Here is chapter 4 guys, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon nor do I intend to make any profits from this, all hail the original writer.
Chapter 4: Duels and Decisions
It took Ash exactly 6 steps to realize he wouldn't be able to chase the thug for very long, all thanks to his face meeting the ground and his body reminding him of all it had gone through in the last hour. Ash grit his teeth and quickly pushed himself up using only his right arm, his left was cradled into his stomach like a newborn baby, held protectively from receiving any further damage.
He ignored the sounds of yelling and battling coming from behind him, he had to get Staryu back, and nothing was going to stop him.
He pushed off and was starting to pick up speed when he saw something flicker out of the corner of his eye, he dove forward, twisting as he did so, successfully landing upon his back to protect his arm. He met the earth with an audible thump as a Zubat streaked through with a Wing Attack where his neck had been previously.
It didn't get very far.
It seemed Kirlia was finally fed up with Pokemon targeting Ash at every opportunity. Unrestrained psychic energy lit up around Kirlia like a shroud as it followed the Zubat with its eyes for several seconds. They both watched as it came around for another shot at him when Kirlia was suddenly gone and had reappeared on the Zubats bat, and slammed a Thunderpunch attack straight into the back of its head, knocking it out cold with the super effective attack and launching it into the ground.
Normally, Ash would guess Kirlia had no where near the experience with the move nor the body strength to physically smash the Zubat like that despite the training they had started. It had been after all, under a day since Ash had taught Kirlia the 3 elemental punch's through his purchased TM's. But emotions were a powerful thing, doubly so for the Ralt's line that connected to the emotions on a deeper level, especially of those around them.
Ash was up and running before the Zubat had even hit the ground, Kirlia reappearing next to him every few seconds using teleport, knowing it wouldn't be able to keep up with its shorter legs and it having only the minimum of physical stamina.
It didn't take long for Ash to catch up to the thug, even with his injuries which surprised him. The device upon the thugs back was obviously not light, not if it let Ash catch up this easily. As he looked a bit closer, the thug was running at a good jogging pace, and Ash could see 2 black Pokeballs hanging on the guys belt, and a lot more juggling around inside the machine, adding even more weight. Ash just counted his lucky stars his arm was injured and not one of his legs, or all this would've been impossible.
Then again, maybe he wouldn't of lost Staryu if one his legs had been injured.
Both Ash and Kirlia flinched as an impossibly loud roar sounded out from behind them, and to Ash it sounded like the Magmortar had finally been defeated or was at least in great pain. The thug was 15 meters and closing rapidly just in front of him and cursed as he heard it too and spun around to check the commotion, startling both himself and Ash as they nearly collided.
"Fucking Brat" the thug shouted as he stumbled sideways, and some small part of Ash felt like grinning and whistling an innocent tune but he hurriedly pushed that part to the back of his mind, though he did let a smirk slip onto his face.
Ash didn't even get a chance to challenge the guy for the Pokeballs before the thug was running off in a dead sprint even with the heavy machine on his back, and it was a speed Ash knew he couldn't match, all because of his stupid injuries. He felt like collapsing, but an iron will, the one that tempered his emotions urged him on and not to give up. He grit his teeth and started running at his fastest pace, dogging the guy with his teeth grit and his chest heaving.
He had, for a single second, thought about getting Kirlia to teleport him, but he was starting to notice the strain that Kirlia was starting to show, and Ash knew it was because of that damn bomb blast he had been protected from. Normally Kirlia would still be in near perfect shape at this point, but Kirlia had to have used at least half its reserves protecting Ash at the very beginning. Add in the several battles it had been in, and this constant teleporting, and Kirlia was finally showing some strain without meditating to regain any energy.
Ash was slowly, inch by inch gaining on the thug when the guy turned around and gave him an ugly smirk just before he blew a shrill whistle, which seemed extra loud in the near silent forest. They both waited for nearly a minute before something finally happened and Ash was thankful for the short rest, despite its origins.
Ash mentally cursed, but felt his anger grow as another 2 thugs rushed into the forest, following a Raticate that seemed on the edge of being feral and needing to be put down. The guy he had been chasing seemed to think so to because he edged carefully around the Pokemon and took off again, throwing a smug grin back towards Ash on his way, feeding Ash's anger even more.
"We're not letting you get any further punk, prepare to be put down" shouted one and Ash glared at them both as the other one nodded in agreement, cruel smile's twisting their lips. They were both dressed in their Black and Purple uniform, but both had the red R on the front. One was female, and the other male.
"Raticate, maul the trainer with Hyper-fang" shouted the girl eye's lighting up in glee. Ash's anger grew once again, nearly reaching boiling point, but he wasn't quite there yet. The feral Raticate lunged forward, front teeth gleaming white heading straight for Ash's throat. Ash felt a single second of fear before calm confidence washed over him.
This was Pokemon Battling! He lived for this, trained for this everyday with his team and he wouldn't lose to some stupid grunts! Especially when they were standing in the way of recovering one of said team. HE WOULDN'T LOSE!
Ash watched with his calm confidence as Kirlia stepped forward with a single step, a smirk growing in his face, but kept his clenched fist behind his back, and his troubled thoughts locked tight under mental chains.
Just as the Raticate was closing in on him, Kirlia seemed to sigh as he threw his hands forward in a powerful Psychic attack, easily overwhelming the Raticates pathetic lunge. The attack blasted the Raticate straight into its owners chest, knocking them both over. It was unconscious easily, and its owner winded.
The other..Grunt... started laughing and nearly doubled over as he seemed to wipe fake tears from his eyes as his hand drifted to his Pokeball that rested on his belt. But Ash could see better, the grunts eye's had never left Kirlia and the cruel smirk never left his lips.
