Hey! Uh, this'll probably be short, but I needed a pre-chapter A.N. to address some an issue in the last chapter. Its minor, but in the last paragraph, I called Registeel Steelix. Whoops! ]
Registeel didn't pale. It didn't even blink. But thats only because it didn't have a face. However, the red lights on the indented part of its body dimmed considerably. Ash smirked at this. He decided to capitalize on Registeel's fear to hit him hard and fast. To do this, Ash yelled one word: "Attack!"
Instantly, twenty Pokemon sprang into action, knowing that Ash wanted nothing short of their most powerful attacks. This had a far greater effect than the last time they had attacked. An explosion greater than Ash had ever seen before enveloped the arena, threatening to collapse the battlefield if it had not been for the quick thinking of hundreds of Metagross, Metang and Beldum speactating the match. When the smoke finally cleared, courtesy of some Skarmorys' Defog, a massive crater was revealed. Ash couldn't see the bottom, nor Registeel, so he let out a sigh of relief. He'd done it. Registeel had fallen.
Or so he thought. He was broken from his musings by Mega Scizor, who was screeching and frantically gesturing to the put before flying near the top of the arena. The other Pokemon that could fly mimiked her actions. Ash was confused until he heard the feminine voice of Metagross, who spoke into his mind, "Ash, theres a hole," She telepathed. Ash held back a snort. Of course there was a hole! Twenty immensely powerful attacks were all shot at the same place at the same time! There was going to be a hole. Metagross sensed this and exasperatedly retorted, "No, Ash, thats not what I-" She was cut off by a roar. Ash paled, instantly recognizing that roar. It was Charizard.
"Charizard! Whats happening?" He looked around the battlefield. Charizard was gone. Suddenly, another roar, more powerful than the first, bellowed throughout the arena, causing even the toughest Pokemon to cringe. However, it was almost immediately silenced. Nothing moved for about a minute. Suddenly, Charizard's limp body was thrown towards him from the ground. It landed right in front of the trainers' box. Totally unconsious. If Ash could've possibly paled more, he would've at the thought that Registeel had not only taken those attacks, but had taken Charizard down in the process, all while recieving damage from when Charizard probably attacked him when he was taken. Pulling out the lizard's ball, Charizard was returned to stasis. Ash was pretty scared at this point. It took a lot to take Charizard out. Heck, even before the four-week training period, the pesudo-dragon was still insanely powerful, to the point where he had taken out three of Gary's Pokemon during the Silver Conference! Ash shook his head, snapping himself out of it, and acted instantly after re-hooking the sphere to his belt. Grabbing his last Pokeball, Ash threw it, and gave one command to everyone:
"Find it."
Chaos followed, with twenty Pokemon scrambling to find Registeel. Ash didn't pay them any mind, however, and turned to the Pokemon he had released. Jirachi stared back at him. Ash spoke first, "Jirachi, when someone finds Registeel, I need you to use Psychic to hold him in place. Do you know Disable?" The Wish Pokemon nodded. "Good. Use that too to keep him from defending."
Suddenly, he heard Gigalith roar. He saw that rock-type spring from a tunnel that he had presumably dug in looking for Registeel, and from the angry roar that followed, Ash presumed he had been successful. Suddenly, Registeel burst from the hole mere seconds after Gigalith, but found himself trapped in the psychic grip of Jirachi, who had used both Psychic and Disable. Ash used this time to assess Registeel's situation. Upon first glance, the goliath had taken massive damage. The Iron Pokemon had scorch marks from fire attacks, dents and chinks from rock-type attacks, and even an area that was tingling slightly from Pikachu's Thunder attack. He smiled at that last one. Looking at his regrouping Pokemon, he saw that most of them weren't faring much better. All the Megas looked relitively okay due to the energy renewal given to them by Mega Evolving, but the others looked worn out. He looked over at his remaining fire starters, addressing them, "You three, Blast Burn him until he faints. Metagross," he said, addressing his other psychic, "Use Psychic to hold him in place. Feel free to send some Thunder Waves and Flamethrowers at him if you wish." Upon hearing Metagross' happy roar, he figured that she would be only too happy to oblidge. The mentioned Pokemon lined up in their positions around Registeel and looked back at Ash, waiting for a signal. He'd give one, but only after giving instructions to the remainder of his team. "The rest of you guys, use any long-range fire attacks you have. Just don't try and get physical, or you'll get badly hurt." The rest of his Pokemon nodded. Ash finally nodded.
