A little bit more jumping around in this one trying to include some back story. Also a new character introduced who seems to be rather important! Still looking for some gym leader names and teams! Please share! Should have one or two more chapters from on the road before arriving at Silver City so you have time!
Last Time: Ash and Cedric won at the Southfall City Gym. Ash gave Cedric some advice and offered to help him train. Elsewhere Gary's Lab got its first readings and noticed two figures and Pokemon battling on the Heaven Reaching Slopes one of which is presumed to be Red. Elsewhere "The Mayor" discovered that the first readings had been detected from his inside agent.
Chapter 5: Christine
Morning fast came at the Southfall City Pokemon Centre. Cedric was the first to awaken, as he pulled on a new tshirt and a pair of shorts he noticed Ash and May lying in each other's arms. But he left them there so he could grab some breakfast and buy supplies. Luckily enough the market was right next door to the centre. After a short half an hour he had eaten breakfast, bought potions, pokeballs etc, he knew the next journey to Silver City would take at least a couple of days.
As he stepped back into the room Ash and May were awake and dressed. Pikachu had apparently mischievously awoken them with a thunderbolt mainly due to boredom. They had also had breakfast and fed their Pokemon leaving them free to set off with Cedric.
"So Cedric what is Silver City like?" May enquired.
"Well, it's further north so even though it's warmed up a bit since we left Foxedge its gonna get colder! Hopefully not too much though. But Silver City is great, it's named because they produce the most Silver of any city in the world. If you want to get somebody a gift this is the place to go! Silver City pieces of jewellery sell in other regions for as much as Gold! But you can get it cheaper here!"
The trio set off up route 3. The sun was shining and the breeze was calm. It made it the perfect day for a journey. As they departed Southfall City the green trees began to populate the horizon, Mt Ysp could be seen just peeking over the horizon. They had come a very long way already and there was no sign of this letting up. However, this was where the real journey began, the amount of days on the road would increase up to a week, sometimes more.
A few hours had passed, the trio continued on trudging through the forestation. Pokemon could be seen throughout the trees, until just a hundred or so yards ahead of them they could hear shouting and a girls scream.
"Guys we have to go!" The three of them started sprinting towards the source of the sound. With each yard they ran they could hear the fear escalating in the girl's voice. Ash was the first to arrive at the scene.
"Hey leave her alone!" Ash called. The three grunts that were surrounding her turned around and laughed.
"Haha try and stop me. Go Infernape!" The largest one called.
"Go Gengar!" Ash responded. "Gengar use hypnosis!"
Within an instant Gengar had put Infernape to sleep before the grunt could respond. "Gengar use Dream Eater!"
The grunt was lost for words, he hadn't expected this. "Go Houndoom!" The others also joined and released their Houndoom. Something that had not gone unnoticed by Ash. They were clearly some sort of gang. Cedric and May arrived just now.
"We've got to help Ash!" Cedric called.
"Leave it." Ash said with a grin striking across his face. "Go Dragonite! Use Draco Meteor! Gengar use Psychic!"
Dragonite shot a ball of energy into the sky that violently exploded into meteorites. Gengar then took control of the meteors breaking them into three groups and launched them at each of the Houndoom causing them to faint.
Cedric and May stood speechless but let out a laugh.
"This is the part where you run!" May shouted as she waved at the three grunts.
"Not so fast May Pikachu hasn't even had a go! Pikachu use thunderbolt and send them blasting off!"
Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder and launched a powerful thunderbolt causing an explosion launching the three grunts high into the air.
"Cedric call the police explain what happened. Are you okay?" Ash had now turned his attention to the girl. Her Squirtle lay on the ground fainted, she was in tears, shaking with fear.
"Here! I have a revive for your Squirtle!" Cedric said with a smile. The girl reluctantly accepted and thanked them repeatedly after applying the medicine to Squirtle. She stood up. She was a tall girl of around 6 foot in height with long brunette hair and blue eyes.
"So what's your name?" May asked.
"My name's Christine Hayley. It's nice to meet you. Thank you for saving me." The trio subsequently introduced themselves.
Squirtle who was now awake gave a weak thumbs up to the group, displaying its clear need for rest.
"Well Christine, how about we take a break here? We can eat and even camp it out here if you want? Are you not travelling with anybody else?" Cedric enquired.
"No… I didn't really have any friends." A tear formed in her eye leaving May, Ash and Cedric to reach one conclusion.
"Well you do now! If you want that is? We'd love to have you join us! Means I won't be the only girl either?" May said with a wink.
Christine burst into tears.
"Wait, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings…" May felt a strong sense of guilt now.
Christine look up, the tears continued but she was displaying the biggest of smiles relieving May in particular. She took a breath and composed herself.
"I would love to."
The Mayor's Office
"What do you mean the target got away?" The Mayor screamed down the phone.
"We are sorry boss, this one trainer defeated us! He was insanely strong." The Mayor contemplated this for a moment.
"Which Pokemon was he using?" The Mayor regained a brief moment of composure.
"A Dragonite and a Gengar."
