Chapter 14

The rain started up again by late afternoon and continued through the night.

The Auburn City Pokémon Center was the smallest the twin had yet to see, but that came in handy as no one else was there to heal their Pokémon. The afternoon had gone by in a blur of questions from police, most of which Blue and Gary handled while Ash recovered his energy and Red stood with Blue, his presence enough for Officer Jenny. Ember stayed huddled in a corner of the center, eyes locked on the center's exam room door. Ash sat beside her, their hands twined together, and his head on her shoulder.

When the questioning ended, the other three Pallet trainers took seat around the twins, Red next to Ash and the two Oaks in chairs across from them. Ash did his best to smile at them, his eyes constantly drooping as his body demanded sleep, while Ember made no indication she even knew they were there.

Blue mentioned how Surge called them while they were flying into the area, so they split off to help out. Red just stared at his siblings, eyes moving from one to the other.

It was just past sundown when Surge entered the Pokémon Center, drenched to the bone and pissed off.

"Ketchum!" Surge barked as he stormed over to the group. Ash and Red looked up at the name call, though Red looked away when he realized he wasn't the target of Surge's ire. "You have some balls to hang up on me!" Surge loomed over the table, standing between Gary and Blue, and jabbed a finger into Ash's chest. Before Surge could pull his finger back, Ember's hand shot out to grab it, her grip like steel.

Surge turned a bewildered look onto her. Her gaze slowly lifted until it met his, causing Surge to freeze under the stare. He held her gaze a moment more before she let go to focus on the approaching Chansey. Surge took a step back, casting a look to Red who stared at Ember.

"Thank you, Chansey," Blue said, breaking the silence. Chansey nodded, setting two trays of Pokéballs on the table. Pikachu leapt out from behind Chansey, landing on Ash to give him a sniff over.

"Hey, buddy," Ash grinned and turned to Chansey. "How are the Squirtles?"

"Tired, but they'll be fine. Pikachu mentioned you could understand me," Chansey said, though she still mimed out some actions. With that she returned to the back of the center to help out.

Pikachu climbed back on the table to roll three Pokéballs over to Ash.

"Alverna, Charmeleon, and Harry," he said. "Scorch needs treatment on his stomach after the Body Slam he did and Gaia has a cold Nurse Joy wanted to keep an eye on."

He pushed the other tray of Pokéballs towards Ember after Gary collected all of his.

"Everyone's here for you, except… Zinnia," Pikachu said, his ears drooping.

"Your Pikachu has really taken to the leadership role," Blue noted. "Looks like he really wants to comfort everyone." Pikachu nodded at him.

"Did you see her?" Ember whispered, her voice strained.

"See who?" Gary asked. Blue shrugged, but the Ketchum boys and Surge stared at Pikachu expectantly.

"Yeah… she was unconscious and attached to some machines… I don't know how she is," Pikachu answered.

"Nurse Joy would've told you by now were it serious," Surge said, catching on. His Raichu sent a little spark to Pikachu, a concerned look on her face. Surge crossed his arms and glared down at Ash. "Hang up on me again and you'll find that out first hand."

"Yes, sir," Ash gulped.

The twins Pokéballs began to shake on their own suddenly, and split second later, the Pokémon Center was much more crowded than ever before. Only one Pokéball remained full.

"What the hell!" Gary cried as Harry landed on him, knocking them both to the floor. Alverna managed to get herself and Charmeleon to an empty spot before getting closer to Ash. Both wanted to ensure their trainer was okay.

Harry glared down at Gary, as if it were the boy's fault for being on the floor.

"Hey!" Pikachu gave a warning spark, smaller than it would normally be, to his teammate. "Just because Ash is drained, doesn't mean you can have a meltdown." Harry gave him a look before he seemed to realize he was indeed feeling angrier than usual around Ash. He put his rarely used move of Meditate to use before standing up to be closer to his trainer as well.

"What kind of Charmeleon is that?" Blue asked.

