**EDIT** Added a bit more crucial dialogue to the god talk.

How's it going everyone! See I didn't make you wait so long this time! :)

Huge thanks to Nauran, for being my Beta and more so for something I will reveal at the end!

Beta's note: I am the beta, you can call me 'Nauran'. Don't call me anything else, just 'cause my name sounds foreign. I won't accept anything less than the absolute best, that's why I give my all in case you haven't guessed. I beta for this story because I'm really up for it, and hopefully I can continue rhyming like a poet. So without further ado I give to you, the next chapter in this adventure for you to… view? My god, that's terrible. I'm fired.

Author: You would have been if it wasn't for the complement before that disaster ^.^

You all enjoy!

9,055 Words.


"Arceus wishes to speak with you."

Ash looked at Mewtwo. Arceus wanted to speak with him?

He let out a humorless laugh. "What could the great and powerful Arceus want to talk with me about? I tried seeking his counsel long ago, only for him to do absolutely nothing!"

Ash had, long ago, went to great lengths to talk with Arceus, the founder of the Universe. The first pokémon ever created who gave life to everything in the world. When Ash finally got in contact with the Legendary Pokémon, it forcefully refused to help him fight against Leon, claiming that it would break one of his most ancient and sacred laws if he directly interfered with the world's problems.

"So you refuse to come with me to speak with him?" Mewtwo's baritone voice held a rare hint of humor in it, which put Ash on edge.

"Tell Arceus that I said 'fuck off'," he said. He only cursed when he was truly pissed off, and that was only on very rare occasions.

"I will be sure to deliver the message," Mewtwo said. Suddenly, the room flashed a bright white, causing Ash to shield his eyes. A few seconds later, the bright light dispersed. Ash opened his eyes again, only to realize he wasn't in the room anymore. Looking around he could see the ancient pillars standing over him, making him feel like an ant compared to them.

He knew where he was. This was the Hall of Origin, a place that only Legendary Pokémon were allowed in. Well, them and the so called 'Chosen One', the hero who was supposed to save the world.

"Arceus, I bring you a message from our Chosen One." He heard Mewtwo's voice from beside him. "He says 'fuck you'. And I brought him here as you wished."

Ash turned to Mewtwo. "Nice to see you're finally developing a sense of humor," he muttered. Mewtwo looked at him with his head slightly askew.

Suddenly, there was a loud laugh that seemed to resonate from the air itself. The voice had a very deep tone to it and echoed through the halls.

"Ash, I am so glad you could make it," the same voice as before said. "Mewtwo, leave us for now." Mewtwo merely nodded and vanished. Ash couldn't help but find it a little strange how easily Mewtwo obeyed the command given to it. The pokémon always seemed as if it was its own boss. Seeing otherwise was strange.

"Well, it is not like I had a choice in the matter," Ash mumbled. "What do you want Arceus?"

"I want nothing," It said. "What I need however is something far different."

"Then what is it that You need?"

"I am in need of you to dispatch Leon from this world," The voice said, laced with anger. "He has tampered with My laws and will be punished. As My Chosen One, it is your duty to carry out My will!"

"THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN TRYING TO DO!" Ash yelled frustrated, "Why won't You just step in and take care of him, or at the very least tell me what he is trying to do!"

"I told you once before Ash, I will not interfere with the world's problem unless it is a last resort."

"What would You consider a 'last resort'?" Ash asked. The man had already traveled into the past and created his own army. How could that not be the point in where Arceus would step in?

"What would I consider 'last resort'? When every human in the world has lost the will to fight against this man," Arceus said, making Ash's mind go completely blank. "When there is truly no hope for man to take care of their problems, that is when I will step in."

"What!?" Ash yelled. "Millions upon millions of people will die before that ever happens!"

"BILLIONS HAVE ALREADY DIED!" The voice boomed, knocking Ash off of his feet. "When Leon forced Dialga to open up the portal to the past, almost as soon as he walked through, people started dying. That timeline no longer exists, and everyone in it has lost their life!"

"N-No… that's impossible..." Ash whispered. Everyone he knew had died, aside from Brock and a few of his pokémon. "But I… They are still here! I saw Misty and Cynthia!"

"As true as that is, they are no longer the same people," Arceus said. "The ones you knew before, the ones that know you and have shared their lives with you are no longer alive."

"What if I stop Leon!? Brock and I will be able to return to our future, won't we?! You could have Dialga send us back!" Tears began threatening to fall from his eyes.

"You're a fool Ash," Arceus said, its voice returning back to its monotone. "That timeline… no… longer… exists."

Ash broke down. The tears that were threatening to fall were now rolling down his cheeks. He felt lost inside his head. He had hoped that somehow they would be able to get back to his time, but that was clearly impossible. He would be stuck here, reliving his life without any of his friends by his side. How would he make it through life without them?

"Ash, you will defeat Leon, or face the punishment that will be set up for you if you fail to acc-"

"Shut up!" Ash yelled, his voice filled with rage. "I am tir-"

"You insolent FOOL!" The voice roared, echoing for a long silence. Ash immediately froze in place, waiting until the menacing echo faded. Once it was gone, Arceus continued. "You will never display such audacity toward Me again. You may be the Chosen One, but I can find another."

Ash opened his mouth to shout back, but the voice roared over him once more. "NO! …The time for talk has come to an end. You will listen to Me now and do as I say."

Ash glared at the floor, but didn't say anything else.

