The Caves of Mount Silver, Seven Years Before the Source Wave

“No, Pika-... Pichu , I don’t understand it either.”

Ash sighed as Pichu - yes, he was Pichu now - stomped around the floor of the cave in obvious agitation. Considering that the tiny mouse hadn’t been in this form for well over a decade, Ash supposed he could understand why his oldest friend would be so disgruntled.

To his left, Charmander leaned against Ash, oddly silent as it stared forwards. Meanwhile, to Ash’s right, Froakie was examining a tuft of bubbles in wide-eyed wonder.

For his own part, Ash remained unchanged. His twenty year old body still carried the same scars that he had when they began trekking up the mountain just a few days before. After rummaging through his backpack, Ash confirmed that he still had all the gadgets and doodads that he had picked up from the various outposts left by Team Source.

That line of thinking brought him back to the present. What was he here for? Ash couldn’t help but get a pounding headache whenever he tried to think about it. Images of stars flying by flashed across his eyes.

For some reason, as Ash pondered this, two words dug into his mind, burrowing within, and never leaving.

I Refuse.

An alien voice, yet one that he found himself joining in. He was a full decade in the past now - how he knew, Ash couldn’t say. He had an opportunity that he would have never thought he would have received.

A chance to stop the Source Wave from ever beginning in the first place.

For the past three years, after the world twisted under the overwhelming power of the Source Wave, Ash made it his mission to end the destruction.

In the end… he did. While a large part of Ash was ecstatic at the chance for his world to rebuild, a small, bitter side of himself born after the string of losses whispered that it was too little too late.

Before Ash could descend into that spiral, a set of small paws grasped his chin. Looking down, he saw Pichu’s disgruntled visage mixed with a twinge of concern.

He reached down to pet his head, ignoring his small friend’s growls at Ash’s hand nearly smothering him, “I’m fine, Pikachu. I was just thinking.”

Pichu ignored the name mixup - thought the small smirk indicated that he much preferred his old name - and began tugging at Ash’s shirt, squeaking, “Pichu-chu Pichu Pi!”

Ash chuckled, hoisting Pichu onto his shoulder as he roused Charmander, who had fallen asleep, to stand. Meanwhile, Freaking hopped towards the entrance to the tunnel, checking to see whether the coast was clear.

Seeing that it was, Froakie hopped back up to Ash, pointing to the cave entrance. Ash grabbed his backpack as he and Charmander followed Froakie down the cavern, Pichu silently cursing Arceus while riding on Ash’s shoulder.

…

Professor Oak’s Laboratory, Pallet Town

Professor Samuel Oak rubbed his hand across his face as Lance rambled in his X-Transceiver about the recent power surge that impacted the Indigo Region, and how legendaries may be involved, and how Team Rocket could possibly have a hand in it too.

Oak poured himself a cup of tea, nodding his head absentmindedly as Lance theorised. He thanked his Alakazam who had prepared the tea before cutting into the Champion’s worrying, “Do we know where the power surge originated from?”

Lance immediately leaned forward, face set in an intense scowl, “That’s exactly the issue! It was across the whole region! ”

Lance leaned back, sighing as he continued, “Agatha was at Lavender Town when it happened, and the entire tower apparently shook. Clair told me the same with Blackthorn. I even have reports from Hoenn of wild pokémon freaking out over it!”

“Calm,” Oak commanded, holding his palm out. Even though he said it softly, Lance heard it and, after a few seconds of heavy breathing, begrudgingly nodded. Oak pulled up emails from the other professors he had been in correspondence with over the past few hours - Arceus, it wasn’t even morning yet - and said to Lance, “I’ve been talking with my colleagues from other regions. They’ve felt it too.”

Lance leaned forward, looking apprehensive, “They did?”

“Oh yes,” Oak nodded, putting on his reading glasses as he read through the messages, “They’ve had a few interesting ideas about it. Birch’s sensors apparently picked up energies similar to that of their main two legendaries. Juniper has noted that her pokémon were rather disturbed by it. Rowan has given a few theories relating to the creation trio - hold on for a moment, Lance, I’m receiving a call.”

He heard Lance grumble a bit as Oak checked who was calling him. When he saw the name, he scowled slightly before accepting the call, “Professor Elm, I presume that-”

“Sam! There’s been a massive wave of energy for the past few hours! I don’t know where it came from, but it seems to affect pokémon - why, some of them evolved . I don’t know if it was out of stress or what, but I wanted to ask if you knew anything about it?”

Oak pinched his brow as his former protege and former adversary rattled off like a psyched up rattata. How he had ever decided to take him as his apprentice, he would never know. It took a considerable effort to keep his condescension to a minimum when he responded, “It was felt across every region, Elm. I’ve known about it.”

There was silence on the other line, before a small voice uttered, “Oh…” There was audible shuffling of papers on the other end, “W-well, I would still like to pick your brain-”

“Not now, Elm,” Oak cut him off, before releasing a minute sigh, “I’m on a call with the Champion. I can schedule a call with you at a later time.”

“A-alright, Sam,” Professor Elm chuckled weakly, “I’ll see you then?”

“Mmm hmm,” Oak mumbled before unceremoniously ending the call. He wouldn’t normally act so callous, but even after putting aside their geo-political differences years ago, there was just something about Professor Elm that absolutely rankled Oak.

“Anyways,” Oak unmuted himself as he began speaking with Lance once more, “Where was I?”

“You mentioned that one of the professors believed this to be related to the creation trio?” Lance murmured lowly, seemingly deep in thought.

“Yes, though he had no concrete evidence,” Oak hummed, shuffling through some notes, “It’s still an interesting thought, but not one I place much stock in.”

“Well,” Lance began, “What do you think caused this surge?”

Oak sighed, leaning back into his chair, grumbling, “Isn’t that the million dollar question,” He straightened, procuring a handwritten paper with hastily scrawled notes, “Luckily, I was in the middle of an experiment when the power surge occurred, so my lab’s sensors were on full alert.”

Lance fidgeted impatiently as Oak paused - a part of him enjoyed messing with the Champion . After a moment, Oak continued, “To be quite frank… I don’t know what to make of it. One moment, my sensors are normal; the next moment, they spike to record highs. The moment after that , they’re normal again.”

Lance’s brow furrows, “I felt it for several minutes, though. Lorelei recorded it as lasting for nine minutes.”

“I did too,” Oak confirmed, “Which is why this reading is so peculiar. A potential theory is that what we felt was merely the aftershock of it, but that has a few holes in its logic, so I believe it to be something else.

“Additionally, my sensors didn’t just pick up one or two type-energies, but rather all of them.”

Lance spluttered, “ All of them? ”

“Indeed,” Oak hummed with a curious lilt in his voice. While this was certainly a serious occurrence, he couldn’t help but be fascinated by it, “And it’s rather curious too, since some of the types are inherently opposed to each other. Types such as Normal and Ghost, Psychic and Dark, Electric and Ground, all of these are opposites of each other. In fact, they are so incompatible that I can only think of one - maybe two - pokémon that have these typings.”

“While that is no doubt fascinating,” Lance interrupted in a strained voice, “That only makes me more worried than not.”

Professor Oak blinked, then rubbed his hand across his face, “Right, I apologise,” He paused for a moment, thinking. “Taking this all into account… I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if legendaries are involved.”

Lance’s face grew grim. He could remember as a child the devastation that legendaries wrought when enraged. He grumbled, “Wonderful,” His tone saying anything but, “Any particular contenders?”

“Honestly,” Oak grimaced, waving his hands aimlessly, “I have no idea. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the work of multiple legendaries.”

Lance’s face darkened even more, yet at this point he didn’t look terribly surprised, “I suppose that can’t be helped.” Lance’s face contorted into a scowl - which Oak grew to view as the man’s resting face - “I’ll keep tabs on the situation on my end. Lorelei has already burrowed herself into her study, and Agatha’s doing… something . If you could do the same on your end, that would be much appreciated.”

“I will,” Oak yawned - it had been a sleepless night - “I need to prepare the starters for this year’s set of trainers. They’re due to arrive in a couple of hours.”

Lance gave Professor Oak a sardonic smirk, “I don’t envy you, professor. Regardless, we’ll speak later about this.”

Oak waved him away, “Yeah, I’m sure we will.” Afterwards, they ended the call, causing Oak to push back against his chair with a long sigh.

A flash of light caused him to open his eyes, only to see Alakazam standing next to him. The pokémon was staring inquisitively at Oak, which indicated to him that the psychic was asking permission into his mind.

Oak nodded, well aware that the pokémon could easily slip in unnoticed if it desired. It was only out of mutual respect that it refrained from doing so. The two had saved each other's lives on the battlefield far more than Oak wished to remember. When Alakazam shared an image of an impatient Gary Oak waiting right outside his door, Professor Oak sighed.

Really, he should make his grandson wait there. He had told them to arrive two hours from now.

But on the other hand, he knew that if he didn’t allow Gary in, the child would start complaining loud enough to wake up the entire neighbourhood.

Professor Oak rubbed his eyes tiredly as he stood up from his seat. He could appreciate the enthusiasm that new trainers had for their journeys, but he really needed to get some sleep.

Upon opening the door and allowing the rascal in, Oak hummed in resignation, knowing that it would be several hours before he would get some shut-eye.

