Mack and Sally
Ash and Misty had been walking for just over an hour now, and the sun was now starting to dip below the far horizon in a burning shade of orange, turning the sky a strange hue of pink for a few moments as the light faded. They had just arrived within walking distance of Viridian City's outskirts, and could see the large Pokémon Center situated right in the middle of the city.
"Well, made it with a little time to spare." Ash pointed out with a slight nod towards the view he could see. "Just need to go check in at the Pokémon Center." He added.
Misty could only scowl slightly at him in annoyance, having found him almost increasingly frustrating with every passing minute. It wasn't as if she was asking him difficult questions. It was only small talk, yet he rarely answered to her satisfaction. In fact, aside from the time he prompted her to talk about the best Pokémon type, the water-type, he seemed content to ignore her. Ignore her!
Sure, she could understand that he seemed to be a naturally quiet guy, but he was definitely not shy, Misty having been on the receiving end of his irritation. So what was the deal with Ash? And for that matter, how the hell did he end up with an Espeon? Last time Misty checked, they had only been discovered about five years ago, and he seemed to imply they had been together for a long time. Longer than five years, judging by his tone.
"You coming?" he called out to her, causing Misty to be slightly startled, having realised she hadn't been paying attention, and Ash had already started walking again, leaving her behind a little ways.
"Yep." She replied, hiding her irritation at him once more, instead pushing it away, wanting nothing more but to hit the hay, and sleep away her worries, at least until the morning. At least he was right about needing a relaxing night, and in a soft bed too.
Catching up with him after a moment, they continued on to the city, reaching an outpost on the outskirts.
"Halt!" a sharp voice commanded loudly as they passed by a parked motorcycle with sidecar, next to the outpost building. The exclamation caused Misty to jump slightly, wheeling around quickly to see who it was, while Ash and Efi simply mirrored each other by turning their head to the left as he stopped.
A stern faced woman dressed in a blue police officer's uniform with matching cap was eyeing them carefully, before she blinked all of a sudden in faint recognition. "Oh, Ash Ketchum right?" she asked, pointing at him slightly.
"Yes Officer Jenny." Ash replied simply with a small nod as additional confirmation.
"And who are you?" she suddenly narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the orange haired girl next to him. "A thief perhaps?" she added accusingly, causing Misty to exclaim in indignation at the turquoise haired woman.
"I am not!"
"Can you prove it young lady?" she fired back mercilessly, making Misty squirm slightly as she wasn't sure she wanted to clue Ash into who she was already. It was bad enough she had to be rescued, let alone someone of her status in Kanto.
"She's Misty Waterflower." Ash intervened smoothly, as he came to stand next to her. "Ran into her while she was fishing a few hours back."
"Oh!" Jenny exclaimed slightly embarrassed. "I remember now! Uhehe!" she chuckled slightly nervously while wringing her hands. "I'm awfully sorry to have accused you of such a thing."
"Uhh, that's ok." Misty replied, slightly unnerved by Jenny's sudden turnaround of personality. Though Ash hadn't batted an eye at it.
"I can only be careful. There are Pokémon thieves around this area, and Viridian is on high alert!" she suddenly spoke firmly, now looking every bit the police officer she was meant to be. "By the way Ash, you really shouldn't have your Pokémon outside their Pokéball. Not with the situation as it is!"
At Efi's firm command in his head not to put her back in her ball, he replied smoothly. "We can handle ourselves officer."
"Hmm, I suppose you can." She replied thoughtfully. "Especially after your efforts a few years back, I seem to remember it was three years ago right?"
"I didn't do much." Ash shrugged uncaringly. "Probably just being there scared them off."
"Even still, you prevented criminals getting away with a lot of Pokémon!" Jenny exclaimed. "By the way, have you remembered anything more?" she looked at him sharply, perhaps hoping to scare an answer out of him. Sadly, this failed.
"No." he replied flatly, seemingly bored with the conversation, causing Jenny to droop in disappointment.
"Damn, I was hoping for a big break there." She grumbled. "Well, back to work it is!" she barked with a glint in her eye. "We'll find that perpetrator eventually!"
"On your way now, I can't just let you loiter around after dark here, we have a curfew today!" she smiled grimly. "You know your way to the Pokémon center Miss Waterflower?"
At Misty's nod, she returned one of her own. "Good. You and Ash make your way there now you hear me? I wouldn't want to have to arrest you for breaking our curfew now, but don't let yourself think I wouldn't uphold the law!"
"Of course officer." Ash replied smoothly, before subtly herding Misty towards the center himself, while she tried to catch up in her head with the events.
/
"What efforts?" Misty looked at Ash curiously, having picked up that Jenny seemed to think Ash had foiled some kind of thieving attempt.
