Chapter 23
Victory
The main conference room at League Headquarters was never meant to hold this many people.
There was AJ, Jade, and Sammy, of course, who had arrived together with her mother, Brock, the detective Looker from the International Police, Hilda, and Ethan, and they alone would have been more than enough to make the room feel full thanks to the ridiculously huge table that took up much of the room. But they'd been joined shortly after arriving by Lance and Iris, the two who AJ had requested, but then also, surprisingly, Kris and Lyra, who had apparently been hanging around and had just been swept up in the commotion - and then two boys who AJ didn't know at all. A taller man in his early twenties with long light green hair and a younger boy with a head of messy brown hidden beneath a scruffy baseball cap holding what looked like a Tinkatink in his arms and who looked a lot like Hilda. Her mysterious twin brother? When did he get here?
There wouldn't have been enough seats at the table for everyone present. Luckily, there were only two people who had even bothered to sit - Sammy, who had accessed the built-in computer terminal on the table's surface to call up his parents at their lab and put them on the big screen, and her mother, who had apparently needed to take a seat in order to process everything that was going on.
However, with so many people standing in a room that was eighty percent table, the group found themselves left huddled together in awkward clumps in the corners of the room and feeling awfully claustrophobic. Again - who okayed the design for this place?!
Lance had not been happy with the request for this sudden meeting. After all, attacks were going off all around the Alliance, literally as they were speaking. Reports were coming in from places as far as Alfornada and Santalune, and while no individual attack seemed particularly large or threatening, the media had been whipped into a frenzy and was demanding attention from the League. It was clear from his expression upon entering the room that if AJ didn't have a very, very good reason for asking him to be here, they were going to be having very loud words.
But that was before. Before she and her friends had started to explain. Before Looker confirmed the identity of Cole and Sammy got his parents to reveal the baby Articuno.
AJ had taken control of the explanation this time, beginning with the moment that their memory loss had first begun - right after the avalanche and their separation. She talked them through meeting Cole, his cabin in the woods, the Pikachu that had reminded her of Ethan's story of the powerful trainer he'd met in the mountains and how she had initially thought it had all been a silly misunderstanding. Jade had explained about meeting Giovanni, and Sammy told the tale of wandering the mountainside with his broken leg, finding the egg and being rescued moments from death by the mother Articuno.
Then, meeting Ash. Even now, almost two weeks after the fact, she still felt shame threatening to overwhelm her as she recounted their first meeting. The argument they'd had, and, worse, that terrible battle. She could have skipped it over, but she knew it was important. Every piece of evidence she could give would be a point toward convincing them she was telling the truth. Her tendency to lose control when her father was brought up was widely known by now, thanks to how public her fight with her mother had been at the party, and the pokemon Ash had used during the fight were the same ones it was known that he had disappeared with. Little things like that would give her story credibility.
After that came her and Jade sneaking out to find Sammy, and the discovery of the Sanctuary.
She'd hesitated for a moment to recount this part. The Sanctuary was supposed to be a secret. A special haven where legendary pokemon could go to be safe. Revealing its existence to anyone was to increase the risk that the secret would leak and the haven would no longer be secure.
Only, it already wasn't secure. Giovanni knew where it was. And if he knew, then all of Team Rocket knew - all of every criminal organization on the planet would likely know before too long. Now wasn't the time to keep the secret. Now was the time to fight to keep them safe.
She and Jade placed heavy emphasis on that first initial meeting with Mewtwo, however. They stressed - repeatedly - about just how powerful Mewtwo was, about the burning hate that had been stoked to a blaze inside of it at Giovanni's hands that was now directed towards all of humankind. About how, even if Ash and the legendary pokemon in the Sanctuary managed to fight Giovanni off themselves, that would only incite Mewtwo's rage and could lead to its retaliation. And it saw no difference between Team Rocket and regular trainers. Its attack would be indiscriminate, and the destruction would make their current situation look like nothing in comparison.
It was Cole's backstory that she knew would be the hardest sell, however. That he and Giovanni had been friends in their youths was believable if not a little unexpected, but not particularly extraordinary. That they'd met Mew, however - that they'd fought over it, that it had chosen Cole and, eventually, all but kidnapped him when it had taken him to the Sanctuary atop Mt. Silver - was another thing altogether. And when you added the whole bit about Mewtwo being Mew's clone, well…
This was the part they had no evidence for. That Cole was alive and had been on the mountain - that they could prove. He was here at the hospital, after all. That at least some legendary pokemon traveled to Mt. Silver to breed was also provable thanks to Sammy's baby Articuno, though with the caveat that it was just one legendary pokemon, and one that was already known to frequent icy mountains in the first place.
But the Sanctuary itself - a pocket dimension out of space and time - or the presence of other legendary pokemon, let alone Mew or Mewtwo, was already a stretch. And that Ash Ketchum was there, that he'd stumbled across the Sanctuary and his father seemingly by mistake, that AJ had done the exact same thing nearly two decades later, or that Giovanni was involved in this at all… None of that they could prove.
And it was clear that that would ultimately be the sticking point.
It took about fifteen minutes or so to wrap up their tale, finishing with a brief explanation of Ash's betrayal and Mewtwo wiping theirs and Cole's memories so that they could come home, and by that point, the room had grown completely silent. Every face looked back at her with some variation of confusion and disbelief. Not exactly a good sign.
"Please," she said finally, trying to remain firm and not let the ardent desperation she felt welling up inside her take over. "I know… I know how this all sounds, and with us just getting out of the hospital… Well, I don't exactly blame you for not believing us. But please… We're telling the truth. Giovanni is on Mt. Silver, he knows where the legendary pokemon are, and if he gets his hands on them…"
She trailed off, letting the severity of the implication stand on its own.
The room was silent for a moment as the occupants exchanged uneasy looks. She could see what they were thinking - the thought of Team Rocket or any villainous organization getting their hands on even one legendary pokemon was bad enough. But a whole group of them? Was it worth risking, even if AJ was almost certainly off her rocker?
Lance cleared his throat. His face looked grim, and somehow older than it had ever looked before.
"AJ," he began heavily, and she knew right away that she wasn't going to like what he was going to say. "It's not that I want to doubt you. Even with a story as extraordinary as that, it would still normally be my prerogative to look into this further. However, these are not normal times or normal circumstances. A very real war is being waged right now, and our people - not just here in the Indigo League, but all across the Alliance - are in danger. I cannot in good conscience sign off on an expedition into the middle of nowhere when we are currently needed here."
AJ stood her ground, meeting Lance's gaze head-on. She knew he'd say that. It was the rational thing to say, after all. But she knew she was right and she couldn't back down. More was at stake here than a few burned buildings.
"I know it's a lot, asking you to go on blind faith," she said. "Especially coming from me - the unproven new kid who hasn't had a chance yet to earn your trust. But I know you know that there's more at play here than these random attacks. You said it yourself this morning - when Kris pointed out how stupid this has all been, how pointless all these attacks are. They haven't achieved a thing in the two weeks since this began, so why are they doing it? Ask yourself what they stand to gain from all of this - all of the money and manpower they're wasting, all of the grunts they're letting get arrested for seemingly no reason at all?"
"And you believe you've figured it all out?" Lance asked, curt but not necessarily angry. She could feel the frustration coming off of him in waves, but it didn't seem like it was frustration with her necessarily - it had more to do with this entire situation, with the lack of progress in stopping the attacks for two whole weeks and seemingly no end to the conflict in sight.
