The conference room in downtown Viridian City was not the usual meeting place for the Indigo Pokemon League. A cheap overhead projector sat unplugged at one wall. A whiteboard with poorly erased names and dates written in four different colors occupied the opposite wall. The plastic fold-out tables were shaped in a U, and 21 chairs were behind them.
The eight Kanto Region Gym Leaders sat together in a row of eight, and next to them were the eight Johto Region Gym Leaders. At the far end of the tables, five chairs sat unoccupied — reserved for the Elite Four and the Champion. At the other end of the tables, where the Kanto Leaders sat, was a chair that everyone in the room knew would never be occupied that day. It almost seemed like an insult that it was even there — an oversight that someone was going to regret.
Without the Elite Four or Champion to officiate the meeting, the Gym Leaders murmured to each other quietly while they waited.
"Any idea how many Trainers were there when it happened?" Brock asked.
"There were five inside," Misty answered, "at least 50 outside, including the kids from the Trainer School."
"How awful, for them to see something like that," Erika said.
"And no leads on Giovanni," Koga grumbled.
"Of course not," Lt. Surge said. "All the information that guy gave us was bogus. I thought we did background checks on all our people."
"Not thorough enough, evidently," Blaine said.
The murmuring quieted down as the Gym Leaders ran out of things to talk about on their own. Only the buzz of the fluorescent lamps above them broke the silence. Just when one of them was about to ask how much longer they would be, Sabrina spoke.
"They're here," she declared.
The door opened, and the Elite Four entered. Agatha, Bruno, and Lorelei took their seats. Lance remained standing. He was tall, with spiky red hair, and wore a large cloak that billowed as he walked. On anyone else, it would look ridiculous. But Lance wore it with dignity — he both drew attention to him and held it with his every word.
"Thank you all for waiting," Lance said. "The meeting with the Prime Minister took longer than expected."
"Where's the Champion?" Misty asked.
"The Champion is indisposed due to his health," Lance said. "He asked me to handle this and to keep him updated."
The Gym Leaders all nodded. It was no secret that the Champion was getting older, and he had been appearing less and less frequently over time. It had been years since any Trainer had even been able to challenge him. Part of that was due to Lance himself. It was rare for someone to gain the title of Elite Four member so young, and even rarer for someone to hold the position for so long. It was a demanding job — even more demanding than being a Gym Leader. Lance was such an effective member, both as a Trainer in battle as well as an administrator within the League, that many of the Gym Leaders often wondered when Lance would simply make an attempt at the Champion title himself.
But Lance had never challenged the Champion. He also never gave any indication that he intended to. And no one would ever dare to ask him directly.
Lance sat down and brought out a folder full of papers. He flipped through them, laying them out on the table in front of him, and then he cleared his throat.
"First things first, what's the latest update on the boy who was attacked?" he asked.
"He's stable, and has left the hospital," Sabrina said. "The doctors said he'll be in a cast for six months."
"All right then," Lance said. He pulled out a paper with a picture of Ryan Oak pinned to it, standing next to his Charmeleon on the deck of the S.S. Anne with a big grin, and set it aside. "The League has authorized a charity be made for him — assuming his family is receptive — and the press will be expecting a statement. I'll have someone in Public Relations draft it, and reach out to the Oak family. Ms. Koyama has assured me she'll do whatever she can to smooth things over. Now then, onto the real problem: the Prime Minister has declared that the Indigo Plateau Conference must move forward."
Lance's words were followed by the buzz of the lights, and nothing else. Agatha, Bruno, and Lorelei showed no emotion. The Gym Leaders were too stunned to show any. Eventually, Misty spoke.
"What?" she said.
"'A matter of national pride' was his official reasoning," Lance said. "Not to mention the billions of yen that are tied up in the event already."
"What does 'national pride' mean, exactly?" Brock asked.
"It means that what Giovanni did was an attack not only on Ryan Oak, but on all Trainers in the Kanto Region," Lance said. "If the Conference is canceled after that, it would send the message to the whole world that Team Rocket can terrorize the most beloved pastime in the country with impunity."
"Do we know for certain that that was Giovanni's intent?" Blaine asked.
"We all know Ryan Oak's attitude…" Lt. Surge muttered.
Misty smacked Lt. Surge on the arm with the back of her hand. He ignored it.
"Regardless of his intentions," Lance said, "that's what many people would assume to be the case if the Conference was canceled. So, I have been ordered to ensure the Conference continues, and that nothing goes wrong."
"There's no way we can guarantee that," Sabrina said.
"Of course we can't," Agatha said, "just as there was no guarantee this wouldn't have happened any of the years before. There's no safety anywhere in the world, is there? It was only a matter of time — there have been incidents all over Kanto. In Celadon, Cerulean, Saffron City —"
"Hey, I handle my business just fine!" Misty snapped. "Where were you when I was taking the head off of Silph Co., huh?"
"Enough," Lance said. "I don't like this situation any more than you do, Misty. And Agatha apologizes for what she said."
Lance shot a look at Agatha, but she simply scoffed.
"The reality is, we are going to have to run the Conference this year, like any other," Lance said. "We can't ignore what happened, nor can we let it dominate the League going forward. The Prime Minister promised me that the security budget will be tripled."
