So let me explain a few things before we start. First off, I have not, as of yet, decided on the name of the Dark Leaf leader, and now for a clear up. You see, I normally post the ages of the characters before I start the story. For whatever reason, I thought I didn't need to do that on this story. That was stupid. Really stupid. It has made my Ages inconstant throughout the story… for that I'm so sorry.

The ages will be at the bottom of this note, and I will not change them again. Now about the Dark Leaf, The unnamed leader stands at the top of the power pyramid, with Yonah (Yo-na [a in Bark] meaning Bear.) and Walelu (Wa [A in Bark] Le [like in the name Walela] Lu [u sounds like 'oo'] meaning Hummingbird.) these two are in a rivalry for right hand man to the leader, causing unrest that the leader is to occupied to notice. Below them are the ordinary grunts of the team. The one difference about this team though is that they all use Aura. Now I know what you are all thinking, AVERAGE HUMAN, JUST CHOOSE A FREAKING AGE NOW! Alright! Ok, ok! Here is my final age change:

Ash: 14 Max: 10 May: 13 Drew: 14 Clement: 14 Serena: 14 Tracey: 16 Bonnie: 8

Now I know why I was so confused…

*.*.*.

Footsteps echoed hollowly across the cement flooring of the large space; giving reason for both Ash, and Max to stand up, and look towards the sound. Yonah, along with Walelu walked towards the two. There, however, there was a third person, walking in front of the two, it was the Dark Leaf leader, and something, an invisible force maybe, compelled the two to take a step backwards away from the advances, however, it didn't stop Ash from yelling, "Are you going to tell us who you are now?" with noticeable annoyance hinging on his voice, however he did not say anything else, especially after Max muttered, with clear worry and fear, "Ash…" the leader however, laughed,

"I could, bit again, that was too, easy, and then the information, given out by me to just any weak trainer, would get to the police somehow, then it would be only a matter of time. Surprising though that you of all people, do not know, just who I am. But then, Giovanni was not in Palletown after I left. In hindsight I guess I shouldn't be surprised, Farwell for now, Ashton."

With that, the man, with a long brown-green cape that found itself a few inches off the floor, brown pants, and shoulder length raven black hair turned and walked away. Yonah and Walelu following suit, refusing to look at each other in the process. A slam was heard as the elevator closed, however, the lights stayed on, casting dark shadows over the already eerie surroundings.

"So what now"

In response to his friend's question, Ash just shrugged.

*.*.*.

"I'm Tired!" came a yell from the back of the posse,

"I know Bonnie, but as of now, there isn't much I can do!" Clement answered his little sister for what seemed the seventh time. They were trekking through the unnatural redwood, and Serena was staring up at the insanely tall trees that just an hour before, had been hidden behind a bend in the valley. Tracey was sulking because Drew had grabbed his sketchbook, just before the teen had fallen into a small creek. However, Drew had not, in any form, given it back.

Instead, Drew had put the book into his own backpack, telling Tracey that at least now the sixteen year old could watch where he was going. May was pouting because of the fact that no one would allow her to have any of the food the group had brought along. There was an uneasy silence floating through the woods. No Pokémon made their calls, no Pokémon were even seen.

"Serena, are we there yet?"

"To tell you the truth," Serena looked down at Bonnie, "I haven't the faintest truth."

"Then where are we even going!?" Clement yelled from where he was walking, a few feet behind Serena, looking completely run down. Serena just shrugged, "I was just following the map to the heart of the forest…"

Tracey sighed, "Works for me." He muttered, after all, according to energy traces; Serena was in fact, taking them in the right direction, for now.

Soon a large tree came into view, now we all know sequoias were tall, but this one towered over everything, being at least twice as tall as the other trees, give or take a few feet. Its trunk was so thick, that three Pokémon centers could fit next to each other inside of it, and still have enough room left for a few shops. And that was just at the foot of the tree. Other than its size, everyone except Tracey couldn't find very many differences about the tree, well, that everyone could see, or believe that he saw, and the sun was setting.

However, something about the tree being in the heart of the forest compelled the group to set up a camp site, and keep watch over the area around it, along with the tree itself. Clement set up a fire, and the sleeping bags, after all, they would be taking shifts watching the tree, and going around the acre of forest they had decided was the heart of the forest, and Bonnie, would be sleeping; Clement refused to let her stay up so late at night.

Serena was helping Bonnie set up the little girl's plant, while Drew and May were fighting over how to make dinner. Tracey meanwhile, was actually making the meal, behind the two fighting coordinators' backs. Tracey however, still refused to talk to Drew, who sat a few feet away from him, that is, until Drew said, "Here. Do you realize how heavy this thing is!? I really don't want to carry this thing around anymore." Tracey looked at his sketchbook, the one that Drew held out to him.

He slowly took the book from Drew, and took out his pencils; he then began to Draw Pikachu who was sleeping next to all the backpacks. The rift between the two trainers seemed to dissipate, lightening up the mood of the campsite dramatically.

A/N; again sorry for the age problem… but on another note, I think I figured out why Ash and his Pikachu lose gym battles even though Pikachu is obviously high leveled. You ever notice how even in the games, as you progress through the region you are in, the levels of the gym leader's Pokémon gets higher and higher, it's because the gym leaders have to adjust themselves for the skill level of the trainers. Hence the reason that Pikachu didn't reset in X and Y, but still lost his first gym battle, he has already won over twenty badges in other regions, showing every gym in the Pokémon world is cued to give him a challenging battle, so that he doesn't just wipe the floor with every gym leader he meets. Thanks for reading! Please review! Later!