Heartless
The next day, Ash was in Route 3 training his Pokémon as they started with a practice battle
"Pidgey, use Gust." Ash said
"Pidgey!" Pidgey said as her wings glowed blue & released a gust of wind at Nidoran
"Nido…" Nidoran said as she stood her ground
"Nidoran, use Water Pulse." Ash said
"Nido!" Nidoran said as she fired an blue orb of water from her mouth & hit Pidgey
"Use Wing Attack & Poison Jab." Ash said. Pidgey's wings glowed light blue & Nidoran's hand glowed purple as both Pokémon repeatedly clashed with each other "Great, keep it up you two."
"PIDGEEEEEEEY/NIDOOOOOO!" Nidoran & Pidgey yelled as they glowed bluish white & evolved into Nidorina & Pidgeotto
"Pidgeo!/Nido!" Pidgeotto & Nidorina said
"Awesome, they evolved." Eevee said excitedly
"Looks like Trip was right about Pokémon evolving from training." Ash thought as he pulled out his Roto-Arc Phone & scanned them
Pidgeotto
Ability: Big Pecks(Hidden)
Learned Moves: Aerial Ace & Feather Dance
Nidorina
Ability: Poison Point
Learned Moves: Toxic Spikes & Sludge Bomb
"Fantastic, we could teach the others Aerial Ace & Sludge Bomb." Ash said as a notification popped in his Roto-Arc Phone "Hey, I got another hit on the Trade App."
"What's their offer, Boss?" Meowth asked
"They offered a…Wattrel." Ash said
"Wattrel, what's a Wattrel?" Meowth said confusingly
"I don't know, let me look it up." Ash said as he looked it up
Wattrel, the Storm Petrel Pokémon, an Electric & Flying Type. When its wings catch the wind, the bones within produce electricity. This Pokémon dives into the ocean, catching prey by electrocuting them.
"Now that is my kind of Pokémon, I'll take it!" Ash said in determination
Ash brought one of his Tauros & began the trade, then the Ultra Ball in his hand disappeared before a Quick Ball appeared
Wattrel has been registered to your Pokédex
Gender: Female
Ability: Wind Power
Known Moves: Growl, Thunder Shock, Peck, Quick Attack, Spark, & Weather Ball
"Come on out Wattrel!" Ash said as he send out Wattrel
"Wattrel!" Wattrel chirped "Whoa, what happened?"
"Hello Wattrel." Ash greeted
"Huh? Who are you, you're not the trainer that captured me." Wattrel said
"I guess you didn't get a heads up, huh?" Ash said "Well, you were traded to me for one of my Pokémon to your previous trainer."
"Really?" Wattrel gasped "Then where am I?"
"You're in the Kanto Region." Ash said
"Kanto? Get out, you serious?" Wattrel said surprisingly
"Yep, sorry for the lack of introduction, but I'm Ash, your new Trainer & these are my other Pokémon." Ash said
"Hi Wattrel." The Pokémon said
"Hello there, it's nice to meet all of you." Wattrel smiled
"Hey, I've never seen a Pokémon like you before, what Region are you from?" Ash asked
"I'm from the Paldea Region." Wattrel said
"Paldea Region?" Meowth said
"Yeah, it's an amazing region, they even have a huge Pokémon School there too, you would love it." Wattrel said
"Sounds like an interesting region." Pikachu said
"I know, so what's going on?" Wattrel said
"Well, you're just in time for training with us." Ash said
"Training? Oooh, does that mean I get to learn new moves?" Wattrel said excitedly
"Yep." Ash said
"Yay!" Wattrel cheered
After Training, Ash deposited some of his Pokémon to Utonium, he transferred his main Tauros, Croagunk, Psyduck, Gastly, Nidorina, Butterfree, Rattata, & Dracovish. Ash wandered around to look for new Pokémon to catch until he encountered a Spearow
"A Spearow, this gotta be who I think it is." Ash said "Pikachu, use Thunder Wave."
"Right." Pikachu said as his cheek pouches glowed yellow & released yellow rings of electricity which paralyzed Spearow
"Now." Ash said as he summoned a white Poké Ball with a black six-pointed star in the center "Go Special Ball!"
