Warning: This chapter contains copious amounts of Pokemon.
While Ash was the most exhausted Pokemon who had been underground, he was hardly the only one to want to drop and pass out.
Umbreon, who had been helping him excavate August, Eevee, who had spent the most time disposing of the gravel, and Gerald, who had of course had to Dig through solid rock to help get his trainer out.
So while the trainers made use of their opposable thumbs to help patch up the similarly exhausted August, the Pokemon who weren't falling into a nap pile with Ash were left to talk.
"Absol, I have a question for you." Selene addressed the dark-type.
The larger Pokemon blinked at the fairy-type. Sometimes she could be blunt with her words. "Well, we got time, what's up?"
"You've been sensing something up here with August for a few days right?"
"I knew someone or something was in danger," Absol admitted. "But not exactly what the problem was."
"Why didn't you sense anything when we were going to Sabrina's gym?" The Clefairy's voice wasn't accusatory, just curious.
This question got the attention of the other Pokemon in earshot, Pikachu, Sunny, and Staryu.
Absol paused as she considered how to word her answer. "I did, technically." She announced after a moment. She continued before anyone could interject though.
"But I didn't realize what it meant. Normally when a gym battle is coming up I sense that Pokemon are going to get hurt. I thought it seemed a bit worse than usual but nothing that made me think anything was seriously wrong." Absol elaborated.
"That kinda sucks." Pikachu complained, "I mean, didn't it tip you off that Ash was the one who was going to get hurt?"
The disaster Pokemon had the decency to look a bit sheepish. "As I said, I'm used to Pokemon getting hurt in gym battles, I don't pay a lot of attention to trying to work out the specifics if it's not us battling."
"So if it had been Karen battling you would have paid more attention?" Sunny asked. "You might want to change your policy there."
"I've been considering it." Absol allowed.
"It does seem like it's a really useful ability to have," Selene said.
"Yeah!" Houndour agreed, tail wagging. "Like this one time, I was running around and Absol told me to be careful. But I wasn't, and I ran into a tree! So now whenever she tells me to be careful I'm super extra careful!"
"I didn't actually sense that she was going to do that," Absol whispered to the others. "It was too minor, but results are results…"
"That sounds a bit like Ash," Pikachu commented idly as he tended to his cooking duties. Lunch had long since passed so now it was on to dinner time. "Kind of. In the vein that he gets results but couldn't tell you how he got them."
Selene got a confused look. "That doesn't sound quite right, he almost always has an explanation when I ask him something."
"If he doesn't Eevee certainly will." Sunny collaborated.
The electric-type considered their words. "You're right, now that I think about it. Ash has been putting a lot more thought into his actions. For a while now that I think about it." He looked oddly put out by this epiphany. "I guess my material is a bit outdated."
"You do just call him dumb a lot," Murkrow recalled and got looks from the others. "What?" She squawked.
"Nothing, it's just you normally don't talk to us." Pidgeotto pointed out.
The other flying-type huffed. "Just because I'm not talking doesn't mean I'm not listening." She gestured to the lazing Sneasel. "She's the one who's aloof to everything around her.
"I call him dumb because I know it doesn't bother him." Pikachu brought them back to the point. "Not really at least, he might huff and fire back at me but it doesn't hurt his feelings meaningfully."
"Is that why you banter with him more than the rest of us?" Sunny asked him.
Pikachu shrugged. "A little bit? I'm still getting a read on most of the team. Pidgeotto I had figured out pretty quick but with you and Selene I'm not sure how to without saying something I would regret."
"Glad to know I'm so easy to figure out." Pidgeotto rolled her eyes.
"What about Eevee?" Selene asked.
"What about Eevee?" Pikachu repeated.
His conscious teammates shared a look. "Not to harp on it too much, but…" Sunny trailed off.
"You two get on like a house on fire," Pidgetto announced and continued before anyone could correct her. "Specifically a house on fire, full of people burning to death."
"That is a weird expression now that I think about it." Absol mused.
"Look," Pikachu spoke in a tone that made it very clear he didn't want to talk about this. "We just don't get along. She doesn't like me very much and I don't like her much. Simple as."
Sunny grimaced. "I guess some people just don't get along…"
Selene had more to say, however. "Why? I just don't understand how you get on each other's nerves so much. You both have good sides and bad sides."
"What's bad about little miss perfect?" Pikachu mocked.
"Well, she can get a bit long-winded," Selene admitted. "And she doesn't always understand why you might be upset about something."
"Riveting." Pikachu rolled his eyes. "Look, it's not a big deal, we can get along enough not to scream at each other or sabotage each other. It's nothing you have to worry about."
"I don't know." Sunny rubbed the back of his neck. "It just doesn't feel right. We all seem to get along except for you two."
Pikachu sighed. "If it worries you that much bring it up with her. I tried to build bridges but she wasn't interested. She thinks I'm too annoying or something." He waved it off. "At least she's a decent battler."
"Scary battler." The Charmander shivered, remembering the time he and the normal-type had battled.
"It always comes back to battles doesn't it?" Selene marveled.
"Of course." Pidgeotto nodded sagely. "Battles are great."
"You know, I bet that's how the world turned out the way it is." Absol considered.
"What do you mean?" Murkrow asked her teammate.
Absol paced. "Some of the things Ash has said got me thinking. About the world and the way things are. Humans have these big civilizations but Pokemon? We don't. Humans have houses and cities. We have nests and dens. Most Pokemon are still living in the cold and facing the elements."