"Jackbooted thugs with nightsticks — I feel safer already," Koga said, earning a scowl from Lt. Surge.
"Most importantly," Lance said. "I need a list of all the Trainers in the Kanto division who had eight or seven Badges who are still interested in competing."
The Kanto Gym Leaders exchanged glances.
"That'll be a short list," Brock said.
"Even better," Lance said. "Because the Elite Four are going to be the ones evaluating them."
#
Professor Oak stared at the coffee machine in his laboratory. The pot was bitter to the point of undrinkable — but that was the Professor's own fault. He had let it sit too long. It was cloudy. His normally spotless desk was disorganized as well. The Professor had been trying to keep himself busy to avoid thinking about it too much. But his son's house was perfectly visible from the windows in his lab. He couldn't do anything without his eyes roaming back to it.
Professor Oak had watched his son's car pull into the driveway of the Oak residence and watched as his granddaughter opened each door for her younger brother and followed him inside. He saw Josh, Ash, and Jake walk over from their houses on occasion. It killed him that he couldn't see him. But the Professor knew he had no right to complain.
The doors to the laboratory slid open, and the Professor turned to see the last person in the world he expected.
Agatha's walking stick struck the tiles of the laboratory with a sharp clack with every step she took. She scrunched up her nose as she walked in.
"You should run a vacuum through here," she said. "This place is even dustier than the last time I was here."
"Agatha," the Professor said, "what are you doing here?"
Professor Oak had known Agatha for almost his entire life. But they hadn't spoken to each other in years. Hadn't seen each other in person in decades.
"I was told the most promising young Trainers after your grandson are in this town," she answered. "I'm here to see just how far the standards have fallen."
"You can't mean that the tournament is actually going to happen?"
"Of course it is," Agatha said as she reached the Professor at his desk. She rested both her hands on her walking stick and looked down at Professor Oak like a disappointed schoolteacher. "There are only two constants in this country: Pokemon battles and taxes. So, what will it take for you to stop moping and do something worthwhile with your life?"
Professor Oak shook his head.
"If you're suggesting that I compete again, you already know my answer," he said.
Agatha rolled her eyes. "Wasting your life away with that ridiculous Pokedex. What good will that thing ever be? Fine. Tell me where I can find these little pet Trainers of yours and I'll be on my way."
"My grandson can't compete anymore," Professor Oak said. "Josh Dale lives —"
"Oh, please, I'm not wasting my time with that dolt," Agatha said with a wave of her hand. "Him and his brother — I'm leaving those two to the others. No, I'm here for your favorite."
The Professor gulped. Facing Agatha in a battle wasn't something he would wish on his worst enemy, let alone any of his protégés. Agatha slowly drummed her fingers on her walking stick.
"What was her name again? Amber? Tess? Natalie?" Agatha said. Professor Oak said nothing — he knew she was just twisting the knife, the way she always does. After a moment, a cruel grin spread across her face. "Hmm… Ashley. Yes, that was it. I've heard some very interesting stories about her. Where can I find her?"
Again, the Professor said nothing. Agatha's eyes on him felt like a high-powered microscope, gradually adjusting their focus until they were able to catch the smallest tell on his face.
"Is that how you want to play it? Fine." Agatha said. "She must be close, or you wouldn't be so defensive. So, then, her house? No? The Dale boy's house? Don't tell me she's with your grandson. Interesting. You've always had a lousy poker face, Sam."
Agatha turned on her heel and started to walk away.
"She won't do it," Professor Oak called after her. "She's not a Trainer, she has no interest in Pokemon battles."
"You've been out of the game too long," Agatha answered without breaking step. "From what I heard, she's more than interested. And now more than ever, the League needs people who've been in real battles, not all this pompous preening for the cameras."
Agatha turned back to look at the Professor, her old rival from decades ago, one last time before she left. Even after 25 years, Agatha couldn't hide the pain on her face as the memories of their last encounter came back to her.
"You could've been the best of us," she said. "Now, you'll just have to watch as we find the next one."
#
Josh Dale was playing video games in his room when his mother called him down. It had been a strange few days, back in Pallet Town, back in his room, with nothing to do. There were no Trainers to battle, nothing on TV to watch, and no one to talk to.
His room was exactly the same as the day he had left it — although that was Josh's own fault. His mother had cleaned it up and made the bed once he had left. But once Josh had gotten home, his usual routine took over, and his room reverted to its usual state. His bed was unmade, and the sheets piled into a crumpled mess that Josh would sort out the next time he went to sleep. There was nothing on his desk. The TV and Gamecube sat on a shoe rack between his bed and his desk.
Josh had only spent a few days in Viridian City, hanging out with Caitlyn in her home — or apartment, penthouse, whatever it was called. Josh had never taken an elevator directly to someone's place before, and the whole thing seemed more like a fancy hotel room than a person's home. Caitlyn's parents were rich, the kind of rich that made Ryan's house look plain by comparison.
The police told Josh they didn't need any more information from him, and that he was free to leave the city again. With no Gym left to challenge, Josh went home.
And so, Josh had spent his days as he had during the days between when school ended and when Professor Oak finally had asked him to come to his lab to receive his first Pokemon. That felt like such a long time ago, now. Pallet Town seemed smaller, and emptier. But Josh also felt his parents' paranoia. Constantly checking in on him, asking him if he planned to go anywhere, if there was anything he wanted to talk about, if there was any news about Ryan.
