DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokemon...once again.

All Ashore

July 1st, 2008

Ash sat on a bluff overlooking the Pallet Town Lake, staring with indecision still clouding his eyes. Morning was coming as the sun was creeping over the hills and Ash had barely gotten a wink of sleep the previous night. After his encounter with Azelf he needed time alone to think and so he came here, none of his friends following after him. He had no clue where they had gone or what they were doing but he was pretty sure they wouldn't have slept much either. The same couldn't be said of the yellow furball at his side that was his best friend and partner who was now stirring from his very pleasant nap. Ash listened to the soft swirling of the water below him and sighed, fully waking Pikachu.

"Pikapi?" Pikachu questioned and Ash turned to him, a small, sad smile upon his lips.

"Sorry for waking you, Pikachu." Ash said and fussed with his hat a bit on his head. Pikachu yawned loudly before scooting over to Ash and situating himself on his lap. "What's up?"

"Pikapi, pikachu chu, pika ka pika chu?" Pikachu asked his trainer and Ash chuckled lightly, taking his hat off momentarily and mussing his hair.

"Why am I battling around about this? I don't even know…" Ash said before giving a small scoff. "Look at me. Paul's right, I am pathetic. I can't even figure out why I can't figure out what to do."

"Pikapi, chupi pika pika pikachu!" Pikachu snapped at him and Ash's glare slightly hardened onto his friend.

"What do you mean 'Paul said that to snap me out of my stupidity'?" Ash asked with a slight pout on his face, poking Pikachu on his red cheeks. "You're supposed to be on my side!" Pikachu started chuckling a little before full on laughing and rolling around. Ash felt the corner of his lips twitch up into a genuine smile. After a minute or two, Pikachu's laughter faded away and the two friends went into a comfortable silence. Ash's mind, however, was whirring. Something Pikachu had said struck him. That Paul had said it, not to be mean, or callous. he had said it because he genuinely cared for Ash's life. He respected him, he had said. And Paul's efforts in trying to fight Azelf and to stop him from killing him and certainly solidified that notion.

Thinking back on the twenty four hours, Ash started to realize that Paul had changed. That perhaps his insults had just been a mask and a shield to prevent anyone from seeing that over the years, Ash had gotten to him. The fight that had resulted in Ash learning the truth was just a way for Paul to keep Ash from getting to him further. Their relationship had been strained at best, and yet Paul came and apologized to him, something that up until that point he had resolutely refused to do. Paul was willing to take that chance, to admit that respect even when Ash was spouting off stupidity in his opinion. Ash gave a laugh and Pikachu looked at him.

"I'm sorry Pikachu…" Ash breathed out with a smile and he stood up, Pikachu tumbling gracefully from his lap. "I've been a real idiot."

"Pika…" Pikachu sighed and Ash chuckled at him before stooping down and picking him up, hugging him tightly, Pikachu laughing as he did so.

"There's so much in this world to live for isn't there? My friends, my family, you." Ash said looking at the sun that was now blaring at him, no longer a taunting reminder of his fate but a promise of something better. "I can't believe it was Paul who made me realize it. I mean, he changed and I was still so angry at him that I didn't see it until now. People change all the time. And the relationships they destroyed are rebuilt, the world is rebuilt. You can't hold onto hate like the legendaries have because it just destroys you in the end, doesn't it?"

"Cha!" Pikachu exclaimed triumphantly and Ash nodded. He breathed deeply as the light breeze rushed around him and sprayed the remaining water droplets from last night's storm onto his face.

"People change, but only if they're given the chance to change. And they won't have that chance if they're dead." Ash said with certainty. "So I can't die. I have to give them that chance to change so that when this war ends it won't just repeat itself a few years down the road. Maybe that's why I can't agree with Koga either…" Ash sighed a little. "I'm going back into the battle, to change things. I might not make it to the end, but at least I'll know that I tried."

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed and clambered up onto Ash's shoulder. Without another exchange between them, Ash turned back toward the town. As he approached the location they were gathered at last night he saw all of his friends huddled against a rock and soaked to the bone. Ash chuckled loudly and they all looked up to see him walking up to them, a surprising spring in his step. They were silent as the wind whistled around them, as if waiting for Ash's response.

"I've decided…to live." Ash said with a smile and their expectant looks dissolved to smiles. "I'm going to finish fighting this war…but I can't do it alone."

"You don't have to."

"That's why we're here."

"I'm fining you for worrying us."

"Typical Ash."

"Of course not."