Special Ball by MandJTV: a Poké Ball with a high catch rate for Normal Type Pokémon
Ash threw the Special Ball & caught Spearow
Spearow had been registered to your Pokédex
Gender: Male
Ability: Keen Eye
Known Moves: Peck, Growl, Leer, Pursuit, Fury Attack, Assurance, Sky Attack, & Steel Wing
"Hm." Ash said as he sent out Spearow
"What the? Where am I? What's going—." Spearow said as he noticed Ash & glared "Oh, it's you."
"Hey Spearow." Ash said neutrally as Spearow saw the Special Ball in his hand
"Well, looky here, looks like ya finally caught me, whoop-dee-do, give the kid a medal." Spearow said sarcastically
"I knew you wouldn't be happy to see me." Ash sighed
"Yeah, no duh, so what's up with you? You're on the lam or something?" Spearow said
"On the lam? Don't tell me that you actually believe I'm guilty of the crimes." Ash said incredulously
"Why should I care about that, I don't give a damn. I don't give a damn if you're guilty or not." Spearow said
"What do you mean you don't give a damn?" Ash said
"What do you mean, what do I mean?! You threw a rock at me & jacked me up with that oversized canary, you bastard!" Spearow said irritatingly
"Spearow, I know what I did was wrong, but back then I thought it would be another way to catch a Pokémon on my own." Ash said
"In what fucking universe is throwing a rock at a Pokémon a clever idea to catch Pokémon by yourself!? Are you some kind of an idiot!?" Spearow said in outrage
""Yes, I was an idiot, but I swear that wasn't my fault." Ash said
"Not your fault!? Are you kidding me!?" Spearow said angrily "You treated me like I was the bad guy, that everything that happened between us was my fault. You never showed a sign of regret when you threw that rock at me & that's why I didn't let you catch me the first time, you hurt me real deep back then, you selfish prick!"
"I did regret what I did to you, I really did!" Ash said as he sighed "I'm sorry Spearow, I'm sorry I hurt you so much, I'm sorry I never apologized to you back then, but I never thought of you as a bad Pokémon. I know I shouldn't make excuses for my actions, but I was made to be an idiot."
"Made to be an idiot? What the hell are you talking about?" Spearow said confusingly
"I was drugged by my mom to be dumb, she used Intelligence Diminishing Drugs so that I won't succeed in my dream." Ash said
"You expect me to believe that." Spearow said
"No, like I said, I shouldn't make excuses for my actions…I'm sorry Spearow, but please give me a chance to make it up to you, if I blow it then you won't have to see me again." Ash said pleadings
"…" Spearow stared before sighing "One chance."
"You mean it?" Ash said
"Yeah, just don't screw it up." Spearow said "But you better promise me revenge against that oversized canary."
"Okay, how about we start by weakening a Pokémon." Ash said as he saw a Sandshrew "Just in time, Spearow, use Leer on that Sandshrew."
"Got it." Spearow said as his eyes turned red causing Sandshrew to become covered in red aura
"Hey, what's the big idea, bozo!?" Sandshrew said irritably "Sand Attack!"
Sandshrew hit the ground causing sand to fly out
"Go through it & use Fury Attack!" Ash said. Spearow went through the Sand Attack with his beak glowing white & pecked Sandshrew repeatedly
"Rollout!" Sandshrew said as it rolled towards Spearow at fast speed
"Fight it with Steel Wing." Ash said. Spearow's wings glowed white & hit Sandshrew sending it back into a tree
Seeing an opportunity, Ash summoned a Poké Ball, the Poké Ball's top was light brown with the head of a pickaxe on top & brown on the bottom of the top with a dark yellow zigzag stripe & The Poké Ball's bottom was dark brown with gray rock patterns.
"Go Mine Ball!" Ash said as he threw the Mine Ball & caught Sandshrew
Mine Ball by MandJTV: A Poké Ball with a high catch rate for Rock, Ground, & Steel Type Pokémon
Sandshrew has been registered to your Pokédex
Gender: Male
Ability: Sand Veil
Known Moves: Defense Curl, Scratch, Poison Sting, Sand Attack, Rollout, Rapid Spin, & Mud Shot
"Nice work, Spearow." Ash said
"I don't like to admit it, but that was pretty tactical." Spearow said
"Thanks, take a rest for now." Ash said as he returned Spearow
After catching Sandshrew, Ash encountered a Male Nidoran & with the help of Eevee, Ash caught it with a Love Ball.