It was exhausting. Josh could hear his parents' voices in his head, saying the things he knew they wanted to say, but wouldn't.
You're not going anywhere anymore. If anything like that had ever happened to you, I would never forgive myself. It's dangerous! We told you!
Only Jake made Josh feel any better these days. But he had his own problems. He spent half of his time at Ryan's house. He was taking care of Avery — who was also home for the first time in a long time. She had technically graduated, so she had no more Pokemed school stuff to do. Josh felt bad for her, he had never seen her look so… lost. But at least he knew Jake would be more helpful than he would.
Jake was the person Josh was thinking of when he paused his game of Super Smash Bros. Melee and came down the stairs. It was Jake coming back for dinner, or maybe inviting Josh over to Ryan's house too.
But it wasn't Jake at the door. Josh's mother stepped away to reveal Bruno and Lorelei, of the Elite Four, and Josh froze mid-step on the stairs.
Bruno was massive. Tall and muscled, wearing a karate gi and a black belt tightly tied at the waist. He had metal cuffs with spikes on his wrists and ankles. He was scarier than any of the karatekas Josh had seen in the Karate Dojo. Lorelei was just as tall as he was (although she was wearing heels) and dressed in a slim business suit. She looked like a CEO, or a model. The two of them together couldn't have looked more mismatched. But they also looked completely out of place on Josh's front porch.
"Um. Hi," Josh said as he finally remembered how to use his legs and came down the stairs.
"Josh Dale, my name is Lorelei, and this is Bruno, we're from the Pokemon League," Lorelei said. She held out her hand, and Josh shook it. Her grip was delicate and her skin as smooth as silk. Josh shook Bruno's hand next — his grip was like a metal vice and his hands were rough as sandpaper.
"I know who you are," Josh said, "what are you doing here?"
"The Indigo Plateau Conference is moving forward," Lorelei said.
Josh stared at her.
"We're assessing all the Trainers who may be able to participate," Lorelei continued. "We'd also like to talk to your brother. May we come in?"
"Hold on," Mrs. Dale said, "I don't want either of my kids involved in any of this."
"Mom —"
"Josh, go back to your room."
"Mom, no," Josh said firmly. He turned to Lorelei and Bruno. "Can you give us a minute? Thanks."
Josh shut the door before they could answer. Then he turned back to face his mother.
"There's no way we're letting you go back out there," Josh's mother said. "Do you have any idea how many nights I stayed up in my bed, worried that I was going to hear the phone ring and find out something horrible happened to you? That could've been you in the hospital, and not Ryan."
"But it wasn't me, nothing ever happened to me," Josh said.
"No, you just lost your jacket when a Pokemon set it on fire while you were wearing it!"
"I wasn't hurt, no Pokemon ever hurt me," Josh said. "Mom, when a Pokemon put me to sleep in the middle of a field, my Pokemon kept me safe. When I got stuck in a storm, my Pokemon kept me warm. When I got in trouble with a wild Gyarados, another Trainer helped me. Misty saved me once. Ash saved me, too. We're always there for each other —"
"I don't want you needing to be saved by anyone," Mrs. Dale said as she walked off to the kitchen — the tea kettle was whistling. Josh followed her.
"Well, how about it being out there was the most fun I'd ever had?" Josh said as his mother took the kettle off the stove and the whistle died down to a dull whine. "Being out there, catching Pokemon, getting into battles, meeting new people, seeing the world — I've lived more in this one year than I have my whole life here."
Josh's mother put the kettle on the counter. Normally, she would reach into a cupboard and pull out a mug along with some green tea. But she didn't move. Her hands stayed flat on the counter as she listened to her son.
"I know you thought this would be over by now," Josh said. "And that I would come home, and I would stay here and go back to school. But I actually did something I'm proud of — I got seven Badges. And now they want me to go to the Indigo Plateau. I know it's not me getting a real job — but I… Mom, I'm in love with this. I love what I'm doing now. Please, don't make me stop now. Not when I've come this far."
Mrs. Dale took her hands off the counter and turned around. She looked at her son with a look on her face that he had never seen before. Her eyes were watery, and her voice was unusually quiet as she spoke.
"You really mean that?" she asked. "You love this?"
"Yes," Josh said, with as much conviction as he could muster.
Mrs. Dale nodded to herself as she looked Josh over. She smiled grimly.
"God, you boys are so stubborn," she said. Josh felt a rush — he already knew what his mom was going to say — her conditions, she never said yes without putting conditions — but all that mattered was that she was waving the white flag, and Josh knew it. He bounced on his feet and rubbed his hands together as his mother spoke. "Not without your brother. And no matter what happens, you are going to call us every Friday from now on, no matter where you are. You're coming home for New Year's — and you're going to help me cook."
Josh ran forward and hugged his mom. Then, he reached for the door.
#
Lorelei and Bruno were waiting outside when Josh opened the door to his house again.
"Sorry about that," Josh said, tightening the straps to his backpack and closing the door behind him. "My mom says it's okay. I'm ready. So how do we do this?"
"We'll want to assess you and your brother," Lorelei said.
"My brother's not here. He's across the street," Josh answered. Then, he gave an uncomfortable grimace. "At Ryan Oak's house."