…

Lower Caves of Mount Silver

Ash held Pichu back as a sleuth of Ursurang eyed the group warily. The four time-travellers were now nearing the entrance to the mountain’s caves, long departing the hailstorm that plagued the top.

Thankfully, without the constant pressure radiating from the Source Storm, the native pokémon were much less aggressive… for the most part.

Charmander bore a number of shallow scratches from a pair of Sneasel. Though, they scattered when a well-timed Ember struck the ringleader straight in the face.

That had been a bit of a wake-up call. While Ash’s friends retained their battle experience from the previous life, their capabilities were… exceedingly limited .

Froakie was completely unable to perform his signature Water Shuriken . Charmander could only reliably shoot bursts of Ember . Pichu had a minor meltdown when Iron Tail only resulted in his tail looking slightly shinier.

Ash sighed, both relieved and resigned, when the two Ursurang scooted their cubs away. Ash noticed that they looked… unnerved . Not scared, per se, but very nervous.

In fact, thinking back to the pack of Sneasel, their fur seemed to stick out as if they were frightened.

But not feral.

That was an important distinction. The pokémon affected by the Source Storm, on a global scale, were feral. With the fount of energy affecting both their minds and their bodies, it wasn’t too much of a surprise that it affected them so harshly.

It only became a surprise when it affected the likes of Groudon or Kyogre.

Ash shook the thoughts away; they weren’t conducive to his mission. He had some time to think about what he would do - what he was destined to do - about the Source Wave.

First off, he needed to check the date. Depending on how close it was to the 1st Wave, it would change the amount of time he had to act by a wide margin. A mere difference of months could determine whether he could stop the Wave or not.

That was the other thing. How did he go about stopping the Source Wave? The most obvious solution would be to stop it at its source - ha ha - by removing the Conduit before it could be used.

However, Ash wasn’t very pleased with the idea of killing Mewtwo again, especially when it wasn’t his fault in the first place.

The other way would be to find a way to disband Team Source and to destroy their research in Source Energy. Or, in the case that it hadn’t yet been formed, prevent it from ever doing so in the first place.

This was the main issue facing Ash: he had next to no idea what Team Source even was . He had just arrived in the Alola Region when he was called by Professor Oak to return to Pallet Town after a raid at the lab. Not long after, a series of raids broke out across several regions, primarily at the different Leagues and labs.

It was only about a month after that when the Source Wave hit. Ash had been fighting alongside some of his old friends when it began.

He could still remember the halls of pokémon convulsing in bright lights on the ground. Evolving.

Ash closed his eyes, dispelling the image away. Pichu batted his cheek, returning him to the present.

When he thought back to it, he didn’t know if anyone truly understood what Team Source even was. Ash and the rest of the trainers assembled from across the world had been spread thin with the repeated raids. Whenever they busted one, two others would begin. It had seemed that the League had been reactive rather than proactive in their approach to the new Team.

And that was the question, wasn’t it? Was Team Source even new ? Based on what he could tell, it had to have been operating for at least a few years. A few of the higher members they fought boasted about being a part of the project for such a time.

They also seemed to have connections within the League, different labs, and even a few other Teams. In the days leading up to the Source Wave, there had been an incursion within the League to vet out the traitor.

Then there was the leadership of the Team. Ash heard of five leaders and had personally battled one of them several times. He racked his brain for a moment before he recalled their titles.

There was The Emperor, who was apparently the head of the organisation. Outside of hushed whispers, he hadn’t heard anything from the individual. He disappeared after the Source Wave.

Next was The Empress, who Ash presumed to be female. However, for all he knew, it could be a guy. He hadn’t heard anything aside from that individual being one of the strongest members of the organisation. They were also occasionally referred to as the eyes of the organisation. From what Ash knew, they died shortly after the Source Wave.

There was The Tower. This one was interesting in that he or she seemed to have died not long before the incursions began. The scant information Ash received was that most of the members of Team Source were vetted by this individual before joining. They were often referred to as the body of the organisation, and just like the rest, Ash had no clue who this individual was.

The Magician was apparently Team Source’s premier researcher. Along with the Emperor and the Empress, they formed the main trio that led the research into Source Energy that eventually led to the development of the Conduit. He was referred to as the brain of the organisation, and his whereabouts were unknown by the time the Storm began.

Finally, there was The Chariot: the arm of the organisation. The man battled with such brutal efficiency that even the likes of Champions fell to his fury. Wherever the man went, destruction followed in his wake.

It was him that introduced Ash to true battle.

While the League regulated battles used rules to minimise the chance of fatality and destruction, The Chariot raged with such wild abandon not seen since the worst battles of the Great War.

He lived the longest after the Storm began, leading the remnant of Team Source in a cult of personality towards developing technology meant to contain the Waves in small applications. Gadgets such as the gauntlets and the metal sphere that Ash used were from these efforts.

For nearly three years, the two engaged in acts of war that shook the earth nearly as much as the Source Storm itself. Some of Ash’s finest fighters fell to the Chariot’s might.

Sceptile impaled by the Chariot’s Tyranitar.

Infernape plagued by a neverending nightmare from the Chariot’s Togekiss.

Lucario burned by the primordial wrath of a mutated Moltress.

Eventually, though, the two met one final time underneath the Lake of Rage. Their battle was on such an apocalyptic scale that it completely destroyed the base, leaving it as a watery tomb for the Chariot to drown in.

At least, Ash hoped so, since, just like all of the others, he disappeared as well.

From what he knew, they were the founding members of the organisation. He didn’t know how long they had been in contact before its formation, or if they met soon before doing so, but he intended to find out who they were, and stop them from destroying the world.

Of course, considering his lack of knowledge, this was easier said than done. Aside from the reports of them having insider knowledge from both the League and multiple Teams, there wasn’t much to go on.

Ash snapped out of his thoughts when Pichu let out an excited squeak. He could see light at the end of the tunnel leading to the base of the mountain. After hours of trekking, they had finally reached the end.

Ash grinned when Pichu began to sprint down the tunnel. The little mouse had always been claustrophobic, and the days they had spent traversing cramped cave systems had taken a toll on his psyche.

Upon reaching the end of the cave, Ash placed a hand over his eye as the sunlight of dawn nearly blinded him. When his eyes readjusted to the light, he looked down to see the distant lights of a town down the hill.

He stood there for a moment, staring at the town that was nothing but ruins a few days before. Before long, he felt a nudge on his leg as Pichu tried to push Ash forwards. Giving a small huff, Ash picked Pichu up into his arms and began walking towards the first sign of civilization he had seen in years.

…

Pokémon Center, Silver Town

Ash had to make a conscious effort not to stare.

He sat on a small wooden bench, waiting for Nurse Joy to finish her check-up on his pokémon. The nurse had a queer look when he handed her his friends.

Ash supposed that they looked rather out of place.

Indeed, with it being such a small town, he and his pokémon looked very out of place in comparison to the locals.

This first became apparent when he reached the edge of the town, as a few League-appointed guards halted him, asking him where he came from. When he pointed to the mountain without thinking, the guards only looked more suspicious, before the Kadabra they had with them gave a hesitant nod.

Ash hummed to himself as he thought about that. Kadabra normally had the ability to swim across minds - Alakazam being able to do so with more ease - yet the Kadabra seemed to be unnerved upon reading Ash’s mind, seemingly only able to confirm the base truth of his statement without truly comprehending everything else on his mind.

Ash wondered about that for a moment, before shoving it in the back of his mind for later thought.

It didn’t take long for him to reach the Pokémon Center. Given that he hadn’t technically broken any laws, the guards let him pass with a scowl. They weren’t all that happy with Ash not being able to give any ID, but with him apparently coming from Mount Silver, it was a believable enough excuse for him to have lost it during his time in the Mountain.

Of course, this brought up a bit of a problem in Ash’s mind as he handed Nurse Joy his pokémon.

He didn’t have any ID.

As he sat on the bench, waiting for the woman using the PC to finish up, he quickly brainstormed his situation.

He refrained from sharing his name. While there was a chance that he hadn’t been born yet in this time, he had a feeling in his gut that he was, and the last thing he wanted to do was to somehow wrap his past self up in his own mess.

While this made Nurse Joy slightly miffed when he didn’t share his name, she accepted it without verbal complaint. Besides, she was rather preoccupied with the frog pokémon she had never seen before, the Pichu with a chewed-up tail, and the Charmander with blue flame on its tail.

Ash noticed that the woman moved away from the PC, and he immediately dashed to it. After logging in with a guest account, Ash checked the date.

August 29, 1997.

Ash blinked, then blinked again. That was the day that he began his pokémon journey. That was the day that he met his best friend.

It also meant that he - or rather his past ‘he’ - was alive.

Ash sighed softly, double-checking this fact by looking up his name on Pokenet. After a moment, he found a newly created profile for a trainer who just started his journey from Pallet Town, sponsored by Professor Samuel Oak, and with a Pikachu as a starter.

Ash shut down the PC, rubbing his eyes tiredly. After staring at the mirror image on the screen, Ash blinked as he leaned in to see his reflection.

His face was the same - rough stubble and chapped lips. The bags under his eyes were still there - of course - but one detail stuck out to him.

Do I have red eyes?

A cough brought Ash to the present, causing him to turn around to see a black-haired man looking at him oddly.

“Are you alright?” the man asked in a gruff voice, though his eyes looked slightly worried. Ash realised that his face must have shown his shock.

