Chapter 20:Complexities
It is a funny thing really. Just ask any random kid out there, within the ages six and fourteen, and ask him or her, what they wanted to become when they grew up. You'd get a common answer.
A Pokémon Master.
A term that every single child knew to heart, and for most, it was a dream to pursue for the rest of their lives. The funny thing was, one never really know what being a Pokémon Master was really about. For one thing, around eighty-five percent of the population that began their dreams as an aspiring Pokémon master ended up surviving their first year as a trainer. The rest… became part of a statistical chart that everyone pretended did not exist- the harsh truth of the occupation that was becoming a Pokémon trainer.
They forgot to tell you that. Didn't they? Well, pay attention.
Let us exclude the legendaries at first. For one, most people simply consider them as myth, and if not, then a thing of the past. A mix of religious belief and mythology. For those who did, even the very thought of being able to see a Legendary was like seeing God, since for all intents and purposes, a Legendary was after a fashion, a conceptualization of a particular component of Nature. For instance, Moltres, the mythical King of fire. The word King, it must be noted, was not differentiated by gender, but by position, and as far as the conceptualization of Fire was concerned, Moltres was Fire-personified.
That left the two other kinds of pokémon—the ones who were pseudo-legendaries and the ones who weren't. The latter usually, were divided into two kinds- those who were naturally powerful and those who weren't. Often, it was found that a trainer would go searching for powerful pokémon, like a Gyarados for instance, and end up getting killed in the process. In fact, according to statistics, Gyarados, Magmar, Beedril, Charizard and Fearow were the reasons for deaths for more than seventy percent of the total deaths registered every single year, the count of which, usually ended up somewhere in the greater seventies.
Those who survived their first year as a trainer, usually ended up reaching the Leagues and battling their way through, some even reaching as high as the Top-32 before a stronger trainer shattered their dreams to achieve their own. The process continued for the next year and the next until one of four things happened.
First case. The trainer would end up winning a League, and then become a part of the Ace Squad.
Second. The trainer would reach a zenith as a Top-4 level trainer, and then private organizations (or sometimes the league) would consider them for their forces, most preferably the Ranger Squad.
Third. The trainer would probably choose one of the secondary professions out there, like the pokémon contests or showcases and the like. Considering the large number of failures, it is no surprise that the showcases and contests have grown in popularity over the recent years.
The fourth and the last. They would leave the profession as a trainer and settle for something else. Maybe work for other companies, or get self-employed in fields unrelated to pokémon training. Usually the dairy-farming industry employed hundreds of such trainers.
Needless to say, with such high rates of personal threat and professional failure, the Leagues have had to up their game, and give more reasons for people to try for the League as a trainer. And the reason they chose is the best possible one.
Money. And lots of it. The Ace Teams are paid in numbers that most people can't even dream of. In fact, in the recent decades, the League introduced the idea of Gym leaders paying the trainers a certain sum of money (advancement) should they manage to defeat the Gym leader. All of that, done to ensure that the greed for greater incomes should achieve victory over the general fear that came to be associated with the life of a wannabe Pokémon Master.
Ash Ketchum stared with growing horror, as the entire forest in front of him rose to life, with the very source of such an aberration staring at him, his eyes glowing with a deadly red color. His new jacket was now tattered and torn at various places, as were his trousers. His skin was bruised at various places, the injuries and bruises burning, causing him immense discomfort though to be frank, nothing registered to his mind than the most significant threat in front of him.
The terrifying Trevenant.
Yet, at the same time, another thought seeped through the cracks as it flit though his mind. A realization… of sorts.
This is the third time that I have found my life hanging at the whims of a wild pokémon.
He looked ahead at what seemed to be a rather heated conversation between the Gengar and the elder tree pokémon, in which, he believed that the shadow pokémon was, in all probability, trying to convince the elder tree that killing Ash was a bad idea. Though looking at the Trevenant's reactions, she wasn't doing a great job at it. Then again, with the way Magnus was one step away from driving his shiny claws through the elder tree's trunk, chopping it into pieces in a single stroke… there might be some reason behind Trevenant's reactions after all.
A part of his mind couldn't help but wonder how Gengar of all pokémon managed to even find out where Ash was, considering that Alakazam had been rather… courteous enough to put psychic shields all over the camp, creating individual training grounds for the pokémon. He knew for a fact that Gyarados and Poliwhirl had joined Milotic far away into the sea for them to train without any interference.
Must have something to do with being a ghost and everything. He mused.
Only if there was a way to teleport away, but even then, doing so would mean losing to Trevenant. Only if he had a psychic to aid him at this time…. Metagross was away, which left a single option.
I never thought a day would come when I would miss having Kadabra—Alakazam at my side.
The attempt at peaceful diplomacy, it seemed, had been doomed to failure, as the elder tree roared, and sent a dozen roots and branches, flinging towards Ash and company. Gengar, being a ghost-type, had nothing to fear from such physical attacks. The same could be said about the rest, and Magnus was completely engrossed in slashing the incoming barrage with his powerful claws, making sure none went past him to strike at his trainer. Gengar meanwhile, fired a quick succession of Shadow balls towards the Trevenant who simply raised several trunks to absorb the attack midway, much to the shadow pokémon's rage.
