Pokemon: The Kanto Prince Prologue 1

Special thanks to RSBCS, (aka Cameron), without whom, I would not have the inspiration to write this tale.

List of shippings in this story:
Primarily Amourshipping (Ash x Serena)
Contestshipping (Drew x May)
Penguinshipping (Kenny x Dawn)
Egoshipping (Misty x Gary)
Handymanshipping (Tracey x Daisy)
Wishfulshipping (Iris x Cilan)
Lagomorphshipping (Ash's Pikachu x Dawn's Buneary)
Insectivoreshipping (Ash's Frogadier x Serena's Braixen)

List of one-sided shippings in this story:
Kissshipping (Ash x Melody)
Fireshipping (Ash x Macy)
Abilityshipping (Ash x Anabel)
Morpheusshipping (Ash x Angie)
Poffleshipping (Ash x Miette)

The story will contain other shippings, but they’ll be a surprise so bare with me on all of this.

Now sit back, relax and enjoy this story and if you like it, please leave comments when you're done. Thank you.

I do not own Pokémon, Nintendo or any of the characters included in this story.




Pokémon: The Kanto Prince

Prologue 1: A Day In The Life of Royalty

Once upon a time, in the world of Pokémon, there lies the beautiful kingdom of Kanto. A long cliff range that surrounds the vast large kingdom in a U-shape borders the land. The cliff also provides with the only means of entering and exiting the kingdom. Travelers would travel through a certain pass in the canyon until they reach a crack in the canyon wall at the end of the pass. The crack provides not only as the entrance to the kingdom, but also a breathtaking view of the valley, which is the entire kingdom. 

In the center of the valley, is Pallet Castle Town, a large civilization where both people and Pokémon live and work together in peace and harmony as friends, partners and family. A short distance west outside of town, near the edge of a small cliff over a beautiful beach stands Pallet Castle itself, a large and majestic palace with whitestone bricks and blue-tiled rooftops with many towers, buildings, courtyards and gardens. At one of the highest towers, is the room of the kingdom's beloved 10-year-old prince, Ash Ketchum. 

Prince Ash wakes up in his four-poster bed draped with deep-blue curtains and sees his lifelong best friend Pikachu curled up on a pillow and sleeping right by his head. Ash smiles at the sight as he sits up on his bed, which causes the little electric mouse to stir and wake up as well. 

“Good morning, Pikachu. Did you sleep well buddy?” Ash asks with a yawn. 
“Pika, Pikapi Pikachu!” Pikachu happily replies while yawning as well. 
“Yeah, me too. That sure was a good nights sleep.” said Ash as he scratches Pikachu’s head and rubs his tail. 
“Chaaaaa!” Pikachu squealed in delight. 

Ash chuckles as he steps out of his bed and sees his room bathed in the morning sunlight shining through the windows and the balcony door. With Pikachu following behind, he walks out into the balcony, which goes around the tower. Pikachu jumps onto the stone railing and along with Ash; the two stretched their arms in the air, and watch the magnificent view of the land below.

“Looks like another beautiful day, huh, Pikachu?” asked Ash as he placed his arms flat on the stone railings.
“Pika.” Pikachu agreed. 

They stared out at the nearby castle town and listened to the faint sound of bells from the town's clock tower signaling the start of the day. Soon, the many streets of town will be filled people and their Pokémon going about their daily lives. The markets and stores will open up for the day and begin selling their fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, herbs, spices, berries, Pokéblocks, Poffins, Poképuffs and other foods. The market also sells fresh dairy products made from the milks of Miltanks and Skiddos of the farms and ranches just east of town. Mareep wool clothing are also made from the farms and sold in the markets as well. The market sells medicine for people and Pokémon, evolutionary stones and finally toys for the children and small Pokémon. 

They looked to their right and see the vast large forest to the south, which is home to many wild Pokémon. The forest mostly consists of Grass, Bug, Fairy, Normal, Dark and a few Electric, Fire and Psychic types. Water types also make their home within the forest’s rivers, lakes and ponds. A swamp is also in the forest where Poison types like to make their home. Many Flying types build their nests in branches and hollow trunks of trees. Ghost types are known to haunt the forest in the dead of night.

