two red cheeks. He passed through the laboratory and with directions from Professor Oak to lead on back home; Ash was plotting to give his mother a formal apology without interruption.
Just as he and Pikachu stepped in the front door of the Ketchum household, a downpour of rain exceeding throughout the small mountain village. It was stronger than ever. Constant thumping like footsteps raced back and forwards on the roofs. Sounds of splitting cement echoed through the main roads, causing the green fields to turn grey and muddy.
"Dinner will be ready soon, so wash up!" Delia called, tossing teriyaki flavoured chicken in the frying pan. The kitchen fan above spun rapidly.
After washing, Ash and Pikachu slumped themselves into their usual placing at the table. Delia walked over to the table with a plate of fried chicken and a bowl full of Soya tossed rice. Sprawled before them was a thick platter filled with varieties kinds of Japanese sushi. Ash's favourite, California rolls, stood aligned on his plate. He picked up the chopsticks and began to sink his teeth into the mouth-watering food Delia had prepared. He moaned as the food passed through him, telling his mother that it was delicious. Now would be a good time to apologize to his mother, said a little voice inside his head, urging him to speak up.
The rainstorm outside was growing larger. The skies cackled and rumbled with clashed of thunder and strands of bright yellow electricity. Water poured down the back-patio glass doors and window above the kitchen sink. The patio set outside would have blown away if it weren't tied down as well as Delia had done.
Ash dropped his utensils and wiped his face with the serviette on his legs. "Mom," he said, "I wanted to talk to you about something."
Delia put down her chopsticks and could sense what was coming. Ash was bringing the past back into the residence— Delia had a look of irritancy in her eyes. "Ash," she answered placing her hand on his. "If this is about the past, I've forgiven—"
Ash interrupted her with a compliment she longed to hear. "You're the best a mother anyone could ever get, and I love you!" Ash bellowed, picking up his chopsticks again.
"—Oh Ash!" She cried almost tipping over the table to hold her son. She moved her chair closer and completely forgot about her food that was splattered across the floor. "Your back!" She kissed his forehead lovingly and wiped her tears. She was ready to hear anything from her son again.
After they had finished eating, Ash began to tell his mother about his adventures alone with Pikachu on his quest to find his long lost father he had only seen a few times since he was born. He started off from when he traveled to Saffron City and to Goldenrod on the new express magnetic train, and how he fought the fierce storms when he was left all alone outside with Pikachu with no money or food to spare. Going off on an adventure at fifteen with no parental support or guidance was a near impossible task for him. He never called home for money or never asked for help to where to go next. Year after year he blocked himself away from the world, and especially his mother who he had missed dearly. For months he had stayed at nearby Pokemon Centres where many of the Nurses he had met in earlier years were happy to have him and Pikachu.
The one conversation that sparked most of Mrs. Ketchum's interest was when after Ash had traveled to Saffron City. Apparently, Ash wasn't "all-alone" in the world and with no money to spare. He did have a home, food, and fresh running water. After he had given up looking for his father, he ventured into the ever so growing, Celadon City: Capital City of the Kanto region. There, he helped rebuild the Celadon City Gym, along with Erika and a few of the city citizens. She supplied him with all of the essentials, and a little token of her gratitude. Ash was sent freely to the Celadon University, located at the peak of the city, Ash took normal school classes of which he had missed throughout the years. He also worked on a future plan for the city, which Erika had been hiding for those two and a half years. Ash denied telling his mother what it was because only he and Erika had known and it was top secret between them.
"I was meaning to phone you and tell you about it, but I was afraid you would have blocked me out or changed our phone number," Ash suggested, bowing his head and holding his hands.
Delia shrugged and rolled her eyes. "Almost every day I sat by that phone, you wouldn't believe how worried I was— I nearly began to lose it, that's when Mimey left." She gathered the plated, and extra food and cleared the kitchen as Ash continued to tell her about his adventure and schooling on the side. "And when that phone rang just two weeks ago, I could just sense that it was you on the other end." And it was. She remembered picking up the receiver and hearing a much more masculine deep voice on the other line. She clicked on the screen and saw her son once again. The three years of crying had erupted through her eyes when she glanced upon Ash— whom was now a man with thick black hair and had a bold muscular physique. When he called her name she could hear his boys voice calling to her from afar in the fields of the backyard.
Ash refrained for a while and let his mother think about him and how much he had grown over the years. It was like yesterday when she was playing with him in the house. Ash was hiding and Delia was creeping up behind him with fingers split and ready to tickle his small body. His laughs stayed forever in her head when she was alone, and even when she was with the people of Pallet who comforted her when she needed it. She rested her face in her hands and felt shame within her soul. How could she have never gone out to look for him? Most mothers would have been out the minute they read the letter. Perhaps she was a bad mother after all? She shook her head and put the worries behind. He was here. Sitting right in front of her, looking out seriously at what he'd missed.
"Ash. What did I do wrong to make you leave?" She asked. The question haunted her for the longest time during her sleep, and during morning, noon, and night.