"Now!"
Like they'd done twice previously, ninteen Pokemon unleashed their most powerful attacks towards the iron giant. This time, however, Registeel didn't have Protect or Dig to get him out of it. After the Pokemon had been firing for around a minute, Ash finally called them off. When the dust faded, he finally was able to breathe normally. Standing there, limp, but still in the confines of Jirachi and Metagross' Psychic, was an unconsious Registeel. Suddenly Ash found himself being leviated down to the arena floor, about three feet away from Registeel. Basking one last time in the image of the legandary that his team had defeated, he pulled out an Ultra Ball and tossed it. The ball connected, not even shaking before it dinged.
Ash stared for about two minutes at the Pokeball, before he was shoved in the shoulder by Emboar, who was standing their with an amused look on his face. The arena erupted in to laughted once more, but silenced when Ash picked up the Ultra Ball containing the legendary. He noticed that Pikachu had hopped onto his shoulder, but he didn't care. He simply raised his arm as high at it could go, and bellowed,
"Alright! I caught... A Registeel!"
"Pik-" Ash looked up at his shoulder to see why Pikachu had stopped his celebration. Glancing at him, Ash wanted to cry. Why? Pikachu had stopped because he was completely frozen. It wasn't a psychic, as the telltale pink glow wasn't there, but he was frozen nonetheless. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as he turned to look at his other teammates. His suspicion was confirmed, as all of his teammates were in the same position as Pikachu- completely frozen, as if time had just stopped. His eyes widened. Time. There were two Pokemon that he knew of that could manipulate time. Celebi and Dialga, both of whom he had met. Celebi when he was helping Sammy back in time, and Dialga when he was threatening to destroy the Earth during his duel with Palkia. He figured it wasn't Celebi for two reasons: one, Celebi did not have control over the flow of time; she could simply bridge the space-time continuim, and two, she was a dual Grass-Psychic type. This was Steel Island. Dialga, on the other hand, fit almost perfectly. Ash knew he had control over time, but was he a Steel-Type? The trainer certainly didn't think so. He scoffed. 'Whats next? Palika being part Water? Please.' He thought. Wait. He mentally slapped himself. He knew that! Dialga was a Steel-Type. He mentally scolded himself for forgetting what he had known just the day before.
"You know, I'm actually surprised. I didn't think you'd be able to make it past Registeel. No other Chosen One has ever made it past the sub-boss of an island on their first try before. So congrats. Unfortunately, that's over. I could crush your entire team right now, with minimal effort, but that'd just be unfair. So here. They're all healed. I'll unfreeze time in a second, but before I do, be warned. Some Legendaries are on a completely different level than most others. Like Lugia and Moltres, Zapdos and Articuno. You've seen for yourself how powerful these Alpha-Legendaries are." Ash frowned in confusion. Alpha Legendaries? What are those? He voiced his query to Dialga who answered, "Ah. I'd assumed Arceus had explained the ranks to you. He must've not thought that you would make it this far on your first try. Once again, I must commerate you on this achievement. Back to the point, however, there are three ranks to Legendaries. Omega-Ranks, such as Manaphy, Shaymin, Rotom, Jirachi, and Phione, are the weakest of the legendaries. Thats not to say that they are weak, they are still immensely powerful in their own rights. However, they are not even comparable to Delta-Ranks, such as the Kanto Birds, the dog trio, the Eon duo, and Deoxys, who each are the Queens of their elements, if I were to compare them to cards. Back to the Omegas, they'd be a Jack in cards. Just for comparison, nintey-nine percent of Pokemon on your Earth would be twos to fives on the card scale." Again, Ash frowned. If Pokemon on his Earth, and his Pokemon by proxy, were not even able to obtain a fragment of the power legendaries wielded, how come he had beat a Regice, Articuno, Latios, and Darkrai in combat? He asked this to Dialga, who answered.
