Chapter 32
September 1st 2001
Ash landed at Indigo Plateau over ten hours later. Speaking briefly to Queenie who took off to do Arceus knows what he immediately swept up into his room, saying a brief hello to Anne as he passed her. It was around 5pm now and he was absolutely shattered. He hadn't explored the room much, the last time he simply sat in his chair so he decided to look through the doorway that was at the back of the room and was amazed to find a small bedroom. That's a result he thought as he collapsed face forward onto it. A few hours later Anne checked in before she left and chuckled as she saw Ash snoring his head off face down while Pikachu was lying on his back also snoring with his tongue out. Gently she closed the door and turned out the light as she left. It was nearing midnight when Ash woke up hungry but upon looking in the fridge he found there was nothing in. Why would there be he thought, I'm only here for a few days but he decided to go for a wander to buy snacks. Pikachu had also woken up by this point and was nibbling on an apple from Ash's bag on Ash's shoulder. As they wandered into the lobby Ash wasn't surprised to see it fairly vacant, the reception desk had long since been abandoned after the last match finished around 8pm.
Indigo Plateau though was still in full swing as while various restaurants were closed there were still a few vendors for the people that were in the pubs and clubs enjoying the night. While Ash had no desire to go into one, being underage he did spy a vendor selling Burgers. Buying three and a few cooked Pidgey surprised the man but Ash explained some were for his Pokémon before leaving and heading to a bench that sat opposite the third stadium and began to eat. Ash absolutely demolished the first one and was well into his second one when he saw a few people heading over to him. Two women, one with blonde hair and the other a brunette and two men, one with blue and one with brown hair had spotted him and we're making a beeline straight for him. Sighing, he continued eating hoping they'd continue on but sadly he wasn't that lucky.
"What can I do for you?" Ash asked after swallowing a bite and taking another.
"You're really him, aren't you?" The man with the blue hair asked a bit rudely.
"Depends who 'him' is" Ash said before taking another bite. Internally he was wondering how this was going to play out as while he didn't like confrontation, he could certainly see this one heading that way due to how the men's body language was.
"You're Ketchum," the other man said, looking at his mate.
"I am yeah" he said nodding and finishing his food before reaching for his water. Looking down at Pikachu he noticed he was still making his way through his berry burger also looking unconcerned "Nice aren't they Pi." he asked, gaining a nod.
"Very actually" he said "after a month of Pokéblocks this is a welcome change."
"Yeah, you're not wrong" he said "I imagine we need a long shower at the minute, lake water can only do so much."
"Speak for yourself" Pi muttered before carrying on eating.
"So, what can I do for you?" Ash asked, chuckling, sitting back and spreading his arms over the bench. The men looked warily at Ash now they had the chance to get a good look at him. He was built like a brick shithouse as his Dad was fond of saying and rumour had it he sparred with his Machamp every day.
"Oh, we were wondering how you were doing and why you're here." the brunette asked not having a clue why her boyfriend was so hostile to the Kanto Champion.
"Oh right" he said genially "well I'm here for a meeting and then I'll be staying until after the final. Apparently, I'm to present the winner's trophy. Did any of you compete this year? I didn't have much chance to watch many matches as I've been living inside Mt Silver for the last month, hence why we're so hungry for brown food. Berries can only fill you so much. Hang on a minute" he brought his thumb and finger to his lips and let out a sharp whistle before focusing on the group "sorry about that."
"Er yeah" the first man said "I was knocked out in the last sixteen a few days ago but only just. I hate psychics, they shouldn't be allowed to be able to read your mind in battle."
"No, they shouldn't" Ash said frowning "in fact it was banned about twenty years ago by my father when he was Champion. Are you saying your opponent was actively reading your mind to pre-empt you and the referees did nothing?"
"New rules this year" the blonde woman said shaking her head "apparently with the new board came new rules and they tossed out most of the old ones. That was one of them."
"Well, I'm sorry about that" Ash said frowning "but it will be reinstated as soon as possible. What's your name?"
"Daniel Allen" he said.
"Well, I hope this doesn't stop you from returning" Ash said "trust me when I say it won't happen next year."
"I'll give it some serious thought" the man said "as long as that rule isn't in place though you may find a lot of the people that competed here this year won't return. There's three psychics that made it to the final four."
"Well, they won't be in my Elite Four should they win" Ash said angrily "I'll die before I allow those bastards anywhere near my office."
Whatever retort was coming from the group died as a massive thump was heard ten feet behind him and he saw their faces turn pale as stomping feet made their way to Ash. putting her head over his left shoulder from behind she sniffed and bared her teeth.
"I smell cooked brown food" Queenie said "that better be for me."
"Of course it's for you" Ash said, nudging her head away with his and opening the bag to reveal the two lovely cooked Pidgeys "stop drooling" he said wiping some saliva off his shoulder "that's disgusting."
"Then give me the bloody food" she growled.
Shaking his head Ash picked up one of the Pidgeys and threw it into the air where it was snatched out of the air by Salamence who immediately began to crunch on it, moaning with delight and thumping her tail on the ground. "You overgrown baby" Ash said chuckling, getting a glare before she carried on eating. Once she'd finished she looked at him expectantly and then to the last Pidgey that was on the bench.
"That's mine right," Queenie asked, looking down at it and moving her head to it.
"Ah, ah, ah" Ash said, flicking her on the nose "Yes, it is for you, but we don't snatch."
"I wasn't snatching" she growled "it's right there, not in your hands."
"Even so" Ash said, picking it up and watching amused as Queenie tracked it all the way from the bench to near chest level with eager eyes.
"Fine" she growled after thirty seconds of nothing "May I have the food?"
"You may" Ash said "open up."
Comically to Ash at least but terrifyingly to his audience Salamence opened her mouth wide and Ash placed his arm inside with the Pidgey before withdrawing it "there you go"
Salamence wasted absolutely no time in chomping and crunching on the cooked food, tail thumping as she enjoyed it. Turning to the group Ash saw that they were looking at him in either bewilderment or awe. Snapping his fingers in front of them he shook them from their reverie. "Sorry about that. You'd think she was feral with the way she is at times."
