Chapter 10: Ho-oh

I still don't get it. Why was I in a hospital ward in Team Rocket's
base? Did something happen to me? But why would Team Rocket take care of
me? Was I much too valuable for them? And what about my friends and
father? I still can't believe that my father was living in a cliff as
a tramp, but it was fairly obvious. Enough of that now, I wasn't going
to get answers if Giovanni keeps on standing there with a smirk. At
least Jessie and James were gone.
"All right Giovanni, I want answers! Where am I and what happened to
me everyone else?" Giovanni just kept on smirking. I swear, I just
wanted to rip his entire mouth off!
"Maybe it is best to explain everything to you, nephew." Wait, what?
Nephew? No...He couldn't be...
"Uncle Jonathon?"
"Well, maybe you're not the dim after all." Dim?
"Well, now that I know you have the intelligence to comprehend what
I'm about to tell you, I might as well tell you." Man, thus guy was
really pissing me off. If he weren't my uncle...
"Well then, where do I start?"
"Where are my friends? Where is Pikachu and all my other Pokémon?"
"Patience, your temper will get you nowhere. First, I have to let you
in on a special plan of mine." I had a gut feeling this wasn't going
to be good.
"You see, me and my scientists were working on an experiment to 'heal'
a human being through the means of aura. You know what aura is, right?"
I nodded slowly. This definitely wasn't going to be good.
"Our volunteer was dying from an incurable disease, so we thought the
experiment would be perfect for him. But we all knew he wasn't going
to survive unless we could give him aura from a bountiful source. And
that my boy is where you come in."
Now I understood. All those attempts, bombing the forest, kidnapping
Misty, it was just so he could lure me in. And it worked. I couldn't
believe him! He could have hurt many people, just to toy around with
his experiment! Even if it was for a good cause, it wasn't worth
hurting all those people.
"I know how you feel, and I don't blame you. The truth is, this
experiment was supposed to help not only the volunteer, but others as
well. Unfortunately, we gave the volunteer so much aura, he started to
gain more intelligence. And using that, he became aware enough of
being capable of using and controlling aura as well. He escaped, and
so that he wouldn't be caught easily, took the form of you."
I couldn't believe it. How could Giovanni let this happen, and more
importantly, how could I?
"But what did he do to me? Was I unconscious or something? And what
happened to my friends and father?"
Giovanni lowered his head sadly. Whoa, I never knew he could have
emotions. But what made him so sad? Unless...
"I'm sorry Ash, but he took your friends, Pokémon, and even your
father and placed them under his control. They belong to him now."
No...It couldn't be...why them! Why couldn't I do anything to stop him?
"I'm sorry Ash, but he overtook us all."
Did he pity me? Well I don't want pity; I wanted revenge...
"Ash, come with me.
I followed him out of my bed and walked to a bathroom. It's not like
he was going to make things better for me. Sadly, I was right. When he
took me inside, I froze. There was someone in the mirror, with my
exact hair and face. The only problem is that the hair and skin were
both white and pale. But the eyes were red, as if they were bleeding.
Was that really me? What happened to me? But I knew the answer already.
"He...did this to me, didn't he?"
Giovanni nodded. I couldn't believe this. This person was alive
because of me, even though we don't know each other. And he repays me
like this? Betraying everyone and stealing my friends and Pokémon.
I'll make sure of it; this guy wasn't going free without some
punishment.

"The Island of Waves?" Ash asked. There was something familiar about
that name; maybe he heard it from Selia or his father before. The boy
kept on talking.
"Yes, don't you remember that your father mentioned it before in the
cliff?"Yeah, now that you...hey wait a second! How'd you know that?"
"Well I have been following you around everywhere your whole life. I
probably know you better than yourself. If you want, I can tell you
what you did when you were five months and three days old!"
"You know what, I don't wanna know. So what does the island have to do
with anything?"
"Well, the island is said to contain the world's entire aura, and has
enough power to change anything. It might turn you back into a human
and help me pass on. It's what you call a 'win-win' something, I dunno."
"I'm pretty sure no one says that anymore. Anyways, we should probably
get back to my friends. Oh, and one more thing."
"What?"
"GET OUT OF PIKACHU'S BODY!"
"Oh...right."
There was a quick flash, and once again the boy was back into a ghost,
and Pikachu was his normal, albeit dazed, self.
"By the way, I should call you something" said Ash.
"What do you think I am, a pet?"
"Well, I've gotta tell my friends something. Otherwise they'll think
I'm crazy."
"And that's news to them how?"
"Shush! Your new name will be...Red!"
"Red? What kind of name is Red? If anything I should be called Crimson!"
"That's even worse! What kind of name is Crimson?"
"What kind of name is Ash?"
"...Fine let's just go back."

