Chapter 40: Advice to Goh

"Huh? Project Mew?"

Professor Cerise nodded, and explained further.

"They're a research group dedicated to finding Mew and exploring the origins of Pokemon. They've recently begun accepting applications for people wishing to join the main research team. If you'd like, I'd be happy to put in a recommendation for you."

Goh thought for a minute, before declining.

"Thanks, but I think I'll pass."

"Huh?"

"I mean, it sounds great and all, but I'd rather look for Mew on my own. I'm not much for working in a team. Working with Ash and Lillie is one thing, but with complete strangers? I don't think it's for me."

"Well, It's your choice, but I think you should reconsider it. Anyway, that's not the only thing I wanted to tell you guys about."

Walking over to the monitor, he pressed a few buttons on the keyboard, bringing up several photos onto the screen. They were all rather blurry, but from the looks of it they were pictures of…

"Moltres?!"

"It would appear so, yes. Reports from Knot Island indicate that Moltres has been seen flying above Mount Ember. It could be nothing, but if it's true this could be a once in a lifetime chance to study it. Think you two are up to the task?"

Ash and Goh grinned broadly.

"You know it! Come on Ash, let's go grab some of our Pokemon to take with us."

"Right! Lillie, Chloe, you guys coming along?"

Lillie and Chloe couldn't shake their heads no hard enough.

"Are you kidding? Eevee and I aren't anywhere near ready to fight a Legendary Pokemon! Besides, I have some homework I need to finish."

"Yeah, and neither of my Pokemon would be a good matchup against a Fire or a Flying type. Good luck."

Nodding in understanding, Goh and Ash headed to the park to pick out their Pokemon. Goh quickly decided on Aerodactyl and Raboot, but Ash wasn't quite as quick. He had decided to take Dracovish and Pikachu, but couldn't decide on who else to take.

"Hmm…Feraligatr? Corphish? Maybe…"

"Infernape!"

Just then, his Infernape, who had been hanging from a tree, leapt down in front of him, beating his chest furiously.

"Do you want to come, Infernape?"

"Infernape!"

"Well, come on then!"

Goh, however, wasn't so sure that was a good idea.

"Are you sure about this, Ash? A Fighting type isn't exactly the best choice for fighting a Pokemon like Moltres."

"If it's what Infernape wants, then who am I to get in the way?"

Goh shrugged and got his backpack ready.

"Your funeral."

After a 30 minute ferry ride, the duo arrived at Knot Island. After a while of searching, they found the trail leading up Mount Ember.

"Do you think Moltres is really here?"

"Hey, those rumors about Dragonite islan turned out to be true, so maybe this will be the same?"

"Yeah, good point."

Just then, a Magmar lumbered onto the path. Goh, grinning like a madman, prepared a Pokeball.

"Oh yeah, you're mine!"

"Goh, wait!"

Ash's warning fell on deaf ears, Goh just chucking an empty Pokeball at the Fire type. Magmar just rolled his eyes, casually breaking it with one swipe of his claw before firing a Flamethrower at the two, both of them just barely managing to dodge out of the way in time.

"Go, Infernape! Use-"

But Infernape wasn't listening, just ran up to Magmar and dealt a flurry of Bullet Punches, sending the opposing Fire type fleeing as he ran up the path.

"Infernape, wait!"

"Man, he sure wants to battle Moltress."

Before they could chase after him, though, a wild Graveler rolled in and blocked their path forward. Once more, Goh drew out an empty Pokeball, much to Ash's dismay.

"Oh, here we go again."

Sure enough, Goht tried to catch Graveler again, only to fail just like the first time. Enraged, the Graveler tried to perform a Rollout when he got blasted away by a giant burst of water.

"Phew! That was a close one!"

"Yeah, but who-"

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Ashy boy!"

Ash gasped, recognizing that voice all too well. Sure enough, his old friend and rival Gary Oak approached them, his Blastoise not too far behind with fresh water dripping down from his cannons.

"Gary? Long time no see, man!"

"Heh, good to see you too, Ash!"

After a quick handshake, Gary turned his attention to Goh.

"Who's your new friend? The one who apparently doesn't know how catching Pokemon works."

"It's Goh, and I know how to catch Pokemon!"

"Oh yes, obviously. That's why I had to rescue you just now."

"Hey, I have Pokemon to defend myself with! Besides, what makes you an expert on Pokemon anyway?"

"You just so happen to be talking to Gary Oak, buddy boy! As in Professor Oak's grandson! If I were you, I'd show me some proper respect if I were you!"

"Yeah, well maybe if you were Professor Oak I would!"

Realizing that this was getting way too heated, Ash stepped in between them to break it up.

"Say Gary, what brings you out this way, anyway?"

"The same thing that brought you two here, I'm sure. I heard Moltres has made its nest out here, and I just had to come investigate."

"You haven't seen my Infernape anywhere, have you? He took off running after taking out a Magmar."

Gary smirked.

"No, but I have a hunch where he might be. If my research is correct, Moltres should be on the top of this Volcano."

"Wait a minute, this is a volcano?"

"Relax, it's dormant. It shouldn't erupt. You know, probably."

"Probably?"

Ignoring Goh's concern, the trio continued on up the mountain until they reached the summit. True to Gary's hypothesis, there was Infernape, staring down the majestic bird of fire.

"Woah…I've seen them in books, but seeing them in real life is something else."
"Agreed."