"They want to distract us," she replied. "To keep us busy. To avert our eyes and our ears and tie up our hands and our resources so that we don't see what they're really after."
"Which is what, exactly?" Lance challenged. "This… alleged paradise of legendary pokemon that you have no evidence for?"
"When did these attacks start happening?" she challenged back. "About two weeks ago? A few days after we left? Right around the time that Jade saw Giovanni - or that he saw Cole on the mountain? If these dead criminal organizations have been silent for so long, why did they all suddenly rise from the grave now? Do you really think that's a coincidence?"
"You mean that he allegedly was on the mountain, and that he allegedly spotted Cole," Lance replied, rubbing tiredly at his eyes. "I repeat, you still have no evidence to suggest-"
"Then what do you want from me?" AJ snapped, throwing her arms up into the air. "Should we keep running around like Doduo with our heads tied in knots, playing cleanup forever and getting nowhere? Would you rather wait until Cole wakes up - if he wakes up! - and corroborates our story, or would you even consider the testimony of a random hermit you've never met before? We don't have time to stand around and waste - Giovanni has had two weeks to put his plan together, and all of these sudden attacks this afternoon would seemingly suggest that he's making his move now, making sure we're all too busy putting out fires to see what he's really up to! What do we gain from waiting?!"
"The trust of the people!" Lance snapped back, finally losing his composure. "The faith that the Alliance has in their Champions and their League! You have a great deal to learn about being a Champion, Miss Ketchum, but above all, you must take this lesson to heart:
"Being the Champion is not about fame, or glory, or pride. It's about service - about being the linchpin that holds it all together, no matter how heavy the burden becomes. This world we live in, this world of pokemon - it is a wondrous place, but also a place of great danger. At any given moment, a person knows they may lose their homes or their livelihoods to the whims of a pokemon - wild or otherwise. What keeps people going, what keeps society pressing onward, is the faith that the people have that the League and their Champion will be there to protect them when times get hard. And if we all go off running up into the mountains on some wild Farfetch'd chase while their homes are being torched to the ground by criminals, that faith they have will be forever shaken!"
The silence that followed seemed to fill the empty space like thick syrup. AJ and Lance stared at one another across the too-large mahogany table, each breathing heavily, while the rest of the room looked on.
AJ wanted so badly to scream at him, to let him know just how wrong he was and in every way that he was mistaken. Except… Well, she knew he wasn't. Everything Lance had said just now was right, and she knew it. The trouble was, she knew she was right, too. His unwillingness to bend was frustrating, but then, could she blame him? If she was in his shoes, wouldn't she feel the same way?
She could feel her anger boiling inside of her - that same red-hot temper she'd inherited from her mother. It had been her constant companion for all of her life, but now, she knew, was not the time. Losing control is what led to her fight with her mom at her party. Losing control had cost her her battle with her father. And losing control now would cost her Lance and his support.
She wasn't a child anymore. She was a Champion. And a Champion must be in control.
She took a slow, deep breath, letting it hold for a moment deep within her chest, before letting it out through her nose.
"I'm not suggesting that the League send everyone," she said, keeping her tone level. "Mt. Silver is a dangerous place even on the best of days. We'd only need to send the best of the best - people we know can handle a direct confrontation with a legendary pokemon or the leaders of these criminal organizations who I'm sure will be there. Naturally, with all that's going on, we'd want our Gym Leaders to stay put and keep the peace as best they can. How bad is the situation right now?"
She directed the last question to the room at large, glancing towards Professor Oak on the big screen, but it was Ethan who answered.
"Bad," he said, "but manageable. From the messages I'm getting, we've got at least seven separate attacks happening in the Indigo League alone right now - three each in Johto and Kanto and one in the Orange Islands - but these attacks all appear to be much smaller than what we've gotten used to. It looks like Sabrina has already handled the incident in Saffron, and Bugsy's got the one in Azalea just about routed. Sounds like a couple of passing contest stars were in the area and helped them out."
AJ nodded, feeling emboldened. Looks like they weren't the only ones being stretched thin.
"If these attacks are as small as they say, then they don't need our direct attention - we should let the Gym Leaders and the local police do their jobs and handle things. We can keep our remaining Elite Four members on standby, ready to jump in anywhere that needs attention, but Lance, it's worth it to commit at least some of our people to check out Mt. Silver. If I'm right, then we can finally put a stop to this once and for all. If I'm wrong…"
She shrugged as if to say they haven't lost much, but Lance quirked an eyebrow shrewdly.
"If we're wrong, then we've wasted precious hours and manpower for nothing and will have dealt our reputations - as individuals and the League as a whole - a heavy blow."
"Yes," she said, acknowledging his criticism with a nod. "But as Ethan just pointed out, that manpower isn't needed at the moment. And I genuinely believe that we're better utilized trying to end this once and for all than we are playing cleanup and posing for interviews after attacks that will more than likely be over long before any of us could even get to them. Besides, this isn't like when Kris and Lyra came to find me the other day - we don't have to scour the whole mountain at random. I know exactly where the Sanctuary is and we can go straight there. With good weather and fast pokemon, we'd be there in two or three hours. If it turns out I'm wrong, we'd be back at League Headquarters before midnight."
Lance didn't respond right away. He was staring at her in a considering sort of silence, clearly lost in thought. AJ tried not to hold her breath. While she knew she'd be heading up the mountain regardless of what Lance decided, having his support could make a world of difference in what was to come. There was no chance Giovanni was going up the mountain alone. She had no idea just how many forces he would be bringing with him - and from the report that morning, most of the higher ups from the other organizations had yet to be seen. It was low level grunts doing most of the fighting in the series of raids they'd been experiencing; the higher ups were clearly being saved for something big. Something like this.
Brock let out a breath, looking strained.
"Everything about this is insane," he muttered, not looking at anyone in particular but clearly meaning the words for his daughter and their friends.
Jade stood up straight, looking livid and about two seconds away from flying off the handle, but thankfully, she was interrupted by an unexpected voice coming from the screen projector.
"Oh, I wouldn't say that necessarily," said Professor Oak Senior, who AJ hadn't even realized had been a part of the discussion. He shuffled over from wherever he'd apparently been listening from off screen, leaning heavily on his cane, and paused for a moment to stroke Sammy's baby Articuno affectionately. The pokemon let out a musical cry and preened.
"What do you mean, gramps?" Gary Oak asked.
"I can't confirm or deny anything Ashlynn has been saying," the professor clarified, "but parts of her story do ring true. This… Mewtwo you spoke of - the cloned pokemon that Giovanni created during his time as a Gym Leader. I was good friends with the late Dr. Fuji - rest his soul - and I know about much of the research he was working on towards the end of his career. I remember him speaking to me about a shady benefactor who had become one of his sponsors, and I also remember hearing about the accident decades ago that ended his life and destroyed his lab. Giovanni, as it so happened, vanished not long after. If his benefactor truly was Giovanni, and the research involved the creation of this Mewtwo, well… I suppose the pieces do fit together rather nicely."
It wasn't exactly a resounding declaration of support, but knowing that the esteemed Professor Oak didn't think she'd gone completely loony was still a fairly large boost to her confidence.
On the other side of the room, in the corner with Iris and Hilda, the man with the long green hair suddenly raised his hand.
