So the last update was five months ago. Am sorry for actually being too lazy to upload the continuation of this fic sooner even though there are a few chapters that I've typed up in advanced! hehe. Yeah, the fact is; I like to torture you people! Okay2, that was totally a joke. Am not making any more promises but I will try to upload more chapters!

As always; Disclaimers; I do not in any way whatsoever own POKEMON

-Bboyz

[Previously, our heroes were…]

"Espeon, you're up. Teleport all of us out of here, now!" Espeon's eyes turned purple as what seemed like an explosion blinded all of them.

"Well done Ray" Lance said as he floated down on his Charizard to vacate the space where all the commotion from before happened. Charizard laid down on the ground while Lance rested himself beside it. "Well done to you too young one", Lance said as he patted Charizard on its head.

[Back to the present…]

- Prince Ash's Royal Chamber | Palace of Pallet -

"Espeon!" Ray shouted as he caught the collapsed little purple feline.

"Don't worry about me, there's more important matters at hand", Espeon telepathically relayed what she thought to Ray as she closed her eyes and fainter. Umbreon came next to Espeon and licked her cheeks.

"That took a lot out of her", Umbreon said. Ray nodded. "Ray, go settle those floating two first. The others are getting worried by the second. My sister here will be fine".

Ray placed Espeon down on the floor where Umbreon went to lay next to. He turned around to face Snap and Gary who were both floating in mid-air and again started to emit a white blinding flashing light from their bodies simultaneously. Ray looked back towards Umbreon.

"Hey Umbreon, we'll be needing another Night Shade so we won't arouse any suspicions", Ray said. Umbreon nodded and started to produce a ball of dark energy in his mouth.

"Ray, I think you need to say something to these people here…" Misty suggested pointing towards Ash, Brock and Richie who sat speechless on the ground still confused at what was happening in front of them. Their eyes were fixed straight at the two floating figures. Ray sighed. He knew these people needed to know the truth since Gary would be changing back soon and enter their life one way or another.

"Guys, I need you to trust me. There's something that I need to explain"

"I'll bet", Brock responded. Richie nodded his approval while Ash still had his eyes on his Gary.

"Will Gary be alright Ray?" Ash asked with tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Snap will be fine… Gary on the other hand…" Ray started. Ash leaped onto Ray and pushed him onto the ground with anger flashed on his face. Ray didn't respond; he just gazed into Ash's furious eyes. Misty ran quickly towards the two and pulled Ash away but Ash wouldn't let go of Ray's robes.

"Brock, lend me some help here!" Misty shouted. Brock snapped out of his trance and came to help Misty with Ash. They succeeded in separating the two. Ray slowly stood up from where he was. Ash struggled for freedom.

"You promised he'll be alright Ray! Make things right!" Ash shouted with tears pouring out of his eyes as he still tried to struggle free. Ray sighed sadly. He didn't know how to calm the little prince down.

"Ash, calm down; Ray's going to explain things. Be a little patient!" Misty shouted but she was still struggling to keep Ash calm. Brock was still speechless but he held onto Ash just as Misty instructed. Suddenly they let go of Ash as Ray embraced him.

"Ash, you said you trusted me. Please let me explain", Ray whispered into Ash's ear. Ash sobbed. He started to calm down. Ash gave Ray a quick nod and then buried his face onto his shoulders. Ray smiled a little. While still giving Ash a calming embrace, he started to explain.

"Guys, I'm sorry for all this, but since the day I came here, I was entrusted with the task of protecting Gary"

"You've done a good job of it, haven't you?" Brock said sarcastically. Misty gave him a quick slap on the head. Brock glared at her. "Well, look at what's happening to the little critter". Brock pointed towards Gary and Snap who were still floating in mid-air emitting that bright white blinding light. Suddenly the room became less bright.

"Thank you Umbreon", Ray said as he looked towards the exhausted little black pokemon. Umbreon nodded. "Truthfully, I knew all this was going to happen". Ash grabbed Ray harder. Ray gave him an even tighter hug.

"How is Snap involved in this?" Everyone turned towards Richie who broke his silence. Again, Ray tried to continue his explanation.

"Gary's not really what he seemed. He's not really an Eevee…" Brock and Richie looked shock at Ray but Ash still held him close. Ash wanted explanation and did not interfere.

"Then what ever could he be?" Brock asked. Misty sighed.

"This is getting nowhere…" Misty said as she stood up and made Brock sit quietly next to Richie. "Shut up and let him finish for crying out loud!"