"You have fed us nothing but berries for a month" Queenie said before sniffing and looking over to the vendor who was about forty meters away "more cooked food?"
"Hey!" Ash said sternly "you do not harass the vendors! You've been fed."
"Spoilsport" she said before taking off in one big wing beat which blew air around them before she took off heading towards the mountains.
Shaking his head he spoke to the bloke "do me a favour. Go into your trainer profile and send a complaint form directly to me. I'll likely be collecting a few and I know it's no good to you now but believe me it will be addressed in the meeting."
"At least it will be mentioned," the man said, shrugging "it's very unfair."
"I'll watch your match tomorrow" Ash said "don't leave the tournament just yet. While I can't change the results I will do something about this. Come on Pi, back to the office. It was nice meeting you all."
The next morning Ash woke early but instead of doing his morning routine he was watching through videos of matches that had happened, starting with Daniels quarter final match. Much to Ash's disgust it was exactly as Daniel said. The trainer he faced knew exactly what Daniel was going to do before he spoke and countered it before he had even finished uttering the command. Hearing a knock on the door he said enter and Anne walked in. "Good morning" she said, placing a document on his desk "the run through for today including when the meeting is taking place."
"That'll have to wait" Ash said, making her pause "I need you to do me a favour and it's rather urgent. I need you to get me a list of every competitor this year that competed in the league and I need an asterisk by every psychic trainer. I need it in the next hour."
"I'll ring reception then" she said nodding "they can certainly get the list for you. Shall I ask them to send it directly to you?"
"Yes please" Ash said as he looked at the itinerary "can you come and get me half an hour before we're due to be in the meeting, I'm hoping to have my presentation set up for then."
Not asking what presentation he was doing she nodded and left. Ten minutes later Ash received his list and began trawling through the trainers' matches on their profiles and making notes. Hooking his laptop up to the big TV he began to make his presentation, it took a good three hours to complete but once he was done he breathed out, shaking his head in disgust.
Anne gently knocked on his door at 10:30 and he removed the CD he had created and placed it inside his clipboard that he would need for the meeting. Following her they walked to the elevator and went up one floor where they greeted Giovanni's private secretary and walked into the boardroom where another aide was setting out the agendas and name plates.
"Where am I sat?" he asked the aide.
"Next to the President Champion Ash" he said.
"Just Ash" he said smiling before walking over to the big TV screen and switching it on much to the confusion of the aide and Anne. Placing the CD in he waited for it to load up before pressing pause at the beginning. Grabbing the remote he switched it off and pocketed the remote before moving to his seat, picking up the name tag and swapping it with Richards so that he was at the end of the table, quite far away.
"Giovanni has requested you sit by him," the aide said, sounding concerned.
"Yeah well Giovanni can ask what he wants" Ash said "it doesn't mean he gets what he wants. What's your name?"
"Bruno" he said.
"Oh like the former Elite Four Member" Ash said.
"I was named after him" he said smiling "my dad competed against him at the P1 and he nearly beat him. After that Bruno personally trained him for a few months so in his honour I was named after him."
"Well Bruno" Ash said "Don't worry about this, if he fires you or treats you like shit for this, come and see me, I'll find a job for you. I have quite a few positions open at the minute."
"Ok Sir," came the reply as Ash sat down and began to read the Itinerary.
Twenty minutes later Giovanni walked in and paused to see Ash sitting down already, not only that but he was further down the table than he requested.
"You're supposed to be here," Giovanni said, pointing to the seat next to him.
"Well we wouldn't want to give the Gym Leaders the wrong impression" Ash said before looking up "would we?"
"You already are by sitting down there when you should be here" Giovanni said "this petulance is getting annoying."
"And you not giving up your son has gone way beyond petulance" Ash said "people in glass houses Uncle."
Before he could retort the buzzer in front of him went off "Yes?" he asked.
"The Gym Leaders have started to arrive along with the new Elite Four member, should I send them in?" his receptionist asked.
"Yes" Giovanni said, "we will finish this discussion later on."
"I'm sure we will," Ash said, smiling.
As they all started to walk in, Ash stood up to greet them all before pointing to where they were sitting. It was very disconcerting to many of them as they knew him from the gym challenge and he wasn't anything like this back then. Misty was especially baffled when Ash pulled out her chair for her before he walked back around the table and took his seat.
Giovanni was seething on the inside. This was supposed to be his first talk as President to his team and his Champion had already gone rogue. How many would soon follow him is something he had discussed with Alexis after informing her of Ash's ultimatum on the evening of the Leagues start. He had to calm her down because reality had started to really hit them both that Ash was very capable of finding their Son and it wouldn't be long before the inevitable final confrontation. So watching him greet the Gym Leaders like they were old friends, something which actually was the case where Frank, Koga and Richard were concerned was actually concerning.
"Hello" Giovanni said welcoming them "This will likely be a first for a lot of you, but for the returnees this will stay in the same format as Charles used. I see no reason to change something that works. So, for the new people would you like to introduce yourself?"
Once that was done Giovanni continued "excellent. So today is the annual review of the Kanto Gyms and to see how they're coming along, what they're doing well and what improvements, if any, can be made. We'll start with Forrest in Pewter Gym. Now I'll start off by saying that Forrest is one of many here who is new to the role so because of that he gets a lot of leeway where certain conditions are concerned. I'm a little concerned you couldn't find two apprentices given Brock trained most of those that were there. Can you explain why?"
"My Brother's apprentices left when he did" Forrest said looking nervous "only three stayed, one of whom left after a month."
"Why?" Ash asked, making him turn towards him.
"My brother was quite selective of who he chose, and not in a good way" Forrest said "I love my brother, he was there for me growing up when my mum and dad left, so it pains me to say this. He specifically chose trainers that agreed with his original philosophy on women. Now he changed his ways a few years ago, no one seems to know why but he told me he had to pretend to be the same way in order for the apprentices to stay afterwards. When he left, so did they because I wouldn't accept that kind of behaviour."
