I shall be keeping chapters at 10k words long unless there are issues.
As always read and review :)
"So Paul wants to defeat me with his newly acquired legendaries?" Ash said while the car drove them to the arena. The two Pokemon in the bag seemed like they were still napping, much to Mewtwo's amusement.
"Yes, but they've been in his roster ever since he conquered the Snowpoint Temple," Mewtwo replied, who seemed like he was less than half engaged in the real world as he examined the interior of Ash's brand new car, much to Ash's annoyance and sighs.
"Seriously what is your obsession with cars?" The trainer asked as the car began to pull up the large parking lot which was already covered with all sorts of cars and people that were going to watch the match.
"Just curious," Mewtwo answered calmly.
I'm sorry Ash, I can't let you know yet of my mission.
"Well we're here, put your cloak back on so we won't get blank stares from random people," Ash said with a small smile; he could only imagine what the spectators faces would look like when they saw a six foot tall cat like creature glaring menacingly at them.
"Roger roger," Mewtwo said while flipping his hood up and getting out of the car. Ash grabbed his backpack, realizing that Mew and Pikachu had finally woken up. Their shocked and curious faces at seeing Mewtwo made Ash chuckle a bit; he soon filled them in at the situation and where they were at, with the help of Mew's counterpart.
"Glad to see you my ancestor," Mewtwo said nodding respectfully at the pink feline who smiled back at her counterpart. They had become good friends after their battle was stopped by Ash, though they still both saw each other very occasionally.
"I am honored to fight with you against this dream crusher," Mewtwo added laughing along with Mew.
"But doesn't everyone crush someone's dreams at some point when they beat them?" Ash asked, still quite a bit confused about Paul's "dream crushing".
"Paul is entirely different; he crushes them completely, fully insulting the people that lost to him as well as telling them to give up on their dreams. In the eyes of Arceus, he is truly a bad influence on our world." Mewtwo explained, hoping that he simplified it enough to let Ash understand it. Pikachu yawned and jumped onto Ash's shoulders, ready to go. However Ash gestured Mewtwo to come back inside the car and closed the doors.
"We would attract too much attention outside," He explained. Mewtwo sweatdropped.
"As if your car doesn't stand out much enough," Mewtwo muttered earning a slight smile from Ash. Who knew the legendary Pokemon had a funny side to him.
"So Arceus purposely put you on this mission to defeat Paul for me?" Ash wondered, a bit happy that the God Pokemon would do such a thing for him, though annoyed at the same time; he didn't have any faith in his Chosen One. Mewtwo thought for a bit before responding.
"You are partially correct."
"Partially?"
"Yes, partially, now if you don't hurry you'll be late."
"Crap, I'm going to be late!" Ash shouted, rushing out of the car when he realized that there was only two minutes left till the tournament started. Pokemon fans were not very patient, neither were the judges, even a one minute delay could result in a forfeit. Pikachu and Mew followed, jumping onto his shoulders, leaving the bag in the backseat.
"Pi Pi," Pikachu exclaimed while facepalming. Ash was going in the wrong direction. The hooded Mewtwo walked up calmly to the frantic trainer, who was jogging in place, wondering where the registration desk was.
"Do not worry Ash, the Pokemon have already been registered for you," Mewtwo said.
"Wait? How? What? Who did it?" A wave of relief passed the trainer, though he still had to get the arena, which seemed impossible through the
"Let's just say that Arceus had his contacts," Mewtwo said smirking slightly.
"So they registered you and Mew? Thank Arceus! Now can I get a teleport inside?" He asked to the two Psychic legendary Pokemon.
"Actually Ash, I'm not registered. I cannot show my face just yet; undercover you might say." Mewtwo answered, making the Champion look at him with a funny look.
"What?! Then who was registered?" Ash asked, becoming frantic again. He was almost guaranteed a victory if he had both Mew and Mewtwo, even if Paul outnumbered him four to two.
"Here's its Pokeball," The Genetics Pokemon handed Ash a very plain Pokeball.
"I'll do the explaining later, right now lets get you out of here," Mewtwo said, narrowing his eyes at a few fangirls that just noticed Ash.
"If you use it first you might not have to use Mew," He added with a grin.
"OMG! It's Champion Ketchum!" Someone shouted.
"Ash Ketchum! Make my babies!" A purple-haired girl cried.
The champion was then quickly transported a few feet away from the battlefield; in his corner hallway that overlooked the opposite end near Paul. He had arrived just on time to hear the announcer say Paul's name.
"From the Blue Corner we have challenger Paul Shinji from Veilstone City!"
A roar of boos and disapprovals erupted from the crowd; Ash was the obvious favorite. Paul ignored the cries, retaining his hardened look as he waited for his long time rival to appear.
"And from the Red Corner, we have the new champion of Sinnoh, Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" The arena roared several times louder, and the sounds combined could even rival that of an Exploud. Ash came in with a smile and waved at his fans, though his eyes never left that of Paul's cold and angry stare. Pikachu's cheeks sparked as Paul hardened his look at Ash as he approached his side.
"This is a Legendary only Battle as requested by Paul the challenger! No substitutions; Pokemon count depends on the amount of Legendaries you have!" The announcer boomed, earning some more boos from the crowd. Paul made up some unfair rules.
"Regirock standby for battle!" Paul started, throwing its Pokeball out. The Rock Legendary golem clanged its arms together fiercely as it appeared on the field, it's H shaped pattern on its face glowing. Ash stared at the Pokeball he held, sighing. He had thought of a lot of strategies for Mewtwo, but now he was not going to fight for a strange reason.
"Here goes nothing," He muttered as he tossed the Pokeball into the air. A green dragon serpent like Pokemon appeared, roaring, glancing at Ash with a nod.
"Rayquaza? Why are you in this Pokeball?" Ash asked in shock. His question was only heard by the Hoenn Legendary as the sound was completely suppressed from the cheers and flashes of the camera from media.
"Orders from Arceus," He replied simply, astounding Ash on two things. One was that there was actually a Rayquaza in a simple Pokeball; usually Legendaries were in upgraded ones. Second was that he could actually understand Rayquaza's speech.
Ash you should know that you are gifted in understanding Pokemon, especially Pikachu; I just helped you learn their language and push you ahead a bit. I have a feeling that you might need it though. Mewtwo said into his mind. Ash gave the Legendary Pokemon that stood in the shadows behind him a silent thanks and flashed a quick look at the astounded Paul, who thought that his rival had only Mew.
"Surprised?" He asked through the cheers of his fans.
"Hardly, I knew that someone like you would have a secret Pokemon," Paul responded with a glare. Ash took that as a compliment however.
"You've got this Ash!" Pikachu said, startling his trainer a bit.
"Rayquaza vs. Regirock begin!"
