Chapter 20
July 11th
The next day Ash woke up with a massive headache and decided he didn't want to move. It was only the fact he knew he needed to that he got out of bed and went through his usual routine. Deciding he many as well face the day he packed his small bag again, this time with the Silver and Rainbow Wings and walked out of the centre, saying a good morning to a very sleepy Nurse Joy and headed out. The streets were very deserted at this time of the day, so he didn't feel as bad releasing Salamence. The journey didn't take that long but Ash frowned as he disembarked. It was that early the water hadn't receded from the entrance, yet which was still half submerged.
Hanging around for an hour was something Ash had long since gotten used to over the last few years so he just meditated and pulsed out his aura. He was very annoyed when the cavern rebuffed him and wondered why that was the case as there were very few things in the world that could halt aura in its tracks and if he had more time he'd try and find out. Getting an idea, he pulled out a pick from his bag, one he always packed in case he needed to scale some walls safely and sheared a large chunk of the rock off the wall. Moving a few Pokéblocks into the same tub he created enough of a space to put the bits of rock which strangely crumbled into his hand as soon as it was chipped off the wall. Ash had to scoop it in. What the hell kind of rock was this that lost its structure so easily?
Looking at his clock he saw that it was eight am and punched a number in his phone.
"Hello, Devon Coprs, how can I help you?" a cool voice asked.
"Hello" Ash replied "my name is Ash Ketchum. I was given this number by Joseph Stone when I met him a few weeks ago. Is he available?"
"Hang on, I'll just check" came the reply. A few seconds later she said, "I'll just put you through."
"Hello Ash" Joseph said, "it's very early, so everything ok?"
"Oh, shit I forgot about the time difference" Ash said "it's only just turned 6am in Hoenn hasn't it. I'm really sorry."
"It's fine my boy" Joseph replied good naturedly "so what can I do for you."
"I'm at Whirl Islands and I've found a hidden cavern on the north coast of Red Rock Island" Ash said "strictly speaking I'm not sure I should be telling anyone this as it's been hidden for a reason but I've come across a tunnel that has the strangest consistency I've ever come across. Its firm when it's stuck to the walls of the cavern but as soon as I chipped a bit off it crumbled into powder. As I said I've never seen or heard of such a thing before and I remembered your Steven is a geologist, Sam Oak spoke highly of him when he worked alongside him, and I just wondered how I could get the sample to him. Or even anyone in his team actually."
"That's very intriguing" Joseph said "and the cavern is hidden you say? Could we organise a dig there?"
"Unlikely" Ash said "the entrance is only explorable between 8am and 12pm so any work done would have to be very quick before the island fills up again and it's submerged. Not only that but there's nowhere close to put a base of operations."
"Can you send me the coordinates?" Joseph asked.
"I can but I feel I must warn you that I believe the island to be the lair of something very powerful." Ash said "my Machamp was attacked yesterday when we were exploring the tunnels underneath and he said whatever it was was quick and powerful. Not only that but whatever this rock is made of supresses my aura, I can't scan more than five feet in any direction, and I would hate to have that bit of information get out. The psychics are only kept in line at the minute because they believe nothing in the world can combat aura so to discover this is quite distressing."
"It'll be deemed need to know don't worry" Joseph said as he typed up an email "just send me the coordinates and I'll send my best field agent to investigate. I'll send you my personal details now."
"They'll need a flying type and a water type that's experienced with waterfalls and possibly whirlpools" Ash said.
"Ok" Joseph replied "in the meantime send the sample to me via Carrier Pidgeot. I'll let you know when I receive it. It will likely be a few weeks from now though as it'll have to arrive here by plane."
"I'll stop off in Goldenrod Airport in a few days then and send it straight to you" Ash said "no point in inconveniencing the postal service any more than we need to and I'm heading straight to Mahogany via Ecruteak anyway. Thanks for this, have a good day. I have a limited window on exploring the cave again. I'll send you the details later on about what I found so your teams have at least a good starting point in what to expect."
Saying goodbye Ash packed the tub into his bag and they started the walk down the tunnels again. It didn't take as long to reach the waterfall room this time as they knew the exact direction in where to go. Walking down he kept a wary eye open again as the path was still very treacherous but finally he reached the bottom and was facing the huge forty foot cliff face he became stuck at yesterday. Getting the Silver wing out is started to glow, illuminating the wall which gave off an ethereal glow. Seeing no hole or anything remarkable he placed it against the wall and had to take a step back as the place he touched began to faintly shine and as if someone incredibly huge was doing a dot-to-dot other placed began to light up on the wall until eventually a huge symbol was shown.
"That's Lugia" Ash breathed out as he recognised the edifice "I would know that anywhere. So, is this Lugias lair?"
"Well, nothing else seems to be happening" Pikachu said as the light started to fade and the wall quickly began to go blank again. "What did the quote say again?"
"A feather of pure moonlight will guide the way." Ash said looking around. Touching the feather to the wall it lit up again slowly and Ash began to inspect the wall itself looking for some sort of clue, every few minutes he'd re-light the wall until eventually he found something. "Look, in this nook there's a hole. Urgh, I suspect I will have to stick my hand in."
"Rather you than me" Pikachu said "I'd relight the wall though first in case the hole disappears along with the light.
Doing what Pikachu suggested Ash tentatively reached into the hole and immediately recoiled it. Looking at his hand he saw it was covered in slime and water "Lovely" he said before reaching back in and eventually, with his whole arm in he found something solid and grasped it. Taking a deep breath he pulled and immediately the hole locked around his arm and a searing pain in his hand made him cry out in shock and surprise. Whatever he pulled though had done the trick as the cavern wall split inwards, with huge forty-foot doors making a horrible grinding noise as they opened up showing another cavern. As soon as they were fully open the hole relaxed and Ash was able to pull his arm out, rubbing it to get some feeling back before standing still in shock. His palm was lit up as if it had been set on fire, but the most concerning thing was a symbol that was seared into his palm.
"Has Lugia bloody branded me?" Ash asked incredulously before the pain came back. Quickly he ran to the waterfall and stuck his hand in letting out a yell as the water cooled down his hand rapidly. A few minutes later he pulled his hand away and looked at the symbol. He recognised it immediately as this was the symbol that was on every banner he had seen so far in the Whirl Island. It was Lugias Head, with its wing sweeping to the right underneath with a strange symbol coming out of Lugias mouth. "I'm not happy about this." Ash said before remembering he was on a timer here.
The entire time Ash was doing this Pikachu was standing in the doorway looking into the cavern and hadn't moved an inch. When he felt Ash regain his bearings, he looked at him before looking back into the cavern. Ash cautiously joined him and stopped dead himself as behind the wall was nothing. Absolutely nothing except a small island surrounded by water.
"All this for nothing" Ash murmured as he stepped in warily "there's no one here."
"There was Ash" Pikachu said as he trotted forwards and stopped at the ponds edge "I can feel it, can you not?"
"No" he said, "my aura is suppressed still down here which is bloody maddening."
"It was designed that way for a reason" a voice said from up above Ash. Looking up he saw there was a ledge that was hidden in the shadows on the far side of the pond, one that unless you were looking directly at it you wouldn't see it with what looked like another cave behind it. Standing on it though with her ribbons streaming behind her majestically was the adult Suicune staring down at them "I'm glad you made it Chosen One, for a time I thought you'd given up, even with my help."
