Ash Ketchum: Being More

by Merodach the Original Sin

Delia Ketchum loved to travel. As she went abroad, she always took her child with her. In the years before Ash Ketchum had even set out on his journey, he had already seen a lot of the world, but there were three places that left the greatest mark on the boy that would, in the end, change the child into something… More.

3. Chapter 2: Trial by Lightning

Ash Ketchum: Being More.

Trial by Lightning and the Makings of a Friendship.

Dark and dreary clouds blotted out the sun as Ash made his way to Mt. Moon. Said trainer frowned as he looked up at the cloud covered sky. The clouds had come in quickly and without notice, and had obscured the clear blue sky before he even knew it.

It looked like it was about to rain, luckily they had made quick time to Mt. Moon. The imposing mountain loomed overhead, dwarfing even the tallest of trees. Its shadow was huge and stretched to cover nearly a mile of land, casting the gully he was passing through in darkness.

As always, Pikachu was on his shoulder and Lucario was right beside him. The trio was making quick time to their destination. They wanted to be inside Mt. Moon before it started to rain. To their luck, there were only a few trainers who challenged them on the way. Ash easily took care of them, holding his as-of-yet unbroken streak of victories.

Ash's eyes returned to Mt. Moon and he took in the awe-inspiring sight. While not the largest mountain in Kanto, it was one of the most visited and brilliant land marks of the continent. In addition, it was this mountain that split Kanto in two. As such, Mt. Moon was often referred to as 'The Wall'.

Down at the very base of the mountain was a small Pokémon Center, right next to the dark cave leading into the mountain. Ash examined it for a moment before taking out his flashlight from his backpack. He was going to need it if he wanted to traverse the dark passages ahead.

Lucario looked over at him and nodded at the Pokémon Center. Ash shook his head 'no' and continued on tracking towards the cave. There was no need to rest up at the Pokémon Center. They hadn't been traveling all that long and his Pokémon had hardly been weakened from the few battles on their way to the mountain.

Ash frowned as they got closer to the cave. A commotion was going on just in front of it. He could hear people arguing heatedly, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. After a few moments he could see the people who were arguing; a police officer and a couple of burly men.

"What's going on in there?" One of the burly men exclaimed, frustrated. "The Pokémon have become much more aggressive all of a sudden."

"I don't know sir," the police officer responded in a patient manner. "I'm doing everything in my power to try and find out what the cause is of this situation," he replied to the burly man, who Ash now recognized as one of those iconic Hikers that could always be found in and around any mountainous regions.

"What's going on?" Ash questioned when he came close enough to be heard. All their heads snapped towards him. The police officers' eyes sparked in recognition when he saw Ash, but the Hiker responded first.

"Trouble in the mountain, lad. I'm afraid that it might be better if you took the long way around," the Hiker said. He nodded at the mountain cave. "The Pokémon in there have suddenly become a lot more aggressive as of a day ago, for seemingly no reason. It might be a bit too dangerous for a young lad like you to go trespassing there right now."

"More aggressive how?" Ash questioned, masking his irritation for the Hiker who had questioned his strength.

"Like you would expect," The officer said, jumping into the conversation. "The Pokémon in there attack far more frequently than before, and with much more intend to do harm. Normally they mostly leave trainers alone, but all of a sudden they are on edge and attack for the smallest of reasons."

"And you don't know what's causing it?" Ash frowned. He could feel both Pikachu and Lucario tensing up for some reason.

"No," the officer responded, scowling. "There's nothing that points to any reason for this sudden mood swing in the Pokémon."

"Can I still go inside? I'm not planning on walking around the whole damn mountain," Ash asked. Walking around Mt Moon might take weeks while traveling through it would only take a day or two. While he fiercely enjoyed traveling he desperately wanted to have his next Gym battle as soon as possible.

"Why not, lad? Hiking up and down mountains builds endurance and not to mention character!" The Hiker suddenly cut in with a rumbling belly laugh. His friends behind him nodded in agreement. Ash and the officer ignored them.

"You can," The officer nodded. "The worst Pokémon might do to you if your own fail to protect you is shove you down, but they won't do anything seriously harmful. And considering the fact that you managed to take out that group of Rockets on your own I don't think any of the Pokémon in there can give you any trouble. As long as you're careful everything should be fine."

The Hikers blinked, surprised to hear that a ten-year old managed to take out a group of Rocket's by himself. There were rumors going around that a kid had taken down some big-shot Rocket operation, but they hadn't believed it, dismissing it as some baseless rumor, until now at least.

"Good," Ash nodded gratefully at the police officer and quickly headed into the dark cave, Lucario close behind him. He switched on his flashlight immediately. It was far darker than he expected it to be.

Almost immediately a group of Zubat came sweeping down from above, screeching out a challenge. Pikachu reacted instantly and jumped up from Ash's shoulder. He gathered a huge amount of electricity and zapped all the Zubat with one massive Thunderbolt. They screeched in pain and quickly flew off, once again disappearing into the darkness.

"Pikachu, Lucario. What's going on?" Ash questioned lowly as he cast his flashlight around the darkness of the cave, trying to find anymore threats.

"I don't know," Pikachu responded. He was tense and his fur was standing on end. "I just feel as if something is pushing down on me. Some kind of presence. It feels heavy and it puts me on edge."

Ash blinked. He didn't feel anything out of the ordinary. Pikachu could feel it and Lucario could too. And the Pokémon in the caves certainly felt it as well. It seemed that only Pokémon could feel this strange 'presence'.

I know this feeling, Lucario whispered. Ash and Pikachu looked over to him curiously. I felt something similar when I entered the core of the Tree of Beginning. This presence is very similar to the feeling of being in the presence of Mew. Lucario looked Ash in the eyes. They had gone wide. A Legendary is close by and it has put the wild Pokémon on edge.

"A Legendary," Ash whispered in awe. His mind flashed back to his meeting with the Lati twins in Alto Mare. That had been an incredible experience and it had shown to him how special Legendaries truly were. That he was close to another one right now made him oddly giddy.

"I want to see it," he said. The Aura user looked at Lucario imploringly.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Pikachu suddenly cut in. He looked nervous at the suggestion. "Just because it's a Legendary doesn't mean that it's friendly. For all we know it just wants be left alone. If we disturb a Legendary and it got angry at us..." The electric mouse shivered.

Pikachu, Legendaries aren't that easy to anger. Yes, some of them have fickle tempers but a Legendary won't attack us because we want a glimpse at it, Lucario said soothingly. He smiled at the Electric-Type. Trust me. It will be safe.

After a moment of deliberation Pikachu nodded. "If you say so Lucario."

"Now we just need to know where to look," Ash mused. He closed his eyes and placed his palm in front of his chest. 'The Aura is with me!' The very moment he intoned the ancient mantra his Aura sight activated and his gaze spread to cover nearly the entirety of Mt. Moon.

Immediately, his enhanced gaze was drawn to the very top of Mt. Moon. There, right at the top of the mountain, was a huge sphere of power. He couldn't make out what it was, only the feel of immense strength filtered through his enhanced awareness.

Ash brushed up against the presence with his mind. He immediately recoiled. His eyes snapped open wide in awe and he shivered. The power he had just felt... He trailed of in deep thought. That power, it had shattered any of his preconceived notions of strength. Lucario's great strength was nothing to it in comparison.

From the look on your face you clearly weren't expecting the feel of a Legendary, Lucario said with a faintly amused expression on his face. It was to be expected. The power of Legendaries is far beyond the mind of mortals like us.

Ash nodded in agreement. That power was far beyond his awareness. It only made him giddier to see the Legendary up close. The sound of stone grinding against stone drew him from his thoughts.

His eyes snapped up and he saw a trio of Geodude rapidly approaching them. They growled at them and reared back to attack them, readying themselves to use Rock Throw.

Lucario reacted with seconds to spare. He jumped forwards, crossing the distance between him and the Rock-Types within the blink of an eye, and slammed a glowing palm into the lead Geodude. The power of a Force Palm erupted from his palm like a cannon in a green burst of energy. The Geodude didn't even cry out in pain. It just fainted instantly and slammed into the cavern wall with the force of a Rock Wrecker.

The other two Geodude's snapped towards Lucario, but before they could react Lucario blasted them both with an Aura Sphere, knocking them out as well.

Lucario smirked in victory. That was easy. His eyes turned serious and he looked at Ash. That said, we will get tired eventually if we keep getting attacked. I suggest we take a stealthy approach and try and avoid any more battles for the time being.

Ash considered this for a moment. A smirk appeared on his face as an even better idea came to him. "No," he said, surprising Lucario. Pikachu cocked his head inquisitively at his trainer, curious as to what he was going to suggest. "I have a better idea," Ash said and took out a leaf from his pocket.

Lucario's eyes lighted up in comprehension, but Pikachu looked confused. "How in Arceus' name is a leaf going to help us against a bunch of aggravated wild Pokémon?" He asked slightly incredulously.

Ash gave a short laugh at the question, reminding himself that Pikachu didn't already know of Oración and of its effects. Before he could answer, though, he spotted a group of Paras emerging from the darkness. They clicked their mandibles threateningly at them and moved towards them. Ash smirked as he placed the leaf against his lips and took a deep breath through his nose. A second later the sweet melody of Oración echoed in the dark cavern.

The Paras stopped advancing on them immediately. Their eyes closed in contentment and they released a low keening sound. Pikachu had a similar reaction; he sagged slightly on Ash's shoulder as his eyes fluttered closed.

The group of Paras stood stock-still, frozen by the beautiful sound. They didn't even react when Ash, who of course had Pikachu on his shoulder, and Lucario walked right past them and down the corridor. They only started moving again when Ash and co. had gotten so far away that Oración could no longer reach them. By that time Ash, Lucario, and Pikachu were long gone.

Ash put out the flashlight and placed it back in his backpack. He would adjust to the darkness rather quickly. It was better if he just let his eyes get used to the darkness, the flashlight should be saved for emergencies

As the group continued down the dark cavern the sound of Oración halted and soothed any Pokémon they encountered. Geodude, Zubat, Clefairy, and Paras all halted and listened to Ash's song, completely enraptured by the beautiful sound.

Pikachu was in a similar state, but he was able to fight through the hypnotizing effect of Oración. His eyes fluttered open and he groaned. "W-what kind of s-song is this?" He gasped out as the beautiful melody tried to return him to his state of bliss.

Lucario answered for Ash as the young trainer continued on playing his song. This song is called Oración. Ash learned it about four years ago from one of the friends he made on his journey's with his mother. It calms down anyone who hears. It is a song that is capable of soothing the darkest of emotions. The Aura Pokémon grinned. It's the perfect tool to calm these wild Pokémon down.

Pikachu groaned as his eyes fluttered close again. Lucario chuckled and closed his own eyes, relying on his Aura sight to lead him through the dark cavern. He listened intently to Oración.

The group kept on walking down the cavern for an unobservable amount of time. It could have been an hour, maybe even ten hours. The song made them lose their connection with time. Any Pokémon that crossed their path stopped whatever they were doing and listened intently to the song, and could care far less for attacking them.

Finally, after a very long time, Ash halted his song. He removed the leaf from his mouth and placed it back in his pocket. Pikachu's eyes snapped open wide as he regained complete control of his body. "That was incredible," the electric mouse breathed out in awe. "Why'd you stop?"

"I'm starting to get hungry," Ash answered. He blushed as his stomach rumbled in agreement. "It's time we eat something." Pikachu's and Lucario's stomachs suddenly rumbled in agreement as well. They quickly agreed to the suggestion of a quick meal.

