Hello again,
If you've already read this chapter and are wondering what has changed in my rewrite of this, please refer to the author's note at the end.
Just a note; in this chapter I have referred to Brock and Iris as black people. I am aware that in various countries this term isn't considered politically correct, but here in South Africa it is considered so and is most certainly not a racist term.
You may notice that some Pokémon may be referred to without a capital letter, this is because I believe that when talking about Pokémon in general, one would refer to them as we refer to animals. You wouldn't write, "That is a Giraffe" but rather "That is a giraffe". However when referring directly to a specific Pokémon I will use capital letters. e.g. "What's wrong with Pikachu?"
A series of x's separating two paragraphs means that the setting has changed, either to a different character or location or time, etc.
However a series of hashtags separating two paragraphs means that it is still in the same setting, but the point of view has changed to someone else in that setting.
Please read and constructively criticize, comment on problems you find. Thank you.
Flames will be ignored.
I don't own Pokémon.
Chapter 2: Ray of Hope
Viridian City Police Station; 01/04/2013
Jenny's jovial mood had somewhat lessened as she walked back to the interrogation room; after all the inquisition of a woman whose only son had allegedly killed thousands of people was nothing to be joyful about. She paused outside the door to straighten her hair and clothes; she didn't want to appear unprofessional to the Champion of Sinnoh.
When she entered the room she was greeted by a depressing sight. Delia had her head in her hands and was obviously crying, while Cynthia had a sorrowful expression on her face as she gently rubbed Delia's back soothingly.
Noticing the new arrival the two women composed themselves; Cynthia bent down and whispered into Mrs. Ketchum's ear. "I promise you Delia, I promise you I'll find the one who did this to your son, but meanwhile you mustn't lose hope; Ash could still be out there somewhere, waiting for someone to find him and take him home." Delia sniffled, rubbed her nose and sent Cynthia a weak but grateful smile. Cynthia leaned back, showing a satisfied smirk for some reason.
Jenny decided not to watch, it was obviously a personal matter between the two women and she didn't want to intrude. She couldn't help but overhear Cynthia's promise though. She raised an eyebrow curiously; if the promise was genuine then Delia and her son had one of the most powerful allies they could possibly have.
Cynthia Lawson was absolutely legendary when it came to Pokémon battling; it was rumoured that once Alder and Drake from Hoenn had teamed up and faced her in double battle as a bet, and apparently only three of Cynthia's Pokémon fainted. Most people generally regarded that rumour as fact after Cynthia's famous battle with Lance a few years ago. Lance had put up a good fight; he was the world's greatest Dragon Tamer after all, but then Cynthia released her Garchomp. The beast had defeated Lance's strongest dragonite and the only damage it had received was a graze by a Hyper Beam. Ever since that spectacular battle Cynthia was unofficially labeled as the most powerful Pokémon Trainer currently living, aside from Kanto Champion and Pokémon Master, Red, of course, but he hadn't been seen in almost twenty years.
Most of today's Trainers had never seen Red battle and therefore believed all the stories about him to be largely exaggerated. But Jenny was one of the few who had seen him battle; she had been ten at the time. She had been present at what was now often referred to as 'The Great Slaughter'; an epic free-for-all battle between all of the Regional Champions that was staged in order to determine which of them would get to face the Pokémon Master and earn the title.
Each of the Champions had sent out their strongest Pokémon; Agatha, who was Johto's Champion at the time, had sent out her Gengar, Hoenn's Drake had sent out his Salamence, Sinnoh's Bertha had sent out her Rhyperior and Unova's Alder had sent out his legendary Volcarona. But it was when Red released his Pokémon that the slaughter started.
The first shock had been how large and different Red's charizard was compared to others; its wings were more angular, serrated and streamlined and the blue webbing appeared tattered. The two horns upon its head were still present but they were brutally sharp and a third larger horn was situated between the original two. It appeared to have two smaller wings upon its forearms, no doubt to increase its already incredible speed. And lastly its tail had a sharp protrusion at the base and number of spikes leading up to the burning end of the tail.
The second shock was what followed. Jenny could only describe the battle as a massacre of the other Champions' Pokémon. By match's end Charizard had been the only one remaining standing, barely, but still standing. The other Champion's Pokémon had lain defeated around him.
The third shock happened a week later. It had been assumed after that match that Charizard was Red's strongest Pokémon but when Red faced the Pokémon Master a week later, the real truth came out. The title of Red's strongest Pokémon, and hence the strongest non-legendary Pokémon, lay with the creature that was ever-present on Red's shoulder. A pikachu that no one had ever seen in battle until that fateful day, when it killed one of the Master's Pokémon.
Red was almost imprisoned, his Pokémon stripped away from him, until the Master intervened, maintaining that it was his own fault that his Pokémon died. He said that in his blind refusal to lose his title he had not noticed that his Pokémon was grievously wounded. Red had been about to forfeit the match for fear that Pikachu would kill the Master's ace, but then the Master had ordered his Pokémon to use Explosion.
The Master's Pokémon, too tired to conjure up the standard aura shield that usually wrapped the Pokémon in a protective shell that would prevent it from literally exploding, literally exploded... It was said that after the cloud of dust and blood mist had cleared, there wasn't much left aside from a rocky heart and a fleshy eye. Perhaps the most disturbing part of it all was that the Champion's ace was a Golem, a semi-ground type and immune to electricity.
So despite the fact that so many modern Trainers claimed that today's Champions like Cynthia and Lance could thrash the mysterious and elusive Kanto Champion and Pokémon Master, Jenny knew the real truth; that Pokémon Master Red was by far the most powerful Pokémon Trainer that had ever lived. She knew that neither Cynthia nor Lance would stand a chance against the Champion of Kanto. How his Pokémon had gotten so powerful was one of the biggest mysteries of the modern world, rivaled in speculation only by his disappearance.
Jenny realized with a start that Cynthia was asking her a question. She blushed in embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry Cynthia, could you repeat that?" Cynthia smiled gently at her, easing her nerves. "I was just asking if you could fetch Mrs. Ketchum and I some tissues; we can't have a civil conversation with runny noses now can we?" Jenny grinned as she pulled out some tissues from her breast pocket; as Chief Investigator she often had to deal with very emotional people, be it a witness, suspect or a tearful young Trainer who couldn't find their Pokémon, so she always had a few spare tissues on her person.
She handed the tissues to the two women who then proceeded to wipe their eyes and blow their noses. Cynthia once again turned to Jenny. "To bring you up to speed, Mrs. Ketchum and I were discussing her son's childhood and listing any close friends of his who could help us with any information about the man at all. So far only Misty Waterflower of Cerulean City and Gary Oak of Pallet Town were mentioned."
Cynthia turned back to Delia. "Ash travelled Johto, Hoenn and Unova did he not? Who travelled with him during those journeys?" Delia, now composed, decided to help Cynthia as much as she could. The Champion's passion for her plight had warmed her heart and she believed that she could trust the friendly blonde.
