Chapter 11

It was certainly a familiar scene as Ash and Brock walked down a hilly area. To their left and right were trees reaching up to the sky, but not quite blocking out the sky which was beautiful shades of ambers and purples that could make even the saddest soul smile. This wasn't exactly the case this time, as neither Ash nor Brock were looking to the sky, but instead on the path ahead of them. "The road's gotta be somewhere," Ash muttered, just a little bit ahead of Brock as if proving he could find their way out from being lost. Yet again.

"Everything's somewhere," Brock replied with a sigh. It seemed like they were never going to get to Vermilion City, their destination for Ash's next Gym Battle.

"Don't you worry, Brock," Ash said confidently, turning around and walking backwards with his jacket open. The two badges pinned on the inside of it burned like fire in the setting sun's light. "I've had two Badges for this long, what's one or two more days?"

"It's true that you already have two Badges," Brock agreed with a finger in the air. "But you don't have six Pokémon yet, and you need at least a full team of six in order to participate in the Pokémon League."

"But I caught all my Pokémon fair and square!"

"Not Charmander; it followed you," the former Gym Leader pointed out, and Ash gave a nervous chuckle and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, they're all mine, and that's what really counts for a Pokémon Trainer."

"It's really not unusual for most Trainers to capture twenty or thirty Pokémon," Brock also added, looking past Ash, who was deflating more and more with each word coming out of the older boy's mouth. "You heard Gary the other day. He was putting you down because you didn't even have a full team of six yet."

"You're always putting me down..." the Pallet boy muttered, tucking his knees to his chest and spiraling in finger in the dirt below. Brock stopped and looked down at Ash with a frown on his face, almost feeling sorry now that he said something that was meant to be taken as harmless. But before he could say anything further, Ash jumped up onto his feet and whipped out a Poké Ball. "But I'll show you! I'm gonna prove to you that I can do it! I'm gonna be a Pokémon Master!" He stepped ahead and slid his foot in the dirt as he turned and smirked at Brock. "Stand back and watch me work." And without waiting for Brock, Ash booked on ahead up the hill, ignoring Brock's cries for him to wait up.

Clutching the Poké Ball tightly in his hand as if holding it more in his grip would make him go faster, he raced through the woods and weaved through the trees as though someone was after him, but he was actually running more from his insecurities as a Pokémon Trainer. He hoped the faster he went, the further they would be. At least, until he found a Pokémon.

The smell of the ocean hit him at once, and he burst through the trees to find his shoes crunching through delicate sand. The waves of the ocean slamming against the beach and slowly receding back in order to only repeat the cycle again was almost therapeutic to some, and as he reached the shoreline, Ash smiled at the scene before him. The sun was about a third of the way down over the horizon, and the beautiful amber sky reflecting off the blue ocean gave quite a beautiful view. But he only gave this a brief glance before his eyes scanned around the area. Finally, after looking around, his head hung and his shoulders slumped. "I don't want to watch the sunset; I want more Pokémon." As if the ocean were answering his request, something small stepped out of the waving shore, and it gave a gurgle as it stepped sideways in between his legs. Ash looked down in disbelief as he looked down at the small scarlet crab Pokémon go without barely regarding him, and bent his entire body to watch it between his knees as it scuttled through the sand.

"Hey, wait! Stay here! Don't go! Come back!" A smile stretched on Ash's face as he pulled himself right side up, and he pointed at it with one hand and pulled out his Pokédex with the other. "It's a Pokémon!"

"Krabby. Lives near the shore. Its average height is about sixteen inches."

