Moonlight gleamed down at them from space, a bit weakened by the rainclouds up in the sky. Exhausted and crushed in his tent, Ash lay with a smile, the gentle breeze caressing his face. A beautiful moment, a treasured moment, given what happened today.
But he and his Pokémon, putting those distressing memories aside, focused on the now, in that moment that they wished would last forever.
But Leaf, Haunter in tow, ran at them with speed. "HELP!"
"Haunter, quit ruining wholesome moments!" Froslass hurled a ghost sphere at Haunter, who couldn't dodge.
Haunter yelped. "Wholesome? What's wholesome about a Squirtle sleeping on top of a dead kid and a thing using Wrap on him? And don't get me started on the Bulbasaur, what are you doing, laying an egg?!"
"First of all, he isn't dead anymore and he probably wasn't before. Second, Dratini isn't wrapping himself on Ash he is hugging him. And thirdly," Bulbasaur shouted, sounding offended. "I can't even lay eggs because I'm male! I'm planting safety in his mind!"
(Come on, don't facepalm, it wasn't that bad a pun. Oh who am I kidding? It's terrible!)
"Ash? Is that you in there?" Leaf said, poking at the tent from the side.
"Oh, hey Leaf!" Ash waved. He tried using the other hand as support to sit, but fell back down. "Ow!"
If only he could get up. It'd been so long since he talked with his friends…yeah, two days wasn't lots, but he was kind of dead. That alone felt like forever.
"What happened to your tent?" She sounded so incredulous Ash couldn't help the grin creeping on his face.
From the other side, Brock approached them with slow steps. "Eevee used Swift, too much for my liking."
"Eevee what? Why?"
"Certain assassins!" Eevee said.
"I don't know," Brock said. "But I think Ash knows." He emphasized the word "Ash".
Ash couldn't understand that. "Me? Why would I know?"
"I just had a guess. Does it have to do with Lavender tower?"
"Uh…the tower?" Ash wasn't sure on the details, so he couldn't say yes or no. "Look I'll just buy a new tent, it's not that big of a deal anyway."
"It's not about the tent, it's about you Ash. Do you think that Eevee making a hole in your tent is normal?" Brock paused, his words sinking in.
"…no, but…" He couldn't tell them what happened in the tower. They'd laugh at him. Who would believe their friend died, got possessed, then just…brought back alive by a shadow thing? They might even get angry with him.
"Why were you talking to a wall?" Leaf asked.
"Uh, I was?"
"Nah, you were talkin' to da corner," Meowth said.
Leaf said what he was thinking. "Does that really change anything?"
Meowth just continued polishing his claws.
"Talking to a wall or not, this isn't normal," Brock said. "We're your friends, Ash. Come on, what really happened?"
Ok, ok. Ow, that was super effective. "Promise not to laugh?"
Besides their silence, he continued. "Yesterday, when Mister Fuji got us to sleep on those comfy beds, I couldn't sleep, so I went outside with Eevee for some fresh air. Then I had this idea that if I catch a ghost we can go help Red quicker. So I went to the tower…"
*swish*, from behind his tent, Froslass jumped to the front and faced them. "Wait please."
"Who's that Pokémon?!" Leaf pulled and aimed her pokédex at Froslass, only to find out there wasn't data on the sinnohian ghost.
(Probably because it's a regional dex…STRIKE FOR THE NATIONAL DEX's removal! For reasons, this's a joke.)
"Forget that. Go on, Ash," Brock said.
"Ok, so, I went to the tower, and it was really dark…"
Above Ash's tent, Lavender tower projected like the group were watching a 3d movie as Froslass chanted something. "Now continue!"
"...I went inside, and began looking for a ghost…"
The scene above Ash's tent changed to show Ash, Eevee, and Charmander lighting the way, scouring the floor for a ghost-type, but finding none.
Confused, Eevee looked between that and Froslass. What was she doing? Her gaze didn't leave the video thing while Ash explained what happened.
When Ash reached the Gengar bit, the scene changed to show him versus Gengar like Ash was narrating it. Was she making them see what happened in pictures? Or like TV stuff?
In his explanation, Ash recounted what happened to him. From trying to find a way to stop Gengar from hiding in the shadows, to his blue self, and last encountering Marshadow. With an illusion backing it up to show it visually, for maximum effect.
Froslass couldn't help it. Even though the burden of shame weighed her soul down, she couldn't stop her giggles. Oh, so priceless, the looks of his baffled friends, ever growing terrified.
"And that ghost over there possessed me and tricked you guys," Ash finished, the elusion fading.
Ash sighed. Haunting-silence, he was scared of it. That might have been a bad idea. Why did he tell them? Now they were going to be mad at him. His heart sank just at the thought of losing them.
"You know when I said tell us, I didn't mean worry us!" Brock said and sighed.
Ash faltered. "What?"
"Never do that again, got it?" Leaf glared at him from the tent's side. "If there's a problem, we'll deal with it together."
`There not mad!` His lips curled, formed a smile. "Got it," he said, pushing himself in an attempt to sit again. Oh no no no, his hands trembled, weakened. Couldn't he at least get up to say a quick thanks?
...yes, yes he could. From the ripped side, Leaf reached and helped him to a sitting position.
"Thanks!" he smiled at her.
"I told you we'll deal with problems together." She frowned. "Hold on…"
Her gaze locked strait at him, Leaf hummed quietly for a long moment. What was she thinking about?
"That does make a lot of sense actually…" she murmured. Then spoke normally. "Ash, if you died, and you're here with us, doesn't that make you the first real kid to be a Walking Dead?"
"But I'm alive."
"Oh, a Zombie then!"
"Leaf, I am alive. I'm not half dead half living, I'm not without a brain, and besides, there's no mad scientists for Zombies or Walking Dead. I'm just a Poltergeist possessing myself."
"I don't care how wrong both of you are, why do your parents allow you to watch this stuff?!" Brock said. "If one of my siblings came and asked if they can watch this stuff with me, I'd ask them why they aren't in bed !"
