The chapter was getting too long so I split it into two. I'm nearly done with Johto but I'm not sure on when to end it and start Hoenn.
Chapter 49
Gengar and Dusknoir appearing suddenly cackling made them all jump, everyone except Agatha and Grady anyway.
"What news my sweets?" Agatha asked, gripping her cane. Cackling Gengar made some gestures and disappeared again. Dusknoir however growled and produced a very strange piece of equipment that glowed before he too disappeared.
"Were they handcuffs?" Ash asked, confused.
"My Dusknoir is unique Ash" Agatha said as she led them into the building and saw a lot of people in hard hats and high visibility vests milling around.
"Are you here to find out what the hell is going on in my office?" a man said, spotting them. Ash immediately recognised him as the Director.
"Hello Francis" Lorelei said, greeting him "what's this about your office?"
"Well the windows were installed just fine but anytime we tried to move the debris in the centre a purple light appeared frightening everyone off." Francis said before he recognised Ash "It's good to see you again son. How have you been?"
"About as well as I can be," Ash said before remembering something. Opening his bag he pulled out the keycard that had been given to him. "I believe this belongs to you though."
"Oh thank you" he said, putting it into his pocket. "Yeah I understand that. It's been rough hasn't it. Are you heading to the Vigil tonight?"
"Yeah" Ash said "we're here because Agatha and Grady wanted to see if they can get to the bottom of whatever that screech was the day of the battle."
"Maybe it was the bloody thing preventing us from repairing my office" Francis said shaking his head "anyway you know how to get there, the elevator hasn't been limited again just yet."
"I'll wait down here" Lorelei said taking Hailees hand "I need to let Bruno know that I'm here and that we'll be with him soon."
"Ok" Ash said as he led Agatha and Grady to the elevator. Walking out onto the corridor Ash frowned as even with his limited aura he could feel something was slightly off.
"Well I'll be" Agatha said smiling "yeah she's not malignant, just very scared."
"She?" Ash asked as they walked down the corridor.
"Of course," Agatha said as if it were obvious. Walking into the room he marvelled at the fact the windows had been refitted in such a short amount of time. Agatha walked to the left hand side and stamped her cane and the middle of the room lit up a very familiar purple and heads started to appear. Ducknoir and Gengar appeared opposite each other, each holding the strange chain that Dusknoir had created that had wrapped around a very familiar looking flame to Ash at its center which was thrashing as it was held in place.
Immediately Ash slowly walked over to it with his arm outstretched, not hearing any of the shouts of warning and made contact with the flames which slowly enveloped his arm, almost caressing him. Ash tried his best to keep his aura contained but found he couldn't when the flame touched him and he immediately trapped it, locking it around his arm. He didn't hear the others shouting his name frantically as the wind picked up and the screeching started up again but Ash strangely sat down and began stroking the flame.
"Hey, hey don't be worried." Ash said sending out a calming aura to the flame "I won't hurt you. We're not here to harm you."
To the astonishment of the two other trainers the wind started to die down as Ash talked to the flame to the point they could hear what he was saying. "You're going to be ok, you know but you need to stop destroying the room."
The group could hear faint whispers in response but couldn't understand what was being said.
"No, no you can't. They did nothing wrong and the man who you attacked is dead."
Whispers again.
"No. You don't need to protect me."
More urgent whispers.
"No. I'm fine now. You did what you could to help me and I thank you but you need to finish the process and rest."
Quiet whisper.
"I'm not sure what's going to happen but you'll be ok. You can come and visit me whenever you want, how about that?"
A hopeful whisper.
"Yes but you need to go with these two for now and get some rest."
The two Ghost trainers could only look on in amazement as Ash communicated with whatever the spirit was and managed to calm it down. Looking up at them the concern grew slightly when they saw him crying as Ash very rarely cried in front of people. He had been incredibly strong over the last week given the nature of what he'd been involved with so to see tears stream down his face baffled them.
"She's ready" Ash said, placing her back into the chains which tightened around her but thankfully she didn't start struggling and the chains were more relaxed. "Say safe." he finished looking at the flame.
"Dusknoir Spirit Shackle" Agatha said, stamping her cane and the chains began to glow purple and green before they disappeared along with the flame, Gengar and Dusknoir.
"Ash," Grady asked, looking confused.
"She came back" Ash said shaking his head bewildered "she came back to help me."
"You know this spirit?" Grady asked.
"It was Typhlosion wasn't it?" Agatha asked looking back at where her Pokémon had disappeared.
"I believe so," Ash said, nodding. "Or what was left of her."
"How is that possible?" Grady asked, confused "didn't her essence only leave that morning?"
"Yeah" Agatha said looking appraisingly at Ash "I would never have believed it had I not just seen that in person. I have never seen anyone speak directly to a spirit and not be seriously harmed by it, but to then calm it down and persuade it to continue the process of regeneration was unbelievable. You may be the first person in history to do so."
"She wouldn't harm me. When I battled Silver I saw her spirit take shape briefly which is why I'm not as surprised as you, only she was purple and orange but I thought I was hallucinating, that was until I recognised her aura when your Pokémon captured her. Ow" Ash said, wincing as he began the process of muting his aura and his arm started throbbing. "Shit, I think I've just set my recovery back a few more weeks. Luckily I have strong painkillers on me. "
The journey downstairs was done in silence as all three processed what had just happened. Agatha was musing on how she could try and get Ash to visit Lavender Tower to aid in the passing of some of the more restless spirits. She also had a vague suspicion on what Typhlosions spirit would settle on when she had come to terms with her death. Ash was wondering what would happen to Typhlosions spirit now he had forced her to move on but his main feeling was one of sadness as he felt he had lost her all over again. Grady however was having mixed feelings on how to say what he knew he needed to say to Ash while they were alone and didn't know how to go about it.
