Chapter 12 Ash was having trouble in this new world he was on. Ever since that the word was out that the Ultimate Trainer, or more commonly known chosen one was here, things had gone from busy to hectic! Ash was invited to parties and castles that he could scarcely imagine. It was then that the Water Kingdom was the center of a lot of attention; wanted and unwanted attention that is. When word also got out that Ash didn't know how to fight one on one with another person, that things really got busy for Ash. Ash could scarcely imagine the things you could do to another human being, quite frankly, he was only scratching the surface. 'This has to be the thirteenth general that has come to me in the last six days wanting to be my teacher.' Ash grumbled in thought. Ash ducked another punch only to barely be missed by the left that came right after it. Ash didn't want anything to do with the fight but he had no choice, even the youngest of children here could take Ash down one on one. The queen had explained to him that if he ever got separated from his pokemon, it would probably be a disaster on his part because he would be easy prey so she set bouts like this up. "My, you're certainly a fast one aren't you?" Growled the soldier under the general's command. Ash had fought at least three fights per day now so the could test his attributes. Ever since Ash was a boy, he knew that he could move fast when needed and that was coming in handy right now. The only problem with fights was that Ash was unable to hit back as hard as the other guy. 'I don't have enough strength to knock this guy out with a few punches so, I'll just have to rely on my stamina.' Walking around for as long as Ash did on the road helped his stamina immensely. So far, Ash had a black eye, three bruises and two tosses in the dirt from previous fights. Ash was surprised how well he was doing in this one. "Go Ash!" Cheered Pikachu from the sidelines. Ash didn't let himself be distracted by Pikachu because in the last fight, that is what got him the black eye. Ash ducked another punch and decided to try one of his own while the guy was off balance. Ash brought his right fist up and connected with the others stomach. The guy had the wind knocked out of him and he instinctively brought his arms to his stomach. Ash clasped his hands together and was about to give him a blow to the back when- "ENOUGH!" shouted a voice. Ash was startled and stopped in his tracks. The general that was watching the match stood up in anger. "Who said that?!" He demanded. Ash almost laughed at this general's angry voice. Josh Blush of the fire kingdom was an overweight pompous man with little lungs so, it sounded like a squeak rather than an intimidating growl. "You're wasting the Chosen One's precious time." A man stepped forward that Ash hadn't seen in a long time, at least in his world. It was Bruno of the Elite Four. Ash noticed some differences though, there was the unmistakable scar that ran across his forehead and his skin colour was darker but it was undoubtly him. "Bracken! What are you doing here?! You should be at the fight kingdom under Lord Channa." Growled Josh. Ash looked from one to the other, they certainly knew one another but they didn't seem friends. "I have important news for her highness Queen Jessica and I have come for the Chosen One's training." Ash would have slapped his head if he thought that this wasn't a serious matter. Here, a person's fighting abilities were almost as important as their pokemon and Ash being the Chosen One people leapt at the chance to teach him things. Garnick said one time that it was for more their honour than his. "Wh-WHAT?!! You will do no such thing! My men and I will train him!" Josh yelled in a high squeak again. Bracken folded his arms and smiled a cocky smile. "You have no choice in this matter. I must bring him to the Queen at once and then I'm to start training him. She was hoping that your training wouldn't be a repeat of all the others that have come before you." Josh's eyes narrowed dangerously. Ash was standing in-between the two rivals and had a gigantic sweatdrop on his head. "This is not going to be a good day." Ash mumbled in a small voice. "Come on Pikachu, we're going to go see the Queen again." "Right." Pikachu jumped from its perch on a chair and attached itself to Ash's shoulder. Ash collected his cape, belt and bag from their original spot on the grass. Ash then made his way to the main audience chamber where he would talk with Jessica when Bracken pulled up beside him and matched pace. "Do you want something?" Ash asked nervously. Ash was still on the uneasy side about Bracken, he may have been invited here but, he made an enemy for Ash out of Josh. "Just want to tell you what's going on. The queen has decided that in order for you to learn how to defend yourself better, you are going to need more than a general telling you what to do. You're going to need someone to show you how to do it and I am that person. Perhaps you've heard of me, I am Bracken of the fight." Bracken dipped a small bow. Ash and Pikachu sighed at the formality that was used. "I'm sorry. I'm not from around here so I wouldn't know of you. You don't have to be so formal with me. I'm Ash Ketchum by the way." Ash extended his hand that Bracken eagerly took. Ash had never felt such a strong grip. "I suppose that since you're the chosen one, I should be honoured to call you by your first name." Bracken said after they had started