Disclaimer: - I, SSG-Goku3397, do not own Pokémon. It all belongs to GameFreak and Nintendo. The only thing that I do own is the plot of this story and OC's that are present within the story.


'Thoughts'

"Speech"

Attacks (Pokémon/Aura Based)

Pokédex

'Pokéthoughts'

"Telepathic Speech / Aura Translation of Pokéspeech"


Chapter 11 – Interlude to Pallet

"Too bad Clio and Leaf left. It was fun travelling with them," Lily said with a sigh.

"That's normal Lily. We meet and befriend many people in our journeys., but in the end we have to part ways. Sometimes temporarily, sometimes permanently. That's the way of life." Brock said with a melancholic smile, "But look on the bright side, we will meet up with Clio and Leaf within a couple of months anyway."

Lily smiled at that before perking up, "You are right Brock. I shouldn't despair about parting ways with friends. We will meet again sometime in the future! What do you think Togepi?"

"Togepriiiiii!" The shiny spiked ball Pokémon called out causing the surrogate mother to smile as well.

"Hey Ash, where are we headed anyway?" Misty asked from beside Lily. Ash, who was walking some ways off with Ferrum and Zygarde walking beside him and Pikachu sleeping on Zygarde's back, looked back and grinned.

"We are headed towards Viridian City. I want to see if the Gym Leader is free to take a challenge. After that we head through the forest south of Viridian towards Pallet Town for my final Gym Badge!"

"Don't you need only one more to qualify for the League?" Brock asked in confusion.

"That's right but there are no rules stating that I can't have more than eight. Most trainers don't have time or the skill to get more than eight in a year. Anyway challenging mom is the closest I would come to evaluate how far mw and my Pokémon have come since we started our journey. Mom nearly did defeat the Elite Four you know. Agatha was the strongest Elite Four behind the Regional Champion at that time. She lost to Agatha when Magik, her Alakazam fainted a couple of seconds before Agatha's Gengar."

"Wait, you mother was a League Champion who nearly defeated the Elite Four?" Misty asked in shock.

"That's right. I believe you would remember her as Delia Richards. The battle between her and Agatha is still the most intense Pokémon battle to occur in League history right behind the battle between Blue and Red."

"I can see why you want to challenge her! I am a great fan of your mothers. She showed that women can be strong as well!" Misty gushed while Ash, Brock and Lily just shook their heads in disbelief. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. Misty was acting like some kind of fan girl and that was not over Water Pokémon.

"Oi Misty! What do you say about a stop by Cerulean City?" Ash called out causing Misty to snap out of her fan girl state of mind.

"Do we have to? Lily and Violet are just going to irritate me again!" Misty whined causing Lily to sweat drop.

"She can't be serious, can she?" Lily asked getting a snort from everyone who had met the Sensational Sisters.

"You don't know the half of it!" Ferrum said before using Psychic to pick a couple of apples from a nearby tree. "Want one?"

"Nah! I am still full from breakfast."

"If you are sure Zygarde!" Ferrum said before chomping down on one of the apples.


"Hey guys! I am back with my friends!" Misty called out as she walked into the Cerulean City Pokémon Gym. Within moments Daisy, Violet and Lily walked into the Gym from the residential area.

"Good to see you again runt! Become a Water Pokémon Master yet?" Lily goaded with Violet snickering behind before Daisy slapped both of them in the back of their heads.

"Be nice you two. We have a new guest to introduce ourselves to. The names Daisy and these are Violet, the one with the blue hair and Lily, the one with the pink hair." Daisy said with the other two waving in return.

"Nice to meet you as well. Coincidentally I am Lily as well! Squire Lily White at your service!" Lily said with a grin causing a mirroring grin to appear on the pink haired Lily's face as well.

"Like this will be awkward. How will anyone know who we are talking about or talking to?" Daisy said with a confused look.

"That's easy, we call my apprentice Squire White for the moment. That should take care of the problem!" Ash said with a grin causing the faces of both Lily's to fall.

"Like that's an acceptable compromise. I will just call her Miss White! Anyway, Misty can we ask for a favor?" Daisy asked with a smile.

"Depends on what kind of favor. If you want me to take over the Gym so that you can concentrate on your Water Shows, then forget it!" Misty exclaimed passionately.

"Like it's about the Water Show, but not the way you think. We need another member for a new show. We need you to be the Mermaid on the show. So like what will it be?" Daisy asked with a bit of a pleading tone. Misty gaped in shock. this was the first time her sisters asked her to be a part of the show.

"When is the show?" Misty asked cautiously.

"Like in a week. You will have more than enough time to practice! Your friends can even stay in the guest rooms!"

"What do you think guys?" Misty asked turning to her friends.

"I have no problem with that Misty. It's not like I am on a tight schedule," Brock said with a smile.

"Don't look at me. I am still a Squire learning under Ash. If he stays, then so do I!" Lily said with a smile before everyone turned to Ash.