Ash ate a pair of his sandwiches he had made for himself the day before. They had nothing on the ones his mother had made for him but he would have to make do. Pikachu had his share of Pokéchow and Lucario ate a few berries he had plucked the day before for himself, as a snack for when they entered the caverns of Mt. Moon.

Now that Ash wasn't playing Oración any Pokémon would probably attack them on sight. As they ate they were constantly on the lookout, anxious to see if any Pokémon would once again try to attack them while they ate. A fact they became grateful for when they suddenly heard a deep growl and the sound of stone grinding against stone. A Graveler emerged from way down the cavern and its beady black eyes locked onto them. With a primal roar of anger it came barreling down the dark cavern, moving with speed that a being made of stone had no right to have.

The group's attention snapped to the Rock Pokémon. Lucario acted first, he jumped and flipped in midair, landing behind the spherical Pokémon and slammed a glowing palm into its back. The Graveler howled in pain as the Force Palm detonated and hurled it forwards.

Pikachu rocketed into a Quick Attack, meeting the Rock-Type midway before it could recover from Lucario's Force Palm. His tail burned bright silver as he readied Iron Tail. Giving the Graveler no time to react, Pikachu slammed the Quick Attack boosted Iron Tail into its hard underbelly. The force of the attack was enough to halt Graveler's forwards momentum and cracked its rock-hard outer carapace. Its eyes bugged out in pain.

Finally, it was Ash's turn. With his Aura aiding him he closed to distance with Graveler in the blink of an eye. While still in pain, Graveler lashed out at Ash with one of its large meaty fists. Ash ducked around the attack, reared back and punched with an Aura enhanced punch where Pikachu's Iron Tail had struck mere moments before.

Graveler's outer shell shattered. Sir Aaron's gloves protected his hands from any damage he might have taken from punching solid stone. The Graveler wailed once more in pain before it fainted.

Ash winced at the injuries the Pokémon had sustained in the extremely short battle they had just had with it. He knew that the any Rock-Type Pokémon could easily regenerate any damage to their outer shell, but the damage looked down right lethal to his mind.

Lucario noticed this immediately and tried to reassure him. Relax Ash, he said as he comfortingly patted Ash on the shoulder. I've seen Pokémon bounce back from way worse injuries than this. Give it an hour and Graveler will be up and about like nothing happened.

Ash nodded, not really convinced, but Lucario's words did calm him down a little. He sighed and scratched his head. "Well, no use worrying about it, I guess. Let's finish our meal and continue on our way." His Pokémon nodded in agreement and quickly went back to their meal. Their group would finish eating soon enough.

The Aura trainee once again placed the leaf against his mouth and started playing Oración. Pikachu jumped back onto his shoulder as they made their way down the corridor unopposed, the wild Pokémon once more entranced by the melody of Oración.

After another hour of traveling the group came to a section where the corridor they were in split into three separate directions. One of them, Ash noted, had a sign pointed towards it with a message on it that said it would lead out of Mt. Moon.

Ash directed a look at Lucario, not stopping his song. Lucario got the message and placed his palm in front of his chest spike. The tube like extensions on the back of his head raised in the air as his Aura sight activated at his command.

After a moment or two they lowered again, and Lucario started walking towards the corridor on the right, which Ash had just noticed actually climbed steeply up. It probably led to a higher level. He quickly followed the Aura Pokémon.

The corridor did indeed lead to a higher level. A level with a lot of wild Pokémon. In the end it didn't matter, because all of them fell under the spell of Oración just as easily as the Pokémon on the level below.

The group continued on in silence, only the song of Oración filled the silent chambers as they walked. Any wild Pokémon they encountered on the way fell silent as they approached. They climbed up a couple more levels, coming closer and closer to their end goal.

Finally, after traveling for what seemed like an entire day, a meager amount of light greeted them up ahead. Their eyes lighted up and they quickly made for the opening in the mountain.

Ash stopped playing as they exited the chamber and emerged on Mt. Moon's exterior. They were on a steep cliff which led into a narrow path that traveled up the mountain. Stars twinkled overhead, it was night-time. Ash frowned as even darker clouds than before obscured the stars once more.

Lucario looked at the position of the stars and calculated for a moment. He whistled. It's already two o'clock in the morning. We have been traveling for far longer than I had expected.

Pikachu snorted softly at that. Ash shivered as the cold and crisp night air brushed up against him. Then he yawned. "I'm rather tired. Let's set up camp here and continue tomorrow." His friends nodded in agreement. Ash released Pidgeotto. He smiled at the sleepy Normal and Flying-Type. "Hey, Pidgeotto. Would you please get us some fire wood?"

Pidgeotto yawned and nodded at him. She quickly flew down the mountain, towards the woods to find some firewood. Meanwhile, Pikachu and Lucario had dug the trench for the campfire. Ash sighed and took out his sleeping bag from his backpack and placed it down on the ground.

Pikachu snickered. "You both look tired," he noted. "And I'm not. You both need to work on your endurance."

Ash's and Lucario's brow twitched. "I think that's because you have been sitting on my shoulder this entire time, Pikachu. You're just lazy," Ash returned drily.

"Or maybe I was being smart and let someone else do the hard work for me," Pikachu countered, smiling mischievously.

"Right," Ash snorted. "No, you're just lazy." Lucario nodded in agreement. Just then, Pidgeotto returned with a stack of firewood clenched in her talons.

Ash smiled gratefully at her as he took the firewood from her. "Thank you, girl," he said as he pet her head. She cooed softly back at him before he returned her. He quickly placed down the firewood in the center of the trench. With the help of Lucario they quickly had a fire going.

The group settled around the campfire, comforted by its warm glow. Ash looked up at the peak of Mt. Moon in the distance, barely visible in the darkness of the night. If he had to guess, they had climbed about halfway up the mountain. Tomorrow they would reach the peak. The thought made him smile.

He remained awake for another fifteen minutes before wishing his Pokémon goodnight and crawling into his sleeping bag.

Ash went out like a light.

---

The next morning Ash was awoken by the clean and crisp mountain air. He yawned and crawled out of his sleeping bag. He looked around their campsite and raised an eyebrow at the sleeping forms of Pikachu and Lucario. Strange, usually Lucario was awake long before he even started stirring.

Ash shrugged off the anomaly and went about his morning rituals. Having done that he sat down on his sleeping bag to have his breakfast, another pair of self-made sandwiches. The Aura user frowned at them. He needed to have some more variety in food, otherwise anything he ate would become pretty stale in time.

While eating he looked up at the sky and frowned at the still dark cloud-covered sky. The fluffy white and grey clouds of yesterday had given way to pitch black thunder clouds. It might be a little dangerous to be on a mountain right now, he mused. After a second of thought, Ash shrugged. He and Lucario could redirect electricity into the ground using their Aura so they were safe from lightning strikes. And Pikachu was an Electric-Type, enough said.

When he was halfway done with his sandwiches Lucario woke up. He got up from his position besides the extinguished remains of the campfire and stretched to get all the kinks out. The Pokémon blinked when he spotted Ash already awake. He wished his student good morning, which was returned, and sat down to have his own breakfast.

Ash finished his breakfast moments later and took out the Pokéchow from his backpack. He took out two boles and filled them up with the Pokémon food. "Pikachu, it's time to wake up and smell the sunshine!" He called out to his starter. Pikachu woke up, groggy, and grumbled something under his breath. He rolled over, not wanting to wake up yet, until his nose detected the presence of the Pokéchow. His eyes snapped open and he bolted for his bowl of food.

Snorting, Ash unclipped Pidgeotto's Pokéball and released the avian. She yawned as she finished materializing and wished him good morning. "Good morning, Pidgeotto," Ash returned. "Did you sleep well?"

"I slept fine," she said slightly tiredly. The avian woke up completely moments later. Her eyes narrowed at their surroundings. "Ash, I was too tired to ask yesterday, but what are we doing on Mt. Moon? I thought you'd said we would head directly towards Cerulean City."

"I did say that," Ash confirmed. He smiled in anticipation as he continued. "But when we entered Mt. Moon I learned something amazing that altered my plans. The Pokémon in the caverns became very aggressive all of a sudden. Lucario deduced the reason for that to be a Legendary that has taken up residence on the very peak of Mt. Moon."

Pidgeotto blinked, clearly not having expected that. She grumbled lightly to herself. Around Ash the most unlikely things always seem to happen without fail, and she hadn't even been traveling with for more than three weeks yet.

Ash's smile widened as he furthered his explanation. "Since seeing a Legendary is a once in a lifetime opportunity, I decided that we should make a detour in order to see it. You know, for the experience."

"I see," she responded after a moment of processing his answer. The avian shivered slightly as the cold morning mountain air rustled her feathers. She clicked her beak as she smelled the Pokéchow. "Excuse me," the Normal and Flying-Type said and hopped off towards her bowl of food.

Ash chuckled at that and moved back to the remains of the campfire. It was time he repeated one of many exercises Lucario had shown him in order to learn how to control his Aura. The cap wearing trainer hadn't used it for a while and he supposed he needed to have the repetition. He sat down in a cross-legged position and placed his hands on his legs, palms, covered by Sir Aaron's gloves, facing upwards.

The Aura trainee took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and focused his Aura. His life energy practically leapt at him at his command and embraced him fully as it surged into every nook and cranny of his body, filling him with immense strength.

He regulated that energy with an iron will as his focus sharpened. While his mind was in a total Zen state of mind, on the outside his body was in a completely different state. The blue energy of Aura surged up and down his body in a magnificent display. His hair rustled wildly thanks to the release of power. And the crystals embedded into the gloves he was wearing shimmered with focused power.

The Pokémon trainer reveled in his power. It was so exhilarating, so liberating, so empowering. Nothing could compare to this.

After a moment of simply wallowing in his power, Ash focused his Aura sight. With the extra focus lent to him by being in a meditative state the scope of his Aura sight increased dramatically. It could now cover the entirety of Mt. Moon. He still wasn't able to make out the exact location of the Legendary. It was still obscured behind the immense veil of power that its mere presence generated around itself.

Ash, Lucario's voice broke through his meditation and inner thoughts. His Aura retreated back into his body as his hold over it broke. He opened his eyes and snapped them up at Lucario. Said Pokémon gestured for him to get up. Everybody is ready to head out. We're leaving.

Ash nodded and got up from his position on the ground. He cracked and rolled his neck to get all the kinks out. After a moment of doing that he looked around the cliff they were on. Everything had been cleaned up and his backpack laid ready for him.

He quickly got ready to leave and waited until Pikachu had taken his spot on his shoulder again before heading out. "Let's go. I want to see that Legendary before nightfall." His Pokémon nodded at him and followed him as they started trudging down the narrow path up the mountain.

They traveled in silence, they had nothing to really talk about at the moment. A cold breeze swept past them. Ash could already smell the rain coming. He was proven right moments later as a slow drizzle started falling from the sky, pattering against the lid of his cap.

It wasn't long before it was raining down by the bucket loads. A harsh wind battered against them and thunder crackled overhead.

Pikachu and Lucario were easily withering it; Pokémon were hardy like that. Ash wasn't dealing so well with it, but he could ignore the cold and the uncomfortable wetness soaking into his pores. Lucario had trained him nearly every day since he had become his student, and he didn't call off their training for some bad weather. He could deal with this.

Suddenly, and completely without warning, there was a bright flash of white, thunder rolled in the sky and there was a scream that reverberated down Ash's spine and into stomach, where a cold pit formed.

His head snapped up and his eyes narrowed in the direction he had heard the scream originate from. He could barely see through the bad weather, but he could just make out a small shape dangling of off a cliff further down the path on a slightly higher elevation then they were on.

