NS Heart of Indigo - 1031 hours local time - Day 169 of Ash Ketchum's journey
There were many things Ash could claim to be good at. Walking, long distance endurance, Pokemon battles when there were no outside effects screwing him over…
But not this. Romance he was still inexperienced with. Still, he would freely admit walking the deck of a warship wasn't exactly prime romantic material.
"Sorry." he apologized, his… date shaking her head in amusement. "I know this isn't the most romantic experience ever, but I've never taken anyone out on a date before."
Serena just smiled happily, reminding him of far better days in Kalos. "It's ok." she said. "I'm just happy to spend time with you."
She was acting more and more like the Serena he knew from the other timeline. As far as he was concerned, this was a good thing. The 'excitement' must've worn off at last.
It was agreed upon by everyone but Ash that he would take Serena on that date he promised her months prior. It was long overdue, if understandable why it was delayed. But walking around on a moving battleship in seas that were not exactly gentle didn't exactly scream 'romantic' to him. He had no idea what he was doing. Holding her hand was all he could really do.
Serena didn't care. The voices in her head were all happier then Gibles in a steelworks and she was just as happy. She was easy to make happy: spending time with Ash. She would have time to figure out what she wanted to do later.
Perhaps she would join Ash as a battling trainer. Or something different. Or both.
She would think about it after their date.
"Ash…" she started. "Did we… were we together in the past?" she wanted to know.
Ash sighed. "You had no idea how much I wanted to have you as my girlfriend." he admitted. "The entire time in Kalos, I wanted to say… those words." he could not bring himself to say it now. Shame welled in his voice for not being able to say the words he felt, even now. "But after everything… I just didn't feel like I was worthy of it. Mewtwo, Greenfield, Altomere… it only got worse from there."
Serena let go of Ash's hand, the sheer look of resignation clear on his face before she hugged him, much to his surprise.
"You were ALWAYS worthy." she said, backing up to look him in the eye before doing the one thing that surprised him back in the old timeline: kissing him on the lips.
A dark voice in the back of his head was demanding him to ravage her. Like he had since the start of his new journey, he ignored it as she let him breathe.
"It might not be the most romantic date in the world, but…" Serena said before latching onto his arm. "What first date is? Every first date in the history of romance is a complete and utter disaster! So why not try and make the best of it?"
That was surprisingly… pragmatic. He could live with that.
She was right, though. So this wasn't the most romantic experience ever. Did he ever get anything done right the first time? It took the Fearow to bond with Pikachu, it took two battles to win his first badge…
The pair walked past the superstructure, trying to not let this… well, disaster get them down. It was a learning experience of what not to do next time.
Ash sniffed the air as hints of something not salty went past his nose. "Wait…" he muttered. "You smell that?"
Serena blinked, sniffing as well. "Yeah…" she nodded. "It smells like… pasta?"
As the duo walked past one of the forward gun batteries of the battleship… a small table had been set up, with decorations and all, with candle set up, and on the table was what appeared to be a whole serving of pasta - still steaming as if it had just come off of the oven, and complete with breadsticks. And standing there, ready to help serve them… was Kyoji - dressed up in a classical chef's outfit… with his Gible standing right beside him - also wearing a tiny version of the same outfit. "Dinner is served!" He said smiling… and Ash noticed both he and his Gible were wearing these strange stringy moustaches on their faces.
"Le Gib!" Gible nodded sagely.
Ash just stared. "Uh… what are you doing?" he asked.
Pac-gible eyesmiled. "Gible!" 'Helping you on your date!' he said happily.
"What my buddy said." Kyoji added. "I mean, sure, you're doing your best with what you got, but I figured I'd help the romantic atmosphere! And since I know neither of you ate breakfast-"
The stomachs of the couple then voiced their want of food, Ash rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
"Perfect timing," Kyoji grinned - as the chairs of the table seemed to slide out on their own accord as if welcoming them to sit on them - hinting that Sabrina was somewhere watching and providing back-up for Kyoji. "Please, have a seat."
