I'm trying to keep things as realistic as possible. Anime already asks you to suspend your belief in reality, I don't want to write something that makes people think "oh now he's just taking the piss." Hopefully my explanation of the moves is reasonable.
Chapter 19- Celadon
The bus journey to Saffron was as hellish as it had been the other two times he'd done it. Getting up at an unreasonable hour to go on a twelve-hour bus ride was a nonsense Ash thought. He couldn't wait to get a flying type so they could travel that way. He had even considered a psychic type to use teleport before he dismissed that thought very quickly. He was clearly still suffering from the event in Porta Vista if he was entertaining thoughts like that. Arriving in Saffron around 7pm he decided it was a little too late to leave and spent the night in the Pokémon Centre.
Even though he had cleared out Saffron over a month ago he still felt uneasy being in the city. Deciding to visit Hatori he entered Silph Towers and asked if Hatori was available. He was told he was in luck and that Mr Suzuki would be down soon. Taking a seat Ash picked up a magazine and read a few articles before a cough disturbed him. Looking up it was Hatori.
"Mr Ketchum" he said holding out his hand "it's a pleasure to meet you again."
"Likewise, Mr Suzuki." Ash said, "I was passing back through and thought I'd give you the contract back in person."
"Oh yes" Hatori said "well let's visit father then and discuss it." Leading the way, they travelled up the elevator again and entered the President's office. "Father, Mr Ketchum has a reply to our offer." Sitting down opposite the president Ash pulled out the revised contract.
"Now obviously this is open to negotiations." Ash said handing it over "but my mother's lawyers have been over it, amended a few things here and there but overall, they felt the offer was fantastic. Professor Oak and my mother told me why they think you made an offer, but I would like to hear it from you personally."
Looking at him the president thought over his answer. Deciding on brutal honesty he said "being open and honest Mr Ketchum, we know that you're a future star in the making and want to be along for the ride before anyone else realises what you are destined to become. Having Silph be associated with the next Pokémon League champion will provide Silph with many benefits. Endorsements on merchandise will make us a massive profit, you have already released several papers which are now league standard, your heroics at Power Plant, Lavender and Porta Vista have made people sit up and realise a new shaker is around. The main reason though is protection from groups like Team Rocket. Having the league champion associated with the Silph name will mean several competitors or terrorist groups will think twice before trying to steal our inventions."
"I will not be an enforcer sir" Ash said frowning "I already have people trying to manipulate me into doing what they want. I won't sign that contract if that's what you're after."
"No Mr Ketchum" Hatori said holding his hands up "it was poorly worded. We're not after an enforcer. Think of it as more of a deterrent to those people who entertained those kinds of thoughts. You're someone with major connections already Mr Ketchum, having Silph be protected by those people would add another level of security to the ones we already have. We already have the ear of the League president and his Elite Four. Being truly honest, I doubt we would ever require you in that capacity."
Nodding Ash was silent for a few moments "Ok, I can understand that. I thank you for your honesty."
Giving the contract a quick once over he couldn't see anything too strenuous or out of order. "We will give the updated contract a look at and send our response within the week. The only issue I can see so far is profit percentages. We usually give our employees 10% of the profit intake from their inventions along with a bonus depending on how well it sells. The 20% you have asked for, for sales profits and book deals is a little too high given we finance literally everything about them" the president said looking at Ash.
"As I said, it's negotiable, it's not set in stone." Ash replied, "My mother put that in more for added security when I'm older as she can see us having a very long and profitable relationship."
"Yes, and normally I would agree with her" Hatori said "however, at the moment you are still a rookie, and have nothing but a few exploits to tell of outside of the academic world. All of this is about potential. You could become nothing; you could be become a legend. There is a lot of financial risk."
"And I get that" Ash said "which is why I said it's not finalised yet. I'll do you a deal though, I won't entertain any other offers I may get until you give my lawyers your final offer. I am genuinely looking forward to working alongside you, but my mother's priority is getting the best deal for me that secures my future."
"As you say it's still in the negotiations stage." the president said looking at him shrewdly "Now, onto safer topics. We wanted to thank you for your warning about the Masterball. A few days after you left an employee of ours tried to steal it on behalf of a rival company, when that failed, they tried to steal the blueprints for it. Luckily, we had moved it to a much safer place the night you warned us."
"Oh, you're very welcome" Ash said "as I said it's a fantastic piece of technology, but its open to so much abuse. Not everyone has the same intentions you guys had when creating it. But I'm glad it's been moved. Are you still giving one to the League Champion as a prize?"
