Thanks for the reviews, sorry it's been so long but I've had some personal issues at home that needed to be sorted out. Speaking of personal, to the reviewer who seems to despise Nia, can you pack it in with what you're writing. I have no idea what your issue is, nor do I want to, but I would hate to have to block someone. It's getting a bit much now with the vitriol.
Anyway, on to Chapter 16.
Chapter 16- July 5th
Receiving basic directions from Ash, Salamence hugged the coast as she travelled over the ocean that led towards Cianwood City. Soon enough the mountains were on her right-hand side with nothing but ocean on the left.
"Why are we following the edge of the cliffs, rather than fly straight across the ocean?" Pikachu asked over the wind.
"I need time to think" Ash replied before falling silent.
"About what?" Pikachu asked.
"About everything" came the unhelpful reply.
Shaking his head Pikachu glanced over to the left and had to grip on as he did a double take. "We're being followed."
"I know" Ash said nodding as he glanced at their pursuers "we have been for about ten minutes now."
"I wonder what they want" Pikachu pondered.
"No idea, but I don't plan on finding out anytime soon." Ash said "hopefully they get the hint when we don't land. Or they could just be visiting the Whirl Islands themselves. Queenie, head south for a bit now, only when you see the first of the Whirl Islands turn East. Cianwood City is straight ahead then."
"You're really not going to land?" Pikachu asked five minutes later after seeing they were still being followed "they're not giving up you know."
"No" Ash said shaking his head "I'm not delaying getting to Cianwood just because of them."
"Fair enough" Pikachu said knowing he wouldn't get anywhere when Ash was in this type of mood. A few hours later the Whirl Islands came more into focus and Salamence banked East before straightening up. Looking down Ash glanced and saw that his pursuers were still following them, only they were directly underneath them now before they sped up and outstripped them. Soon they were just a little speck on the horizon, one that was quickly becoming larger as land appeared in their view.
"Head North-East" Ash called out "if they need to chat, I'm not doing it in the middle of the city."
Half an hour later they landed on the Northern most part of Cianwood City. Other than a shack on a small cliff there wasn't anything, nor anyone around making it perfect for whatever nonsense was coming their way. Climbing down from Salamence he wiped down her flanks which were heaving slightly from such a prolonged flight, thanking her for getting them there safely. As he was wiping her neck, he felt the two pursuers getting closer and sighed before throwing the cloth into his bag in frustration. Pinching his nose, he counted to ten before opening his eyes, still facing away from them.
"Do you want me to tell them to get lost?" Salamence asked quietly as her head was still resting on his shoulder. She was enjoying being rubbed down and having that interrupted annoyed her.
"No" he said patting her neck "let's see what they want."
Turning around he shook his head and walked forward "what can I do for you?"
"Hello, Chosen One" the Adult Suicune said trotting to a halt ten meters from him "that was a good run."
"Was it?" Ash asked, "was there a reason you were running?"
"Yes" she said nodding to her daughter who walked forwards to stand at her side "we have need of your assistance."
"What this time?" Ash asked wearily.
"Is something the matter Chosen One?" Suicune asked concerned at his tone.
"I have a feeling I am about to be placed into a situation that I didn't sign up for" Ash said "I've said before, but I have never had an interaction with one of you guys that hasn't placed me in danger."
"Oh" she replied, "well I can't see how this would place you in danger."
"Go on" he said sighing.
"The time has come for my daughter to go her own way and do the job she was created for" Suicune said nudging her "however before I let her go, I wish for her to challenge you in a battle. I want to see she can defend herself sufficiently. We already know she cannot be captured in a Pokéball however that still doesn't mean she cannot be captured."
"That's a strange request" Pikachu said looking at Ash "I'll battle her though."
"No" Ash said looking at him "she'd have no chance. We need to test her endurance."
"I am very strong" the younger Suicune said belligerently.
"No, you aren't" Ash said shaking his head "Pikachu has beaten fully evolved rock types with a single Thundershock. After only four months of training, he beat an Ancient and during our first league a year later he put a Tentacruel into critical condition with a Thunderbolt. He's improved drastically since then. I'm not looking to beat or humiliate you; your mother needs to see you can defend yourself, so we'll put that to the test. Let's go Sneasel" he finished releasing his Dark/Ice type who looked around confused.
"What's going on?" he asked seeing the audience they had.
"Suicune wants to test her daughter's ability to defend herself. You told us in Ecruteak you'd love to test yourself against one of the beasts so this is your chance."
"Yeah, against the adults" he said pointing to the larger Suicune "what can the baby one do?"
"That's what we're about to find out" Pikachu said seeing the younger Suicune stiffen up in anger at the disrespect, knowing Sneasel had already won this one. Nodding Sneasel used Quick Attack to reach the beach twenty yards away and turned to face them. The adult Suicune came to stand beside Ash to observe the fight that was about to happen. The younger one trotted over to the beach and faced her opponent, angry at how dismissive a mere Sneasel was.
"No commands Ash" Sneasel called out as he set his feet and focused on his opponent.
