"I told you that you'd feel better in the morning." said Misty.

"Hard to argue with that." replied Ash.

The mood was broken by a loud bolt of lightning. The storm that had started the previous evening hadn't subsided.

"Man, it is really coming down out there."

"We should check on the kids, they're probably a little shaken."

"We should have left them with your sisters."

"How many times are we going to have this argument?"

"I'm not arguing with you, you know what happened last night."

The conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door. Normally Ash would have been bothered by the fact that they were ignoring the "Do Not Disturb" sign, but under the circumstances…

"Can I help you?"

"I'm sorry to disturb you Mr. Ketchum, but I was told to bring this to you as quickly as possible."

Ash was handed a black package that was roughly the size of a shoe box.

"How am I supposed to open this?"

Ash touched the pad on the top of the box, and then it sprang to life.

"Handprint recognized, access approved."

"What the…"

The box opened by itself.

"Who the heck has my handprint?"

Inside the box was an eerily glowing shard and a flash drive.

"What is this, some kind of evolution stone?"

"Maybe it says so on the drive."

As soon as Ash plugged the drive in, a video file opened.

"If you're watching this Ash, it means I'm either dead or I don't have much time left. It turns out that years of bodily abuse have taken their toll on me, and now it's time to pay the piper. I'm not going to try to explain my actions, nor do I expect you to forgive me. The contents of this box are the sum total of my life's work, as well as the location of all the Pokémon I've accumulated over the years, and any passwords you'll need to access them. What you choose to do with these materials and my Pokémon is entirely up to you. Regardless of the outcome of our battle, there's no one I trust more than you to know what to do with them. If you've lost, then it's clear you still have much to learn. But if you've won… then I guess I can be glad I did at least one good thing with my life…"

It was a lot for Ash to process, but he didn't have time.

"You could tell them what's happening, they'll understand."

"Drop out of a tournament with Iris, Kamilla, and Cynthia? It doesn't matter what the reason is, I'd never hear the end of it."

"He's your father."

"My father's been dead for years… besides, he tried to kill you."

"Okay, that's a good point."

Ash and Misty went to Kamilla's room to pick up the kids.

"Did these two behave themselves?" asked Misty.

"As good as gold, but Kai here did mess with my Poké Balls."

"I just wanted to see Mew!"

"He also claims that he saw a pink Celebi."

"Again?"

"But I did! It was floating over Adena last night."

"Settle down, there's an easy way to resolve this."

Kamilla pulled out her Master Ball and released Mew.

"Mew, is little Kai telling the truth?"

Mew stared at Kai and its eyes started glowing.

"Mew mew!" it nodded.

"That's good enough for me."

After breakfast, Ash made his way to the Pokémon Center to pick up his Pokémon. On Nurse Joy's advice, he decided to send Snorlax, Infernape, and Garchomp back to Professor Oak to rest up. After lunch he and the others were introduced to Akemi Amayirot, the birthday girl. After she finally calmed down, they gave her tips on how to be a Pokemon trainer, and regaled her with stories from their own adventures.

"Can I see Omegamoah?!"

"Akemi, I don't think that's safe." said her mother.

"It's okay; he wouldn't hurt a fly, unless I told him to. Go Omegamoah!"

"GYAAAAAARRRRRRGGHHH!"

Once again, Iris invaded Omegamoah's personal space.

"Isn't he just the coolest thing you've ever seen?!"

Omegamoah tried to blast Iris with a Flamethrower attack.

"Omegamoah, sit!"

The juggernaut Pokémon did as he was told.

"Sorry about that. He doesn't usually trust strangers; you need to respect his space."

While Ash tried to assure Omegamoah that Akemi wasn't a threat, Misty had her hands full with the kids.

"Mommy, I forgot to ask… what happened to grandpa?"

Misty had absolutely no idea what to say. Until yesterday Kai didn't even know he had a grandfather.

"Kai… I'm afraid grandpa is sick."

"Will he get better?"

At Akemi's insistence, it was time for the tournament to begin. Ash and the others agreed that they would draw lots to see who would fight who.

"Alright trainers, you'll each take a colored ball from this box. Red vs. yellow, and green vs. blue."

"Ladies first." said Ash.

Kamilla, Cynthia, and Iris played a game of rock paper scissors to see who would go first.

"Pika-pi?"

"I'm fine Pikachu."

"Chu-chu."

"I've got a lot on my mind, okay?"

"Alright everybody, the matches will proceed as follows. Iris vs. Kamilla, and Ash vs. Cynthia!"

Cynthia looked incredibly pleased with herself.

"I know that's like having the last match second, but beating you wouldn't mean much if Omegamoah was tired from fighting someone else."

"What's makes you think you can beat me?"

"I would have won if our last match hadn't been rudely interrupted by Team Rocket."

"Sure, you keep telling yourself that." chuckled Ash.

"Why does she get to fight Ash?!" exclaimed Iris.

BOOOOOOM!

"What kind of storm is this?!"

While Ash and the others made last minute changes to their Teams, Eris and her followers had finally arrived on the island.

"How appropriate…The last shard comes home on its own, saving us the trouble of hunting it down."

After sneaking her precious cargo past security, she took a look at the shards she already had in her possession, they glowed even brighter than before.

"Soon… Cycotan."

(To be continued)