Chapter 30- Dangerous Discoveries
The next day after he had gone for his morning run Ash trained with his new Pokémon just outside Pallet Town, close to his new home.
"Snorunt" he said "I'm not keeping you. I caught you for someone else, so I'm going to leave your training up to them. For now though go over to Wartortle and learn Ice Beam. I don't expect you to get it down as you'll be with your new trainer by tonight. But you can at least start. Hey, don't be down. I just have no room in my party for anyone else. Go on now" Snorunt shuffled off to Wartortle who happily began to teach the young ice type how to better access his inner core.
"Now Bagon" Ash said "there's loads we need to start work on. At the minute you just have the basic move set but thankfully I know what moves we can work on as Charizard has learned every move you can learn. So, for now were going to be focusing on your defence and speed. Your attacks will take care of themselves as we move along. We have four months until we will be participating in a series of battles to see who the best trainer is in Kanto. On top of that we have been given a mission from Arceus herself. Pikachu will explain all about that as anyone could overhear us talking and it's a secret for now. But that's due to come to a head very soon too. So, we have a lot to get done in the next few months. Rest assured though I will be with you every step of the way, as will all my Pokémon. As we said on the beach yesterday, we are a family. Any issues we sort out between us, and the groups decision goes."
Nodding Bagon stayed still while Ash placed weights on her legs "these will build up your leg muscles making you faster when they're off. I spar with every one of my Pokémon, today I'll be exclusively with you to get you used to my training style and commands. Soon you'll be able to battle without my commands but that's a long way off. So come one. We're going to do a light jog around this clearing to build up your stamina. We'll be doing this every day from now on so you may as well accept it. While we run, we'll chat."
And so, Ash began running stopping every now and then to let his newest Pokémon team-member to catch her breath. Soon enough she'd be fine but for now he knew he had to limit what she could take. As they jogged, they chatted about what Ash expected from her, what she wanted to achieve and ultimately what their end goal would be. "I want to fly" she said as they stopped so she could take a drink out of her water bowl. Hearing a chuckle from behind she whipped round to see Charizard looking at her with an amused look on his face.
"She's just like you my friend" Ash said laughing. Seeing her confused face Ash explained that Charizard couldn't wait to evolve so he wouldn't have to walk anywhere ever again.
"I have wings" he grunted "what's the point in walking."
"Exactly" Bagon said nodding enthusiastically "that's my dream."
"Well, that's very achievable" Ash said handing Charizard his food bowl, watching as he flew off and charred his meal before eating "but what about after that?"
"I'm confused" she said, "what do you mean?"
"Charizard wanted to fly too" Ash explained. "But his main ambition was to challenge legendaries and become known as a legendary himself. He's training with me for the minute to build a solid platform to start with but eventually he'll go around and challenge them on his own. Pikachu's ambition was to make rock and ground types fear him and to never underestimate electric Pokémon again. So far, he's achieved that by demolishing every rock/ground type he's come up against. Ivysaur's ambition is to have a garden all to himself that he can tend to while helping nature out at the same time. The garden to our house is going to be planned by him, I've just not told him fully yet. Wartortle hasn't really told me what he wants to achieve, nor has Machoke. To be honest I think they're just quite happy to be part of a family that looks out for each other after having no one for a long time before they joined me. And that's just as laudable a goal as everyone else's.
The one thing they all know is that they'll always have a home wherever I'm at. So, you don't have to answer it now, but I want you to think about what you want to achieve. Our wants and needs will likely change over time so if you can't think of anything then don't worry. As I said only half my team know their dreams."
Nodding she went off to the side of the clearing and started jogging again. She didn't realise it, but she was thinking that much that she did two laps without needing to stop for a breather. A few hours later Ash recalled them all and headed back into Pallet Town. Stopping at his mum's restaurant he was told she was at home, so he carried on down the street and entered his mum's home. It felt strange to say that, that it wasn't his home anymore. It was a sad thought. Walking into the kitchen Ash stopped. At the counter was his mum only she wasn't alone. There was a police officer and Bruno sitting down with her. Evidently, they were here to talk about Blaine.
"I'm just going to go for a shower, I'll be as quick as I can so we can get this over with" Ash said heading upstairs and showering. Changing his clothes he walked back downstairs, grabbed himself a bottle of water and sat down at the counter.
"Hello again Ash" Jenny said, "you might not remember me but I'm from Viridian City."
"I know" Ash replied "I recognise you. Why you though and not Cinnabar Jenny?"
"How do you know what it's about?" Jenny asked curiously.
"A little bird told me" Ash said smiling "and no, it wasn't anyone in this room nor in this town. So…what do you need to know?"
"Well yesterday afternoon, at approximately 17:00 Blaine was found dead on a part of Cinnabar Beach that was connected to an Inn he ran." Jenny said looking at him.
"Yeah, The Big Riddle Inn" Ash said interrupting "I had to go there to get my clues to be able to find his gym. He loves riddles apparently and I'm guessing he wanted to weed out the serious trainers from the tourists. "
"You're guessing?" Jenny asked.
