This is my first Pokemon fan fiction, so I am glad you decided to click on this story. Now it's my job to keep you here. I started re-watching the anime and movies, when the ideas started flowing.

Disclaimer, I don't own Pokemon.

Gary was sweating heavily, the salty taste of sweat had entered his mouth. It had to be ninety degrees outside today. Around him, a small crew of researchers were packing up equipment. A small mural had been found in the mountain caves of Kanto. Dating had placed it around ten thousand years old. The creation trio of Sinnoh myth were represented. Arceus was creating a man, in the middle of the cave painting, a small glowing green crystal shaped like a flower was between Arceus and the man as if he was being sent down to earth by the Creation Pokémon.

At least they could get moving soon. The A/C was blasting in the truck. Pictures and the artifact would be sent to his grandfather. Maybe a jeweler or botanist could tell them what it was. The cave was deep in the mountains, getting there had been quite a trek. The painting had been found by a trainer, who had gotten lost in the maze like caves. It was merely by luck that they had a signal down there to send out a distress call.

Maybe he would stay in Pallet for a week, before going to the Orange Islands. He would need a change of scenery, maybe a beach somewhere to relax. All he did was monitoring habitat, and sometimes protecting endangered Pokémon. Once he saw a shape fly across the rooftops of a crowded city. He had forgotten the name of the city, but not the Pokémon he thought he saw. It reminded him of a Pokémon that a shadowed gym leader with a Persian used. It couldn't be the same one, could it? It reminded him of a drawing of Mew he had seen, except this one was larger, more defined.

He was restless, he wanted something to happen. A battle, an adventure.

You're just a kid on a quest
To be the best of the best
Someday you're destined for power and glory
You know you're up to the test
There's only one way to tell this story

Be a Hero! Be a Hero!
All the power is at your command
Face your fears and show you're a hero
The future of the world is in your hand

Pokémon!

Ash awoke to the sound of knocking on his bedroom door. He got up, dressed and brushed his teeth. His backpack was in one corner of the room. One of his drawers held all his badges. Organized and labeled. He had returned from Kalos, two days before. I was now seventeen. Seven years of journeying and was still chasing my dream of becoming a Pokémon Master. Out of habit, I opened up a drawer that stored two of my most important memorabilia. Aaron's gloves and an aura crystal from Rota. The crystal still glowed green. I was an aura user, but not a guardian. I put the crystal away and closed the drawer.

Outside, my mother's garden bloomed. Pikachu awoke with a yawn from his place on his bed. "Morning, Pikachu." "Chuu." He said. When he opened the door his mom was waiting for him in the hallway. "There is someone here to see you." My mom smiled.

Downstairs, I saw someone I hadn't seen in person for years. She had changed since I last saw her. Her red orange hair was growing past her shoulders. She wore denim shorts and a red shortsleeve. "Hi, Misty." My heartbeat went to fifty meter dash. "Damn hormones!" I had started getting attracted to girls at thirteen and it was becoming more difficult to feign ignorance when it came to girls. Serena had kissed me only a few days ago, out of nowhere. I had noticed her blushing and had even gone out on a date. Still, I was caught off guard.

"It's good to see you, Ash." She greeted. I tried to make small talk while eating breakfast. "How's the gym doing?" I asked. Her eyes sparkled. The way they always did when she talked about water Pokémon. Pikachu dashed down the stairs, a yellow blur. "Pika!" He dove straight into Misty's lap.

She scratched behind his ears. "There's my pika pal. Is Ash treating you okay?"

"Pika." Pikachu nodded.

"I heard Professor Oak is planning to retire soon." Misty said sadly.

"Won't be the same without him giving starters anymore." I agreed. "Pica." Pikachu nodded from his place on Misty's lap. Misty smiled, my heart did a little tap-dance in my chest. "Damn it! You can't fall for someone you only see a few times a year!" "But she traveled with me for a couple of years!" Another voice answered. I shifted my focus from that train of thought to Misty. With a start, I realized I was taller than her now.

