Cinnabar docks - 1329 hours local time - Day 72 of Ash Ketchum's Journey
Ash could not believe his luck. Iris was here. Her hair was wilder then he remembered, but it was her.
She also seemed terrified of him. Why would she be…
'I REALLY hate this timeline,' Ash thought as he figured it out. Iris' life must've been worse here.
"How do you know my name?!" Iris all but shreaked, her Axew jumping out of her hair in her defense.
"Ax!" 'Get away from the nice lady!' he demanded. Ash looked at the tiny Tusk Pokemon in amusement. Not cruel amusement, but… it was cute.
"I'm not going to hurt your trainer, little guy," Ash said calmly. "Just want to talk to her." 'And maybe make her less annoying then early on in Unova,' he thought, unwilling to put up with Iris' 'immature' nonsense for a second time.
Seriously, he made a few overeager mistakes and she's calling him a kid throughout Unova.
"My name's Ash Ketchum. You could say we… met before." he said disarmingly, "I wouldn't be surprised if you-"
"IRIS!" Ash looked up at the yell, seeing a man in a suit looking down at them from the ship's boat deck. And from the look of things, he was pissed.
"Oh, no," Iris said, her face draining of color in horror. Ash didn't like it. It didn't fit Iris to be afraid of anything but ice-types. And maybe fairy-types.
"What's wrong?" Ash asked, honestly confused. Why would she be worried?
"He's from the government and just wants me to shut up and be seen," Iris said,bowing her head in depression. "Just like back home…"
Ash's protective instincts kicked in. "I'll deal with him," he said, unwilling to deal with this sort of thing.
The suited man rushed down the gangway, his bald head marking him clearly.
"I thought we told you, you stupid bitch: stay with the group!" he yelled, glaring at her, then at Ash. "You, get the hell out of the way."
Ash just glared back, refusing to budge. "No," he said calmly. "Leave her alone.'
"Maybe you should leave the girl to her own devices," Kyoji muttered loudly from the boat..
"I don't need mouth from you, fucking Chink!" The suited man shouted.
…the air in the general area suddenly became very, very,very cold as Kyoji's brow twitched. "I'm sorry…" he said, forcing up a smile. "I'm afraid I didn't quite catch that…"
"I said, shut the fuck up, Ching chong!" The man sneered. "We deal with enough of your kind back home - I don't wanna deal with that 'harrabelbel aschent' here," He smirked, as he 'mimicked' the Ranseian accent.
"…Imma enjoy this," Kyoji fumed and reached for a Pokeball. Ash was faster, sending out something very, VERY dangerous.
The purple and green Sliggoo, transferred in during the trip so he would fight Blaine. "Sli?" 'Who's this asshole?' Sliggoo asked. "Go?" 'He looks like that guy from that game Serena played last week.'
"The fuck is that thing? Looks like a Munna fucked a Escavalier!" the idiot said.
"...Sliggoo." 'I'mma kill him.' Sliggoo declared before spewing mucus on the idiot. Ash just waited for it.
"What the hell is this?!" the suit yelled before they all smelled burning skin and silk, making him scream before running off, blindly falling into the waters below.
Iris stared. Misty and Anabel stared. Even Kyoji stared at the work of the mucosa from hell.
"So THAT'S what the Pokedex meant." Kyoji said, regretting saying anything bad before he looked at Sliggoo. "…your my new favorite Pokemon that isn't a part of my team." He said, nodding in approval of the gooey Dragon-type's handiwork.
"Gib!" 'I second that!' Gible gave Sliggoo a thumbs up.
Galvantula simply danced happily.
"…Goo?" 'What are you doing? I can't see,' Sliggoo said.
"...translation?" Kyoji turned to Ash.
"He can't see what you're doing." Ash said for the snail dragon.
"Oh, uh… Gible's giving you a thumbs up, and Galvantula is dancing for you." He clarified for the slimy dragon.
"Goo!" 'Thanks! I'd hug you, but then the same thing would happen,' Sliggoo said.
"Sliggoo says he would give you a hug, but then...well…" Ash said, trailing off as he hooked a thumb at the asshole in the water.
" … geez, I was just about to do that…" Kyoji gulped slightly. "Good to know…"
Iris looked at Sliggoo, even as Axew sniffed him. "Ax?" 'What ARE you?' he asked the Kalosian Pokemon.
"Sliggoo's a dragon-type from Kalos." Ash answered for Axew, making him look at the trainer.
"Ax." 'That almost sounded like you could understand me,' the tusk pokemon said. Ash could have gotten lucky with Sliggoo.
