Oak Ranch - 0958 hours local time - Day 66 of Ash Ketchum's Journey
Charmeleon was at it again, pushing his luck in fighting Phanpy, Gabite and Buizel all at once, trying to force himself to evolve.
Bulbasaur shook his head. The incident at Fuschia Gym had forced them all into a training frenzy, with only Trapinch, Durant and the surprise Dratini not getting involved.
The ant was attempting to build herself a new colony and Trapinch made the mistake of bothering Snorlax. Dratini was playing with Jigglypuff.
Bulbasaur felt something hit his bulb, thinking it was Heracross before Treecko of all Pokemon joined the battle royale. That made some sense: Charmeleon and Treecko WERE the most power obsessed of all Ash's Pokemon.
"Squirt!" 'Let's do this!' Squitle said, a band with a stone on his head.
"Bulba." 'It won't work.' Bulbasaur said sufferingly. Ever since Squirtle discovered Mega Evolution, he had been trying to make himself into a quote-unquote 'Mega Squirtle'.
Squirtle had clearly hit himself on the head during the firefighting training, because the Blastoisite on his head ('acquired' from Oak's lab) only worked with the last stage of his line.
"Squirtle!" 'Can and WILL!' the Tiny Turtle said, closing his eyes and focusing, Bulbasaur rolling his eyes and watching the fight between the ground, dragon, water, grass, and fire-types.
Gabite and Buizel were knocked out by Treecko and Phanpy was unceremoniously sent rolling into a tree by Charmeleon before the two began fighting, claw to claw.
Bulbasaur glanced at the lab, where a monitor was blinking. "Char." 'I'll get it,' said Chimchar, running into the lab as Bayleef accidentally whacked Squirtle with her vines, sending him flying into the building.
Life was good, Bulbsasaur mused.
"Chimchar!" 'Bulbasaur, you better get in here!' the fire monkey yelled.
The Bulb Pokemon sighed as he got up and walked into the lab, finding four Safari Balls on the teleporter pad.
"Chim." 'Did Professor Oak forget these?' he asked.
"Bulb." 'Doubtful,' Bulbasaur said before Chimchar picked one up, only to accidentally release what was in it: a Vulpix.
"Vul!" 'That was dreadful!' the fox said before looking around and seeing the two starters. "Pix?" 'Umm… hello?'
Bulbasaur facevined.
Grandpa Canyon - 1027 hours local time
The canyon was formed by accident when a bunch of pissed off Shadow Pokemon - all ice-types - forcibly eroded their way to try and get to Fuchsia City over 50 years ago.
The Canyon was, apparently, named such by some scientist who joked that 'his grandpa would be happy to see a canyon in Kanto'.
A fin surfaced, followed by the top half of a yellow land shark. "Gib!"
"Gible! Stop… running…" Kyoji panted, as he ran after the little land shark - Charizard having become exhausted chasing after the enthusiastic shark, leading to him needing to go the rest of the way on foot.
"Gib!" Gible pointed ahead at the dig sites. Kyoji looked up, pulling out a small scope as he looked it over.
"Ahh… this is one of those fossil dig sites…" he muttered, before he chuckled. "Boy… they're gonna be in for a surprise if they go to Ransei…"
"Gible! Gib!" The Gible leaped up and began digging again - its theme music trailing behind him as Kyoji sighed.
"Oh come on Gible!" He sighed, as he began chasing him again.
Land sharks would be land sharks.
At the same time, Ash was trying NOT to groan at the fact that Pikachu was 'suggesting names for the future Ashlings', his starter taking perverse love in torturing his trainer.
"Pika." 'So, would 'Hikari' or 'Jade' be better for Misty, or 'Ryuko'?' he asked, Ash gritting his teeth in annoyance.
"Do I want to know what your starter is referring to?" Janine asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No. You do not," Ash answered. Ever since Janine joined the party proper (Pikachu claimed 'harem', which Ash was NOT happy about) he had been making baby name suggestions.
He hoped he would stop after the first day. He hadn't.
"Hey! Ash!" cried a familiar voice, making Ash blink.
