Ok, I have 2 reasons why this is coming out on a Wednesday. Reason 1: This is a chapter with actual plot relevance and as a result, I've been looking forward to writing it, especially after releasing the previous one, and reason 2: I did a rough calculation of how long this arc of the whole story will take me to write, and figured out that, at the rate I'm currently going and the rate I'm planning on going, I'll be finished with Kalos by June! Which is way too late for my liking. Rest assured, there will be a chapter on Saturday. Look forward to sporadic two chapters in one week over the next 5-6 weeks, I guess. Anyway, on to this one, and bear in mind, it's going to be a fair bit longer than my usual ones.
CHAPTER 31:
Looking For Clues.
Ash had been called back to Galar because the Masters Eight Tournament of the World Coronation series had kicked off once more, and as the current reigning Monarch Ash had no choice but to attend. He promised Serena that he'd be back in a month at the latest, because he knew what journalists could be like, especially after the tournament. Fortunately for him, the Tournament ended up lasting only a week, during which he and Pikachu blazed through their competition. The only trainer of real note in the tournament (aside from Iris of course but Ash never got the chance to face her) was a girl from Postwick who managed to get all the way to the final. Ash was pretty sure her name was Gloria, as he remembered Marnie, the now Spikemuth Gym Leader and an old friend of his, speak rather fondly of her. Ash managed to beat her, but it was a close match.
After the Masters Eight was over, Ash had to spend another week dealing with journalists, or incessant vultures as he and May like to call them. They would hound him non-stop about his latest victory, how long he reckoned he could keep his reign up, and even what his relationship with Serena is like. It's questions like that last one that had Aash make the decision to only agree to an interview on the condition that his Charizard could be with him. If a journalist pissed him off, he'd have Charizard scare them away with a mighty roar. Sometimes he would consider using Aura on the particularly nasty journalists, but he'd made a promise to himself to keep his powers hidden, for the good of the world.
Now, after two long weeks in Galar, Ash has finally been given time to return to Kalos and be with Serena again. He's sitting in his house in Galar, going through his computer to purchase tickets for the next flight to Kalos. While he does this, he also takes notes on various things he needs to teach Bonnie about Aura the next time he sees her. Pikachu is sitting on Ash's desk, happily guzzling away at his third bottle of ketchup.
"One of these days, I'm going to need to stage an intervention for your ketchup addiction" he tells his partner. Pikachu's cheeks became electrified in annoyance at that. "You do and I'll stage one for your addiction to watching Serena's past performances!" Pikachu replies threateningly. "Point taken" says Ash, before returning to his computer screen. Conversations through Aura are normally impossible for Aura Guardians to do with pokémon without a connection to Aura, unless the Guardian's bond with their pokémon is strong enough, like Ash and Pikachu's bond was.
This moment is interrupted by Ash's Rotom phone ringing. Grumbling with annoyance, Ash picks it up. Expecting to see the contact info of a vulture, Ash is about to answer the phone and tell them to kindly piss off. However, instead of a journalist, he sees that it's detective Looker calling him. Immediately on edge, Ash answers. "Detective Looker," he greets. "How important is this? Because I'm in the middle of something." Looker chuckles at this. "Brash as ever I see," he replies. "And this is actually quite important Ash, as it involves an old friend of yours."
Ash's stomach sinks at this. "Who?" he asks. "A young boy from Hoenn" Looker replies. Ash swears under his breath. "You mean Max Maple?" he asks. "Is Max alright?" "The boy is fine," Looker replies. "He says that his travelling partner is a little shaken up, but otherwise they're alright. You see, they had a little run-in with Team Terra." Looker proceeds to explain Everything that Max had reported to Interpol the night before. "I see," says Ash. "So, you want me to go down to Kalos and investigate this cave?"
"No, I don't," says Looker. "I've already got agents looking into that. I'm contacting you specifically about the detail of the man-made caves the boy described. Well, we analysed this cave, and we've discovered that it shares similar traits to those Tremors that plagued the Hoenn region up until 5 months ago." Ash remembers them quite well, especially since Max had fallen into the last one. "I thought it was already confirmed that Team Terra were behind those?" he asks. "It was," Looker replies. "I'm calling you about another matter. You see, a giant cave has been discovered in the Sinnoh region. One that has never been seen before. I need you to come with me to investigate it."