Nidoran has been registered to your Pokédex
Gender: Male
Ability: Poison Point
Known Moves: Leer, Poison Sting, Peck, Focus Energy, Double Kick, & Venom Swipe
"Venom Swipe? That seems like a new one." Ash thought as Meowth came out of his Money Ball. "Meowth, what are you doing out?"
"I've been inside that thing for the past few days, I wanna stretch my legs." Meowth said
"What do you mean, you were sent out for training a few times." Eevee said
"If you don't wanna stay inside your Money Ball & travel outside with me like Pikachu & Eevee, all you had to do was ask." Ash said
"Are you sure?" Meowth said
"Hey, I've been used to Pokémon traveling with me, take Larvitar, Aipom, & my old Pikachu for example." Ash said "Besides, you & I traveled with me for a little bit in Unova, remember?'
"Oh yeah, I remember." Meowth said "In that case, let's get going."
"Right." Ash said as they started walking
"So, Paldea, huh?" Meowth said "You're traveling there next after Galar?"
"Maybe so." Ash said "Hey Meowth, I've been meaning to ask you, how did you learn to talk?"
"It's a long & painful story." Meowth said
Meowth had told Ash his backstory
"Wow, you really had it rough, Meowth." Ash said
"Yeah, you get harshly rejected by your crush no matter how much you try to impress, turns out I did all that crap for nothing." Meowth said "It hurt like hell when she called me a freak."
"You & I are both freaks, Meowth, you can talk to humans, I can talk to Pokémon." Ash said
"No, you're not a freak Ash, you're unique to have that ability to talk to Pokémon." Meowth said
"Exactly, just like you, who is also unique to talk like a human." Ash said
"Yeah, you're right." Meowth said "Have you ever had a crush on someone during your old adventure?"
"Not really, I did have a crush on this one girl, remember Giselle?" Ash said
"The schoolgirl with the Cubone from Kanto?" Meowth said
"Yeah, that's the one." Ash said
"What about the girls who traveled with you?" Eevee said
"Are you kidding, they weren't even my type." Ash said
"Really?" Meowth said
"Yep, at the end of my Kalos Journey, Serena tried to kiss me on the lips, but I turned my head & ended up getting kissed on the cheek." Ash said
"Good save, you should always have your first kiss with someone special." Pikachu said
"That's right." Meowth agreed
"We're here, you guys." Ash said as he looked at his Roto-Arc Phone "Mt. Moon, I guess some things have the same name like back in our old world."
"Zubat!" a Zubat flew out of the cave
"Whoa!" They exclaimed
"Supersonic!" Zubat said as it released soundwaves from its mouth
"Why's it using Supersonic!?" Eevee said as she & the other covered their ears
"I don't know, but someone shut it up before my brain gets stolen!" Meowth exclaimed
"I got just the thing!" Ash said as he summoned a Poké Ball with a gray top with two diagonal zipper patterns & a mute symbol in the center "Go Mute Ball!"
Mute Ball by Flashlight237: a Poké Ball with a high catch rate for Pokémon with sound-based Moves & Abilities
Ash threw the Mute Ball & caught the Zubat
Zubat has been registered to your Pokédex
Gender: Female
Ability: Infiltrator(Hidden)
Known Moves: Absorb, Gust, Supersonic, Astonish, Bite, Wing Attack, & Feint Attack
After catching Zubat, Ash was walking through Mt. Moon until
"AGH!" Ash said as he, Pikachu, & Eevee fell into a hole "Where did this come from!?"
"Hahahahahaha!" A couple of voices said as they revealed to be Jessie & James
"Prepare for trouble for old times sake." Jessie said
"& make it double, we deserve one last motto break." James said
"To protect the world from devastation."
"To unite all people within our nation."
"To denounce the evils of truth & love."
"To extend our reach to the stars above."
"Jessie."
"James."
