Chapter 5: Two kinds of meetings
– Ash's POV –
His arrival at Vermillion did not go as Ash expected.
Once the ship had docked Ash practically leapt off board in his excitement. He hadn't been home in a long time and being in Vermillion City was bringing up some serious nostalgia. It was just as he remembered; he could taste the salty air and hear the ships horn blare as it called for the next round of passengers. The streets were bustling with people and pokémon alike, he spotted the GYM; home of the famous electric specialist gym leader LT. Surge. He was a tough opponent for sure Ash thought as he recalled their battle years ago when he had only just began as a trainer, between his little Pikachu and Surge's evolved and more experienced Richu. Pikachu had refused to evolve back then and chose to win using its own power upon its pride as an electric pokémon. He scratched his best friend's ears fondly at the memory.
"What do you think Pikachu should we go see Surge and Richu and see how they're doing?" he asked.
"Pika!" Pikachu nodded enthusiastically on his shoulder.
"Ok then let's go!" Ash started to run toward the direction of the GYM but something clutched the back of his shirt preventing him from going any further. Cynthia stood, hand tightly gripping his collar and a stern expression.
"Sorry Ash no time we have to head straight to the Indigo Plateau from here"
"Aww" Ash whined, Pikachu mimicking his sound of disappointment.
Cynthia's eyes flittered to their surroundings and Ash finally noticed how much more crowded the dock was than usual. At first glance you would think that the people were all just tourists but something was off. Ash got the feeling of being watched and the hairs stood on the back of his neck. He looked closer at the people surrounding them. The man leaning on the railing, the woman playing with her Growlithe, the couple sitting in one of the nearby cafes; they're all league agents Ash realized. Those were just the ones he'd noticed. There were probably many more. He made eye contact with Cynthia who nodded slightly and a silent message was passed between them. Don't let the others know.
"Don't worry Ash, you'll get to go visit all your friends after we're done there" she pat his back acting like nothing had happened.
"y-yeah" he stuttered, still slightly alarmed at the intensity of security they had sent. Is this all for me? He wondered.
"Guys wait for us!" Dawn shouted as she and Brock finally caught up to them. She panted, taking a moment to catch her breath, and began scolding Ash for leaving them behind and getting carried away again but he wasn't really listening, his attention still on the league agents.
"Let's go then" Cynthia motioned for them to follow.
Nervously he began walking, now acutely aware of just how many eyes were following him. Cynthia led the group to an empty lot where, to Ash, Dawn, and Brock's surprise, a helicopter was waiting.
"We're flying there?" Dawn asked looking at the huge flying machine. It was a large helicopter, completely black aside from the official pokémon league symbol, akin to the one on Ash's first hat, on its side.
Cynthia nodded. "It's much faster than walking" she winked. They all climbed into the helicopter, which had two seats of three facing each other. Dawn, who was particularly excited at the prospect of seeing Kanto airborne, claimed the far window seat on the right side, Brock sat in the middle, and Ash sat next to Brock with his own window. Cynthia alone took up the seat opposite them.
"Alright then let's go!" Ash exclaimed, happy to finally get moving and get away from the prying eyes. Although he figured they'd still follow them in their own modes of transportation.
"Hold on we're still waiting for someone" Cynthia claimed. Ash looked around confusedly; all of them were there and accounted for. Who could she possibly be waiting for? Ash didn't have to wait long for the answer to his question as the fifth member of their party climbed into the helicopter and took the seat next to the champion.
"Paul?!" Ash exclaimed. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Language!" Dawn scolded. "He was on the ship. I ran into him while I was looking for you two." She looked up at the purple haired trainer and gave a small smile in greeting which he simply ignored, sitting down next to Cynthia with his eyes closed in that ignorant fashion.
"You knew he was here and didn't tell us?" Ash accused and Dawn guiltily looked away.
"I asked Paul to come to since I thought he'd have some useful information as well. Since it was your battle with him Ash that got interrupted it's obvious we'd invite your opponent along." Cynthia explained.
Ash narrowed his eyes at his Sinnoh rival. They still had a score to settle and he wanted to resolve it as soon as possible.
"How about a rematch then Paul?" He challenged, excitement already building up inside him. In fact that excitement hurt a little. Ouch. Breathe slowly your ribs are still hurt remember Ash scolded himself silently in his head.
"What's the point?" Paul asked, an unimpressed expression on his face.
