Friendship is Eternal

A/N: Ash, Iris and Cilan find themselves pulled away from their journey at the request of one of their old friends. This starts them on a quest that brings back many old faces, a few new ones, and a challenge that Ash must overcome. Exactly what challenge is this? Well, you're just going to have to read to find out!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything Pokémon related whatsoever.


Chapter 2: An Invitation

The next morning, as the sun was just starting off on its journey over the sky, the group was already packed up and heading down the road again.

Cilan was already tapping on his C-Gear, his personal palm-top, scanning through a map. 'Alright, the next Pokémon Center to Driftveil City is just down this road. It's an inn-like affair, just a place where travellers can rest for a while.'

'Great!' Ash said, 'let's get a move on!' With that he charged down the road, Pikachu running along right beside him. Cilan and Iris looked at each other, sighed, and ran off after their friend.

With Ash's excitement to get down the road, the Pokémon Center was soon in clear view in only half an hour. This one was designed like a log cabin, showing its status as a traveller's Pokémon Centre and not a citygoer's Pokémon Centre. Ash walked through the doors, and as usual, the pink-haired, cheerful Nurse Joy stood behind the counter, a pink and white fairy-like Pokémon with large ears and wide blue eyes standing beside her.

'Well, good morning,' she said cheerfully. 'How can I help you?'

'Audino!' piped up her Pokémon assistant.

'Nothing much, thanks,' Ash said politely, as his friends walked up behind him. 'We're just taking a rest here. But do you know if there's a videophone and Pokémon Transfer system here?'

'Why yes, it's right over there in the corner,' Nurse Joy said, pointing. As Cilan and Iris moved over to have a word with the nurse, Ash headed over to the system and booted it up. He silently thanked Bill, Lanette, and whoever else had a hand in creating the Pokémon transfer system; it made moving Pokémon that much easier. Dialing in a number, he waited for it to connect.

A few moments later, the screen lit up and Ash saw the smiling face of Professor Juniper. The leading professor in the Unova region, she was, so far, the only female leading professor of a region, alongside her colleagues Oak, Elm, Birch and Rowan. Her greying-brown hair was piled on top of her head, as usual, and her brown eyes were twinkling. 'Ash! Good to hear from you!' she said. 'I was wondering where you had gotten to.'

'I'm doing fine, professor,' Ash said. 'I just won my 4th badge at the Nimbasa Gym!' He opened his badge case to show her his newly acquired Bolt Badge.

'Great work, Ash.,' Juniper beamed. 'So exactly where are you?'

'I'm heading to Driftveil City for my fifth badge. Right now I think I'm on route 5.'

'Route 5? Well, you've made good progress in the space of a few months,' Juniper said. 'Well, I hope the rest of your journey goes well.'

'Yeah, me too,' Ash said. Pikachu squeaked in agreement.

'So is there anything else I can do for you?' asked Juniper.

'Yeah, I think I want to keep my Palpitoad for a while longer, so do you think you could send Scraggy back and take Swadloon?' He had swapped out the baby brawler Pokémon for the leaf-cloaked Grass-and-Bug type to use against Elesa, the Electric-type gym leader.

'No problem,' the professor said. She vanished from the screen for a minute, and then returned. 'Okay, Scraggy's in place. You can send Swadloon over now.'

Ash nodded. He placed the Poké-ball containing Swadloon in the reticle beside the computer, there was a flash of light, and the ball was sucked up into the machine in a flash of light. A few seconds later, there was another flash, and a second Poké-ball popped out.

'Welcome back, Scraggy,' Ash said, taking the Poké-ball from the reticle and hooking it back onto his belt. 'Thanks Professor.'

'No trouble, Ash,' said Juniper. 'Have a nice day!' There was a click as she hung up.

Ash turned around to see Iris and Cilan standing behind him. 'All done, Ash?' Iris asked.

'Yep,' responded Ash. 'Let's go!' With that, the three friends headed out the door.


As Dr. Juniper hung up from her conversation with Ash, a small smile crossed her face. Turning back to her computer, she dialed in another number. A few seconds passed before her contact picked up.

'Hello Doctor. How goes the search?'

'He just contacted me. He's on route 5 of the Unova region.'

'Excellent. I'll notify the extraction team immediately.'

'Perfect,' Dr. Juniper said with a smile. 'He'll never know what's in store for him. I'll be on the ship by 11 today. I should get there just in time.'


Ash and company headed down the track, leaving the Pokémon Center behind. 'Man, it feels good to get on the road again,' Ash declared, stretching his arms,

'Ash, I was wondering,' Iris asked, 'once you achieve your dream of becoming a Pokémon Master, exactly what do you plan to do after that?'

'Oh, that's easy. I want to continue exploring the world of Pokémon, meeting and capturing many new kinds and finding out everything I want to see,' Ash replied nonchalantly.

'So you want to be a traveller all your life?' Iris asked. 'Don't you think you might get tired of it?'

'Not a chance, Iris,' Ash replied. 'I love travelling!'

'But what about all your friends? Won't you miss them?'

Ash's happy demeanor seemed to dim a little. 'Of course I'll miss them, but as long as I never forget them, they'll still be my friends for good.'

'Do you think you'd ever go back and visit them?'

