Chapter 8- the final pieces of the puzzle
Ash was walking down the route to Vermillion just chatting away with Charmander. The little lizard was full of questions, and while Ash couldn't answer them all he was very satisfied with the answers he did get.
"What about evolution?" Charmander asked as they were all sat having dinner.
"What about it?" Ash replied looking a bit perplexed.
"Well, you've said that it's our choice to evolve" Charmander said "what if we don't want to?"
"That's your choice. I won't force you to do something you don't want to do" Ash said.
"But our strongest moves only come with evolution" Charmander said "surely, you'd prefer we evolved? After all most trainers only want a Charmander to get a Charizard"
"That's true" Ash said "Your move pool is limited by staying as a starter. You'll never fly, Bulbasaur will never learn the strongest grass moves, Even Pikachu won't be able to learn moves a Raichu can. But the other side of that argument is that you can try and become the strongest starter the world has ever seen. I honestly don't mind either way. But choosing not to evolve is on you. And as such you need to accept your limitations. I'm more than happy to train you either way if that's what you want.
To your second point. Would I prefer you evolve? Only in as much as we get to learn new moves and discover just how powerful a Venusaur, or a Raichu, or a Charizard can be. That's exciting to me. Plus, you will be incredibly stronger as your final form than you ever will be as a starter. That's basic knowledge though. You will rarely find a Charmander who can go toe-to-toe with a Charizard, but we can give it a go. As I said though whatever you decide I'm ok with. I didn't plan a team around what you will end up as, I planned it around how good I can make you. I suggest you think about what YOU want Charmander. Ultimately what I want is pointless. Pikachu wants to be the strongest electric type in the world, to the point Rock and Ground types fear him and no one will ever say a Pikachu is just an electric rat. He's well on his way to doing that. I've yet to learn what Bulbasaur wants but when I do, I will help him all I can to achieve it. Eevee will be my mum's responsibility but If I can help her achieve her dreams I will do so. Everyone is different Charmander."
Nodding Charmander walked over to a tree and sat down. No one stopped him as he clearly needed to think on what was said. Charmander had a burning desire to be the best, he wanted legendaries to fear him. He very much doubted he could do that in his base form. An hour later he walked back over to the group and sat down. "I will hold off on evolution for now, but I want to be the strongest I can be before I evolve. So that when I become a Charizard, Lady Moltres will be known as the second strongest fire type in our region."
"Then that's what we will do." Ash said earning nods from everyone else "It will take months, possibly years of training but we will achieve that goal if we work together. When your skills as a Charmander level off then we will talk about evolution, until then we travel and train."
A week later Charmander was starting to regret saying anything. Every day he exhausted himself in training emptying his fire reserves and running until he nearly passed out. Ash stepped in four days after their conversation and warned him that while his progress was very good, exhausting himself would not benefit anyone so they agreed to limit their training to two hours a day. Charmander was relentless, second only to Pikachu in his training which was astonishing considering he was brand new to this type of training. Charmander mastered Metal Claw in record time and was well on his way to learning Brick Break. He had a habit of not stopping until he learned the move. A week after being caught Ash had another conversation with him.
"I think you must have a Dragon type as either a parent or a grandparent so we'll try and see if you can learn a few Dragon type moves" Ash said one evening "your egg move suggests it anyway but your burning desire to train is only usually found in dragons. It's astonishing how quickly you've progressed in just a week. We're all very proud of you, you know?" turning to the group he continued "I'm not one for praising lightly, you all know this. But I'm very proud of you all. You've all proved to me that you will be great. And I thank you for being my family."
The next morning Ash discovered a thief had been into his tent after they trained. Pulsing out his aura he found nothing nearby. Asking Pikachu to try to pick up a scent proved useless too. Looking through his bag he noticed what had gone missing. Why would someone want to steal one of his stones he had picked up from Mt Moon? He had sent Professor Oak an email while he was I cerulean asking about them Sam had replied back fairly quickly and told Ash they were pretty rare. They were shards of a comet that had passed by at some point that had broken off and fallen to Earth. They were more commonly known as Moon Stones and were used to evolve select Pokémon. No one knows how they came to be either. People just assumed that because they were from space they may be from the Moon, hence the name.
