Pokémon on hand for Ash: Pikachu, Charizard, Venusaur, Machamp, Salamence, Lapras, Sneasel, Gyarados, Heracross and Chikorita.
As Ash is now Champion he's had the limit of Pokémon he can carry removed. Hope this helps.
Chapter 5- A Fiery Encounter
"So, what are you telling me?" Red asked looking outraged "are you saying that not only do we have another family member, one who is Silvers son but you let him go?"
"Yes" Ash said simply looking at his dad "what would you have me do? Kidnap him? Vincenzo has done nothing wrong yet and I'm not going to use him as a pawn in the game of chess with Silver."
"He's right Red" Delia said, "he's an innocent in this."
"But he could be used to draw Silver out and end Team Rocket before they surface again!" Red said shaking his head "go and find him!"
"No" Ash said seriously shocking his dad at the refusal "No, I won't. He's done nothing wrong, and I won't be party to kidnapping a young boy. And if I find out you've gone behind my back to try and get at him, we will be having words."
"You think you can threaten me?" Red asked outraged.
"No" Ash replied, "it's a warning dad."
Ash was silent as he watched his father leave the screen and sighed. He hated having to do that, but he knew it was the right thing to do.
"You don't need to say anything Ash" Delia said looking at the door her husband had just left through "you're in the right here. He'll calm down and realise you're correct and that he's overreacting. He's still suffering from the lack of aura I think, he doesn't speak much, and he spends a lot of time at your lake just looking out."
"These roadshows should help him be more open mum" Ash said "they start in a few weeks, and it will hopefully give him a bit of purpose. I'll tell you but not him, I'm going to speak to Sam about restricting his access to trainer profiles. I don't want him tracking Vincenzo down as he's done nothing wrong mum. Thank you for siding with me, I know it must be hard for you."
"Not as much as you think Ash" Delia said sighing "I've never been shy about telling Red he's being an arse and he's being one now. Look, I need to go. There's a new chef starting tomorrow, and I need to make sure everything is prepared for her. By Ash."
"Love you lots mum" Ash replied smiling as the screen went blank. Sighing Ash stood up and lay down on his bed before remembering he needed to email Sam. After doing that Ash went downstairs and had some food before going to bed.
The next day he received a reply from Sam agreeing with him which was a relief as it took a lot from Ash's mind. As he was packing up, he nudged the GS Ball again and sighed. When would he sort that out?
"Come on Pi" Ash said, "we have some ruins to explore."
Ash left Violet City without much fanfare and headed down the dirt path before he came across another signpost "Union Cave 20km South, Azalea Town 30km South, Ruins of Alph West 1km."
"Do you think this one is right?" Pikachu asked making Ash laugh.
"Are you going to ask that every time we see one of these?" Ash asked making Pikachu nod.
"So, what are these ruins about?" Pikachu asked.
"To be honest I've no idea" Ash said walking down the path "it's famous for having nothing inside really. There's what look like Hieroglyphics along the walls which no one has ever found out what they're about. But recently they've been excavating a part of a tunnel they found, and I've got clearance to have a look so hopefully we find something."
An hour later Ash walked through a small tunnel carved into a rock face and stopped amazed as he saw many people rushing around in white coats. Looking around he saw what looked like a portacabin and knocked on the door.
"Hello" Ash said showing his credentials he had printed off to the man who opened the door "my name's Ash. I'm to report to someone called Amanda?"
"Oh hello" he said opening the door for Ash to come inside. Taking Ash's credentials, he typed them in on a computer before handing them back "yes, this seems to be in order. I'll take you to her, you've arrived on a very exciting day actually." Leading them back outside Ash followed the scientist as he led them into a cave attached to the mountain "We've just uncovered two other pathways inside the ruins, but we haven't had the chance to explore them yet."
As they went down a few passageways Ash took notice of the symbols on the wall and made a mental note to ask whoever was in charge of the site about them. Walking out into a cavern Ash received the surprise of his life when he recognised the lady who was talking to a few others.
"Ash" she said exclaiming upon seeing him "my word, look how much you've grown!"
"Hi Aunt Amanda" Ash said hugging her "I didn't know you were the lead scientist on this dig. How have you been? How's Spencer and Molly?"
"They're good thanks" she replied, "Spencer is going to take over from me tomorrow, so we get to see our daughter on rotation."
"Is she still crazy about the Legendary Beasts?" Ash asked.
"Oh yes" she replied, "there's not a night that goes by that she doesn't ask for Spencer or myself to read the book you wrote about them."
"Happy to help" Ash said, "so what's going on here then?"
"We've recently excavated a tunnel just down here" she replied leading them down said tunnel until it suddenly opened out into a square room that had a pedestal in the centre "and we've literally hit a brick wall where we can't continue. It's so frustrating because yesterday we uncovered another one just off to the side of this tunnel, running parallel to this one and ran into the same problem."
Walking forward Ash had a better look at the pedestal and noticed that it was square, about four feet tall with an angled top facing the tunnel entrance. Looking on top he noticed there were sixteen tiles surrounding the edges all with various carvings in them, some with curves, other with what looked like claws and eyes.
"We have no idea what they are or what they do" Amanda said walking up to him "we think they need to be placed in here but for the life of me no can seem to work out what to do."
Nodding Ash took his gaze away from the puzzle "So, these pictures on the walls are the early form of the alphabet, right?" he asked looking around. Silence. The scientists simply stared at him, so much so that Ash grew irritated "What?"
Immediately they burst into chatter as they started walking around the walls, touching the pieces and excitedly chatting with each other.
"How the hell didn't we see that?" Amanda asked rushing over to them and having a look herself. Several scientists rushed out of the tunnel, keen to tell others what Ash had discovered leaving just Amanda and Ash.
At that moment Amandas phone went off and she walked over to the side to take it, having what looked like a heavy urgent and hushed conversation.