"A cheat one," Gary muttered.

Ember had Warrior sitting on the table in front of her, hand held out to Ember as she offered reassurance. Star sat on her lap, hugging her torso, the faint glow of Heal Pulse coming off his hands. Ash wasn't sure, but he swore he heard Star apologizing.

For Ash the biggest surprise was the Vibrava resting on the floor, her big bug eyes scanning everyone.

"Sahara evolved," Ash smiled. Ember nodded absently as she stared at the lone Pokéball that was still full.

"Yeah, I feel much faster now," Sahara said. She buzzed her wings once, the noise so loud it made everyone cringe.

"To have a dragon-type so soon is really luck," Blue noted. "I can't call myself an expert on the Flygon line, but I know their speedy Pokémon."

Nurse Joy came over, looking tired.

"Nurse, how are the Pokémon?" Blue asked.

"Who does the Zorua belong to?" Nurse Joy asked, her voice serious. Ember shot from her seat.

"Is Zinnia okay?" she asked, her voice cracking.

"Just what were you thinking sending in such a young Pokémon into a battle like that?" Nurse Joy asked. Her glare sent all of the boys recoiling into their seats. Ember stood her ground, her body shaking and her Pokémon gathered around her. "Do you realize what might have happened if her injuries were any worse? The irresponsible–"

Charlie released himself, landing in front of Nurse Joy. A Charmeleon on their own is pretty intimidating, one that was 5'4" and in your face… even an enraged Nurse Joy had to step back. Charlie jabbed a finger at Nurse Joy and started growling at her. She might not have understood his words, but she got the gist.

"Alright, alright," she held up her hands, "I suppose I don't know the full story." Charlie scowled before nodding. He glanced at Ember, before shifting his gaze to the ground.

"Zorua will be fine," Nurse Joy assured, "I want to keep her tonight just to make sure."

"Okay," Ember sighed and sat back down. She buried her head into her arms as Nurse Joy went back to work. Ash rest a hand on her back.

"Perhaps you should get some sleep," Red said. "We can talk tomorrow."

All three rookies took that cue for what it was and retired to the rooms given to them by the center.

XXX

Ash fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow, maybe a few seconds before, while Ember sat up with her Pokémon, a lamp on beside her. Charlie had yet to meet her eye, the others were curled up close and drifting off one by one.

"I'm proud of you, you know," Ember whispered, her hand stroking through Star's fur.

"I failed to protect her," Charlie muttered.

"Nah," Ember smiled softly. Warrior nuzzled closer into Ember's side and Star purred in his sleep. "You did something better." Charlie looked up in disbelief.

"You inspired her to fight," Ember said. "Yeah, she's still young, but she's been training now. You know she sees you as a big brother. She saw you and your bravery and she couldn't just standby and do nothing."

"I couldn't even protect you," Charlie growled. "It's my job as your Pokémon, as your starter, to keep you safe and…" Ember leaned forward to press a finger to his nose, shushing him.

"We went into that blind," Ember said, "we did the best we could. I'm proud of everyone, especially you. You charged into the rain to help fight and keep the shack safe. You did what any leader should, you led through example and you defended those around you. Sure, Red ended up saving us all… and I got trapped by Ge…" she gulped before continuing, "but you did what you could. I'm proud of you, Charlie."

Charlie blinked back tears before crawling closer and curling up with everyone, his tail resting on the fireproof blanket Ember laid out, out of habit. Sahara buzzed lightly in her sleep and cuddled into Charlie's heat.

"Zinnia will be fine," Ember assured, "and we'll up our training. All of us." She clenched a fist, letting her aura flare. Her normal purple aura looked a shade… grayer than normal. Ember shook it off as a trick of the light before her attention was pulled to Ash.

Her twin began to toss in his sleep, little whimpers escaping him. Pikachu groggily climbed over his body to pat at Ash's cheek.

Ember carefully extracted herself from her Pokémon to move over to Ash. She shook his shoulder, speaking softly.

