Hello and welcome to the fourth part of my Best Around Fanfic. I'll warn you from the start, I will be playing fast and loose with the anime and games. Certain movies will be moved to suit the narrative, certain episodes will also be moved or ignored as there's not going to be May and Max wasting his time. There will be interactions that were not even in the anime so you have been warned. If you were expecting it to be true to the Anime then this fic is not for you. Anyway, welcome to the Hoenn Journey. I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 1
The door was opened by a heavyset man in his mid thirties wearing a white coat, a brown shirt, khaki trousers and completed the outfit with sandals. He had sandy brown hair, blue eyes and looked quite genial.
"Hi, my name is Ash Ketchum and I'm here to register for the Hoenn League." Ash said.
The man looked at Ash for a few seconds before shaking his head. "Sorry, April Fools day was a few months ago now," before shutting the door on a very bewildered Ash. The crowd who had followed him burst out laughing at the mock outrage as he looked around wondering what had just happened. Finally his brain kicked into gear.
"Hey!" he said, banging on the door again.
The door opened and Anthony Birch looked politely at Ash. "Yes? What can I do for you?"
"You know very well why I'm here Anthony." Ash said glaring at him.
"Ouch," Tony said, wincing, "there's no need to full name me Ashton."
"Hey!" Ash said "none of that! Only my mother gets to call me Ashton."
"As does mine calling me Anthony" Tony said matching his outrage.
The bewildered townsfolk all looked at each other confused wondering what was going on.
"Anthony, let the poor boy in" a voice said from behind him making him wince as a lady in her mid thirties walked "Hi, I'm Laura Birch, pleased to meet you."
"Hello Mrs Birch" Ash said bowing slightly and smirking at Tony.
"And the wife too…" Tony said moving out of the way and letting Ash inside. Ash laughed and patted him on the shoulder and headed inside and followed Laura to the lab area where a young lad was working on what looked like an Xtransceiver. Looking up he spotted Ash and his mouth gaped.
"Hi," Ash said, waving at him, "I'm Ash. This is my best friend Pikachu."
"You're Ash Ketchum" the young boy said "what are you doing here?"
"I'm here to register for the Hoenn League this year" Ash said sitting down opposite him, Pikachu hopping onto the desk and moving over to the disassembled device. "Apparently I needed to come and speak to Tony before I could officially start my Hoenn adventure, so here I am."
"Oh" he said quietly, looking down at the device and frowning.
"Are you ok?" Ash said as he watched the young boy pick up a screwdriver and carry on with his project.
The lad shrugged his shoulders and didn't say anything making Ash wonder what was going on before a light bulb clicked in his head. "You were starting your journey this year weren't you?" The lad nodded, still not saying a word. "And you're worried you'll get to the tournament, face me and lose I'm guessing?" Another nod. Ash pulled his own mini screwdriver set out of his bag making the lad look up alarmed before Ash handed him a small screwdriver. "Try this one, it'll fit much better and it'll bite into the screw more. It's also magnetised so you won't lose the screw. What's your name?" The lad nodded again as he grabbed the screwdriver and smiled when Ash was proved correct. Ash heard the lad say "Brendan" before he moved aside a small microcard.
"You know" Ash said continuing on, "if I'd have known I'd be facing the previous finalist of the Kanto League when I started I'd probably feel the same way you did but I believed in myself. More importantly though I believed in my Pokémon and the work and effort they had put in to help us reach the tournament itself. Nobody before me had ever reached the Kanto semi-finals as a rookie but I proved it could be done. You're not expected to get to the final mate, but only you can change that perception and prove that it can be done. That's the mindset you need to take around with you in the first few years. You need to believe in yourself and your Pokémon and there's no telling what you could achieve. You seem to be very switched on, not many people can take apart an Xtransceiver to put an encrypted chip in them, yes I know what it is as I did it to my own Poképhone so as long as you take that mindset into your training you'll be fine. One thing you need to be aware of though is to take the training seriously, no shortcuts Brandon. You'll realise when you're older that the shortcuts you took were not beneficial at all and it's the struggle that creates the bond between you all. If you need any advice ask your dad for my number and I'll help out as much as I can."
Brandon nodded but didn't say anything else. Ash smiled and stood up forgetting he was still in the lab. Walking over to Tony and Laura he saw they were chatting amongst themselves. Nodding to him they led him over to a computer where Tony typed in Ash's information, took the handed Pokédex and inserted it into a slot.
"Thank you" Laura said quietly to Ash who looked at her confused "for the way you spoke to Brandon. He's been very worried about being a trainer, wondering if he'll be good enough so to hear you encourage him was very appreciated."
"He spends most of his time working on his electronic gadgets" Tony said looking over to his son "believe it or not, other than to his mother and I that's the most he's talked to anyone in a while."
"He'll find that being a trainer will change that" Ash said nodding "I hated the idea of interacting with anyone too before I left, in fact you could count on one hand the people I talked to from ages six to eleven and there's probably a finger or two spare. He'll be alright. Has he chosen his starter yet?"
"No," Tony said, shaking his head, "the choices are limited this year because of the transition in Champions so he'll have to wait another month or two to get his."
"Do we know what his favourite type is?" Ash asked.
"Fire," Laura said "he wanted a Torchic but the one at the lab is already spoken for. The Treecko and Mudkip are also taken so there's none left for him here just yet."
"That may be a reason why he's sad" Ash said before he had an epiphany. "Hang on," he said before walking over to the corner and having a private conversation with Zoe. A few minutes later he sat down opposite Brandon who was placing the cover back onto the device when his attention was diverted by a Red and white Pokéball being placed in front of him. His parents wandered over looking confused too and sat down on the chairs.
"What's that?" Brandon asked.
"Open it" Ash said encouragingly.
Carefully Brandon picked up the ball and enlarged it before pressing the button. The white light briefly blinded everyone as a shape emerged and formed.
"Charmander" the fire type said, looking around confused before spotting Ash. Ash however pointed to Brandon and the fire type looked at Brandon with her head tilted. "Charmander?"
"She's asking who you are," Ash said.
"Oh" Brandon said as his brain clicked into gear "I'm Brandon, pleased to meet you. You're a different colour than you are in the Pokédex though, why is that?"
"Some Pokémon are born with a genetic fault that makes them different from others" Ash said "some are born bigger, some smaller, some giant, some microscopic. Charmander on the other hand was born with what's known as the Shiny Gene. Now this doesn't mean she's stronger or better than any other Charmander, she is rare though as the odds of finding one are around 1 in 4000."
"1 in 4096" Tony said getting the attention of the others "genetics of Pokémon were part of my thesis as they tied in to why people were more interested in Shiny Pokémon than regular ones. As you said, the research indicates that they're no different other than colour. It's purely rarity that makes them attractive to people."
"And why is Charmander here?" Brandon asked.
