My Little Pokemon Silver Spoon Version

by Fashionably Late

Chapter 9: Mystery at the Lighthouse

Author's Note:

Fashionably Late here, and after rereading what I've already posted I've been noticing a...perceived dip in quality after Cerulean. Which makes sense since I've been sticking to the Pokémon anime a bit too closely, even my proofreader, whom I've yet to fire, has even pointed out. That'll change once we get to Vermillion and have another gym battle alongside a new character to hang with the group, and whom may serve as a rival to one of their members. After that we'll have the Titanic episode, island of giant pokemon and a gaint Tentacruel lay waste to mankind...written like that, I can't wait. Enjoy.

We should have reached Vermilion city in two days.

Obviously, that didn’t happen.

“How did we end up taking the scenic route instead of the fast, straight one?” Misty sighed. The sun was starting to set and we’d have to stop and make camp soon.

“I’m not sure.” Ash turned the map sideways. “We’re on the coast so at least we’re heading in the right direction.”

“This path is going to take us three more days though.” Brock sighed. He made a visible effort to cheer up. “On the bright side, you can challenge the gym when we get there!”

“Yeah, and win my third badge! I need eight badges and six pokemon to compete in the Pokemon League and I’ve already caught the six pokemon!” Ash looked pumped up.

“You didn’t catch most of them, they just decided to follow you!” Misty argued. “A real pokemon trainer battles wild pokemon to catch them.”

“Ash’s methods are perfectly legitimate.” Flora interjected.

“Huh? You can’t be serious? He’s so…” She waved her hand, not elaborating.

“So…what?” Ash frowned at her.

“If Ash can convince pokemon to follow him without a battle, then why shouldn’t he? And he’s not the only person who does that. Cleffairy decided to follow Silver too, remember?” Flora pointed out, although I distinctly did not remember telling her that and I wasn’t sure who told her.

A thought occurred to me, a thought that just demanded to be shared.

“There are a lot of trainers who force pokemon to follow them, right?” At Flora’s nod I continued. “Well, I prefer Ash being who he is rather than being someone like Damien.” I grimaced at the thought.

“Eck.” Misty cringed. “Okay, you got a point there. He’s better than Damien. But that’s not exactly a high bar to jump.”

“Hey!” He glowered at her.

“Besides, he’s always bragging about two measly badges and he’s only caught six pokemon.” She held up her hands.

“That’s true. Most trainers catch twenty or thirty pokemon.” Brock nodded, though he didn’t seem convinced.

“Isn’t Ash the only one here with a full team right now?” Their faces went gray.

“Ha, you tell’em Sarah!” Ash laughed.

“They do have a point about the bragging, Ash. It comes off as rude and insensitive.” I warned him. “Now and again is fine, everyone brags sooner or later, but doing it every time the badges come up in conversation is a bit much.”

“Mm, you think?” He looked thoughtful. “But still, I would like to catch more pokemon.” He nodded, a determined grin sliding across his face. “Right, I’m going to catch another pokemon!” He took off running up the hill without waiting for us.

“Is it true what you said? Are Ash’s methods just as good as the normal methods?” Misty asked as we chased after him.

“If it works, it works.” Flora grunted, darting around a large tree.

“It vanished!” Ash screamed. He was on the beach, staring at his empty hand in amazement.

“Your pokeball?” Misty huffed, putting her hands on her hips. “Remember what Flora said: Trainers registered for the Pokemon League can only carry six pokemon at a time, all others are teleported to the place they got their first pokemon from.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” He rolled his eyes. “I was just surprised, is all. I didn’t expect it to really vanish out of my hands! I just caught that Krabby!”

Misty looked a little interested to hear it had been a water type. I wish I could’ve seen the battle. It must’ve been a quick one since we didn’t see it at all. Which pokemon did he use?

“Is there a way to make sure Krabby got to Professor Oak okay?” Ash turned to ask.

