Hello everyone, welcome to the continuation of my story The Best Around. I was planning on having a few months off from writing to get as many notes written down about the Johto Arc but got I bored so here's chapter One. I own nothing.
Chapter 1- Johto Begins
As Ash landed in Johto he stepped off the boat and breathed in the sea air and made his way down the dock and onto the road leading to Olivine City itself, the sea-shore at his right hand side just passing by all the fishermen that were sat on the promenade. Stopping to just watch them he saw the rod of a man bend quite significantly and his mate came to reel in his other rods line to prevent them tangling, something his neighbours did also out of respect for the potential catch. Whatever he caught must be huge, Ash thought as the fight continued on for half an hour, the man sweating profusely as he hauled in his catch. Eventually the man asked his friend to put the landing net in the water and the Pokémon was caught, his fellow fishermen had long since come over to see what he had spent fighting with for half an hour. Ash was amazed when he lifted it up for everyone to see, it was a gigantic Corsola, much bigger than he'd ever seen. Taking out his Pokédex he scanned it.
"Corsola, Pokédex Number 222, the Coral Pokémon. It continuously sheds and grows. The tip of its head is prized as a treasure for its beauty. In a south sea nation, the people live in communities that are built on groups of these Pokémon."
"Wow" Ash said looking at it "It's huge, much bigger than they usually get."
"It sure is" the fisherman exclaimed looking happy before taking the hook out of the Corsola's mouth and placing it back into the water gently where it slid under an made its way back down to the seabed.
"You didn't keep it?" Ash asked surprised.
"No, we never really keep anything we catch" the man replied baiting up his hook again "this is just for fun, a sport so we would never want to disturb the ecosystem around Olivine City and Corsola are key to keeping the oceans south of here towards the Whirl Islands and Cianwood along with the various others that we fish up clean and liveable for all its inhabitants. We do our bit by not capturing any of them and they come for the food. I know it may be strange to some, but I can count about six of us here along the wharf that have caught that particular Corsola before."
Laughing Ash just shook his head "so it's a game between you all now?"
"Very much so" the fisherman said casting his line back out "I guarantee by the end of play today someone else here will have caught it."
Sitting down Ash just sat and observed the people passing by along the wharf and talked to the fishermen and women that were all eager to share their stories of the ocean around Olivine, Ash jotted down several key things that were innocuous to some but very interesting to him. In particular the stories of a mysterious Pokémon said to inhabit the Whirl Islands.
"And no one has ever seen this Pokémon?" Ash asked.
"No, but some who visit and risk the caves hear strange noises at night coming from the depths" a lady said as she put a Krabby back into the sea "some have tried to go deep into the caves but have got lost and had to dig their way out, many have perished chasing the foolish legend, but the mystery has never been solved."
"So, there's no proof of it being a Pokémon other than strange noises?" Ash asked perplexed "how do you know it's not just a normal Pokémon, or even people living in the depths that don't need to come out."
"We don't" she replied "to be honest I think the legend is full of shit, but that's me personally. The fact people have died chasing this ghost just reiterates to me that some people will do anything to chase fame. I'm quite happy living in Olivine, fishing on a weekend and enjoying life as it comes. Only fools chase things like that."
"Quite right" the fisherman from earlier said nodding, something that was echoed by the people around them.
After another hour of watching them fish Ash made his excuses and left them to it heading towards Olivine City towards the Pokémon Centre. It was only a few hours while they were eating that Pikachu asked, "Why are we here?"
"What do you mean?" Ash asked confused.
"Why are we in Olivine, don't we need to go to New Bark Town to meet the Johto Professor?" Pikachu asked.
"Oh yeah" Ash said nodding as he took another bite of his ramen "but we need to meet Bruno. He and Lorelei have a house just on the outskirts of Olivine on the way to Ecruteak. From there we'll fly to New Bark Town and meet the Regional Professor."
"Is this the Hailee situation that you were asked about months ago?" Pikachu asked.
"It is yeah" Ash said looking rueful "it's been that hectic at home that I forgot all about it, but I remembered a few days ago and got in touch with Lorelei. They've had to move from Silver Town due to there not being a need for an Elite Four at the minute as the League has only just started so I'm heading to Bruno's house. Lucario arrived there a few days ago after heading back to Rota to check something out and we'll see if we can help the poor girl."
"Ah ok" Pikachu said, "is she in danger?"
"I don't think so" Ash said, "but she may need to start her training sooner than expected to release the pressure on her aura."
"How old is she now?" Pikachu asked.
"I think she's just turned five in January" he said looking thoughtful "so she'd only begin a year earlier than I would so it's not much of a difference but for her aura to manifest this early is the concern here. Hopefully Lucario can come up with some answers."
"Are you going to be her mentor?" Pikachu asked.
"I'm not sure" Ash said leaning back "I already have a full schedule as it is, and I wouldn't be able to devote the time needed to develop another aura user. If I was staying in one place for a while, like I did for the last few months I could have helped her but as we're travelling the regions, and she can't come with me it's unlikely. Which is a shame because whoever gets her as an apprentice will be lucky, I felt her aura from when she was just two years old Pi, and it was already strong. The mark I placed on her to prevent her being unwillingly claimed also dampened it slightly until she chose a teacher, but I fear I have dampened it too much and it's trying to burst free and should that happen in one go every aura user in the world will feel it. We could be with her a week or so to relieve the pressure on her."
"So, it's important to get this sorted before we carry on with our journey" Pikachu stated nodding, something which was echoed by Ash.
The day after Ash climbed on Salamence and they took off heading in a North-Westerly direction, circling around the mountains near Olivine. After ten minutes Ash spotted the place and instructed her to land. Getting off her he thanked her, and she took off to go for a fly and see if there was anything interesting on the mountains. Shaking his head Ash just chuckled as he walked across the very well-manicured lawn and headed towards the big house. It was a beautiful two-story building, that seemed to have at least ten rooms on the ground floor. Shaking his head at the opulence he walked up the stairs and knocked on the door. After ten minutes of receiving no answer Ash decided to have a walk around the premises taking in the beauty of the surroundings as he went. After a few minutes he heard noises and sped up curious as they didn't sound like angry noises, but playful ones. Walking around the corner he chuckled as he took in what was happening.
