Author's Notes (11)
Man, I'm on a roll! 60 chapters total and this time, we got new cast joining Fated!
Judging from the title, you guys already know who they are. Not only that, a special someone makes her cameo near the end, though her true identity will probably be revealed much later.
From the encouraging reviews of last chapter, some placed their bets on Paul or Silver. And I'm coming right out and say no, it's not them.
Currently in the story, the reason why Gold or Silver aren't making an appearance is cuz they're still young like in Adventures, 3 years younger than Red to be exact. Meaning, they are now 8 in the story and won't debut until they're of age to travel (11) which means Ash would be 14 by then. And I got huge plans for 14 year old Ash in the future.
Paul's a great guess but like Serena and the others, he would only be given a Provisional license, meaning he would not be able to go as he pleases without a supervisor like in the anime where he challenged different regions. So Paul's out as well.
So who does this leave?
Hint: A person who everyone in the Pokémon fanfics LOVE to put as the cringiest final boss... for some reason. (But I'm gonna make sense of it, don't worry!)
And that's it! Take care!
_____
Chapter 55: Prepare for Trouble
Cissy and Ash made their way to open waters with the latter returning Lapras as he did not want to overwork her. Meanwhile, a yellow blur sprung onto the raven-haired boy's face, eliciting a surprised sound from him.
"Pikachu? Yeah, sorry. We're doing a tiebreaker match now," the boy pried the mouse from his face as he informed him of the current situation while placing his cap onto him.
'Wave Ride Contest… Maybe I should try catching another Water type soon,' the raven-haired boy reminded himself since his trials on the Orange Islands were more likely to deal in water-based Challenges due to their tropical nature.
"You got the gist of it, Finalist?" Cissy grinned as her confidence in this trial was staggeringly high.
"[Surf] on our Pokémon to the flag that's about a kilometre from here and back, right? It's like a swimming lap, then," the raven-haired boy nodded, unbothered by the additional nickname he had gotten.
Then, from the corner of his eyes, Ash noticed a large shadow beneath the water with its crown-like yellow fin jutting out of the azure waters.
'Woah, that's a huge Magikarp…' he thought before he turned his attention back towards the race.
Sycamore Lab, Kalos Region.
Alain was speechless at Ash's execution of outplaying the competition. Although the details in the rules were not as clear, the raven-haired boy immediately exploited the rules and even made an extra failsafe, giving the impression he was able to keep calm and unbothered by the fact that Mikan Gym was the hardest one. The boy overcame his trial by simply outsmarting the system while keeping a cool head as he worked with his Pokémon. That alone made a favourable impression on Alain.
"I can tell your friend's quite the troublemaker, judging from his stunts," the teen remarked to the honey blonde.
"You have no idea…" Serena deadpanned as she recalled the fact that Ash bit the dust before promptly returning back to life.
"Indeed. However, his craftiness is something to take note of," Kimia inputted as she was similarly impressed by Ash.
The blonde princess was aware of her rigid mindset as she was trained to follow the rules tightly since a tender age. But after witnessing the raven-haired boy outwitting the Challenge, she grew to admire the boy's quick thinking and clear-headedness even in the face of an overwhelmingly hard trial.
"Wonder what he's gonna pull out this time," Calem watched in anticipation as Ash and Cissy stretched their bodies before entering the waters.
"Go, Blastoise!" Cissy summoned her cannon turtle.
'Well, it was 50/50 Gyarados or Blastoise anyways,' Ash shrugged as he finished stretching his arm.
"I hope you've got another Water type with you, Ash," the auburn-haired woman remarked before cocking a brow at the boy's grin.
"Not really. I choose you, Snorlax!"
A round giant materialized as he greeted everyone with a bellow.
"Sorry bout this, Snorlax. But Lapras is probably tired after the skeet," Ash apologized but the round giant merely waved it off as he patted his stomach as if saying to leave it to him.
Snorlax was a slothful creature by nature so it was no surprise that the round giant would rather laze around than do work. However, Ash's Snorlax was rather fond of his teammates and when push came to shove, the Sleeping Pokémon would get serious for his Trainer and friends.
"Thanks, buddy!" Ash grinned at the unusually energetic giant bear.
Cissy was stunned at the boy's selection but shook it off quick as she was getting used to his shenanigans.
"Well, shall we get started?" the Gym Leader asked as she climbed onto Blastoise's shell.
The raven-haired boy grinned in return as Snorlax floated above the water, waiting for his Trainer.
"It's on!"
With that, the tiebreaker race began.
"Oooo… Look at that Blastoise! Now, that's a catch," a pink-haired woman exclaimed in excitement as she peered into the periscope.
"What's more, it's that Red twerp!" a periwinkle-haired man recognized the raven-haired boy atop the surfing giant.
"Dat's der one dat beat da boss? And looks like his Pikachu jus' right der!" a cream-coloured cat spoke.
"It's an all-you-can-steal buffet!" the three cheered as they enacted their plans.
'Damn, the kid's not half bad…' Cissy thought as she peeked at the boy surfing next to her.
'With Snorlax's weight, I thought his bulk would've had him sinking!'
The auburn-haired woman smirked as she had been finally given a real challenge after what seemed like a long time, and she had the raven-haired boy to thank for that.
Snorlax was diving headfirst into the water and surfacing repeatedly while his stubby paws moved symmetrically, propelling the round bear forward with peak velocity. On a whim, Ash had taught the Sleeping Pokémon the butterfly stroke as a swimming technique in case they needed to perform [Surf (Fake)] and to the boy's surprise, the round giant was rather proficient in it, though he renamed the technique to 'the blubberfly' as a joke which Snorlax took a liking to since it meant that he owned the move.
"Holy! Snorlax, you've gotten faster!" Ash yelped as he almost lost balance atop of his Pokémon.
