EDIT: I have decided to include Unova in this story after playing Pokemon White.
Thank you guys so much! The 80+ reviews, 160+ favorites, and 210+ follows is more than I could have ever imagined. Also, the poll for Charmander's nickname is still up.
Bagon will receive a nickname when she becomes a Salamence.
Warning: one part of this chapter gets slightly, erh, uncomfortable… it alludes to some pretty mature stuff. You'll know it when you read it. Don't worry, it's really nothing specific.
Ages
Ash: 10
Misty: 11
White: 13
AU. Instead of receiving a Pikachu as his starter, Ash Ketchum is only given an empty pokeball and a sheepish grin from Professor Oak. Anger and spite clouding his soul, he sets out only to find a ray of hope in the form of a small, injured Bagon. It's funny how a tiny twist of fate can change one's destiny forever. Dark, smarter Ash – various shippings included.
The Wanderer
Chapter III
"Ash, say hi to Lance."
"Champion Lance…" Ash stuttered, eyes wide, staring at the legend before him, "it's an honor to meet you."
"Likewise. Just call me Lance," the champion responded easily, his voice deep and commanding. "It's nice to meet the son of one of the rare few to best me in battle. It makes me realize how old I am." He laughed, a rich sound. Old? Lance looked thirty at the oldest.
"Anyways," he continued, words flowing out of his mouth like water in a stream, "you've been out for a day. I'm sure Miss Waterflower here has told you that."
At these words, Misty flushed so red that even her ears were turning crimson. Lance offered a grin, throwing an arm around her shoulder good-naturedly. "So, Agatha's been nonstop worrying about you. I've never seen the lady care so much for another human before, except maybe for Oak." He chuckled at a joke Ash didn't get.
Looking at Misty, Lance gently ruffled her hair with his large hand. "Do me a favor, Misty, and go fetch Agatha for me? She'll love to know that Ash has woken up."
Misty quickly scurried away, eager to fulfill Lance's request. There was just something about the champion that made Ash want to follow him, to listen to him. No wonder the press and newspapers labeled him as a heroic figure. The man in front of him was the living example of a true hero.
"So, Ash – I hope you don't mind me using your first name – I've heard from Agatha about what happened at the Pokemon Tower," Lance began, taking a seat in a chair. "Very heroic of you to go back for her. Not many people would charge back to danger, especially under those circumstances."
"Thank you," Ash responded timidly. He was still slightly in awe at the presence of the champion of Kanto and Johto.
"But I must ask you a question. Why would you go back?"
Taken back by the question, Ash hesitated a little bit. He was wondering that exact same question himself. "I don't know," he answered honestly, not wanting to lie in the presence of the champion, "I guess it was just a gut instinct. When I left the Pokemon Tower, I saw thousands of ghosts flying around and I thought that even a trainer of Lady Agatha's caliber couldn't handle all of them."
"So you returned, with the intent of rescuing her?" Lance asked again, surprising the boy. Ash wasn't expecting an interrogation, especially one from the champion of Kanto.
The young trainer nodded. "I couldn't leave her alone and take on all of them by herself, you know?"
The dragon trainer smiled, as if pleased at his responses. "I see Agatha didn't lie. At least one of Pallet's prodigies lives up to their name."
"Pallet's prodigies?" Ash quoted, curious. "What does that mean?"
Lance chuckled deeply, amusement dancing in his eyes. "At some gatherings, I have run into the good Professor Oak a few times. He spent the entire time singing praises of two trainers – one, who he raised as his own, and the other, who worked with him in the field."
There was only one other person that fit Oak's description: Gary Oak, the professor's grandson; the other "prodigy" of Pallet. Ash's thoughts went sour at the thought, memories washing over him. A broken half of a pokeball was still in his backpack, more of a trophy than anything else – the sign of a friendship's end.
"He said he hasn't seen or heard of you since you left for your journey, no?" Lance's tone was light, but there was some deeper meaning behind it. "Haven't been calling home for a long time?"
The room grew silent, filled only with the beeping of medical equipment. Ash had many questions that he wanted to ask, but he couldn't figure out which one to say. Even a tiny tidbit of advice from Lance would be enough for Ash, yet the little tidbit of information about Professor Oak darkened Ash's mood slightly.
"Do you remember what happened in the distortion world?" Lance inquired suddenly, throwing Ash out of his musings.
The question was really out of the blue. Memories flashed before Ash's eyes, the shadowy scars that Giratina gave him searing with a sullen pain. Giratina's brutal scream haunted him; the scream of a pokemon – so violent that it was banished from the real world – echoing in his mind.
Ash shut his eyes, trying to drown out the horror crawling up his veins, piercing his sullen heart. "No – " he forced out, recalling the grip of shadows around his stomach, " – I don't remember anything."
Lance frowned at the gnarled way the response came out. "Agatha says you were brought back into the distortion world by Giratina's shadows and then spit back out a minute later. In the distortion world, Giratina controls time, so we have no clue how long you were in there. You don't remember any of that?"
The news hit Ash like a bullet train, and even while laying down, he felt his legs weaken. "No," he reaffirmed, voice shaky, "not a thing."
The champion sighed, a worried look crossing his face. "Well, I suppose you don't know how you got those scars, or how your arm magically re-healed itself? I hate to be the one telling you this, but Ash, Giratina marked you for death."
"What?" Ash spluttered, feeling sick in a completely unrelated way to the medicine coursing through his bloodstream.
"It branded you," Lance elaborated, a dark look crossing his eye, "as legendries often do, like how Moltres gives its feather to a trainer that it thinks possesses a pure heart. It's another way of saying that you belong to Giratina now. Nobody would dare to kill you, less they dare to face the wrath of the renegade pokemon."
"But isn't this a blessing, then?"
Lance solemnly shook his head. "No, it's a curse with a benefit. Because in marking you for death, Giratina tells everyone that your life basically belongs to the king of the distortion world from now on."
Ash paled considerably, processing this new information. He certainly wasn't going to revisit the ghost world anytime soon. The sounds of withering shadows and taunting laughter teased his sanity, disappearing after a few moments. Forever the renegade would haunt him.
"Don't worry," the champion assured, "it's not as bad as you think." Ash frowned.
Noticing how the boy didn't seem to believe him, Lance continued. "Between you and me," Lance's voice lowered considerably as he peeled back his long, black sleeve to reveal a single, golden feather burned into his skin, "you're not the only one to be marked by a legendary."
Before Ash could ask Lance to elaborate, Lance's Pokegear started ringing. With an annoyed grunt, the champion stood up, rolling back down his sleeve. "My apologies, Ash. I have to go, there are pressing matters that I must attend to." He tapped at his Pokegear thoughtfully, giving Ash a broad smile. "I'm expecting great things of you, Ash. I'll be seeing you in the future for sure."
Ash glowed at his praise, offering a quick "thank you" before the champion left the room, leaving him suddenly feeling very lonely and disappointed at the hurried way the champion left. It was a rare opportunity to even see the champion, but some part of Ash really wanted Lance to stay around a little more. He had so many questions to ask the legendary trainer, but the meeting was too brief.
In the end, Ash was still glad that he had an opportunity to talk to Lance. The champion probably had a lot of important things to do and just taking the time off of his job to fly all the way to Lavender Town to thank him was already more than enough. Ash would have been placated by a simple letter of thanks.
Yawning sleepily, Ash snuggled into the warm hospital bed. The rush of adrenaline while meeting the dragon trainer had left him, leaving Ash with a sense of morphine-induced drowsiness. Misty was getting Agatha, but maybe that would have to wait…
Sleep overtook him in its warm cocoon, bringing darkness to his mind.
– Ω –
Ash left the hospital bed a day later, finally able to walk around without throwing up. His left arm felt weak, but it was good to have feeling in it nevertheless.
It was when he was changing that Ash the scars.
Long, dark tendrils of burnt flesh marked the places where Giratina's shadows had touched him, six in total, each resembling one of Giratina's ghostly streamers. Patches of red skin showcased where the fiery rain had split his flesh, slowly fading away in the due process of time.
But even the six scars from Giratina, which radiated otherworldly darkness, couldn't compare to the terrifying design imprinted onto his left shoulder, where Giratina had struck. Getting clipped by a measly inch of the renegade pokemon was enough to leave a gruesome scar, with dark fractals spiraling away from it like cracks in the ground, spreading all the way to the bottom of his ribs and to the elbow of his left arm.