"Just scared off some thief who tried to steal from Oak's Ranch." Ash shrugged nonchalantly as he continued walking.
"That big debacle a few years ago? That was you?" Misty asked him slightly stunned. "It was all over the news! Especially a place like Professor Oak's ranch."
Ash scowled slightly at her reaction. "It wasn't anything big at all, the media just blew it all out of proportion." And the sly old coot milked the media circus for all it was worth. He remarked wryly in his head, causing an agreement to sound out from Efi.
"They never named who was involved though." Misty frowned curiously.
"Because it was kept a closely guarded secret." Ash sighed frustrated. "Can you imagine what could have happened if said thief was part of Team Rocket or something?"
"Uh?" Misty looked at him confused before it dawned on her with his continued stare of disbelief. "Oh. Oh!" she exclaimed. "Then they'd be after you for getting in their way." She shivered slightly. "Yeah, I see why now."
"Good." Ash remarked smoothly, hiding his annoyance at having to practically spell it out.
"Still, I can see why you kept your head in front of that Gyarados." Misty shivered slightly, remembering that ear-splitting roar of fury.
Ash raised an eyebrow in surprise at her comment, not having thought of it that way before. "I suppose. I'm a calm person by nature now anyway. Could be part of the reason I don't lose my nerve easily."
"I can imagine!" Misty pointed out. "I'd think it was just like a battle, with higher stakes on the line. That would just get me even more determined." She pumped a fist for emphasis.
"Or scared out of your wits." Ash couldn't help commenting, completely deadpan.
"T-That was just a one off!" Misty shouted back angrily with a growl in her throat. "I. Don't. Like. Gyarados!"
"Fair enough." Ash nodded at her slightly menacing look, as she tried to stare him down. He just didn't want the hassle of another tirade from the fiery tempered girl, so it was better to bend sometimes, even if he had remained firm on the bike issue.
"We're here." Ash remarked a moment later, as they reached the white stone steps leading up to the Pokémon center. This caused Misty to snap out of her slightly irritated state as she sighed in relief.
"Finally! I could do with a good night's rest."
"Mhm." Ash responded simply as they stepped in past the automatic doors, heading up towards the counter, where a slightly sleepy pink haired woman was sat, attention drifting, dressed up as a Nurse.
"Evening Nurse Joy." Ash spoke softly, causing her to jerk in her chair slightly.
"Whu?" she spoke confused for a moment before she realised someone had spoken to her. "Oh! I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed apologetically. "It's just I've had ever such a busy day!" she smiled sweetly.
She looked at Ash curiously for a moment, before it seemed like a light bulb went off in her mind. "Ash Ketchum isn't it?" she asked curiously. Not waiting for an answer though, she continued on smoothly. "It's great to see you again dear! How may I help you?"
"I was looking for a room for the night, and for you to take a look at my Pokémon." Ash replied with a small smile, as he pulled out Pidgey's Pokéball for her to take.
Nurse Joy simply collected the ball with a smile on her face before turning to Misty. "You as well Misty?" she asked politely.
"Yes Nurse Joy." She replied sweetly, holding out three Pokéballs for Joy to retrieve, before she passed a room key to the both of them. "Of course! Your Pokémon will be available in the morning, and your rooms are upstairs on the left! Have a nice night!"
"Night." Ash replied smoothly, holding a hand up in thanks as he walked off, quickly followed by Misty's hurried thanks, before she jogged off after him.
/
"Are the preparations complete?"
"Everything is set up boss!" the reply came swiftly and affirmatively.
"Good. Do not get yourself caught. Make sure to make your mark though. It is necessary. Eliminate any opposition and make your retreat from the police force look believable."
"Understood!"
/
*BOOM!*
A loud explosion startled Ash out of his sleep as he jumped to his feet, brain trying to catch up with him slightly. "Whazzit!?" he exclaimed uncharacteristically confused as Efi grumbled in annoyance to him.
'Something exploded.' She remarked dryly.
'I heard that!' Ash retorted in irritation. 'I was asking what it was.'
'And I should know… how?' Efi scowled minutely at him, causing him to groan.
'I knew that future sight stuff was utter rubbish.' He remarked as he grabbed her Pokéball.
'I don't do things like that on command!' she snapped back. 'Let's just go check it out, then let me get my beauty sleep!'
"Bloody explosions." Ash grunted irritably. He hated being woken up early… Arceus forbid if it was any time before 8 AM! "It's not even three in the morning!" he moaned in disbelief as he eyed the room's clock. "Someone's gonna pay for this, I don't care who it is, but they will pay!"
'I completely agree!' Efi growled slightly, as they slipped out the room. He didn't notice Misty though, putting it down to sheer exhaustion. She could probably sleep through the end of the world right now, with nary a care.
