You didn't think all the madness Ash and his friends experience throughout the series would go unoticed by government authorities did you?
Here is reaction of Pokemon League members!!!
Words: 18k+
Link: https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/the-ketchum-conference.333910/
M01
Lance: "Okay, thank you all for coming. We're here to discuss a number of recent incidents."
Alder: "How come you go first?"
Lance: "Because I've got more incidents from my regions, because I have regions, and because I said so."
Cynthia: "I wouldn't press him on this one, Alder, you don't have any Fairies."
Alder: "...fine."
Caitlin: "Quit while you're not so far behind, boss."
Alder: (dirty look)
Lance: "Right. We'll handle them chronologically. I believe we assigned Will to look into this one as part of his internship - Will, you have the floor."
Will: "Thank you, sir." *shows slide* "Mewtwo, the most powerful Psychic-type Pokemon recorded - even more powerful than Mew. Mewtwo escaped from the Rocket labs which created him around early May some years ago, and proceeded to take over the island he was bred on."
Shauntal: "Bred?"
Will: "Well, more like cloned. Mewtwo is a genetic modification of Mew, with DNA from multiple other sources. He proceeded to create a hurricane around the laboratory, which he named New Island, and intended to obliterate all life except for his superior clones."
Sidney: "Heh, like he'd last long against a few Dark-types."
Will: "No Dark-types were present at the incident. Details are a little sketchy, but I did manage to find satellite footage."
*Footage is shown*
Aaron: "...I don't get it."
Lucian: "I do. Mewtwo appears to have peaceably dissolved the hurricane, and left with his clones to start a new life. The question is -"
Flint: "How?"
Lucian: "No. Who."
Will: "My fellow Psychic-specialist is correct. Someone convinced Mewtwo to change his plans." *Will switches slides, showing CCTV footage from the Port of Viridian, and then more satellite imagery.* "We identified six people as present on New Island, in addition to a kidnapped Nurse Joy who was not who we were after."
*Images change, several of the Elite start in surprise*
Cynthia: "Is... that's Ash Ketchum, isn't it."
Lance: "Thank you, Will. And now we know why I wanted this meeting, don't we?"
Alder: "You don't have to rub it in."
Lance: "When the storm dissolved, the rest of my Elite team and I were getting ready to try and stop him - and then, suddenly, it was no longer needed. Someone beat us to it."
Bruno: *chuckles* "And not for the last time..."
Lance. "Indeed. Lorelei, I believe this next one was close to home for you..?"
M02
Lorelei: "As Lance says, this one was in my area. It was, in fact, around the middle of the Orange Islands."
Alder: "Where?"
Shauntal: "The Orange Islands, Alder, some of us don't play into the Unovan stereotype-"
Alder: "Yeah, I know where they are. Been on my holidays."
Siebold: *long, gallic sigh*
Lorelei: "As I was saying. It was around Shamouti Island, the geographical and religious centre of the archipelago. Unfortunately I was in Kanto when the whole situation developed."
Bertha: "That happens, dear, it's nothing to be upset about."
Lorelei: "Thank you, Bertha. Right. As far as we can tell, this man:" *puts up new slide* "...Lawrence III, arrived in the region on Monday. On this."
*New slide*
Wikstrom: "What."
Lorelei: "It's a giant flying battleship. You'd be surprised how many there are. This one's - or was - known as Hikokyu, and possessed a rudimentary artificial intelligence as well as some extremely sophisticated energy cannons and capture technology - non-Pokeball. We believe it to be Pokemonopolis or Pokeatlantis tech."
Steven: "Makes sense, though where they built the thing... it's huge!"
Lorelei: "No information has come to light as yet about that. We do, however, know that it's no longer a threat. Anyway - he captured Moltres with this technology, then Zapdos, and was unable to capture Articuno due to the actions of..."
Cynthia: "Let me guess. Ash Ketchum."
Lorelei: "Mainly."
Glacia: "Why was he going after the Legendary Birds anyway?"
Lorelei: *clears throat* "Disturb not the harmony of fire, ice or lightning, lest these titans wreak destruction upon the world in which they clash. Though the water's great guardian shall arise to quell the fighting, alone its song will fail, and thus the earth shall turn to ash. O Chosen One, into thine hands bring together all three. Their treasures combined tame the Beast of the Sea."
Aaron: "Which means what?"
Lorelei: "It's an old Shamouti prophecy - Lawrence III interpreted it to mean he could gather the three Legendary Birds to tame Lugia - the Beast of the Sea, at least by his reading."
Cynthia: "Given how I remember the world's weather going completely insane at that point... I'm guessing he was wrong?"
Lorelei: "Right again." *steeples fingers* "The resultant imbalance nearly caused a major climate disaster, even with Lugia's help to mitigate it - if you're wondering, he's the Great Guardian - and in the end the prophecy had to be fulfilled correctly."
Alder: "Wait, you mean the prophecy was true?"
Will: "It's been happening a lot lately. The New Island incident is supposed to have fulfilled the Winds of Water, another prophecy."
Alder: *sigh*
Drake: "So, how did the prophecy get fulfilled?"
Lorelei: "Ash Ketchum did it. The world turned to Ash, as it said-"
(Several) *Laughter*
Lorelei: "No, that's what it seems to have literally meant. Ash fulfilled the prophecy, Lugia was restored to strength, the climate was healed, and that was it."
*slide change*
Lorelei: "Incidentally, this is what Lugia did to the Hikokyu. He was not a happy Pokemon."