The two contestants were not allowed the sitting position and thus, had to stand as if they were surfing, hence the competition's name. Things were looking in favour of Cissy since her experience and knowledge was the deciding factor of her skills though Ash's ever-changing position and Snorlax's blubberfly were carrying their weight as well.
Bump!
Blastoise knocked Snorlax's side as if a race car doing a bump-and-run. Ash widened his eyes as it was something he did not thought of even if it was obvious.
"Sorry about this, kid! But victory's mine!"
"As if! Snorlax, dodge to right!"
The two were approaching close to the flag while Cissy went on the offensive, trying to knock Snorlax to interrupt his blubberfly.
"You can't run forever, Ash!" Cissy teased with a grin.
"You can bet I'm gonna try!" Ash snarked back.
"Forever's a long time, Ash!"
'Tch! He's nimble!'
'Damn, she's relentless!'
The two Pokémon finally reached the flag and swerved with all their might as they prepared to swim back towards the shore.
But suddenly…
SPLASH!
"Wha?!" Cissy squeaked in surprise at the unexpected interruption.
"That's…!" Ash widened his eyes at the gigantic red fish that made itself known.
'The giant Magikarp from before?' he remembered just a few minutes ago.
Pew!
A wide net sprang from the fish mechanically and covered Blastoise and Cissy inside. The woman and her Pokémon were instantly trapped as they were unable to tear apart the woven rope, thicker than normal.
"Pikapi!"
The familiar squeak for help immediately had Ash spun his attention towards it, only to find Senta and Pikachu trapped within a spherical capsule.
"Senta!" Cissy cried out in worry as she stopped struggling.
"Pikachu!" Ash followed suit before laying his eyes upon the now-identified submarine that only resembled a Magikarp.
'Am I dumb?! Of course, a Magikarp wouldn't be that huge!' the raven-haired boy mentally slapped himself.
The hatch above the Magikarp submarine whirred open and three individuals made themselves known with the two humans wearing a white version of a uniform the boy knew all too well:
A uniform with an 'R' on it.
"Prepare for trouble!"
"And make it double!"
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all peoples within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!"
"And James!"
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth, that's right!"
…
'…Oh hell nah.'
Sycamore Lab, Kalos Region.
The Kanto duo's worst nightmare had come true as they watched the posing Team Rocket trio appear on TV. Gary was certain there would not be any trouble when Ash entered the Orange League but as always, the raven-haired boy's luck was unsurprisingly against him once more.
"Is that Meowth talking?!" Tierno exclaimed in shock since Pokémon were not known to speak human language.
'Wooooww… His luck's so bad that it loops back around to being amazing,' Gary kept to himself as he saw the paled face of Serena.
"Oh no… Red's in danger…" she trembled as Fennekin and Froakie went into autopilot as they tried to calm the girl down.
Despite all her grievances with Ash, she was proud that he had vanquished Team Rocket, a criminal organization that thrived for too long. But now that the trio on screen had showed up in front of the raven-haired boy, the honey blonde feared for Ash's safety as they could be taking revenge on him.
But to everyone's shock, a blitzing giant instantly swam towards Team Rocket…
With a bloodthirsty raven-haired boy baring his fangs.
"Oh, for the love of…! RED!"
"Haha! Good thing Pikachu was distracted by that twerp's cap," Jessie patted herself on the back.
"Still, that meddlesome brat just had to stick his nose into no one's business," James grumbled as Senta tried to grab Pikachu but ultimately got captured as well as a consequence.
"I'm sorry, Pikachu," the little boy apologized to which the electric mouse shook his head and gave him a nuzzle instead as if to thank him for at least trying.
Like Trainer, like Pokémon.
And just like the furious Pikachu, an incoming Ash was approaching at high speed with Snorlax similarly angered by the trio's appearance.
"Hey, dat twerp's comin' fer us!" Meowth shivered as he saw the bloodthirsty bloodred eyes.
"ROCKET!" Ash snarled furiously.
Although the raven-haired boy was itching to go in guns blazing, he controlled himself since he had made the promise with Serena, meaning he had to fight Team Rocket without getting hurt in the process.
'This is a tall order, Yellow!'
Another net shot from the Magikarp as it blasted towards Ash and Snorlax. Without hesitation, the raven-haired boy jumped off the rotund bear and was falling into the vast ocean.
"Dumb move, twerp! Thanks for your Pokémon!" James laughed at the boy's decisions.
But as the periwinkle-haired man finished, Ash let out his battle-hungry grin. In one flourish, Ash took out Snorlax's PokéBall as he neared the waters.
"Return, Snorlax! And…" he returned his giant bear as the latter was sucked into the Ball, narrowly missing the net.
"Snorlax, I choose you!"
Ash resummoned Snorlax below him as the boy bounced slightly on the Sleeping Pokémon. The raven-haired boy realized that if Team Rocket had really returned, their main priority would be the GS Ball, meaning the trio before him could be a distraction while the GS Ball within his Bag, which was in the Mikan Pokémon Centre, was utterly defenseless.
Wasting no time, he summoned Charizard with Marowak atop of the former.
"I choose you, Charizard! Marowak! Go back to the Centre and protect 'it'!" Ash commanded to which the two nodded as the orange lizard sped off with his mighty wings.
'Next are these clowns,' the bloodred eyes narrowed at the trio.
'Weird. I don't really sense malice from them…'
'Even for grunts, they don't really seem like bad guys—'
"Hey, twerp! Are you listening?!" Jessie mouthed off, finally catching the boy's attention.
Ash raised a brow with a mocking fashion before looking back as if trying to find who they were talking to before turning back to them with a sarcastic shrug. The trio went ballistic at the raven-haired boy's mockery.
'Yep, they're definitely not Team Rocket. Even the grunts wouldn't get riled up from something like this,' he sighed in relief.
"Let's see how you crack jokes when you're 10 feet underwater! Koffing!" James called out as a floating purple orb resembling a mine manifested.
