Categories > Anime/Manga > Pokemon > Return to Grace
Prologue: The Last Pokémon Trainer
1 reviewTen years after Ash Ketchum's exit from the Pokémon world, he is forced out of retirement by a horrific event. Slight AU. Rated for violence.
0Unrated
Return to Grace AN- This is my first fanfiction in a while, my first Pokémon one in years. This is just the prologue, but hopefully there will be more. This is also a horror story and will get quite gory, so if violence bothers you I'd suggest that you don't read. Also this is AU, because I sincerely doubt that anything like this could happen in Pokémon. Any reviews or feedback is greatly appreciated. I hope that all who read enjoy.
Warnings- this fiction will most likely become very violent and gory, if that bothers you than please don't read. There is also an original character, if original characters really bother you, then you probably shouldn't read this either.
Disclaimer- Pokémon and all of its characters and worlds belong to Game Freak and Nintendo. Anything original in this fiction belongs to me, but feel free to use it.
Return to Grace
Prologue: The Last Pokémon Trainer
When he was a child he would listen to stories about the great Pokémon Master. He was a trainer and he was a legend. He was everything that children dreamed to be, everything that Ayden aspired to be.
At the age of ten, Ash Ketchum had proved again and again that he was going to become the master he had always dreamed of. During his time as a trainer Ash along with his faithful team of Pokémon warriors, had beaten every challenge that he had been presented with ease. Truly the stuff that legends were made of.
By the time Ash had reached thirteen he had vanquished Team Rocket. It was rumoured that only three members remained unscathed, and that was only because of their own incompetence. With Team Rocket out of the way he was free to catch and train all of the Pokémon he could get his hands on. He had captured the all of the legendary Pokémon, including ones that people only thought legends. Rumour had it that even the likes of the mysterious and often thought fictitious Mewtwo called him master.
With every known Pokémon under his belt there was one last thing left to do: Beat his rival. At the age of fifteen he was the youngest person to be declared a Pokémon master. Of course there was the matter of his rival, but Gary Oak was three months older than Ash.
Ash had persevered showing the world that when you follow your dreams they come true. Of course like any hero, there are those who wish to prove that they are better. The amount of battle requests he received must have been overwhelming; they were in the thousands. But he took on all of the challengers, holding back so they could say that they came so close to beating the Master. It was an honour to say that you battled Ash, beaten by him. It was a really good time in Kanto history.
Then something strange happened and no one knew why. Ten years ago, Ash Ketchum disappeared. He just left without a trace. The only sign that there was something wrong with the young master was that one-week before he released all of his Pokémon. All of his hard work gone. It was an insult, to his fans and the Pokémon that had trained with him. The only Pokémon that stayed with him was Pikachu, his companion since the beginning.
One year after his disappearance things started to fall apart. Team Rocket reformed and started to wreak a new kind of terror upon the people of Kanto, stretching into Johoto and Hoenn. Everyone thought that he would come back; everyone needed him to come back. He never came. It was his fall from grace. As soon as he wasn't there to save them, the people started to hate him.
Ten years had passed since he disappeared and the once colourful world in which Pokémon dwelled had become a dark place. The gyms closed, so did Indigo Plateau...the gym leaders and masters became sort of police force, but Team Rocket had grown too strong and too large in numbers. It was hard to believe that one person could make a difference like that, but Ash had. Of course there were those who said since Team Rocket started creating Abomination Pokémon, vicious little monsters who attacked people and Pokémon a like, that Ash wouldn't stand a chance. Ayden refused to believe things like that, Ash was his hero and nothing was going to change that.
Ayden himself had just turned fifteen. He was the last of a dying breed: the Pokémon trainer. Most kids his age were either recruited into Team Rocket or became a fatality to the deadly Abominations. Ayden was smart and knew how to handle himself in the wild. He had been forced to live on his own since he was six, when Cerulean City was attacked. His family had been killed in the cross fire, he had been helpless then, he wasn't now.
He had run, run like a coward while the people of Cerulean screamed. He ran until he found the ruins of the daycare. The owners were dead; all of the Pokémon were dead. The only survivor was a small Pichu; it was hardly out of the egg. That was when he started his journey and his life long friendship with his Pokémon. He hadn't been back to Cerulean, but he had heard that most of the citizens had been killed. The most severe causality had been the Gym Leader, but Misty had died protecting the city. He supposed that it was a hero's death. Maybe he'd get his own hero's death, but right now he had a mission.
Ayden had never allowed his Pichu to evolve, just like how Ash had never gotten Pikachu to evolve. He mirrored his hero in every way that he could, he even dressed the same. At least he dressed the way he had seen his hero dress in old magazine pictures. Of course there were lots of differences between the two, at least physical differences. Ayden had light blonde hair and pale green eyes, quite the contrast compared to his dark haired hero. He wished that he could dye his hair, but hair dye, like any other luxury was hard to come by.
The final cavern of Mt. Silver called to him like a mystical siren. It was hard to get into, a baffling river was blocking the entrance but flowing underneath the cave, he had to try. It made him think back to how he had gotten this information.
