"A Key Stone…?" Misty started. "But there wasn't one in the first time flower Ash opened," she said, looking to Nick.

"I don't know," she began slowly. "I don't remember ever seeing something like this before…."

Meanwhile, Mew was smiling down at Ash while he continued staring at his palm in awe. It continued to glow, changing between every color slowly but beautifully. He stood up then and turned to Misty and Nick. "Why did Mew have me find this?"

Nick put a hand to her chin in thought. "Well, it doesn't look like a regular Key Stone," she commented with an eye on it, "because normal Key Stones don't glow like that."

Misty nodded. "I've heard of them before but haven't gotten to see one before! It's amazing…." she breathed.

Mew just continued to smile and circle around the stumped trainers she giggled while putting a pink paw to her mouth before taking to the skies again.

"Pikapi!" Pikachu called, pointing to where Mew had just been. But by the time Ash and the others had turned around, Mew was gone.

"Well now what?" Ash grunted. "We were supposed to ask her about this stuff…."

Nick didn't need powers to feel the disappointment emanating from Ash in that moment. She groaned, "Why do gods always have to be so damn cryptic?"

After the three trainers had made their way back to Cameron Palace, they bade their thanks and goodbyes before heading back into the forest southbound. Nick's next Gym Battle would be in Cerulean City, and Misty was hoping to see how her sisters were fairing without her. But she couldn't help but feel a little mentally exhausted after learning so much she hadn't known about her best friend.

But Nick's Gym Battle was the last thing on her mind. They had gotten so close to finding out what was going on with Ash, and Mew had left them in the same cycle of questions they were in before they had gotten to the Tree of Beginning. It was a new sting for Nick, more personal, to see this happen with a legendary Pokemon first-hand.

Ash's thoughts were similarly clouded.

Why did Mew show him this particular Key Stone? He felt the presence of it heavy in his pocket, glowing whenever he touched it.

He remembered painfully back to Kalos and Greninja. But before the overwhelming memories could take hold, he diverted his thoughts back to the present.

How was the Key Stone going to help them find out what was happening? Why were his powers coming back? What if his powers were attracting legendary Pokemon?

Ash swallowed hard. A new thought occurred to him.

What if Pokemon weren't what they needed to be worried about?

Which is why when a small Pokemon came charging at them at full speed, he hadn't noticed until Nick had been knocked on her back.

"Nick!" Misty yelped as she and Ash knelt at her side. "Are you alright?"

Clenching her eyes shut, she rubbed her sore back. She sat up. "Yeah, I'm fine. This little guy jumped into my arms," she said, holding up the little blue Pokemon at arm's length. Her eyes widened. "It's a Nidoran!" she chirped.

"It's a female, too," Ash said, taking out his Pokedex.

Misty opened her mouth to voice her concern, but the ground began to rumble beneath them, and the three trainers heard a roar coming from behind them where Nidoran had run from.

The three stood up quickly, Pikachu running in front of the group protectively, Misty pulling out and enlarging a Pokeball, and Nick hugged the Nidoran close to her chest.

As the branches in front of them came crashing to the ground in front of them, Nick called it first. "Tyranitar!"

"Samurott, I choose you!" Ash called, grabbing the ball from his belt and tossing it in front of them.

"Starmie! Help us out!" Misty called.

"Why are you chasing this Nidoran?" Nick asked, clutching said Pokemon a little tighter. She looked up at the trainer, tears in its eyes.

But before a fight could break out, Ash lowered his arm and recalled Samurott. He stepped forward toward the Armor Pokemon, a hand outstretched.

"Ash! Are you crazy?!" Misty shouted.

Nick's eyes widened. She put her free hand on Misty's shoulder. "Wait a second, Misty. I think Ash is okay."

The two looked back to Ash where he was slowly walking up to the Pokemon that towered over him. They saw him smile. "It's good to see you again, Larvitar. Do you remember me?"

All at once, Nick and Misty's jaws dropped, Ash held out his arms, and the six-foot-seven, four hundred and fifty pound Pokemon stared… then broke down in sobs, sitting on the ground and clutching Ash into its chest.