"Very strange" he muttered as he packed up. With no Pokémon or person nearby, he had no idea what it was. Cursing himself for being so lax in training he vowed to be mindful to stay near their camp from now on while the trained. It was late afternoon when Pikachu's ears pricked up. Charmander was also very wary, as if he could sense something nearby. Out of nowhere a geyser of water came barrelling their way and they all dove out of the way.
"Thunderbolt Pikachu, Charmander use Ember in the same direction" Ash shouted standing back up.
Immediately pained cries filled their ears from behind the bush as something was blasted away further into the undergrowth. From all around them more water came headed their way and they ducked. Calling out Bulbasaur and Eevee he said "guys, we're being attacked from all sides, do what you can" and immediately attacks were thrown in various directions followed by more cries. Shaking his head Ash cursed himself, pulsing his Aura he received four faint blips around them. "They're not moving anymore guys. Let's go see what they are. Each of you pick a direction and drag them back here. I have a feeling we're not done yet" within the next few minutes his Pokémon had retrieved what attacked them. Ash was very surprised at what he saw. Four Squirtle with various marks all over them, all knocked out.
"Ash" Pikachu said sniggering.
"Don't Pikachu" Ash said shaking his head "don't say what I think you're going to say".
"What was he going to say?" Charmander asked.
Sighing Ash shook his head "Before I set out, I told my mum of the first four Pokémon I wanted. A Pikachu, a Bulbasaur, a Charmander and a Squirtle. The other day after I had caught you, I asked Pikachu what the odds were that I found both you and Bulbasaur within a week of each other when I'd not made it a secret what I wanted in my team and if this was Arceus' way of helping me. We agreed that it was coincidental but that if we found a Squirtle not long after then we knew that our meeting had been set up by Arceus. And then here we are, a week later and not one, but four attack us." Turning to Pikachu he said "I know I should be grateful, and I really am. But this is ridiculous" at that Pikachu burst out laughing.
"What should we do with these?" Bulbasaur asked.
"I'll capture them and see if Bill knows what we can do with them." Ash said taking out some pokeballs. He had deliberately bought more in Cerulean in case he found a Pokémon for his mum. They didn't even rock signifying capture. Clicking a button on them they halted being transported away so that Sam didn't have to deal with them. "Come on, the lighthouse is just down this road. We should be there in a few hours" and with that they set back off. Less than ten minutes later an Officer Jenny came racing by on an Arcanine. Halting she got off and approached Ash.
"Hello there" Jenny asked, "Oh it's you Ash. You wouldn't have happened to come across five Squirtle would you?"
"I have just caught four Squirtle" Ash said shocking her pulling out their pokeballs "I was just on my way to see Bill to see if he could transport them to Professor Oak so they could be re-homed. They attacked us this morning, so we beat them and captured them. But if you want them, you can have them" Ash said.
"You'd give them up?" Jenny said, "just like that?"
"Well, I'd give three of them up. I did always want a Squirtle, and I do have room on my team" Ash said shrugging his shoulders. "Why are you chasing them anyway?"
"Oh yes" Jenny said "I never did tell you, did I? These particular Squirtle are part of a gang of miscreants that have been terrorising the local village. They steal food and items and run off to someplace they stay. I've yet to find it. But they all seem to be part of a gang we call the Squirtle Squad and is led by a shiny Squirtle that wears sunglasses. They're not bad Pokémon, they've just got a deep mistrust of humans since their original trainers abandoned them and are lashing out. I was hoping to catch them to have them join our local fire brigade who train water types to combat fires throughout Kanto".
"Apart from Pikachu all my Pokémon were abandoned by their original trainer, so I understand what they're going through" Ash said handing all four over to Jenny shocking her "I can catch another Squirtle some other time. Four are always better than three when battling fires. And my mother's shop was saved by the Pokémon fire brigade, so this is my way of giving back".
"Wow" Jenny said "thank you Ash" she said putting them into her coat pocket. Just as she got back onto her Arcanine a massive blast of water smashed into her from the side and sent her flying unconscious into a tree as a big Squirtle with sunglasses came charging out of the bushes shouting angrily.
Acting on instinct ash commanded Pikachu to use Thunderbolt. Immediately Squirtle lit up and screamed in pain. Struggling to stand up it eventually managed to find it's feet "Give me back my friends".
