Ash, an Inspiration Chapter 12
Kukui was staring in abstract shock as he watched his young teaching assistant as he was given a crash course on what a z-ring was and its cultural significant to the people of Alola, curtesy of Kiawe, nodding along in acknowledgement at every point made. The professor of Alola himself was still attempting to process the display he had just seen: a trainer who was still in his teens successfully battling a Legendary who had been revered by the people of this island for centuries, putting them through their paces to boot and earning their respect enough to be given a z-ring of his very own, a rarity for people from Alola, never mind someone from Kanto.
Not only that, but the ring itself was something that was leaving him in shock. While the act of one of Alola's island guardians showing their favour to someone wasn't unheard of, even to outsiders of the region, they all shared a single common point of focus: the fact that the z-ring bestowed upon someone usually wasn't in that form, but instead was a sparkling stone, which had to be taken to one of the four Kahunas to be formed into a z-ring. With this key difference, Kukui just knew that something else was at play.
But at the same time, he was deathly curious. Such an event could only lead to great things, and Ash was certainly the right trainer for such an interesting occurrence to happen to. He just seemed to have a gravitas that drew both weirdness and excellence to him, his collection of quirky yet powerful Pokémon being a clear example of this. The idea was almost exciting.
This excitement only built as he watched Ash attempt to mimic the pose Kiawe had explained in excruciating detail, getting all but the simplest parts of the hand gestures wrong. But the enthusiasm was admirable, nonetheless.
As if sensing his own giddiness building from within, Samson walked up beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder and giving it a firm shake.
"Kukui my boy, it seems that my cousin has delivered us a miracle. A trainer of this calibre, one who can hold his own against a Legendary, one of the island guardians no less, is certainly capable of sorting out all of our problems. Arceus be praised, things might just work out."
Kukui smiled at the older man, who had an even wider grin on his face as his eyes remained locked on the aforementioned trainer. It seemed he wasn't the only one who had a positive outlook on the recent display. But despite that, Kukui felt the need to internally curb his enthusiasm, causing his smile to falter ever so slightly. There was now no doubt in his mind that Ash, despite his young age and quirky approach to Pokémon training, was a top-quality trainer, one of the best he'd seen in recent years. Kukui didn't have any doubts in his mind that by the time he was out of his teen years, he'd be a bonified Elite Four member, at least.
But still, despite his obvious talent for training Pokémon, teaching others how to do so was another matter entirely. The last few days had shown Kukui that he certainly had the potential to teach these students well, but despite the early success they'd seen, he didn't want to get his hopes up completely. There needed to be more apparent results before he could let that happen.
For the time being, Kukui settled for a small half smile, allowing himself to at least feel optimistic. After all, he felt good about the chances of a positive outcome with Ash. Its not every day a Legendary gets involved without getting mad, so surely that's a good sign.
As he watched Ash attempt (and fail) the demonstrated z-move again, he chuckled and shook his head. He could almost feel himself cursing his luck.
Pikachu winced as he trotted over to the mass collection of Pokémon who had been watching his battle, trying his best to stay steady as he limped forward. His clash with Tapu Koko had knocked the wind out of him, and while he had gotten through it mostly hale, he still retained some wounds from the brief battle. The bolts from Tapu Koko's Discharge that had hammered into him while he had charged forward with Volt Tackle had left a particularly bad bruise on his rear legs, making it slightly painful to walk.
Fortunately, he was soon relieved of the burden of walking as he was scooped up by Pignite, being hoisted onto his shoulder in one quick motion.
"Pikachu, my guy! That was great, you showed that Legendary who the real Legend is. Score one for the Ketchum gang!" Pikachu rolled his eyes at the Fire Pig's bold proclamation, but he still couldn't stop himself from grinning like an idiot at the praise. It became increasingly difficult to do as the others began swarming around him, throwing their congratulations for a great battle his way while continuing to hoist him up.
But as the others showered him with compliments, Pikachu spotted a lone figure through the crowd, keeping themselves at a fair distance from the group but staring at them all anxiously. Seeing that he needed to do his job as Ash's 'Starter', Pikachu tapped Pignite's shoulder to put him down, which he obliged to, and Pikachu wandered over to the lone Pokémon.
The Pokémon in question, Jangmo-o, was staring off in the distance, eyes wide and unfocused, jaw hanging ever so limply as she stood completely still. It wasn't until Pikachu was standing right next to her that she finally snapped out of her stupor, eyes locking onto him with a gaze of awe.
