Not much to talk about right now, except that their should be a chapter coming out near the end of my Thanksgiving Break. I am happy to see that you guys like my Avatar story so far, and a new chapter should be out during the final few days of December. And if you people want to ask me any questions about the character's or anything that you have for the story, then I'll answer them for you!
The Very Best:
Chapter 13:
Waking Up After The Chaos
Opening (If you really want to): Ready, Steady, Go! (From Fullmetal Alchemist, cover by AmaLee)
Ash could only see darkness around him. No light. No sound. No smell. Nothing was around him except for a weird sense of peace. The boy had been within this empty void for who knows how long, and it just felt so comfortable to him. However, something made him begin to slightly move around and open his eyes.
What the boy first saw was the roof of some kind of room.
Ash slowly sat up, quietly observing his surroundings. He was currently on a decently sized white bed with a thick blanket covering it. He saw that the room was mostly very barren and had a few pieces of furniture here and there, a wooden door off into the corner. Ash was silently wondering where he was, also felling odd about his throat. He also felt his necklace was still there, a sense of relive very briefly went over him.
That is when he remembered what happened on that day with Team Rocket.
The boy's eyes began to look down in anger as emotions were starting to form in his body, his breath still stable. He now perfectly remembered how the Captain chocked him to near death, and how he was unable to do anything to protect his friends. Ash slammed his fist on the bed, recalling how the three Team Rocket members made them look like they were a joke. "Why? Why can't I protect anyone?!"
"It appears that you are finally awake now."
Ash instantly turned his head to see that someone else was in the room that was sitting down, and this man made Ash's eyes go wide.
This person wore a blue suit with orange color around his sleeves and on the chest area. He also wears a dark belt around his waist, some brown boots with orange heels, and a brown cloak, which was red on the inside. His hair was bright red and spiky, his eyes had an orange color to them, and there was a calm expression on his rather plain face.
Ash was absolutely surprised at who he saw was in front of him. In front of the 11 year old was one of them most powerful Pokémon Trainer's within the entire Kanto Region, and was one of the most highest ranking members within the Pokémon League! Not only was he one of the Elite Four, but he was the strongest member of the group! Some people even called him the closet to the Champion title!
"You-Your Lance!"
Everyone was waiting outside of the room that Ash and Lance were currently in.
The entire group was sitting at the chairs outside, all kind if injuries on them. Brock had some bandages wrapped around his stomach that was hidden underneath his shirt and vest. Sakura's body was still quite numb after the whole battle, but she could now move and her glasses were still in good condition. Ryan had back problems and his arm was still in deep pain. Wartortle had a very bruised face, a new claw mark on the back of his shell. The only one that wasn't badly hurt was Misty as she only had a long and slender cut on her forearm.
Also there was the leader of the Squirtle Squad, but she currently wasn't wearing her glasses right now. The leader had been close to Misty ever since the Trainer had protected her from the, resulting in the long cut that was on her forearm now. She had been by her side this entire time as she was actually grateful that this girl actually protected her, surprised that a Trainer would actually do that for someone like her.
"Do you think that Ash is awake by now?" Ryan suddenly asked in a concerned way.
Misty let out a sigh after hearing the boy's concern, even though she was probably more worried for Ash then anyone else in the group. "We have to wait until Lance comes out before we can check on him."
"Wartortle." The Pokémon managed to say with his still bruised face.
"What I can't believe is that an Elite Four member was needed for something like this." Brock told the group as he looked down at the ground. He knew that those Team Rocket member's were a threat, but were they really that powerful?
"I wonder how Ash is going to react to this when he wakes up." Sakura said as she held up a newspaper in her hand, her face and voice still stoic as ever.
Suddenly, the door right by them opened up. The group quickly began to gather around the open door, watching as Lance left the room. They all saw that their was something moving behind the Elite Four member, and who they saw made everyone, besides Sakura, have their breath freeze in their lungs.
"ASH!"
Ash was s instantly hugged by both Misty and Wartortle, the 11 year didn't even fully make it into the hallway. Ash looked down to see the very relived and worried faces of both of his best friend's, something that made the boy show concern for them. Ash quickly wrapped his hand tightly around the two of them, leaning his head deep into the embrace.
Eventually, Ash had to leave their embrace so that he could look at them. The Trainer instantly noticed his Pokémon's bruised face and the cut on Misty. Ash was silently angry on the inside. "What happened to you two?"
"Just some damage we got along the way." Misty told Ash like it was nothing at all. "We'll be fine."
"Wartortle!" The Pokémon gave a thumb's up to his Trainer, being held in the two arms of Ash.
Ash saw that everyone else had some kind of injury from the encounter, but they were still focusing on the leader of their group. Ash was silently cursing himself as he held Wartortle tightly, looking down at the group. He was stupid enough to get involved in Team Rocket, and that resulted in all of his friend's getting harmed in so way. So far, he has been doing a terrible job of protecting anything!
Brock took a step forward, not even caring about the pain his chest. "Are you alright, Ash?"
"I'm alright." Ash then looked up to face Lance. "Was I really unconscious for two full days?"
"You were." Lance simply responded. "But you should've seen how your friend's reaction when they saw you in that state. They didn't sleep for an entire night because they were so worried about you."
"I can absolutely guaranteed that." Sakura added in a calm way.