"No" Ash said shocking it "your friends have been bad Pokémon. And I captured them fairly."
"GIVE ME BACK MY FRIENDS" he shouted charging at Ash before Ash moved out of the way and threw an aura sphere, impacting Squirtles back and sending him flying. Without waiting Pikachu fried him again and knocked him out. Throwing a pokeball Ash watched as it shook violently. After half a minute it went silent. Ash had caught the final Squirtle. Quickly rushing over to Jenny, he saw that she was conscious again but holding her hand. "I think its broken from the fall."
"Luckily you have a fast Pokémon that can get you to the hospital" Ash said helping her to her feet. "If you like I can attempt to heal you? I'm an aura user and have been training for over five years now. If I don't heal it, then we can at least make it so the area is numb enough for you to get to a hospital?"
"What the hell" Jenny said holding out her arm "worth a try." Holding her arm as gently as he could Ash stretched out his aura encompassing Jenny's arm. "Ooh that tickles" she said giggling. Ignoring her Ash carried on wrapping his aura around her bone and setting it back into place. It took around five minutes of working on it to be somewhat fixed. It was still broken but it was now set. Opening up his bag Ash took out a bandage and wrapped it as carefully as he could.
"I couldn't heal the fracture completely, but it should fix itself now" Ash said, "I'd advise going to the hospital and letting them know what happened, a piece of bone could have splintered off and I wouldn't know so at least you'll be covered."
"That was amazing Ash" Jenny said staring at her bandaged hand "I'll go as soon as I have processed these four miscreants" she said pointing to Squirtle's pokeballs.
"Yeah, about that" Ash said suddenly "you mentioned they like to steal things?" seeing her nod he continued "well this morning I came back from training to find my tent had been ransacked and a few items taken from my rucksack. One of them was very rare, it was one of a pair of Moon Stones I picked up in Mt Moon. Do you mind if we question them now to see where they've hidden them?"
"It's not strictly procedure Ash" Jenny said "but we can ask them" she said calling them all out.
"You may want to cover your ears Officer" Ash said. Seeing her confused face, he said "plausible deniability."
"No" Jenny said, "we'll just agree that I stop you from doing anything too illegal."
"Now, Squirtle" Ash said shrugging his shoulders "We have a question to ask, and I'm not above having Pikachu here thundershock you into compliance. Where did you take all the items you stole from the local village?"
"We can't tell you" One of the Squirtle said after a minute of silence "Our boss would be unhappy."
"Well, I've just caught your boss" Ash said taking out a pokeball and releasing him. Seeing his mutinous face Ash carried on "And I'm rather unhappy at you five stealing from my tent this morning. An item you took has significant value. So, you have to the count of five before Pikachu shocks you. And each time he has to do so I'll ask him to amp up the electricity. Officer Jenny won't help you either as she's not happy about all the items that have been stolen from the village. For all you know you could have put several people out of business stealing their merchandise and food to sell. They had nothing to do with your trainers abandoning you. So, you five have a minute to decide amongst yourselves" Ash said walking to Jenny's side "I did say you may want to cover your ears."
"I'll let it slide this time as they did take something I'm desperate to get back" Jenny said keeping an eye on them "a little girl is severely ill. And these guys took her medicine, and she has to wait another two weeks before any more can be delivered. She's not doing so well Ash."
"Then we're definitely getting answers today then" Ash said determinedly walking back to them he overheard the last part of the conversation.
"…but they've just said that a girl is very ill. I don't like the idea of causing children harm. We never agreed to do that."
"But what if she's lying? Our previous trainers promised us things and then lied about them." The shiny Squirtle said frowning.
"She has no reason to lie" Ash said interrupting them. "Jenny is one of the most honourable people I've ever met. Her whole family are dedicated to finding truth and justice. And for the last four-hundred years of her ancestors doing this job, not one has ever been even accused of corruption. I don't have many rules that I truly adhere to, and you can say what you want about trainers, yours in particular were absolute bastards and if I should ever find them, I will hurt them for abandoning you, but I will not hear about any insults to Jenny's or Joys. They're the most selfless people I've ever met or heard of. Now, where is your lair?"