"All right then Ash, you just wait here for a while. I'll try to come
up with a plan to capture the impersonator."
"But uncle, can't I come with you?"
"No, for now just rest and try to regain your strength. I left some
books over there for you to read in case you get bored. I'll see you
soon." And with that sentence, Giovanni and his Persian exited the
room, leaving me all alone. I hope he hurries up soon; I want to give
that imposter a piece of my mind! But, since I'm stuck here, I might
as well do something. Maybe reading one of those books ought to be
fun. There were a lot of old looking books, but there was one red book
that looked interesting and short. I picked up and took it with me to
the bed. It didn't have a title, and the pages were worn-out and
dusty. I opened it to a random page, and I saw something that caught
my attention. It was a phrase, and it went along like this, "Yami
...the energy th...o-exis...th the Hikari of aura. Bo...low
togeth...balan...nd harmo...Wit...on.t...ther can... exis..." Jeez,
how old is this book? At least I could read some parts of the page.
That Yami and Hikari thing, it sounds very interesting. I wonder what they could mean.
Which one is more powerful, the Aura's Hikari or the Aura's Yami?

"I wonder what could be taking Ash so long?" asked Selia. She could
sense something powerful in the area, but didn't know what it was.
Normally she would be able to find the source with her psychic powers,
but for some reason it was like it was not there. This just worried
her more and more. Tajiri, however, was laid-back and lazy.
"Selia, stop worrying so much. Ash is more than capable of taking care
of himself, plus he has Pikachu with him. Trust me, he's-"
At that very moment, Ash came running through the trees and crashed
right into Tajiri. "...fine."
"Guys, guys, guys!" Ash was running around in circles, while Pikachu
and the others just stood there staring at him.
"Ash, what's wrong?" Selia seemed to be the only one worried about
Ash, everyone else was getting more and more annoyed.
"Guys,
Ijustmetaghostguywhocan'!"
"Jeez Ash, ever heard of spacin- I mean breathing?" Misty asked.
Pikachu shocked Ash mildly. Tajiri sighed, "All right Ash just calm
down. Why don't you tell us, SLOWLY, what happened?"
Ash took a deep breath and started to tell everyone what had happened.
After a few minutes, everyone was quiet. Then...
"So you're telling us that you met a ghost boy who's been following
you around your whole life because he has no choice?"
"Yep."
"And now he wants you to take him to the Island of Waves so that he
can pass on to the afterlife?"
"Yep yep yep!"
"...Ahahahahahaha!"
"Dad, why are you laughing?"
But he wasn't the only one. Everyone, except Selia and Pikachu, were
laughing.
"So you guys don't believe any of this?"
"Oh please Ash, how could this all be possible? I can understand you
turning into a Pokémon, but a ghost boy? What do you think this is a cartoon?"
"Actually I thought it was more like an anime. But it's true; there
really is a ghost boy! And I can prove it to you!"
"Oh, what's he going to do, hold a penny and say it's for luck?"
"Actually he's going to..." Ash was stuck. He never thought of
something like this, so he was scratching his head. Then, an idea came
to him, "Hey I know! Red, take off my bandages please!"
Then, 'Red' came out next to him and said, "Oi, what am I, a servant?
And for the last time, call me Crimson!"
"Shut it Red, you try to think of something else!" Ash whispered to
him. Everyone else sighed at the sight of Ash talking to himself,
since they couldn't hear or see 'Red'. But, eventually, 'Red' gave in.
"...Fine I'll do it."
Then, to everyone's shock, Ash's head bandages started to come off and
levitate in the air. Then the bandages started to fly around everyone
else, which scared the hell out of them. "A-ash, what are you doing?"
Misty asked.
"I told you, 'Red' is taking off my bandages."
"Well make him stop!" Dawn yelled.
