Pokemon: The Lord of the Elements
Hey, everyone! Thank you for your reviews! I do have to say I was pleasantly surprised with the Pokémon: Sun and Moon anime. Of course, when you have low expectations, you are surprised the most! In any case, I felt like part of the story was going to be a bit long, so it will likely be done if four parts. One chapter for every year Ash was missing! So, to all of my reviewers that got sneak previews, don't worry! The chapter your preview features is coming and is a part of this storyline! I hope you enjoy this next chapter! Please review at the end of the chapter!
(Warning: This chapter contains tobacco. Viewer digression is advised.)
Chapter 7
The Heir of the Medallion
Part One
(Four years earlier….)
It was late in the night when Ash had finished packing his things together. Almost two in the morning, to be exact. It had been a slow process, though, as he did not want to alert anyone to his nocturnal activity. Outside his window, Ash could see the silver moon shining brightly in the night sky, which gave the atmosphere a shade of dark blue rather than black. The moon itself seemed as if it were a great eye that was observing his every move. He felt naked under it, like the moon was calling out to him to think about the people he cared for instead of just running off into the dark of night. Yet, despite the feeling of guilt he suffered for what he was about to do, he welcomed the company of soft light that was provided by the moon.
He looked over to Pikachu, who was still asleep on his bed. The yellow, electric mouse was curled up in a ball, his ears twitching slightly as a clear response to whatever dream he was having. Ash couldn't help but smile at his longtime friend and partner.
"Probably dreaming of ketchup," Ash mused with a quiet chuckle as he walked over to his bed and sat down softly on it.
"I'm sorry we'll be leaving again so soon, buddy," Ash said softly as he rested a gently hand on Pikachu's back. "I know you were excited to see mom again and spend time at home."
Ash looked back towards the window. It was slightly cracked open, allowing the gentle breeze of summer to pass into the bedroom. The breeze was enough to plant gentle kisses on Ash and Pikachu's skins like a mother would gently kiss her child goodnight after tucking that child in for bed. Again, the moon caught Ash's attention, as well as the stars around it. His face, which was earlier hard with the work of packing, couldn't help but soften.
"I don't know why," Ash started softly, "but something feels wrong. I need to figure this out. The dream about that girl that I had…."
Ash looked to his partner and gave a sad smile. Pikachu would likely understand when he woke up, but that small comfort could not help the fact that Ash did not fully understand. All he knew for certain was that he was about to be like his father, running off without a trace.
"The dream seemed too real to me," Ash said, looking down to the floor and resting his elbows on his thighs in quiet thought. "I just wish I knew what to do or where to go. But, my heart tells me that going alone will keep mom and our friends safe."
Ash sighed deeply, hating himself for what he felt was the right thing to do. Slowly, and with emotional pain to his heart, he got up off the bed and made his way to his desk. To his mother, and to each of his friends, he wrote letters. Each one took its toll to Ash, but his letters to Serena and Misty caused him greater heartache. However, the letters to the girls wasn't enough for him as he also took the handkerchiefs Misty had given to him and Serena had returned to him and stuffed them in the envelopes of the letters.
It was four in the morning when Ash finished everything he needed to and he took Pikachu in his arms before exiting his bedroom. The halls of the Ketchum residence filled with snoring, much to Ash's amusement, but the dark still made the journey out of the house seem long and wearisome. Each step he took filled him with a deeper sadness for leaving than the one before. However, Ash still found himself in the living room eventually and nearing the front door.
On the couch near the front door and in front of the main window, however, Ash saw Serena's sleeping form. He couldn't help but smile softly, thinking back to the times of how angelic she looked when sleeping during their journey together in Kalos. He wasn't sure how long he stared at her, wondering if he was making the right choice, but he did know that his legs were willed to draw nearer to her. Ash looked down at her and couldn't help but notice the blue ribbon in her hand that he gave her so many years ago. Serena clung to that ribbon as a young child would cling to a security blanket. It calmed her in her darkest moments, and Ash remembered that from the emails she would send him. Slowly he kneeled down in front of her and gently lifted his hand to brush the hair from her face and behind her ear.
"I'm sorry, Serena," Ash whispered sadly before gently pressing his lips to the top of her head. "I'm sorry for everything."