The phone rang. Mom answered it. "Yes?" A short pause. "Yes, he'll be right over." My mom hung up. Hopefully, it wasn't my mom trying to set me up on a date. "That was Oak, he wants you over there to help him with something."

Misty grabbed my arm. "Sure!" She more or less dragged me away from the table, I had luckily finished my breakfast except for putting the bowl away.

Some things hadn't changed a bit. Pikachu followed. Oak's home was up a hill and gated. The path had been redone to red brick pattern. The house was done colonial style with whitewashed walls and red roof. Professor Oak came to the door. "Ash, you sure have grown." Oak's gray hair had gone a bit whiter.

"Hello, Professor." Misty let go of my arm. "Please, come in." Oak closed the door behind us as we entered. Oak had put in wood floors. His lab brought back memories. This is where he got Pikachu. Lab equipment was scattered everywhere, the only well-ordered spots were where Oak was doing research and the Pokeballs area. A scanner was going back and forth over a time flower.

"He's a little too dedicated to his work." Misty mumbled. Tracey emerged from the back, holding a book titled, "Flora and Fauna of Rota." On the front was a picture of a time flower.

"Ash, Misty!" He dropped the thick book on the table and it made a thudding sound from the weight. "It's good to see you." We shook hands. "Pika!" Pikachu greeted Tracy by settling on my shoulder and shaking his hand with his paw. "Hello, Pikachu." Tracey had gotten taller, his skin had paled a bit from working inside.

We talked about our times in the Orange Islands and newer adventuring. Tracey was helping Oak with taking care of the Pokémon sent by trainers and field work. Oak couldn't travel as much because of his back. "What's with the time flower over there?" I asked. Tracy turned and answered, "That time flower was found by Gary Oak in a cave painting in the mountain caves of Kanto." Professor Oak broke in. "That is what I need help with, I was wondering if you could take this to Riley in Rota for me? Since Riley is an aura user, maybe he could shed some light on what this time flower was doing in a ten thousand year old cave painting."

"I'll go." I volunteered. "Pika Pi!" Pikachu said from the top of my head. He gave the victory sign. It seemed like another adventure to me. "I can't leave the gym alone to my sisters, Professor." Misty spoke up, her head down. "Nurse Joy is taking care of the Pokémon at the gym and someone from the League that specializes in water types will handle the challengers." It seemed to me that Oak had thought of everything beforehand.

"Sure." Misty said in a frazzled voice. I had my backpack on already, something I always kept packed and ready. It was more of a habit of mine. Tracey handed me the time flower. I wondered if it was crystal or a plant. The flowers bright colors flashed in the light. I felt it grow warm in my hands. No image of the past appeared or anything, leaving me slightly disappointed.

"The boat leaves from Old Shore Wharf at six in the afternoon tomorrow for Rota." Professor Oak handed me two tickets. "Riley and Professor Carolina discovered some ruins in the area. Last I heard, Riley reported that a lock of some kind was preventing entrance into the deeper ruins." Misty plucked the tickets from his hands. "Well, someone has to make sure that Ash doesn't lose these or our way."

"Hey!" I protested. "I can to find my way around."

Misty scoffed. "Please, you can't find your way out of a paper bag." Pikachu and Tracey were watching this like a tennis match. Sweat drops appeared on their heads.

"Pica." Pikachu sighed.

Tracey shook his head. "Those two will never change."

Oak smiled nervously. "You better get started on your journey, please call if anything happens. Your mother worries sometimes, Ash."

I sometimes forgot about that. My mom was great, always cheerful. Even if she did embarrass me sometimes. "Almost forgot!" The Professor reached into his lab coat. He withdrew a Pokedex. "This is a prototype National Pokedex that the other professors and I helped put together. It has a transport system built in, so you can switch between Pokémon on the road. We even added the Legendary Pokémon we know about from the regions." He handed it to me. "There was one with a phone in it, but there wasn't enough room for it." "Thanks, Professor Oak."

Oak reached again into his lab pocket. "Drat, I know I have it around here somewhere."

Tracy sighed. "Try the other pocket."

