AN: I would just like to say thank you to everyone who followed, favourite, or reviewed this story. I will try and get into a pattern for writing new chapters so hopefully I can get this story updating regularly. I have uploaded an edited version of the first chapter to fix a few a mistakes, and if anyone would like to beta this story that would be much appreciated.
'djsj' - Thoughts, "djsj" - Speech
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the related places or characters. No profit is being made from this an island, isolated in the middle of the sea, far from the coast of any of the regions or even the smaller island chains of the world, there stood a castle, looking as if it wasn't so much constructed, as grown from the surrounding environment. This of course meant, because the surrounding environment was a harsh, storm swept and isolated place, that the castle reflected this.
If someone were to ever find themselves in this castle, a prospect that generations of its owners had worked ruthlessly to prevent, they would discover what it truly meant to be lost in a maze. Not just the common kind of maze that one might find made from hedges at an old manor house, where at best you can feel slightly lost for a time. But utterly without hope of ever finding your way unless you knew how to. This, as well as countless numbers of Pokemon that had been raised to be bloodthirsty, the guards of the castle itself which are some of the most feared warriors the world would never know about and an ever increasing number of deadly traps were all designed towards one purpose.
Now 'normally', if such a word could be used to describe such a place, the purpose would be to protect what lay at the centre and keep the world away from it. This solely unique castle had the exact opposite purpose. It was designed to keep something contained, something so completely trapped that it could never darken the world again.
All this was the culmination of an ancient plan, laid down by a group of people who's sworn duty it was to protect the world, to the point of giving there lives to insure its safety. This plan had worked for thousands of years, twisted at times though it may have become, and insured that the world need never know such fear again.
But you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men...
Speaking of mice and men, a certain young man and his extraordinary mouse were just starting to wake to a new day filled with all the hopes, dreams and expectations of everyday life. The sun was shining, the local Dodrio was having its daily competition with itself to see which head could cry the loudest and longest, and as usually happened when he came home our hero had overslept. Again!
'Every single time' he was repeating in his head. 'It doesn't matter whether it's getting my first Pokemon, leaving on a journey or getting up early so I can get a journey planned out, when I sleep at home I always Oversleep'
He supposed he could blame it on the evil snooze button on his alarm clock, but he had hit that so many times over the years that it broke. He could blame it on being up late, but he had stayed up far later over the years after doing far more and still woken up at a civilised hour. A civilised hour being before before 11am, regardless of what his friends and family said to the contrary. But when he stayed at his home it happened "Every Single Time".
He blinked. He didn't think that was him saying that out loud, unless by a cruel twist of fate his voice was going backwards through puberty and getting higher again(Please no, he silently prayed, once was enough). It took him a second to decipher where it could come from until he slowly turned to the door to see his irritated mother standing there.
"I love having you back home again Ash, but it would be nice if for once you woke up before midday!"
Ash cringed, knowing it was one of his worse habits, that he had been sort of trying to get rid of(his bed was just so comfy!) and he regretted missing out on so much time with his mother when he so rarely got the chance.
"Sorry mom, I guess I can add getting up early to the list of things I need to be taught" he said rubbing the back of his head while silently hoping his chosen Master would be a late riser.
"Pika, pi - cha" Pikachu copied his partner while rubbing the back of is head with his paw.
That is until, it clicked in his head that Ash was talking about leaving on another journey today and this was the first he was hearing about it. He turned to Ash with a tick mark developing on his head and his cheeks starting to spark "Pikapiiiiiiii..."
Now, the bond between a good trainer and their Pokemon is a strong one, and when properly developed it lets trainer and Pokemon understand each other and what they are saying and mean without a lot of explanation. Ash Ketchum was undoubtably a good trainer. As such he fortunately didn't take long to figure out what was irritating Pikachu. Unfortunately, it still took him too long for the tastes of his Pokemon, already irritated as its nerves were by the 'infernal deafening device' as Pikachu referred to it as, going off for a straight 3 hours by that point. The result was a brief flash of light and a extra crispy Ash. And another broken alarm clock(a complete happy accident if anyone were to ask).
"Sorry buddy" Ash said " I only decided last night on what to do after talking with my mom. I was going to take you with me, and I am still going to talk it over with you and the rest of my Pokemon over at Oak's ranch."
