Pokémon Tails: A Journey to the East
DISCLAIMER: I don't own DBZ or Pokémon.
CHAPTER 5: Revelations of the Past
On the screen, Giovanni reacted with shock at what he'd been told.
"You're kidding!" he barked. "You mean to tell me the Legendary Mew has found its way to that boy?"
"Yes, sir, Giovanni," Jessie confirmed. "We saw it with our own eyes."
"Do you think this means something, sir?" James wondered.
"Perhaps," Giovanni allowed, and in the shadows of his office, they could see him stroking his chin. "For now, keep tailing the target, but remember, I want both the boy and his Mew brought in together."
"Aye, aye, sir!" Team Rocket promised.
"I promise you... when the day comes that Team Rocket has spread across the globe and taken control of all Pokémon, your efforts will be rewarded," Giovanni told them. "Fail... and you're out. There are no compromises."
Team Rocket swallowed nervously.
"Don't worry, Boss," Meowth assured him. "Dat boy is as good as ours!"
"What Team Rocket sets out to do, Team Rocket does!" Jessie chimed in.
"You just leave it in our hands, Boss!" James added. "We'll get him!"
"I hope so," Giovanni said. "Rocket Bass out."
As he hung up, Team Rocket snuck out of the bushes they were hiding in towards the small house across the clearing...
"Incredible!" Brock said as he stepped inside the capsule house. "I had no idea technology like this existed."
"Well, you'd better get used to it," Misty said. "Gohan has a way of surprising you like that."
"Chu Pika, Pikachu!" the little rodent agreed.
"Mew!" the Legendary Cat giggled, looking very cheerful. "Mew!"
Brock glanced towards Gohan. "So... you said you come from another Planet Earth in a different dimension?"
Gohan nodded. "Uh-huh! To be honest, it's not much different from your Earth, except we don't have Pokémon."
"Neat," Brock said. "I hope you're having a good time so far."
"Well, I was," Gohan muttered uncomfortably, "until my gadget was destroyed."
"Well, don't worry," Brock reassured him. "There's just gotta be a way to get you back home. Just you wait."
Gohan smiled and sent the red-haired tomboy a grateful expression. "That's what Misty said."
Misty grinned haughtily. "It's like I said. You can't give up hope!"
Suddenly, Ash's stomach growled. "Oh man, I'm really hungry. Gohan, do you think we could have some dinner?"
"Sure, but as you know I can't cook well," Gohan said sheepishly.
"Really?" Brock said, sounding shocked. "Gohan, show me the way to the kitchen, and I'll whip you guys up a feast!"
"You mean it?!" the three of them asked, sounding happy.
"Pi Pikachu?" Pikachu added, looking hopeful.
"Mew, Mew!" the Legendary chirped.
"Well, of course!" Brock said. "I've been looking after my ten brothers and sisters for as long as I can remember!"
"Oh, how wonderful!" Misty said, clapping her hands to her cheeks. "Now we can actually have a nice home-cooked meal!"
"Thank you, Brock!" Gohan said. "We really appreciate it. The kitchen is over there."
"Awesome!" Brock said, a look of pure determination now crossing over his face as he headed off towards the kitchen. "Just give me an hour and we'll have the most delicious dinner you've ever tasted."
"But don't forget, Gohan eats at least twice as much as we do!" Misty cheerfully called after him.
Gohan blushed in embarrassment and chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head.
Ash sidled up next to Gohan. "So, Gohan, you said you were going to teach me martial arts like you."
"Oh, yeah, I did say that, didn't I?" Gohan admitted, then he perked up. "Tell you what, Ash: I'll teach you martial arts, and then you teach me how to be a Pokémon Trainer like you." He looked in Ash's eyes. "Deal?"
"Deal!" Ash agreed brightly.
"I don't know about that, Ash," Misty piped up. "You'll be the only one getting your money's worth."
Ash hung his head out of sheer exasperation.