"That's what I tried to tell you last night." Ash laughed at Paul's response and looked to Misty who had not said anything but stared at him with her lips pursed. She walked up to him and glared at him for a moment before slapping him across the face. Ash stood there stunned a moment at her reaction before suddenly he felt his lips on Misty's, not quite sure of how they got there. He looked past her and saw the males snickering and the girls smiling before Misty withdrew.

"Now, what do you need from us?" Misty said with a smirk. Ash shook his head, as if there were water in his ears as Pikachu laughed on his shoulder. Ash shot a glare at him before turning to his friends.

"I don't know much about aura, but I do know one thing: I can take other people's aura." Ash said, his face now screwing up in concentration. "Now, I can't take it all from one person because that would kill them but maybe if I took just a little bit from all of you…"

Brock was the first to step forward, stretching his hand forward with a smile. A wordless gesture to indicate it was all okay. Misty was next, placing her hand on top of Brock's. Everyone else soon followed after that, Paul's hand resting on top. Ash smiled and walked forward, reaching out to put his hand on top of theirs, Pikachu sneaking his own hand underneath. Ash looked at each of them and closed his eyes. Seconds later, it was done. Their hands broke away as each of his friends seemed dazed for a moment and Ash felt new life flowing through him.

"Don't…" Paul's voice came first, sounding dry and exhausted. "…ever ask us to do that again."

"Can't make any promises." Ash said with a laugh and Paul simply glared at him angrily.

"I feel like I've been hit by a truck." Barry said, stretching his face somewhat comically. "I'm gonna fine you for this Ash."

"Whatever, Barry." Ash stated. "I feel a ton better. Not my complete strength but certainly enough to keep me moving forwards. What about you guys?"

"I can't say that we feel great." Max said with a sigh. "But we just feel a little tired a think, which isn't too bad considering things." Ash nodded with a smile and everyone else smiled back at him.

"So, where do we go from here?" May asked and Ash brought his fingers to his chin, thinking about the situation.

"I don't know…" Ash admitted. "The battle at Cerulean was a clear success for our side, though the city was left in shambles. I suppose we should report back to Brandon since we're here so Cynthia can know where we are if she ne-" Ash's words were cut off by a loud droning sound in the air above them. All at once, the ten occupants of that location snapped their gaze upwards to see the four helicopters streaking across the sky toward the small landing field for Pallet Town. Ash's tightened his gaze onto the sides of the helicopters and saw the League emblem emblazoned on the side.

"Is that…?" came Misty's voice and Ash nodded without thinking.

"Yeah, those are League helicopters." Without waiting for his friends, Ash started dashing towards the landing place of the helicopters as quickly as he could. He didn't need to ask his friends to follow him as he knew they were trailing right behind him. It was as he ran that Ash realized just how good he was starting to feel. The small bit of aura he had taken from each of his friends had rejuvenated him in a way he never felt possible. Though it still stung that he was going to die if he ran out of aura, that fact that his friends were willing to give up a little bit of their own life for him burned brighter than any ounce of aura ever could. The thought made his face stretch into a wide grin and laugh loudly, no doubt causing the others beside him to wonder if he had gone a different kind of insane than the night before..

"Life is good!" Ash yelled loudly and Pikachu whooped beside him. He slowed to a walk, seeing the helicopters and the League officers standing nearby. "Man, I was really crazy last night huh?" Pikachu sighed in assent and Ash nudged his Pokemon with his cheek, causing Pikachu to giggle loudly. The sound of jubilance reached the ears of the League officers and each of them turned in the direction of the sound. Naturally, the first that Ash noticed was Cynthia whose face lit up in relief to see all of them approaching.

"I'm glad I found you here!" Cynthia cried out as Ash and the others came to a stop in front of them. Ash glanced past Cynthia and saw Brandon with Drew and Kenny. The three came to stand next to Cynthia with looks of worry plastered to their faces. "I went to Cerulean since I knew you were in the battle there, but your sisters told me that all of you had come here, Misty."

"I guess I should thank them…?" Misty said and Cynthia gave no response save for a sigh.

"What's going on Cynthia?" Brock asked, looking around slightly to see if Lucy was there.

"Nothing less than what is perhaps the worst attack we've had." Shock registered on all their faces, and Dawn's voice was the one that managed to squeak forward first.

"But, we were just attacked yesterday!" she whimpered out.

"Didn't stop them, apparently." Kenny mumbled out with a frustrated voice. Cynthia closed her eyes a moment, as if trying to figure out how best to relay the situation.

