Greetings, Mgunnels3 here, and welcome back to A Promise Kept Ash's Johto Journey. Before I begin, sorry for the delay. For those who might have read my new story, my collab writer and I had a snag, so I had to write the recent chapter. But aside from that, let's get this chapter started cause once this chapter is done, we are heading to the whirl cup.
Chapter 68: Family
"Human Speech"
"Pokemon Speech"
We joined our heroes as they enjoyed the day Misty was grooming Maril. Ash noticed Larvitar was training with Scizor to get stronger Scizor was okay with training with Pokemon like Larvitar but battling those who couldn't battle for themselves. He is different than the type to do so.
"Man, you two are at it. Just don't go too hard on Larvitar, given that you have the type advantage Scizor," Ash said to Scizor, who nodded at Ash. Larvitar got an excellent hit Tackle wise on him and acted weirdly, attacking wildly, which Charizard, who was eating, noticed. "Larvitar, you Okay?" Ash asked who didn't listen to Ash and was confused as Ash ran over to her and calmed her down. Ash sighed at this.
"What was that, Ash?" Misty asked Ash, who had no idea though it did look familiar somehow, given that this was a move he hadn't heard of before, and Ash noticed that Charizard had an idea of what it was.
"It's called Outrage. It's not a move you would normally see," Charizard said to Ash and Misty, who turned to him. "Dragonites in this region can know that move, and members of my evolutionary line can also learn it from them. From the looks of it, she has Charizard in her blood somewhere in her family tree," Charizard said, crossing his arms.
Ash was about to say something until Larvitar started glowing from this, and was surprised by this as Larvitar was now a Pupitar which Ash looked up in his Pokedex. "Wow, you've evolved, Larvitar," Ash said to her, who nodded and had smiley eyes.
"Thanks, Ash, and I want to get stronger from this. I might not look like I can speak or eat, but I can," Pupitar said to Ash, who chuckled at this, as did everyone else.
Pidgeot noticed something was heading towards Charizard as he was suddenly hit by what seemed to be a Dragonair who was coiling him. "Get off me," Charizard said to the young Pokemon.
"Ah, don't be like that, Charmander," The Dragonair said to Charizard. He recognized her voice, got a good look at her, and realized who she was as she wagged her tail upon him, recognizing her.
"Is that you, little Dratini?" Charizard asked the young Dragonair, who nodded and uncoiled herself from him and smiled.
"Yup, it's me, alright I heard from Dragonite that you were here in the Islands, and I just evolved recently. So I should go and visit you and," Dragonair heard a growl from Pidgeot, which she and Charizard noticed Pidgeot looked like she was going past the point of Moltres of her anger and feathers colored that would make Ho-Oh jealous as Brock placed his hand on her shoulder which calmed her down.
"Before you jump to conclusions, Pidgeot, I think you should let Charizard explain himself before you make a mistake," Brock said to Pidgeot, who sighed and nodded.
"You better have a good excuse, Charizard, given our relationship with each other might be on thin ice depending on your answer," Pidgeot said to Charizard, who sighed and knew what he would say get in hot water with Pidgeot and knew he had to show her not tell.
"You are familiar with what Dragonair looks like, Pidgeot?" Charizard asked Pidgeot, who growled but nodded. "I think you are looking closely at her, more at her eyes, and that is a better explanation, and I will go into further detail cause my answer you won't believe," Charizard explained. She sighed and got a good look at her, who was okay with Pidgeot doing that, and realized those weren't Dragonair's eyes.
"Those aren't Dragonair eyes. They're more," Pidgeot turned to Charizard, who nodded.
"More like Charmeleon eyes than Dragonairs is what you are about to say, yes," Charizard said.
"Charizard, if I had to take a stab at it, this is the youngest one you mentioned at the Fire-type tournament?" Ash asked him, who nodded.
"Yep, this is the youngest of my family, and my twin sister Dragonair the last time I saw her was a Dratini, while the rest of my siblings have normal eyes. She's my twin, born with Charmander eyes and my evolution line. I knew that if I told you that, Pidgeot, you wouldn't believe me, and Dragonair is fine with it given it's her unique feature and can tell the difference between her and our oldest sister," Charizard said to Pidgeot and everyone, who was surprised.