Lucario was juggling aura spheres for a very amused Hailee as Bruno and Lorelei sat at a table having a drink. As he tossed them all into the air for what Ash felt was going to be a big finish Ash had an idea and formed a lance and threw it hitting all three spheres one after the other creating a mini firework show and blue sparkles fell over Hailee's head causing her to cheer loudly. Lucario on the other hand immediately got into a defensive position and formed a sphere ready to throw it at whoever he thought was attacking them. It was only when Ash walked forward that Lucario relaxed.
"Getting lax there Lucario" he said before getting to his knees as Hailie ran forward shouting his name before he swept her up in a big hug and carried her on his hip over towards Bruno and Lorelei.
"To be fair Ash" Lucario said "I didn't expect to be attacked by a fellow aura user."
"To be fair Lucario" Ash responded, "aren't aura users always aware of their surroundings?"
"We'll call it even" Lucario said ending the subject laughing.
"How are you doing Lorelei, Bruno?" Ash asked.
"We're not bad" Lorelei said smiling "just enjoying the peace and quiet before Bruno goes back to work and the little one arrives."
"When is he/she due?" he asked looking at her "you look phenomenal by the way, pregnancy definitely suits you."
"Erm" Bruno said raising his eyebrow "that's my wife you're ogling Ash."
"I'm not ogling her" Ash said laughing "you all know my own personal issues and I can promise you I'm not hitting on your wife."
"Why would you hit mummy?" Hailee asked looking confused.
"I wouldn't" Ash said ruffling her hair "she'd hit me back and that would hurt."
"Anyway, thank you Ash" Lorelei said smirking around her glass of lemonade and winking at Ash who just shook his head "so far the pregnancy has been ok, we've not got long to go now, and we want it to be a surprise on who we have."
"When are you due?" Ash asked.
"Mid-May" Bruno said still giving Ash a wary look.
"Ooh if you can hold out until the 22nd we'll have the same birthday" Ash said.
"Yes" Lorelei replied dryly "I'll be sure to hold them in until then, just for you Ash."
"Ash is a good name for a boy, just saying" Ash said smirking at Bruno who narrowed his eyes.
"We'll keep it in mind" Bruno said shaking his head at the banter between them all. He knew his wife did look phenomenal, and if there was one person he'd trust to look out for her it would be Ash. Possibly because as he said he had his own personal issues to deal with regarding his own future partner, so he didn't feel threatened, having said that they'd been married for around ten years now so he didn't really feel threatened at all.
"Yes" Lorelei said "anyway shall we get onto why you're here? Lucario arrived late last night and asked for you to be here before he told us what he'd found out."
"Yes" Lucario said observing them all "It took me a long time to find the information I did, and I had to beat one of the librarians into submission to give me the information I think has been deliberately kept from me by a person or persons unknown, but I suspect we all can guess who and why, however I have no proof. The earliest known manifestation of aura in someone was at five years old, this was only a few centuries ago actually, in the late 1500's a girl by the name of Ariel showed signs of aura usage in a little village surrounding Rota, she was destined to be one of the very best and was trained by several master's at Rota before the third war broke out. In fact, she was the guardian of the Queen at the time, Serena. It was her that was assassinated by her own son and Ariel was out on a mission when that happened. When she came back, she was the one that hunted down the psychics that captured Brandon and rewired his brain into believing a man should sit on the throne. Luckily for Rota his twin was old enough to become Queen and Laura did ok.
Anyway, Ariel became a very good and powerful Aura Guardian and served Rota for ten years before she left, ashamed of what she'd let happen. No one heard from her from that day but there was evidence, or rumours of her taking up residency near Blackthorn City under a different name. Sadly, not much else is known about her."
"Interesting" Ash said mulling it over "I knew that Brandon killed Serena, that's very well documented and Laura was a very good Queen, in fact most of the laws she created are still in place. I never knew who Serenas First Knight was though so that's news to me. Does it say just how powerful an aura user she was?"
"No" Lucario said "just that she was exceptional. She could, in theory be just as strong or stronger than Sir Aaron but it's not documented."
"And it wouldn't be either" Ash said earning confused looks "Aaron was revered for what he did to put a stop to the war and while no one knew what he did until around a year ago when Lucario and I discovered how he died he is still the greatest Aura Guardian Rota has ever had so no scholar is ever going to write about someone surpassing him, they'd be ejected from Rota before they could say the word 'Aura' and any information would be burned. I wonder why the information was kept hidden from you though Lucario, after all you've not told us anything that we could use against them."
"I suspect Ash it was done before they knew about Hailee" Lucario said "the tomes I was given had to be dusted because they were undisturbed for some time but also weren't where they were supposed to be kept. I suspect they were hidden when you were attacked, but as I said we have no proof."
Shaking his head he pondered on his next question "So it would seem that there's no immediate danger to Hailee but we don't know if that will last if she's not at least starting her training."
"No," Lucario said "I think we should at least give her some basic exercises to go through so she can gradually release her aura and will be in no danger. I do think we'll have to remove our marks from her though as I suspect that's impeding her at the minute."
"I thought the same actually" Ash said ruefully "when Lorelei first told me she was having issues I wondered if I had put too much into dampening her power when I placed my mark and that you compounded it by placing your own."
"Dampened her power?" Lorelei asked concerned.