"Yes, you all did very well at Cerulean by defeating Regigigas from what I heard. Since yesterday morning quite a bit of the residual damage in Cerulean has been cleaned up, though the city did take quite a beating. But," Cynthia said, holding a singular finger in midair. "It appears that their forces are not nearly as exhausted as we would have liked to think. As of this morning, three groups of legendaries struck three separate locations within the Sinnoh region simultaneously."

"The lakes." Paul said bluntly.

"Well observed, Paul." Cynthia said with a nod. "Yes, Lake Verity, Valor and Acuity came under attack. All three of those areas, save for Lake Valor, are sparsely populated so their move on the lakes makes little sense but the potential spillover from the battle could cause problems for each of the towns."

"Twinleaf!" Barry and Dawn cried at once, a third voice that Ash presumed to be Kenny's joining the chorus.

"My thoughts exactly." Cynthia said sternly.

"But I can only think of one reason why they would attack the lakes and that would be Uxie, Azelf and Mesprit." Ash said with a frown, a crease forming on his forehead. "I mean, from what I know they are on our side." This comment made a general murmur pass through his friends and Ash was thinking the same thing. If they were on the side of the humans then why was Azelf attacking Ash last night?

"I was thinking the same thing. And perhaps I wouldn't have required your assistance Ash, but the situation changed no less than an hour after the attack began."

"What do you mean, 'changed'?" Max questioned and Cynthia grimaced slightly.

"We received intel that Koga and his little band of miscreants were deployed to all three locations. Of course they'll probably take out the legendaries, but that's just the problem: they'll take them out. If that action is taken, who knows what kind of response it could provoke from the legendaries that remain."

"So, you want us to go there, right?" Ash asked with an eyebrow raised and Cynthia nodded.

"We've already deployed troops, and from what it sounds like, our other allies may have already arrived but we need help. I don't know what good two or three people can do but it may cause some boost in morale, right?"

"All right then, we'll go."

"Excellent. But you'll all need to go to different places…" Cynthia mused, her sentence trailing off as she thought about how best to divide the nine of them.

"I'll go to Lake Acuity." Brock offered and she snapped her gaze to him. "Remember, I have a connection with Uxie and that could be a great asset."

"I'll head there with him." Paul confirmed, stepping forward and standing by Brock's side. "I know Lake Acuity pretty well since I trained there for about ten days during my journey through Sinnoh."

"Yeah, I'll go too!" Barry quickly quipped. "I was lost there with Ash and Paul so I know kind of what to expect." Cynthia smiled at them in relief.

"I want to go to Twinleaf." Dawn said sheepishly. "It's my home and I want to protect it."

"Mine too!" Kenny said, rushing forward to stand next to dawn. "I know I might help here but I want to help at Verity. It's my home as well."

"I'll go with them." Ash said. "I think I can help there and besides, there's something I want to check out." Ash didn't need to say what that "something" was for all of his friends to know what he was talking about.

"That leaves us for Lake Valor, Misty, which is a good thing since I have been there before!" May chirped and Misty smiled at her.

"Hey, what about me?" Max fumed towards his sister and she shook her head roughly.

"No." May answered and Max was prepared to protest when Ash butted in to save the conversation before it turned into another scene.

"Max, things'll get dangerous out there and in case things will get dangerous here we need someone else here who knows Pallet with Kenny leaving, okay?" Ash told him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you sure you're not just trying to get rid of me?" Max said with a glare towards his sister.

"Max…can you promise me you'll keep my mom safe?" Ash asked sternly. "Pallet does have a history of being a target for the legendaries, right?" Max sighed loudly.

"Okay. I'll do it." Ash smiled at him and turned away as Cynthia clapped her hands loudly.

"Then that settles it; and it works out for the best anyway. Lance is currently fighting at Lake Valor. Each of the other three helicopters are bound for each lake, but I must warn you to be careful in this battle. We've never truly fought Koga's group at their full strength, so we must be vigilant."

"Aye-aye ma'am!" cried all the boys in the group. Cynthia merely waved them off and started stalking away towards her own helicopter. Max turned away from the group and caught up with Brandon and Drew who were striding away. Brock's group didn't say anything but bid a silent farewell by placing a hand on Ash's shoulders and walking towards their own helicopter. Ash turned towards Misty.

"Come back safe, okay?" Misty said with a smile.

"I promise." Ash answered.

"I promise to keep him safe." Dawn stated sternly and Kenny flinched next to her. Misty stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Ash.

