Author's Note: The winner of my little competition I had a couple of chapters ago goes to F14M3RZ. They voted for Lucario and as well as giving a good explanation for why to include one, after introducing a Lucario in Lucas, who admittedly is rather a big jerk, still thanked me for choosing to include a Lucario. For still being a good sport about it, I was impressed enough to feel that they deserve to win my competition the most.
Also I want to point out that there have indeed been plenty of evolutions lately. It just sort of works out that way due to all evolving in the level 30s, but hopefully none of you mind.
WuxiaWorld » Lost In The New World » Lost In The New World Chapter 24. FONT SIZE ← PREV. Lost In The New World Chapter 24. Go To Chapter Go. Day Sepia Night. Chapter 24: First Mission. Attaching Siyla's mechanical arm to a new, shiny harness, Fel gave it.
21: New Worlds - The Americas and Oceania flashcards from Caleb M. On StudyBlue. 21: New Worlds - The Americas and Oceania - History 1307 with Wingerd at Baylor University - StudyBlue. In the New World Translation, the name occurs 6,979 times in the Hebrew Scriptures and 237 times in the Christian Greek Scriptures. (For information on the use of the divine name in the Christian Greek Scriptures, see App. C.) In the Bible, the term “name” at times also stands for the person himself, his reputation, and all that. Start studying Ch. 24 - New Worlds, The Americas and Oceania. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.
Chapter 24
Delia and Jenny literally raced across the land as Delia held as tightly as she could onto Jenny's back.
Evidently Fire Stones were more common here and Lucas happened to have one because Jenny was now a lot stronger and way faster as a newly evolved Arcanine, her entire body absolutely perfectly suited for running fast
She had toned lean muscles particularly in her legs and thighs, her long blue hair practically glowing in the light of the rising sun as well as a bushy blue fire tail that trailed behind her as she ran.
Even though they were on a rescue mission, Jenny still couldn't resist testing out what her new body could do despite her rather scared passenger. Evidently riding piggyback at over 50 miles an hour was not an enjoyable thing and she had accidentally cut into Jenny's flesh with her claws on one occasion in order to avoid falling off, causing a very quick yelp.
The good news, and the reason she was even putting up with it was they were making excellent time At this rate, they would be there soon despite the vast distance.
'I absolutely love this!' Jenny said happily for the millionth time after leaving, 'who wouldn't want to be an Arcanine? I feel like I could run forever!'
'I just wouldn't want to hold onto you forever,' Delia complained, 'I keep nearly falling off.'
'At least you aren't the one carrying 100 pounds of dead weight,' Jenny pointed out, 'you'd probably take all day to get there by yourself.'
'True,' Delia agreed, 'I suppose I should be grateful for that, but...I'm not doing this on the way back.'
'I'm not waiting for you then,' Jenny answered honestly, 'I was built for speed!'
She couldn't help grinning at Jenny's enthusiasm, at least one of them was having fun. Besides, it wasn't everyday you evolved and a little celebration should be allowed. Frankly she'd probably be flying around like crazy when she evolved into a Charizard which probably wouldn't be too long from now.
Until then, she was grateful to have Jenny around and willing to take her on her back.
'Jenny?' Delia asked her as a thought came to her.
'Yeah?' Jenny said.
'When I get back to Ash...do you think you'll be alright without me?' Delia inquired.
'Do you mean do you think I can handle being the leader of the group?' Jenny observed, 'yes I think we should be fine. Besides I know you want to get back to Ash. Frankly I do too, but I'd say I'm needed here more. Just as long as I get in at least one good run a day I'll be good enough.'
'Thank you,' Delia told her gratefully, 'you're a good friend.'
'Of course,' Jenny agreed, 'what are friends for. Also tell Joy I said hi.'
'Will do,' Delia answered as they got back to continuing onward.
It wasn't long before they finally spotted the mountain, sticking up into the distance.
At first they had taken it as a sign that they were almost there...but it wasn't long before they recognized it was actually because of just how huge and high the mountain was.
It jutted up from the ground like a perfect sharp spearpoint, other than for the very top which flattened out as if the tip had broken off.
At it's base, they felt like mere ants as they stared directly up at it, looking directly up a stiff and perfectly smooth cliff face.
'We're going to need to find a path or something because I can't scale that,' Jenny observed.
'Unfortunately I'm no more mountain goat than you are,' Delia pointed out.
'Why not try getting into it with your claws?' Jenny suggested.
That was a good idea, which she tried but with limited results. The rock was simply too hard.
'I'm going to go around and try and find a way up it,' Jenny told her as she raced off, leaving her alone.
She looked up at the mountain again. Probably at least a mile straight up it, she thought. If she could fly, she could get up that in no time, however without wings or sharp enough claws it just wasn't feasible.