"I will be nice to stay still for some time. It will help in training, so the answer is alright. A week should be enough for me to whip up Lily into shape for her combat training." Lily started sweating in fear at the strange tone in Ash's voice. She realized that she was in for a hard week ahead.

"Thanks Ash! You really don't mind taking a bit of rest from getting your final Badge?"

"Not at all Misty!" Ash said with a smile.

"Why don't you show them to the Guest Rooms Misty and Ash, why don't we have a rematch this evening? I have been training very hard for the past months for just this occasion!" Daisy stated with determination.

Ash grinned, "Sure thing Daisy. Same match up or different Pokémon this time?"

"Same match up like last time. Same rules." Ash just nodded before following Misty and their friends.


"This is a practice match between Daisy, the Cerulean City Gym Leader and Ash, from Pallet Town. Each trainer may use three Pokémon each with both trainers returning their Pokémon after each round. Trainers reveal your first Pokémon!" Violet called out as Ash and Daisy released their respective Pokémon. On Daisy's side appeared her trusty Slowbro and on Ash's side was his Scyther, Flash.

"Begin!"

"Flash show them how much we have improved use Mirage Storm Dark!" Ash commanded causing Daisy and Slowbro to become cautious.

"Don't let your guard down Slowbro! Flood the whole field using Surf!" Daisy commanded causing Slowbro to conjure up a massive wave of water and drown anything on the ground. To both Daisy and Slowbor's surprise, the attack struck Scyther before Scyther was torn to shreds. "That's Substitute! Scyther can be anywhere!"

"Too late! Now Flash!" Ash commanded causing a wave of glittering silver wind to strike Slowbro from the back, throwing the Hermit Crab Pokémon forward. Getting up, Slowbro was startled to see a large number of Scyther's bearing down upon him.

"Slowbro use Blizzard and cause the wind to swirl around you with Psychic!" Daisy called out with a smirk as Slowbro's eyes glowed blue. The freezing cold wind with sparkling ice crystals started swirling around him in the form of a twister preventing Flash from charging in.

"Flash use Air Slash to dispel the Blizzard before continuing the combo!" Ash said getting a smirk from Flash. Gathering a ball of sharp green winds, Flash threw it towards the swirling shield of wind and ice. As soon as the ball of green winds struck the swirling wall, both exploded in a cloud of mist.

"Slowbro use Icy Wind!" Daisy called out only for all of the Scyther's to charge Slowbro before vanishing and reappearing behind, white streaks of energy flowing off from their bodies. Their scythes glowing with a sinister black energy. Before Slowbro could even release the bitter cold winds, all the Scyther's rammed their claws into Slowbro. A massive cloud of smoke formed from the resultant explosion. "Slowbro are you alright?"

"Sorry about this Daisy but Slowbro is on his last legs!" Ash said getting an upraised eyebrow from Daisy. When Daisy realized what Ash meant, it was already too late. Flash had flown out of the smoke cloud and charged up a ball of white energy before launching it down towards where Slowbro was.

"Slowbro use Protect!" Daisy called out in panic. The beam of destructive energy cut through the smoke revealing Slowbro staring at the approaching Hyper Beam with a confused look before attempting to throw up a hasty green barrier. When the beam struck the barrier, at first it seemed that the Protect would win but unfortunately, cracks appeared all over the barrier before it completely shattered. The beam, though weakened, struck true and exploded screening Slowbro within another cloud of smoke.

When the smoke cleared, Slowbro was seen lying on his stomach, completely unconscious. With a sigh Daisy returned Slowbro, "You did well Slowbro. We just expected a similar outcome to our last battle. Take a long rest."

"Slowbro is unable to battle. This round goes to Ash. Trainers reveal your second Pokémon!" Violet called out as Ash returned Flash with a quiet thanks. For their second Pokémon, Ash chose Angel while Daisy chose her Kingdra.

"Let's not make the same mistake again Kingdra. Start it off with Toxic!" Daisy called out causing her Kingdra to launch a violet glob of toxic liquid at Angel.

"Counter with Magic Coat and then use Psyshock!" Ash calmly commanded with a smirk. The glob of toxic liquid reached Angel only for the Intertwining Pokémon to glow golden before the glob reversed direction and flew towards Kingdra.

"Use Agility to get out of there and return fire with Flash Cannon!" Daisy said causing Kingdra to rush out of the area leaving behind a trail of blurred afterimages. As soon as Kingdra was in position, he glowed silver before launching a beam of silver energy at Angel.

"Protect then use Swagger Angel!" Ash said causing the Intertwining Pokémon to conjure up a powerful looking pink barrier. The Flash Cannon struck the barrier exploded covering Ash's side of the field in smoke. From within the smoke cloud, Angel's silhouette glowed red. A similar glow covered Kingdra before he became confused.

"Kingdra snap out of it and use Clear Smog!" Daisy commanded only for Kingdra to ram his head into one of the floating platforms.