"Yeah you go Ash!" Max screamed at the top of his lungs as he witnessed Rayquaza. Max and his companions Gary, Misty, Brock, Barry, Dawn, Leaf and his sister had gathered in front of the Pokemon Center Bar to watch on the big flat screen TV. The group were also surrounded by random fans; and Brock was helping Nurse Joy distribute the drinks. These were the people that failed to purchase tickets to the match as they sold out in less than an hour after the challenge was announced. Leaf herself was not notified until a half hour before the match started, which was exactly when the last ticket was sold, so she and the rest were stuck to watching from the TV.
"I must admit, Ash is a prodigy, perhaps better than me," Barry announced coolly, making Dawn smack him.
"You already lost to him; he's already way above you." Dawn scolded, causing her boyfriend to look at her with a face that was going to cry.
"You don't have to be so mean about it! I'll fine you for that!" Barry cried, though to the ignorance of Dawn. She experienced his self-pity mode at least once a day.
"Nurse Joy, after this match you want to come over to my place?" Brock asked with his famous glint eyed look. No lady could resist that. At least, that's what Brock thought.
"Uh, why?" Nurse Joy asked startled at the sudden invitation.
"I've got an Onix, and if you come over to my place I'll show you his move Earthquake," Brock announced with a flirtatious tone. Nurse Joy didn't get that it was a pick up line, but Brock's Poison/Fighting Pokemon did. Croagunk appeared out of the ball, looked around at Misty and Max who were too engaged in the TV, then Poison Jabbed his trainer.
"I should have left Croagunk at the hotel instead of Onix," Brock managed to groan out as his Pokemon dragged him away.
"So, um Leaf it's been a while," Gary said, clearing his throat, obviously trying to get the brunette's attention. He had also been a childhood friend of Leaf, though not as much as Ash was. Gary could hardly believe that the stubborn and tomboyish girl he once knew would turn into such a pretty woman.
"Mhm," Leaf responded half-heartedly as she stared at Ash on screen.
He looks so hot right now. She sighed, twirling her hair. Gary awkwardly turned around as he saw her dreamy gaze at the screen and downed his drink. He and the others then immediately cheered as Ash's Rayquaza made short work of the Rock type Legendary.
"-and Regirock goes down from Rayquaza's strong Focus Blast," The announcer announced triumphantly, earning a growl from Paul. The spectators immediately displayed their approval; girls were fanning themselves at how cool Ash was currently and the guys were mentally noting him as their new idol. It was a huge accomplishment to capture two "uncatchable" Pokemon.
"Regice standby for battle!" Paul shouted, frustration in his voice. The ice golem appeared ready for battle, then faltered at the sight of the intimidating Dragon Pokemon.
"M-MASTER RAYQUAZA," Regice uttered.
"Regice. It's disappointing that you are owned by this disgraceful human," Rayquaza said, glaring menacingly at the Regi.
"WE COULDN'T HELP IT; HE USED DIRTY TACTICS TO CATCH ALL OF US IN ORDER TO CATCH FATHER REGIGAS," Regice responded in fear.
"Do not worry friend, I will help free you from his clutches," Rayquaza said, then gave it a slight smile. "But that will only happen once I defeat you guys."
Regice gulped, (or something like that).
"IT IS AN HONOR TO BATTLE AGAINST YOU," Regice said as Paul ordered an Ice Beam. A beam of ice was immediately fired at Rayquaza who blocked it with Protect.
"Flamethrower Rayquaza!" Ash ordered.
"Your wish is my command Chosen One," Rayquaza murmured as he unleashed a powerful fire stream.
"Dodge, Regice!" Paul exclaimed helplessly, but fell to his knees when the unconscious ice golem fell down.
"Regice is unable to battle! Rayquaza wins this battle! Will Challenger Paul Shinji send out his next Pokemon?"
Paul could barely contain his anger and humiliation as another round of cheers erupted for his rival, who gave him a humble look. The purple haired trainer hated Ash; everything about him. His humble attitude even though Paul knew he liked to win. His overconfidence. Mostly he hated how he thought that Pokemon can only be loved to do well in battle. How screwed up is that? Pokemon are meant to be trained with discipline, not with love. That was one of the reasons why Ash Ketchum should be so weak, but yet why was he so strong? It just didn't make sense.
"Registeel do NOT fail me," He yelled, throwing another Pokeball in the air. Registeel appeared, pounding the ground with its hard fists.
"AncientPower go!" Paul ordered in sheer rage.
"Protect and Flamethrower," Ash countered, and soon Registeel was down.
"Registeel is unable to battle! Rayquaza wins this battle! Will Challenger Paul Shinji send out his next Pokemon?"
"Regigigas finish it!" Paul cried. He will not lose. He can't lose to Ash.
"Ice Punch!"
"Focus Blast!"
However, due to Regigigas's Slow Start Ability Rayquaza attacked first with Focus Blast, KOing the king of the Regis just as it did with the others. Suddenly something unexpected happened. Paul ran up to Ash, knocked Pikachu off and started to punch him, much to Mewtwo's and Rayquaza's alert. Before Ash's fans or his Pokemon could do anything about it, guards appeared and quickly apprehended the ravaged trainer.
"I swore that I"ll never lose again but why do you always win? How do you treat your Pokemon with love and respect and have them win? How do you make friends with Legendaries so easily? Why can't I be a better trainer than you even when I work harder and train harder?" Paul exclaimed with a combination of both sobbing and hiccups. Ash was astounded and shocked. He had never seen Paul lose his composure that much.
I guess that was what was hiding under his cold cover, Ash thought, as authorities carried Paul away. He could not keep his eyes off his rival as he was carried off to most likely prison for assaulting a trainer during a match. The still champion rubbed his cheeks; the pain still stung from where Paul had hit him.
"Are you alright Ash? I'm sorry I could have responded faster-" Rayquaza said with worry but was quickly interrupted by Ash.
"It's alright Rayquaza," Ash murmured as he returned the confused Sky High Pokemon Legendary.
"That bastard! If only electrocution was still a penalty for crime. I'd personally deal with it!" Pikachu growled, but was quickly calmed by his trainer.
"Well.. due to circumstances it seems that Ash still retains his title! Paul the challenger has forfeited!" The announcer boomed, ending the quiet that had enveloped the stadium after Paul was led away. The spectators cheered, but were at the same time worried at the condition of their Pokemon trainer.
"Paul…What had happened to him?"
"What the hell just happened?" Gary asked, speechless at the event that he had just witnessed. The group didn't respond, but they were equally as speechless as the young professor.
"That good for nothing Paul.." Dawn muttered under her breath. Barry nodded at his girlfriend's comment; he had a firm dislike for the purple haired boy as well; who didn't? The boy was heartless, cruel and treats his Pokemon like crap.
"I hope that the champion's alright," Said a random stranger in the audience, his face still holding a surprised look. The group nodded silently as the continued to watch the TV, now focused on Ash's gaping, lack of emotion face.
"Get in there you bastard," The policeman growled as he shoved the trainer into the cell, locking it almost immediately.
"Please you have to let me out if you don't-" Paul pleaded in fear, but was quickly silenced by the policeman.