"After Kanto Misty continued traveling with Ash during his trip around the Orange Archipelago, Brock had temporarily left but the two met a Pokémon Watcher by the name Tracey Sketchit during their trip. Ash and Tracey became very close during their trip together and he could certainly help with any questions you may have. Currently he resides in Professor Oak's Lab in Pallet with Gary, but if he's not there you might find him at Misty's house in Cerulean."
Cynthia raised an eyebrow. "The two are dating then? " Delia chuckled. "No no not at all, I believe Misty's heart has been stolen by another…" Delia's smile turned upside down, "but now she won't ever be able to tell him how she feels…" Cynthia frowned as she realised that Delia was referring to Ash; if Misty was moping over a broken heart and her missing friends she probably wouldn't much help to the investigation.
Delia sighed and decided to focus on helping Cynthia before she began crying again. "No, Tracey wasn't dating Misty but rather her eldest sister Daisy. Daisy hardly knows Ash so she wouldn't be able to help you. As for Ash's other journeys, Brock returned after the Orange Archipelago trip and Tracey decided to stay in Pallet and study with Professor Oak. Ash travelled around Johto with both Brock and Misty, but after the Silver Conference both Misty and Brock were forced to return to their homes in Cerulean City and Pewter City respectively. Their leaving hurt Ash deeply but I think Misty was hurt the most; by that stage her little 'crush' on Ash had begun to develop into something a little more permanent."
Cynthia chuckled before asking curiously. "You seem to know a lot about Misty and Ash's relationship during their journey, how come?" Delia smiled widely at this. "I could tell from the moment Misty walked through my front door that she liked my son, hell everybody could see it except for my son, perhaps he was too blinded by his own affections for the red headed girl." Delia sighed; it seemed that Ash inherited his obliviousness towards romance from his father. Delia smiled wistfully as she recalled the trouble she went through trying to get Ash's father's attention.
Cynthia, while finding Delia's reflecting heartwarming, interrupted the woman's daydreams as she asked her next question, "So Ash traveled around Hoenn alone then?" Delia once again sighed. "No, in fact on his first day he made a new travelling companion; a beautiful young girl named May Maple, you may have heard of her; I hear she's quite a successful Pokémon Coordinator now." Cynthia nodded; she had.
Delia continued, "Ash and May made their way back to May's hometown, Petalburg City, where I believe she is currently residing. Ash met with May's parents and little brother, and he learnt that May's dad, Norman, was the Gym Leader of the city, he still is I think. Ash set off with both May and her brother, Max, and was shortly reunited with Brock. Together the four journeyed around Hoenn before returning back to Kanto to take part in the Battle Frontier."
"As you already know Ash travelled around Sinnoh with Brock and Dawn but at the end of that journey Brock left permanently. Ash traveled to Unova alone but once again not for long; he met a black woman around his own age by the name of Iris and shortly afterwards was joined by one of Striaton City's Gym Leaders, Cilan. He traveled Unova with those two before coming home and taking a year break, he then decided to re-travel Sinnoh as he felt that was where he was strongest, I think he was mostly missing Dawn's perkiness after Iris' constant nagging."
Cynthia raised an eyebrow as a thought occurred to her, "Wait, so Misty traveled with Ash through Kanto, Johto and the Orange Archipelago?" Delia nodded, confused as to why she was being asked again. "Then he traveled through Hoenn, Sinnoh and Unova with May, Dawn and Iris respectively?" Delia again nodded with a growing grin on her face; she thought she knew where this was heading now.
"Mrs. Ketchum perhaps your son isn't the same boy he was in Pallet Town, he seems to have more female friends than male." Delia's grin was now spreading across her face. "I thought so too at first, and all these pretty young women may have been interested in my son at some point on their journeys, though I don't know for sure. I know that Ash was interested though; he'd have to be made of stone not to be attracted to these women after spending so much time with them. But only one girl managed to truly snag my son's attention, a certain fiery red head from Cerulean. He may have been crushing hard on Iris at one point though."
Delia paused, and Cynthia took the opportunity ask a question, "This Iris, is she a Dragon Trainer? Big purple hair? Quite hot-tempered?" Delia glanced curiously at Cynthia, "Yes, how did you know?" Cynthia smiled, "Well it turns out that Iris is Alder's newest protégé, and Alder himself has told me that he plans to train Iris to be the next Champion of Unova."
Delia beamed, "Really? That's great news, I hope everything goes well for her." Cynthia nodded and turned to the silent Jenny. "Officer Jenny, could you please contact Cerulean City, Petalburg City and Striaton City Stations and ask them to bring in Misty, May, Max and Cilan? Oh, and if Tracey is in Cerulean tell them to bring him in as well. I'll call Alder myself and ask for Iris."
Jenny nodded and stood up and then left the room to do ask Cynthia had asked. Cynthia turned back to Delia, "Well Mrs. Ketchum thank you very much for being so patient with us and answering my questions, however I must ask one thing more of you. Can you please come in the same time tomorrow? Hopefully all of Ash's friends will be here and I would like you to be present when we begin interrogating them."
Delia sighed but nodded, "Alright Cynthia, I'll come in, but only if you're the one asking questions, I don't want anything more to do with Lance." Cynthia barked a laugh before her phone started to ring; she fished it out of her coat and saw the caller ID… Bruno? Rarely did other G-Men members call her directly on her cellphone. She accepted the call and brought the phone up to her ear. "Bruno, what's wrong?"
Delia became alert when Cynthia gasped and her face was drained of all colour. Cynthia's next words confirmed to Delia that something terrible had just happened. "Are you alright Bruno? Were you injured?"… "An orange blur? Could it be a Pokémon? You think it was a charizard?"… "Its wings had been torn off?! What on earth could tear off a dragonite's wings?!" That last sentence really alarmed Delia, what the hell was wrong?
Cynthia's face remained stony as she continued to listen to Bruno's rushed voice. "Have you contacted the League yet?"… "They're on their way?"… "…Do you think it was the Colossus?"…"Okay Bruno, tell the Council that I will be staying in Viridian for the time being."…"I'll be fine Bruno, I get the feeling Lance was a warning, not the beginning of an eradication of Champions."…"Okay bye."
Cynthia hung up and stood up quickly. "Mrs. Ketchum I think I will escort you back to Pallet Town, I need to speak with Professor Oak as soon as possible." Delia, very worried now, asked "Wait Cynthia what's wrong? What's happened? And what's the Colossus?" Cynthia sighed. "Lance has been murdered and Bruno reckons it was a charizard. It killed both Lance and Dragonite in a matter of minutes. Bruno thinks it was the Colossus, which is the G-Men codename for As- …I mean the man on the podium."
Delia went pale; she had been speaking with Lance not 15 minutes ago! He was the Johto Champion for Arceus' sake! What charizard could possibly defeat Lance's strongest Pokémon so quickly?! Unless… Delia felt nauseous as the gravity of what she was thinking hit her, it wasn't possible! But… if Cynthia thought it was… Yes! Delia purposely groaned and rubbed her face, as though she was going to be sick.