Meanwhile, the continuous destruction in the forest zone had attracted some more unwanted attention. Despite the situation, neither Ash nor his team failed to notice how several Ariados had been gathering all around them, and considering that Trevenant were literally protectors of forests, the natives would, in all possibility, support him rather than Ash and his team, which included a dragon of all things. The four Shiftry also seemed to have caught up and were nearing them from the other sides.
Bottom line. They were in a kill-box. Come to die.
Gengar let out a wild screech before blasting the Ariados away with a powerful Will-o-wisp while Magnus sent successive dragon pulses towards Trevenant, hoping to overwhelm it with the draconic attacks. Back then with the Shiftry, it had been different, since he had the advantage of being able to move. With Ash behind him, Magnus had to stay stationary and keep deflecting attacks from all sides, which included both Shiftry as well as Trevenant.
Gengar's eyes glowed with eldritch power as she summoned otherworldly energy around herself, casting ominous shadows all over the forest, making full advantage of the canopy, as she suddenly dissipated within the shadows, only to suddenly reappear at random places to propel ghostly spheres towards Trevenant. The fact that barely a single one managed to reach the elder tree was testament to the superlative control it held over the domain that was the forest. Magnus meanwhile, had fired up several dragon pulses from his vantage point, doing his level best to hit the Shiftry, and if not, then at least clear the area, make it devoid of the tree trunks and roots that Trevenant could use as weapons.
That was when something extraordinary happened.
A powerful gust of wind bulldozed its way through the forest as several spheres of draconic energy rained down from the heavens, falling on the Shiftry and the Ariados, literally deleting them from the equation in a single strike. The next volley of those spheres—Draco Meteor, Ash realized, fell with Trevenant as their target. No amount of natural shields that the elder tree pokémon seemed to put up seemed to hold before the might of what was possibly one of the most powerful attacks of dragon-kind.
When the dust faded, Ash could see Garchomp—Cynthia's Garchomp- standing right beside him, one of his fins spread in front of him protectively, while the rest of the battlefield looked like a horde of rampaging Rhyhorn had bulldozed their way through the zone. Gengar and Magnus, it seemed, had not been still and taken full advantage of the situation, as standing before him, was Trevenant, with a pitch-black Shadow claw through its neck, and another bright dragon claw—this one from Magnus, through its trunk. The elder tree was groaning in agony.
Garchomp grunted, glancing at Ash before indicating towards the elder tree pokémon.
Oh. Ash realized. In the scheme of things, he had absolutely forgotten that he still had Trevenant's pokeball with him. After releasing him to fight the Shiftry, he had placed the pokeball back in his belt, and the events afterward had literally washed out the idea of returning him from his mind. Then again, there was every chance that someone as powerful as Trevenant would simply evade capture and kill him during the attempt.
He lifted the pokeball up.
Trevenant let out another defiant roar, before screaming, as Gengar's shadow claw sliced deeper into its throat, the wood cracking under the effect of the otherworldly energies.
Ash clicked the button, as a beam of red shot towards the elder tree, sucking it inside.
Ash's knees gave away as they nearly hit the floor, though Garchomp had other ideas, as he held Ash up in his arms, and grunted back towards Gengar and Magnus.
After a couple of seconds of staring back, Magnus grunted back.
Holding Ash up, Garchomp shot off the ground, flying high up past the thick canopy, aiming for the camp, while Gengar and Magnus swiftly followed.
Some hours later.
Ash Ketchum woke up from a troubled sleep, the contusions on his cheeks and abdomen feeling suspiciously benign, almost as if the entire pain had vanished. A little more widening of his eyes got him staring at the somewhat unfamiliar green tent all around him, followed by the realization that he was, once again, wrapped up in bandages all over, though this time, it seemed to be limited to his chest-region and on his trousers, though there were a couple of band aids on either cheek to cover up the bruises as well.
Crap. Not again.
He turned towards his side to see a wide assortment of potion jars, leaves and berries on the makeshift wooden platform, with several bowls and pestles on it as well. Someone had not only bandaged him, but also treated him back to health. He was just entertaining that line of thought when the covers of the tent on the left were lifted up, and Cynthia stepped in.
"How are you feeling?" She asked, her countenance filled with concern.
"I'll survive." Ash returned. A part of him couldn't help but feel slightly… annoyed at the way Cynthia had treated both him and Charmander back then. Of course, he hadn't hesitated to protect her at the cost of his own life, but that didn't mean that he wasn't annoyed by her actions. Whatever her intentions had been, she had been quite cruel to Charmander, and a slight miss from Ash's position could have cost her, her own life.
"Garchomp told me how you were attacked by the Trevenant and the Shiftry." Cynthia muttered, sitting on the floor beside Ash to prepare some antidotes for him. "The injuries you had, it was…"
"As you predicted?" Ash interrupted.
"I was going to say horrible. I never expected that to happen." She scowled.
