Mystery of the Lighthouse

The gang were lost, again, in the woods on the way to Vermilion City. Somehow it proved to be very difficult to get there.

"We're lost aren't we?" Misty asked, clearly irritated that they haven't arrived in Vermilion City yet.

"I'm sure the road's around here somewhere." Brock replied cheerily.

"Man, you're so lucky, Ashlyn. All of your Pokémon chose to go with you." Misty said, trying to change the subject.

Ashlyn frowned at that, thinking about all her Pokémon. "Well, no. I did capture Pidgeot in the traditional way, but she was just a Pidgey then. Also my Magikarp and Nidoran couple. Caterpie I also caught, but they really wanted a trainer...Mm, well it doesn't really matter to me. I prefer my Pokémon choosing to come with me rather than me capturing them." she commented happily.

"Hm, don't real Pokémon trainers catch Pokémon on their own?" Misty asked.

Ashlyn only shrugged, "That depends on what you think a Pokémon trainer really is. Just because my main party mostly decided to follow me on their own doesn't mean I haven't caught other Pokémon." she said.

"That's true, Misty. You should know that Ashlyn has caught some other Pokémon that she's sent to Professor Oak. Ashlyn battled those on her own with one of her Pokémon." Brock backed her up.

Misty just sighed in envy. "Yeah...how are you so good when you've only recently started your Pokémon journey?" She asked.

Ashlyn just shrugged again. "I studied a lot and helped out Professor Oak at his lab and he taught me a lot about Pokémon." she responded.

The gang walked out of the forest and onto the beach.

"What a beautiful beach." Ashlyn commented as the sun began to set over the horizon. She was distracted from the view of the sunset when she noticed a very small Krabby scuttle between her legs. She leaned down until she was looking down between them and pulled out her phone.

[Krabby, the River Crab Pokémon. Living on sandy beaches in burrows it digs, Krabby can grow back its pincers if they break off in battle. Its average height is about 16 inches]

"Its kind of small isn't it?" Brock pointed out.

Krabby didn't seem to appreciate that so it walked up to Brock and fired a Bubble Beam in his face making the boy fall down on his back.

"(You okay, Brock)?" Lucario asked.

Brock sat up, "I'm good..." he groaned, "What was that for?" he said angrily.

Ashlyn approached Brock, "Its because you called Krabby small which made it mad."

Krabby snapped its claws letting the girl know that what she says is right.

"(No Pokémon wants to be insulted by their size or color, Brock)." Lucario advised.

"Oh, sorry then Krabby." Brock apologized.

Krabby merely snapped its claws then looked at Ashlyn as if asking for something. Not sure what the water type wanted she took out a Pokéball on instinct, "Do you want to be my Pokémon Krabby?"

It responded by tapping the Pokéball with its claw and was sucked in, "Guess that answers my question." Then she sent the Pokéball to Prof. Oak's lab.

Tesla pointed at something in the distance, "Rai! Raichu! (Hey look over there! It's a lighthouse)"

The gang turned to where Tesla was pointing at.

"It's a lighthouse! That's good maybe we can rest up there and I can make us some food." Brock said.

"I get to sleep in a nice bed! Let's go already!" Misty took off so fast she was nothing but a blur.

"Rai rai raichu (Wow, she must be really excited to sleep in a bed)." Tesla commented.

"Well, there are limits of when Misty wants to sleep in a real bed instead of a sleeping bag." Ashlyn stated.

"(That's very true)." Lucario added.

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By the time the group made it to the building it was already foggy and dark. Ashlyn sighed in relief when they finally reached the doors.

"That was farther than it looked." Ashlyn commented.

"This lighthouse looks weird." Brock commented.

The group stared at the door, Ashlyn was in awe at all the Pokémon carved on it, the first she noticed the carving of an Arcanine.

"Guess we better ring the bell." Misty said.

"I got it." Ashlyn replied when no one stepped up, pressing the red button on what looked like the intercom. The doorbell sounded off a chilling church like melody of gonging bells which spooked the group out.

"Who's there?" A voice over the intercom asked.

"Please excuse us sir," Ashlyn said, "We're travelers and we're lost. So is it all right to rest here for the night?"

"And I'm wondering if I could use your kitchen to make bacon double cheeseburgers for our group and I'd be more than happy to make something for you." Brock added.

"That's great. Can you cook without using tofu?" The man on the intercom asked.

"Oh, sure I can cook lots of things without using any tofu." Brock replied.