"Sigh, ok. Stop 'Red'!"
"Don't call me Red!" Then, the bandages fell to the floor. "Aah,
that's much better." Ash was relieved that the bandages were off, they
were getting sweaty and itchy. He could feel a tuft of hair on his
head, which was black and looked just like his bangs. "At least I have
my hair to make me look better" he thought.
"So, now do you guys believe me?" He turned to his friends, who were
still shocked (including Tajiri).
"Y-yes..." they nodded.
"All right then, let's go!"
"Hold on there kiddo." Tajiri grabbed Ash by the scruff of his neck.
"We can't just walk up to the Island of Waves!"
"Well duh, we need a boat to get there!" After a conk on the head from
his father, Ash questioned why they couldn't leave immediately.
"Ash, the Island of Waves is a sacred place where life begins and
ends. We need to be careful and well prepared to get there."
"Your father speaks wisely Ash. He has been to the Island before."
"Whoa, dad have you gone to the Island before?"
Tajiri stiffened. "That's none of your business for now. If you really
want to get to the Island, we'll need to stop for supplies at the
nearest town."
"Oh, hey Brock where's the nearest town?"
"Sorry Ash, I don't have any maps for Kanto."
"Don't worry, there's one just three miles from here."
"Wow, that's near!"
"Yes, but we'll have to keep a low cover there."
"In case Team Rocket is there?" asked Dawn.
"No, because they all banned me from ever coming back again after I
sto- I mean 'borrowed' their supply of sake."
"...You're a loony, you know that right?"
"Yes I know, now hurry up everyone!"
Brock had to pack up everything again. "Darn and I was almost done
making us pancakes." Ash was very hyper and impatient to leave. "Come
on guys, hurry up!"
"Well maybe 'Red' ought to lend us a hand." Misty said sarcastically. At
that moment, the plates and pans that were supposed to be used were
picked up by 'Red' and stowed away neatly in Brock's backpack. Which freaked everyone out again.
"There, happy? I helped out."
"Alright guys, what do you say?" Ash ignored the frightened looks on
his friends' faces.
"Uh, thank you 'Red'." Misty said.
"Don't call me Red!"
"'Red' says you're welcome. Now hurry up please!"
Tajiri got tired of Ash annoying him, so he said, "You know what Ash,
why don't you and your friends start walking to the town? Selia and I
will catch up to you."
Ash, not knowing his father's true intentions, happily agreed and
started to run off. Pikachu, Misty, Dawn, and Brock ran off after him
so that they wouldn't lose him. 'Red' just calmly followed them.
"Finally, a few minutes of silence" thought happily Tajiri.

"Ash, slow down!" Misty and Dawn tried calling out to Ash, who was
already far away from them. Pikachu was barely behind him, having to
use Agility every now and then to get near him.
"(Jeez Pikapi, where did you get all of this energy?)" Thought Pikachu. Ash was still running happily, jumping every now and then like a child.
"Come on guys! Last one there is a Slowpoke! Or maybe a rotten Exeggcute!" He called out to his friends, who were resting and lying on the ground behind him.
"Boy, you guys are lazy" he thought. As he was walking back, Pikachu
sensed something. "(What was that?)" He got in a defensive stance next
to Ash.
"Huh, what's wrong Pikachu?"
Pikachu was quiet, and then suddenly, pushed Ash to the side. Seconds
after he did, a huge ball of fire scorched the exact same spot Ash was
a few seconds ago.
"Ash! Where are you?" Misty called out for him.
"Misty, take out your strongest Pokémon and try to have it put out the
fire. Dawn you go back and warn Selia and Mr. Ketchum." Both girls
nodded, and went to do their task at hand. 'Red', who had just
arrived, went straight to Ash.
"Ash, are you ok?"
"Yeah, me and Pikachu are ok. But what was that thing?"
Suddenly, a loud screech rang through the air, causing everyone to
cover their ears. Then, Ash gasped at the sight of what had caused the
noise. "Pikachu, 'Red', it's Ho-oh..."

