Chapter 26:Feelings
Two days after Ash left Pallet Town.
"The rest was pretty much anti-climactic, you know." Ash almost chuckled. "Aoi decided that she'd join me because it would get her closer to her purpose, though I think it might have something to do with getting a nice lap to curl on."
Cynthia arched an eyebrow. The two were having a quick chat via Pokenav technology. Ever since she had departed from Sulphur Island, she had kept in regular contact with him, having called him thrice already in the next two weeks that followed. This was, their fifth long-ranged conversation so far.
"You have an ancient Ninetales accompanying you because she likes to sleep on your lap?"
"And the bed. Seriously, most of the times she is like a spoiled little princess." Ash chuckled, his fingers caressing the soft, smooth, golden fur that rested on his lap as he himself sat against the edge of the tent.
"I can't help but feel slightly jealous of her." Cynthia scrunched her face, wondering why she was feeling… wary about a Ninetales of all things. The last time she had made contact with him, he had informed her about him reaching home and defeating some over bloated disaster of a trainer known as Gary Oak. There had been no mention of the sleek, golden-haired creature that rested on Ash's lap, seemingly uncaring enough to even glance at the person her trainer was conversing with. It was almost like a jealous female, trying to show down the people she considered threats. Cynthia silently thanked whatever deities she trusted in, that Ash wasn't into Pokephilia or anything as such.
…
…
Was he?
Said Ninetales, it must be noted, simply coiled a little more, before pushing her snout into Ash's hand, gurgling a little, paying no attention (superficially at least) to the fact that her relationship with Ash was the subject of discussion.
"Huh? Why would you say that?" Ash asked, oblivious.
Cynthia let out a breath. That was the closest thing she would get to a confirmation that her inner fears about Ash being pokephilic were untrue. "Nothing of importance. Tell me, where are you now?"
"Somewhere between Cerulean City and Cremini Town, I think. It's been a rather long couple of days to be exact."
"I thought you were planning to head towards Lavender." Cynthia observed coolly.
Ash swallowed. Ever since Cynthia had come clear with her own feelings towards him, something about their mutual relationship had changed. Of course, there had been… significant events that very night in Cynthia's tent, but more importantly, Ash had come across an entirely different shade of her personality.
The Cynthia that was heavily possessive, to the point of being called a control-freak, when it came to anything involving Ash Ketchum. The Cynthia who was much more impulsive, and much more prone to acting on her emotions than the calm, calculated Sinnoh Champion that had trained him for the better part of the week they had spent together.
"Well, Professor Oak told me to go to Cremini Town first… and check out this place called the Battle Tower."
"Is he crazy?" Cynthia hissed.
"Huh?" Ash automatically fell stiff, alarmed at her reaction. Aoi, suddenly finding her bed shift in texture, let out an irritated purr.
"Ash!" Cynthia hissed. "Do you even know what a Battle Tower is?"
Ash shrugged. "He wouldn't tell me. He just said that I'd like the surprise."
Cynthia groaned at the obliviousness of her… well, boy-friend. She had almost called him her lovable toy-friend. In her mind, Ash Ketchum belonged to her, and Cynthia Shirona didn't like to share her belongings with others. Of course, she would do anything for him, but Arceus help anyone who tried to mess with Ash, whom she owned.
"Ash, participating in a Battle Tower serves only one single purpose. To evaluate yourself on the basis of a League-level trainer."
"Huh?" Ash thought.
"Huh?" Ash said.
See? At times, Ash Ketchum's mind and mouth did work in absolute synchronicity.
Cynthia shook her head. It seemed that it would require further exposition. "Ash, if you participate in a Battle-tower event, it means that you choose a team of eight pokémon, your fucking-best team ever, and fight whatever comes ahead to challenge you. I know for a fact that the one in Celestic Town has seven tiers, with each tier having its own set of challengers and rules."
"That's… interesting." Ash muttered, nodding at her to continue.
"You don't get even a moment to relax. The moment you manage to win a tier, you move up via the elevator to the next level, which has its own set of challengers. The aim is to go ahead and defeat the one on the seventh tier, who's called the Tower Tycoon of the Battle Tower, and trust me, that person is almost at the level of an Elite Four."
The fuck? Ash thought. "So… seven battles continuously with my team of eight pokémon?"
Cynthia shook her head. "Seven challenges. Each challenge might have more than one battle. In fact, you can trust that it will have more than one battle, and there are specialized rules for every challenge."
