No Silver Lining - Part 1: The Foundling
Morning dawned on Cobalt City in the form of a glorious sunrise. It drenched everything in warm sunlight and brightened the moods of everyone who saw it. A nice morning had a way of doing that for people and Pokémon. Everything was fresh and new and pleasant.
Ash had been up early and he and Pikachu were finishing breakfast while Ash tried to decide whether to try for the North Isles League. He stood and went to the window, leaned on the sill, and watched the people of Cobalt go about their business for a few minutes.
"Why don't we win Sicora's badge and then decide ?" Ash finally answered his own question.
"Pika." Pikachu added his agreement without really listening.
"Pikachu ? Is something wrong ?" Ash asked as he sat down.
"Pi." The Pokémon answered negatively, perking up a bit. He finished his PokéChow meal and looked at Ash, who suddenly grinned.
"Come on, Pikachu. We've got a badge to win !"
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This time, Ash and Pikachu didn't wait in the reception room of Cobalt Gym. It was still empty, so he pushed open the doors and went straight to the staircase without pause. He also took the stairs a lot faster this time, and Pikachu bounded up the stairs beside him, just as eager for a rematch. When he reached the Battle Field level, made not of stars but simply of a normal floor, he was slightly more winded than before, and caught his breath before calling, "Hello ! Hello ?"
"That took less time than expected." Sicora commented from behind him. Ash whirled around to face her.
"Don't do that !" he said, startled. Does she always intentionally startle people ?!
"Are you here for my badge, Ash ?" Sicora asked. She was wearing a similar outfit, except her shirt was dark blue today. The dyed lock of hair had changed colour too, and matched her shirt with blue today, instead of purple.
"Yes, we are !" Ash replied, enthusiastically. He wondered if she was going to re-create the starry battlefield.
"It's usually only impressive the first time." Sicora answered, which furthered his suspicion that she was indeed reading his mind, despite what she may have said. Just to be sure, he imagined him winning this battle. And across the field, Sicora smirked. "We'll see."
"Let's battle." Ash said confidently, and the match began as Sicora threw her first PokéBall, which released Alakazam, completely recovered. Ash was ready; he'd thought about this practically all night.
"Go, Charizard !" Ash yelled, releasing the evolved Pokémon. Charizard solidified on the Battle Field. Please, please, listen to me, Ash thought. Even after all this time, his control over Charizard was sometimes shaky. Most of the time, it wasn't a problem, but every now and then…
"Use your flamethrower !" he ordered, and Charizard snuffed a hint of fire through his nose but didn't move. Ash felt his stomach turn over once and settle. "Charizard !" he yelled, frustrated.
"Alakazam, psybeam. Let's show this weakling Pokémon that it should keep its flame out of our Gym." Sicora ordered coolly. She didn't sound nearly as nice as she had yesterday, Ash gulped mentally.
Charizard's head snapped up at the insult and he roared thunderously. Ash groaned. Great… now Charizard wouldn't listen to me at all, he thought. The Pokémon's powerful wings stirred up a whirlwind of dust as he took to the air, still roaring in fury. Completely ignoring Ash now, he loosed a huge blast of fire at Alakazam.
A blue-gold bubble encased the psychic Pokémon, and when the fire burned away, Alakazam was untouched. This only served to make Charizard angrier, and he circled once, lining up for another shot. Alakazam released the psybeam that had been gathered earlier and focused on the flying form. With a blast, the energy exploded outward, but Charizard, having never been a slow or clumsy flier, barrel-rolled and dodged the blast. It passed through the ceiling and vanished harmlessly.
Ash was determined to try anyway. "Charizard, use Ember attack !" he called. He had to yell to be heard. Sicora hadn't moved yet, nor had she called out any further orders. At least, Ash realized, not aloud. She could very well be talking psychically to Alakazam.
For a moment, it looked like Charizard was going to listen -- then he turned his head and roared a gust of fire towards Ash. The teen yelped and jumped out of the way. Pikachu leapt in the other direction, and the flames charred the spot they had been standing in. "Charizard !" he shouted, part annoyed and part embarrassed. In a Gym Battle, no less, Ash thought glumly. How… humiliating.
