I don't know what the American grade system is for school but in the UK we start school in what we call reception (Kindergarten) usually around three to four years old. Year one to six is our Primary school, age 3/4-11 before we go on to Secondary school age 11-16. College is then after that.
Chapter 4
Cherrygrove city was a stunningly beautiful place Ash decided as he wandered around looking for something to do. The place shouldn't have been a city he observed as there were only a few houses and buildings, but the area was surrounded by water, with only two entrances and exits. Route 29 going back to New Bark Town or Route 30 towards Violet City so there was only one option for Ash, that being Route 30. As he was sitting by the river that surrounded the city fishing, he was chatting with Pikachu about the plans for the near future.
"We're very behind our schedule" Ash said "the stay in Olivine, then the three weeks in New Bark Town, then getting lost along Route 29 has set us back at least a month. And no doubt along the way we'll have to stay in certain places for more weeks so at this rate we're not going to make the finals, or we'll make them but probably only just."
"So, what's the plan then?" Pikachu asked.
"I've been looking at the route" Ash replied "and we'll be going through Ecruteak twice as Olivine and Cianwood is West of it but Mahogany Town is East so I think we'll fly from Cianwood straight to Mahogany, that journey right there is four weeks on foot to get back to Ecruteak, six to Mahogany so we'll catch up to where we should be at that point by flying."
"How long is the flight?" Pikachu asked.
"Two or three days back to Ecruteak" Ash said, "so probably five to Mahogany."
"Well, that sounds like a better option," Pikachu said, "especially as you have plans to train us in Mt Silver before the finals for six to eight weeks."
"On top of that I want us to have a few weeks rest" Ash said nodding at his starter's words "We'll need that recovery period as the finals are full on, or they should be now Johto has had a year to improve from what it was."
"I still don't think we'll have many issues" Pikachu said dismissively.
"Maybe" Ash replied shrugging his shoulders "maybe not, we won't know until we get there. But that's the plan, what do you think?"
"Sounds good" Pikachu said, "what time are we leaving here?"
"In an hour" Ash said, "I just wanted a bit of a rest after all the travelling we've been doing lately so we'll leave for Violet City just after lunchtime."
After half an hour's silence Pikachu asked "what's that place over there?"
Looking out Ash could see for miles around as it was a beautifully clear day and, on the horizon, easily a few miles away was what looked like a city. Ash could just make out the tops of several buildings with spiral rooftops.
"Oh" Ash said "that's Altomere. There's a ferry just over there that goes out twice a day. It's a city that is filled with waterways, a museum and is famous for being saved many years ago by the Legendary Eon Pokémon Latios and Latias. Why Hoenn Legendaries were in a Johto City I'll never know. Every year there's an annual water Pokémon race through the waterways and the winner gets a water related prize."
"Oh yeah" Pikachu said nodding "I remember the conversation on Kabuto Island with the scientist and you mentioned them the other day when we caught Chikorita too. Do we have any plans to visit there?"
"No" Ash said "at least not yet. We'll probably go once we've finished the badge challenge, but I have no immediate need to go there. If we had the time it would probably be a nice day out for us but given we're a month behind schedule we just can't afford to visit."
Lunchtime came around sooner than Ash planned and soon they were back out on the road heading down Route 30 towards Violet City. Ash was looking through his Pokédex at the moves Heracross could use as well as anything useful for Chikorita. Heracross was very versatile and was quickly getting up to speed strength-wise on where Ash wanted him to be. He was training almost exclusively with Machamp at the moment on utilising power moves as Ash wanted him to be a substitute for Machamp in battles he wanted experience for. Machamp was an incredibly patient trainer and Heracross was quickly mastering a close-combat style, something which suited him very well. However, like Machamp he was very limited against foes that were some distance away, Machamp had a few moves like Flamethrower and his variations of rock moves but at the minute Heracross had nothing which was why Ash was currently looking at moves he could teach him.
"Unfortunately" Ash said to Heracross as they all sat down that evening for tea "your moveset is very limited on ranged attacks. The only ones I could really find are variants of Rock Throw that being Rock Blast, Rock Slide and Stone Edge. There's also Hyper Beam which Gyarados can help you with as I don't believe any of my other Pokémon know it. You don't have any egg moves either so there's no secret moves for you to unlock. I realised before that I haven't taught you Sleep Talk, something which both you and Chikorita will be learning tonight. Over the next few days Salamence and Charizard will go through the mechanics of Aerial Ace something which will help you cover the distance to your opponent to engage them. The fact you have wings though gives you a significant advantage over Machamp as you can get out of range of opponents like him without too much trouble, something he can't do but I don't like relying on those kinds of strategies because you're vulnerable until you land.
As for you Chikorita I'll be getting Venusaur back tomorrow so you will be training with him for the next few weeks until I have to send him back so it's very important you listen to everything he says. While I've trained him he knows more about training grass types than I do as he's trained himself for the last year. I will not be training you against a natural fire type, while you have more resistance than he does because of your genetic makeup it's still very risky so any time I train you against a fire move it will be from Machamp. We do need to build up your tolerance as I'm sure at some point you will face a fire type but I'm going to try my best to not let that happen. What are your thoughts on evolution?"
"I'm not sure" she replied "I've never really thought about it. I'm not against it I suppose. Why?"
"Your ability to shield yourself from fire moves will only be truly enhanced when you're a Meganium" Ash said "Venusaur and Ivysuar can use Frenzy Plant to create a dome around themselves and are that proficient in it they can open gaps in the vines to send out attacks making it incredibly difficult to attack them. That's why I asked."
"Oh right" she said nodding as she processed the information "well as I said I'm not opposed to it, but I won't force it either."
"We would never ask you to" Ash said, "I have never done so, and I never will."
"Ok then" she said nodding and carrying on eating. Ash took out his Pokégear to look at the map and noticed something odd.