"That's great. I've been eating tofu since my cook went on vacation. Come on in!" He invited, the large doors opening with a deep creaking sound to reveal a dark high ceiling hallway.

"Would you mind if I borrowed your phone?" Ashlyn asked, her question echoed.

"There's a phone right near you," the voice replied, still sounding as if it was coming over an intercom. The group looked to their left to see a phone in the shape of a Bellsprout with a screen next to it.

"Hey, it's a video phone, that's cool." Misty said.

"Rai Raichu (But it's in the shape of a Bellsprout)." Tesla commented.

"I'll just call Professor Oak now. I've been meaning to talk to him about how my Pokémon are doing." Ashlyn said as she walked over. Then she dialed and Prof. Oak appeared on the screen and he was cooking something.

"Well hi, Ashlyn! You caught me cooking dinner! My cook is on vacation and I've got to fend for myself until she returns." he explained.

"I'm just calling to see how my Pokémon are doing." Ashlyn said.

"Your Pokémon are doing great," Prof Oak assured her, "Boltund is doing a fine job in welcoming them and helping them train with the other Pokémon. The others make sure to follow his example."

"Oh good. That's a relief. By the way, did you get Krabby yet?" Ashlyn asked.

"Yes I did," Prof Oak replied, "It's smaller than Gary's Krabby though." He showed Ashlyn her Krabby and Gary's Krabby.

Ashlyn sighed, "Of course Gary caught a Krabby as well." she muttered.

"Anyway Gary has caught 45 Pokémon." Prof. Oak changed the subject, somewhat.

"Oh I see." Ashlyn said, calmly.

"By the way, Ashlyn. Just where are you calling me from anyways?" Prof. Oak asked.

"We're at a lighthouse on a high cliff." Ashlyn explained.

"Oh, that must be Bill's lighthouse! He's a young Pokémon researcher who knows even more than me! See what you can learn from him. He can teach you just about everything about Pokémon and then some." Prof. Oak suggested.

"This is Bill, Professor Oak. Good to hear from you." Bill's voice sounded over the intercom.

"Hello Bill!" Prof. Oak greeted. "Please give my friends here a crash course in Pokémon," Oak asked. "Uh-oh! Tofu's done." he said as he picked the tofu out and blew on it before the screen blacked out.

"I'm starting to wonder why Prof. Oak is always eating whenever I call him." Ashlyn pondered.

"(I'm starting to wonder too)." Lucario agreed.

Suddenly Ashlyn heard some yipping from a cardboard box next to a table. She walked over to the box, and to her great surprise she found six Eevee's in the cardboard box. Two of them were shiny! She took out her phone.

[Eevee, the Evolution Pokémon. A Normal Type. Eevee is rarely seen, and can adapt to severe habitats by evolving, changing its capabilities and form.

Note: This different coloration indicates that this Pokémon is a shiny Pokémon.]

She smiled as she held her hand out to them and one sniffed her hand and pressed her cheek against her palm. Ashlyn gently petted the Eevee and scratched the chin of another one. They cooed, liking the attention.

"That's amazing," The male voice said, "Those Eevees are normally shy."

Suddenly all the lights turned on. "I am Bill of the lighthouse," he introduced himself, turning the group's attention to a large Kabuto at the top of the stairs rubbing its first two claws together.

"It can't be! That's a Kabuto! An extinct Pokémon!" Brock called out. "I wonder what it's doing here."

"(That's not a Kabuto. It's a human)." Lucario corrected.

The Kabuto was waving its tentacles. "That's right, I'm not a Kabuto," it said. "I'm Bill, the Pokémon researcher."

"...Is there a reason you...look like that?" Ashlyn asked delicately.

"This is a costume. I'm stuck inside it!" He explained.

"...do you need help getting out?" Ashlyn offered.

"Y-yes!" He said in relief. "Step up here."

Ashlyn jogged up quickly. "Just tell me what to do." she said.

"Push that button," he pointed with a claw. "I tried to press it before, but these claws are too short." Bill explained.

Ashlyn pushed the small blue button and stepped away when it started to beep and pulse with light. The claws popped off first, then the black face and last the shell to reveal a young, dapper man with seaweed green hair. Ashlyn knew that this was Bill.

"Thanks for helping me get out. I've been stuck in that costume for hours." Bill said gratefully.

"Did you just come back from a costume party?" Misty asked.

"Eh...oh, no, this is a special costume I use for my research," Bill explained, "Getting inside its skin helps me get inside its head."