The Pallet Town Ruins were never a pleasant place. He had only been there three times and it seemed that each new time he visited the inhabitants became more and more insane. The few remaining survivors mostly kept to them selves, muttering about the monsters that had taken their lives away. The most notable of the survivors was the once great Professor Oak. The once brilliant man had barricaded himself in his laboratory basement, trying find as much information about the Abominations as possible. On one occasion he had seen the Professors assistant Tracy wandering the town like a zombie of sorts. His expression was vacant, his eyes looked dead. He wasn't the first person that Ayden had seen like this; he called it Abomination Trauma.
"Are you all right?" he had asked on his last journey to Pallet Town.
"My sketch book," he muttered, his eyes glazed over, "they took my sketch book." That night Tracy had apparently wandered off into the tall grasses and hadn't been heard of since.
The saner residents of Pallet Town liked to say that he was going to come back some day, but Ayden knew that he was probably dead. It was common knowledge that you travelled by day and took cover at night. The Abominations hunted at night, feeding on the flesh of humans and Pokémon alike. If they caught you there was no saving you. The only safe places in the world were the cities, but they had long been taken over by vicious Team Rocket gangsters. And if you took up refuge in the cities you had three choices, join Team Rocket, be killed by Team Rocket or face the Abominations. The only places that were safe from Team Rocket so far were Pallet Town and Lavender Town, because they were small and insignificant enough not to be in Team Rocket's best interests.
A lone figure standing by a dilapidated house caught his attention. A man who looked like he was in his mid twenties, his purple clothing was faded but he was still the best dressed person Ayden had seen in a while. The man was smoking; he looked hopeless but not as lost as the victims of Abomination Trauma. At the man's feet was a small Evee. The small Pokémon looked helpless, but Ayden knew better than anyone else not to judge un-evolved Pokémon.
"You shouldn't stay here kid," the man said, a long stream of smoke escaping from his lips. "This place is dead."
"I'm looking for someone," he said cautiously, this man looked dangerous.
"They're probably dead," the man muttered, taking another drag. Ayden found himself holding his breath, the stink of cigarettes always made him feel sick.
"I doubt that this person is dead," he defended, breathing through his mouth, "He's a hero."
"There's no such things as heroes kid, you'd best stop this madness," once again he exhaled a toxic cloud of smoke.
"I still believe in heroes," he said, turning away from the man. There was no use in staying here. Sometimes he liked to think that Ash might return to his hometown, but he knew that it was just a delusion.
"Kid..." the man was hesitant. He ran a hand through his tangled brown hair then nervously jammed his hand his pocket. "If you believe in heroes go to Mt. Silver...there might still be one there." His heart sunk, the highest concentration of Abominations was at Mt. Silver, but he had to try.
"Thanks," he muttered, giving the man a weak smile.
"Here," the man pulled something out of his pocket. Ayden smiled at the gesture. "I don't know if you're stupid enough to fight those things, but there might be a few tips in there." Ayden took the Pokédex and held it in his hand like it was some kind of precious treasure. It had been years since anyone had been in position of such a useful commodity; he just hoped that it helped. "My grandfather's put as much information about the Abominations in there as possible."
"Thanks..." he looked at the name that was engraved in the Pokédex's cover, "Gary," he said, a little surer of himself. There was no doubt in his mind that his rival would know where Ash was. "I'll do my best."
"If you find him, he might not help," Gary warned.
"I still have to try, I think that he may be the only one who can help."
"I'd hate to admit it kid, but I think that you might be right." Ayden nodded at the older man and went on his way. He preferred to camp out side of the town barriers; the bright protection lights had always bothered him. They were just beacons of false hope, if they didn't save Cerulean, what chance did they have of protecting the other towns and cities.
"Are you crazy kid, going outside a night is really bad for you!" Gary called out after him.
"So is smoking!"
It was hard to think that it was only three days ago, it seemed years away. He had been able to hide from the abominations so far, he didn't know if it was a miracle or dumb luck...maybe a bit of both. During his travel through the mountain he discovered something useful, something that could save a lot of lives. All Abominations had a weak spot, so far it was different on each one, but it knocked them out right away. It wasn't really helpful against a group of them, but one on one it had saved his life a couple of times.
"Come on Pichu," he whispered, taking a few cautious steps. He got his feet a little wet, but the river wasn't too deep so it was okay. Pichu jumped at him, scampering up his back to rest on his shoulder. Ayden slowly walked into the darkness, checking for their eyes. The eyes of an Abomination were luminescent, allowing them to see in the dark. But if you kept your distance there was a chance that you could see their eyes before they saw you, it was a small chance but survival was survival. Abominations hated the light so usually a good Flash attack was enough to stun them for a few moments, giving him enough time to duck and cover. Unless of course it was the dreaded Scythebat, which was blind and completely relied on sound. If the Abominations had one weakness in would be that they didn't have a very good sense of smell. It didn't matter too much though, what they lacked in the sent department they more than made up with their sight, speed and sense of hearing.