"Good" Ash said "and I know why he changed. It's because I threatened to beat the shit out of him if he carried on treating the Nurse Joys and Officer Jennies as objects for him to wank over. Sorry to be crude everyone. I found out he was only tolerated because of me, being my friend and co-author of a book, I seemed to have unintentionally vouched for him but when I put him in his place on Valencia Island he thankfully listened. He was an idiot and a misogynistic prick and I won't have that kind of behaviour around me, something I told him. I'm glad to see he changed. He doesn't know this but he was only one more incident away from being arrested for sexual harassment and a worldwide strike from the Nurse Joys. That would have killed the Kanto League which was already recovering from the Cinnabar Incident with Blaine."
"I'm glad someone talked to him," Janine said, earning nods from all the women in the room. "I would have had Crobat use Toxic on him while I cut off his balls had he tried that with me."
"Yes well" Forrest said looking uncomfortable at the people around him threatening his brother "because of that people believe I am the same way, so it's been difficult getting apprentices. Hopefully I can do better next year."
"I'm sure you will" Giovanni said nodding and ticking off Forrest "the league will look into promoting your gym to attract Rock type trainers to aid you. Next, we have Cerulean Gym. Now I'm aware that Misty has been on a year's sabbatical finding Water Pokémon to use in her gym. Have you been successful?"
"I have yes," she said, "at least partially. I have four I would consider my Elites now and I have three that can be used against beginner trainers. I have already sent out newsletters inviting prospective apprentices to come to the gym so hopefully next year we can guarantee at least two to take part in the league. My sisters are going on their own journey as models so I can devote my time fully to the gym"
"Well, that won't happen," Ash said, making a note on his pad "We'll have to think about a temporary replacement for her."
"Why?" she asked, beginning to tear up and standing up slapping the desk in anger "why must you always put me down? I've tried really hard this year, and you still have no respect for me. Why?"
"What are you on about?" Ash asked bewildered, "What I meant was it's going to be pretty hard doing both your gyms duties and taking care of a baby. There's a reason Lorelei took a sabbatical from her duties."
You could hear a pin drop from his announcement.
"I am not pregnant!" she said angrily "I have just eaten a bit too much after recovering from what happened at the Whirl Cup."
"I'm going to stop you there before you get worked up" Ash said interrupting her "I have repeatedly told you that I am the world's most powerful aura user Misty. I know where every single soul is in this room, building and Plateau if I wanted to attempt to pass out. So, when I tell you there's an extra soul in the room you better take that as Gospel. You are pregnant Misty, come to terms with it."
Frank leaned over to him and whispered, "I wouldn't have quite put it like that Ash, pregnant women are a force on their own."
"Trust me I know; my mother is seven months pregnant" Ash whispered back.
"You're not lying?" she said looking down at the slight pouch that was protruding from her jeans that she assumed was from eating too much. She had struggled to fit into her swimsuits lately. "I'm pregnant?"
"Yes" Ash said, leafing through a book and stopping at the maternity section which listed what his role was for any Gym Leader or Elite Four member that became pregnant while he was Champion "so I'd have the conversation with the father as soon as you can. Given you're my gym leader we can help you with any renovations to your home and gym make the transition easier. Just send my secretary the relevant information."
"Misty," Daisy asked tentatively, getting a tearful look from her "you've not mentioned a boyfriend before. Why haven't we met him?"
"I don't have one," she said quietly.
"So do we know who the father is?" Daisy asked searchingly holding her baby sister at arm's length.
"Yes" she nodded.
"Are you sure?" Daisy asked.
"Of course, I am" Misty said irritated "I've only slept with one person, but I doubt he'd want anything to do with me."
"Misty, who is it?" Daisy asked getting a shake of the head from her sister.
"Perhaps a discussion for later, in private?" Giovanni asked, "congratulations by the way."
Ash though narrowed his eyes at Misty in thought "Tell me it's not him." he asked, getting a frightened look from Misty "tell me he didn't take advantage of you."
"No" she said "I was willing. I regretted it the morning after, but it was consensual."
"That absolute prick" he said throwing his pen on the table in disgust "I fucking knew he was like this! I told people numerous times, but no one ever listened. Tell him and let me know how he responds because I'll be damned if I see another woman have to raise a child on their own because the father is a rich man and doesn't want to own up to his responsibilities."
Misty couldn't do anything but nod in the face of Ash's anger. She knew that he had no right to be angry as it was nothing to do with him but she was strangely thankful that at least someone knew what was likely to happen when she told the father.
Making a note on his pad he looked up at Giovanni who was observing him strangely "Sorry, continue."
"We will look into a temporary replacement for your gym, depending on how far along you are you may be able to do your duties as long as you're able to. We'll see won't we. But congratulations on gaining your gym team. I'm sure we can allow some more time to help you get the last two members of your Elites at some stage."
"Now, on to Vermillion City. Frank, your record speaks for itself. I have nothing in my notes that you need to improve on, your apprentices did very well in the league so as far as I'm concerned we can move on unless there's anything you'd like to add?"
Ash passed him a note under the table that just said, "I have it in hand" and shook his head slightly. Frank gave Ash a searching look until Ash simply showed him his itinerary with a few things added at the bottom and his eyes widened slightly but years of Army training kicked in and he quickly schooled his face into an unconcerned one. "No, nothing."
"Very well, we'll move on to Erika" he said "Now it's been a very mixed bag this year from you Erika, why?"
"You already know why," she said glaring at him, "shutting down the gym along with the department store for four months for 'renovation' has eradicated any goodwill I had with the city. What we lost, Saffron City gained. People have only just started to come back in numbers close to what it was so you're lucky I even had one apprentice I felt was ready to enter the League."
"Giovanni shut down your gym?" Ash asked confused "why?"
"It required extensive fireproofing" Giovanni said to Ash "And I was not the one who shut it down. It's essentially a massive greenhouse and therefore one massive fire hazard. Earlier this year new building regulations came out because of what happened in Cinnabar with the Volcano getting ready to erupt again."
"Wait, Cinnabar's fire hazard is a bloody volcano" Ash interrupted bewildered "Something Celadon doesn't have. How is that even remotely similar? Could we not have done the gym in stages, to prevent the apprentices having to leave a building that was closed. Or at least wait until the off season to do the work. Don't most of Erika's apprentices live near the gym?"