"Your help?" Ash asked confused as he tried to think back to when she may have helped him.
"Yes" she said leaping down and walking across the water to stare at him ten feet away "it wasn't the wind that gave you the clue yesterday."
"Oh" he said, "well thank you."
"You're welcome" she said before looking up at the ledge and calling out "the time has come daughter; you have a decision to make."
The younger Suicune made her appearance at the ledge and dropped down as effortlessly as her mother and came to a stop by her.
"I cannot decide" she said quietly.
"Well, you have less than two hours to do so" Ash said, "after that we have to leave so we don't get trapped in here."
"Oh, there's no fear of that" Suicune said "this lair doesn't fill up unless it's owner commands it to."
"Who is that then?" Ash asked before looking at his palm that was still a very angry red. He was very irritated that his aura couldn't help him down here to heal him and he felt very vulnerable as a result. Walking closer Suicune looked at his hand with curiosity before looking back up "It's been a long time since a Champion was officially chosen. In fact, the last one failed to complete his given task over a century ago and was punished for it."
"What happened?" Ash asked warily.
"He became full of his own self-importance" Suicune said staring at Ash "and in return Lady Lugia took what he held above all else from him not far from here. I believe you know of whom I speak."
"No, not really" Ash replied "I've not heard of a Champion from around here. In fact, I didn't even know Lugia and Ho-oH had a Champion until they told me in Ecruteak."
"Truly?" she asked wonderingly "in any case his treasure now lies out of the reach of everyone that is unworthy. Very few are gifted a feather from our Lord and Lady and even fewer still have them."
"The Raspberry" Ash said connecting the clues "Richard was your last Champion?"
"He was my lady's last Champion" Suicune said snorting "I am not one to usually question my Lady's wisdom, but I often felt he was lax in his task. But what is done is done and he was punished accordingly."
"I am still undecided though Mother" the younger Suicune said bringing the conversation back to why Ash was here in the first place "my place is with you."
"Your place is where you are required to do your duty" Suicune said reprovingly "I will not be embarrassed by you daughter. You knew this day would come and the reason for your creation. My task is simply getting too big for just myself to oversee as the Pokémon world grows and I have put my tasks off for far too long now, but I cannot let you leave before you're ready. Unfortunately, over the last week it has become quite apparent that you have not put the effort in purposefully and it makes me ashamed to think I didn't figure it out sooner. So, once again. Decide before I decide for you."
"You have purposefully kept your training subpar?" Pikachu asked sounding strangely annoyed "for what reason?"
"She doesn't have one" the adult said "other than to be looked after by myself. I was far too lax in my rearing of her, and it resulted in her being beaten the first time she was given the chance to battle. Well, no more."
"I do have a reason" she replied looking up defiantly "I am sick of being told what my duty is. I'm sick of being told I was created for one reason and that was to do your bidding. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?"
"Of course, she bloody does" Pikachu shouted startling them "she was created for the same reason! If anyone understands it's her. Do you think any Legendary likes knowing they're here to look after every Pokémon on the planet in one way or another? It is called a duty for a reason."
"What would you know?" she asked angrily.
"We were created for the exact bloody reason!" Ash said coming to his partners defence "I was created to combat a Pokémon that was bent on world domination. And then when I did that and died in the process by the way, I thought I could be free again until I was thrust into another world ending event at Shamouti less than a year later. And then yet another one not two months after entering Johto. I have literally been told by the All Maker herself, in person that I have no choice in the matter as the events will unfold regardless of if I care. All of my Pokémon have been placed in my path so they could aid me. Do you think I like knowing they have no choice either? Do you think they're happy to constantly know that the next event could be their last? There's a reason I've created a home where they can relax and forget about the world for a while. It's because we all know that sooner or later some moron is going to decide to put the world in peril for their own selfish needs and we will have to step up yet again, risking our lives, yet again.
Your own mother and uncles died because of one man with an inferiority complex until Lugia and Ho-oH selfishly resurrected them to do their bidding. Now they may see it differently as dying has a remarkable way of clearing ones thoughts and sorting out ones priorities so they may see it as a second chance at life. But they could have been resurrected and then left free to roam."
"We were given that choice" Suicune said interrupting him "we were given the choice of aiding them or living freely but we found after a moon or two of being free that we had no purpose in life. What was the point in being given a second chance to waste that very chance? It was through communicating with other Legendaries that we came to understand just how important a task we were offered upon our rebirth. It is something I have never regretted Chosen One, I have been blessed with a second chance, one I am grateful for every single day."
"As am I" Ash said sighing, all fight gone from him "It's just very frustrating knowing you have no choice in certain matters."
"I understand all too well" Suicune said nodding before turning back to her daughter who had her head lowered "you will go with the Chosen One, you will do everything you can to prepare yourself for the task you have been given. Do not disappoint me daughter." Gently she nudged her and said "I wish it were otherwise daughter, but I simply cannot let my role lapse any further. It is too important."
Nodding she walked over to Ash in silence and stopped in front of him. Ash simply unclipped her ball and recalled her before placing the ball back on the belt.
"We're due to be in Silver Town less than three moons from now" Ash said "hopefully she takes our training seriously as we won't hold back or even wait for her to catch up. Our goals are far too important to carry deadweight, but I promise she'll get the best training I can give her."
"Hopefully she listens" Suicune said "time has run out for us."
"Speaking of running out" Pikachu said piping up "we need to leave before we get flooded in."
"Very true" Ash said nodding "you never did say why my aura is repressed though. It has been very concerning."
"This place was created as a haven for Lord Lugia when he was targeted by the King of Pokélantis" Suicune said "I have no idea who created it but the king placed a bounty on Lugias head and some rather unscrupulous people tried to collect. They all failed until someone had the idea to conscript aura users. This was before they became what they are now, a long time before they were brought together under the rule of Rota. As you are aware Aura and Psychic energy are polar opposites of each other so Lugia and Ho-oH performed a ritual, one that combined their powers and the result is this chamber and the tunnels connected to it. It is only available to traverse for a limited time every day so while anyone can visit, no one can stay. And as I stated before Lugia controls the waters in these parts, they bend to her very will in this cavern so here she is safe."
"Oh right" Ash said nodding "that's good to know. Where is she anyway?"
"I'm not sure" Suicune said hesitatingly "she has been gone for several weeks now."
"Well, she attacked us a few days ago" Pikachu said "why would she do that?"
"Again, I am unsure" Suicune replied "where did she attack you?"
"At the shipwreck where Richards Silver Wing lies" Ash said.
"Ah well there you go then" Suicune said matter-of-factly "she was deeply hurt by the decisions the last Champion chose. It was her than capsized his ship after all, so it makes sense that she is guarding that area."
"I dunno" Ash said "something seemed off about the whole thing. Anyway, we must get going as the tide starts to rise in half an hour. Suicune watched them go with varying emotions, the primary one being concern for her daughter. Being a parent to a stubborn child was very difficult. She wondered if she should have old him everything concerning the Champions role but decided against it, if he already had a task from the All-Maker then the Champions role would not be much of a hardship. At least she hoped.
The trek back to the top didn't take much time and Ash gratefully breathed in the sea air when he reached the top. The weather though had taken a turn as several storm clouds could be seen on the horizon. Hopefully they would pass the island and continue across the sea itself. Landing at the Pokémon centre Ash stored his things away and pulled out his wallet that had his ticket in.