After composing himself, Ash replied, “Yeah,” He moved out of the way, “I’m sorry for being in the way.”

Ash went over and sat back onto the wooden bench. He closed his eyes for a moment, ignoring the images of the Conduit’s baleful gaze before opening his eyes once more to see the man leaning against the wall next to him.

“You sure you’re alright? You look pretty shaken,” The man asked again, searching him with his eyes.

Ash stared as the man idly chewed on a toothpick - remembering the fall of one of his oldest partners - before banishing that thought with a shake, “Y-yeah, I’m sure.”

The man shrugged, moving the toothpick from one end of his mouth to the other, “Suit yourself.” He procured another toothpick, causing a small Yamask to appear at his side. The mask, which held feminine features, opened its mouth to chew on the toothpick

Ash sat back against the bench, watching the man and ghost chew on their toothpicks. After a moment where neither of them moved, he told the man, “I’m done with the PC, feel free to use it.”

“I will in a bit,” The man said dismissively, “I want to make sure you’re fine, though. You are a kid after all.”

Ash scowled slightly, he stopped being a kid a long time ago. “I’m not a child, I’m twenty. Besides, you don’t seem too much older than me.”

The man smirked, the Yamask doing the same, “I’m thirty nine, but thanks for the compliment,” The man then frowned, “I’ve dealt with troubled children in the past, that’s all. You had the same lost look, so I associated you with them. I apologise.”

Ash blinked, surprised at the genuine remorse in the man’s tone, “No, it’s fine. It’s just-” He sighed, “You know what, fine. I’ve had a bit of a shitty day,” Ash chuckled mirthlessly, “More like a shitty couple of years, honestly.”

He turned to see the man softly batting away the ghost pokémon, who was chirping rapidly while looking at him with concern hidden behind a carefully constructed neutral face. “Hush, Koi… Do you want to talk about it?” The man asked.

“No,” Ash replied, not willing to dump his mountain of troubles on a stranger. Speaking of, “I’m sorry, I’ve been rude,” He extended a hand, “It’s nice to meet you, what’s your name?”

The man grasped his hand to shake, “My name’s Herren,” He jerked a finger to the Yamask, “And the lady’s name is Koi. What’s yours?”

Ash hesitated for a moment, keeping himself from introducing himself with his actual name. The Yamask’s red eyes reminded him of the image of red eyes on the monitor as he answered, “Red. Red Satoshi, at your service.”

Mentally, he grimaced. He hadn’t spent much time developing a basic background, from name and origin, to differentiate himself from this time’s Ash. The first name was a spur of the moment decision, with him being preoccupied with his new set of red eyes. The last name also poured out of his mouth without thinking about it. It had been his mother’s maiden name, before she married Ash’s father, whoever he was.

He would worry about that later, though, as Herren nodded before asking, “So, Red, what are doing here in Silver Town?”

“Oh, a little of this and that,” Upon seeing Herren’s doubtful look, he added, “Chasing demons, mostly.” It was the truth, in a sense.

Herren hummed while Koi trilled a sad noise, disbelief apparent across his face, “Uhuh… I suppose I’ll chock it up to it being a ‘shitty couple of years.’”

Ash - or Red, he supposed - scowled before schooling his features, “Sure, sure. What about you? Do you live here?”

Herren chuckled lightly, somehow balancing the toothpick in his mouth as he did so, before answering, “No, I came here shortly before dawn on a job for the lab.”

“Oh?” Red asked, “You work for Professor Oak?”

A shadow crossed Herren’s visage, scowling in tandem with the mask carried by Koi. Red blinked and Herren’s face was once more carefully neutral as he answered “No. No, I don’t. I work with Professor Elm.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Red grimaced, “Most people just assume that you mean Professor Oak when you’re in Indigo. And you… yeah ,” Red ended, stopping himself from digging a further pit.

“It’s alright,” Herren soothed distractedly, “Most people assume as such when I first tell them. It only makes it funnier to tell Henry. He and Professor Oak have a bit of a rivalry going on.”

“Henry…” Red muttered, “You mean Professor Elm?”

“Who else? We’ve worked together for a number of years, so I know him well enough to call him as such,” Herren explained, seeming to have moved past whatever soured his mood..

Red hummed before seeing that Nurse Joy was walking towards him. Two pokéballs - rusted and bent - hung from her hip. Pichu was cradled in her arms, bandages wrapped around its head due to an ill-advised Headbutt on a Graveler that looked at him in just the wrong way.

Red supposed that Pichu was still irritable over his new look.

“Thank you, Nurse Joy. I can take him off your hands,” Red said, plucking Pichu’s scowling form into his arms. The nurse gave a small grin despite the small electrical burns littered on her arms. Red supposed that looking cute allowed him to get away with it.

Nurse Joy then unclipped the pokéballs off her clip, giving a small frown at their state. Red silently thanked the nurse as he received them, well aware of the scrutiny he was receiving from Herren.

Before he could pocket them, the pokéballs rattled and twin bursts of light heralded the appearance of Charmander and Froakie. Red chuckled a bit when they both moved to hug him, until he looked up to see that both Nurse Joy and Herren had grown silent, albeit for different reasons.

Nurse Joy stepped forward, covering Herren’s astonished look with a concerned visage, “Your pokémon seem to be in good health, sir. Both your Charmander and your Pichu had excellent vitals, and your… frog pokémon seems to follow that trend,” She cast a concerned and slightly baffled look to Charmander’s back, specifically at his scars, “Unfortunately, I was unable to heal his scars. Normally, this wouldn’t be as much of an issue, but given his final evolution and the position of the injuries, it may affect how he evolves, sir.”

Red stared at her blankly before flicking his eyes to the scars on Charmander’s back. He never even considered how they might affect evolution. He never even considered how his friends devolved in the first place .

As he contemplated this, the nurse continued, “Your Pichu’s tail will also be permanently maimed, even if it were to evolve into Pikachu,” The nurse paused when Pichu growled at that. Red soothed the tiny mouse before turning back to see the nurse giving him a stern look.

“Sir, if it wasn’t for how obvious it is that you care for them, I would have taken your pokémon away from you,” Red involuntarily sucked in a breath, “You come in here with a Charmander with untreated wounds, a Pichu with a bitten off tail, and a third pokémon that’s entirely undocumented,” She then cast another look at the Charmander’s blue flame, “Ignoring your Pichu, both of your other pokémon are highly distinctive. It almost makes me wonder if they were experimented on… Did you experiment on them? ”

“No!” Red yelped, enraged at such a motion. He had seen the effects of forced mutation and evolution from both Team Rocket and Team Source, “They’re just… special,” He said lamely.

Nurse Joy just gave Red that look while Herren muttered ‘ special ’ behind her. Nurse Joy pursed her lips before sighing, “ Special is a bit of an understatement. I’ve been avoiding it, but your pokémons’... uniqueness will draw the eyes of many people.”

Herren grunted in the background, “She’s saying that you’ll be a prime target for Team Rocket, kid.”

Nurse Joy turned to scowl at the man, who shrugged and returned to chewing on his toothpick. She turned back to see, much to her surprise, the young man looking resigned.

“I take it you’re aware of their reputation?” She asked.

Red waved a flippant hand, “I’ve dealt with them for years. It’s nothing we can’t handle.” Pichu affirmed this with a small, “Pichu!”

“Right,” Nurse Joy said with a small bow, “However, I will need to send a missive to the League about your new pokémon and Charmander variant.”

Red arched an eyebrow, “What do you mean about a ‘new pokémon?’”

The nurse looked towards Froakie, who stared back with a steady gaze, “The Indigo League has no records of any pokémon that look quite like this. As such, I am legally required to give them a report when we see a new pokémon species.”

Red just looked confused, muttering to himself, “You mean the League hasn’t discovered Kalos yet?”

However, the nurse heard, and to his surprise, scowled, “Oh, we’ve certainly discovered Kalos, and they don’t exactly have a history of being open with us in regards to their discoveries,” She turned back to Froakie, “I presume your pokémon is native to that region?”

Red was about to answer when Herren placed a hand on his shoulder, saying, “He was just telling me how he won it at an auction down in Olivine City, weren’t you Red?”

Red didn’t quite understand what Herren was doing, but had the feeling that he was trying to protect him, so he went along with it, “Yeah, Froakie’s been a good friend.”

Nurse Joy pursed her lips, eyeing Herren’s steely gaze before backing away, “Fine,” She took a few calming breaths, “I’d recommend not sharing his home region when someone asks in the future.”

Red just stared at her, confused. Before he could ask why, she stepped away, “I have a report to file and your pokémon are healthy. Have a nice day, sir.”

After she disappeared into her office, Herren tapped Red’s shoulder, signalling him to follow. Sharing a brief glance with Froakie, whose face had turned stony, Red followed.

Once they were outside, which now had the light of mid-morning, Herren leaned against the wall, with Koi mimicking his motion, and stared at Red, “You’re either not from around here, or you live under a rock.”

Red blinked owlishly, before scowling. He opened his mouth to retort before his brain caught up with him, causing him to stutter.

Red paused for a moment and allowed his thoughts to catch up. He had already made an alias for himself, however flimsy, but he still had no planned background. No home region.

At first, he was content to say that he was from Kanto, or even Johto, but considering the proximity of those regions to his past self, he discarded those ideas. Additionally, he had the distinct feeling with the previous conversation with Nurse Joy that there were some things that he didn’t completely understand in regards to the relationship of the Indigo League and other regions.