"Yeah" Ash said shrugging his shoulders "I first met him on the beach the day I got there. He was wearing a disguise, but I knew it was him from the way he twitched when I told him Agatha had told me he was still on the island." Hearing a chuckle Jenny turned to Bruno who immediately schooled his face. "He gave me his card with the hotel name on it. I needed to be on the island a few days anyway as I had an appointment with Lance and the resurrection lab a few days after, so I explored the island. I found his inn and the lab very quickly. Most of the time we just spent exploring the island. Anyway, after finishing with Lance, I went to the inn and was given the clues to find his gym. They weren't very tough, and I challenged him for a badge and beat him 3-1, well technically 3-2 as I forgot about the four-move rule and Machoke was disqualified, and we didn't know Magmar could heal itself using lava, so he beat Wartortle through attrition."
"Wait" Bruno said interrupting "he used Magmar? Who else did he use?"
"He used an Arcanine, Rhydon and a Magmar why?" Ash asked.
"They are three of his Elite team, Rhydon is five, Arcanine is six and Magmar is his strongest" Bruno said leaning back astonished "you beat three of his Elite team?"
"Apparently" Ash said shrugging his shoulders. "Are you sure they're elite? We beat them pretty handily. Wartortle beat Magmar after beating Rhydon. He only lost because Wartortles attack blasted him into the lava where he healed up. We let him heal fully for the deciding match. Charizard didn't even break a sweat. After that we walked back downstairs to his gym, I got the badge and left. I stopped at the Pokémon Centre to hand in my key and get my team healed before setting out to Seafoam on a mission from Professor Oak. I caught a Pokémon in there, Professor Oak has the timestamp on my capture if you need proof."
"Did Blaine speak to you about anything? Anything that would clue us in on his killers?" Jenny asked.
"No," Ash replied "I don't generally chit-chat with people. And with Gym Leaders I'm there just to battle. Some like Brock and Lt Surge have become close acquaintances but other than that after the battle I've never spoke to any of them again. I see no reason to."
"Very well" Jenny said closing her notebook "I'll head over to Oak's lab to get the timestamp proof, but you should be cleared of any wrongdoing. We'll notify your mother when we clear you. have a good day. I'll see myself out." Jenny stood up, thanked Delia for her hospitality and left.
Once the door closed Delia turned to Ash and asked, "do you know what happened to Blaine?"
"I genuinely don't" Ash replied looking directly at her "everything I said was true. I have a hunch on why he was killed but I don't have an actual answer."
"Why do you think he was killed?" Bruno asked.
"Because Blaine was the one to cause the eruption of Cinnabar ten years ago" Ash said shocking them "speak to Lance, I found Blaine and Fujis diary in the hidden lab that supposedly caused the explosion when Mewtwo escaped. There was no evidence down there of Mewtwo apart from various tubes and a huge incubator. However, the diary had many entries dedicated to their experiments. And one of the last entries was about Blaine being ordered to provide a cover for what they were doing. I showed Lance the impact point on top of the volcano where the eruption happened. There were various marks all along the ridge that could only be caused by a Pokémon's attack. Charizard confirmed to me it was Blaines Magmar as the missed attacks that hit the rim during our battle matched the ones we discovered. And I believe that's the reason my father disappeared. He too found out as the ridge is only accessible by flight.
Blaine and Fuji were set to go down for a long time due to his testimony. His disappearance meant all they got was a slap on the wrist due to the evidence going missing and the key witness 'dying'. I gave Lance the diary, he said he would sift through it and let the rest of you know when he could. I take it you're here because Blaine was a gym leader in Kanto?"
"Yeah" Bruno said "that and I was the closest person to Pallet Town when news came in you were to be questioned. Two birds, one stone and all that nonsense. Well, I must be going. I was only here to attend the questioning and to get answers if I could." Standing up Ash followed Bruno to the door. Just as he was about to leave Ash suddenly remembered something.
"Bruno, wait up a minute." Running down the garden he stopped in front of him and handed him a pokeball "this is the Pokémon I caught yesterday in Seafoam. I was planning on sending it to your wife as a present for your daughter when she's old enough."
"Ash" Bruno said looking at the pokeball "she's not even two yet."
"I know" Ash said "but it's either for your wife or your daughter. It wouldn't suit your team, nor would it suit mine. Believe me."
Curious he pocketed the pokeball, nodded and headed off. Ash went back inside and chatted to his mum about what he had printed off from the diary. She agreed that while it was useless for information on Red it was still pieces of the puzzle being added.
"I'm heading to Viridian in a few days to challenge Gio" Ash said over tea that night.
"Be careful with him Ash" Delia said "I know you have your suspicions of him, and to a certain extent I agree but when it comes to a battle, he's ruthless. There's a reason he's still the eighth gym leader after fifteen years."
"I know mum" Ash said nodding "but he's the last hurdle I need to face before the league. I'll be taking him deadly serious."
"Good" she replied nodding. "Do you know what his challenge is?"
"No" Ash said shaking his head "to be honest I like that about the challenge. I've never known a gym leaders' side-challenge before I met them and faced them. And to be honest I've only found out three of the seven I've faced. Those being Brock, Lt Surge and Koga. The Cerulean sisters were nearly fired and we had the debacle with Lorelei when I came back, Erika was also nearly fired because her receptionist was a bitch and then she accused Pikachu and I of not having a bond with each other despite her knowing what went on in Porta Vista, Sabrina was replaced and Richard hadn't had time to make a challenge and then Blaine just fought us. So, the secondary challenge aspect isn't going well" he finished laughing.
"I can tell you if you like?" Delia said, "I know all of their challenges."
"How?" Ash asked surprised.