"I seem to remember telling you not to do that." Ash grunted back, before looking away. "Your treatment towards Charmander was… wrong."
Cynthia looked up, but didn't retort back. "I didn't expect him to attack me like that. It was simply a way to get him to shed his fear of-"
"He did." Ash interrupted again. "I'm not questioning your intentions, Cynthia." -said girl inwardly gasped at the cold tone her friend was using—"I'm simply questioning the execution of it all. Your Garchomp, he could have killed Charmander."
"He didn't."
"Doesn't matter. Charmander could have died out of excess usage of his inner-flame."
"He wouldn't." Cynthia challenged.
"And how do you know that?"
Cynthia was now losing it. "Because I have trained a Charizard from a Charmander too. Just so you know, as you keep pointing it out, I am The Sinnoh Champion, and that means I have a lot of experience under my belt, which includes training the Charmander species. Their tail flame wouldn't go off just out of over-usage of fire-type attacks, or throwing them into a water body."
"But-"
"Unless you plan to poison Charmander and then keep him frozen with continuous ice-beams on his body for hours, he is not going to die because of his tail-flame going off."
Ash opened his mouth to retort, but then looked away. Of course, as a Champion, Cynthia probably knew more about training pokémon than him ten times over. But in his heart, he still felt that Magnus was with him the longest, he knew him the best. And risking him was not an option. But Cynthia was also his friend, wasn't she? And he valued his friend's opinions greatly. But choosing one among them was not something he wanted to do. Not now. Not ever.
But does that make her blameless?
Silence pervaded between the two for minutes.
"Ash?"
No reply came to the question.
"I really am sorry for whatever happened."
Still no reply.
Cynthia looked away, silently working on the antidote she was preparing. "You should ingest this concoction. It will treat your injuries faster. I'll… I'll be outside, training your pokémon."
She waited for a couple of seconds, before she decided that she wouldn't be receiving any reply, and got up to get out of the tent. She had just crossed the threshold when Ash began speaking.
"You know… Magnus thought himself as a monster. He believed himself responsible for my injury and blamed himself and his evolution. It took me a long time to convince him that your intentions were for his own betterment, and that it was just a part of his growing up."
Cynthia turned around, only for her hopes to fall to dust again. Ash hadn't turned back, but that hadn't stopped him from replying.
"When I found him as a Charmander back then, he was there, sitting on the rock on Route 24, his tail flame flickering dangerously, with a single leaf over him, in the middle of a thunderstorm. A flock of Spearow were attacking him from all sides, tearing into his flesh, and yet, he did nothing." Ash paused. "Me and Metang got rid of the Spearow, and tried to bring him down from the rock. Charmander fought us. Do you know why?"
He turned around to face her. "Because his trainer told him that he would be back with medical supplies to treat him. The same trainer, who had simply treated with callously all the time he had been with him, and then deserted him in the middle of nowhere… just like that."
Cynthia simply stood like a statue, not sure what to say.
"I had to ask Metang to use confusion to get him down. He somehow managed to somehow stick through and survive the night."
"I—I didn't-"
"Of course you didn't." Ash replied in an emotionless tone. "When Charmander finally gave himself a chance with me as his trainer… he was so scared. He thought that I'd discover how… weak, he was, and desert him. That I'd call him useless and dump him in the middle of nowhere like Damien did. Of course… I never made him feel that he was any different than any other Charmander, and tried to give him a feeling of normalcy."
He paused, looking squarely at her face. "Maybe that was… wrong. Maybe I was being over-protective with him, and maybe you are right. However… that doesn't justify your behaviour with him. You may have had experiences with raising a Charizard, but your Charizard wasn't Magnus."
Cynthia opened her mouth, but no words came.
Ash looked away. "Maybe I am being incredibly naïve. I wouldn't know if I was. I'm not an experienced trainer, or even an Ace… and certainly not someone of your own position and power, but… I do know my own pokémon better than you, or Steven or anyone else in the world can." He paused. "I didn't send Metagross with Steven because I needed a pokémon trained by a Champion. I did it because Metang sacrificed something for me back on the ship, and this was a way of giving him back the opportunity to get it back."
"Ash, I-"
But Ash wasn't done speaking. "The same holds for you. I know that I saved your life back at the ship, and sometime… anyway, what I want to say is, I didn't do it because you are a Champion and I need something in return. When I tried to help you on the ship, it was because you were my friend, and a Champion… someone far more important than myself to the world. I didn't do it with any reciprocation in mind."
"Ash-"
"The same is true for now as well. I took the attack head-on because you were my friend. Because I knew that your intentions were for Charmander's own good. Because I…." He paused, unsure of what to say.
"I know that." Cynthia muttered, her voice low.
"I didn't do it for any kind of reciprocation. All this…" He pointed towards the bandages all over himself. "I am grateful that you treated me and healed me, but trust me, if you try to do something like that…. one more time? I won't care that you are a Champion, or what monsters are part of your team." He paused. "You and I… will come to blows."
Cynthia looked up at him, her eyes wide with shock. But Ash had already turned away.
"I'm sorry for my weakness and my frail self. I will be ready for whatever instruction you have for me and my team come early morning."
