Chapter 32:Promise
"Before you can even progress to being a legitimate ghost-type trainer and not just some boy that happened to catch a ghost, you need to understand what a ghost really is, how is it different from any other of the pokémon types, and most importantly, how does it function."
Ash bobbed his head in answer, diligently hanging on to the woman's every word. After the near-disastrous event the previous day, the rest of the day had been rather un-eventful, something for which he had been extremely grateful. It must indeed be an irony considering this was Ash Ketchum, who had started on his pokémon trainer journey because of his sense of adventure. Or perhaps, it was just maturation sinking in, with the real-life hardships and near-death experiences he had encountered over the last couple of months.
"Have you perchance… encountered the phrase 'otherworldly one' in your travels so far?"
Ash suppressed the urge to roll his eyes at the irony of that statement. From the very moment he had stepped on the forest of Illusions, that particular phrase had perhaps registered itself in his mind over hundreds of times, only doubling after Ash had Gengar join in with the training regimen with Alakazam. "Yes, I do." He answered. "Metagross and Alakazam use that word repeatedly when describing their interactions with Gen—Sylvi."
Agatha's lips twisted halfway, before she spoke again. "You seem to have interesting company… A Metagross and an Alakazam, in addition to that Ninetales. I can almost comprehend Sylvi's thought processes back then."
Actually, he had gotten Gengar and the other ghosts prior to meeting Aoi, but Ash didn't feel the need to correct the old woman about her deduction error. "Does that phrase hold any special meaning?"
Agatha looked halfway amused. "It is, considering that most humans refer to them as ghosts, and by extension, think of them as 'spirits of the dead' and all that bullshit. And yet, psychics, who are much more sensitive than humans could even comprehend, refer to them as the 'otherworldly ones'."
"Not dead." Ash muttered the unspoken inference.
Agatha smiled. The child in front of her was not slow, at the very least. A good sign, considering everything. He just might have the chance to be a proper ghost master in time.
"Not dead." Agatha confirmed. "These… ghosts, are in fact, interdimensional travellers, and are congregations of chaotic energies, given sentience by the multiverse."
Ash blinked. "Come again?"
Agatha took her words back. This teen had a long way to go before he even had a prospective chance of becoming a ghost master. "It means that they can traverse through dimensions hitherto untraveled and unexplored, and are masses of chaotic energy, only sentient and not just… energy. Do you understand?"
Ash slowly nodded his head. He did know a little bit about chaotic energy, though not more than the bare minimum of what he had been able to scour from the pokedex after capturing the ghosts on the island. "I know chaotic energy is the opposite of psychic energy."
"DUMB!" Agatha pronounced. "That is incorrect, or rather inadequate. Saying chaotic energy is the opposite of psychic energy is like saying that fire is the opposite of earth, or oil of water. It should suffice to say that chaotic energy has an adverse effect on psychic energy. The reverse… does not hold true."
It took a while for Ash to digest that statement. He had simply assumed that psychic and ghostly energies were opposite in nature. It justified the reactions that the two types often gave each other. "If that is so, then why would…?"
"Psychics hate ghosts?" Agatha finished for him, a frown marring her features. "It is easily understood. As much as I would like to deny it, psychic energy is mostly constructive in nature, and forms the basis of reality as we know it. A ghost, by nature, simply serves to destabilize reality by merely existing in it. For a psychic, everything that is rational and provable has worth. Ghosts on the other hand, are the conceptualization of the irrational, they are an equation with infinite solutions with none of the solutions being fully correct. To even consider a ghost as part of the reality is something that is tantamount to sacrilege in the mind of a psychic."
Ash arched an eyebrow. That was some reaction. He had never seen Agatha so… passionate about describing anything so far. "I see."
Agatha snorted. "You shouldn't be surprised at my reaction. It is merely the effect of my meets with Sabrina over several years."
"Sabrina? The psychic master of the Elite Four Sabrina?"
"Who else?" Agatha snorted again. "Sabrina abhors ghost-types so much that she wouldn't even teach ghost-type moves to her pokémon, not even her Elite-team. One can only imagine how spicy the Elite Four meets are when we meet face to face."
Ash arched an eyebrow. Even to someone like him, that sounded way too extreme for a reaction. Then again, Sabrina was a world-renowned psychic. Perhaps the prejudices of the psychic community affected her too strongly as well.
"I… was hoping to challenge her after I leave Lavender Town." He admitted.
"Best to delay that for a few days after you leave this town. If she even caught a whiff of the Lavender Town scent in you, she'd show you no mercy." The old woman deadpanned.
Ash wasn't sure if he should be excited or traumatized at that.
"But I digress. The reason I mention about chaotic energy and other dimensions is to drive the point home that the ghost-type is not only a different pokémon type, but also, they are not of this world. Ghosts come into the mortal world seeping through other dimensions and they leave via similar pathways as well. Wild ones do it with higher frequency than the more tamed ones." Agatha paused before continuing, "So understand this when I tell you, do not think that you can train a ghost like any other pokémon."
"Uh… could you give me some examples to that?"
Agatha nodded. "A specific instance is their reaction to sunlight, boy. Sunlight, especially strong sunlight, has an adverse effect on the ghost-type. It is not really clear why, but it sure is one of the chief reasons why these pokémon are called ghosts. It fits in with the fantasy you see."
"So ghost types have nothing to do with the dead?"
"Not… exactly. While the truth of afterlife is a closely guarded secret, it is well-documented that after death, a person or pokémon's soul passes away into some dimension. However, a ghost can, with enough power and resources, hypothetically speaking, bring back a soul from this dimension, or afterlife, and place them back into the host body."
Ash sat gawking at her. After what seemed like eternity, he opened his mouth. "That's not possible."
Agatha laughed. "And pray tell, why is this… impossible?"
"Because… because if that would have been the case, surely people would be resurrected after their deaths. But I have never heard about anyone getting resurrected like that." He didn't want to think about the people who had lost their lives back at the St. Anne cruise.
