Hey, everyone, here is the next chapter. This has been split into two parts due to the size of the segments in the past that occur.
A special thanks to gio08 for being my Beta Reader, if anyone else would like to be one, just let me know!
Enjoy!
Chapter 5 – The First Trial
"Do you have any more information?" Lance asked, scribbling down notes on his note pad as he scanned the scene. Someone had really done a number on the vault at Reeves Breeding, ripping off the vault door.
"No." Julien replied. "As I've shown you, the security cam footage was scrambled during the attack. Whoever did this knew what they were doing."
"Who else knows about this vault? It'll help me narrow the search."
"Only me and my security chief," Julien replied. "And I trust him with my life. I know how important this vault is, I'm not stupid enough to tell just anyone about it."
"Ok." Lance scribbled more notes on his pad. "I would like to talk to your security chief-just to be sure," he quickly added after reading the look Julien gave him.
"What about the G-Men?" Julien quickly retaliated, crossing his arms defensively. "We weren't the only ones who knew about it!"
"I know!" Lance countered. "I've already ordered all personnel who knew about it to report in. We'll be questioning them as well." Lance flipped the page of the pad. "One last thing. Had there been any change in the contents of the vault prior to the raid?"
"No." Julien shook his head. "Not a damn change in over ten years. The egg's lied dormant ever since we received it."
"Thanks, Julien," Lance said, turning towards the exit. "I'll let you know what we find."
"Wait!" Julien grabbed Lance by the shoulder, halting him. "May I ask; what was in the egg?"
"No one knows," Lance replied, ripping his shoulder from Julien's grasp. "The only person who did was Yellow because she was the one who received the egg from its parent Pokémon."
Ash, Misty and Tracey walked along the dirt path towards the local gym. But Ash wasn't as enthused as his friends; becoming more nervous the closer they were to the Mikan Gym.
"Ash, why are you worried?" Tracey questioned, reading the mannerisms of his new friend. "I'm sure you'll do fine."
"It's, just, I'm not sure I'm ready to battle so soon." Ash replied.
"Battle?" Tracey raised his eyebrow questioningly. "You don't have to battle at this Gym, Ash."
"What?" Ash turned to face his friend. "What do you mean I don't have to battle? It's a Pokémon Gym, isn't it?"
"Yes, but the Orange Island Gyms do things differently," Tracey explained. "The first two gyms test your Pokémon's strength and skill through challenges. Win those challenges and you receive the badge. You only battle in the final two Gyms."
"Oh, sweet! I don't have to battle just yet, but I can still win the badge!" Ash raced off, heading straight for the Pokémon Gym with such excitement that Misty hadn't seen in a couple of months.
"I guess we better hurry." Misty shrugged, chasing after the boy. "We don't want to miss anything!"
"You're right!"
"Pika! Pika!"
long time ago…
Red held his four badges in his hand, happy to be halfway through the Kanto League Gym Circuit. Only four more badges and I can challenge the Pokémon League! he gleefully thought. He waded his way through the large crowds of people all shopping in the busy business district of Celadon City, when suddenly he was bumped abruptly by someone passing him.
"Hey!" he called out, turning around to find that the person he'd bumped into was none other than Blue Oak. "Blue?" Blue didn't respond, continuing on as if he never heard him. "Blue, it's me, Red!" Red had finally had enough of being ignored, rushing up to his rival and grabbing him by the shoulder. "Hey! What's your problem Blue?" But the answer would never come as he looked into Blue's soulless eyes. "What's wrong?"
Blue didn't reply, instead summoning his Charmeleon. "Flamethrower!" The order was robotic, completely devoid of emotion.
Red expected his Charmeleon to ignore the order and was caught off guard as Charmeleon released a wave of flames unconditionally.
"Pika!" Red's Pikachu, Pika, appeared from its own Poké Ball and deflected the attack.
"Pika, Thunderbolt Charmeleon! But don't hurt him, I have to figure out what's going on!" A battle against his friend and rival in a crowded place was not what Red had in mind after just winning his fourth badge.
"Ignore the rat." Emotionless, cold, it was all Red could hear from the voice of his friend. "Target the kid."
Pika's thunderbolt hit Charmeleon before it could release its attack. But the yellow lightning wasn't enough to stop the Flame Pokémon, who unleashed a flurry of searing flames into the crowd around them as it twitched from the shock.
Red knew he had to end it quickly or someone would get seriously hurt, leaving him with only one choice. "Pika, target Blue with the lightest Thunder Shock you can manage. Only knock him out, ok?"