"Gary?" he asked, seeing his best friend/rival for the first time since he left Pallet. Where the hell had he been?
"I'd ask how you were doin', but I can tell!" Gary said, wearing the same outfit as the last time he saw him at Grandpa Canyon, smirking as he walked over. "So, mind saving some pretty girls for the rest of us?"
Ash's response was a murderous glare for suggesting he was trying to act like the womanizing bastard that was his father.
"Whoa, no need to act like your mom," Gary said, hands raised in surrender. "Seriously, between your mom and sister, I should be dead by now."
"Your mother is Delia Ketchum?" Janine asked, curious about Ash's mother. "My father mentioned her once. She destroyed his team when he won the Indigo Conference 25 years ago."
"And who's the ninja?" Gary asked, looking her over. "Well, she's no Serena, but hey."
"The term, fool, is kunoichi." Janine deadpanned. "I am Janine of Fuschia."
"Koga's kid?" Gary said before wincing. "Sorry about what happened to him."
"Save your sympathy: my father died doing his duty, as any ninja would," Janine snapped before Gary looked to Ash's other companions.
"And they are?" he asked.
"Misty Waterflower." Misty said, introducing herself, looking less than pleased at where he was staring. She was so used to Ash being respectful, she forgot others their age wouldn't be.
"Anabel Lila. I'm from Saffron," Anabel answered with a mild bow.
"Gary, I am wondering something." Ash asked before looking at his outfit. "Why are you dressed like Harrison Ford?"
"Who's Harrison Ford?" Gary asked, confused. Ash just gave him a blank stare. "Anyway, come on! The dig teams could use another set of hands!"
"As long as they keep theirs to themselves, pervert." Janine deadpanned, Ash ignoring that for a few reasons as he walked ahead of them.
One, avoiding another Team Rocket incident, even if the TRio had more or less disappeared. He hadn't seen them since the Olympic put into Porta Vista.
Two and FAR more importantly… Togepi.
NOT having Misty's egg of joy was just WRONG. Every time he looked at her, she half-expected Togepi to crawl out of her bag.
"Pika?" 'You're moping. What is it?' Pikachu said from his perch on his shoulder.
"Togepi." Ash answered simply. Pikachu nodded.
"Pikapi-ka-pichu." 'Well, let's get hunting and avoid the angry-as-hell prehistoric Pokemon. Maybe transfer in Gabite: maybe he can get a leg up fighting them so he can be a Garchomp.' Pikachu suggested.
"Charmeleon evolved here, too." Ash said as he opened the Pokedex, activating the transfer system to notice several new entries.
A Vulpix, a pair of Nidoran, one male, one female… and a Shiny Chancey.
"Pika?" 'That's new,' Pikachu said before remembering Ash's tossing spree and the debris it generated. "Pi." 'Oh.'
"The Professor is going to murder me." Ash muttered as he transferred Natu and Pidgeot back to the ranch.
Oak Ranch - 1036 hours local time
"Bulba." 'You have explaining to do,' Bulbasaur said as he stared down the four 'newcomers': a mated pair of Nidoran, a Vulpix and a green Chansey that sparkled like Noctowl when she was released from her ball, so she was a Shiny.
"Vulpix!" 'We saw your trainer deal with Kaiser and saw he did not want to kill. That reminded us of the days of our grandsires, before the Shadow,' Vulpix answered. "Pix." 'We wanted to know what it was like outside of the zone.'
One of the balls pinged before opening to reveal Natu, transferred in from Ash. "Natu." 'Since when did he get a Vulpix?' she asked.
"Bulb." 'They caught themselves using balls Ash left in the Safari Zone,' Bulbasaur asked before Quilava finally arrived, panting.
"Qui." 'Sorry, was… busy,' she said. "Lava?" 'When-'
"Natu." 'Safari Zone,' Natu answered. "Tu, Natu." 'Charmeleon and Gabite, you're up.'
Charmeleon tapped the 'transfer ball', as it was nicknamed, before being sucked in and set to Ash via the Network. Gabite only did it a minute later, moping as he was transferred.
