AN: Little bit of a transition chapter but we are DEFINITELY getting to the good stuff next chapter! Action is on the horizon peeps. Let me know what you think. Reviews please!
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or any of the characters. Just the random plot bunnies that my mind creates.
Chapter Warnings: Language, drug reference
Pairing: Ash x Gary
Chapter 31 - Confusion
Sensing Ash tense next to him, Gary follows the raven's line of sight towards the end of the room. Green eyes widen at the familiar figures of the remaining Four members. Why are they here?
Gary watches silently, mouth slightly ajar, mind whirring, as he watches the redhead scream at the scientists while the bluenet stands imposing at her side. He freezes as a screeching alarm and flashing red lights burst into existence. Fuck. They must have found the bodies on the roof.
Seeing the image before them start to flicker, he looks back at the heaving psychic pokemon. Kadabra is running low on power. He probably wasn't able to hold up the Reflect on the roof's security camera anymore.
"Ash, we have to go. Now."
The raven doesn't respond. Brown eyes are still locked on the scene in the other room.
"Gary...their pokemon…"
Looking back through the shrinking Miracle Eye, the air leaves his lungs in a rush. Next to the redhead, an enormous purple snake lays half curled on the floor, its thick body flattening and flaring out wide near its head. Black, red and yellow markings, mimicking eyes and a smiling mouth decorating its flat hood draw in his gaze. Shaking his head slightly to free himself from the mesmerizing markings, he follows the length of the coiled muscle up to the large reptilian head, almost touching the ceiling. Next to the cobra pokemon stands the familiar form of a brown stag beetle, far larger than the one hidden at his waist.
That Arbok and Pinsir are way too fucking big to be normal. There is no way they can even get that huge. Unless...were they given Rare Candies like those caged pokemon? But to grow in size as well as just increase their power level means multiple doses. No pokemon can survive that...And they're part of League military too. It's against code to take any form of supplements. There is no freaking way the League could be involved in this. Right?
Just as the colorful duo head towards the door to find the cause of the alarm, the image in front of them fades entirely. Kadabra collapses to its knees behind them in exhaustion, panting heavily. Remaining completely still, he strains to hear the sound of footsteps rushing past their hiding place. Letting out the breath that he held in anticipation, he turns toward his psychic pokemon.
"Kadabra can you still Teleport us out of here?"
The psi pokemon struggles to stand but collapses back toward the ground, completely spent. It shakes its head slowly at the question. Squatting next to his psychic pokemon, he reaches forward to remove the collar from around the pokemon's neck. A thin brown hand weakly grabs his wrist to stop the movement.
"No Master...Even as weak as I am, I will cause damage to you and the other human if the collar is removed."
Blinking in shock at the echoing voice in his head, he locks eyes with the psi pokemon. Kadabra has one hand wrapped around his wrist while the other is holding his collar defensively, his conducting spoon lying forgotten on the floor in its sudden panic for its trainer.
"Kadabra, you are our only way out of here and we have to go right now. I will put it right back on once we are out so don't worry. If we get caught, far more damage will be done to us than just a brief exposure to some alpha particles."
The tight grip relaxing around his wrist, he quickly reaches forward to remove the collar before the psi pokemon changes its mind. Calling back Eevee and Growlithe, he turns to grab his partner, but the raven is still staring at the wall where the Eye was a few minutes ago, face scrunched in intense thought.
"Ash!" He whispers harshly.
"Gary, we can't leave yet. We have to destroy that device. Jessie and James left already, the scientists won't recognize us or our pokemon, especially with the balaclavas on."
Reaching out to grab Ash's arm, he drags the smaller man away from the wall towards the now standing Kadabra. Nodding to Kadabra, green eyes close as he braces himself for the crushing suction of the teleportation.
"Wait! No, we-"
Ash's argument is cut off by the psychic transport, the raven struggling to fill his lungs back up with air as the trio appear back in the alley across the street. Sliding the collar back around his pokemon's neck, he recalls Kadabra for a long rest. Pulling the black mask off, he sighs at the raging brown eyes glaring at him.
"Ash, we had no other choice." Gary explains. "Kadabra was too weak to block the cameras in that room and even if we destroyed the machine, they probably already have spare parts anyway. It would have been for nothing. I highly doubt the League would have anything to do with this operation but if they do, then the footage will automatically reveal who we are since they know most of the pokemon on our team. We will be thrown in prison, at the very least, for leaving Pallet while we are under house arrest."