Lorelei and Bruno looked at each other. Without saying a word, Lorelei turned away and started to walk to Ryan's house, leaving Bruno alone with Josh. Bruno looked up and down the street.
"We need more space," he said.
Bruno walked to the end of the street, where Ash's house sat at the end of a cul-de-sac, and kept walking past the point where the street ended. Josh followed behind, power-walking to keep pace with Bruno's long strides. After a while, they had walked into a large, empty field. Ash's house was just barely visible on the horizon behind them.
"This'll do," Bruno said. Bruno pulled out three Ultra Balls from his gi. "Three-on-three, quick and dirty. Get over there." Bruno punctuated his statement with a jut of the head, indicating Josh to walk away from him to give them space for their Pokemon. Josh nodded. He could see Bruno was a man of few words, and that suited him just fine — Josh was getting jittery.
Josh walked a ways away from Bruno, about the distance he usually was whenever he had challenged a Gym Leader, and readied his three Pokemon.
Bruno's a Fighting-type specialist, Josh thought to himself, so Hermes is my best bet. Him, Pan, and Helios.
Josh looked at Bruno and nodded to him again. Bruno wound up his arm for a throw, and Josh did the same.
"Go, Hermes!"
"Go, Onix!"
Josh thought he knew what 'big Pokemon' looked like after his battle against Brock's Onix. Dionysus certainly fit that description, too. But Bruno's Onix dwarfed them both. The massive Rock-type looked twice the size of Brock's, and he let out a deafening roar that made the hairs on the back of Josh's neck stand on end. It made Josh remember the last time he had sent Hermes in against an Onix — and he wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.
"Hermes, return! Go, Pan, Energy Ball!"
"Onix, Rock Slide!"
Hermes disappeared back into his Poke Ball without complaint. As Josh threw out the Poke Ball containing Pan, the Onix slammed the ground in front of him with his massive tail and sent a flurry of massive stones flying into the air that came down on Josh's side of the battlefield like rocks thrown from an army of catapults.
Pan took several rocks to the face as soon as he appeared. A few petals fell off the plant on his back and fluttered to the ground, but Pan growled and spat out a perfect sphere of glowing green energy that flew straight to the Onix's face. The Onix's face exploded as he was hit, and the massive Rock-type was thrown back from the force of the blast. Josh watched, awestruck, as a Pokemon several times the size of his own house collapsed and hit the ground.
"Pan, that was awesome!" Josh gasped.
Josh's Venusaur turned back to his Trainer and let out a triumphant roar as he shook his body and made the flower on his back dance.
"Go, Hitmonchan, Mach Punch!"
Josh didn't even see Bruno's next Pokemon until it had already hit Pan across the face with a lightning-fast punch, ending his celebration and choking the roar in his throat. Bruno's Hitmonchan appeared back in front of his Trainer, fists held in a boxer's stance and bouncing on his feet, ready to strike again. And Bruno wasted no time.
"Now, use Ice Punch!" the Elite Four member said.
The Hitmonchan sprinted forward, one of his fists glowing white and leaving a trail of snowflakes as he moved. But Josh had seen this move before — when someone had used it against Ash and her Nidoking in the Karate Dojo.
"Pan, wait for him to get close — now, Sleep Powder!"
Pan had taken a nervous step back when the Hitmonchan started running at him, but he planted his feet when Josh spoke. At the last moment, the Hitmonchan lunged forward and bent his knees so he was eye level with Pan, bringing his Ice Punch down low and swinging into a big uppercut aimed right for Pan's jaw — but Pan crouched down even lower, dodging the punch and letting a fine, green powder fall down onto the Hitmonchan's face.
The Hitmonchan's body went limp, and he fell over, asleep.
Bruno withdrew his Hitmonchan, and sent out his last Pokemon: a Machamp. The Fighting-type was even taller than Bruno — more muscular, as well. The Machamp held two fists in front of his face in a boxing stance, identical to the way the Hitmonchan earlier had, and held his two other fists lower, guarding his abdomen.
I bet ¥2000 this Pokemon has another fast move like Mach Punch, too.
"Machamp, Bullet Punch!"
Called it.
The Machamp took one step forward and then zoomed across the battlefield in a blur. But this time, Josh reacted quickly.
"Pan, use Energy Ball, wait for Machamp to reappear!"
Pan's body shook violently as the Machamp battered him with what sounded like a dozen punches. The Machamp withdrew, and Josh could once again see the Pokemon's body once his attack had ended. Pan shot out another Energy Ball that struck the Machamp in the center of his chest, forcing him to stumble back a few steps.
"Finish him, Machamp! Cross Chop!"
"Pan, Energy Ball, again!"
Pan fired another Energy Ball — but the Machamp blocked it with one pair of his arms. As he did, the Machamp raised the other pair of arms high into the air. They glowed deep red and seemed to harden into stone. Then, the Machamp brought his arms down diagonally like a pair of swords, slamming Pan into the ground and burying him in a hole. Josh knew there was no way his Venusaur had withstood that.
"Pan, return!" Josh said. "Helios, Flare Blitz!"
"Machamp, Rock Tomb!"
