Chapter 39
When the rest of the inhabitants of the chalet walked in they all seemed to stop their conversations when they saw Ash just staring at a photograph that he had loaded up onto the TV from his laptop of Red holding a bundle in his arms that had a black tuft of hair poking out from a hole. They weren't to know it had been on the screen for a good hour while Ash just stared at it.
"Ash" Jess asked hesitantly when she saw him not blinking and looking at the photo, "are you ok?"
"I'm a big brother" he answered quietly before tilting his head at the picture "isn't she amazing?"
Jess smiled softly as she sat down next to him while Travis chuckled and took the twins out of their pram and went about his business.
"She does look adorable" Jess said gently leaning her shoulder into Ash "what's her name?"
"Florence Ilena Ketchum" Ash said smiling "Flora for short."
"That's a lovely name" Jess said standing up and squeezing his shoulder "was she born today?"
"During my match" he said nodding "mum apologised for not knowing if I won. I told her she's an idiot and to go to sleep. Dad said he didn't care as Flora is utterly adorable and I get it."
Jess just laughed as she joined her husband in setting up the babies high chair.
"How do I be a big brother?" He asked a few minutes later "I mean, what do I do?"
"Nothing" Travis said sounding confused "you just are one. To be honest Ash until they're able to walk and talk babies are pretty useless. Don't look at me like that Jess, you know I'm right. You can't really do anything with them as they need constant care so until they start developing their own personalities and quirks you just do your best to keep them alive."
"Our babies weren't boring" Jess said tartly.
"Yes they were" Travis replied "all they did was eat, poo, scream and sleep. Now they can move about they're much more interesting. Ash noticed straight away which one of them was more adventurous and which one was more studious and he's never met them before."
"Oh" Ash said "I thought there'd be more to it."
"Not yet no" Travis replied "just do what you can to make your mums life easier as much as you can because for the next few years she's going to be exhausted."
"You're not wrong," Jess said laughing. "Anyway, shouldn't you be researching your next opponent?"
"I've got time" Ash said waving his hand dismissively "I'll look them up later on. I'm not worried about it."
"Ash" Jess said warning before pointing to his room "go and look them up. You remember what happened to Gary at the Indigo League don't you?"
Sighing Ash nodded and stood up before walking past her muttering "bloody mums and their orders."
"What was that?" Jess asked.
"Nothing, nothing." Ash said.
"Better be." Jess said laughing.
A few hours later Ash wandered out of his room to an expectant Jess.
"Her names Evelyn or Eve in battle and she's one of Mortys apprentices" Ash said "she's really good actually but I have never had much of an issue battling Ghost Types, just their nefarious ways of equalling up the scores."
"They do have a lot of moves that can do that" Jess replied "how are you going to combat that? And what happens if the battle ends in a draw?"
"Then whoever we'd face in the final 8 would get a bye to the semi-finals" Ash replied "and yes, I have a few moves that can counter ghosts. I have a feeling I'll need to outright beat at least one to ensure I have one Pokémon left at the end. Like I said though, I'm not worried."
Tuesday 23rd October
Ash headed towards the League building feeling much more at ease than he knew some of the others would be and that helped him significantly. He knew who he would be battling, knew five of the Pokémon she'd registered already after seeing who she had used over the tournament and had come up with some strategies to counter what he knew was going to be a frustrating battle. Eve had the talent to replace Morty and after speaking with him last night he knew that one day she would have her own gym, that is if she wasnt Elite Four in the next few years. First though she needed to win a League, she had blitzed her way through the previous rounds, finishing top of her group turning her previous opponents' attacks on themselves with her Misdreavus and Gengar, something Ash knew all too well. The three-nil scoreline in the final 32 flattered her, she could easily have just used her Gengar and swept him but Ash saw she wanted to at least showcase her Pokémons talents in case she pulled a favourite in the next round, something she had done when she drew Ash. Funnily enough Ash had received a message from Morty a few hours ago that simply said "do not underestimate her", something which Ash wasn't going to do. Waiting in the sitting room he ignored the three other trainers that were battling today and watched the highlights from the two matches which had already happened and shook his head when he saw Vincenzo beat Salvadore handily to reach the final eight and Harrison beat his opponent too setting up the next match for them both. Ash shook his head because he had a feeling this would be where Vincenzo's challenge would end but he could still be proud that he made the final eight in his first year.
Hearing the seat next to him dip he looked at the person and looked at her quizzically.
"Bethany" she said unnecessarily holding her hand out to shake which he did. She was around five foot five, blonde hair that was down to her back with bright blue eyes, a small turned up nose and a small thin mouth. She was very pretty.
"Ash" he said, nodding at her before turning back to the screen to see Harrison's Blaziken demolish Timothy's Noctowl.
"He's rather good isn't he?" Bethany asked.
"He's not bad," Ash said, nodding "beatable though."
"You think?" she asked curiously.
"Yeah" Ash said looking at her "and you know it."
"I do," she said, nodding "I have a feeling though I won't get to prove it."
"Because you have to go through me to reach the final" Ash said nodding "any other year you'd have likely got there but not this year."
"You haven't beaten me yet," she said lightly.
"Yet" Ash said smiling before heaving himself out of his chair and looking around at the other two people, their opponents today. "I'll see you soon, try not to disappoint me."
Ignoring the other two he walked to the side door and waited to be called. He was joined by Eve not long after and the aide walked them to the tunnel and stopped at the entrance.
"You seem to be much more focused than Walter was" Ash said to her, surprising her "that's good."
"I know how good I can be," she replied, looking straight ahead, "I'm not worried."
"Good" Ash said "Morty speaks very highly of you, as does Grady, my Ghost Gym Leader. In fact a few minutes after you drew my name I received a call from him telling me he'd be here, but he didn't say why."
"Gramps has always been my biggest cheerleader" Eve said smiling "I'm glad he could make it, he was worried he wouldn't be able to."
"He has use of the Leagues Alakazams" Ash said "but I know like myself he's very reluctant to use them."
"Very few Ghost trainers will suffer a psychic type" she said nodding "but you already knew that."
"I did" he said nodding "and yet he used one."
