The Battle of Bonds

Chapter 9: Stay Safe!

Ash(POV)
      I woke up early like I said I was going to. Gold called me super late last night, and I didn't get much sleep after that. Instead, I made something last night since I couldn't fall back to sleep. Now it was 6:15 A.M and I was getting dressed. I decided to wear my Kalos outfit since obviously I was going to Kalos. However, Gold did leave some of his stuff here, so I took his suitcase that he brought with him and neatly put everything he owned in there. When the room was clean and empty, I exited the room and left the keys to the room at the empty counter.
     I sent out Charizard and told him our destination was the Airport. After making a humongous roar that even Arceus would be scared of, he flew high above the clouds at a fast pace. As we flew, I looked at the magnet train. It only opened like a month ago. Now, everyone is using it to get to Kalos. I saw Lance's Men patrolling the streets along with Officer Jennys. I knew that she wouldn't harm anybody, but Lance's Men could and would. It scared me. We were only 30 minutes away from the airport, so I took this opportunity to get some rest. I fell asleep on Charizard's Back. I had enough trust that he wouldn't crash or kill me. He knows that I'm already dying on the inside from the war.
         (30 Minutes Later)The ride was a little bumpy, I did wake up a few times from Charizard going up and down, but luckily we arrived safely at the airport. Charizard carried all of Gold's Stuff which was pretty heavy for anyone! I could lift it, but for somebody like Gold to lift it would be incredible and be a miracle! Anyways, I fed Charizard a nice Pokepuff that Bayleef made this morning for me, and returned him into his pokeball. I walked into the airport to find Gold standing with Officer Jenny. Gold now had an extra suitcase along with this one and his bag. I walked towards him and handed him his suitcase. "Thanks Ash for grabbing my stuff! I didn't think that going on a stroll would take that long and uncover so much."he said intriguing me on that last part. "No Problem! I should be thanking you for escorting me throughout Johto."I replied as I began to wonder why Gold needed his things. He's never left Johto so where is he going, Kanto? Officer Jenny walked up to me and answered my question,
"Gold is going with you to Kalos. He wants to travel with you a bit longer than expected, are you ok with this?" I was so happy and jumped up into the air like a child would. "I would be happy to continue traveling with Gold!" I answered as Gold smiled knowing that he could continue with me. That's when the speaker announced that our flight was now boarding. Officer Jenny took us to the boarding booth and she gave me something. "This is a ticket that can take you anywhere anytime. I gave another one to Gold and these are super valuable. Don't lose these as they can get into the wrong hands very easily. I trust you with these."She said as I placed it inside my photo of my family that I allows kept in my bag from day 1 of my journey. She shook my hand while saying, "I hope you two stay safe in your travels and during the war. Anything from here on out may get crazy, reckless, and even unimaginable." I told her to thank all of the Officer Jenny's of Johto, and after I told her that, me and Gold boarded the plane. It was fairly empty, with only 3 other people on board. We sat down near the emergency exit door just to be safe that we don't die. We both stared out the window as the plane was starting to take off. That's when we saw something. It looked like a bird, and it shimmered in the sun. It was what I saw when I first started my journey. Me and Gold both saw it leave a rainbow in the sky as we took off the ground. Gold whispered to me, "Ho-oh, that was the legendary bird of Johto." I repeated to myself that name. It sounded like a guardian Pokémon to me. I prayed that it would keep Johto safe from harm. The place was already abandoned, and according to Gold, Ho-oh does not trust humans. I really hope one day it can regain our trust. Pikachu also looked at the Pokémon curiously, as if it had a connection to it. Ho-oh was now flying out of our sights as the plane went above the clouds. That's when we fell asleep.
It was a five hour flight to Kalos. When we arrived, I saw Lumiose Tower shining like a beacon of hope. Gold was so intrigued from Kalos. He had never left his land, and now he was seeing new sights. The only thing he knew about here was the league and the Team Flare Incident. Everything else was a mystery to him. We landed and Gold wanted to look at everything. There was one big problem however, almost every person on the planet is currently here. All hotels are booked, and people were sleeping on the streets with fire Pokémon keeping them warm. Not to mention where my mom and dad were. As soon as me and Gold were about to exit, crowds of people surrounded us. We couldn't leave since they could easily overrun the police forces who couldn't handle the current situation. That's when Professor Sycamore appeared from behind us with a Gallade. "Ash! Gold! Grab my hand! Quick!" He directed us to do, and we both quickly grabbed it as we teleported away from the plane.