"Power up with Work Up and then finish it off with Hyper Beam!" Ash said causing Angel to glow red again for a few moments before she started gathering a ball of pink energy in front of her mouth. After the ball was a little larger than half the size of her head, Angel released the pent up energy in a beam of pure destructive energy.

"Kingdra try and snap out of it!" Daisy called out but Kingdra kept ramming his head into the floating platform. The pink bean struck the confused Dragon Pokémon on the back and carried him out of the pool and right into the back wall of the Gym before exploding. When the smoke cleared, Kingdra was still embedded in the small depression that formed when he struck the wall. Unconscious to all his surroundings. There were purple bruises forming on his blue scaled body.

"Kingdra is unable to battle. This round goes to Ash and his Sylveon. As Ash has won two out of three rounds, I declare Ash as the winner," Violet declared with a smile.

"Return Kingdra. Like you did well. Have a long rest," Daisy said returning Kingdra before turning to Ash, who had just returned Angel. "You and Angel have gotten much better. Kingdra and I have been like training very hard, yet still you defeated us like easily. Like it seems that you two have trained even harder. Good luck with the league. Like I will be betting a lot of money on you winning!"

"Daisy!" Misty called out in shock. "When did you start gambling?"

"Like it's not really gambling if you already know the outcome!" Daisy said with an impish smile before yawning. "I think that all of us should like have dinner and head to bed. All of us are tired. Thanks for the exhilarating battle."

"Sure thing Daisy," Ash said with a smile before following everyone out of the gym and into the dining room.


A young girl was sleeping on her bed, a small smile gracing her lips as she dreamed of nice dreams. Unfortunately for the blond, her sweet dreams were about to be disrupted as a black haired boy walked into the room with a Pikachu sitting on his shoulder. An orb of cold water floating beside him. His eyes glowing with a light blue aura. As the unsuspecting girl rolled over in her sleep, the boy directed the ball of water over the girl before letting the psychic hold disappear. With aloud splash, the freezing cold water completely drenched the girl causing her to jump up screaming murder.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH! ASH KETCHUM! I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!"

"If you are done screeching, meet me at Cerulean Cape within half-an-hour. We will continue your combat training. It seems that you still haven't been keeping your senses alert, else you would have sensed me the moment I walked in," Ash said with a grin before walking out of the room. As Ash walked out of the room, the Waterflower Sisters and Brock ran up to the room.

"Is everything alright?" Brock asked with concern getting a grin from Ash.

"Of course. I was just giving my apprentice a wakeup call. We do have a lot of training to do!"

"What did you do?" Misty asked with apprehension. She had seen how hard a task master her friend can be during training. A true blue military drill sergeant. At this moment she was pitying Lily.

"Oh nothing serious. Just dropped a gallon of ice cold water on her. That should shake away any drowsiness she would have had by the time she reaches Cerulean Cape. Well see you later!" Ash said before he and Pikachu teleported away.

"Is that like normal?" Daisy asked with Lily and Violet Waterflower rubbing the sleep out of their eyes.

"You have no idea!" Misty sighed before walking into Lily's room. "You alright Lily?"

"Do I look alright? I am sopping wet! On top of that, I have to reach Cerulean Cape within half-an-hour! It's not even six in the morning yet!" Lily grumbled as she used a towel to dry her hair.

"Then we will leave you to it," Misty said trying to keep the laugher out of her voice. Daisy, Lily and Violet Waterflower didn't have any problem laughing at the funny scene. Brock on the other hand was drying the disgruntled Spiked Ball Pokémon.


Walking into a secluded area of the Cape where Lily felt Ash's aura, she came upon a surprising sight. Sitting on a large boulder was Ash, meditating with a blue and yellow aura flaring all around him. All around him was his elite team of Cherry, Blaze, Midori, Ferrum, Angel and Pikachu. All of them were also meditating with auras flaring all around them. Pikachu's aura was similar to Ash's with blue and yellow intertwining with each other.

"You know the drill. Sit and meditate for an hour. After that we shall start," Ash said without opening his eyes before his aura spiked again, the yellow and blue mixing into pale green streaks. Without any complaint, Lily did as her master asked of her. Setting down her back pack, she chose another boulder and jumped onto it before sitting down. Closing her eyes, she focused inward and started meditating, all the while not realizing that her aura was flickering up all around her in a blaze of blue light. Immersing herself into the meditation and allowing her aura to connect her consciousness to nature, Lily lost all track of time. The only reason she realized that an hour had passed was feeling Ash and his Pokémon coming out of their meditative trances.

"That's enough of meditation Lily. Now we spar!" Lily didn't even have enough time to get up before she had to dodge a sphere of condensed aura from Ash. Rolling into a crouched position, the blonde girl retaliated by launching her own Aura Sphere at Ash. The raven haired Master just parried the sphere with blue glowing hands before charging in with a low kick. His foot glowing with blue aura. Rolling out of the way, Lily followed up with a spin kick as she got back onto her feet. Ash easily blocked the kick with his forearm, both blue limbs releasing sparks of aura from the collision.