Thankful that Looker can't see him, Ash rolls his eyes. "Is that all?" he asks. "Can't you get Cynthia to help you investigate it? Or even Leon, since he was the old Monarch." "If it was a simple matter of needing a strong trainer, I wouldn't be calling you," Looker tells him. "I need you because of a particular ability you have. One that's been long thought to be a mere myth." Ash's heart stops for a second, and Pikachu nearly chokes on his ketchup. "Don't try to deny this or play dumb," Looker continues. "I know that you are an Aura Guardian. I need you down here to help me see if there are any traps or Team Terra grunts hiding in it. That's all." Ash sighs. "Fine, I'll come," he says. "But only for 2 weeks. If this takes any longer than that, you're on your own." "Fair enough," agrees Looker. "Be ready first thing tomorrow morning. Someone will be in front of Wyndon Station to pick you up. Do not keep them waiting." Then, he hangs up.
That is how Ash finds himself sitting in the back of an Interpol helicopter, flying from Galar to Sinnoh instead of Kalos. Due to the time zone difference, it's the late afternoon in Sinnoh by the time the helicopter arrives, despite the flight only taking 2 hours. Looker is there waiting for him, along with two other Interpol agents, a man and a woman. They both look no older than 20. The man is tall, with short spiky brown hair and brown eyes. He wears a similar suit to Looker, except he made an addition, and added a red and white hat with a black pokéball insignia. The woman is shorter than both men but still just about taller than Ash. She has long dark brown hair, tied up in a high ponytail, and bright green eyes. Like the man, she wears a suit and a hat, except hers is mostly white with a pink pokéball insignia.
"These are agents Hilbert and Hilda," Looker explains. "They are amongst a select few who were trusted with the information regarding your, abilities, and as such have been entrusted with accompanying us through this investigation." Ash grows angry at this. "How the Distortion Realm did you find out?" he demands. "I have my ways" is all Looker says, before turning away and leading the three of them to the recently discovered cave, and the object of their investigation. As they approach it, Ash is expecting a relatively small cave, one easily hidden by well-placed bushes. So, when he lays eyes on it, he wonders how in Arceus's name it was only recently discovered.
The cave is huge. The cliffside it's in is easily 30 metres tall, and the mouth goes up maybe 1/3 of it. It also looks to be about 4-5 metres wide at the bottom. "How was this only found recently?" he asks. Looker shrugs and shakes his head. "No idea," he says. "That's why it raised our suspicions. Nothing of this size can remain hidden this long if it's natural and untouched. Meaning it was either made very recently, or some form of camouflage was used on it. Either way, this is where you come in." Ash nods and approaches cautiously. Hilbert and Hilda follow behind him, pokéballs raised in case of an ambush.
However, nothing happens, and Ash reaches the mouth with no problem. He touches the cave wall and closes his eyes, using his Aura to get a bearing of this cave. Hilbert and Hilda watch on in awe as he does this. Once he's finished, he opens his eyes and removes his hand, then turns to the agents. "It's man-made alright," he tells them. "But it isn't recent." Looker looks at him quizzically. "What do you mean?" he asks. "I mean it's roughly 2 years old" Ash replies. Hilbert's jaw drops, and Hilda begins searching the grass around the base of the cave. After a few minutes of this, she stands back up, clutching a weird device in her hand.
"Look at this," she says, handing it to Looker. "It looks like some sort of camouflage device." Looker exams it and nods his head. "I do believe you're right," he replies. "And it looks to me like it's recently run out of power." That would explain why no one has found this cave until yesterday" Hilbert observes. The four look back on the cave again. "So, do we go in, or do we wait for back-up?" asks Hilbert. "We go in," Looker replies. "I'd like to make use of Ash's Aura during this investigation, something I will not be able to do with other people." Then, he turns to Ash and says, "Now Ash, can you find out if there's anything of note in there?"
Ash nods and puts his hand to the wall again. He closes his eyes for a few seconds, and when he opens them again, they glow a bright blue, much to the agents' shock. He stands like that for a few minutes, before removing his hand and his eyes return to normal. "I could only get halfway in," he says. "From what I could gather though, it seems to have been abandoned for some time. However, there are a few traps still active, which leads me to believe that they may still be hiding something in here." Looker smirks at this and pulls out his Rotom phone. "In that case," he says turning the torch on, "let's go in and see if that's true." And with that, he steps inside, Ash following behind him. Hilbert and Hilda look at each other nervously, before following after.
The walk through the cave is tense and quiet. As he walks, Ash slides his hand across the wall, feeling out for any traps. He manages to find a few and warn the others of where they are, saving them from any harm. It's extremely dark in this cave, but thankfully not very cramped. The agents' torches don't do a very good job of lighting up their way forward, so once Ash is sure they're passed all of the traps, he orders them all to turn them off and he lights up the cave with an Aura Sphere. The light from his Sphere is a lot brighter than the torch, and as such it allows them to see much better.
