Allison Illuminated
9/19/20
::
CALIBER
::
"So, Ash Ketchum has come to Galar."
Rose wore a fond smile as he stared out over his region from the top of Rose Tower. All Wyndon spilled out below him; the beautiful river and plazas, the soaring stadium, the ferris wheel, and beyond the tundra stretching out as far as the eye could see. It was beautiful, nature and humanity coexisting, all made possible by the clean, renewable energy produced by his company Macro Cosmos and the revenue generated by his Pokemon league.
He loved standing here, taking it all in. It gave him hope for the future and inspired him to push Galar further to become the very best it could be. Once he had been an arrogant patron – now, he realized, it was better to guide the region with a loving hand.
Oleanna, his loyal assistant, was the one who had spoken.
"Indeed," Rose said, watching her long face in the mirror for a reaction. Oleanna's lips were pinched; but, then again, she always looked displeased. "I simply must meet him. It's not every day a foreign champion decides to make Galar his home, even if he's not a champion in name."
"I've met him," Leon said, grinning. "He's a nice kid. Has a fighting spirit like the best of them and he's fearless. I was glad when I heard he'd moved here. My brother's met him too; he's good with kids."
"Excellent," Rose beamed. "Oleanna, is my schedule-"
"No."
"No?"
Oleanna cleared her throat, swiping down her tablet. "You have no free time for the next month and a half, Chairman. Unless you'd like me to break your directive not to schedule any non-league events during prime-time battles?"
Rose drooped. The business of running a league could be exhausting, after all – it was a rare luxury that he could hold his administrative meetings atop his personal tower, where the beautiful view lightened the drag of work. Then he perked up. "Well, we'll just have to multitask then. What do we know about his schedule? Can we manufacture a meeting?"
Oleanna gave a long-suffering sigh.
"There's something," Leon said. "He registered a new Legendary file – I'm sure you're aware. But there was a Class Two restriction on Zacien that I got access to as a champion. Apparently the guardian of Galar gave Ash a sword, sir, and according to the report it was in poor condition. It's quite likely that he'll end up in Hammerlocke to restore it soon. We should be able to meet him then, if you're working at the Power Plant that day."
Rose smiled brilliantly, even as his mind spun at the new information. Interesting… One of Ketchum's many mysterious classifications. I'll have to investigate this sword myself. "Marvelous, my boy! We'll see if we can't run into him then."
Leon grinned at the praise and struck his pose, earning a throaty chuckle from Rose. Oh, did he so admire his champion's youthful enthusiasm. "We'll make sure to show him a champion time!"
"Yes." Rose turned back and gazed over Galar. His region. How fortunate was Galar, to have a chairman who loved it as much as he. "Yes we will."
Rose raised his gaze skyward. He smiled.
::
Ash added Serena to the group.
Ash named the group i wanna be the very best.
Ash added Brock, Misty, Gary, and fourteen others to the group.
Serena: what the heck ash
Serena: if you were having trouble sleeping you could have woken me up
Ash: askfkj I know
Serena: where are you?
Serena: Pikachu is sleeping on top of me
Serena: you have Riolu right? TR is still mia?
Ash: sorry sorry I was having a bad dream and woke up and Riolu wanted attention
Ash: and the stream was too loud to meditate by so we went and found a clearing
Serena: what part of meditating involves texting everyone you know?
Ash: ehehe
Dawn: this is peak Ash
Ash: Dawn!
Serena: hi Dawn
Dawn: u guys are so cute but also isn't it like 3am in Galar
Ash: yeah kinda
Ash: Riolu's still too young to sleep the night and I'm awake usually anyways
Serena: can confirm, he's up all the time
Ash: he fell asleep since we've been talking see
Ash:
Serena: aww
Dawn: that's adorable
Misty: so its true then you dropped everything for a Riolu moved to Galar and now you have a girlfriend?
Mallow: Ash has a girlfriend?!
Brock: Ash has a girlfriend before me?!
