PARAGON
Remnants of the Great War Arc [11]
Chapter 20 : Secret Training
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Kanto Region - Route 6
A flock of Pidgey chittered overhead and a pair of Goldeen splashed in the crystalline shallows of a nearby river. Ash walked up a grassy hill until he arrived within a large open field with a giant waterfall crashing down before him and flowing down the sides of the hill.
Pikachu squealed and jumped off his shoulder to go and explore while Ash put down his belongings.
There’s a hill to the south of the city. The forest grows in such a way that the path to the top cannot be found except by those who already know it’s there. I’ve never been disturbed whilst training there, and even though we can be quite loud, no one has ever even noticed us up there either. I think it will suit your needs quite well, Mr. Ketchum. Now, once you reach the tall grass, you’ll want to head southwest through the trees…
That was what Saffron Gym Leader Rosen had told him after Ash had asked about a quiet place to train his pokémon. After arriving here, it certainly lived up to Rosen’s description, and Ash could see numerous crevices in the grass and burns across the rocks as evidence of Rosen’s own training.
Although Ash was here for training, the part about training his pokémon was a white lie.
“This is crazy,” he muttered after walking to the center of the field, away from his stuff. He held up his hand and spread his fingers, then turned it over to look at his palm. He certainly still looked human. And he still felt human too.
“Platebearers are supposed to be invincible,” he said. “Let’s see.” He knelt down and felt around until he found what he was looking for. He stood up with a small, sharp rock. Sticking out his pointer finger, he dragged the rock across his skin.
“Ah.” Blood beaded up from a glistening cut, and he dropped the rock and sucked on his finger. “What the hell? So I can still damage myself?” Maybe this has to do with what Albrecht was saying about why my clothes weren’t destroyed. I guess it depends on what I want.
He was a little peeved he wouldn’t be able to reliably test the extent of his durability, since dealing excessive damage to himself would be going a bit too far. Perhaps the Ash of the past may have done something as reckless as that, but Ash had promised to be more careful, and he intended to keep that promise.
But, that wasn’t the only thing he’d come up here to do.
“So, how does this work?” He stretched out his arm and closed it into a fist. He said I had the Electric Plate, right? Might as well try this. “Ash, use Thunderbolt!”
Pikachu stopped his playing and perked up instinctively at hearing his command, but frowned after noticing he wasn’t the one being addressed. An amused grin danced on his face.
The wind whistled through the silent field.
“Of course it wouldn’t be that easy,” Ash sighed. He closed his eyes and tried to feel the power within him, like he imagined some wizened master might tell him to do, but after a few moments, he still didn’t feel anything strange at all. He sat down on the grass and rested his arms on his knees. “Pikachu, c’mere for a sec.”
Pikachu bounded over and jumped into his lap, fixing his trainer with a confident smile. Ash smiled back and rubbed his head, then moved his fingers down to his cheek, and pinched it. Pikachu giggled and released a jolt of electricity.
“All your electricity is in here, supposedly,” Ash said. “The question is, where’s mine?”
Pikachu nodded and scurried into a seated position as he rubbed his chin in deep thought. After a few seconds, he jumped up as if getting an idea, and slammed a fist on his chest.
“My heart?” Ash stood up and thrust his hand out again, this time, trying to draw his power out from his heart. “Thunderbolt!”
…
Nothing.
Pikachu shook his head furiously and scampered up Ash’s body up onto his head. He leaned forward and put his paws on Ash’s eyelids, pulling them open and peering down into them.
“Agh, what’re you doing, Pikachu?” Ash winced and brushed Pikachu’s hands out of his eyes. “You mean my eyes? I’ll try it.” He scrunched his eyes up tight, then opened them wide. “Thunderbolt!”
…
Still nothing.
Pikachu squeaked in annoyance and jumped back down to the ground. He started babbling, pointing at his chest, then Ash’s, then his eyes and Ash’s. Then he pointed at Ash’s body.
Ash frowned. “Wait…are you saying the power of the Plate…is in my soul?”
Pikachu nodded so hard Ash was afraid his head would snap off.
Hmm, the Plates are supposed to be pieces of Arceus’ soul. I don’t really understand it, but let’s give it a try.
Ash closed his eyes again and raised both his arms. I am Ash Ketchum, he reminded himself. My best friend is Pikachu. And I want to be a Pokémon Master. He took a deep breath. And right now, I want a Thunderbolt to come out of my hands and strike that tree over there!