"There seems to be a house, on its own a few miles away, just near the western entrance of Dark Cave" he said "I wonder what that's about." Taking out is laptop he fired it up and tried to search for it but strangely the place wasn't available to look at as he received an 'access denied' response "what the hell?" he murmured squinting at the screen "for some reason I've been denied access to whoever the house belongs to. But it's clearly on the map, so what's going on. I'll email Sam and ask him."
"If it's there, can't we just go and see ourselves?" Pikachu asked.
"Oh, I was planning on doing so but if I'm prohibited then I'd at least like to know why before running afoul of any police" Ash replied as he clicked send. "Very strange" standing up he began to pack away the bowls before nearly jumping out of his skin as his phone rang. Looking at it he saw it was Sam.
"Hello?" Ash said uncertainly "what can I do for you Sam?"
"I just received your email Ash" Sam said "but I can't really reply and give you confirmation. Now, I will start off by saying this goes no further than us, and should you visit that house then we haven't spoken. The house on Route 30 is an abandoned house that used to belong to a former colleague of mine, someone we affectionately referred to as Mr Pokémon. He was an incredibly gifted researcher but last year he was murdered in his home and all his research was stolen. His research was primarily on evolution and how it changes genetically in certain Pokémon, that being Pokémon who drastically changed such as Magikarp to Gyarados or Eevee to all its Eeveelutions. We still haven't found the culprit either but the information they attained was incredibly valuable as it had been his life's work."
"So why was access restricted when that seems like it would have been something advertised" Ash asked "especially given he was apparently really famous. Even I've heard of Mr Pokémon Sam as Dr Quackenpoker and I talked about him on Rind Island when we recorded all the Magikarp evolving."
"It was kept quiet because of the nature of his research" Sam said "he posited that Pokémon that have been forced to evolve often are extremely unruly for their trainers and in many cases resent their trainers so much that they actively try to harm them. Gyarados are a case in point Ash, when they evolve in the wild they have no restraints so they have to be monitored and kept away from civilisation. The success rate in taming them is purely down to how the trainer treats them as a Magikarp and the respect the trainer has earned. I would hate to think of what would happen if a lake full of Magikarp are forcefully evolved, the devastation would be widespread."
"And you believe that is exactly why his research was stolen?" Ash asked.
"That and a few other things that are above even my paygrade" Sam said nodding "so there you go, if you visit the house don't be there too long as it's been watched closely from afar and you will become a person of interest to people you really don't want to."
"Noted" Ash said nodding "I think I'll give that place a miss then. Thanks for the information Sam."
"No problem" Sam said "Oh, before you go, Blue asked me to let you know that he'll have to skip the lesson this weekend, it's his and Lauras anniversary so he's taking her out."
"Ah not a problem" Ash said "thanks for reminding me, I'll send them a gift when I reach Violet City in a few days."
Hanging up Ash looked over at his Pokémon who were in various states of tiredness and said "well, that was interesting wasn't it?"
"It's dangerous, to be sure" Machamp said "evolution is never something to be taken lightly and forcing it should have you stripped of any possibility of working with Pokémon."
A rumble came from an unlikely source and as one everyone looked over at the pond at the side of the path where a curled up Gyarados was eyeing them intently, her eyes flashing in obvious annoyance.
"We all agree" Ash said looking at her "it's why I was so grateful to you when you evolved because you really didn't need to, and as Rudy told those idiots at the time they were bloody lucky you trusted me so much."
"What happened?" Sneasel asked sounding concerned.
"She was doing a gym challenge as a Magikarp which involved doing a run through water and hitting targets, some level with each other on opposite sides of the river" Pikachu said "she was on the last set of targets when she realised that the boat she needed to keep up with would be too close to the finish line after hitting both of her targets and evolved just to win. There were a few other people on the boat along with Ash and the gym leader who took the piss out of her because she was a Magikarp who they knew would fail the task and weren't shy in voicing those thoughts. Rudy banned those guys from ever coming with him on a gym challenge again after the danger they could have been in if it weren't for Ash being there and calming her down."
"While I was happy for her evolving it was never something I was concerned about" Ash said "the same for everyone here, I would hope nothing I ever said has influenced you in evolving. While I like to explain what we can do when you do evolve I would never be angry or sad if you didn't."
"I always wanted to fly" Charizard said "so it was something I was desperate for. I have no regrets."
"I was saying that more for Sneasel and Chikoritas sake" Ash said laughing "if neither of you want to evolve then just say so, for you Sneasel it's not a danger of accidentally happening as you need an item but for you Chikorita I have a few Everstones that you'll need to have placed around your neck in a few week as our training has been known to speed up the process."
Getting two nods Ash stood up and walked over to Gyarados where she leaned into his hand as he stroked her crown and whispered to her, "you're incredibly valued for who you are, not what you are." A deep rumble told Ash that the message had been received "and if we come across anyone that we know has forced a Pokémon to evolve I will happily introduce them to you." Another rumble echoed through before Ash walked back and carried on eating.
The next day Ash carried on down the path towards Violet City and soon came across the abandoned house of Mr Pokémon, giving it the once over before quickly heading northwards and before long he came to a fork in the road with a signpost. "Dark Cave ahead, Violet City 10km West."
"Well, we don't need to go into Dark Cave" Ash said as they took the left-hand path and carried on their path. Before long Ash came across a building and stopped as in front a lady was standing talking to a man, the strangest thing was she had a whistle in her mouth. Before she blew it though she noticed Ash walking along the path and greeted him.
"Hello" she said, "are you lost?"
"Hi" Ash said waving his hand, something Pikachu mirrored "No, we're actually on the way to Violet City and just saw you and I wondered what you were doing."
"Oh" she said smiling as she blew her whistle "well I'm Ariel, and these are my Ledyba." As she said their name a noise could be heard coming from over the roof of the house as six Ledyba descended and hovered just behind her.
"Ooh I love Ledyba" Ash said eying them up "I have several of them and Ledian on my land, they're incredible at ensuring my plants are always well tended to."