Ash scowled at Paul's rejection of his challenge "We should honour our battle and our pokémon by finishing it! What's wrong Paul? Scared cuz you know I was just about to beat you back then?" Ash taunted. Paul gave Ash a menacing glare and opened his mouth to retort but was stopped when Cynthia placed her hand on both Ash and Paul's arms.
"Enough. You can settle this later. Remember you're here for a reason." She reminded them. Paul grunted and ripped his arm from Cynthia's grip, shoving his hands in his pockets and choosing to ignore them for the rest of the trip.
Ash shot a glare at his rival before taking a breath and trying to relax himself. Pikachu rubbed his cheek against Ash's having noticed his trainer's discomfort. Ash smiled at his partner, the look in his eyes telling him he was ok and not to worry the others. Pikachu gave him a look of understanding. It was times like these that Ash really appreciated their ability to communicate with each other. It took a lot of work but now he could talk to Pikachu with just a few glances. It was a mark of their deep bond unlike any other.
The rest of the flight was sat in an awkward silence as Ash ignored Paul, Dawn ignored Ash, and Paul ignored everyone. Cynthia and Brock both sweat dropped at the younger trainers' attitudes but left them to their thoughts.
Ash looked out the window watching the scenery below. He was enjoying picking out all the places he'd travelled to and where he'd caught a pokémon or met a new friend. When they passed over the river that Misty fished him out of, he nearly burst out laughing. He wondered how his red headed friend was doing; she was probably training right now or maybe battling someone for the Cascade badge.
His thoughts were interrupted as Dawn called out "Look! Is that the place?" she asked, face plastered against the window.
Sure enough they were approaching the Indigo Plateau. Memories of his first league surfaced in Ash's mind. Getting all eight badges, the preliminaries, meeting Ritchie, learning Gary was beaten, having to battle Ritchie, losing to Ritchie… Ash inwardly cursed Charizard for his disobedience back then. He knew that in actuality it was his fault for not earning Charizard's respect, he loved Charizard as much as any other of his pokémon and held no blame toward it concerning the events from his first league tournament but that didn't mean he didn't sulk about it from time to time.
Ash held on to his seat tightly as the helicopter made a bumpy landing. Pikachu fell off his shoulder onto his lap and he quickly used one arm to secure the small mouse pokémon. Everyone sighed in relief when they'd finally landed. Brock practically leapt off board and started kissing the ground. As a rock type specialist perhaps he enjoyed the land more than he let off.
There were already people waiting for them on the platform. Ash narrowed his eyes; the ones who were watching them in Vermillion were probably from the same lot as these guys. A few men and women in black uniforms with the label 'G-MEN' in gold on the back hurried up to them and began leading them towards the entrance where an older woman waited.
"Agatha it's nice to see you again" Cynthia embraced the older woman who returned it gladly.
"Agatha? As in Kanto's elite four Agatha?" Paul asked, his eyes turned to the small older woman. Both he and Dawn looked surprised. Brock would already be familiar with her, being an ex-gym leader, and Ash had met her in Viridian city on his way home from Kanto. He couldn't blame them for being surprised about her identity. She didn't seem like she would be one of the top trainers in Kanto. She looked to be in about her sixties, with graying blonde hair and dark eyes. She wore a purple dress with a white collar and white apron attached, black stockings and small purple boots. She also used a cane but rather than the usual curved cane it looked roughly hand carved, the wood appeared even older than she was, it was crooked and ended in a large knob.
"Quite correct Paul. This is Agatha, one of Kanto's elite four and an old friend of mine." Cynthia introduced gesturing to the woman behind her.
"Watch what you say dearie I'm not that old" Agatha tittered. Ash had to disagree, to him she seemed pretty ancient but he wasn't about to say so since she also looked like she could kick his butt all the way back to Sinnoh.
The woman in question looked at him, her eyes peering straight into his which for some reason made Ash suddenly very nervous. He straightened up and gulped, waiting for her assessment.
"So it's you" Agatha's eyes swept up and down his body.
"This is Ash Ketchum, he's from Pallet Town and was in the middle of his battle with Paul here when the attack happened." Cynthia explained, gesturing to Ash.
"I know all that already. I've met this kid before."
"You have?" Cynthia asked incredulously.
"I battled him when I was running the Viridian Gym until the new gym leader arrived. He was sloppy and made rookie mistakes but… he did intrigue me. Very well then follow me" Agatha began walking off down the hall. The others all looked to Ash for a further explanation but he simply shrugged and started jogging after the old woman, the others were quick to follow.
Agatha led them to a small, plain looking room. It had a few seats and a potted plant in the corner but was otherwise bare.