Ash: hey, Brock! Misty! Mallow!
Serena: okay this is stupid Ash I'm coming to find you
Misty: Oh please Brock get over yourself
Serena: all the buzzing woke up half our Pokemon Sylveon and Pikachu are coming with me
Serena: I can't sleep like this
Brock: It's not my fault all the ladies are overwhelmed by my presence!
Mallow: So I take it you're the girlfriend?
Serena: Mallow who are you I don't have your number
Tracey: Serena Mallow who are either of you
Goh: who are any of you
Goh: why am I on this gc Ash?
Misty: I stg Brock I will come down to Pewter and poison jab you myself
May: why Ash
Ash: hehe I've created chaos
Ash: Serena you're walking away from me I can see you
Serena: what but its dark
Mallow: oh hey I know some of these people!
Mallow: yo Lana Kiawe Sophocles Lillie Gladion
Brock: Officer Jenny will love me someday!
Dawn: May do you have to ask?
Ash: aura
Serena: oh right
Brock:
Dawn:
Misty:
Ash: what
Brock: Ash what do you mean oh right
Dawn: yeah wasn't the last time you used aura when the
Dawn: with Mew
Mallow: im so confused
Goh: me too
Kiawe: what is this hell
Dawn: you know?
Ash: well there was the whole Ash-Greninja thing
May: isn't it 3am in Galar?
Ash: but its new?
Brock: I suppose it was only a matter of time before you hatched a riolu. Congrats, by the way, he looks healthy
Ash: or not new I guess
Ash: with sir aaron and all
Dawn: Ash youre digging yourself a hole
Serena: we don't need to explain ash-greninja
Tracey: what's an ash-greninja?
Gladion left the group.
Mallow: lmao
Kiawe: yeeted
Misty: nu-uh
Misty: no way
Misty: I don't know who that punk is but he's not getting out of this that easy
Misty added Gladion to the group.
Gladion: I don't even know you
May: OKAY EVERYONE SHUT UP
Kiawe: dragged
May: Kiawe
Kiawe: shutting up
Ash: Hi May!
May: YOU
May: Okay, I know Brock, Misty, Ash, Dawn, Iris, and Serena
May: EVERYBODY ELSE WHO ARE YOU
May: also how do you know Ash he has like a million friends
Mallow: Mallow, we were classmates in alola
Kiawe: Kiawe, same
Sophocles: same
Mallow: your name idiot
Tracey: Tracey
Sophocles: oh I'm Sophocles
Iris: I was napping
Ash: haha that's not your name
Iris: IF I SAY THAT'S MY NAME THAT'S MY NAME MISTER
Ash changed Iris' nickname to i was napping.
i was napping: very funny
Goh: um… hi? I'm Goh?
Goh: I don't really know anyone except Ash, I've only know him for a few weeks
Misty: aww baby
May: Great the uninitiated
Brock: Nice to meet you Goh! I'm Brock!
Serena: Yes, I've heard loads about you from Ash, Goh. I'm Serena, nice to meet you.
May: you wanna give him the dl Misty or should I?
Misty: you do it
Kiawe: is this a cult?
Dawn: yes
Tracey: yes
Gladion: yes
Iris: yes
May: alright brat here's the drill. Have you ran into your first legendary with Ash yet?
Goh: oh yeah. We met Lugia and we almost saw Ho-oh
Goh: but also I saw Mew when I was a kid and my dream is to catch it someday
Misty: he passed
May: yup
Brock: welcome, you're one of us now.
Dawn: one of us! one of us! one of us!
Goh: I'm confused
Mallow: wait wait wait if he's one of us what are we?
i was napping: Ash's posse
i was napping: or harem, if you squint
Serena: ahem
Brock: IRIS
Gladion: I resent that implication
Serena: nope!
