Think of one of the most uncomfortable situations to reunite with an old friend. I know, there are a lot of bad ones. But if you picked on top of a freezing mountain, after fighting a legendary Pokemon, with two new acquaintances who still don't know what the fuck is going on, while almost all the Pokemon you're using are new to this friend, all of this happening while a duo of strange legendary snakes are slithering up the mountain towards you. Then you've pretty much found what I am currently dealing with.

"Ash… So I see you're back in Kalos." Says the Zygarde on the left. It's green body is practically indistinguishable from its brother, but I recognize the voice.

"Yeah Squishy, I am. A friend of mine called me here to help him out with something. But when I got here, he was in a forced sleep because of a group-"

"Pod." Mutters Calem.

"Group, of Munna. One of them said they were driven away from their home, so we came here to get whatever took this place over to leave. I must admit, I did not expect to run into Yveltal. Or you three, for that matter." I grin at Greninja. "I'm in Kalos for less than an hour and you've already come running to find me. It's nice to know I've been missed." Greninja snorts and lightly punches my shoulder.

Emma looks at me in surprise. "This was your Greninja?"

I nod. "Yep, right before I left Kalos, he left with Zygarde to help defend this region." I turn to Greninja and grin. "I bet Tapu Koko would love you, Greninja. He's the Island Guardian of Mele Mele in the Alola Region."

The Zygarde on the right tilts its head. "Ash, could you please focus on the here and now?"

I sigh. "Right, sorry Z-Two. I'm just excited to see you all again."

Squishy nods, as much as a serpent can nod anyway, "Likewise. Although, I wish it were under better circumstances. There have been rather unfortunate incidents happening over the last few days."

Calem coughs to get our attention. "I'm glad everyone's alright and that you are all happy to be reunited. But Emma isn't really dressed for this kind of weather. Can we move to somewhere that isn't freezing?" Emma nods, her teeth chattering as she presses against Calem.

We all instantly look apologetic. "Of course. I'm sorry for not realizing, Emma." I reply as I look at Gallade. "Gallade, teleport us somewhere warm, where no one will find us." Gallade nods and uses teleport. A moment later, we emerge in… Oh great. "Gallade? Isn't this Tapu Lele's temple?" Gallade nods, it's eyes scanning the area.

"What's so bad about this place?" Asks Calem.

"Not to mention where is this place? The ruins sure don't look like the kind that're in Kalos." Says Emma. I open my mouth to reply, but an obnoxiously happy voice seers through my ears.

"Ash! Oh my gosh I've missed you so much!" Screams Tapu Lele as she soars through the air and wraps her arms around me.

"Hey Tapu- Woah, hey!" My voice is cut off for a moment as I'm pulled into Lele's shell. The exit closes and I'm face to face with the guardian of Akala Island. Her jolly face pressing against my nose. "What the hell, Lele?! Do you know how hard it is for three people to breathe in here?" I ask as I indicate Pikachu, still sitting on my left shoulder. His cheeks are alive with electricity that lights up the dark interior of the shell.

Tapu Lele giggles. "I'm sorry! It's just so great to see you! You haven't come to visit me in SUCH a long time! And I've really wanted to see you, and that Gallade of yours…" she begins to drool a little bit. "That's why I hijacked your teleport and brought you he-" She's interrupted by the sound of somebody prying open her shell. Greninja's face appears in the opening, a water shuriken visible in his right hand. Lele pouts. "Don't you know it's rude to open someone's door without knocking?"

Greninja glowers at her and grabs my hand, pulling Pikachu and I out of the shell. Squishy and Z-Two are both coiled calmly in front of Calem and Emma, their eyes locked firmly on Tapu-Lele. "Thanks Greninja. But I think you may have pissed her off a bit." I say as Tapu-Lele continues to pout. "Sorry Lele, but I'm not gonna apologize for Greninja saving me."

"Well, I want an apology or a battle. Either one works." Replies Tapu-Lele, and my eyes widen in surprise.

"You actually want to fight? Last time you fought one of my Pokemon, they not only beat you, but you also developed a pretty serious crush on them." I indicate Gallade behind me, and the drool returns to her lips.

"Right, about that. When I win, would you be willing to leave Gallade here for a week as a way of apology?" That's ticks me off a little. Lele may be a super upbeat Pokemon. But she's still a legendary, and is subject to the bloated ego most of them posses. As such, she can be a little aggravating. I glance at Greninja and Gallade, who both seem just as frustrated as I am. Then nod.