"Ah, there it is." He pulled out another Pokedex, except in only had one screen on it. "This is for you, Misty. This is a PokeNav, basically tells you where you are thanks to a GPS, but it has a margin for error. It's better than Ash at least, you know how bad he is with directions."

Misty laughed, "You have no idea." "Hey!" I protested.

We began biking, the landscape of Pallet soon giving way to the forest. Sunlight beat down. A flock of Pidgey flew overhead. Misty's bike was an exact copy of the one Pikachu fried, just resized. My bike was a birthday gift from Mom when I turned fifteen. Pikachu was on my shoulder. The red on the frame and black colors on the spokes reminded me of my hat.

The dirt road was bumpy and it was late afternoon when we took a lunch break. It was slightly awkward. I hadn't seen Misty for…a long time. We had met briefly in Hoenn, but it wasn't a catching up time between friends like I wanted it to be. For some reason, I actually missed arguing with her. "I haven't seen you wear that hat in a while, Ash." "Huh?" I took the hat off my head. It was red and white, with a stylized green L on the front. "Whoa." Apparently, I hadn't noticed which hat I was putting on. Blast from the past.

"Hey, I caught some new Pokemon from the Kalo's region. Come on out guys, say hello to my friend Misty." I threw my Pokeballs into the air. Hawlucha, Noivern, and Talonflame came out.

"Hello, guys." Misty greeted. They greeted her with their names. "Meet my Pokemon." Staryu, Starmie, Psyduck, Corsola, and Politoed came out. "Psyduck! What you doing here? Where's Azurill?" Misty asked at seeing the duck Pokémon. Psyduck stared at her, "Sy?" Misty sweatdropped. "At least I brought Gyarados." She mumbled. I'll probably never know how Misty caught a Gyarados.

The Pokémon began eating as we ate. After lunch, we let them play around. It passed without incident, which was a relief. A bunch of Pokémon playing around could lead to trouble. We began bicycling again after an hour of rest. The forest changed to plains and hills. Farms were dotted here and there. As the sun began to set, we went into another forest and set up camp in a clearing. I slept outside, the starry sky beginning to appear. The fire that we used to cook on was burning low.

A cloud passed over, brighter than the normal deep colors of the setting sun. A flying Pokémon emerged from the cloud. "Pica?" Pikachu stirred from my movement and gazed up at the flying Pokémon. I recognized the white belly, red plumage with green stripe on it's neck and wing tips on sight. A gold glow surrounded it. Ho Oh, the first Legendary Pokémon I saw. I wanted Misty to see this.

"Misty!" I called out. Misty stirred. "Huh? This better be good, or I'll…." She trailed off as she saw Ho Oh flying overhead. "Oh wow." Something sparkly flew towards me and landed on my sleeping bag. It was a feather unlike any I had ever seen. They didn't sparkle like a miniature rainbow. I got out my new Pokedex scanning Ho Oh and the feather. Ho Oh disappeared into the clouds heading for Old Shore Wharf.

"Ho Oh, the legendary fire flaming type Pokémon. Legends say that those who see Ho Oh are promised eternal happiness. Presumably flies through the world's skies in search of a Trainer with a pure heart. The Rainbow Feather, a gift from Ho Oh to a pure heated trainer." The Pokedex said electronically. I put the feather in my backpack. I heard deep breathing from Misty's sleeping bag. She had fallen asleep. Pikachu resumed sleeping on my side, curled up. The rest of the Pokémon lay around us.

I fell asleep to a dream. It was weird though, the surroundings were white and misty. I was in some kind of ruined temple. The white columns had cracked and fallen. The roof was missing, but some pieces of it lay on the floor. At the head of the chamber lay the emblem of Arceus, sixteen plates around a golden cross-like wheel. The stones were cracked. It had the air of a tomb. I had the feeling this place had once been magnificent.

There was nobody here, just me, the fog and an old ruin. I awoke to the sun in my eyes. Not a good way to start the day. Misty was already up, her Pokémon had returned to their Pokeballs. My Pokémon were all up and fed. "Well, finally you woke up. It's about ten in the morning already." I dragged myself out from the sleeping bag. "I already fed your Pokémon breakfast." Misty informed me.