"That's… not true, boy. Resurrection is indeed possible, though it extracts a heavy toll."
"And how do you know that for sure?" The teen challenged back.
"Because the proof is literally sitting in front of you." Agatha replied with a simple smile on her face.
….
….
….
"You… you're joking, right?" Ash felt the eeriness of the mansion around him increase by several magnitudes. He couldn't explain it, but he was sure that suddenly, he felt like a thousand different entities were staring at him, their eyes tracking his every single twitch, every single breath, and every single movement.
"I'm not." Agatha replied calmly. "Around nineteen years ago, there was an incident regarding an ancient Claydol about the size of a fully-grown Gyarados in Johto." She smirked as she saw the glazed look on the boy's face. "Yes, you are not the only one who has had the privilege, or should I say, misfortune to meet a King Pokémon."
"I thought that the King's nature was only limited to the seven dragon kings." Ash blurted out.
Agatha's eyes glinted. "Ah, so you already know that. Has anyone ever told you that for a trainer not even a year into your journey, you are dangerously well-informed?"
Ash wisely kept his mouth shut. Luckily for him, the ghost mistress didn't think it worthy to dive deeper into the issue.
"Yes, King's nature exists for almost each and every kind of type. Though… it is incredibly rare to even hear about the existence of a King Pokémon, forget meeting one. I was incredibly unfortunate to be on the wrong side of a King Claydol."
Ash gulped. He hadn't had the chance to face a Claydol in person, but he knew how devastatingly powerful they were in battle. To be battling one was… incomprehensible to him at the moment. The only reason he had survived his encounter with King Dragonite was simply because the King had willed it.
"I can sense the fear in you, boy. Good. Good. Always fear, Ash Ketchum. It is a powerful motivator, but never let it control your actions." Agatha spoke in a nostalgic tone. "I'm told that you have a mega-evolved flying type. A rather significant achievement, I commend you on that."
"I had nothing to do about that. Mewtwo forced my Pidgeot to mega-evolve permanently. It might have been for better, but Mewtwo forced her to do that without her approval. I had nothing to do about it, and could do nothing to stop it either."
"Do not bother over events beyond your control, boy. It is a good way to avoid depression," She paused, before chuckling, "or so I am told."
Ash almost grinned at that. "About that Claydol."
"The Claydol, yes. I too, share a form of… bond with my brothers and sisters, or specifically, them." The moment she muttered the words, her shadow flickered to life, reforming back into the Gengar who had defeated Dusclops earlier. Her left eye began to glow ominously, before a thin, dark thread shot out of it, reforming into a second Gengar. More surprisingly, her walking staff seemed to twist and contort, before turning into a pale white color, before reforming into a third Gengar, only this one was a pale white color, instead of the usual purple.
"A… shiny Gengar?" Ash couldn't help himself. He was in no way, even remotely able to sense innate power in creatures, but there was something in the three Gengar in front of him, that gave him an urge to run away from the mansion as swiftly as possible, never to return. It was like staring at Derrick's Metagross for the very first time, all over again.
"My brothers Anghus and Arawn," Agatha introduced, "and my sister Aithne. My bond with them goes far beyond the accepted limits, even for ghost masters. I am them and they are me."
Ash had an inward feeling that he was missing something extremely significant about that statement, and that it would not be a good idea to inquire on that particular point.
"During periods of extreme crisis, I am able to… shall we say, forge a stronger connection with my siblings than is normal, to grant them… passage and heighten their powers."
"Like Mega evolution?" Ash couldn't help but ask.
"I do not need any mega stones, if that is what you are asking." Agatha answered. "My bond is with them, and I can transcend them to higher forms, enable to them attain the true powers that they are capable of, free from any and all restrains." Agatha paused again. "During the battle with the Claydol, I was able to transcend them to their primal states all at once. It extricated a heavy toll… which I paid with my own life."
Silence pervaded the entire room.
"And then my siblings brought me back."
…
Ash sat gaping at her.
…
"Back from the…. You mean…?"
Agatha smiled dangerously.
…
…
"Gen—Gengar can do that?" He asked weakly.
Agatha painfully smiled. "Mind you, boy. It took the power of not one, but three Gengar, all of them in their primal states, to bring my soul back from the afterlife… and to this date, my siblings act as wardens, trapping my soul in this mortal shell, till I am ready to pass on."
Ash didn't know what to say. Scratch that, he didn't even know what to think. The more cynical part of his mind was begging him to consider everything he had just heard as a lie. He opened his mouth to speak something, then closed it back again. Then, he repeated the entire thing once over.
Agatha chortled. "Either way, as I said, it was an unnatural incident and an unusual set of circumstances. Suffice to say, it is not an easily replicable feat." She glanced at the befuddled trainer sitting in front of him. "Now, back to the main context."
Ash couldn't help but bob his head silently.
"Back to the issue with sunlight," Agatha uttered the last word distastefully, as if the mere mention of the word tasted like bad egg to her. "A ghost is extremely vulnerable to harsh sunlight. However, if you have the fantastic idea that making your ghost train in harsh sunlight to enable her adapt to it, I'd advise you to drop the possibility immediately. You will only harm and cause your ghosts pain with that, nothing else."
"But training against their weaknesses is the way to get rid of them." Ash refuted.
"Not for ghosts, you don't." Agatha snapped. "Ghosts are not like the other types out there, boy. Stop thinking of them like one. You can only increase their strengths, and teach them to escape when faced with factors they are vulnerable to, not fight them. A ghost battles with trickery, deceit, deception and cunning. Stop thinking of them as rock types in Vapor form."
Ash felt considerably chastised at his mistake. He would have to keep that in mind in the future.
"As for the offensive part, that is where I might have something to teach you. Sylvi knows it, but her lacklustre performance at the Battle Tower was enough to convince me that she has forgotten more than half of what she was skilled at, before losing her head after… father died."
The teen would forever remember this day as the one time in his life when he had seen a Gengar look chastened. A fact he would never, even in the coming years of his life, ever, ever be able to convince anyone of.
