Hey guys! Sorry for not updating!
It was my birthday on the Thirteenth of Feb, and For Honor has been officially released! GO KNIGHTS! I also played the BETA for it, and have been levelling like mad since it came out on the fourteenth, I'm prestige 3 with the PeaceKeeper, Valkyrie, Nobishi and Beserker.
I've received a few questions about Ash and his team, yes Ash will have a full Psychic team, and yes, it may include legendaries, though I'm not sure which one/s yet.
Hope you enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 3 – Saffron and Silph Co.
XXX
Ash was well and truly frustrated as he walked along Battle route 1, not that the near constant battling wasn't fun, it was just the same thing over and over again. Constant successive battles, where as soon as someone won or lost and had healed their Pokémon, they were challenged straight away. Repeat when over.
Normally Ash would consider this quite fun, even if he had nearly lost a couple of times whenever he hadn't used Kirlia, it still gave his Pokemon plenty of experience battling a wide range of different Pokemon, especially ones from other regions. It was the sheer amount of time it was taking to get to Saffron that was starting to agitate him.
Walking with a lot of battles should of let him cover this road in a week at the most, and that was allowing breaks in between each battle. The road between Cerulean and Saffron was short, one of the shortest in the entire Kanto Region. Yet, here he was battling another trainer a week into his trip, and he was barely HALF WAY!
Ask watched as Baltoy easily knocked out a Pidgeotto with Ancient power, not because it was weak, but because it looked like it hadn't properly rested in a week. It feathers were messy and dirty, it could barely attack or defend, and flying looked like a it was in near constant strain. It was the same with most of Pokemon he came across and he was going to do something about it.
It was simple enough to send Kirlia and Staryu off into the surrounding forest and cut down some logs, which were then turned into planks, all with the use of Psychic energy. It was also easy enough to start a fire for some Charcoal to write on those planks.
Ash was devious enough to know that you could never have enough money as a travelling Pokemon trainer, especially one that planned to travel to the other regions eventually, which could cost a lot of money if you didn't have a flying type Pokemon. Ash also loved nearly all Pokémon, and sometimes it physically hurt to see them in such sorry states.
But with Kirlia at his side, this was easy enough to fix, if slightly costly for everyone else.
Ash was going to have Kirlia Teleport trainers back to Cerulean city for a good amount of money each time, and since there was literally hundreds of trainers on this Battle Route alone, he was going to have a fairly sizeable amount of cash depending on how long Kirlia could last teleporting to and fro.
His sign, which stated 'Teleporting service, to Cerulean city Pokemon Center and back – 500 Poke dollars' was an instant hit. Immediately after releasing Kirlia next to the sign, he had 3 trainers running up to him and asking to transfer money into his account, which he gratefully accepted, and all 3 were gone in a flash.
Healing Pokemon could take anywhere from 15 minutes to 3 hours depending on how exhausted they were, treating injuries could take days if they were severe enough, though most weren't thanks to hardy Pokemon biology and prevention techniques taught to all trainers.
It also depended on Kirlia's psychic Stamina, which was monstrous. No thanks in doubt due to its mother and inheriting some of its power. Kirlia lasted most of the day before needing to rest, but it was also magnificent training for him, as it helped with Teleporting groups of people. Thankfully, Cerulean city wasn't that far away, and Kirlia could make the trip easily with 3 people and under, using only a small amount of psychic energy.
4 days later, Ash admitted to himself that he could of stayed there slightly too long, especially after getting a call from Cerulean City's Police Chief Jenny, who had gotten a call from the Pokemon Center to ask him to stop sending trainers, as they were full and couldn't keep up anymore.
Of course to contact him, they needed to find out his name which would've taken a day or two, which was hard enough, though Ash thought a trainer had asked his name before leaving again and then they would've found his only contact to be Professor Oak, as he didn't have any living relatives left.
Contacting Professor Oak would've taken a good 2 days, as he was always in demand, by many people, most of them important, but Chief Jenny should've been able to have her call streamlined, and afterwards Oak would've gave them his Pokedex contact details as he didn't carry a Pokenav or some sort of mobile device on him.
Ash had been told to stop sending them to Cerulean city, and to send them somewhere else. The only problem was Ash hadn't really been anywhere else that was close by since he was a beginner trainer, and he couldn't send them to Viridian or Pewter because they were too far away and over the other side of Mt. Moon.
Ash just shrugged and packed up, and had continued his journey. He also checked his account balance on his Pokedex and tripped and fell at the sight, before his brilliant idea. He had saved up roughly 25,000 Poke dollars. 10,000 from when he began, and the rest from winning battles and beating Misty and Brock, which was no small amount, amassing to 15,000 Poke dollars.
His usually Poke-Mart stop for essentials was around 4000 Poke dollars, which included food, water, tablets, fire starters and other small things like berries, Poke balls and to update his internet connection on his Pokedex. So he didn't expect so much money, but damn was it nice to be wrong.
Ash had accumulated over 4 days, nearly 50,000 Poke dollars. Which meant Kirlia had teleported nearly 100 people, and Ash knew even more people had just walked straight past without reading his sign. He could barely imagine the amount of money he would've had if more people had taken him up on his offer.
He definitely had enough for TM shopping now, and most TM's could cost anywhere from 3000 to 10,000 Poke dollars so, he still knew he had to use his money sparingly, he had to make sure he always had enough for his supplies, and anything extra he might need.
This was also a time when he cursed being a beginner trainer and not knowing everything about training his Pokemon. An older Gentleman, named Matthew, had accidentally stumbled upon his training spot looking for a place to rest, his Ninetails weary from the constant battling and told Ash something in thanks for sharing his food and company with an old man like himself.
Pokemon could learn other moves without the use of a TM, it just takes longer and constant training. TM's let the Pokémon use the move instantly, though it isn't mastered. Ash was still cursing himself inside his head hours later.
