Disclaimer: I don't think I need to tell you all I don't own Pokemon, but I will anyways. I make no profit from this whatsoever.

Warning: Story rated M for a reason; this is only for mature audiences, and features lemons, epic battles, adult themes, and other such things that some viewers may find offensive. This story is not for the faint of heart, there are dark themes, murders, character death, and many themes that may be unsuitable for younger audiences. Discretion is strongly advised.

Chapter One: A Champion In Disguise

Kanto, the Orange Archipelago, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova, each of these regions had their own cultures, customs, and rich history. A great many people have visited one or more of these vast landmasses, all of them spread out across an even vaster ocean, separated by hundreds of miles of saltwater, and of course the countless Pokemon that made the seas their home. Many of these people carried remarkable fables and legends from their homeland, spreading stories far and wide, and while some of these tales were local, others were known all over the world.

The tales that inspired the most awe in the modern day Pokeearth were the recent happenings all across the world; many of the legendary Pokemon were acting up in their respective regions in recent years. Some were less terrifying to behold in all their rage, whereas others, the ungodly legends of old, could have simply blinked and shattered the world like an eggshell. The incident in Kanto where a freak storm blanketed almost the entire world and threatened to kill off the entire human race was noteworthy, but then there were other catastrophes following it in a seemingly never-ending barrage, like when the titans of fire, ice, and lightning threatened to unleash Armageddon and flood the entire planet. A lot of people had seen the news report, yet thankfully a lot of the world population still remained ignorant. If it wasn't for the freak crystal structures appearing in Green Field, the incident in that Johto Forest that according to rumors involved a Celebi and a Suicune, the massive, inexplicable tidal wave that threatened to drown all of Altomare, and at least eleven other major incidents involving legendary Pokemon, the world may have remained ignorant.

As it was though, these incidents were now known all over the world, and people were starting to talk about the possibility of the world ending. As scary as it was to accept, the human race realized that if not for the actions of one brave young man, the earth would have fallen to ruin at the very first major crisis. People everywhere whispered his name, those who hadn't personally witnessed his countless heroic egresses still heard of it on the news, or heard it on the radio, or directly from the many people involved in these horrific doomsday scenarios.

This person was now known all around, and though he tried to disappear into the woodwork time and time again, people kept on badgering him for autographs, asking him when he planned on saving the world again, and some of the more extreme fanatics even started dubbing him the Chosen One, a legendary title some believed only the Mythical Champion of Arceus deserved. All legendary Pokemon now respected him immensely, and some of them even joined his roster of over six hundred different kinds of Pokemon, all of them now level 100 and gods among their species.

The name Ash Ketchum was one more famous than just about any other person on the planet now. Ash and his starter Pokemon had set off on their journey nearly six years ago, a legendary Pikachu that commanded respect among electric types everywhere, be they legendary or otherwise. Despite their fame now, things hadn't always been this crazy for the dynamic duo, and though Ash did his best to smile for the crowds, the cameras, and tried to act like everything was cool, he would have been all too happy to get away for a good long while, but it seemed like his ongoing journey was fraught with fame, fortune, and power, all of which he once craved though never to this extent. The fortune and power were great, he had no problems with them whatsoever, and wouldn't stop until he was the undisputed world champion and amassed infinite power as an aspiring Pokemon Master, but the fame, well he could definitely do without so much of that.

It wasn't that he went looking for trouble with living legends, but trouble seemed to have an innate ability at finding him. If he had to do it all over again, he would have treaded a little more cautiously and not let his name float around so much. It wasn't that the fame was necessarily a bad thing; it's just that people wouldn't leave him alone, and though he always optimistically tried to let the craze die down, people just couldn't seem to get enough of him.

Desperate for a bit of a break from the media, Ash had jumped at the chance when Alexa suggested he visited the Kalos region, one so far from the other main regions that it was actually refreshingly unfamiliar. News of the other regions traveled slowly in this part of the world, and Ash was pleasantly surprised to discover that upon arriving, his name wasn't nearly as well known. The Kalos region was beautiful, he could sense the romantic atmosphere all around him and if it wasn't for the fact that he needed to keep moving, this might not be a bad place to settle down, maybe even find a girlfriend and start a family.

His journey had been absolutely amazing, and despite some of the less endearing aspects of his fame, Ash took every opportunity to help people, to take time out of his busy schedule to give others a leg up. Unfortunately, it wouldn't last long, Ash's name had already been known pretty much worldwide, and with what happened in Lumiose city a week ago, when he saved a rampaging Garchomp from his pursuing lifelong enemies Team Rocket, he knew it was only a matter of time before his fame became too great for him to escape it anymore.

Still, for the time being, Ash was feeling content. He had made some new friends or as Pikachu would say, he picked up some new strays, as Ash had a habit of doing whenever he arrived in a new region. Clement and Bonnie were brother and sister; both of them very smart, both very kind and loyal. Having gotten to know them a little better the last week, Ash had forged a budding bromance with the inventor and had come to see Bonnie as the little sister he never had.

Having been unaccustomed to displays of affection in his early years, now Ash didn't hesitate to reciprocate any hugs the little energetic, eight year old girl gave him. Journeying with the blonde haired siblings was proving to be just as rewarding as traveling with any of his previous companions. Clement was a little shy, and tended to double over in embarrassment when his little sister proposed to some girl they didn't even know, all for the sake of finding him a dependable wife to look after him in her stead. Bonnie meanwhile; was direct, honest, and didn't hesitate to speak her mind. She didn't get embarrassed, though from time to time she displayed a surprising level of maturity that threw even Ash for a loop.

She still had that youthful innocence, untainted by the chills and thrills of puberty and seeing a boy in a romantic light for the first time. It was something Ash hadn't actually learned to do until he was almost 13 years old, when he journeyed with May and her brother Max in the Hoenn region. Now at 16; Ash could no longer play the dense idiot card when certain female friends in his journey tried to move in on him. Bonnie had even tried getting Ash to open up on whether or not he had a girlfriend already, among other things, and when he said he didn't, she frowned in confusion, completely missing the misty, wistful expression that crossed the older boy's face as the image of a certain Bluenette crossed his mind.

His journey in Kalos was already off to a fantastic start, during the Garchomp incident, he had befriended and caught a level 30 Froakie, which just happened to have its exceedingly rare protein ability, not that such things surprised Ash anymore, who had become accustomed to catching Pokemon that were some of the best of their species. Having heard about the legends of the Chosen One, Ash often wondered if the God Pokemon Arceus really did choose him, if there really was such a thing as a champion of the gods.

Of course, it wouldn't be too much of a shocker, considering all the other extraordinary and impossible things that have happened in Ash's life. Not only was he now an Elite Level trainer, a rank which enabled him to carry up to 15 Pokemon in his party instead of the usual 6, but he had faced off against and prevailed over some of the most powerful trainers in the world, all through the strength of his Pokemon and the bond they all shared.

He wouldn't get the final increase to 30 Pokemon until he beat a regional champion or any other champion level trainer, but Ash wasn't too worried, a team of 15 was more than sufficient to prepare him for almost any situation. With that said, he was still gunning for the top just as fiercely as he had ever done, the only difference now was that he had some other priorities as well. On his way to Santalune City with his new friends, Ash and Froakie worked together to capture a young but talented Gale Wings Fletchling, proving once again that Ash Ketchum was the luckiest trainer on the planet. He always captured Pokemon with their best abilities every time, Pokemon who would go on to become deified members of their species, and assimilate an all-powerful set of stats and tap into their entire move pools.

Currently, with his new Pokeball containing Fletchling attached to his belt, Ash and Pikachu were walking up the winding paths leading through Santalune forest with a determined air about them, the battle worn electric mouse sitting on his favorite perch, Ash's very own shoulder. The forest was one of the largest in all of Kalos, going on for hundreds of miles in nearly every direction. Bird and bug Pokemon either chirped or crawled over the forest floor, the dead leaves crunching beneath them in the tranquil environment. He and his current team had been training in this tropical forest for a good several hours now. Though he still retained the same dishevelled raven colored hair and the z shaped scars he'd been born with, Ash's body had greatly matured. Due to traveling all the time, he had a toned, muscular figure, not like those disgusting body builders who tried to emulate a Machoke, but a lean muscled frame, a chiseled face, six pack abs, and large pectorals that had many fan girls gushing at the sight of him.

His taste in clothing had changed significantly over time as well, the only familiar piece of attire being his headwear, his new Kalos region Pokeball logo cap, which partially concealed that untamed, wild animal he called a head of hair. He now sported a black trench coat and a plain loose fitting grey tea shirt with no words or pictures embroidered on the chest to liven it up a bit. He had his trusty X-Transceiver hidden by the sleeve of his trench coat on his right wrist; and his favorite necklace with beaded words spelling out his favorite saying, 'true friendship never dies,' a momentum from before his journey even began and something he wore all throughout his journey, to remind him that the best childhood friend he lost was always close to his heart. The master balls that contained his almighty, fully trained legendary Pokemon were concealed within the additional Pokeball holsters within his trench coat, and his mega bracelet was secured around his left wrist, which was also concealed by his trench coat. His pants weren't anything particularly different, but they were a dull grey as compared to the colorful blue jeans he used to wear. Pikachu often commented on how Ash's new style was depressingly lacking in color, but Ash wasn't really as tapped into the emotional color spectrum as he used to be, having become increasingly more emotionless, until at last he was left a shadow of his former enthusiastic self. His path to loneliness and depression began years ago, and though countless, good looking girls offered him everything from friendship to lust, love, wealth, fame, fortune, sex, or glory, he just couldn't get her off his mind or out of his heart.

Ash wasn't interested in pursuing romance; the one girl he loved most of all had left him long before his journey even started, seemingly dropping off the face of the earth and taking most of his heart with her. Falling for Dawn in Sinnoh years later had been a big mistake. He had harbored a crush on May as well, but it hadn't progressed beyond that before Drew came into the picture, something for which Ash was actually secretly glad. Drew and May were extremely happy together, and that made him happy for his friend, even if Drew had started off as a little bit snooty. Dawn and Kenny however, just hearing their names still left a bitter taste in the Pallet town trainer's mouth.

He made a habit of not traveling with people who he could end up really caring about, who he could end up wanting to spend his life with. Ash was a traveler, and though it hurt to say goodbye to each new set of friends he made, he knew the path he walked was ultimately a lonely one in the end. Since traveling with Ash tended to get very dangerous, he knew he couldn't keep leading his friends into the madness and the chaos, and when opportunities arose for them, he always encouraged them to follow their dreams, even if their path split from his, even if it broke him inside to see them go.

Watching Dawn leave with Kenny after the Sinnoh League was perhaps the hardest departure Ash ever endured, and though he and his Sinnoh companion had parted on mostly good terms, Ash couldn't just turn his feelings for her off, even if he wanted to. He had loved Dawn, and letting her go had been the hardest decision Ash ever made, second only to one.

Ash shook his moroseness out of his mind and tried focusing on the positives. People always said his endless optimism was one of his most endearing traits, but it was getting harder and harder to put on a smile and act like everything was fine when deep down Ash was slowly falling to pieces. Pikachu and his other Pokemon were sticking to Ash like glue, and no matter what his human relations were like, he knew he could always count on his Pokemon to be there for him, without having to worry about their safety, for there were few dumb enough to cross the monsters he carried with him.

Even those that were, it wasn't like they really knew the full extent of Ash's power as a trainer, but he knew they'd all learn one day that he and his partners were not to be trifled with. Even enemies like Team Rocket, who had tried time and again to pilfer his Pokemon; Ash knew it wasn't really going to happen. Even if they succeeded, Team Rocket was never very good at covering their tracks; but even if they were, Ash still wasn't worried, because he had one more ace up his sleeve that Team Rocket knew nothing about.