"Gramps did?" She asked in surprise before schooling her face "that's good. Well, it looks like we're up Ash."
"It does" Ash said "good luck."
"Welcome everyone to the third match of four today to determine who will go through to the final eight. As you know when the battlers were drawn a second draw was taken shortly afterwards and numbers 1, 2, 5 and 7 were chosen for today. Matches 3, 4, 6 and 8 will be on tomorrow. So numbers 1-4 will be their path to the final and numbers 5-8 will be the secondary path. So, without further ado let's welcome the two participants who will start that secondary path. Introducing first is a trainer from Ecruteak City who has dazzled us all with her way of countering her opponents Pokémon moves with seeming ease using her Ghastly Ghost Pokémon finishing top of her group without losing a battle. Please welcome Evelyn!"
The crowd went wild as she walked onto the field waving at everyone and smiling happily at them. She stopped in front of the judges box and waited for her opponent.
"Now we introduce her opponent. A trainer who finished runner up in his own group, much to the surprise of everyone given his reputation. He hails from Pallet Town in Kanto and is currently the reigning Kanto Champion, please welcome Ash Ketchum!"
Ash just chuckled as he walked onto the field. Of course they'd reiterate he didn't win his group. Waving at the crowd Ash walked into the middle and stood beside Eve and waited for the judge to tell them the rules.
"Welcome both of you to the final 16 of the Silver Conference. This will be a three on three singles match with no time limit. Substitutions are allowed but the restricted moves are in place as are the no OHKO moves. You may only use the Pokémon you have registered when you first signed up for the tournament. Any questions?"
"No" Ash said before turning to his opponent and holding out his hand to her. Shaking it once she let go and walked over to her side while Ash mirrored her.
"Trainers, grab your first Pokémon and on my mark you will release them. 3,2,1 go!" The referee shouted.
"And it's Gengar vs Sneasel" the announcer shouted over the noise of the crowd which had swelled as they released their Pokémon.
"Gengar, disappear" Eve shouted as her Pokémon did just that.
"Sneasel, I'm not telling you where it is for this one" Ash said, getting a nod "You've trained enough to know what to do in this situation."
Sneasel began rapidly running around the field zig-zagging to evade any attack that may come his way and sure enough a few seconds later he dove out of the way as Gengar rematerialized right in front of him sending a Night Shade his way and reflexively he sent a Dark Pulse at his opponent who cackled as he disappeared as quickly as he had appeared, the two attacks colliding in mid-air.
"Quick," Sneasel said, nodding to himself.
"Sneasel, don't forget you only have three more moves so use them wisely" Ash shouted.
"You're not commanding your Pokémon?" Eve asked, confused.
"No," Ash said "certain Pokémon of mine have been training with me for so long I could go and have a brew, watch them on TV and they'd use exactly the moves I'd have ordered anyway. The Dark Pulse was a tester from him. He does this to gauge how quick his opponent is to decide on how quick he needs to be. Oh, Referee, he's just used Hone Claws while running."
The referee nodded and made a mental note of the second move.
"Gengar, Focus Blast" Eve shouted as Gengar appeared thirty feet away and sent a huge brown and orange ball at lightning speed at Sneasel who sent a Shadow Ball to intercept it causing a huge explosion and moved to the left of the field, circling behind his opponent who had phased away again. Sneasel however had an idea and sent a huge Blizzard across the entire field coating the ground in thick snow.
"And Sneasels final move is Blizzard which has covered the ground but to what end?" the announcer shouted.
"Good boy" Ash said laughing and leaning forwards on the barrier and looking on with interest.
Sneasel halted what he was doing and stood still focusing, blocking out the noise of the crowd to try and find his opponent. Moving his head slightly he listened for the faintest of movement and tried not to get restless. He knew it was one of his biggest failings which is why Ash had trained him extensively on his own at times.
"Gengar Phantom Force" Eve said not waiting to find out what Sneasel was doing. Ash looked curious at the move. He knew what it was but never had seen it used in a battle.
"How does that work?" Ash asked curiously "I mean he's already invisible so does he just skip that part?"
"No" she replied, shaking her head "do you know where he is?"
"No actually I don't" Ash said, focusing "Oh that is very interesting, so he travels to the Reverse World when he uses that attack. Is Giratina ok with his subjects just phasing in and out of his world?"
"I think so" she hedged "I've never really thought about it to be honest. Ghosts are the most unpredictable of Pokémon after all. I would think he'd be ok with it given what they go through during the transition."
Ash took a deep breath and closed his eyes when he remembered what his Typhlosion was currently going through.
Eve looked at him strangely as she felt the sorrow coming from him. "You have a Pokémon currently in the reverse world don't you?"
"Yes" he said, opening his eyes and nodding "a few weeks before the tournament my Typhlosion took a stray rock to the head and fell to her death inside Mt Silver as she was caught up by the waterfall. Agatha's Gengar and Dusknoir are currently keeping an eye on her urn while she transitions. I considered not competing this year but I know she'd be so angry at me for wallowing."
"I'm sorry about that" Eve said before remembering where they were "anyway shall we get back to the battle?"
"Indeed" Ash said looking around "you are genuinely on your own Sneasel for this one but you have the right idea. Keep going." Sneasel didn't even acknowledge what Ash said as he was still focusing on where his opponent could attack from. A faint twitch off to his left hand side drew his attention and with lighting speed he sent a Shadow Ball followed by a Dark Pulse off to his right. The explosion masked the groan of pain as Gengar had reappeared and took both attacks full and was sent skidding back through the snow, sinking to one knee as he panted from the two very high powered attacks.
"How did he know?" Eve asked, surprised.
"Don't let up," Ash said, ignoring the question for now and watching as his Pokémon formed another Shadow Ball and sent it at his opponent.
"Gengar, Destiny Bond" she shouted.
"Oh for Arceus sake" Ash said running a hand down his face at forgetting what her strategy usually was given she'd used it twice already in this tournament. Gengar shouted his name and a ghostly black ooze spread quickly across the field and enveloped Sneasel who could do nothing to protect himself.