"I was a secretary for Sam for a few years while you were growing up. It was my way of thanking him for everything he did for you." Delia said "one part of that roles was vetting new gym leaders. Erika and The Sensational Sisters are very new, and when they came up with their badge name and challenge it was me that filed it away once it was approved."
"Oh" Ash said dumbly "then yeah sure, just not Giovannis."
"Brock's is 'Meeting a rock-hard challenge head on with grit in the face of adversity'," Delia said "The Sensational Sisters is 'An all-out offensive with water types' Lt Surge is 'Choose your battles wisely, for they may be your last' something he picked up in the war. Erika's is 'A flower can be deadly in its own right' referencing her plants and Gloom. Sabrina's was 'I know your every thought' which referenced her ability to know your plans before you said them aloud. Koga's is 'You cannot beat what you cannot hit' referencing his evasion techniques coupled with his status afflicting moves. Blaine's was 'you better bring a burn heal' obviously referencing his fire type Pokémon. Giovanni's is very relevant, but I'll let you figure it out."
"They make sense" Ash said nodding "I wonder what mine would be if I was a gym leader. Probably 'type advantage means exactly nothing' or something along those lines."
Laughing Ash and Delia stood up and washed the plates and put them away in comfortable silence.
"Oh" Ash said suddenly "how's Togepi? I noticed she's not around at the minute. Where is she?"
"Oh" Delia said laughing "Sylveon and Cleffa have been taking care of her today. She's currently upstairs asleep with them."
"Ah ok" Ash said "sorry again about leaving her here."
"It's ok" Delia said smiling "just next time remember to take any eggs with you."
The next few days flew by as Ash and Bagon got to know each other more. She still hadn't come up with a plan of what she wanted to get out of this partnership other than wanting to fly. Ash was fine with that, so they just got on with training. After they had finished training, he gathered them all round.
"Now," he said "we have one final hurdle to jump at Giovannis Gym. We have come this far; we won't fall here. Once we beat him, we'll have three and a half months of solid training. So, I want to tell you all my plan. We'll be visiting various places to train. Mt Silver will be the main one, I have already asked Sam to get the paperwork ready for training up there. Once we're there we will have zero communication available to us from the outside world. It'll just be us for those three months. I plan on leaving for there around a week after beating Giovanni. The finals are in four months. Our last month will be just light training. I don't want any of you injured before the League and If we aren't ready in three months then we'll never be ready. If any of you need anything, let me know."
None of them said anything. They just looked more determined to get Giovanni out of the way. Flying back on Charizard Ash wondered how to put a certain plan into action. Landing Ash told Pikachu to go on in as he needed to chat with Charizard.
"I had something I wanted to run by you, but I wanted your opinion before I asked anyone else. I want you to think about it, give it serious thought and let me know after we have beaten Gio" Ash said.
Charizard just looked at him after Ash had explained. "I won't dismiss it" he said looking upwards "thank you for asking me first though."
"I always will" Ash said, "with all of you. Ultimately it will be your decision to make."
Nodding Charizard took off to wherever he goes to for the afternoon. Heading inside he explained to his mum what his plans were, and she just nodded. "I can't say I'm happy about the zero contact Ash. You're twelve. Even grown adults struggle up there. It's not for the for the faint of heart. Plus, how do we contact you if the Mewtwo thing kicks off while you're there?"
"I know it's not a safe place" Ash said "but it's the best place for us to train in different environments and weathers. And as for Mewtwo I'll likely feel the world change should he decide to move. I'll be fine mum."
"Hmph" she said, "you better be."
The next day Ash spoke to Sam about including Machoke back onto his roster and flew Charizard to Viridian. Flying over the places he had visited what felt like years ago surprised Ash. A few Pokémon flew out of the forests surrounding Pallet Town and Route 1 but left them alone. "Can you just land there for a minute pal?" Ash shouted over the wind. Curious Charizard did so, and they hopped off. Crouching down to the ground he felt tears come to his eyes as a memory he had long forgotten came back to him.
"Do you remember this place, Pi?" Ash asked quietly.
"I do" Pikachu said, "this is where we nearly died two days into our journey."
"Indeed, it is" Ash said looking at his first friend "I'm glad it was you Pi that was with me that day."
"Me too Ash" Pikachu said.
"I take it this was where the Spearow incident took place?" Charizard asked looking around at the trees off to the side, narrowing his eyes as if seeing an invisible opponent who had long gone.
"It was" Ash said standing back up as they both righted themselves "we've come a long way, Pi. Thanks, Charizard. If you like you can go for a fly. We're only a few hours away from Viridian now."
Nodding Charizard took off. "What happened to the Rainbow Wing?" Pikachu asked suddenly.
Chuckling Ash took his hat off and handed it to a surprised Pikachu. There in the lining was the Rainbow wing, looking a little worse for wear but still shining and giving off a strong presence. "I considered sending it home to keep it safe" Ash said putting the hat back on his head "but her presence has been a lifeline for me over the last eight months. From time to time I looked at it and felt calmer, more certain and more assured that I was heading in the correct direction. It's why I wear my hat during our meditation sessions. I'll be forever grateful to Ho-oH for the gift."
Hours later Viridian City came into view. Last time he didn't really get a chance to explore Viridian City, but he decided to spend a few days here before heading back home. Walking into the Pokémon Centre Ash handed over his Pokedex and went up to his room. Printing off information on Giovanni was difficult as his full team was kept a major secret. Trainers had to sign an NDA before facing him, Gio had remarked a few times that it was to keep everyone guessing but Ash had certain suspicions as to the real reason why.