"I think we'll go and watch some battles today Pi" Ash said "you never know, some of them may be our future opponents at the Johto League."
"That's a good point" Pikachu said "we've not done much training over the last few days. I'm starting to get fidgety."
"Well hopefully seeing some battles will help." Ash said "we're due to leave after the final tomorrow anyway, maybe the day after to go to Silver Isle which is the last stop on these islands. I don't think there's much on it so it may be somewhere we can train for a bit longer than usual, just to get back up to speed as you're right, we haven't trained since Cianwood."
Before heading out he packed his little bag just in case with food and potions and headed down the road to the stadium. Scanning his ticket he ignored the strange looks from the crowd and took his seat three rows from the front and sat down to watch the matches.
"Welcome to the second match of the day" the announcer shouted to much applause from the crowd "this is for a place in the final eight, who will face Misty in the next round. Please welcome our participants Tory and Janine!"
The matches were pretty entertaining to Ash and by 1pm the final eight had been decided. As they were waiting for the next round to begin Ash released Chinchou onto his lap and began to feed her from her bottle to many awws from the crowd around him. by this point the crowd around him had seemingly forgotten his interaction with Wallace, several of them asking him for tips on training or making food. Ash was amazed that his books and several videos he had made on the subjects had been so well received and happily chatted to them.
"How old is she?" the person in front of him asked as she swivelled around in hr chair to watch him feed her.
"I'm not sure to be honest" Ash said as he gently tipped her head back and fed her "my Lapras kind of adopted her a few days ago and when we met she said she was only a few days old so I think she's a week old now. She was left behind during the Chinchou Parade and wouldn't have survived being on her own. Thankfully though I have a great mum and a great relationship with the Nurse Joys of Kanto and Johto who gave me incredibly helpful information."
"Like what?" she asked curiously "I have my own Chinchou and it's not hard to raise them."
"Did you know they're allergic to Pecha berries?" Ash asked looking up at her getting wide eyes in response "I take it your Chinchou has become sick anytime you've tried to cure poison from its system?"
"That makes so much sense on why he seemed to get worse rather than better" she said wonderingly "is that common knowledge?"
"No" Ash said "not unless you look into how to raise them. most trainers don't do an in-depth analysis on what to feed their Pokémon as the standard food you get from Marts already cater for their allergies. When you get home tonight have a look on the back of the bag of food, you'll see what's not in them, but I would strongly recommend looking up on Professor Birchs website about what Pokémon are allergic to, what they love to eat etc. Don't feel bad, unless you specifically look for it you won't know. I didn't know until two days ago when I was suddenly given a baby to look after."
"I feel slightly better now" she said sighing in relief, after all if the Kanto Champion didn't know then how was she supposed to? "Thank you by the way."
"For what?" he asked putting the bottle away and gently running a finger down Chichous tiny head.
"My husband, Frank was the man you talked to when getting of the ferry" she said nodding to a man coming back down the aisle with some drinks "he told me that they would have likely been stuck there for hours had you not moved them out of the way. I'm Laura."
"I thought I vaguely recognised him" Ash said nodding to the man and introducing himself "I had places to be too, and he shouldn't have organised a meet and greet where people couldn't leave although I suspect that was the plan. He certainly seems to like keeping a captive audience."
"It's amazing how different you two are" a man said from behind him causing Ash to twist round "he certainly seems to want to play the part of Champion up as much as he can, but I've barely heard a story where you've mentioned it."
"I only ever do when I'm angry at people who question who I am" Ash said shrugging "I never wanted to be champion for popularity purposes, I just love Pokémon, and battling has always fascinated me. I also learned from a young age that people are going to form their own opinion of me regardless of how popular I become, it's one of the first things I remember my mother teaching me as she had to put up with my dad being the Pokémon Master and all that came with that. People will do and say the craziest things to try and get a rise out of you and when you respond you're the bad guy. No offence to any of you but your opinion of me is irrelevant to me, I simply don't care what you believe me to be as you don't know me. The opinions I value are those that do and those are the ones I listen to.
Wallace seems to want universal popularity and is well on his way to getting it but he's one slip up away from being lambasted in the news and forgotten about, as anyone in the media spotlight is. I do actually fear for Wallace should he slip up and believe me I've heard many rumours about him. People are more than happy to knock you off the pedestal that they raised you on, so I try not to be in the public eye too much. I'm more than happy to chat and answer questions but not to an excessive point as I have a life to lead too and that sometimes gets forgotten about."
"Is it difficult to be famous?" the man asked.
"It has its moments" Ash said sighing as he looked down at Chinchou and looking up as the final eight made their way onto the curved banking and faced the crowd "but then I get to go to places like this, interact with people like you guys who don't seem to be awestruck by me, see me as just a bloke who's above average at battling and just generally have a good time. Those are the things I love most about this job; I get to go all over the world doing this. I said this to Misty the other day when she had a go at me, yet again" he said nodding to the ginger woman who was trying to not to look nervous in front of them "for the most part we live an incredibly blessed life and have a job that we could do even if we had a disability. Most of us, if we're careful with our money are set for life after just a few years of being a trainer. The money I received from winning my first league paid for my mother's second restaurant. The lowest anyone received from being in the Indigo league was $10,000 Pokédollars which is nothing to sneeze at. We're not living pay-check to pay-check, the majority of the world don't get to live like that so it's important to remember that when you're out and about.
So, to answer your question, yes and no. I could happily live without the fame, its why I built a house half an hour away from the nearest town or city in the middle of a forest. But the fame has helped me afford to live like that. I'm very lucky."
"Well, you certainly seem to have your priorities straight" the man behind him said "I wish my son was more like you. He seems to think money grows on trees and has no ambition to do anything with his life."
"Sorry," Ash said shrugging "that's down to you to sort out. I've never been that way; every day is an adventure to me and a chance to do something or see something different. I'm in awe of the Pokémon world, hopefully that never changes." Looking down to Chinchou he asked, "do you want to watch the battles or go back to sleep?"
"I can watch?" she asked in a tiny voice "that please."
"No worries" he said gently placing the tiny creature into his hair "get comfy. If I hear you snoring though you're going back into your ball, ok?"
Chinchou just squirmed slightly as she got comfy with her tiny lights flashing every now and then.
"Looks like they're back on" the lady said turning back around as Wallace strode out in a light pink and green tracksuit.
"Hello" he said smiling as he looked around. The smile faltered though as he spotted Ash with a small Pokémon on his head. He soon found his voice again though "I hope you're all having a wonderful time; I know I certainly am. I want to thank you all for coming out and supporting this event. Before we get to the battles it's time to draw out the numbers for the exhibitions tomorrow. So, without further ado, Mr Mayor, If you will?"
The mayor walked out onto the podium with a young lady who was pulling a small tom-bowler filled with balls. Stopping in front of Wallace the Mayor twirled the machine mixing them all up. When he stopped Wallace pulled out three balls.
"Now, this morning I already drew out two numbers for those that placed their names with the local Nurse Joys. So, without further ado can seat numbers 281, 58,197, 457 and 306 stand up please."
Wallace looked around confused. Why did only four people stand up. "Can you read your numbers out please?"
"58" a man said.
"281" another man said.
"197" a woman said.
"457" another woman said.
"Ok, so we're missing seat number 306. Is 306 here?"
