Chapter 13- the problem with people these days is…
The next morning Ash woke up at his normal time for 6am and went down to the centres Gym. Along the way he checked on a still sleeping Joy and took the key back. No doubt whoever was coming would enter through the front door. Going through their morning warm up routine Ash forgot the time; muscle memory took over and they were all well into their practice when Ash's pokegear rang.
"Hello" Ash said.
"I told you I would be there at 7am sharp, where are you?" the woman from yesterday said.
"I'm in the gym doing my morning workout" Ash said, "where are you?"
"I'll be at the centre in the next five minutes" she replied. Looking at his watch he saw it was 7:10.
"Well, you're already late as it is" Ash said irritated "don't give me 7am sharp if you're only going to get here at quarter past."
"Never mind that. I'm old, now come and open the door" the woman said hanging up.
Grumbling about senile old women, Ash packed up their gear and returned his Pokémon to their balls and made his way up the stairs to the front door. No sooner had he unlocked it than an old woman stormed past him grumbling about the weather. She was around 5 foot 2, greying blonde hair, dressed in a purple dress with a purple and grey shawl on her back, holding a cane topped with a Gengar head.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me" Ash said recognising who she was.
"And just what is that supposed to mean, young man?" the old woman said irritated giving him the stink eye. "don't ignore me, Ash Ketchum. The rudeness of some people these days."
Ignoring her Ash made his way over to the video phone and punched in Sam's number. When it was picked up, he noticed there was no one on screen but he could hear a nervous tapping.
"Don't you hide from me Professor" Ash said, "I know what you're doing."
"Ash!" Sam said coming into the picture "how are you doing my boy?"
"Never mind 'my boy'. You sent me Agatha" Ash said deadpanned "Agatha."
"I can hear you, you know" Agatha shouted from the couches.
"You were meant to!" he shouted back. Turning to Sam he simply said "explain."
"Ash, I know you don't get on with her but she's an expert on the Pokémon Tower and Lavender Town." Sam said, "and shouldn't you have gotten over this by now?"
"She ordered her Gengar to give me nightmares when I was seven, professor" Ash said.
"You told me I needed to shave my moustache!" came Agatha's voice.
"And you still do!" Ash shouted back hearing her huff "why didn't you call to warn me?"
"Because you would have left Ash" Sam said patiently.
"You're damn right I would have" Ash said emphatically "you could have sent anyone else in the world, literally anyone but you sent her."
"I didn't send her Ash" Oak said, "my son did."
"Oh, did he now?" Ash asked.
"Well, he is champion Ash" Sam replied "Now, never mind all this. Agatha is the best there is concerning Lavender Town. I suggest you put whatever grievances you have to the side for now and work together. This business in Lavender Town has left a funny feeling in my stomach."
"Yeah, me too" Ash said remembering his conclusions last night "fine, but only until this is sorted out" hanging up he made his way over to Agatha and saw her sifting through the papers he left out last night.
"Doing a bit of research are you laddie?" she asked giving him a critical eye "Fuji eh?"
"Yup, and what I concluded hasn't left me any happier" Ash said sitting opposite her.
"And what conclusion is that?" Agatha asked.
"That the Elite Four, Goodshow and Fuji have something to do with my dad's disappearance and its cover up" Ash said looking her dead in the eyes "too many things don't add up for my liking."
"You really think we had something to do with your dad's death" Agatha asked shocked.
"Disappearance." Ash corrected her "And don't give me the shocked old woman routine Agatha. My father was declared dead extremely quickly after what happened at Cinnabar, the investigation was declared need to know only for the Elite Four and Goodshow. Someone wanted him out of the way and Team Rocket was a very convenient excuse. And the five of you know something. I suspect Blue does too. Now, I'm putting you on notice and you can tell the others this. You five have a year, two at the most before I challenge Blue for his position as Champion. And when I beat him, not if, when I beat him, I will expose the whole lot of you for what you've put my family through.