Another part of him considered Kalos, given that it had been the location of his most recent conference, and thus the most readily familiar region. However, based on Nurse Joy’s apparent disdain for the region, he stilled his tongue.

There was another half baked idea of his that he toyed with. He had spent a few weeks in Alola before being called back to Kanto to aid in hunting down The Chariot, and he really enjoyed his time in the tropical region. Additionally, while he wasn’t very knowledgeable on the politics of the World League (which he supposed was something he would have to fix), he did know that Alola had yet to be recognized at that point, which would make it difficult to verify any records if he were to hail from that region.

Mind set, Red said, “I’m from Alola.”

See, he could be a good liar.

Herren scrutinised Red before smirking, “Good effort, kid, but I doubt it.”

Or not.

Herren leaned forward, the sudden movement startling both Red and his pokémon. Ignoring the barred teeth and claws, Herren eyed Red intently, “You’re going to have to put in a lot more effort if you’re trying to hide from someone.”

Red’s eyes widened as Herren pulled back and flicked the toothpick out of his mouth, “Just by talking to you, I can tell that you have a lot to hide. You fumble with your name, your home region, and you hold extraordinary pokémon… Aside from that Pichu,” Herren’s eyes were amused as Pichu growled at him.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Meanwhile, Red tensed, fingers twitching in small movements that both Charmander and Froakie caught. They stood calmly, though there was a small undercurrent of nerves laden between them. “So what if I am?” Red asked, unwittingly bringing an edge to his voice.

Herren gave him a hard look, “Like the good nurse said: a lot of people will take notice of you. And, unless you’re hiding some other pokémon, those three will not be able to protect you from some of the more dangerous players.”

“And are you one of those players?” Red growled, flashes of ashen wastelands cycling through his mind.

“Peace,” Herren murmured with a palm raised, “I mean no harm to you. I just wanted to let you know that if you’re trying to stay hidden, you’re going to need help.”

Red’s anger halted, though it was still present, “Oh, and I suppose you’re just willing to lend it?”

Herren smiled fondly, eyes drifting past Red as if remembering something, “I’ve helped your kind before…”

“What do you mean?” Red ground out, becoming more frustrated than angry.

“I told you I have experience with troubled children, right? I’ve helped some of them hide away from those who hurt them,” Herren explained.

“I’ve told you already, I’m not a child,” Red sighed.

“Who are you running from?” Herren asked.

Red halted at the abrupt question, “What?”

“Who are you running from?” Herren asked again.

“I’m not running from anyone!” Red exclaimed, anger warring with confusion.

“Then, what are you trying to avoid?” Herren pressed.

“I’m not trying to avoid-” Red stopped himself and huffed, muttering, “I’m not dealing with this.”

Herren extended his hands in a placating gesture, “That’s alright, but you still have a problem.”

Red’s eye twitched, “ What? ” He snapped.

“Your story’s crap,” Herren said simply, before amending, “Actually, the basics are pretty good. It’s just obvious to tell that you’re making up the details on the spot, and that invites contradictions that will get you caught by whatever you’re trying to avoid.”

Red breathed in and out, asking in a sarcastic tone, “And I suppose you’ll just help me out of the goodness of your heart?”

Red was vaguely surprised when a dark gleam entered Herren’s eyes as he muttered, “Like I’ve said, kid, I’ve dealt with this before.”

Giving a cautious look to the man, who began to pet Koi to calm down, Red spoke slowly, “I’ll give you a chance on this, but if you backstab me, you’ll regret it.”

Herren snorted, his previous dark attitude replaced by disbelieving humour, “I’m sure you will, kid,” He waved a hand towards the park down the road, “We’ll talk some, and have you a new identity by the end of the afternoon.”

…

Twenty one years ago, at the height of the Great War, a man from Kalos and a woman from Kanto fell in love and conceived a child. Despite the war fought between the regions, the two betrayed their loyalty to their regions so that they could run away with their child.

However, just days before the man planned on deserting the Kalos military, he was dragged to the Battle of Rage and was among the many who perished in the conflict.

Heartbroken and lost, the woman fled her region to safety so that her child would live. After paying a sailor with what little she owned, she travelled to the Alola region, which remained untouched by the war.

Months later, her child was born. She named the child Red Satoshi, after both the colour of her love’s eyes and the family name of her forefathers. Despite her weakness both from birth and from illness, she worked to provide a small living for herself and her child on Melemele Island.

Sadly, just days after the boy’s fifth birthday, she passed away from a stroke.

From then on, the boy was cared for by the local orphanage. However, the poor region had no regional professor and very few sponsors willing to take upon themselves a child from an orphanage, so Red lived most of his teenage years without going on a pokémon journey.

When he turned seventeen, the young man left the orphanage to make his own way in life. This was when he first met his starter and best friend: Pichu.

The two eventually set off to travel other regions. Over the last three years, Red and his pokémon, now including a Froakie from Olivine City and a unique Charmander breed from Mount Silver, travelled the Hoenn, Kanto, and Johto regions. After making the annual pilgrimage to Mount Silver to honour Charmander’s mother-

“Hold on, I thought we were making my backstory, not Charmander’s.”

Herren paused, blinking at the compact scrawl of notes he made of Red’s fake backstory, before looking up, “I wanted to give you a reason why you were at Mount Silver in the first place.”

“How did you know about that?” Red asked, nibbling on a potato fry.

“People talk, and the guards were muttering rather loudly about ‘foolhardy trainers going to Mount Silver’. You’re the only one around that fits the description,” Herren explained before taking a bite of his now-cold sandwich.

Red stared off for a moment before muttering, “The fact that I can’t disagree with that description is kinda sad.”

A snort brought Red’s vision back to Herren, who was grinning, “I call that living. What’s life without a little danger?”

Koi, who had finished her milkshake mere seconds after receiving it, rumbled in… apprehension?

Meanwhile, Red looked back to the small pile of notes next to Herren, “This is a… very detailed profile,” He murmured, looking at the rough list of events in his ‘life’, “And you said you were a lab aide? You could forge identities for a living.”

Herren finished chewing his sandwich before holding up a finger, “One, I’m more of a field researcher than a mere lab aide,” He held another finger, “Two, I’ve had a lot of practice with this.”

“Yeah,” Red murmured, watching as Koi tried to mimic counting on its fingers and failing, “I forgot to ask, but is that why you’re out here?”

Herren paused and assessed Red with a mild glint of humour, “Why, are you trying to spy on the workings of a regional lab? That’s a criminal offence, you know.”

Red, who was beginning to get used to Herren’s brand of ‘humour’, sighed, “Is the information classified, or are you just being a smartass?”

Herren chortled as he fed Pichu the remains on his plate - Red made a point to Herren not to get any ketchup with the sandwich - “By Arceus, he learns!”

Red let him laugh for a moment, “Well, is it?”

Herren hummed, looking to his side for Koi only to see her and Froakie inspecting each other, “I suppose not. There was a bit of a power surge that rained hell on the lab’s sensors. Henry triangulated the location of the surge, and I happened to be in the area,” He ended by extending both of his palms as if saying ‘and that’s that.’

A distant part of Red wondered about that, but his train of thought was interrupted by Herren asking, “So, do you want to get rid of the Mount Silver pilgrimage?”

Red looked towards Charmander, who was dozing underneath the table, “Is it really necessary?” He asked. He would rather not have to explain the origins of his pokémon.

“I suppose not. You’ll just have to think of what you want to tell to the people who will ask where you got such a rare specimen,” Herren said, eyeing the blue tail flame on the small lizard.

“I’ll worry about that when I get to it,” Red muttered, “Aside from that, are we done?”

Herren took one last look at the notes before nodding, “Yes, this should suffice. It gives a basic background that will tug at most people’s heartstrings enough to not look further, and has a plausible enough explanation as to why there is no documented history of yourself.”

Red nodded in thanks, folding the notes and placing them in his pockets to study and memorise. A part of him was sad about leaving behind his former identity as Ash Ketchum, but he knew that for what he needed to do, this was a necessary sacrifice.

He was Red Satoshi now. A young man who started his pokémon journey late, had three first-stage pokémon, and no Gym badges.

He had seven years to prevent the end of the world.

He had no clue where to start.

“Thank you for your help, Herren,” Red said to take his mind off of his spiralling thoughts, “I’ll pay you back when I can.”

“There’s no need,” Herren replied quickly, signalling a waiter to get the receipt for the meal, “I’ve helped your kind before and I’ll do it again,” Herren gave a lopsided smirk, “Next time, though, I’ll charge you.”

Red nodded, packing up his few remaining items, “Well then, thank you again. I hope everything goes well with your research.”

“I’m sure it will,” Herren waved at him as Red began to leave, “You’ll pay for the next meal when we meet again, got it.”

Red nodded, waving goodbye at Koi who was waving her arm, “I will!”

Pichu hopped onto his shoulder as Red began to walk towards the edge of town, basking in the sun’s warmth against his fur. The four time-travellers headed off to begin the first steps of their journey.

The local Kadabra shivered as their psychic veil dissolved under the null deluge of darkness.

…

Silver Mountain Range (Johto-side), August 31st, 1997

“Ember.”

A condensed fireball impacted stone, leaving a scorch mark on its side. Charmander frowned before charging up another blue fireball, holding it in his mouth before expelling it with a small “Char!” The ember sped much faster to the stone, before impacting it with a crunch, cracking the stone in a ringed shape around the scorched centre.