"Unfortunate but true." Pidgeotto allowed.
"It's been bugging me," Absol claimed. "How come? It's not that humans are just smarter than us, is it?"
No one answered apart from some uncomfortable shuffling. That was an unpleasant insinuation.
"But I think I figured it out. Battles. Humans fight each other when they want something. Sometimes they do it just for fun but usually, it's a conflict of interests. But Pokemon like us? We battle for fun. We do it every chance we get. Sure we fight over specific things sometimes, but usually, it's just for the sheer thrill of it." Absol explained her thought process.
"Not all of us like battling though." Selene pointed out. "I want to get stronger and help people and battling seems like the best way to do it. And most of the others back home are pretty passive too."
"Actually…" Pidgeotto trailed off as she considered Absol's words. "She might be onto something. Like you said, Selene, your people aren't that battle-focused, and look at what you have! You've built up a whole civilization under Mount Moon. Maybe it's not quite as advanced as some humans but you have a whole society down there."
"So what?" Pikachu asked, wondering where this was going. "Pokemon that battle are less likely to develop a civilization?"
"Something like that." the dark-type responded. "But not quite, more like Pokemon that like to battle are more likely to latch onto human society than develop their own."
"Huh." Sunny scratched his head. "Now that you mention it…"
"It does make a certain kind of sense." Pidgeotto agreed.
Absol nodded. "Humans are squishier than we are, they can take attacks but can't use them. So they look to Pokemon. Pokemon look to humans as a way to get battles and get stronger. Humans and Pokemon start partnering. At some point, the Pokeball is developed and starts getting used. Leagues form. The Gym Challenge. All based around a human society with an emphasis on Pokemon."
"That is… huh." Pikachu wasn't quite sure what to say.
"Some Pokemon who don't want to battle might get forced into it," Absol admitted. "I'm honestly glad Ash has picked up on it. He's bringing more attention to it bit by bit. But for most of us?"
"Yeah." Pidgeotto sighed. "I wasn't sure about the trainer thing at first, but after seeing a bunch come through I decided to approach the next one I saw and see what happened. Then the Pokemon with her said he was a trainer and asked if I wanted to come along." She trilled happily at the memory.
"It feels a lot longer ago than it was," Pikachu recalled. "It seems almost like a year but it's only been about a month and a half."
"A lot can happen in a month and a half." Selene pointed out.
"Clearly." Murkrow chuckled.
Pikachu's pot chose now to start billowing steam and the electric-type perked up. "Ah! Food's ready! Come and get it!"
The Pokemon who were awake dug in, setting some aside for their still-sleeping friends. Pikachu's cooking may not be quite gourmet but it was still pretty good, especially when he mixed in some berries that Pidgeotto had found.
Pikachu stewed in his thoughts as he chewed. Some humans were good. He accepted this. He had it shoved in his face enough times. Most Pokemon liked to battle, this was also true, and he had lots of experience in that regard.
But still, it was hard to let go of old hatred.
So he ate his food and tried not to focus on the dissonance between the humans he liked… and the ones he didn't.
Despite being the first one to pass out the night before, Ash was not the first one to wake up. That honor went to Umbreon who had already dug into the leftovers set aside for them.
Ash padded over and started eating too, now that the crisis was over and his exhaustion dealt with, all he could think about was how hungry he was.
Neither he nor Umbreon had much to say to each other so they ate in silence for a while. It was a little bit awkward but at least the food was good.
"Remember what I said about you being a weird dark-type?" Umbreon finally saw fit to break through the discomforting atmosphere.
Ash wondered where he was going with this, "Yeah…"
"That still stands," the other dark-type declared, "But you're a good Pokemon."
Oh. Ash blinked, not expecting the compliment. "Thanks. I think."
"Don't let it get to your head," Umbreon warned him.
"I wasn't planning on it," Ash confirmed and went back to enjoying his breakfast, now with less awkwardness in the air.
Slowly the rest of the camp began to awake, by the time the sun had begun to properly climb into the sky everyone was up and most of them were moving around.
The fact that August was there made things slightly complicated. While Ash was less careful showing off his illusions to other Pokemon he still felt a bit self-conscious showing it off to humans. Mostly because it was easier for humans to spread rumors, not to mention he liked keeping it secret.
Was it a bit childish? Maybe. But Ash didn't care that much, it was fun!
Fortunately, August had given him an out himself when he had first found the man underground.
"It's still strange." the caver shook his head as they spoke that morning. "I really could have sworn your Zorua was talking to me!" He told the now disguised Ash.
Ash grinned. "He can be a bit chatty when he wants to be." It was true enough. He gently patted the illusion he'd made of himself.
It took a little bit of concentration to maintain both his human illusion and a duplication illusion at the same time, but all the practice he'd had over the past week certainly helped.
"Either way." he shook his head, ignorant of the confused stare Gerald was shooting both versions of Ash. "I owe you guys. All of you, if not for you…" he trailed off, he probably realized he was repeating himself, he had thanked them a dozen times already. But given the circumstances, he could be forgiven.
"I'd say just be more careful with caves," Karen suggested.
"That's the thing we were being careful." August insisted. "We've done this countless times before! Since I was thirteen! We have plenty of practice." He nodded at his partner. "I shouldn't have returned Gerald. That was the mistake. I wasn't even really thinking about it."