He instantly changed their training schedule, to a full day of learning new moves.
Staryu and Baltoy were asked to learn Psychic from Kirlia, as they could both learn it from TM's and they both needed a stronger psychic type attack other than Psywave and Psybeam. Kirlia finally perfected Shadow Sneak, and could stay in Ash's shadow for longer and longer intervals. The main problem was Ash and Kirlia thinking it was a Dark type move, when it wasn't. Matthew had seen the move used before and laughed when Ash's Pokedex had named it as a Dark type move, apparently, all Pokedex's had this small glitch, and no matter what expert tried to fix it, it had never changed.
Shadow Sneak was a ghost type move, and after some small help from Matthew's Haunter to harness ghost type energy, Kirlia succeeded. Afterwards, Ash asked Kirlia to see if it could learn Light screen, which was the opposite of Reflect, as it stopped Special attacks instead of Physical.
Ash sat with Matthew as they watched his team practice the moves they were learning. Both Staryu and Baltoy were flinging Psychic into Kirlia's developing Light screen, which was coming along nicely. Some of the time, the Psychic attack would break through and grab ahold of Kirlia, who broke it instantly, but sometimes Baltoy would try and fling Kirlia away.
After the third time of Kirlia nearly being flung, it developed into all out war between the 3 Pokemon, with Staryu and Baltoy ganging up on the superior Kirlia, who still won, thanks to Teleport. Training continued on late into the night, until the moon was high and the stars were shining. Eventually, all 3 Pokemon wore themselves out and started relaxing.
Matthew had also released his full team by then, which was Ninetails, Haunter, Pidgeotto and Dugtrio. Ash thought it was quite a nice start to a team, until he was informed that Matthew had this team for almost 20 years.
"What, why?" Ash had to ask, he felt like glaring as Matthew chuckled, but waited patiently. He knew old people always liked taking their time, but this was ridiculous. Eventually the chuckles died down and just turned into a grin.
"Because Ash, some people don't train Pokemon as their main goal in life" and this simple sentence rocked Ash to his core, but Matthew didn't seem to notice as he continued talking. Pokemon was all Ash had known, sure he went to Primary school, where he learned the basics of Math, History and science. But even then most of that was taught around Pokemon, or even focused on Pokemon like History was.
"You see Ash, I started out as a simple accountant that worked in Celadon city, I ran the books, and checked stock prices. Sometimes I was sent to Saffron and always had to hire a guide in case I got attacked by a wild Pokemon, eventually I had had enough of spending money and applied for my trainers license. It was then I caught my first Pokemon, Vulpix, who is still with me as Ninetails now" he explained as Ash watched him brush Ninetails coat.
Ash thought about it and figured it made sense, although 90 percent of people had Pokemon, or eventually got one. Some people just didn't seem to enjoy Pokemon like he did. He knew his Mom hadn't been a focused Pokemon trainer, just travelling with a Pokemon for Journey and experience. She also didn't start until she was 17, and had finished school.
It was also when she met his father, someone he still didn't know the name of. Though he knew the safe inside his mother's closet most likely had the answers he was looking for, and he also knew the code. Every time he went to open it, some feeling just stopped him, like he was intruding somewhere he wasn't welcome yet.
After trading stories back and forth, they both went to sleep, their Pokemon clustered around them, just in case. After all, you never know what lurked in the dark.
Ash woke with a sense of renewed purpose, only to find Matthew gone, leaving no trace of his presence. It didn't really bother him, knowing Matthew was heading towards Cerulean city, but it did seem to spook him in some way, though he couldn't put a finger on how. After all, every time someone had come near enough, Kirlia would always wake him, but today Ash was the first awake, something seemed off about the whole thing.
It was easy enough to wake all 3 of his Pokemon up and clean up the small clearing they were in. Dirt was piled over the embers from the campfire, their trash was sealed into his bag, not that there was much and Ash was ready to go. The only thing they didn't clean up was their morning supplies of food and water, which would be consumed after morning training, and this morning, Ash had something special in mind.
"All right, this morning, we're doing drills. No psychic powers, especially you Kirlia, as that would be cheating and I'll make you do double if you do. Kirlia, your doing side to side jumping first, to help with dodging. Baltoy, your doing some spin training, but using your arms to change course as you spin. Staryu, your copying Kirlia. Get to it" Ash told them and was immediately proud as they got to work with no protests knowing training was a serious business.
Ash watched as Kirlia continued pushing and pushing until he collapsed, exhausted from the physical training. Baltoy and Staryu were a lot better, able to last longer and do more. After a short rest, Kirlia was up and had joined back in.
After they were all finished the exercises he had set them and had a nice rest and filled up on food, it was time to head back to battle route 1, and to transverse the horror that was repetitive battling.
It was only a 10 minute walk back to the main road, where he could already find battles happening despite being so early in the morning. Just as Ash expected, as soon as he had taken only a few steps he was already being challenged. He made sure his mouth was covered by his scarf being grinning with anticipation.
"Sure, let's go Kirlia" he called, Kirlia appeared, teleporting from his shadow to standing in front of him, making it seem like he had been invisible and standing their the whole time. The other trainer, a girl that seemed a few years older scoffed at the simple trick, but released her Pokemon with a small smile.
Ash was gobsmacked when an identical Pokemon appeared, except it had the coloring of a normal Kirlia. Both Pokemon stared at each other for a long moment before turning to their trainers in perfect unison, Ash suspected psychic communication was playing a very large role here. It didn't help when Ash sighed just as the other trainer did to, before scowling at the other in mock frustration.
Both Kirlia and his non-shiny duplicate teleported off to the side, eyes glowing as they communicated. To Ash, it seemed like the non-shiny was slightly deferential towards his Kirlia, showing just a touch more respect. It was something he would have to think on later, it could be important.