"They did" Erika said leaning back, seemingly happy Ash was fighting her cause "suddenly having to pay for something and getting literally nothing in return because the facility was closed became unattractive and they left for bloody Sinnoh."
"We didn't have a choice sadly" Giovanni said "When I became President of the League, I was forced to give up my place on the Kanto Board so any influence I may have had disappeared. The Kanto board were adamant that the new rules be put in place immediately despite concerns from myself of the financial implications of such a big city like Celadon losing arguably its two biggest attractions. I argued and lost."
"What a shitshow," Ash said, shaking his head and looking at Erika. "You have our apologies; I think we can safely say the issues had nothing to do with you. Let us know what we can do to help you get the numbers up for you."
"I agree," Giovanni said, making a note. "Richard, you are another one who has excelled this year and we have no issues. Your first full year has been incredible. Is there anything you need from us?"
"Yes" he said "Recently Ash gave me a recipe to help my trainers who use any of the three from the Machop line the ability to battle without needing to take a break. I need funding to create a storeroom to improve the one I already have. The number of applicants has risen due to the increase in tourism that used to choose Celadon City and Saffron City's connections to Ash."
"Me?" he asked "why?"
"Well, mainly because of your Machamp" Richard said "we use your battles that he's in as training videos. Not only that but Silph is located in Saffron City and they are known to be behind your sponsorship which has generated more tourism. We used to be fighting with Celadon for the Capital City of Kanto title but it's not even close now. In fact, because of what happened to Celadon, I believe Vermillion has overtaken them as the region's second biggest City."
"It has" Frank said "Not by much, after all most of the people entering Vermillion are there to leave it via Airplane or Boat. I fully expect Celadon to rise again"
"So yeah" Richard said "we need to expand to keep up with the demand of trainers who now use the Machop line."
"Well gauge the numbers once the new season starts to see if Celadon's rises" Giovanni said "but I can't see an issue with expansion. After all, the better the facilities, the better the calibre of trainer. Who's next? Janine. Your first year has been outstanding. The standard of trainers coming from Fuchsia Gym has been exemplary and needs no improvement. Is there anything you need from us?"
"Not that I can think of" she said sitting back in her seat. "I do have a complaint that I want to bring up after the review though."
"As do I" Richard said.
"Very well" Giovanni said looking at his notes "we move on to Grady. How's your first year been? Very good by all accounts, a bit low on the apprentices but six is still a good effort for the timeframe you had."
"Aye" the man said gruffly. He was around five foot eight, with a big bushy beard, grey eyes, grey hair and wearing a Stetson "I was glad to see the gym moved from Lavender Town to the road between there and Saffron."
"It was always a temporary thing that" Giovanni said "it was meant to tide us over while we found a new gym to replace Cinnabar. Unfortunately, Agatha didn't listen to reason and ran every challenger off."
"Something my Pokémon agreed with" Ash said, surprising them "my Charizard for instance thought it was highly disrespectful to put a gym in the same town as a place people come to mourn the dead."
"Well said laddie" Grady said nodding in approval "something all of Lavender Town agrees with. There's still tourism because of the tower but the gym is doing alright where it is. I fully expect next year to be better."
"I could do with your advice actually" Ash said "I know it's off topic but I can't get in touch with Agatha and Morty has to wait until the Johto League is over before he can travel but I've recently had a school of Dreepy take residence in my lake that my research team is all over but we could do with an expert in Ghost type Pokémon to give us certain information. Are you free at all after the league?"
"Dreepy eh?" he said looking thoughtful "I'd like to see those. I'll send you a message when I've tied up the gym and shut it for the off season."
"It likely will be my aide Zoe you'll be dealing with as I'll be in Johto from the end of September until early November" Ash said making a note.
"That's fine" he said "let the lass know I'll be in touch."
Nodding to Giovanni he continued "And last but not least we have Katie in Viridian. This has also been your first year, or four months really so you won't be judged too hard just yet. How has the transition been from my understudy to the Gym Leader?"
Katie was a very pretty woman, five foot nine, crystal blue eyes, jet black hair with a very willowy figure "It's been ok." she said shortly.
"Just ok?" Ash asked, confused, "care to expand?"
"Not really" she said, earning a chuckle surprisingly from a woman who was sitting along the wall. Turning around Katie gave her a wink before facing Ash with an arched eyebrow. Ash simply leaned back and looked at her searchingly, tilting his head. As the seconds of silence passed it was starting to become uncomfortable watching the two stare each other down. Finally, Ash smirked "she'll do, I like her."
"I'm sure I'll fall asleep with a huge grin on my face, happy that I have your approval" she said sarcastically earning a laugh from Ash.
"Well, that's nearly it. We have one final person to introduce. She recently won the Unova League and has therefore Elite Four Challenge rights so please welcome Laura Whitehall, the Steel Type Master."
Everyone looked over at the lady sitting down on a chair. She was around five foot seven, dark brown hair, dark brown eyes with very pale skin and a very petite figure.
"Mistress" she said in a sultry voice. Ash was still watching Katie and saw her shiver at the word and smirked "I'm all woman Gio, don't you forget it."
"Apologies" Giovanni said, raising an eyebrow at her disrespectful tone but knowing it wasn't a battle he wanted to be in. "Anyway, I think that's it for now. Does anyone have anything to add?"
"Yes, I do" Ash said standing up and walking to the wall where he dimmed the lights, brought out the remote and turned on the TV. The assembled members were very confused as on the screen was seemingly a battle from the tournament. Pressing Play Ash leaned against the wall and looked around to gauge their reaction to see who caught on. He wasn't surprised when Frank, Janine and Richard frowned and was pleasantly happy that Laura seemed to have too. Looking at Ash he shook his head and nodded to the TV. As the montage finished Ash turned the lights up and said "what we have just witnessed is nine separate battles, all with three of the four semi-finalists taking part. Three of each, against apprentices from nearly every gym represented here." Walking to his chair he was aware of every eye on him as he picked it up and sat it down so it was facing Giovanni. Sitting down he threw the remote down on the table and leaned forwards "So, Uncle. Explain to me why the fuck you have let psychics have the ability to read their opponents minds in a league tournament despite it being outlawed over twenty years ago."