"Good, now I do truly want to help you, Ash," The voice said making Ash scoff. Arceus continued, ignoring the sound. "I will send for the two other pokémon that you brought with you from the past." Ash merely nodded. He was happy that he would see his pokémon again, but he wasn't in the mood to cheer about it. "I will also restore your body to its formal look." As he spoke, Ash's body began to give off the similar glow that a pokémon's would when evolving. When the white light dispersed, Ash's body had grown taller, bringing him back to his normal six foot two. His clothes seemed to have grown along with him, as they still fit perfectly on his body.

"Now, I trust that you will not fail Me again, Ash."

Ash looked up and hesitantly spoke. "Can you also change Brock back to his regular body?"

"You misinterpret my gifts. This is not charity. I am doing this only to help you along with your quest."

Ash let out sigh, Brock wasn't going to be happy. "How am I supposed to defeat Leon anyway? He's had ten years to strengthen himself and his pokémon, pokemon that were already extremely strong."

"Leon did not come here with the same protection I have given to you and your Pokemon."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Whereas you came with both your memories and your Pokemon abilities and strength, Leon only came with his memories, and that is only due to Dialga being forced to allow him to keep them, that did not extend to his Pokemon. Only by my will were you able to keep yours." Ash's eyes widen in surprised, a glimmer of hope sparked within him.

"Then how is it that he became strong enough to take over Team Galatic so quickly?"

"Quickly? The man spent over five years solely training his new Pokemon for his plans, and with the advantage of knowing what he was up against, It was fairly easy." Arceus said. "Enough of this, you know what you need to, now for what I need you to do." He Paused and leaned forward to look at Ash's eyes directly. "Build an army Ash, one with enough strength to fight back against Leon's and fix this mess humans have created."

"Build… an army," Ash repeated, shocked. How was he supposed to do such a thing?

"The only way to defeat an army is with another, Ash," The voice rang out. "Leon has spent most of the last ten years forming and fortifying his gang. It now has nearly a thousand men and women in it, all fighting for his cause."

Ash gritted his teeth. "Well, how the hell am I supposed to build an army?"

"That, Ash, I will leave up to you." The voice sounded slightly amused by his frustration.

"Can you at least tell me what he is trying to do?" he asked.

"The girl that is with you, Cynthia, she knows. You can ask her," said the voice, making Ash look up in surprise. "Why are you so surprised? Did you think it was mere coincidence that she was able to avoid Leon her entire life and end up back with you? She is one of the few people able to read the ancient dialogue on the cavern walls."

"You protected her?"

"I merely made sure that she would not be captured. I even hid you from Leon for the past ten years, until your conscious made its way back to your body."

"Thank you," Ash growled through gritted teeth. He hated the fact that he had to thank the pokémon, but it did protect one of his friends. That was worth more than his pride.

"I did it to only aid your quest, young Chosen One."

"Fine. May I go now?" Ash asked. He knew what he had to do now. Despite how much he hated Arceus, He was the only one with a plan.

"Not just yet. Before you go, there is one other thing I shall give you." The voice sounded almost disgusted by what it was about to say. "One of my children has foolishly decided to follow you. Despite my arguments, she has made her mind up and I cannot change it."

As he spoke, something nudged Ash on his back. Ash looked behind him and let out a small gasp. There stood a large blue and white dog. Its long purple mane flowed elegantly across its back. It let out a small howl and nudged his side again.

"Suicune? You want to join me?" Ash whispered, almost cautiously. He could remember how he met this Suicune, though at the time the pokémon was injured and in need of help. Ash spent almost a month by its side, bringing the pokémon food and water and changing the bandages that he had sloppily placed on it. He wanted to take the Legendary to a pokémon center, so that it could heal properly, but the way it had reacted to Ash when they first met kept him from taking it anywhere near people.

Not only that, but the pokémon was literally a living legend. If anyone saw it in its weakened state, they would not hesitate to take advantage of the elegant beast.

Ash slowly got one his pokéballs that were always hanging on his belt and held it towards the dog. He held it in a way so that the pokémon would have to reach forward and push the small button to capture itself, giving the option fully to the pokémon. It only took a second before the legend did just that, the red glow enveloped it, causing it vanish without a trace.

Ash clutched the small ball In his hands. Hope was starting to fill him once again. With the help of a Legendary pokémon, he would be one step closer to defeating Leon. Sure it was not even close, but it was defiantly a step in the right direction.

"I will provide my assistance as well." A voice appeared inside his head, causing ash to look around. A dark shadow in the floor started emerging from the ground. It revealed a floating black and red pokémon, its white hair seemed to defy gravity, much like its body did.

"What is the meaning of this, Darkrai!" Arceus voice growled.

"I have a debt to pay, and this seems like the best way to return the favor." The voice said inside his head again. The dark pokémon looked at Ash, sending chills down his spine. "Do you accept myoffer?"

Ash looked at him. He knew the debt he was talking about, "I told you before that you don't owe me anything."

"So you refuse then?"

Ash sighed, and held out a pokéball, the same way he did for Suicune, giving the choice fully to Darkrai. The dark pokémon reached out and touched the ball with it's hand, the red glow encircling it before vanishing.

"It seems my children are fond of you." Arceus growled.

Ash just nodded, suddenly a question formed inside his head.

"How is it that you all even remember what happened in the past? You didn't go through the portal."