"Hahaha Oh my god, you got beat by some weakling kid, no wonder your one of the weakest grunts in Team Rocket" the guy chuckled, talking to his partner, while a lightning bolt flashed though Ash's mind at the mention of Kanto's most feared Criminal team. He knew he had seen those red R's before!
Team Rocket had been disbanded almost 13 years ago, though no one ever figured out who its leader had been. It was rumored a single trainer had torn the criminals apart, leveling the whole empire in a single week, destroying everything they had worked for. This trainer was never identified, and Team Rocket seemed to vanish off the face of the earth, disappearing into history.
"Well, seems like it's my turn now, your pretty strong kid, maybe you'll beat me, in like 30 years. Demolish him Koffing, use Shock Wave!" The guy joked, then shouted suddenly. The koffing seemed to draw power in for a single second before a yellow wave of crackling energy was emitted in a rough circle from the Koffing's body, though it didn't seem very strong.
"Shadow Sneak, Thunderpunch" Ash muttered under his breath. His shoes were rubber soled, so he was disconnected from the earth preventing the attack from harming in. Kirlia easily dodged the attack by entering into the shadows and popping up behind the Koffing inside the attacks radius.
Then the grunt did something unexpected.
"HA! Koffing, Explosion" The Koffing erupted in ball of fire and smoke, just enough to cover both of the Pokemon. From what Ash could see and had heard, that was a pre-planned strategy. It was certainly effective, and usually it would've worked. But ever since Nugget bridge where he had used the same strategy, he and his team also had a pre-planned strategy for this exact tactic. If any of his team ever heard the opposing trainer say 'Explosion or Self Destruct' they were to use Protect instantly or just teleport away.
"WHAT, WHY DIDN'T THAT WORK, can't believe that didn't work" the grunt yelled than muttered as they both saw Kirlia standing their unharmed and the Koffing fainted. The Koffing disappeared in a flash of red light and Ash started walking forward to walk between the defeated grunts when he was stopped suddenly by a hand on his shoulder, with a tight grip.
"What, just cause you beat us in a battle makes you think we'll just let you go past us? I think not, we'll just beat you with our bare hands!" The grunt said cockily. Ash just sighed at the stupid grunts. Grunts really was the best name for them. Who was the one with the un-fainted Pokemon right now? And a Psychic type on top of that
"Kirlia, Hypnosis" Ash stated with a roll of his eye's, both grunts fell to the ground asleep. Stupid Grunts.
Ash was just about to start running again when he suddenly thought better of it. His injuries were just getting worse the longer he kept aggravating them and he was exhausted. It was time to use teleporting as his transportation, hopefully Kirlia still had a lock on the Pokeball guy.
"Kirlia, I don't think I can run anymore. Think your up to teleporting me to that scum that stole Staryu?" Ash asked. He watched as Kirlia got angry, most likely feeding off his own emotions as he mentioned Staryu. Kirlia seemed to think for a moment before popping away, letting Ash rest. He didn't know how long he would have, but every second helped.
He gingerly shrugged off his bag and prepared some food for himself and Kirlia after giving Baltoy a Potion just in case. He scoffed down his food with the manners of a Munchlax and waited 5 minutes, then 10 minutes before Kirlia finally returned. He let Kirlia eat before spraying him with one of his only Super Potions, and it seemed to heal some of Kirlia's fatigue as he anxiously waited the 3 minutes the process took.
It felt like he was sitting with Fireworks under his ass, he couldn't keep still. Every second he spent here was another second they could be getting away, Still, it seemed Kirlia was feeling more calm, maybe there was some good news. Plus, he knew just rushing in with no plan could be very detrimental, though it seemed to have worked so far, plus it was what he was best at.
3 minutes later, and Kirlia was finally ready. He palmed Baltoy's Pokeball, he needed a protector while Kirlia was battling. He just hoped nothing went wrong. He stood up, and couldn't help the moan that escaped through his lips as his body vicious protested the movement. While he had been sitting down and resting, his body had cooled down and hardened, making his whole body feel like a punching bag for a Machamp.
Kirlia looked at him in concern for a moment before nodding its head and patting his arm. With one if its small hands. A small smile broke out across Ash's face despite the situation. Kirlia would always have his back, something he couldn't be more thankful of.
A flash of light and he was suddenly standing just inside a tree-line that bordered a small beach. In front of him was a white boat being guarded by 6 people. All 6 were dressed in the standard Black and Purple uniform, but only 3 had the red R on the front. Maybe there was different ranks? But there, one of the grunts without the red R was the one he had been chasing. The machine was sitting down next to him, and 2 black Pokeballs were swinging from the guys belt, one of them being Staryu's. He was so close, just a little bit further and they would be re-united. If something happened to Staryu, Ash didn't know how he would react.
Ash didn't really want to find out.
He discreetly released Baltoy, who was immediately tense as soon as it had formed next to Ash and Kirlia. Baltoy was ready for battle, they all wanted Staryu back, and they weren't going to stop until they got her. From where they were, they watched as the grunts muttered and laughed as they spoke to each other. Barely keeping an eye on their surroundings while the sprinter thug was working to regain his breath.
"Baltoy, I need you to protect me with Light screen and Reflect combo, and add in Protect if anything gets through. If anything sneaks up on me, handle it and knock it out. Everything goes" Ash didn't even receive a reply, instead the protections went up, forming around him in a small box that was only just bigger than him.
Ash closed his eyes and let himself have 3 deep calming breaths. His emotions were on fire and his body was about to collapse. His stomach was a jumble of knots and he was ready to faint from both the physical and mental exhaustion this day had lobbed on him. He let his first breath out slowly after it had built up in his lungs.