Cynthia sighed; judging by Delia's sickly face she had reached the same conclusion that Bruno had: that only one person had a charizard that strong... Master Red… Cynthia resumed talking "That's why I need to see Professor Oak, it is my understanding that Red is from Pallet Town right?" Delia nodded warily. "Well then Professor Oak must be the one that keeps his Pokémon and changes them when the need arises." Delia sighed and shook her head slowly. Cynthia, confused by Delia's solemn reaction, voiced her confusion, "What's wrong Delia?"
Delia replied sadly, "Not many people know this but Red has only six Pokémon, so he never has to trade any Pokémon out, Professor Oak doesn't keep any of his Pokémon at his lab." Cynthia sighed in frustration "Nevertheless, Professor Oak must have some useful information on him so I'll go with you anyway" Delia nodded and stood up to leave with Cynthia following closely behind.
The two headed out of the station and got into Delia's little hatchback before heading off for the hour drive to Pallet Town.
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Same location; same day; three hours later
Bruno had known he was in trouble as soon as he saw the quietly furious faces of the G-Men Council, all present except for Lance and Cynthia of course, during their video conference call. He had never gotten along too well with them as they felt his interests clashed with those of the G-Men. The G-Men believed in preventing crime syndicates and thwarting rising warlords and terrorists at any cost, but Bruno believed that nothing was worth the cost of even one innocent life. The G-Men thought Bruno too noble and unwilling to do the dirty work that was often required of a G-Man and as such, had never trusted him. Bruno had always thought that the Council would jump at the earliest opportunity to take him down, and he had not been wrong.
The Council had expelled him. They had managed to get the League to revoke his Elite Four status and then they informed him that he was no longer welcome at the Plateau, effectively kicking him out of his home. And then they had him arrested under suspicion of conspiring with Ash Ketchum to kill the Champion of Johto.
Which is how Jenny found him back at the Viridian Station, in handcuffs and an orange jumpsuit far too small for him, he could probably tear his clothes off just by flexing, not that she would have minded. Fortunately for both her and Bruno, she hadn't yet informed her superiors of her new relationship with their newest yet-to-be-convicted criminal and because she had such an excellent reputation as Chief Investigator, and she was the nearest available, she was personally selected by Cynthia to question him on his affiliation with Ash.
She knew the supposed affiliation wasn't true of course; it was just another example of today's flawed system. It was relatively common knowledge that the G-Men Council disliked Bruno and so Jenny drew her own, and quite accurate, assumptions of why her new boyfriend was sitting handcuffed in front of her. Luckily, as the G-Men was such a powerful leading political and economic association, any Police Officer chosen by a Council Member to conduct a private investigation effectively had the power of the judge and jury, so after a few questions she had the power to acquit Bruno of his charges immediately.
Jenny sighed nervously; she still had to question Bruno of course, her job was on the line. "M-Mr. Siba sir, I-I don't really w-want to do this, b-but I kind of have to…" Bruno smiled that rare and yet so charming smile at her and she practically melted in her seat. "No worries ma'am, I understand, let's just get this out of the way shall we?" Jenny nodded, composed herself, and switched on the camera and video recorder.
"Mr. Siba, you left this station at roughly 2'O'clock this afternoon with instructions to escort Lance Wilson back to the Plateau, correct?" Bruno nodded, "Who instructed you to do so?" Bruno leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table, his cuffed hands spread out on the surface, "Cynthia Lawson, the Champion of Sinnoh and Sinnoh representative of the G-Men Council."
Jenny continued, "Do you have any reason to believe that Ms. Lawson knew that Mr. Wilson would be targeted by Ash Ketchum?" Bruno shook his head "No." Jenny grimaced slightly at her next question, "So you conspired alone with Ash Ketchum?"
Bruno leaned forward again, "No, I did not conspire with Ash Ketchum and I had no intention of murdering Mr. Wilson." Jenny put down her list of questions before leaning back, "Mr. Siba I would like you to describe exactly what happened after Mr. Wilson was escorted to you."
Bruno smiled slyly, "Well first I managed to get the number of a beautiful woman and I was hoping to take her out for a lovely date this evening." Jenny blushed heavily at what Bruno was implying, but gestured for Bruno to continue.
"I told Mr. Wilson to get into my car and he told me that he would ride his dragonite back to the Plateau. I saw no harm in letting him do so, so I let him go. I entered my car and had just started the long drive back to the Plateau when I saw a massive orange blur head straight for Mr. Wilson's position. I was confident that Mr. Wilson would be able to handle whatever it was if it posed a threat to him. A couple of minutes later Mr. Wilson's body slammed onto the hood of my car followed by his dragonite, I am unsure whether he was alive before the impact, but he definitely wasn't after it. His dragonite had had its wings removed making me wonder what charizard, which I could see it was now after watching it fly away, could possibly have done this. Dragonite actually survived the ordeal and is currently resting in Viridian PokéCentre with many grievous wounds."
Jenny sat in shock and concern; she hadn't realized how close her new boyfriend had been to whole incident. She composed herself before gesturing to a folder placed upon the table between them. "Nurse Joy's report on Dragonite states that what remains of Dragonite's wings aren't cleanly severed stumps but rather stretched and frayed tendons protruding out of his back. She says that whatever Pokémon did this to Dragonite hadn't used a Slash or a similar slicing attack to sever the wings, but instead used brute force to rip the wings out of his back. There are two large bruises situated between where his wings were that are shaped as a charizard's footprints, Joy believes that a charizard had placed its feet there and then grabbed Dragonite's wings with its claws before pushing with its feet and pulling with its hands, thus pulling the wings out of Dragonite's back. Unfortunately the regenerative tissue was also pulled out… Dragonite's wings will not grow back and he will never be able to fly again."
Bruno's expression fell, to see such a powerful Pokémon so restricted was a tragic sight indeed, but what was most frightening is the ease that this charizard had pulled this off with. In all his life he had only seen one charizard that could possibly have the power to do this, the one responsible for 'The Great Slaughter' twenty five years ago. He had informed Cynthia of his suspicions which was why she was on her way to Professor Oak's lab with Ketchum's mother.
Jenny then resumed with her questions, "Exactly where were you when the incident happened?" Bruno answered, "I was driving past the Viridian Gym." Jenny raised an eyebrow, "Viridian Gym? Hmm… Very interesting…"
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Bruno was confused, "…What?" he said smartly, but instead of answering Jenny just smiled sweetly at him, "Bruno Siba it is my professional opinion that you did not conspire with Ash Ketchum to assassinate Lance Wilson and therefore you are free to go." She stood up and turned off the camera before gathering all her files and asking Bruno to follow her.
"Mr. Siba may I ask you to accompany me to the Viridian Gym?" They were still in the station so she had to keep up appearances to avoid a superior or a colleague discovering her affiliation with Bruno. Bruno grinned cheekily, "With pleasure Officer Jenny." Jenny blushed but quickly fought it down, she had a job to do and she was damn good at it, she couldn't let herself be distracted by Bruno.
