Two beings of time and space set free from the Original One.
"Ash, did you kidnap a member of the Construction Corps?" Akari had no choice but to ask her fellow Survey Corps member when he introduced Godey.
"What? No!" Ash defended himself.
"You ran down the hill dragging him behind you and he looks terrified."
"To be fair he's temporarily been relieved of duty so Ash didn't drag him away from his job." Mai helpfully informed her and Akari pinched her brow.
"That's something I suppose." They were standing on a small flat section of Deertrack Heights, about halfway down. Akari's efforts with the Geodude had been going well, she'd even managed to check off a few research tasks.
There were still teething issues with Oshawott and Cyndaquil though. Oshawott had trouble following directions and started goofing off whenever he was out of his Poké Ball. Cyndaquil on the other hand was trying his best but had trouble with his reaction speed.
Shinx and Ash's Cyndaquil had been trying to help but it was slow going. Especially since the Geodude didn't perceive her with the same level of respect they were willing to show Mai. And considering how much they enjoyed causing the warden trouble, that was impressive.
Deciding it might be in her best interest to get a normal person's side of the story, she addressed the Construction Corps member directly. "Did you volunteer to come down here or did Ash just pull you along without telling you anything."
"I'm here to catch a Geodude." The boy managed a bit woodenly, clearly trying to keep a brave face. "So that I can get stone for building."
"...at least that's better than needing one to use as a "pickling stone," Akari muttered, remembering a request from a woman in Jubilife. "Alright that shouldn't be too much trouble, but are you sure you want one?"
"Why wouldn't he?" Ash didn't understand the problem. "As long as he and Geodude get along then they could be a great team! Sure they won't be battling but I guess building things is cool too!"
"There are plenty of members of not just my clan, but the Pearl Clan as well who live with their partners without seeking battles at all." Mai helpfully added. "Companionship is its own reward."
"I'm still worried about getting my skull pulverized." The Construction Corps member bemoaned.
"That just means you need to build up a good friendship first!" Ash started searching the ridgeline around them. "Let's find some Geodude."
Akari eventually learned the boy's name was Godey, one of the other young members who like her felt they had nothing at home and wanted a fresh start to make something of themselves. She got the rest of the story of why he wanted to build out of stone, not that she entirely understood what was wrong with wood but she wasn't an architect.
The Geodude got a bit less bold now that Mai and Munchlax were around. Several tried their luck against them but were quickly sent off by either her or Ash. Godey was nervous enough about being around so many Pokémon so the goal was to find one that wasn't so aggressive off the bat.
"I can't help but notice you aren't using Pikachu for any of the Geodude," Mai noted as Ash let Rowlet have a shot, her Leafage driving back a particularly mean-looking rock-type. "How come?"
"Pikachu has had a lot of luck with ground-types," Ash admitted and Pikachu held up his arms like he was flexing. "But we can't always count on his electric-type attacks working."
"What? Electric moves?" Mai's confusion was written all over her face. "Do you mean Pikachu doesn't know a steel-type move like Iron Tail?"
Ash blinked at her and then shared a look with Pikachu. "We uh… never thought of that."
Akari nearly started laughing out loud. "How are you able to battle so well but never thought of expanding Pikachu's type coverage? Weren't you telling me about that stuff while we were training?!"
"The type chart is more of a guideline than a rule!" Ash flailed his arms childishly. "Pikachu's Thunder Bolt normally beats everything! Most of the time!"
"And the rest of the time?" Mai pressed, wearing an amused smirk.
"..." Ash crossed his arms and looked away. "Iron Tail is a steel-type move you said?"
"We'll work on it after we find a Geodude for Godey."
It took a little while but they managed to find a group of… friendly might not be the right word, but passive. They weren't causing any trouble and weren't on the path itself. With a few negotiations thanks to Mai, Pikachu, and Munchlax, Godey was going to get his chance.
Although he seemed to be struggling to take it, despite Ash's best efforts to encourage him, Godey was still staring at the Poké Ball in his hand like it might try to bite him.
Considering he hadn't even caught a Geodude yet that might be a problem.
"Is there some sort of trick to this?" Godey asked, looking nervously at the gathering of Geodude who seemed to be studying their group.
"Oh yeah! There's a bunch of ways to go about it!" Ash encouraged him and Akari let him take the lead on this. Mai appeared to make a similar decision, crossing her arms and smiling a little as she watched the show.
"Now the obvious way is you could challenge one of them to a battle, but you don't have any Pokémon, and since you don't want to do the… uh… since you don't want to be a battler that might not be a good idea." Ash scratched his chin.
Pikachu made a few sounds that Akari could only describe as an "innocent" remark and Ash glared at his partner.
"That better not have been about Rattata or Pidgey."
The electric-type just smirked at him and Ash grumbled. "Right, uh, you could try talking to the Geodude and convincing one of them to join you! Just go up to them and explain what you want!"
"Is that safe?" Godey seemed reluctant to get any closer.
"I think so?" Ash glanced at the Geodude and rubbed the back of his neck. "You saw the way the others were acting, these guys seem like they're willing to talk it out instead of give us any trouble."
The boy fiddled with his glasses a bit. "This is crazy. This is crazy." He repeated a mantra to himself, maybe trying to work himself up, but Ash got sick of waiting.
"Come on!" He got behind Godey and despite being a good half-foot shorter than the other boy easily managed to push him forward with barely any resistance.
"Meep." Godey squeaked like a Mareep.
"Get ready just in case," Akari muttered to both Mai and Shinx.
"I don't think we have anything to worry about." Mai waved off her concern. "I don't recognize those four as part of the usual troublemakers. Besides, they don't seem agitated whatsoever."
"Still…" Akari couldn't totally abandon her concern.
Mai fixed her with a studious look. "You've come a long way when it comes to interacting with Pokémon Akari, and while a little bit of caution is always good I think you're being a bit overzealous."
"…I've heard a lot of stories about what Pokémon can do to people," Akari told the warden. "And I've been in one of those stories. It's easy to say you don't have to be afraid of Pokémon but it's something else entirely to actually live that way."
"Wiser words than I expected all things considered." Mai mused. "Still, have you ever heard treat others the way you want to be treated? Pokémon are more in tune with both the world and other living things than humans generally are. If you treat Pokémon with fear and distrust, they will notice and are far more likely to treat you the same way."
Akari frowned as she mulled over those words but didn't say anything else, instead listening to Godey make his case with "help" from Ash and Pikachu.
They'd missed the introductions but were just in time to hear Godey stutter his way through his plan to build stone structures. The poor Construction Corps member was flinching every time one of the Geodude so much as shifted.
"-now obviously we can't, I mean, that is to-to say I can't quarry the stone we need to do that type of construction. Which is why you, sorry, that is why I'd like to ask you, or uh…"
"Just breathe," Ash told him. "They're not going to hurt you, but they're not going to listen if you can't even explain why you want to work with them!"