"Ah, excuse me," he said, sounding a bit like a boy in class who was hesitant to interrupt his teacher. "Forgive me for - perhaps I should have spoken up sooner? This contention is about whether there's proof or not of this pokemon sanctuary atop the mountain, yes? Well… if that's the case, then why don't we just ask?"
Detective Looker, standing in the opposite corner with Brock, ran a free hand through his thinning hair in an exasperated sort of way.
"If all we had to do was ask, we wouldn't still be here, would we?" he said, his tone thick with sarcasm. "You can ask these three again and again, but three testimonies of the absurd isn't going to make it any less absurd."
"Four," the green-haired man corrected, and Looker frowned.
"What?"
"Four testimonies," he said again, then pointed toward AJ. "That Pichu there has also been testifying that what Miss - AJ? - Miss AJ has been saying it true. He's not happy that he's been ignored. He also doesn't seem to like you very much, Detective sir."
Detective Looker stared at the young man for a moment as though not certain if he were joking, then glanced toward Pichu who was standing on the tabletop making a rather rude gesture in his direction.
"You think asking this Pichu is going to change our minds?" Looker said, his words practically dripping with incredulity.
The younger man let out a good-natured laugh as though completely oblivious to Looker's tone.
"Oh, no - no, of course not. But I was thinking, if a sanctuary like this really does exist, and legendary pokemon go there to rest and breed, then wouldn't it stand to reason that other legendary pokemon would know about it?"
Hilda suddenly let out a loud gasp, slapping her hand onto her forehead with solid-sounding smack.
"N! You're a genius! Why didn't I think of that?!"
"Think of what?" Brock asked, confused, but the boy - N? - was already talking.
"You've been preoccupied with your friend's health. But yes, we could ask Reshiram - or my own partner, Zekrom - about this sanctuary. If it exists, they should know about it - and once they learn about the danger, I imagine they wouldn't hesitate to take us there. Ah, but we'll need to go outside. Zekrom is rather large; I don't think he'd fit in here with this table in the way."
"So… If they corroborate our story, you'll come?" AJ asked, trying not to sound too hopeful, and Hilda shot her an obvious look.
"What? The confirmation is for them, not for me. I'm coming regardless. I'm not a Champion anymore; the League doesn't get to boss me around."
For a moment, AJ thought her chest was going to burst open from the sudden surge of love and affection for Hilda. If she was coming, that was two Champion-level trainers! That was a big deal!
"Me too," her brother said, looking determined and staring around as though daring anyone to tell him no. "If there's even a chance Team Rocket is there, then that's where I'll be. I'm getting Victor back."
The Tinkatink in his arms let out a battle cry, waving her makeshift mallet in the air and accidentally smacking her trainer in the face. N clapped the younger boy bracingly on the shoulder, looking excited.
So that was six then. She didn't know how good N and Hilda's twin were in a fight, but it was something-
"I'm in, too," Kris piped up from Ethan's side behind Lance. "I'm with Hilda on the whole 'no one tells me what to do' thing. Besides, I've been up the mountain at least once, which is more than most of you."
AJ had to physically stop herself from bouncing on her toes. That was seven! And Ethan had said Kris was as good as he was, which meant now potential three Champion-level trainers!
"I'm… gonna stay behind," Lyra said, flashing AJ an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, I just… I'm not much of a battler. But maybe I can help coordinate? At least until you… get to the mountain and we can't contact you anymore…?"
AJ nodded. That made sense, and she wasn't upset. The mountain really was a dangerous place. No sense in anyone coming along who couldn't handle themselves.
"Should I go and ask my partner now?" N asked, moving as though to squeeze past the twins and head towards the door, but Lance interrupted, staring straight at AJ.
"Are you truly prepared to do this?" he asked, and when AJ scrunched her brown in confusion, he clarified - "I mean, to go off up this mountain again without the League's blessing. In open defiance of the voice of the people. You realize that by doing so, the media will paint you in an even worse light than they already have. Your reputation may be tarnished irredeemably."
AJ took a slow breath, letting his warning fall over her like a sentencing from a judge. For a moment, she felt like she could really feel it pressing against her skin.
"I am," she said finally. "But I'm not defying the people. I'm saving them. I know - in my heart, in my mind - that this is the right thing to do. The media can say whatever they want to about me, but I'm going to do the right thing. No matter what."
"And if you're wrong?" he asked, and there was a heaviness to his words then, a look in his eyes that made this question seem so much more important than anything he'd asked her yet.
She shrugged.
"Then put all the blame on me. Strip me of my title if you have to. I'm still going up that mountain."
Absently, she was a little surprised at how easy that was to say. Being the Champion was all she'd ever wanted, for as long as she could remember. But right now, her life's dream meant nothing to her. There were more important things at stake.
For a second, she thought she saw a small smile pulling at the corners of his lips, and a certain proud gleam in his eyes - but then it was gone, and he was all business.
"So be it," he said, turning and letting his gaze sweep the room at large. "Promises made by a Champion aren't so easily broken, AJ. But if you're going to be the Champion, then I suppose it's about time I start treating you like one. If you need my help on the mountain, then you shall have it."
AJ's jaw nearly dropped.
She did it? He was coming? She'd convinced him to come?!
Almost as soon as he'd spoken, Iris chimed in that she was coming too, almost as though she were waiting for this little battle between Lance and his successor to end before voicing her intent. "I'd never make it back to Unova in time to help anyway," she added, shrugging.
With Lance and Iris finally on board, things in the room suddenly became loud and chaotic. Professor Oak Senior was saying something about sending them all of the data they had on Mt. Silver while Sammy's father was apparently engaging in a heated argument with his wife about going up the mountain too. Hilda and her boys had already made their way to the exit, talking amongst themselves in hurried tones - presumably off to summon their partners and ask about the Sanctuary.
Looker, for his part, seemed exasperated - like he hadn't fully gotten on board with this whole thing, but having realized that he had no say in the matter, was just going to go along with it. He stopped by Lance and Iris and was discussing whether he should arrange a special task force to follow them, but the Champions seemed to be telling him that he should have the higher-ups focus on supporting the Gym Leaders in fighting off the attacks until they got back.
"We'll let you know if we need you," Iris was saying, "Though if AJ's right, we may end up needing an aerial transport vehicle to cart off the potential prisoners once we're through with 'em."
"And how would you call me, exactly?" Looker asked bluntly, but the rest of the conversation was lost to AJ as someone bumped her shoulder from behind.
It was Jade, who was grinning at her with full excitement and pride.
"AJ! You did it! You got everyone onboard!"
"Yeah," she said, trying her best to seem nonchalant and not at all like she was fighting off the urge to jump up and down with excitement. "Guess so, huh?"
She looked around at all of the people in the room, feeling a little overwhelmed that she'd managed to gain their support. It occurred to her then that this was her first chance as the Champion to lead. It had gotten off to a rocky start, but things were looking up.
Pichu jumped off the table and scrambled back up to her shoulder, cheering and licking her cheek affectionately. She laughed, lifting a hand to scratch his ears.
"Never doubted you for a moment," Sammy said, smirking.
"Yeah, unlike some people," Jade added, turning to scowl at her approaching father.
He threw his hands up in an 'I surrender' sort of pose, but still came over to stand with them.
"I stand by my concerns," he said, and Jade looked about ready to throw down again until he added, "but if you're intent on going up there, then I'm coming with you."
"You are?" Jade asked, clearly caught off guard, and Brock shrugged.