Alder: "And you're sure Ketchum was involved in this?"
Lorelei: "I was hoping someone would ask that."
*plays clip*
Lucian: "... that is Ash Ketchum, alright... riding a legendary Pokemon. The heck? How didn't we hear about this?"
Lorelei: "Arceus alone knows. It was not exactly subtle."
Flint: "Tell me it gets more sensible..."
Lance: *chuckles* "You're going to have to decide that one for yourself. Agatha, if you could explain the Greenfield incident?"
M03
Agatha: "How many of you have heard of Unown?"
*hands go up, muttering.*
Aaron: "They're basically kind of bad Psychic-types, right?"
Lucien: "On their own, yes. They resonate."
Cynthia: "Which I'm guessing is bad?"
Agatha: "Very bad. Now, as far as we can tell, both the Hales were researching Unown. Fell through into their dimension."
Glacia: "Ouch?"
Agatha: "They got lost for a long time, the mother especially. And the problem is, they had a daughter. Old enough to feel horrible, not old enough to know when to give up."
Bruno: "Agatha..."
Agatha: "What? Anyway, the Unown found her too."
Phoebe: "And disappeared her too?"
Agatha: "No."
Will: "Unown sometimes grant wishes. We don't know why they sometimes elect to."
Malva: "Like Jirachi?"
Lucien: "No, not like Jirachi. Jirachi moderate what happens through a wish, making sure the intent is followed. Unown grant everything - including subconscious desires."
Will: "Correct. A six year old girl who'd lost her father... the Unown created for her a father."
Agatha: "Who's doing this talk?"
Agatha: "Anyway, they made her a father, and turned her house into a crystal palace."
*pause*
Agatha: "I can't work this stupid thing. Lorelei, you do it."
Lorelei: *tap, slide change*
Siebold: "That's an Entei."
Agatha: "That's the father the Unown gave her. Fairy stories are to blame."
Cynthia: "What happened then?"
Lance: "There was a news crew in the area. They captured this footage."
*footage plays*
Steven: "That's Ash... again. And - is that his mother? Is the Entei kidnapping his mother?"
Cynthia: "Poor thing."
Agatha: "Who, the mother?"
Cynthia: "Entei."
*startled laughter*
Lance: "Truer than you think. Anyway, we captured the beginning of a rather daring rescue - on the news, I might add."
*footage plays*
Sidney: "Climbin' up a waterfall. Because why not?"
Drake: "Yep, makes sense to me."
Flint: "Is there anything else?"
Agatha: "Some stuff happened inside, we don't know what, but we did see this. The Charizard is his."
*footage plays. Occasional muffled exclamations from the audience.*
Cynthia: "...did... did his Pokemon just battle an Entei called into being from pure imagination, and only lose because it could also remake the battlefield at will?"
Lance: "Yes."
Alder: "Holy sh-"
Shauntal: "Language, Alder!"
Alder: "Whatever."
Steven: "What happened after that?"
Lance: "Not much to say, really. We didn't see it, but apparently Ash or one of his friends did manage to sort things out - the Unown vanished, and shortly afterwards Professor Hale was found in the Ruins of Alph. It took a little longer to find his wife, but we managed to do so."
Cynthia: "...I still can't get over that Charizard. How has he not won yet?"
Lance: "As far as I can tell, terrible luck. I did look at his Sinnoh challenge, you may-"
*All the Sinnoh team roll their eyes.*
Aaron: "That guy was just insufferable. I mean, I get that a Darkrai is pretty cool..."
Lucien: "A Latios is hardly common-or-garden either."
Cynthia: "That battle was really unsatisfying. I was looking forward to facing Ash, at least he wouldn't just do the same thing over and over again."
Alder: "It can't get much worse, right? I mean, ultimate Pokemon, climatic catastrophe, psycho-beasts made of pure imagination... hey, where were you guys while this was going on?"
Lance: "We were at a conference in Kalos! Our aircraft landed about two minutes before the whole crystal palace collapsed."
Siebold: "Terrible timing for one, really... sorry."
Lance: "Not your fault. Anyway, I'm afraid it does get worse. Who did this one..?"
Karen: "That would be me."
M04
Karen: "Now, this one we didn't have much footage for - we're mostly going off interviews. Not of Ash, though we did ask a few questions of his friends."
Cynthia: "Who, exactly?"
Lance: "Our home region has the fortune to host Misty of Cerulean and Brock of Pewter."
Cynthia: "Brock! I liked Brock."
Steven: "I had a chat with him once. Good man with rocks."
Alder: "You like anyone who knows what feldspar is."
Steven. "Yes?"
Alder: "...never mind."
Bertha: "You need the right amount of feldspar, dear, it's rich in potassium."
Siebold: "Isn't that bananas?"
Bertha: "No, I'm perfectly sensible!"
Siebold: *blinks*
Flint: "Ignore her, she likes messing with people by pretending to be a bit doo-lally."
Karen: "Anyway. We interviewed those involved – except Mr. Ketchum – and here is the picture of events we have built up."
*slide change*
Glacia: "That's a bit complicated."
Bruno: "Pretty much."
Karen: "Approximately four decades ago, a Celebi was threatened by a poacher. The Celebi was defended by a young trainer, and took the main escape Celebi have – time travel."
*groans around the table*
Karen: "I know, it's hard to keep track when time travel comes into the picture. Anyway, the Celebi jumped to our time, and guess who it encountered - with the boy."