"A Pokémon's a Pokémon, I guess," Ash said, staring at the Pokémon on the screen and comparing it to the little crab attempting to scurry away, but keeping its eyes locked on Ash for any sudden movements. "But this Krabby sure is shrimpy." The Krabby stopped and gurgled again, this time producing foam from its mouth. It didn't look angry, but the bubbles showed it had been offended by the boy's words. "Uh, I didn't mean to insult you, Krabby!" Fixing the visor on his hat, Ash poked the Water-type's claw with his pointer finger. "You're a cute little-" His words were instantly cut off by a cry of pain as Krabby's claw snapped around the appendage. Ash recoiled loudly, and Krabby flew into the air as Ash pulled his arm back with the little Water-type still attached to his finger, and it finally let go. Landing on the ground, the Crab Pokémon took the poke as a threat, and it lowered its head and pinched its claws together, now fully facing Ash. Its claws sounded like scissors opening and closing, and if it wasn't so tiny, it almost would have been intimidating.

His finger throbbing, Ash's brow furrowed together, and him and Krabby stared in a staredown with the setting sun in the background. The waves provided great background music for this, and Ash felt a smirk settle on his mouth. "Showdown time. Tiny or not, you are a Pokémon, and I'll show Brock that I can catch you!" The waves hit a collection of boulders at the shore, sending water into the air, and acting as a gunshot, both him and Krabby rushed towards each other. In one fell swoop, Ash dipped down and picked up a piece of driftwood that had washed up on shore, and jabbed it at the Water-type, but the Crab Pokémon never took its eyes off Ash as it clicked its claws together many times a second. The stick stood no chance against the Pokémon's ViceGrip attack. But, it provided the distraction he needed, and as the Pokémon watched the pieces of wood fall uselessly to the sand all around it, Ash whipped out an empty Poké Ball and tossed it forward. "Poké Ball, go!"

Krabby flinched as the Poké Ball tapped one of the small spikes on its head, and the ball opened and converted Krabby to energy before sucking it inside. Landing in the sand amongst the sticks, the Poké Ball rocked back and forth while the button on the front flashed red. The sound of the waves died down over his own concentration, staring hard at the Poké Ball and willing it shut. He didn't blink, fearing it would suddenly jinx his chances of catching it, nor did he breathe – fearing the same. Finally, the ball stopped wiggling, and it locked itself. Proudly, Ash let out his breath through his nose like a chuckle, and picked up the Poké Ball containing his new Pokémon. "Now I really caught one!" he praised himself, holding the ball up proudly, and then stuck out his nose and chest. "Good try Krabby, but not good enough!"

At that moment, Brock had finally caught up to the boy, breaking through the bushes and stepping out onto the beach. He admired the sunset for a moment before approaching Ash, and upon his arrival, Ash stuck the Poké Ball containing his new Krabby forward. "Look! I told you I could catch more Pokémon! And I caught a Krabby all on my own!"

"Hey, cool! Congratulations," Brock replied with a smile, though he wasn't nearly as impressed as Ash was hoping he would be. "But what I would like to catch is dinner. I wonder if there's a place to stop around here for the night. I don't want to have to camp out again – I'm dying for a stove-cooked meal."

"And I'd like to call Professor Oak and let him know about all my new Pokémon!" Ash added.

"I think both of our hopes are pretty dashed. This beach is pretty far out of the way..." Brock muttered. But then, a shimmering light grabbed their attention, and both of them looked further along down the beach. The beach stopped upon reaching a cliffside, and at the very top of the cliff, the light was spinning around and around at the top of a tall tower.

"What's that?" Ash questioned, and when the lights flashed away, he saw that there was a building attached to the tower as well. "A lighthouse! Every lighthouse has to have a keeper! And he'll have a phone! And I'm gonna use it to call Professor Oak!"

"Yeah, and they'll be somebody there to tell us where we are," Brock added.

"Let's go!" the younger boy cheered with his arm raised in the air.

"All right!" Brock agreed wholeheartedly, and the pair took off in a run through the sand in the direction of the cliffs.

o 0 o

By the time that they had actually made it to the lighthouse, the setting sun that had greeted them upon their arrival at the beach was now gone for the night, leaving them in the darkness. Now only the spiraling light of the tower shone as a beacon for them to travel to. But with the setting sun, their enthusiasm also sank beneath the surface, making room for exhaustion and weariness. Even as they approached the lighthouse in the dark of night, no lights aside from the automatic one spinning around and around on the top of the tower were on.