"Chan." 'Look, life with your trainer is better than the Safari Zone, Kaiser or not. He hunted us down if we were unique enough!' Chancey said.
"Squirt." 'Not like we have a choice,' Squirtle spat, sore over his failure to Mega Evolve. Bayleef and Bulbasaur vine-whacked him for it.
"Qui?" 'Why not contact Ash?' Quilava asked.
"Chimchar." 'He's in Grandpa Canyon, according to the transfer system,' Chimchar said, reading the screen before jumping down. "Char." 'The transfer only works because it's basically a teleportation system. Radio won't work unless he leaves.'
Everyone looked at him oddly.
"Chimchar-chim." 'I didn't just spend most of my time after the Lily of the Valley conference recovering, I read books on science and technology!' Chimchar exclaimed.
"Sni." 'Nothing personal. Just odd,' Snivy said before sighing at the four. "Vy." 'Get outside: the old man doesn't like it when we crowd in here. He only lets Bulbasaur in here most of the time.'
The four obeyed, save Chansey, who was stopped by Chimchar.
"Char." 'We'll need a medic. We'll explain why later,' he said before allowing her to leave.
Bulbasaur just laid down. "Bulbasaurrrr." 'Today is not my day,' he groaned.
Back at the Canyon
Ash released Gabite, keeping Charmeleon for… emergencies.
Du-dun.
Both he and Gabite blinked - he hasn't even started digging yet, how was the music starting already?
Du-dun, Du-dun,Du-dun,Du-dun,Du-dun,Du-dun,Du-dun,Du-dun
The earth shook a bit, as a fin emerged from underneath… a yellow fin. And it was accompanied by a familiar sound.
"Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-Gib-GIBLE!" 'Nom-nom-nom-nom-nom-nom-nom-nom-nom-HELLO!' A yellow Gible poked out of the earth - leaping into the air and…
CHOMP.
Ash just looked at the Gible latched onto his head with a smile, though he was… confused.
Gibles were never yellow. The only Gible he ever saw that was yellow was a Shiny and that only had a yellow belly.
This one was almost completely yellow, the skin feeling more like a snake then a shark, with red feet and white hands.
"Hi." Ash said simply before Gabite just started sobbing.
"BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITE!" 'WHY?! WHY MUST LIFE MOCK ME?!' he sobbed at the sight.
"Gib?" 'What's his problem? You're like me: you can chomp,' said the Gible before Ash sighed and extended his arm. Gabite looked at him before Ash shrugged and Gabite chomped, though fortunately, he didn't break anything like last time.
Left a lot of tooth marks, though.
"Gabites bite harder then Gibles, little guy." Ash said, wincing in pain before Pikachu helped to cover the bleeding wounds with bandages. "He's been sad about it for a while."
"Gib…" 'I see…' said the little land shark before blinking and realizing something. "Gib?!" 'Wait, did you understand?!'
"Pika." 'Every. Damn. Time,' Pikachu muttered.
"Not my fault." Ash said. No one was to blame for that except Cyrus.
"...GIB!" 'That's so cool!' Gible cheered, as he leaped up…
CHOMP
"…your bite's not as strong as Gabite's was when he was a Gible…" Ash mused as the Gible warbled, but petted him.
"Gi-gi-gi-GIBLE!" 'Hehehe-t-that tickles!' Gible laughed… as electrical sparks sprouted from his body, and in the flash of a moment hit Ash with a Pikachu-grade shock.
Pikachu took the current in stride, but was just as in shock as Ash was, even if his trainer rode it out thanks to his unique (and subconscious) use of Aura.
"What the-Gible can't learn Thunder Fang!" Ash said, knowing the Land Shark and Mach Pokemon couldn't use any electric moves.
Gabite would know: he tried back in Sinnoh briefly before getting depressed and going back to Draco Meteor, much to Piplup's dismay.
"Bite!" 'You're no Gible!' Gabite said before trying to pry the yellow shark off his trainer's head. "Gabite!" 'Gibles can't do that!'
"Gib?" 'Yes we do,' Gible mused, tilting his head to the side.