Brock shook his head. "Anyway…" His voice regained the seriousness. "Ash, please don't do this to yourself again. This time you were lucky that…Marshadow found you and put you back in your body. Next time, you probably won't be lucky. We can't bear losing you again. And I'm sure if Red was here, he'd say the same thing."
Ash nodded. Brock was right. He should be more careful from here on out. Even though he had little to nothing to do with his…situation.
"Speaking of that," Froslass said, gaze down to the ground. "I…sorry. I should've been more careful. I didn't mean to do…that."
She waited and waited. Only after a lengthy minute passed she sighed. Humans couldn't understand Pokémon. "Talking Meowth, can you please-"
"No!" Eevee sprang out strait at her to her shock. "You can't just kill my trainer and pretend like you're him and go apologize! No!"
She recoiled, not out of fear. "But-"
"No buts! You're a monster !" She dodged the incoming Pikachu. They couldn't touch her. It was just… "We won't let you do anything to him!"
"I said sorry! I won't do it again -"
"Why should we believe you?! You killed my trainer! And you possessed both of us too!" Eevee said.
"There he goes yelling again. Ash…" Brock said.
"It was a mistake…" Froslass retreated even farther.
"Meowth? What are they saying?" Leaf said.
"I'm not sure I wanna translate dat, Eevee and Pikachu really don't want-"
"Oh who cares? Just translate." Haunter grinned.
Meowth shrugged. "Good point. Dis'll go on all night if I don't anyways. Pikachu and Eevee don't want Froslass to apologize to da twer-I mean Ash. Dey say it's because she killed him."
Leaf nodded. "I'm with them. It was tricking us. You shouldn't forgive it Ash."
A pause.
Leaf gave him an incredulous look. "ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT IT?"
Ash, with a thoughtful expression, said, "She said sorry…"
"Ash no. Ash no! Ash, no!"
"Ash yes!" Ash said. "Froslass, it's Ok, just don't kill me again."
Froslass burst into the tent. "No no no! I promise!"
"She says she's not gonna kill ya!" Meowth said.
Leaf face palmed. "Ash…"
Stomping into the tent, Pikachu and Eevee gave Froslass a hostile glare that faded slowly.
"I'll keep an eye for you. But since Ash's Ok, I'll let it slide this time."
"Fine. But if you hurt Ash, I'll make sure you know what Swift feels like for the first time."
(No that's for another ghost later in the story.)
Froslass shivered. She wouldn't want to try that. "I promise, I won't kill him. To prove that I'm telling the truth, I'll stick by your side and protect him. No matter what I'll do. I'll go any length to make it up for you!"
(Any length?)
"Any. Length," she muttered, her voice phantasmal-eerie.
(Remember when Froslass said any length?)
The wind whooshed outside and the moonlight flickered through the clouds above, a display of nature's brilliance. Even though Froslass couldn't see a lot of things, she didn't mind because the target of her gaze was Ash. There, he slept peacefully. Like a cute little hatchling. Eevee and Pikachu slept there too, but…
Eevee awoke with a yelp.
"Nice night," Froslass said. She worried him maybe? Or he was just thirsty?
Eevee rubbed his eyes. "What are you doing?" And repeated the action. Maybe He was seeing things.
"Protecting Ash."
He shook his head. Logic returned. "It's midnight."
Froslass waited for him to finish, because it was rude to interrupt. "...And?" she finally said.
"And what? Go to sleep.\"
"...I'm a ghost. I don't sleep except if it's a status condition."
Eevee had a blank look for a long moment. "So you're just gonna stay there?" He emphasized "there".
"Yes. I promised to protect Ash, didn't I?" She didn't see the problem, really. Protecting Ash meant protecting him from anything, wind, cold even though she was freezing stuff she'd try to stop herself.
Eevee shivered. She was starting to scare him. Was she serious when she said she'd go any length to protect Ash? If that was the case, and she killed him for fun…he didn't want to think what'd she do now that she got serious.
"So…" She snapped him back to reality. "Do you need anything? Or did you just wake up to look at the clouds?"
"I'm gonna just…go back to sleep." Better than staying awake with her. With a soft sigh, he laid down and closed his eyes, drifting off to dreamland.
"Sweet dreams," he heard her say genuinely.
Kanto was weird, Froslass noted. At night yesterday, it was cloudy. Right now, it was burning-hot. Sure, it was noon, but, clouds. Where did those go?
Maybe they were the ones who went far and not the clouds? They walked for a long time. She was sure the humans were burning. Poor humans. Well, except Ash, she'd never let him get sunstroke.
Eevee sighed. "Are you gonna keep flying above him all the time?"
"I'm being a cloud," Froslass said.
"Yeah Eevee, this is really cool. You gotta admit that," Pikachu said.
Eevee shook his head. "I'm not saying it's not cool I'm freezing. But, I still don't think she should be following us. And that close to Ash."
"Sorry, that's my icy breath. I have a habit of freezing stuff sometimes."
"Don't you dare freeze Ash!"
"Yous guys, we have enough problems wid da sun up dere. Quit yappin'!" Meowth said.
(You can tell I'm bad at writing the dialects. I'm really sorry for whoever has that dialect and reads my lame story, please don't give up on life!)
"Woaah!" Eevee and Pikachu yelped as Ash took off. A grin spread on his face.
"Ash, what's-"
Ash kept his eyes on the path, Froslass above his head. "There's Saffron!"
Leaf sighed, if he got them lost, she'd…Huh, that was Saffron right there. He was right this time. "Wait for me!" she called, hurrying her pace.
Ash, though, was too far to hear her and raced towards Saffron, determined to rescue his friend from the psycho.
'That's not nice.'
What? He halted, so Pikachu and Eevee almost fell. There it was, the sign of Saffron City. The entrance. Nobody stood there, so who said that?