Josh's Arcanine emerged and ran forward, his fur igniting and enveloping himself in fire. The giant fireball hurtled toward the Machamp and left a trail of burnt grass in his wake. Helios slammed into the Machamp, but the Fighting-type again blocked the hit with one pair of arms — which were left blackened and smoking — while the Machamp's other arms dug into the ground and lifted two massive boulders in the air. The Machamp roared as he brought them down on Helios. The boulders shattered on impact, and Helios yelped in pain.
"Now, Cross Chop!" Bruno said.
"Helios, Flamethrower!"
There wasn't enough room for Helios to get another Flare Blitz going, so Helios spat a stream of fire directly in the Machamp's face. But the Machamp grabbed Helios by the throat, lifting him up into the air while he brought his glowing red arms down again in another Cross Chop. Helios was smacked down with enough force for Josh to feel in his feet, and created another crater in the ground.
"Helios, return," Josh said.
This thing is crazy strong, Josh thought as he looked at the Machamp. His body was burnt and bruised, his shoulders rising and falling as he breathed, but the Fighting-type looked just as determined as he did when he first showed up. Josh was only going to have one shot at taking this last Fighting-type down.
"Hermes, stay low, Brave Bird!" Josh said.
"Machamp, Rock Tomb!"
Josh didn't throw his last Poke Ball high, the way he usually did whenever he sent Hermes in — he threw it into the ground, so it bounced before it clicked open. Josh's Pidgeot appeared with his wings already spread, gliding just an inch above the ground, and he accelerated insanely fast. Josh was pushed back from the shockwave in the air as Hermes's body began to glow blue. The Machamp grabbed two chunks of rock from the ground and lifted them up over his head, ready to bring them down — but Hermes struck him low, in his right thigh, and plowed right through him. The Fighting-type wailed in pain as he was thrown back, his boulders falling to the ground and missing Hermes. Hermes was already flying high and up, into a circling pattern, ready for Josh's next order. And Josh said exactly what he knew his Flying-type was hoping to hear.
"Brave Bird, again, finish him off!"
"Machamp, get up! Cross Chop!"
The Machamp sprang back to his feet and his arms began to glow red again. He held them to his sides, ready to bring them up in a double-uppercut. Meanwhile, Hermes dove and the clouds in the sky disappeared as Hermes's body made another shockwave. The two Pokemon collided, creating a massive explosion, and both Trainers were thrown back from the force of their impact.
Josh landed hard on his butt, but he scrambled to his feet. There was only a cloud of dust where Bruno's Machamp had been. Josh held his breath as the dust cleared — and then threw his hands up in the air once he saw the first silhouette.
"Yes!" he screamed. "Hermes, you're the best!"
His Hermes was standing, chest puffed up and beak held high, with one talon gripping the Machamp's unconscious head below him.
Bruno's Machamp disappeared back into his Ultra Ball, and Bruno gave a deep bow. Then, he approached. Josh ran to Hermes and hugged him before he turned to meet Bruno again.
"Very good," Bruno said. "I look forward to seeing you at Victory Road."
And with that, Bruno turned and left, walking back toward Pallet Town. Josh watched him leave for a few seconds — and immediately jumped in place from his excitement. He couldn't wait to tell Jake, and Ash, and the Professor — and then Josh stopped. On any other day… the person he would be most excited to tell was Ryan.
#
Ash Delaney's house was right next door to Josh Dale's house. Ryan Oak's house was across the street, with an extra set of garage doors — which is where Avery Oak's car was parked when she came to visit. The local elementary and middle school was a short walk away — a left, a right, another left, and then across the street at the traffic light. At the second corner, there is a gazebo with three benches and three walls with big, circular windows to look around.
When Ash was a kid, she liked to climb on top of the benches and jump through the windows, pretending she was in a circus. Now, as Ash thought of what she had said to Ryan in the hospital in Viridian City, and what she had said back at him, Ash wanted nothing more than to go back to those days. When Ryan would make a snide comment about how silly she looked jumping through those windows, and how she would laugh it off and keep doing it.
Why was it so much easier to get along with him when they were younger? Ryan was never any less mean in those days. Maybe it was just easier for Ash to forget about mean things when she was a kid. But Ash knew that wasn't true. She never forgot about how lonely she used to be back when she was living in Cerulean.
Ash sat in the gazebo, remembering the white tiles of the hospital room — how they reminded her of the white tiles in the secret area of the Game Corner in Celadon. How the IV stand and monitor next to Ryan's hospital bed had reminded her of the lab equipment she had seen in the Pokemon mansion. Needles, and wires, and chemicals, and drugs. It all brought ugly thoughts into Ash's mind as she had sat down and looked at Ryan's cast. And then, Ryan had opened his mouth, and for a moment Ash almost thought she had heard Ryan say —
This is your fault.
Those were the words that rattled around in Ash's head for the entire day, and the days that followed, and continued to wrangle there like a papercut that has no right to be as painful as it is for its size. The harder Ash tried to squeeze and keep the pain away, the worse it seemed to get. As Ash tried to push those thoughts away, Ryan's black eye, and split lips moved as he said —
You didn't tell me.
With Josh, just outside of Celadon City. After she had met Giovanni the first time, and with a flash drive full of incriminating evidence of all of the horrible things that Team Rocket does. And again, with Ryan, in Saffron City, after he had Teleported her there from Lavender Town. She had never told either of them.
