Essence

by vincentgrey21

Ash has always wanted to be a pokemon master. When the time comes for him to pick out his first pokemon, he shocks Professor Oak with a peculiar request. One thing leads to another, and he ends up with a loyal Growlithe. How will this unique situation affect the boy's destiny?

9. Kanto 9

A/N: Here's Kanto 9. If last chapter focused on Ash and his relationships with his human friends, this chapter is focused on his pokemon. I have to say, I love this chapter. It has probably been my favorite to write. I really think you guys will enjoy this one, and it is definitely a great change of pace after Kanto 8. Thank you for being patient.

Just a heads up, I wasn't able to get Ash to Celadon. I've come to the conclusion that I get way too carried away with character development and world building to be able to accurately predict what each chapter will include. Anyways, enjoy, and Happy New Years! You're going to have fun with this one!

Kanto 9: Essence

"Remember what I said the other day," lectured Ash with his chest out and arms folded. "Don't rely on your shell. It's a convenient catalyst, but it's hindering your ability to learn the technique."

He paused, "Protect is a projective shield created by manifesting your mental fortitude. It takes intense concentration intermixed with your inner energy. You're never going to get it to work if you keep using your physical shield, so stay out of your shell and face the attack head on, Wartortle."

The recently evolved turtle pokemon shot his trainer a cold glance before focusing his attention back on Charmander, who was his current sparring partner.

"Charmander, again!" commanded Ash.

He watched as a half purple tinted flame erupted from his lizard pokemon's maw. Despite its draconic properties, it was still an Ember, albeit repetition was beginning to reap its benefits.

Pretty soon, Charmander wouldn't be able to use Dragon Rage on Wartortle like this. As the draconic properties of the attack strengthened, and it became more of a pure Dragon Rage, it would become much more effective against Wartortle.

At the moment, Wartortle and Charmander's training was at a point of intersection. It was moments like this that Ash really liked to take advantage of.

He could kill two birds with one stone. With repetition, Charmander could continue to master his Dragon Rage. And at the beginning stages of learning Protect, Wartortle could opportunistically use the fire lizard's practice in order to trigger Protect without taking too much damage.

Moreover, it also helped that Wartortle and Charmander got along decently well. They were great training partners. Charmander was one of Ash's only pokemon that Wartortle actually felt like he could relate to, and the fire lizard handled the water-type's glacial personality with a lot of grace.

Even though their personalities outside of training were very different, they shared one major thing in common: an exemplary work-ethic. Both Charmander and Wartortle had an intrinsic drive to get stronger, which was a mutual quality that the two of them respected.

Entrenched in their similar scars of abandonment, Charmander and Wartortle each had a chip on their shoulder that most people and pokemon could not understand.

It had warped and reshaped their personalities. Wartortle became detached and fragmented, whereas Charmander became hypersensitive and high-strung. They were two opposite extremes. However, their similar emotional wounds allowed them to understand each other.

It was an unorthodox relationship, but somehow it worked.

Now, Ash wouldn't necessarily consider them friends. Outside of training, they didn't spend very much time together. Charmander gravitated more towards Growlithe and Haunter, while Wartortle was a bit of a recluse.

Nevertheless, they were good for each other, especially in regard to satisfying each other's appetite for drudgery…

"Now, dive deep into your willpower, Wartortle!" bellowed Ash. "Visualize that you are enshrouded in an impenetrable barrier! Nothing can hurt you! Nothing can so much as touch you! You are completely protected! You don't need your shell! Your strength of mind itself is sturdy enough to protect you!"

Hearing his trainer's words, Wartortle stood his ground, staring down the draconically infused fireball with concentrated eyes.

Ash watched, half expecting Wartortle to withdraw at the last moment. A small smile formed on his face when he witnessed the turtle pokemon widen his stance and clench his fists in preparation to endure whatever managed to pierce his incarnate bravery.

No matter the outcome, at least Wartortle was beginning to understand. Protect was not a technique for the indecisive.

It required commitment, which was what Wartortle was trying his best to characterize. He needed to go for broke in order to be rewarded with a new skill. The unfeeling water-type needed to give himself up to his own ironclad grit, so that he could shield even a fraction of his body.

Judging by his decisive shift in stance, he was willing to do that.

Ash's eyes widened when a minute glimmer of blue light appeared in the blink of an eye. The abrupt coruscation flickered for a second as it collided with Charmander's draconic Ember.

The dark-haired boy could immediately tell that its scope wasn't wide enough to nullify the entirety of the attack, which was expected. This was Wartortle's first time actually exteriorizing a barrier. Ash figured it would take a lot of practice before his friend could create a shield big enough to protect his entire body.

The partial Protect managed to penetrate right through the center of Charmander's incomplete Dragon Rage, causing the flame to collapse around it like a wave crashing against a mountainside.

Unfortunately for Wartortle, he was hit by the portion of the flame that the barrier was unable to obstruct. The turtle pokemon groaned as both of his arms and legs were smacked by the scorching flame.

Even though Ash knew that it wouldn't cause any significant damage, he still cringed when Wartortle cried out in pain. Just because he liked to battle didn't mean he didn't care if his friends got hurt. They were his family after all.

As the purple tinted flame and fragmented Protect faded, Ash approached his friend with a small smile on his face. "Well, at least you managed to make a barrier. Good job, Wartortle."

Although he didn't look anywhere close to satisfied, Wartortle grunted, acknowledging Ash's praise. Even when he mastered a technique, the turtle pokemon wasn't the type to ever be appeased. Therefore, Ash wasn't surprised in the least by his friend's lackluster reaction.

"How are your arms and legs?" questioned Ash as he quickly surveyed his water-type's condition.

Once again, Wartortle responded with a monotonous grunt. He was fine. He didn't look like he had any burns, and water-types were protected against fire by their natural element. The draconic energy that was interlaced in the flame probably made it sting a little more than normal, however, Wartortle didn't need a potion or anything like that. After a short amount of time inside of his pokeball, he would be as good as new.

The ten-year-old boy reached for Wartortle's pokeball, which was attached to its usual spot on Ash's trainer belt. "Why don't you take a little rest? We'll work on it some more in a little b—"

Ash ceased his sentence when Wartortle abruptly turned around, showing him eyes full of determination.

"Or…" drawled Ash, amused, "we could keep going."

Wartortle nodded his head before pivoting his glance over to Charmander.

"What do you say, Charmander!?" yelled Ash from across the clearing. "Can you give him another one!?"

Charmander gave Wartortle a smug look before letting out a confident snort, signifying that he was more than ready.

Ash couldn't help but laugh. He'd let them have a little bit more fun before he cut them off.

XXX

"Hmm…" murmured Ash as he held his hand up to his chin in thought, "I think it's ready. What about you?"

Haunter floated around his trainer in celebration, letting out his signature, ghoulish guffaw.

"I'll take that as a yes," muttered Ash in between laughter.

"What the hell was that!?" howled the other trainer as he returned his fallen doduo.

The boy was about the same age as Ash. He had long, brown hair and a thin face. Going off of the two-on-two battle that they had just had, he wasn't very good.

The first pokemon he sent out was a butterfree. Despite its type-advantage, it didn't stand a chance against Ivysaur. The poor bug-type tried to intoxicate the grass-type with several status techniques, but it wasn't able to connect. Regardless of his bulky build, once Ivysaur activated Chlorophyll, he was just too fast to be hit with a slow, powder based technique.

Ivysaur eventually trapped the butterfree with Vine Whip before finishing it off with a vicious Razor Leaf.

In regard to Razor Leaf, the grass-type's accuracy against moving targets wasn't quite good enough for Ash to consider the technique complete, but as long as the target was still, Ivysaur could use it in combat. Thus, the Vine Whip/Razor Leaf combination would be essential until Ivysaur mastered Razor Leaf.

The second pokemon that his opponent sent out was a rather mediocre doduo. Ash hadn't faced too many members of the species, so his sample size for comparison was pretty small. Nevertheless, he knew enough to be able to tell that it wasn't anything special.

Haunter made quick work of it, hitting it with an onslaught of Sucker Punches before finishing it off with his newest technique: Payback, which was the move that their opponent was currently gawking over…

"Payback," retorted Ash with a satisfied grin on his face. "This is the first time we've used it in a battle."

"P-payback…" stuttered the trainer. "I've never heard of it."

Ash wasn't surprised; Payback wasn't a very common move. Only three species in all of Kanto could naturally learn it, and two of those species were incredibly rare.

The most obvious of those species was the gastly line, which could learn Payback easily because of their sinister nature and skill with the mystic elements. Outside of Kanto's exclusive ghosts, the only other Kanto native pokemon that could learn Payback were tauros and the vulpix line.

Tauros were uncommon, albeit Ash wouldn't consider them rare. You could catch one relatively easily at the Safari Zone, but outside of the Safari Zone, they could only be found at one of Kanto's many restricted reserves.

Both vulpix and its evolved form ninetails were rare and generally hard to find.

Simply put, Payback was a very rare technique. Unless a trainer had done a lot of research regarding one of the three Kanto pokemon that could learn it, chances are it wouldn't be on their radar.

"It's a dark-type technique," said Ash as he gently stroked in between one of the spikes on Haunter's back. "It works best as a counter-attack. Haunter converts the molecules around him into dark energy and uses it to strike his opponent. If his opponent uses a technique first, he can absorb the leftover residue from their attack, convert it into dark energy, and use it against them. Pretty cool, eh?"

"P-pretty cool!" stammered the kid as he began to back away from Ash. "More like devastating!"

"I wouldn't go that far," said Ash with a shrug. "Haunter's going to have to get a lot stronger before any of his moves could be considered devastating."

Images of the battle against Team Rocket collided with his psyche. The faces of Sabrina, Wallace, Kent and Ariana flashed inside of his mind. Their pokemon were devastating. Compared to them, his friends were cute.

"Whatever you say," said the kid as he clipped his doduo's pokeball back to his trainer belt and gave him a quick wave. "Anyways, thanks for the battle. I've got to go."

Ash let out a small sigh as he watched the kid runaway.

"What do we have to do to find a good challenge out here?" questioned Ash as he continued to scratch behind Haunter's spikes. "Over the past couple of days, most of the battles we've had have been like that."

The ghost-type raised his finger in the direction of the fleeing trainer and released a burst of laughter, clearly poking fun at the fleeing boy.

"Cut it out," said Ash sarcastically as he looked down at Haunter with amused eyes. "It's not nice to point and laugh."

In response to Ash's words, Haunter shifted his finger in Ash's direction before purposely raising the volume of his discordant voice.

"You're impossible," managed Ash before exploding with laughter.

He couldn't help but chuckle at his ghost-type's antics. Most of the time, he was just way too hilarious to take seriously.

Once they had finally finished laughing, Ash tried his best to clear his mind and change the subject, "Anyways, good job with Payback. You've mastered it quickly."

The ghost-type lowered his shadowy hand and bowed, portraying a serious face in the process.

Ash shook his head at his friend's strange behavior before continuing, "I'll have to do some research on the pokedex to figure out which move we should learn next, but that can wait until later."

He paused, "For now, we need to get moving. We've spent most of the day training and battling. At our current pace, it'll take forever to get to Celadon."

The ghost-type released his typical, cacophonous guffaw before abruptly diving into Ash's shadow.

"So, I take it you're not ready to go back in your pokeball," said Ash as a shiver shot down his spine.

From deep within his shadow, the apparition retorted with a quiet cackle.

Once again, Ash chuckled while shaking his head, "Very well. Let's go."

XXX

"How are you holding up?" asked Ash as he peeked down at Growlithe.

The pup looked up at him with argent eyes. Despite the fact that they had been moving for the past couple of hours, it was rather clear that Growlithe wasn't even close to being tired.

"Good," said Ash. "I'd like to cover a little more ground before we take a break…"

It had been three days since they left Saffron, and they had hardly gotten anywhere. The majority of their time on the road had been spent training. According to his xtransceiver, they had only ventured about thirteen miles, which was pretty pathetic in his opinion.

Training was imperative, but even Ash could tell that he had been a bit obsessive as of late.

There were a couple of reasons why Ash's impulse to train had been stronger than usual, although he would blame most of his overzealousness on the fact that he hadn't had very many opportunities to train in Saffron.

Of course, he did have his special training with Sabrina, but that didn't really count. Outside of his time spent establishing mental barriers with Clefairy and Haunter, he was pretty limited with what he could do.

Not only was the majority of his time dedicated to mental barrier training, but during his time with Sabrina, almost all of his other pokemon had been recovering from the battle against Team Rocket. Now that everyone was healthy, and he was free to do as he pleased, it had been almost impossible to control his heightened compulsiveness to train.

Another reason that he couldn't help but overtrain was the uninteresting scenery that occupied Route Seven.

Unlike some of the more luscious and robust routes that he had explored, Route Seven was rather mundane. Other than the encompassing, mountainous terraces that could be seen in the distance, it was flat, and the ground consisted of mostly dirt and brushwood.

The only wild pokemon that Ash had seen were pidgey, rattata and oddish, which were all common species. Granted, Ash was only thirteen miles away from Saffron, so the wild pokemon were bound to vary and increase the further he got out. However, at this point in time, he still expected to see more, especially since Sabrina had told him that wild abra were known to dwell in these parts.

Just as he had heard from Sabrina, Route Seven was flooded with trainers, which only drew his eyes away from the insipid terrain and enhanced his avidity to get stronger. After nearly every training session that he and his friends had partaken in over the past couple of days, there had been a trainer close by to test their growing skills on.

Most of the trainers weren't worth mentioning, but every once in a while he would come across a trainer that could give him a run for his money. As a matter of fact, he had even been beaten a couple of times.

Over the last two and a half days, Route Seven had trapped him in an addictive cycle of training and battling. However, today he planned on changing that.

He had already gotten his morning training session in, so he planned on dedicating the rest of the day to his trip to Celadon. Of course, it would be a contradiction to his personality to decline a battle if another trainer challenged him, but he wouldn't go out of his way to find any opponents.

Outside of Growlithe, Ash planned on giving his friends the rest of the day to recuperate in their pokeballs. Most of them were exhausted from all of the training that they had been doing, so some time in suspended animation would be a good thing.

Ash didn't even bother asking Growlithe if he wanted to go in his pokeball. They were on the road, which typically meant that the inside of Growlithe's pokeball was off-limits.

Ever since the beginning of their journey, Growlithe had preferred to be on the outside with Ash. It was where he felt most comfortable.

Obviously, there were some exceptions.

Due to his social anxiety, which hadn't really been a problem as of late, Growlithe didn't like being outside of his pokeball in heavily populated areas. There were also times when his physical exhaustion got the best of him, and he chose to stay in his pokeball to rest, leaving the job of protecting Ash to one of his teammates.

Howbeit, those times were rare, and Growlithe was almost always right alongside his best friend.

This time around, it helped that Growlithe's training had been primarily technique oriented and that he hadn't been involved in very many battles. For the most part, his friend was fresh. He had a couple of scrapes and soreness here and there, but overall he was probably the healthiest out of all of Ash's pokemon.

The puppy pokemon's training sessions had been entirely dedicated to mastering the form required to perform the move Reversal, which was still giving Growlithe trouble.

The fire-type had definitely made some progress since they had started learning the move a couple of weeks ago, but Growlithe still had a ways to go before he could use the technique in battle. Due to his quadrupedal body-type, Reversal was one of the hardest moves in the puppy pokemon's natural learnset to get a grip on.

Since it was essentially a throwing technique, it was arduous for Growlithe to carry out. He had to use his whole body. The pup wasn't a bipedal pokemon. He wasn't born with arms that made propelling something natural. Instead, what he had to do was trap his opponent with all four of his legs while simultaneously creating enough leverage to launch them into the air.

At the present moment, Growlithe was capable of locking up his target. In Ash's opinion, he had become adept when it came to wrestling his opponents into a position that they couldn't break out of.

The problem was that Growlithe was having a tough time engaging his opponents at a point where he had enough momentum, leverage and strength to complete the throw.

Ash knew how to teach it to him. The pokedex was pretty clear in its explanation of how to teach the growlithe line the right way to execute Reversal.

The approach was basically a Flame Wheel without the flame. Growlithe needed to get a running start before flipping head over into his opponent. Right before he entered the apex of the flip, he needed to latch onto the target in preparation to throw.

Depending on the target's size, the momentum that Growlithe would acquire from the leap combined with the leverage he had accumulated with the flip was supposed to allow him to complete the toss.

In addition to all of the physics involved, there was also the accumulation and distribution of fighting spirit to factor in, but he didn't plan on worrying about any of that until they had mastered the basic fundamentals of the technique.

Simply put, they had a lot of work to do before Reversal was complete. If they didn't make some solid progress quickly, Ash would consider teaching Growlithe an additional move.

He didn't typically like to overwhelm his friends by teaching them two moves at once, but he would make an exception if he felt that it would help. And right now, complimenting Growlithe's current, tedious task with something a little more fun and natural could be healthy for him.

Other than Growlithe, all of his pokemon were either putting the finishing touches on the techniques that they were learning, or they were beginning to learn moves that came natural to them.

Pidgeotto was on the brink of gaining complete command over Agility. It turned out that the glimpse of success that Ash had seen during the battle at the Magnet Train station had only been a temporary feat.

He figured that in order to protect Wartortle, Pidgeotto must have accessed Agility unconsciously with nothing but sheer willpower. Ever since the battle, though, Pidgeotto has had to once again work towards gaining control over Agility by pushing himself to the limit.

At first, Ash had been a little bit disappointed. He was hoping that after what he had seen underneath the Magnet Train station, Pidgeotto had learned how to shift into Agility at will. However, it didn't take long for him to get over it, and now he was just happy that Pidgeotto was finally on the verge of finishing it…

Out of all of his friends, Clefairy's training was probably the most difficult for him to understand. It wasn't like Minimize or Stored Power, though. Clefairy wasn't frustrated. In fact, she was having a blast.

Ash had finally decided to let Clefairy learn the move that her species was most famous for: Metronome—a rare normal-type technique that no other pokemon native to Kanto could learn.

Metronome was one of those techniques that came naturally to a species. It was like teaching a magnemite how to use Thundershock or a kadabra how to use Psychic. It didn't take very much on his end in order to guide Clefairy towards success.

Metronome's outlandish finger wagging procedure was simple for Clefairy to get the hang of, and the mystic energy she needed to conjure the attack came to her innately. All he had to do was show her an example on his pokedex, and she had mastered it.

It wasn't teaching Clefairy Metronome that had him confused. Ash was confused because he had no idea how to use it effectively in battle.

If Ash had to explain Metronome in one word, it would be random. The signature technique of the cleffa line was absolutely unpredictable. There was no way to properly explain how it worked, and there was no telling what it would do.

Metronome used a strange, abstruse energy that somehow had the ability to summon the essence needed to perform any technique. The user didn't know what technique they were summoning. As a matter of fact, Ash didn't even know if Metronome knew what move it was summoning.

The whole process operated on chance.

Ash wasn't necessarily opposed to a technique that was unpredictable. He was sure that it would come in handy at some point. However, other than using it as a wildcard, he couldn't really see Metronome having much of a future in his battle strategies.

The only time he could see Clefairy using it in battle would be as a last resort. When all other chips were on the table, and she was backed into a corner, she could call upon Metronome in hope of a miracle.

Maybe she would get lucky and invoke a Hyper Beam. That would be convenient.

Anyways, now that Clefairy had mastered the form needed to perform Metronome, he didn't see the point in them practicing it for too much longer. He would allow Clefairy to have a little more fun with it. She had earned that much. But at some point during the next couple of days, they would move on.

Ash already knew what move he was going to teach her next. He had done some research the moment that he realized Metronome would be easy for Clefairy to learn and decided that he would teach her Cosmic Power: a defensive technique that once again required her internal thaumaturgic energy.

