Here is the second chapter of the Trainers, and the longest chapter I have ever written by far. This is the phone conversations Ash's has with his friends, and they are much expanded. I set up a few things, which I will explain at the end. I hope you enjoy this chapter, but don't get too used to it. This chapter is more of an aberration than the norm in length. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.

That first call went to Professor Oak. He thought he would be a good place to start. Not to his surprise, his mother was there at Oak's lab. In fact, he had been counting on it. He had seen her there often enough for it to be normal, and was actually beginning to get suspicious about all the friendly visits, that they weren't all "friendly." He wanted to confront her on it, but she might counter with a few things and he was not up to the task of defending himself from her accusation. He told his mother about what he was doing, and she squealed in glee.

"Oh, that sounds great honey; I will make sure to send you a few things. I know you will love them for sure!."

"Thanks, mom. I also wanted to tell you I got my newest badge, the Quake Badge. But I don't have it with me…" Ash meekly responded.

"That's okay honey. Congratulations on the new badge dear. And I want to wish you a happy birthday."

Ash reached for the back of his neck. "Thanks, Mom."

She nodded. "It's nothing, Ash. You know Ash, it is really good hearing from you, and I can't wait for us to talk again. You make your mother really proud, you know that right? Just don't get into any trouble over there, please? Just remember to keep your eyes open for my package! Love you, and remember to change your underwear! Bye!"

Ash grimaced at the last comment; his mother always said that to embarrass him. His mother left the screen and replacing her was Professor Oak.

"That is good to hear, Ash! And congratulations on your fifth badge. "

"Thanks, Professor. So, how are my pokemon doing? They aren't missing me too much, now are they?"

Professor Oak shook his head. "I think a few of them are. All in all, they are doing just fine. Your Gible has been a pest like always, and Muk and Bayleef have been very over-affectionate, but I can't think of anything else out of the ordinary that has happened."

"Whew, that is good to hear. So the thing between Buizel and Totodile has been settled?" Professor Oak nodded. "That is good to hear. I thought I might have had to get one to stay here in Unova with the rest of my Unova team."

Professor Oak eyes sowed his sudden remembrance of something. "That is right. I remember Professor Juniper saying something about that, and I wanted to ask you a question. Would it be alright if she sent me one or two of them to study? I haven't gotten to see how they have develop- MUK!" Unsurprisingly for Ash, his Muk came into view and glomped the professor, a normal occurrence for their phone calls. The Professor yelled at the purple ooze pokémon."Stop it! Gahhhh! I'm sorry Ash, but Muk is kidnapping me, and resistance is futile. Just tell Tracey your answer. Good day Ash!" Professor Oak was swept off screen by Muk, and Tracey filled the void.

"(shakes his head) Muk is still as affectionate as ever. Anyway, the Professor forgot to mention a few things that you should now about. For one,I want to warn you about Sceptile and Infernape, they have suddenly developed a fierce rivalry. It began about two weeks ago, and now they are just getting into slugfests whenever they can. If it wasn't for your Bulbasaur to calm things down, and Buizel to clean up the mess, the ranch would be in ruins."

Ash was shocked. "How could the professor forget that?"

Tracey shook his head. "It might have something to do with how he is always around your mom, who distracts him from his work." Tracey flashed a grin. "You know, by the time you come back from Unova, you might have a new dad."

Ash blanched. "That isn't funny, Tracey. It is weird enough to think about, the Professor and my mom. Do you think they will ever actually get together? I mean, in public and stuff."

"I don't know." Tracey shrugged off the question. "What I do know is that you might have to put one of them in Unova with Professor Juniper."

Ash nodded. "Yeah, maybe. And you can tell the professor that I will give the okay to Juniper."

Tracey nooded his head. "Ok, I will. And before I forget, I want to tell you that you are getting a new pokémon." Ash's eyebrow rose." A Ditto got loose in the Tauros pin, and two eggs have been found. We kind of figured one of them belong to you, with all of your Tauros and all. So it will hatch soon enough."