"I'm sorry Ash" she said "but I'll have to leave you alone for a while, I need to go see about an urgent matter. Can I trust you being alone in here?" Ash just gave her a look making her laugh and reach up to pinch his cheek before she left via the tunnel.
"How can they not know what that is?" Pikachu asked breaking the silence. "even a Zubat could see they're letters and they have no eyes!"
"I have no idea" Ash said as he picked up the pieces and started placing them in certain places on the tile stand. Eventually after a bit of trial-and-error Pikachu commented "It's Kabuto isn't it?"
"It is" Ash said picking up the last piece and placing it in the middle. As soon as he did the puzzle, for that was what it was glowed purple, and the walls shook as the hieroglyphics surrounding them lit up. Ash detected immediately a psychic presence but stood amazed as a doorway swung open in front of him. Looking around Ash walked forward, pulsing his aura out and receiving a reply from inside the entrance.
"Very strange" Ash muttered "be on your guard Pi, I'm detecting hundreds of life readings in a very concentrated area just inside here." Walking in Ash amazingly found himself inside another square room only this time it was empty except for one thing. It was dominated by what looked like a sarcophagus with the same Hieroglyphics running around the edge, a box on another pedestal and what looked like a book.
Reading the name on the tomb aloud 'Alvalor Mooncrest, Aura Knight of the First Order, born 1115, died 1189 An explorer to the last.'
"Wow" Ash said tracing his name reverently "It's Alvalor Pi, he was a legend amongst aura users. It's said he was a mentor to Sir Aaron when he was growing up. He had such control over Aura that he could fuse it with his Pokémon's electrical power creating lighting spheres earning the name The Electrical Knight. No one knew where he disappeared to either, all we know is he along with a few other Knights went off to fight a great evil that threatened the world and were never heard from again. I can't believe we found him." Taking out his Pokégear he snapped a few pictures of the tomb before seeing on the foot of the sarcophagus facing the door it had writing flowing in the same script.
"Do not seek the Unown. To do so could be the peril of all" Ash read out "they've spelled unknown wrong" he muttered before walking over to the box and looking inside the opened top. Inside were what looked like hundreds of tiles of the alphabet. Picking one up Ash immediately put it back down when he felt a psychic force try and enter his mind. "This place is dangerous" he said looking at Pikachu before picking up the book and dusting off the cover "The Spell of the Unown" he read out loud. Ash was amazed to find it unblemished and perfectly preserved. Placing it in his bag, seeing nothing else and having no desire to open a tomb Ash quickly left and started to disassemble the puzzle, as soon as he lifted the first tile the door started to close and making a decision, he threw the middle piece through the doorway just as it snapped shut. Placing the tiles in various slots around the edge, some upside down he quickly left down the tunnel and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw other people milling around. Walking over to the command station he spoke briefly with Amanda before making his excuses and leaving, promising to come back another time when they were less busy.
Heading down Route 32 towards Union cave Ash was very silent as he processed just what had happened in that tomb. Shaking his head he saw several fishermen along the banking and decided to do a bit himself, to clear his thoughts.
"Don't we have a schedule to keep?" Pikachu asked when he set up his rod.
"I need to have a minute" Ash said as he sat down and processed the situation before finally speaking "those tiles were once Pokémon. I could feel their energy as soon as I picked up one of the tiles and if I didn't have shields around my mind I would have been obsessed with reanimating them. I could hear chanting in my head, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. All I knew, in that brief moment of handling the tile was that it was crucial that I obeyed them. That feeling was horrible Pi."
"Ah" Pikachu said nodding "that's why you threw the tile into the doorway. So, no one else can enter that way."
"Yup" Ash said sighing and closing his eyes.
"It's not going to work though, is it?" Pikachu asked making Ash sit up looking concerned "don't you remember, she said they'd found another tunnel that led to another pedestal."
"Oh crap" Ash said closing his eyes again "why have I got a feeling we're going to be roped into yet another dangerous situation Pi?"
"Because it's us" came the dry reply "hopefully it's many years from now though."
An hour later, with nothing biting Ash packed up the rod and carried on down the path and stopped at another sign, one which was weathered so much he could barely make out the writing. All he could see was the letters 'fic Va' so he disregarded it and walked on. The terrain he was on changed extremely quickly from the dirt path on level ground at the side of a river to a winding one going up the side of a mountain leaving the river to meander on its merry way around the mountain. Before long Ash came across a cave as the sun was setting and decided to make camp inside the cave.
Afte an hour he realised that Charizard hadn't touched his food but was looking intently at the exit.
"What's up Charizard?" Ash asked, "you look tense."
"You don't know where we are do you?" he asked turning to face him "do you not recognise those burn marks on the wall?"
"Now that you mention it, they do look familiar" Ash remarked standing up and walking over to the wall. As he placed his hand on it Ash briefly got a flash of fire in his mind and a sense of loss and feral-ness "wow, whatever did this wasn't happy."
"It was your fathers Charizard" Charizard said shocking them all into silence "this was where I found him, this was his cave Ash."
"Oh wow" he said looking around at the slash marks littering the cave "suddenly those letters make sense Pi. We're in the Charicific Valley aren't we?"
"Yes" Charizard replied "and it's not a place I'm welcomed to at the minute."
"Why?" Ash asked curiously.
"When I found your fathers Charizard he was the Alpha of this Valley in name only but to get to him I had to fight through several of his followers" Charizard said "Charizard hold long memories and very rarely forget another Charizard beating them. It's why they all train here, to become the best of our kind and by beating them and not even being a part of this clan, I earned my place as one of the top Charizard giving me rights and privileges most here do not have. Particularly the choice of who to mate with, should I want to. Your fathers Charizard was never beaten before he went feral and the current Alpha knows it. So, when I challenged him and drew the current Alpha took that as a challenge and said the next time I appear here we will do battle for leadership and control of the clans."
"Oh wow" Ash said, "I thought Sams Charizard would have been Alpha given you're only four years old."