Ash was running down the narrow path before even his conscious mind had registered that his feet were moving. Pikachu clung with all his might to Ash's jacket as he was almost flung away from Ash's shoulder. Lucario was hot on his heels.

"SOMEBODY HELP ME! I'M SLIPPING!" Came the extremely frightened and clearly feminine scream, which was actually only barely being heard over the crackle of thunder. As if to place emphasis on her words, a piece of rock broke off besides the form dangling down the cliff side and fell down the steep mountain, disappearing out of their view in mere moments as gravity pulled it down in the deep, dark gully.

"We're not gonna make it in time!" Ash hollered at Lucario. "Give me a push!" Lucario acted immediately at his request. The Aura Pokémon grabbed Ash tightly, his paws clenching around the fabric of his jacket, and swung him bodily around. With a yell of exertion and Aura enhanced strength he hurled Ash towards the struggling girl.

Ash soared through the air with all the grace and speed of a flying bullet. Higher and higher he went as he got closer and closer to his goal. Harsh winds whipped at his face and water battered his form. Lightning bolts rolled through the sky in a flashy show of lights, nearly blinding him with their intensity.

And yet, his eyes refused to move from his goal.

"Ahh!" The girl let out a startled yelp as the rock she was holding onto cracked and then suddenly fell apart. Her eyes widened and she screamed in paralyzing fear as the force of gravity asserted its dominance. She plummeted into the abyss, falling down the deep and dark gully.

The young would be hero's eyes widened as he realized in less than a nanosecond that he wouldn't be able to catch her in time. She was going to plummet to her death!

Without thinking and acting on instinct Ash channeled a shitload of Aura to his legs and kicked the air in mid-flight. There was the sound of something popping and suddenly he was moving nearly twice as fast as he was before.

Just fast enough to save the girl.

He caught her in midair, catching her in his arms bridal style. Her eyes snapped up towards him, uncomprehending what was going on and glazed with naked fear.

Ash's momentum made them continue on soaring in the sky for a few more moments before they were pulled down towards the ground again. They landed safely on the narrow path.

The girls eyes remained trained on his, as if in a trance. Ash took the chance to take in her appearance.

The girl in his arms had wavy purple hair, which was drenched and matted with water. Deep purple eyes looked unthinkingly back at him. Her clothes consisted of a white and light purple T-shirt with wide sleeves along with yellow lines and dots. Light purple jeans and black shoes finished her attire. Ash winced, she sure wasn't dressed for traveling on a mountain.

The purple haired maiden blinked dumbly at her rescuer, not really believing what just happened.

Then it clicked.

Her hands came up and hooked themselves around Ash's neck. She buried her head in the crook of his neck as she started sobbing in relieve. Ash held her uncomfortably. He wasn't really sure how one should deal with a distraught girl. In the end he simply held her tightly and whispered sweet nothings and reassurances into her ear.

We should get her someplace where she can recover from her experience, Lucario said, having just caught up with Ash. Said trainer twitched at suddenly hearing his voice. Preferably somewhere dry, Lucario continued.

"Could you search for one? I don't think splitting my attention is a good idea right about now," Ash said, shifting the girl in his arms. Lucario nodded and placed his palm in front of his chest spike. The tube like extensions on the back of his head raised into the air as his Aura sight activated.

There's a cave a little farther up ahead, Lucario announced a moment later as his eyes opened and the tube-like extensions dropped back down. If we hurry we could be there in five minutes.

Ash nodded and started moving down the narrow mountain path in a quick jog. He didn't want to needlessly tussle around his passenger now would he?

All the way to the cave the girl clung tightly onto him. She had stopped crying, but her body was wracked with tremors born of fear and shock. Ash held her tightly in turn, trying to provide her some comfort.

It took somewhat longer then Lucario had estimated to reach the cave because they weren't moving at their top speed, but they got there.

Ash whispered encouragingly into the girl's ear as they entered the cave. It was cold and dark, but it was dry. His eyes turned over to his mentor. "Lucario, go get some wood. We need to warm her up." Lucario nodded at him and ran back out into the rain to do as he requested.

Ash turned his attention back over to the girl he still held in his arms. He lowered her, allowing her feet to touch the ground. She seemed a bit shaky, so he guided her to a rock she could sit on. He sat her down and shrugged off his backpack. He opened one of the largest side pockets and took out a thick, fuzzy blanket. He unfolded it and wrapped it around the shivering girl. She took it gratefully and wrapped it tighter around herself.

"There you go," he said and stepped back to give her some space. "Is that better?" The girl nodded minutely, not daring to look at him. Ash frowned at her. She still seemed very shaken up, which was to be expected after nearly falling down a cliff. Talking to her should distract her a bit, he mused to himself. "What's your name?" He asked the girl, genuinely curious.

The girl's purple eyes flickered towards him at the question. She hesitated for a brief moment before responding. "Anabel. My name is Anabel."

Ash smiled at her. "Anabel, that's a nice name." Despite herself, Anabel blushed at the compliment. He looked her over curiously as he asked his next question. "What you're doing here anyway? You aren't exactly dressed for traveling in the mountains."

Anabel answered immediately, more sure of herself now. She barely stuttered as she spoke. "I-I wanted to see the Legendary," was the surprising answer. Ash looked at her weirdly. How did she know of the Legendary that had taken up residence on Mt. Moon?

She noticed his look and hurried to explain. "I-I have a special ability," she said in a huff. "It allows me to understand the thoughts of any Pokémon I am close with and communicate mentally with them. I call it Empathy. The moment I entered Mt. Moon I noticed the change in the wild Pokémon and my own. They informed me of what was going on. That a Legendary was on Mt. Moon," Anabel smiled weakly at him. "Seeing a Legendary is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I just had to see it, and it nearly got me k-killed."

Ash slung his arms around her as Anabel started sobbing again, reminded of her terrible experience. There wasn't much he could say to her to calm her down, so he simply held her close.

And then he remembered the leaf in his pocket. He tightened his hold on Anabel and took out his leaf whistle. Placing it against his mouth Ash started playing the beautiful and calming melody of Oración. The sound echoed in the dark cavern, adding to the beauty of the sound.

Anabel stilled as the sound washed over her. She wrapped her arms around Ash's midsection and relaxed into him as she simply continued listening to the high-pitched yet calming melody of Oración.

And then another idea hit him. Ash smiled as he made the suggestion and removed the leaf from his mouth. "Let out your Pokémon. I'm sure that they will be happy to know that you're all right. Besides, I'm curious what kind of Pokémon you have."

Anabel grabbed onto the suggestion immediately. She separated from Ash and unclipped three Pokéballs from her belt. Enlarging them with a push of a button she threw them into the sky, releasing the Pokémon within.

In three flashes of light her Pokémon materialized. Ash recognized the Pokémon immediately. They were rather well-known Pokémon in Kanto after all. He saw an Eevee, a Kadabra and a Munchlax.

Ash noticed something peculiar. The moment they had finished materializing his Aura senses picked up on something remarkable: there was a connection between Anabel and her Pokémon. He could feel Aura flowing between the Pokémon and their trainer. They were bonded together, he realized with a start. So this was the source of the Empathy Anabel had mentioned.

Her Pokémon immediately noticed their trainer's sorry state. Anabel did indeed look rather miserable at the moment; nearly falling off a cliff would do that to you. The Eevee cried out worriedly and tackled her trainer, clinging to her chest. The Kadabra approached silently, its eyes betraying its concern for its trainer and the short squat form of the Munchlax promptly wrapped its stubby hands around Anabel's leg in the form of a hug.

Anabel's eyes softened as she petted all three of her Pokémon comfortingly. "It's all right, guys. I'm perfectly fine." She raised a hand and pointed at Ash, "He saved me from falling down a cliff." Anabel paused as her Pokémon looked horrified at the thought. Her eyes turned back over to her rescuer. "I actually didn't get your name," she said pointedly.

Ash chuckled. "I'm Ash. Nice to meet you."

Anabel rolled her eyes. Ash smiled. Letting out her Pokémon did wonders to calm her down. He blinked when Anabel's Pokémon turned to look at him and called out their thanks to him for saving their trainer. Ash nodded back at them. Anabel looked at him weirdly, probably wondering how he had understood what her Pokémon had said, before shrugging it off and thinking that he had just guessed correctly.

At that very moment Lucario returned. He stepped into dark cave, his fur completely drenched, but it didn't seem to bother him in the least, though. He, like Ash, trained in any kind of weather. A bit of rain wasn't going to annoy him. Anabel watched Lucario closely as he laid down the stack of firewood in his arms in the center of the cave.

Lucario turned his head to look at Ash. Could you give me the flint, please?

Anabel's eyes turned wide and her Pokémon's attention snapped towards Lucario, gaping. Lucario sighed quietly to himself. He was never going to stop having those looks directed at him, would he?

"You can talk!" Anabel exclaimed in a shocked manner.

Lucario and Ash rolled their eyes. Yes, I can talk. Isn't it fan-fucking-tastic? Lucario said in annoyance as Ash handed him the flint. With a few deft flicks he had a spark and moments later they had a nice little fire going.

Anabel blushed. "Sorry, you must get that a lot."

You have no idea, Lucario muttered as he sat down and warmed his wet form with the warm glow of the fire.

Ash huffed before turning his eyes over to Anabel. "Just ignore him. He can be a real grouch sometimes, with a major stick up his ass." Lucario twitched slightly as Anabel giggled and her Pokémon snickered, but he kept his thoughts to himself.

Anabel's Eevee chose that moment to make a comment. "He does have that 'don't mess with or I'll turn you inside out in the most painful manner possible' attitude around him," the little brown Pokémon said with a distinctively girly voice.

There was a multitude of reactions to that comment. Anabel giggled again. Lucario twitched harder. The Kadabra looked amused. The Munchlax was snickering and Ash...

...He just had to needle Lucario a bit further. "Yup, that's Lucario all right. An over the top and utterly crazy jacka-"

Lucario snapped. As quick as lightning he had bolted up right. He put his clenched fists together as blue light flickered in between his closed fist before he ripped them apart, creating a blue staff made out of solid energy. Ash recognized Lucario's Bone Rush with a start, but had no time to react when Lucario stepped closer to him and pointed the butt of the staff towards the ground at an angle, before sharply twisting and sweeping the staff upwards at high speeds...

Right in between Ash's legs.

He had a split second to regret how stupid he had just been before the staff made contact with his family jewels. The Aura user buckled and collapsed, assuming a fetal position on the ground as he took on the appropriate position. "You... dick," he managed to gasp out.

Lucario huffed and allowed his Bone Rush to dissipate. It's your own fault. You should know better than to antagonize someone you know can kick your ass as easily as he can breath.

Anabel looked at the scene and wasn't entirely sure what to make of it. She found it faintly amusing, though. Then she cocked her head to the side as she realized something strange. "Hey, did he just understand what Eevee had said?" She wondered out loud, remembering that Ash had followed up on Eevee's remark perfectly.

Lucario sighed and scratched the back of his head. Considering that Ash was still twitching on the ground in a fetal position he decided to answer Anabel's question. Yeah, my student here has the ability to use Aura. With the right training Aura can be used to translate PokéSpeech. I taught Ash this skill years ago, something I'm regretting right about now.

"Really? That's quite fascinating," Anabel mused, an interested glint in her purple eyes. Her gaze was drawn back to Ash as he got up from his fetal position, still wincing in pain as he moved. Her brow raised in surprise at how fast he had managed to recover. That was a very hardy boy, she mused to herself.

Ash glared at Lucario, still shifting on the balls of his feet and wincing in pain. "I'm gonna get you back for that," he threatened.

Lucario rolled his eyes. You're welcome to try.

