Hello! I'm Aronpuma, the author. I'd like to give a quick thank you to xxfallenangelmayxx who beta read this chapter, and also two things you should know. First is that this story is set in a Pokemon world that borrows from the anime and the games, so you can have a passing knolledge of Pokemon and you'll be fine (same with Doctor Who). Also, the story has several OCs that feature as main characters besides the two Doctors and their companions, and I hope you come to enjoy them as much as I do. Such is my job as the author.

So welcome, my dear reader. Enjoy the story~


We're born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we're not alone.

-Orson Welles

Chapter 1: Counting Stars

There was nothing that could exactly match the feel of falling to sleep right under the stars. It had started when his parents had let him buy these glow in the dark stickers that could be attached to a bedroom ceiling. They were the kind that would glow for ten minutes after the lights went out, so he would fall asleep under his own little night sky. But today, and for most days for the past six years, Milo slept under the real stars.

It was safe to say he was an experienced stargazer. Even if he was under cloud cover, or if he was in some heavily light polluted city, Milo knew where every star was beyond his planet. He would cast his eyes there, but he never found it old; he would always find something enchanting. And Considering the ground he was on at present, it was surely the best thing to look at.

This is not to say anything against the ground on which Milo lay. Concrete, cobblestone, and brick could all be unpleasant, especially if it was too damp to use his sheets; however, grass was always nice, especially if it was mossy. So whenever he was in Vermillion City, he would try spend his night on the grass of Vermillion's infamous abandoned lot. Sure, there was probably some ideal spot on the beach, but that spot was probably taken. Taking someone else's regular spot could prove dangerous, and it was also just plain rude, but the regulars never took the abandoned lot. Originally it was supposed to be some grand mass grave that would replace the opulent Pokemon Tower in Lavender Town, but funding fell through, so the locals assumed it was haunted. Milo hardly cared. He would sleep among the dead if it meant he could gaze upon on the stars.

But the stars always faded as morning came, and with the morning Milo emerged from his dreams and picked up his guitar and bag.

It was time for work, and Milo did not want to be late.

He walked briskly towards the docks, so he would not miss a ferry. Not because he was going anywhere by way of ship—he was in the middle of his Kanto tour—but because he did not want to miss any of his potential audience. Granted, most of his audience would be the people who milled around the docks waiting for a ship, but perhaps some traveler in a rush would be able to spare a dime.

Or a record deal.

Needless to say, three hours did not produce the latter, and he did not make much above the former. Today was not a good day. Perhaps this was due to the morning set which mostly consisted of an extended piece that Milo wrote. Milo knew by now that people preferred the familiar and would rarely stop for something unrecognizable. It was just noise to them; no different from idle chatter. But Milo was an artist, and he would not bend to consumer desires.

So make no mistake, even though his stomach was growling louder than his guitar, it was not some desire for money, but the will of his artistic vision that made him switch to playing some CCR.

He was milling around on chords until he saw an upscale-looking vessel docking rather close to him. This was about timing, and just as the first passengers hit the platform, he kicked into the intro and started belting out "Proud Mary." Six long years were in this performance. Six long years with his fingers calloused and his technique perfected.

The boat's passengers rolled right on, some leaving money as they walked past, some not. A couple even seemed to slow, but not stop. If they had stopped, it would mean that they had noticed something around them; a disruption. But Milo played on, eventually retreating to a guitar only rendition of the chorus. He stared out over the sparkling water, until his gaze caught movement. A person was coming in his direction, with some type of Pokémon walking behind him. Milo turned his head slightly, and saw that this person, an adolescent, was looking right at him, followed by a yellow rodent. The boy and the pokemon, a pikachu, soon were well in a distance for conversation, so Milo turned fully and gave a small bow.

The boy smiled and waved at him. "Hi!" He said with an excitable, young tone. "What was that song you were singing?"

Milo's lips curved into a soft smile as he began to mute his guitar chords. "Proud Mary," he said with a debonair softness that felt like a whisper next to his earlier singing. He played a small flourish of his guitar then silenced it. "Hello, my name is Milo. Have I met a patron of the arts?"

"Yes," he said, nodding politely in the hope that yes was the right thing to say. He had barely understood the man's glorified whisper of a voice. "I'm Ash Ketchum, I'm a Pokémon trainer."

