Wanderer

by softSpokenLoser

Ash was always destined to be a Pokemon Master - but something happens. Instead of conquering the Kanto region with the Charizard he's always dreamed of, he and his mom end up moving to Sinnoh. The world is not ready for the changes this will bring.

4. The Caves

Ash didn't understand how it happened.

One moment, he had been confidently marching down the rocky path that led to the start of Route 206.

The next?

He tripped on something - maybe a rock, maybe a tree root, it didn't matter - and was sent tumbling down the rest of the way. All of a sudden, the ground had given beneath him, and he found himself freefalling a good fifteen feet or so before landing with a dull thud.

His whole body ached, the pain all over. Ash was glad he had landed on his back - it could've been bad if he landed on an arm or leg the wrong way.

As he begrudgingly pulled himself to his feet, wincing at the pain that shot up his left arm as he used it to push himself up, he just had to wonder.

Where was he?

It was dark, that was for sure, and the air was surprisingly cold given how the temperature had begun to rise - maybe a cave?

Yeah, that made sense. The scant light that shined down on him from the surface seemed to indicate that he was in a tunnel, the dark-brown walls curving inwards gently as they arched towards the ceiling.

Ash briefly toyed with the idea of releasing Wick - he was in unfamiliar territory, and Wick was both a light source and a warning against any wild pokemon who might take unkindly to him - but quickly discarded the idea. Fire and caves weren't a great combination, especially for things that needed oxygen to breathe.

Instead, he dug around his bag for a moment, searching for the electric lantern he was sure was packed in his bag. A moment later he found it, turning it on with a triumphant grin.

Ash originally didn't see the need for a lantern - what good would a lantern be when all he would be doing was traveling the region? But after a gentle reminder from his mother that the region was split in half by a giant mountain range, and that he would have to travel beneath said mountain range, it had started to make sense to him.

Now that he had a light, he could definitely confirm that he was in a cave. It was almost as if the light his lantern produced was being absorbed by the darkness - Ash wasn't able to make out anything in the tunnel beyond what was a few feet in front of him.

Wonderful.

Ash squinted back up at the hole he fell through, quietly pondering whether or not he could somehow climb the walls of the tunnel and get back. However, all bets were off when a deep rumble echoed through the cave, not only sounding ominous in nature but also nearly knocking Ash off his feet due to the tremor it caused.

Now Ash wasn't weak by any means, and his team certainly weren't slouches either. But he was not going to stick around and find out what sort of pokemon was strong enough to make a mini-earthquake by growling.

With one last look into the darkness, Ash steeled his resolve and hurried down the tunnel.

He could only hope he wasn't going deeper into the cave.

–

Good news and bad news.

The good news was that the rumblings had gotten quieter, although they never completely vanished from his ears. There were moments that Ash would pause, hearing nothing, only for his ears to detect the faintest groans coming from the earth that encouraged him to get a move on.

Which, of course, led to the bad news.

He was still lost in the cave.

Ash had no clue where he was - he thought he might be getting closer to an exit, but he had no real evidence supporting that thought beyond the trust he was putting in his gut. He had been forced to make a half-dozen or so choices so far on which path to take whenever the tunnel had split off into separate passages, and with each decision he made the fear slowly embedded itself deeper and deeper into his mind.

What if he made the wrong turn? What if he was really just going deeper into the cave? What if-

Ash shook his head. There was no point in thinking like that. He just had to be positive!

Maybe he'd find a rare pokemon, like a Hippopotas, or even a Gible!

Wouldn't that be something?

Ash froze in his tracks as he heard a loud cry from up ahead, something that sounded like both a growl and a squeal at the same time.

A shudder went down his spine, almost as though some primal urge was warding him away from the noise. But he didn't have much of a choice, considering how the low rumble that had slowly stalked him was still right behind him.

He took a moment to finally release one of his team members. Considering they were still in a cramped, oxygen-restricted cave, and Heracross was, well, Heracross, there was only one option.

Thorn materialized by his side a moment later, a happy but confused chirp greeting Ash as she looked around curiously at the damp brown walls.

"Hey, Thorn," he greeted quietly, "Long story short, we're in a cave right now. Something's up ahead, so be ready in case it's aggressive."

Thorn nodded, a determined glare on her face as she took up a defensive stance in front of Ash. Her arms were tucked close to her body, prepared to let loose her toxins and spores that were stored in her flowers.

Actually…

"Try not to use Stun Spore," Ash whispered, "This might be our only way out, and I don't want to risk breathing them in."

Thorn nodded in understanding once more, and together they walked into the darkness. A few moments later, after they turned a rather tight corner in the tunnel, they saw it.

A small Gible sat on the ground, right in the middle of the dim pathway.

"No freaking way." Ash breathed out quietly. An actual Gible! No way! Thorn wasn't as impressed, eyeing the little dragon with no small amount of wariness.

Everybody in Sinnoh knew about the Gible line. Heck, just about everybody in the National League did, thanks to Champion Cynthia! Her Garchomp was the poster pokemon for the region, and just about every trainer, from Twinleaf Town to Snowpoint City, wanted one too. Even if it wasn't as strong as Cynthia's, all Garchomp were well known for their strength and viciousness, even among other dragons. They were one of the strongest pokemon in the world.

And one had fallen right into Ash's lap.

"Be nice!" Ash hissed to Thorn, before turning his attention to the Gible. It had its eyes closed and was keening loudly to itself.

"Hey there, little guy," Ash murmured, causing the Gible to pause its wailing for a moment. It looked at him curiously, if apprehensively. "What're you doing here all by yourself?"

Gible growled softly, eyeing up both him and Thorn with an indecipherable look. It was a look that Ash had recognized, but he couldn't place where he had seen it.

"I'm Ash, and this is Thorn!" He greeted cheerfully as Gible trotted over, sniffing the air curiously.

Ash was happy with how things had gone so far. Gible seemed relatively comfortable around them, and hadn't run away, so maybe he wouldn't even need to battle it! Gible were naturally pretty strong, and with the confines of the cave it might be difficult for Thorn to cleanly defeat it. Without putting Ash at risk, at least.

Thorn hadn't let her guard down, though. She kept herself right in between Ash and Gible, making sure not to let the little dragon get too close to Ash.

And that was what saved him.

One moment, Gible was pawing at the ground awkwardly, and the next it was leaping through the air at Ash, jaws wide open, dozens of tiny sharp teeth ready to bite -

Thorn's eyes flashed pink as a burst of psychic energy knocked Gible off course slightly, missing Ash by a few feet as it careened into the wall with a dull thud.

Oh yeah, that's where Ash had seen that look before. Heracross wore the exact same hungry expression whenever he was around Thorn.

Ash blinked, shocked at having been taken off-guard so easily. He shuddered at how close he had been to what would certainly have been a severe maiming at minimum if Gible had gotten his hands - or teeth, for that matter - on him.

Gible pulled itself up with a groan, eyes wide as it stumbled back and forth for a moment.

"Mega Drain!" Ash called out, a twinge of fear seeping into his voice. Thorn was all too happy to comply, green tendrils snaking out from her flowers and quickly ensnared the disoriented dragon.

Gible had no chance to resist. Thorn was ruthless, showering it in a Stun Spore and Leech Seed for good measure. It hardly had time to groan before it collapsed, soundly beaten.

Ash toyed with one of the empty pokeballs on his belt, hesitant. This was his chance, wasn't it? But it had attacked him. And it seemed much more aggressive than Heracross ever had been. At the same time, maybe it was just hungry? It seemed young, maybe it was just desperate…?

Ash sighed. Like it or not, his conscience was no match for his impulsivity.

"Thanks, Thorn," Ash said gratefully, causing the Roselia to briefly turn back towards him, "You really saved me back there."

Thorn chirped happily back at him, and looked like she wanted to run back to his side, but thought better of it as she turned back to Gible, her smile disappearing.

Ash bit back a groan as he plucked the pokeball off his belt, priming it for capture. Gible wasn't going to put up a fight, that was for sure. It looked like Thorn might hold a grudge against it though (not that Ash blamed her), and that would certainly bleed over to Wick as well.

At least Heracross probably wouldn't have an issue with it.

"Thorn, could you back up a bit?" Ash asked, cocking his arm back to throw, "I want to- woah!"

The ground beneath Ash erupted in an instant, almost as if it was a small volcano. Ash was launched backwards, both his lantern and the pokeball flying out of his grip and clattering to the ground further away.

Thorn yelled, throwing herself at whatever thing had just attacked Ash. The cave was darker now, his lantern only providing the bare minimum of light from its overturned position, meaning the only features Ash could make out on this new enemy were sharp claws, deep blue scales, and an absolutely menacing pair of yellow eyes that glowed faintly in the darkness.

Fuck.

