Introduction
Chapter 0: Life of Ash Ketchum
We find ourselves in the region of Kanto, in the small town of Pallet, where some of the best trainers, masters, professors, and anyone related to Pokémon would emerge.
At this moment, the children who were eagerly waiting to embark on their journey to test their knowledge and challenge others to demonstrate their skills were gathered at the Ranch, once owned by one of the strongest Pokémon fighters, now turned researcher who sought to answer all the mysteries related to the curious creatures in their world.
This man, of medium build, average height, cinnamon skin from long exposure to the sun, and hair peppered with gray, stood in front of the children seated at their desks in a classroom, enjoying the singing of the Pidgey and the wind carrying away the Butterfree that flew past the windows.
"Good morning, kids. I'm glad you all arrived early to class. Before we begin with today's lesson, I'm going to introduce two new students who have arrived from different places."
This caused the children to start talking among themselves, wondering who they were, creating a bit of noise, much to the older man's chagrin.
"Settle down, first we'll introduce them, and then you can ask your questions."
With that said, two peculiar children entered: the boy had black hair that reached his neck, emerald green eyes that shone supernaturally, tan skin, and wore a blue shirt with black shorts and red sneakers with white socks. He had his hands in his pockets, displaying an indifferent attitude that intrigued several present.
The other was a girl with purple hair and eyes, wearing a long black dress and moccasins without socks. She tapped her index fingers, showing she was shy, even trembling slightly and looking around without making eye contact with anyone seated.
"Alright, you can introduce yourselves now."
Following this, the protagonist stepped forward, uncrossing his arms and sighing heavily.
"My name is Ash Ketchum, I'm 9 years old, born on an unnamed island, my mother's name is Delia, I don't have any goals at the moment, and I've never had a dream to fulfill."
The students looked at each other at his peculiar introduction, unsure how to react until the girl spoke in a very soft but audible tone.
"My name is Chloe Ketchum, but you can call me Hex, it's the nickname my Onii-chan (Big Brother) gave me. I want to become a strong trainer and become a Ghost-type Gym Leader. I know there isn't one, but when I become strong, everyone will want to battle me, and no one will be able to pass without preparing enough."
The purple-haired girl had a supernatural change in personality; when it came to Pokémon battles, there was no one who could surpass her in talking about them. And when she realized, she blushed, using her hands to cover her face in vain attempts to hide her embarrassment, making those present chuckle slightly, but they choked when they felt murderous intentions coming from the green-eyed boy.
However, they forgot about it when they started asking them questions to get to know them. Everyone raised their hand and waited for their turn, some asked if they were siblings, if they had a girlfriend or boyfriend respectively, where they came from, who their dad was, if they had other siblings, and many other trivial things.
Until it was the turn of three children who stood out from the rest because they were the calmest and their hair was brightly colored, impossible to miss.
The one with red hair stood up from his seat while smiling arrogantly and approached the green-eyed boy.
"If you don't care about being a trainer, why are you here?"
More than a question, it was a reproach, after all, he wanted to be a researcher like his grandfather, but his father had forced him to be a trainer like him.
"There wasn't anything else to waste time on."
He replied, annoying the boy who was about to hit him when he was stopped by the teacher, who pulled him by the collar of his shirt.
"Gary, I'm going to ask you to refrain from hitting your new classmate. Go sit down, come on."
He turned him around and silently apologized to both. The next to approach was a boy with blue hair and eyes who seemed somewhat pale, possibly due to lack of exposure to the sun.
"My name is Robert, nice to meet you. Do you really not want to be a trainer?"
This boy seemed more sincere than the previous one and had a friendly look. Moreover, for some strange reason, the protagonist felt calm in his presence, so he smiled sincerely and shook his hand, surprising Gary because he thought he was a bully who didn't care about others.
"The truth is, I lost interest in being one after having a few bad experiences before, but if there are people like you out there, maybe I can reconsider."
This comment slightly embarrassed the blue-haired boy, as he wasn't used to receiving compliments other than from his mother, father, or related to his brother who was already on his journey with his starter Charmander and was in Johto at the moment after collecting the 8 badges from Kanto.
"Oh, I can assure you he's very good. By the way, my name is Leaf, I also want to be friends with both of you."
The last girl with green hair and red eyes approached while patting the back of the blue-haired boy, showing him emotional support as she didn't know how to continue the conversation.
And thanks to the girl starting to talk to them about trivial topics like their favorite foods and hobbies, the ice was broken, and the others approached to bond with them.
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The following months were normal: both attended classes and took lessons in language, mathematics, natural sciences, ethics, and analyzed Pokémon battles that were recorded for research and the learning of new generations. This way, they could learn to use the Type Chart to their advantage as well as create strategies to help them when encountering wild Pokémon or facing other experienced trainers.