'Having trouble?' A voice asked her.
In surprise, she turned around...only to nearly faint in shock.
It was the woman. The one who had given Ash to her, the fire woman.
'Hello,' The woman greeted her as if this was merely a casual visit.
'You-you're...,' Delia stammered.
'Yes, I'm the one who gave Ash to you,' She finished for her, 'have you figured out who I am yet?'
Delia had thought about it. Many sleepless nights she had thought about it as well as the curious circumstances in which she had gotten Ash.
'Arceus?' She suggested.
The Fire woman smiled before admitting, 'oh no, I'm afraid Arceus doesn't do everything, there are other legendaries around who actually do things you know. For example I'm responsible for a little something called the rainbow.'
'Ho-oh,' Delia said, glad to finally know her identity.
'Very good,' Ho-oh praised, 'I'd also take the name Rainbow, just don't call me Babe or Baby, I'm sort of over that too sometimes.'
'Ash,' Delia blurted out.
'Indeed,' Ho-oh agreed, 'he was put briefly into my care. I actually find it amusing you decided to name him Ash. Sacred Ash would have been a more appropriate name, but I suppose it doesn't sound as good. That ash I covered him in was meant to protect him, not harm him, it has certain properties to ash created by my Sacred Fire. Ash as you've already figured out is a rather special kid, in fact both of them are.'
'Both of them?' Delia inquired.
'The Ash from another world and the one you raised you raised of course,' Ho-oh explained as if it was obvious, 'anyway explaining all of that isn't why I'm here. I'm actually here because you're going to need help if you are going to succeed on your mission. The dragons up on top of that mountain aren't going to like you invading their territory. They really don't listen to anybody including Legendaries other than Reshiram and she left ages ago. Hasn't been back here since and without her to lead them they've unfortunately got some pretty messed up beliefs now. They won't give up the baby they took without a fight and unfortunately...you're going to fail without my help.'
'What am I supposed to do?' Delia questioned.
'Tell them you wish to take the Fire Dragon test, they'll know what you're talking about,' Ho-oh told her, 'also while you're taking the actual test, I want you to think of me.'
Delia mulled it over. A bit cryptic but legendaries she was finding were naturally that way. They would give you just enough to be able to succeed, but that was it.
'Well I don't suppose you could at least fly me up there?' Delia asked her hopefully.
Ho-oh shook her head before reminding her, 'why don't you just fly yourself up there?'
'I don't have any wings,' Delia pointed out.
However Ho-oh only smiled in return and observed, 'Really? What are those then?'
Delia looked back just behind her shoulder and gasped when she saw two tiny little wings starting to sprout from her back.
She was evolving!
'How did-?' She asked in wonder.
'I can't do everything for you, but I can help you gain a bit of experience, just enough for you to evolve,' Ho-oh answered, 'of course by giving you so much I'm also going to have expect a lot more out of you, especially after all the things the other Delia has been doing.'
Before she could ask about the other Delia, Ho-oh decided to disappear and she was left to just concentrate on evolving.
She'd evolved once before, but it still felt weird, having your entire body tingle and grow right before your eyes. Her wings were first to start growing, but they were soon followed by the rest of her. Her tail began elongating and the flame on the end of it grew bigger and hotter. She felt herself stretching out, getting much taller, past the usual height of a Charizard at 6 foot and then going somewhat past that, finally stopping at 6'2.
Her red hair she felt was inching down her butt and then her lower legs before stopping at her knees.
Her breasts began to swell as she cupped them in her hands, bigger and bigger before stopping at a huge 32H cup.
Finally she stopped evolving as she let out a loud roar as well as a huge burst of flame from her mouth.
She felt incredibly powerful as she let out her new, large sharp claws and tested them by slicing through the air.
Frankly she was extremely pleased with the changes, she felt like she could beat anybody like this. She was tall and thin, yet very beautiful and strong. For added measure, she let out another huge burst of flame from her mouth, causing her to grin.
At that moment, Jenny came back, having a shocked look on her face as she took in her newly evolved form.
'Delia?' She asked.
'Did you think it was someone else?' Delia shot back, still grinning, 'it looks like you aren't the only one to evolve today.'
'You're so totally gorgeous!' Jenny gushed.
'Thanks,' Delia answered as she tested out her new beautiful orange wings by flapping them a bit. She nearly was launched into the air already, they were a lot more powerful than she had thought.
'Well I guess we figured out how we're going to get up there,' Jenny observed, 'I couldn't find a way up the mountain and then I heard your roar. I wouldn't be surprised if they heard that and already know we're coming.'
She decided not to tell Jenny about Ho-oh just yet and merely told her, 'actually I think maybe I should go alone for this.'
Jenny seemed surprised but then insisted, 'oh no, you aren't about to just run off into danger without me now that we've gotten to the actually dangerous part.'