'You call me a psycho, and I call you a mushhead.' There it was again. Who could be-
'Oh stop thinking and just get over here!'
Whoa, he vanished.
Froslass groaned. "Seriously? Psychics are so annoying."
Ash reappeared, and fell on his face.
"OW!" three individuals groaned. That hurt a lot. Groaning in pain, Pikachu and Eevee lay beside him.
"Where are we?" Well, his voice echoed for a start, so that place had walls. Looking up, he found himself greeted with the Saffron gym inside. Faced with a familiar girl. Sabrina's sister-
"You serious? Red thinks I'm my doll, and you think I'm my sister?" she said.
"Your what?" No Ash focus. "Where's Red?!"
She scoffed. "I knew you would ask about that killjoy!"
Of course he would. He'd do anything for his friends. Red was his friend, he wouldn't ask about anyone-
"I said I know! Stop thinking about it!"
What…-No, focus! They did something to him, he wanted his friend ba-
"Oh he's in Silph Co. protecting a man from a madder man with guns! Stop thinking about…-what do you mean you died looking for a ghost?!"
Did she say guns?
"Aha, I have your attention now." She bounced around him.
Red was-
"Relax, last we checked the mean guy was trying to get him in Team Rocket to complete project champion. Your friend's fine. True, the guy will eventually try to kill him, but who cares?"
Needles stung his stomach, face yellowed, signs of his dread. These people just sent his friend to his end and that girl didn't care!
"Relax your muscles. I told you, he's fine-"
"Last time you checked!"
"Yeah, yesterday. He was fine."
YESTERDAY? HIS FRIEND WAS LEFT ALONE, IN THE HANDS OF DEATH, FOR A WHOLE D-
"Ow ow ow! Stop shouting!" She sighed. "What's the big deal anyway?"
He couldn't stay any longer...in all that, he forgot he was laying on the ground. He shook himself, stood, and made a beeline towards the door. Flicker, and he froze.
A figure stood a few inches before him. Sabrina.
"At least they get one of me right!" Sabrina's friend shouted, coming up to them. "STOP IT!"
'Going somewhere?' a voice echoed in his mind. Pikachu and Eevee climbed up his shoulders. 'Red's alive and well. You aren't going anywhere until you beat me.'
He didn't have time-
'I said, you're not going anywhere until you beat me. Or make me laugh. That's what you get for calling me a psycho!'
Few attempts at making Sabrina laugh later, Ash sighed. It wasn't him giving up, but he didn't have time to keep going.
Problem: she kept Reading his mind. She knew everything he'd try out.
Heaving a sigh, he decided to battle her. Even though that'd take so long.
(That's why I spelled heathe wrong in the last chapter, it was heave. Idiot!)
'Good,' the voice said. 'Wait, you're designation of me is the voice? You can just designate me as myself.' What did designate mean?
'Consider my name to be…'
Oh, that voice had a name?
'You serious?' As ever. "It's me!"
"Sabrina? You can talk without talking?" He shook his head. "Never mind. Let's-"
Flicker, and he faced her on the battlefield. Like before, it was in that big room with the throne in it. Wide, high ceiling.
"Alright," her friend said and shot him a glare. "This'll be a two-on-two double battle!"
But-
I like reading you when your distressed, it's hilarious! Send out your Pokémon."
'Go!' With two pops, two Pokémon levitated above the field—Abra and Alakazam.
What? She forced him into a two-on-two battle, and now she was cheating?
'I'm not a cheater! This is a double battle, you use two Pokémon simultaneously, together.'
Unfamiliar as he was with this kind of battles, Ash urged his friends onto the battlefield. And the battle begun. Apparently, Except for Sabrina's Alakazam.
"Thunderbolt and Double Kick, go!" Eevee raced towards Abra as Pikachu blasted Alakazam with Thunderbolt. But they missed, because Alakazam and Abra appeared on the other side of the battlefield. They must've Teleported.
'Calm Mind again.' Standing there, Alakazam was hit with a bunch of Swift, but Teleported again. Like wind-chucked leaves, Eevee's Swift chased Alakazam around the arena. But they all missed the place-changing psi Pokémon.
"Thunderbol-" Interupting him, Pikachu was catapulted off the ground. Ash's eyes widened. Like a falling ball, Pikachu was tossed into Eevee and the two hit the ground. "Guys!" Ash's muscles tensed.
Crying out, Pikachu and Eevee stood and the latter blasted Swift towards the psychic Pokémon. They could do this, they wouldn't give up and they'd beat them. But they just kept on Teleporting. He'd got to find a way.
'Grab it!' Huh? Spiraling up, Pikachu crashed into the ceiling, down onto the ground, ceiling… Oh no, they'd got to free him.
"Eevee, focus on hitting Abra!"
most of Eevee's stars zeroed in on Abra. While on the other side, the few stars left chased Alakazam around. But unfortunately, it Teleported in front of Abra, bursting all the stars that came at any of them. So fast.
The little girl smirked. "Tick, tick, tick, tick…" she kept going as Alakazam went on bursting Eevee's Swift. Although Ash didn't like it, She was right. They'd never free Red like this.
Precisely in the middle of the battlefield, Alakazam didn't block that Swift- never mind, it blocked the next ones.
"I'll get you free Pikachu!" Ash said. He just needed to figure out a way to do it. But with that kind of teamwork from Sabrina's Pokémon…They could just figure out what to do so fast.
He figuratively jumped. `So, let's make it hard for them!` "Eevee, Double Team!" Eevee's fake duplicates scattered around the arena, continuing the Swift barrage.
'I like it, but it's useless.'
Humming for a while, Abra closed its eyes, pointed, and the real Eevee was flung at the ceiling, right into Pikachu. He yelped and his heart skipped a beat as he entered freefall.
No no no-this was bad-he'd got to-OW! That pain in the head returned, and Eevee was flying. Shouldn't he be falling? The light on his paws, pain in his head, and Ash's "no!" told him it was psychic power.