“You can switch one Pokémon for another by pressing the white button inside your Pokédex.” Brock pointed out helpfully.

“Wait, what?” Flora looked surprised at that statement.

“Uh... you mean this button?” Ash asked as he took out his pokedex and looked at the button.

“Right. It sends a signal to activate the system that makes the exchange.” Brock finished.

“Why am I only now finding out about this?” Flora pulled out her own pokedex to find that button.

I’m honestly surprised that there was something about this world that took Flora by surprise after all the information she was more than happy to share.

“But I don’t want to switch my pokemon, just make sure Krabby is okay.” Ash frowned. “I guess that means we’ve gotta find a phone, huh?”

What’s a phone?

“Not much chance of that happening.” Brock sighed. “We haven’t passed a phone all day and it’s still a long way to Vermillion city.”

“Ugh, and it’ll be dark soon.” Misty reminded us. “I don’t want to camp outside again! I’m sick of sleeping in a sleeping bag!”

“Pika pika!” Pikachu shouted, jumping and pointing.

“What is it, Pikachu?” Ash followed Pikachu’s gaze. “Hey guys, look over there!”

A little further back was a cliff with a lighthouse situated on top. A good place for it and it looked to be in good condition. Which meant it was likely still in use.

“A lighthouse has to have a keeper, and I’ll bet a keeper has a phone!” Ash cheered.

“And maybe some spare beds!” Misty beamed. “C’mon!”

Turns out, it was farther away than it looked.

“Whoo, that was…a climb.” Ash panted.

“Yeah. You know, this lighthouse looks a little weird.” Brock noticed.

“Yeah, it’s got a bunch of Kanto pokemon etched on the door.” Flora commented.

“Guess we’d better ring the bell, huh?” Misty gulped nervously.

“I got it.” Ash stepped forward. The others all jumped at the orchestra of bells, but I kind of enjoyed it. They were just a recording but they still sounded magnificent.

“Who goes there?” A young man’s voice came over the speakers.

“Eh-Excuse me, sir.” Brock cleared his throat. “My friends and I were traveling and happened to spot your lighthouse. We were wondering if we could come inside and perhaps use your phone, please?”

“And if you’ve got any extra beds we’d really appreciate it!” Misty cut in.

“And if possible I’d love to be able to use your kitchen to make us all something to eat!” Brock offered. Brock was great at open fire cooking but I must admit I looked forward to what he could pull off with an actual stove. His famous Brock Soup had been amazing.

“Really? It’d be great to have something other than tofu! Please, come inside!” The doors unlocked and swung forward for us.

“Um, sir? Could we use your phone now?” Ash called through the entryway.

“There should be a phone on your left as you walk in!” The young keeper informed us.

I looked and saw a table with…a strange device in the shape of what I had to presume was a pokemon.

“I’ll just make sure Krabby’s okay.” Ash sighed with relief. “I hope Professor Oak doesn’t mind me calling collect.”

A second later an image of Professor Oak cooking some ramen in a small pot with vegetables appeared on a mirror(?).

“Oh, Ash! I just got your Krabby a minute ago!” He smiled as he saw us.

“Wait, Professor! You’re not gonna eat my Krabby are ya!?” Ash cried.

What!?

“Oh no.” Professor Oak laughed. “I’d never eat a trainer’s pokemon, Ash, and besides, your Krabby is too small to be a very hearty meal. Gary’s Krabby, on the other hand, could feed me for almost a week!”

Oh thank Celestia.

“What? Gary caught a Krabby too?” Ash blinked.

“Indeed.” Professor Oak moved over to the side so we could see the table behind him. Two bowls were on the desk, both holding a Krabby inside. One was…a good deal larger than the other, shall we say. There was a cute little sticker with Ash’s face on the smaller bowl though.

“Nnng.” Ash bit his lip. From the way he kept looking between the two pokemon I could guess he was comparing them.

“Maybe your Krabby is younger.” I blinked.