Frank, Janine and Richard all sat back in their chairs with smug grins on their faces. Looking around he saw confusion on a few faces, anger on some and resignation on Giovannis.
"It was felt that with the new regime that we should allow everyone to battle to their fullest, without hindrance, without any blocks in place to get a better standard of battle. It worked, the battles we have seen have been wonderful."
"What you have done Giovanni is allow the psychics to exploit an ability that very few can combat." picking up the remote he pressed play again and continued his tirade "you will notice that before their opponent can even issue a command the psychics have already countered the move giving them an unbeatable advantage in battle."
"Yet you use aura to counter moves like Double Team or know where ghosts are at all times" Giovanni said "a little hypocritical no?"
"The difference is Uncle that I use my ability after the opponent has issued a command. I am reacting to them, not before they've even spoken. I have received no less than ten complaints about it in the time I have switched on my computer this morning, with more flooding in. I have heard reports that next year if psychics are allowed to take part, with this ability not restricted then we will have mass walkouts during the opening ceremony leaving us with less than a quarter of the required participants and egg on our face."
"Surely not?" he said looking concerned "all because they have an ability other people don't? That's very excessive."
"It's an ability no one should have!" Ash said angrily slamming his hands down on the table causing most of them to jump and draw back in their chairs as his aura swirled around him, tightly constrained. "It should not even exist and I will tell you now uncle. As long as I am Kanto Champion, and as long as I am the face of this League I will not have a psychic in this room as a Gym Leader nor will I have one as an Elite Four member. You better hope that the participant that cannot read minds wins the bloody tournament because believe me I will not hold back against them." Standing up he grabbed his folder and walked out but not before saying "Forrest, Grady, Laura, Katie. My office in twenty minutes."
Storming out Ash left the CD on loop for the rest to watch before some like Frank got bored and left. Soon enough it was just Giovanni left who was back to seething with anger at the way his Champion behaved. There had to be something he could do to get Ash in line behind him, he just couldn't figure out what.
Ash walked into his office and threw the folder onto his table before looking out of the big bay window at the empty stadium trying to calm himself down. It wasn't long before he felt the four auras walking down the corridor, Ash smirked when he felt Laura in front. He suspected that might be the case just from the few moments he had been around her. She was a natural leader and would be a great addition to the League. Hearing a knock on the door Ash said come in still staring out at the stadium.
"I want you all to do me a favour" he said, turning his upper body to face them "stand here, look out there and tell me what you see."
Cautiously they all joined him in silence as he looked out at the stadium, seeing a few of the ground people doing repairs to the seats.
"I see a stadium," Forrest said, confused.
"I see the people," Grady said.
"I see nothing out of the ordinary." Katie said.
"I see Legacy" Laura said, gaining a nod from Ash.
"I see hopes and dreams" Ash said smiling softly "arriving here as a rookie trainer was the calmest, I have ever been as a trainer. I knew that we were exceptional, I trusted my Pokémon implicitly and lifting that trophy was the biggest achievement of my professional life, I genuinely put it above my Championship win because it was the stepping stone that gave me the opportunity to be where I am now. This is meant to be the pinnacle of everything the trainers in Kanto strive for, where everyone gets a fair crack at it, to prove to the world that you're one of the best at what you do.
This year however has been a disgrace. The battles were slanted to be in favour of one set of trainers above all else because my uncle thought getting rid of every rule that had been put in place was progressive. Three of the four semi-finalists have cheated their way to victory and in a week's time I'm expected to congratulate them because of an achievement that shouldn't by rights be theirs. I'm well aware I've likely made a piss-poor first impression on you all and for that I apologise. I won't apologise for how I treat those people and if you feel I'm being harsh I would suggest you read my book to gain a better understanding of my mindset and why I am the way I am."
"You won't hear any argument from me" Grady grunted "scum the lot of them. I remember what happened in Saffron, I also remember what happened in Lavender just before that too."
"I have no issue with Psychic Pokémon" Ash said, turning around and waving his hand to the seats opposite his own "they are what they are, as they were created to be. I said it a long time ago but it's unfortunate those wankers nicked their typing to create their own clan. Anyway, that's not why I asked you here. I wanted to introduce myself to you four, I already know the others so they didn't need to be here for this. So, I'm just going to ask you all a simple question. Why are you here?"
"I'm a Gym Leader," Forrest said, sounding uncertain.
"I think he means why did we choose to work for the league" Laura said in her suave voice, getting a nod from Ash. "For myself it was because I needed to prove to someone I once admired that I can do anything I put my mind to. Unova was the nearest league one which my Steely determination helped me succeed. Blue offered me a chance to train with the best and possibly become Elite Four given this was the only league I can challenge."
"What do you mean?" Forrest asked confused.
"You can win any League you want to" Ash said "And you can challenge any Elite Four you want to but you can only take the place of one who comes from your home region. It was brought in a few years after my father won the title hence why three of the four Elite Four members were from Johto or the Sevii Isles which I believe falls under the Orange Islands. Should they have challenged in the last ten or so years they would have been ineligible to take the place of anyone in Kanto.
When I became Champion I specifically made it clear to Charles Goodshow and Giovanni who was training to take his place that I wanted there to be no doubt that my Elite Four were from Kanto. So, because of the lack of decent talent from Kanto we devised the apprentice scheme to help boost not only the image of the gyms but the quality of trainers in the tournament. That's why each gym is allocated two slots in the tournament as proof that there are great talents being nurtured and over the four years I've been given to complete my Mastery we would invite the eight finalists from the four tournaments to join eight other trainers that would compete for three spots in the Elite Four. It's now down to two which makes it easier in tournament fashion. It's why I'm so mad that those bastards have been allowed to cheat and make a mockery of the Gym system. I'm telling you now they won't be in the tournament."
"Why were we never told this?" Katie asked, "why did Giovanni not tell me?"
"Likely because it was supposed to be kept a secret but I'm not keeping anything from my Gym Leaders" Ash replied "I refuse to not be upfront and honest with you all because that's how you create the disconnect Lance has in Johto and we had a few years ago in Kanto."