"It's not a big deal." The ground-type comforted his trainer. "It worked out."
"I figured there might be other Pokemon down there," August admitted. "And I wasn't sure if they might have become upset if a Pokemon they didn't recognize showed up. Shows what I know, turns out they didn't want anyone they didn't recognize down there."
"There were Pokemon down there?" Misty asked with interest.
"More than that!" August claimed. "This spot is the first real entrance we've found to the famed Crystal Caves!"
The other three trainers shared a look, checking if any of them recognized it. None of them except Ash, and the first time he had heard it was yesterday while digging the man out.
"Really?" He looked disappointed. "None of you have heard of it?"
"Sorry." Ash apologized.
"Alright, story time," August rubbed his hands together but paused. "Actually before that, where are you guys heading? Because it occurs to me I'll have some trouble getting anywhere with my leg like this."
That could be a problem. They were a few days from Saffron City and more from Celadon City, and either way would be longer if they were transporting August with them. Ash would probably have to reveal his illusion if they needed to help him get to civilization and proper help.
"Celadon," Karen answered. "But I doubt you want us to carry you all the way there, and that leg could just get worse."
"Hurts like heck already." He agreed. "We can try and call, let's see…" He rummaged around in his bag, a somewhat worried expression on his face. "I hope it still works, considering it was buried with me."
He pulled a device not too dissimilar from a Pokedex out. "Come on…" He muttered as he flipped it open. "Come on… yes!" He cheered as it turned on. "And it still has 25% battery!"
"What is it?" Ash asked. "It looks like a Pokedex…"
"Haven't seen one?" He asked the younger trainer. "This is a Pokegear! It's an upgrade from your standard Pokedex. You can use it to make phone calls, listen to the radio, and it of course functions as a regular Pokedex too."
Karen whistled. "I need to get me one of those."
"I got mine in Celadon a couple of months back." He waved off. "If you're heading there you might be able to grab one, but they are a tad expensive. I had to sell off half of the nuggets I've dug up over the years."
August inspected the device a bit more, "alright, it looks like I have a signal, I should be able to call some emergency services to come to get me. Let me make that call real quick."
As he made the call Ash wondered at the device. He was honestly a bit surprised he had never heard of it, it must be something new. It certainly seemed more useful than his regular Pokedex…
He resolved to look into it once they got to the next city.
"Now that's sorted." August put his Pokegear away, "It'll take at least a few hours for anyone to get here, so I'll get back to my story."
The listening Pokemon and humans got comfortable as he began.
"A long time ago, giants walked the Earth…
These monsters marched over land and sea, razing all that opposed them. Nothing could stop them, not man or Pokemon. The gods themselves failed, the harbingers of storm, ice, and fire could not halt them.
Yet the giants were not their own masters.
They served cruel and spiteful kings and queens who sat on thrones of cold stone and bone. The cities they ruled, and the empire they had built was not enough, they needed more and demanded their giants take more and more.
But for all their might they were not wholly unopposed.
Desperate masses prayed for hope, for salvation, for escape. And the Lord of the Winds heard them.
'I may fell a thousand of these warlords.' The lord declared to the gathered. 'But ten thousand more may yet exhaust me and see me fall. But I refuse to leave you to an unjust fate undeserved.'
The Wind Lord could not raise all those who asked into the sky and to freedom, for the sky would cease to be infinite and the light would be choked with fear. So he searched and called upon the Eldest. The Eldest and the Wind Lord debated and sought a solution, for the Eldest is well removed from the affairs of the world, content in their bubble of self.
For a time, the people were left to wallow, to hide their treachery from the rulers of cold stone. Left to fear for a dwindling hope.
Then the Earth opened for them.
Great maws that promised salvation instead of oblivion welcomed the desperate and the unbroken. In this place below the stars and the troubles of the world, they found light and new strength.
Crystals that blazed like the sun and moon filled chambers beneath the surface, untouched by the troubles above. The Eldest greeted those who came before them.
'I interfere not because it is my duty, but because I have no reason not to. The giants trouble me, their steps and roars disturb my meditations. I will not grant you any new strength. You will find this place more than capable of awakening unknown strength within you. Do as you would.'
For a generation beneath the world, the Awakened prepared.
At the seat of their power, Cold Stone reveled in debauchery and malice. But upon the first day of a new spring, the Awakened emerged.
They were transformed and empowered, strength beyond measure filled them. The crystals may not have truly granted them the power they needed but they enabled them to achieve it for themselves.
With songs of war and tramp of doom, they came upon Cold Stone. The giants fell or were imprisoned in their devices of power. The lesser servants were naught but dust in the wind.
The last king of Cold Stone screamed and raged against his deserved destiny. But he too fell with a whisper of hatred on his last breath.
It was then that the Awakened and the remaining giants both wept. For joy now, the king was dead and his empire ruined. The giants no longer were slaves to his and his ancestor's cruelty and the Awakened were at last free.
Those last giants voluntarily allowed themselves to be contained. They knew they had no true place in this world, and their buried brethren who had not been free upon the king's fall would not know the feeling of freedom and understand.
Cold Stone was torn down, new settlements were built, and no more empires would reign over the land. Thus a new age of the world began."
August finished his story and suddenly looked a bit self-conscious. "At least that's how I heard it. I'm sure there are other versions of it."
"I've never heard anything about that before." Misty mused. "And I've lived in Kanto my whole life."