walking again. Ash groaned and shook his head. Bracken noticed the gesture and was concerned. "Something the matter?" "Yes and no." Ash said with a forlorn look on his face. Pikachu decided to cheer Ash up by rummaging through his backpack to find an apple he had snuck from the table that morning. "It's ether one or the other boy, which is it? Yes or no?" Bracken asked. "I'm a little sick and tired of people being nice to me because I'm the chosen one. It bothers me in the way that people are so polite to me because they think I might break. It doesn't bother me in the way that I have to worry about not having people by my side, but it makes me wonder who my real friends are." Bracken was a little taken aback from the chosen ones sudden predicament. "Can't say I know what it's like to be looked upon as weak." Bracken started to sympathize. "But, I do know what it's like to be semi-legendary to you that is. Take it with the modesty you just shown me and you'll have more dependable friends then you can imagine." Ash smiled at Bracken just before Pikachu popped out of his backpack with his prize. "You want an apple Ash? It might make you feel better." Pikachu asked. Ash looked over his shoulder and shook his head. "No thanks. You eat it Pikachu." Bracken was stopped in his tracks. "Something wrong?" Ash asked puzzled. Bracken suddenly laughed and swatted his knee. "I've been a complete fool! Of course you would be able to understand your pokemon, you're the chosen one." Bracken laughed. Ash was still in the dark until Bracken began to explain. "I thought that you being the chosen one, you would be able to command all pokemon but not able to understand them. This is quite the remarkable find. Why didn't you tell anyone about this?" Ash shrugged making Pikachu shift weight onto his bag. "No one asked. Why? Is it important?" Ash asked the laughing master of the fight. "No-no. It's just interesting to know." Bracken started to walk again and Ash followed all the way into the queen's chamber. Ash was assaulted with bright colours of fabric on table tops and sweet smells of food once he entered the chamber. Ash looked around to see the room alive with servants dashing this way and that with food, cloth and eating utensils. Ash was awed at what he saw. "There he is!" Said a voice. Ash jumped about five feet in the air when three girls came his way with bundles of cloth. Ash was about to be dragged from Bracken when his other arm was clamped down on. "What is the meaning of this?" Bracken growled. One of the three girls let go of Ash to talk to Bracken. "We have a gift from the Princess for the chosen one. He must be fitted into it right away." Ash could have groaned, more cloths. Bracken sighed and began to explain before anyone could have Ash, he had to speak with the queen first. The girls pouted and agreed when Bracken promised that they could have him later. 'Mew?' Ash sent telepathically to his pokeball. 'What's on your mind? As if I didn't know.' Mew giggled. Ash followed Bracken around trying to find the queen. 'What happens now? I'm here in this world but I don't know how to save it. I'm not even sure if I'm helping any.' Ash's response from Mew was cut off when he heard an- "Now there's ya'll are! Ah've been look'n for ya'll since daybreak." Ash heard the unmistakable southern accent of the queen and sighed. "I've been on the training grounds." Was Ash's reply. "Ah suppose ya'll have been! Look at those cloths! Why, they are just practically full of grit! Don't ya'll take this personally, but ah hope ya'll clean up before supper." Ash sighed and nodded. Every time he talked with the queen now she acted more like a mother and less like a queen. "Your ladyship." Bracken started. The queen then noticed the man on the floor and smiled. Ash didn't even notice that he had kneeled. "There ya'll are Bracken! Ah was wondering when you'd show your charming face around herah. Ah want you to look after this young'n till he can take care of himself. Do ya'll think you can do that?" Bracken smiled and replied with another formal yes your ladyship. "Good. See ya'll tonight then." Ash was left to the three girls mercy. After an embarrassing clothes fitting that consisted of talking like Ash wasn't even there, he stormed out to see Rapidash. 'Girls!' Ash thought embarrassed remembering their conversation. "This is the very best of Mysterious's fabric." "He's very lucky that she doesn't need it for her dress for tonight." "That dress she has now is going to blow him over." "That is if she has it on for that long." Giggles burst out between the girls and Ash turned a nice shade of red. 'Always giggling about something. What did they mean by if she wears it for that long? If they think that I'm going to be distracted by an alternate of Misty they're sadly-' Ash turned the corner to the stables to see a small mob of guys around the stable. 