"Ah, Ash," the musician said graciously. "It is truly a pleasure to meet you. What can I do for you?"

"Pika Pikachu," added in the pikachu, as it hopped up on the boy's shoulder.

Milo blinked, his eyes flickering to the Pikachu and back to Ash. "Hello," he said curtly, before looking to Ash. "What can I do for you?"

"What can you do for me? Um," began the trainer. There was a small, terse pause, before Milo began to lightly play a guitar flourish, beginning to speak again with a calmer, sing-songy voice.

"Or perhaps a better question is what can you do for me." Milo settled back into a gentle smile, willing Ash to relax.

"What can I do for you?" Ash repeated, hoping he understood him right.

"I know exactly what you can do for me," Milo answered, pointing down at his guitar case. "Can you leave a cash donation to the fund for impoverished entertainers?"

Ash blinked. "Wait, to the fund of wha-"

"Food. You'd be paying for my lunch," said Milo.

"Um, alright!" Ash smiled brightly and put a pretty good bit of pocket change into the case. Milo smiled gently as his fingers ran back over the frets of his guitar. His desire to play was insatiable.

He quickly cleared his throat then asked. "Now, do you have any requests?"

"Requests? Uh, well um..." started Ash.

"Anything at all. I can play everything." Milo's lips curved into a calm smile matching a soothing tone.

"Could you play like that song you were playing earlier? Well, not that song, but something like it?" asked Ash.

"Certainly," smiled the musician, who immediately burst into a scruffy bit of chords which lead up to a loud, rambunctious "do do do, do doo'ew do, do do." He then launched into the first verse of 'Looking Out My Back Door,' with a passion that echoed across the harbor and asserted his presence to the busy port. Ash could hardly help but be mesmerized by the sound of a man proclaiming his existence. He soon gave a mesmerized applause that echoed the passion Milo had sent across the Vermillion sands.

Milo gave a small bow. "Thank you," he said to his audience. "Have you heard that before?"

"It sounded familiar," replied Ash.

"It was in a movie," Milo said with pep. "The Big Lebowski, have you heard of that?"

"I've never heard of the Big Lebowski," said Ash, shaking his head.

"Oh," said Milo's tone, his face deflating. "Well, I would recommend it." His voice had returned to its normal place just above a whisper.

"Alright," said Ash, his prepubescent voice cracking as his enthusiasm drooped.

Milo gave the boy a small little smile and looked off to the sky, across the expansive sea. His lips did not shake from the curve, taking from it security in its softness and its silence. This silence was new to the boy, who coughed, then spoke up again.

"Are you a Pokemon trainer?" he asked.

"I travel with some, yes," replied the musician.

Ash gave him a nod, then asked. "Would you want to battle?"

Milo's mouth gave the smallest of twitches, but only briefly before it returned to its small little smile. "No, I don't battle," he said, not turning to him.

"Alright," said Ash, not sure what else to do but let the word hang. The animal on his shoulder shifted, taking in a full glimpse of Milo.

It suddenly hopped to the ground, standing right before Milo and looking up at him. "Pi-ka-chu?" It said slowly, looking right up at him. Milo did not respond, instead gazing out over the water, swallowing and letting their conversation be taken over by the crashing of the waves.

After a long moment , Ash turned away and looked over him towards the ships at port. "I have a ferry to catch soon."

"Oh, where to?" Milo asked, still gazing out over the water.

"Almia," answered Ash.

"Ah," Milo said and nodded. "Can't really do any battling there."

"I know, my mom told me..." said Ash, trailing off again apprehensively, letting another bit of silence linger.

Milo turned his head and looked at him rather suddenly. "Well, you better not miss it."

"Yeah," agreed Ash. "Umm, bye."

"Good day." Milo offered the boy a warmer smile. "Listen around, and you may just hear me again."

"Will do," said Ash, nodding to him, then starting to turn his body. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye." Milo offered the boy a wave, silently wishing him luck as he walked to his ferry to Almia. Almia was a rather curious region, and it seemed people only went there for curious reasons. Milo had visited after completing his tour of neighboring region Sinnoh, but there were problems. For one he did not have the papers: Kanto, Johto, Sinnoh, and most other regions were in the Legion of Championed Democracies (the LCD) but Almia was entirely independent. To get there you needed a visa and a good reason. Milo had great reason, and would have spent longer if he could have bypassed the visa process or evaded the police. Plus he had to hike overland through marshes and deserts to bypass the border guards.