Now, onto this. I have a feeling I know what's causing this. And I have a feeling that you do to. So, let's not waste each-others time here. What do you know?"
Looking at him searchingly Agatha sighed and leaned back into the chair "regardless of what you believe I had nothing to do with what happened to your father. He was just as bratty as you are, but that's not a crime. I have not looked at the investigation records, I have no desire to either. What you seek you will not find from me. As for the issue in Lavender Town I suspect Fuji is involved somehow. He always was a slippery, oily man. The whole 'rescuer' thing he had here was a ruse to cover up what he truly is. A monster. When he was acquitted eleven years ago, I nearly resigned my position in protest. Bruno was the same. It was only Lorelei who convinced us to stay. To try and make changes from the inside to make sure what happened on Cinnabar never happened again." Looking away at the window she continued quietly "I saw the failed experiments Ash in that lab before it was destroyed by the volcano. I saw what they tried to create using Mews fossil. Unfortunately, what I saw could not be used as evidence against Fuji. And the bastard got away with it and moved here to my birthplace. He wasn't the only one either. Soon you will face a man in battle who was Fuji's chief of staff on Cinnabar Island who was cleared of all wrongdoing because of the explosion erasing everything. He too should have been locked up. Sadly, though I don't have that power."
"There's very few trainers I have to face." Ash said shrewdly "and out of those trainers two are women I can eliminate them as you said "He". Which leaves Koga, Blaine and Giovanni. Yes, I did my research on the gym leaders. And given Blaine lives on Cinnabar I'd guess it was him."
"I cannot confirm it either way Ash" Agatha said nodding at him "but be careful when you reach Cinnabar. Now, Lavender Town. What have you guessed the problem is."
"I suspect the failed experiments on Cinnabar did not all fail and that something survived." Ash said "Pikachu and I felt an extraordinarily strong presence while standing outside Cerulean Cave a few months ago. We felt a legendary Pokémon's power first hand with Zapdos less than a week ago. This was beyond that. By far. We went back near the cave the day after we arrived in Cerulean as we had to wait to have a gym battle due to the sister' shows and the presence had gone. When we arrived here yesterday evening, immediately as you cross the boundary into Lavender Town we felt something try to grip our minds. It was unsuccessful. As an Aura wielder psychics have no power over us, so whatever is happening here has psychic power of some kind. I suspect your Ghosts are immune too?"
"We are" Agatha said "psychics fear two things. Aura and Ghosts. I suspect we will have a far better chance of putting an end to whatever is happening together. So, let's get started. The only place of significance in this town is the Tower. And what better place to amplify a psychic hold than the top of that tower?" standing up Agatha waited for Ash to put away the papers in his rucksack and store it back in his room before she led the way out of the centre and through the streets heading to the tower that dominated the horizon. It was a massive spiral structure, standing over fifty feet high ending with an opened top that housed the funeral bell covered with a roof.
"It used to be a watchtower hundreds of years ago" Agatha said as they walked towards it "before it was converted into a hospital during the last war a hundred and fifty years ago. Many of the Pokémon who died in that war were cremated in the furnace here, its long since been disused but when the war ended people mourned the loss of so many Pokémon and converted it into a shrine to honour the dead. As such many ghost type Pokémon have taken up residence in here" which caused Ash to shiver "still scared of them huh?"
"Yes" As said tersely "you would be too if you woke up from a nightmare one night and found a glowing set of red eyes staring at you in the dark followed by a sinister laugh that echoed."
"Oh, you get used to it" Agatha said waving away his fear.
"Not when you're a child you don't" Ash said irritated "even now I sleep with my aura active looking for things in the dark. The only upside to your little prank was that it helped me become a stronger Aura user than anyone's ever been before."
"You're welcome" she said cheerfully cackling.
"It wasn't a thank you" Ash said wryly "are the doors meant to be padlocked?" he asked as they came up to the high fifteen-foot double doors.
"Yes" Agatha replied "as Fuji was the caretaker of this place and he went missing the police closed this off to the general public. Strangely we didn't hear of a single protest about it."