"She's yours" Ash said, shocking them "she was given to me as an egg by the caretaker of the Charicific Valley and I already have a Charizard so she just spent the last few months wandering around the nursery, bored. Her mum was a war hero, dying protecting several Pokémon in the Goldenrod Incident and her father left to be with his trainer. Your mum and dad told me you liked fire types but would have had to wait another four to six weeks to get a Torchic due to that idiot Wallaces inaction as a Champion. Thankfully John seems to be doing ok so far. Charmander would have had to wait until August at the earliest to find a trainer, that is if one of the new batch of trainers even asked for one. You seem like a good kid, your parents certainly think so and I'd like to think I know how trustworthy a person is by now so she's yours."
"She?" Brandon asked "how can you tell?"
"It's difficult" Ash said, nodding "the differences are very subtle for a lot of Pokémon but if you look at your Pokédex you'll find that Charmander has a slightly redder flame than her male counterpart and is slightly squatter. The biggest difference you'll see when she's a Charizard, if she ever wants to be one that is. Her horns will be smaller than their male counterparts. So, do you want her?"
Brandon nodded, his eyes shining with delight as he gently poked Charmander on the nose. She looked confused before she walked forwards a few steps and poked him on the nose with a claw. Ash just laughed at the interaction as it reminded him of how he greeted Charizard with a head bump.
"So" Ash said, gaining his attention "Charmander is female like I said. She has the ability Blaze which means her fire moves are more potent in a pinch however watch out for that as if shes in Blaze it means she's close to passing out. She has a Brave Nature which means when you train her her physical attacks will do more damage but her speed will suffer as a result. That can easily be overcome through training but her physical attacks will always be more powerful than even her special attacks and her speed will not be as prominent as others of her species. Her nature means that she loves spicy food but hates sweet food. Giving her sweet food will make her ill, so keep an eye on her sugar intake. My advice is to make her food yourself through berries or Poffins, that way you control her diet and know exactly what is going into her body. When she was born she knew the moves Ember, Growl, Scratch and Smokescreen but my Salamence has taught her Fire Fang too. She has the Egg move Dragon Claw which you'll need to unlock on your journey. That's about it really. You now know the basics about your starter and you can go from there. Do you have any questions?"
"No," Brandon said.
"Now" Ash said sharply "my advice is to take the next month getting to know your Pokémon, training with her every day and learning the necessities of being a trainer. I won't sugarcoat things, it's a bloody hard life for the first few years and not everyone is cut out for it. You seem to be someone who prefers their own company which ironically is ideal for being a trainer as there'll be times when you won't see another soul for weeks, I've gone months at a time without seeing anyone. Brush up on your sewing as it's easier to repair things out in the wild than having to wait to buy new clothes, which will quickly become expensive the further away you travel away from the towns and cities. Take this time to study what other Pokémon you would like, what their abilities are and how they live. Trust me this will help immensely in the long run. I would also highly advise you to buy a blender for your Pokémons food. While Pokéchow has a lot of the nutrients needed for your Pokémon they lack a lot of the natural ones that are essential for Pokémon growth so Pokéblocks or Poffins are your best bet. This next month will be very hard, but the benefits will be massive once you're out there as you'll have a headstart mentally on every other trainer."
"Thank you," Brandon said, nodding before picking up Charmander and rushing off.
"Thank you so much" Laura said tearily hugging Ash who just sat there awkwardly. Tony had to prize her off him and led her into the living room. Ash, wondering what to do, brought out his laptop and waited for Tony to return, which he eventually did ten minutes later.
"I know Laura said it but thank you Ash" Tony said as he sat opposite him "he's a good kid, he just worries too much."
"He'll be alright" Ash said smiling at Tony "is there anything you need me for?"
"Oh yes actually" Tony said standing up and walking away. Ash in the meantime left his laptop open and took out his own blender and began preparing some blocks. At that moment Brandon walked in with Charmander in tow and saw Ash setting up his blender. Intrigued, he walked over.
"Oh good" Ash said "I was about to call for you. So, I've taken the liberty of ordering you a blender like mine. It'll be here within the next week. I've also ordered you a book I co-wrote on berry blending which will arrive with it. So, I'm going to go over basic maintenance with you, look and listen carefully and feel free to ask any questions. The first thing you need to know is how to set it up, which is as follows." The next half an hour Ash showed him how to make Pokéblocks in the mould provided. "Now you pour it into the mould and you let them set. For some reason, and I've no idea why there's something in the berries that make them set very quickly so you need to get the juice into the mould quickly. When it's set they'll be in a big block like so and you just cut it up, place them in the tupperware and you're good to go.
Now, the most essential part of the process is making sure the blender, rotary blades and pulser is clean. As I said they quickset so you need to wash it and clean it as soon as possible. I would highly advise getting a water type Pokémon as you may need to make them in places that are weeks away from a centre or a water source. For now though just wait until you're in the Pokémon centres to make them and make use of their facilities. You will cut yourself, its a hazard of making these blocks. As you can see my hands are littered with tiny nicks from using the drying cloth on the rotary blades so just be careful. As you can see the block is now set, you unwrap the rubber mould from it, take your knife and cut it into pieces. This one is designed especially for Pokémon with a Brave Nature so I've used Cheri, Lum and Sitrus berries. The Cheri is for the spice, the Sitrus is for the vitamins and the Lum is to balance it all out. I won't lie, Lum berries are quite expensive but they last for months. My ranch sells them and I now provide berries for practically all the Regional Professors Laboratories so there'll be a stock here. So once you're done and this is put away I'll show you how to feed your Pokémon. This is not exact but the rule of thumb it's one Pokéblock for a first stage evolution Pokémon, two for a two and three for a three once a day. If it's a Pokémon that doesn't evolve then two Pokéblocks are enough. Try and keep to a schedule of when you feed them. I like to feed my Pokémon twice a day so I split their food up to do so. My pack is so heavy and it's mostly because it's full of their food."
"So I need to train to be able to carry a bag then?" Brandon asked.
"Yeah" Ash said nodding, "however I carry a lot of things in my pack which are a bit unnecessary but the essential things are your tent, your food, your Pokémons food, your blender, Pokéballs, Potions, clothes and perhaps most importantly a first aid kit. Anything else after that is unnecessary really. I have a lot of little trinkets that I bring with me just for my own benefit as they remind me of who I am, or of home etc."
Brandon nodded before taking the Pokéblocks away and putting them in a tupperware box his mum gave him.
"Those blocks should easily last you until the blender arrives." Ash said walking over to a nearby sink and washing his blender thoroughly before storing it away. Looking at Tony he saw he was seated at the table with a Pokéball on the table. "So what did you need my help with?"
"Oh, well as you're on the way to Petalburg City can you deliver this to the trainer who was meant to pick it up?" Tony asked "she was meant to pick her Torchic up eight months ago but broke her leg on the way here. Apparently she crashed her bike into a Poochyena nest and they tore it apart, nearly tearing her leg apart at the same time. She was lucky a passing trainer heard her screams and intervened but she's been scared to travel here since that day. Her name is May Maple, she's the gym leader's daughter."
"Oh" Ash said, nodding and pocketing the Pokéball, scanning it as he did. "Good, I already have Pokéblocks made for his nature so I don't need to dig out the blender again. Well, I'm already challenging the gym there so that makes it a lot easier to find her. Question though, how does she hope to be a trainer if she won't even make the journey from Petalburg City to here? If she's doing the gym challenge Mossdeep City is close to a thousand miles away from here, never mind the thirty miles Petalburg City is to here."
