Sorry I didn't upload earlier; I was busy most of the day, so I only had the chance to upload now, super early on the 12th rather than the 11th. Another chapter should still go up today though.

Thanks for reading. I don't own Pokemon. As usual, reviews and constructive criticism would be appreciated.

Italics: Telepathy.

'Word': thoughts.

"Words": spoken words.

"Words": words spoken by Pokemon.


Pidgeot touched down at the foot of the Tree. "Thanks Pidgeot. Return."

The red beam lanced out of the Poke Ball and enveloped Pidgeot, pulling him back inside in the form of energy. Pikachu hopped onto the still glowing shoulder of his trainer. "Ready to do this, Ash?"

Ash nodded, digging into his backpack. "Yea, I am. I made sure to bring these to help me out." He dug a pair of blue gloves with crystals embedded in the palms. Pikachu looked at them closely.

"Sir Aaron's gloves? Where did you get those?"

"Turns out the castle guards checked out the tree after our little adventure." Pikachu snorted at the word little. "They found these when they explored the tree, but the second they got these the Regi trio knocked them out and I guess Mew teleported them back to the castle."

Pikachu paled. "Oh, crap! We still have to deal with those golems! Last time we had Lucario, who had years of war training and a super effective attack! What are we supposed to do?"

Ash sighed. "You're overthinking it buddy. Typhlosion for Regice and Registeel, your Iron Tail for Regirock. And we only need to stall; they're super slow, so we stall them and outrun them. When we find Mew, she can tell them we mean no harm, and we don't even have to worry about them."

Pikachu thought it over for a bit before giving Ash a thumbs up.

The two started to scale the Tree of Beginning.

"Ash! You made this sound so much easier!" "Well I thought it would be a lot easier!" CLANG!

Pikachu's Iron Tail smashed into Regirock, and he used the recoil to springboard towards Ash, launching a Thunderbolt in mid-air to slow down the Rock Peak Pokemon further. Behind them, Snorlax body slammed Regice and Typhlosion blew fire at Registeel.

"Besides, it looks like it's worki-" he was abruptly cut off by the sound of a Flash Cannon sending Typhlosion flying. He turned around and returned Typhlosion before he could crash into the ground, only to be forced to turn around again to return Snorlax, who Regice had frozen in a block of ice before smashing him aside with a Zap Cannon.

Ash continued his sprint with Pikachu right on his tail; he leapt to the side when Regice used Rock Tomb, forming a pillar of earth in front of him. He was forced to dodge around numerous pillars of rock on his way up, with Pikachu simply using Volt Tackle to cannon through them.

As an Ice Beam soared over his head, Ash glared; "Okay, this is getting out of hand. Sceptile, get out here!" The Forest Pokemon emerged from his ball. "Frenzy Plant!" The resulting mass growth of brown vines with spikes blocked all of the golems. They started to cut through the vines, but it was quite clear it would hold them back for some time. "Perfect, Sceptile! Take a break in case we need you later!" With that, Ash returned Sceptile. Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder and they continued to sprint towards the chamber of the tree where old heroes lay.

The hero and his mouse made it into the interior chambers of the tree, slipping into a cave entrance. "See, buddy, that went okay!" Slap!

Pikachu slapped Ash in the back of the head with his tail before shaking his head. "Let's just get to Mew. Lucky we don't have to deal with those blobs this time…"

Ash shrugged to his partner before continuing to walk towards the light at the end of the tunnel.

The two emerged into a bright environment, full of crystals and open to daylight. "Hey, I remember this place! This is where we found each other last time!" Ash gave his partner a fond look. The feeling was mutual; the two were so close they were practically family, and being reunited like that was one of the best and most relieving feelings they had felt.

"If I recall correctly, Mew lives somewhere up at the top of this canyon. But we can't climb it, so we should probably keep moving…"

"Not quite. I may be a bit of an idiot, but there's a reason I have Pidgeot besides just wanting to reconnect. She should be able to get us to Mew in an instant."

Ash pulled out a Poke Ball and released his oldest Flying type. "Yes Ash?"

Ash spoke, "Pidgeot, can I get some help! We need to get to the top of this canyon, but it's impossible to jump."

Pikachu looked at him skeptically. "Weren't you jumping around the pillars last time we were here?" "Uhhh… adrenaline?"

Pidgeot interrupted the banter. "Either way, I can get you up there. Hop on!"

Pidgeot emerged from the top of the crater and soared around in the open air atop the tree. Ash took the opportunity to look around, trying to spot a certain hyperactive pink ball of fur. Only for said blur to teleport right in front of his face. "Hi!"

Pidgeot started and lost his flight path momentarily, but managed to level out and stay in the air. He gave the pink ball of fur the evil eye as he came down for a landing.

"Mew, that was dangerous!" Ash scolded the small pink cat, who didn't really seem to care at all.

"Ugh… insane little cat…" he muttered. He didn't hate Mew, but it has caused him lots of trouble and many near misses. And one must consider he didn't even remember that incident with Mewtwo; it certainly wouldn't help the way he thought about the pink ball of fur. He shook his head. Right, he had a purpose in being here.