"And the coiling there, Charizard, that was unexpected and out of nowhere, not to mention it made it look like she's a girlfriend," Pidgeot asked Charizard, who sighed as Dragonair wagged her tail.
"She's always like this. Dragonair loves to hug anyone she sees or meets. It's why I have a good relationship with my sisters. She may be as kind and sweet, but she knows how to pack a punch even as a young Dratini," Charizard said to Ash and the others as Dragonair started to hug Ash and his friends. They happily did like that as Charizard sighed. "Does our mom, our older sister, or grandmother know about you were leaving the dragon's den, sis, or your evolution," Charizard asked Dragonair, who sighed and pouted as Ash and the others were curious about what Charizard meant.
"Of course, they know I evolved just a few months ago. Brother and Sis told me that when her trainer returned. You think the youngest daughter of two of Pokemon of the champion that me wanting to find a trainer or join my twin brother's team wouldn't be a bad thing," Dragonair said with puppy dog eyes, the same one that Charizard knows all too well.
Charizard sighed and turned to Ash, surprised that a Dragonair would be asked to join, let alone what she just said. Charizard noticed Ash's reaction to one part of his sister's statement. "I guess I have a lot of explaining and owe you an explanation," Charizard said.
"Well, we know that you are related to Lance's Charizard. Are you, by chance, related to one of his Dragonite" Ash was interrupted by Charizard.
"The only Dragonite he has is our mother the Dragonair he has isn't related to us," Charizard said, crossing his claws. "Like our father, she is also the one we want to be like one day, the strongest Pokemon in the region," Charizard said to Ash as Dragonair slithered over to her brother.
"Speaking of our father, he told us the lift about talking about the Charizific Valley stuff if lifted, but only to our teams," Dragonair said as this took Charizard aback.
"Since when and how long ago was that lifted? I've been on a tip lip about it 'cause of my promise to our Uncle," Charizard said to his sister the group knew that Charizard was quiet about this stuff until now.
"About the time that Blaze came back from the fire tournament, Dad was visiting and all that and agreed to lift it hence why I'm out here cause he knew that I was ready to go out on my own," Dragonair said to Charizard.
"More reason why I left this region to get stronger, okay if it comes up, I'll talk about what I can, but there isn't much to talk about that you already know everyone," Charizard said. "I wished that someone, even my father, should've told me that sooner, or even our cousin," Charizard said as Ash tried to change the subject and leave it be.
"That would explain your strength Charizard. Okay, if you are okay with this, Charizard?" Ash asked Charizard, who sighed and nodded. "Anything you want in return for joining the team, Dragonair?" Ash asked her, who shook her head.
"Nothing. I want to make friends with your Pokemon and spend time with my brother here. Also, get stronger, given what my evolution line is known for. Just because I'm a hugger doesn't mean that I don't like battling. It's the Charizard in me," Dragonair said to Ash.
"Just don't turn into your brother during battle, please I've gone through a lot with him," Ash said to Dragonair, curious about what Ash meant. Charizard rubbed the back of his head and turned to his sister.
"We should go and train once you are caught. I'll try to catch you up with how Ash trains and battles, which would give us time to catch up and all," Charizard said to Dragonair, who smiled and wagged her tail.
"If you are okay with that, Charizard, then I won't stop you given at this point, the next competition is a water-type tournament, and we won't be leaving for a while anyway," Ash said to Charizard, who nodded as Ash pulled out a Pokeball. "Welcome to the team Dragonair," Ash said to Dragonair, who shook her head.
"Right now, I rather not be caught, don't worry, I will. But let us save it until my training is done with my brother, but I am a member of your team Ash, don't worry about it," Dragonair said to Ash, who was surprised by this as Charizard sighed.
"And there's the catch with her joining the team. Are you okay with this, Ash? None of my other siblings were asking this," Charizard asked Ash, who looked down and nodded.
"Make sure that no one tries to catch her. Please, I'm sure neither of you wants a different trainer," Ash said to Charizard, who nodded, as did Dragonair.