"I think that's a decision she'll have to work out for herself" Tony said shrugging "as you told Brandon not every trainer makes it but she's requested a Pokémon which has been granted officially. We may never see her on the circuit, she could just want a Pokémon and not want to catch one."
"I'm not sure I'm fond of that" Ash said shaking his head "Pokémon aren't pets no matter how much people want them to be. As you said though, it's her choice." Looking at his watch he was about to say something when a noise was heard coming through the halls.
"Shit" Tony said, standing up and rushing over to his workstation and typing away. Reaching into his drawer Ash saw him take two more Pokédex's out of the drawer and placed them into the slot one after the other. Gathering them up he walked over to his storage unit and pressed a few buttons.
"Sir," a voice asked as an aide walked in with two trainers. One was a girl with jet black hair, an upturned nose, a heart shaped face with bright blue eyes, wearing an outfit Ash immediately recognised and the other was a young boy who had blonde hair, a round face with grey eyes wearing a blue tracksuit.
"Hello young ones" Tony said turning around in his chair and walking over to the desk that Ash was still sitting at, placing two Pokéballs and Pokédexes on the table. "Is it that time already?"
"Yes" the girl said, bouncing over and glancing at Ash before looking at Tony. They all immediately saw her eyes comically widen and turn back to Ash with her mouth wide open. Ash cheekily waved while trying to hold in his laughter. That changed though when he saw her eyes roll up into the back of her head. Luckily Tony spotted it and immediately caught her and laid her down on the floor.
"Rita!" the young boy shouted as he rushed over to his friend and looked up at Ash with anger and suspicion "what did you do?"
"Kid, while I admire your courage don't start something when you don't know the full details" Ash said as he stepped around the table and knelt down by her. Running his hand over her face he scanned her with his aura "she's just fainted, that's all. She'll be up and around soon. Is there a couch we can go to?" he asked Tony who nodded and motioned from the room they just came through. Scooping her up Ash followed Tony who had grabbed the balls and Pokédexes and led them into the research area where there were three couches and a table. Laying her down Ash walked over to another couch and sat down, unconcerned.
"So" Tony said "while we wait for her to wake up I'll go over some of the laws Kevin." The young boy looked away from his friend while he nodded and listened to Tony nodding in all the right places. After a few minutes he signed a sheet of paper and was given his Pokédex which scanned him and registered itself to him.
"That's a new one" Ash said, intrigued. "While mine talks it never scanned me to register itself to me."
"It's a new concept created by Devon Corps" Tony said "it's been pretty revolutionary actually as it confirms if a Pokédex actually belongs to the person holding it."
"Mine's pretty banged up," Ash said laughing as he brought out his blue and purple one that he was given a few years ago. "I might actually have to get a new one at some point, I'm just lucky my Champions credentials let people know I am who I say I am."
"Champion?" Kevin asked looking up from his own Pokédex "you're a Champion? You don't much look like one."
"Looks can be deceiving" Ash said smiling "for instance Pikachu here has enough power to bring down Legendary Pokémon, and has done so several times. Don't ever underestimate anyone Kevin, it may be your downfall."
At that Rita shot upright, looking around in a panic before she finally settled on Kevin. "He's here, It wasn't a dream was it? Is he really here?"
"Whoa whoa" Kevin said rushing to his friend and gently pushing her down "calm down. You fainted just as you were about to be handed your Pokémon. Now, what are you on about?"
"I could have sworn I saw him," Rita said, her eyes not leaving her friends concerned, "The Chosen One."
Ash immediately narrowed his eyes at the name. He hated being called that but there had to be a reason for her calling him that.
"Rita, we've been over this." Kevin said as if this was a usual occurrence, "the prophecy isn't real."
"Yes it is" Rita said angrily "we've been over this Kevin"
"And there's never been any proof that it's true." Kevin said exasperated.
"What's this about a prophecy?" Ash asked, getting their attention.
"Oh my Arceus" Rita said, making Ash stand up, leaking aura.
"How do you know that name?" Ash asked sharply, ignoring the scared look he was getting from Tony and Kevin.
"I don't know" Rita said slowly looking Ash in the face "I have never known why I know her name. I just know she's important."
"The most important," Ash said, nodding still feeling wary. "As far as I knew only four beings knew of her existence, and you weren't one of them, so I ask again, how do you know of Arceus?"
"I don't know" she whispered "I had a dream when I was eight years old that a being appeared, made of pure starlight with this aura of both kindness and unfathomable power who spoke to me of a man who would save us all but he would need help. She spoke of the titans of the land and water doing battle that could end the world."
"Oh for Arceus' sake," Ash said, standing up and shaking his head. Looking over at Pikachu he closed his eyes.
"Nope," Pikachu said in agreement with Ash. "We agreed that this year we wouldn't get involved with them anymore."
"And I still agree" Ash said nodding "but you know our luck Pi. The only way we'll avoid this is by going home."
"Sounds like a great idea" Pikachu said, stretching and making Ash laugh.
"So, what do you know?" Ash asked Rita.
"Not much" Rita said "just a few lines that've been stuck in my head. The Scuffle of Titans draws near. The equality of land and sea, once bound in check by the Lord of the Skies will unravel and life itself will be in peril. The stone from space, once devoid of the essence of life, holds the key to survival. That's it, there could be more but that's all I remember."
"Most of that is fairly obvious, no?" Tony said looking serious "it seems Groudon and Kyogre are going to wake from their slumber and not even Rayquaza will be able to stop them this time as his hold on them will disappear."
"But how when his rule over them is absolute?" Ash asked, sitting back down before remembering something. "Or it was until Arceus disappeared last year and her grip on the Legendaries of the world stopped too."
"Who is this Arceus?" Tony asked. "In all my years of research I've never heard of her."
"She's referenced many times actually" Ash said "you likely know her by another name. The All-Maker."
"There's an actual God Pokémon?" Tony asked, shocked.
"Oh yeah" Ash said nodding "very much so but she went into hibernation last year. Why, I have no idea but when she disappeared so did her hold on the Pokémon of this world. It's why so many Legendaries are acting up now after centuries of playing ball. They have a freedom that to them was always seemingly there to take yet they never could for unforeseen reasons. To them it's as though an invisible switch that controlled them has been flipped, that was always there yet they didn't know about. I've been clueing them back in as I see them over the past year so the Legendaries in Kanto and Johto are aware of what's happening and why but I've yet to meet any from the other regions. It seems I'm going to have to deal with these over here too." Wiping a hand down his face he looked at Pikachu and contemplated his next course of action.
"We may have to come to terms with the fact we will never be free from this Ash" Pikachu said unhappily "only by staying home will we not get involved."
"But we can't stay at home" Ash said "our role as Champions means we will always be travelling to different regions so the chances of being involved in these issues are always going to be there. You know this, fate has a habit of throwing these issues in our path no matter which course we wanted to take. The only way of getting through it is to meet it head on and hope we survive."
"We've been lucky to survive Ash" Pikachu said "but I'm still unable to battle for another six moons at least. I won't be able to help."
