Meowth was quite as he read through the story Ash wrote and more quite when he joined Jessie and James. He had watched over the dark haired trainer as he slept through half the day before waking up and joining his Pokemon in training. Meowth was contemplative and lost in thought and that worried James and Jessie a bit, but they didn't disturb him. Ash had been very excited too as he told of his plans to use Banette in the appeal round to give him an idea of how it would be like. Banette has been excited as well at the prospect and took to training and mastering a combination of four moves that he could use. As he was young there were only so much he could learn but it was a start and the young Ghost type wanted to prove himself as capable.
Jessie, "Meowth, Meowth, MEOWTH!"
Meowth, "Wha... Jess? Wat is it?"
James sighed, "You were not listening, what's wrong Meowth?"
Meowth, "Nuthng is wrng, jus lost in thoght. I actualy red Ash's buk."
Jessie blinked, "You mean journal?"
Meowth, "No jus a story he wr'te, it was creepy b't I cldn't hlp read it."
James, "Oh? What sort of book and story?"
Meowth, "A horror st'ry, a real'y gud one too."
Jessie, "Now I'm curious, I enjoy a good horror."
Meowth, "I told him ta publish it. Dun know if he'll do it."
Jessie grinned, "I'll be the first to buy it then. Come on I see them in the cafeteria."
Ash was on the other side thinking about his talk to Meowth, 'Should I really publish this?'
Lucario, -Food for thought Meema?-
Ash nodded, "Meowth says I should publish what I wrote but I'm not sure I should. It's not exactly what most people are familiar with here."
Misty joined him at the lunch table, "You wrote a book?"
Ash, "More like I wrote it because I couldn't sleep and Meowth loved it."
Brock joined them, "Would you mind if we read it? I'm honestly curious."
Jessilina sat next to Misty, "Me too. Meowth had been singing praises about the book."
Ash blinked and looked at the cat Pokemon who looked away embarrassed, "You really liked it that much? And yeah I guess we could have a camp out tonight and read it for everyone to enjoy. We can invite Sabra and Sabrina if they are free."
Jameson grinned, "Wonderful, I'll get camping gears for a night ready then. Something tells me it'll be an interesting story."
Ash gave a wry smile, "Don't put your hopes up so much. It was actually a way for me to let out my negative feelings so it may be a bit disturbing."
Jessilina, "I'm sure we can handle it. I'll invite them."
Ash huffed, "If you say so."
True to Ash's words of warning, that night when it was turn for the story telling, they were all very quiet as the listened to the tale of 'La Llorona'. Jessie was holding onto James while Misty was almost on Brock's lap, and Ash was just half way into the story. He offered to stop at that point but it was shot down by Jessilina who wanted to know what happened next. Brock and Jameson were a mix of feelings, they felt pity for the woman but at the same time very terrified of what she had done to her own children. Sabra was being held by a stiff Sabrina who was listening with a strained smile on her face.
Brock spoke up after the story ended, "I'm truly surprised you came up with that after thinking about the ghost of the Isle and these two here."
Ash, "I was surprised too but the idea would not leave and this happened. I'm sending this to Professor Oak and asking him to publish it under my name after I tweak it a bit."
Jessilina laughed, "Some of the scenes you described are very brutal."
Ash sighed, "I know which is why I'm publishing it in two different ways. One is this one the original and the other is censored."
Misty, "That may be for the best, I'm definitely buying the censored one, that's for sure."
Jameson nodded, "Me too."
Sabrina, "Indeed if this doesn't start a new trend of respect and fear for ghosts I'll eat my sock."
Sabra giggles, "I don't know, I think it was really sad what happened."
Ash nodded, "It's meant to be a horror tragedy."
Sabrina, "It's a good story albeit terrifying."
As they cleaned camp a figure left in the shadows unknown to the group, they were being eavesdropped on by a curious trainer who noticed them. He wondered what the gym leader was doing with a group who came out camping, what he did not expect was to listen to a horror story that left him a little shaken. He walked back to the centre and got inside his bed as the Pokemon looked at him worriedly. Metang poked his trainer and he shook his head saying he was okay and to go to sleep, they had a gym battle tomorrow. The next day Ash talked to the Professor after taking a break from training and told the older man he wanted to use his real name to publish the book this time.
Samuel, "Ash, son are you sure?"
Ash nodded, "Yes, besides I don't expect this to become as crazy popular as 'Hogwarts Chronicles'. Not everyone likes horror that too tragic ones."
Samuel, "Hmmm well that's true but you never know."
Red, "You wrote another story Ash?"
Ash grinned, "Hi, big brother you are home again? And yeah I did, I just sent it to be delivered by post before calling you."
