Thanks for the reviews. They're always welcome.
Chapter 18- Are we having a crisis?
For the people on board the SS Anne it was just another day in paradise. They got up when they wanted, had a fabulous breakfast and went about their day as normal. For Delia though it was anything but. When Ash had gone off to do whatever he felt he had to do Delia decided that it was a day for staying on the ship and waiting for Ash to return. That all changed though around lunch time when over the ships tannoy came the voice of the captain
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the captain speaking. We urge everyone to return to your rooms immediately as we may have to move away from the harbour at a moment's notice due to there being reports of an attack on Porta Vista. We have raised the gang walk so if any of you have family members in Porta Vista, we apologise but my priority is the welfare of those still on board. We're awaiting updates from the Pokémon League and police, and we will keep you informed as and when we can. Thank you."
Immediately Delia packed up her things from the sun lounger she was on the front deck and raced to her room. Packing everything she went to Ash's room and did the same. She knew Ash was involved somehow. Finishing packing, she rang Sam, but his assistant picked up.
"Hello Delia, I'm afraid Professor Oak has just left on his Dragonite, there's an emergency somewhere and he hasn't left a message of where he's going."
"He'll be coming here" Delia said, "thank you." And she hung up.
Walking over to the TV she turned it on and put the news on. Immediately Porta Vista came on the screen. Listening to the reporters increased her concern. Apparently every Tentacool and marine Pokémon had staged an attack on Porta Vista and the people and the Tentacool were fighting pitched battles in the streets. A breaking news story saw the scene switched again, this time from the view of a helicopter. It showed hundreds of people and Pokémon battling until the camera swung around and focused on the beach. The helicopter headed towards it to see what was happening and had to swerve away from an incredibly huge Pokémon attack that would have ended the lives of those on board immediately. Staying as far away as they safely could the camera zoomed into whatever was happening.
"Whoa, that was close" the reporter said "we've had word that just outside the pitched battles of the city a lone trainer has diverted a giant Tentacruel from destroying the city and is currently fighting it on the beach. From our view up here, it looks like a young man with a Pikachu. Oh look, the Elite Four and Champion have arrived onto the scene. OH MY GOD" she screamed as the world turned bright yellow and the camera feed shut off and became static.
Delia immediately was on her feet and rushed towards the front deck, passing staff members who were calling her back. Rushing out of the door onto the open deck Delia made her decision and launched herself over the front, ignoring the screams from the people who had chased her. Diving into the water Delia struggled to surface in the choppy water. Finally, she surfaced and swam to shore. She didn't care how long it would take but she managed to get onto the beach. Running along it, she knew she was at least ten minutes away from where Ash was fighting, spurred on by making sure her son was ok she finally made it near the scene. Absolutely exhausted she ran down the steps and headed towards where a big group of people were congregated. Screaming Ash's name, they turned around. Sam immediately spotted a very wet, clearly exhausted Delia and rushed to her where he grabbed her into a hug. After around twenty seconds of struggling and not caring about whatever Sam was saying she stopped and just looked at Sam. Focusing on his words her brain finally engaged.
"Where is my son, why are you stopping me from seeing my son?" Delia demanded.
"He's not here anymore Delia" Sam said "Blue teleported him immediately to the nearest hospital. From what Blue and the other Elite Four members said, Ash charged into the Tentacruel deliberately to give Pikachu an opening to take it down. Delia, it doesn't look good. They've both been taken to the nearest hospital. I'll have Blue take you there as soon as he returns."
"No" Delia said sliding to her knees "why my Ash?"
This time it was Lance who answered "from the information we have gathered from various sources Ash rushed into the police station after hanging up from Sam and informed the police that the city was about to be attacked. He ordered his Charmeleon and Ivysaur to help Jenny out while he, his Wartortle and his Pikachu took on the Tentacruel before it could escape the harbour. The three of them took down the Tentacruel just as we arrived. I know this won't make a difference to you Delia, but Ash saved so many lives today by doing what he did."
At that moment Blue arrived back on the scene and noticed Delia was there. Running over to them he said "Ash is currently in the examination theatre having every examination he can have; we fear the attack may have done some internal damage. His Pikachu is awake but extremely exhausted. It won't be doing any battles for at least two months the state it is in. His other Pokémon are fine, just exhausted."
"I don't care about that right now; I want to see my son" Delia demanded standing up.
"You won't be going anywhere looking like that Delia" Sam said firmly "We're not arguing about this Delia. You're sopping wet and you look like you've just ran a marathon. Hand Blue your room key and he'll get you a change of clothes."
"Mine and Ash's bags are packed and are on my bed. I was waiting for news from him" Delia said causing Lance to frown. Blue teleported away and five minutes later came back with their bags. Oak and Blue teleported them all to the hospital and after half an hour of waiting were admitted into Ash's room in the ICU. Seeing Ash hooked up to a ventilator did nothing to ease Delia's mind but the gentle rise and fall of his stomach was all she needed to tell her brain that her son was still alive. After they all had eaten, they moved to a side room so they could talk and not disturb Ash or the doctors who came in to check on him.
"I don't want to sound accusatory Delia, but from your wording before it sounds like you knew this was going to happen" Lance said to her with a questioning look.