Charmander huffed as Ash - He would always be Ash to him - wrote stuff down in his notes. His human had spent the last few hours with him to determine how much weaker he was after reverting back to his base form.

Of course, the human offered words of comfort, saying that Charmander would get back to what he was. And while Charmander knew that on a practical level, it didn’t make him feel any better about it.

Still, the four of them have dealt with worse. Charmander could remember the emptiness in his human’s eyes when Lucario fell to the abomination . Charizard and Greninja mourned side-by-side when Sceptile passed away. Charizard was devastated when Infernape, his brother in arms, was driven insane by the demon-man’s Togekiss.

The only one between the four of them that didn’t openly mourn was Pikachu. The god-killing rodent didn’t spare time for tears; instead, he wrought hell upon those who caused it. Charizard always respected that, and even in the frail form of a Pichu, Charmander would hesitate to cross the small rat.

Charmander snapped back to attention when Ash commanded, “Scratch!” The lizard scoffed - Of course he knew how to scratch! - and scratched the wood of one of the many dead trees on the mountain range.

As Ash recorded this in his notes, Charmander wondered about something. Walking back to the tree, Charmander raised his claws and began to focus, imagining them as metal claws. Just as Ash turned back to command something else, Charmander bore down with Metal Claw , tearing the tree to shreds.

Charmander blinked as his claws reverted from its shiny lustre back down to its regular colour. There was a dull pain on Charmander’s forearm from the attack, but he ignored it.

He turned back to see Ash looking at him with a calculating look, before saying, “Shadow Claw.”

Acting on instinct, Charmander rushed to the next dead tree, images of shadows, ghosts, nightmares, terror flashing across his mind as his claws glowed a sickly purple. Charmander slashed across the wood, uncaring for the flares of pain across his arm, until all that remained was a shadowed ruin.

Charmander panted for a moment before taking a deep breath. Puffing out a breath of blue flame, Charmander took a stance as Ash commanded once more, “Dragon Claw!”

Charmander roared as he rushed forward and tore apart another tree, draconic energy feeding into his frenzy. Charmander continued, using the rising pain in his arms to fuel his attacks, until a resounding voice stopped him in his tracks.

“STOP!”

Charmander stopped, looking around as the small clearing of deadfall fell apart after being torn apart. His arms were throbbing in pain, which caused him to wince, attracting Ash’s attention to his injuries.

Charmander looked away in shame as Ash checked his arms, tutting to himself, “You took it a bit too far, buddy,” Charmander peeked a look to see Ash giving a strained smile, “You are really strong, though.”

Charmander thought about that for a moment, before giving a small huff to show that he listened. Ash smiled a bit more before saying, “I think we should wrap up for the day. I have a good enough understanding of what moves you can perform when we get back to battling.”

Charmander sniffed to himself, not wanting to stop his training after such a minor injury, but he followed Ash back to camp anyways. There was a time and a place for such things, and now wasn’t it.

…

Red closed his notebook with a snap, watching as Froakie pored over the map.

Red had lost his pokedex a couple years ago, after a particularly destructive bout with the Chariot, leaving him to learn how to use a map and a compass.

He had some experience from when he was a child, as it was one of the main courses at Professor Oak’s summer camp, but he had always been more interested in the pokémon than anything else, so he didn’t remember nearly anything.

It was a trial by fire, sometimes literally, but after a few weeks of meandering around, they learned how to navigate without a digital map. This skill carried over to the past because, as an unsponsored trainer, Red didn’t have access to a pokedex or any equivalent.

That was something he would have to fix, if only to keep track of the date and important events. It would also help with cataloguing what moves his pokémon knew, along with keeping track of his gear.

For now, though, he had to suffice with a small notebook he purchased with the small amount of old cash he carried in his pack. He was very thankful that Silver Town even accepted physical money, and that his cash was registered as 1992 rather than something like 2004 .

In it, he wrote down a few locations that were used as bases for Team Source and the movesets for his pokémon.

There were about eight bases that he remembered the locations of, primarily in Johto and Kanto. The notable ones were the base underneath the Lake of Rage, in Goldenrod City, Vermillion City, and in Saffron City.

Meanwhile, it was very apparent that his pokémon were severely weakened after reverting back to their original forms. Froakie lost his proficiency in dark type energy. Pichu was harmed when attempting anything above a Spark . Charmander couldn’t do much more than Ember and a variety of clawed moves, though they eventually took its toll.

They would have to improve on that over the next few days, especially since Red planned on doing the Johto Gym Circuit leading to the Silver Conference. While he debated within himself over staying anonymous and working in the shadows, he decided that it was more conducive to his goal by getting his name out there, both to gain connections and to potentially determine who the Team’s informants were at the top of the food chain.

For this, his first stop was Clair Blackthorne, the dragon type Gym Leader of Johto. From what Red could determine by the information available on the Silver Town PC, Clair didn’t usually allow trainers to challenge her unless they had a minimum of 4 badges. However, there were reports of her allowing trainers without any badges to fight her using her 4-badge team. Of course, these challengers were usually left to taste the dirt, so less and less people tried their hand at it.

However, Red noted that she never explicitly banned that course of action. Given that Blackthorne City had the Gym closest to him and that the Silver Conference was in December, Clair was Red’s first step to a roundabout circle leading him back to Silver Town in four month’s time.

Regardless, even if they were weakened, he felt confident in his pokémon’s ability to pull through.

Froakie hopped up to Red and presented the map to him. Marked in scraggly lines was a basic plan for knocking out each of the Gyms. Red smiled and patted Froakie on the head, eliciting a small warble of contentment before the frog walked over to lay down next to Pichu.

The light of blue flame brough Red’s attention away from the map to see Charmander breathing small bouts of fire into the campfire they set for the night. After the lizard determined the fire to be of high enough quality, he also crawled near the flames, basking in its warmth as he too fell asleep.

Red sat as the moon shined overhead, thinking about old friends, old family. His other self would have met Misty by now, and had his first encounter with Team Rocket. Pikachu would still be all piss and vinegar, though Red reckoned that nothing changed in that regard if Pichu’s displays of wild abandon earlier said anything. He briefly wondered what would happen if the two met, and if the pokémon would pick a fight with each other due to some pettiness.

Red quickly dismissed that thought, though. He would avoid his other self for as long as he could. He didn’t need to rope a 10 year old kid into his problems, regardless of their ties.

With thoughts of friends and family long buried and never forgotten, Red sat back and dozed.

…

Blackthorne Gym, September 6th, 1997

Red stood in the Gym’s waiting room, idly watching the receptionist type away on her keyboard.

The four had reached the City four days ago, signing up for the Gym match as soon as they could. However, given how late into the season it was, there was a coming influx of trainers looking to challenge Clair for one of, if not, their final badges.

Not seeing anything better to do, Red took to the battling ring at the centre of the City. Initially, he attracted looks of intrigue and mild derision - Pichu’s cheeks crackled when they jeered at him - but he quickly gained a reputation as an incredible battler.

There was some minor adjustment back to battling within League perimetres, but Red quickly began to rack up a winning streak on numerous 1-on-1’s and 2-on-2’s. The only loss he suffered was from an already exhausted Pichu fainting after a particularly spirited Thunderbolt , though the opponent’s Donphan collapsed shortly after.

After years worth of fighting The Chariot being the only human contact he had, it was very disorienting for Red to become a minor celebrity at the battling ring. It got to the point where a pair of travellers challenged him to a double battle with their 8-badge team, at which point Red had to decline. Still, he had been able to net a decent amount of cash from bets placed on the matches, which helped with paying for lodging and gear.

It seemed that word of a rising star reached Clair’s ears, as she moved Red to the front of the cue. He was heading off for another day at the ring when he heard the news, making him very nearly late when he arrived just minutes before.

It made Red a little apprehensive. He wondered if Clair’s view of his ability was a bit out of proportion.

Red was knocked out of his musing when the receptionist stood, signalling him to the door, “Gym Leader Clair welcomes you to her gym.”

Red bowed in thanks - a custom unique to Johto, he learned - and passed through the door. As he walked down the hallway leading to the arena, he heard the sounds of cheering from the spectators. Their cries of jubilation at the promise of a good pokémon match brought memories of his own cries when watching pokémon tournaments on the television.

It was a harrowing experience.

Red finally reached the end of the hallway, stepping into the edge of the arena. He covered his eyes as the sun shined down from the open ceiling. After his eyes readjusted, he looked across the arena to see Clair herself sitting lavishly on a stone throne, one leg crossed over the other while she held a great ball loosely in one of her hands.

It was a striking pose, one that would have sent Ash into doing one of his own. However, Red merely stared forward before descending the steps towards the challenger’s podium. Such extravagance got one killed during the Source Waves.

Clair gave a self-satisfied smirk before holding a hand, shushing the crowd. Afterwards, she directed a shark like grin towards Red, “Blackthorne City has had a bit of a new celebrity roaming the streets!” She began in a sing-song voice, causing the hairs on Red’s arms to rise, “He’s been stomping the competition at the battling ring over the last few days, suffering only a single loss!”

Not good. She likely knows what pokémon he has on his team and has planned around that.

“Imagine my surprise when I saw that he challenged me for the Rising Badge! Imagine my further surprise when I found out that this would be his first Gym badge… ever !” She declared, drawing out the reveal to maximise the crowd’s reaction.