Sidney: "Lance."
Lance: "Very funny. No, it was Ash Ketchum alright - and his friends. There was some confusion about the time jump, but sooner or later they worked out that this boy - and Celebi - had come from the past."
Karen: "The problem was, Celebi was quite drained by the jump. They took her to the Lake of Life, deep within the forest, to heal her."
Drasna: "I've heard of this place. Is it as magical as they say?"
Karen: "I understand so."
Lance: "About this time, Vicious - the Iron Masked Marauder - turned up, and managed to capture Celebi after a brief battle."
Diantha: "Someone caught the Legendary Pokemon of time travel? Oh-"
Karen: "Fortunately, he didn't seem to make the connection - no time travel attempts were made. There was a battle, during which I am assured that a Suicune helped Ash and his friends - to the point of allowing Ash to ride him or her - and Celebi was eventually freed, though she died."
Alder: "That doesn't sound good."
Lance: "Fortunately, more Celebi showed up, and managed to restore her to life - and health. The boy was then carried back in time, and completed a university degree before being elevated to the Chair of Pokemon Research at Kanto University."
Steven: "What."
Grimsley: "Are you telling me that Professor Samuel Oak was the boy?"
Karen: *winks* "Who do you think we interviewed?"
Cynthia: "I'm still hung up on the image of Ash Ketchum riding the north wind's master. That must have been... amazing. Combine that with Lugia, and... well..."
Caitlin: "Actually, can we have a recess some time soon? I want to look up some records of events that took place in our region just last year."
Cynthia: *frowns* "I'd appreciate a recess, too - I think I have something to check up on myself..."
Lance: "One more first. This was the Altomare Incident, and I think I'm qualified to discuss it."
M05
Lance: "Altomare is a fairly unique city. It's all canals - no higher ground or anything - and the culture there is linked strongly to the water. Altomare means High Sea, and it's a commonly related legend that the city gained this name after an attack by a marauding Trainer a century ago."
Alder: "Does this have a point?"
Siebold: *muttering*
Lance: "Of course it has a point. It's a legend which happens to be true... or so it would seem."
Flint: "This kid's kind of ridiculous, isn't he..."
Lance: *shrug* "The marauding trainer attacked the city with two fossils - Kabutops and Aerodactyl. But Latias and Latios destroyed them by flooding the city, creating the canals. Since then, they've been seen as the protectors of Altomare, and their statues are found around the city."
Caitlin: "Nice story."
Lance: "That much is disputed. What's been confirmed - discreet interviews again - is that there were indeed one Latias and one Latios in Altomare for most of the previous century - not the ones from the story, we think they're the children."
Drake: "That were sounds ominous."
Lorelei: "I'm afraid you're right to be worried."
Lance: "The bit we're fairly sure of is that Ash was in the city for a holiday - he'd just gotten his eighth badge a few days before. He took part in the water Pokemon race, and appears to have been messed around with by an invisible shape."
Steven: "Can't Latias and Latios make themselves invisible with their feathers?"
Lance: "Correct. We don't know much of the interim details after that first contact, but Latias was definitely walking the streets in the form of a teenaged girl, and Ash saved her from an attack by two members of the Rocket organization."
*groans*
Cynthia: "The Rockets I've met have been quite pleasant... but I've heard what they've done elsewhere."
Lance: "These were some of the worst."
Alder: "Wait. This kid saved a Legendary?"
Lance: "A young and rather sheltered Legendary. She wasn't really able to defend herself. In any case, some hours later the Rockets made another attack -this time, successfully - and captured both Latios and the Soul Dew. That gave them the capacity to activate the DMA, and reanimate the dead Fossils from the marauder a century ago."
Grimsley: "What's that when it's at home?"
Will: "The Defence Mechanism of Altomare. It works on little-understood principles to draw power from an Eon Pokemon and the Soul Dew, ostensibly for defending the city."
Lance: "The Rockets tried to use it to take over the city. Latias sought help from Ash, and between them they managed to break through to the museum and free Latios -though not without the Soul Dew being destroyed."
Drasna: "From context, I guess that's bad."
Lance: "The Soul Dew was said to be the spirit of the elder Latios - the one who saved the city last time it was attacked. Without the Soul Dew in place, the city dries up. With the Soul Dew destroyed... a tidal wave came. This bit we have footage of."
*plays footage*
Cynthia (softly): "Two lights went out, one red and one blue... and only the red one came back."
Lance: "Latios died saving Altomare, and his sister survived. That's about all we know."
Alder: "What would have happened if Ash hadn't been there?"
Lance: "Either the DMA would let the Rockets have total control of the city, or - with Latias and Latios both captured, one of them dead, and the Soul Dew lost, the city is destroyed by the tsunami."
Glacia: "A somber note to end on."
Will: "Incidentally... we also have this."
*footage plays, showing a young girl giving Ash a picture and kissing him on the cheek*
Phoebe: "Why show that? It seems a bit... well, almost voyeuristic."
Shauntal: "Wait... her hair. It looks-"
Lance: "That's what Latias' human friend looks like. It's also the form Latias takes when disguising herself as human."
Cynthia: *head in hands* "And now a Legendary has kissed him... how long was this after the Orange Islands incident?"
Lance: "Shamouti was after the Indigo League, this one before the Silver Conference. They all happened in the same year."
Aaron: "Busy year."
Lance: "I believe that there was a recess requested? We'll reconvene afterwards, if that's alright."