The Sinnoh Champion did her utmost to hold back the lone tear that threatened to fall off her left eye, as she turned around and sped away.
He opened his eyes, staring at the darkness on top of him. From the way it seemed, night had descended down upon the island, and it was pretty close to midnight. Even from his bed, he could make out the snores outside- his and Cynthia's pokémon, Ash mused, as he lay upon the makeshift bed made out of the sleeping bag. There was a single lantern burning at a distance, the shadows creating a rather eerie effect on the green canvas on the tent.
After Cynthia had walked out of the tent, he had drunk the concoction (which tasted terrible), and had passed off within minutes of doing so as the medicine kicked in. This was the first time he had woken up after that.
He casually wondered what Gengar was doing. The ghost pokémon literally lived in the shadows after all. Thoughts about his pokémon reminded him of Magnus… and Metagross. Silently, still in his bed, he wondered what kind of grilling training Metagross might be going through all this while. That reminded him-
A sight literally vanished the thought from his mind, as the shadowy figure of a sleeping Cynthia came into view. There she was, a little distance away from himself, sleeping in her sleeping bag, her lips having a disturbed frown. Ash decided that he didn't like that expression on her.
He pushed himself up from the bed, and doing his best to avoid making any noises, he slowly stood up, feeling the lack of pain in his muscles. Even the bruises seemed to have cooled down, as far as the stinging was concerned.
Some concoction that was.
He slowly paced out of the tent, doing his best not to disturb any of the pokémon sleeping within. The wild grass underneath felt wonderful. He should get himself a habit of doing this a little more often, he decided. A couple of yards away, the grassland ended prematurely into a tiny cliff with the waters of the sea touching the edges.
Something shifted behind him.
He didn't move. Call it his sixth sense, but he instinctively knew what it was.
"I thought you'd be awake. Shadows and everything."
A pair of glowing eyes appeared in the darkness to his right, followed by a large grinning face as Gengar materialized into view.
Ash didn't bother to look. "I'm really glad that you decided to join us, and really thankful for helping me out back there."
Gengar simply grinned.
"I've been… wondering you know… if the tale about the trainer from Kanto and the three Haunter… I mean, was he really your trainer?"
Something about Gengar… shifted.
"I'm sorry…" Ash apologised. "I didn't want to remind you of bad memories or anything. It was… I'm sorry."
Gengar however… had another plans in mind. All of a sudden, Ash felt a wave of psychic energy flood beside him, as Alakazam appeared to his left.
Midget… you just had to interrupt my sleep, didn't you?
Ash chuckled. "Sorry for that. I think Gengar wanted a conversation."
And now you can relate to the otherworldly ones. Is there any end to your shortcomings?
The trainer scowled in mock-anger.
It is good to see you in health, midget.
"Thank… you." Ash replied slowly. "I never said it, but thank you for saving my life back there in the forest."
Delia would be unhappy.
Ash didn't counter that statement, as he turned towards Gengar. "What did you want to talk about?"
The Gengar grinned again, before drawling away in her own tongue.
She says that your hypothesis about her origins, though presumptuous, are quite correct.
"It must have been… difficult." Ash replied after a while. "Fighting your own people… to save me."
The grin on the ghost' countenance deepened.
The otherworldly one says that the trees had a symbiotic relationship going on with the other ghosts. She says that she wasn't able to communicate the details of the aftermath of his capture to the tree.
"Oh." Ash muttered. "Do you think that Trevenant would listen to you?"
The Gengar's grin deepened again.
If he understands self-preservation. Alakazam communicated.
Ash swallowed. "Remind me never to be on your bad side."
You already have, midget. You just managed to slide over to the better one.
He ignored Alakazam's taunt. "Was the day productive for you guys? I'm sorry… I was not in the best of health."
Gengar decided that her trainer had no shortcomings when it came to understatements. However, it was the psychic that answered.
Irrespective of your failings, the void-using feline managed to learn the process of procuring a shadow ball from the otherworldly one. I believe I am yet to teach her the technique of Magic Coat.
"Somehow the fact that you have gotten yourself a professor job doesn't surprise me." Ash teased. If he hadn't known better, he would have said that he had just seen Alakazam huff.
Reciprocation, midget. I'm not sure if the concept eludes you, but teaching a technique is often a means of reciprocation amongst pokémon. I'm teaching the art of Dream-eating to the otherworldly one… and in return, she will be imparting me the knowledge of Cursing.
"And Absol?"
The feline will be teaching me the art of Double-teaming, while the otherworldly one shall receive the art of Dark Pulse from her. Personally, I'd have liked to learn it as well, but I'm afraid I do not have sufficient ways to reply her back in kind.
Ash chortled. "I'm sure that the feline- Absol will be happy to teach you if you just requested."
And be indebted to a void-user? Oh, the shame.
The trainer rolled his eyes, staring at the moon in the sky. "What about the others?"
The mindless beast and his kin managed to get beaten up all day. I believe they find it enthralling and educational.
"Physical moves are like that."