"Come out, Ekans!" Jessie followed as she summoned the purple snake.
"Snorlax, Lapras. Here's what I need you guys to do…" Ash whispered silently to his two Pokémon on hand who listened intently.
"Pika! Pika! Pika!" the electric mouse used [Swords Dance (Fake)] to no avail as his spherical prison that held both him and Senta did not even dent.
"Nyahaha! It's impossible, Pikachu! That trap can't be broken from the inside, no matter how strong you are!" the cream-coloured cat proudly boasted.
"Let go! Senta, Cissy-nee is coming!" the auburn-haired woman struggled even more while her Blastoise began to [Bite] the net.
It was working but at the rate it was shredding the net, Team Rocket would have been long gone. But their attention was now more focused on Ash, who looked as if he had a plan in mind.
"So it's vulnerable from the outside, huh?" the raven-haired boy grinned widely after hearing Meowth's explanation.
"As if you can reach that high!" Jessie snorted as the sphere prison was raised high up, above the reaches of everyone involved.
"You shouldn't have sent away your Charizard, brat. But don't worry, we'll get em soon!" James taunted further.
"Try it. Might cost you a hand… or a heart, who knows?" Ash shot back with a knowing smirk.
And Team Rocket made the first move.
"Ekans, [Poison Sting]!"
"Koffing, [Sludge Bomb]!"
"Now, Snorlax!" Ash roared as he squatted with the round giant turning his stomach face up.
The Sleeping Pokémon inhaled a gigantic breath, his stomach denting inwards with a prepared Ash raring to go. Secretly, he threw a Ball into the water without the Rocket trio's notice.
"[Bounce (Fake)]!"
The raven-haired boy was instantly launched to the air towards the sphere prison, where a happy Pikachu was squeaking for his Trainer. Immediately, he returned Snorlax for the second time to avoid the attacks coming his way and resummoned the giant underneath the sphere prison.
Team Rocket had no other plans as they did not foresee Ash's on-the-fly madness and were severely unprepared for what was about to happen next. Lapras manifested next from the Ball that floated from where Ash was and shot an [Ice Beam] around the Magikarp submarine, freezing it in place so that there was no escape.
"We're stuck!" James realized as the creeping ice thorns crawled from the water surface.
'Not done yet!' the raven-haired boy approached faster towards the sphere.
"Lapras, [Ice Shard]!" Ash called out from above.
Without any delay, spears of frigid ice birth from the frozen surface and stabbed into the hull of the Magikarp submarine as well as cutting loose the net that captured Cissy, who had recalled Blastoise due to it being entangled.
'Thanks, Lorelei!' Ash expressed his gratitude silently.
Lapras was not done yet. The plesiosaur aimed towards her Trainer and shot out a frigid weapon of a polearm with a curved blade of frost towards him, who grabbed the long handle with ease. Her aim was immaculate as she used the steps of Kyūdō with quick succession.
"Move outta the way, you two!" Ash barked as he twirled the icy bardiche in his hands with haste to generate a large amount of rotating force.
The recollection of Mewtwo's spearmanship with his giant spoon came to mind as Ash mimicked the skill flawlessly, fakery that he specialized in.
'Thanks, Mewtwo!' he grinned as the rotating force turned greater.
With one last twirl, Ash surrendered himself to the bardiche as it spun his body towards the sphere and meeting it with its icy blade.
CRRAAAACCCCKKKKK!
BOOOM!
"Pika-pi!" Pikachu flailed his arms as he and Senta jumped from the exploded hole of their broken prison.
"Waaahhhh!"the little boy yelled out in fright.
"Snorlax, catch them!" the raven-haired boy cried out as he was sent flying again due to the explosion caused by the trap's breakage.
'AURA, on!' he chanted as he threw away his broken bardiche of ice.
…
'Well, fine then! I'll do it myself!' a tick mark appeared on his forehead as AURA went silent.
Without AURA, Ash tumbled onto the icy floor made by Lapras' [Ice Beam]. As he slid towards Lapras, his hand found itself gripping onto a cold hilt that stabbed itself in front of the plesiosaur.
It was a long medieval jousting lance with a cone shaped blade and a blunt pommel smooth to the touch.
"Good job, girl," Ash thanked as he pulled out lance, earning a satisfied chirp from the weapon's artisan.
Seeing the blunt pommel on the lance, Ash got an idea.
"Check, Team Rocket. Surrender now since I'm not in the mood to deal with y'all," Ash glared at the trio as he rested the frigid weapon on his shoulder.
"Never, twerp!" Jessie, James and Meowth blew raspberries at the deadpanned Ash.
"…Welp, I did warn you," the raven-haired boy shrugged as he threw the lance into the air, twirling as it reached the end of ascension and began rapidly spinning downwards.
'Wats da twerp doin'?' Meowth thought in confusion as he watched the human boy entering a stance.
"This is gonna be good practice…" he exhaled as he recalled the Kyūdō steps Serena taught him and Lapras in his head.
'Ashibumi… Dōzukuri… Yugamae… Uchiokoshi… Hikiwake… Kai…'
Ash's body completed the Kyūdō stance and held his fists as if he was pulling on the string of an invisible bow. The onlookers grew curious as to what he was doing before a spinning lance of ice came falling in front of his left fist…
Which was the one pulling the imaginary bow string.
"That twerp's gonna…!" Jessie realized too late.
Aiming at the broken hole torn by [Ice Shard], Ash let loose his fist towards it, impacting the blunt pommel of the frozen lance.
'Hanare!'
"Checkmate, Rockets!"
The raven-haired boy punched the lance with every ounce of his being, causing it to be shot forward into the compromised submarine.
BOOM!
"WE'RE BLASTING OFFFFFFFFFffffffffffffffff…!"
Ding!