Eevee banged into the wall and yelled.
"Eevee! THAT'S IT! PUT ME DOWN!" Pikachu unleashed a potent Thunderbolt that crashed down on Abra. Free from its psychic grasp, he free-fell. "Whoa! That was not a good idea!"
After the psychic that banged into him, it was the worst idea in his life.
Trying to free them, Ash's mind raced in a jumbled mess. To make matters worse, Sabrina grinned. He gritted his teeth. `They're playing tricks on me, gotta focus!`
'Oh, we haven't begun to play yet. Now it's playtime!'
Giggles, scary giggles echoed from the gym's walls, a bright glow coming forth from Abra. Hollering cackles, it shifted shape, evolving! Uh-oh! If Abra put up that much of a fight, what would…Kadabra do?
'You really do love that Red huh?' A roar, and Abra was no more. In its place, floated a mostly yellow, mostly humanoid and a bit mammalian Pokémon. How did that go from a bad thing to the worst thing so fast? In the back of Ash's mind, a faint ticking stopped as Pikachu and Eevee were abruptly dragged-
Precisely into the middle of the battlefield.
Where, from the nowhere now, from the past, Future Sight struck both and sent them spinning towards Ash. Oh no, his friends! This was going to hurt ! But despite that, Ash clenched his fists, braced for impact…
They crashed. And the three fell flat on the ground.
"You…got…heavy…" Ash muttered, shaking himself off. What was that attack? "Brrrr, anyway, are you Ok?"
He stood, watching them nod and sprint back to the battle. Whatever that was, it was another problem that needed a solution. He couldn't find any.
"Listen. You can hurt us," they said, closing in. "You can mess with our minds."
A rush of hyper energy flooded their veins. "But you never, ever hurt Ash, got it?!"
The first to act, Eevee tore towards Kadabra, and Pikachu took off with balloons? Reaching close, Eevee punched, growled, kicked, scratched. So rapid in his movement. And Pikachu…ascended higher and higher, reached a point, popped the balloons, crashed down onto Alakazam at a sharp angle.
That was so cool! But Where did the balloons come from? And What were those moves?
"Wow, that was so awesome! Way to go you guys!"
(Baddy Bad, Floaty Fall…at least I hope so)
"What in the psychic mindscapes did that just unlock?" Little-Ash didn't know who anymore-bounced in place, wide-eyed.
'...you will be my new friend, literally stuck to me forever after this!'
He'd never be her-
'I'm not giving you a choice in the matter. I'll defeat you, and force you to be my friend forever if I need. That's so much hidden power unlocked from friendship and I want it!'
`What's she talking about?`
As Alakazam's grin returned while it stood a bit to the right, A psychic shield like Clefable's Reflect rose around Pikachu and Eevee. No, no that was Reflect. Tick, tick, tick smacked his mind, reminding him that they'd got to finish this and quick, Red was in so much trouble, maybe even dead. And Marshadow probably couldn't help.
"Ow! That's even worse than hitting the sealing!" Pikachu yelled, and Ash focused on the battle again. Pikachu was getting up, so something probably knocked him down. Buzz, Thunderbolt swished through the air towards Kadabra, but missed. He really got to find a way to deal with that.
How could they stop it? *tick, tick* `Think Ash, think!` They couldn't beat Kadabra and Alakazam to wherever they were teleporting, they also didn't know where were they going to Teleport.
Abrupt silence. Pikachu rushed a bit to the right. Boom.
Eyes wide in horror, Ash tensed. An attack, not physical, slid Pikachu across the battlefield. Only when Pikachu lay panting by his feet that it subsided.
"Pikachu…" he murmured. The electric mouse gave a shaky "Pika", getting up and Ash heaved a sigh. "Please hang in there! Use Thunderbolt again! Eevee, use Swift!"
Tick, tick, tick. Sparkly stars sprinkled through the arena, Alakazam bursting each with a psychic wave, and Pikachu prepared to launch his attack. Hold on, he just had an idea!
"Pikachu Hold on, don't fire till I say so…"
Pikachu nodded, Alakazam bursting star after star. He waited…waited…
Alakazam was in range. "GO!"
A buzz echoed through the arena as Thunderbolt whizzed towards Alakazam. Luckily, focused on bursting Eevee's Swifts, it just grew closer to the bolt.
*Zap*
And from the scream that followed, Ash spared his ears with his hands. Ow! Besides that it shook him to his core.
The Swift, still cannoning in great amounts, zeroed in and finally blasted Alakazam from all sides. Alright, that did work! And even though Alakazam hurled psychic blasts at the energy stars, trying to dispose of them, there was just too much incoming to handle. Pikachu promptly turned to Kadabra and launched a bolt that clapped it in the face. It yelled, and Alakazam roared.
It wasn't a pained roar, it wasn't a frustration roar. It was a warning.
Little Sabrina stopped ticking. "Wait, Future Sight is-"
From the past, from nowhere now, a psychic wave banged into Kadabra's mind and lobbed it into Alakazam. The Swift barrage continued.
Ash pumped his fist into the air. "Way to go, you two!"
His Pokémon gave a triumphant cheer, but Sabrina stopped them. 'Don't celebrate yet.'
"Huh?" Right, her Pokémon weren't knocked out. They could strike at any second. "Guys, be careful-"
Whoosh. "What's going on in here?!" a voice, feminine, hollered. Pikachu whirled around. And…
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" he asked.
Froslass shrugged. "This wall was the closest to the entrance."
She fazed completely out of the wall, ignoring Pikachu's glare. When she drifted very close to Ash, he stepped back but she drifted closer until she was in his face. This…wasn't …She floated up to his head, and hovered there.
"This is the ghost that killed you?"
"Not exactly," Ash said, shook his head, and wore a stern expression again. He didn't want to get sidetracked.
Giving pointed glances to Kadabra and Alakazam, Pikachu and Eevee, who also noticed her by now, rushed over to Ash's side and glared up at Froslass.