"It's a chance to go up Mt. Silver," he said, echoing a sentiment she'd been hearing a lot lately, before adding, "Besides. If there's even a chance that Ash is actually up there, then I need to see it for myself."
Jade rolled her eyes, muttering something under her breath in an annoyed tone while Brock looked on in affectionate amusement. The typical father-daughter scene had AJ turning her head, looking for her mother, who was still sitting at the table, lost in thought.
Tentatively, AJ approached her, not sure what to do or say. Slowly, she reached out a hand, placing it on her mother's shoulder.
"Hey, mom," she said, vying for a soft, non-threatening voice, but still having to speak up a bit over the din of voices in the room. "You ok?"
Her mother looked up at her, her eyes cloudy and blue.
"...Yeah, sweety. I'm ok."
AJ hesitated, then asked, "Do you maybe want to stay behind and-"
But her mother cut her off with a sharp look, and AJ dropped it. She hadn't thought she would, but she figured she deserved to at least offer her an out. This was going to be harder on her than on anybody.
"Ok," she said instead, squeezing her shoulder bracingly before dropping her hand. "Just… let me know if you need anything, ok?"
Before she could walk away, her mother grabbed her hand.
"AJ," she said, her voice almost too soft to hear. "Is he… Is he really…?"
"He is, mom," she replied, kneeling down so their faces were closer together. "He's up there. He stayed behind to protect the Sanctuary and keep those pokemon safe."
She left out the part about him pushing her away again. Rational or not, it had hurt, and she was going to make him pay for it. But her mother didn't need to hear that.
To her surprise, her mother let out a watery laugh, squeezing AJ's hand and using her free hand to wipe unsteadily at her eyes.
"Yeah… That sounds like Ash."
Someone reached out to tap her on the shoulder, and AJ straightened up to find that Lance had approached her, a stern look on his face.
"I meant what I said before, AJ - about Champions not being allowed to go back on their promises."
AJ nodded, looking solemn.
"I know. And I meant it too."
If they got to the mountain and there was no Sanctuary, no Ash Ketchum, no Giovanni… Well, she would have just interrupted multiple League Champions in the performance of their duties in the middle of an international emergency. She would step down, willingly.
Though, of course, she knew she wasn't wrong, so she wasn't all that concerned about that. She was too busy worrying about what was going on up on the mountain.
Lance nodded, his face impassive. "Good."
A moment later, however, his face broke into a congenial grin.
"You know, I had my doubts about you at first."
AJ blinked. To be fair, she had expected as much - that was probably pretty normal when handing over your title of Champion to someone else, especially someone so young - but did he really have to say that to her face?
"I've held this title for so long - too long, most would say. Myself included. I had thought, twenty years ago when I lost to your father, that the time had finally come to pass the torch along… but then he disappeared and I was forced to take it back. And in all these years, I had nearly given up hope of finding another trainer who had the spark. Finding Ethan had been a delightful surprise, but when we split the League, I had my doubts of finding another within the same generation to watch over Kanto."
His smile turned kindly - almost grandfatherly - as it took her in.
"It wasn't until now that my doubts began to disappear. When you stood up to me for what you thought was right - when you declared your willingness to toss your pride and glory aside for the betterment of the people and pokemon you serve… That was when I knew. I expect great things from you, Miss AJ. Lead on, and we will follow."
AJ barely managed to get out a surprised "Thank you," before Lance had turned his attention to her mother, still sitting at the table.
"Misty - I assume there's nothing that I can say to persuade you to remain in Kanto?"
Her mother scowled, looking affronted, and finally stood, squaring her shoulders and gearing up for a fight.
"No. If my daughter is going up there - if there's any chance at all that Ash is there - then that's where I'm going."
She looked like she was dying for him to try and refuse her, but Lance was nodding along as though he'd expected nothing less.
"Of course. Though, since we sent Kohga to back up Alola, that means that without you, me, or AJ, Kanto will have but half of its Elite Four members available to assist should the situation begin to escalate. It's not ideal, but perhaps Johto would be willing to loan us one of theirs until we return."
He made a face and shook his head.
"Truth to tell, I'd like to bring every Elite Four member we have along, but it simply isn't feasible."
"Do you not think we'll be enough to handle it?" Sammy asked, joining the group, and Lance sighed.
"I cannot say. If AJ is right - if Giovanni is making his move, then our missing admins - the leaders of Teams Aqua and Plasma and Galactic and all of the others who we've been looking for since the attacks began and yet haven't even seen a hair of - are almost certainly with him. It's impossible to say whether the forces we have here will be enough to quell them or if we'll find ourselves outnumbered."
"But…" Jade said, looking uncertain for the first time. "I mean… Giovanni is one thing, but those other guys… I mean, they can't stand up to a Champion, right? And between you, and AJ, and… I mean, we've basically got five Champions and an Elite Four member on our side, and the rest of us aren't slouches. We should be fine, right?"
"You're forgetting the legendary pokemon," AJ said. "I mean, with any luck, we'll be able to stop them before they get to the Sanctuary - but this is Giovanni we're talking about. I doubt he went up there without a plan, and if he somehow manages to capture some of them, or if they decide all humans are a threat…"
She didn't say Mewtwo's name aloud, but she and Jade had witnessed his power and ferocity when they'd first entered the Sanctuary. Her friend's face paled noticeably. If Giovanni somehow got control of Mewtwo, there was no guarantee that even all of them together could take it down.
"AJ is right," Lance said, completely missing Jade's panic. "But in fairness, I usually prefer to assume the worst in all situations. We should probably be enough, but I'd always like to have more. Even if we show up there with too much backup, all that means is that the battle ends that much quicker, and with less damage to the environment and fewer injuries all around."
But with the world in the state it was now, they couldn't go asking the other Elite Four members or Gym Leaders to come along. If only there was someone else they could ask…
Lance turned his attention back to her mother, saying something about contacting the remaining Elite Four members, but someone cleared their throat nearby and AJ turned to find Ethan standing behind her, with Kris and Lyra close behind him, chatting among themselves. He looked a bit grim.
"AJ," he said slowly, then sighed, reaching up to rub at his eyes. "Listen, I… I'm glad you got the help you need, but… I think I'm going to stay behind."
AJ blinked, feeling a little like she'd just been smacked in the face.
"It's not that I don't want to believe you," he said quickly, seeing her expression, "it's just…"
"I know it's a lot," she said carefully, and he let out a hoarse laugh.
"Yeah, no kidding. But I mean, it's not like it's completely mad - like you and Kris and Professor Oak said, parts definitely start to line up if you look at it from your perspective. But I - we - have a responsibility to the people of the Indigo League. Asking me and Lance to abandon them when they need us is asking too much."
AJ felt herself starting to deflate a little. She could see where he was coming from, but still… Having Ethan on her side would have meant the world to her. He was the first Champion she'd met, other than Lance. Her partner Champion protecting the Indigo League. And though they'd only met a couple of times, she had thought they were already starting to become friends. She had thought for certain that he'd be on her side.
From her spot next to him, Kris punched him lightly on the arm.
"What's this, then?" she asked, giving him a disappointed look. "You scared?"
Ethan rolled his eyes but didn't rise to her low-effort bait.
"I just feel like having all of the Champions disappear is a risk that we shouldn't be so gung-ho about taking. I mean… Maybe you're right - Maybe Giovanni really is leading people up there, and maybe there are legendary pokemon, but…"
"Ethan, there really are legendary pokemon up there," AJ butted in, now desperately hoping she could still turn him to her side. Sure - he was talking sense, and maybe it would be a good move to leave one Champion behind - but if one had to stay, let it be Iris or whoever. She wanted Ethan because he was her friend. "You saw Sammy's baby Articuno!"