"You will wait here" she instructed and they all took seats "Cynthia come" Cynthia waved goodbye and followed Agatha out one of the doors which shut loudly behind them.
Ash turned to his friends who were looking quite tired at this point. They'd already had a long boat ride, jumped straight onto a helicopter to get here, and now had to wait further before they could see anyone.
"How long do you think we'll have to wait guys?" he asked. Brock and Dawn shrugged, for all they knew they could be waiting the whole day. Who knew what the league board had to discuss before seeing them.
"…Are you nervous?" Dawn asked quietly. Ash looked at his younger friend who had a worried expression on her face.
"Nah, they'll ask a few simple questions and then we can go no need to worry!" He reassured her using her catchphrase. In truth he was a bit nervous. He didn't know what they'd ask or what they wanted from him but he didn't want scare the poor girl any further.
The bluenette gave him a small smile which he returned. They fell into silence once again but it didn't last long as Pikachu jumped off Ash's lap and ran for the room's exit.
"Pikachu! Come back Agatha said we had to wait here!" Ash got up to run after his partner but the door suddenly opened and Pikachu threw itself at the newcomer.
"Why hello Pikachu!" the woman exclaimed happily.
"Mom?!" Ash gaped at the sight of his mother, now kneeling on the floor hugging Pikachu.
"Oh hi honey" she greeted, not looking up from her new companion. Ash fell anime style at her brushing him off.
"Hello Mrs Ketchum!" Brock greeted, getting up to shake her hand. Delia stood up again and Pikachu returned to its trainer.
"Hello Brock it's nice to see you again! Thank you for looking after my Ash, has he been behaving well? Does he change his you know whats everyday?"
"MOM!" Ash protested, his face flushing in embarrassment. He could hear Dawn snicker behind him and sent a glare her way. She ignored him and got up to introduce herself.
"Hi Mrs Ketchum, my name's Dawn Berlitz!"
"Hi Dawn! Ash has told me so much about you it's nice to finally meet you!" The two girls began to catch up on how Dawn got to be travelling with Ash before he got quite fed up with being ignored and interrupted their conversation.
"Mom what are you doing here?" He asked. He was glad to see her but didn't imagine he would so soon, he thought he'd have to wait until he was let go t go home and see her again.
"I brought her" a new voice joined in the conversation. Professor Oak walked into the room, his grandson and Ash's oldest rival, Gary walking behind him.
"Professor? Gary? Why are you all here?"
"Long time no see Ashy boy" Gary greeted with his old nickname for Ash but using it in a friendly way rather than the insulting way he used to.
"As the leading professor of the region I'm asked to advise on many of the issues concerning the league. Since I knew you'd be here I asked your mother to join me given that I knew she wanted to see you as soon as possible. Gary was visiting me at the time and, when he heard that we were coming here, insisted that he come along as well. I left Tracey to look after the pokémon at the lab but he said to say hi for him and to tell you that all your pokémon are doing great and that until you come home he'll look after them."
Ash nodded at that last bit in appreciation. He missed his pokémon and Tracey and was thankful he had a good friend to watch over them while he travelled.
"Is that really Professor Oak and his grandson the famous Gary Oak the new and upcoming amazing researcher?!" Dawn asked with stars in her eyes.
"Ahh you must be Dawn! I remember you from the video calls with Ash" Dawn squealed in excitement that she was remembered by the famous professor before turning her attention to the younger Oak who sweat dropped at the sudden attention.
"You're Gary Oak, grandson to Professor Samuel Oak, researcher specializing in ancient and extinct pokémon and Ash's oldest rival" She stated quite firmly.
Gary nodded in confirmation and smirked, his old confidence and superior attitude returning once more "I see you know a lot about me, yeah that's me".
"Is it true that you used to be the biggest snob with the worst attitude problem and you only changed cuz Ash absolutely crushed you in the Johto league?" Gary fell anime style and turned to Ash, smiling but giving off waves of anger.
"What exactly have you been saying about me Ashy boy?" he asked, looking ready to strangle him.
"Well… hehehe…." Ash trailed off worried that his life was about to end.
Dawn laughed, making the two boys look up and possibly saving Ash from a punch to the face.
"Don't worry Gary I know Ash can exaggerate sometimes. I watched the match between you two on TV so I know it was a close call." She giggled.
Gary relaxed "alright I guess I can let Ash off the hook then, I shouldn't be surprised that he's still immature enough to say things like that" he teased and this time it was Ash's turn to blow steam out his ears.
"buuuut I still know you were quite the jerk beforehand" Dawn taunted and Gary paled.
