I'm putting a potential trigger warning on this chapter for those with anxiety or depression.
I Own Nothing
Chapter 9
Heading towards their next destination of Kinnow Island Ash, Pikachu and Blastoise were chatting about what happened the previous day. Travelling to the next island while it was nighttime was very different. And as it was Lapras' first time travelling in the dark Blastoise went a lot slower than usual to make sure she didn't lose them.
"We were lucky to be able to see that event last night" Blastoise said "it was quite the spectacle, wasn't it?"
"It really was" Ash said chuckling "maybe it was divine intervention hitting my head on that rock or we'd have missed it. We'd have been long gone when the Kabuto reanimated."
"Speaking of, you caught two" Pikachu said "what are you going to do with them?"
"You caught two?" Blastoise asked surprised "when? I didn't see you catch them."
"Oh, I caught them before we ever met up with Nurse Joy" Ash said, "we discovered that cave first and when I picked them off the wall they reanimated."
"Nearly scared us to death" Pikachu said laughing remembering what happened "Ash grabbed one and it came to life in his hands, so he punched it and knocked it out. Then, like an idiot he picked up another one and repeated the process. I swear he'd have been dumb enough to pick up a third and have the whole cave come down on us."
"Hey!" Ash shouted outraged "no I wouldn't."
"Yes, you would" Blastoise agreed laughing "so what are you going to do with them?"
"One's for Nia" Ash said "it's her birthday coming up and for the life of me I can't think what to get her so this will have to do. As for the other I'm considering keeping it and training it up. What do you guys think?"
"It'll be nice to have another partner" Pikachu said "do you have any idea how to raise a fossil though."
"Nope" Ash said simply "its all going to be trial and error. I'm sure someone has a Kabuto/Kabutops though that's published how to look after one, so I'll have a look when it's daytime. Look, there's the island. I'm planning on spending a few days on here training Magikarp, and now the Kabuto's so you'll all be free to explore for a few days."
Landing on the beach Ash checked the time and saw it was just after 3am so he quickly made camp and was out like a light. Waking up the next day to the sound of the sea was a very nice thing considering all he had gone through in the last week. Gingerly he felt his scalp where the stitches were and touched the ridge where it was still bruised. It would take a few more days to heal properly so he left it alone for now. Exiting his tent, he looked around and saw he had actually chosen a pretty nice place to set up camp. There was a small stream running off to the side of him that seemed to lead uphill deeper into the island, but where he was it led into the open ocean which stretched on for miles in front of him and behind him was a cliff, great protection from winds and weather. Letting everyone out he saw to their breakfasts before wandering over to Magikarp who was happily jumping in the shallows of the ocean.
"Hi girl" he said "we're going to be carrying on with your training today. Unfortunately, we have to find places with water to train you so whenever we make land, you'll have to stay in your pokeball but as long as we're out on the ocean we'll carry on your training. I want you to carry on with your Bounce attack. You've been doing so well on it so far, so let's get cracking shall we." Watching her swim off twenty meters into the ocean concerned him slightly as the waves could easily take someone away without trying but then Ash remembered she had likely swam in the ocean in order to get back to her lake on Rind Island so he left her to it.
Walking another ten meters away he let out the two Kabuto and scanned them.
"This Kabuto is male, has the ability Weak Armour and knows the moves Absorb, Sand Attack, Water Gun, Mud Shot and Absorb. This Pokémon also has the egg move Night Slash, but it hasn't yet been unlocked. This Pokémon has a Hasty nature."
"This Kabuto is female, has the ability Swift Swim and knows the moves Absorb, Sand Attack, Water Gun, Mud Shot and Absorb. This Pokémon also has the egg move Giga Drain but it hasn't yet been unlocked. This Pokémon has a Naughty nature."
"Wow. Well to start with I'll let you both know that I'm only going to keep one of you but the other will be going to a dear friend of mine, so we'll still see each other lots." Ash said to them both who clicked and made tiny screeching noises. It was very strange to Ash to find he couldn't understand them, he hadn't been in this kind of situation for over six years now. Listening carefully though his aura reacted, and he started to get tiny pictures in his head of what they were trying to communicate.
"I can't understand you all that well but are you asking me which one I'll keep?" getting clicks back he nodded "I'm undecided at the moment. Both of you would be a great addition to my family. I'm leaning towards the female Kabuto though as I have far too many males and only one female so I'm sure she'd love to have company. Anyway, we're going to start training, so we'll work on your Water and Rock moves before learning new moves. I want you to go over to those rocks and keep using Water Gun. Breathe deeply before you do, eventually it'll help you hit harder and win quicker. After an hour of that I want you to practice Mud Shot and your Absorb attacks. Tomorrow we'll work on Rock Throw for you both which eventually will help you learn Ancientpower. I want you to have mastered these moves before I send one of you to my friend. I'll look in from time to time to see how you're doing, we're going to be here for a few days so we can have a rest, we've been travelling a lot lately so there's no rush."
