It was the start of a new day in Lumiose with the gang preparing to set off to the Sinnoh Region, but first they would have to get to Cyllage City.
"So today we will leave this base and head out to Sinnoh" Brock said.
"Yeah I gotta admit, I'm going to miss this place" May said.
"Well atleast we get to start a Journey together" Shauna said.
"Yeah, I hope we get to see cool water types along the way" Misty said. The whole group were at the dining table eating their breakfast but Ash was still yet to come for his breakfast.
Ash was sitting on his bed and looked in some kind of trance.
"Hello Ash, my son. Why don't you look here" An evil voice was speaking. It was Giovanni. Ash turned his head and saw Serena being held at gun point.
"No let her go, take me instead please" Ash pleaded.
"Ashh please save me, Ash!!!" Serena screamed but was then shot. Her body dropped in slow motion in front of Ash. He was paralysed to the ground. He was broken. The vision then all became a blur and a certain honey blonde girl with blue eyes was present in front of him.
"Ash, are you alright. You're sweating like hell. What happened?" Serena asked.
"Huh? Nothing it's fine" Ash replied. Serena didn't look convinced but didn't want to stay on the subject.
"Okay.. We're downstairs waiting for you, so come quick" Serena said as she left the room. Ash went to his bathroom to wash his face after that dream he had.
"Ash, Giovanni has gotten control of your mind" Ash heard the voice he heard yesterday.
"Huh, who said that?" Ash asked looking around the room frantically.
"Me, you dimwit" The voice said indicating him to look in the Jewel of Life.
"Arceus, how are you talking" Ash said.
"That stone allows us both to connect and talk. Also remember I said I'll be helping you in your journey"Arceus said in the Jewel.
"Oh yeah, I remember now. So you were the person I was hearing" Ash said.
"Yes it was my voice" Arceus confirmed.
"About the dream I had, how did I get it so suddenly?" Ash asked Arceus.
"Yes I was getting to that. Giovanni has gotten a bit of control over your mind. He won't be able to see what you think but he will make you think. When you were in their lab the other day he must have put a device in your head. Were you feeling dizzy at the time?" Arceus asked.
"Yeah I was" Ash said looking worried.
"He put it in by force. He will make you have nightmares while your asleep or awake. Also at times you can see what he's up to as well" Arceus said.
"How though, how's he doing it" Ash asked.
"With the help of mewtwo. Mewtwo is making you see those horrible things with his powers." Arceus.
"How do I avoid it?" Ash asked hoping there was an answer.
"You can't, for now you'll have to fight it. If you can withstand this, it is rare but I know you can, then it could possibly crash the device and it would stop working. There's still hope." Arceus said. Ash had no response.
"Well I better get going and stay away from any Pokémon with red eyes and a different transformation to their original bodies. They are dangerous. Well bye for now" Arceus said and his face disappeared of the Jewel.
"Another problem, Giovanni's caused" Ash sighed and headed downstairs.
•••••
"I thought you said Ash was coming down?" Shauna said.
"He did say it, let me go check" Serena got up from her seat and headed for the stairs.
"No need he's coming" Misty said as Ash's presence was coming into view from the stairs.
"What took you so long, you said you were coming 15 minutes ago. Are you sure your okay?" Serena asked worriedly.
"Yeah I'm fine, don't worry about it" Ash said reassuring her but lie could be seen in his eyes. Serena knew it as well. She could feel his guilt but decided to ask him in private.
"Well anyways let's look at the map" Miette said as she pulled out the map of Kalos.
"We have to get to Cyllage city so we take route 5 then route 7" May said.
"No they're both blocked, I've been on those paths and its dangerous" Ash said.
"So we'll have to take the long way around" Dawn mumbled.
"Yeah, so route 13 to Coumarine then route 12 to shalour. Then its route 11 through the reflection cave" Clemont said.
"We've got a long journey on hands" Calem said.
"We will need to walk around with a teams of 3 or 4" Gary said.
"Thats a good idea, as long as we are with someone we could be safe" Miette said.
"So lets make a list of who will be traveling with who" Gary replied.
Group 1
Ash
Serena
Shauna
Calem
Tierno
Group 2
May
Dawn
Bonnie
Clemont
Group 3
Miette
Gary
Paul
Misty
Trevor
(Totally didn't forget about Trevor and Tierno XD)
Miette wasn't happy, she wanted to be in Ash's group. No one could be asked to change her so she let it go. The gang were finally ready to leave on their long journey to Sinnoh.
