AN: Glad that people are happy to have me back.

15: Plans

Venus and Dakim stood side by side in front of the two Cipher Admins, both of whom stood just behind a diminutive man that was barely higher than their thighs, yet, both of the lower ranked Admins knew that he was the more dangerous of the trio. The man was their master, a Grand Master trainer, and the head of Cipher, Verich Greevil. The founder.

"I believe that I do not need to tell either of you about my utter disappointment in the both of you, or do I?" Verich said with a small, deceptively pleasant smile.

Dakim bowed his head, "For my part, Sir, I didn't know that the Snag Machine had been switched out for a fake when I sent my men to retrieve it." He said, "But I gladly take full responsibility."

Verich nodded, "As you should, Dakim, as you should, however you should know that the forgery was not the only target of your little mission, but the more advanced prototype that the good Professor Krane was working on."

Dakim shook his head, "I wasn't aware of the second machine," he admitted, "If it would redeem my position, I would personally go to retrieve it, should so order it."

"I do, and you are to bring the machine straight to me once you obtain it." The man smiled, "Ein should be able to reprogram it to capture targeted Pokemon, as I believe our informants have found that this new machine targets Dark Pokemon exclusively."

Dakim bowed again, "It will be done, Sir. I'll leave tonight."

"Very well," he said, and nodded to the blue-haired man on his left, "Ardos, give him the Moltres we recently converted. This can be its trial run."

"As you wish, Sir." He took a Pokeball from his belt, and tossed it toward the large man, "Try not to disappoint us, Dakim."

Dakim nodded silently as he pocketed the ball.

"Now for you, Venus," Verich said, making the woman sweat slightly, "Not only do you have control of Phenac City, but you had indirect control of Pyrite Town's colosseums, and mining operations." He tsked in disappointment, "My, my, my, how the mighty have fallen. Anything to say on the matter, my dear?"

"In my defense, I was planning on taking control of the town back from that little Kalosian girl, and would have if that freak storm hadn't flooded my base in Under Town." She growled, "Not only did my apprentice fail to keep her control over the town, but now I've come to find out that she's thrown her lot in with the very same girl that defeated her."

"I had thought you sent some of your follows to deal with her?" Ardos asked, speaking out of term for the first time, though Verich was nodding in agreement. "What happened to that plan?"

"Another trainer from that Kalosian's group," she said, frowning, "From the reports, he saw them about to deal with her, and set his Scizor on them before they could get the job done."

Verich nodded, "Eldes, make a note to obtain that Scizor. They're both rare, and powerful. It would make an excellent addition to our ranks." He said to the red-haired man on his right.

"Yes, Sir."

"Now, back on topic," the man said, "The loss of Pyrite and Under Town is a blow, Venus. A hard blow." He said, cracking open his sickly yellow eyes to give the woman a look. "Not only was it rich in gold Nuggets, but it was very rich in evolutionary stones, which we need at the moment to strengthen our ranks. But of course, you only saw value in the precious gems and Nuggets the mine produced in spades."

"I thought it more important at the time." Venus defended.

"No, you thought to line your own pockets!" Verich suddenly roared, making the woman quail in fear. "Because of you, we are now at a severe disadvantage! Thanks to the population of those unique Onix and Steelix, Pyrite was well defended, and needed very few of my men. But it seems I was mistaken in your competence! Lovrina at least made certain to assert her dominance over the town when needed, you, however, lounged in luxury!"

Venus remained silent.

"Now, the question I pose to you lot is this; how do we regain what we have lost?" He demanded. "Dakim, any thoughts?"

Dakim frowned, "You didn't hire me for my brains, Sir, that's a fact I know." He said, "But the way I see it, the girl ain't the problem. It's boy she's with."

"Very true," Verich nodded, "Go on."

"Alright, Lovrina had the right idea about taking him outta the picture, but she didn't count on him being strong enough to survive." He said, shaking his head, "And even I couldn't see that cute little girl he brought with him being a skilled trainer. The boy I could tell was tough, and seasoned. He had that look," he pointed to his eyes, "Almost like you, Sir, but on smaller scale. He's seen a lot, and done a lot. The girl? Probably just a yearling, but a strong one."

Verich nodded once more, "Very interesting, but please, get to the point, Dakim. I'm old, and fairly impatient."

"Lovrina thought the boy was the key, and he is, but she attacked him directly." Dakim went on, "But what'd happen if she'd taken the girl instead?"