"Yes" Lucario said "when aura manifests in users it can expel itself in several ways, so the users' master 'claims' them so that they can regulate their usage and gradually release the mark at several intervals, that way they can get used to the sudden burst of power they get each time. When he put the mark on, he 'claimed' her for himself, but he used a different way of claiming her. Usually, the one Ash used is placed on youngsters so that they have time to find a master, which is usually chosen by a committee because the constraints are quite demanding. The new user usually is their apprentice for five to six years and lives with them for that period after which they can go on to a new master of a higher ranking or choose to stay with their current master for the further two years that's required.
Ash in doing what he did prevented anyone from trying to claim her without his approval, something which he said he discussed with you two, and in doing so placed the dampener on her. However, she has shown herself to have a higher aura output than usual, and his mark is disintegrating with each outburst she has, something Ash wouldn't have known about as he isn't a tutor on aura. When I saw her, I knew instantly that what Ash had done was failing and I also placed my own mark on her stalling the time she would need a trainer however it seems our claims are fighting against each other and her own aura is confused as to who 'owns' her so she needs an official trainer within the next six months or so, a year at the latest.
So, what we can do is give you a list of exercises for her to do on a daily basis to release her aura in concentrated bursts, this will be beneficial to gain fine control of her own aura in later life, but it will also be beneficial to her quality of life. When you choose a master, she will also have a better understanding of what they will require from her, so she'll be ahead of her usual age group."
"It's up to you two" Ash said looking at Hailee's parents "I'm quite happy to go along with whatever you two want for her. I'm sorry that my mark did what it did, in my defence I thought I was preventing Riley and Rota from claiming her and using her against you. I had no idea it would do this to her but if I did, I would probably still do the same thing to prevent them getting their grubby hands on her, no offence Lucario."
"Given what I've seen over the last eighteen months I don't think I could be offended if I wanted to" Lucario said "the standards were very poor, and even now they're only barely acceptable as there's been a lot of laziness I've had to drum out of the new recruits. Sir Aaron would be rolling in his grave if he ever found out just how bad they were."
"You're not exactly filling us with confidence here" Lorelei said frowning "if her master is going to be someone you two think is crap then how does that help Hailee?"
"Rota is crap" Ash clarified "the master's at the Lucario Kingdom in Sinnoh aren't as bad, and they don't answer to Rota as they're their own separate entity. However, they could still be persuaded to answer Rota's call should the Queen ask for it, but she'd need a damn good reason to interfere in the Kingdoms way of training Aura Guardians and she'd need to go through both Lucario and I too."
"We outrank every master in both places and if we wanted to, we could easily put them in their place, her new master included." Lucario said seriously "when I knighted Ash I gave him the same powers of authority that I have and whether Ilene or Riley likes it or not I'm not taking them away."
"Will she end up like you?" Bruno asked looking at Ash concerned "what I mean is will she be pushing six foot tall at age twelve like you were?"
"No" Ash said "my aura was manipulated by Arceus herself to be able to combat Mewtwo, and in order for that to happen my body had to change to adapt to my aura usage. As far as I know Hailee isn't prophecy bound as I was and will grow as normal, she'll just be more powerful than most aura users."
"Oh, that's a relief" Bruno said letting out a breath "you've told us how bad it was for you over the past few years, and I don't want my daughter having to go through that if I can help it."
"I'm not offended" Ash said "I wouldn't want any child I had or even know of to go through what I did. It was horrendous but I was lucky enough to not know any better. I just assumed it was normal due to my fate being decided for me from my birth, but I will do whatever I can to help Hailee have as normal a time as possible when she gains a master."
"That still leaves us with a decision to make though" Lorelei said stroking her daughter's hair "we need to make a decision soon."
"Well, you might not have to until she's eleven" Lucario said "neither of us feel comfortable removing the mark, though we will do should you ask us to, but with the exercises we can give her she might be able to use enough aura to stop the outbursts from happening."
"You're not going to be around though should it not work" Bruno said, "which is what concerns me the most."
"I'm going to be in Johto for the next six to seven months" Ash said "and you have my number should anything happen. Hopefully by that time we can see if the exercises work for her and go from there, but I would highly recommend you going through with that option. The other option is to get her a master as soon as possible which has several downsides. There's a reason orphans are usually chosen as Aura Guardians as the master/apprentice relationship outweighs son/daughter/parent one and you will lose any say you might have in how that master acts with Hailee."
"So, we either lose her now or in five years' time" Lorelei said hugging her and openly crying "is that what you're telling us?"
"Unless you can convince the master to remain around Olivine, then yes and I doubt any master will tolerate any interference in how they choose to train them" Lucario said "I'm sorry, but there's very little precedence here. The apprentices taken on in the past that have families have given up their rights because it's an honour to be chosen and it benefitted the child. I'm not going to pretend to understand what you're going through, but it was a different time when I was hatched and there were different feelings about being a guardian."
"It seems we have a very difficult decision to make" Bruno said heavily "I'd rather hoped this would be something way off into the future."
"Well as I said we can give it six months to see if the exercises work" Ash said "we have time and we won't let just anyone take her. Given her power level at the moment I don't think she'd be happy with anyone that isn't quite powerful themselves, by our very nature we aura users don't tolerate a weaker master and as I told Pikachu a few years ago now, we know when we're being held back."
"Can one of you two not be her master?" Lorelei asked concerned.
"Sorry," Ash said looking at Lucario before looking back at them shaking his head "I just can't devote the time she deserves due to my own responsibilities as the Kanto Champion. I've been given a deadline to become a Pokémon master in the next six years and I need to stick to a schedule to achieve it. If she was a few years older I could have her travel with me, but as she's five I can't."
"I have duties at Rota that I need to take care of" Lucario said "Ilene is due to give birth any day soon, so I need to be on site to do the blessing along with the other knights. I have a tentative idea though, but I would need to discuss it with Ash first."
Nodding Ash walked away, just out of earshot and listened to what Lucario said. What he asked was well within what he could do, it would just need the approval of Bruno and Lorelei. Walking back over he saw them having a hushed conversation, something that stopped as soon as they were back within earshot.