"Hush now." A deep voice seemed to carry up the stairs that Ash had gotten partway down. "Simply hand over all the Pokémon you have here, and there will be no trouble. Team Rocket don't like trouble."
Ash stealthily got himself within viewing distance of the commotion, only to be met with the scene of Nurse Joy bound up in the vines of a Tangela, obviously one of the infiltrator's Pokémon. The black uniform and cap hiding the eyes slightly were a dead ringer for a Team Rocket member though, and this one seemed far more competent than most. Probably higher up in the hierarchy with actual skills and abilities suited for purpose. Ash scowled darkly at the scene as Tangela increased its vines pressure on Nurse Joy at its trainer's urging.
"Don't make this hard on yourself now." He remarked casually, as though talking about the weather. "I have no qualms about leaving you as a lesson to those who get in our way." He added causing Nurse Joy to blanch in fear from what Ash could see.
'Get in close and use Flash.' Ash remarked coolly, body tensed in slight worry for the Nurse. He'd easily understood the Rocket's intentions, and wanted to get her away from trouble while the police responded to the explosion, which he had set off for some reason. For her part, Efi simply responded silently, exploding away from Ash with a blinding burst of speed before stopping dead in between the Rocket and his Pokémon. The man barely had time to open his mouth as his eyes widened slightly before the world exploded into white, causing him to howl in agony, but still retaining enough of his mind to release two pokéballs before gasping out. "Stop them!"
Tangela meanwhile had released Nurse Joy in reflex as it was blinded, a soft gurgle of pain the only hint otherwise of the effect Flash had on it. Nurse Joy hit the floor slightly roughly, holding her hands over her eyes, unfortunately having been caught in the attack as well. Acceptable cost, Ash had thought in the moment in order to free her and destabilise the Rocket crook.
'Reflect and Light Screen.' Ash added as the Rocket's Pokémon were in the midst of releasing. A soft blue glow, followed by a yellow glow lit up Efi's body for a single moment in time, indicating the moves had been completed.
As the white shapes of the Pokémon faded to reveal a Magnemite, a Pokémon with a gray, spherical metal body with horseshoe magnets on each side and a single, large eye. It had three screws on its body: two near the bottom of its body, and the other on top of its head acting almost like an antenna. Ash's knowledge of Kanto Pokémon informed him that it was an Electric-Steel, dual-type Pokémon, not one that someone would imagine a team Rocket member to have, but he didn't believe in stereotypes, mostly anyway. The second Pokémon was a Grimer, a slimy, amorphous blob-like Pokémon, made of living purple sludge. It had two beady eyes, and a gaping mouth with a grey tongue. It had two arms with three digits as hands on each end. It was a poison-type Pokémon, and a particularly potent one, even more so if it evolved into a Muk.
However, they were obviously well trained, immediately zeroing in on Ash, Magnemite firing off a blue shock of electricity at him, which Efi quickly intercepted with a swift attack, the golden stars bursting into a miniature fireworks show as it connected with the Thunder Wave and cancelling each other out. Grimer meanwhile had thrown a Sludge attack, a dripping gloopy mess of purple sludge being hurled out of its mouth towards the stationary Efi.
'Knock it to Tangela.' Ash ordered smoothly, as Efi's eyes morphed into a slightly glowing blue, catching the glob of sludge in mid-air with Confusion, before it was hurled twice as fast at the recovering Tangela which seemed to screech in pain as the extra effective attack struck it full on, launching it back into a wall and knocking it out with no trouble. It seemed the extra momentum Efi had applied had been enough to put down Tangela.
"Brat!" the Rocket roared as he staggered to his feet, his eyes bloodshot from the blinding flash attack. Instead of ordering his Pokémon to attack, he released two more, obviously intending to make an example of Ash.
Ash simply rolled an eye at him, before he ordered Efi again. "Psybeam on Grimer." He remarked coolly, as Efi's crimson gem flared, before a rippling rainbow coloured beam burst out of it almost like a laser. It was remarkably compressed, obviously packing a lot of power, and ripped into Grimer brutally, slamming it into the unconscious Tangela behind it, leaving it an unconscious puddle of purple sludge. Psychic attacks were extremely effective on poison types, and Ash knew Efi was far more powerful than the Grimer, knocking it out not surprising him in the least, even as the Rocket member stared in shock at the result, obviously surprised that a kid was beating his Pokémon down.
"Double Team." Ash called out as Magnemite released a Thundershock attack of its own accord, this time not aimed at him, and intending to incapacitate his Espeon. The attack hit one of the double team clones dispersing it into thin air with a zap, but about thirty more Espeons had surrounded the Rocket and his Pokémon now.