Brock laughed "Sorry Gary that would be my bad but if we're being honest you weren't the nicest guy back then".
Gary blinked, pouting a little but then laughed "Yeah I guess you're right" he turned to Ash who smiled at his long time rival and they shook hands.
"It's good to see you Ash" Gary smiled.
"You too Gary" Ash returned the gesture.
"It's nice to see you two getting along!" The two boys turned to Professor Oak who was smiling at them. The Professor then turned his eyes to Paul who was still sitting in the corner of the room, ignoring all the happy reunions.
"And who might you be? Another friends of Ash's?"
Paul grunted "Tch. Far from it. I was Ash's opponent in the quarter-finals when the attack happened."
"That's Paul. He's Ash's greatest rival in Sinnoh and he's also got a bad attitude in fact it might even rival yours Gary" Brock teased and everyone laughed except for the young man in question who crossed his arms and huffed.
Professor Oak kept trying to talk to Paul about the pokémon found in Sinnoh who, although antisocial, was taking advantage of the opportunity to talk to one of the world's leading pokémon professors. Brock and Dawn chatted with Gary about his recent findings and Ash took this opportunity to talk with his mother who was waiting for him on the other side of the room.
"Hi mom"
"Oh my sweet boy!" Delia gave him a tight hug which Ash returned gladly. He usually would be embarrassed at knowing his friends and rival could see this exchange but right now he was just happy to see his mom. Delia let him go but held him at arms length, looking over her son for any injuries.
"You've grown so much since the last time I saw you" she was right. He was now quite a bit taller than her now and he hadn't even noticed.
"Are you alright? When I saw the smoke on TV and then the picture went black I…" She looked at him with tears in her eyes, "I was so worried".
He hugged her tightly again. "Don't worry mom I'm ok. This is me we're talking about remember? Besides I always have Pikachu to watch out for me right buddy?"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu confirmed and jumped from his place on the floor up to Ash's shoulder again.
Delia smiled at the exchange, "Thank you Pikachu" and rubbed Pikachu on the head.
"I'm sorry I couldn't come to Sinnoh to see you while you were in hospital Ash. Professor Oak told me that Cynthia said they were bringing you here and that there was no point in going but I –"
"It's ok mom" Ash cut her off "I'm fine I just needed to rest, Nurse Joy gave me the all clear so you don't need to worry so much"
Delia smiled and they finally let go of each other. He wanted to say something more to his mother. Explain how when he was unconscious he could hear her calling to him but the door opened again and Cynthia popped her head through the opening.
"Ash, we'll see you and the others now."
Ash nodded and Delia gave him a pat on the arm in support and went to go sit down next to Gary who also wouldn't be going in for questioning. Paul got up from his seat and made his way with the others to follow Cynthia.
They trekked down the hall silently, footsteps echoing down the corridor as they came up to a large set of doors at the end.
"It's just through here. Relax guys everything will be fine." Cynthia tried to reassure them but they were all tense.
Cynthia pushed open the doors and stepped inside. Ash let the others walk in first before taking a deep breath and following after them. The room was empty except for a long table where several people sat. There were some he didn't know but he recognized Agatha, Bruno and Prima (A/N: In the games she's known as Lorelei but since we're using the anime format and Ash has met her before where she was introduced as Prima I'm going to use that name) the elite four members and, sitting at the very head of the table, was the final elite four member and reigning champion, Lance. Chin resting on his fingers he stared at Ash, in fact they all were. Cynthia led them to a few empty chairs and took one for her own.
It was tense in the room before Lance finally broke the silence.
– Lance's POV –
When Agatha finally arrived with Cynthia, Lance immediately moved over to greet them.
"Cynthia thank you for coming so quickly" he shook her hand.
"It's not like I had much choice" the blonde pointed out.
"hn" was all the response he gave. He knew she was curious about who summoned her and the others to Kanto and guessed she already had her suspicions but this was something he couldn't talk about leisurely.
"Ash noticed the G-men you sent to watch us arrive in Vermillion" Cynthia's voice dropped to a whisper.
Lance raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"I didn't send agents to greet you in Vermillion, only the ones who met you when the helicopter landed" he said slowly his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"What? Then who was in Vermillion? Is someone acting behind our backs?" She asked urgently, her eyes sweeping across the room.
Lance thought for a moment before speaking. "We act like nothing is out the ordinary. You told Ash not to mention it right?" Cynthia nodded. "Good. Let's keep it quiet for now until we know more. Ash needs to be protected remember, that was the order."