Behind his closed eyes, Ash could hear Pikachu’s cries of encouragement.
The smell of ozone suddenly assaulted Ash’s nostrils, and a great pain burned his palms. Then, a harsh flash forced his eyes open and a heavy weight seemed to burst from his hands like a copse of violent snakes wriggling to get free. Two golden columns of electricity spasmed out of Ash’s palms and tore through the air, crackling and thundering. They lashed the ground, but as soon they’d appeared, they were gone. The tree sat undamaged across the field.
“No, wait!” Ash exclaimed. “Wait…wait!” He turned to Pikachu. “Wait!” A smile broke across his face. “I did it, Pikachu!”
Pikachu jumped into his arms and squeaked in delight. With his stubby arms and patted his trainer’s shoulder in congratulation.
“I mean, my aim could use some work, and before that, I didn’t even come close to reaching the tree, but still! So it’s true! I actually am a Platebearer!”
Taking Corviknight’s Hyper Beam point blank should’ve put all his doubts to rest, but this was the nail in the coffin. He had seen lightning come out of his hands.
Pikachu dropped out of his arms as Ash turned back toward his palms. They still looked completely normal, even though Ash was sure they’d be blackened. What he thought was pain was actually just the electricity bursting out of his hands. It was like the electricity overstimulated his nerves, and now they were left feeling slightly tingly. He rubbed them with his fingers to soothe some sensation back into them.
“Well, this is a start,” Ash said. “But I’m sure something like this wouldn’t even tickle AZ. I still need to become much stronger. Though now that I think about it, we might as well turn this into a training session for everyone else.” He reached down to his belt and pulled off nine pokéballs. Ten pokémon was the number he felt comfortable carrying around, and he released them all. “Time for some training, guys. But I’ll be training with you this time!”
Emboar and Feraligatr cocked their heads sideways, Crawdaunt clacked its claws, Noivern hissed, Venusaur sighed, Glalie grinned, a pair of Tauros snorted, and Gengar cackled with delight.
“Watch this,” Ash said, reaching toward the sky. “Thunderbolt!”
A bolt of lightning shot from his palm and cracked the air, before dissipating almost immediately. His pokémon fell over themselves in surprise, and Ash and Pikachu laughed.
“Believe me, I’m still just as shocked as you all are! But as much as I’d like to everyone personally about this new development, Gengar, I’d like you to let everyone know what’s up so they’ll all be ready the next time we go to battle.”
Gengar swirled back together and gave him a thumbs up.
“By the way, let’s keep working on your special technique some time today. I know it may seem redundant now that I’m a Platebearer, but I don’t think it’s wise to rely too heavily on this power, and I’m sure keeping you with me at all times will come in handy in the future.”
Gengar snapped a salute before floating off the ground, his hand still poised on his forehead.
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
“Great. Now, free-for-all, all of you! Last one standing gets the usual Poffin Pudding!”
Free-for-alls were one of the training exercises they’d developed to practice their decision-making abilities and battle sense against multiple enemies. It also helped develop their skills at taking advantage of the environment and leveraging their individual strengths.
And the Poffin Pudding was a delicacy every single one of his pokémon had taken a liking to after Ash bought some on a whim after passing through Hearthome City in Sinnoh. He’d needed to have a chat with the patissiere after that to ensure he always had some stock on hand whenever the ex-World Champion needed some more.
His pokémon raced off in different directions, already firing off attacks and turning the peaceful hilltop into a war zone. After seeing them get back to it, Ash turned back to his tree and exhaled. He raised his arms again.
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Hoenn Region - Mauville City
Just a few short years ago, Mauville was a city like any other, with a downtown, a suburb, and everything in between. But after the mayoral election of Gym Leader Wattson five years ago, Mauville had been transformed into a fortress. Wattson’s plans for the city were extensive, to say the least, and with multiple decades to think them up, he’d gotten to work right away. As expected, investment had flooded the city, with Wattson’s renowned genius being enough of a guarantor for a fortune-making opportunity, but Wattson’s limitless imagination somehow threatened to eclipse the constant flood of funds more than once. For now, construction had slowed due only to the stalwart refusal of Evergrande to grant even one single acre of land more to Wattson’s grand schemes. Nevertheless, Wattson seemed to spend more time in the neighboring cities petitioning for greater expansion rights than accepting gym challenges. Rumor now was that he was lobbying the League to allow his pokémon to run his gym and issue badges without him present. Stubborn as he was, he refused to surrender his gym leader title even while juggling his many responsibilities as mayor and countless project proposals for Greater Mauville.