"Well, I don't know who it could have been. But I will give you the benefit of the doubt, don't fail me again or else." The Mayor had a cold and sadistic tone to his voice striking fear into the three grunts.
"Yes sir!" The grunts called down the phone.
The Mayor hung up on them and once again looked out his window.
"I thought it would have been you again Red, my old nemesis. But if it wasn't Pikachu and Charizard I doubt it could have been you. I guess its luck that your niece got away. I will find you and defeat you. You cannot ruin this plan."
The phone rang again.
"Sir, what would you like me to do with the laboratory information? There is now data for 50% of the region, should I begin the search?" The voice asked.
"You need a distraction. Leak the information to the press to keep Oak busy and begin your search."
That evening at Foxedge Town Laboratory
"Professor Oak you may want to see this…" One of his aides said hesitantly.
Gary sat at the computer. Right across social media, every newspaper website etc was carrying the story about Red being real and him being found by the Foxedge Town Laboratory. Gary was livid.
"WHO ON EARTH LEAKED THIS?" Gary screamed. Everybody in the room froze with fear. Gary could be arrogant but he was always chilled out. Never like this.
"Okay everybody out! I mean everybody! Callum! Get over here, only you can stay! You've been my aide since I had my first job as a professor. I need you to deal with the press whilst I investigate the leak."
"Yes Gary!" Callum replied.
As the other aides left Callum stood outside, waiting for the inevitable rush of press. He took out his phone and sent a text with the words "Prof locked down information, unable to begin search. In position of trust." Callum scrolled down searching for the contact required, "The Mayor".
Meanwhile inside, Gary changed every single password and created a computer code that failed password entries would mutate the password into one of 8 passwords only he would know. He had no idea the source of this leak, even Callum would not get to know. Gary always felt his best and worst trait was his stubbornness.
But most worryingly for him, this sensitive information had been leaked. The highlight of his career so far had been compromised for whatever reason and he alone would find out what.
Around 20 minutes passed before the press arrived. Callum tried to contain them and keep them calm but as Gary heard him struggle he decided to step outside and make an announcement himself. The press fell silent as they saw him.
"Good evening." Flashing lights were an ever present site, the tv camera's rolling. He took a deep breath.
"You may have heard rumours that we have found Red. That is not necessarily true. We have found that two humans were on the Heaven Reaching Slopes on the night of 9th of November. Right now we cannot confirm or deny the identity of either of these people. As for the data, I have locked down the data so that only I can access it, we are trying to find the source of the leak. A leak of this nature is highly unusual and suggests an ulterior motive. I have since informed the police to place all staff including myself under investigation to determine any criminal intent. This may seem extreme, but in a time where I have to be suspicious of all my staff I feel it is only right that I am proven to be clean of any misdeeds along with the innocent parties in this case. I hope they understand my reasoning. As for the press we will inform you when any new information is fit for release, until then please leave the premises after providing Callum with your contact details." Gary stepped back into the building as Callum began taking the contact details of all the journalists and reporters.
As Gary walked through the halls, he walked into his office and poured a drink of Scotch he was saving for the night the information would be released. However, the taste could not be enjoyed. This was purely to help him relax after such a stressful time. He began thinking through all the names of his aides, no not just his aides, but his friends. He could not understand why one of them would betray him in such a way.
Back on Route 3
The sky was dotted with stars as Ash, May, Cedric and Christine slept. In quiet serenity they immersed themselves in their imagination apart from Ash.
"Where am I?" Ash pondered. He was standing between the peaks of two mountains. In the distance he could see Mt Ysp. "Well that answers that."
Ash began trudging through the snow looking for some sign of life or explanation, he tried forcing his mind to think of anything and everything else but nothing would happen. It was the other night all over again. The ground in front of him exploded. As startled as he was the body he occupied didn't move, it looked up.
"Zekrom…" Again Ash had no control like the previous dream. His hands threw a Pokeball into the air and unleashed Reshiram. This was getting even more bizarre. Ash realised another person stood opposite him. He seemed to be dressed much like Ash would except his clothes were Blue.
Not a word was spoken yet the two Pokemon launched themselves into a battle. Ash recognised the array of moves but was more concerned about getting himself out of the dream. After what felt like five minutes, the ground beneath them disappeared, replaced by a white hall. Both Pokemon were recalled and Ash looked around at the white pillars stretching high out of sight.
"Where am I?" Ash tried to scream but not a sound could be heard. A blinding light descended from the sky and morphed into the form of a Pokemon Ash had met only once.
"Arceus! Can you hear me?" Ash was pleading now, when would this nightmare end. The lack of control he had was frightening him, whether this was real or not was becoming blurred to him.
"Red, Blue… Carrier. Why have I been summoned here?" Arceus sounded a little annoyed but with a small amount of concern for good measure. The pair stood silent.
"Ah I see Arceus responded, I shall explain. Carrier, you are in the real world and in direct contact with Christine. You have been charged by the court of the Hall Of Origin to protect her whatever the cost."
"Wait what? Am I the carrier?" Ash was continuing to shout, but again he could not hear his own voice.
"Yes. You are the carrier Ash. You must also warn Professor Gary Oak to be careful who he keeps close. The intent of one aide is cruelty and greed. Goodbye Ash."
