Perfect Disaster

Prologue

"Pikachu is unable battle, which means that Lucario is the winner; which means Cameron wins the match!" The crowds cheered madly, cameras flashing and flags being waved frantically. Ketchum rushes onto the battlefield for his fallen pokemon as the victor finally realises his win, hugging his partner with elation written all over their faces. The announcer soon relays the results across the stadium.

"Lucario wraps this up with Aura Sphere so Cameron wins this fierce battle and joins our top 4 trainers as they move on to the Semi-finals-" The scene is frozen.

Ketchum.

Ash Ketchum

Ashton do-gooder Ketchum: Saviour of Pokemon, Befriender of the people. Achiever of the Top 4 of the Sinnoh League. Beaten by an immature, temperamental brat for a place in the Semi-finals.

"...Pathetic," he sneered. Did the idiot even try to win? Who challenges a Pokemon League with pokemon caught barely more than 6 months ago, unprepared to fight others that have trained for, probably, years? He knew that some unevolved pokemon could still be powerhouses -just look at Pikachu-, but really? They didn't even have any significant qualities or the preparation to fight. What happened to the strategies, the tactics that used everything to his advantage!?

He knew Ketchum could have easily beaten the brat with that team if it wasn't for his neglected training regime! His bond with his pokemon would have made them train their hardest and unlock their subconscious ability to use more than four different moves; all Pikachu needed was a move like Brick Break, Focus Punch or Dig to knock out that Lucario.

With a strong bond between a person and a pokemon both will discover power -physical, emotional and mental- that they wouldn't have found themselves. Why else would a pokemon agree to be separated from its freedom?

And how did he, Paul Shinji, the cruel slave driver (who obviously abuses his pokemon), know this? Because he could see it. Literally. It was shown in their aura. It showed him the potential of people and pokemon: their emotions, their energy, their potential for growth and bonds with others. Of course, he never wanted the ability.

The auras of the people he passed every day of his life were pathetically weak, constantly craving to reach their full potential. It was maddening how he knew exactly how to make them better but he couldn't. Who would believe him? Even his brother brushed off his ability as childish imagination, ruining what was left of his potential as a trainer; it could have rivalled the auras of the League Champions. But the pain he felt at watching that potential die kept him from trying to help anyone else. So he tried to ignore it.

Only his Pokemon had known what he had gone through and trained till they dropped to be the best that they could, despite his attempts at stopping them. Even reverse psychology didn't stop them. Some pokemon somehow knew what he could do and willingly got captured to possibly reach their potential, knowing that their release would mean that he was unable to help them. Then there would be something else they needed to do, because all life was meant for a purpose, that Paul would direct them to. It was lucky that all pokemon seemed to understand their fellows' curiosity for the assessment or they wouldn't normally be allowed back into their herds/flocks/groups when released by a trainer.

There were occasions, like his Azumarill, where he would give the pokemon to another who would do what he couldn't, but those times were rare. The kid he gave her to would eventually become a great coordinator once he formed a strong bond with her. Helping to train the pokemon at Reggie's ranch helped to lower the stress that came from ignoring dozens of auras everyday too, despite the strength of his mental discipline.

Then everything changed when he met Ketchum.

Just like all of the others, he had seen what could be improved. Ketchum's potential for growth had been immeasurable, especially with the Guardian aura residing in his soul. Paul couldn't bear to leave him as he was when it was so easy to help- hear his aura. It was so strong that it was like a chorus of whispers whenever the other stood too close.

Paul couldn't completely seal off his Aura Sensitivity and his brain throbbed constantly at Ketchum's power. So he helped it along. Of course, it was just to get rid of the aura.

Chimchar's power had needed the specific honing of an ambitious trainer, but it wasn't him. Every technique he used to train the fire type only resulted in failure and the pokemon's aura flaring, grating on his mental shields. The attempt to mimic the Zangoose attack was the last resort before he would give up. Training Chimchar would also give Ash more experience and knowledge necessary to be the best that he could. Paul's frequent battles and meetings would also give the other teen a goal and a reason to become stronger.

Being beaten at the Sinnoh League was honestly one of the proudest moments in his life, despite the loss. His pokemon, as well as Ketchum's, had clearly grown stronger and Ketchum's aura had abated because of his efforts. He didn't know what his own aura looked like, it was the only one he couldn't see, but being able to make someone almost two years older than him use every skill and tactic they knew was thrilling. Admittedly, he was disappointed when Ketchum lost to Tobias, especially when he had made the effort to use his pokemon from his other travels, but it was expected. It only meant that Ketchum would need to continue to train himself the rest of the way.

Out of pure curiosity, Paul had recorded the Unova League on his pokegear to watch when he was bored. Then he came across the battles for places in the Semi-finals...He scowled as he deleted all of the videos. 'Why bother continuing to watch when I don't know anyone else,' he thought as he switched the watch off.

Then he stood, stretching his arms above his head to remove the stiffness that came from staying in place for so long. And from sitting on a rock for the duration of his break. Though there was rarely anything other than rocks and some strong pokemon on the higher levels of .

