October 4
Countdown 362:17:45:23
A deep yawn broke the unwelcome silence in the living room.
It was 6 AM. Delia Ketchum was in the kitchen, preparing breakfast for her beloved husband, son and his friends. Cilan and Brock usually helped her out, but Alex insisted that he wanted to eat her cooking.
"You're up so early?" Alex entered the kitchen, "I thought you would get up a little later, we were pretty late last night weren't we?"
She blushed a bit, "Well, my husband and son will be training pretty hard, isn't it my responsibility to feed them properly?"
Alex smiled at her comment, and proceeded to kiss on her forehead. "I'll go wake up, Ash," he said, taking his mug of coffee.
"Honey," she called as he left. "Ash was up before I did. His bedroom was empty at 5:30."
The news was a pleasant surprise for Alex. "Good, he seems to be taking things seriously."
"He's always serious, Alex," Delia insisted. Delia believed she knew her son a lot better than Alex. They had some discussion last night about the way he talked to Ash.
Alex smiled in response, "I always criticize Ash because he gets too easily carried away. He's just like me honey. Trust me, I know how Pokémon battles work, and I'll tell you one thing—" he told, "I wish I were as talented as Ash."
Delia was satisfied by his answer. "But don't overdo it," she added.
"I know what buttons I need to push," he sighed. "You have raised a fine kid, except the romantic side though."
"I don't want him to be a pervert," she said throwing him a dirty look. "Tell me, how many women have you spent with, during these ten years."
Startled by the sudden question, Alex pretended to cough and walked out of the kitchen, "Women," he mumbled as he left. Delia realized the answer was more than zero.
As she proceeded back to the cooking, she heard the main door open. "Good morning, kiddo," she heard her husband greet their only son.
A spatula in hand, she headed to the living room. The boy much to her surprise was wobbling like a drunkard. "Good morning, dad," he grumbled weakly.
"What's wrong, Ash?" Delia asked the boy.
"Nothing," he muttered. "I'm going to sleep," he said taking the stairs to his room.
The husband and wife exchanged a glance. Alex turned serious, "You're feeling drowsy already? It's six thirty!"
The boy remained passive to Alex's comments, and continued to walk upstairs.
"Why don't you let him sleep a bit?" She suggested. "He must be tired."
"Absolutely not," Alex exclaimed, before lunging for their fifteen year old and dragged him downstairs. "The cold air outside will remove the drowsiness."
"Alex," Delia complained as he dragged Ash out. "Can't you be gentler?"
Alex didn't heed her and dashed outside, "Men should always be active Ash!"
"Mime," Mr. Mime sighed as Alex dashed outside. The Pokémon agreed with her, she realized.
She followed Alex outside, to make sure that he wouldn't do anything drastic. As he headed out, the neighbor, Mr. Wilson came that way, in midst of his daily walk.
"Hey Alex," the middle aged man waved to her husband, "You're overworking your kid, buddy. Give the kid some rest."
Delia stiffened, owing to the fear as for what kind of ridiculous comment Alex would spout in reply. She expected nothing less of a 'Mind your business' added with a foul word that she deemed not to utter.
Alex however remained calm and polite, "George, my boy needs to be a Pokémon Master. Nothing is overworking for that kind of a goal," he smiled proudly like the true father-like character she wanted him to act like. She was more than happy, and at the same time suspected if someone drugged Alex into goodness.
George however put a worried expression, "Isn't an all-nighter too much?" He asked.
"All-nighter?" Both Alex and Delia asked the same time.
"Yeah," George said, "Those attacks keep exploding in my ears. I had a hard time sleeping actually."
Alex and Delia exchanged another glance, and looked at Ash, who now hung asleep under Alex's firm grip.
"Alex, get Ash to the bed right NOW!" Delia yelled with the toughest of her tone. For once even Delia Ketchum was serious.
Professor Oak had a hard time that morning.
Why? Because the main source of all his troubles, Totodile somehow evolved overnight, and turned out into a bigger trouble maker.
"Croconaw!" The Pokémon liking its newly power-upped jaws enjoyed harassing the whole ranch, threatening to bite everything up. It wasn't a pretty sight, when Gible thought of it as a master and followed it, crunching everything they laid their eyes on.
Things finally settled down when Servine, Ash's Unovan Pokémon used attract and immobilized both of them.
But he did notice something strange during his regular morning checkup. Croconaw was fatigued despite looking excited, and so were Buizel, Glalie and Oshawott.
At that time, he received a call from Alex. "Hey Prof, are any of my son's Pokémon tired?" He asked.
Prof. Oak realized what Alex meant. Ash must have been responsible for Totodile's surprise evolution. "Four of them," Oak said. "Buizel, Glalie, Oshawott. Most surprisingly, his Totodile evolved overnight."
The person on the other side was shocked by the news. "Could you check and tell me if Oshawott and Croconaw learnt any ice type moves."
"Ice type…?" Prof. Oak couldn't comprehend his strange request. "I'll ask Tracey to check on them." He put the receiver down and yelled for his assistant, "Tracey!"
The Pokémon Sketcher appeared in no time. "Could you check something for me?" Prof. Oak asked him.
Alex was stupefied. "All I did was tell him that it's always better to teach ice type moves for your Water type Pokémon," he told his wife, who stood eagerly beside him. "He taught an Ice Beam and an Ice Fang overnight."
"And Totodile evolved too," she mentioned. "I don't know how hard he works when he's not home but this—" She was extremely worried.
"Yeah, it's too much," he grumbled. "Don't worry; I'll make sure he won't do that again." Alex knew, those words would only make her worry more.
"Where's Pikachu by the way?" She asked.
Alex didn't know either. The rodent always clung to him. His eyes then fell on Ash's bag that seemed inconspicuously stuffed. "There's your answer," he said, as he extracted the rodent from the bag, deep in sleep.
"He must have been trying Multiple Thunderbolt too," he sighed. The kid really took it too far.
I was woken up, by a cold splash of water on my face that shook any hint of drowsiness inside me, and instead enveloped a sudden fear in my heart.
"What the he—" I paused, when I noticed mom waiting at the bedroom's door.
"Look Ash, you wet your bed last night," a man makes a joke that's ridiculously out of place coming from an adult.
I brushed my wet hair, and frowned at my dad, standing beside the bed, a bucket in his hands, and a stupid grin on his face. "Bad Morning, Dad." I said after a pause, "Bad joke too."
"Well said, Ash," Mom supported my statement. "Try to be thirty-four Alex," she complained.
The cold water made me shiver, but a splitting headache soon followed. I need to sleep more, "What time is it?" I asked, rubbing my head.
"8 A.M," Dad declared proudly. "Now get back to training."
Ridiculous. "I was up last night," I objected his command; "You told that a healthy man needs six hours of sleep, right?"
"Yes," he glared me into submission. "But I also told you to follow my schedule. Get to bed at 12, and get up at 6. Six hours of perfect sleep, no less, no more. That's what I said!" He clasped my arm and tried pulling me out of the bed. "Now get up, we are two hours behind schedule."