I got dressed behind a bush. I emerged with my old hat on. It actually still fitted me. I began with one of my bagged meals. My mom had some kind of super power to make food last long. She probably knew I would be off on another adventure after going to Professor Oak's. I returned my team, except Pikachu who rode on my shoulder. "Hopefully, we can get there early so I can do some training on the boat."

We biked the rest of the way until we rested. I started to smell the sea. After lunch, we began cycling again, going downhill to the docks. The wharf hadn't changed, well at least the sky was clear. I shivered. Pikachu tensed slightly, picking up on my emotions. This place didn't bring back memories I wanted to remember.

A cruise ship blew it's whistle in the distance. Three funnels blew smoke in the air. It was a luxury liner. We cycled into town, when a limo went by us. The windows were blacked out. We coughed in the swept up dust. Misty shook her fist in the air as it vanished. "Jerk!" I mopped my face with the handkerchief she had given me when we parted ways. A small blush appeared on Misty's cheeks. "You actually kept that?"

"Yeah, I still have your lure as well." I said as I carefully rewrapped the lure after mopping off Pikachu's face and using some water from a water bottle to clean it off.

"I am glad you're with me, Misty. We haven't journeyed together for a while." Misty turned completely red. I thought it was cute. My heart began beating at Rapidash pace. Distracted, we went off the road and took an unplanned detour.

The bikes went down a steep hill, going past the point of stopability. Trees blurred, looking ahead. I leaned side to side. If we braked, we would be sent flying. We all screamed loudly. The wheels left the ground and we all ended up in a pile of bushes. We emerged from the bushes. It was all so fast, my head spun. Pikachu fell off my shoulder, dizzy. I pulled Misty from the bushes. Our bikes were bent up in places, spokes coming up.

"My bike! Ash you…" She was cut short when a swarm of Beedrill appeared. Misty froze. Her fear of Bug Pokemon taking over. I grabbed Pikachu. "RUN!" I yelled. We took off leaving dust trails behind us. The Beedrill followed us. The harsh buzzing told us that we had made them angry. Maybe we had stumbled into their territory. There was a small flash of yellow from my arms and Pikachu leapt into the air.

"PIKACHUUU!" A thundershock hit all of the Beedrill, making them slump to the ground. He gave the victory sign. "That was great, buddy!" He resumed his place on my shoulder. "Pikachu's power certainly has grown since I saw him last." Misty's eyes shone with that "I want to battle you" light. Going around the Beedrill, we went back to our bikes. We began walking our bikes along the road, going into town and soon finding the wharf. I looked at our tickets. The name of the ship was the same as the liner at dock.

"The Eruca is now boarding passengers. This cruise is bound for New Tork and Rota." A loudspeaker spoke from somewhere on board. The porter took our tickets and stamped them. He was dressed in a red sailors outfit, with gold thread on one shoulder. We left our bikes in cargo, hopefully we could find someone to repair them.

Our cabin was in second class, two portholes looking outside at the shore. The beds were plush, with two sheets, one heavy and the other thin. Two lifejackets were in one of the cabinets, were we stored our backpacks. We only had one shower and bathroom. We decided to have lunch on deck, grabbing some food from the dining room. The ship was whitewashed halls and blue carpet inside. The dining room overlooked the bow, from below the helm.

No Team Rocket yet, maybe they had given up. It had been a week without an attack, so it made me jittery. The cruise had a battlefield and gym on board for trainers. People passed us by, along with Pokémon. Pikachu hung onto my shoulder or at my side. A Persian walked by and hissed at us. "Pika Pi!" Pikachu narrowed his eyes, and his tail stood up. "Calm down, Pikachu. It's just a Persian." Misty spoke. The cat Pokémon turned its head away and went down between the tables and rested near a businessman in a black suit with a tie as red as blood. Sunglasses obscured his eyes.

I turned away back to my lunch, feeling unsettled. Pikachu went back to his Pokefood. A woman with long blond hair caught my eye. It was straightened, but familiar. My eyes spotted a poster. It was colored bright red, with pictures of Cynthia, Steven, Lance, Alder, Diantha, throwing Poke balls. The title of the poster read: Pokémon World Cup! At the bottom read: To register for this once every seven years event, trainers must journey to the host city of New Tork. Requirements: Trainers must average a Top Eight ranking in the Pokémon League.