M06
(after recess)
Lance: "Right, I hope we're ready to resume."
Cynthia: "Lance, I don't know how we didn't notice some of this before! I've checked the details on-"
Lance: "I'll have to interrupt you there, Cynthia. I'm afraid that I'd prefer we move chronologically. What's your first one?"
Cynthia: "Well, it's Alamos Town."
Steven: "My first one's Forina."
Alder: "This is ridiculous. Has this guy been-"
Lance: "I only invited people from regions I know Ash Ketchum has been. I understand that he's in Kalos at the moment?"
Siebold: "That is correct."
Steven: "On that note, Sidney - if you would."
Sidney: "Ugh. Right, Steven made me look at this one, and I ain't all that up on the details. Ask him if you've got any questions."
Sidney: "There's this thing called the Milennium Comet, which comes around once every thousand years."
Phoebe: "As the name suggests."
Sidney: "Yeah. And it came round a year or two ago, which awoke the Pokemon Jirachi from its sleep."
Lucian: "...are you sure? I've encountered a Jirachi while travelling in Unova."
Sidney: "Told you I wasn't up on-"
Will: "The Jirachi of Forina is unusually powerful, and unusually dormant for most of the millennium."
Sidney: "Right."
Sidney: "Okay, so he stayed active for about a week. Jirachi grant wishes and stuff, and some guy had a plan to abuse this to awaken Groudon."
Bertha: "The Legendary of the continents?"
Sidney: "Yeah. Of course, this ain't when-"
Steven: "We'll get to that one later."
Sidney: "Right. Anyway. This Ash kid and his friends met Jirachi first, befriended it, protected it, all that kind of stuff."
Steven: *sighs* "Sidney..."
Sidney: "I got bored, okay? It's not like we had time for interviews and stuff, this was just from the archives. Anyway, this guy wished for Groudon to be awakened, and they got a kind of fake Groudon."
Cynthia: "Define fake?"
Sidney: "I did find a picture."
*slide change*
Glacia: "Ew."
Sidney: "It ate people, too. Absorbed them, and stuff. Basically, Ash and everyone else involved managed to rescue Jirachi, convince the guy who did this he was in the wrong, get him to work out how to undo it, and then make that happen. Boom, the end."
Steven: "You're terrible at this."
Sidney: "You gave me the job!"
Cynthia: "So... without Ash there?"
Sidney: "Everyone gets eaten. In, like, the world."
Caitlin: "I wish we had more details on that one."
Steven: "Sorry about that. I'll have a talk with Sidney later."
Sidney: "Hey!"
Lance: "Regardless of how much or little we know, the pattern is clear. Ash runs into a Legendary or Legendaries, a crisis occurs, and he helps to solve it. This is becoming a highly consistent pattern."
Steven: "Please tell me you did more research, Phoebe."
Phoebe: "This one took place in a city, we have film."
Steven: "There's a relief."
M07
Steven: "Okay, Phoebe, let's hear it."
Phoebe: "Short version or long version?"
Steven: "Let's start with the short version."
Phoebe: "Alien invasion."
Alder: *laughing*
Steven: "...that was a bit too short. Okay, let's hear the long version."
Phoebe: "Right. Well - there's a Pokemon called Deoxys, it's a Legendary usually found in space."
Alder: *still laughing*
Siebold: "How is something usually found in space?"
Glacia: "We've been sending shuttles up there for decades now, the Mossdeep Centre isn't even the first."
Siebold: "Right."
Malva: "Still surprising."
Phoebe: "Four years before this incident, at the north pole, a Deoxys came to earth to try to find a fellow Deoxys who had crashed there before. The crashed one with a green crystal was retrieved and sent to LaRousse for study, the other one - with a purple crystal - was knocked out by what was apparently Rayquaza and badly injured."
Lance: "Rayquaza must have decided it was a threat. Bit extreme, though."
Drasna: "No doubt."
Grimsley: "LaRousse? Why there?"
Phoebe: "Not sure, sorry. Anyway, Mr. Ketchum comes into this when he meets a boy who'd befriended the green Deoxys in spirit form."
Alder: "And now the aliens are psychic! This is brilliant!"
Shauntal: "Alder! Calm down, please!"
Alder: "Why? This is hilarious!"
Phoebe: "This is where it gets less amusing. The purple one, now healed, came to LaRousse to find its friend - and it did not go about it well. It shut off power to the city, multiplying itself to produce clones and removing anything that would interfere with searching."
Alder: "...okay, sorry, that does sound pretty bad. Uh... it wasn't as bad as it sounds, right?"
Phoebe: "No lethal attacks were used. But about this time, Rayquaza arrived - to find a forcefield blocking him from entering LaRousse."
Lance: "Do we have a clip?"
Phoebe: "We have several. Here's one with the Deoxys clones, and one with Rayquaza trying to get in."
*clips shown*
Steven: "That's pretty awe-inspiring. Two very powerful Pokemon, clearly - Rayquaza and Deoxys both."
Cynthia: "Where was Ash?"
Phoebe: "Trying to awaken the green Deoxys and keep away from the Purple one until that was done. He succeeded at the second, but Rayquaza broke the shield and started to battle Deoxys in the middle of the city."
*clip shown*
Drasna: "Wow."
Phoebe: "Mr. Ketchum, and his friends, managed to get just enough power to the green Deoxys to allow it to become active again - that meant the purple one didn't finish off Rayquaza, though Rayquaza promptly got up and started to attack again. That's when things got surreal."
