.—.—.
The wind drove a brisk chill down Ash's spine.
Red and gold scales meshed together under the water as the mob of magikarp fought for the food, crowns breaking the surface of the water unbothered by the temperature above the surface. Ash tossed another handful of pokefood into the pond with a smile, brown pellets growing soggy in the water before they were swallowed. He had plenty of the stuff and this was as good a use as any. Regal watched keenly from a branch as the horde of fish taunted her, as if they knew she wanted to swoop down and take one for herself but couldn't. She was a bit too small for that in her current stage but the water-types would have to watch themselves when she evolved.
Route 6 was close to the length of Route 1, if not shorter. Two or three days between Vermilion and Saffron for the average trainer. Ash figured it would take him a week to traverse just like Route 1 had. He wanted to train his team intently before reaching the heart of Kanto, the heart of the Gauntlet. There was so much to do, moves to work on and techniques to perfect. He also promised Regal his attention and intended to keep to his word.
Cove was counted out for battles and restricted to light training for the time being. The newly molted corphish needed at least a few days to harden up his shell. It was his first molt since Ash had captured him in Fuchsia and wouldn't be the last. Corphish molted every two or three months until they got closer to evolving where they would molt more often as their shells grew to preemptively accommodate their new size. The ponds they had stopped at so far were helping, the water easing the process at first and then the growth of the new shell after. The supplements Ash got at the PokeMart before leaving Vermilion also played a part. Ash could vaguely see the orange crustacean under the water, resting on the sandy bank nearest to where he sat at the edge of the pond. The water-type would be back to fighting shape before Saffron City.
Greed rumbled next to him as the water-types continued to splash in competition for the free food. The panda gave them a somewhat haughty stare as he popped a berry into his mouth. Ash thought his starter enjoyed the relative peace Route 6 was affording them. Relative being the operative word there. The road was bustling with trainers of varying strength. This far into the competitive season and in the heart of Kanto, no trainer worth their salt had less than two badges. Many came down from Cerulean City after following the standard circuit and were intended for Celadon, simply using Route 6 as a place to train beforehand. The braver ones, the ones Ash preferred to battle, were making a run at Surge.
Those battles were his favorite. No one thought to head to Surge unless they were confident in their skills. Some were overconfident of themselves but plenty had serious backing for their confidence. Unown was backed off the trail during most the day. The hustle of trainers, whether alone or in groups, wasn't favorable for an introvert like his once-stalker.
The psychic-type picked up his thoughts and buzzed at the title. The psychic pushed him slightly with a dull azure. Ash laughed even as he stopped himself from careening into the pond in front of him. He turned to the panda next to him.
"Greed, I'm going to have you and Graveler working together until Saffron," Ash said. "We didn't have time to get the elemental punches down before Vermilion but he'll need them before Saffron. I'll introduce the first of the TMs to him during training tonight. I want you to help him along with them, but I want you to perfect Night Slash too. The new types will be good for him and Night Slash will be good for you. Thunder Punch should be first. It'll give him a response to water-types and the energy will be easier to grasp. Fire Punch wouldn't be bad, a good response to grass-types, but water is more common. Thunder then fire."
The pancham nodded as he flexed his paw and tried to wipe off the berry juice that was staining the pads. Ash reached over and gently took the black furred appendage into his hand. Greed looked at him strangely as he ran his hand over it. The trainer squeezed and felt the bones of the paw, he felt along the ridges where the pokemon's knuckles would be. The bear didn't have knuckles as he did. Instead of calcium bones, there were hard, metal-like bones that replaced them. Iron Fist gave altered the biology of the panda's paws to make it stronger and more durable. A punch from that paw could put a hole through him.
Ash pulled away and patted his partner on the head. "Sorry, bud. I read up on your Iron Fist ability and got curious." The pancham rumbled but didn't complain. "You know, we've been together a while now. About four months. Crazy to think about isn't it?"
The panda nodded in agreement. Ash hummed. "Do you feel any different than you did back then?" Greed looked at him, unimpressed. Red worked its way up the teen's neck. "Ok, fair, dumb question. None of us are the same as we were even last week. I meant along the lines of your evolution, bud."
His starter thought for a moment. A flick of his ear was followed by a paw doing a so-so motion. "Not sure?" Greed dipped his head. "Let me know if that changes. Your grasp of your dark-type moves has progressed since Pallet Town. Training and traveling with Nut will definitely have given you a boost. Maybe Cove too but he's less of a dark-type than you are at this point. If you ever feel like there's something you aren't sure about or, Mew forbid, something wrong, come talk to me."
Greed agreed easily with a soft chuff. The fighting-type popped another berry into his mouth, a small pop signaling it was perfectly ripe. Ash offered a few pokefood pellets that the pokemon took gratefully. Forager or not, the pancham loved his food.
Ash continued. "Usually this is the time of year that trainers are gonna start slowing down. They're hitting the longer sections of the region and the further cities. We hit those early. It's both a positive and a negative for us. By the time we get to Pewter, and probably Cerulean, there won't be many trainers to battle. They're only really busy during the early season. It's why I'm having you all battle so much here, experience but also money. Gym fees and TM costs don't shrink just cause we earn more badges."
Greed flicked an ear in understanding. The wind tickled the fighting-type's fur as Ash shivered. It wasn't the cold that affected him this time. A stable, mournful note plated on the breeze and reminded Ash of a funeral march. The Distortion in his mind rolled and nipped at him like a pack of hounds on the trail of a stantler. He felt his eyes focus more intently on the source that the loose canopy of trees both embraced and obscured.
