Ch 3: Viridian city.
As the sun began to set in Viridian city Ash and Serena quickly made their way through the streets towards the pokemon center. After what they had gone through that day, Ash and Serena were exhausted. But they knew how hurt their pokemon were and that they needed to get them to the pokemon center as soon as possible.
As they rushed through the streets many people stared at them noticing how hurt and dirty they looked.
"What happened to them?" A woman asked.
"Are they ok?" A man asked.
"How much further?" Serena asked as she tried to keep up with Ash.
"I can see it!" Ash shouted as the center came into site. Despite their fatigue, Ash and Serena kept running until they finally got inside.
Inside the pokemon center a Chansey was standing behind the counter as Nurse Joy walked out from a hallway and behind the counter.
"Well he's still doing ok. Hopefully that man in the robes will be back soon." Nurse Joy said.
Moments later they heard the doors open and turned to see a young man and woman rush in. The young couple looked very exhausted and dirty as they rushed inside. Nurse Joy also noticed that the young man had a very hurt Pikachu in his arms.
"Nurse Joy please our pokemon are badly hurt!" Ash shouted.
"Woah, hold on what happened to you kids?" Nurse Joy asked.
"We'll explain later, our pokemon are in bad shape." Ash said as he moved Pikachu closer to her.
"Oh my, you poor thing. Chansey take him to the operating room." Nurse Joy said as she took Pikachu from Ash's arms and handed her to Chansey.
The pink caretaker pokermon carefully held Pikachu and carried him down the hallway to another room. Ash and Serena took out their pokeballs and handed them to nurse Joy.
"I'll get to work immediately. Oh and by the way, you both look very tired and well, dirty. You are welcome to spend the night here." Joy said as she set down a room key then took the pokeballs and walked back where Chansey had.
Serena let out a relief breath.
"Our pokemon are going to be alright." Serena said.
"Thank Reduka. I guess we're safe for now." Ash said.
"We can finally relax."Serena said. Ash wanted to be able to relax, but after what had just happened he was very shaken up. An aura guardian had attacked them and tried to kill him as well as Serena and their pokemon, nearly succeeding.
Who was that aura guardian, and why had he attacked them?
Moments later the doors opened again as a young woman came in carrying the pieces of a destroyed bike in her arms.
"There you are!" The young woman shouted. Ash and Serena turned to see the young woman standing by the door.
"Hey it's that girl from route 1." Ash said. The girl had an enraged expression on her face as she walked over to them.
"I finally found you two. Look what you did to my bike!" She shouted as she held the pieces up.
"What?" Ash and Serena said.
"You brought that crazy robed man and his Garchomp to my fishing cite and his Draco Meteor destroyed my bike!" She shouted.
After everything that had happened to them that day, Serena was in no mood to deal with this girl. A mad aura guardian had nearly killed her, Ash, and their pokemon. They had been chased by a flock of controlled Spearow, and attacked by them relentlessly.
They then had to run nonstop across route 1 to the pokemon center. Now this girl was complaining that her bike had been destroyed.
"You owe me a new bike. Now pay up!" The girl shouted.
"Look we've had a really rough day and" Ash started before the girl tried to grab Ash by the collar of his shirt.
Serena grabbed the girls arm and twisted her wrist against its joint before twisting it the other way, forcing her left foot in front of the girl's right foot , and pushing her other hand into the girl's right shoulder, effectively locking the girl in an arm bar.
"Ahh!" The girl cried in pain as Serena held her in place.
"Look we've had a really rough day, we were attacked on the rode. Almost killed by a flock of angry Spearow, and our pokemon are in critical condition. We really don't give a dam that your stupid bike is broken!" Serena shouted before she let the girl go and pushed her away from Ash.
Then the girl got back up and turned to them , her expression had changed.
"Wait, your pokemon are in critical condition? Are they going to be ok?" The girl asked now sounding genuinely concerned.
"Nurse Joy is working on them right now." Ash said.
"Oh, look I'm sorry I snapped at you. I had no idea what you had been through, or that your pokemon were in critical condition." The girl said.
"It's alright. I'm Ash, this is my girlfriend Serena." Ash said.
"My name's Misty. Serena don't sound like your from Kanto." Misty said as she noticed Serena's Kalos accent.
"I'm not, I'm from Kalos." Serena said.
"I see. So why was that man coming after you two?" Misty asked.
"We have no idea." Ash said.
"Ash we should probably call your parents and let them know where we are." Serena said.
"Right, we were suppose to meet them earlier." Ash said before he and Serena walked over to a phone.
Ash dialed in the number of the phone at the Viridian guardian guild that Paul gave them.
Moments later an aura guardian appeared on the other side with her hood down.
"Who are you? How did you get this number?" She asked. Ash showed his hidden blade holders to her.