Venus scoffed, "He'd have come running like a Snorlax to buffet table."

"Bingo," Dakim said, "Like I said, Sir; right idea, wrong target."

"You think taking the girl would be the best way to bait a trap," Eldes said, shaking his head, "I'm not sure about that."

"Explain." Verich said.

Eldes nodded, "I've done my research on the boy, and it's just as you say, Dakim. He's a Veteran, if not Elite level trainer." He said, "He's competed in every known League tournament there is save for the Alola or Galar League, and had been traveling around the world for the last seven or eight years. His latest loss was in the final round of the Kalos League against a very powerful trainer of the same level who employed Mega Evolution."

"I've heard of that," Verich muttered, "Not unlike what we want in terms of power, but there are very few capable of it."

"That's the second thing that's interesting about him," Eldes went on, "In that League, he used a Greninja, a fully evolved form of the Water-type starter of that region, and incapable of Mega Evolution, yet, somehow, in the battle against his final opponent, his Greninja was able to undergo Mega Evolution, without the stones required to achieve it."

Verich looked at the younger man, "Indeed? That is certainly something if it's true."

"I have a recording of that battle if you wish to view it later, but that being said, the girl in question was a companion of his through the Kalos League, and a known rising star in the Pokemon Showcase world. She's very skilled herself, even though she only has three Pokemon, none of them are slouches. I believe that to be due to the boy's influence. In either situation, kidnapping the girl would most likely bring the boy's full might down on us."

Dakim looked at his fellow red-head, "Forgive me for saying this, Sir, but it almost sounds like you're scared of him."

"Yes, I will admit to that," Eldes muttered, "Someone that can do the things he's done, and survive some of them that would kill normal trainers makes me believe that there's something about him that we're not seeing." Eldes frowned in thought, "I think the boy might be an Aura Guardian, or an Aura user at the least. If he's either one of those, then Dark Pokemon wouldn't stand a chance against him."

"Aura Guardians are extinct." Verich sneered at the younger man, "I made sure of that. The only one that can compare to what they once were is an untrained wanderer in Sinnoh that can barely use it. If this boy is anything like that, then I will not worry at all. Dakim, go ahead with your plans to steal the new Snag Machine, and Venus!"

"Sir?"

Verich gave her the cruelest of smiles, "Take that girl from him. We shall see what he does."

"With permission, I'd like to take her to Mount. Battle." She said, "It leaves few points for ambushes, and will provide a very nice way to do away with those two."

"Very well," He said, "I'll also lend you the Articuno we recently converted. It should prove useful. Do not fail me again."

"Yes, Sir," the pair left the room in a quick step, eager to get away from the man.

Verich turned to Ardos, "How are the preparations coming along for XD001?"

"It's fully functional, Sir, there should be no more problems with its obedience." Ardos said, "The problems we're having now are due to XD002." He frowned as he took out a Fast Ball from his belt, "It was indeed a very fortunate find. However, this specimen of the species is extremely volatile. Even with our processing, it is viciously aggressive toward anything or anyone near it, making battle and control very difficult."

"Keep trying," Verich frowned, "That Pokemon is even rarer than XD001's species, and the only other one that's been seen is was in Fula City. We cannot afford to lose such a valuable piece."

(*)

Delia groaned as she began to wake, her head throbbing. 'What a strange dream I had,' she thought as she sat up. 'But there's no way that he could've - '

A hand supporting her back stopped her thought. "Easy, Lia, you took a pretty hard fall."

The gasp that escaped her throat could have made a Ghastly proud. There he sat, his smile just as crooked as their son's had become. His face was just the same as the day he had left, but his hair was certainly longer, and flecked with grey here and there, particularly around his temples. "Richard..." she breathed out, "I...I'm not dreaming, am I?"

Richard "Red" Ketchum smiled at his wife, "If you're dreaming, then so am I," he said, reaching out to cup her left cheek in his right hand, "And I don't think I'd ever want to wake up."

Delia's eyes filled up with tears, "Oh, you..." she sighed, but then noticed that his nose was slightly crooked, and stuffed with tissue paper, "What happened to your nose?!"

"Huh?" He reached up and touched it, wincing, "Oh...well, you can thank our boy for that...he's not exactly my biggest fan right now, you know?"

Delia sighed sadly, "I can only imagine," she said, "For a time, I wasn't exactly happy with you either."