In fact the only people who did know for sure were the Oak family and his mom Delia, and maybe since Lucario mentioned it to them, May and Max might have pieced it together. Dawn and Brock were the only other individuals he told, though that was when he was still getting a handle on it and he didn't want the blue haired coordinator to freak out if she accidentally caught him training alongside his Pokemon. Brock knew simply because he knew Ash better than almost anybody, having travelled with him longer than anyone else to. In the end though, even Brock had found a dream and Ash reluctantly said goodbye.

Ash Ketchum was many things, the son of the all-powerful world Champion Red, the Chosen One, the King of the Sea, and many other titles that earned him a fierce rep all across the world. The one thing most people didn't know he was though; was an aura guardian, one who possessed limitless spiritual power. Upon mastering his aura, Ash was even more surprised to discover his endless spiritual energy didn't stop at just the power of aura, no; he had limitless Chi and Mana, which afforded him countless other powers.

Ash could augment his physical capabilities, his strength, speed, reflexes, and fighting prowess to absolute levels while ignoring any and all laws of physics; such as the G-Force, which he was immune to the harmful effects of even while moving at many times the speed of light. He could tap into and control the five elements; earth, water, fire, wind, and ether, summon vast storms capable of blanketing the planet, conjure torrents of fire that could get as hot as the Planck Temperature, and command the forces of nature at levels on par with fully trained individuals of the Hoenn region's weather Trio.

He could create aura spheres of varying sizes and any degree of power. He could expand his conscious awareness to cosmic levels, instantly learning any amount of information from any and all recorded material with a single glance. To top off all that, his Mana and Chi afforded him almighty magical powers of countless different varieties and types. He could use them to warp the fabric of reality on any scale and to any degree, emulate any and all Pokemon attacks on the same level as level 100 Pokemon, and could become supernaturally competent in any and all fields, including fields of combat.

Ash possessed limitless spiritual powers of all kinds, and was the first aura master in history to do so; even sir Aaron couldn't use Mana or Chi powers. Upon discovering these abilities, Ash began moonlighting as a vigilante outfitted in a suit comprised entirely of pure spiritual energy. He became known all over the world as the Aura Phoenix, and now it stuck; ironically his alias was even more famous now than he was as Ash Ketchum.

The Aura Phoenix had contributed to the fall of both Team Galactic and most recently Team Plasma in Unova, while Ash captured Kyurem and Giratina from those regions, along with the both Zekrom and Reshiram. A few people knew about his alter ego, though a lot of them knew due to circumstances beyond his control; like May, Brock, and Max hearing about it from Lucario. Kidd knew about it to, but Ash wasn't too concerned about trusting her discretion; since she had wanted to keep information about the tree of beginning a secret and because she had witnessed firsthand his willingness to sacrifice himself to save the tree, something she referred to as the essence of heroism. Looking back now, Ash realized she was right, he was a hero; true heroism is willingly sacrificing oneself so that others may live, but it seemed fate had other plans for him and a heroically honorable death was not an option.

Dawn knew because he had fallen in love with her and foolishly believed they could actually have a life together. It didn't end well, and Ash was reminded once again that any human companion he traveled with could never stick with him in the long run. Each friendship was fleeting, each companion a temporary student for Ash to teach or a person for him to disappoint when they started developing feelings for him. He never looked back if he could help it, but he did keep tabs on all of them just the same.

Misty was still leading her gym in Cerulean city, and aside from Viridion gym was considered the gym to beat in all of Kanto. The only reason Viridion gym was higher up that totem pole was because Blue Oak lead it. The older brother of Gary and Daisy, Blue Oak was the eldest grandchild of Professor Oak, and was a Pokemon prodigy at a young age, having been Red's biggest rival throughout his entire journey across the world.

Like Red, Blue had captured almost 700 different species of Pokemon, all of them fully trained to the infinitely powerful Monsters all Pokemon had the potential to be but very rarely became. Compared to their champion level teams of 30 almighty Pokemon, Ash was still a newbie in comparison. Like his father before him however, Ash was slowly climbing the ranks of success and as Ash swore since the day he could talk, he would eventually take his father's throne as the most powerful trainer in all of history. He was off to a great start to, his starter Pikachu was originally Red's, and was level 100 when Ash first got it.

Pikachu had maximum speed right from the get go, and thanks to training with Ash for the past 5 years, now had maximum attack and special attack. With three infinite stats, Pikachu could move at infinite velocities, and had absolutely limitless offensive power and physical strength, being able to effortlessly toss Pokemon that are vastly out of its weight class like they are mere toys. Being a level 100 Pokemon, it also had unrestricted access to its entire set of moves, including Thunder, Thunderbolt, Volt Tackle, Quick Attack, Extreme Speed, and even the moves that the cosplay Pikachu back in Hoenn was famous for; including Flying Press, Meteor Mash, Draining Kiss, and others. There was also the highly useful Electro Ball, which took advantage of Pikachu's absolute speed, and Iron Tail, which would come in handy for slaughtering those pesky Fairy Types. There was also Reflect and Light Screen for boosted defensive power, and one of Ash's personal favorites, Magnet Rise, which made Pikachu immune to ground type attacks, though at the unfortunate cost of rooting it to the spot.

His other human companions all followed their dreams, and Ash was pleased when he found out that May and Dawn both became top coordinators, which afforded them the same privileges as a champion level battler. They could both carry teams of up to 30 Pokemon, a feat Ash himself had yet to achieve, though as he explained to Dawn many times over, the ranking of a trainer was easier to boost in the contest circuits than in the Pokemon League competitions, his words humbling Dawn and keeping her from getting a swelled head.

Despite their success as coordinators, both girls admitted it was Ash's teachings and battling styles that got them this far. One of the first things he taught them was to focus on enhancing both the power and beauty of their Pokemon and their attacks, a process very few coordinators cared to do. Both May and Dawn's Pokemon were significantly higher leveled than even the most seasoned coordinators, the only exceptions being Wallace and maybe Nando, who likewise concentrated on both battling and coordinating. Ash had taught them that high level Pokemon would have a distinct edge in contest battles, and both of them took his advice with the utmost enthusiasm.

In appeal rounds it didn't matter as much, but in the contest battles Ash knew a high level Pokemon would have an almost unfair advantage against any opponent who didn't train like May or Dawn did. Both of them had teams of level 100 Pokemon. May's Mega Blaziken, Venesaur, Blastoise, Beautifly, and Glaceon were all level 100; as were Dawn's Mega Lopunny, Empoleon, Togekiss, Mamoswine, Ambipom, Pachirisu, and Typhlosion. Maybe he was being a bit presumptuous, but Ash suspected that his teachings about high level Pokemon may have largely contributed to May and Dawn's recent successes. He wouldn't take all the credit, but he felt immense pride and satisfaction in knowing that implementing his battling style and expertise may have significantly sped up their growth in the contest world, even more so when he realized just how close to their hearts they held everything he had taught them.

'Pika, Pikachu Pi?' Ash was interrupted from his musing by his starter getting his attention, having learned not to become too spaced out lest he receive an electric shock to jar him back to his senses. "I'm fine buddy, just reminiscing is all," Ash smiled, reaching up to his shoulder with his right arm and scratching the yellow fur ball's ear, earning a contended 'cha' from the Pokemon.

"Pikachu?" it questioned, and this time Ash translated Pokespeech through the power of aura. 'Alright, what about,' it questioned, its inner voice echoing in Ash's head as the Pallet town prodigy replied, the both of them communicating on a completely telepathic level.

'Just about all of our previous travel companions, and whether or not I should just strike out on my own from here on out,' he replied, knowing he could trust Pikachu with the unabridged version of the truth. Pikachu responded with an angry 'pika,' and Ash sighed. 'Don\t even think about it Ash, you and I both know that is never going to happen. People look up to you, every day you inspire your friends to continue persevering, to never give up on their dreams no matter what. I know you think it is dangerous to travel with you, and it is, but Brock, Misty, May, Max, Cilan, Iris, and even Dawn knew the risks, and they still stayed by your side until they found something they really wanted to do. You're the one who encouraged them, and though you did so because you were scared of putting them at risk, do you honestly think for a second that any one of them would hesitate to rejoin you if you asked them?!' Pikachu demanded, and Ash sighed morosely before shaking his head.

'No Pikachu, they wouldn't hesitate, and that's exactly the problem. Half the time I don't know where my journey will lead me, or if I can promise my mom that I will keep coming back to her alive and in one piece. Here in Kalos, I have yet to make a name for myself that is as well known as in the other regions, but how long do you reckon that will last? How long before yet another evil team of sadistic bastards brands me a threat to their operations just on sheer principle? Team Plasma did it back in Unova, and I was targeted practically every other day, I even have the scars to prove that I barely escaped my fight with the Shadow Triad with my life. My friends are in danger just by being near me, and as much as I like Clement and Bonnie, I just don't know if I want them coming along with me?' Ash said after several moments of silence, the only noise in the eerily silent evening time Santalune forest being the occasional chirping of bird Pokemon, and the crunching sound of bug types crawling over leaves.

Pikachu proceeded to smack Ash on the forehead for his stupidity, unable to believe his trainer was actually entertaining this idea. 'You complete and utter moron, do you honestly believe you don't need your friends as much as they need you?! Holy Arceus in heaven above, your father didn't have too many human friends but the ones he did have, he kept very close to his chest! You don't actually believe you can take on the whole world by yourself do you? Whatever we've faced in the past, we would have died a thousand times over if not for our friends Ash, and you damn well know it! I get that you're afraid, any sane man would be if his friends were targeted, but look around Ash, we've overcome every adversity we've ever faced, and we've come close to dying many times. In the end though, we always triumphed, and we're all still alive for the moment. Besides, it's not like we can live forever, even fully trained Pokemon have their limits, and in the end, death comes for us all, we can only evade it for so long. You and I both know that whatever new evil team comes crawling out of the woodwork isn't going to stop targeting you or your friends just because you travel alone, the only thing it accomplishes is separating us from them, and then our enemies would have an easy time picking them off. Remember the saying Ash, keep your friends close,' Pikachu had shouted the first part of his statement, but as he continued his reprimanding of his best friend and Ash slowly began to realize he was right, his voice had softened considerably.

"Maybe you're right, I could probably keep my current companions safer if they're close enough for me to keep an eye on, and nobody except my closest friends knows I'm the Aura Phoenix, or about my other spiritual powers. Nevertheless, the more who know everything about me, the greater the risk of something getting out, if I am to tell Bonnie and Clement all my secrets, I'm going to need to make sure they can keep them, even under interrogation from our most sadistic adversaries. It's not a question of trust Pikachu, it has more to do with whether or not they can keep a tight lid on everything I tell them, even from enemies with psychic type Pokemon, which can simply read their minds and find out everything I may or may not tell them. No matter what happens though, I'm going to encourage them to chase their dreams, and the first chance they get, I'm going to let them go," Ash determined resolutely, and Pikachu sighed.

'You really need to get yourself a girlfriend who can talk some sense into you dude, who knows, Kalos is the most romantic region in all of Pokeearth, maybe you'll find someone here,' Pikachu snickered. "You and I both know that's not going to happen Pi, the one girl I could have loved enough to spend the rest of my life vanished years ago and Dawn and I aren't exactly on the best of terms, not since..." Ash paused, unable to continue as he remembered something.

Quickly removing his backpack from his shoulders, Ash placed Pikachu aside, ignoring the mouse's protests as he opened it up and started digging through its contents. Pikachu watched in earnest as Ash tossed aside Misty's fishing lure, the half Pokeball he got from Gary, the half contest ribbon from May, the custom made pendent with a tiny Pikachu and Piplup high fiving each other from Dawn, until those, his canisters of Pokefood, his tent, and many other odds and ends were emptied out onto the leaf-dotted forest floor.

"Aha, found it!" Ash shouted in triumph before producing what looked like a perfectly unremarkable pink ribbon, at least from Pikachu's perspective. Noticing the fond look on his trainer's face, Pikachu quickly amended its original impression of the three and a half foot ribbon, which looked to be the kind one makes into bows. In shock, the electric mouse watched as its trainer grinned from ear to ear for the first time in months; whatever this thing was, it was clearly extremely important to him.