"Oh, what do you need?" She asked.
"Delia and Felix Ketchum, they're at the guild. I need to talk with them." Ash said. The woman left and came back with Delia and Felix.
"Ash there you are. What happened, you were suppose to meet us here hours ago. Woah , what happened to you two, you look terrible." Delia asked when she saw how dirty and hurt they looked.
"Mom, Dad. We were on our way back through route 1 when we were attacked." Ash said.
"Attacked!?" Delia shouted in fear.
"Team rocket was there?" Felix asked.
"No, it was an aura guardian." Ash said.
"What?" Felix and the woman aura guardian said in disbelief.
"He wore black and red robes and had a mega Garchomp. He came out of the trees and tried to kill me. We barley escaped him with our lives. That's not all, he had somehow used his aura to control the minds of a flock of Spearow and used them against us." Ash said.
"Using aura to control the minds of others. That's something no true aura guardian would ever do. Whoever this assailant is, he's a danger and needs to be stopped ." Felix said.
"Where are you know?" Delia asked.
"We're in the Viridian city pokemon center. Were were planning on spending the night here." Ash said.
"Alright, you're safe there. We'll head over there in the morning." Delia said.
"Alright we'll see you then." Ash said. Moments later Nurse joy came out and to the counter.
"Nurse Joy, what happened? Are our pokemon going to be ok?" Serena asked.
"You're pokemon are going to be just fine. All they need is a good nights rest and they should be fine." Joy said. Ash and Serena were both very relieved to hear that.
" Well it's getting late, I think I'll stay here for tonight." Misty said. Several minutes later Ash was in his room's shower. The hot water felt good after everything he had been through that day.
Serena was brushing her hair as she looked at herself in the mirror. Serena was very relieved that they were safe and could finally relax a little. Now that she could relax, she started to think about what Leaf had said.
"Pokemon Showcase, yes that's what she called it. I still need to find out what that is. " Serena said.
The bathroom door opened as Ash came out in just his black shorts.
"I'm ready for a good night sleep." Ash said.
"Me too." Serena said. She undid the tie in her hair letting it all fall free. She took off the jacket she was wearing and pulled down her shorts.
The two laid down as Serena cuddled up beside him with her arm around his shoulder.
"I was so scared today. We were almost killed, again." Serena said.
"Well the last time our lives were in danger was five years ago." Ash said.
"I guess I forgot how scary stuff like that can be. The thought of loosing you." Serena said before she moved her head over his and kissed him. After Serena fell asleep, Ash started to think more about how Pikachu was able to knock out all of the Spearow at once.
He used a move Ash had never seen him use before. He wasn't sure what it was, but he wanted to find out.
Two hours passed and the two were fast asleep in the room. Outside the pokemon center a man scaled the side side of the building before reaching the roof. He then walked across the roof and to a transmitting device.
He held his right hand out and let out a hidden blade before cutting the front of the device open and slashing the wires. Inside their room, Ash and Serena were still asleep before they heard a loud explosion.
"What the hell? Did you hear that?" Ash asked.
"Yeah it came from the lobby." Serena said. Ash and Serena quickly got up and put some cloths on before rushing to the lobby.
When they got there they saw Misty and Nurse joy in the lobby as well. The front doors had been blown open and 4 Nidorino's stood in the blown open with a Nidoking and a Nidoqueen behind them.
Moments later 4 men walked in wearing team rocket grunt uniforms and with guns in hand.
"Team rocket!" Ash said.
"Prepare for trouble." An all to familiar voice said.
"Make it double."
"Oh no, it can't be." Serena said.
"To protect the world from devastation."
" To unite all people's within our nation.".
"To denounce the evils of truth and love.".
"To extend our reach tot he stars above.".
"Jessie." She said as she walked forward.
"James." He said as he walked forward.
"Team rocket blast off at the speed of light. "
"Surrender now or prepare to fight."
"Meowth that's right!" Meowth said as he stepped out in between them.
"Alright nurse Joy you know why we're." Jessie started before she saw Ash and Serena.
"Well well well, look who's here." Jessie said.
"Those twerps from Kalos." James said.
"Team rocket! You're not stealing any of the pokemon here." Ash said.
"Ha ha ha, you think we're after the weak pokemon that nurse Joy is treating. No, we're after a much bigger prize. You know what we're talking about Nurse Joy." Jessie said turning to Nurse Joy.
Nurse Joy looked very nervous as she backed up a bit.
"Stand aside or die." James said as the 4 grunts raised their guns.
"They've got gun!" Misty shouted.
"Not anymore." Ash said he took a deep breath and raised his hand before unleashing a sphere of aura into the air that burst in front of the rocket grunts. The blast knocked them off their feet and hurled their guns away.