"Oh, I'm so pleased to hear that." Ariel said, "where do you live?"
"Pallet Town" Ash said making her gasp and he looked questioningly at her.
"Are you Ash?" she asked making him nod uncertainly "Oh I'm so pleased to meet you!"
"Ok?" Ash said looking confused "why?"
"Those Ledyba and Ledian are from me" she said looking overjoyed at finally knowing where her old Pokémon went "we breed them here so they can learn how to look after plants and foliage on people's ranches. Our orchards are perfect training grounds for them to learn safely."
"Oh right" Ash said happily "well they do an amazing job. My Ivysaur and Venusaur are able to do so much more on my land because of Pokémon like them, they're incredibly important to what I'm trying to do so thank you very much for sending me your Ledyba and Ledian."
"You're entirely welcome" she said smiling before an alarm went off on her watch "Oh I'm late, I'm sorry but we have to be at the back orchard in a few minutes and I'm very late."
"I can fly you there if you like?" Ash asked "I'd quite like to see what you do if I'm honest."
"Ok" she said nodding as Ash called out his Charizard and Salamence and climbing on the latter "they're very safe" Ash said reassuringly as she climbed onto Charizard who took off and she directed him, with Ash following behind her. As they landed a few minutes later she shakily got off and thanked Charizard who snorted and took off to go for a fly. Recalling his Salamence he followed her to the orchard and observed her and how she interacted with her Ledyba, using whistles in short bursts to direct them. Ash called out Chikorita and his recently recalled Venusaur who just watched with the latter informing Chikorita on what they were doing, using it as a lesson for what she'd be doing in the future.
"The way they flit from one tree to another and land perfectly on each apple is by design" he said "and they spend the exact same amount of time on each apple tending to it. They're unbelievably precise in what they do which makes them perfect for looking after the grounds of large stretches of land."
"How do they learn to do it?" Chikorita asked.
"It's just instinctual" Ash said interrupting their conversation "at this point I think it's because it's been bred into them over the centuries that now it's part of their genetic makeup. Like the Hoppip line they're amazing at what they do and absolutely vital to the Pokémon world. A lot of people dismiss them because there are other, more powerful Pokémon around that are flashier but without these the world wouldn't be anywhere near as lush as it is."
"It's so nice to hear someone else appreciate what the pollinating Pokémon do for everyone" Ariel commented as she walked over to him "thank you."
"No, thank you" Ash said "seriously, your Ledyba have been an incredible help to me."
An hour later Ash was flying back to the path before he decided to just head towards Violet City to get there as quickly as he could. It was early evening when the people of Violet City looked up to see a huge blue dragon land in the middle of the square and look around searchingly before a huge man hopped off it. As it was recalled they breathed a sigh of relief and they carried on about their business as the man walked into the Pokémon centre.
Sitting down to eat Ash and Pikachu were chatting when they heard a few voices and looked up as three people walked in and went to the counter and handed over their Pokémon to Joy.
"Can Champion Ash please come and collect his Pokémon" she said over the tannoy making him chuckle as they span around in shock.
"Hello again you three" Ash said laughing as he thanked Joy and attached his Pokémon to his belt. Casey, Ethan and Grace were looking very surprised at seeing Ash there as they had set out long before he could leave and Grace had disappeared into Dark Cave a few weeks ago.
"Ash!" Grace said grabbing him and hugging him making Ash chuckle as she barely reached his belly button. Hugging her he let her go and looked down at her.
"Hello short stuff" he said "it's good to see you all again. How've you been?" leading them over to his table and sitting down.
"We've been great!" Grace said exuberantly "Dark Cave was a bit rough, but we made it out of there. I have three Pokémon already!"
"What about you two?" Ash asked as he listened with interest as they burst into talking about what they had been up to. A few hours later Ash went to bed very happy that they'd all made it through the first part of their journey safely. The next day Ash was sat having his breakfast when a young lady sat down opposite him. Ash looked at her curiously and expectantly, but she seemed to be having trouble speaking.
"Are you ok?" he asked, "do you need something?"
"Yes please" she said looking nervous but seemed to be gaining more confidence as she found her voice but still in a quick rambling sort of way "I was doing my usual round this morning when Nurse Joy mentioned you were here, and you've never been here, which is strange as it seems you've been everywhere…"
"Ok" Ash said holding his hand up stopping her "take a deep breath, and another, and one more. Good, now, who are you and what can I help you with?"
"Sorry" she said taking another deep breath "my name is Amelia Priscilla; everyone here just calls me Miss Priscilla though. I'm one of the teachers at the school in this city I was wondering if you could come and see the young children and talk about your adventures with Pokémon. This town has a great history regarding them, and I thought who better than the current Kanto Champion."
As Ash was thinking it over, he noticed she got more and more nervous the longer the silence went on. Thankfully for her Ash started talking to Pikachu, and she was amazed that the rumours of him being able to understand them were true.
"What are our plans for today? Can we fit them in?" Ash asked Pikachu.
"Well, you wanted to visit the tower to find out more about it, and then the gym in the afternoon" Pikachu said, "after that you mentioned some nearby ruins, but I wasn't really paying attention."
"Ruins of Alph" Ash said nodding "so tower, gym, ruins and then on towards the next badge."
"That's the plan" Pikachu said nodding taking a bite out of his apple.
"Ok" he said nodding to Miss Priscilla "we can spare a few hours, but I would like to be at the tower for noon."
"Oh, you're in luck" she said, "today is a field trip day, we're all heading there around 11am anyway."
"Then I'll be at the school for 10am" Ash said, "we have some last-minute training to get in before we battle the gym leader this afternoon, so we'll see you then."
"Oh, thank you" she said beaming and standing up "the children will be thrilled."
A few hours later Ash walked into the reception of the school and rang the bell. A few seconds later a young man appeared, greeting him.