He still had to look deeper into some of the details, but he understood the general gist of the technique. It was essentially an energy cloak, made out of a thin-layer of thaumaturgic energy, that enveloped the user's body and served as a buffer against contending attacks.

Even though Clefairy really needed some more hard-hitting offensive moves, he figured that it wouldn't take her very long to learn Cosmic Power, and it had a chance to multiply her defense by a considerable amount, especially if she learned how to use it in combination with Minimize…

In addition to Clefairy, another pokemon that Ash was beginning to look into a new move for was Ivysaur.

His grass-type still hadn't gained full control over Razor Leaf, but he was getting close. Over the past couple of days, Ash had used Ivysaur a lot against other traveling trainers. With every battle, he was getting more and more accurate. Pretty soon, he wouldn't need to rely on Vine Whip to immobilize his targets prior to using Razor Leaf.

It was just a matter of time before Ivysaur would be able to hit mobile targets with ease. They were almost to the point where Ash could rely solely on live battles for Ivysaur to improve his Razor Leaf. Once that was the case, he would feel comfortable teaching Ivysaur a new technique.

Out of all of the available moves in Ivysaur's learnset, the technique that Ash was leaning towards teaching him next was Sweet Scent, which is a status move that destabilizes an opponent's cerebrum and cerebellum in a way that slows down their overall evasiveness and reaction time.

Ash had been tempted to teach Ivysaur Sweet Scent for quite sometime now, but he knew that the best thing to do in the long run would be to wait until Ivysaur gained better control over his quick-hitting Razor Leaf.

Sweet Scent was one of the primary ways that a bulbasaur trainer could accommodate for the species' general lack of speed, especially if the specimen they trained up ever evolved into its hulking final form: venusaur.

If Ash were to have taught Ivysaur Sweet Scent too soon, it could have become a crutch. Despite its usefulness, the reason he had waited until now to consider learning it was because he wanted Ivysaur to be able to comfortably battle without it, especially since his Ivysaur had been blessed with the ability Chlorophyll.

Not only did waiting to learn Sweet Scent give Ivysaur some time to naturally adapt to faster opponents, it also set him up to benefit even more than most grass-types would from the aromatic technique.

Ash was hoping for a slow motion effect. He figured that if Ivysaur could fend off agile opponents without Sweet Scent, when he actually used It, their movements would appear sluggish and conspicuous...

Speaking of conspicuous, it was very clear that Charmander was on the brink of evolution. Not only was his friend's skin darkening and his flame growing, but his claws were elongating, and the long, horn-like protrusion that charmeleon were known to have was beginning to emerge from the back of his head.

In Ash's opinion, Charmander was only a couple of battles away from evolving. Without a doubt, he would be a charmeleon by the time they reached Celadon. Hopefully, the evolution happened in the next couple of days. That way, Ash would have plenty of time to let his fire lizard get used to his new form before his gym battle against Erika.

On top of the fact that Charmander would be evolving soon, he was also excruciatingly close to producing a full-fledged Dragon Rage. He was finally at the point where the draconic energy inside of him was starting to reject his internal flame, which meant that pretty soon it would be strong enough to stand on its own.

Ash couldn't wait. Once Charmander's draconic energy was strong enough, he could finally separate it from his flame. Thus, his fire lizard would be able to spit out Dragon Rage as easily as his natural flame…

Another Pokemon that was getting close to attaining a new skill was Wartortle. The turtle pokemon had only been working on Protect for a couple of days, but ever since Ash had gotten it through his head that he needed to stop relying on his shell, the water-type had made a lot of progress.

Wartortle was now capable of enshrouding almost half of his body within Protect's energy barrier, which was quite an improvement over the fraction of his body that he managed to protect the very first time he manifested a semblance of the defensive technique.

If Ash were to guess, he would say that Wartortle was anywhere from a week to two weeks away from truly mastering Protect, although pretty soon it would be far enough along to where he could reflexively use it in battle…

Out of all of his friends, the one that had impressed him the most over the past couple of days was Haunter.

From the moment he faced off against him back in Lavender Town, Ash knew Haunter was strong, but now that he was traveling on his own again – without any distractions – and had the opportunity to see his friend go up against a multitude of traveling trainers' pokemon, he was finally starting to recognize just how special Haunter was.

He was on another level. Outside of maybe Pidgeotto, none of his other pokemon were even close to touching Haunter in terms of what he could accomplish in battle.

Ash had partaken in more battles than he could count since leaving Saffron, and all of his friends had participated. Out of the whole group, the only pokemon that had yet to take a loss was Haunter.

First and foremost, he was a matchup nightmare. His rare typing in and of itself took care of the majority of an average trainer's pokemon. Not too many people knew enough about ghost-types to understand what their weaknesses were, and even if they did, it usually didn't matter.

Ghosts were really only weak against other ghosts and dark-types.

The gastly line were the only ghost-types native to Kanto, and they were practically impossible to track down without an expensive silph scope or a rare growlithe that knew Odor Sleuth.

In regard to dark-types, Kanto didn't really have any. Eevee had the potential to evolve into an umbreon, which was a dark-type. But, eevee were rare enough in their own right and chances were extremely low that someone – other than a dark-type specialist – had the patience to train an eevee into an umbreon.

In addition to the fact that Haunter didn't have very many weaknesses, he was also flat out immune to normal and fighting-type moves, which were two common types in the Kanto region.

Thus, when you factored in all of the advantages that Haunter congenitally had with his exceptional battle instincts and his ability to adapt and learn at an incredible rate, it was pretty evident that Haunter would be difficult for any trainer to defeat.

Ash couldn't even fathom how strong he would be once he evolved into a gengar. He was formidable enough as a haunter, picturing him as a fully evolved gengar was just downright terrifying.

Thank God he was on his side.

Anyways, in terms of Haunter's present training regiment, he didn't really have one. At least not at the moment. He was in what Ash liked to call a transitional period.

The ghost-type had just finished ironing out Payback yesterday, and he was waiting patiently while Ash did research on the next move he planned on teaching him: Shadow Ball.

Despite Haunter's natural inclination towards ghost-type moves, Shadow Ball was a tricky technique to get a grip on. Ash wanted to make sure that he knew everything there was to know about it before he initiated the training.

In the meantime, Haunter could sharpen up on his current skills and focus on the continuation of his mental barrier training.

Also, at some point during their trip to Celadon, Ash wanted to address Haunter's other personality. He couldn't let it linger untamed for too much longer. Haunter was getting way too powerful. If Ash didn't do something about it soon and the unexpected occurred, there could be dire consequences.

He would rather not have something like that happ—

"Hey, kid, that Growlithe looks strong. How about a battle!?"

Ash's train of thought was suddenly shattered by a loud, grating, female voice.

"Dammit…" cursed Ash under his breath as he looked down at Growlithe, "we're never going to get to Celadon, are we?"

Growlithe looked up at him with amused eyes. It was pretty obvious that the pup was loving this.

XXX

"Do you know what this means!?" exclaimed Ash as he ran his fingers through Pidgeotto's plumage.

Ash, Growlithe and Pidgeotto were resting in the middle of a barren field after hours of being on the road when Ash noticed a sparkling, golden feather amidst Pidgeotto's red plumage.

Pidgeotto let out a confused squawk, unable to see the golden feather that sat atop his head.

"Oh, right," Ash laughed. "You can't see it."

The avian tilted his head to the side, clearly trying to make sense of what his trainer was talking about.

"Your first golden feather came in," said Ash, clarifying what he had gotten so excited over. "It's awesome."

Pidgeotto's typically fierce eyes brightened up the second Ash said the word golden. It was apparent that he knew the significance of the newly emerged growth.

"Yup," said Ash with a smile, responding to Pidgeotto's body language, "you'll be evolving pretty soon, probably sometime in the next month."

Pidgeotto let out a proud squawk and flapped his wings with vigor. Evolution was something that he had been yearning for since long before Ash had met him. It was his dream. There was nothing he wanted more than to soar throughout the heavens in the form of a glorious pidgeot.

"Alright, alright, settle down," managed Ash, laughing as he watched a couple of wild rattata scurry out of a shrub with their tails in between their legs. "You're scaring the locals."

Pidgeotto reluctantly obeyed his trainer's words, shackling his wings and ceasing his rowdy jubilation.

Ash couldn't help but snicker. If Pidgeotto was this excited after sprouting a single feather, he couldn't wait to see his reaction when he actually evolved.

"Why don't you fly off your excitement," said Ash as he backed away from his avian and pointed up at the sky. "You can celebrate however you want up there."

Without a hint of hesitation, Pidgeotto thrusted his wings towards the ground before taking off like a breakneck jet. He let out a rambunctious cry as he elevated high into the sky and nearly tapered out of sight.

"Someone's happy," said Ash as he dropped his gaze from the sky and focused his eyes on his lounging pup.

Growlithe let out a confirmatory yip. Ash could tell that his starter was just as pleasantly occupied as he was. It was rare that they got to see Pidgeotto in such a gleeful state.

XXX

"Are you okay?" asked Ash as he watched Ivysaur mindlessly gaze into the fire.

Without diverting his eyes from the warm campfire, his grass-type nodded.

Despite his affirmative response, Ash didn't know whether to believe him or not. The way that Ivysaur was staring at the fire worried him. It looked as if he was on the cusp of remembering something, something buried deep within his subconscious.

"Are you sure?" questioned Ash with a contemplative countenance. "Is there something on your mind?"

This time, Ivysaur took his red eyes off of the fire and pivoted his attention over to Ash. The ten-year-old boy watched as his friend's eyes went from vacant to muddled. It was apparent that he was beginning to snap back to reality.

Other than confusion, Ash didn't see any emotion behind Ivysaur's befuddled expression. He didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. A part of him hoped that Ivysaur's suppressed, embryonic memories would never resurface, but life wasn't that easy. He would remember. It was just a matter of time.

He figured that if the memories were going to surface, now was as good a time as ever. He was in the middle of nowhere, and he hadn't seen another trainer since midday.

Ash didn't know exactly how Ivysaur felt about the matter, but he would rather handle situations like this in private. He never liked to deal with emotions while people were watching. It made him feel uncomfortable.

Be that as it may, Ash knew that the memories were going to penetrate Ivysaur's active consciousness at their own pace. It was selfish for him to think otherwise.

"Is the fire bothering you?" asked Ash as he watched Ivysaur take a few steps away from it.

He wasn't close to the flame to begin with. He was a grass-type; fire wasn't his favorite thing. Nevertheless, it didn't usually trigger this kind of behavior from him. Regardless of weakness, fire was warmth, and winter was just around the corner. Even if Ivysaur's bud didn't appreciate the fire, the part of him that was reptilian did.

For him to behave this way could only mean one thing. The fire was stimulating fear.

Ash placed his hand over Wartortle's pokeball in preparation to release him. If he needed to put the fire out, no one could do it faster than his water-type.

"Do you want me to have Wartortle put it out?" asked Ash with a bit of urgency in his voice.

Ivysaur responded by shaking his head and laying down. He gave Ash a look that portrayed that he was fine before planting his eyes back on the sizzling, controlled fire.

Ash took a deep breath and relaxed his hand. It seemed the situation was under control.

Without standing up, he then proceeded to scoot over by Ivysaur's side. Even though Ivysaur had no idea what was going on, Ash could tell that he needed him right now. His grass-type was hurting without the memories to know why.

Ash didn't know exactly what was going on inside of Ivysaur's head, but he knew that his friend wasn't acting like his normal, auspicious self.

"You know I'm always here for you, right?" said Ash in a soft voice, trying to comfort his friend.

Ivysaur let out a soft murmur, acknowledging Ash's words.

A small smile formed on Ash's face as he gently stroked the soft pedals on Ivysaur's bud.

"You might not understand everything that I'm about to say," spoke Ash, "but I need you to listen…"

Ivysaur curiously raised his head from the ground. He was still in a slight daze, but Ash could tell that he was coherent enough to process his words.

"If the time ever comes when you need to let down your guard," said Ash, "you can do that in front of me. Not only am I your trainer, but I'm your friend. You're a brave pokemon with a strong heart, but I know that there is more to you than that. We all have strengths, and we all have weaknesses. We all have happy memories as well as sad ones."

He paused, "It's okay to be broken. We all are. Just remember that you have a family that cares for you, and keep your head up."

Ivysaur lifted his head from the ground and placed it in his trainer's lap. He let out another quiet murmur as he rested in the comfort of his trainer's affection.

"I love you, buddy," said Ash as he scratched behind Ivysaur's ears, "and that will never change."

XXX

It was moments like this that melted Ash's heart.

He watched with a smile as Growlithe and Charmander gleefully ran around the brushwood, interacting and playing with a quartet of wild vulpix kits.

Ash wasn't quite sure where they came from. Charmander and Growlithe had been practicing their Ember together when the four little fox-like creatures appeared out of nowhere.

At first, Ash was a bit taken back. Vulpix were rare. They tended to be shy and didn't like to show themselves around humans. It was difficult enough to find one, seeing four in one place was unheard of.

The second that they fumbled into the clearing, Ash's instincts as a trainer skyrocketed, and he was tempted to catch one. However, he decided against it.

Judging by the way that they interacted together, chances were pretty high that the four kits were from the same litter. Vulpix weren't pack oriented pokemon, so it wasn't normal to see them act so fondly toward each other. The only time that this kind of behavior occurred was when the species was in its first year of life.

After about a year, vulpix were forced to fend for themselves. Their mother no longer took care of them, and they had to find their own way, typically severing all ties with their siblings.

It sounded cruel, but that was just their way of life. Vulpix and its evolved form ninetails weren't nurturing pokemon. They were clever and dignified, albeit they tended to be self-centered and cold towards other pokemon, especially members of their own species.

However, although the species wasn't nurturing by nature that didn't mean that they completely neglected their duties as a parent. Maternal vulpix and ninetails tended to stick around for the first year of their kits' lives in order to teach them the basic fundamentals of survival and protect them from powerful predators.

It wasn't your typical mother and child relationship. Just because the mother stuck around didn't mean that they were always glued to their young. Unlike the relationship between a mother arcanine and her pups, the vulpix line gave their kits a lot of freedom.

They were allowed to go off on their own for long periods of time, giving them an opportunity to explore and prepare themselves for the day that their mother left them to fend for themselves.

Of course, throughout the first year of a vulpix's life, its mother was never too far away. Due to the vulpix line's unearthly intuition, a mature specimen was capable of keeping track of its kits' well-being from a distance.

Simply put, if the younglings got themselves into a dire situation, the mother would know and could respond accordingly, which was one of the reasons that Ash was reluctant to try and catch one.

The last thing that he wanted to do was get on a fully grown ninetails' bad side. Wild ninetails were typically ruthless and vengeful, known for leaving curses on humans that wronged them in any way.

Ash didn't want to mess with that. It wasn't worth it.

He already had two young fire-types. There was no need for another. Maybe one day, but not now. He didn't plan on taking on another fire-type until Growlithe and Charmander were fully evolved and mature.

Anyways, it didn't make Ash any less excited to see them just because he didn't plan on catching one. Granted, he would be lying if he said that he wouldn't rather have ran into a conflux of abra, but that was just wishful thinking.

Seeing the vulpix litter was a breath of fresh air. Ever since leaving Saffron, the only wild pokemon Ash had seen were members of the rattata, pidgey and oddish lines. Prior to this moment, he was starting to get the impression that he would never find anything worth mentioning.

For the first time in four days, his hopes were up. Maybe there was more to Route Seven than he had originally thought…

"Growlithe, Charmander!" bellowed Ash in attempt to grab their attention.

He watched as both of his fire-types immediately ceased their interaction with the vulpix kits and shifted their attention towards him.

At the same time, the four kits stopped in their tracks and looked his way with curious eyes, visibly acknowledging his presence for the first time since making themselves known.

"Could you please introduce me to your friends?" asked Ash as he attempted to come off as friendly as possible.

In response to Ash's words, both Charmander and Growlithe gave him a brief nod before diverting their attention back towards the vulpix kits.

Speaking in both of their native tongues, Ash's two fire-types proceeded to communicate with them. Every once in a while, throughout the conversation, they would glance over at Ash. During those moments, he just smiled. He wanted to make sure that he looked as amicable as he hoped his friends were currently describing him to be.

After about a minute of pokemon chatter, Growlithe and Charmander led the four vulpix over to Ash. As the litter approached him, Ash's memory instantly went back to the first time that he had met Growlithe. The kits' innocent dispositions reminded him of his friend at the beginning of their journey.

He wasn't sure, but if Ash were to guess, he would say that the four vulpix kits were about the same age that Growlithe was the first time he met him back at Professor Oak's lab.

"Hi, guys," said Ash, softly, as he crouched down to their level. "I'm Ash, Charmander and Growlithe's trainer, nice to meet you."

The kits awkwardly looked around at each other, contemplating how to respond, before one of them stepped forward. It was the biggest of the litter, likely the strongest of the group.

With its chest up and its snout out, it leaned forward in order to explore Ash's scent. This went on for a couple of seconds until the largest of the vulpix kits turned around and used its head to beckon its siblings over to its side.

In subsequence to their sibling's gestures, the other three vulpix stepped forward. Mirroring their sibling, they moved forward with their chests up and their snouts out. It was rather obvious that they were trying to appear dignified.

At this point in time, Ash took a moment to admire how elegant and comely the kits were.

They truly were beautiful pokemon. Their glossy, red-brown pelts were gorgeous, and their brown, pupil-less eyes held an air of genteel mystique. Ash also thought that their large pointed ears were cute and that the curls at the ends of their six orange tails made them appear more sophisticated than if their tails happened to be straight.

He had to admit, they were definitely some of the most adorable pokemon he had ever met. If he had to choose, though, he would still say that Growlithe was cuter at their age. Then again, it was possible that he was just being biased.

"Don't worry," said Ash as he slowly reached out his hand in the general direction of the four vulpix, "I'm not going to hurt you. I promise."

In response to Ash's movement, two of the vulpix took a step back with a twinge of fear in their eyes, whereas the leader and another slightly smaller specimen pressed their snouts up against Ash's palm in order to further investigate his scent.

Ash held his breath and tried his best not to make any sudden movements. He didn't want to do anything that might scare them off. He had a special opportunity to make friends with four rare Pokemon. He didn't want to mess it up.

A smile stretched across his face when he felt a wet, tickling sensation on the tips of his fingers. It was the smaller of the two. Apparently, it had deemed Ash safe because it was licking him affectionately while looking up at him with cordial eyes.

"That tickles," said Ash in between laughter. "You're a sweet one, aren't you?"

The smaller vulpix, which Ash guessed was a female, let out a soft, jovial squeal as Ash used his other hand to pet the top of her head.

The leader of the group took Ash's interaction with his sibling as a green light and joined her display of affection, rubbing his head up against Ash's arm.

It didn't take long before the other two kits let down their guards, and joined their braver siblings. Ash couldn't help but giggle as they overwhelmed him with their sudden amorous actions.

"You guys are way too kind," said Ash to the kits as he spotted Growlithe and Charmander poking fun at him in the background.

He let them continue to convey their affection for a little bit longer before slowly standing up from his crouched over position.

"So, do the four of you live around here?" asked Ash as he wiped all of the saliva off of his arms and face.

The leader of the group nodded his head before gesturing to his right. Ash figured he was telling him that they lived somewhere north of their current whereabouts, probably in the dense underbrush over by the rocky terraces.

"What brought you guys over here?" questioned Ash with curious eyes.

This time the slender female was the one to react to Ash's words. She pointed her snout towards Growlithe and Charmander while emitting a yap.

"Growlithe and Charmander, eh?" asked Ash.

He wasn't surprised. The vulpix line's enhanced intuition could probably sense his fire-types' presence from a significant distance, especially since they were members of the same type classification.