"Don't I have enough Tauros already?" Ash made a joke, but then got serious. "Okay then, just call me when it hatches. And you heard about my birthday plans already right?" Tracey nodded. "Good."

"Well anyway, hope you are having fun in Unova and are doing well. Hope you have an awesome birthday, cause I will be traveling for the Professor that day. See ya later, Ash!" Tracey clicked off the monitor.

Ash wasn't sure who to call next, and figured Misty was his best bet. He quickly punched in her number.

Soon, a red head showed up on screen that was not focused in the videophone at all. "Hello." The girl muttered, not even bothering to glance at the screen.

"Hey Misty."

With that, the girl froze. She managed to turn herself around to look at him. "Ash?"

"The one and only. What's up?"

Misty gave a nervous laugh, still caught off by the phone call. "Just some stuff. So, what are you calling for?"

Ash gave her a smile. "Well, I just wanted to tell my best friend that I won the Quake Badge in Driftveil City."

Misty cut him off. "Good for you. What did you have to do for it, save the gym leaders pokémon from a rock slide caused by Team Rocket?" She made a joke at the expense of how Ash won a lot of his badges in Kanto. He wasn't amused.

"Ha, ha Mist. No, I beat him fair and square. What I really wanted to tell you was that my birthday is coming up, and for once, I am going to celebrate it. So I was calling to give a heads up to my friends, in case they wanted to send me something."

Misty nodded. "Of course! I already was getting you something for your birthday, but I was just going to give it to your mom… But I will just send it express to Driftveil!"

Ash grinned. "You remembered? Thanks a lot Misty, I didn't know you would."

Misty blushed. "Of course, how could I forget your birthday?"

There was an awkward silence, as both remembered what happened during Ash's last birthday. Eventually, Misty broke it when she noticed something off-screen.

"Oh yeah, I have to show you something." Off screen, she talks to something "Honey, come here please." She lifts something in her arms on-screen." I got a new Togepi! It is so sweet and lovable!"

Ash asks "How did you get it?" He remembered what happened to her other Togepi, and was quite curious on where this new one came from.

Misty started. "Well, you see, I found this egg in the gym. I don't know which pokémon it belonged too, but none of mine claimed it, so I did. I carried it around for a while, but I went to the Global Trading Center to talk to someone and found this egg swapping machine. I found someone who had a confirmed Togepi egg, and I couldn't help myself! I really hope the other egg is doing well. In fact, I will be checking up on the egg or Pokémon if it has hatched yet, when I go on a trip for the gym. I am meeting with the person to talk. She is a new trainer, and wanted to get some tips from an old pro like me! She said she was planning to surprise a guy she likes with her skills when they meet up again. She said that he was her inspiration for going on the journey. I hope it works, for her sake."

Ash just nodded his head. "Yeah, that is definitely one way to impress a guy. I know that would work on me! Knowing a girl likes me enough to start a journey with her."

Misty managed not to react, and just nod her head. "Yeah, for sure. So, um I will have to be traveling the day of your birthday, so I won't be able to wish you a happy birthday on your birthday, so I will just have to say it early. Happy birthday, Ash! And see you later." With that, the screen turned black.

Ash took a minute to ready himself after that conversation, and called up Brock.

"Hey Brock!"

Brock eyes nearly widened in surprise at seeing his long time friend on the line. "Hey Ash! I haven't seen you in months!"

Ash scratched the back of his head. "Sorry about that. I really did want to call, but, well… your mom scares me. She's just too…yeah."

Brock nodded. "Thankfully, I am more like my dad. So, what's up?"

"I just got my fifth badge, from a rock gym," Brock chuckled, "without activating the sprinkler system. And I am calling people to tell them that I am staying in Driftveil for my birthday. You know it is on the first of the month, right?" Brock nodded, actually recalling that tidbit. "So, if you want to send me something, we can work something out."