Right now, both Ketchums were coming down from their rooms, freshly bathed and wearing their signature outfits, smelling the delicious breakfast being cooked by their tutor Delia. Alongside her was a very particular Pokémon, as although it was Bug-type, it resembled a flower if it remained still for too long. That's why they had put protections on windows and doors because Butterfree would try to enter to smell it, bothering it due to its insistence on courting it on many occasions. According to experts, it was considered the most beautiful Grass-type Pokémon. Its body was pink, and on its back, it had four petals resembling an orchid. Its legs were hidden from view with what looked like loose pants with a two-tone stripe design similar to its physique. Its corneas were red, with black pupils, and on its head, it had four appendages functioning as antennas: the two on top had fuchsia tips, and the two below were white. On its forehead, it had three horns: two on the sides and one in the middle. The latter, together with the tips of its arms resembling mantis claws and its feet, were green.
"Lurantissss."
Delia's now companion was arranging a vase with several roses courtesy of the backyard garden and placed it in the center of the round table while approaching the purple-haired girl, petting her head before moving towards the green-eyed one and hugging him, pressing her cheek against his as she sat on his lap.
"Jijiji, you two look so cute together."
Commented the "sister" of the brunette, taking a camera with which she took their photo and put it in an album with "Onii-chan" written in golden letters.
"Breakfast is ready~"
The redhead placed three plates on the table with freshly baked bread spread with butter, eggs, bacon, and pancakes with chocolate chips. For the Pokémon, she prepared a salad with lettuce, fruits, and vegetables. The female Pokémon took the boy's plate and began to pamper him as if he were a baby, making him blush, as the only things that could embarrass him were the displays of affection from the three women in his family. After receiving hugs from the adult woman and asking Lurantis to join them since they were going on an excursion to do fieldwork to get closer to Pokémon and form a bond of trust with them. As they were walking towards Professor Oak's laboratory, the woman smiled with a few tears in the corners of her eyes. She decided to go into her house to start preparing lunch, and as she closed the front door, she saw a photo of the four of them when they arrived in this picturesque town. And as she focused directly on the Pokémon, she remembered how they had met.
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After having escaped from the House of Evolution and survived a massive explosion that almost killed them, they found themselves on a small island devoid of both human and Pokémon life, so they did everything possible to find resources to either escape or last long enough for rescue. They gathered all the coconuts they could, distilled seawater, and built a small cabin with the dried palm wood around them. As they saw the sky starting to darken, they went out to search for more food in case they had to spend more time inside the temporary shelter. However, they soon realized a huge storm was approaching, putting them in jeopardy and forcing them to find some trees for shelter. It wasn't the safest option, but they were far from home, with no caves to take refuge in. The black-haired person then took several vines lying on the ground and tied them together to create a strong rope, securing themselves and the redhead to a tree trunk. But it wasn't enough as a small tornado appeared and began to batter them, causing Delia to close her eyes unable to see her surroundings and try to hug the boy but not fast enough. The brunette decided to let go because otherwise, it could tear the whole tree so they took him several kilometers away while the woman screamed trying to find him. Now the protagonist had fallen into a clearing surrounded by a small river, leaving a relaxing sound, and sighing as the branches broke his fall and it wasn't as dramatic as he thought it would be. Sitting down feeling the sunlight on his face, he was surprised as the storm still sounded very close to where he was. Climbing up one of the trees, he saw that he was on a mountain so high that he was above the black clouds of the storm and that's why everything where he was seemed normal as if nothing was happening. Knowing that bringing all his things here and finding Delia was now the priority, he decided to climb down the tree and when he touched the ground he heard something starting to fall right where he was so instinctively he raised his arms and looked up to catch what seemed to be a large white egg with green spots distributed at the bottom. When he brought it to his height, he could perceive that it was a Pokémon egg and according to his own theoretical knowledge, it was of the Grass Type but he was scared to see how it started to split in half and move showing that something was about to come out. At that moment, a light enveloped him and when it opened completely he could see a small Pokémon with a pink head and body, black pupils, fuchsia sclera, on its forehead there was what seemed to be a cocoon that was running out of time to open and show its beautiful flower, finally it had two green extremities and the tip of both was white taking the role of its arms and hands respectively.
"Hello little one, I'm Ash, what's your name?"
The young creature tilted its head with curiosity as it jumped out of its remaining shell and landed on the green-eyed boy's head, catching him off guard as it used its arms to grab his hair and start rubbing its right cheek with his crown.