"Gible… Gible!" A voice called out, as Ash turned to see a young black-haired man following the trail the Gible had left. "Come on… little buddy… you can't… go running off… like that…"
Ash looked at the Gible on his head and pried him off gently. "Is this your Gible?" he asked, Gible then looking at the man.
"Gible!" 'Kyoji!' said the land shark before using his horns to jet towards his head for a typical Gible greeting.
CHOMP!
"Gib-Gible-Gib~" 'I made a friend! And his Gabite is weird. It's purple and can't use electric attacks,' the land shark said.
"Bite!" 'I'll show you weird, you little abomination!' Gabite snapped before stalking toward the two.
"Whoa, hang on there little guy," Kyoji warned off Gabite, before looking at Ash. "Uh, is your Gabite alright? He looks angry…"
"Gible called him weird because he can't use electric-type attacks." Ash said. "Which isn't weird: Gabite's a dragon/ground-type. He can't learn them."
"Gible!" 'He really can understand me!' Gible cried. "Gib…" 'I can't mention Ransei now…' The yellow land shark then facepalmed to the best of his ability. "Ble…' 'D'oh.'
"What's Ransei?" Ash asked, confused now.
"Wait, what?" Kyoji looked around, confused and alarmed. "Who mentioned Ransei? I didn't hear anyone mention something called Ransei - did you hear someone talk about Ransei? I sure didn't…"
"Your Gible said it." Ash deadpanned. "He said, 'I can't mention Ransei now'."
The yellow Gible gaped at Ash, which made his trainer look at him in awe when he saw Gible staring.
"...you… you can talk… to Pokemon?" He asked, wide-eyed. "Like… not in that weird, telepathic way, like legit talk to Pokemon verbally and understand them completely?!"
"Yeah. Been able to for a long time." Ash answered shrugging. "A gift and a curse." At that, he looked at Pikachu.
"Pika?" 'What?' his starter asked.
"The harem jokes. That's why." Ash deadpanned. "They aren't funny."
"Pikapi." 'Ash, I WANT you to get together with SOMEONE that's healthy and willing,' Pikachu retorted. "Pika." 'If you were interested in someone like Hunter J-'
"No." Ash cut in. "Gray-haired and complete bitch isn't my type. I don't even know what my type IS."
"Pika." 'Shall I list off every girl you've travelled with?' Pikachu said, waggling his pika-eyebrows.
There was a thump sound, as they looked back at Kyoji - who had fallen to his knees, eyes wides and hands outstretched as if he were begging. "…TEACH ME!"
"…what? "
"Teach me PLEASE!" He begged, "I want to be able to talk to my Pokemon! I mean sure they're smart enough to understand me, but I can only guess at what they can say to me in return! The closest I can get to is when they use a computer and try to type things - but I want to be able to actually understand them! PLEASE teach me how to understand them!"
Ash was taken aback by this. "Uh, my method wasn't exactly intuitive…" he said, as 'Celebi dumping over fifty Pokemon minds into his head' had consequences other than understanding Pokemon.
His out-of-character surges of anger, meleconly, generally feeling like garbage… he didn't recommend it.
"Gible!" 'Teach him!' Gible said. "Gib!" 'I want to talk to him properly!'
"Bite." 'Please no,' asked Gabite.
"Seriously, please!" Kyoji asked, "I'd do anything to be able to talk to my Pokemon! Anything just name it!"
Ash was about to give an answer before something exploded and something unexpected made a familiar sound.
A roar Ash hadn't heard since Kalos.
Two minutes prior - further down the canyon
"You sure this is wise?" Anabel asked as she looked at the scientist and his assistants set up TNT in the rocks.
"Please, miss." said the paleontologist, his white hair and bald spot almost blinding in the sun. "We know what we're doing."
"Are you sure?" Misty added. "Just blowing up a wall of rock seems… unwise. We can use our Pokemon to help get the rock away from what you're looking for."
"Young lady, this is simply to get at a more rich layer." he said, cleaning his glasses. "None of this is actually viable material. We're going to blow it up, then after the dust settles, we'll start examining the layers underneath."