“Huh?” He looked at me in confusion.

“I mean, even if pokemon don’t evolve that doesn’t mean they stop growing right?” I looked over to Flora who thought about it for a second before giving me a nod. “I think your Krabby must be very young and Gary’s Krabby is much older.”

“That’s very astute of you, Sarah.” Professor Oak’s eyes sparkled. “And correct, Ash’s Krabby is very young. I’d estimate it’s about a year old actually. Whereas Gary’s Krabby is actually in its thirties!”

“Whoa, really?” Ash’s eyes were wide. “Huh, so mine’s a baby Krabby.”

“Mhm, and Ash, you don’t need to compare yourself to Gary that way.” Professor Oak assured him. “You’re both very different trainers! Why, Gary’s already caught 45 pokemon while this one is your 7th!”

“45!” Ash cried out.

“Oh my.” The professor chuckled nervously. “Oh, by the way, where are you calling me from, Ash?”

“A lighthouse on a hill, why?” Ash calmed down.

“Ah, I thought I recognized the number! That’s Bill’s lighthouse! One of my former students, now a pokemon researcher!” He smiled. “Make sure you pay attention to anything he tells you! He could teach you a lot about pokemon!”

“I’m here, Professor, and I’d be happy to talk to your friends about pokemon!” The keeper’s, Bill’s, voice came through the speakers above.

“That’s great, thank you, Bill! Now kids, I have to go now but call me again when you get the chance!” Ash and I both waved to the professor as he ended the call.

“Well, I can hardly ignore a request from my favorite teacher. Welcome friends, I am Bill, the keeper of this lighthouse and a pokemon researcher!” The lights came on overhead, casting the room in a much friendlier atmosphere.

At the foot of the stairs was a…pokemon of somesort.

“A Kabuto! But they’re supposed to be extinct!” Brock recognized it too.

“A giant talking British Kabuto…” Flora trailed off, flabbergasted

What’s a british?

“I’m not a Kabuto, please believe me! This is only a costume!” The…Bill’s voice came out of the costume. “I’m…actually stuck inside so if one of you wouldn’t mind helping me?”

“Oh, sure, just tell me what to do.” Ash bounded towards it.

“There’s a button under the right arm, if you could please press that.” Bill requested.

“This one?” There was a slight hiss of air as the front face of the costume broke away, allowing the man inside to step out of the shell.

“Oh, thank you for that, my friend! I’ve been trapped in that costume for hours!” He sighed with relief, stretching his arms above his head.

“Did you just come back from a costume party?” Misty asked curiously.

“Nothing of the sort.” He happily denied. “Rather, this costume is for my research. I find that getting into a pokemon’s skin helps me get into their minds, let’s me see how they would’ve lived their lives! Which is vital since kabuto are long extinct.”

“That’s an…interesting school of thought.” I admitted. Dressing up as a pokemon for research. Not something I’d ever want to do, especially if I couldn’t get out on my own again.

“It’s a new one, I’ll admit.” He chuckled. “But one I’m beginning to understand. This planet has existed for roughly 4.6 billion years, and in that time many pokemon that once walked this earth have gone extinct. What were they like? How did they live their lives? With my research, I hope to find the answers to those questions!”

“Although right now there’s only one pokemon I’m really interested in.” He smirked.

“One pokemon? Which one?” Ash cocked his head to the side.

“I’ll show you.” He led us up the stairs to the viewing platform. The walls were all carved with pokemon, just like the door.

“Say Bill, what’s up with all these carvings?” Misty asked. We were passing a section dedicated to water pokemon.

“This lighthouse is decorated with all the currently known Kanto-native pokemon, extinct or otherwise.” He informed us, a hand running over a carving of a pokemon. “There are 150 living pokemon confirmed to be native to the Kanto region.”

“Wow.” Ash breathed as we continued ascending. Finally we reached our destination and we looked out over the ocean as a thick fog gathered.