The couple shrugged. They weren't going to fight it. Serena reluctantly let go of Ash's hand, Pac-Gible guiding her to a chair before Ash walked to the other one, the chair being gently pushed in by psionic power.
"Gib!" 'Yay!' cheered the land shark as he walked towards Kyoji.
"…Do I want to know about the moustaches?" Serena asked, more confused than anything. "Because you look like stereotypical Kalosian chefs."
"Never mock a standard!" Kyoji said. "If it works, it works!"
Ash just chuckled. This day was getting better the longer it got on. At least for once, he didn't hate this timeline.
Now if only he didn't feel guilty for feeling like a hypocrite. Having committed himself to not being in romance for so long… now here he was, trying to be, well… romantic.
"Now, as your first serving, we've got some nice homemade spaghetti, with parmesan sauce and good old fashioned bread sticks," Kyoji said, "And if that's not enough for you two, we've got a nice Kalosian Cream Pie fresh out of the oven as well, with your names on it!"
…So this was what it felt like to have people that wanted you to get together with your love interest. Well, in Ash's case, interests, but still. It was… nice.
'This is going to be GREAT.' Sabrina 'pathed to Kyoji. 'One step closer to helping Dad!'
'…It is still creepy that you call him that, even if you're years older than him.' her boyfriend thought as the couple began to dig into the meal. 'This is going to go a long way to helping him get over his stupid vow.'
'To be fair, he was going to confess to Misty in Altomere, then all THAT bullshit happened.' Sabrina said in Ash's defense. 'The death of a legendary would color his feelings on the matter.'
If he ever met that Latios, he was going to slap him and then demand him to not die and make a bunch of girls sad because the man they loved would decide to never return their feelings publicly.
Why wasn't he this lucky?
'You have me, remember?' Sabrina pointed out. 'And Neesha. And who can forget 'Lacus'?'
'THEY'RE FRIENDS!' he yelled mentally before realizing something. '…Wait a minute, all those skimpy sexy images didn't come from my brain: they came from you!'
'You were just so fun to tease.' she cooed before Kyoji realized Ash and Serena were kissing. But before anyone could relax, the ship lurched.
"The fuck was that!" he yelled.
"Report!" demanded Captain Nakajima as his ship suddenly shook.
"Steam turbine explosion!" one of the officers relayed. "Engineers are looking into it now, but we DID push the engines to the near-breaking point a few days ago, sir."
"It was either that or Ketchum would've faced that abomination alone!" Nakajima retorted. "But that's neither here nor there. Where's the nearest port so we can at least put in a patch job and not stress the backup turbine?" Half of it was practical, as the smaller steam turbine was just that: smaller, not designed for the high pressures of the speed they were going to need. The other...was purely pride: getting towed back to port was humiliating.
The XO pulled out a set of charts for the Pacific Ocean, putting them on the table. "There are two deep-water ports." he said after a moment. "…Never mind. Navel Rock's still an irradiated hellhole. The only option we have is Shamouti Island."
The Orange Islands were all, with one exception, shallow water islands. The only exception was Shamouti, whose underwater canyon snaked from one end of the planet to the other, regulating the currents for the entire planet.
It was also one of the least friendly to warships thanks to the so-called Titans of Shamouti, more-powerful than normal versions of the Legendary Birds.
No one knew why, but the angry birds did NOT like anything bigger than a tour boat in their territory. But it was the closest and only port deep enough to have them not run aground.
"Inform the Rotans we're going to be delayed." Nakajima said. "And get that Ranseian boy up here. He might as well break the news to Ketchum."
"And not the guard?" his XO asked.
"He is the last person I want on this bridge." the captain stressed. "He's a Horusian. It would take every marine we have just to slow him down."
15 minutes later - acting guest quarters
"We're going." Ash said. "To Shamouti."
Kyoji nodded. "Yeah, it's the closest port the ship can dock at for repairs." he explained. Then he sighed. "You think that Shamouti thing is going to happen, don't you?"