Serena: sorry folks he's mine
Dawn: DAMN RIGHT
Dawn: YOU TELL THEM GIRL
May: Okay Serena
Mallow: damn Ash
Ash:
Ash: sorry Iris I'm not going anywhere
Mallow: aww
i was napping: omg
Dawn: goals
Misty: Ash really grew up huh
Brock: aw I'm so proud
Gary: I put my phone away for ten minutes and suddenly Ashy Boy has a girlfriend?
Ash: Gary!
Misty: Gary.
Dawn: Gary…
Gary: I only have one thing to say
Gary: nice
Ash: Serena is comfy I'll let it slide
Goh: Gary? Like Gary Oak? Also wait has everybody here seen legendaries?
Ash: yes
Serena: yes
Dawn: yes
Kiawe: yes
Brock: Ash didn't you give him the rundown?
Ash: Give me a break we only were coworkers for a few weeks and I was kinda preoccupied after Riolu hatched
i was napping: he attracts them like flies kid
Dawn: and he fights them
Serena: and saves them
Mallow: and raises them
May: hahaha
Ash: what
May: you know
Ash: it's almost 4am tell me
May: Altomare
Ash: YOU WEREN'T EVEN THERE!
Ash: and it was BIANCA we've been over this
May: was it?
Misty: May I will drag you
Gladion: I don't understand what is she implying
Ash: NOTHING
Ash: Stop bringing up that VERY TRAUMATIC trip
Ash: see now I have to explain to my girlfriend about my first kiss dammit I was twelve
Brock: really it is disrespectful to Latios' memory
Brock: although Latias was a very nice Pokemon…
i was napping: omg lmao
Ash: MOVING ON
Ash: yes I'm in Galar doing very well thanks
Ash: I realized I kind of ran off without telling anyone but my mom, and I've only really talked to Serena Dawn and Kukui since…
Misty: we figured it out idiot
Misty: you were on tv again. That battle against the goth girl went viral.
Ash: oh I figured it was just local.
May: I knew because of Serena's paparazzi
Serena: damn I thought I lost them in Hoenn
i was napping: Ash
i was napping: why
i was napping: the
i was napping: heck
i was napping: is Oshawott on your team?
Dawn: yeah I was surprised to see Infernape.
Ash: oh yeah I'm trying to train up a champion team.
Ash: really take the PWC head on
i was napping: and you chose OSHAWOTT? You really are a dumb kid.
Ash: hey! that's not fair to Oshawott! Even if I'm at a bit of a loss with him…
Brock: so how is it going? Your battling looked hot on TV.
Serena: Ash no he's doing great
Serena: He's been in his head all week
Ash: Serena
Ash: I've got a great team, I know I do
Ash: buuuut I might have had a match with Cynthia and gotten my ass dragged through the mud. She slaughtered me. Literally.
Serena: it was kinda hard to watch.
Dawn: damn Cynthia is cold
Brock: no mercy huh
Gary: ouch
Mallow: wait are we talking about THE Cynthia?
Ash: yup
Serena: yeah
Dawn: yes. She adores Ash. No kidding.
Ash: didn't feel like it when she was slamming Riolu around with her Shellos
Paul: serves you right
Ash:
Dawn: he's been lurking the whole time hasn't he
Ash: FOR THE RECORD I did better than you
Ash: and I wasn't challenging her like a desperate loser, she wanted to see how strong I was and challenged me
Paul: 0-6
Ash: that's it fight me
Ash: also you're wrong
Ash: 1-4-1, unlike a certain someone...
Serena: boys
Paul: … you took Cynthia 1-4-1?
Mallow: wow Ash that's actually so impressive
Iris: damn
Ash: yeah I lost but I still cant believe it
Ash: Riolu took her Shellos
Ash: and then Infernape and Togekiss drew
May: shit that's great Ash
Misty: wait Ash in all seriousness she challenged you?
Ash: yeah
Ash: I knew she was coming to Galar, and it's been a few years since she helped me with Meloetta in Unova, so I wanted to catch up and let her know that I'm coming for her lol. I didn't say that to her face haha
Ash: but we spent a whole day with her and it was nice
Ash: haven't done that since Undella
Misty: hmm
Serena: wait didn't she show up after the Kalos Crisis to check up on you?