"I know," Ash said sighing, "it is what it is, Pi, we'll just have to make our training that much more difficult from now on to be ready for whatever is thrown in front of us. Which sucks because I just wanted a calm year."
"Like we always have," Pikachu said, chuckling.
Ash stood up and walked to the window looking out before turning back to Rita "Thank you. Was that everything?"
Rita nodded looking uncertain at Ash who smiled. "I need to get going. Tony, I'll let you know when I've given May her Torchic, let Brandon know to ring me if he needs anything. Rita, Kevin, good luck on your journey. I wish you the best of luck." Ash walked off into the kitchen to retrieve his bag and the Pokéball and Pokédex for May. Waking back in he nodded to them, offered his arm for Pikachu who jumped on and left. Not even twenty seconds later he heard his name being called. Turning around he saw Rita staring at him.
"Can you sign my outfit please?"
"Of course," Ash said, laughing and nodding.
A few minutes later Ash looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was starting to set. "Let's get going Pi. Oldale Town is a day away so the sooner we get there the better and it's nearly six pm."
"So what's the plan?" Pikachu asked that night as they sat around having food. Ash had explained to the others what he'd been told. Unsurprisingly Queenie was haughty and tried to remain aloof and it was pretty funny to see her son try and look haughty like his mum but he couldn't quite pull it off just yet. The others though had mixed emotions on the subject. Blastoise had just huffed but remained silent, Sylveon doing the same at his side. Sneasel just sharpened his claws and looked to the others to see what they thought but Ash could see he wanted to say something.
"Speak Sneasel" Ash said looking at him.
"I thought we'd agreed we would not get involved in any of their shenanigans anymore?" he asked.
"We did" Ash replied "and I'm still hoping we never do, but you know of our history and you know that Legendaries do not care what we feel about a situation. I also heard rumours that the local idiots are fanatics of either Groudon or Kyogre and you just know they're going to try and pull something."
"I'm not happy about this Ash" Sneasel said.
"Why is Uncle Sneasel being a coward mummy?" the young Bagon asked getting a sharp intake of breath from said Pokémon who swiftly turned to face realised he'd spoken out of turn and quickly hid behind Salamence's leg who bared her teeth to Sneasel in a threatening manner.
"Do not speak on things you have no knowledge about" Pikachu said sharply to Bagon to the surprise of them all, "all of us have put our lives on the line repeatedly because Legendaries believe their might makes them untouchable. Your Uncle Sneasel unflinchingly faced down hundreds of Pokémon not even eight moons ago, so do not ever call any of us cowards. And Queenie, if you ever bare your teeth to any of us again you will regret it. I might not be able to fight properly at the moment but it won't be long until I can."
"Peace" Ash said, stepping in as Queenie glared at Pikachu. Sylveon, seeing Pikachu starting to spark, gently wrapped a ribbon around his hand and he instantly calmed down but remained where he was at Sneasels side. "You know Pikachu is right Queenie but we'll put it down to him being young and uniformed. Bagon, for the duration of your stay with us I suggest you listen first before talking. It could save your life somewhere along the line. Sneasel, I agree with you. I'm not happy either but as I said they have a habit of placing themselves and their issues in our way. I made a tentative decision on the way here though. I've decided that I won't actively go chasing any issues, I'll report them to the Police and Lance and they can deal with them. However if we have no choice to get involved then we have no choice and we deal with it how we see fit."
"I can live with that" Blastoise said, nodding along with Sneasel and Pikachu. Bayleef and Sylveon kept out of the discussion as they had never been in any proper fights before, especially ones where they may lose their lives so they both felt that listening was the better option here. Queenie evidently felt otherwise as she huffed before walking off to the side, her child in tow and spoke to him in low tones.
Ash muttered to Pikachu to keep an eye on her as they milled around for the next few hours before going to sleep.
June 1st 2002
Ash walked into Oldale Town and had to blink as it was extremely busy. Stopping a passing person he soon received his answer.
"It's incredible, it's amazing" a young man said "there's been a significant discovery at the ruins on the outskirts of town. Our sleepy little town has never seen such activity."
"Do you know what's been discovered?" Ash asked, looking around.
"Yes!" he said excitedly "ancient Pokémon!" With that the man rushed away leaving Ash standing there confused. Walking to the Mart he restocked a few Full Restores and Pokéballs before heading to the Pokémon Centre where unfortunately the professor's room was already in use by the lead researcher on the ruin site. Ash thanked Nurse Joy anyway before leaving and walking around the town. There didn't really seem like much to do in the town, there were only five houses, a mart and a centre which made Ash wonder why such a town had the latter two. Walking North Ash saw more and more people milling about, walking up and down the route until finally Ash crested a small hill and came to a spot that looked more like a cape where several tents had been set up. Ash decided he may as well do the same as this was clearly a dead end. The cape however wasn't a dead end as after setting up his tent he went for a wander and came across a huge lake that stretched on for miles on the horizon. Ash thought he could just make out a lighthouse light flashing every now and then.
"Ah, I see you are mesmerised by Lake Akhara too." a voice said. Ash turned to face a man who was, at first glance the spitting image of Brock only you could see this guys eyes. He was wearing a beige top, with shorts and hiking boots.
"Yeah" Ash said nodding and looking back out "I've always been fascinated by the way the sun shimmers on the top of the water, but I much prefer the way the moonlight does the same. It reminds me of home."
"Your home must be wonderful" the man said "Oh forgive me, Umezu Alden at your service."
"Ash Ketchum at yours" Ash replied bowing his head briefly.
"Truly?" the man asked wide-eyed "well that is a turn up for the books. I have heard many stories and read many of your books. Perhaps you may be able to help us?"
"In what way?" Ash asked.
"If you would follow me I will explain" Umezu said as he walked away with Ash following. "About three months ago a series of caves were uncovered all across Hoenn and inside them we found weird scratches on the walls. Now so far no one has been able to decipher what they mean but hopefully you may be able to help in some way."
Ash remained silent. He knew exactly what the caves were as he had talked about them a lot with Steven and Cynthia over the last few months. There had been very little progress made on any of the caves, although Steven had discovered another one near Dewford Town but had yet to visit it. Walking through a camp site he walked into a big tent and noticed a load of pictures on the wall of Pokémon and there were a few fossils on some pedestals. Picking one up he held it to his eyeline and smiled as he knew instantly what this one was.
"This is a Kabutops scythe," Ash said, placing it back and moving to the next one. "I believe this is an Anorith exoskeleton. It's in fantastic condition, where did you get these?"
"The Kabutops Scythe was my very first fossil that I dug up way back when" he said walking over and smiling "unfortunately the Anorith is a fake, well it's not a fake but it is. It's a plaster cast of a real fossil as the real one was just too brittle to move from Rustoboro Museum when I left there a few years ago. Do you recognise the others?"
"Yeah" Ash said nodding "I have a live fossil facility on my ranch so I've seen all of them pass through. All except this one." he said wandering over to what looked like a huge fish head with a very sharp beak as bone that hung over the bottom jaw "I know exactly what it is though, I've just never seen a live one. Relicanth aren't native to Hoenn are they?"