"Why are we going to the Gym?" Bruno asked. Jenny told Bruno what was on her mind. "Well after I called all of Ash's surviving friends Cynthia told me of your suspicions that Dragonite's charizard must have been Red's Charizard. Not many people know this but the Viridian Gym Leader used to be Red's rival when they were younger. In fact Blue, the Viridian Gym Leader, had been Kanto's Champion for a couple of days before Red came along and took the title from him. They had always disliked each other but that whole event caused them to despise each other. Nobody really knows why they hated each other so much in the first place though some say that there was a girl involved."
"Anyway since Lance was killed right outside Blue's gym by what we assume to be Red's Charizard, I'm thinking that maybe this isn't a message to the G-Men but rather a message to Blue, some kind of warning or threat." Bruno was impressed; his girlfriend was very good at her job it seemed, he of course had known about Blue's temporary reign as Kanto's Champion and his usurping by Red, Bruno himself had been a candidate for a new Elite Four at the time, hoping to replace Professor Blaine. But he hadn't expected Jenny to know so much about it.
As they left the station and made their way to the Gym Bruno was about to ask Jenny another question when he noticed she was on her phone. Judging by Jenny's expression it wasn't a particularly pleasant conversation.
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Jenny hung up and sighed. "That was Joy, Dragonite's in a stable condition but he hasn't awoken yet… I'm not really looking forward to when he does…" Bruno nodded solemnly. Jenny turned to Bruno, "You must have experience with all of this, what's to become of Dragonite?" Jenny asked with trepidation. Bruno sighed, "When he regains consciousness Nurse Joy will ask if he would like to be put down by lethal injection or to go and live out the rest of his days on Mt. Silver. Unfortunately he won't survive for long on that mountain but a Pokémon as strong as him cannot be let into ordinary habitats. Pokémon are still wild creatures and Dragonite is an apex predator, he would cause massive imbalance in any other habitat."
Jenny sighed, "And Lance's other Pokémon?" she asked, "Set free, a few of them will probably approach another Elite and ask to be theirs, the ones that don't usually end up on Mt. Silver anyway, hence why the wild Pokémon there are so strong. Mt Silver is essentially an Elite Graveyard; all the Pokémon that live there are ex-Elite Pokémon" Bruno replied, "Years of living in the wild have turned them feral again, but with as much power as they have Mt. Silver had become one of, if not the most dangerous place on Earth. Not to mention the lack of oxygen from being so high, or the blizzards, or the avalanches, or the glaciers and crevasses."
Jenny shivered, many courageous and adventurous travelers had attempted to summit the tallest mountain in the world before, it was the ultimate challenge after all. But the furthest anyone had ever gotten was the 8000 metre mark, and that happened to be Pallet Town's very own resident Professor. He had even managed to climb higher than the Ghurkas, a group of specialist warriors trained in the art of close combat with hands and knives and guerilla warfare who resided on the lower slopes of the mountain. Many people believed that, like Mt. Coronet in Sinnoh, the tip of the mountain housed some of the most powerful Legendary Pokémon, especially Servants, who tended to worship the mountain as hallowed ground where no man should ever set foot.
Jenny decided to put that cursed mountain out of her mind and then she remembered something she overheard from Cynthia, she was already beginning to see the perks of having an ex-Elite as a boyfriend as she asked her next question, "Why do the G-Men call the man on the podium 'the Colossus'?"
Bruno glanced at her in surprise before chuckling, "Well the G-Men use a ranking system to rate the strength of a Trainer's Pokémon. The strongest rank is Rank Omega but it is often called the Legendary Rank, that rank is reserved only for Pokémon with the power of a Legendary. The next rank is the Alpha Rank, otherwise known as the Colossal Rank. Lance's Dragonite and Cynthia's Garchomp are considered Beta Rank Pokémon, the rank below Alpha, and there has only ever been one Trainer with Colossally Ranked Pokémon." That Trainer, of course, was Red.
"Anyway, after reviewing the details of the even in Sinnoh the G-Men Council concluded that the Pokémon belonging to the man on the podium must have been Alpha Rank and therefore of Colossal Strength, they hence decided that he be given the codename 'Colossus'."
Jenny allowed Bruno to recover his breath before she tentatively asked her next question, "…Do you think that… the Colossus… was Ash?" Bruno looked at his girlfriend speculatively, "Jenny have you ever met Ash?" She was taken aback by the question, "Well… yeah… back when he was 13 and he had just started his journey, he came into town scorched, bleeding and terrified, cradling a weak Pikachu and desperate to get the little mouse to the Pokémon Centre. I actually helped him." Bruno nodded and asked, "And why did you?" Jenny sighed, "He looked so scared and lost and I could see he was distraught over whatever had happened to his Pikachu. I felt that it was the least I could do."
"And do you think that the boy you met 7 years ago is capable of killing a hundred thousand innocent people?" Bruno asked with a gentle smile on his face, Jenny sighed and shook her head, "No… he wasn't." Bruno smiled widely, "Good, I don't think he could have changed so much since I met him while training at Mt. Hideaway, he was so determined to be the best, but not at the cost of his Pokémon's health or his friend's happiness. If ever there was a child that was raised perfectly, then he is that child, I would very much like to meet his mother."
Jenny was surprised, and slightly jealous; it seemed that Bruno had an incredibly high opinion of both Delia and Ash, but she really hoped that Bruno would never meet former as she could tell that Delia was a formidable woman and from what she had gathered so far, Bruno seemed to be attracted to the formidable type.
"So who do think the Colossus was?" Jenny asked. Bruno's smile fell and he answered with yet another question, "Jenny, have you ever seen Red before?" Jenny nodded, "Yeah I saw him at 'The Great Slaughter' ages ago," she said, confused. "And how did he look?" Bruno asked, "Well he had spiky black hair and he always wore a red cap and he always had his… pikachu by… his side." Jenny trailed off.
Bruno nodded when he saw the look of realisation pass across Jenny's face, "He looked a lot like Ash didn't he." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Jenny nodded numbly; she couldn't believe she hadn't seen it before. All of a sudden she felt sick and very scared; it was bad enough that they suspected Red killed Lance but the possibility that the Pokémon Master was responsible for the 'Valley of Death' was truly horrifying.
Jenny voiced her fears to Bruno, "How can we stop Red? His Pokémon are almost Legendary strength!" Bruno smiled widely, "Exactly, almost Legendary strength, meaning that there are Pokémon out there that are stronger than them. We just have to convince them to help us." Jenny stared at him incredulously, "So your plan is to recruit Legendary Pokémon? Well that's great, let's just ask the most powerful beings on the planet to help us humans to save our own kind, I'm sure they'll listen to us." She said sarcastically. Bruno, somehow missing the sarcasm, smiled broadly and nodded, "Exactly, we can't fail with them on our side."
Jenny stared at him before shaking her head and muttering to herself. "Great, your boyfriend is a crazy, unemployed idiot who doesn't get sarcasm. Good job Jenny, you really know how to pull in the good ones." She blushed when she felt a massive hand clasp her shoulder gently, she glanced up thinking Bruno had heard her, but then she noticed that they had reached the entrance to the Viridian Gym. She shared a glance with Bruno before they both walked up the stairs to the door. The two armoured guards ignored them as they pushed through and entered a darkened battlefield.