Godey winced but took a deep breath. "From the top." He muttered and stood a little straighter. "I'm not sure you've noticed, actually nevermind you must have noticed, ignore that. I'm part of the Galaxy Expedition Team's Construction Corps, I'm one of the people responsible for building our camps, villages, and whatever else we need to survive in Hisui. So far most of our buildings have been made out of wood, with a few made of clay bricks."
"I… I don't think that's the way to go about this. Wood rots away and clay needs constant maintenance. Stone and metal are much better materials but I can't convince the Supply Corps to help us." As he continued Akari watched him grow slowly more confident, maybe not in his safety, but at least in his words. There was a passion growing behind them. "Buildings should be made to last, they should be something that generations of people can make use of, I've been told we can just redo it later but I think we should do it right the first time!"
"I can't do it by myself though, I'd try but I would be able to get enough stone to build even one shack in the time we've been given. But you Geodude are literally made of stone. If any of you could help me, we'd have enough material with plenty of time to put it together." He seemed to run out of steam as something occurred to him.
"Uh, I'm not really sure what I could give you in return though. I… shoot. Maybe this was a bad idea." Godey seemed to rethink everything and Ash groaned.
"Come on you were doing so good!" The time traveler picked up the slack for him. "Well, other than having a new friend and getting to explore and experience more of the world, there's plenty of useful stuff you can get! Like food and shelter and like Godey said, getting to build something that lasts longer than any of us!"
The humans and their partners waited as the Geodude mulled it over for a few moments. Then, one turned away and moved on with their day.
Then another.
And another.
Only one Geodude remained, eyes closed and scratching its rocky head as it thought. Godey appeared to have given up but Ash jabbed an elbow into his gut before he could start giving up.
"Dude." Geodude decided and looked up at Godey. "Geo-geodude."
"Um, is that a yes?" Godey asked, not quite accepting hope just yet.
"It sounds like it." Ash glanced at Pikachu for confirmation and got a nod. "It looks like Geodude is going to give you a chance! But you need to be willing to give Geodude a chance to!"
"I… understand." Godey swallowed. "Right, thank you! Thank you Geodude! I'll do my best to make sure you're satisfied with our partnership!"
"No need to make it sound so weird," Ash complained, and Pikachu snickered. "Are you okay with the Poké Ball Geodude? I know some Pokémon don't like it. With the ones we're capturing for the Pokédex, they don't have to worry about it for long but if you're staying with Godey you might be using it for a long time."
There was a bit of debate, partly between Geodude and Pikachu (who was fairly biased) but the rock-type eventually decided to give the capture device a shot, with the understanding if he didn't like it he could just break out.
Akari, Mai, and their partners approached as Godey (not willing to embarrass himself with his poor throwing arm) tapped Geodude with the ball and watched the Pokémon enter. It shook in his hands a few times and he stared at it like it might explode.
To be fair there was a decent chance of that happening.
But the smoke popped out the top and he sagged in relief. "We did it."
"You did it!" Ash slapped him on the back and the boy stumbled. "Wow, you aren't that tough."
"Thanks for noticing." Godey groaned pinching his brow. "Never could build muscle no matter what I tried."
"Have you tried walking and regular exercise?" Mai asked with amusement. "Regardless I believe congratulations of a sort are in order. I'd still prefer to leave your capture devices out of things but all things considered that was an inspiring display of bonding between humans and Pokémon."
"Was it?"
"Perhaps nothing to tell stories about, but it was proof that your team can engage with Pokémon outside of running in terror and attempts to dominate them."
"Is that really how you see us?" Akari wasn't sure she could accept that observation.
"Most of you, and now that you do have Geodude I have a question for you." Mai's intense gaze bore into Godey, "What do you mean wood structures can't last? The Diamond Clan village is made almost entirely of wood."
That confused the boy. "It is? But don't you have to constantly treat it and make repairs?"
"Somewhat, but there's a method to it."
As Mai began explaining how to treat simple wooden structures to last through winter Ash whispered to Akari. "Why didn't she tell him that earlier?"
"I think she wanted to see if he could bond with Geodude first. Instead of telling him not to bother."
Despite Godey's hopes, there was not an immediate shift to building with stone bricks. But his idea did become a lot more plausible and several members of both the Construction Corps and Supply Corps were a bit more willing to hear him out.
Others remained skeptical, or worse, outright distrustful now that he had a partner Pokémon.
Perhaps surprisingly, Charm was one of these dissenters even though now that Geodude was involved she wouldn't have to do "more work" which seemed her biggest concern. If Akari had to guess she was more upset about "losing" than anything else.
Yasuo let him shoot his shot though, Mai gave some guidelines on where they were allowed to dig and the pair got to work, Ash volunteered himself and Akari (without asking her) to help out.
"You know we're supposed to be doing research tasks right?" She prodded him as they helped Godey carry the bricks carved by Geodude.
"This is research! Sort of." Ash defended, Totodile and Phanpy were trying to help but due to the lack of opposable digits Phanpy could only care one or two at a time and Totodile kept getting distracted.
Maybe it was the thought that counted.
"You guys don't have to help me." Godey took Akari's side. "I appreciate everything you've done but I think I need to do this part on my own."
"You're not on your own though." Ash pointed out. "You have Geodude now. But I guess we do have other things to do too…"
He processed this conundrum and Akari weighed her words for a moment. "How about we come up with a new research task for Geodude? Something that relates to this? Like how fast he can dig or how much he can carry."
The rock-type heard her words and flexed his stone arms, excited by the chance to show off some more.
"See! We are doing research!" Ash grinned. "Thanks for the help Godey!"
"I- you-" The boy stuttered and stared at Ash bewildered. "You're welcome?"
Pikachu laughed at the human's expression and tried to lift three bricks at once. It didn't go well.
Other than the new tasks devised by Akari they didn't get much more research done that day. But both Geodude and Godey proved their merits. Geodude easily managed to carve out enough stone to construct a small but sturdy structure, and Godey already had dozens of drawings and sketches to use as a blueprint.
"You're pretty good." Akari admired some structures in his sketchbook. Most of them were stone structures that almost reminded her of castles, a few stood out to her, impressive (perhaps impossible) structures made of steel that seemed to bend to create shocking natural curves and shapes. "These look better than most of my sketches."
"You draw too?" Godey asked not looking up. He had picked a sketch and was making some adjustments to serve as their plan.
"I do a lot of sketches of Pokémon while we're doing surveys." She explained and he nodded.
"I don't think I can do that. I need a lot of time to get things right, not to mention tools!" He waved a ruler to emphasize his point. "Every time I try and sketch something in front of me it looks off. And that's stuff that doesn't move."
"Well, you're both better than me," Ash grumbled a little, making comparisons between their art and his own.
"You're getting better. Your last sketch of Pikachu had the right number of limbs and eyes!" Akari patted his head and he flushed.