She had indeed been wanting to protect her...but she should have known better. No way Jenny was about to be left behind for that.
'Thank you Jenny,' Delia told her, as she went to go hug her. It felt different having both of their bodies change so much, but it still felt nice.
After letting Jenny get on her back (returning the favor for her being on her back) she took off into the air...shakily and unsteadily, but still managing it. Of course if she messed up the ground would be there to break their fall. How nice of the ground.
A couple of times she nearly fell as she wracked her brain to figure it out. However she found that really the best way was to simply rely on instinct, she might not know how to fly, but this new body of hers certainly did.
As she flew higher and higher, she noted that the entire mountain appeared to be still just as unpassable as ever, jutting out into an almost perfect, smooth spike with few if any handholds to climb up it. Clearly the dragons had chosen a good mountain if they wanted to be alone. Only flying Pokemon like them would be able to get up it.
While she wasn't technically a dragon type, she was hoping that her appearance that was like a dragon would earn her at least a bit of respect.
Finally however, she got to the top of the mountain and stared in shock at the city that lay before her. All around the city were evidences that dragons lived here, various dragon statues everywhere, buildings with stone dragon heads over each door, and then there were the dragons themselves, at least a thousand if she had to guess lived here.
Some of them however began to notice her and point with a few preparing to take off to intercept her.
Ch. 24 New Worlds Movie
With her flying skills still being not that great, she knew she couldn't win a battle in the air just yet and so quickly landed with a loud thud.
'What are you doing here outsiders?' A Dragonair woman asked accusingly as she and a half dozen other dragons approached them.
'We're from the town a couple hundred miles from here, there was a kidnapping and we suspect one of the dragons here committed the crime,' Delia informed them.
'That's a pretty bold accusation, one you had better be willing to back up,' Came a voice.
She turned to look, and instantly recognized who it was. It was the Salamence woman!
'It's you!' Delia proclaimed, 'you did it!'
'Of course not, I'm Bertha, part of the Dragon Council and I have my own child already, I wouldn't need to steal another,' Bertha countered.
As if to demonstrate, she held up baby Wally in her arms.
Now Delia understood a bit better but it certainly didn't help the situation. If she had to guess, something had happened to her other baby, likely an accident of some kind and she had tried to then steal a replacement child to make up for it. However if she was evidently in some sort of important position it was less likely anyone would believe her as an outsider.
'I'm giving you one chance outsider, get out and never return. I won't let you make up such lies about me,' Bertha claimed angrily.
'I'm afraid I can't do that,' Delia insisted as she tightened her stance.
Jenny formed a similar defensive stance alongside her.
Despite being a Charizard now, she was still a good deal weaker than Bertha was, especially if you took into account her fire attacks wouldn't even be very effective against her she suspected. However she also knew she could never leave without getting back Wally.
'Hold on a moment,' An old wizened Dragonite man stated, 'if she has come all this way I do believe we should at least listen to her before we go kicking her out.
'Master Coneus,' Bertha argued, 'you can't possibly-'
Coneus however held up his hand to silence her, proving that he had an even greater position of authority than her and Bertha, while unhappy, was forced to respect that.
He then turned towards them and stated, 'you are indeed outsiders and not true Dragons and therefore not allowed to be here, we will at least listen to what you have to say. If there is any merit to it we will do what we can to see that it is rectified.
Well at least someone seemed to be willing to listen, but that didn't mean they could actually convince him or anyone else.
Delia gulped, now looking around at the audience. There were some very powerful Pokemon around here.
It was however Jenny who chose to actually explain about the kidnapping.
Some of the audience seemed to be too distrusting of her to really listen but fortunately Coneus at least seemed to take her seriously listening politely until she had finished.
After another moment, Coneus proclaimed, 'let me see the child Bertha.'
Bertha drew back and argued, 'are you actually listening to this Dragon-wannabe?'
'If the child is indeed yours then you should have no problem with me examining them more closely. I held your baby in my arms after his birth. If he is indeed the same child then I should know,' Coneus declared.
At first Delia felt that she had just scored a major victory as Bertha would then have no choice but to hand the child over but then she unexpectedly declared, 'I resent having to do so, being accused of kidnapping like this, especially by you Coneus, I am a member of the High Council and ought to be afforded some respect. However if this outsider wishes to persist in such lies then I shall challenge her to a battle. If I win then she should be obligated to depart and never return and this kidnapping nonsense immediately dropped. If however by some small miracle she wins then I shall commit fully to any investigation she wishes to be made upon me and her supposed kidnapping.'
Most of the audience seemed to be nodding in agreement. Apparently in this society battling overcame justice.