'What's going on here?' Ash thought as he came nearer. A prince with a Meowth by his side poked someone next to him and whispered. "What's going on here!" Ash demanded. When no one spoke, Ash made his way through the crowd into the stable and found Mysterious staring right back at him. "Mysterious?" Ash asked skeptically. The princess was in the most beautiful white dress he had ever seen and was brushing Rapidash. "Hello Ash." She said in a soft voice. Ash would have blushed if he knew what her intentions were but, since he was unaware that this was what Mysterious had in mind, Ash walked over to her. "What are you doing?" Ash asked more than perturbed because someone else was taking care of Rapidash. "What does it look like?" Mysterious asked. Ash didn't notice that she was batting her eyes at him and moving closer. "You shouldn't be in here. Besides, I was going to brush Rapidash today." Ash growled. Mysterious waved the brush around in her hand. "I'm sorry. I just wanted to get some more experience with other pokemon before mine hatches." Ash then realized something. "When is it going to hatch?" Ash asked excited. "Who knows? I have had it for three years now." Ash visibly was shocked. Togepi hatched out in less than six months. "THREE years?" Ash asked disbelieving. "Yes. Why is there something wrong?" Ash caught himself before he did anything else stupid. Mysterious smiled and thought that her plan was working. Ash shook his head and felt a bit embarrassed. "Nothing. Wait! Where's your pokemon now?" Ash asked looking around for the egg. Mysterious set down the brush and grabbed his hand. "In the loft. Want to check up on it with me?" Ash felt something in the back of his mind go off. It said warning! Warning! Female is up to something! "Why did you leave it up there all alone? Something might have happened to it by now. Pikachu." Ash motioned over to his pokemon. "Yeah?" Pikachu replied. Pikachu was up on Rapidash's shoulder looking at the obvious. Pikachu still couldn't believe Ash was in denial about this Mysterious girl. Pikachu asked Ash about her and all Ash could say was there's no way she could be interested in him. "Go check upstairs for her egg." Pikachu jumped down from Rapidash and made his way up to the loft. Once Ash was semi-alone with Mysterious she began phase two. "Are you sure Pikachu will be able to handle my egg? It is awfully big. Maybe we should give it a hand or something." Ash looked at the steep latter Pikachu went up. 'Uhh Ash?' Sent Mew. 'What?' Ash sent back. 'DON'T DO IT!' Ash was startled by his pokemon's sudden outburst and asked the obvious question of. 'Why not?' Ash sent back to Mew. 'Once alone in a hayloft with a Princess, no matter from which land here, could overpower you in seconds.' That got Ash's attention. "I think Pikachu can handle it. Besides, you wanted to know more about pokemon right? Well I can tell you a few things that you might not know." Ash said quickly. 'Nice save.' Sent Mew. 'We'll talk about this later.' Ash sent back. Mysterious began to panic; her plan wasn't going so well. "Your sure that Pikachu will be able to find my egg? I hid it up there pretty good." Mysterious asked quickly. Mew could have chuckled. "I'm positive. Now the way your supposed to brush Rapidash is not in a circle, but in clean sweeps from the back like this." Ash captivated his audience when he showed her by example. Ash handed the brush to her. "You try." Mysterious took the brush and followed his example. "Like this?" Mysterious asked. Ash heard Pikachu scamper upstairs and relaxed. Then Ash noticed that she was stopping short of the long stroke he had showed her. "Longer strokes." Ash said. "How much longer?" She asked. Ash didn't think about it until later when he reached over to take the brush to show her how it was done when… "PIKAPI!" Mysterious pretended to be startled and tripped into Ash's outstretched arm. Mysterious felt strong arms keep her from falling and inwardly sighed. "Careful." Ash warned. Mysterious was in Ash's arms and she didn't want to be let go. Mysterious was brought out of her daydreams when Ash let go of her. "Pikachu? What's going on up there?" Ash asked. "Get Mysterious up here! The egg has hatched!" Ash paled a bit. "What?!" Ash grabbed onto Mysterious's hand and she gasped. "What's wrong?" She said as she blushed. Ash dragged her towards the ladder before answering. "Pikachu just told me that your egg is hatching!" Ash said in a panic. Mysterious let the thought hit her like a ton of bricks. Her very own egg was hatching without her! Ash practically ran up the ladder with a princess in tow and came up in a hayloft. Pikachu was jumping up and down. "Hurry!" Pikachu growled and ran towards one of the corners. Ash helped the princess up and ran to see an egg bouncing around. Mysterious gasped and ran to it's side. Ash forced himself to stand off to the side so the pokemon would see Mysterious first. "Here it comes!" Mysterious said as another violent shudder rocked her egg. The egg gave way to a blue pokemon. "Marril!" It said. Ash smiled. If he had his pokedex, he would have opened it up to collect the data on this little Marril. Mysterious was dead silent. Ash put a hand on her shoulder and laughed. "Looks like you got a Marril. Congratulations!" Ash said cheerfully. Mysterious felt a tear fall from her cheek to the Marril. She could scarcely believe she had her very own pokemon. Then she remembered why she was up here and blushed. Then, they both heard a thump and Ash groaned. They both peeked their heads up over the hay to see the top of the ladder missing. 'Eeep! Ash? You're in trouble!' Mew sent telepathically. Ash then realized that he had just done what Mew had told him not to do. Ash turned and saw Mysterious dusting herself off as she picked up a Marril. "Tired." The Marril said as it closed it's eyes. Ash thought he saw Pikachu shake his head and disappear into the hay. "This is great." Ash said in an annoyed tone. "How do we get down now?" Ash asked as he stood over the hole in the floor. Mysterious set her Marril down in the hay and went over to Ash. Ash felt something tingle when her hand met with his. Ash didn't know what was happening until he was on his back in the hay with Mysterious over him. "You don't do anything." She said in a whisper. "I don't want to be rescued just yet." She giggled. Ash blushed a deep red as she leaned over and kissed him. It was a long and vibrant kiss that made Ash shudder. It was like someone had cut his cords, he couldn't move. 