Sighing Ash stood up "yeah I'm here". Wallace just gaped and Ash could swear he heard crickets.
"You're number 306?" he croaked.
"Yeah" he said holding up his ticket "I am."
"Oh" he said smiling winningly, "well it seems we'll be having our battle earlier than scheduled then."
"No, we won't" Ash said smiling seeing right through his act "I contractually can't battle any members of the Elite Four or Champion without giving my sponsors at least a weeks' notice, and it be an official challenge. Otherwise, I am in breach of contract and have to pay a fine."
"So, pay the fine" Wallace said, "and battle me."
"No" Ash said laughing shaking his head incredulously "I'm not wasting a million Pokédollars to fight you when I get to do it next year for free."
"A million Pokédollars?! That's your fine?" a woman from down the aisle shouted in surprise before going bright red as everyone focused on her.
Laughing Ash nodded before looking back at Wallace "so it's not happening."
"Very well" Wallace said sounding irritated "who knew the Kanto Champion was such a coward?"
"See I know what you're trying to do" Ash said shaking his head before Wallace could continue "But it's not going to work. So, I suggest you move on and try it with someone else because I have no problem putting you in your place. You just have an extra year to think about how badly I'm going to annihilate you and your team." Tapping the woman in front on the shoulder she turned around and looked at him questioningly "you said you had a Pokémon, how about you take my place against him?"
"Really?" Laura asked sounding excited looking back and forth between Wallace and Ash "you're letting me take your place?"
"Yeah" Ash said "it's only an exhibition after all and he did say he'd take it easy on you. You never know he might actually be able to teach you something as he is a water type specialist. While I have four very strong water types, I'm more of an all-rounder."
"Thank you" Laura said gushing and hugging her husband.
"Well, there we have it folks" the Mayor said taking back over the conversation "we have our five special guests for the break between the Semi finals and the final. Can you all give the contestants a big round of applause?"
Ash clapped along with the rest of the crowd as the five sat down and waited.
"Very well" Wallace said taking back over "shall we find out just who is going to be battling tomorrow? Let's get the last set of battles underway then!"
Walking off Wallace held his smile in place until he got to his dressing room. As soon as the door shut, he let out a huge yell making the people walking down the corridor look on in concern.
"Are you two free tonight?" Ash asked the couple leaning forwards.
"I dunno" Frank said looking at his wife "are we?"
"We don't have anything planned, no. why?"
"I have a feeling that bellend is going to use his Milotic against you in a bid to get back at me" Ash said causing Laura to frown "how would you like to be my guests and join me for dinner, and I'll give you some pointers on how to counter what he'll throw at you. I can't guarantee you'll win, he's strong enough to be considered a Champion but you may surprise him."
"That sounds nice" Laura said her face going from worry to relief "it'll be nice to get some help. I thought you weren't a type specialist?"
"I'm not" Ash said quietly before wagging his eyebrows "but I have four Water Types at Champion level, so I have some idea on how to raise them. Hopefully by the time I face Wallace I'll have a whole team of them but I'm debating on how petty to be."
Giggling Laura turned back to the battles. A few hours later Wallace came out of the door holding his hands up as the referee signalled the final member of the final four. "Commiserations to our gallant losers. Give them a sporting hand. Congratulations to our final four! Tomorrow will be an excellent day; I can just feel it."
As the procession made their way out of the stadium Ash agreed to meet the couple outside the restaurant he ate at the evening before. "My treat" he said acting stern. The evening was a pretty good one Ash reflected later that evening as he was getting ready for bed. He had a wonderful time just chatting with the couple and some of the locals that joined them. They had ended up creating a huge table to fit everyone and the conversations that Ash took part in or overheard were remarkable. He had to explain several times what the image on his hand was about as it was an unbelievable tale to most people. There wasn't anyone at the table apart from Frank who had even seen a Legendary, never mind be chosen to help them. He of course paid for everyone and before anyone complained he just said "It's paid for now. Thank you for the company."
Laura and Frank were great to talk to as well, it turned out that Frank was a Marine Biologist who had been away for four months in Sinnoh, hence why he was so eager to get bac to his wife they day they landed on the island. Laura was a teacher at the local school but was a part time trainer on the side. While he was listening in to conversations, he had been writing down various tips for Laura who gratefully took them as they parted company. "I'll be there tomorrow too, just in case he tries to be a wanker with you. You'll be fine."
He was out like a light the moment his head touched the pillow.
The next day Ash decided to give Suicune her first training session. He had got up early and they flew to the gorge that her mother inhabited. "We're going to start off with protect" Ash said "it could be the most important move you use given what your role is. Even though you have a trainer you will still likely be hunted so any move you use to escape will be vital. Hence protect. That combined with Roar will likely end most battles before they've even began."
Nodding she listened to Ash as he discussed the mechanics of the move to her, and she trotted off with Kabutops. A few hours later Ash recalled them, thanked them for their hard work and set back off on Salamence to the stadium. He had missed the Semi-finals due to training, but it wasn't something that concerned him as the tournament hadn't given him anything to pause at. Vincenzo he found out had amazingly made the final along with Misty. That should be an interesting match, he mused.
The moment he sat down, after saying hello to the people around him Wallace walked out resplendent in his Champions outfit, the one he wore on the harbour the first day he met him.
"Hello" he said waving to everyone "as we wait for the final it's time for my contribution to the Whirl Cup. Can the five chosen participants please make your way down to the banking opposite me please. Brilliant. Now, we will be going in order of the number you were drawn. Will the first contestant please step forward and release your Pokémon."
Ash had to admit half an hour later that Wallace had some idea on how to train his Pokémon. He hadn't used any other Pokémon apart from his Milotic and had effectively displayed why he had won so many Pokémon Contests, something which was on the rise in Johto. They were due to arrive in Kanto next year apparently, something which Ash would have to keep an eye out for as it would come under his remit to work with the Contest Champion when organising events across Kanto. Giovanni had sprung that on him a few months ago when it was first discussed, it was only a week or so ago that it was finalised and already marquees were being built around the region dedicated to only contests. It was going to be an interesting time, Ash thought.
The first four contestants had walked away with smiles on their face after getting to battle someone with a good reputation. Ash frowned though when Laura walked forward, he was worried Wallace would try and pull something.
"Ah, our final contestant" Wallace said bowing "has the time passed so quickly? It seems our show is almost at an end but what a fitting way of ending. The Kanto Champions chosen against the Champion of Hoenn. Who are you suing my dear?"
"Let's go Chinchou" she said releasing her angler Pokémon.
"A very nice-looking Pokémon" he said "Milotic, if you would?"
His shiny snake slithered into the water and waited or a command.
"Water Gun" Laura shouted and her Pokémon launched a stream of water at his opponent who simply leaned out of the way.
"As you can see" Wallace said as he turned to the crowd "the best way of not taking a hit is simply not to be in the direction of the attack. Sometimes dodging, with the least effort possible to conserve energy is the best way to go. Chinchou wasted energy attacking, Milotic didn't take a hit and so has already a better chance of winning. Most people would use Protect but I've found that to be a waste of energy, one that can be focused elsewhere. Milotic Ice Beam."
Milotic reared her head and launched a lance of ice towards her opponent who mirrored Milotics earlier move, by twisting his body.
"Marvellous" Wallace said happy his words had been heeded "we are now even; however, all is not as it seems."
