The first thing Ash made note of in the tunnel was that it was humid, absurdly so. Perhaps it was because it was at the base of a cliff and all the rainwater ran into it or perhaps it was because of the underground reservoir Giovanni had mentioned. Either way, the tunnel was musty, damp and uncomfortably humid. At least there weren't standing pools of water in sight. It was the little things, Ash thought in amusement.
The first hour of trekking into the tunnel was uneventful. The lights that the League had installed were still active and resembled moonlight—as best a human invention could imitate moonlight—and lit their path into the earthen passage. How the lights were still running after years of clear abandonment was a puzzle he couldn't hope to figure out. And abandonment was clear given the inches of dust on everything.
The few old shovels, rails and carts that remained were falling apart. The wooden supports of the tunnel were not much better. They looked old and rotten. The only thing not entirely covered in dust was the tracks of pokemon that had come through.
The tunnel itself was spacious, strangely so. Wide enough he was sure an onix or steelix had helped carve it out, at least the opening. The passage shrank as they went deeper. Ash was in the tunnel for hours before he spotted the brown head of a diglett pop up. The small ground-type caught sight of them and immediately dipped back into the sediment. It was the only entertainment he would find for quite some time. Traveling by underground tunnel was profoundly dull.
He saw dirt and stone. An hour later he saw dirt and stone. After they stopped and rested for the night—which he only knew was night thanks to the clock on his pokedex—he woke up and looked at more dirt and stone. He almost wished a wild pokemon would attack so he could at least break the melancholy of the mine. To pass the time he talked to his team.
He ran out of stories about three days in and his team wasn't much for amazing him with their own. Five days into their long, joyless trek they finally get a little entertainment. A zubat popped from a shadowy corner of the tunnel and flapped away with loud clicks. Seeing no alternative, they followed it. It didn't take long before they came to a large opening in the tunnel. A cavern that stretched high above them was speckled with zubat and golbat.
Ash returned his pokemon and made his way cautiously through the cavern as the various bats either slept or eyed him warily. After he successfully maneuvered past the swarm without invoking their wrath, he journeyed farther away before releasing Greed and Nut again.
He came upon his first split paths a day later. He took the path to the right and groaned. The lights were out. Ash removed his flashlight from his bag and clipped it to his bandolier. "Greed, try using nonstop Fire Punches to light the way."
The pancham tried a few practice hits before starting to air box. Both his fists were emitting fire as they walked forward. It was good training, Ash came to decide. Not only did it help conserve his flashlight battery, it also improved the fighting-type's stamina. The increase in the effectiveness of the Fire Punch was also noticeable. Using the move as a make-shift lantern worked well.
Despite Greed's newfound exercise, Nut was miserable. The grass-type had been from the sun for days now and even the sap Ash had stowed away wasn't helping. In the end Ash put him into his pokeball and promised to release him first thing when they got out or when he was needed to help fight.
Ash coughed as he inhaled some dirt. Greed had since stopped his air boxing and Ash was using his flashlight. The light lit up the tunnel better than either the lights or Greed's Fire Punch but it also had the downside of almost blinding them when he first clicked it on. The air tasted strange as he veered into the passage to the right. He stopped as he stared ahead. It was blocked by rubble. "Just our luck." Greed rumbled in agreement as they turned back.
Seeing as he wasn't about to go back the way he came, he took the path to the left instead. Seeing as it didn't immediately collapse when he stepped into it, he figured it was as good a tunnel as any. The path was just as dull and lifeless as all the others he ventured in. Seeing another cavern coming up, Ash prepared to return Greed should there be another zubat swarm. A quick peak told him that none of the poison/flying-types were around so they continued on their way. Or tried to.
Since he had looked up to search for zubat and given the darkness of the cavern, he completely failed to spot the graveler leering at him. Greed caught his attention as the fighting-type growled. The rock/ground-type seemed less than pleased at intruders in its space. It stood to its full height and stretched its four arms outwards. A direct challenge. It didn't wait as it dug its arms into the earth and flung chunks of stone at them.
Ash moved out of the way as Greed dodged the Rock Throw and began the battle properly. The pancham wasted no time and the graveler was quickly struck by a combination of Bullet Punches and Karate Chops. The rock pokemon seemed agitated as it swiped its rocky arms at the panda.
Greed slipped away thanks to his vastly better speed, something rock-types were not known to have. Ash thought the battle would continue on this way, a hit and run attack from Greed before he slipped away, but Graveler seemed to dislike that notion. Instead, it threw two of its four arms above its massive body before slamming them into the ground below. The Magnitude made the entire cavern shake as cracks opened in the ground and Greed was thrown away. Graveler tucked its arms close to its body as it charged forward. Greed barely dodged Rollout the first time, he wasn't as lucky the second or third time.
Ash cursed as his starter was hit by Graveler's massive body. He reached for Nut's pokeball and released him. The seedot appeared with an interested squeak. "No time, Leech Seed and Mega Drain on the graveler!"
Nut responded with action by shooting out a dozen seed's that struck the rock-type's body and caused it to bellow out in annoyance. The grass-type continued as green orbs were sucked from Graveler's body, leaving him noticeably weaker. "Leech Seed and Mega Drain again! Knock it out!"
Ground-types and Rock-types were already weak to grass-types, but the ones that had lived under the earth for so long were particularly vulnerable. Not having exposure to a natural weakness such as the grass-type–ice-types as well, though water-types would vary depending on the location–only extrapolated that weakness to an extreme. That said, Graveler was as tough as they come. One valley of attacks would never make it fall.
While Nut was firing off the grass-type moves, Greed moved back and gathered his bearings. Ash winced at his starter's condition. It was easily the worst shape he'd ever seen his partner in. His fur was matted and packed to him tightly, rock shards stuck into him as they leaked blood. "Greed, Bullet Punch! Don't let up!"