Cynthia nodded again, more firmly this time and with determination in her eye. She really likes this kid he realized.
Cynthia and Agatha then took their seats at the table and Lance decided to get started. He had some things to get out the way before Ash and his friends came in.
He took his place at the head of the table, catching the attention of the other people in the room who all looked up at him expectedly.
The room was suddenly lit up as the wall behind Lance turned into a massive television screen which projected Ash's face.
"Ash Ketchum, sixteen years old. Began his journey six years ago from Pallet Town." His voice boomed across the room.
The screen then flashed to show images of all kinds of pokémon. "First pokémon was a Pikachu received from Professor Oak and has since then captured over 60 pokémon." Pikachu, Buizel, Torterra, Staraptor, Gliscor and Infernape were lit up with the word 'ACTIVE' on top. The others were dim with the words 'DEACTIVE', a few were in black and white and labeled 'RELEASED'.
" He has participated in the Kanto League, making it to the top sixteen, and Hoenn League, making it to the top eight, as well as completing both the Orange League and the Battle Frontier. He denied the offer to become a Frontier Brain. Finally, he recently participated in the incompleted Sinnoh League." Lance finished and shuffled the papers on the table in front of him. The people on the table murmured at his last comments about Ash's achievements, clearly impressed with what he'd accomplished so far at such a young age.
The screen changed again to show the video footage of the quarter final battle between Ash and Paul at the Sinnoh League. Everyone watched in rapt attention until the bomb dropped and black smoke obscured the image.
"This is the footage that was live broadcasted around the world" Lance explained "however we cut it off at this point and the camera continued recording, we were able get a few more minutes of footage before it cut out for good" as he said this the smoke began to clear and the picture returned.
Now it showed Ash in the middle of the field holding Pikachu and facing off against the Team Galactic member. Around them, in the stands, trainers were battling Rocket grunts and civilians who'd come to watch the battle ran around in a panic. Ash and the Team Galactic member were talking but their words were drowned out by the sounds of battling and screaming. The villain then released his pokémon and the Salamance released a huge hyper beam. It hit dead on.
The room was silent as they all watched Ash get hit by the attack, his body completely devoured by the beam. Lance waited; the real shock was coming up. The beam of orange light was suddenly disrupted as a huge blue dome of energy pushed it away. They were barely able to make out a shape in the middle of the light, it looked like the silhouette of a young boy, then the image began to blur and finally turned to static as the blast damaged the camera.
People gasped at what they saw and immediately began chattering to each other. What could this mean? How did he survive? What was that light? Were some of the questions Lance heard them ask each other.
"Settle down now" he commanded. "Obviously there is much that we still do not know. We have brought the boy involved with this incident as well as a few witnesses to help clear up what happened". He looked at Cynthia and nodded, indicating that they were ready to bring in the kids. Lance took a deep breath. Things would be difficult from here on out.
…
Lance watched as Cynthia led a group of young trainers into the conference room. He was able to identify the young man with purple hair as Paul Shinji, one of the Sinnoh league participants, and Brock Harrison, former leader of the Pewter GYM. The girl with blue hair he did not know the name of but he was certain he'd seen her perform in the Grand festival. The elderly man who followed at the end was of course Professor Oak, leading researcher of Kanto. Finally, the boy with raven hair and a Pikachu on his shoulder, the one who with this meeting was concerned…
Cynthia led them all to empty seats and they all looked nervously at the other people at the table. Lance's gaze did not leave the young boy. Ash appeared very nervous, sitting rigidly in his seat and keeping his eyes downcast.
"It's good to see you again Ash" he smiled at the young boy hoping to help him feel more comfortable.
Ash looked up in surprise at the champion and gave a sheepish smile. "You too Lance. How's Garyados doing?"
It was just like Ash to ask about pokémon when there was a much more pressing issue concerning him. It made Lance smile appreciatively.
"Garyados is doing great thank you. He's settled in well with my team. How's your Pikachu?"
"That's great!" Ash grinned. "Pikachu is good too right buddy?"
"Pika!" the mouse agreed from his shoulder.
Lance smiled again at the young trainer. He was visibly more relaxed now.
"Enough! We are here to have a serious discussion about the events at the Sinnoh league!" a man said angrily rising from his seat and slamming his hand on the table.
Ash quickly dropped his grin and became stiff once again. Lance clenched his teeth. Damn those council league members. Lance then turned to Ash again.
"Ash do you understand why you are here?" He asked, in a much more gentle yet serious tone.
"You want to ask me questions. About what happened." The boy answered, he appeared less nervous now, choosing to stare straight at Lance and ignoring everyone else around him.