Serena made a slight movement to the touch and smiled softly in her sleep. When Ash pulled away, his thoughts went back to the day she kissed his lips in a promise that they would see each other again. She was true to her word: they did see each other again, and Serena did truly become a more beautiful and mature woman. But the kiss he gave to her wasn't a promise to return, but the softest request for forgiveness. He wasn't sure whose heart that kiss would break more, but Ash was suddenly thankful that she wasn't awake to find the answer to that question.
"Goodbye, Serena," Ash whispered again before slowly getting up and making his way to the door.
Reaching for the doorknob and resting his hand there, Ash took one last look at the home that held so much love inside of it. He hesitated, though, hating the thought of leaving without a word. Yet, in the back of his mind, though he couldn't explain it, he felt that leaving was safe for his mother and friends. Maybe he was being selfish, maybe he was doing the right thing. A flash of Misty tore through his thoughts: thoughts of their last parting, thoughts of the secret tears Brock had told Ash that Misty held back until he left, the fact that he was about to leave without saying goodbye to her.
He couldn't help but shake his head. Ash's goodbye to Misty was in his letter to her. He couldn't say goodbye to her like he said goodbye to Serena, even though the pain of his goodbye to Serena was like a knife to the heart. His relationship with Serena was different than his relationship with Misty, yet also similar. The kiss he had given Serena was something they shared together. It was the symbol of their unity, the unspoken promise that they would always find each other again. He couldn't share that symbol with anyone else, though there were symbols of his unity with Misty, May, and Dawn: his high-fives with Dawn, the pokémon contest ribbon he shared with May, and, with Misty, he shared the bike that was fixed by the Nurse Joy of Viridian City, as well as the Cascade Badge he and Misty fought over.
Ash could have also counted sharing Togepi with Misty, but Togepi was family member between himself, Misty, Brock, and even Pikachu. May had Manaphy, though she and Ash protected the 'Prince of the Sea' together, but Ash's connection to May and Manaphy wasn't as long as his connection to Misty and Togepi. Still, the father, mother, and child relationship could be seen in Ash's time with both May and Manaphy, and Misty and Togepi.
He shook his head again. No, Ash couldn't say goodbye to Misty like he said goodbye to Serena. If he did, he would admit to himself the sad truth that his heart was divided. He couldn't do that; it would hurt the girls he had come to care for. It would be unfair to them. He needed to be selfish and leave before he hurt either Misty or Serena. And so, Ash at last turned the doorknob and quietly, yet quickly, stepped once again into the outside world.
"Vee!" Ash heard a bark behind him after taking a few steps from the house. He turned around to see his father's Eevee in front of the house, glaring at him.
"Eevee?" Ash asked with some surprise, completely forgetting about the multi-evolution pokémon. Eevee, however, wasted no time in taking a few steps towards his master's son. He looked up at Ash, a fire in eyes. Though Ash didn't know what the fire was for, Eevee's desire was to avenge his master.
"You want to come with me, don't you?" Ash asked softly, to which Eevee gave a nod.
"Eevee, I would feel much better if I knew you were protecting mom," Ash said sadly, looking to the house. "Trust me, she needs you."
"Ee vee vee!" the pokémon cried out.
"I'm sorry," Ash frowned and shook his head. "I don't understand."
Eevee glared at Ash for a moment before his eyes came to the medallion at Ash's neck. Softening his face, Eevee stretched out his to Ash, pointing at the medallion. Ash looked down and grabbed at the old family jewel, to which Eevee nodded.
"Vee ee vee," Eevee seemed to beckon, pointing to the ground.
Ash knelt down to come eye to eye level with the multi-evolution pokémon. When Ash was low enough, Eevee moved forward and touched the medallion. The gems of the medallion then began to glow for a moment as Ash watched, but the light faded as quickly as it came.
"Can you understand me now?" Ash heard. He looked around for a moment before looking back to Eevee, who gazed at Ash expectantly.
"Y-you can talk?" Ash asked in shock.
"No," Eevee answered in amusement. "At least, not the human speech. But you can understand me now. The medallion has many wonderful abilities like that."
"I don't understand," Ash said, wondering if he was about to wake up from a dream.
"No, I wouldn't think so," Eevee smiled. "You just got the medallion, and you have no clue how to use it. Which is why I'm going with you."
"I need you stay with mom," Ash frowned. "She'll need you."