"Gengar and Sneasel are unable to battle. Both trainers please send out your second Pokémon." the referee shouted.
"I cannot believe I forgot about you having a move left" Ash said berating himself as he released Kabutops. "I'm almost annoyed."
"Mismagius, you're up sweetheart" Eve shouted as she released her second Pokémon.
"Kabutops, Sneasel was taken down by Destiny Bond so be careful when using attacks. Pick your moments." Ash shouted as his Pokémon chittered and swiped her scythes before setting herself with one pointing behind her back and the other arching over her head pointing directly at her opponent.
"Mismagius vs Kabutops, begin" the referee shouted.
Immediately Kabutops began running forwards and twirled in the air and with each scythe sent thin dark slices at her opponent who quickly disappeared and the Night Slashes impacted the wall creating a thin dent. Growling she looked around and noticed that the floor was still covered in snow and grinned. Rushing back towards Ash she covered her blades with snow and began making a pattern in the snow which Eve could see and wondered what was going on as she moved through the snow pushing it to the side as she did so. They both looked on as she made around twenty mounds of snow across the entire field and without warning screeched and slammed her scythes into the ground. The field heaved as sharp rocks appeared from below the field and send the snow flying everywhere covering an astonished Mismagius with snow and quickly twisting she sent the Stone Edge towards her opponent who frantically tried to evade all the rocks but was clipped by several of them.
"And Kabutops forces her opponent to appear with an extremely unconventional way of using the existing snow on the field. Can Mismagius recover from such a brutal attack?"
"Mismagius, use Curse and Memento" she shouted as her Pokémon rushed away from her opponent. Sending out a very haunting melody she screeched in pain as she cut her own life force in half and cursed her opponent and disappeared into her Pokéball as she drained the rest of it and sent a black wave across the ground causing Kabutops to slump on her scythes.
"Mismagius is unable to battle, Trainer Eve please send out your final Pokémon."
"Drakloak, you're my last hope" she said as she released a shark looking Pokémon to the astonishment of Ash.
"No way," Ash said, looking amazed.
"What?" Eve asked him.
"I've just had a shipment of Dreepy delivered to my home" Ash said chuckling. "I even had your gramps visit my home to make sure they settled in ok. But I've never seen one in battle before. This will be interesting as I've been considering getting a Dreepy."
"They're very fickle" she said warningly "they're unique as Ghost Pokémon as they don't really care about anything at all other than making sure they win. I have to frequently stop him from devouring his opponent."
Ash just laughed as he looked at Kabutops fondly "my Kabutops is the same but I fear we'll have to do that particular battle another time. Kabutops return, I may need you later. Let's go Gyarados"
To the crowds amazement the expectation of him sending out his behemoth led to confusion when a normal sized Gyarados appeared only this was also a shiny.
"A different shiny Gyarados?" Eve asked confused.
"The only survivor of the Lake of Rage massacre" Ash said sombrely looking at the shiny Pokémon who was focused on his opponent. He had taken his counterparts' seriousness to heart and trained very hard with her and had picked up several of her traits. He had also heard stories from all of Ash's Pokémon about arrogance and showing off. Strangely it was Salamence, who had a huge ego that had taken him aside and explained to him after he roared at one of them before battling. He had promptly been whupped by an irritated Lapras and was wondering where he had gone wrong.
"Now, I'll start out by saying you have come a long way in the time you've been with us and shown great progress. But there's something you will need to understand if you are to be respected wherever you end up and it's something I had a lot of trouble coming to terms with. As a Dragon I need my opponents to fear me and show me the respect I feel I deserve but that has led me down a path of failure. Arrogance and confidence are two very different things and my own arrogance is not a trait I would wish for you to follow as it has often led to over-confidence. Pikachu could walk through most of us in a battle should he want to yet when he faces his opponents in battle and us in training he shows them and us the respect of silence and complete focus. Intimidation is the mentality of the weak Gyarados, remember that."
"Gyarados, I'm only going to help you out in a pinch here, the other two have come up with ways of flushing out ghosts so let's see what you can do." Ash said.
Gyarados didn't answer, he didn't need to as he knew he had a job on his hand trying to find a Ghost that had immediately disappeared upon the referee shouting "begin". Looking around he noticed what looked like leftover bits of ice littering the battlefield but who would have used an ice move? Lapras? Maybe but he wasn't on a water field so that was unlikely. Kabutops? Possibly but she didn't use them that often which left Sneasel who would make sure he used one ice move to cover his typing. Deciding he needed to move to not be stationary and present an easy target he moved forwards keeping his head on a swivel which was rather hard to do given he was so large and roared in pain as Drakloak appeared behind his head and hit him with a Dragon Rush causing him to crash face first into the ground. Turning around as quickly as he could he growled as Drakloak disappeared with a ghostly cackle. Taking a deep breath he focused and started to glow blue as he slithered around the ground looking out for his opponent wondering what he could do to flush out his opponent. Getting an idea he raised his head to the sky and sent a blue ball up where it hit the clouds and started to rain.
Ash looked on curiously at what his Pokémon was trying to find Drakloak and wondered where he was going. He had the right idea powering up with Dragon Dance but wondered why Rain Dance was used. There were really only a few moves he could combine with Rain Dance and he had only two moves left. That turned into one when Gyarados took a deep breath and used Blizzard on the entire field which interacted with the rain and coated the entire arena. Drakloak couldn't hide anymore as it was hit with the move and it glowed purple, making Ash look on in confusion. He didn't recognise the move Drakloak used. Gyarados paused and tried to continue the move but couldnt and turned to face Ash. Realising he was three quarters of the field away from him he rushed as quickly as he could to Ash but was forced backwards as he took a Thunderbolt to his back. Roaring in anger he turned to try the move again and found he still couldn't so he carried on dodging sporadic bolts of lightning and as he got closer to Ash he shouted "My moves won't work! What should I do?"
"Which one doesn't work?" Ash shouted over the rain as he saw Gyarados get clipped by another bolt and be sent sprawling against his podium. Growling he shook his head and looked balefully at his opponent who was seen flitting in and out of the storm.