"Ash" he said looking at him "how did you do that?"
"I've no idea" he replied "I just instinctively knew that she was in distress and wouldn't harm me. It was quite reckless of me if I'm being honest as I shouldn't be using aura for another two weeks."
"That's not why I was asking" Grady said looking at Agatha who had a shrewd look on her face "for centuries now many have tried what you have just done and failed, some spirits actively inhabited the bodies and had to be killed because they were in great distress. In the basement of Lavender Tower there are our archives that give us information on how to care for and attend to the inhabitants of the tower and in them are a few texts relating to one who they called the Guider. They were said to be born with the innate ability to be able to directly communicate with Ghost Types but not suffer the same mental difficulties Ghost Type trainers encounter in their youth as they get used to dealing with them."
"I know of those texts" Agatha said nodding "and I know what you're thinking however Ash's ability to utilise aura to the degree he can is what helped him there. He has never shown any indication to be the Guider, nor any inclination to Ghost Type Pokémon. In fact he actively avoids them as much as he can, a part I played in creating."
"And yet he asked for my advice on gaining a Ghost Type Pokémon not long ago" Grady said before looking at Ash "what changed?"
"Morty" Ash said "he used a Shedinja that intrigued me on how it was created and I found it fascinating that they're not actually real and the Pokéball holds their essence even when they're in battle. Not only that but reading the reports of the Dreepy in my lake was very interesting. I realised when battling Evelyn that a Ghost Type would be very beneficial for coverage on my team to deal with psychic Pokémon too. I was planning on meeting up with Morty at the Silver League to come up with a potential member on my team as Agatha had disappeared and you were too busy dealing with Lavender Gym and its apprentices but the chance never arrived."
"Interesting," Agatha mused. "He phoned me not too long ago wondering what I'd done with the Spiritomb after you gave it to me. I think he wanted it for himself but that thing was reclaimed by Marshadow just a few weeks after you handed it to me. I love Ghosties as you know but that is one Pokémon even I can agree that should not exist. How Cynthia has kept it in line all this time is something I've been meaning to ask her."
"Her Lucario" Ash said as they left the elevator "her aura can easily subdue it if needed along with her Togekiss' fairy moves. I believe Cynthia has also began taking lessons on utilising aura so that will help matters too."
"Back to the point I was making," Grady said.
"Yes I know the point you're trying to make" Agatha said stopping them "but as I said I have no reason to believe Ash is the Guider or can even be the Guider."
"How do I find out?" he asked curiously.
"There are a few ways" Grady said "the safest way though is to come to Lavender Tower and see if you can help the disenchanted spirits move on under supervision. There's not a lot to it to be honest."
"And what would it mean for me if I am this Guider?" Ash asked.
"I'm unsure" Grady said looking at Agatha who shrugged her shoulders "I suspect it's not a full time role, or won't be for you but there may be spirits you encounter in the future who need your aid. The Guider is Marshadows aide just as she is Giratinas."
"Maybe there is a reason you have met the Lord of Death beyond what you have told us about the All Maker" Agatha said.
"You've met Giratina?" Grady asked, shocked.
"Yeah" Ash said "very briefly though. I died on New Island and was brought back through the previous Lord Zapdos sacrificing himself. It was Dialga and Celebi who brought me back."
"Not possible" Grady said, Agatha nodding in agreement "No death is reversed without the Lord of the Reverse Worlds approval. He would have needed to be present to ensure only your spirit returned and not someone else on the verge of the two worlds."
"Then how do you explain me bringing Mew back to life with Dialga and Celebi not long before." Ash asked, confused as he explained what happened at the Tree of Beginning.
"I think I'm starting to believe him when he speaks of an All-Maker," Grady said, looking at him with a peculiar expression. "Only the Pillars of Creation have ever been documented to have the power of life and death over the world we live in but for Ash to have been involved in two resurrections, now three with Typhlosion makes me wonder whether his ability goes above being the Guider."
"Arceus told me quite a few times that I'm her voice on Earth" Ash said, shrugging his shoulders and missing the dawning of comprehension on Gradys face. "There's a reason I'm prophecy bound and have to deal with all the shit the Legendaries cause and why I'm so involved in all these ridiculous adventures."
"A Chosen One" he muttered.
"Well yeah" Ash said "I thought you knew that given Lugia calls me that as do all the other Legendaries when we meet up."
"There is more to you than I thought" Grady said before looking over at Lorelei who was making her way over "we will speak more on this when we return to Kanto, for now keep what happened between the three of us. I will need to scour the archives but there is more you should know Ash. We will talk about it then."
"Are we ready?" Lorelei asked "everything ok?"
"Yeah" Ash said nodding "Agatha and Grady's Ghosts dealt with it. The room is clear now."
"Good to hear" the director said from behind her before calling over some workmen who he immediately told to go upstairs. Leaving them to it, Ash reluctantly released two Alakazam and asked them to take them all to Ecruteak City. Popping there was very uncomfortable for Ash, Agatha and Grady as they naturally resisted their oppressive nature but it was the quickest way for them to get there. Arriving with a pop they immediately took in the black drapes hanging out of every window along with the lanterns lit up around the City giving it a rather creepy and spooky feeling. The air of depression that hung over the city didn't help matters but as they walked to the town square where the fountain was they saw a few hundred seats had been assembled, with many of them starting to fill up as the bereaved families and those that came to pay their respects took their seats. Lorelei saw Bruno at the front with Lance and immediately made a beeline for her husband, hugging him tightly as they were reunited. Bruno immediately opened his arms and included his daughter too and the crowd witnessed one of the strongest people they knew openly weeping at reuniting with his wife and family. It brought home to many there that they would not have that luxury as their loved ones had passed on.