"You have got much better Lily. Now how about we take it up a notch?" Ash asked panting lightly. Before him, his blonde apprentice was also breathing hard. Her blonde bangs matted to her face with sweat pouring down both of their faces.

"I aim to please!" Lily exclaimed as she suddenly charged in with fists pulled back, glowing with the collected aura surrounding them. Just as Lily was about to bring her fists down, Ash easily caught her fists in his own and pulled her close. Lily only stared in shock as her body was pulled flush against Ash's muscular form. A light blush adorned her face but before she could react, Ash already had her in a choke hold.

"You have got to do better Lily. Now submit!" Lily just gritted her teeth as Ash slammed her down on the ground, her arm pulled back and held at her lower back. Growling in embarrassment and anger, Lily squirmed under Ash's iron grip. "Are you done yet?" Gritting her teeth even more, Lily was suddenly covered in an intense blue glow before a shockwave threw Ash off. Getting up, Lily was about to retaliate before her aura suddenly dissipated. As darkness started claiming her, the last thing she saw was Ash's expressive brown eyes glinting with worry.


A pair of violet eyes opened to a sight of confusion for their owners. Instead of the blue sky above and green grass below the owner, they were staring at the ceiling of the guestroom the owner was staying at. The owner felt the soft bedsheets below her. Her blonde hair splayed around her head. The light coming from the window was faint enough to reveal that the source was the moon and not the sun. The girl closed her violet eyes and tried to think of how she came back to her room and how she didn't realize that it was already night.

As the girl stayed still trying to remember, she heard a light shuffling beside her. Turning her head towards the sound, she saw a boy with messy raven hair scratching his cheek. His head lying on the bed, the body resting on a chair that was pulled up beside her bed. As she started at the boy, she came to a startling realization. Her right hand was gently held in the boys own hands.

With a light blush on her face, not that anyone would be able to see that, the girl tried to gently remove her hand from the boys as she sat up. Unfortunately, the light jostling of the bed and the hand being pulled free from the boy's grasp caused the boy to jolt up in surprise. A pair of brown eyes, dulled by sleep and the pair of violet eyes, glowing with embarrassment, started at each other. After what felt like an eternity, but in reality was less than a minute, the brown eyes glowed with relief and happiness. Before the girl could even react, the boy closed the distance between them and hugged the stunned girl.

"Oh Arceus Lily! I am so glad that you are alright. When you fainted after releasing the shockwave, I was so scared. You nearly overwhelmed yourself with the aura! Your body started to crystallize as blue lightning was flowing over your body. I don't know what I would have done if…" The boy was about to continue but Lily's finger on his lips caused him to pause in his panicked monologue. With her violet eyes glowing with happiness and love, the blonde beauty smiled causing the boys heart to skip a beat.

"It's alright Ash. I am fine so no need to think about 'what if's' is there?" Ash nodded in agreement before his face broke out in a small, relived smile. "Then can you tell me how I am still alive? If I remember correctly, you said that in similar situations, the Guardian or squire died."

Gulping heavily, Ash fidgeted around, staring at everything except Lily. Getting exasperated from Ash's procrastination, Lily glared at her raven haired master before putting her palm atop Ash's own calming him down. "You can tell me anything you know. I promise that I won't get mad!"

Taking a shaky breath, Ash nodded to himself before sighing. "I may have, kind of… ah… boundoursoulstogether," Ash exclaimed getting a confused look from Lily. The girl stared in confusion as she tried to decipher what Ash had said. Ash on the other hand was fidgeting around in fear. After what seemed like hours, Lily's eyes widened in shock. With a shaky breath Lily asked with a stutter, "Ca…an you re…rep…eat that? I… I just ne…eeded to be sure."

With a light nod Ash replied, "I used the ritual used during the marriage to bind the souls of the partners to each other to bind our souls. So by the Orders Laws, we are effectively husband and wife. I am sorry that I took away your choice but I don't regret it. The thing that I truly regret is pushing you too far in our spar that you nearly died from aura overflow."

Seeing Ash bow, tears flowing down his handsome face caused an unexplainable pain in Lily's chest. With a sight, Lily pulled Ash's head into her still developing chest as she hugged the grieving boy. "It's not your fault Ash. I shouldn't have let your taunts affect me. I lost control of my emotions and dug out too much aura in a short time to cause the situation. I am sorry that I forced you to lose your choice of spouse, but to tell you the truth, I don't really mind being your wife. Even if we are barely eleven. These past months with you have been some of the best in my short life as a clone. I can see myself falling in love with you in the future anyway. Already my aura calls for me to be with you. If events turned out different, even then I think that we would have ended up in the same situation. So don't blame yourself Ash!"

"Thank for being so understanding Lily but you should know that as the last male of the Ketchum line with only my cousin Queen Ilene as the other Ketchum by blood, I am forced to take seven wives to help repopulate my clan. I hope that you won't regret forgiving me after learning that."