"I'm coming with you two as well," Pidgeot said to Charizard and Dragonair, and Charizard was surprised as Dragonair smiled at this. "I do want to make it up to you for what happened earlier, and I'm sure that you need some time training with someone other than each other and to spend some time with you as well, Charizard," Pidgeot said to Charizard, who nodded as Ash was about to say something about what Pidgeot meant but left it be for now.
"Well, if you two say so, I will send your Pokeballs to Professor Oaks' lab and return them when you return to the team," Ash said to the two, who nodded as if it was a fair deal. The three Pokemon took flight off to the other side of the Island as Ash sighed, sent two Pokeballs to Professor Oaks' lab, and explained what was happening. Oak understood what was going on and kept them until further notice.
Ash and his friends decided to head back to Ash's Uncle's villa as the Whirl Cup would be a few days from today only for the ferries had just left for the day, and the group was surprised by this.
"Well, I guess we will have to wait for the next one, but that won't be until later today," Misty said to the group, who sighed as it was still morning.
Ash and the others noticed a young girl who looked like she was getting ready for underwater exploration and might need help well, in Brock's eyes, that is.
"Hey, maybe since we are passing the time, we might as well see what is going on over there?" Ash said to the group as Brock instantly made his way over to the young girl. Ash and Misty made a Sweatdrop and walked over to both of them.
"Sorry to interrupt, but do you need help with what you are doing?" Misty asked the young girl, who nodded.
"Yes, I was on an expedition to search for an item that my Grandfather left behind long ago. Rumor has it this item is tied to the Pokemon that is the Guardian of the Whirl Islands," The young girl said to Ash and the group, who looked at each other in surprise. They remembered hearing about the Guardian of the Whirl Islands from Noctowl. This girl didn't look like a Team Rocket member, so they could trust her.
"My name is Ash Ketchem from Pallet Town, and these are my friends Misty and Brock. We are here in the Whirl Islands to participate in the Whirl Cup soon," Ash introduced himself and his friends, and the young girl happily accepted their reasons for being there.
"A pleasure to meet you. My name is Luka, and this boat here belonged to my family for generations. And I might need your help given that this water here is filled with Pokemon that are willing to protect the area where the item is," Luka asked Ash and his friends.
After helping Luka pack up and put some scuba gear onto the boat, the group got onto the boat. Little did the group know it, but two Pokemon watched from the water. One was interested in Ash, and the other was in Misty. One was enormous, and the other was small as they dissipated when the boat took off.
The boat arrived at a spot in the middle of the ocean. The group was getting things ready for exploration. "So what kind of item are we looking for anyway? I know it is important, but we don't know what we are looking for if we don't get a clear picture of it," Misty asked Luka.
"To be honest, my Grandfather never explained it to me. I know it's in a box in sunken wreckage in the ocean. As for what it is? I know that it is connected to what is called the Guardian of the Sea," Luka said to the group though Ash had a knowing face on his face, as did Misty, as they had a run-in with said Guardian of the Sea a year ago.
"You mean Lugia?" Ash said to Luka, who was surprised and nodded. Ash explained how he met one back in Orange Island and the prophecy.
"Wow, now you mention it. I have heard about that but wasn't aware of Lugia's involvement or that I am meeting one of the people involved in all that," Luka said as she finally got the scuba gear on, as well as Ash and the others.
"So Lugia is the Guardian of the Sea and legendary here in Johto, I guess? I wonder if it's the same one from the Orange Islands, though?" Ash said to Luka, who shook her head.
"Doubt it, given that according to legend, this Lugia hasn't left these islands in years and is meant to protect these Islands from harm," Luka said to Ash, who looked down. Ash was ready to get going as he felt he should have extra help and sent out Seadra, who knows the area, and explained what was going on Seadra was surprised at what was happening.
"I know what wreckage you are talking about. I used to live near there, and it is heavily protected; I can try to explain to them what is happening. But these are the Pokemon that I warned you about, Ash. They don't trust humans as much, and I know someone in the area who might trust you," Seadra said to Ash. Ash sighed. He knew that this might be brought up.