"Meowth's the name." Meowth joined in
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light." Jessie said
"Surrender now or prepare to fight." James said
"Meowth, that's right." Meowth said
"Wynaut!" a Wynaut said
"Hahahahahaha! We got you!" The trio said
"Very funny you guys." Ash said in annoyance
"Sorry, twerp, but we wanted to do that hole trick one last time." James said
"Well, to be honest this does bring me back." Ash said
"I saw it coming from a mile away." Meowth said
"Guess you hadn't completed paying attention to your surroundings with your aura." Jessie said
"I'm almost there, cut me some slack." Ash said "Can you help me up?"
"Yeah sure, Frillish, Psychic." Jessie said as she sent out her Frillish
"Frillish." Frillish said as her eyes glowed blue & telekinetically got Ash out of the hole with Pikachu & Eevee
"Thanks, Frillish." Ash said
"No problem." Frillish said
"It's good to see you two, Jessie, James." Ash said
"Likewise, twerp." Jessie said "I'm assuming you got your first badge."
"Yep, right here." Ash said as he showed them the Boulder Badge in his badge case
"Cool, so did I." James said
"Oh, Jessie, did you know about the Contest Circuit?" Ash said
"I do, I signed up for it a little while ago." Jessie said
"That's great, because Ash is competing in it too." Meowth mentioned
"Oh, gonna beat May & Dawn at their own games huh?" Jessie said. "I'm surprised you never decided to compete in Contest in our old world."
"I know, but the contest circuit will help me in achieving my dream in Pokémon Master." Ash said
"Ash, is that a Shiny Pikachu & Shiny Eevee?" James said
"Yep, they're my two starters, not only that, there are the ones I'm familiar with, they have been transferred from our world to this world along with being turned into Shiny Pokémon by Lady Arceus." Ash said. "The Shiny Pikachu is the one Mewtwo cloned from my old Pikachu & the Shiny Eevee is Chloe's Eevee. But they're not the only one, I reunited with my Mr. Mime, the Pink Butterfree, & Fearow."
"Well, looks like we're not the only ones who reunited with Pokémon we know." Jessie said
"What do you mean?" Ash asked
Jessie & James each pulled out two Poké Balls & sent out a Bellsprout, a normal Cascoon, a Shiny Cascoon, & an Ekans.
"These Pokémon, are they?" Ash said surprisingly
"Yes, they're our Victreebel, Arbok, Dustox, & Austin's Dustox." Jessie said
"Guys, it's so good to see you again." Meowth said happily.
"Ekans!/Cas!/Bell!" The Pokémon said happily
"I bet you two were happy when you reunited with them." Ash said
"Are you kidding? There wasn't a dry eye at that moment." James said
"Well, I'm happy for you guys." Ash smiled "Hopefully, you two will reunite with the rest."
"Did Lady Arceus revert Wobbuffet & some of the others into their previous forms too?" Meowth asked
"Apparently she did when we got transferred into this world, but it's like she said: you have to start small." Jessie said
Suddenly, they heard cries
"What was that?" Jessie said
"Sounded like cries for help, let's check it out." Ash said
Ash, Jessie, James, & the Pokémon followed the source of the cries. When they arrived, they saw injured Pokémon surrounded by a large group of Heartless. The Pokémon were 2 Paras, 2 Cleffa, & a Geodude.
"Those Pokémon are in trouble." Meowth said
"What are those things?" Jessie said
"They're Heartless, they're creatures that are born when people's hearts are consumed by darkness." Ash said
"Why are they attacking those Pokémon?" Meowth said
"I'm guessing they also manifest from the darkness in Pokémon's hearts as well." Ash said
"We have to help them." James said
"Jessie, James, send out all your Pokémon to fight the Heartless." Ash said as he sent the rest of the Pokémon he has on his team
"Right." Jessie said as she sent out Seviper, Yanma, Pumpkaboo, Oddish, & Male Nidoran
"Let's go!" James said as he sent Carnivine, Inkay, Mime Jr., Yamask, Foongus, Morpeko, Chingling, female Nidoran, & Oddish
Together with their Pokémon, they had defeated most of the Heartless. After a moment as the Pokémon were started to get tired as there were still more left
"We can't give up yet, everyone!" Ash said
"He's right, remember that we are doing this for these Pokémon who got hurt by them." Jessie
"Give it everything you got!" James said
"COOOOOOOOON!" Jessie & James' Cascoon said as they along with Kakuna glowed bluish white & evolved into 2 Dustox & a Beedrill
"Bee!/Dustox!" The 2 Dustox & Beedrill said
"They evolved." James said
"& just at the nick of time." Ash said as he scanned Beedrill
Ability: Swarm
Learned Moves: Fury Cutter, Twineedle, Fury Attack, Pursuit, & Focus Energy
*Bzzt* *Bzzt*
Achievement Complete: Obtain a Beedrill
Reward: Beedrilite & Halberdrill(Weapon by Forester Designs)
Ash's PokéGauntlet glowed & out came a Beedrilite & a spear with a large sharp point flanked by a set of Beedrill wings, all attached to a striped black & white head that resembles a Beedrill's abdomen
"Nice." Ash said "Everyone, Beedrill & I can take it from here."