The battle then truly began, as they both released their second Pokemon. The girl released a Staravia, while Ash released Baltoy. It was a quick battle, Staravia putting up a good fight thanks to it knowing Steel wing, which injured Baltoy, but in the end Baltoy pulled through with an Ancient Power attack knocking Staravia out of the sky, it ended quickly after that.
It turned out Shirley's, the name of the trainer, Kirlia was female and was about halfway to evolution to Gardevoir. They spoke about their time training their Pokemon, especially the Ralts line and compared notes. It turned out Shirley's Kirlia had a bit of trouble which Ash found weird. Even if his Kirlia was normal, Ash could see plenty of ways to fight with it, but he shrugged it off.
Eventually they parted ways, but not before they registered each others number, Ash knew it could be valuable to have someone with a Gardevoir. They were masters of psychic abilities and seeing the future, as long as they liked their trainer anyway, and maybe Kirlia may need some help sometime in the future.
The rest of the way to Saffron city took Ash just under a week, thanks to his new training regimen and all the battles they had to compete in. It was also just before Saffron city that Ash lost his first battle, even if Kirlia didn't participate. It was the first time he lost and it put a bad taste into his mouth. He had been challenged by a guy that he had noticed had been watching him for a while but had thought nothing of it.
Staryu lost after a slow paced battle against a Dewgong, who easily matched then out performed Ash's water type, matching any psychic attacks with ice type attacks. Ash then sent out Baltoy, and the opposite trainer send out a Nidoqueen. At this point, Ash knew he had been fooled. This guy was obviously a experienced trainer and was probably just out of cash and looking for easy battles to win to gain said cash.
Experienced trainers didn't really battle any of the beginner trainers, as it was a little rude to crush them with the more powerful, experienced team. Usually most of them just flew around battling the gyms and getting ready for the IBC ( Indigo Battle Conference ). If worst comes to worst, they would participate in league tournaments for money, unlike this guy.
As Ash walked away, he promised silently to himself to get revenge. That guy had ruined his winning streak dammit! Not only that, but he had done it in such a way that pissed him off. If it had been another trainer around his level, Ash wouldn't of minded losing, except for the losing part, but that guy was so far above it wasn't funny. Kirlia might of stood a chance against 1 or even 2 of his Pokemon, but 6 like that guy seemed to have.
As Ash crested a small hill, he came within viewing distance of Saffron city, and it was an amazing sight to look at. Towers of multistory buildings stood up from the landscape, as if declaring their intention to touch the sky. All the different colors blending and mixing to create a truly special view.
Saffron city was Kanto Regions largest city, and was built to be so. Not only was it the largest, it was also the busiest and since it lies between Celadon, Cerulean, Lavender and Vermillion, it could receive thousands of people each day for work, trade, Pokemon.
It also had the world's leading Pokemon research company situated right in the middle of it; Silph Company, which was shortened to Silph Co. Silph Co manufactured any and everything that had to do with a trainers day to day life. Ash knew that meant seriously everything, Pokeballs, Potions, Revives, Technical Machines, Master bottles, Master bags and heaps more.
Not only did they have a monopoly on the products, they also continued to bring out new and improved versions, easily demolishing any and all competitors that tried to start up. It's president and founder, Mr Silph who founded the company over 150 years ago was said to have been one of the richest men in the world, and his family line would continue to always be so. Currently, the company was run by Mr Silph Co's great Grand-daughter, Ms Silph, but she liked to be known as Ms Celeste, thanks to the unique color of her eyes.
Silph Co was one of the reasons Ash was coming to Saffron in the first place, as it was holding the Annual Science convention that involved Scientists from all around the world coming to try and market their designs. Scientists from every other region, including each regions premier Professor's themselves all came to this convention, all looking forward to the chance to let loose and talk science.
Any product that was put on display to be sold could be backed by Silph Co for a percentage of the funds and partial ownership. It also let Silph Co come up with new designs for those products. Each year, hundreds of people put up products and were declined due to their 'subparness' compared to other products. It was a brutal marketing strategy, but it worked, as proven each year when the convention was held.
Not only that, it was rumored that this year's convention was going to be bigger and better than ever with the Champions from Kanto/Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh were all going to make an appearance. Not only that, Silph Co was releasing a new kind of Pokeball, though the details were hazy and nothing had been confirmed and it was believed to be mostly rumors.
It was in 3 days, and Ash couldn't wait.
While he might not of been as involved as Gary had been, growing up around Professor Oak for most of your life let you learn certain things. He and Gary, when they were friends all those years ago, always use to help out with any research that the Professor was doing. As 5 to 8 year olds, this mostly meant carrying around small tools to help out and scribbling down any notes the professor asked to be written down.
But the thing Ash loved most were the research trips they undertook. They would go out into the wild and observe wild Pokemon and how they interacted with people, Professor Oak's specialty. It was where Ash learned to love Pokemon, and how to interact with them. He and Gary were practically attached to the Professor's hip most of the time, but as soon as the Professor said it was safe, they would shoot off and start playing with any Pokemon that were around, under the watchful eye of the Professor's legendary Arcanine.
As soon as Ash reached the Pokemon center, he knew that he wouldn't be able to get a room. The whole center was filled with the brim with Trainers, all looking to get their Pokemon healed or get a room to stay in for the night.
He turned around and just decided to get a hotel, it would be far less hassle in the long run, even if it meant spending a little money. Not like he didn't have enough of it at the moment.
XXX
The next 3 days saw Saffron enter into what Ash liked to call Panic mode, himself included. The gym shut down and was emptied, all the occupants and their Pokemon teleporting around the huge city making sure everything was clean, repaired and looking brand new. The whole city was inspected and checked, anything not found to be 'perfect' could get you a rather harsh fine, all under orders from Sabrina, the Saffron Gym leader, and Ms Celeste, who no one disobeyed.
