Chapter II: Starting Out

The sun had fully set and twilight had begun when the old man, Ash, and Pikachu arrived in Pallet Town. The car dropped Ash and his pokémon off at a house. "See you tomorrow, Professor Oak!"

Oak smiled. "I look forward to it. Now, you should probably get some rest. It's getting late, after all!"

Ash smiled before turning around and entering his house. Greeting his mother, he went upstairs. As he did, he noticed a picture of himself, Gary, a boy and a girl, who all looked to be around eight. He sighed at the memories it brought back. The picture was taken at the end of Professor Oak's Pokémon Summer Camp in 2003, back before he and Gary had become such fierce rivals, and before Serena and Calem had moved to Kalos. What he had told the professor wasn't a complete lie. Him hearing about Kalos did spur his memory, but he did not just want to go there because he had remembered it. He really just wanted to see his friends again.

A voice in his subconscious was telling him that there was another motive for wanting to go to Kalos. Serena especially. Since you still have a crush on her.

Ash's eyes widened at the thought. Shut up.

Oh come on, you have to cut the dense act eventually.

I said shut up. Ash responded, this time a bit more fiercely.

You're aura is spiking again. You haven't used it since, what, Hoenn?

Who?

I'm you, but also not you, if that makes any sense. I'm your other side. If you get really mad, and I meant like REALLY vehement, at someone, I come out and mess 'em up. You should start practicing your aura.

But-

No buts! It's not good for you to deny your aura! I don't care if you want to be like everyone else! If you don't learn to control it, it will get out of hand!

I'm arguing with myself…

Go to bed. You should be able to make sense of it in the morning.

Ash didn't respond, rather he just continued his journey up the stairs. Once there, he quickly changed into his pajamas and crashed on the bed. Pikachu just looked confused.

Back in Kalos, the quintet of trainers were making their way along Route Two, all of whom, sans Trevor, who was just taking pictures, were itching for a battle.

"Come on!" Tierno whined. "I just want a battle so I can dance!"

"Ugh! Tierno, your yelling is just scaring all the wild pokémon away!" Trevor complained. "I can't get any good shots!"

Suddenly, a wild fletchling appeared. Trevor snapped a quick photo of it before Tierno yelled, "I'm going to catch it! Corphish go!" as he threw a pokéball, causing Corphish to materialize and stand on the field.

"Cooorrrrr phish!" It yelled.

Fletchling charged in with a Tackle. "Fletch!"

"To the left, Corphish!" Tierno shouted, while also dancing his way to the left with his pokémon. Fletchling missed entirely.

It quickly turned around, however, and assaulted Corphish with a Quick Attack.

"Corphish, use Harden and then catch it in a Vice Grip!"

Fletchling slammed into Corphish, who grunted at the bit of damage he had taken. It did not do as much damage as it could have though, and Corphish followed through with the plan, grabbing Fletchling's legs in one of his claws.

"Fletch!"

"Now, close range Bubble!" Tierno shouted.

Using his other claw, Corphish produced a slow stream of bubbles that Fletchling could not avoid.

"Fletch…" She tweeted quietly, before slipping into the realm of unconsciousness.

Tierno beamed. "Pokéball, go!" he shouted as he threw the red and white sphere at the bird. It absorbed the red and white bird and shook a few times before going still and sparkling, signifying that Fletchling was caught.

Tierno ran over to the pokéball after returning Corphish, picked it up, and grinned. "I caught a fletchling!"

Fennekin, who had been resting on Calem's shoulder the whole time, was woken up by this and looked at Tierno slightly annoyed before trying to go back to sleep.

A few hours later, the group finally came across the entrance to Santalune Forest. Looking up, they, Trevor especially, noticed that the leaves were already turning various shades of red, orange, and yellow, and that it was already nearing evening.

They reached a small clearing, and Calem asked, "Should we split up to see if we can find any pokémon and meet back up here in," he looked down at his phone, seeing that it said 7:00pm. "An hour?"

"Sounds like a good idea." agreed Serena.

"Fenne!" Fennekin, who had since woken up from her nap, jumped off Calem's shoulder, a smile on her face.