"Hey Misty, do you wanna train alongside us?" Gohan asked her.
Misty seemed a bit surprised that Gohan was even asking her. "You mean it? You'll train me too?"
"Well, sure!" Gohan said cheerfully. "I need to get back to my training anyway, so you might as well join us."
After a moment, Misty flashed him a sincere smile. "Well, okay. That sounds like fun."
Heading outside, Gohan had Misty and Ash standing side-by-side.
"First, I feel I should tell you what exactly you're asking for," Gohan said. "Learning my style of martial arts requires passing normal human limitations. It will be brutal, unpleasant, and, at times, very painful."
"That sounds harsh," Misty commented, looking nervous.
"Yeah," Ash agreed with a big sweatdrop.
"If you want to back out now, I wouldn't blame you in the slightest," Gohan said sympathetically. "The training is sometimes too hard even for trained men and women to handle, much less average children."
Twin looks of determination appeared on their faces.
"I'm not giving up!" Ash protested hotly. "I've never given up in my entire life and I'm not about to start now!"
"Pika Pi!" Pikachu added.
"Whatever you throw at us, we can handle it, I promise you!" Misty agreed.
"Very well, then," Gohan said. "Tonight, we'll start off with a few light exercises."
And he tossed a capsule to the ground, revealing a bunch of padded weights.
Walking over to the weights, Gohan handed them to Ash and Misty.
"Um... what are we supposed to do with these?" Ash asked cluelessly.
"They're training weights," the half-Saiyan explained. "You put them on under your clothes and work out with them."
"Oh, I see!" Misty chimed in. "That sounds simple enough."
"You can go inside and change," Gohan said. "I'll be out here setting up your first training exercise."
"Okay!" Ash and Misty said, running back into the capsule house.
Gohan sighed and turned to the Legendary Pokémon floating next to him.
"Later tonight, you and me can get some Pokémon training in," he said. "And then we can play together! How does that sound?"
"Mew!" Mew squealed, dancing around in the air. "Mew, Mew! Mew!"
Gohan recalled it into its Poké Ball and took off into the night sky.
Five minutes later, Misty and Ash staggered outside, looking immensely uncomfortable.
"What... kind... of... training... weights... are... these?" the redhead demanded of Gohan.
"They... feel... like... they... weigh... a ton!" Ash agreed as he strained to put one foot in front of the other.
"That's the whole point," Gohan said patiently. "You're not gonna get stronger unless you push yourself beyond your limits."
"If... you... say... so!" Misty panted as she struggled closer to the half-Saiyan.
"Boy... this... is... tough!" Ash wheezed as he followed in her wake.
Pretty soon, they were standing before Gohan again.
"Okay, for the first leg of your training, I want you to run one hundred laps around that lake over there," Gohan said.
He pointed to a nearby lake that looked to be a hundred meters in length.
"You're kidding, right?" Ash said, wide-eyed.
"How can in the world are we supposed to run around that lake with these training weights on?" Misty demanded angrily.
"You'll get used to it," Gohan said. "I said this was gonna be hard. The question is, how badly do you want this?"
Exchanging a weary look, Misty and Ash finally nodded in reluctant agreement.
Gohan turned to face the tiny Pokémon standing next to them.
"I've got an idea," Gohan said. "Pikachu, can you follow them and hit them with your Electric attacks to keep them going fast?"
"Pikachu!" the little rat said, raising its arm as it nodded once.
"What?!" Misty exclaimed, sounding completely appalled.
"Haven't we already got enough to do?" Ash whined.
Gohan laughed. "Trust me, once you see the results of your training, that won't matter. Now hop to it!"
"PIKACHU!" Pikachu cried as it zapped them with a Thunderbolt attack.
Ash and Misty both screamed in pain before the attack abated.
Twitching from Pikachu's assault and determined not to repeat the experience, Ash and Misty went running towards the lake with Pikachu following after them, unleashing Electric waves every few minutes.