He sighed as soon as he realised that he was alone. The last cave was empty...Ash was nowhere to be seen. The bitter tendrils of disappointment started to coil through his chest. But he had to think positively; there were a million places where Ash could have gone. Maybe he had gone to Mt. Moon, or the Diglett Cave...or maybe Ash had suffered the fate that so many others had.
"No," he whispered against his mutinous thoughts.
"Pi, pi," Pichu whined, crawling into the front of his tattered jacket.
"What's wrong?" he whispered. Pichu didn't respond, only crawled deeper into his jacket. "You big coward," he said affectionately, reaching into his coat and scratching the little Pokémon's ears. Pichu continued to hide in his coat, regardless of Ayden's best efforts to get his Pokémon out of his coat.
Then he heard it, the soft shallow sound of footsteps of something approaching. The question was if whether it was human, Pokémon or Abomination. From what he had seen on his journey to the top it was most definitely an Abomination.
"Do you still have enough PP for Flash?" he asked, fear creeping into his voice.
"Pi," Pichu nodded, crawling out of his jacket. Before he could turn around, something grabbed him and threw him to the floor. He rolled several feet against the cold cave floor. A million points of light exploded behind his eyes when his head collided with a large rock.
"Who are you?" the voice was rough and uneven like it hadn't been used in a while. Ayden pulled himself into sitting position, trying to force his head to clear.
"My name is Ayden...I'm looking for someone," he said, his eyes slowly focusing. The figure in front of him was tall, mid twenties, he had dark hair and dark eyes. Ayden's heart skipped a beat when he saw the Pikachu; it had to be Ash.
"Why'd you come here?" the man asked, running a hand through his dark hair. Ayden aged the pictures of his hero in his mind, there was no doubt about it this was his hero.
"I told you, I was looking for someone."
"Most people who come up here don't make it out, how do you know that the person you're looking for isn't dead?" he asked, his eyes looked burned out, like Gary's had.
"Maybe you can help me," he suggested, it was getting hard to hide the excitement.
"I doubt it."
"I'm looking for Ash Ketchum the Pokémon Master." The man stiffened at the name, anger flashing through his eyes.
"He's dead," the man muttered turning around.
"I don't think that he is."
"Kid you have no idea what you're getting into," the man muttered, there was a purely self-loathing quality about the man.
"I think that I do...I've been on my own since I was seven. I know what the world is like out there. I've even been to Johoto and Hoenn; it's the same there. Someone needs to save the world and I think that Ash Ketchum is the only person who can do it," he explained. Of course Ash was the only person who could stop it, he had to.
"Ash Ketchum is no hero," the man muttered, pained.
"He is, he saved the world countless times. He defeated Team Rocket!"
"No!" the man barked, "He only thought that he did! He only allowed them to disappear for a little while, allowing them to tamper with things that shouldn't have been tampered with!"
"No one knew that that was going to happen, he's still a hero!" he defended. He never thought that he could be defending his hero from himself.
"If he's such a hero then why couldn't he defend Pallet Town? If he's so damn great then why did his mother die in his arms, screaming and in pain?" the man demanded, the faintest traces of tears could be seen in his dark eyes.
"Sometimes things happen that you can't control and you just have to look at the bright side. If you help me...Ash," he said the name cautiously and was met by the man's cold glare, "then things will get better. I know that they will."
"You're a brave kid, I'll give you that Ayden. But you're foolish; if you make it out of here alive I'd suggest that join Team Rocket and keep yourself out of trouble. You'll live a lot longer." Anger flared through his body, white hot and deadly.
"I'll never join Team Rocket! They caused this problem and they control it!"
"Don't be stupid," Ash spat at him. "If you think that Team Rocket has control over the Abominations then you're an idiot."
"But they created them."
"Just because they created them doesn't mean that they can control them. They lost control and took advantage of the situation. In a time of crisis people need something to rely on, even if they are a bunch of scumbags," Ash explained, the darkness in his eyes seemed to grow.
"You still have to help. You once captured all three hundred and eighty six Pokémon, maybe you're the only person in the world who can control them." Ash laughed at him, pulling a regular Pokéball out of his pocket. He tossed it to the ground; a small round Pokémon emerged from it. It looked like Jigglypuff, only a little smaller and had rounder ears. It had large red eyes and three rows of razor-sharp talons on each one of its small paws. It had small fairy like wings and was a purplish colour. It would have been cute if it weren't for the rows of razor sharp teeth that stuck jaggedly out of its mouth. Ayden had never seen an Abomination like this.
"You caught an Abomination, see you can help!" he exclaimed, looking at the little Abomination further.
"You'd think that, but I found this one as an egg. I was the first thing that it saw, so it basically thinks of me as its mother. If I so much as look at it the wrong way it will attack me. There is no controlling the Abominations," Ash said morosely, putting the small Abomination back in its Pokéball and placing the ball in his pocket.
"You have to try," he pleaded. Ash stopped for a moment, listening to the cave.
"We have to get out of here." He grabbed Ayden's sleeve, pulling him hard.
"Why?"
"Listen." Ayden closed his eyes, panic filling him as he heard the sound. The sound of a million wings echoed through the cave...Scythebats. "They were attracted by our yelling."