"No" Umezu said "however, around fifty years ago now, someone had the bright idea to capture twenty of them in the Sevii Islands where they are native and bring them over here. I believe they released them somewhere around Sootopolis, however no dive has ever been able to locate them since."
"Yeah I read about that" Ash said nodding gently and running his hand over the huge head "this was a big one eh? I didn't think they usually got to this size."
"We have reason to believe this one had the Royal Gene," Umezu said, getting another nod of recognition from Ash.
"That makes sense," Ash said. "So what did you need my help with?"
"Oh well we're wondering if you can help with the doors that are sealed to the caverns in the ruins" Umezu said as he nodded to a few researchers who were milling around the ruins taking samples of the rocks for analysis, "legend has it that behind the doorway lies a portal to the ancient world and it could hello a bridge that gap by going through."
"You don't seriously believe that right?" Ash asked, stopping dead "a portal to the Ancient world? Who came up with that nonsense?"
"Maybe it's not as nonsensical as you like to think" Umezu said good naturedly "after all I heard about your discovery at Granpa Canyon uncovering living fossils in their natural habitat, could that not be the same as going back in time to see how they lived."
"But that's different" Ash said "they were actually living, we were not transported millions of years back in time. They're here in our time."
"It's just a matter of perspective" Umezu said as they stopped in front of a huge doorway with a strange inscription on it "and terminology is everything Ash, you know this. Anyway here we are."
"Wait a minute," Ash said "I can read this."
"You can?" Umezu asked surprised "how?"
"With great difficulty" Ash said "Aura users find quite a lot of things that come natural to them. Whether that be fighting, manipulating the air around us etc. even picking up languages very quickly. For instance I'm the only person I've heard of that can actually understand Pokémon as if they were talking human. Anyway I can pick up languages very easily, all except one. I picked up Ancient Brilian and Sinnoese very quickly but for some reason I could not get the hang of Ancient. My dad on the other hand can understand Ancient but cannot get his mind around Brillian. It's very strange but it's something all Aura users deal with. Anyway I made a point after the Unown fiasco to double down on Ancient and I've managed to pick up the basics." Rubbing his hand on the etched carvings he muttered to himself before getting his phone out and ringing his dad. "I'll admit I'm struggling with this one though…it talks about keys and danger…no I'm going to have to ring my dad for this one."
"Hi Ash" Red said "where do I find you?"
"Hi dad" Ash replied "I'm currently in Oldale Town, specifically the ruins there. Over the past year they've uncovered a cavern with what seems to be writing on the doors. I recognise this as Ancient but I'm still not brilliant with it. Can you help me translate it if I send you a picture?"
"Yeah sure" Red said "or you could just turn your camera around and let me read it that way."
"Or we could just do that" Ash said laughing before doing so. They heard Red mutter a few words as Ash slowly scanned the camera around the writing.
"Ok" Red said "To access the chambers within, four keys must be found. But beware, for they are not all on stable ground. Take heed to what you find as not all is as it seems, the danger….. the rest is too faded to make out Ash but it seems you need to find four keys to open this lock and it will likely be dangerous to get them."
"Cheers Dad" Ash said "say hello to mum and Flora for me. I'll give you a ring tomorrow night. Your roadshows began yesterday again didn't they?"
"They did," Red said. "I've been given an office just below yours actually in the League Building so I have a base of operations on site."
"Good," Ash said "I'm glad they took my recommendation and sorted that out."
"You did this?" Red asked, surprised.
"Yeah" Ash said nodding "it just made sense that those who had roadshows that stretched on unto the evening had a place to stay should they need it and an office to plan stuff better. I'll explain it more tomorrow when I speak to you all. See you later dad."
"By Ash" Red said hanging up.
"So there you go" Ash said "If you can find anyone that reads Ancient you might have better luck but from what dad said you need four keys to open up this doorway. I suspect they are more tablets than what we think of as keys."
Ash saw a look of understanding dawn on Umezu's face as he looked at several of the other researchers who had joined them.
"The coloured balls we found may be the keys," a man said.
"Yes but we only have three of them, without the fourth we still cannot get inside." Umezu said.
"It's a start though" Ash said "I'm heading back to the Pokémon centre. If you find the fourth key let me know but my Pokémon and I need to eat."
Ash didn't even get an acknowledgement as he walked back into town. A few hours later he was eating in the Centres canteen when a huge explosion rocked the building sending everyone flying. The power went off and everything was pitch black. Ash who managed to put himself into a sitting position was holding his ribs. "Are you ok Pi?" he asked, getting a yes. He was about to ask another question when he heard voices. Quickly he grabbed Pikachu and hid behind an upturned bench and listened.
"They have apparently found three of the keys, now is our chance."
"We still have no idea what we'll find down there."
"It doesn't matter, Maxie needs those tablets."
"Why?"
"It's not your place to question the boss. Come on, we've done what we needed to do here. The power is being rerouted to our generator now and we need to be out of here within the hour."
Ash peered over the top of the table and saw through the gloom several people dressed in red cloaks before they disappeared back down the corridor. As the voices got quieter Ash stood up and with Pikachu climbing onto his shoulder.
"We need to get the power back onto the centre" Ash said wincing and rubbing his ribs again, "there's too many sick Pokémon that rely on the electricity and those bastards have seemingly stolen it."
"Ash" Pikachu warned.
"I know" he said pre-empting Pikachu "but this is something we'd do anyway Pi. Those Pokémon need us."
Walking out of the canteen he pulled his shirt over his face and walked out into the lobby which had smoke billowing out of the doorway. Ash rushed to Nurse Joy who was lying spread-eagled on the floor with blood coming from her head. She had obviously tried to prevent whoever they were from getting in and was overwhelmed. Quickly he ran his hand over her head and cursed. Patching her up as best as he could he picked her up and placed her on the nearby couch making sure her head was wrapped in a bandage from his bag. Taking out his phone he rang Lance.
"Ash," he said, answering.
"I don't have much time, do the G-Men have any jurisdiction over Hoenn?"
"No but we have a joint operation going on with the Hoenn Task Force at the minute." Lance said "why?"
"I'm at the Pokémon Centre in Oldale Town and it's just been attacked by some people in red cloaks." Ash said.
"Ring Steven." Lance said immediately "and then phone Officer Jenny in Petalburg City. I'll send you her number now. Do not engage them Ash."
"I'm going to have to" Ash said "They've already injured Nurse Joy in Oldale and are on their way to the outskirts where they're planning on storming the ruins nearby and there's people there that I'd rather not be collateral damage. They've done some serious damage to the centre, rerouting the electricity for a generator so I'm going to need to contact the Joy in Petalburg too."
"I'll ring Steven," Lance said "you contact Jenny and Joy. Ash, make sure one lives please."
"I don't plan on killing any of them Lance." Ash said "I don't have the protection of Kanto over here or an order for war to protect me too so I'll be as careful as I can."
Hanging up Ash waited for the number to Jenny and immediately rang her letting her know what had happened.
"We could only get there tomorrow at the earliest Ash" Jenny said "it's normally a weeks journey on foot so we'll have to drive all night."
"Ok" Ash said "I'm going to see if I can save the researchers at least. I'll teleport Joy to your station in the next two minutes. If you want to hitch a ride with Alakazam back to me then do so, if not I'll let you know what happened tomorrow when I see you."