All he wanted was his Pokemon back, was that too much to ask for?
He opened his eye's and took his second steadying breath. Once he stepped out into view there was no going back. Could a beginner trainer like him really take on the likes of Team Rocket? His mind flashed to Staryu and knew he didn't have any real choice. Not only that, if all those Black Pokeballs were full of stolen Pokemon. He couldn't just leave them in the hands of Team Rocket, who knew what they would and or even could do with them. It was the sort of thing people told horror stories about when they were sitting around the campfire and laughed about it afterward, well Ash wasn't laughing now.
He opened his eyes and stepped out, his 2 Pokemon loyally on either side of him. The lounging grunts took a moment to notice him, but when they did, they straitened up into the hardened criminals they were, grinning like that spider that had caught the fly. The sprinter scowling at the sight of him.
"Will you walk into my Parlor asked the Spider to the fly" Ash whispered to himself. His body didn't hurt anymore, and he could only feel the faintest trace of exhaustion. If he had been able to look into the mirror at that moment, he wouldn't have recognized himself. His eye's were a light, glowing indigo, his 2 Pokemon mirrored him, eyes lit from within.
"Well, well, well, what do we got here boys and girls. A little rat scurrying around getting itself in trouble. How do we get rid of rats?" He asked those around him. They all looked similar, though he couldn't exactly tell thanks to the masks. They chuckled as one answered the question.
"We squash them" said the other 2 Rocket grunts with a dark grins covering their faces. All 6 were slowly stalking forward. Like a Mightyena stalking a Sawbuck, ready to pounce and devour its prey. Ash stopped walked, Kirlia and Baltoy stopping slightly in front of him. He could feel his heartbeat thudding in his chest at a normal pace, he was calm, yet his rage trembled, itching to be released, sitting on a hair trigger, taunt and ready to snap, he let his Pokemon feel his rage, he could feel them reacting to his emotions, especially Kirlia who seemed to feed off Ash, growing stronger.
He released his last breath out slowly as he raised his hand, palm facing towards the grunts, fingers spread.
"Magical Leaf, Ancient Power" He said with no emotion, though his eyes glowed brighter very briefly. There was no hesitation from his Pokemon, even as they fired upon the grunts who had stopped and stared at him in shock at his command.
3 huge blocks of earth were ripped from the ground beneath them and hurled forward at a blistering pace, but it couldn't match Kirlia's Magical leaf attack. One second there was nothing, the next, at least a hundred leaves materilised, made out of psychic energy and shot forward.
Most of the grunts scrambled out of the way, with an unlucky 2 being blasted backwards thanks to the Ancient power attack. All 6 were littered with a multitude of cuts which covered them from head to toe. Even as the grunts were getting back to their feet, they were already releasing Pokemon. With only 4 conscious, it was better than it could have been with them releasing 2 Pokemon each, totalling 8 Pokemon.
The sprinter hadn't been hit, pity.
Each had sent out a Zubat, as it seemed to be the Rockets main Pokemon. The second Pokemon was different for each one. There was a Poochyena, another Koffing, a Ekans and a Drowzee, which meant a Dark type, 2 Poison types and a Psychic type. The Poochyena might be a problem, but the rest were all Pokemon easy enough to beat, especially when he had 2 Pokemon fighting together.
"BITE, TACKLE, POISON STING, CONFUSION AND ZUBAT, WING ATTACK" They all shouted at the same time. They seemed completely disorganized now that someone actually stood up to them, it was almost pathetic. Grunt's to the core it seemed.
"Kirlia, Double Team, LSR combo and Thunderpunch, take out the Zubat and the Drowzee, Baltoy, another Ancient Power, then use Earth Power, aim for the rest" Ash said to his 2 Pokemon. It was a beautiful sight to behold for a battle fanatic like Ash. Ancient Power rushed forward to cover Kirlia and slammed into the Poochyena, Koffing and Ekans. It knocked the Ekans out and made the Poochyena get hurled backwards while the Koffing was slammed into the ground.
Kirlia had already disappeared into the doubleteam, though Ash could always tell which one was the real one. Kirlia had teleported directly behind the Drowzee and gave it a Thunderpunch to the back of the head, knocking it forward but not out. Another few Teleports had it slamming into Zubats from above and knocking them out cold with a single hit each, all thanks to Kirlia's rapidly improving Thunderpunch.
By then, Baltoy used Earth Power and changed the field. Spire's of rock shot out of the earth, shooting the Drowzee and Koffing upwards and knocking them out. Unluckily the Poochyena dodged the incoming attack, most likely feeling the vibrations as the rock spires travelled upwards towards the surface.
Another quick Thunderpunch from Kirlia put the mutt down easily enough though, and Hypnosis sent the grunts to sleep. A quick Hypnosis quickly put the rest of the grunts into a slumber as Ash slowly walked over towards the sprinter and yanked the 2 black Pokeballs off the thugs belt.
Looking them over, Ash saw they were both water type's, but had no display or any other information except that. A quick press of the release button didn't do anything. So Ash had no way to tell which was Staryu, and which was the other Pokemon. He clipped both to his belt hurriedly as a noise made him jerk his head up, only to see nothing. He tensed before relaxing as nothing happened.
Ash turned around and had only taken 3 steps before he was startled as clapping came from the ship, ruining his hope that these were the only people here and he was alone.
2 People walked out, without masks on. They each had different colored hair, the first had light blue hair, and the other had purple hair, and both were styled differently. The blue haired guy was clapping slowly with a wide smile stretched across his face, but that wasn't the only difference. Their uniforms were different as well. Each had the standard uniform, yet these 2 had silver accents on theirs, outlining the whole costume.
These weren't grunts.
