"Ash don't!" Misty warned but Loki stopped her.
"Don't worry about him," Loki said, and Misty was surprised at how confident he sounded.
"You'll never beat Team Rocket!" Jessie and James shouted as thy both charged at Ash with their magic at the ready.
Ash's heart pounded in his chest as he realised that the moment was finally here. It was time to use his magic out in the open. He clenched his eyes shut as he smashed his fists together which created his purple dragon seal. His eyes opened to show his dilated and purple pupils as his body glowed purple, much to the amazement of everyone.
"Here goes! Ghost Dragon: Roar!" Ash shouted as a dark purple torrent of purple energy exploded out of his mouth and went straight for the enemies.
"Dragon roar?!" Misty yelled.
"Incredible!" Joy exclaimed.
"Aye!" Loki cheered.
"What?!" Team Rocket yelled but then realised that the attack was heading right for them. They screamed in shock as they hugged as it hit them. It caused an explosion as they were blasted through the roof and went off into the sky.
"Alright!" Pikachu said as he came down and jumped onto Ash's shoulder and nuzzled him.
"Thanks buddy. Man, that felt good!" Ash stated.
"That was fun!" Loki said as he flew around.
"That was…I mean…what?!" Misty spluttered.
"Thank you so much for saving this Pokemon centre! That was amazing magic!" Joy said happily as she bowed in thanks.
"You're welcome but sorry about the mess," Ash said as he looked towards the large hole in the ceiling and various burns around the room.
"It's okay, the Pokemon are safe now and it can all be easily fixed," Joy replied. "You can also use some of the rooms for free for helping us."
"Awesome, thanks!" Ash said with a grin as Joy then went off to check on the other Pokemon. Ash was then left alone with Pikachu, Loki and Misty.
"Free rooms and food!" Loki cheered.
"She said nothing about food cat," Ash stated but was interrupted by Misty.
"What kind of magic was that?!" Misty yelled, and Ash had to cover his ears at her pitch.
"Please, my dragon senses can't take that pitch!" Ash replied.
"Dragon senses?" Misty asked in confusion.
"Yes…I am a First-Generation Dragon Slayer," Ash said, and Misty's jaw nearly dropped.
"No way! Those things are extinct!" Misty answered, and Ash folded his arms. Pikachu tensed slightly on his shoulder as he knew that was a bad choice of words.
"Oh no she didn't," Loki said with a head click.
"I would be careful on how you speak," Ash warned her.
"Well, they are!" Misty replied.
"Clearly not because I am standing right here," Ash said, and Pikachu and Loki snickered at this. Misty puffed her cheeks at this. Clearly, he was bluffing but then again, it was right here in front of her. But still…
"So…if you're a First Generation…then that means you were trained by an actual…" Misty started but then Ash lowered his voice to a whisper.
"Dragon, yes and its fine if you don't believe me. I don't expect you to but don't insult my magic and dragon. My dragon meant everything to me," Ash told her. Misty paused as she looked at him. He had no reason to lie as he didn't seem the kind of person to brag about something like this.
"Well…I guess I do believe you. Besides, from what I've seen, it doesn't look like you make things like this up," Misty responded.
"Thank you, Misty, that means a lot to me. Since we defeated them together, why don't we stay in those rooms Joy offered? I'll see what I can do about your bike," Ash offered, and Misty beamed at this.
"Yay we have a new friend!" Loki said as he hovered in front of Misty's face, who laughed nervously.
"Not to be rude, but what exactly are you?" Misty asked.
"I…don't know!" Loki said dramatically.
"I found him one day. He hatched from an egg but he's not a Pokemon because he uses magic like us. That's how he uses his wings. It's Aera magic," Ash explained.
"That's a bit strange but you're cute," Misty said and Loki grinned.
"I know," Loki boasted.
"Did you name him then?" Misty asked.
"Yeah, I did," Ash answered.
"Loki means amazing you know," Loki told her.
"Actually, it means mischief," Ash deadpanned which made Loki fall to the floor.
"Are you sure it doesn't mean annoying?" Pikachu asked, which made Ash laugh.