Ash rang his own HQ and received the Alakazam and teleported Joy back and was unsurprised when a few minutes later Jenny arrived.
"What's going on Ash?" she asked as soon as she spotted him.
Ash described the people in the red coats and she immediately frowned.
"Seems like you've had a run in with the local cretins Ash" Jenny said as they began their walk towards the ruins, noticing the sun was going down quite quickly, "You've apparently met a few of the members of Team Magma."
"Yeah I thought so" Ash said, making her pause "Steven Stone warned me I likely will run into them at some point given how much trouble I get into and to be careful."
"Good call in listening to him" Jenny said, releasing an Arcanine.
"An impressive specimen" Ash said, stopping and running his hands through the huge dogs mane "Flash Fire right and not Intimidate?"
"How did you know?" she asked, nodding.
"It's the mane," Ash said, stroking it again. "Have you noticed the flecks of red in them? They're little crystals that are embedded in the hair folicles that run through to the body, it's them that collects any fire attack, absorbs it and gets added to their own inner fire pool powering them up. Intimidate Growlithe and Arcanine don't have them, they have much sharper teeth instead. This one is a very good specimen, he looks incredibly healthy and looked after."
"He's been my baby boy for twenty years now," she said, stroking his chin, making him wag his tail.
"He'll need to be as alert as he can" Ash said as they carried on walking, Jenny giving him more insight into what Magma and Aqua wanted for Hoenn.
"So one wants to cover the earth in just land and in the process extinguish life on earth as no one can survive without water" Ash said shaking his head "and the other wants us to drown the world and have us all live under the sea? Utter morons. And to do this they want to somehow get Kyogre and Groudon involved."
Releasing Sneasel he gave him an update on what was happening and Sneasel nodded before rushing off into the bushes.
"Sneasel will find them" Ash said "he's an amazing tracker. We're likely going to have to travel through the little forest that surrounds the ruins to keep out of sight though."
"We're not going to take them head on?" she asked "I thought you were a Champion."
"I am," Ash said chuckling, "but I'm not a fool. I have no idea, other than the four we saw before, how many there are at the ruins and I'd rather not alert them too early. Come on." They walked the rest of the way in silence until they came to the small hill that overlooked the ruins and immediately rushed into the bushes when they saw what was happening. From their vantage point Ash counted four Magma members patrolling the ruins with another two wandering in and out of the cavern Ash had been inside earlier on.
"At least six," Ash muttered. "I can work with that." Ash gave a low whistle and to the shock of Jenny Sneasel came out of the darkness of the trees and walked to Ash.
"Six Ash" he said, getting a nod from him. Ash spoke in a low voice to Sneasel so that Jenny wouldn't hear and he rushed off again.
"Six is easy to deal with" Ash said to her "what's say we go up and say hello to them?"
"Really?" she asked, surprised.
"Yeah" Ash said "or, we could get some to come to us. Actually that sounds like fun." Standing up Ash made sure he was still out of sight of the ruins and released Queenie who looked confused. "How do you fancy scaring the local idiots who think the world owes them something?" Ash asked, getting a maniacal grin in return. "Just down the valley there are six members of Team Magma, two are inside the cavern. I want you to land on the tent and roar, see what they do. If any attack, you have free reign, just keep the fire to a minimum. I'm going to send Blastoise and Sneasel in as cover for you." Queenie looked down at her son before Ash continued "Pikachu and I will protect him, don't worry."
Queenie nodded and took off straight into the air like an arrow at terrific speed and was soon out of eyesight. "Do you want to see your mum looking cool?" Ash asked Bagon who nodded but looked warily at Pikachu.
"What was said was said Bagon," Pikachu said "it's been dealt with and we won't speak on it again. Just next time ask us before deciding what is cowardly and what isn't."
Bagon nodded before hopping up into Ash arms. Ash walked back into the trees and knelt beside a nervous Jenny and her Arcanine. "In a minute my Salamence is going to land on the main tent, covering the entrance way and trapping two of them. Sneasel is going to aid Queenie and I'll send Blastoise in as mop up. If you want to help then you can, I'd advise Arcanine to protect you as we know these fools won't just give up."
Releasing Blastoise he paused at Jenny's gasp and looked confused.
"Sorry" she said "I just don't see shinies that much."
"You know I'd totally forgotten you were shiny" Ash remarked to him "anyway, there's a lake a hundred yards away to the West of us. When Queenie lands, move in and trap them. None escape Blastoise."
Blastoise nodded and moved off quickly into the undergrowth and disappeared from sight too.
"You've done this before," Jenny remarked while watching the camp.
"Several times" Ash said "I've dealt with Team Rocket in Kanto and Johto and these guys seem to pretty much operate the same. Leave a few outside of where their objective is as a warning and then rush out to aid their fellow comrades from behind to pincer people. Only this time those inside the camp are going to be separated by a Dragon, one who despises teams like these. You'll find when dealing with Dragons that they take certain things very personally ranging from ignoring them to challenging them. While Queenie is the same she takes teams that abuse Pokémon or claim they know better than anyone else as a personal affront to her own ideals. It's only because Pikachu and I are here that she'll keep her anger in check. Arcanine, go to that stone pillar on the left when I say and circle around to the East to make sure none escape that way either. The only way they could go now is into the cavern itself."
"Where the researchers are" Jenny quipped.
"No," Ash said, shaking his head. "I can feel five of them in that big tent off to the left, the one guarded by the Grunt with the Houndour. Luckily we're upwind of him so he cannot smell us. Arcanine will have to deal with him so if you want to make sure they're ok follow Arcanine and be back-up when we secure the cavern entrance."
"I can do that," she said, looking nervous.
"Arcanine" Ash said looking into the sky and feeling Queenie descending "go now."
Arcanine nodded and bounded forwards to the stone pillar where he crouched and waited. The signal was pretty obvious though when he looked up to see a Salamence swoop down like a Dragon of legend and set the grass on fire scattering everyone who was suddenly in a panic. Seeing his chance he rushed forwards using Extremespeed and body checked the Houndour which went flying onto the side of the tent knocked out. Baring his teeth he stalked forwards to the grunt who had fallen onto his knees and started scrambling backwards. Quickly Jenny rushed from behind her dog and kicked the man in the face knocking him out. Securing him with handcuffs she asked Arcanine to stay with him while she checked on the researchers. It was pretty grim she thought as she walked in and saw several of them nursing broken limbs and grazes on their face and arms.
"Oh thank God" a lady said seeing Jenny appear "we need to get out of here."
"And we will," she said, "but not before we've secured all of Team Magma."
"Are you on your own?" she asked concerned as she limped over.
"No" Jenny replied "That noise you can hear is Ash Ketchum's Pokémon rounding them up."
"Yeah that'll do it." she said, chuckling before wincing as she held her ribs.
Ash felt Jenny go into the tent and sprang forwards as a grunt was heading his way. Hiding behind a pillar he saw one rush past and quick as a flash he was on him pinning her face first to the ground.