"Bravo, Bravo. A good showing, though they were just stupid grunts. Living up to their rank name I guess. Cannon fodder to the end" said the Blue haired guy and then they both chuckled and were smiling down at him, though he noticed it didn't reach either of their eyes. Ash kept his face carefully blank of all emotions, though his rage was building even more.
WHY COULDN'T HE JUST GET HIS POKEMON AND LEAVE IN PEACE?
"Silent type huh? Doesn't matter, your in the way of Team Rocket. Since the Grunts failed, and there's only us left on the ship guarding the precious cargo, guess it's up to us to do with you. Don't mind if we double battle right? It's only fair since you already have 2 Pokemon ready to battle" said the purple haired guy. Ash felt a beat of excitement. All he had to do was beat these 2 and he could escape with his Pokemon, it was almost a dream come true.
Well, he felt that dream shatter and die as they released their Pokemon. A Houndoom and a Vileplume. These Pokemon looked extremely well trained and were in their prime. Kirlia was battle weary and Baltoy was nearly perfect, it was going to be a tough fight, but if they wanted Staryu, they had to win.
"Well, let us introduce ourselves. I am Executive Proton, and my cohort here his Executive Petrel. We're some of the higher ranked members of team Rocket. What's your name Trainer? So I may etch it with my boot on your tombstone, we'll be needing those 2 Pokeballs back by the way." and then the cruelness came, their faces lighting up in sadistic glee and complete confidence with no hesitation. It almost caused Ash to stumble backwards but he held firm, this was for Staryu.
"Indigo" Ash said. His first word to them. He was starting to feel the fear now, and it was slowly creeping up on him.
"Its truly a pleasure to meet you" they said in sync, with matching smiles and bows. Then their expressions changed in the blink of an eye.
"Dark Pulse", " Sludge Wave" they spat out, expressions of hatred directed at him. Their Pokemon responded perfectly, a ring of Dark energy shot out towards them, slamming into Kirlia's shields and shattering them like glass and blocking the use of Teleport. Kirlia was thrown backwards and was unconscious instantly, blocking Baltoy from the super-effective move by luck alone.
Ash's mouth gaped until the Poison attack slammed into Baltoy's psychic barriers, which, thankfully held, though they did shatter from the force of the attack, but they kept them safe. Ash pushed aside his shock of Kirlia losing so easily and quickly returned him to keep him safe, shrinking the Pokeball and holding it in his hand.
"Ancient Power, Earth Power, LSR Combo and Sandstorm" Ash said as quickly as he could. The Ancient Power shot forward and forced the Pokemon to dodge, giving Baltoy the time he needed to use Earth Power and the LSR combo. At least that's what Ash was thinking. He would escape in the sandstorm, he wouldn't be able to win against these two.
At the last second, a huge green beam of energy slammed through Ancient Power and hit Baltoy dead center. The Solar Beam, because it couldn't be anything else, hurled the levitating Pokemon backwards and straight into the tree, causing a huge crunch sound as it impacted.
Ash returned Baltoy, and ignored the Pokeballs beeping of Critical condition warning that was slahing acorss the front. He had been defeated so easily, like he was a child battling the Champion. There was no contest, these 2 knew from the start they could beat him easily, and they did. They wrecked both his Pokemon, which meant...
Which meant... Staryu, he couldn't escape with Staryu. He hunched his shoulders and forced himself not to cry, he wouldn't give these barstards the glee. He had just lost for his first time, and it couldn't be in a worse place.
His thoughts were interrupted by a dark boot crashing into his stomach, and putting him on his arse. His body flared up from the pain, every single ache and pain rushing back at once, intensifying the pain from the kick so much Ash had black spots dancing across his eyes. The adrenaline was all gone, all he could feel was scared and helpless. He was alone, alone with 2 evil Sick Fucks that were probably going to kill him.
He blinked the tears from his eyes and flinched backwards as a very sharp hunting knife was slowly drawn across his throat in a theatrical manner. Proton and Petrel were kneeling on either side of him cruelling smirking at him with their mouths while their eyes danced with glee at seeing his terror.
"Your good Kid, we can both admit that, just not good enough. Maybe in a few years you could match us, but...well your not going to get that time. Sorry, it's nothing personal, just business" said Proton as he shrugged in an uncaring matter. Yet Ash could see a glint of mockery in his eyes, just waiting for the begging, crying, the moaning he thought he knew was coming. Ready to revel in the emotions he was about to cause. Proton easily unclipped one of the Pokeballs and handed it to Petrel, but didn't reach for the other just yet, just smiling at him.
Ash felt his heart burn in pure fury and frustration. Well, he wasn't going to give it to them. He might've only been 12 years old, but he would face death without showing these snifferly 2 faced sicko's what they wanted to see. He would make his mother proud before meeting her in the afterlife. He could already imagine her hug, her smell, the way she felt. He could already hear everything he wanted to say and talk about, apologize for. He let a small sad smile slip onto his lips underneath his scarf, which thankfully still covered his mouth, just.
A minute or 2 passed as Ash thought about his finals words, waiting for the moment, then it came.
"Stupid fucking brat, ruining my fun. I'm one of the cruelest in Team Rocket you know. I could torture you for months and keep you alive and somewhat healthy. Whatever, say your prayers kid" Proton Snarled as Petrel snickered as he stood up.
Ash watched with a calm heart as the knife inched closer and closer to his throat.
'Mom, I'll be there soon, I can't wait to see you' Ash thought with a smile.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you" said a cold female voice. Ash jerked in surprise and so did Proton. The knife nicked his throat, drawing blood. But truly didn't harm him, just adding to the pain already travelling around his body.