"What are you talking about?" He asked, tilting his head.
"Miasma." Agatha answered. "The perfect form of an adult Gengar, well into her power. A powerful Gengar can will her corporeal form to disperse into fumes, at the same time, still maintaining control over all her powers. That is Miasma."
Ash suddenly remembered the large Gengar dispersing into fumes and entering Dusclops. An extremely lethal move, to be honest.
"Gengar are, as you might know, formed of chaotic energy and poison. Should Sylvi be able to gain mastery over Miasma, then she can disperse and reform as many times as she wishes. It goes without saying that mastery over Miasma renders a Gengar complete immunity over Explosion. In fact, you must remember how Anghus used Explosion in combination with Miasma and Venoshock to tear your Dusclops from the inside out."
Ash silently bobbed his head. He had played that scene in his mind over and over the previous day.
"Suffice to say, with mastery over Miasma, very few things out there can actually pose a threat to a Gengar, especially when you consider the vast move pool that they have that can be used in combination with it. And that is not counting trick moves like Destiny Bond."
"Wait." Ash spoke up, before quickly realizing that his tone was uncalled for. "Sorry, I let my mind run off too fast." He stared at the woman. "Destiny bond means that Gengar has to faint as well for it to work."
"Irrelevant." Agatha waved it away. "The mind losing hold of the corporeal body for a calculable time period is enough to be classified as fainting. A Gengar can faint over and over for fun's sake and not bat an eye."
Ash gaped at her like a Magikarp, much to her amusement. "How do I teach her Miasma?"
'You cannot." Agatha scoffed. "It requires years of diligence and education to grasp the nitty-gritties of a complex topic like Miasma. That, will be taught to Gengar by my siblings for the course of the next couple of days of your stay at the mansion. I assume that won't be a problem?"
The teen shook his head. The previous day's incident and Agatha's spooky reincarnation be damned, he would be insane if he missed the chance to learn something as undeniably awesome as Miasma. Then a nasty question entered his head.
"Uhm… don't take this the wrong way, but if Miasma's that powerful, does that make Gengar the most powerful pokémon out there?"
Agatha snorted. "I should have seen that coming." She snorted again. "No, Ketchum. As good as Miasma is, it is not without its own share of disadvantages. For one, in Miasma stage, Gengar's body holds properties very similar to ominous wind. Do you know any properties of ominous wind that might hold a problem?"
"Fire." Ash was surprised at just how quick the answer came to him. It was almost like he knew it and had the answer ready at his lips.
"Correct." Agatha pursed her lips. "Speaking from personal experience?"
Ash swallowed, wondering if he should reveal the information. Then again, considering that the Elite four mistress had shared her own personal history, and beside everything else, she was aiding him, he decided that she deserved a certain modicum of trust. "I… In the forest of illusions, Pidgeot used a combination of…. Ominous wind, and twister. And then, a Magmortar threw a fire blast at it. The outcome was… devastating."
"Ominous wind and fire blast…" Agatha mused. "A good combination. Perhaps you could try teach a fire move to your Pidgeot should it eventually master ominous wind itself."
Ash nodded gratefully.
"Either way, because of its innate properties, Gengar cannot utilize Will-o-wisp in her Miasma state, since it would simply light herself and explode her inside out, causing her serious damage. The same goes for the opponent using Fire type moves on a Gengar Miasma. Needless to say, you do not use Miasma when facing a fire type at all."
That made sense. Considering that most fire types could utilize sunny day as well, it was an overall bad idea to use Gengar for battling fire types. Nothing to worry about, since he could always use rock types or even better water types against the fire types.
"But how do I understand how to use a particular ghost to the best of its ability? Trevenant is not Gengar, and then there is Dusclops after she's healed. Also, I might just end up catching a fourth ghost in my team in the future. I cannot understand how to realize how to train every ghost in their own specific ways, like Miasma for Gengar and-"
"Take a breath, boy." Agatha replied, her tone amused. "It would be a matter of great shame if you died in a haunted mansion because of speaking too quickly… a shameful matter for the ghosts indeed."
Ash flushed in embarrassment. "What I mean is… how do I get from here to there?" He asked, using animated gestures to point towards himself first, and then towards the ghost mistress.
The revenant crone arched an eyebrow. "How did you manage to end up an Intermediate-level trainer?"
"By winning up to the…." Ash stopped midway, realizing that he was answering it wrong. "Studying and practice, me and my team."
Agatha shrugged.
Oh. Ash realized with a tinge of embarrassment, that he had answered his own question.
Five days later…
Ash stood in front of the inner courtyard of the Ainsworth mansion, ready to set off to continue his journey. In front of him, standing on the doorstep, stood the Ghost Mistress of the Elite Four, Agatha. Over the week, he had developed a form of camaraderie with the old woman, or whatever that stood for when dealing with someone like Agatha. On his either side, stood Aoi and Gengar, the latter having an extra-large grin on her face, and for the first time, Ash knew that the grin was real, and demonstrated the happiness that Gengar was feeling.
Over the week, Ash had diligently incorporated every single sentence that Agatha had taught him about the ghost-type in general, and Gengar in particular. The old crone had literally put him in the midst of several ghosts, with each of them emanating chaotic energies, so that he could learn to sense chaotic energy. The start had been rather extenuating, but he had persevered, and ignored the pains he had felt in his nerves, with the constant seepage of chaotic energy into his body. Considering that even Aoi felt a little… displeased to be in close quarters with him, he supposed that he had truly imbibed significant amounts of chaotic energy.
The positive side was that he had developed a rudimentary ability to sense chaotic energy nearby. Nothing too fancy, for even the weakest Abra could sense it better than him, but he could do so more than say… a normal-type pokémon. The other benefit was that the procedure introduced him to dozens of ghost pokémon, a significant benefit.
"I must say, boy. I don't know if you have the capability to be a ghost master, but you sure are on your way to becoming an acceptable ghost-trainer, and believe me, that is significant. The number of prospective ghost-trainers known to me, can be counted in one hand." Agatha praised.