"Delia will be fine without me," Eevee said before making a low growl in continuation. "Besides… I need to go with you. Rob was my master and friend, and he commanded me to protect both you and Delia as his last wish. I protect her by protecting you. Going with you is the only way I can avenge him."
"Dad was murdered?" Ash's eyes widened.
"By Team Rocket," Eevee nodded. "Besides, Delia has Rob's other pokemon, who gave them to your 'Professor Oak.' He has added Rob's collection to your own. I guarantee that she is very safe."
Ash looked to the medallion and then back to Eevee before nodding, and the pokemon couldn't help but smile at Ash in return. And so they left into the dark of night, the twilight before the dawn in the eastern skies. Quickly and quietly they wandered north under the cover of darkness, though the first lights of dawn came shortly after they were outside of Pallet town. It was when the light of morning had gotten stronger that Pikachu had finally woken up. However, when he woke up, all he was aware of was the fact that he was moving under trees.
"Ahh!" Pikachu screamed in shock an alarm, producing a powerful bolt of electricity. "Team Rocket finally got me! TEAM ROCKET FINALLY GOT ME!"
Ash screamed in pain, thrusting sounds of chaos into what was originally the peaceful sounds upon the morning air: the lighthearted chirps of Pidgey, the gentle breezes that brushed against the leafy trees, the sound of the running water of the river to the north of Pallet, all of that beauty broken by the sound of Ash and Pikachu. However, it didn't take long for Pikachu to realize that he was shocking Ash, and immediately stopped. Though, Ash was left looking as if he just got out of bed and was in need of shower.
"G-good morning to you t-to, Pikachu," Ash struggled to say before collapsing to the ground.
"Ash?" Pikachu asked. "Where are we?"
"A few miles north of Pallet," Eevee answered, keeping his gaze on his master's son. "That is an excellent thunderbolt, by the way."
"Uh, thanks," Pikachu rubbed the back of his head. "Why are you here?"
"Your master agreed for me to follow," Eevee sat, focusing his gaze on Pikachu. "He felt it wise to leave Pallet."
"Why?" Pikachu frowned. He and Ash were known to jump into any adventure that presented itself, but the pair usually agreed on such an undertaking first instead of Ash simply running off into the blue without him knowing about it. "Why would Ash just leave home without telling me?"
"Because I have no idea where we're going or why," Ash groaned before sitting up to look at his longtime partner for the past ten years.
"Y-you can understand me?" Pikachu's mouth dropped. "How is that possible?"
"The medallion," Eevee said. "I remember a time when Rob would use it to communicate with all kinds of pokémon."
"I don't suppose dad ever figured out what it is, did he?" Ash rubbed away some charred hair from his arm.
"It's a medallion," Eevee rolled his eyes. "But I suppose you are asking about its origins. The short answer is no. Rob never found out who made it or why. All he ever knew was in the letter that you read. It is the embodiment of each and every pokémon elemental type, as well as a driving force to tap into the true power, in strength and evolutionary, of any pokémon. But it is dangerous. Its power uses a person's strength of will. Anyone who isn't strong enough can be killed by it, or kill a pokémon in its use. It is a weapon and a shield. It will claim your life, just as it claimed the life of Rob and everyone before him."
With that, Eevee took his eyes away from Ash's and started again on the road. Ash and Pikachu exchanged looks of concern, but both got up and followed Eevee. Where the three were going to go, they weren't sure, but they kept walking. Eventually, they turned west, heading towards the mountain range that divided the Kanto and Johto regions. Four days after leaving Pallet Town, they found themselves at the foot of Mount Silver.
"Mount Silver," Eevee mumbled, looking up to the heights of the mountain. "An interesting choice to run to. Why here?"
"I don't know," Ash shrugged. "I feel… called here. And my heart tells me that I need to follow that calling."
"You certainly have an interesting way for us all to die," Eevee chuckled.
"I don't have to outrun the Ursaring, Eevee" Pikachu smiled grimly, "I just have to outrun you."
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Ash mumbled. "We need to move forward, and it is far better that we are here in the summer and not the winter."
"Even without the snows, the terrain is still dangerous," Eevee said. "I was here with your father once, and I can tell you that that visit was tame in comparison to the news I heard about this place."
"Then let's be careful," Ash looked up at the mountain in determination.
"And what will we do when we climb this mountain?" Eevee asked. "Do you even know where we are going?"