"Fomantis,"
It was the only thing it said before falling asleep, causing the boy to blink in confusion. He sighed, repeating the name of the creature to remember that he had read about this species in a book discussing the nine regions where Pokémon were found, and in the section talking about Alola, he found information about the Grass Type Pokémon that inhabited there, especially this species that inhabited places full of flowers because part of their behavior was to create beautiful gardens full of all colors thanks to the care they received. Therefore, he didn't know how far they were from that place, so he concluded that the storm had brought the egg to this desolate place since they weighed almost nothing. As he walked towards the lower part of the archipelago, he noticed how the clouds dispersed and the rain disappeared, leaving the ground slippery, so he had to walk more slowly. He decided to cradle the baby in his arms and jump into the river that flowed from the clearing where he had been moments ago to reach the base faster and stop worrying the woman who was not accustomed to the reckless life the boy led.
"Help, please, Ash, where are you? Kyaaaa!"
As he descended, he could hear more clearly how the redhead screamed while doing everything possible not to fall from the tree she had climbed because with the storm, a large number of Krabby and Kinglers were trying to touch her with their pincers, and most of them were very curious and just wanted to help her because they saw her scared. Poor things, they didn't know they were putting her in that state because there were many trying to climb the tree, but she pushed them with a stick or with her feet. The raven-haired kicked a stone into the river and, with the momentum, jumped to stand on the branch where the young woman was holding on.
"Ah, Ash, where were you?"
More than reproach, there was concern because they had recently seen death so closely. At times, it seemed better to have stayed in the Evolution House.
"The wind carried me to the top of that mountain, lucky there were many trees and that I fell there just at the right moment,"
Before Delia could ask why he was saying that, the little Pokémon got up and fell into the woman's hands with a "smile" of eyes (like Kakashi-sensei's).
"Fomantis,"
The little offspring began to rub its cheek with the woman's while yawning very tenderly.
"How cute, kyaaaa!"
She hugged him very carefully, sweating a drop from how easy and quickly he changed his attitude, as if a few seconds ago he wasn't afraid of some polite crustaceans.
"Anyway, it's better for you to come down now,"
Jumping, he landed in the middle of the Pokémon, impressing them because he made a 3-meter jump directly onto the hard ground and didn't receive any apparent damage.
"See? They won't do anything to you; they are very calm unless they're hungry or want to mate,"
The latter embarrassed the woman as she thought that's why they wanted to get close to him, but the boy started laughing uncontrollably, earning a scolding from the woman as she carefully descended with the Poke-baby.
After everything calmed down, they ate some wild berries and had fun with the little one and the crabs playing with her and the young woman while the boy made a map of the island since he had memorized it while making some plans to create a raft when he heard how the animals with claws started to argue among themselves missing the woman and the offspring.
"What could they be saying?"
The woman took Fomantis and put it on her head as she was tired of riding on the backs of the Krabby while they ran around the beach.
"It seems they like us so much that they are planning to help us get out of here,"
This comment surprised the redhead as it came from the raven-haired boy, and she turned to look at him with wide eyes.
"Do you understand what they're saying?"
The boy was surprised until several crustaceans approached him and began to repeat his name, but he could feel inside what they wanted to convey to him with their words.
"It seems I can understand the desires of their soul; it must be because of the awakening of my Aura. Also, when I entered that state, I could feel the energy of everyone around. If only I had held on a little longer, I would know how Lilie, Red, and Blue are,"
He clenched his fists and teeth as some tears formed in his eyes, but he calmed down as he felt the woman hugging him, putting her forehead on his chest in a maternal way while stroking his hair.
"Calm down, if you keep carrying the guilt, you'll never move forward. You're just an 8-year-old child, and even if you think you're not normal, you still have the obligation to live peacefully if you wish,"
The boy nodded, closing his eyes as he swallowed his pain. Although the woman might be right, it wasn't a time for regrets; he had to be clear-minded and find the best way to leave that island before another storm caught them off guard.
Cutting enough trees, splitting them into medium pieces, and began tying them with dry vines while sealing them with a mixture of tree sap and sand so that water couldn't seep in and it could float properly. He also created two compartments for the Krabby and Kingler to use them as jet propulsion engines, taking advantage of their low resistance so that they wouldn't tire too quickly, advancing more with less effort.
Taking the distilled water, two large bags of berries that for some reason were very good, and the map he had made when he climbed to the top of the clearing were ready to go.
"Hey, Ash, where are we?"
Delia asked, touching the boy's shoulder with a bit of insistence.
"We just left the island, what kind of question is that?"
He turned around to see her, but he was dismayed to see her as pale as Gigantamax Gengar, so he looked to where she was pointing with her finger and started sweating coldly as the island had disappeared, and after they crossed a thick fog that also disappeared, leaving them with the vast sea.
Recalling the book that talked about the regions, he remembered about Hoenn and an island that only appeared every so often and was known as Mirage. So he drew the map of the third region and the points where this island could be found to decide which point they could disembark without losing their precious time. When they thought they had made a mistake, they could see what looked like a small port and some trees, so they decided to leave the boat parked on the other side where there was a rocky formation, and when they got off, they could see they were on a minimal land extension. Searching on the map, the boy nodded confidently and showed it to the woman who started crying with happiness to finally be able to meet humans after almost a year surviving on a mysterious island. So approaching the center of the town, they could see a sign that said "Welcome to Slateport City".
