I own nothing
Chapter 24
His team had come along very nicely in the last few months Ash thought as he landed back home in early November. His plans to be on Mt Silver had been extended by an extra week due to wanting to make sure they were all ready for the challenge ahead. Strangely Pallet Town was empty but there were banners all over the place which confused Ash. Walking into his mum's house he found it was empty so he headed to Oaks Choral where a party seemed to be going on. Walking out of the back of the lab Ash stopped in amazement, it seemed like all of Pallet Town was here for the party. Wondering what was happening, he nodded at a few people as he made his way to the front and saw several banners bearing the legend 'Congratulations Gary'.
Seeing the man of the hour sat down in between his mum and his dad Ash walked forward and stopped across from him.
"Ash" Gary said standing up and greeting him "how are you doing?"
"I'm ok" Ash said looking confused at Gary's behaviour "I'm a bit confused though, what's happening?"
"Where have you been for the past month?" Gary asked incredulously "have you been living under a rock?"
"Living in one" Ash replied "I've been living inside Mt Silver for the past few months since the end of the Kanto League."
"That explains it then" Gary said laughing "well let me introduce myself by my new title. I am Gary Oak, Champion of the Silver League Conference" he finished bowing regally.
"Oh wow" Ash said holding his hand out "you won the Johto League then. Congratulations."
"I did" Gary said shaking his hand "how you didn't hear the celebrations though given the conference takes part literally at the base of Mt Silver at Silver Town is very strange."
"I was in the deepest part of the mountain" Ash said picking up a drink and saluting him "and the entrance to the mountain via the League gate is on the other side of Mt Silver. Now that I think about it, it makes sense why I saw Ho-oH flying around a few Sundays ago when I spoke to Nurse Joy."
"You saw Ho-oH?" Blue asked shocked "really?"
"Yeah" Ash said nodding as he took off his cap and took the two feathers out holding them up for everyone to see "I met Ho-oH the very first week of setting out from here actually after Pikachu and I were attacked by the Spearow on Route 1, we nearly died but we used the storm to amplify Pikachus electricity and drove most of them away. Afterwards the storm cleared up and we saw her flying overhead on a rainbow. She saw what happened and gave me the Rainbow Wing for good luck. I met Lugia during the event at Shamouti and he gave me a Silver Wing as thanks for not letting the world end." Handing them to Gary and Blue he sat down and picked a pie off a platter and began eating while they looked them over. Eventually they handed them back and Ash secured them again in his cap.
"Just how many times have you nearly died?" Gary asked only to start spluttering when Ash started counting on his fingers and continued after one hand.
"Let's see" Ash said as he began counting "If we're starting when I first left Pallet Town then there's Route 1 with the Spearow, Mt Moon with Team Rocket where I rescued Cleffa, Power Plant with Zapdos, Lavender Town with the Spiritomb, I was there when Pokémon Land exploded, Porta Vista was straight after that so that's six so far, the Safari Zone where Team Rocket tried to run a herd of Tauros over me, Granpa Canyon when I fell down that eighty foot cavern and was then captured by an Aerodactyl who wanted me as his next meal, we'll count that as one, I don't think I had another then until The Tree of Beginning with Mew months later, New Island with Mewtwo where I did die. Then there was a long period between issues and I believe the next time was Pinkin Island where I was attacked by that Rhydon, Murcott Island with the Scyther, I was nearly cemented into the sewers at Trovitopolis if that counts, then Shamouti with Lugia. I think that was the last one" he said looking at Pikachu for confirmation who was eating an apple.
"Saffron City after the League" Pikachu added.
"No, we don't count fangirls trying to swarm me" Ash said chuckling before turning back to an astonished Gary "So yeah, all told there's been roughly fourteen times I've either nearly died and once that I have done."
Laura for her part looked at Delia and saw her counting under her breath with her eyes closed before she looked up at Ash "we do not talk about New Island Ash. And you seem to have left a few of those out when we talked on the phone."
"Sorry mum" he said sheepishly looking anywhere but his mother. "Congratulations though" Ash said starting conversation again "was it a tough tournament?"
"No" Gary said shaking his head "as I said when we met in the Orange Islands the competition is crap. I won the final 6-1. Sorry, I misspoke, the competition isn't crap, the standard of trainer is crap and we virtually walked through the tournament. The semi finals was the first time I lost a Pokémon all tournament."
"Oh, that sucks" Ash said shaking his head before turning to a grimacing Blue "I can't imagine Lance is happy right now?"
"No" Blue said "he's not but hopefully with the reforms Charles is putting in place due to the success of the Kanto League improves the competition."