Clothing stores became battlefields for women, while the men formed into groups looking to survive. The large shopping center became so busy that it had taken Ash almost 3 hours just to buy a new outfit, with most of that time being spend in line. It wouldn't do to turn up in shriveled travelling clothes. Though he couldn't say he didn't enjoy it, it was always nice looking at woman trying on dresses, some more scandalous than others as others watched on, envious or jealous faces, covered up with fake words and even faker smiles.
His outfit was simple, a Green and Silver button up long sleeved shirt and black slacks with his Pokeball belt, not to forget his scarf, which he had cleaned and mended to make it look perfect. His shoes were another pair of boots that were leather, which made them look acceptable.
He had brought 3 great balls to clip on his belt, just in case he needed to catch a Pokemon. As he wouldn't be allowed to bring his bag with him, though he knew it was most unlikely. Kirlia would stay inside Ash's shadow constantly, not only for practice, but also as a vigilant watcher. Staying inside the ghostly energies also helped Kirlia deal with the influx of peoples thoughts and feelings his mind had to put up with, and since they were inside Kanto's largest city, that was a lot of different things to block out.
A brawl broke out between 2 different groups of Pokemon enthusiasts with Pokemon collectors on one side and Pokemon Breeders on the other. It became a full on battle when Pokemon were released and started to fire off moves, but was quickly subdued by a powerful Alakazam that appeared silently.
It wasn't the only fight Sabrina's Pokemon had to subdue.
People from different regions clashed almost like clockwork on every hour over trivial things like food, speech and accommodations. Not only that, but religious beliefs were also brought up, which made him roll his eyes as each region believed in different Pokemon.
That was only the first day.
On the second day, the shopping center wasn't just a battlefield, it became an all out war, especially for Pokemon trainers. Pokemon were released and used to gain every advantage possible, Ash included. It was only this way because that very morning, Silph Co President Ms Celeste appeared on TV and gave a press conference explaining everything about the Convention without giving away anything. Her last words became famous in the trainer world, and she would forever be held with reverence.
"Everything in Silph Co's multitude of stores are 50 percent off" were her parting words, said with a small smirk only one who was intentionally causing Chaos could pull off. Ash had instantly spat out his milk from his breakfast before ordering Kirlia to Teleport him back to the Shopping center as every other trainer inside the Pokemon Center erupted out of their seats with cries of war and rushed towards the Shopping center.
It didn't matter to him that he was only half dressed, as he hadn't gotten out of his sleeping clothes yet, all he wanted was to get to the TM selection as soon as possible. It turned out he was one of the first their luckily, but it didn't stay that way for long. Other psychic type Pokemon arriving with their trainers seconds and minutes after he did.
The first to arrive without the use of teleport was an older trainer with an Arcanine, with the use of Extreme Speed, he appeared from out of nowhere, sliding off his Pokemon and running into the store just as Ash walked out, his arms full of TM's without even returning his Pokemon.
Ash quickly went through different Silph Co stores, stocking up on Poke-Food, different Pokeballs and plenty of other things and even things he didn't think he would need.
Within minutes, the area outside the stores was packed with Pokemon all waiting for their trainers to return. Ash watched gleefully from across the other side of the shopping center as he got his long shaggy hair cut to a more respectable length. It was shaved on the sides and pulled into a Ponyta tail at the back. He also had some light blue dye run through it, as a homage to Kirlia.
That night, while resting inside his hotel room, he went back through the TM's he had brought.
Ice Beam, Solar Beam, Shadow ball, Charge Beam, Signal Beam, Fire Punch, Ice Punch and Thunder Punch. All 8 TM's usually would've cost 10,000 Pokedollars each, but thanks to the half price, only cost 5,000 each, totalling 40,000 instead of 80,000. Ash had to admit, most of them were for Kirlia and Baltoy, since Staryu still had plenty of moves left to learn. They were all 3 use TM's, which was why the price was a bit higher than normal. 1 use TM's usually went for around 5000, while 2 use went for 7500, with 3 at 10,000. Permanent TM's the ones that could be used over and over again went for nearly 25,000 Pokedollars, not something Ash was willing to pay for at that moment.
Signal beam could be taught to all 3 of his Pokemon, while Ice Beam could be taught to Baltoy and Staryu. Charge Beam could be taught to Kirlia and Baltoy along with Shadow Ball. The 3 elemental punch's were for Kirlia alone though, as they would come in handy against a huge number of trainers. Solar Beam was for Baltoy alone.
There was a lot more TM's he wanted to get in preparation, but decided not to. While he was starting to think about what kind of team he wanted, he was having trouble thinking of how he would obtain certain Pokemon.
Ash's plans were slowly starting to show fruit, and he couldn't help but be excited.
The next day, Ash woke up late, at nearly 11 am. But it didn't matter since the convention didn't officially open until 1. As a normal trainer, Ash wouldn't have been able to get in since it was for Scientists and certain members of the community only. But Ash was 'Friends' with Professor Oak, who had promised Gary and him to take them to the next one that showed up in Kanto, as such, he would be meeting them both in front of the Silph Co building.
It was Gary though that brought a frown to his face. After receiving Ralts, he honestly thought Gary would've been waiting outside ready to battle him, but he had disappeared. Ash than expected to run into him around Cerulean city, since they seemed to be travelling around the same pace but once again, he was a no show. Ash just hoped Gary and him were still on their no speaking terms, it would be better off.
"Hi Professor" Ash said as he walked up to Professor Oak and Gary. Like him, they were dressed somewhat more fancily though the Professor still had his lab coat on. Gary was dressed in a purple button up long sleeved shirt and black jeans. Just like Ash, Gary had grown a little and seemed more mature. He also had 6 Pokeballs on his belt, and most likely had a full team.
"Ash" Professor Oak replied. Gary didn't even glance in his direction, something he was completely fine with. Ash figured he should at least thank the Professor for bringing him along, especially after what he had said all those years ago, something he was starting to regret.