With a quiet squawk, Fearow announces his presence on the edge of the roof above them. Ash turns his heated glare away from Gary's face and towards the wall of the alley. Body tight with tension with tan hands clenched tight against his sides in anger. Glancing behind them, Gary scans the grounds of the Silph building. The guards have begun sweeping the area outside looking for the intruders.
We have to leave.
Stepping towards the raven, he gently lifts Ash's chin up and forward. Staring quietly into the still angry chocolate eyes, his lips pull up into a small smirk as the heat gradually leaves Ash's eyes to bloom softly across scarred cheeks. Still seeing a small bit of resistance in his partner, he pulls out his trump card.
"We should go. Gramps has to check those pokemon out."
The defiance visibly drains out of the raven as he moves away from Gary's hand and stares down at his pouch where Gary saw him stuff Beedrill's ball. Sighing softly, the raven pulls another ball from his belt and releases it upward. The red light condenses into his massive Pidgeot who joins Fearow on its perch.
Hearing the sounds of an approaching search unit, the duo rush out the other end of the alley. As soon as the road widens, the flyers swoop down to allow the soldiers to jump onto their backs. Only a slight shift in the wind ever proving they were there to begin with.
xxx-War of the Dragon Riders-xxx
An hour after sunrise, Gary is interrupted from his half slumbering state by the telltale buzzing of his comms set. Sluggishly raising a hand up to activate the call, he opens his mouth to give his identification but is quickly interrupted by his grandfather.
"Gary, how far away are you two? Mike from down the road just called and said he saw a convoy heading towards town when he was foraging for mushrooms in the forest. They will be at the lab shortly."
Jolting awake at the alarming news, he nudges Fearow to approach Ash and Pidgeot. Ash, clearly listening in on the call, looks at him worriedly.
"We'll be there in two minutes." Gary responds.
Hanging up, he quickly leaps from Fearow to Pidgeot, grabbing onto Ash for balance before he can plummet to the ground hundreds of feet below. The larger bird squawking in annoyance at the sudden increase in weight. Recalling Fearow, he slides his arms around the raven's waist. The duo lean forward as Pidgeot increases her speed. Slicing through the air as if there was no resistance at all.
The bird pokemon suddenly dives toward the forest below to avoid detection from the black jeep driving in front and to the right of them. Zipping through the trees with the grace only a master flyer can possess. Finding the narrow path that leads from a small clearing to the lab, they race onwards. The plethora of trees vanish as the lab comes into view. A few powerful flaps of wings bring them to a halt.
Hopping down, they quickly release their pokemon minus Haunter, Aerodactyl and the drugged pokemon. Grabbing their discarded packs, Gary rushes inside to put them away while Ash double checks that all the pokemon have collars on.
Taking large deep gulps of air to slow his breathing, he makes his way through the house. Seeing his grandfather at the window next to the door, he peeks out briefly to see the approaching group of soldiers. Running upstairs, he puts their packs in his room before heading back to join the Professor at the door.
Carefully arranging his face to show no emotions, he opens the door for the Colonel and his entourage. Straightening his posture, he salutes smartly and stares at the wall. The Colonel walks in past him followed by three soldiers. They stop inside the living room and glance around quickly. The Colonel turns back towards them.
Colonel Sanders looks him over with cold, dark eyes behind black rimmed, square glasses. Short white hair covers his receding hairline with a matching white mustache and goatee covering the lower half of his face. The once powerful military leader has since gained some weight from long hours at a desk. However, the large torso still holds hints of strength beneath his uniform. Based on the nervous airs of the three Privates behind him, his cruel attitude must still be as strong as it once was. Cadets used to tell each other stories of the man's savagery to his soldiers but the higher ups never confronted him about it due to his ability to get results.
"Major Oak. Professor. Where might Major Ketchum be this morning?"
Dropping his salute, he closes the door and faces the commander. Spreading his feet shoulder length apart with hands clasped behind his back, he stands at rest in front of the higher ranking officer.
"Ash is out back feeding the pokemon breakfast, sir."
Hopefully he really is feeding them since Ash hasn't come back in yet. The Colonel turns in annoyance and marches towards the back door. Flinging the door open, Sanders steps out into the morning light, the others following quickly behind. Green eyes lock onto Ash's figure as he puts away a large bag of pokemon food. Their pokemon gathering docilely around the large trough for their morning meal. Seeing the group of soldiers at the door, Ash quickly marches towards them and salutes at Sanders before falling into position next to Gary.