Ash rubbed the back of his head, still having trouble accepting praise. "Who are they?"
"Well, there is Morty, the gym leader of Ecruteak city in Johto. If you ever go there, do meet him and face him in a battle. I'm curious how your skills would stand against someone like him. Morty isn't a Master yet, but he is quite close."
"And the others?"
Something akin to amusement spread on Agatha's face. "A man named Alexander Rothsvale. He's not a Master, but rather a generalist of sorts. People tend to look down on generalists, but take heed of my words, over time, a generalist has the potential to become multiple type masters, something that type masters can never achieve."
Ash nodded his head. Cynthia was a generalist too, and the only generalist Champion in the world. He was quite sure that in time, Cynthia would become the first multiple type master and shock the world. However, there was one more thing that interested him in her statement.
"Rothsvale." He repeated slowly.
Agatha arched an eyebrow. "Heard of that name?"
"… In passing. Nothing more." Ash denied. "Is it important?"
The revenant crone shook her head. "No. Alexander Rothsvale is a winner of both the Indigo Conference and the Lily-of-the-Valley Conference in Sinnoh. Is a known practitioner of the psychic-link, and is perhaps the closest you can get for a psychic and ghost master in the world, though he hasn't yet acquired a formal degree in either. Has two pseudo-legendaries at his command, a Dragonite and a… Salamence, and has a history with Legendaries." She paused. "It might be redundant for me to say so, Ketchum, but you awfully remind me of Rothsvale a lot."
Ash had an odd sensation that Agatha had just played a joke on him, and he had been unable to comprehend it. Choosing to ignore it as another one of the woman's silly antics, he nodded his head. "I will."
"Good." The woman chuckled, before coughing heavily, her voice raspy. "There are two more things I need to talk about, before you are free to leave this mansion for good, and I better not see you loitering around this place in the near future."
The teen rolled his eyes but said nothing. With the exception for purchasing his meals, Ash had spent the entirety of the week inside the confines of the mansion. In fact, he had the eerie feeling that he had turned slightly paler than he used to be. "…sure."
"The first is this." She took out a thick wad of papers, which on closer look, seemed like a collection of hand-written manuscripts, written in thin, slanted handwriting. "This belonged to my father, and is perhaps… one of the only things I got from him. It contains his notes on Miasma. It has served me well, and I hope it does the same for you."
"Wait-" Ash looked flabbergasted, as he blankly took the wad of documents in his shaking hands. "You are giving me… I mean…"
"My father's notes on ghost pokémon, his journal and research collected over a decade of his training with ghosts." Agatha replied. "It has helped me a lot in my own journey to become a ghost Mistress myself. I think it would be selfish of me… to not impart the notes to my father's pokémon, no matter if she is serving under a different trainer." She looked up, looking squarely at Ash. "Mind you, this is only on Gengar and Miasma."
Complaining about it was perhaps the last thing in Ash's mind. This… this was a veritable gold chest in his hands, the research on Miasma written by a ghost master, and now it was Ash's own for the taking. "Are you… are you sure?"
"Do not question my generosity, boy." Agatha returned, her voice slightly cold. "Just accept my judgement."
"Thank you." He replied gratefully. "I'll not disappoint you."
"It is not me you should be worries about disappointing, boy." The old crone countered. "But I digress. The second thing that I wanted to talk about… is this." She took out what Ash realized was a heal-ball. Without further delay, she clicked on the release button, as red light inundated in front of Ash, who found himself facing the ominous red eyes, and the familiar brown wooden frame.
Trevenant.
Almost instantaneously, Sylvi hissed, venom clear in her voice. Even Aoi looked alert, and subconsciously, Ash had taken a couple of steps backward. He knew that Trevenant had run into some… disagreements with Sylvi, and had been taken away by the other ghosts of the mansion, but that had been the last he had heard of the elder tree ghost. If he were honest with himself, he had thought that Trevenant was a lost cause, and that he would be leaving without it.
In hindsight, he might have been a little too hasty over making that decision.
"Trevenant." Ash replied slowly, his sharp eyes taking in the elder tree's form. Of course, Trevenant looked completely fine, but he had enough experiences with the ghost to know that something had changed about him.
Ghosts were peculiar like that.
"I suppose you wish to stay back at this mansion."
"Tre….?" The elder tree drawled out, surprised, before glancing at the Ninetales, who returned a suspicious look at him in return.
"What's wrong?" Ash asked, more to Aoi than in general.
"Trevenant has… for lack of a better word, a change of heart." Agatha replied with a throaty voice, before coughing again. "It intends to go with you."
And now I have seen everything. The more cynical part of the teen's mind mocked. Though, despite his inner thought-process, he couldn't help but wonder what in hell happened with Trevenant to make him… well, this.
"Trever… Trevenant!" The elder tree repeated, this time looking squarely at Ash in the face. Only this time, there was no hostility, merely doubt and suspicion. It was almost as if Trevenant was expecting Ash to do something that would prove it right.
"Trevenant had, as you know, a bad start with the residents of the mansion, and after the time spent with them, he has come to the… conclusion that training with a human is quite… conducive to his future."
Translation: Trevenant bad-mouthed about humans in front of the ghosts, and they decided to show the elder tree exactly how training under a human aided them. And that had been what Trevenant had been going through over the week.
Ash shook his head, half-frustrated and half-disappointed. Of course, it wasn't like he was feeling bad for Trevenant suffering over the week, considering that the elder tree had literally brought it onto himself. He was simply disappointed that Trevenant had been so… unruly despite everything Ash had tried to reach out to him. And now, the most probable situation was that the tree had been bullied by the ghosts to re-join him.
That was when he made his call.
"Trevenant… I am offering you a chance of returning back to the forest."
The elder tree pokémon just stood there, dumbfounded. It was official now. He would never understand this boy.