"What are the odds the 'harbingers' are the Legendary Birds, Zapdos, Articuno, and Moltres?" Karen asked.
"Makes sense to me." Ash agreed even as he tried to figure out the Eldest and the Wind Lord. Maybe some really old legendaries or mythical Pokemon?
"That's the going theory I heard for those three." August nodded. "I'm not sure how much of the story is true though. It could be a bit metaphorical, maybe an analogy for Pokemon evolution?"
"Oh!" Ash nodded as it clicked. "The Crystal Cave would be like evolution stones!"
"That makes sense." Misty pounded her hand. "They had the strength within them but the crystals enabled them to reach it. Not sure how that would let them overthrow an army of giants though…"
"It is just a story." August reminded them, "even if it's based on some facts, I mean, the Crystal Cave is real!" He grinned.
"You saw it down there right?" Karen asked, somewhat skeptically.
"Part of it at least." He nodded. "I wasn't expecting to actually find it mind you, more of a legend chaser than finder if you catch my meaning." He rubbed the back of his head, a bit embarrassed.
"I don't suppose we could check it out down there?" Ash wondered, looking towards the cave entrance.
"No thank you!" The eldest human there shook his head. "I think I need to stay away from caves for a bit. Sorry, Gerald." He glanced at the Sandshrew.
"No, I get it, I could use a break too." The ground-type agreed. "Besides, the cave-in was bad on you, but worse behind you. You're lucky you weren't ten feet further back, instead of being crushed by gravel, you would have been crushed by boulders."
The conversation stuck on the Crystal Cave and some other legends around the Kanto region. Ash and Misty shared their experience with the Giant Dragonite with the group, but they didn't mention the Moonstone, it wouldn't do to draw more attention to it. Considering what happened when just Team Rocket had been looking for it.
Sure, August seemed alright and Karen could probably be told at some point, but stories spread, and eventually, someone might go and cause trouble there.
Eventually, help arrived for August, a weird vehicle structure carried by a Pidgeot landed in the clearing with some medical professionals and a Ranger.
The Ranger took statements from everyone as the medics checked out August and by the end of the hour, they were waving goodbye as the injured man was taken away with his Pokemon.
Ash dropped both of his illusions as soon as they were out of sight. He sagged and took a few deep breaths. "That was way harder than usual."
"You are more used to only using one illusion at a time." Eevee reminded him. "Doing two at once was probably a bit harder on… whatever it is you use to create illusions. Is it your brain?"
"I think he has one of those in there." Pikachu freely snarked, giving Ash a light knock on the head.
The Zorua thought about it. "I'm not sure now that I think about it…"
Selene got a panicked look. "Oh, moon! You don't have a brain, Ash? We need to get those medics back right now!"
The genuine concern from the fairy-type made some of the other Pokemon snicker as Ash sighed. "Don't worry Selene, I have a brain, I mean I'm not sure what it is that lets me do illusions…"
"Really?" The listening Misty asked him as she packed up her stuff. "I figured you would know."
"It's an ability." Ash protested. "Plenty of Pokemon have abilities! I don't know what part of me makes it work. It could be my kidney for all I know!"
"I'm not sure either." Karen mused. "Maybe you should ask that Professor you know to look into it. Oak right?"
"Yeah." Ash nodded at her and then surveyed his team. "Everyone alright if we skip training today too? I know we didn't do any yesterday either but we could probably use a full day of rest."
"I'm okay with that." Sunny decided after a moment. "I wouldn't mind just walking a bit today."
"I might do some extra flying just for a bit of a workout." Pidgeotto considered. "But yeah I'm good."
The others gave variations of affirmations and the journey continued.
A few days later as they stopped for the night Misty broached a question to Ash.
"What are you going to do after you finish the gym challenge?" She asked him.
"Well, I go to the league next right?" He gave her a confused look, that was the obvious answer.
"No." She shook her head. "I mean, in between the last gym and the league? You're moving fairly quickly through this, and there are more than four months left until the league. If we keep up the same pace we'll have three months left."
Ash stared at her. "Huh."
"You hadn't thought of that had you?" Pidgeotto checked with him.
"Not recently at least." the dark-type admitted. "I'm pretty sure I thought about it while setting everything up with Pikachu…"
Sunny glanced at the currently preoccupied Pikachu. He seemed to be trying a radical new technique of using his electric moves to cook. Thankfully they had already eaten dinner so they wouldn't be forced to eat whatever came out. "We could ask him…"
"No, I remember now." Ash had something flash into his mind. "We figured it would get harder as we went on. It could take a week to beat some of the final gyms."
"It's true." Karen nodded, she'd been listening in apparently. "When I first did the Johto circuit I got through the first half in a couple of months, but I got stuck trying to beat Pryce for three weeks."
"Three weeks?" Misty gaped. "That's…"
"That old man does not mess around." the older trainer nodded solemnly. "That final battle was when Umbreon evolved. He didn't exactly complain about us winning but he did seem a bit annoyed by it."
"It was luck, but at that point?" Umbreon added in. "We needed a bit of luck. Graveller was starting to chew her fingers off from the nerves."
"Graveller?" Ash asked with a look of confusion.
"One of my other Pokemon." The others stared at her. "What?" She looked at them. "You didn't think I only had six Pokemon did you?"
"I hadn't thought about it," Misty admitted.
