Author's Notes
Yeah, you thought you were gonna wait another month for another chapter?
SSSSIIIIIKKKKEEEE!
This is kinda an emergency chapter to write since it serves as a Part 2 of sorts for the previous one since it was relatively short.
Because of this, there isn't much of a review corner this time, but thanks to Rajiv A. Rajaram for your kind words and review!
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As such, I'm gonna explain some things from the previous chapter, particularly the naming behind some of the characters:
Ethan Gold:
Pretty self-explanatory. It's a fusion between his canon name Ethan as well as Adventures' Gold.
Silver Giovanni:
Also pretty self-explanatory.
Lyra Ur:
Her name is a reference to the Lyres of Ur. Ur being an ancient Sumerian city from Mesopotamia times. (You can prob see why I like this name)
Inoue Elm:
It is a reference to Elm's Japanese voice actor, Kazuhiko Inoue.
Miette Napoleon:
Not Mr Bonaparte himself, but the North American name for mille-feuille, the origin for Miette's Japanese name.
Viola Blanca / Alexa Blanca:
Now this is more obscure for the Pokemon readers but for the readers that are privy to Fate, they probably know why. In the game FGO, it is the name of a fairy in the form of a moth. Since Viola's a Buy type Trainer, Blanca seemed suitable.
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And that's about it for now. There's a piece of 'Incarnation' goodness in the chapter so I'll be addressing that below so, enjoy!
Chapter 66: Johto Gang, Assemble!
Hotel Richissime, Kalos Region
"Cynthia, you said something about mortals possessing the Gods' powers. That doesn't align with Squishy and Puni-chan's explanation," Serena asked.
"You misunderstand, Serena. Like what Cynthia said, we Gods ourselves do not have the right to possess mortals. The only exceptions are the ones with foreign origins like us or the apex pantheon of Sinnoh: The Creation Gods."
Squishy and Puni-chan rectified the honey blonde's misunderstanding, deathly serious when speaking of the Creation Gods.
]=[
ATL Entry: Creation Gods
The main pantheon of the religion Sinjohism, the most famous religion and widely practiced across the world. The Gods described were as followed:
The Left Hand of the Original One: Dialga. The Warden of Time.
The Right Hand of the Original One: Palkia. The Speaker of Space.
And finally…
The Original One Itself: Arceus.
The Divine Creator.
The religion worshipped these 3̴̥̅ Gods, following their lessons in the form of a series of parables known as the Old Verses. As such, it was the Old Verses that gave people its storied myths as well as instilled upon them its wisdom and values into them till the present day.
]=[
"Which is why I'm stuck as to identifying who my beloved God is," Cynthia sighed tiredly, eyes begging the Cores for an answer.
"Your deity wishes anonymity. However, it will reveal itself to you once 'the time comes'."
Puni-chan's cryptic answer did nothing the deescalate the blonde woman's curiosity.
"Sooo, how does this have to with you being an Incarnation?" Serena quirked her brow.
"Well, for an Incarnation, learning about the identity of their guardian bestows them a sort of 'control' over a state I named 'Crowning'. I, for one, have been struggling with this since I've found out about this whole other mystical world. It's fascinating, to say the least," Cynthia answered again.
"Wait, are you saying…?"
"Yes, Serena. Cynthia is an example of a splendid Incarnation, capable of controlling herself to such a degree so that she does not 'Crown' accidentally," Squishy praised.
"Oh, shucks. Feels weird getting praised by the Verdant Guardian."
The honey blonde admired Cynthia even more after such a revelation. The Champion was the only one up to this point, the sole Incarnation she herself knew of, and still worked to gain control of herself with absolutely NO knowledge of beginning, middle or end. And still, she achieved it, all without the identity nor help from her God.
'Cynthia's amazing…' she gawked.
"Though, I kinda lost control for a moment during my battle with Viola," the blonde woman admitted sheepishly.
Serena recalled the battle earlier today and did wonder how Milotic's strength suddenly exploded to freeze an entire battlefield that crawled all the way to the perimeter of the stands.
"If my emotions get the better of me, if I slip up just a teensy bit, the Crowning leaks out," the Champion answered after seeing the puzzled look on the honey blonde.
"…I wanna see it now."
Cynthia turned towards the eager Serena, eyes wide in disbelief as they looked at the girl wondering if she had just slept through her explanation.
"I wanna see it."
She was not budging at all. The Cores beside the honey blonde nodded, as if to say it was safe to do so.
"Okay then…"
Instantly, the platinum eyes began to transform.
"Don't get nightmares over this."
The whites of her eyes shifted, turning her sclera pitch black while her once platinum eyes changed colours into scarlet red.
The air around the blonde woman turned overpowering, as if a seismic episode had occurred in front of Serena.
Serena herself was reminded of the feeling both Cores allowed her to sense during Cynthia's first arrival. The looming darkness creeping in around her spine, covering her body with pitch black wings. Such an imagery was returned to the honey blonde.
However, Serena could not care less about that as she knew her safety was guaranteed by the Cores. Instead, the honey blonde could not help but be mesmerized by Cynthia's scarlet red eyes.
"Beautiful."
"…Eh?"
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Little Bark Town, Johto Region
The children were led away from the upper floor as Elm's wife shooed them to the laboratory where she would supervise them, leaving the adults plus Ash to deal with the current state of troubles brewing above.
"So Johto's your second region, huh? Should've expected it," Giovanni sipped on his cup of coffee with nonchalance.
"Cut the crap. Why aren't you behind bars?" Ash growled.
The raven-haired boy was not entertaining whatever schemes Giovanni was seemingly plotting. And to his surprise, the former Rocket boss answered him.