"Your information is astounding Mr Ketchum" Hatori said laughing "very few people knew that piece of information. It's still in negotiations at the minute. As we don't know the character of the next champion, should it not be you that is, we want to ensure they deserve such a prize. Plus, Charles is reluctant to have anything like that advertised before the Championships are held. We likely won't know until the finals."
"Ah no worries" Ash replied nodding and looking at his watch "I'm afraid I have to be going. To get to Celadon on my schedule I need to leave by late afternoon. It was a pleasure meeting you both again" he said standing up. Hatori escorted him out and returned to his father.
"He is very clever" his father said standing up and looking out of the window "his offer isn't outrageous Hatori, but we have never given anyone that we sponsor or have work for us more than 15%."
"Maybe we can offer him 12% but have the rest as incentives?" Hatori said looking over the changes on the contract. "Looking at the amendments that seems to be the only sticking point that we don't agree on."
"It is" his father said returning to his seat "but there are no guarantees he will do what he says he will do and win the league."
"There are no guarantees in life Father" Hatori said laughing "and talking to him as I have? He will succeed."
"We're going to pay him millions, aren't we?" his father said sighing and pouring him and his son a drink.
Taking the drink, he raised it and said "Yes, but he'll make us billions."
Sipping his drink, the president said "get his lawyers on the phone, arrange a meeting. I want this sorted out by the weekend. The sooner we have him on board the better. Go up to 17%. He did say he was willing to negotiate. Hopefully incentivised profits will be acceptable."
Nodding Hatori put down the drink and left.
Leaving Silph Towers Ash headed to the Pokemart where he restocked his potions and vitamins. Spending over $40,000 pokedollars left him feeling itchy but as it was necessary, he quickly got over it. He knew he was good for money, but that didn't mean he was going to throw it away. Quickly leaving Saffron Ash made his way onto Route 7. Celadon was only around four days walk away. The walk helped clear Ash's mind and focus on what he needed to do. After a month without training or battling he was afraid of getting a little rusty. Pikachu was allowed to do light training and would hopefully be ready for Erika's gym. He swore there was nothing wrong with him, and that he felt fine, but Ash was under Joys orders to not let him battle for at least another two days.
"I'm sorry Pi" Ash said as they all sat around the fire that night "but you have two days left of your enforced two weeks off from battling. The fact we were awake the day after that event is incredible. Lance was convinced you'd need two months off not two weeks."
"Well, I'm glad he was wrong about that" Pikachu said grumbling around his apple "but two days Ash! It's only two days. Surely, I can battle when the days are so few."
"Exactly" Ash said smirking "it's only two days, surely you can survive another two days. Pi, I have no choice in this. I promised Joy and my mother. I won't go back on that promise. Anyway, we haven't seen a single trainer today, we might not see any before we get to Celadon so your whinging will have been for nothing anyway."
"It's not whinging" Pikachu said whinging causing everyone to laugh.
"Anyhoo" Ash said "Ivysaur. We've not had much chance to speak like this since Porta Vista. How are you doing? I know you planned on waiting to evolve, and I'm sorry for my part in it. How are you dealing with things?"
"Honestly" Ivysaur said "it's not as bad as I thought it would be. I can feel I have a deeper well of reserves for attacks. Sludge works how it should do now that my bulb is bigger and can pressurise attacks. I can feel the aura of the world a lot better too. It's difficult to explain."
"Your ability to manipulate the elements around you is better now you have deeper reserves" Charmeleon said looking at Ivysaur earning a nod "yeah, I discovered that too when I evolved. My inner pool tripled in size which meant I can train harder, use attacks for longer and make them more powerful. My range has increased too."
"Yeah, mine is the same" Wartortle said "my reservoir became more of a lake rather than the pond it was as a Squirtle, my accuracy got better, and my moves became more pressurised. I doubt I would have survived the Tentacruel as a Squirtle, I certainly wouldn't have lasted as long."
"That's exactly how I feel" Ivysaur said "only I don't have an inner pool of water or fire. It's like my bulb processes attacks much quicker with the added ability of making them more potent. My leaves have become so sharp they can pierce rocks and my vines have become thicker. The only issue I have is adapting to losing my speed."
"That was always going to happen" Ash said "we'll begin a new training regime tomorrow. We're going to have to switch you to getting used to tanking attacks and possibly become a counter-attacker. Your ability Chlorophyl will come in very handy, especially when we master Sunny Day and then Solarbeam. At the minute you can produce a very weak beam which is a great start. But we'll train on it more. Charmeleon, we can teach you Sunny Day too to power up your fire attacks. Combined with Solar Power and your fire attacks should do some serious damage. Wartortle we're going to teach you Rain Dance at some point. All of you will learn Safeguard and Protect. Pi you already know Light Screen, so we'll focus again on Lightning Sphere. We forgot you could use Aura."