"Hey, you ok? You seemed a bit out of it," Pikachu asked gently, causing Jangmo-o to frown at the electric mouse.
"Am I ok? Am I ok? No, are you ok? You just fought Tapu Koko, Island Guardian of Melemele and a deity in their own right, and not only did you come through still conscious, but you managed to hold your own. That's insane!" Pikachu chuckled at her shock, gingerly rubbing one of his ears as he shrugged.
"I mean, I guess. Wasn't that big of a deal," he tried to say dismissively, causing her to splutter.
"I'm sorry? Not a big deal? There are legends of those who attempted to challenge the Tapus in the past, and the devastation such folly brought upon them. While I imagine Tapu Koko wasn't attacking maliciously in this instance, their power is still a frightening force of nature. Entire villages have been devastated by their rage, and even entire armies. Even the stories that don't end in wanton destruction are still more celebrations of not being immediately crushed rather than achieving victory. In my pack, there is a legend of a Kommo-o named Kekoa who challenged Tapu Fini to a noble duel. It lasted for several hours and shook the Vast Poni Canyon. Even then, they lost. So to even last as long as you did is, is…" Jangmo-o paused for a moment, taking a few deep breaths before their front legs buckled, as she bowed her head down to Pikachu.
"Amazing. You are truly a warrior unmatched, and I humbly accept you as the Pack Master. Please accept me into the pack, noble battler."
Pikachu sweat dropped at the young dragon, sparing a quick glance toward the rest of the Pokémon, who had watched the interaction in silence, some out of confusion and others through sheer will as they attempted not to burst out. Shaking his head, Pikachu gave her a slight nudge.
"Relax, we don't really do that here. We're less of a pack and more of a family, a side-effect of having a trainer I guess. And don't worry, the moment Ash caught you made you part of the family, so drop the purple prose. It's not needed." Jangmo-o slowly raised from her bow; eyes etched with confusion as Pikachu pressed on. "We just care about getting stronger and proving ourselves, all while having fun where we can and doing Ash proud. As you can see, it clearly works. Like I said yesterday, if anyone can unlock your inner power, its Ash. Give us time, and soon you'll be able to keep up even with us heavyweights."
Pikachu sent a wink to the young dragon, before limping back to the others, resuming the mini celebration they had been having before he went to speak with her. She watched him go silently, contemplating the Electric type curiously, before looking over the large group of Pokémon.
They were without a doubt a motely crew, and not what she would have expected a powerful trainer to have. Back home in the Vast Poni Canyon, she had seen many strong trainers traversing the long trail in an attempt to get stronger, even battling some of her pack on occasion. She had seen many powerful Pokémon due to this, and yet none of them looked like the crew in front of her.
For one, the amount of unevolved Pokémon was startling. While there were certainly a fair number of fully evolved Pokémon present who exuded strength, there were also unevolved ones who radiated similar power. One that stood out to her was the Totodile she had battled before being captured by Ash, its moves packing a punch that she wasn't able to withstand and moving with a grace that belied its small stature and stubby appendages. Not to mention Pikachu himself also wasn't fully evolved and had managed to fight on equal terms with Tapu Koko no less. If this was the type of power that could be drawn out of Pokémon when training under Ash, Jangmo-o couldn't help but feel a small bud of giddy optimism.
So with a ginger step, she approached the group, integrating herself into the erratic group and being accepted without question.
The school day came to an end not long after that, Tapu Koko's sudden arrival having caused enough disarray for the lesson's time slot to disappear in the blink of an eye. Much to the student's disappointment, Ash had to recall all of his Pokémon for the day, though he did try to reassure them by saying that they'd be reattempting his lesson idea again another day. Which at least succeeded in calming them down enough for Ash and Kukui to leave the school grounds without being harassed.
They walked in silence the entire way; Kukui due to his lack of words to share with his newfound colleague and surprisingly powerhouse and Ash due to his simple distraction of Pikachu on his shoulder. It wasn't until the pair had entered Kukui's home, door firmly shut behind them, that Kukui finally broke the extended silence.
"Ash, do you mind if we have a quick talk?" Ash looked over at him, eyes hinting at some mild surprise before he shrugged and sat down on the nearest couch and nodding his assent.
"Sure thing, what do you want to know?" Kukui stared him down for a moment, watching the young man in front of him sag in comfort on the couch, releasing a sigh of contentment as he did. Pikachu did the same, stretching out before hopping into his lap and curling into a small ball. Immediately, Ash began absentmindedly petting the electric mouse behind the ear, earning himself a high-pitched coo for his efforts.