"Try as hard as you can, Seadra. You can join us if you want to or show us where it's at?" Ash asked him, who nodded. The group went underwater as Seadra showed the group where it was. A sunken ship at first looks like it was desolated, but the group heeds Seadra's warning and proceeds cautiously.
"I'll try to talk to a few of them to see if they can try to let you pass and get one thing, but don't be surprised if I can't get through to most of them," Seadra said as the group nodded.
"We won't battle them unless they want to, but we rather not battle them to show that we are not here to capture Pokemon," Luka said to Seadra, who nodded.
"Stay here, please, you four. I'll be back," Seadra said as the four nodded Seadra took off towards the boat as something inside the boat was watching the group. It wasn't one of the two that had seen them before.
The said Pokemon was ready to attack the group, while Ash and the others hoped things wouldn't be a problem. A blast of water was sent toward the group as they got out of the way.
"Woah, hey, we aren't here to attack anyone or capture anyone," Misty said to the Pokemon, who appeared as a Kingdra Ash, and the others noticed what it was and maybe related to Seadra.
"You don't want to catch any of us? They leave if you care about us Pokemon like other humans," Kingdra said to the group. The group knew this Pokemon was the type to be reasoned with, but they had to watch what they said.
"That's enough, brother," a familiar voice said to the Kingdra, who turned to Seadra. "They're with me. The boy in the middle is my trainer and Lapras's trainer. I'm sure you remember her," Seadra said to his brother, who turned to the group. "They are just here for the wing in the treasure chest. They not after anyone, only battle if the other Pokemon would," Seadra explained. Kingdra looked to his brother and the trainers and back to him.
"You sure that they won't capture any of the Pokemon here? Just after what is in this boat?" Kingdra asked his brother, who nodded.
"They can understand us, so reasoning with them is a thing, brother. I've already talked to the other Pokemon as well. As long as they are just after that item and not anyone else, they won't attack us," Seadra said Kingdra was skeptical about why they were after this treasure so much and nodded and swam up to the group.
"Explain why you are here for this item, and I'll allow you through. You do know what this item is for, don't you?" Kingdra asked the group, as Luka was the one who spoke up.
"The one who owned the boat and had that item was my Grandfather," Luka said to Kingdra, whose eyes widened. "Yes, we know what that wing is for and why Pokemon are not favoring humans, but we have no plans on causing harm. This wing is a family heirloom, and while we want to learn more about it, I don't want to cause more harm or break any trust," Luka said. Kingdra looks down.
"Our father told us about your Grandfather, a man many water-types trusts. I can tell just by looking at you. You are telling the truth. If you were after something else, you would've struck me and captured many Pokemon in the ocean," Kingdra said to Luka as he looked at Ash. "I can see why my brother trust's you as well, human. He may be stubborn, but he's strong," Kingdra said to Ash, who nodded.
Luka went to the boat to get the treasure box. While that was going on, Ash was talking with Kingdra. "I want to let you know that it was Lapras's idea for your brother to join the team. I just asked what he wants in return for joining because I treat my Pokemon like family, and I can see he also means a lot to you," Ash said to Kingdra, who nodded.
"Even though I'm in my final stage, I'm Seadra's younger brother. He's the oldest of our siblings. I just evolved recently, and I want to see a good trainer one day," Kingdra said to Ash, who nodded in understanding as Misty suggested he join her or even Luka if she is a trainer. "I would think on it, and to be fair, you do seem like a good human," Kindgra said to Misty.
"Well, I'm a water type specialist and a gym leader as well," Misty said to Kingdra, who was impressed. "Also, Seadra, I'm taken that your brother here is the one you told us about earlier?" Misty asked Seadra, who shook his head.
"No, I wasn't aware that he was in the area or evolved. A terrible trainer recently released the one I'm referring to. His former trainer attacked many other Pokemon here before his release," Seadra said to Misty. As the group noticed something enormous and small coming their way, Seadra recognized who it was. "The big guy there is the one who I was talking about. Maybe he can join our team, Ash," Seadra said to Ash, who nodded as Seadra swam over to the two Pokemon.