"Hello Mr Ketchum" he said, "an honour to meet you."
"Ash" he replied shaking the man's hand "and you are?"
"Oh, forgive my manners, I'm Chris" he replied "I'm the year one teacher. You're here for Miss Priscillas class, right?"
"I am yeah" he said, "is she around?"
"Yes, she's just in her classroom, follow me." He replied before leading Ash through the hallway and stopping at a door, before opening it and leading Ash in. "It seems we have a visitor class" he said before beckoning Ash in who smiled at the sea of faces in front of him. He had never been a people person growing up, and his memories of primary school weren't particularly great given he had to deal with an obnoxious Gary Oak, but he always got on with the teachers and developed a huge respect for what they had to put up with, especially as he was so much cleverer than the students who left the school by the time he was in year three. He was a genius, which often led to a very lonely childhood so seeing a sea of expectant children didn't exactly fill him with confidence, but he decided to just wing it and see how it went. An hour later and after many questions Miss Priscilla asked him about his Pokémon and if he could show them to the class.
"Some of them are very big" Ash said as he was led out to the playground with the kids excitedly in tow "so I won't release them, but I have a few smaller ones that you can see. Now, before I show you, I will say this. They're not pets, they're battle-hardened fighters who could seriously injure you if you're not careful. It's incredibly important that when handling a Pokémon you treat it with the utmost respect because there's some that won't tolerate disrespect and they could seriously harm you. Take Pikachu for instance, he can turn his electricity off at will so he's fairly safe to handle, however when he uses his electricity in battle he could bring down the largest Pokémon with ease, do not ever just grab an electric type without asking first." Releasing Chikorita, Sneasel and Machamp he carried on.
"Sneasel's claws are kept extremely sharp, they can easily carve through solid granite so be careful when handling him, Chikorita isn't much of a people person but she's friendly to those who are nice to her. Machamp is incredibly strong and has the power to lift huge rocks. Now, none of my Pokémon will harm you, and they're all happy to be looked at but you still have to be wary."
Thirty minutes later Ash was sat talking with Amelia when a young boy asked him a question, one he hadn't really thought of much but knew he had an answer.
"Who's your favourite Pokémon and why?" he asked coming over.
"Oh, that's a tough one" Ash said looking thoughtful. "Growing up I always wanted a Charizard as my father had one. It is terrifically strong but I've always had a thing for dragons so I would say that one. Just don't let Pikachu hear you."
"Speaking of" Amelia said looking around and frowning "where is Pikachu?"
Immediately Ash looked over and seeing his starter wasn't in the area concentrated getting a response quite quickly. Leaning over he whispered to Amelia "It would seem that one of your number has 'claimed' Pikachu as his own and has decided to go on his own journey to catch a Pokémon."
Standing up she looked around and noticed that Ash was right. Panicking she went inside and spoke to the headmaster who came rushing out to the playground. By this time Ash had recalled everyone and was waiting looking unconcerned at the havoc the young boy was causing with his disappearance.
"We need to go find him" the headmaster said, "but where do we start?"
"Route 31" Ash said surprising them "he's safe with Pikachu, he won't come to any harm but it might be an idea for me to go and get him."
"Oh, will you?" Amelia asked hopefully as she led the other children inside. "Thank you. Kenny is a good boy, just very boisterous."
Calling out Charizard the children pressed their faces to the window, looking in awe at the huge red dragon.
"We'll be back soon" Ash said climbing on his Pokémon "come on pal, Pikachu is with a young boy not far from here."
Taking off Ash headed East and landed a few minutes later at the edge of a path. He could feel Pikachu was just up ahead so Ash took his time and soon enough he could hear a young boy cheering.
"Yay" he shouted, "and now Tackle attack."
Curious Ash walked forwards stopping next to a tree and observed what was happening. He saw Pikachu charge into another Pokémon instantly knocking it out, making Ash smile at the exuberance the young boy showed. Smirking he felt into his bag and pulled out an object before walking forwards as quietly as he could, tapping the young boy on the shoulder making him jump in fright. Turning around he saw him go white as a sheet as he realised he'd been caught.
"Er" he said looking sheepish "I didn't do anything."
"Did you not?" he asked chuckling looking over at Pikachu who immediately hopped onto Ash's shoulder.
"He was pestering me about having his own Pokémon" Pikachu said quietly "he reminded me of you to be honest when we first met so I thought I'd give him a hand."
"Indeed" Ash said arching an eyebrow at Kenny who just looked confused "Pikachu here told me you wanted your own Pokémon, is that right?"
"I did" he said, his demeanour changing quickly to one of excitement "and we found one, look!" he finished pointing to the still knocked out Bellsprout "it was an incredible battle, Pikachu nearly lost but we pulled it out of the bag and won!"
"Do not say a word" Pikachu muttered to Ash before he could respond "I put on a show for him and acted like we were nearly losing."
Laughing Ash knelt onto his haunches staring at the boy who looked worried when it came back to him that he was somewhere he should be, with a Pokémon he shouldn't have and in front of him was the Kanto Champion whose Pokémon he had effectively stolen.
"Well," Ash said easily as he looked over at the Bellsprout who was trying to get up and failing "you're not much of a trainer without a Pokémon are you? You need one of these, they're quite handy." He finished handing over an object.
Kenny looked puzzled before he realised what he had been handed and started hopping on the spot. Turning around he set his stance and threw the object at the Bellsprout immediately causing it to disappear in a red light. They waited with anticipation as the ball suddenly went quiet.
"YAAAAAAY!" he said jumping for joy "Did you see that? I caught a Pokémon! All by myself!"
Chuckling Ash walked over and picked it up, pressing a button on his Pokédex to stop it disappearing.
"Well," he said looking at the ball in his hand before throwing it to the boy who caught it, looking down at it in awe "you did well. But in future try not to worry your teacher."
"Oh yeah" he said looking sheepish "but I really caught a Pokémon."