The trio plus their Pokémon cried out with their voices taken away into the distance, only leaving three shining stars that signalled their exit. Usually, Ash could care less about Team Rocket, preferring ruthlessness to counter their malice but even he could not help but feel bad about the trio that blasted off.
'Things could've been much easier with AURA, but noooooo… That's too much to ask, apparently,' Ash rolled his eyes as his filter was beginning to falter.
Although it went as planned for the raven-haired boy, minus some hiccups here and there, the massive explosion was not something he was expecting as Lapras shielded the raven-haired boy from the blast. The same could not be said for Cissy, who had been unfortunate enough to be blasted off similarly.
"Cissy-nee!" Senta cried out in a panic as he watched his sister propelling into the air.
As if that was not enough, the explosion of the Magikarp submarine created a gigantic wave that threatened to crash upon everyone.
"Damnit! Snorlax, protect them! Lapras, full speed to Cissy!" Ash called out under pressure as he and the plesiosaur rushed to help the Gym Leader.
'This is my fault. I didn't think the blast was gonna that strong!' the boy reprimanded himself internally.
But now was not the time to make excuses. He had to right the wrongs.
Splash!
Cissy fell into the sea and emerged only to find a gigantic wave coming straight for her. But riding the edge of said wave was Ash atop of a speeding Lapras.
"Ash!" Cissy recognized as she held her hand up as she realized what he was doing.
A part of her was embarrassed that a kid was coming for her rescue, but she was not complaining. Help was help, after all.
The raven-haired boy immediately pulled the Gym Leader onto Lapras' shell, but the enormous wave was about to crash. The Transport Pokémon would be unaffected but there was a chance the two humans aboard would drown into the seas. Adrenaline kicked into high gear and Ash's body moved without thinking.
"Sorry about this, Cissy!" he apologized as he suddenly carried the woman into a princess hold, earning a high-pitched yelp from the reddened Gym Leader.
'Huh… She reminds me of Misty,' he compared the redhead to the auburn-haired woman.
Thankfully for Ash, Cissy was as light as a feather for him as he silently cheered that his exercises and workouts that he did alongside his Pokémon's training were paying off.
"A-A-Ash! What're yo—"
"Lapras, make a path for us with [Ice Beam]!" Ash called out as he jumped forward towards the ascending waters.
Lapras nodded to her Trainer and used [Ice Beam] to create a path of ice that curved towards the shores. Wasting not a moment and without hesitation, Ash burst forth and ran with all his strength towards the shores.
'AURA, o— Ah, screw it!'
The raven-haired boy was already tired from his previous Challenge sprint and now, encumbered with the Gym Leader in his arms, his speed was beginning to slow down as they neared the beach. But despite all that, Ash charged forward and dismissed the wracking pain within his exhausted limbs with reckless abandon.
'Almost there!' Ash gritted his teeth as he blinked away the seawater in his eyes.
But even so, there was only so much the boy could accomplish with only willpower. A fatal error was all it took. One wrong foot and Ash lost his footing as he and Cissy slipped into the waves.
'Shi—'
"Blastoise!" Cissy summoned her cannon turtle again as it primed its twin cannons towards the towering wave.
Ash crashed on his back onto the turtle's hard shell while Cissy escaped from his arms as she directed her commands.
"[Hydro Pump]!"
A pair of laser-like concentrated water eviscerated the waves, leaving behind two gaping holes devoid of the turbulent waters in its wake. With that, the raging waves calmed down as they made it to shore with the broadcast still rolling.
Sycamore Lab, Kalos Region.
"Did he just punch that spear?!" Calem shrieked as his jaw hanged open upon witnessing Ash's improvised Kyūdō steps.
Those were used for archery, but the raven-haired boy managed to imitate the steps into outputting maximum force into his punch, increasing the thrust of the missile-like lance. For the honey blonde, she did not know whether to be offended or impressed at Ash's unhinged use of Kyūdō.
"Who in their right minds would punch a spear?!"
"It's a lance, Calem," Serena sighed at her friend, chalking up her inner turmoil as 'just Red things'.
"How are you so calm about this?" Shauna asked as the honey blonde was visibly composed despite her initial fright.
The honey blonde had no reason to be angry nor worried for the raven-haired boy. She knew that when it came to evil organizations, Ash was the rising star of janitorial duty of cleaning up their messes.
"Red can handle them. Besides, I'm no expert but they don't really feel like bad guys to me," she answered.
"They seem like rookies compared to the ones me and Red battled at Silph Co," Gary observed as the others were surprised that the orange-haired boy was also a contributor to the downfall of Team Rocket.
'At least that bastard Petrel still in jail,' the young Oak scowled as his blood boiled as he recalled the face of the man who poisoned Raticate, finding out his identity after his capture.
"Green…" Blue held his hand as she saw his expression soured.
"…I'm fine. It's okay now…" Gary smiled tenderly at the chestnut-haired girl as he accepted her hand.
'I'm not gonna let Red and Blue's efforts go to waste.'
Then, the explosion happened, and its unexpected size shocked everyone. But the two brightest students in the room widened their eyes as they realized what had caused it:
'Gasoline!' Gary and Serena concluded simultaneously.
They watched as Cissy was flung into the air, but unharmed by the explosion due to the layers of water that surrounded her. Without a moment's breath, Ash sprung into action as he rode Lapras towards the fallen Gym Leader.
"That moron…!" Gary hissed out as he tried to hold in his exasperation.
The mini tsunami towered above the two and without having any other options, the raven-haired boy scooped Cissy and bolted along the icy road made by Lapras before she too was consumed by the waves.
Everyone could tell that Ash was incredibly tired since he had overexerted himself twice now. Although Serena was glad the raven-haired boy had not gone overboard, or overboard compared to his previous shenanigans, her heart felt itself beating at the highest tempo as her thoughts raced to the worst of places if Ash did not make it.