Nick and Misty looked on with respective dumb-founded expressions as Ash rubbed the Pokemon's back. Pikachu ran up behind him and jumped onto Ash's shoulder, putting his tiny paws on the Pokemon.

Seemingly having forgotten the Nidoran, Nick held her out in front of her, giving it a look. "So you wanna tell me why that big dork of a Pokemon was chasing you?"

The smaller Pokemon looked down but pointed to its point atop its forehead. Nick looked over to the Tyranitar and saw the tell-tale purple-inflamed hole at the bottom of one foot.

Nick chuckled. "It almost stepped on you, got hurt, and chased after you, thinking you did it on purpose?"

The Nidoran nodded, burying its face into Nick's shoulder. She pulled back and pet the little one, careful not to touch the point.

Misty began digging through her pull-string. "I think I might have an antidote in here somewhere." In a few seconds, she produced a small spray bottle and walked over to Ash and Tyranitar. "Here," she said, kneeling in front of the two. "This might sting a bit, I'm sorry." She sprayed to antidote and the Pokemon's leg jerked back for a second before the purple began to dissipate. He looked down at Misty, and she smiled up at him. "Do you remember me, too?"

He let out a squeal normally too high-pitched for a Pokemon of its size and squeezed Misty into another hug with Ash, pushing the two into close proximity.

"Ash-" Misty managed, her face heating up, "get him – to put – us down."

He chuckled and patted the Pokemon with his arm pinned but hand free to move at the wrist. "Come on big guy, we've got some catching up to do."

Tyranitar scrambled for a moment to put the two trainers back on their feet. He smiled at them before looking over to Nick, still holding the Nidoran.

She looked up to the larger Pokemon and walked over with Nidoran. She buried her face into Nick's shoulder at the realization that she was approaching him.

"Hi Tyranitar," Nick said as cheerfully as she could manage while holding the culprit Pokemon, "my name is Nick, and this Nidoran here is very sorry about what happened. See, she's a baby Pokemon like you were when you traveled with Ash and Misty," she explained, gesturing to them. "She didn't realize she could hurt someone if they almost stepped on her, and she got scared too, so I think you both need to apologize."

Nidoran slowly lifted her head and turned to face the Tyranitar, practically shaking. Tyranitar gave a small head tilt and lowered its face down to be level with Nick. "Ty… Tyran…." he muttered, embarrassment evident for the overreaction.

The Nidoran lowered its gaze but still choked out, "Ran… Nido… Nidoran."

Tyranitar then lowered its head to the smaller Pokemon and seemed to nuzzle its nose into the Nidoran's head. The three trainers sighed in relief.

"Well… now that that's over with," Nick started, looking down at the Nidoran, "why don't we pick now for lunch?"

Nidoran looked up at Nick and smiled at last.

Tyranitar stomped its feet and gave a loud roar, making the trainers cover their ears.

"Some things never change," Misty said with a sigh.

Nick decided to prepare some basic sandwiches for the group while the other collected berries for desserts and spreads. Tyranitar helped Pikachu reach berries while Nidoran helped Nick with the sandwiches. The other Pokemon had been released to help with the preparation while others that weren't needed played together.

On the walk back with armfuls of berries, Ash and Misty were laughing and smiling.

"Do you remember how we fought over who Larvitar actually rightfully belonged to?" Misty asked through tears. "He was never either of ours; we never caught him!"

Ash was laughing too. "I know, I know! I don't think either of us will live that one down."

"Remember how he mostly went to you, but went to me when you were battling or when he couldn't get to you?" she asked.

"Of course I do! He was mostly a daddy's boy but loved his mom too, right?" he recalled casually.

Misty felt her face heat up. "We weren't parents, Ash! We're like his trainers!"

"But you just said that neither of us ever actually caught him!" he pointed out.

Misty tilted her head for a moment. "Come to think of it… why don't you?"

Ash looked to her. "You mean you want me to catch him?"