"Ash warned me this morning that he felt something significant had happened during the night." She replied looking him in the face as if daring him to accuse her "He didn't know what, but he had a 'feeling' and that's usually enough for me to know something is wrong. He's never been wrong about the feelings before. So, we knew something was going to happen, we had no idea it would be this though. How did that Tentacruel get that size? Is it an Ancient?"
"No" Sam said immediately "it was not an ancient."
"Sam is right" Lance said "but we found two people hugging the pier for dear life who told us the whole story. Apparently they work for Team Rocket. They got it into their heads to poison all the Tentacool for the million poke-dollar reward. So, they concocted a mish mash of chemicals and dumped it in the reef. Needless to say, it didn't work as intended and the lead Tentacruel grew to an enormous size. Its size was very beneficial to their cause, and they attacked the city. The woman behind it all, Nastina is currently in custody for allegedly forging documents and blackmailing the cites governors into signing off a portion of the reefs to her so she could build her theme park. Ash's warning came just in time and the police were able to block off portions of the city so they could herd them down one street."
"There are a lot of casualties out there, all because of one woman's temerity to build over a protected area" Sam said shaking his head "The Tentacool aren't at fault for this. That reef is their home and the protected it the only way they knew how."
"That doesn't help my Ash though" Delia said icily "does it? One woman decides to blackmail people, they go along with it, and it culminates with my son facing off against a fifty-foot Tentacruel. I'm sick and tired of him having to save others by putting his life on the line by fighting Team Rocket. First Viridian, then Mt Moon, then Power Plant, then Lavender and now this?"
"What do you mean?" Sam asked confused looking around the table "Team Rocket are back?"
"Delia shouldn't have told you that dad" Blue said, "by rights we could have her arrested for it."
"Bullshit" Delia said surprising them all "the fact you won't tell your dad what's going on isn't a surprise considering what you're keeping from me."
"What is he keeping from you?" Sam asked narrowing his eyes at Blue.
"Nothing dad" Blue said holding his hands out "there isn't anything."
"Oh right" Delia said arching her eyebrow at him "so there isn't currently an entire folder sitting in Charles Goodshows office detailing the investigation of my husband's disappearance, that was signed off on by every single person at this table as 'need to know' that has been kept from me for over eleven years now? The fact every single one of you can look me in the eyes is disgusting. Did you never wonder why Ash wants Blues position so much Sam? It's because when he becomes champion and believe me he will, he plans to 'expose' every single person here for their part in the cover up of Reds disappearance. Every one of you knows what happened to my husband. And the truth will come out very soon. Now if you will excuse me, I have a son to see" with that Delia stood up and marched out of the room.
"Which one of you told her?" Blue asked looking at them all.
"None of us did" Agatha said "I may have given Ash clues about what happened that day when we were in Lavender Town, but he had already pieced together bits and pieces from newspaper clippings. The boy is incredibly intelligent. In the space of half an hour he had deduced what happened that day on Cinnabar, who was involved and why. He also deduced that his dad's disappearance was very convenient for Fuji's trial and said he wouldn't be surprised if it was planned by you and Charles to take back his title."
"Tell me Agatha is lying" Sam said furiously "because if I find out you had anything to do with Red's disappearance, I will disown you."
"None of us had anything to do with it dad" Blue said looking concerned. Turning to Agatha he said "I'm going to need your resignation by Monday. We were all forbidden from speaking about it and you disobeyed that order. I might not like it, but we have rules we must adhere to."
"Then you can have my resignation as well" Bruno said, "and don't forget boy, we know the truth."
"And mine" Lorelei piped up.
"Yours aren't necessary" Blue said leaning back wiping a hand down his face "just Agatha's."
"Tough" Bruno said standing up "you fire Agatha and we're all gone."
"That is blackmail" Blue said furiously standing up as well.
"Well, its tough shit, isn't it?" Bruno replied also standing up and dwarfing Blue "for eleven years now we have had to sit by and let others suffer because of the oath we all took. Well, I won't be party to it anymore."
"Have you seen what you've started?" Blue said turning to Agatha. Before she could answer though Sam stood up.
"You will mind how you speak boy when you address Agatha" he said angrily putting a hand on her shoulder "it's only by a quirk of fate that Agatha isn't your mother. But that does not mean you can speak like that to her. Now you have some serious growing up to do Blue and until you do, do not bother visiting my lab. Anything that's said between us will be strictly professional from now on. So, until Agatha and the other members of the Elite Four receives an apology and Delia receives Red's file do not bother getting in contact. I will be having words with Charles myself about this. If I find out you have known all along what happened to Red there will be hell to pay. Come on Agatha, I believe I saw vending machines downstairs, we'll get Delia a cup of tea and some food" holding his hand out Agatha slipped hers in his and looped his arm before walking out of the room.
"You knew this day was coming Blue" Lance said glaring at him "we all did when we signed that contract. And there's not been a single day that's gone by where I've not regretted it."
"But I didn't have anything to do with Red disappearing" Blue said sitting back down "I don't know what happened that day."
"What do you mean?" Lorelei asked.
"Exactly what I said" Blue replied "I've never been able to remember that day fully. I've had Alakazam go through my mind, and he couldn't find anything either. All I remember is Red ordering me to leave Viridian Gym, the confrontation with Jenny, the explanation to Charles and Lance about disobeying an order and then signing a contract a few days later. I don't even know what I signed, just that it was important and that it would be locked away."