"I can. Want me to repeat what you said?" Ash asked with a grin.
"Ax!" 'Ok, you wanna pretend you can? Ok. Tell Iris you like her!' Axew said, sounding smug.
"I just met her, Axew, so I'm not going to say that to her," Ash said back deadpan.
"…Ax." '…That wasn't luck,' Axew said in shock before going back to his trainer, who got the general idea.
"You can understand Pokemon?" she asked, tilting her head as she looked at him before pouting. "I'm jealous. The only things that spent any real time around me were Pokemon."
"You and me both." Kyoji said, still sore over Ash understanding Pokemon and the rest of them not before Ash looked at him.
"Ask a psychic to dump your Gible's mind into yours for a few minutes. Worked WONDERS for me," Ash said sarcastically before looking at Iris. "Do you have to be anywhere? Because if all of them are like that, I can glad-" She cut him off by giving him a hug.
"THANK YOU!" she cried, making Misty and Anabel glare at her. "I don't want to hang around those people. They… they were cruel. They just let everyone pick on me and locked me in my room and-"
Ash sighed. Him and his big mouth.
Cinnabar Island Pokemon Center - 1423 hours local time
It took her half an hour to stop blubbering. Misty wanted to say she wasn't as bad, but Ash fixed her with a look and said 'Samurai'. THAT shut her up as they entered the Pokemon Center, finding burn victims aplenty.
"Blaine was busy," Misty said, wincing at even the burned bug-types. She wasn't completely heartless.
"Hang on, hang on!" said a Nurse Joy as she noticed them come in, helping her Chansey assistant with a particularly roasted Golbat into the OR.
"VERY busy," Ash said.
"And he doesn't use a volcano gym?" Kyoji asked. "The gym back home-"
"I damn well hope not." Ash said before the Joy returned, sighing as she rubbed her eyes.
"Welcome to the Cinnabar Pokemon Center. PLEASE tell me you're not going to all face Blaine." she said, almost pleading with them not to fight the gym leader. "We're being flooded with burn cases: Blaine's in a bad mood and taking it out on everyone. There's a Team Rocket base on the island and with the Erika thing, he's on edge."
Ash wanted to feel smug about Erika, but decided not to be. "I'm the only one planning on it, but it can wait until the Rockets are dealt with." Ash said smiling as he walked up to the counter. "So, is there a reservation or something to fight at the Gym?"
The nurse looked at the group. "…I damn well hope-" she started.
"No, none of them are my girlfriend or his, we're just travelling together." Ash said, moderately annoyed at that subject. "I was also going to ask if you could give us seperate rooms."
Misty and Anabel glared at Ash for suggesting such a thing, having slept in the same room since they started travelling together. Janine didn't give a shit.
The joy nodded as she looked for rooms on an old CRT monitor. "Two rooms are available, but only in a few hours. You can spend that time looking for the key to Blaine's Gym." she said, sighing at the key comment. "Damned old man."
Ash didn't care. "Is it in some random location?" he asked, hoping it wasn't.
"Every month, he changes it." she said, sighing. "This month, he's put keys in the abandoned lab. Just… take your time."
With that, she left.
"Well, that just gives you time to prepare for your match." Misty said. "Want to borrow any of my Pokemon?"
"Nah. I have plenty of water-types and Sliggoo wants in: the closer to Goodra, the better." Ash said as he looked through the Pokedex's records. "Let's see… Charizard wants to fight again… Might try Tauros…"
Kyoji looked at Ash dumbly. "You have Tauros." he asked.
Ash hmmed before looking at the list again. "Yeah, thirty of them." he answered.
"…you have a herd of 30 Tauros?" Kyoji blinked slowly at Ash.
"Yes," He nodded, shrugging. "Why?"
Kyoji grabbed Ash's shoulder. "Let's...take this outside." he said before guiding Ash out of the Pokemon center, the girls following mostly to avoid a blowup.
"…you've been walking this whole time, we've been walking this whole time," Kyoji stressed, "While you have a herd of some of the strongest beasts of burden in the entire world? We could buy a few carriages and we'd be able to haul enough supplies to keep us independent for MONTHS! A Year even! Not to mention it'd cut travel time in half!"
"…he has a point," Janine pointed out, rubbing her feet. "We've… been walking for a while…"
"…I didn't want to say anything," Misty muttered, "But… making the journey easier… would be nice…"
Ash processed it for a moment… before he sighed. "Okay, in hindsight… I should've done that sooner," he admitted, "So… we should try to get a carriage or two…"
"Terrific," Kyoji clapped his hands, "I've got funding for that - just make sure you have your Miltanks ready as well!"