"Don't think you have to worry about that. I was gonna try and surprise you, but this is perfect. You know why? Because I am heading over to visit you anyway!"

Ash's eyes bulged. "Seriously?"

" Yup. I had plans to go traveling anyway, so I decided I was going to give you a quick visit in Unova before I head to Sinnoh to deal with some things. I was going to call your mom to see where I should go to surprise you, but this obviously works out a lot better."

Ash nodded. "For sure, Brock. So, you are going to Sinnoh? What for? Is it about being a Pokemon doctor?"

Brock shook his head. "Nope, it is a surprise. But I promise to tell you once I see you, okay?" Ash gave a quick nod. "Well anyway, it is good to hear that you are doing really well, and I can't wait to see you face-to-face. I will probably get there the morning of your birthday. So see you then!" Brock gave a quick salute good-bye.

"Can't wait. Bye, Brock!" Ash gave a salute back as he turned off the phone. He dived into his book, and found his next target. The Maples of Hoenn. On the receiving end of the phone call was Caroline, mother of Ash's friends and former traveling companions May and Max.

"Oh, hello Mrs. Maple." Ash politely greeted the matriarch of the household.

"Hello Ash! Long time no see! I hope everything has been well."

Ash gave a quick nod." Everything sure has, Mrs. Maple."

She nodded her head. "Good to hear. So, may I ask what the honor is?" Ash looked confused at her word choice. "Honey, why are you calling?"

"Oh," Ash's eyes widened in understanding. "Of course. Well, I was just calling to see if I could catch May or Max. You see, my birthday is on the first of the month, and I was going to tell them I was going to be staying in Driftveil City as sort of a base of operations for my birthday. We have been kind of stuck here since I wasn't able to get my badge until yesterday, but I thought we should just hang around here for the big day! So, yeah, pretty much if they wanted to send me something like a card or a gift, or even call me, they could. Just direct it to the Driftveil Pokemon Center."

Caroline smiled "That is great to hear, Ash. Happy early birthday. But I'm sorry that they are not here, but they are traveling together somewhere in Hoenn. May is re-challenging the Hoenn circuit and Max is getting his badges. I hope that your birthday goes off without a hitch, and I will make sure to get in contact with them."

"Thank you, Mrs. Maple." Ash politely thanked her.

"Hopefully I will be able to contact them tonight so they can send you a card or something."

"How do you expect to manage that? You don't know where they are."

Caroline smiled. "You forget, a parent can always find their child at the Pokemon Center. And it is safe to say I will find my May in a Pokemon Center if she has any say in it."

Ash laughed. "That's true. It was very frustrating back when we traveled, to get her used to camping out."

Caroline nodded." Well, I wish you good luck in Unova, and that you have a wonderful birthday. Have a good day, Ash."

Ash nodded his head. "You too, Mrs. Maple."

He next called the house of Johanna, mother of his friend Dawn Berlitz.

"Hello, Johanna." It was weird, but she had told him to call her by her name, so he did.

"Hello, Ash. What can I do for you?" Johanna gave him a smile.

"Um, I need to talk to Dawn about something. I know the Hoenn Grand Festival is already over, so I figured she was home." Ash nervously told her. He didn't know why, but Johanna made him feel… off.

"Sorry, dear, but she isn't here. She was here for a few days, but left about a week ago to hang out with a friend somewhere in Sinnoh. She wouldn't tell me with who, though. If she couldSo, what did you want to tell Dawn anyway. That way, if she shows up, I can just tell her."

Ash scratched the back of his head. "Alright. Well, I am staying in Driftveil City for my birthday on the first. So, um, if she wanted to send me something for it, she can."

Johanna mindlessly nodded. "Driftveil, you said? I'll remember that. So, how old will you be?"

"17" Ash quickly answered.

"17? Wow, I didn't realize you were that old. You look younger."