"Okay guys lets reach route 13 before it gets dark." Ash said as he set off with Serena by his side.
Tierno tried walking with Serena (yes Tierno has a crush on Serena) but she was walking with Ash. That annoyed him. He's known Serena since she came to Kalos so Serena was his. Atleast that's what he thought.
The group were all chatting amongst their groups happily as they walked through Lumiose.
"Hey Ash, there are rocket members up ahead on the bridge what do we do" Serena asked.
"Avoid them, don't knock them out" Ash heard Arceus' voice in his head.
"Ok" Ash said aloud and Serena looked at him.
"Okay.. What?" Serena asked confused.
"Oh um we'll avoid them so lets get everyone under the bridge" Ash said. Serena indicated them to follow Ash and her down the bridge's side. They all successful went under the bridge and waited for the Rocket members to get to the other side.
"Haha this will teach him" Giovanni said. A Pokémon with red eyes and a different form to its usual self attacked a helpless man and knocked him over the side of the building.
"I can't wait to rule the world" Giovanni laughed like an evil maniac.
•••••
Ash returned to his senses and was breathing heavily. He opened his eyes and saw Serena peering her head over him.
"Ash are you alright" Serena said as she grasped his hand tightly.
"Yeah I'm fine, nothing to worry about" Ash said as he blinked a few times.
"Well let's get going it's almost dark" Ash said as he led the group again.
"It's the second time, please tell me" Serena whispered in Ash's ear.
"It's just a lack of water" Ash said. Serena knew it was a lie. She knew he would tell soon so she decided to wait.
It took about 15 minutes for the group to reach the start of route 13. It was slowly getting night time as the evening sky was drawing into darkness.
"Lets find a spot to set up our camp and have a rest for today." Ash said. Ash called Pikachu out of his back pack and Greninja out of his Pokéball.
"I think now it's safe for you to travel outside again" Ash said to Greninja who gave a nod of approval. They walked for about 5 minutes and found a spot.
"So a group will sleep in one tent" Ash said. Everyone nodded and started setting up their tents for tonight. Clemont and Brock decided to prepare food for the group while they set up the tent.
Once they were done they all sat around a campfire with their food.
"So Ash can you tell us how you came across the Greninja and how it sort of changes it appearance." Trevor asked. Everyone became interested and persisted him to tell.
"Okay, well firstly I don't know how me and Greninja change form. It happens when I motivate him and myselfy to strive forward and then my mind goes poof" Ash tried explaining. The group sweatdropped at his antics.
"Well I actually met Greninja as a Froakie in Orange Islands" Ash started.
•••••
Flashback
Man where is Pikachu? Ash thought as he peered from behind a crate into the darkened hull of the freighter. The freighter was currently on route for the Orange Archipelagos. Ash and Pikachu had snuck on board the day before with the rest of Ash's pokémon that were in their pokeballs in his backpack after stealing them from Professor Oak's laboratory a week prior. They had stayed hidden from the workers on board but had to keep on their toes. They were currently finding a crate that they could sneak into and lay low for the rest of the trip.
Ash looked back into the darkened cargo hull before peering back to find his starter scamper to his feet. He knelt down and scratched the electric type behind its ears. "Hey bud that took a while. What did you find? Are we in the clear?"
Pikachu gave a nod before turning back and quietly dashing to a crate that was in the corner of the space. Ash moved quietly through the shadows as he approached the container. He took out a crow bar that was hidden away in his backpack. He put the piece of steel under the lip of the wooden crate and slowly began to apply pressure downwards. The lid began to come up with a slow creak. Ash gasped as he heard voices from across the hull beginning to make their way toward his position. He quickly grabbed Pikachu and jumped into the crate, closing it before a flashlight hit his position. He breathed a sigh of relief as he noticed the crate was empty. He began to hear voices outside the crate and became curious. He leaned into the wall with one ear to listen more closely.
"You sure you heard a noise from over here?" Ash could hear a gruff voice say from outside.
"Yeah I'm positive," a younger voice responded. "We should at least check the package right? You know make sure it's still in there?"
"Fine rookie but I'm telling you that it hasn't moved," the first voiced said as the distinctive noise of a crate being opened could be heard. "See young gun? The package isn't going anywhere any time soon." Ash heard a slap of the crate as he heard footsteps moving away, down the room.
I wonder what that package is that has got them so worried?