"Age doesn't matter" Charizard said "At least until it does. Sams Charizard, while still unbelievably strong is over sixty years old and has long since given up his place amongst the clans. Your fathers, while still in his prime went feral and will never be welcomed back to the clans as it would be too unsafe with him around. The new Alpha resents not being able to challenge Reds Charizard and to him I showed him up by doing so. I have no desire to leave you Ash but should the Alpha Charizard in the Valley realise I am here I have an obligation to fight him or I will be permanently banished from the Valley for cowardice. If that happens you cannot interfere with the battle Ash, in any way."
"What happens when you win?" Ash asked surprising Charizard with the assurance Ash spoke with "Charizard, in the first eighteen months of your training you put a Blastoise through a solid, psychically reinforced wall at the Indigo Plateau. A year later you beat not only Drakes Dragonite in single combat, but you then beat Lances Dragonite and a few weeks later beat Blues Blastoise. All of them the Champions starters. I have no worries about who will win pal. What I want to know is what happens should you win?"
"I will have to remain here for a time, at least until the battle haze recedes and it calms down" Charizard said looking once more at the cave entrance "I hate this feeling of the inevitable. For years now we've had to put up with fate messing with us. Are any of us truly in control of our lives?"
"No" Ash said sighing "I came to that conclusion when I was six and met Arceus for the first time. We're all a part of someone's grand design whether we like it or not. All we can do is choose our own way of going about it pal. Just know that every one of us is behind whatever you choose to do."
The next morning Ash was woken up to a terrific noise happening outside the cave. Waking Pikachu up he rushed outside and had to quickly jump back as bits of rock came raining down over the entrance of the cave. Calling out Heracross and Machamp they made quick work of the rocks freeing up the exit as Ash rushed outside. All the while they were clearing the rubble Ash could hear fighting happening outside so when he rushed out and found his Charizard was being attacked by three others he was very unhappy.
As his Charizard landed off to his left panting Ash made his presence known "what are you three doing attacking my Pokémon?"
"Stay out of this human!" the one in the middle roared "we have a usurper to deal with."
"Well, that doesn't sound like fun, does it?" Ash said "and it takes three of you to do so? That's hardly fair."
"Like we care about your opinion human" the left hand one said, "we were sent to deal with this usurper and we're not leaving until we do so."
"Well, I'm not letting Charizard deal with you three on your own while your Alpha hides behind a wall" Ash said, ignoring the roars of outrage as he pulled out a Pokéball releasing his Salamence who quickly took stock of the situation and landed next to Charizard eyeing up the three others who looked very nervous at the opposing Charizard having backup.
"Just what is going on here?" a voice asked from above as another Charizard landed, this time with a trainer on it. As she took in the situation she saw Ash and his Pokémon and quickly came to the wrong conclusion. "Who are you and why are you attacking those Charizard."
"We have done no such thing!" Ash shouted in outrage, his eyes glowing blue as he grew angry at the insinuation "I was asleep in the cave when I was woken up by those three attacking my Charizard, supposedly on the orders of the Alpha who is too much of a coward to challenge him himself."
"You dare!" her Charizard said gasping in outrage.
"You can shut up too!" Ash said silencing her with a look "all of us were staying the night, not bothering anyone when we were attacked. Three on one is cowardice so I evened the odds by sending out Salamence and if you join in I will release every single one of my Pokémon and we will all kick the shit out of you! I do not tolerate anyone attacking my Pokémon."
"Just who do you think you are?" the woman asked.
"I am Ash Ketchum, Champion of the Kanto League" he said shutting everyone up. All of them had seen his match as it was broadcast around the world, so they all knew who they were dealing with.
"Oh" she replied in a quiet voice "so what happened?"
"I've said already" Ash retorted "we were asleep when I was awoken by those three attacking my Charizard. Now my Charizard explained last night what would happen the next time he was seen in the area as the Alpha gave him a direct challenge to either battle or be banished. We spent most of the night going through the options as I don't particularly want to leave Charizard here and carry on my journey without him when he beats your Alpha, but I don't also want him to be an outcast for choosing not to battle. He has nothing to prove to anyone given the fights he has been in over the last few years but evidently your Alpha still wants to fight. So" Ash said shouting at the rim of the Mountain they were on "I suggest you show yourself coward, I know you're there."
A roar came from up above making the four Charizard flinch slightly as their Alpha signalled he was listening. The three that attacked landed on some rocks and bowed their heads, something the woman's Charizard did too. Ash's Charizard though remained defiant as a huge Charizard landed and snorted contemptuously at the newcomer.
"I told you what would happen runt" it said growling and snorting smoke from its nose "but you still came back anyway."
"Not by choice" Charizard said not flinching from the challenge "but now I'm here I seem to have little choice in putting you in your place."
"You can try runt but I will enjoy tearing your throat out and ending this nonsense once and for all" he replied "you may have beaten a has been but I am the Alpha here and my face will be the last thing you ever see in this life. I suggest you say your goodbyes to your owner." Without waiting for a reply it took off in one huge wingbeat and circled around before landing on the ridge with its back to Charizard.
"Do me a favour" Ash said to Charizard making him look at him "don't hold back, and if killing him is what you have to do then do so because he won't let this one slide when he loses."
Charizard nodded before taking off and flying over the Alpha and landed on the opposite ridge. The other Charizard took off and took their place inside the valley with the other Charizard that lived there. Ash climbed onto Salamence and flew into the valley, which was more like a volcano due to the pool of lava that was in the eastern corner, following the woman and her Charizard and waited for the battle to begin.
Almost as one the two combatants took flight and charged at each other slamming into each other. There was only going to be one winner of that as the Alpha had a significant size advantage, something Charizard realised straight away. If he was to win this fight he'd need to rely on his own small size and speed.