"Phew, that was farther than it looked," Ash replied while letting out a breath of air as they finally were within sight of the front door.

"This lighthouse looks weird," the older teen commented. The house attached to the lighthouse was probably just as old-fashioned as the tower itself. It was completely made out of brick, and was a few stories high – how high exactly Ash couldn't tell. But the main entrance was a pair of heavy-looking stone doors with many different Pokémon carved into them. Some of the Pokémon Ash recognized; others he didn't. Either way, his mouth fell slightly open as he looked at all the different species lining the door. It was unlike anything he had ever seen.

Beside the doors, there was a more modern-looking box with a red button attached to it, which Ash assumed was the doorbell. "I got it," he told his traveling companion, and pressed it. The eerie sounding bell rung inside, echoing throughout the stone building and sending chills down Ash and Brock's spine. The bell went on for some time, and finally, a voice spoke up at the speaker attached to the box.

"Who's there?"

Brock was the first of the pair to speak up. "E-excuse us, sir, but we're travelers, and we're lost."

"We need to use your telephone, sir," Ash piped up.

"And I wonder if I could use your kitchen to make some bacon double cheeseburgers for the two of us," Brock added with his finger up as though the man could see him through the speaker. "And I'd be more than happy to make something for you!"

"That's great! Can you cook without using tofu?" the speaker replied.

"Oh, sure! I can cook lots of things without using tofu."

"That's good; I've been eating nothing but tofu since my cook went on vacation. Come on in." And upon his words, the heavy stone doors started to open outward. Ash and Brock took a step backward to make way for the doors, and when they fully opened, they peered inside. There were still no lights, and the only thing that gave them a hint at the inside was the occasional flash when the lights from the tower would swing around in their direction. But from what Ash could see, the inside looked like the inside of a large church or mausoleum, decorated with stone pillars and archways. As the two Pokémon Trainers walked inside, the doors shut behind them.

They followed the carpet down the main area, but their foot falls still echoed in the empty building. "Would you mind if I borrowed your phone?" Ash called with his voice repeating back what he had said off the walls.

"There's a phone right near you," the same voice from the speaker answered. It echoed back, and the owner of the voice still couldn't be seen from where they were. Turning to the left, Ash could barely see a video phone sitting on a wooden table.

"I'll call Professor Oak now and tell him about my Pokémon!" Ash said excitedly, running over to the phone without a second thought.

"Just try not to be too long so we don't prolong dinner," Brock stated as Ash picked up the receiver, which was shaped like a skinny Grass Pokémon with a yellow head shaped like a bell, and dialed the Professor's number into the numerical pad on its leaves.

"I'm sure the professor won't mind if I call him collect," the Pallet Town boy murmured, and as he placed the receiver to his ear, the screen flashed to life, and the Pokémon professor appeared on the other side. He seemed taken by surprise from the sudden phone call, and from the looks of it, was cooking a pot on a small camp-stove. When the gray-haired professor realized who it was, he smiled and waved to the camera.

"Well, hi Ash!" he greeted, clacking his chopsticks in his other hand together before digging through the pot with them. "You caught me cooking dinner. My cook is on vacation, and I've got to fend for myself 'til she returns."

"Professor! It's good to see you! I know it's been a while since we talked, and I wanted to tell you all about what I've been doing!" Ash began excitedly. "I guess I'll start by saying that I just caught a Krabby!"

"Congratulations!" Professor Oak said, though he hardly was paying attention to Ash and more to the cubes of tofu he was taking out of the boiling water and putting into a ceramic bowl. "Actually, that's quite a coincidence, as Gary just caught a Krabby as well."

"What?! You mean Gary caught a Krabby, too?!" the boy exclaimed, the smile fading from his face. The professor bit into his tofu and chewed before replying.