"Fine, we'll fight you. Greninja, get ready." Greninja's tongue lifts a little as it moves in front of me, so I assume that it's grinning. "Alright, you ready Lele?" I ask, and she smirks.

"Always! Time to earn me a cuddle bunny!" She says before sending an energy ball hurtling towards us.

"Greninja, send it back with Night Slash." I call out, and Greninja does as I command in an instant, deflecting the energy ball back into Lele. It knocks her back before she recovers and glares at Greninja.

"You're a mean one, aren't you?" Lele growls. Then she fires several Thunder Bolts at us.

I smirk. "Try harder, Lele. Greninja, Ice Beam Wall!" Greninja nods before instantly creating a wall of ice, absorbing the electricity into the wall. "Alright, let's go on the offensive. Thunder Ice Shurikens!" I yell. Greninja launches several Water Shurikens through the wall, freezing them in electric ice as they pass out the other end and slam into Lele.

Lele falls to the ground, seemingly unconscious, then angrily pushes herself up. I can feel what's about to happen before she even says anything. "You shouldn't be fucking with a Guardian of Alola!" She screams as an enormous headless pink body appears before her. Greninja and I watch in awe as she floats to where it's head should be and attaches herself to it. She raises her fist and calls out, "Checkmate, asshole!" Before sending it hurtling downwards towards us.

A desperate idea forms in my mind as I call out to Greninja. "Greninja! Use Night Shuriken to block it!" His eyes narrow and he does as I say. I mimic his movements unconsciously as Lele's fist slams down onto the Dark Water Shuriken on Greninja's palm. For a few seconds, nothing happens. Then a flood of water shoots up from Greninja and it forces the fist away. I smile. "Greninja! Let's finish this! Night slash that arm!" Greninja grins as we both move forward, our bodies mimicking each other as we dodge strikes from Lele's massive left arm. A second later and Greninja has completely severed the glowing appendage on her right.

Lele screams in pain, her glowing body fading as she falls into Greninja's waiting arms. "I guess we win, Greninja." I say as spirals appear in Lele's eyes. Greninja nods and reverts to his original form, placing Lele back on the ground and returning to me.

Lele blinks her eyes after another moment, to see us grinning. "So I guess I lost again, right?" Greninja nods, his eyes locking with Lele's. Lele smiles and floats towards us. Her hand reaching into my pocket and pulling out a rare pokeball of mine. My eyes widen as she offers me the pokeball and indicates herself. "Catch me." She says simply.

My eyes widen in shock. "Lele? Are you alright? You said you'd never let anyone catch you. Why the hell are you asking for it now?" I ask. She looks at me for a moment, then spreads her arms wide.

"Ash, look around us. I've been stuck on this island for thousands of years, and I've grown very strong here. But I've stopped growing. All of us Tapu's have. We've… I've grown complacent. I need to leave this place to grow stronger! And your Pokémon have surpassed their limits for you, so that's got to mean something. So please, just catch me."

"Wait, wait, wait. What?!" Yells Calem. "A legendary is asking to be caught? You guys are notoriously picky with your trainers. I should know, Xerneas was a pain to convi-" He covers his mouth, glancing at the two Zygardes, who are now staring at him intently.

"Finish, the sentence." They whisper together. Creating an incredibly terrifying voice. Calem glances at Emma in fear. She shrugs.

"You fucked up and said something, don't come running to me for help. Because I seem to be the only person that doesn't have a legendary pokemon."

Calem shudders for a moment, before saying, "It was a pain to convince Xerneas that I was the right trainer to wield its power…" He trails off as both the Zygardes… Zygardi? What the hell is the proper time for two Zygarde? Oh whatever, they both suddenly turn toward the door, a salvo of dragon pulses ready to fire. I spin around to look as well, and see a familiar set of masks staring us down. I smile and relax.

"It's alright you two, these are the guardians of Alola. Tapu-Koko, Tapu-Bulu, and Tapu-Fini." I bow before the region's defenders. "Guardians, these are Zygarde. They are the beings responsible for the defense of the Kalos Region. They also happen to be old friends of mine."

Tapu-Koko, the most talkative among the three at the moment, floats towards me. "Ash, why have you brought such powerful beings here? Their presence could throw off the balance of our region."