"… I know that I trespassed into the forest, which was your domain, and I captured you against your will. However, I have tried multiple times to make you understand that I only aim to aid you to become stronger, and powerful. It is rather unfortunate that despite all of this… you refuse to even comprehend that I am, despite being a human, only thinking about your own good. I do not know why you wish to come with me now, but if it is to escape the ghosts of this mansion, then just tell me…" He paused. "I will arrange for your transport back to the Forest of Illusions."
Aoi gave him a transfixed stare, as if unable to comprehend his words. What are you-?
"I have made my decision." Ash replied heavily. "I thought that with time, you would understand that I meant what I said, and that was why I made it a point to release you and Sylvi every night, but you only wanted to try separate her away from me and my team. So yes, I am tired. Tired of trying to justify myself."
Trevenant stood, staring blankly at him.
Ash held up the ultra-ball, the same one that he had captured Trevenantwith in the first place. "Regardless of what might have happenedwith you, I give you an offer. Do you wish for me to send you back to the forest?"
The forest of Illusions in Mirage Archipelago, always gave birth to Phantump, and it did so in sublime quantities. The reason for that wasn't really clear, both to the residents of the forest, as well as the human tribes that lived along the periphery to practice their Hoothoot rearing business. As long as Trevenant could remember, he had always let the little owl pokémon go free, unaffected, and instead, consumed the souls of the trainer unfortunate enough to encounter him.
Then, he encountered Ash Ketchum and his team, and surprisingly, he ended up being on the losing side and had been forcibly captured in one of those infernal devices the humans used to capture wild and free pokémon. He could still remember the rage boiling in him when released out of the device for the first time, and facing the void users who were attacking him. Trevenant had decided that the human would pay for his deeds by a drawn out, painful death. But then that black draconic creature, and more importantly, the Queen Gengar herself had come to the rescue. Bottom line. The human had been saved.
His stay with the human and his team had hit a point home. The human was weak and easy to kill and maim, his team, not so much. A direct rebellion would be put down with ease, but a slow but steady manipulation could go a long way.
That was why he had gotten rid of his rage and instead, chosen for indifference. The human had fallen for it, hook, line and sinker.
Trevenant had gotten to interact with Gengar a lot that week and had done his best to understand her own aim and motivations. The moment he came to know that they were heading towards a haunted mansion that used to be Gengar's original home, he had set forth in his plan to push a wedge between her and the human by incepting suspicion and second thoughts in the shadow pokémon's mind, about how staying with her kin was the better idea. Considering Gengar's predisposition, he had almost considered himself successful.
Only to watch it fail and shatter in front of his own eyes. The Queen, on whom he had such hopes running, had been nothing but an over bloated disappointment. Trevenant had lost control over his own emotions and lashed out at her, calling her weak for her submission to humans for personal growth.
In hindsight, it hadn't been the best idea, considering that they were inside a mansion ruled by a human.
That ridiculously powerful Gengar and her gang of ghosts had dragged him down through the floors, past several dimensions and planes, into what had seemed to be some kind of graveyard to his sight, though on closer analysis, it was an inter-dimensional relay centre of sorts, through which ghosts could enter and leave the mortal plane at will, with an illusion of an ever-expansive graveyard with fresh, dewy wet grass in a twilight sky.
Ghosts with a sense of humour.
This was where he had made his last stand towards his fellow ghosts, trying to make them understand how they were beyond humans, who were simply their prey and nothing more. The residents had retaliated back with a challenge for battle, and battle he did, if only in hope that should he turn out victorious, he could settle in as the new ruler of the mansion, and command over the relay center.
It had taken less than forty seconds for his hopes to be shattered to dust.
The ghosts hadn't fought, they had played with him. Every single attack he had made had been easily countered, and they had laughed. Laughed at him for being so predictable, so limited and so easily countered. He hadn't the foggiest idea how long he had spent in that graveyard, trying to subdue the ghosts and ending up making a mockery of his own skills, since it felt like eternity. Back at the forest, he had been the chief defender. But here?
The last conscious thought he had had in his mind was a simple question.
Would I have been just as powerful as them if I had consented to the human's directions?
Aoi stared at her trainer, their minds trying to comprehend why Ash had changed tracks like this. Of course, anyone with two eyes could have sensed that Ash had no love lost for Trevenant, since the elder tree had only tried to maim and murder him every single chance it had gotten. But despite that, Ash had not given up. He simply wasn't the type to give up on someone.
And then, as if looking through a kaleidoscope that had suddenly come into focus, Aoi understood. Ash wasn't doing it out of anger, or out of a sense of betrayal. He hadn't given up on Trevenant either. It was simply what he was, right in the core of his beliefs. She remembered what he had spoken earlier about Gengar on his first day at the mansion.
"I am striving to ensure that my team is able to fulfil their own desires. Perhaps, in aiding them to their own dreams, I might find a purpose for my own."
Ash had subconsciously accepted that it was for Trevenant's highest good that he be sent back to the Forest, since despite all his advances and attempts, it seemed Trevenant was just not made to be tamed and taught. He was a wild element, who would suffer and get strangled in the wild, but not deviate from his innate core beliefs.
And that was why Ash had decided to fulfil that desire. It was his duty as Trevenant's trainer, whether the Tree accepted it or not.
Aoi turned to face the elder tree pokémon, who stared back at Ash with a gobsmacked expression on his face. For the first time in her life, Aoi hoped that the elder tree would make a good decision for itself.
Trevenant stared at the boy—his trainer—in incomprehension. For weeks, he had tried to establish fear in the boy's heart, and tried to establish himself as the dominant one between them. He had failed spectacularly in both. He remembered the boy's words from back then.
"Listen here. I caught you. My team beat you. Multiple times. But you do not seem to grasp that fact, so I will make it easier for you. Today onwards, I am going to release you every single day. Every single day you will try to kill me, and every single day my team will wipe the floor with you. Either you can do that, or you can just stop being disagreeable and join me."
Of course, Trevenant had not stopped being disagreeable. He just had a question to be answered. A question, or rather… a doubt that had engulfed his mind. Would he have been better off under the brat's training? Was that the way?