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The woman sighed as she remembered those days, unable to believe that two years had passed since then and that by spending some time in that place famous for fishing, Fomantis evolved and became the cheerful and affectionate girl she is now, especially with the boy, causing him to smile at how cute he looked embarrassed because he couldn't tell her to calm down since she would pretend to be upset and ignore him for a whole week.
Listening to the kitchen timer, she stopped taking out clothes from the dryer and approached the oven to open it and take out the tray with special gloves, placing it on the countertop to let the lasagna she had made cool. Seeing that it was pristine, she covered it and approached the landline phone as it was trembling, indicating that someone was speaking to her.
"Ketchum Residence, Delia speaking, who is this?"
She had a happy expression from what she had remembered, but it changed drastically from what she had heard on the device, and before the person continued transmitting the message, she dashed to the hospital located in the town center.
"Good afternoon, are you visiting or for admission?"
The redhead was bent over as she raised a hand, indicating that she needed a moment to catch her breath as she had arrived at the place in record time.
"Hello, I'm Delia Ketchum, my daughter Chloe was admitted for Pokémon attack poisoning,"
The pink-haired nurse led her to the fifth floor where people who suffered accidents or were attacked by Pokémon that used attacks that affected them physically were treated.
"Room 576, here you go, you can enter,"
Saying goodbye, she let the woman prepare to enter the sliding door.
"Sweetheart..."
Approaching the bed, she could see the girl she considered her daughter with very marked dark circles under her eyes and much paler skin than she normally had. She was connected to an IV to drain the poison from her blood and to a machine that monitored her heartbeat, blood pressure, the number of white and red blood cells, and most importantly, the platelets.
"Mommy..."
She woke up with regret, barely able to open her eyes due to the fatigue she felt, and tried to raise her arm to touch her, but she grabbed her hand, transmitting her warmth.
"I'm here, don't worry,"
The door opened again to show that Robert and Leaf entered with several bandages on their heads and arms.
"Mrs. Ketchum/Aunt Delia,"
They both greeted her respectively, after all, since they arrived here, both had become best friends with Ash, Hex, and Lurantis. The girl to a greater extent because she had bonded with all four of them so wonderfully that she considered her a niece, and the boy was very formal, so he didn't feel very comfortable talking to her in that way, and also because he only bonded more personally with the raven-haired boy and the Pokémon.
"Kids, how are you feeling? I heard you were attacked, what happened?"
Both sat on nearby chairs and sighed, but then they all realized that two people were missing, so they looked around to see the nurse entering again.
"Miss Ketchum, I was called from the Pokémon Center, and your Lurantis is completely healed now. In fact, she's on her way because she wants to know how your daughter is doing,"
They nodded, thanking her, watching her leave again when she stopped halfway and returned somewhat embarrassed.
"By the way, your son told me he would be back very soon and not to worry about him,"
After leaving the message, she left, leaving everyone in the room puzzled until Leaf got up startled and was about to run out when the blue-haired boy stopped her.
"Leaf, what's wrong?"
The girl began to tremble slightly and turned to look at the boy, Chloe, and her mother.
"I think Ash went to look for Nidoking for hurting Hex and Lurantis,"
This made the green-haired and brown-haired open their eyes; they hadn't thought that something like this would happen.
"Stop, stop, what's going on?"
The adult stood up and confronted them with a worried face. The three sighed, knowing they had to tell her what happened a few hours ago so that they would be afraid that the boy would act precipitously.
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Just a few hours ago, Ash, Chloe, and Lurantis had arrived at the bus stop, where Gary, Robert, Leaf, and a new girl they didn't know were also present. The new girl seemed very shy, standing two meters away from everyone else.
"Hey, my grandpa is the professor, why do you have a Pokémon before me?" Gary approached to see the Grass-type, who put one of her arms where her mouth should be, which couldn't be seen at first glance, and giggled, blushing deeply, surprising the black-haired, the red-haired, and even the blue-haired boy.
"You know that Lulu is registered as Delia's Pokémon," Oak approached, now it was the pink-haired's turn to turn red with embarrassment, using her hands to cover her face, trying not to tremble with happiness. After all, the boy had called her by the nickname she had given him since he evolved, showing the deep bond he had with her.
And when they arrived in Kanto, the woman found a way to create identities for the three of them, and when she went to the Pokémon Center to input the data for the yellow Pokémon, they discovered that she was a Dominate, which meant that it was very rare for her to be caught or even be so close to humans, let alone far from her native region.