Almost nothing about the image in front of Kukui melded with the ferocity and skill demonstrated earlier.
"I wanted to ask you a bit about your background… in battling. I had been told about some of the titles you'd run, but I feel like some things may have been left out after that display I saw earlier. So could you fill in the gaps for me?" Ash nodded nonchalantly.
"Yeah, of course. What did you want me to share?" The grin on Ash's face was so honest and wide that it almost disarmed Kukui from pushing on with his questions, but he steeled himself and pressed on.
"Well, one thing I'd really like to know about is your battles with Legendary Pokémon. I already knew you had travelled across many regions while participating in the gym circuits, but you were awfully comfortable against our revered Tapu Koko. And a familiarity like that can only come from experience."
Ash's smile lessened, his eyes darkening for a moment in recollection before the spark returned, as if it had never left.
"Well, to be honest, when it comes to Legendaries I've had loads of encounters with them. It feels like I'd meet a Legendary with every gym I'd complete, but I didn't always battle them. I've only done it a handful of times, but each time was a blast, that's for sure."
"Fascinating," Kukui muttered, "As much as I want to hear about all of those encounters, let's focus on the battles for now, because I want to know what experiences you have to go through to come up with such powerful and creative moves like you used today."
"Well, most of my official battles against Legendary Pokémon was actually when I was attempting the Battle Frontier." Kukui raised an eyebrow at this, leaning forward as he grasped his hands together.
"You participated in the Battle Frontier? I've heard rumours about the difficulties behind that gauntlet, I didn't realise it was open to the public yet."
"It's not. I got asked by Scott, who made the Frontier, to try it out. Even offered me a position as a Frontier Brain, but I wasn't interested." Kukui could only blink in surprise at Ash's revelation, but the young man pressed on. "But anyway, that's where I had my first few battles against a Legendary. First there was Noland, who had an awesome Articuno helping him out. I also battled against Brandon's Regice, which was my final fight in the frontier. Good times."
Kukui's mouth at this point had dropped open, but either Ash hadn't noticed this or was undeterred by this, because he instead pushed on with his recollection.
"I also had a battle against this trainer during the Lily of the Valley Conference when I was in Sinnoh. His name was Tobias, and he was one of the strongest trainers I've ever faced. He had a Darkrai AND a Latios. I was able to beat those two Pokémon, but it took a full team of my Pokémon to do it. I'd love to have a rematch with him one day."
"And you've beaten all of these Pokémon? Four Legendary Pokémon?"
"Well, yeah…"
"And you agreed to help in our school? With skills like that, I imagine that most region's champions would be looking to recruit you to their Elite Four roster." Ash frowned at this, crossing his arms almost crossly.
"When you put it like that, it makes me sound like a force of nature, but I'm anything but. Don't get me wrong, I'm proud of what I've done, but I'm far from the same level as many Elite Four members. I mean, just before I even attempted the Frontier, I had a battle with Agatha from Kanto's Elite Four, and I lost. I've had more than enough losses since then to prove I can keep getting better. And even those wins I've got, none of them were easy. I think that's why I might do better now against a Legendary than most other trainers."
"What do you mean?" Kukui asked, mind trying to track Ash's train of thought.
"I know better than most trainers what a Legendary Pokémon is capable of. My battle against Noland may have been my first victory against a Legendary, but it was anything but easy. I had used my strongest Pokémon Charizard against them, who has a type advantage, and I still only won by the skin of my teeth. That applies to all of my wins. Each battle showed me exactly what a Legendary Pokémon is capable of, so now I'm better prepared to deal with it. And that gives me a big edge."
Kukui nodded, a small smile gracing his face. "That's very true. Having an idea of what you're dealing with when battling someone can help you react accordingly. You make a very good point. If you can pass that type of knowledge off to our small band of students, I think you're going to be a fantastic teacher."
Red flushed Ash's cheeks, causing him to rub the back of his neck anxiously. Snorting in amusement, Kukui stood up, stretching out as he did.
"Well, we should head to bed, we've got a big day tomorrow with the festival and all." Ash gave him a puzzled look. "Right, that probably doesn't mean anything to you. Tomorrow is the Iki Town celebration!"
The Iki Town celebration was a yearly festival held on Melemele Island to commemorate its guardian and protector deity Tapu Koko. Battles were held, games were hosted, and stalls were erected; all in the hopes of pleasing the erratic Legendary.
