How to Train Your Pokémon

A/N: Let's now get on with Chapter 19! Roll it!

Bold italics- Pokémon speech

Chapter 19

The Island Compound

After a few silent minutes of flying, the fog seemed to get thicker. By now, the teenagers are starting to get chills up their spines. Then, slowly, shadows began to appear in the mist.

"Get up higher." Mari quietly said. Without complaint, the twins followed her lead as they all got higher up in the sky to avoid being seen.

One by one, Flying type Pokémon made themselves seen. There were all kinds, from tiny Pidgey to powerful Skarmory. The teens all saw that a lot of them were carried something either in their beaks or in their talons. Most of them were carrying either smashed Poké Balls or computer chips. But every once in a while, there would be a hostage, whether human or Pokémon held in a large bird's talons, like a Fearow or a Honchkrow. Their blood would run cold as they would see an unconscious human being carried.

"Looks like Mom was right about one thing." Luke said. "There are losses."

"Losses as in hostages." Evan added.

"Um, what does that make us?" Aiden asked nervously.

"The infiltrators." Mari said determinedly. She wasn't about to let a frightening possible fate stop her from finding her father.

"That's the spirit, Mari." Elysia whispered proudly.

Mari smiled at her Electric type friend. Then the teenagers continued flying in silence as they followed the horde of Flying types towards Cinnabar Island.

Soon, as the fog began to lift, they saw a chilling sight. A large steel dome was built into the large mountain of the island. It softly glowed against the moonlight. 

"I thought that this was a volcanic island." Luke said, confused.

"The volcano hasn't erupted in years because of its use now." Elysia quietly explained. "One wrong move in pressure, and the whole island can go sky-high." After that, Mari translated for Aiden.

The Pokémon then began to fly into a large cave that led inside the dome. The teens carefully followed them inside from a distance. Soon, they came into a much large opening inside the dome, where walls of plated steel were placed along the rocky walls. Underneath, the Flying types were greeted with Water types entering from a sea entrance. Along the rocky floor, there were large doors, either automatic or iron barred.

"I'm guessing the barred doors are where they keep the hostages." Aiden guessed.

"He must be in one of them." Evan said.

The teens watched as all of the Pokémon began either throwing hostages into empty cells or going into the halls behind the automatic doors. Soon, the entire area was empty.

"All clear." Mari whispered to the group. Slowly, the teens descended down to the rocky bottom. Mari let go of Aiden and Elysia jumped off her shoulder.

"All hostages are placed according to importance." She whispered. "The further down the hall we go, the more crucial they are."

"To what?" Luke asked after Mari once again gave Aiden the translation.

Elysia shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know. But what I do know is that it is not good."

The silence that followed was deep and heavy, now that the knowledge of a larger intelligence at work was behind all of the Pokémon raids for 15 years.

Finally, Mari broke the silence. "Lead the way, Elysia." She said. The female Pikachu nodded and began to lead the four teens down the cells. The further they went, the more their hearts began to pound.

At last, Elysia led them to the last cell. The teens all noticed that it was bigger than most of the other cells, and that the iron door was thicker than all of them. The female Electric type pressed a button next to the cell door. A large area of rock next to the door vanished to reveal a secret dug-out passage.

"This way." She said. Then, she began scampering through the passage. The Ketchum kids all made their wings vanish back into their backs and began crawling through after her, with Aiden following suit.

Soon, they all squeezed out of the entrance. "Whew!" Mari exclaimed quietly after she got out. "Good thing I'm slim enough to get out of that."

However, the boys were rubbing their sides. They weren't that sore, but it was a little bit of a squeeze for them. "Easy for you to say." Evan said. "You're a girl."

Mari rolled her eyes at her brother's comment. Then she began to scan inside the cell. There were a couple of chalk drawings on the wall, but other than that, it seemed pretty empty and simple.

In a corner, there was a large cot where a large sheet was covering something. Suddenly, something jumped out of the bundle of sheets and approached the teenagers. They all gasped.

It was another Pikachu! This one was male, because of the lightning bolt tail. His yellow fur was dirty and tangled, as if it hadn't been brushed in weeks. And it seemed older than Elysia, and more withered, like he had more experience fighting and exploring. But there was still an adventurous spark in his dark eyes.

"How many Electric types are out there?" Aiden wondered aloud.