Cynthia: "Okay, try me."
Phoebe: "All three Legendaries were abruptly buried under a horde of overcharged security robots."
Alder: *sniggers*
Phoebe: "Mr. Ketchum played a pivotal role in deactivating the robots, which was very helpful. After that, the Legendary Pokemon involved essentially declared a ceasefire and left."
*clip plays*
Sidney: "He was just jumping across hovering robots like he didn't care... how many of the dang things did LaRousse have?"
Drake: "About twenty thousand times too many, by the looks of it..."
Cynthia: "Same question as last time. No Ash?"
Phoebe: "Rayquaza is probably killed by the Deoxys."
Lance: "Ouch."
Steven: "Ouch isn't the half of it. There was an incident recently with a meteorite - Rayquaza stopped it, as he does all of them, but were he not around it would have completely destroyed Hoenn. Legendaries are important."
Lorelei: "Hear, hear."
Steven: "Well, thank you for that, Phoebe."
Alder: "I'm amazed everyone survived that."
Steven: "So am I..."
Lance: "Okay, I understand there's one more incident from Hoenn?"
Steven: "Yep - and it's a doozy."
Groudon/Kyogre
Steven: "I'm sure we're all aware of Groudon and Kyogre."
Alder: "Nope."
Glacia (offended): "They created the lands and seas!"
Alder: "And I'm a proud Unovan. No crazy non-dragons created my land or sea!"
Draga: *sighs*
Lance: "Actually, I think I know the one you mean... do continue, though."
Steven: "Right. There'd been rumors - nothing concrete - about Team Aqua and Team Magma for months. Aqua had this crazy plan to raise the sea level, producing a better environment for Pokemon to live in."
Siebold: "Imbeciles."
Steven: "Well, yes, since that would involve seawater flooding most of the coastal plains. It's happened before, millions of years ago, but it wouldn't necessarily make a better environment for Pokemon and would involve huge numbers of deaths... anyway, that was their plan. And Team Magma wanted to cause the sea to dry out, because that would make a better environment for humans... or something?"
Sidney: "Buncha morons."
Steven: "Wait until you hear the next bit. They captured the corresponding Legendary-"
Lance: "Correction. They captured the other Legendary. Team Aqua got Groudon and Team Magma got Kyogre, the latter on a ship."
*mass eye roll*
Lance: "I know. Not the sharpest Pawniard in the building, any of them... anyway, they planned to swap."
Phoebe: "Because what's a little friendly Pokemon Trading before destroying the world..."
Siebold: "They willingly gave their opposite number the Pokemon they'd need to destroy their intended world?"
Cynthia: "Dear lords of space and time, everywhere has omnicidal madmen..."
Lance: "I was infiltrating Team Magma at the time, and I overheard some of the conversation of their leader, Maxie. He had the Blue Orb, he had Kyogre, and he wanted Groudon."
Steven: "Do you know much about the orbs? I've read something..."
Lance: "As far as I know, they're artefacts dating from the time of the Maiju Wars - between Pokemonopolis and Pokeatlantis. Pokemonopolis built the Red Orb to be able to empower Groudon or control Kyogre to make him go away, and Pokeatlantis did the same but with the Blue Orb to empower Kyogre and control Groudon. We are very lucky that the two teams got the orbs they did."
Alder: "Really? Being able to control a Legendary sounds bad enough..."
Steven: *pales* "Wait. By empower..."
Lance: "Yes. Primal Reversion."
Lance: "Anyway, Ash and his friends were in the area-"
Lucian: "Again."
Lorelei: "It really is getting past the bounds of probability, isn't it..."
Agatha: "Get on with it!"
Bertha: "Now, now, dear, no need to be so impatient."
Agatha: *glares*
Lance: "They were captured by Team Magma. About that time, an Aqua agent infiltrating Magma managed to revive Kyogre and let it break out. The blast shook the ship, and Ash and his Pikachu managed to obtain the Blue Orb."
Cynthia: "Well done, Ash!"
Lance: "It was absorbed into Pikachu's body. Now, the connection the Orbs have is... well... two way. And Groudon - and Kyogre - have a much more potent will than most Pokemon or humans, so Pikachu was soon having trouble controlling himself."
Will: "You never told us about this..."
Lance: "It was kind of chilling to watch. Pikachu was still able to fight, though, and Ash's friends - though not Ash - managed to escape capture. This is about when I unmasked myself, in order to make sure that Ash and his friends were okay - Team Aqua had obtained control of Kyogre with the Red Orb, and forced it to destroy the Magma ship. They wanted to get the Blue Orb too, presumably to cause Primal Reversion."
Siebold: "I assume they failed?"
Lance: "Yes, by this point Archie - leader of Team Aqua - was being influenced by his own Red Orb. And then Pikachu broke Groudon out of his confinement."
Cynthia: "What happened then?"
Lance: "I will admit to losing track - I was too busy trying to survive. Suffice to say that there was a grand battle between Groudon and Kyogre - though fortunately neither obtained the Orb capable of inducing their own Primal Reversion. Strangely enough, Ash's Pikachu was a major ally to Groudon in this fight - and, as far as I can tell, not entirely due to the mental influence."
Alder: "The kid's Pikachu was important in a Legendary fight?"
Lorelei: "That kid's Pikachu has shocked Ground-types before, let alone Water-types."