"Can I do a test on her?" Ash asked.
"What kind of test?" Lorelei asked narrowing her eyes.
"I promise you it won't harm her" Ash said holding his hand up "what I want to do is to release our marks from her to see what kind of level she will need to start from. She should only feel a slight bit of pain, but it will recede quite quickly and should it start to get too much I'll put it back on her."
Gaining wary nods Ash motioned for Hailee to come and stand ten feet away from the table. "Ok sweetie, we're going to do something now that will twinge slightly, should it get too much let us know and we'll stop but we need you to try and hold out as long as possible, ok?"
Gaining a nod Ash and Lucario touched her head and gradually released the dampener from her and slowly the air began to get slightly more humid as the pressure built up. Seeing her wince, they stopped for a few seconds before she bravely asked to carry on. A few minutes later, and after several stoppages Hailee was on all fours panting harshly, her parents rushing over to help her up only to be halted by Ash and Lucario.
"Just wait a moment" Ash said looking at Hailee who stood back up and looked around. Lorelei had to be held back by Bruno, but everyone gasped when they saw Hailee's eyes. They were a startling blue, shining much more than they usually did. Gradually the colour lessened and returned to her normal blue.
"What happened Uncle Ash?" Hailee asked looking confused.
"Well sweetie" Ash said kneeling down "you know that cool thing you saw Lucario do before, when he was juggling those blue balls? Well, you will be able to do that in the future. You have the same gift that Lucario and I have" he finished conjuring a blue ball on his palm.
Before Ash could react, Hailee reached out and grabbed it with both hands. Amazingly it just sat between them, hovering as if levitating. Ash saw her face screw up in concentration and it split into two before exploding into a shower startling her.
"Easy now" Ash said grasping her hands and staring into her eyes "you need to be careful when grabbing things like that Hailee, you could get hurt. Now, there's something you need to know. You know those outbursts you've been having where you end up being in pain? Well, that is because of your own gift trying to release itself but because it's not controlled it's harming you so, Lucario and I are going to give you a few games for you to play every day to help stop the pain, is that ok?"
Getting a nod Ash continued and smiled "Now, we're going to give you some exercises to do, you need to do them every morning, and every evening before your mum and dad put you to bed ok? Good girl. I can't promise the nasty pain will go away fully but it should help them happen less often and you should feel much better about yourself. You're very brave Hailee, much braver than I am" he finished ruffling her hair as she hugged him.
Walking back over Ash sat down and sighed heavily before looking at Lucario "your plan might be the only one we can go with and have everyone happy."
"What plan?" Bruno asked looking irritated.
"Sorry," Ash said placatingly "we came up with a tentative plan, now it's not for definite as you may change your mind and you'll have every right to do so. Lucario and I obviously have schedules we need to keep to, however how would you two feel about all four of us becoming her masters?"
"Explain" Bruno said.
"Well, as we said we have things we have to do" Ash carried on "however with the exercises I give you she should be able to healthily regulate her aural output safely, but the schedule must be kept up with. Skipping a day is fine but it needs to be done at least every other day. Lucario and I will pop in or call you from time to time whenever we can to check on her progress, but Lucario has agreed to be her main tutor and we'll alternate over the next year or so. When I'm done with the League challenge, which should be two months before the tournament I can come here, or to Silver Town if you're there and give her more intensive training which should set her on her way. During the time we're not there we'll need both of you to make sure she keeps up with her training, Bruno you already know how to safely use a gym so I'll need you to get her started on cardio exercises so that by the time she is eleven she will have a good idea about what she needs to do. Lorelei your role will primarily making sure she sticks to the rest periods in regard to the gym sessions, because believe me I went overboard to get where I am. Three days on four days off is what I was supposed to do, but instead I trained every day.
Now, I'm not going to sugar coat things here, you'll find that when she begins using aura, she'll have a lot more energy than usual but by the end of the day she should be knackered. However, the more she gets used to it the less tired she'll become and the longer she'll be able to train. We believe it should be a few years until she's at that stage though. I'm aware you're going to have a newborn too so I'll draw up a schedule that will have to fit around that. It shouldn't be too bad to be honest, as she's still young enough that she goes to bed early.
Now, for the other part. When I'm training her, in those off months from the League before the tournament and for the months after the tournament I'll need her to join me so we can work more intensely. I promise you I'll try and keep her out of danger as much as I can but I usually train inside Mt Silver so I cannot guarantee anything. The Pokémon inside there know me and my Pokémon very well so if we tell them to look out for her, they will do, I'll wager she'll be safer in there than she is out here but there's always the chance a rogue Pokémon comes by. You have many months before I'll be doing that so if you can come up with an alternative, I'm all ears."
"That's a better alternative than letting her disappear with someone we don't know" Lorelei said slowly "it's not ideal though."
"I can't see another option" Bruno said, "and at least this way we get to see her all the time, and I'm sure we could come up with a schedule for the Mt Silver period."
"I'm quite happy to do 2 weeks in and a week out for her over the period" Ash said "I'll only be in there around six or seven weeks anyway, so you'll still get to see her. Not only that but I will provide you with my location should either of you want to check on her, your Onix should find the place ideal and easy to traverse and we stay in a cave above a waterfall so Lapras should love that area."
"That's a much better plan." Bruno said looking at his wife who nodded in agreement. "Are we agreeing to this then?"
"I think so" Lorelei said kissing the top of her daughter's head "can we discuss it and let you know in a few days?"
"Certainly" Ash said "for now I'm going to put my mark on her but not dampen her, not just yet anyway. She seems to be ok without any constraints on her and I don't think her aura will react well to them being placed back on."
"I need to get back to Rota" Lucario said "I should be back around June though. Hopefully we should already have a plan of action in place by then."
"We will" Ash said "I already planned to spend a week here in Olivine, so I'll swing by every day to start the schedule. That way should you choose another option she still has something she can do to stop the outbursts."
