Pokemon Fan Fiction / Pokemon Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Kanto Sentai Pokéranger ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

Kanto Sentai Pokéranger

(a.k.a. Power Rangers: Pocket Monsters)

Usual disclaimers apply.  These characters do no belong to me.

"You disappoint me, Melkid," a low, but eerie voice uttered.

"I apologize, my lord," Melkid said, kneeling before his master, "but you have to understand…" His blue face spun to the front.  "Those Power Rangers came out of nowhere, sir!  We had no idea they were going to show up!"  The red face took point.  "You told us that we wouldn't have anything to worry about!  I'm pretty sure this new team of Rangers is indeed 'something to worry about'!"

"Enough!" the voice said again.  Melkid's head slowly craned upward, looking over the form of his master.  The being had a head like a Marowak, with piercing eyes and a mouth that was barely visible under the wide jutting skull.  His clothes made him look like an occult priest, and were dark brown and covered in segmenting that resembled bone.

Lord Pandion looked down at his subordinate with a mix of disgust and concern.  True, he failed to warn the loyal Melkid about the Power Rangers, but then again, he didn't believe them to be a problem.  While his soul and the souls of his other underlings were released when the Pokécrystals were discovered, he didn't count on the powers being awakened within the new Rangers.  Perhaps he was a bit at fault for Melkid's defeat.

But he wasn't about to tell him.  Yet.

"I was not counting on you having any resistance, Melkid," Pandion said.  "This complicates things."

Melkid's white face spun forward.  "Is this going to interfere with your plans to conquer the world?" he asked.

"Very much so.  I can't offer up this miserable little rock as a sacrifice until those miserable Power Rangers are out of my way.  Once they are defeated, they will be the first to be offered to the Elder Gods."

"And once they are destroyed, none of the armies of man will stand against you, Lord Pandion."

"Precisely.  And with any luck, I will have gained control of the Pokécrystals, giving me an infinite source of power.  I will own this world yet!"

* * * * *

Ash arrived back at his house a few minutes later, once Degenhart dismissed them.  With the initial threat of Melkid and the Fossiloids subdued, there was nothing left for them to do.  It didn't make sense for them to hang around the new command center if there were no threats to take care of, so they each went off to do their own thing for a while.  He kicked his shoes off and flopped onto the couch.  Pikachu sat in his lap, staring up at his master.

"Guess you were worried about me out there, weren't you, Pikachu?" he asked, scratching behind the mouse Pokémon's ears.

"Pika," {"A little,"} he answered.

"Well, I'm alright, just a little tired.  I can trust you with my little secret, right?"

"Pika, pika!" {You can count on me!"}

"Ash?  Honey?"

Ash snapped straight upright and nearly knocked Pikachu off his lap.  This he was not expecting.  Did his mother hear what he was saying to Pikachu?  Was she going to come out here and start asking eleventy billion questions about what his "secret" was?  For everyone's sake, she better not!  He just got these powers!  He only had one victory under his belt as a Ranger, and now he would be forced to tell all and probably lose protection of The Power!  This was not good at all!

"Mom?" he forced himself to ask.  Had she found out?

She appeared in the doorway to the kitchen, a worried look on her face.  Her eyes met her son's for a second before she dashed towards him and snared him in a tight hug.  "Oh my god, I'm so glad you're alright!"

"M-mom…" Ash grunted, "…can't breathe…let…go…"

"You really scared me out there, Ash!" she stated.  "What were you thinking, taking on…whatever that thing was?  And what happened to it, anyway?"

"Mom, don't worry, we're alright," he explained.  "We lured him out to the vacant lot by Route 1 and used our Pokémon to scare him off.  Right, Pikachu?"

"Pika, pika chu!" {"We laid some serious smack down!"} Pikachu said, smiling.

"Well…I'm glad you came home in one piece, son," Mrs. Ketchum breathed.  She hugged her son again.  "My little boy…"

"Mom," Ash protested, "I'm not a little kid; you know I can take care of myself."