"New Island happened, despite the changes in the timeline." Sabrina pointed out. "He has every right to be concerned."
"Fair enough," Kyoji nodded, "Still, you've got a Battleship now, plus ten times as many people willing to help you out… so I think we'll be alright so long as no one goes out of their way to tempt Murphy's Law."
"But you will be obeying Serena's Law." the noblewoman said, her eyes reflecting who was in control. "And Serena's Law says… you're going to take someone on a date." This made the other couple in the room smirk. "And we're going to see what the local judge has to say about who gets to be the lucky girl!"
With that, she picked up the judge: a round, green bird. "Natu." 'Why am I the judge?' asked Ash's Natu as Serena held her in her hands.
"Natu here will pick which of us you take out." Jade said, Natu just sitting in her hands. "In the end, we all win!"
Of course, there was just one problem: they all figured she would pick Anabel. She was originally one of Anabel's guardians and she supported Anabel getting closer to Ash. That said, Natu was like Ash. She didn't do things the way people thought.
So as Natu sighed - his eyes glowing before vanishing via teleport… yet instead of appearing on Anabel's head… Natu instead appeared… on Misty's. "Natu." 'There.'
Kyoji blinekd "Huh… here I was thinking he'd go for Anabel…" he muttered.
"Natu." 'That would have made me predictable.'
"Fair point."
With that, Natu nested on Misty's head, making it clear that the redhead would be Ash's date on Shamouti.
Perhaps it was fate. There, she showed her jealousy over Melody's seeming attraction to Ash and him being seemingly receptive to it.
Like Ash was aware of that sort of thing back then.
Airspace over Honojima on board the Hikokyu - 1120 hours local time
"'Disturb not the harmony of fire, ice or lightning, lest these titans wreak destruction upon the world in which they clash'." quoted Galdaran Lawrance, looking at a copy of the Prophecy Tablet of Shamouti Island. "'Though the water's great guardian shall arise to quell the fighting, alone its song will fail, lest the earth shall turn to ash'."
"We know the damn prophecy, brother." Lilianna Jeanette Lawrance, better known as infamous Pokemon Hunter J, spat from near a vase with an image of the Creator on it. "You honestly don't believe it's real."
Brother looked at sister, a condescending smile on his face. "History becomes legend, legend becomes myth." he said. "Were it not for the constant appearances of Legendary Pokemon, we would never think they existed. That is WHY they are called 'legendaries', Jeanette. More rare Pokemon have the title 'Mythical' because they are seen even less."
"The Legendaries actually exist - as do the gods," Jeanette sighed. "If Arceus actually did prophesise this 'chosen one' bullcrap, you'd think they'd have been around sooner. Probably never would have had to deal with that Cipher bullshit…"
"The gods work in mysterious ways sister, as do the Legendaries," Galdaran chuckled. "I however do not, and I function in a far more… direct approach - just as you do."
A chime got their attention. "Analysis complete." said the ship's AI. "The Titans of Fire, Ice and Lightning are the strongest of their kind and will require more firepower than the petrification weapons used by your sister. Due to their power, they will simply break free after a certain allotted time."
"But your method, as my wonderful fortress just pointed out, won't work." Lawrence said before walking over to the central chair, which would take them to the command center. "We will require a more… elegant method."
J scoffed before walking behind her brother as he sat down. "Elegant? Your ship is armed with only two heavy elemental cannons." she spat. "And Kalos abandoned development of those after the war."
"You will see." he said before the chair ascended. "Which is closest?"
"Honojima, or Fire Island, home of Moltres." the AI answered.
"Load ice-type energy and prepare for bombardment." he commanded as the chair entered the bridge.
J had to admit, she was impressed. Her crew was better, but the amount of automation would allow him to fly this ship, so long as it was maintained.
"Maintenance costs must be a bitch." she said.
"Unlike you, sister, I don't anger the leagues." Lawrence chided. "So long as my collection is there for all to see, I remain in their good books."