"That's very strange" Lance said frowning trying to recall what happened that day "I remember everything up until the meeting with Charles. I can't remember the meeting though."
"Now that I think on it neither can I" Bruno said shaking his head.
"Nor I" his wife said "someone has obviously messed with our minds. But if Alakazam can't recover our memories who can?"
"I've no idea" Blue said sighing "I'm sorry guys. I apologise for my behaviour. I'll apologise to Agatha as well; I won't be asking for her resignation either."
"Damn right you won't" Bruno said looking him in the eye "but if you ever threaten any of us like that again your face will be having a meeting with my hands. Agatha has been like my mother for over twenty years now, she deserves the respect she has more than earned."
"I know" Blue said sighing "I will apologise to her as soon as I see her. Dad however is going to be a lot harder. I have no way of getting Red's file to Delia, not without going through Goodshow first."
"Then we will have to come up with a plan." Lance said "I do wonder if Goodshow is in the same situation we are in though. Maybe its hope and nothing more."
"No, there's no way he'd have files in his office he wouldn't know everything about" Lorelei said.
"Unless he's been made to believe he already knows about what's in the file" Lance said leaning forward "we all have blank spots, there's no way he wouldn't either."
"I think I better go and see Dad and explain what I can to Delia." Blue said standing up "she deserves that much."
Sam and Agatha entered Ash's room carrying a cup of tea with a few biscuits. Putting them next to Delia they sat down and waited for her to start talking. She was sitting on a chair with her eyes closed holding Ash's hand.
"Ash knew something was going to happen today and still left to go and sort it out. We're supposed to be on a relaxing holiday. This cruise was just supposed to be him and I catching up with each other and enjoying some mum and son time. Why can we never have anything?" Delia said quietly.
"I wish it were otherwise Delia" Sam said "but Ash has always had this belief in himself that he alone can sort out any issues. Don't glare at me like that Delia, you know its true, even if you don't like it, he's very much like Red in that regard. Ash decided to take on that Tentacruel knowing that only he and Pikachu would be at risk. He saved thousands of people today, Delia. That Pokémon would have crushed buildings onto people, and they wouldn't have been able to do anything about it. He's a hero."
"Despite Sam's awful bedside manner, he is correct" Agatha said playfully glaring at him "we've known each other a long time Delia. Ash has always had this belief in himself that few others have. Not even Red had his abilities. Ash saved everyone's lives in the city today."
"At the cost of his own?" Delia asked furiously wiping tears from her eyes.
"Yes" Sam said looking at Ash "as I said, he's very much like his father in that regard."
"My dad is right" came a voice from the door making Delia sit up and glare at him. Blue came in with the others. Holding up his hands he continued "I know I am unwelcome here, but I have a few things I need to say before I leave. Agatha, I apologise for my actions today. You deserve more respect than I gave you and I apologise for what I said and did. Dad, I apologise for how I behaved. It will not happen again. Before I get to Delia, I have a question to ask Agatha. What do you remember of the day we signed the contract in Charles' office?"
Wondering where he was going with this Delia turned to Agatha and waited while she thought about it. "Very little now you mention it. I recall us all sitting around a table discussing Reds disappearance and that an investigation was underway. I know we all signed a form so that Charles made it temporarily secret until the outcome of the investigation was done. That's normal really" she said turning to Delia "as Elite Four we have temporary executive powers in high profile cases. It's in case we ourselves are under investigation, it means that the other Elites have full access to everything we have. Signing that order meant we could access Reds emails and case files without having to wait for the police to eventually get round to it. The rest is a bit blurry though. I suspect my mental faculties are failing me."
"No" Blue said sitting down "they're not. Not a single one of us can recall what happened after that point. All we remember is signing a contract, we don't even know what was in the contract. All we knew was that it was about Red and that it was a conclusion to his death."
"None of you remember?" Sam asked concerned "how is that possible?"
"I don't know dad" Blue said "I've even had Alakazam go though my memories several times over the years. He's not found anything amiss with his psychic scans. Alakazam are incredibly strong psychic Pokémon so whatever happened to us all is a mystery."
"No known psychic" Delia whispered looking at Ash intently.
"What was that?" Sam asked.
"It's just something Ash and I have been debating about ever since we found out about the experiments on Cinnabar that Red was investigating." Delia said speaking her thoughts "something my brother Giovanni said as a random comment has stayed in Ash's head since it was said. Gio said that "no known psychic Pokemon could have teleported him from Johto to Kanto" Known psychic. The experiments on Cinnabar were on a Mew fossil, so it stands to reason anything created would also have psychic powers and would be very strong. Ash pieced it together from the reports. We believe something survived Cinnabar and has been hiding ever since. Ash felt something in Cerulean cave when he went past. He said he felt the same thing in Lavender Town. And he thinks Fuji and Giovanni are connected somehow to it. We're just not sure what yet."
"We thought the same thing when Agatha came to us about Lavender Town" Lance said, "but without proof we have no ideas."
"Maybe it's worth investigating Cerulean Cave?" Blue asked "I'm sure Alakazam and I could do that. That still leaves us with holes in our memories though."
"I'm still not certain I believe you" Delia said looking at him "you've kept this from me for eleven years. It took my own son digging into the past to tell me what all of you should have told me eleven years ago. Regardless of what little information you actually have, I should have been made aware of what was known about my husband's disappearance."
