Adventure's Past

Chapter 9 - Escape

Goh and Clemont had decided that they had discovered everything that needed to be at the burnt island, and left soon after the police showed up and apprehended the Team Rocket grunts. Of course, none of them said anything about why they were burning the forest and why they were in uniform for an organization that had crumbled as a result of the Cell War, but they were arrested nonetheless.

Clemont had felt bad about Bonnie, so he suggested that he and Goh meet up at the Pokemon Center there at Snowbelle City to discuss their next move and figure out why Ash was on that island. "And figure out where he is now, right?" Goh had added to Clemont's agenda. "Sure," Clemont halfheartedly responded, adding it to the list he was writing down.

Upon at the Pokemon Center again, Goh was completely unprepared for the cold weather and rushed inside, where he was met with the cozy atmosphere and hot chocolate that Nurse Joy provided. They both sat down at a nearby wooden table and spread everything they had on the table.

"Let me call Bonnie and let her know we're back, then we'll get to work," Clemont suggested. Goh gave him a thumbs up and stared at the small piece of paper where Clemont had written the keywords his Tangela had told them. "Black... Pikachu... Lightning," he repeated under his breath.

Without a doubt, Goh knew that this was Ash. He didn't know any trainers that had black raven hair and had a Pikachu, so to think optimistically here was most likely the right move. That creates more questions than solves them, though, Goh told himself. While the question of who was there was answered, many more questions such as why Ash was there and how long ago he was there. It was hurting Goh's head, so he quickly decided to do something.

"Let's just start from the beginning," he muttered to himself, setting aside everything except the page from the journal, which still held the name 'Saul' inside. The first thing he did was simply try to remember if Ash had mentioned Saul to him at any point. The only thing close to that was the Paul he had battled in the World Coronation Series, so that wasn't an option.

Clemont walked back into the Pokemon Center, shivering. "How's Bonnie doing?" Goh asked as he looked over at Clemont. "Not too happy with me; I don't blame her, of course, but she went to the forest to train, so we'll have time to work on this mystery," he explained, sitting down across from Goh. He noticed the journal page sitting on the table and scratched his chin in thought.

"There are so many people named Saul, so who knows where to begin," Clemont stated. Goh wordlessly nodded and frowned. "Maybe we just try to find out what kind of person this Saul was?" Goh suggested, looking closely at the page. "I mean, this journal was written by Ash himself, so why don't we try to look at it from Ash's perspective?"

"Great idea," Clemont said. "There's not much else to do besides that, so..." He grabbed the page from Goh and stared at the small sentences for a moment. "I think this Saul might be someone who is helping Ash," Clemont said after a few minutes of silence. "Like a teacher?" Goh asked.

"Precisely," Clemont commented, writing it down on a separate piece of paper. "I mean, look at this sentence here; it says, 'I asked him when I can master...'," Clemont pointed out. "But master what exactly?" Goh asked, feeling frustrated. Ash was usually one to say exactly what was on his mind without thinking about the consequences of his actions, but it seems that those days were over.

"I don't know, Goh," Clemont responded stressfully, running his hair through his head. "Look, I'm happy to help you, but if I'm being honest, it looks like Ash is trying to make his identity concealed," he said truthfully. "Sure, I want to find Saul, but it might be that we have to leave Ash out of this search for the time being."

Goh frowned at Clemont. "What, you think he's just... hiding from us?" He asked in disbelief. "He left a journal so that other people could find it, right? Why else would he write in a journal, to begin with?" Clemont stood up and stared at Goh. "Maybe because he didn't want to go insane on that island? I mean, if we're assuming he was there for 6 years, then he was writing in this journal every day," he said.