Thorn immediately went in for a Mega Drain, but the beast was having none of it. It snapped its powerful jaws at Thorn, causing her to flinch back for a moment, and that was all the time it needed to launch her backwards into the wall with a monstrously powerful claw coated in draconic energy.

Then, with Thorn momentarily downed, the Gabite turned its eyes on Ash.

It roared, causing the entire tunnel to shake as Ash scrambled backwards, hands on his belt to release the rest of the team regardless of the risks. Wick and Heracross materialized just in time to block Gabite's charge.

Heracross was a bit slow on the uptake, looking around at the darkness curiously, but Wick was ready the moment he saw the charging dragon. He launched a few Embers, but they did little more than provide a brief light in the tunnel as Gabite charged into them completely unhindered.

"Heracross!" Ash snapped desperately, causing the bug to turn back towards his voice with inquisitive eyes as Ash pointed at Gabite (who at this point had just bowled over Wick), "Fight that thing!"

Heracross chittered, and launched itself at Gabite, who only had a second to turn towards the newcomer before it slammed into the wall of the tunnel, courtesy of Heracross.

"Fury Attack!" Ash cried as Heracross began to really lay in on Gabite. Heracross was doing his best, but even with all his strength it was clear it would only be a moment or two before Gabite would be able to throw off Ash's teammate. It was just that powerful.

However, a moment or two was all Ash needed.

He forced himself to his feet, ignored the way his back protested, and hurried over to his lantern while Wick and Thorn pulled themselves back up to assist Heracross. It had a few cracks running through the glass panes, but was otherwise alright. Ash couldn't find the pokeball he had primed, but that was fine - he had plenty of spares. If worse came to worst, he could buy his team a few precious seconds by attempting to capture Gabite, forcing it into a pokeball and offering his team some breathing room.

He turned his attention back to the fight, where it looked like Gabite was just about ready to throw Heracross off of it, but right as it roared and began to buck wildly it froze as it was caught in the grip of Thorn's Extrasensory. It didn't last long, holding for less than a second before Gabite was able to break free, but it was enough time for Heracross to get another handful of clean hits in and for Wick to spit some Embers into Gabite's eyes.

It roared again, fighting even harder as Thorn's Absorb began to wrap around its scaly body (despite a nasty wound across her torso, she was fighting as fiercely as ever), but then went still. Its eyes glazed over briefly as a dark-blue energy began to imbue itself across Gabite's skin -

"Get off of it!" Ash screamed, "It's going into Outrage!"

Outrage. What an apt description. A technique that sent all but the most experienced users of it into a mad rampage, harnessing the draconic power within to amplify a pokemon's power to sky-high levels. It would leave the user heavily fatigued for a while after, but that would be after the pokemon had exhausted itself beyond belief.

And this random Gabite had access to it.

"Stun Spore! As much as you can Thorn!"

Ash recalled Heracross in a hurry. There was nothing the bug-type could do at this moment except get his carapace crushed. Ash had a tenuous plan, formed by a simple accident he had observed while training, but it was going to be ugly.

Wick and Thorn stood protectively between Ash and Gabite, Thorn spewing hundreds of tiny yellow spores from her arms at an alarming rate as Gabite finally rose, locking eyes with Ash. They had maybe five seconds before it was upon them, tearing them limb from limb with unbridled fury.

Four.

"Wick! Burn it! Make it all blow up!"

Three.

Wick inhaled as Ash recalled Thorn and readying Wick's pokeball, ready to break out into a dead sprint and run like his life depended on it (which it did) away.

Two.

Gabite huffed, its eyes shrinking to the size of pinpricks as it inhaled deeply and launched itself forward.

One.

Fire erupted from Wick's mouth, but it was too late. Gabite flew through the cloud of Stun Spore, fangs gleaming, -

It coughed as the Stun Spore filled its lungs, stumbling only briefly, but it was enough.

Ash recalled Wick the moment he saw the fireball began to bloom, already running like hell.

It really was a simple training accident originally. Thorn and Wick were sparring back on Route 205, and the then-Budew had been pushed to her limit. A last ditch effort had seen her create a massive cloud of Stun Spore as Wick rushed in close to finish the battle, leg blazing, and the subsequent explosion had left both of them unconscious and coated the surrounding area in a thick layer of char. Ash included.

Ash never had any intention of using it, considering the sheer danger behind the explosion, but it seemed like that incident would be the only thing letting Ash escape from this ordeal in one piece.

The subsequent explosion launched Ash forward, giving him a few seconds of airtime as an agonizing heat rushed in behind and overhead. The tunnel shook violently as Gabite roared, and Ash could hear the cave-in that ensued behind him even as he crashed clunkily into the dirt. He was on his feet in an instant, unwilling to give himself a moment of reprieve at the risk of the cave-in collapsing in the entire tunnel, or worse, Gabite breaking free.

That thought alone, accompanied by the continued groaning of the cave's walls, was all the motivation Ash needed to keep running despite continued resistance of his body.

The idea that Ash could've been running further into the cave, simply sealing his fate, never even crossed his mind.

–

Lucky Ash. He wasn't dead!

He didn't know which deity he needed to start praying to after what he'd been through so far today. By some miracle, the tunnel hadn't collapsed on him - in fact, it had led to the exit of the cave.

Ash heaved a sigh of relief as he exited the dark tunnel that he had called home for the past few hours, only to be greeted by…

More darkness?

Ash looked up, confused, only to realize that the tunnel had released him right underneath the massive Bike Road that was suspended a hundred or so feet above. Several huge concrete pillars jutted out from the ground, looking as out of place as possible as they bore the weight of several tons of asphalt, glass, people, and whatever else made up the Bike Road.

It only took Ash a moment to move out into the sunlight, the warmth of the outside world standing in stark contrast to the cool, damp cave. It was certainly an improvement.

Ash didn't take long to release his team. All of them (bar Heracross, who was just happy to be included and was quickly taken by a random smell) were ready to fight as soon as they were released, but quickly relaxed when they realized they were no longer underground.

Wick quickly tackled him into a hug, wrapping his arms as far around Ash's torso as he could. Thankfully his tail fire was out - it would have been unfortunate for Ash to have survived his little spelunking trip just for Wick to take him out with a hug.

Thorn crashed into his leg soon after, and the combined force of his friends finally caused him to topple over into the grass. He smiled happily at their affection, even as his back screamed in protest of all the abuse it had been taking today.

"I'm glad to see you guys too!" Ash laughed, pulling Wick and Thorn in tighter, "Thanks, guys. Without you there's no way I would have made it out of there!"

Ash briefly looked up, confused as to why Heracross hadn't joined them, only to see his newest teammate eyeing up a small patch of flowers hungrily.

Ash just smiled harder.

"I think that's enough excitement for one day, yeah?" Ash joked, opening up his backpack to grab a potion for the ugly bruise Thorn had received, "Let's find somewhere nice to camp and call it a day."

Wick and Thorn cheered their agreement, but all of them, Heracross included, paused when they felt the ground beneath them rumble gently.

"Okay, change of plans. Let's get a move on."

As he hurried to recall his team with a promise of taking tomorrow off, Ash made the sound decision to never go caving again.

Too bad he'd have to cross Mt. Coronet in a few weeks.

–

The rest of Route 206 was a nice change of pace from the chaos Ash had experienced on his first day of traveling. Of course, half of the improvement came from the fact that he wasn't blindly trying to navigate his way out of a cave containing dragons that wanted to kill him.

There was one trainer who did have a Gible, though, and Ash let Wick work out some frustration on it - the poor dragon never stood a chance against Ash's frustrated starter.

Ash had a feeling that Wick was feeling upset because he really wasn't able to do much against Gabite. Aside from their desperate play that destroyed the tunnel they were in, Wick was only able to do minor damage thanks to Heracross and Thorn taking up most of Gabite's focus. Honestly, if it weren't for the sheer strength Heracross possessed, there was a pretty good chance Gabite just ended the fight by tearing Ash apart.

What a pleasant thought. Ash was planning on spending most of the winnings he had made from trainer battles on honey for Heracross once they reached Oreburgh - Arceus knows he deserved it, and if that was the reward Heracross wanted then Ash would be happy to oblige.

At least Wick would evolve soon. He was severely held back right now by his evolutionary stage, lacking the raw power and the diverse move pool that the others did. Ash couldn't do much to help him beyond giving him a bigger share of the battles Ash partook in (which was a lot), but it seemed like most opponents were either too weak to give Wick that last push towards evolution, or too strong to even consider fighting.

Ash still fought those trainers, though. He just didn't win.

The only other thing Ash could try and do to alleviate the issue was have Wick try and learn Brick Break. They had made some progress on Flame Wheel and Taunt, but not enough that anything meaningful had come of it (yet). Meanwhile, Heracross by some miracle had managed to figure out Brick Break, and since he had made zero progress on the other moves he could learn naturally Ash decided to have him train Wick on it.