"What?" she said, giving them an innocent look.
"Where were you?!" Eevee asked. "Didn't you say you'll protect Ash?"
She nodded. "Yes, and I'll still protect him. I had to find the gym in that mess you call a city!"
"Our friends know where it is!" Pikachu said.
Alakazam and Abra teleported closer and Sabrina tilted her head.
"Yeah, that's why we found it really quickly."
"Then what took you so long?"
"Humans are so dumb. The doors were locked, so they couldn't get in and the girl panicked. They didn't even think to ask me to faze through the door and open it." She sighed. Little Sabrina looked on as the conversation continued. "I fazed in when I got bored in the end."
"Well, did you open the door?"
"...I…" she stared at both of them, a blank expression on her face.
Then gasped. "Oh…that's what I forgot! Oops!"
At that moment, all the psychics around them laughed, little Sabrina fell on the floor in laughter, and slowly fated out of reality. While Ash looked around him in bewilderment.
A flicker, and the guy that was related to Sabrina appeared. With his friends!
"I owe you a Marsh Badge!" Sabrina exclaimed between chortles.
`Forget the Marsh Badge! There are more important things on the line! Besides, I didn't even win-`
"Marsh badge, and marshmallows!"
"Kid, I know you want to help Red, but listen, you might get some new allies who can help with that," Sabrina's relative said with a smile.
(We all know the story, I –pointedly- info dumped it in the previous chapter. The only things worth mentioning in this are that Mini-Sabrina was a different part of Sabrina and the bearded man is Sabrina's dad. And yes, the battle is over, I can't find a logical way to make Ash win without looking overpowered, and Alakazam and Kadabra did take some damage, So…)
Comfortable in his seat, he stroked Persian's fur as the director of Silph Company shifted in his swivel chair. They had been like this for a few days, staring at the wall, alone, in silence. Not that Giovanni minded, peace and quiet moments were always welcome. With what foolishness he had to attend to the last two weeks or so, it was even almost appreciated. Oh, how petty of him, they weren't alone, Red was there as well.
He must join Team Rocket. The boy showed promising potential, Giovanni couldn't expect less from the Project Champion "victim", as Samuel had called him. Why? Giovanni didn't understand. If the researcher volunteered him and shut down the project, that didn't mean the boy was a failed specimen. No, and his ability Archer had told him about over the phone was the proof. Of course, he stood frozen as a puppet now, so Giovanni didn't battle him to assess the ability. But Archer had told him about it, along with Ash Ketchum, his alleged twin. But Archer mentioned him with the "Zapdos incident", so his existence was up in the air at the moment.
Where was he? Ah, yes, the peaceful moment that would last for a long time.
...Why did he jinx it?
A bright flash, and the office burst with people materializing one after the other. Giovanni stopped patting Persian and scanned the invaders over. Two adults, three kids, and that was the Saffron Gym leader. `Interesting.`
"I can't teleport ghosts," Sabrina said, giving Ash an apologetic look.
"It's for the better," Eevee said.
"Alright you," Leaf said, pointing at the Silph Co. director. "Give us back our friend!"
The man jerked so hard his head slammed into the back of the chair. "I didn't take anybody!"
"No, it's the other one," Sabrina said, pointing at Giovanni. "Actually, it's his Pokémon."
'I am not his Pokémon. And did you bring a human here and accuse me of doing it?' Mewtwo stepped forward.
"Uh…"
'Pitiful fool.'
"I don't care who did it. Turn him back to human!" Ash glared at the talking psychics.
"Sure," Sabrina said, expanding her psychic force over the whole office. Reaching over to Red's nervous system, she undid the knot that prevented him from being in control. If Mewtwo hadn't stopped her.
Mewtwo received an instruction to stop the girl from freeing Red now, so he reached into the boy's mind and fought the girl's mind out.
(To be clear, the instruction is, "Mewtwo, stop her now!" Because that wording is vital to the plot.)
"...you serious? Just let him go," Sabrina said.
'Leave his mind.'
"What's going on?" Ash said, his curious tone still carrying a hint of anger.
'I cannot allow you to free the child. Leave, or face the consequence.'
"Why?"
"Because I o-…asked him to," Giovanni said, drawing the group's gaze towards him. "You're Ash and Leaf? My executives spoke of you."
Giovanni pushed Persian a little, a clear message. Get down. He almost slipped, he needed to choose his words more carefully in Mewtwo's presence.
"Why did you tell that Pokémon to stop Sabrina?" Ash said.
"I have my reasons. But I assure you, I take good care of my captives."
"Let my friend go!"
Giovanni chuckled, pointedly loud so the boy would hear him. "Friend? That is an amusing word."
The boy clenched his fists. "Friendship isn't a joke. Let's battle! If I win, you let Sabrina free Red."
Very well, if the boy wished to challenge him…A perfect moment for him to send Rhyperior out. "And if I win, your fait is in my hands." To add to the menacing tone he spoke in, Rhyperior sneered at the group. "I will do whatever I desire with you. Force you to join Team Rocket, turn you into a string-puppet, experiment on you."
His hand on his belt, Ash stopped, eyes wide. In his memory, he remembered Ditto telling them about situations with Team Rocket: Houndoom's torture, stealing his DNA, almost deforming him…which was maybe ripping his form apart…
"Thinking twice now are we? As Proton says, you look better when you don't think, not that you'd look good anyway." The Rocket paused for a brief moment. "...well, ignorance is bliss, I suppose. Don't hesitate, it's not like I will let you escape now."
As much as Ash didn't like it, that man was right. Ash couldn't back down now. Red needed him. But who to use? He pulled out his pokédex and pointed it at that Pokémon the man sent out to battle, but no data appeared. Ok, so what now? Improvise.