And react it did. A mixture of delighted yells, jeers, and boos reached Red’s ears before he blocked them out to focus only on Clair. Pichu, who was perched on his shoulder, was much the opposite and actively stuck his tongue out at every individual he could find.

Clair’s smile grew at the crowd’s reaction, obviously loving the cheering. She spared a quick glance at Red, noting his lack of reaction, before turning to the referee.

The referee blew on his whistle before shouting, “Challenger Red Satoshi of Melemele Island has challenged Clair Blackthorne of Blackthorne City to a 5-badge Gym Battle! This will be a 3-on-3, with no switching being allowed after a pokémon faints! Gym Leader Clair will begin by sending out her pokémon!”

Clair smirked once more before tossing out a pokéball, “Go, Vibrava!” The dragonfly pokémon gave a cry before buzzing off the ground.

The referee turned to Red, “Challenger, choose your pokémon!”

Red thought over it for a moment, before grasping one of his rusted pokéballs. After sending it out with a simple, “Froakie,” the frog pokémon impacted the ground, surveying the battlefield.

Naught a second passed before Clair called out, “ Sand Tomb! ”

“ Double Team! ” Red called in response. Vibrava dug its claws into the earth, sending waves of dust and sand to spiral around Froakie’s feet. The spiral of crushing rock and gravel caught the frog pokémon’s legs, and clamped around them, trapping him.

Clair barked a single laugh, before the frog dissipated into wisps of light, revealing that it was nothing more than an illusion. She called for Vibrava to retreat, but not before the real Froakie hopped to its side to shoot a Water Gun at it.

Red pressed the offensive, “ Quick Attack, ” causing Froakie to become nothing more than a blur before it slammed to Vibrava’s side, causing the dragonfly to cry out in pain.

Clair growled before calling out, “ Gust! ” Vibrava began beating its wings against each other, blowing up a gust that mixed with the loose pebbles and sand to create a bastardised Sandstorm .

Froakie attempted to retreat, but got dragged in by the currents. Instead of panicking, though, Red stayed silent as Froakie began to cover itself up in frubbles, acting as a makeshift shield to protect itself from the spirals of sand. Content with the knowledge that Froakie had this handled, Red’s eyes landed on Clair, who he saw was staring at the storm with an intense look.

Her eyes sharpened as the silhouette of Froakie threw a handful of frubbles at the Vibrava, disorienting it. She called out, “ Bug Buzz! ” Causing the Vibrava to vibrate feverishly.

The sandstorm began to dissipate, allowing Red to see Froakie wincing at the discordant sounds of the bug-type move. However, it was partially smothered by the frubbles, giving Froakie enough time to shoot another Water Gun at it, causing the remaining frubbles to stick onto the Vibrava’s scales.

The dragonfly buzzed angrily at this, moving out of range of another attack. The pokémon turned to see Clair give it a nod, causing its wings to vibrate intensely before it slammed into the ground.

A resounding quake rumbled across the Gym, causing some in the audience to scream out in surprise. Red watched in ill-hidden surprise as Fissures cascaded across the stone, sending jagged rocks spiralling from their depths.

Resuming verbal commands, Red shouted, “ Quick Attack! Keep on your feet, Froakie!”

In response, Clair hollered out, “ Uproar! ”

Immediately, multiple people across the stadium had to cover their ears as the Vibrava echoed an overbearingly loud melody across the battlefield. Froakie winced but continued jumping between fissures, careful to avoid the careening stones looking to take him out.

Red stepped forward, raising his voice to be heard across the stadium, “ Smokescreen into Double Team! ”

As Froakie obeyed his commands, tossing forward a mishmashed ball of dust, spit, and frubbles, Clair called out, “Continue using Uproar until it gets close!”

Seems like she has a trick up her sleeve.

Two could play at that game. Red called to Froakie, “Froakie! Sub into SD!”

“NO!” Clair’s startled voice shook the crowd, “Don’t let it self-destruct! Dragon Tail it before it can!”

The Vibrava gave a quick nod before seeing a figure advancing to it. Following its trainer’s orders, the dragonfly charged a Dragon Tail and unleashed it, only to reveal that it impacted a small plush Substitute that smashed against the edge of the stadium.

Before it could react, Froakie appeared behind it, channelling rock-type energy into its hands to deliver a resounding Smack Down on the Vibrava’s head, smashing it into the ground.

Red smirked to himself, glad that his trick worked. He knew that saying ‘SD’ would trigger most experienced trainers into a frenzy, thinking that it meant ‘self destruct’. Their paranoia was usually so great that they forgot that most pokémon were unable to learn it, which Red took happy advantage of. He and Froakie had practised this little tactic after seeing that the frog was capable of performing Smack Down , as it was the perfect trickery needed to get past this tough Gym.

Setting his mind back to the present, Red watched as Froakie wailed onto the Vibrava with punches and kicks along with the occasional Water Gun . It wasn’t long before Clair sighed, recalling Vibrava as the referee gave the first victory to Red.

Clair cradled the ball in her hands before giving a small smile, “You did well little one. Rest now.” She looked across the fractured stadium to Red, giving what was perhaps her most genuine smile so far, “That was a great match! Vibrava should learn a lot from that!”

Red gave a small nod, “He was strong.”

Clair snorted, murmuring, “‘ He was strong ,’ he says,” She shook her head, “You know, I actually felt kinda bad accepting this challenge from you, given that this is your first Gym badge and all.”

“Right,” Red replied slowly, not exactly liking where this was leading.”

“Your performance with that frog pokémon, though… that makes me know that you’re worth the reputation you’ve built!” She grabbed her next pokéball, “That makes me know that I don’t have to hold back.”

Red’s eyebrows rose, “You mean you were holding back just now?”

A manic glint entered Clair’s eyes, as she smiled with sharp teeth, “Yep. Go Kingdra!”

In a flash of white light, a small seahorse-like pokémon emerged with a warbling cry. The audience roared in excitement at the young dragon, causing it to preen.

Soon after, the referee signalled the start of the next match. Clair didn’t waste time before commanding, “ Dragon Dance! ”

“Close the distance and frubble it, Froakie!” Red called out.

Froakie began to speed across the shattered battlefield, nimbly hopping from rock to rock. As the Kingdra finished the final bout of its dance, Froakie leaped into the air and threw a volley of white frubbles at the seahorse.

Clair wasn’t fazed, however, “ Whirlpool! Intercept them, Kingdra!”

A small geyser of water rose from the cracks in the battlefield, picking up in intensity before it became a spiralling whirlpool around the Kingdra’s body. The frubbles were caught by the rushing waters and dissolved before they could attach to the Kingdra.

The rushing tides suspended in air prevented Froakie from going on a direct assault. As Clair commanded the Kingdra to use Focus Energy , Red called out, “Froakie, Smack Down on the battlefield to send up rocks to jump on!”

The frog nodded once before infusing his fists with the same energy as before, smashing them against the ground, sending several small boulders to rise into the air. Froakie jumped on them before they fell back down, using them to jump over the top of the whirlpool. Clair’s eyes widened as Froakie’s mouth charged up a Water Gun , calling out to Kingdra, “ Aurora Beam! Freeze that frog in its tracks!”

Water met aurora as the two attacks collided overhead, causing a small blast of ice and water to impact both Froakie and Kingdra.

The seahorse pokémon grunted as it shook off patches of frost, turning to see Froakie land on the battlefield with a grimace. Upon seeing the opportunity, Clair extended a hand, “Keep on it, Kingdra. Heat it up with Scald! ”

The whirlpool around Kingdra began to boil as it sped towards the weakened pokémon. Red waited until the Kingdra was within range before shouting, “ Substitute into Quick Attack! ”

Froakie panted but still listened to Red’s command. In a cloud of dust, a substitute appeared to take the scalding water. Immediately after, a speeding blur rammed into Kingdra’s side, causing it to cry out in shock and minor pain.

Before Froakie could escape, though, Clair told the Kingdra to use Aurora Beam once more, firing into the frog pokémon point-blank, blasting it back as shards of ice encased parts of its body.

The crowd went into an uproar as Red recalled Froakie, murmuring words of encouragement and thanks as he handed the pokéball to an aide, who sent it to be healed. The referee took a step forward, yelling into the microphone, “Red Satoshi’s first pokémon has been eliminated! Gym Leader Clair’s Kingdra is still in play, meaning that both the Challenger and the Gym Leader have two pokémon left! Challenger, send out your next pokémon!”

Red took a look to the side, eyes connecting with those of Pichu. The small mouse responded with a small “Pichu!”, hopping off his shoulder, cheeks sparkling as it hopped down onto the arena.

More than a few audience members gave startled laughs at the sight of such a small creature facing off against a dragon. The mouse scowled, cheeks crackling in greater intensity, before Red’s voice cut across the crowd, “Don’t pay attention to them. You know who you are and what you’ve accomplished.”

Memories flashed across Pichu’s mind, images of the innumerable impossible odds that they faced and yet still came out on top of. Pokémon with the strength of gods had fallen to his wrath. Waking behemoths such as the mutated Moltress or the titanic Tyranitar had been laid low by him.

He stepped forward into the arena, sending a challenging glare to the Kingdra, who merely stared at it in a bored gaze.