"What else? In exchange for pardon, I've decided to help Lance here to stop Neo Rocket."
"I told you to cut the crap, geezer! I'm asking WHY are you even helping?!"
"Ash, that's enough!" Lance and Misty shouted at the boy.
'What the heck? Are these two… on his side?!' the raven-haired boy was in disbelief.
"You're actually listening to him?" Ash demanded towards the Johto Champion, completely losing all respect for Lance.
"He's a goddamn criminal!"
'That's right, this guy… is pure evil!'
"Ash… Have you listened to him yet?" Lance asked, calm despite the boy's anger directed to him.
"…Huh?! What's there to listen?!"
"Calm down and listen to me, boy!"
The carmine-haired man ordered fiercely, silencing the raven-haired boy into a lip-biting mess, trying to hold back the fury in his system.
"Giovanni's working with the International Police as well as its subsidiary called the G-Men. And don't you dare shout; only nod or shake your head. Understood?"
]=[
ATL Entry: International Police
The International Police was a worldwide law enforcement agency, spanning almost every region with the highest level of authorization. Its subsidiary division, the G-Men, controlled both Kanto and Johto regions as the main force of law enforcement due to the regions being the farthest from their headquarters in Unova.
]=[
Feeling powerless, Ash reluctantly nodded towards the authoritative figure. His blood pressure raised even higher as he sneaked a peek at a gloating Giovanni.
"And you. Stop antagonizing the boy."
"Orders are orders," Giovanni raised his arms in surrender.
"Sigh… Now, to explain: Neo Rocket's involvement has gone international which is why the IP is now actively searching for them. That's because they have gotten hold of a certain classified item."
'Classified item? Is it something like the GS Ball?' Ash theorized silently.
"Withholding information, Lance? If you keep the brat in the dark, he's not going to know what hit him," the former boss eyed the Champion.
'This geezer… Is he helping m— No, stop that. Don't fall for his tricks.'
"And I'm telling you that there's no way Neo Rocket would use it. It's too risky, especially since it's a prototype."
"They are my goons. I can already see their thought process once they've perfected it. Let me tell you, it's going to be more headache for the IP and you."
'For the love of— Is anyone gonna fill me in here?!'
"Lance. A question," Misty finally spoke up.
"Misty… I've been wondering why you're with Ash but fine. What is it?"
"Why are you revealing this to Ash?" the redhead asked with a slightly angered tone.
Misty was keeping a cool expression, but beneath it was a furious rage towards the Champion. She did not understand why he was saying so many classified information to the raven-haired boy.
'Sure, it might be a warning for Ash but…' she pondered.
It was a double-edged sword. A warning would be sufficient for any other ordinary person, but for Ash…
It was like dangling meat to a wolf.
The redhead knew how the boy was like and because of Lance's meddling, her plan to keep Ash away from trouble went up in smokes. Thus, her anger flared up.
"Have you not told her yet, Ash? About your so-called 'pilgrimage'?" Lance cocked a brow towards the boy.
Still wordless, Ash shook his head.
"Then before I explain, let me ask you this: Are you prepared to protect and guide the boy throughout Johto?"
"Wait!"
At this, the raven-haired boy finally cut his silence.
"I told you to be quiet, Ash," the carmine-haired man sighed.
"Screw that! You're roping Misty into this!"
The livid outburst from the raven-haired boy startled Lance for a bit. This was the first time he had seen such an irate expression on him, causing him to be taken aback.
"Misty's only here for vacation. So don't you dare get her into this mess and leave her alone!"
The redhead widened her eyes at the growling boy, wondering what kind of secrets he held for him to be so desperate like an injured animal. But at the same time, she was touched at his protective nature towards her as well as his expressed desire for her to enjoy her time.
However, parallel to those feelings, Misty felt obligated to protect Ash if what the implications Lance explained were true. And for Giovanni to be in the same room, it was enough for her to understand the gravity of the situation.
"Ash," she called out gently to the distressed boy.
"It's fine. I already told you, didn't I?"
A smile crept onto her face as she gave a confident expression to the boy.
'I know how he's like. If he's left alone, he'll go around saving others like a protective idiot. That's why…' the redhead steeled herself.
"I can't let you be alone, remember? So, just leave it to your big sister!"
'I'll be a big sister who protects her little brother.'
"Big sister who?!" Ash retorted.
'He may not admit it, but I know he's weak to older women if his interactions with Daisy and that Serena girl were any indication. This just places the final nail in the coffin.'
"Lance, I'm prepared."
"…Very well."
"Tch!" Ash clicked his tongue, disappointed in himself for not being forceful enough.
With that, Misty was given the context for Ash's 'pilgrimage'. From the GS Ball to the current situation.
"I get it now. Thanks, Lance. I'll do my duty to protect Ash," the redhead thanked.
"Are you sure you won't regret this, Cerulean?" Giovanni asked with a smirk.
'This bastard…!' Ash gritted his teeth.
"Now that I think about it, nearly 2 years since I've been Gym Leader, this is the first time I'm seeing your face, Viridian," Misty acknowledged the man.
"To answer your question: No. I will never regret it."
"Haha! Well said! You're already a lot better in my eyes than this brat."
"As if I wanna get into your good graces!"
In Ash's eyes, Giovanni was undeniably 'evil'. His previous Pokémon, Marowak and Lapras, suffered so much due to Team Rocket.
"I will never forgive you, Giovanni. You robbed Marowak of his mother!"
Ash was prepared. He had the moral high ground.
But all of a sudden…
"About that… I'm truly sorry," Giovanni admitted.