"He was a human, a boy. I didn't know him personally but I was there when it all happened. When he was cursed", Ray continued. Ash started to sob quietly into Ray's shoulders. Ray patted the prince. "Someone wanted to kill him slowly so they cast a killing spell on him but a relative of his countered the spell. Something happened between the two assaults and Gary turned into an Eevee". Brock and Richie nodded although still a little taken aback by the information they were taking in.

"Do continue Ray".

"It's pretty logical that the person wanting to kill Gary would come looking for him. So we needed somewhere safe for him to be. Knowing Pallet was one of the safest kingdom in Kanto, I had my friends led him here. Then he met Ash and all of us. Recently, we… I mean, I discovered that the spells binding him to that form was weakening by his own doings…"

"So, if I understand correctly, Gary's going to turn back to being a human?" Richie asked.

"Yes", Ray answered. Suddenly, Ash's knees gave way and both himself and Ray fell to the ground.

"Ash, Gary will still be Gary. He's the same person… pokemon… being", Ray tried to calm him down. Ash nodded with tears running down his cheeks. Ray slowly wiped the tears away.

"I… I was just thinking… That… That it'd be… a little different… although I guessed as much… that he's be the same Gary I met… the same Gary I've loved…" Ash stuttered. Ray smiled and patted the little prince.

"I'm still confused at how Snap is related to all this".

"Truthfully I don't have a clear cut answer to that one. Maybe Gary's drawing some of Snap's magical powers to help him transform back. Although both probably doesn't know anything about it since it is happening to them unconsciously", Ray tried to explain omitting the part where Jirachi and Celebi came in. Richie wasn't really satisfied with the answer but had to accept it as Ray did say he didn't know the exact connection.

"So, what's going to happen now?" Brock asked.

"We can't do a thing. We'll just have to wait for the transformation to be complete".

- Royal Chambers | Palace of Pallet -

"There's been recent development. There's an army of pokemon and human heading towards Viridian however Mew instructed strictly to not interfere. We've just been instructed to inform everyone"

Xatu's eyes turned back to normal as the information had been transmitted. Blaine was resting on his bed when Xatu started to act weird. Blaine then got up and went to his window to look outside. He saw flocks of flying pokemon were fleeing from the north; from where Viridian was.

"This looks bad…"

- Palace Gardens | Palace of Pallet -

"Sir Lance… Sir Lance… It's getting late so I thought I should wake you up…" a little boy in an acolyte robe tugged Lance's cape. Lance slowly woke up from his little slumber. He opened his eyes to find the sun already setting on the horizon.

'Those kids haven't been in contact since… It's taking quite a while…' he thought to himself. He then remembered the little acolyte that woke him up and patted the boy on his head.

"Thank you young one. If you hadn't woken me up, I would have probably slept all night long here…" Lance said and smiled. The little boy returned the smile and bid farewell as he headed out of the gardens. "I trust those kids… I hope things turn out for the best…"

- Prince Ash's Royal Chamber | Palace of Pallet -

Ash slowly lifted Ray's arms that were placed around him. He got up and scanned the room. Everyone was asleep; exhausted from what had happened and tired out from waiting. He saw that both Snap and Gary were still shimmering weakly. Even though Ray explained to them that Gary was turning back to human, Ash saw that he was still in his Eevee form.

Ash then walked slowly towards the two floating figures. He first looked firstly at Snap. The boy looked as though he was in a peaceful slumber. Ash smiled.

'At least it doesn't seem that he's suffering or anything…' he thought to himself. Then he diverted his attention towards Gary. The little Eevee was also in deep slumber. Ash wanted so much to touch and embrace Gary. He walked towards Gary. Slowly, he held up his hand and gestured to touch Gary. Nothing was holding him back. His right hand touched the little Eevee, who then smiled in his sleep. Ash smiled and knew what he should do.

"Hey Gary… thanks for being there for me all these while. I don't know what's going to happen after you've transformed back, but you should know; I will still love you just the way you are…"

Ash then used his other hand and pulled himself towards Gary for an embrace. Ash felt himself becoming weak. His knees were starting to give way as he lost his balance. He was heading straight down towards the hard ground when suddenly, his hand was caught by another pair of hands. He looked at who caught his arm and smiled at the familiar figure.

"So it was you all along Gary…"

A translucent projection of Gary was there standing behind the little shimmering Eevee. He pulled Ash up. Ash smiled and closed his eyes. Gary pulled Ash closer towards him and they both hugged each other. The little Eevee and Snap started to shine even brighter. And suddenly, they faded. The little Eevee was no where in sight. All that was left was Snap sprawled on the floor and two boys, in a tight cuddle on Ash's bed; both wearing very happy smiles on their faces.