The next week passed by very quickly as Ash kept his promise to the. Every day he came around 11am to help Hailee understand that she needed to do the exercises, or she could get hurt. Ash was fortunate that Hailee considered it a game and she took to the exercises like a duck to water. Ash helped her understand that not being able to create the blue ball wasn't a failure.
"It took me a long time to be able to create the blue ball sweetie" Ash told her "I failed for several years actually before I began to be able to create them and even then, they were small to begin with. You'll get there."
Over the week Ash, Bruno and Lorelei came up with a proper schedule for her to be getting on with. Ash was reluctant to go overboard, something the parents were happy with, so a basic cardio workout was all he requested.
"You have a nice pool here, a few lengths of that every day would be sufficient" Ash said "and I saw that you have a treadmill, maybe an hour of walking on that too. Nothing major, just something to get her blood pumping and to tire her out."
By the end of the week Ash was very happy with her progress and felt much better at leaving her to be getting on with the training. Ash didn't expect leaving to be as painful as it was, but he'd always had a soft spot for Hailee.
"Goodbye Uncle Ash" she said hugging him.
"Bye little one" he replied picking her up and hugging her "now you be good for mum and dad, and I'll see you soon. I'll be back here soon when I challenge the Gym Leader for a badge, so I'll pop by and see how you're doing ok?"
"Thank you, Ash," Lorelei said giving him a hug "for everything."
"What the wife said" Bruno said shaking his hand "it means a lot to have someone look out for her and not want to use her to get to us."
"It's the very reason I warned Rota away from her" Ash said "she doesn't need that, and neither do you. Anyway, I need to be going if I'm going to be able to stick to my own schedule, I'll speak to you all soon." Walking away Ash felt heavy hearted but he forced himself to not look back, if that's what a master/apprentice bond felt like he could understand why they needed to be close. Calling out Charizard he climbed on and asked him to travel Southeast towards New Bark Town, still not looking back but shedding a silent tear.
Five hours later Ash landed on Route 32 to set up camp at the side of a river, he was about six hours flight away from New Bark Town, somewhere he planned to get to tomorrow morning. Setting up camp he let his Pokémon out and let them know what had transpired over the last week in more detail.
"So, you've taken on an apprentice?" Salamence asked "didn't you say you wouldn't do that?"
"I did" Ash said heavily "however like most things in my life the situation has changed. It's not Hailee's fault and I hated growing up the way I did. It's only in the last few years I realised how insane my upbringing really was. I was fixated on doing Arceus' will without having any idea on what that would mean, and it was only after the Power Plant that I took stock on how harrowing killing someone really is, it took me chatting with everyone to get past it. And then Porta Vista happened, and everything changed for me. Before than we had only been in a few scuffles, the closest we actually came to serious harm was the Lavender Tower but surviving that left me slightly arrogant and a thirst to prove that I deserved the role. Pikachu and I should have died that day Salamence at Porta Vista, and it was sheer luck that we didn't."
"That was the day I stopped trusting Arceus and whatever grand plan she had for us" Pikachu said interrupting Ash "I realised when we woke up that Ash was given an unreasonable task by her and my belief that she'd help us disappeared immediately. And not once since has she helped us, so I won't lift a paw to do anything she asks us to do with the full backing of all of us."
"He's not wrong" Ash said nodding "but back to Hailee, she needs help, and I don't trust anyone from Rota to do right by her, something Lucario echoes so it falls on us two to train her."
"She seems like a good kid" Machamp said "she certainly seemed to enjoy the gym sessions we had with her."
"I think she enjoyed the banter you and Bruno's Machamp had when you were competing with each other" Pikachu said laughing.
"He's an exceptional Pokémon" Machamp said "his training regime puts mine to shame, and I thought mine was good."
"There's a reason he's still Bruno's main Pokémon, even with his Megas in his party" Ash said.
"Indeed" Machamp said nodding sagely.
"So, she's now my apprentice" Ash said looking up to the sky "I hope I can do right by her."
The next day Ash packed up and mounted Charizard and headed East towards New Bark Town, passing over Cherrygrove City as he did. Several people who were milling around the City looked up as the orange dragon passed over, making many wonder why a Charizard was flying above their homes. Landing on the outskirts of New Bark Town Ash recalled Charizard, thanking him as he did so and he carried on walking into the town, keeping up a steady chat with Pikachu about a new training regime he wanted to try.
"I can't see an issue with that" Ash said "your abilities have stagnated lately so mixing things up could help you get that extra bit you're looking for. I fear without evolving we're at an impasse and this is the level you'll stay. You're still unbelievably powerful though Pi."
"I've lost my place as the strongest in this party to Charizard" Pikachu said "I no longer have a light ball to offset the drop in power I had so I'm currently second but I know with your training Salamence will pass me, she has the potential to be the strongest given her pseudo-status and I don't feel I could cope with being third."
"You might have to" Ash said seriously before stopping dead at the scene in front of him. The road at the end of Route 29, into New Bark Town was blocked off by the police and Ash saw various officers with Houndours and Growlithes sniffing around the area. Walking up to them he warily said hello.
"Oh, hello" Jenny said looking at him suspiciously "who are you and why are you here?"
"I'm Kanto Champion Ash Ketchum, I'm here to visit Professor Elm to get myself registered for the Johto League." Ash said taking out his Pokédex and handing it to Jenny who looked at it before nodding and handing it back.
"Apologies, but the lab in New Bark Town had a break in a few hours ago and one of the Pokémon was stolen, today is supposed to be the day new trainers get their Pokémon to start their journey and Professor Elm is now running around trying to find a replacement Totodile." Jenny said.
"Oh wow" Ash said "sadly we flew here so we have no idea where the thief could be or who it is. We flew over hundreds of people so it could have been any of them. How did Elm let it happen? Aren't the Pokémon supposed to be locked in their balls until the trainers arrive?"