The voice let out a mocking laugh, "You think that I could give a son of mine the power of time and not have it myself?" The pokémon questioned sarcastically. "As for the other 'legendaries', as you call them, I protected their minds, like I would have yours if you had not made it through the portal."

Ash nodded, he opened his mouth to ask another question but the voice beat him to it.

"Now get out of my sight." Ash looked around. The Hall of Origins was impossible for him to leave just by walking.

"How am I supp-" Was all he got out when the familiar bright flash of light appeared around him. They were back in the dark room in the pokémon center. The room seemed a lot warmer than before they left. Mewtwo stood in his cloaked figured a few feet behind him.

"Thanks, Mewtwo." Ash said. He sat down on the bed and looked down at the pokéball still clutched in his hands. When he looked back up Mewtwo was still standing their. There was a strange crackle noise outside of the door. "What is it?"

"The pokémon Center is on fire." His baritone voice came out. Almost as soon as he said it, the air filled with a heavy smoke, sending Ash into a fit of coughs. The heat suddenly flared as the wooden door to the hallway collapsed in flames. Ash quickly buried his mouth in his shirt, preventing smoke from getting in.

"Ugh… Mewtwo! Can you get everyone out of here?" Ash yelled his voice muffled through the shirt.

Mewtwo merely nodded and in a flash they were in a nearby forest. Ash immediately looked around to see if their was any danger around them. He could see the smoke rising from the pokémon center in the distance. They were in the nearby forest.

Cynthia and Brock were still laying down on the ground, asleep. Pikachu had woken up just before they teleported and was frantically looking around trying to find out what happened. Its eyes fell upon Ash and the cloaked figured, it immediately jumped onto Ash's shoulders and let a few sparks of electricity crackle out from its cheeks.

"Don't worry Pikachu, it's just Mewtwo." Ash said. The small pokémon nodded but kept up its guard.

"Who started the fire?"

"You should know the answer to that." Mewtwo said

"What about everyone else in the pokémon Center!" Ash yelled.

"They... are already gone, Ash." Mewtwo said and vanished without another word.

Ash was speechless at that news for a moment, but soon growled. Of course it was Leon, who else would it have been? He was the cause of even more people dying. He would make the man pay for all of his crimes.

Looking at Brock and Cynthia he decided to let them sleep a little longer. He let out a small sigh as his eyes went back to Brock. The man's body was still one of a early teens. The man was going to be furious when he woke up and saw Ash.

Then his eyes fell upon Cynthia's sleeping figure. He could feel his frustration crumble away as he watched her. She was sleeping soundly against the cool forest floor. Small twigs were now stuck in locks of her hair. She curled up in a ball trying to warm herself and let out a small satisfied sigh. Ash smiled as he watched her. He couldn't help it. He always loved the rare chances he got to watch as Cynthia slept in the past. Looking at her now reminded him of how close the two used to be.

He sat down and let out a sigh. He started to subconsciously play with some of the twigs that were on the ground while thinking about how he was supposed to build an army. Suddenly he remembered, Arceus had said that he would return the pokémon he brought with him! He quickly went to his belt and found the two new pokéballs hanging off the belt. He moved away from the two who were still sleeping to avoid accidentally waking them.

"Come on out guys!" He called releasing the two pokéballs. The familiar red glow lit the dark forest as two pokémon appeared from the ball.

The first one that appeared was a very familiar land-shark. The small pokémon was looking down at its body in surprise, but then let out a strange gurgling sound as if it was laughing. It looked around, seeing Ash it immediately jumped through the air and bit down softly on the top of his head.

Leave it to Gible to not mind its predicament.

Ash bellowed in laughter "Yeah I missed you to buddy." The small pokémon retreated back to the ground and ran up to pikachu.

"Pii, Pika pi pi pika!" Pikachu started telling Gible everything that has happen.

The other pokémon, as unbelieving as it may sound, seemed to care even less. It had it large jaws open as it dance back and forth onto each foot, seemingly without a care in the world.

"Toto, totodile!" The pokémon cheered. It moved towards Ash and dance around him.

"As hyper as ever eh, buddy?" Ash said laughing at his pokémon's antics. Totodile had to be the most carefree of all of them, seeming that it only wanting to have fun. Ash smiled as he watch Pikachu explain the predicament to the other two.

"Who are you?" He heard Cynthia's voice come from behind him, "and where have you brought us?" The voice seemed angry, almost hostile.

Ash slowly turned around confused, he noticed that Garchomp was let loose from his pokéball and was baring its large fangs at Ash.

"Cynthia? What are you talking abou-" Then it clicked. He was back in his normal body again, and she had never seen him like this before.

"How do you know my name?" She asked glaring at him.

"It's me Ash."

"Impossible! Ash is just a little boy!" She said, "Now who are you?" The pokémon had stopped chatting amongst themselves. Two of them were confused by what was going on, while Pikachu just looked amused.

"I am telling you it's me Ash! Wake up Brock, he'll tell you!" Ash said. Cynthia never stopped looking at him as she called out Brocks name.

"Brock!" She yelled into night. In return all she got was a loud snore. She gritted her teeth and call again, this time even louder.

"Uhh, WHAT!" Brock yelled. He sat up and let out a large yawn, while looking around. About half way through his yawn he realized he wasn't in the pokémon center anymore. "What! Where are we!" He yelled standing up quickly still looking around.

"Brock, tell her you who I am?" Ash called out to him. Brock made his way over to stand by Cynthia. Ash looking at the two of them stand side by side made him start to quake with laughter, seeing as how Brock stood almost a foot shorter than Cynthia. Ash was now about half a foot taller than her now.