Ash's two pokemon were relentless in their attacks as Graveler tried and failed to back away to attempt its own attack. Instead it pounded the ground in anger and shook the earth. Ash had to try his best to remain on his feet, the shifting ground making it a particularly frustrating endeavor.
Geodude were a fairly common pokemon In mountainous areas yet many were not found in a trainer's team for a simple reason. They weren't that tough. A myriad of weaknesses and counters that only showed themselves upon evolving. While their evolutions were strong in their own right, it took years or decades for a geodude to evolve to a graveler. Once a graveler, it could take almost a century for the graveler to evolve to its final stage. While rare, golem were still found on trainer teams if trained hard and well enough. Masters of their specialty such as Giovanni were able to evolve and command a golem to devastating effect.
Wild golem, however, were almost never seen. For a geodude to make it to its final evolution, it would have to be extremely old, over a century at least, and a powerful specimen. An old pokemon that could destroy a city did not often kneel for trainers, especially rookies.
If you encountered a golem unprepared, the best course of action was to flee. The same advice went for their pissed off pre-evolution and pokemon in general. Given the situation, that wasn't a real option for Ash.
Nut and Greed were disoriented from the shifting plates that had rattled the cavern. Graveler stood at its full height again, it was nearly tall enough to be eye level to Ash. The Pallet Town watched helplessly as the injured and enraged pokemon slammed itself into the earth. The world rattled again, but this time it truly shook. Earthquake was a dangerous move that could level towns. Ash cursed.
"Greed, distract it! Nut, charge up a Solar Beam!" Ash commanded desperately. The damage Solar Beam would cause to the cavern was negligible considering it had just taken the full brunt of an Earthquake.
Greed bobbed in and out of the graveler's reach as he hit it with any move that would affect the pokemon. Nut shook as he built up the energy for the taxing grass-type move. It was the only move that Ash thought would be able to truly impact the living rock.
Greed was slower than he had ever been. Graveler threw multiple Rock Blasts at his opponent that, even injured, was able to dodge the moves. Even if only just. Ash withdrew an empty pokeball and, with a deep breath, threw it at the boulder-sized pokemon. It sucked the pokemon in with a red light. It wouldn't last long, he knew. He'd bought them a few extra seconds at most. "Get ready for it!" Ash warned.
After a second and a twitch from the ball, Graveler broke out and appeared with a roar that promised its fury. Nut finally had enough energy, the absence of the sun making the process painfully slow for his partner, and sent the Solar Beam at the living boulder. The bright beam hit true and their opponent was sent back a dozen yards. Ash didn't wait to see if it was unconscious and threw his ultraball at the beast. It sucked up the pokemon with another red light. He sucked in a breath. One wobble, two wobbles. After a third wobble and a click, Ash sighed in relief. He almost collapsed.
Greed and Nut approached him as he sucked in a breath. They looked terrible. He removed his bag from his shoulders and took out potions for his pokemon. "Thank Mew, if that didn't work…." Ash trailed off. "Great job. You two were amazing."
Greed and Nut soaked in the praise despite their injured bodies as Ash applied potions to their wounds. Greed especially was barely standing. Ash took the opportunity to glance over to the unmoving ultraball. Now what was he going to do with that?
.—.—.
It would have took hours before Ash was sure his team was up for moving farther into the tunnels, yet he didn't have that time. He clipped the ultraball that contained Graveler to his bandolier as they began their trek once more. The only problem being they had nowhere to trek towards. Graveler's Earthquake had made the entire cavern unstable. While he hadn't had the awareness to notice it during the battle, a small portion of the cavern had fallen and blocked the tunnel going forwards. It was why Ash hadn't just rested there, a complete collapse while he was sleeping would be bad to say the least.
Graveler had blocked his way forward. The only option was to turn back. Or it was until Greed found a separate route. The damage from Graveler's attacks was massive but it had opened up another tunnel that had been completely blocked off before. Ash couldn't say he completely trusted it but he trekked forward nonetheless. It lacked the lights of the previous tunnels, but his options were thin. Beggars can't be choosers.
As they ventured forth, Ash contemplated on what he should do with Graveler. The rock/ground-type was powerful, scarily so. Had Graveler not been weak to both his team members, or legendaries forbid a full grown golem, then the results would have been far worse. Ash was at least certain that he wouldn't be releasing it anytime soon.
If it would listen to him, which was unlikely, then he'd have an extremely powerful ally at his side. If it refused to listen and even harm him then he could always pass it off to someone more experienced. Giovanni came to mind as a person who'd been more than enough of a match for it. Professor Oak too, if the man had the time to work with it.
Ash shelved the topic for later. Right now, he needed to focus on what was in front of him. That being a chair. An office chair that swiveled on wheels. Why it was down here was beyond him. He left it as he continued walking.
He got his answer on the chair's origins as he walked farther. A metal desk was pushed against the tunnel as lights were hung up to illuminate the passage, though they had clearly been broken some time ago. Old writing utensils littered the desk along with a few water damaged papers. Greed gave the scene a thoughtful look as he inspected it. Nut seemed to consider the scene as he hopped onto the desk from his position on Ash's shoulder.
"Wonder what this is." Ash said to his partners. "Think it's some sort of breakroom for the miners?" Greed gave his opinion in an unimpressed snort. "Yeah, probably not."
The teen opened the drawers and found them empty. Nothing popped out at him until he turned his gaze farther down the tunnel. He gestured for his pokemon to follow him as he went deeper.