Lance: "We - myself, Ash, and his friends - managed to ensure Kyogre did not win the fight for long enough that both hosts' bodies rejected the orbs, which destroyed each other. Catalyst gone, the battle ended, and the two sank back into their lairs."
Cynthia: "I still can't get over that you were there and weren't able to influence the outcome for long... but that Ash's Pikachu was a major part of the battle. I know that's one strong Electric-type, but..."
Lance: "I know. The power involved was humbling and astonishing."
Aaron: "What if Ash wasn't there?"
Lance: "Hard to tell, but it's possible Kyogre wins and we'd all be underwater - especially if Kyogre managed to obtain the Blue Orb."
Alder: "Wait, all of us?"
Steven: "Kyogre's power is that it rains. Constantly. In the case of Primal Kyogre, to the point Fire attacks don't even work. Without Groudon to counter it, Kyogre could well have flooded the planet - it's how the oceans got here, after all."
Steven: "Well, you sort of took that one over, Lance... anything else to say?"
Lance: "Actually, the chronologically next one is back in Kanto - the kingdom of Rota. I think... who was it who did this one?"
Bruno: "Me, boss."
M08
Lance: "If you'd let us know, then, Bruno."
Bruno: "This all took place at the town of Rota, which is kind of a semi-independent little kingdom in itself in the north of the Kanto region."
Cynthia: "How'd it stay independent?"
Bruno: "A very large tree. No, that's not an exaggeration or anything, it's the literal truth."
Cynthia: "Right..."
Bruno: "Many hundreds of years ago Cameran Palace was the place two large armies battled - it wasn't aligned with either, it just happened to be in the middle. It was defended by only a few people or Pokemon, but one of those was Sir Aaron - possibly the greatest of the Aura Guardians."
Aaron: "Cool name!"
*slide change*
Alder: "Now he looks cool. Did he have the Pidgeot too?"
Bruno: "Yes. His two main Pokemon companions - remember, this was before Pokeballs, so they were companions rather than anything else - were that Pidgeot and a powerful Lucario."
Cynthia: "I like him already. He has good taste."
Bruno: "He left the palace during the battle, and used his staff - an artefact of considerable age even then - to absorb his friend Lucario."
Lucian: "Why?"
Bruno: "Details are sketchy - this all happened hundreds of years ago - but as far as we can tell it was to keep his friend safe, in stasis, while he gave all his energy to the Tree of Beginning nearby to ensure it would not be destroyed."
Sidney: *whistles* "Impressive."
Bruno: "The spectacle actually halted the battle, and brought a period of peace to the region. Anyway, Ash comes into the picture much closer to the modern day."
Phoebe: "After learning he met Celebi I was ready for anything."
Flint: "Oh, you're not. With what I've been researching-"
Lance: "Leave it for later."
Bruno: "Ash Ketchum was in Rota for a competition - a tournament, held there yearly or so, and won. In period costume. And part of his prize was that he got the scepter, at least for a short time - you know, like a trophy."
Cynthia: "This still had a Lucario in, right?"
Bruno: "That's correct. The staff reacted to Ash's presence, and Lucario emerged in the middle of the celebratory ball."
Siebold: "Ouch."
Bruno: "There's a far stranger bit - Lucario mistook Ash for Sir Aaron, due to their similar Aura."
Cynthia: *comes to her feet* "What!? That's... my Lucario can tell if I've had lunch by my Aura! How similar were they?"
Bruno: "Similar enough."
Cynthia: "They must be... well, practically clones or something." *glances up at the slide* "Is that what Ash is going to look like in a few years?"
Bruno: "While Lucario was being informed of the time difference, the Mew who is associated with the Tree of Beginning was playing around with some Pokemon - including Ash's Pikachu. It got a little over-enthusiastic, and took Pikachu with it back to the tree to play further."
Karen: "Irresponsible little..."
Will: "Mew are always somewhat playful."
Karen: "It's still bad manners."
Bruno: "Ash decided to head up and get Pikachu back, and Lucario accompanied the group. From what we were told, there was some friction between Ash and Lucario - probably because of Lucario's bad feelings about Sir Aaron."
Shauntal: "Of course, he'd have only seen Sir Aaron imprison him, and not known why."
Bruno: "Correct."
Alder: "This tree place, how come it's never been attacked or anything?"
Bruno: "It has. It's defended by three Regis - Regirock, Regice and Registeel - as well as a strange red substance. The group had to battle its way to the top of the tree, and in the process there was collateral damage."
Malva: "That sounds like bad news."
Lance: "Very bad news. The tree's immune-system went into shock, and - just as Sir Aaron did - the Aura wielders had to give their energy to save it."
Cynthia: "Did you say wielders, plural?"
Bruno: "Yes. Ash's Aura is strong enough that, untrained as he was, he was able to help to revive the tree."
Cynthia: *jaw slack for a moment*
Steven: "That's... very strong."
Cynthia: "That's not the half of it! Riley of Iron Island is the only known Aura Guardian in Sinnoh-"
Lance: "There aren't any in Johto or Kanto, either, at least not now-"
Cynthia: "-right - and I don't think he could do anything at all past making pretty lights for at least six months!"
Wikstrom: "This does explain how he survives a life like this, though..."
Steven: "Fair point."
Caitlin: "But with both of them there, no-one had to die, right?"
Bruno: *sighs* "Ash is still young, Lucario was still weak. Lucario stopped Ash just before the boy would have died, giving the last of his energy instead - so the effort killed him."