"Er Ash" Charmeleon said "so can I. I discovered it during the incident with the Tentacool. Only it's not blue, it's like a flaming ball."
"Oh wow" Ash said getting dexter out and scanning Charmeleon. His move list was impressive but there at the very end was Aura Sphere and Outrage, the latter of which was yet to be unlocked. "Do the rest of you know it?" he asked scanning them and sure enough they did. "So, my theory of infusing you guys with my Aura seems to be correct. We'll have to figure out a way to use it and master it. Wartortle, Ivysaur and Charmeleon, tomorrow we will train that move for you. I suspect they won't be blue like mine but will use your natural elements, so we'll have Pikachu explain it to you guys as he'll know better than I do how to form them for yourselves.
So, because your bodies are getting more durable, we'll be starting harsher training. We have four badges, which means we're halfway to our first checkpoint of making the league. Erika is a grass trainer, so I'll be using Charmeleon last to make sure we win. I'll be using Wartortle and Ivysaur to get them used to our battling style. Don't forget Wartortle evolved just before we left port in Vermillion and Ivysaur hasn't had a battle in his new body yet. Hopefully we see trainers on the way and can practice with them."
"Ash" Pikachu said "have you thought about who you want to complete our team? We don't want to get to the league and just have us four. While I have every confidence that we can overcome anyone in front of us we still need a complete team."
"I have yes" Ash said sighing "I've been looking at our move coverage so far for you all. And while we have counters to all your major type disadvantages, we still need Steel, Fighting, Psychic, Dark, Dragon, Flying, Rock and Ground. The rest we can deal with collectively. Now when Charmeleon evolves we can erase Flying and Dragon from that list. Pikachu knows Iron Tail, Charmeleon knows Metal Claw so I'm erasing Steel from the list too. I'm also erasing psychic for obvious reasons."
"Which leaves Fighting, Dark, Rock and Ground" Ivysaur said "not a lot of choice from those Ash."
"I know" Ash said sighing "hence my dilemma. Plus, there's no guarantee they'll fit into our team."
"Which means opening those other types for selection" Wartortle said.
"Everything except psychic" Ash said nodding. "I'm going to speak to Professor Oak when I reach Celadon. Maybe he can give me some advice on where to go from here."
The next few days passed quickly. They did indeed meet some trainers that they battled. Ivysaur was really struggling with adapting to his new style but was getting better with every battle. Ash still hadn't lost a battle yet since Brocks Golem but was more at ease with it now. They were more powerful, but they trained to the bone every day to reach their potential, so it wasn't a surprise. Ash's methods clearly worked. Pikachu had hit a plateau though in his electrical abilities. He was incredibly strong but his Thunder attack, while able to destroy most medium size boulders barely made a dent in big boulders. He was starting to become frustrated. How would be become a legend if he couldn't destroy everything in his path? Taking the Light Ball out of his sac he immediately felt the drop. If he had the potential to do significant damage with the Light Ball, then it was obvious he had that extra in reserve.
"Maybe that's how we increase your output Pi" Ash said "we train without it for a month, then with it for a few weeks, then without for a month etc etc. That way we can keep a more accurate detail of your levels. If it makes you feel any better, you outstripped Lt Surges Raichu a long time ago."
It mollified Pikachu somewhat so they agreed with Ash's new regimen. The night before Ash reached Celadon they were once again around the campfire chatting aimlessly when Ash heard a rustling. Standing up they all stopped talking and were put on high alert.
"I suggest whoever is there comes out now" Ash said. After a good thirty seconds of waiting Ivysaur had had enough and shot three thick vines out into the bush. A squeal was heard as a Pokémon was dragged out of the bushes and started thrashing around in mid-air making a terrible racket.
"Er Ivysaur" Ash said perplexed at seeing it "why is there a male Nidoran stalking us?"
"Ash" Ivysaur replied patiently "I've been beside you the whole time, how would I know?"
Chuckling Ash conceded the point. The squealing though was very annoying "Enough!" Ash roared quieting the Nidoran. "Now, Ivysaur will put you down, but you will stop that awful racket. Understood?"
Nodding Meekly Nidoran stopped thrashing and waited to be put down. Retracting his vines Ivysaur and the rest returned to their meal by the fire. "If you're hungry kid then come and have some food" Charmeleon said shocking them all as he rolled an apple towards the Nidoran. "don't look at me like that. He's obviously hungry, I've been in his position, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone."
Looking at them all Nidoran crept up on the apple, tentatively grabbed it in his mouth and scuttled away at a safe distance where he began to devour it.