Prince Ash and Pikachu then looked to their left and stared at the mountains in the north, which many Rock, Ground, Steel, Fighting as well as other Dark, Electric and Psychic types live. Flying types are well known to soar high over the mountains. Many Dragon types also make their homes within some of the mountain’s many tunnels and caves, which they share with much of the Rock, Steel and Ground types. Many Fire types live near or even inside the large volcano that stands within the mountain range. Though active, the volcano thankfully never erupts. Ice types live in the ice caves or snowy terrain on the frozen peaks of some of the mountains. Around winter, when the whole kingdom is covered in snow, the Ice types would travel down the mountain and stay in the forest for the entire season.

Ash then decided to take in the other view of the kingdom. With Pikachu following close by, Ash walks around the circular balcony to the other side of his tower. There, they stared at the marvelous sight of the beach. On the far right end of the beach, a cliff towers over the water as the waves crash against the rocks below with great force. On the far left end of the beach, near the edge of the forest, the rivers meet the sea as fresh water becomes salt water. Countless Water types roam the vast ocean depths whether in the colorful reefs, the dark trenches of the abyss or even on the tide pools at the seashore. Some Ground types like to dig their way beneath the sands of the beach as well. On some mornings, Ash would be lucky enough to see a pod of Lapras swimming on the surface or even some Wailmer and Wailord breaching out of the water and making quite a performance.

Feeling the gentle breeze blowing through his messy raven-black hair, Ash then takes a deep breath, closes his chocolate brown eyes and takes a moment to smell the salty air of the sea and listens to the faint sounds of the waves. Pikachu sees this, and does the same.

“No matter how many times we’ve done this, I never get tired of seeing the beautiful sight of the kingdom.” Said Ash,
“Pika, Pika.” Pikachu agreed with a nod.

Suddenly, as if on cue, they heard a loud growl coming from both of their stomachs. The both of them gave out an amused chuckle, as they scratched the backs of their heads.

“Sounds like our stomachs had enough of this. Well, lets get ready for the day and head down to the banquet hall for breakfast. Whaddya say, buddy?” asked Ash.
“Pikachu, Pikapi!” Pikachu chimed in reply.

They went back inside and after taking their morning bath and brushing their teeth, Prince Ash and Pikachu are finally prepared for the day. Ash changed from his sleepwear and into his usual clothes, a dark-blue outfit with matching gloves, boots, a cape, a brown leather satchel strapped to the belt and a wide-brimmed dark-blue hat that can be pulled low over his face (Author’s note: think of Ash in his Aura Guardian costume). He then took a large black ring with a small colorful gem in the middle and a round deep-blue diamond with a small ruby in the middle from his nightstand. 

'Can’t face the day without my Pokégem and my Mega Ring.' Ash thought as he slipped the Mega Ring onto his left Wrist.

He then pressed the ruby on his Pokégem causing it to shrink down to the size of a marble and he slipped it into his satchel. Pikachu then jumped onto Ash’s shoulder like he always does and together, they went down the spiral staircase of the tower and into one of the halls of the castle.

As they made their way to the banquet hall they heard a voice from behind. “Good morning, your majesty! How are you today?” 
Ash turned to see a tan skinned young man with spiky brown hair, squinty black eyes and wearing a brown royal knight’s tunic bearing the kingdom’s emblem, a Pokégem in the center of a shield with swords crossed.

“Good morning, Sir Brock! I’m feeling great, heading for breakfast as well?” replied Ash with a grin.
“That, and actually I’ve been looking for you. I figured that you’d soon be following your stomach for some food.” Sir Brock answered with a grin as well, before facing Pikachu on the Prince’s shoulder.
“Hiya, Pikachu. Lookin’ good!” He greeted.
“Pika, Pika-Chu!” the mouse replies.
"What do you mean you mean you’ve been looking for me? Is something going on?” asked Ash with a puzzled look on his face.
“One of the guards came and told me that he’s been getting reports of strange slash marks on the trees in the forest. I think we should go there today and investigate.” Said Brock.

Ash was surprised when he heard what Sir Brock just said. Slash marks in the forest? This had to be investigated for sure. Ash’s surprised face then changed into a confident one.

“Then lets go check it out as soon as we eat.” He said with a determination in his eyes.
“Pikachu!” the mouse said with the same face.
“You bet.” The knight agreed. 

Prince Ash, Pikachu and Sir Brock continued down the halls of the castle until they reached the banquet hall, and see that everyone of their friends had already arrived and are sitting at the long table talking to each other. The other three of the royal knights wearing the same tunics as Sir Brock’s but with different colors, were chatting to three of the five royal handmaidens.