The white haired soldier glances over the pokemon briefly before turning back to the duo. Gary stares straight ahead as he feels the dark eyes roam over him slowly, struggling to suppress a shudder of revulsion. Pervy old bastard. The man starts walking back and forth in front of them slowly. No doubt watching for the slightest change in facial expression out of the corner of his eye.
"I must say, I am quite surprised that you two actually followed orders to remain here. I honestly thought you two would go off and cause trouble on your own."
The man stops in front of his partner, obviously waiting for a response to his observations. Watching the raven out of the corner of his eye, he can see Ash tense slightly, almost unnoticeable to any who don't know him well.
"Orders are orders sir." Ash states blandly, "We only disobeyed orders on the S.S. Anne because we believed the passenger's lives were at stake. We knew what we were doing and the trouble we would be in for disobeying orders. We will follow through our punishment with grace, sir."
Sanders looks over Ash once more, the same leering gaze that he felt on him earlier. Green eyes narrow in anger. Don't you dare old man.
"Well said Ketchum. Thankfully for you, your trackers back up your story. We will keep watch on you for the time being, but I will allow both of you to take up missions again. We are a bit short-staffed at the moment."
Nodding in thanks at the Colonel's forgiveness, he reaches out to grab a manila folder that is handed to him by one of the grunts. Opening the folder, green eyes narrow at the pictures of familiar looking bodies strewn on the ground. Keeping his face a neutral mask, he quickly scans the information before him as he normally would have done before passing the folder to the raven. Eyebrow raised in question, he waits for more information from the Colonel.
"Silph Co. was attacked by the Dragon Riders last night. We believe they were after top secret research information. They didn't succeed in getting it but they might be back tonight. The other Four pair are already there. You are to assist them in guarding the building. They are in charge since you two are still under observation, understood?"
"Yes sir." The duo reply quickly.
Dragon Riders? Why do they think the Riders attacked Silph? I mean, I'm glad that they don't expect us but what did we leave behind that would point towards them?
With one last glance over the duo, Colonel Sanders and his entourage head back into the house followed by Professor Oak. Gary remains frozen until the roar of the Jeep starting and pulling away from the lab can be heard. With a deep breath, he looks over to his partner. Worried brown eyes meet his gaze.
"Why do they think it was the Riders? You don't think they suspect us do you?" Ash asks him quickly.
Gary shakes his head slowly, green eyes narrowed in thought. Since we were the ones who attacked Silph, there's almost no chance something will happen tonight...Unless the Riders were the ones that triggered the alarm? But why would they attack Silph Co.? What could they possibly need there? Unless they were also after the Rare Candies?
Huffing in annoyance at the lack of answers to the multitude of questions swirling in his brain, he recalls his pokemon minus Fearow now that they were done eating. Turning around, he marches toward the house to grab their packs followed by Ash and Pikachu. A distressed Professor Oak looks their way from the kitchen counter, a steaming cup of coffee cradled between his withered hands.
"Gramps can you put the GPS units back into our comms sets? We have to head back to Saffron."
His grandfather nods in exhaustion. Pulling two small devices from his lab coat pocket, he reaches for the comms units that he and Ash had laid on the counter. Silence reigns for several minutes as the professor tinkers with the devices. Ash steps forward and grabs the older man's attention.
"Is Larvitar doing better?"
Professor Oak nods absentmindedly. Finishing his comms set, he slides it back towards him before starting on Ash's.
"Larvitar is fine. He's a bit bigger than before. The small dose of Rare Candies that he was exposed to sped up his growth a little bit. He will be stronger than other Larvitars, possibly around the same power level he would have if he was in his home region of Johto. Maybe even more powerful still but I'm not sure of the psychological effects. I would keep a close eye on him for now, but you can take him with you if you would like."
Ash nods and sends a knowing glance his way."So I was right then." Gary responds. "The Rare Candies make pokemon larger than they should be. That could only mean Jessie and James also gave their pokemon Rare Candies. We will have to keep a close eye on them tonight."
Seeing his grandfather's confused glance, he recounts the last 24 hours as well as the orders from the Colonel.