The day passed by fairly smoothly with the Kabuto's progressing nicely and Magikarp mastering Bounce. His Pokémon had gone off exploring the island except Pikachu who said he couldn't be bothered; Ash saw right through it though. He was scared of leaving Ash alone with untrained Pokémon to aid him. Ash found he wasn't too bothered by this as he kept up chat nearly all day while he worked on his research.
The day after they went through the same routine but after a few hours Blastoise emerged from the water and gave him some interesting information.
"We're not alone on this island" Blastoise said "there's many water types living inland as there are many streams that lead across the entire island, it seems like it's a tourist place where boats come and visit so people can sunbathe on the beach. Theres also people battling too."
"Ooh, that sounds like fun" Ash said standing up, Pikachu jumping onto his shoulder seamlessly. Recalling his Kabuto's and Magikarp he climbed onto Blastoise and they sailed alongside the ocean while Blastoise told him what kind of battles he'd seen. Eventually they rounded a corner and Ash could see the boat anchored just offshore and saw people going to and fro from the shore. Climbing of his turtle he waded ashore, Blastoise following him and they walked down the beach towards the cluster of people. As he got nearer he saw something that confused him. All the sun lungers that had been placed there were facing inland and they were cheering something Ash couldn't see. But as the trees on the left-hand side cleared he saw that there were two trainers atop platforms battling fiercely in a lagoon that opened up to the seashore. Greeting some of the sunbathers Ash stopped to watch the battle. Recognising one of them immediately he sat down on the sand to observe them chatting to Blastoise about where they were going wrong and what they should have been doing. After twenty minutes the trainer he recognised won 3-2 and made her way to the loungers, her face flushed with happiness at her win. As soon as she saw Ash though she stopped open mouthed. It had been nearly two years since she last saw him, but she knew immediately who he was.
"What are you doing here?" Misty asked rudely startling the people around him as he had been nothing but courteous to them as he gave a running commentary on her battle.
"I'm training on the other side of the island and Blastoise informed me I wasn't alone" Ash said smiling and ignoring her tone "so I came to see what was going on. It was nice seeing someone else battle for a change."
"Oh" she said still standing in place "so what did you think?"
"You're good" Ash said making her smile "but there was a lot of luck involved in your win. You both made a lot of basic errors that you can improve on." Which made the smile drop from her face.
"I won, didn't I?" she asked belligerently. "You could have just left it at 'you're good'".
"You did" Ash conceded "but against a stronger or more experienced opponent you would have lost."
"I don't have to take this from you" she said suddenly becoming angry "I won. That's good enough."
"And that's why you'll always be a mediocre trainer Misty" Ash said shaking his head in disbelief. "Good enough is the rookie's way of believing their own self-importance and hype. Do you think the Elite Four or Champion got to where they are because they stopped at 'Good enough'? Do you think I won the Indigo League because I deemed 'Good Enough' acceptable? If that's all you aspire to then that's fine. But if you want more from life you need to accept that 'Good Enough' is never good enough." Standing up Ash shook his head and began to walk away before Misty shouted at him "I could beat you!"
Shaking his head at what he thought he just heard he turned back around and asked her to repeat what she said. When she did Ash shook his head and said "fine, we'll have a two-on-two battle. Whoever wins the first battle must also withdraw their Pokémon. Agreed?"
"Fine by me" she said flouncing away leaving Ash to shake his head and walking up to his side of the platform.
"Let's go Goldeen" Misty shouted releasing her goldfish Pokémon into the pond.
"Let's go Magikarp" Ash said releasing his shiny fish causing Misty to gasp "Now, this is your first battle ok. I want you to see what you can do." Looking up at Misty he waited until she gathered herself. After a minute she seemed to refocus and took stock of where she was. "Ok Goldeen, use Horn Attack" she commanded as her fish charged forwards.
"Splash" Ash said smiling.
"Splash?" Misty exclaimed incredulously "that's not even a move that's useful. And you call me a rookie?"
Ash though carried on smiling as when Goldeen got ten feet from her opponent Magikarp suddenly turned and used her tail to create a wave of water that disrupted Goldeen and threw her off course. "Tackle" Ash shouted and as Goldeen was gaining her bearings she was rammed into sending her flying into a rock where she slid down underneath the water.
"Be careful Magikarp, that did some good damage but she's still ok." Magikarp gave no indication she had heard Ash but swam lazily around the pond waiting for the goldfish to emerge.
"Horn Drill" Misty shouted hoping to catch Ash unawares.