"That's… cool." Ash grinned. "It will be a good way to see just how far me and my team has gotten, after all this while and-"
He paused, as it hit him. Cynthia wasn't refuting. Instead, she was smiling peacefully through her eyes. He calmly waited for the bomb to drop.
"Depending upon your performance at the Tower, changes are made to your trainer profile. The challenges you face at the Gyms will be modified appropriately."
"Talk English, Cynthia."
Said person rolled her eyes. "What do you think the gym leaders do? Just throw up the same pokémon against all types of trainers?"
"Uh…."
"No they don't." Cynthia answered her own question before Ash could begin to do so. "Your trainer profile shows how experienced you are. There are four divisions- newbie for someone who has gotten less than three badges, and trainer-experience less than six months. You call it handicap in Kanto. The gym leaders just use their weakest pokémon for battling."
"Oh." Ash muttered. Suddenly, all of the sense of accomplishment he had gotten from winning the three badges he had in his pocket felt… emptier, and pale.
"Six badges or more, you are treated as an intermediate-level. That's most of the people you'll meet on your journey."
"Uh-huh."
"And then there are those who had already been into a conference, possibly past the Top-64 level, and are trying again, whether in their own region or a new one. They are basically what you'd call a senior-level trainer."
"Oh." He wondered if Paul perhaps qualified for that level.
"Such trainers usually end up fighting the stronger teams of the Gym leaders, usually some of their top-battlers." She paused. "However, if you have gotten past the Top-4 in one or more conferences, then you qualify for the position of Elite Trainer. You better not expect anything but the bloody best pokémon when battling the gym leaders."
So Paul…. Ash wondered… Paul faced Cynthia in the semi-finals. Years ago. That means he is an Elite level trainer. No wonder his team looked so strong.
"So what would the results of the Battle Tower do to my own level?" Ash mused.
Cynthia considered her words. If she made a mistake, it might sound way too discouraging, and that was the last thing she needed. "If you… let us say, managed to win the third tier and move to fourth one, chances are that you would be treated like an intermediate-level trainer by the gyms, or…" she paused, remembering the level of dedication Ash's team had shown during the training, as well as the naturally powerful pokémon that he boasted. "—or, senior-level trainer, should you manage to win the Level 5 as well."
That stopped Ash's breath. "You mean… the gyms would be using really, really powerful pokémon against my own?"
"… Yes."
Ash stayed silent for a while. For some reason, Cynthia had this feeling that the outcome wouldn't be one to her liking.
"I'll do it."
Cynthia closed her eyes. She knewthis would happen. With exaggerated slowness, she took in several deep breaths. "And… why?"
"Because that is exactly what I need." Came the petulant answer.
"Ash?" Her irritation was beginning to show. "You are a newbie. I get it that you have a powerful team, and that you have trained them to be quite powerful, but that doesn't mean you'd throw away the advantages that you get as a newbie. You'd face problems fighting gyms in which your friends would have gotten victories with lesser effort."
"Petty."
Cynthia arched an eyebrow.
"Those advantages… are petty. They would not help me against Mewtwo. I need to be strong. If I cannot defeat a gym leader's team made for an intermediate or senior trainer, then what good will I fare against someone like Mewtwo?"
"Ash?" Cynthia felt a blood vessel burst. "Ash, we have been through this. Challenging and battling Mewtwo is-"
"—my own personal battle and irrelevant to our discussion." Ash pronounced.
Cynthia stared, scrutinizing him with her eyes.
Ash stared back, defiant.
Several seconds passed by.
Finally, the Sinnoh Champion let out a sigh. "I should have expected this. Very well, there is no point in trying to convince you otherwise. I might just end up pushing you to win the Battle Tower for all I know. You pulled out that fucking Dragonite against Mewtwo. I know the risk of battling odds against you."
Ash grinned shamelessly. "For the record, do people even manage to win at a Battle Tower?"
This time, Cynthia grinned. "Of course they do. Those people are known as the Elite Four."
In the tent just beside Ash's own, Misty Waterflower was having a rather sleepless night- not something she was… unfamiliar with. Ever since the events of St. Anne, sleepless nights had become sort of… common for her, considering the alternate was to face the terrible nightmares that affected her when she tried to shut her eyes to get some sleep.
Or at least, that had been the usual routine until her elder sisters had taken notice of it, and suggested psychic-treatment, something she had, unwillingly so, attended. The nightmares had effectively decremented after that.
However, the reason for her temporary insomnia for the present was not the nightmares from her experience on the St. Anne, but more because of her experience over the last two days, one that had started with a surprise visit from the one person she had never expected.