"He's hiding something" Ash muttered "but what?"
The next day Ash walked around the city. It wasn't teeming with people, but it was still busy which Ash found strange. Maybe it was because there were three ways out of the city, one of which led to Victory Road and ultimately the league. Sitting down at a café Ash was surprised when he was joined by someone. "Hello James" Ash said putting away his laptop.
"Hi Ash" James murmured "we have news, big news. Is there anywhere private we can go?"
Nodding Ash stood up and walked back to the Pokémon centre while James rang Jessie telling her to meet them there. Waiting in the lobby he was soon joined by Jessie, and they went up to Ash's room.
Whistling as he walked in James remarked "sweet room. How did you get this?"
"These are the professors' rooms" Ash said getting three bottles of water out of the fridge and handing them one each. "Now, talk."
"The boss is in the loop about us being acquaintances" Jessie said without any preamble "Domino is furious though so be careful, she'll attack you on sight despite being told you're off limits. We've also managed to narrow down our search on Meowth, we did some digging at HQ and found that he was taken away the day after the incident here by Giovanni. He never spoke to us. Four days later we were sprung by the Boss and sent on a mission that lasted until a few weeks before we met up with you. In that time several things went wrong for Rocket, and it made us sit up and think about the path we were on. Cassidy and Bitch being maimed was the deal-breaker."
"A word of advice" James said looking serious "if you happen to find yourself across from Domino do not hesitate to take her out permanently. She's the boss's right hand because she's lethal and sadistic and she will not hesitate to hurt you as painfully as she can."
"I know" Ash said "over the last eight months I've kept records of every rocket member I've met or heard about. And with every piece of new information, I updated my notes. Domino is number three on my list of people to question."
"Who's one and two?" James said looking concerned at Jessie.
"Your boss and Mewtwo" Ash said, "Fuji and Blaine rounded off the top 5."
"Shame that Blaine died before you could question him then" Jessie said almost too casually.
"It is indeed" Ash said smirking "and luckily I was in Seafoam at the time of his death, or I'd likely be in a cell right now."
After a few minutes of silence Ash broke it "I'm challenging Giovanni tomorrow around 12-1pm. Your window is then to find Meowth. After that I can't help you. Here, I was able to get these using my professor status. When the gym was rebuilt, the league paid for it, and I managed to get the blueprints for it. That's all I can do though."
"These are incredibly helpful" James said looking through them.
"If anyone finds out, I will deny any and all knowledge" Ash said seriously looking between them "and then I'll come and break both of your knees. Understood?"
Gaining two nods Ash sat back.
"The other bit of news is this" Jessie said handing over a plastic folder. Confused Ash opened it and his eyes nearly bulged out as he read. There was only two pieces of paper but what they held was mind boggling "We couldn't get much; we don't have clearance for anything more and getting that was risky. But we felt like we owed you for helping us with Meowth."
"Thank you, guys," Ash said stuttering and shaking "this is exactly what I've been looking for. I need to ring mum. She needs to know this. I'm sorry guys but you need to leave."
Nodding they made their departures. Immediately Ash made his way over to the video phone and rang his mum. Hopefully she would be in. after eight rings he hung up. She was obviously at work. He'd have to ring later on. For the next few hours he read and re-read the papers he had been given, disbelieving what was written. Making his mind up he scanned them over to his mum so she could read them later on. Time seemed to crawl by, and despite his Pokémon telling him to calm down Ash became more and more antsy as the hours crept by. Finally, the time reached six and he rang his mum again. Thankfully she picked up after the second ring.
"Hi Ash" she said confused "is everything ok?"
"Sorry about this mum" Ash said quickly "I tried ringing you earlier on, but you weren't in, so I copied them and sent them to you for you to read but I couldn't wait for that, so I've rung back."
"Ash" Delia shouted concerned "slow down. now, explain slowly what you're rambling about."
"Mum" Ash said after taking a deep breath "I know where dad is."
Delia fainted. Cursing Ash hung up and rang Sam. When he picked up Ash hurriedly explained that his mum had fainted and could he go and check on her. The next half an hour was agonising for Ash as he waited for Sam to ring him back. Finally, his video phone rang, and he quickly picked up. On the other end of the screen was Sam holding up a woozy Delia. "Mum are you ok?" he asked.
"I'll be fine" she said breathing heavily as she held an ice pack to the back of her head. Glaring at Ash she continued "explain young man."
"There's something I haven't told you yet. Sam knows as my sponsor and to cover my back. Now, don't be mad at him. I asked him to keep it between us, at least until after the league but I've been in contact with two agents from Team Rocket who have defected. Now, I'm fully aware of the repercussions should it come out I'm in contact with Team Rocket which is why every conversation I have had with them has been secretly recorded and sent to Sam as evidence should they turn on me. All except todays. Today I gave them some information about a colleague they had been looking for and in return they gave me two pages they managed to print off secretly from their HQ. I sent them to you."
"I'll get to that bit later" Delia said narrowing her eyes "you stated you knew where Red is. Where is he?"
"Ah" Ash said scratching his head "I misspoke. What I meant was I know where to find out what happened at Giovannis Gym that day. You recall when he confronted the boss he left a time-flower behind? His time flower was re-located days afterwards with no one signing it out. Well on that piece of paper I sent to you it tells me of its current location and who has it."
"Who has my fucking husband?" Delia gritted out angrily each word punctuated.