That, apparently, had been enough for Sicora to see. "Hey, Charizard !" she taunted, "I'm the one who insulted you. How come you haven't flamed me yet ?"
"Pikachu !" The electric Pokémon cried, from his spot beside Ash. You'll --
"No, don't --" Ash started to warn her at the same time, but Charizard roared his defiance at the Gym Leader, drowning out the rest of their warnings. He landed and used his flamethrower at her. Ash grabbed Charizard's PokéBall and hurled it. "Return !" he cried, and the ball flew across the Gym, striking the flame Pokémon on the right wing --
-- and falling to the ground, still empty. Ash made an exclamation of shock.
When the flamethrower struck, Ash lost sight of Sicora for a moment. "Ka-zam !" Her Pokémon took a step forward, before realizing something was amiss. Ash noticed it too; the flames weren't…. shaped right, like they'd been wrapped across something round. In fact, they were still curving.
Sicora came into view behind the flames. Ash couldn't tell if it was the backwash of colour from the fire or if she was actually glowing, but in either case she was awfully bright. She had both her hands out in front of her and was pushing the fire right back at Charizard. Wide-eyed, Ash watched the Gym Leader go head-to-head with one of his most powerful Pokémon. It was not as easy for her, Ash realized, as he'd first thought. The flame might be blocked but the heat was not, and it shimmered the air like a mirage. Her black boots left little scraps of rubber where they'd nearly melted. Suddenly, like a turning tide, the fire reversed course and consumed the Pokémon from sight for a moment.
One vicious flap from the huge wings dispelled the remaining flames, and then everything went rather quiet for a moment as the two just looked at each other, eyes locked. Sicora's lips moved but she didn't say anything out loud, and then Charizard snorted flame, and that seemed to be the end of the silent conversation.
"Ash." Sicora said, without breaking eye contact with Charizard, "Perhaps you'd better use another Pokémon."
Ash picked up Charizard's PokéBall again. "Charizard, return."
The flame Pokémon disappeared in a beam of red light. Ash felt relief wash over him. "I thought it was broken," he said, and examined it. There didn't appear to be anything wrong with it, though. Alakazam teleported over to Sicora, who had pulled off one of her boots and was examining it dubiously. There wasn't much left of it, and her shirt had not escaped unscathed either. She was down to half a sleeve out of a pair of them. She did not look as though she had just faced down a powerful Pokémon, though -- most people would not be so worried about their footwear.
"Are you all right ?" Ash asked as he came over, worried. He shrunk Charizard's PokéBall with a touch and put it back on his belt.
"Oh, I'm fine," Sicora answered, putting her boot back on. "First your Pikachu and then your Charizard." She chuckled, "You have some very, very strong Pokémon, Ash."
"Thanks." Ash said, feeling strange. He guessed all Gym Leaders were a little eccentric and Sicora a little more so than others.
"Alakazam !" Her Pokémon insisted, looking up at her. Sicora smiled and recalled her friend to a PokéBall.
"Here you go, Ash." Sicora said, holding out her hand to him. "Congratulations on earning the Illusia Badge."
Ash watched as a badge solidified in her palm, a diamond shaped one with grey swirls in it, like the decorations downstairs. Tentatively, he took it and held it up to the light. The grey swirls moved like smoke. "Illusia Badge," he repeated, and then protested, "But we didn't finish either of our battles !"
"Of course we did. Your Pikachu beat Alakazam," Sicora replied matter-of-factly.
"You said a two-on-two battle," Ash recalled suspiciously.
"Yes, well, I think Charizard's and my battle is considered a draw." Sicora said, as though confiding in him.
"That wasn't a battle !" Ash said, and then he closed his mouth. She had just given him a Gym Badge.
"Sure it was." Sicora winked, "You see, Sabrina battles with Pokémon. I battle with Pokémon."
Ash looked at her oddly. "You make your own battle rules every time, don't you ?"
"Of course I do," She answered, and that was that.
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It had taken him nearly an hour of persistent grooming to get his fur back in some semblance of order, and another hour to convince himself that he really had to get out from underneath the bridge. What finally got him moving was his stomach; he hadn't had anything to eat in days, it seemed to him. He'd been too tired to eat at the PokéHospital, wanting only to sleep and forget what happened.