Ash nodded his head. "Yeah, I get that a lot. Believe it, I will be 17."

Johanna gave a bit of an unsettling smile. "I do. Say Ash, how about next time you are in Sinnoh you come over. It would be nice seeing you in person again."

Ash was beginning to be creeped out. "Um, maybe. So I can visit Dawn again and stuff. I will definitely keep that in mind. So, uh, yeah, goodbye!"

Johanna simply nodded. "You do that. Have a happy birthday, Ash." With that, the screen turned off. It was easy to see he was creeped out. If it didn't seem so ridiculous, he would have thought Johanna liked him or something. Though with the stuff he has seen, it didn't seem so ridiculous he thought to himself. He shook it off, looking to get his mind off of that

His next call went to a good friend that fit the bill perfectly, Angie. They had written a few letters, but Ash hadn't had the opportunity to call her yet.

"Hello, this is the Solaceon Daycare Center. We cannot get to the phone right now, but if you leave your name and a message, we will get back to you." It was Angie's mom's voice on an answering machine.

Disappointed, he tried again.

"Hello, this is the Solaceon Daycare Center. We cannot get to the phone right now, but if you leave your name and a message, we will get back to you." He shook his head at his bad luck and left a message.

"Hey Angie and or Angie's parents. So, Angie, if you get this, I wanted to tell you my birthday is on the first. So if you want to call me, or even send a card or something, you need to send it to the Driftveil City Pokemon Center. I just got my fifth badge, and Roggenrola evolved! And if this is Angie's parents, give her this message. Bye!"

He hung his head for a moment in recognition of his bad luck, and moved to the next person. After a moment's consideration, he looked for Gary's number.

"Whats up loser?" Ash gave his standard greeting to his long time friend.

"Hey, Ashy-boy, how's it been?" Gary gave his equally standard greeting.

"Good, I just got my fifth badge in Unova, from Driftveil City."

Gary nodded. "Good to hear. Probably would have gotten eight if I was traveling, but that's just me."

Ash scowled. "Sure you would of. And I am a pretty Jynx."

Gary smirked back. "Hello, pretty Jynx."

Ash face palmed, realizing he set himself up for that line. "Anyway, I'm calling to tell you that I'm sticking around in Driftveil City. So if you wanted to send me something, like a card or a present, you could."

Gary gave a questioning look to Ash. "Why would I do that?"

Ash had thought Gary would remember his birthday coming up, but it looked like he was wrong. "For my birthday. It is on the first. Thought you would have remembered."

Gary shrugged. "I know, but why does that mean anything?"

"I sent you something for your birthday! That book on Unova fossil pokémon, remember?"

Gary shrugged "So?" He noticed the glare Ash was giving, and did a little laugh. "Don't worry, I'm getting you something. It's just fun making you mad."

Ash let his glare linger." Yeah, yeah, get your laughs. So, how is your research doing?"

Gary shrugged, "Pretty well. I'm studying a group of Gastrodon that recently migrated to Valor Lakefront. They-" Gary's voice was overwhelmed by very familiar voice to Ash.

"Gare-bear, is that Ash on the phone? Can I talk to him now?" Ash knew that voice, but couldn't put a name on it for the life of him. Then he began to laugh. Gare-bear?

Gary's eyes went wide as he looked at the direction of the feminine voice. "Gotta go Ash. Smell ya later!" Gary quickly shut down his computer.

Ash was surprised at Gary's reaction. It seemed like a girl friend, maybe even a girlfriend, wanted to talk to Ash, but Gary didn't want him to see her. He wondered how come. He wanted to call back, but he figured Gary just wouldn't pick up if he was trying to keep the person a secret. He shook his head at the weirdness of the situation, and moved on.

A call then went to Reggie Slate's house, in hopes of Paul, Ash's Sinnoh rival. Ash was fortunate enough for Paul to pick up immediately.

"Hey Paul. How's it been?"

Paul gave a smirk. "Good. I beat Brandon."