Ash had felt so proud of herself after she left Saffron City. She had done it. She had taken down Team Rocket. And she had done it without telling anyone she knew. None of them needed to know, and none of them needed to worry about her. She had saved them from that, hadn't she? Hadn't she protected them? Wasn't that something that was more important than their Gym Badges and the Pokedex? But Ryan's red-tinged bandages, and his eyes looking at Ash while he said —
Look what you've done.
And she had cried, and screamed at him and said that he deserved it. And that was why she hated herself.
Ash stood up. She was done moping. She was going to Ryan's house today and she was going to apologize. But as she took her first step, she nearly jumped as she realized she was about to step on someone else's foot. She opened her mouth to apologize, but the old woman next to her spoke first.
"I've never understood why they build these things," she said. Her sandy blonde hair swayed gently with the breeze, and her wrinkled hands clasped a wooden walking stick. She lifted it and tapped the floor of the gazebo a couple of times. She spoke without looking at Ash. "There's nothing to look at. No buses stop here. What's the point?"
Ash stared at her. It was Agatha, of the Elite Four, sitting on a bench like it was no big deal. Where had she even come from? She continued talking, still without looking at Ash, as if she was simply thinking out loud.
"It has a certain rustic appeal, this town," she said. "If that's your thing. Personally, I could never stay in one place too long."
Agatha looked up at Ash and smiled, but her eyes looked almost bored with what she was looking at.
"You don't talk much. That's good. You're making my job easier," Agatha said. "I'll get right to the point. The Indigo Plateau Conference is going to happen, and I'm here to see if you have what it takes to compete."
"What? Why me?" Ash asked.
"The man who put your friend in the hospital," Agatha said. "I'm told you faced him twice, and walked away clean."
What, do all Gym Leaders talk about Trainers like teachers talk about their students? Ash wondered to herself.
"I didn't," Ash said. "I had help. Those weren't real battles."
"Wrong," Agatha said as she slowly stood up, balancing precariously on her walking stick as she did so. "Those were the realest battles any Trainer has had in this region in a decade. When something that really matters is at stake — that's when a Trainer's true character shines through. So, Ashley, I'd like to see some of that for myself."
Ash turned around and started to walk away as quickly as she could. She had seen plenty of Agatha's battles when they played re-runs of the past greatest matches that had been hosted in the Indigo Plateau, and after everything she had been through recently, Ash had no desire to experience it for herself. Agatha was personally responsible for ending many Trainers' careers from the brutal beatdowns she gave opponents — and Professor Oak was one of them. But Ash heard Agatha's walking stick tap-tapping behind her as the old woman followed.
"Are you trying to kill an old lady?" Agatha called after her.
Ash turned around. She was already quite far from Agatha, and the old woman limped as she walked to her. Ash felt a pang of guilt.
"Come back here," Agatha snapped. "I wasn't finished, and I'll not have you walking away from me while I'm talking."
The guilt was gone. Even so, Ash walked back to Agatha.
"Come smartly, now," Agatha said, tapping her foot. Ash quickened her pace. Ash stood before her, keeping her eyes low, the way she would on the rare occasion when teachers scolded her at school. But Agatha sneered at her. "Don't give me that — look up here, look at me. And don't slouch."
Ash did so. She felt her face going red. Agatha shook her head at the young girl.
"You children. No manners. No respect, these days," Agatha muttered. Then, she swept a stray strand of hair out of her face before continuing. "Let me tell you something, Ashley. When I was your age, there was no denying a challenge — from anyone. Whether it was your first day or you had been training for more than a decade, the second you lock eyes with another Trainer, you are honor-bound to accept a challenge. And whether you call yourself a Trainer or not, the moment you put a Pokemon in a Poke Ball — you are a Trainer. An Arcanine can't change his stripes any more than you can. Unless you're going to go home and release every Pokemon you have."
Ash flinched at that.
Release Dinah?
She could never.
"Exactly," Agatha said. "As for your friend, I can promise you that no wounds heal when people throw pity parties and bury their heads in the sand. The only thing that will help your friend is picking himself back up and continuing to take life's punches on his own two feet, alongside his Pokemon, like all Trainers do. I speak from experience."
Agatha tapped her walking stick on the sidewalk as she said those last few words. Ash looked down at her walking stick, and then at Agatha's left leg, the side she limped on — but Agatha put a finger under Ash's chin and brought her face back up to meet her.
"Sam never told you, did he?" Agatha said with a smirk. "No, he wouldn't. God forbid you kids hear about the hardships of others before you have to endure your own."
Agatha withdrew her hand while Ash stared back at her. She couldn't speak, couldn't think, could barely process everything that Agatha was saying to her.
"Most importantly," Agatha said, her voice suddenly softening. "The man who put your friend in the hospital is still out there, and he won't go away on his own. What this tournament needs, more than anything, is the Trainer who's faced him twice and walked away unscathed. If not for yourself, or the League, do it for your friend, Ashley."
"It's Ash," she blurted out.
Ash regretted it as soon as she said it. But Agatha simply raised an eyebrow at her.
"All right, then, Ash," Agatha said. "You have two choices. You can go back to this quaint little town and help Sam fiddle with the Pokedex for the rest of his life — a sad waste of his talents and yours — or, you can compete in the Indigo Plateau and show that bastard how a real Trainer acts."