The Rocket had now released a Marowak, which was a bipedal Pokémon with a spike located on its tail. On its stomach, it was a very light brown in color, as opposed to most of its body, which was a darker brown. Marowak's head resembled a skull, which it seemed to wear as a mask, while it wielded a large bone in one hand. The other Pokémon he had released was a Raticate, a large brown mouse like Pokémon with large incisors, and the evolved form of a Rattata.
"Shock Wave!" the man called out in glee, knowing that Double Team wouldn't allow Ash's Pokémon to dodge. A circular belt of electricity formed around the Magnemite for a moment, before a finger zapped from it, directly towards one of the Espeon littering the field.
"Iron Tail." Ash called quickly, trusting Efi to interpret the rest of the command. Efi simply braced herself for the electric attack, as her tail sheened a metallic silver, and she stabbed it into the ground beneath her.
The Magnemite seemed to look more confused than it did naturally, as the Electricity hit Efi, instantly being redirected through her metallic tail and direct into the ground. As such, it had no effect. "Raticate, Quick Attack! Marowak, Bonemerang!" the man called out quickly, trying to take advantage of the moment, though Ash called out a counter.
"Quick Attack on Marowak." Efi shot off in a lilac blur, tail still sheening silver as she leapt over the incoming Raticate, and straight into the guard of a slightly stunned Marowak who had barely any time to cock back its arm in a preparatory throw. "Legs." Ash added as Efi sprang off. The loud impact of her tail cracking into Marowak's legs rang out into the room, even as it screamed loudly in pain, legs being knocked right out under it, and crashing into the earth roughly.
"Head." Ash added a split second later, as Efi's tail whipped round again, before she flipped over, the broadside of her forked tail smashing straight down onto Marowak's bone mask face, further crushing Marowak's head into the floor with a crunching sound this time.
"Supersonic!" the rocket barked, desperately trying to salvage the situation. He'd heard that there were ways to disrupt Psychics that were better than others, but sound was one of the lesser effective ones when compared to dark-type and bug-type moves. Unfortunately he could only rely on his Raticate to do any major damage but it had no powerful attacks other than Bite that would seriously dent the Sun Pokémon. A weird squealing sound rang out from the Magnemite focused on where Efi was, as she had already zipped away from the fallen Marowak, adding insult to injury as the unconscious Pokémon was hit with another attack, this time from its own ally.
Raticate was still fruitlessly trying to chase the simply faster Efi around with its Quick Attack, clearly highlighting the Rocket's weakness in commanding multiple Pokémon at once. By the time he had realised he'd forgotten to give Raticate any further orders, it was too late as Ash called out a finishing attack.
"Psychic." Ash stated flatly, as Efi's eyes burst into an electric bright blue, a soft glow emanating around her outline, and her crimson gem pulsing powerfully along with it. Raticate was pinned in its tracks, before being held in the air, struggling futilely against the Psychic grip Efi had on it. Ash had no need of further orders as Efi hurled it into the ground heavily, leaving it unconscious in a crater, and the Rocket with just one Magnemite which couldn't even hit Efi with its electrical attacks. The man bared his teeth in fury as he realised his entire mission had been ruined by a kid with just, albeit one very powerful, one Pokémon! The boss would skin him alive!
"Get rid of the metal ball too." Ash called as the Rocket seethed. Efi grabbed the Magnemite with her Psychic attack, though less effective on the steel-type, it still had the same effect when the Magnet Pokémon ended up pulverising the ground with its own body.
"Pin him." Ash added a moment later, causing Efi to catch the Rocket in a lower level psychic attack, Confusion this time, sitting back on her haunches seemingly cool and relaxed.
Checking on the now unconscious Joy and settling into her a chair near the entrance, he had seen the Police approaching in the distance, now drawn by the massive plume of black smoke that had erupted from the top of the building. He turned to the immobilised Rocket, whose eyes promised absolute murder towards him, and portrayed just a slight hint of fear, actually just from thinking about what his Boss would do to him. He knew he wouldn't be safe in police custody, and he didn't even know anything much about the boss either, but he knew he'd still get punished in one way or another.
"So what's your name?" Ash asked him after a moment of thought. The man's jaw clenched as he stubbornly ignored the boy's question. "I can always ask Efi to rip it out of your head." He added, sounding quite ruthless much to the Rocket's surprise. Swallowing nervously for a moment he decided to push his luck with the kid.
"Why'd you want to know brat?"
"Curiosity's sake." Ash replied with a shrug. "You were the first trainer I've ever actually battled." He added, much to the Rocket's chagrin. "I know you're from Rocket or whatever, but it's still an important thing to know I think."