Appalled by what he saw, Ash quickly slipped on his trademark shirt, still warm from the drying machine. Some parts of the scar still showed, but it wasn't as noticeable as the terrifying side effect of receiving the scars; shadows poured out of the wounds, giving Ash a murky aura, shrouded by darkness. It looked like he bathed in a liquid pool of gloom and it was seeping off of him, shadows leaking out of his clothes like perspiration.
And his eyes… Arceus, they were still red, but not the dark red that his father passed on to him. It was the same demonic shade of the renegade pokemon's, a bright, iridescent red that glowed eerily, glinting orange at times and swirling around like it had a mind of its own. It was the same pair of eyes that haunted his dreams at night, and now Ash was forced to share a trait with a pokemon that he was beginning to hate so much.
"Ash, hurry up," Misty called from outside of the hospital room, tapping on the door. "I don't want to stay here for any longer than I have to."
Grunting in response, Ash was about to open the door when his hand suddenly stopped halfway. What would Misty say? If Ash was appalled just by looking at himself in a mirror, what would Misty's reaction be? Would she be disgusted, too? Ash found his hand steadied by the apprehension of rejection, not daring to show himself in front of the ex-Gym Leader.
The door was suddenly torn open, revealing Misty. The girl took one look at Ash's nervous stance and immediately hugged him tightly, rocking slightly back and forth. Ash's cheeks fired up, glowing red, as he awkwardly patted the ex-Gym Leader's back. She quickly withdrew, her cheeks also a delighted shade of red.
They stood, staring at each other for a while, before Misty finally spoke. "Don't worry, you idiot, you look the same."
Ash offered her a small smile, letting loose a breath of air that he didn't know he was holding in. Something occurred to the trainer. "Where are my pokeballs?"
"I got them," the girl assured, holding up three shrunken pokeballs. Ash quickly grabbed them from her, clipping them to his belt gently, as if he was afraid that he'd crush them.
"Thank you," Ash mumbled, a stupid smile on his face. He could've said more, but Misty seemed to understand how grateful he was. The pair walked out of the Pokemon Center, Ash thanking a few Nurse Joys along the way, and out into the bright sunshine of Lavender Town.
Blinded by the intense light, Ash hissed and covered his eyes, slowly adjusting to the sun. Misty laughed at him, guiding him towards the edges of town with an arm pulling on his own. His eyes soon regained their focus, and Ash saw people pointing at him and whispering, some even running up to him, shaking his hand feverishly, and then running away.
Before Ash could even think about asking Misty, she answered his unsaid question. "I brought Agatha to your room, but you were already asleep. She had to return to her duties as the Elite Four, but she managed to tell everyone that you dispelled all the ghosts from the Pokemon Tower before she left. You're basically a hero to them."
"Agatha did more than I," Ash admitted, frowning. "I don't deserve this praise."
"The one time I compliment you," Misty complained, a playful tone in her voice, "you end up belittling it as if it were nothing." Without a response, the two continued on, stopping by a Pokemart to buy some extra potions and pokeballs. There they were flocked by citizens of Lavender Town, thanking him for chasing away the ghosts and allowing them to return to their homes.
Ash tried to tell them that Agatha did most of the work, but they wouldn't listen to him. The story was twisted into ridiculous versions of the truth, one trainer asking Ash if he actually defeated Giratina and caught it in a pokeball. The young boy would feverishly deny the claim and grabbed Misty in order to get out of the crowded Pokemart.
Twenty minutes later, Ash and Misty found themselves on the edge of Lavender Town and at the beginning of Route 12, finally alone. The route was basically an extremely large platform over water, with logs stretching out over water for as far as the eye could see. It hugged the ragged cliffs, following the shoreline until it gave away to trees and joined up with Route 11, which was in the middle of Route 12. Ash was about to ask Misty why in the world they didn't take Route 7 to Saffron City and then Route 6 to Vermillion, but then realization struck him.
Route 12 was a fisherman's paradise. So far, this entire journey, Ash had been neglecting his companion's desire to become the greatest water pokemon trainer in history. This would be an excellent place for Misty to stash up on some powerful water types before continuing Ash's quest for all of the gym badges.
"Hold on, Misty," Ash called, halting their steady pace. The girl flashed him an irate glare, a fishing rod already in her hands. "I know you want to fish, but hang on a sec."
He pulled out his Pokedex and took out Haunter's pokeball. Ash knew that Haunter had a pretty decent move set, but Ash didn't know the extent of its power. The device scanned the pokeball for a few seconds, revealing that Haunter was a female with the ability Levitate. Surprise, surprise, she possessed a naughty nature. She also knew the moves Hypnosis, Lick, Sucker Punch, Mean Look, Curse, Night Shade, and Dream Eater.
It was, without a doubt, an excellent starting move set, but the problem was, Ash didn't know how to train Haunter so that it could become stronger. Her gaseous form would not allow rocks to be tied onto, so that was out of the question. As a team member, Haunter would be excellent at giving status ailments to the other team. For now, Ash would just train her by using her in battles with any trainers that they met on Route 12.
"Come on out, guys," Ash called, tossing his pokeballs in the air. In flashes of light, Charmander, Bagon, and Haunter all appeared, looking around at their surroundings before refocusing their gaze back on their trainer. Charmander blanched at the sight of the ocean and Bagon laughed at him, a dry, grating sound.
After commanding Bagon to use Rock Tomb, Ash tied rocks to Charmander and Bagon, watching with satisfaction as Charmander easily took on more rocks than he had the last time he carried weights. Haunter gazed at them curiously, spinning around in the air and sometimes laughing in Ash's ear.
He looked at Misty, who was pale. "Okay, let's go." Ash decided not to mention how scared she looked in the presence of Haunter.
The company advanced, stepping on the wooden logs. They were suspended above the water, with stilt-like columns of wood underneath them for support. Charmander looked extremely nervous, as would any fire type so close to a sea of water, and stayed in the middle of the route. Bagon jogged alongside her friend, chattering in their pokemon language aimlessly while Haunter soared in the air above them, giggling like a little girl.
"So, what's the game plan?" Ash asked Misty, who was seemingly deep in thought.
The girl jolted out of her reverie, almost swinging her fishing rod at Ash before realizing where she was. "Oh, I was thinking we could camp in Route 11 for a few days and come out here to fish every now and then."
"Good idea," the trainer responded, keeping his eye on his pokemon, "I'm not in a hurry to Vermillion anyways. I'll help you catch some water types if you'd like."
Misty offered a sly grin at him. "Are you sure that you won't be the one needing help?"
"I'm not planning on catching a pokemon any time soon," he shrugged, dismissing Misty's jab at him. "I want to make sure that they're all strong before moving on."
"Are you sure?" Misty wondered, stopping and staring at Ash. "There's a few Horsea in the area. Are you sure you don't want another dragon on your team?"
"I'm sure." The boy glanced at Bagon and Charmander happily jogging alongside each other. "Charmander doesn't have a lot of experience or training right now. He's stronger, but right now he's a blunt tool and I intend to sharpen him into a sword."
His companion laughed at his metaphor. "Wow, look at Ash the philosopher."
"Shut – ey! Haunter, don't do that!"
Too late. The ghost dove straight through Charmander, the lizard pokemon whimpering and stumbling backwards. He nearly fell into the water, and he would have had Bagon not grabbed his stubby little arm and yanked him forward with such force that Charmander face planted into the ground.
"Haunter!" Ash called, his heartbeat accelerating at that close call. Things would've been a lot worse if Charmander had fallen into the sea. "You could've seriously hurt Charmander."
Said pokemon stood up, snorting some flames. He waved down Ash, as if saying, don't worry, I'm fine. Sometimes the small lizard's pride was larger than his trainer's.
Haunter materialized right in front of Ash and licked him happily, giggling when Ash started shivering. "Haunter, you've got to be able to listen. That's the only way you'll become stronger." The ghost giggled again, not caring about the promise of power. She seemed to prefer having fun over training hard and growing strong.
The group returned their journey, Ash and Misty traveling in an enjoyable silence. The boy was busy watching his pokemon, making sure none of them got hurt, and Misty was on the look out for any good fishing spots. They chatted occasionally, Ash asking questions about Misty's life at Cerulean.