'Whenever I have the chance, Iris,' Ash answered. 'Whenever I have the chance. But as of now, I'm in a whole new region, battling my way to the Unova League. I can't visit them now.'

Suddenly, a shadow fell over the group, like a huge Pokémon was swooping over their heads. Ash, Iris, Cilan and Pikachu all looked upwards. 'What was that?' Cilan exclaimed.

Outlined in the sun were four huge silhouettes, as they flew in formation directly over their heads. Then, they all dove down to the ground and four huge pairs of feet landed on the ground in front of the group with huge thuds.

Ash stared at the four Pokémon in front of him. All of them were almost identical, four huge, orange-skinned dragons with leathery blue wings, long necks, sharp claws, and raging fires pluming at the tips of their long tails. There were subtle differences though. One wore a flaming armband, another had a blue neckerchief, the third wore a green bow on its head, and the last had a necklace with a black lump attached to it.

'Wow! Charizards!' exclaimed Ash.

'They're incredible!' exclaimed Iris, her eyes twinkling at the sight of the four Dragon-like Pokémon.

'But I'm sure that Charizards don't travel in groups,' Cilan mused, a bit confused. 'So what are these four doing here, and why did they stop us?'

'Probably because I told them!' came a voice from the third Charizard, the one wearing a green bow. Then, a girl poked her head out from behind the Charizard's wing. She had dark green hair tied up in a twist on her head, and she wore a red tunic with a high collar. 'Hi Ash, great to see you again!'

'Liza! Hey! It's great to see you too!' Ash said as he and Pikachu ran up to her. Liza jumped from her ride's back onto the ground to meet her friends.

'It took me a long time to find you,' Liza said. 'I've been flying around all day looking for you.'

Ash laughed sheepishly, rubbing his head. 'But what brings you to Unova? It's a long way from Johto, that's for sure.'

'Ash, who is this?' asked Iris as she and Cilan walked up.

'Oh, this is Liza,' Ash said. 'She's the owner of the Charicific Valley in the Johto Region. It's a sanctuary specifically for Charizards, for them to train and get better. In fact, my Charizard is getting stronger there right now.'

'You work with Charizards?' Iris asked, staring in wonder at the majestic Fire and Flying-types. 'Wow, that's so cool! I've always wanted to train with one.'

'Axew!' chirped Axew, poking its head out of her hair to gaze at the four dragons towering over it.

'Oh, Liza, this is Iris, her Pokémon Axew, and Cilan,' Ash said, introducing his friends. 'They're travelling with me through the Unova Region at the moment.'

'Well can you put your journey on hold for a while?' asked Liza. 'I need your help with something.'

'Huh?' Ash said confused. 'You came all this way to ask me for help? Why me?'

'It's Charizard, Ash,' Liza reiterated, and Ash's face lit up with alarm. 'Yeah, your Charizard. He's been acting all moody lately and none of us can figure out why. When me or any of the other Charizards try to approach him, he blows fire and snaps at them. I figured that if anyone could figure out what's wrong, it would be his own trainer.'

'So you're bringing me to the Charicific Valley?' asked Ash. 'Well, if it's my friend that's in trouble I'll gladly put my journey on hold. When are we leaving?'

'Right now,' said Liza. 'Why do you think I brought four of these guys here?' Her four Charizard roared in agreement.

Ash looked over the group but did not see the familiar pink bow. 'Hey Liza, where's Charla? I thought she always goes with you,' he said, referring to Liza's own female Charizard.

'Oh, she's back at the Valley, looking after the other Charizards; because she's mine, she has more authority over the other Pokémon, and they know it. Besides, she's not suited for a journey this long.'

'And I take it these four are?' Ash said, looking at the four Charizard.

'Yeah Ash, these Charizard have been specially bred and trained for long-distance flying with passengers. This is Champ, Harlan, Riza and Zarden.' Liza introduced the four Charizard in turn, from left to right, and each one gave a roar in response.

'Well, what are we waiting for?' asked Ash, running to the Charizard with the blue scarf, Harlan. 'Let's go!' He clambered onto his back.

'Okay, come on!' Liza said, clambering onto the back of Riza, the female Charizard with the green bow around her head.

'Come on, Cilan,' Iris said, jumping up and landing on the back of Zarden. 'Don't you want to see the Charicific Valley? A place filled with nothing but fire dragons! I can't wait!'

'Sure,' Cilan said, moving towards Champ. 'I'm always willing to try a new flavor or experience. Although maybe not something this intense,' he murmured to himself under his breath.


Soon, all four Charizard were winging their way over the ocean, the four trainers sitting on their backs. Their wings flapped strongly as they carried the trainers through the air.

Axew was cradled in Iris's arms as her hair blew back in the wind, as she couldn't risk her precious Pokémon being blown away. Cilan was enjoying the view, while Ash rode alongside Liza with Pikachu perched on Harlan's head.

'So how long will it take to get there, Liza?' asked Ash.

'Oh, not too long,' said Liza. 'I left early this morning, so we should get back to the valley at about 1 in the afternoon.'

'Well I hope you'll have lunch waiting for us,' Ash responded, ''cause we'll be starving when we arrive!'


I'll be posting the rest up soon, so please R&R! And please, no flaming!