"You're correct" Lance said "but we all signed a confidentiality contract about this. The repercussions should this ever be known aren't fun. It will cost us more than our jobs. So, for now I would like to keep this all between us." receiving nods, even a reluctant one from Delia Lance excused himself followed by the rest until it was just Delia and Ash.
"We will find out Ash" Delia said quietly "and whoever took your father from us will pay."
Elsewhere
"Sir, I have information for you."
"Speak" a man said half hidden in shadows, a Persian asleep on a rug in front of a fire.
"We have found the Mt Moon team Sir, or what remains of them anyway. I have been investigating for the last few months now what happened. We found five of the team members hidden in a little passageway in a tunnel. It was the smell Sir that led us to them. We still have no information where Admin Arnold and the two remaining members are though Sir, though there have been several rockslides and earthquakes near Mt Moon lately that have collapsed a lot of the tunnels that go deep into Mt Moon so they could be buried under all the rubble."
"So, they are dead" the man said unconcerned "how did they die?"
"I'm not sure Sir. The decay has made it difficult to figure out. I have one of the mortuary assistants working on their cause of death Sir. I shall inform you as soon as I find out. We have also dug up and recovered the bodies of the Power Plant team as well sir."
"Why?"
"Something about it doesn't feel right Sir. From the reports of the eyewitness all of them were killed by a Zapdos, but two of them managed to escape down a hallway where only one had injuries that a Zapdos inflicted. How did the other one die? From the reports his head had a hole in it. You know as well as I do Sir that escaping with information is more vital than saving another operatives life. It is drilled into them from the time they start training. And if one of them had a grievous wound made by Zapdos beak he would not waste time carrying a man with a hole in his head to escape while bleeding out."
"So, what are you saying?" the man asked curiously.
"I believe this Ash Ketchum lied. And I believe he knows who actually killed the man with the hole in his head"?
"Ketchum?" the man asked, "why does that name ring a bell?"
"His father is Red Ketchum sir" the grunt said nervously.
A growl escaped the man's lips, and the Persian opened its eyes and yawned before looking keenly at the grunt "So meddling Red has a child, does he?"
"It would seem so Sir." the grunt said looking at a piece of paper with his notes "Ash has been a trainer for five months now. He's also responsible for stopping those incompetent trainers who revealed our comeback at Viridian Pokémon Centre."
"Yes, I remember now. Put a tail on Ketchum. I want to know what's going on with him."
"Well currently Sir he's at Porta Vista hospital. He was on the SS Anne on holiday. Apparently, he saved the city from a giant Tentacruel and was injured in the process".
"Porta Vista? How curious. He stops my operatives in Viridian, then a few weeks later my Moon team go missing. Then the Power Plant team dies and he's at the site. And then few days ago my theme park is destroyed costing me billions in pokedollars and Ketchum is in the vicinity again? It seems a Ketchum is interfering with my operations once again. But at the minute I cannot afford to have him killed." he said looking over the notes. Seeing the Elite Four names he frowned "He's very well connected at the moment. Put a tail on him, those two idiots can do that. Tell them not to interact or interfere with him in any way."
"Sir, those two were arrested today for causing the destruction of Porta Vista."
Silence reigned as the boss drummed his fingers on the table. "Sir?"
"Have Domino extract them. Get them in here. Their explanation had better be phenomenally good. Have Cassidy and Biff tail Ketchum. Be sure to warn them this is an intel assignment only. If and only if Ketchum attacks are they to retaliate."
"Yes Sir. I shall do it at once. I shall send you the information from the mortuary findings too." Leaving the boss as quickly as they could the Grunt gave the rest the orders from the boss.
Standing up from his desk he walked over to his drinks cabinet where he poured himself a brandy. Sitting back down he held it up to the light. As he did so he saw the scars that littered his hand, relics from his fight with Red Ketchum. Snarling he threw the glass at the wall, stood up and faced out of the window overlooking the city. "Ketchum" he growled.
Hall Of Origin
The legendaries had gathered once again. It seemed this was going to be more of a quarter yearly event now rather than the annual one. Waiting for the last to arrive a few bits of conversation happened, curious as to why they'd been called again. When Yveltal finally arrived Arceus stood up and walked to the centre halting any conversation. Roaring they all watched on as the sky changed into the incident at Porta Vista. Listening to Ash's words before he charged at the Tentacruel left them all in shock. He loyalty between Ash and Pikachu was unheard of. Sacrificing himself so Pikachu could be guaranteed a critical hit had mutters ring around the congregated Legends. The scene ended with Pikachu and Ash holding each other's hand, a smoking corpse of Tentacruel in the background.
"As you can all see, there has been an incident with the Chosen One. At the minute he lies in a hospital grievously wounded after sacrificing himself to save a city from a rampaging Pokémon. I'm here to get some advice from you all about how to proceed."
"What do you mean mother?" Mew asked.
"I'm afraid that I have sentenced the Chosen One to death with my plan for him. And I'm at a loss on how to proceed."
"We must help him however we can" Zapdos said walking forwards "recently he saved my life. Without him and Pikachu being in the vicinity you would all now be talking to my son. Show them Arceus."
