A Journey's Link

Chapter 8 - Research

"Airline Flight 2 will be arriving in Vermillion City in approximately 5 minutes! Please stay seated until further instructions are given and as always, thank you for flying Pidgeot Airlines!" The crackle of the speaker faded, but the loud and obnoxious voice had already woken Ash and Goh.

"Oh man," Ash groaned, rubbing his sore neck. "I was having the best battle of my life." Goh began yawning and struggled to speak as he explained his dream. "I was catching every Pokemon in the world!" He pulled out his phone and glanced at the time. "Woah, it's still not even nighttime yet."

Ash, still sad about his dream ending, forgot all about his newly acquired Z-Crystal that he had stashed away in his bag. He noticed it once it began shining through the fabric a deep yellow hue that was similar to a Thunderbolt. As the plane landed in the airway, Ash rummaged through the bag and stared inquisitively at it. "What the..." He muttered, entranced by the glow.

He stuck his hand in the bag and grabbed the Z-Crystal, intently staring at it. The item itself had not changed its design in any way; the only difference was the yellow light emitting from it, which glowed brighter the closer one's eye traveled to the core of the Z-Crystal.

Goh, who had been quietly scrolling through his phone, noticed the crystal and nearly dropped his device. He stared alongside Ash, quietly observing the crystal. "Ash," Goh whispered. "Did you cause that?" He said this in a curious, yet cautious tone; neither of them knew what was happening.

Ash slowly shook his head, unable to provide an answer. "I've just been sleeping. I don't know why it's glowing," he responded, rotating the crystal with his wrist and analyzing it from all angles. "Maybe it's trying to activate or something?" Goh guessed cluelessly. "I don't really know how these work."

"No, it can't work without a Z-Ring," Ash muttered back, setting the Z-Crystal on his lap. Once it made contact with his clothes, it quickly stopped glowing and sat dormant, no activity present. Both Ash and Goh looked at each other and raised their eyebrows; they needed to ask the professor about it immediately.

Ash shoved the Z-Crystal back into his bag and hoisted it around his shoulders. "Looks like the plane is landing," he said, nodding towards the people getting up from their seats and making their way to the exit. "Let's go find the professor." Goh nodded in agreement and both trainers disembarked from the plane, seeing the familiar sight of Vermillion City and its surroundings.

Ash and Goh looked at each other and smirked. "Wanna race?" Ash asked mischievously. Goh grinned and nodded, sprinting before Ash could even react and getting a head start. "Hey, no fair!" Ash exclaimed, reaching his arm out as he dashed after Goh, who maintained a lead throughout the entire short race.

Being the first one to arrive, Goh had already knocked on the laboratory doors. He turned around as Ash approached, breathing heavily. "I win!" He boasted egregiously; Ash was the one to win those races, so Goh felt gratified in his minor achievement. Ash just chuckled in response and replied, "Guess today isn't my day."

Goh noticed that Ash was breathing heavily; each of his words was separated by attempts at inhaling as much air as possible into his lungs. "You sure you're okay?" He asked, a frown forming on his face. "You seem really out of breath." Ash waved his hand in dismissal and chuckled.

"I'll be fine. Just been a long day," he replied. Goh frowned and shrugged his shoulders; if Ash said he was fine, then he was fine. Still, it worried him how drained he seemed, and not long after interacting with the mysterious Z-Crystal.

Finally, the door opened, revealing Professor Cerise, who looked shocked that Ash and Goh had already gotten back from their research trip. "Professor Cerise!" Goh exclaimed happily, forgetting momentarily about Ash. "We got a lot of information and even brought back a Pokemon to research!"