"No," Ash said plainly. "All I know is that I am going where my heart – no, where my gut tells me."
"Ash," Pikachu frowned slightly, jumping onto his master's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.
"It's alright, Pikachu," Ash said sadly. "If I followed my heart, we wouldn't be here. We would be home."
Pikachu let out a soft sigh. For the few days that they had traveled, Pikachu had come to notice the heaviness that Ash was carrying on his heart and mind. Pikachu knew that Ash would have rather had stayed home, if not for his mother, for Misty and Serena. There were nights when Pikachu would come to hear Ash saying the names of girls he traveled with in his sleep. Serena's and Misty's names were always the names he spoke the most often, and with the most care, as if saying the names were like saying a prayer.
"If we truly have left to protect them," Pikachu reasoned, "then leaving was the best way to follow your heart. Do not regret your decision to protect the people you care about."
"Rob would have done the same thing," Eevee added. "He did do the same thing. You are not alone in your choice, nor was it the wrong one to make. Rob would have been proud of you. He was already very proud of you."
Ash and Pikachu looked to Eevee, who merely smiled at them. Ash smiled back and Pikachu relaxed slightly at the knowledge that his friend and master was encouraged for the moment. After the smile, however, Ash looked back up at the mountain, which seemed to mock the trio with its intimidating height and appearance. Everyone knew Mount Silver was the treacherous mountain, filled with multitudes of powerful wild pokémon, natural disasters such as forest fires and landslides, powerful winds that would throw anyone off the mountain and to their death, and one poorly maintained path that only lead to a small shop on a hill that overlooked the roads to Viridian City and the Indigo Plateau. From the shop to the top of the mountain, there was no trail, only naturally made paths that were carved out by the pokémon that lived on the mountain.
A dense, dark green forest grew around the mountain, crawling up about half its height, and the mountain itself was a little over fourteen thousand feet tall. Snow crowned its peak majestically, and glittered in a silvery array that got the mountain its name. The crown was a challenge to anyone who was brave or foolish enough to test their strength against the strength of the mountain; and of the few who tried, many failed. Yet, despite her cruelty, no one could deny that Mount Silver was beautiful. She was that truly awesome and dangerous combination of being beautiful and deadly: a quality that Ash had found himself increasingly attracted to over the years. Even as he gazed at the mountain, Ash found himself thinking of the women he traveled with. Flowers, they were, as beautiful as roses, yet thorned.
Misty and Dawn were roses with many thorns, and while their thorns were long and threatening, and certainly could draw blood, they were not sharp. It fit their personalities well. The two were quick to anger, and certainly struck fear into those they didn't like, but it was quick to understand their bark was far worse than their bite once one got to know them. Serena was the rose with the least thorns, and the smallest, but also the sharpest. During their travels together, many had come to love Serena for her performances, and it was often said that those who fell from her favor received the deepest and saddest of wounds to the heart. Ash couldn't help but laugh to himself whenever he would hear that. No one had ever come close to receiving the wound he received from her, and such a wound could only be given to a person she cared for that disappointed her.
No, no one had ever fallen out of Serena's favor, only Ash did, and it was only once. Yet, however much the disappointment he caused Serena shamed him, Serena's anger towards him pushed him to be even better than he was. Sometimes Ash thought about that day in the forest of Snowbelle City, and it drove him to be "the Ash she knew" every day. But now he wondered if she had come to hate him for running away again. Ash owed his success to all of friends, but to Serena in particular. If anyone could bring him out of the darkness of his mind, she could. It was her gift to cause people to smile. When all would be said and done, Ash knew he would do anything and everything he could to cause Serena to smile again. However, as dangerous a rose Serena was, there was one other Ash felt was more dangerous: May.
May had more thorns to her than Serena, but less than Misty and Dawn. The bite of May, however, laid not in her anger like the girls, but in her desire to protect those she cared for. In that way, she was the most like Ash in the sense that she would protect Max with her life as Ash would protect Pikachu and all his other pokémon with his. Of course, Ash saw qualities of himself in every one of the girls he traveled with. It was hard for him to say which was more like him, but he knew they shared qualities with him, and he in return. He wasn't sure why, but while he traveled with Serena, she increasingly became a distraction to him. He often found her on his mind, and he consistently caught himself looking at her when they were taking a break from their journey.