Delia knew she simply couldn't win a fight against Bertha, not after having so recently evolved and still getting the hang of her new body. However she then remembered the words of Ho-oh about the fire dragon challenge.
'I would like to take the fire dragon challenge instead,' She declared.
A loud gasp came from the crowd.
Bertha, however, while also shocked then smiled and said, 'very well then, I shall agree to those terms if you succeed.'
Having her opponent agree to such terms so easily did not however fill her with much confidence. If she was, it meant she thought she would fail whatever challenge it was.
'What if I fail?' Delia questioned.
'If you fail you'll die and I won't have to worry about you anyway,' Bertha told her smugly.
Great, Delia thought. Just wonderful.
'The Great Fire Dragon Challenge has been attempted by many dragons ever since our Lady Reshiram left,' Coneus explained, 'it is said that only until it is conquered and the precious stone at the end of it obtained will Reshiram return to usher in the dawning of a new era.'
At that, she and Jenny was taken over and out of the city by the crowd a short distance before finally stopping at the entrance to a cave.
Inside the cave as far as she could tell, it was absolutely covered in large, sharp icicles sticking down from the ceiling.
She shivered as there appeared to be a very cold blast of air emanating out of the cave.
'Return the precious stone to us,' Coneus told her.
'You can do it Delia,' Jenny encouraged her, even though clearly worried for her.
Delia let out a long breath. She could do this. It was just ice.
Then she noticed one of the dragon skeletons not that far inside the cave. Why oh why would Ho-oh have her do this?
Bertha gave her a shove forward in order to encourage her.
Finally she took another deep breath and started walking forward into the cave.
She could feel the cold starting to get even worse as she shivered even more.
The good thing was that she wasn't a dragon. Most dragon types were weak to ice, something that she didn't share as a part Fire type.
However to her surprise snow and ice started to blow directly at her. She however merely started blowing fire from her mouth in order to protect herself.
Looking around, she noticed at least 3 or 4 of the remains of dragons who had tried and failed to get this far, the cold already doing them in.
Still continually moving forward she continued to encounter more bodies, most of them quite old. One Dragonair was in fact totally frozen in a block of ice.
She didn't think most dragons would have made it this far unless they had had fire attacks, which they probably could have learned. In that regard she really didn't have any advantages apparently.
That was when she heard the first crack.
Looking up at the ceiling, she noticed the Stalactites looking like they were about to fall. If she were to get nailed by one of those...they could easily skewer her.
Now running, she rushed down the cave before they could start to fall, but this only seemed to accelerate how fast they began to drop.
She barely managed to avoid one landing on her right before almost getting killed by one on her left.
Suddenly and without warning, the cave went around a bend and there was no more ground to stand on.
She was forced to take off into the air even though that only got her closer to the hanging stalactites as she flew forward, trying to avoid death.
The icy wind however blew even harder, even the fire she was using to ward it off seemed to be no longer working. Her fire should be able to handle it, but...this ice was something else.
To make matters worse, she could no longer see very well either, her fire somehow failing to light anything.
She struggled to remain airborne as Ice began to collect on her wings. Perhaps there was a way to handle getting it off, she was sure there was but she had never learned. She'd never needed to because she had only just recently evolved into a part flying type.
This was it, she thought. She was dying. Any moment now she would start to fall, probably into some deep abyss she would never escape from, her body never found.
She thought of Ash, her wonderful son...no, not son. In a burst of clarity that only came at the end of her life, she realized that he had never truly been her son, not even when he had just been the one from this world that she had raised. She still loved him, loved him more than anyone, but...she could almost feel he was supposed to be something else for her, but exactly what she'd never find out.
As her thoughts however drifted to her finding Ash as a baby, she remembered words she had almost forgotten.
'In your darkest hour, you shall come to know the power of fire known only to one,' Ho-oh's voice told her in her head.
Now surely was her darkest hour.
Concentrating deeply, she suddenly began to feel warmth beginning to come from deep within her and it only seemed to grow from there.
The ice on her wings began to evaporate and she was even starting to be able to see. Then with a rush, fire started to erupt directly out of her body in all directions. All ice and cold immediately went from her as the fire continued to grow and melt anything in its path.
Her mind supplied what this attack was: Sacred Fire. A signature attack known only to Ho-oh...until now.
Ho-oh had known somehow, known that she would need this attack in order to survive. The only question was why send her to do this challenge in the first place?
As she flew forward, no longer bothered by anything as long as she kept up her Sacred Fire attack, she spotted what she was supposed to get: on a golden pedestal at the very end of the cave was a small blue and black stone with a swirl in the center.
She was hesitant to grab it in case of any booby traps, but fortunately when she did, nothing happened.
Gratefully, she flew back down the cave where she had come from, her prize now in hand.
As she finally got back to the entrance of the cave, the audience of dragons were still there, but when they saw her, the stone she had held aloft, each of them gasped in total shock.