"…Huh?"
'He's apologizing?! Is he serio—'
But as his bloodred eyes laid upon the man, slight amounts of AURA unconsciously cloaked them as his findings shocked himself.
There was no falsehood in his words. AURA could not detect it.
No, in truth, AURA sensed no lies, period. Ash just did not want to accept it.
"You… you're lying!"
"No, I'm not. To be honest, I'm disgusted at myself. To think I was about to kill a child at that time, no number of apologies would be able to repent me from that fact."
'What… What is he talking about?'
The former Rocket boss's guilt was prevalent in his body language as well as words. The raven-haired boy staggered back a little due to the sudden change in Giovanni.
'This has to be a trick… Yeah, a trick…' Ash tried to justify himself.
Misty and Lance watched the boy, not making a sound as they realized Ash's main dilemma.
'Don't ask him… Don't ask him…'
'Don't do it!'
"…Why? Why're you regretting it now?"
"Silver. My son," he answered seriously.
"After my defeat against you, I was visited in prison by my secretary-turned wife, Matori, and Silver. Almost every day, I had to watch my boy trying his best to plead my innocence."
Giovanni's expression of previous gloat towards the raven-haired boy was now one of regret and pain. Ash, on the other hand, was simply unable to process the words coming out of the man.
"And then, Lance came with a proposal. Team Rocket's resurgence as Neo Rocket is a stroke of fortune for me," Giovanni continued.
"The organization I built, layered with bricks of greed and despair… Finally, I can atone for my sins by destroying all of it!"
"Then…! Then, Mewtwo! How do you explain him?!" Ash roared, his head beginning to ache horrendously.
"Hmph, let's be honest, I did 'him' a favour. I helped him control his power. If it weren't for that, you'd be dead twice over," the former boss scoffed.
Ash was unable to comprehend. The boy looked at the man as if he was staring at an alien subject. His conscience was glitching as he could not even identify Giovanni at this point.
Was he good now that he decided to atone?
Or was he evil due to his past actions?
'I don't know… I don't know!'
The raven-haired boy felt his body cowering at the impossible dilemma.
"You're doing all this…?" he muttered, now more muted than before.
"For Silver. My son believes in me, trusts me so much; and that's more than enough reason to discard my empire of dirt once and for all."
BAM!
Ash could not take it anymore, leaving the room in a hurry as he was hyperventilating uncontrollably.
"Pikapi!" / "Kero!"
"Ash! Sorry, I'll go get him," Misty bowed to Lance before bolting for Ash.
"…"
The two men stayed silent for a moment before Giovanni sighed.
"I'll write down the things he needs to know so he doesn't have to see me."
"Your prudence is appreciated."
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Hotel Richissime, Kalos Region
"Hahaha! That's the first time I've ever shown anyone my 'Crowning' and THAT's the first thing you said?" Cynthia broke into a hearty laugh.
"W-w-what?! They ARE beautiful eyes!" Serena protested with a pout, inflating her face into manju buns.
But with one gentle poke from Cynthia's finger, the girl's pout deflated.
'What a strange girl,' the blonde woman allowed a genuine smile to take hold of her mouth.
Cynthia's memories of past resurfaced. Although her childhood was relatively normal from the outside, but due to her uncontrollable Blessing from a young age, she was ostracized from other children.
A monster of red eyes and black sclera. She knew those whispers of fear behind her back. That was what caused her to love Pokémon so much, especially her lifelong partner.
'You and that boy I met from Sunyshore…'
"Thank you, Serena. You might not understand, but hearing you call them 'beautiful' does wonders for my heart."
"You're welcome, but as I've said…"
CLAP!
"I already have someone I like!" Serena declared by clapping her hands together in the same joking manner as before.
"Gwaaah! Foiled again~" the blonde woman played along again before the two laughed together.
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.
.
What the hell?
What the hell?
What the hell?!
I ran off. I couldn't take it anymore.
My heart raced violently as I tried my absolute hardest to process that bastard's words.
But no matter how hard I tried…
"What the hell…" I muttered in… Annoyance? Anger?
I couldn't tell.
I had no idea what his game was.
Giovanni. Team Rocket's former boss.
Now a family man?
Bullshit. I'll never accept that.
But deep down, I knew.
The truth was that it wasn't 'I can never accept that'…
But rather 'I can never understand that'.
How can a man so ruthless and evil turned into such a truthful and regretful person?
That question haunted me as I stormed off.
Hatred towards Giovanni boiled over as I saw him, but after his entire reasoning of wanting to prove to his son that he was the guy in his fantasy…
I held conflicting feelings towards that.
"There you are," I heard a panting voice beside me.
I turned upwards, finding Misty with ragged breaths, her cerulean eyes beaming as if she was happy to find me.
Oh right. I ran away.
"Sorry," I apologized.
I felt her stare lingering for a few moments before I felt her sitting next to me.
"Something on your mind?" she asked.
She already knew so why was she asking me?
But it didn't matter. I was glad to answer her.
"Misty… How can you tell a person's good or bad?"
It was a childish question, but it plagued my mind.
Giovanni's past actions and his current one had muddled my head.
A crime boss, but a parent. A parent…
My heart began to feel heavy. Prickling sensations erupted from my body.