I wanted to join that event! "Hey, Misty." She looked at the poster and sighed. "You are going to compete no matter what aren't you, Ash?" I grinned. "Yep!" The ship's whistle blew and the ramps were retracted back to the dock. Lines were thrown back. The anchor weighed. There were a lot of people on the boat. "I'm going to check out the pool, we will meet later." Misty said. I had dinner by myself.

The pool didn't sound like a bad idea. We had spent almost the entire day in the dining room. A few people had crowded around the poster. Pikachu hopped onto my shoulder. "How does the pool sound, buddy?" "Chaa." Pikachu nodded. Later, I was in a tropical flower schemed swimming trunks. The clock read nine o clock. Curfew was at ten thirty.

The pool was empty, the entire place silent except for a swimmer at one end of the pool. I dove straight in with a cannonball. Pikachu made a little splash, next to me. His feet and arms began swimming, his tail acting as a rudder. Misty emerged from the pool in a bright blue two piece. My cheeks burned. She had grown curves since the last time. The water showed them off.

I turned away and decided to head for the hot tub. The water against my back gave me a light pressured massage. The steam drifted up. Pikachu dozed in the steam. Tomorrow would be training day. Misty entered right next to me. I felt self-conscious, her being this close made me blush, but I was already red.

There was a splash of water and a water war began. Pikachu scampered off. He didn't like getting soaked to the bone. Drying him out made him look like a yellow puff ball with legs and a lightening shaped tail. Misty won that round. We crashed in our cabin, wondering what tomorrow would bring.

The Eruca's Helm

The helmsman was at the helm. The ship was at little past twenty six knots and making good time. The owner of the cruise ship sat in a chair overlooking the bow. They could see out, but no one could see in. A Persian rested with it's head in a man lap. He wore a black suit. He stroked the cat's head. The cat purred. "Screens." The man's voice was icy. His shades had come off, revealing black eyes.

A live image of the New Tork Skyline appeared. "Physic analyzer, Primary Target." The image turned green, the lights and sunset skyline changed to be dulled. The image zoomed in on one of the tall towers. A bipedal, humanoid creature with feline features appeared. A long gray, purple tail flicked behind it. On top of its head were two short, blunt horns. Purple eyes blazed defiantly. A tube extended from the back of its skull to the top of its spine, bypassing the neck. It has a defined chest and shoulders, which resembled a breastplate. The three digits on each hand and foot had spherical tips.

"Target Identified." An electronic voice said. "Scan of powers, physical structure and imaging scan confirms with ninety percent accuracy that subject is Mewtwo. Anomaly detected. Ten percent error chance caused by evolution signs. Power has increased by fifty percent. Reports in nearby area include sightings of Genesect. Caution is strongly recommended."

"So, I have found you at last." The man was none other than Giovanni, leader of Team Rocket. Now the last known underground organization of Pokémon hunters and scientists, whose research was deemed inhumane. "Project Metus, report." The screen switched to show an athlectic blond woman. "This is Agent D, reporting." "Status update." He ordered. "Substances deployed and presence of bots holding steady in test subjects. Stooges assigned to scout duty as requested. Three surprisingly adequate for deep cover."

"I will arrive personally on schedule. Delivery of equipment on board and ready. Tests from scientists show Metus in all subjects. Humans not effected due to chemical and electronic makeup. TA, GM and CC is also onboard, don't engage unless project success is threatened. Capture of M2 and M, one will draw out the other, live capture paramount." "Green light." The female finished and message was cut off.

"Failure will result in downfall." Giovanni finished. The cat looked up. "Meow?" The screens vanished. Inside a cloud, a red haired man listened to the conversation from a small gadget like a Pokedex. Lines of code flashed across the screen. "This is Lota, sending message to Uxie Pallas. Message from Big R to D."

The man soared ahead on a Dragonite, cape flying behind.

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