"…I don't have any Miltanks." Ash said.
The Ninja-trooper froze. "…you have a herd of 30 Tauros… and no Miltanks?"
"…is that bad?"
"…you DO realize Tauros is an all-male species, right?" Kyoji deadpanned, "Miltanks are their female counterparts! They're like Nidoqueen and Nidoking - they need each other to breed! Having Miltanks and Tauros together is critical to their psychological health since they are a very territorial species! So unless you want to go back before we domesticated regular cattle and have them castrated so they'll be more docile without Miltanks around - which I would never condone - your herd needs some females in there to balance things out!"
"…Pika pi." 'He DOES have a point,' Pikachu reasoned. "Chuuu. Pika Pika, Pikachu!" 'I mean… it wasn't THAT bad in the old timeline, but the Tauros did kinda complain about not having mates around… Professor Oak kinda helped with the few he had at the ranch, but considering how… dark this timeline is, it wouldn't hurt to invest in getting a few Miltanks for them and the professor.'
"Milktank aren't native to Kanto and the closest place is Johto." Ash said, shuddering at remembering Whitney's Miltanks.
Pink-haired menace.
"So, we go to Johto," Kyoji reasoned for them. "Should be easy."
"I am NOT dealing with Whitney," Ash said, stressing it clearly.
"What are you two talking about?" Iris asked. "What's wrong with walking? I've walked everywhere all my life."
"You haven't walked the trails of Kanto for almost three months with thin-soled shoes." Misty deadpanned. "I don't MIND walking, but seriously, my feet have calluses on their calluses."
Ash sighed. Life was simpler back in the old days.
"Any chance I can convince you all to stay here while I look for the key?" he asked, knowing the answers.
"I have to keep you out of trouble and I still don't like you being out of my sight," Misty said.
"I don't think my mental defenses are good enough." Anabel said, though she blushed, making Ash question her intentions.
"…You're literally the only people that have been nice to me outside my grandpa my entire life." Iris said, Ash REALLY feeling sorry for her now.
'I regret everything I said about her now,' he thought.
Kyoji grinned as Ash looked at him. "You honestly think I'm staying here? You are a constant source of excitement," he said, amused at the thought.
"…I'm not telling Iris the story. One of you does it." Ash said before running off.
"Tell me WHAT?!" Iris asked as Ash became very distant, very quickly. "Hff. Child."
"He's actually more mature than you think." Kyoji said to her. "I think he's thinking that he's keeping us safe by being far away. Sadly we don't work that way!"
With that, Kyoji dragged her after Ash, kicking and screaming. Mostly just screaming.
Cinnabar Burned Lab - 1549 hours local time
One request for directions from a pair that looked like Buff and Cassidy - who were boarding a ship going to Orre afterward - and he was here.
A lab that looked about as safe as Gary's cheerleading squad.
"Pika." 'This place has seen better days,' Pikachu said as Ash tapped a burned floor panel, only for it to suddenly collapse.
"And this was Blaine's idea for a key hunt?" Ash asked as the burned wood fell into the basement. "A burned out mansion that did double duty as a lab?" he paused. "…Why does that sound familiar?"
"Pikachu." 'Well, we got a key to look for. Might as well search high and low until your harem-' Pikachu started.
"Pikachu, we have talked about this. Until Cyrus is either dead, imprisoned in the darkest hole I can find or otherwise made harmless, that is not an option." Ash said before he looked at Pikachu intently. "Besides, if you're talking about Iris, too, that's… just wrong. She needs as much work as I do. And OH BOY do I need help before I even think about it."
Speaking of, Kyoji was walking alongside Iris, catching up with them. "…so, yeah - that's the gist of it." He said, "Jackass is trying to end the world, you knew Ash in a past life, or past universe, and somehow because of it, Ash can talk to Pokemon with as much ease as you can talk to me. You got that?"
"…that is a lot to go over, and a lot that I'm having trouble believing…" Iris muttered.
"Well I would agree with you, but when I saw him casually chatting up with Celebi like they were old friends, and her agreeing with everything he said, it sorta leans into him telling the truth… plus, Ash doesn't take me as the kind of guy who'd lie about something this serious."
Ash looked behind him to see the pair, Kyoji looking pleased as punch and Iris looking like she ran a race against Pikachu. Oddly enough, that reddened face made her look very c-
'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!' Ash mentally screamed to try and kill that part of his brain.
"And there he is," Kyoji said before losing the smile. "Want to explain?"