Nut sat cradled in the trees, legs dangling limply from his position in the branches of a stout oak tree, with his creation in his hands. The grass flute was intricate for something made from the leaf upon the nuzleaf's head, precise punctures and light markings scoring the length of the proto-instrument. He'd been working on it, gradually, since his evolution. It was complete at last and it made a whistling tune that echoed in the air of Route 6. Wild pokemon gave them a wide berth when the flute was played. Pidgey fled like they'd been struck and wurmple inched their slow escape across the trees. Other trainers similarly did not disturb them when the flute was played; it made them uneasy.
Ash knew he would have been the same way if it were not his own pokemon that was the culprit.
The tune didn't unease Ash. It might have, before Nut's evolution, but he had plenty of exposure at this point. The notes that the flute produced filtered in the abyss of his connection with his nuzleaf. It shivered his bones and sprouted gooseflesh on his skin, but it did not truly unnerve him. Violet bloomed bright in his mind when the note finally died down. Distortion receded against the tide of color. Unown didn't like the flute either. The psychic was close now as it hummed a musical greeting. Its notes rang far more lively than its dark counterpart.
"Hey, Unown." Ash threw another handful of food into the pond. The water-types clambered one more at the gift. "Handling the Route well?"
Acclimating. Very crowded.
"It is. I knew there would be trainers but not this many. Good for battles but I can't imagine you like it too much. Good that you're acclimating at least."
The symbol pokemon buzzed as it fell into silence. Ash considered breaking the silence, bombarding the psychic with the hundreds of questions that itched in his throat, but decided against it. Unown had a natural arcane presence. It had followed him this far and seemed intent to do so for the foreseeable future, there would be other chances.
Ash gave the pond the last handful of pokefood he would spare with an overhand fling. The fish crowded the offered food just as eagerly as every other time.
The peace was nice.
.—.—.
Red eyes pierced him as Regal watched him intently. They were about a day away from Saffron if the other trainers on the Route were to be believed. He allotted them the rest of the week for training before they entered the city to confront Sabrina for the Marsh Badge. His team had their assignments and areas he wanted them to focus on.
Graveler and Greed were off in the secluded backdrop of their camp working together. Or facing each other might be a better description. Rocky fists swung at black and white fur as the pancham dodged. Thunder Punch was coming nicely for the rock-type. Graveler had an issue with getting the energy for electric move at first but had mostly managed to get it down. The boulder pokemon gleamed metallic silver as his shell coated itself in Iron Defense. The steel-type move was coming along too, just slower. Greed was sure to remind his teammate when he failed by hitting him with a Bullet Punch where the Iron Defense dropped.
Nut was with Cove on the opposite side of the camp. The two pokemon covered in dirt as they moved the earth below them. Dig was not a complicated move and Cove had experience working with ground-type moves. The ground-type move gave the water-type some much needed evasion while also being something the corphish could work on while his shell was still soft. Nut was there to assist while also working on his own dark-type move, Feint Attack. The move was another good addition to the grass-type's repertoire. Ash also wanted the grass-type to work on a psychic counter they had discussed. The work on that particular technique was slow coming, though.
His team was coming along well.
Ash shook his head and refocused his attention. Regal was his priority right now.
The flying-type only knew a few moves but they were promising ones. Tailwind was an asset and Nut's work with her on Air Cutter was beneficial. Rookidee couldn't learn as many moves as their evolutions but he could work around that.
He considered approaches for a moment before locking eyes with his pokemon. "You have a good grasp on what you know, Regal, which is good. Right now you're constricted by only knowing flying-type moves–and Hone Claws–as well as your small physique. You can't learn a lot of the moves I want to teach you without TMs, or evolving, but we can start on Fury Attack and work from there."
Drill Peck and Brave Bird were the two best moves that Regal could learn naturally at the moment, but they weren't options at this stage. Brave Bird was difficult to master for even highly disciplined pokemon–Ash was not confident he would classify Regal as such–and Drill Peck needed some real power behind it to be effective. Both moves would be advantageous in the future but Regal was still too young.
Young was relative, of course. Pokemon grew fast and matured even faster. For all that Regal was but a chick when he captured her, she was now a proper rookidee ready for equally proper training. Her evolution would be soon enough, he thought. Her chest feathers had started sprouting a blue-yellow mix as of late. The bird tended to prematurely pluck the ones that stood out too much, not appreciating the disruption to her usually neat appearance.
Regal tweeted a note as she stretched her wings out to their full span. The white markings around her eyes crinkling and doing their best to cow him. Ash sighed at the displeased look on the bird's feathery face. "I'm sorry, girl, but there is a limit to what you can learn right now. If you can get down Fury Attack then we can go to Dual Wingbeat–it's another physical flying-type move that should be easy enough once you get the basics. I think Emolga used it in the Vermilion Gym. I can see about getting you another type to play with in Saffron. I should have enough cash to get a new move for everyone on the team."
The rookidee produced her equivalent of a sigh as she accepted that. Her vibrant red eyes were rubies against her white facial feathers as they locked onto him once more. Her eyes were very expressive, he had come to know. "Besides that, I want you to continue on your speed drills. Tailwind is good in a pinch and I want you to learn Agility later on but your base speed shouldn't be neglected. Another thing I want you to focus on is your strength, so I'll have you fly your drills while also carrying my backpack."
Ash coughed to cover his laugh. Regal looked downright horrified at the notion. "I'll take out Graveler's minerals and anything I don't want you to risk losing or breaking if you drop it, but the rest is on you to lift. It's not that bad. Greed carries it all the time."
Regal stared at him for a beat, stunned, then shrieked in protest. Ash didn't bother to hide his laugh this time. She waited for his laughter to die down before glaring at him intently. "Alright, sorry. I do want more strength drills for you, though. If you're not strong enough for my bag…"
Regal turned her beak up at his words and chirped in the direction of his backpack. He grinned as he poked her chest feathers. "Oh? So Her Highness will try carrying the bag of a lowly peasant like me?"