The raven-haired boy slipped towards the end but not before getting saved by Cissy's powerful Blastoise, causing the momentary panic within the students to evaporate.
"He made it…" Serena breathed a sigh of relief.
"Oof!"
Ash flopped onto the inviting sheet of sands and took a moment to catch his breath as he was exhausted from running on the now-decimated bridge of ice conjured by Lapras.
"Haah… I'm… Haaah… Not doing that… Haaaaah… ever again…" the raven-haired boy panted as he gulped for fresh air.
His skin was drenched with seawater as well as the sweat from physical exertion, prompting him to desire a shower. But not before turning to Cissy who sprawled on the shore with a relieved Blastoise next to her.
"Are… Are you alright?" the raven-haired boy rasped for air.
"Yeah… Thanks for saving me, Ash," the Gym Leader thanked with a smile.
"I don't think something like that warrants gratitude, though. Anyone would've done what I did."
'I can't tell if he's actually serious…' Cissy sweatdropped.
The two caught sight of Snorlax docking the shore as his passengers zipped towards the two.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu planted himself onto Ash's face, snuggling into his drenched raven hair.
"Mfheuaeif, mfaierasdawfe! (Oh, partner, you're safe!)"
Pop.
Ash pulled his partner off his face while he walked towards Snorlax, who was patting his belly.
"Alright, ya' big goof," the boy sighed in resignation as he had food to prepare later.
Senta went to hug his sister as he worryingly scrutinized her for injuries.
"I'm fine, Senta. Ash saved me," Cissy chuckled at her brother's franticness.
"And I told you anyone would've done the same," Ash returned after recalling Snorlax and Lapras into their Balls, the latter managing to salvage hers after Ash dropped it into the sea.
'Man, I should really find a salon soon,' he blew a part of his raven hair away from his eyes.
Cissy then handed the raven-haired boy her Badge, leaving the latter confused.
"Though our race was interrupted, I saw how both you and your Pokémon worked together to beat Team Rocket. That was more than enough to prove to me you earn my Badge, Ash."
The raven-haired boy was stunned at the reasoning and turned to the badge in his palm before balling it with a smile.
"Congratulations, Ash Ketchum, for earning my Coral-Eye Badge!"
"Well… I couldn't have done it by myself. Someone dear to me taught me and Lapras those moves… She really saved me big time."
"Who did?"
"…My lucky star," he smirked smugly at the camera.
Sycamore Lab, Kalos Region.
The honey blonde tried to keep a straight face for a few seconds before crumbling into a flustering mess as she widened her eyes at the smug smirk of the boy coupled with his drenched raven bangs falling over his bloodred eyes.
'Isnfsdnfjsafiuwfnaaubgdsnakjnds!'
"Whaddya know? Red actually looks decent like that," Blue observed her friend's drenched appearance, snickering at Serena's reaction.
"If only he'd lose that annoying mindset…" Gary sighed.
Although the teasing smirk was for Serena, the raven-haired boy had forgotten that she was with company. And one of them was caught in the crossfire.
A stunned Kimia with pinkish cheeks had everyone surprised, especially Serena. The princess was caught off-guard at the boy's unexpected sharp bloodred eyes.
'…Hello, Kimia?' Serena thought with her jaw agape.
"Brave, strong, kind…" the princess muttered with awe.
'Hello, Kimia?'
"…Like a prince."
'Hello, Kimia?!'
Ash Ketchum had unintentionally added another one into 'the list'.
…
"Achoo! Am I finally coming down with a cold?" the raven-haired boy muttered as he made his way to his room's shower with blissful obliviousness.
Pokémon Centre, Mikan Island (an hour later)
"Here it is! My first Badge for the Orange League!" Ash displayed for Serena to see.
The raven-haired boy had decided to call the honey blonde, who rushed home, since he knew she was watching. Her proud expression was really pleasing for his eyes.
"You did great, Red! Lapras was really cool, too," the honey blonde praised.
'It's cute seeing him this excited. Makes me kinda sad I wasn't there for his Kanto Badges, otherwise, I could be seeing this cutie sooner…' Serena regretted as she imagined the faces Ash would made when he got his previous Badges.
"…You're not upset, are you?" Ash asked hesitantly.
"Nope. I can understand why, after all," Serena shook her head.
The honey blonde knew Team Rocket had a massive bone to pick with the boy and with Cissy, Senta and Pikachu on the line, she knew there was no way Ash would let it go.
"Really? I thought you'd scold me or some—"
"Listen here, dummy," Serena placed a finger on the screen, as if to silence the raven-haired boy.
"Sure, I'm a little overbearing sometimes. But you promised to look after yourself more, right? Then why would I be angry?"
The cheeky smirk plastered on the honey blonde told Ash that she definitely knew his thought process and was having fun teasing him for worrying over nothing.
"But you can't do that on camera, Red," she pouted at the clueless boy.
"Do what?"
"Are you even aware that you're… you're…"
Serena choked on her words as she flushed at the memory of a drenched Ash smirking at her, prompting said boy in question to stare in confusion.
"I'm what?"
"That you're very handsome, you Don Juan dummy!"
'You got the princess of Azoth all flustered, you womanizer!'
Her outburst left Ash stunned as he absorbed the true cause of her flushed face and stared even harder incredulously.
"Eh… I'm not, though?" he denied honestly without a trace of pride.
"When you girls think of handsome, shouldn't it be someone like Green?"
The raven-haired boy's remark was not unfounded as his rival was deemed good-looking by the others in Pallet Town compared to Ash, who mostly kept to himself and ostracized due to being an orphan. Their appearances was like night and day, leaving Ash convinced that he was average at best.
"Agh! It makes me angry that I know you're telling the truth!" Serena groaned at Ash's innocent expression.
"Oi… Calm down, Yellow," Ash tried to soothe the girl.
Serena slapped her cheeks and confronted the raven-haired boy with a deadly serious expression.
