Vermillion City Northern Entrance - 2058 hours local time - Day 15 of Ash Ketchum's Pokemon Journey
It was late, even if the sun was still up, the gym was long closed and Ash knew it: Surge may have been a giant of a man that tended to be an ass about evolving Pikachus to Raichu, but even he was human and had to sleep.
Or needed obscene amounts of coffee to get up in the morning. Ash had no experience with that, to be honest: he never drank it in the last timeline or this one, as far as he knew. And for some reason, he felt like something was…trying to pull him closer to Misty.
'Oh, HELL no,' he thought, noticing Misty's Starmie, complete with glowing jewel, subtly trying to get him closer to her using her psychic powers.
On one hand, Ash understood WHY: they wanted Misty to be happy and to heal mentally from her experiences with the psychics. Ash was the only one they trusted with that, as she was attracted to him and had not abused that attraction.
On the OTHER hand, Ash had essentially taken a vow of celibacy - even if he didn't know the meaning of the word when he made that vow - and he tried to keep his word, even if it killed him. Which it usually DID.
"Knock it off…" Ash grumbled. On his shoulder, Pikachu had other ideas.
"Pika." 'No, keep going - I want this to happen already!' he said to Starmie.
The trainer glared at his starter with annoyance. "Dammit Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed as he finally broke Starmie's concentration, making Melenie and Misty stare at him. Ash winced at the looks. "Sorry."
"What did Pikachu do?" Misty asked.
"Why ask? He can't understand Pikachu." the breeder stated as she pet the Oddish Bulbasaur protected in the last timeline.
"Yes he can," Misty stated, as Melenie blinked.
"…say what now?" She asked, as Ash sighed.
"Ash talks to Pokemon, and understands them," Misty reaffirmed.
"Oddish!" 'I don't believe you! He can't-' the weed pokemon started before Ash interrupted him. "I know, hard to believe. It's… complicated." he not-explained.
"Odd. Oddish." 'You got lucky! If you understand me, give me a treat. That's the only way I'll believe you!' Oddish demanded of the trainer. Ash simply shrugged.
"What kind?" he asked, Oddish effectively paling.
"…Oddish." 'Holy Arceus he can understand me…' he muttered, as Pikachu smirked - tossing a Poke-treat at him.
"…holy shit you can…" Melenie muttered, looking at her Oddish's reactions.
"It's a gift. One I kinda wish I didn't have…" Ash said sheepishly. "Look, we need to get to the Pokemon Center and get a room-" Pikachu snickered at the phrasing, Ash glaring at his brother in all but blood and species and flicked him on the nose. "For the night. I'm not sure where you'll be staying-"
"Likely at the same. The police are setting up a shelter for the village Pokemon, but I'm just as tired as you are." Melanie said before yawning. "I have a lot of paperwork to deal with in the morning. And a call to my cousin. She is going to be PISSED…"
It took 45 minutes to reach the Pokemon Center, which was still open, thankfully. Ash wanted to plant his head on a pillow and be done with it.
He had a big day tomorrow with Surge. Humble the man with Pikachu, mostly.
And in case the big man had more Pokemon like Joltiks or, Arceus forbid, a Zapdos, well… it would be INTERESTING to say the least. Pikachu might enjoy the workout. Or Charmeleon would.
"Pika?" 'So… all joking aside, what's the plan?' Pikachu asked. "Chu." 'I mean, as much as I feel like I could take down Raichu like before… we know that things aren't the same this time around…'
"Understatement, Pikachu." Ash said with a mild chuckle as he laid down on the bottom bunk. Thankfully, Misty was asleep and not…well, making him want to scream. "We know he sticks to electric types. So… Magnamite, Magneton, the Pikachu evolutions… Joltik?"
"Pika." 'Ok, how are we going to fight a Joltik? Those things are the size of your thumb at times!' Pikachu demanded, knowing Georgia's luck at fighting one with her Beartic. Or lack thereof.
"I think we can handle a Joltik." Ash said, before thinking. "…What about a Togedemaru?"
"Chu." 'That's steel/fairy. Ash, I know we can handle them.' Pikachu said.
"I know… just thinking…" Ash sighed, as he pondered. "…you don't think he has a Zapdos, do you?"
Pikachu laughed "Pi-pika-chuu!" 'Hah! Yeah, let's hope not!' He said.
The next day - 0647 hours local time
Ash was typically an early riser, always eager to face the day.
Right now, he did not want to do so. Mainly because of Misty. Or rather, her lack of attire when she jumped out of the top bunk in their room, barely decent.
Ash mentally screamed when he noticed. Pikachu was not amused.
"Pikachu." 'Just mate with her and get it over with, please.' he asked before burying his head under a pillow to sleep more.
Ash continued to mentally scream for another three minutes until Misty went into the bathroom, likely to shower and- 'OUT! OUT! OUT!' he cried in his mind to rid himself of lecherous thoughts.
He wasn't Brock, damn it! …Well, the Brock in the past timeline. The one here was dating Professor Ivy.
Before he dwelled on things that would give some people massive headaches, Ash then focused on battle plans. Just because he believed in improvising didn't mean he didn't go in without an actual plan of attack. Took him four years and minor brain damage from Zekrom to screw over most of his critical thinking (next time he ran into the electric dragon, he was introducing Gible to it) but he knew damn well to come up with a good plan instead of rushing in like an idiot.
He did that enough in Kanto the first time around and apparently insanity was doing the same thing twice, expecting a different result.
Of course with this world being so different (with the Shadows), he was expecting his fights to be far more… intense in the future. Brock was about what he expected, Misty's sisters were okay-ish… but Surge? From what he's heard he's an old war vet in this timeline - not exactly someone to take lightly both in the physical and tactical aspects in battle.
Ash was good at improvising, but Surge was an electric-type master. Kinda what Ash wanted to be, but he didn't do the whole type-specialization thing.
"Ok, it's fight day. Any suggestions?" Ash asked his starter, who got out of the bed.
"Pika." 'Raichus are mine and give Misty a kiss.' he said with a mild grin.
"…Sure and no." Ash replied in order of advice. He had Cyrus to deal with: romance was never going to be on the cards.
"Pi." 'Oh, come on-'
"NO. You know how I feel about that. I am NOT turning into my father, damn it!" Ash said as he grabbed his backpack, trying to ignore the swords he took from the Samurai all the way back in Viridian Forest almost two weeks ago.
…Was it just two weeks? It felt longer.
Pikachu rolled his eyes "Pika Pi…" 'I'm dropping it for now,' He said. "Chuuu." 'At least until we trash this Gym.'
"Fine, I'll take it." Ash sighed, glad to have at least some reprieve from Pikachu's… tactics.
Vermillion City Gym - 1 hour, 23 minutes later
Ash saw that the gym design had changed somewhat. More… flashy, especially the big Zapdos statue with spread wings and a look that screamed 'I am going to electrocute you to death and EAT YOU'.
Honestly, Ash had dealt with a Zapdos with an even less friendly disposition in Kalos.
"That… is a big and angry bird." Misty said, somewhat shuddering.
"It's just a statue." Ash said, rolling his eyes. Seriously, it was just a statue of an electric type. It wasn't like a real Zapdos. 'Water trainers.' he thought with a dose of annoyance.
This was why he didn't do the type specialization thing. That and he liked the challenge of working on all Pokemon types.
He opened the doors, cuing the laughter of arguably Ash's least favorite person. At least when it came to Pikachus. The TRio weren't that bad unless they had Mimikyu and now that he had one for anti-Mimikyu tactics…
'Focus on the gym, Ketchum.' Ash thought as the lights came on, showing Surge, standing on some stage like a rock star - spotlights centered on him and everything.
"Welcome Challenger!" Surge announced loudly, "To the Vermilion City Gym! I hope you're ready to face my privates!"
"Wait, what-?!" Misty balked at that, before appearing beneath Surge were two more men, clad in similar military fatigues, with PFC rank insignias. "…oh…"
"Military toilet humor." Surge said, grinning. "To face me, you gotta run the gauntlet, from the lowest of the low to the Sergeants. You gotta endure the grueling grind of battle, to the edges of exhaustion! Only then are you two gonna face me!"
"Um… a-actually, only Ash is… um… doing the… challenge…" Misty said, taking a few steps to the side - leaving Ash standing alone.
"Ah, I see…" Surge nodded, as he gave Ash a look up and down. "A young man… but I see a glimmer of wisdom and experience in those eyes of yours… what's your name, son?"
