Blaine's Gym was inside the fucking volcano.
Ash had sort of expected it, but it was one thing to have an idea, and another to hike up to the top of a volcano and then meet the gaze of one brilliantly insane Fire Master. And then he hit a switch and the battlefield lowered directly into the volcano. Ash had been sure she would die, but the chains stopped lowering them about halfway down.
She wasn't proud of the way she panicked, but on the plus side, her Pokemon could tell she was terrified and fought viciously (Titania took advantage of there being no walls to keep Fairy Wind-ing Ninetails right off the platform, Frogadier kept blasting Ryhorn with water and leading him right off the edge, and Houndoom used his Dark Cloak to terrify Magmar into submission, something that confused Ash but she hadn't exactly seen the look on Houndoom's face). The battle ended quickly, in her favor, and she almost cried in relief when Blaine got them back up to the top before presenting her with the Volcano Badge. Ash wasn't entirely sure why the volcano caused her so much anxiety, but didn't stick around to figure it out. She went back to the Pokemon Center and got her team healed up.
"You guys were awesome today," she praised, after she'd let them out in her room. She gathered her pajamas and headed for the bathroom, then paused. Sighing, she waved everyone over. "Let's wash all that soot off of you."
It had been a while since she'd given her team a full, all-out grooming, and even Houndoom didn't object to a proper bath (he was actually the dirtiest, he just didn't look it because of his black fur). One by one, she worked dirt and soot from fur, feathers, and skin, then carefully dried and brushed those that needed it. Charmander had to go last, since his cleaning required a cloth and a specialty oil instead of water, but within two hours they were all groomed to perfection. Then she shooed them all out so she could get clean.
She spent an hour in a tub filled to the brim with hot water, brain exhausted into silence after everything. Idly tapping her knees, she stared up at the ceiling until the bathroom door opened. She turned to it with a raised eyebrow, but when she saw Frogadier holding her PokeNav, she just waved him over. He shut the door behind him and brought her the device, although Ash nearly dropped it when she saw it was active on a video call. With Lance.
"Frogadier!" She whisper-shrieked, narrowing her eyes when he only shrugged and laughed. "You can't just… I'm not… ugh. Hey Lance, can this wait a few minutes? I'll call you back."
Lance, not able to see her at the moment because her fingers were covering the camera, didn't seem to understand why. "Actually, this is rather important. I needed to ask you about the Pokemon you reported after the SS Anne incident."
Of all the fucking times, Ash whined internally. "… The psychic one, yeah. I never got a real look at it, but Oberon confirmed it was just one Pokemon."
"Do you remember anything about the blast?"
Ash closed her eyes. Oh she remembered it, alright. She remembered how the entire ship crumpled beneath the pressure, a split second of distant screams that were cut off almost instantly. She remembered the terror, the cold fingers of death, how rigid the psychic energy had felt, how forced.
"It was fast," she said instead. "It wasn't there, and then the next second the source of the blast was in the sky, and already about to hit. It had been storming, but the noise or lightning didn't seem to hinder it at all." She hesitated, taking a brief moment to cover the PokeNav with a washcloth and set it on the edge of the tub. "It felt cold… and forced," she added. "Like there wasn't any life in the source. If the Rockets did something to force the Pokemon to obey them…"
She could be wrong about that. But something in her screamed that the Pokemon was not willing, that the Pokemon needed to be saved. Those feelings had never let her down before, and Lugia had eased her fears about her ability somewhat.
"That is concerning," Lance murmured, no doubt thinking of the implications of something capable of binding such a powerful Pokemon to the will of criminals. "Locating the Legendaries would likely narrow down the possible Pokemon. If Team Rocket has gotten their hands on Lugia－"
"It wasn't Lugia," she shot him down instantly. "He's still free, they don't have him, and Lugia's power isn't cold at all anyways."
"... Are you saying you have seen Lugia personally?"
Shit. "Yes. Literally just yesterday." And then Pikachu scampered in with her camera, shoving it at her until she looked at the screen. She froze for a moment, then leveled her starter with a flat stare. He smiled at her, and Ash rolled her eyes, looking back to the image of her hugging Lugia's head. "I have a picture, I can send it to you later if you need proof."
There was a strained sound, and then Lance said, "It would help. Is it not on your PokeNav?"
"No, it's on my regular camera."
"I see. In any case, thank you for the information, Ashka… If I may, why are keeping your PokeNav's screen off? Is everything alright?"
She shot Frogadier a dirty look. "Everything is fine, my Pokemon just don't know what places and times are inappropriate to hand me a call. Did you need anything else?"
"... No, that was it. Thank you, again. I'll talk to you later."
She hung up as soon as she deemed it safe, and pinned her Water type in place with a glare.
"Why would you hand me a video call while I'm in the bath?!"
XxXxX
Seven badges down, Ash mused as Alto landed outside of Celadon City. She'd just finished a week of constant trainer battles to save up some money, deciding that it was now time to ramp up the training level and get some TMs. The last Gym Leader she planned to face was rumored to be Champion level, so her Pokemon would need every bit ammo she could get her hands on for them.
Thanking her dragon for the flight, she returned her and set off at a jog. She remembered enough of the city's layout to head directly to the Department Store. Ash had passed it over the last time she'd been in the city, not having needed anything at that time. But now, she hurried up the stairs and to the store that boasted thousands of TMs. She'd even timed it so she would arrive early on a sale day. She'd been saving her money as much as possible for the expensive machines, and thus immediately began browsing to find what was on her list.
And she had quite a lot of TMs on her list.
Toxic, Hypnosis, Dream Eater, Disable, Aromatherapy, Draco Meteor, Solar Beam, Night Slash, Grass Knot, Ice Beam, Rain Dance, Discharge, Dazzling Gleam, and possibly Dig.