Never in his life had he wanted an answer so desperately. So desperate, that he was willing to do anything the boy said, any amount of training as the boy declared appropriate, and then by the end of it, measure his own strength. Of course, he would be happiest if the entire thing came to nothing in the end, since that would prove that Trevenant was right from the very beginning.
He was better off with his own kin than with humans.
And in a cruel twist of fate, when he wanted to associate with the boy more than anything else, the boy was offering him freedom—freedom to return back to the wild, the same freedom for which he had caused so much turmoil, the same freedom for which he had made his stand.
And the boy was giving it away as if it meant nothing.
Trevenant yelled out in righteous fury.
Ash subconsciously stepped back as Trevenant roared, expecting the Tree to attack him all over again. A part of him couldn't help but wonder why the Tree was showing such a reaction, especially when he was finally setting it free. Their relationships are warped—Aoi's words came to his mind. Of course, he would have liked nothing better than have Trevenant become an active member of his team, but it was better this way.
Trevenant though, had other ideas.
With animated gestures and roars, Trevenant yelled out his frustrations at the boy, staring at the boy's countenance as he yelled out what he wanted, what he expected and what he intended to do from now on. The boy, as expected, could not understand him, but from the smirk on that feline's face, it seemed someone was having fun at his expense. He turned to the feline and requested him to translate it for the human, knowing that the psychic fire-type had the ability to do that.
Unable to comprehend what the tree was so passionate and enraged about, Ash naturally turned to Aoi for translation.
He intends to know, that should he listen to your commands, would he be able to become strong enough to defeat the residents of the mansion?
The teen arched an eyebrow. He had certainly not expected this kind of development. Not for the first time, his mind wondered what in hell Trevenant went through at the mansion for this kind of shift in his personality. Keeping his queries to himself, he turned towards the elder tree.
"I… cannot promise you that you'd be able to defeat the residents of this mansion, not now. Now ever. The residents are extremely powerful, and have been training and growing under the tutelage of a ghost mistress and Elite Four. If you really wish to grow stronger and quickly, you'd have better chances at that staying here with the others."
Trevenant paled at the suggestion.
"However, I can promise you, that if you come with me, and become an active part of my team, then you will be able to make a better stand than what you did this time around." Ash finished, staring at the elder tree in the eye. If that seems like a worthy goal to you, then you are welcome to join the team." He lifted up the ultra-ball again, bringing it closer to Trevenant's face.
After what seemed to be an eternally long time, the elder tree let out a snort, before knocking the ultraball with his head, as the device opened, capturing him into itself with a brilliant flash of red light.
"That was… interesting." Agatha intoned. "Speaking of you, boy, when you are done acquiring all the badges you need for the conference, and have time to spare, come in for a visit. Anghus would like a match with you, and hopefully, your Dusclops would be rendered proper enough to be returned as well."
Ash smiled. "I promise."
"Good." The woman returned. "Now get lost from my property."
Saffron city is without a doubt, one of the three main megalopoli that dominate the commercial atmosphere of the entirety of Kanto region, the two others being Celadon in the east and of course, Cerulean city due south. The first path involves traversing the famous and incredibly busy route 8, the preferred route for most travellers, with good transport facilities, occasional pokémon centers and the overall small-town experience. The only disadvantage is to using Route 8 is the fact that it loops over and over, to the point of almost touching the periphery of celadon city before entering Saffron. The only other alternative to travel through the so-called Saffron forest, a marshy zone that exists between Lavender Town and Saffron, bordering a stone-covered boulevard on the right. Said forest, incidentally, receives the highest amount of annual rainfall recorded in entire Kanto region, a rather queer fact considering that not even Evolution Mountain, which provides a rather effective resistance to the passing clouds, causing torrential downpour in Fuchsia, has at most two-thirds of the rainfall that this marshy wasteland seems to experience all year.
This alternative route provides a person to travel from Lavender to Saffron in mere two days, compared to route 8, which takes a whopping five days for the same. Yet, the area is nigh desolate, and uninhabited by people, and instead, is covered with dense, deciduous outgrowth, and is home to hundreds of tree-dwelling terrestrial pokémon—the obvious danger of swamps providing an automatic barrier that keeps these tree-dwellers from being active hunted or poached. Also, the entire zone is prone to several, random… explosions, though the cause isn't really clear.
Around nine years ago, after dozens of cascading failures, an expedition sponsored by Silph Co. succeeded in unravelling the mystery that lay in this juxtaposition of marshy swamps next to the rocky, arid plain. The truth, they found out the hard way, was stranger than fiction.
Somewhere deep within the layers of impervious rock, was the home to the world's one of, if not the only natural fission reactor on the planet, an entire mine of radioactive mineral-rich deposits. Normally this wouldn't mean anything, simple ore, even the giant slabs found on route 8, did not fulfil the specific requirements for a controlled chain reaction. However, as the researchers found out, the constant rainwater permeating the ground dripped down into this uranium seam and providing for an excellent neutron moderator. As the porous rock got waterlogged the neutrons created by the natural fission could travel slow enough to split other atoms near them. And so, as long as it rained, a slow chain reaction took place, heating the ground and the water flowing through.
Yet, nature does not waste anything. Even this hidden radioactive mine, with its underground tunnels - washed out by centuries of water flowing through - was host to several dozens, if not hundreds of a single species of pokémon.
Voltorb, and their evolved form, Electrode, where misunderstood pokémon. Even though the scientific community had long ruled out the idea of them being linked to Pokeballs in any way, the rumour that this species was first discovered in Pokeball plants was believe from the average Trainer down to the housewife. It was more likely that standard Pokeballs colour design was inspired by Voltorb, but that clearly didn't matter to most people.
The modern understanding of the Voltorb line however suggested that the unique colouring of these pokémon was a visual representation of magnetic poles that formed in a Voltorb or Electrode. Magnetic field measurements proved this theory and shed light on the way these pokémon navigated.