Gohan sighed. "I hope they do okay out there."
I guess it's time to get back to my own training, Gohan thought.
And in a flash, Gohan had transformed into a Super Saiyan.
And now... he thought.
Crossing both his arms together by his side, Gohan cried loudly as he reached deep down inside his body and drew out the power he knew to be lying in wait down there; the planet itself seemed to be shaking as the demi-Saiyan powered up to his strongest, bypassing the first stage of Super Saiyan and ascending to a much higher level far beyond it.
Misty and Ash, already encumbered by all the additional weights, now stumbled under the furious onslaught of Gohan's power-up.
"What's... going on?!" Misty demanded as she tried to maintain her balance and run forward at the same time.
"It feels like an earthquake!" Ash replied, tipping over from side to the side.
"Pika!" Pikachu cried as it tried to shock the two but missed due to erratic aim.
In the kitchen, Brock's dishes and bowls flew everywhere, spilling food all over the place.
"Eh, what's happening?!" the dark-skinned boy wondered. "What's causing this?!"
Outside, things finally settled down when, in a sudden burst of gold light, Gohan's body transformed. His hair stood up and went rigid with a single lock dangling over his face, his muscles bulged out, his eyes morphed into a hardened teal, and wild electrical arcs started dancing across his skin, like thousands of contained thunderstorms surrounding a supernova of immense power — Gohan had become a Super Saiyan 2.
Once he had changed, Gohan let out a deep breath.
This shouldn't be any different than trying to master the first Super Saiyan transformation, he thought, standing there basking in the glow of his own power. The trick is in the ki output; this state generates a lot more ki than the typical Super Saiyan form. It's going to take a lot of time before I learn how to regulate the ki until it feels completely normal to me.
Nearby, Team Rocket stuck their heads out of the bushes.
"Whoa! How does that brat do it?!" Jessie demanded, sounding extremely jealous.
"He certainly goes through hairstyles pretty fast, doesn't he?" James commented.
Suddenly, their laptop computer began beeping incessantly, a sign that someone was calling them.
"Oh, the hotline!" James remarked.
"Dat's gotta be da Boss!" Meowth pointed out.
"Well, let's see what he wants!" Jessie said.
The three instantly accepted the call. Giovanni appeared on the monitor.
"Did you three feel that?" he asked them without preamble.
"Yes, it was that little brat!" Jessie snarled.
"He did something!" James added.
"Yes, I suspected as much," Giovanni confessed darkly. "You may be aware of its power, but not its scope. Whatever the boy did, it affected the whole planet — there was little damage beyond a few temporary blackouts, but what concerns me is how widespread it was."
"He made the whole planet shake?" James wondered, awestruck.
"Yes," Giovanni said, his flesh tightening over his bones. "I feel that I must stress this point to you three; do NOT underestimate this boy. He is clearly stronger than we first believed, and for all we know he may be holding back the lion's share of his power."
"Right-o!" Jessie said. "We'll keep that in mind, Boss!"
"Just give us enough time, and you'll find out everything there is to know about that twerp!" James added.
"You just wait and see, we'll make you proud yet, Boss!" Meowth finished.
Giovanni nodded as the screen went blank, leaving Team Rocket to their thoughts.
Exhausted, worn out, and physically drained, Misty and Ash wearily dragged themselves back to the capsule house. Once they were a few feet away from it, they collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, and never wanting to move again.
"Oh boy, that was a real workout!" Ash panted.
"I've never had to work that hard in my entire life!" Misty groaned.
Suddenly, a shadow fell over them. "Hey, are you guys okay?"
Slowly, looking as though they'd rather do anything than move, Ash and Misty struggled back to their feet.
"What do you think?!" Misty demanded furiously. "Do we look okay, you creep?!"
But then, Misty noticed Gohan's radical change in hairstyle, and she gasped in shock.
"I'm sorry," Gohan said in a deep voice with dark tones — it were as though he were speaking in a permanently serious pitch. "But this is a necessary step if you're ever gonna improve and become stronger."