The battle had been raging on for half an hour now, neither side wanting to give an inch and it was clear that the battle was taking is toll on them both. Charizard had a very bloody maw, several teeth had snapped off, along with several claws and one arm was hanging loosely having been broken. The Alpha was in a worse condition though as one of its wings was badly torn hampering its flight, its body was littered with deep cuts and its flame was barely lit. It was clear to see the difference between a trained Pokémon and a wild one that trained itself against its brethren. Thankfully for Ash's Charizard the condition training he did every day religiously for the last few years had come to the forefront as while winded he was still very much able to fight. Eyeing up his opponent he knew he had won this fight but something Ash had told him repeatedly echoed through his brain "the match is not over until it's over. Do not assume you have won if its eyes are still open."
"Its eyes are still open" Charizard murmured forgetting he had an audience. The arena was so quiet everyone heard his statement including Ash who nodded in agreement at his assessment. Rising into the air once more Charizard rose until he was directly above the Alpha and glowed white. The Alpha seeing this grit his teeth as he knew the battle was coming to an end and refused to go quietly. Glowing himself he charged at Charizard, and they clashed in an almighty boom which echoed across the entire arena kicking up dust. Eventually the dust settled, and the lady gasped in awe. Both dragons were down, Ash's on top of the Alpha but despite panting harshly it was clear to see who the winner was. Getting shakily to his feet Charizard looked around at his audience and took a deep breath before roaring as loud as he could. Almost as one every other Charizard in the valley bowed their heads in submission as a new Alpha was coronated. Eventually his roar died down and he looked sharply down as he felt movement at his feet as the former Alpha barely opened an eye but before it could say anything it took a shuddering breath and fell silent, its huge frame going still as it breathed its last breath. Stepping away Charizard kept his eyes on his defeated foe before looking up at his audience "who will help me carry him home?"
Without missing a beat the three from before was joined by a couple of others and under Charizards watch they lifted him, being careful not to further damage him before taking him to the pool of lava where they let him slide down the mini valley and into the lava where he disappeared.
Gradually the Charizard dispersed going back to what they were doing before the battle and Ash followed the lady landing outside a cabin, his Charizard landing behind him also. Without missing a beat Ash recalled Charizard, much to the displeasure of others around that he would treat their new Alpha like a common Pokémon, but Ash didn't care. He reached into his bag and pulled out the Full Restore bottle and attached it to the ball, emptying the lot out of the canister before attaching the ball back to his belt.
"Where are you going?" the lady asked warily as the others murmured at what was happening.
"We're going to Azalea Town" Ash said "while there Charizard and I will have a chat about what's going to happen from here on out where as a family we will come up with a solution."
"He has obligations" the female Charizard that the lady was riding on put in before quickly being silenced by a growl from Salamence.
"Easy Princess" Ash said patting her wing before responding "he has obligations to no one but himself. He never wanted to be Alpha as we have a far more important role in the world, one given to us by Arceus herself. I am her voice on earth, Charizard and we will decide as a family on whether or not this role is important enough for him to leave us for a time. I know what will happen, as we all do but we at least have to go through the formality of discussing the pros and cons of him staying here."
"Ok" the lady said nodding "Oh, I'm Liza by the way. Welcome to the Charicific Valley."
Laughing Ash nodded and followed her into the cabin. It wasn't luxurious by any stretch of the imagination, but it was cosy, something which Ash could appreciate. He was pleased to see a Pokéball transporter in the corner of the room. Looking around the base Ash came to the conclusion that his Charizard would be fine here.
After giving her his details he left with Charizard still attached to his belt much to the consternation of the locals. Climbing onto Salamence they took off and headed in a Southwest direction, passing over many things that caught Ashs curiosity and an hour later they landed in Azalea Town. Handing over Charizard he explained to Nurse Joy what had happened, she simply nodded and handed Charizard to Chansey who pottered off to the back. Going up to his room he lay on his bed and sighed as he went over the morning's activities. Looking over at the clock he couldn't believe it wasn't even noon yet.
A few hours later he woke hearing a message ding on his phone. Looking at it he saw it was from Nurse Joy letting him know Charizard was healed up.
"His right arm is missing his middle claw and his left top tooth has snapped clean off" Joy said "other than that he's ok but he shouldn't battle again for a few days at the least."
Going upstairs he retrieved his Pokémon before heading outside and releasing him. "I noticed a plateau on the mountain big enough for us all to talk" Ash said before Charizard could say anything, his dragon simply nodded and crouched down as Ash climbed on and he directed him to the mountain ignoring the two Charizard that were stationed on the ridge.
"It seems" Ash said as they landed "that I'm not trusted with you." Releasing the rest of his Pokémon he talked them through what had happened and what they'd need to discuss. When he finished they all chipped in with their advice before Ash finished the talk.
"We all know what's going to happen" he said to Charizard "but I felt it was necessary for you to hear first-hand our opinions. We're going to miss you, pal. You've come a long way from the Charmander I found on the verge of death all those years ago. In the space of a few years not only have you become a Champion Pokémon but you're now Alpha of the Charicific Valley. I'm incredibly proud of you Charizard."
"Thank you, Ash" he said butting heads with him as Ash placed a necklace with his Pokéball attached over his neck, just over his Mega Stone necklace. Spreading his wings he took off in a few wingbeats before he headed North, quickly being followed by the two sentinels that had been keeping watch.
"I've just remembered" Ash said sighing "we've left my tent and our camp set up in that cave."
"You are joking?" Pikachu asked exasperated "so we have to go back?"
"Yup" he said calling everyone but Salamence back "sorry girl, but we need to follow Charizard to pick up our tent and things."
An hour later Ash flew over the Charicific Valley and landed on the path from before where the cave was, packing up quickly and continuing down the path towards Union Cave.
"Why aren't we flying back?" Pikachu asked, "I mean we were right there in Azalea Town."