"Red, I want you to listen to me carefully, okay?"
"Y-yeah…?" he blushed slightly.
"You are very attractive, at least to me. Sure, Gary may be handsome but eh. I love the boy who saved me all those years and right now, he's only gotten even more cooler. So, please don't say things like that anymore, okay?"
"…Alright."
'Saying something like that with a straight face is cheating, Yellow…' Ash looked down, trying to hide the blush on his face as he rubbed his nose.
"Good boy."
'Kyaaa~! He's so cuuuutttteeee!'
The honey blonde yawned slightly as she stretched herself on her chair, triggering Ash to whip his attention to the clock.
"Sorry for keeping you up, Yellow," the raven-haired boy apologized sheepishly as he scratched his cheek.
"It's fine. I got to see a cute side of you after all, Red," Serena replied with a grin of a Cheshire cat.
"You…!"
"Buh-bye, Mwaah!" the winking honey blonde blew a kiss before escaping with a sly grin.
Beep.
…
…
…
"That little fox…"
.
.
.
Ash was riding on the back of Lapras with Pikachu as they headed to Navel Island for their next Gym Challenge. He was an early riser as far as he could remember but today, the raven-haired boy departed even earlier than the norm. Definitely due to him spending the entire night scheming to get back at the mischievous honey blonde that plagued his mind with happiness.
'Hmm… Hmph! I'll take my time trying to figure out how to embarrass her with maximum efficiency,' Ash mused childishly with bags under his eyes whilst fiddling with a compass in his hand.
"Pikaaaa…" the electric mouse yawned.
"Kyuuu…" the plesiosaur yawned as well.
'It's a chain reaction…' Ash sweatdropped.
"Well, it's not like we can reach Navel in a day. Sorry, you two."
The raven-haired boy studied the map he received from Ivy and noticed that Navel Island was located on the other side of the Orange Islands. Then, he darted his eyes around their current location to find the nearest place for his Pokémon to rest. He was a Trainer, not a slave labourer after all.
"Closest place is Pinkan Island… Lapras, you can sleep while using [Surf] right? Just move 40 degrees to the left then you can get some shut eye," Ash stroked Lapras' neck who cooed at his touch.
"Keep: Map and compass," he said as the two items were sucked into digital space within his Bag.
"Kyuuuu…"
"Pika…chuuuuuu…"
The raven-haired boy heard the soft snores emanating from his partner and Lapras as they were fast asleep. Despite drifting off to dreamland, the plesiosaur was still moving towards the direction of Pinkan Island due to the currents pushing her towards the Island.
'Maybe I should sleep too,' Ash yawned as the chain reaction finally got to him.
'Hey, looks like I'll finally be able to sleep on my own today.'
Ash had become somewhat of a repeat insomniac, unable to fall asleep naturally and so, he had to resort to remembering his time in summer camp with Serena to calm himself for rest. Now, finally drowsy naturally, the raven-haired boy wasted no time closing his eyes as he waited for the three of them to reach Pinkan Island.
.
.
.
.
.
Drip, drip.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
'…?'
Ash was abruptly woken up by droplets of rain as he took in his surroundings as well as the low rumbling sound. His expression paled as he realized what they were headed to.
'Whirlpools?!'
"Lapras, Pikachu, wake up!" Ash cried out panickily.
The Pokémon rose from their slumber before noticing what their Trainer was panicking about.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu squeaked out in surprise.
'Damnit, we're already within its currents! Lapras can't turn back now!' the raven-haired boy observed.
'Charizard can't fly as well in this weather… We've got no choice!'
"Lapras, [Surf] along the whirlpools! Don't worry about us!"
"Kyuu?!"
"Trust me."
"Kyuu!"
Ash grinned slightly as Lapras charged full speed towards the spiralling devourer of water.
"Pikachu, I think you're gonna need to go in your B—"
"Pika! Pikachu!" the electric mouse squeaked angrily.
"Yeah, no way, right? Then, hold on tight!"
Torrential waves threatened to crash upon the three but the Transport Pokémon knew what to do, though she was silently apologizing to her Trainer and team leader. But given the choice between slamming themselves against the force of the maelstrom or diving under it, Lapras made the obvious solution.
SPLASH!
"$%#&...?!"
Ash had gargled a mouthful of seawater as he was suddenly plunged into the sea alongside his partner who adorned a similar expression.
SPLASH!
"UWEK! Cough! Cough?! Another on—!"
SPLASH!
"$%#&...?!"
The raven-haired boy was about to drift out of consciousness, which was bad since both his hands were holding onto Lapras' shell spikes for dear life. If he passed out, not only him but Pikachu would drown within the tumultuous waves. And so, he tried to occupy his mind with something to motivate him not to black out.
But without much thinking, his mind almost naturally imagined the detestable smirk of the red man he saw in his hallucinations. A vein popped on his forehead as he could almost hear what the ashen-haired man would say if he saw the raven-haired boy's situation.
"You're giving up just because of something as trivial as this? I didn't take you for a quitter as well, fool."
…Or something along those lines.
'That Nameless bastard!' Ash irrationally cursed even though it was just his imagination.
But the man in red got on his nerves as if he was the raven-haired boy's natural enemy. He had only saw him once when he suffered the excruciating repercussions of his initial AURA activation, but Nameless had already made his mark in his mind. Childish or not, Ash held onto the shell spikes and forced himself to stay focused and determined to not pass out from the waters out of pure spite.
.
.
.
Ash and Pikachu spat out all the salty water in their mouths as they washed up ashore with an apologetic Lapras staring sympathetically at the similarly puking duo.
'The one time I get to fall asleep naturally and I get blasted with whirlpools in return… This isn't even funny anymore…' Ash coughed out the last remaining saltwater in his mouth as he lamented his absurdly bad luck.
"I'm never sleeping on the move ever again…" he vowed with irritation built in his tone.