Misty shrugged but then regretted it, struggling to hold the berries. "I mean, I'm a Water Type Specialist, and you have one open slot in your party, right? He clearly missed us, especially you…. I don't see why not."

"But what about his mom?" Ash said, frowning. "Would he want to be caught now?"

Misty grimaced. Sometimes she felt like having to explain certain things to Ash was like teaching a child why the sky is blue. She hesitated, going with the gentler approach. "He's a Tyranitar now. He doesn't really need his mom anymore."

"You mean because she's probably gone, right?"

Misty nearly dropped the berries and came to a complete halt. That was not what she expected him to answer with.

"Mist, I'm not a kid anymore," he explained. "I've traveled through 7 regions. I've encountered legendary Pokemon. I can sense Aura. I know that bad things happen to good people and Pokemon."

Misty looked away. Then she scoffed. "Is it stupid to wish you didn't know about those things yet?"

Not having a free hand, Ash nudged her with his shoulder as they continued walking down the path. "Come on, Mist, I know you don't enjoy explaining every little thing to me. Besides, I know about most of the stuff you haven't explained to me yet."

Misty paled. The realization that he could sense Aura occurred to her. Did he know about how she felt about him? How much did he know? Why didn't he say anything yet? Did he not feel the same way? Was he dodging the conversation? Why would he bring it up then?

"Mist?" Ash asked, breaking her out of her panic. "You okay?"

"Y-Yeah," she said quickly, "like… like what?"

Ash shrugged. "Well I know about how you feel when you're in the heat of battle and the way you get excited for the thrill. And I can tell when you're asleep because that's the only time your emotions kind of fall in check."

If she didn't have the armfuls of berries, hands would be on hips. "Excuse me? What is that supposed to mean?" she nudged him back.

"Oh, just that you're usually in a frenzy when you're awake… and trying to antagonize me like you are right now." Ash smirked at her.

Misty raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you know big words like 'antagonize'?" she teased.

"Very funny," Ash said. "I'm still just a stupid kid, right?"

"I never said you were stupid," Misty pointed out, "but a kid… yeah, that's about right."

"Man, you sound like Iris," Ash groaned. "And the funny thing is that she's probably younger than me anyway."

Misty tensed. Another name she didn't recognize.

Ash seemed to immediately understand this. "She was one of the people I traveled with in Unova. She's actually a Specialist like you, but she wanted to be a Dragon Master! She actually reminded me of you a lot when we were traveling together," he added.

Misty allowed a small smile. "Maybe I'll meet her someday," she said quietly.

"Yeah!" he said, happily. Then it was his turn to grow quiet. "I should really keep calling people."

Misty pursed her lips.

Ash picked up on her uneasiness without looking at her expression. "You wanna tell me what to do?"

Misty opened her mouth to retort at the snippy answer, but she closed it when she remembered that he could sense how she was feeling… and that he was right; she did have an opinion on it. "Don't force yourself into it, Ash. You have a lot going on right now. And it's not like any of them called you either," she pointed out.

"Yeah, but there's a difference," he said. "All this time, they all helped with through every stupid, crazy adventure I had without question. I feel like I owe them an explanation as to why it happened to me. Why I needed them…."

If Misty could give his shoulder a squeeze, she would have, but her arms were still full of the stupid berries. She settled for a sympathetic glance. "Don't forget that they had the choice to not help you, Ash. They chose to."

Ash looked down and sighed. Quietly he asked, "Did they though…?"

Misty didn't have an answer.

The trainers and Pokemon all chattered amongst themselves as they ate their sandwiches together on a blanket in the grass. The air with cool with a light breeze making its way through the trees around them. Sun peered in through the branches.

Nick never wanted to the moment to end.

She stood up, breathing in deeply. Ash and Misty eyed her before she spoke. "Nidoran," she started. The smallest Pokemon present looked up from its spot settled beside her. "Would you like to have a battle? I want you to join us on my journey."

Nidoran squealed in excitement, and Riku and Charmander nodded to the potential new member. Ash and Misty exchanged excited glances.

"Charmander, will you help me?" she asked.