"uh, Thanks once again Professor, this means a lot" he managed to mumble out. The professor didn't reply, just chuckled which made Ash sigh in relief, though he shot a scowl at Gary who scoffed. As soon as they stepped up to the door to the Atrium to the Silph Co building, they were met with intimidating security guards who slowly waved a black rod up and down all 3 of them.
"Clear, your free to go in. Enjoy your day" said the guard in what was most likely his best bored monotone voice. But Ash could feel the question in the tone that was directed at Gary and himself. They were just kids, why would someone like Oak invite them along.
They were guided to their seats by Professor Oak and were told to sit quietly before he left. Ash was thankful the Professor's seat was between them, and that Ash was on the end so he didn't have to talk to anyone. Ash watched as the Atrium was slowly filled up over the next hour as more and more people filled up the huge room.
Finally the room seemed to be full, and as the lights dimmed, noise completely died down as everyone's attention turned to the stage. As one, the crowd looked up at the stage, where 3 podiums stood as easily recognizable people stepped out onto it.
The first was Ms Celeste, who was followed by Professor Oak, who was followed by Lance, Kanto's Champion, after that came Saffrons Gym leader Sabrina and 3 scientists who Ash couldn't recognize. Ash couldn't help himself as he stared at someone who was probably one of the strongest trainers in the world; Lance Drake. The champion 7 years running and strongest of the elite 4, not only that, but he was one of the foremost experts on Dragon types, carrying nearly an unbeatable team that consisted of only Dragon types.
He was someone Ash wanted to be like, and as Ms. Celeste stepped towards the podium, he reaffirmed his promise to himself.
"Welcome all, as most of you should know. I am Celeste Silph, better known as Ms. Celeste. Behind me is Professor Samuel Oak, Kanto's regions leading Professor and foremost Pokemon Expert. Standing next to him is someone you should all know, Champion Lance himself, Dragon Master, the Scaled Mountain" she cried as the applause started. Pokemon scientists and inventors most were, but everyone in the room loved Pokemon and you could tell from the cheering. Both the Professor and the Champion bowed slightly in gratitude of the applause.
"Not only that, but in the front row of the seating. We have some very special guests. I would like to introduce you all to Professor's Elm, Birch and Rowan. Johtos, Hoenn's and Sinnoh's leading Professors, all comparable with Professor Oak" The clapping and cheering started again, lasting nearly as long. 3 people at the very front stood up and turned around and bowed. Ash remembered all 3 from a video call not so long ago, when he received Kirlia as Ralts and except for their clothing, they hadn't changed in appearance.
"2 more introductions left before we can get on with the show. I would like to introduce Steven Stone, Hoenn's current reigning Champion, master of the Steel typing, the Metal Wall" a roar of applause exploded from the silent spectators as Steven Stone stood up and bowed slightly to the crowd. This was Ash's first time seeing the man up close, and he looked a lot different than he did one TV. Steven Stone was dressed impeccably in a steel grey suit with a silver tie. His hair was grey and combed neatly, not a strand out of place and he had six pokeballs Ash got a peek of stitched to the inside of his suit jacket.
"And lastly, Sinnoh Regions new Champion and the second youngest to reach that title, Cynthia Camilla, Pokemon Queen, the Shining Mirror" Ash jolted in his seat as he gazed upon Sinnoh's champion, a face that was perfectly identical to the one in his dream all those weeks ago. Cynthia had yellow blonde hair and was dressed completely in black. She had 2 sets of Umbreon ears attached in her hair while her 6 Pokeballs were strapped to the inside of her arms with 3 on each side and she was only 17 years old.
And, maybe the most important thing to the crowd, she was stunningly gorgeous.
The crowd rushed to their feet, men whistling and woman clapping, even the other 2 champions clapped. It was no small feat to get to the Champion position at just 17 years of age, Lance himself was 20 when he reached it, Steven 22. But one of the things Ash was most curious about was the fact she was the SECOND youngest to reach the title, that meant someone even younger than her had become a champion in one of the regions and by the forlorn look that Ash caught flashing across Professor Oak's face, he knew who it was.
Ash wondered for a second if it was the professor himself who had been the youngest before shaking that thought away. Professor Oak was known as 15 year Oak for a reason, after reaching the title at 19 years old, he sat supreme for 15 long years rebuffing every challenger with ease until in a monumental battle still talked about today, he lost.
As Cynthia sat down, the rest of the crowd following her lead, Ash blinked as their eyes met for a fraction of a second, and since he was only sitting 4 rows behind her. He definitely knew he wasn't mistaken, maybe it had just been a coincidence. He shrugged to himself.
"Alright let's get the show on the road. Our first presenter, Mr Takio" The crowd clapped politely as everyone walked off stage. After a few seconds, a large white screen slowly fell from above and started playing images as a hunchbacked scientist walked on stage nervously rubbing his glasses, Ash felt like falling asleep already.
It was only a minute or 2 later when Professor Oak joined the front row of seating, sitting with his fellow Professor's along with Lance who sat with his fellow Champions. Both were immediately drawn into conversations that were held in whispers. Soon after, Professor Birch turned around and shot Ash a discreet thumbs up, making him jerk in surprise, but Ash managed to hide it well enough. He wondered what they could've been talking about.
Time passed and Ash was seriously bored, while most of the ideas were excellent and were sure to help the Pokémon regions, he also seriously doubted some of the more...advanced ideas that were brought forward. Ash's eyes started closing on their own accord, but he shook his head like a Growlithe to try and keep himself awake. Ash honestly tried to stop himself from falling asleep, but the constant speeches were making him seriously drowsy, like a Yawn had been performed on him. He jerked himself awake once again as he noticed his eyes had been closed and quickly glanced around, everyone around him was paying attention to the stage, including Gary, thankfully.