Sir Gary, wearing a black tunic was talking to Misty wearing a long-sleeved aquamarine handmaidens dress. Sir Drew in a purple tunic was telling a joke to May in a red dress. Finally, there was Sir Kenny in his green tunic was teasing Dawn in her blue dress. 

Nearby was Tracey Sketchit, the royal artist and Pokémon watcher fashioning an artist's uniform, was drawing a nice sketch of Daisy, one of Misty’s three sisters. Also close by was the royal blacksmith, Clemont who was eating his breakfast while his little sister Bonnie, the royal Pokémon caretaker was feeding her Dedenne while at the same time, excitedly chatting about Pokémon with May’s younger brother Max, the squire. Iris wearing a cream colored handmaiden’s dress was feeding her Axew and complimenting on how delicious the food is that the royal chefs Cilan and his brothers Chili and Cress made which causes Cilan to blush at Iris’ compliment. 

Finally there was the last handmaiden, Serena in her pink dress. When she saw the prince enter the banquet hall, she smiled and a small blush crept to her cheeks.

At the far end of the table sat Ash’s mother, Queen Delia wearing her pink and indigo gown and a queen’s crown perched on her head. Sweeping the floor on her right was her loyal and faithful Mr. Mime, Mimey. Standing on her left was Sir Gary’s grandfather, Counselor Oak, a man wearing a brownish gray counselor’s robe.

The table was filled with platters of pancakes, fried eggs, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, potatoes, toast, pitchers of maple syrup, Combee honey, milk, juices and water (Author’s note: don’t worry, no Pokémon are slaughtered and butchered for their meat). 

As Ash and Brock said good morning to everyone and they said good morning back to them, Pikachu jumped off of Ash’s shoulder and scurried off to eat breakfast with the rest of the Pokémon nearby and Ash and Brock sat down with their breakfast hot and waiting for them.

As they ate, they began to discuss about the mystery in the forest.
“What could be making those markings on the trees?” asked Max.
“It’s highly possible that it could be an angry and rampaging Pokémon. Maybe a Scyther or a Mightyena or even an Ursaring.” Guessed Clemont.
“Well if it is a Scyther, it couldn’t be mine. He wouldn’t do such a thing like that.” said Tracey.
“If it is slashing on the trees, it could scare away the Pokémon that live in those trees.” said Bonnie with a worried expression.
“And don’t forget about the Water Pokémon.” Misty added as she held her baby Azurill in her arms. “It might move to the lakes and rivers and scare them off too.”
“Don’t worry, Misty.” Gary said as he placed a comforting hand on Misty’s shoulder, which made her smile. “I’m sure whatever is doing those things must have a good reason why.”
“Gary’s right.” Kenny agreed.
“Either that, or it could be that the Pokémon is a troublemaker.” Dawn said.
“Nevertheless, this matter has to be taken cared of.” said Drew. “Otherwise, it might cause trouble in town or even here.”
“Well if it does, I’m sure that you’ll protect me.” May said sweetly to her knight.
“Don’t worry, my sweet.” Drew said as he kissed her cheek, which made her giggle. ”I won't ever let anything happen to you.”
“The same goes from me to you, Dee Dee.” Kenny added.
“Awww! Thank you, Sir Kenny! You’re so sweet!” Dawn cooed as she wrapped her arms around Kenny’s neck in a loving embrace and gently rubbed her cheek against his before shouting with an annoyed look on her face “And stop calling me that!” 

Everybody laughed at the antic.

“I hope that it could be a Dragon type.” Iris said excitedly. “Cause if it is, I might be able to calm it down and maybe even catch it.”
“Well if you do, I’m sure that the two of you will be beautiful blend of friendship between trainer and Pokémon.” Cilan said.
“So if this Pokémon is angry to make those slash marks on the trees, then what could’ve made it to be so mad in the first place?” asked Serena.
“Maybe it has a something on its body that’s giving it pain like a thorn or maybe rusty nail or something.” Brock figured.
“Well whatever the case, this Pokémon must be calmed down so the forest can be safe for the forest Pokémon again.” Counselor Oak said.