I nod in understanding. "I'm aware, Ko. I didn't bring them here intentionally. I just asked Gallade to teleport us to somewhere warm. And he brought us here, to Lele's temple. We'll be returning to Kalos soon, so don't worry. However, I do need to consult with you about somethi-" I'm cut off by the sound of a pokeball capturing a Pokemon. I spin around immediately and see that Lele had just caught herself.

Tapu-Fini speeds forward and grabs the pokeball, releasing her friend. "What in the name of the sun is wrong with you, Tapu-Lele? Why did you just catch yourself?"

I sigh. "That's what I meant to talk to you about. Lele has asked me to catch her and take me with her on my travels." Stunned silence follows my statement, and Tapu-Bulu actually stops floating for a second. "I know this is surprising, and I would like to ask the council of the sins to give me guidance on this matter."

Bulu snorts, clearly an affectation. These legendaries don't have lungs to breath. "You assume we can find them all. The Sunne and the Moone should be easy to summon, but the Prism? It is impossible, he is our god's sloth after all." He scoffs as he says the word, "god."

I groan, not a minute alone with Bulu and he's already spouting off his disgust with Arceus. I suppose I should explain, The Arceus that created Alola always thought of itself as a pure and perfect being. But, in order to truly reach his supposedly perfect state, he had to reject the eight deadly sins. What? Did you think there was only seven? No no no, this Arceus viewed Cowardice as a sin as well. Thus, Solgaleo, Lunala, Nekrozma, Marshadow and the Tapus were created.

As I open my mouth to reply, Tapu-Fini cuts me off. "Tapu-Bulu, Ash has requested that we give him counsel, and as a member of said council, I must point out that Ash has provided his service to every member of the council, and has earned near infinite rewards, so why should we deny him a council with all of they that he has saved? I believed that you were God's wrath, but your words make me believe that sloth would be a more appropriate."

Holy shit. I don't think I've ever seen Bulu so angry. His eyes are sort of bulging out of their sockets as he yells at Fini. "You should watch your tongue, Tapu-Fini! In fact, I think I will remove it!" Then, he charges, a Horn Leech hurtling towards the face of Fini.

Before anyone else can react, Heracross has sprung from his pokeball and used Pin Missile, latching on to the charging Tapu and slamming him to the ground. As Bulu rises, Heracross uses Venoshock, ending it then and there. Hyper effective attacks aren't pretty. They're really useful though.

"Bulu, I'd appreciate it if you calmed down. I understand that Fini insulted you, but you do need to remember that she insults everybody. And anyways, it truly shouldn't be a problem. Necrozma and Marshadow both owe me a few favors, so I can call on them when I get back from Kalos."

Koko shakes his head. "Why were we not made aware of this?" He asks. He doesn't seem to surprised that those two owe me favors, however..

I shrug. "You never asked. I'll try and be back as soon as I can. When that happens, let's see if we can't get the council together. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bring these guys back to… Oh shit. God damn it, we forgot about the Munna. Gallade, teleport us back to the mountain, will you? We need to drop these three off before we return to Lumiose."

Squishy coughs, and I take a moment to note just how fond legendaries are of affectations. "Ash, if you would be so kind as to drop us off at our temporary base of operations instead, I would greatly appreciate it."

I nod and glance at my Gallade, who closes his eyes and teleports us away. I blink and we're standing in a giant room, covered in electrical equipment and appliances. This was most certainly not what I expected for a ground types lair, before I recognize the symbols on some of the gadgets. This place is probably a facility of Voltech. Clemont's idea of a clever name. I glance at the large snakes as the start to move towards the large door in front of us. "Does Clemont know about this? Or is this one of his sister's old personal projects?"

Z2 glances at me, it's tail curling around itself. "It is indeed one of Bonnie's personal projects. However, Clemont is fully aware of it's operations, as is the current President of the Aether Foundation, who sends injured pokemon here for several of our newfound colleagues to heal, and coax the pokemon back to full strength."

I raise my eyebrow. "Realy? I must admit, I'm kinda surprised. My experience with the Aether foundation is… considerably less positive. Though I haven't heard much about it's new leadership. They've sort of been kicked out of Alola for what they did recently. What with former President Fabba's support of Team Rocket." Pikachu nods, it's cheeks sparkling with anger at the memory.