It was as if…
K̶̓͋̒͗̆̔͆̒͗́̇̑͜͝Ĭ̶̡̮͇͔̤̱̼̹̖̭̺̹̗́̿͐̔̽̈́͝͠Ņ̸̛̳̲̼̻̩̩̪̇̈́͛̃̆̿̂͒̿͗̀̕ͅS̷̰͈͍̍͗̈̄̄̇̌̔̐L̸̛̩̲͖̞̮̰̯͑͜A̶̮͎̯̦͗̔̉̕Y̶̺͔̯̰͉̖͉̰̪̣͙̩͔͂̀͋̽̂͠Ë̴̞̻̩͛̽̈́̑̇͛̅̑͗͘͝͝ͅŖ̵͂͛̆̊͊̿͆̍̍̕̚͝͠!̵͍̻͂̈́͂̅̆̃̎̌̕
A thousand blades were threatening to tear their vessel apart.
"I don't know!"
That sudden loud answer snapped me awake. It was Misty's voice.
Her answer reverberated in my mind as I processed it.
"…Huh?"
Was the best reply I could think of.
"I don't know," she grinned at me before ruffling my hair.
"I don't even know why that's got your feathers ruffled in the first place."
What in the world is she saying?
"There's no real way to tell if someone is entirely good or bad, Ash. That kind of person doesn't exist."
…!
"This is something my sisters used to teach me so lend me an ear, will you?"
I nodded, not wanting to interrupt her.
"Evil men flirtatiously show goodwill. Saints commit acts of evil on a whim. Such contradiction is what makes us human."
Sounds like a fake priest's words. But...
"Human…" I breathed out.
"Yep. No human in the world is fully good or evil. What's important is who you become in the future," Misty smiled gracefully.
"Or at least, that's my interpretation."
I'm speechless. It's hard for me to grasp but it was so easy for her to condense it into a few sentences.
The message she gave came through, but that left me wondering towards a different question:
If I couldn't reach such a simple conclusion…
Am I not human enough?
"…Thanks, Misty."
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Ash and Misty returned to the upper floor of the lab as Pikachu and Froakie leapt onto the boy, snuggling into his arms.
"Haha, what's with you guys?" Ash chuckled as he patted both of his Pokémon.
"Probably because their Trainer up and left them alone, leaving them behind with Giovanni?" Lance scoffed, sarcasm present in his voice.
"Erk… Sorry, guys."
As the two Pokémon returned to their favourite respective shoulder, Ash noticed something.
"Where's Giovanni?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.
Lance handed a couple of papers to the boy, the latter accepting them with a questioning look.
"That man thinks you'll get uncomfortable again if you see him. So instead, he gave this to you in exchange."
"How kind of him…" Ash rolled his eyes as he spoke sarcastically.
Just then, the door opened behind them as Professor Elm beckoned Ash to follow.
"C'mon, Ash. It's time for the examination…"
The Professor eyed the redhead, carefully choosing his next words.
"She knows about the GS Ball, Professor," Lance assured with folded arms.
"Ah, then this makes it easier. Come along now."
'Sigh… I wonder what Yellow's up to.'
'Hope she's not having a hard time…'
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Serena was having the time of her life.
The honey blonde was watching a movie with Cynthia and Garchomp sitting next to her. Fennekin was happily yipping as the large land shark tickled the yellow fox gently with her claws.
"Fou, fou!"
"Gar~"
Meanwhile, the two Cores were comfortably on the honey blonde's head, studying the movie before them.
"So this 'kiss' turns the prince back into human?" Puni-chan asked.
"Yep. Then they lived happily ever after, the end," Serena chirped.
"Quite the fascinating tale you humans can conjure although we question the validity of this 'movie's' interpretation of magic. The story you read for us at night was quite something too, Serena," Squishy wobbled.
"Story?" Cynthia asked aloud.
"Oh, it's just an old folktale. They always sleep in the end before I could finish it though."
…
Night fell when the movie ended. Both Cynthia and Serena said their goodnights as they retreated to their respective rooms.
Serena was given one of the many rooms of the blonde woman's penthouse, hers was a large room with soft pink wallpapers, courtesy of the Champion, who was more than happy to decorate since she enjoyed the honey blonde's company.
'Today was kinda wacky,' Serena cuddled with a myriad of plush toys surrounding her.
'How many plushies does Cynthia own?'
Of course, they were all gifts from the blonde woman, who proudly claimed this was merely a quarter of her collection.
"Fou!"
An annoyed Fennekin slapped away the plush next to her Trainer and proceeded to cuddle in her usurped position.
"You jealous? Don't worry, Fennekin," the honey blonde hugged the yipping fox.
"As if I'd give up on such a cutie~"
Serena snuggled her face into the yellow fox's fur, eliciting a laugh from the tickled Fennekin. The Cores beside her slept on a Snorlax plush, also close to Serena since they were used to being next to her.
And within a few minutes, Fennekin snored away peacefully.
The honey blonde rested her head onto the soft pillow, beginning her thoughts as they drifted naturally towards the raven-haired boy.
'Are you having fun, Red? I really hope you are.'
'You're gonna enter the Johto League, right…?'
Eyelids began to drop as fatigue took hold.
'…Good luck. Don't…'
'Give up until it's over…'
Finally, sleep embraced the girl.
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The GS Ball was placed in a glass chamber, its components analysed for the Professor to examine as Ash and Misty watched with silent curiosity.
"This is weird," Elm scratched his chin as the machines finished its findings.
"What's happening?" Ash asked.
The Professor removed the GS Ball from the chamber, giving it back to the boy as he immediately stored it within Bill's custom-made Bag's digital space.
"We've used a normal PokéBall to find the differences of the GS Ball. Accounting for the materials used to make the Ball as well as margin of errors, there should only be a 25% difference."
"It isn't?"
The Professor shook his head.
"Unfortunately, our estimated calculations were way off. It's an 80% difference, I'm afraid."