Heracross wasn't a very good teacher.

But under Ash's watchful eye, he was sure progress would come eventually. Lucky for them, time was one thing they had an endless supply of.

Well, at least until the Lily of the Valley Conference. But that was forever and a day away.

Thorn's training was thankfully going fine. Sweet Scent was becoming a real threat to pokemon and trainers alike, and there was more than one time that Heracross had completely given up any pretense of training in order to simply sit and drool over the move while Thorn had been practicing it. The pokedex had said she could learn a ton of moves now that she had evolved, but Ash was only working on Poison Sting and Magical Leaf for now. Both were supposedly easy to teach to Roselia and Roserade thanks to their biology, but they were pretty early on in the process.

For now, all Ash had to worry about were the rolling hills of Route 206 and where he wanted to set up camp for the night.

And when those were your biggest worries, you were doing pretty well for yourself.

–

Oreburgh City. Ash wasn't a big fan of it.

He hadn't been in the city for more than an hour or so, but he already felt like he was going to end up coughing up a lung. How could so much smog be centered around one place?

Oh well. It wasn't like Ash didn't understand why Oreburgh was like this. It was the industrial heart of the region, for one, and with so many factories and so much coal being burned it was a miracle the city was as clean as it was. He could put up with a little pollution for a few days, and then he wouldn't have to worry about it anymore.

That reason alone was why the first thing he did (after locating the nearest pokemart and buying its entire stock of honey) once he was in the city was to locate the gym, waltz in, and challenge the gym leader.

At least, that was the plan.

"What do you mean the gym leader isn't here right now?"

The receptionist, a boy a few years older than him and several weight classes above him, shrugged. "I already told ya, he ain't here. He's off in the mines. Best I can do is pencil you down for sometime Saturday, is that alright?"

Saturday.

Today was Wednesday.

"Sure!" Ash lied, "What's the earliest time I can come in?"

The boy gave him a look that mixed between amusement and understanding. "Well, Roark likes to get up bright and early to do right by Oreburgh," he explained, covering his mouth in a desperate attempt to hide his laughter, "So if you wanna swing by, say, at five a.m., that should be around the time Roark's ready to start taking challengers for the day."

Ash's eye twitched.

"Fine!" Ash ground out, trying not to scowl as the receptionist burst into laughter, all pretenses of professionalism forgotten, "I'll be there."

The receptionist howled with laughter. Tears were in his eyes. It looked like Ash wasn't the first rookie that this happened to.

Ash briskly walked out at that. He was so not in the mood for this. What kind of gym leader wasn't always at their gym?

Well, when they were rescuing trainers from Team Galactic, for one.

But 'He's off in the mines'? What did that mean? Was this Roark guy just a gym leader on the side or something? Did he have a day job breaking rocks? Did gym leaders have day jobs?

Ugh. There wasn't any use in complaining about it now. He had two days until his gym battle, and he was going to make the most of it.

It looked like some more training was on the menu - and figuring out how to set an alarm on his poketch.

–

It was only a day and a half before Ash decided to call it quits on training. They had been on the outskirts of Oreburgh for most of their time, battling any trainer willing to fight (which wasn't many). It only took a few hours to have beaten pretty much every trainer around, and no one was looking to fight him again after Thorn or Wick had crushed them. They simply worked on their moves until exhaustion, and when the next day rolled around Ash called it when he realized the only thing they'd be doing was tire themselves out for the next few hours.

So he let his pokemon rest with Nurse Joy, and then was struck with a dilemma that he rarely faced anymore.

What to do?

Oreburgh was a big city, but it was… awfully practical, to put it nicely. Factories and warehouses took up most of the non-residential land, and Ash wasn't looking to spend his money going to a restaurant or anything like that. Prepacked trainer meals suited him just fine, even if he sorely missed his mom's cooking by now.

The only thing that seemed even remotely interesting to him was the Oreburgh Mining Museum. It was, of course, in homage to the city's reliance on the mining industry and full of things relating to that, but there was some pokemon related stuff there. Fossils of prehistoric pokemon stood proudly on display as antiques of a long lost time, and apparently the specimens that they housed were pretty high-quality.

Also, admission was free. That was a big decider on whether or not Ash would subject himself to going or not. Free was good - not that he lacked the money, but he certainly wasn't willing to spend much on something as frivolous as a museum trip.

So here he was, smack dab in the middle of the Oreburgh Mining Museum, sticking out like a sore thumb among the scientists and the small families. At least the displays were somewhat interesting.

Well, the fossil displays. There were twenty or so slabs of rock that Ash had passed by that must have weighed a ton each with no discernible difference between them, yet there was still a handful of people in lab coats going nuts over them.

There were a few specimens that had caught Ash's eye, namely the Aerodactyl that was in near-perfect condition and the Tyrantrum that was only missing a few spinal plates, but currently he was admiring a small Relicanth aquarium that the museum had installed. There were three of them just idling around in a tank that was positively filled with rocks and algae. Ash didn't know why they were here, considering Relicanth weren't exactly extinct, but they were more alive than anything else in the museum.

"Enjoying the museum, young man?"

Ash turned at the sound of someone addressing him, coming face to face with another scientist, an old man wearing a pristine white lab coat over a rather formal suit. "Uh, yeah," Ash nodded absentmindedly, "It's cool."

The man scrunched his nose up. "Just cool?" He huffed, "I'd like to think the restoration of life to long-dead pokemon would be a bit more than cool."

Ash blinked. "What?"

The scientist raised an eyebrow. "You don't know about fossil restoration? Aren't you a trainer?"

"Um, yes to both?"

He nodded to himself. "You're young, are you a rookie? How many badges do you have?"

Ash raised an eyebrow, taking a step away from the man in suspicion. "Why do you want to know?" He asked warily, glancing towards the exit.

The man froze, blushing in embarrassment as he realized what Ash was insinuating, before hastily coughing out an apology.

"Sorry, young man," the man blustered, "I suppose introductions are in order. I am Stewart Roslin, head of the Institute of Fossil Revival here in Oreburgh City."

The man gestured to the tank of relicanth, where a number of small shells littered the rocky floor of the aquarium. "Take a look here. What do you see?"

Ash shrugged. "Relicanth?"

Stewart tutted. "Yes, but not what I was talking about. Look closer at the bottom. Notice anything odd?"

Ash fought back the urge to roll his eyes, but did so anyway. Why were the people in this city so weird?

He squinted, looking through the algae and kelp at the somewhat murky 'seafloor' that was adorned with shells -

Wait.

"Those shells are moving?"

Stewart clapped. "An astute observation! Those aren't merely shells, but rather resurrected pokemon! This tank contains a handful of Omanyte and Kabuto that were recently reborn. The Relicanth are only there because they are one of the few species of pokemon to have existed in the same time period as those little fossils, and familiar faces help them adjust."

Ash nodded in understanding. "But why were you asking how many badges I have?"

"Oh! I almost forgot!" The old scientist slapped himself on the forehead. "Well you see, I may have assumed that you were one of the many recent trainers to stop by because you wanted a fossil pokemon!"

"You're just handing them out?" Ash questioned, "Wouldn't they be, like, super valuable since they're fossils?"

Stewart hummed. "You'd be right, in a sense. Fossil pokemon are currently at the center of several groundbreaking research fields, but I digress. As the cloning processes to restore these fellows to life has gone on, the processes have become more ironed out, and now it's easier than ever to revive them! We don't do it often, mind you, and there are certain provisions required to gain a license for them, but if you bring in a high-quality fossil of your own in a few months you could have your very own prehistoric pokemon!"

Ash was bewildered. "Well, I only have the Forest Badge, and I don't have a fossil of my own. Why would I even want a fossil pokemon specifically?"

Stewart's eyes lit up. "Because fossil pokemon are the future! That may sound counterintuitive, but fossil pokemon lived in a much, much, much harsher environment than most modern pokemon. They were extremely combat capable, and in today's modern training scene they are a staple on many Master-level teams! Why, even the esteemed Lance, champion of Kanto, has his very own Aerodactyl!"

Ash hummed. That was news to him.

"And more importantly," the man continued, smirking slightly, "Our very own Gym Leader Roark has just received his very own fossil, courtesy of yours truly! If you're in town to fight him, you'll get to experience the power of fossils yourself!"

Oh. That was interesting. Maybe coming to this boring museum wasn't as big of a waste of time as he thought.

–

Getting up at four-thirty in the morning royally sucked. Trudging through the frigid city for fifteen minutes to make it to his battle sucked even more. What sucked the most, though, was when he arrived at the Oreburgh City Gym and pulled on the door, only to realize that it was locked.

