February 19th, 2015

Somewhere in Ethum

2:03am

The hallways of the laboratory were cold and dark, the girl walking down them hated it here but there wasn't really anything she could do to fix it. The place was fairly impressive if she was being honest but it still gave her the creeps, not that she'd admit that to anyone. That would be ridiculous, she barely admitted it to herself after all.

There was something about the flickering lights and the greenish glow they emitted. Maybe it was all the men in white coats and the messed up shit that went on there. Or the deafening silence. Whatever it was, she did not like her visits here. Unfortunately they happened to be quite frequent as of late.

Still it was something she had to do and she'd put up with it for now, at least she'd be leaving soon there was just someone she had to find first.

Where on earth was he? That pain in the ass was always late and she was always stuck picking up his slack. Typical, that was their entire partnership. She carried the team and he dragged them down, although he would probably say the same about her as well.

Frustrated she decided to search the halls to search for her partner and blow off some of her steam. As she turned the corner she saw him walking calmly down the next hallway. Even with that stupid mask covering his nose and mouth she recognized him because of that stupid thing he always had pushed up against his face.

"Put that down," The dark pink haired girl snapped angrily at the dirty blonde male in front of her, "You're such a creep with that stupid camera."

The boy scowled but silently put the digital camera into the black protective vest of his uniform.

"You're late again," She said with a voice filled with annoyance, "You should know better by now."

"Thanks for the lecture Mum but I don't need you to tell me what to do."

"At least tell me you got everything we need," She groaned, trying to stay patient but not really succeeding.

"Of course I did, I hope you did too."

"You think so little of me?" She demanded, he stared at her a moment and then she added, "Don't answer that. Let's just get out of here OK?"

"Fine with me."

Rolling her eyes she made her way through the maze of hallways towards the exit, her partner only steps behind.

"Grunt Gwen," The girl said holding up her ID card to the guard at the lab exit, "Signing out."

The man scanned her card and nodded, allowing her to leave. Her partner followed in suit, showing his identification.

"Grunt Trent, signing out," He said as he left, his card was checked as well and the two of them left the underground lab quietly.

Outside it was simply a small island of no consequence, which was probably why no one in the region's government had discovered this place. It was actually pretty lame too. There was nothing around other than a few trees, the small building that masked the lab's entrance, and a small beach area. It was pretty cold and windy tonight and the tight Team uniforms were not exactly known for their warmth.

"This sucks," She muttered angrily, as she stood at the shoreline, water kissing her feet as the waves rolled in, "Where is our ride?"

"Late obviously," Her partner said in a bored tone as he lay down in the sand and closed his eyes.

"Leave it to a damn Dragon Pokémon to let me down. Mew, I hate Dragons."

He sighed in annoyance as if she was a child repeating the same question over and over,

"Do you ever shut up?"

"No, besides what information do you have for Hana and Nick?" She asked as they walked towards the sandy beach.

"Nothing good, apparently we got Intel informing us more about the problems in Kanto and Johto, I heard that we'll be using their little issue as a distraction and reason to execute our own plan."

"Makes sense," The girl sighed, "All eyes will be pointed away from us so the timing is perfect. I don't really want to know anymore than that, just tell you know who and leave it."

"Fine," He said quietly, then perked up when he looked at the sky, "Hey there's our ride."

The girl frowned deeply as she saw the subject of his relief, feeling a knot in her stomach,

"Damn Dragon Pokémon."

March 2nd, 2015

11:12pm

A man stood in the center of a large stadium, staring at each and every empty seat. He'd been here more times than he can count; only that stadium was normally filled to the brim with people, lights, and signs, it was always loud. He at first found the chanting unbearable but eventually became desensitized to it, enough that it was tolerable. The current lack of noise was refreshing, yet almost eerie. Tomorrow it wouldn't be so silent and it wouldn't be so empty. For now however the man would enjoy the strange and serenading quiet.

This time around he was actually fairly pleased with the contestants that would be competing the next day. He normally disliked such events but he had met the one of the finalists when they were younger and he recalled the potential they'd had. It was a deep wish of his that these sorts of events stayed private but fans were respectful of the competitors' space during the season so these competitions were fans' opportunity to go crazy. He himself received a fair portion of such attentions. Still, it would be an interesting day; on he would watch with appropriate anticipation.