The rookidee considered his tone for a moment, likely deciding whether she should peck him or not, but dipped her head nonetheless. Now that he'd flipped it into a challenge, she couldn't back down.
Ash watched the flying-type huff as he started unloading the valuable and fragile items in his bag.
When she tried to lift off with the bag in her talons the first time, it anchored her to the ground for a moment. She squawked in annoyance and adjusted her grip before trying again with strong flaps of her wings. Finally, the bag lifted from the earth and she announced her triumph with a screech as she took to the sky. It was only a few inches at first but eventually she was flying around the clearing slowly, wings reminding him of a yanma's with the speed they flapped at.
If she saw Ash capture a picture with his pokedex, she steadfastly ignored it.
.—.—.
Unown was still a mystery to Ash.
He was more than happy to have the levitating pokemon around and the bond they shared was cementing itself as integral to him. That didn't stop him from being perplexed by the pokemon. It was an observer more than anything. When they trainer, battled, or just relaxed, the psychic was alway watching. Even when not physically there, the lone eye was always aware.
The symbol pokemon did hold one interest that none of Ash's other pokemon did. His team were great, really, but they weren't particularly interested in intellectual discussions that he sometimes wanted. History wasn't his strongest subject but he had always enjoyed it well enough and liked to learn about Indigo's most famous figures and locations. He figured he'd have to get more familiar with it now that Unown was around. The psychic was innately curious and implored him to talk about Indigo and its history.
"Saffron is one of the oldests cities in Indigo," Ash informed the floating pokemon. "Pewter is the oldest, or at least the oldest that's still standing. There is some debate that Ecruteak City might have technically been founded a few years earlier but the clans that settled under Mt. Mortar aren't what we consider the modern Ecruteak. The Dragonkin kept them under their heel and effectively halted any attempts at building anything permanent."
That was a common occurrence in Johto. Unlike Kanto, most of the major cities in the other half of Indigo formed their foundations only when the Dragonkin entered into their civil war and wiped themselves out. The Drakes' War, as it was called, resulted in the destruction of the majority of the stronghold held by the dragons when two different leaders vied for the title of Drake. After the two Drakes scorched each other to ash atop the peak of Mt. Silver, the Dragonkin fractured permanently. Only the northernmost territories stayed under the control of the strongest surviving Dragonkin clan–the Wataru–giving the rest of Johto its chance to begin construction in the wake of the fall of their overlords.
"In comparison," Ash continued. "Pewter hasn't changed much since it was founded by the Mountain Men. Other than its natural expansion, it has been stable and content. But even as recently as the Winter Revolts, Ecruteak was shifting entirely."
Unwon buzzed a question in response.
Ecruteak? Winter Revolts?
Ash frowned. He had told Unown a good bit about Kanto's many cities, towns, and sights but he'd not addressed Johto much. "Right, you don't have a good frame of reference for this stuff. Ecruteak City is in Johto, the other half of Indigo, and it's sort of like a combination of Saffron City and Lavender Town. It carved its foundation with the mystic and supernatural after the Dragonkin lost their hold on them. Ghost-types and ghost trainers aren't common anywhere, but Lavender and Ecruteak produce the most ghost specialists when you take into account population and trainer output.
"Ecruteak is the most traditional city in Indigo. Johto itself is far more traditional than Kanto–I'll let Ethan rant about that when you meet him–and Ecruteak is especially traditional. For example, the equinox is a huge deal all around Johto. They have festivals and offer gifts to the Legends, but Ecruteak is almost religious with it. The Bell Tower is washed in colorful lights and the different factions that worship any of the three Legendary Beasts give blessings to the Burnt Tower. Some of the more adamant ones even dress up certain pokemon like weird effigies–Vaporeon as Suicune, Flareon as Entei, and Jolteon as Raikou."
"As for the Winter Revolts, that's when the Sevii Islands refused to fall under the authority of Indigo during the founding of the League." Ash took a swig of water from his canteen and cleared his throat. "The Sevii Islands gave the Indigo League enough trouble that they were able to keep their autonomy, so they named it the Winter Revolts. They were trying to curb the last of the rogue Dragonkin and burn out the rest of the Hiveminds from the Viridian Forest, so an armada from Sevii assaulting southern Kanto wasn't something they could add to the list. The early League agreed to let them keep their autonomy in exchange for help in sieging the Orange Islands. It's weirdly under-documented but the early League was notoriously terrible at record keeping. Nowadays, the League and Sevii are friendly enough that they're practically a part of Indigo anyway."
Unown hummed as it considered the info. A warm feeling shrouded him as the psychic's eye glowed an azure. His hat lifted from his head, knocking his messy hair loose, and floated in the air for a moment. Slowly, it raised until Unown levitated under the headwear. Ash smiled as he tapped the brim of the hat that covered the black body of the pokemon.
"I'm probably not giving you a good rundown of everything. You're more of a historian than I am," Ash admitted. "When we get to Pewter we should check out its historical sector. The Fossil Museum is there and Professor Oak offered to arrange a tour for me. The Museum of Science is popular too. There's also Mount Moon, which isn't really a part of Pewter so much as separating it from the eastern parts of Kanto, but it still has some interesting folklore surrounding it that we could look into. It's at the foot of the Great Northern Range so we could also find some wild pokemon strong enough to test ourselves against if we go a little off the beaten path."
Unown sent a probe along their bond, a question. Ash focused for a second as he made sense of it. He laughed when he grasped the excitement the psychic bled off.