The only fire-types that lived in this part of the region were the growlithe and vulpix lines, and they were scarce. Depending on how adept the vulpix kits' intuitions were, Growlithe and Charmander probably stuck out like sore thumbs, especially amidst a part of Route Seven that mostly consisted of common species.

The leader let out an affirmative grunt, reacting to Ash's question.

"I see…" drawled Ash, "so you just wanted to meet them?"

One of the two less assertive vulpix nodded its head before prancing over to Growlithe and Charmander. It then dropped the front of its body to the ground and outstretched its anterior legs while raising its rear in the air, inviting Ash's two fire-types to play.

"Of course," said Ash with a giant grin. "You guys were just looking for some new friends to play with. Am I right?"

The leader proceeded to let out an affable yip while using one of his front paws to nudge Ash.

"Why not," said Ash with a shrug, taking the vulpix kit's touch as an invitation to join them. "We've already finished up our training for today. There's no harm in having a little bit of fun before we hit the road."

All four of the vulpix kits pranced around with glee, obviously happy with Ash's decision to entertain them.

"What do you say, guys?" asked Ash in the direction of Charmander and Growlithe, who were in the middle of showing off their Embers to the two more passive vulpix kits. "Do you want to stick around for a little bit? I don't mind."

Both of his friends glowingly nodded their heads, reminding Ash that they were still striplings themselves.

Even though this wasn't how he expected to spend his afternoon, Ash had to admit, he was enjoying himself.

More importantly, his friends needed this. They had been working extremely hard since they had been on the road. It was good that they got a chance to socialize and play with pokemon that weren't a part of the team.

Just like how it had become important to him that he made new friends on his journey, he wished the same for his pokemon. Experiencing different pokemon and their unique personalities was a good way for his friends to grow. Strength wasn't everything. Sure, it was important, but moments like this were too.

His friends deserved the opportunity to experience some of the other joys that life had to offer, especially since Ash had them working everyday to realize their full potential as battlers.

Besides, at the end of the day, what kind of person would he be if he denied the four vulpix kits a play session?

In his opinion…not a very good one.

XXX

Once again, the time of the month had come when Clefairy needed to refuel her lunar energy.

The moon was nearly full, so it was a good time for her to replenish her supply. Typically, Ash liked to wait until the actual full moon for Clefairy to restore her lunar essence – it was more potent that way – but this time, they didn't have much of a choice.

She had used a lot of lunar energy in her battle against Sabrina and if she didn't do something about it soon, she would hit empty.

"Does the moon's energy feel different when it's a full moon?" asked Ash as he eyed Clefairy's blue, glowing wings.

His lone female pokemon nodded her head as she gazed up at the sky with admiration in her eyes.

"Figured as much," said Ash with a bit of disappointment in his voice. "Next time, I'll make sure that you make it until the full moon. I want you at your strongest."

In response to her trainer's words, Clefairy shifted her attention away from the moon and focused her eyes on Ash. She flashed Ash an expression that portrayed gratitude before standing up and moving from her position across the campfire over to his side.

Clefairy didn't usually show Ash too much affection. It wasn't because she didn't want to, but rather due to the fact that she didn't want to come off as soft to her other male counterparts.

At least, that's what Ash thought. Whenever it was just the two of them, Clefairy was one of his most amorous pokemon. If any of the others were on the outside, she was much more distant, which is one of the reasons that Ash liked to keep everyone else in their pokeballs when it was time for Clefairy to replenish her lunar energy.

He tried to treat nights like this as their bonding time. Just like the rest of his pokemon, every once in a while, Clefairy needed one-on-one time with him, and Ash tried his best to satisfy that need for all of his pokemon.

"Are you happy that we've gotten to spend more time together now that we're on the road?" asked Ash with a smile as he softly patted Clefairy on top of her head.

His fairy-type let out a rare squeal as her whole facial expression lit up with apparent joy.

"Good," said Ash, smiling from cheek to cheek, "I think all of us like being on the road more than being in a city."

Clefairy nodded, agreeing with her trainer.

"Especially after everything that happened in Saffron…" continued Ash with an exasperated sigh.

Clefairy frowned, reacting to her trainer's sudden change in disposition. Saffron had been hard on all of them, but Ash definitely got the worst of it.

He had taken part in everything, from the battle underneath the Magnet Train station to the arrest of Ariana. In addition, there was all of the overwhelming information regarding the rogue abomination and the Prophecy of the Chosen One.

Simply put, his time in Saffron hadn't been easy, so this time away from civilization was nice. He didn't even care that Route Seven was bland. As long as he was sleeping under the stars and spending night and day with his pokemon, he was happy.

Of course, he still looked forward to the day that they arrived in Celadon, but he didn't mind that they were still more than a week away from their destination. He would savor this time on the road. And when the day finally came for him to take on whatever challenges awaited him in Celadon, he would be ready…

Ash's rumination was interrupted when he noticed Clefairy's somber expression. She was looking up at him with worry in her eyes, likely trying to understand what was going on inside of his head.

"What's with that look?" asked Ash with a smirk as he nudged Clefairy playfully with his elbow. "I'm fine. Just thinking…that's all."

Clefairy gave him a gentle push back, causing him to chuckle, before looking up at Ash with curious eyes. Ash knew that look. She was trying to get him to elaborate.

Out of all of his pokemon, Ash talked to Clefairy and Growlithe the most about his problems. They were good listeners, and Ash found their non-verbal cues and gestures easiest to understand.

"Oh, alright…" drawled Ash, giving into Clefairy's inquiring mind, "I was thinking about everything that happened in Saffron. We saw a lot of messed up things and have a lot on our plate. It's hard to process all of it. Between Team Rocket, their hostile creation, and the prophecy, I don't even know what to worry about anymore."

He paused, "It's like my life is a movie. I can't help but ask, why me? Why is all of this happening to me?"

He pulled on his hair in frustration as he dug his heels into the earth's gravelly surface.

"It's not fair..." groaned Ash. "My dream is to be a pokemon master, I never asked to be a hero. It's too mu—"

Ash was cut-off mid-sentence when he felt Clefairy's tiny hand grasp his pant leg. He pivoted his discontented eyes towards her.

Her countenance depicted comfort and stringency at the same time. She was giving him a look that eerily reminded him of the kind of facial expression his mother would make when he was being a brat.

"Gahh…don't look at me like that," griped Ash as he diverted his eyes away from Clefairy. "You're reminding me of my mom."

In subsequence to Ash's childish behavior, Clefairy let out a sigh of obvious annoyance. She was just doing her job. A while back, Ash had asked her to point out when he, along with the rest of her male teammates, were acting childish.

He knew his thoughts were foolish and entitled. Who was he to question destiny? Just because he didn't want to be the Chosen One didn't change anything. Destiny wasn't something you could run away from or simply wish away. It didn't respect his desires. It wouldn't honor his dreams.

If he truly was the Chosen One, which he wouldn't be sure of until Bill sent him a copy of the prophecy, he was better off accepting it sooner rather than later. Maybe then, he could get a better grasp over the road that it was taking him down instead of being dragged around like a mindless magikarp…

Once again, he felt Clefairy's hand grasp his pant leg. When he looked back down at her, she was still wearing the same stern look that she had given him earlier. Apparently, the comparison to his mother wasn't enough to convince her to alter her countenance.

"I know, I know…" muttered Ash as he tried his best to suppress any desire he had to retort imprudently, "I'm being selfish."

Clefairy nodded her head and let out a small murmur, agreeing with her trainer's self-criticism.

"Blunt as always," said Ash, followed by a quiet chuckle. "Well, at least you keep me honest with myself. It's always good to have someone like that around."

Clefairy looked at him in a confused manner. It was evident that she didn't understand the meaning behind Ash's words.

"Don't worry about it," said Ash with a small smile. "Just know that I'm grateful to have you as a friend. The team would be lost without you."

Ash couldn't help but laugh when he saw Clefairy's cheeks turn red, which tended to happen whenever he praised her.

In subsequence to Ash's laughter, Clefairy gave Ash a jab on the shoulder. It wasn't hard enough to hurt him, but she put enough force behind it to let him know that she didn't appreciate the fact that he was laughing at her.

"Jeez," chided Ash as he jokingly rubbed the spot that Clefairy had hit, "I know I shouldn't have laughed, but you didn't need to hit me."

Clefairy crossed her arms and huffed, clearly not apologetic for her punch. Simultaneously, his fairy-type's wings ceased glowing, indicating that her lunar energy had been replenished.

"Well, it looks like you're done," said Ash as he pointed at Clefairy's two tiny, pink wings.

Clefairy let out a jovial squeal and stood up from her spot next to Ash. He could tell by her disposition that she felt a lot better.

"I'm happy we got to spend this time together," said Ash with a smile as he reached for Growlithe's pokeball, "but I better let Growlithe out before he gets upset."

To his surprise, she shook her head before placing her hand in the way of Growlithe's pokeball.

"What is it?" asked Ash in a confused manner. "Is something wrong?"

The fairy pokemon proceeded to hold out one finger, beckoning him to wait a moment while she once again sat next to Ash and cuddled up into his side. Ash smiled. He immediately understood what it was that she was trying to convey.

"Okay, okay, just a little bit longer…" murmured Ash, eyes sparkling as he stared up at the stars, "we can stay like this for a little bit longer."

XXX

"Ring…"

"Ring…"

"Pidgeotto, keep trying to access Agility in order to dodge those Embers!" blustered Ash as he heard the familiar sound of someone calling him on his xtransceiver. "Charmander, Growlithe, keep firing! Don't let up!"

As he stepped away from the chaotic training session to check who was calling him, he couldn't help but smile when he saw the name that popped up on the screen.

It read: Gary Oak.

He had been meaning to call his best friend ever since Professor Oak had given him his number a while back. However, he had yet to get around to it.

Be that as it may, now that he was looking at Gary's name light up on the screen, he couldn't help but overflow with excitement.

"Ring…"

"Ring…"

"Keep working hard, guys!" bellowed Ash in the direction of his three preoccupied pokemon, "Gary's calling! I've got to pick this up!"

His pokemon disembogued an assortment of affirmative grunts as he clicked the receive button.

"Click."

"Hey, Gary, what's u—"

"What the hell!?" blasted the familiar voice of his childhood friend, causing Ash to pull away from his echoing xtransceiver. "I just got off the phone with Gramps! He told me you've had my number for a couple of weeks! Why haven't you friggin' called me!?"

"Dammit…" groaned Ash as he hesitantly brought his wrist back up to his face. "You could at least wait until after you say hi before you start complaining. You almost burst my eardrum."

"Psht, you could go deaf for all I care," snorted Gary, toning down the volume. "What kind of person ignores their best friend for so long? Sheesh, you're such an asshole."

"Gee, thanks," said Ash as he rolled his eyes. "Are you done yet? Before I picked up the phone, I was actually looking forward to talking to you. Now…not so much."

"Oh, shut up," huffed Gary. "You know that you're happy to hear from me. How long's it been since our battle in Viridian? Two…maybe three months?"

"About two and a half," retorted Ash as a smile crept across his face.

His best friend had always had a short fuse, but at the same time he tended to simmer down quickly. He could be infuriated one second and the next be as chipper as a newborn seel. It was nice to see that a couple of months on the road hadn't warped Gary too much. Hopefully, by the end of their conversation, Gary would be thinking the same thing about him.

"That sounds about right," said Gary. "So, where the hell are you now, Ashy-boy?"

Ash could clearly picture the arrogant smirk on his best friend's face as he spat out the nickname that he had detested for as long as he could remember.

"Route Seven," answered Ash.

He took a second to clear his throat before continuing, "About a four day walk from Saffron. What about you?"

"Err...I'm just outside of Vermillion," replied Gary. "I've been on the road for weeks. Cerulean to Vermillion is a hell of a trip. I'm friggin' exhausted."

"You can say that again," said Ash as he recalled his own trip from Cerulean to Vermilion.

"You've done it already?" queried Gary with a hint of surprise in his voice. "Wait a second…how many badges do you have?"

"Three," said Ash while shaking his head in amusement.

He could tell where this conversation was going.

"Three?" questioned Gary. "That doesn't make any sense. Last time I saw you, you were headed to Pewter. From Pewter, you would have had to pass through Mt. Moon to get to Cerulean. If you've already made the trip from Cerulean to Vermillion, you've definitely battled Misty and Surge. Coming from that direction, it wouldn't make sense that you would have gone to Celadon before Saffron, so I'm guessing that you've already been to Saffron and are now on your way to Celadon. You should have at least four badges, unless…"

He paused, "You lost to Sabrina, didn't you!?"

Ash couldn't help but let out a chuckle. Gary's deductive reasoning skills really were too acute for his own good. However, although the scenario he had just come up with was a solid hypothesis, things had unfolded a little bit differently.

"Good guess," retorted Ash, "but you're wrong. I have the Cascade, Thunder and Marsh badges. Even though I went to Pewter, I ended up skipping the gym. At the time, I didn't really have anything to face Brock's rock-types."

"Ahh…okay, that makes sense," said Gary. "I was wondering how you were going to take on Brock with just Growlithe. Smart move, although I probably still would have given it a shot. Who knows, maybe you would have gotten lucky?"

"Eh, I'd rather get my badges with skill," said Ash. "Besides, it worked out better this way. I pulled out a win against Sabrina's League registered team. Now, I don't have to worry about going up against her without the help of a handicap."

"Oh, come on, how tough could she really be?" snorted Gary in a sarcastic tone.

"Dude…" drawled Ash.

"Damn…that bad, eh?" stammered Gary.

"You don't even know the half of it."

"…Shit."

There was a moment of silence as Ash gave Gary a moment to dread his upcoming future.

"Psht, I can't worry about that right now," said Gary, trying to make himself feel better. "I've got a battle against Surge to prepare for. One at a time, Ashy-boy, one at a time. Sabrina can wait until later."

"Whatever helps you sleep better at night," replied Ash with a chuckle. "Anyways, given the fact that you were just freaking out about your battle against Sabrina, I'm guessing that Surge will be your third gym battle."

"Yeah," said Gary with a hint of pride in his voice, "I've got both Brock and Misty's badges. I spent about a week training in Viridian after you left, so I'm not surprised that you've got one more badge than me. I wouldn't expect anything less from my number one rival and best friend."

Gary paused, "By the way, Misty told me to tell you that she says hi and that she's looking forward to your rematch. Including myself, the only three trainers that have beaten her League registered team this season have come from Pallet, so she's pretty fired up about this rematch that you promised her."

"I figured as much," retorted Ash, "She's a hot-headed girl to begin with. I'm not surprised to hear that she is anticipating our rematch so much."

"She's good," said Gary. "When you have this rematch, don't expect it to be anything like your first battle. I've heard her real team is devastating.

"I know, I know," answered Ash, slightly annoyed that Gary was trying to give him advice.

All of a sudden, something that Gary had just said stood out to him. He didn't know why, but it had made him curious. "Hold on a second. Did you just say that three trainers from Pallet beat Misty?"

"Yeah…" drawled Gary. "That's what Misty said at least."

"I knew there was another trainer from Pallet that would be getting a pokemon the same day as us, but I figured that they wouldn't be all that special. Nobody else in school was even close to touching our scores on the Qualification Exam. I'm surprised that this other trainer was skilled enough to beat Misty."

"Even though the other trainer got their first pokemon in Pallet, they took the Qualification Exam in Johto," said Gary matter-of-factly. "Their score wouldn't have been listed with ours."

"Really?" asked Ash. "How do you know?"

"I just do…" said Gary. "I kind of know her."

"Her?" asked Ash curiously. "What's her name?"

"It doesn't matter," retorted Gary in a suspicious tone. "Besides, you can just ask her yourself. I'm sure you will run into her at some point."

"Ah, come on…" groaned Ash, "why can't you just tell me?"

"Because..." muttered Gary, "just saying her name puts a bad taste in my mouth. We don't exactly get along."

Despite the fact that he was interested in finding out the name of the girl that started her journey in Pallet – on the same day that he and Gary did – he didn't plan on pushing Gary to talk about something he didn't want to.

He knew what it was like to have things that you would rather not talk about. Granted, most of the things that he would rather not vocalize had to do with near death experiences, a certain evil organization, a rogue experiment and an ancient prophecy.

Nevertheless, he had learned enough during the last couple of months to understand that people were entitled to their own privacy. There were other ways to find out the name of the other trainer. He didn't need to pester Gary about it.

"Suit yourself," retorted Ash. "Anyways, I've got to ask, do you have a plan for Surge? He isn't easy to beat; I say that from experience."

"Yeah…" drawled Gary. "I've heard the stories. I know he's a tough gym leader, but I should be fine. I've got a couple of pokemon that should match up well against his raichu, and his voltorb won't be a problem."

"…And those are?" asked Ash, although he already knew what Gary's answer would be.

"Like I'd tell you!" blustered Gary. "I plan on winning the next battle we have, so there is no way in hell I'm going to give you the advantage of knowing what pokemon I have. You'll just have to wait and see!"

"Jeez, Gary..." chided Ash, "everything's a secret with you. First you wouldn't tell me the name of the other trainer, now you won't share with me what pokemon you have, aren't best friends supposed to tell each other everything?"

"Psht, says the guy that's had his best friend's number for two weeks and hasn't called him," angled Gary. "Ashy-boy, you don't have any leverage to lecture me."

Ash fell quiet. He had to admit, Gary did have a point.

"Unfortunately, I can't argue with you there," said Ash with a sigh.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Pidgeotto get clipped by one of his fire-type's Embers before he transitioned into Agility in order to escape another fiery barrage. Ash would have to wrap up his conversation with Gary soon. He needed get back to his pokemon. From the look of things, he'd say that Pidgeotto was making some good progress with Agility…

"That's what I thought," said Gary arrogantly. "Anyhow, just because I don't plan on sharing what kind of pokemon I've caught since the last time we saw each other doesn't mean we can't talk about our starters. It's not like they're a secret."

He paused, "How's Growlithe doing?"

"He's great," answered Ash in a cheerful tone.

There were few things in the world that he enjoyed talking about more than his starter. So, even though he would have liked to know what kind of team Gary had put together over the past couple of months, he could settle for a conversation regarding Growlithe and Gary's squirtle.

"We've still got a lot of work to do," crowed Ash, "but he's getting stronger, and he's already become an amazing leader."

"Yeah, I can see that," said Gary. "I could also tell from the battle that we had that he has impressive battle instincts. He'll make a great arcanine."

"Thanks," said Ash as he took his focus off of his xtransceiver for a second to watch Growlithe in action.

His friend unleashed another assemblage of blazing hot flames, attempting to knock down Pidgeotto. Even though the training session was primarily meant to sharpen Pidgeotto's ability to use Agility, Growlithe and Charmander were getting a lot out of it. As of late, the majority of their accuracy training had come from helping Pidgeotto with Agility.

"You're not planning on evolving him anytime soon, are you?" asked Gary.

His voice was full of curiosity. For some reason, Ash could sense that Gary was more attached to his question than he should have been. He couldn't put his finger on it, but his best friend sounded suspicious. Maybe he had another secret.

"No…" replied Ash, "don't get me wrong, he has gotten a lot stronger, but that doesn't mean he's ready to evolve. He still has loads to learn."

"That's smart," said Gary. "The growlithe line, for the most part, can only learn moves in their primary stage. There is one exception: Extreme Speed. Other than that, arcanine are unable to learn any techniques naturally."

"Exactly," answered Ash with a smirk.

Gary's knowledge of pokemon never ceased to amaze him. He definitely took after his grandfather in that regard.

"…Which is the reason why I have no intention to evolve him any time soon."

He paused, "Anyways, what about that squirtle of yours. How's he doing?"

"He's awesome!" exclaimed Gary, "he evolved a couple of weeks ago, so he's gotten a hell of a lot stronger. We're dealing with some coordination issues at the moment, but I can't see those hindering him for too much longer."