"Ah. Tobias, Brandon, and Noland. Three exceptionally powerful trainers, with exceptionally powerful Pokemon that fight for them. However, no trainer can even use a figment of the power a Legendary holds. The trainers hold them back. I know what you're thinking, and no, you won't hold them back. Arceus decreed many millinium ago that if a trainer were to ever capture a legendary Pokemon, the legendary's power would be unaccessable. This was to prevent ordinary trainers from going power-crazy and taking over the world. You, however, are the Chosen One. You and only you can wield the power Legendaries have to offer. But I digress. There is one more rank of Legendaries. The Alpha-Ranks are the most powerful beings in existence, topped only by Arceus, who is in a rank of his own. Literally. He is the only Pokemon in the 'Arceus-Rank'. Anyway, Pokemon like Ho-oh, Lugia, the Weather Trio, Xerneas, Mew, Mewtwo, and I all belong in that rank. We are the aces, if we are still using the card analogy. No other Pokemon can even hold a candle to our power. But you can. You're just going to need a lot more training. Now, sorry for ranting (Huh. Sounds like my A.N's...). Let us begin this slaughter."
And a slaughter it was. Instantly, every Pokemon on the battlefield was put into motion, all startled by the sudden appearance of Dialga. On a hunch, Ash released the Pokemon that had fainted, and was pleased to see that they had been revived as well. Ash knew he had to react quickly, so he could get hits in before Dialga was truly ready. Ash nodded to himself, and yelled.
"Attack! Rush in and get as many hits in as you can and then get back here before he can retaliate!" His Pokemon, trusting him, began charging towards Dialga. Charging towards their doom. When the Pokemon were halfway there, Dialga let loose with the fury of a thousand years. The Roar of Time attack was so devestating that it left dust billowing in the arena for ten minutes. Not even the Skarmorys' Defog could make a dent in it. Finally, after fifteen minutes, the dust cleared and Ash's jaw dropped. For with one strike, every single Pokemon on his team, including the Legendaries, was unconsious. Ash made eye contact with Dialga once more before the Being of Time turned around and walked away.
Before he could even move, blinding light enveloped him, accompanied by some moderate pain, and forced the boy to his knees. He could tell he was warping somewhere, but before he was truly gone, he heard one last phrase.
"Train harder."
When Ash came to he was laying in his bed. He shot up, causing a weight on his chest that he hadn't even noticed to fly off. A sharp 'Pika!' of annoyance clued Ash in on who the weight was. At this, he smiled until the memories of battling Dialga caught up with him. He thought back on how reckless he was. Having every Pokemon he had on him rush Dialga might've been one of the stupidest mistakes he'd ever made in his career as a Trainer. With that in mind, he went to find the rest of his Pokemon.
XXTIMESKIPXX
When he walked out to the training field, thinking about the conversation he had just had with Arceus, who was waiting for him outside of his room. The Alpha Pokemon had said sorry for his loss, which he shrugged off, and then offered Ash some help. He said that he would take three Pokemon that Ash picks and train them to become leaders, both in power and in wisdom, so that those three could help Ash help the rest of his team. Ash was elated, instantly accepting the offer. He was snapped out of his thoughts by each of his Pokemon, who, as per usual, 'greeted' him. Muk gave him a hug, Meganium Body-Slammed him, Charizard spat fire into his face, and so on. After prying Gabite off of his head, he turned to address his team.