"What the?" Misty said as she stared at Ash.
"Ohh that's right, this boy is special. Good thing we didn't come alone." Meowth said smiling. Ash felt a familiar aura approach them and his eyes widened as he saw an aura guardian wearing black and red robes step forward.
He walked in front of the rocket officers and let out his hidden blades.
"It's that Guardian!" Serena shouted.
"So you've met Seir before." James said.
"He didn't mention that." Jessie said.
"Wait a minute." Ash said he noticed the red R on his chest again and realized what it meant. This aura guardian was a team rocket officer.
The Seir sprinted forward at Ash before blasting him with a burst of aura, knocking him to the ground. Ash quickly rolled to the side as Seir slammed his hidden blade into the ground. When he saw Ash move he lunged towards him and thrusted his other hidden blade forward.
Ash tried to knock the man's arm aside, but was only able to slow it down as he moved out of the way. Seir came forward with his other hidden blade towards Ash's throat and nearly got him. Ash brought up his other hidden blade just in time to catch it.
He tried to hurl Seir back with a burst of aura, but Seir was much stronger. He hurled Ash back with a bigger burst of aura.
"Nidoking use Earth power." James said.
"Nidoqueen use Earth power." Jessie said.
The two poison earth pokemon began tearing through the lobby with their Pokemon's attacks as the 4 Nidorinos unleashed poison sting.
"Run!" Ash shouted. Serena, Joy, and Misty all ran down the hall as Ash covered the rear. Seir let out his Garchomp and moments later it unleashed a thick Stone edge that began to tear up the hallway.
Ash threw up an aura barrier that protected them from the stones before they reached a door at the end of the hall. They rushed inside and shut the door behind them before noticing Pikachu, Charizard, Absol, and Charla all asleep in the room.
"How are they still asleep?" Misty said.
"I gave them something for their pain." Joy said. Ash pushed a table in front of the door as the rocket grunts tried to get in.
"Call the police! The army! Anyone!" Misty shouted. Nurse Joy ran over to the phone but it wouldn't turn on.
"Oh no, they must have cut the line." Nurse Joy said.
"Nurse Joy, they said that there was a single pokemon here they wanted. Who is it?" Ash asked. Joy sighed. Yesterday a strange man came in wearing robes similar to the ones that one of the rocket officers was wearing. He told me that it was very important that I take care of him and that I kept it a secret." Joy said.
"I'm part of the same organization as him. Please tell me what's going on." Ash said.
""Sigh" Alright." She lead them to another section of the room with a glass chamber over a table. Inside was a somewhat large pokemon that resembled a dragon, a plesiosaur, and a bird. It was primarily pale silver-white, but it has blue undersides with slightly varying tones. It had a ridged mouth similar to a beak, although it has pointed teeth on its lower jaw. Its head had a point to the back, and its eyes had pointed blue or black spikes on them. It had a long, slender neck and a smooth, streamlined body, with the exception of dark blue or black plate-like protrusions that ran down the length of its back, and two smaller ones on the ends of its tail. It had large wings that resemble hands.
"What is that?" Misty asked.
"I'm not sure, i've never seen a pokemon like this before. The man only said it was very rare and very important that I help him. When he brought the poor thing in , it was badly hurt." Joy said.
Back when Ash and Red had been training with Felix , he often made them study about legendary pokemon. Ash thought hard and realized who it was.
"It's a Lugia." Ash said. He remembered that Lugia were meant to guard and watch over large stretches of islands and lead legendary bird pokemon like Zaptos or Moltres. This Lugia , however, seemed much smaller than the ones described in the brotherhood's books. Which clearly meant that this was a young Lugia.
"A Lugia? Aren't those extremely rare legendary pokemon?" Serena asked.
"Yes, that explains why team rocket is here. They must have found out about him." Ash said.
"We can't just let them take him." Serena said.
"I'm not going to let them take him." Ash said.
"Well what do we do?" Joy asked.
"I have an idea, but it could be dangerous." Ash said.
"What?" Misty asked.
"This room is large enough, hide in another section of the room. When they come in I get their attention and keep it. When they're distracted you slip out and get out of the pokemon center as fast as you can." Ash said.
"What? Ash I'm not leaving you here." Serena said.
"I'll only stay long enough allow you to escape." Ash said.
"Are you sure young man, it will be quite dangerous." Joy said.
"I can handle myself. I've been in worse situations." Ash said.
"Ash I'm not leaving you here to fight alone." Serena said. Ash put his hands on her shoulders.
"I know this is hard for you Serena, but I'm going to be alright. I need to make sure you get out safely. Please do this for me, someone needs to make sure the Lugia get's ok alright." Ash said.
Serena sighed. Joy opened the glass case as the young Lugia woke up. It raised his head and saw the others around him.