"Bounce" Ash said seeing Goldeen come arcing over the water aiming her spinning horn at the golden karp who slapped her tail on the water and leapt high into the air causing Goldeen to miss her attack and fall into the water soon Magikarp came back down into the water landing in a big splash sending a wave at where Goldeen was. Goldeen correctly assumed the safest place to be was under the water and swam down quickly being pursued by the Magikarp. For the next few minutes nothing could be see as a battle of Horn Attacks and Tackles happened underwater but eventually they both rose to the top panting with exhaustion. "Again" both Misty and Ash commanded as they threw themselves into each other colliding face first and sending each other flying backwards where they both knocked themselves out.
"Well done girl" Ash said smiling "for your first battle that was amazing." Seeing Misty call her Pokémon back he wated for her to send out her next one.
"Let's go Staryu" she shouted sending out her starfish Pokémon.
"Lapras" Ash said sending out his Pliosaur Pokémon "again, this is her first battle. Let's see how she does."
"How the hell did you get such rare water Pokémon?" Misty asked with envy etched all over her face "first it was a shiny Squirtle, then it's a golden Magikarp and now a Lapras?"
Ash just smiled at her making her angrier. Internally Ash felt a lot of pity for Misty. She clearly had confidence issues but her personality was very aggressive and she took things very personally.
Red faced Misty commanded "Staryu, start off with Tackle attack."
"Don't move" Ash said making Lapras nervous but she trusted Ash and waited. Seeing her attack land Misty cheered until she saw that Staryu was looking a little worse for wear off to the side while Lapras hadn't moved. "How?" she shouted enraged.
"As I said before, you keep making rookie mistakes" Ash patiently explained "basic physics is the answer here. Lapras is at least twenty times bigger than Staryu, who do you think is going to win in a battle of strength?"
"Fine" Misty said conceding the point internally "Water Gun."
Shaking his head Ash didn't even need to command Lapras who smiled as the water hit her and shook her head enjoying the bath. "What this time?" Misty asked.
"Water Absorb" Ash said causing her to grit her teeth. Misty was at a loss on what to do here because without water moves and Tackle she was out of her best moves. "Swift" she shouted. Her starfish leapt out of the water and twirled sending stars at the Lapras who still didn't move from her original position.
"Ice Beam" Ash commanded. Immediately a lance of ice swept through them causing the stars to go flying all over the place, the ice however carried on and strafed across the starfish Pokémon who was sent skidding back from the hit. "Lapras end this. Thunderbotlt" Misty gasped as an arc of electricity built up in Lapras' horn and leapt its way towards her stricken starfish who lit up briefly before its gem rapidly began making a noise. Recalling her Pokémon she looked up at her opponent who had already recalled his Lapras and was walking down his platform and back onto the beach. Running after him she caught up with him as he said goodbye to the sunbathers who had just congratulated him on the win.
"Hey!" she said catching his attention "what was that?"
"That was me winning a battle" Ash said looking at her "that was you losing because 'good enough' is acceptable to you and it isn't to me."
"I will beat you one day" she said glaring at him "you'll see."
"Not if you don't change your attitude, you won't" Ash said before turning around. His senses kicked in immediately and before Misty knew what was happening her punch had gone astray and she was on her face in the sand. "Now this is a familiar position, isn't it?" Ash said "I seem to recall this happening in our first meeting don't you?" letting her go she stood up and shook her arm out looking mutinous.
"Do you want to know why you'll never aspire to anything?" Ash asked. Before she could answer he carried on "because you're arrogant, you're full of you own self importance and you're extremely easy to anger. I don't know what's happened in your past nor do I care to know but until you get a handle on that temper of yours, you're going to be easily exploited. You refuse to listen to advice, instead you believe it to be a black mark against you being a trainer and you brush it off and don't listen. The reason I am where I am now is because I have never been too proud to accept anyone's help or advice and I've become a great trainer because of it. To this day, despite winning a league I ask mum, Professor Oak, Brock, Lt Surge, The Elite Four and Blue advice on various aspects on being a trainer. Even strangers give me advice at times, and I take it all in because I'm not all knowing, nor will I ever be. Sort yourself out Misty because one day that temper of yours is going to cost you dearly. I would have thought you'd realise that when I first had you pinned to the floor."
Shaking his head Ash left Misty standing on the beach hoping that she'd take his advice and listen to what he said. He knew he was perhaps a little harsh on her, but she needed to take on board what he said. He'd done what he could for her. He wasn't doing any more.
"I'm getting tired of having to give out life advice Pi" Ash said, "I'm twelve for Arceus' sake telling people who are older than me and should know better how to behave."
"It needed to be said though Ash" Blastoise butted in "she's incredibly short-tempered."
"First Brock, now Misty. It's beyond tiring having to be social to people you know?" Ash said as he climbed wearily back on his turtle, and they made their way back to their camp "at times I wish I could just be at home, turn out all the lights, ignore everyone and just be me in the dark. People don't seem to realise what it's like inside my head at times. At times it's blissfully quiet but most of the time it's like I have an itch I can't scratch and a voice telling me 'Don't think like that, think like this. Have you tried not being worried? Just smile Ash, that makes everything better' only it doesn't because the world is full of people." Sighing he watched the ocean in silence as he contemplated life "I love being a Pokémon trainer, I really do. And I have loved visiting the places we have been. I mean look around us, how many people do you think get to experience what we are experiencing now? But if I didn't have to visit towns and cities to win badges I never would. I'm tired guys."