Whispering broke out among them.
Coneus however held up a hand to silence them as he told them, 'so you have returned and completed the challenge while all others have failed? Surely you are greater than us all.'
With that and to her surprise, he suddenly knelt down and bowed to her, as if venerating her.
The rest of the dragons seemed hesitant before they too knelt and bowed before her. The only exception was Bertha who was now looking at her with absolute rage.
'How can we bow to an outsider and a non-Dragon?' She roared, 'she must have cheated or done some sort of trick!'
'There can be no doubt,' Coneus argued, 'she has succeeded nor could she have cheated to do so.'
'Well if she had, then where is Reshiram like it is foretold she would return when the sacred stone was obtained?' Bertha countered.
'Right here,' Came a voice.
Everyone in the audience turned including herself as they beheld a huge dragon type, easily 25 feet tall or more. Her white skin glistened in the sun and her blue eyes sparkled with an inner fire within them.
Reshiram however started to look around and each member of the audience and observed, 'I must say, this place has really gone to pot. I'm gone 300 years and this is what you manage to do in my absence?'
'Lady Reshiram,' Bertha tried to address her.
Reshiram however looked back at her coldly before declaring, 'I'm afraid I have absolutely nothing to say to you other than that you will be held accountable for kidnapping that child.'
Bertha seemed to look guilty for a moment before suddenly shaking the guilt off and arguing, 'that child was mine. He will be much better off with me than with those...otherworlders.'
However Reshiram merely hold up a hand and told her, 'I would suggest you leave now before I really get angry. I promise you won't like me when I'm angry.'
In response, Bertha opted for the fight response rather then flight as she attempted to rush at Reshiram.
Unfortunately a huge, legendary dragon isn't so easily fought against as before Bertha could even get there she encircled her entire body in a red orb.
Bertha tried to yell in protest, but no sound came out.
'You are officially banished from this city, I do not wish to ever see you here again,' Reshiram warned her dismissively.
For added measure, Bertha was sent flying at a couple hundred miles an hour, still trapped inside her red orb and away.
'She won't be bothering you or anyone again,' Reshiram stated, 'however the damage she has done in kidnapping a child needs to be rectified, I want you Coneus to return the child personally and try to make amends the best you can. They are not our enemies and neither are they.'
Reshiram pointed directly at her and Jenny, and they bowed politely in response.
Ch. 24 New Worlds 2016
'It appears I will need to stay here awhile and fix things up,' Reshiram observed, 'that however can wait. I need to talk to you quickly, we don't have a lot of time. First of all that stone you have is yours.'
'Is it an evolutionary stone?' Delia inquired.
'Kind of,' Reshiram admitted, 'it's called Charizardite X, and is extremely, extremely rare. It is however perfectly suited for you although it is useless without something else. I'll leave you to figure out exactly what that is. However, we're now out of time, I need to take you back.'
'Back where?' Delia inquired.
'Back to your trainer,' Reshiram told her.
POKEMONPOKEMONPOKEMON
Ash walked alongside Misty, Pikachu, and Giselle as best as he could through the crowd of people.
He was frankly shocked at just how many people there were attending or participating in the beauty pageant. Thousands of people and Pokemon were here packed inside the normally much less crowded town center.
All around however he could see the signs of some of the problems with this world that he didn't normally see but he was aware existed. Even in the cities and towns they passed through it wasn't at least obvious. Here and there sure, he'd seen some obvious problems of concern, most notably Giselle and how she treated her Pokemon, but generally the worst offenders wouldn't be out and about anyway when they could have their Pokemon run all their errands for them.
However looking around, he was fully realizing that Giselle was actually quite ordinary in her behavior.
All together like this, he was noticing the many signs of trainers eager to show off their prestige, power, and wealth gained from their Pokemon.
Almost all of the trainers were dressed in very fine clothing; jewelry practically covering them from head to toe, sparkling with all the colors of the gold, silver, and precious gems they wore.
Some were in fact being carried about by their Pokemon on chairs or thrones while they barked out commands to their Pokemon servants and were fed various delicacies.
Even the middle class, of which there were far fewer here, was dressed as adequately as possible, and the poor (such as the Tentacool and others of the slums) he noted was completely unrepresented. He suspected that they simply weren't even allowed to be here, or at the very least heavily discouraged.
As for the Pokemon of the wealthy and middle classes, trainers seemed to only have their very best Pokemon out, those considered the strongest, or most beautiful, or exotic and rare.
In contrast he appeared to only have as his best Pokemon a Pikachu, a Feebas, and a Blastoise, with Misty being the only one actually worth showing off in this society.