He looked up at her and put a small fist to his chest. "Char char!"

Riku moved to Charmander and put a small paw on his arm with a smile.

The Pokemon and trainers cleaned up the mess of plates and bowls to clear the area for a fight. Nick and Charmander stood at one end of the clearing with Nidoran at the other, looking apprehensive but determined.

Ash, Misty, and the rest of the Pokemon sat on one side of the field all cheering excitedly.

"We've got a really crowd here," Nick said to Charmander. "Show 'em what you've got!" she said, pumping a fist forward.

Charmander let out a tiny roar and shot an Ember into the air.

Nidoran looked on from the other end, gritting its teeth.

"Alright," Misty said, "battle begin!"

Nidoran didn't hesitate. It surged forward then turned, butt-end to Charmander. Its backend glowed with a purple hue.

"Charmander, dodge it!" Nick called out, eyes wide.

The Fire type Pokemon managed to roll out of the way and land on its feet, making Nidoran tumble off to the side.

"What was that?" Ash asked.

Misty pulled out her Pokedex. "It says that Nidoran can learn Poison Tail if a parent was a Serviper."

"Good to know!" Nick called back. "Charmander, use Body Slam!"

"Char!" he yelled as she charged into the Nidoran, still recovering from the tumble. Both landed on the ground, Charmander letting out a groan, his face showing a purple hue.

"You've gotta be kidding," she grunted.

"Poison Point," Ash said quickly. "Oh shit."

Misty flicked his nose. "Language. What would your mom say?"

"She's not here…. And who are you to tell me about language?"

Focusing again on the battle, Nick called for Charmander to get up, but the Nidoran was faster. She came flying at Charmander with a leg charged with power, colliding with him in the air.

Nick gasped as the move connected, making Charmander slide backwards. He shook it off but opened his eyes to see the Pokemon coming at him once again, leg still raised.

"It's Double Kick!" Nick called out, "Dodge the second one!"

He dove underneath, catching the Nidoran by the opposite leg and flinging her to the ground.

Nick jumped up with a squeal. "Charmander, that was great! Now, Ember!"

"Chaaaaaaar… mander!"

The little bursts of flames flew out from his mouth and connected with the Nidoran. Charmander then fell to one knee from exhaustion.

"I've gotta finish this now or else Charmander can't keep up with the poison," Nick whispered to herself. She reached behind herself on her belt and enlarged a Pokeball. "Pokeball, go!"

It soared through the air and tapped the Nidoran with a bounce, taking her inside with a red beam of light. The ball fell to the ground and wiggled. Once… twice…

Nick held her breath.

Three.

She ran over to the ball, picking it up and hugging it to her chest briefly before minimizing it and clicking it back to her belt. She ran to Charmander's side and lifted him into her arms, running over to Ash and Misty who were already breaking out potions and antidote.

"You did great!" Ash complimented the Pokemon.

Charizard himself had meandered over, eyeing his young with apprehension. When he saw that he was being cared for well enough, he gave him a thumbs-up.

Charmander smiled then winced at the sting of the antidote. He sighed contently when it took effect and stood up.

"Looks like you've got yourself some competition," Misty told him. "That Nidoran is a force to be reckoned with. That's girl power if I've ever seen it."

Charmander grimaced slightly as Nick released the Pokemon in question. She knelt down and picked her up, cuddling Nidoran into her chest. "You did great, and I'm so glad to have you!"

"I think we all needed a nice battle to round out the day," Ash added. "That was fun!"

"Not so fast," Misty objected. Ash and Nick looked to her before she crossed her arms across her chest and sighed. Then she pointed directly to Tyranitar shuffling his feet off to the side.

Ash smiled. "Right! Hey Tyranitar!" he called.

The Armor Pokemon looked up, hopeful.

"Would you like to have a battle?"

Tyranitar jumped to his feet and looked to Ash. He let out a roar, then pointed to Pikachu.

"You want to fight Pikachu?" he asked.

Tyranitar nodded, determination on his face.

"I would have thought he wanted to fight Charizard," Ash said.