Ash looked at his group with a calm expression. "Guys. I'm so sor-"
"ASH!"
Before the boy could finish his sentence, someone had knocked him to the ground. This made Ash accidently drop Wartortle, but the Pokémon was simply able to land on his feet. Ash saw that the person was hugging him very tightly around the chest area and the boy looked down to see who just did this. And he not only recognize the girl that grabbed him, but the boy that was looking down at him with a smile.
"You need any help there?" Red somewhat jokingly told his friend as he looked down.
It was both Red and Green, along with Pikachu and Charmeleon also by their Trainer's.
"Red! Green!" Ash yelled out in genuine excitement, struggling under the tight grip of his friend Green. He somehow managed to push himself up and gently push Green back, but the girl didn't want to move. "Please, Green. I just want to speak to Red."
"No! I don't want you to get hurt again!" Green told him in a very child-like way, still holding onto her friend.
Ash let out a small sigh as he began to pry off each of Green's fingers off of him, even Wartortle and Charmeleon decided to help him out. It took a good ten seconds before the joyful girl was removed from Ash, allowing the 11 year to finally interact with Red.
"Hey, man." Ash gave a quick fist bump to his friend, knowing that they haven't seen each other since Viridian City. "I guess your done with rebuilding that Pokémon Center back in Viridian."
"It's done, but I was expecting it to take longer to rebuild." Red told in a somewhat disappointed way. "At least me and my Pokémon got some good training out of it."
"You must be quite strong now." Ash told him with his arms crossed.
"I could say the same thing about you. You've been doing some pretty interesting stuff since we last met." Red commented in a now calm way as he looked at Ash. "Your actions are something that the entire Region has now heard about."
"Pikachu." The Electric type actually agreed with his Trainer.
Ash was confused by this statement. "Wait. What do you mean?"
"Well, your encou-"
"Sir." All of a sudden, someone came up to Lance knelled down to him. "We are ready to depart from here."
"Thank you, General." Lance said in a honorable way as he gave a small bow to the person. Ash took a few step forward to see who this was.
Speaking to the Elite Four member was a 16 year old with black hair and eyes that were the same color as the sky. He was quite tall and muscular for his age, his skin was quite tan as well. He was wearing dark gray pants, black shoes, and a dark gray military jacket with yellow tassels on his strong shoulders. A blue cape on him that possessed the symbol of a triangle that was divided into three. Ash couldn't believe who he saw, and how different he now looked.
This was someone that Ash he had not seen in years.
"Goh?"
The General looked up at Ash after his name was called. "I apologize. But have we met before?"
"You many not remember me, but we were raised in the same place." Ash told him as he walked up to him. "My mom was the one who made you that big cake when you left Pallet Town at 13 years old."
Goh tried to recall that memory from three full years ago. Eventually, a genuine smile grew on his face. "I knew that the name Ash Ketchum sounded familiar to me, but I couldn't recall where I heard it."
Ash gave a small chuckle as he raised he raised his hand for a high five. "Don't leave me hanging." To Lance's surprise, Goh actually returned the gesture to the 11 year old.
"Wait. Your friend with one of the Three Generals, Ash?" Brock asked in complete shock as the group couldn't believe that Ash knew one of the more powerful Pokémon Trainers in the Region, even Red and Sakura had their eyes widened.
"Well, I wouldn't call us friend's." Goh instantly answered as he faced them. "But I guess you can call us acquaintance's."
"He's from Pallet Town, and I never would have guessed that he is actually one of the Three Generals!" Ash said in excitement as he pointed at Goh, a smile on his usually relaxed face.
"I'm happy for your reunion, but Goh has important matters to do for me." Lance told the pair in a polite way, looking at his General. "Please make sure that Dragonite knows that I will be here for at least an extra hour. And while your outside, please inform the officers here that we will take over the investigation from now on."
"Yes sir." Goh told him as he saluted his superior, silently waving at Ash and friends as he walked away from them.
Even though the boy was curious about what was going on with the Elite Four member and the General, he remembered what his friend was going to say to him. "Hey, Red. What were trying to tell me?"
"I believe he was talking about this." Sakura walked up to Ash and handed him a newspaper. The boy grabbed the newspaper in confusion, silently wondering what the girl was trying to show him. He held up the paper with both of his hands.
What Ash saw made him freeze completely.
On the entire front page was the story about what happened in Mitis Town. It talked about how a group of kids tried to face off against a Team Rocket attack and how they all almost died from this. Ash noticed how the Newspaper was actually talking about him the most, and how he tried to defend against the Team Rocket members. Ash was absolutely shocked by all this!
Along with all the paragraphs that were describing the entire story, there was also a picture in the center of it. The picture showed the Team Rocket Captain choking Ash as the unmoving bodies of Brock, Ryan, and Sakura in there as well. You can now see just how much destruction that the three Team Rocket members were able to easily make. Ash's breathing became a bit unstable after seeing that picture.
Finally, there was lovely heading that summed up the entire attack.
"TEN YEAR OLD BOY TRIES TO FIGHT AGAINST TEAM ROCKET IN MITIS TOWN! ALMOST DIES AS A RESULT!"
"Of course they would get my age wrong." Ash silently thought to himself with a sweat drop. "When was this published?" Ash quickly asked as he faced Lance.