His eyes drooped once, twice and before he could stop himself, he was asleep. Oblivious to the speeches and new technology that was being spoken about on the stage. He would never notice the extra people starting to gather along the ridges of the room, nor the devices being carried on their backs, and had he been awake, he might've questioned how the extra people had gotten in, knowing the doors had been shut.
He would never take note of the bad feeling that had started churning in his gut.
XXX
Ash jerked awake at the loud sounds of cheering happening around him and as he glanced around groggily, he noticed everyone was standing and clapping. He was still half-asleep, but as he glanced up at the stage, he noticed Professor Oak and Ms. Celeste standing together at one of the Podiums. Ash hurriedly rubbed his eyes to force himself to wake up quicker, and winced as his neck cricked in displeasure of his sleeping position.
"-And as such, together in conjunction with Professor Oak, Silph Company has developed a brand new Pokeball called the Masterball, originally, this was a secret Project, but nosey reporters have forced our hand" said Ms. Celeste. People laughed and clapped as Ash thought over the words just spoken with his half awake mind. 'Masterball' was a very odd name for a Pokeball, especially if they named it for the connotations it implied. Ash had obviously missed most of the speech, but from the name alone, he could guess at how well the Masterball worked.
"The Masterball Ladies and Gentlemen" Ash watched as Ms Celeste pressed a button on the remote control she was carrying. A small hole in the stage opened up, and a metal cylinder with glass surrounding a Pokeball slowly rose from inside the hole.
The Masterball was spherical in shape, the same as other Pokeballs. The top half was purple with 2 pink circles and had a white capital M just above the release button. The bottom half was pure white and had no contours or protrusions.
It looked grand, fit for a King or Queen. Ash was starting to wish that was Kirlia's Pokeball.
"We have only made 3 Masterballs, the first 2 were made to validate that the Masterball has a 100 percent catch rate. We gave the first to Champion Lance, so that he could go and capture a Dragon type to prove that it could catch ANY Pokémon, even the legendary Dragon types without weakening them or even battling them, it was a total success, as he captured a Zweilous, a particularly feisty Dragon type.
The second, we gave to Professor Oak, and it too was used to capture a troublesome Pokémon, this time a rampaging Snorlax. The Masterball, once again succeeded without the need to battle, capturing the enraged Pokémon with a single throw. The Masterball will lead the way to Safety for every Region, and since these Pokeballs will only be used in defence of the Region, I am sad to say we wont be mass producing them, all records have been purged from every database, with the only Blueprints being kept in a secure location, guarded 24 hours a day by an Elite team of Pokémon Rangers".
Ash winced as instant uproar occurred. Even he could admit he was feeling a little annoyed at the announcement, but he could certainly understand the reasons. If Masterballs were to be mass produced, it would make catching Pokemon absurdly easy, there would be no challenge, and it would forever change the world, and certainly ruin a lot of things. On the other hand, they could save so many lives by letting trainers have them, no more getting killed by an enraged Slaking or Gyarados, just throw a Masterball to save yourself.
Ash honestly found himself torn on which side he should support. But it shouldn't rea-
*Ba dump, Ba dump*
It was the sound of a heartbeat, his own heartbeat, which was suddenly pounding at a snails pace inside his chest as everything seemed to slow down around him. It was all Ash could hear, every single pound magnified until it drowned out all other noise. Not through his ears, they were occupied with the steady background noise of conversations and laughter coming from the people around him as they discussed their views about the Masterball, but through his own chest where the sound seemed to travel upward towards his head where it echoed back and forth in warning.
Everything seemed to have slowed down to a snails pace as his head turned centimetre by centimetre towards the aisle, where a body dressed in purple and black seemed to be sprinting through syrup right next to him, heading towards the stage. He could feel his eyes widening minutely as what seemed like days passed, but was only milliseconds as he registered what the person was wearing over the black and purple clothes.
Ash didn't recognize anything that was strapped to the mans chest, except for 4 red sticks that looked exactly like hotdogs, in shape, size and colour. Along with them was red and blue liquid that seemed to be right in the middle of mixing, just about to come into contact with a yellow liquid that was sitting between them.
Ash couldn't even scream a warning as he watched in slow motion as the persons thumb pressed the red trigger down micrometre by micrometre. The beating in his chest seemed to intensify, every beat a turbulent push from within as if is heart was trying to escape from his chest just as time seemed to return to normal.
"FOR THE NEW WORLD" the person screamed as he finished pushing the detonator right as he ran past Ash, who was barely 50 Centimetres away from him.
There was a half a seconds silence before the explosion went off, and in that half second, Kirlia appeared like an avenging God, teleporting right onto Ash's lap, eyes alight with unrestrained psychic energy, manifesting a shield around him with all its protective fury.
The explosion appeared as though a fist of orange flame was suddenly expanding from the bombers chest, billowing outwards in a blinding flash, as the huge ball of fire bulged outwards and though he was safe from the initial blast thanks to the psychic shield, a concussive wave of force also blasted out and knocked Ash and Kirlia backwards with tremendous force shattering the psychic bubble of energy. Ash felt himself flipping end over end and last thing he saw before blacking out was the window rapidly approaching.
XXX – Honestly thought I should leave it here, but I haven't reached my word count yet :(
Ash woke as Kirlia slapped him, probably not the first time either. They were outside the building, and he was laying on the sidewalk of the street the Silph Co building was built upon. Ash's whole body felt like one giant bruise and it took him 4 tries to stand to his feet, even then he was unsteady and he could barely think, as if his brain was drunk. His left arm was also shooting of spasms of pain every time he shifted it, so it was probably broken as well.
Ash's ear's were ringing and he had spots dancing across his eye's and he felt like giggling like a little child but restrained himself as he stared at the bottom floor of the Silph Co building. Smoke was billowing outwards from the broken windows and Ash could feel the heat emanating from within. He blink as a sudden stinging sensation came from his left eye, he slowly brought his hand up and rubbed his eye and as he drew it away, he caught sight of crimson liquid staining his hand.