Ash glared at Surge. A literal lifetime ago, he outright told him to evolve Pikachu against his will. He didn't exactly hold much of a grudge after kicking his ass the first time, but this time… this wasn't the Surge he humbled.
"Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town." he answered, making Surge's eyes widen.
"HA! Delia's boy! I thought I saw that angry look of hers in your eyes." Surge said, as though happy to see him. "Your mom's terrifying on the field."
"So I've been told." Ash said, wanting to know just what his mom did to garner the reputation she apparently had.
"Show no mercy, boys!" Surge declared. "But mind the Lumose Convention! Last thing I need is a lawsuit!"
"AYE, SIR!" both men answered, pulling out Pokeballs. "One at a time, Privates: this ain't Hoenn and their double battle thing." Surge reminded before the one on the left tossed a ball, unleashing a Voltorb. Ash scowled at looking at the Pokeball-like Pokemon, which he was well aware would explode at any time.
'If I ever go to the Orange Islands, I'm just going for Snorlax and Lapras.' Ash thought before sending out an old friend. "Go, Bulbasaur!" he called, releasing the Bulb Pokemon onto the field.
"Voltorb, use Shock!" The first Private shouted, as the Pokeball-like creature began sparking with electric energy, similar to a thunder-bolt before shooting it out towards Bulbasaur.
"Vine Whip! Dodge!" Ash called before Bulbasaur used his vines like springs, avoiding the bolt by going into the air, before grabbing the ball-like Pokemon with his left vine.
"Torb?!" 'What the hell?!' said the ball Pokemon as it slammed into the ground thanks to Bulbasaur, making a crater in the floor.
"Well, that's interesting." Surge muttered as Bulbasaur continued slamming the ball into the gym floor, making it too disoriented to counterattack before throwing it out of bounds. "Not the most conventional way of winning. I like it. Sometimes, you gotta do what ain't in the book to win!"
"I aim to win after all," Ash smiled slightly, as Bulbasaur hopped back to his side while the Voltorb was returned by the Private.
"Continue the attack! Wear him down, soldiers!" Surge cried before the other private sent out another Voltorb, who began sparking.
"Bulba." 'Self Destruct?' Bulbasaur muttered as the Voltorb glowed violently.
"Blubasaur, get into the air, avoid the explosion!" Ash cried.
"Bulba!" 'Got it!' Bulbasaur shouted as he used his vine whip - crashing them into the ground, and using the momentum to shoot himself up into the air. Then using his second whip to reach up and grapple one of the overhanging lights to keep him suspended in mid air, as the Voltorb continued its self-destruct.
"…VOLT." 'FUCK!'
*KA-BOOM*
Surge started. Just stared. Then laughed heartily. "Well played! I've never thought anyone would do THAT!" Then he pulled out a notepad, likely to make sure that never happened again. Ash smiled.
This was going better than his first encounter, but then, Ash only faced Surge himself and that took two tries to beat his Raichu.
"Rank up! Corporals! Take down this challenger!" Surge ordered as two more trainers, one male, one female, came out from the doors on the opposite walls to face him, wearing the ranks of Lance Corporal on their shoulders.
"Bulb." 'Now what?'
"Go!" called the male trainer, releasing a Magnamite, which glared at the Bulb Pokemon that usually kept the peace back at the Ranch.
Most times, Ash would take this as a challenge, to beat the steel/electric-types with a grass/poison. But really? Not today. He only had one real challenge. So, while it was beneath him to resort to this, he just had no time for nonsense.
"Come on back, Bulbasaur. I know just who to use." the trainer said before recalling the Ambassador and sending out the (future) dragonic fire-type.
"Oh, come on, a Charmeleon?!" Surge said. "Where'd you get a second starter?!"
"He came to me. And seriously, Lieutenant, I have no time for your flunkies." Ash replied, making said flunkies glare at him. "The only one I am here to face is you. So if I have to barrel through your meat shields to get to you, so be it."
Ash had a grudge. He usually forgot about them and never acted on them most of the time, but he held grudges. But this time, he wanted to BEAT the idea of non-evolved Pokemon being good enough to face their evolved selves into Surge's skull.
'There's that flaring anger problem again.' Ash thought as he imagined himself literally beating the crap out of Surge for a moment. It passed as quickly as it appeared.
"Magnemite." 'Analysis of chance of victory: minimal. Awaiting orders.' said the magnet Pokemon as it focused its' single eye on Charmeleon.
"Magnemite, Sonic Boom!" ordered the lance corporal, as the Magnet Pokemon charged up static electricity to fire off the air attack.
Of course, that took time and Sonic Boom tended to be very hit and miss. Mostly miss, in Ash's experience.
"Charmeleon, dodge, then torch him!" Ash ordered, knowing while Charmeleon knew Flamethrower, he probably wasn't strong enough yet. Evolving didn't mean he was ready for all the things he liked to do. He had to train for it. For now, he had to resort to Ember.
"Char!" 'Flamethrower it is!' the Flame Pokemon declared, Ash's concerns not being shared by Charmeleon himself as he jumped out of the Magnemite's line of fire, the sonic waves slamming into the gym floor. Then he took in a deep breath and unleashed a torrent of flame, engulfing the poor steel-type in fire.
"MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTE!" 'OWOWOWOWOWOWWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWWOWOWOWW!!' Pretty much self-explanatory who said THAT.
At that moment, Ash really wished he couldn't understand Pokemon. But if he didn't, then they would never have come back with him and he'd have to bond with them all over again and-
'Stop it.' that dark voice in his head snapped. 'Take the bad with the good and move on.'
The flames did not last long, Charmeleon coughing madly as he was forced to catch his breath, his lungs not trained for long-term uses of the attack, nearly falling to the ground before catching himself. Charizard was too stubborn to give in to fatigue, no matter his evolutionary stage.
But the Magnemite had not fainted yet. "Mag." 'You will pay for that.' it said, PISSED. It might have been a machine at heart, but all Pokemon have emotions. Steel-types were usually the best at keeping them in check. But as with all things, there was always a breaking point.
CRUNCH!
And this was Charmeleon's. He was hungry. So, ignoring Ash, he jumped at the hurting Pokemon.
"MAG!" the Magnet Pokemon cried in pain before fainting, missing the right magnet that it kept close.
"Ok, kid, that was… just WRONG. I don't care how you spell it, that was wrong in SO many ways…" Surge said, half-muttering. While Pokemon often ate other Pokemon, they were usually feral, rabid and often Shadowed.
"I agree with you there," Ash narrowed his eyes at Charmeleon. "Charmeleon, what the hell was that all about?!"
"Char." 'Angry and hungry.' Charmeleon said before belching out fire. "Mel." 'Besides, you said it best. You want to face Surge.'
…Fair point, but the magnet was a bit far. "Corporal, get that thing to the infirmary and get it a new magnet!" Surge ordered. "You're lucky they can pick up new magnets if they lose one!" he yelled at Ash.
"I didn't tell him to do that, Surge." Ash snapped. The Lieutenant glared, but did nothing. Ash had a point there. It was still a good thing that losing a magnet didn't kill a Magnemite. Only melting the central core killed one. Losing a magnet was like losing a leg and fortunately due to their very nature, at least Magnemites weren't crippled for life; they simply needed to adjust to the new magnet.
"Sir, permission to fall back?" the girl asked, seeing that Charmeleon was hungry for more. It was a code for conceding the match without a fight and Ash knew it.
"Granted: I don't want two injured Magnemites in one day!" Surge ordered, the trainer leaving with her male counterpart, Charmeleon standing on the field. "Sergeants, front and center! Take that target down!"
"Yes sir!" The Sergeants announced as they marched up, pulling out their respective Pokeballs and tossing them out, revealing…
"Pika!"
"Chuu!"
"…Pikachu…" 'Well shit…' Pikachu muttered, looking at the two non-shadow Pikachus which had just appeared.
"Pikachus ain't that rare, son. But these ones are a bit better trained then the one on your shoulder." Surge said with some pride. "Gotta make sure they're good and ready for Raichu'ing up, though. Made that mistake once. Took years of work to undo it. So, what're you gonna do?"
Both trainer and starter took offense to that. Ash for implying he didn't train Pikachu enough. Pikachu was incensed at the Raichu comment.
"Pika." 'They're mine.' he spat, Charmeleon knowing much better than to argue with him as Ash returned him and Pikachu leapt onto the field.