Elysia scampered up to the older male Pikachu. Though they were about the same size, the younger female Pikachu nuzzled her cheek into the crook of the older male's neck. They seemed to be pretty close.

When they broke their embrace, the older Pikachu began to make conversation, though it was pretty quiet, where the Ketchum kids couldn't even understand Elysia. Aiden looked over at Mari, wanting a translation. But Mari only shook her head.

"The twins and I can only understand Elysia right now." She explained, not wanting to say much about the Pokémon back in the Arena. "We can only understand a new Pokémon after we have touched it."

"Sorry I took so long to get back." Elysia was saying to the older Pikachu. "I got hurt in the last attack, but then, look who helped me get better."

The younger Electric type turned over to the teenagers behind her. Though the older Pikachu was a little wary about the human visitors, he scampered up and began to sniff them curiously.

First he did Aiden, who was quivering slightly, but he tried to be brave as he let the older Electric type come closer to him. The Pikachu seemed to sense that deep down, he was loyal and strong.

Then, he moved onto the twins. He got the whiff that they were twins because of their similar scents. Also, they did look a little bit alike, however Evan looked more like a version of someone that he knew once.

Luke and Evan carefully petted the older Pikachu's head, enabling their comprehension of what he will say. The older Pikachu seemed to enjoy their touch, but he had to move on.

But when he saw Mari, he froze, as if he was seeing a Ghost type. He slowly came up to her, sniffing her. Mari was about to place her hand on his head to activate her Pokémon comprehension ability when for some reason, he was already speaking in human language in her ears.

"Is this really her?" He asked Elysia. He spoke in a voice that sounded like he was a middle-aged adult, but there was still a little squeak to it.

"It sure is." Elysia answered him.

Mari was thoroughly confused as to how she could understand the older Pikachu without even touching him. The guys were pretty confused as well. "How can I understand you when I haven't even touched you?" Mari asked the older Electric type.

"Because you have already touched me before." The older Pikachu answered simply.

That information shocked everyone. Suddenly, Mari remembered one of the few memories she had of her father. She remembered that yellow blur that appeared on her father's shoulder, speaking in a slightly squeaky and young male voice. She had called it, "Pika". Could it be?

"Are you," Mari felt tears choking up her voice. "Are you that Pikachu, the one that belonged to my father?" The boys all held their breath.

The Pikachu only nodded. Mari gasped and then took Pikachu in her arms, hugging him tightly but gently. "You're alive."

Pikachu was a little surprised. "You remember me?" He asked. "You were only a hatchling when your dad and I were taken away."

"A little bit." Mari answered. "I remember seeing you on my dad's shoulder, but I couldn't see you good enough. And I called you, 'Pika'."

Pikachu laughed. "Yeah, you were pretty darn cute." He said, making Mari blush a little. Aiden glanced over at the twins, looking confused. So Luke translated what he had heard and understood.

"Hold on." Evan said. "Mari, what you are saying is that you and this Pikachu have met before?"

"When I was a baby, yes." Mari replied. She then turned back to Pikachu. "If you're here, then, does that mean Dad is here?"

Pikachu nodded. "He is." He answered. "He'll be here soon." There was a brief worried look on his face when he said that, but he quickly erased it.

Mari then turned over to Elysia. "How do you know my dad's Pikachu?" She asked.

"Well, he technically raised me." Elysia answered. Everyone's eyes widened in surprise, except for Pikachu's. "He and your dad found me as an Egg a few years back. They said that they were surprised to find a Pichu in it, and I imprinted on him. So I think of him as my father."

After Luke translated for Aiden, the latter asked, "Wait. A Pichu?"

"Pichu can evolve into Pikachu." Evan explained.

"And how do you know that?" Aiden continued to question.

"That's another story." Luke quickly said, not wanting to spill all that he and his siblings have learned about Pokémon yet. Aiden was still most likely trying to wrap his head around a few other things.

Pikachu came closer to Elysia and held her close. "Yeah, and I think of her as my daughter. By the way, your new name, Elysia, it suits you."

Elysia blushed at the comment from her father figure. "Thanks, Pop." She said.

Mari then came over to her Electric type friend. "I guess that means we're like sisters." She said.

Elysia smiled at her human friend. "I guess so."