Of course, the same could have been said for Misty. Perhaps it was because Ash wanted to make sure the girls were okay. Perhaps he needed a source of inspiration, and found that inspiration both in his pokémon and those he traveled with. Though his pokemon were who kept him fighting on, it was his dumb luck and his friends that pulled him through so he could keep fighting for his pokémon. Yet, Misty wasn't there, and neither was Serena. They couldn't push him forward, but whatever the dark feeling was in Ash's heart that told him to leave so he could protect them did. They didn't need protecting, obviously; they were exceptional pokemon trainers, but Ash was always quick to throw himself in front of danger to protect his friends.
Ash put his hand to the medallion that hung at his chest. A small smile painted his face. How many times had Serena touched the blue ribbon that he gave her all those years ago that clung to her dress and hung over her heart? However, despite thinking about Serena, the medallion had nothing to do with her. She didn't give it to him, nor did he wish her to have an association with it. As far as Ash was concerned, the medallion drove him away from Serena, and that filled him with a little anger. However, Ash felt a slight warmth coming from the medallion. Taking his hand off of it and looking down, he saw four of the gems glowing faintly: one representing fire, one representing water, once representing fairies, and the last representing fighting. Ash smiled again. Perhaps he wasn't as alone as he thought. His friends were in his heart and mind, and he only needed to remember them to grant him the courage to carry on.
"Eevee," Ash looked at his dad's old friend, "what do you know of Mount Silver?"
"Aside from the fact that it's dangerous?" Eevee chuckled. "Some say it's cursed, and for good reason, too! Few get the chance to go up that mountain, and many fail in the attempt. But what makes it cursed is the rumor that people come here to die. What makes the rumor strange is that those who supposedly do come to die simply vanish. Plenty have died on this mountain in accidents, but their bodies are always found. When your father was your age, twenty people attempted to climb this mountain. One succeeded, seven failed and came back, nine died in accidents, and three vanished without a trace.
It is mad to come here, that much is certainly true, but those who do often want to prove themselves in front of the world. They want to immortalized in the mountain itself. Here, it is not you against wild pokémon, it isn't you against other trainers, it is you against the mountain. And if you aren't worthy, if you aren't prepared, the mountain will defeat you. And if the mountain does defeat you, where will you go? There isn't a person in the world who does not now know your name, would-be Champion of Kanto. Will you risk more dangerous road? There are few places as dangerous as here, and those that are more dangerous are often simply because humans make it so."
"Then we stick to the mountain," Ash determined.
Slowly they trudged up the mountain, careful to stick to the manmade trail that went to the shop at the top of the first hill that overlooked the roads between Viridian and the Indigo Plateau. Not wanting his face to be noticed by whoever worked there, he lowered his cap enough to hide his eyes before entering the store. Thankfully, however, the man who owned the store was older and unconcerned with Ash's looks. Thieves weren't foolish enough to come the mountain, and those who did underestimated the wild pokémon that were there.
"Beware the lake of the Tree," the old man muttered as Ash prepared to leave the shop.
The young trainer looked back to the old man and asked him to repeat himself, but the old man stayed silent after that. However, he did walk past his counter placing in Ash's hands a brown tobacco pipe with a stem that jutted out at about six inches along with a small, tied bag. Ash just stared at the materials in his hands, wondering what earth was driving the crazy old man to give him a pipe and tobacco. Ash didn't even smoke!
"The smell will keep you safe," he muttered as if reading Ash's mind before returning to the counter and falling silent.
Quickly, Ash left the store to see Pikachu and Eevee waiting for him in front of the shop. They had been talking, and Ash guessed they were talking about his father from the sad expression on Eevee's face. Pikachu stared at the ground in a quiet meditation when Ash came to them.
"I got everything," Ash muttered softly to Pikachu and Eevee, who simply looked up at the trainer.
"Good," Eevee nodded. "Did whoever worked there have any information on the mountain or pokemon who live here?"
"He gave me a tobacco pipe," Ash scoffed, looking at the clay object. "And he said something about a lake tree. Other than that, he wasn't exactly helpful."
"Tobacco?" Pikachu's ears perked up. "What does that have to do with the mountain? You don't smoke!"
"I know," Ash mumbled. "He said something about it keeping us safe."
"That shopkeeper probably knows this mountain better than anyone," Eevee said. "If he says it is useful, we should take his advice. Why it would be, I don't know…. I actually like the smell of pipe tobacco. It reminds me of your father."