"I wonder why" Ash asked sarcastically "it couldn't have anything to do with something controlling the inhabitants of the town could it?"
"Quite possibly" Agatha said ignoring his sarcasm.
"Well, I'm not standing here all day" Ah said "Pi, use Iron Tail on the padlock" one flash later and the chain fell away.
"Or" Agatha said pulling out a key on a necklace "we could have used the key? Your impatience will be the death of you young man" she finished as she put the key into the lock and opened the door. Immediately the smell of must permeated the air all around them. Inside was eerily gloomy and dusty, only the high vaulted windows lit the way for them as they walked up the stairs leading to the higher floors.
"Now Ash" Agatha said "be careful, not everything that resides here has nice thoughts of the living. Some spirits here are quite malevolent. The stairs are located opposite each other on the floors for going up. So we will have to cross every floor to get to them. Gengar, Haunter come forth" she cried as two big purple ghosts came out of her pokeballs.
Pointing Dexter at them he scanned them.
"Haunter, Pokedex Number 93, The Gas Pokémon, and the evolved form of Gastly. This Pokémon is male. In total darkness, where nothing is visible, Haunter lurks, silently stalking its next victim. By licking, it saps the victim's life. It causes shaking that won't stop until the victim's demise.
Gengar, Pokedex Number 94, The Shadow Pokémon, and the evolved form of Haunter. This Pokémon is female. Under a full moon, this Pokémon likes to mimic the shadows of people and laugh at their fright. Hiding in people's shadows at night, it absorbs their heat. The chill it causes makes the victims shake."
"Wow" Ash said, "they are impressive, it has to be said. It's not bloody wrong about Gengar though."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Agatha said "Haunter, Gengar go and scout the area. A psychic user has the town under their control, and we believe they're hiding here in this tower. search them out but do not engage. Come find us and let us know if you find anything" at that they both cackled and melted into the shadows causing Ash to shiver.
"Guys come on out" Ash said releasing the other three "we're inside Pokémon Tower searching for whomever is trying to control us. Be on guard guys, this is very real." They all nodded as they kept on walking, constantly searching their surroundings.
As they reached the third floor Ash sent out an aura pulse and something dinged. "Guys," Ash said quietly so only they and Agatha could hear. "On our five, eight and eleven. When I say so Flamethrower, Ice Beam and Razor Leaf. Pi, directly above us, Thunderbolt. No holding back guys. I'll keep you updated on their location, but we aren't playing around here. When I drop down to tie my lace, hit them hard." Agatha kept quiet, happy to observe him in action. After going up another floor, with Ash giving them constant updates Ash saw that the room was more open than the last one. "We hit them in here guys. Be ready" Ash murmured. Walking twenty feet into the room Ash quickly ducked down and the room lit up with various attacks, followed by many pained cries. Standing up Ash cast an Aura Sphere at the nearest target blasting it into the wall where it fell unconscious. Walking over to it he noticed it wasn't a Kanto Pokémon. Pointing Dexter at it he beeped
"Duskull, Pokedex Number 355, The Requiem Pokémon, this Pokémon is female. Duskull wanders lost among the deep darkness of midnight. There is an oft-told admonishment given to misbehaving children that this Pokémon will spirit away bad children who earn scolding's from their mothers."
"What the hell is a Duskull doing in Kanto?" Ash asked.
"This is a ghost tower Ash" Agatha said walking over "I'd imagine many ghost types can be found in here if you look hard enough. She's a beauty, isn't she?" she finished crouching down groaning as she stood back up, she noticed all his other Pokémon gripping their attackers and dragging them to Ash.
"Well, well, well. There is something I did not expect to see" she said walking over to Charmeleon and looking at who he'd caught. Gently picking it up she cradled it as if it were a baby. Pointing Dexter, it bleeped again.
"Litwick, Pokedex Number 607, the Candle Pokémon. This Pokémon is female. Litwick shines a light that absorbs the life energy of people and Pokémon, which becomes the fuel that it burns."