"Ilene" Ash said causing Delia to stand up and swap. Without any warning she picked up her glass of water that Sam had given her and threw it at the wall while screaming. "That bitch! I'll fucking kill her!"
"No, you won't" Sam said sharply shocking them both "we'll do this the proper way. I will contact them and act as a go-between to get it back."
"No, you won't" Ash said looking directly at Sam "when I beat Giovanni tomorrow, I will be taking a trip. That trip will include a stop off at mum's house where I will collect her and from there, we will both go to Cameran Palace where I will lay waste to the place if I don't get my father back. I'm sorry Sam. Normally I'd go with your idea on this. But for eleven years now, that woman has known what happened to my father and out of pure spite kept that information from mum. We gave her the option months ago of working together and she rejected our demands. So, mum, I'll be home around five tomorrow and the day after we will be going on a little trip."
"Good" Delia said seething.
"Please reconsider" Sam said "Ash, you have a bright future ahead of you. Don't destroy it in anger. And Delia, don't go to prison for something that could be avoided."
"Sam" Delia said "I want to thank you for looking after us both over the years. But this is something that will be happening. This doesn't concern you."
"Then I will take my leave" Sam said coldly standing up and shaking his head "you are on your own with this. I want no part in it." Quickly he left as Ash and Delia went over their plans. Ash finished with "Tell Sylveon to begin practicing training regime C, she'll know what it means."
The next day Ash was unbelievably driven during his training. He told his Pokémon what he'd found out from Jessie and James, and they all agreed to help him. Charizard and Pikachu shared a malicious smile when Ash told them.
"Free rein?" Charizard asked Ash.
"Everything except Blast Burn" Ash said seriously as he lifted weights. "But trust me, if this would have been after we won the league then nothing would be restricted."
Nodding Charizard and Pikachu began sparring with each other. Ivysaur, and Wartortle began doing laps and Machoke meditating until Ash put down the weights and they began sparring too. They had long since progressed to full on fights, Machoke was very quick for his species, Ash was still unbeaten, but the progress had been astounding for the quiet fighting type. His stance had long since began to mirror Ash's and while there are always counters to whatever style of fighting you used, he was able to adapt fairly quickly. He had become a counterpuncher rather than an all-out wailer, which suited him more as he could defend and then attack when he found an opening. Ash had told him long ago about his fight with Richard and how he had lost the first fight because he miscalculated a move. So, they trained relentlessly to avoid that scenario from happening again.
"Good session guys" Ash said as they cooled down "we'll rest for a few hours and then challenge the gym. I want to be back in Pallet for early evening. Plus, we have promised Jessie and James to provide a distraction from 12-2. After what they did for me, I owe them, so I want to thank you all in advance for helping me. Let's go eat and rest. Our final hurdle is hours away."
A few hours later Ash made his way across the city to Viridian Gym. Walking up to it he stopped and looked up at the place. Blueprints did nothing to cover the scale of it. It was huge. Attached to it though was a newly made tower block that stretched up at least eighty feet. Giovanni had told them that he'd wanted this rather than a basement so he could hold seminars on the various floors and not have clashes with other noted celebrities who came in to give talks. The gym by comparison seemed small. Shaking his head he walked through the doors and presented the receptionist with his Pokedex and badge container. She scanned them both to prove authenticity before sending a message to Giovanni. Ash sat down as he waited and went over in his head what he wanted to do. He had decided not to inform Giovanni about Ilene. He didn't want to take the risk that she'd be prepared for their arrival. After a half hours wait the door opened and his uncle came striding forward, dressed immaculately in a business suit with his hair slicked back.
"Well, well" he said "is it really that time already? Have you really gained seven badges?"
"I have" Ash said standing up and shaking his hands "and in a few hours I'll have eight."
"My, my" Giovanni said giving him a searching look "you are confident, lets hope you're not all talk. Come, the final hurdle awaits you."
Nodding to the receptionist Ash followed his Uncle down several twisting corridors until they reached a set of double doors. Rather dramatically Giovanni threw the doors open to reveal a mini arena, complete with stands and a seating area that was gradually filling up.
"I do a lot of show battles to promote the league" Giovanni said answering Ash's unasked question "so, it made sense to make it seem like a league event. When news reached me that you'd beaten Blaine I organised this, not everyone I invited could make it, but I thought this would prepare you for a real live audience. "
Looking around he noticed that several people he had met over the last eight months had taken seats, several gym leaders and Bruno of the elite four took their seats giving him a wave as they did so.
Giovanni walked over to his side of the battlefield and turned to face Ash "Now, have you been told what my motto is?"
"No" Ash replied "I talked with mum about it a few days ago and realised I'd only been told three out of seven because of the circumstances of whatever happened during my battles. I knew Brocks, Lt Surges and Kogas. Cerulean pissed me off, so I left after battering them, Erika really pissed me off claiming Pikachu and I didn't share a closer bond than she did with her Pokémon, we beat her with one move. Richard had only been in place a day when I challenged him, and Blaine didn't tell me. I asked her not to tell me yours, hopefully I'll figure it out."
Up in the stand the various gym leaders Ash mentioned either smiled with pride or looked down with embarrassment as they each remembered their interactions with Ash.