"Jerk."
By the end of the night, they hadn't quite managed to finish the stone shack but it was pretty close. Just a few bricks along the upper lip and then the roof needed to be put in place. Yasuo was suitably impressed by their work and agreed to let Godey and Geodude continue their masonry, so long as they were able to keep pace despite the new material.
Godey thanked them, particularly Ash, quite profusely and the time traveler easily waded through it, acting as though it was no big deal.
Akari couldn't entire agree, and decided to interrogate Ash a little bit before bed.
"Why did you do that?" She asked before they dimmed their lantern. "It was nice of you, but why?"
"Why what?" Ash didn't understand her question.
"Why help Godey? With the Geodude and then the work!"
The look Ash gave her was something she couldn't quite describe. Some odd mix of confusion, acceptance, and disappointment. "Because he needed help."
There was a note in his tone that stopped Akari from pressing him and they turned in silently. But she stayed awake for some time, wondering at the simplicity of Ash's motivations.
He needed help.
The rest of the week didn't see any more divergences from their goal. At least there was no more construction work.
Ash and Akari would rise with the sun, briefly discuss their paths for the day, and then head out. They always started separately, hoping to cover the most ground that way, but they would return to the campsite and discuss findings before setting off together for the rest of the day.
Bit by bit they managed to chip away at the research tasks assigned to them, the Pokédex entries for Starly, Kricketot, Geodude, and Stantler filled out. And not just them.
They not only confirmed that Staravia nested in the trees of Deertrack Heights, but also managed to catch one. The evolved form of Starly was far more aggressive than you'd think from seeing most Starly. Mai jokingly suggested Ash's Starly was just a very small Staravia.
He did briefly debate if she was right. But Starly himself was offended by the suggestion.
A few other Pokémon turned out to live in the trees, a Supply Corps member had put out a general request to refill their Chesto Berry supply (somehow it had dwindled faster than expected) Ash had pointed his team at some of the nearby trees.
This was how he was introduced to Burmy, a Pokémon that slightly reminded him of Metapod and Kakuna, but instead of a shell had a leaf coat wrapping it.
Also, it shot seeds.
And it aimed at faces.
And it had a good aim.
Pikachu and Akari thought his black eye was funnier than he did.
Aside from Pokédex work they also managed to get some training in. Akari and her new teammates needed the most work, Oshawott and Cyndaquil had a habit of only listening to her half the time, normally when her commands agreed with their desires.
But they hadn't run off from her like they did with Laventon, so Ash took that as a good sign!
While he wanted to spend more time helping her out, he had his own complications to deal with. Starly and Noctowl.
The two really did not like each other.
It was a problem Ash didn't have much experience with. At least not to this degree. Some of his Pokémon had trouble getting along but they were rarely actively antagonistic. In the past Primeape and Charizard had been the biggest problems, constantly causing trouble with their teammates
Aside from those two, there was Muk, Heracross, and Bayleef. Muk hadn't been attacking, just far too friendly for a poisonous blob. And Heracross was just trying to get Bublasaur's sap. And Bayleef had a few jealousy issues when she was a Chikorita but she'd mostly grown out of that, apart from still being a little clingy.
So what to do with two flying-types who went at each other's throats the moment they exited their Poké Balls?
Over the week, and several applications of Pikachu's Thunderbolt, they managed to get to the point where the two could maintain a tense truce, so hopefully there would be no more brawls. But Ash thought they had a long way to go before they could work together.
Mai helped the pair out several times, both during research and in training. In terms of research, she was able to point them toward areas she knew certain Pokémon would be, and even a few suggestions on how to approach them without disturbing them.
The Warden also had the novel suggestion of a brief nighttime expedition. Akari had been a hard sell for that idea but when they finally gave it a shot they had a lot to work with.
Zubat and Drifloon came out in droves at night, they stayed away from the lit areas of both the camp and Deertrack Path but once you entered the shadows you were practically surrounded.
Ash felt a surge of nostalgia and sadness when he caught a Zubat. It almost felt wrong to catch one of his friend's Pokémon. He told himself he was just being silly, and Pikachu agreed once he explained it. But the feeling stayed despite his convictions.
They also discovered a mystery even Mai wasn't sure about. A few times at night, they'd seen an orange light burst to life in the distance. Never close enough to make out but they agreed it looked like a torch of some sort.
Every time the group tracked down the source it was long gone. Akari suggested it could be a spirit of some sort but Mai insisted it was probably a Pokémon, even if it wasn't one she knew as native to the Deertrack Heights.
Ash had enough dealings with ghost-types to know they were pranksters so he figured they were both right. Hopefully, he wouldn't end up as one this time.
When it came to training, Mai provided Akari with tips to help her work with her teammates instead of just commanding them. And like she had suggested to Ash, she helped him expand his team's type coverage, it wasn't long before a very satisfied Pikachu was able to cleave rocks in half with Iron Tail.
"Brock would be terrified if we ever challenged him again." Ash congratulated his best friend and got a grin of agreement.
When they wrapped up their last expedition, the day before they were set to return to Jubilife, Mai confided something in them.
"I still can't entirely accept what you're doing." She told them. "Capturing Pokémon in those balls of yours. But while I have my doubts about the rest of the Galaxy Team, you two are trustworthy at least."
"I think I get it," Ash admitted, having thought a bit more about her concerns with Poké Balls over the past few days. "I would never force a Pokémon to stay with me though, and when I get back to my time I'll make sure no one else is doing it!"
Mai smiled at him. "It seems like it may be the will of Almighty Sinnoh then. Perhaps that is why you are here."
"Part of it maybe. The other part seems to be to keep the Pokédex project on track while simultaneously making us question our reality." Akari spoke with a straight face.
"Quite so." Mai nodded sagely.
"Hey!" Ash huffed. "How do I make you question reality? I'm just doing what's obvious!"
"Exactly."
Their last day at the Deertrack Heights Camp dawned and led to perhaps the worst part of their entire adventure.
Rather than getting out and exploring, he and Akari were once again couped up inside. At least this time there was an actual building for them to be inside. The lack of wind and freezing rain was also nice.
So why, on this nice and sunny day that saw Pokémon frolicking in the tall grass, were they stuck inside?
Because of freaking paperwork.
At least that's how Ash saw it, Akari insisted it wasn't "paperwork" they were just compiling their findings, comparing notes, and finalizing the map of the henceforth dubbed, Stantlerland.
Akari had tried to erase the name but Ash had used ink instead of pencil.
Good thing white-out hadn't been invented yet!
That he knew of.
As it turned out Ash had less of an idea of when things were invented than he thought. Rubber, which he assumed wouldn't be invented until later had existed for years now. Professor Laventon had even shown him a picture of an old-fashioned bicycle with rubber tires.
Oops.
To be completely honest Ash figured he might have to throw caution aside. The fact that he was here at all meant either he was supposed to come back in time, or things were already messed up so it didn't matter what he did.