Red shook his head, "Frankly, I think both of you should be running me over like a stampede of angry Bouffalant when they're having a bad hair day," he chuckled, "Though, I gotta say, he did inherit your right hook."

Delia rolled her eyes at him, "And your temper." She smiled, reaching out to touch his weather-beaten face, "You...you're really here, aren't you?"

Red smiled again as he took her left hand and kissed the palm, "I am." He said, "It's really me, Lia."

Finally, Delia couldn't help herself, and lunged forward, her arms wrapping around his neck in a fierce hug. "Darling! You have no idea just how much I've missed you!"

If his grip had been any stronger, he would have crushed her as he returned her embrace, "Twelve years away, and I could never forget this feeling," he replied huskily. "So not worth the time away."

Delia pulled back and kissed his cheek, "Where have you been all this time?" She asked, "I know you written to me about Johto, and even some time in Unova, but - "

"Believe me, I never wanted to stay gone for so long." Red shook his head sadly, "After I had that run-in with Giovani, I couldn't take the risk of him getting to me by coming after you."

"You know that Team Rocket's been after our son for as long as he's been traveling, don't you?" Delia asked with a raised brow, "I know I've written about that."

He nodded, "You did, but the three that are doing all that are pretty low on the ladder. Like their boss really doesn't care what they do, so long as they don't bother him." He sighed, "It's the higher-ups I was worried about. I recently found out that Giovani even fought with Ash in Unova. It was only blind luck that he didn't take action against him because he felt he owed him that for saving his life."

"Ash told me about that," she admitted, "Something to do with their Weather trio Pokemon."

"Yup, I kept a real close eye on Team Rocket after that," he said, frowning, "Thank heaven that he left him alone. That man terrifies me more so than...well, being back here." Red looked at her, "I know the gist of everything by talking to Brock, but Delia, what were you thinking, letting him come here of all places?"

Delia smiled, "Richard, if you know anything about our son, then you'd know that stopping him is nearly impossible." She said, and laid her head against his shoulder, "He and Serena would've come here with or without my blessings. And I didn't trust this place anymore than you did, so I just had to come along. It wasn't long until I was proven right. You should see Ash's back. It's all scarred up, now."

"Brock told me about that, too." He said, "What about that girl? Serena I think her name was?"

Delia immediately became happier when she began telling him about their soon-to-be daughter-in-law. The fact that she was carrying their grandchild improved his mood greatly, though he was still unsure if their being in Orre would do the region any good.

"It already has, and you know it." She smiled at him, "Look at the colosseum. You told me it was supposed to be a Gym when you were young, and look at it now." She said, "And thanks to Ash, hundreds of people were saved from drowning when that storm hit us."

The sound of thunder rumbled outside, audible even below ground in the Under as they were thanks to the tunnel Ash's Steelix had dug. Red frowned, "That's not a natural storm, Delia, I hope you know that."

"Professor Oak said it was due to Drizzle," she put in as the thunder boomed louder than before. "But I've never seen a Drizzle this strong even when a group of Pokemon with the ability passed over."

Red shook his head, frowning, "Sam's probably got the same idea, but he doesn't want to cause a panic, that or a full on riot." He said, "This is Primordial Sea, a more advanced form of Drizzle that only a really powerful Kyogre could possess."

Delia looked shocked, "Then it should be left alone." She said, "Orre's been in an endless drought for as long as I can remember, and the rain can't do any harm."

"A little can't, but a lot certainly can," Red frowned in thought, "But Primordial Sea usually stays in effect as long as the Pokemon is conscious. These storms have been coming at erratic times of the day all day. Meaning that the Kyogre is injured, badly at that, or that there's a Groudon nearby with Desolate Land as an ability."

"Still we can leave both of them alone," Delia said, "If the Kyogre stays put, and so does the Groudon, then the region should be fine."

Red sighed deeply, "Hopefully." He said, and rose with the woman in his arms, "Now, why don't we go find that son of ours, and hope he doesn't punch my lights out again?"

(*)

"As far as I can tell, Serena, you're doing just fine," Brock smiled down at the girl he was examining. "The fevers and the queasiness are definite signs of morning sickness, but those should peter out in about three months since you seem to be at least two weeks along."

Serena smiled, rubbing her stomach, "Morning sickness in the morning for a boy, and in the evening for a girl is the old saying, I think." She said, looking up at her boyfriend who was beside the bed with Pikachu on his shoulder as usual, nursing a bruised right hand, "So what does say about me being sick in the afternoon?"