"Wondering when we'll get to Pewter?" Ash smiled at the confirmation he received. "Not sure, honestly. Hold on, let me grab my map."
He slung his pack from his shoulders and nearly sighed as the weight lifted from them. Greed was unable to carry the heavy bag given he was resting from a battle with a nidorino that had all but gored him with a poisonous Horn Attack. Ash dug around for a moment, moving his bedroll and tent out of the way, before removing his waterproof map. "Here, let's make a plan. I'll run it by the others when we stop for the night."
Unown bobbed under Ash's hat as it made the brim move to give it a view of the map. Ash unfolded the map as oriented himself with the landmarks. After a moment, he pointed to the road below Saffron City. "We're here on Route 6. After we beat Sabrina, we can go north on Route 5 and challenge the Waterflower Sisters for the Cascade Badge in Cerulean City."
A passing trainer gave them a strange look, mostly at the floating hat Ash was talking to. Unown did its best to ignore the attention.
"I don't think we'll do that though." Ash looked over the map one more time. He tapped his finger over the town at the end of Route 7 then dragged it upwards. "I want to see Lavender Town at some point and this is a good chance to do that. Then we can stop at the Power Plant on Route 10. We should be able to use the Rock Tunnel system which will put us on Route 9 and we can go to Cerulean City from there and Pewter after that through Mt. Moon."
Unown buzzed a tune.
A plan.
That it was, a tentative one. Ash mulled over his next question, hesitant to ask it. He decided he would need to discuss it eventually and waiting did no one any good. "I guess that means you plan on staying with us?"
The wind whistled in Ash's ears. It helped distract from the deafening silence. He felt a probing along their bond. After a moment, a hesitant buzz rang in his ears. The black of the symbol pokemon's body darkened and contrasted to its striking white eye. The psychic stared at Ash as it probed. Images and thoughts came to the teen's recollection. Pokemon battles and traveling and training.
Not a fighter.
That was not what he was expecting. He knew it was true that there were some pokemon simply not made to be fighters. Unown were not used by trainers in a combat capacity for many reasons. They were rare and got snatched up–by researchers and traditionalists both–when they were found, but the main one tended to be that Unown only learned a single move.
No, Unown were not fighters and no one could make them such.
Ash didn't care.
"Unown, you don't have to worry about that. If I want a pokemon to fight, I have the others. Trust me, they are all more than willing to accept a battle or ten. They look forward to it." Ash flipped the brim of his hat playfully once more. "I like having you around. I want to see the rest of Indigo, train harder, win the Conference, be Champion. I want to do all of that with everyone on the team beside me, that includes you now."
Ash smiled at the warm pink that poured over him. After all, what other pokemon would put up with his rambling about Indigo's history? His other pokemon entertained his talks, but Unown listened, understood, and wanted to hear more. It was a good feeling.
The teen hesitated for a moment before resolving himself on his next action. He withdrew a pokeball from his pouch and expanded it. Unown watched silently as Ash held the capture device. This conversation was inevitable, really, so he might as well ask now. "Unown, I want you to join us officially. I won't force you to make a decision now. We'll be here a couple days more to train, so take some time to really think about it. I love having you around and I would love to see the rest of Kanto with you."
Ash laid the pokeball down on the ground. This was a decision Unown had to make on its own. He walked away from the silent pokemon as it considered its choice.
.—.—.
Nut stomped angrily, marking the grass with square footprints. A dark shroud encompassed the area in the recesses of Ash's subconscious. Shadows wobbled at their edges as the closest branches above them swayed in a breeze that wasn't truly there. The nuzleaf was growing frustrated, Ash could tell by the headache he was starting to get. Rapidly fired seeds embedded themselves into a rock that Graveler had made for their training, leaving four holes bored into its face in a manner one might call hateful. The trainer whistled appreciatively at the impact.
"Power clearly isn't the issue." Ash remarked. Nut gave him a very unimpressed glare. "Oh, don't give me that look. You know that your Leech Seed is strong enough to hold, you just need to harness the Distortion into them. I know you can do it."
The grass-type turned his nose away from the rock in frustration, three days of no progress needling his temper. The leaf atop his head–which had only partially grown back–flicked silently. Nut breathed for another moment before focusing on his target once again. The nuzleaf expanded his cheeks with air before he fired another attempt at the Distorted Leech Seed.
Six seeds fired in quick succession and barreled forward. Ash watched closely as the seeds wrapped in a dark power sagged in their travel before hitting the rock formation. They stuck into the boulder and cracked the stone with a satisfying sound. They did not bore into the heart of the rock like the previous shot, but that wasn't what caught Ash's eye. Nut widened his eyes at the attack as it bled of Distortion in black waves.
"That was it!" Ash exclaimed as he rushed toward the rock. The seeds were cracked and in small pieces at the base of the stone. There was no armor or hardened skin to bypass or a body to grow its roots in, so the seeds died as a pale root withered, unblooded. There was a dark glow on them as they laid there, dark power dispersing by the heartbeat. Nut picked a shattered seed up in his hand and inspected it over. The Distortion bled off it, releasing one last burst of power, before it too died.
Nut grinned and Ash patted his head, hand carefully avoiding the base of the leaf that grew there. The grass-type had plucked his last leaf off to make his flute and the attached greenery was gradually growing back but was sensitive when it wasn't mature. "This is good work, Nut. A Barrier or Light Screen would pretty much nullify something like Leech Seed if performed properly, but if you infuse some Distortion into the attack it will punch right through!"