"Lumia everything's going to be alright. We're here to get you to safety." Ash said to the Lugia through his aura. He then walked over to Pikachu and Charizard.
"Guys, wake up." Pikachu and Charizard slowly opened their eyes and saw Ash.
"Team rocket is here. We have to distract them." Ash said.
A minute later the door burst open. 4 grunts and 4 Nidorino's rushed in as they saw Ash standing in the room with Pikachu and Charizard beside him.
"Where's the Lugia?!" One of the grunts shouted as he raised his electric baton. Ash held his hands out as his hidden blades came out.
"Get him!" The same grunt shouted. The 4 grunts rushed at Ash as the 4 Nidorino charged forward with Horn attack.
Ash blocked two of the grunts' strikes with his fore arms before smashing the two grunts with his other elbow, knocking them out. As the other two came in at Ash, he used his hidden blades to block then cut their electric batons in half before smashing his palm into one of the grunt's throat and grabbing the other grunt by the wrist, twisting it against its joint bringing him to the ground before kicking his head.
Meanwhile Pikachu blasted one of the Nidorino with electricity before leaping over the other one as he came at him with his horn lowered. Once Pikachu was over the Nidorino, he smashed his iron tail cross his body , hurling the Nidorino back.
Charizard engulfed the first Nidorino in fire before snatching the second one in his claws as he leapt forward with his horn raised. Charizard leapt up as high as he could without hitting the ceiling, and hurled the Nidorino into the ground.
After the grunts and their pokemon were knocked out, Seir slowly walked in with his Garchomp beside him. Ash's eyes met the Seir's.
Ash tried to read his aura, but Seir's aura seemed very twisted and almost corrupted. As if Seir had been through much pain and suffering.
"So your name's Seir. If you were an aura guardian , why did you betray your brothers and sisters. Why would you betray everything we stand for by joining people like team rocket?" Ash said as Pikachu and Charizard growled.
Seir's eyes didn't change their expressions. They kept their same focused, somewhat angry position.
He let his hidden blades out before charging at Ash. Ash blocked Seir's hidden blades just before they could reach him. He was concerned about Seir's enhanced senses detecting the others.
Seir's Garchomp charged at Charizard with Dragon Rush as Charizard blasted him with Dragon Pulse and Pikachu came at him with Iron tail.
With Seir away from the door , Misty, Joy, and Serena ran towards the destroyed doorway. Nurse Joy and Misty were both holding Lugia in their arms as they ran. Misty and Joy got out of the doorway, but Serena stopped and turned to see Seir trying to force his hidden blades into Ash.
"Go!" Serena heard from Ash via aura message. As much as she didn't want to, Serena followed Misty and Joy down the hallway. Seir sensed them and turned his head towards them.
He looked back at Ash , then back at Ash, then back at the girls, almost as if he were debating who he should focus on. Seir let out a sigh before blasting Ash with a burst of aura, hurling him back into a wall as he and his Garchomp turned to pursue the girls.
"No! Charizard use Dragon Pulse, Pikachu Iron tail!" Ash shouted. Charizard opened his mouth and blasted the Garchomp in the back , making him stop before Pikachu smashed his metal tail in the back, forcing Garchomp into a wall.
At the same time Ash took a deep breath and unleashed an aura sphere at Seir. Seir sensed the aura sphere just before it burst and knocked him off balance. Ash and his Pokemon charged forward before Ash smashed Seir in the back with his shoulders, knocking him to the ground.
Seir and his Garchomp watched as Ash and his pokemon rushed down the hallway towards the girls. As they got towards the destroyed entrance Serena let out her Absol as she saw a pair of grunts in their path with Nidorino's beside them.
"Absol use Rock tomb!" Serena shouted.
"Ab sol!" Absol shouted as he unleashed a barrage of rocks. The rocks hit and forced the Nidorino into he ground as the two grunts came forward. Serena blocked the first one's baton with her forearm before grabbing his arm and throwing him into the ground with his own force.
The other grunt hurled his baton at Serena, only to have her lurch out of the way and grab his wrist. She then twisted it and forced her foot in front of his before locking him in an arm bar and throwing the grunt onto the other one.
"Let's get out of here!" Misty shouted.
"I don't think so." A familiar voice said. The 3 girls saw Jessie, James, and Meowth blocking their path.
"Get out of our way!" Serena shouted. She ran at James and grabbed his arm. She tried twisting it against his joint, but James forced his wrist back, twisting Serena's wrist against it's joint before delivering a powerful kick to her stomach, knocking her back in front of the others.
"Don't think we'll be beaten as easily as our grunts." James said.
"We are officers after all." Jessie said as they let their Nidoking and Nidoqueen back out.