Delia just shook her head at the antics of the pair, long used to them and turned to walk out the door while talking over her should "Well hurry up and get ready sweety. Ive made you an extra special breakfast to get you ready and then you can head on over to Prof. Oak's"
She barely had time to get out the door before a black and yellow blur flew by her and into the bathroom. 'ah to be young again' she thought while shaking her head and walking down the stairs.
Professor Oak, world renowned authority on all things Pokemon and retired Ace trainer, was just making his way into the kitchen of his house/lab to get himself his much needed midday coffee, his own blend that he had made from various beans he had discovered or found on his journeys when he was younger. 'Aaaaaah' he thought to himself while taking the first sip, 'half of the scientific discoveries in the world wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for this lovely brain juice helping scientists and researchers alike stay awake long past when they should and reviving them again in the morning'.
He was half way to composing an ode to the java bean when he was nearly given a heart attack by what sounded like a crazy person hammering on his door while he heard something suspiciously like an electrical discharge going on in the background and shouts of " Ha, I finally won one!".
'oh' he dryly thought ' so Ash is finally here'.
He made his way to door and opened it and got half way through saying Hello to Ash before he was rugby tackled by an overly affectionate pile of poisonous sludge that loved to hug called Muk.
After he had helped the Professor recover, Ash asked could they sit down for a bit because there were some things that he wanted to ask the Professor about.
"Well Prof." he started " I was talking to my mum last night and she said that she overheard you talking about strong trainers sometimes taking on apprentices that they think are worthy to learn from them. I've been training now for 6 years, and I know that I've been doing really well, but I think I'm ready for the next step on my journey to become a Pokemon Master, and I think the best way to do that would be to get someone to train me. What I wanted to know is, is there anything special that a potential Student needs to do to request becoming someones apprentice?"
Prof. Oak was shocked into silence for a moment. He had always known that Ash was an incredible trainer, and that he was nowhere near stupid, although his excitable personality sometimes made people think otherwise. The Professor knew that sometimes it was the people with no common sense or were really excitable that were the most brilliant. But he had never before heard Ash talk in such a mature and thought out manner.
"Well Ash, I'm glad to hear that your thinking of ways to improve yourself and your Pokemon. Their have been a lot of people who have gotten to the same point your at, a good trainer but not yet having won a regional championship, and then give up either not smart enough to know to ask for help or too stubborn to take it."
This made Ash's cheeks flush red, part out of pride for a man he considers a surrogate father calling him a good trainer, and part shame out of never winning a regional championship despite his other accomplishments.
"Your right that great trainers occasionally take on apprentices" he continued "but there isn't any set task that needs to be completed. Generally they look for good trainers in their own right, who have a strong connection to their Pokemon and great potential, but just need that last helping hand to become truly great. I'm very proud to say that I think you would fit that description Ash."
Again Ash's cheeks flushed with embarrassment and pride over the many compliments.
"Of course the greater the trainer that you want to be apprenticed to, the steeper the expectations they will have of you and from you. I wont lie to you Ash, if you get apprenticed to one of the greats, as I suspect is you plan, this will be one of the hardest, most gruelling experiences of your life. They will expect everything from you, but you will get so much more in return. It wont just be training your Pokemon either. They will train you for life and anything it could throw at you. As I said their is no set requirement for becoming an apprentice, but each Master will likely set their own task for you to complete, and the greater the trainer the more arduous the task. Otherwise they would have no end of apprentices, instead of maybe one or two in a career if they are lucky. If you can accept all this then I am behind you 100% of the way"
After this Ash was silent for a long time. That was a lot of information the Professor had dropped on him and he wanted to make sure he got it all stuck in his head. ' This could be my big chance' he thought to himself. 'I understand that this will be really, really hard but one thing I'm know for is my determination'
He was just about to blurt out his answer when he caught sight of Pikachu on is shoulder and remembered what had agitated his partner earlier.
"I understand what you've told me Professor," he started "and I know it will be extremely hard. But not just for me. This will test all of my Pokemon to the limits and before I do anything I want t have a chance to talk this over with them if thats alright."
The professor couldn't help but smile with pride. After the unfortunate passing of Ash's father, he had started to see the boy as a surrogate son and it made him so proud to see Ash growing into a brilliant young man as well as a trainer. 'well done Ash.' he thought. 'your finally starting to grow up'.
The professor nodded his consent and Ash got up and headed for the ranch at the back. It was time he had a good talk with his Pokemon.