Ash was a little surprised the idea had worked. He'd looked up techniques or strategies of infusing Distortion into a move but hadn't been able to find any confirmed examples of it. Nut had been growing agitated with it, not to the point of giving up but enough that the idea of it being feasible was wavering. But now…
The teen smiled. Sabrina's psychics wouldn't be able to just sit behind a Barrier now. Nut's grin was wide and Ash considered how else they could use this. Would Energy Ball be another move able to handle an infusion of Distortion? It wouldn't be as effective as a Dark Pulse, but it had its own advantages. A psychic would never ignore a Dark Pulse or try to intercept it, while they might risk it if it was just an Energy Ball. He could imagine it now, an alakazam letting an Energy Ball crash against its Barrier only for it to be struck dumb as the Distortion broke through and knocked its spoons out of its grip. What a sight that would be.
Nut tapped him on the leg and made a motion with his mitt-like hand. Ash took a few steps back. "Alright, you want some room to work on perfecting that?"
Nut nodded intently.
Ash nodded in return. "I'll go check in with Greed and Graveler then. Let me know if you need anything, buddy." The grass-type hustled back to his firing position. The Distorted Leech Seed needed to be stronger and coated with more Distortion if it was to be viable.
Greed noticed Ash's approach first, ears flicking a greeting even as the panda backpedaled away from a swipe of Graveler's fist. Fire Punch lapped flames up the rocky arm but the ground-type ignored the heat as he advanced. Another fiery swipe missed the fur of the pancham as Greed ducked under the arm and struck with a Bullet Punch. The steel-type moved sizzled a spot where it struck as electricity crackled along the metal.
Bullet Punch was a great conductor, they had learned, and combining it with Thunder Punch was a natural step. The sheer striking power of Bullet Punch with the electrical sizzle of Thunder Punch. They had dubbed the technique Thunder-Bullet, unoriginal as that was. Graveler grunted as he stopped his attacks and fell back. Greed rumbled for a few moments, giving feedback, before the two pokemon turned to the trainer that was watching them.
"Point to Greed," Ash joked. Graveler rolled his eyes even as the panda jabbed him again. "Is Iron Defense coming along, Graveler?"
The rock-type gave a slow nod. The defensive move was slow coming, that was true, but his work on it was already impressive for the short time they had been working on it. The training between the two teammates was pretty simple. Graveler was forced to keep up Iron Defense while trying to strike Greed with either of the elemental punches. If the Iron Defense faltered, Greed struck with Conductor. It was not easy training, but it was effective.
Iron Defense was one of the moves that would be essential for the idea Ash had in mind. He had already told Graveler about Indomitable and the boulder pokemon was just as interested in the technique as he was. Harden and Defense Curl were ready, but Iron Defense was still coming along. Not to mention Endure, which Ash might scrap from the technique altogether. Protect was necessary, however, and that required a TM. Ash had planned on getting that TM anyway. It sounded dead useful and any pokemon would benefit from it.
"That's good." Ash checked his pokedex for the time. "We'll break in a couple hours for dinner. You guys keep up the good work."
Ash left his team to their training as he slumped down against a tree. The sturdy dark cherry tree he had popped his tent next to provided ample shade from the sun and minimized the bright glare on his device's screen enough he could make out every third word or so. He scrolled through his pokedex for a few minutes before a prodding at his leg drew his attention. A red claw poked his calf as its owner gurgled.
"Hey, Cove, doing alright?" Ash questioned the water-type. The crustacean gurgled glumly and scuttled closer to the trainer's upper body. No battles had taken its toll on the usually battle-hungry pokemon. "Here, let me check your shell."
The ruffian pokemon gurgled again and presented his red shell to Ash's eyes. The shell was a vibrant red-orange and gave the impression of being new. Previously notable claw marks (courtesy of Harrison's glameow and its temper) were missing, replaced by unblemished chitin. He poke the shell lightly with a finger. It didn't show any stress inwards like it had previously, instead resisting the pressure and holding strong.
Ash smiled. "I think your shell is back, Cove. You think you're ready to get back to fighting tomorrow?" The water-type snapped his claws enthusiastically and gurgled an excited agreement. "Great. I know you didn't like sitting on the sidelines but I won't risk you getting permanently injured. Training was light but you still made some good progress with Dig, pretty impressive if you ask me."
Cove beamed and let out a small splash of watery bubbles. Ash smiled and rubbed his thumb on the back of the pokemon's shell. He stopped himself and made a frown. Cove stopped as well and asked a question with a gurgle.
"Sorry, Cove. It's just…do you have barnacles on your tail?" Ash pointed at the accused appendage.
The corphish shot his head backwards to get a gander at the tail. He struggled to get a proper glimpse until he bent nearly in half. When he finally got a good look at his tail, the lobster found it completely barnacle free.
Ash laughed even as Cove snapped and drenched the cuffs of his pants.
It was the last night they were going to spend on Route 6. Saffron was so close to them now. There were already grey towers of the city's tallest buildings dotting the horizon on days with good visibility.
Cove nudged him in his side. Ash raised a brow. The water-type gestured to the middle of the clearing. It took Ash a moment to see what the pokemon was gesturing at. He adjusted his eyes and then spotted the pokeball on the ground, the one he left for Unown. For a moment, it was motionless and sat under the shade of the tree branches and stationed exactly where he left it.
A mystical violet encompassed the pokeball in a light grasp. It wobbled for a small moment, but when Ash blinked the capture device was floating upwards. Unown was levitating there, its lone eye focused on the metal sphere and unnaturally silent. The psychic stayed that way for a minute, watching the floating pokeball as though considering some great conflict.
He supposed it was.
Slowly, Ash watched the psychic turn to look at him. Its eye flashed an azure, vibrant enough to make him blink. It probed along their bond and communicated one word.
Ur-Hakon
With that definitive yet monotone word, the pokeball touched the black body of the pokemon. Unown vanished in a red haze that was captured inside the sphere as it fell to the ground.