The sheets were pulled up to cover both of them. Both earned a little peck on the forehead.

"Sleep well young princes; for the days to come are still full of obstacles and challenges for both of you to overcome"

Then, Snap was lifted and carried away out of the room. "You did well…" Snap smiled in his sleep as the familiar voice praised him. Both Espeon and Umbreon woke up and made their way out of the room to follow their companion.

- Viridian -

"King Samuel, we're under attack!" a royal knight came running into the sages' tower and informed the king of their current situation. The mystical ball that was floating in the middle of the room disappeared as the sages opened their eyes and acknowledged the presence of the knight.

"Did you feel it King Samuel?" asked one of the sages. Samuel Oak nodded.

"Something has happened… I'm starting to get weird visions… No, memories…"

"It must have something to do with you your majesty…"

"Yes, but we have more important matters to worry about now. Elders, we've seen this coming. You can either flee or surrender to his will…"

"We'll stay with you till the end your majesty…"

"Very well… Do keep yourselves safe. We don't know what he will be doing to us once he has us captive". King Samuel walked towards the knight. "Tell the army to try to evacuate all civilians out of the kingdom. Send a messenger to Pewter to inform them of our fate. Tell the army to flee as well since this is not a battle to be won". The knight was taken aback.

"But your majesty, we are all ready to defend the kingdom to our death!" he exclaimed. Samuel looked sternly at the knight.

"Are you going to disobey a direct order commander?" he asked. The knight didn't know what to respond. "Giovanni's not a force to mess with. He's ruthless. And we are in no condition to defend ourselves. Please, just obey my orders. It's an official order commander!"

"Sir, yes sir!" The knight saluted the king and then left to inform the others.

"Your majesty, what about the Kingdom of Pallet?"

"Knowing how Pallet is, they've probably already known this and will start to take measures to defend themselves. Pallet's too important to Kanto for us to burden them with refugees. Let's just hope Pewter will be able to allocate our civilians with refuge", King Samuel sighed. The other elders nodded in agreement with the king's wise acts.

"Your majesty; it would be wise for you to try retrieving those flashes of memories you said you were starting to have…" one of the elders suggested.

"Yes, you have a point…"

"We will be by your side to aid you with this…"

"Thank you my friends. Now let's not cause a commotion and surrender to that Giovanni". King Samuel led the elders out of their towers where they saw Giovanni flying on a Charizard just outside of it.

"Well, well; it seems as though you'll not be putting up a fight… Good choice Samuel"

"I would like to request that you will mean the civilians and everyone else no harm in return for our surrender", King Samuel requested.

"Your surrender does not mean anything Samuel. You and I both know that either way, Viridian will fall into my hands anyway". Giovanni gave a signal which resulted with the pokemons terrorizing Viridian and forcing everyone out of their home.

The beast trios led three battalion to fight against the Viridian army; who were little by little losing badly against their foes. Lives were lost, pokemons and humans were injured. The wizards spells were cancelled out one by one and their powers were rendered useless. Barriers were made to withstand the arrows of the archers and hunters. The knights and crusaders were pushed back and defeated. The priests and acolytes were captured so that healing and support were not performed. All in all, Viridian was falling down hard.

King Samuel cringed as he saw what was happening to Viridian. He was ashamed that he could not have done anything at the time and gave himself in to Giovanni's plot. Giovanni followed by three other people flew towards the thrown room.

"Get him here to see this!"

The three girls who were with Giovanni shoved King Samuel and the elders into the throne room as Giovanni sat on the king's throne. One of the girls took the crown and placed in on Giovanni's head as another girl hand Giovanni a powerful majestic looking staff.

"See this Samuel, now I'm the ruler of Viridian, and soon, the whole of Kanto!"

- Somewhere unknown -

He opened his eyes. He both knew and didn't know where he was. He's been here but he didn't know where exactly here was. He scanned around the parameters and saw that everyone around were wearing masks. Soon enough he discovered that he came back to the masquerade ball he's been attending quite often.

He was suddenly snapped out of his daydream by a tap on his shoulder.

"May I have this dance?" A familiar figure; the guy he's been dancing with each time came to ask him to dance. However often this happened he didn't know but he still could not make out who this guy was. They dance the waltz to a very slow number. Both held the other close and tight. Their body did the talking and their mouth kept smiling at each other since the very beginning.

Once the number ended, he knew what was going to happen next. They stopped dancing and the guy asked him to take a quiet stroll out in the gardens. The clock chimed twelve. If this was a dream like it usually was, he would probably wake up and not know who this guy was. But that didn't happen. He was happy.