Suddenly, he found himself following Ash for a reason he could not quite puzzle out; stopping on a boardwalk where he could watch the final passengers load onto the ferry. It was a much smaller boat than he expected, so the crowd watching it leave was relatively small. They were generally an older, upper-middle class crowd, dressed in summer clothes. Milo began to unzip his guitar case, determining that perhaps Gordon Lightfoot would be the music best suited to getting him his salary. But then, as he slung on his guitar, he looked up and spotted two curious individuals who looked radically different from the crowd. His eyes immediately hooked onto them.

The two individuals, one man and one woman, were walking towards the crowd, glancing at the ships with intrigue. Though their draw was not in action, but in their incredibly strange outfits. The man was not that weird, aside from his floor length coat that ended in trainers. But next to the floppy haired man was a redhead in a thicker, poofier jacket—the kind Milo had regretted not wearing in Snowpoint City. This coat was joined in thick trousers and snow boots.

As they came within his earshot, the boat had begun to cast off into the water to a great bout of cheering from the crowd, except for this couple. The woman watched the hubbub with some disdain, rolling her eyes a bit, while the man showed amusement and curiosity. As the cheering died down, they began approaching the nearby onlookers. And rather than play before the people left his dinner, Milo listened.

"Excuse me sirs? Ma'ams?" began the man in the coat.

A man from the crowd turned. "Pardon?"

"Ah yes, hello!" The man in the long coat said, giving a huge smile. "I'm the Doctor, this is Donna." He gestured to the woman beside him, then continued to ramble, "We're not from around here. First time here, fresh off the boat you could say." The Doctor smiled and held out his hand.

"Welcome to Kanto then, you can call me Brock," said the other man, reaching out and shaking his hand, then shaking the women's. "What brings you two here? Where are you from?"

"Far away," said the woman, who as the Doctor had said was Donna. "Really far away, you wouldn't know it."

"Yes, and we're looking for someone, a Professor, not called Professor, I think his name is some kind of plant..." The Doctor mused.

"You mean Professor Oak?" inquired Brock.

"Yes! That's the one, Proffesor Oak. We're looking for a Proffesor Oak." The Doctor spoke with a new enthusiasm for the word Oak. "Would you know where we could find a Proffesor Oak?"

"I'm afraid he just left," said Brock, as he shook shaking his head sympathetically. "On that boat," he continued, pointing toward the fast disappearing vessel.

"Almia," mouthed Milo, staring out over the water, drifting even closer to the conversation, standing just outside the circle of three.

"Almia," said Brock, looking between the Doctor and Donna. "I believe he has a conference with Professor Hastings."

"Why did Ash go?" mumbled Milo, looking between the two.

"Well that's bloody brilliant, I suppose we'll have to go get a ticket there." Donna muttered then asked, "where do you get that sort of thing?"

Brock pointed towards land. "In the ticket house, but I'm afraid you may have to wait."

"Now why is that?" asked Donna, crossing her arms. She was sweating, though it was probably more out of being hot than anything else.

"A ferry only goes out once a week," explained Brock, offering a sympathetic tone. "There is some trade of goods, but not many passengers go between here and Almia"

The Doctor gave him a nod. "Well, oh well, we'll just find someone else."

"Why did Ash go?" asked Milo in his barely-above-a-whisper voice.

"Why did you need him? If I may ask" asked Brock, as if Milo's words had not even reached his ears.

The musician took in a breath. "Why did Ash go?!" Milo shouted, though through his shout was about the volume at which the conversation was already at. It did strain his voice though.

The Doctor's head turned first., "Ooh hello?"

"Hi," mumbled Milo in embarrassment, his voice retreating fast as a light blush adorned his cheeks.

"Were you saying something?" Donna asked as she examined his face out of curiosity.

"Um... yeah um.. sorry to interrupt but um.." Milo mumbled.

"Yes?" asked Brock curiously.

"I was wondering if you might know why Ash Ketchum was on that boat." Milo said; he attempted to said Milo, trying to sound very gracious.