Lance nodded "Good. That saves me some explanation. You are at the headquarters of the Pokémon League. The league is run by a governing body known as the Pokémon League council or 'PLC'. These people sitting before you" he gestured to the men and women sitting around the table, "are all members of the council. Some you shall recognize. The pokémon league champion, as well as its elite four from both Kanto and Johto, and the GYM leaders of both regions, are automatic members although GYM leaders are exempt from most council matters and it is rare for them to participate in meetings. The rest of the council is made up of people who are knowledgeable in these matters of pokémon and politics. You've met our president already I believe."
The man in the seat next to him waved to Ash.
"President Goodshow!" Ash said happily, looking relieved to see another familiar face.
"It's nice to see you again Ash although I wish it were in better circumstances!" The old man greeted and Ash nodded solemnly.
"Professors Oak, Elm and Ivy are not council members however they do provide their expertise on most mattters" Lance continued.
However, Brock suddenly became depressed and sat in the corner "don't mention that name" he said somberly. Ash and co. sweat dropped at their friend's actions while Lance and the rest of the council watched in confusion.
"If I may continue" Lance coughed "these members together make all of the decisions of the league which controls the two regions. As such, they are our leading governing body." He paused to check if Ash was following all the information. The boy looked quite confused and Lance sighed, he'd need to simply this if he was going to understand anything.
"Basically everyone here makes all the decisions about what the pokémon league does"
"Oh!" Ash nodded in understanding.
"First we'd like your account of what happened that day when Team Rocket and, as you stated to Cynthia earlier, a member of Team Galactic attacked the Sinnoh League Lily of the Valley Conference".
All attention turned to Ash who stood from his seat with a serious expression.
"As you saw I was in the middle of my battle with Paul. I was so focused on it that I didn't see the smoke bomb drop until it exploded." Ash began to explain. "I… I could hear people shouting. I didn't know what was going on but I was just worried about Pikachu so I ran onto the field to look for him. The smoke was so thick I couldn't see or breathe. Then when it cleared that guy was standing there. I recognized his uniform so I knew he was from Team Galactic. He told me to hand over my pokémon, but I said no. We were ready to battle but when he released his Salamance… he…"
Ash trailed off. He was visibly shaking, his hands clenched tightly into fists. He received many sympathetic looks from most everyone in the room. Good Lance thought, make yourself seem vulnerable. Ash had no idea how important his next words and actions were. If he did anything to make the council doubt him… Lance shuddered at the thought.
"…he commanded his Salamance to attack" Ash finally continued after taking a deep breath. "All I can really remember is him shouting to attack, and running in front of Pikachu to try and protect him. I… I was hit. It was so hot. So so hot. It burned. My body… it was like flames. It hurt the most here" Ash pointed to his chest where the bandages were still tightly wrapped under his clothes. "Then I blacked out. I woke up in hospital three days later." Ash finished recounting his story.
His friends stared at him in shock; they hadn't heard him talk about his injuries so explicitly. Ash had been hiding more then they'd thought.
"That explains nothing!" the same man from earlier spoke again. "The video shows-"
"Mifune!" Lance interrupted. "That is enough." he glared at the older man. Mifune was a long-time member of the council. He had clawed his way into the position through less than desirable means, using extortion and blackmail to worm his way into the council, but was sneaky enough to not get caught. He has a pot belly, a result from his greedy appetite, graying hair and a condescending sneer of a smile. Lance despised the man. He opposed Lance on almost every issue that had ever come up in the council. Lance knew that he was vying for a higher position on the council. The man had his eyes set on the president's position ever since he'd first joined and unfortunately he had many supporters within the political side of the council. Luckily Goodshow was still the more popular choice due to his experience; however he wasn't getting any younger and eventually the position would have to pass on to another council member.
"Thank you Ash. You may leave for now." He dismissed the trainer.
"What about the others? Do you need to talk to them too?" Ash asked and his friends looked up expectedly.
"We will call for them later. You may all go, Professor please stay a moment longer."
Ash, Dawn, Brock and Paul all exited the room. When the door shut behind them the council members leaned forward in their seats, eager to start the meeting.
Lance coughed to get everyone's attention. "Now that we've heard from Ash's perspective I'd like you to hear from Cynthia. I'm sure you're all still confused about the situation so I hope she can make it clear so please listen to what she has to say".