One of the early investors in Wattson’s madness was the International Police. They’d carved out a slice of prime real estate in the center of the city for their new headquarters. World Command was an iron fortress within the fortress. With its endless supply of energy, technological futurism, and army of satellites, Wattson’s Mauville made the perfect location for Interpol’s new headquarters.
Willium Rhys, director of the International Police, walked through the pristine halls of World Command flanked by a pair of guards. He was a shorter man, though he’d been taller in his younger days. He was almost sixty now, and it’d taken about that long for his age to finally begin showing. His face was sharp, but his thinning hair only had a few streaks of gray.
He wore a gray suit, but that was the style in Hoenn, thanks to the Stones, and his loafers clocked loudly upon the marble floor. After making his way through the labyrinth that was World Command, he finally found himself within eyesight of his office. One of Interpol’s captains stood outside waiting for him, and he snapped a salute upon seeing his superior.
“Sir, urgent report.”
“At ease. I’ll hear it inside,” Rhys said, opening the door to his office and motioning the captain in before him.
Despite being the director, Rhys’ office looked like any other in World Command. Mahogany bookshelves lined the walls, a mahogany desk held his computer and assorted other items, and a mahogany floor rested beneath a patterned carpet, the only color in the room. Rhys took his seat behind his desk as the captain closed the door behind them.
“Something new, I hope,” Rhys said. “I just got out of a briefing with our forces in Kalos and they have yet to find anyone over seven feet, much less our man.”
“We have a sighting, sir,” the captain nodded. “At a warehouse in Sinnoh.” He stepped forward with a dossier in hand.
Rhys frowned and took it, and pulled a pair of glasses from his suit pocket. He flicked through the pages and raised an eyebrow, before shaking his head. “So our greatest fears have been realized then.”
“Are you referring to the raids on our other facilities?”
Rhys nodded. “Minor incursions from a nondescript enemy. It’s been a low priority till now. But if AZ is the one who’s been behind them all, it changes everything. The question is what made him show up now?”
“Still unclear, sir. This raid seems no different from the others. A small strike force. Minimal damage. Only a few injuries and no deaths. And they only made off with a handful of low star assets.”
“What’d they take this time?”
“A crate of gold from the Undella Sea. A bronze key from ancient Kalos. And a pair of Tyranitar set aside for the Uva Project.”
“Do we know what the key was for?”
“No, sir. Nothing of import, most likely.”
Rhys sighed, flipping another page. “And the Tyranitar were…?”
“Not even approved yet, sir.”
Rhys flicked the page, finding the answer to his question right as it was told to him. “And I’m sure we weren’t able to track them, were we?”
“No, unfortunately not. Even Champion Steven was incapacitated.”
“What did you just say?” Rhys said, lowering his glasses.
“Champion Steven was incapacitated, sir. Apparently he engaged AZ directly at one point, but—“
“What the hell was Steven doing in Sinnoh?” Rhys snapped. “At our base, no less. Who authorized that, because it certainly wasn’t me?”
The captain gulped. “Apologies, sir, I assumed you were in the know. It was the World Champion.”
Rhys held up a hand as he flipped furiously through the dossier. The office fell silent as he read. “AZ defeated the Champion’s Metagross with his bare hands…,” he muttered. “What else did the World Champion authorize?”
“Er, I believe Master Albrecht ordered all of the Champions to various Interpol facilities to protect them while AZ is still at large. Though Steven’s was the only one of the Champions’ that was hit.”
“All of the Champions?”
“I believe the young Champions of Unova and Galar were briefed but not deployed. And Sinnoh Champion Cynthia also did not receive the order.”
“I should hope so.”
“Sir?”
“Nothing,” Rhys said quickly. He pulled off his glasses and pinched his nose in thought. “Leave me. I have some calls to make. And thank you,” he quickly added.
The captain snapped one last salute before exiting. When he was gone, Rhys exhaled loudly, then picked up his phone and dialed Cynthia.
“Director,” she greeted him after the phone rang several times.
“Cynthia. Have you heard the news?”
“And what, pray tell, are you referring to?”
“One of my captains just swung by to drop a dossier on my desk. AZ was spotted in Sinnoh last night.”