A light flickered on at the opposite end of the battlefield and they saw a tall imposing man sitting atop a towering podium. He wore a very formal business shirt with a red tie underneath a green waistcoat. Over all of this he wore an orange blazer that matched his orange trousers. His dark brown hair was slicked back and he wore an ominous smirk upon his face.
He stepped forward as the podium began to descend to ground level, "Ah, Officer Jenny and Mr. Siba, to what do I owe the pleasure of a Police Officer and an Elite in my Gym?"
Jenny noted that the man had called Bruno an Elite, it seemed that the G-Men hadn't yet let the world know what happened to Lance and why the Master Fighting-type Trainer was expelled, but it mattered not. Jenny stepped forward and began to speak, "Mr. Siba is aiding me in an investigation that has brought us here and we have a few questions regarding the Kanto Champion and Pokémon Master Red, whom we know is an acquaintance of yours Giovanni… or should I say… Blue…"
Blue chuckled as he made his way towards the couple, "It has been a long time since anybody called me by that name Officer, I of course will help you to the best of my ability." It was only when Blue was standing right in front of them that she realized how big he was, he was still tiny compared to Bruno but he was at least six feet tall and he had very broad shoulders. Jenny realized with start that he was very familiar looking, but she couldn't for the life of her remember who Blue reminded her of.
Blue extended his hand to the two and they both shook it politely, he then spoke, "How about we retire to my office before we begin with the questions?" Jenny nodded and spoke, "Lead the way Blue."
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Pallet Town; Professor Oak's Lab; 01/04/2013:
Gary Oak was sitting at the kitchen table staring solemnly out the window at all the Pokémon frolicking around in the Corral. Most of them were either his or Ash's, he realized as he watched Bulbasaur fend off a hungry Heracross with his vines. He saw Gible biting Sceptile's head, blinding him while Oshawott used Rapid Spin on his legs, causing him to fall down suddenly. He saw Staraptor sparring with the Shiny Noctowl and Totodile dancing around Quilava trying to agitate him. He saw the herd of Taurus charging around, almost trampling Glalie who was just floating by.
Gary was both heartened and saddened as he watched his ex-rival's Pokémon enjoy themselves, they were incredible specimens; so powerful and yet so happy and playful, a combination which was all too rare in owned Pokémon, and they were powerful indeed. Although Ash had struggled through Unova, both his own skill and his Pokémon's power had increased dramatically on his re-run through the cold northern region of Sinnoh. The raven haired Pokémon Trainer had breezed through most of the contestants at the Lily of the Valley Conference without much trouble. Gary figured that after the Conference Ash would have gone on to challenge an Elite Four whatever the outcome of his match against Paul. Well… any outcome except the one that happened at least…
Gary was deeply affected what had happened as, despite his initial rivalry with the immature raven-haired boy, Gary had grown to respect the formidable man that Ash had become. Gary knew that Ash was the best friend he ever had; he also knew that he didn't deserve Ash, as a friend or indeed as an opponent, not after what the young researcher had done to him. He held deep resentment for his younger, foolish self and although Ash had forgiven him, Gary had yet to forgive himself. And now he wasn't sure he ever would be able to with Ash gone.
He continued to watch his best friend's Pokémon as he tried to think of how he was to break the news of Ash's probable fate to his Pokémon. They believed he was still out in the wilderness somewhere; traveling, training and catching Pokémon.
Gary's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door and he breathed a sigh of relief; any distraction was welcome right now. He slowly stood up and headed towards the entrance of his grandfather's Lab to answer the door. He gazed through the peephole and saw the formidable Sinnoh Champion standing at his grandfather's threshold. He wasn't all that surprised that Cynthia was in Pallet Town; he had figured he would soon be getting a visit from a G-Men official regarding Ash.
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Gary Oak opened the door, stepped out and extended his hand in greeting to the blonde champion, "Good Afternoon Ms. Lawson, what can I do for you today?" Cynthia warily gripped his hand and shook; the last time she had grabbed his hand he had brought her hand to his lips in an attempt to woo her, but she figured he was probably a bit pre-occupied to attempt to flirt right now.
She started to speak, "Hello Mr. Oak, is your grandfather in today? I need to speak to him about the Kanto Champion and… " She trailed off when she noticed that a look of shock and excitement had dawned across the young researcher's face.
"I'm very sorry Ms. Lawson but I need to check on something quickly, please come in and make yourself at home," he said very quickly out before rushing back inside and towards the Corral.
Cynthia, quite curious now, decided to follow him. As she stepped outside into the Corral she saw Gary heading towards a floating white Pokémon. She approached him and asked, "What's wrong with that Glalie?" Gary turned around and Cynthia saw that he had a broad smile on his face. "Nothing is wrong with it, it just happens to be Ash's Glalie!" He stated as his smile grew even larger.
Cynthia gasped, "Are you sure? This Glalie is Ash's?!" Gary nodded happily, "This should be proof enough that it wasn't Ash right? I mean that's why you're here isn't it?" he said hopefully. "Well it won't quite acquit Ash of all his charges but it will certainly help in the long run, but no, that's not actually why I'm here." Gary's smile drooped before he composed himself, put a polite expression on his face and asked, "Well then, what can I do for you Ms. Lawson?"
Although Cynthia was looking for his grandfather decided to go ahead and ask Gary her questions anyway, "Champion Red was born in Pallet Town and as you well know he is one of the most mysterious people in the world. So I was wondering if there is anything that you and your grandfather, as fellow Pallet Town natives, know about Red that others don't; like who his friends were, what were his favourite regions, his favourite training sites and…" Again Cynthia trailed off, getting a bit annoyed now, as Gary fished his phone out of his pocket and glanced at the screen before sighing. "I'm really sorry Ms. Lawson but I really have to take this call."
Cynthia nodded politely but frowned slightly; it didn't look anyone was calling him. As Gary wandered off talking to whoever had 'called' him she decided to wander around the Corral a bit while watching Ash's Pokémon. She eventually found herself by a small pond next to a little cave and decided to rest there a bit. She took off her high heels and long black coat, revealing a simple black tank top that clung to her curvaceous body, before sitting down and resting her feet in the water. She lay back, closed her eyes and sighed in pleasure as the cool waters soothed her feet.
She lay in silence and just listened. She listened to the call of the Bird Pokémon, to the splashing of the Fish Pokémon, to the various noises of the other Pokémon frolicking around this beautiful slice of heaven tucked away in Pallet Town. As she herself had grown up in the quaint little town of Celestic she knew the joy of growing up in a small and isolated settlement surrounded by the country. She knew how to appreciate the beauty of the natural earth, a skill seemingly absent from many of the modern world's inhabitants.
She took a deep breath, breathing in the fresh air before releasing it slowly. She felt the soft grass with her hands as it caressed her arms and back. She felt the goldeen in the pond nibbling at her feet, causing her to giggle happily. Being a G-Men Officer and Council Member was a very stressful job and her troubles had only increased since the Colossus had struck, she had had only a few hours' sleep since that day and she needed all the rest she could get. This little relaxing break was very welcome to her indeed.