"Wow. Again, I never expected to find a ghost type from another region in here" Ash said looking at the others seeing Squirtle and Bulbasaur carrying a Cubone and a Gastly.
"Gastly, Pokedex Number 92, the Gas Pokémon, This Pokémon is male. Almost invisible, this gaseous Pokémon cloaks the target and puts it to sleep without notice."
"See that I expected to find. Cubone too given they're often found crying over their mothers' graves." Ash commented "The other two though? Not even slightly"
"She's adorable Ash. Are you after a ghost type" Agatha asked. Seeing him shake his head she took out a pokeball and caught it. Walking over to Duskull she did the same thing to her too. "I'm always up for catching ghosties" she said cackling.
Ignoring her Ash decided that it would be best to carry on with their job. "Come on, we've got a malevolent prankster to find. Well done guys. But I want to leave this place" Ash said walking over to the stairs and carrying on with his climb. The next few flights of stairs kept Ash on edge. He had found nothing. "isn't this place supposed to be teeming with ghosts?" he asked Agatha.
"It's daytime Ash." Agatha said shaking her head "Don't you know that Ghosts only really come out at night. I suspect the ones you attacked were simply curious about who you were. You're safer than you think."
Shaking his head Ash carried on until suddenly a Gengar appeared directly in front of him. Ash reacted on instinct and Aura punched it sending it flying back. "Hey," Agatha shouted "there was no need for that. That's my Gengar you just hit."
"Good" Ash said "that's the second time she's pulled that crap on me. Did you really think I wouldn't recognise my night-time tormentor?"
Ignoring him Agatha went over to her stunned Gengar and started cooing over her. Shaking his head Ash could only watch on in disbelief as Agatha 'kissed the boo-boo' and asked what she knew. Listening in Gengar told Agatha that she could only get so far before a barrier had stopped her. Frowning Ash wondered what that could mean.
"What can stop a ghost from going through walls and barriers?" Ash asked out loud.
"Nothing good Ash" Agatha said returning Gengar "a few dark types immediately spring to mind, maybe a stronger ghost type too."
"Stronger than your Gengar?" Ash asked in disbelief "your Gengar?"
"Yes Ash" Agatha said "believe it or not we Elite Four are still just trainers at the end of the day. Don't forget your dad and Blue beat us, a few others have done the same over the years. We're not unbeatable."
"Yeah, but they're trained Pokémon who are given commands and strategy." Ash replied "This is a wild Pokémon. It has to be. No ghost types would suffer a trainers Pokémon to take over their tower, not without putting up a fight."
"Unless that Pokémon was a ghost too" Agatha said.
"There are only two Ghost/Dark types known Agatha" Ash said seriously "Sableye and Spiritomb. Sableye I can deal with. Spiritomb are horrible to battle. I've seen Cynthia's in action. Very few people get past it."
"Then we better hope its not that" Agatha said walking on. Eventually they reached the final staircase and found the barrier Gengar was talking about. Testing it with his Aura he found that his hand went straight through it. Doing the same Agatha tried and was shocked for her troubles.
"Ouch" she said shaking her hand "looks like only an Aura user can pass through Ash." Nodding Ash prepared to walk though before a wrinkled hand stopped him "I don't like this. There is a reason I was sent here Ash, to find the issue and deal with it. I don't like that you may have to face whatever it is alone."
"I won't be alone" Ash said looking at Pikachu "but it seems this is a task I must do. Now I'll try and weaken the barrier from within. As soon as I get it down feel free to join me."
"Good luck then young man" Agatha said leaning on her cane. Nodding Ash infused his body with Aura and walked right through the barrier. On the other side was pure darkness, but Ash could feel the presence that tried to control him try again. Rebuffing it he heard a screech of anger from above. Looking up he noticed a ladder in the centre of the floor leading up to what looked like a loft hatch. Climbing up he exited and found himself on the top of the tower overlooking Lavender Town. The top was maybe thirty feet in diameter, with a massive Bell in the very middle. Attached to the bell was a strange sort of device that was emitting a strange black glow. Ash didn't get much chance to observe the surroundings before a wicked black jet came scything towards him. Deflecting it he turned around and swore.