As I said, mindless. The baby dragon managed to progress with those little meteors. Your starter has no regard for lawn maintenance. Please keep him away from my garden.
Ash rolled his eyes. He'd miss these quips after Alakazam was back at the lab with his mother. Turning towards the ghost, he replied. "I guess I'll be good enough to aid in your training from tomorrow onwards. And we can have another try at Trevenant."
Gengar's eyes pulsed.
Ash looked away. "We need to get stronger. You, me, all of us… there is a lot coming up, and I can feel it. Practicing for the league and gym battles isn't going to be enough. I was thinking…. I was thinking that we should continue for a while longer over here, and make sure we all are ready before we head towards Kanto."
Gengar looked at him in surprise.
"Oh yeah," Ash chuckled. "I suppose you didn't know that. I'm from Kanto as well. Pallet Town. Do you know that place?"
Gengar drawled out in agreement.
"Are you… from Kanto as well?"
The shadow pokémon's eyes flashed as a dull image of a town manifested before Ash's eyes. It was almost like watching the memory back on St. Anne, only this one, was more like looking into it through a dusty glass. He could see cobbled streets, the pointy tops of the houses and the somewhat plebeian landscape all around. And there, in the center, stood a humongous edifice, an ancient manor that looked more ancient than it had a right to be, with seven gargoyles sculpted on the vertices, with a single Haunter sculpted on the top. A manor that was easily recognizable to anyone who had studied Kanto's history.
The Tower of Lavender Town.
"You…" Ash drew breath, realizing that he had been unconsciously holding it all this while, "-are from the Tower? From Lavender Town?"
Gengar grinned.
Ash chuckled uneasily. The Lavender Town tower was a haven for ghost-types, which were under the protection of the ancient Ainsworth family. The Ainsworths, always had an uncanny relationship with ghost-types, and produced most of the ghost-masters over the last centuries. As of now, the Tower was home to one of the most feared trainers of the world.
Agatha Ainsworth. Ghost-type mistress, and member of the Kanto Elite Four.
"So…. Your trainer captured you?"
I believe the otherworldly one was…. his starter.
Ash's eyes lit with recognition. "He was…. an Ainsworth?"
Gengar's eyes lit up.
Ash swallowed. A part of him couldn't help but wonder if the Ainsworth family even knew of what happened to the young trainer who had left Kanto all those years ago. Maybe Professor Oak would know something about it. The old man was a bottomless reservoir of knowledge, as far as Ash was concerned.
"We'll… go to Lavender Town after I return to Pallet." He replied. "You can meet your own family then."
For some reason, Gengar's eyes pulsed, as she dissipated into the shadows, leaving Ash alone with Alakazam.
"I suppose that was the end of the conversation." Ash muttered to himself.
Otherworldly ones are beyond our scope of comprehension.
Ash didn't refute the statement. No more words were exchanged that night.
After an early breakfast next morning, Ash and his team were ready for their training for the day to begin. Neither Ash nor Cynthia had touched the topic of the previous day, behaving as if nothing of worth noting had happened. Though, Cynthia's enthusiasm had been replaced by the tactical battler that was the Sinnoh Champion.
"Magnus, because of his genetic constitution, has the ability to learn Draco Meteor. However, because of his recent genetic shift, it will be more… advisable to have him get a little more acquainted with his skills before we start his training."
Ash nodded, and released Magnus, who let out a snort, seeing the Garchomp standing in front of him.
"The first exercise will be to work on his speed and physical attacks." Cynthia pronounced. "With his build and his proclivity towards quick attacks, he could become a good physical fighter in time."
Magnus snorted at that.
"Both of you," she directed her gaze at Garchomp and Magnus, "will be battling each other with only dragon claw. Use your speed and physical strength, and nothing else. The entire island and the sea is your battlefield. Let's see how it turns up after the next two hours or so."
The two dragons stared at each other, with Magnus letting out a challenging growl while Garchomp had a sort of laid-back attitude.
"Scram."
In a couple of seconds, Garchomp and Magnus were nothing more than a blur in the air, instantly leaping off from their positions as they raced towards the other side of the island, their sharp claws striking each other again and again as they hit, shot back, and changed tracks, all at fantastic speeds.
"If this is Magnus without training," Cynthia observed, "then I really pity his opponent when he becomes a Charizard."
"What do you mean?" Ash queried.
"Charizards are specifically notorious for their immense strength and their ability to do so while flying, but their speed and flexibility is sacrificed at the altar of their overwhelming strength. Magnus on the other hand… he is much more nimble than anything I've ever seen. I could expect such nimbleness from a Gabite or a Garchomp, but not from a Charizard. Once Magnus learns to use his bulk to fuel his momentum alongside his speed, he will be one tough battler."
"I… hope it turns out that way." Ash muttered, more to himself than to others. "I just want him to be the best that he can be."
Cynthia spared a glance at him, before looking away. "He will. If you manage to keep him undergo constant training, very soon he should be able to substitute as a fighting-type pokémon. I notice you do not have any of those on your team."