"It doesn't matter, she follows you everywhere, that just motivates me to get my own Pokémon and fight you to prove that I'm better than you," Gary began to rant about what moves he would teach his starter, how long it would take to complete the Pokédex, what Pokémon he would have on his main team, how he would defeat the gym leaders, and how he would reach the League to become the best in Kanto.
At that moment, Samuel Oak arrived with the vehicle that would take them to the Pokémon Sanctuary in the area to do fieldwork and have a more personal approach to the creatures of this world. He got off and cleared his throat so that everyone turned to look at him, while the blonde girl hid behind him.
"Alright, before we leave, I want to introduce you to your new companion, could you introduce yourself, dear?" He stepped aside, leaving her exposed, and she took off the large hat she was wearing to show how her long, golden thread-like hair fell down her back, dazzling both humans and Pokémon.
"Hello, my name is Yellow, my family just moved here because my dad is a Pokémon researcher and came here to learn from all the Pokémon in the region," she said, trembling slightly as she approached the protagonist and looked at him intently, making him very nervous because her delicate features made her look very beautiful, as the boys put it, and for the girls, she was too cute, as if she were a high-quality porcelain doll.
"How are you? I'm Ash Ketchum, this is Lurantis, my tutor Delia's Pokémon, and my sister Chloe," the raven-haired boy said, and the dark-haired girl approached and shook hands with the golden-eyed girl.
"You can call me Hex if you want, nice to meet you," the purple-haired girl said. The others approached to introduce themselves, and the green-haired girl even hugged her, followed by the Pokémon, as for some reason, she felt like she could trust her blindly.
Having done all that, they got on the means of transportation and were taken to the place where the Pokémon they would observe up close were located. They walked on dirt roads, climbed several mountains, and crossed several rivers, writing about the animals they encountered and marking the places where they had seen them. So far, they had found Krabby, Kingler, Beedrill, Caterpie, Butterfree, Silcoon, Cascoon, and even some Zubat and Crobat, as strange as it may seem.
Now they had separated momentarily, and the boy was sitting on a rock in the middle of a small river, feeling the drops of water hitting his face as he closed his eyes.
"Ouch, ouch, it hurts a lot."
He opened his eyes upon hearing a very close female voice that seemed to be crying for some reason, so he got up and jumped to start running on the tree branches to reach the edge of a cliff, where he saw a girl. He leaped towards her, landing about a meter away.
"KYAAAA!"
She was startled and tried to move away, but she couldn't do anything as she barely got up and fell again while clutching her right leg, noticing that it was bleeding and covered in bruises all over her body.
"Don't worry, my name is Ash. Can you stand up?"
She shook her head, and he saw her blood-stained leg. The boy took out a first aid kit from his back pocket, which expanded as it was made with the same technology as the reduced Poké Balls. He took out some alcohol, bandages, and even surgical needle and thread to inspect the wound and smiled, seeing that it was only a shallow cut. After finishing, he helped her up, impressed by his skills, both physical and mental, for solving her problem so quickly.
"By the way, I forgot to ask your name," he scratched his neck, blushing, causing the girl to blush even more at how cute he looked embarrassed.
"My name is Serena, nice to meet you, Ash," she replied, making him blush even more as he smiled more pronouncedly.
"So, Serena, a nice name for a nice girl," he said without thinking, realizing the slip and trying to remedy it, failing as he usually did when trying to socialize, especially with girls.
"Hehe, your name is also nice," the brunette replied, putting her hands behind her back, making both of them even more embarrassed.
"Well, not to be intrusive, but how did you end up down here?"
He asked, sitting on a fallen log nearby. She sighed and joined him with a pout.
"My mother is on a work tour and wants to innovate by visiting all the regions to promote herself. So while she rides Rhyhorns, I stay here because I want to overcome my fear of Pokémon."
She covered her face, hoping he wouldn't laugh or mock her for her silly fear.
"I see, so you fell because you were chased by a Pokémon?"
The boy asked, impressing the girl with his deduction.
"Yes, that's right. You're amazing," she praised, looking at him intently, making their gazes lock until a Kakuna appeared between them, making the girl jump in shock, and the boy caught her, lifting her like a princess.
"Has anyone ever told you how agile you are?"
The girl could only blush, covering her face again without getting off the boy's arms. At that moment, her stomach growled, showing that she hadn't had breakfast.
"Hehe, don't worry, my mother will bring Lasagna for all of us, so it's better to go back before my sister eats my portion," he said, lowering the girl to her confusion, as he bent down and winked at her, indicating that she should get on his back. When she did, he took a few steps back, then jumped to the top of the cliff, starting to run through the tree branches straight to the center of the sanctuary where the others were waiting for the woman to arrive in a few minutes.
Upon arriving, they were surprised by the brunette, causing Chloe to start saying that where he got her from, clearly jealous because he wouldn't let her climb on his back and looked at the silver-eyed girl with a pout, scaring her.