Ash Ketchum.
Her family, the Waterflowers, had established a serious level of investment into Cerulean city, literally becoming a part of the city over several generations. Not as heavily tied as the Pebblemann family of Pewter or the Ainsworth of Lavender Town, but somewhere close to that. Over the last three generations, the Cerulean Gym had passed from father to son or daughter until it fell to Daisy, the eldest daughter of Charles Waterflower. However, Daisy had always been an exhibitionist sort of person, preferring to choose Pokémon contests and Showcases rather than the dreary gym leader position. However, with the unfortunate deaths of her parents, she had been forced to take up the position, if albeit unwillingly.
Three years later, her sisters Violet and Lily had finished with their professional education from Pokémon Tech Academy, a rather illustrious school located close to Saffron City, made for the elite population- people who could afford the rather high costs so that their children would be able to become a full-fledged Pokémon trainer, without having to resort to living in the wilderness that came to be associated with the life of a trainer. Having returned as Top-8 trainers in the Indigo Conference, they had applied to the Indigo League for professional training to be inducted into the ranks of the Gym leader position, which they had acquired after a strenuous year of diligence. That was how Cerulean Gym got its three Gym leaders, instead of one—so that they could keep on with their showcases, events and still make sure that the Cerulean Gym had a gym leader to accept challenges.
Misty however, was different. She had always been different.
Oh, she had attended Pokémon Tech just like her elder sisters, but unlike them, she hadn't followed the path of a League-trainer, but that of an aspiring water-master. Right from the moment when the little Horsea had saved her life from one of Violet's vicious Tentacruel when she was three, Misty had developed undying love and attraction towards the water-type and water-type pokémon in general.
Today that brave, little Horsea was a Kingdra, a true queen regnant of the seas.
Of course, she had always known that she wasn't as pretty as her elder sisters. Plus, her own divergent ways had faced judgement at her sister's hands, something that slowly developed into a complex in the years that followed. She had applied for an internship under the famous Lorelei of the Elite four, but Lorelei would not accept anyone less than fifteen in terms of age. The lack of positive compliments from them, along with her own… slightly dominating behaviour, hadn't really endeared her to most people of her own age.
Hence, it had been rather surprising to have found a… dare she call it, a friend, in Ash Ketchum. Someone who was of the opposite gender, and didn't drift away from her on sheer principle. And importantly, he wasn't a water-type pokémon either.
Misty had been both elated, and mortified beyond comprehension.
Maybe that was why she had believed, that despite her limited interaction with the somewhat oblivious boy, that maybe, just maybe in the future, they would interact again. Maybe she wouldn't just be forgotten as an afterthought. Not by him.
Then the once-in-a-lifetime offer of a chance to travel on a cruise ship came to her.
She had quickly traversed over Viridian, Pewter and Vermillion, winning three badges, enough to get herself a quick ticket. Of course, it wasn't like she had hoped to see him there, or that she had been way too happy to see them. Nope, the sudden vibes of excitement that she had felt on seeing him were simply from the battle-experience and nothing else, no matter what others might be inclined to say.
But of course, finding Ash Ketchum (despite being defeated by him) was a good thing, and so had the couple of days after the battle been as well. Though, after his defeat against Harrison, Ash had gone all recluse for the next two days (despite her attempts to the contrary), and then suddenly shown up at the party at the Banquet Hall. Misty had a sneaking suspicion that Shirona (or rather Cynthia, if she was being direct) had something to do with it.
Cynthia. Cynthia Shirona. The Champion of Sinnoh. A Champion, had demonstrated feminine interest in her friend Ash, something that for an oddly unexplainable reason, had pinched Misty, a sensation that she decided she did not like.
And then the attack happened. An attack that literally blew away whatever childish innocence lingered within her growing personality, and made her face the harsh truth of life around them. Seeing so many people get injured, seeing bodies fallen left and right, seeing pokémon at their primal form, controlled by cruel masters, and all for the sake of a demonstration of power….
An anathema during which she had seen her friend get badly injured, while she herself had been literally forced to leave the cruise along with the other passengers. She would have forced her opinion but she had been entrusted with the task of their safe passage as well.
Naturally, it was rather shocking for her, when she had found Ash Ketchum standing at the door to the main gym. Two days ago.
Two days ago.
Misty stared hard on the floor, reciting all her techniques to heart once more. A week from now, she would need to be present at Pokémon Tech, for her annual examinations. Just one more year, and she could call herself a graduate from the Academy, and begin her path as an apprentice under a Water Master, or Lorelei, if she was extremely lucky.