"I think I understand" Blastoise said "when I lived in the cave with the other Squirtle, if I never had to go to town to steal food I wouldn't have done. I'd have happily lived in that cave with my mates for the rest of my life. It's why I'm so grateful that you built me that lake. At times I just can't be bothered interacting with anyone and I just go for a swim, or I lie at the bottom of the lake and let life pass me by."
"Exactly" Ash said nodding "I've been through too much and seen too much crap and it's left me a little jaded."
"Is that all though?" Pikachu asked as they got off Blastoise at their camp.
"What do you mean?" Ash replied confused.
"You've been different since Pinkin Island" Pikachu said "and I don't mean because of the Rhydon incident. Something happened or was said there that's left you being sad at times. If you don't want to talk about it that's fine, but it has been noticed by us all."
"I suppose I should tell you all as you're a big part of my life." Ash said making a campfire and placing a fish that he'd caught before on it "I'll tell you all tonight. I don't really want to have to repeat it."
That night as they all sat having supper Ash broached the subject "Pikachu told me you're all worried about me. And that ever since Pinkin Island I've been different. Is that right?"
"Yes" Venusaur said "but we didn't want to pry until you were ready to tell us. why did you tell him Pi?"
"Because something happened today which led me to question what was truly bothering him" Pikachu said before explaining the battle with Misty, the interaction afterwards and the chat on the way back to camp "I did say that we wouldn't pressure him for an answer, but we all know something is wrong."
"He's right" Ash said, "when I woke up in the bed after the incident mum asked Pikachu to let us talk."
Flashback
"Why did you send Pi away?" Ash asked, "am I in trouble?"
"No" Delia said "but you mentioned your aura playing up again. And I feel like you deserve to know what's happening."
"Go on" Ash said, "what did you find out?"
"First of al let me ask you a question" Delia said, "these bursts of aura, are they exactly twelve hours apart?" Ash nodded uncertainly "and do they happen around people or when you're with your Pokémon?"
"People" Ash said thinking about it "to be honest we've not been on the sea long enough to check on that but as soon as I land it happens. So, it's not always every twelve hours, as in 8am and 8pm every day. It's twelve hours from when I'm near people. What's going on?"
"You've hit aural puberty" Delia simply said.
"What?" he said trying to sit up before she pushed him gently back down.
"You're injured Ash, be careful" she said.
Taking a deep breath, he looked at her and caried on "I thought it only happened at sixteen for aura users. Every book or excerpt I've read has said the same thing."
"Only you're not normal Ash" she said gently "I know you don't look at yourself in a mirror too often, but you have the body of an eighteen-year-old, that's not natural sweetie and your body has reflected that need to be able to use your aura the way you do. You have the ability to wield aura unlike anyone else in history Ash. You were created to be able to combat the most powerful psychic Pokémon in the world at eleven-years-old and you won when no one else could have done. You took out every guardian at Rota, Pokémon who train every day and didn't even break a sweat doing so, and then you revived Mew using your aura not long after that too. You are special Ash."
"I mean I always knew what was happening to me wasn't normal" Ash admitted picking at a thread on his blanket "but when you put it like that… So, what does this mean?"
"It means your aura is trying to find your mate Ash" Delia said "and it will continue to send out these bursts until you find them. The good news is once you find them it will stop. The bad news is you may never find them, and this will be a daily occurrence."
"I thought I had a few more years to prepare for this you know?" Ash said laughing humourlessly. "I've had sixteen firmly planted in my brain for six years now, ever since I found out about aura. I don't think I'm ready for it."
"No one ever is" Delia said sadly "Your dad was very lucky that he received a response from his aura within hours. I still have nightmares sometimes that it could have been Ilene."
As one they both shuddered and laughed alleviating a lot of the tension.
"I knew you knew you know?" Ash said looking at her. "I'm not the only one with a tell."
"I know" she said patting his hand "but I needed to make sure before I told you."
"So, what do I do now?" Ash asked, "do I travel around hoping that I'll get a response that may never come?"
"No" Delia said "you travel and accept that this is just another facet of your life that you can't control and deal with it accordingly. You never know, you may find someone quickly."
"What do I do if I do?" Ash asked quietly.
"That's the tough question, isn't it?" Delia said wryly "one which I don't have an answer for sadly. I have advice, that's all."
"Go on" Ash said.
"If you know them, don't tell them." Delia said "you cannot put that kind of pressure on them, and the relationship will never work as it should. Try to build up a better relationship with them and see how it goes. If you find out it's someone you don't like, then at least the pulses will stop, and you can go on living your lives. I will say this though, your aura will always work better for you with a partner you get on with."