Paul had decided to train hard to challenge the Indigo League again, as well as all of the other leagues he had travelled to before, after he had finally beaten the Battle frontier (a short time after the league). He already had all of the badges necessary to challenge them; all his team needed was some special training. It also allowed him to improve his own skills to survive sufficiently without his team and-what was that? He paused, meters away from the entrance to the peak of the mountain.

'Was that...aura?' The purple haired trainer closed his eyes and ...yes, it was but it was...different. Powerful, wild and wrathful, yet it was somehow weak too: like it was...fading. It wasn't shifting, pulsing or changing so there weren't any living beings there but perhaps traces of the aura were left behind. It happened to all living creatures but Paul usually had to concentrate a lot harder to find, identify or follow a single trail. And the aura always faded a day or two later...unless there was conflict, an increase in power (evolution), a significantly stronger person/pokemon or other various exceptions.

An odd, unexplainable instinct urged him to follow the trails to the peak, even though any other would see them as the perfect reason to flee in the other direction. He was never one to doubt his instincts before, so Paul complied, however his hand was cautiously on his shrunken Pokéballs. The second he stepped onto the peak, he gasped.

The sheer power in the area; it was stifling! It forced the Aura Sensitive trainer to freeze in place to prevent himself from staggering, completely overwhelmed.

"...Who could have done this?" His attention was utterly focused on the aura flooding the area, leaving no crevice free from the lingering life forces. Different colours sparked and flared before merging back into the mix of ethereal blue, a thunder coloured lavender-pink and another that felt far too familiar, lost in the confusion. It was almost like Paul was seeing faint lights from beneath an ocean overlaying the entire area but it wasn't really obstructing his normal vision.

His hand gently carded through a nearby pink wisp, letting it form into fine strands that rippled and flowed with the deceiving tranquility of water. Though there was also an underlying sense of something else...The aura was uncomfortably warm, twisting around his fingers like fire. Yet, it was something more: more powerful, more untamed, proud...noble. Dragon types.

He inhaled sharply as his mind raced, denial creeping through his thoughts. A Dragon pokemon, the rarest type, with an aura that far exceeded all of Cynthia's team combined. And the other significant blue aura was just as strong. Could it be?

Suddenly, a bright green light burst into existence before Paul, momentarily dazzling him. Before his eyes adjusted, he could hear the faint chime of distant temple bells; the soothing symphony distracted him from both his fight or flight reflexes and his pokemon team. Then a new stream of mixed aura trickled into existence, emitting a joyful harmony of playfulness, peace, delight, innocence, kindness and laughter that had no intention of harm. Five distinct shapes could be seen floating in the air as the brightness faded to nonexistent.

He blinked in disbelief.

One was a small feline pokemon with baby pink fur, bunnery-like legs and a long thin tail that was the same length as the rest of its body. It had big blue eyes that sparkled as it giggled innocently, twirling around the rest, who joined in the game seconds later. The second was a light green with a head the shape of a flower bulb, large, ringed eyes, blue tipped antenna and a tiny pair of fluttering wings on its back. Another was roughly star shaped, a mix of white and yellow, and had two ribbon-like trails behind it. The next was a clear, ocean blue with a similarly shaped head to the second and longer, thicker antenna that ended with spheres (it resembled those of a Chinchou or Lanturn's but blue instead of yellow). The final one was cream and orange with mini feathered wings and large ears that made a 'v' shape at the top of its head.

It was the Legendary Fairy pokemon. Mew, the New Species pokemon; Celebi, the Time Travel pokemon; Jirachi, the Wish pokemon; Manaphy, the Seafare pokemon; Victini, the Victory pokemon. They were here. On the top of . With him.

He just stared at them for a long while, unable to comprehend the sight of the legendaries playing like ordinary young children and pokemon. It took some time but Paul managed to muster enough of his intelligence to sting together a few choked words.

"W-what...are you doing here?" A small part of him cringed at the stutter but he reasoned that it was currently justified. The five paused, as if just remembering his presence, whipping around to face him with wide eyes. There was silence as the two parties stared at each other. Then they exploded into a canopy of sounds, all chirping and babbling at once as they spoke enthusiastically, quiet auras flaring out with their excitement. Wave after wave of frantic, fluctuating aura washed over him, sending mixed sensations and images into his mind. All went by too quickly to see but one image was repeated so frequently it was impossible not to see.

"Is that...Ketchum?" He winced as even more images-no, more memories poured into him. Ketchum turned to stone, Ketchum surrounded by rings of glowing Celebi, battling a huge creature-was that a Groundon!?-, dressed up in Aura Guardian attire, inside a submarine and...and riding...riding Reshiram! Wait, what was that-Arceus? Darkrai? No, what-fast. Too fast! His head throbbed and everything burned-

"STOP!" Nothing. He panted harshly, waiting for the last of the memories to sink in.