"Don't worry, look at her knee, I'm sure Ash just helped her get back, right?"
The boy felt in every cell of his body that he shouldn't say anything, or Leaf's wrath would fall upon him.
"Pleased to meet you, I'm Serena from the Kalos region, and someday I'll become the best Pokémon Coordinator," she introduced herself with a bow, making everyone look at each other, making her nervous.
"Hello, nice to meet you, I'm Robert, they are Hex, Leaf, Yellow, and Lurantis, and that's Gary over there," the blue-haired boy approached to shake her hand, breaking the ice and allowing them to get along, while the four girls approached to welcome her to their small group of friends, even the blonde girl was excited because they spent their time talking about strategies and how to improve speed, defense, and attack.
As for the boys, they were sitting in silence, as if they started talking about any topic, they would never finish debating. But they all got up when they heard a loud noise and what seemed to be a chase heading towards where they were.
"What's happening?"
The protagonist asked, watching as Professor Oak was running away from a Nidoking that looked very furious for some strange reason.
"Guys, move aside, it has entered a state of pure rage," he said, jumping to the side and sighing as he watched the Pokémon with white eyes and foam coming out of its mouth running towards where his students were.
Instinctively, they all jumped to the side, but Serena remained paralyzed, thinking it would be her end, when Lurantis tackled the Poison/Ground type, diverting its trajectory and slamming it into a tree, destroying it. Letting out a roar that foreshadowed death, it tried to strike the mantis, and she blocked it but was pushed several meters back, sinking her feet into the ground.
"Lulu, be careful!"
At that moment, time seemed to stop. Chloe had taken two Toxic Spikes to her back while trying to protect the Grass type, leaving everyone frozen as they did not expect this turn of events. The pink-haired girl screamed as she approached the Pokémon to strike it with Solar Blade, dealing a significant amount of damage and almost knocking it out completely. She was about to deliver the finishing blow when she collapsed, unconscious. After all, she didn't have much physical endurance and had pushed her body to the limit, rendering her out of combat.
Seeing that it was their chance, Nidoking ran away, but they didn't notice that it was limping on one leg. When it seemed like there was no more danger, everyone rushed to help Ketchum and the Grass type. But no less important, Ash remained in shock, his body static and his gaze fixed as he clenched his hands, not knowing what to feel about what had just happened.
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Right now, the black-haired boy was in the middle of the Sanctuary, sarcastically walking among the trees, as this place was built with the purpose of preserving Pokémon life and helping to prevent them from becoming extinct due to poaching or deforestation caused by evil human organizations.
Entering the tall grass, he walked a few meters and then saw the reason why he had returned to this place. Nidoking was sleeping as if nothing had happened when he heard the protagonist break a dry branch lying on the ground. But he didn't care if it saw him. When he got up, he let out a war cry, ready to fight, but he was startled to see the emotionless gaze of the boy and even more stunned to see him generating electricity in his right hand.
Though it wasn't effective against him, that didn't seem to deter the boy, so he tried to step back when a small Nidorina stood in front of the forest king, puzzling the emerald-eyed one as he hadn't used his abilities in years. When he heard the cries of Pokémon babies and saw Nidorinos approaching the blue Pokémon and starting to lick its injured leg, the boy realized it was hurt. By the marks on its leg, it seemed it had fallen into a trap known as Landmines.
Stopping the Electric-type move, he approached cautiously, raising his hands in a gesture of peace so as not to scare them, and took the Drill Pokémon's leg, using the Drain power in reverse to heal its arm, impressing the four present creatures, who were happy because the boy helped them.
After that, they thanked him by licking his face as a sign of gratitude as they entered deeper into the forest. After he was left alone, he fell to the ground, pounding it and smashing his knuckles, exposing his bones, screaming as tears streamed from his eyes as he remembered why he had promised to protect his little sister even with his own life.
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After arriving back in civilization, Ash and Delia sought help to return to the continent. A very kind old man agreed to help them and let them board his ship to take them to Hoenn. From there, they asked where they could live peacefully, to forget everything that had happened, and ended up in Kanto. In Lavender Town, they decided to look for work to buy a house or even pay for an inn to have a place to sleep for the time being.
A kind person asked them to help sell her cakes shaped like the three starter Pokémon of the region. Days passed, and they always succeeded. Men came to buy cakes from the woman due to her beauty and kindness, while women, both locals and tourists, came to take photos with Ash, calling him cute and saying he would grow up to be very handsome. Although he wasn't used to receiving compliments, it helped him to push forward.
After a few months, they could take breaks. One day, while Ash was walking near the Pokémon Tower with supplies for where they were living, he unknowingly stepped on a rope trap that left him hanging upside down with his provisions scattered on the ground. Thinking it was a prank by a thief or troublemaker, he was surprised to see a seven-year-old girl with purple hair in a ragged purple dress patched with mismatched pieces of fabric. Her greasy hair indicated she hadn't bathed in a long time.