"Alright, twerp, let's see what you got." Jessie said
Ash summed his Butterod & released a green sparkling powder from it which put the Heartless to sleep
"Now, Beedrill, Fury Cutter!" Ash said. Beedrill's arm stinger glowed light green & hit the Heartless causing them to disperse
"Is that all of them?" Meowth said
"No, look." Ash pointed at the last Heartless
"Crap, it must have dodged at the last second." Jessie said
"I'll take it from here, we're gonna do this one on one." Ash said "Pichu, you wanna take this one?"
"Sure do." Pichu said in determination as he stepped forward
"Use Thunder Wave!" Ash said.
"Pichu!" Pichu said as his cheek pouches glowed yellow & released yellow rings of electricity at the Heartless
"Good thing, Electric Type status attacks like Thunder Wave have no recoil on Pichu." Ash said
The Heartless dodged the Thunder Wave & fired a familiar black & purple ball from its hands
"Pichu, watch out!" Ash said as Pichu dodged
"Did that Heartless just use Shadow Ball?" Meowth said shockingly
"Does that mean it can use Pokémon attacks?" James said
"It seems so, I guess Professor Utonium forgot to mention that about Heartless." Ash said "Use Quick Attack."
Pichu became outlined in light blue aura & tackled the Heartless at quick speed. After getting hit, the Heartless disappeared & reappeared in front of Pichu before striking him
"That was a Feint Attack." Jessie said
"Use Iron Tail." Ash said. Pichu charged at the Heartless with his tail glowing white
The Heartless glowed white & made multiple copies of itself
"Now it's using Double Team." James saud
"Not a problem, use Swift." Ash said. Pichu's tail glowed yellow & fired multiple yellow stars which hit the Heartless & it's copies
"Alright, now's the time to use Thunder Shock."
"Pi CHUUUUUUUUUUUU!" Pichu said as he fired a shock of yellow electricity & hit the Heartless which caused an explosion before getting hurt by the recoil "Pi!"
"Are you okay?" Ash said
"I'm fine, don't worry about it." Pichu said
"Is it defeated yet?" Jessie said
When the smoke cleared, the Heartless was gone
"What the—! Where'd it go!?" Meowth panicked
"Maybe it dispersed like the others." James said
Suddenly the Heartless came out of Pichu's shadow & hit him
"Or maybe not." James said
"That was Shadow Sneak, this Heartless sure does have a lot of spunk." Meowth said
"Yeah, I can't help but admire that." Ash said "Use Iron Tail again."
Pichu charged with Iron Tail but the Heartless used Shadow Sneak to dodge it, then it came out & used Double Team to make 4 copies of itself before they repeatedly hitting Pichu towards each other like volleyball
"Pichu's getting creamed out there." Meowth said
"Hey, knock it off!" Ash demanded
The Heartless & its clones then uppercut Pichu into the air before hitting him with Shadow Ball.
"Pichu!" Ash said as he went to Pichu & picked him up "Are you alright?"
"..." Pichu said nothing with a discouraged look
"Pichu?" Ash said in concern
"...I give up." Pichu sighed
"What?" Ash said
"Oh, what's the point, I can't win." Pichu said hopelessly "Let's face it, I'm not strong enough, I couldn't even defeat a Flying-Type like Babeaker. Not only that, I failed as a Pokémon. Maybe it's better if you release me as your Pokémon since I'm so weak."