"I see what you mean" Ash said taking a drink of his cocoa "poor guy must be starving" shouting over to the Nidoran Ash said "If you want more, we have plenty of food to go around. We promise we won't hurt you." Looking up from his finished snack Nidoran looked at them quizzically before shuffling forwards where he sat down next to Charmeleon looking nervous. "Here" Ash said taking out a bowl out of his bag, putting food in it and placing it next to Charmeleon. It obviously felt safe next to the fire type so why make it nervous? While the Nidoran ate his fill Ash carried on his conversation with Pikachu
"So yeah" Ash said "we'll start training without the Light Ball, see if that helps. I'll message Lt Surge as well to see if he has any tips on helping you. I'll be honest though, I'm at a loss on how to proceed myself."
"Well at least we have options" Pikachu said nodding "It's just frustrating."
"You know" Ivysaur said "there will come a point where you can't get any stronger Pikachu. I know you've only been training for five and a half months now with Ash but given the training we do it's not surprising you've plateaued. We had to evolve to be able to carry on training effectively. So, you have my sympathies."
"Have you given any thought to evolving?" Charmeleon asked "I know you swore you were happy as a Pikachu, but if you're at your limit now and evolution is on the table would you take it?"
"No" Pikachu said immediately "I was thinking about this on the SS Anne after the Tentacruel event. I know evolving would have probably made that fight safer, but I know I wouldn't be happy as a Raichu."
"Then that's perfectly fine" Ash said "we just have to realise that we have some limits on our progression. Now" he said turning to Nidoran "what are we going to do with you?"
Nidoran had been happier than he'd been for a long time. He had a full belly for the first time in days, he was around Pokémon that were clearly well trained with a trainer that seemed to respect their opinions. He was very surprised at their talks on evolution. Usually, trainers wanted their Pokémon to evolve, he had heard off many of his friends that trainers usually have a team picked out on who they'd end up as. When the question was asked to him though he quickly became wary.
"What do you mean?" he asked nervously looking around for any exits "what are you going to do to me?"
"With you" Charmeleon countered "Ash would never harm a Pokémon unless he had no other choice. You've done nothing to harm us, so you're safe here."
"The question still stands though" Ash said nodding "what are you doing all the way out here? Who are you, do you belong to someone, and if so, why aren't you with them? You ate like you hadn't eaten in days, you immediately looked for an exit from us which means you're running scared from someone or something. So yes, what are we going to do with you? If all you wanted was something to eat or simply shelter for the night, then none of us would have a problem with that. We do have a right to know what though."
"I ran away" Nidoran said nervously "my trainer Kyle is trying to force me to get married to a female Nidoran that his girlfriend has. Apparently, he believes that we are destined soul mates just like he is with Gina. He's an idiot. Just because I am male, and she is female doesn't mean we are destined mates."
"Ah that sucks" Ash said "well you can stay the night if you like. We leave for Celadon tomorrow though so if that's where you're from we can hand you over to Nurse Joy and explain the situation?"
"No, it's ok" Nidoran said "I'll take your offer of staying the night though. Hopefully if I stay away long enough, he'll realise why and when I return, he wont force me into this Pokémon wedding nonsense."
"Wedding?" Wartortle exclaimed "since when do Pokémon have weddings?" quietly he muttered to Ivysaur "what's a wedding?" causing everyone to laugh "what? I was expressing outrage. Its not my fault my mouth engaged before my brain."
"Ain't that the truth" Pikachu said causing further laughter.
"It's what humans do with the person they've chosen to be with for life." Ash said chuckling "They have a ceremony in front of people who witness their declarations of being together forever and then have a party to celebrate."
"Oh, that's sounds horrible" Wartortle said sympathetically. "The party sounds nice though."
"Its not all bad" Ash said thinking of his mum and dad "as long as you pick the right person to begin with that is. Well, you're welcome to spend the night here" he finished standing up and packing things away.
The next day after their training session Ash and the rest bade goodbye to Nidoran and carried on down the path towards Celadon.
"It's a shame for Nidoran" Pikachu said, "it further emphasises how right Pokémon are to fight Arceus' edicts if we're forced to stay with idiots like his trainer."
"That might be a little harsh Pi" Ash said as they walked "you can't base your opinion on them off one person being an idiot."
"It's not just one though Ash" Pikachu countered "our entire family is made up of Pokémon that belonged to idiots."