Ash just nodded and shouted "Go"
Sneasel dove out of the way as a Hydro Pump headed his way and stood still. He then dodged an Ice Beam and another Hydro Pump but still didn't attack after dodging. After dodging a few more he decided to go on the attack and charged forwards. Suicune panicked and sent another Hydro Pump which Sneasel simply split in the middle with a Slash attack before leaping to her right flank and tagging her "Slash" he said before leaping over to her left flank tagging her again "Slash" and finally leaped onto her neck and said "Slash." Leaping forward he did a somersault before running forwards and using his scythe to halt his progress and do an about turn.
Suicune just looked bewildered at the last ten seconds "Wha..."
"You lost" Sneasel stated "in three moves. Your footwork is atrocious, your self-preservation is non-existent, and your awareness is appalling. What did you do wrong?"
"What did she do wrong?" the adult asked Ash quietly as she watched the two combatants talk through the very short battle.
"She thought power would win through strategy" Salamence said before Ash could "I lose training battles a lot to Sneasel because he outthinks me. He has a habit of chatting through the spars too, it's very annoying but it was what Sneasel does, it's his strategy and he is very successful at getting his opponent to lose control and let their rage take over. I've learned a lot over the past few years since I returned to Ash but amazingly it's not Ash that has taught me the most about battling, it's Pikachu and Sneasel. Speedy Pokémon will always be the bane of powerful Pokémon, especially ones with their own power."
Suicune nodded but remained silent as she watched Sneasel set himself again and face her daughter. For the next twenty minutes the same result happened time after time with Sneasel easily winning, despite not actually using a move and her daughter getting increasingly angrier.
"You're not telling me what I'm doing wrong!" she shouted after her fifth 'loss' glaring at her opponent who looked on unfazed.
"I would have thought by now you would have at least one answer" Sneasel said shaking his head sounding disappointed "you're a Pokémon. How do you not have a counter to me using a single move?"
"She's been trained to run away" the adult said walking forwards "she's never been in a battle before."
"And it shows" Sneasel said letting out a disappointed sigh "but what she's not showing is any potential to think on her feet and react. Even Chikorita put up more of a fight than your daughter."
"She just needs more training" Suicune said nuzzling her daughter whose head was hung low.
"She needs a train-er" Sneasel said "training with you was good to start with but I can hazard a guess that you've never gone all out against her."
"I haven't" Suicune said "she's my daughter, I didn't want to harm her."
"She's not ready to be roaming on her own" Ash said walking forwards holding his Pokédex out and scanning her. Water Gun, Growl, Leer, Mist, Mirror Coat, Roar, Ice Beam, Hydro Pump and Extremespeed"
"That's exactly the same moveset as when we first met" Ash said looking perplexed "have you really not taught her any other moves? Other than Mirror Coat and Hydro Pump that is."
"They're the only moves I know myself" Suicune said to the astonishment of everyone.
"Are you joking?" Ash asked incredulously "but you can learn so many more moves!"
"I've never felt the need to" Suicune said simply "I'm strong enough to be able to hold Pokémon and their trainers at bay and escape. My role in the world isn't to battle Ash and despite my inherent power I am the weakest of the three beasts."
"You're not kidding" Ash muttered putting his Pokédex away before looking at Sneasel and nodding over to the side. Sneasel followed and listened to Ash, nodding or shaking his head at certain points before holding out his claw which Ash carefully shook and they both walked back to the others who had remained silent.
"Sneasel and I have come to an agreement" Ash said to the adult Suicune "we have a few months until we're due to take part in the Johto League which starts in October. I would like to offer Sneasels services to train your daughter during that time."
"How will he travel with us?" Suicune asked.
"She won't, she'll travel with me" Ash said surprising her "We will not use her in any gym battles but she will train alongside my Pokémon. When we reach the league she will be free to roam again. At the minute she needs a lot of work but I'm more than certain she will benefit greatly with our help."
"I don't know" Suicune said slowly "we don't do well in captivity."
"She won't be in captivity" Ash said "and it's only a few months after which she'll be free for the rest of her life. I'll tell you what, I'm challenging the gym leader here in the next few days before heading to the Whirl Islands to watch the Whirl Cup which is on in a weeks' time. Why don't you take that week to make a decision. I'll be honest I don't really care either way but with my help your daughter stands a much better chance of surviving out there with a bit of training. I will warn you though that we don't half-arse training, she will be exhausted on a daily basis and will sometimes be injured but she will come out of it a much stronger Pokémon both mentally and physically."
"We will think it over" Suicune said after a few minutes of thinking "we shall see you at the Islands, there is a cave in the middle one where we will wait for you. I'm sure with your skills you can locate us." Nudging her daughter they trotted away before picking up speed and raced away across the ocean kicking up spray as they left.
"What do you think will happen?" Sneasel asked after they disappeared.