"Why I just ran off? Well, my foot just went through the floor, so I think only one person should be in here." Ash said. "That and this place reminds me of something, but I don't know what."
"Yeah, I get that feeling to-" Kyoji said before turning his head. "Do you hear that?"
"Hear what-"
Du-dun.
Kyoji's Gible released himself and poked his head up in surprise "Gib?" 'Hello?'
Du-dun. Du-dun.
Ash's Gabite did the same and looked around. "Gab." 'I hear it…'
"...where is that coming from?" Iris looked around, but Kyoji began to smile.
Du-dun, du-dun, du-dun,du-dun,du-dun,du-dun,du-dun,du-dun,du-dun!
A greyish-purple fin emerged from the flooring, as it sped towards Iris and…
"GIB!" 'HELLO!'
CHOMP.
And thus was Iris introduced to Gible. And so was Kyoji as he and his Gible looked over the little guy.
"He's gray! And blue! And red!" he exclaimed.
"Gib!" 'Like Gabite!' Kyoji's Gible said. "Gib…" 'So all mainland gibles are like this?'
The land shark opened his eyes and saw the two looking at him. "Gib?" 'Are you with the people in the basement?' he asked.
Outside, the TRio were keeping their distance.
"Didn't the Boss say he had a lab here?" James asked, knowing damn well they did.
"Yeah, the Mewtwo project." Jessie said before looking at her teammates. "…We're staying the hell away from that, right?"
You wish. Orders from Giovanni, remember?
"I know, we have to watch the kid and keep him alive, but we don't want to be anywhere near Dennis!" James said.
So true, but too bad.
"He hates us." Meowth said. "We don't gotta be in sight, right?"
Nope.
"Then change the scene already!" the TRio yelled.
"Pika?" 'Did Iris have a Gible when we went back?' Pikachu asked.
"Don't know, don't care," Ash retorted before looking at Gible. "Hey, little guy. Did these guys have black and red on them?"
"Gib." 'Yeah. They hurt me a lot.' said the Gible as he sniffed Ash. "Gible?" 'Why do you smell like the one with black hair?' the Gible asked, making Ash's blood boil.
That meant he was related to someone down there. His father was here. And a member of Team Rocket.
'…He dies.' Ash thought. With that, Ash ran off, looking for a set of stairs.
"Ash, wait!" Kyoji cried, Ash and Gabite proving to be VERY fast. "How the hell does he run so fast?"
Iris didn't answer, more confused by the Gible nomming on her head. "…Is… this normal?"
The shinobi and yellow land shark facepalmed.
Giovanni sighed. "And THIS is why we don't keep Gibles." he said, noting the empty metal cage devoid of land shark brought in by Team Plasma. Idiots.
"Who cares?" Ghetsis said, waving it off. "It's one tortured land shark. Who's going to care?"
Ash found a stairwell leading to the basement rather quickly, charging down with Gabite behind him.
"Pikapi!" 'Ash, think this through! This is a Team Rocket base! With lots of Grunts! Probably Giovanni, too!'
"I damn well HOPE so!" Ash said, furious. "If that Gible was telling the truth, then that son of a bitch is my father." Which only made Ash MORE pissed and somewhat justified in his feelings of romantic unworthiness.
He wasn't going to spawn any descendants of THAT son of a bitch.
"Pikachu-pi!" ''I get it, but think this through! If it's true, then if you do this, you BECOME him!' Pikachu said, Ash's pace slowing to a crawl, Gabite stopping just behind him as Ash processed that.
All his life, he avoided romance to avoid turning into his father. And with one angry thought, he nearly turned into him.
"Gabite." 'Pikachu's right. You're better than him.' the land shark said. "Gab!" 'But if you gotta hurt him, make sure he lives.'
"Yeah…" Ash said, eyes hard and determined. "He can't face justice if I kill him here."
Cinnabar Island Mansion north side - same time
"You sure?" Gisille asked as her team prepared to breach. "I don't want to piss off Blaine by ruining his lab."
"I'm sure." Joe said, nodding. "We saw Team Rocket AND Team Plasma grunts entering the building three days ago. They're down there. The only reason Blaine hasn't torched it is… well, because he's busy torching EVERYWHERE ELSE that remotely looks like a Rocket base."
"The Erika thing really put everyone's asses in gear, huh?" the former class pet asked.
"Yup." the deadlast replied.
"Well, you heard the man!" Giselle cried. "DIG!"
"DIG!" cried the Diglett squad as they burrowed insanely fast into the earth.
"No wonder Gibles hang around these things." Joe muttered.