"And that I can't argue on" Ash said, "but for every one of them there's also one that will listen, that will care about their Pokémon." The conversation carried on like this for several hours, both arguing their point until Celadon City came into view. It was a beautiful looking city Ash observed from the hill they were on overlooking the city. Entering Celadon, the observed a young man and woman handing out flyers just outside the police station. Walking up to him they were about to ask him what was going on when a flyer was pushed into his hand. It was a 'missing' flyer with a Nidoran on the front.
"Oh look" Pikachu said "it's Nidoran."
"Yeah, it is Nidoran" Ash said. The trainer overheard Ash and immediately accosted him demanding to know what he knew, that was until Pikachu sparked his cheeks warningly. Calming down the trainer asked what he knew.
"You must be Kyle? And you must be Gina?" Ash asked earning surprised looks but nods nether-the-less "so you're the two idiots who are trying to force your Pokémon to marry?"
"Er" Gina said, "how do you know that?"
"Yeah" Kyle said outraged at being called an idiot. "What have you done with my Nidoran. Give him back!"
"I don't have him" Ash said getting in his face "and even if I did, I'd be very reluctant to hand him over to you."
By this time a crowd had started to gather, and a Jenny had come out to see what the commotion was.
"Oh, it's you Ash" Jenny said, "my sister told me to thank you for what you did in Viridian when she next saw you."
"Oh, it's no problem." Ash said trying to remember what happened. Pikachu quietly mentioned Team Rocket and his brain clicked into gear "that was five months ago though. How does she still remember that?"
"It's not difficult to remember a person who saved every Pokémon and the Nurse Joy from an attack" Jenny said smiling "Now what's going on here?"
"He has my Nidoran" Kyle said pointing a finger at Ash.
"No, I don't" Ash said equally as outraged.
"Then how would you know why he ran away?" Gina asked.
"I know about it because your Nidoran spent the night in my tent last night with us all." Ash said shocking them "he told us the whole thing. How you believed that you two were soul mates so it must mean your Pokémon are too simply because they're opposite sexes. You're morons, the both of you. You can't force Pokémon to be together just because you wish it were so. Anyway, we offered to bring him back here and hand him over to Nurse Joy and explain what's gone on. Nidoran told us he'd rather take his chances out on Route 7 than be forced to do something he doesn't want to do."
"He really said that?" Kyle asked confused "how would you know what he said?"
"I can communicate with Pokémon" Ash said turning away from them to Jenny "Nidoran is currently out on Route 7 hiding. He said he won't return until Kyle realises how idiotic he's being. Now, we've been traveling for days now from Saffron, my Pokémon need to see Nurse Joy. Let your sister know I said it's no problem and when I pass through Viridian on my way to the Pokémon League I'll pop in and say hello. If you need me, I'll be at the Pokémon Centre and should be for the next few days. I know this may be difficult" he said looking at Kyle and Gina "but do what you can to stop these two procreating will you?"
Ignoring the outraged gasps and laughter from the assembled crowd Ash walked off muttering about idiotic trainers and how Natural Selection isn't happening quick enough these days. Reaching the Centre, he handed his Pokémon over to Joy and checked into his room. After emailing Lt Surge about advice for Pikachu and ringing his mother to let her know he was safe he had a shower and collected his Pokémon. As it was only mid-afternoon, he decided to go for a walk. Walking down a narrow street Ash wondered where it headed, upon reaching the end though he stopped and gasped. In front of him was a huge park, full of flowers and trees. It was perhaps the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. Walking into the park Ash stopped at a vendor and bought some food and a few bottles of water before continuing on into the park. Sitting on a small mound of grass he called everyone out. Immediately Ivysaur perked up.
"This is it Ash" Ivysaur said "this is my dream. To have a garden like this to tend to."
"This is a park" Ash said chuckling "I'm not that rich Ivysaur. But I can see why you'd love a place like this."
"It reminds me of the Legend of the Secret Garden" Ivysaur said sitting down and basking in the sun.
"The Secret Garden?" Ash asked, "what's that?"
"It's a garden where Bulbasaur and Ivysaur travel to every year" Ivysaur said "its location changes every year to protect the location, but it's said that a Royal Venusaur tends to it, making it beautiful and providing the right nutrients and fauna to enable evolution. It's said a Shaymin gave up its life to protect the garden hence why its location is unknown and is powered by its sacrifice. I'd love to visit it someday."
"Oh wow" Ash said looking around "it sounds like a magical place Ivysaur. Given the luck we've had so far, I wouldn't rule out seeing it in person."
"I truly hope so" Ivysaur said wandering off into the bushes to tend to the flowers surrounding the paths. Ash lay down, pulled the cap over his eyes and decided to relax and snooze.