"Blizzard doesn't work" Gyarados finally said after getting his breath back. Taking those hits wasn't fun, and he knew he couldn't take many more. He knew it was only because he'd increased his speed that he'd not taken every attack.
"Keep moving and increasing your speed. Dodge what you can while I try and see what the issue is. You have one move left, think carefully about it and remember, it's a Ghost type but it's also a Dragon type." Gyarados nodded and glowed blue again as he moved forwards back into the storm that was only half a minute left so he sent another ball up which increased the storm again.
Pulling out his Pokédex Ash looked up Drakloak to see what the issue was and immediately saw what it was. Cursed Body which had disabled Gyarados' Blizzard. "I wonder if they stack on each other" Ash pondered out loud as he put his Pokédex back into his pocket as Gyarados passed by dodging a Shadow Ball that was infused with a Thunderbolt.
"Gyarados, I'm gonna need you to power through and get as close as you can. When you do use Outrage, then try and use Blizzard. I want to test something out."
Trusting Ash to know what he was doing he turned to face his opponent who was powering up another attack and rushed forwards at quite significant speed now he'd used three Dragon Dances and gritted his teeth as he took another Thunderbolt and let his rage loose on his opponent. Thrashing around he hit Drakloak full in the face with his brutal move before suddenly his mind cleared and he could no longer attack. Remembering what Ash had said he breathed in and tried to use use Blizzard again and amazingly it worked before ten seconds later that cut off too.
"I thought so" Ash muttered smiling "Gyarados, it's Drakloaks ability Cursed Body! It'll disable whatever move hits it last but it doesn't stack so keep alternating between the two moves and you should be fine."
Gyarados nodded and prepared to use Outrage again but took another full force Thunderbolt to the face and skidded backwards panting harshly as he took another super-effective attack full on. Ash was thankful it wasn't from an electric type or it would have been long since over with for his Pokémon. He could see though that his Pokémon wouldn't last much longer given what he'd been through and the fact he wasn't as desensitised as his other Pokémon to extremely damaging moves. He was very proud though that Gyarados, despite looking done for, gathered up his strength and charged forwards again and smashed into Drakloak who also looked pretty beat up. Yet again the move failed after a few seconds and Gyarados used Blizzard. Through the snow though came another lance of lightning which hit him head on and he finally fell to the ground where after trying to get up failed to do so.
"Gyarados is unable to battle. Ash, please release your Kabutops." The referee shouted.
"Good effort" Ash said smiling as he recalled his downed Pokémon and released his Kabutops but he was now very wary of what could happen. So far he'd seen Drakloak use three moves so he had one left and given he was a ghost he was wary of a sacrificing one which would cause a tie. Kabutops though had two and he knew what one of them would be. "Kabutops, make sure you keep a move slot open. You have used Night Slash and Stone Edge so far. Drakloak has used Thunderbolt, Shadow Ball and Dragon Rush but has one slot left too. Do what you can."
"And Ash issues rare instructions to his Pokémon who immediately rushes forwards towards her opponent sending black slashes at it. Being able to disappear is a great advantage for a Pokémon that has already taken rather heavy damage. This will be a tough one for Drakloak as Kabutops wasn't hit with a single move in her previous battle and seems to have shaken off the curse laid on her by Mismagius."
"Drakloak, Dragon Rush." Eve shouted for the first time in the battle. She had been rather content to watch the battle unfold knowing her Pokémon would know what to do. Drakloak was her starter so he'd been with her for several years now and knew what her battle style was like so she trusted him to take care of himself and he'd done very well taking out the Gyarados but had taken some very high powered hits in the process. If she was going to advance she'd need to win. She knew when she heard Ash command Kabutops that he suspected she'd use a sacrificing move to prevent Ash moving on. Knowing he likely had a plan for that scuppered a few scenarios she had come up with over the last few seconds but it was still something she had in the bank.
"Protect" Ash shouted as Drakloak bounced off the bright blue shield that had been produced "Night Slash" he commanded and Eve winced when her Pokémon was hit by the super effective love before it disappeared. She now knew of Ash's plan though which was good. The bad news though was it would work against any sacrificing move.
"Drakloak, we need to win this one quickly. Can you use Curse?"
Drakloak appeared just in front of her and closed his eyes before shaking his head and disappearing again. "Ok, then we need to get in some hits. Do what you need to do."
Drakloak appeared and began spamming Shadow Balls which were cut in half by Night Slashes giving Kabutops the chance to move in close to her opponent who began to panic as a Thunderbolt was split in half by an X-Scissor filling the last slot up and within seconds she had reached him and slashed across its face with the Bug move sending it sprawling. Not letting up she kept up with the slashing attacks alternating between them as they were disabled before finally sending it flying twenty feet away with one final Night Slash where it rested at the base of the podium. The crowd watched on as Kabutops eyed up her opponent and snarled as it shakily tried to hover, wincing heavily. Eve knew she had lost this match. Kabutops was too fresh and had landed some incredibly damaging moves. Sighing, she decided she had to end the match.
"Drakloak, use Assurance" she shouted as her Pokémon began to glow black and shot forwards.
"Shit, Protect" Ash shouted knowing the move could beat him given all the damage it had taken. The attack collided with the protection bubble and a struggle for dominance began one which Kabutops knew she needed to win so inside her bubble she began charging up her scythes with black energy and as she felt the Protect finally break she let loose with an X-shaped Night Slash which collided with the assurance and breaking the move before she rushed forwards and ended the battle with an X-Scissor.
"Drakloak is unable to battle. Kabutops wins and Ash Ketchum advances to the final eight." The referee shouted.
The crowd roared as the judge announced the winner as they had just seen a spectacular performance from both sides.
Ash did his best to hide his relief but he knew it had been closer than it should have been but he stood by his decision to put Gyarados in for his first battle. He needed to know he could handle himself when he went on his mission a few days from now.
Eve on the other hand looked distraught at the loss. She truly believed she could have won that one but she had underestimated just how much damage Drakloak had taken. This loss was on her and she knew that next time she wouldn't make that mistake again. Recalling her Pokémon she walked down the steps and out onto the very heavily muddy field and was soon joined by Ash who smiled at her.