The man pondered his reasoning for a moment, before begrudgingly realising he had no reason to refuse the kid except out of spite, and it seemed rather likely that he'd just use his Psychic type to somehow get it, and that would probably be painful if not damaging to his psyche. It was a shame he didn't know that Espeon weren't physiologically supposed to be able to do such a thing like the psychics of the Abra line could. Sighing slightly in acceptance the man replied.
"Name's Mack. Mack Rivers." He sighed as the kid in front of him raised an eyebrow in surprise. I hope he wasn't praying I'd refuse? He thought with a shudder.
Ash dropped his eyebrows down, looking at Mack blankly. "If you wanted to send a message Mack, I would have left a note saying who did it, and not blow off the roof and giving yourself a time-sensitive problem." Ash commented as he clasped his hands together. "Makes me wonder why you did it the way you did." He added glibly, staring Mack in his grey eyes as he crouched down to his eye-level. "Boss must have a lot of strange plans, but I suppose a completely hitch-free operation would draw too much heat, should I say?"
"I think you're fodder." Ash remarked, causing Mack's eyes to widen in shock.
"Fodder?" he asked, not realising he'd said it out loud until the boy answered.
"A means to an end. He threw you off the deep end to attract people's attentions somewhere else. Makes me wonder what your boss actually ended up doing. Or he's prone to making stupid mistakes. Or it was just your poor execution." Ash explained smoothly, leaning back against the wall behind him, hands behind his head.
"Judging from your expression, I'd say your Boss constructed the whole plan, and it was your job to make it work."
"…"
"I doubt the leader of Team Rocket would have made a plan with so many ways to go wrong unless it served a purpose. Wheels within wheels."
"Still… Jenny will be here soon, so I don't have long with you." Ash remarked with a sigh. "Shame, it's pretty interesting talking to someone who is probably the complete antithesis of me."
"Just for courtesy's sake, I'm Ash Ketchum. It was a good battle Mack Rivers, but we won't meet again." He added with a cool finality, causing Mack to pale slightly as he realised what was coming.
'Rip our conversation out of his head, and knock him out.' He instructed Efi, who immediately set to work causing Mack to yell in pain, before leaving a silently unconscious Mack Rivers on the floor no longer holding the memory of their post-battle conversation.
'Why did you want me to do that anyway?' Efi asked Ash curiously. 'All you did was beat him with me and tell him your name.'
'I got dangerous information from him.' Ash remarked carefully. 'Better if no one knows I ever learnt anything from that. As for the police, who'd have believed a kid's thoughts on the plans of Team Rocket?'
'That's it?' Efi remarked in confusion.
'I wouldn't put it past Team Rocket to have Psychics who could retrieve information from him.' Ash responded. 'And now they won't know what I've learnt. Better for them to believe this was the only plan we uncovered. Even if I'm not sure what it was, there was definitely something else going on.'
'Besides, it'll give the bastard a headache I hope sticks with him for a good long while. Besides, you're an Espeon, and not capable of mental manipulation according the leading Professors. We're home free now, see?'
'Your head confuses me sometimes.' Efi grouched as her ears drooped wearily. 'I'm just going to get my beauty sleep. Don't wake me up again.' She added sharply as she curled up to sleep on Ash's lap, eyes shutting.
"Freeze!"
/
"You know, you're surprisingly capable." Jenny remarked to Ash, who was still in his navy blue pyjamas, having yet to go back to sleep. "Ever thought about joining the police?" she queried him excitedly.
"No, can't say I have." Ash replied with a curious look at Jenny.
"Damn." Jenny swore under her breath. "Well if ever decide it's the kind of work for you, I'll put in a good word!" she exclaimed.
"Thanks again Ash!" Jenny remarked with a smile. "Marie is a good friend of mine, and she told me what that awful thug had threatened to do to her." She added with a scowl. "But do try not to take the law in your own hands next time!" she wagged a finger at him slightly rebuking, though the effect was dulled by the simple fact her eyes looked rather amused.
"I'll try not to get in the way next time." Ash remarked with a small twitch of his lips.
"Good. It's hard keeping your name away from the criminal elements you know?" Jenny responded seriously, causing Ash to straighten slightly in response.
"I do realise that. I'm thankful you did such a good job last time." Ash replied firmly. "I try not to get involved unless there's no one there to help. It would be… wrong, I guess."
"Well of course, someone like you just couldn't stand by and watch." Jenny nodded. "Just be careful. You worried a lot of people last time with the Oak Ranch scare."
"Sure officer." Ash replied simply, causing Jenny to sigh.
"You can just call me Jenny if you like. You act far too much like an adult around me."
"Yes, while that is how I expect people to treat me, I think I can give you a pass. You're a good kid." She interrupted as Ash frowned slightly. "Now go on and call your mother. Delia must have been up all night waiting for you to call by now." Jenny's face softened slightly. "I know you hate worrying her."