Cynthia frowned when a shadow fell upon her face and she opened her eyes to discover the cause. She was startled by the face staring back at her. It was small tubby dark blue-skinned Pokémon with a red underbelly. It had small paws attached to short stubby arms and legs. Upon its head was a large fin with two egg shaped appendages protruding from either side just behind its coal black eyes. Upon each appendage and its back was a pale blue stripe. Lastly it had a very small tail and a gaping maw of razor sharp fangs, the latter all too visible as it smiled ominously down at Cynthia. "Gible?" Cynthia screamed as it leapt at her face.
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When Gary was out of Cynthia's hearing range he stopped pretending to talk into his phone before dialing an actual number. The phone rang a few times before he heard a feminine voice, "Hello this is Delia speaking." Gary began talking rapidly, "Mrs. Ketchum! Cynthia is here at the lab and she's asking me about Red! Gramps isn't here right now and I don't know what to do!"
As Gary panted, catching his breath, he heard his best friend's mum speak reassuringly, "Calm down Gary, I'll tell you what to do." Gary breathed a sigh of relief as Delia continued, "Earlier today I was at the Viridian Police Station when Cynthia began asking me about Ash. She got a call from Bruno telling her that Lance and his Dragonite had been murdered by an incredibly strong charizard. Naturally she assumed that Red's Charizard is the only charizard strong enough to have done it. I thought it would be best if she believed that that was the truth, so I acted as if I didn't know anything about Red. You have to do the same, convince Cynthia that you don't know Red and tell your grandfather to do the same if you have the chance."
Gary sighed with dread, lying to a Champion, a G-Men Officer no less, was not an ideal action. "Ok Mrs. Ketchum, thanks for the advice, I'll call Gramps now." He hung up only to call his grandfather. He told Professor Oak what he had just been told before he hung up again. Gary was about to go and find Cynthia when an ominous thought occurred to him. He quickly headed back into the lab and accessed the vid-phone. He selected a contact and waited before a familiar face with messy spiked green hair popped up onto the screen. "Hey Liza, I need to see Ash's Charizard, is he there?"
Liza frowned, "Well it's funny you should say that Gary…" Gary's face went pale and his stomach twisted and flopped, his fears were founded it seemed. "Why?" he asked tentatively. Liza's reply hit Gary like a brick wall, "Well Ash's Charizard just took up and left a while ago, it looked like he was heading for Kanto, in the direction of Viridian I think."
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Gible was happy; it had successfully tripped Sceptile with the help of friend Oshawott and the ensuing battle had fired him up with adrenaline. He wanted more! He could feel that he was close to evolving and he really wanted to battle so that he finally could. Unfortunately Ash's Kantonian, Johtonian and Hoenn Pokémon were much too strong for him and his Unovian Pokémon were just too weak, this narrowed his choices down to Pokémon from his own region but Infernape and Torterra were too strong, Buizel was too fast now that it had evolved and both Staraptor and Gliscor were too damn high.
Gible suddenly sensed a powerful presence, close to the pond and cave where he and Oshawott lived. He headed in that direction until he saw a strange blonde woman lying down with her feet in the pond. She had a weird smile on her face and her eyes were closed, but what really captured his attention was the power emanating from the PokéBalls at her waist; they seemed the same level as him! She was a worthy opponent!
"Gible!" he growled happily and he waddled his way to the woman. What Gible didn't realise was that the power he sensed was just a smidgeon of the power of the Pokémon within. The fact that he could even sense any strength at all through the highly insulated linings of a PokéBall meant that the Pokémon within were incredibly powerful.
Gible reached the woman and challenged her loudly, "Gible!" After a few seconds of no response he frowned; it appeared the woman had somehow not heard him. "GIBLE!" he yelled. Again, the woman lay still, absent to the world around her. Gible growled in frustration before an idea came to him. He smiled wickedly.
He leaned over the woman's face, blocking the sun, and opened his mouth, the gaping maw filled with razor sharp fangs but empty of saliva as most Dragon's mouths were. The woman finally opened her eyes and stared at him in horror. She screamed as Gible lunged forward and enclosed her head in his mouth. A few moments later Gible cried as he transformed into formless red energy before being sucked into a PokéBall.
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Cynthia took a deep breath of fresh air to dispel the horrible stench of the dragon's mouth before looking up at her savior. There stood an old man with short sandy hair and thick eyebrows. His red shirt was tucked into his light brown trousers and he wore a crispy clean white lab coat.
Professor Oak leaned on his walking staff as he smiled gently down at Cynthia and pocketed Gible's PokéBall. "I am terribly sorry about that Ms. Lawson, that was Ash's Gible and he has an unfortunate habit of biting people's heads. He's never hurt anyone though, are you alright?" After she had calmed down a bit Cynthia lifted her feet out the water and stood up. She wiped her wet feet on the grass as she shook the professor's hand. "I'm fine Professor thank you. Actually I came here to see you." Professor Oak, who had already received the call from his grandson, feigned surprise, "Oh? Whatever for?"
Cynthia slipped her shoes on as she spoke, "I need to know everything about Red that you know, from his favourite food to his favourite training sites." Professor Oak nodded, "I see, I suppose I should have known. You'd best come in then, I'll boil some tea and bring out the biscuits while we talk."
Cynthia smiled at the kindly old man before bowing her head slightly in acquiescence. "Thank you Professor." She picked up her coat and began following the old man back to the lab when he suddenly turned around. "Oh, and Ms. Lawson?"
"Yes Professor?"
"You'd best put your coat back on; my grandson may be depressed but he can only take so much before his… unsavoury habits return," he said while chuckling. Cynthia looked down and blushed heavily as she realized that her outfit without the coat didn't leave much to the imagination. She hurriedly put her coat on as she tried in vain to dispel her reddened cheeks.
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Viridian City Gym; 01/04/2013:
Blue bid his farewells to Jenny and Bruno before leaning back in his chair and resting his fingertips together, his index fingers resting upon his lower lip. He had no doubt that Jenny was disappointed with how little he had told her about Red, but he had gotten very interesting information in return. Apparently earlier this morning Jenny had interviewed a certain Mrs. Ketchum with Cynthia, this was pleasing to Blue for he now had a trump card to play.
He had also been informed of Lance's demise which had apparently occurred near to his Gym, but it was of little importance to Blue, he knew that Jenny's theory was hogwash, he didn't know who had been at the Conference in Sinnoh and he didn't know who had killed Lance, but he knew that Red definitely wasn't the culprit.
This Ash character though… Blue hated Ash after the kid had destroyed most of his expensive Team Rocket operations, especially the one with Mewtwo at Mt. Quena. Not to mention what Ash had done to his son. No, Blue may have enough money to bribe the League and certain members of the G-Men Council to allow him to keep his Gym and continue his illegal Team Rocket operations and Blue may have fooled his soft pathetic father and abandoned his only son, but Blue did not have enough money to recreate or recapture Mewtwo and Blue could not fool Mewtwo into working for him, but neither could he abandon his dream project.