He noticed many Pokemon from other regions, some he had never even seen before, even in his coma adventures and then others that were familiar to him, but not particularly so. There was a Marshtomp girl for example, currently spoon feeding her obese master, who languished on an ornate chair that was held up by two burly Hariyama females.
As for the Pokemon themselves, they were generally dressed scantily and trying to show off their best assets, whatever they might be. They varied from the ordinary to the extreme, depending on the likes and preferences of their trainers in what they considered attractive. There were of course many busty Pokemon, or those with small waists, or long legs, or nice bums, but add to that Pokemon characteristics and you had some just plain weird bodies. Some he was pretty sure couldn't possibly be natural.
He'd heard about Pokemon surgeries you could do, they were expensive and most trainers still preferred to achieve the desired looks for their Pokemon through natural means, but in numerous cases as he looked around, they had various 'improvements' done to them. Some were simple such as a tattoo, while others clearly had their breasts or butts enlarged as their respective species didn't get anywhere near that big.
He noticed one girl that looked like she was about to topple over from the weight. He liked big breasts but...not like that.
Over just to their right, he spotted a long row of carts owned by Pokesalesmen, not only selling items, but also Pokemon themselves while various customers looked over the merchandise. If they were interested in a Pokemon, the Pokemon would then be released from its ball for the customer to look over more closely.
Even entire families seemed to be sold or traded in such a way, often having the family broken up.
While he had been aware that Pokemon were bought and sold like items, usually those types of places were relegated to only certain sections of towns or cities that he never went in for obvious reasons.
For the pageant, it appeared it was being done much more openly.
The sight plainly disgusted him and he had to look away.
'I can see now why the others didn't want to be here for this,' Ash observed as he continued to look around in dismay.
'This world stinks more than I thought,' Pikachu answered, looking like she might actually cry.
He put an arm around her to comfort her.
'It wasn't always this bad, only just recently so I'm told,' Misty admitted,' however even so we just don't usually see it, not out in the open so plainly like this. It makes me feel almost guilty that I'm so well treated and all around me are others treated so poorly.'
'You're not the only one feeling guilty,' Giselle confessed, now looking down at the ground in shame, 'I used to be one of those people who took advantage of Pokemon like that. You just don't realize how horrible you are until you experience it from their perspective. Pokemon are just so eager to please they don't even know how miserable they really are.'
Ash mulled it all over. He now understood a whole lot better why Arceus had sent him and Pikachu here. His world had its problems, but not like this.
As he continued to look around however, his eyes drifted back to where the Pokemon were being bought and sold. He noticed a particular Pokemon girl with dark skin and curly midback-length black hair that she wore in two pigtails.
It took awhile for him figure out what Pokemon she was, she'd clearly received several body 'modifications.' Her breasts for example were a good deal larger than they should be at double Ds, but the rest of her body was very small and thin. Her waist for example was so thin and tiny that he was worried it might snap.
Getting out his Pokedex, he checked to make sure he even had her species right. It turned out he was. She was a Riolu, but definitely not a well fed or cared for one.
What really got his attention as he got closer to her however were many scars and bruises practically covering her body.
Someone had done that to her, he realized. What kind of sick and twisted-
'Can I help you?' The shopkeeper who owned the Riolu girl asked, sounding like he wanted him to just go away. Clearly he had noticed his rather modest clothing and decided he wasn't worth it as a potential customer.
Frankly he would have agreed with the shopkeeper at least as far as being a potential customer, however he just couldn't seem to stop looking at the Riolu girl. Despite her terrible looking appearance, there was something about her...something important.
She however merely continued to look at the ground until he couldn't help but ask her, 'What is your name?'
Yet that seemed to only surprise her, she probably didn't get a lot of people actually asking that question. However she neither answered nor looked up.
The shopkeeper however answered for her and said, 'you don't need to know her name unless you plan to buy her and I highly doubt you've got the money for her.'
'What are you doing over here Ash?' Misty questioned as she went and stood right next to him. Pikachu and Giselle following closely behind.
That seemed to cause an immediate change in the shopkeeper as he sized up Misty. Clearly a trainer who owned a beautiful Blastoise like Misty just might actually be worth his time.
The shopkeeper then raised up his hand as if prepared to strike the Riolu girl before insisting gruffily, 'tell him your name girl.'
'Rikey,' The girl admitted quickly.
Ash knew he didn't have a lot of money. What little he had managed to earn was quickly spent on essentials, he probably couldn't afford to buy Rikey.
However, he couldn't just leave her to be snapped up and abused by some wealthy trainer. He just couldn't.
Then he tried to rationalize that there were probably many more just like her being sold just like this. He couldn't possibly save all of them and yet...surely he could save at least her.