"Mew! I need you to take me to the chamber! I think I've stored up enough aura to revive Sir Aaron and Lucario!" The cat turned its head to the side cutely before nodding and flying to its left. Ash grinned and he and Pikachu ran after the cat.


The three walked into the chamber, Ash pausing in awe to observe the crystals all around him. Over time, it seemed the cave formed new crystals, for Sir Aaron and Lucario were now resting together in one large crystal which preserved their physical bodies.

Pikachu looked at Ash worriedly, "You sure you can handle this Ash? You know what happens if you use too much aura." "We've been over this, Pikachu. I have plenty of aura to spare. Just gotta make sure to do it right."

With that, Ash pulled on Sir Aaron's old gloves and pointed his hands at the crystal. He strained himself, and blue energy formed at his hands. It grew in side, beginning to resemble an Aura Sphere. Ash grunted with the strain of manipulating the Aura as his reserves grew smaller and smaller. The blue tint vanished from his body as h used up all of the excess aura to form the massive sphere. Eventually, a pulse of what appeared to be some sort of electrical Aura flowed over his body. He grunted and thought to himself, 'Guess that's gotta be it."

With a shout, he shoved the aura directly into the crystal.

The crystal lit up in a beautiful blue glow, and before the eyes of an exhausted Ash, an awe-struck Pikachu, and an interested Mew, the crystal disintegrated. However, only half of it faded; Lucario's half melted away while the half containing Aaron remained solid. Ash glanced up and released Sceptile, who managed to catch the form of Lucario as he fell forward. "Why is Sir Aaron still inside the crystal?" he wondered.

Mew drifted down towards him, face uncharacteristically covered in sorrow, "It seems that Aaron has been in stasis for too long. His body may be preserved, but his soul has all but moved on. You cannot revive him with aura, or by any other means. I'm sorry Ash, but it appears that he is gone. Nothing can change that."

Ash nodded in understanding, eyes downcast. Neither he nor anyone of his time period had ever met Aaron, but his visions of the Time Flowers had given him an idea of how heroic and caring the man once was. He spotted a Time Flower nearby and carried it over to the crystal. Laying it at the foot of the crystal, he whispered "Rest in peace" before he motioned to the Pokemon and they all left the cave.

He opened his eyes and winced at the sudden flood of light. He shook his head to clear it and opened his eyes more slowly this time. The figure looking down at him became clearer. Ash? Ash shook his head at the noise before remembering Lucario used telepathy. "Hey Lucario! Glad to see you awake! How are you feeling?"

Lucario shook himself again and pushed himself to his feet and out of the arms holding him. Thank you, he projected to the Sceptile who had helped him out. The Pokemon nodded before he continued. I feel well, but how am I still here? Did I not fade when I used up my Aura?

"Funny story… it's a few years later. An accident helped remind me that my Aura has been charging for a few years now and that I had enough to recharge you and Aaron without killing myself." He winced. "Still hurt though… I'm pretty tired."

Well, I must thank you. But what of Sir Aaron? Did the Aura not revive him?

Pikachu decided to explain. "Sorry Lucario. According to Mew, Aaron has been gone for far too long; his soul has basically moved on, and no amount of Aura can revive him even though his body remains preserved in the crystal." The jackal looked down at his feet to mask the look of sorrow that passed over his face. It had been a bit much to hope for, he knew.

May I ask why you revived me? My time has passed, and while I am certainly glad to be among the living and among my friends, I see no purpose for myself.

Ash shrugged. "When my Aura went haywire, the first thing I thought of doing was coming to get you. It was sort of just a spontaneous thought; you're my friend and I knew I could use the Aura to help you out, so I did." Ash stopped and thought for a second, but then he blinked and grinned. "But hey! Now that you're here, maybe you can help me out!"

Lucario looked at his inquisitively. What do you suggest?

Ash smiled. "Well, it just occurred to me that it couldn't hurt to learn how to use my Aura. I get into tons of tough situations and if I have the ability to use my Aura, it could help me out a lot."

Lucario thought it over before nodded. Very well. I will train you; in turn, I offer you my services as a partner."

Ash started. "Wait, you want to join my team?"

There is little left for me of my old life. As such, it would be best for me to start a new one, and you are certainly the person of this era who I know best. As such, I ask to make you my new Master.

"Lucario… what have we said about the title Master…"

Ah, apologies. I believe, in that case, I would like to work beside you as a partner and a friend. Do you accept? The Aura Pokemon looked uncharacteristically nervous. It was clear that this was a little unfamiliar to him.

"Of course! I never try to turn down a friend! Give me a minute or so to rest and I will get you a Poke Ball. Oh, right. Pikachu, did you make sure to short out the Pokedex so he won't get sent back to Oak?"

When Pikachu nodded, Lucario inquired. I understood from last time that Oak was a friend? Why should I not be sent back to him? Ash's expression grew dark, and Lucario shuddered. That look really didn't seem to fit in the image of Ash he and everyone who knew the boy had. Did I ask something wrong?

"No, Lucario, I just don't really like to talk about it. I suppose it is only fair that I catch you up…"


Chapter 9: Complete

Date Uploaded: December 12