They traveled through the valley towards the Alph mountain range where the ruins were said to be located. Ash half wondered what they were gonna deal with, though it did sound very familiar. It was no doubt probably something to do with Omanyte, why else would Professor Oak bring his Omanyte to this place. They traveled without running into any trouble and cane across a town that was pretty famous for its Carrier Pokemon which consist of mostly the Pidgey line. They marvelled at the large sanctuary that was built for the flying Pokemon that flew around carrying letter, and items.
Misty fell in love with a Wingull that flew out to greet them, "Hello to you too."
A young man appeared greeting them, "Hello there visitors, my name is Malachi. I'm the main head of this place. Is there a mail you need to send off?"
Max perked up, "I have an item to send to Hoenn."
Malachi nodded, "Our Pidgeot and Fearrow are equipped to travel to Hoenn."
Casey, "You planning on sending something home?"
Max, "You know the volcano gems we were given as thanks? I had one of the jewellers turn it into matching bangles. Mom and Dad's anniversary is coming up. And I figured I already got a gift for May so why not mom and dad."
Melody, "Funny, I made a necklace out of that stone for my sister. She is getting engaged next month. I wonder if one of these Pokemon can fly to Orange Archipelago."
Malachi, "Pelipper is equipped to fly over vast ocean and water bodies."
Melody, "Perfect."
Misty meanwhile spent a good amount of time with Wingull while Gou following her idea was drawn to the Natu. At the end of their tour the two Pokemon had become very attached and insisted on going with Misty and Gou, which Malachi allowed. He said not every flying type was interested in being delivery Pokemon and there were many other paths that Pokemon were interested in. They left the Sanctuary and town the next day, continuing their journey to meet up with Professor Oak.
Samuel was observing the Pokemon when he got a notice, "Ah! Looks like Ash is here Omanyte."
Omanyte who had been regaling the others of his adventures perked up, "Yte om."
"Professor!"
"We are here."
Samuel, "Kids come here.... Never mind."
Omanyte had rushed over followed by the others and jumped on Ash greeting him very happily. Ash laughed at the ticklish sensation of having the Omanyte snuggling him and greeted him Omanyte then saying hello to the other Omanyte. Omanyte then turned to Lucario and greeted him and started to introduce his new friends who apparently were living underground. The earthquake from a few days ago had created a new path which they used to come to the surface of the earth. When Lucario translated this Dr Foster, one of Professor Oak's students now a full fledged researcher requested their help.
Foster, "It's just there have been rumours about a couple of poachers being seen around the area."
Ash, "Have you contacted the Rangers?"
Foster, "I have but they are at the moment focusing on Mt Silver. Someone has been trying to steal the Tyranitars."
Brock was dumbfounded, "What?"
Serena protested, "But Tyranitars are pseudo legendary. It takes a lot of effort to take care of even one of them. Are they suicidal?"
Foster nodded, "That was my reaction too but apparently it's a thing."
Verity, "I can stay and help Professors. I don't mind."
Misty, "Me too! At least till the Rangers come."
Foster, "Thank you very much. Ummm do you need help?"
Ash waved from below the Omanytes, "Nah! I am actually very comfortable."
Verity giggled while Sorrel shook his head, Max, Gou and Serena decided to simply join Ash and not question it. And Ash was right the Omanytes were quiet friendly and adorable which led Brock to question the two water Pokemon enthusiasts. Misty grinned and answered, she would love to have one but the Omanyte probably wouldn't be happy with that and Verity nodded in agreement. The ancient water Pokemon was very comfortable where they were and the group decided staying the weekend there would not hurt.
The weekend was spent training and practicing for contests together while doing a rotation of who would do patrol. Ash and Chloe took the early morning patrol and when the sun came out fully was replaced by Misty and Casey. Around evening they switched with Serena and Melody and night time was taken over by Gou and Brock. Max joined the day time patrols and so far nothing bad had happened despite the itch Absol was feeling in the back of his head. On the last day of the weekend they received a mail saying a couple of Rangers would be joining them early morning, that was when shit hit the fan.
One of the workers dropped his disguise, "I guess that means we have to steal the Omanytes now."
Brock, "Hell no!"
The poacher, "Go Ariados and Gloom, round them up."
Ash, "Good thing Max is with Serena and Melody. Chikorita, Cyndaquill, Totodile, you know what to do. Omanyte gather the others and form a protective barrier."
Omanyte got got a determined look and started to gather his fellow Pokemon leading them to safety. Chikorita nodded and used sunny day increasing the strengths of herself and her fellow starters. The three of them spread out and attacked the two Pokemon while Brock and Chloe took care of the other two poachers who appeared. Ash gave a sigh on seeing Casey join them and started to help the Professors get the Omanytes out. Ash's Omanyte however returned after ensuring everyone's safety and started to battle along side Lucario who was fighting against a Houndoom. With Omanyte's help they were able to stop Houndoom before turning to help the others. Chikorita and the others had subdued the Pokemon they were fighting against and caught the poacher. This led to Chikorita and Omanyte evolving into Bayleef and Omastar. They were very surprised by the sudden evolution but proud of their sudden development.
Ash, "Congratulations Bayleef, Omastar. Good job."
Bayleef preened, "Bay bay bayleef."
Omastar, "Arrr."
Ash, "Abra come we are going to practice mind reading."
Abra, -Yes, Meema. Finally I am learning something.-
Ash, "Now let's see how many of you are there."