"What do you mean?" Laura asked, "The Gym Leaders seemed pretty good when I faced them."
"In my rookie year I was tasked by the Elite Four and Sam Oak to assess every Gym Leader to see why the standard in the league was so poor." Ash said "don't look at me like that Laura, no one who won the tournament here even got to Lorelei's third Pokémon when doing the challenge. The other three never even bothered to come to the Plateau such was their confidence in her and they were never wrong. What the report found was that the Gym Leaders were taking liberties with trainers and not doing their jobs. Cerulean was handing out the badge because the sisters couldn't be arsed battling at all and if it wasn't for Lorelei vouching for them Cerulean would have been permanently closed. So, Charles and the Elite Four came up with the apprenticeship scheme which was a success last year. Five of the apprentices made it to the top 32, one made it to the semis. This year we can't gauge how well the scheme has done because of the changing of the rules as well as new leaders being put in place. So, we're now looking to next year already. I called you up here to tell you this, to give you the proper reason as to why you have apprentices."
"Well at least some things make more sense now" Katie said nodding looking at her watch. "I need to get going. I have a function tomorrow I need to prepare for in Viridian. Nice to meet you all. I should be back in a few days though."
"That's fine. I want you to know that if I'm here my door is always open. And if you have any issues and I mean any I'm an email away" Ash said nodding as he stood up and followed them to the elevator. He stopped them though at the last door on the left. "Laura, please stay a minute."
There it was again Ash noticed. Katie had given Laura a certain look, one he knew very well as the elevator disappeared. "In here" he said, opening the door and walking through with her. "This is your office" he said, surprising her at how comfy it looked "feel free to make it your own. Maybe ask Katie for advice."
"She's crap at designs" she replied absently before realising what she had said and looked panicked.
Ash simply chuckled at her "I would still ask her. You know how girlfriends are. Believe me, I'm dreading asking mine up to the office because Arceus knows what she'll do with it."
"How long have you been together?" she asked, walking around the room and running her finger over the desk before looking up.
"Not long actually" Ash said smiling "when was Greenfield? June? So since then."
"Three months isn't that long," she said.
"Longest one I've ever been in and the only one I'll ever be in" Ash said smiling, surprising her "I'm an aura user. We are only destined to be with just one person. Ever. I was very lucky to find her as most aura users don't find her. Anyway, I'll leave you to it, Oh and meet me in the stadium tomorrow at 11am and bring your Pokémon."
Walking out he headed back to his office, sat down and began collating all the complaints that had been sent in, interestingly a few of them were from the apprentices that had been eliminated.
September 3rd
The day after he wandered down to reception around 10 am watching the various people walk past while he stood in front of his portrait with a pen in hand. He had been writing various phrases for the last half an hour before erasing them.
"Er Ash" a voice asked from behind him.
"Mmmm?" he asked not turning around.
"What are you doing?" the voice continued.
"I'm trying to come up with a catchphrase," he said, twirling the marker pen in his fingers, "But I'm drawing a blank. The one I'm most famous for is my dad's so I can't use that, and I've always lived by Samuel Oaks so I can't use that either. I have said that one a few times" he said pointing to the one he had written "but it still doesn't feel witty enough."
"Do you need one?" they asked.
"Yeah of course I do," he said, turning around and stopping his next comment in surprise "Nia!" dropping the pen he quickly picked her up and twirled her around "why are you here? Never mind that I don't care, come on, I'll show you my office."
Laughing she looped through his arms and they headed to the elevator. Greeting Anne he introduced her to Nia before leading her to his office and sitting her down in his seat before turning it around and facing the stadium. Picking up a chair he put it at her side and started listening to her talk as she described what she had been up to in the last month while he had been in Mt Silver. She had been travelling for weeks around Kanto trying to find a particular Pokémon to add to her team but the little sod was very elusive.
"Why do you want a Ditto?" Ash asked, confused.
"I think any opponent I come across will have issues with one" she said "I heard there was a lady somewhere near Fuchsia that had a cabaret act that uses them, but I could never find it."
"Oh Duplica?" Ash said nodding "yeah last I heard she had a house just North of Evolution Mountain. It was closed when we walked past originally, having said that Pikachu had disappeared, so I wasn't too concerned with visiting. Her house is on the edge of the first canyon just south of Fuchsia."
"Would have been handy to know" she said laughing resting her head against his as they looked out of the stadium.
"I've missed you" Ash said "How long are you staying?"
"Just for today, sadly" she said, making him sad. "Ash, all the hotels are full so don't be like that."
"There's a bedroom through here" he said nodding to the doorway that was open.
"What?" she asked, shocked "Ash…"
"Oh, I don't mean to do that" He said blushing nudging her "I'm not remotely ready for that. I'm just saying there is a bedroom there you can stay in with me."
"I don't have anything to change into" she said shaking her head "anyway why are you sleeping here when your home is a few hours away?"
"I fell asleep when I arrived because I was knackered" he said "I then stayed last night because I was up sorting out all the complaints about the League to send to Giovanni about the farce this league has turned into."
"What do you mean?" she asked "I've seen a few matches and they've been ok."
"All the psychics were allowed to read their opponents minds during the battles" Ash said darkly.
"Creating an unfair advantage," she said, nodding "yeah I can see that."
"Three of them made it to the Semi-finals Nia" he said standing up "one of them could be given the Elite Four Challenge which will happen over my dead body."
"Easy Ash" she said standing up and hugging him which amazingly calmed him down instantly. Putting his arms around her they stared out of the window. A knock on the door drew their attention and Ash saw Laura standing there with a strange look on her face.
"You asked me to meet you at 11 and to bring my Pokémon but you never showed up?" she said looking at them "I was wondering what happened when the receptionist said you had gone back to your office. Are you Nia?"
"I am," she said, nodding against his chest, "do we know each other?"
"No" she said walking forwards and offering her hand "Ash mentioned you yesterday."
"Oh?" She asked, looking up at him. He just smiled down at her and nodded "why?"
"We were talking about making sure she included her girlfriend when she decorated her new office" Ash said nodding his head to her "and I jokingly said I was dreading inviting you here because you would probably change everything in here."