The crowd looked on in fascination as Milotic launched herself into the air, twisting as she did and using Ice Beam continuously freezing the water effectively trapping Chinchou in ice.
"As you can see, by using one move I have stopped Chinchou from being able to dodge, move or more importantly retreat. Most opponents would now be in a panic wondering what to do, all the while my Pokémon are free to continue their attacks at their leisure, like so. Hydro Pump."
"THUNDER" Laura shouted much to Wallaces surprise as her Chicnhou took the powerful hit but not before the stream of water crackled, the electricity travelled directly into his opponent's mouth and lit her up like a Christmas tree causing her to yell in pain as she broke off the attack.
"Well, I'll be" he said looking on in admiration "you are full of surprises aren't you." It seems like your Pokémon isn't faring too well though. Looking at his own he saw a spark of yellow crackle over her body and fell silent
"Again" Laura shouted surprising Wallace. The Thunder attack broke off the ice that was surrounding Chinchou and mixed with it sending an electrified hail of lightning.
"Dive" Wallace shouted concerned. Milotic just managed to get into the water but yelled out again as the water lit up doing serious damage to his shiny snake. The audience were cheering like crazy as the exhibition had quickly turned into an actual contest. Fearing he might lose Wallace stepped forward and raised his hand silencing the crowd. "Well done, but I fear that we must put an end to this battle, we have very nearly exceeded our time limit and there is a final to be held after all. I must congratulate you on a splendid battle though."
Milotic by this point had surfaced and was glaring at Chinchou who had jumped into Lauras arms. Laura was beaming with pride in her Pokémon, she had battled a Champions starter and not been embarrassed.
"Yes" the Mayor said walking forwards. "Congratulations to everyone who took part in the exhibitions, give them all a big hand" waiting for the applause to die down he continued "and please give a big hand to our special guest for this tournament, Wallace!"
"Thank you" Wallace said smiling and looking around "but you're not here for me, you're here for the battles so without further ado please welcome our two finalists Vincenzo Hanzo and Misty Waterflower!"
The crowd cheered again as the two walked out side-by-side before separating to their own respective platforms. Wallace surprisingly walked into the referee's box and stood in front of the microphone.
"Today's final will be a three-on-three battle with no substitutions between Misty of Cerulean City and Vincenzo of Goldenrod City. Any disputes will be settled by myself. Both of you will release your Pokémon after the count of 3. Understood? 3, 2, 1!"
"Misty calls on Staryu" she said kissing the Pokéball and releasing her starfish Pokémon.
"Croconaw, you're up" he said impassively releasing his starter.
Interesting Ash thought. Vincenzo was clearly out to end this quickly by using his starter. Misty though was pretty decent as evidenced by the fact she got to the final. The battle wasn't as quick and easy as Vincenzo planned though as Misty's Staryu did quite a lot of damage as it was incredibly agile. She had taught it Thunderbolt, Psychic and Ice Beam which was incredibly smart on her part as it gave her great coverage, the ability to psychically deflect attacks too proved that she had quite a good brain for using the moves she did. Eventually though Croconaw had got close enough that he was able to utilise his primary weapons, those being his teeth and once he had Staryu in those it was game over. Before Staryu fainted though it used Thunderbolt one last time, much to the surprise of Vincenzo who was already mentally moving on to her next Pokémon.
Both Croconaw and Staryu are unable to battle" Wallace shouted over the roar of the crowd "Please send out your second Pokémon, both of you."
To their surprise they both sent out the same Pokémon. "Chinchou vs Chinchou, not something you see every day."
"Thunderbolt" Vincenzo said wanting to test something. Misty just waited until it hit, smiling as she did so. "Damn, so we've both got Volt Absorb huh?"
"So, it would seem" Misty said "Aqua Ring"
"Oh, for god's sake" Vincenzo said palming his face "I was going to suggest neither of use that move as this battle will go on forever now. Aqua Ring Chinchou."
"I would never disadvantage my Pokémon like that" Misty said shaking her head "only a fool would limit their Pokémon in such a way."
"Or a realist" he countered "and also someone that knows we have a time limit to finish the match. This is now going to be about who can outlast the other physically and Chinchou aren't exactly renowned for their attacking capabilities."
The next twenty minutes was one of the most boring spectacles the crowd had ever witnessed as neither side wanted to lose. It was so boring the crowd had decided to talk amongst themselves. Ash had congratulated Laura on her performance against Wallace and was in the middle of talking about where he was going to next when he felt a huge wave of aura starting to draw near. Immediately he was on his feet and to the surprise of everyone around him, had hopped over Laura and the row in front, sprinting towards the platforms. Out to sea storm clouds had begun to gather at an alarming rate and soon a downpour was clearly visible heading their way.
"All of you!" Ash shouted, "leave this place now!" taking hold of several Pokéballs he released them one by one. "Pikachu, cover the left-hand side of the entrance to the sea, Lapras you're our last line of defence, keep the crowd safe. Suicune, guard the right-hand side, do what you can. Gyarados take cover under the water and be ready." Taking hold of one last ball he threw it up into the air and Salamence took flight before circling and hovering looking around questioningly. "Queenie, Lugia is on her way. Our goal is to drive her off and keep the people here safe." Walking onto Mistys platform he stopped at the side of her, ignoring her and was incredibly focused on what was approaching. Looking around he saw that everyone was still there, mesmerised by what was happening, most audibly gasping when the Legendary Suicune was released.
"What the fuck are you all still doing here?" he roared "leave while you can!" turning to Misty he saw the defiant gaze she was giving him "I am in no mood to put up with your attitude and I will not be responsible for you should you get hurt. The Pokémon that is coming right now will not think twice about ending your life. Something is wrong with her."
"I'll protect her" a voice said from behind Ash making his lip curl. Wallace strode forwards, his cape billowing behind him "you have no authority over me here Ketchum, remember that." Releasing Milotic, he asked her to guard Misty while he released two more Pokémon. Ash had never really seen what Wallace's team was, but he had heard bits and pieces so to see two more shiny Pokémon appear both surprised him and didn't at the same time. "Kingdra, Tentacruel we're under attack. Whatever comes through that harbour entrance isn't here to play."
Misty by this point had begun to edge away and looked around. She saw that the only place she could take shelter was underneath the referee's box so she ran as quickly as she could, hugging the wall as soon as she reached there before watching on with interest as there were so many water Pokémon on display here that she knew she would get great ideas on how to improve by observing. Vincenzo had done as Ash asked and followed the crowd out of the stadium. The rain by this point had become nothing short of a storm, the waters whipping up and churning around the stadium, waves crashing against it coming over the top.
Ash ignored the cretin that was standing at the side of him and waited patiently.
"Are you sure there's something even coming Ketchum or is this all for show?" Wallace shouted over the wind snidely. Ash simply ignored him and waited. "I asked you a question Ketchum!" Wallace shouted angrily grabbing hold of Ash's. Ash quickly pushed Wallace behind him and threw up an Aura bubble as from the water a huge beam of orange light could be seen forming, the water itself began to heat up and started to boil as a huge Hyper Beam impacted the bubble. Ash strained against it, but it held firm, and it eventually died down. Looking behind him he saw Wallace looking on in shock, his hair in disarray along with being very wet.