"I'm not sure" Ash replied as he returned Salamence, picked up his bag and starting to walk Southwards in the direction of Cianwood City. "Legendary Pokémon are notoriously problematic when in captivity. Usually, they're created for a singular reason, normally to govern a region or an area so their minds drift a lot and always tend to focus on that. If captured they become unfocused and lose a lot of their purpose. I've read reports of certain Legendaries leaving and abandoning their trainers to go back to what they should be doing. There are always exceptions of course, some trainers gain their loyalty through various means but when the trainer dies, they always return to do what they should be doing. They're fickle beasts at best. I think the three months of training will be very beneficial, but I guarantee her mother will not be very far from us and the others may feel the need to 'check in' every now and then until she's no longer with us."
"Is it worth it then?" Sneasel asked "three months isn't a very long time to do anything substantial."
"It's more than enough time to make sure she knows the basics and to learn more moves" Pikachu said "there's enough of us to make sure she learns how to defend herself at least."
"Which is all we're going to do" Ash said as the city appeared on the horizon "I have no desire to train a Pokémon that doesn't want to learn. If she does then good, if not then I won't lose any sleep. You can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped or doesn't put the effort in. She's been warned."
"Are you ok?" Sneasel asked stopping causing Ash to halt too "something's off about you."
"I'm not ok" Ash said "but I will be. I just have a few things to think about that's on my mind that's all. My dad told me a few things I need to process and I'm struggling to do so but I'll be fine."
"We're all chatting about this tonight" Sneasel said pointing at him "Nope, no arguments. You make us sit and chat about our problems as a family, you don't get out of doing the same."
"Fine" Ash said sighing knowing Sneasel was right.
Walking into the City Ash was amazed at the lack of buildings, there was the Pokémon Centre, which was just a basic one, a Pokémon Mart, three buildings and what Ash thought to be the gym as it was the largest building here. There was also a signpost that pointed in the direction of what looked like a wharf with a few boats moored in a little harbour.
"How is this a city?" Ash asked aloud "there's nothing here."
"How would I know?" Pikachu replied "I just got here too."
"It was rhetorical" Ash said shaking his head and walking into the center and heading to Nurse Joy.
"Hello" she said sweetly "can I help you?"
"Yeah" Ash said handing over Salamances Pokéball and his Pokédex "we've flown here from Olivine and she needs to be healed, also can I get the Professors Room please."
"Oh, we don't have one" she replied handing Salamence to a Chansey who pottered off into the back "we only have one room which is in use at the minute."
"Ah right" Ash said "that's fine, I can set up camp on the beach to the North for the night. I'm only here to challenge the Gym Leader anyway."
"Chuck is on holiday at the minute" Joy said making Ash pause "I say on holiday, what I mean is he has gone to his shack for a few days to 'train' because his wife called him chubby a few days ago."
"Seriously?" Ash asked perplexed "is he that sensitive?"
"Evidently so" Joy replied shaking her head "I'm not wrong though, he's been doing nothing but eat crap food for the last few weeks and he started snoring again. I'm not putting up with it, I work all day here, so I deserve my rest too, you know. Anyway, if you're after my husband he's up North. His shack is on a little cliff. You'll probably find him sulking."
Before Ash could reply Joys phone rang, and she answered it. Ash just shook his head and took a seat as he waited for Salamence. As he was typing an email to Giovanni he heard the seat opposite move and looked up.
"Oh, hello" Ash said "what a strange coincidence."
"What is?" Vincenzo asked confused.
"I'm just writing an email to your grandfather about how the events are going so far at Indigo Plateau. Apparently my suggestions have been very successful so far." Ash said.
"Suggestions?" Vincenzo asked.
"Yeah" Ash said "It was my idea to put on roadshows for everyone who has a Pokémon in their life. Whether that be a trainer, those that have them as pets, as workers etc. Anyone that interacts with them daily. Giovanni was just letting me know that the nutritionist I recommended was well received."
"I have your book" Vincenzo said after a minute of thinking "the book you did with Brock Slate that is. Ever since you gave Croconaw that Pokéblock he's done nothing but sulk and turn his nose up at the food he used to eat until I bought a Pokéblock maker, so thank you for that."
Laughing Ash just shook his head "trust me your Pokémon will appreciate you more than you think, they'll live longer, and it costs you less in the long run than having to buy crap standard food from the marts."
"You don't need to sell me on it" Vincenzo said deadpanned "none of my Pokémon will eat anything other than the Pokéblock food so I don't really have a choice."
"How are you doing?" Ash asked as he sent another email, this time to Blue letting him know he wouldn't be available to go over their lessons for a week due to him travelling.
"I'm ok" Vincenzo said shortly making Ash look up and sigh.
"Nothing you tell me will be used against you Vincenzo" Ash said "I have no desire to pry into your life, I'm simply asking how you are. I meant every word I said in Ilex Forest, you have personally done nothing wrong to me or my family and I will not use you in any way to get back at your father. I'm not like that."
"My father wouldn't tell me what happened between you and him" Vincenzo said frowning "my mother said she doesn't know either as she was only with my father briefly before I was born. Apparently, he had a roaming eye, whatever that means."
"It means he didn't want to be with just your mother" Ash said as he closed his laptop and put it away "something which your mother wasn't happy with. Most women wouldn't be to be honest."