Brock smirked, "There's no proof that's a proven theory." He chucked, "But it's something to go on until we can rig up and ultrasound."

Serena giggled, "I repeat what I said earlier; I'm so glad you're here, Brock." She smiled, "Now, how's Ash's hand?"

Ash blushed, "Aw, c'mon, it's nothing to worry about."

"Tell that to Red's nose," Lovrina commented from the foot of the bed by Serena's feet. She looked at Ash for a moment, "Is that guy...well, I guess this makes him my dad, too now, huh?"

Ash growled while Pikachu sparked his cheeks while Brock began examining his hand, "He's gonna have to earn it. I haven't seen him for over twelve years, and he chooses now to just come waltzing back into our lives?"

Brock chuckled, "Well, I can't say I don't understand how you feel." He said, thinking back to his own father when he left his family, "But I gotta say, I never hauled off and hit my dad."

"He had it coming," Ash pouted.

"Pi!" Pikachu agreed.

"Not gonna argue that," Red said for himself as he and Delia entered the room.

Lovrina gave a small yelp and scuttled to hide behind her brother. Red gave her a strange look, but let it go for the moment. "Not gonna hit me again, are you?" He asked, looking at his son.

"Depends," Ash said, looking sour, "Are you going to stick around?"

Red nodded, "Unless I'm getting you and Delia out of Orre, I'm staying."

"Well, don't forget me," Serena piped up as she adjusted her blouse and sat up, "Or Lovrina. Delia did tell you that you're the father of two, now, didn't she?"

"Who?" Red asked.

"Me." Lovrina peeked out from behind Ash.

Red looked to his wife, affecting a hurt look, "I haven't even looked at another woman for twelve years, and I come home to find out you've got a daughter?"

Delia turned her nose up at him, "You're sense of humor is worse than some of Samuel's poetry," she jabbed him in the side, "I adopted her."

"And don't forget about this one," Serena smiled, gesturing to her stomach. "Or hasn't she told you about your first grandchild?"

Red shook his head, "No, no, I've heard," he said, reaching back to scratch the back of his neck, looking damnably identical to his son save for the grey hair, and weathered face. "Guess I have to get back into the swing of this family thing."

"Just so long as you don't pull a disappearing act again," Delia smiled happily as she leaned into his arm.

Red smiled, "Don't worry, I - Doh!"

"Kyah!"

"Pixie!"

"Blitz!"

The room erupted as Pixie bounded into the room, and squeezed herself between Red's knees, unbalancing the man while running away from her newest playmate. The little Alolan Vulpix was able to squeeze through easily enough, but when Blitzle crashed into the back of his legs, both elder Ketchums were sent to the floor in a heap as Blitzle chased Pixie into the room.

Pixie found her escape route as she bounded into her 'mother's' arms and Pikachu lept to intercept the Electrified Pokemon before he could cause harm to the expecting mother.

Red sat up, groaning, "Talk about being Blitzed!" He groaned, "I'm too old to be treated like this!"

Delia giggled, "You get used to it, Dear." She said, "Besides, you haven't been zapped by Pikachu, ye - "

"CHUUUUU!"

"Pikachu!" Ash roared as he dove over Serena to protect her as his partner let loose a powerful Thunderbolt that not only blasted Blitzle and Brock, but a stray bolt also shocked his trainer's parents.

"Y-Yet..." Delia stammered as her husband fell back onto the floor.

"N-no more t-tempt-ting f-fate, p-please!"

"That's it!" Lovrina shouted, "If your name isn't Ash or Serena, then out! Everybody out!"

"Pi Pikachu!" Pikachu agreed loudly waving his arms to shoo Blitzle out of the room while Ash helped Brock to his feet.

Brock shook his head, "That's almost as bad as Croagunk's Poison Jab." He groaned, "Glad I'm used to it."

"Sorry about that, Brock." The culprit's trainer chuckled, "And thanks for looking Serena over. It meant a lot to her."

Brock laughed and clapped him on the back, "Just remember my name's in the godfather bucket when the time comes."

"Save it for later," Lovrina said, still upset over nearly being zapped, "Now shoo!"

Serena suddenly burst out laughing at the entire fiasco that had unfolded before her, and felt a flutter in her stomach as she did, almost as if someone else was laughing along with her.