Nodding Arceus roared again, this time it was from Zapdos' perspective. Hearing Zapdos' thoughts on the strange boy who had rescued him when he was at his most helpless rather than take advantage and catch him. Hearing him give his explanation as to why he'd never own a Legendary went a long way of improving the reluctant legends opinions of him. Listening to Zapdos give Ash confidential information about their breeding was a little concerning but given Ash's character was also forgivable. When the scene stopped Arceus roared, and the scene became Ash in the hospital bed again. Curiously she asked.
"You would have gone with Ash? Despite knowing the role you have in this world?"
"You do not get to judge me Lady Arceus" Zapdos said shocking them all "Ash saved my life, not you, not anyone else here. Ash did. So yes, I trust him with my life and would have travelled with him for as long as he'd have wanted me around. Had I done so he would not now be in the position he is in as I would have been able to take down the Tentacruel."
"I am not judging you Zapdos" Arceus said with a little frown at his tone "I am simply wanting to understand why."
"What are they saying?" Mew suddenly asked as she saw the heated debate happening around his hospital bed.
"Let's listen in" Arceus said. The conversation shocked everyone. Had the abomination already been created? If so, how could they not all feel it? And why hadn't Arceus told them about it?
"Why didn't you tell me my brother had already been created?" Mew asked hurt.
"I didn't know Mew" Arceus shocked voice said, "why didn't I know?"
Hearing a snort, they all turned to Darkrai. Mindful of what went on last time he wasn't as arrogant with his response to the glares. "They clearly said it was a Psychic type that's been created. Take your Dread Plate off mother."
Curious Arceus gave him a searching look but cautiously did so. As soon as she did, she felt every psychic in the Pokémon world. Immediately she felt a massive presence off the coast of Cinnabar and Seafoam Islands. Gasping she zeroed in on it and roared to the sky. Immediately everyone could see what she felt. A two-meter-high bipedal cat like Pokémon stared back at them, its eyes glowing purple.
"I wondered when you would be contacting me" it said.
"Who are you?" Arceus asked.
"I have had many names over the years" it replied "the abomination, the freak, the Mew-knock off. Only one person gave me a name that stuck. They called me Mewtwo, how unoriginal. Those people who created me were the abominations, the freaks. And I am no Mew knock off. I am much more powerful than Mew will ever be. I was created to be the most powerful Pokémon in the world and I am."
"You will answer to me Mewtwo" Arceus said roaring.
"I will do no such thing" Mewtwo said angrily "the world and the people in it are going to burn for what they did to me. And then you all will be next. This is your only warning. Stay away from me."
"But what about the other one?" Celebi asked Mew.
"What other one?" Mewtwo asked sharply.
"The other Mewtwo that's been created" Victini said.
It was the wrong thing to say as Mewtwo's eyes glowed and he replied "they dared to make another one? After what they did to me? And you have done nothing?"
"We cannot" Dialga said "Arceus forbids us from interfering with the human world."
"And in doing so I was created and experimented on!" Mewtwo said angrily. "And you have let it happen again and done nothing, again! You may listen to that worthless God of yours, but I will not. They will pay." Abruptly Mewtwo ended whatever connection had been created.
"How could he cancel the connection like that?" Mew asked.
"With the removal of six of my plates I am not as powerful as I should be" Arceus said placing the Dread Plate back into its place "clearly Mewtwo has been around for a long time now. And yet again my own oversight seems to be coming back to haunt us."
"We must do something mother" Xerneas said "we must remove the threat of Mewtwo one way or the other. The balance must be maintained."
"I cannot, we cannot" Mew said sadly "Mewtwo is still a Pokémon, therefore we are all still under mothers' edicts."
"What Mew says is correct" Arceus said sadly "it is not our task to quell Mewtwos rage. That is the responsibility of our voice on Earth."
"The chosen one" Zapdos said looking at the image of Ash in the sky "we must be allowed to aid him mother."
"And we shall. I want you all to keep an eye out for him, assist him any way you can when you do see him. Apart from that we're all pretty useless." Arceus said shaking her head. After a minute of silence, she continued "or maybe not. Mew, Celebi, I want you two to visit him tonight and heal him, heal his Pikachu too. Do not be seen. And do not tell him who has healed him. We may not be able to interfere directly in his quest, but we can aid him subtly. If any of you can think of anything else to aid him let me know. We will meet again in three months' time. Until then, be wary of Mewtwo."
Roaring Arceus cancelled the sky screen and gradually all the legendaries faded away except for Mew and Zapdos. Curious Arceus wondered what they wanted.
"I wish to aid Ash more directly." Zapdos said "I'm aware of the edicts but you once told Darkrai and Latios that they could choose to become a trainers Pokémon. What if I sent my son to aid his Pikachu?"
"Hmmm" Arceus said "your plan has merit. Speak to your son, we will decide when we next meet. What can I do for you Mew?"
"I wish to hunt down Mewtwo." Mew said, "he is my brother."
"He will harm you Mew" Arceus said gently "but I will let you try. If you feel outmatched flee. You can always fight another day."
Nodding the two of them left Arceus to her ponderings.
Ash
Ash was currently floating around in space. The stars and planets were very bright tonight. Not that that was unusual in Ash's mind he decided. He was in space after all, they were bound to be brighter with no clouds in the way. He was quickly growing annoyed with the tranquillity though. It was very boring. He was also getting annoyed with the little taps he kept getting on his arms, like something was poking him. Yet every time he looked at his arms there was nothing there. It was maddening. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. Opening them he found he wasn't alone. In front of him were two big purple eyes. Closing his eyes, he opened them again quickly and found they had disappeared. Deciding to ignore it as a figment of his imagination he tried to relax again. At least that poking had stopped he mused. Sadly though he never got the chance as something smacked him on the face dazing him. Looking around left him bewildered as he was alone. He was in space for Arceus' sake, the only things up here were the stars. And then the beeping started.