"Remember, we're there for you. Us, the League and even the Strong Branch." Misty said quietly before withdrawing from the embrace.

"Strong Branch?" Ash questioned.

"A little something we remaining Gym Leaders thought up. No doubt Cynthia knows because she certainly had no qualms about sending the two of us, knowing that I am one of the Gym Leaders."

"Okay, Misty." Ash chuckled out. "You be safe too." On that note, the two remaining teams separated, heading for their respective helicopters.

-CT-

Flames spewed forth at an alarming rate. Bursts of water and ice collided with one another and numerous screeches filled he air as Brock, Paul and Barry dropped down into Lake Acuity. Without even a moments hesitation Paul sent Torterra out while Barry called on Empoleon and Brock sent out Croagunk.

"So what's the plan?" Paul asked darkly, thinking of the best way to end this battle as efficiently as possible.

"We find the leader and smash him!" Barry said and dashed forward with a guttural cry, Empoleon trailing after him. Paul looked to Brock who merely shrugged his shoulders. With a scowl, Paul chased after Barry.

"Torterra, protect this area!" Paul ordered and Torterra gave a cry of assent as it reared up on its hind legs and sent them crashing down onto the ground, knocking out a group of Koga's soldiers that had started to charge them.

"Join in Croagunk, and take out those Mightyena!" Croagunk leapt forward and into an approaching gang of the Pokemon, swinging its arm around with a powerful force. Paul meanwhile, darted through the crowd of Pokemon, sending Electivire out to protect him.

"Barry, get back here!" Paul yelled as he saw Empoleon using Drill Peck as well as Hydro Pump on several soldiers that were advancing towards them. "This isn't good. Electivire, clear 'em out with Thunder!" Electivire whirled its arms around before letting off a powerful electrical discharge that left all of their opponents reeling. With a scowl, Paul pushed forward again, wildly grabbing out and finally grabbing a hold of the back of Barry's ascot.

"Hey, lemme go! I'm fining you!" Barry cried out and Paul dragged him down, the both of them ducking as a Hyper Beam seared across the area, barely missing both of them.

"That is the reason why we do not separate from the group in the middle of a battle!" Paul chided him but Barry merely frowned at him. "You want to get yourself killed!"

"Hey, we gotta win! Striking first is always more favorable." Barry yelled out.

"Yeah, and maybe that's why I sweeped you in the Sinnoh League!"

"Shut up! That was a fluke…and I still need to fine you for that."

"It's not funny Barry!" Paul snapped. "This is a real battle, a real war. We could get ourselves killed and you're acting like its nothing. Ash expects us to get back alive so don't go risking your own life."

"I'm not a child."

"Well, you sure as hell act like one!" The comment managed to shut Barry up as he glared back at Paul. After a minute of nothing but the sounds of battle going around them, including Electivire's cries as it struck down encroaching foes, Barry opened his mouth to speak. But Paul instead heard another sound. "NO! Electivire, protect!" Paul grabbed Barry and tossed the both of them next to Electivire just as the WHEEEEEE! sound reached its highest pitch and slammed into the lake. The resulting explosion was enough to make even Electivire's shield waver.

The sound split into Paul's ears and for a moment he felt as if nothing was right with the world. There were no more high pitched sounds, nor were there explosions. But Paul could still see the bombs hitting the surface of Lake Acuity. He could see the helicopters that meant they were from Koga's men. He could see Rayquaza's Hyper Beam rip through the choppers like butter. But what scared him most of all were the League officers and other men and Pokemon that were cradling their bloody selves on the edge of the lake, screaming in pain; screams that he couldn't hear. The bombardments were ceased the moment of Rayquaza's attack but Paul couldn't hear a thing.

He felt a pair of hands on his shoulders shaking him but even his eyes no longer wanted to cooperate. He finally managed to regain focus as a large hand, no doubt belonging to Brock, came and slapped him across his cheek. He saw Barry stumble up, looking around for Empoleon who Paul could had managed to avoid the blast's radius.

"…aul!" cried a voice and Paul could sense his hearing coming back. "…ll yourself together! Come on! Paul!" All at once Paul's hearing snapped back into focus and he pitched forward, grabbing onto Brock's arm. A ringing filled his ears, though he could still hear what was being said.

"Torterra…Electivire…are they…?" Paul questioned, afraid of the answer that Brock was going to give.