"Um, hey, Gohan, what happened to your hair?" Ash asked, unnerved by the coldness emanating from the boy before him.
"Chu, Pika!" Pikachu added. "Pikachu!"
"You know of my Super Saiyan transformation," Gohan informed the two stoically. "This is the level far beyond that — what we call a Super Saiyan that has ascended past the normal limits of a Super Saiyan... or alternatively, you could just call this a Super Saiyan 2."
"Amazing!" Misty said. "Your hair, your body... you look totally different!"
"It's like you've changed into another person!" Ash added.
"Pi Pikachu!" Pikachu put forth.
"Well, I haven't perfected this like I have with the first Super Saiyan transformation," Gohan admitted. "The whole key to gaining complete mastery over the Super Saiyan forms is holding that state for a long time, until your body becomes accustomed to it."
"How strong are you now?" Misty asked him curiously.
Gohan turned a gimlet eye on her, causing her to nearly freak out at the sight. "At my maximum power I am fully capable of destroying this entire solar system, along with everybody and everything else in it."
"You can really do all that?" Ash asked, dumbfounded.
"Yes," Gohan said with a single nod of his head.
"Remind us never to get on your bad side, Gohan," Misty gulped.
Now Gohan smiled, a strained smile which seemed more like a smirk, but a smile nonetheless.
"Don't worry," he assured them. "I fight to protect, not to destroy."
"That's good to know," Misty said, sighing with relief.
"Now, for the rest of your exercises..." Gohan began, catching Misty and Ash's total attention. "I want you both to do a hundred sit-ups, a hundred push-ups, and a hundred crunches — then you can relax."
Misty and Ash sighed, but reluctantly went about their training. Gohan, meanwhile, sat with his arms crossed a short distance away.
Who could that Saiyan space pod have belonged to? he wondered. There aren't that many Saiyans left since Frieza destroyed the Planet Vegeta. Maybe it was one of Frieza's soldiers, but then why would they even come to this reality in the first place? I doubt they were merely harmless experiments. Maybe they wanted to conquer this world.
It was a disturbing thought to the young half-Saiyan. But whoever it was they can't be any stronger than Cell was. Frieza was the strongest member among the Planet Trade Federation and all the Saiyans were weaker than he was. I'm certain it's nothing I can't handle. And Gohan nodded, convincing himself. I did destroy Cell, after all, and Cell was way stronger than Frieza. It's nothing you have to worry about.
His thoughts then went in a different direction, recalling recent events.
I wonder how Mom is doing, he mused. I just wanted a few days alone, and now it looks like I might never see her again... no, don't think that way! Misty and Brock are right — you just gotta keep trying until you eventually find your way back home. Don't give up hope.
Gohan stared up at the night sky. Maybe if I can repair that space pod, I can show Ash, Misty, and Brock what it's like to travel in space.
Another smile appeared across his face, one less hardened than the one which had adorned it before. I think they'd like that.
Suddenly, two voices interrupted his musings.
"Gohan, we're... done," Ash said, sounding close to falling over.
"Yeah, next time, you can do it yourself," Misty added with a pathetic whimper.
Gohan opened his eyes to see Misty and Ash standing there, arms hanging limply by their sides as their whole bodies appeared close to literally collapsing to the ground with them never getting back up.
"Good, very good," Gohan praised. "You've taken the first steps into a larger world, but it's only gonna get harder from here on."
Ash groaned. "Are we gonna have to do this every single day?"
"Pi, Pika," Pikachu ventured wearily. "Pikachu."
Gohan smiled tightly.
"No, of course not," he said. "We'll just alternate between days; Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays will be used to train Pokémon. Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday we train our bodies."
Misty and Ash didn't look too happy about that, but they seemed way too tired to even argue with him.
"Hey, everybody!" Brock called from the door. "Dinner's ready!"