"We'll make this simple for ya. Give us the Lugia and you can leave." Meowth said. The Lugia saw the rocket officers and remembered the last time he saw people in those uniforms.
Misty and Joy noticed the scared expression on his face.
"We're not letting you take Lugia." Serena said as her Absol stepped forward and growled.
"She's right, he's not yours to take." Misty said as she stepped forward and took out one of her pokeballs.
"Staryu time to battle!" Misty shouted as she let out the organ and yellow starfish pokemon.
"Oh the little girls want to battle. Very well, Nidoking use Double kick on that Absol!" James shouted.
"Nidoqueen use Body slam on the Staryu!" Jessie shouted.
"Absol use detect.".
"Stray dodge and use Watergun!" Misty shouted. The Nidoking rushed forward and hurled both his legs at Absol. Luckily, Absol detected Nidoking and easily avoided each strike.
"Night slash!" Serena shouted before Absol slashed the Nidoking across his stomach with his head fin.
Meanwhile Staryu leapt out of the way just in time to avoid Nidoqueen's Body slam before blasting her with a powerful blast of water.
"Looks like my assistance is needed." Meowth said as he smiled and sprinted across the room before slashing Absol and Staryu with furry swipes.
"Nidoking use Megahorn!".
"Nidoqueen use Superpower!". With Absol and Staryu distracted by the furry swipes, Nidoking was able to rush forward and smash his mighty horn into Absol, hurling him back.
"Absol!" Serena shouted. At the same time Nidoqueen smashed her massive arms into Staryu , hurling him back in front Misty.
"Staryu!" Misty shouted.
"Looks like your luck has ran out." Jessie said. Moments later Ash and his pokemon reached lobby where he saw Jessie and James blocking their path.
"Great." He said. Pikachu and Charizard turned around and saw Seir with his Garchomp rushing down the hallway after them.
"We've got you surrounded. Last chance, give us Lugia." James said as several more grunts came in through the blown out door with Nidorinos beside them. Ash grit his teeth not knowing what to do next.
Just when it seemed like the situation was hopeless, Ash felt two very familiar auras approach them.
He looked up and saw none other than a Charizard X smash through the ceiling and light up the room with blue fire.
He was followed by a Mega Lucario and Mega Blastoise who immediately went at the rocket pokemon.
"What the!" Jessie shouted. Seir looked up and widened his eyes as he saw a trio of aura guardians leap in and air knock out 6 grunts.
Two of the aura guardians looked about Ash and Serena's age while the last guardian looked older. One of the guardian was wearing black and blue robes and stood under the Charizard X. Ash's eyes met with that guardian's eyes.
The oldest aura guardian rushed at Seir and blasted him with a burst of aura. Seir managed to throw up an aura barrier. The older guardian then relentlessly attacked Seir with his hidden blades as Seir tried to keep him back with his own.
At the same time the Mega Blastoise raised his cannons and blasted the Garchomp with a Hydropump, hurling the Garchomp into a wall.
The other two aura guardians used their hidden blades to cut through the remaining grunts' electric batons before using their martial arts to knock them out.
Jessie and James reached into their uniforms and each pulled out a gun. The two guardians raised their hands and blasted the two officers with a burst of aura, hurling them into a wall. The Charizard X blasted the Nidoking with a jet of blue fire before flying at him and slashing the Nidoking across the face with Dragon claw.
Meanwhile the Mega Lucario leapt over the Nidoqueen and smashed his palm into her face, hurling her back.
Meowth now looked very scared and backed up towards Jessie and James. Seir managed to catch the oldest guardians wrist and hold it in place before delivering a powerful kick to his chest, knocking him to the ground.
Seir returned his Garchomp and dashed across the lobby, knocking the others out of his way with a burst of aura before sprinting out of the pokemon center.
"You haven't seen the last of us!" Jessie shouted as she and James returned their pokemon and ran out of the pokemon center with Meowth close behind.
"Good riddance." Nurse Joy said. The aura guardian in blue and gray robes walked over and helped the oldest guardian up as Ash walked over to the guardian in black and blue.
"It's been a long time hasn't it." Ash said.
"It certainly has little bro." The guardian said. Serena turned as the guardian lowered his hood and took the cloth off his mouth and neck, revealing it to be none other than Red.
"Red!" Serena shouted.
"So you two finally came to visit us." The second guardian said as she lowered her hood and mouth cloth revealing herself as Korrina.
"Korrina!" Serena shouted.
"Wait you know these people?" Misty asked.
"Yeah, that's Ash's brother and his girlfriend." Serena said. Ash and Red started at each other for almost a minute before Red put his arms around Ash and hugged him.
Pikachu saw this and smiled. An hour later officer Jenny several other police officers arrived to arrest the rocket grunts still at the pokemon center. With them were two men in Kanto army combat uniforms.