Abra, -I'm entering his mind Meema. There are still four groups with three members each.-
Ash, "Any idea where?"
Abra, -A place called Lake of Rage, Meema. It's all he knows.-
Ash, "Good job little love."
Eevee, "Vui!"
Absol, "Sol."
Ash chuckled, "Thank you Eevee for the support, your baton pass move is really useful and Absol too for warning us about the danger. We were able to prepare in advance because of you."
The three baby Pokemon blushed under the praise and nuzzled him in return. When the authority came to arrest them Ash called Lance and Gold. The two had sported dark expressions when they heard about the Lake of Rage. There had been reports of Pokemon going missing around the area as well as rumours about Team Rocket having a base near that lake.
Lance, "I believe after this incident we can open up a full fledged investigation."
Gold nodded, "I approve it. Be careful Ash, there have been rumours about the Team Rocket boss wanting to capture you alive."
Ash winced, "Yeah about that.... Well.. "
Silver who had been next to Gold sighed, "What did you do?"
Ash, "That's the thing, I didn't do anything at all. He just decided Giovanni my uncle is my father. Like what! I don't even look like him."
Gold stared, ".... Well, I didn't see that coming."
Silver growled, "Unacceptable!"
Lance, "Are you alright?"
Ash nodded, "I'm fine and I'm keeping a low profile from now on. It's just bad luck we could not get our disguises on before running into Gonzalez.... That is if that's his actual name."
Silver, "Gonzalez Rastafarian Rocketto. Yeah that's his true name."
Ash muttered, "Fancy name. So who's gonna tell him I'm not my Uncle's son?"
Lance, "I'll put a notice out for him."
Ash talked to them a bit more before Lance tells him point blank he would have to tell Red and his mother as well. Apparently thanks to how many times they were running into Team Rocket, she was going active. Ash winced at that deciding to try avoiding trouble as much as he could although most of the time he was pretty it was not his fault. The group stayed to make sure the Omanytes were alright and the next day Ash sought out Professor Oak to talk about a topic that had been bothering him.
Ash, "Professor, will it be possible to change my normal pokeballs to Heal balls for my older Pokemon?"
Samuel, "Well, it's possible but it can cost you quiet a bit. Why?"
Ash, "Well I have noticed most of my older Pokemon have started their own groups and training their own heirs so to speak. Not to forget getting involved in fights to protect their territory. My aura may be in lock down but it doesn't mean I can't sense when they are battling."
Samuel hummed, "It's true that most of your Pokemon have taken up teaching as a mini Profession, though they most of them do have other talents... I'll see what I can do. I think I understand why you want to change it, the two of us won't always be there for them."
Ash nodded, "Yeah, Heal balls are neutral balls, while they are still registered under my name, they will also have more freedom like Lucario and... "
Ash lowered his voice, "And like Mewtwo they can travel other places without having to wait for me to pick them up."
Samuel smiled at him and ruffled his hair, "You are a good kid Ash. Never change that."
Ash laughed, "I'll try."
As the two talked Omastar made a decision, he would stay at the lab with the other Omastar and Omanyte. He would keep them safe and teach them to battle, Lucario nodded at him saying it was a fine goal to be a leader for the others. Ash supported him saying if he ever needed any help, just to call him on his phone, he was leaving the number with Doctor Foster. Omastar smiled at Ash hugging and licking him very happily getting laughter out of him, and Dr Foster promised Ash he would stay in touch.
The group left after saying goodbye to Silver and Gold who decided to stay back, just in case the poachers returned. As they walked it started to rain heavily and they had to run to find shelter. Verity looked around and pointed out a castle in the distance and the group decided to wait the rain out inside the large castle. Sorrel looked around the place and knocked on the large door which opened to a large lobby with a receptionist, Sally. Brock blushed on seeing the receptionist and started to flirt only for Misty to say she was calling Yellow.
Brock, "Wait Misty.. "
Misty glared, "Why should I, you cheating bastard?"
Brock gulped feeling Ash's glare, "I swear I'm trying to break the habit."
Ash, "Brock, must I remind you Yellow is like an older sister to me. I will not accept you cheating on her. If you want to flirt with other girls, I expect you to break up with her first, understood?"
Brock, "I'm sorry."
Verity, "Holy Mew!"
Sorrel, "Yeah!"
Serena giggled, "They are pretty protective of those they care about."
A woman with a stethoscope cane out, "Oh hello there. I'm Dr Anne, the owner of this castle and hospital."
Gou, "Nice to meet you Doctor, we didn't realize this was a hospital."
Anne smiled, "Understandable."
Anne introduced them to therapy she was using Pokemon's special moves and abilities to heal human sickness. Max listened carefully and mentioned Ash's Venasaur used aromatherapy to help Pokemon and humans who were hurt by poachers. Anne brightened up at that and said that was exactly what she was trying to achieve on a grander scale. She spoke about her findings during the time she was studying to become a Doctor and told them that there were many Pokemon who were not interested in either battles or performances. They preferred taking care of others instead and that every Pokemon in the castle helped in caring for the humans patients. Sorrel listened to her attentively and took notes till it was time for them to leave for Ecruteak City.
[A. N.: Have a happy weekend everyone!
I enjoyed writing this chapter, especially the ending. lol
Take care of yourselves, drink water, wash your hands, wear masks. The third wave is here.
See you next time my dear lovely readers.]