They didn't need a second invitation, and all of them raced into the house, with Gohan taking great care not to crush the entire house with his Super Saiyan 2 powers. Laid out there on the kitchen table was a simply scrumptious-looking assortment of various kinds of foods.
Upon catching sight of Gohan, however, he frowned.
"Hey Gohan, your hair looks different," Brock observed. "You using some kind of dye?"
Gohan turned to face him and Brock looked a bit shocked at the sheer intensity he felt coming off such a young boy.
"No," he said plainly. "I told you I was half-Saiyan. Well, this is a transformation inherent only to those with Saiyan blood known as a Super Saiyan. Right now, I'm in the second transformed stage, which is also known as a Super Saiyan 2 — while I'm in this form I have to be very careful with my actions because even the tiniest bit of power escaping from my control could lead to truly severe repercussions."
Brock swallowed. "Sounds pretty dangerous, if you ask me."
"It is, but this is the only way I can learn to control it, by remaining in this state until it becomes second nature," Gohan said.
Brock just sweated nervously.
"This looks delicious, Brock!" Misty said, hoping for a change in the subject.
The subject of food seemed to bring the Gym Leader around as Brock sent her a thankful expression.
"Thanks, Misty!" the teenage boy said. "Well, dig in!"
And the three children dived right into their food, moving at a pace that frankly shocked the dark-skinned teen.
"Wow, looks like someone was hungry, huh?" Brock said with a sweatdrop.
"Hm-hmm! Gohan really put us through our paces!" Misty explained as she tore the skin right off a large piece of ham.
"He says if we train hard enough, we can become as strong as him!" Ash added, chowing down on some pasta.
"Really?" Brock said interestedly. "You mind if I join you?"
"Not at all," Gohan replied, engrossed in his dinner. "Just don't expect me to go easy on you."
Brock laughed. "Nah, I wouldn't want that. Just teach me whatever you're teaching Ash and Misty."
"Sure thing," Gohan said, returning to his food.
As the meal progressed, Brock noticed one thing as time went on...
CRACK!
"Again?" he said, exasperated. "That's the eighth glass you've broken already!"
"Sorry," Gohan said, turning his fierce Super Saiyan 2 gaze on him, causing Brock to shiver uncomfortably. "I'm still not used to my power yet in the Super Saiyan 2 transformation. Just give me time, okay?"
Brock nodded, still a bit unnerved. "Sure, take all the time you need."
And several moments later, Ash, Brock, and Misty all put down their utensils as they finished their meal, turning their heads to the side as Gohan kept shoveling down bite after bite of delicious-looking food.
"I swear, I won't get used to this no matter how many times I see it," Misty sighed.
"Yeah, you said it," Brock agreed, looking a bit wary.
"Pika Pika," the yellow rat said. "Pi Pikachu."
Finally, a couple minutes later, Gohan finished off the last morsel of food.
"That was some great food," he said, his tone never changing pitch as he rubbed his belly. "Almost as good as Mom's cooking."
Seemingly disturbed at how emotionless the boy before him seemed, Brock just decided to accept the compliment.
"Thanks," he said. "When you've been cooking for over ten years, you tend to pick up a thing or two, you know?"
"Well, it was worth it," Gohan said.
"Hey, um... Gohan?" Ash inquired hesitantly.
"Yeah, what is it, Ash?" Gohan responded.
"Well, I was just wondering... you said your father was an alien, right?" Ash elaborated.
"Yes," Gohan answered, wondering where this was going.
"Well, I wonder if you could tell me more about what your father's people are like?" Ash said inquisitively.
Gohan almost froze on the spot at Ash's innocent question.
"Hey, that's a great idea!" Misty stated enthusiastically. "I mean, since you're coming with us, I think we should know more about you!"
"Oh, I don't know..." Gohan said, now sounding extremely nervous.
How can I tell them that the Saiyans were just a bunch of cold-blooded murderers? Gohan grumbled inside his head.