Rows of desks lined the walls. Chairs were sat next to them with a variety of things left behind. Ash snagged an old, brown jacket from the ground. He coughed as dust shot into his face when he blew it off. He wiped the dirt and grime and inspected it. A man's coat no doubt and a large one at that. A patch on the chest held a symbol he couldn't make out from the worn fabric. The letters below it that had surely once spelled something were faded enough he had no hope of guessing what it was. Ash threw the jacket onto a chair. The dust covered clothing hit it with a thud as it knocked the chair over.
Greed and Nut had moved away from the desks and were now gazing at one of the walls strangely. Ash joined them. The stone walls were old and worn but they had been chiseled. Letters he didn't recognize were scraped into the wall with something sharp. Pictures accompanied the foreign lexicon. A few human stick figures with some pokemon-esque shapes stood next to them. Above them was the sun, yet the sun was not the sun. Where the sun would have been instead had a large, flaming bird take its place. Both human and pokemon bowed before the bird's form.
Ash blinked as he recognized the drawing for what it was. "Moltres." He whispered out. Greed and Nut recognized the name and gave the, likely very old, sketch of the Legendary Bird another look. One of respectful awe. They may not be native to Kanto, but Ash had told them plenty of stories on the Legends of Indigo.
Ash took his pokedex and snapped pictures. He took shots of every detail of the hieroglyphs and the sketches. He was fascinated. Greed rumbled out as he took his last picture. "What's wrong, bud?" Ash asked as he looked around. The pancham growled and gestured forward. "You think we should leave?" The pokemon nodded.
Ash agreed. If his starter felt they needed to leave then it was for good reason. He pocketed his pokedex and they continued on their way. Just as they went to leave, Ash's hair stood on end. He felt something watching him. He turned around and, when he found nothing, turned back and led his team away from the site.
.—.—.
After traveling for another three days, Greed perked up excitedly. Ash felt why just a moment later. A gust of wind. He grinned and ran alongside his starter and the tunnel slowly looped up. After an hour of making steady work up the tunnel, they saw an opening. Moonlight shone brightly through the mouth of the tunnel and Ash grinned.
He released Nut inside the tunnel and showed him the opening. Both his pokemon braced for the influx of light and emerged from the mining tunnel. Ash was far more slow in his emerging but before long they were all standing under the moonlight.
Greed and Nut were clearly overjoyed to be out from below miles of earth. Ash couldn't agree more. The breeze of the night felt amazing after the stale, humid air they'd been subjected to for the last two weeks. Nut immediately stuck to the nearest tree as Greed climbed up and inspected the area. He got a proper look at his team for the first time in days and cringed. They were caked with dirt, dust and grime.
Ash found himself inspecting the area as well. Trees and undergrowth underneath a thick canopy that let only the bare minimum of light in. "Greed, can you see the route from there?" The pancham chittered out affirmation as he climbed down. "Good. We should get going."
The trees squished together as they traveled. Chirps, croaks and clicks of things he couldn't see set his nerves on edge. Not to mention that he still felt as if he was being watched. They moved faster than they probably should have, but Ash wanted to get to the route as fast as possible.
After two hours of traveling the canopy finally broke and made way for a small clearing with a pond. Ash sighed at the small respite from the crowded forest. Greed drank greedily from the pond as Nut basked in the unimpeded natural light for the first time in weeks. Ash, for the quickest second, considered camping for the night but dismissed it quickly. If he was going to sleep it was going to be on the route where he was safer.
"Alright, let's go." Ash said. "We should be pretty close to Route 16." As his pokemon made to follow him, a loud bellow stopped them. A dark shadow emerged from the pond as they made to leave.
A bipedal, blue crocodile with a muscular build. Ash recognized the pokemon as a feraligatr after a moment. A powerful pokemon whose jaws had enough force behind them to injure a blastoise's shell. He froze.
The water-type gave them an appraising look, trying to decide if they were threats. Ash, with great care as to not startle the croc, took a step back. The croc bellowed once more. Ash took it as a sign to leave. A few more careful steps backward and the croc's glare lessened slightly.
Greed and Nut joined him as they carefully backed away into the trees. Seeing they were leaving its area, the feraligatr stalked off with a growl, eyeing Ash the whole time. Only once he was sure the pokemon was gone did he finally relax. That had been intense.
Greed seemed unsure of the situation as he kept an eye on the sky as best he could through the thick canopy. Nut was much the same but kept his gaze on the forest floor.
"Let's get going." Ash said as he, too, felt wary of the forest. He still felt as if he was being watched and the small black figure that darted behind a far off tree did nothing to help settle his worries. "Let's get going now ." He emphasized.
They moved east quickly with constant glances around. From time to time he saw a black blur disappear behind a tree and he would pick up the pace. They were definitely being watched, potentially hunted, and he wanted to get to Route 16 as quickly as possible. As they got closer to the route leading to Celedon the trees thinned and the brush stopped encroaching into any available space and pulling on Ash's clothes.
After what felt like years of traveling at a breakneck speed, the darkness of the forest slipped away into an open field. Ash wanted to kiss the ground but refrained and put even more distance between the trees and himself. Nut seemed just as pleased as he was for the openness of the plains. Greed, despite his love for the ample climbing material of the forest, was as relieved as they were to finally escape.
Ash shot a glance at the forest. The suddenness in which the sunny field was overcome by the dark of the forest was something Ash attributed to Kanto's diverse geography. It was not, however, the only thing he noticed. Mixed in the branches of a tree was a floating black shape. He barely registered it as the shadows of the canopy obscured it. The only thing he could make out was one large, white eye that seemed to catch what little light seeped into the trees and drew his attention.
Ur-Hakon
Ash whipped his head around, looking for whoever had spoken. Finding no one but himself around he returned his searching gaze to the forest. Had someone said something? Was he meant to hear that? His head pounded for some reason.
