CHAPTER 423: CLEANSED

Man jet lag is a pain, i feel like throwing up, i don’t even wanna write right now, uhhhhh, but thats why we have the P@treon with advanced Chapters

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{Meanwhile, with Ash...}

"Mom, I’m telling you, I can’t do dishes right now," Ash called from the living room, sprawled upside-down on the couch like a Snorlax in the middle of a nap. His feet hung over the backrest while his head nearly touched the floor. "Doctor’s orders. Pikachu’s resting, and I’m emotionally recovering with him."

Delia peeked her head out from the kitchen. "Ash, Pikachu’s the one who’s knocked out, not you."

Obviously, Ash hadn’t told Delia about what happened at the Wind Festival. He’d also bribed Molly with cookies so she wouldn’t spill the beans. It was better if she didn’t worry, that would cause too many problems right now.

"I felt it emotionally," he insisted, still upside-down on the couch.

Across the room, Molly giggled from her fort of sofa cushions, where she had successfully trapped Mimey into playing tea party hostage, with Bellossom and Vee joining in. He looked mildly panicked but too polite to refuse another cup of invisible tea.

"Would you like another scone, Sir Mimey?" Molly asked seriously, balancing a plastic plate on Mimey’s hand.

"Mime mime..." he said, sweat-dropping.

Ash turned over again, now lying sideways. "Hey, Molly. What if we made something completely unnecessary? Like... lava cake with Pop Rocks," Ash suggested.

"You just want dessert before dinner," Delia said flatly, arms crossed from the kitchen.

"...And?" Ash asked.

"...You know what, I can’t really argue with that," Delia shrugged. Ash was good in the kitchen, she wasn’t really worried about him burning it down.

Molly smiled and clapped her hands. "Ohh! Okay, okay, I wanna help! Can we use the Poké Ball cookie cutter?"

"Sure, I don’t mind," Ash said, finally getting off the couch. Just then, he felt his phone buzz, and when he pulled it out, he saw a text from Green.

-

Leavesonthevine:

Hey, I KNOW you’re not doing anything useful. Get your lazy butt over here, @Pokemonenjoyer

Pokemonenjoyer:

how do you know i’m not busy rn, i could be cooking a v gourmet meal, and don’t talk about my butt

Leavesonthevine:

It’s not more important than hanging out with your super great childhood friend. Also, Molly better still like me. Ask her if she wants to hang out with her super awesome big sis later. 😤

-

Ash grinned and called across the room, "Hey Molly, Green says hi. She wants to know if you wanna hang out with your super awesome big sis later."

Molly paused from pouring invisible sugar into Mimey’s sixth cup of the hour. "Green’s not my big sis. You’re my big brother!"

Mimey let out a sympathetic wince, putting his fist to his mouth.

Ash grinned harder. "Oof, brutal."

He sent the reply:

-

Pokemonenjoyer: Confirmed. She still says I’m the only Big Sibling™ in this house. Try harder, sis.

Leavesonthevine: I will FIGHT a six-year-old and I will WIN. Tell her I’m bringing caramel pretzels and glitter slime next time I see her, and she better change her tune.

-

Ash chuckled and shouted, "Molly! Green says she’s bringing caramel pretzels and glitter slime!"

Molly froze. Then, slowly, dramatically, she turned to Ash, "...Tell her I said... she might be big-sis-adjacent."

Ash sent the update.

—

Pokemonenjoyer: Status update: you’ve been upgraded to ’big-sis-adjacent.’ Congratulations on your promotion.

Leavesonthevine: VICTORY. I AM HER FAVORITE NOW. MOVE OVER, @Pokemonenjoyer

Pokemonenjoyer: yeah yeah, now can you tell me what you want, i was actually gonna do some baking with Molly. also aren’t you in Blackthorn to cheer on Silver?