He took a second to breathe before continuing, "Outside of battle, he's a really good pokemon. We have an unbreakable bond. There's no other pokemon I'd rather have at my side in a pinch. He's the true definition of a starter."

Just listening to Gary gloat about his wartortle was getting Ash fired up. Next time they saw each other, they would have to see whose turtle pokemon was the strongest.

Of course, Gary had no idea that Ash had his own member of the squirtle line. Even before he left on his journey, the ten-year-old boy had requested that Professor Oak refrained from disclosing any information about his team, so even Gary couldn't use his advantage of having Professor Oak as his grandfather to get an edge over him.

"Good, I'm glad he's doing well," said Ash as he visualized an epic battle between two powerful blastoise. "I can't wait to battle him aga—"

Ash's sentence was cut-off when he noticed a flash of pure purple fire shoot through the sky, narrowly missing Pidgeotto, who managed to dodge at the last second with another perfectly executed Agility.

"Hey, Gary, I'm sorry, but I've got to go," said Ash into his xtransceiver.

As much as he was enjoying his conversation with his childhood friend, he needed to get back to his friends. During his brief amount of time away from them, Pidgeotto's Agility appeared to have significantly improved, and Charmander had let out what looked like his first legitimate Dragon Rage.

"What's going on over there?" asked Gary, likely confused by Ash's sudden shift in behavior.

"My pokemon and I were in the middle of a training session when you called," said Ash excitedly. "I just stepped away, but it's time I got back to them. I'll give you a call later."

"Whatever you say, Ashy-boy," snorted Gary with a hint of amusement in his tone. "I'll let you go. Wish me luck against Surge."

"Good luck!" blurted Ash – distracted – as he watched Pidgeotto phase into Agility, yet again, in order to maneuver around one of Growlithe's Ember barrages.

"Psht, thanks!" snorted Gary sarcastically. "Smell ya later, Ashy-boy!"

"Bye, Gary," said Ash, sidetracked as the call ended.

Now that his conversation with Gary was over, he sprinted back over to his friends' chaotic training session.

There were scorch marks all over the clearing, and a multitude of shrubs and small plants had been entirely uprooted, probably ripped out by either Pidgeotto's Gust or Whirlwind.

He made a small mental note to have Ivysaur and Wartortle clean up the area a little bit before they left. With Ivysaur's expertise in regard to plant-life and Wartortle's internal water reservoir, they could have this place looking as good as new in a heartbeat.

Despite the fact that his avian was only supposed to be using Agility in order to dodge, there were times when his temper got the best of him, and he lashed out with an attack of his own. Typically, Ash didn't hesitate to cut a training session short because of this type of disobedient behavior, but this time the situation was a bit different.

His friends, for the most part, had been unsupervised. Ash didn't give Pidgeotto very much slack when it came to his thirst for savagery, but if he turned his back for too long things like this were bound to happen. This one was on him. Just this once, he would turn a blind eye.

Besides, right now, he was way too overjoyed to care about such minute details. From what he could tell, while he was on the phone with Gary, Pidgeotto and Charmander may have completed the techniques that they had been working on.

Pidgeotto had been freely shifting in and out of Agility, whereas Charmander spat out what looked like a full-fledged Dragon Rage.

"That's enough, guys!" bellowed Ash.

Growlithe, Charmander and Pidgeotto stopped dead in their tracks, unwilling to combat their trainer's decision to end the training session. It was time that they took a break. They had worked hard, exhausting themselves in order to enhance their skills. Needless to say, they deserved a breather.

"I saw enough to know that you guys must be exhausted," said Ash.

All three of his friends simply nodded their heads, panting as they listened to what their trainer had to say.

"Growlithe, Charmander, thanks for your help," said Ash, addressing his fire-types. "Your efforts have helped Pidgeotto master Agility. He couldn't have done it without you."

Both Growlithe and Charmander gave Ash a look that oozed pride. It was apparent that they felt honored by his praise.

Pidgeotto, on the other hand, gave his trainer a miffed look in response to what he had just said.

Pidgeotto wasn't one that liked to admit that he needed his teammates help to accomplish anything. It had been difficult enough for the avian to admit to himself that he needed Ash, it would likely take a very long time before the giant flying-type would be able to do the same thing in regard to his teammates.

"Ah, come on," said Ash with a small, amused smile. "Don't give me that look. Even you have to admit that they were a big help."

Pidgeotto diverted his eyes in the opposite direction of Ash and let out an uninterested squawk, which was his way of saying, not a chance. Ash just rolled his eyes and sighed. His flying-type definitely knew how to be stubborn when he wanted to.

"Don't listen to him, guys," said Ash with a smirk. "He's just being a big baby."

He paused for dramatic effect, hoping that his insult would get to Pidgeotto.

"Anyways, not only am I proud of you for helping Pidgeotto, but I also think that you two have gotten more out of this than I had originally hoped."

"Growlithe, your accuracy has improved a lot," said Ash.

He turned his attention to Charmander, "And, Charmander, I'm almost one-hundred percent positive that you've completed Dragon Rage. We'll make sure later, but that last one you fired looked pure. What do you think?"

Charmander lifted his head and stuck out his chest with confidence. He then proceeded to let out an affirmative grunt, telling Ash that he had successfully separated his draconic energy from his internal flame.

"That's what I thought!" exclaimed Ash before giving his attention to the entirety of the group. "Gah, I'm so proud of you guys! What do you say we celebrate with some lunch!?"

They let out a loud cheer in response to Ash's words, which didn't come as a surprise. All three of them had just pushed themselves pretty hard. They were bound to be hungry.

XXX

"Damn," cursed Ash under his breath as he carefully reached for Haunter's great ball, "there sure is a lot of them."

He could hear Growlithe snarling beside him. Under their current circumstances, he couldn't afford to take his eyes off of what was in front of him, but he could clearly picture the fierce, intimidating disposition that Growlithe was portraying in response to their current threat.

"Don't make any sudden movements," said Ash quietly to Growlithe. "I'm counting about fifteen. None of them look that strong, but they could definitely overwhelm you with numbers. I'm going to let out Haunter. Once I do, hit 'em with whatever you'd like."

Growlithe let out a soft grunt, signifying that he understood the situation.

"Alright then," said Ash as he brought his hand closer to Haunter's great ball, "on the count of three…"

He took a deep breath as he surveyed his surroundings. There were six vexed mankey out in front of him. Their eyes were fastened on Growlithe, and he could tell that they were prepared to leap into action at a moment's notice.

"One..."

Over to his right were four more mankey. All four of them were in a four-point stance, and their red eyes were fastened on him. They emitted a ferocious snorting sound while vigorously flaring their nostrils.

Ash had to admit, he was slightly intimidated. However, this was nothing compared to what he had been through in Saffron. Compared to what he had endured over the past month, this was only a mere inconvenience.

"Two…"

To his left were five lounging mankey. Ash figured they were under the assumption that the rest of their comrades could handle him. They simply sat in the dirt cross-legged while letting out a rambunctious howl aimed toward the other ten mankey.

The howl reminded him of a gladiatorial chant. It was as if they were encouraging the other mankey to rip him to shreds.

Ash smirked. He would have to have Haunter shut them up.

"Three!"

As fast as his body would allow him to, Ash unclipped Haunter's great ball and released him. Throughout the duration of the release, Growlithe dashed in front of him, providing his best friend with cover until the apparition had sprung into action.

In subsequence to the flash from Haunter's great ball, all fifteen of the mankey cried out in annoyance. It was apparent that they didn't appreciate the sudden outburst of bright light.

When the intense light faded, there was nothing.

At least...that's what the mankey believed. Ash watched with an amused facial expression as the troop of mankey looked around the brushwood in a confused manner.

It was clear they were expecting the emergence of a pokemon. Just because they were wild didn't mean that they weren't aware of pokeballs and what they were used for.

Despite their barbaric thirst for combat, mankey were intelligent pokemon, and these mankey were occupying a route that was frequently used by pokemon trainers. They at least partially knew what they were getting themselves into, albeit Ash doubted that they were expecting a trainer with a pokemon of Haunter's caliber.

This would be interesting—

All of a sudden, Ash's instincts drew his line of sight to the right. One of the mankey had blasted out of its stance with its eyes set on Ash and Growlithe. It didn't convey a hint of restraint. It had entered the rage bent state that mankey and its evolved form primeape were known for.

Ash wasn't sure what finally caused one of them to snap, but it was inevitable. Pretty soon, the rest would follow suit. When one mankey rampages, the rest of its colony can't help but join it. The species took the term pack oriented to the extreme. The longer they lived together, the more each specimen synchronized to each other's behaviors and emotions.

Simply put, depending on how tightly knit together this troop of mankey was, the others would be lashing out soon. They couldn't help it; it was in their DNA.

A small smile formed on Ash's face as the impending mankey quickly closed the distance between them. Although it was completely unexpected, he couldn't have asked for a better situation. What a perfect way for Haunter to work on his self-control.

"Haunter, knock it out!" howled Ash.

The moment Ash finished his sentence, an ill-tempered Haunter emerged from the ground beneath the mankey with a fist full of black energy.

Caught completely off guard, the mankey didn't have a chance to react as it was hit in the gut by a vicious Sucker Punch. Ash watched as its eyes turned white, signifying that it had instantly phased into comatose.

All of the encompassing mankey grew quiet as their comrade fell face first into the ground. It was apparent that they had been overcome with shock, otherwise they would have already retaliated with nothing on their minds but vengeance.

Ash watched as Haunter levitated over the unconscious mankey's body with an expression that portrayed contemplation. Haunter was way too complex of a creature for Ash to be sure of what he was thinking about, but judging by the circumstances, he would guess that Haunter was on the verge of doing something that he would regret.

"No killing!" bellowed Ash. "I know it's hard for you to control yourself when I'm in danger, but this is an opportunity for you to decide what kind of ghost you want to be! Do not give into your other personality!"

In response to Ash's words of encouragement, Haunter shook himself free of the red eyed one's grasp. This time, he wouldn't allow himself to be controlled. He would defeat the group of mankey with a sober mind, void of intrusive thoughts of murder. He would protect his master without placing fear in his heart.

Haunter lifted his eyes from the defeated mankey before drifting back towards Ash. To Ash's surprise, he used one of his shadowy fingers to taunt the troop of mankey, wagging it at them while sticking out his tongue.

Ash couldn't help but laugh. The fact that Haunter's sense of humor was still intact meant that, for the time being, he had successfully warded off his alter-ego.

Now, Ash wasn't stupid enough to think that he had seen the last of Haunter's red eyed personality. However, this was still a monumental moment. It meant that it was possible for them to treat Haunter's tendency to lose track of his morals when Ash was in a dire situation…

Ash's thoughts were suddenly broken when one of the mankey positioned in front of him let out an ear-shattering howl that forced him to cover his ears. Shortly after, the rest of the mankey erupted with violent cries.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that they were infuriated. Not only had one of their kin been defeated, but its victor had purposely provoked them afterward. In the eyes of a prideful species like mankey, actions such as Haunter's were unforgivable.

Even the group of mankey that had previously been sitting down were now on their feet and prepared to exact retribution. At this point, Ash could tell that their rage wouldn't be extinguished until either Ash and his pokemon were defeated, or the mankey themselves were sent into unconsciousness.

Unfortunately for them, they didn't stand a chance against him. They may hold the edge in terms of quantity, but just by looking at them, Ash could tell that even the strongest specimens weren't on the same level as any of his pokemon.

Take into account the massive advantage that Haunter had because of his typing, and his ghost-type was bound to have a field day. Wild mankey of this level had no way to counter against a ghost-type. The majority of their techniques were classified as either normal or fighting-type moves, which were completely useless against ghosts.

A high-level mankey could naturally learn assurance, which could be problematic for a ghost-type, but the chances that any of these mankey knew a dark-type technique like that were low. Mankey didn't learn assurance until they were close to evolving, and there wasn't a single mankey within the entire troop that was showing even a single sign of evolution.

As a mankey neared evolution, its tail would shrink, and it would begin to develop a stress mark on the left side of its forehead. Their arms and legs were supposed to begin to lose their shaggy fur, revealing their brown skin, and their pupils tended to become beadier.

Not a single member in the entire group had begun to undergo any of these changes. Therefore, it wasn't difficult for Ash to estimate their rather dull skill level. Haunter by himself would be enough. With Growlithe fighting alongside him, the barrel of mankeys' defeat was eminent.

Be that as it may, the forthcoming battle had still piqued his interest. Experience was experience, and his pokemon didn't get very many opportunities to fight while outnumbered. At the very least, they could brush up on some of their fundamentals…

Ash's thoughts were put on hold when the remaining three mankey positioned to his right jetted out of their stances. Their eyes were as red as the top half of a pokeball, appearing to be blind to anything other than the rage that drove them to attack.

Ash watched as Growlithe opted to make his first move. He dug his posterior paws into the ground and pushed off, erupting out of his stance at a speed that made the mankey look like a triad of slowpoke.

He then accessed his internal flame as he flipped his body head over, bursting forth into what was a perfectly executed Flame Wheel. In a fraction of a second, he severed the distance between himself and the mankey before targeting the specimen in the middle of the three mankey formation.

On account of its mindless rage the mankey in the middle took Growlithe's attack head on. From Ash's vantage point, it appeared as if the mankey tried to counter Growlithe's Flame Wheel with a Karate Chop right before they collided, but it was to no avail.

The mankey was barreled over without giving Growlithe so much as a sliver of resistance. In Flame Wheel's wake, the unimpressive specimen was left charred and sprawled out on its back, clearly unconscious.

In subsequence to the collision, Growlithe immediately ceased his Flame Wheel before flipping into his natural stance. He then prepared to take on the other two mankey, who had registered their comrade's defeat and adjusted their way of attack.

No longer were they blindly stampeding towards Ash's position, but rather they had settled in close proximity to Growlithe. The two enraged mankey circled the pup. The ten-year-old boy could tell by their precarious movements that they were looking for an opening.

At this point, it appeared that Growlithe had them preoccupied. Therefore, Ash pivoted his eyes over to Haunter, who was levitating in front of him in order to provide protection. The apparition's line of sight was focused on the five mankey to his left.

The five on the left had begun to converge towards Ash's position. This group of mankey advanced at a much more methodical pace, creeping forwards with a look of pure resentment delineated across their faces.

Despite their state of animosity, they were intelligent enough to read the flow of the battle. On account of the fact that two of their kin had been defeated, due to charging recklessly, they had altered their strategy of attack.

While they slowly closed out the distance between them, Ash figured that they were trying to come up with a way to defeat Haunter. After all, they couldn't get to Ash unless they took out the ghost-type. No matter how hard they tried, the difference in strength would prove to be too much, and their type disadvantage was too steep of a detriment to overcome.

This would be over in a flash.

"Haunter, end this quickly," said Ash as he pointed toward the group of five mankey. "Use Hypnosis on those ones over there."

Following his trainer's orders, Haunter lifted his ghoulish hands and wriggled his fingers, diffusing a portentous, violet energy. It crawled throughout the sky, expanding to a width that exceeded the overall breadth of the group of five mankey.

Three of the five mankey were caught in the clutches of Hypnosis. Due to their lack of urgency, Ash had a feeling that the ones that got caught didn't know what Hypnosis was, and thus didn't see the strange purple energy as a threat. Once they were hit, they became limp, falling to the ground in a state of deep slumber.

The two mankey that managed to avoid Haunter's Hypnosis seemed to recognize it immediately, using their extraordinary reflexes to jump out of the way. They then proceeded to veer out in opposite directions, attempting to flank Haunter on both sides.

Simultaneously, Ash felt a presence moving toward him from straight ahead. He rotated his line of sight to find the group of six mankey barreling toward him with malicious intent. He reflexively reached for Pidgeotto's pokeball, but he relaxed his hand when a barrage of flames, belonging to Growlithe, collided with the group of mankey and knocked them off of their path.

Ash looked over to his right to find Growlithe sprinting toward the group of six mankey, bearing a frightening countenance. The two mankey that he had previously been up against lay battered and unconscious. Both of them had been defeated by means of fire; Ash could tell because of the distinct scorch marks that were plastered across their bodies.

Showing no mercy for the pokemon that had tried to hurt Ash, Growlithe lunged forward towards the closest mankey before sinking his maw into its side. He then discharged a close-ranged Ember, triggering the final part of his Bite/Ember combination.

"Nice, Growlithe!" exclaimed Ash, cheering for his best friend.

In wake of the Bite/Ember combo, Growlithe leapt over the body of the unconscious mankey he had just defeated before emitting another Ember in order to hit one of the other mankey.

In the midst of Growlithe's Ember assault, he was bombarded by a different mankey, who had managed to flank Growlithe and strike from one of his blind spots. It howled with anger as it attempted to wrestle Growlithe to the ground with one arm while using the other to inflict damage with Scratch.

Ash's brow furrowed as he tried to think of a way to get Growlithe out of his current predicament. "Break free with Fla—"

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a burst of ominous, dark purple energy shoot across the dell. Of course, it belonged to Haunter, who from the looks of it had finished up with the remaining two mankey that had been positioned on Ash's left, leaving him free to help Growlithe with the final group of aggressive primates.

The dark purple energy, which Ash immediately recognized as Night Shade, hit the backside of the mankey that was attacking Growlithe. The mankey cried out in pain as it was knocked off of Growlithe's back and sent tumbling across the dirt.

The second that Growlithe had broken free from the mankey's grasp, he dashed out of the middle of the skirmish in order to get back to his trainer's side. Ash could tell that Growlithe was tired, but overall he was still in great shape. He had a few scrapes here and there, caused by the mankey's repeated use of Scratch, but it hadn't done any damage that a standard potion wouldn't take care of.

Not too long after Growlithe returned to his side, Haunter did as well, levitating back over to his left. Once his ghost-type had settled back in next to him, Ash looked out at the remaining mankey.

There were four left.

Three of them were in good shape. Their fur was slightly blackened because of Growlithe's Ember, but it didn't look like they had taken any noteworthy damage.

The other one was barely hanging onto consciousness. It whimpered as it crouched down on one knee. The rage that had previously occupied its eyes was no longer there, instead they were filled with pain.

Ash couldn't help but feel sorry for it. He even thought about catching it for a moment, but he knew that wasn't a good idea.

Sure, it would be nice to have a fighting-type, but he had never had any interest in training a member of the mankey line. They were a staunch species, but he would much rather train one of the other fighting-types native to Kanto; a specimen belonging to either the tyrogue or machop lines sounded way more appealing to him.

As the three healthy mankey violently shrieked in the direction of Ash and his friends, desiring nothing but revenge for their defeated comrades, Ash pointed in the direction of the weakened mankey.

"Haunter, use Hypnosis on that one," ordered Ash, mercy evident in his intonation. "It can no longer fight."

Following his trainer's command, Haunter waved his fingers at the injured mankey, emitting a bright purple wave of psychic based energy. Ash watched as the mankey painfully flinched. It looked like it was trying to get out of the way of Haunter's Hypnosis but didn't have the energy to move.

Upon impact, the weakened mankey promptly fell asleep. As it plopped forward and landed on its face, it drew the attention of its fellow troop members, who were practically exploding with acrimony.

Ash shook his head. Despite their anger towards the fact that Haunter had sent another one of their own into comatose, it's not like they had tried to protect it. They were too busy wailing out cries of contempt to do anything that would actually help their comrade.

Ash was actually disappointed. It was obvious that these mankey were far from maturation. They acted like haughty children, and their bark was clearly bigger than their bite.

"Finish them off!" commanded Ash to both Growlithe and Haunter. "We're done here!"

As soon as Ash finished his sentence, both Haunter and Growlithe advanced forward. Haunter jetted toward the three leftover mankey with both of his fists enveloped in crepuscular energy, whereas Growlithe loaded his maw with fire in preparation for what Ash assumed would be a Bite/Ember combo.