The blur was gone and the forest sounds returned. Ash had not noticed until then that the normal sounds he would hear in the wilderness (pidgey chirps, hoothoot calls, and croaking of far off poliwag) had gone eerily silent.
He set up his tent quickly and retired to sleep. It felt nice to not have thousands of tons of earth above his head to damper his thoughts. Yet, he still slept roughly due to the prickle at the back of his mind that told him something was watching him. When the sun rose, so did he. He packed up quickly and headed east.
Ash shuddered and moved towards Celadon. He was determined to reach the city before noon. He moved at a pace that wasn't sprinting, but not far from it. He pretended to be unaware of the single eye watching and following him from the trees. Whatever stalker he had seemed just as curious of him as he was of it.
His stalker did eventually stop following him. No more small flashes of something in the treetops or an alien presence prodding the edge of his mind. When he got too close to the city, whatever it was seemed to vanish.
.—.—.
He checked into the Ranger station quickly. They did, to his disappointment, confiscate his katana but otherwise he was welcomed with hassle.
The Pokemon Center of Celadon was far larger than Viridian's. It was nearly thrice the height and wider on each side by a significant amount. Ash entered the Pokemon Center and smiled. He had finally made it despite everything.
Nurse Joy who gave him a concerned look as he approached her desk. "Hello, I'd like to get my pokemon healed and a room." Nurse Joy nodded as he handed her his team with a grin. "Oh, and the Graveler is a new capture."
"Alright, I'll keep that in mind. Are you alright, young man?" She asked, concerned.
"Dandy." Ash said. "Just need to take a shower and sleep for a day or so."
Joy seemed unsure as she handed him the room key. "You're lucky, that's the last available room."
"Thanks." Ash said as he let her scan his pokedex. "Any big news the past couple weeks?"
"Nothing you can't catch up on after you rest up." Joy assured. Ash thanked her as he left for his room. The room was an identical match to the one in Viridian down to the same sheets. Ash slumped his bag to the floor as he quickly showered before falling into bed.
Despite having already slept, he drifted away almost instantly. The Pallet Town teen sighed in relief as sleep overtook him. When he finally left the room to gather his team, it was ten hours later with a distinct crick in his neck.
.—.—.
Ash let the ringing sound of the videophone go on for another minute before ending the call. His mother hadn't picked up his call but that wasn't surprising. It was almost eleven in the evening after all. Instead he dialed another number he knew would be awake this time of night.
Professor Samuel Oak answered within thirty seconds. His tired eyes lit up as he caught sight of Ash's face. "Ah! Ash, my boy, how are you? You've arrived in Celadon I see."
Ash nodded. "I got in earlier today but slept for basically the entire day. I never realized being that tired was possible."
"Yes, such are the trials and tribulations of trainers." Oak laughed. "Gary said something similar after he arrived in Pewter."
Ash's attention was hooked. "Has Gary challenged the Pewter Gym already?" He couldn't imagine his friend hadn't if he was already there. With Delta with him, the rock-types of Pewter shouldn't have been too much of a hassle for the younger Oak.
"He has. He beat it fairly handily according to him." The aged professor said, "Gary has already moved on from Pewter towards Cerulean. He didn't take my offer to get him a tour of the Fossil Museum, unfortunately."
Ash snorted. Gary had always been more favorable towards the Champion Oak side of his grandfather's legacy rather than the acclaimed Professor Oak side. "Sounds like him. I'll take you up on that when I'm in Pewter if he won't."
"If you'd like. I cannot promise you'll see any revived fossil pokemon given the way the League guards them, but a tour of the facility should be easy to arrange." Oak told him. Ash nodded in understanding. The revival of pokemon from nothing but fossils was a new concept, one the Indigo League was adamant to keep to themselves. Apparently, Hoenn was already trying to replicate the technology with some success.
"I'd be thankful either way." Ash decided he should get into the main reason he'd wanted to speak to the professor in the first place. "Professor, I had a couple of problems I was hoping to get your advice on."
The pokemon professor blinked in surprise. "Of course, Ash, what's the problem? I'll offer my help the best I can."
Ash smiled in appreciation. "I took the mining tunnel I told you about to reach Celadon. It was dull, honestly, until the end. I ran into a graveler."
Oak's eyebrows shot up. "That is a tough opponent, Ash. I assume you were able to evade it then?"
Ash shook his head as he lifted the ultraball containing the pokemon. "Not quite. It collapsed the way forward so we had to knock it down until it could be captured. Not an easy thing to do."
"I would expect." Oak said, shocked before schooling himself. "I had not checked your roster recently, I'm sorry. I can see your problem. Graveler are naturally one of Kanto's sturdiest pokemon, even untrained ones are dangerous. Had it been a golem I expect you would not have fared nearly as well."
Ash had already come to that conclusion. "I figured as much." He fingered the ultraball as he looked at it in thought. "What should I do with it?"
Oak hummed. "Wild pokemon of such strength do not take to trainers very well, let alone rookies. While it would prove a strong ally, it may very well not cooperate. How close was your battle with it?"
Ash frowned. "Too close."
"Ultimately I cannot make the decision for you. If you think it is too much for you, it is not a sign of weakness to relinquish it. I would be glad to take it to the corral until you think you've grown or rehome it to a trainer that can reign it in." The professor told him.
Ash hummed in thought. "It'd fetch a good price at an auction house." He barely thought about the words as he spoke them. While the graveler would fetch a good amount of money, he wouldn't feel right selling it off. Not without at least knowing the buyer was an appropriate trainer for it.
Oak's eyes flashed dangerously as his glare bored into Ash. "You will do no such thing."
Ash blinked at the man's tone. "Just thinking, sorry. I wasn't really planning to."