"Pretty sure," he replied.
"You can understand him too?" Misty asked. This guy amazed her even more!
"Yeah, I guess my dragon senses allow me to understand them," Ash answered.
"You know, maybe me running into you wasn't such a bad thing after all," Misty said as she put her hands on her hips. Ash gave a polite shrug a Pikachu sparked his cheeks.
"I guess so," he said with a laugh. Not only had he helped Pikachu and Loki, but he also made a new friend and revealed his magic. Guess this journey would be more fun that he originally intended.
After spending the night at the centre, Ash, Pikachu and Loki were heading out into Viridian Forest. Misty had decided to tag along too but Ash secretly knew that she wanted him to replace her bike. Another part sensed that she wanted to come along because she wanted to know more about them. She was still getting used to the whole Dragon Slayer issue and that fact that Loki wasn't a Pokemon.
"So, Ash…" Misty asked as she walked along beside him. "How powerful are you? I mean, I've never seen a Dragon Slayer fight before."
"Well, I actually don't know. I can do the basics like punching, becoming intangible and of course the roar. Yakuri did tell me that I'd be able to unlock more stuff as I get stronger," Ash answered, and this caught Misty's interest.
"Yakuri?" Misty asked.
"Yeah…he's my dragon and my dad. He left when I was nine," Ash said bluntly, causing Loki and Pikachu to give him a sympathetic look. Misty said nothing but found it a little convenient that the dragon wasn't around anymore.
"Oh, I see…but I assume he wasn't your…human father?" Misty said as carefully as she could.
"Oh boy," Loki muttered.
"Nah, my real dad travels a lot so he's not home that much," Ash said as cheerfully as he could. He chose not to tell the true origins of his real father since he didn't want to make this anymore awkward.
"Yeah, he didn't tell Ash about his magic or his mother!" Loki said as he flew beside Ash and immediately backed off when Ash glared at him.
"You haven't told your parents?!" Misty asked in shock.
"Someone's in trouble," Pikachu sang.
"Well, I can't exactly say that I was trained by a dragon to them, can I?" Ash asked with his hands raised.
"You're so immature," Misty drawled, and Ash stuck his tongue out childishly, only proving her point. They carried on for five more minutes with Misty trying to come up with more questions to ask him. Ash was in fact about ask her something about her own magic when she let out a loud squeal.
"Gahh!" she screamed, and Ash was at the ready to attack.
"What's the matter?" he asked as he looked around. He had only detected Pokemon life nearby and nothing else.
"Come out with your hands up!" Loki demanded.
"Look over there!" Misty said while pointing a shaky finger.
Ash followed her finger to see that she was pointing at a small green caterpillar Pokemon. It had a yellow underbelly with large black eyes and pink antenna. It was a Caterpie. It looked quite cute but clearly not to Misty.
"That bug scared her?" Pikachu asked with a snicker.
"He looks funny!" Loki exclaimed.
"Says the purple talking cat with wings," Ash said with an eye roll.
"Meanie," Loki muttered.
"It's just a Caterpie! He must be one of the bug types living here," Ash said as he looked at it with a smile. It had a lot of potential, even if it was small. He believed that all Pokemon could be strong, no matter what kind it was.
"Even if it is a Pokemon, it's a big and they're horrible and gross!" Misty said as she clenched her eyes shut. She even held her hand up for defence, which Ash immediately pushed down.
"If you even think of harming that Caterpie, you'll regret it," Ash warned.
"I'd never hurt it! Just…scare it away…" Misty mumbled.
"How's that any better?" Loki questioned. He wasn't really sure how he felt about Misty; sometimes she was okay and other times she wasn't.
"You know what? I think that he's going to be my first Pokemon. Pikachu, care to help?" Ash asked, and Pikachu came down from his shoulder ready. Ash then pulled out his Pokedex and scanned Pikachu for his moves.
"Pikachu's moves are: Thunderbolt, Quick Attack and Double Team."
"Fancy moves!" Loki said as Pikachu beamed in pride.
"Alright Pikachu, Thunderbolt let's go!" Ash said as he readied a pokeball ready for capture.