You gotta be kidding me. I'll die if I sleep only two hours! I turned to my only hope, my sweet mother. "Mom, please let me sleep for some time."
"I'm sorry, Ash," she maintained a frown that you rarely see on her face if you're an outsider. "I'm with your dad on this one."
What the heck? Since when did she turn the tables on me?
I began to protest, "But mom—!"
"Soldier Ash!" Dad barked at the top of his voice causing my heart to skip a beat. "Attention!"
I jumped out of the bed, in fear, and mumbled weakly, "Yeah, yeah I get it."
My mom's taking her sweet revenge for worrying her too much.
"Good," she smiled, "Take a bath, breakfast is ready. The two of you will be setting off right after."
Setting off? I looked at my dad, "Where?"
"Kanto," he replied.
That's a vague answer. "Where?" I asked again.
"The whole region," he said, "Get ready," he said coarsely before leaving the room.
"Man!" I complained to no one in general. This doesn't feel home. It feels like military training.
Finishing my bath, I went downstairs for breakfast. The dining room was lively, filled with more people than usual. Normally it's just me and mom. Now, we have Cilan, Brock and Dad, not to mention Pikachu. In ten years, this might be the liveliest breakfast I have ever seen. Speaking of which, where was Misty, Iris and May?
"Good morning Ash," Brock and Cilan wished as I took a chair between them.
"Morning guys," I said. The headache was still there. I shouldn't have overdone last night.
"Repenting is good," Dad said casually, as if he meant it to be a general statement. It obviously wasn't.
"I am not repenting," I fought back.
"Liar," Dad quipped.
"I am not lying," I protested.
"Liar who lies about saying lies is a double liar," he said again.
"I'm lying about not lying to you!" I yelled back. The statement somehow made everyone chuckle.
What was so funny?! It infuriated me.
"Ash," Cilan said calmly. "It's supposed to be 'I'm not lying about lying to you'."
"Does it matter?" I asked. What's the difference?
"Nope," Dad said, hiding a smile. I didn't realize the mistake I made till then.
"I hate you, dad."
"Thanks," Dad took it with a smile. Jeez, what was up with him today?
"You're surprisingly mature today, Alex," Mom said, as she served the breakfast. Dad snorted, beaming at me proudly.
I see. I finally understand the reason behind his stupid smile. He's happy that mom sided with him for the first time. If Iris were here she could have called him a kid. Speaking of which—
"Where are those three?" I asked, "Misty, May and Iris."
"Missing the girls already?" Dad said, raising an eyebrow.
Okay he's taking it too far. Seriously, was he really a father, or an adult bully?
"You are on a roll today, Mr. Ketchum," Brock obviously enjoyed it. Everyone was against me today.
"Those three girls and Gary stayed in Viridian. They said something important came up over there." Mom explained.
What could be so important? Something was definitely fishy with that.
"I heard May's leaving today." Cilan said before taking a pause, "I heard you're travelling throughout Kanto with Mr. Alex."
"Yeah," I replied. Honestly, I have no freaking idea about it. I hate it when my dad makes decisions for me even if they were good ones. "Wanna come with us? There're pretty cool Pokémon in Kanto."
"Thanks," Cilan said with a smile, "But, I am actually going to Pewter City with Brock. I have been asked by the Sommelier Association to develop the art in the important cities of Kanto. I decided to start with Pewter and then head to Cerulean and so on."
"That's great," I said. I still don't have a proper grasp of what Sommeliers were. I decided to go with the flow anyway. "Good luck, Cilan."
"That means, this is a farewell for us," Brock said.
I actually didn't spend much time with my friends. I have my dad to blame for that. "I'm sorry guys," I apologized.
"What are you apologizing for?" Brock laughed, "We can always meet after the league."
After I win the League.
"How did you manage to get into the lab anyway," Oak asked, as we entered the lab. "I thought I locked the doors."
Half past eight, we were in Oak's lab. Dad told we were going to set off immediately. Dad asked Mom to join in our journey. She told him not to worry about her, but asked him not to forget to call every day. She was more worried that she might hold us back in case she joins us.
"Mom has extra keys, remember?" I reminded him. Prof. Oak had to go to an important meeting last year. He gave the duplicate keys to my mom that day.
"That was remarkable progress for one night Ash," Tracey said. "Congratulations by the way. Croconaw's a bigger trouble to deal though."
"Thanks," I laughed uncomfortably for being praised and complained at the same time. "I'll make sure Bulbasaur checks on him."
"So which six will you be taking?" Dad asked, observing the list of my Pokémon in his hand.
"Five," I corrected. Pikachu was always in the team. So it's five not six.
"Yeah," he smacked his forehead, "Which five?"
I studied the Pokéball, and weighed out my options for a while. After five minutes of contemplation, I finally decided, "Gible, Boldore, Buizel, Unefezant and Tauros."
"Tauros?" Dad mused, "So you were considering my idea?"
"Yeah," I said. It was actually dad's idea to take Tauros. There was a move he said would be useful for us. I liked the idea, now was the best to train him.
"We'll rotate once we get to Pewter," Dad said. "We're going to rely on your services, Professor."
"Anytime for you guys," Prof. Oak said. He then leaned and whispered something in Dad's ears.
"Of course not," Dad suddenly grew uncomfortable, "Delia will whip me if she finds out."
What the heck were they talking about?
"In that case," Prof. Oak smiled, "Good luck to the two of you. I think Ash will grow stronger under you Alex, I am already seeing the results."
"Thanks, Professor," I said. He would definitely be surprised after one year.
After bidding our farewell at Oak's, both dad and I set off on our new journey. Our journey throughout Kanto has begun. One more year. I wonder how strong I would become by then.
I am getting excited already, just by imagining my friends watch in awe after I have grown stronger. I need to train super super hard for that to become real. "Alright, let's do this, Pikachu!" I cried at the top of my voice. I am pretty sure it echoed throughout the town.
"We are bringing this live report from Viridian City," the reporter announced enthusiastically.
Having realized that they were too close to a live T.V camera, May combed her hair superfast for the fourth time since morning.
"That's the third time," the old woman Agatha found this annoying. May justified this as her way to quench jealousy. An elite four she might be, but she wasn't even close to her as a beauty.
"Youngsters these days," Agatha began to ramble for the umpteenth time.
"Miss Agatha, take it easy," Gary tried to calm her down. "It's not good for you hea—"
"How dare you call me a good for nothing old woman," she snapped at the younger Oak. "Honestly, youngsters like you don't have the minimum decency to respect your elders. Not that I expect much from Samuel's grandson…" the dialogue went on. May stopped following it.
"Where are they?" May asked, referring to Misty and Iris.
"Agatha asked them to check the perimeter," Gary replied. It has been quite a day for Gary. For the first time in life he wished he wasn't Samuel Oak's grandson.
"…That good for nothing wannabe playboy…." Agatha continued.