There were absolutely no other possibilities.
"Oi! Stop daydreaming!" Akari sharply jabbed him with her pencil. "We need to have this ready for the Professor!"
"I wasn't daydreaming!" Ash defended himself. He was just finding things to think about so he didn't have to do the boring part of research.
"Then what was I just asking you?" She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, waiting for an answer.
Ash glanced at Pikachu, hoping for some sort of hint. Unfortunately, his partner had taken up a brush and some ink of his own and was doodling on an unused piece of paper. He was so focused on his masterpiece he didn't even notice Ash's plight.
"I asked if you managed to get any Stantler to use Psybash." Akari held up a notebook and tapped one of the Stantler Research Tasks. "I didn't have any luck. The closest I got was a Headbutt."
He frowned, trying to remember if he'd actually had a regular battle against a Stantler. The deer Pokémon tended toward a few specific behaviors. The more nervous ones just ran for it, some of the more prideful would try and trick him using their illusions, others would feign a charge and force him to dodge, letting them flee.
"I don't think so, Noctowl kept beating them with illusions but none of them used uh… Psybash. At least I don't think so."
"That's what I thought…" Akari frowned and chewed on the end of her pencil. "I've never even heard of it before, I wonder where the Professor learned about it."
"We could ask Mai?" Ash suggested. "Wyrdeer is the evolved form of Stantler right? Since she's his warden maybe she knows something about it."
"Not a bad idea…" Akari glanced from the notebook to the map copy she was sketching. This one had a key with symbols representing different Pokémon. "We can check in with her before we leave, then try to goad a Stantler or two into it."
"Maybe one of the Stantler we caught knows how to use it?" Ash thought of an alternative.
"Right, your Arc Phone can check what moves a Pokémon knows." Akari hummed. "I'm not sure about how trustworthy it is but it hasn't misled you yet."
As they stepped out into the sunlight they found a bit of a commotion. Ash's first thought was that maybe a Staravia had come to the camp itself to cause trouble but he calmed a bit when he realized the people running around weren't doing so out of fear.
Huh, had he really been anticipating an attack? Maybe he was picking up some of Akari's paranoia.
"What's going on?" Akari caught the attention of a passing Supply Corps member. "Did a wild Pokémon attack?"
He shook his head. "No, there's a caravan coming through from Jubilife!"
"A caravan?" Ash shared a confused look with Pikachu.
"Why are they coming this way?" Akari wondered and headed toward the mass of people. "Never mind, it's because of the camp. Now that it's here the routes are going to be altered."
"Uh…" The time-displaced trainer was still a little lost.
"The Ginkgo Guild doesn't just hang around Jubilife you know." She told him as they walked. "They visit the clan villages and they have some outposts of their own scattered throughout Hisui. Ever since the Galaxy Team arrived they've been trading with us and applying for Security Corps to travel with them for added protection."
"Then this caravan is heading to one of the clan villages?" Ash guessed, feeling a little curious. He wondered what kind of homes the clans had built for themselves.
"The Pearl Clan village on the coast of the Heartwood." Mai appeared next to them and supplied an answer. Ash didn't even yelp at her sudden arrival this time! But Pikachu made an adorable squeaking noise.
"How are you so quiet?" Ash asked as Pikachu did his best to cover his embarrassment. "Pikachu has way better hearing than me!"
"Maybe I'm just cool," Mai smirked a little and Ash snorted. "But yes, they're passing through on their way to the Pearl Clan."
"You're not going to sabotage anything are you?" Akari prodded and Mai looked a little offended.
"Of course not. I wouldn't lower myself to hurt a third party like the guild or your team just to cause some minor inconvenience to the Pearl Clan."
There was a little bit of trading done with the guild and news was exchanged with the Security Corps members. Ash had sought news about how the Pokémon he'd left behind were doing without him but other than learning that nearly everyone was absolutely terrified of Kricketune he didn't get much.
That was a little annoying but he counseled himself that he'd get to see his friends later tonight. He just had to get through this annoying note compilation stuff.
Speaking of which, time to interrogate Mai! "Have you ever seen a Stantler use Psybash?"
"Psybash?" She blinked at him. "How do you know about that?"
"Know about it?" Her quest confused Akari. "Professor Laventon listed it as one of Stantler's research tasks. Witnessing it and recording it I mean."
Mai puzzled over how to explain for a moment. "It's not an easy move to learn, and most Stantler never do. If the illusions didn't make it obvious, Stantler have some form of psychic ability, but Psybash requires a more direct and conscious use of it than most Stantler can manage."
"So it's rare for Stantler to know how to use it?" Ash nodded.
"Not just that, even if they know the move, Stantler hardly use it in battle at all. It's an incredibly draining attack, but it makes up for it with its power. If it gets used it's normally a last resort or a finishing blow. With one exception…" She trailed off and frowned, glancing at Munchlax who made a thoughtful sound Ash hadn't heard from the normal-type before.
The warden shook her head. "I'm afraid I'll keep that bit to myself. If you learn it for yourselves feel free to share it with your professor but not all knowledge is so easily given."
Akari's expression grew a little suspicious but she didn't call Mai out on anything. "We'll take your word for it, thanks for giving us something to go on then. We'll make a note of it for the Professor."
"I get what you meant before now," Ash admitted, folding his arms behind his head. "I wonder how Professor Laventon learned about it?"
"Maybe he's heard it mentioned in passing? Or perhaps he has seen Stantler in his home region." Mai shrugged.
"I don't know if Galar has Stantler." Akari mused. "We can ask him about it later, come on, let's get back to it Ash."
Ash's brain worked at lightspeed trying to think of an excuse to stay outside but unfortunately, even lightspeed wasn't fast enough to save him from being dragged back toward their hovel.
He was spared, however briefly, when a rather pleased-looking Godey crossed their path. He latched onto the opportunity.
"Hey, Godey!" He waved at him. "Looks like your plan worked pretty well?"
"For the most part." The older boy seemed both happy and embarrassed by the compliment. "These will last longer than the wood and cloth shacks! And need less maintenance too! Yasuo even promised to put in a good word with Captain Saquina."
"Glad it's all working out for you." Akari accepted the delay. "Are you coming back with us? Or sticking around a bit longer."
"I'm going back to Jubilife, I need to report to the captain in person too." He explained. "Most of us are going back, a few of the Security Corps who came with the caravan will be sticking around though, to keep guard. We can't just abandon this place after we spent all week building it!"
Ash nodded that made sense. "How are things going with Geodude?"
"Great actually!" Godey's fear of his new partner seemed to be a thing of the past. "Even after Charm tried to blackmail us!"
"She did what!?" A switch flipped and Ash's rage ignited. Pikachu had similar feelings and briefly started sparking.
"It's fine!" Godey panicked. "Really! She just tried to get us to do her work! She said she'd tell people we attacked her!"