Bulbasaur was lying blissfully in the sun near his favourite Pecha Berry tree that had the jusiest fruit he had ever had. It had been a great day so far. Usually, as the unofficial peace keeper of Oak's ranch, he would have several problems to deal with on a daily basis. But not today. The fire types weren't fighting, for once, the water types hadn't gotten out of hand with their splashing and Ash's many Tauros weren't stampe...
'Spoke too soon' He thought to himself as he saw the herd rush past them in their usual hectic way. He had just stood up to go and round the up, Again!, when he was bawled by a stampede of every other Pokemon Ash owned rushing past him.
He regained his wits enough to shout after Glaile, the last in the group, what was going on and heard a distant cry of "Ash is here!". Very shortly Glaile was eating his dust as he shot past him as little more than a happy green blur.
At this point Ash had just gotten outside of the lab. He wondered where Pikachu was, as he had ran off as soon as he had said that he needed to talk to his Pokemon. He was looking around in all directions when suddenly he felt the earth begin to shake, heard a loud rumble and saw a huge dirt cloud start to rise over a nearby had seen this happen before and knew what it meant. He also now knew where Pikachu, traitor that he was, had run off to.
He had just enough time to brace himself and yell "I'll get you for this Pikachu!" before he was swarmed by his over excited Pokemon.
Eventually, after much hugging and getting crushed, Ash was able to breath enough to talk again." It's great to see you too guys. I'm glad too see that you all haven't forgotten me. Now, the reason why Im here today is to talk to you all about something very serious."
At that all his Pokemon sat still and listened intently, even Totodile sat relatively still, only tapping his foot to the rhythm that only he could hear.
Ash continued "Ive been a trainer now for 6 years, and I am so proud of each and every one of you. I know its been a while since some of you have travelled with me but remember that I always keep each and every one of you in my heart."
At this he had to take another break from speaking as again his Pokemon crushed with their hugs and deafened him with their cries. Eventually he was able to go on.
"Thanks guys. What I wanted to talk to you about is an idea of how we could all get stronger" all his Pokemon perked up at this. "You've all been amazing and Im thankful for everything you've done but I think its time for us to get some help for the next step in our journey." He knew he was laying it on thick, but he also knew his Pokemon had their pride, some more than others, and if he didn't say this right they could get upset, thinking he thought they weren't good enough which was never the case.
"What I mean is that there are some things we need to learn that need to be taught to us, and part of being a good trainer, or even a good Pokemon, is knowing when to ask for the help you need. To do this I think it would be good for us if I became the apprentice of another trainer. This would mean asking someone older, more experienced and more knowledgable than us to train us in what they know. And I mean 'US'. I would be learning right beside you all. But before We do this I want to ask all your opinions. So what do you guys say, are you with me."
At this Ash looked up, having hidden his face under his cap while he made his speech. He hoped his partners would be with him but he would understand if they didn't want this.
His Pokemon showed no such hesitation. They had experienced Ash set aside his own well being multiple times for their happiness and peace of mind and he had always stood by them. He repeatedly threw himself in hams way, bot just for them but for the whole world. If this is where he was headed then they were with him 100%. they showed this by all roaring their acceptance while some launched their attacks into the air in excitement over the prospect of getting stronger.
Ash couldn't help but laugh as his face broke into a huge grin at the support of his Pokemon. "Thanks guys" he said " You're the best!" He then sent them all off to relax for a while, as he headed back to the lab to tell the Professor his decision.
The Professor was sitting at his computer working away at something when Ash came back in. Hearing the door opening he turned around to give Ash his attention.
"Ive made my decision Professor" Ash said.
This earned him an inquisitive look from him.
"Ive decided that I want to try for an apprenticeship"
"Wonderful my boy," the professor said "So who did you have in mind? The best way I think you could go about this is if you tell me who it is and I'll try and set up an meeting between the too of you to discuss it. Its the least I could do to help you on your way."
Ash smiled his thanks to the Professor and thought on the question for just a moment, though he had already made his decision.
"Professor if you could, I'd like you to contact the Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia!"
AN. Well thats that. I hope to try and update fortnightly if I can and aim for a minimum of 2000 words per chapter, though it may run longer than that. Thanks again for all your input and feel free to review or even PM me if you have any questions. Again if anyone would like to beta. It would be a great help. Goodbye till next time and God Bless.