The uniforms had universal camouflage pattern and had the Kanto flag on the right arm with a last name on the right side of the chest area and the words Kanto Army on the left side. In the center of the chest below the words was the symbol of 3 arrows with a line under them on one soldiers, while the other had 2 bars on it.
"So the officers escaped?" The army captain asked.
"I'm afraid so." Jenny said.
"Ashamed, capturing officers would go a long way with how bad the rockets are getting." The sergeant said.
"We'll still do a thorough search of the area. Contact us if you get anymore information." The captain said before he and the sergeant put their covers on and left the pokemon center.
"Thank you for taking care of Lugia nurse Joy." The aura guardian that came with Red and Korrina said as he took him from her , then turned to Red and Korrina.
"I'll take him back to the guild HQ, I'll meet you there later." He said as he and his Blastoise left the pokemon center.
"Well it was nice meeting you guys, but I need to get going. Maybe we'll meet again someday, and you can pay me back for my bike." Misty said before walked off.
"Mom and dad said you two were coming. We probably should keep them waiting." Red said.
The 4 made their way through the streets of Viridian city towards the brotherhood guild. Serena and Korrina felt uncomfortable with all the silence as neither Ash, nor Red said a word to each other.
Pikachu also gave a concerned look as he rode on Ash's shoulder.
"So, how has life in Kanto been treating you Korrina?" Serena said trying to break the silence.
"Oh it's great, I love Kanto. We've been able to do so much good for the people and pokemon here with the Kanto brotherhood." Korrina said.
"Yes, we have." Red said sounding like he was directing it at Ash.
"Uh , so Ash I hear you've been doing well in the NPC." Korrina said .
"I have, it's been going well. I've really pursued my full potential." Ash said sounding like he was directing it at Red.
Serena and Korrina both sweat dropped before walking up to them and grabbing them both by the shoulders as they slowly pulled them away from each other.
"So how have Clemont and Bonnie been doing?" Korrina asked trying to change the subject.
"They're doing fine, Bonnie just picked her first pokemon." Serena said.
"Who?" Red asked.
" A Froakie. Clemont is doing well as the gym leader too, he's beating more challengers every year." Serena said.
When they finally reached the secret entrance to the Viridian guild, a guardian manning the door let them in.
Korrina lead them through the hidden building interior to a room where Delia and Felix were waiting.
"There you are, we heard what happened at the pokemon center. Are you two ok?" Delia asked.
"We're fine." Ash said.
"I heard that the aura guardian that attacked at route 1 was among the rocket members who attacked the pokemon center." Felix said.
"He was, they said his name was Seir." Ash said.
"Seir, hmm. I've never heard of that name before." Felix said.
"So why was there a baby Lugia at the pokemon center?" Ash asked.
"A few days ago the brotherhood got word of team rocket operating near the Seafoam islands. Korrina and I were sent in with a master to investigate and we discovered that they found a young Lugia in one of the caves and had captured him." Red said.
"Once we found their camp, we took down their grunts and almost caught the officer. We took Lugia back here, but the pokemon doctor we normally have here decided to get some more time in the field and went on an assignment near Pewter city. That's why we took Lugia to the pokemon center." Korrina said.
"So Serena, why did you and Ash finally decide come to Kanto and see us?" Korrina asked.
"Well Ash heard about a big opportunity in the Kanto elite four. We came to see Oak and Daniel yesterday and he told Ash that if he could win the Kanto league this year then he'd give him a recommendation for the elite four." Serena said.
"So you're pursuing the elite four, how exciting." Korrina said.
"So you didn't come here to see us." Red said.
"We did, it's just not the only reason Red." Ash said. Serena, and the others were now concerned. As they feared, the tensions that had kept Ash and Red apart over the years were still coming up now.
"Felix this is getting bad, what do we do?" Korrina asked Felix through an aura message.
"I once knew two aura guardians who got so aggressive with each other they pulled their hidden blades on each other. The mentor made them spend time isolated with just each other. Two days later one saved the others life on an assignment." Felix said.
"So Serena since you've never been to Viridian city before now, how about we show you around. Ash , Red I'm sure you have a lot of catching up to do." Felix said.
"What we're splitting up." Delia started before Felix and Korrina gave her a look as they motioned at Ash and Red.
"Oh , well I suppose it would be polite to show Serena the city." Delia said.
"Alright, I guess we'll see you guys later." Serena said before they walked off.
Pikachu knew what Felix and Korrina were trying to do. But he was afraid it might make things worse.
After the others left, the room went silent for almost a minute before Ash finally broke the silence.
"So you and Korrina were the ones who rescue the Lugia."