Lunch came and passed by, the two trainers slowly nearing the intersection with Route 11. They had run into a few fishermen sitting lazily on the pier, too absorbed in watching their fishing line to care about Ash's offer to battle. Finally, around two in the afternoon, the duo was back on solid ground in Route 11. Charmander roared his approval, shooting a flame into the sky.
"Let's set up camp there," Misty pointed at a small flat ground amongst the trees that lined the edges of Route 11. "It's close enough to Route 12 so that we won't have to walk too far in order to fish every day."
Ash nodded his consent and helped Misty on pitching her tent. Misty loved sleeping in tents while Ash preferred to sleep outside, under the broad night sky of Kanto with his pokemon resting beside him. That arrangement was also for the better, since Misty would be able to have the privacy that a girl typically needs while changing and what not – she brought along three different outfits, all the exact same yellow shirt, shorts, and suspenders, a far cry from Ash, who never changed.
They were two different types of backpackers; Ash was a minimalist, bringing only what was absolutely necessary, and Misty brought along tents, cooking supplies, water collectors, clothes, underwear, even shampoo and conditioner. She was a Gym Leader and came from a wealthy family, so she was able to afford the type of backpacks that acted like pokeballs, able to take large objects and store them in a tiny amount of space. It wasn't a concept that Ash understood clearly, but it was like capturing a tent in a pokeball and putting it in a backpack.
After setting up the tent and Ash's sleeping mat, they two decided to split up. Misty would go to a fishing spot she had found while on Route 12 and Ash would train his pokemon in the forest. With a warning – "Don't have me come back and find you as a vegetable, Ash" – Misty left, bringing only a fishing rod and pokeballs. She promised to return before sunset, leaving Ash alone with his pokemon.
"Alright Haunter," he called, the troublesome pokemon appearing right in front of him, "show me what you got. Night Shade on that tree."
Cackling maniacally, shadows swirled into existence around the ghost as she fired them at the tree, creating small explosions where the shadows struck. But it wasn't enough to fell the tree, which teetered slightly at the attack but remained tall and firm.
"I want you to keep using Night Shade until you can destroy a tree in one move," Ash instructed, "and then, when you show me you can do it, I'll let you play around. Deal?"
At the mention of free time, Haunter nodded vigorously and disappeared. Soon, the sound of small explosions hitting wood could be heard far off in the distance. Mentally congratulating himself on being able to motivate Haunter, Ash refocused his attention on Charmander and Bagon. He took the weights off of the two pokemon and fed them potions to bring them back to full strength, deciding that it would be useless for them to practice while tired and develop sloppy form.
"Charmander," Ash called, scratching the lizard pokemon on his head, "by the time we get to Vermillion, I want you to be able to use Hone Claws, Dragon Claw, and Flamethrower. You think you can do that for me?"
The pokemon snorted, almost lighting Ash on fire. "Good, Bagon here will teach you all of them. Try your best to follow her example, yeah? Bagon, show him Hone Claws."
Bagon walked up in front of them and held out her arms for Charmander to see. Then, closing her eyes in concentration, the end of the stubby little arms glinted. The lizard nodded enthusiastically, closing his own eyes and frowning in concentration. Ash held his breath, waiting for something to happen.
Nothing did. Charmander's arms remained their original color.
"Try focusing all of your power into your hands," Ash said, remembering how he had taught Bagon this move. "Channel every bit of power."
Hone Claws was a simple concept. All of the power in a pokemon's body goes straight into the arms, tail – if they had one – and legs, greatly increasing its physical attack power. It wasn't particularly hard to learn, either. Once a pokemon knew how to preform the move, it didn't need any more practice to perfect it.
After a few tries of nothing, Ash had Bagon preform the move again. Then, Ash pulled out a his Pokedex and searched for a file of another Charmander using the exact same move and told Charmander to model that. It was an excruciatingly monotonous and repetitive process, with Ash gently prodding Charmander to try harder, but finally, an hour after they had started, Charmander's arms glinted a tiny bit, signifying the correct use of the move.
"Congratulations, Charmander!" Ash cried, patting Charmander on the head. The lizard pokemon growled happily, enjoying the physical affection of his trainer. Bagon merely snorted, using Hone Claws and then smashing a tree to bits without seeming to try very hard.
Dodging the chips of wood that came from the tree, Ash stood slightly dumbfounded at the raw power that Bagon possessed. Sure, dragon types were famous for their abnormal strength, but Bagon had only been with him for a month and a half and already she was insanely powerful. Even better, she displayed none of the usual disobedience that the prideful dragons usually possessed, instead opting to follow every command of Ash's.
"But Bagon here's still got you beat," the trainer admitted, drumming his fingers along Bagon's iron dome. The dragon mewled at his touch, nibbling on the hem of his shirt. "Bagon, show Charmander here how to use Dragon Claw. I'm going to go check on Haunter, see how she's progressing."
He headed off in the general direction of the sound of explosions, growing stronger and stronger as he neared Haunter's location. When he called for his pokemon, Haunter suddenly appeared right in front of him, but where her face should've been was Misty's rotting, dead corpse.
Ash yelped, falling backwards, before the illusion disappeared, a giggling pokemon replacing the terrible sight. "Congratulations Haunter," his voice was trembling, but he forced the surprise and fright out of his system, "that was a good use of Scary Face. Just, next time, please don't use it on me."
Haunter laughed, slightly louder than her girly giggle, as if saying no promises. Ash sighed, giving up on reasoning with the ghost, and examined the carnage that lay before him. Haunter, in the past hour, had seriously been improving her Night Shade. Trees were smashed to bits, leaving nothing but small stumps in its place. Ash estimated that about forty trees were destroyed.
The trees would grow back quickly. The forests of Kanto grew quickly.
"Do you think you've gotten it down?" Ash asked the ghost.
Without replying, Haunter summoned tendrils of darkness, thicker than they were before. They shot off, quicker than her first use of the attack at the Pokemon Tower, and struck a thick oak tree a good twenty yards away from them. Her attack had gotten more concentrated, more precise, but even then it wasn't enough to knock over the tree. The explosions left small craters in the thick wood, and the edges were singed from the heat of the blast. Haunter cried out in annoyance, sinking down and almost comically hiding her face with her hands.
"Good job," Ash complimented, trying to cheer up the usually giggly pokemon. When there wasn't a response, Ash continued. "The Night Shade has certainly gotten stronger, faster, and more accurate. It's a large step in the right direction. I didn't expect you to be able to perfect it in an hour, so don't beat yourself up over it. You're making me feel bad."
Haunter suddenly jumped up, sticking her long tongue out at him. Ash realized he had fallen for her trick and chuckled drily, deciding not to berate the pokemon for pranking him since it was his own fault for falling for it.
"You prankster," the trainer sighed, something that he found himself doing a lot in Haunter's presence, "get back to work. You can rest for ten minutes at most, but then you must return to practice. If you think you've got it, just find me."
Ash walked back towards camp, having memorized the way that he came. He heard the dull crashes of trees in the background, signifying that his two pokemon were training hard, and when Ash arrived, he was pleasantly surprised. Charmander was using Dragon Claw on the trees, but while they were nowhere near as powerful as Bagon's, he had still managed to achieve the move in half an hour.
It was strange how it had spent Charmander more time to learn Hone Claws than Dragon Claw, but Ash suspected that it had something to do with the fact that the two were similar, so learning one would help speed up the learning process of the other.
"Alright," Ash sat down on a tree stump, studying the two pokemon with bright eyes, "Charmander, let's see what you got."
Charmander chirped in response, raising his right arm. It glowed blue before slashing diagonally at a tree. The attack caused the tree to splinter, but it was not completely smashed to pieces like when Bagon used the attack. Growling in annoyance, Charmander spit a plume of flame at the tree before hacking it down with his left arm, the tree finally collapsing under the stress of Ember and Dragon Claw.
The trainer clapped, Charmander shooting a stream of fire into the air at the response. The little pokemon's chest inflated with his pride, only for the newly found pride to be smashed to pieces when Bagon utterly demolished a tree with a single blow. The dragon wasn't necessarily showing off, just reminding Charmander that he wasn't as good as he thought he was. It was nice to have Bagon around to check the lizard pokemon's growing pride and ego.