"I could get more pictures!" Trevor suggested to no one in particular.

"You guys go on ahead, I'll stay here and make dinner." Tierno said while he started grabbing cooking supplies.

"Okay!" Calem agreed, before they ran off in different directions.

Fifteen minutes later, Calem's search was proving to be fruitless. He was looking to the right when he bumped into Shauna, literally. The two knocked each other over.

Calem was the first to get up off the ground, and offered a hand to help Shauna up. She was more than glad to take it.

"Sorry about that." Calem said, embarrassed.

Shauna, back on her feet, quickly brushed herself off. "It's fine. It was partially my fault as well. Actually, come to think of it, we don't really know that much about each other."

"Hmm, no we don't. Want to walk for a bit and talk?"

"Sure!"

Fennekin smirked. I ship it!

The next forty-five minutes were spent with Shauna and Calem just talking while Fennekin was busy thinking of the possibilities of shipping the two.

"So, where did you live before moving to Vaniville?" Shauna asked as they were nearing camp.

"Well," Calem began, "I actually lived in Lumiose before moving out to Vaniville, but before I moved to Kalos, I lived in Pallet Town in the Kanto Region."

"Really, Kanto?"

"Yeah, I had a friend there, Ash Ketchum."

"Must have been hard to leave a friend behind."

"Yeah, but it was harder for Serena."

"Oh?"

"Don't tell her I said this, she'll murder me, find a way to resurrect me, and murder me again, but she had, and I think she still has, a HUGE crush on Ash."

Fennekin, who was listening, changed her thoughts to: The OTPs have been doubled!

There was silence between the trio for the next minute or two before they entered camp, right into a heated argument between Trevor and Tierno.

"I still don't understand why you need to take pictures of everything!" Tierno exclaimed.

"Well, I don't have a photographic memory, so having photographs is the next best thing!" Trevor retorted.

Serena just looked at the returning two with a look that simply read: 'Please get me out of this mess as soon as possible or I'll wind up gutting these two like fish.'

Shauna sighed and walked in between the two arguing friends. "Break it up, you two."

They both immediately stopped arguing and looked at Shauna. "Oh hey Shauna, you're back." Trevor said, pushing his orange hair out of his face to speak.

"We thought you had gotten lost or something." Tierno said. "We were about to go looking for you two."

"Nope, Calem and I just got to talking and I guess we took a meandering route back to camp." Shauna explained.

Meanwhile, Fennekin had hopped off Calem's shoulder and was engrossed in conversation with the other pokémon of the group while the humans sat down for dinner.

"Guys, we need a plan!" Fennekin exclaimed suddenly to her fellow pokémon.

The rest looked confused. "A plan for what?" Froakie asked.

"A plan to get Calem and Shauna together." The fox pup responded excitedly.

Chespin looked at her strangely. "Seriously?"

"Yep." Fennekin simply said.

Fletchling sighed. "You can't rush these things Fennekin. And that's assuming that they like each other."

"I agree with Fletchling on this one," Flabébé, Trevor's first pokémon, inputted.

Fennekin pouted and turned to her fellow starters. "What about you two?"

"I'll observe how Shauna acts around Calem, and I would suggest that you do the same but vice versa, to determine whether or not they are good for each other," Chespin explained.

"I know absolutely nothing about the subject matter and my trainer isn't involved," Froakie explained. "So, I'm indifferent."

"Do Pikachu, Pansage, and Corphish have a say in this matter?" Fletchling asked.

The group of gathered pokémon looked at the aforementioned trio and sweat-dropped. Pikachu, who Trevor had captured in the forest, Pansage, who Serena had captured, and Corphish seemed to be engaged in an eating contest.

Pikachu looked up. "Wha?" He asked with his mouth full. "Dis stu- is good."

The rest of the pokémon fell into fits of laughter, and grabbed food for themselves before those three got to it all.

Tierno had gotten dinner started by the time the pokémon were done conversing, and the fast eaters, Calem and Tierno, had already finished, and with the help of Pikachu, Pansage, and Corphish, began pitching the tents.