"One legendary pokemon," Ethan said, looking apologetic. "And I've been up that mountain myself, remember? I didn't see anything-"
AJ opened her mouth to argue, but Lyra cut her off.
"No, there's more than one. Kris and I saw a Suicune. It's what led us to AJ and the others."
AJ stared at her in astonishment. No one had told her that!
"And you did see something," Kris added before Ethan could interject. "Didn't you battle a mysterious trainer with a super strong Pikachu?"
"Ok!" he said, holding his hands up in front of his face like he was warding off an attack. "Ok, so there's more than one legendary pokemon and yeah - maybe I battled someone who could have been Ash Ketchum. Maybe. But I still don't see a plausible enough threat to warrant sending all of us up there - especially not when we have people in active danger right here, right now."
AJ opened her mouth… then slowly let it close. She wanted so badly to argue with him and get him to change his mind, but… Well, he was a Champion, too. He had to follow his heart and do what he thought was best for the people of Johto. It would be hypocritical to stand in his way.
Kris, however, apparently didn't feel the same and punched him again.
"You're such a buzzkill," she said, as if that was in any way relevant to the crisis at hand. "You heard everyone - the pieces all fit together so nicely! What more proof do you need?"
"They do not fit together nicely!" Ethan practically spluttered. "I mean, yeah, sure - maybe some of the explanations make sense, but there are plenty that don't! If the attacks are supposed to be distractions, why did they start two weeks ago when the alleged 'invasion' or whatever is happening now? And what was up with Goldenrod? Why was that one different?"
"What was different about the attack on Goldenrod again?" AJ asked, feeling a bit guilty - but in her defense, she'd only learned about all of this this morning and there was a lot going on.
"Hilda can explain-" Kris started, then frowned, looking around. "Or not. Guess she went outside with her boys. But that was the biggest attack of the bunch, right? Way more damage. And they stole a bunch of stuff I think."
"Yeah, most of the attacks involved petty looting, but Goldenrod was the only one where they stole something that wasn't, like, people's purses or stuff you'd find on the shelves of a pokemart or whatever. They stole a bunch of components from the Radio Tower, but we can't figure out why. Plus Charon was there - he's a big-time leader from Team Galactic, and he's the only leader we've seen involved in any of these attacks so far, which would imply that whatever they stole was important - and I can't see how any of that has to do with Mt. Silver."
AJ struggled for a moment but eventually had to give in. He had a point - she couldn't see how any of that related to Mt. Silver either.
"I… see your point," AJ said, conceding, though it brought her no joy. Losing Ethan was a blow almost as big as losing Lance would have been. "I mean, the only thing that comes to mind with radios and Mt. Silver is that they don't work on Mt. Silver."
"Maybe they're trying to build a special radio tower that… can work on Mt. Silver?" Lyra offered, trying to be helpful, but still looking like even she knew the suggestion was stupid.
"I mean I guess," Kris said, shrugging. "But what would be the point? Not much of a population up there to broadcast to, right? Unless they wanted to play music for pokemon."
She and Lyra laughed - not so much because it was funny, but because of how absurd the idea was - but Ethan's face suddenly went completely blank.
"Radio broadcast…" he mumbled, clearly talking to himself, and a moment later, his eyes went wide.
"You ok?" she asked, noticing how gray his face had gone, but just as suddenly he had turned around and was shouting at Lance, looking panicked.
"What is it?" Lance asked, looking equal parts concerned at Ethan's sudden change in demeanor and annoyed at being shouted at, but Ethan looked past the point of politeness.
"It's about the attack on Goldenrod," he said frantically, sounding a little breathless. "That first one, the one that started all of this. Our outlier."
"What about Goldenrod?" Iris asked, and AJ realized they'd become the center of attention for everyone who was still in the room.
"They stole random radio parts from the Radio Tower, remember? And we couldn't figure out why? Lance, think about it: Team Rocket? The Radio Tower? The Lake of Rage?"
None of this meant anything to AJ - or, apparently, to anyone else in the room, which made AJ feel a bit better about being in the dark - but Lance's eyes suddenly grew wide and he slowly lifted his hand to his forehead, looking positively floored.
"Of course," he breathed, sounding winded. "The Radio Tower… Why didn't I see it earlier…?"
"See what?" Sammy asked, annoyed, and Ethan quickly began to explain.
"Years ago - way back when I was still a rookie trainer - Team Rocket tried to stage a comeback in Johto. They took over the Goldenrod Radio Tower and started hijacking the broadcasts."
"Right, I remember that," Brock said slowly, nodding along. "Lasted for a few hours - even some of the frequencies in Kanto were being taken over. But what's that got to do with what we're dealing with now?"
"Hijacking radio frequencies to broadcast their propaganda wasn't all they were after," Lance answered. "They were also testing a particularly malicious frequency that they broadcasted out of a satellite station in Mahogany Town, targeting the Lake of Rage. The frequency was special - not just meant to be picked up on the radio, but instead targeting the wild pokemon living around the lake. It drove them to a state of frenzy where they lashed out violently against each other and anyone who came close to them, and drove many to evolve prematurely."
"That was actually the first time Lance and I met," Ethan said, taking over again. "I bumped into him when I was investigating the lake, and we teamed up to destroy the satellite station and stop the broadcast. I don't know what their goal was - whether to whip the wild pokemon into a frenzy and attack the town, or if it was just a means to force wild pokemon to evolve so they could capture their stronger forms without having to put in the work, I don't know."
"Ok, but why does this matter now?" Iris asked, still looking a little lost. "I mean… I haven't been on this mountain before, but weren't you all saying that you can't get any kind of internet connection there and that radio frequencies can't pass through the mountains?"
"They can't pass through them," Ethan said, looking grave. "But that doesn't necessarily mean they don't work. We should confirm with Steven, but- wait! Professor Oak! Sir!"
Ethan quickly turned his attention to the projection of the Oaks that was still up on the wall. Gary and Leaf were still arguing in the background, but Professor Oak Senior had settled himself in the computer chair in front of the camera and had been feeding the baby Articuno by hand. At the sound of his name, he looked up.
"Hm? Yes? Speak up, lad, these ears aren't what they used to be."
"You said you had data about Mt. Silver, right? Do you know about the issue with radio and internet frequencies not passing through the mountains?"
"A bit," the professor said, frowning slightly. "I don't believe anyone ever discovered the cause, if that's what you mean, but I do know that whatever it is - the electromagnetic waves or some kind of radiation or-"
Or the legendary pokemon having a secret sanctuary on the top of the mountain, AJ added mentally, but kept her mouth shut to let the Professor explain.
"- or whatever it is, that's why frequencies can't pass through the mountains, which is why you don't get a signal when you're there."
"They can't pass through the mountains," Ethan said, placing a heavy emphasis on the word 'through'. "But that doesn't necessarily mean that they don't work at all, right?"
Professor Oak leaned in closer to the screen, looking confused.
"I'm afraid I don't understand what you're getting at, lad."
Oh good - it wasn't just AJ then.
"What I mean is, if someone were to, hypothetically, set up a radio tower on the mountain and start broadcasting, would you still be able to pick up a signal?"
The professor cocked his head to the side, looking thoughtful. At his side, the baby Articuno did the same.
