Out Of The Ashes (A Pokémon Fanfiction) ~on Hold

Chapter 14: Meeting The Gym Leader

Chapter 14: Meeting The Gym Leader

He inhaled deeply and then let the breath go.

"Please don't do that again," he said quietly. "I don't mind you sleeping under the bed, but that kind of scare is not the best thing to wake up to."

Shade went still, staring intently at Ash's face as though expecting for him to yell "Sike!" and attack. Ash let him stare to his content until Shade became satisfied with what he saw and sailed away to inspect the room. Taking that as a sign he had handled the encounter correctly, Ash looked down to where Tank was yawning and stretching out his body. He leaned down and scratched the jutting backspike. Tank's azure eyes lidded and he melted beneath the touch. Ash smiled.

"Breakfast?" he asked, and Tank perked right back up.

He mentally added Pokefood to his checklist for the PokeMart. Letting Tank's body sift through the minerals in rocks and stones seemed to work okay in the wild, but there would be instances where such resources were not immediately available. Ash needed to pick up a bag of special Pokefood for both Tank and Shade.

After indulging himself in a steaming hot shower and an equally hot breakfast, Ash felt human once again and left the PokeCenter in a fantastic mood. He had recalled Shade into his Pokeball to avoid overexposure to sunlight, but Tank plodded happily beside him.

Locals of Pewter dressed in sensible, subdued clothing. Pewter was one of the most northernmost cities in the Kanto Region, and temperatures averaged between fifty and sixty degrees Fahrenheit in the summers. Ash felt warm enough in his vest and jeans, content with the fact that he had a raincoat and a jacket in his bag in case the need arose.

Pewter City was actually rather small, certainly no bigger than the sprawling mass of Viridian. The southern half of the town was comprised mostly of a housing district. The Pokemon Gym, its architecture obtrusively modern and gleaming, acted as the heart of the city. Higher up on the mountain terrace was the National Kanto Pokemon Museum. Ash's guidebook praised it as one of Kanto's unique gems, so he slotted in some time out of his schedule to visit it after stocking up at the PokeMart.

While waiting for the cashier to return with his small list of items, Ash finished filling out the magazine subscription. The cashier accepted the envelope with a thank-you and kindly helped him load away the items into his pack. Once again, Ash was amazed at the technological advancements made by society as item after item was swallowed up without increasing the size or weight of the bag at all.

The total came out to be less than he had predicted, most likely due to the handful of clipped coupons Ash had passed over the counter. He was certain the magazine would more than pay back its sign-up fee as similar offers began rolling in.

Tank and Shade seemed happy enough with the quality of the food. Ash noticed that Tank simply scarfed his portion down at breakneck pace, while Shade surrounded the pellets with his mass. Fascinated, Ash observed as the shadows of the pellets blurred and dissolved when Shade's unique body matter stripped them of their nutrients and broke them down into usable chemicals. The gas cloud increased slightly in both intensity and density and Shade giggled to convey his satisfaction.

After Shade had finished consuming his food, Ash recalled him. Due to the highly toxic nature of the gases that made up their bodies, Gastly were often discouraged from being released in confined spaces or public areas. Ash didn't want to get kicked out of the museum just because of Shade's mischievous antics.

The trek up to the museum was surprisingly laborious due to the town's somewhat severe incline. Tank bounded up the flat, wide steps cut into the hill with surprising grace. Pride glowed warmly in Ash's chest even as he wheezed after the energetic Pokemon. Two weeks ago, Tank would have had to hobble up each stair and probably collapsed from the effort after only a few minutes. Now he could keep pace with Ash easily. The scope of his growth was already incredible.

The Museum was a sprawling, two-story structure. The entrance was built on a stone dais, shaded by a roof upheld by several elaborately-carved marble pillars. Ash flipped his Pokedex to the picture-taking mode and turned the camera around, kneeling down in order to take a picture with Tank. The steel/rock type clearly had no idea what was going on and let out a questioning chirp as Ash captured the image. In the picture, Tank's upturned face was barely in the frame because of his shortness while the top half of Ash's head had been cut off.

It was perfect.

Chuckling, Ash saved the image and went into the museum.

A blonde-haired receptionist waited at the front desk. She greeted him politely and Ash passed over the fifty Pokedollar entrance fee. The ticket was a bit pricey, but since the museum was Pewter's only tourist attraction besides the Gym, Ash supposed it was a necessary pain.

Inside of the museum, the architecture was just as regal as the outside. The yawning ceiling was covered in one massive painting—an image of what seemed to be ancient Pokemon fighting each other. Exhibits on display in glass cases were marked off by red ropes, and obsidian plaques with gold lettering were mounted everywhere to explain what was on show.

This early in the afternoon, not many tourists congested the massive room, so Ash moved freely from one exhibit to another. Several of them were intriguing, including an enormous chunk of black, reflective stone (a moon rock, according to the plaque) placed on a pedestal, as well as a few ancient fossils.

So engrossed in the tablet containing writing in a long-dead language, Ash didn't notice Tank's slow, sneaky crawl to an exhibit featuring a line of gems sparkling on a roll of velvet. The small Pokemon's attention was enraptured by the metal table of the leg. He looked left, checking to make sure his trainer wasn't paying attention, then stretched out his jaws cautiously, taunted by the shining metal…

Ash startled as a male voice laughed nearby. He turned, absorbing the situation in one second, then resisted the urge to smack himself in embarrassment.

Tank was growling crossly as he was gently nudged away from his meal by a tanned stranger.

"That's not for you, buddy," the man said, smiling in amusement. His eyes were lightly closed as he stroked a hand down the steel plate covering Tank's back. "I don't think you want to get your trainer kicked out."

Ash rushed over. "I'm sorry," he apologized, grunting as he pulled Tank's considerable weight further away from the display. "I fed him before we came, but he can be a bit of a glutton."

The man stood up and stretched. "Well, Aron can certainly eat a lot." He nudged the pouting Pokemon playfully with his foot. "You'll notice that he eats even more as his evolution approaches. They need to store enough minerals in their body to convert to the extra mass. This little guy still seems pretty young, though. And last I checked, Aron weren't native to Kanto. You from Hoenn?"

Ash shook his head. "No, I was born in Pallet Town. Tank hatched from an egg and I chose him as my starter." He paused, then realized that he hadn't introduced himself. Extending a hand to shake, he added, "My name is Ash, by the way."

The man grinned and shook his hand. His skin was dry and covered in a film of dust, but Ash didn't mind. Arceus knows how much dirt he had accumulated himself during the trek through Viridian Forest.

"Nice to meet you. My name's Brock."

****************************************************************************

Find out what happens in the next chapter as the journey continues!