Any type of doubt about the Voltorb lines origins was washed away however after the Silph Co. expedition found a small entrance to a few of the underground tunnels underneath route 8. The squad was dumbfounded when they realized that this environment was habitat of perhaps the largest community of Voltorb and Electrode on the planet. Even more amazing however was there appearance. Each and every Voltorb and Electrode they had managed to spot had been a shiny one, and even more interestingly, seemed to be soaking in the thermal energy provided by the natural fission. The full scope of their mutations was never fully understood, out of fear that interfering with them could cause chain explosions that would destroy the tunnels and losing everyone was however speculated that these electric types, used Rain Dance to increase the amount of fission that was possible, which explained the unusual rainfall distribution in the region.
Of course, it was imperative that such an ecological niche held several potential benefits to be reaped, but it was vivid that tampering with such a fragile system could result in a potential catastrophe. However, that didn't change the fact that Silph Co. had a natural renewable source of power- mind boggling power, available to be used as it liked.
That was how, three years later, the Ultraball Technology division, with its top-secret manufacturing base located in the sea just next to the stone boulevard had begun its production. The entire base was built underwater, at a location close enough to harness the power being produced in the natural fission reactor, by capturing the underground water that flowed in this direction. Hot water in abundance made for cheap energy. The power generated made the mass-creation of Ultraballs a possibility, after almost fifteen years of it lying dormant, for lack of a feasible power source. Of course, all of this was a complete secret, and fear of the tree-dwelling terrestrial pokémon in the marshy lands made the entire area free from any form of outer interference. In fact, Silph Co. did its best to spread several notorious rumours about the entire place, to further increase its desolation and complete lack of human habitation.
Unfortunately, neither the fifteen-year-old trainer from Pallet Town, nor his pokémon, were privy to therumours, nor did they have any idea about the true secret hidden in the marshy areas hidden in the Saffron forest.
After leaving Lavender Town, Ash had made a quick call to Professor Oak's lab, letting his mother and the professor know about the events that had transpired there. He had, of course, conveniently forgotten to mention that he had, once again, almost died at the hands of a fellow pokémon at that, but he had asked for some particular members of his team to be sent to him—namely, the dark types—Absol and Crawdaunt, the dragons—Magnus, Shelgon and Zweilous, and lastly, Poliwhirl, before deciding to walk his way to Saffron city through the Saffron forest.
The decision had been due to three main reasons. Firstly, Agatha had advised to walk his way to Saffron city, to allow the ambient ghostly energy he had soaked, to leech out into the atmosphere. Considering that the other alternative was to take the overtly busy Route 8, Ash had settled for the Saffron forest.
Secondly, the forest was rumoured to contain several fighting-type pokémon. Ash had been… enthusiastic to capture one for his own team, which had a large, fighting-type sized hole in it. More importantly, he had seen the advertisement of the 'P1 Grand Prix' - a regional level wrestling competition where trainers could register and battle other participants. There were only two rules of the contest—one, only a fighting-type (or a part fighting-type) could be registered for the contest, and two- only fighting-type moves were allowed to be used. The current Grand Prix was going to be held in Celadon in around a month's time, and Ash certainly didn't want to miss the chance to participate in it. After all, the winner of a P1 Grand Prix event got a chance to battle the formidable Bruno, Elite Four and Master of fighting-type pokémon.
The third and last reason, was because it would give him the privacy tofulfil a promise he had made to hisfavourite tadpole, sometime prior to the events of the Battle Tower.
"Poliwhirl… I know I should have told you something much earlier. You see, when you helped me defeat Misty's sisters and get me the Cascade badge, she… she gave me this." He took out the aquiline pearl-like rock and revealed it in front of the tadpole, whose eyes seem to be transfixed at it.
Ash chuckled. He knew that for a species like Poliwhirl, a water-stone was a relic to be awed at, respected and held with great respect. After all, holding a water-stone was the symbol that it was granted enough power and ability to evolve further to become the powerful Poliwrath, whose bulky muscles held in them enough sheer strength to swim past oceans.
"The question is… do you wish to evolve? Personally, I'd have liked to teach you some more skills before consenting for evolution, but I want you to make the choice."
Poliwhirl stared at his trainer with something akin to deep respect and awe, as if he were staring at Ash for the first time. It was… surreal. Ash had expected Poliwhirl to troll around, throw water jets at unsuspecting team-mates and should he be given the chance, vanish off to swim in a nearby water body. The look that Poliwhirl was giving him was…
Different.
"Poli…" The tadpole croaked after a while, taking a few steps back, not once taking his eyes off from the water stone. "Poli—Poliwhirl!"
"He wishes for you to make the decision for him." Aoi supplied.
Ash smiled brightly. "Then… let's get the Battle Tower done with, prior to that. What do you say?"
Poliwhirl croaked happily.
Of course, the outcome of the Battle Tower had left Poliwhirl severely weak and needing nourishment and rest. Besides, Ash had been forced to send him, along with the others—away for the brief period he had resided at the mansion. Now that he was out, and had gotten Poliwhirl back, it was time to fulfil a promise.
That was why he had made it a point to call in Poliwhirl. His own luck at capturing a fighting-type aside, it would give Poliwhirl ample time to get used to his own move set after evolution into Poliwrath. Whether Poliwhirl (then Poliwrath) would consent to battling at the contest or not was something he could worry about later.
He had taken up the path through the Saffron forest, with Magnus and Aoi walking beside him—the former being essential to cut through vines and the latter, well because she wouldn't allow him any other alternative. The Ninetales was stubborn that way. After traversing through the foliage for several hours, he had found himself a nice little spot to put up tent for the rest of the day. It was still hours away from evening, but if he needed to prepare food and ensure that his team members got themselves some training, then he needed to start early.
"I need some more wood. Magnus, if you would-" Ash requested, but before the black dragon could move away towards the thicker tree trunks, Ash felt the earth beneath him shake as thick roots sprang forth, their outer layers covered with thick bark, and an optimum alternative for firewood.