Pidgeotto hummed. "It does make sense."
"How many Pokemon do you have?" Ash asked, wondering if he could meet them sometime.
"I'm not the type to go on crazy catching sprees." Karen waved off. "Seventeen total."
Misty whistled and Sunny's jaw dropped.
"It's not that many." She insisted. "I've been doing this for five years, most people I mention it to think it's strange I don't have more. I stopped going out of my way to catch Pokemon once I decided to be a dark-type specialist unless it was a dark-type."
The blue-haired girl paused. "Well sometimes, I caught Gloom as an Oddish a little while back but that's because I felt bad leaving her there."
"I'm not sure I want to know," Squirtle muttered, glancing at the sad-looking Pokemon.
This conversation had a side effect on Ash. He had a team of five now, he wasn't sure when he'd get a sixth member or who it would be. But if he met anyone else after who wanted to come or he asked to join…
Who would he have to leave behind?
Ash had wondered about the six Pokemon team limit when he was first starting. It seemed kind of weird that he had to limit who he could bring with him at a given time. As it turns out, there was a good reason for it.
When the Pokemon transfer system was first developed a debate started on how many Pokemon a trainer should have with them. The battle maximum for both sides was already six true, and that was an argument used but just because they could only use six didn't mean they couldn't have more.
A few studies were done and it was discovered that any more than six Pokemon and a trainer would start having trouble caring for all the Pokemon they had with them.
Now, it wasn't just about the money although that was a part of it. A well-off trainer could probably pay for the needs of more than six Pokemon (unless they had a team of Snorlax or Munchlax). The issue came in with the amount of attention a trainer could give to more than six.
Even six was pushing it a bit but any more and some Pokemon just wouldn't get as much care and focus as the others.
It still annoyed Ash a little bit, but it made sense. He spent a lot of time with his own team and while he was passingly familiar with Misty and Karens' Pokemon he definitely wasn't as close.
So if it came down to it, who would he have to leave behind? Truth be told, he didn't want to send any of his friends off, even if it was to make room for a new friend they were getting to know still.
Before he could go any further he mentally slapped himself around. This wasn't even a problem yet and here he was already worrying about it. If it became an issue he would deal with it then.
Ash blinked as he realized the conversation had moved on without him. "Sorry I spaced out for a minute, what were we talking about?"
"Still on my Pokemon," Karen waved him off. "They were asking who I had."
His eyes sparkled and his brain went into overdrive. "Who!" He all but chirped. "I wanna know!"
"Getting Hondour vibes." Umbreon mused.
"You already know the six I have with me." Karen nodded at her team, all in various places around their campsite. Umbreon mentioned Graveller I assume?" She checked.
He nodded at her and used his illusion. A moment later a Graveller was standing amongst the group.
"Yep, that's about right. Graveller, Noctowl-" Ash changed again. "...alright visual representation is nice. Sorry, Graveller, Noctowl, Whooper, Piloswine, Pupitar, Luxio, Gastrodon, Skuntank, Rhyhorn, Snover, and Linoone."
As she went through them all Ash transformed into each, finishing on Linoone but Karen shook her head when she saw his final form.
"No, wrong type. Galarian Linoone." She told him. Ash wracked his brain for a moment, trying to remember that regional variant. His mind made the connection between the Pokemon and Karen's preferred typing though and he swapped the color palette.
"There we go." She nodded in affirmation. "And yep, that's everyone.
"I don't recognize some of those names," Misty mentioned and Staryu hummed next to her.
"Mayhaps they are mythical beasts from far-off nameless realms," he suggested and Misty chuckled.
"Well, most are from either Johto or Sinnoh." Karen shrugged. "I went to Sinnoh after Johto and started slowing down as I realized I wanted to focus on dark-types. I actually found Snover while looking for Sneasel." She glanced at the sharp claw Pokemon, lounging in a tree.
"Then I did Hoenn, didn't catch anyone there, honestly that was probably my worst showing. I had this 'genius' idea of just flying from gym to gym and then training for the rest of the time before the league. The training certainly helped but it wasn't enough with no experience or outside input." Karen explained her mistake.
"After that, I did Kanto, went back through Johto again, did a couple of school semesters when I realized I sucked at math…" She mused.
Misty found the ground immensely interesting but Ash didn't get the big deal. He'd never been to school before and he was good and edumacated. No that was wrong, educized, that was it.
"Then I went to Galar to try that gym challenge only to find out they do things completely differently there." She complained. "It's less of a season and more of a race thing? Except you're not really racing?" She wondered how best to explain it. "Essentially there's this big start date with a ceremony and everything and all the participants run off towards the first gym and so on and so forth, you can't even do them out of order."
"Weird." Ash noted.
"Right? But my issue was I found out after I got there I needed a local sponsor like a professor or official or gym leader and I wasn't able to get one by the start date so I couldn't participate. I did get a Zigzagoon who evolved into Linoone, so it wasn't all bad. And I watched some of the bigger battles. This kid around my age named Leon won the whole thing, even beat the reigning champion."
"Wow." Misty's eyebrows shot up. "And that was him starting off?" She wondered.
"Yeah, pretty wild. He had this monster of a Charizard-" She froze. "No…"
Ash glanced at his friends and then at Karen with concern. "What is it?"
"You remember August's story the other day?" She asked. "With the giants and stuff?"