"Oh Arceus" Ash said covering his eyes with his hands "I just know it's going to be someone I've insulted or can't stand to be around."
Laughing Delia stood up and squeezed his shoulder "think on it Ash. But do not let it rule your life." Delia waked out f the room and shut the door causing Ash to sigh "Easy for you to say."
Flashback ends
"So" Ash said sighing "as you can see, I have yet another problem in my life to deal with. My body and aura are actively looking for my life mate."
After a few minutes Charizard said "well look at the bright side. At least you know it's not Misty." The whole group fell about laughing alleviating the heavy atmosphere.
"Thanks, Charizard" Ash said wiping his eyes "and thank you all for listening. It means a lot to know I have you guys."
The next day as the training session finished Ash heard an almighty roar coming from the other side of the trees. Recognising it as Charizard as sprinted into the forest leaving the others to keep watch on the camp. Quickly making his way through the forest he smashed through the branches using his aura shield and eventually he made it to the other side where he saw his Charizard being attacked in a lagoon by several water types including Poliwhirls and a Poliwrath and seemingly they were being led by a Golduck. Rushing forwards, he threw an Aura Sphere at the group gaining their attention to let Charizard escape a whirlpool he was being trapped in. Rising fast into the air he gathered his breath and looked down to see his trainer and Pikachu fending off attacks, being forced onto the back foot as Pikachu's electric attacks were being psychically shielded by the Golduck. Furious he sent a ball of light into the air which intensified an already hot sun and gathered energy in his body. Son his whole body was glowing gold and with a huge roar he swooped down and used Solarbeam on the entire group which were thrown to the side of the lagoon in various states of consciousness. The only reason Golduck wasn't knocked out immediately was because he had psychic in place but even that collapsed after a few seconds and the beam swept him up carrying him into the far wall.
"Good job pal" Ash voice came snapping him out of his rage and he landed next to Ash "what happened?"
"I was sleeping on the rock over there" he replied "when out of nowhere they all came up from the lagoon lake and blasted me with water. Before I could react, I was trapped in a Whirlpool fed by Psychic and was slowly being drowned. The Golduck was intentionally trying to supress my tail flame to try and kill me." He finished angrily looking at the knocked out Golduck before collapsing in a heap exhausted.
"I'm glad you're ok now pal" Ash said patting him on the shoulder as he returned him and looked around. Shaking his head, he turned away and walked back through the forest and back into camp where his concerned Pokémon converged on him. Letting them know everything was ok he packed up and climbed onto Blastoise "let's just leave shall we." Ash said tiredly "and the next time I say 'we're going to relax and do nothing' shock me Pi because I seem to jinx us every time I do."
Unbeknownst to Ash someone had followed the noise of the roar and arrived after Ash had left, shocked at the devastation that had been left behind. Looking over at the unconscious Pokémon they smirked and blessed their good luck. Taking out three pokeballs they threw one at a Poliwhirl, a Poliwrath and the Golduck capturing them all. Leaving the rest, they made their way back to the beach with the loungers and ordered a drink. Raising their glass in a salute Misty said, "Thanks Ash." Before closing her eyes and sunbathing.
A few hours later Ash consulted his GPS and was in a quandary of where to go. Coming to a decision he instructed Blastoise to head North-East.
"What about those islands over there?" he asked.
"We'll visit them on the way back" Ash replied "there's an island we're going to pass that's just got on it, so we'll go around that and thirty miles further on is Navel Rock. It's where we'll get our second badge. Those Islands over there are called the Grapefruit Islands because they grow…. anyone?"
"Strawberries" Pikachu said deadpanned causing Ash to glare at him.
"Grapefruits!" Ash said "they grow grapefruits you tool. But they're on the route I've planned to navigate the islands in a way that makes sense so we're not doubling back on ourselves all the time."
"Is there anywhere we're visiting again?" Pikachu asked.
"Yes" Ash said "Rind Island but this time we'll just ignore it as we don't need to go on there. Apart from that, no we'll visit every island once."
"Ok" Blastoise said as he sped forward skirting the island with the trees and sure enough twenty minutes later an island came into view "is that a volcano? It looks like one."
"It used to be" Ash said "It's dormant now though. That's the very volcano which separated all these islands actually from Kanto and Johto. It's called Naval Island, but the locals call it Naval Rock, probably because it's a big rock. It's where the gym is, however, I can't seem to recall if there's a Pokémon centre on it or not. I'll ask the gym leader when I see them."
An hour later Ash landed on the beach only to be confused. Where he had got off there was a town, but there was absolutely nobody around. Looking into some of the houses Ash found they had been cleaned out and were just shells.
"What is going on?" Ash murmured as he walked to the middle of the town to where there was a signpost. There were three ways that Ash could follow apparently. To the Pokémon Centre, to the Gym and to the beach.