Agatha's rant could have continued for quite a while but fortunately Iris and Misty joined them. "We've checked everything. The police have secured everything," Iris reported.
"Not bad," Agatha said. "Fine, we go before the cameras now," she looked at May who was quite enthusiastic about it. "You, little girl will stay here with Samuel's grandson. Misty, Iris come with me."
"What?!" May exclaimed. "Excuse me but I have been readying myself for nothing?"
"Precisely," Agatha said, "I have been saying that from the start. Youth these days," she shook her head.
May was dejected. She knew the old hag was doing this on purpose. She was jealous, extremely jealous.
"Calm down, May," Gary placed an arm on her shoulder. "There's a reason actually. The both of us aren't gym leaders."
Misty and Iris led Agatha through the crowd, none failing to not recognize her. It made Agatha furious, but she remained calm. There was a situation here, after all.
All three of them stood before the numerous cameras at the Viridian Gym's entrance. A huge crowd surrounded the gym, waiting for something to happen. The something was of course Agatha appearing before the camera.
"Friends," the reporter kept giving her running commentary, "An old woman has just appeared before the—" she paused when she heard a voice through her ear set. "I mean, Miss Agatha, the Ghost type Elite four from Kanto has appeared before the cameras with two girls—" she paused once more as someone from the studio relayed information. "Who happens to be Misty Waterflower, of the Cerulean Gym, and Iris from Opelucid gym."
Needless to say, Agatha was furious. No one ever remembered her face. All they care about was Cynthia. What's the difference between them? Granted she had a long hair, but either of them were blonde, and not to mention beautiful. She was clueless as to why youth these days preferred Cynthia so much.
"Ahem," she coughed to bring the media-persons to attention. Instantly, a dozen set of microphones suddenly dashed towards Agatha's mouth. She protected her face, just in case the enthusiastic reporters might knock her dentures.
Once she ensured the safety of her artificial teeth she began the speech that she has so eloquently prepared to impress the youth that failed not to ignore her till now. "Today we have assembled—"
Unfortunately before she could complete her sentence, a reporter inched his mic forward, endangering her false teeth and asked, "Miss Agatha, is it true that Giovanni is about to disband Team Rocket?"
With a sullen face she said, "Yes."
"What could be the implications behind this?" Another reporter asked. "Is Giovanni trying to come clean after all these years?"
"I don't know," she replied curtly, "If I knew I could run my own organization perhaps."
The youthful media-persons chuckled at this, satisfying Agatha's ego. "Miss Waterflower, we have heard rumors that you're dating a Pokémon trainer from Pallet Town, is that true?"
Misty was stupefied by the sudden question, and ended up blushing. "Can we please stay on-topic?!" Agatha snapped at the journalist.
A lot other questions have been posed. Agatha replied them one after the other, while carefully avoiding dangerous questions.
Officer Jenny walked up to her in midst of her questions and whispered that Giovanni was ready. The old woman turned to the microphones and replied, "The person we've been waiting for is willing to speak now."
The entire crowd went hush, and then a wave of murmur washed through the said crowd. On everyone's lips was the same person: Giovanni.
What was his motive behind letting himself to the police?
Certainly not a good one. People rot for ages in jail, and yet don't change their ways. Could a man who did nothing but enjoy his freedom till now reform suddenly?
Not a chance.
Even if he planned to do so, his own members would end up killing him for the betrayal.
The wave of murmurs roared into a tsunami suddenly. Agatha turned around—
Much as expected, the man named Giovanni walked towards the sea of crowd waiting for him.
Misty felt her blood boiling. She knew how much of a villain Giovanni was, she knew what he was capable of. If she were so angry at him, just how much angry could Ash get?
Giovanni walked towards the crowd, not an ounce of guilt on his face, nor an expression indicating repentance.
He was handcuffed, hands to his back. But he walked proudly, as if it were a medal given for his bravados.
Agatha motioned Misty to move. The three women gave way for the man, Giovanni who was followed by two police officers. It was a useless thing to do; everybody knew he wouldn't run away, not after surrendering like this.
The microphones were thrust at him like spears, and so were the questions coming from the reporter's lips. But Giovanni ignored them all.
"People of Kanto, and perhaps the world."
His first statement silenced the reporters, and then the crowd. Misty realized the difference between Agatha and Giovanni in captivating the people was too much.
"I, Giovanni have come to announce—"he paused for a second, giving them the calm before the storm. "Team Rocket's disbandment."
Uproar swept through the people around. With just one line Giovanni threw the entire world into chaos. Every single creature that watched this news was stunned.
He continued to his second statement, "I have not come here to offer any apologies."
If Giovanni's first statement was a stone that caused the calm water to ripple, his second statement was a magic that stopped the ripples and turned the water calm.
"However, what I am going to offer is an explanation," he looked at each of the people assembled, wondering if anyone would utter a noise. They didn't.
"Team Rocket has been branded as an evil organization by some of my enemies. The truth is, my organization was never a criminal organization to begin with."
"Bull shit," Misty muttered under her breath.
"The actions of thievery committed were individual crimes, to whose actions I am not responsible. My organization's goal was to develop a new business, the gem stone business. And I am here to proudly announce that we had an amazing turnover last year. The bank statements were sent to the income tax department, and the police department.
"You are kidding me," Agatha frowned. "He's trying to get away."
"How's that possible, there were proofs that Rockets have gone to extreme more than once," a reporter asked.
"Now, were they?" Giovanni asked. "I am sure you won't find me indulge in any such activities."
"Of course he wouldn't," Agatha snapped, "Because he only watches the grunts do his dirty work."
"Do you have a proof to back up your accusations?" Giovanni asked, turning back.
"I am an eye—" Misty paused. The Mewtwo incident can't be used a proof. Everyone except the three of them lost their memories regarding Mewtwo.
"I am an eye witness," Iris said, "We confronted him in the Unova region."
"Then it comes under Unovan jurisdiction," Giovanni turned back and replied, "Besides, I happen to have an alibi that I have been in Kanto all along."
"What did you say?" Iris looked like she would go and kick him, but Misty restrained her.
"I'm willing to give a trial," Giovanni turned to the reporters, "I want to come clean, so that I could claim my company's shares in the Pokémon League."
"P-Pokémon League?" Misty stuttered.
"Ridiculous!" Agatha accused.
Viridian City
Ash looked at the board, and beamed proudly. "We made it under half-a-day," he announced.
"Yeah," Alex was honestly surprised too. It took him three days when he travelled. It was easier to get to Viridian if you have stronger Pokémon, it seems.
As they took the main road, which led to the Pokémon Center, Alex noticed the unusually large number of crowd dispersing. Most of them were chattering, a frown on each of their faces.
"What happened?" Ash asked.
"I don't know either," Alex muttered. "Excuse me," he called a certain young man walking alone. When the young man noticed Alex he asked, "What's going on here?"
The young man raised his eyebrows and said, "Giovanni happened," he shrugged. "That guy's planning to—"
"Where?" Alex caught him by the collars, startling the young man. "Where's he?" He demanded.