Anabel coughed to get their attention. Which was a good thing since Ash was about to say something particularly stupid. "Uh, sorry to interrupt your, let's say, 'friendly banter'," she said, making air quotes with her fingers. "But I'm curious, why are you guys here? There isn't much to see here except for the Legendary..." Her eyes widened as she inadvertently answered her own question. Ash could understand PokéSpeech just like she could, so his own Pokémon must have informed him of the Legendary just like hers had done for her, she reasoned.

"Of course we're here for the Legendary," Ash answered with a chuckle. "I've only ever met a pair of Legendaries once before, but that one time was truly magical..."

Anabel's attention snapped towards Ash, her eyes wide. "You've met Legendaries, as in plural, before?" She questioned incredulously.

Ash nodded with a smile. "Yup. When I visited Alto Mare in Johto when I was seven I met a Latios, Latias, and their father completely by accident. We became close friends within days. It's one of my most cherished memories, close behind meeting Lucario here," he said, gesturing to Lucario.

Suck up, Lucario said teasingly. Ash rolled his eyes.

"We're such a happy family," Pikachu deadpanned. He really couldn't have gotten any more strange partners, could he? The rodent shuddered at the very thought. The roar of thunder broke through his reverie, causing him to yelp in surprise. Everyone but Lucario reacted in a similar manner.

Ash's eyes turned over to the entrance to the cave and noted with some surprise that it had stopped raining. Thunder and lightning still lit up the dark and cloud covered sky, but the rain had halted. How strange.

His eyes once again sought out Anabel and he delicately asked a simple question. It wouldn't do to upset her again now that she had completely calmed down. "Do you think you're still up for traveling? I'm still very much dead set on seeing that Legendary, and I'm unsure how long it remain on the top of the mountain."

Anabel hesitated for a brief moment before nodding as she got up. She rolled her neck and returned Kadabra and Munchlax back to their Pokéball. Eevee jumped up on to her trainer's shoulder, just like Pikachu did with Ash. "Yes, I'm not going to let some near death experience hold me back. I'm made from sterner stuff then that. Besides, with you guys I'll should be perfectly safe. I've nearly died trying to see this Legendary. I'm going to see it, one way or the other." Despite her words her eyes turned worried and scared for a split second as she looked out of the cave, but then she shook her head and cleared her mind.

Ash looked her in the eyes. They were devoid of fear. He nodded at her and gestured to the entrance of the cafe. "Shall we?"

Anabel nodded and walked out, a purpose in her step. Ash followed her while Lucario quickly doused the fire, smothering it with his Aura. He caught up with them as they were once again walking up the short narrow path.

As they walked Ash decided to strike up a conversation with Anabel. "So, Anabel?" The girl's eyes turned over to him. "Where are you from?"

Anabel smiled. "I was born and raised in Celadon, and I'm damn proud of it. You?"

Ash chuckled. "Ever heard of Pallet Town? I was born and raised there," he said, intentionally repeating Anabel's own words.

The maiden blinked her purple eyes. That name seemed familiar to her from somewhere, but she couldn't place it. Then, it suddenly clicked. "You mean you're from the town where professor Oak lives! Have you met him?" She questioned, suddenly oddly giddy.

Ash nodded with a smile. "Yup, I know him rather well to be honest. His ranch is just down the street from my home, so my mother and I visited him regularly."

"What's he like?" Anabel asked with giddy excitement.

Ash laughed. "Professor Oak is just like you would expect from a man such as him. Kind, wise, and generous. He's like the wise old grandpa that I never had."

Anabel hummed at his question and looked happy. Her next question got cut of as thunder once again rolled through the sky. She flinched violently, but didn't react further. The maiden relaxed again after a few seconds.

Ash looked closely at her and was relieved to see that she was handling her trauma rather well.

The group fell silent after that. They continued to walk up the short and narrow path leading higher up into the mountain for nearly three hours before Ash deigned to speak again. "Lucario." His mentor perked up at hearing his voice and shot him a curious look. "How much farther is it?"

Lucario rolled his eyes and placed his palm in front of his chest spike. He didn't pause in his walking as his Aura sight activated and allowed his gaze to travel all the way up the mountain. The Aura Pokémon's eyes opened after half a minute of calmly judging how long they would have to continue to walk to reach their destination. At our current rate we will reach the top of Mt. Moon, where the Legendary resides, in about fifteen minutes.

Ash nodded as a giddy smile stretched across his face. Anabel looked equally as excited as him. Both Pikachu and Lucario looked excited as well, Pikachu in particular looked oddly bouncy and had trouble remaining still on Ash's shoulder. With a bounce in their step they continued tracking up the mountain.

As Lucario had predicted they arrived at the summit of Mt. Moon fifteen minutes later. Ash and co. looked around in awe. They could see for miles around. The mountain chain stretched out from their left into the distance and soared high enough into the atmosphere that the top was hidden from sight by the thick and dark thunder clouds. To their right, behind them, and in front of them the immense forest that surrounded Mt. Moon was on full display. They could even see Cerulean City in the distance.

The view was amazing, to say the least.

The crack of thunder broke through their awed sight-seeing. Their gaze snapped upwards, towards the spot that could be likened to the eye of a storm. There, high up in the air, at the very center of the storm, was an unnatural sphere of lightning suspended in midair. Before anyone in the group could inspect the sphere of pure power any closer it suddenly moved.

With the speed of lightning it rocketed downwards and struck the dirt in front of the group, melting the stone summit of Mt. Moon. Ash's hair stood on end as a current of electricity arched through his body, but curiously didn't do any harm to him. The sound of lightning, something they had become intimately familiar with in the last few hours, boomed thrice as loud as normal around them.

Anabel recoiled, fear flaring up in her eyes. Her Eevee rubbed her face against her trainer, trying to calm her down. Lucario shifted on the balls of his feet and got ready to move in a moment's notice. Pikachu clung tightly to Ash's shoulder as unnaturally powerful lightning coursed up and down his body.

In front of them the shell of unnatural lightning was now anchored to the ground. Ash's eyes widened as he spotted the truly massive and magnificent bird hunched up inside of it. He recognized the creature immediately. There was no mistaking the form of Zapdos. The electric bird of the Legendary Bird Trio of Kanto.

The shell of lightning suddenly surged upwards into the dark, cloud covered sky. A beam of pure, concentrated lightning that could be seen for miles around. Ash was nearly blinded by the display, but he refused to look away from the spectacle.

Zapdos, now completely revealed to them, looked down at the rag-tag group of trainers and Pokémon in front of it. Its gaze shined with golden light as it inspected them, seemingly judging the group.

It squawked and lightning boomed in response, shaking Mt. Moon with its intensity. The great bird unfurled its immense spiked wings and lighting descended from the sky and struck around the group, melting and pulverizing stone with ease.

Yet they refused to cower in front of the Legendary.

The golden glow in Zapdos' eyes turned even brighter in hue as it raised its spear like beak into the sky, beckoning towards the thunder clouds. In response, a godly bolt of lightning speared down from the heavens.

Directly towards the group.

They gasped and stumbled back in response. Ash grabbed Anabel and covered them both in a shell of Aura, readying it to redirect the lightning into the ground, hoping that it was actually possible to take a lightning bolt of a Legendary. Lucario acted just as fast and covered himself as well in a bright sphere of Aura, ready to do his bidding and protect him.

They didn't have to bother.

Pikachu jumped up from Ash's shoulder, eyes set and determined. Ash watched in horror as the lightning bolt summoned by the Legendary was diverted from its original goal and towards his starter, pulled of course by Pikachu's Lightningrod ability.

With the loudest roar of thunder Ash had ever heard the lightning bolt struck Pikachu. A sphere of lightning surrounded him as the sky continued streaming down the lightning into Pikachu for far longer that should have been possible.

And then with an audible crack the lightning bolt cut off. Pikachu hung in midair, Zapdos' power keeping him there.

With a deafening scream of defiance and pain Pikachu discharged all the gathered lightning around and in him back into the one that had summoned it, sending it spearing back into Zapdos, almost as if in punishment for daring to attack them. Zapdos flinched, more in surprise than anything else, but its own power could do nothing to harm the mighty creature.

It took almost a minute for Pikachu to discharge the lightning back into the Legendary. In that entire minute Ash didn't dare to look away from the spectacle, hoping and praying that Pikachu would be fine and that Zapdos wouldn't try to attack them again.

Pikachu fell down, the power of Zapdos no longer keeping him suspended in midair. Ash jumped forwards and caught Pikachu before he could fall to the ground. He inspected the smoking form of Pikachu closely and was relieved to see that besides a few burned patches of fur that Pikachu looked completely fine.

And then he noticed the slightly glazed look in his starter's eyes.

"Pikachu, are you all right?!" Ash asked, panicking.

"...Is this what a pothead feels like? If so, I don't think I'll be able to hate them," Pikachu spoke up drunkenly. He shivered as the left over power of Zapdos surge lightly in his system.

Ash, Lucario, Anabel and Eevee had to snort at the absolutely ludicrous response from the Electric-Type.

Another squawk of the Legendary in front of them and the boom of thunder summoned by it made their attention snap back towards it. The moment they made eye contact with Zapdos they noticed that it held a different emotion now, other than indifference.

Respect.

It squawked at them one last them and bowed its head lightly at them before flapping its spiked wings and taking towards the air in one smooth motion. Dirt was thrown up and away from a single beat of its wings before it shot up into the sky. The group watched the Legendary ascend into the sky and saw it disappear into the dark clouds, even as thousands bolts of lightning focused on it.

Within moments, it was gone.

The group continued to watch, hoping to catch another glimpse of the Legendary. They were soon to be disappointed, however, as another minute passed and the Legendary didn't reveal itself once more.

The dark clouds, clearly summoned by the mere presence of Zapdos, slowly started to dissipate. Bright rays of sunlight broke through the slowly disappearing cloud coverage and threw shadows everywhere.

"That was..." Anabel spoke up first, a tremor of awe to her voice.

"A hell of a lot more dramatic than when I met Latios and Latias," Ash muttered quietly to himself.

"The myths don't do the Legendaries justice," Eevee mused to herself.

"...Legendaries aren't that easy to anger, you said. They just had fickle tempers, you said. It won't attack us for wanting a glimpse at it, you said," Pikachu spoke up sarcastically from Ash's arms, glaring angrily at Lucario.

Lucario twitched. He sighed and looked at Pikachu with a serene expression. Pikachu, didn't you notice that Zapdos never appeared even remotely angry with us? It measured us, judged us, and evaluated us. I think it summoned that lightning bolt to test us.

"Test us?" Pikachu repeated in disbelieve. "You don't summon a lightning strike, a real lightning strike, to test someone. But to kill someone."

"Maybe not," Ash mused thoughtfully. "Remember when that electrical current went through our bodies when Zapdos appeared in front of us in that ball of electricity? It did nothing to harm us while it should have at least been mildly uncomfortable. I think that Zapdos might be able to control electricity to such an extent that it can guide it straight through living organisms without doing any harm."

"It certainly did hurt when I intercepted it," Pikachu countered, gesturing to his burned patches of fur.

Ash pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. "It doesn't matter either way. What happened, happened and we got out alive, and even got to see a Legendary up close," he added brightly.

"True," Anabel said, jumping into the conversation. "Despite everything that happened we came out alright and got to experience something incredible, something so rare that we might never experience it again." The others nodded at her in agreement. She then grew pensive and sighed. "And now we've got to get down the mountain," Anabel groaned. "This is gonna suck."

Ash frowned. It was going to suck big time to travel all the way down the mountain after scaling it. Oh well, there was no way around it...

He trailed of and nearly smacked himself over the head as he remembered one crucial skill his psychic powers granted him. Teleportation. How in the name of Arceus had he forgotten about that?