“Hah!” Clair’s voice rang out, “That little Pichu’s got spunk! I hope he’s like your other pokémon and can back it up in battle.”

“You have no idea,” Red murmured to himself before raising his voice, “Pichu, you know what to do.”

The referee called for the match to resume, causing Clair to call out, “ Hydro Pump! ”

Before the Kingdra could even finish charging the blast, Pichu was gone. Around the edges of the arena, trails of electricity followed a yellow blur, splitting off into several copies as Pichu surrounded Kingdra with Double Team .

In a rushing geyser, Hydro Pump smashed against the edge of the arena, spiralling in a destructive beam of pressured water as the Kingdra spun around to hit the Pichu.

It was a futile effort, however, as the small creature sped between the beams of water in expert movements. When Pichu got close, the trails of electricity began to move back up to envelop the mouse’s body as it jumped up, grappling onto Kingdra’s fins, erupting in a Discharge of electrical energy.

The Kingdra cried out in pain as electricity arced through its body. Clair’s eyes widened as she commanded, “ Flail into Dragon Pulse! ”

The Kingdra began jerking its body violently, throwing the Pichu off its body. The small mouse landed with its paws on the ground, a toothy grin offsetting the electrical burns on its frail body.

The Kingdra turned with enraged eyes, darting towards the Pichu as it shot volleys of Dragon Pulses .

The rippling streaks of draconic energy impacted the ground as Pichu pranced back and forth, leading the Kingdra in a wild chase.

As the Kingdra landed a Dragon Pulse that grazed Pichu’s leg, the small mouse turned around, ignoring the growing pain from its injuries, and charged forward like a speeding bullet, mad spirals of electricity twisting around it, as it rammed into Kingdra’s front in a brutal Volt Tackle .

The seahorse impacted the edge of the arena, eyes clearly dazed. The crowd’s jubilation rose to a crescendo as the pokémon swayed back and forth before hovering forward in pained movements.

Clair looked from her Kingdra to the small, demonic Pichu that had no right contending against a dragon. She was becoming increasingly bewildered by this trainer. He used no evolved pokémon. One of his pokémon was unlisted in her registry. And now a Pichu was giving a Kingdra a seriously hard time… without verbal commands !

She shook her head, sending a pointed look to Kingdra, saying, “It’s time.”

Kingdra looked at her for a moment before nodding once. In a rushed motion, the seahorse dropped close to the ground, drawing up the necessary energy required for the next move.

Upon seeing this, Pichu shrugged off its injuries and began to speed towards the dragon pokémon, arcs of rippling electricity crisscrossing its body as it prepared another Volt Tackle .

It was moments too late, however, as the Kingdra shot upwards like a bullet as the entire stadium began to rumble. The aides across the Gym began to scramble with their Psychic pokémon, sending up barriers as torrents of water rushed out of the earth, eroding away at the battlefield.

Red took only a brief moment to understand what was happening, and called out frantically, “Pichu, get out of there!”

Pichu heard too late, as a gigantic wall of water shot up behind the Kingdra, swaying in the air for a moment, before crashing down onto the battlefield with a cataclysmic Surf .

Pichu was pushed back by the rushing waters, struggling to stay above the surface as massive waves crashed against him. However he was unable to persist for long, as his small form led to his energy being burned up far quicker than it used to.

Red was calling out desperately for Pichu, knowing that despite the mouse’s impressive showing, it was at its breaking point. The aide by his side tried to tell the referee that Pichuwas indisposed of, but the sounds of the crowd drowned out her voice.

The noise was so great that it took a few seconds of rumbling to register that something was amiss. Looking upwards, Red was astounded to see a great storm cloud swirling above the stadium, arcs of white lightning visible within the dark clouds.

People within the crowd began pointing upwards as the storm rumbled in greater intensity. They screamed as the storm flashed, casting an arc of yellow Thunder into the water. The Kingdra, which had been submerged near the surface of the water, cried out in agony as electricity coursed through its body.

The storm began to dissipate as the workers at the Gym scrambled to drain the water. Less than a minute later, the bulk of the water was drained, revealing a sodden, fissured wasteland.

Before anyone else did anything, Red hopped over the edge of his podium, ignoring the protests of his aide as he rushed to collect Pichu in his arms. The small mouse had matted fur and electrical burns across its body, though Red was immensely relieved to find that Pichu still had a strong pulse.

Pichu cracked one eye open as Red cradled him towards the edge of the arena, giving a small cry as he licked the tip of Red’s finger. Red smiled, handing Pichu to his aide, who carried him out of the stadium to be treated.

Turning back, Red saw that Kingdra had been recalled, which likely explained the cheers of surprise and excitement from the crowd.

Across the arena, Clair stared at Red with such intensity that he began to break out into a sweat. Without a word, she unlatched the greatball from her belt, throwing it forward to reveal her final pokémon.

With a proud cry, Dragonair emerged. It turned its amber eyes to Red in a ready gaze.

In response, Red took out his final pokéball. Assuming a solid stance, Red tossed the ball forward, calling upon Charmander to end the match strong.

…

Charmander landed on the ground, soft and muddy from the battles waged before.

He took a look around the arena, images of wastelands and ruin coming to his mind as he surveyed the puddles of muddied water and jagged spikes.

Across from him, Charmander spotted his opponent. The Dragonair stared down at him with a careful look, seeming to regard him with caution.

Good. That makes it smarter than anything else he’s faced in the last few days.

Suddenly, the referee started the match, and the Dragonair began a Dragon Dance . Ash called out, “ Ember , then surround yourself with Smokescreen! ”

Charmander obeyed, shooting forth a rippling ball of blue flame. The fireball slammed against Dragonair’s side as it finished its dance, causing it to cry out.

Charmander took a step back as it held its breath, smoke beginning to sift out of his nostrils, before puffing out great wisps of smoke.

Charmander idly heard a command from the dragon lady, and the Dragonair burst forward with a Dragon Rush . Charmander prepared to attack again when Ash called out, “Continue using Smokescreen! ”

A part of Charmander protested this, wanting to feel the dragon’s blood on its claws, but it huffed and obeyed Ash, blowing out another burst of blueish smoke.

Charmander supposed it was fine to listen to Ash in this case, as the opposing dragon rushed into the smoke, attacking at shadows as Charmander nimbly bounded to its side. Without waiting for further command, Charmander slashed the dragon on its side with Shadow Claw .

The dragon reeled in surprise and pain, turning towards Charmander as the dragon lady commanded it to use Dragon Tail .

Charmander heard Ash’s voice yelling at him to retreat, so with some Slashes , Charmander fought against the dragon’s onslaught until it could jump away, bearing only minor lacerations across its arms.

Then, the dragon lady did something unexpected, and commanded the dragon to use Extreme Speed . Charmander could barely brace itself before it was slammed into by the dragon, launching it several metres across the battlefield.

Charmander scrambled back onto his legs as the dragon rushed forward, sending a Water Pulse at him.

Survival instincts kicking in, Charmander shot forward an oversized Ember , disrupting the pulsating liquid to become steam. Drawing blue flames in his mouth, Charmander raked embers across his claws as he rushed to the dragon with a Fire Punch .

The dragon met the onslaught with an Aqua Tail , causing a wall of steam to appear between them.

Wincing at the licks of water evaporating on his arms, Charmander heard Ash command him to shoot a Smokescreen at the dragon. After doing so, Charmander charged up another Ember as the dragon rubbed the smoke out of its eyes with its tail.

As the Dragonair removed the last of the soot and ash from its eyes, a blue fireball slammed against its face, eliciting a cry of fury from the dragon. Charmander gave a self-satisfied smirk before seeing the dragon reel back to him, rage dancing across its eyes.

In the corner of his eye, Charmander saw the dragon lady yell out, “ Outrage! ” The dragon across from him sped forward, teeth barred as draconic energy enveloped the creature in a mad spiral.

Charmander raised his arms to defend himself, crying out as the dragon slashed, bit, tore through his defences. Charmander began to see red as the Dragonair raised its tail for one final strike, rage coursing through his veins, bursting forth when his trainer gave his final command.

“ Dragon Claw! ”

Charmander roared as he shot forward, slashing away the careening tail with Dragon Claw . Draconic energy swirled around him as he pounced on the dragon, bearing down on it with radiating blue claws.

The Dragonair cried out, struggling to buck off the wild lizard as he tore into it. A particularly powerful shake knocked Charmander off, only for him to rush forward to grapple on the dragon once more.

The dragon continued to cry as Charmander clawed into it, desperately releasing Thunder Waves in a last ditch effort to defeat the raging lizard. Charmander shivered as he felt his nerves seize up, but still pressed forward, grappling once more on the dragon’s neck, before letting loose his built-up Dragon Breath point-blank at the dragon’s face.

The Dragonair cried once more as fissions of draconic energy rippled across its face. With one final shudder, the dragon slumped onto the ground, defeated.

Charmander huffed in lungfuls of air, suppressing the primal urge to finish the dragon off. After a moment, the red haze began to dwindle, returning the lizard to his other senses as the excited screams of the crowd reached his ears.

Turning to take a look at the dragon lady, who looked completely astonished, then to Ash, who looked weary but proud, Charmander gave a roar of victory, small gushes of blue flame escaping his mouth.

…

Pokémon Center, Blackthorne City

“That was a good match we had.”

Red turned to see Clair leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, looking past him to the Charmander who was getting tended to by Nurse Joy.