The shopkeeper however then began explaining about her, trying to show off her merits, 'she has a fantastic pedigree, totally purebred of the Riolu-Lucario line all the way back to her ancestor, the famed Lucario of old owned by the great Sir Aaron. Her breasts as you can see were upgraded in size, her waist was heavily trained to become as thin as possible, and she was kept on a strict diet during puberty in order to stunt her growth. She's currently 19 and young but already has experience in sexual arts, weapons fighting, and breeding and is also at a very high level of 28. I'd also be willing to part with her for only 5 grand.'
That surprisingly sounded like a good deal to him, especially for someone lacking morals enough to be in such a business. However he was also appalled at the obvious lengths that someone had gone through in order to achieve a desired body out of her.
'If she is as valuable and skilled as you say she is,' Giselle inquired, 'why ask for so low?'
'Due to all the scars of course,' The shopkeeper defended, 'her last owner used her for weapons fights. That of course lowers her value considerably.'
According to what little he had heard of such a practice as even in this world it was highly illegal, a type of underworld competition was participated in in which Pokemon used special weapons that didn't simply just take away a Pokemon's energy, but cause actual real lasting harm. In some cases, fights were actually to the death. In addition to being more exciting for some people with increased stakes, it was supposed that it actually caused a Pokemon to gain experience faster...if they lived.
Judging from Rikey's many scars, she'd definitely been through more than a few fights.
Giselle, who probably had experience buying Pokemon in such a manner still seemed suspicious and announced, 'Ash this seems like a really fishy buy.'
The shopkeeper argued back, 'the only thing fishy is you, you smell and look disgusting. Why on earth your trainer would-'
'I'll give you 4000,' Ash told him.
Everyone seemed surprised at such a declaration, Misty even whispered to him worriedly, 'that's all the money we have left!'
He however ignored everyone and then told the shopkeeper, 'take it or leave it.'
At first he thought his offer would be too low...but then the shopkeeper after thinking it over for a brief moment declared, 'you have a deal.'
With that the transaction went underway, with him handing over the money and Rikey's pokeball being given to him.
She merely continued to look at the ground, seeming to not to care about whatever master she now had, but followed along when asked.
'I promise I'm not going to hurt you,' He told her gently, 'you'll be well cared for and I think you'll enjoy being with me.'
She however said or did nothing in response.
'So what do we do with her?' Misty asked skeptically, 'send her to the other world?'
He thought about it, but ultimately decided against it at least for now. Like his other Pokemon, he was going to leave the option up to her after they had had time to chat a bit.
For now however, they needed to hurry and finish up with registration for the pageant.
He followed Giselle over to the registration desk. At the beginning stage of the pageant, very little information was required other than the number of Pokemon you wished to enter. Before the real competition began, judges would make very quick determinations of whether they were even worth having in the pageant. According to Giselle, Misty should very easily be able to get past that stage.
After a bit of thought, he decided to write down the number of entrants at 2 in case Ivy changed her mind at the last minute and decided to compete herself.
Just as he finished filling out the paperwork, a sight caught his eye.
Making their way forward were several dozen Pokemon and another half dozen trainers, all arrayed in matching tight red silk dresses as they waved gorgeous royal blue fans and waved to the crowd.
'The Celadon Gym Show Offs,' Giselle commented, looking very annoyed at the sight.
This he realized was the Celadon Gym competitors.
All of their Pokemon were indeed Grass types, all very beautiful and getting plenty of attention from the audience watching them as they made their dramatic entrance.
At the very back of the group came Erika herself, who he knew in this world was in her mid 50s by now but she certainly didn't look it, probably using a great deal of anti-aging products he guessed.
She continued to wave and smile to the crowd along with the others of her party as she approached the sign up booth.
He could already smell the very pungent smell of their perfume, managing to overpower everything else.
'Out of my way kid,' One of the women from the Gym told him dismissively as she approached.
Since he'd already just finished anyway, he backed away as Erika and the others started signing up.
'Don't worry about them,' Giselle whispered to him, 'they talk a big talk but Erika is the only one of them that has actually won and that was almost two decades ago. Now who your real competition is is over there.'
Giselle pointed over at a certain person.
He glanced over at just where she was pointing and recognized them instantly even though she was a couple decades older.
'Susy?' He asked, 'the Pokemon breeder?'
'She's one of the best breeders in the world,' Giselle informed him, 'she knows exactly what Pokemon will be good for breeding and breeds them to create some really attractive Pokemon. Unfortunately its very hard to buy one of the Pokemon that she bred because they are in such high demand, I should know I've tried.'
He noted that unlike most trainers, Susy did not seem to have any Pokemon out. He guessed she was planning to unveil her entrant or entrants later on as a surprise.
Giselle then began pointing out other possible competition, and frankly he began to grow very worried for Misty. There was a lot of very attractive competition. He would still choose Misty over any of them in a heartbeat, but it simply didn't matter so much what he thought.