"I know.  But that doesn't stop me from worrying, you know."  She sat back on the couch, looking up at the ceiling.  Pikachu crawled out of Ash's lap and sat on Mrs. Ketchum's.  Pikachu didn't like lying to the nice lady (even if she couldn't understand what he was saying), but he knew it was vital if Ash was going to continue being the White Ranger.

Suddenly she snapped up to her feet.  Pikachu went sailing out of her lap and onto the floor.  "Hey, I've got it!"

"Pi ka…" {"Please don't do that,"} Pikachu groaned.

"You need new clothes, son," she explained.  "So you know what we're gonna do?  You and I are heading out to the Viridian mall and get you some new outfits.  I'll buy you whatever you want; think of it as a little reward for protecting mommy, alright?"

"Um, sure."  His mom didn't wait for a real response, as she joyously grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the house.  "Hey!"

* * * * *

Of course, "whatever you want" soon translated into "whatever you pick out that I don't hate".

Ash and his mother returned form the mall several hours later with several bags full of new pants and shirts.  Among the purchases were several pairs of jeans, a few new khakis, and about a half a dozen shirts.  Of course, the only ones Mrs. Ketchum really liked were all the same color…

White.

Ash thought this was some sort of joke.  Sure, the shirts had different designs on them, but they were all the same bright white color.  Even the football jersey he picked out was white.  Even the new hat Ash's mom insisted he get was white.  And it even had a white Pokéball sigil embroidered on it!  It was weird beyond weird.  Ash was sure his mom didn't have a clue he was Pokéranger White, and that every last stitch of clothing could be chalked up to complete and total coincidence.  Hell, he could've told her himself and she would've been like, "Poke-a-what?"

Ash settled in his room, his new clothes put on hangers with the tags all removed.  He had even changed into the new football jersey and a pair of baggy blue jeans.  The hat, he discovered, was fitted and sat very comfortably on his head.  He smiled at his reflection.  He liked the new clothes his mom brought for him (despite having little say in what, in the end) despite the huge cosmic coincidence that most of them were white.

A flash of pink light flared up in the corner of his room, resembling a lens flare.  He gasped in shock when the light hit and Max - of all people - was standing in its place.

"What the-Max?" Ash asked.  "Where did you come from?  And how did you get in here?"

Max smiled a big toothy grin, and flashed a pink version of the communicator he gave the other Rangers.

"…Pink?"

"Sure," Max answered.  "I'd use red, but that's May's color.  And pink is a shade of red, right?"

"It doesn't bother you that you, a twelve-year-old boy, are going around flashing what looks like a pink compact?"

"Hey, it's not a compact!  And besides…pink if for pimps.  Everyone knows that."

"…Let me guess…Brock told you that?"

"Yep!"  He adjusted his glasses.  "Anyway, I've got something to tell you.  I would've called you on the communicator, but I wanted to test this one out.  Degenhart wants you over at the lab as soon as you can.  He's got a favor to ask of you and the other Rangers."

"Right, I'll be right there."

Max flashed his communicator again.  "Race ya!"  And the boy disappeared in a pink lens flare of light.

Ash stared at the spot where Max had disappeared for a few moments.  Apparently they were expecting him to teleport over to the lab just as he just did.  He looked outside his window.  It's too nice a day, Ash decided.  He fixed his new hat and walked out the door, Pikachu accompanying him on his shoulder.

"I'm heading over to the lab, mom," Ash said as he slipped on his shoes.

"Okay," she called back, "I'll call you when dinner's ready."  And with that, Ash left the house.

He took his time on the walk to Professor Oak's lab, enjoying the warm, sunny day in his hometown of Pallet.  The sleepy little burg had a population that was only in triple digits, but that only added to the appeal, in his eyes.  He was proud to be from this town, and nothing could take that from him.  He walked a little faster, but not much.  If he didn't have to teleport, he wasn't about to.

Beep, beep, bee-beep beep, beep!  A strange beeping hit his and Pikachu's ears.  Ash froze in the middle of the street, thinking of what could've made that sound.  He thought for a moment…he didn't have a cell phone, or a pager, and his Pokédex didn't beep like that if he paid it…

Pokédex…of course!  His new "Pokédex"!