"Yes. It's quite a catch," he replied with his mouth partly full of food, and adjusted the camera to face a table behind him. "Take a look for yourself." And there, in a huge glass container that could have contained his Wartortle, a Krabby that was about four times the size of Ash's sat in some water. It peered at the camera with bubbles blowing slightly from its mouth. Even Ash was taken aback by the size of it, but he growled in annoyance. He was one step behind Gary yet again.

"Awesome..." Brock muttered impressively, and Professor Oak appeared back on the camera again.

"I want you to know that my grandson Gary has already caught forty-five Pokémon," the older man told him, and Ash dropped the receiver in complete shock, though his body was frozen in place as though it were hit with a Thunder Wave.

"FORTY-FIVE POKÉMON?!" And instantly, all the enthusiasm that he was feeling on the beach immediately left his body, and he seemed to be unable to hold even his head up.

"By the way, Ash," Oak spoke up between bites, completely ignorant to Ash's disappointment. "Just where are you calling me from, anyway?"

"We're at an old lighthouse way up on top of a cliff," the boy responded after picking up the Bellsprout receiver again.

"Oh! That must be Bill's lighthouse! He's a young Pokémon Researcher who knows even more than me!" His words made Ash and Brock exchange glances that were a mixture of confusion and surprise. "See what you can learn from him; he could teach you just about everything about Pokémon, and then some."

"This is Bill, Professor Oak," the echoing voice from everywhere spoke up. "Good to hear from you."

"Hello, Bill! Please give my friends a crash course in Pokémon!" Professor Oak requested, and he pulled out the final white cube of tofu from inside the cooker and blew on it. "Uh-oh, tofu's done." And with that, the screen shut off as Professor Oak disconnected.

"Well, there's no way I can ignore a request from the great Professor Oak," Bill stated, and suddenly, the lights in the building turned on, finally giving light to the interior. As their eyes adjusted and they looked around, they could hear a metallic clinking at the far end of the main room, and up on the top of a staircase on the other side, a huge brown and black Pokémon sat, peering at them with bright red eyes. The metallic noise was its yellow claws rubbing against each other, sounding like a knife being sharpened on a rock. "I am Bill, of the lighthouse."

The two of them crouched defensively, not expecting the giant Pokémon to appear from the dark, and each of them gave a gasp. "It can't be! That's a Kabuto!" Brock said in awe. "An extinct Pokémon! I wonder what it's doing here?"

"No! I'm not a Kabuto!" the giant Pokémon corrected, raising its claws in protest. "I'm Bill, the Pokémon Researcher."

"Wait, are you a human being, or a Pokémon?" Ash questioned. This wouldn't have been the first time he had encountered a talking Pokémon, and remembered the Meowth that accompanied the Team Rocket duo in Mt. Moon.

"This is a costume; I'm stuck inside it," Bill explained.

"Do you need help getting out?" the boy replied, his face easing up a little at the response.

"Yes! Step up here," the lighthouse keeper instructed, pointing its claw at its feet.

"Tell me what to do." As Ash said this, he climbed up the stairs and looked down at the crouched costume, which looked pretty life-like, other than the fact that it was as tall as him.

"Push that button," the man in the suit instructed, attempting to gesture down to a button near the bottom of the suit just out of reach of the awkward claws.

"This one here?"

"Yes! These arms are too short! I tried to get out, but I couldn't reach the button!" With his approval, Ash pressed the small blue button, and a mechanical whirring began to stir from the suit as the button flashed blue. A light shimmered from between the shell and the black underbelly of the costume, and suddenly, the yellow arms fell off, revealing a pair of human arms underneath. With those off, the black underbelly fell to the floor, and as the human inside stood up straight, the shell clattered to the ground behind him.