Lily stared in shock for a few moments before closing her eyes in thought. As the silence dragged on, Ash was about to interject when Lily opened her eyes again with them glowing with determination. "I have no problem with sharing you as long as you treat each of us equally!"

"Who do you take me for? I would never treat any of my wives differently!" Ash exclaimed with indignation causing the blond to giggle with mirth. Seeing the blonde giggle, Ash found her too cute to remain angry at her as he joined her in laughter as well. After calming down both sat in companionable silence. As they sat on the bed, Lily decided to lean on Ash, her head resting on his shoulder. After what felt like hours Lily gently clasped Ash's right hand in her own left before speaking up.

"Ash?"

"Yeah Lily?"

"Do you think it would be awkward between us because of the bond?"

"I don't think so. We can just ignore the presence of the bond and treat each other as we have been. No one other than my ace team and my legendries know that we are bonded. I want to keep it that way." Ash said but seeing Lily's expression fall at his declaration he decided to clear up any confusion. "Not that I am ashamed that we are bonded, but I think that it should be need-to-know basis. Most won't understand the bond and our bond hasn't matured enough to manifest physically yet, so I think that we should keep it secret."

Smiling Lily nodded, "I understand. You are right that non-guardians won't understand the bond, though I think you underestimate the strength of our bond. Already I am subconsciously seeking you out. Luckily the bond doesn't force the bond-mates into bed with each other, that's our choice."

"True but as the bond matures, we will want to be closer to each other. Not to mention that we have to have a certain amount of skin-to-skin contact every day. That can be solved by holding hands and hugs." Lily nodded in agreement to Ash's deduction before she wrapped her arms around Ash's neck and snuggled closer to his warmth. Ash didn't react other than wrapping his arm around her waist.

"Ash the other will become suspicious if we suddenly start holding hands, hug intimately and start spending an inordinate amount of time in each other presence without any plausible explanation. How about we pretend to be dating each other. We can say that after nearly losing me, you realized how much you cared about me and asked me to be your girlfriend when I woke up and I said yes. How do you like it?"

With eyes glowing with mischievousness Ash grinned, "Why pretend. I know that we are married by the laws of the Order, but we don't need to make a public declaration. In the future I would have asked you to be my girlfriend after explaining my situation to you, you have grown on me. I would have fallen for you in the future anyway. So milady? Will you do the honor of being this knight's girlfriend?"

With a squeal of delight, Lily brought their foreheads together, their lips almost touching. "I would love to Ash!" Lily said in a gentle whisper before touching their lips in a chaste kiss. After a few moments they parted, both of their faces flushed with equal amounts of pleasure and embarrassment.

"Then I better let you rest Lily. Misty's show is tomorrow morning. I doubt you want to miss it?"

"What? I have been out for a week?" Lily asked in shock. Ash just smiled with sympathy as he nodded. Ash gave the shocked girl a tight hug before getting up from the bed. As he was about to leave, Lily caught hold of Ash's arm. Looking down, Ash saw Lily's face lit up by the sliver light of the full moon. A dark blush gracing her cute face. "Can you stay with me tonight? I don't want to be alone."

Ash smiled as he sat down beside her. "Sure thing Lily. If that's what you want. I will always be there for you from now on." Lily smiled before laying down. Ash pulled aside the duvet before climbing into the bed. After getting comfortable, Lily snuggled up beside Ash, laying her head on his chest, right above his heart and let the steady thumping lull her to sleep.

"Goodnight Ash!" Lily mumbled causing Ash to smile before he laid a possessive arm around the girl's waist. "Goodnight Lily," the raven haired boy said as he also fell asleep to the steady breathing of his new girlfriend.


"Are you sure you should be travelling this soon?"

"Stop worrying Brock. Granted I drew too much aura to fast and collapsed, but I am fine now!" Lily complained with a huff getting smiles from Misty, Ash and Pikachu.

"Toge toge!" both Togepi exclaimed in the arms of their respective foster mother.

"Still! When Ash brought you back to the gym, your body seemed to be crystallizing with blue lightning flowing all over you. I am just worried about you, that's all!"

Lily and Misty grinned at that. They looked at each other before giggling, "That's sweet of you Brock but I am training to become an Aura Guardian. Such things tend to happen to beginners and even to some masters. Luckily Ash was there to stabilize my condition else I would have probably been a large Lily crystal!"

"That's right! How did you save her Ash? When you reached the Gym, your face was so grim. I thought the worst," Misty asked with curiosity.

Ash and Lily shared a look before imperceptibly shaking their heads at each other. After a moments deliberation, Ash finally spoke up in a somber tone. "What I did was a forbidden technique as if it failed, both Lily and I would have died. Other than that I can't tell you. Order Secrets aren't for those who aren't Guardians. Sorry for being less than helpful."