They nodded. "So, in Galar, there's this thing called Dynamax, it's this local phenomenon that can happen to some Pokemon if exposed to these particles…" she waved off the science. "Anyway, it lets them grow giant, like bigger than a house giant."
"And the story said there were a bunch of giants trampling over everything…" Misty realized. "I wonder if there's a connection there. I mean this is just theorizing about an old legend though."
"I should mention it Professor Oak the next time I call him!" Ash decided. "He'd be really interested I bet."
They wondered at the implications for a few moments. But were quickly distracted by a panicked Selene coming over.
"Umm, whatever Pikachu was making seems to have become sentient." She pointed at a weird mass emerging from the pot. "So either we just made a new Pokemon or we need to destroy it utterly before it eats us."
As they dealt with the mess that was electrified berry goop mimicking a Grimer (it was not actually alive thankfully), Ash's mind dwelled on the thoughts of giant Pokemon. What would he do if he was giant? Could he use his illusions to look giant?
It could be fun to try at least…
The next day, Misty looked at the pile of Pokemon in front of her. She sat crosslegged and perched her head on her hand. "You know, this feels familiar."
"Speak for yourself," Karen complained as she excavated herself from under a mix of Absol and Eevee.
"This is a well-designed hole," Squirtle admitted. "Good sheer sides, not too many roots for the victims to grab on to…"
"Mayhaps we stop glorifying whatever fiends have sought to bring us low!" Staryu insisted of the other water-type.
"I'll admire good hole-digging technique when I see it." Squirtle insisted.
"Anyone get the number of that boulder?" Selene asked as Pikachu and Ash helped her up.
"Number four," Pikachu told her and glanced at a guilty-looking Sunny.
"Sorry." The fire-type muttered.
"I'm just saying." Misty continued. "If I had a nickel for every time I fell in a hole on this journey, I'd have two more nickels than I expected to have."
"Eevee," Ash called to the normal-type. "Let's Dig a tunnel out of here."
"Right!" She agreed and hopped to it. The two of them started digging into the side of the hole, and as they did so voices started coming from above and they paused to listen.
"Well, well, well…" A familiar, nasally voice rang out, filled with gloating. "Look what the cat dragged in."
"My oh my, what a twerpish pile of ne'er-do-wells and losers." Another familiar voice mocked.
"Not again." Pikachu groaned and shook his fist. "Don't you people have better things to do?"
"You're one to talk ya rat!" Meowth hollered down. "You were the ones following us!"
"We weren't following you!" Misty was on her feet and visibly angry now. "We were just traveling! You were the one going around and causing trouble that we just happened to stumble into!"
"A likely story." James waved off her explanation. "We know the truth though! You thought you could trick us with your childish appearances but we know better! We're smarter than we look!"
"And we look pretty smart, to begin with." Jessie grinned. "Who better to protect the world from devastation…"
"And unite all people within our nation." James continued their motto.
As they continued Ash glanced at Eevee. The two of them were a bit out of sight. "Keep digging." He hissed to her. She nodded and the two continued their dual tunnel to the surface.
"-Surrender now or prepare to fight!" James finished with a pose.
"Meowth! That's right!"
Karen stared at the trio. "I can't believe they're real."
"We told you!" Misty was aghast.
"Look with everything you've told me I thought they might have been some sort of collective hallucination of something. I know you said they were at the trap house but I didn't see them!" Karen protested.
"Shhh!" Meowth hissed at her. "We don't talk about that place."
"It can't hurt us anymore." Jessie agreed, comforting the now sobbing James.
Eevee and Ash came up behind the villainous group. Ash quickly put his human illusion up and they crouched behind a bush.
"What's the plan?" Eevee asked.
"We could probably take them from behind pretty easily," Ash whispered. "Send them into the hole with the others, then we would have them surrounded."
"Might land on someone though." Eevee considered. "Still, that's probably the best idea."
"On the count of three…" Ash started and then a cawing cry sounded. A familiar one at that.
"You!" It screeched and a blur shot out of the sky, not at Ash and Eevee, who remained hidden, but at the hole.
A bolt of lightning flashed.
Pikachu glared at the collapsed Spearow. "Again you jerk! Did you forget what happened last time? Knock it off!"
"Last time!" Meowth seemed abnormally cheered by this. "He said 'what happened last time,' you know what that means?"
"We were right!" Jessie cheered.
"Wait I'm confused, you just knocked out a Spearow, why are they happy about this?" Sunny's confusion was contagious.
"Get that Pikachu!" James ordered and the side of the hole exploded in a shower of dirt and rocks.
An Omanyte burst from the rubble and grabbed Pikachu in a Bind. "Gotcha!"
"Hey!" The electric-type started struggling on impulse. "Let go!"
"And now Koffing for our daring escape!" James called and sent out the poison-type.
"Poof!" Koffing announced and a smokescreen burst from him and covered the group and the hole.
Out the back of the cloud, Team Rocket rushed, Pikachu still trapped and coughing up smoke and also clearly about to start firing Thunder Bolts at them.
"Get the rubber ball!" Jessie ordered Meowth who was fiddling with some device.
"It's not expanding!" He fretted and kept fidgeting with it. "Come on!"
"Quick Attack on Meowth!" Ash gave up on all semblance of a proper plan, instead focusing on making sure his trapped friend would be able to free himself.
"On it!" Eevee declared as she burst from the bushes and crashed into the other normal-type, disrupting his efforts.