"Aw, come on, Gohan!" Brock prompted encouragingly. "How bad can it be?"
"You wouldn't be saying that if you knew..." Gohan muttered.
"Oh, you don't have to worry, Gohan," Misty promised. "Whatever you tell us, we'll do our best to understand."
"Sure thing!" Ash said. "We're just curious, that's all."
"Pika Pi!" Pikachu pressed, leaning forward with a bright gleam in its eyes. "Pika Pikachu!"
Gohan sighed. "I guess there's no avoiding it. Okay, I'll tell you everything."
Over near the window, Team Rocket peeked their eyes over the ledge.
"The Saiyans were the ultimate warrior race in my home reality," Gohan explained. "From the day that they were born, they were bred to be incredibly powerful warriors. The one element which tied them all together was their desire to fight — it was like another sense to them. Because their home planet was ten times the size of Earth, their planet had ten times gravity, which was one of the secrets to their powers."
"Sounds intense," Brock noted.
"No wonder you're so strong!" Misty added.
"Pika Pika," the little Pikachu agreed.
"Yeah, the Saiyans thrived in combat against stronger adversaries," Gohan went on. "The first species they conquered were the Tuffles, a neighboring species on the Planet Vegeta. But with the Tuffles gone, the Saiyans no longer had enemies to fight, so they struck a deal with the Arcosians on a nearby world; Arcosian engineers would provide the Saiyans with all their technological needs, in exchange for services as hired thugs to conquer worlds the Arcosians had set their eyes on."
"They sound like a bunch of space pirates," Ash noted.
Gohan nodded simply. "Yes... they were; the Saiyans were one of the most feared races in the entire universe because of that and whenever the Saiyans found a planet worth conquering they would send a team of warriors there to conquer it, but for planets with little resistance, they'd send one of their babies instead, believing even the weaklings among their race could handle whatever dangers they would face."
Ash, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu all gasped at this revelation.
"No way!" Brock objected angrily. "That can't be true!"
Gohan nodded. "Yes, I know exactly how you feel, but I'm afraid it's really true, Brock; at the height of their reign of conquest, the Saiyans were responsible for sending thousands of infants into space alone."
"That's awful!" Misty cried indignantly. "How could they do something so... so... so heartless?"
"The Saiyans weren't concerned with the welfare of their own kind, only profit," Gohan clarified. "But, if it's any consolation, the Saiyans were also wiped out soon after starting their genocidal campaigns."
And now Misty, Ash, and Brock leaned forward in their seats, looking highly interested in Gohan's tale.
"What happened to them?" Brock wondered.
"Please tell us," Misty asked Gohan with a pleading expression.
"Pika Pikachu," Pikachu added, also wanting to hear more.
"At the time that the Saiyans were destroyed, they were serving an intergalactic warlord by the name of Frieza," Gohan said. "He was the strongest being from my home reality. Even now the memory of him haunts me. He feared the Saiyans because of what they could do. With every planet they conquered they were getting stronger and stronger, and united, they could have presented a challenge to Frieza's authority as the supreme ruler of the galaxy, and he couldn't let that happen."
"So what did he do with them?" Ash pressed, now captivated by Gohan's story, like the others.
"Frieza hadn't earned his reputation by being kind," Gohan said. "He was the most ruthless, evil being in the universe, and any dissent was met with harsh retribution; the Saiyans were no exception and when they looked like they were becoming stronger than him, he wiped out the Planet Vegeta with just a flick of his finger. One flick, and the most feared warrior race in the entire universe was reduced to a memory."
"How terrible!" Brock protested hotly. "He destroyed the entire planet? Men, women, and children? Even the animals? Everything?"
"Yes," Gohan said. "Frieza had been growing more worried about the legend of the Super Saiyan, and he was afraid of what would happen if a new Super Saiyan were to arise. It was a threat to Frieza's powers, and just like that, the threat was eliminated."
"Man, what a total jerk!" Misty stated disgustedly. "I never knew such evil even existed. It makes me sick to my stomach."