"I'd hope not. Selling it independently to a trainer of good standing is fine, but an auction house cares little for who they sell to. It may be sold to a trainer able to whip it into shape or an underground fighting ring." Oak said disapprovingly.
Ash winced. "Yeah, okay. Sorry. Won't even think of it again. Either way, Graveler is probably going to take some work."
"It will but I do believe you should be able to pull it off. You intend to go to Fuchsia after Celadon, yes?" Oak asked. His eyes no longer seemed to make Ash wither in his chair. Ash nodded and the man continued. "Then keep it with you until you arrive in Fuchsia. If you can't get it to work with you by the time you arrive, we can discuss it again."
Ash nodded in agreement. "Thank you, I'll do that."
"Of course. I believe you said there was something else?" Oak prompted.
"Yeah. When I was in the tunnel I came across a place with desks, chairs and a bunch of stuff that definitely didn't form naturally. We only found it because Graveler opened up an alternative path with his attacks." Ash told the man as he connected his pokedex to the phone. "There were a bunch of glyphs on the wall with sketches. I'm sending pictures of them right now."
Oak hummed as he opened the pictures he sent and examined them. The aged researcher seemed impressed. "I wasn't aware of any research going on in the area. It looks like a standard setup for studying ruins, even if abandoned. And these hieroglyphs…they are remarkably preserved for where they are."
Ash definitely saw what he meant. The ruins were still faded from time yet they were still decipherable. The sketches were especially well preserved. "I thought so too."
The professor nodded absentmindedly. His eyes were lit up with fascination. "I'll make sure to ask around and see if there were any registered digs recently. Given the fact I had not heard of this previously, I'm led to assume it was not entirely legal."
Samuel Oak was known to have his hands in multiple branches and areas within the League and without. To say he hadn't heard of any research in the area was all Ash needed to know to come to a similar conclusion.
The elder Oak cleared his throat. "As fascinating as this is, I don't believe you have asked me your question?"
Ash exhaled slowly before turning his gaze to the man's. "Something was down there and it followed me. I'm not sure what it is or what it wants, but it definitely followed me to Celadon. I could feel it."
"Feel it? Could you explain what you mean?" Oak asked.
Ash thought back to the experiences on Route 16. The pressure he felt at the back of his head. The small prickles he'd feel behind his eyes if he caught sight of that lone eye gazing at him from the dark of the forest.
"It's like it's pressing on the back of my brain. Nothing painful. Just something that always reminds me that it's watching me from a distance. Like the beginning of a migraine without the migraine ever coming." Ash explained as best he could.
Professor Oak's face took on a surprised look. "Like something foreign is prickling at the edge of your awareness?"
Ash blinked. "That would be pretty accurate. How'd you know?"
"It was much the same feeling as when I first met Karma. She had loose control of her power when she evolved and would give me the same feelings when trying to communicate with me. A brute force tactic that is fairly common within pokemon unable to initially control their power. Powerful psychics like alakazam frequently have this problem."
"Ur-Hakon." Ash whispered to himself. Had it indeed been his stalker that had communicated the word? Thinking back to it, Ash thought the word sounded crackly and monotone. Not something one can achieve naturally.
"This stalker of yours, do you think it has malicious intent?" Oak asked after a moment.
Ash mulled the question over. The tone had been more curious and intrigued than hostile. "No, I don't think it does. It seemed more curious than anything."
Professor Oak nodded. "Many places of importance have guardians in place from ancient peoples. Elite Four Agatha captured a unique pokemon called a golurk in such a place. If this stalker is anything like many ancient guards, then I expect you'd have already been outright attacked. Given that you have not been, I would expect that it poses no major threat to you."
A fair point, Ash conceded. If the stalker did have any violent intent then it would have acted on it before he had arrived in Celadon. "Do you have any guesses on what it could be? The only glimpses I could get of it were quick because it made my head throb. It's got a single eye and is completely black."
"Nothing comes to mind immediately. Based on your observations I would expect it to be a psychic-type, but ghost-type or dark-type isn't out of the question." Oak said as he rubbed his eyes and straightened his head from bobbing. "If for a second you think this stalker could turn violent then contact me immediately."
He agreed before bidding the tired man a goodnight. It was nearing midnight when Ash finally left the pokecenter. One thing that was vastly different about Celadon than Pallet or Viridian was the number of businesses still open so late. Many didn't close at all. One such location that was open through the night was Celadon's Game Corner.
Ash waved to the bouncer as he passed him to enter the doors. The first thing he noticed was the space. The building was packed despite the sun having set hours ago. There were easily hundreds of people moving from machine to machine inside the Game Corner and there was still room to maneuver without rubbing shoulders with someone. The lights were a stark contrast to the night outside. They were blindingly bright. Ash squinted as he walked to the front counter. A girl older than him by a few years was busy reading a magazine and sitting on a stool.
He cleared his throat. The girl, Jane as her name tag implied, moved her magazine down below her eyesight and gave him an appraising look. She rolled her eyes and begrudgingly set the reading material down on the counter. "Yes?"
Ash's eye twitched at her tone. Some customer service. "I'm looking for Ana. I have something to drop off." He said curtly.
"I'll take it." She said as he reached out a hand expectantly.
"Your name tag says Jane, not Ana." Ash said, annoyed. "I was told to drop it off to her personally."
Jane scoffed. "Whatever." She reached below the counter and pulled out a radio on a cord. "Ana, some brat is out here asking for you."
Ash ignored the insult. Instead he turned his attention towards the various boards advertising prizes that a person could win. The lowest prize was a single pokeball at two hundred tokens. The most outrageous price, however, was the top prize of a dratini for a hundred thousand tokens. Other equally as rare pokemon species were up for grabs; eevee, porygon, scyther, abra, cleffa, vulpix, and even a larvitar. Vouchers for TMs and other items were a little cheaper than the pokemon but only just.