As they continue through the cave, Hilbert's curiosity gets the better of him. "How come you don't want other people to know that Aura Guardians are real?" he asks. "You might be able to find others like you, and even set up some sort of world protection agency!" Hilda groans in exasperation and looks to the roof of the cave, while Looker face-palms. Ash meanwhile looks at Hilbert. "That's exactly why I don't want others to know!" he replies.
When Hilbert only looks at him quizzically, Ash continues. "The ability to wield Aura doesn't choose people based on how good they are or if they'd use it responsibly. It's genetic, nothing more. If I were to announce to the world that there are people in it who can use Aura, then there are going to be people who will try to see if they can. Yes, maybe I can create some organisation of Aura Guardians, but not everyone will want to join it. Some may find out they have it and decide to use it for personal gain. Think what could happen if someone like Giovanni started filling his ranks of Team Rocket with Aura Guardians!" Hilbert suddenly looks quite nervous at that thought. "Exactly," Ash goes on. "That's why it's safer if I'm the only one who can use it." Hilbert accepts that answer and the group moves on.
After nearly an hour of walking through this long tunnel, the group finally comes to a big iron door, sealed off and seemingly unopenable. Hilda steps forward here. According to Looker, she's one of the best hackers in the agency. However, much to the group's disappointment, the console to open the door has no power. Hilbert is about to suggest they try to power it up with an electric pokémon, when Ash shouts, "Step back!" The agents move behind him, and he hurls the Aura Sphere he's holding at the door, blowing it to pieces. Once the Sphere leaves his hand, Ash slumps a little bit as he's overcome with a bit of fatigue. Looker notices and tells the other two to switch back to their torches. When Ash protests, Looker retorts with, "That Sphere clearly took energy out of you! I'd rather have more limited visibility for the rest of this investigation than to be able to see clearly but have to carry you out of here!" Ash relents and pulls out his own phone.
On the other side of the door is a big room, almost completely empty, save for a computer system with no power. Hilda approaches the system and pulls out a Galvantula, then sets it on the keyboard. "I'll power this up, then see what I can salvage," she tells the others. "While I do that, have a look around the room and see if you can find anything they may have left behind." The boys nod and begin searching, while Hilda orders her Galvantula to start powering up the console.
While she works, the others use their torches to search every inch of the room. Ash uses his Aura to look for any hidden hidey-holes in the walls. Unfortunately, the place seems to have been picked clean. At last, Galvantula is able to restore power to the console, and Hilda works quickly to bypass its security. She smiles to herself and cracks her knuckles, then begins to search through the computers for any information. "Alright Team Terra," she mutters to herself. "Let's see how thorough you were with erasing your search history."
Having given up on searching, the other three stand behind Hilda and watch as she works. At first, nothing she tries works. It really seems like these computers had been wiped clean. Looker is about to suggest they stop and come back later to take it and dismantle it, when the woman cries out, "Ooh, Ooh! Got something!" On the screen is a single file, labelled "Jade_ ". She clicks on it eagerly, and they all watch as 3 files appear on screen. Hilbert chuckles as Hilda begins rooting through them. "Looks like they weren't as thorough as they thought" he jokes. "Don't jinx us!" Looker reprimands him.
The first file Hilda opens is about the Hoenn region. Specifically, they're spots that seem to have a high concentration of some sort of energy that caught Team Terra's eye. "Ash's eyes widen. "Some of these are the spots where the tremors occurred!" he points out. Looker smirks at him. "Good eye," he says. "Seems to me that they were looking for something." Hilda closes this file and opens the second one. In it are several notes on three key things: The Embedded Tower in Johto, the Jade Orb, and Rayquaza.
When Looker sees this, his jaw drops. "This can't be good," he says. "It looks like they're trying to summon Rayquaza. But for what?" Hilda closes this file and opens the 3rd. "I think I found out why" she tells them. The third file contains a single blueprint. It describes a large, pyramid-shaped device, with large wires going down the bottom of it. There are several docks on the side of it, where larger pipes are to be attached. And at the top is a bunch of small wires, attached to what is unmistakably Rayquaza, who is being held in place by some telekinetic energy being poured out of four small turrets attached to the four corners of the device.
Looker takes a step back and allows Hilbert to step forward and analyse this machine. While Hilda is a Master of Computers, Hilbert is an expert at engineering. He analyses the blueprints, his eyes widening as he takes more information in. "This seems to be a device designed to gather a massive amount of energy," he tells them. "An amount that nothing in existence could withstand it." The other three take a closer look at this device. "So, they need it to power something so huge that no other power source can work?" Ash asks.