"Chill dude," the young man who was obviously intimidated pushed Alex back, "He's in the Viridian Gym, a few minutes ago."
In the next instant, Alex was running towards the Viridian gym, with only one name in his mind.
"Giovanni!"
"That was a disaster," Iris sighed. That guy Giovanni pissed her off. He was clearly in Unova when they tried to control Landorus, Tornadus and Thundrus. In fact, he was the one who controlled the three legendary Pokémon.
"Let's hope, he doesn't just walk away," Agatha gently tapped the flooring of the courtyard. "They need to convict for something or the other, pickpocketing in the least. My old soul can't die accepting this insanity."
Misty and May exchanged a worried glance. Gary on the other hand was busy with his phone, talking to Professor Oak regarding the issue.
After taking a deep breath Agatha turned to them, "Thank you for helping me," she muttered. "Now that our business is done, let's go home and pray Giovanni doesn't come out clean."
But as they prepared to disperse a new voice called, "If it isn't young and charming Agatha,"
Young and Charming?
Iris wondered what kind of a person sees Agatha as young and charming.
The answer was a short-fat guy in a blue Hawaii shirt and shorts, with a red cellphone dangling down his neck, and lousy glasses that made him look more suspicious than any mafia boss could ever wished to be.
"Mr. Scott!" For some reason May knew his name.
"Well if it isn't Scott," Agatha obviously liked him.
Iris realized Scott was the kind of guy who likes to please people around just in case they would be useful for him at some point. A shrewd business minded guy.
"Whoa, May," Scott identified the brunette immediately. "How's Ash doing?"
Ash? So this balloon knows him or something? Is he something important? A gym leader? Elite Four? Or simply a fat guy.
"He's training super hard for the league," she replied to Scott.
"Can't expect anything less," he laughed gently before turning to the rest of the group.
"He's the owner of the battle frontier," May introduced him. "Ash challenged all seven of his facilities and won."
"Hey," Scott waved. For some reason Iris felt paranoid around him. "Your hair looks beautiful, Iris," he greeted her.
Wait. Nobody ever praised her hair like that. "Um, how do you know me?"
"Why wouldn't I know about a beautiful gym leader like you," he smiled before turning to Misty. "The beautiful Cerulean Mermaid Misty, I presume."
"Y-Yeah," he got Misty in no time too.
"It's an honor to meet you," he turned lastly to Gary, "I heard about your exploits in the ancient Pokémon research, Gary Oak."
"Wow," Gary was surprised, "You keep tabs on things like that?"
"I like to keep my future options open," Scott said simply, as if it were nothing. "So I need to keep my eyes open for everything that happens in the world."
The conversation took a pleasant turn with Scott's arrival. But it didn't stand long because suddenly—
"Giovanni!"
Mr. Ketchum appeared out of nowhere.
What the heck was up with my dad?
I know Giovanni returning was a big deal. But running like this all of a sudden was kinda too much. Everyone was watching us. Now I understand why my friends feel embarrassed when I get excited for a gym match. I hate to accept it, but I'm too much like my dad.
Within two minutes we were in the street which contained the Gym. The crowd got thicker as we progressed further.
Dad kept bumping people, throwing everyone in his path off the track. Following him, I apologized to all those who threw glares at him.
"Sorry, we're in a hurry," I bowed to a certain old man who caught me by the collar because we looked alike. I hate my dad, you know.
"Giovanni!" Dad yelled as the gym doors came closer.
"Dad stop," I warned as I took the stairs that led to the courtyard.
"Gengar, shadow ball!"
Out of blue a black sphere of energy landed in dad's path. My old man was knocked by the impact, and fell to his back.
I turned to my left where the attack came from, and met up with more than one familiar face.
"Whoa," I exclaimed. "What are you guys doing here?"
"Hiya Ash," Scott waved to me. "And hey Alex." He turned to my dad.
"Well if it isn't the janitor," Dad grumbled. "What the heck did you buy this time? The freaking Viridian City?"
"Viridian is out of my budget," Scott replied, jovially. "Pallet can be though. Should I buy it for you?"
"No thanks," he turned to Agatha. "Where the heck is Giovanni?"
"Viridian station," Agatha replied.
"Good," Dad muttered, and turned back. "I'm going there."
"Stop acting like a kid, Alex," Agatha said, "I understand what he did to you was horrible, but don't try to act like a fool."
Horrible? "What did he do?" I asked, curious.
"Sorry Agatha," he said lunging forward. "I'm waiting for none."
"Gengar," she commanded. "Hypnosis."
The shadow Pokémon dashed past me like a purple blur and appeared before Dad. Before he could give any reaction, the Pokémon sent a psionic wave of some kind. My old man fell unconscious the next second.
"He should stop being fifteen," she sighed. Somehow I was offended by that comment.
"What happened to my Dad?" I asked.
She replied, "I hypnotized—" and paused, realizing what I really meant. "That," she hesitated for a second. "It's better if your Dad tells you. If he put it a secret from you, then I don't have any right to disclose it."
Fair enough.
"I'll ask him then," I said looking at his sleeping figure. Something happened, I know that. Something forced my dad to leave his aim to be a Pokémon Master, and turn him back home. I know how painful it can be. I can't even imagine what I would become if they turn me back from my goal like that.
"Hey Ash," Scott called, "I was wondering how strong you've gotten since then."
"Frankly," I said, "I've gotten a lot stronger than you can imagine Scott."
"I expected you to win the Sinnoh League," Scott said, "If it weren't for Tobias I am positive you would have been the winner."
"A loss is a loss, Scott," I said. "If's and But's won't get me anywhere. If I need to be a Pokémon Master then I should be strong enough to beat Tobias."
And I was a long way from beating him.
"That's the spirit," Agatha smiled, releasing the constant frown off her face. "Finally a youngster that impresses me."
"Well that's correct," Scott said, "But hey I heard he defeated all the Sinnoh Elite Four in no time."
"Really?" Agatha raised an eyebrow. "I suppose beating that Darkrai could be troublesome for my Ghost types, but I think I can defeat him."
"He has more legendaries than just Darkrai," Scott said. "He used six against the Sinnoh Elite Four. Can you believe it?"
"A full team of legendaries?" Misty wondered. "That's scary."
Six? I could only beat two of them. Six was too much.
My target's bigger than I thought. My Pokémon were overwhelmed by Tobias. I can still remember that day.
Heracross
Torkoal
Gible
Sceptile
Swellow
Pikachu.
They were some of my finest Pokémon, and yet I could only manage to beat only two of his Pokémon. Even if I had used Charizard I could have defeated one more, not more for sure.
It's frustrating. The gap between us was just too much.
"Uggh," a grunt brought everyone's attention to my Dad. "Oh god," he rubbed his head.
"Dad," I caught him as he stumbled.
"Ash," he mumbled.
"He's up already?" Misty seemed surprised.
"It must have been a minor dose," Gary said, "Gengar must have lowered the wavelength of the psionic waves to make sure he doesn't break Mr. Ketchum's neural alignments."