Ash hesitated for a moment. "Well, Poliwhirl will evolve into-"
"Poliwrath, a fighting-type. I know that. However, you could have done well with having another fighting-type in your team as well. They are good for physical battling, especially if you are looking to train against the ground-type ones, which I see are plenty."
She cast a cursory glance towards Rhydon who was constantly trying to learn mega horn, all the while attacking Rhyperior with it, and having to bear with the constant pounding that the fully evolved pokémon was giving him. Beside them, the Lairon was constantly using slamming his feet onto the rocky ground, trying to perfect the Rock Tomb technique.
"Your team has certain limitations as of the moment, Ash. You lack fire-types for one. Your Shelgon, upon evolution, would be a formidable dragon for sure, but that doesn't, in any fashion, counter the presence of a true fire-type."
"I… understand." Ash nodded. "I will think upon it."
Cynthia nodded. "Your team has an overwhelming number of dragon, rock and ghost-types. I'm sure you have noticed?"
Ash rolled his eyes at the rhetorical question.
"Dragons are the superlative-type, with access to all but most fairy-type moves. With proper training, your dragon-types can easily substitute for any other types. Take Magnus for instance. With proper training, he can easily substitute for a fighting-type, or even a ground-type, should he master some of the attacks I have thought of. After his final evolution, he can function as a flying-type if needed be."
Ash nodded.
"The same holds true for your Shelgon, after his evolution to Salamence. Though…" she drawled, "Salamence would do better as a long-ranged versatile fighter, instead of close-combat like Magnus." She paused. "Gyarados has the advantage of water, and dragon. However, they can be used for one more purpose—shifting the environment."
Ash raised his eyebrows. "Like?"
Cynthia smirked. "What do you think you did with your battle against Harrison's Houndoom?"
"That was because it was an ice-platform."
"Use the thing between your ears." Cynthia mocked. "You will know how to use Gyarados to shift other environments as well."
Ash scowled but didn't retort.
"Your ghosts," she paused. "To my knowledge, you have a total of three, though only a single one is available as of now. I'd advise to get all three working under your complete commands. A ghost is a pretty powerful opponent against most. For one, I was pretty impressed with what you did with Steven that day."
"It was just a one-trick pony." Ash muttered.
"That may be, but it did work, didn't it? A ghost isn't a physical battler or one with immense strength. You have dragons and ground-types for those. A ghost works with trickery, subtlety and deviousness."
"You mean like destiny bond?" Ash challenged.
"I understand why the concept of destiny bond might seem unfair to you, but that is with the ghost-types. Subtle changing of the real world is their element. Unless you accept it, you will never go far with ghost-types."
"But what does it tell about me as a trainer if I use trickery to win a match?"
"That you are an efficient ghost-type trainer." Cynthia retorted. "I'm quite sure that if you asked the right people, they would all agree that in a direct battle, Agatha would probably wipe the floor with Lance."
"Because she fights dirty?"
"Exactly."
Ash didn't answer. His mind was too engulfed with his own thoughts, both accepting and contradictory ones. "I'll… look into that as well."
"See that you do. That Trevenant of yours… it will be a nightmare if the ground is a grass-type for instance."
"Controlling the environment." Ash realized.
Cynthia's lips twisted into a grin. "Your Poliwhirl… while I'm sure that he might be ready to evolve in a month or so, make sure to get him to maximum versatility before that happens. Water-types are like that. A highly versatile water/fighting-type is one difficult opponent to battle."
Ash sent a momentary glance towards Poliwhirl, who was at the moment, doing his best to try smacking a bullet punch at Medicham, while at the same time, doing his best to avoid Medicham's own attacks.
"And you don't have an electric-type, which is somewhat surprising."
Ash looked distinctly uncomfortable. "I did capture a Magneton, but I traded it with Lairon on the cruise."
Cynthia arched an eyebrow. "While I won't disagree that Lairon's evolved form Aggron is deadly in battle, you already have quite a lot of physical might on the team. Metagross, Rhydon—or should I say Rhyperior, and of course the dragons. For a team like yours, Magneton or its evolutions would have been a more versatile option."
"I could always teach Thunderbolt via TM. I checked it. A majority of my team can learn Thunderbolt via TM."
"I'm not disagreeing, Ash." The Sinnoh Champion countered. "But thunderbolt isn't the only reason one seeks an electric-type. They are good for both close-combat battles as well as long-ranged support. In fact, you could look into the Elekid-line. Electabuzz in general, would be a good one for your team. That, or perhaps one with speed. Jolteon would be the top preference, if not for its rarity, but there's always the Pikachu-line in Kanto, if you want a little close-to-home."
Ash was growing distinctively uncomfortable with it.
"You seem uncomfortable." Cynthia noted.
"Uh… no, it's nothing. Just reminded me of something, that's all."
Cynthia felt an overwhelming urge to touch his palm but she refrained from it. "All right. "You have a psychic-type in Metagross. High offense matched with high defense. There is a reason why Metagross is regarded as one of the most powerful ones out there."
Ash nodded.
Cynthia felt irritation surge through her at Ash's somewhat subdued behaviour. His original self, back at the cruise was much more comfortable to work with. "Tell me Ash, what exactly are your own plans for your pokémon?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I mean, what exactly are your plans for the future?"