In front of her, in the giant pool of water, the mighty Kingdra floated, with her opponent, the large belief-defying red Gyarados, stood with her head raised tall, her maw concentrating a sphere of concentrated draconic energy.
"Kingdra, use Flash Cannon. Gyarados, use Dragon pulse." Misty commanded, pitting the two juggernauts against each other.
"Misty? Misty?"
"Yes?" Misty drawled out, her expressions instantly shifting to a frown. She recognized the incomer as Harry, one of the new boys Violet was hanging out with. Harry was, in Misty's own humble opinion, a right jerk. Then again, it wasn't like Violet had decent taste in men anyway.
"Someone's at the door. You should go and perform the duties. God knows that Violet manages it most of the time."
Misty failed to keep her left eye from twitching at the thinly-veiled insult. In a loud but clear tone, she yelled back, without caring to look at the person who had just walked in.
"If you are here for a gym battle, come tomorrow."
There, that should do it. Either way the trainer would more than likely, settle for a free badge, and Misty didn't really want to meet someone like that. She had seen way too many of those to last a lifetime.
Not all of them are like Ash. She thought inwardly.
"And what if I do not want a battle?" A rather amused but extremely familiar voice retorted to her statement.
Misty widened her eyes, as she recognized the voice, spinning back to face the person she least-expected to meet at the Cerulean gym of all places. Her face lit up, as her prayers were answered, and all doubts vanished on spot. She barely noticed her own lips twisting into a bright grin as she took in the person's frame.
Ash Ketchum stood on the doorway.
Before she knew it, she was already sprinting off, crossing the rapidly-diminishing distance between them, as she threw her arms over his neck, grappling him in a tight bear-hug.
"Ash!"
She could consciously feel his strong abdominal muscles against her softer frame, as she felt Ash put his left hand on her back, stepping back to keep himself from falling off to the ground.
Present day. Back with Ash.
That fucking tramp! I knew she was a hussy when I met her… Cynthia mentally growled, as Ash narrated the events that had happened over the last two days since he had left Pallet Town. She took a deep breath.
"Why the hell did you even need to visit her of all people?" Cynthia didn't say. Instead, she put on her best fake geniality and asked, "I am wondering what might have brought you to Cerulean instead of… Cremini Town directly?"
Aoi slowly twisted her elegant neck towards Cynthia and let out a soft purr, almost as if she instinctively knew and agreed with the mental rant the blonde-haired girl was going through, in her mind.
"Well, I didn't really get to know what happened to her after what happened on the Anne. I was just worried."
Of course he was. Cynthia ranted, and the hussy took undue advantage of that. She remembered Misty very well. From the very beginning, she had noticed the slightly dominating personality and the way Misty would take enjoyment when her pokémon were giving Ash a difficult time during the battle. The fact that it was a battle didn't even register on the Sinnoh girl's mind for the time being. Of course, she completely forgot that she herself enjoyed wiping the floor with Ash just as well.
Perhaps Ash has a masochist streak in him? Then again, he admires dominating and strong women… he certainly did like my own. She pondered.
And pondered.
And then some more.
Then of course, her red hair. Bright red. Attracts so much attention. Short, bright red hair with pigtails. Cynthia calmly wondered if Ash preferred pigtails over her long, flowing hair. What good were pigtails anyway? And then there was the third thing—her overly short skirt, allowing her long legs up for show.
Cynthia silently added a point to her list. I'm so not wearing the long, black dress when I meet Ash next time. They block everything.
But that was for later. For now, Ash was speaking.
"—and she was asking about why I hadn't made any contact with her for the last two months. I suppose she was really worried and all that." Ash went on, oblivious to the mental tangents that Cynthia went off, every single time he finished a sentence. Of course, the Sinnoh Champion wasn't the only one inside the tent that was suffering from that peculiar syndrome.
The beautiful Ninetales in question, or Aoi, as she preferred, was one of the victims as well.
Oh, how she vehemently hated being in that situation.
Back to the pool. Two days ago.
Aoi gritted her teeth as the random, red-haired female grappled her trainer in a tight hug, almost enough to send him falling down to the floor. While she had been somewhat… ambivalent over her decision to join Ash Ketchum, the fringes of doubt had slowly evaporated from Aoi's mind on finding out the type of person her trainer was, and truth be told, she was having a better time than she had back on the island, even before the catastrophe had taken birth. Over the last couple of days, she had even managed to come to a… mutual stalling with the void-using feline, deciding to stop hostilities at least for the near future. The white-furred feline had initially been difficult, but Aoi supposed that Ash Ketchum had a way of making things work out, considering how the feline would be reduced to putty when he would start one of his usual rubs. Aoi could understand, she herself was a victim of those rubs after all.