Ash was shaken out of his thoughts as he felt Pikachu nuzzle his hand. "Pika pi pi Pikapi?" he asked his trainer with hopeful eyes.
"Huh. . . . oh yeah let's get you some food. You're probably hungry. Well this is all I got for us right now," Ash said. He pulled out a few berries he had managed to pick from the forests outside of the port city they had been in before finding their way on the ship.
After eating a few of the berries the duo laid down to rest for the night. Ash was curled up with Pikachu nuzzling his cheeks. Ash had a hard time falling asleep as something was pulling at him but he couldn't figure out why or what it was. Why do I feel like this? Something is calling to me but what could it be? The thoughts ran through his mind before the exhaustion of the paranoia he felt the previous two days finally over took him and drifted into sleep.
Ash woke to sounds of whimpering. He slowly opened his eyes to take in his surroundings before regaining his senses and noticing the commotion coming from outside the crate.
"Listen here you little frog," Ash heard the gruff voice from the previous night say, "you're gonna eat this and like it." The command was followed by the sound of a bowl hitting the crate and a yelp belonging to whatever was inside the wooden box.
"Hey be careful," the same younger voice said. "The boss said that we need to take care of this one."
"Now you listen to me," the first voice stated. "Whoever paid us to capture this pokémon will still pay good money, no matter if there are a few scratches and bruises on it. Besides this little beast needs to be taught some manners." A sudden sound of slap could be heard ringing through the hull of the ship. "Come on let's get out of this shit hole."
Ash began to hear low sobs coming from the crate. He nudged Pikachu awake. The electric type gave a yawn before stretching its back and giving its trainer a look of curiosity. "Come on buddy we need to check up on something," Ash said as he slowly began to lift the lid of the crate. "I need you need to go and check for anyone passing by. Got it?"
Pikachu gave a salute as he hopped out of the crate and did zigzags across the floor searching for any signs of trouble. When he found that nothing would bother them he turned and gave a slight nod to his trainer. Ash slowly crept out of the crate. Once he lowered himself to the ground, he gingerly stepped toward the box that was producing the sobs. The hull of the ship was still poorly lit but he could manage to see well enough to examine the box in question.
He saw that the two men that had previously been there had left the lid cracked open. The sobs were constant but grew louder with every step he took toward the crate. He opened the crate and peered in. He let out a gasp when he saw the contents. Inside was small blue frog like pokémon that had white frubble on his neck. The pokémon had chains on both of its wrists as well as a collar around its neck. The chains were secured to the crate so the pokémon could not escape. Scratches and burn marks could be seen littered across its body, apparently from the poor condition they were keeping it in.
When the pokémon heard the crate being opened, it snapped its vision up. The Froakie recoiled upon seeing Ash. Ash could see fear, sadness and desperation in the pokémon's face as his heart began to break. Ash took another quick look around as his mind began to race. It's been about two days since getting on this ship and the trip was scheduled to take a little under three. If I'm lucky Pidgeot will be able to take us the rest of the way. He peered down toward the pokémon once more. I have to take that chance.
Ash lifted himself over the edge and into the crate, landing in front of the imprisoned pokémon. Upon noticing the closeness the pokémon began to cry even louder. Pikachu peered over the edge of the crate with a look of horror on his face. The young Froakie was making a lot of noise causing a commotion to come from the upper decks.
"Pikachu quick I need an Iron Tail on these restraints," Ash said as he too began to hear voices make their way toward them. Pikachu made quick work of the chains. Once released the terrified captive began to swing its arms wildly in panic. A chain that was still connected to its wrist came out of Ash's blind spot and slashed him across his forehead, eye and lip.
Ash gave a quick cry of pain before throwing himself at the young pokémon. He grabbed the pokémon in his arms, "Shhh. . . . it's ok little one, it's ok. I'm not gonna hurt you." The pokémon responded almost immediately. The once frenzied pokémon froze in place before succumbing to tears and sobbing into Ash's chest. It sunk into the teen's chest as Ash continued to whisper into the water pokémon's ear.
After a short bit the pokémon looked up and met Ash's gaze before noticing the blood that was coming from the gash it had caused. A look of shame and worry came on the water types face as it slowly licked the wound.
"It's ok," Ash said softly, trying to comfort the pokémon. "Want to come with us?" It nodded its head hesitantly, keeping its gaze on Ash. "Awesome let's get you out of here."