"Not really. Here, give me your hand," Ash instructed and held out his hand for Anabel to take. She looked at him quizzically for a moment before nodding at him and grasping his hand. Lucario, already knowing what his student had in mind placed his paw in Ash's shoulder.

Ash closed his eyes and focused. Blue light emanated from behind his closed eyelids as he brought his psychic powers to the forefront of his mind. With a flash of light and a crack of sound the group disappeared from the summit of Mt. Moon.

Only to reappear moments later inside the gigantic mountain, at the intersection where the caverns split up in three directions. The same one Ash, Lucario, and Pikachu had encountered the day before.

"Holy!" Anabel breathed as she let go of Ash's hand. "I thought you were an Aura user, not a psychic!"

"I'm both," Ash said, chuckling. Meanwhile, Pikachu scampered up Ash's arm and took his spot on his trainers shoulder.

"Any more surprises I need to be aware of?" Anabel questioned playfully, yet quite curious if that indeed was the case.

"Nope," Ash shrugged. "Besides those things I'm a perfectly ordinary guy."

Anabel snorted and started walking down the cavern that lead to Cerulean City. Ash and Lucario followed close behind her. "Hey Ash," Anabel spoke up hesitantly. Ash give her a curious look. Anabel hesitated again before soldiering on. "Would you mind if I traveled with you for a while?"

Ash blinked in surprise, taken aback for a moment, before smiling brilliantly. "Sure, I would like that very much." He shot her a curious look. "May I ask why, though?"

Anabel shrugged. "It's more fun traveling with someone who you can talk to. And while we can both hold a conversation with our Pokémon without any problems, it still isn't the same as talking with another Human."

Ash hummed as they continued walking down the cavern. "And how long will you be traveling with me?"

Anabel shrugged again. "Not sure. As long as it's fun to do so, I suppose."

Ash chuckled at that answer. "Then you'll never separate from me. I have a penchant of running into very... interesting situations every once in a while."

"I figured that from your stories, and trust me, I have no problem with that," Anabel said drily. "It's at least never boring around you."

Lucario sighed and rolled his eyes. You have no idea, he muttered.

Pikachu snorted and nodded in agreement. He had been traveling with Ash for little longer than two weeks, and yet a lot had already happened. They had fought when they had first met. Then they had run into those Team Rocket stooges. Shortly after that they had their first ever Gym match. And then they had to go and meet a Legendary.

Interesting didn't even begin to cover how it was to travel alongside Ash.

"So Anabel," Ash began. "Are you also going to challenge the Gym leaders and take on the Indigo League?" He asked curiously. "If so, we'll have to work out who gets to challenge the Gym leaders first every time we reach another city."

Anabel shook her head. "No, I was planning to spend my first year simply traveling, training, and growing my Pokémon before taking on any Leagues."

Ash nodded. "Oh, all right then. That will make things easier, I suppose."

The group fell silent after that and continued on down the cavern towards the direction of Cerulean City. Luckily, without the presence of Zapdos bearing down on them, the Pokémon in the caverns were a lot more docile and didn't even twitch towards them when they passed them by.

"Look there, light!" Anabel cried after fifteen minutes of walking. And indeed, up ahead, light filtered into the cave through a crack in the exterior of Mt. Moon.

They had to stop when they exited the cavern and into the harsh sunlight, squinting their eyes as they adjusted to the light. Having done that they began to walk down the unkempt path that would take them to Cerulean City in three or four days.

---

Three days of traveling later, Ash and Anabel were closing in on the outskirts of Cerulean City. They had spent the last three days getting to know each other better and training their Pokémon. It was mostly engaging in small talk with each other and training the basic skills of their Pokémon together, helping the other all the while. As well as taking on any trainer that challenged them along the way.

It had been a very enjoyable three days for the duo. Their Pokémon more than agreed with that sentiment.

Cerulean City was sprawled out before them. It was a truly gigantic city, it positively dwarfed Pewter City. Viridian City wasn't even worth mentioning compared to this.

Ash and Anabel stood on a bluff overlooking the massive city. Lucario stood behind them and Pikachu and Eevee were on their trainers' shoulders. Anabel and Eevee had taken a liking to the arrangement.

Both trainers and their Pokémon took a moment to take in the city. The city was situated right next to the sea, appropriate for a city with a Water-Type Gym. Tall, towering skyscrapers dotted the city, interspaced with great lakes and large parks. Houses lined the outer most ring of the city and faced towards the sea.

Ash had of course been here once before with his mother and one thing hadn't changed at all.

It was a very beautiful city.

"Come on, let's go to the Pokémon Center," Ash said as he shifted his backpack. Anabel nodded at him and they were about to start walking down the bluff.

"Hey, Ash!" A sudden voice halted them. A voice that Ash realized he recognized from somewhere, but somehow he couldn't place a face to that voice.

A boy and a girl came running up to them. The girl waved excitedly at them, the boy stoically followed behind. "It's great to see you again, Ash. How's your journey going?" The girl asked, her demeanor practically screaming bottled-up-excitement.

Suddenly, it clicked. Ash grinned when he recognized who he was talking to. "Ani, Dennis! How have you been? I haven't seen you guys since you left Professor Oak's ranch."

Dennis answered when they came to stop in front of them. "We've been good. Just traveling and training and what not. And what about you and your friend?" He nodded towards Anabel. "Whose she?"

Ash beckoned Anabel closer as he answered. "This is Anabel. I met her while I was traveling through Mt. Moon." He decided to keep his encounter with Zapdos a secret. It wasn't something you should tell to someone you only had a passing friendship with. The only reason why he had told Anabel of the Lati twins was because he thought that it might calm her down a bit more. Besides, it wasn't like they would believe it anyway. "And I've been doing fine. Everything has gone great so far."

Ani nodded, smiling, "Good to hear," she said passionately as she nodded her head. Suddenly, her eyes locked onto Lucario and they widened as she beheld a Pokémon she knew nothing about. The rookie trainer took out her Pokédex and trained it on Lucario. With the push of a button it activated.

Lucario, the Aura Pokémon, and the evolved form of Riolu, the Pokédex droned in cold monotone. By sensing the Aura of its opponents, Lucario can read their thoughts and movements.

Ash blinked, surprised that Ani's Pokédex only gave a small part of the information his own had given him about Lucario. Thinking about it for a moment he figured that he had gotten the 'extra information' because Lucario was his Pokémon. After all, it would hardly be fair to other trainers if you could use your Pokédex to learn all about your opponent's moves and abilities before a match even started.

"That's a very interesting Pokémon you have there, Ash," the voice of Dennis broke through his thoughts. "Where did you find him?"

Ash smiled. "I actually met him two years ago while traveling with my mother. We became great friends and he decided to come with me. Lucario was my first Pokémon, actually."

Both Dennis and Ani looked surprised to hear that. "Then why haven't we seen him before now then?" Ani questioned confusedly.

Ash shrugged. "Lucario is rather...reclusive at the best of times. He shies away from people if you haven't earned his trust. And before you ask why I didn't ever talk about him before, he wanted me to keep his presence a secret."

"I see," Dennis said, still looking slightly confused. That disappeared soon, though, and was replaced with an air of challenge. "Anyway, how about a battle, Ash? I've been itching to fight you."

Ash grinned as battle burned in his eyes. "I would love to. Pikachu hasn't had a decent challenge since we set off."

Dennis raised an eyebrow as he plucked a Pokéball from his belt. "So you haven't lost a match yet either," he mused. Then he grinned. "Until now. How about two-on-two?"

Ash nodded and Ani giggled as her two friends looked more and more excited to hold their match. Her gaze turned over to Anabel and she smiled brilliantly. "Hey, while the boys are having their fun, why won't we hold a battle also? I've been itching for a battle for a while now."

Anabel's face lit up with an eager smirk. She nodded at the request. "Sure, let's go over there so we won't interfere we the boys match," she said and pointed a small ways away from the boys, who were itching to do battle.

The girls quickly separated themselves from the boys. Both trainers walked far away from each other until they were at a safe distance from any attack.

"One-on-one?" Anabel suggested as she shifted on the balls of her feet, eager to do battle.

"Sure," Ani nodded and enlarged the Pokéball she had been holding in her hand all along. She threw it into the air and it released her starter, Bulbasaur, in a flash of white light.

Anabel smiled. "Eevee, you're up." Eevee jumped from her trainer's shoulder and leaned low towards the ground, tensing herself for battle.

Ani squealed when she finally noticed Eevee. "It's so cute!" She practically gushed. "To bad I'm going to have to rough it up." The rookie trainer gained a glint in her eyes when she said that.

Anabel shivered. A cold pit had suddenly settled in her stomach. Something was very, very wrong.

"Vine Whip!" Ani snapped out her order. Bulbasaur complied immediately and sent two green vines lashing out at Eevee.

Anabel quickly suppressed the cold feeling in her stomach. "Sand-Attack and then dodge!" She countered. Eevee lashed out towards the ground with her paws and quickly kicked up a heavy veil of dirt. Using the cover to her advantage Eevee evaded the Vine Whip with ease.

Ani wasn't deterred. "Razor Leaf, wide coverage!" Again, Bulbasaur responded with crisp efficiency. Razor sharp leaves appeared from the bulb on Bulbasaur's back and shot toward Eevee's general direction in a huge storm of leaves. If Anabel hadn't know any better she would have believed that Bulbasaur had used Leaf Storm.

"Dig!" Anabel ordered, choosing for a sure-fire way to evade the attack.

The razor-sharp leaves passed through the heavy veil of dirt moments later, but there was no corresponding cry of pain. The veil of dirt lifted moments later to show nothing, except for a hole on the ground.

Ani smirked. "Slam your vines into the ground!" She suddenly snapped out without warning. Bulbasaur did as ordered and smashed its vines into the ground, using the recoil to send it flying high up into the air.

Eevee appeared moments later at Bulbasaur's previous location, erupting up out of the ground, but missing Bulbasaur by a mile.

And leaving her open for a counter attack.

Ani punched a fist forwards. "Energy Ball!" She ordered. Bulbasaur angled its falling form towards Eevee and opened its mouth. A green ball of swirling energy appeared in its maw. With a twist of its head Bulbasaur shot the green ball of energy straight down towards Eevee.

Anabel and Eevee gasped. "Quick, use Shadow Ball!" Anabel commanded. Eevee opened her maw and charged the sphere of dark ghostly energy as quickly as she could, before firing it straight upwards towards the rapidly closing in Energy Ball.

The green and black spheres of energy smashed into each other and immediately started grinding into each other, trying to overpower the other. Then they seemed to mix for a moment, only to detonate in a brilliant explosion a moment later.

Eevee was crushed into the ground by the explosion and Bulbasaur was flung high up into the sky, spinning out of control.

Ani looked up, horrified. If her Pokémon fell from that height it could lead to serious, maybe even life threatening injuries! "Use your vines to attach yourself to a tree!" She shouted in desperation.

Bulbasaur managed to right itself just as gravity once again asserted its dominance. As it fell back towards the ground two of its vines lashed out and wrapped around a branch of a nearby solitary tree. Letting gravity do the rest of the work Bulbasaur swung itself around and landed neatly on its feet in front of the just recovering Eevee.

Too close.

Anabel smirked. "Double Edge!" She shouted. Eevee kicked off and rocketed forwards immediately, a golden glow surrounding her form.

Bulbasaur had no time to react even as Ani shouted for it to dodge. Eevee smashed head first into Bulbasaur, sending it careening back in pain. Eevee grimaced in pain as well, Double Edge's recoil taking its toll on her.

"Vine Whip!"