"Pikachu…"
"Thanks, Lapras. I should be sorry for making you do that…" Ash smiled at the plesiosaur before returning her to her Ball, urging her to rest.
'Urgh… My sneakers,' the raven-haired boy flipped over his red shoes to which seawater guzzled out like a fountain.
"Pikapi…" Pikachu squeaked with wobbling eyes at the soaked and heavy red cap in his possession.
"Ah… There's too much water in it."
Ash squeezed his red cap using two hands at opposing turns, squeezing out another guzzle of seawater.
'Rain's cleared. Now all we need is to find shelter.'
"Hold it!" a feminine voice ordered from behind, eliciting a groan from the raven-haired boy.
"As if this day couldn't get… Officer Jenny?" Ash blinked in surprise at the policewoman.
"A child? Why're you trespassing Pinkan Island?" Officer Jenny asked in confusion.
"Eh? Pinkan Island is private property?!"
Ash's day was getting worse each minute.
Pokemon Centre, Pinkan Island.
"Thanks for helping us, Officer Jenny," Ash bowed courteously to the policewoman.
"No problem, kid. Though, please refrain from riding your Pokémon unattended in the future. There are some nasty waves around this reserve," the policewoman chided as she got the gist of Ash's story.
"Urk, I'll keep that in mind."
Thankfully for the raven-haired boy, there was a laundromat within the Centre for public use. Scanning the screen with his PokéDex, its e-wallet function paid for the service and an excitable Pikachu watched with glee as his partner's clothes and cap spun rapidly within the laundry machine.
'So this is why Blue and Daisy told me to get more clothes,' Ash mused as he wore his usual blue and white clothes and denim trousers.
A part of him wanted to wear his red and black themed clothes again, but the raven-haired boy would rather die than be reminded of anything remotely close to Nameless.
'Damn bastard came outta nowhere and ruined my clothes preference…'
While he pondered at who the ashen-haired man was, the electric mouse squeaked happily at the 'Fully Healed' chime of the Centre.
"Thank you for waiting. We've restored your Pokémon to full health," the nurse bowed with her partner Pokémon following suit.
"Lucky!" Chansey waved.
"You can come back for them after meeting the unique Pokémon here on Pinkan Island."
"Thanks, Nurse Joy, Chansey!" the boy grinned as he entrusted his Pokémon to the nurse as the boy was itching to explore.
Ash wandered out of the building with Pikachu in tow whilst Officer Jenny accompanied them since she did not want the raven-haired boy to get into any more accidents. The policewoman was quite keen-eyed and could already tell Ash was a magnet for trouble.
"Woah… they're all pink," Ash gasped as he glanced around the wildlife of pink.
Every single Pokémon he encountered was painted pink as they ate a certain type of Berry.
"They're called Pinkan Pokémon. Pokémon that ate the Pinkan Berries that grow on this Island and have their appearance permanently changed pink," Officer Jenny explained with amusement as she watched the awestruck Ash and Pikachu darting their eyes around.
'Wow… This might be Butterfree's mate's home now that I think about it,' he wondered after drawing similarities of the Pokémon's colour.
"This place is amazi—"
BOOM!
"…Of course."
'I can't seem to catch a break today…' he rolled his eyes.
STOMP! STOMP! STOMP!
The raven-haired boy let out a defeated groan as he turned to the destroyers of his peace and quiet. And it was three familiar figures rushing towards Ash and Officer Jenny at breakneck speed. Seeing their appearance getting closer, Ash and Officer Jenny instinctively turned back and ran for their lives.
STOMP! STOMP! STOMP!
"Rocket?!" Ash blurted out in surprise.
"Save us, twerp!" they collectively wailed for the stunned raven-haired boy.
STOMP! STOMP! STOMP!
"Hell no! Wait, how didja even get here in the first place?!"
"Our balloon crashed cuz' of dat storm just now!" Jessie shrieked as her legs worked overtime.
STOMP! STOMP! STOMP!
'Actually, what even is chasing us anyways?!' Ash pulled out his Dex to scan behind him, not wanting to look back.
The raven-haired boy heard his encyclopaedia ring as it confirmed the Pokémon.
'Alright, let's see what's—'
[=]
Meowth, the Scratch Cat Pokémon.
Meowth withdraws its sharp claws into its paws to slinkily sneak about without making any incriminating footsteps. For some reason, this Pokémon loves shiny coins that glitter with light.
[=]
Ash had half a mind to smash the Dex on the hard ground as he scanned the wrong Pokémon. The talking Meowth had been dangling on Jessie and James' uniforms and the PokéDex was caught in the line of the scanning. But luckily, Pikachu pumped his tiny paws towards Ash as he took the device and aimed it for the boy.
"Thanks, partner!" Ash grinned as he ran faster.
But what the Dex voiced out shocked the duo as they recognized what was chasing them.
[=]
Nidoking, the Drill Pokémon.
Nidoking's thick tail packs enormously destructive power. With one swing, it can topple a metal transmission tower. Once this Pokémon goes on a rampage, there is no stopping it. Only a Nidoqueen that it has lived with for a long time can calm it down from its rampages.
[=]
'…'
'…'
'…You've gotta be kidding,' Ash busted a vein.
Memories of Giovanni's overwhelmingly powerful Nidoking that took out his entire team resurfaced as he tried to make some sense of his current situation.
'Team Rocket causing problems and said problem just happened to be a goddamn Nidoking?! You can't make this shit up!'
Thud!
Officer Jenny tripped on a stray branch on the ground as her skirt limited her mobility. It was a wonder how she even kept up. Disregarding that, Ash wasted no time skidding to a halt before dashing towards the policewoman with the now visible pink Nidoking rushing towards them.
"Ash!" Jenny cried out in horror as the raven-haired boy rushed towards the pink behemoth.
"Partner, [Swords Dance (Fake)]!" Ash called out as Pikachu's tail turned metallic steel.