"Yeah…" Ash breathed out slowly before shuddering. "Can't I put it off?" he asked almost nervously, causing Jenny to look at him sternly.
"Phone. Now." She remarked sharply.
Ash grumbled slightly but relented. "Alright Jenny, I'll phone my mom. Just remember, I won't forget this either." He added slightly darkly, causing Jenny to pause. She was simply amused by how Ash disliked having to listen to Delia's constant worrying, which would be even worse this time. Oh well, it would count as his little punishment for getting involved. His reward was evident enough as is.
/
"Are you sure you're ok dear?" a worried Delia's face remarked on the video screen to a slightly irritated Ash.
"Absolutely fine mom." He replied with a slightly strained smile.
"As long as you're sure honey! You know, it took your dad four days to get to Viridian when he first set off. I bet you're the apple of his eye!" Delia exclaimed happily.
"I bet…" Ash voiced slightly disbelievingly.
"And that's not mentioning your grandfather, let me tell you…" Delia continued on, having not heard Ash's rejoinder.
"Alright mom!" Ash raised his voice slightly, causing Delia to chuckle in embarrassment.
"Oh dear me, I could go on forever. Awfully sorry dear. Make sure to call Professor Oak, he'll want to know how you're doing. And don't forget to cha-" she continued before Ash cut off the call swiftly, trying to make sure as few people ever heard those words uttered.
"My mom is crazy." He muttered under his breath, though it was slightly fondly. "Oak now." He stated to himself, before dialling in his number.
After a few rings, the call was picked up, revealing a slightly dishevelled Professor Oak, obviously very tired. "What is it at this time of the morning Ash?" he grumbled.
"I'm surprised you're still awake Professor." Ash simply replied, causing Oak to scowl at the non-answer.
"Time runs away with me sometimes, as you full well know, my boy." Oak responded crassly. "Now just what is it?"
"Blame mom. She told me to call you. Besides, haven't you heard the news in Viridian City?" Ash replied, still not answering the question, and causing Oak to feel slightly annoyed.
"No." he replied flatly.
Having decided his bit of fun was over, Ash began to explain. "Well Team Rocket attacked the Pokémon Center here."
"What!?" Oak exclaimed in shock, all tiredness fading away in an instant.
"Yeah." Ash replied. "It was only one guy, but he had Nurse Joy in a pretty awkward spot. I got rid of him though."
"With just Efi?" Oak queried him flabbergasted.
"Well I do have a Pidgey too, but yeah Efi was all I had to help with. Turned out that the bomb he set off, did actually wake everyone up too, but Efi had apparently unlocked our door during the night at some point, so I was the only one able to get out of their room." Ash replied after some thought. "For a first trainer battle, it was probably something I wouldn't want to do again, considering it was five Pokémon against one." Ash scowled slightly.
"You managed that on your first battle?" Oak replied in slight disbelief. "Wait, bomb!?" he hissed suddenly.
"He blew the roof off Professor." Ash replied glibly. "Not a very smart criminal I guess."
"How's Efi by the way? That must have been hard, and shame on you for getting her into a situation like that!" Oak continued, glossing over Ash's criminal evaluation.
"Having her beauty sleep. No trouble at all." Ash replied deadpan.
"Oh." Oak responded eloquently.
"She only took a Shock Wave attack, but I grounded it with Iron Tail, so it didn't do anything." Ash pointed out, causing Oak to nod impressed.
"A good use of a move to neutralise electricity." Oak nodded at him. "Well as long as everything is fine. But for my poor old heart, don't put yourself in such a situation again. I hope you understand how much worse that could have gone." He beseeched him.
"I'll do my best." Ash shrugged simply, causing Oak to sigh.
"Delia will kill me if you end up getting yourself in big trouble. Just make sure you're safe."
"Of course Professor. I never really rush into things blind." Ash replied.
"True enough. Though I know the capability is there, remember your younger years?" Oak pointed out with a grim smile.
"Vividly." Ash responded simply. "Night old man, sorry for disturbing you."
"Goodnight Ash, and don't worry about it. I'll always make time for you, you know that my boy." Oak replied, before the screen blacked out.
"I'd love to see the look on the old coot's face when he realises that mom doesn't know about the Pokémon Center." He remarked almost evilly to himself. "With any luck, she'll give him an earful."
A loud clearing of a throat rang out behind him, causing him to yelp slightly in shock as his heart rate shot through the roof. He turned round, quickly schooling his face to show calmness.
As soon as he saw her though, that illusion was dispelled immediately. "The hell!?" he exclaimed incredulously.
She laughed throatily at his reaction, before it devolved into a series of snickers hidden behind a hand.