"Dad smoked?" Ash asked in disbelief.
"On occasion," Eevee shrugged. "Once, maybe twice a week if he felt like thinking. He always wrote when he smoked. An odd thing, to be sure, but he would always read to me whenever he finished his pipe. I loved your dad, Ash, just as Pikachu loves you. I protected him just as Pikachu protects you, and I made a promise to him to protect you. Now I protect Rob by protecting his memory for you, just I am sure Pikachu will protect your memory for your children."
Ash stared at Eevee and nodded slowly before taking his lead to go up the mountain and Eevee and Pikachu followed him closely behind. As they disappeared into the forest trees that surrounded Mount Silver, the old shopkeeper watched the trio from the store window. A smile painted his face before a light started to glow around his body. Slowly he morphed until he was a small, floating pink cat with a long tail and blue eyes. Then, in a sudden flash of pink light, he vanished.
For three days, the trio climbed Mount Silver. The hike through the forest climbed, but it was relatively flat until the end of the first day of their hike. The forest was beautiful, if quiet, though there were some sounds made by several bird pokémon that would fly by from time to time, as well as the sounds of bug pokémon. Still, it was peaceful, and Ash failed to see why so many claimed the treacherous. He would very well have built a cabin here and lived his days out in peace. On the second day, however, the angle of the elevation drastically went upwards to a point that Ash needed a walking stick to simply to keep him from falling over. Straight upwards they went, it seemed, and further away from streams of water. Paths were carved into the mountain rock, clearly by pokémon such as Onix, that made Mount Silver a near impossible labyrinth to navigate.
The paths wound up and down, sometimes crossing over to the point that paths that seemed that they were going up actually lead back down into the valley, and paths that seemed to be heading back to the valley took a sharp turn that once again climbed the mountain. From time to time, Ash felt the earth under him start to rumble with the activity of rock and ground-type pokemon. At one point during their hike, the ground beneath them shook to a point that boulders almost crashing down upon the trio. Ash quickly grabbed the two pokemon and sprinted back to a safe distance as the boulders crashed onto the path.
"I think I am beginning to understand why you said people die here," Ash grumbled to Eevee as they looked behind them at the boulders that now blocked their path.
"Some succeed in the journey," Eevee restated. "But it is certainly easy to quit this forsaken place, even for the most experienced trainers. There is no shame in turning back when it comes to Mount Silver…."
"No," Ash shook his head. "If I give up here, I give up on everything I have fought for. I would be giving up on the people I care about. I can't let that happen."
"You are your father's son," Eevee smiled.
"Ash, I think we should find somewhere to stop for the night," Pikachu said to his partner, worried. "The sun is beginning to go down, and you look exhausted."
Both of these things were true. The sky was beginning to grown red and gold, and they were no closer to finding a way up the mountain than they were before. Of course, now that Ash was taking his mind away from walking, he quickly became away of the needs of his stomach, which loudly growled in need. Eevee and Pikachu sighed with a mocking smile as Ash chuckled nervously and scratched the side of his head.
"Yeah, I suppose we could all use a break," Ash smiled. "Let's find some even ground and set up camp."
Quickly they went in search of even ground, thankfully finding it before the sun sank too low in the sky. After setting up camp, Ash released his other pokemon from their balls. The other pokemon he took with him were Charizard, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, after making a call to Officer Jenny, and the Primeape, who he also left in training before. Like the boulders in the way now, Ash knew he needed a pokémon to for the power of its "rock smash." Primeape seemed the best choice to make for that reason and to make a well-balanced team. Of course, they would deal with the path obstacle in the morning. Now was the time to eat! After providing everyone with food, Ash started to make dinner for himself. Though, he wished he had Brock, Serena, Clemont, or Cilan with him at that moment as far as cooking went. After he finished cooking for himself and started eating, Ash told his pokémon that couldn't follow him stories of journeys. His friends watched him with joyful eyes as he regaled in his journey through Kalos, telling them of the time he got sick and Serena had fight a battle for him with Pikachu.