"Either leave and stay out of my way or simply stay out of my way" Ash said snarling before turning back to face what was happening. "Go guys, remember we're looking to drive her away so try not to hurt her too much."
The next half an hour was manic. Ash could not tell you what was going on as Lugia quickly made herself known when Gyarados sent her own Hyper Beam at her, something she didn't take too kindly. Ash had to wonder what the hell was going on, why was she attacking people when she hadn't done so before. He could get why she attacked them a few days ago given the story Suicune told them but this was very out of character for a Legendary. Ash took a minute to catch his breath as he had been issuing endless commands for the last half an hour and looking around he simply shook his head in dismay. The stadium had been partially destroyed and was now nothing more than rubble from a seemingly endless and relentless series of Aeroblasts and Hyper Beams from Lugia. His own Pokémon hadn't been innocent in all of this either as when their attacks missed the hit whatever was in their way.
Wallace was over by Misty at the minute tending to her leg as she had a particularly nasty gash on her right leg and her hair seemed to have blood in it too. Ash shook his head again; he had warned her to leave and her own stubbornness and defiance had caused her to be injured. The lull in the battling had Ash on edge as he knew Lugia was still just past the entrance to the stadium. Ash had by this point recalled Lapras and Salamence as Lapras' job was done in making sure there was no one left and Salamence had taken a direct hit on the head from a psychically enhanced Ice Beam. He knew she would not be happy in the morning. Wallace had also recalled Milotic and Tentacruel, the latter which hadn't lasted more than a few minutes in the melee. His Kingdra however had joined Gyarados in standing watch in the entrance.
Thankfully the wind had died down significantly by this point as Lugia couldn't focus on the battle and keeping the storm up. Wallace, after making sure Misty was ok walked over to Ash and looked at him. his shirt had been ripped and he saw a small trickle of blood coming from one bicep.
"What is wrong with her?" he asked getting Ash's focus "I don't know much about Legendaries but I do know they never attack without provocation."
"I have no idea" Ash said looking back out to the ocean "but there has to be a reason. Something has been off about this from the beginning. We were attacked by her a few days ago but we put that down to us possibly getting too close to her nest. This though is something else. Every single attack has had a feeling of malice with it, almost as if her very make-up has changed. I've struggled to contain her Psychic attacks, something which isn't possible to aura users. I shielded myself very well against the strongest psychic Pokémon in the world a few years ago with very little problem. Get ready, I think she's ready to make her final play. Recall your Kingdra, the water is about to get very dangerous." He said warningly before shouting out to Gyarados "Return". A beam of light hit his red snake, something that Wallace mirrored.
"Pi" he said to his starter that had been by is side for the last ten minutes "spam Thunderbolts into the sky. We're going to try and do what we did to Blue's Blastoise. I'd advise you take shelter Wallace."
Knowing now wasn't the time to argue Wallace quickly rushed over to Misty and gathered her in his arms, getting an incredible blush from her as he held her close to him "be brave" he whispered into her ear "you'll be ok." Both of them looked on as the podium began to light up yellow as the occasional lance of electricity speared into the sky, quickly being swallowed up by the gathering clouds.
"I've seen this before" Misty said hunkering down into his chest "in his Championship match. No water type is safe from this move. I should feel sorry for Lugia but I'm struggling to find it in me at the minute."
Whatever response Wallace was about to give died in his throat as out of the water Lugia came blasting out, looking incredibly majestic despite showing significant damage on her wings and back, showering everything around her with bits of ice and water before hovering thirty feet away from Ash, focused entirely on him. The air around her began to coalesce as she coated herself in purple and a white ball of light began to form in her mouth. They saw Ash change his stance and form a ball of blue light into his hands and as if in sync they both launched their attacks at the same time creating a minor explosion. Lugia screeched in anger and soared a hundred feet into the air before doing a flip and stopping. Lowering the blue plates on her back she streamlined her body and shot down like a missile heading with incredible speed towards Ash.
Pikachu felt the air change and launched a huge Thunder into the sky which seemed to reply back with a huge crack as a two massive bolts of lightning streaked across the sky from opposite ends, colliding with each other and then lanced straight down to the ground where Pikachu was. Pikachu gathered his electricity around him and charged forwards, using the rubble as stepping stones to get more speed and as one the two Pokémon collided in mid air creating a huge explosion. In the middle of all this though the lightning bolt zeroed in on Pikachu due to his Lightningrod ability and the entire sky turned yellow.
Misty winced in horror as a pained screech echoed through the wind, the locals that had watched the battle from afar would often say after this that the sound Lugia made after being hit by lightning was not something they ever wanted to hear again and they all looked on in open mouthed horror as a shape fell limply from the sky creating a huge torrent of water and dust that kicked up from the rubble.
Misty and Wallace held each other as tight as they could as the wash hit them. less than twenty seconds later though they could finally breathe and looked over to where they knew Ash to be but couldn't see him due to the dust that was in the air. "Pi? Are you ok?" they heard a voice say. A few seconds later they heard a small "Pi" which was replied with "Good. You did well buddy."
As the dust began to settle the gradually began to see Ash who was still in the middle of the podium, only Pikachu was now on his shoulder. The storm had dissipated almost as quickly as it arrived, and the rain gradually lessened until it finally stopped. Wallace and Misty stood up with each other and looked around them before stopping in horror as they saw on top of one of the bleachers the still body of Lugia. They watched as Ash walked over warily and climbed the partially demolished seating area and stop five feet from the Lugia. Amazingly it was still breathing, something which Ash was very thankful for. Stooping next to her Ash frowned as on her neck was the twisted remains of something very familiar, something he hadn't seen in over three years now. A small black box.
"Fucking Team Rocket" Ash snarled taking the box off Lugia and throwing it behind him. "she's going to need serious medical help Pi." Making a decision he took out a Pokéball and tapped it to her head. She was that exhausted that she couldn't even fight it, and it didn't even rock. Placing it onto his belt he stood up and sighed before making his way back down to the ground level. Walking over to Wallace and Misty he gave them a long searching look before sighing "she needs medical attention, are you going to be ok?"
"I'll look after her" Wallace said not letting her go.
Nodding walked released Gyarados again and climbed on her, instructing her to sail around the demolished stadium and soon they were headed towards the harbour. Ignoring everyone as he got off Gyarados he rushed into the Pokémon centre where Nurse Joy was already waiting with Chansey.
Handing over Lugia and Salamence's Pokéball he watched as they immediately rushed into the back to the ICU area designed especially for Pokémon. Ash knew now he could do nothing but wait. He sat in silence for what must have been at least two hours before Nurse Joy came walking towards him looking absolutely knackered.
"Salamence is fine, she just needs a bit more of our potions, but she should be ready to go tomorrow, Lugia though has had to be sent to the main Pokémon Centre in Goldenrod City" she said "we don't have the capability or space to deal with a Pokémon of her size. She'll likely be there for another two weeks given the damage Pikachu did. Ash, what happened?"
Pointing to the seat opposite him Nurse Joy he sighed and started to recount exactly what happened as she took notes. When he was done, she nodded, thanked him and went to type them up so the main hospital knew exactly what to treat. Getting up he debated what to do next before coming to a decision. Walking outside he ignored the crowd that had gathered and released Suicune getting more gasps of awe at her beauty.
"How are you doing?" Ash asked her.
"I've been worse" she said looking around nervously at the crowd.
