Ash woke up in bed. As his eyes fluttered, he saw Brandon, along with Scott. He thought he saw other figures too. Did he? His vision was foggy and his head felt like a freight train.
"Ash! You're awake!" Scott exclaimed.
"Oh Ash, we were so worried!" A familiar voice rang out.
"Mom?" Ash weakly called out. He tried to sit up but his arms flared in pain. "W-what happened to me?" He croaked out.
"No one knows sweetie, I was called once you were found by Brandon. You're in Viridian City Hospital," Delia said with tears in her eyes.
"My arms…they ache," Ash said to no one in the audience. He tried to sit up but his arms felt horrendously awful. Both were wrapped in gauze as Ash lay in a hospital bed.
All the frontier brains were there, along with Scott and Delia.
"What do you remember?" Lucy spoke up.
Ash tried to remember, "I was in bed…then I heard a voice calling me. I was walking I think? My arms, they hurt."
Brandon stepped forward. "Ash, did you see anyone else?"
"No, it was just me. It was late at night…or early in the morning. Dark."
Brandon spoke again. "Ash, your arms. Have you ever been burned before?"
"By my Charizard yeah," Ash said with a weak smile. The fond memories he had of Charizard being excited or, disobedient let's say, came flooding back.
"But your arms. On your arms? Like this?" Brandon said as he removed the bandages. Ash sucked in sharply as the fresh air hit his arms.
He looked down to see his arms with long blue scorch marks down them. They whipped up to his wrists and looked like blue flames with some swirls.
"How did this happen?" Ash muttered out loud.
"Spenser. That Staff that he used, he gave it to you Ash," Brandon spoke.
"It wields unbelievable power Ash. We never knew the secrets it held, only Spenser did," Greta spoke up from a chair.
Ash said nothing. He could feel them throbbing. Not in pain but something else. He couldn't place his finger on it.
"Can everyone clear the room? We need to talk to Ash for a minute," Scott said. Brandon and Delia were on either side of him. The other frontier brains nodded and left the room.
"Ash, have you heard of aura?" Brandon spoke.
Ash nodded, remembering his time with Riley. "Yes, Riley said I have the aura of Sir Aaron. I thought it didn't mean a whole lot."
Delia smiled. "Honey, it means more than a whole lot. I always knew you had this in you but I had to wait till the time was right. It's how I experienced being an aura user as well."
Ash looked at his mom with wide eyes. "Mom, you can use aura too?" He felt bad for doubting his mom but he never knew it about her. To confirm, with a smile Delia opened her hand and produced a ball of aura in just a few seconds, not breaking a sweat.
"Mom…I got it from you?" Ash said quietly. He looked at his arms and hands. Could be one day wield the power within him?
"Ash, Spenser was also an aura user. It's why his body was marred with those blue markings. That staff he always had helped him to channel his aura and to help connect him with his surroundings. Have you ever seen it glow blue?" Scott asked.
"Every night," Ash said.
Scott and Brandon looked at each other. "Ash, in a few days we'll head back. Get some rest." Brandon spoke before Scott and he left.
Delia gave him a kiss on the forehead, "I love you so much Ash! I just knew you'd end up like me! If you ever need help, call me, okay? I need to head back to Pallet Town but I'm just a call away, okay?"
Ash nodded. He wanted to be alone to process and it seemed his mother knew that. Delia closed the door as she left, leaving Ash to his hospital tomb of thought and process.
After a couple of days at the hospital, Ash returned to the Battle Palace. All of his Pokemon were there to greet him, including the stoic Xatu and lethargic Seviper that were newly added. Ash spent time with each of them, happy to be back among his friends and family. Brandon had marked the rest of the week off so that Ash could further recover.
As he was in his room and laid down on his bed, he could feel the temperature in the room fall.
"Ash," a whispered voice called out. Ash snapped his head up and looked around. He noticed that his vision had a blue tinge to everything. HIs arms burned in those blue whisps that formed.
"Ash my boy, you've returned", a voice spoke out. Ash looked behind him to see the spirit of Spenser. Ash saw that the marks that were once all over Spenser's body were gone as well as the staff his ghost previously held was no longer there.
