Pokemon: Scattered Ashes Chapter One

Now, before we get this story underway, I'd like to make a few disclaimers. First of all, this will act as a hypothetical continuation of the current anime. As such, it'll start off as something that would happen after the most recent episode, perhaps a bit further. Also, this will be a Rayshipping (Ash X Cynthia) story. It's kinda growing on me again.

Anyway, enjoy the story.




Noon arrived at a Pokemon Center in a small town. Our heroes had stopped there for the day, as Lumiose City was a day or two away, giving them time to prepare for arrival. Ash, who had just earned his fourth badge, was training hard for his upcoming, pre-planned battle with Clemont.

Ash was on the battlefield with Pikachu and Hawlucha, his most recent addition to the team. The Wrestling Pokemon was proving to be quite the powerhouse, but he needed to help it build resistance to Electric Type attacks, since Clemont would most likely be using the Pokemon he left in Clembot's care. To do so, he had Pikachu fire a volley of Thunderbolts at Hawlucha.

After a while of this training, Hawlucha had not only learned to take Electric-Type attacks, but increased its dodging capabilities and speed. The raven-haired trainer approached the two and started petting them. "Awesome job, you guys!" he said with a smile on his face. He was met with a happy "Cha!" and "Haw!" from the two. Suddenly, though, he started to feel a slight pounding in his chest. He fell to his knees, and placed one hand on the ground while he tried to soothe the pain using the other.

"Pika?" Pikachu asked in concern. Ash, however, merely shrugged it off. "I'm fine, buddy. Just a little chest pain, but it's gone now." the trainer reassured before getting up and heading back inside with him and Hawlucha.

Inside, Serena was talking with Clemont and Bonnie, when the boy came in. "How was training?" Serena asked. "Good, but I felt a slight pounding in my chest at the end." Ash responded. The Lumiose siblings looked at him with concern, but the Kanto native merely waved a hand to ease their worries. The group was soon met with two adults, as well as a small "person". The trio was dressed like business people, and approached them.

"Good evening! We're with the Pokemon Fan Club! And we're here because that Pikachu of yours looks perfect enough to be our new mascot!" The woman said happily!

Ash appeared to be excited about this. "Awesome! How about we... we..." he began, but his excitement was soon replaced with an annoyed expression. "You know what? I'm not feeling up to this today. Can we just get to the part where I have Pikachu electrocute you?" he changed the topic, confusing the others.

"What do you mean?" Bonnie asked. Ash merely responded by ripping off the business suits, revealing the people to be Team Rocket.

"TEAM ROCKET!" Clemont shouted, surprised by this. Ash paid no mind to this, as he had Pikachu send them flying through the roof with a Thunderbolt. Serena, however, looked at Ash confusedly. "But... how did you know it was them?" she asked.

Ash soon formed a worried expression on his face. "Well... um... er... LOOK! A BIG DISTRACTION!" Ash pointed behind them, causing the others to look behind them. Ash returned Hawlucha, grabbed Pikachu, and ran off.

When the others turned around, Ash was already long gone. Clearly annoyed, the remaining group ran outside to find them. Meanwhile, Ash hid within the local stadium, which was closed for the day. He stood in the middle of the stadium to catch his breath. "Well... we lost them, Pikachu..." he said to his long-time partner. The yellow mouse merely sighed in relief. However, they were soon caught by a guard. "Hey! This stadium is closed today! Leave immediately!" she demanded sternly.

Ash was about to leave, when he collapsed to the ground once more, the pounding in his chest becoming more painful. The guard changed from strict to worried, as she tried to approach him. However, the boy started to glow blue, signaling that the guard should run away. Meanwhile, the trio comes across the stadium, and sees the guard running for her life.

"RUN RUN RUN RUN RUN! RUN LIKE FUCK! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!" she shouted as she ran off. The group was confused... until something exploded inside the stadium, which started emitting a blue smoke. When the smoke died down, the three went in to investigate... and found something truly unsettling...

Inside, the entire arena was sporadically covered in glowing blue crystals that emitted the occasional spark. This ranged from mere coverings of a crystal layer, to large crystal spires jutting from the ground. But what really caught their attention was at the center of the battlefield: Ash lay there, unconscious but breathing. A worried Pikachu at his side. The three reached them, when the same spark from the crystals came out of Ash's body.

"We need to get him to a hospital!" Serena urged. Without hesitation, she and Clemont picked him up, Bonnie following behind with Pikachu.



--- At the Hospital...


Serena and the Lumiose siblings waited outside of the room Ash was placed in. The doctor soon came out, writing on a clipboard. "Is he gonna be okay?!" Serena asked in concern.

"Yes. He's just unconscious. He'll wake up soon. But I DID notice a strange energy coming from the lad" she explained. Clemont then began to ponder something. "Come to think of it, we DID see the same sparks from the crystals come out of Ash..." he recalled.

"But what could it mean?" Bonnie asked.

"One possible theory? Ash was the cause of the explosion."

"You can't be serious!" Serena lashed out at the Gym Leader.

"I don't wanna believe it either, but think about it. The sparks from Ash's body, plus the pounding in his chest. If I were to guess, something inside of him must have caused it."

"We took some of his blood for testing... but it was blue for some reason. We'll have to run some additional tests" the doctor explained before heading to the lab.


Serena merely looked at the door to Ash's room, worried about what might happen...