"Surprise?" she remarked with a slight purr to her voice. "Your nightwear certainly is one."
Forcefully ignoring her comment and devilish smirk, he slapped a hand to his forehead.
"What exactly are you doing here?" he asked flatly.
"Mm… A little of this and a little of that." She replied evasively.
"Business?" he queried her warningly.
"No of course not!" she exclaimed nervously. "It's just… uh…"
"Spit it out already." He ordered her coldly.
"Ah damn it, I only came to visit you, you ungrateful…" she retorted, before devolving into an unintelligible mixture of words obviously designed to be insults of some kind, though she couldn't seem to give voice to them.
"Ok." Ash responded smoothly, having lost any trace of negativity in his tone. "Though why visit me?"
"I was bored and I wanted to see an old friend of sorts." She shrugged in reply, causing him to sigh aggravated.
"An old friend. I guess it could be worded that way." He remarked after a moment. "Alright, it's six in the morning, and I probably won't be getting any sleep anyway. Just let me go have a shower and get changed, and I'll go meet you wherever it is you want to be."
"Alright." She nodded, surprising him slightly. "Out back by the battlefields then. I'll be there."
"See you then." Ash frowned subtly as she walked off, before turning around and grumbling to himself as he headed back to his room. "It's never just a normal thing with her though…"
/
"Look, it's been three years. Why now?" Ash asked her curiously as she seemed content to examine her fingernails while they sat on the viewing benches by the dirt battlefields.
"Honestly?" she raised an eyebrow at him with a small smirk on her face.
Ash knew that smirk didn't bode entirely well for him, but still decided to take the bait. "Yeah, honestly." He remarked carefully.
"Just wanted to see you Ketchum." She replied smoothly, resting her head on her hand, while her elbow remained propped up slightly by the back panels of the bench. "I'd heard you were finally hopping off your mother's teat this year." She added with pitch-perfect timing, smirk widening with every word and blue eyes lighting up devilishly.
"There it is." Ash rolled his eye at her crass humour.
"As if you expected anything different." She replied in a beat.
"Fair enough." Ash sighed as he shook his head wryly.
"Look Reena-" Ash began before she interrupted with a scowl.
"I hate being called that. It feels odd when someone uses my name."
"I know." He replied uncaring. "Whose fault is that?"
"Yours." She drawled, drawing her knees up onto the bench slightly as got more comfortable. "Please, you'll never win when it comes to an argument here. I have far too much experience in that department."
"And many others." She added with a coy smile.
"I'll believe that when I see it." Ash replied without missing a beat.
"Don't ask for something you can't handle Ketchum." She chuckled throatily, causing him to snap his mouth shut with an audible click. "Good boy." She added teasingly.
Ash refrained from complaining, but she obviously noticed the slightly irritated look in his eye, because her smile only got wider when their gazes crossed again.
"So what are you actually here for?" Ash asked seriously, playfulness suddenly gone from his demeanour.
Pouting slightly at his refusal to mess around anymore, she dropped the mischievous façade, replacing it with an equally serious look, though her blue eyes seemed to hold a faint trace of worry.
"I'm worried about you." She replied, drawing out a long sigh as though it was hard to get off her chest. "You're a reckless idiot to be perfectly honest, and when I heard you were finally going to go out into the big bad wilderness as they call it, I admit I freaked out a little bit."
"…"
"I'm not saying you can't handle yourself, but what happened with Rivers is just like you." She elaborated quickly avoiding telling him how she knew the name. "Look, if you get yourself hurt in some way, and I don't believe I'm saying this by the way, I'd hurt you twice as hard, just for making me worry dammit. And I'd make damn sure the lesson stuck. Hell, if not even that eye was enough to temper your hero complex, I worry for your sanity."
"But we barely know each other. Honestly, you know far more about me than I do you Reena." Ash finally got his voice back after a stunned moment. This time, she didn't react to the use of her surname, but simply seemed content to listen to him for the moment, peacefully.
"Seriously, why do I matter to someone like you of all people?" Ash asked her dumbfounded.
"Because." She replied evasively, eyeing her own hands for the moment.
"Why?" Ash asked again more forcefully this time, staring at her intensely.
"You just do." She sighed wearily.
"I can't just accept that." Ash grumbled before grabbing her shoulders firmly, forcing her to look at him directly. "Now tell me, why does someone you've seen barely a few times at best, matter to you?"
He continued to stare into her slightly conflicted blue eyes, even as she seemed to try and shy away from him. He knew that if she really wanted to, she could have thrown him off rather easily, but she seemed to be slightly transfixed with his brown eye. He didn't know why, but he needed to know. It was as though something was telling him that if he didn't do this now, he'd never get the chance again, and that made him feel ever so empty all of a sudden. He didn't really believe in Efi when she told him about the possibilities of Future Sight, but he indulged her sometimes. Now that he seemed to experiencing some kind of future sight shtick, he was far less inclined to rubbish the thing as a whole.