"Da heck? What's up with that?"
"Not only that, but we also can't even pry the GS Ball open. Thing's a steel trap, I tell you."
The raven-haired boy was getting more confused as to what the GS Ball truly was.
"And next, it's up to you, Ash," Elm placed a hand on the boy's shoulder with Froakie hopping on his raven hair instead.
"Find old man Kurt, right?"
"Yes. But before you leave, I still need to give you my endorsement, right?"
At this, the boy lit up in excitement.
"Yes, please! Oh man, I can't wait to battle the Level 2 Gym Pokémon!" Ash jumped for joy.
"Pikachu!" / "Kero!"
The two Pokémon cheered similarly as they were also eager to challenge more worthwhile challenges to get stronger. Charizard's capsule wiggled as well.
"When it comes to battling, he gets really excited, huh?" Elm chuckled.
"Well, it's a far better sight than a few minutes ago," Misty smiled fondly at the grinning boy.
"You said it. But still, keep him safe," Lance instructed one more time.
"Hey, I might be Gym Leader for 2 years, but I can handle a kid, y'know?" the redhead deadpanned.
"Of course you can. I have no qualms with the girl that caught Lorelei's eye."
"Alright, Ash. Let's stop by th—"
Ring, ring!
"Hm?"
Ring, ring!
The Professor's PC rang as a caller was on the line.
Click!
"Hello, Professor Elm here," the Johto researcher greeted.
Ash and Misty could not tell who was on the other side of the call since Elm's messy folders were blocking their view. But as they tried to get a closer look, they realized it was a futile effort.
The call was voice only, meaning there were no screen sharing on the PC.
"Eh?! That was today?!" Elm yelped in shock.
'Yeah, I feel like he says that a lot…' Ash scanned the lab a second time.
He realized the place was a mess with scattered papers and folders were all over the lab. That alone gave the boy all the information he needed of what kind of character Elm was.
Just as he finished his line of thought, Elm ended his call and turned towards the two with a haggard expression.
"Sorry, you two. Apparently, my colleague's son is coming here for his starter Pokémon," the man explained.
"A 15-year-old?" Misty asked.
"No, a boy the same age as Ash over here," Elm patted Ash's head with Froakie returning to his favourite shoulder.
"An 11-year-old? Does that mean he has a Provisional License?"
]=[
ATL Entry: Provisional Trainer License
A temporary license given to Trainers under the age of 15. Young Trainers with this license were to be accompanied by an official Trainer as supervision.
One could upgrade this into an official license through 2 ways:
Taking an examination of the highest difficulty set by Professor Oak himself.
Or challenging a League after obtaining 8 Badges.
The second option required full guardianship across the Trainer's journey to gather all 8 Badges. As for the League standing, it did not matter as collecting the Badges were seen as enough. The challenge part was merely a reward for the completion.
]=[
"I think most kids at Ash's age would apply for it immediately. Sigh… I promised to find a Trainer to accompany that boy too. But I was too immersed with my work…" Elm lamented.
"Um… It's not good to be a workaholic, Professor," Ash tried to comfort the researcher.
Ding dong!
"He's already here too."
The lab's door slammed open as a figure presented itself to the people within.
"Pro!"
"Fes!"
"Sor!"
The figure turned out to be a flamboyant boy…
"I am here for my starter!"
…With ruby red eyes.
'I can't tell… Is that his hair or a hat?' Ash stared at the white knit hat.
"Before that, you should introduce yourself, boy. Show the Professor respects," Lance chided lightly.
The flamboyant boy took a quick glance before changing it into a full-blown saucer-eyed stare.
"T-t-the Johto Champion?!" he yelped.
The boy took another, but clearer, look this time and found himself in the presence of the Cerulean Gym Leader as well as…
"You! Red of Pallet Town?!" he gasped.
'How the heck does everyone know me?' the raven-ahired boy mused to himself before realizing he attended the Grand League.
'Oh… right.'
"Well, it was but now, call me by my real name," Ash extended a hand to the new person.
"Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town. Nice to meetcha."
A pause. But the next moment, the boy accepted the hand and shook it with a grin.
"Brendan Birch of Goldenrod City. Likewise, Faker!"
"…Please don't call me that."
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.
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"Huhhh? You still haven't found one, Professor?" Brendan deflated at the apologetic Elm.
"Yes… The fault is mine, I was too absorbed with work."
"Crud. I made a pretty loud farewell to Mom back home too."
The ruby eyes sneaked multiple glances towards Ash and Misty to which the two noticed. It was obvious enough what the boy was implying.
"No, Ash," the redhead whispered to the boy.
"I haven't even said anything!" he hissed back.
"You want him to come too, right? Sorry, but with this whole GS Ball and Team Rocket fiasco, it's too risky for Brendan to come."
The raven-haired boy clicked his tongue. Seeing Brendan's face fell got Ash to remember his time in Oak's lab.
The feeling of wanting to start an adventure. It was overpowering, though for him, he wanted to start for a completely different reason.
He contemplated taking out his locket to calm himself down but decided against it. The boy did not trust himself to handle it with care, especially in a hazardous place like the lab.
"But… I want to help him."
"…Why? You just met him."
"Helping others isn't wrong."
His go-to phrase. Ambertwo would be proud.
Misty really wanted to hit the boy once but managed to hold herself back.
'It's one thing to decide without knowing the risks, but this brat… He still wants to take him along despite KNOWING the risks?!' Misty felt a migraine coming.
"…Grah! You're such an idiot!" the redhead stood up suddenly.
The Gym Leader startled both boys as they stared at girl with surprise.