"Yeah, there were over 2 dozen grunts and our old friend Duncan the dragon." Red said.
"Really?" Ash asked.
"Just as crazy as usual. But it's not the first time this year I've run across him. Team rocket has been making a lot of work for us in Kanto. It must be quite in Kanto after team Flare left, you probably haven't had to do much for the brotherhood." Red said.
"I've still done plenty of work for the brotherhood. I regularly run assignments for the Lumoise guild. Stopping lowlifes, pokemon stealers, abusers, traffickers, rescuing wounded pokemon and people." Ash said defensively.
"Not bad I suppose, you're still doing good." Red said.
"I'm not only doing good. My pokemon and I have become renowned in Kalos. Something we both could have done." Ash said.
"Pika." Pikachu said in a concerned tone.
"I suppose I could have, but I decided to devote my life to something bigger. Besides my skills as a trainer haven't dulled, unlike your skills as a guardian." Red said.
"My skills are as sharp as ever." Ash said.
"Why don't we test them." Red said.
"Alright , fine." Ash said.
Pikachu sighed before leaping off of Ash's shoulder. Ash and Red took off their hidden blades before getting in an aggressive stance.
"Aura or no aura?" Ash asked.
"Aura!" Red shouted before he thrusted his hand forward, blasting Ash with aura and knocking him to the ground. Red rushed forward and tried to hit Ash with his Palm, but Ash leapt up and to the side before grabbing Red's arm and twisting his wrist against its joint, nearly bringing Red to the ground.
However, Red came back around put his foot in front of Ash's foot before forcing his other arm back and around Ash before pushing his hand into Ash's shoulder and locking him in an arm bar.
Ash grunted before he took a deep breath and unleashed a burst of aura that forced Red off him. As Red reeled back Ash grabbed his arm, twisted it against the joined before delivering a powerful kick to Red's stomach.
As Red landed back on the ground he thrusted his hand forward and unleashed another aura sphere that hurled Ash back. Ash got up just in time for Red to reach him and deliver a powerful kick to Ash's calf, before smashing his shoulders into Ash's stomach, hurling him back into the ground.
Before Ash could get up, Red came over him and held his wrist over his throat.
"Not bad Ash, but it looks like my martial arts are still superior. " Red said before he helped him up. Pikachu could still feel tension between the two as Ash got up.
" How are your Parkour skills holding up?" Red asked.
"Why don't I show you." Ash said.
Elsewhere in Viridian city, Korrina took Serena and Ash's parents to a restaurant for lunch.
"So how have your performances been going Serena?" Korrina asked.
"They've been going great. My pokemon and I love performing." Serena said.
"Well if you love performing there is something I want to show you today. Have you ever heard of Pokemon Showcase?" Korrina asked.
"Actually, Leaf told me to ask someone here about that." Serena said.
"Oh you'd love pokemon Showcases Serena." Delia said.
"What are they?" Serena asked.
"Well a pokemon Showcase are performance tournaments held in various cities here in Kanto. Trainers and their pokemon do their performance and are judged by veteran performers. If you win a tournament , you gain prestige and are allowed to move up a class that will let you move on to more difficult tournaments." Serena said.
Serena was very intrigued by the idea of Pokemon Showcase. She wondered why they never existed in Kalos.
"I never thought you'd be into something like that Korrina." Serena asked.
"Well the thing is I'm not. I have been to a few though because of a friend I made here. Her name is Aria. She's from Kalos like you and a transfer from the Kalos brotherhood. She's a non full time guardian like Ash, and is a well know performer in the showcase. She's actually performing today. Would you like to see her?" Korrina asked.
"I'd love to see a Pokemon Showcase!" Serena said sounding very excited.
Elsewhere Ash and Red were scaling the side of a large building before reaching the rooftop.
"Alright now that we're up here, have a finish line in mind?" Red asked. Ash used his enhanced sight to see a point on a large building across a from a series of buildings.
"There." Ash said pointing to it.
"Fair enough. I'll see you at the finish line." Red said before he began to parkour across the rooftops.
"Hold on tight Pikachu."Ash said before he sprinted and parkoured after the two brothers made their way across the rooftops and sides of the buildings, Pikachu noticed that the brothers seemed much less tense, and seemed to be having more fun with each other.
Seeing this made PIkachu feel much more relieved. Ash kept close pace with Red , but could not beat him to the finish point on top of the building.
"Looks like I win again little bro." Red said. Ash sighed before he pulled himself up the ledge and stood on top the building. From where they were, the two brothers could see most of the city.
"I've forgotten how big Viridian city was, and how much I loved Kanto. I suppose I can see why you wanted to come back here." Ash said.
Red and Ash both synchronized their aura with the aura around the city and could see the great distances away.
After doing so, both noticed something or someone. 4 men with unpleasant auras were walking down the alleyways.