"You have committed a crime of disrespecting your opponents; serious charges will be pressed onto you. I'm afraid you have no chance of freedom after the verdict is passed down onto you," The police officer said coldly, and with that he left the cell. Paul clung onto the metal bars of the cell, rattling it to get the authority's attention again.
"No you don't understand, please let me out I have to warn everyone!"
The policeman sighed, pulling out his cigar with a huff, knowing that there must be something wrong with this kid.
"Come on kid, I'm going to escort you to the deranged facility especially for deranged people like you," He muttered sarcastically, unlocking Paul's door and leading him away.
"Where are my Pokemon?" Paul asked suddenly.
"They're still in my car; I was going to deliver them back to your Professor since your trainer license is going to be suspended," The policeman answered calmly then added, "If you try anything funny I won't be afraid to use Magnemite's Thunder Wave."
Two Magnemite had been following the pair on guard duty. The policeman nodded to Officer Jenny, explained to her briefly where he was taking Paul, then motioned for the former trainer to walk to his car across the parking lot.
"Officer, tell me did you guys get a generator from Gram Corporations recently installed?" Paul asked nervously as he climbed into the car.
"Why yes? How do you know?" The officer looked at him suspiciously before revving up the engines.
"Shit! Get this car out of here-" Paul was interrupted by a huge explosion, and looked back in both awe and despair as the police station blew up, a fiery orange light enveloping the sky. The police officer never got a chance to react before debris impaled him, killing him instantly. Paul felt around frantically for his Pokeballs as the light had temporarily blinded him. He stared back in horror as the charred smoke and blackened debris covered all that was left of the station. zz
"I have to warn the world, especially Ash; the mistake that I made should not put his life in danger," Paul said coughing as the smoke leaked in from the broken window. He opened the door and dragged the police officer's dead body off the driver's seat, then got in himself. However he was quickly stopped by a man dressed in a formal suit, grinning menacingly at the frightened trainer.
"The Three Restricted Laws of Arceus, Humans can kill Humans, Humans cannot kill Pokemon, and Pokemon can kill Humans and Pokemon alike. What a biased creature Arceus was when he created this wretched world, and yet everything seemed to work out and balance perfectly," The man recited, looking thoughtful for a moment. Then he grinned at Paul with a Pokeball in his hand, spinning it around with ease.
"What works out even more perfectly for us is that Pokemon is the single greatest weapon we had," The man said with a maniac smile.
"You're mad, I can't believe I even decided to go with Team Gram," Paul managed to stutter out in pure fear as he reached for his Pokeballs.
"Don't even try Paul; I've already broken the seals for them. You won't be able to use them to protect your pitiful self."
The man took one last look at the frightened Paul then tossed a Pokeball in the air.
"Finish this worthless human Zoroark," He ordered calmly, without a care that he was about to end someone's life.
The black fox like Pokemon growled as it sought its prey, then grinned, readying a Shadow Claw. However before it could strike Paul vanished along with his several Pokeballs. The elite member of Gram looked stressed for once, looking around frantically at to where the trainer could have gone.
"What the hell just happened?" He asked, suddenly becoming angry.
"Dammit, Leader will not be very happy at me," He muttered, returning the confused Zoroark and left on a helicopter that had come to pick him up.
Paul looked around at his surroundings, suddenly realizing he was at a hotel room, a rather big one.
"Paul?" A raven haired boy asked, looking wide eyes as Paul.
"Ash?" He croaked out, "You're in danger, everyone in Sinnoh is in danger."
"Of course, why do you think Mewtwo saved you," Ash answered, nodding to the Legendary Pokemon.
"Thank you," Paul said, bowing his head to Mewtwo, his face in awe at the sheer majesty of the cloned Pokemon.
"It was not me, Arceus sent me to investigate the strange group or corporation called Gram," Mewtwo said, making both Ash and Paul sit up. The two acted like they were friends strangely; Ash invited Paul to the table for coffee while Paul graciously accepted. Pikachu still had a grudge against the trainer, but remained silent for Ash.
Paul was about to talk again, but was interrupted by Mewtwo.
"First of all, I've spied on you Paul; apparently you are part of Team Gram too. Am I not correct?" Mewtwo asked, giving a stern glance at the Pokemon Trainer.
"Yes.. they said that they would help me get stronger and teach me to love my Pokemon at the same time, but they did the opposite," Paul said sadly and turned to Ash. "I'm sorry Ash, I tried to turn over a new leaf after you taught me to teach Pokemon with love and respect, but Team Gram turned me around to seek revenge against you,"
"It's alright," Ash said with a warm smile, "I know that you tried to change,"
His faced then changed to another confused look.
"Why do you refer to Gram Corporations as Team Gram? When did they become Team Gram?" Ash asked, still a little confused and surprised that one of the greatest technology industries, as well as his sponsor, were causing trouble. Mewtwo sighed and turned to Paul, who shrugged as if saying that he only knew Team Gram as evil; not their origins.
"Ash, I assume you have met Team Rocket, Magma, Aqua, and Galactic?" The Genetics Pokemon questioned.
"Yes," Ash said, recalling every one of them, especially Team Rocket. "Didn't Team Rocket and Galactic disband after Giovanni and Cyrus were assassinated, and Team Magma and Aqua were disbanded after their leaders left them?"
"Precisely, you seem to know their history well," Mewtwo then paused and sat down conjuring psychic energy around him, forming some letters with smoke from the coffee:
G
R
A
M
Paul was quick to catch on.
"Impossible! Those teams couldn't have combined!"
"It wasn't impossible for the chief organizer of this crazy organization, many members of the disbanded teams didn't have anywhere to go; even Arceus couldn't help them set on the right path," Mewtwo explained. Finally Ash got it.
"So G as in Galactic, R as in Rocket, A as in Aqua, and M as in Magma! How could I have not known that?" He asked frantically messing with his hair. The other two merely sweatdropped and Mewtwo continued.
"Yes; their motives are currently not known, but now I know they have explosives inside the police stations," Mewtwo added, earning a surprised look from his old human friend, and a darkened look from Paul.
"They have explosive generators installed; as a 'gift' for the police organizations of Sinnoh by that bastard named Nauran," Paul growled, "They said it was merely for an emergency if prisoners broke out and killed the police,"
"And you believed them?" Mewtwo muttered raising an eyebrow why a sheepish Paul turned away, redfaced that he fell for such a stupid excuse.
"Anyways, thank you Paul for a name. My mission is nearly complete; it seems that we need to warn all the police stations as well as Arceus; I fear that they will start more troubles now that you have escaped with their secretive information," Mewtwo then added with seriousness,
"It's too late," Ash said almost frozen in shock as he looked at the breaking news that interrupted his Saturday cartoons. There were amateur films of burning buildings and smoke. "They've already destroyed all of them.."
"Shit shit what are we going to do?" Paul asked in panic, glancing from Ash to Mewtwo and then back to the TV screen; the voice of the reporter for the breaking news was even stuttering from the shock.
"Calm down Paul; do you still have your Pokemon?" Ash questioned, unsure if the police had confiscated them or not.