“Since I’ve stationed myself at this lighthouse I’ve begun picking up readings of a pokemon unlike any other.” He told us. “A pokemon of truly momentous size. Maybe even the largest pokemon ever encountered! And…” He turned towards us.

“That pokemon might also be the only one of its kind.” We all jolted at that.

“The only one? It doesn’t have any friends or family?” Misty gasped.

“None. My readings indicate it’s a single pokemon, traveling alone. And recently I’ve even been able to hear its cries.” He held up a remote and pressed a button. Instantly, a haunting melody of a pokemon’s cry began playing over the speaker. It was sad, lonely, so filled with longing that it could almost bring a tear to your eye.

“I’m lonely. I want a friend.” Bill sighed, wiping away a tear himself. “That’s what this cry says to me.”

I closed my eyes, focusing everything on listening.

It was just crying.

“I made a recording of myself with a similar melody,” Bill informed us after we’d listened for a while. The next song he played was filled with hope just as much as longing. “This one says, I want to meet you. I want to be your friend.”

“After a few days, I began hearing a reply!” He told us excitedly. Another press, another song. “I am coming. Let’s be friends!”

“It’s beautiful!” Misty twirled. “It’s like music!”

“Would the lady care to dance?” Brock bowed.

“Why, thank you.” I watched the two of them smiling and dancing. The recording kept playing.

And then a loud, echoing cry reached us from over the water.

“It’s here!” Bill cried. “The giant pokemon is here!”

The fog was so thick we couldn’t make out any real details, none except for size. Even standing in the water it was taller than the lighthouse. The sheer scale of it was mind boggling. I thought I saw wings on the back, but I couldn’t make out anything clearly.

But it was here, called here by Bill’s recordings. How far must it have traveled hoping to find another one of its kind? And for us to be here when it arrived! I couldn’t do anything but stare up in awe.

Awe that turned to horror as something impacted the pokemon and exploded against its flesh.

“WWOOOAAAARRRRRR!!!!” The pokemon cried out, in pain this time.

“What’s going on?” Ash grabbed the railing to avoid being knocked off his feet.

“Something’s attacking it!” Flora raced to the railing and looked down. I quickly followed her, but I couldn’t see anything, but two more explosions lit up against the pokemon’s stomach.

“Look out!” Ash grabbed us and pulled us to the floor. Overhead the giant pokemon’s arm swept out, easily snapping through the lighthouse’s light and taking off the entire top floor, narrowly missing us on the platform.

“Everybody inside and downstairs, quick!” Brock shouted. The lighthouse shook alarmingly, tilting dangerously over the cliff.

We raced down the stairs. My hand was on Spearow’s pokeball the entire time. As soon as we were outside I had his pokeball in my hand, ready to call him as soon as I found those responsible. I edged towards the cliff and looked down.

There was no one there.

“No, pokemon! Please come back!” Bill shouted. The giant had turned and was beginning to march away over the water.

But it didn’t.

We couldn’t sleep in those beds Misty wanted since the lighthouse wasn’t structurally stable. Brock didn’t get to cook for us on a stove either. So it was another night under the stars with all of us sick and disappointed.

Bill especially seemed quiet all night, but by morning he was already talking about rebuilding and trying again. With perhaps a little extra security to prevent unsavory sorts from making a second attempt.

“Do you think we’ll ever discover all the pokemon there are?” Ash asked him as we were getting ready to leave.

“No, Ash, I don’t.” Bill stated happily. “I believe there are more pokemon than we can ever imagine. But I think we’ll all have some great fun trying, won’t we?”

“Yeah!” Ash grinned.

We left the lighthouse to continue on our way to Vermillion city.

A terrible end, but a hopeful beginning.

Comments

[GamePlayer64]

I still wonder whatever happen to that giant Dragonite?

[Fashionably Late]

11907386
Dunno, recently thinking it was just apart of the Island of Giant Pokémon. That episode is coming up quickly. Feel sorry for Bill either way.