We all stared at Gary surprised to see his nerd side. "That's about right," I said, pretending to understand.
"You don't even know what a wavelength is!" Misty, May and Iris exclaimed at the same time.
Hey so do they! None of us studied that stuff. I decided to keep quite though. Three girls are impossible to argue with.
"Giovanni's with the police," Agatha said to my dad who found it hard to stand on two feet, "It's stupid, there's nothing you can do now."
He sighed, and lowered his head. "Ash," he called my name.
"Yeah," I asked. I hope the Hypnosis didn't screw him up.
"If you were to fight Giovanni in the league," he said with a serious tone, "Will you beat him?"
I realized he was being very serious. "I will crush him," I replied with an equally dark tone.
"Thank you," he said getting straight up. "Agatha thanks for stopping me," he said weakly.
Giovanni, he's a monster. I don't know what he did, but I won't settle down until I make him pay for it.
"Pikapi," Pikachu noticed my clenched fists. You're in there with me buddy? I asked silently.
Pikachu nodded.
"Alright let's cool down a bit," Scott said. He walked towards me and said, "Hey Ash, I want to see you battle after all these years. Care to show me a thing or two?"
"I would," I smirked. But who would be my opponent? I'm pretty sure Scott doesn't have any Pokémon.
"Agatha," Scott turned to her, "Care to treat us for a battle."
Agatha!
Of course. I have lost the last time but—
I looked at Agatha, hoping for her to reply with a yes.
A smile crept on her face, "I can't say no after you put a face like that, Ash." She turned around and walked into the gym. "Let's battle." She said.
"A battle with an elite four!" Iris exclaimed, clasping my arms. "You're pretty lucky, Ash."
"Best of luck," May wished. She frowned, "Show her a thing or two." Does she have any grudge on Agatha?
"It's been a while since I saw you battle," Misty said, folding her arms. "Don't disappoint me."
Of course not. I turned to Gary who remained silent throughout. My old rival simply smirked and gave me a thumbs-up.
The stands in the Viridian Gym were well-kept, despite being redundant. Misty's knowledge told her that the gym didn't have a proper challenger in three years, ever since Agatha came.
"The lighting is good?" Agatha asked Scott who flipped the switch on.
"Yeah," the business tycoon said as the entire room was filled with a powerful floodlight.
On the stands, Misty sat with Iris, beside her was May, Gary and lastly Alex. Having checked the lightings, he took a seat beside Misty.
"I wonder how he'll take on her," Scott seemed excited. "I wonder what kind of surprises he has in for us."
You wonder a lot, she wanted to say.
Well Ash was known for surprises. So, they were bound to see a thing or two. But from what she had seen, Misty knew Agatha was formidable. It wasn't just training your Pokémon to high levels, what's more important was understanding and utilizing their true capabilities. Agatha was excellent at that; Misty realized this from watching her yesterday while they spied on the Rockets.
"I will be using my Gengar," she announced taking a firm stance, supported by her wooden stick. The ghost type that floated beside her levitated into the air, and gave its signature grin. "What about you, Ash?"
Misty studied Ash. The confident Ash-smirk returned. He was different from the Ash back during his first league. He had a cocky smirk back then too, but he never had a proper plan behind it. But this Ash was confident.
"I have the best opponent for your Gengar," Ash said, "Pikachu, I choose you!"
The electric rodent jumped into the field, glaring at Gengar. "Pika Pika," the Pokémon's cheeks sparked with electricity.
Well at least Pikachu was confident.
"A dark-type like Scrafty or Krookodile would be better," Ash's father criticized. "But I can understand his choice. Using your most reliable Pokémon would sometimes be better than a type-advantage."
Everyone had good expectations about Ash, but Misty was skeptical. Granted he has gotten better since three years, but could they actually beat Agatha's Gengar?
Only time would tell, she thought.
Gengar versus Pikachu.
I could have chosen a dark type like Krookodile, but my little buddy has a special move to stop Gengar. It's better than any type advantage.
"Let's beat her," I said to my number one partner.
"Pika," he turned back and growled confidently. Either of us knew we can win. Defeating an Elite Four was difficult, but we have a strategy to beat Agatha.
Gengar was grinning at us. He was confident that he's stronger, which can also be seen in his trainer. Let's see how long the grin will stay on your face.
"You get the first call," Agatha said.
Good. In that case,
With the excitement pumping all over my body I announced my first move. "Pikachu, thunderbolt!"
My little friend shared my excitement, and charged his cheeks up with electricity.
"Shadow Ball," Agatha replied.
Pikachu let out his signature streak of electricity through his cheeks. The lightning shot towards Gengar at unbelievable speed.
Countering Pikachu's move, Gengar prepared its own signature move, Shadow ball and pitched it at the incoming thunderbolt.
The electricity and the ghost energy struck each other in midair. The piercing electricity and the sphere of energy collided with each other, in an attempt to overpower each other.
The electricity split open like a water stream and enveloped the sphere. The enveloped electricity reacted with the shadow ball and exploded with a bang.
The smoke blew across my face, partially covering my vision.
Pikachu stood stiffened, anxious as for what move the opponent would make.
And then, a blur of shadow appeared behind Pikachu.
"Pikachu, behind you!"
The yellow monster turned around, as Gengar gave it a spooky glare.
"Shadow Ball," Agatha commanded just in time.
Instantly Gengar shaped a sphere of energy and prepared to toss onto Pikachu.
"Jump!" I commanded immediately.
With flexible movements only possible to him, the little guy leapt past the shadow ball and was now above Gengar.
"Iron Tail!"
Spinning in the air, Pikachu prepared its powerful steel type attack and prepared to ram onto Gengar's face.
Agatha replied calmly, "Dodge."
As the powerful Iron Tail was swung like a baseball bat on Gengar, the Pokémon zoomed its way out of Pikachu's range.
Pikachu's body twisted in midair and landed on its feet after performing a full 360 degree spin.
The purple ghost found its way high up in the air within no time. As Pikachu glared at him, he grinned deviously.
"It's fast," I muttered.
"Of course it is," Agatha tapped the wooden stick against the ground. "This is my strongest Gengar after all, unlike the one you fought two years ago."
Strongest Gengar? So she was going all out on me? A happy smile crept across my face, "Interesting," I said. "Then we'll definitely have to win this."
"You talk pretty well," she was smiling. I could see the flare of excitement in her eyes.
"I can battle pretty well too," I replied.
"Let's see," she tapped her stick once more. "Show your speed, and use repeated Shadow ball!"
Show his speed? I glared at Gengar.
The floating Pokémon zoomed from its position at once, and appeared somewhere else in the air, and zoomed again to another position.
She was trying to confuse me with Gengar's speed.
And it was working. Pikachu was startled by Gengar's speedy movements, and kept bobbing his head to keep watch on Gengar. He was beginning to lose track, his face told me.
"Calm down, Pikachu!" I told him.