Tajiri and Selia were all still trying to pack away everything when
suddenly, Selia felt something.
"Tajiri!"
"What, what is it Selia?"
"I just felt a large amount of power near Ash! It feels like the same
one as be-" But before she could finish, the same screeching noise was
heard again. After it stopped, Dawn came tired, and trying to tell
them both something.
"Help...fire...Ash..."
Without any hesitation, Tajiri went off to find Ash. "Ho-oh, if it
really is you, you better not do any harm to Ash" he thought.

However, Tajiri was not the only one who heard Ho-oh's screech.
"That sound...Could it be…Ho-oh?"
'Ash' had heard it from his room, and recognized it as the same screech he 'heard' the day he started his journey. Giovanni heard it as well.
"Is that Ho-oh's cry?" He went over to a window, and could see a
shining bird descending from the clouds. "Hmm, it looks like I have a plan after all..."

Ash looked up as a giant shadow fell over him and the others. Misty
was trying her best to put out the fire with her Starmie, but the fire
would not extinguish. When she saw Ho-oh, she stopped and gasped at
the sight of it. It was huge, with red, white, and green feathers and
looked as though it was shining in the sun. Brock was unwary at the
sight of it. Why would Ho-oh descend to the ground to where Ash was if
it was the one who attacked him?
Ash, however, was not thinking of any of this at the moment. In fact,
he was rather excited that he was meeting the legendary Ho-oh face to
face.
"Whoa, I can't believe it! I'm actually meeting Ho-oh!" He kept on
smiling at Ho-oh, unaware that Pikachu and 'Red' were suspicious of Ho-
oh. Ho-oh came closer to Ash, and then a smooth, masculine voice
started to speak.
"Are you the one named Ash?" Ho-oh was using Telepathy, and it enabled
it to talk with Ash.
"Uh...yeah, but how do you know my name?"
"You are the one with the aura power, is that right?" Ho-oh responded.
"(Yeah, but that still doesn't explain how you know his name)" said
Pikachu. He still did not trust Ho-oh at all.
"You're quite right, forgive me. As you know, I am Ho-oh, guardian of
the skies. I have been assigned to watch over you Ash, and help you
get to the Island of Waves."
"Oh, so you're like a guardian to me?"
"What a funny guardian. Last time I checked, when you want to protect
someone, you don't throw a freaking fireball at them!" 'Red' yelled,
even if no one but Ash could hear him. Ho-oh faced Ash with a look
like he asked for forgiveness.
"I'm sorry for attacking you, but I wanted to see just how capable you
would be in battle."
Ash looked at Ho-oh confused. "Wait, you want to battle me?"
Ho-oh nodded, and Ash's faced brightened up. "Ok, I'll battle you!"
Pikachu and 'Red' were shocked.
"(Pikapi, what are you saying?)"
Ash looked at Pikachu with a childish grin. "Don't worry Pikachu, I
may be a Pokémon, but we can still battle!"
"We?"
Ho-oh's expression turned serious.
"I'm sorry, but I want to battle ONLY you, Ketchum."
Suddenly, a ring of fire started to surround Ho-oh, Ash, and Pikachu, separating them from
the others. 'Red', who couldn't be separated because the fires just went through him, was still with Ash, yelling at him.
"Ash, you retard! Don't you know what you just did?"
"I'm guessing I'm not battling Ho-oh?"
"Oh no, YOU will be battling Ho-oh, by yourself!"
"What? But I can't battle Ho-oh; I don't even know any attacks!"
Then, Ho-oh chuckled menacingly, which caught Ash's attention. "Well
then Ketchum, you shouldn't have agreed to my offer!" Pikachu let out a Thunderbolt, but Ho-oh merely shrugged it off. Then, Ho-oh's eyes turned golden and it let out a rainbow colored like beam at Pikachu, sending it out of the ring of fire.
"Pikachu!" Shocked, and now scared at Ho-oh's power, Ash just stood there as Ho-oh let out a Flamethrower that was headed right towards him...