They walked hand in hand across the garden and made a stop at a fountain where the Goldeens were dancing in the moonlight. Sakura petals were blown off their trees and flew past both boys. They were still entranced at how the other seemed to look perfect in the moonlight. One of them started the conversation.

"It's been a while hasn't it…"

"Yeah, it has…"

"It's good to know that you've been happy with your life…"

"That's because you came into it and made me happy"

"I'm glad I'm of help…" Both smiled and their face moved closer to each other for a slow passionate kiss. The Goldeens sprayed their Water Gun around the couple which shimmered with the rays of the moon. They broke the kiss and looked into each others eyes.

The taller boy took off the other's mask. "Ash…"

The shorter boy did the same thing. This time, he looked deeply into the other boy's eyes. He smiled. "Gary…"

- Prince Ash's Royal Chamber | Palace of Pallet -

"Gary…"

Ash suddenly woke up from his dream but he could not move himself. Then he noticed a pair of arms around him under the covers. He felt the touch of those arms. He ran his own hands up those arms that held him close. He smiled. He then looked upon the face that belonged to the guy who was holding him.

"Gary…" Ash gave Gary a peck on the forehead. "So it was you all these while…" Gary smiled and stirred a little in his sleep. Ash slowly lifted Gary's arms to let himself free. He then looked around and saw that Brock was leaning on Richie's back while Misty was rested comfortably on a sofa. All of them were deeply lost in their own dream world.

As usual, Ray was missing. Ash remembered how Ray had brought them all here. He too noticed that Espeon and Umbreon along with Snap were not in the room. Ash hoped so much that they were all alright and in his heart knew that if it were up to Ray; things will probably be alright. He smiled to himself that all those things has ended.

Ash moved to the side of his bed to get out of it. Then suddenly his arm was caught by something. He looked down at his arm and saw someone was holding onto it. His eyes wandered up the arm and saw that Gary was looking straight at him.

"Ash… stay with me…" Then Gary pulled Ash into bed and hugged him tight. Ash blushed furiously. They both looked into each other's eyes. "Well… I don't usually get this far into the dream… It usually ends when we take a stroll or something…"

"Gary… it's not a dream…"

"It isn't?" Ash shook his head. Gary then looked at himself. He saw he had hands… He had five fingers. He ran his hands through his hair. He felt his face. He then felt his back.

"No tail!" Gary shouted in excitement. "I'm back to normal!" Ash smiled seeing Gary happy like that. Then he saw Gary turn bright red.

"What's wrong Gary?"

"I'm… I'm… I'm NAKED!" he shouted which woke Misty, Brock and Richie up. Gary pulled the sheets and covered himself up. Misty, Brock and Richie came towards the bed to take a good look at Gary.

"So this is Gary eh?" Brock asked. Gary turned an even deeper shade of red as everyone was looking at him.

"Stop staring guys!" Ash said as he waved his arms around to push everyone away from the bed. Then everyone realized what was going on and broke into a fit of laughter.

"Heh… It's good that they've actually started out well… I guess we should go meet Gary soon eh Umbreon, Espeon?" Ray asked. Both pokemon nodded. Ray then leaped off the balcony he was perched on where we was watching his friends and disappeared into the night's sky. Both Espeon and Umbreon too leaped away from the balcony and made their exits.

- Headquarters | Tree of Beginnings -

Ray walked into the room where he saw Lorelie, Bruno, Agatha and Lance were all eyeing one particular screen in total focus. He joined in and saw that they were monitoring Giovanni's moves in Viridian.

"So you're done over there?" Lance said. Ray nodded. Both Espeon and Umbreon walked into their posts in the middle of the room.

"Well, Viridian's been completely wiped. Giovanni's in total control of it and has the king, elders and part of the army hostage. Most civilians made an escape and from our monitoring, they've headed straight to Pewter", Lorelie reported to Ray. Ray nodded.

"It's a little weird that none came this way", Bruno raised his suspicions.

"Yeah, you have a point…" All the elites and Ray pondered on this fact and they all went back to their respective positions. Ray now has an extra screen to monitor Gary. Then he thought of something.

"Guys, I have something to take care of…" Ray said as he exited the room. Ray went into a green bubble that was one of the means of transport in the tree. He only had one thing racing through his mind and that guided him to an elusive secret part of the tree.

- Mew's Hideout | Tree of Beginnings -

"Mew, you know why I'm here don't you?" Ray asked. Mew nodded.