'Never give up until the end,' Ash reiterated fondly, the image of a cute girl wearing a pink sundress and a straw hat flashing through his mind. Ash didn't often allow himself to dwell on memories of his best childhood friend Serena, because then he'd remember how she left and that hurt too much, but just this once, he'd indulge himself a little.

Ash had been in love with Serena since before he even knew what love was, he had first met her at professor Oak's summer camp, nearly ten years ago. After helping her out in the forest, bandaging her cut knee with his favorite handkerchief, and helping her back to camp, Ash had been visited by his mom, who got the whole story out of him and convinced him to go introduce himself to her.

It had been an awkward situation for both six year olds, but once they got their introductions out of the way, they quickly hit it off. For the remainder of summer camp, Serena partnered with Ash for every single activity, always telling him he made her feel safe, which would practically melt his heart, for reasons his six year old mind hadn't been able to comprehend at the time. By time summer camp ended, the two of them were inseparable and overjoyed when Serena's mom came by with news that she and Serena had been packed and moved to Pallet town.

For over two years he and Serena were attached at the hip, there was almost never a waking moment where one was seen without the other, and Ash's mom and Grace would often talk about the possibility of their children getting married when they grew up, only discussing this when they thought their kids couldn't hear, but both of them had indeed heard it, and more than once.

It always made Ash's chest flutter when Serena blushed upon hearing this, but didn't flat out deny it like he did from time to time. Looking back on it though, Ash had to wonder if his mom and Grace knew better than they did, because the day Serena had to move away was the hardest day of Ash's entire life, even to this day.

He realized now that he had wanted to stay with Serena forever, but he never got that wish, such a simple thing to wish for too. All he had ever wanted was to journey together with Serena, like the two of them planned, but now it seemed those plans and all those promises of forever were all for naught. He hated the empty feeling that stayed with him all these years, a void in his soul that even Dawn hadn't been able to completely fill. Now with Dawn gone as well, the heartache had only gotten worse, and to his horror, Ash realized it was actually beginning to affect his aura and other spiritual powers.

It wasn't the power levels themselves that were affected, the limitless strength and inexhaustibility of his spiritual powers were still fully intact, but they were becoming increasingly unstable, volatile, and his control over them was slowly slipping, a lot of the time he couldn't even hang onto his pure energy suit when moonlighting as the Aura Phoenix. The worst part was he was unable to do anything to rectify it, though from what he had heard about the legends that surrounded Kalos, there was a mythical Pokemon that may be able to help him with his problem, if only to give him a temporary fix, it was still something.

Xerneas, the mythical Pokemon that according to legend controlled infinite amounts of life energy and spiritual powers, able to bestow people with eternal life and immortality so that only its antithesis, the legendary Yveltal which embodied infinite destruction, could kill these immortals off. If Ash could get a chance to meet it like he had nearly every other legendary Pokemon, he could probably ask why his own spiritual powers were refusing to stabilize, or why whenever he thought of Serena there was this strange tugging sensation in the pit of his stomach that caused his life aura to project itself of its own accord in a series of incandescent, almighty pulses of what almost appeared to be desperation, as though searching for something or someone like Ash's life depended on it.

The hint of desperation his spiritual energy exuded when this occurred scared Ash more than anything, and he knew it could only lead to serious, life threatening situations if he didn't identify the problem in time and took steps to fix it. Ash knew that aura guardians have died from their own spiritual energy before. Those who lost control badly enough were often consumed by their own essence and turned into pure energy. Ash knew he was at risk of facing the same fate, but what could he do? He had tried meditating and communicating with his own inner aura to identify what was wrong, but even it wasn't entirely sure what the problem was, only that it had something to do with Serena. Something to do with Serena; that was when Ash knew he was in trouble, since Serena had pretty much dropped off the face of the earth the day she left. Ash had tried tracking her through every means he had at his disposal short of using his own shiny Mew to do the job for him, but to no avail. Fortunately, when Mew mentioned that Xerneas may be able to help him, Ash was convinced he had found another way.

He considered asking his rarest and most omnipotent Pokemon out right what his problem was, since it had been alive since the beginning of time and was basically omniscient as well, but Mew only said that was something Ash had to discover for himself, for Arceus decreed that humans and Pokemon solve their own problems by working together. Being omnipotent meant that Mew was not to interfere in mortal affairs unless there was overwhelming reason to do so, same with Arceus and the creation trio, all of whom were gods. Sensing that Ash wasn't reassured; Mew promised that any actual serious threat to its trainer's life qualified as an overwhelming reason to initiate some good old fashioned 'divine intervention', but also stated very firmly that it would only do so if Ash's spiritual energy was well past the danger zone and straight into the critical. Right now, it said it was able to determine that Ash was somewhere in what the humans called the warning or the proceed with caution yellow area, which was no cause for serious alarm in the danger-o-meter as the feline legendary Pokemon jokingly pointed out, its reference to danger levels irritating him, though it reassured him to know he wasn't beyond the point of no return, at least not yet.

Despite what it said, Mew was still permitted to battle on Ash's behalf. Being fully trained with an infinite set of stats, it could even tap into its full move pool, which due to it being the ancestor or all Pokemon was essentially limitless, enabling it to take on virtually any worthy adversary. Mew would not fight a newbie trainer unless it was using a truly tiny portion of its full power, a portion that was finite. Some of its more powerful and non Pokemon related abilities, such as its mastery of all magic in existence, its more extreme psychic and telekinetic powers, and other absolute powers were abilities it could only use as a last resort, and even then only when the entire universe was threatened. Its totality manipulation, and its ability to achieve the intrinsically impossible and override all other forces and powers like they didn't exist at all were only ever to be used if everything inside and outside the confines of the universe was threatened, only if the whole of creation, the multiverse, and realms beyond it Ash didn't know the names of were threatened by omnipotent adversaries. Sufficed to say, Mew had never been faced with something dangerous and powerful enough to threaten infinite universes and realities in all its countless billions of years, so Ash decided not to pry it for any more information.

No matter what happened, he had his Pokemon to help him out if he needed them to, and given what Pikachu said earlier, he knew he also needed his friends. He didn't have to like it, but whether or not he did, his human companions were just as important to him as any of his Pokemon, and he needed to learn to accept that. Not that he didn't keep tabs on them; in fact whenever he got time he called them up on his X-Transceiver to check in on them from time to time, but also to let them know how he was holding up. Like he reflected upon earlier, all of his friends had become some of the top individuals in their respective fields. Misty the water type gym leader of the century, Pokemon doctor Brock, top coordinators May and Dawn, Max the wunderkind and now traveling trainer, since he was 11 years old now. Ash smiled as he thought about the promise he made to Max all those years ago, after the Terracotta contest where he gave the boy his word that they'd have a battle when Max was old enough to be a trainer. He planned on keeping that promise, along with the promise to Dawn that he'd call her at least once a week. He sighed in internal agony; no matter how much she may have broken his heart, Ash still loved her, and it seemed she still had lingering feelings for him to, which made his call to her last week extremely awkward for both of them.

Long story short though, everyone Ash had ever traveled with had become the best at what they loved doing, and he took great pride and satisfaction from the fact that he helped make all of them who they are today. Everything he had given them, everything he taught them, they all committed to with every fibre of their being, and Ash felt gratified to have such an amazing group of friends, who at this point were like extended family to him.

The sun was dipping below the horizon and had all but vanished from Ash's viewpoint due to the trees, which were growing sparser indicating their arrival at the end of Santalune forest. Ash had finished cleaning up the mess he made with the contents of his backpack a while back, and had now resumed his trekking out of perhaps the largest forest in all of Kalos. After arriving in Kalos with Alexa, Ash had immediately challenged the Lumiose city gym after hearing that Alexa's sister ran a gym elsewhere and was currently on vacation. Ash shuddered as he and Pikachu remembered the hostile gym leader at Prism tower, who proceeded to shock them when they admitted to having no Kalos gym badges. This event culminated in Ash and Pikachu being forcibly ejected from Prism tower from almost one hundred feet up and quite literally dropping in on Clement and Bonnie, and well the rest was history.

Images of battling Clement's Bunnelby, encountering the ever persistent Jessie, James, and Meowth of Team Rocket for the umpteenth time, rescuing an injured Froakie, and finally saving the mind controlled Garchomp atop Prism tower flashed through the young man's head at speeds much greater than what a normal human brain could process, but Ash was far from normal.

'Ash, we're almost out of the forest,' Pikachu pointed out, snapping Ash out of his reverie for the second time as the Pallet town trainer gazed ahead, realizing his starter was right. "Alright come on buddy, race you back to Santalune city," Ash grinned in challenge, Pikachu mirroring his expression as both trainer and Pokemon took off in a whirl of speed that wasn't humanly feasible, surpassing the speed of sound and leaving a small sonic boom in their wake.

"Clement, why isn't Ash back yet?" a small, blonde haired girl whined inquiringly, as though somehow the person she spoke to could know. The girl went by the name Bonnie, and she was eight years old, only two years younger than the required age to get her Pokemon training license, which would enable her to go on her own journey and kick some serious ass in the Pokemon battling circuit. Before she met her new friend a week ago, she counted down the days remaining until her tenth birthday every morning, but now she found she was perfectly content just tagging along with the strange boy and his Pikachu at her current size and age. She no longer needed to count the days, because right now she was on this epic journey and though she wished she could have some Pokemon of her own, traveling with Ash, Pikachu, and Clement was proving to be quite rewarding for the young girl.

In the last week alone they had helped save all of Lumiose city, watched Ash catch a Froakie, and had encountered a Dedenne which Bonnie thought was the cutest thing she'd ever seen, only to watch it break down in tears when a Fletchling stole the berry it intended to eat. Ash had quickly proceeded to capture the rather powerful Fletchling which somehow had its hidden ability, and after they made it to Santalune city, Ash had gone off on his own to train his newest team members in the humungous forest south of Santalune city, leaving Bonnie and her brother to their own devices and a certain blue eyed little girl feeling very bored.

The Santalune city Pokemon Gym wouldn't open up again until tomorrow from what they had been told, but Bonnie was already ready to leave. She had seen a lot of the sites this city had to offer, and though she liked sightseeing as much as the next person, she was ready to watch Ash win his first gym badge. Having watched Ash in battle twice now, Bonnie was only just starting to get a clear idea how strong the boy from Kanto was. That Pikachu of his was not only cute as a button, but also extremely fast and powerful, almost appearing battle worn when Ash had accepted Clement's challenge back when they first met.

Noticing that Clement was ignoring her question, Bonnie shrugged and realized that he probably didn't know any better than she did as to when Ash was coming back. They were hanging out at the Santalune shopping mall, one of the largest malls in Kalos and the entire world. It was packed with people and Pokemon around the clock and was open 24/7, even on Christmas, Easter, and new years. There wasn't a single hour in the day where this place was asleep, the sounds of people and countless different Pokemon alike reverberated through this lobby into all hours of the night. The mall had clothing boutiques, bakeries, Pokemon Marts with more items available than the famous department store in Lilycove city, a couple of restaurants, toy stores, movie shops, and video game stores. It had everything a child could ever want, but Bonnie wasn't interested in toys, movies, or video games. A lot of people nowadays were into that kind of stuff sure, but Bonnie was one of those old fashioned types, the kind of kid who dreamed of traveling the world on nothing but her own two feet and seeing all there was to see, all the Pokemon in the world, legendary or otherwise. That... like so many others before her, was Bonnie's dream.