"Stop it, Pichu, you're not weak & you haven't failed as a Pokémon, also why would I wanna release you for being weak even though you're not. Listen, I know how you feel, I've been there lots of times, I was even close to giving up a few times, but in the end, I never gave up." Ash said "Everyone loses all the time, but that doesn't necessarily make them failures."
"Pichu, if you're thinking that is what me & Beedrill think of you now, you're wrong." Pineco said "We don't care if you win or lose, we care about you."
"But why?" Pichu said
"Because we're your friends, we never cared about strength, we liked you because of your personality: your determination, your attitude, your courage, we admired that & looked up to you, you're an inspiration to us." Beedrill said
"Pineco…Beedrill…" Pichu said surprisingly
"Pichu, your personality is also the reason why I wanted to catch you, you also reminded me of how I was back then." Ash said
"Really?" Pichu said
"Yep, & I didn't randomly choose you to battle the Heartless, I wanted it to be you, because I believe in you, we all do." Ash said to Pichu's surprise "If we're gonna defeat it, then we're gonna do this together. If not just for yourself, but for everyone else too. Are you with me?"
Pichu stared in awe as the other Pokémon started cheering for him. Then he closed his eyes.
"You're right, Ash, I've been so focused on strength, I never realized what was more important." Pichu said before opening his eyes & looking at Ash in determination "It's time I stopped being selfish & start believing & putting my trust in you as my Trainer as well."
"That's the spirit!" Ash smiled enthusiastically "You ready?!"
"You bet!" Pichu smiled
"Let's do this!" Ash said
"PICHUUUUUUUUUUU!" Pichu said as he glowed bluish white & evolved into Pikachu
"Pika!" N. Pikachu said
A/N: N stands for Normal Color
"That's the 4th evolution in a day." Meowth said
"That's because Ash & Pichu's friendship was raised up to the max." James said as Ash scanned N. Pikachu
Ability: Lightning Rod(Hidden)
Learned Moves: Electro Ball & Volt Tackle
"Looks like you learned Volt Tackle along with another Electric attack just like you wanted." Ash smiled "Let's try it out, Volt Tackle!"
N. Pikachu became surrounded by golden electricity & tackled the Heartless hard & sent it flying into a rock which smashed it into pieces
"Nice work." Ash said
"You think we got it?" N. Pikachu said
The dust cleared revealing the Heartless was slowly standing up as static electricity which shocked everyone
"But how, that Volt Tackle was a strong attack?" James said
"Careful, Normal Pikachu." Ash said
"Okay." N. Pikachu nodded
Everyone stared in anticipation, but after a moment of silence, the Heartless still stood motionless.
"What is it doing?" Jessie said confusingly
"It's just standing there while looking down." Meowth said
"You don't think it's sad, is it?" James said
"Hey Buddy, you alright?" Meowth called out
"..." The Heartless stood in silence
"You know you can eventually still move during paralysis." Meowth said
"..." The Heartless still said nothing
"Hey, don't just stand there, answer me!" Meowth said
"Maybe it has given up." James said
"I don't know, but I'm getting quite concerned, you guys." Ash said
Suddenly a Black Poké Ball with a red violet band, a yellow button, & a Heart-like symbol in the center appeared in Ash's hand
"What kind of Poké Ball is that?" Meowth said
Ash stared at the Poké Ball for a moment before looking back at the Heartless.
"Hm." Ash wondered as he threw the Poké Ball at the Heartless as it got sucked into it
*Shake* *Shake*
*Shake* *Shake*
*Shake* *Shake*
*Ding*
Everyone stood for a moment as they were all stunned
"Wait, Heartless are catchable like Pokémon?" Ash said shockingly
"I guess that Poké Ball might have been called a Heartless Ball or Heart Ball." Meowth said
*Bzzt* *Bzzt*
"Huh?" Ash said as he pulled out his Roto-Arc Phone
Secret Achievement Complete: Catch a Heartless
Reward: Heartdex has been installed in your Roto-Arc Phone
"Heartdex?" Jessie said
"I guess it's like a Pokédex for Heartless." Ash said as he checked out the Heartless he just caught
Shadow, The Heartless Pokémon, A Dark Type, it sinks into the ground before sneaking up to its enemies & striking them with its sharp claws.