"Grady was more than right about you." He said shaking her hand "you have an incredible future ahead of you."
"Thank you" she said sighing before hanging her head "I thought I could win that one. I should have won that one."
Ash just stayed silent as he knew she was wrong but didn't want to add to her self reflection. After all he had been in similar situations where he made the wrong move at the wrong time. She hadn't of course, she had been incredibly precise in her moves but there were several occasions she let Ash figure things out, whereas he knew you used that time to reinforce your positions. He realised he hadn't been taking this tournament seriously enough, something which needed to change.
Waving to the crowd Ash and Eve walked off the field with Ash splitting off from her, ignoring the hopeful looking reporters as she did her media duties. Joanne obviously followed him but strangely he walked back to the area he was in before the match and sat down as he listened half heartedly to her.
"Sorry" Ash said as he watched Ethan and a very confident looking Bethany walk out of the room to head to the field. "I want to see how she battles but I'm being rather rude."
"Why didn't you take a seat in the stadium then?" Joanne asked.
"I wanted to gauge Ethan and Bethany's reaction to me coming back in" Ash said "Ethan looks terrified whereas Bethany looked confident and arrogant at the same time" Ash said looking at her "it gives me an idea on what line-up I will need should I face either of them."
"And?" Joanne asked.
"Ethan I can use my Johto team against" Ash said before turning to the screen "Bethany will require some of my championship team."
They both sat in silence for the next hour as they watched Bethany demolish Ethan 3-1 and he was lucky to get the one win.
"Interesting" Ash said standing up as they left the room and wandered outside joining the crowd who had also begun to leave. Nodding at the crowd they split off and headed back to their chalet where Ash wandered into his room and wasn't seen for the rest of the evening.
The next few days Ash watched the remaining matches with interest and found out he would be facing a man called Thomas who was one of Jasmines apprentices and was pretty good. Ash wouldn't come out and say it but he was rather worried as he had no good type matchup against him as he had no fire type. He would have to therefore rely on fighting types but being limited to two left him still in a quandary as he had two more slots to fill.
"I'm stuck Pi" Ash said as they were once again sitting in the park "I know he has a Skarmory, Steelix and a Magneton but other than that he's not used any other Pokémon. I don't have a fire type or a ground type. We should really find a ground type, I'm very much lacking in that area."
"We have a few that can use Earthquake" Pikachu said "but you're right that we are lacking. Do you have any in mind?"
"No" Ash said, shaking his head, "ground types aren't exactly the strongest and other than the Diglett line they're slow too. However there is a Ground type in Hoenn I'll be on the lookout for. It's called Trapinch and it's a Pokémon that loves to live underground, particularly in sandy deserts. I'm wary however of how it will cope living at our home considering it's the opposite of where they thrive, however when it evolves it should be ok. I'm still having to create an area that desert Pokémon can live in but it's not ideal as I'm rapidly running out of space."
"Our home is getting less like a home every day and more like a second Safari Zone" Pikachu observed "only nothing can be caught."
"It's more like the Laramie Ranch" Ash said "that's what I wanted to create to be honest, people and Pokémon working together in harmony without the danger of any of its inhabitants being caught. I think I've done that so far."
"True" Pikachu said nodding "It's still getting rather busy though Ash. It's not as peaceful as we wanted it to be."
"I know" Ash said wryly "It's something I've been thinking about to be honest. I've been considering limiting the operation hours of our home to alternate months so we have at least six months of peace. I just don't think I could make Silph see my way of thinking given their researchers have been complaining about the 9pm curfew wanting it to be extended to 10pm."
"Which can't happen Ash. There's far too much noise as it is. Venusaur has been very patient for now but he's had researchers entering parts of his garden that only he and Ivysaur are allowed in as it houses some of the grass and bug type babies." Pikachu said, making Ash look at him in alarm "Blastoise has had a section of his lake taken over by researchers claiming they have permission to do so a few times and they've been seen to be interfering with the water Pokémons private sections where their families live. There have been other such interferences too but they've been dealt with by the Pokémon who live there. The Lapras herd have blocked their caves off by thick sheets of ice so that not even Matilda can enter and you know how much they trust her. She only gets in now to check on them because they leave a section able to be melted by her Houndoom but they put the ice back up as soon as she leaves."
"I'll be having words when I get back" Ash said frowning at the news "why hasn't Blastoise or Venusaur told me this? Or even Matilda?"
"They wanted to be able to sort it out themselves but it has reached a point where they are considering just attacking anyone who comes near." Pikachu said "Venusaur is more than capable of erecting thick vines all over the area he wants to protect and Blastoise has been threatening to create the entire lake into somewhere where any researcher will be unable to travel on by getting all the water Pokémon to prevent them entering altogether by attacking them on sight. Telling you is a last resort as they know how hampered you are by Silph."
"They shouldn't have waited to tell me" Ash said shaking his head as he went over in his head what he could do about it "I can't do anything if I don't know anything about it."
"As I said, they wanted to sort it out themselves," Pikachu said.
"I'll get Jennifer on it to see what I can legally do as I don't really want to keep butting heads with Silph." Ash said "I have eight more years with them at least so I want to keep them on side as much as possible. No Pokémon on our ranch should have to live in fear from humans, it's why I created it."
"And it's why we didn't tell you." Pikachu said "but I have now. Talk to Blastoise and Venusaur when you get back."
"No" Ash said "I'll talk to them now." Picking out his Pokédex he pressed the button to signal to Matilda that he required Blastoise and Venusaur and headed back to their chalet. Twenty minutes later he received a message informing him Blastoise would only be back in a few days from the fire fighting squad but she'd send Venusaur when he was done for the afternoon.
That evening he was sitting in his back garden chatting with Venusaur who had also brought Ivysaur with him too. Ash listened to what Venusaur had to say while taking notes on when the breaches happened and what was said.
"I'm not happy about this" Ash said "your area has been declared off limits for a while now so they had no right to be there. I'll see what Jennifer can find in my contract with them but I'd rather not keep on pissing them off. I'm on your side with this Venusaur. Our ranch is yours to tend to and look after and they had no right to impede your work."