This time…
"And…"
The raven-haired boy would fight back himself.
"Key Items: Sword!" he commanded as his hand felt the materialized handle of the stone Sword.
AURA was still silent but Ash had already guessed since he was charging with the idea that nothing was going his way today.
'Maybe I should've brought my Pokémon,' Ash grumbled as Officer Jenny was right behind him and the rampaging Nidoking would never allow him to rest, even for a split second.
CLANG!
A [Poison Jab] meant for Officer Jenny was intercepted by a blade of unbreakable stone as Ash swiped the Drill Pokémon away, gaining distance. While surprised at the little human's unexpected actions, an electric mouse struck from above with a powerful [Iron Tail].
CLANG!
The screeching sound reverberated around the forest, but the sequence had not yet finished as [Iron Tail] continued slashing the Nidoking who was guarding with its thick armour-plated arms.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
'Pikachu can't keep this up. Nidoking's a Ground type as well so Electric's outta the equation. Meaning right now, I'm the only one who can beat it!' Ash surmised as he engaged again, ignoring the shock from his arms after the first interception.
As the raven-haired boy was unable to activate AURA, the Sword did not change form into Caliburn but Ash was too busy observing the Drill Pokémon's movements rather than wasting his head over things he could not control right now.
"Run! I'll hold it off!" Ash yelled out as Pikachu was slammed backwards by the rampaging behemoth.
A straight [Megahorn] aimed towards the Trainer with Nidoking's horn spiralling, ready to pierce its target.
Officer Jenny widened her eyes as she watched [Megahorn] inched closer to the raven-haired boy, stretching a futile arm towards the sword-wielding child.
…
0.15 seconds.
'Now!' Ash reacted.
The raven-haired boy dodged the fatal blow by a hair's breadth, narrowly escaping the Nidoking's attack.
"Mind's Eye?!" the policewoman identified the absurd reaction time.
'That's a skill attainable by veteran Trainers like the Elite Four and Champions! How did…?'
"Tch!"
A click of the tongue brought the policewoman back from her musings as Nidoking unleashed a flurry of [Poison Jabs] towards the evading raven-haired boy. It grew more annoyed as the vermin before it dodged every single attack before it changed up its pattern.
The pink armour-plated Pokémon spun its body around and swung its poison-laced mighty tail towards the surprised boy.
'[Poison Tail]?!'
Ash immediately twirled the Sword with it guarding his arm as the tail slammed into the stone blade, causing the raven-haired boy to be flung back as he barrelled on the forest floor before impacting on a wooden trunk.
"Good, focus on me instead of Officer Jenny…" Ash grinned weakly as this was what he wanted all along, though the [Poison Tail] was an unneeded surprise.
Nidoking inched closer to the raven-haired boy as its fist pulled back and prepared to smash the weakened boy-
G̶r̵r̸r̸.̵.̵.̵
A monstrous presence emanated from within the Sword in the boy's grasp. An otherworldly feminine voice only the pink beast could hear pierced its soul with cold steel.
"̴Y̸o̸u̶ ̴d̸a̴r̴e̷ ̸t̵o̸u̵c̴h̸ ̴m̵y̶ ̸w̸a̸r̴d̴,̷ ̵w̴h̴e̴l̶p̴?̴"̶
"What's wrong? We don't got all day, y'know?" the boy's iron-forged voice broke the Nidoking's thoughts as it stared at the sitting Ash.
His arm was bleeding slightly from the powerful tail and yet, his expression was not one of pain but of steeled focus. He grew confused at Nidoking's haunted expression as it looked as if it had saw something it was not supposed to see. Suddenly, the behemoth snapped out of its rampage and retreated into the woods with a terrified expression adorning his face.
"Phew… That was close," Ash let out a sigh of relief.
'Though what made that guy run so fast?'
'AURA's being unhelpful as always. Meh, Caliburn's gonna heal it anyways,' Ash shrugged off the pain and stood up.
"Pikachu!"
Pikachu had recovered from the forceful blow of Nidoking and sprung himself onto his partner's shoulder while saddened at Ash's arm.
"Haha… Don't tell Yellow, okay? Ow…" the Trainer flinched slightly at his broken arm.
"Don't worry, Caliburn'll heal it, partner. You did great against Nidoking despite half of your moves being ineffective, y'know?" Ash smooth-talked his way into the electric mouse's heart.
The raven-haired boy strutted his way with his Sword in tow towards the policewoman before recalling the Sword back into his Bag and gave his free hand to the fallen Officer Jenny.
"That was dangerous, young man," she reprimanded as she took his hand and pulled to stand from her sitting position.
"You're welcome, officer," Ash replied sarcastically, eliciting Jenny to roll her eyes.
"By the way, what's up with these three?"
Ash pointed to the Rocket trio being tied up by a lasso with a sweat drop.
"Ah, I wasn't gonna let these three go off scot-free, right?" Jenny proudly declared as she showed the boy her grip on said lasso.
…
…
…
Team Rocket was groaning in the Centre as Ash casually rolled up to them with a cast wrapped around his injured arm though he was positive it would be perfectly healed by the next day thanks to his beloved Sword.
"Why're you guys even pretending to be Team Rocket anyways? They're already extinct at this point," the raven-haired boy asked genuinely since there were no merit in disguising as part of an organization that was so widely hated.
"How dare you, twerp! Team Rocket's back in business!" Jessie mouthed off angrily.
"Yeah, yeah. Look, Giovanni's already in prison, There's no way—"
Just then, Officer Jenny perked up and approached Ash with an bandaged foot where she tripped.
"Ash, didn't you hear?" Jenny asked incredulously.
"Hmm? About what?"
The lovely, charming villains.
"…Giovanni's already free from prison."
His guardian's appearance.
"…"
Chapter 55: Prepare for Trouble
The raven-haired boy's day just kept getting worse.