He managed to turn his head and saw who had come to his rescue just as he gave up. Standing not 5 meters from them was Sabrina, in all her glory, with a Alakazam at her side. She was in white jeans a belly top that hugged her body. Her Dark green hair was down and swayed slightly in the non-existent breeze.
The last thing Ash saw was a massive sized Psybeam heading straight for the Rocket Executives before blacking out. A single black Pokeball resting on his belt, the other in Petrels hand.
XXX
Ash was sitting atop a mountain littered with broken pillars, the blue sky was cloudless and there seemed to be absolute stillness as he looked down at the world from his resting place, legs dangling precariously over the edge. Just sitting here, above the snow storm that seemed to haunt the upper area of the huge mountain made everything seem timeless, as if he was sitting in another world.
There was no strife, no battling and no politics. A far different setting than a week ago at this exact spot. Everything was calm and he was up here with just his Pokemon, no megalomaniac trying to take over the world, or in Team Galactic's case, make a new one. No annoying blonde haired champion, though he wouldn't dare say that to her face.
He turned his attention to the stone he held casually in his hand, rolling it around and generally playing with it using his fingers. Such an interesting stone it was too, he hadn't used it yet. As he held it up to the sunlight, he could just make out what looked like a DNA helix that glittered all the colors of the rainbow as the sun refracted through it. Usually just looking at it, it only had the color's green and white, but now, as he held it up to the sun, dark blue and orange seemed to dominate over the rest.
A peculiar thing, how it seemed to be slowly changing based on proximity the longer and longer it spent around his starter. He had a similar stone sewn into the inside of his scarf, right where his mouth was. He wondered if the rumors were true, he would just have to find out soon wouldn't he.
Footsteps echoing in the silence jerked Ash out of his observation.
He craned his neck around, wincing as it cracked quite harshly and looked over at the person gesturing at him. The female had long blonde hair and was dressed in full black, excluding the yellow rings around her wrists, ankles and waist, making her look like some sort of human Umbreon. It didn't help she had Umbreon ears attached as hair clips, nor the black fur around her shoulders like an Acranine mane... and she wondered why he sometimes slipped and called her a word he shall never repeat, even if it pissed her off something fierce.
As he stood up, he glanced back one more time before sharing a look with his humble guardian. What would it be like to soar the sky's with Gallade by his side...
Ash didn't even really remember waking up, the last time he had been this awake and coherent was when his body had finally given out on him. He had been stuck in this damn Pokemon Center for 6 days, he was long past healed, thanks to what people called medicine these days. To Ash, it seemed like God's gift in the form of human ingenuity.
He wondered what sort of people actually came up with utilizing Ditto cells as regenerative medicine... and how they discovered that fact in the first place. Ash could come up with some pretty awkward answers, with most of them using Ditto's chronic need to mate as the final answer. Most of the time, Ash felt like cursing his overactive brain until it was a pile of mush.
He couldn't deny that he had been in bad shape when they had brought him in. According to the charts he had Kirlia... borrow, he had a broken forearm, a concussion, multiple cuts and abrasions and a hell of a lot of bruising. Most of his back, from what he could see in bathroom mirror was purple and green, though it had cleared up remarkably fast once the Ditto cells had seen to his more major injuries.
It had still taken him almost 2 whole hours to calm Kirlia down and then, after that was done, reassure him that he wasn't a failure of a Pokemon. If Kirlia hadn't protected him from the bomb blast, he would most likely just be another name on the casualty list.
Luckily, they had gotten both himself and Baltoy to the Pokemon center fairly quickly, all thanks to Sabrina. Baltoy had made a complete recovered, as had Kirlia, and both were itching to get out. They hadn't trained, they hadn't had any battles, they hadn't even been outside this damn room, filled with white tiled floor, while walls, white ceiling, white curtain, white pillows and bed sheets, and the green plant inside the white pot in the corner.
The less said about the small bathroom the better.
Once Ash got out of he, he could happily spend the rest of his life in seclusion If he didn't have to see the color white again. Unluckily, the Ralt's line was primarily white in color, which made him put up with it. Sometimes the irony made him want to bang his head against something hard, but that would probably aggravate the concussion that had been gone for a few days now.
Maybe it was time to plan an escape attempt...
Sending Kirlia to scout and find his stuff would be easy enough, then send him to scout outside for a suitable teleportation spot, then they could be off, easy as that. It might take a little bit more work, and maybe a tad more planning, but that should work.
Better than his last attempt anyway.
There was a knock on his door and it slowly opened up. Ash perked up, maybe they were releasing him? He couldn't wait to get back on the road again. It opened to reveal Professor Oak, who, at the moment, Ash was particularly grateful towards. Professor Oak had covered everything and helped him through the past week, especially coming down hard on the Ace trainer's that were trying to force him into confessing about being a sympathizer for Team Rocket and aiding them in their terrorism.
Sitting in that conference room, metal chair digging into his back, and a old grizzly Ace Trainer scowling at him from across the metal table roughly asking question after question, muttering snide comments about 'Rocket Scum' under his breath the whole time. Eventually the man seemed to enter some sort of rage and started shouting at him to confess for aiding a known criminal organization.
The door to the room had swung open and standing there in his lab coat was one of the scariest sights Ash had even seen. He would never forget the look the Professor had sent the Ace Trainer before shaking his head backwards indicating that guy should get out. Ash didn't know mankind had the potential to use Extreme Speed, though pissing your pants was a shitty downside that came with.
Ash was cleared of all suspected charges, Sabrina herself butting in to help out. But as Professor Oak walked in, Ash had a feeling this was going to be a bad conversation.
"Hello Ash, how are you feeling?" The Professor asked. Ash felt like rolling his eyes at the predictable question. He had been asked that way too much in the past few days, and his answer hadn't changed in the slightest.