"They're going to be blocking our only exit," he whispered frantically. Scythebats were ruthless; they would consume their victim in packs, each one slowly ripping off a piece of flesh until there was nothing left.
"Can you swim?" Ash asked; there was something in his eyes that made Ayden panic even more.
"Pretty good, why?"
"There's a waterfall on the other side of this cave," Ash muttered.
"Are you insane if the fall doesn't kill us the big water Abominations will!" he hissed, he really didn't want to die.
"I don't know about you kid, but I'd much rather be swallowed whole than ripped to shreds." Before Ayden could think of a defence something flew past his shoulder. "Shit!" Ash yelled, ducking under a Scythebat. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
The entire cavern lit up in an electrical fury. Some of the Scythebats were stunned; the others only became angrier, swooping at them faster.
"Pichu, use Thunder Wave," he yelled, he had found this particular attack great for making a quick break against Scythebats. The buzzing the attack emanated confused the sound savvy Abominations.
Pichu ran to the centre of the cave, avoiding the Scythebats with Swift. Pichu went into attack stance, it's small pink cheeks sparking as it gathered energy. Before Pichu could attack a Scythebat swooped at it, slicing a large ribbon shaped gash in his small chest. Pichu looked shocked for a moment, before falling into a small pool of his own blood.
"Pichu!" he screamed, running to his fallen Pokémon. Ash tried to pull him back, but he could not let those monsters devour his best friend. Pichu was the only thing he had left. Pichu was his best friend and only family, it was the least he could do. Pikachu caused a fury of Thunderbolt attacks, allowing him a path to his fallen friend. He ran as fast as he could. Ash screamed something at him, but the thunder was too loud for him to hear it. Just as he was about to reach Pichu a sharp pain shot through his stomach as a Scythebat clawed him. Its razor sharp claw ripped through his flesh muscle and bone with a sickening slice. He fell to the ground, agony flaring through his abdomen. He clutched his body, a little shocked at the amount of blood. He was a foot away from Pichu, but he was in too much pain to pull his precious little Pokémon close.
Gary's Pokédex fell out of his pocket, scanning one of the Scythebats. The electronic voice rang through his ears.
"Scythebat: the deadly scythe. This abomination is incredibly fast and uses its scythe like wings to attack. When it attacks it emits a paralysing neurotoxin to subdue its prey. There is no known cure." Ayden groaned; this wasn't good. He used the last of his physical strength to grab Pichu and pull him to his chest.
He could feel the poison seeping through his body, making it hard to breathe and think. He could vaguely see Ash running towards him, Pikachu sending wave after wave of Thunderbolts. This wasn't a hero's death, but he supposed that it was good enough.
~~~*~
"Watch out!" he called out a second to late. The Scythebat cut through Ayden's torso like a warm knife through butter. Blood splashed across the floor, a small trickle leaking from his lips. Ash knew that he should run, the kid was as good as dead and his body would serve as a good distraction for Pikachu and him to get away. But it wasn't in him to give up. Deep down he was still the ten-year-old kid who would do the right thing no matter what. "Watch my back," he said to Pikachu. Pikachu nodded and continued his barrage of Thunderbolts.
Ash ran as fast as he could while avoiding the Scythebats. If he had learned one thing during his training it was that emotions were dangerous in a critical situation, Ayden was probably too young to know that. He narrowly missed a claw, ducking and rolling so that he was next to the boy.
Ayden had been cut worse than he thought; there was no way that this kid was going to survive.
"Ash," he coughed, small droplets welling at his mouth.
"I'm here," he whispered, taking Ayden's bloody hand. Ayden gripped it tightly, his other arm wrapped around his already dead Pichu.
"Ash, you got to take the...Pokédex...it has information..." Ayden sputtered, closing his eyes from the pain.
"Keep quiet," he said, ducking from a low flying Scythebat. "It'll hurt less."
"Ash...you have to save the world," Ayden cried, his movements becoming stiff, his pupils starting to dilate.
"Be quite and it will all be over soon," he soothed. Something warm trickled down his cheek, how long had it been since he cried?
"No!" Ayden screamed through gritted teeth. "Promise me that you'll save the world!" Ash knew that there was nothing that he could do.
"Ayden..."
"Promise me Ash...please just promise me..." in that instant Ayden looked just like he had when he was young. It was almost like watching himself die.
"I promise..." he didn't know if he was talking to the boy or himself. Ayden smiled at him, a small stream of blood escaped his lips from the action. Ayden took a deep breath, but did not exhale. Ash closed the boy's eyes and picked up the Pokédex. He had three seconds before the Scythebats started to swarm over the body. If he weren't fast he would suffer Ayden's fate.
Ash ran as fast as he could, adrenaline pumping through his veins driving him harder than he was used to. Pikachu was continuing his rampage, but looked worn down. It had been years since either of them had fought his hard. The Scythebats were still circling the entrance of the cave, so he'd have to get out through the waterfall. He grabbed Pikachu as he ran, just barely stopping before getting close to the river at the back of the cave.