There was a poster of Agatha, from decades ago when she had still competed in tournaments, in Ash's room. It was next to the posters Ash had of Misty and Hayley Williams — the people she had admired as a kid to the point of obsession. Agatha was the strongest female Trainer in the Indigo League, and had been for the past 25 years. She had made it to the Grand Finals of the Indigo Plateau three different times, and the only Trainer she had lost to was the Trainer who went on to become Champion. There was a time when Ash knew these facts even more intimately than she knew her own address and phone number in Pallet Town.
A few years ago, Ash Delaney would have jumped at the chance to battle Agatha, even if it meant a guaranteed loss. But Ash had lost interest in simply being able to say she had faced a famous Trainer in battle just for the glamor long before she had set out on her journey. Ash didn't think of the famous matches she had watched on TV or the battles she had seen Josh and Ryan winning. She only thought of what Agatha had just said.
How does a realTrainer act?
Ash reached into her bag, and Agatha reached into her pocket.
"Three on three," Agatha said. She jerked her head to the right, indicating to an open field. "We can do it here."
Ash nodded. She walked into the field as her hand groped around in her bag. She picked the Poke Ball containing Pat, the Great Ball holding Bandersnatch… and the Great Ball that held Cheshire.
Ghost-types are a double-edged sword, Ash remembered. Professor Oak had said that to her once. If you want to add a Ghost-type to your team, you need to accept that they'll be as vulnerable as they are powerful.
Agatha is the kind of Trainer who doesn't shy away from risk. No one had to tell Ash that — it was obvious just from the way she talks.
Ash reached a good distance into the field and turned to face Agatha. The old woman had gathered up three Ultra Balls in one hand, and nodded to Ash. She planted her walking stick firmly in the ground, deep enough for it to stand on its own, and then tossed out her first Ultra Ball. Ash reacted quickly, and tossed out her own Pokemon at the same time.
"Go, Golbat!"
"Go, Pat!"
Ash's Blastoise emerged, and let out a roar. Agatha's Golbat flapped his wings vigorously, hovering just a few feet off the ground.
"Pat, Hydro Pump!" Ash said.
"Golbat, Sludge Bomb!" Agatha said.
Pat hunched down and aimed one of the cannons protruding from his shell forward. A massive jet of water exploded from the tip of the cannon and raced toward the Golbat. But the Poison-type tucked in his wings to drop quickly, then did a combat roll to the side as he hit the ground, dodging the Hydro Pump. In an instant, the Golbat sprang back to his feet and unfurled his wings, spitting out a massive blob of oozing purple goo that struck Pat in the face. Ash's Blastoise groaned in pain and Ash heard the sludge sizzle as it started to burn her Pokemon's skin.
"Golbat, Air Slash!" Agatha said.
"Pat, dodge it! Use Rapid Spin!"
Blastoises were big, and slow — easy targets, most of the time. But Pat withdrew his head, limbs, and cannons into his shell. Just as the slice of compressed air from the Golbat's attack was about to hit him, Pat spun in place and slid across the grass like a hockey puck, dodging the attack. At the same time, the sludge of Pat's face and body was sent flying off in big, fat drops. The grass that the drops landed on started to sizzle and burn.
"Golbat, Giga Drain!"
"Ice Beam, Pat, fight through the pain!"
Small orbs of yellow light flew out of Pat's body and into the Golbat's giant, gaping mouth. But Pat still hunched forward and aimed another cannon at the Golbat, this time shooting a blindingly bright beam of white that left a trail of ice in the grass as it traveled. It blasted the Golbat back, ending the Giga Drain, and left the Flying-type a crumpled mess.
Ash did a fist pump as she watched Agatha withdraw her defeated Golbat. Ash's Blastoise was big and slow, but he was one of the toughest Pokemon she had.
"Go, Arbok!" Agatha said. "Finish him with Seed Bomb!"
"Pat, Hydro Pump!"
Pat unleashed another massive jet of water, but Agatha's Arbok swiftly slithered out of the way and across the battlefield with surprising speed. The Arbok lunged at Pat and wrapped himself around the Water-type's body, forcing his body upright and letting Pat's Hydro Pump blast up into the sky. From across the battlefield, Agatha calmly stepped back to avoid the rain of water that followed, but Ash got soaked.
Ash quickly wiped the water from her eyes — but it was too late. At the last second, she watched as Agatha's Arbok brought his face to Pat's, expanding his massive hood and unhinging his mouth. Something that looked almost like a giant chestnut flew out of the Arbok's mouth and hit Pat in the face, which immediately exploded. Pat was thrown back, and Agatha's Arbok slithered away from the Blastoise before it was crushed under his big shell.
"Pat, return," Ash said a little loudly, her ears still ringing from the Seed Bomb. "Go, Bandersnatch, Bonemerang!"
"Arbok, Crunch!"
Ash's Marowak jumped out of the Great Ball and threw his Bone Club, which spun and sailed through the air like a shuriken. But Agatha's Arbok ducked under the bone and immediately wrapped himself around Bandersnatch, exactly as it had done to Pat earlier. The Arbok's fangs grew in size and began to ooze a black, oily liquid as they dug down onto Bandersnatch's neck. Ash's Marowak let out a scream — but his cry was stifled as the Arbok immediately began to constrict the Ground-type's neck without releasing his jaws.