Still looking mutinous the lead Squirtle said "follow me" twenty minutes and several disabled traps later Ash and Jenny came to a cave in the side of a hill. Inside they followed the Squirtle for another five minutes through several tunnels before Ash had enough. "Pikachu, Thundershock on the lead Squirtle" without questioning why he did as he was asked creating an outcry from the rest.
"Why did you do that Ash?" Jenny asked.
"Because he's leading us into a trap" Ash said frowning and marching over to him. Kneeling at his side he said "I'm an aura user. I know a trap when I see one. Now I know your stash is in this place somewhere, you're too familiar with the tunnels for it to be elsewhere. I suggest you stop pissing us all around and take us there. A little girl's life may be on the line, and I am in no mood to play games."
Standing up Ash waited for the Squirtle to do the same. Staring each other down for a minute the Squirtle nodded his head and began to lead them back the way they came. When the entrance hole came in sight Squirtle pressed his hand into a hole just on the right side and it opened up into another tunnel. Walking down Ash saw that they had reached the room they were after. Immediately Ash walked over to where their latest horde was located. Seeing his Moon Stone and picking it up Ash headed back to Jenny. Showing it to her she nodded and logged the place on her phone. Knowing she'd need help to retrieve all the items to give them back she called the local station with her location. An hour later the horde had been placed into the back of a van and left to be processed.
"Hopefully the girls medicine is in there intact" Ash said outside the station to Jenny.
"I hope so too" Jenny said looking a bit more relaxed "we're going to let the village know to come and collect the items that were stolen from them too. By the way Ash, were you really going to fry the Squirtle's into compliance?"
"Yes" Ash said seriously, shocking her "I can't abide thieves, and I don't tolerate disrespect to Jenny's and Joys. And neither do my Pokémon."
"Well, you're going to have your hands full with your particular Squirtle" Jenny said tearing up and giving him a hug. Ash was in shock. Apart from his mother he had never been hugged before, especially by an older woman too! He would never admit to anyone how nice Jenny smelt and felt. Blushing heavily Ash escaped her grasp and nodded. Giving him a knowing smile Jenny said goodbye as Ash walked down the path and onto route 6, Pikachu and Eevee sniggering all the way.
That night as Ash set up camp, he decided to get it over with and introduce Squirtle to the rest of the group. Immediately upon being released Squirtle turned his back on Ash and the rest.
"Who is he?" Bulbasaur asked confused "And what's up with him?"
"Yeah" Charmander said standing up "he's being awfully rude."
"This, guys" Ash said "is our new partner, Squirtle. Now he isn't happy about being caught, and while I'd normally let a Pokémon go if they don't want to be here, I feel that Squirtle here needs to be around people who knows what he's going through."
"You have no idea what I have been through" Squirtle said angrily turning around "none of you do."
"Yes, we do" Ash said correcting him shocking him "every single Pokémon here apart from Pikachu has been abandoned by their original trainer, abused by their trainer or in Charmanders case abandoned and abused. And I rescued them all from the situations they were in. We are now a family; they choose to be with me. And should they want to leave then they can do."
"And what if I want to leave?" Squirtle asked angrily "why am I held captive?"
"You're not" Ash said "If you want to leave by the time we get to Vermillion then I'll release you. Until then you'll remain with me. Be warned though, any disrespect to anyone in our family will be dealt with. None of us tolerate it, to any of us or from any of us. If we have an issue, we sit down as a group and talk things through. And while I have the final say on most decisions, I will still listen to any issues that are brought up. And as a family we come to a resolution. Just a few days ago we had to have one with Charmander who was pushing himself too much in training. We resolved it quickly and moved on. Pikachu is always chatting to me about any issues he has, Bulbasaur is new, but he's began to do the same and Eevee has long since got over her shyness. So yes, we know exactly what you're going through and if you want help, we can offer it to you. If you want a family, then we can be that for you and I will train you. If not, then I'll release you in Vermillion. Until then though I suggest you listen and decide."