Blue unclipped one of his PokéBalls and released the Pokémon within. His alakazam appeared in flash of white light and nodded at his master. Blue spoke, "Alakazam, you will travel to Pallet Town and find a woman who lives there called Delia Ketchum. Just watch her for now and if she has any Pokémon be sure that they are not in the way when the time comes. Incapacitate or control them it's up to you, but Delia is not to be harmed. As the clock strikes midnight on the morning of the 3rd, you will subdue her and bring her to me. Do you understand?"
Alakazam nodded before crossing his spoons and disappearing. Blue sat back smiled ominously; he was going to have a lot of fun with a beautiful woman like Delia, and he knew people who wouldn't be happy about it. His smile grew as the path to his goal became much, much clearer.
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Viridian City Police Station; 02/04/2013:
Thick silence rang out in the waiting room of Viridian City's Police Station, interrupted only by the occasional sniffle or cough, or by the tapping of impatient feet. Max looked around the room as he clutched his sister's hand with one hand and soothingly rubbed her back with other. He did not appear his age of 15; he had grown in height but still remained scrawny and his face still retained its baby fat. But he was remarkably mature for his age and despite his sister being older than him by five years, he knew that she needed more comforting than he did.
May had grown into an incredibly beautiful woman; although her body was already more developed than most her age back when she travelled with Ash, it had only developed more as she grew. She had a generous bosom and well-defined rear and her arms and legs were lined mostly with muscle and a small amount of fat, a result of her rigorous exercising which she maintained for her role as a famous Coordinator. She currently wore her red and navy blue shirt that extended down over her navy cycling shorts, and upon her head was her famous red and white bandanna.
Max knew his sister was beautiful and he could admire it from a proud brotherly perspective. He also knew what May's friends thought of her appearance as, one night at a party thrown by Mrs. Ketchum for Ash's birthday on his year off, he had overheard all of Ash's male friends, consisting of Brock, Gary, Tracey, Ritchie, Todd, Barry, Kenny and even Harley, remark on her looks. Even Ash had agreed that May was the most attractive of his female friends, and it was quite obvious that Ash was madly in love with Misty.
Max heard a yawn from the other side of May and glared at the owner of said yawn. May's 'loving', 'caring' and 'sweet' boyfriend Drew was slumped in his seat, eyes shut tight and mouth wide open as he yawned. Max really couldn't see what May saw in the green-haired idiot, she called him sweet and caring, etc. But all Max could see a typical man throwing flirty-bordering-on-creepy comments and roses at her just to get her into bed with him.
But what had Max really confused is how May could call her boyfriend sweet and caring when it was obvious that he cared nothing for her feelings and emotions. This was further proven by the fact that all he had done since the 'Valley of Death' explosion was taunt and flirt with his sister. Couldn't he see that she was in mourning?! Indeed May was grieving not just the loss of Ash and Brock, who may have well been two more brothers, but also the loss of her best friend Dawn.
Sure May had met Misty and the two were close, but Dawn was to May what Brock was to Ash, they were practically siblings. The two Coordinators had shared each other's deepest secrets and fears and had spent many a night together watching Disney movies, eating ice cream and discussing boys. Max had often watched them train together in his backyard as he had developed a small crush on his sisters' best friend, and he could see how close the two were by the joy the shared in each other's company. Max returned his attention to his sister as he saw her eyes watering, her nose dripping and her shoulders shaking. He gazed into his sisters' beautiful blue eyes and saw sadness and… anger?
Max frowned, he was worried that May might actually believe that Ash really was responsible for the death of Dawn. The siblings had not spoken of the event as it was just too painful to speak of, so Max knew not the thoughts of his sister regarding it, aside from the obvious grief. Max was also sad of course, he had lost a brother and mentor in Ash's fate, whatever it may be, and Brock was dear to him as well. But Max knew his sister needed him and so, displaying once again his remarkable maturity, he sucked up his troubles and focused on comforting May as he looked around the room yet again.
To his left sat Ash's Unovian travelling partners, a stunning black woman with reddish tinted eyes a head of huge purple hair that reached almost to her feet and a remarkably well dressed man with large green eyes and smooth green hair that stuck up at the front in a neat tuft. The latter appeared a much friendlier and more approachable man than a certain other green-haired man that Max knew.
Though Max had personally never met the pair he had overheard Dawn talking about them when she was over for one of her and May's slumber parties. He knew that the woman was called Iris Hawthorne and she was a Dragon Tamer training with Champion Alder to become the next Unovian Champion. The well-dressed man was Cilan Stevenson and he shared his Striaton City Gym Leader status with his two brothers, Cress and Chili Stevenson. They appeared exhausted but this didn't surprise Max; Unova was very far away so they must have flown most of yesterday afternoon, through the night and arrived this morning.
They were both obviously grieving, their faces marred by reddened eyes and noses. Iris appeared the worst off of the two and she sniffled every now and then. Max stared at Iris; there were not many black people in Hoenn and she was the first one he had seen aside from Brock. She was darker than Brock and her skin shone under the bright light of the waiting room. Max continued to stare at the dark woman until she glanced at him and caught him staring at her. He blushed and quickly looked away and at the other residents of the room.
Opposite from him sat Ash's mother and first rival, Delia Ketchum and Gary Oak respectively. Max narrowed his eyes at the latter; it was clear from Dawn's ramblings about the young researcher that he had made an impression on her during her travels in Sinnoh and Max wasn't too happy about that. However Max decided to ignore his dislike of the well-known womanizer for the time being; He was one of Ash's closest friends and he was no doubt mourning the loss of the raven-haired man that had brought all them together as well. But he did notice that Gary looked a bit nervous as he glanced around the room, as if he knew some terrible secret that no one else did.
Max noticed that Mrs. Ketchum also looked a bit nervous but he supposed that was reasonable; she was the mother of the man who had allegedly killed Brock and Dawn and plunged the Pokémon world into confusion and fear. She knew that whatever she thought, her son and consequently she would now always be a target for grief and anger, and she knew that her son's friends would be looking for answers.
Max briefly glanced at his sister to find her glaring at Mrs. Ketchum, a fact the nervous mother was well aware of as she shuffled anxiously and adjusted her dark blue skirt while pointedly looking everywhere but May's direction. Max frowned again and gently squeezed his sister's hand, drawing her attention to him. He conveyed love and support through his eyes but gently shook his head. Her glare withered gradually before she smiled weakly but with gratitude and returned her gaze to her lap.
Max turned his attention to the last pair in the room who sat to his right next to the door through which they had all arrived. A tall, well-built and athletic looking red headed woman and an older and scruffy looking… hippie… sat in a similar manner to Iris and Cilan, obviously very much in pain and sorrow, though the red headed woman's appearance made Iris look as if she had just won the lottery in comparison.