He would have laughed if it wasn't happening to him. As it was, Ash merely settled for banging his head against the door and groaning loudly.

"Hey, kid!" A voice called, making Ash jump, "What the hell are you doing here at five in the morning?"

Ash turned around in surprise (and embarrassment), only to pause and take in the sight before him. A tall, lanky man wearing a gray jumpsuit and what looked to be a hardhat with a flashlight on the front stared down at him. It took a moment for Ash to adjust to the light, covering his eyes in irritation as the man waited impatiently for an answer.

"I wanted to challenge Roark to a battle the other day," Ash grumbled, "But the guy at the desk said he was busy for the rest of the week and that the earliest time he could schedule me was at five today."

The man looked at him in a mix of confusion and worry. "Are you sure he didn't mean five in the evening?"

"Yes!" Ash shot back, "There's no way I'd wake up this early without being sure of when I needed to show up!"

"Well," the man gave Ash a once-over, "Forgive me for being so on edge, but when I realized you were still in your pajamas I became a bit suspicious."

Ash froze. Quickly, he looked down at his outfit, and sure enough his baggy pajama pants were proudly on display.

"Damn," he sighed, "This sucks. Do you know if the gym leader will be here soon? I want to go back to bed as soon as possible."

"I have some bad news for you then," the man smiled, "Because he's just arrived. Roark - at your service."

Roark stuck his hand out for a handshake, and logically Ash knew the right thing to do would be to reach out and introduce himself. However, the logical part of Ash was still asleep in the pokemon center, and so spoke the first words that came to mind.

"Are you only a gym leader on the weekends? Or do you just want to battle trainers at the worst times possible for fun?"

Roark paused, opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. He opened his again, but the only thing that came out was laughter.

"Man, kids these days really have no filter, huh?" He chuckled, grabbing one of the keys hanging on his belt and unlocking the gym's door, "The answer is I do it for fun. It's really funny when rookies actually show up before the sun rises to battle me - it lets me know who's eager."

Ash hurried in after Roark before the door could close on him, following him closely as they walked through another few hallways and ended up in front of an arena littered with small rocks and boulders. "You mean you've battled other people this early before?"

Roark shrugged. "Not a lot, most people just come by at a reasonable time later on in the day. I did have one very energetic rookie who showed up at four in the morning a few weeks ago, though. He was a fun battle."

Ash instinctively knew that he was talking about Barry. He idly wondered how upset Dawn would have been at him for going off and having his first gym battle without her knowing, or if he woke her up and dragged her along. Both were equally plausible, and equally funny.

"Anyways," Roark continued, "The referee doesn't come in for another hour or so, since I don't ever expect people to show up this early, but I have a solution."

Roark nimbly plucked a black and blue pokeball from his belt, and swiftly released a Lunatone. "Luna here is willing to play emergency referee, so long as we don't make too much of a mess. This your first gym battle, kid? Three-on-three okay?"

Ash shook his head. "Three-on-three is fine. I beat Gardenia a few weeks ago," he stated proudly, before remembering that he still hadn't introduced himself, "And my name's Ash Ketchum, from Twinleaf Town."

Roark scratched his head at that. "Twinleaf Town, where have I heard that one before?"

Ash just shrugged.

"Well, whatever," Roark said, "This is an official gym battle between Gym Leader Roark of Oreburgh City and the challenger, Ash Ketchum of Twinleaf Town! This will be a three-on-three battle, with substitutions permitted solely for the challenger! The battle will end once all of either trainers' pokemon are unable to continue or the match is forfeited. As the Gym Leader, I will release first."

With that, Roark released his first pokemon: a Geodude. It didn't look very tough - Thorn would make quick work of it.

Roark nodded his appreciation as Thorn appeared on the field opposite Geodude. It stared her down impassively, unwilling to back down in the face of such a massive type disadvantage.

Begin.

Ash paused - where had that voice come from? Was that in his head?

That momentary distraction was enough for Roark to immediately go on the offensive. "Rock Throw!"

Ash squawked in surprise as Geodude began to effortlessly pick up some of the small boulders laying around it and start to hurl them at Thorn.

"Take cover!" Ash shouted.

Thorn was quick to react, already on the move towards one of the bigger rock formations on the field by the time the first rocks Geodude had thrown began to land halfway across the field. The fact that Thorn was now out of the line of fire didn't seem to deter Geodude however, and it continued to attempt to hit Thorn - or at least destroy the rock spire she was hiding behind.

Ash was content to let Thorn wait this one out. Geodude's aim wasn't that great, and even if it did end up closing in on her location it was running out of rocks.

It seemed like Roark knew that too. "Rollout!" He ordered calmly, keeping a watchful eye on where Thorn was lurking, "Build up some speed before you go in!"

Geodude grunted in affirmation, beginning to curl up right away, but Ash had other plans.

"Extrasensory! Hold it down and use Absorb!"

Geodude suddenly froze, arms locked around itself as the now-familiar glow of Thorn's Extrasensory took hold of it. It likely wouldn't last long, even with Thorn's control over the move improving with evolution and practice, but it would hold for long enough.

The luminescent green tendrils of Absorb didn't take long to reach Geodude, and quickly ensnared it. Thorn dropped Extrasensory to focus on sapping Geodude's strength as fast as possible, but it didn't matter. Geodude wasn't escaping.

Roark recalled it with a sigh once Thorn had finished it off, and paused before making his next selection. His fingers deftly danced from pokeball to pokeball, before he finally settled on one with a smile.

An absolutely massive Onix greeted Ash and Thorn, leering down at them menacingly. It easily stood at least fifteen feet tall, and that was while over half of its body was still curled up on the ground.

Begin.

Without waiting for an order, Onix immediately dove into the ground, quick enough to avoid any chance of Thorn getting an attack off. In seconds the snake was completely underground, leaving Thorn at its mercy.

"Be ready, Thorn!" Ash called, "It can come up anywhere!"

Thorn nodded understandingly, getting into a defensive stance with her arms tucked close to her body.

A few moments passed, and nothing happened.

…

…

…

"Now!" Roark shouted.

On Roark's command, the ground beneath Thorn gave way as Onix surged up from under the field, launching Thorn into the air where she was defenseless against Onix as it reared up and caught her in Bind. Thorn yelped in pain as she was shoved in between the rocky segments of Onix's tail, and could only yell louder once it began to squeeze.

"Thorn!" Ash cried, feeling true worry for his friend, "Stun Spore! Leech Seed! Do whatever you can!"

Thorn was clearly struggling and in pain, but did her best to follow through. One of her arms had been caught in the Bind that Onix was currently crushing her in, but the other managed to spread a few yellow spores into the air around her. The Stun Spore moved slowly, but eventually Onix wound up inhaling a few of the spores - just in time for it to slam Thorn into the ground.

She attempted to push herself back up in vain, only for Ash to recall her right before Onix would have barrelled into her again.

"Amazing job, Thorn," Ash whispered to her pokeball as she slipped into stasis, "I couldn't have asked for more."

He watched as Onix slithered back to Roark's side of the field with a bit of trepidation. If it had done that to Thorn, ending the fight in moments, what would it do to Wick?

Nothing good, that was for sure.

Thank goodness Thorn had managed to get that last Stun Spore off. Onix was slightly off as it reared up again, shuddering slightly, and it was definitely slower than it was before. Hopefully it would be enough for Heracross to finish the job.

Ash palmed Heracross's Great Ball, releasing the insect onto the field as soon as he could. He chittered excitedly as he saw Onix - Ash had told Heracross earlier that once they were finished with the gym battle, Ash would let him have as much honey as he wanted regardless of the outcome.

It would be a shame if he lost his fresh stock of honey after losing to Roark - as nice as it would be for Heracross, Ash would rather celebrate alongside him rather than sulk as Heracross enjoyed his prize.

Begin.

"Hurry after Onix! As fast as you can!" Ash roared to Heracross as Onix began to burrow again.

Heracross immediately took flight, his large wings propelling him forward much faster than he could have normally, but it still wouldn't be quick enough to catch Onix.

Unless…

"If you catch it, you can have all the Cheri Berries you want!"

Ash couldn't see it, but at that declaration, Heracross's eyes shrunk to pinpricks. After the near-disaster that was catching Heracross, Cheri Berries had somehow become one of Heracross's favorite snacks. He usually only let Heracross have a few of them per day at most, which had created a yearning for the slightly-sour berry.

If Heracross was moving before, now he was zooming. The rest of the distance that separated him from Onix was crossed in only a few seconds, leaving Onix's massive body vulnerable as it hurried to dig away.

"Brick Break!" Ash called, knowing it was their best chance at wounding Onix.

Without slowing down, Heracross wound its arm back and quickly struck, landing a direct hit onto Onix's side. It roared in pain, the sound muted by the earth between them, but was able to pull itself all the way into the dirt even as Heracross laid a second Brick Break onto it.