"Oh right" Vincenzo replied "that makes sense. I didn't meet him until I was eight, he just appeared one day in New Bark Town and told me he was my father and why he wasn't there for me growing up. I don't know, a lot of things don't add up, but my mother backed him up and seemed fairly happy to see him."
"I only met my dad last year too" Ash said nodding "It's difficult isn't it, when all you've ever known is living with your mother to suddenly have a father in the picture."
"It is" Vincenzo said nodding "why didn't you meet yours?"
"What do you know of our family Vincenzo?" Ash asked after a few moments.
"Not much really. Why?" Vincenzo replied.
"You are my second cousin, grandson to my Uncle Giovanni and Alexis Hanzo" Ash said pulling out a small notebook and handing it over after opening it a certain page "My mother Delia is your Auntie and my father Red is your Uncle. When I was a few weeks old my father was chasing a lead of a man who was the boss of Team Rocket, a group of people that steal Pokémon for their own nefarious ends, sometimes performing experiments on them, intimidate people that aren't strong enough to stand up for themselves or generally be pricks to the population. My father finally cornered the boss in Giovannis Gym and confronted him. After a battle which my dad won, he was about to arrest him when a Pokémon appeared and blasted the walls, knocking my father out in the process. The Pokémon was working for the boss of Team Rocket. He ordered this new Pokémon to make my father disappear and when a rescue team arrived all that was left of him was his hat. The Pokémon was Mewtwo and the man that ordered my father's death was your father."
Gasping Vincenzo looked up in shock as he gently placed the book down on the table.
"I'm not asking you to believe me Vincenzo" Ash carried on gently "but what I'm telling you is the truth. A few years ago, I confronted Mewtwo and beat him. In doing so, I freed him from the grip of Team Rocket, and he felt he owed me. It was Mewtwo that rescued my father, thereby redeeming himself. The first time I met your father was just after meeting you. His followers were in Slowpoke Well cutting off Slowpoke tails to sell on the black market when I found him berating his team for being caught. He was there to meet me as he had some things to say. We came to an agreement that day Vincenzo, he would never order any of his followers to target my family and I wouldn't order your arrest for stealing your Totodile and the Pokédex, nor would I let anyone track you and try to use you in our future conflicts. You have done nothing wrong so far, other than stealing a Pokémon and I have no desire to turn you in."
"How did you know I stole Totodile?" Vincenzo asked quietly.
"I have Professor Status and have had it for years" Ash said "I have the ability to track any Pokédex I want to. The Pokédex you stole could only have had one of two numbers as Professors are given them in number order and you stole the one at the end of the table meaning it was either the number before or after the number order. When I asked to see your Pokédex in Sprout Tower I had no idea it was you, you just looked very familiar and I didn't know why. It was a shock to find the stolen Pokédex along with evidently the stolen Pokémon. I informed Professor Oak because I had to, I spoke to your grandfather that evening too to see if he knew about you, he didn't by the way but it was a shock to find out Silver is your father."
"So, what happens now?" Vincenzo asked after taking it all in looking slightly fearful.
"Nothing" Ash said simply "your Pokédex and Pokémon are registered through a different region and it's perfectly legal. I have no actual proof that particular Pokédex of yours is the one that was stolen because there have been times that the Pokédexes given to the regional Professors haven't all been a run of numbers so there's no legal way to tie you with the theft, the same with the Pokémon you stole too. You saying you stole it won't hold up in court, and given I've known for months now I would be in as much trouble as you would be. Just go about your journey as you have been and as long as you don't steal anymore Pokémon we won't have any issues."
"Oh ok" Vincenzo said sighing in relief.
"Look, you seem to be a good kid" Ash said "and I will totally understand if you choose to not believe what I said about Silver. That's your choice. As long as you don't follow in his footsteps we'll get along swimmingly."
"I haven't stolen anything since Totodile" he said "something strange happened today though. I visited a man in this city who apparently had rare Pokémon and he gave me one. What do I do with it?"
"He gave up his Pokémon to you?" Ash asked surprised leaning back "and you don't know why?"
"I genuinely don't know why" he said unclipping the ball from his belt and placing it on the table.
Ash picked it up and wandered over to Joy.
"Hello, is there a collector that lives on this island?" Ash asked.
"Yes" Joy said "he lives in the house just behind the gym, why?"
"Apparently he gave a Pokémon to Vincenzo for no apparent reason" Ash replied placing it onto the counter.
Joy picked it up and scanned it with her computer "well the Sneasel is not registered to Trevor, in fact it doesn't have a trainer so legally Vincenzo can transfer it to a Pokéball of his own and legally claim it."
Vincenzo wandered over after hearing his name mentioned a few times "I can have it?"
"Yes" Joy said handing it to him "apparently Trevor doesn't have a trainer ID so any Pokémon he owns aren't legally his. I always thought he did."
"Is there any legal reason we can use to detain him?" Ash asked, "I've had dealings with collectors before and it's never good for the Pokémon."
"Not in Johto" Joy said "I know it's illegal in Kanto to own a Pokémon that isn't a pet or a battler but here in Johto there isn't any such law."
"Damn" Ash said frowning "I'll have to speak to Lance about that."