Suddenly, there was the sound of a door opening down the hall. Elysia and the teens quickly hid in the shadows of the cell while Pikachu went over to the cot and hid underneath the blankets.

The cell door was opened as two figures appeared in the doorway, both of them men cloaked in shadow. The first man roughly pushed the second man into the cell and slammed the door shut and locked it again.

"You're lucky that he still needs you alive." The first man said harshly. "If not, we would have killed you years ago. You better be giving him what he wants, unless if you want your hometown to be blown sky-high."

"You wouldn't dare!" The second man shouted. That voice sounded very familiar to Mari, but there was the hint that he had been suffering for so long.

"We would." The first man said smugly. "Be grateful that you will get to live another day." After that, the man left the hallway, the automatic door opening, then closing.

The man on the floor slowly sat up. Pikachu then came out of the blankets on the cot and carefully came over to the man. "Are you okay?" He asked him.

"Yeah." The man said, surprisingly understanding the Electric type. "I've had worse."

"Don't remind me." Pikachu said, not wanting to relive those scary moments.

Elysia then came over to him. The man then saw her slowly approach him and Pikachu. "Hey, girl." He said, petting the top of her head gently. "Glad to see that you're okay."

Elysia smiled. "Well, I wish I could say the same about you." She said.

The man chuckled. "Even though Pikachu adopted you, you have inherited his sense of humor." He joked.

Elysia and Pikachu laughed. Then, Elysia remembered the teens that were still hiding in the shadows of the cell. She then scampered over to them. "Come on, guys." She said. "It's okay."

Mari slowly came out of the shadows to see the man sitting on the floor. He had tan skin like her, and was wearing a dirty blue shirt that looked like it hadn't seen decent washing in years. His jeans were also in the same condition. His wild raven hair was so long and shaggy that it reached down to his shoulders. His brown eyes looked like there were once full of life, but after years of suffering in this compound, it was almost all but gone. On his head was an old red and white cap that looked very familiar to Mari. The man also had a thin coating of stubble over his chin. But despite the rugginess, the Ketchum girl recognized that face, though only in pictures, and he was much more lively and youthful.

The man's amber brown eyes widened as he saw the teenage girl appear before him. She shared so many of his own features; long raven hair tied into a ponytail over her shoulder, chocolate brown orbs that sparkled with wonder and awe as she stared at him, and olive skin. But what caught his attention was the thin gold chain around her neck with the Gracidea pendant.

Mari was hesitant to ask if this man was really who she thinks it is, but the desire to know the truth gave her the strength to ask. "D-Daddy?" She asked, tears slowly coming down her cheeks.

"Mari?" He asked in a whisper as he slowly stood up. "Is it really you?"

Mari smiled softly. "Please tell me something that you know about me that no one else knows besides my family." She asked.

The man smiled. "Your full name is Marianne Gloria Ketchum." The man said. "And I used to call you my lucky charm after I gave that necklace to you on your first birthday."

That little nickname and those facts made everything clear at last, and her tears started coming down faster. "Daddy!" Mari exclaimed quietly as she rushed over to her father, Ash Ketchum, and the two hugged for the first time in 15 years.

Luke and Evan slowly came out of the shadows as well. Ash then saw them come closer, his eyes widened in surprise. Mari turned to her brothers. "These are your twin sons, Luke and Evan." She said. "When you and Pikachu disappeared, Mom was pregnant with them."

The twins came up to their father for the first time in their lives. "I'm Luke. Luke Adrian Ketchum." Luke introduced himself, unable to fight back the tears that were leaking out.

"And I'm Evan Jayce Ketchum." Evan said. Tears were pouring out of his eyes.

Ash looked over at his sons. "You look a lot like your mother." He said to Evan before turning to Luke. "And you are a perfect blend of me and your mom."

The twins joined in on the hug, as did Pikachu and Elysia. Aiden came out of the shadows and just watched the heartwarming scene as a father and his children were reunited once more.

A/N: Wow. How I didn't cry while writing this, I'm not sure. The Ketchum kids are finally reunited with their father, Ash. In the next chapter, they'll finally get some answers as to how he and Pikachu disappeared, and who's behind this whole operation.

Until then, I'll see y'all! Please leave a comment about what you think. They are highly appreciated. And Happy New Year! 

Got to fly! ;)