"Fine Professor, I'm ready to get back on my journey" Ash replied with a small smile, he really missed his scarf. He wondered where he got the stone in his dream from too... and how it had been sewn into his scarf. He wouldn't trust too many people with that task, hardly any at all actually.
"Good, good. Now I wanted to talk to you about that Black Pokeball you had on you when Sabrina found you. What can you tell me about it?" Professor Oak asked, suddenly serious. Ash had to blink at the change of demeanor, but he understood the seriousness of the situation.
"Uh, that it can somehow capture a Pokemon that's already been linked to another Pokeball, and without any struggle at all. The one I had had a water symbol on the release button, so it held a water type Pokemon inside it, and I had taken back off of one of the Team Rocket grunts after a battle" Ash said. The Professor nodded along with his explanation before shaking his head.
"Silph Co and I have studied the ball, and it seems there a re-verse version of the recently created Masterball. It seems only to be able to catch a Pokemon that is currently being trainer, and is registered to another ball. It had no effect on wild Pokemon what so ever. The one you brought us was the only one retrieved despite numerous efforts to obtain them. Ash, It took me 5 days to open that Pokeball and release the Pokemon inside. I'm sorry to say it isn't your Staryu" Oak said sadly.
Ash felt like freezing, screaming, crying and raging all at once, but he sort of had a feeling that was the case. He had hoped desperately that the Pokemon on the inside was his, but he a feeling deep down it wasn't but he hadn't listened to it. Ash just let out a long exhale of air, keeping any sort of composure he could.
"I... sort had a feeling you were going to say that, you know?" Ash said softly, trying not to cry. One of his Pokemon, gone, maybe forever, with no way to get it back. He needed to be alone right now, but he could tell Professor Oak wasn't finished. He just had to suck it up and deal with his emotions later when he was alone.
"The person's whose Pokemon you returned Ash couldn't be more thankful, and wanted to thank you herself. She's waiting just outside the room. Can I invite her in?" Oak asked. Ash just nodded his head in the affirmative. All he really wanted was to be alone, he didn't need the thanks of some random stranger he didn't know. Well useless gratitude because they themselves couldn't do anything about it.
His thoughts crashed, burned and Hyper beamed themselves as the door opened once again, and a tall blonde dressed in black stepped into the room. A very familiar tall blonde dressed in black stepped in the room. The exact blonde he had been dreaming about only hours before.
Random Stranger? Gurgle.
Useless Gratitude? Spasm.
They themselves couldn't do anything about it? Dying slowly.
Ash had never found himself so embarrassed in his life. He found himself lucky he hadn't said anything out loud. He would've made himself look like a complete fool, then again, he might be able to pass it off as the concussion talking. He was still stuck in the hospital after all, maybe she would've forgiven him?
She was Sinnoh's new champion, and she was hailed as their Pokemon Queen, their shining mirror. It was said she was called that due to her advanced knowledge of nearly all Pokemon, and especially battle tactics. It was the reason she was called the shining mirror, she could take everything thrown at her and dish it back twice as hard.
It was rumored that she went completely undefeated on her way up the Sinnoh League totem pole. No losses to any Gym leaders nor to anyone in Sinnoh's battle Conference nor any of the Elite Four. She beat them all first shot, and every competitor along the way. Sinnoh's region was one of the hardest regions, and that wasn't just applied to their elite four. It was applied to their 'Victory Road' starting point too.
The top 8 trainers from every years battle conference were put in Victory road together, whoever walked out the other end intact won the right to challenge the Elite four, though the winner of the Battle Conference had that right anyway, even if they lost the Victory Road challenge.
Victory Road was a harsh place. Pokemon would attack on sight, they were stronger, more resilient, smarter and more brutal. It was an unforgiving place, no matter what region you were in. Sinnoh's was said to be more difficult because of the Dragon type that lived near the exit to the cave, they seemed to guard the exit zealously.
After beating everyone in her way, she had a close battle with the current reigning champion. It was said to be over an hour long, which was basically unheard of. Pokemon battles were usually quick and decisive, though they tended to take a little longer the stronger everyone got as plans, strategies, evolutions and movesets became more and more advanced. For a battle to take an hour long... the implications were nearly unthinkable.
Ash idly wondered who would win in a Champion VS Champion battle.
"H-hello" Ash stuttered out while he was cursing himself inside his own mind. Hello? He couldn't believe he just started with hello, how awkward could someone get. While he did want to impress her, because let's face, who wouldn't. She is a Champion. He didn't want to become some fanboy. He was a Pokemon Trainer dammit.
Ash mentally counted to ten as she looked him over.
"Hello Mr Ketchum, it's nice to see your awake and healthy" Cynthia said. Ash just nodded with a polite smile on his face. How did he reply to that? He could say thank you he guessed and just expand on that, hopefully he wouldn't revert back to his 8 year old self's habit of blurting out stuff without thinking. Though that had been mostly cured by his mother's death.
"Thanks. I appreciate it. Feels great to be 100 percent again" Ash said with a small smile. He really needed his scarf back. He liked when people couldn't figure out his emotions with just a glance. Though, he wondered why Professor Oak had frowned when she called him 'Mr Ketchum'. Maybe she had forgotten his first name. Ash had to admit it was kind of awkward hearing those words coming out of a teenagers mouth, champion or not.
"Your Public relations team isn't still giving you trouble is it?" asked Professor Oak towards Cynthia who just grumbled words Ash couldn't hear before looking up and catching Ash's gaze with her own.