"I see, you're trying to understand how an extinct Pokémon lived by wearing that costume." Ashlyn commented.

"That's right. There are many kinds of extinct Pokémon and putting on a costume is one way of figuring out what they were like." Bill informed.

"You can understand what a Pokémon was like from just putting on a costume?" Misty asked.

"Yes indeed, or I'm beginning to." Bill replied.

"By the way, are those six Eevee's yours?" Ashlyn asked.

"No, not really," Bill shook his head sadly, "The truth is I found these Eevee's in a box one stormy night. So I'm really looking for someone who would care for both those Eevee's."

Ashlyn felt sorry for the Eevee's. To be left abandoned and alone. Somehow she keeps meeting Pokémon who are abandoned by their trainers. She couldn't believe that their trainers would just easily give up on them or are too lazy to help raise them. Just what is it with most trainers these days?

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After Brock made a meal of bacon-double cheeseburgers for everyone, Bill showed them to a room, which had pictures of lots of Pokémon. "This world was created 4.6 billion years ago. During that time, all kinds of Pokémon existed. They had many ways of living."

"All kinds of Pokémon...how many?" Misty asked.

"On this planet there are more than 150 known species of Pokémon." Bill replied.

"Wow, that many?" Brock gasped.

"I have also discovered that these Pokémon are not the only Pokémon in this world." Bill stated.

"Are you talking about the Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola, and Galar regions?" Ashlyn questioned.

"You've heard about these regions, Ashlyn?" Bill asked.

"I actually plan to visit one of them when I finish the Indigo League." Ashlyn replied.

"Yeah me too," Misty added, "I'd like to catch some water Pokémon from those regions."

"Travelling around different regions might help me of becoming a Pokémon doctor." Brock stated.

"You're lucky to be a Pokémon trainer. Your goal is to catch all these kinds of Pokémon. That's a great task," Bill said enviously. "No one knows how many there are exactly. The search goes on. There's always something new to look for in our lives and in ourselves."

"Something to look for?" Misty repeated.

"Yes, there's a lot for us to look for, inside and outside ourselves," he trot down the steps. "There's meaning for every creature, a meaning for all the Pokémon and meaning for all us humans too." Bill enthused, his arms raised as he walked down the hall, the projections of the Kanto Pokémon on the walls.

"A meaning for all..." Ashlyn murmured as she looked at the Kanto region Pokémon on the walls.

Suddenly, a noise was heard from her backpack.

"My egg!" Ashlyn yelled and quickly took off her bag and took the egg out of the incubator and held the egg in her lap. The egg began to glow brighter and brighter that Ashlyn used her arm to cover her eyes. When the light died down, Ashlyn was shocked at what Pokémon had hatched from the egg: A Shiny Suicune!

Ashlyn quickly took out her phone.

[Suicune, the Aurora Pokémon. It travels the world and purifies water wherever it goes, sailing on the north wind.

Note: This different coloration indicates that this Pokémon is a shiny Pokémon.]

"Hey Suicune. I'm your trainer." Ashlyn said as she eternally cooed at the baby Suicune in her arms.

The Shiny Suicune looked up at her and smiled at her. Then she nuzzled her cheek against Ashlyn's.

The others smiled at the infant Pokémon.

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Soon after Suicune, which she named Azure, was introduced to all of the Pokémon, Ashlyn put her in a Pokéball for now. Bill had told them that he had something to show them and led them to the top of the light house.

"Keep looking for new Pokémon to catch. It's something that's very important for Pokémon research. It's as vital to me as it is to you." Bill turned back to the gang. "Right now, though, there's only one Pokémon I'm searching for."

"What kind of Pokémon?" Misty asked.

"It's probably the biggest Pokémon ever, bigger than all of the rest, and no one's ever seen it," Bill said as they looked to the ocean, covered in darkness and mist, only occasionally lit by the spinning lighthouse light. "It's been wandering the world for a thousand years, looking for friends."

"But doesn't that Pokémon have any friends or family?" Misty asked.

"The Pokémon wanders because it's alone. It's the only Pokémon of its species, one of a kind," Bill replied. "One night I heard this very strange sound coming across the ocean." He took out a remote from his pocket and pressed a button. Suddenly, the strange sound he seemed to have been talking about started playing. "I want...I want to meet you, that's what it said to me."

Tesla and Lucario gave him a strange look.