"about a few hours ago." The Elite Four member told as he looked at Ash, who nodded after hearing this. The 11 year old couldn't believe that the attack that he was just in would actually make the front page, and that it decided to focus on him and his friends. His name and actions would be something that just about everyone in the Region will know about.
And everyone that Ash had meet had already seen this newspaper.
Delia was silently letting out some tears as she was sitting at a table with Oak and Seymour, the tears falling towards the newspaper. She had just read the paper and she was downright depressed by this, blaming herself for letting something like this happen. Oak could sympathize with the poor mother, since he also had a daughter as well.
Seymour decided to hand her napkin to wipe away the tears. "It's okay. The report says that he and the others are still alive."
"I know." The woman managed to say as she was wiping away her tears. "I'm just so scared for him."
"Let's be honest, Ash would've never fallen to something like this." Oak attempted to add some kind of humor to help Delia, but it didn't work at all.
"I-I just wish I could help right now!" Delia yelled out as she used the napkin to blow her nose, quickly throwing it away.
Oak let out a sigh as she gently touched Delia's hand. "Don't worry. I'll see what I can do for him."
Delia nodded as she tried to keep the sadness away. "I would apprechiate that."
Seymour suddenly cleared his throat to get their attention. "I'll make some tea for you two." The assistant then walked off to go help the pair.
"Your lucky that you have someone like him with you." Delia managed to comment on as the tears were starting to go away.
Oak gave a small smirk. "I'm grateful that I have someone like him with me."
"Hey, Daisy!"'
One of the Gym Leaders of Cerulean looked up to see that her sister, Violet, was currently at the doorway to her room. A newspaper in her hand. "What is it? Can't you see that I'm writing something?"
"You need to look at the paper! Something bad has happened!" Violet slammed the paper on the desk that Daisy was currently sitting out, fear present on the blue haired girl's face. Daisy rolled her eyes as she took the paper, not really expecting anything that special.
Daisy was in a state of shock as she read the head line of the paper, also seeing the great picture that someone took of the incident. She couldn't believe that someone would even attempt to defeat a Team Rocket Captain all by themselves. The Gym Leaders knew that this kid wasn't that smart, but what he had just done was actually idiotic.
Violet decided to finally say something. "That Ash kid. You know that Misty is still traveling with him, right?"
"I know that." Daisy instantly told her, trying to keep a level-headed expression. "Have you told Lily about this?"
"No. I knew that this is something that you should see first." Daisy nodded after hearing that sentence.
"Go tell our other sister. I'll see if I can contact the Pokémon League for more information." Daisy got up to go walk outside, leaving behind her notes.
Violet gave a small nod at this request. "I'll tell her." She then began to run, paper still clutched in her hand.
"Why would a Captain harm a place like Mitis Town?" Daisy silently thought to herself as she watched Violet run off to go warn their other sister.
"How could someone defeat big bro Brock?!" All of Brock's little sibling's were absolutely enraged by the paper and sad that they couldn't protect family, some even shedding tears. The only people that were trying to remain calm were Flint and the second oldest sibling of the family, Forrest. But even then, the pair were still shocked on the inside.
"Everyone, calm down." Forrest yelled out, making everyone turning to him. Forrest was a twelve year old boy that looked very similar to a younger Brock, even having his closed eyes. He was wearing black shorts and black T-shirt, and was very tall compared to his smaller siblings. "It never said that Brock had died during th-"
"But he was hurt!"
"We can't let anything even remotely harm him!" The younger siblings instantly yelled before Forrest was allowed to finish his sentence. Most of the younger siblings were starting to get riled up again, Forrest giving a sweat drop as his speech was completely interrupted. All of a sudden, Flint stood up as he saw his family lose their emotions. The father then slammed the wall as hard as he could.
Not only did this shut everyone up, but there was now small cracks on the wall!
"Listen to me." Flint began to tell his family as he was still standing up. "Even if Brock did get harmed during the attack, do you think that sitting here and fighting over it is going to change anything? Do you think that this something that Brock would want you to do?"
"We need to stay strong for our Brock, just like how he remained strong for us!" Forrest told the family as he bumped his fist up into the air.
"YYEEESS!"
All of the little Sibling cheered, raising their fist up as well.
"Can I please have 4 Cinnamon Rolls, please?" Giselle asked the young bakery owner as the sun was high up, the once school girl now in much more normal cloths.
The still pretty girl was currently out with her boyfriend, Joe, so that they could get some delicious pastries from one of the better restaurant in Celadon City. Joe was just looking around and standing by the wall in now normal cloths as well, not really focusing on anything. The boy then saw a container for the newest newspaper right next to him, something that he would've just skipped.
But the heading was something that made his eye's widened.
Joe grabbed the paper the paper to see what this was about, and the entire front page had told the boy everything that he needed to know. He was shocked that Ash had this happen to him and how he tried to protect Mitis Town.
"Joe! I got the Cinnamon Rolls." Giselle told her boyfriend as she was currently biting into one. Joe didn't turn to face her. "Joe?"
Joe silently handed her the newspaper without saying a single word. Giselle glanced at the front page for a few seconds and was shocked at what she saw. The poor girl was so surprised by this that the Cinnamon Roll in her hand had slowly fallen out of her grip.