Ash reached into his back pocket and pulled out his new Ranger communicator.  It beeped again, the six-note beeping that would be known as the Ranger klaxon.  He flicked it open, and Max's face appeared on the screen.

"Ash!" Max moaned.  "What's taking you so long?  You forget how to work that thing?"

"No, I know how to, Max," Ash argued, "I just didn't feel like using it, is all.  It's too nice a day."

"Well, we're all waiting on you!"  The signal cut off, and the screen went blank.  Ash sighed, rolled his eyes, and pressed the teleport button on his communicator.  In a flash of white light, he disappeared.

* * * * *

Ash reappeared right outside the back door to the lab.  Max must've seen the flash of light, as he was the first to go outside and get him.  "It's about time," he chided.  "I don't know what kind of leader you're trying to be, Ash."

"Come on, Max," Ash said, "I've walked to this lab from home more times than I can imagine.  It's just a habit, that's all."

"Well, come on in, we've got work to do."  Ash shrugged, and followed the boy genius into the lab.  As expected, Brock, Misty, May and Tracey were there, waiting for him, as was Degenhart.

"So what is it you guys needed me to…" Ash got a disbelieving, what-the-fuck look on his face when he laid eyes upon his fellow Rangers.  They didn't return the look, though; rather, they were looking at him like nothing was wrong.  But then he saw what his friends were wearing.

May was nothing too out of the ordinary, for even though she was the Red Ranger, red seemed to be the only color of clothing she had; the only main difference were the red-framed sunglasses half-hanging off her nose.  The others, however, were another story.  Misty was wearing a pair of denim booty shorts he always remembered seeing her in - which she did a excellent job of filling out - but now she was wearing blue shoes, blue (appropriately placed) suspenders and a white halter top.  Tracey had on a yellow Hawaiian shirt with a yellow sleeveless shirt underneath, cargo shorts and brown sandals.  His hair was now done up in dreadlocks with two beads - one pink and one yellow - on the end.  His new hairstyle was drawn back with a yellow bandanna.  Brock's new look was the most drastic, as all but a few items he wore were now green.  Green hoodie with a silver Boulder Badge design embroidered on the front, green sweatpants, green baseball cap tilted to the side with a white wave cap underneath, and brown Timberland boots.  He really did have the look of a "thug" about him.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me…" Ash groaned.

Degenhart chuckled at the sight.  Ash's face was absolutely priceless.  "Is something the matter, White Ranger?" he asked.

"Yeah, something's the matter!" he shouted.  "What's all this?"  He continued anyway, not waiting for an answer.  "I wasn't serious when I suggested all our outfits be color-coordinated, you know!"

"Yeah, we know," Brock answered, "but that didn't stop us."

Misty walked up to her boyfriend.  "Don't you like it, Ash?" she asked.  She spun slowly as she got near him, and he looked her over.  The outfit made her look older, and more attractive.  Good thing the others knew they were an item.  His eyes were drawn down to her hips, especially her backside, where Ash could've sworn he saw part of her underwear peeking out the side.  All he saw were two hints of spaghetti-thin straps, which was a pretty good indication of what she was wearing underneath.

"No-no, it looks good, Misty," he explained.  She smiled sweetly at the compliment.

"If we could, Rangers," Degenhart said, "I would like to get down to business."

Ash walked past Misty and over to the others.  The other Rangers seemed to fall in place behind him.  "What's up, Degenhart?" he asked. 

"As you know, I've been sharing the body of your Professor Oak for some time now," he explained.  "With your help, I would like to remove myself from his body and into one of my own."

"Um…how, exactly?" Tracey asked.

"By joining the powers of your Pokécrystals, you will be able to remove my soul from the good Professor for good.  He will not have to worry about his body being taken over for any reason."

"We kind of figured that out already," Brock added, "but where will your soul go?  Without another body to transfer you to, you'll just float around aimlessly."

"And I doubt rumors of Professor Oak's laboratory being haunted are something he wants to deal with," May said.

"Your worries are understandable, but unnecessary," the spirit said.  "I have everything under control.  Once your powers meld with mine for this experiment, I will manifest a form suitable for my needs.  It will be as though I have always existed as a being of flesh and blood."