(*)

The next day found Ash and Serena up with the sun, and running as they prepared for Steven and Grace's arrival. Or at least that's what they were telling themselves. They were really working on the town again. Serena was ecstatic to have heard about the underground lake that had been drilled into the previous day, and was expecting a water pump fro Professor Krane some time during the day. Meanwhile, Ash was going through the Mega Stones that been mined and polished.

Thus far there was a mix of stones that were useful to the native Pokemon in the area, those being Steelixite, and Aggronite. There were others such as Gyaradosite, and Scizorite, but the one that had been hardest to find was Tyranitarite. Ash was happy to let the miners keep a Key and Mega Stone of their choosing, which meant that the excess of Aggronite was not as high as it had been, though no one was brave enough to take any Steelixite aside from Ash, and Brock. Tracey was glad to accept a Key Stone and Scizorite for his Scizor.

Meanwhile the evolutionary stones were being carted out by wagon loads. The miners had them all organized by individual types to make processing easier, and there were some Ash did not recognize. Namely a light blue stone with a snowflake in the middle of it. 'I wonder...' he thought before pocketing the stone. It, along with Shiny, Dawn, and Dusk Stones seemed to be the rarest among the wagons, but they had been mining them for years, so there was an abundant amount for Steven to inspect.

Venus', now Ash's, penthouse in the Under, and set up in the lobby while Drake was awaiting the Hoenn Champion's arrival.

Red took it upon himself to show Wiley the way of battling like a Gym Leader while under Brock's supervision and Molly's excited gaze. Needless to say, Red was not impressed. Wiley's Linoone twins, and the Tauros given to him by Ash couldn't even put a dent in the Espeon he called out. It was a good thing that they had a Pokemon Doctor and the daughter of a renowned Pokemon Professor supervising/babysitting them.

After the first disastrous round, Red got it into his head to have a certain young trainer and his hyperactive Blitzle fill in for him as the opposing battler, seeing as how Max needed the practice, and Blitzle needed to, desperately, work off some of her energy.

When the boy stepped up into his side of the field, Red was pleasantly surprised to see some of his son's tactics in Max's battling style.

"Blitzle, get around Tauros and use Spark!" Max shouted to his little powerhouse, but Wiley was beginning to get the hang of Gym battling.

"Full stop and Double Kick behind you!" The former Wrangler ordered. Tauros skidded to a halt just as Blitzle appeared behind it and reared up on its front hooves to deliver a powerful Double Kick to the little Electric-type that sent it flying. "Good! Now use - "

"Take a break!" Brock shouted.

"Gah!"

"Mroo!" Both trainer and Pokemon nearly bulldozed into the ground at Brock's shout. They had been getting really into it. And Tauros was not happy about being interrupted mid-battle.

"Oh, come on, Brock!" Max shouted, equally upset, "It was getting good!"

Brock laughed as Blitzle dizzily got to her feet, "Yeah, but you've both been going at this for over an hour, and I don't want to use all my healing ointments on a sparring match." He grinned, "Besides it's getting close to lunch time."

Molly bounced down into the arena, and gave Max a huge hug, making the boy blush heavily. "You were great, Max! That was so cool!" She squealed, "You battled just like Uncle Ash!"

"You think so?" Max grinned widely.

Red chuckled at the young pair, 'Kind'a like me and Lia back in the day.' He thought, 'Course, she did nearly beat me to death with a broomstick.'

"Max," the older man called out as he and the girl headed toward the stands, "Have you thought about catching any Pokemon while in Orre? You're planning to challenge the Gyms when they're running, aren't you?"

Max looked at him in confusion, "But didn't Ash and Professor Oak say that the Onix and Steelix were too dangerous?"

"Yes, that's true, but from what I understand, Brock was able to capture the hyper-aggressive leader," Red told the boy, "And I wasn't suggesting you go out on your own. Go with Ash, or Tracey when they have the time. I'm sure they'd love to help you out. Maybe even Drake."

Molly seemed to like the idea of going outside the town walls and catching another Pokemon aside from Teddiursa, though she dearly loved the little cub, she liked the sound of an adventure even more.

Wiley came up to the veteran trainer, "How are we doing? Better?"

Red nodded, "Much. Your tactics are improving quicker than I thought, but you've still got a ways to go before you're at Brock's level."

"As long as I can qualify as a the Gym Leader Ash needs me to be, then that's fine and dandy." Wiley grinned, "Besides that, we've still gotta be on the look out for Venus and her goons, whoever they are."