"Usually, I'd ask trainers to stop letting their Pokémon out in this park and to keep off the grass" a voice said from above him and lifting Ash from his fogged brain. Sitting up he noticed a woman in a pale green and red Kimono sitting on her knees. She was quite small, waif like his mum would say with jet black hair and stunning green eyes, just staring off into the distance. Ash immediately knew who she was. "But seeing your Ivysaur tend to the flowers here gives me an immense sense of joy. It's lovely to see."
Sitting up Ash looked around and indeed Ivysaur was currently in a flower bed encouraging a bud to bloom. "he's incredibly gifted with plants" Ash said "his ability Chlorophyl combined with the sun makes for an incredible combination when around plant life. I have promised him that when we're done with battles we will settle down and I'll buy him a big garden to tend to. He doesn't know it yet, but I've already been in touch with architects to build me a house in Pallet Town with a big garden that he will be allowed to design. We'll only start on that in a few years' time though. But he will have his garden."
"You would do that for a Pokémon?" Erika asked perplexed. "Truly?"
"Yes" Ash said simply "he's family. And he deserves to be able to achieve his dreams just as much as the rest of my Pokémon. I have the ability to make it happen. So, I will. Pikachu wants Rock types to fear him, Charmeleon has dreams of being labelled Legendary as a starter, Wartortle hasn't told me his dreams yet and Ivysaur wants a big garden to tend. And in the next few years I will have the ability to be able to provide all of that for my family"
"Hmm" Erika said observing his various Pokémon. Charmeleon was asleep at his side, Pikachu was asleep up above them on a tree branch, a Wartortle was snoozing in the big fountain and an Ivysaur pottering about in the gardens "Why in a few years?"
"At the minute I'm only eleven and still a rookie trainer" Ash said pulling two bottles of water out of his bag and handing one to Erika "but in the next year and a half I'm going to win the Pokémon League and become Champion. Once I've achieved those objectives, I plan on doing what I can to help my Pokémon achieve their goals. Its only fair. We reach our dreams together as a family. At the minute though we have a long way to go. It continues in a few days when I challenge you for your badge and win." he finished smirking around his drink.
"Is that so?" she asked giving him a look.
"Yes" Ash said simply "you're the next roadblock on our path to greatness. We've not stumbled yet and we've had some big obstacles placed in our path over the past five to six months."
"Yes" Erika said taking a drink "I've heard all about you, long before you arrived here actually. Jenny came to warn me a few months ago after the Power Plant incident that you were visiting soon and to expect trouble. She'd been warned by her sisters from every town you'd passed through. And then you were on the news in Porta Vista. You're a regular hero even if your record isn't particularly pleasing. And then not even two hours ago you had a run in with my cities Jenny. I can't say I'm particularly happy to have you here."
At Erika's words several things happened. All his Pokémon awoke from their slumber, Ivysaur came trotting back over and all of them gathered around Ash. They had clearly all been listening in and pretending to be asleep. Charmeleon stood up and growled at Erika causing her to stand up alarmed.
"Easy there Charmeleon" Ash said standing up and putting a hand on his head scratching him before addressing Erika "we've never created an issue wherever we've been, but we damn sure know how to put an end to them. We only plan on being here for a few days, and we never go looking for trouble. Should anything happen, it won't be because of anything we've caused."
"Try and keep it that way" Erika said looking warily at the fire-breathing lizard "please."
"We will" Ash said returning everyone to their pokeballs "and we will see you in a few days." At that Ash shouldered his bag and walked away leaving a very concerned Erika to go over what just happened. Returning to her gym she was very distracted for the rest of the day, so much so her assistants told her to go to her shop and relax.
The next day Ash decided to visit a few of the places he'd read about in the brochures. In particular the Game Corner. He'd heard that rare Pokémon were on offer as prizes. Ash had never been much of a gambler but decided that as he could set a limit on how much he could spend it would do no harm trying the machines for a few hours. Walking up to the counter he exchanged his money for chips and walked around the various areas that had different types of bets going on at various tables. Watching several people burst out crying when they lost big sums, seeing how boisterous people became when they won and seeing people chucked out for not coming to terms with losing enforced his belief that this wasn't for him. Sitting down at a slot machine he decided to just enjoy the day.
It was as he was sat down at a machine that two people joined him on his right-hand side at the respective machines and began playing. Their conversation between themselves was innocuous enough. It was as they were beginning to run out of chips that the conversation turned serious.
"Are we still on for the event in two days?"
"Yeah, we're on. The boss wants us all to be here for eight in the evening where we will be given more directions."
"Why so late?"
"He wants everything to go smoothly. Plus, the Safari Zone will be empty of trainers by then leaving us all free to help ourselves. The boss has a surprise for anyone that tries to interfere."