"What-" The two human members looked baffled and Ash took his chance to jump out of the bushes too and stand facing them.
"Drop Pikachu right now!" He shouted at them.
"Don't worry!" Pikachu flashed with lightning and used Discharge.
Eevee, who had been expecting some sort of attack, had already been running away and back towards her trainer after attacking Meowth. The electrical wave hit all the other villains and weakened Omanyte enough for Pikachu to get free and run toward Ash and Eevee.
"You again," James growled as he recovered.
"You're outnumbered kid." Jessie was quickly behind him, she sent out her Pokemon, Ekans, and a Kabuto. "Hand over the Pikachu like a smart little brat and tell us where the Vulpix is."
Something in Ash snapped. Not the same way it had with Sabrina, no this wasn't hatred, this was annoyance. "WOULD YOU SHUT UP?"
Pikachu and Eevee both shot him a confused look. He took a couple of deep breaths, even Team Rocket looked alarmed at his reaction. "I'm sorry I'm just- why?" He emphasized.
"Umm… what?" Meowth's bafflement was obvious.
"Why are you doing this? Why are you like this?" he demanded. "You run around, try to kidnap Pokemon, hurt people and Pokemon, and you keep asking about this Vulpix which doesn't exist and now you're trying to kidnap my best friend for some reason."
Jessie regained her bravado first. "Oh get off your moral high ground, in case you haven't checked kid, the real world doesn't work like a fantasy, we're bad people, no ifs, ands, or buts."
He felt his eye twitch.
"Alright." He agreed, "you're the bad guys. Good for you."
"Well, I'm glad we're agreed." the red-haired woman stood up straight. "Now the-"
"I'll be the good guy. And in case you haven't checked." He grinned at them. "The good guys always win."
Meowth rolled his eyes. "What did she say about fantasy…"
"Pikachu, Eevee!" Ash's grin became a bit more real. "Let's get them."
"Right!" Eevee crouched and Pikachu just grinned with sparking cheeks and pounded his paws together.
"James!" Jessie looked at her thoughtful partner. "Head in the game!"
"What?" He shook himself. "Sorry, Koffing! Tackle that Eevee! Omanyte Water Gun on Pikachu!"
"Kabuto Mud Shot on Pikachu and Ekans follow it up with Bind!" Jessie ordered. "Meowth get that thing working!"
"Already on it!" he was whacking the device.
"Pikachu Thunderbolt on Omanyte, follow it up with one on Kabuto!" They were both part water-type. "Eevee Quick Attack to stay out of Koffings way and then use Sand Attack on Ekans!"
The Pokemon all rushed into action.
Pikachu narrowly avoided the Water Gun but still got whacked with a Mud Shot that made him tumble. But Eevee had avoided Koffing and Ekans wasn't able to grab Pikachu in a Bind thanks to the sand in his eyes.
As soon as Pikachu was back up he blasted Omanyte again and the fossil Pokemon collapsed. He was about to follow up on Kabuto when Koffing coughed up a Sludge Bomb that slammed into the electric-type.
"Gross!" He hissed in pain.
"Watch out!" Eevee warned as she Tackled the somewhat recovered Ekans out of the way.
Pikachu shot her a glance. "Thanks." He started charging up another Thunder Bolt and Kabuto prepared for another Mud Shot.
"Alright, that's enough games!" Karen hollered and Absol burst from the smoke cloud behind Team Rocket.
Her horn glowed and she swung it in an arc, knocking all three non-combatants down.
"Gloom! Vine Whip! Bind them quickly!" Karen ordered and the grass-types vines surged toward the criminals.
"Nope!" Meowth swung his claws using Scratch to slice through the bindings before they could land. "The odds have turned around, time to go!"
"Return!" James used his Pokeballs to return both his Pokemon with Jessie quickly following suit. The three bolted into the forest as fast as their legs could carry them.
"Absol, Umbreon, after them!" Karen ordered her fastest runners who chased the fleeing villains.
Ash sighed and sagged. "I was starting to hope we wouldn't see them again." He muttered.
"Would be nice." Misty agreed behind him and he turned to see her struggling out of the hole he and Eevee had made. "Also would be nice if you two had made that a bit bigger."
"Have you tried getting smaller?" Ash bantered back.
"I'd prefer to get taller actually." Misty asserted. "I couldn't reach the hand holds that Karen used."
Karen was scanning the woods, looking for signs of the struggle. "Where are they…"
Ash, with hindsight, looked up for a balloon. "There!" He pointed at the Meowth-shaped vehicle as it began to float above the trees.
"The Meowth Hot Air Balloon is real too?" Karen exclaimed. "Maybe I'm hallucinating." She wondered.
"Sunny, can your Flamethrower reach that far?" Ash asked the fire-type who came out behind Misty with Selene.
He judged the distance and shook his head. "Nope, sorry. The farthest I've gotten it so far is twenty feet."
"Shoot," Ash muttered.
"Let me try!" Selene started rocking and everyone took a step back. "Here we~ here we~ here we~ here we~ goooo!" She glowed and her arms shot forward like she was throwing something.
Nothing else happened.
"I mean it makes sense she'd get a dud eventually." Pidgeotto pointed out as the fairy-type sulked.
"I can't believe Metronome let me down." She mourned.
"I'd rather not send Murkrow out there in case they have more tricks…" Karen worried and Ash nodded, he hadn't sent Pidgeotto for the same reason.