Blood.
He was bleeding, and it was from a head wound, which wasn't good, but he had more important stuff to worry about. Like finding Professor Oak or Ms. Celeste, hopefully Kirlia wasn't the only Pokémon that had protected someone. 3 Champions were there, surely one of them had noticed something was wrong before it happened and had reacted accordingly even if they had been facing in the opposite direction. Even then, Professor Oak must've noticed something was wrong and tried Protecting everyone as he was up on the stage, able to see the bomber running straight towards him and Ms. Celeste.
Ash stumbled towards the revolving glass door, leaning heavily against the wall. The glass door was shattered and as he entered, the sight before him made him feel like puking. There, just inside the door was a heavily bleeding security guard, the same guard that had scanned him with the black probe when he had first entered. It looked like the guard had been slammed heavily against the wall and attacked by a Pokémon, as one of his legs were missing.
Ash thanked every Pokémon God he could think of he had Kirlia stay within his shadow as much as possible.
Ash was careful to step over the body, he wasn't sure if he would be able to stand again if he tripped. He raised a hand to massage his temple as it gave off a sharp stabbing pain, and ignored the building headache as much as he could. Kirlia was walking in front of him, protectively, to watch for any trouble. A blast of psychic energy quickly removed the flames that were blocking the entry way into the atrium.
Ash tried to keep his eyes forward as they walked into the atrium, but he couldn't help glancing around at all the bodies lying still, devoid of life. As he stared at where he had been sitting only minutes previously, and could only just stop his stomachs contents from rising in his throat. Body parts were strewn across the area, not just those of the bomber, but parts of people that had been sitting closest.
Red.
It was everywhere, and covered everything, most of it wasn't even dry yet and most likely still warm. He glanced down and saw that he was standing in a pool of blood. He felt his stomach heave and quickly bent over to empty it, not caring that some ended up on his shoes, they were already being thrown out anyway.
As he straightened up, he caught a glance of someone he couldn't believe was down.
Ash hurried over as fast as he could, and knelt down next to the person who was leant up against the wall. Luckily the persons chest was moving so he was still alive. Ash couldn't help the sigh of relief that escaped him, even if it hurt his chest.
Steven Stone was unconscious and it seemed someone had placed him here. Ash thought for a few seconds before doing the only thing he could, he released one of Champions Pokémon, hopefully it was one that would listen before it attacked.
A flash of red light and a huge Metagross appeared, it tensed for a moment before bending down over Steven ignoring everything around it. Ash suddenly realised this probably wasn't the best decision he had ever made, if Metagross went on a Rampage because Steven had been injured he was done for as was everyone else still alive in the building.
Metagross suddenly turned and stared at Ash, who met the glowing red eyes as resolutely as he could, not knowing what was happening. Kirlia quickly stepped forward with its own orange eyes glowing as they psychically contacted each other. Ash heaved a sigh of relief as the red eyes turned from him to Kirlia but straightened up again as the red eyes turned back to him. Ash decided to start talking.
"We were attacked and a someone committed suicide by blowing themselves up with a bomb. A lot of the people that were sitting in the front row are unconscious, but a lot are also missing. I found Steven here like this, and I haven't moved him in case something goes wrong. I released you to see if you could help with protecting everyone and putting the fires out" Ash rushed the words, but Metagross seemed to understand as it gave him a slow nod before turning back towards Steven.
Ash walked towards the stage and found the glass casing that was holding the Masterball shattered and the ball gone. Ms Celeste and Professor Oak were also no where to be seen along with all the other Professors and the other 2 champions.
It was then Ash discovered the huge hole in the back wall of the Atrium where it seemed people had come through. Stepping through it, it was easy enough to discover which direction everyone went, as smoke was starting to be seen up above the residential area that lead to the outskirts of Saffron city, towards Lavender town.
Was this the life a trainer lived? A happy tragedy? The stone buildings around him couldn't muffle the long howl that penetrated the air, scattering flying types and scaring them into taking flight. Something was stirring across the region, something was coming, and it was going to be big.
Was it Change? Adventure? More Tragedy? Or an Opportunity? Maybe some, maybe all?
Was more blood going to be spilled? Like the drilling company inside Mt Moon, slaughtered by an enraged Pokémon, killing countless people in retribution.
Were more innocents going to be harmed? Like the people inside the Atrium of Silph Co, who hadnt done anything wrong. Who were just living their lives, content and happy, there to show off their projects and life work.
Whatever was coming, Ash needed to be ready. He knew no one was going to be left out. If he was going down, he was going down fighting. Running would only last so long, and hiding was a temporary solution at best. Standing his ground was his best option, taking anything thrown at him and delivering twice as much back.
Ash hurried as he followed the trail of destruction out of the city, but he wasn't in the best condition at the moment. As he followed the road, it turned from tar to gravel to dirt quickly, but that was when he came across the first battle.
A Kadabra was battling a Magnemite, Thundershocks and Sonic-Booms travelled at breakneck speeds as they slammed into the Kadabra's Light screen which was starting to buckle under the pressure. Ash was quick to help, he assumed the Kadabra was one of the good guys Pokemon, since Saffron held Sabrina, the Psychic type Gym leader.
"Kirlia, Teleport than Psychic on Magnemite, then use Hypnosis once its down" Ash wasted no time, and neither did Kirlia who performed perfectly. Kirlia teleported behind the Magnemite and slammed it with a Psychic attack. The Kadabra took the opportunity to hit it with a Psybeam quickly stunning it even more for revenge before Kirlia's Hypnosis took effect, putting the Steel/Electric type into a deep slumber.
Considering Ash had no effective way to keep the Pokémon constrained, he decided to bury it, hoping that it would hamper the Pokémon if it woke up before it was found by any authority figures. He would remember where, and if he didn't, well Kirlia would. A quick word to Kirlia saw the Magnemite buried 3 feet under quickly.