Heracross almost looked like he was going to follow Onix down the hole it had created, but Ash put a stop to that quickly.

"It'll probably come at you from below!" Ash informed, "Be ready when it does!"

Heracross chirped, but Ash had zero clue if he knew what Ash was talking about. He simply walked back towards Ash's side of the field at a leisurely pace, unbothered by the fact that he could be attacked at any moment.

Out of sight, out of mind, Ash supposed.

It took a while for Onix to surface this time around. Heracross really hadn't held back with those Brick Breaks, and combined with the Stun Spore coursing through its veins, it must have been in pretty bad shape. Eventually, however, it did rise, attempting to surprise Heracross from behind.

Unfortunately for Onix, the moment it surfaced it froze as paralysis took hold once more, offering Heracross ample time to rush forward with a third Brick Break, and this time it landed cleanly between Onix's eyes. It took only a moment before the great stone snake collapsed to the ground, immoble and unconscious.

Onix is unable to battle. Leader Roark, please recall Onix and release your final pokemon.

"Oh yeah Heracross, let's go!" Ash whooped, "One more pokemon and you can have all the honey you want!"

Heracross roared in agreement, throwing his arms up into the air like Ash and cheering alongside him.

After their moment of celebration, Ash locked eyes with Roark. To say the man looked surprised was an understatement, his eyes wide as he recalled his defeated Onix.

Then he chuckled.

"Kid," he began, running a hand through his burgundy-colored hair, "I'm not sure what I expected when I saw a ten year old rookie banging his head against my gym door at five in the morning, but it sure wasn't this. Nice work so far - but here's where the real battle begins."

And with that ominous message, Roark released his last pokemon.

Whatever it was, it wasn't anything Ash had seen before. It had a large, shiny, blue forehead with large spikes protruding from either side of its gray face. Stubby arms connected to its small body (relative to the size of its head, at least), which were supported by thick legs. The pokemon looked like it was entirely covered in a thick layer of protective armor, and its ruby red eyes gleamed dangerously as it stared Heracross down with a look that was unbecoming of its smaller size.

"This here is Cranidos!" Roark announced proudly, "The latest and greatest pokemon to be revived by the Institute of Fossil Revival! He might be little now, but he packs one heck of a punch! And once he evolves, he'll be a real beast."

Roark smirked as Cranidos pawed at the ground impatiently, raring to tear into Heracross the moment it could. Heracross just looked bored.

"For now though, he might just give us the ending we deserve to this battle."

Begin.

"Headrush!" Roark shouted eagerly, watching the battle like a Staraptor watched a lone Kricketot.

Cranidos reacted immediately, launching itself towards Heracross before Roark had even finished the command. Its forehead glowed white, and considering it was running head first, Ash had a pretty good idea of what that move meant.

"Meet it with Brick Break!" Ash shouted confidently. It might be fast, but there was no way it could match Heracross in raw strength, right?

Apparently, there was.

Heracross could only cock his head in confusion for a moment as his Break Break not only failed to break through Cranidos's attack, but couldn't even hold the Headrush off as Cranidos sent Heracross flying backwards into a small boulder.

The boulder just barely stopped Heracross, who completely pulverized the rock on impact. He slowly pulled himself up, wobbling unsteadily as he did so, and was just barely able to avoid Cranidos's follow up charge. It seemed like once Cranidos got into a charge it couldn't easily turn or slow down - after it missed Heracross, it only stopped once it ran headlong into another boulder, easily shattering it on impact.

Ash gulped. That was not the type of thing he wanted to let Heracross get hit by.

Cranidos quickly shook its head and stood back up, already getting itself ready for another charge.

"Get ready Heracross!" Ash urged, "Leer, and then use a two-handed Brick Break!"

Ideally what Heracross would have done is simply used his greater reach to hold Cranidos away with one hand while slamming it with Break Break with the other, but Cranidos's sheer strength combined with the fact that Heracross had zero hope of stopping it while it was charging made that impossible.

Heracross stared eerily across the field at Cranidos, but the little fossil seemed completely unfazed. If anything, it made Cranidos even more eager to tear into him.

If Heracross was concerned about the blue and gray ballistic missile heading directly for him, he didn't show it. He readied his deceptively muscular arms and swung directly down onto Cranidos's skull, and it was just enough to halt its stampede. It wasn't content to just give up, though, and pushed against Heracross with all its might.

However, Ash saw opportunity. "Hurry! Brick Break into its side!"

Now, if Heracross were a sane (intelligent) pokemon, it might have questioned Ash's order. After all, it took all of his strength just to hold Cranidos back, and Ash wanted him to give up the stalemate and risk getting clobbered? Most pokemon would have second thoughts.

Too bad Heracross wasn't exactly the sharpest crayon in the coloring packet.

Cranidos had a moment where the resistance Heracross was putting up lessened, and it immediately pressed its advantage, firmly planting both feet into the ground in an attempt to knock the bug off balance and ram into its undefended side, shattering the -

Heracross's free arm slammed squarely into Cranidos's side, eliciting a panicked shriek from the rock-type as it was sent rolling across the field, crashing into one of the few remaining rocks littering the field.

"After it!" Ash ordered, sensing the chance to finally end the battle. "Don't let up!"

Heracross moved as quickly as he could, but by the time he had gotten to Cranidos the pokemon had finally been able to pull itself back up.

"Thrash!"

Cranidos froze, pupils shrinking as the command took hold. It was static as Heracross approached, but its eyes were locked on to him. The moment Heracross got close enough to attempt another Brick Break, it struck.

Cranidos screamed as it lashed out with reckless abandon, disregarding all semblance of strategy as it attacked and attacked and attacked. Heracross didn't even have the time to react to Ash's desperate cries to get away - he was busy getting tossed around like a ragdoll by Cranidos's headbutts and kicks.

After the second time Heracross got swatted across the field, Ash raised his great ball to recall him. Right as Cranidos jumped at the downed pokemon with the intent to deal some serious damage, Heracross vanished in a flash of scarlett light. Roark whistled sharply, making Ash flinch at the harsh sound as Cranidos whined, shaking its head and running back to Roark's half of the field.

Ash didn't like his odds. Wick was his last pokemon of course, but he had no clue how he was going to do anything to Cranidos. Ember was weak, and if the way that Cranidos had shrugged off almost everything Heracross had thrown at it was any indication, he'd need to put in a lot of work just to make a dent in that armor.

That didn't mean he was going to simply give up, however. How could he after everything Thorn and Heracross had put into this battle? Wick would finish the job, one way or another, and Ash knew he'd give it everything he had.

Wick appeared in a burst of light, eyeing up the field warily as he saw the destruction that had taken place over the course of the battle. He locked eyes with Cranidos, and the flame on his tail grew ever so slightly.

"You're the last one, Wick!" Ash encouraged, "All you gotta do is beat Cranidos! Heracross did some damage, just finish the job!"

Cranidos eyed Wick with a predatory gleam in its eyes that made Ash want to flinch back, but all it did for Wick was rile him up even further, the small monkey growling in defiance of the ancient predator.

Begin.

"Screech." Roark ordered calmly, even as Ash yelled a warning to Wick, "Keep it distracted."

The sound Cranidos made was absolute murder on Ash's ears, even with the psychic barriers Lunatone procured for his and Roark's convenience. It dulled the noise, but not by much. Ash had to guess that it was even worse for Wick, who only had his hands to cover his ears for defense. It must have been agony.

By the time Cranidos stopped, Wick was on the ground groaning, and it saw its chance. Lowering its head, it raced across the field towards Wick, intent on ending this fight now.

Wick regained his senses just in time for him to get a faceful of blue as Cranidos absolutely bowled him over. Unlike Heracross, who was sent flying every time Cranidos landed a hit, Wick was simply crushed beneath Cranidos's feet. It definitely wasn't pretty, but at least Wick wasn't hurled into a boulder - with the force Cranidos hit him with it might have ended the fight right there.

Cranidos continued on its charge until it hit another boulder (it really wasn't the best at turning), but this time the rock didn't crumble. Instead, it got its entire upper body stuck in the rock from the impact, the boulder fracturing but not falling.

Ash quickly darted his eyes over to Wick, who had managed to pull himself back to his feet at the same moment Cranidos found itself stuck in the rock.

"Hurry!" Ash pleaded, "Now's your chance, Wick! Try to burn it as much as you can!"

Wick scrambled over as Cranidos hurried to free itself, spitting Embers all over its back.

It didn't do much.

Cranidos still couldn't free itself - its arms were too stubby to get a grip on the stone, and its legs flopped weakly behind it, barely able to touch the ground from the angle it was entombed at, but it didn't matter if nothing Wick did effected it.