Leavesonthevine: Yeah, but Silver got all weird saying he had to do this by himself, and all that other weird stuff. Honestly, it hurts to see my little brother being so mean to his big sis, but... I’m bored. And Gary is MIA, so you’re next on the list.

Pokemonenjoyer: rude. but fair. yeah, i got nothing to do till the League so i’m good to hang out. fine, come over if you wanna help me make Poké Ball lava cakes that may or may not explode.

Leavesonthevine: is this a threat or an invitation because I’m 100% in 😘

Pokemonenjoyer: sure. i’ll send Abby over in 5.

—

Ash laughed under his breath, shaking his head. He grabbed a Poké Ball and tossed it out the open window, then looked over to Molly, "Alright, Molly, brace yourself. Green might actually show up and turn our kitchen into a war zone."

"She better bring the caramel pretzels first," Molly warned, adjusting Vee’s ribbon. "Then she can help."

Ash wandered into the kitchen and started rummaging through the cabinets. "Mom, where are the chocolate chips?"

"Top shelf, behind the pancake mix," Delia called, already getting her bag. She was about to head out for some errands for the restaurant. "And please don’t let Green set anything on fire. We don’t need a repeat of last time."

"Yeah... fair..." Ash mumbled. Because last time Green asked to learn to cook, she only tried once, and it was right after the almost-kidnapping incident, like four years ago now. Green had said she wanted to make him something to thank him, but there was a fire. Since Delia was out at the time, Ash had to smother it himself. Then they ordered pizza.

Ash started setting out ingredients, but then heard the sound of a teleport. He didn’t even need to turn around to know Green was standing behind him.

"Did someone order chaos?" she asked with a mock bow, slinging her bag over one shoulder. "And also caramel pretzels."

Molly’s eyes narrowed, her tiny arms folding. "Where are the pretzels? Your kitchen pass depends on this."

Green blinked, then dramatically reached into her bag and produced a glittery container, "Boom. Pretzels. Slightly salted. You may now call me Big Sis Supreme."

Molly eyed the container, then nodded once, "Big-sis-adjacent... with benefits."

Green snorted, grinning as she stepped inside and kicked off her shoes, "I’ll take it."

Ash looked up from the mixing bowl, smirking, "You got those pretzels just to win over a six-year-old."

"I brought those pretzels to win over a six-year-old," Green corrected, poking him in the chest. "Because I’m awesome and someone taught me how to cook without burning the house down. Barely."

Ash gave her a look, "Okay, yeah, my mom did teach you, but seriously, after last time I’m surprised you even bothered, considering the fire and all."

"Hey, that was one time. I’m not that bad anymore," Green said, brushing past him to steal a handful of chocolate chips, popping one into her mouth. "Anyway, what’s this about lava cakes? Do I get to sabotage, I mean, help?"

Molly was already dragging over a stool, "We’re making Poké Ball ones. So you have to do the red frosting. That way, if it’s ugly, it’s your fault."

"Perfect," Green said, hopping up to wash her hands. "I like high stakes."

Ash passed her the food coloring and a mixing bowl, "No turning the frosting into a science experiment this time."

"No promises," she said sweetly. Then, with a very subtle sideways glance, "Unless you say please, Ashy-boy."

He froze mid-crack of an egg, "Did you just—?"

"I said nothing," Green replied, deadpan. "Must be the sugar talking."

"Right..."

Delia called out from the hallway, grabbing her purse, "Ash, you’re in charge while I’m gone! I want the kitchen intact when I get back! And tell Pikachu not to eat the frosting again!"

"Got it, Mom!" Ash called.

"I make no promises!" Green added with a grin.

"Don’t encourage her!" Delia’s voice called back from the front door.

With the door clicking shut, Green turned back to Ash, trying to appear casual as she flicked a glob of frosting at him, "Sooo... League training? You doing okay?"

Ash shrugged, catching the frosting glob with a spoon and licking it off, "Yeah, just laying low for now. No need to rush. Pikachu’s still wiped after... everything."