"They're fine." Paul chuckled in relief before he pushed Brock out of the way and heaved onto the snow. He felt sick and exhausted but Brock kneeled down next to him and handed him a water bottle which Paul gratefully took, draining the water. He felt Brock feel his temperature and vitals though he wasn't fully aware of it.

"Barry?" Paul asked.

"I'm here." Barry said weakly as Paul pulled himself up. He felt a little weak on his legs but pushed it away and convinced himself to stand strong. "We're fine…I think."

"You look it." came a deep voice and a booming laugh. "But let's see how you are after I deal with you, huh?"

-CT-

"There you are! Cynthia called me to tell me you were coming!" Lance yelled as May and Misty hopped off their chopper.

"Sorry, we had issues with trying to land. Neither of us has any good flying Pokemon so…" Misty said.

"It's fine! I don't really care." Lance said agitatedly, waving his hand away from the issue.

"What's the status of the battle?" May asked tentatively and Lance sighed in frustration.

"The difficulty of battling here at Lake Valor is that we have two points of attack." Lance said. "That being said our forces have had to split into two: one for the surface of the lake and the other for Valor Resort."

"Okay, so which one needs our help more?" Misty asked sternly and Lance glanced at her, sizing her and May up.

"I'd say that you should take Valor resort, particularly the rooftop, that's where a huge bulk of the fighting is happening." Lance answered. "Plus, from what I know, that's where Koga's commanders have set up their base."

"Who's up there anyway?" Misty asked and Lance turned to her, pausing in their walk from their base camp to the shore.

"Janine and Pheobe." Lance said with a grimace on his face and Misty scowled. She looked at Lance and her eyes flashed malevolently.

"Oh, I'll take up there. Janine is mine." Misty snapped, pumping her fist into her hand. May nodded, slightly scared of Misty's fire. Lance smirked.

"Sounds like a plan. Remember, we aim to capture, not kill." Lance said, the smirk dropping from his face at his last words and reconfiguring into a stern glance. "Go ahead Misty, and make sure you win. Wouldn't do to have the Strong Branch breaking off would it?"

"No, it wouldn't." Misty asserted. Lance put his fingers to his mouth and whistled. Soon after his Dragonite came swooping down on them. Lance motioned to his Pokemon and the both of them understood, clambering onto the dragon. Like a shot, Dragonite took off and shot upwards towards the roof. It felt like less than a minute when the two arrived and jumped off. Dragonite immediately took aim and spiraled down towards its master.

"Is that them?" May asked, pointing in the direction of two female trainers that were battling with some League officials. Misty looked and knew instantly that it was indeed Janine and Phoebe. Phoebe's Dusclops sent out a Dark Pulse and their opponents Charmeleon and the Pokemon was blasted over the side of the roof as Venemoth used a Psychic to ensure that its trainer did the same. Misty scowled and rushed over to them, grabbing out a pokeball. Their voices reached her ears as she dashed over to them.

"These League trainers are like cannon fodder." came Phoebe's caustic voice and Janine laughed loudly.

"Other than Lance, I doubt a single one of them could go toe to toe with us, and he's busy on the surface!" Janine cackled out.

"Gyarados, Aqua Tail!" Misty roared and the two looked towards Misty as Gyarados' attack slammed into the surface of the roof at their feet. Janine flipped out of the way, dragging Phoebe with her. "Why don't you try us on for size?"

"Tch." Janine spat calling Venomoth back. "Fine, you asked for it! Let's go Toxicroak!"

"Toxicroak, huh?" May said. "I think Blaziken will be more than a match. Now, let's stop with the talking."

"And crush these insects!" Misty and Janine cried at once, all four of the Pokemon leaping at one another to do battle.

Author's Note: And so begins the Battle of the Lakes, perhaps the biggest arc of the entire series. There are some big events to happen here. Yes, Ash chose life (but I think we all knew he would) and now he's thrust into battle once again. I will say that the Battle of the Lakes is something I have been planning since the beginning of the series and I feel that it is off to a great start. But let's just say, as it is July 1st in the story, that our characters are in for a VERY long day. Now, I have a bone to pick with all of you: what happened? I was getting almost 7-8 reviews per chapter and then all my usual reviewers dropped off the face of the earth…it makes me sad. I hope to see you all again with a REVIEW. Yes, I read every review and respond to any that have something I can formulate a good response to. Anyway, rant over so, REVIEW and Dare to Be Silly.

To Kauris: You're halfway there about Azelf but there is just a little bit more to it, which you will learn next chapter. Also, if you have an account, please review with that so I can respond earlier than every chapter.