Charmander yipped in annoyance, using Dragon Claw on another tree. When it failed to fall in one blow, the pokemon torched it with Ember, turning around and huffing as the tree burned to the ground. Bagon chittered in her pokemon language, seemingly teasing Charmander. The lizard pokemon, in his fury, let loose a jet of flames at the dragon only to watch Bagon withstand the Ember without much trouble. Dragons were resistant towards fire attacks, after all.
"Hey," Ash chided, stopping Charmander from further attacking his starter, "don't be a sore looser. Bagon's more powerful than you are, but that doesn't give you two a reason to fight. We're on a team together. And if you train hard enough, maybe one day you'll become stronger than her, I don't know."
Bagon shook her head in protest, scoffing at the idea of Charmander being stronger than her. The fire type whined at her, looking at Ash as if he was supposed to do something about Bagon's behavior. He shrugged noncommittally, giving Bagon a warning look before searching through his Pokedex, looking for an example of a Charmander using Dragon Claw.
While searching for the file, Ash took breaks from his intense scrutinizing of the Pokedex screen to watch Charmander use Dragon Claw on trees, each blow becoming more and more powerful. Though they were not nearly close in power to Bagon's attacks, they were certainly improving. Ash had long lost track of time, absentmindedly searching and reading miscellaneous things on his Pokedex and watching use Dragon Claw –
"Ah!" Ash yelped, falling off of his stump. Haunter's gaseous body suddenly materialized right in front of him, giving Ash a terrible fright. The ghost giggled, giving her trainer a long, cold lick before flying off, spinning around in lazy circles.
Shivering, Ash told Haunter not to do that again, knowing full well that the pokemon would not listen to him. In the future, he'd have to work on her obedience.
"So you think you're ready, Haunter?" Ash assumed. Haunter nodded vigorously, and the boy told his other two pokemon to stop and observe Haunter. The ghost's eyes closed, focusing, and a powerful, single beam of darkness suddenly shot out of her poisonous body, hitting the tree with a single explosion and smashing it to pieces.
"Way to go!" Ash clapped his hands in glee, slightly proud of Haunter's progress. She was evidently smart, being able to figure out that combining the different shadows into one would make the attack even more precise and powerful. Perhaps in the future, Haunter would be able to shoot multiple Night Shades at once. "Have the rest of the day off, Haunter, you've done a wonderful job. Have all the fun you want, but stay in sight and don't disrupt Charmander's training."
Haunter giggled, bumping into Ash before swirling off. He kept the pokemon in his peripheral vision, refocusing his attention on Charmander's Dragon Claw. At the sight of Haunter improving on a move, Charmander worked twice as hard to strengthen his Dragon Claw. His blows were becoming quicker and stronger, knocking down the smaller trees in a single attack. There weren't really any specifics to practice, just to continue using the move over and over.
Ash's philosophy on training was to train not until a move was done correctly, but to train until a move was so perfect that it couldn't be anything less than perfect.
Charmander grew tired, as was evidenced in his sloppy blows. He told the lizard pokemon to stop, and he happily consented, plopping down on his trainer's lap. Ash carried the small pokemon back to the campsite, shouting out at Haunter to return to the camp and wait for him there. Bagon followed them happily, chittering with Charmander about something.
Haunter was already waiting for them on top of Misty's tent, offering a cruel mockery of a smirk. It was strange seeing a human expression on a pokemon's face, but Ash shrugged it off.
He left his pokemon outside of their pokeballs as he collected some wood for a fire, an easy task since there were large pieces of wood lying around from all the training that his pokemon had underwent. Now that Ash had thought of it, he destroyed quite a few trees and wouldn't be surprised if somebody got mad at him for it. Hopefully they trained far away from Route 11 so that nobody would notice.
It was dark when Misty returned. She was wet and looked worn out and tired, offering no words until she sat down next to the campfire that Ash had made thanks to Charmander. They ate dinner in silence, Ash noticing and respecting Misty's want for silence and waited patiently for her to explain what had happened when she went fishing.
Dinner was over before Misty finally spoke. "Sorry for being so quiet. I'm just frustrated, that's all." Her voice lacked the usual fire it possessed.
"It's okay," Ash assured, offering a smile. "What happened?"
She sighed, pulling out a pokeball and staring at it wistfully. "I caught a Psyduck in the first hour. It's kinda stupid – most of the time it just waddles around and says 'psy' over and over again in an annoying duck voice."
The boy chuckled, his usual reserved laugh. "And then?"
"I fished up a Gyarados."
"No way!" Ash exclaimed, staring at Misty with awe. People don't just fish up a Gyarados – some of the most talented fishermen in the world had never hooked one on their line, and even the ones that did usually didn't have the strength to reel them onto land. "Did you… oh."
It made sense. Misty's frustrated attitude and the connection with the Gyarados was obvious. "You didn't catch it, did you?"
"No," she mumbled resignedly, "I made the catch of my life and I let it slip away."
Ash awkwardly patted her on the back, not knowing what to say. "Well, I'm sure you put up a good fight."
Misty scoffed, "Yeah, for like three hours. I spent three hours trying to catch that monster only to have it knock my guys out with a Hyper Beam when it got pissed and then just swam away."
Three hours. That was a long time spent trying to catch a pokemon. "That just makes it worse," Ash admitted, noticing how his hand was still slung around Misty's shoulders. He quickly removed it.
The girl nodded, shrinking and expanding her Psyduck's pokeball over and over again. "Whatever. I'm mad but I'll get over it. How was your afternoon?"
"Haunter's Night Shade's power grew tenfold," Ash informed, listening to Haunter's airy giggle somewhere in the distance. "Charmander learned Hone Claws and Dragon Claw, although we're working on the Dragon Claw part."
Misty whistled appreciatively, surprised at the progress. "Your pokemon are like machines."
"No, they're not," Ash replied defensively, pulling Bagon closer. He drummed his fingers alongside the top of her iron head and she chittered in response. "They just want to become the very best, like I do."
"Okay then, Mr. Pokemon Master," Misty teased, standing up. She gave him a taunting smile before saying, "I'm going to get some sleep. I'm exhausted."
"See you in the morning, Mist."
"Shut up, Ash." She poked her head out of her tent, oceanic eyes glimmering slightly in the light of the campfire. "Don't become a vegetable."
"Go to bed already," the trainer grumbled, "and that was just one time."
Misty laughed before zipping up her tent, the sounds of her getting ready to go to bed quickly replaced by light snoring. Ash marveled at how quickly the girl fell asleep, deducing that the battle between the Gyarados must've really taken a lot of energy out of her.
He laid down on his own sleeping mat, listening to merry cackling of flames. Charmander and Bagon were lying down next to him, already sleeping. Little puffs of smoke came out of Charmander's mouth as he slept, curling up into the air and dissipating into nothing. Bored but not yet tired, Ash checked the time and saw that it was only eight, so he decided to do some research on the Pokedex.
In reality, Ash ended up reading trivia about random Pokemon, completely wasting time just for the sake of wasting time.
The darkness enveloped him when the flames went out. Strangely, even in his drowsiness, he could sense things in the night. Ash knew where the trees were, and that there were various pokemon watching him in the cover of shadows, shadows that Ash could see right through. Was it a lingering effect from Giratina?
"Trouble."
Ash jolted awake, sitting upright. His pokemon remained asleep, not hearing the dry, raspy sound that spoke into Ash's mind.
It was strange. The voice didn't come from his ears; it came from his mind. He immediately stood up, recalling Bagon and Charmander into their pokeballs. There was danger around.
"Haunter," Ash whispered, hoping his pokemon could hear him in the silence of the night, "come here."
"I'm already here."
Ash flipped out, almost fainting and falling into Misty's tent when Haunter suddenly appeared right in front of him. The pokemon giggled quietly, watching her trainer's reaction.
"You're surprised." Haunter stared at him, devious eyes unblinking.
"Well of course I am," Ash hissed, still not over his shock. "My pokemon is talking to me. Am I going insane?"
"No time. Must come if you want to save her."
Haunter's voice was raspy, like an old woman's, and sounded distant and echoing in his head but still managed to pull off a teasing tone. The connections between their minds were strained as Haunter somehow managed to telepathically channel her thoughts into his head.
Ash deadpanned. "Save who?"
"Too many questions. Come."