"Spenser?" Ash said, a little nervous. He wasn't used to seeing ghosts, let alone speaking with one. But in his gut he knew he needed to get used to it and really needed to speak with Spenser.
"Yes Ash, it is me. I see that your aura is manifesting like mine. The Unown are going to be lending you their power. Their markings on me have transferred to you." Spenser's spirit spoke out. Ash looked down at his arms. The scorch marks were glowing blue on his arms. Ash turned his attention back to Spenser.
"I'm not imagining this. This is real, correct?" Ash seeked reassurance.
"Indeed, my spirit is present here just as your body is here. Indeed, my body has passed on but my business is not finished. No, I am here to help you." Spenser said, sagely as he always was.
"Help me with what?" Ash said, but Spenser was gone. Ashe sighed and laid down. He would have to figure this out on his own for the most part. Ash concluded that Spenser would come randomly and not consistently.
"Always up for a challenge, right buddy?" Ash said out loud. Pikachu was asleep, but he liked to believe that his partner could still hear him. Vanillite floated into the room, happy to see Ash even though Vanillite saw him earlier. Ash smiled and picked up the young pokemon.
"Hey buddy, are you doing okay?" Ash asked. His response was an icy wind on his face. Vanillite gave a cheer.
Ash got himself cleaned up and headed outside. It was a warm spring day, something Ash quite enjoyed. His time here at the Battle Palace was pleasant, but he longed for his friends. He was itching for a battle too.
He looked around and viewed his Pokemon. Snorlax and Seviper were taking a nap under a tree, Xatu was perched on the roof just looking as Staraptor and Swellow were soaring, Heracross was sneaking up on Bulbasaur, and Vanillite was still in his arms. Everyone else was off elsewhere.
Ash decided to search for some party members: Quilava, Glalie, Totodile, Purrloin, Pignite, and Krookodile. He had Vanillite with him as well as Pikachu, and he was ready to go into the woods to just explore and meander. He went inside to find Brandon to check in with him and to let him know what he was going to do. Sure he just got out of a hospital, but he felt fantastic and his arms weren't hurting at the moment.
He was pleasantly surprised to see Anabel with Brandon inside.
"Ash! I'm glad to see you're okay," Anabel said when she saw him. She wanted to hug him, but settled for a smile. Ash smiled back.
"Thanks Anabel! I'm surprised to see you here. What brings you around?" Ash asked, a little densely. Brandon spoke up, "We were clearing up some frontier business as we get closer to the battle season begins." Ash tensed up.
That's right. It's March, and the Battle Frontier opens up for battling in June. Time was moving quickly. He was recruited in February, meaning his time with Brandon was about halfway done.
"Ash, I know things are going a little fast for you. But I have taught you well and I would like to believe you've learned well."
Ash nodded in retrospect. Brandon helped to boost Ash's confidence, his mental side to battling. Brandon had been a little hard sometimes, but Ash appreciated it.
"I know you have to be with two Frontier Brains in six months time total, and we've spent a month and a half together, and Anabel is here to ask you something," Brandon said, setting it up for Anabel to take over.
Ash turned toward her. When Brandon was speaking Vanillite made his way to Anabel who was playing with the young one in her arms.
"Well Ash, I know it's up to you to choose your second Frontier Brain, but I would like to be the one to spend time with you to finish up your training." Anabel spoke with a blush on her face.
Ash felt a twinge of something good inside him. He didn't know what it was, but he liked the idea of spending time with Anabel.
"Yes! That sounds awesome to me!" Ash exclaimed with a grin.
Anabel gave a sincere smile. Brandon looked on with a grin. Sure, it was item 10,000 on the to do list but it was done.
"Anabel, do you want to have a battle?" Ash asked hopefully. Anabel gave a more feral grin. "Yes! I have a new Pokemon I would like to train with." Ash was giddy and raced outside. Anabel shook her head with a smile and followed him outside. Brandon decided to do the necessary evil and made his way to an office to work on some paperwork.
Ash stood on one side of a dirt patch and Anabel stood on the other.
"I hope you're ready Ash, I've gotten quite stronger since our last battle!" Anabel said while taking out a Pokeball.