"That lady has a few screws loose." Ash declared.
"What happened?" Akari pressed.
"Well, turns out this isn't the first time she tried to get out of work. Yasuo saw us doing her job and wanted to know what happened. There's a long list of complaints and since I already had Yasuo's attention… well when we get back Charm's going to have to answer to the captains."
"Yeesh," Ash remembered what it was like having Captain Cyllene and Zisu berating him, and he hadn't even done anything wrong! "Couldn't happen to a nicer person."
"Right?" Godey shook his head. "Oh, and it gets better! You know how we ran out of Cheri berries?"
"Yeah, Bjorn asked us to bring him some more if we found any," Akari remembered.
"Turns out she's been grabbing a few extra snacks."
"You're kidding."
Ash hadn't liked what he saw of Charm, now he had even less reason to like her. "I hope we don't have to deal with her again."
"I wonder what the captains will decide." Akari mused. "Probably tell her to shape up or get lost."
Remembering what his first few days had been like encouraged Ash to agree. "Glad you didn't get stuck doing her work Godey, hey do you want to meet the rest of my team when we get back to Jubilife?"
"...does that include the Alpha?"
"Yeah!"
Godey paled rapidly and Akari laughed. "Something to look forward to. Now enough stalling!"
"Wait no!" Ash was once more dragged to his doom. "Save me!"
"From what?" Godey asked.
"Stop being such a baby!" Akari snapped. "Seriously, it's just some notetaking."
"Oh, sorry Ash, I just remembered I need to be somewhere else." Godey's betrayal would be remembered. And probably forgiven but he'd still remember it.
At least they'd be done soon.
"This is quite the collection of information!" Professor Laventon was over the moon as he reviewed their findings. "More than I hoped for even! I see you found a few new species while you were at it!"
Despite the pain Ash suffered, the Professor's infectious delight helped soften the blow. "All in a week's work!"
"So it would seem." Captain Cyllene entered the lab, earning a salute from Akari, with Ash hastily following suit. "I take it there were no unexpected circumstances?"
"There was the weird orange flame," Ash noted. "Akari thinks it's a spirit but I'm pretty sure it's just a ghost-type messing with people."
"Ghost-types are spirits shiner." Akari muttered with a slight glare. Ash self consciously covered his still discolored eye.
"I see." Cyllene didn't so much as twitch at the banter. "It will take the Professor some time to sort through everything but at a glance, I believe you've officially earned your next star Ketchum."
"Cool!" He cheered, both he and Pikachu pumping fists in celebration. "We're climbing the ranks!"
"Don't get a big head. Your rank is proportional to your success. Continue to succeed and your rank will reflect that." She took a deep breath. "I wish I was solely here to review your findings and congratulate you, but unfortunately I have to offer forewarning."
Akari and Ash exchanged a confused look as Laventon's expression grew troubled. "The Commander has decided then?"
"Not yet. He wants the Security Corps to report back first, but he said I should prepare you." Cyllene looked at her underlings. "About two weeks ago we began receiving rumors about a dangerous and berserk Pokémon in the Heartwood."
"I think I remember hearing about that." Akari frowned as she thought back. "I thought it was an Alpha?"
"So did we. But it turns out the situation is more complicated than we thought. You may recall that the Diamond and Pearl Clans have Wardens who watch over Pokémon they call sacred. It seems one of the Pearl Clan's "Lords" has gone berserk."
Ash narrowed his eyes. "What does that mean?"
"It's been rampaging, tearing through the Heartwood, attacking anything that moves. The Pearl Clan tried to handle it themselves but the Diamond Clan noticed something amiss and had members injured while investigating. They came to us as a neutral party. A group of Security Corps was sent with the Ginkgo Guild this morning, some were to serve as guards but others are to investigate the Heartwood, and Lord Kleavor."
"Kleavor?" Ash had never heard of that Pokémon before but the name sounded a little ominous. "So we need to go and stop him?"
Maybe it was his imagination but he was pretty sure he saw her eye twitch. "No. When the Security Corps return they will report to the Commander. It will depend on their findings but the Commander plans to send you two to survey the Heartwood and Kleavor, discover its abilities, weaknesses, and a way to stop it, then report back."
"We're not leaving yet right?" Ash checked. "I need to check in with my team! And train up!"
"No, not yet. You will have a few days, a week at most. Until then you may continue as usual with the caveat you must return to the village each night. You need to remain available so to speak."
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry we have to ask you two to do this. You're young but have proven yourselves more capable than many of those older than you. For that, you have my respect and my faith." With that, Captain Cyllene departed, leaving them to stew.
"So we're not supposed to fight Kleavor ourselves right?" Akari checked with the Professor.
"Not unless you have to. Ash." The normally jovial man leveled a stern look at Ash, no doubt predicting the ultra-violent battle fantasies playing in his mind. "I would appreciate it if you were able to solve the problem but we won't ask that of you. I suspect Kleavor may have been subjected to the same phenomena that has created the other Alphas but a Pokémon of his already impressive caliber becoming even stronger…"
Ash fought to sober himself, reminding himself that he had to be more careful, for his team. "Yes, Professor."
"Now then!" The man clapped. "I refuse to send you off on such a dour note, as much as I would love to dive into your findings right away, you two deserve a reward! To the Wallflower!"
Twin looks of disgust grew on Pikachu and Ash's faces. "Can we go back to talking about Kleavor?"
"Oh come now! Beni isn't that bad!"
He was though. He was.
Reuniting with the rest of his team felt just as good as Ash had hoped. Bayleef had actually tackled him en route to the Wallflower.
She and Cyndaquil had been on their best behavior while he was gone. It was part of why he'd picked them to stay. He knew Bayleef would be upset but figured that she and Cyndaquil were the most trustworthy to stay behind with Kricketune.
Speaking of Kricketune, the poor guy seemed to have had it a bit rough. He barely managed to fit in Ash's house (still cool to say he had a house) and he still wasn't allowed in the Corral. Ash swore to make it up to the giant bug-type. He didn't deserve to stay cooped up all the time!
Thankfully, they'd have time to get Kricketune some fresh air and let him properly join the team! Akari was planning to stay in the village the next day, but Ash was ready to set back out to the Fieldlands!
…there was a slight problem.
"You don't have any more research tasks for me?" Ash was not pouting. He was too old to pout. Ask anyone. That wasn't Misty. Or Brock. Or Pikachu.
On second thought, don't ask anyone. Just trust him.
"I'm sorry my boy," Laventon told him. "But I'm still sorting through everything you brought me! I might have a few new ones tomorrow though! Why don't you see if anyone in the village might have a request for you? Or you could simply go out and explore!"
He picked both.
But the delay did remind him of a promise.
"Hi, Godey!" The other boy shrieked when Ash poked his head through his open window. "Ready to meet my team!? Oh and hi Geodude! Didn't see ya!"
