Ok so the last chapter was a big one and you guys must have been itching to know what happened to Ash and the SS Anne right?
This chapter is going to big in terms of dealing with the aftermath but slow in terms of Ash's progress on his journey. This chapter is explaining a ton of stuff regarding Ash's role as a chosen one.
Ash will also get a new pokémon in this chapter. See if you're able to guess what the pokémon is before it gets revealed. It took me quite a bit of time to come up with this chapter and its plotline.
Also, this story has finally reached 5k view on and 500 hits on Ao3 so cheers for that. I hope 10k views happens soon or even 100 followers.
Unknown Location
Ash suddenly woke with a start, confused by where he was. After getting up with an aching body, he looked around trying to make sense of his location.
He saw that on the top of a hill overlooking one of the most beautiful sights that he had ever seen in his life. He was in some sort of cave although the cave stretched farther than the eye could see. The cave contained all sorts of pokémon, trees and caves and it was illuminated by a green hue.
"Enjoying yourself? Chosen One" boomed a voice from behind him. He turned around only to see the Legendary pokémon Xerneas staring at him. He dropped to a knee as a sign of respect to the Deity of Life.
"My lord why am I here and what is this place, if you don't mind me asking?" asked a hesitant Ash. Legendary pokémon were regarded as deities in most parts of the world, especially in places like Sinnoh, Hoenn and Alola. While Ash didn't worship them himself, he knew that no good could come out of disrespecting a Legendary.
"Relax boy, you are not in trouble. This place is the Tree of Beginning and you are here because Mew brought you here to revive you after you died" explained Xerneas.
"I died?" asked the shaken Ash. "Yes, you died on the SS Anne protecting your friends. Mew brought you here so she could force me to revive you, against the Laws of Life" explained Xerneas as a sort of threat.
"Stop it, Xerneas you're scaring him. Ash, I brought you here to prevent you from remaining dead. You are a chosen one, you cannot die until you time is up," said a cheery voice. Ash looked to see the voice coming a now visible Mew, flying around Xerneas.
"Thank you, Lady Mew, for saving my life or I guess, giving me new life, at least. What is a chosen one, if I may ask?" asked Ash in grateful voice.
"A chosen one is a human entrusted by Lord Arceus to protect the world and help Legendaries stop the evil forces from destroying the world" explained Mew.
"Ok, but why me Lady Mew? Why not someone like Prof Oak?" asked Ash.
"Lord Arceus has chosen you for a reason boy. No matter if you understand it or not" boomed Xerneas.
"Xerneas no need to be so mean to him. You are truly special Ash and that is why you were chosen. The Prof Oak you mention is a chosen one too, though has finished his duties as a chosen one" comforted Mew.
"Ok, thank you for the reassurance. What does a chosen one do? If you don't mind me asking," said Ash.
"Don't hesitate to ask questions Ash. A chosen one works against the evil forces of the world, and they help Legendaries like us to prevent these evil forces from harming the world" calmly explained Mew.
"Don't die soon again boy. Though you may be important to the world, I won't revive you too soon" ordered Xerneas as he teleported out of there.
"Ok, I will make sure to not die again soon" said Ash in a sarcastic tone.
"Don't show too much sass Ash. Even though some like me may be okay with humans not bowing to them all the time, others like Xerneas will take grave offence" warned Mew in a serious tone.
"Sorry, Lady Mew, it won't happen again. Is there something I have to do now, as a chosen one?" asked a chastised Ash.
"No, you need to continue on your journey through Kanto. Whenever you are needed, you will reach there. It is your fate and do not try to change it, doing so could have grave consequences" commanded Mew with her warning clear.
"I understand Lady Mew. I won't stop my journey" promised Ash. "How may I going to leave from here and where is the Tree of Beginning located?" he asked.
"Don't fret too much Ash. The Tree is near the Kingdom of Rota and I'm going to teleport you there. When you reach, you have to go to the royal family and tell them that you're a descendant of Sir Aaron" told Mew.
"Ok thank you, for all of your help Lady Mew. I promise that I won't disappoint in my duties as a chosen one" promised Ash. Ash looked over the beautiful surroundings once more before looking at Mew and nodding as she teleported him.
Rota, 1 hour later
Ash had reached the city of Rota an hour after Mew had dropped him off on its outskirts. Rota had the feel of a medieval town, with even the people dressing in medieval clothing. Ash had gotten lots of strange looks from strangers on his way to the Palace, but he chalked it up to his modern clothing looking out of place.
Since, his Rotom Phone was out of battery, Ash had to rely on directions from strangers on where the royal family lived, like a caveman.
Reaching the gate of the palace, he asked the guards to let him inside. "Hello, I'm Ash Ketchum and I'm here to see the royal family. Can you please take me to see them?" he asked. Missing the expression on their faces when he told them his name, he was a little surprised that they almost rushed to comply with his demands.