Like the ground on the road, the Pokémon looked like it was covered with a rock shell. So maybe a rock-type? Squirtle or Bulbasaur…
A cough. Ash's gaze went to the man who Leaf thought was the one that took Red, and he shifted once he noticed they all were looking at him. "*gulp* I know getting your friend is really important to you, but can you, please, not battle in Silph Company? This place is precious to me and I don't want to lose it."
Oh, right, they stood in a workplace. Ok, so he needed a new plan.
"Question, Ash. What makes you think Team Rocket are evil?"
Ash looked at Giovanni like he asked the most stupid question of all time. "Ditto's pain. Your followers didn't stop trying to steal our Pokémon. You have my friend standing over there like a doll, and you're stopping us from freeing him."
"Grunts."
Ash tried to say something, but he had no response to…that. "…What?"
"My -followers- are called grunts." Giovanni paused for a long moment. "You think we're doing this for fun and games? You think we love hurting Pokémon? No. We…"
He paused.
(Hahahaha, he can't say because of Mewtwo.)
"You what? Do it without a reason? Do it to exterminate all Pokémon? You're just -"
"Enough of this. Mewtwo, brainwash him."
Mewtwo faced Ash and glowed in less than a second. It invaded the boy's mind, its digits fastening on Ash's head. Like it was antigravity, Ash's head lost lots of wait as the world reeled around. As much as Ash tried to think, thoughts didn't spill out, instead vanishing into the void. His body stiffened.
'Get out!' three distinguishable voices roared in Ash's head. Pain stung his mind, but how to react? How could he-catch the pain-who were-where was-
'We won't let you do anything to him!' Sabrina, with her families support, mentally cast a barrier around Ash's sense. Oh, the pain wasn't as terrible. Something happened to him, that feline thing did…did…the thought fated away.
Mewtwo pushed against the barrier created by the humans. Such power coming from frail creatures. But they would not stop him from completing his partner's request. What was this persistent thought? Villainous? Giova-
A mental roar banged into every being's mind in close range as Mewtwo retreated from a Thunderbolt.
"Get away from my trainer you monster!" Pikachu yelled, letting out a Thunderbolt. Monster? Mewtwo was not a monster. They would pay for this. He forced the barrier boom and dragged the boy's consciousness to-
Or he was lobbed across the room.
"Begone, trespasser!" a voice cried from nowhere, but how? He could sense everyone in range of his psychic powers.
Giovanni hummed, giving Ash an attentive stair. "Oh? That's something worth investigation. When has this started happening to you?"
"I don't know," Ash said, a weak anger carried in his blank tone. (Is getting Marshadow to follow Ash around in here overpowered? I wonder…)
"Ash, are you OK? What happened to you?" Leaf said. When he stayed silent, she poked his shoulder. "Ash…Ash…What did you do to my friend?"
Ash, his sense resurfacing, shook his head. "Brrr, I'm fine. What happened just now?"
Giovanni said, "rock Wrecker."
A rumbling roar escaped rhyperior as it shaped a rock within it. Wide-eyed, Brock shoved Ash down to the ground. "Look out!"
Humans and Pokémon scattered around the room, a gigantic boulder impelling from rhyperior and crushing the door into pieces. And continued its wake of destruction.
Giovanni frowned. "Clearly, I've misjudged the situation, we should've used Rock Blast. Mewtwo…" With a pop, Mewtwo appeared in a different part of the building, aiming to stop the Rock Wrecker.
"Can you pay for the property damage?" the director asked, stuttering.
"Zero Pokédollars. Be thankful I'm sparing your life and keep quiet. Good, now, back to our conversation. Ash, how about a deal?"
"A deal? With you?" Ash shook his head no.
"Get off the floor." There was a moment of realization and a sheepish chuckle from Ash as he picked himself off the floor and glared at Giovanni. "Good. Now, for my deal-"
"I don't want a deal!"
"Well you're going to listen anyway. You say we're evil-"
"You're the evilest. You hurt Pokémon and everyone else!"
"What makes you say such a thing?"
"Houndoom almost killed Pikachu the first time we met. And Ditto-"
"Was one of a kind shapeshifter. You can't prevent the curiosity of the mind now can you?" When Ash's glare weakened, Giovanni smiled. "Here's my offer, you and Red join Team Rocket." He held up a hand. "I'll make you oversee our experiments to prove we're not as heartless as you think." There was some truth to that statement, and Giovanni had it in the back of his mind.
They weren't as heartless as he thought, they were possibly even more heartless. But Pokémon were insignificant sacrifices, after all, they were tools to the humans, the superior species in the universe.
Shriek. Hmm?
Looking like he had just managed to escape a ghoul, a teenager rushed into the office with something in his hand. "A POKÉMON IS TRYING TO STEAL THE MASTER BALL!"
Giovanni straitened. "What kind of Pokémon?"
'It is me.' Following the teen, Mewtwo levitated into the room with the wrecking boulder in hand. 'I will clarify, I was not intending to steal the master ball from the worker. Simply, The boulder shattered the door and I stopped it inside the room he worked in. On seeing me with the boulder, the worker assumed I wanted to steal the pokéball. Only, My intention was to halt the rock's damage on the company, so I object to this assumption.'
"Oh…so you weren't trying to steal the ball…whoops…" The worker let out an awkward chuckle. "Well that could'a…gone better."
The worker and Mewtwo's eyes met, locking in an anxious gape for a painful, drawn-out prolonged minute.
"…So…you want a drink or…oh, you don't have that. Well…uh, you like perfume?"
'I cannot say I do. As an artificial being, I don't have use for luxurious inventions.'
"...this has been going on long enough, even I'm starting to feel second-handed awkwardness. Boy, hand me the master ball, and Team Rocket will be on their way."
'No, we can't let him get the Master ball!' Sabrina telepathed. 'This thing can catch any Pokémon! If we let Team Rocket steal it, they can catch even the legendary Pokémon!'
"What?" Shocked, Ash sent out his Pokémon. "We won't-"
"Mewtwo, he's distracted. Now!" Giovanni shouted. With a pop, Mewtwo levitated again in front of Ash, trying to hypnotize him. But it wasn't going to work.