"So, it's still worth me challenging it next year?" Ash asked.
"It's always worth challenging a new region" Sams voice came from behind him and taking a seat next to Delia. "As you said before Ash, experiencing new cultures, battling new Pokémon and winning more Leagues can only be beneficial to your progression as a trainer."
"I've been wondering about that actually" Gary said "should Ash beat dad is he still allowed to compete in other leagues?"
"Yes" Sam said "It's how you attain the rank of Pokémon Master. As of now you are further along in that goal than Ash is due to you competing in two Leagues, however you both have one League victory each meaning Gary is only ahead due to having more badges. When Ash reaches the Victory Tournament next year in Johto you will be on an equal footing and should he win he will go past you again until you win another League. To earn the rank of Master you must win at least four Leagues, beat their Elite Four and then beat their Champion. As of now only Cynthia is close to that rank, she would have attained it last year but she lost against Steven."
"She tried the Kanto league and lost against me too" Blue put in "having said that, that was about eight years ago now and she's only gotten stronger. Her Garchomp is a monster."
"Indeed" Sam said nodding "however, getting back on topic. Should Ash compete for the Johto league next year, and whatever League you decide on Gary you will find that the Gym Leaders will now use their Elites against you both. Winning a League erases the normal challenges as you've proved you're good enough for a harder challenge and you've been trainers for two years."
"When did that change?" Ash asked looking confused "I thought you had to compete in a minimum of two Leagues before that happened?"
"No" Sam said "your Elite Four challenge negates that as they are deemed stronger than what kind of challenge you'd usually receive doing the badge challenge in another region. As for Gary he has now competed in two Leagues so he's passed the rank of Intermediate and is now considered an Ace trainer."
"This is very confusing" Delia said frowning "what are the ranks again?"
"Rookie up to four badges, Advanced up to eight, Intermediate when you compete in a League" Ash said reeling them off and counting on his fingers "then you're an Intermediate all the way up to your sixteenth badge and second League challenge where you attain the rank of Ace upon finishing it regardless of where you finish. You'll always stay at that though if you never beat your own Elite Four, beating another Leagues Elite Four doesn't count for some reason. After that there's Elite, Champion and then finally the rank of Master when you beat four separate Elite Fours and their Champions."
"How come you've never tried to attain Master rank dad?" Gary asked curiously.
"I've never wanted to be a Pokémon Master" Blue said simply "It's not an easy feat to accomplish you know. There have only been eight Pokémon Masters in the seventy odd years of the Leagues being established, the last one being Red who became the youngest at 21. Just think about that Gary, he won his first Championship at 16 and then in the next five years beat three other leagues, their Elite Four and their Champions."
"I never really thought about that" Gary said leaning back when Blue listed his fathers best friends accomplishments "I knew he was good but wow."
"He was more than good" Sam said "Red was special."
"Why is Lance a part of our Elite Four?" Delia asked after a few moments of silence "I mean, he's the Johto League Champion too isn't he?"
"Ah" Blue said "That's Charles Goodshows fault really. When he first became Kanto Champion at age 20 the Johto League was just in its infancy, I believe it was only in its third year actually so being Kanto Champion was more of a challenge and an accomplishment. As the years went on he should have abdicated the Kanto Elite Four role to the next person who beat him but the sad part is no one has beaten him since Red and I did a year after he took that crown at age twenty which is now twenty-six years ago. Bruno is the same, he's originally from a small town near Olivine City so he shouldn't really be a part of the Kanto Elite Four either, but no one has beaten him yet. Should Ash beat him and then lose to Lance I think he'll be offered his spot so he will only be in the Johto Elite Four. Should Ash beat Lance and lose to me then Bruno will drop out and the rest will move down a slot. Had Red still been around as Champion I would now be the fourth person to beat and Lance would simply be the Johto League Champion."
"So, is it worth me challenging Lance?" Gary asked.
"Oh very much so" Blue said "If that's your aim, to be an Elite Four member that is, then you now have eighteen months to challenge any Elite Four you want. However, you can only be Champion and Elite Four member of your own region. That rule was brought in a few years after Red won it to give aspiring trainers something to aim for, otherwise most Leagues wouldn't have a Champion anymore as Cynthia would be their Champion despite being from Sinnoh. Bruno won his spot in the Kanto Elite Four a few months before that rule came in and therefore has been able to keep his position.
Plus the Elite Four you do challenge are the only ones you can until you win another League, so if you chose to battle the Johto Elite Four and lose you cannot then challenge Kanto's until you win another League, but you can try as many times as you want in that eighteen month period to beat the Johto Elite Four after which you're no longer eligible.