Prince Ash had finally munched down the last piece of his fried eggs on his plate as Oak said so. “Well there’s no time like the present.” he said as he stood up. “I’ll just head to the stables and be on my way to the forest.”
“I’ll go too.” said Sir Kenny. “I haven’t been on an assignment in ages and I don’t want to pass up another chance like this.”
“Ok sure, I could use the help.” the prince accepted.
“Can I come too?” pleaded Max with a hopeful look in his eyes. “I wanna see what kind of Pokémon it is and it could help me with my squire training. So can I please?”
“Sure, why not?” The prince said with a smile. “You coming, Sir Brock?”
“Sorry, sire. I just remembered, I have sword practice today with the rest of the knights, so I wont be able to help you out.” the knight said sheepishly.
“Don’t worry about it.” Ash said with an understanding smile and then turned to where the Pokémon were eating. “Let’s go, Pikachu!” He called.

Pikachu, who was talking with the Pokémon of the knights and maidens while being cuddled by Dawn’s Buneary, heard his trainer call out to him, said goodbye to the rest of the Pokémon, ran towards Ash and jumped back onto his shoulder.

“Be careful, Ash.” Serena pleaded to the prince.
“Don’t worry, Serena, we’ll be alright.” He reassured her with a toothy grin and went out of the hall with Sir Kenny and Squire Max to the stables while not noticing the small blush on Serena’s face.
“There he goes again, always off in search of Pokémon and craving for adventure.“ Oak said.
“That’s my son for you.” Queen Delia said as she smiled with pride. “And that’s why I love him so much. I just know that he’ll be a wonderful king one day. Right, Mimey?”
“Mime Mime!” Mr. Mime replied with a smile while still sweeping.
“I’m sure he will be, your highness.” agreed the counselor.

Before heading to the stables the group went to the Pokémon courtyard where Ash, the knights, the handmaidens and the rest of the castle kept their Pokémon. They went there so that Ash can pick which Pokémon he should use for today. Ash remembered that he spent the entire day yesterday playing and training with all of his Pokémon so he figured that most of them are pretty tired and that he should only use one for today and let the others take the day off, even though his Pokégem can store all of them at once. Lucky for him, Frogadier was willing to go.

With that done, they all went down to the stables where Serena’s mother Grace was in charge.

“Hello, boys.” She greeted with a smile upon seeing them. “So how is Serena?"
“Hello, Grace. Serena is just great.” replied Ash.
“Good to know. So what’ll it be today?” she asked.
“Our Rapidash and Max’s Ponyta.” Kenny answered.
“I’ll bring them out at once.” Grace said and in a couple of minuets, she gave them their fire horse Pokémon and they all sped off to the forest.




They searched for hours and while they saw many of the forest’s Pokémon, they couldn’t find a single slash mark on any tree. At around three in the afternoon they decided to have lunch. As they ate, a man carrying a bag of berries approached them and was surprised by what he was seeing.

“P-P-Prince Ash!” He stuttered as he keeled down before the boy. “I didn’t expect to see you here today.”
“Please, good sir, there’s no need for formalities.” Ash kindly said to the man. “We’re here on a mission to find the source of some slash marks on the trees.”
“I know where they are.” The man said as he stood back on his feet.
“You mean you’ve seen them, sir?” Max asked.
“More than that, I’ve seen what made those marks.” Said the man.
The boys were shocked at what he said.
“You did?!” they asked with shocked expressions.
“Well, not exactly no. I only managed to partly see its silhouette. I saw it just last night while I was on my way home and taking an evening stroll around here. All I know is that it was indeed a Pokémon. It made those marks on the trees with such force, I’m surprised that none of them fell over.”
“Well, can you at least tell us where the marks are and what did this Pokémon look like?” Sir Kenny asked.
The man thought for a moment before he answered and pointed. “Head due west, you’ll start seeing them say, half an hour from here. I didn’t see the silhouette clearly, but all I can say is that this Pokémon was kind of slim and I think it seemed to glimmer around its body. Will that help?”
“It will. Thank you, sir. We’ll go and investigate.” Ash said.
“Your welcome, your majesty. I wish you and your Pokémon the best of luck in solving this mystery. Farewell!” And with that, the man turned to the direction to the town and left the group who were waving goodbye as they finished their lunch.

They took the man’s advice and traveled west of the forest. For the next half an hour, they continued walking and seeing more Pokémon along the way.