"Why is there a sign for the beach when I can literally see it?" Pikachu asked confused.
"There's also one for a Pokémon centre Pi but again we can see that" Ash said pointing thirty meters away to the familiar red topped building. Walking to it Ash found that it too was empty. Scratching his head Ash returned to the crossroads and looked around. "I guess the only way we can go is to the gym then."
"Hello" said a voice from the direction of the beach. Looking over Ash saw a man with brown hair in a colourful shirt and shorts landing his skiff on the beach before he climbed out. "And who might you be?" he asked cheerfully.
"Hi" Ash said shaking his hand "I'm Ash and I'm confused."
Laughing the man pulled a backpack from the boat and walked up to Ash "I'm Danny. You're here for the gym, right?" seeing Ash nod he continued "so am I. What's say we go together?"
"Sure" Ash said shrugging seeing no reason why not "are you sure someone's in?" he finished pointing to the rest of the deserted town.
"Yeah, he's in" Danny said, "I checked before setting out here."
"Oh ok" Ash said as he followed Danny through the town.
"I suppose you're confused about the town being deserted, eh?" Danny asked "Well, this island was the base site for the archaeologists that travel around the islands. The research finished nearly a week ago, so they packed up and left. They'll be back in the spring no doubt."
"Oh" Ash said, "yeah we met them nearly a week ago on Fukuhara No.4."
"Did you witness the Kabuto?" he asked excitedly "I'm gutted I wasn't part of the crew this time."
"We did yeah" Ash said, "it was my Pokémon that rescued the crew when a crazy man dropped boulders on them."
"Yes" Danny said darkly "they brought the man here. Strangely he didn't say a word, even as they left. Anyway, Ash have you been told of the gym requirements on Navel Rock?"
"No" Ash said putting aside the strange way Danny had of phrasing things "I deliberately didn't find out so I could challenge myself."
"Brilliant" Danny said smiling "well there's three tasks but to find them out you must first pass the task before it. The first task is that" he finished pointing to a mountain.
"We have to climb the mountain?" Ash asked confused "why when there literally a cable car there" he said pointing it out.
"It's part of the challenge" he said shrugging "come on, we're both challenging the gym leader, so we'll go up together."
Shrugging his shoulders, he opened his backpack and changed his shoes into mountain boots and pulled out a belt with a rope attached to it and a few picks that he attached to the belt. Putting the backpack in the cable car he spoke to Pikachu "You better go up in the car. It's a bit dangerous as the winds could be fierce u there in the clouds". Nodding Pikachu jumped onto the cable car seat and Ash pressed the button that sent it to the top before he walked back over to Danny who looked confused. "It's been a while since I've done this" Ash said "the last time was in Mt Silver where I had to abseil down a cliff to rescue a Larvitar. Sadly, I've not had chance to do it since then. And no gym challenge is worth the safety of my Pokémon."
"Excellent" Danny said cheerfully as they made their way to the sheer cliff face pulling out his own gear and gradually, they scaled the mountain, chatting as they went along about various topics. As they neared the top Ash saw how narrow it was getting.
"Danny, you're better go in front, it looks too narrow for two people to go side by side." Ash said as he secured his harness to the cliff and leaned back looking down as he did. Looking around unconcerned he marvelled at the view. "Look at that view though. It's incredible."
"It sure is" Danny said as he carried on climbing. Ten minutes later they came to a large shelf on the mountain. Looking up he saw that it wasn't sheer anymore so he put his picks and rope back on his belt and carried on walking through the clouds. As soon as he passed through them Ash regretted his attire as all he could see was snow.
"Are you not cold?" Danny asked from behind him.
"No" Ash said laughing as they moved onwards "as I said down at the bottom I lived and trained on Mt Silver for a few months. This weather is tame compared to that."
Ash looked back and saw Danny following him so he carried on walking until strangely he came across a path. Looking around he saw just above them to the east the cable car had docked into the station. Trekking on the path he walked over to the cable car and picked up his backpack, Pikachu greeting him before waking back to Danny.
"So" Ash said looking around "what's the next challenge?"
"Oh, that wasn't a gym challenge" Danny said laughing "that was just the first test to see if you were worthy of my Sea Rub Badge Ash."
"I knew it" Ash said laughing shaking his head "you were far too knowledgeable about the requirements for the gym for a man who's just after a badge. So, what are the challenges?"
Leading Ash over to a geyser he released a Nidoqueen "I'm sorry to disappoint you Ash, but If you were expecting a battle to earn the badge, you're sadly mistaken. On Navel Island we test how closely you work with your Pokémon. So, the first challenge is to freeze a geyser. If you beat Nidoqueen you win the first challenge and I'll tell you then next. Should you lose, you must win the next two. A draw means nothing by the way. Do you have a Pokémon capable of using an ice move?"