"Oh, you cheeky sod" she said, poking him in the rib causing him to flinch and laugh. Turning to Laura she shook her hand and said "ignore this idiot, I'm very good at decorating. Anyway, what office is this?"
"Oh, Laura is the new Elite Four member" Ash said "her office is the last one on the left."
"Oh right" Nia said looking confused "I didn't know anyone was chosen yet."
"Blue vouched for her" Ash replied "when we were in Mahogany Town he told me he'd chosen her to be just under Koga as my third Elite. I watched a few of her matches in Unova, she's really good."
"Actually, I haven't been told that myself" she said looking confused "I was under the impression I still had to do the Elite Four Challenge first and be successful."
"Blue and my dad told me you would have no problem, and it would be a waste of time for us all" Ash said "which is why I asked you to bring your Pokémon. Come on."
Grabbing Nia's hand, he led the two down to the Elevator and into the reception area where he greeted the workers as he scanned a card and led them down a corridor and they walked out into the Stadium. Saying hello, he walked over to the man working on the grounds and had a few words with him getting a nod. Walking to one of the boxes on the side he shouted over "Take your place Laura, Nia can you ref?"
"We're battling?" Laura asked concerned.
"No, we're sparring" Ash said "I don't have my full team on me, but I have a few. So, send out your first Pokémon."
"Typhlosion is unable to battle, Bisharp wins." Nia said in shock as Ash recalled his Pokémon. Ash had been beaten.
"Congratulations" Ash said, walking forward and waiting at the centre circle for her. After a few seconds she shook her head, recalled her Dark/Steel type and walked forwards with a big grin on her face.
"Did I really win?" She asked, still a bit dazed.
"You did" Ash said "you did really well."
"Does this mean I'm Champion now?" She asked cheekily prompting a laugh from Ash and Nia who had joined them.
"No" he said, shaking his head "that's still my title. But you've more than proved you're worthy of being Elite Four material."
"How much were you trying?" She asked shrewdly, giving him a look.
"About 60%" Ash admitted "I wanted to not only see where you're at but also where my Johto Pokémon were at too. I need to do a bit more work with a couple of them it seems but overall I'm pleased with them. I think they'll do well in the Silver Conference."
"I did wonder why you didn't use Pikachu," she admitted nodding, "can we do that again?"
"Yeah of course we can." Ash said nodding "I will be very interested to see how Koga does against type disadvantage. I don't know if you've seen him in battle but be prepared to be frustrated like never before, he loves to spam status moves and mind-altering illusions. Not only that but there's a training facility behind stadium 2 that all our Pokémon will be using. You'll find me there every morning at 5:30-6 if I'm on site and you're more than welcome to train against me. Koga usually arrives around 9am if you want to test yourself against him."
"So how does this work then?" she asked as they started to walk off the field "I mean being Elite Four. I'm still undecided on whether I want to commit to it as I saw what happened with the last lot. They never got to battle much because Lorelei was so good so what's the point in being Elite Four?"
"Well, that's all changing" Ash said, looping an arm in Nias "We're going to be having bi-annual battles with random trainers who will take part in a lottery so everyone can see the Elite Four in battle. Obviously, it's just you and Koga for now but I'm hoping I can convince a few others to take part too. And when there's a full quota we'll be drawing numbers for the actual Elite Four Challenge. Everyone will battle the challenger to see if they're better than a sitting member and if they beat them Koga and myself will decide on whether or not they're worthy of replacing them until eventually we have a solid team. Obviously we'll be getting challengers from other regions too, likely as soon as we have four of us because other regions will deem us weak but your places will only be up for grabs if the challenger is Kantonian which is likely to be just once a year after the Indigo Tournament. There's a few more things but we can talk about them at a future date. And speaking of dates, I believe I owe this lady one, and you better get to yours too. Doesn't she have an event tonight?"
"She does," Laura said, "but I was told I needed to be here at all times."
"Ignore him" Ash said "no you don't. I'm Champion and I'm giving you permission to go and be there for her. Speak to Anne, she'll give you your access card for the entire building. The only place it doesn't work is the President's office as only he and the Champion have access to that. The access card gives you the benefit of loaning a league Alakazam to Teleport you anywhere, at any time. You can carry it all the time and it won't affect your belt quota."
"Ooh that's handy" she said nodding at some trainers who were walking through reception. Ash though abruptly stopped as he saw someone near his picture who was just leaving with a case in his hand.
"I wonder what he's doing," Ash muttered as he led the two over there.
"Well, I guess that's your motto now" Nia said laughing at Ash's face.
"It was a bloody joke" Ash said before spotting his fallen marker pen in the corner where he had dropped it earlier "You! This is your doing for surprising me and distracting me earlier."
"Am I not a great distraction though?" she asked sweetly earning a Laugh from Laura
"Not when that has been stencilled underneath my picture" Ash said pointing at it "I sound like a right dick."
"It is something you've said a lot though" Nia said looking at the sign "'That'll do is unacceptable. Only the lazy accept mediocrity.' Yes, I'd say that's very fitting for who you are. And you wrote it, you can't be mad."
Grumbling Ash walked away and glared at the receptionist who had the grace to look sheepish. He raised a finger in their direction before Nia grabbed it and pulled him to the Elevator. Ash spent the entire journey upwards muttering under his breath about sacking receptionists much to the amusement of the two women who looked at each other and smirked. Entering his corridor he stopped and asked Anne for the requisition forms for Laura and handed them to her before saying goodbye as he and Nia carried on to his office.
The rest of the day flew by as Ash took her to his mum's restaurant for food and had a thoroughly enjoyable time. He tried to ignore the flashes of the camera from the people who had spotted them but he just knew it would end up all over the papers and media tomorrow.
"It's not exactly a secret" Nia said sounding unbothered "and given we've been seen together a fair bit over the last few years people can't be surprised."
"Just warn your parents" Ash said looking at the photographer who was blatantly taking their picture "It's going to get a bit messy for a while as trust me they'll do anything to try and tear you down. My dad said they tried the same with mum, but she had the benefit of having a dad who was friends with the national newspaper owner who quickly put a stop to most of the horrible articles. Yours don't have that benefit. Trust me over the next few weeks, possibly years there's going to be all kinds of people coming out of the woodwork saying they know you, dated you, even slept with you just to try and get a reaction. If you date me Nia, it's not going to be easy."