His sister raised an eyebrow. "You do realize you're capturing three legendaries just to draw out a fourth." she pointed out.
"And the Orange Islands were never part of the URN." he countered. "They don't have a true league and never will unless they get their heads out of their asses."
Orange Islander pride: four warrior-kings all answering to one superior. A system that was retained in their remaking as the Orange League. It ALSO kept them from true league status. But the stupidity of the Orange Islands would have to wait. They had a firebird to catch.
The ventral turret on the ship's underside deployed, firing massive shells of ice-type energy at Honojima.
"I would suggest lightning." she said. "Ice is neutral to Moltres."
"And Zapdos is immune." he pointed out. "I do remember my type effectiveness chart, Jeanette. Any moment now…"
Fire Island was soon covered in ice formations...before one of them exploded, fire streaming out as the Titan of Fire screeched at them, taking to the air.
"Focus all fire on Moltres." he ordered. "Hammer it until it is weakened."
The Titan of Fire spat fire at the projectiles as they were fired, one impacting the bird's face, sending it back before more hit it, slamming it towards the ocean.
"And now to finish it. Deploy capture rings." he ordered, the ship opening up the massive hatches under the snip, launching massive rings, all heading for Moltres.
"Inefficient." J said. "But given I can't just turn them to stone, necessary. Why bother hiring me, then?"
Lawrence looked to her as Moltres was surrounded, overwhelmed by ice and the stun bolts, locking it into the sphere.
"Like a game of chess, really." Lawrance said.
"It is NOT that simple." J snapped.
The brother chuckled. "It may as well be." he mused.
In her mind, the infamous Hunter realized her brother was mad. And prayed to the Creators to end him as soon as mercifully possible.
Shamouti Island Port - 1630 hours local time - Day 170
There was a chill in the air. Not enough to cause your breath to be seen, but it was colder then it had any right to be this close to the equator.
And Pidgeot, who Ash transferred in per Natu's request, was… pissed.
"Pidgeot…" 'He did it. The Moltres is gone.' she all but growled. "PIDGEOT!" 'HE DIES! WHEN I GET MY TALONS ON THAT SON OF A BITCH-'
Everyone wisely let the bird scream in peace, Ash being the first to get the hell off the ship. He did NOT want to be near Pidgeot when she was pissed.
"Wait up!" he heard as he left the ship, but it wasn't the voice of any of the loves of his life, adopted daughter or new friend.
It was a man he met only two years later for a badge.
Norman Maple, Gym Leader of Petalburg.
'…For the love of all the sane legendaries, PLEASE no May!' he thought. 'She's, what, 12?! I can't take that right now!'
"Relax, Dad, I'll be-" Ash then looked down to see a head full of black hair slam into his gut, knocking him down.
"Where… Stupid things, why do my eyes need these?" said the voice of who could only be Max Maple, not wearing a green shirt, but a blue one with a Pokeball on it.
Ash saw the glasses just outside of Max's reach, near his left arm. He reached out, grabbing the spectacles and handed them to Max. "Here." he said, the young man fumbling to put them on.
"Stupid things. Never know why Dad just won't let me get contact-" Max said before looking at Ash. "By the Holy Ring of Arceus and Her Four Children, ASH KETCHUM?!"
Well, fuck.
The young man got to his feet. "Ican'tbelivethistheChampionofthelatestIndigoLeagueandCrownPrinceofRota,IthoughtyouwereinOrre,no, that'sstupid,thewar'sovernow-"
"MAX!" yelled Norman as he finally got into line of sight. "Son, I know you're excited-Kyogre's tail, Ash Ketchum? What in the name of Arceus are YOU doing here?"
This just wasn't his day.
Kyoji could safely say he was scared of Ash's bird. He could only say this if Gible was scared of her.
Gible was hiding behind him and using him as a shield. And he had TYPE ADVANTAGE.
"Gib…" 'scary bird lady…' said the land shark as he huddled behind his legs.