Haunter took off, flying effortlessly between trees. Ash ran after her, dodging the trees and underbrush without much difficulty. Being able to sense their presence in the darkness helped a lot with the effort.
After a few minutes of running in silence, Ash started hearing voices. They sounded like a boy's and a girl's, words indistinct as he neared their location. Suddenly, the trees disappeared, the woods divulging into a clearing of some sort. They were further on Route 11, the unmistakable nightlights of Vermillion already in sight, far off in the distance. Route 11 was, after all, one of the shortest Routes in all of Kanto.
"Stay in the shadows."
Ash shivered at the sound of Haunter's voice, which was still creepy to listen to. Psychics took years of experience to be able to communicate with their pokemon, so why was he suddenly able to talk to Haunter?
"What's going on?" Ash whispered, spotting a fire in the distance. He followed Haunter silently as they stalked towards the flames, which was soon revealed to be a small campfire. There were four people around the fire; three men all dressed the same, in a dark uniform that brandished a scarlet "R" on the back and front. A lone girl was sprawled on the ground, too far to see her facial features but close enough to see a large bruise forming on her cheek.
Anger flared up in Ash's body, his natural hero complex clicking into action. He unclipped his two pokeballs and was about to throw out Charmander and Bagon to destroy the three uniformed people when Haunter suddenly spoke, her haunted voice enough to stop Ash dead in his tracks.
"Don't. See what's going on."
"Who are they?" Ash's voice was heard by one of the people, who looked around in confusion before refocusing on the girl.
"Silence. You will learn soon."
The trainer and his pokemon neared the group of four, taking each step with deliberate care. Ash was holding back everything that he believed in to not wildly charge at the three assailants, a sick feeling forming in his pit when his mind went over what the three were planning on doing. Finally, Ash could distinguish words in their conversation.
" – get away from my pokemon, you sick perverts," the girl snarled, her voice dry and cracked. She angrily wiped tears from her eyes, standing up and reaching for a pokeball, noticing that there weren't any by her side.
"Looking for these?" one of the men teased, holding up a belt with six pokeballs attached to them. "I'm sorry, honey, but these pokemon are going to a good cause."
"A good cause?" the trainer spat incredulously, brushing back her dark hair. "All you monsters do is steal and sell pokemon or do experiments on them!"
"Steal pokemon for profit," a man recited, tapping the pokeball at his belt, "exploit pokemon for profit. All pokemon exist for the glory of Team Rocket."
Veins were bulging in the side of Ash's neck. Haunter warned his trainer to remain calm and wait for the perfect opportunity to strike.
The girl spat on the ground. "See that? That's what I think of your pathetic organization."
The Team Rocket grunts laughed loudly, not caring if anyone heard them. "This one's feisty. I like her." He sauntered towards her, winking suggestively. "What say you guys?"
The other two villains laughed and advanced towards the girl as well, who was slowly backing away into the darkness and towards Ash. When the first Rocket got too close to her, the girl swung her right fist wildly at him, which was easily avoided. The man caught her wrist, throwing a quick punch to her gut and sweeping her legs off of the ground, causing her to land on the ground with a cry of pain.
"Don't."
Ash's hand twitched. His pokeballs were primed and ready to throw at a moment's notice. He screamed at Haunter in his head, knowing that they were too close to the grunts to say anything out loud and not be discovered.
"I understand. I wish to help."
Ash was so close to snapping. The grunt straddled the girl on the ground, holding her down by grabbing her throat with his gloved hand and covering her mouth with the other. The other two held down her flailing limbs.
"Relax, darling. Let Team Rocket blast off…" his hand crept down to her shorts as tears formed in the girl's opaque eyes. The grunt grinned a perverted smile as his hand slid further south –
Something within Ash snapped. "Haunter, Sucker Punch!"
An invisible force knocked the grunt off of the girl's body, a strangely satisfying crack alerting Ash of the success of the attack. Instantly, Bagon and Charmander were out, initially confused but ready to battle nonetheless. After a quick conversation with Haunter, the two pokemon growled menacingly, understanding the gravity of the situation.
This wasn't a friendly battle.
The two grunts quickly ran away from the girl as Ash appeared from the shadows, the figure of a small boy causing the two to lurch in fear. Although Ash did not know it, he perfectly resembled a demon from the ghost world; he appeared out of nowhere, radiating shadows darker than the ones surrounding them and his eyes, filled with obvious anger, glowed a demonic red, promising nothing but pain.
He stood in between the grunts and the girl as he noted that the Rocket that had received Haunter's Sucker Punch was knocked out. Humans weren't built to take straight up blows from another pokemon. Their bones were much more fragile than the tough material that made up a pokemon.
Flashes alerted Ash of the other two villains releasing their pokemon, nothing particularly spectacular. There was an Arbok, an Ekans, a Zubat, a Golbat, and a Machop. They let out viscous growls, but were quickly outclassed when Bagon and Charmander returned with their own roars as Haunter laughed sinisterly, a far cry from her playful giggle.
If possible, this was the first time Haunter looked serious.
"Return her pokeballs," Ash demanded, his voice steely calm. Underneath his cool exterior, Ash was raging, imagining what it would be like if he ordered his pokemon to kill. Shuddering, Ash dismissed that thought from his head. No matter how mad he was, he wouldn't force his pokemon to become murderers.
After a quick silence, the grunts pulled their act together. "Or what," a grunt sneered, holding up the girl's pokeballs. They dangled from her belt, clinking together.
"Or you'll never see the light of day again," the boy threatened.
The two criminals looked at each other and then laughed, although the laughter sounded forced. "What are you going to do, but us in jail?"
"No," Ash responded easily, anger licking at his thoughts, "I'm going to kill you."
The two thieves flinched, and that was all the time Ash needed. "Let's see how much we've improved. Bagon and Charmander, use Hone Claws. Haunter, Night Shade on the Golbat. Don't hold anything back."
The two bipedal pokemons' arms glinted as Haunter shot a stream of darkness at the grunt's Golbat. Taken completely by surprise, the Golbat had no chance of avoiding the fast attack and was struck by the full power of the blow, a small explosion marking the place where the Golbat once was. The bat pokemon fell uselessly to the ground, knocked out in one hit, its fur burned black from the heat of the attack.
Ash heard the two grunts give orders to their pokemon. When Ekans and Arbok charged Charmander, Bagon intercepted the two with Rock Tomb as Charmander let rip a plume of flame towards the Zubat, who was flying towards Haunter. In order to dodge the attack, the Zubat dove out of the way, breaking its flight pattern towards Haunter, who had already shot off another unavoidable Night Shade at the Machop.
Although Machop weren't weak to ghost type attacks, the fighting type was thrown off its feet at the powerful blast. Ash watched with slight terror as Haunter easily put the weakened pokemon to sleep and ate its dreams, causing the Machop to writhe in pain and agony until it suddenly stopped moving. Murky blood started flowing from the Machop's nose and ears.
Meanwhile, Bagon was firing Flamethrower after Flamethrower at the grunt's Zubat as Charmander took on Ekans and Arbok, slashing at both of them with Dragon Claw and keeping their poisonous Sludge Bombs away by using Ember to distract them and rolling away. The two grunts stayed a safe distance away from Ash, watching the battle with solemn eyes.
Sharp teeth dug into Ash's neck, tearing at the flesh before flying off. The trainer grunted in pain and surprise, wondering how the Zubat had gotten so close to him without Ash noticing. Bagon roared in rage, and when the Zubat swooped back for another attack, Bagon leapt into the air and grabbed the flailing bat's purple body and slammed it into the ground, pining it down with both hands as she blasted Flamethrower straight into the bat's body, causing the Zubat such immense pain that it screamed as it was slowly cooked by the heat of the attack.
After a few horrific seconds, Bagon stopped the relentless assault, bestowing mercy upon her charred victim. She tossed the burnt body of the pokemon aside like it was nothing, only the small rising and falling of its chest indicating that it was still barely alive. With a small growl, Bagon returned the fight, where Charmander and Haunter were squaring off against the Rockets' Ekans and Arbok.
"Target the trainer!" one of the Rocket grunts cried desperately, and their pokemon obeyed, trying to hit Ash with globs of poisonous sludge.
Ash, surprised by the sudden turn of events, was helpless as he watched the projectiles sail towards him, threatening to end his career in a second. The trainer was surprised when his haunter took both hits for him; the ghost's poison typing neutralizing the effectiveness of the attack. He had never expected the grunts to fight dirty like that.