"It's not him that makes the laws" Joy said "it's the board of directors for Johto. He's tried for years to change their opinion but to no avail."
Shaking his head he looked down at Vincenzo who was holding the Pokéball "take care of it. I can't imagine it's had a good life so far. Hopefully I'm wrong."
Ash went and sat back down and opened his laptop again sending Lance a quick email. Looking up he saw Vincenzo transfer the Sneasel into a new Pokéball and hand it over to Joy who scanned it and handed it back.
"Where are you going next?" Ash asked Vincenzo.
"Well, I have this city's badge" he replied "I heard there was a tournament in the Whirl Islands next week that's exclusively for water type Pokémon so I might enter that to see how Croconaw shapes up."
"Yeah, there is" Ash said "I'll be there myself; I won't be taking part though. I don't have a new Pokémon to test out and sending out Gyarados would be pretty unfair to those there. I plan on setting out in a few days, explore the Islands first though before watching the tournament."
"It should be good" Vincenzo said "apparently the new Hoenn league Champion will be there as he's a water type specialist.
"You're kidding right?" Ash asked before wiping his face with his hand "do me a favour, ignore any advice he gives you. He was handed that position because Steven quit the role."
"He beat their Elite Four though" Vincenzo said looking confused "he must be pretty good right?"
"I'll let you form your own opinion" Ash said shaking his head "I think he's a moron who doesn't deserve the position. Anyway, I need to head north to get my badge, apparently the gym leader is sulking because his wife called him chubby."
Clapping Vincenzo on the shoulder he picked up Salamence's Pokéball and left the center and walked north. The sun was just setting on the horizon when he started to set up camp at the area he landed earlier on. Releasing everyone, they went about their business of setting up camp, getting a lot of firewood from the local forest. As they were eating Sneasel brought up their earlier conversation. The others listened intrigued as Ash laid out what had happened over the last few days, including his concern over Jasmine and her attraction to him. He finished off with telling them about his interaction with Vincenzo and that they were back to where they landed to find the gym leader.
"Do you want to be with Jasmine?" Quilava asked.
"No!" Ash replied quickly "I know who I'm supposed to be with. I have no such feelings for Jasmine, I'm just worried about her."
"Then stop!" Quilava said shocking them all. Quilava was easily the most placid of Ash's Pokémon and to hear her be so vocal was very strange "you are putting your future at risk by worrying about something you have no control over, and you risk losing her."
"Do I tell her?" Ash asked.
"Absolutely not" she replied "you'll get her thinking about something that she doesn't need to for no reason. Just leave it be, you're not going to see her again other than in your official capacity where there'll be witnesses."
"To be clear, Jasmine didn't actually do anything?" Sneasel asked.
"No" Ash said shaking his head "we just talked about life in general and relationships. That's it."
"Then I think you're worrying for nothing" Sneasel said nodding firmly "the more pressing matter is who you're using tomorrow for the gym battle."
"Machamp, Heracross, Quilava and probably Lapras" Ash said "they need the experience of high stakes battling and it can only be beneficial for when we get to the league as that is quickly arriving."
"Where's Chikorita?" Quilava asked looking around noticing she wasn't there.
"She's at home reflecting on her behaviour" Ash said "she nearly got me arrested because the Olivine Police thought I was abusing her when I was chasing her through the port."
"Why would she run off?" Quilava asked "that seems a bit of an extreme reaction, doesn't it?"
"Pikachu warned me about the way she was behaving whenever Nia was brought up so I tried to talk to her about it. She doesn't seem to realise how wrong it is for a human to be with a Pokémon, sprayed me with Stun Spore and ran off" Ash said shaking his head at the memory "so I sent her home to calm down and think about her actions. I'm not putting up with that kind of behaviour from anyone and I'm not risking another episode like that."
"Oh wow" she replied "I knew she was a bit clingy but I didn't know she was that infatuated."
"I didn't either" Ash said sighing "I've checked in with Zoe but apparently she's tried to run off twice so she's now being supervised by the Scythers in their territory. I've never traded a Pokémon nor wanted to get rid of one of you guys since I became a trainer, but I fear she's going to be the first one."
"It's that serious?" Machamp asked in his deep cadence.
"Yeah" Ash said nodding "to protect my home and my relationship with Nia I will do what I must. She's annoying the residents and stopping them doing their jobs. She's already had six different supervisors in the space of four days because they've had enough of her. I might just take her back to where we found her when we leave for Mt Silver if it carries on rather than trade her away."
"That's very out of character for you" Machamp said "It's very concerning."
"I've always said I will not stand in any of my Pokémon's way should they wish to leave" Ash replied "Chikorita keeps running away so it's evident she doesn't want to stay; I won't force her to stay, and I also won't force any of the residents at home to have to give up their daily life to keep her there. At the end of the day, it's her choice. Either she grows up and accepts the situation or she gets taken back to where we found her."
"You did say that you caught her so she could live freely in safety" Pikachu said sounding concerned "isn't taking her back going against that promise?"