'Told you, you were in trouble.' Mew sent telepathically. Ash couldn't believe what was happening! 'Mew! What do I do?' Ash sent in a telepathic yelp. Mysterious moved onto Ash's midsection and began to kiss harder. Mew sighed and then sent an answer that was clever and yet devious. 'What you do is thank me later.' Mew sent out a telepathic ball of energy that picked Marril up and dropped it to wake it up. "Marrrrrrril!" Marril began to cry. Mysterious began to panic. 'No! Please not now!' She silently begged her pokemon. Ash unwrapped her legs from around his waist and broke off the kiss. "I think someone's hungry." Ash said in a hurry. Mysterious felt herself sigh and get up. Marril was picked up and settled down. Mysterious saw Ash grab a rope from somewhere and stopped. 'He's going to get down now! Curse it!' Mysterious growled at herself. Ash was still in a deep shade of maroon from the kiss when he fastened one end of the rope to a support beam and the other to his waist. "I'll put the ladder back up for you." Ash said quickly. Ash let himself down gently and put up the ladder. Mysterious came down with Marril in hand. "Pikachu! Time to go!" Ash called out. Pikachu came running from under a pile of hay and jumped from the floor onto Ash's shoulder. Then a moment of uncomfortable silence ensued for Ash. "You don't have to be so kind to me you know." Mysterious suddenly said. Ash gave her a questioning look. "You've already proven how kind a person you can be. Think of that kiss as a reward and of better things to come. Until tonight." Mysterious walked out of the stable and Ash could only stare. The crowd had dispersed and Ash was left alone with his pokemon. "I suppose you were off looking for a way out of there when she got me." Ash said sarcastically to Pikachu. Pikachu didn't respond. "And I also suppose that the ladder just got toppled by the wind too." Pikachu finally couldn't hold it in anymore. "Mumph! You two make a cute couple. I had to set you up." Ash picked Pikachu from his shoulders and stared him in the eyes. "And what is that supposed to mean?!" He growled. Mew decided to get in on the conversation. 'I warned you.' Ash was interrupted. "I didn't think that her pokemon would hatch on us! It was an accident that I went up there to bring her to her egg!" Ash growled out loud. 'Just be more careful from now on. If she had decided to have you then and there, she could have. Thank me for saving your butt.' Ash sighed. This was going to be a major problem. "About that. What did she do up there? It felt like someone had snapped all control I had over myself." Mew giggled. 'Well, at least we know that she truly loves you.' Ash paled a navy blue of panic. 'A princess has the ability to control and manipulate her loves body like she did to you. It was passed down to her to help with the mating process between a King and Queen, births are harder to make happen on this world. If she didn't love you, she would have no power over you but apparently she does.' Ash dropped Pikachu. "Ouch!" Pikachu said with a thundershock. Ash didn't even feel the jolt of electricity, he was in too much shock already. "She can't possible love me already! She hardly knows me! I'm too young to be thinking these things!" Ash groaned. Mew and Pikachu were having fun. "Ash, time doesn't matter to the heart. You're a very easy person to love." Pikachu said with a grin. 'Besides, in this world, you are the proper age to be thinking about these things.' Mew sent telepathically. 'Pardon?!' Ash sent back. Mew sighed and began to explain. 'On this world, people have shorter life spans. Therefore, the faster you die, the faster you must have children.' Ash fell down on the floor with a thump. Pikachu waved a paw in front of Ash's face. "I'LL NEVER UNDERSTAND WOMEN!" Ash growled. Ash collected himself and stormed out of the stable to crash into Garnick. "Sorry!" Ash apologized. Garnick dusted himself off and got up. "You're a hard person to find." Garnick stopped short. "OH NO! Mysterious didn't!" Garnick groaned. Ash was surprised of how he knew about this and went immediately scarlet. "Umm, well." Ash started. Garnick began to fire questions at him before he could say another word. "Well what happened? Did she give you the promise stick? I must know to tell her highness." Ash blushed a deeper crimson. "She caught me off guard in the hayloft and gave me a kiss." Ash said embarrassed. Gary let out a sigh of relief. "Is that all? Geez! I thought she something else. No need to be embarrassed over a kiss!" Garnick teased. Ash hung his head a little. Garnick looked perplexed for a moment. "Something the matter?" Ash turned a deeper crimson if it was possible. "I wasn't a real girl chaser back home. This is the first time someone's chased me and I don't know what to do." Ash said quietly. It took a second for it to register to Garnick what Ash was saying. "You mean that was your first kiss?" Garnick asked incredulously. Ash nodded and Gary let out a whoop of laughter. "Boy are you in