They were of course Misty Waterflower, Ash's best friend and crush and Gym Leader of Cerulean and toughest Gym Leader in Kanto, and Tracey Sketchit, a Pokémon Watcher and artist who smelled of hemp and who was currently dating Misty's eldest sister Daisy. Max had no idea what need the esteemed and prodigious Professor Oak had of the usually stoned artist, but he suspected Tracey's seemingly limitless supply of cannabis had something to do with it. An old man needed his 'pain medicine' after all.
Max took a close look at Misty, although he had met her years ago in Hoenn he had not known of Ash's huge crush on her at the time, so now that he knew he was curious as to what drew the raven-haired man to her. Max could see immediately that Misty was a gorgeous woman; she wore tight blue jeans and a tight light blue tank top that really didn't leave much to the imagination. It was obvious that she exercised regularly as she had not a trace of fat on her body yet she wasn't too skinny, implying she had a lot of muscle, but not enough to lose the sensuous curves of a woman.
Her fiery red hair had darkened slightly and she had grown it out, she no longer kept it in her side ponytail but rather a standard ponytail at her back of head with a fringe and few strands down the front and sides of her face. But what really caught Max's attention were her eyes that were framed by perfect and elegantly arched eyebrows that were a darker shade of red than her hair. Though her pupils were reddened with mourning, the stunning green of her irises were still very visible. Unlike Cilan, whose green eyes blended in with his hair and face and as such were sort of forgettable, Misty's eyes stood out and radiated beauty and gracefulness.
Ash, it appeared despite his denseness, had a fine taste in women, Max though, though he highly doubted that Misty's appearance was the only reason a sincere man like Ash had fallen in love with her. If it was true that Ash's crush was reciprocated like Brock had once mentioned, then Ash was a very lucky man indeed.
Tracey, however, was somewhat of a joke amongst Ash's other friends, they all respected his skill as an artist and even as a Trainer, but it was well known that he smoked a lot of weed and therefore he wasn't always as sharp and perceptive as he used to be when travelling in the Orange Archipelago with Ash and Misty. As a result of his habit he often forgot to wash so he tended to smell and his hair was often tangled and messy, it was a real mystery how he had managed to snag the eldest Sensational Sister as his girlfriend.
But he was grieving as well and Max deigned to reserve his judgements of the Watcher during this period of mourning. Max's musing was interrupted by the sound of a door opening and he turned his attention to the new arrival. The regal and formidable Cynthia Lawson entered and glanced around the room before bringing her penetrating gaze to him.
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Cynthia slowly looked around at the room and all its occupants with a stern yet somehow friendly face, only four of nine seated returned her gaze as it fell upon them. She recognized Delia and Gary and she acknowledged them with a nod of her head, which was returned. The only other two that returned her gaze she did not recognize, she figured that the blue haired teenager with glasses was Max Maple, sister to May Maple, the brunette girl sitting next to him. But she had no idea who the green-haired man gaping at her on the other side of May was.
Perhaps if she actually cared about Pokémon Coordinating she would have recognized him as Drew Hayden who, until recently as he was now dating May, was considered the most eligible bachelor in Coordinating. But Cynthia did not care about Coordinating and so she ignored his leering expression and focused instead on Max, who was staring at her with a mixture of wonder, weariness and even trepidation. She tried to reassure him by smiling gently before she turned to Ash's mother and gestured to her with her hand.
The auburn haired woman stood up slowly before making her way past Cynthia and into the room from which the blonde came from. Cynthia then looked to the red-headed woman and called her name, "Misty Waterflower, will you please follow me?" Misty looked up slowly and stared at the blonde Champion with piercing green eyes that seemed to pull Cynthia into her soul. Cynthia could somehow sense the Cerulean native's pain through those stunning eyes and she lessened her stern expression hoping to make the red-head feel a bit more comfortable with the whole situation.
Cynthia turned around and headed back into the room when she saw Misty rising from her seat. She shut the door behind Misty and gestured for her to sit next to Delia on one side of the table in the middle of the room. Upon the table was a screen attached to DVD Player. Cynthia sat down on the opposite side and began to fiddle with the DVD Player and screen as she began speaking. "Mrs. Ketchum and Ms. Waterflower, I have called you in here to ask you a few questions regarding Ash Ketchum."
She paused as she managed to get the Player to work, before continuing to speak, "What I am about to show you is the footage of the actions of the as of yet unidentified man codenamed 'the Colossus' at the Final of the Lily of the Valley Conference that took place on the 23rd of March 2013, informally known as the 'Valley of Death'. I realise that this may be hard to watch but I must ask that you pay careful attention to the video and especially to the Colossus so that we may perhaps learn his identity."
Luckily, thanks to today's superior technology, all cameras at stadiums and concert halls immediately sent footage of what was occurring to the nearest Pokémon Centre, which was then stored in the Centre Database. Therefore Cynthia had only to access Database and download the footage of the Colossus at the Conference and burn it onto a DVD.
She had also checked the measurements of the Colossus recorded by the podium and she found that they indeed did not meet Ash's measurements which had caused her to wonder why the referee was not alerted to this fact. But she now had proof that the Colossus wasn't Ash Ketchum which was very good news.
"I do have some news that will perhaps make it slightly easier to watch however. Delia, I did as you asked and checked those measurements, they did not match your son's measurements, the Colossus isn't Ash." Cynthia grinned as Delia smiled widely and even Misty appeared to brighten considerably at the news.
"Now I know that you were no doubt watching the Final on TV and have already seen this footage but you may have been caught up in the excitement of the match and therefore missed a few things, also this footage was filmed by a secret camera situated in the Podiums. The camera is usually used by a referee to decide if an illegal action had been performed in a match or contest but in this case it provides a close-up of what happened. Please tell me if you see something unusual."
Cynthia began to play the recording and the three seated women stared intensely at the screen as the entire event was repeated a couple of times before Misty yelled, "Wait pause it there!" Cynthia, startled by Misty's shout, fumbled for the remote but failed to pause it in time, so Misty took the remote from the Champion's hands and rewound it herself. She paused it when the Colossus' Pikachu first came out onto the battlefield before leaning forward and studying the yellow mouse intently.
Misty suddenly grinned and turned to speak excitedly at Cynthia, "Ms. Lawson I've seen that Pikachu before, and it isn't Ash's Pikachu!" Cynthia gasped and leaned in to get a better look at the Pikachu. Sure enough she noticed there was something odd about it; the Pikachu on the screen had a tuft of hair upon its forehead that poked upwards.
And that's the second chapter done, I realise that it was less dramatic, with a lot less dead people than the first one, but it contained a lot of important information for the story to progress.
Changes:
-Red's story of the 'the Great Slaughter' has changed so that instead of him single handedly facing the four other champions, it was a free for all battle in which each champion released one Pokémon that fought all of the others simultaneously. It was staged in order to see which champion would get the chance to battle the Pokémon Master for his title.
-A bit of history of Mt. Silver, introducing Ghurkas, who are based off the Nepalese Ghurkas, and mentioning that the furthest anyone had ever climbed was the 8000 metre mark. That person happens to be Professor Oak.
And that's actually it.
If you are confused about something, or you want to ask me something, please feel free to PM me and I will try my best to reply without giving away spoilers unless you want them.
-SwallowtheSun