"Well let's hope he's in a better mood now the dust has settled down from Pokémon Land. Whatever happened there has cost him billions of pokedollars. Emptying the Safari Zone gives him a lot of Pokémon to sell to help pay off the lawsuits. The gig we have set up here doesn't bring him anywhere near what that did but it's a steady stream for him."
"How do you know that?"
"My sister is a secretary for one of his admins."
"Ah right. I still can't believe people don't know these machines and tables are rigged".
"Shush. You never know who's listening in."
"Who cares? And for that matter why are we wasting our money on them when we know they don't pay out?"
"Because you imbecile we have to keep up appearances. If the real customers knew that they had no actual chance of winning, they wouldn't come back. Seeing us win lets them believe they have a chance. Now come on, we only have half an hour left of our break."
Standing up the two men left leaving a very intrigued Ash and Pikachu who exchanged their remaining chips for money and left to go back to their room. Heading upstairs Ash talked with Pikachu about what was said.
"Ash, if you tell someone then they'll know you were behind Pokémon Lands destruction. You're not supposed to know who owns that park. You cannot mention Team Rocket."
"Pi," Ash said "I can come up with a story about that. I don't have to say that I know who the boss is. Just that the boss of Pokémon Land is also the boss of the Game Corner and he's planning something to recoup his losses."
"Well, be careful of what you say" Pikachu warned him.
Nodding Ash placed a call to Lance on the video phone. Seeing his image pop up Ash said hello.
"Ash! I'm just in a meeting with the other elites at the minute. Is everything ok?" Lance said
"No, I'm afraid I've just overheard something I don't think I should have. But I promised my mum and Professor Oak that I would let the right people sort issues out after what happened at Porta Vista and wouldn't get involved directly if I had a choice." Ash replied.
"I'll put you on speaker phone then if that's ok?" Lance asked. Doing it anyway Ash told them all of what he'd overheard. When he finished, he sat back and waited.
"Are you certain of this Ash?" Bruno's voice asked.
"Yes. Two days' time, eight pm at Celadon Game Corner. Whoever owns Pokémon Land also owns the Game Corner and is planning a raid on the Safari Zone to recoup the losses he suffered with its destruction by selling all the Pokémon they loot. That's all I overheard."
"It ties in with the intel we received this morning Lance" Bruno's voice said, "we knew something was happening, now we know the time and location we can plan for it."
"There's always the chance they were lying" Agatha said "I know grunts are thick, but they surely couldn't be that thick to say all this where anyone could be listening in."
"From my perspective they didn't know I was listening in" Ash said, "however it was a loud enough conversation where it could have been staged."
"It all depends on if they knew who you were Ash and if you had a way of communicating with us" Lorelei said "after what happened in Porta Vista you're pretty recognisable now. And you were seen with us at the hospital. So, it could have been staged as a way to misinform us to flush out our agents."
"That's a stretch" Lance said, "but it's entirely possible."
"Look" Ash said interrupting "I've told you what I heard. That's all I could do. I'll be in Celadon until Monday night so if you need help, I'll be here."
"Thank you for the information, Ash" Lance said "but we will deal with it. Try and stay out of the way, I don't want to have to deal with your mum again so soon" he finished laughing "I do enough of that already now Melanie has asked her to be a bridesmaid."
"No worries" Ash said holding up his hands "I will stay out of the way for this one. Now, I have a badge to win tomorrow, and I want to go over strategies with my Pokémon. It was nice talking to you all." With that Ash hung up and turned to face Pikachu "happy?"
"I'm not unhappy" Pikachu replied yawning "ring your mum and let her know that you've made a good decision." He finished cheekily before closing his eyes and falling asleep on the pillow. Deciding to just that he rang his mum and told her of his decision to stay out of trouble. While he knew it was a good decision he still wanted to help where he could but his mum telling him he'd made the right decision made him tear up.
"I'm proud of you Ash" Delia said smiling "I know it's hard, but you can't help everyone, and you shouldn't interfere if you don't need to. Lance and his team are trained for these things, you're not. And interfering could hinder them. So please, stay away from the Game Corner that night."
"I will mum" Ash said before getting ready to hang up.
"Oh, before you go" Delia said "Silph and I have been in contact over the last few days. We've reached an agreement with them about sponsoring you. It's not the 20% we asked for though."
"We never thought we would get that" Ash said leaning back "and when I spoke to the president, I told him it was negotiable. So, what did we get?"
"We got 12%" Delia said, "however we have incentives added to the contract that means they rise to 16%."
"What incentives?" Ash asked perplexed.