Red growled quietly, "You leave them to me, kid," he said darkly, "No one threatens my family."

(*)

Serena found herself pacing back and forth, with Pixie on her shoulder, her hands rubbing her stomach nervously, "This isn't good, is it?" She asked as Ash and Pikachu came to find her, "Mom's furious with us for even coming here, but telling her we're staying?"

Ash came up and wrapped ups arms around her, "Come on, it's not gonna be that bad," he told her before kissing her on the cheek, "She'll just yell at you, but she'll set Rhyperior on me."

Serena smiled, despite the situation, "That doesn't really make me feel any better, but thanks for trying anyway." She sighed, and frowned, "How are we going to get through this?" She asked, "I've never really been able to go against my mother."

Ash shrugged, "Well, if I survive Rhyperior's Rock Wrecker, then we'll go from there." He grinned as the girl slapped him on the shoulder, "Besides, I doubt Pikachu would let you go without a fight." He said, looking down at his partner, "Right buddy?"

Pikachu raised his paw with an affirmative, "Pika!"

Serena smiled down at him and knelt to pick him up. "Thanks, Pikachu." She nuzzled his cheeks against her own, "I don't know what I'd do without either of you."

Ash chuckled, "You'd be a lot safer."

"Where's the fun in that?" Serena giggled and leaned into his shoulder, "Because of you, I lived out a dream. I got to see the boy I had a crush on for so long turn into a man, and was able to fall in love. And now we...we're going to be parents!" Serena choked, prompting Pixie to rub against other cheek. "Oh, how could I forget about, Pixie?" She smiled.

Ash grinned at the little Ice-type, "That reminds me," he reached into his pocket, pulling out the strange stone from before, "This was in the storage mine along with the - Hey!" Ash yelped just as Pixie lunged at the stone and chomped on it. "Wait a minute, Pix - Uh...oops..." Ash yelled, too late to stop what was happening while Pixie began to glow brilliantly.

"Ash, what did you do?!" Serena squealed as Pixie grew in size.

Soon, as the light died down, there stood a beautiful, and happy white Ninetales. "Pixie!"

Serena shock turned into adoration as Pixie now stood close to her chest's height, and rubbed against her stomach gently. "Oh my, Pixie! Look at you!" She beamed, petting her newly evolved Ninetales. "You're gorgeous!"

Ash sighed in relief. He hadn't felt sure that the stone would help Pixie evolve, but now that she had, and willingly at that, he couldn't help but be happy that he'd managed to do something good before all the drama started.

"We'll have to get a picture of us when we get the chance." Ash sighed to Pikachu, "You know, a family photo or something?"

"Chaaa~!" Pikachu liked that idea.

Serena did as well, "Do you think we could do one with the baby when he's born?"

"I'd love that, but my money's still on it being a she." Ash grinned.

"Nope, my woman's intuition tells me for certain that we're expecting a little boy." She said proudly.

"So you're guessing?" Ash grinned wider as she huffed, "What?"

Serena giggled, "I'll have you know that a woman's intuition is hardly ever wrong, Mr. Ketchum."

"Sounds like a gut feeling to me...Mrs. Ketchum." Ash smiled when the girl blushed. "Well, you might as well be, right?"

Serena giggled, "I would like to get married before the baby's born," she smiled, "But it all depends on if we have the time. I mean, how long do you think all of this will take?"

"Who knows?" Ash shrugged, "But you won't have to deal with Pyrite town forever you know? It's usually the local Gym Leader's job to keep surrounding towns safe if there's no mayor."

Serena nearly swallowed her tongue, "You mean Wiley?!"

"Why not?"

"Ask me that when he doesn't spend every spare minute tracking down herds of Pokemon to go wrangling." Serena laughed. Ash and Pikachu joined in her laughter a moment later as Pixie smiled. However the thundering sound of a nearing helicopter brought them out of it.

Ash took a deep breath, "Well, good thing I have Charizard and Greninja, huh?" Thunder rolled overhead, "Oh, boy, not another storm!"

"You mean the wet kind, or my mother?" Serena half-joked.

"Is there a right answer to that?" Ash asked in a serious manner.

Serena shrugged as the large cargo helicopter touched down outside the town, and the first drop of rain fell.

AN: Dakim and Venus have their orders, and Ash is about to face every man's worst nightmare. His mother-in-law.

Review until next time, audios.