Ash: oh u right
May: you two are literally right next to each other use words not texts
Serena: shh
Misty: interesting
Brock: ooh I see
Brock: I'm with Misty that is very interesting
i was napping: holy shit
Misty: i was napping you get it
Ash: what
Ash: guys
Ash: what do you know that I don't I know I won't work it out tell me
Misty: sorry Ash I can't say really that's up to Cynthia
Misty: just
Misty: I'm getting groomed to be an E4 member by Agatha. She's done a lot for me.
May: what
Tracey: isn't he the champion of the Orange Islands and Alola already?
Mallow: no Kukui is champ in Alola Ash didn't want to stay
Gary: omg
Gary: omg omg omg wtf holy shit
Misty: Gary I fucking swear
Gary: yeah yeah sorry Ash you won't hear it from me
Ash: Hear WHAT?
i was napping: Cynthia Shirona, huh. God Damn.
Dawn: I mean he did meet Arceus
Dawn: Sinnoh's basically adopted him
Dawn: it makes a shocking amount of sense
Dawn: as Sinnoh's top coordinator I approve
May: you approve cause he's Ash
Misty: he has my support
Gary: me too
i was napping: me too
Ash: I'm so confused
Ash: But also Riolu and Serena are both asleep on me and I'm pretty tired to, might j drift off in this clearing
Ash: this was nice guys we should talk more often
Ash: gnight
Dawn: good night ash
Brock: sweet dreams
May: sleep well
Misty: good night clueless
Mallow: bye Ash
Gary: love ya
Gladion: now that he's asleep can I leave?
Misty: My Gyarados will eat you alive
Gladion: yes ma'am
Kiawe: is it just me, or did anyone else feel like they just missed an enormous amount of subtext?
Mallow: me too
Gladion: ugh
Sophocles: I'm just confused
Mallow: Eh, who needs Ash's old friends? Alola for the win!
i was napping: Alolans lmao
Dawn: I'm just so happy for both of them
Misty: we all are
::
Magnolia sighed in contentment, leaning back in her desk chair and taking a long sip of her tea. She'd had a nice relaxing day at her lab. There were no brats knocking down her door, her granddaughter had gone off with the Champion boy again to do a field study on Clobbopus in Circhester, which she knew as a thinly veiled excuse to sit in the hot springs and get Leon half-naked. She snorted at the thought. The Leon boy had heart, but he was dense as a rock. The day he could see past the brim of his own hat and see what was right in front of him would be the day she laid down her coat and gave the lab to Sonia.
Maybe then her granddaughter could fix the boy's atrocious fashion sense.
No, she was living the life of luxury today. Perhaps later she would go out into the gardens and spend some time observing the fae properties of Flabebe dust, or take a lovely walk around the lake and have a relaxing battle against a horde of angry Arroskuda. Magnolia let a light smile play over her lips at the thought. All these years, and she still found joy in her work-
"You have one new message!" her Rotom Phone chirped.
Magnolia growled. Rotom tech, so pesky. Back in her day a trainer would have been lucky to have had a Pokedex, never mind an all-purpose tool that could think for itself. "Ignore it. I'm busy."
"Sorry, Professor!" Rotom said, zooming in front of her face. "No can do! It's marked Urgent and Restricted, and as per your protocols-"
Hissing, Magnolia snatched the phone out of the air and tapped open her email. She glared at the notification, tapping it open with a growing annoyance.
From: Ash Ketchum
Subject: Guess what I found in the Weald! (Level Two Restricted Information – Suggested L-Class Classification)
Magnolia skimmed the file. "Unregistered legendary… Zacien… Pink and purple lupine Pokemon – where do they come from?" She swiped down. "Illusions… Misty Terrain… Sword… Sword? What on Earth? Why would a Pokemon give Ketchum a sword? At least he's keeping it; not my problem."