"Technically yes" Ash said, "he actually belongs to me, as you're too young to have your own Pokémon just yet."
"Oh" he said quietly looking sad.
"However," Ash said making him look up in hopeful anticipation "I cannot look after him myself so, for the next few years I am placing him in your hands. He will be your responsibility; you will be his friend and eventually his trainer. When you turn eleven, I want you to get in contact with me and I will come and visit you. Should I find you've looked after him sufficiently you can keep him, but be warned, any mistreatment will lead to me confiscating him from you. Understood?"
"Yes Mr!" he replied looking back down in excitement.
"Come on" Ash said releasing his Charizard, making the boy stumble back in shock as he took in the big red Pokémon "we need to get you back to school." Climbing on Ash looked at him expectantly before the young boy scrambled onto Charizard, gripping Ash tightly as they took flight. Ten minutes later they landed, and Amelia rushed out gathering him in her arms before scolding him for leaving and shepherded him inside where he excitedly showed the class his new acquisition.
An hour later, after everything had settled down, they were all walking towards Sprout Tower. Ash was interested in this place as the local legend said that the main trunk of the building was said to be a Bellsprout who keeps the tower standing. Ash knew this was false as any Pokémon would have long since died but he was intrigued by its structure and was keen to find out more about it. As they were led up the steps they were all gathered on the top floor landing as they watched a battle taking place. A young boy, with dark red hair was using a Totodile, fighting against an elderly man with a Hoothoot.
"Hypnosis" the old man said as his Pokémon stated sending out waves at its opponent.
"Douse yourself in your water Totodile" the young boy said making Ash curious. That was certainly an unorthodox way of countering a Hypnosis attack, but it worked as the Totodile charged forwards and ended the battle with a well-placed Water Gun.
"Well done, well done indeed" the old man said "you have won the battle fair and square and have earned this TM. However I will say this, you are far too harsh on your Pokémon. They are not tools of war, nor are they things to be used."
"Hmph" the young boy said "well I beat you, so clearly my methods of training work." Turning around he stopped short as he noticed his audience before stopping dead looking fearful.
Ash observed the young boy battle and while talented the elder was right. Walking forwards he stopped and looked down at the young boy. "Hello, I am Ash, the Elder is correct. You won't get very far if you don't develop a bond with your Pokémon. But well done on the win."
"Pokémon are here for one thing only, to battle" he said looking defiant at Ash "I'm only interested in winning."
Ash didn't say anything for a good few seconds before asking "Are you doing the league challenge?"
"I am" the young boy said tilting his head up defiantly "why?"
"Can I see your Pokédex?" Ash asked genially.
The young boy was terrified by the question as he had no reason to deny Ash his request. Slowly he pulled it out and Ash opened it flicking through it, pausing at the name and taking note of his trainer ID before handing it back.
"I'll see you at the league" Ash said stepping aside. The young boy carefully took back his Pokédex before leaving as quickly as he could without trying to make it look obvious. Inside Ash he felt very conflicted about the boy. Turning to the Elder he bowed receiving a small bow back.
"Mr Ketchum, it's finally nice to meet you." he said. "I've heard lots about you."
"Likewise Elder" Ash said smiling "Sadly I've never heard anything about you. That was an... interesting battle you just had. He has a lot of potential."
"Yes" the Elder said acknowledging Ash's remark "but he needs to adjust his attitude, or he will find himself in dire straits before long. What can I do for you?"
"Nothing actually" Ash said surprising him "I'm here with Miss Priscilla and her class on their school outing. I just wanted to see what the Tower was all about as I read several accounts but there were some inconsistencies in most of them."
"Oh?" the Elder said looking curious "well perhaps I can help you."
"The pillar" Ash said as he walked over to it and placed his hand on it, causing a few of the sages to gasp as no one was allowed to touch it. Ignoring them Ash carried on as he looked at it "I've come across a few Pokémon in my journey that are huge in size, one rather famously in Porta Vista but I've never read about a Bellsprout that size, so it made me curious. Just what is this wood?"
"Something we cannot tell you" The Elder said walking over to stand beside Ash and mirror him "it is our home, and home to many Pokémon that inhabit the tower. For yourself... perhaps it's a curiosity that isn't for your ears."
"Usually, I'd try and make it my business to know" Ash said chuckling "but given the clear message I think I'll leave this mystery to others."
"A wise decision" the elder said nodding to him "Now I believe you're in possession of a magnificent specimen called Charizard? Would that be correct?"
"I am" Ash replied looking curious "why?"
"My granddaughter is very eager to meet him again" he replied as he nodded over to someone who was sat watching them with an eager eye. It took Ash a few moments before he remembered who she was, and he burst out laughing.
"Jeanette Fisher!" he said walking over to her "It's been a while!"
"It certainly has" she replied standing up and shaking his hand "last time we met was very memorable, you certainly left an impression anyway."
"Why?" a curious voice asked. Looking around Ash saw it was the young boy from before who had his Bellsprout on his shoulder.
"Last time we met was in the Indigo League tournament a few years ago" Jeanette said smiling at the two "and I lost, badly."
"Oh, I wouldn't say that" Ash said looking at her "you were just unfortunate enough to only have grass or bug types in your team. Charizard was always going to win that matchup, and if I remember correctly my childhood rival made me mad just before I entered the arena, so it changed my original plan of using Shelgon to Charizard. I felt you deserved my best, so that's who you got."
"Isn't that dangerous?" Amelia asked, "using Fire types against grass types."
"Extremely" Ash said "unfortunately in a tournament match it's perfectly legal and the one who sends out grass types is the one that's liable should their Pokémon perish. It sucks but that's the way it is."
"So, you had no chance?" Amelia asked Jeanette.
"Not really, but Ash was a gentleman and offered a solution" Jeanette said looking at him "he restricted his Charizard from using any fire moves."
"Oh, so you beat his Charizard?" Kenny asked.