On top of that but you have to be eighteen to be considered mature enough to actually take on the role as Champion of a region as it's a lot of work, I have to be at so many places and do so many things it's unreal. It's why I never thought about challenging Red to reclaim my title, it would take me away from your mum too much. So should Ash win in a few weeks I will remain as Champion until he is eighteen after which I will take Lance's place as the head of the Elite Four which is something I'll happily celebrate. I have no interest in trying to reclaim the title from him."
"Something to aim for at least" Gary said "unifying the Kanto League Elite Four I mean" he finished clarifying his point. "who did Cynthia beat then?"
"Alder in Unova, she was already Champion in Sinnoh and Lance in Johto" Blue said "She lost against Steven and myself but I think she'll beat Steven in February and attain Master status. Her loss was her own doing by trying out a new strategy of sending her Garchomp out first, something I doubt she'll ever do again."
"She's really that good?" Ash asked recalling his first and only meeting with her after the Lavender Tower incident.
"Yes" Blue said nodding "She's exceptional, what some would call a generational talent, most certainly a prodigy. She left home at sixteen and in the next six years she beat the Sinnoh League five times in a row, and a year later she reached Champion status at twenty-three. Since then she has only lost two competitive matches and now at thirty-seven she's about to become the third youngest Pokémon Master ever after Red and dads successor as Kanto Champion Grant who was thirty. She's the reason you're limited to how many times you can win a single League, as it got to the point in Sinnoh that if they saw her competing half of them didn't bother turning up to the match to face her, and many dropped out altogether during registration. So, if you both compete in the Kanto and Johto League again you can only win it two more times before you're barred from doing so again."
"Interesting" Ash said musing over the information. Perhaps he should get in contact with her to arrange a meeting. "question, let's say for instance she attains Master status in the next few years, and then in the next ten years I do too, would she lose that status or can there be multiple Masters at once?"
"It's never been done before" Sam said musing "I'll have to talk to Charles about it but I cannot see a reason why she'd be stripped of that accolade, after all it's an incredible achievement and being stripped of it just because someone else has done the same thing isn't fair."
"So, Ash" Laura said "are you prepared for your upcoming battles?"
"As ready as I'll ever be" he said smiling "I've already beaten Giovanni, and I would have beaten Agatha too had it been a full fight so I know we've got the ability to do well. It all depends on the day doesn't it and what rules there will be."
"Well, the challenge will be behind closed doors" Blue said "as popular as you are Ash it would be unfair to change what the normal challenge would be that we give to other League winners. However, I think Charles is also interested in unifying the Elite Four so I think he'll let you challenge Bruno regardless of if you lose to Lorelei and Koga."
"Our match won't be behind closed doors though will it?" Ash asked smirking.
"Should you get that far, no" Blue replied laughing "That will take place in the main stadium ten days after you have faced Lance."
"Should be fun" Ash said standing up and kissing his mum on her cheek "I'm heading home mum, I've been in a mountain for months now, so I need a proper bath and my bed is screaming my name. I'll speak to you later. Gary, congratulations again on your win. Blue, I'll see you in three to four weeks. Get ready."
A week later Ash was flying on Charizard to Indigo Plateau for the first of his Elite Four fights. He was quite nervous if truth be told as this was everything they had been working towards for the last year. He knew they were good enough to win, now he just had to prove it. Walking into the reception he waited to be seen and soon Charles Goodshow and Sam Oak came out of the elevator to greet him.
"Is it that time already?" Charles asked as he led the way through a series of passages and out onto a back parking lot of the main building and into another door "your fights are going to take place in Stadium Two, it's the only one with a retractable roof so no one will be able to see what happens other than the Elites, Blue, Sam and I and I will personally be the referee for your fights. Sam told me you spoke about your challenge last week?"
"Yeah, I did" Ash said nodding "the four fights will be here and the final in the main stadium?"
"Yes" Sam said nodding "however we've changed just one aspect. You won't be facing Koga first, you'll be facing Bruno."
"Ok" Ash said uncertainly "why?"
"Bruno has been taking on too much lately and expressed his preference to focus on the Johto Elite Four" Charles said "He's hardly got the chance to see his daughter over the last few years due to his dual role and is thinking about just quitting altogether, so if you beat him, you'll be offered his spot."
"Oh ok" Ash said shaking his head as they walked out onto the stadium floor and over to where the rest of the Elite Four were sat waiting.
"Hello Ash" Koga said as he got near "how are you feeling?"
"Ready" he said staring at Bruno who smirked back.
"Let's get stated then shall we?" Bruno said shaking Ash's hand.