Seeing that Misty was about to argue, Brock spoke up, "That's alright Ash. We understand the need for secrecy. Some information shouldn't ever see the light of day." Misty huffed in annoyance but nodded in agreement. Afterwards the group travelled in silence for a few hours through the forests towards Mt. Moon.


As the group stopped in a clearing for lunch, Misty's eyes widened in revelation as an idea struck her. Deciding to speak up before everyone started settling down for some rest Misty asked, "Hey guys? Why are we walking to Pewter City when Ash and Pikachu can easily teleport us there?"

Lily and Brock started at red-haired girl in shock. None of them had thought of that solution. Turning towards the subjects of their conversation, they saw the raven haired boy and his loyal Pikachu meditating. both surrounded by an aura of psychic power. Between them, bolts of psychic power were shooting at each other, colliding in the middle.

"What are they doing?" Misty asked to the confusion of everyone there.

"I think they are sparring with only their psychic powers. They must be training to focus their mental abilities more I wonder if a similar training method can be devised for aura?" Lily pondered with a finger placed on her lower lip, looking extremely cute in the process.

"So who's the unlucky one to disturb them?" Misty asked causing Brock to bring out three straws from his jacket pocket.

"One of them has a red end. The one who gets the red one has to do it!" Brock exclaimed to the surprise of both girls.

Leaning over to the blonde, Misty whispered, "Why does he have straws ready?" Lily just shook her head before taking one of the straws and pulled it out. Luckily for her, the end was blue. Misty went next and pulled up another blue straw. Brock hung his head as he revealed the red straw in his hand.

Remembering what happened when Clio once disturbed one of Ash and Pikachu's training sessions, Brock shivered in fear as he complained, "Why me?" Shaking his head, Brock approached the oblivious pair. Behind him, the girls clutched their respective Togepi closer as they took a few steps back.

"Hey Ash, Pikachu, sorry to disturb your training session but we have a question to ask!" Brock muttered quietly as he reached to shake Ash by the shoulder. Before his hand even reached Ash's shoulder, an invisible force caught hold of the older boy and lightly threw him back.

Opening their eyes in confusion, Ash and Pikachu started at Brock, lying on his back. Misty and Lily were at the edge of the clearing staring at them. Ash started at the scene for a moment before he realized what happened. "Oh sorry Brock! I didn't mean to hurt you!"

With a pained chuckle Brock sat up getting relieved sighs from the girls as they approached the two boys. "That's alright Ash. I knew that would happen. Anyway, we have a question to ask you and Pikachu!"

"What do you need?" Ash asked in confusion as the girls reached the boys.

"Why are we walking when you and Pikachu could teleport up to Pewter right now? I don't think it wise for Lily to over extend herself!" Misty asked with an annoyed expression. At first everyone was quiet before Ash and Pikachu started laughing. "What? Did I say anything funny?"

"It's not that Misty!" Ash said as he tried to suppress his laughter. "Both Pikachu and I were waiting for one of you to realize that we could have easily teleported everyone to anywhere we have been. So you want have lunch at Pewter?"

"You owe me a bottle of ketchup! Misty was the one who asked first!"

"No I don't! Brock would have asked the same thing!" Ash argued back with the yellow rodent, causing the Mouse Pokémon to glare at his trainer.

"Actually Ash, Misty was the first to realize it. So even if I asked first, you would still owe Pikachu a bottle of ketchup." Brock said, understanding the context of the argument, causing the Mouse Pokémon to perk up in glee. Ash grumbled but stood up. His eyes glowing with suppressed psychic power.

"Everyone's accounted for? Does everyone have their things?"

"Just teleport us Ash!" Misty exclaimed with a face red with anger causing the raven haired boy to nod before everyone in the clearing vanished into thin air.


"Why are we walking through Viridian Forest?" Misty asked as he nervously looked around for any Bug Pokémon that may come too close to her.

"Because I want to spend the time thinking about the strategy me and my team will be utilizing against the Viridian City Pokémon Gym. The leader uses Ground Pokémon and is known to be very strong, so I will have to have the appropriate strategy." Ash lectured in a matter-of-fact tone causing Misty to huff in discontent. Lily and Brock just smiled but didn't say anything to antagonize their red-haired friend.

As the group walked through the forest, Brock and Misty started noticing the odd behavior Ash and Lily were exhibiting. The last few days, Misty and Brock just thought was a coincidence as the closeness the master and pupil exhibited was due to Lily dying. Now they weren't sure.

"Hey Brock? Have you realized that ever since Lily recovered from the incident, she and Ash has been acting closer than before?" Misty whispered to the older boy causing him to hum in agreement.

"Your right Misty. I think I saw them holding hands when they thought no one was looking. When I stared to confirm that, they were only walking closer than usual, but not holding hands. I thought that I was just seeing things, but now that you mention it."

"You aren't the only one Brock. Even I thought I saw them holding hands. Every time I try to double check, it seems that I was only seeing things." As Misty and Brock carefully scrutinized their two friends, they briefly saw the two holding hands for a few moments before letting go again.