"Some time ago, I recorded a similar sound and played it from the lighthouse towards the ocean...'Let's be friends. I want to meet you.'... One day, I heard the same voice calling back to me from over the ocean. 'I want to meet you, too. I want to be friends.' It was answering me back... Some foggy night, that Pokémon might come here to meet a friend it's been seeking for a very long time." He smiled suddenly. "I would be so happy to meet that Pokémon!"

"Are you going to try to capture that Pokémon?" Misty asked.

"Why would I need to capture it?" Bill asked in return, turning to them. "Meeting it would be enough for me. Just a chance to study it would make my long wait worthwhile." he seemed ready to speak more until they heard an explosion.

"WE'RE BLASTING OFF AGAIN!"

Everyone turned towards the voices and saw something fly across the sky and soon disappeared.

"Something tells me that that was Team Rocket." Ashlyn guessed.

"(And they must have angered a Pokémon nearby which caused them to get blasted off)." Lucario added.

Suddenly they all heard a resounding sound come from the foggy ocean, making them all return to watching the sea.

There, seeming to stand on the water was silhouetted what Ashlyn easily identified as a Dragonite, certainly not the only of its kind like Bill seemed to think, but definitely the largest of its species, as large and tall as the cliff and the lighthouse it was holding. That Dragonite was Godzilla sized and might well be the only known Dragonite to have ever grown so big.

"The signal!" Bill gasped as the others watched the large Pokémon wading towards them ever so slowly in shock and awe. The sound Bill had recorded played in the background as the lighthouse light, for some reason, began to flash in different colors.

"It sounds like it's singing." Misty said softly, closing her eyes, her hands clasped together as she enjoyed the soft melody.

"Would you care to dance?" Brock asked, bowing to Misty like an old time gentleman.

Misty turned to him, a little surprised, before smiling at his offer and curtsying in return. "Oh, thank you."

Bill, Ashlyn, and Lucario were still glued to the railing, watching the Pokémon in awe as Tesla swayed cutely to the music. Dragonite walked until it finally reached the lighthouse. The Pokémon was so big and tall it reached from both the sea floor to the top of the lighthouse. Ashlyn took out her phone.

[Dragonite, the dragon Pokémon. This extremely rare and highly intelligent type is able to fly faster than any known Pokémon.]

The Dragonite showed its self to the group and lowered its head to Bill.

"I see so you are a Dragonite," Bill said to Dragonite, rubbing its head, "let's be friends forever."

Dragonite roared in happiness. Ashlyn, Tesla, Lucario, Misty and Brock were happy for Bill to finally meet the giant Pokémon.

Ashlyn was glad that Bill finally got to meet Dragonite. It was a good thing that she sent out Lucario to make sure that Team Rocket was sent far away from them when Bill would meet Dragonite. Bill deserved to have a friend while he lived up here in the lighthouse.

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It was the next morning, Bill and Dragonite were saying their goodbyes to the gang.

"I cannot thank you three enough for being here with me last night, when I finally met Dragonite." Bill thanked the gang.

"I just hope your friendship with Dragonite will last forever." Ashlyn smiled.

"If you're looking for Vermilion City, it's not far from here," Bill said, "Oh and Ashlyn I have something to ask you." He handed Ashlyn six pokéballs. "These pokéballs contain the six Eevee's, I've decided to give them to you."

"Me?" Ashlyn asked in surprise.

"Yes," Bill nodded, "After seeing the Eevee's bond with you very quickly and for seeing your passion about Pokémon last night, I decided you're perfect for them."

"Wow thank you Bill," Ashlyn smiled, "I promise you to take good care of them."

"I know you will." Bill smiled back.

After the six Eevee's were sent to Prof. Oak's, the gang had set off to Vermilion City.

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Pokémon on hand: Raichu (Tesla)(F), Lucario (M), Rockruff (M), Pidgeot (F), Clefable (F), Sandshrew (M), Shiny Suicune (Azure)(F), Bulbasaur (M), Shiny Charmander (Natsu)(M), Squirtle (M)

Prof. Oak's Lab:

Boltund (M), Shiny Gyarados (Rory)(M), Scyther (F), Nidoran (M), Nidoran (F), Butterfree (M), Mienfoo (F), Glaceon (F), Leafon (F), Shiny Rapidash (Comet)(M), Scorbunny (M), Gengar (M), Fennekin (F), Krabby (M), Eevee (F), Eevee (M), Eevee (F), Eevee (F), Shiny Eevee (M), Shiny Eevee (F)