Lance frowned when he saw Ash take a seat with Agatha and Grady near the back. He wasn't happy with Ash right now after the very public dressing down he had received a few days ago and while Ash was technically right that didn't give him the right to call him out like that. He had no idea what it was like to make the hard decisions that he had to make on a daily basis. Or maybe now he does so he should know how difficult a time it was. Obviously the lad still had some misplaced anger issues that he needed to resolve if they were to move forward but he needed to accept that Kanto was to blame for what happened and not him. He had been having a lot of arguments with Bruno over the last few days about the acceptance of blame and that they should accept the brunt of it given they were in charge but he believed the blame lied with the Kanto board whose rules he did nothing but enforce under duress during an extremely difficult time.
"I thought I told you not to come here" he said walking up to Ash who stood up and faced him.
"And I thought I told you to get your head from your arse" Ash said ignoring the mutterings of the crowd "If you think I'm not coming to celebrate and mourn the life of those I went into battle with you can go…"
"Ash," Lorelei said, cutting him off.
"Sorry" he said taking a deep breath "I'm here because I owe them that much Lance. They died because mistakes were made over a decade ago but they still fought valiantly alongside me. I will not dishonour them the way you dishonoured the Kanto trainers yesterday."
"What do you mean?" he asked, confused.
"You were Champion and then leader of the Elite Four for nearly twenty years Lance and you couldn't be arse turning up to the vigil." Ash said.
"I was here preparing for this," Lance said, looking angry.
"And I prepared for mine and still made time to come to this" Ash said, shaking his head and sitting down.
"Mr Wataru" a voice said from behind him "it's nearly time."
Lance closed his eyes and centered himself before walking to the podium.
"Hello" Lance said looking out at the congregation "I want to thank you all for coming here to Ecruteak to celebrate the lives of the 83 trainers that gave their lives on Friday 9th November. It's never fun nor easy to talk about anybody passing away, especially when it's so new and raw but in time the pain will ease and it will become easier to talk about. They died as they lived, making their families, towns, regions and country proud and I will always be thankful for the way they stood up when it counted the most."
Ash listened to the speech Lance made and nodded in agreement. They had stood up when it mattered the most and gave their lives in the process and he too was proud to call himself a Pokémon trainer alongside them.
When it came time to the minute silence he stood up and bowed his head, thinking of the trainers he had seen at the League that were now no longer with them and he wondered what happened to Harrison and Olivia, Bethany and Walter and all the others he had seen and battled against. He hadn't seen any of their names on the list of which he was thankful but he knew Bethany had been involved as he had briefly seen her on the battlefield before he was separated from the group. As the silence came to an end there were mutterings heard from off to the left and the crowd could only watch on in awe as four of the Legendary Beasts trotted out of Burned Tower and stopped just in front of the wall of pictures that had been erected and bowed their heads before they separated and left leaving a bewildered congregation to look confused.
"Did you know they were here?" Grady asked him quietly.
"Yeah" Ash said "when I used aura earlier on I could feel they were in Ecruteak. I didn't know they'd come out though."
"I see there are still four and not six," Agatha remarked.
"Yeah" Ash said grimly "Entei the Elder isn't in Johto for some reason and I've not had a chance to speak to Charizard to find out what happened in their confrontation against Entei the Younger. Queenie was dealing with the Assassins Team while he was battling Entei the Younger so I don't think she knows either. To be honest, other than sending them home I've not had the time to talk to any of them and I really need to as Ivysaur died just before the battle. Venusaur and Sneasel were distraught."
"What happened?" Grady asked.
"The night before the battle Nia and I were on the Eastern hilltop with our Pokémon" Ash said, sighing. "Around 3am we were attacked by roughly forty of the bastards and they managed to separate and pin Ivysaur down and roasted her alive with their Houndoom. Venusaur went berserk and killed every grunt he could see but it was obviously too late. Salamence has a huge scar on her face from battling a rogue Charizard, Gyarados the same across her flank from a machine Team Rocket used to try and slice their way to freedom in the sea and Machamp had a broken arm. So a lot of my team didn't come through unscathed."
As the congregation began to disperse Ash, Agatha and Grady remained seated to speak to Lance and his Elite Four. Morty and Evelyn wandered over so there was a nice touching reunion between Morty and Agatha and Grady and Evelyn.
"Hello all" Morty said nodding to them "Ash, how are you doing?"
"I'm alright" Ash replied shrugging his shoulders "I could do without the nonsense from Lance but other than that I think I'm ok."
"It's a tough situation for him" Morty said "he's been on the fence for so long now that he's lost who he was. Couple that with trying to stop the anti war riots at the Government building, sorting out this and trying to recruit more G-Men to replace the ones he lost…I can see why he's at his wits end."
"I can get that" Ash said "I've been dealing with the same thing but other than the confrontation a few days ago I've not been blaming him in public. I've been defending the Johtoians and commending them for fighting a battle that was never theirs to start with. Kanto joining them as we did was the very least we could do and we fought and died alongside them. Apportioning blame will not get anyone anywhere but I understand it's a normal reaction to try and pin blame on someone. Unfortunately Team Rocket being the ones who instigated this is being forgotten with all the backlash. Couple that with Silvers body disappearing after our fight and you've got a lot of confused citizens of both regions. I've already made the decision to start leaking certain bits of information to them."
"Is that wise?" Lance asked, walking over and shaking his head "you're showing your youth believing that is a good idea."