Pikachu nodded as he charged forward and jumped into the air to release a small but still powerful Thunderbolt at the small Pokemon. Caterpie attempted to block it with String Shot but the electric attack cut right through and hit it full on. Caterpie rolled on its side and Ash took this moment to throw a pokeball.
"Go pokeball!" Ash shouted as he threw it at Caterpie.
It tapped the Pokemon on the head and it was sucked inside the pokeball where it then landed on the ground. It shook back and forth for several moments with everyone, minus Misty, looking at it with hope. Finally, it stopped and it 'DINGED' which showed that it was captured and now belonged to Ash.
"Yay, another friend!" Loki cheered.
"Alright, I caught a Caterpie!" Ash said as he picked up the pokeball and smiled down at it. They would be great friends, he just knew it. Ash then proceeded to kneel down and pull a small potion out of his satchel.
"Oh no, you're not taking it out, are you?" Misty as while trembling.
"Yes I am. I happen to think that bug Pokemon are cute. Come out and say hello Caterpie!" Ash said as he released the small green creature.
Misty screamed as she ran off to hide behind a tree, while Ash scoffed at her antics. Caterpie looked up at the group of three tiredly as Ash then gave it a potion to drink. It perked up immediately after that. Looking up, he saw a boy, a Pikachu and a strange flying cat.
"Hey there, nice to meet you! I'm Ash and this is Pikachu and Loki!" Ash said warmly. He then listened carefully for a response that he could understand.
"Hello…everyone and strange cat," Caterpie said and Ash laughed at this.
"Yeah, everyone thinks Loki is strange," Ash said, and Loki huffed at this while Caterpie blinked in astonishment.
"You can understand me?" he asked.
"Yeah. I don't know how yet but I guess it's a perk of being a Dragon Slayer," Ash answered and Caterpie was shocked at this.
"You? A Dragon Slayer?!" Caterpie stammered.
"Don't be scared, I'd never hurt a friend! I'm on a mission to find my dragon and be the Pokemon Master. We'd love it if you'd join us," Ash said invitingly and Caterpie looked very excited at this.
"I would love to come with you!" Caterpie replied.
"He's in," Ash said to Loki, who came down to Caterpie's level.
"Alright, listen up. I'm the top cat around here," Loki declared.
"This doesn't help your 'strange' situation," Pikachu pointed out, which made Caterpie laugh. Ash turned his head towards Misty, who was still cowering behind the tree. Caterpie noticed her and the started to head in her direction.
"I don't like where this is going," Loki said to Pikachu, who nodded in agreement. Ash saw Caterpie rub itself against Misty's leg, who screamed in response. Ash was pleased to see Caterpie making an effort, but his hearing was damaged again due to the screaming.
"Ahhhh! Get it away!" Misty yelled which made Caterpie back away in hurt.
"I can't believe what I'm seeing. Caterpie is trying to be nice to you," Ash said with a frown.
"I don't care, I hate bugs! They're one of the most three disgusting things in the world!" Misty shouted.
"Besides you, what are the other two?" Ash and Loki said together.
"Very funny! I hate carrots, peppers and bugs! Everyone has something they don't like you know!" Misty retorted.
"Well I happen like carrots, peppers and bugs. Just because you don't like something doesn't mean you should be mean or spiteful. Especially since that your fear of bugs, is hurting my friend's feelings!" Ash said, and Misty flinched again when his eyes flared purple again. Pikachu and Loki were currently comforting Caterpie, who had gotten quite upset.
"Hmph!" Misty said as she folded her arms.
"Pout all you want Misty but if you're going to be like this, then I don't want you travelling with us," Ash said as he then allowed Caterpie and Pikachu on his shoulders while Loki got ready to fly.
"So, we're leaving her behind like last night's rice balls?" Loki asked.
"You got it," Ash replied.
"Hey, what about my bike?" Misty yelled after him.
"As far as I'm concerned, we aren't responsible for that but if it bothers you that much, I'll send you the money for it when I can! Until next time, see ya!" Ash said but he didn't even bother to turn around to wave. Misty was still quite angry, but she was considering what Ash had said.