"This is a good knot. If I didn't know how to keep my body relaxed, I would've dislocated my hip, and that wouldn't be the first time it happened," she remarked casually.
Before she could understand what was happening, Ash freed himself and fell in front of her, impressing her.
"I'm Ash, what's your name?" he asked, attempting to shake her hand.
Suddenly, a small Cubone emerged from a bush, swinging its bone and crying weakly in fear. Unfazed, Ash took the bone from it, tapped its forehead lightly, and helped it up, showing that they weren't in danger. The purple-haired girl, Chloe, and the Cubone nodded and took Ash's hands, leading him to one of the floors of the building filled with ghost Pokémon and graves.
Inside, Chloe introduced herself and explained that she had been living there for two years, as her mother had told her she would come back to fetch her, and she had to be vigilant to ensure she kept her promise. This angered Ash, initially thinking she had been abandoned, but he remembered something that had happened exactly two years ago. He left food and sweets for both of them, promising to return with more.
Hurrying out, he went to the town hall and searched for the newspaper from that date. There, he saw the headline: "Disappearance of the minor Chloe Maniac. Eight years ago, the next priestess was born, who would keep the Taoist Sanctuary free from Darkness. But she disappeared with her mother after Team Rocket attempted to kidnap her for her summoning, healing, and purifying powers focused on Pokémon."
Leaving the paper in its place, Ash didn't notice a man approaching, who crumpled the article and pulled out a Rotomphone to make a call. His disturbing smile indicated he had received some kind of good news.
"Get ready, guys, we've found it," he said before hanging up and leaving the scene, donning a white mask with two eye holes and passing out a pamphlet with the inscription: "Giovanni Sakaki, next leader of the Eighth Gym of Kanto."
Returning to the tower, he climbed up to where the girl and the Ground-type Pokémon were supposed to be, but instead found a group of men dressed in black with a red 'R' on their chests.
"What the heck is going on here?!" Ash exclaimed.
In the midst of them, the same masked man appeared, putting his hands behind his back and laughing.
"Pleasure to meet you, kid. I'm the leader of Team Rocket, and I've come to claim what's rightfully mine. Get him, he'll serve as bait!"
More lackeys appeared behind Ash, attempting to immobilize him, but failing as Ash fought back, delivering punches and kicks that left them incapacitated. Despite his skill, he sustained bruises and cuts all over his body from their attacks.
Taking advantage of Ash's focus on his minions, the masked man reinforced his body with Aura and lunged forward, striking Ash in the chest with an open palm, causing him to spit out blood as his lung collapsed from the impact. Defenseless due to internal bleeding, Ash was thrown against a wall, fracturing his sternum and leaving him immobilized.
"Any normal person would have died, and a child would have exploded if my punch had hit them. Are you some kind of anomaly?" the man inquired, approaching Ash and lifting him up by one hand.
"I don't know what the hell you're talking about. I'm not going to let you take her. I'd rather die than help you," Ash replied defiantly.
The man smiled, considering Ash a potential great rival or obstacle in his plans. He prepared to strike again when Cubone intervened, attempting to stop him with its bone, but it was futile as the man used Ash as a shield to inflict more damage on the Pokémon with his attack.
"Please, don't hurt him anymore," Chloe pleaded, appearing from the shadows.
Behind him, the girl appeared crying over how her first friend ended up, and she approached trembling.
"I'll go with you if you leave them alone," she said, her voice quivering.
The man nodded and let go of him, dropping him to the ground face down and approaching the brown-haired girl with the intention of taking her away.
"BASTARD, STAY AWAY FROM HER!"
In a fit of rage, he accessed his own Aura, triggering a massive explosion that sent the remaining agents flying into the walls, leaving dents in the concrete from the unleashed power of the frightened boy, slightly startling the man who was using his energy to avoid being thrown away, feeling every cell in his body telling him he had to fight to survive. Before he knew it, he had to use his arm to block a kick from Ash that, if it weren't reinforced, would have broken it. Then he had to cross both arms in an X shape to receive two aura spheres that exploded upon impact, pushing him to the ceiling and cracking his mask.
"So you're not normal, perfect, I won't have to hold back," he said, launching himself, unleashing all his power, rivaling the pressure generated by the dark-haired boy, and began connecting his fists with the boy's and throwing kicks that were dodged, turning it into a fight between equals. But in an instant, the man took it to the next level, gaining more speed and pulling out a knife, ready to stab the purple-eyed girl, when he stepped in the way and took the stab in his left chest, protecting her and falling to the ground, losing his state and becoming even more injured for using part of his power after so long without accessing his abilities. This caused the girl to approach and try to wake him up because he had passed out from blood loss, the pain of his broken bones, and the strain on his psyche from abusing spiritual energy.