Ash nodded. "Good for you. So did you become a Frontier Brain?"

Paul shook his head. "No, I didn't take the challenge. But that is an idea. I haven't been traveling, so that might be an interesting goal."

"Then what have you been doing?" Ash innocently asked.

Paul blushed very slightly in embarrassment, but told him the truth. "I have been connecting to my Pokemon like you always went on about. And I have to admit… it does work."

Ash grinned. "I told you it would."

Paul simply nodded his head. "How has progress in Unova been?"

Ash shrugged. "Pretty good, just got my fifth badge. Have a couple rivals, including a guy that reminds me of you when we met, except not as big of a jerk to his pokémon."

Paul glared at the insult. "I was not a jerk, I was just very strict. And it produced results."

Ash wanted to argue, but let it be. "Well, if you are serious about the Battle Frontier, I will give you Scott's number. He's the guy that runs it." Ash quickly looked through the number book on his lap, and found Scott's number. "Its' XXX-XXX-XXX7."

Paul wrote down the number. "Thank you. Maybe when you return to Kanto, I will be around and we can battle. I cannot wait to face your Unova team; I haven't had the honor of challenging a pokemon from there. Well, good luck then, Ash." Ash grins, but then he hears a snicker coming from the screen. "You are gonna need it." Paul ended the call, getting Ash a little riled up. It was then he realized that he forget to tell Paul about his birthday, but then Ash realized Paul was not the type of guy who would really care about that sort of thing. Shaking his head, he returned to the task at hand.

The next call went to Anabel, which a surprising friendship had sprung up from his trip to her Battle Tower.

"Hey, Anabel. How are you doing?"

Anabel smiled at the presence of her crush. "Wonderful. And how is the Unova League doing?"

Ash smiled. "Great of course. I just won my fifth badge, the Quake Badge."

Anabel simply nodded. "Good to hear. So is that all you called me for?"

Ash shook his head. "No, I'm actually calling all my friends to tell them about how I will be staying in Driftveil City for the birthday on the first. So if people wanted to send me a card or a gift, they could."

Anabel smiled and nodded. "Duly noted. I will make sure to send you something post haste."

Ash smiled back. "Thanks Anabel! So how has life as a Brain been?"

"Boring." Anabel admitted. Wishing you were here, she admitted to herself

"That sucks. No good challengers?"

Anabel shook her head. "Nope, I rarely get anyone. The other brains are so tough to beat for most challengers."

Ash smirked. "Not to brag, but I beat them all in one try."

Anabel returned the smirk. "And then I beat you."

Ash hung his head, but quickly bounced back. "Well, yeah, but then I beat you."

Anabel shrugged. "It happens."

Ash frowned at the casualness of her dismissing her win, but didn't say anything. "Anyway, you might have a new challenger soon enough. You watched me compete in the Sinnoh league, right?"

Anabel blushed at how intently she had watched, but kept it hidden. She nodded.

"Remember the guy I beat in the quarterfinals?'

Anabel nodded. "Paul. Of course, you griped about him all the time."

Ash yelled, "Not all the time!" Getting a few looks from around the center for his outburst, Ash quieted down. "But yeah, me and him buried the hatchet, so to speak, and I suggested he challenge the Frontier. He can beat Brandon, so he should be able to do pretty well.

Anabel's eyes went wide. "He beat Brandon? Wow…"

Ash nodded. "I know, just warning you."

Anabel nodded her head in thanks. "Yeah, good to hear."

Ash smiled. "Then again, I think we need a rematch too. I might re-challenge the Battle frontier after Unova, with my Sinnoh and Unova Pokemon."

Anabel faintly blushed at that. "Yeah, and then maybe you could become a Brain yourself! I could even be the one to mentor you on how we do things!" A grin appeared on her face and her blush grew somewhat.

Ash shrugged. "Doubt it. I want to be a Pokemon Master, and that requires winning Leagues, not being stationary. Not that it isn't a great gig, but it just isn't for me."