Ash turned around, but the Kadabra was gone, leaving him no choice but to follow the path of destruction that cut right through the woods. He needed to get to Professor Oak, it was the least he could do considering how awful he had been previously.
It wasn't very long before the air was filled with dense black smoke, and though he couldn't see any fire's yet, he could certainly feel them as the forest was heating up. He was just thankful for the dense tree's that would block most of it for now, at least until they all caught alight.
He and Kirlia plunged into the thickening smoke, Kirlia putting up a Light screen and Reflect combo to help keep most of the smoke and any subtle attacks away. What did get through was kept away thanks to Ash's scarf, which still covered his mouth and would continue to do so if he had any last words to say about it.
As they continued forward, sounds of battle started to drift back towards them, sounds of explosions and the sounds of tree's cracking and breaking under whatever damage was done to them, unable to handle the strain. Even with Kirlia beside him, and Baltoy and Staryu on his belt, he continued to get increasingly more nervous the closer they walked, as the damage to the surrounding forest grew more severe.
Just Ash was about to step through the final bush, the Psychic energy around them flared up, changed colour, than broke all within a single second, shattering like glass. Ash had no time to react as a Golbat rushed towards him mouth dripping with poison, but it got no closer than 3 feet away from Ash before Kirlia had it wrapped in psychic energy and was slamming it into the ground.
A loud hissing noise jerked Ash away from the bouncing Golbat and he glanced around to see a large Arbok curled and ready to strike. Ash stumbled backwards in shock and fear just in time as it struck, its fangs crackling with yellow light, what was unmistakably the Thunder fang attack. The attack was once again stopped by Kirlia, but this time it was the Golbat itself that was thrown straight into the attack. A crackle echoed briefly before the Golbat was lit up by the Electric attack, knocking it out instantly.
Ash hurried backwards to safety and released Baltoy at the same time. Baltoy didn't even wait for a command, as it used Ancient Power immediately upon its release which smacked straight into the Golbat and Arbok and hurled them backwards into the clearing which Ash quickly stepped into so he wouldn't be ambushed again after quickly releasing Staryu.
It was a war zone.
There was only 6 Pokémon in the clearing, 11 including his 3 Pokemon that were out and the Arbok and Golbat. On one side stood the Sinnoh Champion Cynthia, with her Garchomp standing in front of her protectively. Right next to her was Lance, the Kanto/Johto champion and Professor Oak, with Dragonite and Alakazam in front of them respectively. All 3 were scowling and their Pokemon were mirroring them with aggressive stances.
On the other side stood 6 people, all dressed in Black and Purple. The leader, who was an older man with glasses was standing in front, he had a powerful Magmorta and a hulking Rhyperior standing in front of him, tinged with blackness covering certain parts of their bodies. Not only that, they were clearly only being held back by that mans will, as they were straining and snarling at the opposing Pokemon. Ash knew they would kill him and his Pokemon almost instantly, and that he stood no chance.
Maybe he shouldn't of followed.
Standing directly next to him was a woman with crimson red hair, also dressed in Black and Purple, but the front of her clothing was decorated with a red R. Her face, along with the 4 people standing behind her was covered in some sort of black mask, hiding their identities. Standing in front of her was a Honchkrow that was native to the Johto region, it was also a Dark/flying type.
As soon as Ash stepped through, all heads turned and looked at him. The Arbok reared up, preparing to attack again when it was called off with a sharp call from the red head. After one last menacing hiss, it quickly slithered back to her and curled around her protectively.
"ASH DON'T LET THE POKEBA-" was all Professor Oak got to yell out before a sharp crack and hiss cut him off. Ash couldn't even catch sight of whatever it was until it was hitting Staryu, who had just jumped In front of Kirlia. It was a black Pokeball with red markings and silver protrusions surrounding the release button. Ash wanted to scoff at the sight, everyone knew trainers pokemon couldn't be captured, but he felt his heart clench and leap into his throat when Staryu disappeared in a burst of black light.
The ball didnt even shake a single time as it was reeled back towards the shooter by a thin strand of cord attached to the rear end of the pokeball, like some sort of harpoon. The strand was connected to some sort of vaccum/gun thing that was held in the persons hands. The masked person looked triumphant for a second before all hell broke loose in the prevailing silence.
Magmortar seemed to finally have enough of the posturing. It let out a bestial roar as the temperature skyrocketed rapidly. It charged directly at Professor Oak with a cloak of flames starting to cover it in what Ash recognized as the move Flare Blitz. It had only travelled across half of the medium sized clearing when it was met with a solid wall of Draconic blue and red in the form of Cynthia's Garchomp who had used Giga Impact to stop its charge dead.
To Ash, it seemed they were equal in power as they didn't move for a second before the Magmortar took a single step back as it launched its fist in a Dynamic Punch that launched the recovering Garchomp backwards straight onto its back as it had been caught straight in the chin in a perfect upper cut.
If there was one thing you could always rely on the Magmar line for, it was its lust for battling.
At the exact same moment, 2 Ice beams similar in size struck against each other inches away from the bellowing Magmortar causing an explosion of ice and light sheen of mist to cover the field. Icy shrapnel attempted to lash out from the blast, but the intense heat emitting from the Magmortar caused it to melt and thicken the mist.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted one of the masked assailants duck into the cover of the forest before starting to run, 2 black Pokeballs in hand and some sort of machine strapped to his back. Ash couldn't let that thug escape, he had to get Staryu back, he HAD to!
Just after he had taken a single step, the sensation of teleportation overtook his senses briefly. He was startled for only a second as he saw the running man only a few metres ahead of him. He was surprised to see Baltoy next to him, but he returned him leaving just Kirlia out.
The chase was on.
XXX
Finished, hope you all enjoy it! Sorry for the wait! PM or review any questions, mistakes that you have/find.
For those who have read Sand and Iron, the next chapter will be coming out in the next day or so!