"Uh, forget the wood." Ash spoke up. "Help me cut this into pieces. Not everyone has shiny claws over here, you know."
Magnus snorted and extended his claws out, before snapping the roots into little twigs, accumulating more than enough firewood for the meal Ash needed to prepare. Said trainer meanwhile, casually glanced to his right, and saw Trevenant standing there, his monochromatic eye pulsing with the same ominous red color. He sent a grateful nod in his direction, though the elder tree didn't seem to make any visible reaction and instead turned away.
He had released the entire team out of their pokeballs. Despite it being noon, the canopy was thick enough to filter most of the direct sunlight out, ensuring a dimly illuminated setting, enough for the ghosts to be out of their pokeballs without any issues. Crawdaunt and Poliwhirl could be seen practicing what he assumed as some kind of weird punching ritual against the trees, while Absol and Aoi were enjoying a brief siesta. Gengar was… somewhere, lurking around in the shadows, while Zweilous was, as usual, biting in the air, in hope of a good lunch. Shelgon… was an entirely different matter altogether.
Ash sighed.
He turned towards Magnus, who had cast an under-powered ember attack, lighting up a campfire, as a certain shadow crawled away from Ash, towards the shadows flickering on the other side. Over and over, he had made several attempts to talk to Shelgon, to the point of apologising over and over, but now… he just didn't know what to do anymore. Had it been someone else, he would have understood. But for Shelgon, his own starter to misunderstand like that, was something he had no idea how to tackle.
However, the time for that innate dissonance was for later. For now, he had another promise he had made to someone else to keep.
"Poliwhirl… I need to talk to you."
"Poli?" The tadpole looked up, surprised.
Ash gestured him with his head. "Come here."
Without further delay, the tadpole gurgled softly, and sauntered across, making sure he stayed away from the flickering flames, wonderingly inwardly what his trainer wanted with him. The events at the Battle tower had shown him just how much he needed to learn and grow. Sure, his performance at battling the Medicham had shown him his progress, though the battle with Dusknoir taught him how much he still had to learn.
"Poli?" He questioned again.
"It is time that I fulfil my promise to you, buddy." He lifted out the water-stone from his pocket. "Right from the time you were a Poliwag, you have been with me. You evolved to provide me victory at the Cerulean gym, and ever since then, you have been at my side. I know that there have been several situations when I haven't been able to give you the attention you deserve, but I swear I will try to better from now on."
"Poli!" The tadpole gurgled. As far as he was concerned, he hadn't noticed any such discrepancies. However, he would defer to his trainer's superior judgement in such matters. If Ash believed he had been lacking, then that was probably what might have happened. His own attention was currently shifted to something much more important, and much more… fascinating.
Like the aquiline, elliptical rock fragment with bubbles floating in the inside of it, for instance.
"You asked me to decide the moment for you, I think the time has now arrived." Ash muttered softly, as he handed the water-stone to Poliwag, who stared at it, his expression spell-bound, as his hands unconsciously took the stone towards his temples, as the stone came into contact with his dry skin. If Ash didn't know any better, he would have thought that Poliwhirl was demonstrating a form of religious devotion to the stone in his hands.
For a moment, nothing happened, and then, Poliwhirl lurched back, the water stone falling off from his hands. A harsh, cold breeze suddenly swept all over the place, making the flames flicker madly, as Poliwhirl's eyes grew bigger, as if they were trying to burst out of the eye sockets.
And then the world was enveloped in blinding, white light.
Ash took a step back subconsciously, as he raised his left hand to shield his eyes away from the blinding light. Then, he reconsidered it. This was Poliwhirl's moment. He would not mar this memory just because the light was too intense for him. It was the least he could do for the little tadpole that had come all the way to this step. Painstakingly, he allowed himself to stare directly into the bright light which stung his eyes, Poliwhirl's shape now condensing, as the initially spheroidal frame began to twist and distort. The head-portion became much more pronounced, as his upper extremities extended, increasing his height by at least a foot, his fists growing thicker and more pronounced at the same time.
The bright silvery light faded, filling its space with deep Prussian blue, his head now distinct, his ascent from a lower form into a wiser, more powerful state distinct, stood Poliwrath, shaking his powerful arms, trying to adjust himself to his new and evolved state.
"Poli…. Wrath!"
Ash took a step forward towards the evolved tadpole. Even with a single look, the differences were obvious. The lithe frame had expanded, with thick layers of pure muscle and equally strong hide growing all over the place, forging the muscular form that showed the addition of 'fighting-type' to the water pokémon.
With a voice deeper than before, Poliwrath let out a grunt, before falling down on one knee. Obviously, the spasms induced during the evolution had been more tiring and painful than what Ash had surmised. Almost instinctively, Ash took another step forward, when Poliwrath snapped up, staring squarely at Ash.
Onyx eyes met dull gray.
Poliwrath let out a fearsome roar, his eyes clouded with nothing but pain and sheer strain from the evolution. For one moment, Ash feared that his friend would not be able to recognize him. The dull claw belonging to Magnus's forearm only confirmed that even he thought the same.
It was unnecessary. Poliwrath's eyes slowly turned clearer, as he recognized the black dragon standing behind the human—his trainer—Ash, he realized, before intoning out another grunt—this time softer than his prior ones, as he pulled himself up, supported by his now stronger hind limbs.
"…wrath!"
"Poliwh—wrath," Ash corrected himself, as he took another step, touching the dry skin on Poliwrath's arms. It looked like his fists were covered by a whiter, thicker hide, giving the appearance of a glove. His confidence returning, his palm strayed towards Poliwrath's head, caressing the tadpole's temples, innately remembering how Poliwag loved them, how he would just gurgle and then on a whim, he would-
"bluhbluhbluh-" Ash grunted incoherently as he was hit, face-first by a torrent of water shooting out from Poliwrath's spiral. Obviously, Poliwrath didn't have the chance to test out his new strength, considering how the torrential blast of water sent Ash flying off into the ground, completely drenched and tumbling, as he did.
"Poli?" He croaked in surprise.