Squishy grunts. "Yes, we were made aware of what President Lusamine has done. We assure you, President Wicke and Vice President Guzma have-"

"Wait, wait, wait, Guzma? Guzma is the fucking Vice President of the Aether Foundation? Why not Lily or Gladion? And why the hell would he ever accept in the first place? He was the leader of Team Skull! And he's probably had the worst experience with the Aether Foundation out of anyone! He was literally thrown into another Dimension by Lusamine."

Z2 snorts. "In his misguided youth, perhaps. But you must remember that Team Skull was primarily made up of teenagers and troubled youths who lost their way in life. They were lost, and Guzma was a charismatic young leader to guide them through their troubles and problems. And besides, surely you heard of what he did after he disbanded Team Skull?" I shake my head.

"I haven't, please enlighten me." Squishy prepares to speak, but Calem interrupts him.

"Excuse me, but now may not be the time for this. We've got a few hundred sleepy fuckers that need to drink and eat, otherwise they will die. And you still have your friend to see."

I nod. "He's right, Squishy, Z2, Greninja, it seems I must bid you adieu." Greninja shakes his head and sticks his tongue out, snagging a pokeball on my belt. "Greninja, what are you doing?" I ask. Though I think I already know the answer, and I am unbelievably stoked about it.

Greninja taps its head with the pokeball, and shoots inside it in a flash of light. The ball falling to the floor and rolling towards me. I lean down and scoop it up with a grin. "Good to have you back buddy, there's a lot we have to catch up on." I salute both of the Zygarde, who both look quite stunned, then nod to Gallade, who teleports the rest of us back to the hotel room.

Surprisingly enough, the Munna is still there, except there are a few dozen more with it, and a Musharna as well. They're all staring at me, their drowsy eyes opening wide as they float. I smirk, and indicate the door. "Your home is safe now. Yveltal shouldn't be causing any more trouble. Now will you leave these people alone. Musharna nods, and the Munna turn and fly out the window, whizzing in what I'm guessing is the direction of the mountain. I sure hope the hotel doesn't make me pay for the window. Emma and Calem collapse onto the chairs in the room, seemingly unaware that there are actually people staying here.

"What the hell are you all doing in our room? And how the hell did you get in?" Yells an angry voice from the bed. I turn and grin at the elderly man and woman lying under the covers.

"Sorry sir. Police investigation. We just got word that Officer Jenny has apprehended the culprit. So the need for us detectives has fallen flat again. We'll get out of your hair." The man nods, clearly still confused, but I get the feeling he doesn't have the energy to care. He probably hasn't had anything to drink in at least a day, so that's gotta have dehydrated him a bit. I smirk and gesture for the others to follow me out. They both groan and stand up, walking out of the room behind me.

"So, that was exciting. What now?" Asks Emma as we start to descend. I shrug and scratch Pikachu's chin. He makes a contented noise and rubs against my head.

"I'm gonna go and pick up some food for Brock. He probably hasn't eaten in awhile. Then, I get the feeling we'll stay in town for the night, before heading off to wherever he wants us to go tomorrow." Calem nods, glancing at his watch.

"It's pretty late. You want to stay at my place? Feel free to ask Brock too, I get the feeling he's not gonna want to stay at this hotel after this."

I smile. "Thanks, I may take you up on that, you guys want me to grab you dinner too? My treat for forcing you to go around on out teleportation trip."

Emma snickers. "You're actually offering to treat us to dinner after giving us the opportunity to meet not one, nor two, or three, but Six legendary pokemon? Ash, why did you not meet us sooner?"

My smile morphs into a smirk. "Was kind of on the run from maniacs that ditched pokeballs and started using Semi-Automatics instead. Kinda makes it hard to socialize."

Calem shakes his head. "Team Rocket sure did go crazy in it's last few months. Do you know what caused that?"

"Classified." I say as we exit the elevator. "But seriously, do you guys want anything? Keep in mind, I'm gonna be swinging by a donut shop to remind Brock of one of his most memorable blunders. If you want the donuts afterword, that's fine. But I'll need the bag. I'm gonna fill it with some Onigiri."

Calem shrugs and glances at Emma, whose mouth is watering at the thought of food. "Ash, there's a good barbecue place a towns away, and they do takeout. Can that be the place?"

I nod. "Sure thing, let's get moving." With that, Gallade teleports us away.

An hour later, I'm knocking on the door to Brock's hotel room with a bag of brisket and ribs. "Who is it?" He calls from inside.