"Is your mum still close?" Ash asked her "can you feel when she's near?"
"I can sense where she is at all times, as well as my cousins and uncles. Why?" she asked.
"How soon do you think you can reach Shamouti from here?" he asked ignoring her for now.
"A week" she said making him grimace. He really didn't want to be hanging around here for two weeks.
"I need you to go and inform your mother what happened. Tell her to inform Lord Lugia at Shamouti what happened and that I have her being treated in Goldenrod City." Ash said.
"There's no need" she replied sounding a bit apprehensive "he is already on his way here. I can feel him getting nearer. He should be here by tomorrow morning. My mother is also on her way too along with my aunt."
"Damn" he said looking around "I really don't want to bring another Lugia within a few miles of this place. He's not going to be happy. Wait here a moment." Running back inside he gathered up his bag and walked downstairs to Nurse Joy. "Lord Lugia is on his way here. I'm going to head him off so as not to bring more destruction to this island. I have doubts I'll be back but please keep me informed as to how Lugia is doing." Without waiting for an answer, he walked outside, and the crowd moved so he was facing Suicune "I noticed a tiny island about half a mile off. Can you head Lugia off and direct him to there. I'll set up camp on it." Nodding she turned and in one giant leap cleared the people, landed on top of the roof and raced off across the rooftops where she was quickly out of sight. Ignoring everyone Ash walked down to the harbour, feeling extremely weary and called out a bruised Gyarados. "I'm sorry about this but we need to head out to that island just outside the harbour. Lord Lugia is on his way so we may need to explain to him why we've caught one of his species. Can you send Salamence back home and I'll retrieve her when I can?" Climbing on her they set off and half an hour later Ash climbed off. It was literally an island that was no more than fifty feet wide, with nothing but sand on it and with absolutely no shelter. Letting his team out he set up camp, fed them and explained what the issue was and why Queenie wasn't there. "It's not ideal but hopefully he will listen. We didn't really have a choice in the matter."
Ash's sleep was fretful, so much so he barely got any so when it turned 2am he gave it up and decided to meditate instead hoping to calm his head. An hour later Ash started to feel several powerful auras getting closer but remained where he was. Less than a few minutes later the first of the procession began to arrive starting with the Adult Suicune, followed by both Raikou and lastly twenty minutes after Raikou both Entei turned up. Ash ignored them, much to their displeasure until as one they all stood up and turned to face the East. Ash followed suit and saw something that he would later on describe as utterly beautiful. The younger Suicune was racing across the water with her ribbons flowing behind her creating a wake that sprayed everywhere but it was the way the dawns light reflected off both her and the water that made Ash pause. Immediately behind her was a very familiar silver figure that even from here radiated anger along with to Ash's amazement a smaller silver figure.
"Lugia has a child?" Ash asked aloud before recalling a conversation they had "Oh shit, that was his mate we battled, wasn't it?"
"It was" Suicune said as she waked forward to greet her daughter who had quickly slowed down. Ash however had nothing but eyes for Lugia who alighted on the sand along with his child. Stalking forwards using his wings as arms he stopped ten feet away from Ash.
"Explain yourself Chosen One" he commanded.
"First of all I don't need to explain myself to anyone" Ash replied his back getting up straight away. He was moving on very little sleep and a massive headache was already developing. Putting his hands up to his temple he heard gasps ring out. Confused he looked around until he saw that the looks he was getting was because his hand was shining. "Oh yeah," he said looking over at Lugia who had lost a bit of his anger at seeing the symbol "you wanna explain why you felt the need to brand me like a bloody cow?"
"Your mommas Champion?" the smaller Lugia asked not really knowing what was going on "who is he papa?"
"He is the Chosen One son" Lugia said looking back at his child "he's the one who rescued my life last year, almost costing him his in the process." Sighing he centred himself and looked back at Ash "explain" he said softly.
"To do that I'm going to have to give you a brief history lesson" Ash said "I have told you all why I was created. Even if you cannot remember her Arceus named me her Chosen Champion too. during my first year of training, I came across several idiots that were part of the group called Team Rocket. Apart from a couple they're all idiots who believe Pokémon are here to serve them. So Arcues created me to oppose them and during my travels I had several encounters with them. One that sticks out was in a place called Lavender Town, famous for its tower where all Pokemon souls go to rest. On top of the tower a satellite dish had been erected and a Spritomb was being used to keep everyone under their thrall. When I destroyed the dish, the spell ended, and the threat was neutralised however during the battle with the Spiritomb I noticed it had a strange black box attached to its keystone. This box was controlling the actions of Spiritomb at Team Rockets bidding. I never did find where the control tower was with the master transmitter and over the years I forgot all about it. That was until yesterday afternoon when I destroyed a similar one attached to the Lugia that attacked the stadium and everyone inside."
"Someone tried to control my mate?" Lugia asked in a deadly voice.
"They didn't just try" Ash said "they succeeded. Lugia attacked me twice in the last few days. The first time was when we aided a couple who was after her grandfathers Silver Wing which sank with his ship. We didn't know the true story until Suicune told us yesterday, so we passed that one off as us being too close to her lair and I assume her child" he said nodding to the smaller Lugia who by this point had fell in beside his father, listening in curiously "so when she attacked yesterday, we had no idea why. That was until we beat her in battle and destroyed the box in the process. There is pretty much nothing left of the box so I can't analyse where it's being controlled from which is very frustrating."
"So where is my mate?" Lugia asked after a few minutes of mulling it all over "I felt her capture from Shamouti."
"She's been moved to Goldenrod City and their critical care unit as its bigger and she can get better care." Ash said wincing at the growl when he said the word critical' "Sorry, but it was either her or us and I chose us. When she's healed, which I was told would be around two weeks from now, Nurse Joy is going to send her back to me and I'll release her then. I assume she'll make her own way back here."
"Very well" Lugia said looking at his child before nudging his son forwards "I would like you to meet Silver, my son. Son meet the Chosen One."
"Hello" he said warily as he looked at Ash with wide-eyed wonder. He had heard so much about Ash from his father and to actually meet him both terrified and thrilled him.
"Hello young Silver" Ash said nodding and walking forwards "It's a pleasure to meet you though I wish it was under better circumstances. You wouldn't happen to know who captured your mother would you?"
"No" he said shaking his head "I've been with father for the last few moons."
"I collected him before our meeting" Lugia said "but deemed him too young to be visible to the inhabitants of Ecruteak. Given the furore that has happened since I believe it to be a good decision."
"Lord Lugia" the adult Suicune said walking forwards and standing next to Ash "my daughter is going to train with the Chosen One for a time. I fear I have been too lax in my rearing of her, and she is not ready to fulfil her duties just yet. I have spoken to Mother already, but she asked I inform you too when I saw you. I was due to set out to Shamouti tomorrow to do so."
"Very well. I am glad to see you have corrected yourself before it was too late. Your punishment shall be thus, your daughter will not leave the Chosen Ones side until he deems her ready and until that time you will do both yours and her duties" Lugia said sternly before turning to the younger Suicune "Learn well. If the Chosen One is strong enough to take on my mate he is more than capable of training you. Listen well. He did not become our Champion by being a fool. Live well. He will make you stronger than you ever thought."
Before anyone could say anything a build-up of power happened above them, a flash of green and in front of them appeared a tiny green Pokémon who looked around confused at the collection of Legendaries.