Ash snapped his attention forward as the incredibly unhelpful clerk waved over an approaching woman. The woman was a tall, attractive redhead that had golden earrings that dangle down to her clavicle. Ash gulped inaudibly as a blush worked its way up his neck.
"What seems to be the problem here?" The woman - Ana, Ash guessed - asked with a voice that reminded him of bells.
The teen did his best to look tall when their eyes met. "I have a hard drive from Giovanni. He trusted me to deliver it to you," Ash said.
Ana's eyes almost sparkled. "Ah, yes! He did say I should be expecting it soon. If I may?" Ash dropped the small disk into her outstretched palm. "Thank you."
"Of course." Ash said a little too quickly. Ana gave a small smile. "Is there anything else I can help with?"
"No, dear, that'll be fine. Jane, preload one of the coin cards with…does five thousand coins sound fair?" She asked Ash.
Ash gawked. "Uhh, yes, more than fair." He wasn't about to refuse. Five thousand coins was already enough to buy some of the Game Corner's better items. Not quite enough to buy a pokemon, but an eevee would only be a few thousand away.
"Perfect. Jane will get that sorted for you. Thank you again, Ash." Ana smiled before turning around and strutted back to where she had come from.
Ash turned away from her retreating figure as Jane tossed a card at him with a glare. He rolled his eyes as he walked away from the counter to go play the machines. As he did so, a single thought entered his mind.
When had he given her his name?
Several hours later Ash deposited his winnings at the front counter. The attendant (not Jane, thankfully) took his card and coins before telling him to pick his prize. With eight thousand coins he didn't have enough for the eevee he was shooting for. Instead he took a Voucher for a TM and a set of unique capture balls. A set of six that included an ultraball, lureball, luxuryball, premierball, healball, and heavyball. All things considered, he was happy enough with his rewards.
.—.—.
Nut squeaked as he took in the open sunlight as Greed did the same. Both members of his team were very grateful to be able to take in the sun and relax. Ash smiled at his pokemon as he got their attention. "Alright, we arrived in Celadon City as I'm sure you've noticed." Greed snorted. "You guys put up a great fight with Graveler, but today we're challenging the Celadon Gym." The two perked up with interest at his words. "Erika is a grass-type specialist so we won't have a great advantage, but neither will she. I plan on going this afternoon after you guys can rest up a bit."
Greed and Nut voiced their approval as Ash grinned. "Perfect."
They spent the rest of the morning without training or battling. Ash wanted them at their full potential for the Gym battle. Subsequently, that also meant that Graveler wouldn't be released until after they had gotten the Rainbow badge. The boulder pokemon was simply too much of a fight for his team when he needed that at their best.
When noon came and went, Ash sent a quick message to his mother and Professor Oak before he went towards the heart of Celadon City. The Celadon Gym came into sight and he entered it with a smile. The smile fell from his face immediately as he coughed harshly. He plugged his nose at the overwhelming scent of perfume. The air felt heavy with the fumes and he did his best to breathe as little as possible or risk tasting the vapors again.
Ash's eyes watered as he made his way to the desk and declared his intent to challenge for the badge. The attendant gave an understanding look at his plight. She took his challenging fee and pointed him towards a seat. She even offered him tissues to plug his nose which he gratefully accepted. He waited patiently before the set of double doors behind the receptionist opened and a trainer stepped out. The other trainer paid Ash no mind as he left the building with a shiny Rainbow Badge in his hands.
Ash was waved into the battle room by the attendant before the double doors slammed behind him. The main area of the Gym resembled a greenhouse with plants growing wildly and a large glass ceiling that gave way for direct sunlight. Nut would love the area, Ash thought.
He made his way to the challenger's side of the field as another person took the other side. Erika was average height with a long kimono that reached well past her feet. Her dark hair covered her eyes before she swept it away and leveled her gaze at him. She was the spitting image of her picture on the League website.
Each Gym had its own section on the website, the Gym Leader was usually a big part of that page. Their training history along with their specialty type and qualifications and every other small morsel of information they could stack in.
Erika's section was disappointing when compared to the other Leaders. Giovanni, for example, had a bare bones page that told almost nothing of the man himself. Yet, still the man's page was more impressive than Erika's.
She was only in her early twenties, having been a trainer for nearly a decade now. and the daughter of the previous Gym Leader. That seemed to be where her qualifications ended. Even Brock of Pewter had triple her accomplishments, and he was only a part-time substitute for his father!
"Oh. Are you really my challenger?" Erika asked him seriously. "They're usually taller and cuter before I have to face them."
Ash frowned. "Yes, I am. I don't have any badges yet; you'll be my first."
"What was your name, little boy?" Erika asked, annoyed.
"Ash Ketchum."
"Well, Ash Ketchup, arrogance isn't attractive. Referee?" Erika snapped out. Ash glowered as a young man took his place on the referee's stand.
"This battle will be between Gym Leader Erika and the challenger! The battle will be two-on-two with neither side allowed substitutions! The victor goes to whichever side knocks out the other side's pokemon or if the other trainer forfeits! If both trainers consent?" Erika nodded her approval and Ash did the same. "Let the match begin! The Gym Leader will release first!"
Ash took in the paras that were released with an appraising eye. Paras as a species were fragile and weak but Erika deemed it strong enough for a Gym battle. He'd be a fool to underestimate it.
Nut appeared with a flash. The grass-type garnered a quick look of approval from Erika before it vanished and was replaced by the same annoyed glare.
"Paras, Fury Cutter." Erika commanded.
"Air Cutter! Use the grass as cover!" Ash returned. Nut was able to evade the bug-type move as paras was knocked astray. The seedot shot a wind blade that struck the carapass of his foe.