"Well it makes sense," Misty explained. "Tyranitar traveled with us after Charizard, and he knew Pikachu the whole time he was with us. He probably wants to prove he's on an equal playing field now."

"Ty!" he confirmed with a nod of his head.

"Then let's do this, Pikachu!"

"Pi-ka!" he yelled back, jumped down from Ash's shoulder.

Ash and Pikachu ran to one side while Tyranitar stood looming at the other. The two Pokemon eyed each other with determination.

Misty clutched a hand to her chest as she looked to Ash, a fire in him once again that she hadn't seen since they started this journey. But she knew she would always recognize that look he gave. New abilities or not, new people or not, new Pokemon or not, Ash was still Ash.

She felt heat rush to her cheeks for the second time that day, but this time she smiled then sighed. "Some things really never change."

"Make way! Top Coordinators coming through!"

"Is that Dawn?! She just won the Grand Festival!"

"That's May with her! The Princess of Hoenn!"

"Drew is with them! I think that's Paul from the Pokemon League too!"

"Oh my god, I could faint!"

Dawn cringed at the words of the crowd surrounding the café that the four trainers had reserved for lunch. It had been a little over a week since she had won, and none of the hype had died down nearly as much as Dawn had hoped it would.

Her first week as Sinnoh's Top Coordinator was overwhelming. Interviews, autographing, photoshoots, award ceremonies…. She could hardly count all of the events that had been crammed into her schedule.

Fortunately, May had booked today for just the four of them. That included the entire restaurant.

"Don't you think this is a little much?" Drew said, pointing a thumb at the crowd out the window beside them. "They're gawking at us through the window. We might've flown under the radar better if we didn't book the whole place."

"That's May for you. Letting it go to her big head," Paul commented.

Her face went from healthy to heated in the blink of an eye. "Don't you even," she said, crossing her arms. "Dawn hasn't caught a break all week, so today is just for us. You know this would be better than everyone staying in here with us. People would be coming up to us right now. Besides, now we all finally get to hang out just us again."

May thought back on the week. It had only been a few days since she had gotten that call from Ash. All of them had been so shocked to hear from him at just the right time. They had all been together celebrating Dawn's victory. But the week that followed hadn't allowed for any of that beyond that night.

The funny thing was that they had all been staying at the Pokemon Center together with the two joined rooms. Despite that, the other three hadn't seen much of Dawn at all.

Which also meant that Paul hadn't had the chance to talk to Dawn.

Paul snuck a glance in Dawn's direction. She had her chin in the palm of one hand, elbow proper up on the table, stirring her soda with the straw.

As the cheers died down, and the lights came on in the auditorium, people began leaving their seats.

Paul still hadn't moved as he stared down at the stage.

"Mew, I'm so glad she won!" May exclaimed, clasping her hands together as she stood. Glaceon hopped down from the seat and looked up to her trainer with a smile. May looked to Paul and cocked her head. "Paul?"

The older of the two stood and closed his eyes. "I never realized just how strong she is."

May raised an eyebrow. "You've traveled with her, you've watched her Contests, and you just saw her win the Sinnoh Grand Festival! Something you couldn't even do in the Pokemon League…." she muttered.

His head snapped to her at those words and clenched his teeth.

If May felt anything but smug, she didn't show it. She glared back, arms folded. "Your problem is that you underestimate coordinators," she said matter-of-factly. "Dawn isn't just a pretty girl with some choreography thrown in… which she is… but she's a tough battler to boot. Her Pokemon are strong. And I think you owe her an apology."

Paul stiffened. As much as he didn't want to admit it… May was right. He had underestimated her. She had won… something he couldn't even do.

And if that wasn't enough, the Princess of Hoenn was standing before him, eyes narrowed.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "You're right."

May's mouth fell open. "Did I just hear an apology from you?"

"Savor it. You won't get another one."

May shook her head with a chuckle. "If that's the way you want it, Mister Tall-Dark-and-Handsome."

He grunted despite his face feeling warmer than normal. "Whatever. I still want to battle her, especially now. If she wins…." He frowned.