"Professor, there is something else." Ash cuts in. "Silph was the one refining the Rare Candies. They were testing them on pokemon. We brought them back here but I have no idea how much they were exposed to. Plus the other members of the Four were there yelling at the scientists. Their pokemon were massive. They had to be giving them Rare Candies if what you said earlier is correct."
Finishing Ash's comms set, his grandfather hands the device slowly back to the raven before looking over them sadly. Seeing the hurt look in his family member's eyes, Gary steps forward to pull the old man into a hug. The frail body shakes slightly in his strong grasp.
"I'm worried about you two. You're getting too deep into this. The League and the Riders...one of them is going to be the death of you and there is nothing I can do to stop or protect you."
Gary holds his grandfather tighter as the man slumps into himself. Ash joins them with a comforting hand on the Professor's shoulder.
"That's not true Gramps. Where would we be without all of your help? Probably dead or in a jail cell somewhere. You are the most important member of our little team. In fact...the three pokemon we picked up from Silph are powerful species to begin with. Magmar, Electabuzz and Beedrill. You will be able to help them no problem since you are a genius and we will have them to protect us. All because of you, all right? Don't think so little of yourself."
Professor Oak sighs softly before gently disentangling himself from the soldiers. Stepping towards the lab, he motions for them to follow.
"Speaking of protection, I have one more thing to show you. It will help keep you safe for now."
xxx-War of the Dragon Riders-xxx
Ash stares at the pile of stones on the metal table. I completely forgot about these. Scanning the pile, there are two Thunderstones, Fire Stones and Water Stones each with five of the clear stones. There's also that Thunderstone that I got from Lt. Surge in my pack too.
"I sent one of the clear stones to Professor Rowan in the Sinnoh region since he specializes in pokemon evolution. Apparently a Machoke evolved into a Machamp when it touched the clear stone. In fact, it was drawn to it. Professor Rowan was overjoyed since Machoke is one of the few pokemon species he couldn't figure out how it evolves. However, the fighting type knew to touch it as soon as it was brought out. So it must just instinctively know that stone causes it to evolve...I was hoping these stones will cause some of your pokemon to evolve as well. To protect you."
Looking over the stones, Ash thinks over their team. Pikachu evolves with a Thunderstone and I am pretty sure Larvitar will just evolve when he is ready. The rest of my team are all fully evolved except for Haunter. Maybe the clear stone will work on him? Would they even want to be forced to evolve though?
A flash of light to his right draws his gaze. Gary's unevolved pokemon stand next to their trainer looking at the stones curiously. Ash steps back as his partner approaches the table and organizes the stones into their respective types. The brunet steps back and motions his pokemon forward.
Growlithe immediately bounds onto the table and nudges a Fire Stone with his nose. The stone bursts into flames that consume the puppy pokemon as it hops off the table. The fire type glows bright as its form expands in the controlled inferno. The flames fades leaving a towering Arcanine in its place standing an inch or two taller than Gary. Three times bigger than its smaller evolution. It shakes its long fluffy mane and bushy tan tail. With a loud bark, it walks over to its trainer and licks the brunet's face causing Gary to laugh at the dog's antics. Arcanine disappears in a burst of red light into his ball before its large size can damage the delicate instruments in the lab.
Kadabra steps forward next. The psi pokemon observes the clear stone on the table before touching one of the gems. Its form emits a strong white light as it grows almost another foot. The brown bushy tail disappears as its whiskers grow long, slightly flaring out at the end. As the light fades, Ash blinks at the sudden appearance of a second spoon in Alakazam's hand. The psi pokemon immediately puts its hand to the collar on it's throat and points toward the ball on Gary's waist. Is it worried that it will be stronger than the collar containment after it evolved? It must really care for Gary to be this cautious. Green eyes roll at his pokemon's overprotectiveness but follows its wishes and returns him to his ball.
By this point, Scyther had already stepped forward and is tapping one of the clear stones with one of its long blades. However, nothing happens. The mantis pokemon taps the stone again angrily but is denied evolution once more. Clicking in annoyance at the clear stone, the bug type looks around the lab quickly. The three humans watch confused as it zips over to one end of the lab where spare parts are stored. Spearing a small metal cylinder with its scythe, the mantis pokemon flies back to the table of stones. Touching the cylinder to the clear stone, they sigh as once more, the stone doesn't react.
"Hmm interesting. Based on its behavior, it seems like Scyther usually uses this stone as well as some piece of metal to evolve. Is this because it changes from a Bug/Flying type to a Bug/Steel type? Does the metal turn into the red Metal Coat that covers Scizor's body? But why not evolve now? Maybe because we are in the wrong region? Hmmm."