Briefly, Magnolia entertained the idea of herself wielding a sword before an army of researchers and Pokemon, standing triumphant over the enemies of ignorance, paperwork, and small children. She chuckled at the thought.
"A warning…"
"Zacien said something about a coming storm," Ash wrote in his missive. "Something about a coming darkness – probably that has something to do with myths, so look into it? Also, I think Zacien has a counterpart who possesses a shield, and there's a very good chance that Gloria, the new trainer, is its intender wielder, fyi. You might want to keep a better eye on her."
"The Darkest Day," Magnolia whispered, mind spinning. She glanced up from her desk at her Ludvisk tank, which helped her to soothe her frazzled nerves, allowing her to wrap her head around the immediate next step.
Sorry, Sonia dearest. Looks like you won't be doing any 'research' on your man candy today.
"Open a draft email to my granddaughter," Magnolia said, drumming her fingers on the head of her cane. "Tell her I have work for her to do. She can bring Leon if she must."
Suddenly her day didn't look so relaxing anymore. She'd have to make a new registration, and tell the boy's professors he'd made yet another new discovery, and file more paperwork. She'd known Ash Ketchum would create paperwork for her. Sighing, she read the last bit of the email.
"Maybe next time you can pay me ;), Ash Ketchum.
P.S. Serena Yvonne was with me, make sure she gets cocredit on the discovery."
"Brat," Magnolia said fondly.
She rose to her feet and made for her garden, where she liked to make her phone calls. She had work to do.
::
the ash ketchum protection squad
Members: Brock, Misty, Gary, Dawn, May, Iris
Iris: so we all got that, right?
May: maybe?
Misty: he always said he would become a Pokemon Master but he was such a kid
Misty: I never thought he'd go out and do it
Brock: Dawn you probably know Ash best at this point
Brock: what do you think?
Dawn: I think Cynthia will be really good for Ash
Dawn: and I'm so glad Serena and Ash are traveling together again
Dawn: I think they'll work out
May: mmm hard to picture
May: but it makes a lot of sense I suppose
Dawn: it really does
Iris: we all have to stop being kids some time
Misty: still… champion…
Dawn: say what you want but he deserves it. And so does Sinnoh. I trust Cynthia.
Brock: he sure does, Dawn
Brock: he sure does
::
Something has shifted.
Greninja paused at the edge of the enormous waterfalls at the cusp of the Allearth Valley, perching on the edge of a tree branch overlooking the towering cliffs, balancing on one webbed foot and taking in the whole of the world before him. The aura within him rose and sang, trying in earnest to stretch out a thousand leagues away, north, to where he could feel, always, his former trainer's presence.
Landing limber on the branch next to him, Zygarde shifted down from its ten percent form to its core form, glancing up at Greninja. "The Chosen One has awoken his aura."
"Yes," Greninja agreed. He glanced away, red eyes piercing in the direction of Galar.
"You feel called to him once more. What is your aura telling you? Remember what I have taught you, young one, and look inward."
He closed his eyes and felt for his [aura]. He saw [darkness, pain] but there was also [light], a brilliant sword which cut through his vision and cleaved him back into reality. Greninja bowed his head, recognizing the omen.
"He will need me. I will go to him. Soon."
Zygarde nodded. "You have learned and learned well, Young One. There is little more that I could teach you now that would not be better learned through experience or the tutelage of others. Wait until the time is right – do not be hasty. But when you depart once more to your destiny, you will do so with my blessing."
"Thank you." There was deep, genuine admiration in his tone, a wearied compassion. Greninja sank to one knee and held out one hand for Zygarde to jump onto. Zygarde did, and allowed the younger Pokemon to press his head to its, closing its eyes.
"You have done well, Greninja," Zygarde said. "But you cannot hide from your trainer and who you may become forever."
Greninja rose. Together, they watched the sun set over the sacred forest, and waited for the new day to come.