"Normally yes" Jenny said as she walked with Ash towards Elms lab "however the good Professor hadn't given them their medicals before they could be handed over and let them out yesterday to do so but decided to let them sleep out of their Pokéballs. Then when he awoke this morning at 8 he found one had disappeared along with its ball and a Pokédex."
"Oh well that should be easy to track" Ash said as he took out his laptop and logged in as he was walking "have you got its registration number?"
"We do but it's been disabled" Jenny said making Ash stop and look confused.
"You can't disable a Pokédex registration number" Ash said slowly "it's built into the hardware of every Pokédex, believe me I know as I've taken mine apart many times to add new features to it. Elm should have received three with concurrent numbers which he should have registered to his account immediately given he would be that Pokédex holders Regional Professor."
"Oh, believe me I've had this conversation" Jenny said sounding irritated "but as with the Pokémon he never registered them, he said he was planning on doing so today before the trainers arrived."
"So let me get this straight" Ash said stopping looking incredulous "we have a Regional Professor who has failed in two key aspects of his job through laziness and now because of it a Pokémon and a Pokédex has gone missing and you, the police have no way of tracking or finding out who did it because of him?"
"You can see why I'm so angry" she said nodding as they walked into the lab as they entered the office part they stopped as on the screen was a livid looking Professor Oak in the process of dressing down a man with hunched over shoulders.
"How the hell have you let this happen Eric?" Oak shouted "I've told you for years to get your head out of your arse and now you have failed, again I might add. Because of you a trainer is going to have to delay their journey while we get you another Totodile which will take weeks! This is the last straw Eric, I will see to your reassignment as Regional Professor, I will give you two weeks to vacate the premises along with your research but be warned there will be an audit, and anything owned by the league will be left there. Oh, hello Ash, Officer Jenny" Sam said spotting them in the background "I'm sorry you had to see that. Ash, I need a favour from you."
"Erm sure" Ash said not looking at the now crying man "what can I do for you Sam?"
"Can you check over the two remaining Pokémon and register the two remaining Pokédexes to your Professor account?" Sam asked earning a shocked look from Ash "it's only temporary until the new Regional Professor is installed and I doubt the new trainers will catch more than six Pokémon in the next two weeks."
"Of course, Professor" Ash said "I'll send you an email with the numbers so you can transfer them over whenever the new person is here. Where are they?"
"They're in that drawer over there" Eric said looking up sadly "and the Pokémon are in their balls on the machine."
"Ok" Ash said, "I'll let you know as soon as I can Sam." Getting a nod Sams screen went blank and Ash led Jenny over to the drawer and pulled them out. Logging back onto his laptop he registered the Pokédexes noting their numbers. "So, the Pokédex should have either a 623 or a 626 at the end. That is if they didn't include a random one in, which they shouldn't have done."
"Thanks Ash" Jenny said taking note "are you going to be ok handing out Pokémon to the trainers? How are you going to explain to the third trainer that they won't be able to start for another few weeks?"
"I'll tell them the truth" Ash said shrugging his shoulders "at the end of the day I'm a Champion and a junior Professor, my word is all I have, and I won't tarnish my own reputation by lying to new trainers."
"Ok" Jenny said before sighing and walking over to Eric and led him from the lab. Sighing Ash walked over to the machine and released the two others and gave them their medicals. Ringing Sam back up an hour later he talked him through the procedure and how to log the details correctly.
"Do you have someone in mind to replace Elm?" Ash asked.
"Yes" Sam said sighing "she's a new Professor actually, her name is Amelia Maple. She's young but very eager to start her new role. She lives in Hoenn at the minute with her husband but is quite happy to relocate for the job as he was recently hurt and they want a fresh start outside their region. It'll take three weeks though which isn't ideal as she has to empty her house, but it is what it is."
"Are you going to be ok doing taking on another role for that period of time?" Ash asked concerned.
"I'm going to have to be" Sam replied, "thankfully it's only for a short amount of time."
"Do you want me to do it?" Ash asked surprising Sam "at some point in the future I'm going to have to learn how admin works Sam and I'm going to be governing a region, so it makes sense to get some kind of work experience. I already know how to log things as I've been doing for the last few years with you but dealing with new trainers will be beneficial to the new showcases that will happen at the League this year."
"You make a valid point Ash" Sam said "I'll get back to you in the next few hours about it. When the new trainers arrive, ring me so I can oversee how you interact with them, I won't interfere but when they're gone I will give you some feedback in person."
"No worries, Sam" Ash said.
A few hours later Ash was sat in the reception area logging all the details when he heard several voices coming in through the doors. Looking over at them he smiled as they stopped in front of him, all three looking nervously excited.
"Hang on a second" Ash said as he rang Sam back up. As soon as his face appeared Ash turned around, so he was facing away from him. "Hi, my name is Ash. How are we all feeling today?"
"Excited" a young lady with blonde hair said.
"Same" a young lad with black hair agreed.
Strangely the other young lady didn't say a word but just looked at him with wide eyes. The young lad nudged her making her blink at him and stage whisper to him "do you know who that is?"
"Yes" he replied laughing "everyone who is a trainer knows who he is. Aww, do you have a crush?"
"No" she replied blushing furiously making Ash chuckle at the by-play making her face deepen more.
"Ok, that's enough" Ash said chuckling "Now, all three of you are here to begin something that is brilliant in theory but very hard in practice. Being a trainer is very difficult and if you're not serious about it you will fail. With that being said the benefits of being a trainer far outweigh the bad parts and I know you will all love what you do. So, with that being said, I'm sure you all noticed the police presence outside earlier on, what do you know about it?"
"Nothing really" the blonde girl said looking at the others who nodded in agreement "our parents kept us away from them while they had a look around town."