There was silence on the other end for several seconds. “Of course I’ve heard. Is that all?”
“Is that all?” Rhys repeated. “I also just found out the World Champion sent Steven to the base AZ just hit. Apparently all the Champions got marching orders from him.”
“That’s not unusual. We are his Champions.”
“Are you playing daft on purpose? It’d be one thing if he was collaborating with us. It’s another thing entirely that he’s going behind my back and sending the Champions to facilities he shouldn’t even know exist!”
“I understand your frustrations, Director. But it seems the World Champion is only trying to help. He understands better than most how dangerous AZ is.”
“Level with me, Cynthia. Do you trust this man? I’ve been trying to get an audience with him for a month but it seems he’s too damn important to spare me any time.”
“I don’t trust him. But I have it on good authority that he can be trusted.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“It means you should be focusing more on finding AZ than worrying about what the World Champion is up to. Leave him to me.”
“And how are you doing? It seems like Paragon is making as much progress as we are.”
“As usual, your eyes are too close to the ground to see the big picture. Paragon is closer to finding AZ than you realize, Director. Please show some respect.”
“Whatever. The sooner this mess is behind us, the better. Then I’ll need to have a stern talk with Warden Barke about any other thousand year old prisoners we happen to be storing at the World Prison. This whole situation is a farce to begin with. It should never have happened.”
“He’s three thousand years old, Director. But don’t get too excited. You’re mistaken if you think AZ is the only monster on the loose in this world.”
“Well then, for now, I’ll be thankful the Paragon Organization stands between the monsters and us simpletons at Interpol.”
“Thank you, Director, I’ll pass your sentiments along. Now if that’s all, I should go. I’m running late for teatime.”
“Very well. But do feel free to call me when you have a lead. I feel like I’m always the one pawing in the dark for information.”
“Oh, Director, if I called you every time I had a new lead, I’d never get any work done. My friends are very good.”
And with that, Rhys heard the line go dead, so he hung up. After putting the phone back in the receiver, he sighed and pinched his nose. The Paragon Organization was an invaluable asset to the International Police, and they accomplished nearly as much with a minuscule fraction of the manpower, but dealing with their leader was a headache in and of itself. Talking with Cynthia made him forget who was actually in charge between them two. At times, it seemed like she called more of the shots than him.
Well, she’d never let him down before. And when Paragon mobilized, problems disappeared.
Rhys woke his computer back up and keyed in his password. Checking his email, he saw he had another slew of meetings to attend this afternoon. But a certain message in his inbox caught his attention. Or rather, the sender of said message. He frowned.
What would you want with me at a time like this?
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Cynthia hung up and stuffed her phone back in her pocket. Her calls with Interpol’s director were always a game of cat-and-mouse, a game she, admittedly, always won.
On the path to learn who really ran the world, Cynthia had become one of the shadowy stringpullers herself.
Not that she felt guilty about it. There were things the director didn’t need to know. And Willium Rhys was a practical man anyways. He knew she was hiding things from him, for a certainty, but he knew his role and played it well.
On the other hand, his trust in her made it far easier to pull off a bluff. Paragon was moving slowly on the AZ situation, despite everyone’s involvement, and now they’d been taken off guard with this raid in Sinnoh. Their own backyard, no less.
But her decision to keep N and Zinnia grounded in Kalos was part of a much larger gambit, one they did not even know they were a part of. Cynthia suspected Albrecht was playing his own game too. That was why he’d moved the Champions.
AZ’s escape had switched all the “string-pullers” into battle mode. Here was a new contender gobbling up real estate on the power market unchecked. Everyone wanted him off the board expeditiously. But they also seemed to realize his appearance would change the game forever.
Cynthia herself didn’t have anything concrete. But between Zagreus, Albrecht, and AZ, she could smell the way the winds were blowing, and was now acting accordingly. One wrong move, and she’d lose everything. And not just Paragon.
Cynthia’s game was even more delicate. She knew Ash had lied to her, or at least omitted some parts, about what he’d talked about with Albrecht. But somehow, she knew that what Albrecht had told him was the answer to everything she’d been searching for for her entire adult life. The truth about this world. The truth about everything.
Even if she needed to gorge on blood to taste the truth, she would.
Next — Chapter 21 : Royal Edict
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Happy New Year! The past couple chapters have been a little late because of the holidays, but we should be good going forward. I have big plans for 2024 as far as this story goes, so I hope you stick around for the chaos!