"Dude." The rock-type waved at him before going back to his structure. Godey's quarters were nearly identical to Ash's (albeit with less makeshift Pokémon dens). Geodude was set to change that and was working on excavating Godey's dirt floor.
"Now?" Godey sounded reluctant for some reason. "I mean, I guess I'm just doing some sketches- how did I get here?" He looked around Ash's quarters, confused by how Ash had managed to drag him here so quickly.
"You've seen most of them," Ash admitted as his friends inspected Godey and Geodude. "But you never really got to meet Starly or Noctowl, they're a bit stuffy."
Offended bird noises protested his claim and he stuck his tongue out at them. If they didn't want him to call them that they shouldn't act like it!
Godey wiggled a few fingers in a pathetic approximation of a wave but his eyes trailed along the rest of Ash's residence. "What happened here?"
"What do you mean?" Ash paused before he continued introductions.
Godey gestured at the scratched and cracked shelves, the pits Phanpy and Cyndaquil had dug, the damaged sink, and several other casualties of Pokémon residence.
"Oh, well we've been trying to get comfortable, but not everyone likes sleeping with me all the time or in their Poké Balls," Ash explained briefly.
"Why don't you just make changes so everyone can fit?" Godey asked. "Like better nesting places or a proper water basin? …not sure about the pits though."
Phanpy trumpeted. "They're more like dens," Ash explained.
"My point stands."
"Well, how would you do it?"
He quickly regretted that question.
By the time he parted ways with Godey (about four hours later), the Construction Corps member had already brainstormed half a dozen ideas to improve Ash's quarters to accommodate his Pokémon. Most of it kind of went over his head but he appreciated the thought.
He had managed to introduce the rest of his team throughout the spiel. It sort of worked out too, Godey was just distracted enough by his ideas that he didn't immediately panic when he saw Kricketune.
Godey said he'd stop by with some plans tomorrow morning and Ash was about to complain. But he was running out of daylight to head to the fieldlands. He tried asking around for requests but most people didn't seem to need anything.
A few did have questions about certain Pokémon, like one Security Corps member who refused to believe that Zubat could fly around without eyes. Ash tried his best to explain how Zubat could see using sound but she didn't seem to believe him.
That was her problem.
Eventually, he decided to just head to the Fieldlands and look for Pokémon. They still hadn't caught any Ponyta right? And maybe he could find some other new Pokémon!
It was a little weird traveling to the fieldlands without Akari, but he still had his team by his side. Phanpy, Totodile, and Notcowl had been left behind this time. He would have left Starly but he wasn't sure he completely trusted him with his belongings yet.
He was pretty sure Starly wouldn't destroy his stuff out of malice, at least not anymore. But the flying-type seemed to be struggling with the concept that not everything needed to be marked to assert dominance.
Ash pointed himself toward Horseshoe Plains and got to work. He spotted a few familiar Pokémon along the way, ones he'd caught and sent to the corral that had since returned to their homes. Maybe it was silly but he was glad they'd made it back safe, he agreed with Mai, leaving Pokémon to languish in the corral forever wasn't fair to them.
When he got back he'd make sure to be more generous with switching out his teammates. Professor Oak's Corral was far more accommodating than the Galaxy Team's but still.
…although maybe he needed to figure out something a bit different with the Tauros. He didn't know what he'd do with six teams of five Tauros. (One spot saved for Pikachu of course).
It took them a little bit to find an area free of other Pokémon, but when they found a good spot Ash let Kricketune free and the bug-type let out a cry of joy.
"Welcome back to the Obsidian Fieldlands Kricketune!" Ash told him. "I'm not sure if you ever saw this part though, most of the Kricketot stay on Stantlerland after all."
Kricketune made a trilling noise that Ash guessed was confusion. "Yeah, you know the Deertrack Heights and stuff? It's actually an island! So I named it Stantlerland, since it already had a bunch of deer names."
"Pika pikachu." Pikachu added and Kricketune nodded in understanding.
"Alright, we're gonna spend some time training together! Then we'll go exploring. I want to catch a Ponyta for the Pokédex, and I remember seeing an Eevee around here awhile ago! I want to see if we can find it!"
Their training session got some attention from the locals. A few Pokémon came over to spectate, and a couple of Shinx watched Pikachu practice his Agile and Strong Style Thunderbolts with stars in their eyes.
His partner soaked in the attention as Rowlet, Starly, and Kricketune did a three-way mock battle. Starly needed to learn to work with the rest of the team and Ash wanted to see how well Kricketune could actually battle now that he wasn't filled with evil red stuff.
It became clear they had work to do. Kricketune was strong and fast but didn't seem to know how to use it. Probably a result of whatever becoming an Alpha had done to him.
An alarmed cry from Bayleef cut into the training session. Ash rushed over to find his pack ransacked. "What happened? I thought you were watching it?"
"Bay-bay-bay!" She babbled nodding and seemed more bewildered than defensive. She had been watching it and was confused about how someone had raided it without her noticing.
Training was put on hold in favor of solving this mystery.
There were no pawprints nearby but there was some disturbed dirt. Cynadquil dug around a bit and led them through some underbrush. On the other side was a hole and a set of prints leading toward the river.
They followed along but the trail vanished into the shallows, their thief had covered their tracks well.
"Was it a Buizel?" Ash asked guessing the water-type might have fled to safe terrain but both Pikachu and Cyndaquil shook their heads and he trusted their noses. "Then what?"
Pikachu took a few deep sniffs away from the water and tapped his chin before his ears perked up. "Pika!" He declared and pulled at his face.
Ash had seen Pikachu mirror other Pokémon before and not for the first time he wondered if one of his partner's parents had been a Ditto. Whatever the case Pikachu managed to briefly mimic a semi-familiar face that took Ash a few moments to pin down.
"Eevee?" He guessed after a bit of thought.
Pikachu confirmed it and Ash frowned, looking down the river bed. He wondered if it was the same Eevee he saw the other day, but it seemed long gone now.
"We'll be back tomorrow." He declared, with their food stolen they would have to head back to Jubilife a bit sooner than planned or skip dinner. "Maybe we can set a trap for Thiefeon."
His team snickered at his joke as an observer munched on leftover Potato Mochi and smirked to himself.
So they were a bit more clever than they looked. That was fine. Eevee loved a challenge.
Three days of being outsmarted by a lone Eevee left Ash and his team a little frustrated.
"Did you at least get to keep your dinner this time?" Akari asked as Ash slumped into his seat at the Wallflower.
"No," he grumbled into the table. "We thought we cornered him then he used Rain Dance and Double Team. The Rain Dance made the Ponyta stampede and by the time we calmed them down all our food was gone. The decoys and the real stuff."
"So sayeth the mighty Surveyer from the sky!" Beni spoke with mock grandeur as he set Akari's food in front of her. "Unable to defeat a simple Eevee!"