"We were right! They were holding hands, but only for a few moments before letting go. Now that I think about it, both seems friendlier with each other. Do you think they are dating Brock?" Misty asked in a whisper. When no answer came, she turned to see Brock crouching under a tree, drawing circles in the dirt with a finger. A visible cloud of depression floating over him.

"It isn't fair! He is only eleven and already has a girlfriend!" Brock exclaimed catching the attention of Ash, Lily and Pikachu. Turning around, all three sweat dropped at the scene.

"What happened to him?" Lily asked incredulously getting a giggle out of Misty. Lily was clinging to Ash's arm without either even realizing what they were doing.

"Nothing important. It seems that seeing you two together has caused him to become depressed thinking that you two are dating. By the way, congratulations on getting together." Misty said with a cheeky grin causing both aura adepts to blush in embarrassment.

"How did you find out?" Lily began only for Misty to give the couple a cheeky smirk. Brock had suddenly recovered from his fit of depression and was grinning broadly at his two friends.

"You two were careful but slipped up from time to time. Holding hands was the first indication, even if we only caught it for very short moments." Brock explained with a sagely tone. "Next, both of you have been spending an inordinate amount of time in each other's presence. Especially sitting closer than normal. Sneaking away only to return with ruffled hair and clothes. Congratulations, though I wish I had someone like you two have each other."

"Ah, thanks you two! Sorry for hiding it, but as Lily is still my squire, a relationship during this period is frowned upon. So please keep it a secret if we meet members of the Order or my family. At least until Lily has become an Adept rank Guardian."

Seeing Ash and Lily's serious expression, both nodded with a smile. "Sure thing Ash, Lily. Your secret is safe with us. So how long have you two been dating?" Misty asked as they continued walking through the Viridian Forest.

"Not long actually. We got together the night Lily woke up. Anyway, we are close to the exit. I can sense a large number of humans a few miles ahead. We should be arriving within the hour."

"The let's get moving! I want to get out of this bug infested forest as soon as possible!" Misty exclaimed as she started hurrying down the trail they were following.


A group of four humans, two girls and two boys walked out of the forest with a Pikachu lazing about on the younger boy's backpack. The four came out of the forest to the sight of a small city filled with skyscrapers and trees. As the group walked down the path leading into the city proper, they came across a strange sight. A group of girls in cheer leader outfits were brawling their eyes out as they sat around a red sports car. Inside the car was a brown haired boy. A boy the boy with the Pikachu knew intimately.

"Hey Ash, isn't that Gary?" Lily asked pointing at the group. Ash stared at the group for a moment before nodding.

"Yep, that's Gary alright. Wonder what he's doing moping about?"

"How bout we just ask him?" Ash turned to the older boy in his group and nodded.

"That's a good idea Brock. It isn't normal for Gary to mope about," Ash said as he walked towards the Gary and his cheer leaders with his friends walking following after him. Approaching the group Ash called out, "Hey Gary! Why the long face?"

Startled, the brown haired grandson of the famous Professor Oak looked up to see Ash and his friends. With a sigh, Gary explained, "I challenged the Viridian City Pokémon Gym and ended up being squashed. It seems that the Gym Leader was a member of Team Rocket. recently, Agatha of the Elite Four took over as substitute Gym Leader. I challenged her to a battle and ended up having my team whipped out by a single Pokémon, Agatha's Gengar. It's a bit depressing, especially since me and my team failed to take down the grinning specter."

"That's too bad. You can challenge mom for your eighth badge, that's my plan anyway." Ash said as he tried to comfort the depressed boy only to get a laugh in return.

"Eighth Badge? I already have ten! I just challenged Agatha to see how far I have come. Anyway, better get back home. Gramps and Daisy must be worrying about me. I was supposed to meet them the afternoon. Smell ya later Ashy-boy!" Gary said as he started the engine to his sports car and took off towards Pallet Town.

Coughing from the smoke and dust the car left behind, Ash grumbled out, "He never changes. Even after being humbled by Agatha! Come on guys, I want to challenge Agatha to an unofficial match!" With that said, Ash took off down the road towards the Viridian City Pokémon Gym.


Entering the massive structure that served as the Viridian City Pokémon Gym, Ash and his friends were met by an old lady with blonde hair and wearing an apron over a pink dress. "Hello dears! Are you here to challenge for an Earth Badge?"

"No. I am here to challenge you to an unofficial one-on-one Pokémon battle. I want to see how far I have come before I challenge mom for the Diamond Badge," Ash remarked confidently getting a surprised look from Agatha. The elder Elite Four member observed Ash for a few moments before grinned.

"So you are Delia's kid. She could have easily joined the Elite Four you know. She nearly defeated me. At the time, I was the strongest among the Elite Four. Now Lance has taken that place. Anyway, I accept your challenge. It should be fun!" The woman said with a grin that was mirrored on Ash's face.

Walking to the other side of the battle field, Agatha stopped and turned to face her challenger. Ash stood on the unoccupied side, closer to the door with a grin on his face. "I hope you don't expect me to take it easy on you Ash!"