The three mankey dashed forward with vigor.

Two of the mankey had their fists up, ready to perform what looked like either Fury Swipes or Scratch. The other mankey had its dominant arm firm and slanted, which told Ash that it would be attacking with a Karate Chop.

Without a hint of hesitation, Haunter and Growlithe continued their advancement. They would end this battle here and now; there wasn't a doubt in Ash's mind.

Growlithe was the first to strike. Once he was in range, he leapt through the air, maneuvering around a Karate Chop. Ash clenched his fist with triumph when Growlithe managed to bypass the mankey's flailing extremities before burying his flaming jaw into his opponent. The mankey yowled out in pain as it was burned all the way into a coma.

Even though it happened at almost the exact same time, Ash was able to witness Haunter permeate through two mankeys' Fury Swipes before knocking both into somnolence with a wicked double Sucker Punch attack.

To be completely honest, using Haunter against pokemon of this level wasn't even fair. It made Ash worry more about his opponents' well-being rather than his own pokemon. From here on out, he would try his best not to use Haunter in situations like this.

When the aftermath from both techniques subsided, Ash took a look at his surroundings. Fifteen mankey lay beaten and unconscious. Moreover, there were scorch marks all over the dirt, and several shrubs had been burnt to a crisp. Yet again, Ash would have to have Ivysaur and Wartortle clean and nourish the land. It was the right thing to do after a battle such as this one.

"Growlithe, Haunter, back to me!" called Ash as he focused his attention back on his friends.

Ash watched as Haunter and Growlithe took their eyes off of their fallen opponents and returned to Ash's side.

His pup had a look of tiredness on his face. Despite the fact that he hadn't really been challenged by any of the mankey, he had still exhausted a lot of energy. Battling that many pokemon at once tended to have that kind of effect, albeit it was nothing compared to the weariness that consumed Growlithe after the battle against Team Rocket and their horde of debased pokemon.

"Good job," said Ash while flashing Growlithe a playful smirk, "although you do look tired. Did those mankey give you a good workout?"

The puppy pokemon let out a quiet grunt as he cozied up next to his trainer. Ash could sense the indifference in Growlithe's intonation. Essentially, he was saying that it wasn't a good battle, but it wasn't a bad one either. If it weren't for the intense training session that Ash had put Growlithe through just moments before the mankey attacked, he would have been fine.

"That's what I thought," said Ash as he let out a deep sigh. "They weren't very strong."

He paused, "When they showed up, I was hoping that at least one of them would give us a challenge, but that wasn't the case."

In response to Ash's words, Haunter let out a loud, ghostly guffaw. Ash couldn't always tell what his ghost-type's outlandish outbursts meant, but in this situation, Ash figured that he was agreeing with him.

"Anyways…" drawled Ash, altering the direction of the conversation. "I'm proud of you, Haunter. You did a great job of fighting off your other self. Even though those mankey were weak, they still threatened me. The fact that you were able to keep calm was a step in the right direction. Next time, we'll have to suppress your other personality against some higher level threats."

He took a breath before smiling at the apparition, "Only then will we be able to find out just how far you have come."

Haunter's grin stretched from one side of his shadowy mug to the other as he soaked in Ash's words.

"Okay, guys," said Ash, grabbing both Growlithe and Haunter's attention. "Before we start moving again, I think we should check to see if any of these mankey have significant injuries. I doubt that they do, but I'd rather not have them scraping at my conscience."

He paused as he guiltily glanced at a bundle of burnt shrubs, "I also want to have Wartortle and Ivysaur clean up a bit. We made a mess."

Growlithe and Haunter nodded, respecting their trainer's wishes.

"Let's hurry up and get this over with," said Ash as he reached for Ivysaur and Wartortle's pokeballs. "I want to hit the road as soon as possible."

XXX

"Hey, Wartortle," said Ash, catching his water-type's attention after a long, grueling training session, "I have a question."

His turtle pokemon pivoted his gaze away from Growlithe – who he had been having a conversation with – and centered it on Ash.

It was just Ash, Growlithe and Wartortle. They had been working on Wartortle's Protect in a clearing, about halfway between Saffron and Celadon, when a thought permeated Ash's mind.

At first, he tried to discard it. It had to do with Wartortle's past, and he had told himself back when he had first gotten through to his water-type – just outside of Vermillion – that he wouldn't push him to open up. However, this time around, his curiosity got the best of him. He couldn't help himself. There was something he had to know.

Ash shot Growlithe a look that signified that he wanted him to stay out of the upcoming conversation before continuing.

"I know this is kind of random…" murmured Ash, "but do you still think about your old trainer?"

In response to Ash's question, Wartortle gave him a quizzical look. His face remained expressionless, but his eyes told a different story. Now, although Wartortle's typical countenance was glacial and void of emotion, there had been times when he would unknowingly reveal his feelings through his eyes.

This was one of those moments.

Wartortle's eyes were like a changeable kaleidoscope, flashing Ash different colors depending on his turtle pokemon's feelings.

The first emotion that he involuntarily showed Ash was confusion. The ten-year-old boy had never asked Wartortle a question like this before, so Ash could understand why it would come as somewhat of a surprise.

The second emotion that Ash saw was anger. He wasn't sure if this was directed towards him for asking such a question or his former trainer. Maybe it was a combination of both, who knows? Ash only saw it for a second, so he didn't have an opportunity to even start to try and decipher the root behind Wartortle's quick burst of animosity.

Next, he caught a glimpse of sadness, which was pretty straight forward. For a moment, Ash could see the deep hurt that Wartortle's former trainer had inflicted on him. It was abyssal, having infiltrated every part of Wartortle's mind and soul. He was who he was because of this pain, there was no way around it and no point in denying it.

After witnessing sadness, Ash observed an emotion that could only be described as hope. It wasn't happiness. At this point in time, Ash didn't even know if Wartortle was capable of feeling true happiness.

Rather, Ash witnessed what looked like a ray of aspiration within Wartortle. It was the kind of emotion that Ash imagined a terminally ill person would experience if they were told that technological advancements were on the verge of finding a cure for their sickness.

Last of all, Ash saw ambition. Out of all of the emotions that flashed within Wartortle's eyes, this one shined the brightest. It was his dominant mental state. With the help of the hope Ash had given him, ambition had consumed everything else. It had swallowed sadness and anger and turned them into a driving force that fueled his newfound desire to get stronger.

Simply put, Wartortle was changing. Ash could see it in his eyes. If he had asked Wartortle this question a couple of weeks ago, it would have triggered a different response. Now, Wartortle's mind could handle it. He could at least begin to look at his past in retrospect without shutting down completely…

With a hint of hesitation, Wartortle gave Ash a slight nod, signifying that he did think about his old trainer from time to time.

"I see..." drawled Ash with a look of seriousness on his face. "I suppose he will always have an influence on you."

Wartortle let out a small grunt of affirmation, reluctantly agreeing with Ash. No matter how much hatred Wartortle had for his former trainer and the memories he had left him with, there was no way of changing what happened. He had been abandoned by the same person that had introduced him to the concepts of love and happiness. He had been betrayed by the one that at one point in time he would have been willing to give up his life for.

There was no way to pay no mind to something like that. No matter how much Wartortle wished he could sever all things having to do with the boy that carved away at his essence, his first trainer would always be a part of him. It was sickening, but it was reality…

"Well, if that's the case," said Ash as a small smile breached the serious look on his face, "I have another question for you."

Wartortle kept his eyes planted on his trainer. Ash could tell he had piqued his water-type's curiosity. Despite the fact that his friend was oftentimes hard to read, Ash could always tell when Wartortle was interested in something. If he wasn't intrigued by the question, he wouldn't have acknowledged it.

"After all of the pain that your former trainer has caused you," stammered Ash with a bit of insecurity evident in his tone, "do you think I can make up for it?"

For the second time in a matter of minutes, Wartortle looked at him with confused eyes.

Ash took a moment to come up with a better way to convey what he was trying to say before continuing, "What I'm trying to say is…do you think I can replace the bad with good? Do you think I can help you find happiness again?"

Wartortle looked at him with a blank expression. It was obvious to Ash that he didn't know how to respond. It was also likely that at this point in time, Wartortle didn't have an answer. Sure, Ash had done a lot for him since they met, but happiness. Happiness wasn't something that Wartortle had experienced for a long time. It was something that had become so foreign to him that he had forgotten what it even felt like.

After a couple minutes of Wartortle staring ahead with a stony face, Ash came to the realization that his question wouldn't be answered today. As a matter of fact, Ash had a feeling that he would have to accept that his question may not ever be answered the way he wanted it to be.

Wartortle may have come a long way, but he wasn't ready to talk about things like happiness. It had been difficult enough for him to acknowledge that he had emotions buried underneath his icy exterior in the first place.

"Never mind," said Ash, breaking the silence. "Forget that I asked. You don't need to be worrying about things like that."

Wartortle nodded discreetly. He seemed to be contemplating something. It was apparent that he was confused, but maybe Ash had brought up something that Wartortle could begin to work out on his own.

When Ash had first seen Wartortle's reaction to the question, he thought that he had made a mistake. However, it was possible that he hadn't, and Wartortle just needed time to process things. He hoped that was the case. Just like the rest of his pokemon, Wartortle deserved to be happy. The fact that Wartortle himself didn't even know how bad he was hurting broke Ash's heart.

Could it be possible that this would be the conversation that helped push Wartortle to recover emotionally?

Well, only time would tell…For now, he just needed to shut up and let Wartortle think.

XXX

"Awesome job, Ivysaur!" howled Ash as he returned a tired Pidgeotto, who had just gotten done helping the saurian with his training.

His grass-type had just finished up working on his Razor Leaf, and it had gone well. His velocity was nearly perfect, and his accuracy was getting better everyday.

He was finally at the point where he could use it in battle against quicker opponents without having to incapacitate them with Vine Whip, which meant that Ash felt comfortable enough with the status of Ivysaur's Razor Leaf that he thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to begin teaching him the next technique in his learnset: Sweet Scent.

"How are you feeling?" asked Ash before sharing his plan. "Are you low on energy?"

Ivysaur shook his head and let out a loud snort, indicating that he had plenty of energy left in the tank.

"Good," said Ash with a smile, "because I've got an idea. It has been on my mind all week, but you weren't ready."

The saurian looked up at his trainer with interested eyes. He was always a good listener, but Ash could tell that he was especially intrigued at the moment. More than likely, he could sense the excitement in Ash's voice.

"Now that you are on the verge of mastering Razor Leaf, and don't really need my help when it comes to ironing out your minor accuracy issues, why don't we start to learn another move?"

Without a hint of hesitation, Ivysaur nodded his head. Ash wasn't surprised; he knew that Ivysaur would like the idea. Ivysaur had been working on Razor Leaf everyday for a couple of weeks now, and it was starting to become tedious. After a while, techniques that required such a high level of intricacy could wear on a pokemon's patience. Razor Leaf was beginning to have that effect on Ivysaur, so a change of pace must have sounded like music to his ears.

"I figured you'd respond that way," retorted Ash as he folded his arms. "Have you ever heard of Sweet Scent?"

In response to Ash's question, Ivysaur nodded his head. If Ash had to guess, he would say that either Melanie or one of the grass-types living at her wild pokemon spa had told him about it. It's not like he had ever mentioned Sweet Scent to Ivysaur before, so he knew that he wasn't the one that had taught him about the valuable status technique's existence.

"Do you know what it does?" asked Ash curiously with his fingers crossed.

When it came to teaching a pokemon how to use Sweet Scent, half of the battle was trying to explain to the user what kind of effects it would have on its target. If Ivysaur already knew all of that, it would save Ash a lot of time.

Ivysaur already had all of the chemicals that he would need in order to perfect Sweet Scent. However, much like Sleep Powder and Poison Powder, he would have to figure out what chemicals he needed to mix together as well as sort out their proper measurements in order to create the correct pheromone…

To Ash's pleasure, Ivysaur once again nodded his head and let out an affirmative grunt.

"Hell yeah!" cheered Ash as a massive smile formed on his face. "If that's the case, there isn't much for me to explain. I'll let you experiment. You're going to be spending a lot of time inside of your bulb in order to master this technique, and it will probably be way more difficult to find the right chemicals than it was with both of your status powders. Just be patient with yourself, and don't be afraid to try things that might seem a little odd."

He paused to take a breath, "the pokedex has a few formulas that other trainers' grass-types have used, so I can share those with you if you want, but it says that the most potent Sweet Scents are created through trial and error. Apparently, since every individual specimen has a different DNA strand, and it is impossible for a living host to mix biological chemicals without including a part of its DNA, you can't create the exact same Sweet Scent that another grass-type has made using the same formula."

In subsequence to Ash's spiel about Sweet Scent, Ivysaur let out an enthusiastic growl. It appeared as though all of the talk about DNA, chemicals and measurements was starting to excite him.

"Last but not least, have fun," said Ash with a chuckle. "I know you love this sort of stuff, so I want you to enjoy it."

The saurian's eyes brightened, and a wide smile stretched across his face as he listened to his friend's words.

"Alrighty then!" exclaimed Ash. "Let's start!"

XXX

The puppy pokemon aggressively flipped forward into Charmander, who tried his best to fend off Growlithe with a powerful Focus Punch.

As Charmander extended his arm, Growlithe used one of his posterior paws to smack away the fire lizard's attempted strike. In concurrence to intercepting Charmander's fist, Growlithe latched onto his sparring partner with his two front paws in order to immobilize him before reaching the apex of his flip.

"Good, good, good!" exclaimed Ash with excitement evident in his voice. "Now, throw!"

Listening to his trainer's command, Growlithe held onto Charmander throughout the duration of his flip before using all four of his paws – in a addition to the momentum from the flip – to push Charmander toward the ground. Within the blink of an eye, his fire lizard hit the ground hard, letting out a nasty groan in the process.

Growlithe awkwardly landed on all fours. It wasn't perfect; they would have to work on sticking the landing as well as performing the technique against larger foes, but it was an undeniable improvement.

For the first time, Growlithe had successfully performed Reversal.

Ash's natural reaction was to clench his fist victoriously. They had finally had a breakthrough with a technique that they had been working on since before Saffron. However, he cut his celebration short as soon as he remembered that it was one of his pokemon that had been on the receiving end of such a devastatingly physical attack.

"Charmander, are you okay?!" queried Ash as he sprinted over to his lizard pokemon's side.

Growlithe quickly filed in alongside him. It was apparent that he was worried as well. Reversal was a powerful technique, and they had been sparring for quite sometime before Growlithe decided that he wanted to try it out. Needless to say, Charmander had accumulated a hefty sum of damage prior to getting slammed by Reversal, hopefully he hadn't been injured too badly…

Ash let out a massive sigh of relief when Charmander tottered back up to his feet.

His eyes were droopy and his knees were wobbling. The ten-year-old boy was still concerned, though. Charmander was on the verge of unconsciousness, and Ash didn't like to push his pokemon that far during training. However, it was a good sign that he was up. It meant that a couple of potions would have Charmander feeling as good as new.

"Whoa there, buddy, don't push yourself anymore than you already have," said Ash in a soothing tone as he leant over and picked up his friend, making sure to secure his tail flame in the process.

Charmander was getting heavy. Pretty soon, Ash wouldn't be able to pick his friend up like this anymore. The feeble charmander that Ash had found beaten and abused in the middle of nowhere would evolve into an able charmeleon.

It was a crazy concept to think about. Once Charmander evolved, all three members of his elemental trio would be in their second stages. It was an indubitable result of his growth as a trainer and blatant proof that his friends were getting stronger. He couldn't help but smile, although given their circumstances that smile quickly subsided.

Right now, it was more important for Ash to give Charmander some medical attention.

…Reminiscing could wait until his friend was all healed up.

The dark-haired boy carried Charmander back over to their campsite before setting him down on a soft patch of dirt. He made sure that there was nothing flammable within reach of his tail flame. The last thing he wanted to do was start a wildfire, especially in such a dry part of Kanto.

"Hang on, Charmander," said Ash before calling out to Haunter, who had been hiding in the shadows guarding all of Ash's belongings while he trained his fire-types.

"Haunter, bring me my backpack!" bellowed Ash as he leant over and gently rubbed the scaly skin on Charmander's head.

Growlithe lied down next to Charmander with a guilty expression on his face. Just like Ash, the pup was concerned for his friend, but Ash also could tell that Growlithe felt responsible for Charmander's current physical condition.

Charmander would be fine, and Growlithe hadn't done anything wrong. However, it was rare that his friends actually hurt one another during their training, so Ash understood why Growlithe felt bad.

"Don't worry about it, buddy," said Ash to Growlithe as he rested Charmander's head on his lap. "It's not your fault. You guys were just training. This kind of stuff happens; it's a part of battling."

Growlithe let out a small, apologetic whimper. It was clear that Ash's words weren't enough to nullify the pup's guilt.

A light smile formed across Ash's face, though, when Charmander lifted his claw from the ground and placed it on Growlithe's paw. He then let out a soft, friendly murmur that undoubtedly was meant to soothe his fellow fire-type's bad conscience.

Growlithe's eyes brightened up the moment that Charmander looked over at him. There was no animosity in Charmander's expression. In fact, he was smiling. The Reversal may have hurt, but it was a clean technique. Growlithe didn't do anything that any of his other pokemon wouldn't have done if they had been given the opportunity to make further advancements with a technique that they were working on.

At least, that's what Ash guessed was going through Charmander's mind. Charmander, more than any of his friends, knew what legitimate abuse looked like, and this definitely wasn't it. Growlithe and Charmander had been battling on an equal playing field. Sure, their mock match had gotten a little heated, but both participants had kept going under their own volition.

If Ash were to blame anybody it would be himself. He shouldn't have let Growlithe and Charmander's pride as fire-types consume what was supposed to be a simple spar. Be that as it may, what happened, happened, and no amount of blameful musing would be beneficial...

Growlithe and Charmander's sentimental moment was interrupted when Haunter levitated over to them with Ash's backpack in his shadowy grasp.

"Thanks," said Ash as he snatched his backpack from Haunter's clutches. "Stay on the look out for any curious, wild pokemon. I'm going to be distracted until I finish Charmander's treatment."

Haunter bobbed his head up and down and let out an array of laughter, indicating that he had everything under control, before submerging himself within a nearby shadow.

Even though he could endure the light that didn't mean he liked to. Outside of training and battling, very rarely did Haunter expose himself to sunlight. During the daytime, he would much rather operate from the shadows, which Ash approved of.

Despite the fact that he was out of sight, Ash trusted Haunter to stay close by. Besides, having Haunter out of sight tended to be a good thing. Few traveling trainers had the guts to approach him when Haunter was out in the open, and the amount of wild pokemon Ash saw drastically decreased.

Simply put, due to justifiable stereotypes regarding most ghost-types, Haunter was often wrongly judged as a blood-thirsty killing machine, which was unfortunate but unavoidable. For that reason, Ash selfishly encouraged Haunter's desire to stay out of sight when the sun was up. Things were just easier that way…

Anyways, now that Ash had his backpack, he unzipped one of its middle pockets and pulled out a handful of depository cases.

Each one of them was labeled and designated to hold a different type of item—which was something that Ash had been working on ever since he left Saffron. The one that he was looking for right now was the depository case that he had placed all of his medical related items in.

In addition to his "medical" depository case – which consisted of things like potions and status healers – his stuff was presently occupying four of the other depository cases that Robert had purchased for him back at the Silph Co. headquarters.

Ash had designated one of the cases to hold his excess capture devices.

Of course, it would be stupid for him to put all of his empty capture devices in it. He had to have some that were within reach just in case he came across a wild pokemon that he wanted to catch, albeit it was unnecessary to have immediate access to more than one of each type of capture device. Other than one pokeball, a great ball and an ultra ball – which Ash kept fastened to his trainer belt – the rest of his capture devices were stored away in one of his depository cases.