"I don't want to miss anything" Ash said simply sparking a debate that lasted for hours. Eventually Pikachu fell silent as he couldn't seem to get through Ash's thick head that they'd put themselves further behind schedule going back, even though it was only half a day. As they left the Valley the path flattened again, and they joined a path that had the river flowing at the side of them. Half an hour later Ash saw in the distance roofs and pointed them out to a grumpy Pikachu who ignored Ash. Eventually the roofs became buildings and Ash was amazed to find the entire place covered in flowers, every building was absolutely stunning as all the flowers seemed to be in full bloom. As he walked into the town he saw a sign that said "Welcome to Bloomingvale", something Ash saw as very apt. Releasing Venusaur to walk alongside him they wandered through the town looking around in awe at what they were seeing.
"This place is beautiful" Ash said to Venusaur "whoever designed this needs knighting."
"If our home wasn't so pretty, I'd move here" Venusaur said making Ash chuckle.
As they sat in a café as the sun was going down Ash was chatting about the town to some locals when he noticed off to the side, staring into a fountain was a Sunflora who looked incredibly sad. Scanning it with his Pokédex he nodded as his curiosity got the better than him and he walked over and knelt down by it.
"Sunflora, Pokédex number 192, the Sunflower Pokémon and the evolved form of Sunkern. Sunflora converts solar energy into nutrition. It moves around actively in the daytime when it is warm. It stops moving as soon as the sun goes down for the night."
"Hello, are you ok?" Ash asked earning a sniffle from the Pokémon who shook its head "can I help?" Sunflora looked up at him and shook his head again looking down. Sitting cross legged Ash poked it in its body making it squirm "I won't leave you alone until you tell me what's wrong."
"Ok" it replied quietly "I miss my friend. I've not seen her in a long time now and I wonder where she is."
"How long has she been gone?" Ash asked concerned "was she caught?"
Nodding it replied quietly "I saw her enter the building over there a few suns ago" he pointed with a branch-like arm to the Pokémon Centre "she's not come out yet."
"Oh" Ash said looking curious "wait here." Standing up he walked into the centre and waited for the Nurse to finish her current task before she looked up at him "Hello, what can I do for you?"
"Did you attend to a Sunflora at all in the last few days?" Ash asked.
"Oh yes" she replied smiling "follow me."
Walking behind her she led him into a garden behind the centre and pointed next to the tree where a Sunflora was standing with her head bowed fast asleep.
"She's asleep" Ash commented "is she yours?"
"Yes, she is" Joy answered smiling "and she's asleep because the sun has gone down. This is her garden, and every evening she sleeps here underneath the tree. Why did you ask?"
"Outside by the fountain I was talking to a Sunflora who was openly sad" Ash said "he said that his friend was missing, that he'd last seen her a few days ago come into the centre and she hadn't come back out."
"Oh, the poor thing" Joy said looking worried "is it still there?"
"I think so" Ash said "I mean, I left it by the fountain and walked straight up to you."
"Let's go and see" Joy replied leading Ash back through the centre and out to the street where there, still where Ash left him was a sleeping Sunflora. Walking over Ash gently picked him up bridal style and carried him into the Centre and down the corridor to the garden where he placed it next to his friend. Ash would have loved to be there for their reunion, but he doubted he'd be up in time for when they both awoke. Walking back outside, after thanking Joy he sat back down at the café and told the locals what the issue was, gaining smiles and pats on the backs from people for doing something nice.
Going to bed that night Ash read a few chapters of the book he picked up in the tomb and became very concerned. Walking over to the PC Ash looked up several entries about the Pokémon mentioned in the book and paled when he realised what the tombs message meant.
"Are you awake Pi?" Ash asked his starter who yawned and stretched.
"I am now" he said, "what's the issue Ash?"
"This" Ash replied holding up the book "apparently the misspelling on the tomb wasn't an accident. This book detailed a disaster that happened nearly a thousand years ago when a Pokémon by the name of Unown ran rampant across the Johto region. Now by themselves, by all accounts they're relatively weak but in a group their combined psychic power can rival Legendaries. In fact they're regarded as Mythical because they've only been talked about in stories. I've never really looked into them to be honest as while they have a Pokédex entry no one has ever seen them in person, so they're considered to be extinct."
"So, what's the issue?" Pikachu asked.
"They're not extinct" Ash said gravely "those tiles that we found? That's the Unown Pikachu and if they're ever released into the world, horrible things are going to happen. Alvalor spent his last few years combating them, forcing them into the tiles and sealed them hoping no one would ever find them."
"But the scientists did" Pikachu said.
"No" Ash said "we did Pi. They couldn't gain access to the room remember and we've stopped them gaining access to that particular room but they found another one didn't they. I can only hope they don't find another box full of them in the other room."
"Why don't you warn them then?" Pikachu asked.
"I will do in the morning" Ash said "and I'll tell them what I found out. Hopefully they listen to me."
The next day Ash sent an email to Amanda about what he found out and hoped it reached her in time. Standing up he walked downstairs and went to the garden where he saw the two Sunflora happily running around, chattering to each other as they tended to the flowers in the garden. Smiling Ash left them to it before he packed his things and left the centre heading once more on his way to Azalea Town.
A few kilometres down the road Ash and Pikachu came across another odd thing as a city appeared out of the gloomy morning fog right in front of them like some kind of ghost town.
"How did your aura not pick up on a city Ash?" Pikachu asked.
Ash never answered as he was too annoyed with himself for not feeling it, that was until he ducked as something came whizzing by his head and shouted, "watch out." Looking up Ash watched in surprise as the voice landed on a nearby buildings flat top roof, but what amazed Ash more was the fact it was a man dressed in a Gligar costume. The man gave Ash a quick look before leaping off the other side of the building and disappeared.
"What just happened?" Pikachu asked in shock.