Despite Ash raising an eyebrow at this, Kukui assured him that it was mostly just a reason for everyone to gather and have fun. The fact that such festivities were what pleased Tapu Koko was just a bonus in their minds, hence why no one was overly stressed about making sure it was up to their standards. So long as everyone was having fun, it did the job.
Ash and Kukui were there primarily to chaperone for their students but were also free to participate in the festivities themselves. Kukui had suggested that Ash use it as an opportunity to get acquainted with Alola's rich culture. And he did exactly that.
Trailing behind him were Pikachu and Jangmo-o, who darted behind him eagerly. Pikachu because he was enjoying the variety of stalls that had been erected, Jangmo-o because she was keeping close to Pikachu.
The young dragon had decided to appoint herself as Pikachu bodyguard, honouring the pack by protecting the alpha. Much to his chagrin.
But she was undeterred, shadowing him as he went from stall to stall.
"Do you have to do that? I'm capable of looking after myself."
"Of course I do. As the alpha, you are one of the most important members of the pack, save the trainer. And you're still recovering from your battle with Tapu Koko, so I will stand up and honour my lineage of warrior Pokémon by protecting you until you are better."
Pikachu rolled his eyes but couldn't help the roll of his shoulders as he did. They were still stiff, a dull ache that had yet to subside. While he had refused a trip to the Pokémon centre on account of not being in any major pain, it had persisted overnight and left him feeling a bit worn. Not exactly in a position where he couldn't battle by any means, but hardly his full potential. He couldn't stop the sigh that followed.
"Look, I know you mean well, and I appreciate what you're trying to do, but trust me; its not needed. Just enjoy yourself, have fun. Life isn't all about strength."
Pikachu could see that she was hesitant to listen, but eventually nodded.
"As you command alpha, I will try to have fun. I believe I saw a 'Test-Your-Strength' stand for Pokémon; I might try that." Pikachu grin manically at this, before it was wiped clean off by the sound of a voice.
"Alpha? Him?!"
Spinning around, Pikachu found a towering presence looming over him, a familiar presence from the other day. Standing defiantly, with a fire in their eyes, was a bipedal reptilian creature, covered from head to toe in large scales which served as armour. It looked remarkably like Jangmo-o, which didn't surprise Pikachu in the slightest, considering it was the evolved version of her.
"Kommo-o," Pikachu greeted, causing the dragon to snarl at him. "Enjoying the festivities?"
The Scaly Pokémon ignored him, instead focusing on Jangmo-o, frowning at her intently. "And what are you doing with them? A member of our clan should not be seen with such trash as these battlers. You disgrace us by associating with these outsiders." Jangmo-o's eyes widened at this, before she deflated, her legs threatening to give out under her.
Which was when Pikachu stepped in.
"Say that again, watch what happens," he stated through ground teeth, his fangs on full display. "Or I'll give you a beating worse than what Infernape gave you." Sparks erupted from his cheek sacks, causing Kommo-o to take a tentative step backward.
"Watch what you say, little mouse," he spat, "you don't know who you're messing with."
"I don't need to. All I know is that you're threatening one of my family, and I've beaten much stronger Pokémon than you for doing that."
He didn't respond this time, instead snorting derisively and walking off, presumably toward where his despicable trainer was lurking. All the while, Pikachu never took his eyes off the giant pseudo-legendary, and Jangmo-o never took hers off Pikachu.
She hadn't known what to expect when she had set out to find a master to train her, outcast from her tribe for weakness all those weeks ago. She could have some educated guesses on likely outcomes: isolation, being caught by a trainer, disappearing to the menace, falling prey to another Pokémon, to name just a few. Being accepted into a powerful trainer's team as part of the family, to the point where another would face down the epitome of what her kind was meant to be without a moment's hesitation? Never in a million years.
So she silently thanked Tapu Koko for encouraging her to pursue this path, before Pikachu turned to face her.
"Sorry about that. Don't mind what he said, he's just trying to get in your head. Afterall, his trainer has lost to ours in a battle, no contest. So you definitely made the right choice. You'll be throwing down with the best of them in no time."
And for the first time in her life, Jangmo-o felt like she could.
Ash had met up with the Alolan students and quickly got involved with the festivities. From coconut stands, to 'Test-your-strength' machines, to food stand after food stand, there was plenty to keep them entertained.
