No Silver Lining - Part 1: The Foundling
Chapter 3: Seeing Isn't Believing
"Nurse Joy, can you tell me about the Gym Leader here in Cobalt City ?" Ash asked, walking down the hallway with her. Chansey was ahead of them, checking the charts tacked to the doorways to make sure that every Pokémon in the hospital was happy and being well cared for.
"Sicora ? She's a strong trainer." Nurse Joy said pleasantly. Obviously her mind was on other things.
"Anything else ?" Ash persisted. Joy smiled.
"You'll have to go and see for yourself. We'll have a room ready for your Pokémon. Just in case," she added.
Ash gulped.
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The jeep that Nurse Joy had driven from Mauvetown was gone when Ash finally left the PokéHospital. He assumed she had gone back to Mauvetown to help get the power back online, but was rather sorry he had missed saying goodbye to her.
Cobalt City was actually rather large, and very busy in the midmorning. Pikachu ran ahead, forcing Ash to hurry to keep up. People and Pokémon were everywhere. Shops advertised their wares, restaurants spilled enticing smells onto the sidewalk, but Ash had eyes only for the looming black and purple PokéBall that crowned the Cobalt City Gym.
Pikachu was waiting for Ash at the doors of the Gym, which were oval and grey coloured with black swirls like spilled ink decorating them. Ash pushed on one carefully and it swung open. "Come on, Pikachu," He said, and stepped inside.
It was dark, and his eyes took a moment to adjust. There was a desk like a receptionist might sit at, but there was no one there. A potted plant occupied one corner of the room, and there were nicely padded chairs along the wall facing the desk. Several abstract paintings hung on the walls, though he had no idea what they were supposed to be. On the far side of the room was another set of oval doors -- but these had no handles. Ash walked over and pushed against them, but they didn't budge. They were locked, or blocked. There was no one in the room, and Ash hesitantly took a seat in one of the chairs. Pikachu jumped up onto the chair next to him.
Several minutes passed, then more. After about 20 minutes, Ash was starting to get impatient. There was nothing to do, no books to read, and the paintings had already confused him and still made no sense.
"Pika," sighed Pikachu.
"Come on, Pikachu," Ash said, standing up and walking back over to the doors. He knocked on them. "Hello ?" he called, then louder, "Can anybody hear me ? Is anyone there ? I'm here for a Pokémon battle !"
The doors swung open.
Ash blinked. "Well, that was easy," he murmured. He held out his arm and Pikachu clambered up it to sit in his favourite spot on Ash's shoulder. It was dark in this room too, but there was a spiral staircase leading upwards. Little gold lights marked both edges of the staircase, and the pinpricks of light looked like an enormous double helix rising into the air.
He mounted the first step and took them in steady, even strides. After all, there was no sense in tiring himself out. As he climbed, Ash reviewed everything he knew about the Gym Leader, Sicora. He knew she used psychic Pokémon, and that….
That…
That…
That… was about it, actually.
When he reached the top of the staircase, the room brightened. Gold lights set at regular intervals along the walls brightened at his entrance and lit the area. He was standing on one end of a Battle Field. And he still hadn't seen anybody.
"Hello !" Ash called loudly, and Pikachu jumped down from his shoulder to sit beside his right leg.
"There's no need to yell, I heard you come in."
Ash spun around but there was no one there. "Where are you ?" he said.
"Right in front of you," said the voice. It was female, playful.
"I don't see you." Ash answered, squinting.
"Look harder." Even as she said it, Ash began to perceive her. She was fading into view, like a photo slowly being developed. Ash gaped without meaning to. This must be Sicora. He knew she trained psychic Pokémon, but he hadn't realized that she, too, would have similar mental abilities. Though, as he thought about it, he realized it made sense. She must have been standing in front of him the whole time.
"Actually, I was walking upstairs with you. It's good exercise." The girl said. No, not girl -- but not a woman either; older than he was but not an adult. She folded her arms across her silver and purple T-shirt; it matched the streak of purple dyed in her otherwise black hair. He could almost hear Brock's voice, eagerly introducing himself, and for a moment, Ash really missed his friends.
"Did you read my mind ?" Ash asked instead, feeling a bit dismayed at the prospect.
"No, that's what most trainers think at first. I just have a good talent for reading people's expressions."
When she seemed as solid as she was going to get, Ash said, "I'm Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town, and I'm here to challenge you to a battle for a Gym Badge."
"Well, my name is Sicora, and I accept your challenge, Ash-Ketchum-from-Pallet-Town." She laughed. "Are you sure you want to battle right now ?"
"Absolutely." Ash said, and Pikachu added his agreement. It had been a while since they had faced a Gym Leader, but they were both ready and eager to do so again.
"As you say," Sicora said agreeably, and snapped her fingers. It seemed unusually loud. Every one of the gold lights plunged themselves into darkness. Everything went black, and Ash couldn't even see Pikachu at his feet.
"Hey, what's going on ?" Ash yelled.
"Patience," Sicora replied, and her voice sounded the same; she hadn't moved from her previous position. As Ash watched, a speck of light appeared, this one silvery. Then another appeared, then another. Hundreds of silver specks winked into existence, looking for all the world like… stars.