"It'll be taken out of my hands next year anyway" Ash said, shrugging his shoulders and looking at the man who used to be someone he quite admired. "The documents seal will be broken regarding the Cinnabar incident so the public will find out anyway."
"You can have them resealed," Lance said, frowning.
"I can" Ash said nodding, "but once I do I can't then do so again so it's either now and get it over with or in fifteen more years time and dealing with it then. Kanto has already done the 'pushing things back a decade' and look where it's got us Lance, I don't want to have to deal with this later when there could have been a decade of healing and regaining trust."
"I can see your point" Lance said, sighing and looking around to see they were pretty much being left alone. There were several others still kneeling near the photographs and sobbing quietly "I can't say I agree or would do the same but I think we're buggered either way Ash and no one wins."
"Sadly it's not about winning" Ash replied "this is a loss we all have to take on the chin. We need to be united for what is to come and the best way of doing that is presenting a united front. We really cannot afford to be divided right now."
"What do you mean?" Lance asked.
"There's information that I need to give to you, I need to speak to Steven and Cynthia about this too, possibly Alder but no one can ever find him and I don't know who the Unovan Champion is to warn them." Ash said "I'll try and arrange a conference call for possibly Friday, you all need to hear what's coming."
"Worse than this?" Lance asked quietly.
"Yes" Ash said simply causing Lance to close his eyes is resignation.
"Worse than this?" Morty asked in shock and looking at the crowd "do we know when?"
"No," Ash said, shaking his head, "that's the issue I have, I have no timeframe, just that it will be in the next decade."
"Which is why you want to get the information released and out of the way in time for the next lot" Lance said "I hope you have proof of what you're saying Ash because I'm not sure I will be able to convince a region on rumour."
"I have simply my thoughts, feelings and observations along with more in depth facts about the situations that have been happening lately" Ash said.
"I'm glad I'm bloody retiring in the next few years" Lance said shaking his head "I'll have Karen on the call as well. Just let me know when."
"I will do" Ash said looking around "by the way, and I cannot believe I'm asking this but where is the abomination?"
"Will?" Bruno asked looking around "come to think of it I never saw him in the battle either so where is the prick?"
"Bruno" Lance warned.
"No Lance" Bruno said looking his long time friend in the eyes "you heard him the day of the final, making allusions that he knew of information only a few people know of. He still has to answer those questions and yet he conveniently disappeared before the battle and hasn't shown his face since."
"He will answer those questions" Lance said placatingly which did nothing to sooth Bruno's ire. "You need to trust me on this."
Ash just shook his head before sighing "I need to go. I have so many things I need to do before I can go home it's unreal. Lorelei, Bruno, what are you guys doing?"
"We'll go home for a week or so and then we'll head to yours if that's ok?" Lorelei said.
"Yeah that's fine" Ash said "your gear is at my house though."
"We have spares at home" Lorelei said "we can survive a week without the major things."
"No problem" Ash said nodding "just let me know when you're on your way and I'll sort out transport for you to just teleport directly to my house. Grady, Agatha are you guys staying?"
"Yes" Agatha said looking at her nephew "there are a few things I need to talk to Morty about as we'll be using Burned Tower."
"I'm going to spend some time with Evie" Grady said as he watched Lance, Bruno and Lorelei walk off before quietly asking "what do you know of Will's disappearance?"
"Only that he is no longer an issue" Ash said looking at his gym leader, "beyond that I'm not allowed to talk about it. I've not told Lorelei but Will was one of those that tried to kidnap her. I felt him outside the chalet waiting when I landed back in Silver Town and he quickly disappeared. He was then with the two that burst in just as we teleported. It wasn't me though that was behind his disappearance, though I wish I could claim the credit."
"Who then?" Agatha asked curiously.
Ash simply nodded at the three that had walked away "Say what you want about Bruno but he takes the safety of his family extremely seriously."
"Interesting," Grady said, raising an eyebrow at the statement before looking at his granddaughter, holding out his arm before linking her and walking off.
The next bit of the journey wasn't going to be a fun one for Ash as he had two destinations. Deciding on the Charicific Valley he flew there on Queenie getting a run down on what happened to her during the battle as she had nearly single-handedly beaten the mysterious 'Metal Man' as she called him.
"He seemed terrified of the screech that was heard, recalled his Pokémon and fled via Alakazam" she groused as they flew over Azalea Town. The journey had taken around twelve hours so they were both tired when they checked into the Pokémon Centre for the evening to rest. The next morning they set out very early and had reached the Valley within the hour and were escorted into the valley itself but were prevented from going much further than Liza's house. Ash and Queenie immediately felt the oppressive air and looked worried, a situation which was worsened when they heard a deafening roar come from within.
"That's Charizard" Ash said concerned as he and Queenie ignored the angry shouts of the various Charizard and ploughed through them, landing twenty feet away from an almost unbearable heat that was amazingly coming from Charizard as he was standing on another's neck. Ash took a good look at his fire type and growled when he saw he had several open wounds on his body and a slightly torn wing.
"YOU DARE CHALLENGE ME NOW? AFTER BURYING OUR BRETHREN!" Charizard roared at the other Charizard pinned under his foot.
"It's your fault we lost our brethren in the first place" the struggling Charizard said trying to move and failing when Ash's Charizard dug his sharpened claws even deeper into its neck drawing blood which seeped out.
"THEY DIED FIGHTING LIKE WARRIORS! AND YOU WOULD DARE DISHONOUR THEM AT THEIR PYRES!"
"You will lead us to our deaths" the other Charizard said, stopping struggling when he saw it was hopeless to even try and move.