Back to the present situation however...
"Ash!" The skank was muttering. "I thought I lost you back there on the ship. I tried to inquire about you, but got nothing."
Aoi heard her oblivious trainer chuckle. "I made it back to Kanto just a week ago."
"Huh?" The vixen pushed herself away, if only by a few inches. "What were you doing all that time?"
Not your business. Aoi didn't say.
"I was in a coma for a while, and then…" Ash replied somewhat evasively. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea to share out all the information. It wasn't like he didn't trust her. It was just… there was no reason to share it at all.
A shadow of a grin floated on Aoi's face, as she read her trainer's thoughts. Perhaps he wasn't that much of a simpleton after all.
"A coma? Are you all right now?" the vixen yelled, holding Ash's arms tightly.
"Yeah—yeah, I am."
"And I finally get to know about it now? Two months later? I thought you and me were good-"
"Nine!" Aoi had enough. The vixen was trespassing on her private space, and allowing that would be sacrilege for one such as herself.
Ash twisted his neck to turn towards the Ninetales, freezing midway, as he found himself the object for a deathly-cold glare. It was almost like-
Wait.
An odd idea germinated into his mind, something that felt slightly foreign, and he took a step back. Aoi's glare and her direction didn't shift by the slightest.
Conclusion. She wasn't glaring at him, but rather at…
Misty.
Said redhead seemed to have finally noticed Aoi's vengeful glare, and taken a step away from said trainer. 'Uh… I didn't know you had a Ninetales, Ash."
"Aoi." Ash corrected automatically. "She's… she joined me very recently, and is affectionate like you wouldn't believe."
Almost as if to prove his point, Aoi rubbed her cheek against his shirt, making her trainer chuckle and give her an affectionate rub with his fingers, making the Ninetales purr softly.
Misty arched an eyebrow. The pokémon sure looked cosy and comfortable in that position, especially for someone who had joined the team around a week ago.
"Uh… hello, Aoi."
Said creature didn't deign to acknowledge back, which would probably explain the frown clouding Misty's face.
"I have, well—started out to continue my journey across Kanto once again, though I'm heading towards Route 23. I thought it would be nice to you know… see you once again."
Misty told herself that the sudden red that appeared on her cheeks were due to the somewhat peculiar weather pattern of Cerulean city. Nothing else.
"Especially with what happened back at the Anne." Ash muttered, more to himself than to her. "Did you know that Harrison is missing?"
The blissful expression faded from Misty's face. "Missing? You mean he is-"
"We fought together on the Anne," Ash replied, and from what Steven and Cynthia told me, he left for his hometown on his Blastoise. There has been no communication from him ever since."
"Maybe he was injured or something." Misty tried to rationalize the situation, frowning.
"Misty, Harrison never reached Little Root Town. Even Professor Birch could find a trace of him anywhere."
Misty felt her throat constrict. "Do you think he's-"
"I don't know," Ash admitted, scowling to himself. "I won't stop looking around though, until I manage to find some lead into the situation. I asked Steven and Professor Oak to look around as well."
Misty frowned. The entire thing seemed way too ominous for her tastes. "Don't worry. I will see what I can do as well. Harrison was a close acquaintance for me too."
"You would?" Ash looked grateful. "It would be great if you could use your contacts as a gym leader and everything."
Misty nodded. Wanting to shift from the distinctly uncomfortable topic, she decided to switch the content. "Where are you heading for? "
"Lavender Town. I'd have just teleported there from here, but Professor Oak suggested me to visit Cremini Town."
"Lavender Town?" Misty turned a little stiff. "Don't tell me you are still looking to capture ghost pokémon."
"Oh, not that, I'm already past that. It's just…"
"Another long story?"
"... Yeah."
"Thought so." Misty replied dryly. "So what changed?"
"I'm heading towards this Battle Tower."
"You mean that large building that's out of bounds for Gym leaders?"
"I… really couldn't say. I myself don't really know what it is about."
"Figures." she muttered, before an idea germinated inside her mind. "Say Ash, would you mind me accompanying you for your trip?"
"Uhm..."
"I need to visit my Academy which is close to Saffron city. I was initially planning to teleport there, but it would be nice to journey with you all the way as well."
Of course you would like that, you skank. Aoi thought inwardly.