Ash felt warmth bloom inside his chest as he went to pick up the pokeball. His hand touched it and another shot of heat wormed its way up his arm. The trainer smiled as he thumbed the white release button on the device. Unown materialized with a brief flash.
The Pallet teen looked at the psychic as it looked at him.
"Thank you," Ash said.
For trusting him, for joining them.
Unown understood even if he didn't verbalize it.
Thank you.
Ash smiled and slipped the pokeball–Unown's pokeball, that thought made his chest bloom–into the sixth slot of his bandolier. "Do I need to ask the usual questions? Do you want a name and to be stronger?" The words were a joke but Unown buzzed thoughtfully. Ash kept a smile but turned sincere. "Do you want a name, Unown?"
Psychic-types, with notable exceptions such as slowpoke, were intelligent. They thought, they communicated. A name was proper, it made them individuals. Some pokemon didn't care much, especially pokemon that come from a colony or hive where individuality was not prized. Ash thought Unown was different in its own way.
The symbol pokemon buzzed.
Yes.
Ash smiled. Unown was a thinker, it could communicate its desires. He wouldn't name it when it could do so itself. "Think of one. Don't rush it, give it some thought. When you think of one, let me know."
Unown hesitantly agreed.
.—.—.
Ash found that Saffron and Celadon were strikingly similar. The Twin Sisters, cities that grew to be the heart of the region, were accurately named. Saffron stood taller than the Celadon he remembered. Skyscrapers brushing clouds in the sky as the lower city crowded their shadows with multiple stories of businesses and apartments. Celadon had Saffron beat in sheer area, Ash knew, but Saffron won out when it came to population size. The mystical metropolis was not as wide as its sister city in area but held more residents. Still, the two biggest cities in Kanto were alike in the important aspects. Loud, mostly bright, and crowded.
Route 6 shifted from rural to urban quicker than he could fathom. Concrete buildings and sparse parks on corners replaced the sprawling tree clusters and natural clearings. So many people clambered against each other as Ash winced at the noise of the crowds. His first destination was the Pokemon Center. A room and checking in his team were always his first priorities. They would all get a once over from Nurse Joy while he went into the city to acquire something to surprise them with.
In the middle of the city's clutter of towers and complexes stood the tallest skyscraper Ash had seen in Kanto. Dozens of stories tall, the Silph Co. Headquarters stood as the tallest man-made structure in central Kanto. Regal would usually be stationed on his shoulder, eyeing the city with a sparkle that boded ill for any trinket that caught the sun. He was strongly considering buying a shoulder pad with a cuff to keep her grounded.
Ash had one destination before he went back to the Center and made a couple much needed calls.
TMs.
He had the savings and he had a small list of moves his team needed.
The first floor of the Silph. Co Headquarters was split between the business proper, accompanied with a greeting desk and a few too many secretaries, and a store for their products. He passed the security guard at the entrance, spotting the four pokeballs on his belt with interest, before eagerly shuffling towards the shelves of discs that would bestow much needed moves onto his team.
He had a fair amount of savings but nothing astronomical. It would never feel good to watch all the numbers dwindle from his account when he made large purchases but TMs were a necessity in the modern world of pokemon training. Ash flicked his eyes over the protective glass that protected the Technical Machines from any theft or damage.
Ash thought over the moves he wanted for his team. He flip-flopped between dozens of moves before settling on what his choices were. There was, however, one move that he had no hesitation in purchasing. Dark Pulse was so beneficial to his team that it would be detrimental to not acquire it. It would give Greed some much needed range, a lack of which was something most fighting-types struggled with endlessly. It also benefited his starter by accentuating his dark-type leanings. Cove and Nut would both learn the move as well, another weapon in their arsenals.
Greed could take on another move, and Ash was tempted by many of the selections along the shelves. Drain Punch would help keep the panda in the fight for longer, stealing vitality from his opponent to take for himself. Another option was Superpower or Bulk Up, both of which would be like Work Up on X-drugs. Either of the bolstering moves would be a drain for Greed at his current level though. Work Up already sapped enough of his starter's stamina. Ash would revisit the moves in the future, likely after the pancham evolved. Until then, Drain Punch would be a good addition.
For Nut, Ash considered two different directions to go. Rock Tomb or Rock Slide were tempting. Both would give the nuzleaf another type to play with while granting a solid answer to fire-types and any bug-types that could contend at their level. Certainly not a bad choice, but his choice was neither in the end. One of Nut's most important battling aspects was his evasion and Double Team was too good to pass up in that regard. The normal-type move would let Nut run wild on a battlefield.
Graveler was preoccupied with his current training. The elemental punches were great assets but still a little finicky after multiple uses. With the additional training of Iron Defense alongside it, Ash knew the rock-type was better left unbothered with another move in the mix. Protect taunted him from behind the glass as he passed it by. The defensive move would be important in the future, but Ash already had reservations about overwhelming his team. He didn't want to exacerbate that by mass loading any of them with TMs.
Cove would be getting Dark Pulse alongside Nut and Greed, but Ash also picked up Ice Beam. It was a proper ranged answer to one of his natural weaknesses in grass-types while also giving the crustacean another type to experiment with. The only ice-type move any of his pokemon knew was Greed's Ice Punch, so there was a bit of a lack of coverage there that Cove would help improve on.
He had promised Regal a move too. Agility was the perfect choice for the rookidee but Ash hesitated. Tailwind was already a speed boost and he wanted to halt any reliance on the moves before it cropped up. She still had some offensive moves she needed to naturally learn before Ash would get her some of the hard hitting TMs he knew she was compatible with. A psychic-type move would still be a good idea, and he nabbed Light Screen for the flying-type. Some defense would do the bird good.