Each year he wondered what the victor would do after they won, and how far they'd go. He was often disappointed as they didn't often get much further; there was a fairly good reason for that. It was hard to do much better what they had already achieved, that much was very well known. Many victors were not known to accomplish any other feat afterwards, they simply disappeared from history, the only memory of them the record kept of their single win.

That was a thought for another time however, at this moment the man would relish the peace of the night, closing his eyes and feeling the cool breeze.

Suddenly something ripped through the air, a faint and subtle noise. The noise of footsteps. Slow and steady. Not the steps of a caretaker or maintenance worker, but these steps were calculated— cold, very much like the man's own.

He turned around to see the source of the disturbance.

Emerging from the shadows of the stadium entrance was a slow moving silhouette, it was obviously a male, and as he came closer the man thought he recognized who was standing before him. It was hard to tell, and if it was who he thought then that person would be very much changed, physically or otherwise. When the stranger came into view the man realized he wasn't a stranger at all. It was as he suspected making him unsure whether or not to be pleased or worried. Instead he decided to wait until further notice before he decided what to feel.

"It's been a while," The man spoke once the new arrival had fully revealed himself, there was no reply, "It takes a lot to shock me, but I knew you'd be coming back eventually."

"Then you know what I'm here for," The younger man spoke, not at all in a friendly tone.

It was painfully obvious what he was there for, and one thing was for sure, he wouldn't be getting it. Not without a struggle. The man had dreaded the day when this would happen, he'd planned for it and thought he was ready for it whenever it presented itself. But now… after seeing him again, old emotions he'd buried were resurfacing and he suddenly felt completely unprepared, he couldn't show it though no matter how much it was weighing on his heart.

"Yes I do, and rest assured it won't come easy."

"You forget, I've been gone a long time, and we've both gotten older." The other man replied.

"You're saying you'll beat me?" The man scoffed, hands reaching for his back pocket for his Pokémon, "Still a dream of yours, kid?"

The young man replied with a dark chuckle as he pulled a Pokéball from his belt, pressing the button and enlarging it to fill his palm, "I'm saying I'll wipe the floor with you, and remind you that my intentions are nothing like one of a child's. You forget I'm no longer your puppet to be used at your leisure."

"People don't change, you're as naïve as ever. You may think you're different than you were before when I first met you, but you aren't. Still think everything will come easy to you? That it will be handed to you on a silver platter? Let me assure you it won't."

"I suppose that we'll have to wait and see."

The man narrowed his eyes at his opponents comment but made the choice not to respond and instead let his own Pokéball fly,

"Go!"

March 3rd, 2015

Indigo Plateau Conference

8:53pm

Ash's toes wiggled in anticipation, he could hear the cheers from the outside muted by the thick concrete walls of the stadium. He couldn't shake the excitement and nervousness from his stomach. Eight years, eight years he'd been waiting for this, and it was finally here. He'd worked way too long and hard to pass the opportunity up. His fists clenched in anxious anticipation.

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu cried as he jumped up on Ash's shoulder happily, apparently just as giddy as he was.

"I know you're excited buddy, we can take him right?"

"Pikachu Pi!" He agreed with a smile.

It was the Indigo Plateau Conference Finals; and Ash had made it. He had the opportunity to become the winner of the Indigo Plateau Conference, he had the chance to battle the Elite Four, and he had the chance to become Champion. There was no way he was going to screw this chance up; he would give it his all, no regrets.

"You have five minutes Mr. Ketchum," Alerted an assistant with a headset and a clipboard as they passed by his waiting room.

"Thanks."

Five minutes.

He was practically pissing his pants he was so thrilled. He stared at the Pokéballs in his hands proudly.

Noivern, Sceptile, Infernape, Dewott, even Charizard had joined him for the battle, and he had his best friend on his side— well, shoulder. Ash felt confidant, not in himself, but in his Pokémon. They'd been by his side and on his team for years, they'd gone through blood, sweat, tears, and who knows what else during training. It had all paid off, and now was the moment of cashing all that work in.

"C'mon guys, let's go and show everyone what we're made off."

"We're ready for you now," The same assistant said, popping her head back in.

Gathering up all the courage he had Ash put the Pokéballs in his pocket, rubbed Pikachu's head causing the mouse Pokémon to smile, and headed out of the greenroom and towards the stadium entrance. As he preceded forward the crowd's cheers got louder and louder. Each step he took was a step closer to his dream, and as he stood, waiting for his name to be called he took it all in.