"You're my only friend." She eventually replied, closing her eyes as she did so. "I have my Pokémon, and that's fine, but outside of that… You're basically the closest thing I can consider to a friend. I don't even know if that's what it is, but for some reason, you're the only person other than myself that I actually give a damn about."
"Get it now idiot?" she asked him with a slightly weak smile. "We're both rather crap at this human social thing, but that's what makes you more understanding of me as a person."
"People I know, know full well I don't care about them. They're all worthless to me." She continued. "You've told me before that it's not a bad thing, but I found out it wasn't entirely true these last few years, where you're concerned."
"At that time, I didn't even consider my own Pokémon as worth anything to me." She reminisced slightly. "Then I met you and that nutty Espeon out by Oak's Ranch. It was ridiculous. I found it laughable that you basically seemed to be my entire opposite, but you told me that wasn't true."
"Honestly, I can't remember everything you said, probably because half of it was pure Tauros-manure designed to confuse me." She chuckled wryly, as Ash's hands dropped back to his lap, looking at her carefully. "All I remember you saying to me was that it's okay to be whoever I want. Don't have regrets."
"…"
"By the way, calling me a monster stung just a little once I started considering you as someone who actually understood me, but it didn't bother me at the time, because that's all I was, to be perfectly honest. That said…" she trailed off, looking at Ash thoughtfully, before she suddenly rammed a fist into his stomach. "Only fair I suppose hmm Ketchum?" she asked him rhetorically as he doubled over, wheezing for breath. She had a really mean sucker punch.
"Good punch." Ash choked out slightly complimentary.
"Why thank you." She replied with a small smirk, bringing up her normal façade once more. "Anyway, I just wanted to make sure you knew that there are other people out there who gave a damn about your well-being. Hell if I can honestly figure out when I learnt that I cared, but there you have it."
"By the way, my Blue's missed you a great deal." She added, blue eyes glinting mischievously. "Fancy giving that Espeon of yours a workout?"
"Be my guest." Ash blanched suddenly, causing Renee's smile to drop suddenly.
"Huh?" she asked confusedly.
"If you want to wake up an incredibly violent female Espeon who's barely had any sleep all night, just for a battle, you're on your own there, because I guarantee I'll be in the next town, just for safety's sake." He replied so seriously, that she almost thought he was trying to pull off some kind of joke, but she just couldn't see any hint of it at all.
"Maybe next time?" she asked slightly nervously.
"Next time. She'll be happy to play with Sally at some point." He replied glibly.
"Sally?" she asked him curiously, cocking her head to the side slightly, making her look far less imposing, and quite alluring, though Ash didn't voice this out loud.
"Yeah. Efi liked that nickname." Ash replied smoothly.
"He's not gonna be happy with that." She responded seriously.
"That was the point."
"Oh."
AN 17.09.2014
Welcome to the third installment of Evolution, the masterpiece of a novel that is widely acclaimed… wait… no, that's not the right personality. Welcome to chapter three of Evolution. I altered the title of this one because I reworked my original plan which included the Rocket Trio, then decided that was far too comedic, and it's extremely annoying to write a serious part with those three in it when all you can think of is that damn bloody motto. See my issue huh? Not to say there is no humorous moments in the fic as a whole. As a Pokémon fic, I feel I have to keep it light-hearted in parts, but mixing the slightly serious tone with the rest of it is a difficult practice though it sounds easy. I'm perfectly capable of keeping the balance as a whole, because I've done it before though with a different fandom, but there are dark arcs where there's not much of a bright side to see. The endings are usually a thrill of some kind though.
Also Renee is a made up surname for the character Ash meets here. The surname has a meaning in relation to the person, though it may throw you on the wrong track. I kept her description deliberately vague, but it's not too difficult. It is a surname, merely because I kept their conversation based around surnames, as such, she only refers to him as Ketchum when using a name. Strictly speaking, not a lot of characters have surnames either, so yeah. I can understand people using their Japanese names as surnames, but it does annoy others. What do you guys think? I mean, I don't mind using names like Cynthia Shirona for example, mainly because that's a ridiculously familiar name to everyone here and it flows ridiculously well.
Mack Rivers is also just a throwaway O.C Rocket at the moment, who I may include later in some fashion, but I didn't develop him much simply because I had no plans to at the time. He achieves what I wanted to achieve, but I think I should probably tie in his arrest to ongoing stuff at some point. I'll think on that, but it would be a while yet anyway.
Next time, Viridian Forest, and reaching Pewter.