"Shit" he said shaking his head "it's a Spiritomb" calling out everyone he ordered them to attack and not hold back. Occasionally joining in when he could they began to chip away at the Spiritomb. It was incredibly annoying though because in between moves it would use Pain Split and share damage with Ash's Pokémon and recover its health back. "Guys this is taking way to long" Ash said after half an hour of battling. Everyone was exhausted, battered and bruised. The Spiritomb wasn't in a much better position though. "I think we all need to surround it and attack at the same time. I noticed that it always tried its best to protect its keystone whenever one of you got too close to it to damage it. Maybe that's its weak spot."
Spiritomb had evidently been listening in as it screeched in anger at Ash's words and started launching Dark Pulses and Shadow Balls at them all. After a few minutes of sending attacks back and forth Ash finally saw them all in position and shouted "Now, your strongest attack. Go" the group complied and Spiritomb was hit from all sides and groaned in pain from the impact. "Pi, Iron Tail it back into its keystone" Pikachu raced to it at top speed and smashed into its face causing it to faint and disappear back into its keystone. Ash reacted without thinking knowing it couldn't be left here and threw a pokeball at the keystone, it shook several times before it went silent, and they all collapsed on the ground as one exhausted. After several minutes Ash returned them all and walked over to the Pokeball containing his newest capture picking it up. Scanning it Dexter beeped.
"Spiritomb, Pokedex Number 442, The Forbidden Pokémon. This Pokémon is male. A Pokémon that was formed by 108 spirits. Its constant mischief and misdeeds resulted in it being bound to an Odd Keystone by a mysterious spell. This Pokémon knows the moves Sucker Punch, Psychic, Pain Split, Shadow Ball, Dark Pulse, Memento, Hypnosis, Dream Eater, Curse and Confuse Ray."
"I'm not sure I want to keep this Pikachu." Ash said holding the still pokeball "these things are not good news regardless of how powerful this is. Come on, let's get back to Agatha."
Walking back down the ladder and stairs he found the barrier had gone. So had Agatha. Wondering what had happened to her Ash began the long trek down to the bottom. Walking to the door he heard three voices outside. Opening it he saw Agatha talking to another two people and a Lucario. Ash instantly recognised one of them, the other made him raise his barriers instantly. "Psychic" Ash snarled
"An aura user?" the tall man asked turning to Agatha "why was I not warned of this thing being here?"
"Be mindful of who you call a 'thing' abomination." Ash said, "You're lucky I'm tired or I'd have blasted you into the next town for that comment."
"Enough" the other person said. "There is no need for fighting. Now, shall we be civilised and introduce ourselves."
"Very well" the man sniffed as though he rather do anything but "I am Lucian Azakami, final member of the Sinnoh Elite Four and Master Psychic"
"I am Cynthia Shirona, Champion of Sinnoh" Cynthia said smiling.
"I am Junior Professor Ash Satoshi Ketchum, son of Pokémon Master Red Ketchum, the next Champion of the Kanto League, Aura master and all round pissed off guy. Pleased to meet one of you" Ash said making Agatha cackle and the Lucario stiffen up. Looking at it, Ash asked "problem?"
"Why do you deny your destiny?" Lucario asked.
"And who says I'm denying my destiny? You? Ilene?" Ash asked sarcastically. "I think you'll find that my destiny lies elsewhere than bowing and scraping before a Queen who's full of her own self-importance."
"At least we agree on that" Lucian mumbled.
"I wouldn't talk if I were you abomination" Ash said looking at him. "Your kind are just as bad to me."
"How dare you" Lucario said advancing on Ash who immediately shifted his feet into a defensive stance and Pikachu to spark warningly.