That tapping had returned too. Grumbling out an expletive he again tried to relax. It just wasn't happening though as the tapping became louder, and a noise began to accompany it. It was so far away though that he couldn't decipher what was being said. Concentrating hurt his brain so he gave up trying that. Why could he not just be left alone in space to relax? Was that too much to ask for.
"Ash…" the voice whisperingly echoed through his mind "Ash…"
"Can you not just leave me alone?" he tried to reply but all that came out was unintelligible gibberish.
"Ash…" the voice said again in the same tone "Chosen…"
Chosen? Where had he heard that phrase before? He knew it was important, it had to be but for the life of him he couldn't remember what it meant. Closing his eyes to try and focus became an impossibility due to the voice in his head and the tapping on his arms that became more persistent. This time when he opened his eyes though he found he was staring at a ceiling. How very odd. The beeping was much louder now but it seemed to have more of a rhythm to it. Struggling to move his head he finally managed to flop it in the direction of the beeping and found himself staring into the big purple eyes again. Confusion was quickly replaced with recognition. Why was Mew here? And for that matter where was here? Those eyes were very expressive Ash decided as he could clearly see panic set in before Mew vanished. Looking up at the ceiling everything came back to him. The cruise, the fight, Pikachu. Pikachu! Where was his best friend.
The machine at the side of him was going haywire. And from nowhere the door was flung open as several people entered and began rushing around the room yelling various things. Ash could only catch bits and pieces and they left him more bewildered.
"…shouldn't be awake…"
"…less than a day…"
"…the machine off…"
Ash felt something being removed from his throat and instantly he felt like he could breathe better. He heard the people shouting his name, but he decided to ignore them and close his eyes. Hopefully when he opened them again Pikachu would be there. The next time he opened his eyes he shut them again quickly. It was so bright. Had he finally made it to the sun? what an idiotic thought his brain said as his memory came back to him. Opening his eyes cautiously again he saw a few people sat next to his bed. It could only be a bed Ash thought as he was clearly lying down. Croaking he drew the attention of the people who rushed to him, one with a glass of water with a straw in it. Greedily he drank and then laid his head back down closing his eyes. He felt a hand run through his hair, opening his eyes it took a few seconds to recall who it was. Closing his eyes again he muttered "Mum…Pikachu." Before falling asleep again.
The next few days were a blur to Ash. He had awakened properly in that time and been told what happened. Pikachu was alive, which was a huge relief for Ash. He was severely injured though and wouldn't be able to battle for a while. Ash wasn't bothered by this though; he was just grateful their last act had succeeded. Pikachu was still hooked up to a machine to heal his body from the trauma but would be fine in a few days. His mum, after scolding him had informed him of what happened after he had distracted the Tentacruel, what happened after the battle and the conversations that had happened between Delia, Sam and the Elite Four. She apologised for letting the cat out of the bag, but Ash wasn't concerned by that.
"Mum, you have every right to demand answers about dad's disappearance. I still think they're hiding something but at least we have more of an idea about the cover up, and that there actually IS one. We're not paranoid mum. And hopefully Sam can get the information out of Goodshow. I still don't trust they're telling the whole truth though."
"Me neither Ash" Delia said sighing "now I have something to discuss with you. The SS Anne leaves Pota Vista in three days' time. Apparently quite a few people on the cruise were involved in the battle that happened and were in here for various issues. The harbour is also being fixed too. You're being released the day after tomorrow as is Pikachu. What do you want to do? Do you want to go home, or do you want to go back onto the ship?"
"What would you prefer mum?" Ash asked quietly.
"That's not the question here Ash" Delia said giving him a look "the question is what you want to do. The SS Anne will be in Fuchsia in just over a week and then it goes back to Vermillion. That's two whole weeks away."
"I want to carry on with my journey" Ash said picking at the blanket "am I allowed to?"
Sighing Delia sat back "I'm not going to stop you, Ash. What happened here was very unforeseen, but you found yourself in the centre of a problem that you placed yourself in yet again. I know what you're going to say, 'you had a feeling'. Trust me I know all about them and they've never been wrong yet. But you could have died Ash."
"But I didn't mum" Ash said looking up "I didn't die, and I stopped hundreds of others from potentially dying."
"I'm aware of that Ash" Delia said frowning "but if you believe you sacrificing yourself for other people makes me feel any better about the situation then think again. You are in a hospital, they are not. And I know which way around I'd have preferred it to be. You are my son. I don't give two shits about anyone else Ash." Sighing she stood up and walked to the window "ultimately though you are your father's son. The number of scrapes I had to clean up on his body because he didn't think about situations before entering them are uncountable. And you also have my stubbornness." Sitting back down she looked at him and sighed before saying "we will go back on the ship. You will do nothing but relax. There will be no thoughts of battles or future battles. We will not talk about Arceus' bloody plans either. Understood?"
Nodding Ash said "Yes, thank you mum."
"I know how important your journey is to you Ash. Trust me I really do." Standing up Delia went to leave before Ash's words halted her.