Soon enough, all of the trainers had finished and were falling asleep in their tents. Calem looked at Fennekin and spoke somewhat excitedly. "Well Fennekin, the first day of our journey has been completed."

Fennekin, already half asleep, simply purred out, "Fen…" and slipped into the blissful world of sleep, unaware of the joys and dangers that lay ahead for the group.

As the first rays of sunlight entered Ash's room, he awoke, changed, and sleepily meandered downstairs to where his mom was making breakfast. "Why hello, sleepyhead!" She greeted her only son.

Delia Ketchum was a rather tall, brown-haired woman, dressed in a pink shirt and blue jeans, who all but radiated a motherly presence.

"Hi mom," Ash replied, yawning. "What time is it? I must have slept like a rock."

"It's actually only seven."

"Seriously? I feel like I've slept for days."

Delia giggled at her son's response. "Anyway, these came for you in the mail." She handed him two letters.

Now who could these be from? Ash thought. Cilan maybe? Possibly Brock? He thought back to his traveling companions over the past six or so years. Brock had stuck with him up until the end of his Sinnoh journey, when he left to train for being a pokémon doctor. There was the infrequent letter and occasional phone call between the two, but nothing much. Cilan was his traveling companion throughout his Unova journey, and they just recently parted ways for him to continue his pokémon connoisseur career in Johto. It was unlikely that one of the letters was from him.

He looked down at the first letter.

Ash Ketchum

303 Silver St,

Pallet Town, Kanto Region

He opened it.

Hey Ash!

I know it's been a while since we last talked, but I'd like to tell you that I completed stationary training as a traveling pokémon doctor and would like to join you on your next journey for work on my field training, if it's not too much to ask.

Your old friend,

Brock

"So, what does it say?" Delia asked.

"Brock wants to join me on my journey to Kalos!" Ash exclaimed.

"That's great. Wait, you already decided where you're going?"

"Wow, guess I must have been more tired than I thought last night. I actually have wanted to go to Kalos for a while now."

"Really? Huh. Now open the second one, I'm curious to see what it says as well."

Ash looked at the second letter. It didn't have a return address. Huh, weird. Ash thought.

Ashton Ketchum

303 Silver St,

Pallet Town, Kanto Region

Okay, Ash thought, the fact that this guy used my full name is kinda freaking me out. He began to read.

Dear Ashton,

First, I'd like to apologize for not speaking to you in person, and, by extension, being a terrible father for you. I had to leave soon after you were born to keep you from danger. If Giovanni had found out that I had a son, then he would have used you and your mother as leverage for me to help him.

Secondly, I'd like to say a few things to you. First up, I've been following your progress as a trainer, and I must say that you have a knack for getting yourself in danger. But more importantly from that (okay, maybe not, but it was a nice transition into my next statement), I've noticed that you do much better in leagues when you use your older pokémon. You were in the top sixteen in Kanto, but you were a newbie trainer, so that was to be expected. Top eight in Johto, but that was your second league. Top four in Hoenn, if only for the fact that you were an experienced trainer, but if you had used your older pokémon, you could've and would've done better. Top four again in Sinnoh, but Tobias was an exceptional trainer, enough to win the league and make his way through three of Sinnoh's Elite Four. But in Unova, you dropped to top eight. Why? Most likely because your pokémon other than Pikachu were all inexperienced and you underestimated the competition. I would suggest that, before you head off to Kalos, you train all of your pokémon for a week to a month and bring some of your older pokémon with you. I expect you to make it to at least the finals in the Kalos league.

Finally, you shouldn't suppress your aura. It's a part of who you are and it can be dangerous not only to you, but to those around you if you don't learn to control it.

I hope that someday, I'll be able to come out of hiding and see how you and Delia are doing in person.

- Your Father

Ash was tearing up by the end of the letter, so much that the snarky voice in his head didn't even bother to show up with an I told you so.

Delia looked confused until Ash handed her the letter, at which point, she started tearing up as well.

Pikachu, who had come downstairs and jumped on Ash's shoulder while he was reading the letter, sent a small Thundershock at Ash to shock him out of his trance, and pointed at the stove with an annoyed "Pika."