Red, "I look forward to reading it first, Blue will be here in two days, he'll probably want to read it too."
Ash laughed nervously, "I hope you won't think something is wrong with me after reading it. It's a little brutal, I guess you could say."
Samuel, "How bad could it be?"
Ash looked a bit reluctant, "You know that, I had trouble sleeping after Lavender town right? Well I wrote the book as a way to release my frustration and anger I guess is the best way to put it."
Red looked at Ash, "Do you feel better after that?"
Ash nodded, "I can sleep easily now."
Red, "Then I don't see the problem."
Ash smiled, "Okay."
Samuel, "Ash, do not doubt yourself, everyone has their own way to cope. If writing helps you then keep on writing. There is nothing wrong with it. Of course, you don't have to feel obliged to do so."
Ash nodded, "I will, don't worry Professor, I will be okay."
Ash ended the call after that and called his mother before returning back to training, they had a contest to win. They trained really hard and the only time they took a break was on the day before the contest when Misty's egg had hatched. It turned out to be a Dewpider, making Misty torn between squealing at the cuteness and freaking out because of her phobia before taking a deep breath and focussing on the fact her new member is a water type. She couldn't allow her fear to stop her from becoming a Water Pokemon Master and she has been wanting to have another bug type anyway.
Ash, "Congratulations on having a new member Misty."
Brock, "Yeah and it's a dual typing too."
Jessilina, "Congratulations Misty."
Jameson, "If you need help taking care of her just ask."
Misty grinned, "Thanks guys and I think I'm starting to get over my phobia as well. It's still there but not as bad as before."
Ash, "That's awesome Misty."
They had celebrated the arrival of a new member and Misty had decided to challenge Sabrina after the contest was over. The next day dawned bright and early and the contest was well under way. The hostess introduced herself as Bianchi and gave a round of introductions for the judges, who were Mr Contesta, Mr Sukizo and Nurse Joy.
Bianchi, "Let's get this contest started."
The crowd cheered as the first contestant came out to perform, Ash number was in the middle. He looked around and noticed there were not many contestants like in his last contest. Or maybe he was being a bit too expectant, there were six contests being held in the same week. There was no way everyone would go to the same city to take part in a contest. Soon it was his turn and Lucario and Phantump cheered him on as he took his place on stage.
Ash, "Let's go Banette, show them what you have got."
Banette came out surrounded by night shade making him look eerie and mysterious, "Ban."
Ash, "Will-O-Wisp followed by omnious wind."
Banette used Will-O-Wisp and used omnious wind to move them eerily around the building making them appear mystifying and causing a shiver to run down the audience's spine.
Ash, "Sunny day!"
Getting the TM for sunny day was a little pricey but from what he could see it was well worth it. The sunny day combined with omnious wind and Will-O-Wisp created a very spooky sight, like a warning for something.
Ash, "Now Hidden Power!"
Banette used hidden power to hit the Will-O-Wisp and ended the move and his turn in dark and purple sparkles. Both Banette and Ash bowed as their turn ended and the audience applauded their performance.
Bianchi, "And Ash and Banette has scored a total of 30 points for their mysterious, spooky and powerful display."
Mr Sukizo, "Well what can I say, it was a very well thought out performance."
Mr Contesta, "Indeed, they put a lot of thought into the combination and made it work really well."
Nurse Joy, "Ghost Pokemon may not be as cute as Pikachu but they have their own charm and abilities as has been showcased today."
Bianchi, "Well you heard them folks, looks like Ash and his team are advancing to the next round."
The crowd cheered as Ash carried Banette back to where the contestants were, "You hear all those cheers Banette, that's for you, you were amazing back there."
Banette grinned at Ash and he got off the moment he saw Phantump and started to play around with him as Ash sat with Lucario and watched the other performances. Ash relaxed leaning against the taller aura Pokemon as the last performer ended their skit and was given points. Ash noticed he was going against a performer from Saffron city, a teen named Percy. He touched Milotic's pokeball as he made last minute changes to their plans in his head, having a bond with both Lucario and Milotic helped him come up with some pretty good adjustments.
Bianchi, "Welcome to the preliminaries, where the final two contestants will be decided. Will the first two contestants join me on stage and choose your Pokemon?"
Ash, "Let's go Milotic! Show them what you can do!"
Milotic, "Looooo!"
Percy, "Come out Triton!"
Kingdra, "Draaa!"
Bianchi, "Let the battle begin!"
Percy, "Whirlpool!"
Ash, "Disarming voice, once that whirlpool gets bigger."
Ash watched as the whirlpool took a very fancy shape before nodding and Milotic used her move which cancelled the whirlpool completely causing the opponent's points to go down.
Ash, "Water bullet."