Her brother Clement, a bespectacled 14 year old boy with blue overalls, a giant backpack stuffed with half finished inventions and machines, and blonde hair and blue eyes like his sister, was an aspiring inventor, and he was quite good at it. All he needed now was a dependable wife to take care of him, and before she started her own journey, Bonnie was adamant about matching him up with someone who could make him happy and well taken care of for the rest of his days. She couldn't look after him while she was out on her own journey, and wanted to make sure he was safe and well looked after, so she eyed people all around the store, looking for beautiful young women who were beautiful, nice, and appeared intelligent, because that was no less than her brother deserved. Clement wasn't the kind of boy to be attracted to a girl who couldn't keep up with his intellect, or understand his crazed passion for inventing all kinds of amazing gadgets to suit any situation. There weren't really too many things out there her brother wasn't prepared for, and she had a feeling Ash would get a lot of use out of her brother's talents during his journey, especially if people like that Team Rocket came after him again, which wouldn't surprise the little girl in the slightest. (Author's Note: Unlike the anime, my story has a much more serious element to it, so yes, Clement is actually good at tinkering and inventing things, and Team Rocket is actually a somewhat decent group of villains when they're on top of their game. I made it clear many times that this story is completely AU and has very few ties to the canon storyline, only following some aspects of it but always with a more serious side, and only up until Kalos, where things will eventually veer off from the Anime time-stream completely. Things will stray from the anime series in an extreme enough fashion that if not for certain key elements in the Anime remaining in my story because of the overall plot I have cooked up, the timeline would be rendered unrecognizable. But hey guys, if you wanted things to follow a canon storyline than just watch the Anime for crying out loud or find a fanfiction that better suits your needs, but don't bother leaving negative comments on my review page because I haven't any interest in reading them)

Looking beside her, she noticed Clement sitting on their bench tinkering with a couple of nuts, bolts, and pieces of scrap metal and wire in a hunched over position. It seemed that he had also become bored with simply waiting for Ash and was tinkering for the sake of tinkering. To Bonnie's untrained eyes, he appeared to be making some kind of miniaturized robot, shaped like a Pokemon strongly resembling Heliolisk, the sounds of the massive crowds conversing, the constant scuffing of shoes, and the various footfalls of different Pokemon like background noise as her brother's face scrunched up in concentration, and Bonnie went back to scanning the noisy, teeming masses, searching for signs of Ash as well as any pretty, nice, intelligent girl who might be interested in her geeky brother.

"There he is Clement, I think I see him!" Bonnie shouted in excitement, drawing all the surrounding eyes as she spotted a familiar figure approaching, his handsome, chiseled face breaking into a genuine smile as he waved at her, his Pikachu climbing onto his head to get a better look at them. Ash was a good deal taller than most of the people in sight, even at sixteen years of age Ash was almost six and a half feet tall, so it wasn't difficult to spot him. His trench coat made him look even taller somehow, and it didn't hurt that it also made him look like a total badass. Catching Bonnie's eye, Ash's eyebrow quirked as his eyes shifted to the crowds around him, and it took less than a second for her to get the message. She and Clement waited until those who gazed at them took their leave, giving Ash the opportunity to quietly blend in with them as he smiled gratefully at them for not making a scene and outing him to everyone in the mall.

Ever since he risked life and limb to rescue that poor Garchomp a thousand feet above solid ground, more and more people were becoming aware of the fact that their new friend and travel companion was a hero. It amazed her that he didn't seem to desire the attention or the constant longing stares people, particularly girls, sent his way. He was humble, modest, and surprisingly down to earth for a trainer who was obviously extraordinarily gifted and so brave when it came to helping out Pokemon.

Bonnie was still gushing herself about it from time to time, and could understand why so many people gazed at the boy in star struck awe and wonder. Ash just seemed so much larger than life half the time, and the other half he was trying to downplay his heroic egresses. He was the kind of trainer she and Clement could gravitate towards, and they both seemed to come to that same conclusion at the same time when Clement asked him if it would be okay if they travelled with them.

His response still surprised her, and she wondered why all of a sudden the boy who practically radiated positive energy had such a haunted look in his eyes. He looked like he was having an internal debate about whether or not he should let them come, and the terrified, almost frantic look in his gaze scared her, though behind that veil of uncertainty and fear she saw something else; a desperate longing for a companion, but more importantly a friend. Eventually he caved when he saw her staring at him with some concern and longing of her own, and he reluctantly agreed to let them accompany him. For some reason looking down into her eyes and seeing her trademarked Lilipup pout had managed to crush any reluctance he had about having them along, and Bonnie had a strange, inexplicable feeling her adorable expression was not the reason in this case.

Since that day about a week ago, Bonnie had often pondered the enigma that was Ash Ketchum, though not to the extent that her brother did when he thought nobody could hear him. Unlike Clement, Bonnie didn't pride herself on her intelligence, but she was very mature for her age and was really good at reading people, a trait she had picked up at an early age back when she first discovered her father Meyer was hiding something. Although she never found out what part of his life her dad was keeping from them, she took pride in the fact that she had at least noticed that when her own intellectual brother couldn't pick up on it. Grinning to herself, Bonnie remembered actually scoring higher on the IQ test than her brother but decided against boasting about it, since that would probably wound his pride.

Due to her ability to read people, Bonnie quickly discerned that Ash was hiding something as well, and whatever it was, it was huge. Sometimes she would catch him in unguarded moments when he thought she wasn't watching and was training his Pokemon, the expression on his face made him look so old, tired, and worn, like he was bearing this heavy burden all by himself and had been bearing it alone for too long. She tried subtly to get him to open up, but so far he was pretty closed off, and she just decided that if he wanted to tell her anything he would when he was ready, on his terms not on hers.

Clement had often reminded Bonnie not to pry into Ash's personal life, and Bonnie had respected that for the most part, but still something was off about him, and her natural curiosity was slowly eating away at her the longer she waited for him to open up. He was an amazing, selfless, courageous person who deserved nothing but praise, love, and support, he shouldn't have to go through whatever he was going through alone, and if he wasn't comfortable opening up to her and Clement, then she hoped he'd find somebody who could draw him out. His mother seemed nice enough from the way Ash described her, and the fact he knew professor Oak was incredible, but she quickly surmised that even if they knew what was bothering the boy, they didn't know how to help; otherwise he would have been in a much better place right now when he quite literally dropped in on them.

Noticing that he and that ever present Pikachu of his were now sitting right between her and Clement on the bench just sipping away at what appeared to be a milkshake, Bonnie was quickly snapped out of her reverie as she forced herself not to blush from the older boy's close proximity. If she were only a little bit older, or he a little bit younger, but alas it seemed her slight crush on Ash was unrequited, and it was probably better that way. A relationship between two people who were eight years apart in age was weird enough, but with one of them being eight years old, it was actually illegal. Not that anything would ever come of it, and she gladly accepted that, the sooner she got over this little infatuation with her new friend, the better.

"Bonnie, you okay, you seem kind of quiet?" Ash casually observed between sips, the three of them ignoring the passersby as Bonnie smiled up at the boy, who towered over her by at least two feet. "Of course Ash, I'm just kind of eager to get out of this place and to somewhere a little more... quiet," she replied, adding a bit of a shudder at the end, and Ash grinned in response.

"What this, this is nothing, you should see the crowds that gather at the Kanto or Johto Pokemon Leagues," Ash chuckled, reflecting on the fond memories of conquering both the Kanto and Johto leagues, along with the orange islands league, the Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova league, never battling the Elite Four in any of those tournaments, for two main reasons. For starters, he still wasn't confident he could go all the way against the members of the Elite Four and regional champions, his battle with Drake of the Hoenn Elite Four taught him that battling the likes of them was a whole another ball game, and considering he lost that fight, his confidence in his ability to conquer the Elite Four in battle was more than a little shaken. Secondly though, and most importantly, was the realization that his journey across all of Pokeearth was nearing its end, Kalos being the last of the main regions he could travel before he reached the end of the road. The world was a big place sure, but it wasn't infinitely vast, and deep down Ash always knew he'd eventually run out of places to go, things to see, he just didn't think it would be this soon. Going back to conquer the other leagues after he finished in Kalos seemed a good enough reason to backtrack, and would extend his journey just a little longer.

He had been so engrossed in his current train of thoughts he didn't notice Bonnie and Clement staring at him in slight shock. "So you've seen the Kanto and Johto League tournaments, exactly how much have you traveled Ash?" Clement wondered, unable to keep his curiosity in check as Bonnie resisted the urge to scold him for prying, especially when he had done the same to her and was now being a total hypocrite, but to her surprise Ash merely smiled.

"Yeah, we've been traveling for a long time now, and we just can't seem to settle down, isn't that right buddy?" Ash responded, scratching under Pikachu's ear and earning a contented sigh from the Pokemon. Bonnie found herself admiring the dynamics of Ash and Pikachu's relationship, wishing she could have a Pokemon even more now and wanting to bond with it on the same level these two seemed to exhibit. Still, it could wait, though aside from Pikachu, Fletchling, and Froakie, Bonnie had no idea what other Pokemon he had on his roster, though she could see at least three other Pokeballs attached to his belt.

"Whereabouts did you travel?" Bonnie asked in spite of herself, her own curiosity getting the better of her. She managed to keep down her blush as he smiled down at her, seeming to find her curiosity adorable. "Well, I've been all over Pokeearth; through Kanto, the Orange Archipelago, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova, Kalos is actually the last region in Pokeearth for me to explore aside from Orre and a couple of the smaller, lesser known regions. Once I'm done here, I was thinking of heading for the continents and exploring the rest of the world, of course that would take me very, very far away from home," Ash answered wistfully, and Bonnie resisted the urge to take his hand and give it a reassuring squeeze. She needed to get over this, this was not the sort of thoughts an eight year old girl should be having about a sixteen year old young man, but still, crushes could happen at a very early age, and lots of kids developed crushes on older individuals due to admiration.

"Come on, let's head to the Pokemon center or something, I think I've shopped enough for one day," Bonnie smiled, noting the large bags of clothes laying beside her on their bench, and Ash chuckled as he and Clement got up and let the girl lead the way, the trench coat slightly masking his features, for which he was secretly glad. It was becoming increasingly more difficult to conceal his identity from these complete strangers, let alone his friends. Letting slip that he had traveled the whole of Pokeearth probably gave Clement and Bonnie a new perspective on their previous assumptions of his power levels as a trainer.

Still, as much as he had become accustomed to keeping them, Ash didn't enjoy secrets, only hiding things on necessity. It wasn't a question of trust, initially he had been reluctant to travel with an entourage this time around, but he had bonded with Clement and Bonnie over the course of the events that transpired a week ago. Something in Bonnie's expression had made his resolve collapse, her blue eyes boring into him, seeming to see into his very soul like a certain other blue eyed, blonde haired little girl who had been his constant companion and the closest friend he'd ever known. Somehow seeing the ghost of Serena reflected in those shimmering cerulean orbs had made Ash stumble over his own convictions, and he couldn't deny Bonnie anymore, even as his mind was screaming that this could only end in disaster.

Trust wasn't really the main issue here, it was definitely one of but definitely not the issue. Not knowing for sure whether or not knowing the truth about him would cause his friends to re-evaluate their relationship with him was hard but he could take it so long as they were safe. He'd much rather them be safe and following their own dreams than on a perilous journey with him that could potentially lead to their deaths. He wanted so badly to stop caring, to travel alone no matter what his friends would think, but he just couldn't shut his feelings off. That was his problem though; he didn't want to be alone on his journey. Sure, he had his Pokemon and all that but his human companions were just as important to him, some of them, namely Dawn and especially Serena, were the most important people in the world to him.

"Ash, you okay, now you're the one who seems quiet," Bonnie chided playfully, and Ash couldn't help grinning as they found themselves at the Santalune City Pokemon center with time to spare, the all too kindly and familiar nurse Joy wondering if they wanted their Pokemon checked up. Ash was initially reluctant to showcase his team but quickly squashed his unease, knowing the Pokemon attached to his belt weren't quite as eye catching as the five legendary Pokemon contained in master balls inside of his trench coat. His Mew, Mega Mewtwo which could utilize both of its all-powerful mega evolution forms, Kyurem, Primal Groudon, and Mega Rayquaza were all on standby in case there was a situation Ash's non legendary Pokemon couldn't handle on their own.