"Try me Lucario. You obviously know who I am. Since the age of six to eleven I was trained in Aura combat by the Rota Lucario. The last year of that not a single Lucario was able to pin me down or beat me. So, I repeat, try me"
"No one will be trying anything" Cynthia said walking between them "Lucario, stand down. Now I don't know what your issue is Mr Ketchum, but I won't be part of it."
"I have no issue with you Miss Shirona. Just your choice in traveling companions" Ash said standing back up straight "if you have no idea why I suggest you talk to your Lucario about it. Now, why are you here?"
"She's here because of me, thing" Lucian said icily "I received a call last night saying a powerful Psychic presence was found to have taken hold of Lavender Town and Sabrina was unable to deal with it in person. Cynthia just happened to overhear it and asked to come along."
"I was bored" she said smiling "and when your name was mentioned I wanted to meet you, Ash. I've read a lot of your essays and thesis' in my research over the last few years. Of course, up until a few months ago we had no idea you were so young."
"Oh right" Ash said "well usually I'm in a lot better mood than I am now. Having to battle for my life on top of a tower and then being close to that over there puts me on edge" he finished nodding at Lucian who snarled.
"Why don't you like each other? You don't even know each other" Cynthia asked frowning.
"I will tell you later Cynthia" Lucian said giving Ash a glare.
"Don't believe the spoon-bender, Miss Shirona" Ash said snorting "his kind only deal in manipulation of the mind and facts. What it boils down to is the Great War. During that a pitched battle was being fought between Aura users and Psychics. Aura Guardians fought to keep the balance of the world and joined the liberation side; Psychics wanted control of everyone and everything in it and joined the Ancients hoping for a slice of their pie when they won. They lost. And it's the reason you will never find an Aura wielder with a psychic type Pokémon. You see a psychic is an off shoot of an aura user who has manipulated their aura to such a degree that they corrupted who they are and what they originally fought for. The psychics lost because they forgot that aura makes up and surrounds literally everything in the world. They cannot manipulate the world around them anymore, so they try to alter the reality of it instead. Sadly though, while they lost the battle back then they eventually won the war of right now. And it wasn't because of anything they did. And that irritates them."
"What do you mean Ash?" Agatha asked interested "and why does no one know this?"
"It's yet another mark against that clown running Cameron Palace and her ancestors" Ash said causing the Lucario to snarl and Ash to simply raise an eyebrow at it. "Psychics will eventually win because of the one big drawback of being an Aura wielder. We mate for life, and we don't always find our mate. Once we reach sexual maturity our aura is constantly sending out signals hoping to find its match. A lot of times the person we match is already taken so we die alone."
"You should not be telling them this" Lucario said furiously.
"Oh, shut up" Ash said "you are part of the bloody problem. You're too caught up in the 'tradition' and 'nobility' of being an aura user to realise that we're facing extinction. Like those fools in Rota, you're content to stick your head in the sand. Well, I'm not. And Queen Ilene will never have a Ketchum as a servant." turning back to Agatha he continued "I was told five years ago by the Queens right hand man Riley that there were only around seventeen Aura guardians left in the world. That's not to say there's only seventeen Aura users, no. But many don't know how to access it and so it goes unused. That's why psychics have the advantage. There are schools that actively search for them from birth. Rota decided in its infinite wisdom to just keep a select group in their kingdom to train, and once they reached a certain number stopped doing so. Only once a guardian dies is one trained to take his or her place. I'm actually writing a book about it. It should be out in the next year sometime, hopefully before the Indigo League takes place. Anyway, back to the issue here today. I've sorted it for now."
"For now?" Cythina asked shaking her head out of its stupor.
"Yes" Ash said "but I don't believe the situation is over. There's no way what I fought was the main cause of what happened here. It's simply not powerful enough, that and it's not a Psychic type. Something manipulated events and the Pokémon I fought was being used. Fuji wasn't there either. So, he's still out there somewhere." chucking the Pokéball at Agatha who caught it "I believe you also said you are always looking for new ghosties? Have a Spiritomb. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a nurse to see and Pokémon to heal. I'll be at the Pokémon centre if you need me. Oh, and remember what I said this morning Agatha. I will expose you all as soon as I take Blues place. All five of you are on a timer."