Having confused the opponent enough, Gengar prepared a Shadow Ball as it continued to dart from place to place.
It's impossible for Pikachu to keep up with Gengar's movements and dodge Shadow Ball at the same time. In that case—
"Pikachu, use Quick Attack to dodge!"
Having understood my idea, the rodent dashed at super-human speed, just as a ball landed where it once stood and exploded.
The second Shadow Ball struck as Pikachu sprinted towards where Gengar was. But he hopped reflexively, and shifted his direction to match the moving target, Gengar.
If Gengar was super-fast in the air, so was my Pikachu on the ground.
After a third Shadow Ball missed, "Speed versus speed, huh," Agatha commented.
"The best defense is the best offense," I said my favorite line.
Pikachu finally caught up with Gengar as the Pokémon briefly paused at some point.
"Jump and use Iron Tail!"
Using the momentum from Quick Attack, Pikachu dashed into the air like a rocket, straight at the ceiling where Gengar floated.
It spun in the air with the same momentum, but Gengar bent backwards just in time, dodging the powerful attack aimed at its face.
"Electro Ball," I commanded.
"Shadow Ball," Agatha replied soon.
As Pikachu completed a full swing with Iron Tail, the steel type move was replaced by the electric ball. Pikachu performed one more flip in its momentum and tossed the ball.
Gengar, who was in an awkward posture while dodging the Iron Tail, pushed itself towards the ground while facing Pikachu and maintaining its back to the ground. It prepared a Shadow Ball and tossed at the incoming Electro ball.
The two spheres struck each other and exploded immediately.
Forced by gravity, Pikachu landed on the ground while Gengar turned down to face the opponent.
"He's doing great," May cheered. This was the second time she was seeing Ash battle an Elite Four. The same can't be said for the rest of them watching the battle.
Iris began, "He's doing good but—"
"He's struggling to keep up," Alex completed. "Pikachu's fast but Gengar has the superiority. It's an advantage all ghost types have."
"Which is why most trainers put at least one ghost type in their teams," Gary added. "The advantage's unfair. Even a flying type won't be able to match a floating ghost."
"Then why is Ash still having that stupid smile on his face," Misty asked.
"He's got something it seems," Scott said, "I can't keep my excitement anymore. I wish he could show whatever he's hiding."
"You have a fine expression on your face," Agatha said. "But let's see if you can keep up with this."
That wasn't good, May realized. Agatha had more up her sleeve.
"Gengar," she tapped the stick again. It seems to be a habit of her, but it was turning annoying. "Double Team!"
The ghostly Gengar split itself into multiple images. Multiple copies of the Gengar surrounded the panicking electric type.
"What do you say, Ash?" She asked, the boy.
The smirk on Ash's face didn't drop, not even one bit. "I have a move just for this," he said, pumping either fist into the air at the same time. "Double Thunderbolt!"
"They perfected it?!" May exclaimed.
The rodent's cheeks once more charged with power, and at once two powerful streaks of bolt erupted and struck two of the images in two different directions.
"Once more," Ash exclaimed.
Pikachu repeated the same, this time taking two more copies. There were only four more left.
"Shadow Ball!" Agatha exclaimed.
The Double Thunderbolt hit its mark once more removing two more Gengar from the scene, but the remaining two prepared a Shadow ball and tossed it at Pikachu.
"Use Double thunderbolt on the shadow ball!"
One of the thunderbolt shot through the duplicate Shadow Ball and Gengar and passed into thin air. The second struck Shadow Ball, exploding with a smoke once again. But that wasn't it.
The scene was a repeat. Gengar used the smoke to its disadvantage and appeared behind Pikachu.
"Pikachu, behind you!" Ash warned.
But Gengar has already prepared its attack. The Pokémon was smart enough to expect Agatha's move and use it on its own.
Pikachu was startled when Gengar was behind it, with a raised arm to launch Shadow Ball at a dangerously close range.
"Oh, no!" May closed her mouth with her hands. Just at that moment—
Ash Ketchum wasn't just as startled. "Pikachu, use Quick Attack on Gengar!"
There was a simultaneous exclaim from all of them who watched them battle.
The rodent propelled itself towards the Gengar, whose arm was lifted to strike the Shadow Ball on its face.
The normal type move passed through the Ghost like it was thin air. The next instant Pikachu found itself in the air, away from harm, and Gengar found its Shadow Ball exploding against the ground.
"Iron Tail!" Ash didn't waste a millisecond. It's like he imaged the event in advance.
The rodent twisted its body and slammed the attack on Gengar's back. The heavy attack threw the gas Pokémon onto the ground. The Pokémon smashed against the surface with a 'thud' and was bounced right back like a ball.
"He did it!" Misty was off her seat.
Ash's frenzy of attacks didn't end. As Gengar bounced back in pain, Ash commanded one more time. 'Pikachu, thunderbolt!"
The rodent landed on the ground and aimed the attack.
Agatha responded fast, "Dodge!"
The Gengar snapped out of pain by the trainer's sharp command. With its super speed, it zoomed away from the attack just in time. The thunderbolt was sent to the ceiling instead.
"Dammit," Ash cursed, "We were close."
The Gengar was out of breath, but so was Pikachu. Pikachu had the upper hand thanks to the damage done by Iron Tail.
"Excellent work, Ash," Agatha complemented. "But let's see how you'll handle this. Gengar Double Team."
It was the same attack again. It didn't do much good the last time, May noted.
"Time to mix your speed," Agatha announced.
That was when it began. All eight copies of Gengar began the same swift movement that Gengar had been showing till then. The eight images darted from one place to the other at a speed incomprehensible to anyone's eye. Soon the battle field was filled with Gengar's running rampant. The Pokémon began teasing the frightened Pikachu.
"What the heck?" Was Ash's reaction.
She had seen Double Team many times, and some of her Pokémon knew the move. But none of them were quite as unique as this one.
Impossible.
I can't understand what was going on. It was like a thousand Gengar were playing around.
"Pika," Pikachu yelped helplessly, unable to understand what's going on.
"What will you do, Ash?" Agatha demanded. So she thinks I'm cornered?
It's true. Nothing can beat something like this. It was an amazing show.
"I can toy with you for a while, but I'll finish this for once," Agatha declared. "Hypnosis!"
Of course she thinks I am cornered. She thinks I would lose for something like this.
But, there was a reason why I believe the best defense is the best offense.
Trouble was everywhere. Ash was extremely cornered. Misty doesn't know if her Pokémon could handle anything like this.
"Hypnosis!" Agatha commanded.
"Dammit, that's Agatha's signature move," Ash's father exclaimed. "This is over," he caught his head.
But the smirk on Ash's face grew wider with the moment. What the heck was that idiot doing?
Ash moved into action, "Pikachu, use thunderbolt and spin!"
What happened next was amazing. Something that Misty least expected. Something she never saw in her entire life.
As Gengar prepared to approach Pikachu and use the dangerous Hypnosis on Pikachu, the rodent started spinning about itself on the ground, and sent a thunderbolt. The resulting movement was wonderful.