Milotic shot small bullets of water at Kingdra annoying her a lot, especially when her points went down again. It was a move Milotic had learned herself when she was helping the young Krabby learn water gun.
Percy, "Dragon dance followed by dragon pulse!"
Ash, "Rain dance followed by hydro pump."
The two Pokemon performed their respective dances making the audience watch the two Pokemon mesmerized. Misty had literal hearts in her eyes as she called Horsea out to watch the match with her. The little Horsea was amazed by the final evolution and watched as the older Pokemon performed against Milotic. Even Ash was watching the dragon/water and water type dance before they attacked. It was a very close match-up between the two, both Pokemon not giving an inch before the bell rang.
Bianchi, "Well folks that was some show and power, now let's see who's going forward."
The board showed Ash and Milotic as the winners and the crowd cheered as Bianchi announced, "Ash and Milotic are going on to the next round."
Ash hugged Milotic who grinned, "Great job girl."
Percy was petting Kingdra who was sulking up a storm, "Don't be sad girl, you were amazing, you know?"
Ash approached Percy after they had left the stage for the next contestants to battle, "Percy right? That was a great battle!"
Percy smiled, "Thank you Ash, your Milotic is pretty tough, I really thought I would have an advantage because of the type but guess I was proven wrong."
Ash gave a wry smile, "It's a conspiracy, type advantages are only there to make beginners feel confident, nothing more."
Percy laughed, "I couldn't agree more, heaven knows my sister Anabeth always goes on about how Pokemon can overcome their weaknesses by proper training."
Ash, "Your sister's smart."
Percy, "I'm gonna go join her, see you around."
Ash grinned, "Sure!"
Bianchi, "And we have a winner of our second match. The final match will be between Ash and Claire. Will the two contestants please come on stage and ready your Pokemon?"
Ash, "Ready Milotic?"
Milotic appeared in an array of bubbles, "Looo!"
Claire, "Let's do this Ninetales!"
Ninetales appeared in an array of swift, "Nine!"
Bianchi, "Let the match begin!"
Ash, "Rain dance!"
Claire, "Ninetales, firespin to protect yourself from the rain dance."
Ninetales used firespin to cover himself in warmth as the rain dance continued, however Milotic was not one to let things lie and at Ash's mental nudged attacked him with a powerful Aquatail making him look at her shocked.
Claire, "Ninetales hang in there, use fire spin to counter!"
Ash, "Hydro pump!"
Ash grinned as he watched the two attacks collide, he had come up with a crazy idea with Lucario and Milotic. One of the best ways to ensure a win in a contest, was to dodge the attacks and hit your opponent. It was not necessary for the opponent to faint but for the points to hit zero. It was a long shot, a little something that was so obvious but they decided to take a gamble on it and use that fact as a strategy. He watched the points as they went down for both of them before nodding at Milotic who started to use her calming aura, a little neat trick she learned from Lucario to calm the wary Ninetales.
Claire, "Inferno!"
Ash, "Water sphere gun!"
The inferno attack and the combined water attack hit each other and just like Ash had suspected Claire's points went down a bit more than his. He was definitely giving Lucario extra massages and care after this contest was over for bringing this to his attention. He half wondered if the other contestants realized it, but decided to think on it later.
Ash, 'Performance truly is the key.'
Milotic, 'Indeed!'
Lucario, 'Focus you two! Aura mind chat later!'
Milotic, 'It's fine, it's over anyway!'
Milotic used rain dance to twirl away from the attack causing the opponent's points to fall again. Ash had to grin at the graceful manner that she moved before she attacked Ninetales using water gun straight to his face. The clever water type had danced closer to the fox Pokemon through out the match and got a clean hit. Ninetales spluttered as he used another fire spin to dry himself and barked when Claire asked if he was okay. Claire was about to call out another move when the timer rang signaling the end of the match.
Bianchi, "And the match is over, my word, that was more of a dance battle than anything else. And the winners of Saffron city ribbon are Ash and Milotic. Congratulations on winning your fourth ribbon!"
Ash hugged Milotic who curled around him, "We did it, we did it. It was a pretty close call, but we won."
Claire was flabbergasted, "That was intense, I didn't even realize when the time ran out."
Ninetales nodded, "Nine!"
The two looked at Ash and Milotic as they were pile hugged by Bannete, Phantump and Lucario and laughed. All things considered, this just meant they had to train and practice harder than before. Ash accepted the fourth ribbon and joined his friends who congratulated and group hugged him on winning his fourth ribbon. Dewpider and Horsea were looking at Milotic with starry eyes, they had a new role model, it seems.
[A. N. : I'm gonna be honest I was watching La Llorona movie last night and got inspired to write Banette.
Hope you all enjoyed it.]