Green hesitated for a second, then softened, "Yeah. I figured. You’ve been dodging questions about the festival harder than Gary dodges responsibility."

"Ouch. At least roast him when he’s here," Ash chuckled as he prepped more ingredients, "So... you’re gonna stay here?"

"Yeah. Again, my parents are in the Sevii Islands, and I don’t really feel like going over there," Green shrugged, "So I’m crashing here. I’ll be bunking with Molly, obviously."

Ash rolled his eyes, "You’re lucky my mom likes you."

"Ha, admit it, you were getting lonely," Green laughed.

"Yeah, and?" Ash said bluntly.

Green froze at that she didn’t expect him to actually admit it, "I—I uh... wait, did you just say—?"

"That I’m lonely?" Ash said plainly, scooping batter into the molds, "Yeah. Molly’s great and all, but most of my friends are either halfway across the world or training for something. And it’s... kind of quiet lately."

Green, still half-frozen from Ash’s unexpected honesty, coughed into her sleeve and busied herself whisking the red frosting, "Right. Well. Glad to know you missed me, loser."

Ash chuckled, sliding a tray into the oven, "Didn’t say I missed you. I said I was lonely. Big difference."

Green squinted at him, "Rude." But she smiled, "And I missed you too, you idiot."

Ash heard her and smiled, "Okay, okay, I guess having you around won’t be too bad. I mean, the Silver Conference starts soon and all that."

"Oh yeah, I guess Gary will be back to hang out soon," Green tapped her chin, "Welp, I guess I have you and Molly all to myself until he does."

Ash looked at her and smiled, and the three of them went back to baking together. For now, that was enough.

—

{In Paldea}

When the Rising Volt Tacklers returned to Paldea, they headed straight to the League building. Because of what Briar had told them, they knew they needed to somehow get into the Great Crater of Paldea, maybe to find Entei.

And to do that, they had to request a meeting with the Top Champion of Paldea: Geeta.

When they arrived, it became clear they couldn’t lie or keep anything secret. No excuse would be good enough. They were greeted by Rika, who led them to the main chamber, Geeta was already waiting.

They explained everything they knew. About Lucius’s journey. About the six heroes. About Laqua. About the possible sighting of Entei.

And it was a good thing they told the truth, because Briar had already called ahead and explained the situation. If they had lied, things probably wouldn’t have gone well.

Still, the Great Crater was restricted. Geeta couldn’t just give them permission. After all, they were kids. They could go in, but without Terapagos, there wouldn’t be a point. And Terapagos didn’t want to leave Liko’s side, or more accurately, her bag.

Liko stepped forward, looking up at Geeta. She took a deep breath, "Please. This is really important to us. We need to go. Isn’t there a way we can prove ourselves?"

Geeta stayed silent for a moment.

Rika glanced between them, then took off her glasses and hung them from her shirt, "I know it’s hard for you, but I just don’t think tha—"

She was cut off.

"Okay. I think there is a way," Geeta said, cutting in with a faint smile.

"Wow, really?" Roy said excitedly. "What is it? What do we need to do?"

Geeta raised a finger, "Well, you see, this year’s Tera Test is about to begin. Since you all seem to be working hard, I think this could benefit you. You’ll participate in this year’s Tera Aptitude Test. If all three of you pass, then you’ll have a friendly match against one of our Gym Leaders. Then, a three-on-one match against me. If you win the majority, I’ll give you all permission to enter."

Roy’s jaw dropped, "A three-on-one with you!?"

Dot looked shocked too, "That sounds... fair," she said, trying to keep her voice steady.

Rika whistled, "You kids better not take that lightly. Geeta may look friendly, but she’s the Top Champion for a reason."

"Don’t scare them too much," Geeta said with a chuckle.

Liko looked down, "But I’m technically still enrolled at Indigo Academy... I can’t apply here at Naranja Academy to take the test..."