"Hmm… Well, I suppose… In theory, yes, the tower should still be able to produce the signal. There'd still be interference from… whatever is causing the interference on the mountain, so it wouldn't travel far. I imagine you'd only be able to reach a very limited area, but it still might be possible."
"And if that someone were Team Rocket, and the radio frequency they were broadcasting were the same one they pioneered at the Lake of Rage…"
"Then… you'd drive the wild pokemon into a frenzy?" Jade asked, still looking lost.
But AJ felt like she'd just been doused in a bucket of ice water.
"You'd drive the legendary pokemon into a frenzy," she said, barely more than a whisper. "They're going to target the Sanctuary and Mewtwo with their frequency."
"That was my thought, yeah," Ethan nodded. "And if that's their plan, and if this Sanctuary of yours is real, then… Well, I think this just got a whole lot more serious."
AJ had had her doubts, before, about whether Giovanni would really be able to take Ash and Mewtwo together. Even with the full force of his criminal enterprise behind him, what could he really hope to achieve when pitted against both of them - and the veritable army of legendary pokemon at their backs?
Now, however… If there really was some sort of radio frequency that could drive wild pokemon wild, and if it worked on legendary pokemon too…
Panic started to well up inside of her chest. Her concerns about Ash and the Sanctuary from before now felt like a puddle beside the ocean of anxiety now threatening to drown her.
"We need to go," Aj said, her voice sounding loud in the dull quiet of the room. "Now."
The others wasted no time in making for the door, with Ethan saying something about calling Steven, Hoenn's Champion and an expert in engineering, and Kris and Lyra following close behind.
Lance excused himself as well, stating that he needed to go and change if they were going to charge off up the mountain. The same seemed to be true for just about everyone, as among them, only AJ, Sammy, Jade, and Kris had brought along supplies suitable to climb Mt. Silver. While the others made their not-so-quick trip to the sporting goods store for a wardrobe change, AJ and her friends agreed to set off first, stating that they'd rendezvous at the Rangers Station at the foot of the mountain before making the final ascent together.
Feeling fear and panic and anxiety warring inside her, she gathered Jade and Sammy, made sure Pichu was up on her shoulder where he belonged, and, after quickly changing into their cold weather gear - the only gear they'd still had on when they'd been found, as they'd actually been wearing it - they were on their way.
The moment she stepped outside, she was swarmed by reporters.
AJ was actually stunned for a moment, having completely forgotten about the paparazzi. They'd had people from the League pick them up from the hospital and take them to Headquarters earlier, and they'd been able to shepherd them along and form a barrier to protect them from the media, but AJ had left the building with only Jade and Sammy this time, and they were instantaneously mobbed.
It was quite literally like being pelted with stones - except instead of stones, it was flashbulbs and q, shouted questions, all tumbling over each other from the roiling mass of reporters that had boxed them in against the front doors in a confusing, incomprehensible roar of "Miss Ketchum! Miss Ketchum!", "Over here! David Lane from the Celadon Times-", "Champion AJ, what is the League doing to-?"
There were so many questions jumbled right on top of one another that she couldn't pick a single one out to answer even if she wanted to, and with the camera flashes going off like strobe lights, she felt practically blinded, not able to see if there was a way out of the scrum.
Jade and Sammy both tried to help, holding out their arms as if they could shield her and trying to shout at the reporters to get back, Pichu squeaking impotently from her shoulder, but it was two against more than twenty at this point. They weren't doing much good.
AJ tried to speak - she really did. She called out that she had no comment, that she didn't have time to answer questions, she was on League business and they were interfering, but her voice was lost in the din and nobody seemed to be able to hear her. How, exactly, did they expect her to answer their questions if they were all screaming on top of each other like this?! They were like a pack of rabid, starving Houndour who had cornered a Sentret.
The doors behind her opened, and she saw what looked like League security hastily exiting the building with their Machoke, trying to force the reporters back to give AJ some space. Eventually, a gap opened up to the left, and she felt Jade take her hand, dragging her in that direction. They just needed to get far enough away that she could call out her Metagross and they could get out of here.
It was then, however, that a thought occurred to her.
Lance had just been lamenting them not having any additional backup. They couldn't ask for any more help from the League or the police, but… Who said the only good trainers were associated with the League? She thought of Hilda and her boys, and what Ethan had said earlier - about how Bugsy had been able to quickly quell the attack in Azalea earlier with the help of a couple of contestant stars who had just happened to be in the area.
Random trainers had been helping Gym Leaders and the police fight off these attacks for weeks now without needing to explicitly be told to do so. Just look at Kris - she had no professional affiliation with the Elite Four or even any Gyms for that matter, but she was still coming along.
There were probably loads of capable trainers out there who could help. Good people who would do the right thing. The only problem was, how would they find them? How could they get a hold of them and convince them to trust her?
But the answer was right in front of her. The media.
If these sleaze-ball reporters were going to capitalize on this disaster to pad out their wallets, then she was going to capitalize on them right back.
The League security team was moving with them, forming a pocket around AJ and her friends as they walked, but the reporters followed right along. It made AJ feel a bit like bacteria that had been swallowed by a cell as it tried to dissolve them. They were trying to head around the side of the building, avoiding the main staircase that led up to the front doors of the League Headquarters and instead aiming for a relatively open patch of grass to the side where they could call out their pokemon, but the crowd wasn't making it easy.
And as they walked, AJ kept looking for an opening. Not in the crowd, but in their clamor. If she could get them to shut up for a second so she could talk…! But the reporters seemed more concerned with shouting over each other than they did actually getting any answers.
Suddenly, someone broke from the crowd. He stepped in front of them, somehow managing to dodge under the outstretched arm of a Machoke, invading their bubble and coming to a halt directly in front of AJ. He had a smarmy, ingratiating smirk on his face and a mic held up to his mouth as he said, in a loud, carrying voice, "Well, well - if it isn't our runaway Champion. Finally decided to come out of hiding?"
Sammy stepped forward, ready to shove the man to the side, but AJ caught his arm, pulling him back. The crowd had quieted down a bit at the sound of the newcomer's voice, their cameras and microphones all pointed expectantly at her. Even the security team had hesitated, looking to her to see how she wanted them to proceed.
But AJ stepped forward, approaching the man. This was her chance - if she could get him to let her make a statement…
Something about him looked vaguely familiar, though she was certain they'd never met before. He was older than her by a good decade or so, she'd guessed, with a pale face, a dark, narrow suit, and black hair that had been slicked back with so much gel it practically looked like a Kabuto carapace. His eyes were a sickly green, small and narrow, and they gazed at her like a Pidgeotto eying a juicy Caterpie.
"Yes - hello," AJ said, mainly because she didn't know what else to say. This whole public speaking, doing interviews thing wasn't really her forte, but she was going to have to get used to it eventually. May as well start now.
The man hummed in response, but in a sarcastic sort of way.
"It's a bit of a surprise, actually seeing you in person," he continued. "With the way you've been mysteriously absent these past couple of weeks, we were under the impression that you were content to sit back and let Lance do all the hard work while you kicked back on vacation."
"Uh," she said, blinking rapidly at the unexpected accusation. "Well that's… There wasn't any internet or radio interactivity where we were, so I was actually unaware of what was going on until this morning-"
"Yes, I'm sure," the man cut in, sounding absurdly condescending, and AJ found herself scowling.
"I'm sorry - who are you supposed to be?"