"Ok" Ash said "well I have some good news, some bad news and some really bad news for Grace here. This morning, due to the actions of Professor Elm someone broke into this lab and stole a Pokémon along with a Pokédex. That Pokémon was your Totodile Grace. Ethan and Casey your Pokémon are here along with your Pokédexes so you'll be all set to go when I register you in a few minutes, unfortunately for Grace it'll take a few weeks to procure a new starter for you. I'm really sorry Grace, I don't know what you three planned but only two of you will be able to leave on your journey today."
"Oh, that sucks" Ethan said looking at his friend "I'm sorry about that."
"Yeah" Casey echoed "do you want us to wait for you? We all planned on setting out at the same time."
"No" Grace said shaking her head looking like she was stopping herself from crying "you guys go on; I don't want you to put yourselves back just for me. We've dreamed of this day for years; another two weeks won't harm me too much."
"If you're sure?" Ethan asked which gained a nod.
Ash smiled as he observed the interaction and felt a twinge of envy that Grace had such close friends. He knew he was at fault for not having many friends as that was how he chose to be growing up but seeing their bond made him both happy and envious. "Ok then" Ash said standing up and walking over to the machine and lifting the two balls. "Are you guys ready to meet your partners?" getting enthusiastic nods from the two he released them and the two trainers walked over and knelt down to interact with their first ever Pokémon. Again, it was a nice sight for Ash as he reminisced about meeting Pikachu for the first time and how sad he felt when he thought he would never see him again only to be elated a few days later when Pikachu appeared at the lab and demanded to be Ash's partner.
After five minutes where all three trainers interacted with each other, and their Pokémon Ash cleared his throat to get their attention. "Ok, these are your Pokédexes, they're registered to you and only you and serve as not only your trainer ID but your passport ID and any other form of identification you will need to be a trainer. If the police or Nurse Joys ask for proof of who you are or that a Pokémon belongs to you, this is what you show them. If lost, damaged or stolen you are to report it immediately to your Regional Professor, and it will continue from there. Now, due to Professor Elms calamity this morning he has been relocated to somewhere else and in a few weeks a new Professor will start here. Her name is Professor Maple, and she will be who you contact for anything regarding Pokémon or issues you will come across as a trainer. There isn't a week that's gone by that I've not spoken to Professor Oak for advice, and I know I've been a pain in the arse to him, but he's always come through.
I'm going to give you my own personal email address that you can use for the next few weeks until Professor Maple starts but feel free to email me afterwards if you need anything. Before you go, here you go," handing over five Pokéballs along with three potions he had just made up half an hour before "these are to start you off on your journey. I think that's everything for now. I wish you the best of luck on your journey and always remember that your Pokémon will rely on you to do your very best, do not disappoint them and always treat them well. When you get to Violet City ask the Nurse Joy for a package that I'm going to send her for you both, use it well."
Getting thanks and after a tearful farewell Ethan and Casey left through the door leaving just Grace. "As for you I have an idea, but I'll need permission first." Turning around he saw Sam smiling at him "how did I do?"
"You're a natural Ash, and for your first official work as a Professor you did very well." Sam said, "there isn't anything I need to comment on really other than what your plan is."
"It all depends on what your decision is regarding what I asked you before" Ash said shrugging his shoulders "if you say yes, I'll be here until Amelia arrives, if no then I'll set off on my own journey across Johto."
"You're correct in that you need the experience, and this will be a good way to get it so for now I am in agreement" Sam said seriously "it's a big caseload as Eric looked after nearly thirty trainers Pokémon on the ranch there so if for any reason you feel unable to do this, let me know immediately."
"I think I'll be ok" Ash said "after all I trained under you for years and saw what you did. Thank you for the vote of confidence Sam, it's much appreciated." As the screen went black Ash turned around and smiled at Grace "Ok, so I have an idea. Feel free to say no by the way, you're under no obligation to say yes. But I'm now the Professor for the next few weeks until Professor Maple arrives and your Totodile should be here in just over a week so how would you like some personal training on how to be a trainer and what you need to look out for on the road?"
"Really?" she asked her eyes widening in surprise "yes! Thank you!"
"It's no problem" he said laughing "come back tomorrow at 9am and we'll begin. Wear something you can train in as one of the main things I've found is that your Pokémon will respond better to you training alongside them, it promotes the bond you will get. Also bring the backpack you are planning on travelling with and I'll go through what you will need and what you won't need."
"Thank you" she replied before running out looking happier than she was before. Sighing Ash stood up and made his way outside where he released all of his Pokémon and explained what happened. Thankfully they were all in agreement with Ash that it was important he stay and help out.
"I'm going to need you guys to let the Pokémon here know to come to me if they need anything," Ash said "that Elm is no longer in charge and that in a few weeks another Professor will be taking care of them when we leave. Hopefully we'll be ok."
The next few weeks flew by for Ash, he knew Sam was always busy but had no idea how much stress the job of a Regional Professor was. Helping Eric sort out his things from the Leagues was a pain as he moped around and dragged his feet but eventually, a week later he was all vacated from the building along with his things. Dealing with idiotic trainers that didn't know how to properly look after their Pokémon, trainers that gave no thought to raising their Pokémon or just stupid questions in general left Ash feeling frustrated.
"Yes Bart" he said on the video phone "your Sandshrew can drink water, just place some in a bowl and let her drink and she'll be fine. Also, they love mud baths so get a big bowl and mix some sand and water and brush it onto her body gently, she'll love it. Do not just throw water over her." Hanging up he shook his head and sighed. "I feel bad for Amelia if this is what she's going to have to deal with" Ash said to Pikachu who was just laughing at the interaction. A knock on the door made Ash pause and stand up. Walking over to the door he opened it up and saw a tall willowy brunette standing next to an equally as tall man with sandy blonde hair, leaning on a walking stick along with several suitcases on the floor.
"Are you Ash?" she asked.
"I am" he replied opening the door fully and grabbing her bags "Professor Maple I presume?"
"Amelia please" she said as she thanked him and followed him inside "and this is my husband, Derek."