Pikachu embellished a bit on how the battle went, but he and other pokémon snickered in good humor over the fact that Serena was clearly in love with Ash and their master didn't have a clue. Ash didn't catch onto what they already knew, but he smiled over the fact that his friends looked up to him so highly. As the darkness descended upon them, Ash gave his pokémon the choice of going back in their balls, or staying out to help keep watch while the others slept. Naturally, knowing how dangerous Mount Silver was, they agreed to all stay out. And, naturally, Ash opted to take the first and longest watch. Pikachu stayed up with him, watching the night sky, trying to guess at the constellations.
"Pikachu?" Ash asked quietly. "Did I do right by mom?"
"Ash?" Pikachu frowned, not understanding the question.
"Did I do right by mom?" Ash asked again. "I know I ran off into the blue because I felt I was endangering her, but was it too sudden? Couldn't I have told her or said goodbye in person? I owe her so much more than I gave."
"It's always hard to walk away from loved ones," Pikachu said in thought. "Mom always knew you were an adventurer, and she never complained about it. I'm sure she understands."
"But I also always said goodbye," Ash sighed. "I know I said it in a letter and I told her I loved her, but I just feel wrong about leaving the way I did."
"You're right," Pikachu nodded. "She deserved more. They all deserved more, but so do you. What you did wasn't selfish. I know it may seem like it was, but it wasn't. They may not be in danger, but when you say something is wrong, I believe you. Don't beat yourself up for doing what you thought was right."
"It's tough being leader, buddy," Ash smiled sadly. "But you already know that. You can't second guess yourself. Doing that is a sign of weakness."
"Not facing the weakness is a sign of weakness, too," Pikachu looked at his friend and master. "All these long years, you have learned about each of our strengths and weaknesses. You have turned those weaknesses into strengths by facing them and using them to bring out our real power. Maybe being here is a mistake, but that mistake can only make us stronger if you face that challenge like you always have."
"We'll go back to them one day," Ash said softly. "I know we will."
As Pikachu nodded, Ash reached for his medallion once again and felt the warmth of the energies coming from the gems. Once again, the gems he associated with Misty and Serena began to glow faintly, and Ash swore he heard heartbeats separate from his own. A smile softly painted his face.
"Yes," Ash nodded, "we will go back one day."
After a few hours, Ash and Pikachu woke up Squirtle, Eevee, and Bulbasaur for their watch before going to bed, themselves. The night drew on long and cold, but eventually the sun, along with a roar from Charizard, roused Ash from his slumber, signaling that it was now the third day of their hike. The air was cool and felt like the start of a spring day, even though it was in the summer, and there was the sound of birds chirping in the trees. Ash prepared breakfast for all of them and they ate happily before Ash called Charizard, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur back to their pokéballs. Taking Primeape with him to the boulders, the fighting pig-monkey crushed them into rock fragments so they could pass.
"Thank you, Primeape," Ash smiled and held his pokéball up so a beam of red light could cover the pokémon. "Return!"
"Remember, Ash," Eevee said as Ash put the ball back at his waist, "you need to trust your heart and the gems. There is a power in the medallion that drove Rob the ways he went, and it spoke to him as clearly as I speak to you now."
"And if it leads me home?" Ash asked, looking at Eevee.
"Then it leads you home," the pokémon nodded.
Ash nodded and gave a gentle sigh before closing his eyes and placing his hand on the medallion. Slowly, a warmth touched him back and he almost felt a tug at him. After opening his eyes and nodding to Pikachu and Eevee, they trio climbed up the mountain, unsure where they were going but confident that they now were going where they needed to be. After several hours of walking and nearing the mountain peak, Ash felt a tug that started to bring them back down the mountain and into a small valley that was overshadowed by the peak of Mount Silver.
Hidden by a grove of trees that the trio passed through, Ash came to a clearing that held a small lake and an island at the center of the lake that held a large white tree. The tree was clearly dead, but it stood proudly and majestically over the lake as if it were the lake's guardian. There was a mist that covered the otherwise clear waters with a small waterfall that was directly below the towering peak of Mount Silver. In truth, they were still a good three thousand feet below the summit of the mountain. Flowers bloomed across the field, but there were no sounds made except by the waterfall, the wind, and the breathing of the trio. By them was a small stream that flowed away from the lake and clearly ran down the mountain, pouring eventually into the forest below.
"Here," Ash said softly. "This is where we need to be."
…
Hey, everyone! Well, that's it for part one of this storyline. Please, leave your reviews! All questions, comments, criticisms, theories, etc. are welcome! Have a good day!