Taking in a breath of fresh air, the young man smiled at them with a cat-like grin. "Thanks for helping me get out," he thanked while running his fingers through his curly green hair that was stuck to his face from sweat. "I've been stuck in that costume for hours." Adjusting the frilly sleeves of his red velvet suit, he looked down at the costume that was in shambles around his feet. "This is a special costume that I use in my research. Getting inside its skin helps me get inside its head."

"What do you mean?" Ash asked. Bill's eyes looked to the stone wall, and Ash and Brock followed his glance, realizing that the walls were built with tiles featuring Pokémon much like the front door. Bill was looking at one particular tile to the right that featured a Pokémon with a spiked spiral shell making up most of its body.

"There are many kinds of extinct Pokémon, and I want to understand how they lived," he explained. "Putting on a costume is one way of trying to figure out what they were like."

"You can understand what a Pokémon was like wearing a costume?" Ash questioned skeptically with one of his eyebrows raised.

"Yes indeed; or I'm beginning to." Bill walked past him and Brock and sat on the stone steps while resting his elbows on his knees. "This planet was created 4.6 billion years ago. During that time, all kinds of Pokémon existed. They had many ways of living."

"All kinds of Pokémon? How many?"

"On this planet, there are more than one hundred and fifty known species of Pokémon," Bill answered.

"Over a hundred and fifty?!"

"You're lucky to be Pokémon Trainers," the green-haired researcher complimented, giving the pair a smirk. "Your goal is to catch all of these different kinds of Pokémon. That's a great task!" Despite the kind words, a frown settled on Ash's face, and he pulled the visor of his hat down to attempt to hide his embarrassed face.

"Yeah, but so far, I've only gotten six..." He ran through his list of Pokémon in his head, and then his eyes danced across the tiles that lined Bill's walls. "There sure are a lot of-"

"Of course, these are just the Pokémon we know about," Bill cut off, standing up as he noticed Ash looking at the tiles. "There are still many Pokémon that have never been discovered, so we need to keep searching."

"How many could there be...?"

"No one knows exactly. The search goes on. There's always something new to look for in our lives, and in ourselves."

"Something to look for?"

"Yes, there's a lot for us to look for. Inside and outside ourselves. There's meaning for every creature." Bill walked down the stairs and walked along the red carpet that lined to the front door, and walked slowly with his arms outspread, gesturing to all the Pokémon tiles. "A meaning for all the Pokémon, and a meaning for all us humans, too!"

"A meaning for all..." Ash repeated, looking up and locking eyes with the Wartortle-shaped tile that he finally caught sight of.

"Keep looking for new Pokémon to catch," Bill continued, folding his hands behind his back. "It's something that's very important for Pokémon research. It's as vital to me as it is to you." He turned around as the pair followed behind them, and looked at them. His black eyes were glittering in excitement, as though talking about Pokémon were the best thing that could ever happen. "Right now though, there's only one Pokémon I'm searching for."

"What kind of Pokémon?" Bill didn't answer outright, and instead gestured with his head as he started to walk away.

"Here, follow me and I will explain," he instructed, and he brought them to the other side of the house and over to the tower itself. It was cold and damp from the ocean, and in the night a chill had settled inside even as early as then. Bill didn't seem to be affected by it, and led them up the stairs to the top of the tower. The view looked over the ocean, which was foggy but pitch black, with the water an even deeper shade. Even with the light from the spinning lights behind them, it failed to barely cut through the fog, let alone give insight on the water beyond the surface.

"It's probably the biggest Pokémon ever..." He spoke as if talking about an old friend, and placed his hands on the cold guardrails. "Bigger than all of the rest, and no one has ever seen it." He was quiet for a few moments, and the only sound was the waves crashing against the cliffs. "It's been wandering the world for years and years, looking for friends. The Pokémon wanders because it's alone – it's the only Pokémon of its species, one of a kind.