"Pika?" 'Oh, hi there!' The first Pikachu waved, as the second one sighed - hitting it with the back of their tail. "Chu!" 'Hey! Oh, uhhh… p-prepare to be defeated!'
Pikachu looked at the older one with a raised brow "Pika?" 'FNG?' he asked.
The second Pikachu - a female - nodded. "Pikachu." 'Very much…'
"Pi." 'I'll make this quick.' Pikachu said before charging up for a brief use of Volt Tackle, though not for an attack.
Pikachu wasn't going to deal with them quickly. He was going to outrun them and destroy them when they tired. They hadn't left Kanto. He, on the other hand, had been from Kanto to Sinnoh and traveled two oceans to Unova and Kalos before going to Alola. They didn't have a chance against him.
So as their own trainers commanded them to tackle-dash him, Pikachu focused solely on running as fast as he could - literally running circles around the two less-experienced Pikachu's. To their credit though, they did keep up pace for quite a while - very clearly well-trained.
"Hmmm… interesting…" Surge nodded, as he continued to observe the fight - watching as his Sergeants Pikachu's were beginning to slow down.
"Pi… Ka… Chuuu…" 'Stop… running… it's not… a marathon…' the younger Pikachu muttered, as he began slowing down.
"Pi… pi…" 'Not a marathon.' their enemy said with a smirk. While Pikachu lacked the conditioning of the previous timeline, he more than made up for it. This was shown when he rolled back towards Ash, firing off a Shadow Bolt, electrocuting both of his fellows and knocking them down.
Surge nearly reached for a gun. "A fucking SHADOW? Has Oak finally gone insane?!" he shouted, hand on his holstered sidearm.
"Pikachu is under control; he's not trying to hurt anyone!" Ash said, as both 'enemy' Pikachus were unconscious, but alive. And Pikachu wasn't going after them. Surge kept his eyes on Ash's starter, judging him. After all, Shadow Pokemon were insane beasts but not stupid. Instead, he left them be, hopping back to Ash's shoulder.
"This is damned odd. Never run into a controllable Shadow before." Surge finally said. "Where'd you get it?"
Ash scowled, getting annoyed. "HE is my starter." he snapped. "And so far, the only people he's hurt are members of Team Rocket or insane killers."
That fire and anger rang out in his even voice, but it might as well have been an angry roar. And Surge knew it. He liked to push trainers to their breaking point in the other timeline as well and now he reached Ash's.
"Alright, alright. Oak's not known to give out Shadow Pokemon: he usually puts them down." Surge said, looking rather… perturbed about that subject. Ash wasn't an expert, but clearly, not even the most overkill gym leader enjoyed killing Pokemon, shadow or not. Necessary, maybe… but not welcome.
"Dismissed, Sergeants: you did your best. Normally, you'd face me, but I think it's time you face my irregulars." the big Gym leader declared before bellowing "Sergeants Major!"
Two older trainers, closer to his (new) sister's age, came out, both young men and both scowling at him. Clearly they heard Pikachu being a Shadow Pokemon and were not happy.
"Engage and destroy! Bring this challenger down!" Surge ordered, though Ash could see a small grin. He WANTED Ash to win and face him now.
"I'm gonna put that damn shadow six feet under," One of the Sergeants growled, tossing out their ball. "Geodude! Go!"
Ash was, at first, confused - Geodude? What's a rock type doing… it then hit him as the aforementioned Pokemon appeared… only it had stone-like eyebrows, and similarly shaped 'hair', hallmarks of the Alolan Geodude.
"Stand by, Blitzle! Take him down!" shouted the other, reminding Ash of Paul as the Unovan electric zebra appeared, not looking very joval.
'Foreign electric types. Surge must use them to throw off locals. I know I'd be confused.' Ash thought as he pictured his older self wondering how that worked. It was kinda funny.
But this Ash wasn't a clueless moron, he was a well-travelled, if somewhat bumbling, veteran. And frankly, he knew just who to send, palming Charmeleon's ball.
"Out you go, buddy!" he called as Charmeleon returned to the field with a yawn of boredom.
"Char?" 'Really?' he said, eyeing the horse and rock. "Me." 'What's a Geodude doing here? I thought this was an electric gym.'
"Geo." 'This is why, matchstick.' The Geodude growled, slamming its fists together - as sparks of electricity blasted out and around him.
Charmeleon looked at Ash with a 'What the fuck?' expression, as he sighed. "It's an Alolan Geodude - different typing."
"Dude!" Shut up and die!' yelled the irate Geodude as he generated and then tossed a large rock at Charmeleon, forcing the fire-type to jump and avoid it.
"Meleon!" 'Still a fire-type!' the fight-happy lizard yelled.
"He's still a rock-type!" Ash retorted while the Geodude Sergeant glared at him.
"Char!" 'Oh, right. Metal Claw!' he said with realization before going on the attack, claws taking a metallic sheen.
"What the fu- DODGE!" The Sergeant began to shout, before Charmeleon punched the Geodude - the raw impact sending it flying backwards spinning before slamming against the side of the wall.
The resounding THUD made everyone wince. But the 'dude was not out. Surge didn't play that way.
"Keep going!" Ash ordered. "Evade and attack!"
"Char!" 'Evade?! I don't do that well!'
"DUDE!" 'You'll pay for that!' the Geodude yelled as he charged from the damaged wall.
A neigh cut into the fight as the Blitzle began charging at them both, Surge facepalming at the charge. "Damn it, not again!" he exclaimed as the zebra charged at not Charmeleon, but Geodude.
"Geo, Geo! GEO!" 'No, No! NO!' The Geodude shouted, waving his arms until…
WHACK!
CRASH!
Blitzle slammed into the rock-type, the already injured Geodude falling unconscious. "You need to retrain Blitzle to not do that." Surge deadpanned, looking at his Sergeant. "Take him to the Pokemon Center. I want to know what the hell is up with him."
"Aye, sir." the Master Sergeant said before returning the Blitzle, then heading for the gym doors.
"Happens every goddamn time. Release Blitzle, he rams into something, anything at random." Surge groused, clearly annoyed. But his annoyance ebbed as he looked at Ash. "But now we have nothing in the way."
'No, we don't.' Ash thought somewhat darkly. Pikachu wanted to beat up Raichus and he wanted to put Surge through a conga of humiliation. The first time loss to Surge was not something he enjoyed remembering, as he was an overly cocky, self-assured idiot. Not to the degree of Gary, but seriously, he thought he'd win every match last time.
Pride comes before the fall, something he learned all too well in Kanto.
"Now… let's see what you're really made of," He grinned as he pulled out his first ball. "Go! Magneton!"
Emerging from the ball was a Magneton… but Ash had to blink for a moment, as this one seemed to have a rust red paint job on its surface, and its eyes were glowing ominously red. "Magneton." 'Observation: One Fire-type Meatbag. Statement: Magneton is ready to serve, Master. Querry: May I kill something for you?'
"What happened to your Magneton?!" Ash cried in horror, thinking that the rust was unnatural. Every other one he'd seen was perfectly shiny.
"It's the damnedest thing. I let him run around for a week and he comes back rusted and scary." Surge replied, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "I kinda like it, though."
'Oh, that's just GREAT.' Ash thought. "Charmeleon-"
"Char!" 'He's MINE.' Charmeleon snarled, eager for battle, spitting fire. He wanted to get to Charizard again last month.
"Don't got a hold on your lizard?" Surge taunted with a grin before Ash glared at him hard enough to kill Mewtwo with a glance. "You've got your mom's anger, alright. Magneton, Zap Cannon!"
"Magneton." 'Confirmation: Of course, Master. Engaging assassination protocols.' The Magneton's eyes began glowing a brighter red, before it ejected red lightning from its body, sending it arcing towards Charmeleon.
Fortunately for Charmeleon, Zap Cannon did not exactly have the best accuracy. That did not mean it was easy to avoid given it was an exploding attack on impact with whatever it hit.
Also, assassination protocols?! What did Surge teach this thing?!
"Mag." 'Query: can you stop moving, meatbag?' the evil thing asked. "Ton." 'Clarification: I want to hit you with my favorite thing.'
"Char?!" 'Ash, was this a thing last time?!' Charmeleon demanded as the triple Magnemite kept firing at him, forcing him to keep running.
Ash shook his head, as he remembered quite well that last time all he had to do was fight Surge's Raichu - THIS was totally different from how it went before.