Charmander and Bagon both roared in anger when the two poison types targeted their trainer. Bagon torched the Ekans with a Dragon Breath as Charmander sprinted towards a tired Arbok, taking a Sludge Bomb directly to the chest without slowing down and grasped the snake before it could slither away. With a slight twinge of pride, Ash watched as Charmander brought down a powerful Dragon Claw straight into the Arbok's face, drawing deep gashes and spurting up some acidic blood that burned anything it landed on.
Undeterred by the blood, Charmander's mouth lit up with flames as he bit down hard into the Arbok's hood, causing the snake to cry out in pain. Charmander took the opportunity to stick his hand down the snake's open mouth and used Dragon Claw to tear his hand back out, resulting in a terrifying spray of blood and blood-curling cry of pain. Ash flinched, never seeing the affectionate yet prideful pokemon preform such a brutal attack.
Ekans hissed and dove at Charmander, only to be intercepted by Bagon's Iron Head, an attack so powerful that it was thrown back a few feet only to be blasted by another Dragon Breath. Before Bagon could do any more damage to the pokemon, all of the Rockets' pokemon were sucked back into their pokeballs.
The girl's pokeballs were thrown at Ash's feet. "Fine, you win this time. But you've made an enemy out of Team Rocket."
The two grunts were about to take off, but Ash's voice stopped them. "Where do you think you're going?"
"Away," the grunts answered him. "You've won. We're leaving. It's how the system works."
"And I'm supposed to let you guys get away," Ash stated sardonically, laughing a humorless laugh. "Haunter, Hypnosis."
Before they could protest, the two were knocked unconscious. Haunter chortled, a darker sound than her giggle. Ash dragged the bodies to a tree and tied them securely around the tree with some rope from his backpack, deciding to leave the pokeballs a safe ten feet away from the criminals. Wondering what to do next, he phoned the police department on his Pokegear, telling the Officer Jenny that there were some criminals tied to a tree along Route 11. Ash's pokemon wandered around idly, Charmander licking at his wounds and Haunter, for the first time since he met her, laid lazily on the ground, resting next to Bagon, who was watching the girl with beady eyes just in case she made a move.
The girl Ash had saved finished packing up her sleeping matt and retied her belt around her waist, tapping each pokeball on the belt to make sure that they were still there. Now, that the moon had risen, Ash could see her features; she was taller than him by a lot, with long legs covered by worn out short shorts kind of like the ones Misty wore, and her torso was covered by a short black vest and a white t-shirt underneath. Her body was in the shape of an hourglass that would drive any man crazy, but Ash was just a boy.
Ash shook off those thoughts with ease, never really having the hormones to go crazy at the sight of a pretty girl. She never spoke a single word to him, not even a word of thanks, and tried to take off when she thought he wasn't paying attention.
"Hey!" Ash called, walking towards the girl as she tried to escape in the direction of Vermillion City. When she didn't stop, Ash grabbed her shoulder. "Where do you think you're going?"
She whirled on him, a litany of emotions written in her face, anger, shame, embarrassment, swirling around like a maelstrom. "Anywhere but here."
Wow. She was pretty, even when her face was scrunched up with anger. There were tears in her eyes, streaming down her face as she tried to blink them away, and her voice was melodic but hoarse with all the crying she had done.
"I don't want you traveling Route 11 alone," Ash admitted, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. His pokemon watched the conversation with amusement, and Ash had a slight feeling Haunter was going to give him hell for this later. "At night," he amended.
She snorted derisively, but Ash saw right past her façade. It was the exact same as Misty's – a tough girl act that concealed a scared girl on the inside. Granted, Ash had only seen Misty's vulnerable side a few times, like the Rock Tunnel incident, but he could easily compare the two together.
"What makes you think I need protection?" the girl tried sneering, but her voice wavered. "These pokeballs hold some of the most powerful pokemon in the world. Those bastards just caught me by surprise." When Ash raised a skeptical eyebrow, she exploded in half-rage and half-sorrow, a strange combination. She looked like she was about to strangle him and sob shamelessly at the same time. "Go back to where you came from, kid."
"You're hurt," Ash observed, ignoring the jab at his age.
The girl scoffed at him. "No, I'm not – "
"I have some medicine for humans back at my camp," the trainer continued, shrugging. "I'm just trying to help."
"How do I know you're not just going to drug me and… and do things to me?" she accused, taking a step away from him. Her eyes were laden with distrust, and Ash was beginning to feel ticked off.
"Look, I'm ten. I don't even know if I'm physically capable of doing stuff like that, and plus," Ash snapped, "I'm traveling with another girl. If you want, you can sleep in her tent."
The girl stared down at her feet after learning the new information, feeling ashamed. "I'm sorry."
Ash sighed, retrieving his pokemon. He was going to have to give them potions and Charmander an antidote just in case the Arbok's Sludge Bomb poisoned him. "Follow me. If you run off, I don't really care by now."
With a resigned air of defeat, the girl followed him as he led her back towards the camp. In the darkness of the forest, where the moonlight barely shone through the dense foliage, Ash could sense where everything was, including the camp half a mile away. After ten minutes of tense silence and the girl accidentally smashing straight into a tree, the duo arrived at Ash and Misty's camp, where their noisy arrival stirred something awake in Misty's tent.
"It's freaking ten o'clock, Ash! If you can't go to sleep, go throw yourself off a cliff or something!"
"Misty," Ash called, tone serious, "come out. I need to tell you something."
A long string of curse words later, the groggy ex-Gym Leader emerged from her tent, about to chew Ash out when she suddenly noticed the girl standing timidly next to him. Misty threw an accusing glare at Ash, an undetectable motion swirling in her eyes.
"Ash," she deadpanned, giving him a serious look, "what did you do to her?" Misty eyed the bruise on the girl's cheek, almost ready to snap the boy's neck.
Ash let out a strangled sound, wanting to punch a tree. His frustration at the lack of gratitude from the girl and Misty's false accusation caused him to explode, breaking the calm exterior he had been projecting the entire fight with Team Rocket.
"I found her while she was being attacked by some Team Rocket grunts, alright?" He stole a look at the girl, who was still staring hard at the ground. "I defeated them, knocked them out, and tied them to a tree. Now get off my case. I'm the good guy here."
Misty looked at the girl, who nodded in confirmation. She looked like she wanted to get everything over with and go to sleep.
"What's your name?" Misty asked, still heavily scrutinizing the girl. Ash was sure that Misty noticed the tear tracks and puffy eyes, but she said nothing about it. Misty always had tact when it came to these things.
"Hilda White," she muttered, her voice still hoarse. "But call me White."
The name clicked in Ash's head, gears turning until he finally realized why the girl's name was so familiar. Hilda White was a girl from Unova who went further than any ten year old did in the Indigo Conference, making it to the finals only to be defeated several years ago. The look on Misty's face told Ash that she recognized the name as well.
But White was so confident, so strong. She was only ten back then, but she took the world by storm, quickly becoming a famous name in households across every region due to her youth and aptitude at battling. The girl that stood next to him was just a hollow shell of the famous finalist, but then again, what those Rocket grunts did…
Next time Ash met Team Rocket, there would be no mercy. For Arceus's sake, White was only thirteen at most!
"White," Ash said, testing the name on his tongue. "Wow, and they say that you'd never meet your heroes." She wasn't lying about her pokeballs holding some of the most powerful pokemon in the world.
White said nothing, still staring at her feet. At Ash's comment, fresh waves of tears streamed down her face only to be quickly wiped away. "Um, Mist, can you get the medkit?"
When Misty returned a few moments later, Ash applied some lotion to the bruise on White's face, gently soothing the moisture into her skin. Then, he asked her if she had any other cuts or bruises, to which White answered by pulling up her shirt, showing a large bruise on her stomach.
Ash gulped and looked away, handing the lotion to Misty. The water trainer got the message, applying the solution for him and handed the container back to him. Already the medicine was working its magic, slowly turning the bruise on her cheek from purple to a yellow shade. After a tense silence, Ash decided to let his pokemon out, healing them with potions and giving an antidote to Charmander. He didn't seem poisoned, but Ash didn't want to take any chances.
"Sleep?" Ash asked, and the two girls nodded. "White, you can bunk with Misty if you'd like."