Most of this part of the river flowed underneath his cave; his had always thought it miraculous. But he supposed that his cave was just a really big land bridge. He took one last look at the swarm of Scythebats and the damage that they had done to Ayden's body. There wasn't much left of the kid. He looked at the waterfall; it was steep and jagged. In the lake below he could see the shapes and forms of large water Abominations. Death was all around him. Ripped to shreds or swallowed whole, Ash pulled Pikachu close to him and jumped.
To be continued...
Warnings- this fiction will most likely become very violent and gory, if that bothers you than please don't read. There is also an original character, if original characters really bother you, then you probably shouldn't read this either.
Disclaimer- Pokémon and all of its characters and worlds belong to Game Freak and Nintendo. Anything original in this fiction belongs to me, but feel free to use it.
Return to Grace
Prologue: The Last Pokémon Trainer
When he was a child he would listen to stories about the great Pokémon Master. He was a trainer and he was a legend. He was everything that children dreamed to be, everything that Ayden aspired to be.
At the age of ten, Ash Ketchum had proved again and again that he was going to become the master he had always dreamed of. During his time as a trainer Ash along with his faithful team of Pokémon warriors, had beaten every challenge that he had been presented with ease. Truly the stuff that legends were made of.
By the time Ash had reached thirteen he had vanquished Team Rocket. It was rumoured that only three members remained unscathed, and that was only because of their own incompetence. With Team Rocket out of the way he was free to catch and train all of the Pokémon he could get his hands on. He had captured the all of the legendary Pokémon, including ones that people only thought legends. Rumour had it that even the likes of the mysterious and often thought fictitious Mewtwo called him master.
With every known Pokémon under his belt there was one last thing left to do: Beat his rival. At the age of fifteen he was the youngest person to be declared a Pokémon master. Of course there was the matter of his rival, but Gary Oak was three months older than Ash.
Ash had persevered showing the world that when you follow your dreams they come true. Of course like any hero, there are those who wish to prove that they are better. The amount of battle requests he received must have been overwhelming; they were in the thousands. But he took on all of the challengers, holding back so they could say that they came so close to beating the Master. It was an honour to say that you battled Ash, beaten by him. It was a really good time in Kanto history.
Then something strange happened and no one knew why. Ten years ago, Ash Ketchum disappeared. He just left without a trace. The only sign that there was something wrong with the young master was that one-week before he released all of his Pokémon. All of his hard work gone. It was an insult, to his fans and the Pokémon that had trained with him. The only Pokémon that stayed with him was Pikachu, his companion since the beginning.
One year after his disappearance things started to fall apart. Team Rocket reformed and started to wreak a new kind of terror upon the people of Kanto, stretching into Johoto and Hoenn. Everyone thought that he would come back; everyone needed him to come back. He never came. It was his fall from grace. As soon as he wasn't there to save them, the people started to hate him.
Ten years had passed since he disappeared and the once colourful world in which Pokémon dwelled had become a dark place. The gyms closed, so did Indigo Plateau...the gym leaders and masters became sort of police force, but Team Rocket had grown too strong and too large in numbers. It was hard to believe that one person could make a difference like that, but Ash had. Of course there were those who said since Team Rocket started creating Abomination Pokémon, vicious little monsters who attacked people and Pokémon a like, that Ash wouldn't stand a chance. Ayden refused to believe things like that, Ash was his hero and nothing was going to change that.
Ayden himself had just turned fifteen. He was the last of a dying breed: the Pokémon trainer. Most kids his age were either recruited into Team Rocket or became a fatality to the deadly Abominations. Ayden was smart and knew how to handle himself in the wild. He had been forced to live on his own since he was six, when Cerulean City was attacked. His family had been killed in the cross fire, he had been helpless then, he wasn't now.
He had run, run like a coward while the people of Cerulean screamed. He ran until he found the ruins of the daycare. The owners were dead; all of the Pokémon were dead. The only survivor was a small Pichu; it was hardly out of the egg. That was when he started his journey and his life long friendship with his Pokémon. He hadn't been back to Cerulean, but he had heard that most of the citizens had been killed. The most severe causality had been the Gym Leader, but Misty had died protecting the city. He supposed that it was a hero's death. Maybe he'd get his own hero's death, but right now he had a mission.
Ayden had never allowed his Pichu to evolve, just like how Ash had never gotten Pikachu to evolve. He mirrored his hero in every way that he could, he even dressed the same. At least he dressed the way he had seen his hero dress in old magazine pictures. Of course there were lots of differences between the two, at least physical differences. Ayden had light blonde hair and pale green eyes, quite the contrast compared to his dark haired hero. He wished that he could dye his hair, but hair dye, like any other luxury was hard to come by.
The final cavern of Mt. Silver called to him like a mystical siren. It was hard to get into, a baffling river was blocking the entrance but flowing underneath the cave, he had to try. It made him think back to how he had gotten this information.
The Pallet Town Ruins were never a pleasant place. He had only been there three times and it seemed that each new time he visited the inhabitants became more and more insane. The few remaining survivors mostly kept to them selves, muttering about the monsters that had taken their lives away. The most notable of the survivors was the once great Professor Oak. The once brilliant man had barricaded himself in his laboratory basement, trying find as much information about the Abominations as possible. On one occasion he had seen the Professors assistant Tracy wandering the town like a zombie of sorts. His expression was vacant, his eyes looked dead. He wasn't the first person that Ayden had seen like this; he called it Abomination Trauma.