Ash smashed the heads of a female Rocket and male Plasma grunt into a wall, hard enough to knock them out.
"Gab?" 'Aggressive much?' Gabite asked.
"I just figured out Giovanni is my father." Ash deadpanned. "You know, the LEADER of TEAM FUCKING ROCKET? I have every right."
"Gabite." '…true enough.' replied the land shark before they heard something cry out in pain.
"Increase the solution." said a female voice. "I want this damn thing ready for combat by the end of the week."
"Vuuuuuuuuiiiiii!" 'OWOWOWOWOOWOWOWOWOWOWOOWOWOWOWOWOWOOWOW!' said a Pokemon Ash hadn't run into yet in Kanto, purposefully avoiding Stone Town.
He did send Tranquill over there to provide a list of Eeveelutions for Mikey, though.
"An Eevee?" he said, looking in, finding a lab filled with science equipment, with a glass bell trapping the Evolution Pokemon inside, electrodes and an Iv being injected into the poor thing. "Eevu…" 'This… hurts…' the Eevee said, her pained cries weak and low until they shocked her again.
"…Pikapi." 'Ash, if anyone other then Hunter J, Cyrus or Dennis deserve to die, these assholes are among that number.' Pikachu stated, pissed off at them torturing a Pokemon.
"I'm not going to kill them." Ash said darkly as he looked at the scientists at work. "I believe in fair play. And they should suffer as that Eevee suffers."
"…Pika." 'You sound like Giovanni.' Pikachu said worryingly.
"Well, might as well take a page from the old man. Mind shocking them halfway to the afterlife?" Ash asked, Pikachu nodding.
Eevee was slowly becoming unconscious once more, the Rocket scientists complaining about the 'lack of results'.
She didn't care: screw them. They could burn.
She heard a cry of pain from outside. It was probably a hallucination again, as she opened her eyes, watching as they were electrocuted from some unknown source.
Oh, that would be nice. Let them get zapped like she did. Happy dreams.
Then the glass smashed open and she was greeted by warm brown eyes.
"You ok?" asked the trainer, who was removing the IV and the wires attached to her.
"Vui?" 'I'm… not dreaming?' she asked.
"I ask myself that question every day for the last two and a half months." he said. "Sadly for me, no, it's not a dream."
"Pika." 'Assholes subdued.' said a Pikachu before something began breathing dragonfire on them. "Pika!" 'Gabite, we want them alive!'
"GAB!" 'I WANT THEM TO SUFFER!' cried a Gabite, a rare sight in Kanto. Gibles were uncommon: go with the Diglett, find a Gible. Gabites? They tended to stick to Sinnoh.
Still, a trainer. …Oh, hell no. She wasn't escaping from ONE prison just to end up in another!
"E… Evvv…" 'I.. I don't…' She groaned, trying to stand up, to move away - but she couldn't find the strength to walk properly. "V-vee…" 'c-captured… again…'
"Save your strength, girl." the trainer said, pulling out a potion bottle and spraying oran berry concentrate on her wounds. "Pikachu, you stay with Eevee and get her out of here. I'll deal with Team Rocket."
"Pikapi!" 'Ash, I'm the most powerful Pokemon you have; even Charizard-'
"Eevee is your priority now, not me!" the trainer, Ash, interrupted. "Stick with her, get her out of here! Gabite, you want to mess up the Rockets?"
"Bite!" 'You have to ask?!' cried the land shark excitedly. Eevee had no idea what to make of this trainer.
He freed her, left his starter with her to protect her...and had no intentions of capturing her, if the lack of Pokeball had any say in it.
For now, Eevee just planted her head into the container's bottom. She needed a damn nap.
Upstairs, Kyoji and the girls (Misty and Anabel finally caught up) found the stairway.
"How the hell is he this lucky AND this fast?!" Kyoji asked, honestly confused, even as Gible tried to make Iris turn back with frantic 'Gible's.
"The stories my astral self could tell you." Misty said. "You know how he caught Goomy in the first timeline? He fell, literally out of the sky, onto his head. I can tell you the time he caught Gible, his Noctowl-"
"He has a Noctowl?" he asked, unable to believe. "WHY DID HE NOT TELL ME?!"
"For the same reason he used the same Noctowl to beat the shit out of the Pokemon Tech brats." Misty snarked.
Kyoji did not argue this point. "So...who wants to go into the creepy dark basement the purple land shark doesn't want to go back into?" he asked.
"Gib! Gib!" cried aforementioned land shark, still on Iris' head.
"Maybe I can stay up here?" Iris suggested. "Keep Gible calm?"