"But I'm not going to Saffron." Ash returned, frowning. "I need to stop by at Lavender Town, and well, it might take some time over there."
Yeah, beat it. The golden-haired creature mentally sneered.
Misty stayed silent. "I… suppose I will just continue alone from Lavender. Shouldn't be long."
Ash shrugged. "You could do that, I suppose."
"So when are you leaving?"
"I…" Ash looked a little embarrassed. "Well, I was thinking of taking a day off and see what the city has to offer. I also needed to visit the Pokemart for some purchases, but that is most of it."
Misty grinned. For some reason, Aoi didn't think she would like the reason behind it.
Back to the present.
"I am really having trouble trying to imagine Ash Ketchum so insistent on having fun." Cynthia declared. "What did you choose to do anyway? "
Ash muttered something incomprehensible under his breath.
"A little louder please?"
Aoi sighed. All those sad memories…
"Gyarados surfing."
And the temperature suddenly dropped a couple of degrees. A fascinating thing, considering how the person responsible for it was thousands of miles away in Sinnoh, and had no direct or indirect effect on Kanto's environmental patterns. Then again, perhaps it was the deathly cold glare that Cynthia was emanating.
"And I suppose this was… your own idea?"
"Not… really." The oblivious boy-friend admitted. "She asked me what I felt about surfing, and I told her that I have done some in the past. She was insistent on a round on her Gyarados. That was all."
Clever girl. Cynthia whispered, a dangerous tone lining her voice. "Did you tell her about me?"
"I did."
"And?"
Ash shrugged. "She didn't think it was a big deal. Or at least, that's what it looked. I don't understand what the problem here is."
Cynthia and Aoi sighed in resignation.
Cynthia Shirona.
Misty hated that name. Enough said.
Now that she thought about, lying all alone inside her tent, she couldn't help but feel cheated out. After all, she knew Ash first, and became friends with him first. And now this Miss Sinnoh comes loitering in, out of fucking nowhere, and snags him away. What was worse, apparently they had stayed at some uninhabited island for a week, and now they were a couple. Despite her best attempts, her mind couldn't help but go back and wonder exactly what had happened between the two of them.
That… that blonde-haired cougar! Misty raged.
She had asked Ash out of honest curiosity where he had gotten the experience of Gyarados-surfing prior to this, since from what she remembered, Ash had initially been really wary of Gyarados. It was only after her own attempts and getting said creature get reduced to a lovable Growlithe that Ash had gained some amount of confidence over the fact that yeah, he had a Gyarados who, he could command without fearing about being eaten alive.
All the hopes for having fun had instantly evaporated from her mind, the moment she had heard about Ash's new girl-friend, Cynthia Shirona.
Misty turned her head towards the other side. Despite it being quite late at night, she could still hear whispers coming out of Ash's tent. No doubt the bitch was trying to make sure that he wouldn't get someone better than her.
And there's those two pokémon. God knows what's wrong with them. Misty scowled to herself.
Misty sniffed, before pulling the covers over herself.
Aoi knew for a fact that her trainer wasn't into Pokephilia. It was rather unfortunate, but at least, she had known it pretty soon, so it didn't hurt her motives that much. Had he really been… into such things, he would have had a really hard time with his personal goals, considering the enormous cat-fight that would have resulted between herself and that pearly-white, void-using feline. However, her trainer had shared the tenets of his relationship with Cynthia after the conversation that he had had with the girl on his second day of return to Pallet Town.
Well, at least that meant that she didn't have to worry about some pearly-white feline trying to snag her trainer's attention away from her at all times. Why, after the realization that he already had a prospective mate, Aoi had had a rather comprehensive discussion over Ash, and decided to call it a stalemate between each other. They had decided that they would share their trainer's time between each other, and make sure that none other interfering entities snagged their trainer away. Absol had initially been difficult, very, very difficult about it.
And then she had jumped into accepting her proposition when Aoi had informed (with her best smug impression) about how a redheaded vixen was trying to significantly reduce their Ash-time from them.
After the entire episode of Gyarados-riding, followed by sun-bathing (Who knew that such a beautiful thing even existed?), she had followed her trainer (and the annoying vixen) to the Cerulean Pokemart. Of course, the people at the Pokemart were all captivated by her beauty.
Aoi smirked at the memory.
She couldn't help it if her purring was so… attractive that it drew attention so much, that between buying TM, food, potions and the like, and answering the other people that yes, this beatific creature indeed belonged to him, and yes, he was her trainer… that the annoying redhead was forgotten in the crowd.