"I think" Ash said as a memory from when he was a child surfaced "that was Gligarman. Or at least someone cosplaying Gligarman." Pikachu just tapped him on the head in annoyance "Oh, when I was a kid mum used to force me to watch children's TV shows with other children in the hope I'd be normal I suppose. One of the shows at that time was a show called The Adventures of Gligarman. As it states it was a bloke dressed up in a Gligar costume that used to fight crime along with his trusty Gligar. Every week they'd get into some kind of shenanigans and hi-jinks where they'd just make it out alive after being trapped by the bad guys to save the day. You know, regular hero nonsense. I've not thought about that crap show for years now as mum quickly discovered that I would spoil it for others by pointing out the obvious flaws in the episodes."
"I should be surprised" Pikachu said shaking his head "but I'm not. Continue."
"There's not much else to say to be honest." Ash said "I stopped being invited to watch it, something I was very happy about and I tried to forget it ever existed. I wonder if there's a convention or something happening in this city."
Walking through the town Ash decided to stop in the Pokémart to stock up on some food for himself and stopped dead because there at the counter, serving a customer was the same man that nearly flew into him less than an hour before.
"You!" Ash said walking forwards "you nearly crashed into me before!"
"I'm sorry?" the man asked confused as the previous customer left before he became a target at the huge mans anger.
"You were in that Gligar costume, jumping off buildings" Ash said, "you nearly crashed into me."
"I think you've got the wrong person" the man said looking nervously around the shop "I don't have a Gligar costume. And anyway, I've been in the shop all day."
Before Ash could reply the door to the back opened and a young woman walked out of the door "what's all the commotion? Are you ok dad?"
"He's fine" Ash said before the man could speak "I on the other hand nearly got wiped out by him flying around half an hour ago."
"Oh, tell me you've not been dressing up again dad" she said sighing "you promised mum you wouldn't do that anymore."
"I knew it" Ash exclaimed "but why were you dressing up as Gligarman?"
"Because I am Gligarman" he replied, "or at least I was Gligarman over a decade ago."
"You're the guy who was on the TV show?" Ash asked surprised.
"Oh, you remember me?" he asked cheerfully.
Pikachu commented before Ash could "Ash would love your autograph" making Ash very thankful that only a few people could understand Pokémon. It didn't stop Ash from glaring at his starter though who looked unbothered.
"I do yeah" Ash said, "funnily enough I was telling Pikachu about you after you nearly crashed into me about the TV show I used to watch with the other kids my age when I was a child."
"Oh, good memories" the man said getting a faraway look.
"Don't encourage him" the young lady said looking at Ash.
"Believe me, that's the last thing I want to do" Ash said shaking his head. The man though was still away with the fairies and didn't hear Ash's comment. A minute later he came back to himself and looked at Ash "So you liked the show, eh? I knew you would. Oh, the stories I could tell."
"Ash would love that" Pikachu said.
"I don't have the time today" Ash put in quickly "sorry, I need to get to Azalea Town in the next few days. I just need food for the journey."
"Chloe" he said turning to his daughter "get the man some food."
Shaking her head she looked at Ash and beckoned him down the food aisle "thank you for not encouraging him. He needs to realise that his Gligarman days are long over and that he can't be jumping off buildings anymore, especially at his age."
"It's fine" Ash said as he grabbed a few supplements off the shelf "maybe hide his costume though as he barely made the building he was leaping to. It won't be long before he doesn't."
"Believe me we've tried" she said as she led him back to the counter and rang up his purchases. Ash had never been as thankful in his life as he was leaving that shop and he made his way out of the city as fast as he could.
A few hours later Ash was setting up camp so the could all have dinner by the side of the river. It was a very handy spot as it meant he could let Gyarados and Lapras swim freely as there was no one around for miles to disturb them. Or at least so Ash thought as a noise from behind drew his attention as out of a bush a Pokémon walked out, utterly unconcerned that it was surrounded by powerful Pokémon. Sitting down at a bowl that Ash had set out it nibbled on one of the blocks, looked up and said "moo" before continuing eating. The shock and audacity of it just eating made Ash shake his head, but the fact a Mareep said "Moo" made him burst out laughing.
"What do you mean "moo"?" Ash asked laughing "you're a bloody sheep!"
"I can moo if I want to" it said looking up "don't be so bourgeois human."
"What the hell is happening?" Ash said looking around expecting someone to come out of the bushes holding a camera to tell him it was a prank.
"I'm eating" it said simply "these are really nice. Did you make them yourself?"
"Yes" Ash said grabbing the bowl from it making it look up and frown. Ash looked in his bag and refilled the bowl before walking over and throwing a block into Gyarados' maw. "Do you have a trainer?"
"No" Mareep replied "I don't have a trainer. You offering?"
"No" Ash said pointing to Pikachu "I already have an electric type."
"You did find a mega stone" Pikachu commented from his bowl "and it would be nice to have another electric type with us, someone I can mentor."
"A what stone?" Mareep asked looking curious "anyway I won't complain about being your Pokémon. You seem ok."
"You're remarkably calm about being caught for a wild Pokémon" Ash said finishing feeding Gyarados and putting the bowl away. "It's very strange."
"I've been called worse" Mareep said "you catching me or just wasting our time?"
"I like him" Sneasel said licking his bowl clean.
"No doubt a shining recommendation" Mareep stated sighing "thanks for the food. It was nice meeting you." As it started to turn around it was hit on the face by an object and disappeared in a red light as a Pokéball hit him. After a brief amount of rocking it stopped and Ash walked over, sighing as he picked it up. Taking out his Pokédex he scanned it.
"Mareep, Pokédex number 179, the wool Pokémon. Its fleece grows continually. In the summer, the fleece is fully shed, but it grows back in a week. This Pokémon has a brave nature and knows the moves Tackle, Thundershock and Growl. It also knows the egg move Dazzling Gleam but it has not yet been unlocked."
"Wow" Ash said, "it seems you have your work cut out for you Pi as it's shockingly shit move wise."
"An electric pun" Pikachu asked "really?"