"Magneton." 'Observation: Meatbag is skilled, yet slow. Analysis: Meatbag is of a recent evolution.' Its eyes glowed again, unleashing more of its strange red lighting from its eyes at Charmeleon.
"Char!" 'Ash, can I PLEASE burn this fucking thing that's trying to kill me?!' Charmeleon asked, seriously creeped out by the red machine that wanted to murder him. That and he was getting tired of being called 'meatbag'.
"Mag." 'Statement: That was rude. Addendum: Master would not let me. Even if I wanted to.' the Magnet Pokemon said.
"Ember, then Flamethrower if you can!" Ash called out, hoping the smaller attack would sting and the more powerful one would hurt.
Charmeleon spun around, letting out a brief burst of fire - hitting the electric-type in the face, before he took a deep breath - and unleashed a torrenting blaze of fire upon the Magneton.
"Magneton." 'Analysis: Surface Temperature rising. Attempting to rectify.' said the steel-type as he flew out of the fire, literally glowing.
"Char!" 'Fist to the face!' Charmeleon cried as he jumped, clenching a flaming fist that the rusted Magneton looked like it was horrified to see.
"MAG!" 'Statement: SON OF A-' WHACK! And down the red Magneton went with a cracking thud. "Maaaaaaaaggggggg…" 'Systems failing, master…'
"I hope never to see that Magneton ever again." Ash said drily. It freaked him the hell out.
"Oh, come on, kid. He's not that bad!" Surge protested. "Bit hostile to ground-types, but…"
Ash did not care. That thing freaked him the hell out and he NEVER wanted to see it again, even if he had to reset the timeline himself.
"Well, let's get back to it." Surge muttered before returning the red Magneton to the ball, then withdrew another one from his vest. "Out you go!" with that, Surge tossed the ball… and out came…
"Jol!" 'Hi!' said a yellow, fuzzy spider, which then did a cute little dance. Ash, of course, braced himself for Misty's scream.
He was not disappointed, for Misty scrambled to hide. Behind him, no less. "B-b-BUG!" she yelled.
"Come on! Joltik's harmless! Well, other then making my lights dim at night, but that's not his fault!" Surge protested.
"She has a fear of bugs. Don't you know that?" Ash snapped, mentally punching himself in the head.
"No idea who the kid is." Surge said with a shrug before looking closer. "Wait, she looks like Daisy… Oh." He then made a face of recognition mixed with pity and sympathy. "OH. Misty. The one that-"
"I've heard." Ash all but growled, still wanting to hurt those two psychics, only being denied by the fact that Misty's sisters dealt with them first.
"THAT explains everything. Should've had her escorted to a secure room first." Surge said before getting back to business. "Still, what's done is done. Choose your next pokemon, kid!"
"Char." 'He might be weak, but that just means he's target practice.' Charmeleon said, even though he was tired from torching that red monster. But Ash wasn't going to bother arguing. If Charmeleon wanted to wear himself out, that was his own problem.
"Jol!" 'Surprise!' said the spider… as he jumped faster then they could blink onto Charmeleon's face.
"Discharge!" Surge ordered, Joltik eyesmiling as a wave of electrical energy hit Charmeleon, making the lizard MAD. "Keep hitting him!"
"Roll back!" Ash ordered, Charmeleon glaring at Ash for a moment before putting his tail between his legs and rolled backward, Joltik jumping onto Ash's head, making Misty shudder in terror.
"Jol!" 'Hi!' said the Joltik. Ash chuckled and rubbed his fuzzy head. Misty looked like she was about to faint, but Surge's bark of laughter got his attention.
"That's cute. Back to the battlefield, you little jumper!" the lieutenant said before Joltik jumped back and did another little dance. Ash had to admit, it was cute.
"Electroweb!" Surge followed with.
"Roll and Ember!" Ash ordered, Charmeleon dropping, rolling left and firing a burst of fire at the little bug.
"Tik!" BOING! Up went the little spider, preparing to pounce.
"Flamethrower!" Charmeleon grinned and spat out one last torrent of fire, almost engulfing the spider.
"Whoa!" Surge said, returning Joltik as the flames hit, conciding the round as he did so. "Your Charmeleon has a grudge! For that matter, so do you! What the hell did I do to you?"
Ash glowered. "You constantly insult people using 'baby Pokemon' when the early evolutions are perfectly fine for battle if trained the right way. And your Pikachu comments PISS ME OFF." he spat, finally letting it out. "So, you're going to learn, one way or another, to leave the choice to them."
"Leave the choice to them? Kid, I ain't the type to listen to that 'follow your heart' nonsense." Surge scoffed, grabbing another ball. "If they need to evolve, they need to!" with that, he tossed the ball, releasing a small black and blue cat with unruly hair that Ash recognized as a Luxio.
The Unovan cat glared at Charmeleon, but Ash returned him to his ball. He fought twice in a row: time to rest. Who to… Oh, hell.
Ash threw out the only ball he had from Pallet Town, releasing a little gag-covered ghost. "Mi!" 'Hi!' said the little Mimikyu, waving her little stick-tail at the larger cat.
Surge stared. "No fucking way." he cursed. "A Mimikyu?! Why the hell do you have that Alolan Pikachu clone?!"
"Professor Oak gave her to me because he thought I couldn't control Pikachu," Ash shrugged, "And she's not a Pikachu clone - she's better than that,"
"Pika!" 'Yeah! You show em Mimikyu!' Pikachu shouted from the sidelines.
"Lux." 'I will not enjoy this.' the cat said dryly. Ash didn't blame him. Mimikyus had that ability to soak up one blow and not take damage.
"Wild Charge!" Surge ordered. "Paralyze that rag-covered freak!" Luxio began to charge as Ash registered the insult and saw red.
"Wood Hammer." Ash ground out in response, Mimikyu jumping as soon as the cat got close, only to get a wooden tail to the head, the dry club negating the electrical charge and giving the poor cat a lump on the head.
"Mi!" 'Tag! You're it!' Mimikyu cheered as she hopped back away as the cat tried - and failed - to swipe back at her.
Surge stared as the two had what was, in effect, a bastardized pokemon battle version of Tag. And began laughing. Luxio was not pleased, Mimikyu was making something akin to laughter and Ash… was smiling. And Surge recognized that smile. His mother had the same one when she was plotting something EVIL.
"Keep away, Mimikyu! Do whatever it takes to be not It!" Ash advised more then commanded. Mimikyu then Wood Hammered the electric cat again, flying over the now-very smarting and annoyed Luxio, who snarled in fury.
"Mi!" 'Chase me!' Mimikyu unknowingly mocked.
Luxio's scream could not be translated, but the meaning was clear: rage and fury, wanting Mimikyu's rag-covered hide. So he continued chasing, running as fast as its cat-like form could go… but Mimikyu was somehow even faster, laughing all the way as they ran circles around the arena.
The tail continued to whack the black cat upside the head, Luxio screaming as he charged up a Charge Beam, hitting Mimikyu. But all it did was make Mimikyu's head lop to one side, Mimikyu flipping over Luxio… as he slammed into a wall, knocking himself out.
Surge doubled over and laughed. Hard. "Now, that… THAT was a show!" He laughed "It was less of a fight and more a game of tag!"
"Mimikyu likes to have fun," Ash shrugged, as Mimikyu hopped around victoriously.
Surge returned his cat with a chuckle. "Well, you lasted longer than I thought. Ran the gauntlet from the lowest of my recruits to some of my best at this badge level." he admitted before the faint smile was replaced with a scowl. "Your fun ends here. Staff Sergeant Raichu!" With that, Surge tossed out a pokeball with the emblem of a Staff Sergeant's rank on it, releasing the larger, whip-tailed and bolt-ended Kanto evolution of Pikachu.
"Rai!" 'This should be fun.' said the larger mouse.
Ash smirked as he glanced at Pikachu "You ready?"
Pikachu returned the smirk. "Pika, Pika!" 'I was BORN ready,' he said.
Ash returned Mimikyu to her ball, Pikachu taking her place. The Raichu scoffed. "Rai." 'Great, a Pikachu. Your trainer couldn't give me something worth a challenge?' he spat.
Pikachu's smirk only widened "Pika-chuuuu…." 'Oh, I am going to enjoy this…'
"Begin!"