Eevee also had no time to react either. Two green vines lashed out and smashed into Eevee, leaving two angry red marks behind as they retreated back to Bulbasaur.

Both Bulbasaur and Eevee were panting heavily, the battle already taking its toll on them. The constant attacks had been draining them both and the few that had hit had done a lot of damage.

"That's it, Energy Ball! As strong as you can make it!" Ani shouted.

"Shadow Ball and give it everything you've got!" Anabel countered immediately.

Bulbasaur opened its maw and charged the green sphere of energy within moments. The Grass-Type kept charging it until it was the size of its head, and then shrunk it down to a regular sized Energy Ball, yet it was an order of magnitude more powerful than the ordinary version.

Eevee did something similar. She opened her maw and charged the Shadow Ball, greatly increased in size than normal, before shrinking it down as well, making it even more powerful.

There was a heartbeat of silence as Eevee and Bulbasaur glared at each other over their super charged attacks

And then they fired them.

The green and black spheres surged toward each other and smashed into the other with the force of a wrecking ball. They swirled into each other, trying to overpower their opposite, but neither seemed to be able to make any headway against the other.

Then suddenly and very slowly the shape of the Energy Ball seemed to warp against the force of the Shadow Ball. It warped more and more...

And then it shattered, dispersing into green slivers of energy, allowing Eevee's Shadow Ball to soar unhindered towards Bulbasaur, who was too tired to dodge.

The Shadow Ball slammed into Bulbasaur, exploding violently on contact and flinging the saurian away. Bulbasaur didn't even cry out in pain, the Shadow Ball had so much power behind it that it had knocked Bulbasaur unconscious on contact.

Bulbasaur came to a rolling stop in front of its trainer. The side of its body where the Shadow Ball had originally struck was blackened with soot. Ani sighed and recalled her Pokémon. She nevertheless spoke soft congratulatory words as she did so, still very proud of the battle her Pokémon had participated in.

Ani looked up just in time to see Eevee jumping into the waiting arms of Anabel and licking her trainers face as Anabel congratulated her on a job well done.

Ani approached Anabel, a pout on her lips. "That was a great battle, too bad I lost." Having said that she took out her wallet and retrieved some money. She quickly handed it to Anabel, who stuck it in her pocket.

Anabel allowed Eevee to take her spot on her shoulder again before responding. "It sure was. I hope to battle you again someday." She extended her hand for Ani to shake. "Friends?"

Ani took it without hesitation. "Friends," she confirmed. They smiled at each other.

Then an explosion hard enough to make the ground rumble ruined the moment. Both girls sighed and looked towards the direction the boys and their Pokémon where battling. "Let's go see what the boys are up to. Heaven knows they have probably already destroyed the environment utterly without us to keep them in check," Ani said with a grin.

Anabel snorted and started tracking towards the boys' battle, Ani close on her heels.

---

Ash and Dennis stared hard at each other. Both had known each other since childhood, and while they hadn't ever been particularly close they still had held frequent friendly competitions with each other. As always, they were determined to defeat the other.

Both threw their Pokéball up into the air and released their Pokémon.

Pidgeotto appeared in front of Ash. She flapped her wings and squawked threateningly at Dennis.

A Scyther materialized in front of Dennis. It sneered at Pidgeotto as it smashed its sharp, bladed forearms against each other.

Ash raised an eyebrow. "Where did you find a Scyther? They are really rare Pokémon and they don't appear anywhere around these parts," he asked curiously.

Dennis shrugged and smiled. "I found this guy wandering around in the Viridian Forest. I've got no idea why it was there, but I'm not looking a gifted Ponyta in the mouth." The trainer's eyes sharpened. "Now, let's get this show on the road." He pointed at Pidgeotto. "Quick Attack!"

Scyther growled in response and rapidly fluttered its short, bug-like wings. The small but powerful movements lifted the Bug-Type off the ground before rocketing forwards incredibly quickly as a white light erupted behind Scyther.

"Gust, then follow-up with Aerial Ace!" Ash snapped out.

Pidgeotto flapped her wings rapidly at the incoming Scyther, kicking up a harsh torrent of wind. Scyther grunted in pain as the howling wind battered its form and halted its forward momentum.

The avian then followed up on Ash's earlier command and disappeared with blinding speed into Aerial Ace. She reappeared moments later with wind blades surrounding her form as she rammed into Scyther's green plated chest.

Big mistake.

Dennis smirked. "Fury Cutter!" He commanded.

Scyther's eyes narrowed with glee as it followed the command eagerly. Its two sharp, bladed forearms were sufficed in a malicious blood-red glow and doubled in size. It brought the blades above its head, paused for a tantalizing second, and then slashed them down brutally at Pidgeotto.

Right towards the joints connecting her wings to her body.

Pidgeotto's eyes widened as she realized where Scyther was aiming its attack. Reacting on instinct she slammed her sharp talons into Scyther's chest and pushed of, giving a hard flap with both her wings to speed up her dodge as much as possible.

Scyther's Fury Cutter enhanced blades passed mere inches from their intended target, leaving only two very shallow scratches over her joints.

The attack had been evaded, barely.

But Pidgeotto couldn't evade the follow-up attack.

"Razor Wind!" Dennis followed up.

Scyther screeched in reply and flapped its short, cream colored wings at Pidgeotto, releasing a burst of cutting wind at the avian. Pidgeotto had no time to react as the sharp winds smashed into her and cut open thousand miniscule cuts on her body.

Pidgeotto careened back, screeching in pain. She fought through the pain and flapped her wings, managing to right herself and somehow managing to keep herself in the air.

"False Swipe!" Dennis continued on ruthlessly.

Scyther grunted and flashed forwards blazingly quickly with one of its blades reared back and shining with white light.

"Double Team into Aerial Ace!" Ash countered suddenly.

Pidgeotto's form blurred and then split up in multiple copies. Scyther's False Swipe went through a fake that had taken the place of the original. Before Scyther had even been able to fully process this Pidgeotto smashed into Scyther's back with an Aerial Ace.

Scyther went stumbling forwards, but recovered far faster than anyone would have expected, and twisted around rapidly. The flat side of one of its blades smacked into Pidgeotto, knocking her to the ground.

Before she was able to recover Scyther raised one of its clawed feet and stomped Pidgeotto in the back, pinning her to the ground. Pidgeotto wheezed as Scyther applied more and more pressure.

Scyther blinked in surprise when Ash recalled Pidgeotto. He whispered his thanks to his friend before glaring at Scyther with pure fury. The Pokémon had taken it too far. It needed to be taken out with extreme prejudice, immediately.

Ash didn't see it, but Lucario, who had been watching the entire match from behind his student, raised a brow in surprise at his student's aggravation.

"Pikachu," Ash growled quietly. Scyther was a part Flying-Type, so Pikachu should be able to take it out easily. Besides, from what he had seen Pikachu had the edge in the speed department and Scyther was tired from its match with Pidgeotto. This match was his.

Pikachu bared his fangs at Scyther before leaping of off Ash's shoulder. Lightning crackled along his fur and the smell of ozone filled the clearing as Pikachu glared at Scyther in fury.

"Quick Attack, Thunderbolt, Iron Tail!" Ash commanded rapidly.

Both Scyther's and Dennis' eyes widened, but before they could react Pikachu had already slammed into Scyther's chest. Pikachu clung to the Bug-Types armored chest and used Thunderbolt at point-blank range a second later.

Scyther screeched in pain and fell to its knees, but Pikachu wasn't done yet, though. The little yellow critter heaved and jumped off Scyther's chest straight up in the air as his tail glowed a solid silver, hardening into steel. The Electric-Type did a frontal flip and came down tail first on Scyther.

The iron-hard tail smashed into Scyther's temple with an audible crack. Scyther's head snapped to the side as its eyes went blank. The Bug-type fell down to the side, the blow having knocked it unconscious.

Dennis recalled it a moment later. He shook his head and took out another Pokéball. Enlarging it with the push of a button he smirked at Ash. "Well, Ash. I see that you have a brutal side as well. Good. That makes this all the more fun." His smirk widened as he threw his Pokéball in the air. "Come on out, Charmeleon!"

Ash's eyes widened as the blood-red form of Charmeleon materialized in Scyther's place. The evolved Fire-Type snorted flame and whipped its tail around as it glared at Pikachu, a challenge in its eyes.

"Your starter evolved already?" Ash exclaimed, no small amount of shock in his voice.

"Of course. I had to work him to the bone to do so, but it was worth it. Charmeleon swats aside anything we encounter," Dennis said, smirking.

Charmeleon snorted in agreement. The Fire-Type took a step forwards and bared his long and sharp teeth proudly, clearly impatient to do battle. Dennis wasn't going to wait either.

"Flamethrower!" Dennis snapped, pointing at Pikachu.

Charmeleon opened his maw and cocked his neck and head back. And then he snapped them forwards and spewed out a torrent of white-hot flames straight at Pikachu.

"Thunderbolt!" Ash countered quickly.

Pikachu's cheek pouches sparked as he gathered the necessary electricity. He sprang forwards and with a grunt he launched an arc of electricity at the incoming torrent of flame.

The flames and electricity met midway and for a moment seemed to mix as Charmeleon and Pikachu continued streaming in their attacks, but only for a moment. The attacks exploded violently a moment later, hard enough to throw both Pokémon back and to shake the ground from the sheer force.

"Quick Attack!" Ash ordered as he stood his ground. He wasn't going to let up, not even for a moment.

Pikachu landed on all fours and immediately rocketed forwards as he used Quick Attack. He sped through the still lingering smoke from the explosion and rammed into Charmeleon's chest, who hadn't been able to see the rodent coming at all.

Pikachu quickly kicked off Charmeleon's chest to give himself some distance from the Fire-Type. He had seen what happened when you stuck around for too long during the match between Pidgeotto and Scyther. Dennis likes to take the attacks from his opponents and then strike as hard as possible, making it impossible for the opponent to dodge and securing victory.

"Metal Claw!" Dennis commanded urgently.

Charmeleon growled as his claws shone a deep silver glow and lengthened in size. Pausing for nary a second the Flame Pokémon rushed forwards, claws reared back to do some serious damage.

"Thunderbolt!" Ash ordered when Charmeleon came close enough, to close to dodge.

Dennis smirked. "Now!"

Charmeleon came to a halt and immediately stuck his claws into the ground mere moments before Pikachu's Thunderbolt struck and enveloped him, but somehow it didn't do any damage!

"What!" both Ash and Pikachu exclaimed, shocked. Then they noticed that Charmeleon had sunk his steel hardened claws into the ground.

They immediately realized what had happened. Charmeleon had used his Metal Claw's to guide Pikachu's Thunderbolt harmlessly back into the ground. Pikachu growled, upset at how easily his attack had been countered.

Dennis laughed. "Didn't expect that did you?" He pointed at Pikachu. "Dragon Rage!"

Charmeleon took a deep breath through his nostrils as a blue/purple glow emanated from his abdomen. He then spit out a raging torrent of blue/purple flames that took the shape of a roaring dragon at Pikachu.

"Dodge it, then use Thunderbolt!" Ash countered, and silently added via his Aura. Follow behind the Thunderbolt with Volt Tackle, keep out of sight until the last moment.

Dennis snorted. "Haven't you learned from the first time? Electric-Type attacks are useless against my Pokémon. Charmeleon, you know what to do," he said rather smugly.

Charmeleon nodded and his eyes narrowed as he focused. The lizard's claws shone with silver light and lengthened before they sunk back into the ground, ready to redirect Pikachu's attack.

Which is exactly what happened. The Thunderbolt struck Charmeleon and was promptly redirected into the ground. The Fire-Type yanked his claws back out of the ground with a grunt and turned his eyes back over to Pikachu...