Her grin disappeared at that. She just felt a vibe, or something, that depressed her. She barely nodded. "I understand. I have to get going now, but I hope you do well in Unova and that you have an awesome birthday. Good day."

Ash nodded back to her. "See ya 'round, Anabel." Thus the call ended

He gave a quick call to Ritchie, another good friend of his. He picked up on his cellphone.

"Ritchie!" Ash exclaimed to the friend he hadn't seen in forever.

"Ash! Hey buddy. 'Pika!' Oh yeah, Sparky says hi too."

Ash spoke to Sparky. "Hi Sparky. Sorry, but Pikachu is hanging out in the room with my friend's Iris's Axew."

"Iris? Axew?" He hadn't talked to Ritchie since early on in Sinnoh, so he wasn't up to date.

Ash nodded. "I'm in the Unova region, which doesn't have any pokémon from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh. An Axew is a little dragon type, like a Gible. And Iris is a traveling companion of mine. She has really wild purple hair and wants to be a Dragon pokémon master."

Ritchie smiled to himself on Trivolta Island. "Wow, a lot has changed. I'm still used to you with Brock and Misty. So, how is Brock doing?"

Ash shook his head. "Doing well. He actually is studying to be a Pokemon doctor back in Kanto, but he is coming to visit for my birthday."

"Your birthday?" Ritchie asked.

"Yeah, it's on the first. I'm actually calling people to tell them I'm staying in Driftveil City for it, so if they wanted to send me stuff, they could."

Ritchie nodded on his end "Oh, cool! That sounds like a good idea. Maybe I will do that for my next birthday."

Ash nodded. "Maybe you could."

"So how is Unova going?"

"Well, I just got my fifth badge, and have caught a bunch of Pokemon. I'd show you, but none of them are with me right now."

"It's alright, Ash. Well, I need to get going. I'm about to face this guy named Rudy in the Orange Islands. You faced him when you went through here, right?"

Ash grumbled. "Yeah. Watch out if you have a girl with you, he will try to flirt with her."

Ritchie gave a knowing laugh. "He tried to flirt with Misty? I bet he just got out of the hospital."

"No, she actually liked it. I found out she nearly stayed on the island with him." Ash's tone was slightly bitter, recalling the memory.

"Yeah, I would be mad about nearly getting my girlfriend stolen." Ritchie made a joke that Ash would respond to.

Ash huffed. "Whatever. And she's not my girlfriend." His voice was filled with finality.

Ritchie heard it, and decided it was time to go. "Well see you later, and hope you have a good birthday. And maybe we can have a rematch? It has been almost six years, I think it is time for one."

"Yeah, me too. See ya Ritchie!"

"See ya, Ash." The call ended.

He sat around trying to think of anyone else he wanted in on the celebrations. He thought about calling Bianca, his Unova rival, but figured she would probably run into her here anyway. A thought went to Scott or Harrison, but he decided no on Scott and he didn't have Harrison's number. He also figured he might get something with Team Rocket, since they were intermittently nice to him, but he wasn't so sure with their recent change in attitude. It helped them, but Ash wished at times for their old selves. Shaking it off, he left the phone booth and put his phonebook back up in his bag. He grabbed Pikachu and he started the hunt to find Iris and Cilan, with Axew in tow.

Yeah, there it is, chapter 2. Before people bitch about Johanna being a crib-robber or a cougar, there is a very good reason for that. You will have to read the story to find out, though. I added lots of little details that I wanted, and each conversation has a good purpose for future plot. The only one I will give you is that I am planning on a Paul/Anabel pairing. Why? Because I want to see if it works. I only tell you this to get a suggestion for the name. I like either Purpleshipping or Emotionshipping, but I am open to suggestions. Please review too. Seriously. I accept anonymous reviews, so do that. 1 review? Really? I know you can do better than that. Until later.