The Cinnamon Roll fell to the hard ground.
In a forest that was a few hours away from Vermillion was a boy sitting on a rather flat rock, an Ivysaur right by him. The brown haired boy was looking at the newspaper that was talking about what happened with Ash, the Trainer silently shaking in anger. He then crumpled the piece of paper as hard as he could, absolutely furious at what he had just seen.
"That weak bastard." The now 11 year Gary Oak thought to himself as he discarded the newspaper to the ground, not even caring that he almost hit his Ivysaur. "Does he think that he can just steal the spotlight from me?! The grandson of Professor Oak!"
"Ivysaur." The grass type said as it was concerned for her Trainer. Suddenly, Gary began to walk away from the rock that he wasting on.
"Ivysaur, come with me." Gary instantly told her in a serious way. "We need to go do some more training."
"I-I just don't know what to say."
Ash was sitting on one of the chairs as everyone felt concerned for him, a newspaper still in his hand. Misty and Wartortle were right by Ash, but Green was holding onto him with all of her strength. Lance glanced at the group with some pity, understanding that they were just trying to do the right thing.
"You really are lucky that man didn't kill when he had the chance." Red told his friend as he stood right by him. "Not even the police here could've done anything for you."
"We just didn't think those people would've been so strong." Brock answered for his friend as he faced Red. "Every time we have encountered Team Rocket, it's rather easy to actually beat them."
"You don't seem to realize how strong those people really are. They aren't just some simple grunts that you can find stealing from stores." Lance told them as he looked at them without any emotion on his face.
Misty then stood up to face the tall Elite Four member. "How strong could the be?"
"According to Ash, those three members were apparently holding back by only brining a single Pokémon with them. Considering all the damage that they were able to make, they are easily stronger than the first four Gym Leaders of the Region." Everyone was surprised by this, but Lance kept on going. "It seems like Team Rocket only send members this strong when there after something of true importance. And there is a good reason why that masked man was called Captain in the first place."
Everyone was listening very closely to what Lance was about to say next, knowing that it would be serious based on the expression on his face. The Elite Four member was silently wondering if she should do this, but he decided to just come clean to the kids. They deserved to know.
"A Team Rocket Captain is considered to be an Elite Four level threat."
This simple sentence made everyone freeze up in fear.
Any kind of emotions that they were feeling prior to that statement had disappeared in the blink of an eye. Ash couldn't believe that he had forced himself and his friend's to actually go against someone like this. No one in that room, besides Sakura, could comprehend a Team Rocket member actually standing toe to toe against an Elite Four member. They were all so stunned by this sentence that they forget to breath for a second.
"As far as we know, there are now three people that are considered to be Team Rocket Captain's. But it's very likely that there may be more individuals that hold that title within that organization." Lance continued to say as everyone was still in absolute shock. "Along with this, Team Rocket Lieutenants are also considered to be a high Gym Leader level threat."
"W-Wh-Why would th-they bring peopl-le like that here?" Brock managed to say as he was physically shaking.
"I believe you should know since you were heavily involved in this." Lance then faced away from them as he began to walk away from them. "If you desire to know what happened here, then come with me so that you may see for yourself."
Everyone stood up at this proposal. Ash's group wanted to know why people like that decided to attack a town this weak and small, while Red and Green just wanted to know what had happened here. Lance stopped moving to look at them.
"However, I want you to promise me that you will not tell anyone about this. I don't want anyone else to be harmed by this information." The Elite Four member added, no sense of emotion in his voice.
"We promise." Ash told the Elite Four member in a surprisingly serious way, because Ash took promises very seriously. Lance firmly nodded in response. While this was happening, Sakura began to walk away from the group. something that Red noticed.
The quiet boy faced the quiet girl as the group began to walk away. "Where are you going?" He asked in a relaxed way.
"I just want to go and take a walk." She responded in an emotionless way.
"Could I join you?"
Sakura turned around to see who asked that question, and was silently surprised that Ryan was the one who asked that. The rest of the group and Lance had already stopped to see what was going on with the pink haired girl. Sakura stared at the boy with a attentive look in her eyes, curious on what Ryan was doing.
"Fine." Was the only answer Sakura gave as she began to walk away again. "But don't annoy me the whole way."
Ryan quickly walked up right next to the twelve year old, trying to keep his distance as to not bother her. Everyone decided to leave those two alone and continue on with Lance, it was clear that they had no interest in wanting to learn the truth. Ash, while holding onto the bruised Wartortle, was starting to imagine what could've been so special that an Elite Four level opponent was sent to retrieve it. He wanted to see the thing that the store owner had told him days ago.
Everyone in that group wanted to know what had happened here.
"So, any reason as to why you decided to come out he-"
"I thought I told you not to annoy me." Sakura cut Ryan off in her usual calm way, making the boy be silent as they were walking.
They continued to silently walk until they reached a small pond that didn't appear to have any Pokémon in it, various plants in the water and by the shore. Sakura sat down on the someone steep ground and took a large book out of her personal book, adjusting her glasses as she began to resume her page. Ryan decide to just sit by her because he had nothing else to do.