Brock seemed to go into shock as he saw Ash in his old body. Quickly he looked down at himself, only too frown. "What The Hell Ash!" he yelled, his tan face seemed to start getting a dark shade of red. "How did you get your body back!"

"Eh heh, well," Ash started, scratching the back of his head. Cynthia, seeing the potential threat was gone, recalled her Garchomp. "You see, Arceus called me to him."

"You met Arceus!" Cynthia gasped. The pokémon was so ancient that many people only believed him to be legend.

"Unpleasant pokémon." Ash grumbled. "Well he gave me back my body and-"

"WHAT ABOUT ME!" Brock growled. Ash wasn't the best at reading emotions, but even he could tell that Brock was pissed off.

"I TRIED!" Ash yelled back. "He said something about his gifts not being charity."

"Gifts?" Cynthia asked intrigued.

"Yeah he returned the pokémon that I brought with me through the portal, Totodile and Gible here." Ash smiled. Totodile immediately started dancing earning Cynthia's immediate 'Aww' in response. The pokémon quickly seeing that it had the advantage of the current situation, jumped towards Cynthia who caught it with open arms, smiling as she held it in her hands.

"A real softy this one." She giggled as it cheered from its arms. She looked down at the small Gible who was starting at her, "I have a Garchomp if you want to play a little?" She asked.

The pokémon immediately nodded. Instead of releasing the one pokémon she let out all of them, deciding that they could all use some time to stretch. Out from the pokeball's came the Garchomp, a Gastrodon, a Glaceon – who Pikachu immediately started playing with – a Lucario, a Milotic and a Spiritomb.

Totodile immediately leaped from Cynthia's arm, much to her disappointment, and went off with Milotic who seemed to enjoy the small pokémon's dancing.

Garchomp immediately glared at the small dragon, who in return glared back. The two continue for a while, as if playing the 'No Blinking' game. Suddenly Gible broke into a smile and jumped onto the larger Garchomps shoulder as the two made off into the forest.

Brock let out a frustrated sigh, "Well no use complaining, I guess I will start breakfast." Almost all the pokémon, including Ash cheered. Brock called out his Onyx and went off to start making food.

"So were there any other gifts?" Cynthia asked curiously. Ash smiled and revealed all his pokémon, including his two new ones. Cynthia gasped when she felt a ting of fear appear within her. Darkrai glared in her direction and made off to the side of Ash. Suicune immediately ran to Ash's side as well. Spearow flew off to find Pikachu.

"Why did you call us out?"Darkrai's deep voice said in everyone's head. At least it looked like it appeared in the others head as there eyes widened in surprise.

"For you too meet our allies." Ash said immediately. "an for a stretching break." he ended lamely.

"Fine." Came Darkrai's only reply as he made off deeper into the forest. Suicune nodded it's head and stretched out its front two paws, then made its way to the other pokémon.

"He gave you two legends!?" Cynthia asked in awe. Seeing legendary pokémon were a rare occurrence but Ash seemed to be unfazed by most of it. "Aren't you thrilled about having a legendary pokémon on your team?"

"I am always thrilled to have a family member add to my team." Ash smiled warmly, "Legendary or not, it does not matter to me."

Cynthia smiled thoughtfully, she decided to change the subject. "So this is what you looked like before you came through time?"

Ash smiled, "Yeah, though when I first came through was defiantly a lot more beaten up." He moved his hand to the helm of his shirt lifting it up slightly. He stared at the spot for a moment, "It looks like I am missing a few scars as well."

"Well that's not bad, right?" Cynthia said smiling.

"No, not at all." Ash said. The two smiled and watched as the pokémon played around with each other.

"Hey you two! Foods ready." Brock called out, sitting at a picnic table that appeared out of no where. The two immediately sat themselves, ready to stuff there empty bellies. Almost all the pokémon came around them, as Brock set down there own pokémon food.

Cynthia took the first bite in and immediately closed her eyes letting the flavors of the meal envelope her taste buds. "This is delicious Brock!" She called out to him.

"Thank you!" Brock said, starting to dig in to his food. He looked at Ash from the corner of his eye's who was stuffing his face with the food. "So, did Arceus tell you anything else."

Ash gulped down what he was eating and looked at the desk, a thoughtful expression on his face. "He said that we need to build an army."

The two stopped eating and looked at Ash, waiting for him to continue.

"He didn't tell me how to do it, other than it was up to me to do it." Ash sighed.

"Well, where do we go from here?" Brock asked.

"Actually, before we decide that." Ash said as he looked at Cynthia, "Arceus said that you knew what Leon was after." Brock immediately looked at Cynthia in surprise.

Cynthia let out a small sigh. "I could be wrong, but I found these ruins that he was guarding, In the Sinnoh Region – Me, my family, and a few close friends went to go find out what he was doing at the ruins." Her eye started to water as she spoke.

"Are you okay, Cynthia?" Ash asked softly as she stopped speaking. He could tell that the experience was hard on her.

She nodded, raising her arm up to wipe the threatening tears away, "I think he may be after some sort of weapon that can control any pokémon."

Ash and Brock let out a small gasp of surprise. They knew that Leon was after something powerful, but to control any pokémon? No one should have that kind of power.

"Do the caverns say where it is?" Brock asked.

"I didn't get to far into it, but it did say that Arceus hid it from the man somewhere in the world."