"Yes, but the Gram member bastard broke the seals for my Pokeballs," Paul replied, looking at Mewtwo as if the Pokemon could fix it for him.
"Sorry Paul, I'm not a Pokeball expert," The Genetics Pokemon replied genuinely.
"Yeah, the only expert I know is Kurt, but he's way off in Johto," Ash recalled, remembering when he got personal Pokeballs made by the man from his apricots the apricots. "Your best bet is probably with the Silph Co. that mass produces them,"
"But that's all the way in Kanto too!" Paul said, not understanding Ash's logic.
"Their headquarters are located in Kanto but they have shops all over the regions," The champion responded, nodding to Mewtwo.
"Mewtwo can take you there and then take you back to me once you're done. Is that alright Paul?"
The purple haired boy smiled momentarily nodding thankfully at his former rival.
"Thanks Ash, for everything."
He said while he disappeared along with Mewtwo, clutching his broken Pokeballs.
Ash then glanced at Pikachu and Mew in her normal form.
"Lets go guys, we have to see how we can help with the bombings; though I guess informing the president of Sinnoh of the possible dangers is our first priority," He said while reconsidering, grabbing his other Pokeballs and heading out. As they neared Ash's car in the VIP parking lot the raven haired boy froze and stepped back a bit.
"I have to be careful about the car though, to make sure its not explosive," Ash said to himself, while Pikachu and Mew nodded.
"I'll use my psychic energy to detect if there is anything hazardous," Mew chirped; she didn't want to get blown up either.
"Glad to have a Legendary Pokemon, so very glad," Pikachu muttered, still a bit shocked at all the events that had just occurred.
"It doesn't seem like there's anything hazardous," Mew responded after a few seconds.
"Thanks Mew; I guess the car was just a normal product," Champion Ash said while he stepped into the car, revving up the engine one last time.
"It's a shame, but I still think I have to destroy it. Who knows what Team Gram has plans for," Ash murmured, summoning Tyranitar. The great armored beast looked hungrily at the sportscar.
"Tyranitar crush it-"
"Pity that you're destroying one of our most prized possessions; I don't even know why Leader wants you on our team," A mocking voice exclaimed from behind him, interrupting Tyranitar's Crunch attack. Ash turned around to face with around fifty people who dropped down from a helicopter.
"Team Gram!" Ash exclaimed angrily, "What are your motives for destroying and killing the innocent police!"
"Innocent?" The masked man almost spat the words out in hatred. "They're far from it."
"Liars," Ash said sternly, backed up by Tyranitar's massive roar, Pikachu's sparks, and Mew's stern looks.
"You'll believe it once you join us along with your Legendary Mew. How about it Ash Ketchum?" The man said, apparently the commander of the small army of Gram men. A few more helicopters appeared
"What makes you so sure that'll I join you?" Ash asked, enlarging three Pokeballs as if taunting him.
"If you don't, we'll just have to force you," The Team Galactic Elite answered smugly and threw several Pokeballs in the air while his hundreds of grunts did the same. Soon Ash was surrounded by tons and tons of menacing Pokemon that included Crobat, Glameow, Camerupt, Muk, Weezing, Arbok, Toxicroak, Mightyena, and all their evolved or de-evolved forms. The Elite had a Zoroark, Gliscor, Infernape and Sharpedo. Ash smirked at the overconfident Grunts and their leader, though was still a bit intimidated.
"Go Lucario, Charizard, Vaporeon!" He shouted. His Pokemon appeared on the lot, a bit stunned at the overwhelming number of Pokemon grinning at them.
"You really think that your six Pokemon can defeat a thousand?" The Elite asked shaking his head. "I assume that Mew is that Pichu standing on your shoulders."
"No I assume that all my Pokemon can." Ash retorted, throwing a pile of Pokeballs secretly hidden in his backpack.
"Go Snorlax, Typhlosion, Sceptile, Infernape, Primeape, Torterra, Blastoise, Charizard, Venusaur, Gliscor, Staraptor, Tauros(x30), Pidgeot, Floatzel, Kingler, Feraligator, Meganium, Crawdaunt, Torkoal, Donphan, Heracross, Noctowl, Swellow, Glalie and Garchomp!"
The Team Gram members could only stand frozen as the seasoned and veteran Pokemon fighters appeared to join their teammates. However, they could not fail their mission and started relaying orders to their Pokemon. Though after a few minutes of fighting, the fight seemed one sided in favor of Ash. Snorlax was body slamming its opponents; not even flinching at their counter attacks. The massive Pokemon also added a Hyper beam at each interval. Typhlosion was knocking away its opponents with its Flame Wheel, while Sceptile helped Typhlosion by hitting the Pokemon that flew from the impact with its Leaf Blade. Infernape and Primeape were dodging attacks with ease and giving the Gram Pokemon their share of Mach punches. Torterra was unleashing Energy Balls and Leaf Storms with amazing accuracy while Meganium and Venusaur backed the Ground/Grass Pokemon up with their own Razor Leaf. Crawdaunt, Floatzel, Kingler, Feraligator and Blastoise formed a five way squad that fired their Water Gun and Hydro Pump in different directions. Glalie, Noctowl, Gliscor, Staraptor, and Pidgeot were up in the air fighting the Zubats, Crobats and Golbats who were dropping like flies from Gliscor's Stone Edge, Staraptor's Brave Bird, Pidgeot's Whirlwind, Glalie's Ice Beam, and Noctowl's Psychic. Garchomp was dominating with Dragon Tail while Heracross was unleashing multiple Close Combats. The herd of Tauros rampaged through the hoardes of Pokemon, though was careful not to hit any of Ash's. Torkoal unleashed fire onto Donphan who spun around in a makeshift Flame Wheel, though more powerful with the added power of Rollout. In less than half an hour all of Team Gram's Pokemon were defeated. The Elite's Zoroark was taken down by Ash's Heracross, his Infernape by Ash's Infernape, his Gliscor by Ash's Gliscor, and his Sharpedo by Ash's trio of grass types. His two Charizards blasted away the other Pokemon with Flamethrower; not even the bravest dared to fight them. Lastly, Mew and Pikachu were playing with their opponents, taunting them with laughter and quickly finishing them off. All of the Pokemon were poorly trained compared to that of Ash's.
"Grr.. Leader didn't inform me that this little rat would have all his Pokemon with him," The Elite said angrily, though a little look of fear appeared on his face as he commanded his team to retreat. However his plan was interrupted by a faint whispered voice.
"Uh sir, our helicopters got taken down by a yellow mouse and a pink feline!" A grunt relayed quietly to the Elite who looked shocked. He then turned awkwardly at Ash with a look of defeat. The champion only grinned at him as he approached to apprehend the criminal and surround the grunts and their fainted Pokemon. Suddenly a burst of white cloud took over the parking lot, causing Ash to close his eyes and cough at the weird substance.
"How marvelous, I expected as much from the prodigy champion. Congratulations on taking down my trainers," A loud voice proclaimed, as if almost mocking.