The light faded back into the world, he could feel control return to his body. His eyes opened, the sun was shining through the trees bathing the tents of the four campers in a warm glow. Ash stepped out of his tent and checked his watch.
"Only 7:30am…. Best start cooking breakfast then." Following his decision to travel to Jiolt, Delia had spent a week teaching Ash to cook as this time he would have to fend for himself and May at the very least. However, meeting Cedric up until now had allowed them to split cooking duties. Although when they were in a town they avoided cooking and enjoyed the break.
Ash released Charizard after collecting some wood and had Charizard light a fire. Placing a pan on a small stand he had bought to sit over the fire he added olive oil before cooking up some bacon for bacon rolls. The aroma spread out to the tents awakening the others. Christine was the first to emerge.
"Good morning Ash that smells delicious!"
"You are just in time, the first bits of bacon are done!" He handed her a small roll with two pieces of bacon inside. "Help yourself to water, we have loads!"
Shortly afterwards May and Cedric emerged also and all four sat by the fire, as much as the warm glow heated the tents, it remained relatively cool outside. The temperature was actually rather refreshing.
"So Christine, how long to Silver City?" Ash asked.
"Well we are about a week away, so we need to watch not to battle much." Ash and May's faces dropped.
"Is there no quicker way?" May asked hopefully.
"Well we could always cut across Mt Algave… It would reduce it to 4 days but would involve climbing a mountain and going down the other side. There is a path but if their ends up being a storm it will be very dangerous."
Cedric had heard enough.
"We will go round, no point in risking our lives to save a couple of days." Ash and May agreed. As much as the week long journey was not a treat they looked forward to they had matured past the recklessness of their younger years.
"Just before we go I need to give Gary a call, May can I borrow your phone?"
"Why Ash?" May looked at him suspiciously, she knew she could trust him. It just seemed bizarre as all the time he had known her he had never once phoned anybody from the road.
"Dreams again…"
May nodded and handed him the phone. Ash gratefully took it and walked just out of hearing distance from the campsite and phoned Gary.
"Hello Gary Oak speaking! If it's about the rumours, no comment." Gary spoke down the phone.
"Gary it's me Ash!"
"Oh! Sorry Ash, been having a lot of calls about the news, have you heard?" Gary asked.
"No what news?"
"Some sensitive data was leaked by one of my aides from the lab."
"I might be too late then…"
"What do you mean Ash?"
"Well I had a dream last night… I dreamed I was on the Heaven Reaching Slopes with one other person and Zekrom and Reshiram were there, battling. The four of us were transported to a white hall and Arceus appeared and spoke to the two people calling them Red and Blue… It seemed like I was in Red's body but Arceus seemed to speak to me… Even used my name. He told me to warn you that one of your aides intentions were "of cruelty and greed"."
"Hmm…" Gary pondered Ash's words. He knew he could trust Ash but this sounded a tad ludicrous… But Ash had been through some incredible adventures. "Okay Ash, I'll get right on it… I may need to close the lab to the aides until the investigations are complete."
"Probably wise Gary. Look I've got to go, got a week's walk to get to Silver City! So that'll be fun!"
"Ash before you go… If you stop in Hanston pay a visit to Bill! You know Bill from Kanto, he was working on a system that might help you get to Silver City… That's all I'll say! See you around Ash!"
"Bye Gary!"
The Mayor's Office
The Mayor sat at his typewriter, writing down his thoughts as he cast his mind back to the moment that changed his life and outlook on the world.
"Everybody on the ground!" The man downstairs screamed.
I was petrified. My mother had me hide under the bed as I heard loud bangs and gunshots from downstairs. I may only have been 12 but I was old enough to know a gunshot when I heard them. I could hear the screams of my family's staff downstairs, I didn't know what my parents did at the time but it was paying them well.
My mother was still in my bedroom with me ensuring that I remained under the bed.
The door burst open. Men were screaming at my Mother to place her hands on her head and get on her knees but she remained upright defiantly with her hands by her side.
"I'm warning you!" The man roared. The sound struck me with fear that I had never felt before.
"Get on your knees!" The man continued to insist, but my mother remained upright.
"Last warning!" He called. A few moments passed before the man fired. I watched as her legs collapsed underneath the weight of her, as she hit the ground her face turned towards me a small smile on her face. A pool of blood formed around her chest and the men who had shot her left the room in search of my Father.
The Mayor sat back from his typewriter a tear in his eye.
"Where was your justice parents? They had the wrong address. The tip off was wrong and yet they still shot you both. No question's asked. I stood in court every day for a month with my grandparents hearing that the Jiolt justice system had killed you. There is no justice. Not in this world. Not in this life. Where is my justice? At 12 years old I watched my mother die in front of me." The Mayor smashed his fist down on the desk before standing and flipping it over, breaking the majority of the contents from the table. He crumpled to the floor whispering to himself.
"I'm sorry mother… I'm sorry." Tears flowed from his eyes, rolling onto the ground where broken pieces of glass and pieces of metal from the now broken typewriter were strewn across the floor.
"I will avenge you."