"Brick Break!" Ash shouted, desperate. There was nothing in Wick's arsenal that could really do any damage to Cranidos aside from the fighting-type move, but it was risky. Wick had a bit more practice with it over the past few days, but to say he had a tenuous control of the move would be extremely generous. They didn't have another option though, and so caution was thrown to the wind.

"Thrash!" Roark ordered again.

Crud.

Ash saw real fear the moment the boulder Cranidos was stuck in began to shudder. Wick's Brick Break thankfully didn't break his hand, but it was certainly weaker than anything Heracross could muster. Cranidos barely reacted, too busy flailing around in Thrash trying to free itself.

The worst part was that Ash could tell it was working. The boulder shuddered as Cranidos threw everything it had into freeing itself, ignoring all of Wick's desperate attempts to wound the fossil while it couldn't react.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

Finally, in a great cloud of dust, the boulder split in two, each half falling to the side to reveal Cranidos, unharmed.

Well, not completely. It was somewhat disoriented with a few dents on the armor around its forehead, and it must have been feeling the one clean Brick Break Heracross had dealt it, but overall it seemed more than well enough to end the fight.

It turned to Wick, fire and fury in its eyes, and headbutted.

Wick went flying.

The psychic barriers flared as Wick slammed into them. Hard. He fell after a moment, landing limply in the dirt below.

The battle was over. Ash knew defeat when it stared him in the face. He grabbed Wick's pokeball lamely, ready to recall his starter and just leave with his dignity, but Wick had other ideas.

The Chimchar roared as his tail fire exploded to a height Ash hadn't seen before, practically coating Wick in flame. He pulled himself up with only the slightest effort, and launched a veritable ocean of fire towards Cranidos, who just barely dodged the attack.

Wick wasn't done, however. He pounded his chest and shouted, and all of a sudden blinded Ash as he began to glow a bright white.

Roark whistled Cranidos to a halt as the creature began another run at Wick, uncaring of the fact that he had begun to evolve. It did come to heel at Roark's command however, and scowled as its chance to win the battle began to slip away.

Ash didn't notice. He was too busy watching as his first friend began the process of evolution. It didn't take as long as Thorn's evolution had, likely since Wick didn't have to grow a brand new set of arms and legs, but it was just as magical.

Between his evolution and the flames, Wick was almost too bright for Ash to watch. Almost - he wasn't about to miss his starter evolving. His arms and legs were up first, slowly lengthening until Wick stood at least twice as tall as he was as a Chimchar, with a wingspan that nearly tripled as well. His limbs thickened, muscles growing along with the now-shaggy hair that had grown to cling to most of his body. His mouth extended slightly and his ears retracted to be closer to the sides of his head, and the little swirl of hair he had once sported as a Chimchar thickened and now covered most of his head while a patch of white fur emerged around his neck. Finally, his tail, which had been little more than a stump previously began to grow - slowly at first, but speeding up as the process continued on and soon reached several feet behind him, his tail flame burning as bright as the sun.

And just like that, it was over. Ash's heart swelled with pride as he saw Wick standing tall, the newly christened Monferno ready to bring this battle to its end.

Ash's mind raced as he thought about all the advantages the Chimchar line gained at their first evolution. "Mach Punch!"

Mach Punch was almost like the fighting-type version of Quick Attack - at least for the fighting-types that used their fists. Briefly overclocking your muscles for a huge burst of speed wasn't always the best strategy and could prove costly in a fight if overused, but the Infernape line was practically built for it. There was no danger.

At least, not to Wick.

Cranidos rocketed backwards into the psychic barrier, landing squarely in front of Roark as Wick shook out his hand. It seemed like even with all that newfound strength, hitting Cranidos was like hitting a slab of concrete.

To Ash, that is. Wick would be able to punch through concrete with little issue now. Cranidos was a bit more durable than that.

Ash watched with bated breath as Cranidos struggled to pick itself up, groaning weakly, but the prehistoric pokemon was determined to not give up. Too bad Roark didn't give it a choice, recalling it after it fell back down a second time.

Cranidos is unable to battle. That means the challenger has won.

Ash paid no attention to the weird voice that was still somehow inside his own head, too busy sprinting onto the field to mind it.

"Hell yes, Wick!" He shouted, "You're amazing!"

Wick grinned back, his new fangs giving him a slightly more menacing look, but Ash wasn't fazed. He tackled the Monferno into a hug, laughing hysterically as the pair celebrated their second victory against a gym leader together.

While the two of them were in their own little world, Roark approached slowly, clapping politely with a smile on his face as he observed them.

"Well done," he remarked, finally catching Ash and Wick's attention, "It's been a while since somebody has been able to beat Cranidos. The little guy's a real menace to the unprepared - I didn't think you had it in you!"

Ash laughed awkwardly, while Wick puffed his chest out in pride. "Thanks," he responded, "It was a good battle. Cranidos was a monster. I'm glad we won, though. It would have sucked to need to come back after that."

Roark smirked slightly. "It really was. I can't remember the last time a rookie has pushed me that hard, if ever. But I would have given you the badge even if you lost - that's how impressed I was with you and your team. By the time your Chimchar came out I knew you'd earned it."

Ash balked. "Gym leaders can do that?"

"Sure they can," Roark responded nonchalantly, shrugging, "I probably could have given you the badge just for showing up this morning! You don't have to beat a gym leader to prove yourself worthy of the badge, but I don't give out badges that way often."

"Well I'm still glad I won," Ash muttered under his breath, "It would have felt like a pity badge if I didn't earn it."

"And that is the kind of mentality that'll get you places, kid," Roark praised, "But enough about that."

Roark paused, taking a moment to dig around in his pockets for something, before he finally fished out something that almost looked like a brown pokeball, with the middle button being a hexagon and the bottom half being cut into the shape of a hexagon.

Ash eagerly held his hand out as Roark pressed the Coal Badge into his hands, Wick sniffing curiously at the exchange.

"The Coal Badge - proof of your victory over the Oreburgh City Gym," Roark stated proudly, "Many trainers may have it by the start of the Conference, but it is unlikely many will have as well-earned a victory as you had today."

Ash was beaming. Between the battle, Wick's evolution, and the fact that they had won, there was almost nothing that could make this moment any better.

"Now get outta here kid," Roark joked, "I got a field to repair and a gym to open. You might wanna go back to bed and get some more sleep, unless you wanna help me out here?"

Ash was gone at the mention of a bed.

–

The next few days were spent wiping the floor with unsuspecting trainers on Route 207 in a desperate attempt to recuperate his finances.

After their gym battle with Roark, (and catching up on some sleep) Ash threw a big party for his team to celebrate their win. They got to eat their favorite foods - sunlight and standard pokemon food for Thorn, human food and a bottle of hot sauce (don't ask) for Wick, and honey and Cheri Berries for Heracross - and goof off for a few hours on the outskirts of Oreburgh, but Heracross might as well have eaten Ash's wallet with how much honey he consumed.

Part of it was on Ash, since he bought the highest-quality stuff he could find around the city following their win, but Heracross deserved it after the work he had put in against Roark and that Gabite a few weeks ago. He loved pretty much all the honey he got his claws on, but Ash could tell when he fancied one brand over another. And Heracross really liked the expensive honey.

Regardless, Ash's poor monetary decisions meant that he needed money and he needed it fast - so why not go out and get some training in while he was at it? It was a win-win situation.

Route 207 was not unlike the latter halves of Route 205 and 206, with rocky, hilly terrain that Ash's ten year old body struggled to maneuver across. If it was similar to the flat, grassy terrain that surrounded Twinleaf Town and Jubilife City, Ash might have been able to traverse the whole route in three days. As it was, it took him nearly a week before he arrived at the end, and what an end it was.

Mount Coronet. Where to begin?

Mount Coronet was not only the largest mountain in Sinnoh, but the entire world. The peak had never been reached, and most of the mountain and the surrounding Coronet Mountain Range that divided the Sinnoh region into two hadn't been explored beyond the League's marked trainer paths that cut through.

Speaking of those trainer paths, they weren't even created by the League - they had just hung up the lights and signs. Hundreds, if not thousands of tunnels made up the innards of the mountain range, allowing for relatively easy access to the other side of Sinnoh and holding hundreds of secrets away from prying eyes at the same time. Rumors of monstrously powerful pokemon roaming the upper sections and lower depths of Mount Coronet popped up every now and again, and it wasn't uncommon for some foolhardy trainer to end up missing following a brave yet dumb decision to go off on some stupid exploration. Things got weird around the mountain, and of those who had returned from their spelunking or mountain-climbing many often returned half-mad, bringing back stories of floating shadows and an icy fog that absorbed all warmth, or giggling specters and tolling bells that were the only way to tell that time was passing.

So yeah. Ash was a bit wary about casually passing through.