Because Bulbasaur used Whirlwind.
And its effect, to send a Pokémon back into its ball or to make them flee, sent Mewtwo through the roof and zipped the Master Ball out of the employee's hand.
(Get accustomed to it, he does it occasionally.)
From his seat, Giovanni leapt for the ball, but it went way up. "Let it go, psychic lady."
Glowing with telekinetic power, Sabrina's mom shook her head. "I can't allow you to have that, sir-"
"Rock Wrecker!" Giovanni said, and rhyperior built up a giant rock inside him. Boom, and it tore the air towards them.
"Everyone hit it with everything you've got or this place is wrecked!" Ash shouted over the detonation. Agreeing, everyone sent out their Pokémon and they blasted it: Onix blocked the path, Magikarp flopped on it, Pikachu Thunderbolted, Eevee Double Kicked…
Boom. It failed. The rock overpowered all…all their combined attacks just slowed it down, but…but, they'd get crushed if this thing wasn't stopped…
Before them, the huge, giant, devastating merciless boulder stopped. Giovanni sat back and relaxed, Master Ball in hand. It was easy to grab when the psychic lady released it to focus her powers on stopping the wrecking boulder. No matter if it failed in crushing them, he intended it to be a distraction.
Internally, Sabrina reached into Red's mind. 'What?'
'Finally,' Red exclaimed. 'I've been yelling for hours! Quick, before that thing comes back, turn me back to normal!'
Externally, Ash gasped. "He got the Master Ball!"
"Not for long!" Grinning, Leaf grabbed a solid door piece, charged at Giovanni holding it in the air. "Take this! Wood Strike!"
With a shove, Giovanni managed to stop her in place. "No. No. Bad. No playing with broken thin-why you!" He glared, watching as Leaf stole back the Master Ball and scuttled away. Clever girl, she used his distraction against him. He shouldn't have underestimated anyone of the twerps. He chuckled. But neither should've they forgotten…
Pop, and Mewtwo thwarted Leaf. She stepped back, hiding the Master Ball behind her and shuffled to the side to make her way around the creature.
But the ball flew out of her hands. When she turned, the it was flying to Giovanni's hands. Extended and ready.
No!
"Clefable!" It was Red. There, normal but active, he sent out Clefable, he just talked too, so he wasn't a doll anymore. "Don't let him have the ball!"
Smiling, the fairy hurried to Giovanni but Mewtwo obstructed her.
" I assure you, we will meat again, Ash, Red, Leaf. But for now, farewell," Giovanni said, glowing before he vanished.
"No!" Ash started running, only to halt. They were gone. With the Master Ball in the hands of Team Rocket's boss. "We were so close!"
"And they're gone," Leaf said.
"Yeah…" Ash frowned.
"That could've not gone any worse," Sabrina said.
Light shined down on the gym floor, casting small shadows of the two executives who faced the door. Despite the size of the place suggesting anything could reverberate, silence roamed. So much silence that if you throw a needle you'd hear a clear tick.
"I told him nobody's challenging the gym these days, but no, stay in my place in case of emergencies," Proton said. "There aren't any emergencies."
Ariana scowled. "Don't jinx it you numskull."
"I don't care if there are no emergencies Proton. We are Team Rocket, we don't take unnecessary risks." From the portal that appeared, the boss materialized with several other Rockets.
"Yeah, yeah, sure, whatever you say boss. But I'd like to repeat, there were no emergencies."
A perfect moment for an emergency to arise. Three beeps resounding through the gym, the boss ran over and picked up the gym communicator.
"What?" Giovanni said. If this was about another failure…-
"The All in Eevee project had no negative effects on the Eevee's health and the cloning process was precisely as Mewtwo speculated. We have another clone. And it can transform into any Eeveelution!"
Giovanni smiled at the success. "But the clone transformed to Espeon and escaped with the real Eevee."
That was fine. They'd capture the clone with the master ball, and no resistance would follow…He looked down at his hand, ready to give the ball to Proton, but paused.
Would it work on clones? Or was it going to implode like the ones used on other failed clones? Of course, those were normal pokéballs, but it wasn't worth risking for a insignificant clone.
"Sir?" the scientist on the communicator said, bringing him back to focus.
"I'll handle the Eevee'. Focus on other projects you have and wait for my orders." After reassurance from the scientist, he hung up.
He hummed, considering the situation. If he handed Proton the Master Ball and it imploded, the only coppey of the strongest pokéball would be lost for time. But…
"Mewtwo, bring those runaways back."
Mewtwo stared at Giovanni for a long moment, before nodding. Poof, and he reappeared elsewhere. Normal behavior for Mewtwo, so then why did Giovanni pause at it, a thought in his head that this was more then what it seemed?
As they stared at each other, Ash, Red and Leaf held hands, conflict between feelings intense inside them. Each wanted for this moment to go on, their friends by their side. They were finally all alive and well. But, another part of them , a part that saw everything that just happened, keptthe those memories up in their mind. Couldn't they have done anything? Just a tiny bit, they were so close to stopping the man.
And hearts heated with the promise of payback
(No, no they didn't. Unless…*gasp*, I think I know how Payback is used now. Are we gonna see Ash, Red and Leaf punch Giovanni and Mewtow?)
"This is all my fault. I shouldn't have leacked the information on my blog," the director said.
"Dat was crazy. You just met our boss, rescued your friend, and survived?" Meowth asked.
"Your boss?" Leaf grinned.
"You didn't know? Why do ya tink he said executives and had Mewtwo?"
"That psychic menace, " Sabrina said and glared.
"Who was that Pokémon anyway?" Ash asked.
"No idea," Red said. "But it didn't look normal." At Ash's curious look, the boy continued. "I'm not really sure, something was just…off about it. I had this feeling…"
"Maybe because it's psychic?"
"Well, Sabrina's psychic. If that's why, I should've had that feeling before. Or, maybe strong psychics do that?"