Only sleep had come after the longest time.
Realizing that he would have to go back into town to get something to eat, he followed the main road back the way he had come the previous night. He passed an older man walking the opposite direction and received a strange stare. Meowth realized that he was looking at him oddly because he was walking on two feet. He never really thought about it anymore, because Jessie and James were used to it.
Had been used to it, his mind ruthlessly insisted on correcting. Undecided, he paused, staring despondently at the road into town.
After a moment, misery won out over hunger, and Meowth retreated to his place underneath the bridge.
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Ash kept opening his jacket lapel to look at the Illusia Badge. Every time he looked at it, it looked a little bit different. Sicora had invited him to her Gym's top floor again and was sipping from a fresh cup of tea.
"So." She said, "Should I warn the League that Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town in coming their way ?"
Ash grinned, which made him look a bit younger. "Yeah !" he answered, "Right, Pikachu ?" He looked over at his best Pokémon friend, but Pikachu wasn't even paying attention. "Pikachu ?" Ash repeated, concerned.
"I think your Pikachu's worried about something." Sicora observed.
"Worried about something ?" Ash echoed, and Pikachu looked up at him. "Is something wrong, Pikachu ? Are you feeling ok ?"
"Pika." The Pokémon answered affirmatively, feeling perfectly healthy.
"You do want us to enter the League, right ?" Ash tried.
"Pika." Pikachu repeated. Another affirmative.
"Then what's wrong ?" Ash was out of ideas.
No answer. Ash looked at Sicora and shrugged.
"Perhaps it's someone instead of something ?" The Gym Leader offered.
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Pikachu sat quietly as Ash tried to guess the source of his distress. How could he say anything ? When Sicora correctly guessed that it was someone instead of something, and Ash only looked more confused, Pikachu felt even worse. He honestly had no clue, did he ?
Ash got down on one knee and held out his arm. Knowing the gesture of friendship and appreciating it, Pikachu leapt easily into his accustomed place on Ash's shoulder. Ash was trying to understand. He knew that.
"Pikachu." The teen said, "You're not mad at me for something, are you ?"
"Pi !" Pikachu answered quickly, negatively. Of course not. How could he be ?
Ash looked helpless. "Then what's wrong ?" he asked. "You can tell me," he coaxed, and Pikachu sighed, because he'd always been able to tell Ash everything, so it shouldn't be this hard to tell him this...
"Let me try." Sicora finally said. She smiled reassuringly at Pikachu and said, "If you want me to stop, all you have to do is tell me, all right ?"
When the Pokémon cautiously nodded his agreement, Sicora didn't appear to do anything more than just sit there. Her eyes opened a bit wider than usual, and then Pikachu heard a soft echo in his mind, like someone knocking quietly on a door.
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Sicora's eyes were open but she did not see anything through them; she did not blink, and she and to remind herself to breathe. Instead, elsewhere, she was settling her presence carefully into Pikachu's mind. It was something that she did with all of her psychic Pokémon, but Pikachu was not one of them, not of the 'right' type. She issued a mental image of knocking to show Pikachu that she was not here to intrude. And, sure enough, the Pokémon tentatively 'answered' the 'door' and let her enter. It was a delicate thing, Sicora mused, moving through a mind that was not accustomed to it. It had taken her almost a year to gain Abra's trust to do this.
Once Pikachu had admitted her, she began by re-affirming that it was indeed worry the Pokémon was feeling -- it was. She formed a feeling of inquisitiveness, and was rewarded with a feeling of comfort and safety. Communicating like this wasn't so much words as it was emotions and images. Pikachu, therefore, was worried about someone's safety.
Sicora made an image of Ash -- Pikachu responded negatively. Not worried about Ash's safety. Sicora showed an image of Pikachu himself, but another negative. Not worried for his own safety. Sicora guessed one of Ash's other Pokémon, but Pikachu surged more negatives with a flash of frustration, and Sicora backed off for a moment. She was ready to leave if Pikachu dismissed her, but he didn't. Not yet.