Red replied, “It was. You were a good challenge.”

Clair hummed, idly twirling a lock of hair, “I presume you’re aiming to complete the Gym Circuit for the Silver League?”

“I am,” Red confirmed, turning to her.

“Lofty goal,” Clair noted, her voice slightly higher than it was before, “You sure you’ll be able to make it?”

“I will,” Red said simply.

They were silent for a moment, before Clair asked, “Why did you choose me to be your first Gym Challenge?”

Red shrugged, “You were the closest one. I didn’t feel like making a month-long hike just to reach my first Gym.”

Clair’s eyebrows rose, “So I was the closest, hmm?” She scrunched her brow, “From where, though? Blackthorne is pretty out of the way, all things considered.”

“I started in Silver Town, which is only a four day hike from here,” Red answered, noting that Clair’s face became shocked.”

“Silver Town?! You mean you went through the Silver Mountain Range?” She asked, leaning forward intensely.

“Yeah. Is that… not allowed?” Red asked upon seeing her baffled look.

She blinked before laughing to herself, murmuring, “So the nobody with a frog pokémon no-one’s heard about, an overpowered Pichu, and a Charmander with blue fire also happened to ride into town from one of the most dangerous areas in Johto,” She sighed, “It’s almost out of a fairytale.”

“It’s not that dangerous if you know what you’re doing,” Red said, somewhat confused by her reaction, “I’ve been to worse places, by far.”

Clair stared at him, raising a hand to her chin, “So you’re not completely green. Okay, I can accept that.”

Red eyed her, “What?”

“You defeated me. You: a new trainer. No-one’s heard of you until a couple days ago, and you come in and defeat my Gym with a frog, a Charmander, and a Pichu ,” She shook her head, “That fact either means you’re freakishly powerful, or I’m way weaker than I ought to be.”

Red became somewhat uncomfortable, “Uh… you are! It’s just…” He fumbled with his hands for a bit, wondering how one says they have fought and slain actual Legendaries without actually saying it.

“It’s fine,” Clair waved his concern away, though there was a strain in her smile, “I look forward to seeing your progress.”

Red looked at her, “You do?”

“Yeah,” Clair confirmed easily, “If I may boast for a moment: I am one of the strongest Gym Leaders in the region. The fact that you defeated me tells me that you have some serious potential,” She sighed, “I’d honestly consider sponsoring you if I could.”

Red perked up, “You would?”

She nodded, “Yeah, but I already have a trainer who I’m sponsoring, and the elders don’t want me focusing on more than one sponsor at a time,” She explained, “I could technically drop her as a sponsor, but that would be a terrible thing to do when I’ve already promised to support her on her journey,” She sent a smile at Red, this time lacking the sharp teeth she had during the Gym match, “I’ll send in a good word to the other Gym Leaders, though. Maybe one of them will take you as their own.”

“Oh,” Red muttered, not expecting her to do such a thing. He stood up and bowed in thanks, “Thank you for your consideration.”

She snorted, “No need to be formal, Red,” She patted him on the shoulder before walking towards the door, “I look forward to seeing you at the Silver Conference! If you ever need anything, my door’s always open.”

After that, she left, leaving Red to ponder what she said. He took out a small pouch in his pocket, opening it up to reveal a black and red badge in the shape of a dragon’s head. The Rising Badge gleamed as Red examined it against the moonlight from the window.

Giving a small smile, Red placed the badge back into the pouch. As he began to doze off, he reflected that while he had taken his first step in this journey, he still had a long way to go until the world was saved.

…

(10:58 P.M.) - The_Emperor has opened the chat.

(10:58 P.M.) - The_Empress has logged in.

(10:59 P.M.) - The_Tower has logged in.

(10:59 P.M.) - The_Tower: Can we make this quick? I have something I need to do

(10:59 P.M.) - The_Magician has logged in.

(11:00 P.M.) - The_Emperor: That’s fine.

(11:00 P.M.) - The_Emperor: You can go first. We’ll fill you in tomorrow if that works.

(11:00 P.M.) - The_Empress: I presume that the Chariot will be late again?

(11:00 P.M.) - The_Tower: Probably

(11:00 P.M.) - The_Emperor: Are we all good to go?

(11:01 P.M.) - The_Tower: Yes

(11:01 P.M.) - The_Empress: I am.

(11:01 P.M.) - The_Magician: Indeed

(11:01 P.M.) - The_Emperor: Alright then. Tower, your report?

(11:01 P.M.) - The_Tower: Give me a moment

(11:01 P.M.) - The_Emperor: Ok.

(11:04 P.M.) - The_Tower has shared a file to the group.

(11:05 P.M.) - The_Tower: The file I just shared has the profiles of three potential candidates for recruitment. The first two show promise in research while the last shows considerable potential as a battler. I’ve evaluated each one and have determined them to be fit for the organisation

(11:06 P.M.) - The_Emperor: Good. I’ll have Chariot send for them. Is there anything else?

(11:06 P.M.) - The_Tower: Not at the moment. Am I free to go

(11:07 P.M.) - The_Emperor: Yes. Have a good night.

(11:07 P.M.) - The_Tower: I wish you all a good night as well.

(11:08 P.M.) - The_Tower has logged off.

(11:08 P.M.) - The_Magician: I have a report on Project A.N.E.M.I.A.

(11:08 P.M.) - The_Emperor: Go ahead.

(11:10 P.M.) - The_Magician: Mia has been making minor progress in regards to the chromosomal transfusion. We’ve largely been working to perfect the audio-neurotic commands in preparation for the main experiment

(11:11 P.M.) - The_Magician: Thus far, we have set up a correlation between a specific radio frequency and the command to teleport. The results show a 79% success rate, and we’re currently expanding the tests to include moves such as growl and double team

(11:12 P.M.) - The_Emperor: What’s the projected time it will take before the project is complete?

(11:12 P.M.) - The_Magician: Upwards of a year

(11:12 P.M.) - The_Magician: Maybe more

(11:13 P.M.) - The_Emperor: Alright. Keep me updated. Is there anything else?

(11:13 P.M.) - The_Magician: Yes

(11:13 P.M.) - The_Magician: Remember the power surge from a few days ago

(11:13 P.M.) - The_Emperor: Yes.

(11:14 P.M.) - The_Magician: Mia seemed to be affected by it rather harshly

(11:14 P.M.) - The_Magician: She lost consciousness for a few hours

(11:14 P.M.) - The_Magician: There were no visible injuries and our scans didnt show any internal injuries

(11:15 P.M.) - The_Magician: She regained consciousness and didnt seem to be in pain and also didnt remember

(11:15 P.M.) - The_Magician: Thoughts?

(11:16 P.M.) - The_Empress: I’ve done some analysis on the power surge. It seemed to be composed of a mixture of every type energy, along with a few other signatures that I didn’t recognise.

(11:17 P.M.) - The_Empress: Could that interfere with the experiment?

(11:17 P.M.) - The_Magician: It shouldn’t

(11:17 P.M.) - The_Chariot has logged in

(11:17 P.M.) - The_Magician: I’ll keep an eye on it though

(11:18 P.M.) - The_Emperor: Alright. Is there anything else?

(11:18 P.M.) - The_Magician: No. I’ll be on standby if you all need anything

(11:19 P.M.) - The_Emperor: Then I wish you a good night as well.

(11:19 P.M.) - The_Magician: It’s still daytime for me but ok

(11:20 P.M.) - The_Chariot: did i miss anything important

(11:21 P.M.) - The_Empress: Tower has some candidates that you will need to see. They’re attached above.

(11:21 P.M.) - The_Chariot: gotcha

(11:21 P.M.) - The_Emperor: Your report, Empress?

(11:22 P.M.) - The_Empress: I’m still looking into the power surge from a few days ago. Aside from what I’ve already mentioned, there hasn’t been much.

(11:22 P.M.) - The_Emperor: Alright then.

(11:22 P.M.) - The_Magician: Chariot?

(11:23 P.M.) - The_Chariot: i got some samples ill send in a week or so

(11:23 P.M.) - The_Chariot: got word from team rocket about a genetics project at cinnabar

(11:24 P.M.) - The_Chariot: ill look into that in a few weeks

(11:25 P.M.) - The_Emperor: Anything else?

(11:25 P.M.) - The_Chariot: nothing that you dont already know

(11:26 P.M.) - The_Emperor: Alright.

(11:27 P.M.) - The_Emperor: Things on my end have been stable. Aside from the power surge, nothing out of place has happened.

(11:28 P.M.) - The_Emperor: In regards to Project Changeling, progress has been steady. So far he can assume three other forms along with his base form.

(11:29 P.M.) - The_Emperor: I’ve also been in contact with a contact in Kalos about the potential of a new type. I’ll send you all more information after I confirm a few hypotheses of mine.

(11:30 P.M.) - The_Empress: I look forward to it.

(11:30 P.M.) - The_Magician: As do I

(11:31 P.M.) - The_Emperor: Does anyone have anything else they want to share before we close this chat?

(11:31 P.M.) - The_Chariot: emperor, we need to dm i have info

(11:32 P.M.) - The_Emperor: Is it high-priority?

(11:32 P.M.) - The_Chariot: yes

(11:32 P.M.) - The_Emperor: Okay then.

(11:33 P.M.) - The_Emperor: I wish you all the best.

(11:33 P.M.) - The_Emperor has closed the chat.