"Nauran," Ash growled under his breath, the rest of his Pokemon gave their respective glares to the direction of the leader of Team Gram's voice.
"Well," said the voice sighing, ignoring Ash's threatening tone, "I can't stay for long Ash Ketchum, but it seems like you have declined our invitation which I would say is most unfortunate. I'm afraid I can't have you or your Pokemon live then."
When the smoke cleared, all the Team Gram members were gone; airlifted by a huge airship along with their fainted Pokemon. However, as soon as Ash returned all his Pokemon he heard a faint ticking sound. It was not until a few seconds later until the car exploded.
Where am I? Ash asked, as he opened his eyes to complete darkness and empty space; everything was completely quiet.
"Ash Ketchum, my Chosen One," A voice echoed smoothly.
"W-Who are you? Where am I?" Ash stuttered, as he tried to move his arms and legs. However, they weren't there but blackness!
"I'm afraid you won't find them there," The voice said chuckling slightly, "You are in the Spirit World, the path between Hall of Origins and the Distortion World."
"Am I.."
"No Ash, you are not dead… well actually you could say that you are dead but I summoned you here," The voice reassured, though not calming the trainer any bit.
"Who are you exactly?"
"I am Arceus my child, the Creator and the Origin of this World," The heavenly voice declared without a tone, as if it had said the same phrase a billion times before.
"What happened to me after that car exploded?! I thought that Mew deemed it nonhazardous?" Ash asked, frantically, ignoring the previous lines. If he was in the Spirit World, then something had bound to happen to his body.
"Once again, do not worry Ash, I have taken care of it. Your body is in a hospital and is not severely wounded thanks to Mew's quick actions. As for the car.. it was not equipped with a bomb but was made of flammable material. One spark of fire can set it off easily. Even Mew cannot recognize human made material." Arceus explained as his holy figure appeared before the trainer, astounding and startling him quite a bit.
"Why am I in the Spirit World then?" Ash asked meekly as he regained his composure, still confused.
"I thought we have already gone over this," Arceus said sighing, but took Ash's question seriously. "I found that this was the perfect time to talk to you, to bring you out of the world for a moment."
"For what reason? I need to inform the Pokemon League officials about Gram Corporations," Ash responded.
"Ash Ketchum, in this world time doesn't pass; hundreds of years in here would not even be a hundredth of a second on Earth," The Alpha Pokemon assured, then started again once Ash had calmed down.
"I brought you here to warn you of Team Gram as well as informing you of an impending threat," Arceus said, "A grave disaster is coming to the world and even I cannot foresee it clearly. I do, however, know that Team Gram is closely related to this catastrophe,"
"What am I to do?"
"You are my Chosen One. You have the support of all the Legendaries, the fair willed Pokemon Trainers, and your Pokemon. I believe in you Ash," Arceus echoed as his intimidating figure slowly dissipated.
"Wait, Arceus, I still have some questions," Ash managed to croak out as he himself began to fade away.
"Sir you called for me?" A blue haired man with a masked face asked as he neared the Leader of Team Gram and head of Gram Corporations' desk.
"Yes," Nauran responded without turning around from his chair, while he faced the window overlooking Jubilife City. "Gather all the Gram grunts and fire all the normal employees. We are moving."
"What?" The man asked, looking at Nauran as if he was mad, "May I ask why? We have already initiated the first part of the plan; taking down the police!"
"We have only did a little; only destroyed Sinnoh's. I'm afraid to admit but it seems we are still too weak to challenge a strong meddler like Ash Ketchum. And he's not the strongest." The Leader muttered while twirling a gadget in his trembling right hand, full of fury. "We are moving Commander. Under a new name and company until we are strong enough. I'm afraid I had miscalculated the strengths of these despicable amateurs,"
"But sir! After all this work-" The spiky blue haired man started but was quickly interrupted by his superior.
"In time my friend, have patience. We have only been active for a few years now and look at how successful we are now. A few more measly years and we will achieve our rightful status. Gods."
Nauran responded while turning his chair to face the commander.
"The troops will be carried out in waiting airships. I have already arranged a building in the place that we are evacuating to. Our company's name will be the Rover Company. Go join one; we are leaving as soon as it gets dark."
The dark brown haired man took a long sip of his coffee as he fell deep into thought, though was quickly interrupted by the Commander again, much to his annoyance.
"May I ask where sir?"
"The faraway Unova region my dear friend."
The bright white light blinded Champion Ash Ketchum as he started to awake to the real world. He felt around him the soft quilts of his hospital bed as he slowly raised his eyebrows and his awareness. The trainer lifted his head up groaning as a sharp pain came rushing from his lower right abdomen. While Ash looked down at himself he realized that his regular clothes had been switched with a small incision of the cloth near his wound, probably in order to relieve pressure. He peered down to that spot to see white bandages and dried blood caressing the white linen. The seventeen year old uttered a groan as he tried to lift himself up, earning an almost immediate response from a Blissey who rushed into Ash's room. The Pokemon was also followed by Nurse Joy whose stressed face immediately relieved itself when she saw that Ash was up.
"Good morning Mr. Ketchum, how are you feeling?" She asked with a smile, as if Ash had just woken up from his sleep.
"I just have a small headache but thanks for asking Nurse Joy," Ash responded with a raspy voice, then suddenly began to look around frantically, "Where's Pikachu and Mew?"
"They're fine Ash, better than your condition that is," Nurse Joy said with a wink, " Mew managed to protect Pikachu from the blast but only you partially. Both of them are in a separate room for Pokemon."
"You witnessed the explosion?" Ash asked with disbelief. Then he remembered that the parking lot of the Hotel was right across the street of the Pokemon Center.
"Yes; it was so terribly loud. Blissey and I were taking out the waste when we saw the Team Gram guys surround you guys. We tried to get help but.." Nurse Joy bit her lips and sighed, "I'm sorry Ash that I couldn't help you sooner,"
Blissey gave Ash a look that meant it was sorry too, though Ash gave both the Egg Pokemon and Nurse Joy a smile to tell them they tried their best.
"By the way Ash, after I heard about your relation with Team Gram and their bombings of the police stations.." Nurse Joy paused a bit, trying to hold back tears of the friends and mainly Officer Jennys that died in the mass explosions. She literally had to force herself to finish the sentence. "I contacted the Pokemon Committee, the Elite Four, the Champions, as well as the Gym Leaders across the world about this murdering backstabbing company. They have had a lot of questions to ask you about,"
"Sure," Ash said with a tired but equally determined face, "I'll answer whatever they throw at me.."
"They won't ask a lot I'm sure; Paul has already answered a lot for them," Nurse Joy replied finally getting back to her smiling nature again. "They've been waiting for a while though to ask you some specific ones though."
"Nurse Joy, how long exactly have I been asleep and how long exactly have they been waiting?" Ash asked, finally feeling more refreshed. He grimaced however whenever he moved his lower body causing Blissey to rush over and help him up again.