"No need," she replied. "I'll sleep outside."
The trio split up, each getting ready for bed. White laid down her matt somewhere on the other side of the campsite, and Misty retreated to her tent, falling asleep almost instantly. Her talent for falling asleep easily was enviable, since Ash tossed and turned in his sleeping bag, unable to fall asleep after the events.
He felt a strange presence in his mind, so Ash reached for it, satisfied when a throaty voice answered him. "Don't worry. I keep watch. Us ghosts don't need sleep."
"Thanks," Ash whispered, not sure if the ghost could hear him. A girly giggle answered him.
"You should be more worried about the girl crawling towards you."
"What?"
"Hi," a small voice breathed. Somebody plopped a sleeping matt right next to his, lying down on top of it, uncomfortably close to Ash. "I hope you don't mind."
"White?" Ash hissed, more surprised than anything. "What are you doing?"
He was greeted by silence.
"White?"
"I-I don't want to sleep alone," the girl stuttered, and Ash flipped around to stare at her. She was close. Too close. He scooted away respectfully. "Not after…"
"I understand," Ash mumbled, his cheeks lightly heating up, "but why not sleep in Misty's tent?"
White was silent again, staring at him with uncomfortably large, blue, and teary eyes. She had freckles on her face, sprinkled here and there. "Just… please?"
Ash nodded, still looking at her. Her hair was pulled into a messy, voluminous ponytail that showed off her long, angelic neck. A completely platonic observation, Ash reassured himself. "Sure."
She threw herself at him, crushing him in a massive hug. When her grip didn't loosen, Ash sighed and made himself comfortable. "Thank you so much," she whispered, her breath tickling his neck. White's head was right in the small crook of his neck, and he felt his shirt getting wet.
"For what?" Ash stupidly asked, unable to take back the words once they were out of his mouth.
"For saving me," she breathed simply, arms tightening around him. If her grip were any tighter, Ash's heart would've been crushed by his ribs. "I… don't want to think about what… could've happened…"
Her hoarse voice trailed off, replaced by sobs. Ash, not really knowing what to do, rubbed her back soothingly. "Don't worry, I promise that I'll protect you."
Sleep overtook him with its a calming touch.
– Ω –
The next day was unpleasant.
White was back on her feet instantly – pushing Ash off of her body when she woke up – and there was no resemblance to the scared and vulnerable girl Ash had found in the dead of night. Her tone, while slightly hoarse, turned sharp and scathing as she tried overcompensating for her weakness.
Misty went fishing early in the morning, hoping to catch another powerful water type, perhaps a Horsea or a Krabby, leaving Ash alone with White.
She left to take a quick bath in a creek she saw, and after hearing that Ash wanted to become a pokemon master (stupid, stupid Misty, always trying to embarrass him), the Johto trainer offered to train with him later. So that left Ash alone, with his Pokedex, trying to dig up as much information as he could about White.
Something about the female trainer intrigued him. Maybe it was the fact that she almost won the Indigo Conference at the young age of ten; it certainly told Ash that age was not of an important matter when it came to pokemon training, experience was. It was inspiring, knowing that such a young person could make it so far and become so famous. Ash, ever since he was a toddler, had dreamed of having his name fill the headlines, of having the name Ash carry more shock and awe than even his own father's Red.
That's why he took to telling people that his name was purely Ash. The trainer didn't want to mooch off of his estranged father's fame like Gary did off of his grandfather, and he was pretty sure that his father wouldn't have wanted Ash to be like that.
One day, Ash vowed, one day when Ash had become the best pokemon trainer in the world, he would find his father and defeat him in battle. For as long as Red went undefeated, Ash's heart would never be content.
His thoughts starting to wander, Ash's mind soon came to the very uncomfortable memory of the Team Rocket grunts. They were three physically capable men, coming across a weak and defenseless girl… but instead of helping her, they tried taking advantage of her. The thought was disgusting to the core, Ash's strong moral compass absolutely detesting every single thing that the grunts did.
If that was what the Team Rocket grunts were like, then the Team Rocket leaders must be so much worse. Ash's own emotions were a little too complex for the ten year old to completely decipher, but it ran along the lines of wanting to tear down Team Rocket for what they did and almost did to White.
She's only thirteen.
Granted, all pokemon trainers were legally adults and allowed to do adult things, but generally… the more unspeakable things happened in the late teen years. There were stories of lovesick kids marrying the second they had gotten their trainer's license and they were doing fine, but the odds of that happening were one-in-a-million.
Even then, the mere thought of the grunts pinning White down and… touching her enraged Ash. If he hadn't been there, who knows what could've happened. Justice had to be served, if not by the police, then by his own hand. Ash wanted to not only protect Kanto from crime; he wanted to protect the world.
That became his drive.
"Hey, snap out of it."
Ash glanced up, looking at White with large eyes, because whatthehellshe'sgorgeous –
The girl frowned, placing her hands on her hips. "Stop leering at me, you're ten."
Ash blushed deeply, shutting a mouth that he didn't know hung open. White looked completely transformed, her long, brown hair tied into a fashionable ponytail, bright, sparkling blue eyes brought out by long, dark eyelashes. The dirt and grime was all gone, replaced by almost glowing skin and a perfect, red pair of lips that was even able to make hormone–less Ash uncomfortable.
"What did I say?" she snapped, rolling her eyes. Her voice was back to normal, an unpleasant tone tinting an otherwise pleasant sound.
Slightly startled, Ash replied with a snippy, "Glad to see you're feeling better from last night."
White's eyes sparkled with rage as she shook out of anger or… something else? "Come on," the girl muttered, an annoyed tone seemingly seeping into her voice, "let's see what you've got."
Ash frowned as he followed the girl. Her rapid transformation from a sweet, scared girl to a rather snappy, uptight teenager was ticking him off, Ash nearly praying to see the other side of White again. It was almost like she was trying to keep him at a distance, which made no sense since she practically threw herself at him a literal few hours ago.
"Okay, let me see them. How many pokemon do you have?" she asked, turning around and stopping in a clearing.
Swallowing hard, Ash answered. "Three. I have a Bagon, a Charmander, and a Haunter."
"How long have you been on the road?"
"Ever since May, so two months." Ash raised an eyebrow at her rapid-fire questions.
"Two months and you've only caught three pokemon?" she scoffed. Anger flared up in Ash's system, oddly reminiscent of him and Misty's encounter at Viridian so long ago. "By this time, I already had my full team."
"Whatever," Ash waved off, eyes narrowing at the unreasonably hostile trainer. At the sign of his apparent anger, Ash would've liked to think that White's eyes seemed to soften a degree before hardening, but then again, that could've been a trick of the light.
Three flashes of light later, Bagon, Charmander, and Haunter appeared in the clearing, glancing around until recognizing White from the night before. Haunter even went so far as to give her trainer a knowing smirk, eyes darting towards White and winking. But luckily for him, the ghost remained silent, not trying to telepathically communicate with him.
"What…" her words faltered at the sight of Bagon, her magnificent golden color temporarily stopping the female trainer in her tracks. No matter how mean she was to Ash, White was a pokemon trainer first and foremost, and she couldn't help but admire the incredibly rare-looking pokemon. "Is that even a real pokemon?"
Bagon snorted indignantly, crying out in displeasure. "Yes she is," Ash affirmed defensively. It was one thing to insult him, but it was a wholeother thing to insult his pokemon. "I found her on Route 1 and she's been my starter ever since."
"Route 1, eh?" the girl had gotten over the shock, offering Ash a cocky smirk, which, Ash hated to admit, was very, very distracting. "So you're on of those Pallet kids, yeah?"
"Yeah, so?" Ash's fists clenched.
"So why didn't you get a Charmander, or a Bulbasaur, or a Squirtle even? Or did the professor neglect you and sent you off on your journey with nothing but an empty pokeball? And knowing that he probably did, where did you even get that Charmander?"
Sensing the hostility behind her voice, Charmander breathed a warning plume of flame.
"So what if he did do that?" Ash exploded, the accidental reminder of Pallet Town and the start of his journey finally pushing him over the edge. "Why are you asking so many questions?"
"Why are you being such a baby about it? You're ten, you're old enough to face the facts. When I was your age, at least I was mature about it," she finished, crossing her arms defiantly. "Also, how did you get Rare Candy for your pokemon? Because they look as jacked up as they come."