Nodding Ash released his Blastoise which earned a gasp from Danny "a magnificent specimen" he said. Ash told Blastoise what the challenge was, and he set himself waiting for Danny to say go. As soon as he said "Go" Blastoise used a focused beam of ice freezing the geyser up from the bottom and soon the ice toppled in front of him. Looking over he saw that Nidoqueen had just finished up. Impressed Danny nodded "congratulations, you passed the first task. You only need to win one more of the last two."
Releasing a Scyther and Machoke to join his Nidoqueen. "The second task is to make a sled out of the ice using only three Pokémon. Do you have three to use?"
"I do" Ash said releasing his Machamp, Venusaur and Charizard and telling them what to do. "Ok guys, we're going to carve a sled out of this ice as fast as you can. Charizard go easy on the flames, we don't want to melt it, Machamp chip away using Brick Break and Venusaur use your Razor Leaf. When Danny says go you start, our aim is to beat his Pokémon."
Seeing he was ready Danny counted down from three and immediately all six Pokémon leapt into action and gradually the sled began to take shape. Looking over at Danny who was shouting encouragement he saw that this would be equally as close as the first challenge. Less than a minute later Ash's Pokémon finished a fraction before Danny's and he cheered "great job guys. Fantastic teamwork. You're all going to get an extra Pokeblock tonight as a reward." Ash's Pokémon cheered with him until he recalled them and looked at Danny expectantly.
Sighing he walked over and shook Ash's hand "congratulations Ash. You've more than earned the Sea Ruby badge. Now, would you like to attempt the third challenge? It will not change the fact you've won the badge."
"Why not" Ash said shrugging his shoulder.
"That's the spirit" Danny said as he nodded at his Machoke who moved the sleds to a white line "the final challenge is the one I love the most. And its all downhill from here." He finished laughing at his own joke.
"As in use the sled to go down the mountain?" Ash asked, "er I'm not sure I'll be allowed to you know?"
"Oh, why?" Danny asked confused. Ash quickly explained what had happened on Pinkin Island a week ago making Danny concerned. "Well, you already won so we can skip this if you like?"
Thinking it over he pulled out his Pokegear and checked he had a signal. "I'll tell you what, I do actually want to try this as it sounds like fun. However, you will need to speak to my mum and tell her I can't get the badge if I don't do this."
"Oh no" Danny said shaking his hands and backing away "I am not getting shouted at by anyone's mum. My own does that enough every time I do this myself. Come on, we'll go down in the cable car."
"Shame" Ash said pocketing his Pokegear and following Danny. The trip to the bottom only took a few minutes before he exited and was handed a white shell with a ruby attached to it.
"Here Ash, you won fair and square. And I've genuinely had a fantastic time scaling the mountain with you." Danny said, "you're welcome any time to come back."
"I had a thought about that actually" Ash said piquing his curiosity "the route I've planned to go through these islands takes me past Cleopatra Island en-route to Ascorbia. What do you say to me coming back and we do the challenge again just for fun when I'm near them? At least I should be fully healed by then and I won't have to tell mum."
"I can live with that" Danny said storing Ash's number in his phone and ringing it so Ash had his "I look forward to it Ash." Nodding Ash shouldered his backpack and headed to the beach leaving Danny at the cable car. Soon he reached the ocean and clambered onto Blastoise releasing Lapras at the same time.
"Due South pal" we're going to toe Grapefruit Islands" Ash said.
"Strawberries" Pikachu muttered earning a snort from Ash as they moved off from Navel Rock heading South. A few hours later they landed on the Northern most Island and moved further inland. After a few minutes they stopped dead. In front of them as far as the eye could see were trees uprooted and strewn around. Concerned Ash walked forward carefully wondering what had happened when he received a phone call. Curious he opened his bag and took out his pokegear.
"It's Sam" Ash said bewildered "Hello? Hi Sam, everything ok?"
"Hi Ash" Sam said "Sadly no, I have another mission for you. this one isn't as dangerous as the last one though."
"Sam" Ash said interrupting him "have you spoken to mum first? Because she made it clear to me that I wasn't to do anymore missions for anyone unless she was consulted first."
"I'm here sweetie" his mums voice came from the background "this one sounds ok."
"Right" Ash drawled "go on, lay it on me."
"Well, my email pinged before letting me know you're on Navel Island getting the badge" Sam said "is that right?"
"Got it and I've already left" Ash said.
"Oh good" Sam said "congratulations. Anyway, are you headed South by an chance?2
"I am yeah" Ash said "why?"
"Well, the local Jenny on the grapefruit Islands have received reports of an issue on a few of their islands" Sam said, "only I've no idea what."
"I do" Ash said looking around "I landed on the northern most island about twenty minutes ago and started walking. Literally as you just rang me, I got to where it looks like a hurricane has passed through. Hang on." He clicked on his pokegear putting it on speakerphone while he took pictures of the carnage in front of him. "you're on speakerphone, I'm sending you the pictures now. Let me know when you get them."