"We just didn't want to cause any trouble," Ivysaur said.
"You're not trouble, what they're doing is though so it'll be sorted" Ash replied "anyway, other than that how have you guys been?"
"We're good" Venusaur said "The ranch is looking great with all the leaves falling off creating little burrows for the smaller Pokémon to play in. The lake has frozen over though as it's been snowing the last few days because Articuno has been flying to and from the Seafoam Islands to Victory Road for some reason and she rested on Typhlosions island."
"I was going to say it's a month early for snow" Ash remarked "is she ok?"
"Yeah" Venusaur said "it's the baby we found in Seafoam so she's just apparently familiarising herself with the western side of Kanto. She attracted a lot of attention being shiny which is why she froze the lake to prevent any of the researchers7 getting near her."
"I'll speak to her at some point" Ash said "I don't want her harming the inhabitants of the lake by doing that. I've no issue with her defending herself but she needs to be careful."
"She's already been spoken to" Ivysaur said "Pidgeot wasn't happy with her bringing a blizzard with her and covering his side of the forest. She's very arrogant Ash and there was very nearly a fight."
"Which Pidgeot would have won," Ash said, shaking his head "you'd have thought watching us beat her mother in two moves would have taught her a lesson but it seems they have rather convenient memories eh Venusaur? If we were that way inclined we'd have had both her and her mother on our roster that day and she wouldn't have been able to do anything about it."
"Pidgeot gave her the warning anyway" Ivysaur said continuing "It's up to her to heed them or he'll ban her from flying over our ranch."
"Which he has the right to" Ash said "I gave him permission to do whatever is necessary patrolling the skies above our house and if that means preventing Legendaries from going over then so be it. He just needs to be careful as Articuno could do some serious damage to his flock."
"He has help," Venusaur said, "we have many of the other inhabitants keeping an eye out too so he won't be alone."
"How are your battles going?" Ivysaur asked.
"Very good" Ash replied "I made it to the final eight but my next opponent uses Steel Types and I don't have any advantage going into it. I've picked Machamp and Heracross but I still have two spots to fill. I may have to use Kabutops again but she's not a great choice."
"Well what about me?" Venusaur asked "we did agree I'd still be on your team if you needed me. Did you register me?"
"I did" Ash said nodding "I never planned on actually using you but injuries could come into play and I don't have that many Pokémon to start with that are battle hardened. I had a look this morning and out of the seventeen I have caught only thirteen are active, three of those being part time, those being you, Charizard and Blastoise. So I'm really down to ten active Pokémon, none of which are strong against Steel types."
"I'll be number three then so you only need one more" Venusaur said firmly.
"Ok" Ash said, nodding "we'll train tomorrow to try and get back into our rhythm, the battle is the day afterwards."
A few hours later while he was feeding his Pokémon Ash noticed that Ivysaur had left one of her Pokéblocks and had walked over to the side to have a sleep. Concerned Ash began to walk over to her when he felt a vine wrap onto his arm. Turning back to the culprit he let Venusaur pull him gently towards him.
"Ash," he said quietly, "just leave it."
"What's going on?" he asked, concerned.
"It's nearly her time Ash" he said "she's lived a very long life already but unfortunately the damage was done long before we rescued her."
"But I thought she'd have a lot longer than two extra years" Ash said sounding sad "is there nothing we can do?"
"No" Venusaur said "there's nothing she wants any of us to do, especially pity her. She's in her mid thirties Ash. She was six when she was abandoned and spent thirty years underground."
"I know" Ash said sighing "I just wish we found her sooner. I mean I spent days nursing the head injury on Pinkan Island, and then more days on Murcott because of those bloody Scyther. That's at least another week she spent in those sewers."
"We found her when we were meant to" Machamp said joining into the conversation "you cannot second guess yourself. An extra week wouldn't have changed anything Ash and you know it."
"I know" he said again "how long do we think?"
"A few moons, a year at most" Venusaur said "she gets tired very easily these days."
"Damn" Ash said, shaking his head looking over at the sleeping Pokémon. "I may have to make a trip back to Trovitopolis and visit the jail to smack that Mayor about a bit."
The next day Ash received Blastoise and had the similar conversation to the one he had the day before only Blastoise had a differing opinion.
"I don't want them near my lake Ash" he said "I've come a long way since my Squirtle Squad days and I like to feel I've mellowed a bit but those people have consistently encroached on areas they have no business being in. I've overheard many of them wondering if they could secretly capture some of the rarer Pokémon to sell them and fund their own projects. Three times in the last six months I've stopped Kabutops from killing several of the researchers for their attitude towards the fossil Pokémon. I know it was a big laugh about her mobilising the fossils to take over the world but she was actually training them to protect themselves from poachers. For the last few weeks they've refused to come out of their underwater dens because she's not there to protect them and it doesn't stop there. I heard from Lapras that her herd has been targeted for the last few months by several poachers masquerading as researchers and they very nearly killed the last one before they sealed their caves from everyone except Nurse Joy and Houndoom."
Ash stood up and started pacing absolutely livid at what he heard. "Why wasn't I told this?"
"I don't know" Blastoise said "I suspect because you were inside Mt Silver or had been mixed up in the Rocket nonsense. And then you were mourning Typhlosion. We felt we could handle it ourselves."
"I was home for two weeks during the Kanto League" Ash said interrupting "and I still wasn't told. I walked around my home all that time and not one Pokémon that lives there, yourselves included, came up to me to tell me of the problems facing the inhabitants of our home. You know that I would have sorted it out but I cannot fix something if no one tells me what's broken."
"Well now you know," Blastoise said, unconcerned by Ash's anger. "And now you can make the decisions."
"I'm home the week after next" Ash said looking at Blastoise "the final is next Sunday which means I'll be home the following day. When you get back, inform the various leaders of the ranch that I will be holding a meeting on Tuesday at midday, the day after I get back where I'll hear everyone's issues and then I'll decide how to proceed. I told Pikachu a few days ago I'm considering only allowing the researchers on my ranch for six months of the year instead of twelve, alternating months. At this point I'm considering banning them all until they're vouched for."