"You! Brendan, right?"
"Yes, ma'am!"
"You have Pokémon with you?"
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Right now, you're a Trainer, yes?"
"Provisional but yes, ma'am!"
"Then, you know the rules."
Misty pulled Ash's ear and dragged him towards Brendan with yelps of pain echoing behind. Pikachu and Froakie disembarked, saluting the boy good luck.
"Ow, ow, ow! Why me?!"
"You know damn well!"
As Ash was placed in front of Brendan, the redhead held both the boys' heads and turned them to look at each other.
"There. If two Trainers' eyes meet?" she sighed.
The boys blinked at each other before suddenly breaking into feral grins.
"They have to battle!" they both answered.
…
Everyone moved to the battlefield outside the lab, the previous 3 children from before attending, thoroughly excited to see their first actual battle.
However, Ash's eyes lingered a moment longer towards Silver before shaking his head, not wanting to think any more about Giovanni.
'The last thing I need is that geezer living in my head rent free…'
"Froakie, I choose you!"
The blue frog jumped from his shoulder, taking his position on the battlefield.
"Nana!"
The white-hatted boy summoned a Pokémon resembling a small gray canine, growling at the Bubble Frog Pokémon.
'I've never seen this one before,' Ash thought as he took out his device.
[=]
Poochyena, the Bite Pokémon
Poochyena is an omnivore—it will eat anything. A distinguishing feature is how large its fangs are compared to its body. This Pokémon tries to intimidate its foes by making the hair on its tail bristle out. It has a very tenacious nature. Its acute sense of smell lets it chase a chosen prey without ever losing track.
[=]
"Is that the famous Dex?! Dad said I'll be getting one too when I start my journey," Brendan exclaimed.
'Dad… Birch… That explains it. He's probably Professor Birch's son,' the raven-haired boy figured.
"As for that, let's do this: If you can land a hit on Froakie, both Misty and I will be your guardians for your Provisional."
"You mean I'm the guardian, right?" an unimpressed redhead reminded behind the boy.
"Pika," Pikachu deadpanned in Misty's arms.
Brendan was floored at the wager. He was already excited to meet the boy who climbed his way up the Grand League and now, the chance to explore Johto with him?
"No way I'm messing this up!"
The white-hatted boy's demeanour shifted from his initial flamboyant nature to one of passionate excitement.
At this, Ash and Froakie widened their eyes and began to take the seemingly novice Trainer a little seriously.
'This guy…'
"This is a Standard 1v1 between Brendan and Ash. Ready?"
"Yeah!" / "Yep."
"And—"
"BEGIN!" Ethan interrupted with an abrupt shout.
The two Trainers grinned as they blasted into action.
"[Double Team]!"
Froakie summoned a dozen clones, circling around the gray hyena as he tried to confuse it.
'From what it looks like, Brendan's a novice Trainer. [Double Team]'s effectiveness is at its highest when the opponent has never seen it before—'
"Nana, [Bite]!"
'He's going for it? But it doesn't kn—'
But Ash's face turned to one of shock as Nana bolted for the real one almost immediately.
"Wha?! Create some distance, Froakie! [Water Pulse]!"
The blue frog aimed an orb of water on the hyena, shooting it as a warning shot as Nana backed off with Froakie hopping back to his original spot.
'It knew?! How did it…'
"…That's right! Poochyena's entry!"
"Haha! Don't underestimate my Nana! Her sense of smell's world-class!" Brendan gave a V-sign.
"Isn't she the coolest?"
When it came to bragging about Pokémon, Ash was certain the white-hatted boy really took the top spot.
But he knew there was no sense of gloat nor thinking he was better. It was simply just…
'He loves his Pokémon that much, huh?' Ash smiled.
"Yeah, she's really cool."
"Right?"
Brendan returned to the battle as he called out his next attack.
"Nana, [Bite]!"
'Figures,' Ash thought.
"Meet her with [Cut]!"
A shining needle manifested on Froakie's hand as he wielded it like a knife that intercepted sharp teeth that threatened to chomp down on the frog.
"Ke!" the blue frog grunted as he held the needle with two hands instead to double the effort.
'She's strong?! What kind of novice Trainer owns a Pokémon this strong?!' Ash widened his eyes in shock.
"Kuh! Froakie, [Quick Attack]!"
"Kero!" the frog nodded.
The Kalos starter deflected the [Bite] by unequipping himself from his [Cut] needle and dashed away. But again, Nana was unrelenting in her pursuit as she immediately pounced onto Froakie once more.
"[Water Pulse] on the ground!"
The blue frog's body moved instantly, detonating the water orb on the earth beside him, sending the user flying sideways before getting back into position thanks to Froakie's dexterous body.
Nana found herself blinded by the dust while her fangs found no frog between them. But before the dust cleared, Froakie began charging up again.
"Nana, get outta there!" Brendan cried out.
"[Water Pulse]!" Ash called out.
BOOM!
A direct hit.
The hyena was sent hurdling back to Brendan's side as she stood up again. But instead of focusing on the Bubble Frog Pokémon, Nana was in shock at her dirtied fur, mixed with dirt and wet mud from [Water Pulse].
'Hmm, what's up with her?' Ash pondered to himself, puzzled.
"GGGRRRAAAAHHHH!"
Suddenly, Nana went into a rageful state with her mouth wide open…
Pointing towards Ash.
'…Oh, goddamnit.'
Blinding white energy collected in her mouth before a large laser blasted towards the raven-haired boy.
"KERO!" Froakie croaked in horror.
"ASH!" Misty, Lance, and Elm cried out.