Ash looked over at the stove and said, "Mom, breakfast is burning."

This also shook Delia out of her own trance, and she quickly jumped up to snatch the now slightly burned food off the stovetop.

They ate their breakfast in silence before, after downing an entire bottle of ketchup, Pikachu decided to take a look at the first letter that Ash had opened. When he did, his eyes widened in surprise. "Chu Pika! Pikachu!" shouted the pokémon.

Ash looked over at his excited companion. "Yep! Brock's coming with us on our Kalos journey. Though before that, I'm going to have to think up a training regimen for you guys."

Pikachu's expression seemed torn between elated and terrified.

I would recommend two weeks of training before leaving for Kalos, said the voice in Ash's head. The regimen itself is up to you.

I'll call Brock now and tell him that we're going to Kalos in two weeks, but he can come to Pallet Town before then.

Good idea. Never thought I'd say that to you.

Still filled with snark?

Always filled with snark. Always, and you can't change it.

"Alright," Ash said suddenly, clapping his hands together, having finished his breakfast. "I'll head over to Professor Oak's and call Brock, along with thinking of a training regimen for my pokémon."

You're growing well, my young padawan, said the voice in Ash's head.

You're me.

Yes, but I'm not just going to pass up a chance to reference something.

What should I call you? I can't just keep calling you 'the voice in my head.'

Hmm… I would say your full name of Ashton, but that seems a bit cliché.

Seriously?

I know! How about 'Counterpart?'

Simple, but it makes sense. I like it.

Now go. I'll instruct you in your aura training later.

After saying goodbye to his mom, Ash and Pikachu left for the lab. When they arrived, it was just as they expected. Clean, organized, Gary typing away at one of the computers, etcetera.

Gary Oak, dressed in a purple t-shirt and blue jeans, had been Ash's rival once upon a time. After a while, however, he decided that his true passion lied in research, and was currently following in his grandfather's footsteps, training to obtain a researcher license.

"Hey Gary," Ash greeted his old friend-turned-rival-turned-friend.

Gary turned to him. "'Sup?"

"Trying to be cool does not work for you."

"Yeah, yeah. So, what brings you here?"

"A couple things: checking on my pokémon, calling Brock, setting up a training regimen for my pokémon, stuff like that."

"You're having a training regimen for your pokémon? Who are you and what have you done with Ash?"

"Ha ha, my dad sent a letter and suggested I set one up for my pokémon."

"You're dad's still alive?" Gary asked suddenly, before realizing what he said. "Sorry, that probably sounded extremely insensitive."

"Nah, it's okay. But yes, he is alive, and yes, I do have a training regimen for my pokémon to think up. Also, Brock may be coming to Pallet at some point."

"Really?"

"Yep, I just have to call him."

"Then go on then. I still have to finish this email to Professor Elm."

"See you around, Gary."

"Same to you."

Ash proceeded to one of the video phones Professor Oak had in his lab, and he dialed Brock's number. It rang for a few seconds before the traveling doctor picked up.

"Hi Ash!" Brock said excitedly. "We haven't talked in forever!"

"It's nice to see you too, Brock. I got your letter!" Ash enthused.

"So I'm assuming you have an answer for me?"

"Yep. It'd be great for you to join me on my next journey!"

"Glad to hear it," Brock grinned.

"My next journey's going to be in Kalos, and I'm leaving in two weeks, but you can come to Pallet before then."

"Two weeks seems like a long gap between journeys for you, Ash."

"My dad sent a letter suggesting I stay and train for a bit before heading to Kalos."

"I'll probably head to Pallet in a week or so."

"See you then."

"You as well."

With that, the connection was cut as Brock hung up. Ash turned around and saw the Professor. "Hi Professor Oak!" He said jovially.

Oak smiled. "Hello, Ash. Here to see your pokémon, I presume?"

"Yep."

"I'll go get Bulbasaur to call them, then."