Ash scanned the two Pokemon, and it was a Mantine and a Corsola. Misty was interested in the Corsola as she had heard of this Pokemon. The two Pokemon nodded and swam toward the group.
"Seadra said that you two might be interested in us," Corsola told the group. It sounded female, and the group nodded.
"Seadra mentioned that you used to belong to a trainer. Is it both of you or just one of you?" Ash asked the two water types, and Mantine looked down.
"That would be me. I used to be with a power-crazed trainer who wanted nothing to do with raising a Pokemon," Mantine said to Ash, who glared and felt he knew who it was.
"His name wouldn't be Damien, would it?" Ash asked Mantine, who was surprised and nodded. "Paul did mention that Damien was in the area. And Professor Oak said that Damien had seven Pokemon left. If I had to guess, you were one of those Pokemon, Mantine?" Ash asked Mantine.
"Yes, like Corsola here, I'm more defensive in battles, and he got tired of me just using defensive attacks. Yes, I know other moves, but I used them to protect myself from ones that I am weak to," Mantine said to Ash as Corsola was getting to know Misty.
"I understand, and we are trying to put an end to Damien. I own a few of the Pokemon that he released in the recent year," Ash said to Mantine, who smiled upon hearing this. "When we resurface, we can catch you two, even three, if Kindgra joins Misty. Before that, do you have any demands for joining my team?" Mantine shook his head.
"I want to have fun battling and not be treated badly, but from your looks, I can see that last part won't be an issue. Just get back at Damien, will you," Mantine said, glaring at Ash, who nodded. Luka finally found what she was looking for and swam back to the group Kingdra asked her if she was a trainer, and Luka shook her head.
"I know that you would be fine with it given my families connections, but sadly I've never been a trainer only here to find this and be a boater," Luka said to Kingdra, who nodded, knowing that this would be the situation and turned to Misty who nodded.
The group resurfaced, and Ash and the others dressed as Misty and Ash were ready to catch their new Pokemon. Misty pulled out two Pokeballs. Both were lure balls though one was labeled so she would get the two clear. Ash, on the other hand, pulled out one Pokeball for Mantine.
"Welcome to the team, you three, and if you want to be released, just let us know," Ash said to the three water types as Seadra watched this beside Kingdra. Kingdra nodded along with Corsola and Mantine as Misty and Ash tossed the Pokeballs at them. As they were caught and sent right to Misty and Ash's hands.
"Thank you so much for all that hassle. Is there anything I can do to repay you for helping me there?" Luka asked Ash and the gang, who looked at each other.
"Well, we were planning on heading back to the second Island before leaving for the fourth Island for the Whirl Cup," Ash said to Luka, who smiled and nodded.
"Why don't I take you to the fourth Island, as the Whirl Cup will be in two days?" Luka said to Ash and the others, who were surprised.
"If that isn't too much to ask, then yes, but I thought you weren't a trainer?" Ash asked Luka, who nodded.
"I'm not a trainer, but I have things to do over there, so it's not a problem. It's all I can do for you guys," Luka said to Ash and the others, who smiled.
The boat sets sail for the most oversized Island of the Whirl Islands, the fourth Island. Ash and Misty were determined to participate in the Whirl Cup now that it was coming sooner than later.
With that detour and new captures happening. Ash and his friends are now ready for the Whirl Cup. What is in store for this tournament for water types? As the Journey continues.
Stay tuned.
Done and done. This took longer to write than I thought. Especially since I skipped the Corsola episode for this one. Mantine was a request. To be honest, Mantine is underappreciated. As for Kingdra, if Ash gets a Seadra, why not Misty? It related to Ash's Seadra would be a nice touch. Lastly is Dragonair. While she wasn't officially captured yet, she is officially a member of Ash's team. Then again, this is the same Dragonair that will become Ash's Dragonite in Pokemon Journeys, after all, hugs and all. Dragonair's capture will be after the Lugia arc ends, so no worries. It's the start of the Whirl Cup and the first battles for Misty and Ash next. See you next time.