Cynthia: "..."
Lance: "Something wrong, Cynthia?"
Cynthia: *blinking fast* "Damnit, damnit, damnit! I wanted there to be a happy ending! I... I love my own Lucario, and the thought of losing him... and then the idea of him having spent a thousand years in a crystal, discovering your whole world has gone, and then - and then meeting someone who was so like the partner he lost... and then dying before he had a chance to reconnect with the world..."
Aaron: "You okay, boss?"
Cynthia: *quietly* "No." *louder* "Just give me a moment."
Lorelei: "Did you see Ash doing anything with Aura when you met him?"
Cynthia: "No, I don't think he was. He may not have had the time to learn - or may simply have had no-one able to train him."
Wikstrom: "Perhaps this Riley you speak of could help him?"
Cynthia: "Worth a try."
Lorelei: "I did the next one. Fortunately it's a little less of a downer."
(I think that I'll just do Temple of the Sea next.)
M09
Bruno: "Who here has heard of the Crown of the Sea?"
*long pause*
Lorelei: "What, no-one else?"
Siebold: "I have. Vaguely."
Bruno: "Right. It's a crystalline artefact built by the People of the Water, an-"
Alder: "Ancient civilization yada yada yada. Your crazy oriental country is rife with the things."
Malva: *cough*
Bruno: "The Crown can bestow the powers of Water-type Pokemon to those nearby, including Swift Swim and the ability to breathe underwater. It can also control a large mobile city called the Temple of the Sea."
Alder: "If these ancient peoples had all that tech, why'd they vanish?"
Bruno: "They didn't, some of them are still around. Anyway, take a wild guess what the problem was this time."
Wikstrom: "Some blackguard wanted the Crown for his own purposes."
Bruno: "Right in one. A charming man called Captain Phantom."
Caitlin: "Captain? Captain of what?"
Aaron: "Sounds like a super hero."
Bruno: "Try cyborg pirate."
*splash*
Lance: "Oh, dear - we'll have to clean that up later. Are you alright, Grimsley?"
Grimsley: "Sorry, dropped my glass."
Lance: "At least it was water. Right... continue, Bruno."
Bruno: "He planned to obtain this crown by obtaining the egg of Manaphy, the Legendary Pokemon known as the Prince of the Sea."
Cynthia: "As opposed to the Beast of the Sea, the Creator of the Sea, the Water's Great Guardian or any of the others?"
Bruno: "I know, the list does get a bit overwhelming at times. Captain Phantom secured the egg, but only for a few minutes before a Pokemon Ranger called Jackie - who'd been infiltrating the Phantom Troop-"
*laughter*
Alder: "What is this, a Saturday morning cartoon?"
Bruno: "Quite. He was in a position to retrieve the egg and escape with it."
Cynthia: "Good for him! I'm sometimes a bit annoyed by the ranger union in Almia, but they're good sorts."
Bruno: "Jackie hid out with a circus, who Ash and his friends - of course - ran into. As Manaphy got closer to hatching, it started to use Heart Swap."
Phoebe: "Isn't that the thing which swaps minds between bodies?"
Bruno: "That's correct. Anyway, the Phantom Force came after them, and Manaphy hatched while the chase was going on. It imprinted on Ash's friend, May Maple."
Steven: "May... May... Wallace mentioned her to me a few times. She's the coordinator, right? She's doing very well for her age, I hear."
Bruno: "That's correct. Manaphy assumed she was his mother, I'm told - and then things got a bit confusing. Clifftop car-helicopter chases, that kind of thing."
Lance: "We've been looking into how all this hardware gets into the hands of criminal gangs, but no leads so far."
Alder: "You should see what Plasma had. We managed to seize a giant floating warship!"
Bruno: "They made it to the Temple of the Sea, but were followed by Phantom - who started pulling bits out of the controls, because they were made of shiny crystal."
Cynthia: "And there we go. Moron..."
Bertha: "They're all a bit stupid, dearie, why else did they become pirates?"
Cynthia: "True..."
Bruno: "The temple started to break down, but the Ranger and Ash's friends were able between them to replace them - I understand that Ash came close to drowning as he replaced the last crystal, and that Manaphy successfully operated the Crown to give him the ability to breathe underwater."
Lorelei: "How close are we talking?"
Bruno: "I'm not sure - we couldn't interview him, and he was the only one there. All he told Brock - who we did interview - was that he'd started to black out."
Bruno: "Kyogre turned up - much more amicable, this time - and destroyed Captain Phantom's submarine. With that, everyone went home - mission accomplished."
Cynthia: "I forgot to ask this, but - no Ash?"
Bruno: "Assuming his friends were still there, and everything else went as it did without Ash, then Samiya - the Temple - crashes into the seabed and is destroyed."
Aaron: "It says a lot that saving a floating temple-city is a step down for him."
Bruno: "Quite."
Lance: "Well, I believe that's about it for the Kanto region. I know that Ash's team did very well indeed in the Battle Frontier, but that's not really our remit."
Cynthia: "Oh? Define doing well."
Lance: "Brandon brought out his three Regis and Noland used his Articuno. Ash still won."
Cynthia: "How has he never won a League?"
Lance: "There were... irregularities with his defeat in the Indigo Conference. We've launched an investigation. Aside from that, though, he tends to face completely outrageous opponents."
Cynthia: "I'll say... poor kid."