Only to see a yellow comet rocketing towards him!

Charmeleon and Dennis only had the time to widen their eyes before Pikachu smashed head first with his Volt Tackle into the lizard's chest. The sheer force behind the blow picked Charmeleon up and rocketed him into a tree, Pikachu still firmly pinned against his chest and the electricity of Volt Tackle crackling harshly across and into his body.

"Charmeleon!" Dennis cried out, concerned.

"Charrrr," the lizard whined piteously before falling silent, the single incredible blow simply being too much for it to take.

Dennis sighed and recalled Charmeleon. He frowned at Charmeleon's Pokéball. They had been training incredibly hard, but it was evidently not enough. Ash and Pikachu had outclassed them despite all their hard work.

"That was a nice battle, Dennis," Ash suddenly commented. Pikachu was already back on his shoulder. He grinned. "That was the hardest battle I've ever had. Your tactics were awesome and that trick where you redirected Pikachu's Thunderbolt was incredible."

"Thanks, I guess," Dennis murmured rather downtrodden. "It still wasn't enough to beat you, though." He sighed before taking out some money and handing Ash his spoils.

Ash pocketed the money and gave Dennis a friendly grin. "No, but you came close. I want to battle you again soon. And you better give me an even greater challenge then before!"

Dennis smiled back. Ash's enthusiasm was infectious. He swore to himself that he would beat Ash the next time they battled. His and Ash's attention were drawn away from each other and to their female companions as they approached them.

Ani whistled as she scanned the ruined impromptu battlefield. "Damn," she said. "You two went all out, didn't you?"

Anabel snorted. "I knew this would happen. Ash doesn't know the meaning of holding back." Both girls laughed. The boys looked at them weirdly.

Dennis shook his head and gave Ani a sour look. "You're one to talk," he hissed. "You are the one who always takes things too far in matches, not me."

Ash laughed while Pikachu rolled his eyes. "I don't remember either of you ever being this... aggressive," Ash mused.

Both Dennis and Ani smiled. "Well," Ani began with a shit eating grin. "Learning how to enjoy Pokémon battles will do that to you, I suppose." She cocked her head curiously at Ash as she asked a question. "Now that we're talking about Pokémon battles, are you going to challenge the Cerulean City Gym?"

Ash nodded. "Of course. I'm just going to heal up my Pokémon at the Center and then I'll go to the Cerulean City Gym." He gave her a curious look. "Why do you want to know? Where you planning on challenging the Gym today as well?"

Dennis answered in Ani's place, shaking his head. "No. We were actually planning to train a couple of days before going to Gym. And seeing how we were both defeated by you and Anabel, well..." He shrugged. "It'll probably be better if we got in a bit more training first."

Ash nodded again. "Good thinking," he commented before looking up at the sun, checking the time. "Well, guys. It was great seeing you again, but a Badge is waiting for me." The rookie trainer flashed both his childhood friends a grin. "If we don't run into you guys again I'll see you at the League. I'm already looking forwards to battling you in an official setting."

"Same here, Ash," Ani said, smiling brightly. Dennis nodded in agreement.

Both Ash and Anabel said their goodbyes and quickly left for Cerulean City with their starters on their shoulders and Lucario following loyally behind them.

---

It took them a while to find the Pokémon Center. The city was so huge that it was nearly impossible to find the rather tiny red building. Eventually, Ash simply used his Aura sight to guide them to it.

Once there they reserved two rooms for themselves and had their Pokémon healed from all their battle damage. While Anabel took a much-needed and welcome shower, Ash quickly discussed potential battle strategies with his Pokémon.

After Ash and his Pokémon had finished their discussion the trainer quickly took his own shower, happy to get all the accumulated grime off his body. The group quickly set out towards the Cerulean City Gym.

Just like in Pewter it only took a few minutes to get to the Gym. Unlike in Pewter, though, the Cerulean City Gym was a much more decorated building. It was colorful and cheerily decorated with a myriad of colors. A giant depiction of a Dewgong displayed on it was bolted to the roof of the building for all to see.

"This is more like it," Pikachu commented, his sharp eyes taking in every detail of the building. "Much more fitting for a Gym I'd say." Lucario nodded in silent agreement.

"Quite," Ash agreed with a nod.

Anabel shot Ash a curious look. She couldn't understand any Pokémon, but her own so she didn't know what Pikachu and he had been talking about. "What are you guys talking about?"

"That the Gym looks like you would expect it to be, unlike in Pewter City," Ash answered. Anabel gave him a confused look.

"How come?" The maiden questioned. She had never seen the Pewter City Gym for herself.

"The Pewter City Gym was simply depicted as a badly hewn out rock," Ash remarked sourly. "In other words: utterly unimaginative."

Anabel shrugged. "So? What had you expected anyway? A flower?"

Pikachu snickered as Anabel repeated what he had said to Ash the first time he had remarked on the Pewter City Gym.

Ash sighed. "It doesn't matter," he said. The rookie trainer eagerly walked forwards and entered the Gym, pushing through the double doors. The rest followed close behind him. "It's time to earn me a Badge!"

"Then you'll have to battle me to earn it," a voice announced the moment the doors slammed shut behind the group. Ash's eyes sought out the voice and widened when he saw who it was.

"Misty!" he cried out in surprised delight.

Said Water-Type specialist's eyes widened when she spotted him in turn. She was standing in front of the pool that acted as the Gym's battlefield. A megawatt smile appeared on her face as she greeted her old friend. "Ash, it's good to see you again! It's been almost two years since we last saw each other. Come here for a Badge, have you?"

Ash nodded, still smiling brightly. "Of course. It's indeed been a while hasn't it? How are your sisters?"

Misty groaned. "They're still annoying as ever," she said sourly, before brightening up. "Luckily, they aren't the Gym leaders anymore. I took over about a year ago. My sisters now give shows every week for a living."

Ash pouted. "I still find it very unfair that you were allowed to become a trainer three years earlier than me."

Misty laughed, a grin forming on her face. "Being a Gym brat has its advantages," she said smugly.

Anabel suddenly cut in. "I'm a bit lost here, you two know each other?"

Ash nodded, thinking back to how they had first met. "Yup. I met Misty and her sisters two years ago when I visited the city with my mother, a couple months before I met Lucario. We ran into one another when my mother and I actually visited one of Misty's sisters' shows."

Misty smiled in remembrance. "I saw him in the crowd just before the show started, and I was surprised to see that he didn't look bored at all. Young boys like him usually have to be dragged to my sisters shows by their parents. But Ash actually looked excited, and that peaked my interest."

"She sought me out after the show," Ash continued, thinking about the little girl who had approached him with a blinding smile. "We quickly hit it off and became great friends."

"Thank god I did that," Misty muttered to herself. She immediately noted the confused expression on Anabel's face at her remark and hurried to explain. "Ash and his mother stayed after the show. Delia talked with my sisters while Ash and I were playing near the pool. I soon grew tired and wandered off and accidentally got to close to my sisters Gyarados," she shuddered at the memories. "In my sleep addled mind I didn't recognize the danger. I had crawled into Gyarados' mouth. If Ash hadn't pulled me out in time I might have been swallowed."

Anabel looked pale at the story. Pikachu's fur was bristling in primordial fear. Lucario looked at Misty with sympathy. Both Misty and Ash looked very uncomfortable just remembering that particular occurrence.

Misty shook her head in an effort to banish the memories. "Needless to say it wasn't for a long time after that I was able to even look at a Gyarados, let alone get close to one."

Ash's eyes turned toward the Pokéballs clipped to Misty's belt. He raised an eyebrow at her. Was she saying what he thought she was saying?

"Well, Ash," Misty's voice broke through his thoughts. "You didn't come here to remember the past, did you?" she grinned at him. "You came here for a battle."

Ash nodded, turning serious. However, his serious expression melted away almost immediately, leaving a big grin behind. "Yup, let's get this show on the road!"

Misty smirked and directed Ash to the competitor's box on one side of the pool. She herself quickly took her spot on the other end of the immense body of water. Meanwhile, Anabel, with Eevee on her shoulder, took a place on a bench behind Ash. Lucario was, as always, beside Ash, and Pikachu reclined on his spot on Ash's own shoulder.

The Cerulean City Gym leader unclipped a Pokéball and started tossing it nonchalantly up and down in the air. "The rules are simple. This will be a two-on-two match. We're both allowed to substitute. The match will be over when one side's Pokémon are unable to continue." She firmly caught her Pokéball and held out towards Ash. "Ready?"

Ash nodded with hard eyes. "Bring it."

Misty smiled and released her Pokémon. "Show him the power of Water Pokémon! I chose you, Seaking!"

The large orange fish Pokémon with billowing caudal and pectoral fins, all of which are white specked with black, while its dorsal fin is pure white and rigid emerged in the waters of the pool. It was surprisingly silent and watched Ash with intelligent eyes.

"Pikachu," Ash announced.

The yellow rodent grinned and leaped from Ash's shoulder, landing on one of the narrow stripes of land that dotted the Gym pool. With sparking cheeks he smirked at the Seaking who, for some reason, didn't look worried at all.

Suddenly, there was a change in the air, and the battle began.

"Water Pulse!" Misty snapped, going immediately on the offensive.

Seaking complied and opened its deep pink mouth wide open. Water coalesced in front of it in the form of a pulsing sphere of water. With nary a pause the Water-Type fired it directly at Pikachu with phenomenal speed.

"Thunderbolt!" Ash countered.

Pikachu's cheeks sparked violently as he gathered the necessary electricity for the attack. With a growl he launched the golden arc of electricity straight at the incoming attack.

The Water Pulse managed to carve a way through the Thunderbolt, sending weak bolts of electricity raining everywhere, but detonated long before the attack could reach Pikachu.

"Quick Attack!" Ash commanded.

Pikachu rocketed forwards with incredible speed, so fast in fact that he was actually capable of running straight over the water.

"Horn Attack!" Misty snapped.

Seaking seemed to smirk and sped forwards, cutting through the water like hot knife through butter. Its long horn burned bright white and tripled in length as the Pokémon aimed it straight towards the incoming Pikachu.

Ash smirked. "Dodge!" he commanded at the very last possible moment. Pikachu flipped over Seaking just as its horn was about to gore him. "Iron Tail!" he followed up immediately. Pikachu's tail glowed white as he continued his spin and slammed his tail into Seaking's back with sickening force.

Seaking screeched in pain and was knocked under the water, while Pikachu used his tail to push of, allowing him to land safely on another narrow strip of land. The Water-Type emerged from the water moments later, glaring fiercely at Pikachu as a small trail of blood flowed from its back.

"Thunderbolt into the water!" Ash continued, seizing the initiative.

Pikachu smirked and bounded up to the edge of the narrow strip of land he stood on. The Electric-Type sunk one of his paws into the water and smirked at Seaking, who still looked oddly calm.

One second, everything was normal, the next, the entire pool blazed yellow as Pikachu pumped an enormous amount of electricity into the water, electrocuting every bit of the battlefield. There was no safe-haven for Seaking.

Pikachu panted when he withdrew his paw from the water. It had taken a lot more energy to electrocute the entire pool, but it was worth it. He looked up, expecting to see the unconscious form of Seaking, only to gasp in shock and dismay.

Seaking looked perfectly fine. It had taken no damage from his attack! The Pokémon looked down right amused.

Ash gazed stupidly at the Water-Type. How?

Misty smirked and laughed a short laugh. "Shocked aren't you? Impossible, you might be thinking, but it isn't so. My Seaking has the ability Lightningrod!" she announced grandly. And indeed, Seaking's horn crackled with an enormous amount of electricity, showing that Misty was telling the truth. "Electric-Type attacks are useless!"