"I…" Ash began in a thoughtful tone. "I was hoping that, after I'm done winning the eight badges, I'd get myself some training… maybe on Mount Ember or someplace like this one, where I can train without a care in the world, and then… challenge the gym leaders once again, battle their original teams."
Cynthia raised an eyebrow. "That's ambitious. The gym leaders are chosen for their power and skill. Each and every gym leader is someone who is close to an Ace-level trainer, if not one. And then there is Sabrina and Koga, who are both Elite Four members. Winning against their standard teams is a difficult job. Winning against their original teams is… a laughable attempt for most."
"I cannot do with being part of 'most'," Ash muttered. "Whether I want or not, Mewtwo is coming for me after a year is over. Measuring myself to League standards isn't a luxury I can afford."
Cynthia frowned. "You do know right that when the time comes, you can always count on me to aid you?"
"I know, but I won't. It was me who challenged him, and if I fail, it will be me that suffers. Not anyone else." He looked up at her squarely in the eye. "Especially not you."
Cynthia widened her eyes, as her lips parted a little, before she composed herself. "Ash, you do not have exclusive copyrights to battling Mewtwo."
"I don't. But the battle we are talking about, that's exclusive to me."
Cynthia opened her mouth to retort back, but no words were enough to describe the whirlpool of emotions in her mind.
Five days had passed after that, and every single day had been the same as the previous one. After an early morning breakfast prepared jointly by Ash and Cynthia, the two would start with their training regimen. Until noon, it would be his pokémon clashing against Cynthia's, and at times, with each other as well. Then they would all get freshened up and get a hefty lunch, and with all their excitement gone out, the next portion of the training would begin—the one in which Ash's pokémon would learn a new move or practice a previous one. Of course, the trainers weren't out of the rigorous training. On the very first day, Ash had had to cover five miles on the island, jogging with her, and had been a complete wreck at the end of it. The next day, it had been a little better, and then on the third day, Cynthia had increased the distance to seven, much to the younger trainer's horror. Whenever she battled with Ash, she didn't stop until he was down with humiliating defeat, after which, she would recite out all the mistake he had made, which he would diligently note down and think on it later after dinner.
The week was almost over, and he could already see the changes in his pokémon. Magnus for one, had become extremely fast, able to switch from dragon claw to metal claw and back in the blink of an eye. His dragon-breath and dragon-claw attacks were now honed to maximum finesse, though that was no cause for any kind of relaxation. Under Garchomp's tutoring, he had been able to grasp the concept of Draco meteor and was able to use it, though he was still unable to use it to the efficiency that Garchomp had. Earlier in the morning, he had subconsciously activated Blaze, and used Flare Blitz, instead of the Dragon-rush, and come slamming into Garchomp, charring the elder dragon at places. Of course, Garchomp had stomped his own dragon-rush into his abdomen with a powerful punch, an event after which the two dragons had decided to call for stalemate and sat out the rest of the session.
Shelgon, naturally because of his anatomy, had been restricted to using long-range attacks, which meant perfecting his dragon-breath, dragon-rage and flamethrower. He had already mastered dragon-claw as Bagon, and hence Cynthia had him learn the move Protect. The idea was to make Shelgon a powerful defensive tank, courtesy to his powerful shell. The only twist was that when the opponent was close enough, the defensive tank would be able to dish out a good amount of damage.
Pidgeot, courtesy to the amount of power that her mega-evolution had given her, had become more than a match for Braviary when it came to a battle of pure power and speed. However, that was when the other elements came into consideration, the two most common ones being Braviary's ability to use both Hyper Beam and Heat wave. After two consecutive defeats, the larger bird had to bow down and begin learning those two moves from Braviary, something that had busied her for the next couple of days. Pidgeot had also progressed with Hurricane, though the move wasn't perfected yet.
Crawdaunt had made some positive improvements as well. The crustacean had mastered his hold on aqua jet to a superlative degree, and had begun to learn the basics of Dark Pulse from Absol. Usually, he would be put against Spiritomb or Lairon to increase his ability as a physical battler.
Poliwhirl had, truth be told, the hardest regimen than any of the others. The tadpole pokémon had been made to go through a grilling unlike any other. Limited to his use of bullet punch against Medicham, the tadpole had been smashed into the ground over and over until he had attained some progress in trying to anticipate the next move. Medicham also had him trying to learn Hypnosis, whose progress had been abysmal so far. However, as far as his training with Milotic was concerned, he had easily managed to trace out the moves behind Ice Punch, and had progressed to Blizzard. Cynthia had advised Ash to get a TM for Hail, should Poliwhirl be able to master Blizzard in a month or so.
Speaking of Milotic, the elegant serpent had a really strenuous time with Gyarados, strenuous for the atrocious pokémon of course. While his hyper beam and dragon-breath held a good amount of power, Gyarados wasn't capable of continuously using the move for more than three seconds. After five days of excruciating training, Gyarados was able to stabilize that to six seconds, before Milotic had pronounced his efforts as satisfactory enough. Because his Hydro-pump was already good enough, Milotic had Gyarados learn aqua tail in battle, which meant getting hit by her tail over and over until Gyarados was able to copy the move t0 counter it in time. Of course, the move hadn't been perfected yet, but things seemed hopeful. The next move of course, was for Ash to imbue him with the Ice-beam TM, which he had decided to do, come Monday.