"I saw Mew mum. Why was she here?"
"I have no idea. But we will find out Ash" Delia replied before leaving the room.
Several days later Ash and Delia left the hospital and checked back into their rooms. Lying down he looked over at Pikachu who was asleep on the pillow. They had come so close to dying and it frightened him. Wiping away tears he decided to talk to the rest of his Pokémon that his mum had been taking care of. Releasing them Ash sat there in shock. Wartortle and Charmeleon were fine. But Bulbasaur had evolved.
"Hi guys" Ash said stupidly "Ivysaur, you look different."
Instead of answering Ivysaur slapped him on the head with a vine and snorted.
"Yup, he's still an idiot" Wartortle said shaking his head.
"You're not wrong" Charmeleon said giving him a look "don't think we've forgotten you sent us to help someone else Ash. And while it was 'noble' work we still had no idea what happened to you until a day later when your mum told us what happened. We could have helped Ash. Do not ever send us away like that again."
"I can't promise that Charmeleon" Ash said sighing "there are going to be times when I ask you to help someone other than myself. You won't be alone in that either. You saved hundreds of lives out there guys. I'm so proud of all of you."
"Do not try and switch the subject Ash" Charmeleon said angrily "you could have died, and we wouldn't have known because you sent us away. Ivysaur's choice in evolving was taken away from him because of the decision and the necessity of the battle, Wartortle was severely hurt, Pikachu nearly died, and we wouldn't have known! We're meant to be a team, Ash; we're meant to be a family. We look out for each other. Or at least that's what you've been telling us. Were they lies?"
"We are a team" Ash said shaking his head wondering where all this was coming from "of course they weren't lies."
"Well, you have a funny way of showing it" Charmeleon said before leaving the room. Knocking on Delia's door she opened it wondering what was going on. Seeing Charmeleon in some distress she let him in where he just curled up on the rug and closed his eyes. After several minutes where Delia pottered around unpacking, again Charmeleon broke the silence.
"Thank you, Mrs Ketchum."
"I'm assuming that was thank you?" Delia asked. Seeing him nod she continued "I can only understand bits of poke-speech. I assume you're angry at Ash?" which received another nod "yup, me too. But while he's an idiot, he's our idiot" which earned a snort from Charmeleon.
"He made us abandon him" Charmeleon said slowly so she could understand him.
"Ah yeah, I can see why you'd be mad given your past." Delia said "Ash told me what happened to you. He also told me of what happened in Porta Vista. You saved a lot of people's lives you know?"
"Don't care about them" Charmeleon snorted "they're not Ash."
"Yes, well we agree on that." Delia stated "As I told him a few days ago I don't care what happens to other people. He's my son, not theirs. Next time you disagree with something though I suggest you talk it through with him. His heart was in the right place."
"But not his head." Charmeleon said "he's my only family. And I would never have known what happened to him if you hadn't told me. I think I have a right to be angry about being asked to abandon him when he needed me most. I'm not jealous of Pikachu and Wartortle, I'm glad they were with him. But I am irritated that we weren't together at what could have been the end."
"Again, we agree on that" Delia said "I suggest you stay here for tonight. I'll talk to him at tea but its really a discussion you both should be having."
"I will" Charmeleon said "I will do everything I can do to prevent what happened happening again Mrs Ketchum. If that means saving Ash from himself, I will do."
"Good" she said leaving to head to the canteen for tea.
The next few days flew by. Charmeleon and Ash were still not on great speaking terms but had at least talked through the issues they had. When the SS Anne arrived in Fuchsia Delia left the ship to do some shopping. Ash never had any intentions to get off at Fuchsia anyway so spent the day by the ships pool with all his Pokémon at his side. Looking over at Pikachu made Ash very concerned. He still hadn't spoken since leaving the hospital. Clearly, he was working through some issues he had and would talk when he was ready, but Ash missed the conversations he had with Pikachu. Sighing he leaned back on the lounger.
"I'm sorry Pi" Ash said looking at him earning a raised head "I know I put us in the position we found ourselves in. And I know it would have been my fault had we failed. We very nearly died, and it would have been my fault."
"I'm not mad about that Ash" Pikachu said earning a look from them all "I'm mad because were in this situation to begin with. I used to think being chosen by Arceus was a great thing, we were special. The Chosen Ones chosen Pokémon. Porta Vista changed that perception. Aside from us all finding each other, what has Arceus done to aid us? Nothing is the answer, Ash. Absolutely nothing. Growing up wild I heard all the stories about how great Arceus the Kind was, how her edicts were just and beneficial for all Pokémon-kind. Porta Vista again changed that perception. I don't think I believe that she can't interfere anymore. I think she chooses not to. Charmeleon was abused by Damien, Wartortle and Ivysaur were abandoned by their trainers. The Tentacool at Porta Vista did nothing wrong and nearly fifty of them died trying to save their homes. Homes that shouldn't have been built over to begin with and again Arceus didn't interfere. Are you telling me she couldn't lay her judgement on the wicked if she so chose? That is what's making me angry. I never thought I would feel like this Ash."
"I agree" Ivysaur piped up shocking them all "we're all misfits brought together by one person. You Ash. But aside from telling you what your destiny is, giving you access to your aura and finding us what has she actually done to assist you? We've been thrown into one bad situation after another in the few months since we met, and not once had any word from her. All we can go off is what you've been told. There's an issue due to happen sometime in the next six months. That's it. That's all you've been told. How are you not angrier?" he finished earning nods from everyone.