"Are you all right?" he had asked on his last journey to Pallet Town.
"My sketch book," he muttered, his eyes glazed over, "they took my sketch book." That night Tracy had apparently wandered off into the tall grasses and hadn't been heard of since.
The saner residents of Pallet Town liked to say that he was going to come back some day, but Ayden knew that he was probably dead. It was common knowledge that you travelled by day and took cover at night. The Abominations hunted at night, feeding on the flesh of humans and Pokémon alike. If they caught you there was no saving you. The only safe places in the world were the cities, but they had long been taken over by vicious Team Rocket gangsters. And if you took up refuge in the cities you had three choices, join Team Rocket, be killed by Team Rocket or face the Abominations. The only places that were safe from Team Rocket so far were Pallet Town and Lavender Town, because they were small and insignificant enough not to be in Team Rocket's best interests.
A lone figure standing by a dilapidated house caught his attention. A man who looked like he was in his mid twenties, his purple clothing was faded but he was still the best dressed person Ayden had seen in a while. The man was smoking; he looked hopeless but not as lost as the victims of Abomination Trauma. At the man's feet was a small Evee. The small Pokémon looked helpless, but Ayden knew better than anyone else not to judge un-evolved Pokémon.
"You shouldn't stay here kid," the man said, a long stream of smoke escaping from his lips. "This place is dead."
"I'm looking for someone," he said cautiously, this man looked dangerous.
"They're probably dead," the man muttered, taking another drag. Ayden found himself holding his breath, the stink of cigarettes always made him feel sick.
"I doubt that this person is dead," he defended, breathing through his mouth, "He's a hero."
"There's no such things as heroes kid, you'd best stop this madness," once again he exhaled a toxic cloud of smoke.
"I still believe in heroes," he said, turning away from the man. There was no use in staying here. Sometimes he liked to think that Ash might return to his hometown, but he knew that it was just a delusion.
"Kid..." the man was hesitant. He ran a hand through his tangled brown hair then nervously jammed his hand his pocket. "If you believe in heroes go to Mt. Silver...there might still be one there." His heart sunk, the highest concentration of Abominations was at Mt. Silver, but he had to try.
"Thanks," he muttered, giving the man a weak smile.
"Here," the man pulled something out of his pocket. Ayden smiled at the gesture. "I don't know if you're stupid enough to fight those things, but there might be a few tips in there." Ayden took the Pokédex and held it in his hand like it was some kind of precious treasure. It had been years since anyone had been in position of such a useful commodity; he just hoped that it helped. "My grandfather's put as much information about the Abominations in there as possible."
"Thanks..." he looked at the name that was engraved in the Pokédex's cover, "Gary," he said, a little surer of himself. There was no doubt in his mind that his rival would know where Ash was. "I'll do my best."
"If you find him, he might not help," Gary warned.
"I still have to try, I think that he may be the only one who can help."
"I'd hate to admit it kid, but I think that you might be right." Ayden nodded at the older man and went on his way. He preferred to camp out side of the town barriers; the bright protection lights had always bothered him. They were just beacons of false hope, if they didn't save Cerulean, what chance did they have of protecting the other towns and cities.
"Are you crazy kid, going outside a night is really bad for you!" Gary called out after him.
"So is smoking!"
It was hard to think that it was only three days ago, it seemed years away. He had been able to hide from the abominations so far, he didn't know if it was a miracle or dumb luck...maybe a bit of both. During his travel through the mountain he discovered something useful, something that could save a lot of lives. All Abominations had a weak spot, so far it was different on each one, but it knocked them out right away. It wasn't really helpful against a group of them, but one on one it had saved his life a couple of times.
"Come on Pichu," he whispered, taking a few cautious steps. He got his feet a little wet, but the river wasn't too deep so it was okay. Pichu jumped at him, scampering up his back to rest on his shoulder. Ayden slowly walked into the darkness, checking for their eyes. The eyes of an Abomination were luminescent, allowing them to see in the dark. But if you kept your distance there was a chance that you could see their eyes before they saw you, it was a small chance but survival was survival. Abominations hated the light so usually a good Flash attack was enough to stun them for a few moments, giving him enough time to duck and cover. Unless of course it was the dreaded Scythebat, which was blind and completely relied on sound. If the Abominations had one weakness in would be that they didn't have a very good sense of smell. It didn't matter too much though, what they lacked in the sent department they more than made up with their sight, speed and sense of hearing.
He sighed as soon as he realised that he was alone. The last cave was empty...Ash was nowhere to be seen. The bitter tendrils of disappointment started to coil through his chest. But he had to think positively; there were a million places where Ash could have gone. Maybe he had gone to Mt. Moon, or the Diglett Cave...or maybe Ash had suffered the fate that so many others had.
"No," he whispered against his mutinous thoughts.
"Pi, pi," Pichu whined, crawling into the front of his tattered jacket.