Ash gritted his teeth. Of course the pokémon would know where it is hidden, yet not mention it to Ash. The pokémon seemed not to care for the world at all.

They all remained silent, each one of them in there own thoughts.

"So should we try finding this weapon before, Lyon?" Cynthia broke the silence.

Brock shook his head, "Arceus would have told Ash to do that if the man was near finding it for himself."

"Brock's right, though I don't like the pokémon, it wouldn't purposely lead us astray." Ash said. "I think we should build this army it wants us to make, though I do not have the slightest idea on how."

"Then, I think we should still go to the Champion." Cynthia said thoughtfully, earning a look from the two boys. "If we could recruit Lance, with him come the Elite Four."

"Not only that," Brock continued, "Lance has fame on his side. If he joins a group, there will sure to be other trainers who will follow him."

Ash nodded, "Maybe this is a reason why Arceus gave me my body back, no one would listen to a ten year old kid, no matter how strong he may be." The two nodded in agreement, "Well what if Lance doesn't join?"

Everyone was quiet. They sat there, all of them thinking of what they would do if the champion declined the invitation.

"There's no point in thinking it over now," Brock decided. "The league is still a month away and the only thing we can do for now is collect the badges and go from there. If he decides not to join, we will figure out our next plan from there."

"Alright!" Ash cheered. "Never did I think that I would be going on this adventure again."

"Wait up Ash," Brock said. "What are we doing out here in the first place?"

"Yeah! What are we doing out here? I got caught up in the moment and forgot to even ask!" Cynthia said, as she continued to chew down on her food.

"Oh yeah, when I returned back the pokémon Center was on fire." Ash said.

"WHAT!" Both of them shouted for the second time that morning.

"Yeah, Mewtwo teleported all of us out though." The two stared at him in shock.

"Who's Mewtwo?" Cynthia asked.

"It's long story," Ash mumbled, "He's another legendary pokémon."

"Are legendary pokémon attracted to you or something?" Cynthia exclaimed. Causing Brock to chuckle deeply.

"You have no idea." He said. "Anyway, who do you think started the fire Ash?"

"Leon," Ash said immediately, "He's probably going to be on our tails the entire time now." The man was persistent.

"Your probably right about that," Brock said, bringing his hand to his chin to think. "I think we should stay for a while. Wait until whoever sent goes away." The two nodded in agreement.

"Where is everyone else that was in the pokémon center?" Cynthia murmured, immediately knowing the answer when Ash frowned and looked straight at the ground.

"Well, I guess its time for some training!" Ash called out, " I need to blow off some steam. Cynthia, you going to join?" She nodded. Ash grinned widely and looked over to Brock who immediately shook his head, knowing how hard Ash pushes his pokémon. Cynthia was in for treat.


Cynthia stumbled through the foliage as she tiredly made her way back to where Brock, who was currently laughing loudly, was sitting on one of the many fallen logs. She fell to her knees and then laid down on her stomach, her breaths still coming out in short burst.

"Is that man sadistic?" She moaned to the ground.

This caused Brock to go another torrent of laughter, making her moan out even louder. "You know, the first time you trained with him, well you as in the you from the past, you did almost exactly the same thing, you even asked the same question."

Cynthia looked up at him tiredly from the ground, "Who are you two anyway?" She had never gotten to ask the two of them who they were after she found out that she was a champion.

Brock smiled, "Well I am a pokémon Breeder." He answered.

"Oh really? Could you check up on my pokémon after they finish this training? I fear they may kill themselves." Cynthia asked, looking back at Ash. They seemed to move on the next step of his training, witch consisted of them testing moves out on nearby trees.

Brock laughed, "Yeah sure no problem, I have already checked on them before and given them some necessary vitamins and minerals when we ate breakfast."

"Really? I didn't know that, thank you!" Cynthia smiled.

"No problem, I do it for Ash all the time. Anyway if you think that part of his bad, wait until later. You quit during the warm-up."

"What!" Cynthia shouted. "We have been doing nothing but sprinting for the past few hours though!"

Brock just nodded. So she continued, "Alright so your a pokémon Breeder, who is Ash?"

Brock smiled, "Ash is the Champion of Kanto." Cynthia looked at him shock, "Not only that, there's also the title that he took from you."

"What title?" Cynthia asked confused, "I thought I had my title of being champion."

"Ah, but you were also known as the Champion of Champions, at least until you lost to Ash after he became Champion." Brock said. "It's sort of a ritual you see, When there is a new champion, they go face each of the other champions, facing the strongest one last. Well, Ash manage to do that, and that is where the two of you became even closer friends."

"So I lost to Ash?" She mumbled to herself. "Well if I ever become champion again, I won't lose to anyone!" She said smiling proudly, until she saw Brock frown. "What?"

He let out a sigh, "it's nothing, Ash would be able to explain it better to you. Ask him when you get the chance." At the mention of Ash's name the two returned to watch the training.

"You said that we became even closer friends? So does that mean we were friends before he became Champion?" She asked.

"Yeah, we first met you on Ash's journey." Brock started. "It's strange being on a journey with Ash. He doesn't only attract Legendary pokémon, but also People and danger as well."

"What do you mean?" She asked as she watched Ash trying to control his Charmeleon from attacking the small Totodile who was dancing about.

"Well, we met almost every single champion and most of the elites of each region on Ash's journey. We always seemed to be in the right place at the right time. Then we would always run into trouble with gang members such as Team Rocket, or Galactic."