"Oh, is Arceus having a gathering?" she asked in a tiny voice.
"You remember Arceus?" Ash asked quickly looking alarmed "how?"
"Of course, I do" she said sounding confused "I was the one to help send her into hibernation, after all. I'm not here to discuss that, time is of the essence."
"You control time" Raikou said sounding confused.
"Exactly" she said "which is why I know of its importance. Ash, you must head west as soon as you're able."
"Nope" Pikachu said interrupting "it's not happening. You're all more than capable of stopping whatever nonsense is being thrown into our path."
"What Pikachu said" Ash said nodding "I've just had to stop another Legendary from killing me, I'm not about to let another try anytime soon."
"But…you must" she said panicking and flitting around nervously wondering what to do "it's important."
"Don't care" Ash said shrugging his shoulders "if you know about it before anyone else then you can sort it out. It's not a difficult concept."
"We're banned from doing so" she said sounding upset.
"By whom?" Pikachu asked with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
"Mother Arceus" she said stopping.
"Who is not here" Ash said interrupting her "and therefore cannot order you to do anything. It's not happening Celebi, come to terms with it."
Celebi just stopped zipping around and frowned before popping out of existence.
"You've not heard the last of that" Lugia said sounding amused "she doesn't like being told no. believe me, Ho-oH and I have had to put her in her place several times over the years. We all have an important role to play in the world and we've had to tell her several times that just because hers is knowing the future doesn't mean her role is more important than ours. It's quite tiresome having to explain it time after time."
"I hear that" Ash said as Pikachu nodded on his shoulder "every time we meet one of you guys, we have to keep telling you to sort your own issues out. It never bloody works though."
"And we pay heavily for it" Pikachu supplied.
"Yes, well" Lugia said stretching his wings, something his son mirrored "we must away. Something tells me we'll meet again very soon."
As he winged away he never heard Ash say "I hope not. Anyway, we must get going. We have one more island to visit and then we're off to Ecruteak. Suicune, we'll meet you again in a few months at Mt Silver."
Almost as one they bowed and left, streaking across the water and was out of sight in less than a minute.
Suicune looked longingly after her mother who gave he one last glance before she too raced off.
"You'll see her soon; the months will fly by." Ash said patting her before walking over to his tent and starting to deconstruct it.
Elsewhere
Thomas was walking down the hallway wondering just how he was going to survive this encounter. He had lost the rock paper scissors with seven other people and been given the unenviable task of bring the news from The Whirl Islands to the boss. He had only even been in the office once before and it was an incredible nerve-wracking time. Luckily, he hadn't been called upon to speak at that time, he was sure he'd have said something which would have seen his life cut very short. Stopping as he walked out of the elevator he spoke to the receptionist and took a seat to wait to be called in.
"You can go in now" she said, "he's just finished a meeting with Executive Jessie."
He was incredibly grateful to hear that news, the chances of him being killed was very short with a witness. Walking down the corridor he knocked and waited.
"Enter" came a curt voice.
He walked in and tried to keep his focus on the man that was standing at the huge window. He chanced a glance around the room and saw a Persian on a rug seemingly fast asleep, Jessie was sitting in a seat typing something on a laptop and Silver (whose name he would never utter in front of him) was silhouetted against the evening sky.
"You bring news?" Jessie asked looking up briefly. He had always wondered about Jessie, she was an incredibly beautiful woman, one who had risen up the ranks incredibly fast in the last three years with her partner James bit she was a bit of a maverick. She was one of only a handful of people he had heard tell the boss to get stuffed if she didn't agree with his assessment of something or disagreed with his commands. He wondered where James was too as they were very rarely seen apart from each other but decided that he'd loitered long enough in this office.
"I do ma'am" he said nodding "Dr Namba has reported an issue with the operation in the Whirl Islands."
"What issue?" Silver asked turning around and arching a very manicured eyebrow.
Taking a deep breath he said "Lugia is no longer under the command of Team Rocket."
"Say that again!" Silver said demandingly "say that again!"
"Lugia isn't under Team Rocket control anymore" he said nervously.
"What happened?" Jessie asked quickly already seeing where this was going to go.
"Dr Namba felt a field test was needed of Lugia to determine the capabilities of the Black Boxes so he had her attack the nearest settlement on Red Rock Island." Tom said, "he heard that Champion Wallace was on the island and felt it was the perfect opportunity to make a big impact by killing the Hoenn Champion and prove that Team Rocket was back, so he attacked the final of the Whirl Cup."
"Wasn't the final between Misty and Vincezo?" Jessie asked alarmed.
"Yes" Tom said wondering why she was asking that.
Standing up Silver cut him off and walked over to a video phone and typed in a number. A man with a blacked-out face appeared on screen.
"Put out an immediate capture on sight of Namba. I want him in this office within a week. If he resists kill him." the screen went blank as soon as he finished. "Carry on."
"He attacked the final to try and kill Wallace but was stopped."
"By Wallace?" Jessie asked confused before looking at Silver who was seething "every report we've had has indicated that while he is strong, he doesn't have the capability of beating a Legendary. The only one's capable of that are people like Cynthia, Blue, maybe Lance at a push but certainly not Wallace."
"Or Ketchum" Tom said creating silence "which is who he came up against. The report we have says that Wallace did nothing but cower under the referee's box while Ketchum took on Lugia head-on. After a long battle his Pikachu demolished Lugia and broke the black box at the same time. He then captured Lugia and walked away unscathed."
"So let me get this straight" Silver said in a deadly voice clenching and unclenching his hand "Namba decided to go rogue, used Team Rocket resources without permission, that being a Legendary Pokémon under my command and a device that has cost me millions in dollars to produce in doing so lost said Legendary and destroyed the black box? Not only that but he put my Son in danger by attacking the very battle he was involved in, and it took our greatest enemy to save him, possibly putting me in his debt. Is that what you're telling me?"
"Yes Sir" Tom said very nervously as Silvers voice had been getting steadier and steadier louder.
Turning to Jessie he said "set up a meeting with Ketchum, explain to him we had nothing to do with this and thank him for saving my sons life. Tell him Namba was behind it without authorisation and that he has a terminate on sight order on his head."
"Yes Sir" Jessie said taking out her phone and sending Ash a message.
"You're apologising to Ketchum?" Tom asked making Jessie look up and shake her head slightly at his idiocy.
"No" Silver said curtly "Ketchum and I have an agreement that we won't target family members, we stay exclusively to attacking each other. No collateral damage that involves family members. I will not be the one to break that agreement and that prick Namba has failed me for the last time."
"Ah ok" Tom said "well that's the information I was asked to bring sir."
"Very well" Silver said nodding to him "leave."
Tom couldn't get out of there quick enough knowing that he had quite possible very nearly got himself killed at the very end. As he got near the elevator, he heard a noise behind and turned around and saw Jessie walking towards him. Pressing the button they got in in silence before Jessie said "You are unbelievably lucky to be alive after that last outburst. The next time you speak to the boss give your report, wait for a reply and then go. Never speak without being asked."
"I know" he said sighing "I was literally just thinking that. I may need to go and change my underpants."
The elevator opened and they walked out together before Jessie walked straight outside in front of him. As he followed, he saw her release a Kadabra and disappear in a flash of purple light. He looked up at the sky and sighed. He was still able to breathe, something half an hour ago he thought would be in limited supply for him.