Like they were standing among the stars, as though someone or something had formed a Battle Field from the very night sky itself. It was extraordinary. The 'stars' even twinkled at them…
"Pikachu." The Pokémon said reverently, and Ash tore his eyes away from the spectacle, and looked over at Sicora, who was watching them.
"What do you think ?" She asked.
"It's beautiful." Ash said, And eerie. he added, and then after a pause, "But I still want to battle !"
"All right, then. Such enthusiasm… We'll choose two Pokémon each. For my first, I call… Alakazam !" Sicora called, and threw her PokéBall. A beam of red light released the powerful psychic Pokémon, who raised both his spoons, took a fighting stance, and said, "Ka-zam !"
A powerful opponent. Alakazam was the final step for Abra, and the evolved form of Kadabra. His mind flashed back to the battle between he and Sabrina, in Saffron City.
"Pikachu, go !" Ash said, and the electric Pokémon ran forward to meet his opponent. Alakazam was probably Sicora's most powerful Pokémon, as Pikachu was Ash's; it was the best match. Ash took a careful step; the… floor ? ground ? looked like stars but was completely solid.
"Match start. Alakazam, hypnosis !" Sicora shouted, and Alakazam glowed with a gold light. The glow drifted smoke-like around Pikachu, who blinked rapidly, trying to fight off the rapid drowsiness.
"Pikachu, shake it off !" Ash shouted, "Use Agility !"
Instantly, Pikachu was running at Alakazam, dodging this way and that. He charged into Alakazam but was thrown back by the psychic ward surrounding the larger Pokémon.
"Psychic Wave !" Sicora called, and Alakazam crossed it's spoons together. A spectrum of light exploded towards Pikachu, who leapt out of the way. The multicoloured light slammed into a 'wall' and dissipated harmlessly.
"Pikachu ! Thunderbolt !"
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He has admirable tenacity, Sicora thought. She saw a lot of trainers pass through this Field, but rare were the ones who battled because they truly loved to battle. Most were just interested in winning a badge and moving on.
Pikachu's Thunderbolt attack lanced across the Field and struck Alakazam straight on. The psychic Pokémon raised it's spoons to outlast, but could not withstand the sheer power of raw electric energy. The mental shield it created burst like a popped bubble. "Ka-zam…" it said weakly, sinking to one knee.
"Alakazam, Heal." Sicora ordered, and the Pokémon drew inward for strength and swiftly healed the injuries Pikachu had inflicted. But the repair cost valuable time, and Ash was already compensating with another attack.
"Thundershock !"
"CHUUUUUUU !"
A generated tempest radiated like a bright corona around the diminutive Pokémon. Electricity rebounded off everyone and everything, making even the trainers shield their eyes from the spectacle. The 'stars' flashed brightly in response, illuminating everything in a photo-negative light, and then reversed again back to normal. Astonished, Sicora watched as the thunderous energy died off, leaving Alakazam unconscious and charred. She was also quite impressed; that was an extremely powerful Pikachu !
"Alakazam, return." She called, holding the PokéBall. The powerful Pokémon disappeared in a beam of red light to rest. Sicora lobbed another Ball into the air. "I choose you… Ghastly !"
The PokéBall split to release Ghastly, who exclaimed, "Ghh-hhhastly !"
"Ghastly, Confusion !" Sicora ordered, and the Pokémon complied, releasing waves of psychic energy. Pikachu stopped, twitched, and shook his head.
"Pikachu !" Ash yelled, as his Pokémon looked around dizzily.
"Piii…" Pikachu said, unable to shake off the effects.
"Now, Ghastly ! Steal Pikachu's strength !" Sicora called triumphantly, and the ghost Pokémon complied, settling it's gaseous form overtop of Pikachu. It hovered there for a few seconds, and then floated away. Pikachu collapsed with a weak sigh.
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"Pikachu !" Ash cried, leaving the trainer's accustomed place and running across the Field. He fell to his knees and scooped the electric Pokémon into his arms. "Are you all right ?"
"Pika." His best friend sighed faintly. His cheek spots were dark, his yellow colouring was sickly-pale, and his eyes seemed bigger than usual.
Ash thought, He looks just like the Pokémon at the PokéHospital. This must have been what happened to them. And Nurse Joy's friendly offer to have a room ready for his Pokémon when he returned came back to him. He hugged Pikachu tight as he stood up. "You did great, Pikachu." Ash said.
Sicora was watching the pair with a slight smile. Ash burned; how dare she laugh at them ! He almost, almost threw Charizard's PokéBall, but didn't. As much he wanted to continue the battle with Sicora, he wanted to make sure Pikachu was going to be ok, and he couldn't do that and battle at the same time. A few years ago, he would have been so furious, he would have thrown Charizard's PokéBall without a second though. Now, though…
"Do you want to continue ?" she called, as if reading his mind again. He wasn't about to rule out that possibility. Ghastly hovered expectantly between the two trainers.
Ash ground his teeth. He hated to admit he didn't want to. "No." he practically growled.
Wordlessly, Sicora recalled Ghastly. The starry Battle Field dissolved in a haze.