Janine remained silent, Gary attempting to flirt with her.
"Go away, Oak, or I will castrate you," she finally threatened. THAT made him back off before they took cover.
"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" one of the assistants yelled before blowing the explosives, unrooting the rock and sending it flying everywhere.
The fortunate part was, no one died.
The UNfortunate part was, something was disturbed underground.
As shown by the loud roar that was heard shortly afterwards.
"You know what you're doing," Misty muttered, deadpan. "Sure."
The rocks were tossed aside, revealing a form no one had seen outside the Pewter Museum in nearly 45 million years with two short arms, a massive head and body and a crown of feathers.
"RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMM!" roared the Pokemon, which Janine readily identified.
"Tyrantrum. A rare fossil outside Kalos." she said. "Dragon/rock-type."
"DRAGON?!" Misty yelled. "Oh, damn it! None of us have anything that can take on a dragon-type except Ash!"
(BGM: Final Fantasy VII Remake: Bombing Mission)
Ash rushed towards the dig site, finding something worse then an Aerodactyl.
"A Tyrantrum? That's just FUCKING great!" Ash cursed. "I was expecting Kabutops and Aerodactyl, not the Pokemon version of a T-Rex!"
Pikachu looked at Ash in horror. "Pi?" 'Did you just…' he asked.
"There's only so much I can take before just having to say it." Ash said before the form of the gray-purple rock/flying-type was seen flying out, the Aerodactyl roaring angrily.
Charmeleon's ball popped open as the Flame Pokemon forced his way out. "Char." 'About damn time.' he said before inhaling and spewing flame at the rock-type.
The pterosaur-like Pokemon dove at Charmeleon, Ash diving for cover before it swooped Charmeleon up, the happy fire-type gladly taking the fight to his nemesis.
Ash shifted rocks to get up, then saw something all too familiar and welcome.
A white egg with red and blue triangles spotted all over it.
"Hey, little guy." Ash said before picking up Togepi's egg, inspecting it for cracks. None were to be found, making him more happy.
A piece of his old life was in his hands, safe.
"DAC!" roared the Aerodactyl ferially, Charmeleon being thrown from his back and diving at Ash.
"MELEON!" 'NOT FUCKING HAPPENING!' Charmeleon roared. "CHAR!" 'YOU DO NOT TOUCH THEM!'
With that, Charmeleon started glowing, wings sprouting from his back as he grew larger, making his roar known as he finally turned from the red Charmeleon to the orange and more pissed off Charizard.
"AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR!" 'GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM MY BROTHER, YOU ROCK-HEADED SON OF A BITCH!' Charizard roared as he dove in.
A dome-shaped Pokemon scuttled out of the rubble, using his almost invisible eyes to look around, making his way to the light. He then bumped into something...softer.
"Kabu?" 'What in the…' said the trilobite before seeing what he bumped into.
A...red-headed being of some kind.
It screamed in terror, the Kabuto jumping back on the rocks, falling onto his back, flailing his legs haplessly.
"Kabuto!" 'HELP ME!' cried the Kabuto.
Ash ducked as he ran from the Aerodactyl as it was slammed into by Charizard, the two flying dragons biting and clawing at one another.
"Now that is a big-ass Aerodactyl right there!" Kyoji shouted, keeping up with Ash - holding Gible in his arms while running.
"That Aerodactyl is trying to kill me AND this Togepi egg!" Ash snapped back, Pikachu having hopped off to help Charizard some time back, but not being able to get a clear shot. "Then there's the damned dragon-type on the ground!" Ash gestured to the roaring Tyrant Pokemon, running around after the science people.
"Runt." 'My sister is playing.' said something unexpectedly. Ash looked to a pile of rocks, finding an oversized head resting on it. "Tyrunt." 'she doesn't get out much.'
"Sister?!" Ash exclaimed before the Aerodactyl was slammed into the canyon wall by Charizard before getting torched by his favorite attack.
"CHAR!" 'BURN, ASSHOLE!' Charizard said as the pterosaur finally fell unconscious, but he was still ready to fight before seeing the Tyrantrum going after Misty. "CHAR!" 'GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HER!'