"Pika?" Pika looked at him confused; Red had never ordered any of his Pokémon to attack a human before.
"Just do it, ok? I don't like it either, but if we don't do something fast, a lot of people may get hurt." Red didn't like giving the order, but he knew something was off with Blue, and hopped a small jolt of electricity would bring him to his senses.
"Pikachu!" The bolt of lightning struck both human and Pokémon, knocking Blue out while Charmeleon continued to rampage.
As Blue collapsed, Red rushed over to his friend and grabbed Charmeleon's Poké Ball, returning it before it could do any more damage. Red looked as a crowd approached. "Someone! Call an ambulance!" Red ordered to the crowd, who were shocked to see two boys order their Pokémon to attack the other. Red quickly kneeled down to get a better look at the blue-eyed boy. "You'll be alright, I'll make sure of it."
Present Day.
Misty and Tracey arrived at the Gym just as Ash entered. They sucked in air as they followed a young spiky-haired boy and a young woman in a red knee length skirt through the confides of the building as they made their way towards the field where the challenge would commence.
"I'm Cissy, and this is my little brother, Senta," Cissy explained, reaching the main area of the Gym. "In this Gym, we specialise testing your Pokémon's accuracy and speed."
The Gym leader and her brother departed from the group and headed for the other side of the room.
"How will you test my Pokémon for accuracy?" Ash questioned.
"You'll see," Senta replied, pulling out a control device and pressing a button. Suddenly, one side of the room rose, revealing a hidden area behind lined with cans on top of a long bench.
"Oh, I understand!" Ash said, formulating a plan inside his head.
"It gets better, though," Senta added as he pressed another button on the device, causing the battlefield in front of them to retract, revealing a large swimming pool.
"Seadra! I choose you!" Cissy exclaimed, releasing her sea dragon into the water before anyone realised what was going on.
Ash was about to pull out his Pokédex when he heard Misty behind him. "Seriously, Ash! If you have to scan Seadra then you're dumber than I thought you were! I have one of those!"
"Oh, right." Ash nervously rubbed the back of his neck, giving his friend a sheepish smile before turning back towards the water. "So, what are the conditions of the test?"
"We'll start the match with a Water Gun Challenge," Cissy explained. "Trainer's will select the Pokémon which has the best Water Gun attack and they compete against each other to see who can knock over the most cans as quickly as possible. They compete like athletes do, using their skills head to head, one-on-one."
"You know, that seems kind of unfair!" Misty pointed out. "Sure, I love Water-type Pokémon, but not everyone has Water-types. You're limiting the number of people who can challenge you."
"Those are the rules, take it or leave it." Cissy shrugged her shoulders.
"I'll be fine," Ash said, grabbing one of his Poké Balls. You don't have to battle, all you have to do is shoot the targets, so please help me. "Wartortle, I choose you"
"Wartortle?" The Sea Turtle Pokémon looked around wearily, eventually turning to face his trainer.
"This is not a battle, ok," Ash consoled, kneeling down to talk to the Pokémon at his level. "You only have to shoot at the cans lined up over there." Ash pointed towards the cans. "Do you think you can do that?"
Wartortle looked between the row of cans and his trainer, endlessly swiveling his head as he came to a decision. "Wartortle!" He nodded.
"Thanks, buddy."
"I think I'll let my Seadra warm up first," Cissy interrupted, instructing her brother to release several bubbles into the air. "Seadra, Water Gun now!" Seadra released, successive, quick-fire bolts of water from its long blue snout, hitting each bubble with incredible precision.
"Looks like Ash and Wartortle have their work cut out for them," Misty whispered to Tracey.
"I need to make some observations," Tracey muttered, completely ignoring Misty as he frantically drew in his note book.
Peering over, Misty noticed that it wasn't an image of Seadra, but rather a drawing of Cissy, standing in the same position she was now. "Hey, just what is it you're observing?" But inside she was screaming; Please don't be another Brock!
A long time ago…
A young girl with long brown hair watched as Blue was placed into the ambulance with Red seated beside him. She waited for everyone to disperse before creeping towards the location where the two boys were previously.
She looked around, hoping to find anything the two kids may have dropped. Luck would be on her side as she found a weird metallic object on the ground. Crouching so she wouldn't get her black dress dirty, she picked up the metallic object as studied it.
It looked like a computer chip but had several spiny steel spikes sticking out of the rim. She noticed a small amount of blood on the spines but decided to ignore it in the hope it would be worth something. Placing it inside her light brown satchel bag, she skipped on her way, hopping to swindle whatever she could from amongst the crowd. These fools are so easy, no one will think a kid's the one who has pick pocketed them.