trouble! Mysterious is going to chew you up and spit you out. That girl is really too much. I'd be careful if I was you. I was on my way to find you and tell you that I won't be able to attend the party tonight. I've got some things to work out. Catch you later if Mysterious hasn't already." "Very funny wise guy!" Ash growled after Garnick. Ash was on his way to his room when he ran into Bracken coming out of his room. "What were you doing in my room?" Ash asked Bracken as soon as he spotted him. "Looking for you. Come, it's time that you got yourself ready for the party. A change of cloths and a bath would suit you best." Ash laughed and walked right by Bracken into his room. Inside Ash grabbed the stone that Garnick provided him with for just these occasions. In a flash of white radiance, Ash was cleaned up and was put up in a new set of garments. Bracken was in total and absolute shock. "A present from Garnick. It saves me the trouble of having to get cleaned up all the time." Ash walked out the door followed by Bracken. Ash then remembered something else. "Pikachu, when did the queen say we were supposed to go to this party?" "I don't know." Answered Pikachu. "Maybe we have a few minutes to ourselves. Want to go to the roof?" Ash nodded at the idea. The roof of the castle was the best place to be in the whole castle. It was private, quiet and was the only place where Ash could open up the other pokeballs. Ash had decided that he would rather have a few aces up his sleeve like his pokemon for example, than be taken without a surprise. "Good idea." Ash then made his way up the stairs to the balcony. When Ash reached the top he heard voices. They were hardly audible but he could still make them out. "Do you think he suspects anything?" Growled a voice Ash recognized as the Taker. Ash then heard another voice he didn't recognize. "If he does, it's too late to act now." Ash was stopped in his tracks. They could be talking about him. "Krofost is a fool and an old fool at that. When he looks into the magical business for tonight's activities, he'll be in for quite a shock. Literally!" Ash was relieved that they weren't talking about him but realized that they were talking about Garnick. "So he won't know what hit him eh? I never did like that stuck up sorcerer. Have you figured out yet how he blocked my spell?" There was a moment of silence. Ash thought that they might be moving toward the door but before he could move, the other voice piped up again. "No. It's almost impossible for anyone to block a Takers spell. He must have some new magic that we haven't found out about yet. Is it a possibility that this fraud truly is the chosen one?" Ash heard a snort from the Taker. "Hardly!" he scoffed. "That kid doesn't know how to handle himself let alone a pokemon. I've seen pillows that hit harder than that young kid." Ash was furious but he did have a point. Compared to some of the giant muscle bounded creeps here, he was a creampuff. "It is time I parted." Said the other voice. There was a scuffle of feet and Ash hid behind the door as it opened. Ash immediately recognized the voice now. It was one he heard over and over again repeating a stupid motto. It was James's counterpart in this world. "What about this fraud?" Asked the Taker. They both stopped for a moment. "Kill him at the feast tonight." Ash begged for them not to turn around and spot him. Then he heard footsteps going down the stairs and he let out a sigh of relief. "Pikachu? I think we're in trouble." Ash said aloud. "Let's find Garnick and Bracken right away!" The feast. "I really don't like this plan!" Ash growled. Ash was in the middle of the entire feast pretending to be having a good time. Bracken and Garnick were to either side of him trying not to laugh at Ash's predicament. Ash was supposedly drunk and had a pretty Mysterious on his lap. It was easy to pretend Ash was drunk because of his red face. "Hush up or you'll blow everything!" Growled Bracken. Ash was not amused. He had found Bracken and Garnick later and told him what he had overheard. They had come up with a plan to get the fiends out of hiding and were hoping they would slip up. "And I suppose this was your idea?" Ash growled at Garnick gesturing at Mysterious. Garnick pretended Ash had told a very good joke and let out a belly laugh. "Nope." Ash could have sworn he saw Mysterious smile a bit. 'Great, this is all her doing. The more I get to know this Mysterious, the more I think she's not Misty's alternate.' Mysterious giggled and held out her glass for more wine. Ash leaned forward and whispered in her ear. "Are you really getting drunk or is this an act?" Ash demanded in a low voice. Mysterious let out a small smile and laughed like he was whispering sweet nothings in her ear. An arm went around his neck and she began to play with his hair. "What do you think?" Mysterious replied. Ash let out a small hiss as she planted a small kiss on his cheek. "This is my life you're playing with." Ash growled. Mysterious laughed and tugged on his hair. Before Ash could react there was a loud whoop from his audience as a kiss was firmly placed on his lips. Mysterious was drunk as a skunk and Ash knew it, her breath gave her away. "Cut that out you two. There'll be plenty of time for that later." Bracken laughed. According to plan, Ash was going to stand up and announce that he was retreating early to bed before schedule. That would force the killers to act sooner and hopefully that would