Cynthia looked at Brock, "Was Galactic bad?" She asked curiously. Team Galactic had been destroyed before it even began in her Timeline.

"I would prefer the whole of Team Galactic over that Leon alone." Brock said seriously. He didn't look like he wanted to continue with the conversation, so she looked back over to Ash. What she saw made her eye's widen in surprise.

Ash was fighting with the pokémon. Literally, going up against each one at a time with nothing but his fist. She watched as the man ducked under the sharp claw from Garchomp. He immediately retaliated punching the scaly gut with his fist. The punch didn't really seem to cause the dragon much pain as it completely ignored the punches and spun around, its tail smashing into Ash's side sending him rolling into the grass.

Cynthia let out a small gasp and quickly stood up to help him, but stopped when she heard his laughter carry over to them. "That was great move Garchomp! You are really well trained." He said rubbing the sore spot. Her Lucario stood up and looked like it was smiling. It immediately walked in front of Ash gave its battle stance. Ash and Lucario immediately started to fight against each other.

Cynthia smiled, she knew how much her Lucario loved hand to hand combat. Ash wasn't bad, especially if he was keeping up with her Lucario, though he seemed more on the defensive rather than offense. Though watching how they trained did bring up a question.

"Why does Ash push himself so much?" Cynthia asked. Normally Trainers only trained there pokémon, not necessarily there own body. Ash seemed to care about his own training almost as much as that of his pokémon's.

"Honestly, at first no one knew why." Brock said softly. "They didn't see the point in it, even our friends that we traveled with did not. Even I didn't" He said the last part barely audible.

"Well I guess it works, he does become champion, right?" Cynthia said giving the man a small smile.

"Yeah that's true, and the bond that he gained with his pokémon defiantly strengthen when he pushed himself just as hard as he pushed them, but it wasn't until Leon showed up that the real benefits of his training came into play." He said. "You see, Leon changed the rules of the game. The battles weren't just against pokémon, but he turned it into a battlefield." Brock stopped and watched Ash continue his fight with Lucario, he looked like he was having the time of his life.

"You see when we first tried to stop Leon, most of the trainers on his side of the battle knew what to expect and were prepared for it. The only one that was ready for the fight on our side was Ash. We lost the fight horribly, men and women ran from the fight as soon as they got hurt. Some of them even lost body parts. It was brutal, but Ash continued to push forward. His training gave him the skills he needed to command his pokémon, all the while fighting his own battles. Eventually we had to retreat. Since then everyone followed Ash's regiment, even then we could not stop the man.

"When the time comes to fight with Leon, do not expect a normal battle. Be prepared to fight against the man for you life. Talk to Ash about it if you want to hear more. He knows a lot more about the battles than anyone else. Just know that we are going to have follow that same regiment as well, if we want to stand a chance against this man." He said in such seriousness that it betrayed the fact that he looked like he was just a young kid.

Brock got up and walked away. He laid down inside his sleeping bag, probably in deep thought about the past. Cynthia sat there watching Ash. The man seemed to have gone through so much, but still he smiled whenever he could. Watching him fight was pretty amazing.

He was still locked in combat with her Lucario. The two at the moment were staring each other down, trying to predict what the other was going to do first. Suddenly Lucario kicked high aiming for Ash's face. The man brought both of his arms up as if to block the kick, but instead of blocking he caught it. He grunted a little but then gave the pokémon a small grin before flipping it forward, causing Lucario to tip backwards.

The agile pokémon was faster though and managed to catch the ground with it's arm, twisting it's body so that it's legs would circle around and catch Ash's feet. With honed reflexes the man was barely able to jump over the foot. He landed back on one foot, bringing his other down in attempt to hit Lucario on top of the head, but the strafed to right. His foot continued forward until it hit ground, knocking up a small amount of dirt into the air.

He decided to keep on the offensive, throwing jabs immediately afterward. He had Lucario on the run, making him take a step back for each one he took forward. Cynthia could see what he was planning from her vantage point. He was forcefully trying to push Lucario towards a nearby tree. As soon as the pokémon was a step away from the giant oak, using its aura abilities to predict where the tree was, it spun out of the way at the last second, Ash's fist narrowly missing the pokémon's snout. His fist continue until it landed against the hard tree making him cringe in pain.

Cynthia herself cringed when she saw the small amount blood leaking from the fist. Lucario pressed on the advantage, immediately sending a punch into the mans gut, followed quickly by a kick to the same place sending the man sprawling to the ground.

Ash laid groggily on the floor for a minute, as if trying to figure out what exactly happened. He then let out a large childish laugh. "You fight well, Lucario!" The man said still laughing

Cynthia smiled, she could listen to that childish laughter all day.


There was a knock at the door. "Come in." The man said annoyed by the interruption.

The three commanders walked into the room. Each one held a small smug look upon there face. The kind that you get when you know you were about to be rewarded.

Leon looked at the three, "Well?"

Saturn walked up to the front of the other two. "We did as you asked, when we landed at Vermilion we saw Cynthia. She was with the kid and another tanned guy. They were staying the night at the pokémon center." The man let out a small laugh. "So we burned then center to the ground, we watched to make sure no one got out."

"So," the man started, "Show me the bodies."

The man opened his mouth but nothing came out. He looked at the man and felt a twinge of fear run down his spine. Looking down to the floor he said, "We didn't recover the bodies."