"Be still or I'll snap your neck" Ash said as the terrified woman stopped moving "good. Now, I'm not going to hurt you, your friends on the other hand won't be as well looked after. No, you're going to be a messenger to that idiot you call a boss. I want you to tell him I'm coming after him and that any of his team that gets in my way will be dealt with severely. Ok?"
Frantically the lady nodded and Ash got off her. Quickly she stood up and was preparing to make the man who assaulted her pay when she froze at the sight of a golden Pikachu on the shoulder of a huge man.
"Ash Ketchum," she whispered, frightened.
"Oh good" he said "you know of me. Then you know I mean what I say so go and tell your boss his days are numbered and should I see him I'll end his miserable life."
Ash saw her hand twitch towards her belt and chuckled "My Sneasel would end your life from the bushes before you even had the chance to grab your Pokémon. Now go before I change my mind and leave him in the dark as to who is taking out his team."
Terrified she looked around and couldn't see anything in the dark but she knew a Dark type could easily meld into any shadows and she knew from watching him compete how fast his Sneasel is. Nodding she turned around and rushed off into the undergrowth. As Ash felt her aura recede he chuckled and turned back around and wandered down to the ruins which were now covered in water. He saw that his Salamence and Blastoise had easily managed to defeat the other grunts who had quickly given up. Strangely there were only three of the Magma members left around, not including the one Jenny had already arrested. The other person must have managed to get away, which Ash didn't mind as they would back up the story of the one he let go. Looking around he saw Jenny make quick work of putting the rest in handcuffs.
"Where the hell did you get all those handcuffs?" Ash asked.
Jenny looked up at him and glared, making him hold up his hands in submission before she carried on and read them their rights. Ash chuckled and wandered over to the cavern entrance, Pikachu on one shoulder and Bagon on the other and paused when he saw a small glint off near the shoreline to the great Lake. Wandering over he paused and picked up the object, holding it up to the moonlight. It was a small yellow marble that had previously been buried in the sand but was seemingly uncovered by Blastoise flooding the area. Wondering what it was he pocketed it. Walking back over to the cavern, which thankfully hadn't been destroyed he wandered down the steps into the cavern he paused.
"Come out, now. I won't ask again." he ordered.
Carefully a man in his early twenties, around six foot tall with blonde hair walked from around the corner that he was hiding in.
"Oh thank god you're here." he said looking at Ash wild-eyed.
"And who are you?" Ash asked.
"My name is Blaise" he said holding his hand out, "I'm Umezus deputy on this dig site."
"Oh ok" Ash said "how did you escape?"
"They left the door open" Blaise said pointing behind him "I think they must have heard the commotion upstairs and went to check it out but accidentally left it open. Umezus in a bad way though. Whoever those people were roughed him up, but I think he'll be ok."
"No worries" Ash said as he followed Blaise into the room and saw Umezu. Blaise wasn't wrong. Umezu hands what looked to be a broken arm, a broken nose and from a basic scan two broken ribs. Thankfully he was passed out though which wasn't surprising to Ash.
"Something is wrong about this Ash" Pikachu said, getting a slight nod from Ash and a low growl from Bagon who quickly shut up when Blaise looked at him confused.
"What were they after?" Ash asked after trying to heal Umezu and failing.
"These" he said, pulling out three very familiar looking balls.
"And how did you manage to keep hold of them?" Ash asked.
"You don't want to know," Blaise said, chuckling. "When they realised they wouldn't get anything from Umezu they did this and then left to go to the cavern door however they wouldn't have been able to get through."
"Why?" Ash asked, already knowing the answer. Blaise nodded for Ash to follow and not long afterwards they stood before the doorway Ash had been to earlier.
"Were one key short" Blaise said as he placed the others into the slots. The slots were shaped like a 'Y' with two points holding a ball each and the bottom having the same. The connecting part of the letter also had a slot for a ball but was empty. "Poor Umezu was beaten up for nothing."
"Hmmm" Ash said, looking at Blaise and then pulling out the final key.
"You have it? How?" he asked, amazed.
"I found it," Ash said, not elaborating and placing the ball into the slot. The door lit up immediately as a strange blue light travelled from each point of the 'Y' and connected in the flashed briefly before the doorway creaked open outwards making them step back revealing a tunnel.
"Shall we?" Ash asked, holding his hand out towards the tunnel. Blaise nodded and they walked in silence down the tunnel which was very hot and very stuffy to the point it was getting almost unbearable. Blaise however seemed to find the heat quite comfortable the further on in they went, something Ash remarked about.
"Oh that's because I'm a fire type trainer" he said chuckling "my Slugma always has to keep moving or his body would quickly harden and set so I'm always training with him. You kind of get used to the heat after that."
"Makes sense" Ash said "I was the same with my Charizard. Hot places don't bother me anymore. I'm the same with cold places too. Training in the blizzards of Mt Silver will quickly help you get past that."
"Ah so you're a condition trainer too then?" Blaise asked, getting a nod from Ash "I've often found those that do that have a better grasp on Pokémon and training in general because they can use the conditions as a strength and win more battles that way."
"I agree" Ash said nodding before pausing "is that air?"
"It seems to be," Blaise replied, nodding.
Ash was right as when they got further down the tunnel it widened out until they could easily walk comfortably. And as the tunnel levelled out they could definitely feel a strong breeze which got stronger until finally they exited and stopped as in front of them was a huge lake, strangely lit up by the crystals in the cavern lay in front of them, the water as still as glass.
"There's nothing here," Blaise said, sounding very strange to Ash. It wasn't disappointment that was in his voice but conviction. He felt Ash look at him and found himself carrying on "for years now I've told them all that we'll open the door and there'll be nothing here. I was right, there's nothing but a lake down here, no untold portal into the past, no treasure from a bygone era. Just an empty lake. What a waste of time."
Turning around Blaise walked back towards the entrance and left up the tunnel leaving Ash alone.
"Something is very off about him," Pikachu said as they watched him walk away. Ash was about to respond when they saw him turn around and grin at him as he released a Slugma.
"Rock Slide" he said viciously as Slugmas eyes shone and the cavern entrance began to crumble and soon he was out of sight.
"Shit" Ash said, rushing to the wall but was unable to get much closer as the rocks carried on tumbling down. After a good thirty seconds the dust disappeared and Ash saw that he was effectively trapped down here. Releasing Bayleef he informed her about what had happened and the four of them began to clear the rocks, bit by bit. It was slow going with many breaks in between while Ash gave the four of them water, which was running out quite quickly. Looking at the wall in front of him he sighed and began to get back to work wishing Machamp was here as he would have been able to move most of the bigger ones on his own instead of having to rely on Ash smashing them with Aura Spheres creating more rocks. Bagon though found those tinier rocks much easier to move in his little mouth, the same as Pikachu with his paws. Half an hour later, Ash finally began to see the tunnel roof when the rocks began to glow and move on their own accord. Taking a step back he looked around alarmed and found that they were no longer alone as the lake that was previously empty was now full of the fossil Pokémon that Ash had commented on that afternoon, only these weren't fossils. No, they were very much alive and their eyes were glowing in sync with each other. Amazingly the rocks began to lift and move out of the way on their own revealing the tunnel entrance as they settled down in little piles around the shoreline.