Lance: "Apparently he was offered a Frontier Brain slot-"
Flint: "Damn, he must have impressed Brandon! Those don't exactly get given out like candy..."
Cynthia: "Okay, there's five incidents in Sinnoh I'd like to mention. I was there for one of them, so I'll handle that one - Aaron, if you could take the first?"
Aaron: "Alamos? Uh, sure - might need a few minutes to go over my notes first, though..."
M10
*after recess*
Aaron: "This all happened in the town of Alamos - it's the home of the Time-Space Tower, which is an ancient building connected to Dialga and Palkia."
Alder: "I've heard of those ones. They're... what was it, light and dark?"
Shauntal: "Alder, you can't possibly be this-"
Alder: *chuckles* "Yeah, yeah, I know. Time and space."
Phoebe: "Some people..."
Aaron: "The first sign of trouble was apparently when people started to have nightmares - people and Pokemon alike."
Lance: "That's not something Dialga or Palkia can do..."
Grimsley: "Sounds more like Darkrai to me."
Aaron: "That's correct, as events transpired it was a Darkrai. It was trying to send a warning to the people of the town, though the method it used wasn't very simple."
Cynthia: "I suppose it's not as if there were any other ways it could clearly communicate."
Aaron: "Especially with someone running around trying to capture it, yes."
Alder: "So, what was it trying to warn people of?"
Karen: "Knowing how Darkrai operate, something big."
Aaron: "That's correct. It was trying to communicate that Dialga and Palkia were warring in their own little dimension, in an adjacent reality to Alamos."
Will: "That sounds... devastatingly bad. Is it?"
Aaron: "Yes. Yes, it is. It's... well, worse than Groudon and Kyogre, or the three Birds - these are Pokemon directly responsible for building and maintaining the universe."
Steven: *whistles* "And Darkrai was trying to warn people?"
Aaron: "More than that, it was trying to stop the two Dragons from fighting - to no avail. As the battle continued, it started causing disturbances in the real world."
Lance: "Disturbances?"
Aaron: "Ranging from strange lights and winds to portals, as Palkia tried to escape from Dialga's attacks. A local, Tonio, said he was able to pick up the disturbances on his computer - don't ask me how, it'd give me a headache..."
Cynthia: "So, two of the three creation dragons were fighting... and Ash found out about this?"
Aaron: "Only through Tonio. Though it became quite obvious only a few minutes later, as Palkia pulled the whole town into the other dimension."
*slide change*
Aaron: "This is what it looked like."
Alder: "Trippy."
Lucian: "That does not look right."
Aaron: "I know - though I'm not sure why Palkia did it. Maybe it wanted to limit the collateral damage or something."
Flint: "From your tone of voice, I'm guessing it didn't work."
Sidney: "What gave you the first clue, the fact one of the Creation Trio was trying to kill another?"
Caitlin: "They wouldn't go that far, surely?"
Aaron: "It would have. Dialga came through a moment later, and started absolutely pounding Palkia - Hyper Beam, Draco Meteor, everything. Darkrai tried to stop the fighting, even by using Dark Void, but the two Dragons managed to agree on one thing - blast Darkrai first."
Wikstrom: "I suppose it must have been a matter of honour between them."
Marshal: "Honour's all well and good, but you don't take it to the death!"
Aaron: "Here's the only footage we have of the fight."
*clip plays*
Malva (pale): "So, that's what it's like when Legends war."
Aaron: "It got worse."
Drake: "How could that get worse?"
Aaron: "The town started unravelling from the edges in, as the strain got too much. I guess it was as Palkia weakened. Fortunately, Palkia picked the right town to pull into that pocket dimension - it's the home of Oracion."
Alder: "Aura-watta?"
Aaron: "Oracion. It's a song with mystical powers, which when played at the Time-Space Towers calms all Pokemon who hear it - even Dialga and Palkia."
Siebold: "It seems quite the coincidence that the Time-Space Towers were there."
Drasna: "Unless that's why Palkia picked it."
Cynthia: "Not that I'm complaining, but where's Ash in all this? He's usually in the thick of things."
Aaron: "Quite. Ash was the one carrying the record with Oracion to the towers, helped by his friends - which was a fraught endeavor. They had to avoid bring hit by missed attacks, climb the tower by hot air balloon, run up stairs as they began to dissolve into the void... they made it just as Dialga and Palkia were about to fire their signature moves at one another - Spacial Rend and Roar of Time."
Lance: "Which... would have?"
Aaron: "Killed one of them, probably Palkia."
Cynthia: "Wait - Palkia helps hold the universe together! You mean-"
Aaron: "We came within about ten seconds of time and space unravelling completely, yes."
Cynthia: "Holy..."
Aaron: "Fortunately, the song also seemed to have healing properties. Palkia was returned to health, and restored the town to its proper place."
Alder: "Because nobody wants their town to be mostly disappeared."
Lance: "I had not realized that incident was that bad. Thank you, Aaron, for pulling all that together. It seems this meeting has been long overdue, if Ash just prevented the destruction of space and time."
Sidney: "Well, being technical, just space..."
Bertha: "No, dear, time too - there'd be a paradox."
Sidney: "What."
Bertha: "Now, now, wait my turn."
Lance: "Right, that was a bit worrying. Please tell me the next one's less terrifying."
Flint: "That's mine, I think."
Cynthia: "Well, Flint? Is it less terrifying?"
Flint: "Gonna go with 'slightly'. Okay, this one's a bit further north and a couple of months later..."