Having the one of the guards lead him through the palace, he was surprised at the immense size of the palace and how majestic it looked. As the guard lead him into the Throne room, he prepared his manners for a meeting with Royalty.
Walking to the queen, he bowed and said, "Hello Your Majesty, my name is Ash Ketchum and I have some important business with you."
Ignoring the shocked look on everyone's face at his request, he looked directly at Queen who composed herself and ordered "Of course Mr. Ketchum. Court for today is adjourned."
Ash waited as all the commoners filled out of the room, whispering about him. After everybody except him, the Queen and her butler had left, he said "Your Majesty, I'm here because I am the descendant of Sir Aaron."
Ash had hoped that it meant something to the Queen and evidently it did because she gasped in surprised on hearing that. "That is not what I imagined you were here about Mr. Ketchum but don't fret about it. Butler, please get the Egg and the Staff."
After the Butler left to fetch the items, he asked the Queen "You can call me Ash if you want. I'm sorry but who is Sir Aaron and what does being his descendant have to do with anything?"
The Queen didn't seem surprised about his question and started explaining about the history of Rota and the role of Sir Aaron in saving the Kingdom from destruction.
After the Butler came back with the Staff and the Egg, the Queen told him to hold the staff. Holding the staff questioning what was supposed to happen, the Staff started glowing brightly.
Closing his eyes due to the bright light, he opened them after a second to see the Staff back to normal but instead there's was Lucario standing in front of him.
"So, this is the brat I'm supposed to train in the ways of Aura? Doesn't seem like he can do anything at all." heard Ash. Getting angry from the insult, he said aloud "Hey I am very capable. Why do you have to train me though?"
"Who are you talking to Ash?" asked the Queen. He pointed towards Lucario but realized that only he had heard the voice. Lucario smirked on seeing Ash's angry face, as the Queen handed Ash the Egg.
Upon holding the egg, it started to shake, breaking as it started to hatch. The egg hatched to reveal a Riolu within it. Using what he had learnt in school about handling newly hatched pokémon, he put him down and introduced himself to Riolu.
It was important for newly hatched pokémon to first see their trainers when they hatched, so that they could imprint on the trainer who would act as a parent to the pokémon.
Lucario nodded his head upon seeing Ash interact with Riolu and knew that he would have to explain what was happening to him.
"Boy, you have been chosen by Lady Mew to receive training in the way of Aura from me. That Riolu will be your guardian partner. I'm going to train you to become an Aura Guardian, to help you in your journey as a chosen one" told Lucario.
Ash nodded to head to show that he understood Lucario but there was still one question unanswered, "How did Queen Ilene know that I was going to come here and how did you know that I am a chosen one?" he asked.
"Everything in your life has been arranged before you were even born. Lady Mew instructed me that I was to train you when you finally showed up here. She gave the Staff and the Egg to Queen Ilene when you were born and told her to give it to a descendant of Sir Aaron" he explained.
Now that Ash had done his duty as directed by Lady Mew, Queen Ilene decided to ask the question that had weighing on her mind ever since he had appeared in the Throne Room. "Ash, would you mind explaining how you are alive? Or were the reports of your death exaggerated?" she asked.
"What do you mean? How do you know about my death" asked a cautious Ash, confused how she had known about it.
"Ash, everyone in Kanto and beyond knows about your heroic death defending civilians on the SS Anne. It happened last week, and you have been declared as a prophesied hero, especially since your body vanished from the SS Anne after your death" explained Queen Ilene.
Ash was shaken by the news as Queen Ilene explained what had occurred in the week after his death. Apparently, after his body had vanished from the SS Anne after his death, Leaf and Gary had been able to stop Team Rocket from executing their plan.
He, Leaf and Gary had been declared as heroes of the Kanto region. Giovanni had been sacked from his position as the head of the Anti Terror Task Force and the entire Kanto government was taking flak was failing to prevent the attack from happening.
After hearing that the world thought that he had been dead for the past week, Ash rushed to reassure his mother, Prof Oak, and friends that he was still alive. Using a videophone in the palace, he called up his mother first.
Ash was surprised to see his mother smile upon seeing him. "Hello mom, I just wanted to reassure you that I'm still alive. Lady Mew saved me, and she teleported me to Rota. I'll come back to Pallet as soon as possible" he explained, lying that he hadn't died to his mother.
"Oh baby, I already knew that you were alive. Your father told me that he had asked Lady Mew to save you from dying. I'm glad to see you're safe with my own eyes though" his mother replied.
"What did father have to do with me? How did he know that I was danger and even then, why would he care?" asked an agitated Ash.
"Ash your father does care about you. He has sent your birthday presents every year; he asks to talk to you whenever he's able to call. I know that you think he abandoned us, but he didn't" said Delia in a sad voice.
"Mom don't make excuses for him. Why is continuing his journey so important to him anyway? Why couldn't he be with us all the time instead of galivanting across the globe," yelled Ash.