"Tyra!" 'But we're playing!' The Tyrantrum said, as she chased after Misty. "Trum! Tyra!" 'Imma gonna getcha! You're gonna be it!'
Ash watched dumbly as his now-fully evolved Kanto fire starter attempted to fight the Kalosian dinosaur.
"So, what are they saying?" Kyoji asked excitedly. Ash could hardly blame him: in his position, he would be giddy, too. He WAS in his position once in Johto.
'Note to self: avoid that witch,' he thought. "The Tyrantrum thinks this is a game of tag or something." he answered. "I don't think she realizes how dangerous she is."
"...very true, yet still very cute." Kyoji sighed, "Welp… I could go in there and draw some heat off of her? Maybe make her chase after me perhaps?"
"Go right ahead. I have to give her this egg anyways." Ash said before Gabite came down with… friends.
"Om." 'This is your brother?' asked a blue squid in a shell.
"Kabu." 'He doesn't look like you.' the Kabuto said.
Ash groaned. This was going to be a LONG day.
Misty was not a parkour expert. She was a swimmer, not a runner.
But she did what she could on the gravel, really needing help.
"ASH! HELP ME!" she cried as she narrowly avoided the T-Rex's massive jaws.
"Tag!"
The T-Rex Pokemon blinked as it turned, seeing Kyoji standing next to her leg. He was smiling before he started running away. "Catch me if you can!"
"…TYRA!" The T-Rex roared joyfully as it began chasing after Kyoji.
Misty fell on her face, panting from exhaustion.
"Why...why doesn't standing still work?" she asked as she got her breathing back to normal.
"Binocular vision doesn't work that way?"
Misty looked up to see Ash, covered in rock dust and holding an egg, holding out his hand. "Here." he said, offering it.
She took it, the boy helping her to her feet but not wanting to let go after she was.
Ash blushed at what she was trying to do. "I...have something for you." he said before offering her the oddly-patterned egg.
Her mental self went apeshit for it. "TOGEPI!" she cried. "My little baby, I am NEVER leaving you out of my sight again!" with that, the 'ghost' looked at her real self. "Never let him go."
Misty blinked. What was that about?
"What is it?" Ash asked, wondering why Misty was pulling a Baltar all of a sudden.
"Oh, you know, my...ghost…" she trailed off.
"Yeah." Ash said, understanding. "You let Togepi go in Hoenn in the Togepi Kingdom. Sweetest Pokemon I know, but you had to-"
"I'm not letting Togepi go." Misty said, cutting him off.
That only made him smile, which made her feel all warm and fuzzy.
"See, THIS is half the reason I want him to be our boyfriend!" the mental projection declared. "That and we're the only ones that can keep him out of trouble!"
"Kabu."
Misty looked down to see the Kabuto again.
She promptly jumped screaming.
90 minutes later
"Runt." 'We were asleep for a WHILE,' the little Tyrunt said as the team was cleaning up the mess, Charizard passed out on a rock. "Tyrunt." 'This was all green when I went to sleep.'
"You were in a cave." Ash said.
"Tyrunt." 'True, but the entire place was lined with ferns and the occasional tree.' the little Tyrunt said. "Ty?" 'What's the world like now?'
"Too different to put in a single sentence." Ash said as Misty finally got used to the Kabuto, only taking an hour to get it through her head it was a water/rock-type, with the waterlouse sitting on her head.
Most of them were interested in the new world. The Aerodactyl was being carted off to the Safari Zone, where the new warden would take care of him and the Kabutops and Omustar just wanted to be left alone.
Tyrunt was interested in this 'Pokemon battle' thing. The other two, not so much, but agreed to be sent to the Oak Ranch if only to avoid battle.
Ash knew this was going to be a long day. And he still didn't know why he had a Shiny Chansey registered to his name.
Janine glared at Kyoji.
Kyoji started at Janine in confusion "Uh… is there a problem?"
"…why are you so interested in Ash?" She asked, her eyes narrowed.