He kept his Charizard, Garchomp, and talking Lucario in his belt, having obtained Lucario as a very gifted Riolu he rescued from hunter J, Garchomp as a Gible bred from Cynthia's after stopping Team Galactic and saving all of Sinnoh, and of course his infamous Charizard who was a legend among its species. Fully trained in both his normal form and his two mega forms, his Charizard was without a doubt his strongest non legendary Pokemon, tied only by his Sceptile, both of whom wielded a complete set of infinite stats and could mega evolve. They both had unrestricted access to their full move pools, and infinitely superior HP and defensive stats to his Pikachu, who was runner up for the strongest non legend in its trainer's roster. Lucario and Garchomp both had maximum speed and incalculable everything else in their normal forms, and were fully trained in their mega forms, making them as powerful as the mega Lucario and Garchomp of Cynthia herself, who was considered one of the most powerful of the regional champions. Cynthia possessed a fully trained champion team of 30 Pokemon, she was truly prodigious even by regional Champion standards, and at only 24 years of age too. (Author's Note: To clarify, incalculable is not the same as infinite in the stat measurement system. Incalculable suggests a number that while too high to accurately weigh or measure, is not in fact infinite, which is a concept not a number. The Pokedex in my own personal Pokemon Multiverse as I've started dubbing it, is basically a supercomputer far more advanced than anything we have here on earth and can calculate numbers as high as a googoleplex, only when the number surpasses that does the stat become immeasurable, and only when the Pokemon no longer has any limits to its power and can no longer determine the absolute outer limits to their strength, speed, and what not no matter how hard they battle or how strong the opponent does their stats become infinite. For fully trained Pokemon, stats, numbers, and equations are meaningless, since battles between them at their full strength is basically a means to unleash the apocalypse. Haha, OMG, try imagining an all out war between hundreds, even thousands of Pokemon at this power level say during the ancient war of Kalos 3000 years ago, but wait, you guys may not have to imagine for too much longer, anyways, I'll try to dial down on the whole stats and power level system from here on out, especially since I've made it pretty damn clear just how bat shit insane Pokemon in my stories are)

Fully trained Pokemon of any type were basically gods, and Ash's Charizard's fire type attacks had come dangerously close to the Planck temperature on more than one occasion, the scariest part was it was holding back even then. Any fire type that was fully trained could use such attacks at this temperature, capable of melting virtually any substance in the universe, even substances that were at absolute zero. Against that kind of fire power, even most dragon types didn't stand a chance and the type matchup system was almost completely irrelevant where extremely high level Pokemon were concerned. Theoretically, there was no limit to how much heat and energy fully trained fire types could invest into their attacks, but anything hotter than the Planck temperature would no longer be considered an actual temperature, and nobody knew for sure exactly what would happen if they told their Pokemon to go that hot, so far no trainer in known history had ever chanced it.

All this Ash knew with absolute certainty, but it still surprised him whenever he felt Charizard's aura within its Pokeball. Being fully trained also meant a Pokemon was rendered effectively immortal, with absolute raw strength, speed, agility, stamina, reflexes, and a whole sleuth of other limitless powers depending on the type of Pokemon. For example, fully trained psychic types had almighty psychic and telekinetic powers, not to mention boundless pure power to amp up their various moves to any degree of intensity. All fully trained Pokemon had this ability in common, the ability to use all their moves at such levels that they could conquer entire armies of regular Pokemon single handed and with no amount of strain or exhaustion overtaking them. (Author's Note: And there, done with the description of fully trained Pokemon, if you guys have any questions from here on out regarding the mechanics of this story, please leave a comment in the review section and I'll be more than happy to explain how everything works, I'll also be including some information about these things in my Profile)

"Here nurse Joy, I'd like you to give my team a quick checkup please, I've got a gym battle tomorrow and I want to make sure they're at optimum performance," Ash finally announced after concluding his reverie and handing his first five Pokeballs to the pink haired nurse, who smiled and called for Wigglytuff, the most common Pokemon nursing assistant in Kalos. "Wiggly, Wiggly, Wigglytuff," it called, and Ash smiled at the kindly Pokemon as it carted his five Pokeballs away to have them examined, Pikachu jumping off of Ash's shoulder and joining the others as Ash waved at his starter and promised to be there when the yellow fur ball got back.

"You and Pikachu really do seem to be connected on some other level Ash," Clement commented airily, and Ash blushed as Bonnie added her own statement. "Yeah, I wish I could bond with Pokemon like you do, but I don't even have my trainer's license yet," she admitted sadly, her expression downcast as Ash got down on one knee and lifted her chin up so she was looking him straight in the eye.

"Bonnie, I know exactly how you feel, I felt the same way before I started my journey. I can remember counting down the days leading up to my tenth birthday, and I was absolutely ecstatic when I started out. All I can say is that it's worth the wait, and believe it or not, you're not the first person I've traveled with who was too young to get their trainer's license," Ash smiled kindly, and Bonnie's eyes lit up. "That's exactly what I used to do, and did you really travel with someone else like that? Who was it? When did you meet them?" she questioned enthusiastically, and Ash couldn't help chuckling at her passion.

"His name was Max, and I travelled with him and his older sister May in the Hoenn region, yes Bonnie, I knew May Maple," Ash replied, Bonnie's eyes widening in recognition of his old friend and crush's name. Amazingly, due to being top coordinators, news of Dawn and May's success had travelled much quicker than those of Ash himself, who still had yet to conquer a Pokemon League Championship Tournament, and because of that, he hadn't yet reached the amount of fame a top coordinator or champion level trainer would possess, something that actually made him glad, since few people in Kalos would know that he actually taught May everything she knew.

Upon seeing Bonnie's awestruck expression Ash reflected on his journey with May and Max. "Max was a good friend; he was like a little brother to me, kind of like you in a way. Honestly Bonnie, you're the little sister I never had," Ash whispered fondly, Clement watching the exchange with a touched smile as Bonnie's eyes watered and she tackled Ash with a fierce hug, surprising the Pallet town prodigy and nearly knocking him flat on his arse.

Despite his initial shock, Ash wasted no time in returning the embrace, feeling warm inside and compelled to find a way around that stupid law, so that Bonnie may at least know what it felt like to be able to take care of Pokemon. Suddenly a light bulb went off in Ash's head, and he pulled away from the hug, looking down at his little 'sister.' "I'll tell you what Bonnie, you can take care of my Pokemon whenever you like, and you remember that Dedenne we came across back before we arrived in Santalune city, the one you said was the cutest thing ever, well once my Pokemon are healed Clement and I are going to take you back to route four and we are going to catch it. Once we do it can be your Pokemon, unofficially of course, but nevertheless, you'll feed it, you'll take care of it, you'll train it, and everything," Ash promised her, quickly looking over to Clement for approval as the younger boy nodded his head and smiled warmly at Ash, evidently pleasantly surprised at how good the Kanto native was at handling kids.

Bonnie meanwhile, looked like a kid on Christmas morning, she had the biggest, goofiest, most adorable grin on her face, and her sapphire eyes were alight with pure euphoria. Before Ash could react he was suddenly pummeled by her slamming into him again with another hug, this one even tighter than before, surprising him with how strong she was for her size. "Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! Ash, you're the best!" Bonnie exclaimed, squealing girlishly at a high enough pitch to make her voice crack.

Before Ash could respond, the familiar ringing tune of the Pokemon center sounded, indicating his Pokemon were finished with their checkup. Nurse Joy and Wigglytuff exited the checkup room with Pikachu and the rest of Ash's team in tow, the electric mouse Pokemon leaping from the cart to Ash's shoulder in one precise leap, rubbing its cheek against Ash's in affection and climbing on top of his head, nearly knocking off his hat in the process. "I must say young man, your Pokemon are extremely healthy, and your Pikachu, Charizard, Garchomp, and Lucario are some of the best I've ever seen," she informed him kindly, and Ash blushed while sighing internally in relief.

Nurse Joy either didn't check their stats, which wasn't actually part of a routine checkup, or she was kind enough to be vague and discrete to spare Ash of any unwanted attention. Taking the rest of his team and attaching them to his belt, Ash joined Bonnie and Clement at the cafeteria near the Pokemon center's entrance, the dining tables and chairs next to the windows, giving one a perfect view of Santalune city.

Bonnie and Clement waited for Ash to order first as the waitress arrived at their seats, a few other trainers milling about but at this time people usually hung out at the mall, went eating at restaurants, or trained and looked for potential trainers to battle all over the city. Typically trainers were not commonly found at the Pokemon center just after sunset during the early hours of the evening. Checking his X-Transceiver as he thought about this, Ash confirmed it was just past eight PM, quickly concealing the rather expensive item once again as Bonnie and Clement stared at it in mild surprise, though neither commented on it, for which he was grateful.

Ash had ordered three XXL plates of Kalosian French fries, three large containers of gravy, four half pound cheeseburgers with everything on it from condiments to vegetables, and a large bottle of Ketchup for Pikachu. Grinning like a madman, Pikachu gladly accepted his trainer's generosity upon receiving his holy nectar, whereas Clement and Bonnie merely gawked at Ash's ridiculously large order with slacken jaws and bulging eyes.

"Very well sir, and for you two," the waitress asked, not even batting an eyelid as she waited for the two blonde haired siblings to get over their shock and order. Recovering from their stupor took some time for them, which actually surprised Ash considering he'd been traveling with them for over a week. Surely his and Pikachu's eating habits shouldn't surprise them nearly as much by now, but apparently it took some getting used to, and frankly after all the training he did with his newly caught Fletchling and Froakie, Ash was feeling particularly peckish even by his standards. Bonnie and Clement didn't know this, but Ash had actually eaten before meeting them at the mall and a whole lot more than just that ice cream cone.

Ash had always been a big eater, but upon discovering his limitless spiritual powers Ash's metabolism had ascended to superhuman and sometimes even absolute levels. Given that he often enhanced his physical capabilities to absolute levels using his aura and other powers, that also meant he had to enhance his body's ability to metabolize all that raw energy and power, and though his aura and other spiritual powers could cope, his body constantly needed to ingest food just to get by. Depending on how much he enhanced his abilities, his metabolism could vary from peak human to truly boundless levels, enabling him to absorb infinite energy and effectively saturate his cells with that power. Even now, with his physical enhancements suppressed only by his desire not to remain superhuman at all times, Ash's metabolism was constantly spiked, and he needed to consume enormous amounts of food to survive. It was a damn good thing he had a ton of money otherwise he'd never pull this off. The only other solution was to make the almighty superhuman enhancements permanent, because as long as his cells remained infused with boundless energy his metabolism would never completely burn through it, even if it too was augmented to such insane proportions.

There were very few aura masters throughout history whose spiritual energy was strong enough to give them these kinds of problems, sir Aaron was definitely one of them, and back in his time they didn't have the same understanding of how the human body and cells work as they do now. Many aura masters had died simply because they didn't understand how negatively certain physical enhancements could affect their bodies. Even getting too emotional was ill advisable for them, because emotions only made it worse, but so far, Ash had managed to succeed where nearly every other aura master had failed. He was lucky enough to understand enough about human anatomy to get that these enhancements to his body may be more than what a normal human body could handle. He often wondered why Arceus didn't make it so the aura masters of the past adapted their bodies to suit their overwhelming spiritual force, though he suspected that the Alpha Pokemon wasn't allowed to interfere in mortal affairs anymore than Ash's silver Mew was, and that surviving was something each member of the human race had to figure out for themselves.

Bonnie and Clement watched in astonishment as the waitress brought them another table, which was needed just to hold Ash's order, placing their orders in front of them as Ash and Pikachu grabbed two of the dustbin lid sized plates overflowing with fries and the two pots of gravy, almost as large, and quite literally dived into it, Pikachu leaping onto the plate and drowning it in gravy and ketchup. Ash used his aura powers to augment his jaw's strength to make chewing easier; he also sped up his digestive track so he could make use of the energy the food would give him faster.

His current traveling companions alternated between watching them in sheer awe and eating their own orders, which were infinitesimal in comparison. Five minutes later, Ash and Pikachu had finished absolutely everything on both their table and the extra table which held all four of the biggest burgers Bonnie had ever seen. Pikachu, being an extremely high level Pokemon, actually ate two burgers himself and gave Ash a serious run for his money, their different in size compensated by Pikachu's inhumanly fast metabolism and the digestive tract of a level 100 mouse Pokemon, which worked hundreds of times faster than a human's.