Pikachu judged the distance. "I might be able to hit them."
"What are you waiting for?" Squirtle asked him. "Do it!"
Thunder Bolt lanced into the sky, coming close but not quite landing. Again and again, Pikachu fired it.
Just as it looked like they were about to get away he got a lucky hit. Not a direct hit but close enough to damage the balloon. It sprung a leak and took it, and its occupants far off into the distance.
"I was hoping to bring them down nearby," Pikachu grumbled, more disappointed in himself than anything else. "That way we could capture them for real. I'm sick of those guys."
"I doubt we've seen the last of them." Ash agreed and groaned. "They think I'm a Vulpix. Why does everyone think I'm a Vulpix?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Karen asked him and patted him on the shoulder. "It's because they haven't heard of Nickit!"
Ash froze and slowly turned to glare at the teenager. She grinned cheekily. "What?" she asked, barely containing her laughter.
Eevee chuckled, the only other one present to know who Nickit was. Ash gave her a look that explained the magnitude of her betrayal.
"I don't get it," Sunny admitted.
"I changed my mind. Misty you were right, we're leaving Karen." Ash marched off, his Pokemon hot on his heels.
"Finally!" The other girl cheered and followed behind with her team.
"Oh come on!" Karen laughed as she took up the rear, the returned Umbreon and Absol taking their places by her side. "You make jokes all the time! Am I not allowed to be funny?"
Despite the words (a matter of pride of course), Ash let a smile plaster itself back onto his face. He loved his friends.
Well, that was a chapter!
Did a bit more world-building this time than I expected to do. In a couple of different ways, conversations and stories.
A few familiar names cropped up and I reference the Galar region more than Galar needs to be talked about. But I think it turned out pretty well!
Team Rocket makes a return and now they have a reason to chase down our heroes! Fortunately, our heroes have more than enough reason to fight back against them!
I managed to keep from going over 10k again which is nice. I need to stop going crazy. I fear the burnout, even if I do not yet feel it.
Anyway, a bit about the last chapter, as many people have picked up on, yes August and Gerald, and the cave is a reference to Ffloyd Collins. Actually, August's name was originally Ffloyd but I felt that was a bit too obvious. Didn't stop people from figuring it out anyway.
Ash and the crew saving a trapped man was a nice episodic arc, and it let them give August the ending Ffloyd deserved. It's sad to think about honestly. Also, a very good way to keep you from ever going into a cave!
Oh, and I didn't mention it last chapter but Ash's final arc has officially begun in the anime. Ash, Misty, and Brock are back together! It's great.
Let's get to reviews!
Fantasy 92: Early seasons Gary was the stereotypical jerk rival that Pokemon has kind of fallen away from. I mean there was Bede in Sword and Shield but those games were meh. They've been trying to experiment and while I love Nemona she's kind of the opposite of a jerk rival. How will he do against Agatha? Good question.
ThePilotArchangel: A 7th is still a lot, and like what, was I not supposed to mention it? That whole thing wouldn't have happened without ya.
Shaonics6: Look sometimes you just got to go and diggy hole. And a bit more about the Crystal Caves in this chapter, is there something more there? Who can say?
Phaleon: I like them too! Honestly, I'm finding I enjoy just letting the character bounce off each other and talk a lot.
LEGOBRICK13: I'm happy to bring cheer! OG Ash was savage, and he's got a little of that back in the last couple anime episodes (Misty apparently brings out that side of him). Also yep! That Zorua laugh is the exact same on Ash does as far as I'm concerned! I really wish Pokemon were real sometimes. It would probably be a hot mess but still.
Pokemonever1994: PMD? Maybe a little I guess. Don't feel too bad for Gary, he probably deserves it. Probably. Idk. Levels are like power levels in that they can make things worse. The minute you put a number on someone's strength it no longer matters how skilled they are but how big their number is.
Diatomic Rex: …Human Ash digging is a strange picture. Lot's of holes in these past two chapters now that I think about it. As for your ideas, I actually really like Ash and Pikachu doing a battle like that, could be a lot of fun! Hisuian Zorua… hmm. I have thoughts about that but we might possibly couldn't be maybe see that later.
Aquapuma: Yep!
XxPokemonMasterxX: I wonder why…
MysticStormDragon: Ash evolving has been brought up a lot… I couldn't imagine why. There's a lot of things in the Pokemon world to expand on and I did quite a lot of that in this chapter!
The one who reads and writes: You actually touched on the theory Eevee was going to exposition. I think the name being tossed around is Infinite Energy? It used to just be explained by the fandom as "aura" which tracks. Now he might have heard a talking Pokemon, but he'd also been trapped underground for awhile, clearly that's ridiculous. Could it be the same Diglett? Maybe.
BlueJack22: Huh, the whip thing is news to me. I knew Sabrina had one in her original sprite art but still… Don't think Pokemon would have caught on if they stuck with that. Team Rocket is the definition of failing upward in this story.
And that wraps it up for now. Let's see if I can keep the weekly momentum going huh?
Before we end! One last announcement! This story now has a TV Tropes page! *cheering*
This is very exciting, so far ThePilotArchangel has been spearheading that, he was on the H's last I looked, but if anyone else wants to tack onto it feel free! Here's the link: tvtropes . org pmwiki pmwiki . php Fanfic ZoruaTrainer
Discord: discord gg kESdTfhAwG
~FriTik
R&R