"What's wrong?" he whispered. Pichu didn't respond, only crawled deeper into his jacket. "You big coward," he said affectionately, reaching into his coat and scratching the little Pokémon's ears. Pichu continued to hide in his coat, regardless of Ayden's best efforts to get his Pokémon out of his coat.
Then he heard it, the soft shallow sound of footsteps of something approaching. The question was if whether it was human, Pokémon or Abomination. From what he had seen on his journey to the top it was most definitely an Abomination.
"Do you still have enough PP for Flash?" he asked, fear creeping into his voice.
"Pi," Pichu nodded, crawling out of his jacket. Before he could turn around, something grabbed him and threw him to the floor. He rolled several feet against the cold cave floor. A million points of light exploded behind his eyes when his head collided with a large rock.
"Who are you?" the voice was rough and uneven like it hadn't been used in a while. Ayden pulled himself into sitting position, trying to force his head to clear.
"My name is Ayden...I'm looking for someone," he said, his eyes slowly focusing. The figure in front of him was tall, mid twenties, he had dark hair and dark eyes. Ayden's heart skipped a beat when he saw the Pikachu; it had to be Ash.
"Why'd you come here?" the man asked, running a hand through his dark hair. Ayden aged the pictures of his hero in his mind, there was no doubt about it this was his hero.
"I told you, I was looking for someone."
"Most people who come up here don't make it out, how do you know that the person you're looking for isn't dead?" he asked, his eyes looked burned out, like Gary's had.
"Maybe you can help me," he suggested, it was getting hard to hide the excitement.
"I doubt it."
"I'm looking for Ash Ketchum the Pokémon Master." The man stiffened at the name, anger flashing through his eyes.
"He's dead," the man muttered turning around.
"I don't think that he is."
"Kid you have no idea what you're getting into," the man muttered, there was a purely self-loathing quality about the man.
"I think that I do...I've been on my own since I was seven. I know what the world is like out there. I've even been to Johoto and Hoenn; it's the same there. Someone needs to save the world and I think that Ash Ketchum is the only person who can do it," he explained. Of course Ash was the only person who could stop it, he had to.
"Ash Ketchum is no hero," the man muttered, pained.
"He is, he saved the world countless times. He defeated Team Rocket!"
"No!" the man barked, "He only thought that he did! He only allowed them to disappear for a little while, allowing them to tamper with things that shouldn't have been tampered with!"
"No one knew that that was going to happen, he's still a hero!" he defended. He never thought that he could be defending his hero from himself.
"If he's such a hero then why couldn't he defend Pallet Town? If he's so damn great then why did his mother die in his arms, screaming and in pain?" the man demanded, the faintest traces of tears could be seen in his dark eyes.
"Sometimes things happen that you can't control and you just have to look at the bright side. If you help me...Ash," he said the name cautiously and was met by the man's cold glare, "then things will get better. I know that they will."
"You're a brave kid, I'll give you that Ayden. But you're foolish; if you make it out of here alive I'd suggest that join Team Rocket and keep yourself out of trouble. You'll live a lot longer." Anger flared through his body, white hot and deadly.
"I'll never join Team Rocket! They caused this problem and they control it!"
"Don't be stupid," Ash spat at him. "If you think that Team Rocket has control over the Abominations then you're an idiot."
"But they created them."
"Just because they created them doesn't mean that they can control them. They lost control and took advantage of the situation. In a time of crisis people need something to rely on, even if they are a bunch of scumbags," Ash explained, the darkness in his eyes seemed to grow.
"You still have to help. You once captured all three hundred and eighty six Pokémon, maybe you're the only person in the world who can control them." Ash laughed at him, pulling a regular Pokéball out of his pocket. He tossed it to the ground; a small round Pokémon emerged from it. It looked like Jigglypuff, only a little smaller and had rounder ears. It had large red eyes and three rows of razor-sharp talons on each one of its small paws. It had small fairy like wings and was a purplish colour. It would have been cute if it weren't for the rows of razor sharp teeth that stuck jaggedly out of its mouth. Ayden had never seen an Abomination like this.
"You caught an Abomination, see you can help!" he exclaimed, looking at the little Abomination further.
"You'd think that, but I found this one as an egg. I was the first thing that it saw, so it basically thinks of me as its mother. If I so much as look at it the wrong way it will attack me. There is no controlling the Abominations," Ash said morosely, putting the small Abomination back in its Pokéball and placing the ball in his pocket.
"You have to try," he pleaded. Ash stopped for a moment, listening to the cave.
"We have to get out of here." He grabbed Ayden's sleeve, pulling him hard.
"Why?"
"Listen." Ayden closed his eyes, panic filling him as he heard the sound. The sound of a million wings echoed through the cave...Scythebats. "They were attracted by our yelling."
"They're going to be blocking our only exit," he whispered frantically. Scythebats were ruthless; they would consume their victim in packs, each one slowly ripping off a piece of flesh until there was nothing left.
"Can you swim?" Ash asked; there was something in his eyes that made Ayden panic even more.
"Pretty good, why?"
"There's a waterfall on the other side of this cave," Ash muttered.