His three pokemon snarled at the girl, and Ash withdrew them before they actually attacked White. Truth be told, they would have to beat Ash to her – he was itching to strangle her. Where was all of this wanton hatred and random insults coming from? What had he done to deserve such a thing?
"I just trained them hard," Ash growled, his voice strained with self-control. He was painfully aware of how his body temperature seemed to drop as his rage increased. He could seethe shadows curling off of his body like smoke, corresponding perfectly with his emotions. "They got that from hard work and dedication, nothing else."
"Mhm, sure…" her voice trailed off, smacking her alluring red lips together, "and Mew's my mother and I caught Arceus in a pokeball."
"Forget it!" Ash roared, all semblances of control gone. "Go train on your own!"
The trainer saw regret lance through her eyes, her body posture slouching slightly at his rage. But Ash didn't care. "I haven't done anything bad to you at all and yet, for the past thirty minutes, you've been nothing but taunts and insults. You're a complete phony – the newspapers say that you're all sweet, and kind, but call me blind because you are nothing like they say you are!"
That short rant cut her deeper than any of her scathing words could do to Ash. White visibly recoiled, taking a step back and bowing her head. Ash felt a little bad, but his temper outweighed his judgment.
"This entire thing was a huge joke!" There was no stopping Ash now; wrath clouded his senses and put him on overdrive. "Find me when you're done being a jerk."
Ash turned around and walked off, not bothering to take a glance back. He didn't want to waste his time squabbling with people that weren't worth his time when he could've been training his pokemon to become stronger. Good Arceus, was the teen traveling with them? Shaking his head and cursing, Ash stormed back towards his camp.
Ash paid no attention to anything else in the world. He was too angry to care, storming back to his sleeping mat as sleepiness overtook him. It had been a long night, and Ash didn't catch a lot of sleep – probably due to White never able to stay still while asleep.
It was a strange feeling having wrath and drowsiness mixed, but eventually, Ash fell asleep…
…
…
"AAAAAAAASH!"
"Mrhmgh – gah, Misty? What's going on?"
The trainer groggily stood up, noticing how the sun was already dipping towards the horizon, casting the world into beautiful shades of red and blue. A quick check on his Pokegear told Ash that it was almost dinnertime. He'd been asleep for a long time.
"Ash, have you been sleeping?" Misty asked, bobbing her head up and down. Her eyes sparkled in the dying light.
Groaning slightly, Ash stretched out his limbs. "No, I was synchronizing myself with the ground," he drawled sarcastically, cracking his back.
Apparently Misty was in an excellent mood because the sarcastic retort slid over her head, the water trainer not even bothering to start an argument. "Well, guess what happened?"
"You caught another Psyduck?" Ash joked, receiving a light glare from Misty.
"No," she pulled out a pokeball from her belt, "a thousand times better. I caught a Horsea!"
The trainer's jaw fell to the ground, completely awake by now. "A Horsea? Aren't they incredibly rare and endangered?"
Misty nodded enthusiastically, her eyes bright with excitement. "Yeah, I know! I found the little guy after three hours of absolutely nothing, and then I battled him and caught him. He put up a tough little battle, but I can tell that he's going to be a powerful Kingdra."
"Wow, all you need is an extremely expensive Dragon Scale, Mist," Ash teased. He got a playful punch as a response.
"Which you'll be providing with when your Bagon evolves into a Salamence, right?" she smirked, staring Ash dead in the eyes.
Ash gave a dry chuckle, enjoying Misty's presence. She was the opposite of White; although he and Misty fought almost all the time, they were just friendly squabbles and, truthfully, Ash found that he enjoyed their interactions. Misty managed to make him feel better, whilst White just infuriated him to no end – and for Arceus's sake, it had only been a day! The thought of her sent annoyance pulsing through his veins.
"So," she continued, sitting down on a tree stump, "how was your day? Did your pokemon learn a thousand new moves?"
Ash's countenance soured, taking a seat on his sleeping mat. "No, I didn't really train today. I took a huge nap… I guess I was really tired after last night."
"It was White, wasn't it?"
Dang it. Misty could never read Ash's facial expression that well; was his game slipping up? "How'd you know?"
"She told me," the girl revealed nonchalantly, her face straining to reveal no emotion, "'bout what happened earlier. She wants to say that she's sorry, but she either doesn't have the guts to do so or can't swallow her own pride."
Ash snorted, staring down at his feet. There was a brief lapse of conversation. "I don't understand girls."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Misty demanded, more teasing than angry. Ash had gotten better at reading Misty's thoughts and expressions, and although she was trying to sound angry, her small smile completely ruined the attempt.
"I mean," Ash paused, pondering how to continue, "I save her from some Rocket grunts, and all I get in return is the cold shoulder and a bunch of insults."
"Maybe she's trying to drive you away for a reason," Misty responded cryptically, tapping her chin in thought. "But I'm afraid that you're going to have to put up with it."
"Why?"
Misty grinned at him, but it lacked real humor. "She wants to travel with us." Something was wrong with her tone – it was one that Ash had never heard Misty use before. Maybe it was the fact that her eyes darkened, or that her lips seemed to frown.
"You don't seem too happy about it," Ash observed.
Misty gave him a wry smile, obviously faked. "I don't know. It's nice having more company, but I kind of liked it when it was just us, you know?"
"But if she really wants to come," the boy sighed, missing the souring of Misty's expression, "who are we to deny her?"
"You and your stupid hero's complex," Misty muttered darkly, folding her arms over her chest. "Given how perceptive you are, I'm surprised that you're so oblivious."
But Ash didn't hear the last part. He was too busy wondering why Misty's mood had suddenly seemed to flip upside down. Why would the water trainer's post-Horsea-capturing high suddenly crash into a brooding sourness?
"Hey guys, what are y'all talking about?"
The two trainers flinched, staring at their new traveling companion. White offered a wide, cheeky grin before sitting down on her mat, a little too close to Ash, who scooted away. A small smile formed on Misty's lips at the sight, completely overlooked by Ash.
"Nothing," Misty amended quickly, giving Ash a warning look, "we were just talking about how awesome it would be to have you with us!"
White smiled at Misty, her real smile shining through. Somehow, the two already seemed to be becoming fast friends, which intrigued and troubled Ash at the same time.
"Yeah, what she said," Ash grumbled, not exactly pleased.
White blinked him, frowning at his tone. "You don't sound so happy about it." An unrecognizable emotion flashed through her eyes; was it hate, regret, or, dare he say it, rejection?
Ash narrowed his eyes. Before he could respond, Misty hastily intervened. "Come on guys, let's eat dinner! Then we can go to sleep and head to Vermillion City tomorrow."
White got up before Ash did, pushing down on his shoulder to help herself up. She flashed him a coy smile before retreating, wrapped in a hoodie and offering to find some firewood. The trainer frowned, obviously annoyed, before heading off to do his own thing.
He was so confused.
Whew. That took a long time to write. Hope you like Ash's minor new powers. They're not really going to be important, more of an aesthetic thing than anything. Since Ash was marked by Giratina (king of the ghost world), he can listen to ghosts, but can't talk back to them. Does that make sense?
I hope you guys really don't mind the addition of White's character. She's going to be around for a good amount of time. If you guys are confused on why she's suddenly being mean to Ash, either leave a review or PM me and I'll respond, albeit spoiling a few details. If you want the story to unfold, just leave the matter be.
White will probably be the only non-anime character added for now, but I may add more in the future. I would tell you whether or not the trio would stay together, but it'd be better if I kept you guys in the dark. Will they split up or will they stay together?
As a side note, the last segment of the chapter was written to be intentionally slightly confusing, since everything is from Ash's perspective. As put by Misty, Ash is perceptive but dense, so his observations don't really get him anywhere. The clues are all there, but can you put them together?
If you guys can figure out what White's and Misty's behavior means, then PM me. If you're right, you'll receive an awesome amount of satisfaction and a virtual cookie from me.
This is another long chapter, and that part with the Team Rocket grunts was especially hard to write – I was uncomfortable the whole time. But I already have a plotline and an agenda to carry out, so I had to do it.
I'd really appreciate some reviews, see how you guys like the story and the direction it's taking. And if you liked it, follow it. If you loved it, favorite it.
Have a nice day. Vermillion awaits.