Cynthia nodded to her fellow champion and stood "I was watching the match from the champion's observer box when the explosion happened. I immediately ran down to the stadium to help, trainers were battling Rocket grunts and I sent out my pokémon to battle. I had barely started fighting when the leader of the instigation started speaking over the PA system. I looked down at the field just in time to see Ash get hit by the Hyper Beam. It was awful. We all thought he was dead. But then suddenly there was a huge explosion and Ash was still standing. What I saw back then… it was Ash. He stopped it."
"The boy? How?" another council member asked.
"I can't explain it but a blue energy, that light we saw in the video, exploded out of him and dispersed the attack, protecting him." Cynthia explained uncertainly.
"A blue energy?" Agatha spoke up. "It could be… that ancient power is not extinct after all…" she murmured mysteriously. Everyone gave her curious looks, Agatha however, made eye contact with Lance. She knows he thought.
Mifune was the first to speak his mind. "You expect us to believe a mere boy stopped that attack? Impossible! Clearly he is in league with those criminals and it was all a trick!"
"A trick? Why would they do that and retreat when they essentially had us on the ropes?" Bruno, the rock type elite four member, spoke up.
Mifune struggled with an answer. "Who knows? How can we expect to understand the minds of those delinquents? You think this boy has some sort of power? Preposterous!"
"It's not unconceivable" Agatha interrupted. "The blue energy, it reminds me of a once forgotten ancient power that was long thought extinct; at least in humans that is. We see it in pokémon. It's where their power comes from as well. For it to manifest in a human… and in someone so young… it's unheard of."
"What are you talking about?" Mifune asked the old woman irritably.
"Aura." Agatha uttered the one word which silenced the chatter among the council members.
"...Aura? You mean the power of the guardians?" Prima asked inquisitively, pushing her glasses up her nose.
"Indeed. Aura is the power which lies in all living creatures. Humans and pokémon alike both possess it. It's our life force. In pokémon, it also is the source of their power. This was once also true for humans. Some humans were able to draw out their power and use aura themselves. They were special beings that had stronger auras than their fellow man. They trained in the practice of aura to become what was known as 'Aura Guardians'. However, war devastated the land and the aura users were wiped out. At least that is what we thought. If what Cynthia saw was indeed the manifestation of aura then perhaps the power still lies dormant in some people. Ash is seemingly one of them." Agatha finished her explanation.
Lance turned his attention to the Professor who remained in his seat as he'd been asked. "Professor you've known Ash longer than anyone? What are your thoughts on this matter?"
"Ash has always been a special boy, but I've never seen him exhibit any sign of being an aura user. It's true he visited the Cameran Palace in Rota a while back and he's always been good at communicating with his pokémon including a Riolu at one point but aura? That I do not know." The professor replied carefully. Lance narrowed his eyes. The Professor knew more than he was letting on. He'd have to talk to him privately later.
"If Ash can use aura why hasn't it come out till now?" Will, a member of the Johto elite four, asked.
"It is possible that it has appeared before in dire situations and the boy has never realized what it was. Without training, aura cannot be manifested and only appears when the person is in fatal danger or in great emotional turmoil." Agatha answered, deep in thought.
"So when he was attacked by that Hyper Beam…" Cynthia began.
"Ash's aura burst forth and protected him" Lance finished.
"Aura users? That is but a legend! We cannot believe some old myth was the result of this anomaly". Mifune said firmly.
"I concur. We should not assume this to be accurate without confirmation" Koga agreed. Koga had recently resigned as Fushia city's Gym Leader and handed his position over to his apprentice Aya in order to take a place in Johto's elite four. Some argued that there were better candidates for the position but the other Gym Leaders and Frontier Brains were not interested in leaving their current positions, instead choosing to remain in their respective gyms and frontier structures.
There were murmurs of agreement at Koga's statement. Lance grit his teeth. This was not going the way he had hoped. At this rate Ash would be in trouble. He had to turn this around.
"Are you suggesting we conduct experiments on the boy? He is only sixteen! A child! We cannot treat him like some sort of lab rat" Lance argued hoping to remind the council of Ash's adolescence.
The Professor supported Lance's argument. "I will not allow any sort of experiment to be carried out on the trainer I sponsor."
"We cannot afford not to test him! If he does have this power Agatha speaks of then who knows how dangerous the boy could be? And we're still not certain he isn't in league with Team Rocket and Galactic!" Mifune countered. There were nods of approval at his statement around the table.
"And just how do you suggest we test him?"Lance countered angrily. "Do we fire another attack at him? Throw him off a building? We are the Pokémon League Council. We are responsible for the safety of all trainers. We cannot condone this kind of action". He glared at each member of the council individually to emphasize his point.