Ability: Tough Claws
Known Moves: Scratch, Leer, Shadow Sneak, Night Shade, Fury Swipes, Assurance, Double Team, Feint Attack, & Shadow Ball
"Shadow, huh? It certainly fits the name." Jessie commented
"No wonder, Mime Jr & Inkay's Psychic Type attacks didn't work." James said
"Hm." Ash said as he looked at the injured Pokémon & approached them "Are you guys, okay?"
"No, we got beat up pretty bad." Geodude said
"Here, let us help you." Ash said as he along with Jessie & James pulled out potions & healed the Pokémon with them. "There you go, how are you feeling now?"
"Much better." Geodude said
"Why were those Heartless attacking you?" Ash asked
"The Paras & Cleffa got into a bit of an argument, I tried setting things down, but that's when those things came out & attacked us." Geodude said
"I see, may I know what the argument is about?" Ash said
"We were arguing about which direction leads to the outside world." Cleffa 1 said
"You mean outside the cave?" Ash said
"Yeah, we've been in this cave long enough, we wanna go out & have an adventure." Paras 1 said
"Okay, I may have a solution, how about you come along with us since we're heading to the other way out of here, it'll make things easier." Ash said
"That's a great idea, & being your Pokémon will be the least we could do after you helped us out." Cleffa 2 said
"Jessie, James, you don't mind catching one of these Pokémon, right?" Ash asked
"Not at all, I always wanted a cute Cleffa." Jessie said
"I'll take one of the Paras." James said
Jessie & James caught one of the Cleffa & Paras while Ash caught the other Cleffa with a Moon Ball, Paras with a Level Ball, & Geodude with a Mine Ball
Cleffa
Gender: Female
Ability: Magic Guard
Known Moves: Copycat, Pound, Sing, Fairy Wind, Sweet Kiss, Disarming Voice, & Stored Power
Paras
Gender: Male
Ability: Dry Skin
Known Moves: Scratch, Stun Spore, Poison Powder, Absorb, Growth, & Bug Bite
Geodude
Gender: Male
Ability: Rock Head
Known Moves: Defense Curl, Tackle, Mud Sport, Rock Polish, Rollout, Magnitude, & Mega Punch
"Ash, can you send it out & see if you can talk to it?" Jessie said
"Okay." Ash said "Shadow, come out."
When Ash sent out Shadow, he noticed something different about it
"Hey, Shadow's eyes had changed color." Ash said as Shadow's eyes were blue
"It must have been infused with your aura when you captured it." Riolu said
"Greetings" Shadow said
"It talks." Meowth said surprisingly
"Are you the one who has captured me?" Shadow said
"I am." Ash nodded
"I congratulate you, now that I have been caught by you, you are hereby claimed as my master." Shadow said
"Master? Hold on a second, I'm not a master." Ash said
"You are, you have captured me which makes you my new master." Shadow said
"That's not really how it goes." Ash sweatdropped
"May I know the name of my master?" Shadow said
"My name is Ash Tajiri, but you can call me Ash." Ash said "Shadow, can I ask you something?"
"Of course, anything in my power is yours for the asking." Shadow said
"Okay, you know, I've been curious ever since the first time I encountered your kind, so I was wondering." Ash said "Where did you guys come from? Who created you?"
"Well, if you're willing to learn about us, long ago there was a ruler known as Ansem the Wise, he used to study the darkness within hearts, he along with his 6 apprentices conducted experiments on the hearts. While these tests embarked psychologically on willing subjects, they quickly escalated & caused the subjects' hearts to collapse: that was when the first of our kind was born & were named 'Heartless'." Shadow said
"So you guys were created by human scientists?" Meowth asked
"Yes." Shadow nodded
"Was Ansem like your original master?" Ash asked
"No, he was the creator, I never had a master before which implies you are the first." Shadow said "Now that I'm officially a member of your army, it is my duty to serve you."
"Whoa, slow down & take a step back." Ash said. "Listen Shadow, my Pokémon are not my army, They're my friends."