"Guys, I'm sorry. Especially to you who were with me on Steel Island. I made far too many mistakes to be considered okay. I failed you." There was an instant uproar of denials, but Ash was quick to hush it. He smiled at his team's dedication before continuing, "However, that will not happen again. It was a mistake to challenge Dialga, one that I will not make again. When I was on the island, Dialga explained some things to me. He explained the classification system of Legendary Pokemon, and ranked them in their power. He told me that there were three ranks, the Omegas, Deltas, and Alphas, growing from least powerful- Omega- to most powerful-Alpha. Until each of you can take down a Delta-Rank individually, we're not challenging Alpha-Ranks. Just so you know, Arceus offered something." This perked his Pokemon up. The vetrans were a bit hesitant, remembering the other times legendaries had 'offered' them something, but shrugged it off when Ash continued, "He offered to train three of you. So, I've chosen three based on who I think could benefit the most and who could become a great leader for this team. So would Charizard, Ivysaur, and Pikachu please step forward?"
The three Pokemon walked over to Ash from the crowd- Pikachu had hopped off of Ash and walked over there when he first arrived. Ash looked at the three Pokemon and smiled. He had chosen them because they each had qualities that would benefit his team. He had chosen Charizard not because of his immense power, but because Ash figured that the wisdom he would gain from training with Arceus would benefit him greatly. Ash had chosen Ivysaur for the opposite reason. The diplomat never had an abundance of power, but showed time and time again that he was rich in wisdom. Ash figured that, unlike Charizard, Ivysaur would benefit from the power aspect more. Pikachu was rather obvious. He was his starter and the natural leader of the team. He had power- Ash was left speechless time and time again at the amount of power that the mouse had at his disposal- and wisdom, as he was the team captain, even over Pokemon who were more powerful than him. But, he was like a Jack in both of those trades. Pikachu would benefit from both the power and wisdom aspects of the training. He spoke, addressing the chosen Pokemon.
"Well guys, do you accept?" He already knew their answers. His team would go to the ends of the earth for Ash and Ash loved them for that. But still, Ash gave them the choice. After Charizard scoffed, as if asking 'are you serious' and Pikachu and Ivysaur nodded, Ash said, "Thanks guys. I know you'll have fun and come back stronger than you left. I'm not sure when Arceus will start your training, nor do I know where it will take place. Don't think that I'm trying to get rid of you. I love you guys more than anything- I'd die for you if I had to- but I think you guys will benefit the most." The three Pokemon nodded, and then suddenly disappeared.
Startled, Ash fell backwards onto his butt. Climbing up amoungst the chuckles of his Pokemon, Ash started talking to them too. "I know you might be disappointed about not being chosen- ahem Sceptile ahem-" Mentioned Pokemon glared at him, "But I thought that those three would be the best to recieve it. Besides, you are all going to recieve that same training when those three get back, so perk up! Besides, we're heading to Poison Island soon!"
"It's called Toxic Island. Not poison island, dummy. And are you heading there now, or after training for a while?"
To his credit, Ash didn't even blink at the sudden voice behind him. He simply turned around and said, "Hey Hoopa. Uh, yeah, we're gonna train for a while before we head to Poison Island. I'll have Jirachi call you when we're ready. It'll probably be in about three weeks. Hoopa nodded, although Ash could tell that she was disappointed about her scare tactics not working this time. "Alrighty then! I'll see you then." With that, she dashed into a portal that opened right over Ash's head.
Well guys, we've got some training to do.
XXTIMESKIPXX
It was three weeks in, during a very hands-on training session with his water-types that Ash heard about something cool about the lake in the middle of the field. According to Jirachi, who had become something of a translator, the water Pokemon had started to notice underwater tunnels leading to what seemed to be different areas of the house that surrounded the field.
"Really? Wish I had some scuba gear..." Ash mused. Before anyone could say anything else, though, a scuba mask- manufactured by Devon Corp.- fell out of a portal and onto Ash's head. But before Ash could shout anything back to Hoopa, the portal closed, leaving behind the lingering giggles of Hoopa. Ash rolled his eyes, but was greatful nonetheless. He suddenly perked up, a mischevious smile on his face. "Man," he said, "I really wish I had a Master Ball..." Ash's smile widened when another portal opened up, this time smaller, right in front of his face. However, the smile was wiped off of his face when a jet of ice-cold water came shooting out of the portal, scoring a direct hit on the trainer's face. The force behind the water and the surprise from the attack send Ash sprawling down to the ground yet again. The now-familliar laughter of Hoopa echoed throughout the area, making Ash cry anime-tears.