The two just remained silent as they were right by the small pond, neither of them looking at each other. While Sakura was enjoying the quite scene as she read her 1000 page book, Ryan obviously had something on his mind. He wanted to ask something to the girl right next to him, but he knew that it would not be the best option to do that. But his desire to understand had gotten the better of him.
Ryan eventually build enough courage to ask something.
"Sakura, Can you answer something for me?"
The girl didn't look away from her book as Ryan said this. "What do you want to know?" She didn't even try to hide her annoyence.
"Could you tell me who the Three Generals are?" Ryan asked her in an unsure way, not wanting to piss the girl off. "I've never heard anything about them before."
Sakura actually looked up from the large book she was just reading to look at Ryan, an unreadable expression on her face. She wasn't sure if she should just tell him the answer, or call him an idiot for not knowing something like this. However, she realized that the boy just wanted to know about this group to satisfy his curiosity. something that Sakura could relate to.
"As you know, the Pokémon League has the Elite Four and Champion with them." She finally began to explain to her companion, not trying to show any emotion. "The Elite Four and Champion are usually the one to handle the politics and economics of any Region, and they are the one that personally decide who becomes Gym Leaders and who can become an agent within them."
Ryan nodded at this, already knowing most of this thanks to Brock and Misty.
"However, the Three Generals focus on the different part of the Pokémon League. They are the one's in charge of the military of the League, having even control over the armies there." Sakura explained as Ryan was taking in all of this knowledge. "The Three Generals are only allowed to take orders from the Elite Four and Champion. They are also in charge of the spies of the Pokémon League, people who are usually sent out for information gathering and assassinations. You got all that?"
"I understand." Ryan responded as he decided to ask one more question. "How do you know all this though?"
"Do I have to remind you that I was considered a prodigy when I was at my school?" She asked in return, practically answering the boy's question.
"Alright. But can I ask you one last question?"
Sakura groaned to herself in her mind, obviously not wanting to do this. "As long as this is your last question, I could care less."
"Why are you always so quiet with us?"
Sakura was a bit surprised by this question, since she thought that Ryan was going to ask another stupid question. Even though she was annoyed by Ryan's questions, she actually wasn't sure what to say here. "Why do you care to know?"
Ryan faced her as he began to talk. "Well, your always just so distant from everyone and never wanting to interact much."
"I just like being alone." Was the simple response that Sakura gave.
"But we're your friends. We allowed you to join us so that you could become stronger and explore this Region with us." Ryan told her like it was a pure fact, which it was. "Why can't you just be more open?"
Sakura let out a sigh as she finally placed her book down. "I just don't want to bother you guys with my life, that's all. I'd rather not tell you anything about myself, just in case you might use that against me."
Ryan was a bit taken aback by this answer. "Do you really think we are going to that to you?"
"I wish that I could say no, but it's always a strong possibility."
"How about I swear it to you?" Ryan asked Sakura, making the girl stop from picking up her book. "Let me swear my loyalty to you so that you can see that we truly care about you."
"And why should I agree to this?" Sakura asked in a still calm way.
"Because I consider you to be my best friend!"
Ryan instantly froze up after he realized what he just said, a hand over his mouth. Sakura was quite shocked by this, her eyes widened after hearing that. The poor boy was so scared that he had just said the wrong thing to her and that Sakura may not even try to care about him anymore. Ryan looked at her in such an embarrassed way as he very slowly stood up, quickly turning his head away from her.
"I-I have to go." Sakura watched as Ryan ran away from her as fast as his legs could take him.
The girl was still surprised that anyone would say that to her. She never expected anyone to consider her a friend because she thought that no would care about her, but Ryan quickly disproved that thought. She wasn't sure how to react to this, but she knew that being calm was not the right answer. She looked at the direction that Ryan off to.
A genuine, small smile was on her usually emotionless face.
"So, what do you think it might be?" Green asked her two best friend's as she followed Lance with her Charmeleon.
"I bet it's going to be something cute that you could hug to death." Red told her in a joking manner, Pikachu sitting quite comfortably on his shoulder.
Green's eyes turned into stars at this idea. "That better be true." Ash, Red, Pikachu, Charmeleon, and Wartortle couldn't stop themselves from chuckling at the child like personality that Green had.
The group were walking through the town like it was nothing, and everyone stopped to look at the Elite Four member in absolute praise and wonder. The group was able to see the exact place where the three Team Rocket members attacked, a large black crater still remained there. Ash began to get some bad memories from that, but Red was able to put his hand on his shoulder.
"I almost forgot. Happy late birthday." He told the 11 year old with genuine kindness. "Me and Pikachu are proud that you finally became 11."
"Pikachu!" The Pokémon agreed from his Trainer's shoulder.
"OH! Happy late birthday!" Green quickly said as well.
"Thank so much. And happy early birthday for you, Red." Ash told them in a grateful way as he smiled back. "It's a shame that I won't be there for your birthday next mouth."
"It's fine. I always Pikachu and my other Pokémon to celebrate with." Red told with a dismissive wave, gently petting Pikachu on the head.
"We are here." Everyone faced forward when the heard Lance speak. They all looked ahead to see what the Elite Four member wanted to show them.
Everyone became still and their breath was taken out of their lungs at what they saw. They all knew that it wasn't going to be good, but none of them could've ever guessed that it was this bad. Both Brock and Red weren't able to comprehend this scene, while all the Pokémon were actually scared right now. Green's usually childish nature had downright disappeard, and Ash just had no idea what he could say right now.