And she would have to pay an extra fee to unlock them for multiple uses, but… She mentally added up the prices and winced, but it was within her budget (she totally did not skimp out on her own food budget for this. Absolutely not…) and she wanted a good number of extra moves for her Pokemon to work on while they were out in the wilds. Plus, her Pokemon needed more type variety in their move sets, so the sacrifice was worth it.
56,000 Poke was still difficult to hand over, though… But at least she got a TM Case as a bonus for her ridiculously pricey purchase. Mourning her much lighter wallet, Ash secured her hard earned spoils into her bag, tapping Pikachu's curious nose in warning so he wouldn't dig out the TMs again.
"Later," she told him. "You'll get the new moves once we get to the wilds. You still haven't mastered Magnet Rise, either, we'll work on that first."
"Pika pika!" He whined, pulling lightly at her hair while he pouted on her shoulder.
"Master Magnet Rise first, then you get the rest."
"Pi."
"I'll buy you three bottles of ketchup."
"Pika pi! Pikapika pi pika!"
Every time, she thought as she hid a smirk. Now that she had him motivated, it was time to stock up on food supplies and get the hell out of dodge. She had some intensive training to start.
XxXxX
"Lance!" Samuel Oak blinked rapidly as he opened the door wider. "To what do I owe this visit?"
Stepping inside when offered, the young Champion nodded respectfully, but his smile was a little dry. "I hoped you haven't forgotten that we arranged to meet about the newest results of yours and Professor Sycamore's studies."
"Is it Thursday already? I could have sworn… well, never mind. Come in, I have everything up in my office, and I know you've been antsy about how the type advantages of the Fairy type go against your dragons." Oak smiled knowingly, and Lance felt a weight settle in his gut. He wasn't sure he liked that that phrasing implied.
"I'm curious," he corrected. "After all, Dark and Steel types were discovered just a few years prior to the Fairy type, and those two turned quite a few advantages on their heads. If you've managed to pin down what the Fairy type is capable of, it's a big deal."
"Of course, of course. Augustine has been a huge help in this endeavor, with Kalos having a number of native Fairy type Pokemon. You know, we'll be reclassifying some of Kanto and Johto's Pokemon due to this discovery. Sometimes I find myself wondering just when we would have learned all of this, if Ashka hadn't spoken up those years ago."
"Ashka? She had a part in this?"
"She was the one to propose it," Samuel said, dark eyes twinkling. "She is also the reason for the discovery of the rest of the eight Eeveelutions, and that Sylveon and Espeon of hers were the very first of their kind. Gary's Umbreon, as well, both of them wanted to help prove the possibility of more evolutions for Eevee. And I'm sure you are aware of Lorelei's Glaceon, by this point. Ashka and Gary were there when it evolved."
Taking a moment to process this information, Lance followed the aged professor up the stairs and into a cozy office, sinking into the chair opposite Samuel's. He'd figured Ashka's first two Pokemon were rare, but he hadn't known they were the first. And for her to have been the one to pioneer their discovery, as well as the study of the Fairy type… she was far smarter than even he had suspected.
"I don't suppose growing up with you had anything to do with their brilliance?" He replied, only partially joking. Ashka had mentioned being raised alongside Gary Oak, but it seemed the Oak and Ketchum families had been closer than he assumed.
"I would hope it helped," Samuel chuckled. "Those two would spend hours here in this office, begging me to teach them more about Pokemon. Then they would beg me to quiz them, see which of the two knew more, and whoever lost would refuse to leave until I taught them some more. Ashka is my second granddaughter in all but blood."
Why did that sound like a threat?
But Samuel didn't say more on the subject, instead picking a stack of papers off of his desk and shifting in his chair as he sorted through them. Selecting one, he waved it slightly with a smile.
"We'll be submitting these for release next week, but in essence, the Fairy type is weak against Poison and Steel type Pokemon, and extremely effective against Dark, Fighting, and Dragon type Pokemon," he finished with a full-on smirk. "Ah, and it would seem that Altaria commonly learn Moonblast, which we have determined to be a Fairy type move."
That was definitely a threat.
Lance slumped in his chair, barely fending off a scowl. Ashka's little Sylveon and its delicate ribbons were, in theory, his entire team's worst enemy. Of all the trainers he had to fall for－be interested in…
He was startled from his darkening thoughts by his PokeNav, the device chiming to indicate a message. With a murmured apology, he checked it, smiling a bit when he realized it was Ashka. Opening the message, he froze.
Heading out to the wilds for a two-month training trip, will be out of range for a while. I'll check in when I hit up Fuchsia to resupply.
PS: Here's the picture of Lugia I told you about.
And what a picture it was, the Legendary as graceful and stunning as he'd ever imagined, its fearsome power softened by the gentleness it seemed to be nuzzling Ashka with. Lance felt his breath catch. This girl… she was special in a way that blindsided him, and he found himself certain that she was the most incredible person he'd ever met.
Samuel cleared his throat, and Lance offered him the PokeNav; surely he would want to know if Ashka planned on dropping off the map for a while. To Lance's surprise, Samuel looked at the message and picture and merely sighed.
"Lugia isn't the first Legendary she's come across," he admitted, reaching for his keyboard and pulling up several breathtaking images of a majestic rainbow bird. "She saw Ho-oh almost immediately after starting her journey; these photos were taken with her PokeDex. Sometimes I wonder just what she'll end up doing, but I've found its better to just brace myself for whatever news I get next. It's more effective, at least."
The need to know Ashka, to understand her, was suddenly overwhelming.
Again, Lance knew he was fucked.