Ash went to withdraw a Pokeball from his belt but another snapped open. Surprisingly, it was Pignite that emerged. He looked determined and ready to battle.
"Wanna battle Pignite?" Ash asked his fire starter.
"Nite!" He gave a nod.
"Alright buddy, let's do this!" Ash said with a fist bump ready to battle. Pignite turned to face Anabel and stamped his foot in the ground.
"Alright, here is my new Pokemon!" Anabel said, revealing her new Pokemon. It emerged, quite tall, with a slender purple skinned body with a black dress style fur pattern running up. Four fan like mendibles stuck out on either side of the head of the psychic type.
"A Gothitelle huh? Where did you catch that one?" Ash asked, his excitement building. A Unova showdown.
"I raised her from an egg I received from Caitlyn, the Psychic type user of the Unova Elite Four. I am very close with her, so don't underestimate us!"
The Gothitelle gave a stern look and raised her arms, ready to begin. "Your move, Ash," Anabel said coyly.
Ash gave a grin, "Pignite go for flamethrower!"
Pignite inhaled and unleashed a stream of white hot fire.
"Gothitelle use Psychic!" Gothitelle's eyes turned blue quickly and split the stream into two, while blasting a pink wave of energy towards Pignite.
"Use Brick Break quickly!" However, he wasn't quick enough and got blasted by the energy. Pignite flew a few feet from where he stood. Ash looked at him worried. Anabel said nothing, she knew what Ash was capable of and knew Pignite wasn't anywhere close to getting defeated.
However, Gothitelle seemed that was enough. With a huff, she turned to look away and move towards Anabel. Pignite stood up, seeing this. Gathering himself and staring right at the Psychic type, Pignite began to glow a bright white.
"He's evolving!" Ash said giddily.
Anabel smiled, and Gothitelle turned around. This battle indeed was turning out to be quite interesting.
Pignite's body grew much larger, flames erupted around his neck as his arms and legs thickened up. Pignite grew significantly taller as well. What stood before them now was an Emboar, ready to defend his own honor and prove himself.
"Alright Emboar, use Fire Pledge!" Emboar smacked a fist into the ground, causing several plumes of fire to shoot up and circle Gothitelle, closing in and causing her to erupt into flames.
"Gothitelle, gather yourself my friend and use Psychic once more!"
Gothitelle steadied herself and sent another wave of psychic energy.
"Deflect with Hammer Arm then use Flamethrower!"
Emboar's arm glowed white as he struck the wave which caused an explosion. After a second of smoke, a blast of fire scored a direct hit on Gothitelle.
"Gothitelle, use Hypnosis then Recover!" Gothitelle's eyes glowed blue and small wave was sent towards Emboar. "Emboar dodge!" Emboar managed to leap out of the way but Gothitelle's body glowed green, recovering lost energy.
"Emboar use Heat Crash!" Ash called out. Emboar's body turned red hot and he dashed towards Gothitelle who couldn't move due to recover.
Emboar's body crashed hard into Gothitelle, inflicting massive damage due to the weight difference between the two.
"Gothitelle, are you okay?" Anabel said worriedly. Gothitelle got up, a little shakily, but shook the damage off and gave a hard look to Emboar.
"I think Gothitelle is taking this seriously now," Ash said with a feral grin which Emboar matched, stomping a foot in the ground ready to continue. He could feel heat rise in his arms on his marks, his vision turning a little blue.
Gothitelle gave a more determined look, setting her arms out to gather more psychic energy. "I agree Ash, this battle really is turning up the heat," Anabel said.
However, an explosion out in the wilderness, black smoke rising got Anabel's attention.
"Ash, do you see that?" She said, pointing to the smoke. Before Ash could speak, an explosion thundered out. Something was happening in the forest surrounding them.
AN: This took a little longer than expected but here it is! Now as I sit here writing this chapter I just learned that in the anime the battle palace is out near the seafoam islands on it's own island. I am not doing that, I am having it located in Viridian Forest in Kanto because of what I want this story to go with. I never knew it was an island, and having it as an island would mean I'd have to totally rework this story. So Viridian Forest it is! But anyhow, I hope to have the next chapter done by sometime in March. Read, review, and enjoy!