"Actually before we start I do have a question" Ash said "are the six Pokémon I've designated available for this fight the only six I can use for the other fights?"
"No" Sam said "you can switch your team around as much as you want between fights however you cannot switch mid fight. You must register with me the morning of your fight what six you will be using. Should you make it to Blue and win however the six that you use to fight him will be your Championship team going forward so you will need to decide who you will use with great care. Only a severe injury to one of them, checked out and signed off by Nurse Joy, or a valid reason as to why they can't compete, approved by myself and Charles will mean you can substitute another Pokémon in for them."
"Wow" Ash said taken aback "that's tough man. A problem for another day though. Bruno, shall we?"
Bruno nodded and then walked off to the side with Ash mirroring him.
"This will be a six-on-six singles match with no substitutions. There will be no move limits and only one Mega Evolution will be allowed per battler. On the red side we have current Elite Four member Bruno, on the blue side we have the challenger Ash Ketchum. On my mark gentlemen, begin."
"Let's go Onix" Bruno said releasing a gigantic specimen rock snake who roared his arrival.
"Gyarados you're up!" Ash said matching him. Instead of roaring though she focused on her opponent and glared waiting to be told to start.
"Dig" Bruno shouted as his Onix quickly burrowed its way underground.
"Earthquake" Ash shouted smirking as his Gyarados started pounding the ground causing Onix to surface roaring in irritation.
"Ash is doing really well, isn't he?" Lorelei said to Blue as they looked up at the scoreboard seeing Bruno down to his last two having lost Onix, Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee and Heracross. Ash, however, was only down to three having lost Gyarados, Machamp and Kabutops. His Salamence had just beaten Heracross but it was tough going due to it using Rock Slide liberally from the torn up ground.
"He is" Blue said as Bruno released a Blaziken "I keep forgetting he's got one of them."
"At times so do I" she said laughing as a blinding white light shone cross the stadium as it Mega-Evolved taking down Salamence a few minutes later.
"Pi, you're up" Ash said as his starter dropped to the floor "it has Speed Boost so be careful."
"How would you combat speed boost?" Sam asked his son curiously as they watched the two trade hit after hit.
"Protect and counter" Blue said "but it would require precision attacks and very quick reflexes to combat that Blaziken though. Ash is coping though much better than I thought he would."
"I suspect he's stacking the deck" Lance said chuckling "have you noticed that his Pikachu is able to act within milliseconds of Ash's commands? To be that in sync with your Pokémon is incredible."
"Stacking the deck how?" Blue asked as they saw Blaziken get blasted back from a pinpoint Thunder attack and struggle to get up.
"Volt Tackle" Ash shouted spotting their chance. He hated playing defensive when he knew they outpowered their opponent but these battles were designed to test your abilities and Bruno certainly did that.
"Aura" Lance said as they saw Blaziken take the move straight to the face, making it de-transition as it was knocked out.
"I must say Ash" Bruno said as he recalled his Pokémon "You've certainly proved you belong here. It's been a while since we've had a challenge that wasn't one of us but I won't go down so easily, let's go my friend" he finished as he released his Machamp who flexed and stared silently at the opponent. He didn't bother looking at the scoreboard as he knew, just by the fact he was out on the field that he was Bruno's last choice.
"Cheers" Ash said taking in his opponent "Pi, I'll leave this one up to you. You know your opponent really well."
Pikachu just nodded and set himself waiting for Charles to begin the match and sprang into action when he was told to go.
"And there we have it folks" Charles said as Charizard landed on the field next to his downed opponent. Pikachu had managed to do some significant damage before it was taken out by an Earthquake leaving Charizard to sweep up and finish the battle. "Bruno is out of Pokémon, Ash Ketchum wins."
Ash for his part had to hold himself up from slumping in his box. Taking a deep breath he walked back down to the field and headed over to Bruno and shook his hand.
"That was a really good match" Ash said "I can't wait to battle you again in a few years' time."
Giving him a confused look Bruno asked "what do you mean?"
"I'll be aiming to beat my dads record of becoming the youngest Pokémon master so after I beat Blue I'll be challenging the Johto League next year and then their Elite Four in the summer after." Ash said smiling earning a nod.
"Then we'll certainly battle again, next time will be very different though as I have a different line-up for Johto." Bruno said before they walked over to the side chatting about the battle.
Over the next ten days Ash made it past Koga and Lorelei and was waiting for his battle with Lance. Sitting at home he was having a well earned break with his Pokémon. Sitting by his lake he looked out and saw his Gyarados and Blastoise racing across the lake to keep up their training in a more playful manor having fun with several other water types that had made their home here. It was nice.