Ash shook his head as he walked into the house leaving Blastoise and Venusaur to look at each other wondering what was happening with Ash. Around noon he was sitting at the table typing away furiously when Joanne walked into the room and looked at him.
"Are you going over your script for next Monday?" she asked, sitting down opposite him with a brew.
"No" Ash said finishing his sentence "I'm emailing my lawyer to see what I can legally do to ban the research teams from being on my land."
Shocked, she put her mug down and just stared at him "Why?" she finally asked.
"Over the last several months the Pokémon on my ranch have consistently been put in a position of fight or flight because the researchers have overstepped their bounds, some even going as far as discussing poaching some of the rarer Pokémon" Ash said looking over the top of the laptop at her "When I get back I'll be having a meeting with the various leaders of the ranch to discuss just what's been happening and I'll go from there but as of today I've given Blastoise and Venusaur permission to do whatever is necessary to protect the Pokémon on my land. I've already ordered many signposts that I'll personally place in certain sections stating the researchers enter at their own risk, even ones that prohibit them from entering altogether. As of the minute Blastoise returns tomorrow the lake and its inhabitants are off limits until I get back."
"Ash" she said, shaking her head in disbelief "why are you constantly fighting against Silph after everything they've done for you."
"Silph has been doing me favours in return for my services Joanne" Ash said "let's not pretend Silph have ever been altruistic where I'm concerned. It's called a contract for a reason. I promote Silph and they in return back me in certain endeavours. But at no point has that ever meant they can allow their employees to take advantage of our relationship to actively steal from me or try and undermine what my ranch is about Joanne. They've crossed the line by letting poachers masquerade as researchers and not done their due diligence on vetting their employees, something which is in the contract they signed and have breached. I'm letting Jennifer handle the legalities though. No doubt Hatori will ring me over the next few days but my stance won't change on this. I didn't let the AONB walk all over me and I won't let Silph do the same." Closing his laptop he stood up leaving a shell-shocked Joanne to try and wrap her head around what Ash had just said. Going to her room she loaded up her own laptop and video phoned Hatori, knowing he needed to know what Ash had set in motion.
Sure enough an hour later Ash looked at his phone as it rang and saw Hatori's number. Chucking he answered "well that didn't take long did it? How quickly did Joanne let you know?"
"She is doing her job Ash" Hatori said "as any good employee does. So, explain to me what's going on before this turns into a lawsuit."
"At the minute nothing" Ash said "when I get home I'll be speaking to the various leaders and getting information from them but I was informed by Venusaur and Blastoise that they'd had to run off researchers out of several areas that's off limits and others talking about poaching in front of them. My Lapras herd have gone as far as blocking the entire section off to their home so that only Nurse Joy can reach them, the fossil research has ground to a halt because of it too. So at the minute, until I can gather the evidence I'm making the lake off limits as the inhabitants have threatened to make it as inhospitable as possible."
"Ash," Hatori said, sounding exhausted, "the researchers are there for a reason, to research."
"Exactly" Ash said interrupting him "not to poach or interfere with the wildlife in any way. Look, I'm not trying to be an arsehole here Hatori, I'm genuinely not but your researchers have overstepped their bounds, some of whom didn't belong there because they weren't even researchers to begin with so until they're vetted and actually proven to be real Silph employees I'll be suspending the activities at my home. I'm more than happy to work alongside you here to ensure everything is above board but at the end of the day it's still my home that I own exclusively. How would you feel if someone was sneaked into in your labs, that didn't belong there to learn and steal all of your new designs? That's exactly the same situation we're in at my home. It's not just Silph that's banned either, the AONB researchers are also being sent home. I'll be honest, I think the issues have come from their employees, not yours but to be safe and at least look like I'm being impartial everyone is being vetted."
"I suppose I can see your point" Hatori said reluctantly "I'll speak to the on-site manager and send everyone home. This won't come cheap Ash, you know that right?"
"I do," Ash said, "but I don't care about that if it means the inhabitants of Ketchum Ranch feel safe and secure. Just tell them that we're shutting down for winter if you don't want to tell them the real reason. I'm quite happy to be the bad guy here Hatori but it's got to be done."
That evening he was sitting down eating dinner with the four adults just listening in to their conversation when Joanne asked him quietly "Are you mad at me?"
"No" Ash said looking at her strangely, "why would you think that?"
"Because I told my boss what you were planning" she said, twirling the pasta on her fork but not eating it "I dunno, you seem mad."
"Hatori would have found out tomorrow anyway when Jennifer sends him the official email details of what was going to happen," Ash said, "so it doesn't make that much of a difference. If you think I feel betrayed then I don't. You don't work for me, you work for Silph so your loyalty lies with them not me. If I seem mad it's because my Pokémon didn't feel they could tell me what was going on because I have been too busy to speak with them. I'm mad because I feel I have betrayed them in some way by not putting them first. I'm also mad because I know they don't blame me when they should. I'm just glad I found out now and not in a few weeks time when I went back home and found out the inhabitants of the ranch had seriously injured someone…" he stopped talking as he quickly rushed outside into the cool evening air and saw several of his Pokémon looking upwards and to the east too. "What is he doing here?" Ash murmured curiously as two specks started to grow larger heading his way in the clear sky. Less than a minute later Salamence landed heavily looking tired but she wasn't alone. Alongside her was Charizard who looked just as weary as Salamence. Ash ignored the adults following him into the garden and walked forwards with purpose and stroked Salamence on the head murmuring to her that she was very welcome and to hope she had a good time. Turning to Charizard he smiled and walked forwards giving each other their customary headbutt before Ash stepped back and looked him over.
"You're hurt" he said looking at his wing and clawed hand "what the hell happened?"
"Can we eat first?" Salamence asked, sounding very tired.
"Of course" he said as he rushed back into the kitchen and pulled out a couple of cooked Pidgeys from the fridge along with a bottle of Berry Juice and a couple of dishes. Wandering back outside he placed the dishes on the ground and filled them up and sat down in a chair as his two flying types devoured the food and drink. Twenty minutes later, and after greeting all of his Pokémon and rekindling friendships they both saw Ash walk forwards and sit down, the rest following him until they were in a big circle.