He tallied up the TMs in his head and winced.
Dark Pulse, Drain Punch, Double Team, Ice Beam, Light Screen. Five moves that would cost him thousands. Ash cringed. Some quick mental math told him that the total cost would be more than he could afford to lose if he still wanted to have enough money to not starve on the Routes. Mew, TMs were truly what broke trainers.
He debated within himself for another moment before reluctantly returning the Ice Beam TM. It was just too expensive for the moment. Cove would be disappointed but the water-type would still be learning Dark Pulse. Ash would go through the lobster's moveset and get him something else to work on, Crabhammer maybe.
With his selection finalized, Ash took his choice TMs to the checkout. He looked the other way when the numbers drained from his account–so many zeros–and left the spiraling skyscraper as the buzzer from the Pokemon Center beckoned him to collect his team.
.—.—.
Ash ended the call with Professor Oak with a smile. Advice from the man was always appreciated. The experience he was having with Nut and the dark-type energy was a common one but the older man still wanted check-ins. He should build up an immunity with time. With Unown around, any incidents regarding his temper were almost nonexistent.
He dialed the second and last number of the night and watched the phone connect. His mother's face popped into the screen.
"Ashy!"
"Hi, mom. Is this a bad time?"
Delia shook her head quickly. "It's never a bad time, sweety. You can call me whenever, the more the better. I love seeing your face."
The feeling was very mutual.
"When are you gonna come visit me?" Delia asked.
"Are you back in Kanto?" Ash nervously tapped his foot. Truthfully, visiting Pallet Town hadn't crossed his mind until after he had beat the Big Eight. "I guess I can visit after I loop around to Pewter City and go through the Viridian Forest?"
Delia laughed lightly. "I'm only teasing. I am back in Kanto, but I know how you trainers can be once you're on the road."
"How was Hoenn? Hot?"
"Hoenn is always hot," Delia retorted. "But it was fun! There are so many interesting places there and so many people. I'll have to show you the pictures when you come home."
Home. Ash smiled at that.
They talked for another hour before he regretfully ended the call. His team needed to round off their preparations for their Gym challenge and they couldn't do so without him. His mother teased him one last time–"Change your underwear!"–before Ash seeked out the back training fields of the Pokemon Center.
He had to wait another day until his battle with Sabrina. Saffron was one of the few Gyms in Indigo that required a twenty-four hour notice for any Gym challenges. It was only one more night before they would put their weight up against the Arcane Beauty of Saffron, Sabrina Tanaka. Ash could feel his head pounding as his blood rushed in excitement at the thought of holding his own Marsh Badge. Not just any trainer could defeat Lt. Surge, and even less beat Sabrina.
He would defeat both. He was already halfway there.
His team was spread out in one of the many training fields behind the Saffron Pokemon Center. The ones with new moves–all but Graveler, that was–were experiencing them. The trio of Greed, Nut, and Cove were trying to harness the energy necessary for Dark Pulse. Nut was having the best job of it, a natural result of his inherent dark-typing, but the other two were not to be out done. Spheres of Distortion varied in sizes as the three continued their practice.
Above the field, Regal was flying loops around them so fast that his head spun, Tailwind making her a near blur. A small shimmer appeared in front of her as she tried and failed to create a Light Screen. If she was stationary the psychic barrier was almost manageable. However, if Regal was ever completely stationary in a battle then something else was terribly wrong. If she could master the move while at her peak speed, she would be able to use it as easily as she breathed when slow or stationary.
"Sorry I didn't get you a new move," Ash said to the pokemon next to him. "I thought you had enough on your agenda. Between Iron Defense, the punches, and the work on controlling Epicenter, you have a lot on your plate."
Graveler turned his black eyes on his trainer. The aged rock looked at him for a moment more before grunting. Ash smiled and knocked a knuckle on the rock-type's shell. "I want to get you a couple of ranged moves that would help with some of your weaknesses. It won't be soon but can you see yourself using Flamethrower? That would be a fun card to play against any grass-types that get cocky."
The boulder pokemon's eyes gleamed in interest at the prospect.
.—.—.
"I've been thinking..." Ash started before rolling his eyes at the look his partner was giving him. "Wow, try not to look so surprised."
Greed gave a grin and an amused rumble from his spot on the carpet. That rumble morphed into a groan when Ash stole the container of berries he'd be eating out of and set it in his lap. The panda watched in horror as his trainer tossed one of his beloved berries into his own mouth. "Pretty good. I see why you like them."
Greed frowned and crossed his arms. Ash rolled his eyes as he handed back the container. The pokemon took it greedily. "You started it, you glutton. Anyway, I was thinking about a talk I had with Gary back in Stone Town. I've been thinking about it, honestly."
The panda pokemon flicked an ear to encourage him to continue. None of his team had actually met the Oak before. Still, Gary was the subject of many of his stories from Pallet Town. All of his pokemon had at least heard the name of his best friend. For Greed and Nut, they were probably as familiar with Gary as they could be without meeting him. The dullness of the mining tunnel had practically squeezed out every story he had.
"Gary brought up a couple things about team composition," Ash began. "When I left Pallet Town, I never had a real idea of what team I wanted to make. I had some notions, sure, but not anything substantial. What rookie doesn't want to miraculously find a dratini, right? More or less, everyone here was unplanned."
Greed wrinkled his nose at his choice of words.