This was it.

Everything he'd done up in his life up till now led to this. This moment, it was the end of an era, but the beginning of a new one. Life's possibilities suddenly seemed so much grander, and so much brighter.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he almost missed his name being called out,

"And now, our first finalist of the Indigo Plateau Conference," The announcer shouted enthusiastically, "A Kanto native, Ash Ketchum from Pallet town!"

That was his queue.

He walked out confidently, with a grin on his face, waving to the screaming crowds. The night sky had no effect on the intense lighting that filled the arena, it was so strong he couldn't help but squint; he couldn't see the people in the audience, just the flashes from their cameras and the sound of their cheers.

He soaked it all in, sure it might have been cocky, but it was amazing, the energy of the audience. There was nothing quite like it. Ash always had loved a crowd.

Ash knew his mum, Professor Oak, and Gary were somewhere in the audience. Brock had also said he had tickets to the match and a ton of his friends had called him before the match saying they would be watching it live on TV. That added pressure but it also encouraged him. His very best friends were rooting for him; the people he cared about most were supporting him. In that moment Ash felt lucky, he was lucky. He couldn't have asked for a better group of people surrounding him.

He turned to the Champion's Box; he recognized quite a few faces. Each Champion was present, Lance, Wallace, Cynthia, Adler, Diantha, as well as former Champion Steven Stone. Paul sat among their ranks, a rival he hadn't met with since their battle at the Silver Conference when Ash had been twelve. Paul had won the Sinnoh League only recently and had succeeded in defeating the Elite Four, as well as Cynthia. Ash had seen it on television a few weeks back, it was probably one of the best battles he'd ever seen, Paul only winning by a hair. The guy would be taking over as Champion once the new season started in April. If Ash was able to do the same as him, they'd both be Champions, and Ash was itching to challenge him. He seemed like he always was, impassive and aloof. He didn't look at Ash, but kept his arms crossed and face forward.

The entirety of the Kanto and Johto Elite Four was there as well, Karen, Bruno, Koga, and the newest member as of three years ago, Misty, his old friend from his first year of traveling. He hadn't seen her in ages, last time they saw each other in person she was still a gym leader. She looked different but he could tell by her movements and expressions she wasn't really changed at all. He shot Misty a smile and waved goofily. She turned her head, saw him, and rolled her green eyes, but as she turned back Ash could see the subtle smirk playing at her lips.

"And our second finalist of the Indigo Plateau Conference," Cried the announcer, "A Kalosian from Vaniville Town, Calem Vincent."

A tall dark haired trainer around Ash's age walked out with a determined and elated expression. He had a burgundy coloured cap on, along with a navy blue coat and black cargo pants.

Ash watched as his opponent walked out, just as happy to be there as he was. Calem was a good trainer, Ash didn't really know him so well as their paths hadn't crossed before, but from what he could see they guy seemed pretty cool and was a really great trainer. He'd be a challenge, but Ash always wanted that.

"Each trainer will be using their full party of Pokémon, a classic one on one battle, no substitutions! Now if you all are ready for the finals of this conference, which will decide the winner of the Indigo League, let the battle, begin!"

Calem reached into his bag and grasped his first Pokéball in his hands; he crossed his arms around his chest and then threw the Pokéball up high into the air.

"Let's go Meowstic!"

Ash pulled out his own Pokéball, turned his baseball cap around and gave the ball the most powerful throw he could,

"Dewott, I choose you!"

The battle was tough; they'd been neck and neck this entire time. It felt like it had been hours but Ash really had no idea how long they'd been going at it. Calem proved himself to be a hell of a challenge and Ash loved it.

His Meowstic had been a big problem at the beginning; he took out both Dewott and Septile almost too easily, giving him a pretty nice head start into the battle. Ash had been shaken, pretty frustrated, but not ready to give up. Luckily Pikachu came through and took out Meowstic, Absol, and Altaria, letting Ash catch up and pull slightly ahead. He could always count on his best friend, their synchronization and understanding of each other in battle was amazing and he couldn't have asked for a better performance than what Pikachu gave.

After so many battles the poor guy was exhausted and was taken out by Calem's Clefable. Noivern defeated Clefable but was later taken down by Vaporeon. Ash knew the type disadvantage he had sending out Infernape, but the two of them managed to break down the type wall with Blaze and defeat the water type. This left Infernape in bad shape, fainting only seconds after Vaporeon. T

The two of them only had one Pokémon left.