"Looks like they're having fun" a voice said making Ash turn around very quickly in surprise. Sitting down next to him Nia smiled and nodded to them "I can see why you love this place." Releasing her Vaporeon she told her to go and play which she happily did, joining in with everyone who happily welcomed her.
"It's home" Ash said smiling at her "How have you been?
"It's been absolutely manic" Nia said sighing breathing out "I didn't realise what getting to a final would do. I just wanted to battle and suddenly I've become famous, and I have very little privacy left."
"It'll die down" Ash said patting her hand "just stay strong and it'll fly by."
"I hope so" she replied not moving her hand from his "how have you been?"
"I'm tired" he said chuckling "it's been a long few months Nia, and I can't wait to have a rest before Johto next year."
"Oh, so you're definitely going then?" she asked facing him.
"Yeah" Ash said "I need to visit and beat at least four leagues to beat my dads record of doing so before I'm 21. I'm giving it a year per league and Elite Four so I should attain Master status around sixteen, or seventeen at the latest. Either that or complete the leagues and then do the Elite Fours back-to-back. I can get the badges very quickly and then each League is spaced apart every two months. It's a bit complicated but I've given myself four or five years to get it done."
"It does sound complicated" Nia said laughing "when will you have the chance to relax?"
"I'm sure I can find some time in between battles" Ash said chuckling before standing up and offering his hand "I'm not allowed to tell anyone how I'm getting on with my current challenge until I would normally have faced Lance, which is two days from now so please don't ask. Come on, I'll show you around and hopefully be able to answer any more questions you have." Standing up she looped her arm through his and spent many hours just chatting away.
"What's happening here?" Nia asked as they walked around the research lab and found a huge open are where trees had been cut down and the land flattened.
"One of the caveats of Silph taking over the AONB contract is that they require their workers to be able to be emergency evacuated from site should anything bad happen" Ash said as they watched several men in high-vis jackets rolling over the ground with machinery flattening it "so I'm having a helipad built for air ambulances. To be honest it's something I should have thought of a while ago but I didn't think of it."
Walking on Ash showed her where Venusaur was currently conducting a lesson with Bulbasaur. Intrigued Nia sent out her own Venusaur who looked around in awe and wandered over to the pair. Bulbasaur was still a little skittish around new people and Pokémon but as soon as Venusaur greeted his fellow plant she relaxed and soon conversation began to flow between them all. Leaving them where they were Ash carried on with his tour.
"Where are you staying?" Ash asked as they headed into Pallet Town and stopped in his mums restaurant and ordered take away for them both before setting back out to his house.
"Oh" she said "I flew here."
"On what?" Ash asked stopping "you don't have a big enough flying type do you?"
"I do now" she said laughing at his puzzled face but not answering.
"Ok, keep your secrets" Ash said joining in with the laughter.
Setting the table he called his Pokémon in and set their food out for them, doing the same for Nias Pokémon too. Seeing her call out her Pokémon he chuckled as the last one to come out was a Togekiss.
Shaking his head he chuckled and plated up their food while carrying on their conversation. "So, you're heading to the Orange Islands then?" Ash asked.
"Yeah" she said "I'm still unsure on what to travel on but I really want to experience what you did as it sounded wonderful. Hopefully Togekiss will be ok in flying me everywhere."
"Hang on" Ash said as he got up and went upstairs. A few minutes later he came down carrying a folder and placed it on the table.
"This was my route, and everything I saw and discovered while I was there" Ash said taking out several sheets of paper and showing her the maps and pictures he had taken. "you can keep these" he said putting them away half an hour later "but I would seriously advise you read up on each island, I was attacked by several wild Pokémon and we don't want that for you do we? I've detailed what the requirements are if you plan on challenging their gyms, something I would highly recommend as they're very fun but I've deliberately left out what the gym leader uses and what the challenge is. Just be careful if you do the Naval Rock gym and make sure Danny knows that if you get injured I will fly there and hurt him!"
Shaking her head in amusement she placed the folder to one side and they carried on eating. All in all it was one of the nicest evenings Ash had ever had and before they knew it, it was very dark outside.
"You're not travelling to Saffron at this time, I'll do up mums room for you" he said not giving her any chance to object.
The next morning Nia woke up and headed downstairs to find Ash wasn't around. Confused she made herself some breakfast and waited and an hour later he jogged back inside, said hello and went upstairs to shower. Minutes later he came back downstairs and joined her placing a Pokéball on the counter as he did.
"What's that?" Nia asked.
"It's a Pokéball" he replied chuckling at her deadpanned stare.