By the time Tajiri, Selia, and Dawn went back with the others, Ho-oh had already begun to raise a firewall, preventing the others from getting to Ash. Misty already had all of her Water Pokémon out to stop the fire, but was not very successful. Dawn took out Piplup to try and stop the fire as well, but not even its Whirlpool could stop it. Worried, everyone turned to Tajiri.
"Tajiri, what are we going to do?"
"I…have no idea!" Everyone fell over, and Misty took out her mallet and smacked it on Tajiri's head.
"Ow, my head!"
"Tajiri, as Ash's father YOU are the one who's supposed to think of a plan! NOW THINK!"
"Jeez, you sure are bossy. Hey by the way, where's Pikachu?"As soon as he said that, Pikachu came flying out of the fire, landing right next to everyone.
"Oh no, Pikachu!" Misty grabbed the injured and weak Pokémon in her arms, her other Pokémon stopped attacking by now and came back to her. Tajiri turned to Selia, "Selia, do you think you can look and see what's going on?" Selia nodded, and once again she used her psychic powers to try and what was going on with Ash. Everyone crowded around her to see what was going on with Ash…

As the Flamethrower was getting nearer to Ash, 'Red' yelled at Ash to move out of the way.
"Ash! Get out of the way! Move! Don't just stand there, dodge it!" Then, as if it was some sort of instinct, Ash quickly moved to the left, dodging the Flamethrower in mere seconds. Ho-oh turned its Flamethrower's direction, but Ash was much faster than it. Ho-oh stopped its attack.
"Ash, now's your chance! Attack it with a move!" 'Red' yelled to Ash, despite the fact that he was right near him.
Ash, however, was confused on how to do an attack. "But 'Red', I don't what kind of attacks to use."
'Red' face slapped himself, and then thought of something. "Hey I know! Since you move pretty fast, why not use Quick Attack?"
"Quick Attack? Alright, I'll give it a shot!"Ash began to run towards Ho-oh, and in his mind he kept telling himself to use Quick Attack. Soon, he started to run faster, until a white trail of light appeared behind him. Before Ho-oh could do anything, Ash struck him right in the middle.

"Hey, I guess Ash isn't that bad battling as a Pokémon" Misty said. Brock and Dawn were glad that Ash wasn't injured, but Selia and Tajiri were still not relieved.
"I wouldn't start celebrating just yet Misty. This battle is still not over yet!"

After hitting Ho-oh directly, Ash was surprised to know that Quick Attack barely did any damage to Ho-oh.
"No way, how come it didn't do anything?"
"Ash, a weak attack like Quick Attack isn't going to take down a legendary! You have to come up with a better strategy!"
"Hmm, a strategy…" While Ash was thinking, Ho-oh decided to use this time to attack it with Flamethrower again. 'Red' saw this, and warned Ash. Ash looked up, and instead of dodging it, he braced himself for the attack. The Flamethrower completely covered and surrounded Ash.

"Ash no!" Misty and Dawn were about to run into the fire, but they were called back by Tajiri.
"Hold on girls, Ash is still not down yet!"

As the fire cleared, 'Red' expected to see the incinerated body of Ash, but to his surprise, Ash was still standing. Ho-oh was also surprised to Ash standing as well.
"What? But I beat you!"
Ash winked and smirked, "Bet ya didn't know that a Riolu could learn Endure!"
Ash moved forward and used Quick Attack to catch Ho-oh off guard.
Ho-oh was furious at this point. "Drat, if I can't attack him from long-range, I'll just have to get closer" it thought. Ash was about to use Quick Attack again, but then he noticed Ho-oh glowing in a blue light. 'Red' was confused as to why it was glowing, wondering if it was going to use another attack. Ash then realized what move this was.
"Oh no, that's Brave Bird!" Ho-oh pulled in its wings and started to burst into flames. Ash tried to get out of its way, but Ho-oh was much too massive.
"Wait a minute; I'll just use Endure again!"Ash thought. Ash turned and tried to use Endure again, but to his surprise it didn't work! "I guess Endure doesn't always work…"
As Ho-oh drew closer, all 'Red' could think of was, "Man, this is going to hurt like hell."