Another one of the labeled depository cases consisted of food. It didn't matter what kind. He used his "food" depository case for his pokemon's food as well as his own. He typically ate at the same time as his friends, so it was easier that way. Besides, he didn't see the point in segregating his human food versus their pokemon food.

At this point in time, he would just be inconveniently activating another depository case. It's not like he had that much stuff. As a matter of fact, he could fit all of his things into one depository case if he wanted to. The only reason that he hadn't done that was because he didn't want to get confused while sifting through the cases' retrieval system.

It was better to be somewhat organized than in complete disarray. However, too much organization was, in Ash's opinion, extraneous. As long as he knew where everything was, and his backpack no longer gave him back problems, he would be just fine.

The other two depository cases that he had activated were assigned to carry his daily necessities and miscellaneous items. The "daily necessities" depository case carried things such as his sleeping bag, tooth brush and clothes; whereas his depository case specified to hold miscellaneous items stored things like his Moon Stone and the Psychic TM that Sabrina had given him.

Needless to say, the depository cases that he had acquired back in Saffron were being put to good use. He reminded himself to thank Austin next time he talked to him. If it weren't for his goofy friend's suggestion to purchase them, his back would still be aching from hauling around all of his stuff the old-fashioned way.

As soon as Ash found his "medical" depository case, he placed the others back in his backpack before pressing the on button.

For the most part, all depository cases were the same in size and appearance. They were small, black and rectangular. On the face of the device was a touchscreen that was about the same size as the screen on his xtransceiver, and the on button – which was about the same size as his fingertip – was located on the apparatuses' side.

The only difference, appearance wise, on some depository cases opposed to others was the bold, white number that was printed on the side of each device, opposite of the on button. The number corresponded to the size of the case. If its maximum weight limit was fifty pounds, it would read: fifty pounds. Duly, if its maximum weight limit was one ton, it would read: one ton…

After turning on his "medical" depository case, the screen on its face lit up. It displayed a home screen, which was rather bland in appearance and only gave him two options: "Inventory" and "Settings".

He pressed "Inventory".

Immediately, a short list of curative items came into view. He scrolled through them as he weighed his options.

"(19) Potion"—no, not strong enough.

"(8) Super Potion"—maybe.

"(2) Hyper Potion"—no, running low.

"(20) Full restore"—perfect and plenty.

After making a decision, Ash tapped on "Full Restore". Granted, Charmander's current condition didn't really warrant the use of a full restore. A super potion, or two, would have been more than adequate.

However, Ash had yet to use any of the full restores that he had won after coming in third in the SS Anne tournament, and he was eager to find out just how well the unrivaled miracle concoctions worked.

In subsequence to tapping the "Full Restore" option, Ash pointed the face of the depository case toward an empty patch of dirt next to Charmander and Growlithe. He watched in awe as the screen poured out a bright, blue light that covered the area that Ash had pointed it at. The duration of the light lasted for a couple of seconds – about the same amount of time that the light from a pokeball shines when releasing a pokemon– before fading away.

Left in its wake was a small, intricately designed bottle. Its base and mouth piece were tan in color, while the chamber itself was clear, revealing an effervescent, green liquid.

As he picked it up, Ash saw Charmander's confused facial expression.

The majority of medical concoctions were applied externally, typically in the form of a spray. However, higher level potions such as the hyper potion, max potion and full restore were a little bit different. They weren't produced in the form of a spray, but rather a liquid that had to be orally ingested.

Thus, Ash figured that Charmander's confusion stemmed from the fact that the full restore had a mouth piece rather than a nozzle. Ash's theory was confirmed when Charmander's expression shifted from confused to disgusted as he figured out the reason behind the subtle difference in the bottle's appearance.

"Oh, come on," said Ash, slightly amused, "I'm sure it's not as bad as it looks."

Charmander contemplatively pivoted his eyes back and forth between the full restore and Ash before giving him a look that screamed, you're full of crap!

Ash let out a brief chuckle as he thought of a response, "Okay, maybe it'll be gross, but it will make you feel better. Right, Growlithe?"

Growlithe let out a half-hearted yip while looking at the green concoction. His eyes depicted repugnance. It was clear that Growlithe didn't like the looks of the full restore either.

In subsequence to Growlithe's less than convincing bark, Charmander emitted a disconsolate groan. The fire lizard definitely wasn't happy that he would have to drink such a nasty looking solution.

"Thanks, Growlithe…" drawled Ash as he shot his best friend a dirty look, "he's going to have to drink it either way. You could have at least helped me convince him that it wouldn't be a horrible experience."

Growlithe diverted his eyes away from Ash before centering his attention on Charmander. Despite the fact that he was just as put off by the full restore as Charmander, he used his head to gesture towards the concoction, beckoning Charmander to drink it.

Charmander made a wry face as he dubiously nodded. Ash wasn't positive what was going through his mind, but it looked like he would willingly drink it.

With a smile on his face, Ash picked up the full restore. "I promise, it'll be worth it. Once you drink it, you'll be feeling great."

In return, Charmander gave Ash an unenthusiastic smile. No amount of smooth talk would convince the fire-type that this was going to be a pleasant experience.

He shrugged before removing the plastic seal that was bound around the full restore's mouth piece. Once the seal had been excised, Ash opened the attached lid. He almost gagged as he was smacked in the face by a repulsive odor. Although it wasn't even close to being the most disgusting thing he had smelled – which was Ariana's muk – he couldn't imagine having to drink it.

Upon catching a whiff of the atrocious smelling miracle potion, Ash felt bad for Charmander. If the full restore smelt this bad, it probably tasted ten times worse. Charmander had been right to be disgusted. This definitely wasn't going to be fun.

Once Ash had a little bit of time to become somewhat acclimated to the smell, he looked up and saw that his pokemon were having a similar reaction.

Growlithe's nose was buried in the ground, which didn't surprise Ash. If the smell of the full restore had been disgusting to him, it was probably unbearable to the pup whose sense of smell was rumored to be millions of times greater than that of a human.

Charmander's facial expression had gone from disgusted to utterly mortified. Ash watched guiltily as his fire lizard's tiny nostrils palpitated, and tears, like those that you get when you chop up an onion, leaked from his eyes.

"Damn," said Ash, blinking excessively as the pungent odor seeped into his eye sockets, "that's awful. Let's get this over with."

Charmander let out a groan as he slowly nodded his head, whereas Growlithe rubbed his nose even deeper into the ground.

Alrighty then…" said Ash as he tried his best not to breathe out of his nose, "open up. I'll pour... you drink. Since your injuries aren't that bad, only take a couple of sips. That should be plenty."

He paused, "Once you swallow, no matter how gross it is, keep it down. It'll be a waste if you don't. It needs to reach your bloodstream. If you throw it up right away, it won't have a chance to do that."

Charmander nodded before hesitantly opening his mouth. At least he didn't have to drink the whole thing.

Ash cringed the moment that the green liquid hit Charmander's mouth. The fire lizard's eyes bulged, and his face contorted. It was apparent that the concoction tasted as bad or maybe even worse than it smelt, which was definitely saying something.

Nevertheless, he swallowed it.

"Come on, Charmander, keep it down," said Ash as he watched his lizard pokemon rollover out of his lap and gag. "You can do it."

It took a little bit of time, but Charmander eventually ceased gagging. As soon as he stopped, he used a dull part of his claws to try and scrape the taste off of his tongue. When he wasn't scraping his tastebuds, he was spitting up green tinted saliva that sizzled and smoked when it the ground, which was due to Charmander's hot, internal temperature.

Ash felt bad. He knew what it was like to experience a high degree of discomfort for the sake of getting better. He had a somewhat similar experience when his favorite Nurse Joy healed his hand after he burned it on Charmander's tail flame, although Ash would say that his experience was worse. He had a tough time believing that the grotesque taste of the full restore could come anywhere close to rivaling the pain that he felt when his second-degree burns rapidly recovered.

Be that as it may, Ash was having a tough time finding the words to tell Charmander that he still needed to take another gulp. It was obvious that one sip was difficult enough for him to endure. Two would be torture.

"That bad, eh?" queried Ash with a frown. "You're already halfway there. Just one more sip, and that'll be it."

In response to Ash's words, Charmander glanced back up at his trainer with a look of incredulousness plastered across his face. Just by looking at the expression on his face, Ash could tell that there wasn't anything else in the world that the lizard pokemon would rather not do than take another sip of the full restore.

Now would have been the perfect time to ask Growlithe if he could give Charmander some friendly encouragement, but then he realized that his puppy pokemon still had his nose pressed against the earth's surface. Ash was starting to think that Growlithe had it just as bad as Charmander.

He thought about returning his puppy pokemon in order to save him from the horrid stench, but he changed his mind when he came to the conclusion that he would only have the full restore bottle open for a little bit longer. Regardless of how gross it was, one more swig wouldn't take long. They would be finished in no time.

"Open up, buddy," said Ash, pity evident in his voice. "Let's just get it over and done with."

It took the lizard pokemon a brief moment to get in the right state of mind, however, Charmander eventually unhinged his jaw, allowing Ash to pour another portion of the green solution into his mouth. His reaction was similar. It was slightly more intense, though. This time, Ash actually thought that Charmander was going to puke, and Haunter emerged from the shadows to laugh at him—which was actually his way of making sure that he was okay.

Once Charmander had settled down, and Ash was positive that he wasn't going to throw it up, the dark-haired boy put the lid back on the full restore – which was still about three quarters of the way full – before returning it to his "medical" depository case.

"Now, it's just a waiting game," said Ash as he placed the depository case back in his backpack. "According to the instructions on the bottle, you should be completely healed in like ten minutes."

Despite the fact that he still looked queasy, Charmander let out a confirmatory grunt.

At the same time, Growlithe lifted his nose from the dirt, and exhaled a small flame out from his mouth and into his nostrils.

This was the first time Ash had ever seen Growlithe do this, so at first he was confused. However, after thinking it over, he came to the conclusion that Growlithe had been clearing his nasal passageway by means of fire—which judging by Growlithe's relieved disposition must have been rather effective…

At any rate, after about five minutes, Charmander's body began to show signs of rejuvenation.

By the time ten minutes passed, he was back to one-hundred percent. A grin stretched across Ash's face as he watched Charmander and Growlithe run around the campsite with glee. Judging by Charmander's behavior, he would say that his fire lizard was feeling even better than he had before the training session.

It was apparent that despite the full restore's nasty smell and repugnant taste, it worked magic when it came to healing pokemon. Ash had never seen anything like it. Just a short while ago, Charmander could barely move. Now, he was running around, wrestling with Growlithe like nothing happened..

It was incredible.

"I told you it would be worth it," said Ash to Charmander as he started to pack up the campsite.

His fire lizard let out a playful squeal as he and Growlithe shot fun-sized Embers at each other. Ash thought about asking them to help him pick up, but he decided to let them play instead. After their training session and their exposure to the full restore, they deserved it.

Once Ash had finished loading everything back into his depository cases, he stowed them away in his backpack before calling out to Growlithe and Charmander.

"Charmander, Growlithe, back to me!" bellowed Ash while handling Charmander's pokeball.

Both of his fire-types ceased their lighthearted wrestling match before loping back over to Ash's side.

"It's time to go," said Ash, adjusting the straps on his backpack. "If we cover some solid ground today, we should reach Celadon by the end of the week."

Growlithe and Charmander nodded their heads, indicating that they were ready to go.

"Do you want to stay out, Charmander?" asked Ash as he habitually tossed his lizard pokemon's pokeball up and down in his hand.

Charmander emitted a confirmative squeal. He was feeling good; Ash could tell. There was no way that he wanted to spend the day in sequester…not when he felt as good as he did.

"Gotcha'," said Ash as he reattached Charmander's empty pokeball to his belt.

All that was left was to retrieve Haunter, and they were good to go.

"Haunter, it's time to—"

Ash's sentence was cut short as Haunter jetted out of a group of shadows, belonging to a collection of thickets, before stopping right in front of Ash. He turned his back to his trainer, causing Ash to jump back in confusion. It was as if Haunter had hurried into a position where he could protect him. This wasn't Haunter's normal behavior. Something was wrong..

"What is it, Haunter?" questioned Ash quietly as adrenaline started to surge within him. "What's wrong?"

All of a sudden, Growlithe and Charmander got into defensive stances. Their dispositions went from docile to wild in the blink of an eye. Whatever had caused Haunter to rush over to protect him had captured their attention as well.

This was strange…

Ever since Saffron, his pokemon didn't spook easily, and Ash had never seen Haunter in such a panicked state. While trekking through Route Seven, multiple trainers had approached them, and they had come across several wild pokemon. None of them had caused his pokemon to so much as bat an eye.

Why now? What was going on?

Ash's eyes were drawn over to the direction that Haunter had spurted out of when he heard a rustling sound coming from inside of the brush. Something was over there. They were being watched.

His stomach started to stir, and his heartbeat hastened. Pokemon or human, whatever it was had to be strong. His friends wouldn't have responded this way if it wasn't.

In addition, it had to be something that was capable of masking its scent. Growlithe's sense of smell may have been afflicted by the pungent full restore, but there was no way it had completely stopped working. If it did, Growlithe would have let Ash know. No, whatever was stalking them had found a way to bypass Growlithe's aromatic awareness, which sent shivers down Ash's spine.

"No sudden movements," said Ash, whispering as he slowly reached for Pidgeotto's pokeball.

Despite the fact that he didn't know what they were dealing with, he wanted to be prepared to release another one of his friends just in case. The thing that was watching them had scared Haunter – a ghost-type, and his strongest pokemon – which meant that it was on an entirely different level.

They were in the presence of something overwhelming. Otherwise, Haunter would have taken care of it long before it had a chance to approach Ash. If it was hostile, they would need all of the help they could get.

"Do not attack unless I say so," said Ash, "hopefully, whatever is over there is just curious about us. Follow my lead."

Growlithe, Charmander and Haunter nodded. They understood the situation.

There was a moment of silence as they waited for the hidden entity to make a move. All that Ash could hear was the sound of the breeze as it danced throughout the bracken and the steady pulse of his own breathing.

About thirty seconds subsided before Ash noticed another movement in the brush. This time it was closer.

…The being was on the verge of revealing itself.

When it finally did, Ash's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Strutting out of the assemblage of chaparral was a beautiful, lustrous ninetails. It looked as powerful and primordial as it was elegant. He didn't know what it was, but he had a feeling that it wasn't your average specimen.

It was his first time ever seeing a ninetails, so he couldn't be sure, but something felt different about it. Now that Ash had laid eyes on it, he wasn't surprised that Haunter had fallen back to him. Just standing in its presence made Ash feel inferior. It reminded him of the time that he had met the elder clefable within the depths of Mt. Moon or the mesmeric dragonite at Bill's lighthouse.

Ash could tell that it was ancient and wise. He had heard stories that ninetails could live to be more than one-thousand years old. Until this moment, he had thought those stories to be fiction. However, just by standing in this ninetails' presence, Ash knew that he had been wrong...

It didn't appear to be hostile, but Ash and his pokemon didn't drop their guard. Ninetails were crafty after all. There was no way to tell what it was up to.

Ash watched in awe as its thick, luxurious golden-white fur flowed with the wind, and its nine long tails – each of which were tipped with pale orange pelage – curled elegantly behind it.

The ninetails had a fluffy crest atop its head and a small mane that covered its neck. It had long, slender legs with three toed-paws, and although it's body was thin, Ash could tell that it was muscular and athletic.

Even though its physique was impressive, its most captivating feature was its radiant, red eyes. No matter how hard Ash tried, he couldn't stop looking at them.

They were bewitching. It's not like he didn't know that ninetails' eyes had the ability to control minds, however, with a specimen of this level that kind of knowledge was useless. If ninetails wanted him to get lost in its gaze, Ash would get lost in its gaze. He had no say in the matter. It was unavoidable.

As a matter of fact, as long as Ash was in the presence of such a being, he had no control over anything. He would speak when permitted to. He would move when beckoned to. He wouldn't divert his eyes until ninetails allowed him to. And if it chose to turn hostile, his chances of survival were slim. A fraction of its might would overpower all of his friends combined, and he knew it.

For that reason, Ash just stood there. His eyes remained planted on the ninetails as it waltzed closer to them. Even though its red eyes were primeval and extrinsic, Ash was able to tell that it was sizing them up. It was definitely interested in him and his friends. Why...Ash didn't know?

All of a sudden, the dark-haired boy grasped his head when he felt an intrusive aura press up against his mind. It was nothing like when Sabrina had delved into his thoughts and memories. Instead, it reminded him of the time that the elder clefairy had breached his psyche with zero regard for comfort.

He couldn't help but let out a loud, jarring scream. Judging by the fact that he could hear his friends disembogue painful cries in their own native tongues, Ash assumed that the ninetails was entering their minds as well.

"Good afternoon, Ash Ketchum," said a mature, female voice that rang inside of his head.

It echoed within his mind like a crash in a long, empty corridor. He had to use every ounce of his strength not to fall to his knees; the ninetails' telepathy was that painful.

"Hello," managed Ash as he fought to stay on his feet.

Hopefully, his mind would either acclimate to the pain or go numb because the ninetails had only communicated four words, and he didn't know how much more of it he could handle. He was wrong to compare the ninetails' telepathy to the elder clefable's, it was far more painful.

It felt much less natural, probably because of the ninetails' typing. Although the elder clefable wasn't a psychic-type, its typing was still categorized as one of the mystic elements. The ninetails species may have some supernatural abilities, but it was still a fire-type. Obviously, a fairy-type would be much more adept when it came to a metaphysical skill like telepathy.

"Young ones, Shadow Dweller," articulated the ninetails as she slowly circled around them, "good day to you as well."

Ash heard all three of his released pokemon let out grunts of acknowledgement. He could clearly hear the pain in their voices. It sickened him.

"My name is Willow," said the ninetails as it focused its attention back on Ash. "I apologize for my telepathy…"

She paused as she looked at him with a devious expression, "I don't use it very often. I'm aware that it is rather…uncomfortable."

Ash ignored the comment. He didn't want to say anything that could upset the ninetails. If the ninetails wanted to deride her telepathy then she could deride her telepathy. It didn't matter how painful it was, Ash wasn't stupid enough to risk insulting her.

"Do not fret, child," said Willow as she got as close to Ash as possible without touching him. "I don't bite."

Due to the fact that she was using telepathy to speak to him, Ash couldn't sense any emotion in her projected voice. However, judging by her countenance, he wasn't sure if he could believe her. Her body language and mannerisms portrayed mischievousness. Ash got the feeling that life was one big game to her.

He kept his eyes locked on her as he thought of an appropriate response. "That's good to know. I'll admit, I was worried."

"Worried..." drawled Willow as she squinted her scarlet red eyes, "about me? Oh, hush, child…I'm harmless…"

She paused as she impishly bared her fangs, "That is…if I like you."

Ash resisted the urge to gulp as he formed a small smile. His gut told him that Willow would respond better to flippancy than discomposure.

She let out what sounded like a light chuckle as she began to circle them once more.

"Just kidding," she said with an elvish expression on her face. "I wouldn't hurt you even if I didn't like you. Lots of detestable trainers pass through these parts, and I leave them alone. I know enough about human society to understand what happens if a pokemon harms a human. Why subject myself to that kind of inconvenience? That would be nonsensical, don't you agree?"

"I d-do," stammered Ash as he once again fought the desire to fall to his knees. "A being as powerful as you is far too intelligent to get mixed up in something like that."

"Your words flatter me, child," enunciated Willow while approaching Ash from behind. She placed her head on Ash's shoulder as she used one of her tails to gently wrap him up into a soft embrace.