The maximum amount of progress, surprisingly, had been for Rhydon. The massive, hulking pokémon had not only been able to perfect the Mega horn, but also make considerable improvements towards Stone Edge. Of course, it was hardly perfected, but the symptoms were positive. Apart from that, Rhydon had demonstrated a perfect flamethrower attack, and his hyper beam was almost up to the mark. He would still need to learn how to draw it out for more than a couple of seconds though.
Like his elder brother, Lairon too had jumped into training with both feet. Though, his overly excitable nature along with his battle-happy attitude had caused Rhyperior to literally lift him off the ground, and send him tumbling, only for the steel-type to get back up with a grunt, and charge ahead with a perfect Bulldoze attack. Lairon was now on his way to master Rock Tomb and Earthquake, though by Cynthia's estimations, it would be a couple of weeks at minimum before that happened.
Unfortunately, Spiritomb hadn't really been of much use, since the dark-ghost-psychic trio of Absol, Gengar and Alakazam were already quite trained in whatever moves Spiritomb could have taught them. Of course, that didn't stop the trio from learning. Alakazam had been able to learn Double-team and Curse from Absol and Gengar respectively, while Gengar had been able to train herself in the moves Dream-eater, which she had managed to learn from Alakazam, and Dark Pulse, which she had learnt from Absol. The feline on the other hand, had learnt shadow ball from Gengar, while Alakazam was teaching her how to employ Magic coat, though progress was a little slow.
For some reason, Ash had avoided bringing out Trevenant out of his pokeball. For one, bringing him out could cause another commotion, something he wasn't ready for. The second point was that such a commotion would be an obstruction to their training with Cynthia, which was in Ash's eyes, too important to be wasted in such trifles. The same theory applied to Dusclops as well as the mystery dark pokémon. Knowing Team Rocket, the bloody thing would probably try to kill him the moment it got out.
However, despite the gruelling training (and the benefits), a single thing had not escaped Ash. Ever since their quarrel on the day he had encountered Trevenant on the forest, he had only seen Cynthia being the superior battler, the Champion that she was. Of course, that had been extremely beneficial to him, but he hadn't been so oblivious as to miss the subtle changes in her. For one, she never smiled. Not like Shirona did. For another, she avoided any form of physical gestures or touches, something that Shirona had a habit of. Even when she was with him for the entire day, teaching and training side by side, he got the feeling that something was missing.
It had taken him five days to realize what it was.
He glanced back towards her. Sitting on the grass, Cynthia was silently brewing concoctions for the pokémon, leaving Ash to cook lunch. Even from a distance, he could see the solemn expression on her radiant face… a radiance that had been missing ever since he had asked her for training. It was almost like his friend Shirona had been completely replaced by Cynthia, the veteran battler and Champion.
Is that not what I wanted? He heard himself say.
But was it?
"Um… Cynthia?"
"Yeah?" The girl replied from her position, not looking up from her concoctions.
"I was… thinking of doing something different tomorrow, for a change. Go visit the town and everything."
Cynthia looked up, something that made Ash almost stop his breath. This was his friend, the person he had befriended on the ship, the one who was stupidly obsessed with ice-cream, the one… who had surprised him at the party. The one who had made him realize what an oaf he was being that night on the deck, when the rest of the world was enjoying themselves down in the Hall. This was the person who had…
"Sure," she replied in a monotone. "I suppose you should get yourself some TM's for your team. We should get them trained as much as possible before I have to leave anyway."
"This… time, that I am spending with you now… is possibly my last vacation before a busy year of work."
"Well, then shouldn't you be at home or with family right now?"
She gave him a blank stare. "Why would you say that?"
"Well, you just said that this is your last vacation. Shouldn't you spend it with… you know, people close to you?"
Cynthia stared at him, as if trying to memorize his facial features to the Tee. "Sometimes I wish to have you dissected and examined."
She had wanted to spend her last vacation with him of all people, choosing him over her family, and everyone else. He hadn't really understood it back then…
"You… do realize that the Sinnoh Champion has the hots for you? Steven had jested. He had thought of it as Steven pulling his leg. There was no way that someone like her would….
Would she?
"Umm… Cynthia?"
"Yeah?"
"Can I… get the afternoon free? I need to do some stuff. Need to… plan up something for tomorrow's training." He replied awkwardly.
Cynthia looked up at him. "I thought I agreed to go with you tomorrow. Couldn't it wait?"
"No, uh, this is something I need to do alone." Ash stressed. Come now, agree to it, damn it.
"Okay." The Sinnoh girl replied hollowly, before returning to the concoction.
Ash just stood there, stunned.
"Don't you need to go?" Cynthia replied after a while, absently noticing that he was still there.
"Yeah… I'll—I'll just see you tomorrow then."