"Me?" he said, pointing to himself and feigning a look of astonishment, as though he could not believe that anyone wouldn't know who he was. "I'm Sebastian Stilles, Miss Ketchum - official League Analyst and reporter from KNN."
KNN - the Kanto News Network. It took her a second, but then her brain connected the dots.
She knew where she'd seen him before. He was that guy from the news broadcast that had been playing on tv during her celebration party after she'd made Champion. The talking head who thought he knew a thing or two about battling despite clearly not having been in a real pokemon battle since he'd quit traveling when he was twelve.
To be fair, she didn't actually know if that last bit was true, but that was the aura he was giving off. He reeked of spoiled wanna-be and overcompensation. She disliked him almost immediately.
"Tell me, Miss Ketchum," the reporter continued, a greasy smile on his face, "surely you've heard the news about the multiple attacks that have broken out across Kanto this morning, yes? Yet here you are, safely in League Headquarters, rather than out on the streets lending a hand. Why is that?"
"Right," AJ said slowly. "I was in the hospital this morning when the attacks started. I just got out of a meeting with Lance and Ethan about-"
But he didn't wait for her to finish, instead launching straight into his next question.
"What are your plans - if you have any - to finally put an end to the violence that has sprung up since you took over as Champion?"
"We actually do have a plan," she said, feeling her blood beginning to simmer. Did he just not-so-subtly imply that these attacks were somehow her fault? "If you'd let me, I'd like to-"
"And what would be your response to the criticisms levied by many that you only earned your title due to a combination of nepotism and Former Champion Lance being well past his prime?"
AJ actually gawked for a moment as though she'd just been slapped across the face
"E-excuse me?!"
"Forgive me, Miss Ketchum, but there are many out there - in Kanto and abroad - who are questioning the wisdom in having Kanto's new Champion be someone so young, and who are wondering if you perhaps found your journey made easier than most thanks to your mother being in the Elite Four, your close association with the Oaks, and your father's famous last name."
Here, he paused to smile at her. His too-white teeth seemed to glisten in the flashes of the surrounding cameras, a sardonic grin that seemed to be deeply enjoying what he was doing.
There was a scuffle behind her, as though someone - though whether it was Jade or Sammy, she didn't know - had tried to force their way forward, but AJ held out her arm to stop them.
She knew what he was doing. He didn't actually care about the answers to his questions or about anything she had to say. He was just trying to provoke a rise out of her so he could make a headline. AJ, the hot-headed teenager who blew up publicly at her own celebration party, the immature little girl who wasn't ready to be the Champion yet. This wasn't journalism - it was low-effort content farming, no different from what no-life trolls did for views on social media.
No wonder he kept calling her 'Miss Ketchum' instead of 'Champion AJ'.
"I would say that some people have a lot of time on their hands and should probably find better ways to spend their life than pretending to be experts in fields they know nothing about," she said, forcing a fake smile of her own.
She didn't have time for this. She'd hoped to be able to make a call for help to send out across the world through the news, but at this point, she was just wasting time. Giovanni could be on the mountain right now and she had an hours-long journey ahead of her!
The man raised his eyebrows, looking unimpressed.
"So you believe you know more than League experts?" he asked, making the question sound as though it were the most ludicrous claim imaginable.
"I believe that I know more than some wanna-be talking head who hasn't had a real battle in fifteen years," she spat back, and someone in the crowd of reporters made an excitable sort of noise, as though imagining the headline they were going to have for the evening news.
Her blood was full-on boiling now, but she was doing everything in her power to hold back the impending outburst. And to think - not even a half an hour ago, she was patting herself on the back for making so much progress with Lance. But it's easy to act mature when confronted with a well-reasoned argument from a well-intentioned opponent like Lance. This guy was intentionally provoking her. He would love nothing more than to see her explode. She didn't want to give him what he wanted - that would be the same thing as letting him win…
With a sneer, the man raised his mic back up to his lips and said, condescension dripping from his every word, "Forgive me if I can't take that seriously from the girl who's spent her life eclipsed in the shadow of her much more talented father."
AJ wasn't even sure what happened next. One moment, she was staring at him as though she'd never seen a creature so vile and repulsive in her life. The next, she'd taken a step forward, cocked back her arm, and let her fist fly straight into his greasy smirk.
The crowd let out a shocked gasp, the flashes of cameras increasing in intensity for a blinding moment as Sebastian Stilles - worst reporter in the Indigo League - stumbled back, looking absolutely shocked as blood gushed out of his now-ruined nose. He lost his footing and fell backwards, stunned, but was caught by the crowd before he could hit the ground, staring up at her in stupefied horror as though he couldn't believe she'd actually done that.
Honestly, she couldn't either, and she grimaced as she shook her hand in front of her. Punching someone in the face was a lot more painful than movies made it seem. But it had felt so unbelievably good.
Lance was going to kill her. So much for all those nice things he'd been saying about her earlier.
But none of that mattered now. She didn't have time for this - not for stupid reporters or concerns about her image or even the inevitable assault charges she'd probably have pressed against her. They'd wasted too much time here.
AJ turned, and the circle of reporters drew back as though afraid she was going to come after them next. The League security team looked hesitant, some of them turning around as though wondering if they needed to be protecting the paparazzi from her instead of the other way around.
She reached out and snagged the microphone out of the hand of a woman who wasn't able to pull back fast enough, holding it up to her mouth and looking in the direction of what she thought was that reporter's camera, hoping they were filming this.
"I'd like to make a statement," she said, and the woman nodded, a little fearfully. Well, fear wasn't exactly the kind of respect she'd been hoping for as the Champion, but it was something.
"My name is AJ Ketchum," she said loudly, addressing the group at large. "The current Grand Champion of the Kanto League. And I have something to say."
Here, she took a deep breath. This may not be the smartest way to go about this. Lance would definitely have some choice words. Her mother, too. The League was probably already kicking themselves about not hiring a PR Team for her. But desperate times called for desperate measures, and how else was she supposed to rally people to come to their aid?
She had one card to play - a card she'd never played before and had sworn up and down that she never would, despite what Sebastian Stilles seemed to think. But she was playing it now.
If he thought her famous last name had made things easier for her, well, then let it be true today.
"My father - Ash Ketchum - is alive," she said, pausing for a moment to let it sink in, watching as the expressions on the faces of the reporters and security guards around her changed from hilarity and fear to shock and disbelief.
"He's alive," she repeated, "and he's on Mt. Silver - where he's been for the last eighteen years, doing what he does best and keeping pokemon safe."
And not raising me, she thought to herself, the words bubbling up in her mind, unbidden. Not being there for me, or for mom. Missing my every important moment and forcing a legacy on me I never asked for.
And ultimately, she knew, none of that was really his fault. But it didn't change the fact that he wasn't there. Who was to blame really didn't matter. The result was the same, and no one could change that.
"These attacks that have been plaguing the Alliance are the result of a plan probably years in the works by a man named Giovanni. Me and Lance and Champion Ethan and a few others are heading up the mountain again now to provide backup, but that's all we can send. The rest of the League has their hands full putting an end to the violence and trying to keep you all safe, but this won't truly be over until Giovanni is stopped."
And once he was stopped - if he was stopped - what then? Would Ash come home? Did he want that? Did they? Was he just supposed to step back into the void he'd left in their lives like he'd never gone? She'd found him once and he'd pushed her away again. And sure - maybe that wasn't exactly his fault either, but how many times can you be rejected by someone before the hurt grows too big to heal?