::
i wanna be the very best
Clemont: Why did I wake up with 316 text messages?
Clemont: I feel like I missed something…
::
[A/N] How do you like dem interludes?
Bro college is exhausting. I was doing 1k-2k a day during quarantine but I legit don't have that kind of time right now, so I've cut back to focus the time I do have on my original work. Think of this as a present – cute, short, and the only fanfiction I'm writing this month. I wrote the textfic bits for lols at midnight like a month ago, and the little drabbles are fun glimpses into other characters. I hope you guys enjoy this, even if it's not a full chapter.
I'm prioritizing my studies (French, Physics, Philosophy, and English – solid) but I'll do my best to get a full October chapter out!
Anyway thank you to littledipper06, Darkknight55, misterbruh, Hall Gowrt, Temple27, crazydude13, Welcome-to-the-404, The N01 Master, Amourshipper35, Ri2, The great, Rajiv A. Rajaram, animeflunky, MjrGenMatt, fishlord17, Yanks1678, championmuru, Orcinus21, skyh1gh, Immortal Shooters, Name16, DaDragon562, luvanime4, Lexsequor, Infamous Player, Crankymcgranky, A_Simple_Girl, Demiblue97, Joey, and 6 guests for reviewing! Also, 200 follows! Also, 100 reviews! Also, 10,000 views! You guys rock!
Here are some specific review responses:
misterbruh and everyone else who asked about Greninja – Hopefully this chapter dropped some nice hints. I have a plan, don't worry.
Hall Gowrt – Next time, if you see any inconsistencies, I would love for you to point them out so I can fix them. I always accept concrit.
Temple27 – Charizard will make an appearance at some point, yes.
Guest – here's your top ten ranking, fam. Note that these are competitive rankings, not who's the best:
#1 – Leon
#2 – Lance
#3 – Cynthia
#4 – Steven
#5 – Tobias
#6 – Diantha
#7 – Raihan
#8 – Alder
#9 – Brandon
#10 – Flint
The great and everyone else who asked about lemons – There will NOT be explicit sex scenes in this story. Sorry. I don't have a problem with writing them, but I don't want to do them in fanfiction; that's not my jam.
Ri2 – hahaha yes omg honestly how Ash has made it so far without accidentally being crowned royalty is beyond me.
Guest #2 – Yes Delia knows. It's not a secret relationship. Delia was canvasing for Ash to get a SO anyways.
Name16 – The 19th, fam.
Guest #3 – Yes, Serena's Sister is currently on indefinite hiatus.
Anyways thank you to everyone for reading! Your reviews help me study and give me better grades in Physics haha – help a new college student out. Hope to see y'all October 19th!
Cheers, Allie
[Update 10/19/20]
Hey hey hey hey hey!
Guess who's 283k into her original manuscript? And scheduled to finish the first draft by the end of the year? And also hasn't failed out of college yet?
It's ya girl Allie 3
I'm currently working my way up to doing NaNo (exciting!) to finish my first original, which is awesome. I haven't been able to keep up the 1.5k a day pace I was making early in quarantine, but I know I'm close to the end. When I really get cracking on my second draft maybe I'll peel back the curtain and let you guys see what I've been obsessively writing all year ;)
Of course, between my original writing and college I have no time. Fanfiction is unfortunately going back on the backburner for a while. That means no Caliber in October, or any of my other fics for that matter. Maybe I'll pump out a TDOPC chapter or a bit of Gender Sleepy if I have a sec but I really don't have much free time, and we out here trying to write a novel fam.
There's good news tho - when I finish DENY's first draft, I'm going to shelve it for a month or two while my alpha readers (read: my dad, my family, my friends) get through it (it's a manuscript) and focus on fanfiction! That means finally finishing re:Bound (I hope) plus a chapter of Hidden Path, more Caliber, and potentially a Star Wars short story I've been brewing for a while. Stay tuned~
anyway y'all are great I'm having a good time stay safe everyone
cheers, allie