A few minutes later, Ash was standing on the side of the lake with the scuba mask on, next to Empoleon, who would be the one to drag him around. Looking at each other and nodding, the duo nodded and jumped into the lake. Once underwater, Ash looked around. From the surface, he could see coral reefs and the water was crystal clear, but now, being underwater, everything was so much more beautiful. He could see colonies of Corsola and Mantyke swimming near the reefs, and everything eas washed in a beautiful shade of teal. Suddenly, he saw Empoleon a few meters away gesturing to his back. Ash nodded and swam over, grabbing Empoleon's crown and shooting a thumbs-up to the water-type. The two shot off into the depths, until they came to the bottom. Gathering his bearings, Ash looked around. He was a little bit surprised when he saw ninteen tunnels on the sides, like spokes of a wheel, but shrugged it off. He looked again. Seventeen of the tunnels were blocked off by a sheet of metal. Swimming away from Empoleon, he swam to the nearest open tunnel and went in. After a few feet he saw Empoleon swim to his side and slow down to Ash's pace. Grateful, Ash nodded to the water starter, who nodded back. After a while, Ash noticed the tunnel suddenly shoot up. Grabbing Empoleon once more, the two shot up to the surface.
When they broke the surface, both Ash and Empoleon had to do a double take at where they were. They were in a fountain. Climbing out, Ash saw that this wasn't a random fountain. This was the fountain in the entryway of his home! Ash was dumbfounded. Did that mean that the other tunnels led to other fountains? Ash jumped back in, determined to find out.
When the duo got back to the tunnel area, Ash took a closer look at the tunnels. He noticed that above each one, there was a pane of glass with things inside. Looking into the tank above the tunnel that he had just come from, he saw a pile of... 'Really?' He thought.
"Ash?"
Groaning, he looked into the other tanks. One was filled with grass, another was ablaze with fire, one had dark water in it, another metal, and so on. On a hunch, Ash gestured towards the one with the metal in the tank, causing Empoleon to nod. Ash grabbed Empoleon's crown again and the two shot off into the tunnel. When they broke the surface at the end of the tunnel, Ash was shocked to see that they were in the bleacher area of the Steel Island arena.
"You're already back? I thought Hoopa said that you weren't challenging any of the Alpha-Ranks anymore?" The famillar baritone of Dialga said. Ash shook his head. He explained the tunnels that he was exploring to Dialga, who nodded, fascinated.
"Huh. That's cool. None of the other Chosen Ones ever found that. Or at least, none that I know of. So it's water-based? I'd watch out for Manaphy then. She's pretty playful. If she finds the tunnels she'll follow them right to your training grounds. Same with Phione." Ash nodded, glad to get advice from the Time Pokemon. He turned back to the tunnel, ready to leave, but Dialga's voice stopped him.
"Hey Ash?" Ash turned around. "If you want to just talk, feel free to pop back here anytime. Same if you want to train. It gets lonely here after a while." Ash nodded, elated. He already had three Pokemon training with Arceus, and now Dialga offers to train him too? Ash was sure that he would take him up on that offer, and told Dialga that. The Celestial being chuckled. "Glad to hear that. Well, I will see you then." And with that, Ash leapt back into the hole.
XX
After Dialga's offer, Ash decided to extend training an extra three weeks, a descision that his team was more than happy to oblidge him in. Under Dialga's careful eye, Ash and his team became more powerful than ever. The few that were not fully evolved yet finally did, leaving Ash with one of the most powerful teams of Pokemon in existence. During this time, Ash experimented with Mega Evolution more. He was beyond happy when Garchomp was able to Mega Evolve, giving the already immensely powerul Pokemon even more power. Finally, the three weeks ended. Ash stood in front of Dialga, bag packed and ready to leave. He dropped the bag into a portal and looked at Dialga. Dialga spoke first.