They both knew that they had come back to the same thing that they argued about whenever the topic of Red was brought up and decided to let it go. Ash said goodbye and hung up.
He called Prof Oak and informed that he was alright. The old professor who had been like a grandfather to Ash, had been incredibly relieved to see that he was still alive. He had promised to inform people and the media that Ash was alive and update his deceased status back to alive.
He had called Gary next who had actually passed out from shock upon seeing that Ash was alive and calling him. After waking up, Ash had told that he was saved by Lady Mew from dying.
"It's great to see that you're still alive. I have to say something to you. I'm really sorry that you were tortured because of me, I should have been the one tortured. And I know that I try to belittle you often, but I want you to know that you're my best friend and greatest rival" said an emotional Gary on the verge.
Ash who had never seen Gary so shaken or emotional knew that his apparent death must have had a big impact on Gary. "Hey, don't blame yourself, you had nothing to do with me being tortured. And anyway, I'm alive and fine yeah, so all' well that ends well. Gary, you're my best friend and greatest rival as well" reassured Ash.
They both realized how emotional and sappy they had been and tried to act as if everything was normal. After hanging up, Ash realized that he was touched by how much his death had affected Gary and that Gary truly cared about Ash.
He decided to call Leaf next, a little embarrassed that he was calling his girlfriend last to let her know that he was still alive. He dialed her number and hoped that she would pick up.
Leaf, who was having a terrible week after the death of her best and boyfriend, picked up the phone to see her boyfriend smiling on the screen. She literally froze for a minute, trying to comprehend what was happening.
"ASH" she yelled in shock. "Yeah Leaf, I'm alive and well," said a sheepish Ash. "What, is this real?" asked a now hyperventilating Leaf.
"Yeah, I'm very real Leaf. I'm alive because someone saved me by teleporting me away from the SS Anne. Sorry, I was out of commission for a week," said Ash.
"Oh My God, Ash I'm so happy so see that you're alive. The last week has been the worst week of my life. All I could think about was how it was my fault that you died," said a crying Leaf.
"Hey, Leaf none of what happened on the SS Anne was your fault. It was only Team Rocket's fault, and you shouldn't blame yourself," said Ash.
Leaf nodded her head on hearing Ash, but she was still crying. Ash attempted to comfort her but there was little he could do from afar. "Where are you Leaf, I'll come there as soon as possible?" he asked.
Leaf stopped crying at this and wiped her tears and said "No don't do that, Ash. I just can't see you right now. I can't be your girlfriend when you just nearly died because of me. I think we need to break up, for now."
Ok so this chapter was mostly a dialogue heavy one. The chapter was necessary to setup the over aching arc of the story and dealing with the fallout of the previous chapter.
I don't know if you noticed or not, but Ash is obligated to keep continuing journey or bad things will happen to him. Please Review and tell me what clue this gives you about Red and how long do you think it will take Ash to realize that.
Also, unfortunately this chapter was a little shorter than I would have liked but there was no way to stretch the chapter without filling it with unnecessary filler.
Also, were you guys surprised by Ash getting a Riolu? Believe me, even I hadn't planned it beforehand. It just happened naturally while writing this chapter. I will state that Riolu is a canon pokémon though the circumstances of meeting Ash are certainly different.
Legendries being regarded as gods seems logical to me. They are literally the embodiment of the forces of nature, and they should definitely be afforded more respect.
Also, to the people who didn't like Leaf should rejoice now that she is out of the picture. Leaf won't be coming back as Ash's girlfriend again in this fic. Ash actually won't have a long term romantic partner in this particular fic.
If I ever make a sequel to this fic, then I have planned out who to pair Ash with and how Ash's journey should continue.
Ash's pokémon list:
Ivysaur (Saur) – Lv 23 - Tackle, Growl, Vine Whip, Growth, Leech Seed, Razor Leaf, Sleep Powder, Poison Powder, Protect, Magical Leaf and Seed Bomb.
Luxio – Lv 24 - Tackle, Leer, Charge, Thunder Shock, Thunder Wave, Charge, Bite, Protect, Fake Tears and Roar.
Trapinch – Lv 25 - Bite, Sand Attack, Bide, Mud Slap, Bulldoze, Protect, Feint Attack, Laser Focus and Dig.
Clefairy (Faye) – Lv 24 - Sing, Sweet Kiss, Disarming Voice, Encore, Charm, Pound, Copycat, Growl, Defence Curl, Stored power, Minimize, After You, Life Dew Metronome, Thunder Wave, Protect and Moonlight.
Kadabra – Lv 23 – Teleport, Confusion, Disable and Psybeam.
Scorbunny (Bugs) – Lv 5 – Tackle, Growl, Ember, High Jump Kick, Sand Attack, Sucker Punch and Super Fang.
Riolu – Lv 5 – Unknown