"She keeps trying to leave" Ash said "if she wanted to stay, I'd have no problem with that, but she keeps running away Pi. She could be seriously injured on the road to Viridian City, think of what we went through. While the Spearow don't attack anyone anymore there is still enough of them that we have to keep an eye on that will still hunt her to eat her."
"I don't know what we can do then" Pikachu said shaking his head "I think taking her back is probably the safest for her. At least she knows the place."
"Exactly" Ash said taking out his Pokégear and sending a message to Zoe about his decision.
"Zoe, tell the Scyther they're no longer on babysitting duty. Tell Chikorita to behave, she's been nothing but trouble to those that are doing nothing but try to help her, so I've decided to return her to where we found her. At least there she can look after herself in a place she knows well. I'll take her back when we travel to Mt Silver to train, she has two months to learn what she can from the Pokémon on a ranch, I suggest she uses her time well."
"That's that then" Ash said telling everyone his decision. No one had much else to say after that they'd never actually had a family member leave or be sent away before so it was a stark reminder that Ash could be ruthless when needed to protect what he had.
The next day Ash was sparring with Machamp near the shore when he moved out of the way and Machamps glowing fist hit a rock, smashing it to pieces sending debris everywhere and to the shock of them all a squeal of "wheeee" as a particularly large rock went hurtling into the trees hitting it hard.
"What was that?" Ash asked stopping the fight as he looked over to the trees. Waking over with Machamp he found a Pokémon on its back floundering trying to use its neck to right itself. Kneeling down he heaved the rock over onto its belly before having to dive out of the way as it dove at Ash. Ash dove out of the way again as it tried to do the same before it was plucked out of the air by Machamp who held it out in front of him as its legs flailed.
"You punched me in the face!" Shuckle shouted "what did I ever do to you? Let me go! I'll bite your bloody legs off!"
"Hey!" Ash shouted standing up "It was an accident! We didn't know you were hiding in that rock."
"You didn't even think to look!" Shuckle shouted back still wriggling "there I was minding my own business when I get a clock on the head and was sent flying into the trees! I could be bleeding! I could have brain damage!"
"Oh, for Arceus' sake" Ash said running a hand down his face "she's another bloody Sneasel!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked halting her wriggling.
"I have a Sneasel" Ash said nodding over to said Pokémon who had trotted over "when I first met him he was asleep in my tent. I startled him and he slashed up my tent, Pikachu whacked him on the head to stop him flailing and slashing us open and all he complained about for the next half an hour was that he 'could be bleeding and have brain damage' too."
"And I could have" he said nodding agreeing "you've still not apologised for that."
"And I'm not going to" Ash said "you destroyed my tent, a very expensive tent at that all because you wanted a kip. You could have asked us but instead of doing so you slashed up my tent. What Pikachu did was a service because I was tempted to let Charizard burn you."
"You would burn a Pokémon for having a sleep?" Shuckle asked outraged.
"No" Sneasel said shaking his head "he wouldn't. I've been around him long enough to know he'd have just sent me on my way. I've actually done pretty well since then; Ash has looked out for me, and I keep him sane."
"Keep me sane?" Ash asked bewildered "you do nothing but pull pranks and make me wary about getting through the day worrying about finding ice in my underpants."
"That's funny" Shuckle said chuckling.
"Yes" Ash replied deadpanned "It's hilarious. Anyway, now that you've calmed down, I apologise for not knowing you were there. Are we good?"
"I suppose so" she said as Machamp set her down on the beach and she toddled off to the beach with Sneasel chatting to her.
"Anyway, shall we finish off our spar?" Ash asked as he walked back to the beach and checked to make sure there were no more rocks lying around. Machamp followed him and set himself before rushing at Ash who parried every punch in quick succession before responding.
Chuck was running along the beach with his Machoke getting warmed up before they went through their daily routine when they came across a curious sight. A man, around 6 foot 4 was fighting hand to hand with a Machamp. That wasn't an uncommon thing as most of his acolytes did the same with their fighting Pokémon but the strangest thing was the man was managing to go toe-to-toe with the Machamp and seemed to be winning. He often did this kind of training with Machoke so it was rather nice to see someone else do the same.
"Halt!" Ash said as Machamp took a step back "your foot was about to go down a hole. A broken foot would be a hindrance no?"
Machamp looked behind him and noticed Ash was correct, in the course of their fight they had moved to a spot where there were little dens, likely used by Krabbys as their homes dotted around. Nodding he moved ten feet to the side and set himself again before noticing they had an audience. Straightening up he looked over at Chuck and his Machoke with a puzzled look.
"We have five minutes left Machamp" Ash said gaining his focus "we can see who they are when we've finished our training." Nodding Machamp reset himself and waited as this time Ash started the fight.
Five minutes later they halted and bowed to each other before walking to their camp site. Ash rooted around in his bag before pulling out two bottles, one water and the other a strange yellowy/grey drink which he handed over to Machamp.
"What's that?" The man asked looking at the drink sitting down uninvited.