After a minute he heard Sams computer 'ding' and an exclamation from his mum.
"wow" Sam said "the strange thing is we had no reports of strange weather over the last few weeks. I wonder what could have happened."
"I can go and look?" Ash offered.
"Nope" Delia said, "he's having no part of this."
"Mum" Ash said "I'm already here now. And there's nothing but trees as far as the eye can see."
"I'm not happy about this Ash" Delia said, "you've still not fully recovered yet."
"I'm fine mum" Ash said patiently "so what do you want me to do?"
"Consult with the Jenny there" Sam said, "she should be on the middle island, it's the biggest one."
"Alright" Ash said "I'll head there now. When I find out I'll ring you back. It shouldn't take long to reach there, I'll fly there." Hanging up he called out Charizard and explained the situation and took flight heading South. As they were passing over one of the islands Ash noticed something very strange. Patting Charizard on the shoulder he landed on a patch of ground where trees looked like they had very recently been uprooted. Looking around he saw that most of the trees were still standing but there were hundreds that weren't,what was stranger was that the trees still rooted didn't have a single grapefruit on them, nor did any other tree. Climbing back on Charizard they took flight again and banked right.
"There" Ash shouted at a figure swimming across ne island to the other "is that a Snorlax? What the hell is a Snorlax doing here? Land on the island, we'll head it off." Overtaking the Snorlax was no easy feat as it was moving at some speed, but they managed to do so and Ash called out Machamp as soon as they landed. "Ok guys, we're going to need to take that Snorlax down." hearing a roar he turned around to see a very angry looking Snorlax glaring at Ash. Looking around at his food he looked back at Ash before charging forwards using a Giga Impact causing Ash to dive out of the way and prompting his Pokémon to engage him.
Ten minutes later the fight was still going strong when Ash heard a siren behind him. Holding his hand out to stop the car he was still focusing on the battle raging ahead. This was some bulky beast Ash thought as he chipped in with the odd Aura Sphere. Eventually the numbers game came through and Machamp used a Cross Chop on the back of is opponents neck causing it to crumple down causing an almighty Earthquake. Seizing the chance, he threw a pokeball at it waiting nervously for the ball to stop shaking violently. Eventually it did and Ash breathed a sigh of relief as his last slot on his belt was filled. Walking over he grabbed a few potions from his bag and handed them to his Pokémon before picking up the pokeball.
Warily Jenny made her way over with a team of people behind her. "Are you Ash?" she asked. Receiving a nod, she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in "what happened?"
"We found the culprit that's been destroying your trees" Ash said holding up the pokeball. "It appears that a Snorlax has taught itself to swim and has been travelling from island to island helping itself to your grapefruits. We saw it from above swimming here and battled it. You got here just as we wrapped it up."
"Oh" Jenny said looking at the trees around her "well thank you Ash. I don't know what to say."
Recalling his Pokémon apart from Charizard he mounted him and said "think nothing of it. Glad to help. I'll ring Professor Oak and let him know what the issue was. Bye"
"Bye Ash" Jenny said still in shock as Ash took off and headed South and soon disappeared from view. An hour later he landed on Moro Island and headed straight to the Pokémon centre, handing over his Pokémon and having a bath. An hour later he collected his Pokémon and went back to his room to ring Sam.
"Hi Ash" Sam said "your mum is still here. Are you in the ranger station on the Grapefruit Islands?"
"No" Ash said "I'm on Moro island. I sorted that issue out quite quickly. I decided to fly t the main island and saw that a few others were in the same condition. By pure chance we dipped low enough to see something swimming towards another island. Believe it or not the culprit was a Snorlax with a taste for grapefruits that taught itself to swim. Anyway, we captured it after a short battle. Jenny said she was going to ring you later."
"Oh right" Sam said sitting back contemplating something.
"I know what you're thinking" Ash said "and no, I'm not keeping it. It will eat us both out of house and home. I'd have no trees left after a day of it being at my house. I was thinking of either sending it to a Safari zone or trying to trade it."
"The former would likely be easier" Sam said looking relieved at not having to stock up on mountains of food. "and it would be pot luck for the latter."
"Yeah, I thought that as well." Ash said "I'd rather see the Pokémon first before I trade for it to see if it'll fit my team or my home. I'll get in touch with Fuchsia Safari Zone, see if they'll take it. If not I'll release it in the mountains somewhere. probably Mt Silver."
"That might actually be a better idea." Sam said, "email them both and ask, I suspect Fuchsia will say no due to it possibly encroaching on other territories, I know for a fact that the Kangaskhan will not like it."
"Will do" Ash said yawning "anyway, it's pretty late here. I'll send off an email and then let you know what to do. Night Sam, Night Mum, I'll give you a ring tomorrow."
"Night Ash" came the chorus, and the screen went blank. Climbing into bed Ash reflected on what a busy day it had been and quickly fell asleep.