force them to make a mistake. It didn't turn out that way. "Greetings people of the Water kingdom." A voice bellowed from behind the festival walls. Ash recognized the voice and hit Bracken and Garnick on the arms. That was the signal that something was wrong. "I am General James of the council and I have come to do business with her majesty the Queen." Doors flew open and there stood James and the Taker. Ash felt Mysterious get up off of his lap and down by his feet. "Ah am sorry kind sir, but business has been closed for tahday. Tis ah festival day." Queen Jessica openly said for all to hear. "Come ya'll and join us in thas herah joyus accasion." James's eyes narrowed and he growled. "I'm sorry your highness but we're not here for the festival. I'm sorry to announce that this festival is over." James said in a cruel voice. "You can't do that!" Yelled a nobleman from the audience. James smiled. "I just did. Seize the fraud and the magician!" Ash jumped to his feet as men poured from all sides. As was surrounded within seconds. There were so many all the guards were overwhelmed and so were the noblemen. This was not in the plan. "I didn't think that there would be this many." Bracken growled. Ash felt Garnick being taken from the group. Ash watched as Garnick was taken to James. "You thought you could just retire without the council's permission? Very stupid Krofost." Garnick spat in James's eye. "I'm not Krofost anymore! I'm Garnick!" James's hand went to his sword as a pokeball was thrown. Materialized before James was a figment of many nightmares before him, a demon of unimaginable horror. A yellow streak was seen bolting across the room as the other set of doors flew open to reveal a steed of red. The room was dead silent in shock on both sides of the battlers. Then a voice was heard. "Charizard! Rapidash! Flamethrower now!" A mighty roar was heard as people fled in fear of the terror. Fire and electricity were thrown in the direction of the cowering people who had rudely interrupted the feast. "I've never had this much fun in a long time." Charizard laughed as he picked up a soldier and threw him at others. Charizard swung his tail to catch a large group of soldiers from behind. "Don't let it go to you head." Growled Pikachu. "Our goal is to protect Ash." Charizard grunted an I know and went back to work. Ash surprised everyone on both sides. They had never seen Ash in a real battle before now and saw him at his highest point. "Pikachu! To your left! Thundershock! Charizard! There's a group to your right! Watch for the guy in blue, he had a double sword! Rapidash! Go after the General!" "Ash behind!" Ash turned to see a large man with a battle-axe headed straight for him. Ash didn't have time to think, he just reacted. The man didn't have time to even spit before Ash hit him the first time. Ash didn't have to hit him a second time. Ash's fist came up and connected with the jaw and he was lifted three feet in the air in the opposite direction. Ash stood there for a second in mute shock. "Now that is impressive!" Said a voice. Ash turn to see Bracken smiling with a guy in one hand and a fist thumping him. "I underestimated you kid!" Ash remembered what Darrel said. Then Ash realized something; everyone always did underestimate him. Then there was silence in the grand hall. "Where's mah daughter?!" Queen Jessica asked in the silence. Ash almost totally forgot about her! Ash pulled up the table cover to reveal a sleeping beauty and her Marril. "Thank heavens!" Ash returned Charizard into the pokeball and sighed. A scuffle of feet was heard next as Garnick arrived with Ash's Rapidash and a prisoner. "Looks like I missed all the fun!" Garnick was proudly sporting a nice prisoner of General James and he wasn't too happy neither. "You'll pay for this humiliation!" James spat at Ash. Garnick gave him a good swift kick in the ribs to shut him up. Ash winced at the violent scuffling and manhandling of James as they took him away to the dungeons. Then, there was a real celebration in Ash's honour. Ash didn't feel like celebrating. "Now what was that trick you did to call upon that magnificent beast? It happened too close to me to catch it." Garnick asked. Ash wasn't paying attention. "What was that?" Ash mumbled back to Garnick. Garnick sighed and slumped in his chair. Bracken noticed and laughed. "You should know better than to bother the boy now Garnick. That was a fine battle he put up. You should be grateful, he saved your life." Bracken gave Ash a good thump on the back. Ash sighed and held onto Pikachu. 'What's the matter chosen one?' Mew asked Ash telepathically. Ash looked around to see who had addressed him and mentally scolded himself for not realizing that it was Mew. 'The cat's out of the bag now. The council will be forced to find me and destroy any threats they find and that includes you.' Ash sent back to Mew. Garnick suddenly stood tall in his chair again and rang on his cup for silence. "I want everyone's attention! Today we have seen a rare treat. The chosen one in actual battle! I think this is the perfect opportunity to announce our plans to go and journey the lands. The time of prophecy has arrived and we are joyously going to visit the lands to announce his presence to the world. Ashura Satoshi Ketchum is the chosen one and he is here!" A large roar came from the grand hall as people yelled in joy. Ash however, was not amused. 