"I am leading us the best way I know how" Charizard said growling close to the other one's ears "and you have proven that you are not worthy of being clan leader. From this day on you are banished and any Charizard that sees you will shun you. You're a disgrace to the name Dragon and in Lord Rayquazas name I banish you from these lands." he finished by biting down hard on the Charizards neck marking him and then stepped away, turned his back on him and flew up to his perch to look down on them. "Get the traitor away from here, leave it on the outskirts of our territory and do not let it back in."
It was one of the strangest and most humble spectacles Ash had ever witnessed seeing the now banished Charizard struggle to its feet and take flight, being escorted by two other Charizard flanking it.
"LET THIS BE A LESSON TO YOU ALL!" Charizard roared getting their attention "I AM FINE WITH DISOBEDIENCE TO A POINT BUT I WILL NOT PUT UP WITH BETRAYAL OR DISHONOURING OUR KIN. THEY FOUGHT AND DIED WITH HONOUR AND THEIR NAMES WILL FOREVER BE ETCHED INTO OUR HISTORY. Ash, get up here, just you and Salamence. We are not to be disturbed."
Ash shrugged and climbed onto Queenie and they landed seconds later in his part of the hollowed out cave that overlooked the entirety of the Volcano. You could even see the surrounding area for miles from this perch from the entrance hole.
As soon as Ash landed he got off Queenie and walked forwards until he was just a few feet away from his extremely proud Pokémon. Bowing his head slightly Ash looked at his Pokémon who did the same. The last few steps were taken very quickly for them both and they did their signature greeting of butting heads before Ash felt Charizard sag. Immediately Ash caught him around the neck and helped him onto his side as Charizard started groaning in pain. Rooting through his bag Ash pulled out a few Full Restores and plucked Charizards Pokéball from the bottom of the bag that he refused to send home, recalling his fire starter and attaching the Full Restores to the ball. Sitting against the cave wall Ash looked at a very concerned Queenie who was muttering about dishonourable dragons and necks that needed to be ripped out.
"Hey" he said quietly getting her attention "He'll be ok you know? He's a tough one."
"I know," she said, flopping down very un-dragon-like onto her belly and looking at the Pokéball attached to the device "but to be challenged for supremacy not even a week after putting his life on the line is disgraceful and cowardly."
"Well he dealt with it rather well" Ash said shaking his head as he saw the Full Restore was nearly empty. Grabbing the second one he waited and then changed it to make sure he received the maximum dose he could. He wouldn't be able to have another one for a few days after this until his own energy returned to full but the majority of the toxins and cuts and bruises would disappear very soon. He just needed a good rest, something which seemed to be lacking here.
"Do you think he would come home with us?" Ash asked Queenie.
"I've already asked," she said, "he refused. His home is here now for as long as he remains Alpha."
"I know," Ash said, sighing "I miss him. I miss Blastoise and Venusaur, I miss the camaraderie that we had when it was just the four of us, life was much simpler back then. And while we'd get into scrapes, get injured etc we survived and we would marvel at how strong we were getting together. Despite the issues we faced, life was good."
"Do you regret your Johto journey?" she asked "do you regret catching the rest of us?"
Ash, seeing the second Full Restore was empty, placed the attachment and the empty bottles back into his bag while he thought of how to answer the question. Sitting back down he looked up at the ceiling and closed his eyes.
"It's a difficult topic to answer Queenie," Ash said looking at her as he held Charizards Pokéball before releasing him. Charizard stretched and yawned before lying down and closing his eyes, not sleeping but just resting. Continuing Ash said, "I never planned on capturing more than six Pokémon. Ever. I had four of my six planned before I left Pallet Town and had no idea what the last two would be. I knew I wanted a fighting type to keep up with my training, ironically enough the most suitable one was one I dismissed straight away due to what Rota put my family through so meeting Machamp was pure luck. Machamp didn't meet Charizard for a few weeks after I caught him because of how badly he messed up as a Charmeleon during the battle with Koga. His own ego put the lot of us in jeopardy, having a bug type that could fly out manoeuvre him irritated him, and at this point we were still unbeaten in battle so that grinded on him. But once that was all sorted I had five Pokémon who worked very well together. My last Pokémon was going to be an ice type of some kind, to cover Lances Dragons when I eventually faced him. I didn't know which one it would be but then I was handed you and I was quite pleased because you still would have covered Lances Dragons when you were stronger. And then the league happened and you went rogue. For the first time in my life I questioned whether having just six Pokémon was the right decision and I was bloody lucky I had Sylveon in reserve otherwise I'd have likely lost that final."
"That's the only reason I have not made any comments about her" Queenie said growling "my training at the Bagon grounds wasn't nice, I was constantly humiliated and I was reminded every day by my clan leader that a Fairy Type was preferred to myself because of my ego. It was very humbling and I wondered what I could do to get back and beat her in battle, put her in her place and earn my place back."
"That would never have worked" Charizard growled, opening his eyes but not moving from the ground. "Sylveon, whether she was in our team or not, is family and has a far greater role than everyone but Pikachu. Blastoise would have skinned you alive had you even said such a thought aloud and I would have helped him. It's Pikachu you'd really need to watch out for though, I have doubts that as strong as I am that anyone would stop him in destroying the one who harmed her… Sylveon remains incredibly important to us all."
"I know" she said nodding "it pains me as a Dragon to have to concede that but I accepted that a long time ago. I still haven't had many conversations with her but I'm aware of her role in our pack."