“Look!” Max cried as he pointed to a large tree on their left. They ran towards it and just as the rumors said, there was a large slanted slash mark on the trunk.
“There’s another one! Over there!” Kenny pointed to another tree with a vertical slash.
Soon they saw more and more trees with vertical, horizontal, and slanted markings and Ash got a close look at each one of them.
“Something on your mind, your majesty?” Max asked.
“Yeah.” He answered. “I had a feeling that it wouldn’t be any of the Pokémon that Clemont mentioned this morning.”
“What makes you say that?” asked Kenny with a confused face.
“Well, look around.” Ash said. “If you notice, each slash marks are perfectly straight. If a Scyther made those marks, it would’ve made a few edges so it couldn’t be a Scyther. And it couldn’t be a Mightyena or an Ursaring either. Each tree has one single mark. If it was a Mightyena or an Ursaring, then they would’ve left more marks on each tree because of their claws.”
“You’re right.” Kenny said with realization.
“But, your majesty.” Max began. “If it wasn’t any of those Pokémon, then what could’ve made all of these?”
“That, squire, is what we are going to find out.” Ash concluded.
“How?” Kenny asked. “That Pokémon could be anywhere in the forest. It could even be long gone by now.”
“Maybe, but all the trees with the marks seem to form a trail instead of being scattered everywhere.” Said the prince. “And if that man said that he saw it at night, then all we have to do is wait until it starts getting dark for it to come out and the rest is up to us.”
“Good plan.” the squire agreed, and with that they all decided to rest and wait for the mysterious Pokémon to reveal itself.




They waited as the hours pass by and soon, the sun was already setting. The group were beginning to wonder if this Pokémon was going to appear at all. Suddenly, they heard a rustle in the bushes. They sprang to their feet as they prepared for whatever is about to happen. Prince Ash then brought out his deep-blue Pokégem, pressed the ruby in the center and enlarged it to fit his hand while Sir Kenny did the same with his lime-green Pokégem, and all Squire Max can do is just watch.
“Get ready, Pikachu.” Ash told his partner.
“Pikachu, PikaPi.” Pikachu acknowledged.

The rustle in the bushes continued and then a figure zoomed out of the bushes and towards the group with so much speed, that they had to dodge out of the way before they could even identify it. The figure then went towards a tree and did a vertical slash attack right in the center of the trunk leaving a mark on it. The figure then stopped to face the group to finally identify the Pokémon.

The Pokémon strongly resembled a silver sword with a single gem-like eye engraved on its hilt. Attached to the pommel is a long, dark blue cloth with a swirl design in lighter blue at its four-slit end. The cloth seemed to work as its arm as it was holding a dark brown scabbard with curved lines across its surface.

“Who’s that Pokémon?” asked the squire. “I’ve never seen one of those before.
“Wow, a Honedge! This is incredible!” Prince Ash said with so much excitement.
“Amazing, it really looks like a sword. I’ll bet it’s pretty strong too.” Kenny said.
“Whatever you do, DON’T let Honedge wrap its cloth around you.” Ash warned the two with much seriousness in his voice.
“Why?” They asked. 
“Honedge is a Steel and Ghost type. I read that if you get wrapped in its cloth, it’ll drain your energy!” the prince answered.
Both Kenny and Max gasped and gulped at the warning, remembering that the prince did a lot of Pokémon studies back at the castle library.
“Ready, Sir Kenny?” The prince asked to his knight.
“Ready, sire!” he replied.
“Frogadier, I choose you!” Ash shouted as he threw his Pokégem in the air. A beam of light escaped from the Pokégem and formed into Frogadier.
“Frogadier!” the bubble frog Pokémon cried out ready for battle.
“Go, Empoleon!” Kenny shouted as he did the same as Ash. The light left the Pokégem and formed into the Emperor Pokémon.
“Empoleon!” It cried, also ready for battle.

The Honedge charged at the duo’s Pokémon but to their surprise, it just went right past them and slashed at another tree. After that it faced them, and this time, it really wants to fight.