When Ash got outside, he was greeted as he usually would be by his pokémon: a Flamethrower to the face from Charizard, who had decided to stay at the ranch and try to get Ash to bring them with him on the next journey, trampled by his herd of thirty tauros, and, when he got back up, tackled to the ground by Bayleef. At least the rest of my pokémon have civilized ways to greet me, he thought, getting up. "Yeah, I missed you guys too," he said. "So, since I caught so many pokémon in Unova, I won't need to do introductions, as all of you've already met all of them, correct?" There was a collective nod between all of his pokémon. He released his Unova pokémon that he had on him from their pokéballs. "Alright, I'll be setting up a training regimen for the next two weeks before I head off to Kalos, and I'll be sure to rotate my team so all of you can travel with me at some point."

There was a lot of squealing following that statement, as Ash had never taken all of them on a journey from the beginning of one of them before. "Now, as for the training regimen…" Ash started, which shut all of his pokémon up.

He had sorted out three tiers of strength for his pokémon to spar and train with each other. Now, he loved all of his pokémon equally, but the tiers of strength were just so his pokémon were not injured while training. The top tier was for his strongest and most experienced pokémon, including Charizard, Sceptile, and, of course, Pikachu. The middle tier was for his pokémon who were still strong, but weren't nearing legendary levels of strength, including Glalie, Gible, and Buizel. The bottom tier was for his pokémon who still had much room for improvement and were quite inexperienced, including Snivy, Pignite, and Oshawott.

Ash relayed this information to his pokémon and got them started on training, then walked into the nearby woods to practice his own training.

Alright, said Counterpart. Aura is very similar to life force, so much so that they are actually quite intertwined, in a literal sense. In fact, your soul, life force, and aura are so connected that they can only be separated by an extremely powerful Ghost or Dark Type pokémon or someone with near complete control over one of the three.

I'm following so far, Ash replied.

Good. Now, because of these connections, controlling your aura depends on your health, both physical and mental. You got that?

Yep.

Okay. So, now we can get to training, physically and mentally.

Huh?

Drop and give me twenty while I constantly pester you about your crush on Serena.

I don't have a crush on Serena.

Denial. I know everything about you because I am you. Now, DROP AND GIMME TWENTY!

And so, Ash's aura training began.

Training had been going on for nearly four hours at this point, and Ash was panting and sweating, but, with the help of Counterpart, he had finally managed to create a small aura sphere between his palms. He checked his watch: 11:34.

Alright Counterpart, Ash began. Time for a lunch break?

Yep, and one for your pokémon too.

As Ash began to walk back to his house, he heard a loud squawk behind him. He turned around and saw…

"Pidgeot?" he asked.

The majestic beige bird nodded her head, her feathers rustling.

Ash smiled and embraced his old friend. "Long time no see, buddy."

"Pidgeooo."

"Sorry about not coming back for you. With the excitement of my Johto journey and wining the Orange League it must have slipped my mind. So, what's the occasion?"

Pidgeot gestured behind her and Ash saw that several of the Pidgeotto and Pidgey from the flock had evolved. Pidgeot then wordlessly tapped an empty pokéball that Ash had on him and went inside, capturing herself. Then she popped back out.

"You want to come with me again?" Ash asked, stunned.

Pidgeot nodded.

Ash smiled. "Welcome back to the team, Pidgeot."

Meanwhile, in Kalos, it was around midnight. A sound from outside jolted Fennekin awake. She slowly exited the tent and walked a few meters before looking around. Nothing. She was about to walk back towards the tent when she heard breathing behind her. She turned around to see an absolutely massive ursaring staring down at her and so, she did what any sane creature who was significantly weaker than their opponent would do: run as fast as possible and call for help while doing it. Except, in her panic, she had chose to run in the exact opposite direction of the tent.

Dodging trees and rocks, Fennekin ran as fast as she possibly could to get away from the monster chasing her. That was, until she reached a cliff. She turned around and started quivering at the sight of the ursaring bearing down on her. This is it, she thought, this is where I'm going to die.

Just as the ursaring was about to bring its claws down on the fox pup…

Author's Notes: And here's chapter two! Hope the cliffhanger isn't too much of one to not be able to wait a week for the next one! Or maybe I just have a cruel sense of humor.