"PIKAPI!" the electric mouse squeaked in a panic.
The Professor's wife hugged the 3 children, not wanting them to see despite being scared herself.
'This attack…! Don't tell me!' the carmine-haired man recognized the move.
'[Hyper Beam]?!'
…
The laser inched closer. The raven-haired boy was stuck.
He could not move away. That time window had elapsed.
But thanks to Mind's Eye, Ash still could react.
0.15 seconds.
Just as his thoughts raced frantically, he recalled his time with Nimue in his dream.
"Just think of it and it will appear by your will."
Unconsciously, the boy's right hand found itself moving towards his back.
'Now's a good time than never!'
With merely his will, the back scabbard carrying the stone-clad Sword appeared, equipping itself on the raven-haired boy.
Schwing!
And a smooth movement to seal the deal, Ash brought the Sword in front of him to block the [Hyper Beam].
BOOOOOMMMMM!
"Grrrrhhhh!"
'I hate my damn luck!'
The Sword pushed back against the unrelenting attack, cutting light wounds on Ash's forearms. But pain was not something Ash was focusing on.
"Froakie, Pikachu!" he shouted among the deafening clash between blade and light.
Thankfully, the two Pokémon heard their Trainer's shout from behind the [Hyper Beam] and immediately went to work.
The two rushed towards the uncontrollable hyena before restraining her into the ground, ending [Hyper Beam] once and for all.
Shinnng…
The light died out with the result being a cloud of exploded smoke.
"Ash!" the redhead immediately ran towards the smoke cloud.
All the while, Brendan was horrified at what he had done. But before he could say anything, the smoke cleared for everyone to reveal something surprising.
"Cough… cough… Gah, this smoke…" a coughing Ash walked out with his arms covered with bleeding wounds.
The scabbard and Sword long disappeared.
'Thanks for the save, Zacian. But better not let anyone find out about it,' Ash mused to himself.
A wise decision, Tonelico.
The voice returned to his head, prompting a slight frown on Ash's face.
'You know I don't mind seeing you, right?'
Aye, but I mind.
'Sigh… Meh. I'll wait till you're ready.'
…Thank you, Tonelico.
'It's no matter. Ah, don't heal my arms. It's not that serious; besides, it'd be suspicious if it healed quicker than normal.'
I see. I do understand the appeal of scarred knights being attractive to young maidens.
'I don't think we're on the same page here…'
His mental chat with Zacian was cut short as Misty came barrelling onto him.
"Mmgh?!"
"Ash, are you okay?! Oh no, look at your arms!" the redhead panicked.
"Hurry, we gotta bandage this up!"
But Ash declined.
"Nah, I gotta check on Nana. Besides, it's a scratch compared to 'this'," Ash smirked as he pointed at his heart.
"That's not funny! I'm still angry about that!"
But the redhead complied with the compromise being she helped him walk towards Brendan and Nana.
"Yo," Ash greeted the two.
"Ash… I'm really sorry! Really!" the white-hatted boy apologized fervently.
The raven-haired boy heard Nana whimpered besides her Trainer before he knelt before her. Raising a hand onto her…
The boy patted the gray hyena affectionally.
"Grr?" Nana stared at him in surprise.
"You were really strong, girl! Man, you two surprised me!" Ash grinned nonchalantly.
Misty and the adults present looked at him like he was insane, but the boy continued.
"I had no idea you had a secret weapon like that, Brendan. That's good, never show your opponent your entire hand."
"But… your arms…"
"Hm? Eh, it'll heal. I've had worse ones before in Kanto," Ash shrugged it off.
The white-hatted boy gulped at his calmness.
Nana, on the other hand, began to lick the boy's wounds as a form of apology.
"Haha, for a cool Pokémon, you sure are cute, huh?"
'Wait, Ash! Don't call her—'
The hyena blushed before continuing to lick his wounds, pretending as if she did not hear that.
'What? Nana didn't attack him? But she doesn't like people calling her cute…'
Brendan eyed his Pokémon suspiciously.
.
.
.
"Thanks, Mr Aide," Ash grinned as he moved his wrapped arms around.
It was perfectly wrapped with bandages, much to Ash's satisfaction. The only peeve he had was wearing his glove over it, but it was a small matter.
"Please don't do something that reckless again," the aide begged.
"No promises."
The aide was beginning to feel sympathy for the redhead who was accompanying him across Johto.
"Brendan, was it? How is it possible your Poochyena can learn [Hyper Beam]?" Lance interrogated.
"Eh? It's not possible?" Ash asked.
"Poochyena isn't capable, but its evolution, Mightyena, is able to. I've never seen such a thing before."
At this, Brendan opened his mouth.
"I… I…"
But he was hesitating a lot, as if he was scared to explain. Just as he was about to give in to pressure, a bandaged arm protected him.
"It's fine, isn't it? No one got hurt in the end," Ash glared at the Champion.
The Champion raised a brow, wondering if the raven-haired boy was joking as he stared at his injuries. But the serious look in his eyes were genuine. He was sure 'no one' got hurt in the end.
"…Do what you will. And Brendan?"
"Yes sir?!"
"As you journey, learn more from these two."
With that, Lance exited the lab.
Brendan was flabbergasted at the Champion's words.
"Does that mean…"
Both Misty and Ash extended a hand to the ruby-eyed boy with the latter holding on his signature toothy grin.
"Welcome aboard, buddy."
And thus, the Johto trio was completed.
.
.
.
A few hours later…
"And then, that Ash guy survived the [Hyper Beam]!" Silver exclaimed.
"Did he now? Well, that boy was tough from the beginning so I'm not that surprised," Giovanni patted his son's red hair.