Ash decided to push the advantage. "Air Cutter again!"
"Poison Powder." Erika ordered. A purple powder immediately began to fan out from the mushrooms that sprouted from the back of the pokemon.
"Defog and Headbutt!"
Nut blew the powder away as the Air Cutter struck the paras' mushroom, severing it. Ash winced but knew it would grow back in time
"Evade!" Erika yelled for the first time. It was already too late as Nut reached his enemy and headbutted it into the air. "Sludge Bomb!"
Before Ash could register what she meant, Paras had turned itself midair and spit out a small shot of poison that hit the seedot directly in his face. The seedot rolled to get the gunk from his vision as the bug-type landed on the field unconscious.
"Paras is unable to battle! Gym Leader, release your next pokemon!" The referee called as the paras was recalled.
Ash frowned as Erika tapped the balls on her belt with a smile. After ten seconds of no pokemon appearing, it was clear what she was up to. A battler had fifteen seconds to release their pokemon after their previous had been declared unfit to battle, if they went past the time limit they'd be considered as having forfeit the match. However, this also meant that some trainers would take the full time and let the poison they'd used work its way into their foe's system. A scummy tactic that Ash hadn't thought a Gym Leader would use.
Just as the referee was about to wave a red flag, Erika took a pokeball and released a gloom onto the field. Immediately Ash covered his nose. Gloom were known for their stench that could rival a muk's and he'd already breathened enough foul scents in for the day.
"Powder Run." Gloom took no time in sending out a Razor Leaf. The leaves smacked into Nut full force before he even saw them. When the sights cleared, Gloom had vanished into the tall foliage covering the field.
Ash caught onto what Powder Run might entail. A haze overtook the field as Poison Powder mixed with Sweet Scent, Stun Spore and Sleep Powder all hovered in the air. The mixture of moves caused the air to be dense enough he nearly couldn't see through it.
"Defog!" The wind pushed the attacks back just as Gloom shot out from the grass and fired at the seedot with another Razor Leaf. The leaves were met with an Air Cutter that stopped them before they could do any damage, but by then the haze had rolled back in and Nut had to use Defog once again.
The pattern continued for another minute as Ash thought of a counter to it. The base of Erika's strategy was simple yet hard to defend against for unequipped trainers. Ash figured he'd have too deprive them of the opportunity to hide.
"Take the powders head on! Cut down all the grass with Air Cutter!" Ash ordered confidently. Nut was overwhelmed instantly as he prioritized getting rid of the grass instead of defending himself.
"Don't let it, Petal Dance!"
"Dodge it!" Ash yelled just as the move landed. Nut went backwards into the psychic barrier and slumped down.
"Seedot is unable to battle! Challenger, release your next pokemon."
Ash returned Nut with a smile. "Good job, buddy. You did great."
Ash hummed as he walked his finger across Greed's ball and waited just as long as Erika had. The haze of powders lessened as it was no longer being fed. Just before being disqualified, Ash released Greed onto the field. The panda assessed the ruined field quickly before falling into a stance.
"Fire Punch!" Ash ordered immediately. The fighter charged at Gloom without a second to spare.
"Powders and evade!" Erika commanded in turn. Gloom fled as it released the same combination of powdered attacks as before. Greed gave the plant no time to do anything else as he hit her with his Fire Punch.
The pancham didn't let up as each successive punch was only strengthened by the last. Greed gave the grass-type no escape as he pummeled it.
"Blind it! Toxic Bomb!" Erika shouted at her pokemon. Greed screeched as the move hit his open eye. As he pawed to remove it, his foe below him followed up with a Razor Leaf that knocked him off.
Gloom fled towards one of the few patches of grass remaining as Greed was recovering. It made it halfway before being hit from behind.
While Greed's vision may have been restricted, his ears were as strong as ever. He latched onto the plant below him with Crunch as he made liberal use of Fire Punch to burn and scorch it.
Greed stood up after a minute of raining blows. Gloom did not.
"Gloom is unable to battle! As both of the Gym Leader's pokemon are incapacitated, the challenger wins!"
Ash barely felt insulted at Erika's sneer as she tossed the Rainbow Badge to him. He pumped his fist as Greed cheered their victory with a loud rumble.
"Yes! Great job, buddy!" Ash congratulated with a wide grin that starter returned with a mischievous one of his own. Ash winced at the sludge on his partner's face and made to wipe it with a rag from his pack.
The Pallet Town rookie was on cloud nine as he made his way from the Celadon Gym after picking up his winnings at the Rewards Desk. The street was a welcome sight as he and his partner stepped on to it.
"What do you say we heal up Nut then get something fancy for dinner?"
Greed's resounding approval told Ash all he needed to know.
.—.—.—.
Ash passed the common area of the Pokemon Center as he made to leave. His bag was packed and his team was all healed up and fed. Nut was standing on his favorite perch, Ash's shoulder, as movement caught their eyes. Two teenagers, trainers presumably, started shoving each other. That shoving quickly escalated as the two came to blows. They were separated quickly as the surrounding trainers pulled them apart and Nurse Joy, escorted by a machoke, escorted them out of the center.
"I wonder what that was about." Ash said to Nut, who gave a small squeak.
"They were fighting over a contract posted on the board." Ash turned to see another teen address him. He recognized him as one of the trainers that had pulled the fighting pair apart. A blue cap that tucked his auburn hair away helped drawn attention to the other trainer's blue eyes.
"Contract?" Ash asked.
"Yeah, the board in the common area is where people will put up contracts for freelance trainers. Capture some bug-types eating someone's garden, get rid of some pesky grimer making a mess of the sewers. That sort of stuff. Usually they pay pretty mediocre, but the larger ones are good ways to get some cash. I'm Ritchie, by the way." The trainer–Ritchie–said.