What they saw made the destruction from Team Rocket looked pitiful by comparison.
Everyone was just left speechless at the sight they saw.
"This is what happened on a quiet night here." Lance said as he presented the scene in full view of the group.
In front of them was a large field of pure ice and frost that stretched over for miles and miles. The once great plants that stood here were now dying underneath the extremely cold surface, and all the Pokémon that were here before were forced to flee or died from the all the ice. No one knew what to say or how to react, it's as if they forgotten what words were. Ash knew that certain Pokémon moves could've caused this kind of damage, but he had never heard of a powerful Ice type move that could've done this.
All of a sudden, Green and her Charmeleon began to walk up to the ice in a still surprised state. Ash and Red quickly saw this and ran after her while Misty quickly followed her best friend, leaving behind Lance and Brock. Green went there to examine this ice to see how it could not be melting yet, and why it was so strong in the first place. Not even the strong Ember attack from Charmeleon was affecting the ice in any way.
"W-When did this happen?" Brock asked as he was frozen in fear.
"About 1 full week ago, and the ice still has no signs of melting." Lance told with closed eyes, clearly saddened at seeing this image in front of him. "It seems very unlikely that Team Rocket committed this. They only just recently attacked this town two whole days ago, and it wouldn't make logical sense for them to attack the same location two separate times in such a short period of time."
"No normal Ice type Pokémon or Ice type move could've caused this." Red commented as he felt the frozen tree with his hand, surprised that it was still even remotely cold after all this time.
Misty had her eyes widened as she saw a poor Caterpie completely trapped within the Ice. "If this wasn't Team Rocket's doing, then what did this?"
"According to the people here, none of them saw what did this or how they did it." Lance explained as he looked at the frozen wasteland with content. "This event seems to be the reason as to why Team Rocket decided to attack this place with such powerful members."
"I remember that they said something about retrieving some kind of item." Ash spoke up, making Lance face him. "I know that they got it from this place, but I have no idea what it was."
"Wartortle?" The Pokémon asked in a surprised way.
"I know exactly what you are saying, but I'm not allowed to reveal any more information on the case. To be honest, I really shouldn't be showing you this." Lance explained as he signaled to the ice near them.
"We understand." Brock told the Elite Four member with a sure look on his face. "You don't have to worry, sir. We promise to keep this information to ourselves."
"HELP! MY TONUGE IS STUCK!"
The two older boys turned around to see that Green had her tongue stuck to a frozen tree that was near them. The poor girl had her Charmeleon tried to melt the ice while Ash and Red instantly came over to help her. Misty was just staring at the scene because she had no idea how to react to this. Lance then looked at the embarrassed Brock with a very plain look on his face.
"I'm quite sure this information is safe with you." Lance told in a very unimpressed way, making the former Gym Leader sweat drop. Both Red and Ash trying to help Green out in the background.
"We must be on our way now, but we'll leave some of our agents to notify us if another attack happens." Lance told Officer Jenny "Just make sure that you and the other Officer's continue doing their job."
"Yes sir." Jenny told the Elite Four member in a serious way, the girl now possessing some bandages wrapped around her arms. Jenny then walked to way to go ride off on her motorcycle.
"I was wondering when you were going to come back, Lance." Goh told in a joyful way as he was on top of his Pokémon.
"I apologize for keeping you waiting." The Elite Four member went up to his Pokémon, giving her a genuine smile. "Were you okay without me, girl?"
"Dragonnite." The Dragon type told in a friendly way. Dragonite was a large, orange, bipedal dragon with two turquoise wings on its back. Dragonite largely resembles a Charizard, even having the same orange coloring and blue underside on the wings. She was also quite round, and had a quite a friendly appearance.
Goh's Pokémon was one of the most powerful Flying types in the Region, and was the final stage of the Pidgey line. Pidgeot resembles a large, feathery bird with huge wings. It has a brightly colored crest and tail. Despite looking very similar to his previous evolution, it was much more bigger and it's feather's were much more longer then Pidgeotto's.
Lance quickly got onto Dragonite and secured himself to her. Both of the Flying types knew that they were ready for take off, and they began to look dead ahead. However, someone's voice made them stop and forced the two rider's to to face the direction the voice came from.
"Wait!"
Lance and Goh were surprised to see that it was Ash that was running up to them. The 11 year old came up to them and slowed down as he was slightly panting, Wartortle somehow right behind his Trainer. Goh looked at the boy with intrigue but didn't say anything. "Why did you come to us?"
"I ne-need to know one l-last thing before you leave." Ash managed to say through his short and rapid breath.
Lance knew that he had to return to base soon, but he decided to at least hear the boy's question. "What did you want to ask?"
"I need you to tell me how you got your Dragonite."
Lance looked at the boy in a surprised, but still composed way. "Why do you want to know?"
"I need a Pokémon like that so that I can actually protect everyone! So that I can stop people like Team Rocket!" Ash yelled out in a determined way, no hesantaion in his voice. "I knew that I wasn't that strong, but those people made me realize just how inferior I am to everyone. How can I protect anything when I'm this weak?!"