"Good idea." Misty said. "This is your first day with Ash: you're not ready for this sort of thing yet."
Iris looked at the recovering tomboy. "...What sort of thing?" she asked.
"Saving the freaking world." the redhead answered.
Giovanni facepalmed. "He's HERE?" he asked over the radio to the only grunts he could trust. It was a sad day when he had to rely on the TRio.
"Yes, Boss." James answered. "You see, he came here for Blaine's badge, but the key's in the mansion-"
"Oh, goddamn it." Giovanni muttered. Blaine REALLY hated him. "Well, it was inevitable. Continue your mission. As long as you exist, Team Rocket lives."
And that was a low, LOW standard for existing. Then again, Patel was fucking insane, so it was fucked anyways.
He hung up, Ghetsis, the smug fuck, walking over. "Problems?" he asked, smirking.
"You could say-" Giovanni said before a wall exploded, caused by a Draco Meteor, raining debris on his grunts and scientists.
Standing at the hole was a very pissed off Gabite. Beside him, Ash Ketchum.
His nephew. Heir to Delia's legacy. He was doomed.
Ash drew his handmade Unovan-designed handgun, pointing it at Giovanni before seeing Ghetsis and doing the same with the Rocket machine pistol he took from Proton.
"Giovanni." Ash spat, paining the old man his hate. "And Dennis." Oh, that made everything better.
"First your mother, now you?!" Ghetsis spat, fuming at the name. "It is GHETSIS! GHETSIS!"
"Right now?" Ash said as he held both men in his sights. "I don't care. Two of the most evil men I know, in the same place. I know it's too early to be my birthday, but I'm not arguing."
Giovanni stood proud. Ash wouldn't shoot him. "I would advise you lower your weapon, Ash Ketchum." he said, his knowing Ash's name not having the effect he thought it would, only making him MORE mad.
"I'm not listening to you, Dad," Ash spat. Giovanni blinked at that, confused.
Dad? He wasn't… Oh. The hair, the temper, the… everything.
That made him retch somewhat. Delia was his SISTER, damn it. That was just WRONG.
"I'm not into incest." Giovanni shook his head.
There was a long moment of silence, as Ash seemed to recoil when he said that. "...what?"
"I'm not your father, Ash." The Rocket leader sighed, "I'm your Uncle - on your Mother's side."
There was another long moment of silence, and then…
"WHAT?!"
"...yeah, its no wonder she didn't tell you," Giovanni sighed, "Granted, I figured she would have at least clarified that much… your mother use to be a member of our organization back when our… goals were more in sync… when they diverged, she left to be with your Father. The sole condition… is that I do everything in my power to keep Team Rocket away from you, and Pallet Town… of course SOME PEOPLE!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. "HAVE DIFICULTY FOLLOWING MY FUCKING ORDERS!"
He took a calming breath after that outburst, before he continued "Which was why I had one of my most loyal members follow and observe you - because out of everyone in my entire organization… those three idiots are the only ones smart enough to not disregard one of my orders."
"...don't tell me you mean-"
"Jessie, James and Meowth," Geovanni sighed, "Yes yes, they're not my first pick, but they're my best pick while I've been running around the world running damage control for my idiot subordinates."
Ash just looked at him as if he had grown a second head. "...that's bullshit." He muttered, "Why go through all this trouble to protect ME?! You're a criminal!"
"Yes, I'm a Criminal." Geovanni nodded, "But I may be the most powerful man in the world… but the one thing I fear more than all the Shadow Pokemon in the world… is your mother."
"...what?"
"Your mother helped me build this organization, Mr. Ketchum." He explained, "And you can make damn sure that she knows exactly how to take it apart piece by piece with the surgical precision of a doctor with a scalpel. That's why I've been doing everything in my power to keep you alive - to keep her off my FUCKING ASS!"
"Wait, wait…" Ash rose his free hand up. "If… if you're not my father… who is?"
Giovanni didn't get the chance to answer as a revolver was put to his head. "I hate to interrupt this touching reunion…" Ghetsis said, faux-sadly as he cocked the hammer back. "But I have far better things to do."
"I would say something about cursing your betrayal, Ghetsis…" Giovanni trailed off before looking the older man in his singular eye. "But I saw this coming. Shoot him."
Gunfire rang out from behind the bosses, bullets hitting his coat, the rounds bouncing off what appeared to be body armor as Giovanni dived behind a tank.
"Aim for his head, damn it! The coat is armored!" Giovanni yelled as he drew his own sidearm to do just that.