Tens of streaks of electricity rose into the air. The Gengar that moved at an extreme speed halted in response to the attack.
As it prepared to dodge one thunderbolt, a second one came from behind and struck it. This Gengar, being an image disappeared. Within a few seconds, the next six Gengar followed suit, leaving a single and real Gengar. But before the Gengar could do anything in response, the thunderbolt caught up with it. The Pokémon attempted to move away, but ended up trapped in a spiral of thunderbolts.
The damage from the first thunderbolt forced it to collide with a second, and then the third and so on. The same Gengar that was annoying Pikachu a minute ago has now ended up in a sea of trouble.
The Thunderbolts were like whips lashing Gengar from one place to the other. The superiority its floating ability showed was no longer a boon, but a curse. Ash Ketchum made sure of that.
This was—"Incredible," Misty muttered, as she watched the scene like it was fireworks.
"Why don't I know anything about this?" Mr. Ketchum exclaimed.
"I think I have seen Dawn using something similar," May said.
"This is just too much," Gary clenched his fists seeing his rival's Pikachu handle Agatha's Gengar like it was nothing. "Even by Ash's standards."
Agatha put on an annoyed expression. She was perhaps figuring out a way to come out of the trap.
"There's no way your Gengar can dodge this attack," Ash removed any traces of her hope to escape. "This is a special move to handle floating Pokémon like your Gengar." Ash enjoyed his situation, "I call this, the Counter Shield!"
"That's it!" May exclaimed. "It's the same move Dawn used."
"I do remember her using this against Cilan's Pansage," Iris reminisced of the events half a year ago.
"It's a trick I have developed to beat a Ghost type Gym Leader in Sinnoh," I said. Counter shield was born during my attempts to beat Fantina and her Hypnosis. If I managed to beat her I don't think I could lose to Agatha if we battle the same way.
Pikachu's spinning movements stopped, leaving a severely electrocuted Gengar in the air. The damage done was pretty good. I got her by surprise after all.
Gengar gritted with the pain. The floating figure slowly descended to the ground and stopped just before landing. With gritted teeth, and a mean look of revenge, it glared at Pikachu with the strange red eyes it possessed.
"You did us some good damage," Agatha was frowning. She was expecting another easy win on me. Granted I lost pretty fast despite putting a good fight the first, but that doesn't mean you can win so easily the second time too.
"There's more from where it came from," I challenged her. In fact that was my last surprise, I think. She doesn't need to know that though.
"I can say the same," she said. "You must have noticed that I am increasing the difficulty step by step, right?"
That was correct. Firstly, she started with head on attacks. Then she started using Gengar's speed, it was Double Team after that, and a fast moving Double Team right next. So there was more?
"From now you'll see the difference between a Gym Leader and an Elite Four," she said. "But congratulations for forcing me to do this. You've come a long way in just two years.
What you are about to see now is not a move, but rather it's Gengar's ability as a ghost. It's something one could understand if they truly spend time with their Pokémon." She narrowed her eyes, she was serious. "Gengar, now show what a real ghost can do."
Gengar grinned at us, and—
Disappeared into thin air.
"What the!"
How did it do that? Where did it go? I checked each and every corner of the gym. How could it just disappear?
"Pikachu, try to sense Gengar," I said to the Pokémon. Pikachu wobbled its sensitive ears, hoping for any noise. Pikachu's ears were extremely sensitive, even a simple shift in the air won't be unnoticed. But nothing happened.
"As silent as a ghost they say," Agatha smirked. And then—
Gengar appeared right behind Pikachu. Sensing Gengar behind it, Pikachu jumped forward and—
My body's reflexive actions pumped energy into mouth immediately, "Pikachu, Electro ball!"
—Spun around to use an Electro ball. But Gengar leapt above the attack, dodging the attack with relative ease.
"Shadow Ball!" Agatha cried. Gengar created the sphere immediately and prepared to toss it.
"Use Iron Tail to deflect it back!"
Pikachu back flipped once more, and used Iron Tail on the incoming Shadow Ball. The attack was hit back like a tennis ball towards Gengar. The panicked Ghost, ducked just in time, and grinned once realizing it was safe.
"It keeps dodging them," I muttered. It's too fast, even for Pikachu's electric attacks.
"Gengar, now." Agatha said.
Once more Gengar vanished into thin air like a true Ghost. Normally, a Psychic type attack would expose Gengar's location, but that wasn't an option now.
There was still something we could do though. We just have to do our favorite move. "Pikachu," I exclaimed. "Use double thunderbolt everywhere!"
Having realized my command, Pikachu performed the newly perfected Thunderbolt on the field creating two simultaneous explosions. Immediately two more followed, raising another layer of dust.
Soon, the whole field was engulfed in dust. The dust will give away Gengar's location, and give me a win.
I got her.
Her Gengar might have exceptionally good hiding abilities, but it won't work against us now.
"Pikachu, look out for Gengar," I warned.
Somewhere in the dust, a silhouette moved. It didn't escape Pikachu's eyes. "Pikapi," Pikachu informed me of its finding.
"Good, now use Thunderbolt!"
The jolt of electricity was aimed at Gengar. Agatha won't even know what hit her. I won this match.
The electricity struck the silhouette just as I planned and—
Ended up passing through thin air.
"Dammit," I realized what happened.
"Hypnosis!"
It was too late.
Gengar appeared before Pikachu immediately. Before I could retort, the Pokémon emitted psionic waves into Pikachu's eyes.
What I feared finally happened. We were caught off guard by Gengar's double team. But when did she command Gengar? I'm pretty sure I could have listened to it.
But that wasn't important now. What's more important was waking Pikachu.
"Pikachu, get up!" I pleaded the rodent, but it lies down unresponsive. "Get up, Pikachu!"
My requests fell on deaf ears. Pikachu continued to have the sweet little nap. "Keep using Shadow Ball."
I watched in awe as Gengar rose up into the air and created Shadow ball with either arms. The attack was sent one after the other like a barrage. Once the two attacks were sent, two more came; soon it turned into a rain of Shadow Ball.
"Pikachu!" I cried for my helpless Pokémon.
The first shadow ball struck the ground throwing him out into the air, the next one missed, but the third and fourth struck, and then the next five were blindly thrown at Pikachu. I lost count as for how many hit Pikachu as the dust from the attack's explosions rose.
"Pikachu!"
Agatha was relentless. Right after the barrage of Shadow Ball, she continued, "Focus Blast!" She called out her final move.
Gengar prepared its final move, but the rodent remained unresponsive.
"Pikachu!" I scream for the last time.
"That's the end of a great battle, eh?" Scott said as the group gathered at the battle field.
"I lost," Ash sighed, "I guess have a long way to go."
Scott was always amused by the kid. No matter how much of those amazing stuff he does, he's always humble.
"That's correct in a sense but," Agatha was smiling for some reason, "You forced me to use two of my three main battle tactics. So I say you were pretty close."