"Not at all Agatha, come at me with your strongest. Now take the field Zygarde!" Ash called out releasing the doglike form of the Order Pokémon. Agatha only raised an eyebrow as she released her faithful Gengar.

"Gengar this is the child of Delia Richards, the one who nearly defeated us fifteen years ago. Let's see how he does shall we!"

"Gen gengar!" Gengar exclaimed excitedly as he floated in one place. The referee took his position and declared the battle to start. Without wasting a moment, both trainers ordered their respective Pokémon to attack.

"Gengar use Shadow Ball!"

"Counter it with Dragon Pulse!"

Gengar conjured up a ball of pitch black energy with white electricity floating around it and threw it at Zygarde who countered it with a violet shockwave of draconic energy. Both attacks met in the middle of the field and exploded shrouding the whole area in smoke.

"Gengar use Icy Wind!"

Form within the smoke, the Shadow Pokémon conjured up a gust of freezing cold wind that easily blew away smoke, leaving minute ice crystals behind on the battle field. To Agatha and her Gengar's surprise, Zygarde just puffed out of existence. Unfortunately, Gengar's was quick enough to react to Zygarde's next attack. A cluster of steel colored orbs exploded where Gengar was previously causing small clumps of dirt to fly up.

"Now Zygarde, get in close with Extremespeed and use Glare!" Ash called out causing Agatha to curse.

"Gengar phase out!" Agatha called out but unfortunately Zygarde was faster. Right before Gengar could phase out of existence, Zygarde appeared in front of him and glared right into the eyes of the Shadow Pokémon with green glowing eyes. Gengar froze in fear.

"Now Zygarde use Bite and raise Gengar into the air!" With white glowing fangs, Zygarde chomped down on Gengar's leg and effortlessly raised the Shadow Pokémon into the air.

"Gengar! Try and get free!" Agatha called out in panic. She had seen a similar tactic used by Red once. She knew that the result was devastating. So did her Gengar. Struggle as he might, the Shadow Pokémon was barely able to move due to paralysis and pain.

"Finish it off with Draco Meteor!" As Ash commanded, Zygarde's belly glowed with intense orange energy. After a couple of moments charging, the energy travelled up to the throat before bursting out from Zygarde's mouth in an intense orb of draconic energy. The ball enshrouded Gengar and flew to the top of the room before exploding in a multitude of smaller meteors of orange draconic energy. With one of the meteors, Gengar fell down and collided with the ground before the orange ball of energy exploded. All around the battle field the other meteors collided with the ground and exploded.

"Gengar! Are you alright?" Agatha called out in worry. Ash on the other hand smiled and motioned for Zygarde to retreat and stand in front of him. After a few terse moments, the smoke cleared to reveal a knocked out Gengar and multiple craters on the neutral battle field. With a sigh, Agatha returned her Gengar with a quiet word of encouragement.

"That was an intense and quick battle Ash. I didn't expect such skill and power from one so young. I can see why Lance and Lorelei thinks that you will be soon taking the crown of Kanto Champion. Keep up the good work and good luck battling your mother. I will tell you, she is a tough one!"

Ash just smiled as he patted Zygarde on his back before speaking, "Thanks Agatha. I will see you and the other Elite Four at the end of the Summer when I take the Elite Four Challenge!"

"My so confident. What makes you think that there aren't other trainers just as skill and powerful as you participating this year? Being confident is good but overconfidence will lead to bitter disappointment young Ash. I hope that you take my advice to heart. It will help you and your team reach the stars."

"I will keep that in mind Agatha. You should know that Zygarde is a Gamma Class Legendary Pokémon. He wanted to he how strong he was at 35% strength. Thanks for helping him out!"

"Don't mention it Ash. It is the job of the older generation to guide and be the measuring stick for the next generation. Like I said, it was a pleasure. I don't get good fights like this. I will look forward to your challenge. I want my final battle before retiring to be a memorable one and I expect you to battle me and my team with normal Pokémon, not legendries."

With a grin and a nod, Ash and his friends walked out of the Gym. After the group had left for a few minutes, a man walked out from the shadows. The man wore a red cape and had red hair. "So what do you think Agatha?"

"It is as you said Lance. Ash has a lot of potential still locked away but he is quickly unleashing that potential. Already he can easily defeat my Gengar, even if it is with a Legendary Pokémon. That I no easy feat." Lance laughed at that.

"True! Even I have trouble handling that monster of a Gengar. Anyway see you at the League Agatha. Charles wants both the Kanto Elite Four and the Jhoto Champion and Elite four there for some reason. He even invited the other Champions and their Elite Four's but only the new Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia, and her Elite Four will be joining us."

"Humm… that is most unlike Charles. What is he planning?"

"Don't know but I have to be off. I have a G-Men meeting to get to. Ciao!" Lance said before walking out of the Gym, leaving Agatha deep in thought.