"Huh?" Kyoji rose his eyebrow at that, "Uh… other than the fact that he can talk to Pokemon, and I really, really want to learn how he does that?" He shrugged. "Not much… I mean he seems like a nice guy, but for the record I don't swing that way so you can relax if he's your boyfriend or something."
Her glare only intensified. "He is my sworn lord, you fool," she said. "Many have expressed interest in him only to try and end his life. Make such an attempt, you will not survive it." That was reinforced by the sudden knife in her hand, held downward, but ready to flip to the thumb-side if needed.
"Wait, you're a ninja?" he asked.
"Janine of Fuschia," she answered. "Head of the Fuchsia Clan with the death of my father."
Kyoji stared at her for a moment… and she was surprised when he gave a bow to her. "Kyoji of Akamura," He said - speaking in a different language which caused Janine to blink in surprise. "Member of the Giretsu Reconnaissance forces… of the Imperial Ransei Army."
Janine's eyes widened as he said this "…Ransei still stands?" She whispered - speaking in the same language as his.
Kyoji smiled, nodding. "Ransei Banzai, Fuschia Janine," he said. "I'm one of many trained Shinobi deployed across the foreign regions to ascertain the situation of the world. Mainly to get back into contact with the ninja clans to restore our old information networks to help further that goal, and determine how Ransei can help the world… if it can at all."
"How is Ransei handling the Shadows?" She asked.
"Aside from a few aerial and aquatic Shadows that wander in, Ransei has been unaffected," Kyoji assured. "But it hasn't been easy… the 13 Provinces are always bickering, trying to decide if Ransei should open its borders with the Gaijin again, or to stay quiet and hope the Shadow situation eventually burns itself out… Me and other members of the Giretsu recon force are here to determine if Ransei can open borders and offer aid to the URN nations, and the rest of the world."
"It has been getting better." Janine said before looking at Ash, who was helping his Charizard with a massage on his back, given the dragonic Pokemon had only just evolved and fought a battle, he needed all the help he could get. "The heir of Jaemon has been found. Rota has been the only nation capable of purging the trait."
"Yes, and we're both well aware they don't exactly like Ransei." Kyoji replied. "Half the reason this plague EXISTS is because of their old empire. And blood does not an heir make."
Rota's rulers had lost their humility since Arron's death. While the homeland did not intentionally start the wars that consumed the mainland, their agents DID spark the flames. And once the Rotan nobility found out…
They still had a grudge, even after almost 800 years.
"He is different. He does not even want the crown." Janine retorted. "And...there is the fact that Pikachu of his is a Shadow Pokemon."
"...how the hell did he manage that…?" Kyoji muttered, glancing at the Pikachu in question.
"From what I've gathered, they're very close friends." She reasoned, "Enough that, while Pikachu goes through brief moments of rage, he has a level of control over himself…"
Kyoji let out a deep sigh "Well… at least he doesn't act like the royal family from way back…" he muttered. "And the Gaijin called us paranoid…"
"It was tense times… according to what records are left from back then," Janine shrugged, "We may never know exactly what sparked the conflict between Rota and Ransei, but its not like it matters now…"
"It does if they're still holding the grudge…" He muttered, "It will complicate relations with the other nations if Ransei tries to open up…"
"...so aside from learning how Ash talks to Pokemon and your mission, you hold no ill-will towards him?" Janine asked.
"None," He shook his head, "Even if he is the descended of Rotan royalty, no point in going after him for some 800 year grudge… if I did try anything, it would make mine and Ransei's mission all the harder…" he then paused, "In fact… if a member of the Ransei military aided their royal heir in his Pokemon journey, it might actually help fix relations…" he glanced at her. "…if you're willing to have me, Janine-sama."
Janine closed her eyes and sighed. "Bring it up with Ash. My only condition is that you tell me of the homeland." she said as she put her weapon away. "We have almost no records thanks to that pissy fit called the Cipher War."
"Or much of anything. No aircraft, no polymers, nothing that isn't over 300 years out of date…" Kyoji said, only getting a look from Janine. "Ok, shutting up."
"Char…" 'Why must everything hurt…' Charizard moaned as Ash and Pikachu pounded out the kinks in his back.