"Oh," Brock said. said Brock. "Ash is traveling with the professor while he's taking a break from battling."

"Battling?" The Doctor's tone audibly darkened as a shadow graced his features. questioned the Doctor, his tone darkening.

"Yes," Brock replied. said Brock. "He hasn't been battling since the Sinnoh League. He just needs time to recharge, so the Professor is taking him to-"

"-Almia," finished the Doctor. "I see, I see. Now I'm wondering if you could tell me more about-"

"Doctor! Look!" Donna cried called out Donna, her eyes to the sky.

"Yes Donna?" said the Doctor, his eyes joining hers, with Brock's and Milo's quickly following. It took no time for them to latch onto something flying across the sky. Milo's first thought was a shooting star, but this was no ordinary star. For under the fan of flames it looked blue and had an odd shap, though it was hard to tell from the ground. Milo and Brock puzzled at the sight, but the Doctor and Donna seemed to recognize it immediately.

"Where is that falling toward?" The Doctor asked as he turned asked the Doctor, turning to Milo and Brock.

"Pewter City," said Brock at the exact same time Milo said, "Blackthorn City."

"Somewhere in the Indigo mountains," said Brock.

"Thank you," said the Doctor, quickly shaking Brock's hand. "It's been lovely chatting, maybe we can sit down for a cup of tea one day but I'm afraid we must be off."

He then turned to Milo, his rush suddenly stopping dead as he saw his case. "Oh, you're a musician! Where's your next gig?"

"Right here," murmured Milo, looking surprised still.

"Oh! I see," replied the Doctor as he smiled. He then dug into his coat. "I'm afraid I don't have any money on me, but let's see." He pulled out a box of saltwater taffy. "Have this," he said, putting two pieces in Milo's hand.

"Doctor, it's getting farther," said Donna, whose eyes were still on the object.

"Yes, goodbye, au revoir, al pedersen, adieu," the Doctor said, before shutting the box and putting it in his pocket. He quickly started to run off, followed by Donna.

Milo looked down at his saltwater taffy, then back up at the fading object. Now this was interesting., This was worth looking at. A winsome smile formed on his lips. Now was his chance to follow the stars.

Though he could not have imagined what he would find...


The real question wasn't where the star would land, but one Milo would have never thought: What was inside the falling star? The answer was really quite simple:

An alien, a young woman, and several canisters of Nitro 9 high explosives.

At the moment, the young woman was trying to seal the straps of her knapsack. Nitro 9 did not didn't go off without proper setting, but it is it's never a good thing to risk explosions during a crash landing. Now most stars do not don't crash land, or contain live humanoids inside of them, but this was not a star.

This was the Tardis.

A short alien, who looked an awful lot like a short human, was dashing around the controls of his Tardis as smoke billowed into the room. His much more human companion soon got the explosives sealed away and jumped to the controls. "What's the problem Professor?"

"I don't know Ace,"said the alien in a Scottish brogue. Later in his life, this kind of landing would be relatively regular, but right now it was taking him by complete surprise. He was in a panic.

"We were going to Apalapucia, are they making us crash?" Ace asked him, not seeming nearly as frantic.

"They're a resort planet so I don't see why they would. I don't need another regeneration from bump-" His words were cut off as the ship jerked and smoke blew out of a pipe. Ace grabbed a lever for support, pulling it down and causing the spaceship to suddenly start shaking.

The Doctor's eyes widened. "Move your hand, that's the-" he started, before a loud, ominous bell rang out, drowning out his voice.

"Doctor?" asked Ace, as she moved moving her hand a bit slowly. The smoke was slowly taking over the room

"Grab onto something and hold on for your life!" the Doctor called out. He quickly held two knobs, keeling over the controls while Ace kept her hold on the lever, trying to move it back into its original position. It was hard to move, but then it jerked into place hard, knocking Ace's hand off of it.

"Doctor!" Ace cried as she was flung to the floor, feeling her mind spacing out. The smoke flowed through her open mouth into her lungs, and soon her eyes rolled back as she drifted off into a nice, comfortable, oxygen deprived sleep.


More chapters are to come, not too quickly and not necessarily regularily but they will come. Feel free to review if you have comments, positive or negative, or ways I can improve my writing. Thank you for reading!