'I'm no hero. Why are people treating me like one?' Ash thought to himself. That was the plan but Ash thought it was still too soon to put it into action! Ash was going to have a talk with Garnick. Garnick held up his hands for silence. 'What now?' Ash thought as he saw Garnick grin a smile of pure joy. "Before we do that however, as we saw tonight, their will always be those who will oppose him. Let the message be spread that as his guide on this journey I am looking for an elite squad to protect the chosen one. If he is to bring pokemon and humans together he must be protected. For the pokemon and us!" "For pokemon and us!" Echoed the mob. Then the crowd dispersed into the streets. Ash was left with Bracken, Garnick, the Queen and a sleeping Mysterious. "So when was that discussed in the plan?" Ash asked annoyed. Garnick gave Ash a wink and smiled. "Just helping the plans along faster. There wouldn't be a crowd like that here even if you called a royal summons of the people. It was the perfect opportunity to get the message out." Bracken came up behind Garnick and ruffled the sorcerer's hair. "Between me and you, this war will be over in days." Bracken said with a laugh. Ash was about to say something when he stopped. This was a war Ash was going to have to fight. 'The things I do for people.' Ash thought with a grumble as he retired for the night. It had been a long day after all. A week later "I can't believe it!" Ash gasped. Out below him were all the candidates to become his elite guard. There was a sea of faces below him that filled up past the gates. "Your not serious!" Ash said in awe. "All these people want to be my guards? There's so many" "Many will try, not all will succeed." Bracken said with a grin. Ash sighed inwardly. Bracken was to train Ash so he was appointed Ash's personal general by Garnick's advice. Garnick was appointed his wizard and vizier. "Time to encourage them to do their best." Ash nodded and stepped forward. Oddly, Ash wasn't afraid of public speaking. "Young warriors and veterans, I am Ashura Satoshi Ketchum, the chosen one." A murmur went up from the crowd. "I come before you not as a hero or legend, but as a person who wishes for nothing more than to run away from speaking up here like this." "What are you doing!?" Demanded Garnick in a whisper. Ash smiled because this wasn't the speech that Garnick had prepared for Ash. A small roar of laughter came from the crowd below. "I am however, not going to lie to you or promise you anything fancy. My very existence here has threatened the very order of things as you know it." Dead silence entered the courtyard. "This is the time of change and as the person bringing that change I feel it is my responsibility to tell you all that my life will be in danger all the time. The people looking for a challenge that will possibly threaten their very lives can go home right now because I'm not looking for people who would throw their lives away for me. I'm looking for people who are willing to make a change at any price and if it means death so be it. I'm willing to see this change through to the end and I want people who are willing to do the same." The silence that echoed through the crowd was unnerving. Then one voice broke the silence. "I will join you!" "I will too!" Then a mighty roar leapt from the mob and Ash felt himself smile. A chant started up from the crowd. "ASHURA! CHOSEN ONE! ASHURA!" Ash turned back his attention to his friends behind him expecting a scolding from Garnick. Ash met with an astonishing sight; Bracken and Garnick were …weeping! "Uhh- I guess that answers my question." Ash said with a laugh. Garnick gave Ash a scowl and wiped away his tears. "Where did you learn to speak like that?!" Bracken demanded. Ash gave a shrug. "A friend of mine always said that the best spoken words come from the heart. It was spur of the moment." Mouths gaped open and Ash sweatdropped. "You know I could get used to this." Ash said with a little snicker in his voice. Ash was then supposed to ride Rapidash while checking out the recruits but that wasn't for a while yet. "We have work to do. If you would excuse us Ash???????????" Garnick did something like teleport down to the ground level with Bracken. Ash watched the people disperse and sighed, he envied their freedom of choice. Ash didn't have much choice in matters now. It was either black or white, yes or no. There was no grey or maybe. 'I've had enough of being cooped up in this castle. I want to go and see something other than grey walls.' Ash sent telepathically to Mew. 'I don't see why you can't. No ones going to need you for a while and you deserve a break. We could creep up to the roof.' Ash thought about it for a while and decided that it was a good idea. 