Sweat dripped down Ash's temples, he knew he had the type advantage in this battle, but he never relied on or cared much about types and their effects so he knew not to underestimate Calem's last Pokémon. There were dark clouds covering the moon now and Ash could practically smell the presence of rain in the air. Not good as Charizard was a fire type, but it was not going to be the decider of the battle, Ash wouldn't let it.

"C'mon Chesnaught, just one more battle!" Calem shouted as he released his last Pokémon.

A Chestnaught appeared, he was the biggest one Ash had ever seen, certainly bigger than Clemont's, but he had a trusted old friend by his side. There was nothing to worry about.

"Go Charizard, we've got this!" Ash cried as he tossed his Pokéball into the air revealing Charizard.

It roared loudly and shot flames from his mouth, flexing every muscle in his body, always the show off Ash knew only too well.

The crowd roared equally as loud, pumped up and anticipating the last match up of the battle before the winner was determined.

"Charizard, let's start this off with a Sky Drop!"

Charizard was instantly flying towards Chesnaught, ready grab it and take it up into the air.

"Brace yourself Chesnaught, use Spiky Shield then follow it up with a Body Slam!" Calem called out.

Just as Charizard reached for Chesnaught, spikes grew from his back causing Charizard crash right into them, the Pokémon hissed in pain. The grass type instantly went into its next attack, knocking Charizard harshly in the abdomen, Charizard cried out in pain, but caught himself midway before he could make impact with the ground, and then flew out of Chesnaught's reach.

Ash's teeth clenched, that Spiky Shield would be a problem that he'd have to work around… but how? There wasn't much time to make an elaborate plan however, so he'd rely on his instincts, that was how he got here in the first place.

"Charizard use Dragon Rage on Chesnaught while it's recovering!" Ash ordered.

"Quick Chesnaught hit him with your Seed Bomb!"

The two attacks collided and for a brief moment Ash thought they were done for, the collision caused a huge explosion, leaving smoke everywhere. Both Pokémon weren't visible and it wasn't clear what exactly happened.

The smoke cleared and Ash grinned, both Pokémon were untouched, still battle ready, neither breaking a sweat.

"Nice one Ash, but you're going to need a lot more than that to even touch my Chesnaught!" Calem taunted.

"We'll see about that," Ash laughed, "Charizard fly up high and get ready!"

Charizard flew up quickly above the arena; so far up he looked tiny.

"Cesnaught, be on your guard."

"Use Giga Impact!" Ash cried out, as he spoke Charizard charged downward, with amazing speed, ready to knock out his opponent with one shot.

"Use your vine whip to catch him before he hits you!" Calem shouted.

Coarse and crude vines shot out from Chesnaughts large shell and entangled Charizard before he could reach him or the ground. He was stuck in the vines, unable to fly up, down, or any way.

"Try to get out of it!"

And it did try, but the strength of the vines… they were too thick, unlike any Vine Whip Ash had seen before, it almost resembled a frenzy plant attack and Charizard just couldn't get out.

"Now take that Pokemon for a swing!" Calem commanded.

Chesnaught swung the vines around back and forth hitting Charizard against the stadium floor over and over. The fire type cried out in pain, Ash could see he was getting pretty battered up. He had to think of something and fast, or else this match would be lost and Charizard injured.

Then it hit him,

"Charizard use your Flamethrower on the vines!"

Judging by the look in the Pokémon's eyes he understood, shooting a powerful hot breath of fire down the vines, burning them and traveling quickly down towards the source. Chesnaught cried out in pain as the fire reached his body.

"Chesnaught!"

Looking at the Pokémon now, they were both exhausted, Ash wouldn't be surprised if one of them fell over and the match would end. Charizard was bruised and dizzy, Chesnaught was burned and weak. It had been a quick battle so far, but one with intense and damaging results.

"C'mon Charizard I know you can do this." Ash muttered to himself, he knew it could pull it off. It seemed as if it heard Ash's words and met Ash's eyes with a smirk.

"Chesnaught use Power Up Punch while it's weak!"

Not about to let Calem have the last move Ash called out,

"Charizard, if you can, fly up high again!"

His Pokémon looked to him and nodded, flying up just as Chesnaught's energy filled fist was about to hit him. It was a narrow escape, but it was an escape none the less.