"It's rare that you actually came for me", the pink feline pokemon relayed telepathically. Ray smiled. Mew then glowed blue and with it a screen appeared out of the wall facing them both. Mew stopped glowing and floated away.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"You deserve some privacy. Hehe…" with that, the feline pokemon flew out of the room. The screen started to portray an image and soon enough, Celebi appeared on the screen.

"Celebi… I think you know why I'm here…"

"That depends Ray…"

"Well, I have a feeling that you know. Why am I still here? I think I've actually done my part. Gary's safely turned back into his human self… He's in Pallet; the safest place he could be in the land of Kanto"

"Ray… Do you actually think that would have ended your task here?"

"Well… basically, yeah…"

"Ray… I know you better than that. You're just curious aren't you? Curious on the reasons you are still here and not called back". Ray nodded. "Well, I wouldn't say it's your fault or anything but you've actually gotten yourself more tied up in this place's affairs. I'll assign you new task for now since you're already involved. It would be too weird for you to just up and disappear like that although I do have the powers to do that…"

"Thank you Celebi"

"Now, please aid them in protecting their peace for now. And do help Gary out to adapt to his new life" Ray nodded. He turned around. "And Ray… Do try to do something about 'that' please"

"I'm already involved this much. It's not like I'm not going to get hurt anyway…" Ray left the room. Celebi sighed.

- Prince Ash's Royal Chamber | Palace of Pallet -

Ash was going through his stuff when he heard the door open. He looked up and smile.

"Ray!" Ray smiled as he walked into the room. He looked left and right as if he was searching for something. "He's in there, having a bath". Ray nodded. He left a few clothes on Ash's bed. They were clothes for Gary since he knew Ash was shorter and would probably not have anything that would fit the guy. Ash smiled in relief. Ray barged into the bathroom unannounced.

"Hey!" came a shout from inside the bathtub.

"Hey big guy, how does it feel to get back into your own body?"

"Ray! I've been wondering where you were… Hey, do they know everything?"

"No… I've only told them how you turned into an Eevee. Well, I just gave a shortened version of it anyway. Not much details". Ray saw that Gary was a little upset remembering the event where most his family was murdered. "Hey, cheer up Gary. We can't change the past…"

Gary gave a weak smile. Ray patted Gary on the head. Gary shook it off. "Hey, I'm not an Eevee anymore you know!" Ray laughed. Gary smiled even wider. "Thank you for not telling them everything. I don't want them to know… I want to start anew…" Ray smiled.

"Speaking of Eevees… I have a present for you". Eevee cam running up Ray's back and onto Ray's shoulder.

"Hey!"

"Well, I think you and Ash should take care of her from now on out". Eevee gave a happy yelp.

"Thanks Ray"

"Well, go get yourself ready for bed. You don't have any problem sleeping with Ash for tonight do you?" Gary blushed furiously. "I thought so. Well, I'll try to get things done for you tomorrow. You'll need to fit in with the crowd starting tomorrow since you don't want the royal treatment". Gary nodded as Ray left the bathroom. Ash peeked in.

"So how's your bath?"

"Very refreshing, thank you your majesty…"

"Cut that crap Gary! Just call me Ash…" Gary smiled. He did that on purpose just to see how Ash would have reacted. Ash smiled back. "You don't mind sleeping with me tonight do you? I don't think they can get anything ready on this short of a notice and hey, I wouldn't really mind it that much as we sleep together every night anyway before".

"Thanks Ash. That's so kind of you…"

"This is awkward, isn't it?"

"A little…" They both chuckled. Ash got up and made his way out of the bathroom. "Hey Ash, thank you; thank you for saying that you'd love me just the way I am, as an Eevee or otherwise". Ash paused at the bathroom door. He didn't say anything. He just looked down towards his feet and smiled as he left the bathroom.

[Author's Note]

So Gary's turned back to normal; well, human. Did you guys think that'd be the end of the fic? No; no. We're just getting started. hehe. Or we're progressing. I have no idea when it'll end although I've already thought of the ending; just don't know how long it'll take to get to it.

So what kind of things can you expect from the next chapter? It'll be called; Departures. Yeah, not that good at naming chapters apparently.

[Preview of Chapter 11]

"My people, as the sun rises today, it rise upon the birth of a new King; the King of Darkness that's going to rule all of Kanto and make this continent ours! Let us rise and bring a new world order to everyone!" Roars and applause were heard from the spectators. Three shadowed figures were clapping slowly behind Giovanni.

"You three know what you need to plan right?" Giovanni said. The three nodded and left. "Everyone; let us all better ourselves as we will be covering more land soon!"

Yeah; sounds interesting? I hope so. LOL. Or I'll need to conjure up new things! Stay tuned.