"To answer your question Queenie, yes, I do regret coming to Johto but only because I lost an extremely valuable member of my team" Ash said nodding to Charizard "however, I have found on my travels that everything happens for a reason. I was meant to find Pikachu before I left because it was preordained, I was meant to take in rescues in Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Charmander because we could all band together and have something that separated us from the rest. I was meant to build my home for Venusaur, I was meant to build my lake for Blastoise and I was meant to come to Johto so Charizard could find what he was destined to do. There are times when I selfishly want to recall everyone back and take you all on my journey like every other Pokémon trainer does but I know you'd all be miserable. My Championship team has been decimated because of my choice in letting you all pursue your dreams and I've found that it doesn't bother me as much as it should. My only concern is finding replacements to stay in my position as Champion."
"You know you can request my aid anytime you like?" Charizard asked.
"I know" he said "but what if you're challenged here the day before and are too injured to fight? What if Blastoise is called away for an urgent fire? What if something happens to the inhabitants of my forest and Venusaur isn't there to enforce peace? Your roles are more important now than they ever would have been had you stayed with me and I'm ok with that. Truly I am, but it doesn't stop thoughts from happening every now and then whenever I think of you guys."
"Understandable," Charizard said, nodding, "and reasonable too. So why have you come here?"
"I was concerned for you" Ash said "When I was racing up the stairs to confront Silver I felt the Entei appear as did you. I was told several of your kin were grievously injured during the battles, in fact I even buried three in Lavender Town that were trainers Pokémon so I know how hurt you must be feeling. It's never a nice feeling losing a member of your family."
"Typhlosion" Queenie said remembering her.
"And Ivysaur" Ash commented, surprising her "Just before I saw you on the hill where I healed your eye we were in a battle with the other grunts remember? Well a few grunts managed to separate Ivysaur from Venusaur, pinned her and burned her alive. Venusaur ripped them apart and impaled the two grunts on the vines of his Frenzy Plant. I still have her ashes in my bag now."
"Poor Venusaur" Charizard said lowly "he really loved that bulb. Is there anyone that can do what she can?"
"She has been on limited duties for the last few months" Queenie said, surprising Ash with her knowledge "her health was failing quite rapidly from what I was told."
"Thirty years in a sewer living off scraps will do that to a Pokémon" Ash said shaking his head in disgust. "She had a year or two at most according to Venusaur so her duties were being shared around by the others. Apparently Bayleef has really stepped up in her place but her loss will be keenly felt by those that inhabit our forest."
There was a moment's silence before Queenie asked Charizard "what happened to Entei?"
Growling Charizard stood up and cracked his neck before walking over to the back of his cave and returning with what looked like a broken Pokéball, except this one was purple.
"A Masterball?" Ash asked, alarmed and quickly getting to his feet, looking at the remains in his Pokémons grip "I know of four in this world. I have one, Nia has one, John has one and I cannot recall the name of the fourth who Nia beat in the third place playoff. This has to be hers as John never lets his out of his sight, I think he transferred his Dragonite to it, mine houses Suicune and is at home and Nia caught a Wooper with hers."
"A Wooper?" Queenie asked surprised.
"Yeah" Ash said laughing "Apparently she took my warning about these bloody things to heart and to make it seem as just a fancy coloured ball she caught something a normal Pokéball would have no problem with. So that just leaves the fourth lady. How did you come across this?"
"I picked it up off the roof of where we confronted Entei, where Salamence did battle against the Tyranitar that killed one of my kin" Charizard said "I knew what it was as I saw you use yours but it seems whatever Salamence did in that battle dislodged it from the Metal Man and was destroyed. Entei fled almost immediately towards Mt Mortar at a speed I could not match. I believe he is hiding inside the mountain to recover but I have no access."
"That leaves just the adult as missing then" Ash said nodding "I wonder why the younger one hasn't answered the call of Lugia then."
"Likely because he was injured" Queenie said "I know I scored several direct hits on him as he passed by during my own battle. He wasn't doing too well when I last saw him and the breaking of his ball will have affected him too."
"I wonder why this worked " Ash said sitting down with it in his hands "Arceus told me that she had created a decree not long after finding out about these that they would never work on a Legendary without their permission."
"Maybe he agreed to be caught," Queenie said thinking aloud.
"Unlikely" Charizard remarked "Legendaries are notoriously stubborn, and given the trouble his sister and aunt had with that menace hunting them he knew of the repercussions should he agree to be a trainer's Pokémon. No, I suspect he had no choice in being captured."
"I suspect you're right" Ash said "Team Rocket were hardly going to walk up to him and ask him directly to join them because he'd have blasted them in the face so something must have happened to get him to fight for them."
"I'll be honest the fight I had with him was very one way and any attacks he sent my way were not very potent "Charizard growled, "more often than not he led me directly back to the battle with Salamence and the Metal Man. It was more like he was trying to herd me into that particular direction."
"Very interesting" Ash said musing "do you think he tried to orchestrate his release?"
"It's possible," Charizard mused.
The rest of the evening passed by and the next day Ash prepared to leave when Liza stopped him. Ash immediately knew she wasn't ok.
"What's up?" Ash asked, concerned.
"Oh, Charla didn't make it" she said "my baby was killed during the fight."
"Oh I'm so sorry" he said gently patting her on the shoulder.
"Thanks" she said nodding and leading him into her home "but I have an issue. Charla recently had an egg that has yet to hatch and I don't know what to do with it. None of the others will take on an egg that isn't theirs."
"Ah" Ash said as he walked over to the incubator "well I have a nursery at home, the researchers aren't back until after Christmas but I can look after it until they return. It may go to a trainer too if the new regional professor doesn't have one for the new trainers next year. There's a few options for it."
"Thank you" she said as she helped Ash rearrange his backpack to accommodate the egg.