"And this won't hurt the professor?" Ash asked.

"It will give him some discomfort, but only for a while.  Now then, Rangers, present your Pokécrystals."

Ash was the first to comply, unsnapping his Pokémorpher and holding it out straight in front of him.  It snapped open, the jewel inside giving off a piercing white light.  The others followed suit, and in a short time the room was aglow with unearthly white, blue, green, red and yellow lights.  Once their powers were ready to be borrowed from, Degenhart chanted a spell.  When the spell was completed, the body of Professor began to shift.  It looked like it was on a TV screen with a scrambled reception.  After a few moments of this, Professor Oak began to split down the middle, like he was being ripped apart.  The voices of both Degenhart and Professor Oak wailed in agony as the two separated.  In a flash of light, the five Pokécrystals' lights went out and two bodies fell to the floor.  Professor Oak's body fell to the right, while Degenhart's new body fell to the left.

"Professor!" the teens shouted.  Professor Oak slowly got himself to his feet, while Degenhart used a table to pull himself up.

"Degenhart?" Max asked.  The man standing before the others had a gentle face, with long, narrow eyes and straight, gray hair going straight back.  He was a tall as the Professor and roughly the same size, though a little bit bigger.  He was dressed in all black, like a priest.  He wore a chain around his neck with a gold Pokéball sigil hanging from it.

"Indeed," he said.  His voice was the same.  "It is I, Degenhart."

Professor Oak looked more than a little irritated.  "So!  It was you who possessed me and commandeered control of my-wow, is that you?"

"It is, Samuel," he said.  "I deeply apologize for my actions, but they were necessary to guide the Rangers in their first step."

"I can understand, I guess…but are you really going to use my lab as your headquarters?"

"I believe we can make some sort of compromise.  Provided you give us enough space to construct a proper command center, this lad and I…" he motioned to Max, "…will take care of everything.  But I will be indebted to you for using your body for a time."

Professor Oak thought for a while.  Then, he got an idea.  "Well, I could use another set of hands here at my laboratory.  If you were to assist me in my research, I'll provide you and your Rangers with the space you need."

"Done," Degenhart said with a smile.  "I am very much interested in what you are studying Professor."

The professor raised an eyebrow.  "How much do you know of it?"

"Just what you know, nothing more, nothing less.  Remember, your mind was an open book to me while I was joined with you."

"I see."  Professor looked at the five teens in their color-coordinated outfits.  "So Ash, you're the leader of this team, correct?"

"That's right," Ash answered.

"I expected nothing less.  I believe you'll make a great leader.  And hey, you've saved the world before, right?  This'll be a piece of cake for you, dear boy!"

"Aw…Professor…"

"Rangers!" Degenhart shouted.  Everyone looked at him, startled.  He looked like he was in a trance.  When he didn't answer right away, they started to get worried.  "Trouble!  In Viridian City…" He waved his hand, and suddenly, Professor Oak, Max, and all the Rangers got a vision of a monster attacking the people.  It looked like a giant, mutant thermometer, and as its red mercury reading went up or down, it attacked either with searing fire or a chilly, sub-zero wind.

The vision ended, and the Rangers looked around, making sure they were still in the lab.  They needed to come up with a better way of doing that.  Those visions were giving some of the Rangers a headache.  "What was that?" Brock asked.

"It name is Tempo," Degenhart explained.  "Tempo is a fiend created by Pandion.  It has the power to change the temperature of the entire city if it needed to, turning it into a frozen wasteland or a roaring inferno.  You must get to Viridian City and stop this menace."

"Of course, the whole city will be burned or frozen if Ash decides to walk again!" Max blurted out.  Ash growled at him.

"Go now, Power Rangers.  And may The Power protect you!"

"You can count on us," Ash said.  He looked over his shoulders.  Everyone else was in place, awaiting the command to morph.  They grabbed their Pokémorphers.  They went through the motions.  And finally, they shouted the "magic words".

"POKÉRANGER!  GO!"