"Swing and a miss I suppose" Ash said as he packed away their gear. Walking down the path Ash was amazed to find he still wasn't at the cave yet. "Where the bloody hell is this cave?" he asked aloud looking at his Pokégear and seeing it should be where he was, but all Ash could see was rocks against a mountainside. "Hang on" he murmured as he touched the rocks and felt a tiny bit of breeze coming through "Oh for Arceus sake" he said releasing Machamp and Heracross "it seems that something has blocked the entrance to Union Cave with these rocks, can you help me move them guys?" an hour later they had completely moved all the rocks and the tunnel entrance was revealed. Walking inside Ash looked at his map and decided on a route before continuing on. The route he chose was slightly different from the main one, as he found that when he was flying overhead there were some more ruins that he wanted to see. After beating a few hikers and sailing across an underground river he climbed down several ladders leading deeper into the cave before he saw the exit he was looking for and found that upon exiting he was where he wanted to be.
"More ruins?" Pikachu asked "why?"
"Well, we're not likely to come back here are we, so I'd like to see what's here" Ash said before pointing out over the horizon "and you can see just over there is Azalea Town. We'll have to go back inside the cave but once we're back across that river the main exit is literally a five-minute walk."
"Oh, that's not so bad then" Pikachu replied, "so what's in here?"
"I have no idea" Ash said "they're not actually labelled on the map as I don't think anyone knows they're here. Which is very strange as you can see them from the air."
"Maybe being so close to the Charicific Valley makes it impossible to fly over without being attacked" Pikachu said as they cleared away foliage from a doorway Ash found. Cutting it away they walked inside and sneezed as centuries worth of must invaded their nostrils. Eventually they managed to stop sneezing and Ash put some gloves on before wiping the walls of moss revealing underneath the same script that was in the ruins of Alph.
"More Unown Pikachu" Ash said as he walked down a tunnel, lighting a fire torch as he did. He didn't strictly need a torch as he could see very well in the dark but it was very handy for burning away the centuries worth of cobwebs. After ten minutes of walking down the tunnel Ash felt it slowly start declining leading downwards. A few minutes later it opened up into a room that had two tunnels branching off it. Choosing the left one for now he walked down the eerily silent tunnel and before long it opened into another room, with a very recognisable pedestal.
"Another pedestal Pi" Ash said shining the torch over it and seeing more tiles around its edge. Finding a slot on the wall just to the side he placed the torch in and found it gave just enough light to reach the pedestal. "Ok" he said as he picked up some of the tiles and started putting the edges in first before eventually he figured out what he was depicting "It's Ho-oH Pi". As he placed the final tile in the room lit up as the walls glowed purple, all the moss and ivy seemed to mysteriously burn away leaving the room pristine and a scraping noise on the wall facing the back of the pedestal revealed yet another room.
Walking in Ash stopped as in front of him was yet another tomb with the Unown script on the foot "Do not seek the Unown. To do so could be the peril of all" he read aloud "the same as the last one." Walking up to the inscription on the tomb he gasped 'Jupiter Bonelle, Aura Knight of the First Order, born 1136, died 1189 An extraordinary mind cut short too soon.' "It's Jupiter Pi, she was the first female Aura Knight who could wield Aura like I can. She was said to have incredible control of Aura to the point she could shape water and wield it in battle. She was named the Water Knight. That's two of the four Elemental Knights found. Do we suppose the other tunnel they found houses a third?"
"Did you notice she died the same year as Alvalor?" Pi asked making Ash take out his Pokégear and snap a picture, scrolling through to the ones he took in the last tomb "You're right Pi, they both died the same year. Do you think they died at the same time?"
"It would make sense" Pikachu said looking around "look, another book and another box."
Walking over Ash saw that Pikachu was correct as on top of a sealed box was a book that looked familiar "The Spell of the Unown" "It seems Pi that whoever buried the two knights wanted to be sure we knew what they did before dying and to make sure we were warned. I find it strange that this box is sealed yet Alvalors wasn't." picking it up he looked at Pikachu curiously before shaking it and hearing nothing. "It's empty."
"Maybe whoever buried them got curious" Pikachu said shrugging "we'll never know."
"We saw another tunnel earlier on didn't we" Ash said as he pocketed the book. Walking out he put the tiles back into their original slots and the doorway sealed again. This time though Ash didn't throw a tile through the doorway as no one had found this place for over 800 years, so he knew this place was safe. Walking back down the tunnel he came out to the room from before and headed down the other tunnel, coming out to another room with a pedestal puzzle. This one was much easier as Ash knew who it was straight away having temporarily owned one "Aerodactyl" Ash said as the doorway opened. Walking in he saw the exact same set up as the ones from earlier with the same warning on the foot of the sarcophagus. Looking at the name Ash shook his head 'Aramis Dreadfire, Aura Knight of the First Order, born 1089, died 1190 A leader worthy of the name.' "Aramis, the leader of the Elemental Knights and a Fire shaper. I would bet good money the tunnel we didn't go down at the Ruins of Alph houses Tarin Saurwolf, The Earth Knight and I would bet she died the same year too. I think they must have done some form of sacrificial ritual to contain the Unown Pi, like Sir Aaron did at the Tree of Beginning. It's the only thing I can think of to explain why they all died within a year of each other."
"Another box and two books" Pikachu said hopping over to the other pedestal. Ash picked up the box and felt that it was empty too "Dummy boxes do we think? After all, if anyone was after the Unown they'd expect them to be sealed with the leader, right?"
"It makes sense as to why there's two empty boxes in two tombs" Pikachu said looking at the book "another Unown book, but what's the other one?"