Most of that weird supernatural stuff supposedly happened once you stepped off the common-use trainer paths, and you had to be a special kind of idiot to go hunting out the unknown of Mount Coronet, but still.

When Ash was younger, there was a saying Barry liked to shout around Dawn that made him laugh - 60% of the time, trainers returned from Mount Coronet 100% of the time.

It didn't make him laugh anymore, now that he stood in the shadow of the great mountain. It was like he was an ant staring up at a skyscraper, and he felt a sort of primal fear in him emanating from the mountain that certainly wasn't aided by the disaster that was his last (and only other) experience in a cave.

Unfortunately for Ash, he didn't have a choice. The only way around Mount Coronet that didn't include hiking around the entire range (something that would have taken months and left him wandering near Snowpoint City) or flying over a lesser part of the range was through. And Ash, despite being rather apprehensive, was not about to give up over a stupid mountain.

It didn't mean that he wouldn't try to cross through as quickly as possible, however. The section of Mount Coronet that Ash was about to traverse was relatively short - if he was quick, he could get through in around ten hours, which meant he wouldn't have to spend a night if he left in the morning (which he did - he deliberately cut his day short yesterday in order to get up as early as reasonably possible to avoid that exact circumstance).

With one final look up towards the unseeable peak of Mount Coronet, Ash steeled his will, took a deep breath, and entered the mountain.

–

Massive flood lights hung from the far-off ceiling of the cavern Ash was navigating through, simultaneously lighting up the pathway for Ash so he could walk safely and creating huge, contrasting shadows that played off the hundreds of smaller rock formations throughout the room, giving Ash a newfound sense of paranoia.

Nothing had happened. At least, nothing weird. Yet.

The mountain tunnel was surprisingly peaceful, with Ash being the only trainer for what seemed like miles. A slight fog obscured his vision, but only to the point where he couldn't see more than a mile or so beyond his current position, which still let him see just about everything around him.

There were surprisingly little pokemon, at least compared to what Ash expected. A Nosepass here, a handful of Bronzor there, a lone Meditite watching him cautiously as he passed by. Ash had expected Mount Coronet to be like a nature preserve, since it had been relatively untouched by human hands for millenia, but it seemed like even most pokemon weren't fans of the mountain.

Well, that or they just didn't want to be around people. Ash could see that too.

Thorn walked peacefully beside him, enjoying the flat tunnel much more than she had the steep slopes of Route 207. Wick had gotten a kick out of it, and likely would get some more fun on Route 208, but for now it was Thorn's turn to get some sightseeing in - and protect Ash from any hostile pokemon. Thorn and Wick were nearly as paranoid about crossing Mount Coronet as he was.

Thank goodness Heracross was so naive. Ash loved all his friends, but Heracross was the only one of them to be truly laid-back.

Ash was maybe a third or so of the way through Mount Coronet by this point, and that was when he started hearing it.

At first, Ash assumed the distant ringing he was hearing was simply the result of a Bronzong - they were bells, weren't they? - and paid it no mind. But soon enough, it slowly started to get louder, as though it were getting closer.

Thorn also definitely started hearing it by that point. Ash hadn't raised the issue to her yet, not wanting to give his friend a reason to worry over what was very likely nothing, but Ash could tell she was aware and alert by the way she raised her arms and frowned, inching closer to him with every step.

Ash was starting to believe the rumors about Mount Coronet. Just as the ringing began to feel like it was directly in his ear, it suddenly stopped as though it were never there in the first place. While a somewhat comforting thought, Ash and Thorn certainly knew better, and were now extremely on edge. They didn't need another Gible incident.

His eyes darted around hesitantly even as the duo began to speed up. They were much too far into the journey to turn around, and would simply have to tough it out until the end. Every once in a while Ash swore he'd seen a flash of color out of the corner of his eyes, but by the time he turned it was gone, with nothing but the blue hue of the stone and its accompanying shadows to greet him.

When the noises returned in the form of high-pitched cries, that was when Ash decided to book it. Too bad he completely forgot how to walk for a moment, missing his step and tumbling to the ground.

Ash was barely able to throw his arms out and catch himself before his head would have smacked right into the cool stone floor. Thorn turned towards him as she heard him fall, but Ash waved her off as he pulled himself up.

"I'm alright," he mumbled, dusting his jeans off, "Hey, did it get quiet agai-"

Ash cut himself off as he looked forward, pausing in surprise as he took in the small pokemon that now blocked his path.

When Ash said small, he meant it. The tiny creature was less than a foot tall, staring up at him with expressionless black eyes. Its stubby yellow arms hung low on its sides, and Ash couldn't even see the pokemon's feet from where he was standing. It almost looked like it was smiling at him, but it seemed like its mouth was naturally upturned. Off of the back of its… head? Body? Back? Whatever it was, red and white ribbons that were braided tightly together flowed freely in the air, supported by some unseen power.

Ash stared at the Chingling.

Chingling stared back.

Ash blinked.

Chingling did not.

"Uh… hi there?"

Chingling didn't react to Ash, continuing to stare into his soul with its beady eyes. Thorn glared at it, but stopped short of actually doing anything. That was unlikely to continue as it was, though, considering last time.

"Would you please consider, uh, moving?" Ash tried, "We really need to be going ri- gah!"

Chingling began to cry out again, the high-frequency absolutely shredding his ears. Ash's hands immediately went to the side of his head, trying desperately to block out the noise, but to no avail. Ash had pinched his eyes shut in pain, but briefly forced them open to glance over at Thorn.

She was in the same boat as him.

Ash swore, but it was drowned out by Chingling's cries.

And then, just like before, they stopped.

He opened his eyes slowly, just to confirm that Chingling had stopped. It did, and had gone back to merely staring Ash down. He still waited a while to remove his hands from his ears, untrusting of the small psychic-type in front of him. Thorn had no such reservations, standing up the moment she realized the sound was gone, eyes gleaming pink.

"Wait a minute!" Ash hurried to defuse Thorn, who looked like she wanted nothing more than to wrap Chingling in a cocoon of Leech Seed and Stun Spore and leave it to its fate. "Maybe we don't have to fight it?"

Thorn looked really unhappy with the Chingling, but her loyalty to Ash overrode that anger and she settled for crossing her arms and shooting a nasty glare at Chingling.

It looked like it didn't even notice, still too busy staring at Ash.

"Thanks for stopping that," Ash began, the ringing in his ears making it hard to gauge how loud he was, "We really don't want any trouble. We're just trying to get through to the other side of the mountain, alright?"

Chingling continued to stare, before beginning to hop up and down, recreating the ringing sound from earlier.

Ash didn't know whether that was good or bad.

"So, um, is it alright if we just head on our w- agh!"

Chingling began its cries anew, but Ash wasn't having it. He recalled Thorn immediately and began to run, unwilling to deal with the small, noisy psychic anymore. He didn't really want to battle it, since all it had done was irritate him, but he wasn't going to continue on as entertainment for Chingling either.

As Ash sped past it, he felt a slight tug on his leg, but paid it no mind. That was, Ash ignored it until he realized that he wasn't getting any further away from those damned screams. He looked down, and sure enough, Chingling was staring right back up at him, its ribbons wrapped around his leg.

It was still making that Arceus-damned sound.

Ash swore again.

Chingling continued to stare.

Ash plucked an empty pokeball from his belt and dropped it on Chingling. In a flash, Chingling was sucked into the pokeball, the small orb shaking around slowly for a few moments before the final click signified Chingling's successful capture.

Ash let out a small sigh. At least now he could try to regain his sense of hearing. If Chingling didn't want to come with them, so be it, but he was going to keep it in that pokeball until he was free from this stupid cave.

And if Chingling did want to come with them, Ash just hoped his poor ears could take the abuse.

–

Despite the fact that Ash had really pushed himself for the remainder of the trek, it was still nearly dark by the time he had emerged from the other side of Mount Coronet onto Route 208. He was tired, dirty, hungry, and his ears still hurt every time he heard a noise louder than a drop of water hitting the ground, but he had done it.

Now came the hard part - finding a campsite.

Ash forced himself to continue along Route 208's rocky path until he found somewhere suitable to settle down, namely a place where he wasn't afraid he'd fall off a cliff if he rolled over in his sleep. It took a while, and it was well and truly dark by the time that Ash found a suitable spot (Wick saved a lot of time through his mere presence - his tail was a stronger light than anything Ash's poor lantern could hope to produce), but it didn't take too long to set up camp. He had been through the motions enough times by this point for it to only take a few minutes.

Thorn and Heracross were soon released, with Heracross immediately turning to the small fire Ash had started and becoming mesmerized by the flame. Thorn shot Ash a rather dirty look, and Ash knew he was in trouble for the stunt he had pulled earlier by recalling her.