"Machamp has a disorder which makes him dehydrated very easily" Ash said sitting down next to his Pokémon and taking a drink of his water "but we've found that water just doesn't work for him the way it should. When I was younger, I did a few experiments and researched what I could for Professor Oak and found it seemed to be exclusive to the Machop line and we've no idea why either but we did some experiments with the food they ate and found if you blended fruit with water to create a sort of juice then it counters their metabolism issues, or at least helps them rehydrate much better. When I got Machamp, when he was a Machoke I knew that he'd have these issues, so I created a juice for him that he has once a day after we spar, it's when he's the most dehydrated so it helps much better."
"Can I have a taste?" the Machoke asked sitting beside his trainer.
"No" Ash said "for a few reasons. He needs it all. I specifically design this one with his nature, body weight, height and muscle mass in mind so it's made especially for him. However, I can knock one up for you if you let me scan you? It only takes about ten minutes."
"Please" the man said nodding enthusiastically "for the last twenty years we've struggled to get Machokes fitness levels to be sustainable. It's got to the point where we can only train four times a week with a few days of rest in between meaning it's much harder to do my job as Gym Leader when I can't use my main Pokémon whenever I need him."
"Oh, you're Chuck?" Ash asked as he brought out his blender "I'm Ash, I was actually here to find you for a battle" he finished holding his hand out which Chuck shook.
"I did wonder why you were so far from the City, lad" Chuck said watching what Ash was doing.
"Yeah, your wife told me you were out here sulking" Ash said laughing as he brought out his berry box.
"She's one of a kind is my Laura" Chuck said shaking his head laughing "No, I'm not sulking. She just knows how to motivate me. So, what are you using?"
"I'm using a block maker first" Ash said "what I do is make Machamps food, he has these sour Pokéblocks because he has an Impish Nature so what I do is crumble these into some pure water. The easiest way to get hold of that is to have a water type fill bottles up using Water Gun. There is no purer water in the world than a water Pokémons inner pool. Do you have one?"
"Yes" Chuck said nodding "I have a Poliwrath. Will he do?"
"Very much so" Ash said nodding before turning to Shuckle who was watching intrigued at a juice being made with berries. She loved berries and making juice was very much her kind of thing "Now, believe it or not I've always wanted to find one of your species to test out how much I can improve this process using your unique abilities. I've bought Berry Juice before and it's been very good as a comparison but it's very expensive so the normal trainer would never be able to afford it. Not only that but it's never pure Berry Juice that's sold and I refuse to have my Pokémon ingest any additives that I haven't put in them myself. They're in peak condition because of how tightly I control their diet." Taking out Dexter he scanned the Machoke.
"Machoke, Pokédex Number 67, The Superpower Pokémon and the evolved form of Machop. The belt around its waist holds back its energy. Without it, this Pokémon would be unstoppable. This Pokémon has a Modest Nature."
"Wow" Ash said shaking his head in disbelief as he pulled out specific berries "I have never come across a Plus Special Attack and Minus Attack fighting type before. By the way your Machoke likes Dry food and hates Spicy."
"That explains so much" Chuck said looking at his partner "We've only recently heard about natures and what they are. But that explains why it has been so hard to be consistent over the years when it comes to your attacking power. Your very nature has been working against you."
"Luckily that can be overcome by training" Ash said "the Machop line are notoriously slow as a fighting type, but we've worked on that from the start to get past that and now he's fairly quick. Bruno's was the same, I suspect yours is too given you two seem to run together. The same can be said with attacking, given Machokes primary weapon are its fists. Anyway, once you've made the Pokéblock crumble two of them into the water and shake it up. As you can see the Pokéblocks make it a thick drink which is what you want. If the drink is thin, then you've messed up the process somewhere and you need to start again. You also must let the drink settle after making it for a few minutes as the dregs being at the bottom of the bottle is very important as throughout the time Machoke is drinking its still infusing upwards. And when he's done drinking, they're still liquidy enough for them to be food. Here, try it now" Ash said handing it over to Machoke who drained the bottle and let out a satisfied sigh at the end, looking overjoyed at the bottle. Putting his Pokéblock maker away he turned to Chuck and said "get yourself a Pokéblock maker and buy in a shit load of Sitrus, Oran or Lum Berries. My ranch grows them if you want to get them in bulk, I'll give you a discount, but most marts sell them too, only they won't be as fresh."
"I'll take them from your home" he said standing up "at least that way I know they're fresh. I cannot express how much you've helped us out today, Ash. Honestly, for twenty years we've struggled with his condition and for that to finally be over is unbelievable."
"I'm just glad I had the ability to think and the money to put my thoughts into practice" Ash said standing up too and shaking his hand. "Now, some information about it. It will likely take two weeks for Machoke to become used to a new routine as the drink will get rid of most of the impurities that are currently in his body. I'm not saying you've harmed him, not at all but given his genetics it is what it is. You'll find Machoke that you will get horrible stomach cramps for the first week of taking this drink, that's perfectly normal but once your body gets used to it, you'll find your body will expel all the impurities as best it can but once you're used to it, you'll find you can train for hours on end without needing to take days off. Another thing is after you've had your drink you cannot battle for an hour afterwards, preferably two. The drink needs you resting to work properly. I'd suggest you take a nap, it's what Machamp usually does so that he doesn't try and carry on training. I'll give you my supply of Dry Pokéblocks while you wait for the berries to arrive, don't worry, I have plenty of berries to make more."