Ghetsis cackled before raising his arm, the cap of his cane falling off to reveal the barrel of a gun as he aimed it at Ash, who dove for cover as he opened fire, Gabite doing the same as it wasn't bulletproof just yet.
Ash crawled towards Giovanni, taking cover behind the lab equipment when gunfire got too close, Gabite burping out fire as he did from his own spot of cover.
He finally reached Giovanni, who was firing at Ghetsis and assisting his grunts on occasion. "If you have questions, now is not the time!" the Rocket Boss declared as he ran dry, dropping a clip before reloading.
"What happened to my father, if you're not lying?" Ash said as Ghetsis racked their position with bullets. "And just so you know, I know you do lie. A LOT."
"Comes with the job, nephew." Giovanni said before a clang was heard, a bullet getting too close for their liking. "I won't tell you his name; that's not my place. But I will say this: he saved you from a Shadow Pokemon and died in the process." Giovanni fired blindly over their cover, a scream indicating he killed one of Ghetsis' grunts. "It was a legendary, one that was missing for almost 90 years, since that fool Wes dealt with Cipher the first time round."
Ash tried to process that. A Shadow Legendary? What could've…
He remembered to that day he left Pallet Town. Ho-oh looking at him with eyes of…
"Ho-Oh." Ash breathed, not believing it.
"You remember. Good: that saves me the trouble." Giovanni said as his weapon ran empty again. "If this thing wasn't reliable, I would have started using those Kalosian guns the grunts use instead!"
"Team Rocket will die with you, Giovanni!" Ghetsis laughed as he reloaded. "The time of Plasma has come!"
Pikachu was not happy. His trainer willingly went to face Arceus knew what without his most powerful asset.
Let us be clear: Charizard, Krookodile, Greninja and all those? Pikachu could swat them down and they knew it.
Unless you were a complete idiot and ignored them, the starter was ALWAYS the most powerful Pokemon on your team, be it through brute force, tactics or agility. Pikachu was a mix of all three, now and in the past.
And instead of using his steel-clad tail to knock out poison-types or remove unnecessary limbs, he was five flights up, escorting an Eevee out. This was a waste of his time.
"Eevui." 'I can go the rest of the way,' the fluffball said, barely getting up another stair. "Vui." 'Go to your trainer.'
"Pikapi." 'Ash told me to get you out of here and I am doing just that,' Pikachu retorted. "Pikachu." 'Once your normal-type ass is out of the building, THEN I'm coming back down here and going to end the careers of many, MANY grunts.'
Eevee looked at him in terror, shrinking at his rage. "Eevee…" 'You're not normal. You're a Shadow Pokemon,' she said, fearful of what he would do to her.
Fortunately, Pikachu had no intentions of doing anything to her. "Pikachu." 'I'm in control of myself, not attacking you. I am not going to hurt you, just the bucketloads of assholes down below that tortured you within an inch of your life,' he said. "Pika." 'You didn't deserve this.'
"Eevui." 'I don't know WHAT I deserve. I just want out,' she said as she got up, her pain ebbing away. "Vui." 'I've been in one human facility or another all my life: I've never SEEN the outside.'
Pikachu looked at her in confusion. "Pi?" 'You were captive-bred?' he asked.
Eevee nodded. Vee." 'Don't know who, but I've changed hands so many times, it doesn't matter,' she said before footsteps came from above.
"How. The hell. Can he. MOVE THIS FAST?!" yelled a male voice, panting as he came into view, revealing himself to be Kyoji, tired as sin. "There is no way he can…" he trailed off as he looked down. "Oh, hey, Pikachu." he said before seeing Eevee and picking her up. "Awwwwww… an Eevee. He's so CUTE!"
"VEE!" 'I'm a girl!' she cried before biting his hand, making him drop her.
"Damn it! Last time I call an Eevee cute." Kyoji muttered.
"Gible!" 'Hi!' said Kyoji's mutant Gible, who got ready to make the usual Gible greeting until Pikachu used Iron Tail and stopped him with a wall of steel.
"Pika." 'She was tortured by Team Rocket. Leave her alone.' he said, making Gible back off..
"Pikachu, what the hell are you doing here?" Kyoji asked, nursing his hand. "Where's Ash?"
Pikachu pointed down, then looked at Eevee. "Pika." 'They can take you up the rest of the way,' he said.
"Vui!" 'They're trainers!' she said, worried for her safety if he just left her with them.
"Pika!" 'And they won't catch you unless you ask; just go!' Pikachu said before rushing back down, heedless of cries from Kyoji or Ash's girls, once they got in view.
He had a brother to save.