"What's in the Pokéball?" she asked through gritted teeth.
"Your ride around the Orange Islands" Ash said simply causing her to gape and him to chuckle "this morning I was doing my run around the lake when I had a thought. You don't have a water type big enough to carry you around the islands do you?. So, I had a chat with some Pokémon that make the lake their home and one decided they would love to go with you."
"You've caught me another Pokémon?" she asked incredulously.
"No" Ash said "I'm loaning you a travel partner for the duration of your travels. When you return you'll have to come back here and let him free but he's yours."
Picking up the Pokéball she was about to release it when Ash stopped her "No, not in here. You'll destroy my kitchen."
"Oh sorry" she said sheepishly "let's go and find out then." She finished running out towards the lake. Ash, however, grabbed an apple and followed at a more sedate pace and found her waiting impatiently at the lake-side. Seeing him she released the Pokémon and gasped. There sat bobbing on the water was a Lapras who cooed at her. Ash had to cover his ears as Nia squealed and hugged him before hugging the Lapras.
Ash decided to leave her to get to know her new friend and headed over to the bench and sat down. Every now and then he'd look down at the flowerbed and remember what had happened here just over a year ago and just who was buried under all that soil. Grimacing he focused on the lake as an exuberant Nia came over and hugged him. "Thank you" she said quietly.
"It's ok" he said smiling. "If you need anything, and I mean anything while you're there let me know and I'll get there as quick as I can. Please do not underestimate any of the challenges and if you can, let me know what a peaceful Shamouti festival is like."
Laughing she shook her head and they enjoyed a nice peaceful afternoon. Around supper time Ash was reflecting on the day and smiled at how nice it had been to have her around him. The next day he set out once again to Indigo Plateau for his final challenge in battling the Elite Four. According to Charles he was already guaranteed Bruno's place should he want it but Ash had higher aspirations than that, he wanted it all. Once again he followed Charles through the passages and onto Stadium two's battlefield and saw once again the entire Elite Four, Sam and Blue there waiting for him.
"Last one" Lance said smiling at Ash who nodded back in reply.
"Shall we?" Ash asked as he led Lance onto the battlefield where they shook hands and parted ways each taking their place on their podium.
"This is the final battle of the Elite Four challenge of Ash Ketchum who is facing off against Lance Wataru. This will be a six-on-six singles battle where no substitutions are allowed and only one Mega each. Good luck to you both."
"Gyarados, to the battlefield" Lance shouted as Ash thought about it.
"Pi, you're up" Ash said surprising them all by starting with one of his strongest.
Elsewhere
Silver was very annoyed, no, scratch that, he was livid. For the past six months his operatives had steadily been going missing from his places that he owned and then turning up with no memory of where they went or who, if anyone had taken them. It had got to the point where he ordered his entire workforce to wear trackers on their belts of their uniforms but this still didn't work. Whoever it was clearly had inside information as they disabled the trackers at the site his workers were stationed before they disappeared. It was maddening!
He still had no leads on where his mother had disappeared to either and it had been over a year since that happened now. He had plied money everywhere he could to try and get any leads but, as happened with his staff he had come up empty. He had heard the rumours that she was now living with his dad but as she hadn't been seen he doubted the voracity of those claims. Giovanni had often been seen at Indigo Plateau without anyone being with him so that nixed that line of thought. Plus, why would his mother suddenly decide after thirty-two years to abandon him and all that they had to go and shack up with his dad? It didn't make sense to him.
His search for Domino and Andrew had also turned up nothing. By now he figured out that Domino had come to an untimely demise at the hands of his father, something which he was very sad about. She was his most faithful follower and to have her life cut short at age nineteen was tragic. He organized a private little funeral for her at Goldenrod Cemetery and planted a black rose on her empty grave.
Andrew, however, was a puzzler for him. He was tailing Jessie and James to eliminate them before moving onto Ketchum when his tracker had just suddenly been cut off one morning and never come back on. Jessie and James had sworn blind that the last they saw or heard from him was the week leading up to the Indigo League finals when he asked them if they had any information on Domino. Of course, they gave Andrew the same information they had given him that Giovanni had found her, or so Ketchums mum said to them anyway and Silver had no reason to believe they lied. He had called off the hit on the two as they had turned out to be the most competent workers he had at the minute. Butch and Cassidy had somewhat redeemed themselves in the last year since they were rescued but they were still under heavy supervision whenever they went out into the field.