* * * * *

Once the morphing sequence ended, the Rangers were immediately spirited away to downtown Viridian.  It wasn't a very pleasant site.  Parts of the city were so frozen over it was difficult for them to stand up.  Once they regained their footing, they moved forward.  A sudden shift in temperature indicated they were close.

"Look!  In that parking lot!" Pokéranger Green shouted.

The parking lot attendant fled for his life - and promptly slipped on some ice, landing flat on his face - as the demon known as Tempo stormed into his parking lot and started melting cars.  Soon a river of molten steel flowed, melting and destroying everything it touched.

"That's enough out of you!" Ash shouted.

"Oro?" Tempo squeaked.  It turned to the source of the bold, intrusive voice.  "Ah, look!  It's the Power Rangers!" it shouted.  Its voice was high and warbled.  "Pandion will be so pleased once I've destroyed you all!"

"That is not gonna happen!  We're here to stop you!"

"What's the point?  How can you stop me if you can't stop them?"  Tempo pointed behind them, and a squad of eight Fossiloids surrounded them.

"Great, not more Fossiloids," Misty groaned.  The Rangers took defensive stances, waiting for them to strike.

"What are you waiting for you fools?  Get them!" Tempo shouted.

"You guys take care of these creeps," Pokéranger White directed, "I'll take care of this pain in the ass."

"Right!" the others shouted.  As the battle began, Tempo let loose a chilly blast that left everything within a yard of the parking lot frozen over.  The chilly blast also stopped the molten mass of metal, giving them a non-lethal, yet uneven, surface to fight on.

"Come and get me, White Ranger!" Tempo taunted.

Ash summoned his Pokétana.  "You want a fight?  You got it!" he shouted.

The Fossiloids, the other Rangers realized, were there mostly to stall for time.  In their morphed forms, Brock, Tracey, Misty and May had little trouble fighting them off.  Brock's natural strength was amplified by the Green Ranger's powers, and he started to enjoy slamming Fossiloids into walls and the pavement like ordinary jobbers.  In fact, when he grabbed one by the ankle, spun and flung him against the wall of a deli, he couldn't help but laugh at the indentation its body made.

The cold didn't bother the Rangers that much, as when they're in their uniforms, their tolerance towards head and cold were amplified.  If Tracey wasn't morphed into Pokéranger Yellow, the cold would've been too much for him.  Being from the Orange Islands, the only time he saw snow was when it snowed during the winter at Pallet Town.  He was feeling it a little but, but it didn't hinder him that much.  He had no trouble using his Capoeira moves to take down Fossiloid after Fossiloid.  And even though they weren't necessary, he summoned his PokéKamas to finish the job.  Bobbing merrily from opponent to opponent, Tracey added playful flourishes to each slash with a kama.

May didn't bother with her weapon, as she assumed it would be too cumbersome to get in a clean slash with her PokéScythe.  Instead she took delight in flipping, jumping and occasionally cartwheeling her way around the squadron of Fossiloids.  A diving butterfly kick here, a hammer fist here, an occasional somersault kick…May was adapting nicely to her new powers.

Misty used her PokéSpear often, but only because she wouldn't allow one of these soulless demons the privilege of being within arm's reach of her.  That and the slashes from her weapon tore nice chunks out of the Fossiloids when the got too close.  She had the honor, it would seem, of finishing off the final Fossiloid, as an upward slash with her spear caused it to crumble into dust before the spear was fully extended.

Ash fought evenly with Tempo, but didn't rush into the battle with his sword swinging like last time.  He had to endure sudden shifts of temperature, which were really starting to screw with the White Ranger.  The constant and very drastic shifts in temperature started to make Ash shake under his suit.

At one point, his sword clashed with Tempo's weapon, a staff that was half red and half blue, and looked like a long thermometer.  The two weapons collided with a loud clank, with both Ranger and demon vying for domination.  Slowly, Ash began to gain the advantage.

"Sorry to disappoint you, White Ranger," Tempo cackled, "but I'm just too hot to handle!"  The red section - the one that was pressing against his Pokétana - began to glow a bright red.  As it did, it began to grow hot.  Very hot.  So hot that the heat transferred through the White Ranger's weapon and make it extremely hot…it almost burned a hole in his glove!  Ash wailed in pain as the sword dropped from his hand, the glove smoking and leaving a black imprint on the palm.  He clutched his wounded hand and gritted his teeth.