Pikachu began jumping and running at the Raichu, who clearly was not prepared for Pikachu's speed. While Ash did not pay great attention to Pikachu's reconditioning, clearly he was good enough for a fight with a Raichu.
"Focus Punch!" Surge ordered. Ash frowned as he thought of an attack.
"Iron Tail! Hit him in the leg!" he ordered, Pikachu diving under the attack and tail turning to steel, slamming into the evolved electric type, hurting the Raichu enough to make him shift to the other leg and jump away, rubbing the injury.
"Sergeant! Grass Knot! Go!" Surge shouted.
"Jump, then Iron Tail!" Ash ordered, the grass forming around Pikachu's feet briefly, but Pikachu saw it and used his tail to spring himself upwards, tearing the grasses and turning his tail to steel.
"PIKA!" 'Down you go, asshole!' Pikachu cried, slamming his tail into the Raichu's head, no doubt causing a concussion and probably cracking his reinforced skull. Fortunately, Pokemon healed quickly. Unfortunately, that still meant Raichu was in the fight in the short term.
Surge snarled. "THUNDER!" he ordered, Raichu charging up for the inaccurate, but powerful attack.
Ash grit his teeth. "Duck and Countershield!" Ash ordered. Pikachu rolled and used Thunderbolt, spinning around as the attack fired off, hitting the cage of electricity.
Raichu yelped a bit, being stung by the electricity - but being an electric type the damage was minimal. But the fact that it still caused him a bit of pain was concerning. "Damn, Thunder Punch! Double-time!" Surge ordered.
"Raaaaaiiiii!" 'I want you to suffer, you yellow bastard!' Raichu yelled.
"Pi!" 'Weren't-' Pikachu then jumped away from a punch. "Ka!" 'You a Pikachu-' He then ducked and sprung back, Raichu getting more annoyed. "Chu!" 'Just like me once?' he finished, now a good ten feet from Raichu.
"Rai!" 'I was weak and I took my first chance at evolving! Wouldn't you?!' the thunder rat spat at Pikachu.
"Pi." 'No.' Pikachu then began charging up for an attack he stopped using a long time ago. "Kachu." 'Sometimes, being a giant is a bad thing!' the thunder mouse then charged, Surge seeing exactly what he was planning, Ash knowing as well. The Lieutenant knew he was screwed.
These two had made an attack pattern designed against Raichus. "GRASS KNOT!" Surge ordered, too late to stop it.
"Thunder!" Ash ordered, Pikachu channeling the power into an electric bolt that shot skyward as he slammed into Raichu… and the bolt slamming into Raichu.
"RAAAAAIII!" 'OOOWWWW!' Raichu exclaimed as it was hit with the attack full-force.
Ash glanced at Pikachu and nodded. "Volt Tackle," he said, making Surge metaphorically stain his pants as Pikachu jumped back, landing at the edge of the field and charged, using a somewhat-weaker version of Volt Tackle then Ash would like.
It did the job, though, knocking Raichu out of the fight.
"Raaiii..." 'How…?' Raichu muttered before he collapsed in a heap.
Surge sighed. "Well, kid, I underestimated you and it cost me." he said. "Nice to know I can be wrong. So, as your-" The ground then began shaking somewhat. "What the…?"
As Raichu began to groggily get back onto his feet - in no condition to fight - the ground under him began to crumble a bit "…Rai?" 'what the?' Before it suddenly shattered into a hole "CHUUUUU!" 'AAhhhooow!'
Ash and Pikachu cautiously and confusedly approached the hole. "…Pikachu… Was that the Wilhelm Scream?" the young time travelling trainer asked. He had started in enough questionable films to recognize the (in)famous stock scream that was both loved and hated by all.
"Pi?" 'I… think?' his starter answered warily before something approached from the bottom of the hole, nosing the Raichu back up and launching him out towards Surge before being revealed.
"Sandile." 'Arceus, I NEVER want to do that again.' said the glasses-wearing croc that Ash was all too familiar with. It was hard to forget the Unova version of Charizard, after all.
"…no fucking way…" Ash muttered, his eyes going wide upon seeing it. "S-Sandile?!"
"PikaPi?!" 'What the fuck?!'
"Sand!" 'Ash!' said the little croc as he crawled out of the hole. "Dile!" 'I thought I picked up Pikachu's signal dug right for it. But a Raichu fell on me…'
Surge looked like he was having flashbacks looking at the croc. Considering he was Unovan and… Sandiles were common as Rattata in Kanto… they might not be good ones.
"Sandiles… so many Sandiles…" the old man slowly said as his mind went back in time in the bad way.
To Ash's surprise, Pidove was next to fly out, flapping her wings. "'Dove…" 'Back home.' she muttered, before seeing her trainer. "Pi!" 'Ash!'
"I… wh… HOW?!" Ash shouted, looking at the Sandile and Pidove, "How are you guys here?!"
"Do." 'Sandile dug.' Pidove deadpanned as Cyndaquil and Tepig crawled out, panting before Misty approached, looking at the adorable fire mouse. Cyndaquil just slammed into the young woman and began cuddling, much to her confusion… but she found it cute so she wasn't going to complain.
Ash, though, understood: she knew Misty and hadn't seen her in a long time. Chikorita and Oshawatt were next to emerge, the former dragging out a Pineco of all things with her vines. Ash just stopped trying to understand at this point.
"Oh my god, an Oshawatt!" She exclaimed, stars in her eyes, "Ohhh those aren't even native around Kanto!"
Snivy dragged Roggenrolla and Sewaddle out with her vines, snarling in annoyance. "Sni…" 'Move your asses, damn it!' she snapped before seeing Ash. "Vy." 'Oh, idiot. Thank fucking Arceus.'
"I can understand you, Snivy." Ash retorted. "Don't call me an idiot."
"Sni." 'Oh, good, you know Pokespeech.' she muttered as Totodile and Phanpy helped Heracross out of the hole. "Hera…" 'Please...no more hole…' he muttered, begging for the outside.
"...how long have you been digging?" Ash asked, looking concerned. "...don't tell me you dug all the way from Unova to Kanto?"
"Sand." 'Stopover in Johto. Where's Noctowl?' Sandile asked. "Ile." 'The Johto crew's getting concerned.'
"Pika-ka." 'He's back at the ranch: he flew here to get caught in Viridian Forest.' Pikachu explained.
Surge finally snapped out of it and approached Ash. "The actual fuck is going on, kid?" he demanded. "Those are Unovan and Johto Pokemon, six of them being starters!"
"It's complicated." was Ash's only answer. An understatement of massive proportions, to be sure. But explaining time travel and Cyrus to Surge would not be fun. Or it would just get him sent to the nuthouse. Either/or, not a good thing for him.
A flash then revealed an onion-headed Mythical Pokemon, right in front of Ash.
"Cele! Celebi!" 'Ah! Finally, found you!' She sighed "Cel! Celi… bi…" 'So! I found out where the rest… of your… Kanto team…' she began to look around… and noticed A. she was in a building…
…and B. Surge was looking right at her.
"…Bi." 'Fuck.'
"What the hell is a Celebi doing here?" the ex-military man demanded. Ash sighed, knowing he wasn't getting out of this. It was a miracle Misty was so caught up in his water-types, she wasn't noticing.
"Ok. You want the truth?" Ash asked. Surge nodded, motioning Ash to continue. "Time travel. I'm from the future, six years from now. The world ended, I'm here to make sure it doesn't happen again."
Surge blinked once. Twice. Three times. He glanced at Celebi… who sighed and nodded, confirming the story. "…holy shit…" he muttered.
"Yeah, lucky me." Ash deadpanned. "So now I gotta find all the Pokemon I gathered over the years… but it looks like they're also trying to find me, so… yeah…"
"What the fuck happened?" Surge hissed, watching for Misty, who was busy looking at Palpitoad. "How-"
"Team Galactic's leader. He's called Cyrus, he got control of two of the creation trio." Ash quickly whispered. "Took two and a half years for them to go insane and tear reality apart. Everything got changed when I went back."
"…like?"
"Well Shadow Pokemon weren't really a thing," He said, "I mean… I heard they existed, but only in Orre and they were few and far between… it never got this bad… and Pokemon were a lot less… violent… Gyms were smaller too… also Guns are way more prevalent now, like… I've only seen Team Rocket use them like once or twice in the original timeline… "
Surge shook his head. "You've gone through hell. Six years?" he asked before huffing. "I'm surprised you're still sane."