"Ash, you have no idea how much it meant to me that you took me up on my offer. I have taught you everything I know, and I cannot wait for our rematch, in which you triumph over me."
Ash smiled, but was confused as to why Dialga wanted this. Voicing his thought to Dialga, the Time Pokemon spoke again.
"Ash, it is a teacher's greatest dream that their student will one day surpass them. I truly believe that you will be the one to do so. Please, do what no other Chosen One was able to do. Battle, beat, and catch us all." Ash smiled ear-to-ear. He walked over to Dialga and hugged him. He stepped away after a minute and grinned.
"Just wait, Dialga. I'm coming for you last. When I get here, I'd better get the battle of a lifetime." At this Dialga grinned too, which looked strange on the legendary.
"It will be the battle of the ages." Dialga agreed.
With that, Ash put the scuba mask on and walked over to the tunnel. The human and the legendary shared one last fond look before Ash dropped back into the depths. He had decided to do the swim back solo in order to reflect on everything Dialga had taught him. The legendary had pulled him aside once a day after training and taught him how to be a better trainer. He had Ash battle against local Steelix and Metagross, giving Ash pointers and correcting his mistakes. All in all, the three weeks had not only made Ash's Pokemon better, but had drastically improved Ash as well.
A couple hours later, Ash stood in front of his massive group of Pokemon. It was time to select who was going with him to Toxic Island.
"Alright guys, you know what time it is. Now, from what I understand, poison island is special. Due to the poison type not having a legendary- save for Arceus with a Toxic Plate- the island is like the Safari Zone. With this in mind, I'm taking Venusaur, Meganium, Torterra, everyone I caught at Steel Island, Donphan, Krookodile, and Pik-" He caught himself, remembering that his starter was with Arceus. Recalling the mentioned Pokemon, Ash addressed them again.
"Ahem. Anayway, you guys know the drill. Keep up the training and all that. We're gonna catch some poison types!" Before he knew it, he was standing in a replica of the Safari Zone. 'Huh. Looks like I wasn't the only one who thought of that.' Walking through the doors at the end of the building, Ash saw what he was up against. The island was surprisingly nice, considering it was home to poison types. It looked exactly like the Kanto Safari Zone, except all the grass was dead and some boulders were smouldering. Ash didn't let that detain him, however, and proudly marched on. His blood froze, however, when he heard something he had hoped he would never hear again.
"Prepare for trouble!"
Uh-oh. Small cliff-hanger for you guys there. I think you'll like what I'm gonna do with it next chapter. I thought of it when I was writing the last paragraph and I thought it was too good to pass up. Anyway, I feel like I need to say something, just to get it out. YES! I GOT MY FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD REVIEWERS! So naturally, I'm going to address them. Lets go!
AgitatedDog9288- Man, thanks a bunch! Its nice to have encouraging words from people. I never really thought much of it when other authors said that it really helps them write their stories but now, actually writing one of my own, I see what they mean. It really does help me a lot. So thanks, not only for your words of kindness, but for being my first reviewer.
TheGamingPyro- Heh. Darkrai comes in at number three fo my top ten favorite Pokemon. Its only topped by Zoroark and Camerupt, so believe me when I say that I have plans for Darkrai. It's not slipping by my radar anytime soon. It might be a while before I get to Dark Island- for lack of a better name- But once I do, Darkrai will be right there waiting.
'The Creator'- I'm glad you like it! I modeled this story off of everything I thought the anime should've been, and some of my personal favorite fanfictions. And unlike my previous 'story,' I have plans for this one. I can't wait to get done with the islands arc, so I can start the true plot of this story. Don't worry, it won't be so unoriginal as to be Team Rocket, but there will be a plot. And I'll try to update (somewhat) frequently.
Anyway, now that I've ranted to you guys for sevral hundred words, I'll leave you with the chapter's trivia question: What item do you use to find Shaymin in generation 4? The first one to get it right gets to add a non-legendary pokemon to Ash's team! (I have lots of room for Pokemon)
See ya! ~TheOGPokemonMaster