No one had a response. It was true. They had no method to test the Ash's abilities without putting him in real danger; however, neither could they ignore the issue.
"I believe a viable test has already been carried out" Cynthia spoke up.
The Professor fumed at her words. "You tested him without any sort of permission?" he asked, anger and disapproval evident in his voice.
"I didn't do any sort of lab experiment in fact he never had any idea I was trying to test him" She said calmly.
Lance raised his eyebrows "how?" he asked, genuinely curious. He knew Cynthia wasn't the type to usually go for this sort of thing. In fact he expected her to be more outspoken in opposing it.
"Earlier when we were on the ship headed to Vermillion, I had a battle with Ash. I had a theory that I wanted to test so I had a one on one battle with my Garchomp against his Pikachu." She turned to Agatha "what Agatha said about how aura works and what I witnessed during the battle furthered my suspicions".
"What did you see in your battle against Ash?" Will asked.
"I've battled him before. He is a competent trainer, a veteran after all his accomplishments. Still he did better than I expected. His command over his pokémon was extraordinary; I'd never seen such synchronization between trainer and pokémon." Cynthia said all this while turning back to the TV screen which had switched again to show Ash's face and trainer stats.
"During our battle he showed a great ability to think on his feet and come up with unusual strategies. He was at a great disadvantage using an electric type against my ground type, I could see it was frustrating him greatly and Pikachu had taken quite a lot of damage which only increased the pressure on him. Yet he found a way to overcome that shortcoming by powering up Pikachu with its own electric attack and then using Volt Tackle to increase its speed before switching into a powerful iron tail." The elite four members and Lance all nodded in approval, it was a great albeit unorthodox strategy.
"We know he can battle well but how was this a test and what results were there?" A woman piped up.
"After he launched that final attack I thought I saw his eyes flash blue for a moment. If I'm correct, I believe that his aura was spiking due to the heat of the battle. Ash was vulnerable to his feelings not only from the pressure of the battle but his anxiety of coming here and his confusion over what had happened at the Sinnoh League." Cynthia explained her theory. "What is even stranger is that immediately after, he became fatigued and we had to stop the battle"
"Is it possible that using aura causes his fatigue? Does it wipe out his energy?" Prima asked.
"I do not know all of the secrets of aura but that seems likely" Agatha answered.
"That is the answer then! If he is under extreme emotional duress we can see his powers emerge!" Mifune jumped in. Lance did not like the gleam in his eye.
"If it makes him exhausted doesn't that make it unethical?" Bruno questioned.
Great work Cynthia! Lance silently applauded in his head. This was perfect. Now they had evidence to suggest that this could hurt Ash they could keep him in protection from all kinds of enemies, external and internal.
"We don't have a choice! We must know for sure." Mifune slammed his fist on the table and many of the council members backed him up.
Cynthia moved over to Lance and whispered to him while the others continued to argue. "What should we do? At this rate Ash will-"
"We need them to believe Ash is no threat. We initially brought him here under our protection. Let's keep it that way" Lance quietly responded under his breath.
While all this was going on, one member of the council had remained silent. Watching and listening to both sides.
President Goodshow then stood from his seat, an amusing sight considering his short stature, but it had the effect he desired all the same. Upon seeing their president rise the other council members became silent, anxious to hear his opinion on the matter.
"Ash is still a young boy. He doesn't seem to even be aware of the potential power within him. Considering this, I think it is impertinent that we keep him oblivious to the fact although I believe some of his companions already suspect something is amiss." He spoke reverently and with influence. With a few words he had calmed the quelling. This is what a real leader looks like Lance thought throwing a glare towards Mifune who was steaming in his seat.
"If Ash does indeed have this aura power, then Teams Rocket and Galactic have now also witnessed it. Therefore, it's likely they'll eventually come for Ash and try to harness the power for themselves. In that case, it is vital that we protect him at all costs." President Goodshow said sternly.
Good Lance thought President Goodshow said just the right things.
The council board had now reached a consensus. They could not test Ash; but neither could they let him fall into the wrong hands. So in order to protect him, he would remain in custody of the league. It wasn't the perfect solution but it would keep Ash safe. At least for now.
I'M SO SORRY I KNOW I SAID I'D GET THIS CHAPTER OUT EARLY! But I got carried away and made it heaps longer than I intended and ended up rewriting it like 6 times. I'm still not happy with it but I can't think of how to improve it without completely rewriting it again (beta readers come at me please). Anyway I hope you liked it! Please review, favourite and follow!