With that Ash marched off in the direction of the Pokémon centre. As he passed houses, he saw people leaving them looking lost and marvelling at the world around them. They had obviously woken from whatever spell was cast on the town via Spiritomb. Ignoring everyone who looked at the state of him he walked into the centre and saw Joy behind the counter looking much better than she did the night before. Before he could react, he was swept up in her arms and smothered in kisses. "Thank you, thank you, thank you" she said causing people who had come into the centre to mutter amongst themselves "that was the best night I've had in a long time Ash. And it's all thanks to you" which caused scandalous gasps.
"Er, you're welcome" Ash said finally freeing himself "you clearly needed it, and I was able to help you out, so I did."
"I did" Joy said happily returning to her counter "it had been such a long time, and it was exactly what I needed."
"Good" Ash said "can you take care of my Pokémon please. We've just been in a battle that put a stop to what was causing the town such grief. It originated from Pokémon Tower. Someone was using a Pokémon's psychic power and amplifying it from the top of the tower which caused everyone's insomnia. My Pokémon are a little banged up though."
"Oh Ash" Joy said coming back around the counter and kissing him repeatedly again "you're my hero twice!"
Shaking his head Ash walked up to his room, walked over to the video phone and called his mum and Sam.
"Hi Ash. Judging by your appearance it looks like you and Agatha managed to sort whatever the issue was in Lavender Town" Delia said.
"Yeah, thanks again for sending her Sam" Ash said deadpanned "she's still an absolute delight. And no, I managed to sort it out, Agatha wasn't there at the end. A Psychic barrier stopped her from being able to confront what was causing the issue. It was a Spiritomb."
"A Spiritomb?" Sam asked concernedly "what was one of those doing in Kanto?"
"No idea, but it was a bugger to battle and beat. We managed it eventually. I gave it to Agatha. I have no intention of keeping one of those things" Ash said shivering.
"Good choice Ash" Sam said, "like your fossil I would have to prohibit you keeping one until you had at least eight badges and a league behind you."
"Why" Delia asked, "and what fossil?"
"Oh, I'm sorry" Ash said walking over to his bag and pulling out the Old Amber. Showing it to his mum he explained where he got it and why he had to give it up when it is revived. "In all the excitement around Mt Moon I completely forgot I had it and that I hadn't told you about it. They're vicious, only know how to kill and are very unpredictable. They're perfect killing machines who forget to differentiate between prey and ally. I told Sam way back then in Pewter City I didn't want it on my team. Now I'm more experienced I still don't want it on my team. So, I'm giving it to Lance when I reach Cinnabar. I gave Agatha the Spiritomb for the same reason. At the same time, I met three individuals who joined her at the base of the tower. One was Champion Cynthia, the other was her Lucario and the last was her psychic elite Lucian" he finished distastefully.
"A psychic?" Delia asked hiding her mouth covering her smile.
"Oh dear" Sam said doing the same thing.
"Laugh it up guys" Ash said breaking them as they started howling with laughter.
"I take it you remember then Sam?" Delia asked wiping away tears.
"If you mean Red breaking that guys nose for daring to talk to you then yes" Sam said laughing.
"I was so angry at him for doing it" she said chuckling "he literally did nothing wrong apart from help me stand up while I was pregnant."
"It was lucky the guy feared him to be honest" Sam said "and when Red told me a few days later what the deal is between Aura users and Psychics I just laughed. The guy didn't even know he had psychic powers, did he?"
"No" Delia said shaking her head "he didn't. It was only when Red explained to me what the issue was that I got it. He took his role as an Aura wielder very seriously Ash, just like you do. And it seems you have his distaste for them."
"I do" Ash said "they're an abomination mum. I know you don't like me being rude about people. But this is something hardwired into Aura users worldwide."