“Alright Frogadier, use Water Pulse!” Ash commanded. 
Frogadier leapt into the air, and creates an aquatic sphere of energy between his hands and launches it straight towards Honedge. 
Honedge dodged the attack and its blade shines a white glow. It then did multiple slash attacks at Frogadier, which he easily dodged.
“Empoleon, help Frogadier and use steel wing!” Sir Kenny called out. Empoleon’s wings began to glow white and became metallic as he charged for the sword Pokémon.
Honedge turned away from Frogadier and went the opposite direction, but once again, it went past Empoleon and did another slash at another tree much to everyone’s surprise and confusion.
“What’s wrong with Honedge?” Max questioned. “It seems like that it wants to attack the trees so badly.”
“Yeah, or maybe there’s something else.” Wondered the prince.
“Well right now, we need to focus on stopping it.” Kenny said.
Honedge then turned to Empoleon, who was still using steel wing and attacked with slash. Empoleon attacked as well while at the same time was blocking and parrying Honedge’s attacks.

Again and again, the Pokémon fought and again and again, Honedge went to a nearby tree and slashed on it. “I just don’t understand.” Prince Ash thought “Why does Honedge just keeps slashing on trees when we’re in the middle of a battle? It's almost like it wants to focus on slashing trees more than battling Frogadier and Empoleon. But why? It’s not like it’s looking for someth- wait a minute.” He stopped as he noticed something on Honedge’s blade.

He could’ve sworn that he could see something brown on the blade, but he didn’t have enough time as Honedge sheathed itself while fighting Empoleon and leapt backwards. Suddenly, It thrusts its arm-like cloth to the ground and a shadow in the form of a claw stretches across the ground and straight towards Empoleon.
“Careful! That’s Shadow Claw!” Max yelled
“Empoleon look out!” Kenny ordered.
Empoleon tried to back away, but Honedge’s Shadow Claw was very fast as it struck on Empoleon. While Empoleon was trying to recover from that attack, Honedge moved closer to Empoleon and begins to wrap its cloth around him.
“Empoleon, get out of there!” Kenny yelled. 

But it was too late, the cloth wrapped itself tightly on Empoleon and he began to glow green. All the others can do is watch as Honedge drains Empoleon’s energy. After a few seconds, the cloth released its grasp on Empoleon and he fell to the ground with spirals in his eyes.

“Empoleon, return.” Sir Kenny calls back his defeated partner, and returns him to his Pokégem. “You did your best.” He then turned to Prince Ash. “Well sire, I guess it’s all up to you now.”
“Right.” Ash agreed.
Honedge then unsheathed itself and struck at another tree. 

Prince Ash had enough time to get a look on its blade. There was some rust on blade’s left side and he finally understands why Honedge is striking on all those trees.

'So that's it! Honedge has an itch!' He figured in his head. 'It’s been slashing on those trees because it’s trying to get rid of that rust it has on its blade. Rust makes Steel types very itchy and they can go insane while trying go get rid of their itch. And the only way to do so is by removing the rust! All I need to do is catch it, but how?'

The prince then took a moment to think up a strategy to subdue the sword Pokémon but he knew he had to think of one fast or Honedge will defeat Fogadier next.
'There’s got to be someway to distract it for a while.' He thought. 'If only its arm had been- wait a minute.' "That’s it!” He finally said out loud.
“You have a plan, your majesty?” asked Max.
“Just watch!” He replied with determination. ”Frogadier, wait for my signal and I’ll tell you what to do!”
“Frogadier!” acknowledged the bubble frog as he prepared to continue the battle while waiting for his trainer’s signal at the same time.

The Honedge then turned back to Frogadier and prepared charged once more with its blade still glowing and ready for another slash attack.
“Frogadier, use Aerial Ace!” Ash commanded.
Frogadier’s arms turned into long blue knives and they clashed with Honedge’s blade. Both Pokémon clashed, blocked and parried each other’s attacks like Empoleon did only this time; it was at a more incredible pace. 

Finally, Honedge backed away, sheathed itself and raised its arm preparing for another Shadow Claw.
“Now, Frogadier! Launch your frubbles at Honedge’s hand!” Ash called out.

Frogadier understood as his arms returned to their original form, leapt into the air once more and threw his frubbles from his collar and they landed perfectly on Honedge’s hand with so much force, it knocked Honedge to the ground. As Honedge begins to recover, it starts to charge towards its opponent again, but suddenly it stopped. It turned around and found its hand strapped securely to the ground and covered in Frogadier’s frubbles. It tried desperately to break free, but to no avail.

“Amazing!” the squire said. “You made Honedge get stuck so it wouldn’t use its arm for its Shadow Claw!
“And it won’t be able to drain Frogadier’s energy either. That’s brilliant!” Sir Kenny added.
“Alright Frogadier, use Double Team and run around Honedge!” Ash commanded.