Ash got away from Giovanni in the ensuring firefight: grunts, Rocket and Plasma, were trying to kill each other and mostly succeeding. He got into another room when he saw a pair of tanks, glowing with lights installed in the top of each tank.
"You have got to be kidding me." he said as he got a good look at them.
Long, purple tail and belly, gray-white fur, a feline appearance…
And Ash was INTIMATELY familiar with both of them. After all, one of them, with a fair bit of assistance, managed to kill him.
"The last thing I need to deal with are the goddamn Mew clones," Ash said before hearing the door on the other end of the lab opening, revealing someone much like himself.
In that he wore a cap and had a similar ensemble of jacket, shirt and pants. That was all they had in common.
His hair was a hell of a lot longer. And green.
"You must be the intruder. The trainer," he said, spitting the word, his voice being familiar to Ash. "Father always said trainers ruin Team Plasma's plans for Pokemon liberation."
'Great, I have to deal with N. One that DOESN'T know Ghetsis is an evil son of a bitch,' Ash thought, remembering his few encounters with him after Ghetsis attempted summoning one of the dragons and discovering that his 'father' was evil as all hell.
"Well, if your dad wasn't being a total asshole and trying to force Pokemon and people that love each other apart, maybe we wouldn't be thwarting his plans all the time," Ash retorted, reaching for Charizard's Pokeball.
"Love? I have seen the nature of trainers!" N said. "They abuse and hurt Pokemon, making them fight for no good reason! You are no different!"
"I always give them a choice," Ash snapped back. "If they want to join my family, they can. If they don't, they don't." Ash expanded Charizard's Pokeball. "So I suggest you get out more and-"
N raised something that looked like a cross between a firehose and an electron gun, firing a stream of gas at Ash, specifically the hand holding the Pokeball.
The ball began melting, glowing hot as it dripped into Ash's hand, making him scream in pain.
Eventually, the Pokeball's systems failed, forcing Charizard out before the internals fried.
"Char?" 'Ash, what happened?!' Charizard asked before seeing Ash's hand covered in melted Pokeball, screaming as it solidified.
"You are free, Charizard, that is what happened!" N cried, spreading his arms wide as if to embrace him. "Go, leave your imprisoner and-"
Charizard roared and grabbed N by the neck, getting ready to crush his throat. "CHAR!" 'You hurt my trainer! The man I consider a brother in arms!' He roared into N's face, fire gathering in the back of his throat. "Char!" 'I don't care what you did before. NOW YOU DIE!'
Charizard tossed him into one of the Mewtwo tanks, cracking it, alarms blaring, but Charizard did not care. This perversion of Ash's friend was going to die and he would die PAINFULLY, for there was nothing he treasured, other than his mate, than the bond with his trainer.
With his Pokeball gone, N just declared war on him and Ash. And in this timeline, that was asking to die.
"Zoru!" 'Get away from N!' cried N's hat as it turned into a red and black fox, jumping on Charizard's snort.
Charizard simply grabbed the Zorua in his talons. "Char." 'Your master fucked with my brother, you stupid shit.' Charizard said. "Char!" 'And NO ONE fucks with my brother!' That yell ended with Zorua being torched, then thrown into a wall, the concrete cracking on impact.
The situation got worse as Gabite got into the room. "Bite?!" 'Ash?! What happened?!' he cried, looking at his trainer, finding the melted Poke Ball fused to his hand, then looking at N, who was trying to get up.
"Bite!" 'Did you do this?!' Gabite asked, royally pissed as dragonfire gathered in his maw. "BITE!" 'ANSWER ME, YOU GREEN-HAIRED LITTLE SHIT!'
"I… freed Charizard. Why…" he said, confused as he got up. "Why would he not want that?"
"GABITE!" 'YOU HURT ASH!' Gabite yelled, then started glowing. Team Plasma grunts rushed in, firing at the land shark, but there was a good reason no one bothered attacking an evolving Pokemon, other than being considered bad taste.
It was pointless: the infinity energy that all Pokemon had made them proof against all forms of attack, save Arceus using Judgement on them. Fire, water, steel, fairy, even human means like bullets. It was thought even a nuke wouldn't do a thing, but no one was wanting to test that.
In short, Gabite was bulletproof, even as his form grew, changing, gaining a second fin, a fluke to his tail and getting MUCH bigger, as tall as Charizard.
The Plasma idiots stopped firing at that point, as they were almost out of ammo. Not that anything short of a 20mm cannon shell would help them.
"GARCHOMP!" 'NOW YOU ALL DIE!' yelled the angry Mach Pokemon as he charged at them.