"I died over eight times, time travelled twice, ran into other time travellers too many times to count. Sanity is overrated." Ash deadpanned.
"If it were, I'd be in an asylum, not running a gym. You got PTSD, kid, you're just finding very creative ways of avoiding dealing with it." the man said. "If you need a hand… call me up."
"I hope I never do," Ash said with a sigh.
"Anything to save the world, Captain." Ash double-taked at that. Surge called him 'captain'. Sign of respect if he was being called by a higher rank.
"Bi." 'I'll get you everything you need to know later. I need go get the hell out of here.' Celebi said as she warped away.
"…if you'll excuse me kid…" Surge sighed, as he recalled Raichu. "…I need to get a drink after this… and make a shitton of calls…"
Vermilion City Pokemon Center - 1248 hours local time
Ash had balled all of his Johto and Unova captures, although Misty protested somewhat about the water-types. Still, while they were happy to see her, they preferred Ash, so they stuck with him.
If only she knew WHY.
Still, she was happy to see foreign water-types, especially from Unova, or Isshu as it was called in Kanto. At least Ash could understand foreign languages easily.
But now Ash had won a new badge and collected a number of Pokemon from two different regions. Misty could really care less about the badges. Ash was happy, so she could be happy.
But as soon as they walked in the doors, the local Joy (who babysat her whenever her sisters had to come to Vermillion) waved them over. "Mr. Ketchum?" she quired. "There's a call for you from Professor Oak. It's in booth 4."
"Ah, thanks," Ash nodded as he walked over to where the comm booths were - reaching the one indicated. Once he sat down he picked up the phone, "Hello?"
The face of the regional professor appeared, glancing at something on his desk. "Ah, Ash! I see you won your match with Surge… and upped your Pokemon count by nearly double."
Misty giggled at remembering that, Raichu screaming as he fell down that hole. She did notice Ash and Surge talking for a bit, just… not about what they were talking about.
"Yeah, that wasn't intentional." Ash said, rubbing the back of his head. "But at least you'll get to study Unovan starters up close?" That was weak and everyone knew it.
"If I wanted to study Unovan starter Pokemon, I'd call up Professor Juniper and have his daughter send me a set." Oak retorted. "But I have another reason to call. You see, I've been working on a Pokedex upgrade for you."
Ash rose his brow at that. "…how so?" He asked. 'Please don't be Rotom, please don't be Rotom…'
"The Pokedex is limited in capability, but I have a new way for it to assist." Oak said, the video showing him holding up some module. "This is designed to use a Porygon that will assist you in swapping out your Pokemon in the field as well as a training regime. I would have used a Rotom, but the LAST time, it ended… poorly."
Ash heaved a sigh of relief. Misty could relate: Rotoms were a pain in the ass, more than they were worth. They needed to be distracted by motor movement, otherwise, things tended to go to hell in a handbasket. Her sisters had a few Sinnohan challenges that used them. There was an unofficial Rotom ban on the now.
"Okay… so how does this work?" Ash asked, "Do… we just upload the Porygon into my current dex? Or are you sending me a new one?"
"It's an upgrade. Slides onto the back and hooks into the expansion port on the back. It will do until we finally get more PCB materials." Oak said, sounding annoyed about something. What was a PCB, anyway? "I'll be sending it to you in a moment: Doctor Akihabara has a Polygon I have to upload into it."
"Okay…" Ash nodded, "Is… everything alright Professor? You look… annoyed…"
"The Porygon is being somewhat difficult. At least it's not a Rotom. I don't have a Gible to deal with one of those." Oak said as something beeped, Ash grinning about something.
"Uh… what's a Gible?" Misty asked, getting Oak's attention.
"Ash, who is the lovely young lady behind you?" he asked, before looking stern. "Don't tell me you're using your new-found--"
"No." Ash snapped, sounding annoyed and very angry. "Never. I'd never force her to do anything." Misty looked at Ash, who had a look of… melancholy? Regret? She didn't know.
"Well. May I have the lady's name?" Oak asked, taking the hint from her companion/mental stabilizer.
"U-um… M-Misty…" She spoke up nervously. "M-Misty Waterflower, sir…"
Oak nodded. "Ah, yes. Daisy's younger sister." he said, wincing. Likely from-
Misty held her head, a headache starting to form from the… reminder.
"I'm sorry. I forgot about what happened to you. Sending the upgrade now." the old man said before typing on a keyboard. "It should be there in a moment."
A slot under the terminal opened, revealing a device the size of the Pokedex itself, with a protruding slot on the front. Ash picked it up, seeing another slot in the same place.
"Well, it won't fit in my coat pocket anymore." Ash said. Misty didn't see why that was a problem.
"I'll see if there's a way to slim it down. By the way, Lieutenant Surge called." Oak said. Misty paled. 'PLEASE tell me he doesn't want to come with us!' she thought.
"About what?" Ash asked.
"Don't worry about it: he was just warning me about your new captures." Oak said, his image waving it off. "But you have two tickets for a cruise to Lavender Town, courtesy of the Lieutenant."
Ash had a blank stare as he recalled the last time he was on a cruise ship in Kanto… with memories of Team Rocket trying to steal Pokemon, and getting tossed around by Gyarados… and then stranded on an island… with giant Pokemon…
….
….
…
"...could I get those converted into plane tickets?" Ash asked.
Misty facepalmed. Did he know ANYTHING? "Ash, planes haven't been a thing for decades! And all of them are in Orre!" she yelled, feeling somewhat… familiar screaming in his ear. She kinda liked it. "And I still want to know what a Gible is!"
"It's a dragon/ground-type, looks like a shark and likes to chomp on people's heads." Ash replied, sounding like he had personal experience. "Professor, I REALLY don't want to get on a ship."
"Ash, Surge has already booked your passage. Besides, all the routes leading east and west out of Vermillion were sealed due to a Diglett infestation." Oak sternly replied. "And where there are Diglett, there is always the chance of… land sharks."
Ash groaned. "Fine…" he muttered "Just… I'm gonna need Squirtle, Oshawatt, Palpitoad and Totodile."
"Ash, the road is closed. Not even Surge can get you out of this one and he's an expert in dealing with ground-types." Oak said. "Just enjoy the cruise. You never had a problem with water before."
Ash said nothing to that. "So… plug it in?" he asked regarding the module.
"It's that simple. Now, if you excuse me, your Heracross is trying to assault Bulbasaur." Oak said, amused at the two. "Good luck." With that, the call ended.
Ash sighed "I'm still gonna get my water-types for this…" he muttered as he plugged his Pokedex in, and waited as it uploaded the 'upgrades'.
The Pokedex screen updated, with a 2D Porygon face appearing on the screen. "Greetings. I am Zero. Am I addressing Ash Ketchum?" the Pokedex seemingly asked. But Misty knew it was a Porygon.
"Yup. That's me." Ash said warily, for some reason. Did Ash have a bad experience with Porygons?
"Excellent. I will be monitoring your progress as you continue your journey." 'Zero' said. "Be advised: I can transfer your Pokemon at any time so long as someone on the other end can place the ball with the Pokemon inside in the transport system."
"Good to know," Ash nodded, "So… anything else I should be… aware of?"
"The nearest gym by land is Celedon City. However, land routes are closed." Zero reported. "The closest gym via your cruise is Saffron City via Lavender Town."
"Fine. Let's get this over with." Ash sighed in resignation. "Let's hope the SS Anne isn't going to sink."
Misty looked at Ash. "What's the SS Anne?" she asked.
Pallet Town - Oak Ranch - two minutes prior
Bulbasaur was happy. The timeline was beyond screwed, but some things did not change. The Ranch was safe, he was breaking up fights…
A buzzing sound registered in his ears. "Bul." 'Damn it.' he spat, as the one thing he wanted to change wasn't.
"Saur!" 'Heracross! Fuck off!" Bulbasaur shouted, as Heracross, his nemesis, flew overhead.
"Cross!" 'But I'm hungry!'
"Bulba!" 'Then eat something that isn't the sap from my damn bulb!'
Bulbasaur hated Heracross. Well, the sap-from his bulb drinking he hated, Heracross himself was a good enough guy when he wasn't sucking the bulb on his back dry.
WHACK!
"Man!" 'FUMBLE!' said Primeape, still a Mankey despite training like mad at the ranch as he hit Heracross in the side, sending them both flying. Bulbasaur would know: the pig-monkey was the first one he ran into. He expected Charizard or even that damned land shark.