Ash watched as the Bone Club flew in a great arc and began to return. But Bandersnatch's arms were preoccupied with trying to wriggle out of the Arbok's stranglehold.
"Bandersnatch, your club! Grab him and don't let him escape!" Ash said quickly.
Ash's order came just in time. Agatha's Arbok withdrew his fangs and tried to slither away, but Bandersnatch grabbed the Poison-type by the throat with one paw and by the tail with the other. Ash's Marowak held the Arbok out and twisted his body like a towel. Then, the Bone Club hit the Arbok, sending both Pokemon flying back and forcing Ash to jump out of the way.
Only Ash's Marowak was able to get back to his feet. Agatha's Arbok was dazed and lying limp on the ground. Bandersnatch quickly scampered over and picked his club back up as Agatha withdrew her Arbok.
"Go, Gengar!"
Agatha's Ultra Ball clicked open, but nothing came out of it. Instead, Ash watched as the shadow behind Agatha began to darken and expand in shape. It became larger, rounder, and almost resembled a hole in the ground, rather than a shadow. But the shadow shifted from behind Agatha and moved in front of her as if the sun had flown across the sky. Ash knew from her own Gengar, Cheshire, that Gengars loved hiding in people's shadows.
"There, Bandersnatch, on the ground," Ash said, pointing at the shadow. "Use Bonemerang, quick!"
"Gengar, Hypnosis!"
Bandersnatch wound up to throw his club again, but a pair of glowing red eyes appeared in the shadow and let out a blinding pink light. Ash barely managed to look away in time. When she looked back, her Marowak was lying asleep on the ground. Ash held her Great Ball forward to recall him, but Agatha was too quick.
"Dream Eater!" she said.
In an instant, the giant, red eyes that were in the shadow appeared right in front of Ash along with an ear-piercing shriek — Ash yelped as she fell back and her Great Ball fell out of her hand. Agatha's Gengar cackled wickedly, and Ash glared at him. Then, the Ghost-type turned around and made a pulling motion with his hands. A pink cloud emerged from Bandersnatch's head and flew into the Gengar's mouth. Ash watched as her Marowak writhed on the ground in pain.
Ash scrambled on the ground for Bandersnatch's Great Ball as she watched her helpless Pokemon, but she wasn't fast enough. Bandersnatch's body went limp, and he let out a strangled groan. Agatha's Gengar sank back into the ground, and the circular shadow flew across the ground back to Agatha's side.
Ash stood up and withdrew her Marowak. She was down to her last Pokemon. And she knew the next few precious seconds would decide this battle.
"Let's go, Cheshire," Ash said, "Shadow Ball!"
Ash's Gengar appeared in the air in front of her and shot a smoky, purple orb at the shadow on the ground. But another Shadow Ball appeared from the shadow on the ground and flew up to meet it. The two attacks collided in the air, creating an explosion and a massive cloud of black smoke.
For a moment, nothing happened. Suddenly, a pair of red eyes appeared in the smoke, then —
"Hypnosis!" Agatha said.
"Cheshire, Protect!" Ash yelled as she shut her eyes.
Ash opened her eyes a second later — afraid that she was cutting it too close but even more terrified of missing Agatha's next move — and saw as the cloud of smoke broke when another Shadow Ball flew through it, right for Cheshire.
"To me, Cheshire!" Ash said.
Cheshire sank into the ground and flew to Ash's shadow, dodging the Shadow Ball. Agatha's Gengar emerged from the ground and pulled on the corners of his mouth, sticking out his massive tongue and crossing his eyes, mocking her.
Ash scoffed. She wouldn't fall for a taunt like that — but her own Gengar flew out of the ground from Ash's shadow and screamed. Cheshire liked to mock Pokemon, too — but clearly, he wasn't a fan of receiving it.
"Stay focused, Cheshire, Shadow Ball!" Ash said.
"Finish this, Gengar, Shadow Ball!" Agatha said.
The two Gengars were so close and so fast that Ash barely was able to see what happened. Cheshire threw his hands up to create another Shadow Ball, and then threw it forward. Agatha's Gengar threw a single hand forward underhanded, like a softball player throwing a ball, to throw his own Shadow Ball.
The two Shadow Balls flew right past each other and hit their targets. Both Gengars were hit in their faces and sent flying back, landing hard on the ground instead of sinking into their shadows.
Ash looked at Cheshire. His eyes were staring up at the sky, and his tongue was limply dangling out of his mouth.
Ash looked up. Agatha had withdrawn her own Gengar and pulled her walking stick out of the ground, and was walking to her. Ash withdrew Cheshire and walked to meet her.
"There may be hope for the League, yet," Agatha said coolly.
Despite Agatha's tone, Ash was proud of herself. A straightforward compliment would have felt fake coming from Agatha, anyway.
"And I trust we won't need to have this conversation again," Agatha continued.
Ash shook her head. "We won't."
"Good."
Ash watched as Agatha walked away for a moment. Then, a thought occurred to her.
"What about Ryan Oak?" she asked.
Agatha turned back to look at her.
"There are no plans to test his readiness," Agatha said. Then, she gave Ash a strange, knowing smile. "If someone is going to convince him to compete, and his family to let him, it won't be one of us."