Ash stopped to think. It was nothing really. He was just a troubled teen without a father figure in his life, which was driving him to become even more curious by the day. "I just want to say that none of this was your fault. I needed to be alone, and I just wanted to find him so badly. It was driving me up the wall!" He replied pounding his fists on the table, causing Delia to shake. The slightest tap to the table was strong enough from his hands to make the whole perimeter vibrate. "I never meant to hurt you, but that fight that we had pressed me over my limits and I guess I just— lost control."
Still dissatisfied, she rose to her tired feet and headed towards the freezer. She pulled out a tub of chocolate ice cream, and waffle cones for desert, which was Ash's most favourite idea for a meal. He licked his lips as Delia scooped to large pieces of ice cream onto the two cones. Teasing him, she licked the spoon and giggled softly, shivering to the cool sensation of the melting fluid running down her throat.
Hours after socializing, Ash was beginning to doze off on the kitchen table because for more than a few months, he had been traveling back home all the way from the centre of Kanto, Celadon City. He took one last yawn before heading upstairs. Kissing his mother goodnight on the cheek, he and Pikachu went upstairs and prepared themselves for a well-deserved rest in the comfy bunk beds. He took off all his clothes, except for his boxers and shut his eyes— falling into slumber within minutes at a time.
As he lied down in his bed lengthwise, he was tossing and turning in his sleep. Of course he could hear the constant lightning outside of his window crackling and screeching, who wouldn't? It was the loudest storm Pallet has ever seen. Luckily it didn't turn into anything vicious. The skies continued to rumble through the late hours of the night as the rain flooded the outskirts of the small town. Pikachu couldn't help but to sit on the windowsill and watch the storm with fascination.
Soon enough, Ash's conscious mind was beginning to dream weird and unexplainable events, which sent shivers down his spine. His closed eyes scrunched at the pupils and he watched himself falling into an abyss of multicoloured lights and spiralling shades of mist that circled around his body. He could physically feel the cool breeze flowing into his face as he fell; his hair flapped violently as he began to fall faster than he could ever imagine. Finally he reached his destination in the dream. He was standing in some kind of dome like structure with a crystalline and transparent roof over his head. Above, he could see the reflections of massive sea creatures floating and enjoying life— life in the sea actually. Yet he wasn't alone. Standing on each and every side around hi maws at least ten people whose eyes were transfixed to a centre stage of the hall. Ash moved his eyes to where everyone else had been observing, and surely enough something did catch his eye. On a marble floor stage supported by at least ten blue diamond pillars were two people: a man and a very young woman who seemed oddly familiar to him. The young woman was average height with long compressed red hair. Her skin was so light; if you put her into a mound of snow you probably wouldn't recognize her. And her eyes were a brilliant turquoise- aqua colour, brighter than the surface of the shimmering oceans. The man, who happened to be the leader, was wearing a general's suit with many medals of honour attached to his jacket. He opened a cherry wood box and pulled out a golden tiara, matching earrings, and a beautiful cut necklace that was encrusted with a small sapphire jewel inside. The woman smiled as the man placed the jewellery upon her head and body.
CRASH! The dream was over, being interrupted by the loudest rumble of thunder, which happened to shake the whole room, startled the life out of Ash and Pikachu. Ash held his heart as it thumped rapidly, pumping blood faster than the speed of sound. His sheets were soaked with his sweat, and he could feel it cascade down his pecks and six-pack. Wiping his forehead, he and Pikachu decided to go down into the kitchen to fetch them a refreshment to take their minds off from the heat of his room upstairs.
Adjusting the thermostat and turning on the small light above the kitchen window, something peculiar caught the corner of his eye after another orb of lighting shot down. At first he thought nothing of it, then he saw it again. Something was walking through the flooding fields at the back of his house. Swerving around the figure were two red flashing lights, which seemed to be protecting whatever was between them. Ash moved apprehensively to the kitchen glass doors and placed his face right against them, observing who or what was approaching the household. To his knowledge, it was a wandering trainer, equipped with thick blue robes and a hood to cover ones face.
CACKLE! Another orb of fierce electrified lighting hit the grey fields, but this time it hit the travelling stranger directly. The two swerving flashes of light separated from the stranger when Ash could see the person falling unconsciously to the ground. The hood of the cloak drew off and all Ash could see was a wet head of ravishing red hair. His eyes widened, his heart pulsed, and the tiny back hairs of his neck stood on end.
"M-Misty?" Ash shouted pounding on the glass doors. He turned his head and called out through the quiet darkened house. "Mom!" He screeched repeatedly. He could hear the racing footsteps on top of the kitchen ceiling. Finally the upstairs light flicked on and Mrs. Ketchum came running down the stairs.
Delia glared at him awkwardly, just standing in his boxers in front of his patio doors, hardly breathing. "Ash— what's wrong?" She asked looking out through the window.
He reached for the lock on the door and opened it. Delia became nervous. "It's Misty— she's out there— have to help her!" Ash wailed jumping outside onto the back patio.
Delia looked again. Squinting her eyes closer together she could see an unconscious traveller in the midst. Her body was deeply electrified and sinking slowly into the thickly flooded grey fields. Water began to seep through the trenches of grass and wheat, circling around Misty. Her body began to sink more quickly into the mud. Within minutes, all that was left of her visible body was her thin hand with painted blue nails. Ash skidded across the layers of mud and seized her hand before she was completely gone.
- End Of Chapter