Had she observed closely, though, she would have noticed the small flashing red light on the inside of the chip.
Present Day.
"Shall we begin?" It was a question, but a confident question.
"Yes." Ash nodded.
"Ready?" Senta asked, looking between both trainers. "Begin!"
"Seadra, Water Gun Now!" Cissy ordered. Seadra wasted no time, firing several shots towards the cans. Each attack hit the dead centre of each can. Not to be outdone, Wartortle quickly fired its own shots, matching Seadra for speed and accuracy.
As each can was knocked down, it became clear that it would be very close, and in the end both Pokémon knocked down the same number of cans. "It's a tie!" Cissy declared. She turned towards her opponent. "Not too bad, next we'll try moving targets."
"We can defeat whatever you throw at us!" Ash declared.
Cissy simply smirked. "We will see."
A long time ago…
"You're lucky we're not revoking your Trainer's license!" the Police Officer sternly warned Red as he interviewed him at the hospital. "It's illegal to hold a Pokémon battle in a crowded and public place, let alone order your Pokémon to attack a human!"
"I know, Officer," Red agreed, looking guiltily towards the ground. "But I didn't have any other choice. I didn't want to battle him, I was only defending myself! The only way I could stop his Pokémon was to knock him out and return his Pokémon forcefully."
"Several witnesses at the scene said the same thing, which is why neither you or your Pikachu are currently in lock up," the Officer explained. "But if this happens again, you may lose your Pokémon forever."
"I understand." Red looked down sadly; the thought of never seeing his Pokémon again nearly killed him inside and scared him half to hell. "I'll never do anything like that again."
The officer sighed, realising he'd pushed the kid too hard. "You're free to go. We're not pressing charges on either you or your friend."
"Thank you." Red looked up at the Officer, a tear nearly rolling down his eye. "May I see how my friend is going?"
"Sure, just ask reception."
"Thank you." Red sniffed, walking dejectedly away.
Shortly after a brief conversation with reception, Red found the room Blue was in. Entering it, he noticed a couple of devices hooked up to his unconscious form on the bed, with the rhythmic beeping of his heart in the back ground.
"He'll be fine, you know," a Nurse stated, entering the room to check on her patient. "We'll keep him here for a few days for observation, and if everything goes well he should be fine to leave."
"Thank you," Red smiled. "I need to inform his parents."
"No need." The Nurse shook her head. "I've already contacted Mr. and Mrs. Oak and apprised them of the situation." She inspected the machines and her patient for a few more seconds before turning to exit. "All clear, I'll leave you be, but visiting hours finish shortly.
"Thank you," Red repeated as the Nurse left. He turned back towards his friend and rival, studying his sleeping form. "I will find out what happened, Blue. You weren't yourself, and I want to know why."
Present Day.
Ash, Misty and Tracey followed Cissy and Senta to the wall that had retracted on the opposite side to the room with the cans, revealing the beach behind the Gym. "Well, Seadra, are you ready?"
"Seadra!" The Sea Dragon Pokémon nodded.
"Fire!"
"Ok!" Santa acknowledged, pressing another button on his device. A red disk suddenly launched from one side of the opening, with Seadra quickly reacting; firing a bolt of water that shattered the disk.
"Good shot," Misty muttered.
"Pika," Pikachu agreed.
"Yeah." Tracey sketched into his note book. "I'm trying to capture the exact moment Seadra fires it's shot."
"Triple!" Three red disks launched into the air, with Seadra easily dispatching all three. "Now let's see Wartortle match that," Cissy taunted.
"We'll sure try," Ash replied. "Are you ready Wartortle?"
"War, Tortle!" Wartortle nodded.
"Ok, Pull!"
"Seriously?" Misty deadpanned.
"What?" Ash turned towards his friend. "I've always wanted to say that ever since I saw skeet shooting at the Olympics!" Distracted, Ash failed to watch his Pokémon effortlessly destroy the first red disk. "Huh? Excellent job, Wartortle!"
"Wartortle!"
"You ready for the next one?" His Pokémon nodded. "Great! Now go for three!" Three red disks launched into the air, and while it was a more difficult shot, Wartortle effortlessly hit them. "Great work. Wartortle!"
"Pretty good," Cissy commended. "Now we'll both aim for the same target, and the first one to hit it, wins the match!"
"A quick draw contest, cool!" Ash replied.
"Everybody get ready, now," Senta warned. Both trainer's and their Pokémon waited patiently for the final red disk to be launched.