"Hey, Dad? Is there something between you and that guy? I mean, he was rather rude to you."
"Haha! Well, I did deserve it. I was a bad guy, after all."
'Although…'
Giovanni's thought traced back to Lance's words right after Ash had left in a hurry.
"Go play with your friends, Silver. Daddy needs to talk to someone."
"Okay…"
"I'll make you some jelly-filled donuts later."
"You got it!"
The former boss chuckled in amusement as he returned to his thoughts.
'Another Team Rocket group consisting of a man, a woman and a talking Meowth?'
Chapter 66: Johto Gang, Assemble!
"…Do I know them?"
Author's Notes
Hello again. And yes, dear readers.
I'm that crazy.
Yorokobe, readers! For Brendan enters the story! Wooo!
Betcha didn't expect him of all people to be the mysterious 3rd member of the Johto gang.
I'm not ashamed to say I like Ruby from Adventures, sue me. Both him and Sapphire were goated characters in the manga. (Now if only Celebi didn't come and screw everything up in the end...)
This Brendan Birch is an amalgamated character just like most, if not all characters in Fated are. Just to clarify, he is primarily Ruby but with the background of Birch being his dad instead of Norman since that ship has sailed... But don't worry. THAT part of the backstory remains... Huehuehue.
(Also, his personality and characteristics are also mixed.)
But author! Isn't Brendan from Olivine City, not Goldenrod?
That's game Brendan. Ruby on the other hand, is from Goldenrod.
.
Now for the Incarnation part: Crowning.
From the implications in Cynthia's demonstration, you can guess what it is already. With Cynthia's eyes turning into... a certain someone's colour.
Hint: There's a reason why the Legendaries call their Incarnations their 'child'... (wink, wink)
As for that certain someone, we'll call it Mysterious Character G-san to avoid spoilers. (Even if almost everyone already knows...)
G-san is an unknown in Fated's universe, kinda like a 'history is written by the winners' type deal.
Its identity is an unknown. Its role is an unknown. Hell, nobody even knows what it is.
But author! What about the totally-not-a-villain guy from Legends: Arceus? Why didn't he document it?
It WAS a long time ago. I don't think realistically the document survived until the present day.
(Yeah, let's go with that) (Plus, it's an excuse to give G-san more mystery and hype)
.
And now, for Ash's breakdown.
Geez, where do I begin?
Okay, let's begin with this: Let's be honest, Giovanni's an asshole. No denying that. Most fanfics would've doubled down on this aspect... but not me.
According to Adventures, the dude loves his kid. So, what happens if I turn Giovanni into a caring dad that loves his kid so much that he abandons Team Rocket for good?
You'd probably be thinking, WTF is author smoking? And I don't blame you.
But now, imagine being in Ash's position. Now add in his screwed-up mindset. And his sense of justice. And his 11-year-old mind.
Imagine how fucked up his head is right now.
This ties in nicely with the main villain of Johto as well.
Without spoilers, imagine doing so heinous like messing with oh, idk, the entire timeline for example... Just so he can reunite a child with their parents?
So is he a villain? Yes. But is he doing for an arguably good cause? Also yes.
With that, in Ash's eyes: Is he good or bad?
And that's the theme for Johto, ladies and gentlemen.
.
Also sidenote:
This is the beginning of Ash catching Ls left and right (Plot Ls, not battle Ls though those might come up as well).
Even when he gets a W, it's either treated more of an L or the W immediately turns into an L down the line.
Almost like someone's actively screwing with him...
.
And finally, some HUGE NEWS.
…I did some research on the movies.
It appears that some movies can't really be written in the context of Fated since y'know, alternate world shenanigans:
Secrets in the Jungle, Power of Us. (Though that Risa girl from Power of Us is referenced and canon in Fated, commented off-handedly by Serena during Chapter 54)
To top it all off, I hated the Genesect movie. (DID I MENTION HOW MUCH I HATE THE MEWTWONITES?)
Made no goddamn sense. Hell, I'd argue Unova's movies were the worst.
Kalos is a close second, mainly due to false advertising (Where's my damn Xerneas vs Yveltal, OLM?!) and missed opportunities.
As such, we're gonna hafta cut them out of Fated. Like saying goodbye to an infected arm.
BOOOOO!
Okay, okay! Put down the pitchforks! In exchange...
Arceus and the MacGuffin of Life gets a 3-parter!
But author! Why're ya doing this?
Why, good readers, are you accusing me of discarding movies I don't wanna write for movies I like due to bias?!
How absurd! Cuz you're absolutely right.
Nah, for real though:
I have stressed many times in the Author's Notes that SINNOH is Ash's most important region before reunion. That is not an exaggeration.
Fated's version of the Sinnoh movies (more specifically, the Arceus movie) is literally gonna give like, 90%-ish of context of WTF is going in this story.
That's why it's gonna be a 3-parter. Because...
It's not an Arceus story... It's Ash's story. He is the one who's gonna carry the entire 3 parts.
However, the titles are gonna be different since we've deviated so much already. So no Jewel of Life (Then again, it was literally useless to begin with because of the Plates)
And since I love to torture you guys, here's the new titles (subject to change):
Part 1: Me, My Dream, My Ideal
Part 2: Last Stardust
Part 3: The Day to Bring Down God
Muahahaha! Have fun trying to figure out what happens in those parts from their titles! (I give it probably 2 years before we reach that part... Sigh...)
Now that we're out of the setup chapters (hopefully, unless I missed some things (yes, they do happen sometimes)), have a great day and I'll see you guys next chapter.