Pikachu's eye twitched and his teeth clenched. What was it today with all the opponents that could counter his attacks so easily? Arceus must be having fun at his expense, he mused.

Ash gritted his teeth and glared at the smug Water-Type Gym leader. "Then we'll simply have to change things up," he decided. "Pikachu, return."

Everyone looked surprised at that move. Pikachu dutifully followed the command and used a Quick Attack to return to Ash's side, once again taking his spot on his trainers shoulder.

Ash unclipped a Pokéball and released Pidgeotto high above the pools water. The Flying-Type screeched as she finished materializing and glared down at the still form of Seaking.

"Water Gun!" Misty ordered as soon as Pidgeotto had finished materializing. She smirked. "And give it the present you got from Pikachu!"

Ash's and Pidgeotto's eyes widened as the Seaking blasted a jet of highly compressed water at Pidgeotto, followed by a lance of Pikachu's most potent electricity from its horn.

"Dodge!" Ash shouted. If those attacks hit then it would be game over for Pidgeotto.

Luckily, Pidgeotto proved herself a wily avian by evading both the blast of water and the lance of electricity with time to spare.

Seeing that its attack had missed Seaking launched into a rapid fire attack, spitting multiple jets of water up into the air towards Pidgeotto, forcing that Flying-Type to dance erratically through the air to evade the immense amount of attacks screaming for her.

The battle continued like this for a while. Seaking being unable to strike the incredibly nimble Flying-Type while Pidgeotto stayed high up in the air in order to give herself the room needed to dodge the constants barrage of attacks.

As time went on Seaking grew more and more tired, the constant attacks it had been launching draining its strength and stamina. Its attacks grew less focused and less powerful. And finally, one attack went incredibly wide, leaving Seaking open for a counter attack.

Which Ash ruthlessly exploited.

"Aerial Ace!" he ordered, pointing at the panting Seaking.

Pidgeotto screeched in reply and dive bombed towards the Water-Type. Her speed tripled as the wind blades of Aerial Ace appeared around her form and she suddenly disappeared. The next thing anyone knew there was a splash in front of Seaking.

Ash's eyes widened in panic. Had Pidgeotto flown straight into the w-

Seaking exploded up out of the water, Pidgeotto's sharp beak imbedded into the soft tissue of its underside. Wind blades whipped around her form and Ash nearly facepalmed when he realized that with the incredible speed of Aerial Ace Pidgeotto would be able to practically fly through the water, cutting through it like it wasn't even there.

Pidgeotto shot up high in the air, pushing Seaking up with her. Then she broke off, allowing Seaking to hover in the air for a tantalizing second before it was pulled back down towards the water...

Until Pidgeotto bashed into the Water-Type with another Aerial Ace, knocking it to the side. And then bashed into from the other side with another Aerial Ace. And then from below, and then from the left, and then from the right.

Ash watched with awe while Misty looked on with horror as Pidgeotto bashed Seaking up, down, and side to side like the Pokémon was the ball in a Ping-Pong match, doing incredible amount of damage in almost no time.

Pidgeotto soon took pity, however, and allowed the now unconscious Water-Type to fall back into the water. Before it even fell even halfway back down, however, Misty returned it.

The Water-Type Gym leader had a thunderous scowl on her face. She didn't say anything as she pulled out her second Pokéball and threw it into the air, releasing her second Pokémon.

A Dewgong appeared in the water and slapped its white fins together playfully. It regarded Ash and Pikachu with wide and happy eyes. Ash, despite himself, was relieved to see that he wasn't going to be facing a Gyarados. That would have been bad, even with the incredible advantage he would have had with Pikachu. Gyarados were simply that powerful.

"Ice Beam!" the enraged Gym leader commanded. "Follow with Icy Wind, wide coverage!"

The Sea lion-like Pokémon reacted quite fast. It opened its mouth and concentrated. An icy blue sphere of energy formed in seconds. Dewgong reared back before releasing the icy blue zigzagging beam of Ice Beam straight towards Pidgeotto. Having done that, Dewgong took a deep breath and reared back once more before spitting out a haze of ice-cold wind with sparkling blue snow in it, freezing the entire pool in front of it.

Pidgeotto barrel rolled out of the way of the Ice Beam, but couldn't avoid the Icy Wind. Pidgeotto shivered as the freezing wind washed over her, leaving glimmering icicles behind on her feathers, weighing her down.

"Aurora Beam!" Misty followed up, seeing the opportunity.

Dewgong angled the small horn on its head towards Pidgeotto as a multicolored glow covered it. The Water-Type closed its eyes as it concentrated. A moment later a lance of multicolored energy speared towards Pidgeotto at speeds to now weighed down Pokémon could not dodge.

The lance struck Pidgeotto and detonated on contact, knocking Pidgeotto from the sky. She fell and landed heavily on the ice now covering the pool.

"Pidgeotto!" Ash cried out as he eyed her form with sympathy.

Pidgeotto once again proved her remarkable resistance and endurance by defiantly scrambling back on her talons. She was panting heavily and her body was wracked with tremors of pain, but she was determined to prove that it would take a lot more than that to take her down.

Ash clenched his fist. "Gust!" he snapped.

Pidgeotto spread her wings as far as they could and flapped them repeatedly in Dewgong's direction, kicking up harsh torrent of wind that howled over the icy landscape.

Dewgong simply submerged itself to evade the attack. It emerged again moments later after the attack had dissipated and smiled mockingly at the panting avian.

"Wrap this up with Aqua Jet!" Misty commanded, punching a fist forward.

Dewgong seemed to smile as the water around it obeyed its command and streamed up to cover it in a blob of water, before rocketing forwards at incredible speed, leaving a stream of water behind itself as it moved.

"Dodge!" Ash shouted desperately.

Pidgeotto tried to move, but her body was simply too tired and pained to obey her commands. Dewgong smashed head first into her, driving its horn into her body and picking her up. Pidgeotto was slammed into side of the pool with an audible crack, knocking her unconscious.

Ash returned her immediately and turned his head to glare at Water/Ice-Type who had crushed his Pokémon so ruthlessly. "Pikachu," he growled quietly. "Get out there... and break that Dewgong."

Pikachu nodded, a cold look to his eyes, and jumped from Ash's shoulder, landing on another narrow strip of land.

"Hail!" Misty snapped, a smirk playing on her lips.

Dewgong called out a haunting cry and angled its head towards the roof of the building. In response white, hazy hail clouds suddenly appeared and spread to cover the entirety of pool.

Pikachu grimaced in pain as small stone sized hail particles started buffeting him immediately, knocking him around. He growled and hardened his stance, holding his ground against the relentless assault.

"Quick Attack!" Ash ordered, pointing towards Dewgong.

Pikachu complied and shot towards Dewgong, white light trailing behind him as he ran over the ice covering nearly half of the pool.

"Ice Shard!" Misty commanded, sweeping her hand to the side.

Dewgong gave another haunting cry and opened its mouth. Ice accumulated on front of it, forming a baseball sized shard of ice in front of its mouth. The Water-Type reared back before firing the attack straight towards Pikachu.

"Jump!" Ash called out as the attack soared towards his starter.

Pikachu immediately caught onto Ash's plan and sought to follow it to the letter. He jumped, landing on the Ice Shard and used it as a springboard to gain even more air. He soared high up in the sky and angled his falling form down towards Dewgong, white light from his Quick Attack still trailing behind him and adding to his speed.

"Now I've got you!" Misty smirked. She pointed towards the falling form of Pikachu. "End this with Aurora Beam!"

Dewgong angled its horn towards Pikachu and charged the Ice-Type attack in less than a second. The Water-Type paused, probably savoring the victory it was about to obtain, and then fired the lance of multicolored energy straight up towards Pikachu.

"Spin around it!" Ash ordered, already having the final move planned out.

Pikachu spun in midair, displacing himself just enough that the Aurora Beam merely managed to graze him. Pikachu grimaced in pain, but honed his attention on the shocked looking Dewgong, who had no hope of dodging anymore. He smirked devilishly as he rammed into Dewgong, submerging them both under water.

"Thunder!" Ash roared out the attack Pikachu had just managed to learn the day before.

"What!" Misty gasped, horrified. "No!"

The pool suddenly blazed yellow as blast and bolts of lightning erupted out of the water, converging on each other and becoming even more powerful. Lightning crackled and boomed. Thunderclaps rolled through the building and the smell of ozone became overpowering. Every single person in the building looked at the scene with awe.

And then without warning, it suddenly stopped.

Ash and Misty looked intently at the bubbling water, searching for their Pokémon to no avail. Then, Dewgong appeared, floating belly up in the water, knocked unconscious and its form smoking from the Thunder.

Misty sighed dispassionately and recalled the Water-Type moments later. She looked sad for a moment before shaking her head and stepping away from her box. She walked around the pool and approached Ash.

Meanwhile, Ash had Pikachu once again on his shoulder and was congratulating him on a job well done. Then his eyes were drawn to the approaching form of Misty. He immediately noted her expression and smiled. She didn't look all that upset at losing.

"Good job," Misty said with a smile. She reached into her pocket and retrieved the Cascade Badge. She held out the teardrop shaped Badge to Ash, who took it gratefully.

Ash studied it for a moment before pinning it to the inside of his jacket, right next to the Boulder Badge. He looked up and smiled at Misty. "That was an incredible battle, Misty. The best I ever had."

Misty chuckled and winked at Ash. "Same here Ash."

"That was incredible!" Anabel's voice suddenly made itself known, coming just from besides them. The purple-haired girls eyes where glittering. "I haven't seen a battle that riveting since I watched the Indigo League last year!"

"Thank you," both Ash and Misty said at same time. They looked at each other, blinking in surprise, before laughing.

Lucario finally spoke up as well as he walked up to stand besides Ash. Nice battle Ash. I haven't seen you so focused in quite a while.

Ash smiled, pleased at the compliment. Then he noticed that Misty was gaping at Lucario. Ash rolled his eyes. Misty was aware of Lucario. He had told her about him in the many letters they had shared, but he hadn't informed her of Lucario's ability to speak Human tongue. That was Lucario's secret and not his to share. Besides, the stupefied expression on her face was absolutely priceless! He wouldn't have spoiled this surprise for anything in the world!

Lucario had to twitch at the look Misty was shooting him. It wasn't that shocking that he could talk like a Human, was it? Surely there were other Pokémon out there who could do it.

This was really, really starting to piss him of. Big time.

"Ash," Misty said as she raised a hand to rub her temple. "I think we overdid our match a bit. I could just swear that I heard Lucario talk."

"Oh, no. He actually did talk," Ash assured with an amused smile on his face. "Lucario can project his mental voice outward using his Aura. He calls it his Aura Voice."

Misty slowly pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned. "Nothing is ever nice and simple around you, Ash," she sighed and shook her head. "I suppose you like it that way."

Ash nodded with a shit eating grin. "Exactly."

Misty smiled and held out her hand for Ash to take, who took it firmly. "Ash, it was a treat seeing you again. Go out there and make a name for yourself. I can't wait to see you compete in the Indigo league."

Ash let go and hugged the Water-Type trainer. Misty looked shocked for a moment before hugging Ash back. They let go of each other after a minute of simply holding the other.

"See you soon, Misty," Ash said as he and his friends turned to leave. "I'll be back when I'm famous. Goodbye!"

"Goodbye!" Misty called out after them as they left the building. She smiled to herself. "Good luck Ash," the water maiden whispered, sending out her silent prayers.

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A/N: And there goes chapter three. I hope it was as good as you guys imagined it would be.