"Ash" Sam said "you are aware who you'll be facing soon? Right?"
"Yes" Ash said wrinkling his nose in disgust "Sabrina the Saffron City gym leader. Hopefully I can be in and out of that place."
"I wouldn't count on it Ash" Sam said seriously "she's quite possibly the strongest psychic outside of the Elite four in the world. Like you she realised her powers when she was a child and became a prodigy. She's now seventeen and is a very good gym leader."
"I'm not worried about her professor" Ash said "she needs to worry about me."
"That kind of arrogance can lead to overconfidence and a loss" Sam said frowning.
"Professor we're looking for a loss" Ash said shocking him "do me a favour and look up my trainer profile while you're on here. Look at my battle count."
Confused Sam typed in Ash's information and he brought up the page so they could all see. There beside his picture was his win/loss column. Hearing Sam gasp out loud when he saw it let Ash know he had made an impact. 176 Sanctioned Battles, 176 wins 0 losses. 104 unsanctioned battles, 103 wins, 1 loss.
"Wow Ash" his mum said impressed "you're quite the trainer aren't you. 280 battles and only one loss?"
"Yeah, but the loss doesn't count mum" Ash said. Seeing her confused face, he continued "that loss was against Brock when I had already gained his badge. He wanted to test me, so he sent out one of his Elites that are usually only used after someone has already been through a league and wanted to do the Elite round of challenges. At this point I'd only been a trainer around a month. His Golem battered us in one move, which is what we all expected. And as it wasn't an official battle, more an additional challenge that I could have said no to it goes down as unsanctioned and obviously as a loss. We wanted to see how far we had to go at the time we faced Golem. Pikachu would now give it a good challenge at this point and might win. So, you see professor we're all looking to lose, but not throw the battle. We're not making mistakes in battle, so we can't correct anything afterwards. Our training is well beyond what's normal according to Bruno which is why we're so strong. I won't lose to Sabrina professor, but we really wouldn't mind a loss."
"Your mum is correct Ash" Sam said after a few moments of silence "not even your father had a perfect record at your point. Anyway, I have to go now Ash, my tea is due to arrive soon along with my Granddaughter. See you both soon" and he hung up.
"I'm glad he's left us Mum" Ash said seriously "I have something I need to talk to you about, but I'd rather talk properly in person. I'm going to scan some documents to you when I hang up along with some information that I received a few days ago off Bruno and I want you to have a look at them, make notes and then when we're on the SS Anne we'll compare our thoughts. It's about Dad."
"What about him Ash?" Delia asked frowning "why can't you tell me over the phone?"
"Walls have ears mum" he replied "please, just trust me on this. I should be in Saffron in around eight days, two weeks tops. I'll likely spend a few days there while I get the badge and have a look in Silph, there's a convention happening I want a look at. After that I'll be getting the overnight bus to Vermillion so all-in-all I should be there in three weeks, the SS Anne comes into port around then."
"Ok Ash" Delia said "I'll look over the papers and do as you ask. Sam has said I can use Dragonite to get to Vermillion so I should be there in just over two weeks' time."
"Ok mum" he said "I'll have a look at hotels now for you and book one for you. I'll send you your reservation details via email when I'm done. Bye mum. Love you lots."
"I love you too sweetie" Delia said hanging up.
Standing up Ash went to the scanner next to the printer and scanned everything to his email address and forwarded it on to his mum. He would keep the copies himself he decided as they were covered in his scribbles from last night. Looking up hotels he booked a suite overlooking Vermillion harbour for the two of them that had adjoining rooms and sent his mum the details. Walking downstairs he felt like he was being watched as he crossed the floor and spoke to Joy. Picking up his team he sent out an aura pulse and received a ping back. He was definitely being observed. Ignoring it he went back to his room, packed up his belongings and left, not before getting another hug off Joy. With a smile on his face Ash happily left Lavender Town. It would be too soon the next time he had to visit it he thought as he began walking down Route 8.