"I'll let you know what happens to it" Ash said as he said goodbye a few minutes later. "By the way, who's the new Beta?"
"There's been quite a bit of an uproar about that" she said as she saw Ash's Charizard standing by the exit with Queenie.
"But she's not a Charizard" Ash said, piecing it together.
"Hence the argument and the banishment of his third in command yesterday evening" Liza said "he thought he would replace Charla, your Charizard took exception to that as he had ordered a week of mourning to take place first."
"So has Charizard chosen a new Beta or has there just been an assumption?" Ash asked.
"I have no idea," she said.
"Let's ask him then" Ash said as they walked towards his two Pokémon. "I hear there has been an issue regarding the replacement of Charla?"
"Charla?" Queenie asked "why would she be replaced?"
"She was one of those who valiantly gave their lives" Charizard growled, getting a gasp from Queenie "and Rickard chose to try and stake his claim during the pyre ceremony. He was quickly corrected as you saw but you are correct, he was next in line."
"There's been talk of Salamence taking her place" Liza said looking nervous. "There was talk that you'd taken a mate."
"Who talked such nonsense?" Queenie asked, sounding irritated.
"That talk is exactly that either way, nonsense" Charizard said "and while I have mating rights, I have exercised that privilege once and once only. I have been far too busy putting the Valley in order to take a mate. Salamence was here to aid us in hunting down the Metal Man and Entei the Younger. The fact she stayed in my cave was purely for convenience as we made our plans and talked about what we could both do to aid our trainer. I sparred with her to both keep our skills sharp and to battle a different species to see what we could improve on. She is not the Beta and never will be, that role will always go to a Charizard."
Ash looked at Queenie while Charizard was talking and while she kept her head held high he knew she was nervous about something. Ash chose not to say anything at the moment.
"Was Charlas egg yours?" Ash asked, getting a shake of his head.
"An Alphas mating rights only extend to those who haven't found their chosen mate." Charizard said "Charla had a mate, one who left not too long ago to go back to his trainer and I would never dishonour my position to come between fated partners."
"Oh right ok" Ash said "I just don't know who to give her egg to. I'll find someone."
Saying goodbye is never easy, and this one was rather hard too given he didn't know when he'd see his fire starter again. He would be back to challenge the Johto Elite four in a year's time but other than that he probably wouldn't see him for years now. Giving each other their customary headbutt Ash climbed aboard Queenie, made sure the bag was secured and were soon winging their way Westward towards Olivine City where hopefully a slightly easier conversation was going to take place. It took nearly half a day to reach the ocean at the edge of Ilex forest and making a detour over the Whirl Islands. As he flew over Scarlet City he was amazed at how quickly the reconstruction of the Whirl Stadium was going, it was ¾ finished now and looked to be as magnificent as it was when he first arrived all those months ago.
"Crazy to believe the attack on the stadium happened nearly 5 months ago isn't it?" He asked Queenie as they hovered over the stadium itself.
"Yes" she said sourly, making Ash chuckle when he remembered why she was still sore over the whole thing.
"Now now" he said "you played your part as did everyone else. It took a psychically powered Blizzard to take you out of the battle but having Lugia concentrate on you enabled us to move into position to finish her off. You did well."
Queenie just chuffed as she obviously had a different view of the situation.
"Come on" Ash said, squishing her neck with his knees, "Olivine is due North from here."
A few hours later he had indeed landed in Olivine and checked into the Pokémon centre. It was around 7pm now and visiting hours were well and truly over for the Hospital so he spent the evening sending out a raft of emails. He didn't have Stephen's direct email address so he emailed his father instead and asked for Stephen to get in contact when he could. Lance sent a reply a few hours later, Cynthia was seemingly intrigued about what he had to say given she had heard very little about the Goldenrod Incident. Ash never expected an answer from Alder as he didn't think the man knew how to use a computer as he was nomadic, preferring to live in the wilds rather than have a stable base to work from. Ash considered emailing the Unovan League Board asking for the head of their Elite Fours email address instead but decided to wait for a few days as he knew there was an abomination in their Elite Four and he was unsure of tipping them off about what he knew. He knew Pikachu would tell him to stop being an arsehole as there would undoubtedly be psychics on both sides of the war to come but he was far too angry at what happened at the Silver League to listen just yet. He had gone over a preliminary list of the people that took part in the battle for Goldenrod City and there wasn't one psychic that helped out so he wasn't feeling very charitable right now.
The evening passed by quite calmly for Ash as he spent it just writing up the notes for what he wanted to say to them.
The next morning he wandered to the Hospital to see Katie and was pointed to where she was located. Grabbing a bottle of water along the way from the vending machine he said hello to the various doctors and people waiting to be seen before knocking on her door and walking into the room. He wasn't surprised when he saw Laura sat on the chair at the side of her who's mouth gaped when she saw Ash walk in. She quickly recovered her composure though and looked warily at Ash, it was almost a scared look.
"Hi Ash," Katie said, wondering what he was doing here.
"Hello Katie, how are you doing?" He asked, standing at the end of her bed.
"About as well as I could be" she said, shifting slightly and wincing "my back is still in a bit of pain but I'm doing ok."
"Yeah I feel that" Ash said "Scyther blades aren't fun to deal with are they?"
"How would you know?" Laura asked rudely.
Ignoring her attitude Ash put his leg up onto the end of the bed and pulled his pants leg up revealing the huge scar that went down the back of his calf eliciting gasps of shock.