"Three days- they've been here ever since they heard of your involvement with Team Gram," Nurse Joy said to the complete shock of Ash.
"Why would they wait so long; haven't they got other important stuff to do?" Ash asked, a little surprised and overwhelmed that these famous and busy people would have the time to visit him, even if he was the new Sinnoh Champion.
"For them, this tragedy is more important than anything," Nurse Joy replied. She then clapped her hands, ruining the short silence.
"Well Ash, it seems like you're healthy enough to meet them," She said as she helped the Champion into a wheelchair and pushed him out of his room, into a medium sized meeting room that contained a long table, several chairs, and a splendid, elegant chandelier to complete the look.
"Here's the Center's Meeting Room. I'll call them in," Nurse Joy said as she left out the back door. Blissey helped the wounded Ash into the head chair, and then followed Nurse Joy. Soon several figures entered the room, their faces both hardening and becoming relieved as they walked in. All eight Gym Leaders of Sinnoh were there, the Sinnoh Elite Four, Lance, Cynthia, and the Pokemon Committee President. The eight Gym leaders took one side of the table and sat down, all taking glances at the nervous Ash and occasionally giving a wave, though the atmosphere was quite serious and silent. The Elite Four, Cynthia and Lance sat across from them, though filling up only half of the chairs. The President, a white haired man in his late fifties, sat directly across from Ash. Nurse Joy lightly tapped Ash's shoulders and told him that she had to go back to her shift, and informed him where Pikachu, Mew and the rest of his Pokemon were; room 113. When she was gone, everyone started talking at once until the President held up his hand.
"Please, the new Sinnoh Champion cannot hear all of our questions at once. We must go one at a time," He nodded towards Roark to start the questions, though they only had one main question to ask.
"Hi Ash," The Rock type Gym Leader awkwardly began, "Nice to see you back,"
"We haven't got all day Roark, ask Ash about the organization," Byron, the Steel type Gym Leader said while he ruffled his spiky brunette hair impatiently at his son.
"Oh-er right. Ash is it true that Gram Company is another evil organization?" He asked.
"Well of course-"
"Oh come on Roark, we already know that!" Candice, the Ice Type Gym Leader said. She then turned to face Ash, smiling sweetly, though it sort of freaked Ash out since it seemed so forced.
"What can you tell us about Team Gram Ash?"
"Well.. I can't tell you that much because.."
"You mean I waited three days for nothing?" Volkner said yawning, with an annoyed look on his face. "Forget this I'm going back to Sunnyshore!"
"Be quiet Volkner, the young lad's been through a lot, let him think it through." Bertha scolded. Volkner merely turned away, closed his eyes and slumped in his chair. The old lady of the Elite Four gave Ash a nod, letting him continue.
"As I was saying Team Gram is an entirely evil organization. They're going under the cover of a technology company in order to accomplish their selfish ways-"
"Yes we already know that," Gardenia, the Grass Gym Leader groaned. "I guess we still have no leads."
"Quiet Gardenia! Let the boy finish," Bertha and Cynthia shouted at the same time, shocking the Grass trainer a little.
"Jeez, all these impatient people. Be careful, quick tempers lead to quicker aging," Fantiana teased, earning a few glares, particularly from the females. The Ghost type Gym Leader frowned as she realized her joke was not well received. Ash suddenly stood up, though cringed a bit.
"Mr. Ketchum! Are you alright?" The President asked urgently as Ash lifted himself up painfully.
"Yes I'm fine Mr. President. Is there a white board here?" The Champion asked leaning against his chair. "I figured it would be better to explain this visually."
"Why it's right behind you my dear boy," The President answered looking perplexed. The Champion murmured a silent thanks as he limped towards the board. Cynthia and Lance stood up, but Bertha stopped them. The rest of the Elite Four looked interested at Ash's determination; with a hint of admire along with it. When Ash made it up to the white board he drew the four letter and M, and asked if anyone knew what they meant. No one did.
"Great Robotic Army of Machines?" Lance guessed to the sweatdrops of the others. Ash facepalmed, then added more to the capital letters. It took a few moments for the rest to sink it in as they stared speechless at the names of the "dead" criminal organizations.
Galactic
Rocket
Aqua
Magma
"But that can't be; I witnessed the destruction of Team Galactic myself!" Cynthia murmured, extremely confused and nervous at the same time. The rest of the gym leaders shouted their agreements, though the President calmed them down.
"So you are saying Mr. Ketchum, that Gram consists of all the team organizations?" He asked to clarify. Ash nodded silently, knowing that this would not be well received.
"But that's simply preposterous! We all know that they all died off several years ago; their group disbanded and leaders either died or disappeared!" The president argued. Sweat dripped profusely from his forehead. If this were to be true, than the world was in danger.
"I have no idea how this happened too as I am not too sure whether or not to believe it. The leader now is Nauran, who was never a leader of either," Ash responded, "But what I am sure is that we have to act quickly to bring them down, or our years of peace of Pokemon and humans will be ruined."
The Champion glanced around, stunned at how easily those words had slipped out of his mouth. There was another brief silence.
"The new Champion is right," A green haired man with a spiked tuft said. "We cannot allow another one of these weirdly dressed people to threaten our society again,"
"Easier said than done Aaron," Lucian, the Psychic expert of the Elite Four, replied. He was apparently deep in thought. "We have to somehow figure out where they disappeared off to."
"They disappeared?" Ash asked with a frown. Oh great, now they don't have any leads.
"Yes, they did. After we heard from Paul about Team Gram, the gym leaders left to go search for them. By the time they arrived at their headquarters however, it was completely deserted," The president said in a sorrowful tone. The gym leaders shifted uncomfortably in their chairs, as if they felt like they failed Sinnoh.
"Who knows they could have fled," Flint, the Fire type Elite Four, said. "It'll take a while to find them."
"That's why we're going to search. They could be underground or in the sky for all I care but we have to find them!" The President shouted.
"But where are we going to look? With their technology and their manpower, we can never be able to find them!" Maylene, the fighting type Gym Leader complained, obviously not in favor of a search.
"We have no choice Maylene. Either that or we can wait for them to come out again and destroy us like they did to the police," The President answered with a hint of rage while he wiped his head with a cloth.
"You eight search Sinnoh, search every corner from Eterna Forest to Mt. Coronet!" The President ordered. Ash shifted uncomfortably as he heard Mt. Coronet. At least Mew was with him now.
"Lance you know Johto well," The old man nodded towards the Dragon Trainer. "Search Johto. Gather the Gym Leaders there as well as the Elite Fours."
"Cynthia, the same goes for you for Hoenn."
The President than looked at Ash.
"Well Mr. Ketchum, I think it would be best for you to search Kanto; though after getting some much needed rest at Pallet Town," The President added with a smile. "Your mother must be worried sick about you."
Ash sweatdropped. His mother was the most carefree person in the world, trusting that as long as Ash kept his promise of not hurting himself, she would be fine with wherever he was. The old man scratched his aging hair and adjusted his tie before starting again.