"One night, I heard this very strange sound coming across the ocean." Ash and Brock flinched back as they looked at him in disbelief, and he took out a small remote control from his pocket. Pressing one of the buttons on its face, the lighthouse speakers began to play back a recording. It was full of static and the sounds of the waves crashing could be heard through it, but very clearly, a long droning could be heard echoing from the recording. "'I want... I want to meet you'," Bill translated with his eyes closed. "That's what it said to me." Turning back towards the pair of traveling Trainers, he gave them his familiar cat-like grin. "Some time ago, I recorded a similar sound and played it from the lighthouse towards the ocean." He pressed another button, and the same audio recording seemed to be playing, but with a more positive-sounding call. "'Let's be friends. I want to meet you.'

"One day, I heard the same voice calling back to me from over the ocean." Ash and Brock were speechless as they heard the story. "'I want to meet you, too. I want to be friends.' It was answering me back." A third recording played, and it was very similar to the first one, but it seemed more clearer, closer. "Some foggy night, that Pokémon might come here to meet a friend it's been seeking for a very long time. I would be so happy to meet that Pokémon!"

"But will you try and capture the Pokémon?" Ash asked innocently.

"Why do I need to capture it?" Bill replied with his own question, and shrugged. "Meeting it would be enough for me; just a chance to study it would make my long wait worthwhile." Bill raised his finger and opened his mouth, but a loud droning song could be heard. Though this time, the lighthouse had stopped recording since Bill put the controller away, and each of their eyes widened. Bill let out a gasp of shock and whipped around, leaning over the guardrail to try and get a better view of the ocean from his perch.

Another call echoing through the beach from the ocean, and through the lights from the lighthouse above, their mouths dropped at the dark figure moving through the water. It was as big at the lighthouse and the cliff that it stood on, and though the darkness concealed it for the most part, Ash could barely make out wings jutting out from its round, curvy body that trudged with the bottom of its stomach halfway submerged in water. A tail poked out of the water, following close behind like a pet.

"It's here! The signal!" the Pokémon researcher exclaimed, tearing out his remote control once again. Pressing another button towards the top of the remote, the spinning lights above them began to flash different colors, drifting from reds to blues, and then to greens and yellows. An altered recording began to play, most likely based on the second recording he had played for them. As the lights spun and flashed different colors, the giant Pokémon responded to the call, and its head looked to the sky where it began to sing its sad, melancholic song and sway back and forth. Though sad, the Pokémon's cry was beautiful sounding. Brock swayed back and forth with the song, and Ash and Bill both let out gasps, both of them unable to believe what has happening in front of them.

Still singing its song, the giant dragon Pokémon started coming closer once again. In order to let it know that they were there, Bill pressed the button on the remote again. The recording began to play back, but it suddenly fizzled in and out – like a radio losing connection. Bill frowned, and turned around as the lights began to flicker, and then strobe faster until suddenly, an ear-splitting electronic buzz rang through their bones, forcing their palms over their ears, and they cringed from the sound. A crackling sound soon followed, and then an explosion finally occurred as the machinery overloaded. It shook the whole landing, sending pieces of the old building flying everywhere as bits of debris sailed through the smoke and dust.

Bill seemed frozen in place, his eyes filled with concern, but not up at his lighthouse, but at the giant Pokémon in the ocean. Ash was more concerned of the floor collapsing beneath them if the damage got any worse from the faulty electronic system, and he quickly shoved Bill by the shoulders in order to get him to start moving. With Brock in the lead, the three headed down the stairs, Ash having to at first drag Bill through the doorway into the staircase that lined the lighthouse. But once they were too far away to turn back, Bill started to move faster until he was leading the team, and rushed outside and at the edge of the cliff beside the lighthouse so he could see the Pokémon.

For a big creature, it seemed quite skiddish, and the explosion seemed to make it terrified. It had its arms raised defensively, as it attempting to block its face from any harm, and it let out a pained and betrayed cry – the cry of a broken heart. Covered in soot and debris from upstairs, the three stopped at the edge of the cliff, and Bill clutched his hands together so hard that they were shaking as he called to it. "Please don't go, Pokémon! Please stay with us! I've waited so long for a chance to see you here!"