"Ash, you're having a nightmare," she whispered.

And a weird one, Alverna added. She sat with her back pressed to the wall, Charmeleon resting on her lap and Harry next to her.

Ash's eyes flew open as he shot up. He stared at Ember, panicked.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Em…ber?" she said, taken aback. "Your sister."

"I don't have a sister," Ash said, scooting back. Ember stepped back a bit, hurt, before turning a glare on her brother.

"Not the time, Ash," she said. Pikachu agreed and gave Ash a little shock. He yelped, waking everyone in the room up, and blinked rapidly.

"Ember? What's wrong? Are you okay?" Ash asked.

"You had a nightmare," Ember muttered before turning back to her bed. Her Pokémon made room for her, while Harry made an annoyed sound and punched a pillow to get comfortable.

"Uh…" Ash blinked in confusion. Pikachu gave him a brief summary before curling up himself.

"Sorry," Ash whispered as he laid back down too. "Love you… Muk breathe." He smiled at Ember's muffled snort.

"Love you too, Doduo brain," Ember whispered back.

XXX

The next morning, the twins woke to Lucario and Red sitting on the floor, staring at each other quietly. Ash blinked in confusion as he stared at the two while Ember rolled over and tried to go back to sleep.

You brother wishes to share something with you both, Lucario said. I offered to leave, but he wants me to stay. Perhaps to help you two share somethings with him.

"Too early," Ember muttered.

"It's 11," Red said.

"Still," Ember said.

"Ember," Red said. There was a moment of silence before Ember sighed heavily and rolled over to sit up, her Pokémon followed suit.

"Alright… sibling meeting," Ember grumbled, rubbing at her eyes, "plus Lucario… begin."

"Is this about us fighting Team Rocket?" Ash asked. "We had no choice and we did call for help."

"No… this is about your aura training," Red said. Ember couldn't even muster a sarcastic gasp, instead she just rolled her hand to have him continue.

"And about me… being psychic," Red said. That got a reaction.

"What?!" Ash leaned forward, staring intensely at his brother. "How? When? What?"

"Psychic, bloodline, birth, psychic," Red answered.

"Wait, then… does that mean… are we psychic?" Ember asked, waking up more.

"No," Red said bluntly. "Mom and I tested you both as kids. Ash… with rigorous training… maybe, but Ember… you had nothing." Ember grunted and hugged a pillow to her chest. "My turn." Red held a hand up to stave off any more questions.

"How long have you been training in aura?" he asked.

"About three years," Ember answered.

They're naturals at it, Lucario added. My trainer, Riley, and I believe you all may be descendants of aura guardians.

"Really?" Ash asked. "You never told us that."

"We are," Red nodded.

"Okay!" Ember threw her pillow to the ground and pointed accusingly at Red.

"It's time you tell us everything about our family. No more secrets!" both twins yelled as one. Red sighed, but nodded.

"Our father is Giovanni, you know that. His family has a line of psychics, which skips generations… it skipped him. Mom told me about the aura guardians once from her dad's side of the family and Lavender Town mediums from her mom's side… that's all she told me about her parents though… we should ask her together… later. I'm psychic, I've trained with Sabrina and Elite Four trainee Will. You two are aura guardians in training, and powerful from what Lucario has shared with me on your progress. Have I missed anything?"

"Nope," Ember said.

"Yeah… that about covers it," Ash said.

"This was kind of unexpected, though," Ember said.

"Why tell us this all of the sudden?" Ash asked.

"I felt it only fair, knowing about your aura training, you should know about me," Red said.

There was silence as everyone sat there… broken by the twins' stomachs growling. Red stood and beckoned for the twins to get dressed as he headed for the door.

"Wait," Ember grabbed his arm as he passed. "Can you read minds?"

"Can you levitate things?" Ash asked, grabbing his other arm.

"Can you communicate without speaking?" Ember asked.

"Can you-" both of their mouths snapped shut, Red's eyes glowing a faint red.