"And too cold to hold!" This time, the blue side of the staff flared up until it gave off a pale blue glow.  He slashed downward, and a blue-white wave of energy flew Ash's way.  Within seconds, Ash was encased in a block of ice.  Tempo cackled wildly.

Misty saw Ash get frozen, and forgot about the Fossiloid she was battling.  "Ash!" she shouted.  She got kicked in the stomach by it, and she answered with a slash from her PokéSpear.  It disintegrated into dust.  She arrived first at her frozen leader and boyfriend, with the other three Rangers hot on her heels.

"He's frozen solid!" Brock shouted.

"How do we get him out?" Tracey asked.

"Like this!"  Brock didn't think twice as he readied his PokéHammer.  His intention was obvious-smash Ash out of that ice the hard way.

"Uh, uh, uh!" Tempo taunted, shaking his finger.  "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Green Ranger."

"And why not?" Brock shouted, clenching his free fist.

"If you tried using force, the ice wouldn't be the only thing that gets shattered!"  It laughed heartily as the others fell silent.

"We have to find out how we're gonna get him out of here," May said.  "We should try melting this ice somehow!"

"You should try melting yourselves!" Tempo fire a torrent of fire at the other four Rangers.  They grunted and covered their upper bodies with their arms.  The heat was intense, immobilizing.  The heat also transferred to their weapons, and the metal sections began to glow bright red from the exposure.

Brock casually hefted his PokéHammer to the side, not noticing it touch Ash's frozen form.  "You won't beat us that easily!" he shouted.  "Huh?"

A loud hissing caught his ears.  He looked for the source of the noise and again saw Ash, only with his hammer touching the frozen White Ranger.  The red glow faded, but some of the ice melted.

His mind started working in high gear.  "I got it," he explained, "you guys thaw Ash out; I'll take care of Tempo!"  The others pressed the metal parts of their weapons into the Ash popsicle, the heat melting the top half of Ash's body.  As he thawed out, he regained control of his head, chest, and eventually his arms.

Brock, meanwhile, focused his strength into his hammer and slammed it hard against the ground, causing the ground to split open and a green shockwave to travel right at Tempo.  The force of the impact knocked his light, nubile form into the air and onto his back.

"Ash, are you alright?" Misty asked as he struggled out of the ice.

"I'm fine," he said.  Brock came over and struck the ice around his legs - not full force - freeing Ash completely.  "Thanks, you guys.  Now we can finish this as a team!"

* * * * *

Meanwhile, in his underground cavern in a distant, salt marsh, Pandion watched the battle with interest.  It looked promising at first, when Pokéranger White was frozen in ice, but once those other Rangers stalled Tempo and freed their leader.

"Bah," Pandion grumbled.  "This is going to get worse before it gets better…for the Power Rangers…" He laughed, a low chuckle that gradually grew in volume.  "Ready the Amber Prison!"

* * * * *

As Tempo rose to his feet, orange energy swirled around him and formed a hard, amber shell.  The Rangers looked with rapt interest as the amber grew overtop of itself, layer upon layer, at a very rapid pace, until in the middle of a city stood a spire of amber nearly a hundred feet tall.  It didn't stay stable for very long, and a few second later, cracks began to appear and spread like wildfire.  The amber shattered, the shards quickly dissipating.  But that wasn't the problem at hand.  The problem was that a one hundred foot tall Tempo emerged from the amber prison, cackling like a man possessed.

The Rangers on the ground screamed in shock.  How were they to beat this thing!

"Man!  That thing's huge!" May shouted.

"Rangers, fire at will!" Ash called.  They didn't need any other provocation.  Each Ranger drew their individual Ranger Blaster, and sent a volley of blaster fire at the giant Tempo.  Tempo laughed as the blows had little to no effect.

"Shit!  A total no-sell!" Tracey shouted.

"How do we stop this thing?"

TO BE CONTINUED……………