"PIKA!" Pikachu snapped angrily at the chef but Beni didn't even flinch.
"Spoken like a rat that hasn't eaten in three days!" The man cackled as he slunk away into his cantina.
"Maybe you should throw in the towel?" Akari suggested but Ash's bloodshot eyes gave her pause. "All he did was steal your lunch and dinner a couple of times."
"Never!" He hissed. "This isn't about the food! He's mocking us! We're not going to give up until we catch him!"
Akari didn't even bother clarifying if it was for the Pokédex or not. "How's Godey's remodeling going?" She tried to change the subject.
Ash perked up a little bit. "Really good! Geodude carved out a whole stone basin for us to fill with water for Totodile! It's big enough that a few of us can fit in at a time! When Cyndaquil heats it up it's like we have our own hot tub!"
"And you didn't think to invite me?" She joked with mock offense.
"Er… sometimes we get into splash fights." He admitted to a bit of childishness. He glanced at Pikachu and leaned in conspiratorially "And Pikachu likes to cheat."
"Pika chu pi!" Pikachu scolded.
"Yes, it is!" Ash insisted. "Using Thundershock is totally cheating!"
"Pi chu pika!" Pikachu pointed at Shinx. Akari's partner was lying on the bench and using her lap as a pillow.
"Of course Shinx would agree with you! But ask any of the others!" Akari started laughing. Not long ago this conversation would have left her baffled but now that she had teammates of her own? She got it.
Before the argument could continue three growls interrupted. Two from Ash and Pikachu and one from Ash's bag. Rowlet poked her head out and made a sad hooting noise.
Ash sagged. "Guess we need to grovel to Beni."
"You really shouldn't antagonize him so much," Akari told him as the boy tried to wave the chef down without getting up.
"He started it," Ash growled and stood up with a huff. It was obvious that Beni wasn't going to give him the luxury of coming over to take his order.
Akari shook her head and ran a hand through Shinx's surprisingly soft fur. Hints of static tickled her fingers but she no longer flinched from the feeling. As much as things had changed since Ash's arrival it seemed the first impressions between him and Beni were never going to change.
Ash had barely sat down and started sharing his food when the distant sounds of commotion caught their attention.
They were a bit too far away to make out exactly what was going on, but it appeared there was some sort of arrival at the gates. "What's that?"
"It's rude to talk with your mouth full," Akari noted as she strained to get a better view without disturbing Shinx. "It doesn't seem like anything too bad. No alarms are going off at least."
"We should still check it out!" Ash started shoveling food all the faster, his Pokémon following his lead. Akari hadn't known Rowlet could move that fast…
Not fast enough though, by the time they got over to the gate things were calm once more. But Ress was over to fill them in a little bit.
"A group of Security Corps members just returned from the Heartwood." He explained. "They… weren't in the best shape, I bet it was that Kleavor." He shook his head.
"Do you think they were the ones the commander sent?" Ash checked with Akari.
"Probably, which means tomorrow might be busy…" She thought about it. "Don't go anywhere tomorrow, at least not out of the village. We can check in with the Captain, to see what's going on but I wouldn't be surprised if we were sent on our own mission soon."
"They're sending you two after Kleavor?" Ress's tone didn't sound encouraging. "Good luck, you'll need it."
On that happy note, the Survey Corps turned in for the night.
The next day Captain Cyllene confirmed that the Security Corps sent to the Heartwood had returned, but Commander Kamado had not given her any new instructions yet.
Two relatively unexciting days later, they were called to Galaxy Hall with directions to report to the Commander's Office.
"Come on, if we don't hurry the Commander will use us for sumo practice!" Akari warned Ash as he fumbled with parts of his uniform, trying to look as presentable as possible.
"He'd still use us for sumo practice if we were there on time!" He claimed and followed her down the road.
There were a few other people on the road, but two in particular caught Ash's attention.
Partly because they were very loud.
"Look who's being punctual! Finally realized you're wasting almighty Sinnoh's precious time by bowing to a sham?" The words were spoken by a man with two-tone hair, wearing an exaggerated kimono over a jumpsuit with parachute pants.
Somehow, his outfit was less outrageous than the person he was talking to.
"There you go again, insisting on your false image of almighty Sinnoh as a ruler of time!" The girl had blonde hair and wore an outfit that wouldn't entirely look out of place on the beach, except for the giant striped cloth wrapped around her waist, and the clown shoes.
"Why is there a clown arguing with an actor?" Ash asked Akari.
Akari let out a bark of laughter and slammed her hands over her mouth with a horrified expression. Panic tinged the look as she shot rapid glances between Ash and the two weirdos.
"My people follow the true almighty Sinnoh, the font of all creation and ruler of space!" The girl continued, apparently not having heard Ash. Indeed as they continued it seemed like the pair hadn't noticed the Survey Corps at all.
"Hah! You could have all the space there is and still not know what to do with it." The man was taller, allowing him to visually speak down to the girl.
"Excuse me? Are you really suggesting that you make better use of your time than we make of vast Hisui's space?" She childishly stamped her foot.
"Better than some! It's a miracle you showed up on time, oh mighty leader of the Pearl Clan. I worried you'd get lost in the pointlessly vast space you're so fond of and never show up."
"Me, get lost? In almighty Sinnoh's great gift to the Pearl Clan- in our world's very basis? You wish!"
"I wish that I hadn't let myself get dragged into arguing with you. Almighty Sinnoh forgive me- what a waste of time! I'm off to Commander Kamado's office!" He turned before he finished speaking and waved a dismissive hand as he climbed the steps of Galaxy Hall.
"I believe it was you who started this!" She stormed after him.
"You can feel the tension when those two show up," Akari muttered. "In case it wasn't obvious, those were the leaders of the Diamond and Pearl clans, Adaman and Irida. The Commander probably sent for them after the Security Corps were debriefed."
"...you're joking right?" Ash looked at her. "They're just arguing about… that was a stupid argument."
"Yes. It was. But remember what Mai told us? I think I prefer childish bickering about space and time over a pointless war about it."
"Pika." Ash's partner nodded solemnly and he found himself in agreement.
"Come on, let's meet up with the Commander, hopefully, those two can remain civil long enough to figure out a plan."
Ash followed along behind but a single question continued to plague his mind.
"Seriously, why was she wearing clown shoes?"
Akari's Observation Log.
Entry #2: Rowlet
Sex: F
Weight: 1.5kg
Height: .3m
Ability: Overgrow
Observed Moves: Leafage, Gust, Growl, Peck, Tackle
Physical Description:
Rowlet is a grass-type coated in green, almost leaflike feathers. These feathers are softer than most leaves but the texture is very similar to the touch. Beneath the green feathers is white down that appears similar in texture and appearance to that of other flying-types such as Starly.
Additionally, there are a pair of leaf-like growths beneath the beak that are darker than the feathers and for all intents and purposes appear to be leaves, not sharing the softness of the feathers.