"Total sales of books and merchandise, revenue earned from their sales, positions you attain etc." Delia said "There's quite a few Ash, but the upshot of it is if you attain Champion Status in the next five to ten years then you get 16% with the add-ons being extras. If you don't then it stays at 12% with add-ons being extra. It's the best deal they've ever offered a rookie trainer Ash. For now, should you sign it they own the rights to everything you've already done and will do for the next ten years and will start mass publishing everything you've done."
"And I start making money straight away?" Ash asked confused.
"Yes" Delia said "it's not going to be a huge amount as they're academic texts but its better than nothing. They really want to sell your book on Aura, but we stayed firm on that. It's going to be free for a year with them publishing it. After that though they have the license and can sell it for profit."
"Thank you, mum." Ash said, "should I sign it then?"
"I think you should yes" Delia said "while I'm not happy about you being owned, the doors it opens for you are incredible. And aside from a few dates where you're required to attend functions you're free to roam and do what you please. And this is only for ten years Ash. By the time you're 21 you'll be free to sign for anyone else and negotiate a better deal with Silph should you want to. Essentially, you sign this, and you're set for life after ten years."
"Then I'll sign it" Ash said smiling "and I can start planning future projects."
"Oh dear" Delia said smiling humorously "what do you have planned now?"
Frowning Ash wondered if he should tell his mum everything he'd been thinking about. Seeing his face Delia became concerned. "Ash?"
"Can I arrange a call with you and Sam for tomorrow night? I promise its nothing bad. But I need both your input on this."
"I'll ring him and ask him. Can you not give me any hints?"
"I plan on becoming Champ mum." Ash said "But I have no desire to spend my time living at the League in the apartments Blue has to stay at. I wondered about building a house in Pallet, or at least on the outskirts of the town."
"Oh" Delia said shocked, "you know I don't plan on kicking you out Ash?"
"I do" he replied "but I'm growing up mum. Soon I'll be an adult and I'll need my own space, plus I need a place I can train my Pokémon without making a racket and disturbing the people in Pallet Town."
"That's very true" Delia said frowning "I'll speak to Sam and get his input. We have years yet before you move out, so we have time."
"Thanks mum" Ash said relieved "it's something that's been on my mind for a few months now."
"No worries, Ash" Delia said before hanging up. As it was still sunny out Ash decided to take a wander outside. He read a few of the brochures from before and decided he needed to buy his mum something. Heading down a few streets he saw the perfect place. Entering a shop called Scent-sations, he was immediately hit with various scents that made him violently sneeze. Rushing back outside he waited for the sneezing fit to subside before warily entering his eyes still streaming. Ignoring the disapproving looks he was getting from the assistant Ash made his way around the shop looking for the right gift after ten minutes of looking at the various descriptions the assistant came over.
"You've been in here for ten minutes now just wandering" the assistant said snobbily "are you buying something or not? Can you even afford to buy these?"
"I was planning on doing so yeah" Ash said giving her a look "I'm starting to regret coming in here though given how much of an arse you're being. Are you always this polite to your customers?"
"How dare you!" she screeched "I've half a mind to have you banned from the shop for that comment."
"Then do so" Ash said laughing "I can buy any of these at the department store, I came in here to buy my mum a gift and thought she'd love some perfume. If I knew it came with a free bitch though I would have taken my custom elsewhere."
"That's it!" she said "Out. And never come back."
"No problem" Ash said laughing as the door slammed behind him. Going into the department store he bought his mum her favourite perfume, sent it off with the local Post-Pidgeot and went back to his room still laughing.
"What's going on?" Erika asked coming out of the back room "Amelia, what's all the commotion?"
"I've just had the rudest customer I've ever met" Amelia said still red in the face at the insult "first off, he walks in, takes a look around and then walks back out. Then a minute later he comes in and keeps picking things up off the shelves before putting them back. Then I ask him if he plans on buying anything and he calls me a bitch! I've never been so insulted in my life."
"Oh wow, I'm sorry to hear that" Erika said frowning "can you describe him to me? We'll ban him from the shop."
"He was around five foot five, brown hair, weird blue eyes and looked quite fit for his age." Amelia said recalling him "Oh and he had a Pikachu with him that was a strange colour."
Sighing Erika turned away and went to retrieve a newspaper she kept from a few weeks ago with a picture of Ash on the front. Handing it over to Amelia, she asked her "Is this him?"
"Yes, it is!" she replied still visibly angry.
"I'll deal with it." Erika said "you shut the shop. Have a good night, Amelia." Leaving, Erika walked back to her house wondering why Ash had been so rude to Amelia. He had told her he would be challenging the gym tomorrow so she would speak to him then. She couldn't abide rudeness.