"Arceus no" she said laughing "he didn't even need to move to beat my first two Pokémon and the last battle had a very…creative way of ending."
Laughing Ash nodded "her Bellsprout was sent out as her final Pokémon but before they started battling her Bellsprout became offended at Charizard being disappointed in his opponent. So much so that Bellsprout walked right up to him and declared he better respect him because he was tough. It went on for a few minutes actually, I think the referee had said begin ten minutes before either of them acknowledged they were supposed to be in a battle, and because he was still restricted Charizard decided to end the battle and literally booted the poor weed in the face. Twice. It stood up after the first one and was extremely indignant at how he was being treated so Charizard kicked him again. I think it took me ten minutes to recover from laughing so much."
"It was pretty humiliating" she said laughing "he's been mopey ever since actually."
"Does he want to meet him again?" Ash asked smirking.
"Oh, Arceus no!" Jeanette said laughing "I'll never hear the end of it."
"No problem" Ash said looking at his watch "I'm sorry but I need to go. I have a gym battle to do and I need to speak to my mum and dad soon so I need to get going."
"Can we watch?" Kenny asked looking at Amelia. Before she could answer the rest of the class overheard and started chattering excitedly at being able to watch a real battle again.
"Very well, as long as it's ok with Ash and Falkner" Amelia said looking at Ash.
"It's fine with me" Ash said shrugging his shoulders. Saying goodbye to Jeanette and the Elder Ash led the procession to the gym, a particularly big building with what looked like a massive bird cage type roof.
"Fitting" Ash commented to Pikachu "given his typing."
"Am I getting used here today?" Pikachu asked.
"Possibly yeah" Ash said nodding as he walked in and said hello to the receptionist who looked bewildered at the number of people that just walked in. "Hello, my name is Ash and I'm here for my gym battle."
"Ooh you're lucky" she replied after getting over her shock "He's already had three battles in the last few days from new trainers, so his regular Pokémon are pretty tired. I can see here though that you're Champion status, so you'll be facing three of his Elites. I'll message him now."
A few minutes later an average sized man, wearing a blue kimono with teal eyes and hair walked out of some automatic doors and stopped in surprise. "Miss Priscilla, to what do I owe the honour of your beautiful presence?" he asked taking her hand and kissing the back of it.
"Oh you" she replied blushing heavily "I'm here with Ash. He was kind enough to visit the school and talk to the children and they got excited when they heard he was having a battle with you today. So we're all here to see you both fight each other."
"Is that so?" Falkner asked releasing her hand and walking over to Ash sizing him up "You're in for a challenge today Champion."
"I hope so Gym Leader" Ash replied arching an eyebrow at him "shall we?"
"We shall" Falkner said as they all went through the doors and onto the battlefield, the audience taking their places at the side in the stands. As they took their positions Falkner signalled to the referee to start the proceedings.
"This will be a three on three singles battle for the Zephyr Badge. Only the challenger will be able to substitute. Gym Leader Falkner will send out his Pokémon first. The first person to lose all three Pokémon will lose the match, should it end in a draw the Gym Leader will be declared the winner."
"Let's go" Falkner said releasing his first Pokémon onto the battlefield. As the light faded Ash saw his opponent, a light brown coloured bird with three heads.
"You're up" Ash said releasing his Heracross.
"Heracross vs Dodrio, begin" the referee shouted.
"Get in close Dodrio" Falkner commanded as his Pokémon raced forwards at terrific speed towards its opponent "Drill Peck"
"Take it" Ash said to the surprise of his opponent. The Dodrio rapidly arrived in front of Heracross and each beak glowed a bright white and it started viciously pecking at Heracross who crossed his arms and took quite a lot of damage. Ash was using this as a test to see what Heracross' limit was as he hadn't been in a battle yet.
"Now, Counter" Ash said surprising Falkner as Heracross reached out and grabbed two of the three necks making it squawk in surprise. He then used all his strength and swung Dodrio over his head and slammed it into the ground three times, causing significant damage to the poor bird who couldn't get out of the way as it was battered before being thrown across the field once Heracross' attack finished.
"Wow" Kenny said, his eyes shining with delight "what a powerful move. Ash is good isn't he?"
"He's the champion for a reason" Amelia replied smiling at her young charge.
Dodrio got to its feet and looked warily at its opponent with its three heads, focused on beating the Pokémon who had humiliated it by touching their necks. Angrily it squawked and charged forwards ignoring Falkners shouts as it tried to peck and bite Heracross who had to pirouette out of the way of several attacks before slamming his fist in one of their faces sending it back several feet. Shaking its heads it's rage dissipated and it narrowed its eyes, focusing sharply.
"Tri Attack" Falkner shouted seeing the rage had receded.
Forming a triangle with its three heads a huge white beam sped across the field, engulfing its opponent. Dodrio seeing the attack him screamed in victory before the light died down and Heracross was seen standing, unharmed as its Protect shield disappeared.
"Again" Falkner shouted as it formed the move again. This time though Ash was ready and shouted a move to Heracross.
"Use Rock Throw" Ash shouted. Heracross slammed its hands into the ground cracking the field and began hurling the pieces at Dodrio, one going straight through the beam and hitting the bird on the left-hand head.
"Megahorn" Ash shouted as it charged forwards, its huge horn glowing green as it gave a mighty swing smashing into his opponent's body sending it sprawling off to the side of the field where it lay unmoving.
"Dodrio is unable to battle, Gym Leader Falkner send out your next Pokémon" the referee shouted over the applause from the audience.
Recalling his downed Pokémon, he thanked it before sending out his next one. As the light died down Ash saw it was another beige bird, only this one was floating as it flapped its wings.
"Noctowl vs Heracross, begin" the referee shouted.
"Stop" Ash said surprising them and recalling his Pokémon "I forfeit Heracross. He doesn't know any other ranged move just yet and there's not much he can do against a bird, not in his current condition anyway."