"Very well" Giovanni said smirking "Now I was told that you faced and beat three of Blaine's Elite. I have no idea what he was thinking as we're only sanctioned to let new trainers who are in their first-year face one. However, I was told your Pokémon barely broke a sweat beating him, which is astounding. So, for this fight you'll face two of my Elite. Which ones I use will depend on how I view the battle and whether you're worthy to face my absolute strongest. Time will tell. Referee, if you will."
"This will be a five-on-five Pokémon battle between Gym Leader Giovanni and challenger Ash Ketchum. Substitutions are allowed for both sides; standard move count applies. The winner will be declared as the last trainer with a Pokémon still able to battle."
"Let's go Machoke" Ash said releasing his Pokémon.
"Rhydon, to the battlefield" Giovanni said.
Elsewhere
Jessie and James were watching Ash from up high. As they saw him enter the gym, they quickly made their way to the back of the building and entered through a tunnel they had dug weeks ago when Ash first informed them about Meowth. They could have used the blueprints back then to pinpoint where they wanted to come up, but they had got lucky by tunnelling through the sewer system. Quickly climbing the ladder, they walked quickly down a hallway that led to the lift. They decided that the best way of hiding would be in plain sight, their copied key cards gave them access to every floor except Giovanni's office. They couldn't see him keeping Meowth in there, but they knew they may have to break in there should they have no luck anywhere else.
Looking into several rooms they happened upon an empty computer room. On whim they decided to have a look around. Surprisingly someone had left their scan card still plugged into the computer that was still logged on.
"Do you get the feeling someone is trying to help us?" James asked as he sat down and began typing away.
"I've long since stopped questioning it." Jessie said from over his shoulder "what are you looking for?"
"I'm looking to find Giovanni's Pokémon reports for their check-ups. Gym Leaders are required to have their Pokémon checked out four times a year so if we can find out where that takes place we can head there" James said as he quickly scanned various documents "Aha, according to this he usually keeps his Pokémon on the ground floor at the back of the gym."
"That's very dangerous for us" Jessie said frowning "Ash is having his battle on the other side of that wall."
"True" James said logging off "but Giovanni will need to have his six Pokémon on hand with him, so that's six less that we may have to deal with, and I'll take that any day of the week. Come on, he's already likely been battling half an hour. We have just over an hour left. We'll check his room first, otherwise escaping will be impossible if we end up there."
Quickly they escaped the room and made their way to the elevator. Clicking the button for the top floor they ascended in silence, nodding briefly to people who got in and out of the lift and listening in to their conversations. They had clearly made the right choices dressing smartly for the heist given that everyone else was dressed in suits. Finally, they were left alone as they headed to the top floor. When it opened, they were incredibly surprised to see a corridor ahead of them that looked vaguely familiar.
"Is it me or does this place seem very familiar to you?" James asked quietly.
"It does" Jessie said confused as she walked past a desk that was unmanned. Finally, they came to a double door "James…are we where I think we are?"
Nodding James pushed open the door and gasped.
Ash
The battle had been raging on now for over an hour and a half. He had lost Machoke, Ivysaur and Wartortle during the course of the battle. Giovanni had lost Rhydon, Dugtrio, Nidoqueen and Nidoking. The Nidoking was incredibly tough to beat but Charizard had finally managed to take it down after a long battle but was very injured in the process. His left wing was torn, and his right arm was hanging limply. Charizard snorted as Nidoking was recalled.
"Congratulations Ash" Giovanni called out "Nidoking is my third strongest of my Elites. Normally beating him would be enough to earn you a badge, and you have more than done enough to earn it. However, I have a question for you. Have you figured out my motto yet?"
"No" Ash said shaking his head looking at Charizard in concern "I haven't."
"You're one step away from success, but that's usually where the path is taken from under your feet" Giovanni said smugly smiling. "I came up with that when I realised that I was the final hurdle for the entry to the Pokémon League. There are of course several other gyms that give out badges but for those doing the gym challenge correctly I am the last stop. You have done amazingly well to get this far, very few people manage it on their first go. In fact, only three people in the last ten years have managed to beat me and my Pokémon on their first try. So now we come to it, the final Pokémon, for me that is. I have been given clearance to use this Pokémon because its pre-evolutions are Ground type. Let's go my friend."
Ash took a step back as Giovanni threw the pokeball and on the field landed a huge, spiked dinosaur Pokémon. Pointing Dexter he bleeped.
"Tyranitar, Pokedex Number 248, The Armor Pokémon and the evolved form of Pupitar. Tyranitar is so overwhelmingly powerful, it can bring down a whole mountain to make its nest. This Pokémon wanders about in mountains seeking new opponents to fight."
"Shit" Ash said putting his thoughts into a very accurate phrase. "Charizard, do your best, you're naturally weak to this Pokémon so do not feel bad should you lose. Just do your best and Pikachu will finish it off."
"I admire your confidence Ash but not even your Pikachu will win here." Giovanni said "Rock Slide Tyranitar"
"Protect" Ash shouted using his fourth move for Charizard. He was now locked in for this battle. Ten minutes later Charizard was on his last legs trying valiantly to stay awake. Across from him the Tyranitar was sporting a few scuff marks but otherwise still very mobile. At the minute it was still recovering from the huge Hyper Beam it was sent his way. Charizard knew he had lost this fight, but he could take solace in knowing he could help take down a Pokémon he was weak to. He looked over at Ash who was looking at him in concern and nodded. Focusing on his opponent he focused his mind, and he began to glow red as flames danced all over his body. Roaring defiantly, he took off into the air and wobbled, cursing his ripped wing he centered himself and charged at the Tyranitar who was rooted to the spot and took the Flare Blitz head on being sent crashing backwards in a cloud of dust.