As she said, she couldn't help it. Ask Absol, she'd know.
On second thought… it wouldn't be a good idea. Absol weren't the kind of creatures that attracted eye-turning attention. And Aoi didn't really want to hurt the sentiments of her somewhat-temporary ally against the annoyance.
Aoi sighed. The things she had to do.
Her trainer and the annoyance had walked separate ways after evening, with Ash moving back to the Pokémon center and Misty returning to her home. The next day, they had met again, and begun their journey to Cremini Town via Route 23. It was obvious that the redheaded annoyance simply wanted to rob Aoi of her trainer's attention. Why else would she prefer to walk when she had a perfectly-functioning all-knowing-one at the large, blue edifice they called the Gym?
That was where Absol came into the picture.
All Aoi had to do was to make sure that Absol's sentiments about being locked away inside those nefarious devices, were channelled to her trainer, and Lo! Ash had released Absol, free to walk alongside Aoi and him all the way. From the way it seemed, Ash was awfully happy to keep the feline out, if it encouraged sisterhood and love between herself and the feline.
Turns out that the annoyance was one of those ignorant ones, who held a lot of unshaken faith on the notoriety of the Absol species, and kept a significant distance from her, which by extension, meant keeping a significant distance from Ash as well. Then again, a little snarl here and there did wonders to an existing opinion. For once in her life, Absol didn't mind her negative publicity all that much.
They had crossed a majority of the distance during the day, and upon the coming of sunset, Ash had decided to set up tent and get some rest.
That was when Aoi had the masterful idea of letting her trainer know about her the ghost would love to spend some time in the shadows of the night, rather than locked up inside her pokeball.
The annoyance hadn't even bothered to propose being in the same tent as him after that. A grinning Gengar did that to you.
That was how she found herself resting on her trainer's lap, with the ghost and the void-using feline out for some nightly hunt. The black draconic creature was sleeping soundly outside by the tiny bonfire, along with rock-head member of his species. The situation allowed her trainer to have some time to talk to his prospective mate, giving Aoi access to his lap, and a good, well-coiled rest.
Aoi grinned to herself. Full marks to a job well done.
The next day.
Cremini Town was, in a single phrase, a planned city. It had initially been a conglomerate of the settlements that resided close to the sea and the forest-clad mountains that lined the northern end of Cerulean. Of course, it didn't happen overnight, but as of now, Cremini Town was one of the main commercial zones that marked the region of Kanto, enough to make its presence known despite being between the juggernauts like Saffron and Cerulean on either end.
It had taken them around five hours to finally reach their destination. The Battle Tower.
Said 'tower' was actually a large skyscraper building, with either side lined with reflective glass panels acting as walls, allowing a view for the residents though maintaining complete opacity for the ones outside. Everything about the edifice screamed 'expensive' to Ash and Misty, who passed through the outer gates, after having had their identification checked. Twice.
That was when the next surprise had come in.
"Eleven hundred pokedollars?"
Yes. That scary sum was what was required for a trainer to make use of the facilities of the Battle Tower. Mentally, Ash whispered several choice expletives for the old man he knew and respected as a Professor. Samuel Oak had conveniently forgotten to mention the hyper-expensive charges one had to pay to… in Cynthia's own words, get one's ass kicked to hell and back.
The extremely-beautiful receptionist had calmly described the details of the Battle Tower to Ash, things he must absolutely understand and comply with, before registering for the use of the Tower's faculties. Thankfully enough, it had been quite similar to what Cynthia had mentioned to him the previous night.
The Battle Tower of Cremini Town had seven tiers. Each tier having its own set of challenges, and own set of rules. There were no second chances, and once a trainer was defeated, it meant the end of his pursuit, and he would have to return back to the ground floor. When challenging the Battle Tower, a trainer could make use of eight pokémon. Considering that the usual roster was limited to six, it meant that the trainer could have access to two more of his team, if only for the day of the challenge. It was all mentioned in the legal statements that Ash had taken over an hour to go through and sign.
However, since having eight pokémon wasn't an issue for him, since his roster had a limit of twenty, he didn't really need to trouble himself with the minutia of it all. He had instead, spent several minutes alone, deciding over which pokémon he wanted to choose. It wasn't like he would be making multiple attempts in the future, so he needed his best possible team for the venture.
After several minutes, he had finally made his mind, as he selected his team of eight—the team he would be able to use to battle his through the seven tiers.
Poliwhirl. Pidgeot. Rhydon. Metagross. Magnus. Crawdaunt. Absol. Gengar.