Goh looked at the boy with a bit of surprise, not expect thin kind of determination. Wartortle knew that Ash was going to be like this, but this yelling made Pidgeot actually pay attention to the brat. Lance just remained calm as Ash continue to speak.
"I want to protect everyone in this Region. I want to become the next Champion of this Region!" Ash continued with pure emotion in his voice. "If I can't even protect a single friend, then how can I call myself a Pokémon Trainer?! I want to safe everything, even if I did as a result! I will everything close to me!" Ash yelled out as he looked down down, a single tear going down his usually happy face. "So just tell me where I can find one. Please."
Even though Lance didn't alter his calm face, the Elite Four member couldn't help but feel bad for the 11 year old. He knew how this boy was feeling when he was talking about protecting everything. Lance could just sense the fact that this boy only had good intention in his heart, and he didn't seem like the kind of person to do something in a selfish way.
"I obtained my Dratini from my Mother when I was 10 years old, making her my very first Pokémon." Lance began to tell Ash, making the boy slowly look up at him. "All Dratinis can be found with a large body of water, but they are some of the most rarest Pokémon within the entire Region. There are ways to buy and trade for a Dratini, but you don't seem like the kind of person to do something like that." Lance then looked down at the boy. "Does that answer your question?"
Ash quickly wiped away his tear before he looked up. "It does. Thank you."
Lance nodded after hearing this and faced away from Ash and Wartortle. "We must leave now."
"Hey, Ash." Goh called out as he look at the boy and his Wartortle. "Come here."
Ash didn't say anything as he and Wartortle came up to Goh, wondering what the General wanted them for. Wartortle saw that Pidgeot was glaring at the Water type with anger, making Wartortle glare back as well. Ash stood right by Goh as he looked up at the 16 year old, still a confused look on his face.
Suddenly, Goh let out his arm for a fist bump.
"You better become Champion, alright?" Goh asked in a serious way, Ash just gave a bright smile as he returned to fist bump.
"I promise that I'll be Champion!" Ash said with complete certainty.
Goh smiled as he faced away from Ash to look in the same direction that Pidgeot was looking in. "Until next time, Ash."
"Pidgeot!"
"Dragonite."
In a matter of seconds, the two powerful Pokémon began to run forward while their Trainer's were still on their back. It didn't take either of the Pokémon look before they began to use their wings to slowly go up into the air, making them be off the ground now. They were quite fast for their large size and they made it out of the boundaries of Mitis Town in less than 10 seconds. Since Ash couldn't see them since they were so far away, he wasn't able to notice that Goh was waving at him goodbye.
"Why is that boy just like him?" Lance silently though to himself as he and Goh flew off on their Pokémon. Ash and Wartortle silently watched as the two powerful Trainer's left them behind for good.
"Ash! There you are!'
The duo turned around to see that both Green and Red were running up to them. "Why did you run off like that?" Red asked in genuine concern as they stopped right by Ash.
"Sorry. I just needed to tell Lance goodbye." Ash simply explained as he held onto Wartortle.
"OH MAN! I didn't get to say goodbye to him!" Green, tounge now unstuck from the ice, said in a very childish way. Charmeleon just gently patted her Trainer's leg to somewhat ease the girl's sadness.
Red sighed, also disappointed that he couldn't say his farewell to the Elite Four member or the General. "Well, there is something that we should tell you. We ar-"
"We-re going to be with you until your alright, Ash!" Green told the boy in a now energetic way. Even both Pikachu and Charmeleon gave a thumb's up to Ash, something that the still bruised Wartortle wasn't expecting out of the two.
Instead of being happy or shocked at this news, Ash just looked at them in an impartial way. "I really appreciate that offer," Ash began in a kind way. "But I don't want you to follow me for now."
Red and Green were quite confused by this, because they knew how much Ash cared about them. "Why don't you want us to accompany you? At least let us join you until Vermillion."
"I don't want to distract you from your own journeys. I'm also not going directly to Vermillion City after this anymore." Ash explained.
"But why?" Green instantly asked her friend. "Don't you want to continue your quest for the badges?"
"I do. But I also want to be stronger for everyone." Ash told them in a serious way. "I need to safe everyone from being harmed, and I would never forgive myself if you got hurt as well."
"Do you think that we'll get hurt because of you? We're friends, which means we support each other no matter what!" Green told in him in a very determined way.
"So then support this choice then." Ash finally told them, trying to not to be mad at them as he faced them. "Just continue on with your own journeys, and don't worry about me. I'll be okay."
Ash reassured them as he put on a fake smile on his face, something that both Green and Red instantly caught. Neither of them wanted to let Ash go alone with his small group, scared that they wouldn't be enough to help out the 11 year old. But it seemed like Ash knew what he wanted and wasn't going to take no for an answer. And they knew that Ash was already pretty strong on his own.
"You've always been so stubborn like this, Ash." Red told him as he looked at him in the eyes.
"I know." Ash admitted with a small smile. Green then wrapped her hands around Ash and squeezed tightly, a single tear going down her face.
"I'm don't want to let you go!"
Ash gently placed a comforting hand on the to of Green's hand. "You shouldn't worry about me, because I'll be fine." He said in a soft way.
"You better not get hurt while we're away, okay?!" Green demanded from her friend.
"Okay." Ash simply answered, Green finally letting go of him. Wartortle also waved goodbye to both Charmeleon and Pikachu, who also said goodbye to the bruised up Pokémon.