Anxiously Ash waited for the dust to settle but his aura ability had already told him what had happened. It was one final desperate act from a defiant Charizard. When the dust cleared Tyranitar was back on its feet sporting a huge scorch mark on its chest, Charizard was out cold and bleeding from the snout. Raising his pokeball he recalled Charizard.
"It's all on you now Pi" Ash said as Pikachu jumped down onto the battlefield and set himself.
"All moves are available" Giovanni said smiling "our last battle should be a memorable one, so no limits."
"Ok" Ash said "I'm fine with that."
"Tyranitar" Giovanni shouted "Rock Slide."
"Agility" Ash said calmly. He could see several outcomes for this fight, he just didn't know which one he'd choose yet.
Pikachu easily dodged and made his way through the rocks all the while circling the battlefield waiting for Ash to decide on a strategy. Pikachu himself knew which one he'd choose. "Charge" he heard and smiled. Yup, it was the one he was thinking of. Pikachu became a bright yellow light as he ran around the field dodging various attacks that Tyranitar fired at him. "Electro Sphere" that was different Pikachu thought but nevertheless in between dodges he fired off several yellow spheres at the Tyranitar. Normally they'd do nothing to a rock type, but Pikachu wasn't the average electric type. While his abilities had plateaued a long time ago his electrical power had steadily increased. Lt Surges advice had helped immensely with his training, and he'd discovered new and various ways of accessing every little bit of electrical output he had. The Electro Spheres made a huge impact on Tyranitar who was driven back with each one, roaring in anger and pain. He'd never experienced electrocution before. And he quickly found he didn't like it.
"Iron Head" Giovanni shouted. Despite being peppered with attacks Tyranitar managed to set itself before it charged forward at the little mouse who was sent flying from the attack. Amazingly the Pikachu managed to right itself almost straight away.
"What?" Giovanni shouted in surprise. Tyranitar's attack power was usually incredible.
"Thunderbolt" Ash shouted to Pikachu who lit the Tyranitar up causing it to roar in more pain. Pain and anger were quickly taking over its mind, there was no chance he was going to be beaten by a mouse and soon it began thrashing around, using every move it knew. In its anger though it didn't realise that not one attack hit and soon enough it was down to one knee panting. It looked up in time to take an Iron Tail to the chin which sent it flying backwards across the battlefield. Wearily it began to climb to its feet. Looking over at his opponent it noticed that it barely looked hurt.
"How?" it roared
"You made a huge mistake" Ash shouted surprising it "you let your anger and arrogance take over and forgot the basics of how the battle started. Pikachu was already faster than you to start with. Agility heightened that speed and every move you used was a ranged attack, all except the Earthquake which he rode out. This battle was over with before it began thanks to Charizards efforts, Pikachu is the one that will finish off in true teamwork fashion. Look at your chest plate."
Giovanni who had been silent throughout Ash's speech looked at his wounded Tyranitar and noticed something he should have seen twenty minutes ago. Tyranitar had a burn across its chest plate. No wonder Iron Head didn't do the damage it should have done.
"Pikachu, end this" Ash said, "Volt Tackle."
"Do not let it hit" Giovanni shouted, "move out of the way." Tyranitar tried its best, but it was very weary from all the attacks it had used, couple that with Pikachu already being faster and he knew what was coming. On top of that Pikachu had been charging while it dodged the attacks and the inevitable happened. Tyranitar took the attack straight to the face and was knocked clean out and sent flying across the battlefield where it came to a halt against the wall of the arena.
"Tyranitar is unable to battle" the referee said, "Pikachu and Ash Ketchum wins the match."
Applause startled both Giovanni and Ash out of their thoughtfulness. They had both completely forgot this was being watched and had been utterly focused on the match. Giovanni recalled his knocked-out Pokémon and walked across the battlefield where Ash met him.
"I am so proud to be able to hand this badge out" Giovanni said giving Ash a badge shaped like a leaf "I present to you the Earth Badge. With it you have proven you have what it takes to be able to compete at the Pokémon League. Also take this. It is TM 27. The move is Fissure. Brock already gave you the Earthquake TM. This move is a lot more powerful however it is highly inaccurate. When it does hit it guarantees a one hit knock out."
"Thanks Giovanni" Ash said pocketing both items "next stop, training, then the league."
"Good to see you have your priorities straight. You have just under four months until the league starts atop the Indigo Plateau. You are required to be there at least two days before the event starts for registration. Should you miss it you will not be able to compete until next year. You're a very punctual kid. Make sure you don't miss the cut-off date." Giovanni said before getting a confused face as his pokegear went off in his pocket. Usually, he'd have it on silent for a match. He must have forgotten. "Hello, Giovanni speaking. What? When? Do we know who? Then find out who!" he hung up looking incredibly angry. "My apologies, someone has broken into my office and then my training facility while we battled. I must go."
"Do you need help?" Ash asked looking concerned.
"No" Giovanni said curtly "I shall deal with it myself. Great battle Ash. I shall be rooting for you at the league." Giovanni quickly strode away through a door opposite where they came in. Ash hoped Team Rocket had managed to escape. He couldn't dwell on those thoughts as people from the stands had made their way onto the field to congratulate him. It took over twenty minutes before he could escape.