"As for Unova- it is too far away for any of you to be going to but I will contact the officials there to keep a lookout. Somehow I feel that Unova may be the place they went too. Just far away enough to keep out of our eye. Good hunting ladies and gentlemen." The President muttered. He then got up, signifying the end of the meeting. The gym leaders left in a hurry, obviously very glad that the three days was over. Bertha gave Ash a small wink as she left along with the rest of the Elite Four, much to Ash's slight surprise. Cynthia and Lance came over, both having the same question.
"Where is your Rayquaza Ash?"
"Uh I put it back in my PC why?" He asked, though he knew the reason why.
"I want to see it. It's the coolest Dragon Pokemon ever!" Lance said with a grin. Cynthia pushed the obsessive Dragon trainer away before answering.
"Since I'm exploring the Hoenn region I thought maybe I could borrow Rayquaza since it knows it better than I do," She explained sincerely.
"She just wants Rayquaza.." Lance muttered annoyed. Ash laughed slightly at the immaturity of the Pokemon officials before answering.
"Sure I'll transfer it to Professor Birch and you can get Rayquaza at his lab," He said with a smile.
"Thanks Ash, and good luck on your search," Cynthia said while giving him a quick hug, to the current Champion's surprise and slight blush.
"I wish I got Kanto, it's much more fun to explore than Johto," Lance added with a smirk while he slapped Ash on the back. "Good luck kid."
Ash waved them goodbye as he slowly limped to his Pokemon's room. Not surprisingly, Mew and Pikachu were fast asleep. Their trainer smiled slightly at the cute display, carefully picking both of them up and tucking them in his trusty old backpack. All his Pokeballs were there too along with his tattered jacket and jeans. He quickly got changed, careful not to bump his wound. Suddenly there was a knock on the door.
"Ash? Are you in there?" Paul asked, "I couldn't find you at your room so I figured you would be here..hopefully,"
"Yeah I'm here Paul, just a sec," Ash answered as he hurried to the door. It was amazing; his wound didn't hurt as much as it did before.
"Boy am I glad to see you Ash Ketchum," Paul said looking at his friend's wound. "Are you alright?"
"Never better," Ash said with a forced grin.
"Hello Ash," A pink figured hooded figure slowly appeared out of teleport.
"Mewtwo, I see that you got Paul's Pokemon Pokeballs fixed," Ash said with a smile, as he glanced at the Pokeballs by Paul's side.
"Yes I did. Judging by your face I assume you need Rayquaza?" Mewtwo asked amused.
"I felt like you just read my mind," Ash said sarcastically, "Yes as a matter of fact, I do. For Cynthia."
"Here you go," Mewtwo said, producing a regular red white Pokeball and handing it to Ash. "Arceus said to keep him this time; Rayquaza wants to help."
"Arceus? You mean the God Pokemon?" Paul asked shocked.
"Mewtwo, erase his memory please," Ash responded with a serious look while his new friend and old rival Paul looked scared.
"Gladly."
"Well Ash, have fun in Kanto," Paul said with a smile, his mind wiped completely of the incident that had occurred earlier.
"Good luck to you Paul," Ash said shaking his hand. Paul was going to search around the Orange Islands, taking on the Orange League as well. He had a feeling that's where Team Gram would go.
"Goodbye," Paul murmured with a wave that meant a whole lot more than thanks, and left with Mewtwo, who had agreed to teleport him. Mewtwo came back a few minutes later, and teleported Ash to Pallet. Finally the champion was coming home.
Ash woke up with a rare smile on his face. Although he had an entire region to search, he strangely felt good to finally be back home in his old room, the room where he first dreamt of being a Pokemon Master. When he looked besides his bed for Pikachu and Mew, he noticed that for once they were not there but had woken up before him. The boy smiled a bit, and quickly changed out of his pajamas into his traditional trainer's jacket and cap. The clock read 9:30, which was really considered early for a late sleeper like Ash Ketchum. Yawning, Ash slowly opened the door and stepped downstairs, seeing that his mom making pancakes downstairs.
"Good morning Mom," Ash greeted as he came down.
"Oh good morning Ashy, did you have a good night?" Delia asked with a wide grin; at that moment she couldn't have been one of the happiest moms in the world, her son had finally returned home.
"Yes it was the best sleep i've gotten in ages." Ash replied with a smile as he sat down with his plate of pancakes, then asked, "By the way, did you see Pikachu and Mew come downstairs?"
"Yes honey, they came down half an hour ago, ate some pancakes-" She paused then giggled. "Pikachu put all the ketchup left in the bottle on his but Mew stole it and ate it all."
Ash sweatdropped as he could imagine Mew doing that and Pikachu crying over the stolen ketchup.
"But do you have any idea where they went?" Ash asked as he gulped down his food.
"Hm... I'm not too sure they went outside but I dunno where," Ash's mom replied honestly.
"Okay thanks mom for the info and the pancakes," Ash said in a hurry, "I'll be back in a bit,"
"Have fun honey," Delia Ketchum said with a grin as her son dashed outside with maple syrup still stuck on his mouth.
Oh children, they grow up so fast, she thought with a slight pinch in her heart.
Professor Oak was in a state of frenzy and tiredness unmatched by any Slaking. Not only was the entire region of Sinnoh panicking because of their lack of police enforcement, but because of the fear of terrorism Team Gram had incited in all the other regions. The police had checked again and again their generators and destroyed everything provided by Team Gram as an extra precautionary. However, some of the police force were still paranoid, and more and more cowardly policemen were quitting. Not that you could blame them though as they had a family to protect as well. Now it was Oak and the Kanto Gym Leaders' job to take action and maintain peace as long as possible, until the Gram threat was dealt with. It had been a stressful few days for them all, and Oak was still sadly canceling the trainer licenses for the new generation of ten year olds; the Pokemon Committee has ordered all professors to do so until Team Gram was detained. Suddenly two people and two yellow rodents bursted in his office, both with smiles on their faces until they saw the depressed look on the old man's face. Leaf and Ash had conveniently met; she had returned to Pallet to recollect some Pokemon and was of course, overjoyed to see Ash and helped him find Mew and Pikachu, who were both slurping ketchup at the local diner.
"Hi Professor Oak," The pretty brunette said uneasily. "Are you alright?"
"I'm quite alright Leaf, thanks for asking," The Professor said, forcing a smile on his wrinkled, aged face.
"I don't think you are Prof," Ash said with a serious, caring look on his face. "We've all been stressing about this tragedy but starting today I'm going to search every square inch of Kanto until I make sure its safe!"
Oak smiled genuinely at Ash's determination and courage. "Its going to be a lot of work Ash, even for someone like you."
The old man leaned back in his chair, put his papers away and wiped his face with a handkerchief.
"I just wish there were some more good news," He said wearily. Leaf and Ash sat awkwardly in front of him until the silence was interrupted by a timely video phone call. Oak picked up, and a beautiful blonde woman stared, with the same stressed look as the Pokemon researcher, back at them.