The raptor stalked, her clawed feet clacking on the Heart's deck, her eyes showing an expression of utter disdain for Lawrance the Third and a desire to kill him for separating her from Ash in the other timeline.
Apparently, all of them took being together very seriously. Even if they needed to be left behind for any reason, if they were forced away, it would end… poorly for the one responsible.
"Oh, boy." Misty said as she looked off the port side. "Ash met a few old friends." This got Kyoji's attention, moving towards Misty's position on the rail.
"What is it?" he asked before paling. "Don't tell me he met ANOTHER girl."
"Not yet, but VERY close." she answered before pointing at Ash, who was talking to a small family, including one excited boy. "The Maples. Norman, Caroline and Max. Surprisingly, the eldest child, May, isn't there. Wonder why."
"…Is May-"
"My 'replacement', you could say, in Hoenn." Misty cut off. "Rookie trainer turned Coordinator. Ash taught her. She fell in love after beating her dad."
"...WHY? Why does he get all the luck with the ladies?!" Kyoji demanded. It was like Ash was some god-like chick magnet.
"You do realize what Gaffery said to us a few days ago, right?" Sabrina asked as she walked towards the two. "Ash is suffering PTSD, has suicidal tendencies and is likely to jump to his death if pushed too far."
When put that way...balance had to be maintained.
THe girls were probably the only thing keeping him from that terrible fate. And only barely.
"...I take everything back." Kyoji said.
"I know you were doing it to be funny. But this isn't a joking matter." Sabrina said. "If anything happens to them...Ash has nothing left save Cyrus."
And once Cyrus was dealt with, dead or neutralized in another way, Ash would not bother continuing on.
"Ok. Serious subject. Moving on." the soldier said. "Anything I should know about these guys?"
Melody Fleura hated this damn place.
Hated the constant warmness, the constant saltiness in the air and most of all this stupid FUCKING festival that happened EVERY YEAR.
And now she was being roped into it! Well, she damn well wasn't going to do it more then once: once this shit was over, she was going to Johto and starting a career as a Pokemon Coordinator.
She didn't even believe in this stupid faith. Or that Arceus created the universe. Didn't matter how much power it had. There were no such things as gods.
Well, time to find some dumb mook to drag her out to Honojima, Denkijima and Kōrijima after doing the only thing she liked about this: playing on her ocerina.
And as she lowered her shades, she found her victim.
Sadly, it was a high profile one: the newly discovered Crown Prince of Rota, Ash Ketchum. ...Well, always best to go out with a bang.
Although in this case, it was more like a nuke.
"Hey!" she called out, getting the Prince's attention. "Mind helping out with something?"
45 minutes later - common building Shamouti Island
'I was so fucking STUPID.' Astral Misty griped. She had been at this since Ash took up Melody's offer of being the Chosen One for the festival.
'I am AWARE, older me!' Misty mentally snapped. 'You can STOP BITCHING ABOUT IT!'
'I mean, fuck! Back then, Ash had no idea what love was!' she continued. 'That PokeTech bitch besides, but that was a crush he dropped seconds after actually meeting her. I thought Melody would actually TAKE HIM from me! But all my fears were for NOTHING! He was all for the adventure, the excitement! Romantic overtures were so far out of his mind, they were in another dimension!'
'Could your past self kindly shut the fuck up, please?' Sabrina demanded, glaring at Misty. 'I have enough shit to deal with, I don't need you to add to it, mother.'
Misty glanced at Sabrina. 'Like what?' she thought, communicating with her adopted daughter.
Sabrina pointed at Serena, who looked rather… overwhelmed. 'Remember how she's a latent psychic and Ash is a sponge?' she half-stated. Misty got the idea within seconds.
'You have GOT to be kidding me.' both redheads groaned.
'WHAT IS GOING ON?!' yelled the projection as she tried to get the attention of anyone except the girl that looked like her.
'Just when you think it couldn't get worse.' Asuka groused. 'Now there's ANOTHER ONE. And she's not a fragment, but a full-on personality clone!'