"I can do that," Red said with a smirk. Lucario snickered.

Useful, he said and stood as well. He patted Ember's shoulder, giving her an apologetic look that took her by surprise, before leaving with Red.

XXX

After a quick lunch, Nurse Joy allowed the twins to visit their Pokémon. Scorch, it turned out, had a fractured rib that would take a bit of time to heal. Zinnia, on the other hand…

"Momma!" Zinna sprung from her little bed into Ember's arms. She nuzzled herself under Ember's chin and curled in as close as she could. "Did you hear? I fought the bad guys!"

"I did hear," Ember giggled as she cuddled her. "I'm so proud of you. You were so brave."

Zinnia moved a bit to look over Ember's shoulder, a whole new wave of excitement shot through her.

"Big brother!" she cried and leapt over Ember's shoulder to be caught by Charlie.

Charlie would deny vehemently that his eyes watered at that, but he hugged Zinnia close, rocking her gently.

"Oh! Look what I was practicing last night!" Zinnia said. Her face scrunched up in concentration. "I… Love… You… Momma." She said in human.

Ember and Charlie made a high pitch squeal at the cuteness, much to Zinnia's delight.

Charlie carried her out to the front of the center with Ember, where Ash was just hanging up a phone call.

"Hey," he waved. "I just sent Scorch to Professor Oak to recuperate. How's Zinnia?" He smiled and scratched Zinnia behind the ear, receiving a happy yip in return.

"Chansey said she was ready to leave, but needs a day of rest before training," Ember said. "Also… Squirtles." Ash looked behind him to see the Squirtle Squad heading towards him.

"Ash," the lead Squirtle said, taking off his pointy sunglasses, "we've been talking… and…" he glanced at the others before continuing, "we want a change. A good one too. We want trainers again and we trust you to help us find them. I would like you to be my trainer."

"Are you sure?" Ash asked. He received confirming nods from all of them and smiled at the shiny leader. "I'll be glad to have you, then." He pulled a Pokéball from his pocket and held it to Squirtle. The shiny grinned, tapping it with his hand and absorbed into it. The 'ball clicked without a single wiggle and Ash released his newest Pokémon, pulling his Pokédex out as well.

Squirtle, the Tiny Turtle Pokémon. Squirtle's thick shell isn't only for protection but also aids it in swimming at fast pace. It can shoot high pressured water while hiding inside its shell.

This Squirtle is male and has the abilities Torrent, which boost water-type moves when weakened, and Rain Dish, which allows the user to recover health in the rain. He knows the moves: Tackle, Tail Whip, Water Gun, Withdraw, Bubble, Bite, Rapid Spin, Protect, Water Pulse, Aqua Tail, Hydro Pump, Scald, Muddy Water, Rain Dance, Aqua Jet, Dragon Pulse, and Aura Sphere.

Note: The unusual coloring indicates he is shiny.

"Wow, that's an amazing move set," Ash said.

"I was a trained Pokémon before this," Squirtle said with pride at the list.

"As for the rest of you," Ash looked at everyone before snapping his fingers and pointing at the Squirtle with the star-scar. "I know just the person for you. Where's Red?" Ember pointed toward the counter where their brother stood beside his Blissey and Espeon, the shiny Bulbasaur with them. Bulbasaur locked eyes with Ember and walked over. He and Squirtle nodded to each other as he came to a stop in front of Ember.

"Hi, Bulbasaur!" Zinnia said, her tail wagging.

"Hi… I… well I mean… Melanie and I were talking after you left and she… well we… I mean…" Bulbasaur stumbled over his words, two vines out to ring around each other in nervousness.

"I got this," Squirtle thumped Bulbasaur on the pod. "My buddy here wants to join you as a teammate."

"Is that right?" Ember asked. Bulbasaur nodded, giving his friend a relieved smile.