"Room service! You ordered the Miltank ribs and brisket, and a dumbass trainer with a Pikachu?" I call back. Brock practically breaks down the door and snatches the brisket out of my hand.

"Thank Christ! I'm really hungry!" He says as he tears open the bag, pulling out a rib and tearing through it greedily.

I shake my head. "You should be thanking me, brought you some jelly filled donuts too." Brock doesn't seem to be paying attention, he's too busy plowing through the barbecue. There's a nice smell wafting through the room as the brisket lays in the tray. I smirk and take a sip of grape soda before walking forward and cutting myself a slice. "So, mind telling me why you called me here?" I ask as Brock reaches for his third rib.

"Right, right. Sorry, it's just I've been so hungry that I completely forgot about it. I've recently returned to the Pewter Gym part time while my Brother is busy working on getting his Diploma in Geology, and I recently was invited to enter the Upsilon Tournament. Speaking of, are you competing as well?" He asks.

I nod. "Yeah, and this time if we battle, I won't need to use the sprinklers."

Brock smirks. "Good to hear. Anyways, when I heard I was invited, I knew I had to get a lot stronger in the time remaining. And I figured that if I learned how to Mega Evolve my Steelix, things would work pretty well. I saw that you Mega Evolved your Charizard and a few others, so I had a feeling you knew a bit about Mega Evolution, and probably knew a good place for me to look for a stone. So I called you here."

I sit down on his bed and stroke my chin thoughtfully. "Yeah… There is somewhere I can think of that'll have Steelixite. Maybe some Heracrossite as well. But I don't feel like going there tonight, I've had a long day. A friend of mine offered to let me stay with him. He invited you, too. We both doubted that you'd love the idea of staying here after what happened. But you're welcome to stay here, and I'll swing by tomorrow at nine."

Brock shakes his head. "No thanks, I'll go with you. This place does sort of put me off a bit. You ready to go? And don't you even dare give me those Onigiri. I get it, okay? I fucked up and called them Jelly Filled Donuts. You never bothered to correct me, so fuck off."

I snicker and stand up. "Yeah, I'm all set. Come on." With that, we exit the hotel room and head to the lobby, checking Brock out of the hotel as we leave."

Calem answers the door with a smirk. "Hey Ash, long time no see. I take it you and Brock decided to stay the night?"

I nod. "Yeah, we did. Thank's for letting us crash here, Calem. I appreciate it."

He smirks. "No problem man, hold on. I'll get my roommate to roll out the couch bed." Calem turns and belows. "Yo Sun! Do what I just said!" A man in a striped T-Shirt walks past us, casually signing for Calem to go fuck himself. "You mouthy little prick! What the hell is up with you today!?" Yells Calem angrily.

Sun leans back into the room and signs, "You didn't mention the Munna case to me, or tell me you invited Ash and Brock to stay the night. You invited them, you set up the bed."

Calem flips him off before turning back to us. "Sorry, for someone who can't speak, Sun's got a mouth on him. Anyways, I'll set up your beds. One of you is gonna have to bunk on the couch though."

I smile. "That's perfectly alright, I'll take the couch bed. Again, thank you for hosting us. And thank you as well, Sun!" I call as I walk into the living room. Sun casually waves acknowledgement from the kitchen.

Brock snickers as he walks in, glancing at Sun and saying. "Calem, I get the feeling you don't get much control around here."

Calem shrugs and smiles easily at Brock. "Maybe, but I have enough control to boot you out into the street if I wanted to." Brock, quite wisely, shuts up. Calem turns to me and raises an eyebrow. "So, you gonna tell me what you're gonna do tomorrow? Are you gonna be in town, or heading out?"

I sit down on the couch and lean back, noting how comfy it is. "Don't bother rolling out the bed on the couch, I prefer it like this. And yeah, we'll be heading out tomorrow. Brock's looking for a Mega Stone before he heads for the Upsilon Tournament. So I was thinking we'd head to Shalour City to see Korrina."

Sun nods in the kitchen. "That makes sense, Korrina does know quite a bit about Mega Evolution. It's really quite impressive." Then, he leans down and grabs something under the table. "Don't tell either of us what stone Brock is going for. Though we can probably do research on it when the time comes. Neither of us want any early advantages if we face you in the Upsilon Tournament."

Calem raises a finger. "I disagree! I think you should tell me the stone. You don't have to tell Sun if he doesn't want to know!"