In short, both trainer and Pokemon were lazing in their seats, patting their bellies in satisfaction in under five minutes, their torsos puffed out from overeating but neither of them had a stomach ache. Due to their metabolism, both of them were already making use of all the energy in the food, and thanks to Ash's aura, his stomach had expanded to accommodate the immense size of the meal he just consumed.

A loud belch escaped Ash's mouth, Pikachu following suit as Clement and Bonnie merely gaped at them, their mouths dangerously close to hitting the floor. Suddenly feeling sleepy, Ash's eyelids fluttered, and before Clement and Bonnie even finished half their meal, he drifted off to dreamland, the image of a beautiful woman haunting his dreams for what seemed the umpteenth time since he came to Kalos. Her resemblance to Serena was uncanny, but she was a good deal older than last he saw her, with a flawless figure, d-cup breasts, long golden hair that cascaded down to her slim waste in elegant waves, and most entrancing of all, her captivating cerulean eyes, the intensity of those alluring orbs strong enough to put the blue flares of Reshiram to shame. Her fashion sense was likewise impressive; a pink hat with a black ribbon placed lopsided on her head, seemingly in a deliberate, teasing way. Her attire consisted of a black tank top with a modest red skirt coming to just above her knees and black over the knee socks, showing only the tiniest bit of cream colored thigh. The image tormented his five minute nap with a small, teasing smile and a small tongue poking out cutely from between her full pink lips. Ash felt that familiar tugging sensation in his gut drawing him towards her like an irresistible magnetic pull as he awoke with a start before his dream self could reach her, every molecule in his body screaming at him to kiss her. His abrupt return to the physical world startled both Clement and Bonnie no thanks to him clumsily flinging his dishes on the floor with a subconscious swipe of his hand, the sound of breaking glass resonating throughout the entire Pokemon center cafe and drawing every eye to their table. Ash suddenly felt exposed and wanted nothing more than to sink into his seat and vanish...

XXXXXXXXXX

Lumiose city truly was a girl's one stop shopping metropolis. It had everything; clothing boutiques, possible costumes to use in Pokevision videos and even Tripokalon competitions, bakeries to indulge any sort of craving for sweets that may crop up at inconvenient times, and countless places to battle. As if that wasn't enough, it also had some of the best hotels and five star restaurants in the entire world and tons of scenic landmarks like Prism tower. One could lose themselves in the beauty and grandeur of the world famous city of lights, a fact not lost on one golden haired trainer making her way towards her room in the least expensive hotel in the city, which even by her standards was a place of luxury.

Serena Yvonne was a woman of very exquisite tastes, and this city was over-saturated with pleasures to her proverbial taste buds. Though she would have liked to stay at the best hotel in the city, Hotel Richissime, it was slightly out of her price range at the moment thanks to that shopping spree she had last week. She had wanted to treat herself and her Pokemon to a nice night out on the town, and had bought all manner of accessories and backdrops for the six members of her full Pokemon team. As a result of her splurging, she had been unable to afford a night at the most coveted hotel in all of Kalos, but she was willing to settle for one of the lesser known no name hotels, quite satisfied with how nice it turned out to be. Plus her spending the night there meant that hotel got one more customer's worth of business, and she felt good about doing what she could to help the locally owned series of rooms, at least until she won her next battle, competed in her next Pokemon Showcase, or the money she made doing a photo shoot came in.

Serena had spent the last five or so years on her journey through Kalos, assembling the best Pokemon performance team she could possibly put together. Her starter Pokemon Fennekin had evolved into Delphox now, and went from cute to utterly beautiful and breathtaking in its performance career. Likewise, her Pancham evolved into Pangaroo, and though its appeal type changed drastically, it now had the tough exterior to match its macho personality. The four remaining Pokemon in her party had taken her a great degree of traveling, training, and difficult work to capture. Her Sylveon was a common sight in her Pokevision videos, but due to how common it was in the Tripokalon circuit, Serena struggled to come up with an original showcase for it in actual performances. Her most famous and perhaps the powerhouse of her team was her Milotic, a Pokemon coveted by performers and coordinators everywhere due to it being widely revered as the most beautiful Pokemon in the world. Obtaining Milotic as a Feebas had been exceedingly difficult, especially when Serena found out what was needed to evolve it, but after bonding with it, enhancing its natural beauty with Pokeblocks, and making it feel gorgeous though, Serena had been positively delighted to see it engulfed in that all too familiar white light.

Fifth in her roster was her Absol, and though it was the disaster Pokemon she was amazed to discover how adept it was at performing. Its psycho cut and mega horn attacks were top notch, but due to being level 100 like her entire team, Serena had gotten special permission from the Kalos league champion Diantha to have her Pokemon exceed the four moves only limitation, and thus her Absol and other Pokemon were able to use their full move pools. Finally, there was her Altaria, which Serena had infused with the power of an Altarianite, a mega stone she happened across through sheer dumb luck back in Anistar city near the sundial. Of course; it would help if she had a mega ring but whatever, it was mostly sentimental anyways. She laughed out loud at the memory of examining every inch of the sundial at eight PM sharp when the sunlight gleamed through it. She stubbed her toe on some stupid rock as she walked over the unpaved, gravel roads behind the celestial looking gem. She then proceeded to kick the toe stubbing culprit with her good foot purely out of spite, and was surprised when her first and only mega stone flew out in a miniaturized maelstrom of small stones and face pelting pebbles.

All six members of her team were not only Pokemon performing fanatics, but also trained to level 100 thanks to some sound advice Serena received from one of her closest friends and a major crush of hers, the prodigious Pokemon trainer Calem. Calem had mentioned that training her Pokemon to high levels of power would give her Pokemon the energy needed to sustain their training for performances and their Pokevision videos without tiring or becoming worn out too soon. He also said that if her Pokemon were highly trained they'd have much more power to invest into the beauty of their attacks and showcases, not to mention a much larger move pool and greater versatility in her Tripokalon competitions, enabling her to come up with far more ideas for future Pokevisions and maybe even become the Kalos Queen some day.

Taking her closest Kalosian friend's advice to heart, Serena participated in battles whenever she wasn't performing, studying all the various mechanics for training and battling Pokemon and discovering to her surprise that she actually enjoyed battling, not as much as Tripokalons but she did enjoy them nonetheless. Having had only 6 Pokemon over the last six years, Serena had been able to train them to level 100 quite easily, and though they weren't anywhere near the absolute powers of the fully trained monsters she saw Diantha use in her exhibition matches, they were enough to grant her much greater versatility in all the Tripokalons she competed in thus far, and she was very thankful to Calem for that, even if he and her other three friends Shauna, Trevor, and Tierno weren't around at the moment.

Calem had immediately headed off for Unova upon receiving his Froakie from professor Sycamore, competing in gym matches and going on to win the Unova League at 11 years of age, competing in the championship tournament against the Elite Four and Champion Alder, winning it all and becoming a champion level trainer even younger than the world champion Red had done. Serena had been absolutely riveted watching him go all the way on the TV, and was extremely happy for her friend.

Since that year, Calem had gone on to conquer the Sinnoh, Hoenn, Johto, and Kanto leagues; losing to Drake of the Hoenn Elite Four and almost beating Lance in both Johto and Kanto, losing to both him and Cynthia in Sinnoh, the both of whom were the strongest of the regional champs. Just recently; he had battled against Lance in the Kanto Pokemon League Championship tournament finals and just barely lost. Serena had been quite sure her heart would stop waiting for the final results to be revealed. Lance had been brought down to his last Pokemon, which just happened to be his fully trained Dragonite, and Calem his Greninja. They were both down to their last Pokemon, and the battle between the two godlike Pokemon had forced the Elite Four members to step in and conjure shields around the vast crowd of spectators, reinforcing the original shields lest the entire stadium end up incinerated in the resultant collisions between the two titans.

In the end, Lance barely managed to win, the grievous injuries sustained by both Pokemon enough to knock Calem's starter out despite the fact they were already fully recovered by time Greninja hit the ground, and Serena finally managed to stop hyperventilating. Battles between Pokemon league champions were absolutely heart stopping, and she didn't think she'd ever get used to seeing it. Battles between them could last for days or even weeks, giving the spectators a very clear idea just how much endurance Pokemon trained to the highest level had, and how much their trainers had in turn. Last she heard Calem was training on the road, honing his already immeasurable skills and planning to take on Lance again in the Johto league next year. Serena had been keeping tabs on all her friends, but vested a particular interest in Calem, who constantly reminded her of a very dear friend she had left behind so many years ago.

Calem had a champion level team of 30 fully trained Pokemon now, easily as strong as either Cynthia or Lance but lacking the experience those two possessed. Being only fifteen years of age, Calem was still pretty young, but took his Pokemon training to truly frightening levels. Serena often worried he was pushing himself too hard, but even she couldn't deny the results it had, on both his Pokemon and on his already handsome features. Each time she saw him on TV he looked more and more attractive, and at this point only one person could have kept her from pursuing a relationship with him. (Author's Note: Yes I'm perfectly aware I just made Calem a god among Pokemon trainers and potentially even more powerful than Ash, but it is completely intentional and I have a plan for it, trust me. I plan on Calem being Ash's biggest rival in Kalos, and before the inevitable soul bond between Ash and Serena I plan on Calem also being Ash's rival in a love triangle between the both of them and Serena. I'm not changing any of this, so don't bother complaining about me making Calem too overpowered, believe me, your complaints will fall on deaf ears. As for those of you who enjoy these changes, look forward to what's coming)

Shauna had taken an interest in performances much the same as Serena, and she saw more of Shauna than she did any of her other friends. Having obtained Bulbasaur from professor Sycamore at ten years of age, Shauna now had a strong level 100 Venesaur that could mega evolve, having also taken Calem's sound advice to heart, she and Serena were both best friends and archrivals.

Tierno was as much a dancing fanatic now as he had been when she first met him. The Squirtle he received at the start of his journey had now become a level 100 mega evolved Blastoise with maximum speed, which amplified its dancing moves and kept it as flawlessly nimble as it had been as a Squirtle. Tierno's big dream was to assemble the world's best Pokemon dancing team, having captured a Ludicolo as fond of dancing as its trainer, a Spinda with a truly dazzling teeter dance, and at least two other Pokemon that could use swords dance, which was his favorite move.

Trevor sought to see every Pokemon registered in the national Pokedex and hoped to one day see Pokemon that nobody had ever seen before, his mega evolved, level 100 Charizard aiding him in his goals. Trevor had countless thousands of photos stored on a dozen different jump drives he carried with him along with a Pokedex which doubled as a Tablet for him to show off his photos, a very high end camera he spent years saving up for back in Vaniville town, and little else.

Shauna, Trevor, and Tierno had all gotten mega rings from the infamous mega evolution guru in Shalour city, at different times of course since Korrina's grandfather had a limited supply of them. Calem got his in the Hoenn region, and Serena could only guess how many mega evolved Pokemon he now had in his roster. Serena herself was a little more interested in obtaining a mega ring now than she had been initially, figuring mega evolution could help with her performances in some way and grateful Pokemon were able to use mega evolution even outside of battles. (Author's Note: yes I'm aware that is a large deviation from the game's mechanics, but I wanted some non battling applications for mega evolution to exist in my universe, and I don't give a damn if it doesn't follow the games, it just makes it original and it isn't changing)

All of them were going for their dreams and paving more than admirably, and Serena herself had won ten Pokemon Showcases; more than enough to earn her spot into the Master Class and compete for the title of Kalos Queen. After losing the master class showcase the first and only time she competed in it, Serena had decided not to compete in another one again until she was absolutely confident in her ability to go all the way. Plus working up to her first ever win in the regular showcases was hard as well, but after five years of nothing but performing, battling, training, and making Pokevision videos, Serena was starting to feel confident in her ability to compete in the master class, even if she ended up going toe to toe with Aria, the current Kalos queen and one of Serena's biggest idols.