'Lets go.' Ash giggled and a few minutes later, Ash found himself up on the roof with his pokemon out of their balls. Minus Rapidash of course, Pikachu and Mew were nuzzling Ash when he heard footsteps. "Yipe! Everyone return. Dragonite, Charizard, Tauros, Kingler, Bulbasaur, and Mew were sucked back into their balls. Ash barely had enough time to hide behind some of the roof before the person entered. "See I told you no one comes up here." Said a familiar voice. Ash recognized the voice as belonging to Tracey. Ash waited patiently for the other person to speak. "You brought me up here for what purpose?" Ash gulped down a squeak. It was the Princess Mysterious. "I would like to resign my commission as the general here. I want to follow the Chosen One." There was a silence for a moment. "I've arranged for an adequate replacement. My father is coming to take my place within the week." "It's not that. It's just that-Tracey would you swear a knights vow?" Tracey gasped for a moment. "I know this is a lot to ask of you but would you vow to protect the Chosen One no matter what? That is the only way I will allow this." There was a sigh of relief. "I thought you wanted something more. I have already made that vow my princess, to your mother." It was Ash's turn to be surprised. There was a clatter coming up the stairs and a thud at the doorway. "Princess! Have you seen the Chosen One? He's gone!" Ash groaned it was Bracken. "He was supposed to meet us to survey the troops! He didn't show up!" Ash heard someone gasp and then there was another clatter down the stairs. When Ash crept back to the roof balcony, there was no one there. "I chose you! Charizard!" Ash flung out his orange fire type and snickered. "Hey Charizard, want to scare the natives?" Ash gave a wink to his pokemon. Charizard returned Ash's smile and leaned over so Ash could get on. "W-W-What's th-th-th-that?!!!!" Squeaked a voice. All the men lined up for inspection looked up to see something flying! "YAAAAA!" The line backed off from Ash and Charizard when they skimmed over the men. When Ash landed he was very sour. "Alright! Listen up!" Ash bellowed acting like the leader they needed. When it was clear that no one's attention was on Ash he recalled Charizard. Once Charizard was back in his ball, all eyes were on Ash. Ash let out a high-pitched whistle calling Rapidash and everyone heard the ruckus in the stables. "Look at that!" All the men stared at the direction the horse pokemon was coming from. When Rapidash stopped in front of Ash, there was a gasp. "Yes, the pokemon belong to me and you had best get used to them. If you're the lot that's coming with me, then you'll be seeing a lot of them. That is if you pass my generals inspection, which I guarantee won't be easy." There was a moment of silence. "They won't harm you unless you come in direct contact with them. If they're by themselves, leave them be. They will only be out of my presence when doing an errand for me. I expect my pokemon to be respected at all times. IS THAT CLEAR?!" "Yes sir!" Echoed the men. "Good! I'll leave you to Bracken then." Ash had spotted the man a few yards down to his right. Bracken shook his head at Ash and walked in front of Rapidash. "Garnick wants to see you in the tent." Bracken said before turning his attention over to the soldiers. Ash galloped in the direction of the tent as soon as Bracken barked the first orders. Ash got off of Rapidash in front of a great big green tent. "Garnick? You in here?" Ash paused at the door. There were about thirty people in the tent all nervous and Garnick was talking to them. "-instructed in the best of both sides of the mysterious arts. You are the chosen few who can become sorcerers for our –Chosen one, I didn't expect you to see you so soon." All eyes were adverted to Ash and he sighed. "You wanted me for something?" Ash asked puzzled. There were murmurs and nudged ribs when Ash walked into plain view. "Ah, yes. I was wondering if you would join me for a little experiment." Garnick was ruffling through some cloths when he seemed to find something. "What kind of experiment?" Ash asked raising an eyebrow. Garnick simply smiled and pulled a course clear stone from the cloth. "It's not an experiment really. It's more like a test. It occurred to me the other day that you're the only person in this camp that hasn't been tested to see if you have the ability to learn magic." Ash rubbed his head nonchantly. "Don't I have enough on my plate as is? Bracken is going to be chewing me up and spitting me out with physical training. I don't think I would have the energy to handle magic training too." Ash said in a moan. "Nonsense! When you travel with sorcerer's you simply create a portal to where you want to go. We'll simply be camping out on someone's doorstep all the time. Now put your hand out." Ash gave Pikachu a worried glance before stretching his hand out. Garnick simply closed his eyes and Ash felt a warm tingling feeling shoot up his arm. 'This feels weird.' Ash thought to himself. Then the tingling accelerated to a sharp pain. When Garnick dropped the stone, Ash had to literally dive to save it. "Watch it!" Ash yelled as he saved the crystal. No one in the room moved or said anything for a moment. Everyone but Ash and Pikachu realized what just happened. "Ash?" Garnick whispered after a few moments of uncomfortable silence. Ash got up off the floor and dropped the stone into Garnick's hands. "I take it that I –" Ash was about to say failed miserably but stopped when he saw Garnick's excitement. "Oh! You are going to be one busy guy for the next few months." Ash let out a moan and Pikachu did the same. "Very busy indeed." And so time passes….. Author note: Me again. Sorry about the long wait, finals! YOU'VE GOT TO HATE THEM! I would like to take this opportunity to tell people out there in cyber land that my next part of this story is going up in a part 2 the Ultimate Trainer. I mean twelve chapters is enough for any story. I'm working on another story that'll knock your socks off! Watch for it. Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon or anything related to pokemon. Pokemon and its associated characters are copyrighted by Nintendo/Game Freak. This is a pokemon fanfic created by my mind only.