"Jessie and James said the army is going to be here soon. We need to get out of Viridian city." One of the men said.
"Not without those pokemon we stole from the daycare center. We left them in the hideout and they have to be worth something." Another one said.
"Jessie and James, stolen pokemon. Those men are rocket grunts." Ash said.
"Pika!" Pikachu said growling and sparking his cheeks.
"What say we stop them?" Red asked.
"We're in." Ash said. The two began parkouring across the rooftops towards the rocket grunts.
Elsewhere in a performance theater, Serena and the others sat down in an upper area of the theater.
"Wow these are good seats." Serena said.
"Aria usually pulls some strings." Korrina said. Serena let Charla out of her pokeball and had Char rest in her lap.
"Wait you have a Charmander? Hey I recognize her." Korrina said. Charla turned to Korrina and recognized her as well. She was one of the people who saved her from team rocket.
"Char." Charla said.
"Yes this is the Charmander you rescued. Professor Oak let me have her."
"Well take good care of her. That poor Charmander has been through a lot." Korrina said. A few minutes later the lights lit up the stage as the curtains raised, revealing a young woman who looked a year or so older than Korrina.
She had long red and red eyes. She wore a shore sleeveless top with a blue tie. She also wore a blue bow in her hair ad a multicolored skirt. Serena could also see her hidden blade holders on the ends of her forearms and wrists.
"Now presenting Aria , the Kalos Queen!". The announcer said.
"Alright come on out Delphox!" Aria shouted as she threw up a pokeball. A Delphox came out and took a pose as she stood in front of the crowd.
"Let us begin." Aria said . The Delphox raised her wand and lit the end on fire before she began to dance around the stage as she moved her wand around, creating a trail of fire around her path.
Aria also began an elegant dance, moving through the path of fire through the safety of the center.
Charla's eyes widened as she saw the performance. Delphox turned and hurled her wand at Aria. Aria caught it with ease and continued to dance before tossing it back to Delphox. The two continued this routine for another few minutes before Delphox closed with a fire blast above them that burst into dozens of embers falling in a pattern around them.
The crowd let out an uproar of applause as Aria and her Delphox bowed. Serena and Charla both amazed at the performance. As the showcase went on Serena was amazed with the way the competition went.
"I wonder how Ash and Red are doing?" Korrina said to herself.
In a back alley the 4 rocket grunts opened a manhole and went into the sewer. Once in the sewer they walked up to a few cages with several pokemon trapped inside.
"Alright let's move these pokemon." One of the grunts said.
"I don't think so." The grunts heard behind them. They turned around to see Ash and Red standing behind them with their hidden blades out. They also had a Pikachu and a Gogoat out beside them.
"Guardians!" One of he grunts shouted.
A police officer was walking over the manhole when he heard pokemon attacks and what sounded like men getting knocked out.
"What the hell?" the policeman said before the manhole opened. A squirtle, a bulbasaur, a nidoran, a Pidgy, and a Vulpix seeming very relieved climbed out of the manhole followed by a Gogoat and a Pikachu.
The Policeman then saw two young men each carrying 2 knocked team rocket grunts. The police officer said nothing as the 4 grunts were set down in front of him.
"All yours." Ash said.
Ash and Red made their back towards the guild from the rooftops.
"I guess it's been a while since we worked together like that. You handled yourself well." Red said.
"You too. I was nice working with you again." Ash said.
"It was." Red said.
"Pika." Pikachu said happy to see them like this. Later that day Ash and Red met up with the others at the northern end of Viridian city.
"I'm glad we were able to see each other again." Korrina said.
"Are you sure you can't stay longer?" Delia asked.
"Sorry, but I need to start collecting badges before Gary gets to big of a head start on me." Ash said.
"Well good luck bro." Red said as he and Ash locked hands.
"See you again." Ash said.
"We will." Red said.
"Good luck you two, safe travels." Felix said as Ash and Serena made their way towards route 2.
"I see you and Red patched things up a bit." Serena said.
"A bit. How was your day with Korrina and my parents?" Ash asked.
"It was actually very good. I think I found something I want to do here in Kanto." Serena said.
"Really what?" Ash said.
"Pokemon Showcase." Serena said.
Author's note:
And thus ends chapter 3, as I said in the last story, Misty won't be traveling with Ash and Serena but she will make appearances now and again.
Also expect to see Red and Korrina periodically throughout the story.
Now someone asked me if Seir the dark aura guardian was their character that they sent me. He's not, Seir is based on Shay Cormac from Assassins creed rouge.
My spring break starts tomorrow so I'll have a bit more time to work, I hope I can get a few chapters in.
Next time: Into the Viridian forest.
Please review, comment, suggest, or ask.