Squirtle had gotten got up and walked to the edge of the camp where he sat down and tried to ignore Ash's words. He really tried but they ate away at him all night. Ash however began preparing their tea and they all chatted about general things until they went to bed. Squirtle had yet to come to a decision the next morning. He was still really angry with his previous trainer and now he had been captured again? He enjoyed being free, he really did but it was a tough life. He had been born from an egg and became someone's starter straight away, so he never had to want for anything. His trainer was born into a very rich family, who bought every Pokémon he had and as such had unrealistic expectations. In fact, he was an idiot. He thought that as a shiny Pokémon he would know more moves than a normal Squirtle and be more powerful but that's never the case. And he had been put into a fight against a trainer with a Victreebel and lost badly. Honestly, expecting him to know Blizzard despite never being taught or trained in the move was ridiculous. Needless to say, he got battered. And then had been released outside of Vermillion.
Life had then become really hard for Squirtle who was used to eating on a regular basis, saw the best healers and lived a very comfortable life. No longer being in that environment was a harsh wake-up call. Having to literally steal to eat because he hadn't been taught normal every-day functions was horrible. And then he found like minded Squirtle's who had also suffered because of their trainers. Squirtle who had been abandoned like they were nothing by humans. And that anger festered and over time became genuine hatred. He didn't care about the people he stole from after the fifth member joined their group. Why should he? Humans had proved to him that they couldn't be trusted, were self-serving and had no idea what their actions caused. So, they started to way-lay people that walked along their route. They knew they would be safe in their cave as no one had found it except them. And every little item they stole brought them a little more revenge. Outwitting the local law-enforcement had become a game to them all. One they got away with for a long time.
And then one day they attacked the wrong person. They never expected to find someone more competent than all the others. They had become arrogant with their success and just knew they would always be successful. That was until they came across a trainer who beat them all in a fight. Squirtle had watched on, confident they would get away with another heist and then watched on in horror as they were all caught. He knew he needed to rescue his comrades but again didn't expect to be so thoroughly trounced. Hearing about the little girl did make him feel guilty, hopefully she would be ok, but he still had a lot of resentment towards humans.
Waking up he heard a lot of noise from the camp. Looking on he was astonished to find them all finish eating, train and not complaining about it. He was also surprised to see a bowl left out for him. Walking over to the tent he sat down and observed. That Pikachu was ridiculously strong for its size. Watching on he was desperate to find something he could use against the trainer to prove he was just like the others but couldn't find anything. He corrected movements without being harsh, he praised very little but wasn't uncaring. Surely, he must have some kind of weakness. Looking around he saw Eevee headbutting a tree repeatedly, this was his 'in' he decided walking over. He didn't notice the rest quietly observe him while still training.
"Why is your trainer making you headbutt the tree? Did you do something wrong? Is this how he punishes disobedience" Squirtle asked not seeing Bulbasaur wrap a vine round Charmanders hand to stop him interfering. Nodding they continued their training but didn't stop listening in.
"Oh, no" Eevee said smiling "I'm trying to perfect my Headbutt so I can move on to the next move to learn. Ash went through a list of the moves I need to learn before he gives me to his mother."
"He's getting rid of you?" Squirtle asked angrily.
"Oh no" Eevee said "I was caught to be given to his mother anyway. I knew that before I let him catch me as he made it clear that he would like his mother to have some company now he's not there. His mother sounds like a wonderful person. Ash promised training and a family which he has delivered on. He never asked me to train more than I wanted to but he's always full of ideas and welcomes fresh perspectives. I learned to use headbutt without him asking me to. And I've learned so much in the few weeks I've been here. He's amazing"
Grumbling at not getting the answer he was looking for he began to think of a new way to put Ash in a bad light. That was until Eevee continued smiling lightly "I know what you're doing by the way. You looked at Pikachu and saw you'd get nowhere, you likely looked at Charmander and Bulbasaur and saw the same. Then there's little old me, a young female Eevee and you probably thought I'd be the easiest to sway to your side. Only you never accounted for the fact that I adore Ash for what he's done for me. I've met your kind before." She finished turning back to the tree and preparing to Headbutt it again "It never ends well you know." She said giving him a look "that anger you have; I know that feeling. Holding on to it just leaves you a shell of a Pokémon. A word of advice; don't bother trying to get the others to go against Ash. Bulbasaur chose to follow Ash after years of isolation, Charmanders literal life was saved by Ash and Pikachu would die before betraying Ash. I was your best bet, and it was never going to happen" with that she carried on training and ignored Squirtle who was left to wander back to the camp site.