"Ash Ketchum is alive," she repeated, and to her surprise, she felt emotion creeping into her voice, tightening her throat and filling her eyes with tears she refused to shed. "He's alive… but he needs help. He can't do this on his own, but the League can't afford to send anyone else to help him. Please… If you can hear me… If you have a team that can handle a life-or-death brawl… If you remember Ash Ketchum, if you ever called him a friend… Please. At the tallest peak of Mt. Silver. He needs you. We all do."
Her voice gave out then, but it was fine - she'd said what she needed to. She handed the microphone back to the mystified reporter and turned to walk away, stepping over the legs of Sebastian Stilles as he sat on the ground, still trying to stem the flow of blood from his ruined nose.
The crowd was shouting questions, but they parted for her all the same. Perhaps out of fear that she'd hit them, too. Perhaps because they could see the look on her face. In a removed sort of way, she wondered if her declaration about her father being alive was enough to eclipse the news that she'd punched a reporter in the face and broke his nose. Anything was possible. Or maybe it would just be used as further evidence that she had gone completely psychotic.
Jade and Sammy said nothing as they joined her on the grass, Jade summoning her Metagross and Sammy climbing onto his Corvinight. Within seconds, they were up in the air and heading off towards Mt. Silver once again.
AJ remained quiet, keeping her head down and her arms wrapped securely around Pichu so he didn't fall off. The League was probably going to be mad. She'd just invited a bunch of strangers to storm a restricted pokemon habitat - one notable for being especially dangerous to traverse. If anyone showed up and got hurt, or any poachers thought they'd try their luck and take advantage of the situation, it would probably be on her head.
But so be it. She'd punched a man on live TV today. What was one more mistake to add to the list? Try as she might, she couldn't bring herself to care all that much.
Sometimes, when you did what you thought was right, people got hurt. You still have to do the right thing, but just because that thing is right, it doesn't erase the hurt that you caused. She'd have to own up to her actions once all was said and done. And she would. That was the person she wanted to be.
She was not her father. Even if they both tried to do what they thought was right, and even if they both ended up hurting people in the end.
She was not her father - she had screamed that in her heart every day, since the day she'd been given her first pokemon. Her father had - intentionally or not, willingly or not - abandoned her twice. It didn't matter if he had wanted to cause her pain, because he had. The pain was there, and it was real, and it didn't magically vanish just because he'd had good intentions.
But she was not her father. She didn't abandon the people she cared about when they needed her.
And with that thought foremost in her heart, she faced forward toward the distant mountain and the uncertain mountain that lay in the heart of it.
Somewhere above the frostbitten peaks of Mt. Silver, a fleet of ships descended through the clouds.
They hovered for a moment, slowly circling the tallest peak of the mountain range before touching down in a relatively level clearing, their landing gears sinking several feet into the densely-packed snow.
The docking ramp of the lead vessel lowered, and an older gentleman descended with slow purpose-filled steps, a Persian at his side.
The wind was frigid here, and it seemed to pierce the man even through his top-of-the-line Beartic-fur snowsuit. Age was catching up to him, and any lesser man his age would have immediately balked at the chill. Yet instead of backing down, he found the wind and the cold bracing.
This was it. The moment he'd been working toward for forty years.
As Giovanni's boots crunched through the snow, he glanced up at Mt. Silver's tallest peak, looking more purple now in the fading light of the dying day, but he couldn't stop the self-satisfied smirk from gracing his lips.
Other ships touched down behind him, and people began flooding out onto the mountainside. Rocket Admins and leaders of other organizations - Plasma, Aqua, Magma, Galactic; the names changed, but the hand that pulled their strings did not - began taking to the field, releasing their pokemon and spreading out wide to begin the search. It had to be close.
The largest ship of all was the last to land. A cargo vessel, carrying Dr. Charon and the partially constructed segments of his special radio tower, as well as the surprise boon they'd managed to snag in Castelia. They'd gone through a great deal of trouble to acquire the necessary components at such short notice. He'd been waiting a long time to use this tech again, and he could think of no better venue.
One of his Admins, Archer, approached from behind to give his report. A cabin had been found nearby, but it was empty. Instead, the readings were pointing west-northwest. So then - the final peak of the mountain itself. Perfect.
His smirk grew more pronounced, a sneer in full.
He was so close now, he could practically smell it in the air.
Before the new day dawned, the ambition he had dedicated his life to fulfilling would finally - finally - be in his grasp. That which was rightfully his would finally be returned to him.
He ordered Archer to take Maxie, Archie, and half of their forces and remain with Charon. He would need the help to move and assemble the remaining parts of the tower. The completed structure would have been too large to transport, so Charon had decided to assemble what he could in the lab and complete the construction on-site. That would take some time, but it was fine. Time was something he had to work with.
The remaining forces led by Ghetsis, Mars, and Lysander were quickly assembled and ordered to spread out, searching the mountainside between their landing point and the last tall spire of Mt. Silver. That was the direction their readings were giving them.
The mysterious magnetic properties of Mt. Silver were a nuisance, preventing most forms of long-distance communication from passing through, which meant it was difficult if not entirely impossible to exchange information between those on the mountain and those without. However, as he had discovered personally on his trip, this restriction only applied to long-range communication. Short-range frequencies would still work, albeit at an even shorter distance than intended.
He had brought along a radar of sorts, devised by old researchers from Silph Co and utilizing what information remained from his experiments on the blood he'd stolen from Mew and that abominable failure, Mewtwo. It wasn't much, but it had allowed them, once on the mountain, to roughly determine the location of his prize. It was hardly exact, and with that mysterious interference, they may yet need to send some men out to triangulate the position - but it would do for now. In any event, the central spire seemed auspicious. That was where they would head first.
It didn't take long. Being so close to his prize, his blood seemed afire with a vigor and determination he'd not felt since he was a much younger man, and the cold barely seemed to touch him. Minutes passed by between blinks, and before he knew it, they were arriving at the foot of the last lone peak. From its base, he could see what looked to be a small creek flowing from the depths of the black maw of a cave.
It would be there, he knew. He didn't need to check the radar again. Call it intuition if you must, but he was never wrong. His prize would be there, somewhere within. It was within his sights, now.
The sun was nearly beneath the horizon now, painting the once-white snow in burning swaths of orange and red and gold. Victory, it seemed to say. Victory.
A few meters away from the cave's entrance, the group came to a stop.
There was someone standing in front of the cave, barring their way. Just one someone. A single man.
A man too young to be Cole, and yet… There was something familiar about him. The shape of his face, the casual slouch, the iconic hat, the Pikachu glaring from atop his shoulder…
Yes… Yes, he knew this boy. He would remember that amber-eyed glare for as long as he lived.
Giovanni let out a short breathless chuckle.
"Well now… do wonders never cease? Just how many legends have taken to hiding on this mountain exactly?"
The boy - the man - said nothing. His Pikachu hopped down off his shoulder, squaring off, as if it and its trainer alone would be enough to prevent them from accessing the cave.
Giovanni's forces began to spread out, encircling the man, easily outnumbering him twenty-to-one, cutting off any hope of escape. The man didn't flinch. His face remained steady, his eyes aflame with determination.
Giovanni planted his cane firmly in the snow, allowing himself to lean against it as he settled in for a show.
"Very well then," he said, letting his words ring out as darkness gradually fell across the mountain.
"Entertain me."