"Friends? What are friends?" Shadow said as he tilted his head much to everyone's surprise
"Don't tell me you've never heard of a friend before?" Ash said
"No, we had been named Heartless due to our lack of emotions." Shadow said
"So you don't know things like friendship, love, & other things like that?" Ash said shockingly a long with the others
"I'm afraid not." Shadow shook his head
"Oh dear, looks like you have a lot to teach this little guy, Ash." James said
"Okay Shadow, if you wanna learn about friendship, first thing is that I'm not your master. When it comes to being a part of my team, no one is inferior or superior." Ash said
"I understand." Shadow nodded
"Welcome to the team, Shadow." Ash smiled as he stuck out his hand
Shadow stared at Ash's hand for a moment before slowly taking it
"Alright everyone, return." Ash said as he along with Jessie & James returned their Pokémon.
"Hey Ash, lookie what I found." Meowth said
"What is it, Meowth?" Ash said
"It seems you hit the jackpot when Shadow got smashed into that rock." Meowth said
Ash, Jessie, & James looked at the direction of where the rock was & saw 2 fossils
"It's a Helix Fossil & a Dome Fossil." James said
"Awesome." Ash said as he picked up the fossils "I'll revive these when we get to the next town."
"You know, Ash, I'm still surprised you were able to catch a Heartless." Jessie said
"I know, I'm just as surprised as you are, I definitely need to talk to Professor Utonium about this." Ash said "We should continue on our way."
"Right." Jessie, James, & Meowth nodded
Meanwhile in Ash's Old World
"What do you mean I'm not the Chosen One anymore!?" Goh said shockingly
"I'm sorry, Goh, but we made a mistake when we thought Ash was guilty." Lugia apologized
"But you can't just change your mind just like that!" Goh said in outrage
"Again, my apologies, but we send you our regards & wish you luck." Lugia said as he took off
"DAMN YOU, ASH!" Goh shouted angrily
Meanwhile, Red was in shock as he saw on the news about Ash being innocent
"Oh no, what have I done?" Red thought in aghast "He was innocent the whole time & he needed my help, but I walked out on him again…just like I did when he was little."
At the new Rainbow Rocket Headquarters, Silver arrived in Giovanni's office
"Ah Silver, so glad to see you son." Giovanni smiled
"Likewise." Silver said neutrally as he sat down "So, Ash is working for you now?"
"You're smarter than I imagined." Giovanni said
"I overheard the others who believed Ash was innocent talking to him in a phone call." Silver said
"Well, you can't blame the boy, after all his journey was sabotaged for the past 8 years." Giovanni said
"Yeah, I overheard that part too & hearing that made me angry." Silver said "I mean geez, they basically just wasted his entire freaking journey."
"Mm-hm, I couldn't help but pity him when I learned that." Giovanni said
"So, since Ash is working for you, are you making him my replacement?" Silver said with a slight glare
"Of course not, that's not the reason why I called you here." Giovanni said as he looked out the window "You know, back when we last saw each other, I offered you to join me & become my heir, but you refused & ran off. That offer still stands."
"Why?" Silver said
"Son, I'm sure you realize how corrupted this world is after learning what happened to Ash & his Pokémon Journey." Giovanni said as he looked back at him "So it is our duty to fix it & make it better."
"I see…" Silver said "Okay, fine, it's time for this world to clean up its act."
"That's my boy." Giovanni smirked
That's right everyone, Pokémon aren't the only creatures Ash will be catching, Ash will also be catching Heartless as well. I know some of you guys wanted Shadow to be part Ghost Type, but I thought it would fit if it was pure Dark Type. Anyway, stay tuned for another chapter, Morpho Out.
Also the design of the Heartless Ball belong to Mike Rodriguez
On Hand: Pikachu*(M), Eevee*(F), Meowth(M), Riolu(M), Aipom(F), Bellsprout(F), Pidgeotto*(F), Pikachu(M), Pineco(M), Beedrill(M), Mime Jr(M), Dracozolt, Wattrel(F), Spearow(M), Sandshrew(M), Nidoran(M), Zubat(F), Shadow, Geodude(M), Cleffa(F), Paras(M)
At Utonium's: Taurosx27, Croagunk(M), Psyduck(M), Gastly(M), Nidorina(F), Butterfree(F), Rattata(M), Dracovish,
In PokéGauntlet: Eggsx2