He had thought about it a lot. Aoi wasn't an option, and even if she was, it would only be because of her own self-learnt skills and not a result of being a part of Ash's team. The same was true with Alakazam as well. Of course, Shelgon was his starter, but his body anatomy restricted movement and he could not afford to have such a disadvantage in such a precarious position. Gyarados was powerful, but lacked enough battle experience and move sets, not like the others anyway. Of course, Trevenant and Dusclops were out of the question.
That left two more- Lairon and Zweilous. While both of them were powerful in their own regard, they were lacking in effective move set combinations and battle experience, the latter much more than the former.
A quick call to the Oak Ranch had solved the issue, bringing in Rhydon, Pidgeot and Poliwhirl to himself in less than a couple of minutes. Besides, it was good to see his mom once again.
Now only one thing remained. To register his team and start his conquest.
"Mr. Ketchum?" The receptionist replied. "Your reporting time is 2PM. Please make sure that you arrive on time."
"But… but why can't I just go in now?"
"The faculties of the Tower are being used by another trainer like yourself. Until he is defeated, the Battle Tower cannot be opened up to the next participant. You are third on the list for the day."
Right. Ash decided. Way too spoil the enthusiasm. He checked his watch.
11:47 AM. More than two hours before that happened.
"Ash," Misty commented, "We can just look around the town, before it is time. There isn't much to do here anyway."
He didn't move.
"Ash?"
"I…" Ash tried to converge the myriad of thoughts into a definite conclusion. Sure, he had two hours before the event, but he didn't really want to spend the time wandering around aimlessly in a town he had travelled to, especially when the target of his visit was finally reached.
"There are some… things that I need to do." He turned towards Misty. "I need to talk to my team as well. None of them have ever faced anything remotely similar to this before. I need to let them know what it is they are going to face."
Misty stared at him for a moment. "Very well, then." She turned around and took a step away.
"Where are you going?" He asked softly.
"I think…" Misty began carefully. "I think that I should just continue with my travelling to my Academy, or better, hire the services of a psychic from the local Pokémon center to travel there."
"You want to…" Ash stopped midway, registering what Misty had just said. "You don't want to travel anymore?"
Misty looked severely conflicted. "It's not like I don't want to. It's more of... never mind. It will probably take you the rest of the day to finish your challenges at the Tower. And Lavender Town is within a day's distance. Either way, we would need to walk away along different paths."
Ash stared at her, as if trying to scrutinize her expressions. Finding nothing, he let out a sigh. "I cannot convince you to stay, can I?"
Yes, you can. Misty shook her head. "I don't think so. For what it is worth, our journey together ends here."
"…."
Misty gave him a sad smile. "Don't worry. I'll just teleport to the Academy. Besides, you will be coming to Saffron too, right?"
Ash thought about it. Saffron city was famous for its psychics. The gym leader, Sabrina, was an Elite Four member and a psychic master herself. To be honest, he had initially thought of challenging Sabrina for his seventh badge, right before trying for Viridian, which was probably at the apex if one were to consider the difficulty level. His plan was to meet with Elite Four Agatha for Dusclops's treatment, before flying off to Celadon to challenge Erica and her grass types.
Now though…
Shows how good plans stick when it comes to travelling. He snorted, before glancing back towards Misty. "Yeah, I'll be there at Saffron, after I'm done with my business at Lavender Town."
He felt glad to see a bright smile reform on Misty's face.
"Great!" Misty nearly jumped with enthusiasm, as she quickly began to rummage through her handbag, before pulling out what seemed to be some kind of identification card. "Keep this," she handed it to him. "When you are there at Saffron, come find the Academy, and show this card at the gate. Someone should help you find me there."
"Awesome." Ash replied enthusiastically. "Will do that."
Misty blinked, as her eyes sparkled. "See you then, Ash. I'll wait for you over there." Saying so, she turned around.
"Yeah, but what about your-?" The rest of his words stayed back unsaid, as Ash stared at the departing figure of Misty Waterflower, racing out of the Battle Tower.
"… Never mind." He smiled. I'll see you later then, Misty.
"Nine!" Aoi chirped beside him.
Ash sighed, turning to his companion. "Did you really need to scare her off like that? She was a friend… you know."
"Nine?" I have no idea what you are talking about.
Ash rolled his eyes. "Of course you don't."
He looked back at the reception. Two hours. He had two hours to discuss a lot of things with his team. And after that, he would face something that would reveal his true value to himself.
And to the rest of the world.
His eyes sparkled. "Come on, Aoi. There is a lot we need to do."