"Use smokescreen over the arena!" Ash ordered.

A dark smoke emerged from Charizard's jaws and covered the stadium, Ash couldn't see anything and that was the whole point, he'd just realized how to get around the Spiky Shield that was preventing any of Charizard's strong physical attacks.

"Now set fire to the center of the stadium with an Overheat!"

Flames burst from the Pokémon's mouth as it aimed its powerful attack towards the center of the stage. Ash was almost positive, this match was almost over.

"Get away from center stage Chesnaught!" Calem called desperately.

Ash was pretty sure with Chesnaught's skills it probably managed to escape, just as he'd hoped.

"You know what to do Charizard!" Ash yelled out loudly, almost sure that his Pokémon was thinking the same thing, but he couldn't risk saying it out loud, or else it would give away the plan.

Charizard bolted down towards the stadium and into the smoke like a rocket. Ash waited for him to return.

"Please work, please work, please work," Ash chanted with his fists clenched and his stomach turning, hoping to see his Pokémon return from the smoke victorious.

Nothing came out. There was no noise except the crackling of the overheat attack as the flames licked through the center stage. Nothing. He couldn't hear anything. Even the crowd was silent, anticipating the next move.

Suddenly Charizard burst out from the Smoke Screen carrying the Chesnaught up and into the night sky.

"Yes!" Ash cheered victoriously, it had worked, Chesnaught was unable to use Spiky Shield if he didn't know where Charizard was coming from, "Now use your Sky Drop!"

The fire type roared as he threw the grass type into the center stage's flames from Charizard's previous overheat.

"No," Calem cried, "Chesnaught!"

As he cried out a clap of thunder burst through the clouds and rain began to pour down onto the outdoor arena.

"Ha! Perfect timing, eh Charizard?" Ash laughed, the Pokémon roared triumphantly in reply.

The smoke cleared, the fire died down to a smoky steam, and Charizard flew back to Ash's side. Chesnaught had fainted, he wasn't severely hurt, Ash and Charizard made sure that wouldn't happen, but one thing was for sure, this battle was finished.

"Chesnaught is unable to battle; the victory goes to Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!" The referee yelled.

"And that's the end of the battle folks!" The announcer shouted to the audience, "The winner of the 2014 Indigo Plateau Conference is Ash Ketchum! Congratulations!"

Cheers erupted through the stadium, Ash hadn't realized that they could scream any louder, but they were.

Then it hit him like a freight train, the battling had Ash so focused it caused him to forget, but he remembered now that he was battling to become this year's Indigo Plateau winner, and he'd won.

Eight years.

Even longer, practically his whole life he'd wanted and worked for this.

It was sort of surreal.

Ash clutched the Pokéballs in his pocket and gently let out the team that got him here in the first place.

Noivern, Dewott, Sceptile, and Infernape stared at him eager to know how the match went, Pikachu jumped on his shoulder as Charizard stepped closer to its trainer.

"We won," Ash whispered to them, almost unable to believe it himself. He slowly got louder as he repeated over and over until he was practically shouting, "We did it, we did it, we did it!"

His team cheered for joy, all proud.

"Pika pi pika!" Pikachu cried out with joy.

"C'mere guys," He laughed as he pulled each of his Pokémon into a group hug so tight he probably could have suffocated. Ash continued laughing, not caring that he was soaking wet from rain and probably looked like an idiot, he laughed until he cried, and he cried until he couldn't tell his tears from the rain covering the stadium.

March 4th, 2015

Kanto Pokémon League

4:09am

"You're late," Lance said curtly as Wallace and Glacia walked into the dimly lit room, taking a seat at the round table where the other Champions sat. Misty watched them, remarking on their ordinary and low maintenance appearance. The situation didn't call for the traditional Pokémon League garb, but still it was strange seeing such put together people looking so… normal. Given the circumstances primping may have been inappropriate so she did understand; she wasn't exactly going to win any beauty contests herself.

"Sorry about that Lance," Wallace apologized, "Is this everyone?"

It was. Each Champion was present along with their 'second', which was why she was here. When Lance had asked her after the Indigo Plateau Conference Finals to accompany him to a meeting with the other Champions, she knew it had to be something bad. The only time the Champions had meeting at this time of night, accompanied only by what was normally their most trusted Elite Four member, was when something serious and detrimental was about to happen. Everything was so sudden and urgent. When Misty asked Lance he informed her that in his fifteen years of being a champion, there had never been a meeting of this sort and of this nature.