The Pokémon seemed to hear his cries, and its glowing eyes looked down at them. Its frightened nature made Ash's heart leap in his chest, almost expecting it to attack them in defense. The poor creature must have thought the explosion was a weapon being fired at it, and it was now scared that it was going to be hunted. Its claws the size of automobiles spread in a threatening manner, it shook its mighty head back and forth, its antennae swaying with it, and it turned its back to them. "Pokemon, wait!" Bill pleaded as it started to recede into the depths of the ocean. "Pokémon!"

But Bill's cries were drowned out by the mournful cries of the lonely Pokémon, and it waddled through the ocean as if wading through a shallow river, and eventually both it and the cries it was singing were swallowed by the fog, leaving them to stand in silence.

o 0 o

Plenty of action from the night before made them all opt out of dinner on Brock's promise that he would make them a big breakfast, and each of them cleaned the soot off their bodies and went to bed, the mournful cries of the mysterious Pokémon ringing through Ash's ears all night long.

Brock's promise of a big breakfast did not go unfulfilled, and by the time that Ash had woken up, both Brock and Bill were awake, and their meal almost done. Bill was unusually quiet, considering how much he spoke last night, but Ash knew he was feeling the terrible twist of irony in that his invention that was meant to call the giant Pokémon to the lighthouse was the one that drove it away.

Finally, with the sun now higher in the air and the sky blue once again dotted with clouds of all shapes and sizes, both Ash and Brock had their backpacks on, and stood outside the front doors with Bill leading them out. After a good meal, he seemed to have perked up a bit, and the natural curl to his lip returned. With bird Pokémon crying over the ocean, Bill headed over to where they stood in the grass earlier that night, as if the giant Pokémon would be back, waiting for them.

"What kind of Pokémon was that, anyway?" Ash finally asked.

"Who knows. Pokémon live in more ways and places than humans may ever learn!" Bill responded. And when he turned to Ash, the Pokémon researcher was smiling, and Ash returned it.

"I think looking for – and catching Pokémon – can help bring all of us together," he said, reflecting the words that Bill told him the night before.

"Learning to raise Pokémon is another way to learn how to live with them," Brock added.

"Meanwhile, I'll stand watch for the giant Pokémon to appear at my lighthouse again," Bill said with determination glittering in his dark eyes.

"Bill, do you think we'll ever find all the Pokémon there are?" the black-haired Trainer inquired.

"No, Ash. There are probably as many as we can imagine; maybe many, many more." He folded his arms behind his back and turned back to the ocean that glittered like silver from the sunlight above. "Maybe there's no limit to the Pokémon we can actually find on this planet." He took in a breath of salty air and then smiled back at Ash. "Ash, you're a Pokémon Trainer. I'm a Pokémon researcher, seeking out all kinds of life on this planet. Even if ours paths are different, I think our goals are the same." Ash finally understood what he had been saying, and the black-haired boy nodded in agreement.

And as they waved to Bill and parted ways from the lighthouse, Ash soon realized that while everyone had a different dream or goal, there was one thing that connected them all: their love for Pokémon.

-end-

Ash:

Party:

Wartortle (Poké Ball)

Moves: Tackle, Tail Whip, Water Gun, Bite

Pidgey (Poké Ball)

Moves: Gust, Sand-Attack, Whirlwind

Bulbasaur (Poké Ball)

Moves: Tackle, Vine Whip

Charmander (Poké Ball)

Moves: Flamethrower

Krabby (Poké Ball)

Moves: ViceGrip

Badges:

Boulder Badge

Cascade Badge

Brock:

Party:

Onix (Poké Ball)

Moves: Tackle, Bind, Dig

Geodude (Poké Ball)

Moves: Seismic Toss, Tackle

Zubat (Poké Ball)

Moves: Whirlwind, Supersonic