For the first time, due to her awkward positioning, Ash was able to take his attention off of Willow's alluring eyes. He quickly looked into his peripherals to check on his pokemon. All three of them had their eyes fastened on the ninetails. It was as if they were frozen, completely motionless on account of the ninetails' mighty aura.

"Don't worry about your friends," projected Willow. "They're fine. Just in a trance, that's all. They can perceive everything that is going on, but they can't move. The relationship between pokemon and trainer can cause a pokemon to do irrational things. I'd rather avoid something like that. Your pokemon are very loyal to you; they're the type that would sacrifice themselves for your safety."

She moved her head from Ash's right shoulder to his left before continuing, "Especially that handsome little Growlithe of yours. He would die for you if the situation called for it. Although, I can't see that happening. Your potential as a tandem is way too immense for destiny to allow something like that to happen. At least, I think so. I would never claim to be a fortune teller nor would I ever want to be one. Life is more fun when it's unpredictable."

Willow took her head off of Ash's shoulder and released him from the grasp of her tail before settling back in front of him. As she stood in front of him, he finally worked up the courage to ask her a question of his own.

"What is it that you want?" asked Ash. "Why has a wild pokemon of your level revealed herself to me?"

Willow squinted her eyes and tilted her head as she seemed to be thinking of a response.

"Well, I have multiple reasons for visiting you, Ash Ketchum. I will not and cannot reveal all of them. However, I don't see the harm in sharing some of my intentions for seeking you out."

"Okay," said Ash as he felt the pain from the telepathy begin to lessen, "I will be grateful for whatever you choose to share with me."

"You're a rather well-mannered child, Ash Ketchum," said the ninetails, contemplatively, while sitting back on her haunches. "Either that or you simply handle me well. Hmm…I think, I think I've come to the conclusion that I don't dislike you. Maybe, I'll share more than I originally intended."

"It's up to you," retorted Ash with a shrug, "I'll take whatever you are willing to give me."

At this point, his mind had already acclimated to Willow's presence. Her telepathy had dulled into more of an unnatural pressure rather than pain.

"Hmm…let's see…" articulated Willow, tilting her head from side to side, "one of the primary reasons that I have come to see you is that you showed rare kindness to four of my younglings the other day."

"Ah, I get it," said Ash, "so you're those four vulpix kits' mother?"

"Oh, no, child," snickered Willow. "Those four vulpix are merely a couple months old. They're just babes—the youngest in the valley. My days of fertility are long gone."

"I don't understand," said Ash, "why did you call them your younglings then?"

"Ah, well," said Willow, "they are younglings because I am much, much older than them, and they are mine because they are my descendants. I secretly oversee them, just like every other vulpix and ninetails in this part of Kanto."

"Wait…" drawled Ash with a look of astonishment on his face, "I don't get it. Are you trying to say that all of the vulpix and ninetails in this area are related to you, or are you trying to tell me that you look after all of them? Which one is it?"

"Both," answered Willow, bearing a sly smirk. "But the details of my kin are irrelevant at the moment. I wish to go back to your original question."

Ash nodded, respecting the mysterious Willow's privacy.

"Another reason I have come to see you is because of your two fire-types," explained Willow as she used her head to gesture towards Growlithe and Charmander. "A friend of mine has told me that they have quite a bright future ahead of themselves. I wish to test their strength while they are in their adolescence."

Ash had to admit, he felt a load of pride well up inside of him when Willow mentioned that she was interested in Charmander and Growlithe. He was also curious about who this friend of hers was, but he figured it would be better not to ask. He liked to ask questions, but now wasn't the time to be nosy.

"I'm sure they would be honored to be evaluated by you," replied Ash.

Ash heard Growlithe and Charmander let out grunts of affirmation, confirming his words.

"Are you wanting to do this now?" asked Ash with curious eyes.

"Soon…" said Willow as she eyed Growlithe and Charmander, "but not quite yet. I'm enjoying our conversation, and I still have more to share with you regarding my purpose for being here."

"Alright," replied Ash. "If that's the case, can I make a request?"

"What is it, child?" questioned the ninetails as she tilted her head to the side.

"Now that my friends and I are aware that you're not a threat," said Ash with adamant eyes, "can you please release them from the trance? They won't do anything stupid. I promise."

"Oh, yes, of course," said Willow with what looked like a fake, absent-minded expression. "I should have done that a while ago. Silly me..."

She blinked her eyes. Simultaneously, Ash felt Growlithe, Charmander and Haunter move around him. He still didn't feel comfortable taking his eyes off of Willow, so he wasn't able to check on them visually. However, just knowing that they could freely move their bodies again was a major relief.

"Thank you," said Ash with a smile. "Now, where were we?"

"I was just about to share with you another reason that I have come to meet you," Willow explained as she resumed her waltz around Ash and his friends.

Ash nodded his head and listened attentively, allowing Willow to reestablish control over the conversation.

"You have been a part of some rather paramount happenings as of late," said the ninetails, coming to a halt directly in front of Ash, "correct?"

Memories of the SS Anne and Saffron ricocheted within his mind. Evil, pain, suffering, death, Team Rocket, abomination, prophecy, Chosen One—all exploding against his psyche like a conflux of rogue fireworks.

"Um, yeah," said Ash as he wondered how Willow had learned about the cataclysmic events that he had been a part of over the past month.

"My friend has asked me to deliver a message regarding these matters…" said Willow as she stared Ash straight in the eyes. "And the ones to come…"

Ash's heartbeat began to quicken, and his stomach started to stir. Of course the ninetails' presence had something to do with all of the calamity that was unfolding. Like it or not, he was intertwined in this mess. Whether it was due to coincidence or an ancient prophecy, he was a part of it.

"What is it?" asked Ash with apprehension evident in his voice. "What's the message?"

"Breathe easy, Ash Ketchum," said Willow as she flashed him what appeared to be her version of a smile. "It is nothing to worry about. The message is, 'Do not fret over destiny. Take things as they come, and trust your allies. You will be prepared; it has already been ensured. Focus on your dreams, for they were given to you by the Father. They will guide and sharpen you, so that you can slay whatever evils get in the way.'"

"...What the hell?" stammered Ash as he looked at Willow in a confused manner.

"Do you need me to repeat the message?" asked Willow as she tilted her head from side to side. "I didn't find it that complex, but I don't mind repeating it if you need me to."

"No, that's okay," retorted Ash as he readjusted his hat. "The meaning isn't what has me confused. For the most part, I understand it all. I just have a couple of questions."

"Yes?"

"At first, I wasn't going to ask," said Ash, " but you've mentioned this friend of yours twice now, and whoever it is seems to know a lot about me. Who is it? Do I know them?"

"That is something that I cannot tell you," answered the ninetails. "You will find out when the time is right."

"Dammit, okay…" drawled Ash.

There was no sense in arguing with the indomitable ninetails. Ash knew she wouldn't budge. Besides, just because they were having a pleasant conversation, didn't mean that things would remain that way. He still wanted to avoid frustrating an entity as powerful as Willow if he could.

"You said you had a couple of questions?" asked Willow as she expectantly brought her face closer to Ash's.

"Who's the Father?" questioned Ash, "and does all of this have to do with the 'Prophecy of the Chosen One'?"

"Once again, child," said Willow, squinting her eyes, "those are questions that I'm not permitted to answer. Eventually, you will get answers, but they cannot come from me. However, for now, take comfort in the fact that your journey as a pokemon trainer is just as much a part of destiny as all of the imperative events you have and will play a part in."

She paused, "So, during these moments of peace, it is important that you train, battle, create relationships and enjoy yourself. Do all of the things that an aspiring pokemon master is supposed to do, and do them with all of your ability. Take pleasure in life, and rejoice in the fact that you have a purpose. Without a purpose, happiness is impossible."

Feelings of guilt boiled up inside him as he thought about the way that he had responded to the possibility of being a part of an ancient prophecy. Willow was right. He should feel honored. He should take pride in the fact that he, of all people, could have been chosen. He should be happy that his purpose in life could be something so…heroic.

After all, not everyone's destiny involved following their dreams. Not everyone's destiny gave them an opportunity to be happy. Not everyone's destiny gave them a purpose.

"You're right…" answered Ash with a small smile, "thank you for delivering the message. I needed to hear it. I'll trust the fact that my questions will be answered when the time is right, and I'll follow my dreams the best that I can."

"Wise words, Ash Ketchum," retorted Willow with a smile of her own. "It makes me happy that you have come to this realization. Now, what do you say we move forward with the test? I'm anxious to see the potential of your fire-types first-hand."

"Okay," answered Ash. "How do you want to do this?"

He paused, "What do you have in mind?"

She smirked as her eyes shifted from serene to vigorous. "How do pokemon usually test each other's clout?"

Ash's eyes widened as he deciphered Willow's words, "Oh, God…um, alright. Growlithe, Charmander, are you up for the challenge?"

Although he could sense a hint of fear in their voices, both of his fire-types let out grunts of approval.

In concurrence with his fire-types' response, Haunter put forth an array of cacophonous laughter. The apparition was clearly entertained.

The ten-year-old boy took a deep breath as he mentally prepared himself for the upcoming, lopsided battle. At the very least, things were about to get interesting.

XXX

"Let's do this!" bellowed Ash.

Despite the fact that a loss was inevitable, he wanted his friends to give this battle their all. No matter how out of their league they were, this was a great opportunity.

Willow was as strong or even stronger than any pokemon he had ever met before. She was elite. As far as wild pokemon go, her presence was on the same level as the elder clefable and the momentous dragonite.

In subsequence to Ash's encouragement, Growlithe's muscles tensed in preparation to explode out of his stance, whereas Charmander raised his claws for battle. Ash had to admit, his friends were brave. Even though they were at a big disadvantage, they weren't hesitant to take the current challenge head on.

Undeterred by the fact that they were afraid, they were able to look past their fear for an opportunity to display their potential to an ancient and almighty fire-type. To say that they were inspiring would be an understatement.

"Impressive…" articulated Willow, projecting her monotonous voice so that Ash could understand her, "both of your essences are rich with courage. Your spirits are strong."

She squinted her eyes and bared her teeth before continuing, "bravery is essential for a formidable internal flame. Show me the fire that dwells within the two of you."

As Willow's words echoed withIn his mind, Ash felt the temperature in the air rise when both of his friends rapidly loaded their maws with scorching flames. If fire was what Willow wanted, fire was what she was about to get. There was no sense in sitting back and waiting for the elder ninetails to make a move. It was time to attack.

"Now!" howled Ash while Charmander and Growlithe exploded forward out of their stances.

Both of them let out loud battle cries as they approached Willow with fire leaking from their mouths. The elder ninetails stood still, unperturbed by Ash's two fire-types' impending presences. A small simper could be seen on her face as Growlithe and Charmander rapidly severed the distance between her and themselves.

As they drew closer and closer to Willow, it became apparent that she had no intention of dodging them. From point-blank range, Growlithe and Charmander released two full-power Embers. The raging flames engulfed the ninetails, covering her in what looked like a reddish orange blanket.

Ash clenched his fists with vigor as he watched Growlithe immediately follow his Ember with Flame Wheel. He enveloped himself in fervent flames, causing the temperature around them to rise even higher.

Ash had to say, Growlithe and Charmander's flames were livelier than usual. Either the training they had put in since leaving Saffron was reaping even more benefits than he originally anticipated, or the ancient ninetails' presence was magnifying their overall fire output.

...Maybe it was a combination of both.

In concurrence with Growlithe's Flame Wheel, Charmander emitted a swirling ball of orange and purple fire. His control wasn't perfect, but it appeared as if Charmander's skill with Dragon Rage was improving even more.

Now that he could release a full-fledged Dragon Rage, they had been practicing some more intricate variations of the technique. While working on Dragon Rage, they had learned that the mixture of natural and draconic flames could be imposing even without mastery over Dragon Rage.

However, now that Charmander's internal flame and draconic energy had separated, with practice, he had become capable of intentionally blending his Dragon Rage and Ember into a controllable combination attack. Thus, fulfilling Willow's request to experience the extent of his flames, Charmander intermixed Dragon Rage with his Ember in order to enhance its intensity.

Both Growlithe's Flame Wheel and Charmander's Draconic Ember converged on Willow at the same time, sandwiching her in what would have been a devastating fire-type combination against a normal opponent.

Too bad that there was nothing normal about Willow.

She had already been doused in flames, so Ash wasn't able to see if she depicted even a slight hint of pain. Nonetheless, when the flames subsided, it was evident that the elder ninetails hadn't taken any damage. The only visible difference that Ash could detect was that her coat looked even more dazzling than before.

Despite the fact that Ash knew Willow was on a level that he couldn't comprehend, he was still surprised to see that his friends' attacks were entirely ineffective. The vulpix line may have the capability of developing a formidable internal flame, but they weren't as impervious to fire as species like the magby or slugma lines.

No, like Growlithe, a vulpix or ninetails could be hurt by their own element if their opponent's internal flame was strong enough. Unfortunately, although Growlithe and Charmander had improved a lot over the past couple of months, their internal flames weren't even close to being strong enough to damage a ninetails' of Willow's caliber. She was just too strong.

"I see…" drawled Willow as Charmander and Growlithe leapt back, putting distance between themselves and the almighty fox, "your flames ooze with potential."

She took a deep breath as she centered her eyes on Ash, "Do not judge the power of their internal flames based off of their effect on me. I haven't been burned by fire for centuries, and the flames that scalded me belonged to a Legendary. Growlithe and Charmander are mere babes, and this battle is nothing but a test of potential. If you expected me to take any damage…well, that's just silly."

Ash had to admit the bit about Willow being burned by a Legendary was pretty damn cool, but he stayed quiet as he watched the ninetails snicker at him. He didn't have anything to say back to her. She was right after all.

"If fire won't work, we'll have to use some of our other techniques," said Ash to Growlithe and Charmander. "Charmander, use Smokescreen followed by Focus Punch! Growlithe, use Helping Hand on Charmander!"

Ash watched with hopeful eyes as Charmander spat out a plethora of black smoke in the direction of Willow. It spread throughout the clearing, covering almost everything except for Ash and Growlithe. As Charmander's Smokescreen diffused around the glade, Growlithe's body was enveloped in a faint, white energy. Ash could see the energy leaving Growlithe's body and entering Charmander, providing the lizard Pokemon with a temporary power boost.

A small smile crept across Ash's face. It had been a long time since Growlithe had gotten an opportunity to use Helping Hand, so at the very least, he was happy that his friend was still able to pull it off. He knew that it wouldn't make a difference in the battle against Willow, but at least they were able to execute all of their techniques.

Once the Smokescreen had been set and the Helping Hand had been initiated, Charmander took off into the black smoke. The only part of him that Ash could see was a tiny orange and red illumination that was undoubtedly his tail flame. Charmander seemed to know this as well, which is why he let out a barrage of Embers towards the ground that would help disguise his location.

It was a smart idea, albeit Ash was worried about the environment. Hopefully, Charmander's Embers hadn't made contact with any dry shrubs. He didn't want to have to ask Ivysaur and Wartortle to clean up after his fire-types again. They were getting tired of it; he could tell.

All of a sudden, amidst the inky cloud, Ash heard a loud crash and a painful sounding cry that belonged to Charmander. The moment the fire lizard shrieked, Growlithe took off into the smoke like he had been launched out of a cannon.

Simultaneously, a large pillar of blue fire shot through the air, causing the smoke from the Smokescreen to disperse in a heartbeat. Even though he didn't see it being released, he didn't have to think very hard to figure out that the massive, bright blue flamethrower had been put forth by Willow. Neither of his friends were capable of emitting such a monstrous flame.

When the smoke vanished, Ash cursed under his breath as he saw Charmander down on the ground, trying his best to get back up on his feet. He wasn't quite sure what had happened, but judging by the way the fire lizard was favoring his side, Ash guessed that Willow had performed some kind of counterattack when Charmander had tried to use Focus Punch.

At the same time, Growlithe charged the ninetails, who was looking at him with impish eyes. Ash cringed when he saw Growlithe leap forward in order to use Bite, only to get effortlessly smacked away by one of Willow's tails. He hit the ground hard before turbulently skidding halfway across the clearing.

"That's enough!" exclaimed Ash as he handled Growlithe and Charmander's pokeballs. "There's no need to take this any further, right? That should have been enough to gauge their strength, and I don't want my friends to get hurt for no reason."

Willow flashed Ash a small smile as she gestured with her head in the direction of Charmander. "Be patient, Ash Ketchum. I may have already analyzed their potential, but…well, just look for yourself."

Ash's expression brightened up when he redirected his line of sight over to Charmander, catching a glimpse of the determination in his lizard pokemon's eyes the moment before his entire body erupted in an incandescent, white light. A grin stretched from cheek to cheek as he processed what was going on.

Finally, it was happening. Charmander was evolving.

Ash watched in awe as the surge of bright light enshrouded Charmander's entire being. All Ash could see was a shadowy silhouette of the fire lizard's body within the light, rapidly growing and changing shape into something new.

When the light finally subsided, and the evolution was complete, a smirk crossed Ash's face as he examined his friend's new form. The first thing he noticed was that Charmeleon stood at least a foot taller than he had as a charmander, and his frame was much more muscular.

Even though the color of his reptilian skin had already significantly darkened prior to evolution, his scales were now crimson in color rather than reddish orange. His snout had elongated, giving his facial features a much more draconic look, and the horn on the back of his head had also gotten longer than it had been right before he evolved.

His irises had gone from blue to green, which gave Charmeleon a much fiercer countenance, and the claws on his fingers and toes had grown bigger and sharper. Ash also couldn't help but notice the size of Charmeleon's tail flame, which had grown to about twice the size as it had been when he was in his primary form.

Overall, if Ash had to explain Charmeleon's evolution in one word, it would be badass. He had shed his former cute, cuddly appearance for something way more intimidating.

"Hell yeah, Charmeleon!" bellowed Ash with elation evident in his tone of voice. "You did it! You evolved!"

Charmeleon blinked a couple of times in a confused manner before inspecting some of his new features with admiration. Ash could tell that his friend was excited. Evolution was something he had been working toward for a while now, and finally it had happened. No longer would he be the only member of Ash's elemental trio that was still in his primary stage. He had caught up to the others.

Charmeleon's self-examination was put on pause when Growlithe approached him in a mirthful state. The puppy pokemon looked even more excited than Charmeleon as he let out a series of joyful barks. Ash couldn't help but laugh as he watched his two fire-types celebrate.

"What a beautiful friendship," said Willow, snatching Ash's attention away from his friends.

Ash observed as Willow steadily crossed the clearing. At this point, it was apparent that the battle was over. Willow had accomplished what she wanted to, and it wasn't smart to battle right after evolution unless it was absolutely necessary. The strain on a pokemon's body after going through evolution was too high to risk immediate activity.

Granted, the transformation from primary to secondary stage for the charmander line wasn't drastic, and Charmeleon didn't look to be in any pain. Nevertheless, it was smart for them to play it safe, and it appeared as though Willow understood that as well.

"There are few things in this world that make me happier than camaraderie between fire-types, which is something that isn't prevalent amongst my kin," said Willow, flashing Ash an authentic smile. "I like these two a lot. You've made some wondrous friends, child. Regardless of the trials that you will be going through, do whatever you can to keep their hearts pure and their lightheartedness intact."

Ash nodded as a billion questions regarding the trials Willow referenced flooded his mind. However, he decided to keep them to himself. She had already shared everything that she intended to. There was no reason for Ash to pester her with questions that she had no intention of answering.

"Moreover, understand that their potential is nearly limitless," said Willow as she pressed her snout right up against Ash's ear, "but it is up to you to help them fully realize it. Continue working hard, and groom them for what lies ahead. There is no reason why Growlithe and Charmeleon shouldn't be elite when it comes to battle. Their talent is too immense for them not to be."

"I know that," replied Ash.

He smiled as he witnessed Growlithe and Charmeleon's dispositions change when they finished their spirited celebration and noticed that Willow had moved over to Ash's side.