However as he looked over at Rikey, he recognized that they even more desperately needed to win this. Was it stupid of him to blow all of their money like that? Probably, but he could never have lived with himself if he hadn't.
As the competition got underway, applicants began making their way to the stage to be judged, which consisted of the 5 judges to get a good look at them before giving an immediate collective yes or no. It was obviously rather tough, some Pokemon didn't even manage to get fully onto the stage before they were rejected.
The ones that got accepted were looked at appreciatively before being given a yes.
Erika and her group for example sent up a dozen candidates but only half of them made it through.
Susy decided to debut her entrant with an absolutely stunningly gorgeous Ninetales, all nine of her tails literally glowing with beauty, her other features totally flawless. She got about 30 seconds up on the stage as she smiled and waved to the audience as well as let out several large Fire Blasts up into the air, entertaining the crowd.
Finally the judges surprisingly stood up with a standing ovation before passing her through.
Several Pokemon later, all of which were rejected, and it was Misty's turn as she walked up onto the stage.
He was seriously nervous for her, and she was probably nervous herself and also struggling to breathe, the corset she was wearing pushing deep into her, although it gave her an incredible hourglass shape.
The judges looked her over and with each passing second he noted that her chances went up. Finally however there came a collective yes.
'Yes!' Pikachu and him cried happily at the exact same time.
Misty got off the stage and went to go rejoin them, smiling widely.
'Good job,' He told her as he went and hugged her and gave her a kiss.
'Thanks Ash,' Misty said gratefully.
At that moment of exhilaration however, Pikachu then asked, 'hey, where did Rikey go?'
He looked around, but didn't see her anywhere.
Of course, he thought, why she had been sold so cheaply. The shopkeeper knew she was likely to try and run away.
'Giselle,' He told her breathlessly, 'you stay and watch for more competition, I've got to go find her.'
'Of course,' Giselle agreed.
As he and his Pokemon spread out in search of her, he began to realize just how hopeless it was. There were thousands of people and Pokemon all around them, and then even more throughout the city, how would they ever find her like this?
Yet just as he thought this, he remembered something about his coma, an ability he had had. He couldn't even be sure he had it in real life, but he tried to do the same thing here now, reaching out with his senses to try and detect Rikey's distinct aura.
To his surprise, he somehow sensed it, currently leading out of the city to the south.
Running quickly, he managed to slowly catch up with her, her pace wasn't very fast as he just managed to catch her on the very outskirts of town.
Gasping from running so hard, he started sprinting even harder, aware that she should be able to easily outrun him.
However instead of trying to run away again, she seemed surprised as for the first time she looked up directly at him.
'How did you find me?' She asked.
'You aren't the only one who can use Aura abilities,' Ash claimed.
That caused her eyes to widen even more. He took note of her eyes. Despite the beaten up look of her body, her dark blue eyes still seemed to show resilience.
'I've never heard of a human with Pokemon abilities,' She admitted.
'I think you'll find I'm not like other trainers,' He told her.
She sighed before saying, 'I'm sorry I ran away. Would you like me to find you something to beat me with?'
Judging from her background, he could understand just why she would assume he intended to beat her. Not all of those scars were received from weapons fighting.
'I'm not going to beat you,' He informed her, 'or beat you ever. If however you really do want to leave, then I won't try to stop you or track you down again.'
She seemed tempted to do just that but at the last second she asked incredulously, 'you're just going to let me go?'
He shrugged before saying, 'why not? I don't want to force any of my Pokemon to do anything they don't want to do. If they want to leave or be released then I think they should be allowed to.'
Rikey studied him with those big dark blue eyes to check to see if he was being honest or not, but finally she concluded, 'you're right, you aren't like other trainers.'
He grinned and said, 'told you.'
After another moment of silence she finally said, 'I think I'll stay...at least for a little while. Will you still let me leave whenever I want?'
'Absolutely,' Ash agreed, 'so want to come back with me then?'
Rikey nodded and followed him a few steps behind him back to where the pageant was being held.
Yet as he tried getting back through the crowd, he noticed that everyone was standing there, currently staring yet all he could see were a few huge fireballs erupting over everyone's heads.
A fire type, he concluded, a really powerful one.
Yet when he finally saw just what or rather who it was, his jaw dropped. She'd clearly changed a great deal, but he still recognized her: it was his mom.
Please Review!
Author's Note: I hope you liked the extra long chapter. Also I finally got into some of the major problems with society in this world. Interestingly enough, buying, selling, trading, and forcing Pokemon to brutally fight or in other ways abusing them is all proven to exist even in the anime and games, but isn't considered as big of a deal because they essentially were on the same level as intelligent animals. That being said I still wouldn't say it was okay. With Pokemon being almost humanlike, however, such behavior I would deem even worse.