The next few days saw no change in Squirtle, but Ash continued on with his journey. He was getting a bit tired of walking so seeing a signpost for Bills Lighthouse made him feel very relieved. Walking up to the door he rang the bell but received no answer. Cautiously opening the door, he made his way inside. Having a look around he still couldn't find Bill. Sam did say he was home when he rang him the day before to explain where four of his five new captures had disappeared to. Hearing he had helped the Fire Brigade have four new recruits made Sam very happy. His mother said the same and was delighted to soon receive Eevee. Cleffa was doing very well, still very skittish around the house whenever company came over but overall, her progress was very good.
Coming to a large room Ash walked up to the wall at the end where he saw a massive mural on the wall. Looking up he noticed that it depicted all the Pokémon that had been recorded in Kanto. Ash hadn't seen even half of them yet on his journey. It made him realise to call yourself a master was not an easy thing.
"Impressive, isn't it?" a voice said behind Ash startling him. Turning around he had to do a double take as it appeared a giant talking Pokémon was speaking to him.
"Er, Pikachu" Ash asked uncertainly "is it me or is a giant Kabuto talking to us?"
"It's not just you Ash" Pikachu said sparking his cheeks in a warning.
"Oh no," the Kabuto said pleasantly "I'm not a Pokémon. I'm a professor and a Pokemaniac. My job is to try and get inside the mind of a Pokémon, to understand their physiology and the way they lived. To do so I often dress up as them and live as them for a few hours. I'm afraid though that I made an error with this costume. You see, I'm trapped. Kabuto arms are too short so I cannot reach the button to release me. I'm so grateful you've come along. Could you press the button for me" it finished as it turned around. Sure enough there was a button on the nape of its neck. Pressing it Ash watched as the Kabuto costume folded in on itself as it revealed a man who was sweating profusely.
"Thank you" he said "I feared I would be stuck in there forever. My name is Bill, a pleasure to meet you".
"Ash, Ash Ketchum" Ash said holding out his hand not expecting the vigorous handshake in response.
"Oh, my word! It's really you! I'm a massive fan of your work." Bill said fumbling his words "I read your paper on the mating rituals of a Charizard and was fascinated to learn they mate for life. Of course, I knew that the Charicific Valley specialised in training them and its usually where starter eggs come from but still, to learn trainers Pokémon have the exact same habits was fascinating."
"Yeah" Ash said feeling much more comfortable with the topic than an eleven-year-old usually would "I cross-examined various accounts from people that leave their Charizard to be trained there, or the wild ones that rule it with several trainers 'tame' Charizard to see what they concluded. It was pretty fascinating to be honest. I think Oaks Charizard is the only one I've met that has a different pattern. He and his mate go up into the mountains near Viridian where they have their own nest. Most trainers though either don't let their Charizard mate or don't know they mate for life and try to breed with them. I heard some nutcase used a Ditto once to try and breed for eggs."
"Yeah, I remember that case" Bill said shaking his head "I'm genuinely surprised they were allowed to keep their day-care after that. Anyway Ash, Sam told me you were coming so I arranged a surprise for you. Come, it only happens at night though, so we have time to kill."
Several hours later Bill led Ash up to the top of his lighthouse where a huge megaphone was sitting on a stand pointing out at the Sea. Wondering what was going on he asked Bill.
"Well Ash, not long ago I was standing on the clifftop looking out at the water when I heard a call echo from across the sea. It was unlike anything I have ever heard of before or since. And by the time I had set up a recording device the call had stopped. Luckily it happened again a few months later only this time I was able to record it. So, every night for the past few weeks I've been playing the call out to the sea and last night I received an answer back! I'm hoping that tonight when I play it you would be able to hear it too. Maybe we will finally be able to see whatever it is! I usually start the call at sunset, which is why I have seats up here."
With that Bill started to play the call. It sounded like a whale to Ash, but there was also something very familiar about it. For the life of him though he couldn't place it. Deciding to sit and chat while they waited was a very interesting experience for them both. Ash was fascinated by Bills research and Ash being able to communicate with Pokémon left Bill feeling a bit envious. It was around 11pm when they were going to give up, as deep fog had swept across the ocean when Ash heard something.