Professor Oak scribbles notes as quickly as he can on his ever present notepad. Ash smiles amusedly as at the older Oak mumbles to himself before looking back over to Gary comforting his upset pokemon. Once Scyther returns to its ball, Ash turns to his partner who is petting Eevee gently while looking over the remaining stones.
"What are you going to evolve her into?"
Gary tilts his head at the question and looks down over his birthday present.
"I'm not sure. I already have a fire and water type and if Electabuzz survives, I will have a powerful electric type so there is no point in evolving her into Vaporeon, Flareon or Jolteon. But she can't evolve into any of her other forms in Kanto..."
Gary trails off as he observes the purring evolution pokemon. Lifting her up so they were eye level, the brunet looks for any sign of discomfort in his pokemon.
"Eevee, I will give you the choice. You can either evolve into Vaporeon, Flareon or Jolteon now or wait to evolve into one of your other evolutions later possibly. You can't change your mind later if you choose to evolve now but I can't guarantee we will ever go to a different region so you may be stuck like this. So what would you like to do?"
Gary places Eevee on the table. She sniffs each pile but is careful not to touch any of the stones. With a yip the fox-like pokemon jumps back into Gary's arms and cuddles into his chest. Ash smiles at the adorable display and genuine smile on Gary's face. I think he is secretly happy she doesn't want to evolve. You can't exactly cuddle with a slimy Vaporeon, spiky Jolteon or a blazing Flareon. And Gary definitely likes to cuddle with the little fox.
Shaking his head to force the blush threatening to take over his face to subside, he pulls out Haunter's ball and releases him into the lab. The ghost type floats around chuckling as he observes the humans and tastes the residual energy released from the multiple evolutions. Floating down towards the table, it locks eyes with Ash before opening its mouth and slowly licking one of the clear stones. Ash suppresses a shudder as light engulfs the gas pokemon.
Shrinking slightly in size, the disembodied arms re-attach to its now large circular body. Short legs and a tail grow from the bottom of the ball while large pointed ears spring out from its head. Large white eyes bleed red and its already large mouth spreads wider to show off its new white teeth. Floating above the table, it locks eyes once more with Ash as the last bits of light fade.
Geez, he is even more creepy now. You would think I would be used to it by now. Based on the freaked out looks of the two Oaks, he is not the only one who thinks so. Glancing down at the electric rodent at his feet, he reaches out to grab a Thunderstone. Squatting next to the electric type he holds it out for him to touch.
"You want to evolve today, buddy?"
Brown eyes widen in shock as Pikachu quickly spins and knocks the stone from his hand. The exact same motion that slapped the pokeball from his hand so long ago. Does he not want to evolve? I can understand Eevee wanting to wait to evolve into something else but Pikachu can only evolve into Raichu. I thought all pokemon wanted to evolve to get stronger.
"Pikachu?"
Smalls sparks of electricity dance out of its red cheeks as Pikachu glares at him angrily. Looking up towards the Professor for help, he is startled by a deep, quiet voice.
"Hehehehe. He doesn't want to evolve. Why evolve when you have already beaten your superior in battle?"
He looks up towards the floating ghost pokemon with wide brown eyes. Well I guess that proves that only Gengars can communicate telepathically in their evolutionary chain. Turning his attention back to his upset starter, he slowly reaches for the electric type just in case it attacks him.
"I'm sorry buddy. I didn't know. I won't make you evolve if you don't want to. I'll carry the one Lt. Surge gave us for winning just in case you change your mind someday okay?"
Smiling at the small lick the electric mouse gives him, he extends his arm for Pikachu to climb up onto his shoulder. Recalling Gengar, he steps towards Professor Oak to give him a quick hug. He squeezes his adoptive parent tight in apprehension.
Even with stronger pokemon, I feel like something bad is going to happen.
Goodbyes said and the drugged pokemon left in the Professor's care, the duo head out to prepare for their next mission.
xxx-War of the Dragon Riders-xxx
AN: I based the clear stones off of the Trade Stones used in Pokemon Glazed. They allow a pokemon to evolve that would normally only evolve in a trade such as Haunter, Kadabra, Graveler and Machoke. I thought they would fit better in this story than going around finding someone to trade with.
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Next up: Chapter 32 - Guarded