"He was an excellent fighter, too bad he had to be on the side of justice," he said, approaching and trying to inject something into the girl, but suddenly he couldn't move and fell to his knees, feeling his limbs being squeezed, causing him more pain than the blows he had received all his life.
"You..."
The girl looked at him, and her hair began to wave in the air as if it had a life of its own, her gaze cold.
"You killed him, and you also killed my mom. You deserve the same fate," she said.
He was filled with fear because he hadn't told anyone what he had done to her mother, so he deduced that she had probed his mind with her abilities. Suddenly, hundreds of black souls began to appear and surround him in a whirlwind as he screamed in pain, feeling his body being torn apart and his bones being ripped out as he was dragged into a portal where there were two red eyes and several black tentacles enveloping him to devour him.
When the portal closed, he passed out from having used his powers without any training. Several days later, he woke up in the hospital bed connected to a machine monitoring his heartbeat and also the drip helping him combat his malnutrition.
"Oh, you're awake, how wonderful," Delia said, sitting in a chair nearby, with the boy in her lap, bandaged and with his own machine to monitor how he was doing after so many problems.
"My name is Delia, nice to meet you, dear. My son told me your name is Chloe, how do you feel?" she asked. Before she could answer, she remembered the memories of that mysterious man and the one that weighed the most on her, where he kidnapped her mother and tortured her before killing her without any results of her whereabouts. She began to cry inconsolably.
Seeing her with a sad face, Delia hugged her, putting her face on her chest so she could continue to vent without worrying about what others might think of her.
After that, an officer from the international police and a rookie Officer Jenny took their statements for the records and praised both children because thanks to them "hiding," they had enough time to catch all those members of the criminal group that stole Pokémon. But they also scolded the young man for fighting them so recklessly and for being left with nearly fatal wounds. Then both law enforcement officers debated how to manage the fate of the little girl because they had to take her to the Social Reintegration Center, and it would be too difficult for a family to adopt her since she is already 6 years old, and usually couples look for babies up to 3 years old.
"I don't want to disrespect you, but I think she can stay with us,"
The boy, to the surprise of the man named Ben, Jenny, Delia, and Chloe, commented, "Ash... I agree with my mom. I want her to be happy, and I'm sure she'll be better off with people you already know. Plus, my kid is also adopted, so I have a lot of experience too."
Delia finished speaking and approached the two, who looked at each other, knowing they might have problems but deciding to trust their instincts and allow it. After that, and after the girl was okay, they celebrated with a big cake, inviting the few people they knew but who were happy about the new member of the Ketchum family.
Now they were returning to the Pokémon Tower and decided to look for the little Cubone she had nicknamed Cuby, but it was in vain. Even their tutor helped them search every floor, but they couldn't find him, much to her sadness and Ash's annoyance. He knew Cuby had hidden so she could move on with her life, but he didn't think it was the right way to do it.
So they returned home and lived there for several more months until an offer for a very nice house came up in Pallet Town, several kilometers away from where they were.
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The brunette was returning after letting his hand heal and taking a shower to try to calm down after losing his composure again. Entering the hospital lobby and greeting the nurse, he went up to the fifth floor and approached his sister's room but was paralyzed, unable to knock on the door. He was about to turn back when Leaf appeared, coming up in the elevator with a basket of desserts, especially slices of cake of all flavors, as the brown-haired girl was enthusiastic about sweet things. Seeing the protagonist, she approached with a smile but turned serious when she saw him looking pale and lifeless.
"Ash, what's wrong? Hex and your mom have been asking where you were. You've been missing for five days, and even Robert was about to come looking for you, but his doctor told him to stay in bed for at least 3 days after the scare of what happened to be safe," she said.
This cheered him up; after all, he had people and Pokémon who cared about him. The door to the room opened, and Lurantis came out, smelling the food. When she saw the raven-haired boy, she jumped to hug him, crying comically because she thought she wouldn't see him again. He apologized, returning the hug, laughing as the Pokémon rubbed her cheek against his, making the green-haired girl blush at the cute scene in front of her. However, she shook her head because she felt a pang in her chest as she had been in a serious internal dilemma for days.
"What's happening to me? I love Robert, right?"
Leaving the basket and bidding farewell to both who entered the room for Delia to hug him happily and he approached Chloe to start crying, moving the three women and telling her that it wasn't her fault and not to worry because it had been an accident.
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"Nine Thousand Words Friends
I hope you liked it, and if you can, please share it so that it reaches more people and they can enjoy it as much as I did writing it. I also hope that Sempai Robin.exe can update it because I love the original story for all the ideas I was able to get with his permission, and I'm also trying to make this story as well-known as his.
Thank you very much for reading it."