Standing up quickly startled Pikachu but he was perched on the railing looking out to sea as soon as the voice was returned. They silently observed the fog, it was very thick but being on high alert was a common thing for Ash. Pulsing out his aura he was amazed at what he received back.
"Bloody hell" Ash whispered "whatever that is out there is huge. Easily the biggest thing I've ever felt. Its aura is immense. Pikachu don't attack. We have no chance. Bill, play the call again."
Doing so Bill was amazed by how quickly the call was returned. Getting a sudden source of inspiration Ash pulled out his Pokedex and scanned the fog. After several minutes it finally bleeped to life
"Dragonite, Pokedex Number 149, The Dragon Pokémon. This Pokémon is female. It is said that somewhere in the ocean lies an island where these gather. Only they live there. An extremely rarely seen marine Pokémon. Its intelligence is said to match that of humans. This Pokémon is the biggest of its species ever recorded at 42 feet high."
"Wow, I knew I'd heard that call before" Ash said, "Oaks Dragonite sounds the same only not as deep."
"A Dragonite?" Bill asked astounded "after all this time it's a Dragonite? Simply amazing"
"It really is" Ash said agreeing. Walking to the edge of the balcony he cupped his hands and shouted "why don't you come and greet us Dragonite? We promise you we mean you no harm".
After several minutes of nothing a shape made its presence known in the fog before it entered their line of sight. It was colossal Ash thought. But it was no less magnificent. He called out the rest of his family who simply stood there in awe.
"You're amazing" Ash said out loud "Look at how breath-taking you are" holding out his pokegear he took a few pictures of her. "There you go Bill. You've finally met the originator of the call."
"Are you who's been calling out to me?" Dragonite asked shocking Ash "I can feel your Aura Chosen One."
"No, my lady" Ash said "it was my companion who has been doing that. He had no idea what you were when he did it. He simply desired to meet whoever was calling".
"I did" Bill said taking over "I was intrigued by something I have never heard before when I first heard your call. And now that I see you, I am not any less impressed. As Ash said you're breath taking."
"What were you calling for my Lady?" Ash asked, "who do you seek?"
"My family young Chosen One" she replied sounding sad "I have been searching for them for such a long time now. But I cannot give up hope, I will not."
"But you're so big" Bill said after Ash translated "where could they hide if they're your size?"
"You forget Bill" Ash said gently "Dragonite has remained hidden for all this time, it's not a stretch to think they're somewhere in the world also hidden. I think I recall now where I have read bout you Dragonite. There are ruins just west of where I grew up where Pokémon were said to reside centuries ago but mysteriously disappeared. I believe the were giant Pokémon also. If you like I could try and find out for you?"
"Oh, would you?" Dragonite asked sounding hopeful "I do so miss my family."
"I will" Ash said "when I get to the next Pokémon centre I will try and find out more information that I will send to Bill. I'm sure he wont mind trying to research your family's location for you. We cannot guarantee we will find them though. Not much is known about the ruins other than they mysteriously disappeared."
"I will happily do that" Bill said, "if you'd like to check in every now and then on me, I will tell you what I find out?"
"Thank you" Dragonite said sounding relieved "I'm afraid I must go now. The sun is arriving soon. Thank you Chosen One" with that Dragonite turned around and made her way back to the depths of the ocean where she disappeared.
"Wow" was all they could say for the next hour before they went to sleep. Waking up in the afternoon Ash readied to leave. Before he left though Bill gave him a gift. "It's an Everstone. You mentioned you wanted one for Eevee last night. They're particularly hard to find and if you ordered one in Vermillion there's no guarantee you'd get it before you left to head back to Cerulean. I'm afraid I don't have a Light Ball though. You'll have to find one of those yourself."
"Thanks Bill" Ash said happily. "I'll pick up a necklace in Vermillion for Eevee. I'll send you the information I find as soon as I can. I think it's Pokemopolis or Pokelantis but for the life of me I can't recall which one. As soon as I find out I'll let you know. See you later Bill."
Later that night they set up camp and discussed what had happened the night before. "I think I can safely say that I never in my wildest imagination thought I'd see one of the Ancients" Pikachu said.
"Ancients?" Ash asked, "if you knew what she was why didn't you say anything?"
"I assumed you knew" Pikachu said "you're pretty knowledgeable after all. And you did say you had heard of their location."