"Pleasure to meet you" Ash said as he carried her bags up the staircase and into the master bedroom, placing them on the floor. Picking up his own packed backpack he walked back downstairs and placed it next to the desk. "how are you both doing?"
"We're good" Derek said "nervous, excited but happy that Amelia has been given the opportunity."
"She'll be fine" Ash said "well, after a month or so she will" thinking over the conversation he had just had "anyway, let me show you the dining room and I can get you up to speed, I'll still be around for the next few days as Grace's Totodile will be arriving tonight so you can make that your first official Pokémon you have given out. I've already registered her new Pokédex for her and she has it, she's currently at home going over some information I gave her to test her on before she sets out. She's a really good kid, with a great head on her shoulders, so I don't think you'll have to worry about her. For the last few weeks, I've been instructing her on how to look after herself and her Pokémon properly so she shouldn't be inundating you with calls at daft o'clock to see if a Sandshrew can drink water or things like that."
"Someone really asked that?" Amelia asked looking shocked.
"I literally hung up on Bart Wallace just as you knocked" Ash said nodding "good luck with him by the way."
Laughing Amelia brought out her laptop and Ash began going through with her what he had been doing for the past few weeks. It took several hours to transfer files and numbers but when it was done Ash felt a bit sad.
"You enjoyed it didn't you?" Derek asked as he sat down handing them both a brew.
"Strangely I did yeah" Ash said "the reason I took it off Sam was because he has enough to be dealing with in Kanto, and I needed the experience for when I take over from Blue as Kanto Champion, so it was beneficial for me. But despite the nonsense calls it's been very enjoyable tutoring so many trainers on how to resolve their queries. I'm not a people person by nature, in fact I don't get on with most people, but I've found teaching to be something I know I'm good at and I've been able to communicate very effectively to resolve situations. I'm going to miss doing this."
"I can get that" Amelia said smiling "it's why I did my thesis on the interactions between trainers and Pokémon. I've found that training and education are vital for the growth of both parties and the lack of one of those two will nearly always result in a failed career of being a trainer."
"You're not wrong" Ash said nodding "I read your thesis last week, it's incredible by the way. I can see why you earned your Professor status. I've yet to pick a topic to gain my full Professorship as I'm interested in many things, and I don't want to pigeonhole myself with just one."
"I would have thought you'd choose aura" Derek said, "given you are probably the worlds best authority on the matter. I've read your book and watched your show on DVD, it was incredibly informative as I've only ever seen aura used once by a passing guardian who helped me out during a tense situation."
"I considered it" Ash said "but I would be too biased in my findings, and no one can really contradict what I'd write so it couldn't really be challenged except by the people at Rota or the Lucario Kingdom, and the less interaction I have with them the better. To be honest I doubt I'll ever bother trying to gain it as my role of Champion will more than keep me occupied. This isn't widely known just yet but over the next few years I will be promoting roadshows at Indigo Plateau and possibly work alongside Lance at Silver Town to do the same. I will be inviting the best from around the world to come and give talks on various aspects of being a trainer, and after reading your thesis I'd love for you to take part, if you can find the time that is. You'll likely be given the information soon from Charles Goodshow and Giovanni Miyake who is training to take over from Charles, so you'll get the same information I have so far."
"Ooh that sounds interesting" Amelia said looking at her husband "I'm sure we can make time for that."
"It does" Derek said, "it would also give me the opportunity to explore Mt Silver and Victory Road while we're there."
"What for?" Ash asked curious.
"I've heard there are legendary Pokémon in the depths of them, it would be interesting to observe them in their natural habitat." Derek said, "I'm a retired ranger, I broke my leg in three places so I have to take things easy for a while, although you never really retire from being one and I would love to meet one."
"Oh right" Ash said, "well we've been in the depths and haven't found one, maybe take a trip to the Orange Islands to visit the islands surrounding Shamouti, the three birds are located there."
"I'll take it under advisement" he said nodding.
The next day Ash, who had spent the night in the spare room met up with Grace and walked back into town with her after having one final training session. Walking back into the lab Grace saw Amelia waiting for her with a Pokéball in her hand and immediately began to hop from one foot to another "is that Totodile?" she asked excited.
"It sure is" Amelia replied pressing the button and a small blue crocodile like Pokémon appeared, immediately shouting its name and dancing.
"Oh, he's so cute!" Grace said dropping down onto her knees and hugging the Pokémon "Hi Totodile, I'm Grace and I'm going to be your trainer. We're going to have an amazing time together." recalling him Grace stood up and thanked the Professor, taking the five offered Pokéballs and the potions from Ash before quickly running outside.
"I feel bad for anyone who battles her in the future" Ash said smiling "she picked up on quite a lot of what I trained her in very quickly and has the right attitude to go far. Anyway, here's your key back" handing it over to Amelia he continued "should you need anything, even just to chat then you have my email address. Good luck to you both, it was a pleasure meeting you." Shaking their hands Ash picked up his backpack, Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder, and they walked out and headed towards route 29. As they left, he heard a shout behind him and saw it was Grace. Slowing down he wondered what she wanted.
"Can I travel with you until Cherrygrove City?" she asked nervously "it's a bit daunting travelling on my own."
"Of course," Ash said nodding and starting walking again. After answering questions for hours, they came upon a building that led North that had a sign outside "Route 46 and Dark Cave North 6km, Blackthorn City 50km, Cherrygrove City West, 10 km."
"Ooh" Grace said "Dark Cave sound interesting. I think I'll go that route and see where it takes me."
"Then I wish you luck" he said shaking her hand, his dwarfing her tiny one "should you need anything ring me and I'll try and help. Remember the golden rule in battling and that if you miss this year's League for any reason there's always next year and that means a further year to train for it. I believe in you Grace."
Smiling she hugged him and then released Totodile "we're off on an adventure, come on."
Watching her walk off onto the new route he smiled before carrying on with his own journey. Cherrygrove City lay ahead.