"Cross!" 'Oi! The hell are you doing?!' Heracross demanded as he got back upright. "Her!" 'I'm hungry!'
"Key!" 'Then eat this!' replied the monkey as he Low Kicked the bug in the face.
Heracross growled - batting his wings as he gained some altitude "Hera!" 'You're gonna pay for that monkey-boy!' he shouted, as he dived towards him.
Bulbasaur vaguely watched as the two began to have a sort of death match. Fortunately for them, they had two flying-types that would keep them from doing so… when they weren't Brave Birding and Steel Winging each other repeatedly.
BOOM! And there they were again. Seriously, it wasn't like Pidgeotto WANTED to stay away. Crazy bastard with the airship and an obsession with the Legendary Birds pushed her away.
Speaking of, Bulbasaur was planning to have a grass-water-fire fight for who got to wring the bastard's neck later: NO ONE was happy with the whole 'Ash drowning' thing and they were equally as displeased that the asshole got away with it.
Their trainer was an all-loving fool and they loved him for it. His greatest strength and weakness. The only thing keeping the Pokemon from… dealing… with the ones that tried to hurt him was their trainer and the law. The law had changed, allowing them to defend their trainer by any means necessary… and Ash couldn't stop them if he was knocked out.
There was a sizable list of people whose actions nearly got Ash killed - or did get him killed and it took some serious 'bullshit' to bring him back…
…no one liked to think of what almost happened with the Mewtwo incident after they got their memories back. Or the Shamouti debacle. Or the Tree of Beginning incident. Or the time he was literally frozen solid during the Victini debacle.
They had a list. Bulbasaur was checking it thrice. And as soon as they knew who was an asshole and who wasn't, they were going to go to town on them.
Chikorita was smacking a tree nearby, furiously. Bulbasaur winced, knowing Chikorita had a crush on Ash. She never grew out of it. And now that Ash could understand them… well, that would be awkward.
A crunch was heard as Mankey smacked Heracross with a relearned Karate Chop. Bulbasaur saw them wounded and bleeding, Mankey having a bloody eye and Heracross' chest exoskeleton having somewhat caved in from a kick.
"Bulba!" 'Stop! NOW!' Bulbasaur cried as he approached the two, Heracross' wings barely beating as he struggled to stay conscious.
Mankey, though, was conscious, but roaring. Then he glowed, literally, turning into energy. Mankey was evolving, his tail shortening, legs and arms bulking up, his hands getting covered by what was essentially an organic boxing glove with iron bands made from the iron in his blood and his body bulked up to turn him from an agile monkey to a boxing ape.
Primeape was back. THUD! And on his face unconscious, Heracross slamming into the ground as well.
"Bulbasaur!" 'MEDIC!" the Ambassador cried as a pair of Ralts got to them and performed Heal Pulse on them both, enough to stabilize them until they got dragged into the lab itself.
Oak sighed as he ended the call and one of Ash's new captures, a sap-addicted Heracross (easily corrected with a special diet) and Ash's Mankey - 'Oh, correction, Primeape. Better make a note of that.' he thought - were brought in by his Bulbasaur and Chikorita, dragged in by their vines.
"Richards, get the medical equipment ready: we have a pair of injured fighting-types." he called. "And one of them is part bug, so get the right meds this time!" Seriously, he hired out interns so he could focus on keeping the lab orderly, not accidentally kill a Pokemon with the wrong meds.
"I see our boy has captured new Pokemon." an unexpected voice cut in. "Pity. None of them are spectral."
Oak turned to face the source, who turned out to be Agatha Grimm, eldest of the Elite Four, mistress of ghosts and someone that just would not DIE.
She also happened to be his wife and Gary's grandmother, but that didn't matter right now.
"Agatha." Oak said, confusedly. "I wasn't expecting you for another month." All told, he wasn't expecting her until after the conference in six months time.
"The benefits of being bonded to ghosts." Agatha said with a grin. Oak knew all too well those benefits. "But back to the Pokemon. The boy's?"
"Not Gary's. Ash just captured them." her husband replied. "And you should know I gave him a Mimikyu. She just won him the Thunder Badge, no less."
"Surge did send me a recording of the event, I just haven't watched it." she admitted. "So… he has what he needs for later?"
"You and I know he has more than just Pokemon from Johto and Unova." Oak said as his shadow was invaded by a laughing being. "Gengar, get out." he snapped before a white Gengar exited, smiling and giggling.
"He likes you and you know it." Agatha said before her preferred Pokemon returned to his ball.
"I have enough ghosts going into my shadow. Yours should know better." her husband said before sighing. "60 years."
"Yes. He'll have his meeting," she said. "Little Sammy needs to meet his friend with the Celebi." Agatha's eyes seemingly went inward before she scowled. "Giratina is calling. He… IT wants to talk to me. Infuriating that the legendaries never stick to a gender."
"It's their nature." the Kanto regional professor said. "Go. I'll keep those two from their graves."
"I damn well hope so." Agatha said before disappearing into her own shadow. Oak shook his head. His wife scared the shit out of him sometimes.
RMS Germanic - Atlantic Ocean - 1458 hours local time
"Goom." 'About time.' Goomy said as he finally made his way back to the Gabena staterooms, finally free from that contraption as he prepared for training. Well, training other then zapping Bonnie's head every five seconds.
He might not have liked her, but Dragonbreathing her was lethal. Adult humans could take it. Young and elderly, it would kill them. He had to hold back just to make sure Grace wasn't badly hurt.
And when Goomys were the weakest of all dragons and could kill with dragonfire, that was saying something.
But back to the point in question.
Goomy squirmed forward, grunting as he moved ahead. "Goo. My…" 'Arceus, I hate this form…' he muttered, hating just how… slow he was as a Goomy. He had forgotten just how agonizing it was being so small, and made him appreciate being a Goodra all the more.
At least Goodra had actual legs.
"Vui!" 'Hi, Goomy!' said the brown and white fox as Goomy got into the stateroom, Serena playing with Fenniken, singing something in Kalosian. "Eevui?" 'are you free from the yellow heads?'
The siblings had the most yellow of yellow hair. They couldn't be called blondes.
"Goo." 'I'm free. But I want to get training.' the snail said. "Go-omy go." 'I want to evolve.'
"Vui!" 'Me too! I want to be a Sylveon!' the fluffball said. "Vee." 'I'm close enough with Serena, but I haven't really fought anything.'
Goomy's mouth almost turned into a very human-like smirk. "Goo." 'Then we have a match to fight.' he declared. "Omy." 'I want to be ready to evolve by the time we get to Kanto. Why not train together?'
It made sense. Goomy could improve his abilities in combat while helping Eevee evolve. Eventually, she would evolve into a Sylveon and become immune to his dragonic attacks, he could fire everything he had at her and not hurt her.
With that, Eevee tackled him playfully, crying out all the time before Goomy spat out dragon fire to get her off.
"Oh?" Serena asked as she refocused on the world around her. "Goomy, what are you doing?" Then her Eevee actually smacked into Goomy, whose squishy body repulsed the attack easily. "You want to fight? Well, the poop deck was converted into a battling field when the ship was put back into service…" she added, as if only half-interested.
Goomy really wanted to know what was WRONG with her, but had no time to ponder as Froakie picked him up. "Froak." 'You don't want to start a fight in here. Something will catch fire.' the frog said, somewhat annoyed. "Fro." 'And if something catches fire, we're all dead.'
"Goo." 'And you don't want to be a Greninja by the time we get to Ash?' Goomy asked as he was carried through the ship via the promenade deck.
"Fro." 'I train where it isn't a danger to others.' the ninja replied. "Kie." 'If I use a water attack and breach the hull, there is every chance this ship will sink.' Fair points there.
The rear deck of the ship was filled with Pokemon and trainers, some fighting in training bouts, others just playing. It was open, allowing attacks like Hyper Beam, flamethrower… Dragonbreath… to just go out to sea harmlessly.
Goomy was placed on one small sub-field (the deck being too small for anything like the gym-sized fields) while Eevee took her place at the other end, Goomy having that lopsided smile on his face. He could NOT wait to evolve to Goodra.
"Froak." 'Fight!' the ninja frog declared, Goomy belching dragonfire from his mouth like his larger, more powerful counterparts in Dratini and Gible.
…didn't Pikachu mention once that Ash had a Gible?
WHACK!