Becoming the Kalos queen had been Serena's dream for years now, wondering how her closest childhood friend would react if he saw her face in a magazine some day, not that Serena wasn't already quite famous, she was in her own right. She had made a small fortune off of several photo shoots over the years, and she took pride in the fact she was considered attractive enough for several Pokemon showcase officials to recommend a life of modelling for the young, 16 year old teenager.

Diantha had even made an appearance at one of Serena's photo shoots, mentioning her potential for modelling and even posing in the photo shoot with her. That particular photo was tucked safely away at Serena's home in Vaniville town, but the rest had made her an extremely large profit and she had decided to invest the multi-million Pokedollar photo shoot into the bank in exchange for a certain percentage for the rest of her life. She knew she had only gotten so much publicity because Diantha had been in that studio with her, and she was grateful to the champion for that. That and her monthly allowance from her mom kept Serena and her Pokemon fed and quite well off, maybe even somewhat loaded at times. She saved a certain percentage of her earnings each month, planning on eventually retiring some day and as such trying to secure her future. (Author's Note: I'm not sure how much photo shoots from top class models go for in our world but let's just say that in the Pokemon world they're worth a fortune, especially when famous people are in it)

On top of all that, there were rather large cash prizes for every Pokemon showcase she won, and if she won the master class, the earnings of the Kalos Queen title would be enough to set her and her Pokemon for life after receiving the winnings of only one Master Class, never mind the yearly salary of the Kalos Queen. She looked forward to that and to seeing Calem and the others again, but most of all she looked forward to that fateful day, when he finally arrived in Kalos.

Absentmindedly stroking a blue handkerchief she always kept tied around her right wrist; Serena fondly recalled every feature of the boy who had stolen her heart when she wasn't even ten years old. The same boy she had kept tabs on throughout his journey with more diligence than she did Calem or any other person on earth. After learning of his victory in the Unova League Tournament about a month ago, Serena longingly awaited any sign of his arrival in Kalos, yet despite her excitement at the prospect of finally seeing him again, secretly she was afraid he'd decide not to journey to Kalos.

'True friendship never dies,' he had told her, just before she had gotten in the packed car with her mom and drove from the far away town of Pallet, never to see it or the love of her life again. 'Oh Ash I'm so sorry, I promise if I ever see you again I'll stay by your side forever, just like I promised I would,' Serena cried inwardly, a single tear escaping her eye before she could stop it, unable to keep the crushing guilt from weighing down on her yet again as she tried and failed to stop thinking about Ash Ketchum, again.

Despite the fact that she was only 8 years old when she left and couldn't really have done anything about it, a part of her always felt horrible that she didn't fight harder, didn't fight her mother tooth and nail to stay with Ash no matter what. He was her best friend, the love of her life, she should have done something, anything besides let her mother cart her away from the only true home she had ever known, and the small boy who had become the center of her entire universe.

Even now, 8 years later, the heartache wouldn't cease, in spite of the possibility of seeing him again real soon. Even worse than the memories of her past opening old wounds was the possibility of Ash moving on, journeying on his own, and worst of all forgetting about her and getting a girlfriend who wasn't her. How could she cope if she met him again and he didn't even know her name, how the hell was she supposed to move on? No matter how much she liked Calem and her new group of friends, she just couldn't let go of Ash, and recently the pain had become unbearable. Most days she managed not to think of him until the most inopportune times, and to her horror, she realized it was starting to affect her ability to perform and make Pokevision videos.

Upon examining her more recent videos, she had been horrified to see the lack of her usual radiant smile or that sparkle in her eyes, the spark of passion her mom said she had gotten back at that summer camp all those years ago, during the most iconic moment of her entire life. It was bad enough to be internally in constant pain and heartache over the loss of Ash, but to add insult to injury it was beginning to show on her face and in her videos, badly enough that less and less people were viewing her recent works.

Arriving at the hotel she was staying in, Serena took a moment to compose herself. She concentrated on the happier memories of her time with Ash, remembering how they used to play in the woods surrounding Pallet town, or went swimming in the ocean between it and Cinnibar Island. Serena remembered Ash blushing when she sported a two piece swim suit for the first time during one of their many swims, despite her nonexistent figure back then it made her giggle even now remembering seeing him so flustered.

Finally satisfied with how she looked and felt, Serena opened the doors into the hotel and walked into the massive lobby. Red flannel carpets were blanketed over a solid concrete floor, the roof whiter than snow and lit by beautiful crystalline chandeliers big enough to squash a human flat in the event of one of them falling. All sorts of decor and paintings depicting various legendary Pokemon hung on the walls everywhere she looked, and the front desk and the attendant waiting there for her was lined up with parents, kids, and various Pokemon including Fletchling, Espurr, and other Pokemon often widely recommended as pets.

Deciding to release her own Pokemon, Serena retrieved Delphox's Pokeball from her purse and threw it into the air, watching it land and open up in a flash of white light, and Delphox stood tall and proud amongst the crowd. 'Delphox, Phox,' it cried, and Serena decided a quick brushing was in order while they waited in line for the crowd to slowly disperse.

Alternating between brushing her starter's glossy fur and keeping an eye on the people in front of her, Serena didn't notice the little girl until she was tugging on the hem of her skirt to get her attention. Serena looked down into the innocent blue eyes of a small girl gazing up at her in awe, evidently someone who recognized her and considered her to be an idol. Smiling down at the little munchkin, Serena knelt down to the girl's eye level, noting that her parents were nervously standing back, clearly debating whether to intervene to give Serena some peace and quiet or letting their little girl talk with someone famous because it would make her happy.

"Can I help you sweetie?" Serena chuckled; her hairbrush quite forgotten in her hand as Delphox huffed slightly and the golden haired beauty winked at the little girl's parents, letting them know in no uncertain terms that all was well. Looking down at the girl; who wore a Teddiursa sweater with ears on the hood, Serena estimated she couldn't be any older than six, and she felt very tall for once standing there looking down at somebody for a change. Serena wasn't super petite but she wasn't exactly a giant either, around five foot six last time she was measured. Her height had paled in comparison to the likes of both Calem and Tierno, both of whom were over six feet tall. Even Shauna was about the same height as her, so the only one in their group who made her feel tall was Trevor, but with the others always around Serena rarely got a chance to feel this way for long.

Not that size really mattered or anything, but Serena often found herself noticing more and more how tall some people were compared to her, how beautiful Aria was, or how handsome Calem and Ash were. It all had to do with growing up and going through puberty, she had been noticing things she hadn't noticed as a kid for a long time now. As her observations matured so did her thoughts and feelings, and more than ever she found herself dreaming intimately about Ash or Calem, depending on her mood, the time of the month, and many other things. At first it started off small, lack of clothing or kissing or both, but as soon as Ash started going all out and making love to her in her dreams, and as soon as she discovered the pleasures that surged through her when this occurred, Serena knew she was growing up at a rather alarming rate.

Funnily enough, with Calem it was merely tender kissing and once in a while dreams of nudity, but with Ash it was full blown smut, and she both hated and loved the fact that she enjoyed these dreams now, because they always made for an embarrassing awakening when she woke up to wet sheets and had to wash her skirt and panties over and over. The dreams were a constant now, she had them nearly every night and the longer her separation from Ash went on, the more intense her dreams became. Each night was more pleasurable than the last, and she loved it despite the fact her body could only handle so much sexual pleasure. She wondered if Ash was dreaming about her too, because sometimes it felt so real and like he was actually lying right beside her in her bed, but that was impossible wasn't it? She had heard that absence made the heart grow fonder but this was ridiculous! Even crushing on Calem felt wrong to her somehow; but she couldn't understand why that was, nor why Ash was becoming more and more of an obsession of hers lately.

Remembering she had a little girl staring up at her in a stupor, Serena quickly gathered herself and Delphox rolled her eyes, having grown proficient enough with her psychic powers to follow Serena's thoughts and feelings. She knew exactly what or rather; who was troubling her trainer, the memories and the image of that boy were slowly working their way into every corridor of Serena's mind, and the fire fox Pokemon knew she missed this Ash Ketchum more and more every day. It was like she was on withdrawal over some life saving drug or more fittingly a love potion, only that withdrawal was getting worse and worse every day instead of better.

Remaining on her knee, Serena's smile widened when the little girl finally found her voice. "Miss, are you the Pokemon performer Serena?" the girl asked, a dreamy expression on her face as the older girl nodded in affirmation. The girl's eyes bulged a little in awestruck wonder, "I saw every Pokevision you made, and I saw you at the master class performance too! You were awesome, even if you didn't win! Those people saying mean things about your recent videos are wrong, I think you can become Kalos queen, and when you do, I hope you'll remember me!" the little girl squealed like a true fanatic of performing, her excited exclamations drawing a few chuckles from the line of people in front of them.

"You know what, you just made my day! You're a really big fan of Pokemon Showcases aren't you? I promise, if I become Kalos queen one day I'll be sure to mention you as one of my biggest inspirations, though of course I'm going to need your name," Serena sniffed, choking back a sob, feeling touched beyond belief. For whatever reason, it seemed Arceus itself didn't want her to give up on her dreams when she was beginning to falter, and sent an angel or something to give her reassurance. She chose not to voice this thought aloud, but the smile on her face and the tears of joy in her eyes told the entire story.

The girl giggled while Delphox and the girl's parents watched the exchange with hearts in their eyes. "My name is Addie Bellerose, Mademoiselle Serena, thank you so much for talking to me. I want to be just like you when I grow up," Addie murmured shyly. Serena and Delphox exchanged glances as the Vaniville town trainer went into her bag and pulled out a pen and a piece of paper. Quickly signing her name on the makeshift autograph, Serena added a quick personal message as well. 'To my favorite fan Addie, who believed in me when I was starting not to believe in myself, thanks a million, love Serena,' after finishing her message, Serena gave the paper to Addie with a kind smile, her heart warming to its core upon seeing the little girl's eyes light up like a Christmas tree.

Clutching onto Serena's autograph like her life depended on it, Addie rejoined her parents as both Serena and Delphox noticed the line of people in the lobby were now checked into their rooms. Making her way towards the hotel clerk behind the desk, Serena came face to face with a professionally dressed middle aged woman with fair skin and hair. "Comment pouvez-vous aider une mademoiselle?" the lady asked in perfect Kalosian French. How can I help you miss?

"1 réservé une chambre dans cet hôtel il ya quelques heures," Serena responded in equally fluent French. I reserved a room at this hotel a few hours ago. The lady nodded and asked for her name, finding it in the hotel's database a few seconds after Serena gave it to her. Nodding in approval, the lady handed Serena her room's card key and told her the number to it. It was number 312 on the 4th floor, and after returning Delphox to her Pokeball, Serena decided she could use the exercise and started up the first flight of stairs leading to the second floor.

Finally five minutes, three or so dozen stairs, and a couple of hallways later, Serena was standing at the door to her new room, slipping the card key for it in front of the scanning mechanism and watching the light on the lock turn from red to green. Wasting no more time, Serena entered the pink carpeted, flower smelling, one person room, and was amazed at what she saw.

The main room was a combination bedroom, living room, and kitchen, with two king-sized beds big enough for trainers and most Pokemon to cuddle in bed together, or on the off chance that she ended up dating someone, Serena could have slept with her boyfriend in one of those beds as well. The television sat on a desk with a dresser directly in front of the two beds, perfectly viewable from both of them, and the fridge stood a few feet from it. The bathroom was probably even bigger than the main room, with a full sized bathtub that could pass for a hot tub big enough for several people or Pokemon, since Pokemon were allowed to roam the hotel freely so long as they were properly trained and kept the noise levels down at night.

Realizing this room was big enough even for her Milotic, Serena released all the members of her team to take a look around, and six flashes of white light lit up the entire room simultaneously; revealing her Delphox, Pangaroo, Sylveon, Milotic, Absol, and Altaria all at once. The room suddenly seemed a lot less spacious and more cramped, but Serena happily called out to all her Pokemon.