"Are you insane if the fall doesn't kill us the big water Abominations will!" he hissed, he really didn't want to die.
"I don't know about you kid, but I'd much rather be swallowed whole than ripped to shreds." Before Ayden could think of a defence something flew past his shoulder. "Shit!" Ash yelled, ducking under a Scythebat. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
The entire cavern lit up in an electrical fury. Some of the Scythebats were stunned; the others only became angrier, swooping at them faster.
"Pichu, use Thunder Wave," he yelled, he had found this particular attack great for making a quick break against Scythebats. The buzzing the attack emanated confused the sound savvy Abominations.
Pichu ran to the centre of the cave, avoiding the Scythebats with Swift. Pichu went into attack stance, it's small pink cheeks sparking as it gathered energy. Before Pichu could attack a Scythebat swooped at it, slicing a large ribbon shaped gash in his small chest. Pichu looked shocked for a moment, before falling into a small pool of his own blood.
"Pichu!" he screamed, running to his fallen Pokémon. Ash tried to pull him back, but he could not let those monsters devour his best friend. Pichu was the only thing he had left. Pichu was his best friend and only family, it was the least he could do. Pikachu caused a fury of Thunderbolt attacks, allowing him a path to his fallen friend. He ran as fast as he could. Ash screamed something at him, but the thunder was too loud for him to hear it. Just as he was about to reach Pichu a sharp pain shot through his stomach as a Scythebat clawed him. Its razor sharp claw ripped through his flesh muscle and bone with a sickening slice. He fell to the ground, agony flaring through his abdomen. He clutched his body, a little shocked at the amount of blood. He was a foot away from Pichu, but he was in too much pain to pull his precious little Pokémon close.
Gary's Pokédex fell out of his pocket, scanning one of the Scythebats. The electronic voice rang through his ears.
"Scythebat: the deadly scythe. This abomination is incredibly fast and uses its scythe like wings to attack. When it attacks it emits a paralysing neurotoxin to subdue its prey. There is no known cure." Ayden groaned; this wasn't good. He used the last of his physical strength to grab Pichu and pull him to his chest.
He could feel the poison seeping through his body, making it hard to breathe and think. He could vaguely see Ash running towards him, Pikachu sending wave after wave of Thunderbolts. This wasn't a hero's death, but he supposed that it was good enough.
~~~*~
"Watch out!" he called out a second to late. The Scythebat cut through Ayden's torso like a warm knife through butter. Blood splashed across the floor, a small trickle leaking from his lips. Ash knew that he should run, the kid was as good as dead and his body would serve as a good distraction for Pikachu and him to get away. But it wasn't in him to give up. Deep down he was still the ten-year-old kid who would do the right thing no matter what. "Watch my back," he said to Pikachu. Pikachu nodded and continued his barrage of Thunderbolts.
Ash ran as fast as he could while avoiding the Scythebats. If he had learned one thing during his training it was that emotions were dangerous in a critical situation, Ayden was probably too young to know that. He narrowly missed a claw, ducking and rolling so that he was next to the boy.
Ayden had been cut worse than he thought; there was no way that this kid was going to survive.
"Ash," he coughed, small droplets welling at his mouth.
"I'm here," he whispered, taking Ayden's bloody hand. Ayden gripped it tightly, his other arm wrapped around his already dead Pichu.
"Ash, you got to take the...Pokédex...it has information..." Ayden sputtered, closing his eyes from the pain.
"Keep quiet," he said, ducking from a low flying Scythebat. "It'll hurt less."
"Ash...you have to save the world," Ayden cried, his movements becoming stiff, his pupils starting to dilate.
"Be quite and it will all be over soon," he soothed. Something warm trickled down his cheek, how long had it been since he cried?
"No!" Ayden screamed through gritted teeth. "Promise me that you'll save the world!" Ash knew that there was nothing that he could do.
"Ayden..."
"Promise me Ash...please just promise me..." in that instant Ayden looked just like he had when he was young. It was almost like watching himself die.
"I promise..." he didn't know if he was talking to the boy or himself. Ayden smiled at him, a small stream of blood escaped his lips from the action. Ayden took a deep breath, but did not exhale. Ash closed the boy's eyes and picked up the Pokédex. He had three seconds before the Scythebats started to swarm over the body. If he weren't fast he would suffer Ayden's fate.
Ash ran as fast as he could, adrenaline pumping through his veins driving him harder than he was used to. Pikachu was continuing his rampage, but looked worn down. It had been years since either of them had fought his hard. The Scythebats were still circling the entrance of the cave, so he'd have to get out through the waterfall. He grabbed Pikachu as he ran, just barely stopping before getting close to the river at the back of the cave.
Most of this part of the river flowed underneath his cave; his had always thought it miraculous. But he supposed that his cave was just a really big land bridge. He took one last look at the swarm of Scythebats and the damage that they had done to Ayden's body. There wasn't much left of the kid. He looked at the waterfall; it was steep and jagged. In the lake below he could see the shapes and forms of large water Abominations. Death was all around him. Ripped to shreds or swallowed whole, Ash pulled Pikachu close to him and jumped.
To be continued...
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