         We teleported to his lab, where Garchomp came to our side immediately. "Sorry for the rough landing and for that crowd of people, but things are crazy here. Since this is the war zone, everyone is in every inch of this place and many people are getting hurt here. This is the only empty location since it contains classified information."he explained as the Gallade got us some water. "Well, thank you ummm..."Gold said but he didn't know who this person was. I think Gold doesn't watch the news that often unless it is world threatening. Professor Sycamore told Gold who he was and what Mega Evolution was. "Mega Evolution Gold is a Phenomenal thing! For example, what if I told you there is a chance that your Typhlosion could still evolve" Professor Sycamore explained as Gold's Mouth dropped, "Typhlosion could still have an unknown form yet to be discovered. However, you would have to have a Keystone and a MegaStone in order for it to work." Gold then asked, "So all I need is a Keystone and a MegaStone to unlock a stronger version of Typhlosion?" Professor Sycamore nodded his head left to right, "That's not all. You also have to have a deep bond with the Pokémon in order to mega evolve it. I'd say if you could find a MegaStone for your Typhlosion, you could be the first human in years to Mega Evolve a Typhlosion." Gold's eyes lit up as he got explained what the heck Mega Evolution was. That's when Professor Sycamore turned to me. "Speaking about changing forms, Ash, can you still do the thing."he asked me. He was obviously talking about Greninja and Me. To be honest, I wasn't sure. I hadn't tested it since I said goodbye to him. "I have absolutely no idea Professor, but if it does happen, I'll inform you." I replied to him. "Ash, I hope you still have it because I want to find answers to that form. I think about it every night trying to figure out if it can be done with other Pokémon and why it has only been done with a Greninja." Professor Sycamore asked to himself. He did bring up good points. Ninja Village had some data on it, but how does it connect to mine. We know it was the Bond Phenomenon, but how strong of a bond is required? Also, what are the limits on the power. These questions bothered the Professor. Greninja's Pokeball started to shake on my belt. I pulled it up and it started shaking again. Even Professor Sycamore was confused. Greninja came out of his pokeball and grabbed my arm that revealed the evolved MegaZ-Ring as I called it. That's when Professor Sycamore went crazy. He examined it from front to back wondering what happened to it. Even Gold was confused as he didn't even have the words to speak. "Ash, where did you get this and how?" He asked me while looking at the Keystone. "Well, I got a gift from Gary Oak that had a Keystone, my Z-Ring, and a Pokeball that contained Greninja who is right here. However, two days ago, I got caught in a storm and something strange happened. I wore the Keystone and Z-ring on the same arm, and my Pokémon attacked it. With mainly special moves, but my Krockodile used Stone Edge and it evolved into whatever this is." I explained to him as he was writing down notes. "Ugh! This doesn't make any sense ether! How did they not break! How did they combine! How is this even possible in the first place!!!" He yelled as he looked down. I took another look at it too. It was strange, and it has some kind of powerful aura around it. Greninja too looked at it. He only was coming into the cave when he threw a water shuriken at it. He only brought me the stones for the keystone, Not this thing. The strange thing is I can't take it off. It's stuck in me and it can't break. I already had Charizard try to cut it, but it was no use.
Sceptile, Krockodile, Heracross, Infernape, and even Pikachu couldn't break it. It was like it curse.       However, the next thing that happen blew everyone's mind in the room. Greninja put my hand to him, and he pulled the MegaZ-Ring off with ease. My mouth dropped hard. That's when he put it back on me. When Gold try to pull it off, he couldn't. Neither could Professor Sycamore, or Garchomp, or Me. Yet Greninja pulled it with ease again. "Ok, based on this...experience with the MegaZ-Ring thing I can positively say that it is SOMEHOW connected to Greninja which is now ANOTHER thing I have to solve. Man!"Professor Sycamore said while sighing. Greninja at this point returned to his Pokeball before Professor Sycamore could scold him.
        After Professor Sycamore's Rage from research, he settled down and said we could stay at his place since he knew it'd be impossible for us to find a hotel. While Gold slept, I prepared for tomorrow, which was the first day of War. I had to make sure I was completely ready. Tomorrow was going to change my Fate forever as the choice I made was not going to be easy, but In fact the most difficult. However, Greninja told me that everyone of my Pokémon were going to stay at my side no matter the option. Greninja even said that if my Pokémon were to betray me last second, he would 100% stay with me until the very end. It was nice to know that somebody had faith in me. After everything was prepared for tomorrow, I finally got into bed. At 12:00 P.M tomorrow was the official start of PokeWar Z as they called it now. I fell asleep with ease as I knew that I had to deal with millions of people tomorrow would were eager to know my choice. With Pikachu at my side, I fell asleep.