"I know," she said, sighing, "but I've had quite a long conversation with your mum and even Richard's wife about it. They live next door to me in Saffron City so I've known them all my life and their son too. I'm not going into this totally blind Ash. I've already told you about my life, I've dated one person briefly when I was 15 which didn't last very long. We broke up not long after the Indigo League, he didn't like the attention I was getting from being seen in the top box with your mum and the Elite Four and didn't think of telling him or inviting him. No amount of explaining that I was invited with mum by your mum last minute could get through to him and I didn't want to put up with that for the rest of my life so I ended it. There's been no one since then until you."
"I believe you" Ash said nodding "just know that I understand that it's not going to be easy dating me. Being Champion, while good in lots of ways, it brings a lot of negative ways too. Dad warned me a long time ago what was coming but to always talk to you so nothing is a surprise to you when it comes out in the papers. We'll be ok."
"We will" she said, smiling and grabbing his hand "now, where's this food? I'm very hungry."
"Should be here soon" Ash said not letting go of her hand as they waited and continued with less heavier topics.
Ash's words were very prophetic as when he turned on the TV at home the next morning they were the headline. Sipping his morning juice he could only shake his head in disbelief that him and Nia dating was headline news. Feeling another aura move towards him he poured another glass and placed it on the counter next to him as he continued watching the news in silence.
"What's happened now?" Nia said yawning, hair a mess and looking very sleepy as she walked towards him barefoot, wearing an overgrown top. It was actually one of Ash's but she found it comfortable to wear and like hell was he going to complain if it meant her legs were out. After tea last night she was planning on travelling to Saffron City in the dark, but Ash wouldn't hear of it, so they flew to Ash's home instead. Ash didn't think he had ever had a better night's sleep that he had last night as they had quickly fallen asleep together. His aura felt unbelievably rested, something he hadn't felt in years now. Kissing her on her sleepy head she raised the glass to her mouth and stopped as she saw the news.
"Really?" she asked incredulously putting the glass down "what the hell do they mean, 'mystery woman' I placed in the top four of the Indigo League on my second try and then got to the final the year afterwards! I'm not that elusive. Bloody idiots." She muttered as she drank deeply from the glass. Ash just chuckled as he made her a bowl of cereal, plonked the spoon in front of her and just sat at the side of her trying not to roar with laughter as she muttered under her breath between bites.
"What's the plan for today then?" she asked as she turned the TV off in disgust much to his amusement.
"Well, I have a few things to do here actually" Ash said "the Dreepy arrive tomorrow, and I need to reply to Brandon about the fossil project."
"Why?" she asked.
"Well, my Kabutops has been badgering me to find her a mate for months now" Ash said "but I've never been able to find one for her. Very few people have one, so it's not been easy."
"Why didn't you ask me?" she asked bewildered.
"You don't know what happens when they breed do you?" he asked her amused getting a shake of her head in reply "do you know how Praying Mantis mate?"
"Yeah, they bite the heads off during mating….is that what Kabutops do?" she asked incredulously.
"Yeah" Ash said amused "not all the time but most of it yeah. It's usually a one and done thing for Male Kabutops in the wild and I also didn't fancy having to explain to you why you only got half a Pokémon back after they mated. Ironically enough the safest way is to breed them with Ditto because they instinctively know they're not real Kabutops and don't feel the need to have a munch during sex."
"Have a munch?" she asked shaking her head "you are so eloquent at times."
"It's a gift" Ash said "anyway when they breed and are owned the chances of being eaten go from 90% down to 30%. But it's still a one in three chance someone loses their Pokémon."
"So, you're having to find a wild one?" she asked.
"No" Ash said "there's a few in the fossil area of the lake but I need permission from Brandon and his colleagues, particularly the head researcher Mark on this before letting them mate. It wasn't cheap getting them here in the first place to study them, and while it may be a great opportunity to record their mating habits to then have one eaten kind of takes the shine off the whole thing."
"Yeah, you're not wrong" she said shuddering at the thought "is there anything I can do?"
"Actually yeah" he said, "I need help with designing a room for Hailee, they're possibly coming staying for a few months in the new year so I can train her in person but as I've never been around young girls that much, I have no idea what she'd like."
"Budget?" she asked getting a confused look "how much are you able to spend Ash?"
"No limit" Ash said, "I'm already renovating a few rooms down the east wing anyway, so it falls under that budget."
"Show me" she said.
A few minutes later they walked into the room that was to be Hailee's. "there's nothing in here." She said looking confused at the cream-coloured room with quite literally nothing in it.
"I know" he replied "that's why I said there's no budget. You've literally a blank slate."
Ash looked amused as his girlfriends' eyes immediately lit up with excitement "Are you sure you trust me with this?"
"Yeah" he replied laughing at her enthusiasm and then "Loreleis number is already logged on the video phone in the office if you need ideas for her. If she asks hers and Bruno's room will be next door. I'm fitting a door on the east wall that connects the two rooms so they can get to her but otherwise they'll all have their privacy."
"Good" she said as she left him standing in the doorway and rushed off. Ash followed more sedately as he joined her in the living room where she was curled up with a pad and paper looking unbelievably cue.
"What?" she asked looking up at his leaning against the door frame.
"New tattoo" he said nodding to her leg.
"Yeah" she said lifting up the shirt and showing of an incredibly detailed portrait.
"Medusa?" he asked looking concerned.
"Yes" she stated.
"Ah" he said raising an eyebrow at her.
"Not yet Ash. Someday" she said putting the shirt down.
"No worries" he said smiling as he left her to it "I'll be here whenever you feel you're ready. Dinner will be at 12, help yourself to anything from the fridge. You know where everything is. Zoe should be here around 11 and will likely shut herself in the office, make sure she eats as she's a bugger for not doing so. I'll be in the office if you need me, if I'm not there I'll be at the research facility next door. Have fun."
In response he just got a wave of the hand and he left chuckling to himself. It was quite nice he thought to have his girlfriend be home. He was very happy right now.