Pokémon Land had reopened but it didn't have anywhere near the appeal it used to, people were still scared of the place despite there being no mechanical Pokémon there to go haywire. It still brought in a steady stream of income but it wasn't a fraction of what he used to bring in which made him perpetually angry. Hopefully time would erase the bad memories and it would become a great money making scheme once again. He had in secret started up his businesses in Mahogany and Goldenrod again, this time under a different name and still had plans to expand but for now he had to build up more capital to proceed with his major plans. His zoo was due to open in the next few months too, Jessie and James had done extremely well in finding nearly everything on the list he gave them. Unfortunately Relicanth eluded them but they caught several of everything else so the Zoo was already stocked up, it just needed finishing off before it opened sometime in the New Year.
He had also not heard anything about Mewtwo since he had escaped. He needed Mewtwo to be able to destroy his enemies but for some reason the implant Fuji had placed in Mewtwos head was no longer functioning. He knew Mewtwo could not deactivate it himself which meant he had asked for help, but as there was no records of a Legendary voluntarily going to a Pokémon Centre for aid it only left one person. Ash Ketchum.
Oh, how he loathed and envied that child. Ketchum had been at the scene of every major mishap that happened to befall Team Rocket in the last two years but had rock-solid alibis every time and due to mistakes on Silvers part Ketchum had now become virtually unassailable to attack. From the reports he was given Ash's Pokémon were incredibly strong given he had beaten his fathers best and drawn a match against Agatha.
A buzzing interrupted his thoughts as he was looking out of the window. His phone was lighting up so sitting down he pressed the button and answered.
"Speak" he said.
"Sir, Executives Jessie and James are here with urgent news."
"Send them in" Silver said leaning back and motioning to Persian who waited in the shadows. Less than thirty seconds later Jessie and James came into the office holding a folder looking very worried. Handing it over silently Silver opened it before he started trembling with rage. Looking up he said
"Who?"
"Mewtwo Sir" James said.
"Capture him" Silver said standing up and throwing the folder onto the table "At all costs, I want his head on my table before the year ends!"
Fleeing Jessie and James left Silver to sit back down and look at the folder once more. Mewtwo would pay for this.
Ash's Home
Delia was happily making her way to Ash's house humming a non-existent tune as she did so. Driving up the path she greeted many of the workers who were pottering about Ash's land doing their research. It was rare to see a day where no one was around anymore, however Ash made sure that every weekend was a time where no work went on. People, Ash had said deserved to rest just as much as he did so they all were paid for staying at home with their loved ones, to do whatever they wanted. It was what made for such a harmonious atmosphere for the place and the staff loved coming back to it.
She walked into the kitchen and frowned at the dirty dishes that Ash had left that morning, honestly that boy drove her crazy at times. Hearing a noise she followed it and saw the dryer spinning around with what looked like the sheets from her bed. Intrigued she made her way upstairs to find her bed had been stripped but on the side were several bobbles. Picking them up she wondered who they belonged to and walked downstairs holding them and placed them on the counter. Looking at her phone she realized she couldn't ring him as he was just about to battle Lance and it was something that could wait. Zoe walking into the house though presented an opportunity to find out.
"Zoe" Delia asked causing her to jump and scream in fear.
"Holy shit Delia" Zoe said grasping at the counter to support her "you nearly gave me a heart attack!"
"Sorry, sorry." Delia said coming over, hugging the poor girl and helping her sit down at the counter.
After a few minutes to calm herself Zoe shook her head and said "what's up Delia?"
"I was wondering if you knew who these belonged to" she said picking up the bobbles "I found them on my nightstand upstairs. And my bed has been stripped."
"Oh, they're likely Nia's" Zoe said "she was here a few days ago and she was still here when I left to pick up Ava from daycare at six that evening."
"That's strange" Delia mused taking them back "he didn't tell me she was staying."
"I don't think it was planned" Zoe said "she was only planning on visiting for a few hours before she made her way to Vermillion City port, she's going touring the Orange Islands too to get away from the media circus after her finals appearance and just wanted to let Ash know in person."
"That bad huh?" Delia asked remembering what Ash and even Red had to endure after they won the tournament.
"Yeah" Zoe said as she stood back up "they've not left her alone so she's decided to go travelling while she's still able to do so. Anyway, my guess is they got so caught up in chatting they forgot the time and you know what Ash is like, there's no way he'd let her fly on her own in the dark all the way to Vermillion City so he likely gave her your bed for the night."
"That makes sense" Delia said nodding and also standing up. Zoe left a minute later saying she'd be back in an hour as she had some files for Ash to look over and Delia made herself a brew and washed up his plates. Twenty minutes later the dryer finished and she unloaded it and started to make her way upstairs. As she stopped on the landing though she had the strangest feeling that she wasn't alone anymore, and hearing a pop from the spare room she grew quite concerned. Quickly going downstairs she grabbed a knife and sent Ash a message that something was happening at home and headed back upstairs where she could hear a strange, steady, rhythmic beeping coming from the room with the closed door. Cautiously she opened the door, gasped in shock and fainted.