Hilbert shakes his head. "Look at those wires going down the bottom," he says, pointing at them. "Those are clearly meant to pump this energy into something. It's not designed as a battery, more like something to overload a power source." "So, it's a machine designed to cause something to shut down?" Looker asks. Hilbert nods. "By the looks of it, yeah!" he says. "But what would Team Terra want with something like that?" Hilda asks.
Before anyone can ponder this, the screen fizzles out, and a new image appears. It's of a man in a black mask, one that covers his whole head. He's wearing a green hood on top, with a large green cloak on his back. Ash can tell it's a cloak despite the fact that they could only see the man's head and shoulder, since he has to wear one during the Masters Eight Tournament. "That is for me to know and you to find out!" The man tells them. He has a deep voice, muffled greatly by the mask, but Ash thinks he's probably Galarian.
"So, you must be the leader of Team Terra" Looker states. "That I am," he replies. "You did well to find that file, but I'm afraid you can look no further. You weren't supposed to find that file, so you spoiled my surprise for you. However, it is too late for you to stop it." The image changes, and the very machine they were looking at the blueprints for appears in front of it. To their horror, it is almost finished. The Boss laughs at their faces as his masked head reappears on screen. "The only thing that stands in the way of our success is that boy and girl," he continues, and Ash's rage builds. "Despite my associates' bungling, my forces are steadily closing in on those two, so it's only a matter of time before I get my hands on the Jade Orb."
An Aura Sphere appears in Ash's hands at this. "Don't you dare touch them!" he says. "If I find out you've hurt them in any way, I will not rest until I've found you, even if I have to tear down every single Terra stronghold to find you!" The Boss chuckles at this. "Oh don't worry, I don't plan to," he says. "From what my second in command tells me, the boy has quite the brilliant mind. People like him deserve to live in the new world I will create. And the girl seems to have some sort of strange ability. And by the looks of it, you do too."
Ash's eyes widen at this. "Now, I'd love to stay and chat a bit more," The Boss concludes. "Maybe even try to convince you of my noble intentions, but I must be going. Goodbye Monarch, I wish you could see this new world, but you will be too dead to enjoy it." Before he can end the message, Ash hurls his Aura Sphere in anger, destroying the machine. A few seconds later, the cavern begins to shake. Ash puts his hand on the wall and closes his eyes, before swearing loudly. "He's rigged the cave to explode!" he tells the others. "We've got to go!"
They didn't need telling twice. Hilda returns her Galvantula and the four of them race out of the cave as fast as they can. As they run, the room they were in explodes, and the roof of the cave begins to collapse. The sight of this causes them all to run faster. Eventually, they begin to grow tired, so Ash pulls out Charizard's pokéball and lets him out. Charizard sees what's happening and understands immediately what he needs to do. He allows the four to climb onto his back and then flies out of the cave like a bullet, getting them out of there in no time at all.
They stop for a few minutes to catch their breath, then Aash returns Charizard to his ball. Looker rounds on him immediately after. "That boy has the Jade Orb!?" he demands. Ash nods guiltily. "Why does he have it!?" Looker shouts. "Why didn't you take it from him when you found out!" Ash hastily explains the situation to him. Once he's finished, he continues to look desperately at Looker. "Look," he says. "I need to return to Kalos right now! My friends are in danger!" Looker nods. "Go and retrieve that Orb," he tells him. "Take it from the boy by force if you have to! Meanwhile, I'll have agents and the Johto police force stationed on every single inch of the Embedded Tower. If Team Terra manages to get that Orb before you do, we'll be there to intercept them."
Ash nods, then Looker leads him back to the helicopter. Once there, Ash climbs inside and Looker tells the pilot to fly him back to Galar so he can pick up his things, then fly him to Kalos immediately. The pilot nods and takes off, and Looker calls for another chopper to pick him, Hilda, and Hilbert up and to take them and any agent available to the Embedded Tower asap. "To think that the fate of this world once again rests on a 10-year-old's shoulders," he mutters to himself. "That boy had better hold out until Ash finds him, or we'll be in dire straits indeed."
Wow, that was a lot longer than I thought it would be. But yeah, now you know why Team Terra needs Rayquaza. I was going to explain what exactly the machine does, but I figured it would be better if I saved that for later. Sorry. So now, Ash is in a race against Team Terra to get to Max and Bonnie first. But who will get to him first? Stick around to find out, and I'll see you all on Saturday.