Ash kept the young pokémon I his arms as if he was holding a toddler as he made his way out of the crate. Once he hit the floor he saw a group of men dressed in army gear turn a corner.
"Hey punk give us that pokémon," the leader of the group yelled. "I said give him back."
"No chance. Pikachu Thunder let's go." Out of the crate jumped Pikachu who let loose the powerful electric type attack that put the group on their butts. "This way buddy," Ash said as he turned and ran towards the stairs that was closest to them. Ash and Pikachu made their way up the staircase as they turned down a hallway looking for a way to the deck. Ash's vision began to become blurry as the blood from his cut seeped into his eye.
They turned a corner before running into another group of thugs. Ash jumped down another set of stairs that led to another level. He began to race through the ship while continuing to hold the Froakie. Every once in a while he would hear Pikachu let loose another attack indicating the pursuers were gaining.
He turned a final corner before finding the staircase that would lead to the deck. He burst through the door before coming face to face with the leader of the group. The man stood dressed in the same army outfit as his men but with a black beret. He shot Ash an evil glance before giving a deep chuckle. "I have to give you this boy: you got guts," he said while stepping forward. "We could use a kid like you on our side. Now why don't you gives us that Froakie and come join us."
"When there's hope in hell," Ash yelled back. His mind began to race when he heard footsteps coming from the door he had just came through. What am I gonna do? I'm trapped. Then a light bulb went off in his mind. "Pikachu use a Thunder attack on the ground right in front of us and don't hold back."
The little mouse jumped into the air and discharged the attack causing a massive explosion to rock the ship. The leader of the group covered his eyes as he began to cough. He surveyed the smoke before seeing two figures dart out of the cover it had created, making their way to the railing of the deck. "Quick stop them now," he shouted but it was too late.
Ash jumped off the edge of the ship as he threw a pokeball below him revealing Pidgeot. The trio landed on the bird pokémon who quickly took off. Pikachu hung onto Ash's shoulder as Ash cradled Froakie while trying to also grip Pidgeot as the bird maneuvered away from incoming attacks.
After a while of frantic flying the bird pokémon finally managed to climb to an altitude no attack could reach. Once Ash was comfortable and confident they had escaped the situation he looked down to the still shaking pokémon.
"Hey champ are you ok?" he asked softly. The Froakie slowly looked up to meet Ash's auburn eyes before shaking its head. "It's ok now. You are away from those men. I won't hurt you. I promise we'll do our best to get you back to your parents." The frog pokémon began to again sob uncontrollably as it whimpered. "What's wrong Froakie?" Ash asked as he felt his heart began to break again. Then the realization of what had happened to the poor pokémon hit him. "Those men killed your family, didn't they?" The water type continued to cry as it nodded its head into Ash's chest.
Ash held the pokémon even tighter in attempt to comfort the pain it was feeling. They were the same in a way: both had their loved ones ripped from them by the ambitions of evil men but unlike his new friend Ash knew his loved ones were still alive and working for Team Rocket.
After a while the cries of the pokémon died down. Ash took a hand and placed it behind the pokémon's right side of its head as he brought its forehead to meet its own in one last attempt to comfort it. "Hey," he said slowly. "I know it won't be the same but if you want I would like to be your knew family."
The frog pokémon looked up with hopefulness in his eyes as it nodded. A small smile made its way across its face for the first time.
Ash looked down before noticing the splotches of blood that were staining the feathers of the bird pokémon they were riding. He slowly lifted a hand to touch where the gash was before wincing and closing his eyes in pain. The blood had dried but the area of the face where he had been cut was sensitive. He began to feel a licking sensation before opening his eyes to see Froakie licking the wound.
Ash chuckled as he saw Froakie. "Hey don't worry about me buddy, I'll be fine. But thanks and welcome to the family. . . ."
•••••
"And the rest, well it's history" Ash finished.
"Oh so thats the gash on your eye" Tierno said pointing at the small scar on his eye.
"Yeah" Ash replied.
"Well let's get some sleep good night" Gary said. The gang went in their tents with their groups and settled for a goodnight sleep.
Ash was about to get up but noticed Serena sleeping on his shoulder.
"She's adorable" Ash said. He picked her up bridal style and carried her to their tent.
He layed her down on the side and covered her with a blanket. Ash then layed beside her. He kissed Serena on her forhead before drifting off into a good night sleep.
__________________________
Well there's another chapter. Hope you enjoyed it, let me know what you think and anything that needs improvement and yeah it' would help.
Thanks!
Amour_7