The eyes sit on the same horizontal as the beak, they are mostly black with white pupils. The beak's upper lip is entirely white while the lower is an orange hue. The beak and eyes are surrounded by short white down.
While Rowlet may appear to be a simple oval shape with two, two taloned feet, their wings perfectly camouflage as part of their green feathery overcoat when folded. When the wings are unfolded they allow Rowlet to fly, and reveal more dark green leaves buried in the pits.
Personal Observations:
It's weird to think that I've technically known Rowlet longer than Ash or any of his other Pokémon. Admittedly my interactions with her were typically bound to chasing after her and Professor Laventon's other Pokémon whenever they escaped.
I always found her the most troublesome of the three since she was the hardest to get into a Poké Ball. The joke is on me I guess since now she spends so much time sleeping in Ash's bag while I have to spend hours everyday trying to keep up with Oshawott and Cyndaquil.
While I can't speak with 100% certainty as I'm not sure how active she is at night and can't ask Ash since he's asleep, Rowlet seems to split her time evenly between rest and activity. For the sake of simplicity eating counts as rest.
It's almost like a switch if flipped. One moment she'll be utterly out of it, sometimes I forget she's even there, the next she is filled with energy and is a blur of movement and activity.
Watching some of Ash's training regimes makes me think he's noticed this as well, subconsciously at least. In some sessions he won't even make a plan for her while in others he has an entire itinerary.
If I didn't know better I'd say he knew when Rowlet was ready for training without needing to check.
Rowlet is the first Pokémon Ash "caught" here in Hisui, but she seems to have integrated onto his team with ease. She has no trouble engaging with his other Pokémon and most of them seem to consider her part of the family, no questions asked.
I guess Ash's attitude extends to his Pokémon as well, which I suppose shouldn't surprise me too much, but I do wonder if it's because he rubbed off on them, or they rubbed off on him.
Allow me a moment.
I SWEAR TO ARCEUS ON HIGH THIS CHAPTER SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN AS HARD AS IT WAS WHAT THE ACTUAL HECK
Moment over.
So, roughly two and a half months ago, I developed some writer's block with this chapter. I tried writing it multiple times but never managed to get things to work the way I wanted.
Do you know how many pages got thrown to the cutting room floor? Me neither but at least twenty.
If you're in my discord you will know that I tried multiple times to give myself a deadline for this and each time I just could get it. I came close around Mother's Day but it just wasn't what I wanted.
So Thursday, with BattleNET's one year anniversary coming up, and two months since the last update I said to myself, this needs to get done.
I gathered the different documents, some different versions of the same scene, some just a few paragraphs, a couple random sentences, and I sat down to figure out how to put it together.
And then, an epiphany, if I cut this one subplot, everything flowed together the way I wanted.
It was so simple I wanted to scream.
I'll elaborate more after I go over the chapter. I'm just glad it's done and Kleavor is definitely coming next chapter.
I wonder if part of the writer's block was burnout, perhaps. Maybe I shouldn't have forced myself to switch stories. Maybe I shouldn't have tried to do two chapters in a week when I had plans to go to a convention.
Maybe I should play less MMOs.
Anyway chapter! Ash getting involved in other people's business because he is just like that. Godey gets a Geodude and gets to start his career as an architect!
I'm sure that will be important later.
Wrapping up the extended stay at the Deertrack Heights and getting some development. Sending off people to the Heartwood...
A pretty successful mission all things considered! And Ash got a promotion out of it! And a new friend!
Ash and Godey are kids with two very different hyperfixations who somehow managed to feed eachother's hyperfixations. Mobias strip confirmed.
That relationship was fun, and Ash's desire for adventure is in full swing! He's not used to staying in one place for long. And he has a new rival who just so happens to just be in it for the food.
Now then, the Kleavor stuff. That was honestly one of the things that kept me stuck. I wasn't sure how to go about it. There's so much weird stuff with the PC being sent after Kleavor out of the blue and Kleavor somehow attacking Galaxy Team members despite there being no reason for them to be anywhere near the Heartwood.
So I had to figure some stuff out.
There's actually a much darker version of the ending where Ash and Akari were present for the debriefing with the sole survivor of the Security Corps. But after thinking about it, I decided to cut it out. There was too much tonal whiplash and it took the story in a different direction than what I wanted.
I want there to be stakes, I want the characters to feel like they're in danger, I do not want things to be too bleak too early.
But anyway, despite my issues with Kleavor, that wasn't the sub plot that gave me so much trouble. The sub plot I cut was a whole thing with Charm.
She was going to have a whole micro arc where she became established as an antagonist which would set up her banditry later. Ash and Akari would stop her reign of High School Meangirl terror and she'd blame them for ruining the cushy life she'd put together in the Supply Corps.
But I couldn't make it work. It would take too long to sort out, killed the pacing, and in my personal opinion wasn't that entertaining. So I tried a shorter version where Ash and Akari saw her try to blackmail Godey which led to her being publicly shamed but it didn't have any real oomf to it.
And then I decided to cut the whole thing and leave hints of her laziness causing problems in the background and everything worked out perfectly.
So yeah. Glad I figured that out.
Again, I'm sorry for the delay, hopefully I'll be able to get the Kleavor chapter out in a much more timely manner. Preferably next weekend.
Oh! I just remembered! We now have coverart! Drawn by twainrd! It's Ash in his Survey Corps uniform with Pikachu! Here's a tumblr link:
twainrd tumblr com /post/749024534334685184/commission-for-thetruefritik-for-their-fanfic#notes
Commissioned that back when I thought the chapter was coming out in April…
Reviews!
Fangs of death: I'm sorry whatever you said got cut off.
Butterflypuss: Thanks!
Bloodfox22: What? No, he's .4 meters. As in 40 centimeters. And yeah 6kg, that's accurate.
LEGOBRICK13: Fanfics always weird with the email stuff. At least for the past year or so. But anyway, yeah I had more plans for Charm popping up but like I said it didn't quite work out the way I wanted. She'll have to wait for her proper antagonizing to commence. Cyllene is trying to make the best choice she can, she thinks Ash did the right thing but just because he did this time doesn't mean he will everytime. And I would argue he's had quite a few crisis at this point, while he can't remember the first Mewtwo encounter he will have gone through the 2nd one. Not to mention Lugia, the Unown and Celebi. He just doesn't spend a lot of time worrying about what could happen, just what he needs to do to fix things. As for how they'll react to the Solaceon ruins, we'll have to wait and see.
Guipa: Oh there's plenty of squabbling too, there's just more bitter history behind it that was only vaguely implied. But we'll see more direct hatred as well.
Guest: I… what? Most of them aren't even in Hisui?
Welp, that's all for now, see you guys next time! Or space! Or distortion!
Whatever floats your boat.
Happy Father's Day!
~FriTik
R&R