Goomy flinched as Eevee danced around, hitting him in the head with Tackle before trying to bait him with Baby-Doll Eyes. That fairy-type move allowed her to evolve into one in the last timeline, so all he had to do now was push her to her limits as an Eevee and-
WHACK!
Goomy began spitting fire, literally, as he stopped using Dragonbreath and used a weak, but still dangerous, flamethrower. Eevee's smacking was only making him angry. And an angry Goomy was a dangerous Goomy, as he electrocuted Eevee with a Thunderbolt, making her flinch as Goomy kept zapping her.
"Vui!" 'stop!' she begged, sounding pained. "Eevui!" 'That hurts!'
"Goo." 'Welcome to combat.' Goomy said, annoyed with his own body. "Goomy!" 'You have to fight to win instead of just looking pretty!'
Goomy understood that his trainer was open-minded, willing to try anything Pokemon-related at least once. But while he could do contests, performances and other activities involving Pokemon, he was primarily dedicated to one focus: battle.
This was something Goomy could relate with. Goomys always looked to others for protection, he himself was friend and ward to an Oddish and Wooper for example, only to become Sliggoo and not need protection: any threat would be dissolved, literally. They also became loners to keep from hurting their loved ones. Once the rains came and they evolved into Goodra, they became the protectors.
Goomy rather enjoyed being a Goodra, in case you haven't noticed.
Serena watched in worry as she arrived, watching Goomy wale on Eevee with attacks. Eevee wanted to be a Syleveon for a long time, but there was no one to train against.
Nobles tended to be excluded from a lot of common things. But this...was not what she expected from a battling Pokemon.
'Perhaps you forgot, sitting in your ivory tower, that the world is harsh, brutal and mercious.' Not the voices again… 'You can't ignore me! I AM YOU!'
Serena had struggled with the voices in her head for years. The doctors gave her pills to stop them from talking, but… during her first trip to Kanto, she forgot them. They overwhelmed her and she nearly ran into a Weedle and Oddish colony to find peace.
Then she met Ash. And the voices stopped fighting. They liked him, his honesty, his earnestness, his bravery (especially when her mother yelled at him; he didn't flinch at all. HIS was more terrifying) and how happy he made her feel to be treated like a normal person. The voices wanted to stay with him, too. That was the only thing they all agreed on.
'The world was better, once…' another of the voices, a weak and pacifist one, 'said'. So many of them…
An explosion caught all of their attention, Serena watching Goomy breathe enough dragonfire to melt ice. For such a weak dragon Pokemon, Goomy was dangerous when annoyed.
'And now you realize it?' one of the voices snarked, Serena clutching her head. Why, WHY was she cursed-
A ribbon wrapped around her hand, pink and white with blue accents. When she opened her eyes to see what it was, a Syleveon was holding her hand, smiling.
"Eon!" she said, Serena understanding. This was her Eevee. Evolved to a Fairy-type.
Explained why none of her Pokemon evolved. None of them had seen battle. None had been forced to their limit and surpass it.
Perhaps it was time to start.
Back in the Gabena Stateroom - 30 minutes later
"Fletchling." 'Goomy's INSANE. You all know that, right?' Ash's robin asked, having heard about the battle.
"Haw." 'He wants to be a Goodra. I don't blame him.' Hawklucha said, still guarding Noibat's egg. "Lucha." 'He wants to be a powerful guardian again.'
"Fletch!" 'And beating the living hell out of Eevee helps with that?!' she chirped indignantly. She didn't see why one of Ash's Pokemon had to beat the crap out of one of Serena's. They had Team Rocket and Team Flare for that!
…Oh. Right. They weren't here to be beaten up. Well, that ruined THAT plan.
"Fen." 'Well, it's about time!' Fenniken said before sneezing. "Kin!' 'Sure, we run around and practice moves, but we have nothing to fight against!'
Hawklucha grinned before a glow from the egg caught his attention. The room was hot for the sake of the egg, to encourage the egg to actually hatch. The humans had their bedrooms opened to the sea air to prevent them from overheating. But now, there would finally be a fifth Pokemon in Ash's group.
The egg glowed brighter before the egg flaked off, revealing a fuzzy, bat-like Pokemon that wasn't as annoying as Zubats and Woobats: Noibat, the Sound Wave Pokémon.
"Noi…?" 'Where… am I?' he asked, blinking his big, cute eyes. THEN he realized where he was and where he was. And more importantly, WHAT he was.
Let us say that the Pernon Line was lucky their ships were modified with windows that DIDN'T shatter under sonic forces.
Vermillion City Harbor - Day 18 of Ash Ketchum's Pokemon Journey - 0650 Hours Local Time
Ash had gotten everyone he needed: Pidgeotto and Butterfree were rotated in, as was Beedrill, replacing Bulbasaur, who went back for ambassadorial duties the day before. Mimikyu stayed, as did Pikachu - not that Ash would rotate him out without reason and he usually never got one - and Charmeleon… To put it bluntly, while Charmeleon knew Ash was a good friend and battlefield commander and would obey, if Ash sent him back to the ranch, he feared for all those present if he got into a training frenzy, so he was kept.
Hell, he might even enjoy fighting water-types, now that he knew that the tail-flame thing wouldn't kill him.
But he wasn't ready for Misty dragging him through the docks, like a happy girlfriend dragging her boyfriend to something she loved. Ash, of course, stuck to the idea of celibacy and platonic friendship, no matter how hard Pikachu (and now all of the Kanto and Johto captures he had, curse Pokespeech translation!) pushed.
They were stubborn. Ash had a will of iron. He would win.
The pair finally reached the docks, finding a number of smaller boats. And one MASSIVE ship.
Topped with four massive funnels, a pair of masts and with a black and white paintjob with that red paint at the waterline, it was easily larger than the SS Anne, which was a luxurious and famous ship, but not designed for ocean-going voyages.
"The Royal Kalosian Mail Steamer Olympic!" Misty declared. "She's ancient, dragged out of the Relict Desert over 40 years ago after the Cipher War where she was just dumped. They couldn't just scrap her: public outcry and all that."
Ash had no idea what she was talking about, but at least this was familiar. She loved all things related to water in both timelines. He could admit one thing: this thing was built tougher then the Anne.
He even said it aloud, not that he noticed until Misty looked at him. "That's the second time you've mentioned that ship." she said, not looking pleased. Ash was both happy and scared. Misty was acting like he was used to. It was good in that she didn't jump at any fear that Ash would abandon her. (Not that he would)
That being said, she DID use violence. Often.
"What is it?" Misty asked, looking like she was going to pull out that mallet of hers. Or that LMG she had been carrying (and thankfully, never used) since they met.
Well, it was going to happen anyways.
"Pikapi." 'Well, you're screwed, Ash.' Pikachu summed up.
45 minutes later - Infirmary, RMS Olympic
Time travel.
It was almost impossible to believe, though there were tales and reports of Celebi and Dialga doing that sort of thing, but when Ash said things only members of her family would know about her (like how she liked the idea of a mermaid water show when she was 5) she had to believe him.
Celebi had the unfortunate fortune to show up and confirm it. And once she got over the shock of having a mythical Pokemon show up out of nowhere, Misty wasn't happy about it.
She screamed and raged for two minutes, Celebi wisely leaving as she did, accusing him of manipulating her before having a seizure, one of the unfortunate side-effects of having her mind effectively raped when she was a child.
Which brings us to Ash sitting beside her bed in the Olympic's infirmary, Misty asleep with an IV in her arm.
"I should have just left her in Viridian Forest." Ash said despondently.
"Pika." 'And leave her to die some death by the samurai jackass?' Pikachu retorted as he sat beside Misty's covered legs.
He had his trainer there. "She wouldn't be like this if we didn't meet." he said, still distressed over his… friend's condition.
"Pi-chu." 'We're lucky she hasn't had a seizure before now. She was overwhelmed.' Pikachu replied. "Ka." 'She'll sort it out eventually.'
"And leave." Ash said, like he had accomplished some goal. Then again, driving Misty away was one way of keeping them from getting together. 'Mission accomplished, Ketchum.' the dark half of his mind spat in disgust.
"Pika!" 'Not if I have any say in it! She just needs to think about it for a bit.' Pikachu said before whacking Ash in the head with his tail. "Kachu." 'Now, come on, let's explore the ship. And you need to get food into you: you haven't eaten since last night.'
"What are you, my mother?" Ash asked, getting a shock from his starter to get off his ass and move.