Even Ash nodded his head in silent agreement. Infernape, his soul burning with pride, leapt up and tried to go for a Fire Punch, only to be swatted away with a Wing Attack, sending him slamming into the rock face. With a grunt, Infernape pulled himself to his feet, more determined than ever to fight. Ash ran up alongside to make sure he was okay.

"Infernape, you alright?"

Infernape flashed him a thumbs up, smiling.

"Alright, let's take Moltres on together!"

"Right behind you, Ash! Blastoise, use Hydro Pump!"

"Aerodactyl, use Rock Slide!"

"Flamethrower, Infernape!"

Moltres, angered by the intrusion, gracefully dodged Infernaped Flamethrower and tried to swoop in, only to be blasted back by Blastoises's Hydro Pump, followed up by a landslide of rocks from Aerodactyl. The trio smired, thinking things were going well, but then Moltres began to glow brightly. Gary saw this, and immediately his smug grin cracked.

"Guys, get down! It's using Burn Up!"

Ash and Goh ducked down just as the heatwave swept the area, knocking their Pokemon back.

"Everybody alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. You, Goh?"

"You bet, because now its fire type attacks won't be as powerful!"

Indeed, Moltres's feathers lost a bit of their luster as it lost its Fire typing.

"Alright, let's finish this! Infernape, Fire Spin!"

"Rapid Spin and Water Gun, Blastoise!"

"Aerodactyl, use Iron Head!"

Infernape rapidly spun around, creating a large circle of fire around himself before hurling himself at the legendary Pokemon, causing it to cry out in pain. The pain was increased when Blastoise retreated into his shell and pounced, spinning against its body while shooting out water and constant intervals. Lastly, Aerodactyl flew in and headbutted the legendary, sending it flying into a nearby cliff, almost becoming embedded into it.

"Alright! One more attack ought to do it!"

But Moltres wasn't ready to lose. Building up as much energy as it could, it unleashed a massive Blast Burn, striking every Pokemon and sending them hurtling backwards. Infernape barely managed to stay conscious, but Blastoise and Aerodactyl were out cold. Tired from such a massive attack, Moltres took to the skies to find another place to nest. Infernape, his fighting spirit still going strong, tried to chase after it and continue the fight, only to find itself trapped in a Fire Spin. Realizing that the battle was lost, Infernape slumped over in defeat and watched as Moltres flew off, though before it disappeared from view it dropped a single item. Ash walked over and patted his Infernape on the back.

"You did good, Infernape."

"Infernape!"

Gary walked over to the dropped object, inspecting it closely before smirking and placing it in a container.

"Excellent! Just what I was looking for!"

The object in question was a Moltres feather, which caught Ash and Goh's curiosity. Even more questions were raised when Gary clicked a button on his Rotomphone, summoning a Corviknight. Once the Flying Type had landed, Gary placed the container in a pouch around its neck.

"Get this back to the base quickly, please."

"Corviknight!"

The Galarian Pokemon took off back to where it came, leaving Ash and Goh with even more questions.

"What was that all about?"

"Sorry, that information is classified."

"What? Why you little-"

"Come on, I'll give you a lift back to Vermillion City."

On the boat ride back, Gary and Goh became less at each other's throats. As they traveled the seas, Goh told Gary about his goal to catch Mew, and while Gary made a comment on how hard that would be he didn't look down on him for it. When they reached Vermillion Port, Professor Cerise was there, waiting anxiously to hear their report.

"DId you find Moltres?"

"Yeah, we found it alright. We tried to battle it, but…"

"We got creamed."

"Well, I wouldn't put it so bluntly, but yeah."

Cerise chuckled at Goh's less than savory evaluation.

"Ah well, at least you had fun. Come on, the cafeteria will be serving dinner soon."

"Sounds good! Hey Gary, want to-"

But Gary hadn't been paying attention. Instead, he was standing at the other end of the pier, talking to someone on his phone.

"Did you get it, Danika?"

Curious, Ash and Goh walked over. The girl Gary was talking to was tanned with blue hair, and looked very serious.

"Yes, it just came in. I'm sending the Token to your phone now."

The call ended, replaced with a screen that showed a token with the image of mew embedded into it. This is what got Goh's attention.

"What's that?"

"A Rotomphone, duh."

"I mean the thing on your phone, smarty pants."

"That, my friend, is an official Project Mew token, a symbol of me having completed a trial mission."

"You're with Project Mew?"

Gary nodded cockily.

"Yep! What about you, Goh? Surely for a guy who wants to catch Mew this would be the obvious path."

Goh chuckled nervously.

"Actually, Professor Cerise offered to recommend me, but I turned it down."

"Oh, I get it. You're too scared!"

"What? I am not!"

"Sure, you talk a big game, but when push comes to shove you crack like an egg!"

"I am not! And just to prove it to you, I will join Project Mew!"

Gary chuckled, and patted him on the back.

"Well, best of luck! Take care, Ash, and keep an eye on this one. I can tell he'll need it."

"I can hear you, you know!"

"Take care, Gary. And don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him!"

Gary waved goodbye and headed off towards Pallet Town. Once he was completely out of sight, Ash turned to his coworker.

"You know that was reverse psychology, right?"

"Huh?"

"What he did right there. He wanted you to join Project Mew, that's why he was egging you on."

"Huh? Why would he care?"

"Honestly, I think he sees potential in you. He was never like that when we were rivals, maybe he's trying to be encouraging?"

"Yeah, well he's encouraged me alright! I'm going to join Project mew if it's the last thing I do!"