Ketchum began his journey around 7 years ago with a Pikachu. He has met pretty much every legendary Pokemon from Kanto to Unova, helping/saving them from from what the evil pokemon organisations had intended to do. Ketchum was the Chosen One. Well, at least that explained the huge amount of untapped aura. And...and...Why were the Legendaries so quiet?

He glanced up, almost flinching when he found teary, concerned blue eyes right in front of him. "Mew..." The little pokemon's tail and ears had drooped as it sat slumped in front of him; its aura was weighed down by remorse. This was Mew? It was so innocent, too innocent to be chased for its DNA and other things it likely didn't understand. Despite the wisdom it had shown on New Island with Mewtwo, Mew was still similar to a child.

"Mana?..." A glance behind Mew showed that the others were no different and had not known that the sharing of memories would affect him so much. They most likely saw it being done by other psychic or legendary pokemon with no idea of how to control it completely. Perhaps this was why their group was made. Other legendary groups were in the same region as each other but these five were too alike to separate them or put them into other groups.

Slowly, to avoid startling the pokemon, he raised his hand, catching their attention as their auras collectively spiked in alarm, wariness, and then, pained acceptance. They huddled together on the cold stone, despite the fact that he was purposefully intensifying his natural, calming aura over them to show he meant no harm. When he got closer to them, they all chirped and shook nervously but made no move to get away. The flare of anger he felt at all of the people who they must have met was masterfully hidden, as was all of the other negative signals his aura may have been projecting.

After a few more tense moments, when the Fairy Legandaries didn't feel the pain or rage they were expecting, they calmed slightly, instead becoming curious of the human's peaceful aura. He didn't move, keeping his outstretched hand just out of touching distance. What was he doing?

Ever the brave one, Victini stepped in front of Mew. The Victory pokemon had its wings help high with caution as it eyed the hand, memories of an old human king rising to the surface of its mind. Trusting the trainer's aura, it held onto one of his fingers and stared into his deep blue eyes, not noticing the movement outside its range of vision but catching the renewed alarm of its group. Before the little pokemon could turn around, a gentle touch was scratching at the constant itch between its wings.

Paul couldn't help a small smile of amusement as the cream and orange coloured pokemon practically melted. Some winged pokemon weren't able to reach the space between their wings so it was often itchy or uncomfortable due to messy fur or feathers. Pack/flock mates usually attended to this problem, though he doubted that the other Legendaries knew exact where to scratch or have the expertise gained from years at a Pokemon ranch. The purring let the others approach and soon they were, one again, all playfully chasing each other to get Paul's attention.

"Why are you here?" Once they were all back to their former state, Paul had waited for them to notice the absence of petting. His question was asked when they had all turned to look at him. A single image of Ketchum laughing was the result. Huh, so they realised that he wasn't able to cope with more than a few images or memories at once.

"What about him?" Another image was sent, this one of his recent defeat in the Unova League, holding Pikachu close to his chest. It was soon followed by the image of the star shaped Kalos Region with a red "x" over it and the dreadful scene of, what Paul assumed was, the native Pokemon stuffed into piles of cages by team Rocket. The last two images were of himself with an arrow pointed to the Unova Region and an Absol with its colours reversed (Black fur, white claws etc).

"...So you want me to go to the Unova League and...do something to stop pokemon being stolen in Kalos? And it has something to do with an Absol or a disaster...?" They pouted at him, giving the him the impression that he didn't understand what they meant. The five all glanced at each other before Jirachi glided forward and gestured towards Celebi.

"Time travel?" They twittered happily but he zoned out as he pieced their plan together. Send him to travel back in time help Ketchum win the league, help him to become stronger. Then Ketchum could prevent disaster in the Kalos region with his new strength. And he was the only one who could help because of his ability...Paul couldn't believe that he was actually considering this.

"What will happen to my Pokemon?" An image of his brother's ranch came in response. So they wouldn't come with him? That would make it more difficult but the trainer supposed that his team weren't completely necessary to teach Ketchum and give him some advice. Or maybe Celebi didn't have enough energy, even with Victini's infamous power boost, to send him to that period of time, allow him to change it and bring others too.

"...Alright," he said quietly, after a long pause. A little louder, "I agreed to go back in time to help Ketchum as long as Reggie and my team know that I'm okay. I mean, it couldn't take more than a day if Celebi sends me back to this time." Cheers were the response, the little Pokemon chirping and laughing happily.

With one last petting, Paul stood back up, removed his belt of shrunken pokéballs and braced himself. The Fairy Pokemon all stood together as their auras grew to outshine the faded signs left by the attempted capture of Dialga and Palkia; the deep chimes of temple bells once again echoed through the mountain, soothing his nerves and allowing him to focus on the forming rings of Celebi's ability.

Unexpectedly, his feet lifted off the rocky terrain, leaving him to flail in momentary panic at the sudden change. It was only the delighted squeaks of the legendaries that prevented a scowl from appearing on his face, though the faint flush of embarrassment on his cheeks remained. But...Paul had a feeling that he was missing something important. Something very important and obvious...

"Hey, why did the Absol have-" A bright flare of green light covered 's peak.