"Melanie has thought for a long while that I needed to get back into the world, and I was nervous to trust another human… but you, and Ash, have always been good and kind and… I'd be happy as your Pokémon," Bulbasaur said. He extended a vine to Ember and she shook it, matching his smile. Ember tossed a Pokéball at him, watching it click before releasing him.

Bulbasaur, the Seed Pokémon. A seed is planted on its back at birth that grows with them. They live with a symbiotic relationship with the plant.

This Bulbasaur is male and has the abilities Overgrow, which boost the power of grass-type moves when weakened, and Chlorophyll, which increases the speed of the user in direct sunlight. He knows the moves: Tackle, Growl, Leech Seed, Vine Whip, Poison Powder, Sleep Powder, Take Down, Razor Leaf, Sweet Scent, Growth, Energy Ball, Toxic, Magical Leaf, Giga Drain, and Grassy Terrain.

Note: The color indicates he is shiny.

"Nice," Red said walking over. He made eye contact with the Squirtle Ash was indicating to him. Both of their eyes glowed shortly before Red nodded and caught the Squirtle on the spot. He sent him back out and Espeon led the Squirtle off after a quick goodbye.

The twins sat off to the side to discuss, with the rest of the Squirtle Squad, who would make a good fit for them.

The Squirtle nicknamed Bandit, described himself as a flashy stylist. He preferred standing out… Ember suggested Soledad, which in turn made both of them realize that Leaf and Ritchie would be good trainers as well. Ember made the call while Ash filled in the Squirtles about the trainers. A short while later, once Ember managed to locate the three, and they were sent off to their new trainers.

"Ketchums'!" Surge came stomping over to the three siblings, the Oaks' right behind him. He addressed Red first. "The League officials have set up around the area, several League trained Pokémon are now stationed in the forest to guard the little safe haven you discovered," he nodded at Ember. "All remaining Rockets have been swept up and the Executives are under higher surveillance, neither are getting away this time." He jerked a thumb behind him, his Raichu hopping off his shoulder to converse with Pikachu. Ember watched them, finding them far more interesting after hearing Melanie would be protected. "These two are getting on my nerves, so take care of them will you." Both Oaks' looked offended and made to argue, but found themselves unable to talk. Ash snickered at Gary's horror while Blue glared daggers at Red.

"You two," Surge turned his attention to the twins. "What are your plans now?"

"Why?" Ash asked.

Ember watched as Pikachu glared at Raichu, sending waves of lightning back at her. Raichu looked disheartened as she responded back.

"'Cause! If you two are heading back to Vermillion then I want to offer you some training at my gym," Surge said. Ember's head snapped up at that.

"Personal training? With you?" Ember asked, getting into Surge's personal space. She had to stand on her toes to even make it to his chest as she stared at his eyes.

"You're sure acting different from last night," Surge muttered.

"I'm ten, I bounce back quick," Ember shrugged. "Now…"

"Yeah, I meant personal training," Surge said. A suppressed a small shudder that threatened to run down his spine when he saw the glint in Ember's eyes.

"Woah…" Blue said, his ability to speak returning. "I haven't seen that look since…" He shared a look with Red, who smirked back, knowing the exact look he was talking about.

"Ash," Ember spun on her heels, "we're taking this opportunity." She said with no room for argument.

"How can I say no?" Ash said. "Seriously…" he muttered to Red.

"Great," Surge boomed. "Be at my gym tomorrow at 1pm. Trust me, you won't want to be late."

"That's not the first time we've heard that threat," Ember said.

AN/ How many apologies will it take for this update? Sorry so much has been happening the last few weeks and so much more is coming. I found this chapter kind of hard to write as well because I was thinking further down the road, but didn't want to skip it… next chapter will be the start of the S.S. Anne arc. It will most likely come way sooner than this one as I have actually thoughts for the next few chapters. ANYWAYS! Thank you for waiting and thank you for reading. There will be a tournament so if anyone has an OC, I've only received one so the first few are going to be picked, if not… I do have a surplus of my own to use. Please feel free to review! Thank you again!