The disk was launched, and both Pokémon fired their attacks at the same time. In stunned silence, everyone watched as both attacks seemingly hit the red target at the same time.
"Well, which one, Tracey?" Misty asked, noticing Tracey was using binoculars to get a closer look.
"They hit at the same time," Tracey explained.
"It looked that way to me too," Cissy agreed. "So, this match is a draw."
"Ah," Ash sighed, picking up his Pokémon. "Great job, Wartortle, you really came through!"
"Wartortle!" His Pokémon excitedly declared, happy to be of use again.
"Now what do we do?" Senta questioned, approaching his sister.
"Don't worry, little brother," Cissy replied. "The way to break the tie is with a Pokémon Wave Ride!"
"Pokémon Wave Ride?" Ash questioned.
A long time ago…
Red returned to the scene, desperate to find anything he'd missed. He re-enacted the scene perfectly; clutching his four badges as he tried to determine the direction his friend was coming from and where he was going. But similar to earlier in the day, he bumped into someone, knocking them both to the ground.
"Hey! Watch where you're going!" the young, brown-haired girl condescendingly warned, dusting herself off as she rose to her feet. "This dress isn't designed to be roughed up, you know!"
"So-sorry!" Red stuttered in shock. He rose to his feet as quickly as the girl did. "I didn't mean to!"
The girl huffed, clutching her brown satchel protectively as she made her way past the bow. "You should really be more careful!" The snarky remark stung Red, but he decided to continue on with his investigation.
Looking around, he walked back to the end of the street, ready to re-enact the scene again, when suddenly he realised something was off; his badges were missing. "My badges!" he exclaimed, returning to where he bumped into the girl.
He thought he would find them there, but to his shock, nothing was on the ground. "If they're not here then…" His eyes bulged in realisation. "That girl, she stole my badges!"
Forgetting his investigation, he raced off in the direction the girl headed. He looked down street after street, failing to capture a glimpse of her until, by some feverish luck, he saw her black dress flicker amongst the crowd.
"Hey! You!" he exclaimed. The girl turned, her blue eyes meeting his red. In a moment, she took off, darting down a deserted ally way.
Red chased her, desperate to get his badges back, but as the girl made it to the other end of the ally way, a white van pulled up. The side door opened, and three large men got out, grabbing the girl before she could stop.
"Hey! Let me go!" the girl resisted, kicking her legs.
"Hey!" Red didn't have enough time to reach them as the three men shoved the girl into the van.
Red heard one thing before the men closed the door and sped off. "The girl and the package are secure, on route to base."
What will happen to the girl? Will Red get his badges back? And will Ash win his first trial? Find Out Next Time!
I'll be adding Tracey to the list below shortly.
Any questions, Pokémon suggestions, ideas for the story, or OC's you have that you would like to see in the story, just PM me or send it in a review! All are welcome!
Ash's Pokémon:
On Hand:
Pikachu (Electric) (Male)
Lapras (Water/Ice) (Female)
Ivysaur (Grass/Poison) (Male)
Charizard (Fire/Flying) (Male)
Wartortle (Water) (Male)
Rhydon (Ground/Rock) (Female)
Riolu (Fighting) (Male)
Dragonair (Dragon) (Female)
Ralts (Psychic/Fairy) (Male) (Shiny)
Grubbin (Bug) (Female) (Shiny)
Egg
At Oak's Ranch:
Pidgeotto (Normal/Flying) (Male)
Arcanine (Fire) (Male)
Nidorino (Poison) (Male) (Shiny)
Umbreon (Dark) (Male) (Shiny)
Raticate (Normal) (Female)
Butterfree (Bug/Flying) (Male)
Kingler (Water) (Female)
Absol (Dark) (Male)
Gengar (Ghost/Poison) (Male)
Primeape (Fighting) (Female)
Muk (Poison) (Male)
Tauros (Normal) (Male) (x23)
Sandslash (Ground) (Male)
Gyarados (Water/Flying) (Male)
Departed:
Mew
Misty's Pokémon:
On Hand:
Starmie (Water/Psychic)
Seel (Water) (Male)
Feebas (Water) (Female)
Vaporeon (Water) (Female)
Psyduck (Water) (Male)
Togepi (Fairy) (Male)
Egg
At Oak's Ranch:
Kabutops (Rock/Water) (Male) (Shiny)
Seaking (Water) (Female)
Staryu (Water/Psychic)
Tentacruel (Water/Poison) (Male)
Pelipper (Water/Flying) (Female)
Seadra (Water) (Female)
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Until Next Time, AshleyH30 Out!