"Then you really owe her one."

"Battle me."

Dawn glanced up lazily from her soda. "I'm sorry?"

"Battle me," the older of the two repeated.

Drew made eye contact with May who merely shrugged. Wasn't her secret to tell in her mind.

However Dawn was interpreting this gesture, she wasn't really amused. "Why?" she asked dryly. "Don't you think I've had enough of a rough week?"

"This isn't for me," he corrected. "This is for you."

At this, Dawn picked up her head and sat up a little straighter. She quirked an eyebrow.

Paul gritted his teeth. "Look…. You're a strong trainer. And all of this…." he said, waving a hand toward the window full of onlookers taking pictures. "This just isn't you. Battle me and show me how you got here."

Dawn finally managed a smirk. "Now you're speaking my language." She stood. "Let's do this now!" she said, clasped a fist in the opposite hand.

"I'd like to at least order some food first," Drew added.

Dawn looked to Paul, and scratched the back of her head.

He chuckled, covering his mouth with his hand. "Eager, are we?"

She sat back down. "I am," she said, "maybe battling could be a good way to figure out what I want. I know that I love battling, and maybe I can learn something from that."

Paul nodded with a smile.

Paul and Dawn stood at opposite ends of the field from each other, Drew on the side, calling the battle. Nurse Joy had told trainers that the back battlefield was off-limits for the next hour, which gave them plenty of time to battle and relax alone.

"Alright, you two," Drew called, "each of you will be allowed one Pokemon, no substitutions. Any questions?"

"Fine by me," Paul said, raising a pokeball.

"Same here," Dawn said, lifting her own pokeball covered in a ball capsule with a seal. The seal happened to be a bubble on the front.

"Wait," Paul said.

Dawn put her free hand on her hip. "Don't I get a say in what Pokemon I choose?"

"Not in this battle. I want no holding back. A real battle."

Dawn opened her mouth to retort before realizing what he wanted. He had seen first-hand what he was missing out on at the Grand Festival. A wry smirk crossed her lips. "Oh! You don't mean for me to use a Mega when you don't have one, do you?"

Paul grimaced. "Damn right I do."

Dawn chuckled. "Always stubborn," she said, replacing her Piplup's pokeball. She retrieved another ball, this time with a heart seal on the front. She chanced a wink at Paul before tossing it out in front of her. "Lopunny! Spotlight!"

A spray of hearts and sparkles erupted on the field before then as Lopunny gracefully landed in a curtsy at the near-center. When she looked up at Paul, her eyes were fierce.

Steeling himself, he enlarged a pokeball. "Aggron, standby!"

The Iron Armor Pokemon emerged with a thunderous slam onto the field. It roared before narrowing its eyes on Lopunny.

"No holding back!" Paul shouted to Dawn, whipping his arm across his body. "I want full power."

Dawn's eyes were wide at the sudden fierceness in his tone, but she welcomed the challenge. "If that's the way you want it…. Alright Lopunny, my first Pokemon, show them how we shine!"

Dawn outstretched her wrist as the Key Stone dangling from her bracelet began to glow brighter and brighter. Lopunny's Mega Stone hanging from her necklace began to emit a brilliant light as it seemed to stretch back and reach out to Dawn's light coming from the bracelet.

The two lights collided and Lopunny was engulfed in light so bright, Paul had to shield his eyes as Dawn raised her wrist higher, he hair whipping around her face, framing her determined smile.

In a flash of light, Mega Lopunny stood in the place Lopunny once was and let out a fierce cry. It bounced on its toes and threw a few punches, signaling that it was ready for more.

"How's that for no holding back?" Dawn asked across the field.

The redness in Paul's face suddenly made him feel exposed. He scoffed and pushed back his hair. "We'll see how strong this makes both of us."

Bottom line: I'll be updating when I get the drive to. I have a lot of one-shots planned, which I've only ever done a few times before, but I want to work on those while also continuing this story and Binge Drinking… and Defying the Gods whenever I get to it.

Stay subscribed because I'm not done with this story yet!