"It's my job to help all of my friends realize their full potential, not just Growlithe and Charman…I mean Charmeleon."

"Yes…" drawled Willow, circling around Ash in the process, "well said…You are wise beyond your years, young one."

"Thank you," retorted Ash while watching Growlithe and Charmeleon lope over to his position with joyous expressions.

This was probably the first time Ash had ever witnessed his friends in a good mood after a loss. From the start, he knew that they were just as much aware of the difference in strength between themselves and Willow as he was, but the fact that they were able to be so positive after such an overwhelming defeat showed Ash that they were maturing.

Of course, Charmeleon's evolution gave them something to actually get excited over. Howbeit, they had been able to read the situation and understand that the battle wasn't about winning, but rather about allowing an unbelievably powerful being, such as Willow, evaluate them.

"Good job, guys" said Ash with a smile as his friends approached him. "You did great."

He centered his attention on solely Charmeleon while placing his hand on the lizard pokemon's shoulder, "Congratulations, I'm so proud of you. I know this is something you've been wanting for a long time."

Charmeleon responded with an affirmative grunt as he emitted a quick burst of flames out of his nostrils in honor of his evolution. In subsequence, Growlithe disembogued another celebratory yap, letting his friend know that he was proud of him as well.

"Pardon me," articulated Willow, "but there are a few things that I would like to say before I go."

"You're leaving already?" asked Ash with a small frown.

Despite the ninetails' overwhelming presence and elvish personality, Ash was sad to hear that she would be leaving.

Not only did she know a lot of things that he was curious about, but for some strange reason he actually liked being around her. He didn't know why. All they had done was have a quick conversation – which brought up more questions for him to find answers to – and have a one-sided battle in which his friends were essentially toyed with.

Be that as it may, there was something about her that mollified his soul.

It was as if she had been sent to him by something divine—an omnipotent being that knew everything about what he had recently been through and desired to help guide his blemished mind and anxious heart in the right direction.

"I'm afraid so," answered Willow, "I have to get back to my duties."

She paused as she used her eyes to survey all three of them, "I am happy that I have gotten the chance to meet all of you. Your potential is insurmountable, which has put my heart at ease. At this point, it has become rather clear that you will play a pivotal role in Kanto's future. Keep your heads up, and continue to strive for excellence. There isn't a doubt in my mind that you will live up to your expectations…as well as everyone else's."

"Thanks," said Ash, pride swelling up inside him.

Both of his friends mumbled something in their own native tongues. If Ash were to guess, he would say that they were saying thank you as well.

"Also," said the ninetails as she squinted her eyes in a serious manner, "no matter what you do, do not attempt to take on the abomination before my friend has revealed herself to you. It doesn't matter how much support you have. It doesn't matter what plan you have formulated. Without the help of my friend, you will fail."

"Pass this message along to your comrades that also know about the abomination's existence: Do not be reckless, and wait until the time is right. Do not go after the abomination until my friend has revealed herself to you. If you do, Kanto is doomed."

"I-I understand…" stammered Ash, utterly shellshocked.

He knew that Willow was well informed, but he never expected her to know about the abomination. Just who the hell was this friend of hers?

Ash looked down at his friends, who looked just as stunned as he did, before responding.

"I just have one question…" jabbered Ash, hoping that Willow would answer him this time.

"What is it, child?"

"Compared to you, just how strong is the abomination?" questioned Ash, "My friends and I have an idea, but what exactly is it that you think we're dealing with?"

"I do not know the full extent of its power," answered the ninetails, "but let me put it this way. My abilities cannot even hold a candle to my friend's might, and even she is apprehensive regarding this beast. If it is not handled correctly, it has the power to destroy everything."

Ash gulped. "Now, when you say everything, do you literally mean everything?"

"Unfortunately, child, I do," said Willow, "which is why it is essential for you and your friends to wait until the time is right. We do not wish to anger the abomination until we figure out what its motive is. Right now, it is in a state of confusion, diligently seeking out its purpose. We desire to wait until it has figured out at least that much. Hopefully, it is not as evil as we fear."

"I'll pass on the message," said Ash, trying his best not to let fear overwhelm him.

"Good," answered Willow as she slowly began to back away. "Anyways, it is time for us to part. Remember to focus on your journey, and try not to worry. I know destiny can get heavy, but you and your friends are protected."

She paused, "Goodbye, Ash Ketchum, Growlithe and Charmeleon. Good luck."

"Goodbye, Wi—" muttered Ash, slightly taken back by the abrupt change in the atmosphere, before the ninetails suddenly vanished.

She hadn't used Teleport; Ash was sure of it. However, somehow she had managed to disappear into nothingness like she had never existed in the first place. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before.

"Well, that's one way to make an exit," said Ash with a quaint smile, trying his best to make light of the situation.

He had exposed his friends to enough of his fear as of late. He couldn't keep falling into a tense state every time he got heavy news or something bad happened. If his destiny involved the kind of things that he thought it did, he had to learn how to harmonize his thoughts and focus on the here and now.

He would worry about the future later. All of the things that he had talked about with Willow didn't need to be processed now, and he could pass on the message to Bill and the others when he got to Celadon.

Right now, he had a certain fire lizard's evolution to celebrate and some traveling to do. He was still a few days away from Celadon, and although he was definitely loving his time on the road, it was about time that he covered the rest of the distance in between himself and the most populous city in all of Kanto.

"Let's get going, guys," said Ash while he fixed his cap and readjusted the straps on his backpack. "We've been here for way too long."

Growlithe and Charmeleon nodded, letting out confirmatory grunts in the process.

"Alrighty then," retorted Ash as he checked his bearings on his xtranceiver, "follow me. West is this way"

Both of his fire-types happily accompanied him as he marched through the frail brushwood, trekking his way back to the main path.

XXX

"What is it, boy?" questioned Ash, concerned as he watched Growlithe stop dead in his tracks.

The fur on his back was erect, and he had his snout pointed in the air. Ash took a deep breath as adrenalin welled up inside him. Growlithe only behaved this way when he had picked up a disturbing scent. Something strange was going on somewhere close by.

For a split-second, Ash thought about ignoring whatever Growlithe had caught a whiff of. He wasn't that far removed from Saffron: a place where he had been exposed to things that kids his age weren't supposed to even be aware of, and it had only been a few days since he had met Willow—the ancient ninetails that seemed to know everything about his life.

For the past week and a half, almost nothing had gone wrong. He had been able to spend quality time with his pokemon. His team had gotten plenty of training in. He had battled a plethora of trainers varying in skill level. Charmander was now Charmeleon. And he had even come across some rather interesting wild pokemon.

Essentially, up to this point, his journey to Celadon had been a refreshing one, void of any of the dangerous occurrences that had plagued the last month of his life. However, just by looking at Growlithe, he could tell that his luck was about to change.

He wasn't the type of person that could just sit back idly while somebody could be getting hurt. It wasn't in his DNA to do nothing and just hope that the situation worked itself out. Despite the fact that he would probably be throwing himself into trouble, he couldn't ignore Growlithe's behavior. It would be contradictory to his morals and personal integrity.

Thus, he suppressed his urge to walk the other way and decided right then and there to get to the bottom of whatever was going on…

"Is someone in trouble?" asked Ash as he knelt down next to his tense pup.

Growlithe pivoted his gaze toward Ash. His eyes looked fierce and feral, reminiscent of the time that they had been introduced to Team Rocket back on the SS Anne.

"Gotcha'," said Ash as calmly as possible.

His stomach started to plummet and his pulse began to hasten as memories of the SS Anne and Saffron penetrated his mind like they always did during times like this. Hopefully, this wasn't one of those kinds of situations.

As he stood from his crouched position, he reached for Haunter's great ball and Clefairy's pokeball while looking Growlithe in the eyes. "Get ready to follow the scent. I'm going to let out Haunter just in case something bad happens, and Clefairy can use her ears to help us better understand the situation."

The pup nodded his head before taking a couple of steps forward. Ash could hear the faint, raspy sound of Growlithe's snuffling nose as he tried to detect the location of the abhorrent scent that had just invaded his nostrils.

While Growlithe reached out with his aromatic awareness, Ash released Haunter and Clefairy. His two mystic element types greeted their trainer as usual. Haunter made his typical goofy face while letting out an array of cacophonous laughter, whereas Clefairy acknowledged Ash with bright eyes while suppressing her urge to give Ash a hug because of the presence of her male counterparts.

After greeting their trainer, Haunter and Clefairy's dispositions changed when they noticed the look of seriousness on his face. They went from relaxed to alert, ready to follow whatever orders Ash gave them.

"Growlithe's aromatic awareness has picked up a disturbance in the area," explained Ash. "We don't know the severity of the situation, but I need your help."

In response to Ash's words, Haunter bobbed his body up and down while Clefairy let out an affirmative murmuration.

Ash turned his attention over to Growlithe, who was eyeing his comrades with a decisive countenance.

"Do you know where we're going?" asked Ash in the direction of his pup as he unconsciously turned his hat backwards.

Growlithe let out a confident grunt before using his head to beckon them to follow his lead.

"Haunter, you know the drill. I want you in my shadow," said Ash. "If the situation is out of control, knockout anything that you think is a threat. I'm trusting your judgement."

Haunter let out a ghoulish chuckle before casually submerging into his master's shadow. As his ghost-type vanished from view, Ash felt a comforting chill run its course throughout the entirety of his being.

Once the temporary goose bumps caused by Haunter's presence within his shadow subsided, Ash centered his attention on Clefairy.

"I need you to provide tracking support with your sense of hearing," explained Ash. "Growlithe can only pick up the emotions involved. As we get closer, your ears should be able to give us a more detailed idea of what were getting ourselves into."

She nodded, letting Ash know that she understood what he wanted from her.

"Listen for things like battle noises and heated conversation," continued Ash. "If you pick up anything that sounds suspicious, I want to know about it."

Clefairy gave Ash a look of determination; she knew what she had to do.

"Okay then," said Ash as he planted his eyes on Growlithe, "now that everyone's been filled in on the situation, lead the way."

Without hesitation, Growlithe loped south towards a thick part of the bracken. Ash didn't know where or what his pup was leading them to. Nevertheless, he followed his best friend with belief that he was making the right choice.

No matter what was waiting for him, he always had his pokemon. They would protect him.

XXX

After about thirty minutes of trekking through Route Seven's granular terrain and overgrown thickets, Growlithe started to move in a much more decisive manner, and Clefairy's ears began to fidget like crazy.

They were getting close.

Hopefully, they would be able to prevent something bad from happening. Thirty minutes was a long time, and Ash knew it. He didn't want to show up too late to make a difference…

All of a sudden, Ash heard a scream coming from the direction that they were heading in. The voice was female and frightened.

The moment it pierced his eardrums, Ash felt Haunter's presence surge towards the surface of his shadow, and he watched as Growlithe and Clefairy hastened their pace before leaping through a large hedge that blocked the view of what was in front of them.

Using the crease of one of his elbows to shield his eyes, Ash followed his friends and jumped through the big, scrappy plant without hesitation.

He cursed out loud as the bush scraped both of his arms as well as the part of his face that he hadn't covered, breaking the skin. He would have to have a chat with Haunter when he got the chance. There had to be a way that his apparition could protect his body when he was forced to recklessly expose himself to harsh landscape.

When Ash uncovered his eyes, he scowled at what he saw on the other side of the oversized bush.

The first thing he noticed was the massive amount of dilapidated objects scattered around what was a small, mostly defoliated area. The majority of it was destroyed camping gear, but there were some items that definitely belonged to a pokemon trainer such as broken pokeballs, crushed potions, dented in repel canisters, etc…

However, it didn't take very long for his focus to be snatched away by the frightening scene that was unfolding in his peripherals. Over to his right, Growlithe and Clefairy were carefully examining a girl around his age. She was bruised, beaten and bleeding. In addition to the injuries that she had, someone had used an excessive amount of rope to bind her to a large, craggy boulder.

Reacting to his instincts, Ash sprinted over to the battered girl in order to help her.

"Are you okay!?" asked Ash, despite the fact that she clearly wasn't.

Her eyes snapped open as she looked at Ash with an expression that depicted fear. Her face contorted, and her body tensed as she began to toss herself back and forth in attempt to break free of the thick rope that was binding her.

"Let me go! Let me go! Give him back!" shrieked the girl with a combination of alarm and despair evident in her voice. "Give Eevee back!"

Growlithe and Clefairy leapt back, putting enough distance between themselves and the girl that they wouldn't get kicked by her flailing legs. In subsequence, Ash quickly glanced down at his shadow to make sure that Haunter wasn't on the verge of doing something stupid.

Even though the girl had clearly been the victim of a ruthless assault, he never knew how Haunter would react in a situation like this. On account of the panic that was surging through her being, she was out of control. The last thing he wanted was for Haunter to deem her as a threat and try and protect him. He was a ghost-type after all. His train of thought didn't always make sense, especially when his other self emerged from the depths of his subconscious.

When Ash glanced down at his shadow, he caught a glimpse of Haunter's eyes peering up at him. They were attentive and alert, but at the same time he wasn't showing any sign of malicious intent.

Ash breathed a sigh of relief. Once again, Haunter was proving to him that he was progressing toward controlling his fiendish desires. Between their present situation and the occurrence involving the enraged troop of mankey, Ash was starting to feel better about Haunter's psychological well-being…

"Calm down! Calm down!" yelled Ash, just loud enough to be heard over her frantic, screaming voice. "We're here to help!"

"Liar!" bellowed the girl as her eyes widened even more than before. "You're lying! We're in the middle of nowhere! You have to be with them!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Ash, trying his best to calm her down by lowering his voice. "I'm a pokemon trainer. My Growlithe sensed that something strange was going on and led me here. I don't know who did this to you, but I had nothing to do with it."

She seemed to relax a little bit as she listened to Ash's words. Her body slightly loosened, and she stopped kicking. Hopefully, the sincerity in his voice had reached her.

Tears welled up in her eyes, and Ash could see a light ray of hope shine through them. However, it didn't take long for the fear to regain control of her. This time she didn't flail, but her eyes widened once more, and her body tensed back up as she raised her voice again.

"How do I know you're not lying!?" bellowed the girl apprehensively. "Maybe you're one of their friends! Maybe you've come to get your fill! Look at me! Look what they did to me!"

"I see you," said Ash, rage building up inside him.

Whoever did this was going to pay. He didn't know a thing about this girl, but no one deserved to go through what she had. This was despicable; she was utterly traumatized.

"I see what they did to you. It's awful, and I would never be a part of something like this. We're not too far from Celadon. Once I untie you, I'll call Celadon's police department and give them the coordinates to our location. Once they hear about the situation, they'll get someone out here as soon as possible."

Her eyes softened, and her expression relaxed. This time Ash had gotten through to her. He was sure of it.

Once again, tears fell from her eyes as she tried her best to answer him, "D-do you promise? D-do you promise that you're not one of them? C-can I trust you? A-are you really going to help me?"

"You can trust me," said Ash as he flashed the girl a big smile, "and that's a promise. Now, let's get you untied."

The girl seemed to settle down even more as she breathed a major sigh of relief and formed a faint smile.

"Growlithe, use Bite to break her free," commanded Ash as he turned his attention over to his best friend.

Listening to his trainer, Growlithe sunk his teeth into the rope that was constricting the girl. He began to gnaw his way through the side of the rope that was looped around the back of the boulder, making sure that the girl was faraway from his razor-sharp teeth.

As Growlithe chomped his way through the thick rope, the girl snatched back Ash's attention.

"W-what's your name?" queried the girl with a faint voice.

"My name…" drawled Ash before answering. "It's Ash...Ash Ketchum."

"T-thank you, Ash," said the girl as her eyes involuntarily slithered shut, "My name's S-skylar…"

Ash didn't even bother answering her. It was a miracle that she had stayed conscious for as long as she did. She deserved a rest as he called the police department.

"Clefairy, once Growlithe gets her out of that rope, lay her down carefully," said Ash with a serious tone of voice as he reached for his pokedex. "She's in bad shape. I don't have anything to treat human wounds as serious as hers, so the best thing we can do is keep her still until help arrives. The Celadon Police Department's number should be in my pokedex."

Once he fired up his pokedex, it was just a matter of sifting through the phone directory archive that was configured inside of its database, and he had found the number he was looking for. The second he found it, he plugged it into his xtransceiver and called.

Despite the resilience that Skylar had shown upon Ash's arrival, the source of her energy was strictly adrenaline. There was no time to waste. The sooner she saw a doctor the better.

"Ring…"

"Ring…"

"Come on…" drawled Ash as he waited for someone to pick up.

"Click."

"This is the Celadon Police Department," said an alert female voice. "Is this an emergency?"

"I wouldn't be calling if it wasn't," retorted Ash sarcastically, "I came across a girl that's beaten up pretty bad. She needs medical attention ASAP.

"What's your location?" asked the female voice. "I'll send help right away."

"We're about a half day's walk east of Celadon," said Ash as he looked up their location on his xtransceiver. Can your phone receive messages? If so, I'll send you our exact coordinates."

"It can," retorted the voice on the other end of the phone. "As soon as we get your coordinates, we'll send someone right away."

"Thanks," said Ash as he eyed the girl known as Skylar. "Please hurry."

"Help will be there soon," reassured the woman on the other end of the line. "We'll send one of our alakazam with a medical team and a couple of officers. In the meantime, watch over her, kid."

The moment the woman he was talking to called him kid, an image of his favorite Officer Jenny popped into his head. Although her tone of voice was different, something about it reminded him of her.

More than likely, he was on the phone with a member of the Jenny family. After all, he had called a police department. There were likely several members of the large family of identical woman stationed at the Celadon Police Department…

"Awesome," retorted Ash. "We'll be waiting."

"Click."

He ended the call before sending the coordinates to the Celadon Police Department. Hopefully, they'd keep their word and show up soon.

In the meantime, there was something he needed to do.

"Growlithe," said Ash with adamant eyes, catching the attention of his pup, "come here."

The puppy pokemon, who had just finished severing the rope that had bound Skylar to the boulder, loped over to his trainer. At the same time, Ash watched as Clefairy moved the poor girl's unconscious body over to a soft patch of dirt before gently laying her down.

"I need you to find the scents of the people that did this to her," said Ash with disgust in his voice. "She mentioned something about an eevee while she was freaking out. I think they stole it from her. As soon as help arrives, and she's in safe hands, we're going after them. There's no way I'm letting a couple of pricks that would do this to a little girl get away with stealing her pokemon."

He paused, "We're going to get that eevee back."

Growlithe looked up at him with feral eyes and nodded his head. It was clear that his best friend was in complete agreement.

"Good," said Ash as he shifted his line of sight over to the girl, "They won't get away with this…I promise."

As Ash's words subsided, he heard a foreboding snicker coming from his shadow.

"As long as you don't kill them," muttered Ash to Haunter as he angrily looked at Skylar's beaten body, "I'll let you do as you see fit."

XXX

To be continued…

XXX

A/N: I hope you liked it. I have a couple of announcements that I want to make, so I hope everyone reads this. First of all, in between chapters, pay attention to my profile. I've started posting updates regarding the status of the chapter while I'm working on it, and I'm trying to make sure that I update my profile at least once a week. Also, since my chapters are so long, I've decided that if it's taking me a long time to get a chapter out, I will post a teaser scene from the upcoming chapter. In case you didn't know, on Christmas Eve, I posted the scene where Ash talks to Gary. I figure it will be a good way to keep you guys interested.

Moreover, please take the time to review. I really like reading all of your thoughts. By the way, Essence has finally exceeded 300,000 words. That's definitely something that I'm really proud of. Anyways, thanks for reading. I'll probably take a day off of writing before I start Kanto 10. Remember pay attention to my profile!

Thanks for reading!

Much love, vincentgrey21.