"I know, I know," he groaned, kneeling down and rubbing Thorn's, well, crown of thorns that sat atop her head, "I shouldn't have recalled you earlier while we were dealing with that Chingling. Sorry about that."

Thorn huffed, but her frown was gone so Ash knew he was in the clear to say the next thing that would get him in trouble.

"Look on the bright side!" He forced out a chuckle. "We might have a new teammate now!"

Thorn was decidedly unhappy about that one, but not so unhappy that she would walk away from Ash's affection. Wick tilted his head, obviously confused about what was going on, while Heracross continued to stare into the fire.

"While we were inside Mount Coronet earlier," Ash recalled, "A Chingling came up to us. It didn't do anything at first, but I think it was following us for a while. It wouldn't let us pass without crying out and making a ton of noise, and when I tried to run away from it it just grabbed onto me. I dropped a pokeball on it, and, well, here they are!"

He showed Wick and Thorn Chingling's pokeball, the light from the fire making it reflect brightly against the red and white sphere. "If they don't want to come with us I'll return them back to the mountain tomorrow, but I'll introduce them to you guys now."

Ash released Chingling a moment later, the pokemon looking around curiously before its eyes settled on Ash again. And surprise surprise…

It went back to staring. Ash didn't even bat an eye at it.

"Hey there, Chingling," he greeted, "How are you?"

In an actual surprise for Ash, Chingling responded with a small cry as it began to hop up and down again. Ash nearly flinched, but it wasn't nearly as loud as it was inside of Mount Coronet. He briefly turned towards Wick, showing a brief thumbs up and thumbs down signal to his starter before pointing at Chingling.

Wick flashed him a thumbs up, and Ash let out a relieved sigh. "That's good! Anyways, my name's Ash, and those three are Wick, Thorn, and Heracross!" He quickly pointed out all three of his teammates - Wick let out a soft grunt and waved in greeting, Thorn huffed and reluctantly chirped something to Chingling, and Heracross continued to stare into the fire, only briefly turning his head at the mention of his name. Chingling barely had more of a reaction than Heracross, spinning around in one full rotation to see the other pokemon around it before its gaze landed squarely back onto Ash.

He held up Chingling's pokeball to the small pokemon, allowing Chingling to briefly let its eyes lock onto it curiously before it returned to staring at Ash. "Do you know what this is?"

Chingling shook its head in a full-body shake, making Ash giggle. "Well, this is something called a pokeball. It lets pokemon trainers like me carry pokemon around as we travel and train. Earlier, while you were hanging off my leg, I caught you in this one."

If Chingling was upset by any of the information Ash was giving it, it didn't show it. It continued to bounce up and down slowly, making a low ringing sound each time it hit the ground. It was sort of weird, having a pokemon that didn't seem to react to or care about anything, but Ash pressed on regardless.

"So since I caught you," Ash elaborated, "And that makes you a part of my team! We're going on a journey across Sinnoh, and we'd be happy to have you with us! If you don't want to come that's fine, and I can bring you back to the mountain, but I promise that if you do want to join us I'll make sure you become the strongest Chimecho ever!"

Chingling just continued to stare. And hop.

…

Ash saw Thorn facepalm into one of her flowers out of the corner of his eye (a trait she had most certainly picked up from him). Wick looked unamused at the fact that they might have another Heracross. Speaking of Heracross, was he… yep. Still staring into the fire.

Finally, after what seemed like hours (a solid thirty seconds or so), Chingling finally chimed in again with another cry that sounded similar to the one it had emitted when Ash had first released it. Just in case, Ash turned towards Wick for confirmation, who gave him another thumbs up.

"Awesome!" Ash cheered, Wick and Thorn (reluctantly, in her case) joining in as he pulled out his pokedex, "I'm going to scan you with this, all right? It won't do anything aside from tell me some things about how strong you are, so don't worry!"

As expected, Chingling didn't react, prompting Ash to go ahead and scan. The device beeped as it processed Chingling's information, before finally speaking up in its robotic voice.

Chingling, the bell pokemon. Each time it hops, it makes a ringing sound. It deafens foes by emitting high-frequency cries. This Chingling is Female.

This Chingling knows the moves Wrap, Growl, Astonish, Uproar, Hypnosis, Curse, and Disable. Its ability is Levitate, which allows this pokemon to float in the air freely.

Ash whistled as his pokedex listed off all the moves Chingling knew. Wrap, Growl, and Astonish weren't much, but Hypnosis? Disable? Curse? Those were pretty damn powerful moves if used properly.

Ash idly realized that there was one more thing to talk to Chingling about.

"Do you want a nickname?" He asked patiently, half-expecting to not receive a response.

To his surprise and delight, she responded immediately with another small chirp (and wasn't it a miracle that she hadn't gone back to screaming?), and so Ash put his thinking cap on.

"Hmm…" He rubbed his chin, thinking deeply. "How about Chime?"

That offer brought back the ear-splitting cries.

Guess that was a no.

Ash briefly thought about recalling everyone except for Chingling in that moment, to spare them from the sore eardrums, but Chingling was mercifully quick in showing her displeasure towards any given name. The more she disliked a name the louder and longer she cried, and the longer it took for her to decide on a given nickname the more she liked it. Jingle, Harmony, and Melody were some of the closest to being accepted, while others like Goldie were refuted just as quickly as Chime was.

It took a while, but eventually they stumbled onto one that Chingling found to her liking.

"Belle?" He tried. It was in the general category of names that Chingling had found somewhat endearing so far, and was a play on the fact that she sounded like a bell (and was the bell pokemon), so maybe…?

Finally, thankfully, mercifully, Chingling gave a chirp of approval. Ash could have cried tears of joy.

"Alrighty then, Belle," Ash finished, "Tomorrow we'll see what you can do in battle, okay? For now, just try and get some sleep. Do you want to go back to your pokeball?"

Belle gave him another full-body shake, before breaking her one-sided staring contest with Ash to go… do something. She bounded over to the fire, before stopping right next to Heracross and joining him in his fire-watching.

It seemed like that was what it took for Heracross to finally be broken out of his trance, turning to his right and finally realizing there was a new pokemon at camp. He turned to Ash, confused, and chittered.

"New teammate, Heracross," Ash laughed, "Her name is Belle. Say hi!"

With Ash's approval, Heracross went back to normal, offering the small psychic a friendly wave and greeting before turning back to the fire.

Ash wondered if Belle noticed. He kind of doubted it, but he hoped she did.

As much as Ash loved him, he really didn't need a second Heracross. One was plenty.

"Thorn, Wick," Ash called out, "Can one of you make sure they move away from the fire at some point? I'd rather not have them hurt themselves tonight."

Wick grunted in confirmation, not yet content to sleep, while Thorn laid down nearby. Wick's warmth was a miracle worker for the past week or so while they had been camping on the cold, hard, rocky hills surrounding Mount Coronet. Thorn almost chose to sleep in her pokeball a few nights, it was that rough for her.

Finally, Ash curled up in his sleeping bag, thoroughly exhausted from the day, allowing his tired mind to drift off into dreamland.

–

Ash didn't come into contact with any trainers for the remainder of his time on the slopes of Mount Coronet. There were a few wild pokemon he had come across, but most of them weren't looking for a battle, which meant Belle had gone battle-free so far. Ash felt a little bit guilty about it, but he wasn't about to have her fight Heracross, Wick, or Thorn. Ash had a feeling that fight wouldn't be very fair.

He didn't have much luck with the rest of Route 208 that he had crossed either, unfortunately. So now, as he stood in the shadow of Mount Coronet, he had resigned himself to just trying to make it to Hearthome City as quickly as possible to finally find some trainers.

At least, that was the plan - and then a purple head of hair popped into view a few hundred feet ahead of him.

Ash squinted his eyes, then let out a silent whoop as he and Wick sprinted to close the gap between himself and Paul.

It was time for a rematch!

Even if Paul didn't know it yet.

—

A/N: Woohoo! Another chapter down, and this one is the longest one yet! My motivation to write fluctuates violently, as well as what to write, but it is never zero for any of my stories. I literally wrote this entire chapter (barring the first 400 or so words) in like a week, so shout out to Traveler updating to get my motivation to write this story back up a bit! FFN has been screwy recently too, so I was planning on waiting until some of it was fully fixed before updating, but I doubt that's gonna happen ever since it's been off since October. Oh well.

Did I get you guys with the Gible fake out? Cool pokemon, love the little dragon, but Ash did not get his dream pokemon. He did get a new teammate though, and an unorthodox one (I hope) at that.

Like I said, this is the longest chapter yet, so let me know what you think! Did I make the battles too long? Was the dialogue stiff? Was it perfect? Let me know! Or don't, but reviews are always appreciated!

See you next time! Thanks for reading! And Merry Christmas!