She tried again after a few seconds, another feeling of curiosity but patience. Whatever Pikachu was hiding it was obviously something he was not eager to share…
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Ash was getting worried when Sicora hadn't moved or even blinked for several minutes. Pikachu was sitting next to him and was motionless as well. Ash knew Sicora wouldn't intentionally hurt Pikachu, but he still fretted because truthfully, all this psychic power was… intimidating. So he felt a flash of relief when she finally closed her eyes, shook her head, and drew a long breath. Then she opened her eyes again and smiled.
"Everything's all right," she reassured him. "Sometimes I feel a bit dizzy afterwards, that's all. Nothing to worry about."
"Did it work ?" Ash asked, and Sicora got a pensive look on her face.
"Well... yes," she answered, "Pikachu is worried over another Pokémon, and he's upset because you're not."
It was like a dam releasing a flood for Ash. In an instant, he knew exactly what Pikachu was thinking about. "Pikachu." Ash said softly, "Is this about Meowth ?"
"Pika."
Ash opened his mouth to say something else, thought about it, and paused. Sicora, having divulged the problem but still knowing nothing of its origin, absently scratched behind the ears of the young Abra, who had at some point climbed up next to her while Ash puzzled over this predicament.
He hadn't been worried about Meowth because truthfully, he hadn't thought the cat was telling the truth. He was probably back at Team Rocket's latest hideout, laughing about it anyway, right ?
"Perhaps you two should take some time to talk about this together." Sicora supplied helpfully.
"Yeah, I think so." Ash agreed. "We'll go back to the Pokémon Center."
"Well, if you're leaving, let me register you for the North Isles League first, Ash. Where's your identification package ?"
Ash was temporarily thrown by the request. "I just use my PokéDex." He said finally.
"That will work just fine." Sicora said, and Ash handed it to her. Standing, she walked over to a console on the wall and slid it into a thin slot. Ash's picture appeared on the screen, and then the computer beeped and hummed. In an exasperated, whiny voice, it announced :
"This unit is registered to : Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town. Registered trainer of : Indigo Plateau. Registered trainer of : Orange Islands League." There was a short pause, then the mechanical voice reluctantly added, "Registered trainer of : North Isles League."
And it promptly spat the PokéDex back into Ash's hands, startling him. Sicora rolled her eyes. "Temperamental thing, it is. Gives me all sorts of trouble." She turned off the computer and smiled at him. "Well, that's it. You're registered. You do realize that not everyone who wins my Illusia Badge is passed to the Elemental League, right ?"
Ash's surprised look was enough to prompt the Gym Leader into continuing, "Essentially, I decide who will advance to compete in the League. And I think you've skill enough to do so. Skill enough by far."
"I… uhh, thanks." Ash replied, flattered. Modesty was another thing he had learned in the last few years, Gary had teased him on his last trip home. (Gary, on the other hand, still had to learn to practice what he preached…)
Sicora escorted him to the spiral stairs. She was, Ash thought, a lot more personable than many other Gym Leaders, many of whom gave you a badge and forgot you existed as soon as you were out of their sight. As they walked down the steps, she handed him a folded map. "You'll probably need this."
"Thanks." Ash repeated, tucking it into his pocket. Pikachu was ahead of them, taking the wide stairs two at a time.
"Do me a favour, Ash ?" Sicora inquired as they descended the stairs.
"Sure."
"When you get to Mehsifet Island… the Gym Leader there is Kantos."
Ash looked at her. "You want me to say hi to him or something ?" he joked.
"No, I want you to be careful around him." Sicora's tone was serious enough to make Ash pause.
"Why ?" They had reached the bottom of the stairs. "Why would I need to be careful around him ?"
"Because he makes his own rules."
"I thought you did, too."
There was a pause from the psychic trainer. "Yes, I do." She admitted. "But my rules aren't dangerous." Before he could say anything, she shook her head as if wondering what had prompted her to bring up the subject in the first place. "Just keep an eye out for him, alright Ash ?"
"Ok. I will." Ash answered, and Sicora nodded once and watched from the bottom of the stairs as Ash and Pikachu disappeared out the rounded doors, and out of the Cobalt City Gym.
"I may make my own rules, but my rules have never hurt anyone." Sicora muttered.