"Champion Ash forfeits Heracross, please send out your next Pokémon" the referee said.
Ash looked at the bird before making his mind up and releasing his next Pokémon.
"Noctowl vs Sneasel, begin" the referee shouted.
"Ok, we'll start this one off" Ash shouted, "Ice Shard."
Sneasel quickly formed a small spike of ice and sent it so quickly at his opponent the audience couldn't see it move. Luckily for Noctowl though his trainer was very quick to react "Double Team" and it made several copies of itself making the spike go through a copy, exploding it on contact.
"Agility and Gust" Falkner shouted as his bird started to create a makeshift Hurricane as it sped around in a circle, its centre focused on Sneasel. Sneasel had no choice but to endure the hit and wait it out as it was trapped inside the eye of the Hurricane.
Ash looked around and wondered what he could do here as the noise from the wind drowned out any command he might make. He hoped Sneasel would work out what Ash wanted him to do but they hadn't actually trained for this scenario, something he would change the next time they trained.
Sneasel was getting very annoyed by being battered by the winds and he knew that if this kept up he would have no chance of winning. Getting an idea he focused and a blue ball began to form before sending it into the sky. After around ten seconds he felt the first drop of rain hit him as the wind died down because of the downpour. Before Noctowl could react the world became white as he was hit with a huge Blizzard enhanced by the rain so it had no chance of getting out of the way. As it crashed into the ground painfully it was grateful that the ground was wet, cushioning the blow. The gratefulness was short-lived though as through the rain came a dark missile smashing into the poor bird and hitting it with Slash.
"Noctowl is unable to battle, Sneasel wins. Gym Leader Falkner send out your last Pokémon." The referee shouted over the rain which thankfully receded, and the cloudless sunny day appeared.
"Thank you" Falkner said as he recalled his Noctowl frowning "It's all on you now pal."
"Pidgeot vs Sneasel, begin" the referee shouted.
As it appeared Ash chuckled as yet another beige bird appeared, this time it was a Pidgeot. It was smaller than normal though, something which puzzled Ash. That was until Falkner issued his first command.
"Quick attack and Steel Wing" Falkner said sounding assured as his bird didn't seem to move before it seemed to teleport and then reappeared suddenly sending Sneasel flying backwards embedding itself into the wall.
"Sneasel is unable to battle, Champion Ash please send out your final Pokémon" the referee commanded.
Not letting his shock of what happened show he recalled his downed Pokémon and sent out his final one. As it landed with a thud Falkner gulped as across the field was Ash's second most famous Pokémon, his Charizard.
"Pidgeot vs Charizard, begin" the referee shouted.
"This Pokémon is lightning fast Charizard, faster than Pikachu by some margin" Ash said getting a nod as Charizard looked at his opponent.
"Let's make this interesting" Falkner said smirking as he fished out a necklace with a marble attached to it, touching it to a ring he had on his hand. Pidgeot began to glow white before the light settled down and a gorgeous bird was in its place. Its size had changed very little Ash observed, but its wings had become much sleeker and bigger, its wing tips had tuned blue and red, and its plumage stretched down to its back.
"Ok" Ash said smiling too as he pulled out his own necklace as his Charizard evolved further into Mega Charizard Y and the sun became more intense as the ability of Charizard kicked in.
"It's very hot" Kenny said complaining as the sun beamed down onto the field "but this battle is amazing, but I'm confused. Why is Charizards moves swerving to hit Pidgeot?"
"I'm unsure" Amelia replied as Pidgeot took a Fire Blast to the face and was sent tumbling to the ground before it spread out its wings and managed to avoid hitting the ground. "we'll have to ask Ash after the battle."
"Charizard, get in close and use Aerial Ace" Ash shouted up to the sky.
"You too Pidgeot" Falkner shouted, "you're faster, use that speed."
The next few minutes were spectacular for the audience as they traded blows before Ash changed things up.
"Draco Meteor" Ash shouted causing Falkner to gasp as a blue ball of light was sent into the air.
"Get out of there!" Falkner shouted as meteors started raining down on his Pokémon. Unfortunately Pidgeots ability came into play and the attack hit Pidgeot square in the back sending it planting into the ground where it reverted back into its normal form.
"Pidgeot is unable to battle, Charizard wins. Ash Ketchum wins the Zephyr Badge" the referee shouted as the audience cheered.
Ash smiled as he recalled his Pokémon, happy that the battle went so well. Walking down to the field he met up with Falkner and shook his hand. "That was a great battle, unfortunately your Pidgeots ability worked against him eh?"
"It's the downside of 'No Guard'" Falkner said wryly "it's both blessing and curse in a battle but we're usually able to get away with it because we out endure our opponent. That wasn't going to happen against Charizard sadly."
"Yeah" Ash said nodding in agreement "he trains himself every day for hours, so his stamina is amazing. Anyway, that was a good battle."
"It was" Falkner said nodding fishing out a badge "here, you won fair and square. It's the Zephyr Badge."
"Cheers" Ash said as he took out his badge case and placed it into the first slot. Hearing noises they looked over to see the group of kids running onto the field, all of them babbling at how good the battle was. Eventually Ash said goodbye to them all and headed to the Pokémon centre handing over his injured Pokémon and going up into his room, sighing as he did so, knowing the upcoming conversations weren't going to be nice. Punching in Sams number he brought out his laptop and booted it up, logging in as Sams face appeared.
"Hello Ash" Sam said "what can I do for you?"
"I need to ask you a question, one I genuinely don't know the answer to." Ash said.
"Ask away" Sam replied.
"Let's say that someone's Pokédex was stolen before it became someone's Pokédex and it was registered to another person. Who does that Pokédex belong to?" Ash asked.
"It belongs to the Professor of that region" Sam said "it's theirs to distribute as they see fit as it is originally registered to them."
"But let's say a professor never registered them, and it was stolen. What then?" Ash asked.