Brock glances at me and shakes his head. "Is this guy always like this?"

I shrug. "How the hell should I know. I just met him this morning. It's sort of hard to focus on personality when you're standing toe to toe with legendary pokemon. Though I guess it makes sense that he'd want information. He is a PI and all."

Brock shakes his head. "You said that so casually. Do you just see legendaries every day? Or have you been in so many of those scenarios that you just don't care any more?"

I smirk and settle into the couch. "Brock, you've seen how legendaries seem to be attracted to me. In one case, literally."

Brock groans. "Don't fucking remind me. You got a girl to kiss you before I did! I swear to Christ, I'm never going to get a girl."

I nod. "Not with that attitude. Also not with the instant confession of love thing. That doesn't work to well."

Calem snickers. "Wait, Brock confesses to women he's just met? Come on man! That's just fucking stupid. Learn to have patience while reeling in a girl."

Sun taps the counter then signs, "Right, patience. That's the reason you haven't gotten a girlfriend yet, you're being patient. Just confess already. You and I both know you like E-" Calem lunges forward and grabs Sun's hands. A nervous grin is on his face as he looks back at us.

"You two probably want to be left alone! We'll head to the other room, see you guys tomorrow!" With that, he hauls Sun into the other room. Sun grins at us, and we both try to suppress our laughter. We fail, and Calem flips us off.

Brock sits down in one of the comfy looking armchair in the living room, putting his feet up and grinning. "So, what about you? Have you met any girls in your travels that you actually started to feel something for?"

I nod, a happy little grin on my face. "Yeah, a girl named Serena. She's got honey blonde hair that she cut short, and it really matches the hat she always wore. Not to mention those eyes of hers… A blue as deep as he ocean. Then she had a personality that would always make me smile. Plus, over the last few years she devolved an adorable little quirk where she bites her bottom lip. She has this scar on her knee from when we were kids, and she has this wonderful smile… Holy shit I miss her."

Brock smirks. "You are really struck bad, aren't you?"

I glance at him. "What do you mean by 'struck bad?' Are you saying that I'm in love with her?"

Brock raises his eyebrow. "Well, aren't you? You're describing her like you've memorized every detail. Even her tiniest behaviors. Not even I've fallen for a girl like this."

I shake my head. "That's because you never really fell for anyone, you were just aroused because they were pretty."

Brock laughs. "You're not going to be able to change the subject here, Ash. And I notice that you aren't denying it."

I sigh. "Fine. Look, I'm not sure what I feel about Serena. I do know that it's nothing like I ever experienced before. But whether or not it's love, I can't be certain. And I do know you are the last person that I should be going to for relationship advice."

Brock looks hurt for a second, but then he smiles. "Whatever, you definitely want her. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to be heading to bed… Something about getting your dreams even doesn't make for getting good sleep. Goodnight Ash."

I nod and lie down on the couch. "Yeah, night Brock." With that, I close my eyes and drift off, waiting for the next day to come.

"Lucas! I swear to Christ, if you touch my bruises again, I'll beat your ass senseless!" Yells Nate angrily. I snicker and nod at Lucas.

"Better listen to him. Nate has ways of making people talk." I say as I lean against the wall. Lucas, of course, ignores me and pokes Nate again. Bad move. "Hey Lucas, I'll bet you twenty bucks you wake up missing an entire toenail."

Red glares at me. "Hugh, I thought we agreed, no betting on other people's suffering. Besides, you know that you'll just promise Nate half the money and have him do it."

I smile sweetly at our de facto leader while Ash was out of town. "Come on, Red. Who do you take me for?"

Silver elbows me in the ribs and smirks. "A gambler, and one that is unusually good at cards. I'm still missing my old deck…"

I shake my head. "Don't know what you're talking about, Silver. If I wanted to cheat at cards, I'd by my own deck. People'd be suspicious if one of the decks went missing. I think you should search Lucas's pockets…" I'm cut off as someone reaches into my pocket and pulls out a deck of cards. I turn and glare at Hilbert, who's grinning at me and holding out his hand.

"You bet I couldn't steal this. Now, I expect my payment." He says with a grin, casually tossing the deck up and down with a grin.

"No I didn't! That's my personal pack. I bet you couldn't steal Silvers!" I say crossly. Hilbert just grins wider and pulls another deck of cards out of his back pocket.

"Well then, I expect you to pay me for that bet, and a little extra to get your deck back." He says with a snicker.