"Yeah, but I couldn't recall much about them" Ash said exasperatedly "tell me about them."
"Well, Royal Pokémon are said to be their descendants that have survived from their time." Pikachu began "we've seen how big they are when we met Pidgeotto and Pidgeot in Viridian Forest. The Ancients were once revered as Gods because of their size and power. They used to basically rule over their location and had offspring with the local Pokémon. Don't ask me how, the mechanics of it boggle my mind. But eventually they had amassed such a following of Pokémon and humans alike that their original territory was no longer big enough to sustain them. Like anywhere today really, expansion became a must. And the only other places available were other Gods territories.
So, they began to war amongst themselves, and thousands died. The human settlers of the time were swept up in the war, they either chose a side or perished. Many did both. It finally reached a point where the humans had enough though. It's not fun realising you're powerless against a stronger foe so they came up with several plans in secret. They realised that to put an end to the wars the Gods must go. So, they concocted plans to capture them and contain them. Up until that point Pokémon lived where they wanted, there was no such things as pokeballs and Pokémon battled for territories not for fun. That soon changed when people realised that they could capture and control Pokémon to do their bidding. And so, they did in masses. While technology was primitive it was still effective. Anyway, plans to capture and seal away the Gods happened, and many were captured and then killed. Its not a well-known fact, and we try not to let it be known but if you destroy a pokeball while a Pokémon is inside, they die. It's why a lot of Pokémon are reluctant to follow Arceus' law, which to me is perfectly understandable.
Back to Giant Pokémon. Dragonite might seem like a nice Pokémon, but she grew up in a time where she was worshipped. I was on edge the entire time she was there Ash because of this. Finding her family might not be such a good thing."
"She called him the Chosen One though" Charmander piped up "that means she knows of Arceus' will and wouldn't dare do anything against Ash."
"Not every Pokémon is happy with Arceus' edicts Charmander" Bulbasaur said "I know a lot of wild Pokémon who have real hatred for humans because of the restrictions that are placed on us upon capture. We've all felt the negative side of it. We never got to choose our trainer and therefore had no choice in what we could do. Up until our release we were stuck with who we had for life, which was a miserable existence for us all. I can certainly see why Pokémon have such issues about being captured."
"And I agree" Pikachu said "but I've not had the misfortune of having a bad trainer so I cannot really comment on that. Everyone else here has so your thoughts and feelings would always come before mine on that subject. But to Dragonite they would willingly rally around her should she ask and would happily fight to avoid capture. All I'm saying is to be careful if you find her family. The chances of her finding them AND living a peaceful life when she does is very slim."
"I shall take it under consideration Pikachu" Ash said leaning back against the tent "it's a tough decision isn't it. I'd given my word to her and Bill before I knew this. Had I known would it have changed anything? Possibly not as she was desperate for a family. Her Aura wasn't bad either. But as you said she was around at a time when she ruled. It's certainly thought provoking, isn't it?"
"It is" Pikachu said as they descended into silence. An hour later Ash decided to break the silence.
"Tomorrow evening at the latest we will arrive in Vermillion City. We will likely be there for around a week before I challenge the gym. After which I will send you to my mother Eevee. I want to thank you for doing this. I know you desired to be with me. And maybe someday you will re-join us but for now I need you to protect my mother. So, for the next week I will be training you all a bit harder seeing as the Pokémon centre is where we'll be staying and any injuries can be quickly healed. I want you all to have mastered all the moves you know before I challenge Lt Surge. I will also be releasing Squirtle before we leave" he finished shocking them all.
"Why?" Charmander asked "you told me that you wanted all the starter Pokémon."
"And I do" Ash said matter-of-factly turning to Squirtle "with you my team is complete for now. But I have no desire to have a Pokémon who has no loyalty to us all. We fight together and lose together. You only think about yourself so far and have not spoken a word to me since the day I caught you. We've had you four days now and you have given me no indication that you want to stay, and I will not keep a Pokémon against their will. I will speak to Nurse Joy when we reach Vermillion about sending you to a Pokémon reserve where hopefully you get to choose your next trainer. I cannot guarantee that but at least you can hide in the reserve until you're caught again."
Standing up Ash began to get ready for bed. The rest of Ash's Pokémon did the same thing. Squirtle however never moved from the campfire.