"True Ghost and Clairvoyance, right?" Scott asked. Those were two of Agatha's three main tactics.
"Yes," Alex replied. "I am amazed you forced that much out of her. Why the heck do you always exceed my expectations!" He exclaimed at his son. Scott couldn't understand if Alex was mad or happy. It was mostly the latter, considering his son gave Agatha a tough time. This kid will go pretty far in the tournament. If his predictions were correct, he would reach Tier 4 at his current state. That's quite a feat for a fifteen year old.
"What's Clairvoyance?" Misty asked.
"The ability to speak with her Pokémon telepathically," Scott explained. "Agatha uses it only against extremely good challengers. You've gotten pretty good since Brandon."
"Thanks," Ash scratched his hair.
"Does everyone in the Elite Four have fancy moves like this?" Iris asked.
"Iris, don't be so rude," Misty hissed.
"No," Agatha laughed. "Only I do as far as I know."
Agatha's battle experience far exceeds most others. Many young hotshot trainers like Cynthia, Steven may have replaced her, but none of them can put up battles with varying depths of difficulty like her.
"Since you've done an excellent job Ash, I will give you a gift. It's not a gym badge though," Agatha turned to him. "Scott, can you give these two my passes?"
"Wait!" Alex, who certainly knew what the passes were for, was startled. "You are giving us your visitor passes?"
"For what?" Ash asked.
"For the Elite battlers Conference, you idiot!" Alex smacked the boy on his head. "Didn't you read the important dates sheet in the brochure?"
"Don't you do that boring stuff anyway," Iris pointed out, which caused Alex to fume at her.
"October 25," Scott interrupted before they got carried away. "The Elite Four and Champions of all five regions will collect at the Seafoam Island for the Elite Battlers Conference. Every member gets to choose two people as their guests. They won't be battling though. It's a high profile party."
"And you're inviting me!" Ash exclaimed. "Dad did you hear that?"
"I did," Alex was on the verge of crying. "We're going to see all of them on one stage!"
The father and son ended up hugging each other, crying in each other's arms.
"Why them?" Scott asked. There were many others Agatha could invite. Her grandchildren or her sponsors would have done well.
"I simply like passionate men," she chuckled. Scott knew the real reason. She wants Alex to stop from pursuing Giovanni. This was more like a diversion to his mind. The poor guy suffered enough already.
"So you're going to see the elite four and champions, huh," Gary spoke, "I'm kinda jealous, Ash."
"Why would you be," Scott smiled, "The Professors from all regions are invited too. You can ask your grandfather to get you an invite." He turned to Misty, May and Iris, "I'm sorry I couldn't help you girls though."
"It's fine," Misty said, "Besides we get to see them in the championship right?"
"Dad, can you actually believe that?!" Ash was still in a trance.
"It's a dream come true son," Alex was in a similar state.
"I'll be in Hoenn by tonight, and Iris needs to be in Unova too," May added.
"Thanks for understanding," Scott commended them. "Best of luck for the tournament. I'm really looking forward to it."
"Will you two stop acting like five year olds!" Iris yelled at the father and son.
"Wish Max a happy birthday from my side," I said as we bid farewell to May at the Viridian Port. "Tell him to go on time, or he's going to miss his starter."
"Ashy-boy sure knows that," Gary said as if to mock me. "What will he be choosing?"
"Not sure," she said, "He was fascinated with Ash's Sceptile though. I think it's going to be a Treecko."
"I'll call on 7th then," I said. It's interesting to know what Max would choose as his starter.
May nodded. "Thanks for the date, Gary." She told him.
"Hey you needn't thank for something like that," he brushed his hair when he did so. Man he sure knows how to charm girls. I guess my dad would prefer him over me as a son. "I had fun too."
"Your wallet didn't," Iris jibed.
May blushed at this, "Stop peeping on dates, will you?"
"Give me a break," Iris shrugged. "Ten year olds could have done better than the two of you!"
What's with these people and dates? All they do is go to a movie together, or a restaurant, or some kind of expensive place and on a lucky night they get to play 'Mom' and 'Dad'. What does that mean anyway? I asked Dad to elaborate but Mom nearly killed him when he was about to say something, yesterday.
"I'd prefer a battle over a date anytime," I told them. Everybody looked at me like I was some abandoned Growlithe that needed to be pitied upon.
"Your opinions are disturbing," Misty said.
"Do you really like to play 'Mom' and 'Dad' so much?" I asked, wondering why my opinion was disturbing.
"Ash KETCHUM!" Misty's face turned red. That wasn't a good sign.
"Hi, Mom!" Iris teased her. "What's for dinner today?"
"I swear to god," Misty came up to me rolling her sleeves up. "I'm going to kill you."
That evening I was chased throughout the Viridian Port. I still don't understand why she's so mad, but I valued my life, so I didn't stop.
After that, we parted at Viridian City. Misty and Iris left to Cerulean City. Gary returned back to Pallet. Both I and Dad took the path through the Viridian Forest.
No sooner did we enter into the forests, a sudden downpour disturbed us. It was strange because it wasn't rainy season.
I realized the clouds were darker than usual.
Tearing the clouds apart, a yellow lightning cackled. The source of that lightning, to our surprise was moving.
"It's Zapdos!" I yelled, as I made out the silhouette of the Pokémon amongst the clouds.
"Freaking yes!" Dad exclaimed. The two of us stopped despite the downpour and watched the legendary Pokémon pass by. It was a great sight.
"Geoooot!"
A distant cry brought us to attention. "Something's in trouble," I said to my dad.
"Let's go," he said without hesitating for a second.
The two of us and Pikachu dashed to what was the source of the cry. As we made it to a clearing, I noticed that a huge number of Pokémon were collected at a particular spot.
We went closer. I realized it was a flock of Pidgey and Pidgeotto. They were all surrounding something larger that lay on the ground.
My heart suddenly began to beat faster. Could it be?
The Pidgeotto and Pidgey moved away as we approached the scene.
Lying on the ground, with its golden wings burnt was a—
I exclaimed, "Pidgeot!"
Next Chapter: Poachers in Viridian! Pidgeot vs. Zapdos!
A/N: Some of you might be wondering if I'm going to do 365 chapters for the 365 days before the world league. No!
The story will jump dates after the next one. The world league isn't much far away. Only a couple of chapters, there will be a time skip after that.
Although this is Ash-centric, I try to focus on other characters. You'll see the focus shifting on many characters like Cynthia, Paul, Wallace etc. I am trying to flesh out each of the anime's character and give them a different and unique personality. So they might seem a bit OOC. But I assure you, Ash of all will never be OOC.
So two question for you guys:
Which Anime character would you like to appear in the league. You can skip Paul, Barry, Harrison, Tyson and all other League Rivals for an answer. Tell me if there's someone else you like to appear. If not a proper chapter, I could give them a good paragraph or two, or better face him against Ash.
Which Pokémon would you like to feature in the League? I am not talking about Ash's Pokémon; I am talking about other characters' Pokémon.
Thank you for reading. Do review it.