Sam was never someone that could be described as thick and gave Ash a shrewd look before saying, "you found the missing Pokédex that Eric Elm didn't register, didn't you?"
"I did" Ash said sighing "Along with the person who stole it. I'm going to send you a link to his ID. You'll know why I'm asking when you see it."
"Ok" Sam replied slowly as he looked up the ID Ash had sent him. Getting it up on screen Ash saw Sams eyes widen in recognition before he looked at Ash. "This could complicate things considerably. Does anyone know?"
"No, at least I don't think they do" Ash said knowing exactly who Sam was on about "I needed to get advice from you first as I have no idea what to do. We can't take the Pokédex back as its legally registered to the trainer under a different professor. Not only that but as Elm never registered it we have no proof that was the one that was stolen in the first place as random ones have been given to the regional professors before by Silph. So, as you can see, I'm a bit stuck."
"Sadly, I believe you're correct" Sam said sighing as he looked at the picture again "the similarities are remarkable."
"Yup" Ash said shaking his head "I'm going to ring them now and see what they know. Is he at Indigo Plateau?"
"He is" Sam replied, giving Ash a look "with her".
"Good" Ash said firmly "I want answers."
"Let me know how it goes" Sam said "I'll place a mark on his ID so that we can track him through the Pokémon Centres. I'll link your profile too and give you clearance to track him given you're not far away from him. Keep an eye on him Ash."
Hanging up Ash sighed before punching in another number and waiting for an answer. After several rings the phone was answered and Giovanni appeared on the screen "Ash," he said "This isn't a great time. Are you ok?"
"Are you in work?" Ash asked.
"No, I'm at home but I'm not alone." Giovanni replied.
"Put her on" Ash said making Giovanni's eyes widen "I know she's there uncle. I need to speak to you both."
Giving Ash an uncertain look Giovanni's face disappeared as he went off, Ash hearing a quiet discussion off screen sighed before he shouted at the screen "I'm not pissing around uncle, this is very important."
A moment later two faces appeared on his screen giving Ash a first look at Silvers mum. She was unbelievably beautiful and for someone in her mid-fifties she looked incredible. High cheekbones, pale porcelain skin, startling green eyes and deep red hair.
"Nice to meet you" Ash said neutrally.
"Likewise," she replied in a deeper voice than Ash expected "what can we do for you?"
"Well for starters I'll get this out of the way" Ash said making them tense up "I do not blame either of you for how your son turned out, he is his own person and made his own decisions. And while you are partly to blame Alexis for how he was raised I know you didn't really have much choice given what your family business is. My dad is safe and sound so I'm less angry at you both for what he did. Now that's out of the way I need to ask you both if the name Vincenzo means anything for you both."
"Vincenzo was my grandfather" Alexis said looking at him shrewdly "why?"
"Vincenzo Hanzo?" Ash asked earning a wary nod. "Ok, that makes sense."
"Why?" Giovanni asked, "and how do you know that name."
"Do you have your laptop handy?" Ash asked not answering just yet "login using your presidential details, I've sent you a link."
"OK" he replied as he brought his laptop over and did just that, a few moments later after Giovanni clicked on the link Ash saw Alexis move her hand over her mouth, gasp and tears form in her eyes as she looked back at Ash "I have a grandson?"
"We have a grandson" Giovanni said quietly as he looked hungrily at the face "how did you find him?"
"Did you know about him?" Ash asked earning negative shakes of their heads "Ok, well about a month ago I filled in for Eric Elm when he was sacked as a professor in Johto. He was sacked because he let a trainer steal a Pokédex and a Pokémon before he registered them. It was the straw that broke the Camerupts back for Sam, so he was fired but I found out what the serial number was for the Pokédex. It could only be two as they're sent to the professors in sequential order by Silph Co. Anyway, I arrived in Violet City today and witnessed a battle between Vincenzo and the Elder in Sprout Tower. He won, but his demeanour was very concerning with the way he commanded his Pokémon. Anyway, I congratulated him and asked to see his Pokédex, and given who I am he didn't really have much of a choice in cooperating, heavy handed I know but I wanted to know his name. Imagine my surprise when I saw the name Vincenzo Hanzo. He's the spitting image of you uncle."
"He really is" Giovanni said nodding "so he's doing the gym challenge in Johto?"
"For now, yes" Ash said "of course it all depends on if he's legally a trainer. The Pokédex was stolen before it could be registered so its murky waters and I don't think we have a case against him as we can't prove that was the Pokédex that was sent to Elm but we're keeping an eye on him all the same. He still stole a Pokémon, so his record is already blemished."
"So, you have no proof it was him?" Alexis asked narrowing her eyes.
"Oh, we know it was him" Ash said knowing what she was getting at "we just can't prove it, yet. To be honest I have no intention of stopping his journey, but should I find out he's following in his father's footsteps I won't hesitate to put a stop to him. I won't risk Team Rocket continuing their shitty ways, however I'm very aware that just because his fathers a dick it doesn't mean he will be too."
"I can't say I'm very happy with the way you're talking about my grandson" Giovanni said.
"And I don't care" Ash said interrupting him before he could start a tirade "your son kidnapped and performed experiments on my father for over a decade, all the while you both knew who the leader of Team Rocket was. I may have forgiven you uncle, but it doesn't mean I've forgotten your role in his disappearance, however tentative it was. As I said I will be keeping an eye on him, if he requires my help then I won't turn him away but I'm not going to go out of my way to help him. After all, one of the reasons I'm in Johto is to hunt his father down and bring him in to receive justice."
"Very well" Alexis said sharply ending this particular conversation "I'm grateful you told us, you have my thanks."
"Not a problem" Ash said nodding "have a good day, both of you. I'll no doubt see you at some point in the future."
Hanging up Ash sighed before firing off an email to Sam informing him of the conversation before putting his laptop away and looking at Pikachu "I have another family member it seems."
"You do" Pikachu replied "one we need to keep an eye on."