Geeta raised an eyebrow, "Well, what a coincidence. This year, we’re doing a collaboration with Indigo Academy for Tera training, so there will be no problem with that."

"I see..." Liko replied, She was still a little nervous about it, but this was for Terapagos. She took a breath and nodded.

"Alright then," Dot said, crossing her arms. "We’ll do it. We’ll pass your tests and earn our way into the crater."

Roy pumped his fist, "Yeah! Entei’s waiting, and we’re not gonna let him down! We’ll get even stronger than ever!"

Geeta nodded approvingly, "Very well. I’ll have Clavell make the arrangements. I wish you luck."

Friede looked at Liko, Roy, and Dot with a helpless smile, "Are you guys sure you’re up for this?"

Liko nodded slowly, "Yeah. This is something we need to do, for Terapagos."

Roy nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah! And next time we see Ash, we’ll show him just how strong we’ve become. Who knows, maybe next time we’ll win!"

Then they heard a scuffle outside the door. Everyone, even Geeta and Rika, looked over as Friede walked up and slowly opened it.

Standing there, nearly falling in, was Nemona. She had clearly been listening in.

Nemona caught herself just in time, brushing herself off with a sheepish grin, "Haha, oops! Guess I got a little too curious!"

Rika sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, "Nemona, were you eavesdropping again?"

"I prefer the term ’advanced scouting!’" Nemona beamed, She turned to the trio. "Hey there! I’m Nemona. And since you guys are gonna try, you know, all the Tera training stuff, you must be pretty strong. How about a quick battle?"

Roy immediately lit up, "I’m so down!"

Nemona looked excited as she reached for a Poké Ball on her waist, "Great, then let—" But she was cut off.

"Nemona," Geeta said simply, "now is not the time for a battle."

Nemona immediately deflated, "Oh... fine..."

She sighed, then looked at Liko, Roy, and Dot, "Okay, fine... I guess, would you like me to show you around the academy?"

"That would be great, if you don’t mind," Liko said, letting out a little sigh of relief.

Nemona nodded, "My pleasure. Let’s go."

She led the way, leaving the League building. As they walked out, she looked back one more time, "By the way... did one of you happen to say Ash?"

—

{Meanwhile}

In Vermilion City, Surge was alone as he finished the repairs on his boat. Ever since the Raikou incident, the boat had been destroyed, along with a few buildings.

It had taken a lot of time and resources, but everything that was damaged had finally been rebuilt. Still, it had been a hassle.

As for why he was alone, well, obviously, there had been more than just him working on the repairs. But since this was the final piece, he’d let everyone go home early. He wanted to finish the boat himself. It was special to him.

As Surge smoothed the final layer of wax across the hull, he smiled with pride. The boat looked as good as new. He let out a breath. At least now he wouldn’t be losing sleep over it during the upcoming Gym Leader Tournament.

He wasn’t sure how that was going to turn out. He was confident in his own strength, but because of everything that had happened, he hadn’t been able to train as much as usual. He’d have to get back into shape fast.

Just as he sighed and stretched his arms, he heard something, the crackle of electricity. And he recognized it immediately.

He spun around. Standing at the edge of the pier, with no one else around, was Raikou. Just... watching him.

Surge immediately tensed, "You again? What, you want round two?" he growled. "I’m more than happy to give it to you!"

Raikou didn’t move. It said nothing, just locked eyes with Surge.

Surge held still, his body bristling with adrenaline. His fists clenched. He was ready. But the Legendary Beast didn’t advance. Didn’t growl. It just stood there, tail flicking with static, like it was waiting.

"...What? You just gonna stare at me?" Surge muttered, frowning. "Last time, you nearly blew half the docks apart. Now you show up while I’m waxing my boat?"

The wind off the bay rolled in, brushing past them both. In the silence that followed, Surge’s expression slowly shifted. He wasn’t stupid. He’d seen enough battles, especially back during the war, to know when a Pokémon had come to fight.