"It has to be a doll thing. I didn't feel anything weird, Leaf?" Ash's question was met with a shrug. "Well, that's another mystery that we won't find out anything about, just like who's Sabrina's sister supposed to be."
Sabrina shot him a glare. "I don't have a sister."
"I meant the little girl."
"I explained this to you. Kid, were you paying attention when I explained things before? At all?" Sabrina's dad said.
"Uh, I wanted to help Red, so…"
Sabrina giggled as her dad sighed. "I like your attitude."
"Well I don't like your attitude. Don't turn my friends into plushies."
"Your attitude is sooo cool." She teleported close to him to the point he flinched. "You're trying to scare me, even though I can literally turn this place as a whole to another Toytown. There are never too many of those. You'll be my number one puppet—Imma turn this place into a zoo!"
It was at this moment that he knew, he messed up. Again.
Pikachu, however, had enough of supernatural beings trying to harm his friend-
"I'm kidding, Pikachu. I won't turn him into a doll," she said. And for funny scary vibes, she murmured, "Yet…"
"You're in timeout, young lady," her daddy said.
"You can't timeout me!"
"Yes, I can. For saying that wrong, and for threatening the kid that helped you. You should be grateful."
"I am grateful. I'm just having fun."
"Well you can do that after timeout. Now back to the gym."
Sabrina scowled. "Boring!" And vanished.
"Wait a minute, if you could do that all along, then why let her go crazy in the first place?" Red asked. "Why let anyone get turned into her doll that does everything she wants?…"
"Puppet," the father said. When Red nodded, he continued. "I couldn't have done it if she wasn't whole again. When she split herself, she lost almost all her humanity in favor of focusing on becoming this great, invincible trainer. Now that Ash here helped her become one again, she regained the sense of family. And for that, I'm forever grateful."
A long, pleasant moment of silence.
A smile crept on Ash's face. "Red's fine and you guys are a family again. At least somethings ended in a good way."
"Chear up kids, it could've been worse. How about dinner at our house?" Sabrina's mother said.
Bright faces met this invitation.
"That's it, smile. Life's too short to be angry."
"Does that mean your not mad at Sabrina?"
A chuckle, another, a long silence, a large grin. "Not at all, I'm outraged! Nobody keeps this buty smothered like a doll for six years and gets away from her. Bring the hearse!"
`Bring those runaways back.`
Mallis drove those words out of his companion's mouth, like there was something behind them. A Secret between the lines. Mewtwo Teleported and sensed the Pokémon's presence. Not here. Over and over, he repeated the act, the words pursuing him everywhere. What mallis, what hidden hatred, what could've happened to trigger such a feeling. There they were. Impressive, The clone's speed, they were already a distance from Celadon City's base.
Eevee were begging him to not return to Team Rocket. 'What have they done for you to wish to stay away like this?' Out of everything he'd seen from humans and Pokémon, this was the most worrying it even carried into his tone.
Listening, Mewtwo learned They tormented them, planted a piece in the original Eevee for him to evolve and de-evolve at will, and cloned him. It was Mewtwo's fault. He was the one who hypnotized those nurses for their Pokémon physiology, he was the one who assisted in constructing the new cloning machine. And now, both real and clone grew afraid of Rockets because of his actions. Or…
The mallis.
Maybe Team Rocket weren't as innocent as his partner claimed they were?
"Please leave us alone!"
He floated in place, weighing the options he had. Return the two Eevee to Giovanni and risk them suffering, or finding someplace else for them to live, where Team Rocket couldn't hurt them.
`Hatred-`
His decision was clear as the afternoon sun. 'Come, let us find you a safe place.'
The Eevee's minds flooded with joy and they darted toward him. "Thank you thank you thank you!"
So much joy, uncomfortable amounts of joy to leave humans' side. Humans, such strange creatures, some cared for Pokémon, and some treated them like specimens for their foolish experiments. Or was it only the Rockets?
What world did he live in? And why?
Having spent the night in the Pokémon Center, the group headed off the next day. Ditto and the rest of their Pokémon were healed at the Pokémon Center. On the phone, there was a comedic exchange between Ash, Red and Oak when he informed them Blue and Gary had caught thirty Pokémon.
Each.
And now they were on the road, the morning sun casting light to guide them. Their next destination: Celadon City, Grass Gym.
"I'm still not convinced Red and I shouldn't challenge the Saffron gym," Leaf said, Ditto-Ash strolling beside her. "I didn't catch a ghost for nothing."
Brock chuckled. "Do you want to wait six months for Sabrina's timeout to end? Don't worry, there are other gyms to challenge. I'm sure you'll get enough badges and more if we didn't lose someone's life every now and then."
"And if we didn't get lost every second," Red said and sighed.
"Hard to do when someone can crack mirrors with their terrible sense of direction," Ash said.
Ditto clapped slowly. "How original."
"It wasn't original the first time I said it and it'll never be!"
"Hey, that looks like a good spot for training. And for dessert, Brock-made."
Brock pulled out a round thing from his back. "Here, have a donut. Nothing can be as tasty as my jelly-filled donuts!"
(Or rice balls!)
The group readied themselves, because "this Jelly-filled donut is mine!" And rounded on Brock.
"Slow down calm down. There's enough for everyone!"
Author: Well, that happened.
Eevee: 'bouncing' Primeape's coming Primeape's coming Primeape's coming!
Pikachu: I still can't believe you didn't know readers can leave reviews on chapters. What do you think the "reviews" section's for?!
Author: Complaints. Anyway, thanks to the people who actually left reviews on my story. I didn't think anyone would care.
Eevee: 'stops bouncing' And thanks to the followers.
Pikachu: And the favorite…ers.
Author: Stop thanking people or this chapter will never end. We're never doing this again.
Pikachu: Yes we will.
Author: No we won'-
Thanks for reading, reviewing and everything else. Constructive criticism is always welcome and appreciated.