Serena had enough problems with FIVE voices in her head, she didn't need six.
'Uh, Serena? Can you hear us?' asked Jade. That only made the confused girl panic more. And while she was only a latent, psychics tended to get… explosive when brought way too far.
'Who are you? WHAT are you?!' the ghost yelled.
Thank Arceus for Sabrina. Explaining this was going to take a while. As was calming her down. Even if the woman was getting a headache the size of Mount Coronet.
'Reawakening his aura sped it up. If that damn Mewtwo wasn't already dealing with seeing the Distortion Realm without a filter, I'd kill him!' Sabrina snapped before they heard music play.
Melody's song. Or rather, a musical recreation of Lugia's cry. The girl had a veil over her head, a crown of flowers over it as she played the instrument made from a sea shell, dancing along to the tune she was playing.
'So. Fucking. STUPID.' 'SHUT THE FUCK UP!' yelled Sabrina, Misty and Anabel at the ghost.
Max Maple looked at his newest hero as the girl with the fancy shell instrument explained the ceremony to him. Ash Ketchum was a prodigy among modern trainers, his Pokemon being strong enough to take down five-year vets, faced the literal GOD OF DEATH and here he was!
"Max…" Caroline said warningly. "I know what you're going to ask. And the answer is no."
"Come on, Mom, this is Ash Ketchum!" he retorted. "The same one that won the Indigo Conference!"
'By technicality." his father said. "He still had two opponents-" Max fixed him with a look. He watched the replays of those matches as well.
The Gym leader sighed. "That we both know would have lost to him." he finished. He was pretty sure Ash could beat him. And not just him, his EIGHT-BADGE team. The ones he only sicced on idiots that thought normal battle-trainers and coordinators had no right to be remotely near one another.
Or beat the living shit out of anyone that went near his daughter. He swore if that motherfucker wasn't already-
"Sweetheart, you're glaring in paternal rage again." his wife said, snapping him out of it.
"Sorry. You just… you remember what happened to May." he said sheepishly, his wife putting down the fruity alcoholic drink to look at him.
"We left her in Hoenn with her cousin for a reason. And believe me… you would have to get in line if you wanted to rain hellfire on the bastard that did what he did to May." she said, all while sounding like the sweetest woman in the world. "It starts behind me."
Hell hath no fury like Caroline Maple and Delia Ketchum, though Max and Norman were well aware which was worse.
Caroline was a top-tier Coordinator, equal to a Gym Leader, while Delia was former Elite Four. One made their attacks pretty while handing you your ass, the other made your life excessively painful while they handed you your ass.
"Come on, Dad, he could beat you, with your top team, right now." Max said dryly. "You've seen how he fights."
"I have. And I have no idea how to deal with someone that unpredictable. He's also known for walking into literal warzones; he went to ORRE, Max." he emphasized. "Until now, that was the worst region on the planet! And given his track record, he'll go somewhere as bad, if not worse!"
The boy raised an eyebrow. "Somehow, dad, I doubt he's going to Ferrum any time soon." he deadpanned. "Probably Johto. The league there is up in a few months."
"And you want him to take you as an apprentice?" Norman demanded.
"He won a league and put an end to Cipher practically on his own right after within six months." Max pointed out. "YOU find someone better in my age group."
They wouldn't. They knew it, he knew it and damn it why didn't they raise him to be a brainless twit?! …Right, because they didn't raise May to be a brainless twit. Sweet girl, friendly too… until recently.
They were still pissed off about that stolen kill. They wanted to make the bastard that did that to her SUFFER. NO ONE tried that shit with their little girl-
"Mom, Dad, you're getting mad. I know you wanted to hurt that guy, but please, he's already dead." Max pointed out.
Both of his parents winced. "...Just ask him. If he says no, you're not going anywhere." Norman said, just as Ash left.
"And I don't think you'll be asking any time soon." Caroline said, happy her son wouldn't be speaking with him.
They already had one child that was in extreme danger while they weren't looking. They didn't need their son to suffer the same fate.