"Alright you guys, according to the brochure, there is supposed to be a spa for Pokemon somewhere in this place, so have at her, and try not to get into too much trouble, Pangaroo," Serena instructed, frowning in the panda bear Pokemon's direction, causing it to sweat drop with a nervous chuckle as all six members of her team started to head off, only for Serena to whistle out for them. "Hold it, I need to dial somebody on the hotel staff to come pick you guys up and escort you, security around this place is very tight, can't have the customers losing their Pokemon or getting them stolen from thieves now can we?" Serena pointed out, and when none of her Pokemon disagreed with her a loving smile spread across her face.

Milotic was the very essence of beauty and deadly calmness, and between her and Sylveon's beautiful singing, Serena could count on them to maintain order amongst the more rambunctious members of her team, namely Pangaroo and sometimes Absol. She meant what she said, security was very tight around this place, and the people who worked her had to go through extensive background checks to determine if they were fit to work here. Even an unpaid parking ticket was likely reason enough for them not to hire you here, and Serena was confident her Pokemon would be in good hands as they got the royal treatment in the spa.

After dialing for a member of the staff and waiting for five minutes, Serena heard her knocker drumming on her doorway and made her Pokemon move to let her through so she could open the door. Pangaroo looked like it was considering running off on its own with a mischievous look in its eyes, barrelling through the open door with all due haste and making trouble. It still sported the same sunglasses Serena had given it when she caught it as a Pancham a few years back. It had been stealing backdrops and accessories from various performers until Serena found it and its little hidey hole, offering it the opportunity to perform with her so long as it promised to never again take something that wasn't its own. Since evolving into Pangaroo, it still kept its talent for trouble and its major personality traits. The fascinating thing about evolution was that Pokemon were still the same as they were on the inside, though sometimes they would get a big head and not listen to their trainer, as Serena learned when her Swablu evolved into Altaria and her Eevee when it evolved into Sylveon. Milotic had been so grateful to Serena for evolving it from Feebas that it absolutely adored her even as the level 100 powerhouse it was now. She had been a vital member of Serena's team, having helped her win 6 out of the 10 Pokemon Showcase keys she now had in a special custom made case in her bag.

Reaching the door and opening it, her Pokemon started calling out excitedly as Serena greeted a well groomed, snappily dressed looking man with gelled hair, perfectly manicured hands, fingernails, and a very feminine sounding voice. "Good afternoon mademoiselle Serena, how can I be of service," the man asked with a very thick French accent. When Serena indicated her Pokemon and requested the full spa treatment of her team in fluent Kalosian French, the man looked obviously relieved knowing he didn't have to speak a language he was clearly unfamiliar with.

"Oui oui mademoiselle, vos Pokémon sera bien entretenu!" the man exclaimed happily. (Yes, yes miss, your Pokemon will be well looked after) Looking back at her Pokemon, Serena smiled reassuringly, "alright you guys, go have fun, and behave," she laughed softly but with a firm, no nonsense undertone she was sure all her Pokemon heard. Her eardrums were assaulted with the happy cries of multiple Pokemon species as all six members of her most trusted team bolted out the door, Milotic bringing up the tear as it squeezed through the doorway, its serpentine body barely an inch thinner than the doorway.

The man cast an appreciative look as Serena paid him a hefty tip for any trouble her Pokemon might give him in advance, pressing a wad of cash into his hand and greeting him the typical Kalosian way. Planting a kiss on both his cheeks and receiving them in return, Serena smiled as the man withdrew from her open doorway and followed her team members to the spa, giving the golden haired Pokemon performer some time alone.

Resuming her train of thought from before, Serena drew her key case from her bag and counted all ten of her Showcase keys, admiring them while she mused. Most Pokemon Showcase key cases were designed to carry no more than 3 keys per case, since most performers didn't wait in order to compete in the master class. Serena hadn't started out as confident or overly confident as some of the other performers were, since she hadn't known what she wanted to do for a long time during the early days of her journey, so she wasn't confident in her ability to compete in the master class and go all the way. Apparently Aria herself had also gotten a custom made key case so as to continue competing in regular showcases all across Kalos, and so Serena's request wasn't completely unheard of.

There were actually dozens of places throughout Kalos where one could perform, but only some of them were well known, such as Coumarine city and the location of the ever coveted master class Pokemon showcase, Lumiose city. Each place had their own unique Pokemon showcase key, and though most performers were all too eager to enter the master class after obtaining just 3 of these keys, Serena didn't want to be like other performers, and longed to gather all 30 of them before she finally competed in the master class once again. She had yet to win the key from Coumarine city and obviously the master class wasn't exactly on her win list or otherwise she'd be the Kalos queen, but she was hell bent on becoming the best Kalos queen the world had ever seen. (Author's note: I've only just seen episode 60 of the XY anime and have yet to see it in subs, but I decided to add my own AU mechanics to Pokemon performances since it will be a very central plot in my non battling stories, also I absolutely love Serena's new look despite the mixed reactions to it, in all honesty I actually like it even better and frankly I couldn't care less what other people think)

With all her determination and excitement festering in her mind, Serena took a running leap and landed on her bed so hard it bounced up in down and made a loud springing noise. She was fully clothed but had her pajamas and other essentials packed in her back, which expanded to accommodate all sorts of items and held her Pokedex, her spare Pokeballs, her electronic travel guide, and other pairs of her usual outfit. Deciding to order dinner and dessert directly from the kitchen, Serena had a hankering for a crème brûlée or some other fancy French dessert, and for her actual entree, something equally sweet such as a medium order of crêpes; with whipped cream, strawberries, and honey, one of her favorite meals.

Her love of sweets was one of Serena's guilty pleasures, though luckily she had strong enough willpower to not overeat. As a result of her restraint, she maintained her proudly attained perfect figure. Certain things could undermine her efforts to count calories every once in a while, such as when her monthly visitor caught her unawares and she had an insane craving for chocolate. During such days and during particularly stressful days managing her willpower became exceedingly more difficult, though she always pulled through in the end, somehow. Her taking the stairs up to her room was partly due to the fact she planned on ordering a really expensive and really high calorie meal. She also planned to go swimming in the hotel pool later on to burn off all the energy she'd gain from it.

Turning on the television after ordering her meal from the kitchen and flicking through the channels, Serena cursed her bad timing. "Damn all this weekend TV to Giratina's realm, there is never anything good on during Saturday evening," she grumbled grumpily while waiting for her food to show. Her Pokemon were probably having a blast without her and she was stuck in here watching crappy TV shows like Pokemon Amie specials, the adventures of Riolu Kid, Swoobatman the animated series, Keldeo and the real life adventures of the swords of justice, and other programs that just didn't interest her.

Scrolling through the TV guide, Serena contemplated going to check on her Pokemon for lack of anything better to do when she saw channel 10 Kalosian news program. Realizing it had been several weeks at least since she last saw the major events transpiring in her native region, Serena decided to turn it on. "Since the now world famous Garchomp incident in Lumiose city just over a week ago, the cleanup of our city has been remarkably swift, even by the standards of the Kalosian Pokemon cleanup crew and the Machoke Workmen. Most people are just thankful that the young man happened to be there," the main Kalos news crewman droned on in his typical practiced monotone fashion.

Another news person, this time a woman who Serena recognized as someone who worked with Alexa at the Lumiose city news station, continued on where the man left off, her smile radiant and her voice laced with bubbly happiness that had a lot of guys crushing on her across Kalos. "Gee, don't sound so amazed Kent, the young man wouldn't give his name but we did manage to get a close-up shot of the Kalos region's own personal hero of the month, and have identified him as none other than world famous elite Pokemon trainer, Ash Ketchum, here is a rerun of that day's events." The remote control fell to the floor beside the bed, and Serena was positively gobsmacked. "Holy Arceus, it is him! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT, ASH KETCHUM IS IN KALOS!" she screamed at the televised screenshot of his all too familiar and handsome face. Serena knew that face anywhere, having kept tabs on him throughout his entire journey with every ounce of diligence she could muster, and he had only gotten more handsome since last she saw his face in the newspaper clippings she kept in her room, or saw him competing in the Pokemon league tournaments on TV, or even the lesser known feats of his career such as the times he had allegedly been connected to, namely all those crazy epic battles between living legends she heard he'd played a part in resolving.

His name resounded almost everywhere on the planet, he was one of the most famous Elite level trainers in the world, and she was closer to him than she had been in the last eight years, so close she could almost feel his presence. This was a dream come true for Serena, but now that it was happening as it had happened so many times in her sleep she had to wonder if she was dreaming again. Pinching herself and feeling pain shoot up her arm; Serena had to stifle a scream of pure, unbridled joy and ecstasy. Her heart gave such a thump in her chest she was surprised she wasn't going into cardiac arrest, but seeing him again, even if it was on a recording from over a week ago was almost too much for her to handle. She had to; no she needed to find out where in Kalos he was or if he was still in Lumiose city. Although she didn't know the answer she knew who would, professor Sycamore.

Everyone in Kalos had heard of the Garchomp incident and despite it only happening over a week ago it had become a legend in the minds of millions. Serena had overheard people discussing it as far away as Coumarine city when she was heading back to the heart of Kalos to see for herself, and she knew it wouldn't be long before Ash Ketchum and his heroic feats were the talk of Kalos. Still until now, she hadn't realized that he was the hero who saved Sycamore's Garchomp, and wished she had found that bit of information out sooner so as to have a better chance of catching up to him.

Nevertheless, he couldn't have gotten far, and having followed Ash's travels from day one and knowing him as well as she did, Serena would have guessed he would want to catch some new Pokemon straight from Kalos and train them up before challenging his first Pokemon gym. She always giggled and tried to humor him back when he used to tell her he'd catch all 720 Pokemon in the entire national Pokedex one day, but with over 600 Pokemon species captured by him now, Serena had to wonder who was really humoring who in that situation.

Doing some deductive thinking, Serena had a pretty good idea where her childhood BFF and the love of her life was heading, but wanted to run her theories by professor Sycamore first. Since Lumiose city gym now had a new rule saying no trainer with less than four Kalos gym badges could challenge it, Ash wouldn't be able to challenge it right off the get go, and so would likely head to the closest available gym, which was in Santalune city.

Still, she wasn't Ash Ketchum's childhood bestie for nothing, and knowing him as well she used to, Serena knew that the one thing about Ash Ketchum was that he was unpredictable, and using logic to track his whereabouts could only lead her on a wild goose chase, so it was best to get a second opinion who might have a better idea of where the boy she had dreamed of marrying for years would be heading. "Tomorrow though, I need to go check on my Pokemon and then catch some Z's. I'm about to meet Ash once again for the first time in eight years and I don't want to screw up that reunion by appearing groggy and tired when I do finally get to see him. Ugh, I'm so excited, I'm not going to be able to sleep," Serena thought resolutely, switching the Televison off, jumping off her bed with all due haste, and practically galloped her way to the spa. Such was her excitement that she didn't even see the waiter from the Kitchen about to knock on the door as she opened it, nor did she clue in that he was even there until she had knocked them both over in her excitement and sent all of her dinner and desert flying asunder; splattering crepes, whipped cream, crème brûlée, and honey all over herself, the waiter, and the floor of the hallway.

Author's Note: And that's chapter 1 of my awesomely epic rewrite folks. As I've already mentioned before, these are not the same Ash and Serena you might remember from my old copies, and I've already written some very major deviations from them as well. I'm also aware of how powerful I've made Calem as compared to the original versions of both my stories but I do have my reasons and that's not going to change, nor will I apologise for it. I do apologise however, for the amount of exposition in this chapter, my only defense was that I had a lot of back story to cover and wanted to get most of the important information down. I promise to rectify the exposition problem in my next chapters; chapter 2 for example will contain a ton of action going down in Santalune city; first with capturing Dedenne, then with Team Flare, and finally Ash's first gym battle in Kalos. Be looking forward to it peeps, and as always, read, rate, and review.