Several hours later, and several food stands later, they were wandering around the small town when they came across a small competition being held, one that caught their attention.
"Come one, come all; show us as at least ten Tauros and win some speciality Pokéballs. Beat our record and win the full set. The current record is sixteen. Show us your herd and win the prize!"
Ash tilted his head at this, before turning to his students.
"There's a Tauros competition? Why?" The students looked at him weirdly, before Lillie stepped forward with an explanation.
"Well, here in Alola, Tauros is a big part of our culture. We use them as a Ride Pokémon, we use them to help with farming, and they helped build our society as we know them today. Many people across the archipelago try to own at least one Tauros as it acts as a form of celebrating our region's cultural heritage. However, owning many Tauros, as difficult as it can be if you're not extraordinarily wealthy, is seen as a status symbol. Hence the competition."
Ash nodded, listening intently to her explanation before he caught a glimpse of the aforementioned prize. Lined up on a small table where some very rare Pokéballs, some of which he hadn't even seen before. Those he did recognise though included the Net ball, Dusk ball, Ultra ball, Dive ball, and many more.
The perfect tools for young trainers looking to expand their teams.
As this thought rattled around in Ash's head, he was suddenly barged aside, almost falling over as a result. Turning to see who was responsible, he shouldn't have been surprised to see Qito standing there looking pompous.
"Afternoon Mr Ketchum, enjoying our local culture?" He asked snidely. Ash deigned to not engage with it, which seemed to infuriate Qito momentarily before he recomposed himself. "Thinking of participating in our Tauros competition? Feel free, but the record is going to be hard to beat. I set it myself during last year's festival. Good luck."
What was meant to be an arrogant boast only served to cement Ash's newly formed plan.
"I'll be a back in a minute," he said to the students, and went to find a phone.
Twenty minutes later, Ash was standing in a field with the judge of the competition holding a large carrier bag. Many other participants were waiting for their turn, Qito included, watching on with interest. The students were also watching, curious and surprised that their new teacher was participating in this challenge.
Qito, and his cohort of students who'd come to enjoy the festivities, were shouting snide comments at Ash, who was calmly holding his bag waiting for his turn to be announced, trying to elicit a reaction from him. Ash, to his credit, didn't react, just holding the bag steady.
"And next up, a visitor from across the seas, from the far-off region of Kanto, Ash Ketchum! Let's see how many Tauros he has."
Ash, completely straight faced, took a moment to line up a throw into the air, before lobbing the bag full force into the air. From the bag came Pokéballs, and then more, and more, filling the air with the red and white spheres. And then they all popped open.
The once empty field was suddenly filled with Tauros, more than anyone had seen be produced by one person in years. The herd looked around with a slight level of confusion, before they noticed their trainer and began rushing toward him, breying excitedly while everyone else stared on, dumbfounded.
"Erm, I guess Mr Ketchum is our new record holder." The announcer proclaimed, which made Ash smile to himself just before the herd crashed into him, trampling him accidentally in their excitement.
'Worth it.'
Hey everyone, I'm back. And I'm NOT DEAD!
Apologies for the extended hiatus from writing, I was a bit preoccupied by… well, life. I was spending a lot of time focusing on my professional writing, as my first novel needed a lot of work and I wanted to focus entirely on that for a bit. I'm currently in the process of going over it a few last times before I try to get it published, so I thought I'd try and come back to these stories, as I did put a lot of passion into these stories and didn't want to just abandon them.
Which leads me to a question I've seen on a couple of my stories, this one included. Am I abandoning these stories? The short answer is: not if I can help it. I'm much busier as of late, having changed careers since I was last working on these stories, and I'm also trying to be a proper novelist on top of that as well, which combined with my normal life outside of all of that, leaves me with very little time for these stories. When I have the time however (and energy, that's also important), I do intend to continue working my way through these ideas.
Anyway, here's another entry for this story. It's not the best chapter in this story, but I think it was a necessary one. A combination of giving Jangmo-o some more character, building the respect between Ash and Kukui, as well as some fun interactions at the festivities, make this chapter worthwhile in my mind. Please let me know what you all think of this in a review.
Or if there's something else you'd like me to work on, maybe another of my existing stories or a new story idea entirely, I'd love to hear it. These are primarily a passion project that I do for fun, so I'm open to trying new things.
That's all from me for now. I don't know when the next chapter will be, and can't make any promises, but hopefully it won't be too long. Hope you enjoy this random entry, much love and peace! – TWoS.