I groan. "Fine, here's the money for the bet. And I'll go grab the rest from my room. Seriously though, you have to teach me how you revved up the stakes. That was fucking magical." I hand over three hundred dollars then start to head upstairs.

"Hold on Hugh, I've got you." Says Nate as he hands Hilbert the rest of the payment.

Hilbert hands over the deck and his self satisfied grin transforms into a genuine smile. "Always looking out for Hugh, Nate. I admire that."

I nod. "Me to! Thanks a million Nate." I grin at him, and he blushes. "Also, are you gonna stop choking Lucas? I mean, I get that he poked you, but I don't think Red would appreciate you killing him."

"The rest of us would though!" Calls Paul from the kitchen. Hilbert and I nod in agreement.

"But I control your food, Nate. So if you want to eat, you let his ass go!" Says Red as he pulls a cast iron pot out of the oven. Nate, quite smartly, let's Lucas go. Red nods in approval, and I sigh.

"Pity, if he was unconscious, he wouldn't need to eat." Hilbert says, and I nod my support for the idea.

"You two are bad influences! Paul, is the rice done? And would you like any sample chicken? You get first dibs for helping in the kitchen. Unlike some people!" Says Red, with a meaningful glance in our direction.

I lean against the wall and shake my head. "What are these chicken things anyways? They're sure not any kind of Pokemon I've ever seen."

Red shrugs. "Hell if I know, I do know it's fucking delicious. Now, we should get ready for dinner. Nate and Hugh, please set the table. Hilbert, put a little honey on the Mago Berries. Silver, if you would be so kind as to get people drinks, I'd appreciate it. Paul, you've done enough by helping cook. Lucas, you drew the short end of the stick, so you're doing dishes tonight."

Lucas groans and wipes his brow. "Jesus christ. I'm damn near choked to death, and I still have to do dishes? What is wrong with this dumbass dysfunctional family?"

I smirk. "You didn't have to poke Nate, Lucas. You could've left it there. And there's nothing wrong with this family. Except maybe a minor gambling addiction running through half of us."

Silver nods and grins. "I couldn't have said it better myself! Now come on, let's hurry up. I can already taste the chicken. Red poured in a little bit of cola for a nice caramelization. I am so ready!" With that, we enter the dining room, and chow down.

The next morning, Brock and I are standing in the streets of Shalour city, walking towards the Tower of Mastery. "You're sure we can find a Mega Stone here? And if we can, do you really think we'll be aloud to have it?" Asks Brock.

I nod. "Yeah, Korrina's an old friend of mine. Plus, her Grandfather is the Mega Evolution Guru. If anybody will know where to find the Mega Stones, it'll be him. I also got my Key Stone here as well. There is one thing we'll probably need to-" I'm cut off as Pikachu springs off my shoulder and uses iron tail, knocking a Focus Blast into the ground. "Speak of the devil and she shall appear. How's the skating been Korrina?" I call to the woman hiding in the water.

"Pretty well, Ash. How's Mega Evolution treating you? I'm guessing that because you're back here, you need something regarding it?" Replies Korrina as she walks out of the water. She's wearing a white, two piece Bikini, and it makes me glance at Brock to see if he has a nose bleed. Quite surprisingly, he doesn't. Brock catches me looking and grins.

"Yeah, I do need something. My friend Brock here needs to learn how to Mega Evolve before the Upsilon Tournament, and I need some clues on where to find some Heracronite. So, you willing to help us?" I ask. Korrina seems to have tuned me out a bit, she's staring straight at Brock… And her jaw is hanging open. "Hello, Korrina? You still there?"

She shakes her head. "Yeah, yeah. Sorry Ash… I was just distracted by something. I'll help you out, but you've got to do me two favors, sound good?" I nod and she grins. She walks up to me and whispers, "First thing you need to do, is get Brock to ask me out. I'm a little too shy to do it myself." My jaw drops open, and before I can react, she straightens up and yells. "And now I want a rematch! Ash Ketchum, I challenge you to a Pokemon Battle!"

I'M BACK MOTHER FUCKERS! I ain't gonna give an excuse or reason for me being gone… I just was. Now I'm back. You want a spoiler for next chapter? To bad, I'm not doin' that shit anymore. Have fun, live long and prosper, Yada yada yada. Next chapter will be out at some point. Probably before April or some shit I don't know. 'Kay bye.

- Frick