"Then they are not dead, go back, and get the bodies." The man said as if the news wasn't new.

"You want us to go all the way back to Kanto!?" Mars said from the side, causing Leon's steel gaze go over to her.

"I won't repeat myself."

"NO!" Jupiter shouted from her side. "You keep ordering us around, telling us to do thing, but in return you never even tell us what your plan is!" She shouted, the other two immediately found the ground very interesting. "I am done following you!"

Leon smile, his gaze turned to her, making her avert her eyes. "Do you two agree with what she is saying?" He asked his gaze still trained on her. Not hearing a reply he continued, "Good, you two go on back to Kanto."

The two left the room immediately shutting the door behind them, leaving Jupiter and Leon behind. Leon stared at the girl for a while before he sighed. As soon as he stood up, the girl panicked and ran to the door. Of course, the door didn't budge, as it was locked from the opposite side.

"I can't believe you actually tried that." Leon laughed, already right behind her.

"A-… At least t-tell me what it is you're planning," the woman shuddered out, her eyes watering in fear.

Leon laughed. "I'm sorry, but I don't reveal anything to corpses."


"Hey, kid… Kid! Wake up!"

A few shoves on the shoulder finally brought the young man out of his half-sleeping state. He rubbed his eyes and was glad to find nothing had changed from when he had fallen asleep a while ago. He was still in the passenger seat of the bearded man's truck.

His pokémon woke from its own nap in his lap. The rattata yawned and stretched. Its owner stroked its back, drawing a pleased squeak.

"We're almost there now. It's just up ahead."

The young man looked out the side window, seeing that the forests had now thickened. Earlier, there weren't many trees by the road to speak of, but now the scenery was entirely covered in green. The trees stood taller than the large truck and stretched so far back you couldn't see an end to the jungle.

"You sure you'll be okay, bud? We're literally in the middle of nowhere, and you just want me to leave you out here?"

The young man rolled his shoulders. Nodding to the driver, he checked his pockets. Nothing was out of place. He was not armed to the teeth, but, covering his dark clothing, his person was covered in numerous belts and pockets, bulgingly filled with whatever he deemed as necessities for this trip.

"Alright," the driver conceded. He turned the wheel and slowly came to a stop.

The young man opened the door, grabbed the backpack that was sitting by his feet and stepped out to the edge of the truck. Before getting off however, he reached into his pack, pulled something out and fiddled with it.

The driver could not see what he was doing, but before long, a generous wad of cash was being handed to him. It surprised the driver.

"No, kid, I couldn't. You might've-"

"Take it. You'd have more use for it than me," the young man insisted, his voice gruff but sure.

Tentatively, the driver took the money. As soon as he did, his passenger turned and hopped down to the ground, his rattata clinging to his shoulder, landing on some twigs and sticks – just a few of what he was soon to be traversing over.

Standing before him, two large stone supports held up a faded wooden sign, barely legible from its age.

"Good luck, Paul. Hope you find what you're looking for," said the bearded man as his parting words.

The young man, Paul, gave a half-salute in farewell. He closed the door and the driver was off down the road.

Paul turned around, taking in the vast environment he was about to enter. He looked around, not noticing any wildlife in his immediate area. He turned to the rattata on his shoulder and nodded.

The rattata nodded back, jumped off his shoulder and scampered away into the forest. He quickly lost sight of the pokémon.

Walking up to the faded sign, he read as much as he could from the near-unreadable words.

[…uinsforest…]

'Not much of an attraction anymore, huh?' he thought. Considering that fact, he could've been pretty much anywhere on the planet. He pulled out his cellphone. The smallest reception bar was blinking on and off. "Tch," he scoffed. The time was ten forty AM. 'Plenty of time.' To save battery, he turned the phone off and, instead of pocketing it, put it in his bag.

After a sigh, Paul stretched his legs and shook his body awake. With his blood pumping and effects secure, he began his trek.

It was long and arduous, but it was nothing compared to what he could really handle. Sweat had started developing, but only after he had walked for a near half-hour – a testament to his endurance.

He was now in the thick of the jungle. The trees stood so tall and their branches meshed together above-head so much, the area he was walking through looked incredibly darkened compared to anywhere else you could be under a midday sun. The trees croaked, the branches rustled in the winds, and the calls of some wildlife could be heard echoing through the large, dark green expanse. Nothing out of the ordinary had made its presence known yet.

The climate was more forgiving than most forests – no fogs or overly-hot temperatures had yet to affect Paul. Luckily, he had taken the precaution of packing and dressing very lightly. The thickness of his pockets was largely contributed to by several items – six of those being pokéballs. But right now, he was reaching into his pocket to pull out a small book as he continued walking.

Opening to the last page he bookmarked, he re-read the notes written a while ago. He had definitely stopped at the right location and began walking in the correct direction. Double-checking the distance noted in the book, he sighed unhappily. He had just made it to the estimated half-way point. Another half-hour and he should be close.

Just as he put the book back into his pocket, he heard something suddenly move from up ahead.

Reaching into another pocket swiftly, he armed himself with a sheathed hunting knife. The other creature being a threat or not determined whether Paul would unsheathe the weapon.

It turned out to be a threat – a threat worth an unsettled growl from Paul.

The wild pinsir showed itself, unaware or possibly unafraid of the dangerous weapon the human before it held. Wherever Paul was walking toward, this pinsir wanted him to take no step further. Either that, or it was just angered by Paul's presence altogether. Whatever the case, he had already unsheathed a part of his blade, ready to swing it out at a moment's notice. The pinsir hissed as menacingly as it could.