Ash sucked in air through his teeth. This was his team he was talking about, not some dumpster baby. "Mew, that sounded bad. You know I didn't mean it like that. What I mean to say is that I never went out searching for a specific team makeup. I knew that I needed a flying-type or a water-type or so on. I never specifically thought of getting a rookidee or a corphish. Compared to Gary who was always dead set on a squirtle or an abra from day one…"
"Gary is gonna be a psychic specialist," Ash said slowly. "He and I talked about the merits of specialization versus generalization. There are benefits to it but there are some cons too. Specializing is a different beast. I was thinking that it wouldn't be a terrible idea to try to pivot into a similar direction. Not psychic-types, but dark-types. You, Nut, and Cove are all three primed to be formidable dark-types when you evolve and there are plenty of dark-types I want to add to the team in the future. Any thoughts?"
Greed stared at him, silently absorbing the information he had been given. A barry popped in the panda's mouth as he rumbled pensively before shrugging. One digit on his black paw pointed decisively at Ash.
The trainer quirked a brow. "My call?"
The pancham nodded.
"Yeah, figured." Ash ran a tired hand through his hair and flopped onto the Pokemon Center standard bed. "I'll get the others together tomorrow and discuss it. It's a serious shift in our path and I want to make sure everyone is on board."
He also wanted to make sure that the team members that weren't dark-types understood that they were always welcome on the team regardless. If Lance can have an aerodactyl and a gyarados as a Dragon Master, then Ash would have Graveler and Regal on his team. Unown too, he amended. It still felt strange to consider the psychic as a proper teammate.
Strange but good.
"Whether we specialize or not, we still have some holes in the team that need to be filled." Ash kicked his feet up onto the ottoman and slouched into the armchair. Pokemon Centers were too comfy, he thought. It made it hard to get out of bed in the mornings. "A fire-type and an electric-type are the most glaring members we're missing. I had a few in mind but not anything concrete. For electric, magneton are defensive given their steel-typing and damn good at slinging electric moves. You know that firsthand."
Greed agreed with a growl. Clearly the damage Magneton had done to him in Vermilion was still fresh in his mind.
"We have Regal though. She'll evolve into corviknight someday and also be a steel-type. It doesn't necessarily count a magneton out but there are some other pokemon I think fit better. Specifically, electabuzz or electrike. Electabuzz are powerful, physical fighters that can throw a mean Thunderbolt. Electrike are the opposite, fast and hard to hit. Manectric aren't as outright powerful as an electivire but electivire are mostly stationary in battle. Manectric are far better at evasion and agility. Either one would fit the team."
"For fire-types…" Ash was ready to list off a few of the options he remembered talking to Gary about. Vulpix, magby, ponyta. Still, none of those choices were as appealing to him as the dual dark/fire-type he'd been coveting for months now. "Houndour. Houdoom are great combatants with enough aggression to put most other pokemon on their way. Both their dark and fire sides pack serious power."
Greed closed the container on his berries and leveled a look at the teen.
Ash blinked. "What?"
The pancham sighed and pointed at himself then towards two pokeballs on Ash's bandolier. Finally, he leveled the pointed paw at Ash himself with an amused huff. Seeing that Ash wasn't getting it, Unown provided the translation.
Ash deciphered the message and groaned. "I do not have a type."
Any further protest from Ash was stopped short as a ringing brought his attention to the landline on the desk. He hadn't paid it much attention other than to notice that the clearly once white landline had been stained yellow over the years. He picked up the receiver and put it to his ear cautiously.
"Hello?"
"Good evening. There is a visitor for Ash Ketchum in Room 249, is this he?" Nurse Joy's bell-like voice asked over the phone.
Ash blinked. He had a visitor? "Yes, this is Ash Ketchum. Who–"
A shuffling made him pull the phone from his ear and wince at the noise. Nurse Joy shouted some stern warning before returning to the phone. "Sorry, he's on his way up. Please call the front desk if there are any issues."
Ash thanked her as he clicked the receiver back onto its holder. Who could possibly be looking for him? In Saffron City of all places? A hard series of knocks at the door a minute later promised him an answer whether he wanted it or not. Greed watched the door as the teen approached it.
He bent down slightly to look out the peephole. A blurry shape came into focus and, seeing a familiar figure, Ash pulled the door open wide.
Gary Oak's grin was matched only by Ash's own.
.—.—.
All done and a guest star to end it. This one is a bit longer than the last chapter so that's good. Unown officially joined the team, which we'll get more of next chapter, plenty of training, and some other moments. Next chapter is in progress, I'm hoping to get it out in August, but September is a very real possibility. Might throw that Gary Interlude out if it takes me too long on the next chapter. We'll see. Also, Essense is back? What a time…
I uploaded the first chapter of another story, Uproar. It follows Kris in Johto. It will be a fun side project while I still focus on Aspirations.
As always, reviews are appreciated!
RegulusCetus: Thanks, man! Glad the battle lived up. Traveler is a worthy comparison that I definitely don't even approach haha
Fuck Names: Thanks, glad you enjoyed. Any rematch will still be a bit into the future so I don't wanna spoil it, but I will say it won't just be Surge. The interaction with Ash and Brock, and Graveler and Golem was very fun to write.
HDK: Thanks man. The match against Surge went through so many different versions, so I'm glad it was received well. Pewter and Cerulean are going to be fun to write from a late stage trainer perspective as opposed to a rookie one.
SpeedReader: Thank you. I enjoyed writing all the interactions so good to know they are appreciated.
Dman: Thanks! Yeah, Graveler is literally an old man lol. Age means a lot less to a lot of pokemon and, in the case of wild graveler and golem, old age proves both that they were strong enough to survive that long and could gather the energy and materials necessary for evolution. Ash is currently 15, and 15 is the starting age for trainers across the board in Indigo.
BJJPanda: I haven't actually seen many stories where a main pokemon is actually traded away for another. That would be an interesting point.
Allfather Odin: Hopefully both questions were answered this chapter!