"Thank you" Ash said not really knowing if the Relicanth could understand him. Seemingly they did though as they nodded happily before sinking underneath the water and disappearing from sight, all except one. Ash noticed it was very small, no longer than half a meter long but its colouring was what drew his attention. It was turquoise and cream as opposed to the brown and beige of its counterparts. "How many Shiny Pokémon have we now seen Pi?" Ash asked him. Pikachu however was flat out asleep on top of his discarded jacket and had seemingly missed the Ancient Pokémon appearing. The Relicanth showed no fear though as it waded closer to the shoreline and waited in silence. Reaching into his bag he brought out his Pokégear and scanned it.
"Relicanth, Pokédex number 369, the Longevity Pokémon. A Pokémon that was once believed to have been extinct. The species has not changed its form for 100 million years. It walks on the seafloor using its pectoral fins. This ancient Pokémon feeds on microscopic organisms with its toothless mouth. This Pokémon is female and knows the moves Harden, Water Gun, Tackle, Take Down and Ancientpower. She has the ability Rock Head and has a Hardy Nature."
"Oh, well here you go." he said, taking out a few neutral Pokéblocks, crumbling them up, wading into the water and feeding the Relicanth who happily started to eat. Ash noticed that all the other Relicanth, likely drawn to the smell of the food lying on the water, rose back to the surface and started to eat on the Pokéblocks that Ash threw into the water. It was quite a sight, and quite a nice feeling to Ash knowing he was likely one of only a handful of people that had ever witnessed an event like this. He considered filming it but decided not to as, just for this once, it would be something for him to keep just to himself. Eventually the feeding stopped and they disappeared again, all except the shiny one who bumped into Ash's leg. "What do you want?" he asked, bending down and picking it up, struggling slightly. "Wow I forgot you were pretty much a rock." he said quickly putting it back down "Anyway what do you want?" Relicanth just shook itself slightly and bumped into Ash again. "I haven't got more food from you if that's what you want." another bump.
"I think it wants to come with you Ash" Bayleef said as she was standing in the water cooling herself off after moving all the rocks.
"Really?" Ash asked perplexed. "You'd be on your own though, I don't have my other Relicanth at home." Relicanth just bumped into him again.
"Ok" he said walking back to his bag and taking out a Pokéball and wading back into the water. He placed the ball in the water so it bobbed gently. "It's your decision." He said. Relicanth didn't hesitate though and bumped her nose against the ball and disappeared in a flash. The ball rocked gently once before going still. "Well, it looks like we have another Pokémon on our team guys."
Ash picked up the ball and looked up as he was once again surrounded by the Relicanth, all watching him as he attached the ball warily to his belt before they disappeared once again, all except one. Ash waited to see what was going to happen before after a good thirty seconds of silence that one too disappeared into the water. Ash release the breath he didn't even realise he was holding and clambered back out of the water. Pikachu stretched and yawned as Ash picked up his bag, recalled Bayleef and placed Bagon on his shoulder again.
"What did I miss?" He asked Ash making him chuckle.
The walk back up to the surface took a bit longer than the climb down as it was very steep towards the end but when he appeared at the doorway half an hour later he breathed in the air deeply. Looking off to the side he walked to the door and found that Umezu had disappeared. Frowning, he walked back to the door and stopped. Closing the doorway it resealed itself and the four keys popped themselves out and lay inert on the floor. Picking them up he placed them in his pocket, all except the yellow one which he placed in his bag and walked out to find Officer Jenny talking on the phone looking anxious while Salamence and Blastoise were off to the side with the other researchers.
As soon as Queenie saw Ash she rushed over and gently picked Bagon up in her teeth and moved off to the side where Blastoise was and demanded answers.
"Oh there you are!" Jenny said panicking after hearing the dragon growl, "you disappeared for ages and then a man came out and flew away saying you'd asked him to go and get medical supplies for Umezu who is injured."
"No, that man is the one who injured Umezu." Ash said lying "he trapped me inside the room Umezu is in and ran away. I suspect he's the leader of whoever attacked this camp and he fled when he realised no one could help him get through the door." Turning to the researcher he pulled the three balls out of his pocket "these are yours right?"
"Oh yes" she said, taking them from him, "they're the keys to get through the doorway but we're missing one."
"Yeah it was me that translated the door for Umezu earlier on this afternoon" Ash said before correcting himself, "well, my dad did after I rang him as I'm crap at reading Ancient. But you apparently need four of them to get access to the doorway. Having three already is a very good start."
"We'll find that portal in no time" she said happily before remembering Umezu and rushing off to see to him.
Ash set up his camp that night overlooking the hill and quietly told his Pokémon what had happened and about the new friend they had made. All told it was a fairly quiet night. The next morning Ash helped Jenny and her colleagues who arrived shortly before loading the prisoners into a van and they headed back to the Pokémon Centre. Ash, sitting in the back of the van with them and talking to Jenny through the open hatch identified three of the people as the ones that attacked the Pokémon Centre and glared at them as if begging them to contradict him. As one started to make a noise to do so he continued. "You're lucky Nurse Joy is alive after what you did to her. There's very few things in my life that are inexcusable to me and getting retribution on anyone who attacks either the Jennies or Joys is one that I'd happily go to jail for. Be thankful Chief Jenny is here to protect your kneecaps."
Jenny, who was driving the van, smiled as she heard Ash's words. She felt slightly guilty at ignoring the clear threat to the Magma trainers but decided to let it slide as she knew having the Kanto Champion champion you and defend you was quite a feather in their cap. She'd have to quietly talk to Ash about the threat but it wouldn't ever go any further, something she was going to pass along to the other Jennies in Hoenn. Arriving back at the Centre he thanked Jenny for the help before she carried on towards Petalburg. An ambulance was outside the centre so they walked in to see a few people being tended to by doctors.
"I should be in Petalburg City myself in a week" Ash said as they left the centre, smiling as they saw Arcanine guarding the van. "I'm planning on setting out today so I'll pop in and say hello."
"You're always welcome Ash" Jenny said, giving him a hug and whispering in his ear "thank you for your defence of us but please try and keep any casualties to a minimum. I'd like to chat with you when you arrive in Petalburg, I'd like to hear why you're so defensive of us."
"Speak to Chief Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy in Viridian City" Ash said "they'd give you a better and more informed view than I could. I'm far too emotional when it comes to their defence. Also speak to Jess Joy in Saffron City, she and her husband quite literally saved mine and Pikachu's lives. You'll always have my aid Chief Jenny, whenever you need it."
"Thank you Ash" she said as she climbed back into the van and whistled for Arcanine who jumped into the passenger seat looking huge as she strapped him in. Ash chuckled as she waved and drove away, Arcanines head hanging out of the window. Ash hitched his bag to his back and just sighed before leaving Oldale Town.
"We've been here less than a week, Pi" Ash said as they left the town and onto Route 102. "Not even a week."
"Two days Ash" Pikachu said "We've been in Hoenn for two days. I said we should go home after hearing the prophecy but noooo, you wanted to carry on with the trek around Hoenn."
Ash tactfully said nothing and looked straight ahead, not wanting to see the smug grin on Pikachu's face.