"Look, I really need to get my Pokémon to the centre to be healed. I have plans with my mum over the next few days so I need to get home as soon as I can." Ash said having finally had enough "I'm sure I will see you all again at some point."
"I'll walk with you" Lt Surge said, "there's something we need to talk about anyway."
Confused Ash nodded and they left the building, going back through the many passageways and finally they hit the street outside. Something told Ash to look upwards. As he did, he could have sworn he saw a purple streak race across the sky. Narrowing his eyes, he contemplated what that could be. The walk to the centre was nice for Ash. He felt a little overwhelmed by being swarmed. He wasn't used to so much contact from people. He tolerated very few people touching him at the best of times. Walking into the centre he handed his Pokémon over to Joy and sat in the waiting room with Lt Surge as they chatted aimlessly about how best to get as much electrical power efficiently out of a Pokémon as possible.
"Your tips have greatly helped Pikachu" Ash said "his abilities levelled out a long time ago, but his power is still increasing bit by bit. His dream of rock types fearing him has borne fruit today."
"It certainly has" Lt Surge said laughing a big booming laugh "Raichu will be jealous. Anyway, the reason I came with you is to hand you this." Ash reached out and grabbed an envelope. Opening it he was initially confused.
"Elesa is having a party to celebrate her first successful modelling gig in Unova. It's taking place in a few weeks at my gym. We'd love for you to join us. You can also bring a guest" Lt Surge said.
Ash was conflicted. He had plans to be on Mt Silver by that time. "I'll get back to you on this Lt Surge." Ash said.
"Frank, when were alone" Lt Surge said interrupting him.
"Frank" Ash amended "I had plans to isolate myself for the next few months to train for the league. I need to pick up my authorisation card from Professor Oak first, but I planned to be on Mt Silver by the end of the week."
"Well, the invitation is still being given" Frank said clapping him on the shoulder "just think about it."
"I will" Ash said putting the card away into his bag. Hearing his name being shouted by Joy he walked over. "they're all fine except Charizard. His wing was ripped but it should be fine as long as he doesn't fly for today. Spray this on it every few hours and he should be fine by the morning." Joy said handing him a potion bottle. Taking a sniff Ash frowned as he couldn't put his finger on what it contained. Laughing Joy told him it was her own blend of Full Restores combined with some vitamins. Thanking her Ash put the bottle in his bag. Frank shook his hand and said goodbye as Ash walked up to his room. Phoning his mum, he explained what had gone on in the gym and the problem with Charizard.
"I'll drive to Viridian" she said, "I'll leave the car at the gym overnight before we head to Mt Moon, I'm sure Gio won't mind."
"Ah well someone apparently broke into his gym while we were battling. He was furious when he left." Ash said.
"I'll send him a message then. That way I don't disturb him and he's aware." Delia said "I'll be at the centre by early evening. See you later Ash."
Delia arrived safely and they spent the evening catching up on the last few days events and discussed tomorrows plans. The next day Charizard was fully healed, and they were ready to go. They drove in silence for the next few hours as each of them went over in their mind what they planned to say. They arrived at Mt Moon after passing through Pewter City nearly five pm that evening. Parking up they had a light meal in the centres canteen before they walked outside.
"Charizard" Ash said releasing his fire type "we plan on making an entrance. Rota is about six miles that way. Can you drop us off directly in the palace courtyard please. We wouldn't want Ilene to think we aren't polite".
Snorting he lowered himself and Delia and Ash climbed on "It's been a while since I've done this Ash. Don't go too fast."
"Charizard is perfectly safe mum, let's go pal" Ash said as Charizard took off into the air and headed for Cameran Palace. When they were about a mile away Ash decided to let loose his Aura. Ash often forgot how powerful he actually was due to having his full aura leashed most of the time. He trained with it, used it at all times to be aware of his surroundings but he still hadn't ever let it loose like this. Charizard had to shake his head to recover as he stumbled slightly in the air while his mum groaned at how strongly his aura resonated with hers. He was her son after all, but it had been a long time since Aura was used around her in such quantities.
"They all should have felt that" Ash said smirking "let's see the bastards scurry around now wondering what's happening".
Inside the palace Ilene was having her tea with several dignitaries when at the side of her Lucario collapsed onto its knees as did every other Lucario stationed around the main hall. A few minutes later after they had managed to stand back up, they all as one ran to face the door getting into a defensive stance. Ilene immediately knew what was happening, they were about to be attacked.
After a few tense minutes Ilene heard a scuffle outside her door as two sets of footsteps could clearly be heard walking down the corridor. Absolute silence could be heard from everyone in the hall. The were all utterly terrified.
Suddenly another aura wave passed through the doors and several aura guardians who were seated passed out as their noses started bleeding. Riley, her right hand grasped his head screaming in pain. Wondering what was going on Ilene stood up but immediately was blasted back into her seat as a huge shockwave smashed open the doors to the palace and her guards were all sent flying. Looking up she was astonished to find it was Ash Ketchum and his mother standing in the doorway. Confused as to what was going on she tried to speak but found her voice had gone missing.
Sidestepping around Ash Delia took no notice of the terrified members of Ilene's household, nor Riley who was still clutching his head in pain. Instead, she walked right up to Ilene, grabbed her by the hair causing her to cry out in pain and forced to her her knees. Forcing her to look at Delia she wondered what was happening.
"I will ask you this once and once only Ilene" Delia said growling "where the fuck have you put my husband?"