"I'm sorry I can't stay and chat, I have to fly home to Sinnoh Region tomorrow. So straight to business. I have come to officially say thank you to you Ash for putting yourself in harms way to rescue my Milotic. The fact you came in so badly hurt demands compensation, not just for the fact that you saved her either. By delaying the departure of the ship, Sabrina rescued 89 Pokemon. 13 of which are registered to Sinnoh citizens, your selfless action requires an award". Cynthia said to him. Ash's mind was processing all the information at light speed, but he couldn't help it when the words slipped out.
"I'm sorry to say everything I did after encountering your group in the forest was hardly selfless. If you don't remember, one of my Pokemon was stolen too!" Ash bit out, nearly hissing. Even just thinking about Staryu made him clench his fists. While having Kirlia and Baltoy out in the room helped, there just seemed to be a black hole where Staryu had been. Ash glanced at Professor Oak who sat up straight at Ash's words and stared at him in shock.
"That's right, they captured your Pokemon literally seconds before the battle started. I completely forgot" whispered Oak. Cynthia was now also looking shocked, though her face twisted into a grimace seconds later.
"I chased that scum through the whole forest, all the way to the boat, fighting Team Rocket along the way and dodging Pokemon that were patrolling the forest. I had nearly caught him several times, even with my injuries, but whatever that device on his back was is heavy. Finally we caught up to him, he was resting at the boat with 5 other grunts" Ash ground out harshly.
"I slaughtered all 6 in battle! All the grunts were is cannon fodder, weak, only a distraction! I HAD STARYU IN MY HAND, SAFE!" Ash shouted, suddenly screaming, tears streaming down his face. He could still feel the elation at actually having won the battle and getting Staryu back, even if he couldn't open the Pokeball.
"Then it all got ruined, all because my team and I weren't strong enough" Ash whispered, sobbing into his hands. Everything went to hell seconds later, both of his Pokemon defeated in one move each! There wasn't anything he could do, useless.
"My Pokemon were both defeated in one move. I heard an officer Jenny talking to Nurse Joy. How both Rocket Executives escaped Sabrina on foot, how they didn't even battle, just ran. Do you want to know something funny?" Ash asked giggling slightly.
"Just before he was going to slit my throat, literally seconds before Sabrina shown up, he grabbed one of the Black Pokeballs from my belt, where I had put them. Since he escaped on foot, and they had that Pokeball with them, Staryu's gone. If only we were a tiny bit stronger, maybe we could've held out until Sabrina got there" Ash stated as he giggles died down. He clenched his fists, noting how they were shaking. He didn't bother wiping his tears and clearing his throat. He rage was still coiling through his veins, like magma. He was angry at himself, angry at Sabrina, angry at Team Rocket, Angry that he had even gone looking for Oak in the first place.
"Maybe a break would be good for you Ash" Oak asked hesitantly. Just like that, his anger had a direction, igniting like a Volcano at the suggestion.
"BREAK? I'm not going to have a Arceus damn break! When I get out of this damn place, I'm going to hunt Team Rocket to the ends of the earth to get my Pokemon back" Ash hissed out at Oak. He could already imagine it: Kirlia, Baltoy and him knocking out Rockets like nothing, one after another until Proton and Petrel were cowering in front of him.
Ash realised he was being extremely rude but he couldn't help himself at the moment. He was just so angry. So what if he knew he wasn't strong enough. While he was hunting Team Rocket, they would train like Crazy!
"Not even for a holiday to the Sinnoh Region?" Cynthia asked gently. Her voice was like a Tsunami of ice onto his burning magma of rage, it flash froze it.
Ash froze, both figuratively and literally, his mind ground to a halt. Going to Sinnoh? Him? Going to any region other than Johto was a dream come true. New Pokemon to meet, new places to explore. But then again, he hadn't even finished the Kanto region yet. Sure he had explored the Viridian forest, and a tiny part of Mt Moon. But there were numerous other forests and caves that were still explored. He hadn't even gotten to Celadon yet!
Was this really the team to head to a different region, even if it was for a holiday... What about Team Rocket?
"What about Team Rocket? Aren't we -" Ash was interrupted as knocking came from the door.
*Knock Knock*
"Come in" Ash said after clearing his throat. His eyes widened when a familiar suit and hair walked into his room, though this time the man wasn't unconscious which was a huge step up from the last time. He also wasn't covered in soot and dust. Ash watched him walk in with an easy smile upon his face, like he hadn't been knocked out in a burning building nearly a week previously.
"I'm sorry for bothering you all, but I couldn't help but overhear some of your conversation" Said Steven Stone, Hoenn's champion. Ash just gave up being surprised. For all he knew, Champion Lance was going to enter his room next, with a grand tale of battling Moltres or some other such thing.
"In regards to Team Rocket, I've just been talking with Lance, and the league is going to crack down on them. But we have confirmation from a source that they've gone to ground for the next 3 months. No one will find hide nor hair of them" Steven informed them. Ash frowned, while that was certainly good news. That meant Staryu was going to be impossible to find for the next 3 months. That also meant Team Rocket had 3 months to do whatever they wanted with her.
Unforgivable.
"Just as it happens, I had also come with an offer for Ash, though I'll now have to change it. I wouldn't want him to choose between Hoenn and Sinnoh after all" Ash's mouth dropped open. Another offer? What was his life coming too? This just put even more pressure on his decision, and even then, he still had no idea what to do.
"You as well Steven?" Cynthia asked. Steven chuckled at Cynthia's remark but replied with a small smile. Ash had a feeling that they knew each other pretty well, both as fellow Champions and as people. Then again, most regions interacted with each fairly well, as all were elite Pokemon trainers and most were master's.
"Metagross, my starter wants to reward Ash with a Beldum for helping me when I was unconscious inside the atrium. From what Metagross tells me, you saved a lot of lives by releasing him, probably mine as well. That fire was spreading quite fast after all" Steven said while Ash ducked his head, blushing. Where was his scarf when it seriously needed it?