But before either could make a move for the other, the pinsir's eyes widened. It was suddenly contorted in the air, its limbs being bent behind its back as it cried out in pain, and sent flying off into a large tree trunk. The resounding thud left the bug-type pokémon unconscious indefinitely.

Paul calmed his nerves, put his knife away and continued his hike, giving a quick glance to the downed pinsir before moving on.

Another half-hour later and, as Paul had predicted, he was on the right track. The sheer depth and darkness of the jungle was now even deeper and darker. With sounds of wildlife now echoing from far behind Paul, it was obvious that wherever he was walking was not inhabited.

He stopped to look down a small cliff. From the looks of it, Paul guessed it to be at least a thirty to forty-foot drop. Not a comfortable enough plunge for his liking. A long, sturdy rope was in his backpack, but if he could make it down without its use, he would prefer to. Surveying his surroundings, he weighed his options.

Sharply hitting his ear, he heard the sound of a couple of rocks dropping to his right. He looked up into the tree at the moving branches, then down to where the rocks were. Near them, a noticeable rock formation looked curiously solid and went down long enough that he could drop from its end. A stone ladder. What luck.

Feeling the ground under his feet not give way as he neared the edge of the crag, he decided to go for it. He lowered himself, reached one foot out and gave it his weight. It didn't break. One hand and foot after the other, he lowered himself down, meeting no problems in his descent.

As he climbed down, he noticed something strange. Each edge he clung on to was evenly spaced from the last. That's when he noticed something odd about the cliff face beside him. Reaching out to spread a few vines, he stifled a gasp at what he had discovered.

His head shot all around him, before he quickened his pace down the rock surface. His hastiness was stopped altogether by one of his feet hitting an edge too hard, collapsing it. Quickly turning around, his feet landed on the near-bottom of the rock formation, where he leapt off and finally met the ground in a harsh recoil roll.

He stiffened as he stood back up, rubbing his back in slight pain. He shrugged it off, because he had at last found his objective.

"Finally." He raised his hand and waved it slowly up and down.

This signaled a spearow to come gliding out of the trees and onto his shoulder. The two took in the sight before them. They both concluded that this was no ordinary cliff face.

"Keep guard while I investigate."

The spearow leapt off his shoulder and hopped around on the ground, looking as docile as possible, but keeping its senses sharp.

Pulling out his book, Paul scribbled down a few words, and checked the time on his phone as well. Once he was done, he put them away and began his investigation.

Moving foliage out of the way, he inspected the enormous rocky wall. Some spots weren't notable, but other parts showed signs of carving. It definitely wasn't of the same substance as the land around him. These points lead to one fact – this supposed 'cliff' was not natural, but built.

Moments after he had confirmed this fact, he came across a particularly straight indent in the wall. Pulling out his knife, he cut every vine needed. A few slices later, he found himself in front of what appeared to be an entrance. It was short and the edges had worn out, but it definitely looked like an entrance.

He put his ear next to the parting down the middle of the 'door'. Paul couldn't help but grin when he felt a breeze.

Looking beside the door, he found a hole with what seemed to be a hardwood handle of some sort. He tried twisting, turning and pushing the handle in but none of those worked. Resorting to try pulling it out, he found some give. Mustering all his strength and straining in the act, he pulled the lever back as far as possible. He let go of the handle, which slowly pushed itself back in place.

There was a dull scraping sound coming from inside the wall, and the door started to slide open. Through all his effort, he had gotten half of the door to open by several inches. He grimaced at the tight fit, but, as he soon found out, the space made would be enough. A few strenuous pushes later and he was inside whatever this cliff was.

The dim jungle light did not do much for visibility inside the pitch-black cavity, so, deciding against wasting one of his pokémon's energy for light, he pulled out a tube from his pack. Bending it, he heard a crack and the yellow glow stick lit up the cavern.

While the entrance he came through was small, he found that the cave he was in was very wide. The side walls were now visible, as well as the apparatus the door was connected to which involved a series of very old ropes and counterweights. However, the light of his glow stick could not come close to a wall opposite the entrance at all. It was absolute darkness as far as his eyes could, or could not, see.

A few chirps came from behind him. Paul turned to see the spearow looking up at him through the opening. He thought for a moment. Thinking of every possible consequence he could, he made a decision.

"No. You stay here. If I'm not back by nightfall, do what you want."

That didn't leave a good taste in his mouth, and he saw that this did not appease the spearow. Nevertheless, the pokémon nodded. It was loyal enough to believe that Paul knew what he was doing.

With a flash of pink around its body, the spearow turned into a rattata and scurried off.

Paul watched as it left, hoping deep down that it would be okay.

He turned back to stare down into the dark void and brace himself for the next part of his quest.

"You'd better be in here, Celebi." His fist tightened by his side. "Leon has to pay."


Whoooo! I got some chills reading Paul's part! Now, to explain. Me and Nauran are both writing this story now, well, he is doing Paul's part! As you can see, he is far better at writing than myself.

Also, the story behind the two legends I will delve into at a later time. I will, however tell you right now, that the two will not be overpowered. In terms of power right now, they are the strongest on Ash's team, but in the end they will be near the same power as all of his other Pokemon.

My goal is 100 Reviews! I need you all's help! Review! :)

Thanks again for reading!

~Ohaeder