Gohan nodded once in Misty's direction and then resumed his story.
"My father had been among the last infants that had been sent on a purging mission to the Earth in my dimension," Gohan continued. "My great-grandpa came across Dad alone in the woods and took him in, but due to the advancing brainwashing techniques, he was a wild and uncontrollable baby. One day, when Grandpa Gohan was traveling in the woods, Dad fell in a deep canyon and hit himself pretty badly."
The others gasped.
"Was he okay?" Brock asked, sounding worried.
Gohan nodded. "For a while, it looked like he wasn't even going to recover, but he did, and from that point on, Father completely forgot the brainwashing the Saiyans had programmed in his head and he became a happy, peaceful man."
"Well, then, it sounds like a good thing your father hit his head!" Ash commented.
Misty whacked him hard across the back of Ash's own head.
"That's not very sensitive, you idiot!" she yelled.
"Actually, it's true," Gohan confirmed. "Without that brainwashing, my father, Son Goku, became the Earth's greatest hero and defender."
"See? I'm right!" Ash mocked Misty, sticking out his tongue. "Admit it!"
"Only when you admit you were wrong in stealing my bike!" the fiery redhead threw back at him.
And Ash froze, looking like he didn't know how to answer that one.
Misty crossed her arms with a smirk. "Thought so!"
Gohan smiled nostalgically. "My father was the kindest, most decent man you could meet, you know? Strong... sweet... loyal..."
Ash, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu were surprised at how teary-eyed Gohan now seemed to be.
"Um, Gohan, is something wrong?" Misty asked, sounding worried.
"You look kinda stressed out," Brock noticed.
"Pika Pika," Pikachu added.
Gohan suddenly remembered where he was and he stiffened, a hard look now sliding across his face that wasn't helped at all by the already cold, angry demeanor of the hybrid's Super Saiyan 2 transformation.
"No, I'm fine," he said, standing up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'm gonna go train some more."
And with that, he stood and left the capsule house. When he reached the door, however, he slammed it shut behind. The force of this simple action shook the house ferociously as furniture broke in half. Glasses and dishes shattered and dust fell from the ceiling.
Several seconds later, the humans and one Pokémon could be found digging themselves out of the rubble from the kitchen table, blinking in total confusion after the spot where Gohan had walked out the door.
"Wow, weird, what was that about?" Ash wondered.
"He was doing fine until he brought up his father," Misty said softly, thinking about the expression on Gohan's face.
Brock tapped a finger to his chin, puzzled. "Something must be bothering him."
"Well, what do we do, Brock?" Ash inquired.
"Pika Pi?" Pikachu agreed.
"Hmm, for now, let him have his space," Brock said. "He'll tell us when he's ready. Until then, don't push him."
"Okay, whatever you say," Misty said, sounding disappointed as she stared after Gohan.
Outside, Team Rocket slinked into the bushes again.
"Did you hear dat?" Meowth said. "Da pest practically spilled his entire backstory for us to hear!"
"Ooh, Giovanni is going to be very pleased to hear this," Jessie squealed.
"He may even reward with our own branch in Team Rocket!" James fantasized happily.
"And Meowth will soon be living in da lap of luxury!" Meowth said with a feline grin. "With balls of yarn as far as the eye can see!"
Jessie whacked Meowth hard across the back of the Cat Pokémon's head.
"Quit your daydreaming!" the red-haired woman snapped. "We gotta tell the Boss about this now!"
"Yes, let's!" James agreed enthusiastically.
And the three hightailed it into the night, eagerly looking forward to what the future would bring.
Woo-hoo, another chapter! I hope you all enjoy!
I'd like to take the time to thank some individual reviewers for continuing to stick with this story:
To kitsunelover300, metalgearhunter, ChaosDestruction, JCCT, ChosenOne358, thanks for all of the reviews! They really make me happy! And a special thanks to Jawisian for his excellent review.
Please review!