Frogadier’s body begins to glow white and numerous copies of himself appear and begin to sprint around Honedge in different directions. Honedge couldn’t do anything but look left and right at the copies as they kept sprinting at incredible speed. Left, right, left, right, left, right, left, right. Honedge kept spinning; not knowing which Frogadier copy is the real one. Finally, Honedge stopped spinning and a spiral appeared in its single eye, meaning that it’s dizzy. Now was Ash’s chance to finish the job.

“Now Frogadier, lets finish it off with Water Pulse!” He ordered.

Frogadier then leapt to the air again and unleashed another aquatic sphere from his hands and it hit Honedge with great impact causing a small explosion. As the dust clears, the group sees Honedge still standing, but struggling greatly to balance itself. 

Now was Ash’s chance. 

“Pokégem, Go!” he yelled as he threw his Pokégem towards the weakened Pokémon. The Pokégem hit Honedge and it became engulfed in a red light and was consumed by the Pokégem. As it hit the ground, it begins to shake and the ruby in the center of the Pokégem starts flashing red.

Prince Ash, Pikachu, Frogadier, Squire Max and Sir Kenny all wait in anticipation; wondering If the capture will be successful. The Pokégem kept shaking and flashing until…

DING!

It stopped.

Ash walked over to his Pokégem and picked it up. “Alright! I caught a Honedge!!!” He yelled out as he raised his Pokégem up in the air in triumph.
“Pi-Pikachu!” Pikachu cheered over his trainer’s victory.
“Frogadier!” Frogadier cheered as well.
“Way to go, your majesty! Max congratulated.
“Well done, sire! Well done!” Sir Kenny complimented.
“Thanks.” Ash said as he stares at his Pokégem with his new Pokémon and hopefully, new friend inside.




“So it was a Honedge with a very bad itch?” asked a surprised Bonnie.
“Yeah. And it wasn’t easy battling it.” Answered the prince who was eating his dinner.

The trio went back to Pallet Castle a short while after Ash’s success in capturing the sword Pokémon. They made it back just as night fell and just in time for dinner. Everybody was very eager to hear the tale of today’s mystery as they all sat at the table in the banquet hall where it was piled with platters of roasted meats, bread, steamed vegetables, bowls of rice, pasta, soups, stews, sauces, salads and jugs of water and juices, while the Pokémon were having their fill of Pokémon food, especially Clemont’s Chespin who was cramming his mouth with as much food as it can hold.

"So what was causing Honedge’s itch in the first place?” asked Sir Drew.
“It had some rust on its blade and it was really irritating for Honedge.” Ash said. “See, when a Steel type Pokémon has rust, they get a very bad itch and they’ll do anything to try to get rid of it and all Honedge could do was slash on those trees. I explained it to Kenny and Max on the way back.”
“Honedge sure was pretty strong.” Sir Kenny said. “The way it defeated my Empoleon really surprised me.”
“So how is Empoleon anyway?” asked Dawn with concern.
“I took him to Nurse Joy at the hospital wing as soon as we got back here.” He answered. “She says that all Empoleon needs is a good nights sleep and he’ll be as good as new tomorrow.”
“Well that’s good to hear.” Said Serena who then asked Ash “And what happened to Honedge now?”
“While Kenny went to heal Empoleon, we went straight to the castle’s forge and rubbed some oil on Honedge and just like that, the rust is gone and so is the itch. Honedge was very happy about it too. Right now it’s in my Pokégem at the moment.”
“I wanna see! I wanna see! I wanna see!” Bonnie chanted excitedly.
Ash then stood out of his chair and brought out his Pokégem.
“All right! Honedge, come on out and say hello!” he called as he threw the Pokégem and Honedge appeared before everyone with its blade sheathed.
“Honedge!” it cried out as it introduced itself with a happy look in its eye.
Everybody in the banquet hall was amazed at the sight of the prince’s new addition to his Pokémon family, especially Bonnie, whose eyes were sparkling.
“It’s so cute!” she squealed. 
“I have to sketch this! Tracey said as he brought out his sketchbook and began to work.
Honedge went over to Sir Brock and extended its arm for a handshake, which the knight was more than happy to accept. The rest of the knights along with Tracey, Clemont, Max, and Counselor Oak had their hands shaken by Honedge. It then went to Serena and extended its arm with its palm facing upward. Though confused at first, Serena took it. What Honedge did next surprised everyone. It closed its eye and gently pressed its hilt on Serena’s hand as if it was kissing her hand.
“Oh my.” Serena said with a small blush as she placed her free hand on her cheek.
Honedge then did the same thing to the rest of the handmaidens and then to Queen Delia, which also took them by surprise.
“What is Honedge doing? Is it flirting with them?” asked Sir Brock.
“No. But if I had to guess, I think Honedge is just being a gentleman.” Sir Gary guessed.
“I didn’t know my Honedge could be so polite and chivalrous.” Ash said. “If Honedge is doing that, then I guess it’s a male."
“From my observations, I’d say that’s true.” Tracey agreed as he finished his sketch of the sword Pokémon.
“A Pokémon who is a sharp and brave knight on the outside, but a kind and polite gentleman on the inside. Truly a wonderful and unique blend of personality for a Pokémon like that!” Cilan complimented like the expert Pokemon Connoisseur he is.