"Your turning into quite the hero Ash" chuckled Professor Oak. Ash just shook his head. While Metagross had been released by Ash, and Ash had asked him for help, it still had done all the work. But then again, a Beldum is a seriously rare Pokemon outside of Hoenn. They couldn't be found anywhere else according to his Pokedex, and it ended up evolving into a Metagross, just like Steven's.
Metagross were one of the Hoenn Powerhouses along with the traditional 3 starters and a small selection of other Pokemon. It was also a Psychic type, which fit in with how he was starting to envision his team. A full Psychic team would be quite a handful to battle against, especially if they all had a duel type to fall back on. Not only that, most Psychic type's were very versatile, being able to learn several different moves from a wide range of type's.
When starting off on his journey. Ash hadn't known what Pokemon he was going to get, but he hadn't envisioned a full team of one type. Usually that leads to disaster, as someone would always have the perfect counter towards it. Though thinking about, nearly every single Elite Four or Champion he knew was a Master of a single type, except for...
Cynthia.
He also remembered some of the dream he had last night, he was in Sinnoh region, high up on that huge mountain, a Gallade by his side. Was that a sign to come? His mother, when she was alive, had tried training him in their family legacy left behind by his father, though she was only an amateur compared to him. But back then, he had been a brat that thought courage would get him everywhere, so he barely listened.
Since going on his journey, he had felt several psychic nudges, and even had a few visions while had was asleep. Not only that, his bond with Kirlia grew astoundingly fast and sometimes, just in glimpse's, Ash could see from Kirlia's point of view, something Ash had never heard of happening before.
Did this mean he should accept Cynthia's offer and go to Sinnoh for a few months and train over there? He didn't know.
XXX
Ash was released the next day, fully healed and finally cleared of his concussion. Not only that, he had a shiny new Greatball attached to his belt, containing his new Pokemon; Beldum. He had found the Greatball sitting on his bedside table with a note from Steven asking them to meet the next day.
Unfortunately, Ash had fallen asleep yesterday, exhausted before he could accept Cynthia's offer. When he had woken up, he was alone. That was quickly rectified by releasing Kirlia, who sat with him and let him vent. He was feeling a lot better now, though he had quickly grown ashamed of his actions towards the Sinnoh Champion and Professor Oak.
He also hadn't met his new Pokemon yet, and was a little weary of doing so. It felt like he was replacing Staryu, though he knew that wasn't the truth. But emotions sometimes didn't make sense, and right now, his were very out of whack.
It took him little over an hour to arrive at their designated meeting place, which was a small hole-in-the-wall cafe. Before coming, he had tried to read up on the Beldum line, and despite it being a world famous Pokemon. There was scarily little information on them, excluding their battle capabilities, which even then, were limited.
Ash walked through the door and was instantly hit by the wide aroma of different smells, mostly of coffee and bread rolls. He was waved over by Steven, who was sitting in the corner sipping from a glass which contained a murky red drink, something he hadn't seen before.
"Ah Ash, sit down. Order a drink and some food. This shouldn't take too long, though we will be having a small lesson" Steven said with a smile. Ash did as he was asked, and ordered a hot chocolate and some garlic bread, one of his favorite foods.
Comfort foods, just like his Mom use to make.
"Now, let's start off with Beldum. The Beldum line aren't like most other Pokemon, and are more similar to Bug type Pokemon than one might think, but don't say that around any Metang or Metagross, the consequences are dire haha" Steven laughed at the end, though it came out sounding quite awkward as I stayed quiet. He grimaced before continuing as I nodded.
"Beldum are simple minded, and can follow orders, but not much else. They can't think by themselves and can only learn a limited number of moves. Luckily they don't take long to evolve, but the evolution does take longer than any other Pokemon recorded. It also has a requirement of being near a medium sized metal source before it can evolve" I nodded along and made the right sounds in the right places, and to be fair, it truly was interesting. But I kept finding my thoughts straying back to Staryu, and my fledgling plans to try and track her down.
"Metang are totally different. They can think on their own, and use past experiences to shape their thought process with their 2 brains, all thanks to the way Beldum evolve. The basics are quite simple. Beldum clone themselves from the nearby metal source to make another Beldum, then fuse with it to become Metang, which is why the Evolution can take so long. Generally speaking, the longer the evolution takes, the more powerful the Metang, but that's conjecture and baseless speculation".
"From there Metang are basically normal Pokemon, albeit one with advanced mental capabilities. Metang are smart, though not as smart as their evolved form Metagross. They also have a much larger move set to learn, especially compared to Beldum. Metang take a while to evolve, but go through the exact same process that Beldum do by cloning themselves then fusing together" Steven was really into this, talking animatedly by waving his hands and smiling. He wasn't just talking to me anymore either, some other customers had recognized him and had come over with star struck eyes.
"When you have Metagross, come find me. We'll have other things to talk about, anyway, have fun in Sinnoh" Ash blinked as Steven rushed off, hardly saying goodbye. He soon found his reasons as a small group of girls on low cut tops and heels chased after him, camera's flashing.
It looked liked a scene out of a TV show.
Sinnoh.
God, he really wanted to go, but he also didn't. Staryu was here in Kanto after all. But Professor Oak had put his foot down and told him to go. Ash had been upset at the time, and they had gotten into a small argument. But Professor Oak had pulled Guardian rank, since he was in his care and told him to go and have fun.
He clenched his hands as his mind wandered back to Proton and Petrel. He would return strong enough to crush them. The problem would be the Houndoom and other Dark or Ghost types they had, but he would figure out a way, no matter what.
XXX
Here is the fourth chapter. Hope people enjoy it! Please R&R