"I have a much deeper one going across my thigh that required surgery last year. I treated it myself, sewed it up and carried on my journey after I received this from a clan on Murcott Island and in hindsight was a stupid thing to do as it became infected because if I hadn't had the surgery I'd have likely lost the leg. That's why it took me a year from winning the Indigo League to challenge the Elite Four in Kanto as I was recovering from surgery. I drove my mother and aide Zoe crazy for the few months I was recovering to the point I set up a small office in her living room and dealt with issues regarding my ranch."
"Ouch" Katie said laughing "I've been told I'll be out of here by the end of next week but I'm not to do any work for months."
"That's fine" Ash said waving his hand placating her "the league has been cancelled for the foreseeable future and I'll do whatever I can to keep it that way until August when the next batch of trainers start on their journeys. Like yourself, both Kanto and Johto need time to heal."
"Is Johto cancelling their league?" Laura asked.
"Not a clue" Ash replied "I'll ask Lance when I speak to him Friday but as far as I'm aware they may not need to because the Johto League has just finished and only starts back up in March anyway. Ours started four months ago in August and despite the Tournament taking place in September the gym challenge is well under way. But unlike Johto they haven't lost two of their gym leaders lke we have, one to serious injury and the other to an unfortunate death."
"Yes I heard about Erika" Katie said "she was always nice to me."
"We had our ups and downs" Ash said, nodding. "But she was always very cordial after I beat her. We were in contact actually about ways to entice trainers to become her apprentices after the board shut down Celadon and messed her gym up. I've no idea if there's anyone competent to replace her but that'll be down to Giovanni. Or it should be but the man hasn't come out of hiding."
"Why?" Katie asked.
"The boss of Team Rocket was his son," Ash said, shocking Katie. "Silver was my uncle. And I ended his life at the top of that tower. So at the minute Giovanni is pissed at me, his missus is pissed at me, I suspect Silver's son will be pissed at me too but I can't find it in myself to care at the minute. I fear that's another story for another time though."
"Sounds like it's a big story," Laura said.
"One you already know," Ash said, raising an eyebrow at her.
"She does?" Katie asked, looking at her girlfriend.
"Yes" Ash said, looking at her curiously. "I sent her and Koga all the details the day the Indigo League Tournament opened. I suppose she had her reasons for not telling you."
"I was asked by Koga and Giovanni not to mention it as it was being dealt with in house." Laura said archly.
"Interesting" Ash said "Koga never mentioned it to me. Anyway I just wanted to see how you were doing."
"It took you long enough," Laura said, grabbing Katie's hand. "Why so long?"
"Unlike you Laura I have a region to govern" Ash said irritated "I had funerals to plan, vigils to sort out, transport arranged to get our trainers and the dead back home safely, counselling sessions to organise and fund for the survivors, families to talk to, a board of governors to appease etc etc. At this moment a compensation package is being discussed for the destruction of not only Goldenrod City but also the Whirl Islands because unfortunately Team Rocket aren't here anymore to foot the bill for the damage they caused."
"Ok ok I get it" Laura said belligerently.
"No, I don't think you do Laura." Ash said, walking to the foot of the bed and looking at her and getting a piece of paper out of his pocket. "So to that end this is your official summons for a trial set for January 10th at the Indigo Plateau."
"For what?" She asked standing up and snatching it out of Ash's hand "Desertion?" She screeched looking livid "why?"
"Because Laura when Kanto called you refused" Ash said sternly. "I gave you a direct order, to your face, in front of witnesses and you then refused to do your duty. And while trainers from across Kanto answered the call you didn't. Your own girlfriend did and while she was fighting to liberate a city you were at home with a brew in your hand and your feet up. That is why you will stand in front of a panel and explain your reasons for not answering your country."
"What will happen to her?" Katie asked, looking worried as her girlfriend sat down in the chair looking disbelieving at the piece of paper she'd just been handed.
"It depends on what they decide." Ash said "the Kanto and Johto Government decided that the war on Team Rocket was a Just War and so ordered me to fight. I don't make the laws, but as Champion I am the one who along with the military leaders, in this case Lance, enforce it and see it done. Should Laura not provide a reasonable explanation she will face jail time, loss of Trainer privileges and possibly other sanctions. As of now she is suspended without pay from her position in the Elite Four. Should she be cleared she will be reinstated and back paid."
"Why would I want to regain that position if I'm being accused of desertion?" Laura asked angrily.
"That's your decision," Ash said, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't make the laws Laura, but it is my role to make sure they're seen through to the end so should you decide to go missing and not go to your trial then it will be me that will be tasked with hunting you down."
"You're acting as if I've already been deemed guilty" Laura said belligerents.
"You are guilty" Ash said laughing humorlessly "you abandoned your role, your country but most grievously of all you abandoned your girlfriend Laura. I would never abandon Nia no matter what my personal views were on something but as I said you'll have the opportunity to explain yourself in front of a panel. I won't be part of it but I will be asked to present evidence against you.
Katie, I wish you luck on your recovery, should you need anything don't hesitate to get in touch but for now you're off duty until the doctors clear you. Your deputy will take over your role of ambassador for Viridian City so if there's anything they need then just let me know, my home is not even an hours flight away. No doubt I will see you both in a few months' time."
Nodding at them both he left and sighed when he closed the door. It was never easy being the one who had to deliver bad news. Walking through the corridors he just happened to take a glance through an open door of a ward and stopped dead in shock and unconsciously he found his feet had led him into the room. Cautiously he sat down in a chair and observed the inhabitant of the bed, being careful not to disturb the Pokémon that was lying at the foot of the bed and wondered how they got here. Hearing the toilet flush he braced himself and as the person walked out of the bathroom he saw them stop dead and a scared look appeared on their face.
"Fancy seeing you here" Ash said tilting his head to the side at them.