Bonnie however, was feeling left out.
“Awww come on, Honedge!” she complained with a pout on her face. “I want you to kiss my hand too!”
“Edge Honedge!” Honedge happily replied.
He then left a flattered Queen Delia, who was happily giggling at his politeness, made his way towards Bonnie and kissed her hand.
“Thank you, Honedge! You’re such a gentleman!” she cheered and everybody smiled and laughed at Bonnie’s antics.




Later that night, Prince Ash was in his sleepwear standing on the balcony of his tower under the starlit night sky, staring at his kingdom like he did this morning with Pikachu by his side.
“What a day we had, huh, Pikachu?” He asked.
“Pikachu.” Pikachu replied. 
“We not only solved a mystery, but we also made a new friend today." Ash said. "All in all, I’d say it was a very good day right buddy?"
“Pika!” Pikachu agreed.

Unknown to them, they were being watched. From inside the Handmaidens tower close by, Serena was sitting on a chair in her pink nightgown staring at Prince Ash with a dreamy smile on her face from one of the windows, which had a clear view of the Prince’s tower. She had her elbows on the windowsill and her hands on her cheeks as she stared adoringly at the boy whom she fell madly in love with since the moment she met him three years ago. She loved everything about Ash, his courage, his selflessness, his kindness to people and Pokémon, his unbreakable and never ending confidence in himself and others and his strong will and compassion to help others, even though sometimes it ends up with him getting hurt in the process.

As she stares at the prince with Pikachu by his side, a blush crept up to her face as she imagined herself by Ash’s side instead of Pikachu, her slender arms wrapped around his neck while his strong arms around her waist, staring lovingly into each other’s eyes, lips slowly moving closer together…

She snapped out of her thoughts when she suddenly heard soft snoring behind her. She turned to see the other handmaidens and Bonnie all sleeping soundly in their beds. Serena never told anyone of her strong feelings for Prince Ash, not even her own mother. The only ones who knew about it were her only two Pokémon Braixen and Pancham, who promised not to tell anyone about it. Braixen especially, since she has the same feelings for Prince Ash’s Frogadier since she was a Fennekin and Frogadier was a Froakie.

As Serena sees her slumbering roommates, she realizes that it was getting late and she should be doing the same thing. She took one last look at the view of the Prince at his tower and smiled once more.

“Goodnight, Ash. Sweet dreams.” She mentally said sweetly as she got up from her chair and snuck back to her own bed, hoping that her bare feet would make little to no noise in the process as she quietly sneaked across the room. She tucked herself in bed, closed her eyes and instantly fell asleep.

Back at the prince’s tower, Ash’s eyelids started to get heavy and he knew that it was time for him to sleep like the rest of the kingdom. 
“Well, Pikachu, let’s get some sleep. Let’s hope that tomorrow will be a good day as well.” He said with a yawn and a drowsy smile on his face.
“Pikachu.” Pikachu replied who was equally tired and had the same expression.
Together they went back inside their room. They tucked themselves in their four-poster bed, and Ash closed the deep blue curtains. Pikachu climbed on one of the pillows and curled up in a comfortable position.
“Pika, Pikapi.” Pikachu said to Ash as he closed his eyes.
“Goodnight, Pikachu.” Ash said back as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, ending a day in the life of royalty for the Kanto Prince.