Obviously Misty was anxious as hell, not sure what exactly what to expect despite the fact she knew most of the facts of the situation, only the Champions knew the entire story, and it would stay that way until further notice. She'd been given a vague synopsis with no names or places, her role here was to observe and soak in information to filter to her fellow Elite Four members, who would then simplify it even more to the Indigo League Gym Leaders.

She glanced at the others who'd joined the Champions, Wilkstrom was with Diantha, Grimsley with Adler, and Glacia with Wallace. The only one here not of the Elite Four was Paul, the soon to be Champion of Sinnoh, Misty knew nothing of him except that he always wore a sour expression that matched his personality and his battling skills were nothing to joke about. They'd never spoken before.

"Are we ready to begin?" Diantha asked smoothly, with the grace that Misty supposed came with a woman of her occupation.

Lance nodded quickly,

"You all know why this meeting has been called, and I suspect all of you have similar questions, but let me start off by saying, although this may be speculation, being on your guard is essential. Now, we need a plan of action, one to take to the enemy, and one to prepare ourselves if they strike first."

Misty swallowed hard, this sounded bad, and she'd seen some bad things in her life time (mostly Ash's fault of course). Lance wasn't beating around the bush here, and she could tell by his voice he was anxious, scared even.

"I assume this means that we should prep our own regional branches of G-Men? And the International Police?" Cynthia surveyed, giving each Champion a questioning look, "As well as prepare some sort of headquarters, one that would not be accessible by public information."

"And judging by the situation I'm going to guess that the threat only extends to Kanto and Johto at this point, correct Lance?" Adler asked.

"Yes, while you're regions are most likely safe at the moment, arm yourself, your Elite, your gym leaders, and your G-Men." Lance replied, "Kanto and Johto's fate is… inevitable, but everywhere else is going to have to pick up the pieces. Be prepared for anything."

"I assume we are going to go on as though there is nothing wrong, does that mean the event for the Indigo Plateau Conference Champion is still going to happen?" Adler inquired.

"We can't have people suspect anything is arise, or that we're aware of it," Cynthia nodded, "It's a big event, but I suggest we leave some of our people back in our home regions instead of having them attend. Not so many that it's obvious, but enough to keep the regions safe. At least one Elite Four Member per Region and a handful of Gym Leaders."

"Assuming you're planning on going underground Lance, you will need a team of specialists, not just good battlers," Wallace pointed out, "You're going to need a lot of people."

"Get the best of the best," Diantha advised, "Should you need anyone from Kalos, I would be glad to spare who I can."

The other Champions nodded in agreement.

The conversation continued, Misty getting more and more nervous as it went on. They were making plans and she had no idea what she was supposed to think. At the moment they were discussing people they would need to execute their plan. There had been many suggestions made and all of them made sense. It was as though they were bartering off valuable citizens they could spare to assist Lance, it was a little weird, but it was important, she understood that. It still bothered her though, as if they were nothing but pawns.

Up until now only the Champions had spoken, none of the others had said a word, but Misty felt she had to say something under the circumstances.

"I know someone who could help," Misty spoke up, causing all eyes to shift towards her. She could feel Lance's cold stare burning through her, he obviously did not want her to speak but she knew she had to.

"What do they have to offer?" Cynthia asked.

"They're a trainer."

"And this trainer is competent?"

"I can vouch for him and say he's more than competent."

"I'll make that judgement when I meet him, if he's so wonderful; you're tasked with bringing him in." Lance replied dully, "What's this trainer's name?"

Misty opened her mouth to speak but before she could, someone beat her to it… Paul.

"Ash Ketchum."

So yeah, I've been planning this story and rewriting bits of it for almost two years now. I figured I'd just post it. I have a few chapters already written so I'll probably post the next one soon. I plan on alternating updates between this story and my other one, Castles and Bricks.

I came up with this when I was thinking about of Lt. Surge talked about war. I wanted to write about a war in pokeverse so here we go...

The characters are much older now, Ash is eighteen, so it's definitely been a while.

The conflict is definitely elusive at this point but it will slowly become clear to readers as it becomes clear to the characters.

I know there's going to be romance in the story but it's definitely not a focal point, so if you're looking for a romance... this may not be... well what you're looking for.

So yeah. I hope someone enjoyed this.