Charizard was on an evolutionary high, then he stressed his new body to its' limits, which, given his new form, were rather… small.
Something to work on. And Ash didn't want to just return and transfer him back to the Ranch. He wanted him in better shape before he was sent home. Only with conditioning and workouts would he be back at his Johto League level.
"So… how's your Charizard doing?" Ash glanced up, noticing Kyoji approaching with Janine. "He doesn't look so hot right now…"
"Well, he did just evolve." Ash said as he slammed his fist on a particularly stubborn knot, Charizard not liking that but also seeing it needed to be done. "And went through a fight with a pissed off Aerodactyl AND playing tag with that Tyrantrum. Just wanted to make sure he was ok before I sent him back to the Oak Ranch in Pallet Town."
"Ohhh," Kyoji nodded, "Yeah, had to deal with something similar when my Charizard evolved… those final evolutions are always the most radical."
Ash chuckled nervously as he got down from the quasi-dragon's back. "Not looking forward to Garchomp." he said. Gabite was, he wasn't. Gabite wanted to be his tiny self again.
Oh, boy, could every old man and woman relate.
"Why not? Garchomps aren't that bad. Not as cute as Gibles-" Kyoji said, holding up his yellow land shark. "But they're not THAT bad."
"Yeah, they can be. That brings me back to one thing." Ash said as Pikachu used electroshock therapy on Charizard's back. "Why IS Gible yellow? The only Gible I've ever seen being yellow was shiny. And that yellow was only on his belly. Plus, they can't learn any electric-type moves."
"Yes they can!" Kyoji said before pulling out something that looked a lot like the Pokedex Serena used in Kalos, only more utilitarian. "Here." A Pokemon index appeared on a holographic screen, scrolling down to the familiar form of the land shark.
"Gible, the Land Shark Pokemon. An electric/ground-type. Gible has specialized organs that allow it to generate electricity as it tunnels through the ground." the knockoff Pokedex stated. "Gibles are known to give friendly bites as well as shocks." With that, Kyoji was smug, challenging Ash to say anything different.
He pulled out his Pokedex and flipped it open, getting an amused laugh from Kyoji. "Gible, the Land Shark Pokemon. A dragon/ground-type." the Porygon-inhabited device said. "Gible normally sleep in caves warmed by geothermal heat and live in small colonies called 'towns'. Gibles also normally greet friends and family with a friendly bite."
The foreigner blinked as he processed that. "…Well, my Gible's from… you know." he said sheepishly. "And they've been there for thousands of years. Evolution branches all over the place. I mean, you've probably never heard of Alolan formes."
"Actually, I have. Dragon-type Exeggutor," Ash said, as the idea of an excessively tall Exeggutor that was also a dragon-type instead of a psychic…
Well, as far as Ash was concerned, Alolan ones were mutants over the actual ones from Kanto. He wouldn't mind catching one, but hey.
"Huh," Kyoji said. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask…" 'Oh, NO.' Ash thought, given Kyoji's eagerness to learn how to understand Pokespeech. "Mind if I come along? I mean, I'm not from around here and I REALLY want to learn how you understand Pokemon. Were you raised by them or something?"
The unwitting prince thought it over. On one hand, Kyoji would never give him a moment's peace while he tried to learn understanding Pokemon talk.
On the other hand… Ash glanced to Misty and Anabel for a brief second. Maybe having him tag along would get the girls someone better then him. As far as he knew, Kyoji's only flaw was being super-curious and eager to learn something that could not be easily taught. Maybe he could get Anabel to date him. Maybe even get Misty off of needing him to keep from having panic attacks.
"…Sure." Ash said carefully.
"Oh sweet!" He grinned, "Don't worry - I won't bug you 24/7 about the whole Poke-talk thing, but I will be paying attention to see if I can crack this code!"
"Gib!" 'New Friends!' The Gible jumped and…
CHOMP! *Warble-Warble*
Ash chuckled before the Gible began sparking. Ash quickly hugged Gabite before the yellow land shark zapped him, minimizing the zappage.