"Hi Professor Oak, Ash, and Leaf. I've got good news and bad news." The blonde woman paused, and looked down while thinking how to say what she was going to say.
"Go ahead, I could use some good news," Oak replied while the three of them stared intently at the former Sinnoh Champion.
"Well, the good news is we have found out where Team Gram is hiding so you can stop looking for them in Kanto."
Cynthia paused, and waited for them to take in the sudden stunning information.
"That is good news!" They all shouted excitedly. Looks like Gram was going down sooner then they expected.
"The bad news is...They are hiding in Unova under the suspected name of Rover Company. We tried to send our Elites and forces to intercept them but the Unova President did not allow it and simply stated what we were saying about the Rover Company was nonsense; it has been there for several years, before Team Rocket, Magma, Aqua or Galactic separated."
The group stared in shock at the blonde woman, who added,
"We have never been on good terms with Unova anyways so that is to be expected. There is more to the good news though, we have sent a spy to Unova to join 'Rover Company' and see if the President was lying or not as well as relay further information to us. This is risky but its important to provide the evidence we need to go into Unova with our forces."
"Who is the spy?" Ash asked, knowing whoever it was must be really brave.
"Lance," Cynthia replied with a slight sadness in her voice.
"That is an awfully brave thing to do and I give him my biggest regards," Professor Oak said solemnly as he knew the mission held high risks, "So does that means we are to continue with our lives until further notice?"
"Thank you Professor, and yes I will report to you three once I get further information about Unova and their mysterious company," Cynthia answered and with a wave and a wink to Ash that did not go unnoticed by Leaf, bidded goodbye and the call was ended.
"That was a lot to take in, but I'm sure Lance will take this into his hands professionally," Ash said to them while Pikachu and Mew rolled their eyes at Ash's attempt to sound serious and clever. Leaf just giggled and asked,
"Do you really have that much faith in Lance?"
"Why of course, he isn't known as the dragon master for nothing," Ash replied with a big grin, but inside he couldn't help but feel more and more worried for Lance.
"I would like to help him though," He said after a few moments of silence.
"Oh no you don't," The old Pokemon researcher exclaimed abruptedly, "You have important Pokemon to train to get stronger and be a Pokemon Champion. Like you said, trust in Lance, I'm sure he'll be fine himself. Besides, knowing you you'll probably blow both of your covers."
Ash growled slightly at Oak's smug remark, making all the other four laugh uncontrollably at the insult, as they knew it was true.
"Come on Ash, let's go visit Brock and inform him of the news the old fashioned way," Leaf said with a smile, knowing that it would be the perfect and most romantic way to get closer to her old crush. Without Dawn, who was busy helping her home region, she had all the confidence she needed.
"Hey Ash and Leaf!" A tall young brown-haired man exclaimed as he walked in through the office.
"Ah Gary, did you hear the news?" Oak asked.
"Yeah Gramps, I did. That's awesome its amazing how fast they tracked them down," Gary said, then with a flirty smirk at Leaf he added, "So I overheard you guys were traveling to Pewter City to meet up with Brock. I was just planning to go visit him myself, mind if I tag along?"
"Well-" Leaf started before she was interrupted by Ash.
"I don't see why not Gary, it'll be a perfect time to catch up with you guys!" He exclaimed excitedly, not paying attention to Leaf's obvious disappointment and Gary's fist pump. Just as they were about to leave, Professor Oak stopped Ash with an ominous smile on his face.
"Just a minute Ash, where do you think you're going with all those Pokemon in your bag?"
"Uhhhh what Pokemon?" He answered sheepishly.
"These Pokemon," The professor said as he emptied out Ash's backpack which contained many Pokeballs.
"Aw Professor, I need them all for my journey!" Ash pouted in a very immature way. Leaf giggled at Ash's antics while Gary merely rolled his eyes. After all these years his old rival still hasn't changed his childish ways.
"I'm sorry Ash, only six Pokemon, even if you're a champion you still gotta play by the rules," Oak said as he motioned to the balls as to say choose your remaining four. Ash put his head down in disappointment as he reluctantly started selecting.
"Well.. I need my powerhouse and old buddy Charizard. I know that you wanted to study my shiny one anyways," He said while picking up Charizard's pokeball.
"I also need Lucario, my aura partner. Hmmm Garchomp loves to battle and will be a safe choice. Last but not least I'll take Sceptile too."
As Ash gathered his strongest Pokemon Gary started to make an awkward conversation with Leaf.
"So er Leaf, once we stop by Viridian City is there a chance I might take you out for dinner," He said, putting on his most charming smile.
"Only if Ash can come, he'll be more hungry," She said to Gary's disappointment. The ex pokemon trainer and now researcher still didn't suspect Leaf's crush on Ash. Ash didn't either.
"Alright Grandpa, thanks for everything!" Gary said as they started heading out the door.
"Yeah see ya later professor!" Ash and Leaf both waved as the group made their way out.
'ChuPi!(Bye!)' Pikachu and Mew both chirped.
"Goodbye kids! Be safe!" He warned but the group was already halfway down the steps from the lab.
"So Ash, how's it like having a legendary Pokemon," Gary said, trying to spark up a conversation in order to stop Leaf from her constant stares at Ash. By now even a fool would have realized her obvious infatuation with the dense, oblivious trainer.
"Nice actually, I love talking to Mew she has a really lovable and playful personality!" Ash answered to the apparent shock of the two other trainers.
"You can talk to Mew? Since when?" The two asked, astounded at the fact that their old friend could make direct communication with Legendary Pokemon as well.
"Since Mewtwo helped expand my Aura abilities a while back," He answered proudly. "Now I can understand every argument Pikachu and Mew have about food."
'Pikapi!(Hey we do more than argue about food)' Pikachu protested while Mew, still in her Pichu form, nodded vigorously.
'Pichu,pi!(That's right!)' Pichu added.
Ash rolled his eyes and replied,
"Yeah sure you don't."
"What are they saying?" Gary asked, obviously a bit jealous. The power to communicate with Pokemon was very rare, and many people dreamed of having such capabilities; understanding your Pokemon would make the bond even more closer.
"That they don't argue about food all the time, which is false," Ash answered with a smirk. Pikachu merely stuck his tongue out at Ash and Mew did the same; they quickly began conversing about a different topic.
Leaf smiled, leave it to Ash to be able to have such an ability.
I want to confess to him so bad, Leaf thought glumly as they continued their saunter down Route 1 as Ash was sharing one of his stories with Gary. Leaf couldn't help but admire his handsome and mature, but still Ash-like face, and his really cute smile. Suddenly a bright idea came to her.
Thats it! I'll confess to him then! She thought as she skipped ahead happily like a girl who got her first Pokemon.
"Hey wait up Leaf!" The two boys cried.
As always review! By the way, would you guys prefer Pokemon to talk normally with parentheses as a translation or just the translated part? For example would you rather have:
'Pika(Hi)'
or
'Hi'
Tell me what you think so I can start writing :p