"Honestly, I don't know how to thank you, but hopefully this will do" Chuck said holding out his hand.
"But I haven't battled you" Ash said not taking the badge that was resting on Chucks big palm.
"Ash, you don't have to battle to win a badge. The Gym leader can give them out if they feel their opponent deserves them. I feel you deserve it, so take it." Chuck said. "As you've just said Machoke can't battle for another two hours and he's likely not going to be on my team until he's used to the new diet. I don't want to battle without him. Take the badge."
Looking around Ash struggled internally with not battling to win a badge. Eventually he came to a decision. "Ok, I'm not overjoyed at this, but I understand your reasons. I can't say I'd want to battle if Pikachu wasn't with me, even if I had no intention of using him in said battle. I have a caveat though."
"Go on" Chuck said intrigued.
"When I get to the league competition, I assume you will have to be there too?" Ash asked earning a nod "I would like to battle you at Silver Town. Only it will be Machoke and you versus Machamp and I. what do you say?"
"I'm already excited at the prospect" Chuck said looking at Machoke who nodded looking happy "We're excited for the battle. You have yourself a deal Ash. So, now you have my badge what's your plans?"
"I'm heading to the Whirl Islands to watch the Whirl Cup only I've just found out the new Hoenn Champion will be there overseeing it" Ash said sourly.
"You don't sound too enthusiastic at meeting a fellow Champion" Chuck said shrewdly.
"The man didn't earn his position" Ash said sourly "he was handed it."
"Isn't that what the man you beat did?" Chuck asked confused.
"No, that's different" Ash replied "Blue beat Lance to earn the title fairly in the first place. He was then beaten a few days later by my father but he still won the Championship legitimately. Not only that but he battled Lance again a year into his second reign, to silence his critics and won. Wallace never beat Steven; he didn't even beat four of his team but is supposedly the best choice. It's sickening."
"Well get used to that kind of thing" Chuck said chuckling "life isn't fair Ash, some people are born blessed, some lucky. I don't know the Hoenn Champion but there must be a reason he was chosen by Steven; you just have to trust he knows what he's doing."
"I don't like it" Ash said belligerently "my Pokémon and I grafted for years, trained ourselves to the point of exhaustion to get to the level we needed to take on Blue and finally achieved greatness. He beat the Elite Four, I can agree he has some skills but to be given the title and not earn it burns me up. To me it makes a mockery of the role of Champion. But enough of that, I have a few things to do around the Whirl Islands before flying to Mahogany Town. I'm very behind schedule because of the nonsense that seems to follow me around."
"There's a ferry that goes to the Centre Island that leaves around 2pm today" Chuck said looking at his watch "If you pack up now, you'll likely be able to make it."
"It's fine" Ash said "I plan on surfing over there on Lapras. Anyway, let me send my PA an email to send you the crate of berries. Hopefully it will get here in the next week. After that we'll just put you on auto-renewal every six weeks, that's how long the berries should last and retain their freshness."
"Thanks Ash" Chuck said shaking his hand "come on Machoke, we need to go back to my hut and pick up our gear. Ash, I'll see you in a few months' time at the finals."
Nodding Ash sat back down as he walked away chatting animatedly with his starter.
"That was very interesting" Shuckle said gaining his attention "do you make a lot of those drinks?"
"Yeah" Ash said nodding "I'm always experimenting to try and improve on my recipes. I then publish them for others to use too but so far I've had a lot of fun just trying things out. My Pokémon not so much when they test them and find I've messed up and somethings too sweet or too sour but overall I've been pretty good at guessing."
"Sneasel says you have a home that's beautiful" Shuckle said "If I can come along, I'll provide you with fresh Berry Juice to use in your drinks, in exchange for safety. I'm not much of a battler though."
"That's fine" Ash said sounding excited at the possibilities "I'll train you so you can look after yourself, but you have a deal." Sneasel looked very happy at that making Ash look slightly concerned as he realised what that meant "Ok, rules. If you plan on joining in with Sneasels pranks then understand this, several of my Pokémon have no sense of humour where pranks are concerned. When we get home I will introduce you to everyone so you know who to go to for certain issues however there are certain Pokémon at my ranch that are there to protect the place and will defend it violently. Do not test their patience because I don't control everything that goes on there. The grounds are looked after by my Venusaur and his apprentice Ivysaur, my lake is looked after by my Blastoise and his apprentice Gyarados, Lapras and Kabutops, the air is protected by a Royal Pidgeot clan and my Salamence and the forest is protected by thousands of wild Pokémon. I'll introduce you to them all at some point but for now you are Sneasels responsibility when you're not with me. Keep the pranks to a minimum and non-harmful and we'll get along swimmingly."
"Ok" Shuckle said after thinking it over "I'm not a great prankster but I like a laugh. You have a deal."
Tapping a Pokéball to her head she was enveloped in a red light and captured without a struggle. Packing up Ash released Lapras and Gyarados before starting the trek across the ocean towards their next challenge. They had a Legendary to meet after all.