"I've asked myself that" Ash said sighing "and I've yet to come up with an answer. Mums also asked me that too. So, you're not alone in those thoughts you've all been having. Mum is very angry at times about it, mainly because she's been made to feel helpless by Arceus' decisions. How do you argue with a literal God? I feel like I can't be angrier because she gave me you guys, not only that but she gave me the ability to understand you all. That's pretty huge. Does that outweigh the issues we're going to come across? Probably not. Her edicts make sense to me at times and then other times they don't. It all comes down to free will though doesn't it, otherwise we live in a dictatorship and have no control over anything in life."
"Ash, we don't have control over our lives" Pikachu said seriously "Arceus does! We know that we're literally headed towards a disaster that could end the world and have been given breadcrumbs to follow rather than actual answers."
"So, what do we do then?" Ash asked "because for the last five years all I've been training for, every bit of blood, every bit of sweat, every broken bone has been because I've been training for this event. I can't just give up on that Pi."
"And we're not saying we do" Wartortle said interrupting "it's pretty clear that we've all been brought together for a reason. I know it may seem like arrogance, but your training Ash has convinced me we'll all be the strongest starter Pokémon the world has ever seen. And as long as we keep to our beliefs we will be. Having said that though I say we do things our way. If they happen to converge with what Arceus wanted then so be it, otherwise we do it for ourselves. With the information we do have we know somethings coming. So, we train for that event. And we fight for each other. No more sending us away to help other people, none of us will ever be isolated again Ash."
"Agreed" Charmeleon said nodding "I swore to your mum that I would do everything I could to help you, Ash. And I will not be forced to go back on my word."
"Are you all in agreement?" Ash asked "I once told you guys that we sort issues out as a family, and I failed on that a week ago. So, are you all decided on this course of action?"
"We are" Pikachu said firmly "as long as she refuses to help us directly Arceus' task, whatever it is will take a back seat to us becoming great. If this turns into nothing more than a crisis of faith, then I'll let you all know. I doubt it will though."
"Agreed" they all said nodding. That night Ash told his mum of his Pokémon's decision and why they had come to it. Sitting around the table on the balcony Delia listened and gave advice when it was needed. Overall though she was happier than she had been that morning. Ash had recklessly been throwing himself into situations because he believed that they were all training exercises for whatever the big event coming up is. Hearing that his Pokémon would step in if they felt it was necessary took a massive burden off her shoulders and she went to bed that night and slept peacefully for the first time in four months.
The next week passed by very peacefully. Ash spent as much time as he could with his mum and his Pokémon. They were all going to miss each other. Pikachu and Ivysaur had taken Cleffa under their wings and taught her basic techniques utilising her tiny hands. She had come out of her shell a lot, much to the chagrin of Pikachu who was often seen to be grabbing her and escaping situations she caused. Many times, Delia had had to apologise. Eevee on the other hand had grown sullen. She knew their adventure would soon be over with. She didn't realise how much she missed Ash. She spoke to Delia about it, who in turn spoke to Ash and between the three of them they came up with a compromise. Every time Ash planned to spend more than three days at a Pokémon Centre Eevee would join them. It wasn't ideal for Ash, but his mum had a point when she said Eevee was family too. Getting back into Vermillion Ash and Delia departed the SS Anne. They couldn't believe a whole month had passed by already. Heading to the Pokémon centre they found that someone was waiting for them at the reception desk. It was Lance.
"Hello all" he said "I'm glad to see you up and about Ash. I don't believe we've met before. I'm Lance."
"I know who you are" Ash said laughing "what are you doing here?"
"Well, it occurred to me that I didn't give either of you my number." Lance said smiling.
"You came all the way to Vermillion to give us your number?" Delia asked sceptically.
"Ah no, actually I came to see you, Delia. You see I asked Melanie to marry me, and she said yes." Lance said beaming.
"I know" Delia replied "she rang me to tell me you'd finally asked her. Took you long enough Lance."
"Yes well" he said frowning "anyway she told me she wanted to speak to you in person about the wedding, so I told her I'd come and collect you."
"Oh, ok" Delia said smiling "it would be lovely to see her again, it's been a while."
"Er mum" Ash said bewildered "who's Melanie?"
"Oh" Delia said "she's Red and Blues best friend. When they left Pallet Town on their journey Melanie was the third trainer to do so on the same day. She was the one who introduced us to each other. She's been Lances Assistant for twenty years now. And now she's the future Mrs Waturu."
"Oh ok" Ash said "well congratulations Lance." Turning to his mum he continued "I'll give you a ring tonight before I get on that bloody bus again to Saffron. I won't be staying there though; I'll head to Celadon from there. I've loved being with you mum. Despite the last half being less than ideal I've loved every minute."
"Me too Ash" she said giving him a hug "we should do it again next year."
"Maybe not as adventure filled though" Ash said laughing. "It was nice to meet you, Lance. I'll let you know when I'm on the way to Cinnabar for the Aerodactyl. Stay safe mum."
Smiling Delia picked up her bag and followed Lance out of the door into a limousine which sped off into the distance.
"Well Pi" Ash said as he watched the car disappear "it's just us again buddy."