And this time... it didn’t look like Raikou wanted to fight.

"...Wait," he said, straightening a little, still tense. "You’re not here to scrap."

Raikou finally moved. Just one step forward. Then, it lowered its head. Slightly.

Surge blinked. "You... are you serious right now?"

Raikou didn’t answer. But then, to Surge’s complete shock, it opened its mouth, and something clattered to the wooden dock.

A scorched Poké Ball.

Not just any Poké Ball. One of his. The same one that had been blown away during Raikou’s final explosion, the one that knocked out all of Surge’s Pokémon.

He had assumed it had been lost to the water or destroyed.

But Raikou had kept it.

Surge slowly knelt and picked it up, staring at it in disbelief.

Then, without a sound, Raikou stepped forward and raised a paw.

It pressed the button on the ball in Surge’s hand.

A beam of red light shot out.

Raikou went inside.

One roll.

Two rolls.

Three rolls.

Ding.

Raikou was caught.

Surge stayed frozen, staring at the Poké Ball in his hand.

He blinked. Then pinched his arm. Nope, he wasn’t dreaming.

He had caught Raikou.

Or rather... Raikou had let itself be caught.

Surge looked down at the Poké Ball, "...I understand," he said quietly. "Okay. For whatever reason, you chose me. I’ll help you finish your mission."

—

In Cinnabar Island, Blaine was walking in his lab while Entei sat in a corner, watching him intently, Yeah, Blaine still found it hard to believe that he had Entei, but he had bigger things to worry about, like the pain in his arm. He finally had a way to fix it.

In his lab, he had a new invention, something he’d made but never had a, let’s say, fuel source specialized enough for what he needed. But now that Entei was here, he had it.

Admittedly, the pain was getting even worse every day. He had to do this now. He looked at Entei, "Are you ready?"

Entei lazily stood up, stretched, then nodded as it walked over and sat in its spot.

Blaine took a deep breath, steadying himself. This was about to suck. He reached down and took off the bandages on his arm. For the first time in a while, he saw it again, completely disfigured and pulsing with pain, a side effect from when his DNA was mixed with Mewtwo’s.

Blaine put his hand into the machine. As he activated it, his arm was locked in place so he couldn’t pull it out.

He took one final breath, "Entei, use Sacred Fire!"

Entei opened its mouth and shot a stream of fire directly into the machine. The machine started directing it onto his arm, and Blaine was immediately hit with excruciating pain.

Even far, far away, Mewtwo was flying, thinking about life, when suddenly its arm was wracked with pain. It was so overwhelming that Mewtwo couldn’t focus on flying and ended up crashing to the ground in agony.

Back with Blaine, you might wonder why he was doing this. Well, it’s simple. Entei’s flame is known as a cleansing fire that chooses what it destroys. In this case, it was being directed at the Mewtwo DNA in his arm.

The machine began to rattle violently. Warning lights flared. Glass cracked. But Blaine held his hand firm within the gauntlet, his other hand gripping the side table so hard the metal bent under his fingers.

"Keep going!" he roared at Entei. "Don’t stop until it’s gone!"

Entei kept going. After all, it didn’t really care for Blaine as a person, more like a means to an end. So the fire grew even more intense.

Far away, Mewtwo was rolling on the ground, screaming into the forest. The pain was so bad that it even considered tearing its arm off. But before it could make that decision, suddenly, the pain stopped.

Not like it faded or went away, it was just gone. In fact, Mewtwo felt better than ever. It had never felt this good.

Because back in Cinnabar, it was complete. Blaine was on his knees from the pain, barely conscious, as his arm was finally released and he collapsed.

Entei watched him fall, then ignored him, walking back to its spot and sitting down again.

Blaine slowly pushed himself up. He looked down at his arm. It was burnt, sure, and it still hurt, but for a different reason. The messed-up DNA in his arm... it was gone. He was free.

Now, it was time to prepare for the Gym Leader Tournament.