"It's a good job this garden is big" Ash quipped "now, what's been happening. Why are you both tired and hurt?"
"Firstly thank you for sending Queenie so promptly" Charizard said yawning and shaking his head to try and stay awake. "A few moons ago one of my patrols came across another hidden ruin near Azalea Town, only this was a small town, not an underground Chamber. Upon exploring the patrols found something, something unusual. When I went to investigate I found there were Pokémon inhabiting the ruins which isn't that unusual. What was unusual though was they all informed us of some strange people turning up in black clothes and several of their comrades had disappeared. So, I decided to camp in the mountains with my lieutenants to observe these people and sure enough it wasn't long before they returned. It was very clear who they were as it was not the first time we've come across Team Rocket, only this time they were led by a man in a very strange suit made of metal who seemed to possess the ability to physically entrap the minds of wild Pokémon."
Ash looked to Pikachu who also looked concerned "the assassin? Pikachu asked Ash.
"It must be," Ash said, nodding "but we've not heard anything from him since we were in the Whirl Islands. I assumed it was Vincent but when we saw Silver not long afterwards didn't he say his son worked for them too?"
"So you know of him then?" Charizard asked "why didn't you tell me?"
"Honestly it slipped my mind and didn't seem that important" Ash said thinking aloud "Silver mentioned him in passing when he requested we hunt down the Masked Marauder who had apparently gone rogue. We'd already dealt with him not long before so I didn't see the point in entertaining Silver and doing his dirty work for him and we were told by Jesse the guy was a freelance assassin, he wasn't actually part of Team Rocket, just employed by them every now and then. But while we were in the Whirl Islands we rescued Lugia, his mate and their child from a Rocket cell. When we stormed their base though everyone had already been taken care of and it was only as we reached the main lab that we caught a glimpse of the assassin before he and Silver teleported away. We barely had time to shout in surprise. I've not heard of him since then."
"Well I wasn't about to let a man with a Tyranitar run amok in my territory" Charizard said "especially one who could psychically entrap Pokémon. I asked for Salamence because like myself she's been given a certain level of immunity due to training with you so their power has no effect on us. I didn't want to risk attacking with my best fighters only to have to fight them too when they became ensnared."
"Makes sense" Ash said "so I take it your injuries come from battling him."
"In a sense, yes" Charizard said "only we didn't have to contend with just a Tyranitar. He commanded an Entei too."
"Lord Entei has been captured?" Ash exclaimed.
"No," Salamence said, "his son has. The battle was brief but hard before he teleported away."
Immediately Ash stood up and focused on his tattoo. He'd never actually done this before but he stood in the middle of the circle and held his hand up and out concentrating on it. Without warning the group felt a wave of aura pass through them and spread out into the distance. Around Johto everyone that was highly attuned to Aura looked up as they felt the wave pass through them, every one of them knowing who it was and who they were asking for and one by one they reinforced it with their own aura helping it reach its destination.
Minutes went by in silence before they all looked up as they felt a strong and vaguely familiar aura return back to them and envelop Ash who winced as his tattoo lit up brightly. After half a minute it died down and Ash swayed before Machamp grabbed him and sat him on the ground.
"Thanks," Ash said, shaking his head. "Lugia will be with us as soon as she can but it's a trek from the Whirl Islands so it could be tomorrow evening she gets here. Can you stay until then?" he asked Charizard.
"Yes" he replied "I'm going to rest here for a few days before heading back."
"Good. Queenie, do you think you'll be up to battling tomorrow?" Ash asked.
"No, as much as it pains me to say" she replied. "I'm exhausted."
"That's fine" Ash said holding his hand up "I just thought I'd ask that's all. You're one of few with a fire move so I thought I'd ask."
"Why?" Charizard asked.
"I'm fighting a Steel Type trainer in the final eight tomorrow and given you're now only on my Championship roster, Queenie was away with you and Typhlosion died I'm without a powerful fire type. Luckily Machamp and Heracross are strong against Steel Types and Machamp has a fire type move too so he's my main Pokémon tomorrow. Venusaur has agreed to participate too so I'm left with one slot to fill."
"Ah ok" he said "well normally I'd offer to help you but I'm also exhausted and in need of healing."
"Yeah no worries" Ash said, heaving himself to his feet "I'm ok Machamp, but thank you. What I'll do then is send you home so Matilda can heal you and when Lugia arrives tomorrow I'll send for you." Walking into his room he pulled their Pokéballs from his bag and walked outside, returned them and sent them away via his Pokédex along with a message to Matilda. He also informed her she would likely be the only one on site in the next few days, along with the groundskeeper and head of security while they sorted out the Silph issue. Ash wondered if he should vet him too given the clear breaches before deciding against it. Jim had never given him reason to doubt his abilities before and he hadn't ever come to Ash with an issue regarding intruders. He had worked alongside the police quite extensively in keeping his property secure so he gave him a quick call and explained the situation.
"Why haven't your Pokémon come and told me this personally, Ash?" he asked, sounding irritated "I know I can't speak to them but I can understand body language and I can tell when they're distressed. I can't fix an issue I know nothing about."
"I had the same conversation with them too" Ash replied "It's done now anyway but I'm keeping you in the loop. By the weekend there won't be any researcher other than Sam and possibly Gary on the premises and they won't be back until the New Year at the earliest. I suspect it's the AONB that are responsible for the interlopers but I can't be certain so they're all being vetted. Only the names on the list I have given you personally tonight will be accepted on the property from Monday."
"Good stuff" he said "So you're back a week on Monday?"
"I should be yes," Ash said "Tuesday at the latest."
"I'll see you then Ash" he said hanging up.
Ash shook his head at the abrupt nature of the ending. Jim sounded genuinely pissed off that it had been allowed to happen on his watch and he suspected he would be on the warpath trying to find out who had been letting in people who shouldn't be there. Going to bed that night Ash slept fitfully. It would be the first battle he ever had where he was uncertain of the outcome, and he wasn't too proud to admit it that it worried him.