Ash
He had never been in a battle like this before. Each move that Lance used was unbelievably powerful and when they hit, they hit hard. And with each Pokémon Ash beat the challenge got harder and harder. So far Ash had managed to beat Gyarados and Mega-Aerodactyl with Pikachu before Lance beat Ash's Pikachu and his Gyarados with Salamence. Ash then sent out his own Salamence who lost, but just barely before it was taken out by Sneasel who in turn lost to Lances Charizard. Blastoise evened the score before helping Ash take the lead by beating Dragonair before he was beaten by Dragonite which left the battle that was happening now. It had been going on for at least twenty minutes by now, Ash had even Mega-evolved for the first time to combat the sheer power Dragonite had and it was still tough going.
During the match though Ash had been getting a strange feeling from the side-lines. At one point Blue had taken a call and looked frantic, so much so that Sam had taken off and left with whatever Blue had told him. Blue on the other hand had gone pale and, try as he might to get Blue and his actions off his mind and focus on the match he still was puzzled.
A huge plume of dust kicked up as both Pokémon smashed into the ground causing the very ground to crack open and Ash to focus on what was happening. He had not used Aura once during this match, preferring to battle Lance on an even footing despite knowing it may cost him when Dragonair used Double Team and Thunder Wave combined, frequently. Luckily he had spent enough time training against that particular move set to be able to counter it effectively but it was close several times. As the dust settled Ash gasped when he saw the outcome.
"Dragonite is unable to battle, Charizard wins. And our winner, who will fight Champion Blue in a weeks' time is Ash Ketchum!" Charles said.
Yelling in relief Ash ran down onto the field and hugged his Charizard with all his might earning a groan of pain. Quickly letting go he ran his hands on Charizard and healed him up slightly with his aura before they butted heads.
"You did it Charizard" Ash said quietly "You've proved yet again that you can take on Legends and win. I'm so proud of you!"
"Well done Ash" Lance said coming over and smiling "You've proven yourself to be one of the strongest trainers in Kanto. You should be proud of yourself."
"I'm prouder of my Pokémon" Ash said still in disbelief that he had won. Recalling Charizard he asked "that did just happen right?"
"It did" Lance said clapping him on the shoulder. "Come on, let's go and speak to Charles and get the information for next weeks match with Blue."
"Ash" Blue said running forward looking terrified and releasing Alakazam "I'm afraid we'll have to postpone our match. Something has happened."
"What's happened?" Ash asked confused "Is Auntie Laura ok? Daisy? Gary?"
"They're all fine" Blue said "It's your mum Ash, something has happened at your home and we need to get you back there as soon as possible."
Without waiting to hear anything else Ash sprinted to the door and ran down the hallways and into the reception area. Rushing outside he went to release his Pokémon before he remembered they were all out cold or injured. There was no way he'd be able to get home in the next few hours. A purple flash off to his side drew his attention as Blue ran towards him.
"Ash" he said panting "don't run off like that. Alakazam can take us there." Before he could say anything there was another flash and for the first time in his life Ash was too concerned to try and combat a psychic hold on him and within seconds had appeared at his home. Leaving Blue he pulsed his aura and found his mums aura return his signal, desperately he ran all the way through his back door and through the kitchen, ignoring various shouts as he raced to where he could feel her aura and ran into his room, ignoring the noises and activity coming from the spare room to see she was sat up against the headboard.
Breathing out a sigh of relief he bodily moved several people and pulled his mum into a hug. Thankfully she pulled him back into one which eased his mind. Pulling back he scanned her aura and couldn't find anything wrong with her.
"Blue said something had happened to you" Ash said looking for an answer "but I can't feel anything wrong. What happened?"
Slowly, Delia began telling her story of how she arrived at his home and the conversation with Zoe. "I heard a noise from up here when I was bringing the bedding back up and panicked. I sent you a message, but I knew you wouldn't get it as you were battling Lance, but the noise changed in the time it took to go and get a knife. I opened the spare room and I saw…"
"What mum?" Ash asked as she struggled for breath.
"Maybe you should go and see" Blue said coming up behind him. Concerned Ash stood up and headed towards the spare room. It was a hive of activity but everyone moved out of the way upon seeing him and when the path was cleared Ash gasped and sank to his knees in disbelief. There, hooked up to a life support machine was his dad. Red Ketchum had come home.