No one waited to see what happened next; they all rushed over to the ring of fire.
"Ash!"
"Are you Ok?"
"Say something!"
Then, a huge explosion came from inside the fire. Once the smoke cleared away, the fire did as well, revealing an unconscious Ash in Ho-oh's claws. Tajiri immediately went over to confront Ho-oh, seething in anger and not letting anyone stop him.
"Ho-oh, you drop my son this instant!"
Ho-oh kept his serious demeanor, "Sorry, but you know as well as I do that I must take him to the Island of Waves. I hope there are no harsh feelings." Ho-oh spread its wings and took off over them, heading out towards the sea. Selia then started to glow, and transformed once more into Cresselia. "Don't worry, I'll get him back."
But before she could leave, Pikachu jumped out of Misty's arms, and went over to Selia.
"Pikaa…Pikachuka pi." (Please…take me with you.)
Cresselia smiled, impressed that the Pokémon would come with her to save his friends, even if he was injured himself.
"Ok then, hang on tight." Pikachu jumped on Cresselia's back, and soon, she rose and flew towards Ho-oh's direction. However, that did not assure anyone just yet, especially Tajiri. "Ho-oh, you better not lay a damn finger on Ash!"He thought.

Ho-oh still kept its tight grasp on Ash, who still was unconscious. "Sorry about this, but if that fool you call father will not take you to the Island, then I will!" Suddenly, a beam of electricity flew past Ho-oh, intentionally missing him. Caught off guard, Ho-oh nearly fell, but it quickly composed itself. It looked back to see who had fired it, and saw Pikachu standing on top of Cresselia, who was gaining on Ho-oh. "Drat, I forgot about Cresselia" thought Ho-oh. It tuned to use Flamethrower on her, but Cresselia instead used Double Team to dodge it. Multiple images of Cresselia surrounded Ho-oh, who stopped the attack. "Drat, which one's which? I can't attack her directly in case Ash gets hurt, but how can I hit her with just my Flamethrower?"Ho-oh thought. Then it noticed something. There were copies of ONLY Cresselia, and only one with Cresselia and Pikachu.
"Ha, looks like Cresselia will need a better plan than that!"As it prepared another Flamethrower, Ho-oh was suddenly stopped and could not move.
"What the-?" A blue blow surrounded it, and Ho-oh immediately realized it was Psychic.
"Drat that Cresselia!" Now that Ho-oh was immobilized, Cresselia took this time to get under it and free Ash. However, Ho-oh kept its tight grip on Ash, preventing both Pikachu and Cresselia from freeing Ash. Cresselia tried to use her Psychic powers to force Ho-oh to free Ash, but it did not work either.
"Ho-oh really is much stronger than it looks. I can't free Ash, unless…" She turned to Pikachu. "Pikachu, I need you to use Thunderbolt on Ash!" Pikachu looked shocked.
"Pika! Pikachu Pika Pikapi!"(What! I can't attack him like this!)
"Pikachu, trust me! It's the only way we can free him!" Unsure, Pikachu decided to trust Cresselia and give Ash a slight shock. It let out its weakest Thunderbolt, which shocked both Ash and Ho-oh. Ash screamed, but Ho-oh's screeches blocked his out. Pikachu stopped, but the shock allowed Ho-oh to break out of the psychic attack.
"I must say, I expected more from you Cresselia. Did you actually think a weak Thunderbolt like that could stop me?"
"We weren't trying to stop you Ho-oh."
"What?"
"I was just trying to see just how much Ash will kick your ass."
As she said this, Ash started to glow the familiar blue. Pikachu and Cresselia immediately grinned, as they knew this was Ash's 'special' protection. Ho-oh felt as if his entire claw was on fire. Soon, the pain spread towards his whole body, until finally, it was as if Ash exploded. He dropped Ash, who was soon caught by Cresselia. "Really Ho-oh, I expected more from you." She flew off to reunite with Ash's friends, forcing Ho-oh to land somewhere else in the forest.
Once she reached the ground safely, Cresselia turned back into Selia, still holding Ash in her arms. Tajiri and the others were relieved, but shocked at the state Ash was in. Unconscious, burned, and even zapped.
"We'll have to take him to a Pokémon Center" said Brock. Everyone agreed.
"I just hope they don't remember me…"said Tajiri.

Áuthor's Note: Wee, Chapter #10 already!