Picking it up Ash read the title and his eyes widened in shock as he opened the first page and found he couldn't read it "I can't read it" he said flicking through the remarkably preserved pages "I suspect it's Ancient though given the harsh lines on some of the passages as I've seen something similar many years ago." Looking around he didn't see anything else, so he put the book in his bag, leaving the Unown book and walked out of the tomb, rearranged the tablet again, closed the door and left down the long stuffy tunnel, making his way back out to the back entrance of Union cave. Twenty minutes later they saw light at the end of the tunnel and breathed deeply when they came out into sunlight. Walking back into Union cave Ash travelled back across the water and headed upwards, reclimbing the four ladders he had gone down before and finding himself on the top floor. Ten minutes later he exited Union Cave and sighed when he saw it was early evening. Twenty minutes later he set up camp again and talked to his Pokémon about what he had discovered today, something that went long into the night.
The next day he set out very early as he wanted to reach Azalea before noon. Walking down the path Ash saw a signpost that read "Azalea Town 10km, Slowpoke Well 9km, PTC 4km".
"PTC?" Pikachu asked.
"Pokémon Training Centre" Ash said "kind of like the Pokémon Tech only less prestigious as they happily take anyone."
"You don't sound as disgusted with this one like you did with PokéTech" Pikachu commented "why?"
"Because it's run by people who genuinely want to do right by trainers" Ash said "the trainers are all orphans who are given the opportunity and guidance to succeed in life, so they have my appreciation. I was very lucky to have one parent growing up who supported me, these guys only have the dean and a few tutors."
Further on down the road Ash came across the PTC building and entered saying hello to the receptionist.
"Hi, my name is Ash" he said smiling at her "I was just passing through and wondered what was going on here."
"Oh" she said recognising him as there was a poster of him in the main hall "well you've come at a good time actually. The Dojo Master is currently in the middle of refereeing the quarter finals of a tournament he organises to gauge who will be good enough for the League this year. Would you like to watch?"
"Definitely" Ash said nodding and following as she led him out the back and sat him down on a bench where he watched a young girl with a Quilava beat a Pysduck. "That was impressive" Ash said quietly to Pikachu as he watched the next two walk on the field.
"Shingo vs Matthew, begin" a man in a kimono said as they released their Pokémon. Shingo released a Scizor while Matthew released a Noctowl. Strangely to Ash Shingo sat down in his area and brought out a laptop and began issuing instructions without even looking at the battle, what amazed Ash more was he won.
"What the hell?" Pikachu said "he's completely taken the emotion of a battle out of the equation. Why?"
"I've no idea" Ash said shaking his head in disappointment as he watched the boy go back to a bench without congratulating his opponent or even his Pokémon as he recalled it.
"Wondering what happened?" a voice asked from Ash's side making him look and nod at the young boy "That's Shingo. He's the best trainer here but he's not been challenged ever since his Scyther evolved a year ago."
"He's not lost a battle in a year?" Ash asked surprised taking his eyes off the trainer.
"Oh, he's lost a battle" the boy said making Ash look confused "you see that laptop? It holds every bit of information he's found on Pokémon battling, trainers, moves, type matchups etc and if his data says he'll lose he doesn't bother battling."
"Type matchups mean nothing if you're competent as a trainer" Ash said frowning "what a ridiculous thing to think that a laptop can give you more information than your eyes can on a battlefield."
Half an hour later Shingo was announced as the winner, much to the annoyance of Pikachu who was disgusted at the idea of following the orders of a computer.
Ash, shaking his head in disgust stood up and walked across the field making the audience look on in wonder. Everyone here knew who Ash was, he was a legend amongst trainers, and he was the standard they all wanted to attain. So, to see him at their little field left a lot of them in awe.
"Hello" Ash said bowing to the dojo master, something which was reciprocated.
"Oh my" the man said "we are honoured to have you here Mr Ketchum."
"Ash, please" Ash replied smiling.
"Ash then" the man said "I am Marumasa, Dojo leader of the PTC. What did you think of our tournament?"
"I was impressed" Ash said "some of who I saw certainly have the potential to go far."
"Yes" Marumasa said nodding "my son Shingo will certainly go far."
"Not him though" Ash said silencing the man and causing the boy in question to look up in annoyance "that laptop has to go if he's to fulfil his potential."
"This laptop tells me everything I will ever need to know about battling" Shingo said angrily.
"It completely removes any accountability from you" Pikachu said just as angrily "and removes the emotion you feel when you win or lose because you can just blame it on getting the wrong information."
"I agree" Ash said before translating for everyone "you have let that laptop dictate whether or not you will battle. Not only that but you have removed yourself from any emotion you feel towards your Pokémon, it is nothing more than a tool to you, something I will never agree with. I actually feel sorry for you Shingo because you have a chance to make something of yourself, but you are wilfully hampering yourself." Turning to Marumasa he continued "my advice to you would be to send the runner up to the league this year as they genuinely seem to care for their Pokémon."
Ash reached into his bag and pulled out a few cards and walked over to the runner up, a young girl who used a Miltank "here, this year, in the next few months the Pokémon league will be organising a few roadshows for promising young trainers. During these roadshows you will learn from masters how to be able to learn how to care for your Pokémon, how to feed them correctly, what to do in emergencies and many other things. Not everything is battle related either. Everyone here is invited, in fact I will arrange it with the league to come and pick you all up, I will book a hotel and pay for the week for you. All I ask is that you listen and learn to what is being taught."
Marumasa was nearly in tears as for the last decade he had been teaching these young orphans, some with zero hope of becoming someone successful but he had always held out hope that something good will happen and now his faith was being repaid. The words Ash said to his son though stung as he knew Ash was right but Shingo had stopped listening to him.
"I'll send you the details Master Marumasa" Ash said bowing in respect before turning to a still angry Shingo "think on what I said, you will not learn about life as a trainer from a laptop. It is a tool, one to be used for many things but never for battling. Your Pokémon and its feelings and opinions should be more important to you than an electronic device." Nodding once more to Marumasa Ash left the grounds, signing a few autographs for the youngsters before heading down the road to Azalea Town. He couldn't wait to have a bath.