"Oh, I'm Ash. So, they were fighting over…capturing some bug-types?" Ash asked, confused. "Plenty to go around, I think."
Ritchie laughed. "Nah, that one was pretty major. There's been a lot more major contracts getting posted lately. The one they fought over was the Celadon Hotel needing a trainer to help them with some pokemon infestations, Electric-types ruining their wires I think. It paid really well."
Ash blinked. An important business like the Celadon Hotel having problems with electric-types was not something to overlook. Celadon City was one that relied heavily on tourism, a hotel of that caliber would easily pull in half of the yearly visitors. A Gym Trainer from Erika's Gym should have been dispatched to deal with the problem. "Why didn't Erika send someone?"
Ash was taken aback by Ritchie's laugh. After a long moment, the other boy's amusement left and was replaced with an expression of seriousness. "Sorry, I forgot it might not be obvious to some people. I was raised here in Celadon so I guess I see it more clearly. Erika is a plague. I know it, the city knows it, and I hope that the League comes to its senses and acknowledges it too."
That was…harsh, to say the least. "A plague? She can't be that bad, right?"
Ritchie nearly blew a gasket. "Not that bad?! You…" He paused and took a deep breath. "Sorry, that was uncalled for."
"It's all right," Ash assured him. "I challenged her already and won, but I can see why you might not like her. Her attitude is pretty bad."
Ritchie shook his head. "It's more than that, Ash. Her Gym stopped taking on Gym Trainers when she took over and the League has to keep sending more and more ACE trainers to make up for the lack of manpower. The lesser issues, just like the Celadon Hotel, get pushed to the wayside because they're stretched too thin. Of course that isn't even mentioning the crime rates skyrocketing and the Rockets growing bolder."
Ash really wasn't sure what to say. Ritchie clearly felt strongly on the subject and Ash, being from Pallet Town, knew nothing of Celadon's struggles.
"They used to call Saffron and Celadon the Twin Sisters. Cities that grew together to be Kanto's largest." Ritchy said after a moment. "I want that back."
Ash gave his newly made acquaintance a pat on the shoulder. "I'm sure it will. If Erika is really that bad, I can't see the League letting her run Celadon for much longer."
"You have more faith in them than I do." Ritchie said with a shrug. "Well, thanks. I think I needed that off my chest. I gotta get going, but maybe we'll run into each other again."
"Maybe." Ash agreed.
"If you need any more convincing, look at the alleys on your way out. You'll see what I mean." Ritchy said finally. With that, he returned to the common area, snagged a contract from the board, and then left.
"Interesting guy, huh?" Ash said as Nut gave a noise of agreement. They finally made their way to the exit of the building and took in the summer breeze. There existed only one last stop before he left Kanto's largest city.
As he made his way to his destination, Ash couldn't help but look into the alleys that he passed at Ritchie's behest. Graffiti sprayed on bricks was a near constant. Many had various artists' tags and signatures, but the most worrying ones were left without them. Large paintings of Erika with red crosses on her eyes. Rattata ran wild in most alleys, garbage overflowing and providing the rats with carrion to feed generations of their spawn.
The most worrying, however, was one marking he couldn't believe he was looking at. The phrase "A Better Future for Kanto, A Better Future for Celadon!" was spray painted under a rather crude sketch of Erika. The worrying part, however, was the giant red 'R' that accompanied it.
Perhaps, Ritchie wasn't so far off the mark after all.
.—.—.—.
The Celadon Department Store was, without a shadow of a doubt, the largest building in the city. If the Celadon Gym was stacked twice on top of itself it might come close to the sheer height the building possessed. Originally it had been six stories when it was first constructed so many years ago, yet in the present day it towered at fourteen floors. It was the one-stop shop for any person in the city looking for…well, anything. Trainer gear, clothes, everyday groceries and, the most coveted items, TMs. The Department Store was Kanto's largest collection of TMs available to the public, rivaled perhaps by the collection in Goldenrod City of Joto. Ash was sure the Indigo League had its own collection that was just as expansive, if not more so, but they were sure to keep that close to their chest.
The crowds of the store were vicious, he decided. One woman had even elbowed him out of the way of a replica of Champion Lance's iconic cape that was on sale. The entire population of Pallet Town and Viridian City could probably move into the store and still have room to maneuver.
Ash's destination led him to the higher floors, floor eight to be exact. He restocked all the items he would need in his travels, including another order of various berries that his team seemed intent on eating him out of, before making his way to the TMs. He had a voucher to redeem, after all.
A group of a dozen ACE trainers eyed him as he flashed his pokedex and ID. The League appointed guards allowed him inside with a grunt.
He browsed as he pondered on just what he wanted to get. The elemental TMs for Ice Punch and Thunder Punch were both still waiting for Greed, so the new TM would go towards Nut. The seedot had come far from the undisciplined pokemon he had been. Solar Beam was still a work in progress, so another move would be a good idea to prevent his friend from getting too frustrated. He thought maybe an evasive move would do the grass-type good, perhaps Dig. The fact that Greed could also learn the move was merely a bonus. The thought of purchasing the TM for Double Team crossed his mind as well. Finally, he settled on Energy Ball for his partner. The move was similar to Solar Beam in theory, a ranged grass-type move that required the user to stockpile energy and release it, though not as powerful.
He would, begrudgingly, also purchase the Dig TM for the future when both of his pokemon had the time to learn it. Dig was a great move and, had they had it in their arsenal, would have also been greatly helpful in the mining tunnel. With his choices made final, he paid and chased in his voucher before leaving the massive superstore behind. Route 16 was waiting for him, and Fuschia City along with it.
.—.—.—.
Edited 4-8-25