"We hope to see you see you soon, Ash." Red told in his now usual calm way as he and Green looked at their friend as they knew that they wouldn't meet each other in person for a while.
"I'll always remember you guys." Ash told them in a very sincere way, watching as the two waved goodbye before turning away from him.
Ash silently looked on as Red, Green, Charmeleon, and Pikachu all left him and Wartortle behind. Even though Ash wanted to have Red and Green with him, he knew that they should focus on their own journeys instead of him or his group. He didn't want to drag them down by his weakness. Ash and Wartortle began to slowly walk away from the spot that they have been on as they talked with Red and Green.
Giving one last look to the people that he had known since Pallet Town.
Every other member of the group were waiting for Ash and Wartortle by the exit of Mitis Town. Ash had told them earlier to wait here while he went off to do his thing for a few minutes. The sun was still high up in the air as it had now become the afternoon, and the summer heat was starting to show itself as well.
During this time, neither Sakura and Ryan interacted with each other since that whole thing by the pond. Ryan was still so uncomfortable after what he had told Sakura while she was still thinking about what Ryan had said to her, wondering if he was actually be true about it.
Suddenly, Sakura walked up to Ryan. "Hey, are y-"
"I apologize for saying that earlier." Ryan instantly told the girl as he cut off her sentence. "I was just being foolish back then."
"Well, I think otherwise. But I'm not that mad at you for calling me your friend."
Ryan looked at her and gasped. "You actually mean that?" Sakura just gave a nod at this question.
"How about this. You are going to the second person that I consider a friend, okay?" Sakura told the boy in actually gentle tone of voice.
"I'll accept it." Ryan told her in a kind way, both of them giving a small smile to each other.
"Ash." Everyone turned after they heard Misty say that, seeing that Ash and Wartortle were walking up to them.
"What do you want us to do now, leader?" Brock said in a rather humorous way. "Do you still want to go to Vermi-"
"We aren't going to Vermillion anymore." Ash interrupted in a calm way, holding onto the star necklace still around his neck. This made everyone's eyes widen their surprise.
"Wait. Why?" Ryan instantly asked as he was confused by this decision. "We have already traveled so far at this point."
"We need to start doing some intense training before we can go to Vermillion." Ash explained in a kind way to his friend. "We have to make sure that we're strong enough for any surprises that the rest of this journey may throw at us."
Brock raised his eyebrow at Ash. "And when are you going to decide to continue on the path?"
"When I think we're ready." Was the simple answer that Ash gave to the former Gym Leader.
"I guess you made up your mind about this." Misty responded with a small sigh. "Well, we are going to someone else be with us from now on." Misty told Ash with her arms crossed, making the boy perk up as he faced her.
"What do you mean?" Ash asked in curiosity.
"What I mean that is I now have the former leader of the Squirtle Squad with me."
Ash and Wartortle were quickly caught off guard by this revelation. "Wait. When did this happen?" Ash honestly forgot about the Squirtle Squad for the entire day.
"Wartortle?" The Pokémon asked as well. Misty just gave a small smirk as she she took out a Great Ball from her pocket.
"I rescued the Squirtle back when the Lieutenant attacked us at the Police Station, and she hasn't left my side since then." Misty explained as she look at the Great Ball in her hand. "We had gotten to know each other that she actually wanted to join my team, leaving behind her position as the Squirtle Squad leader. I never would've guessed that Squirtle would willing join my team like that."
"I'm proud of you, Misty." Ash said in an impressed way. "I wonder how she'll get along with my Wartortle."
"Wartortle." Is all the Water type said in response.
"So, we really aren't going to Vermillion anymore." Sakura commented in her usual stoic way, making Ash look at her.
"Yes. We can start our training tomorrow." Ash explained as he faced everyone in front of him. "I just want us to become stronger, alright."
"We understand." Brock and Misty assured him as everyone else was ready to follow Ash to wherever he may go.
Ash gave a small smile as he faced the path ahead. "Let's go!"
And just like that, the group had now finally left Mitis Town behind them once and for all. Ash and co were no longer going directly to Vermillion anymore, but they were going to train after the personal hell that they all just recently experienced. Ash wanted to make sure that everyone he knew can protect himself from people like Team Rocket, that he could protect them from Team Rocket. He was furious at the thought that people that strong can harm people like it was nothing. He just hated the thought more and more as it came to his mind.
Never wanting something like that to ever happen again.
END OF CHAPTER 13
Sorry that this chapter isn't that long, but I'm proud about what I did. I always wanted to have Goh in the story in some way, but I didn't know how to do it. Then I thought about a group of people that would directly control the Pokémon League's military, and the thought of the Three Generals came to me. So Goh is officially a member of that group! I won't reveal who the other two general are yet, but they are both females that are from the Anime. Until next time!
Ash's Team: Wartortle (M) , Pidgeotto (F), Sandshrew (M), Oddish (F)
Misty's Team: Starmie (N/A), Seel (F), Magikarp (M), Squirtle (F)
Ryan's Team: Pinsir (M), Paras (M), Ivysaur (F)
Brock's Team: Graveler (M), Onix (F), Zubat (M)
Sakura's Team: Nidorina (F), Charmander (M)