A/N: I'm sorry for taking so long. I've known that i wanted to write this chapter for awhile now, but I was really close to finishing the series, so I thought I might as well watch the last few episodes, just in case there was something in those episodes that I wanted to put into this chapter or the next ones

After this chapter, there will be two more.


After the pokémon league, Kukui, Ash, and Burnet all returned home together. Kukui immediately sat down on the couch and sat back. This was the first time since he had started organizing the league that he got the chance to really sit down and relax. He'd really loved the league, but he was absolutely exhausted.

Ash joined Kukui on the couch and turned on the television. It was playing back highlights of the league. Kukui grinned as they watched. "Haven't you gotten enough of the league?"

"Not at all," Ash said eagerly. "I could watch matches like this all day,"

"Honestly, so could I," Kukui laughed. "You really were extraordinary, you know."

"Thanks, Professor," Ash grinned and took his eyes away from the television to look at him. "What was your favorite part of it?"

"I loved seeing how far all of you have come," Kukui said, and that was true. His students had all come so far, and he was proud of the progress they had all made. "But my favorite part was being able to battle with you,"

"I loved that battle," Ash's eyes brightened. "It was so much fun."

"It really was," Kukui grinned just at the memory. "It's been so long since I've had a battle like that. I'm sure my pokémon really enjoyed it." They loved battling just as much as Kukui did, but they didn't take the opportunity very much.

"They were all so strong," Ash said. "I didn't even know you had all those pokémon. I just knew about Braviary, and for the longest time I didn't know about it either."

"I wasn't trying to hide them from you," Kukui said apologetically. "My pokémon just like their privacy. Many of them are from other regions, and they attract a lot of attention. They don't really like that too much,"

"Oh," Ash was quiet for a second. "Hey, I know they don't like other people, but I haven't met your sixth pokémon before. Can I...can I meet them?"

Kukui grinned. "Of course," He pulled out his six pokéballs. He figured all of his pokémon deserved to come out and enjoy some celebration tonight. He tossed his pokéballs in the air, letting them all out at once.

Braviary shrieked and flew up to the loft where he decided to perch. Venusaur yawned, stretched, and walked towards the kitchen to watch Burnet as she put together a special meal for all of them. Incineroar went immediately towards Ash's newly evolved Incineroar and began to growl enthusiastically with him. Empoleon began poking at Melmetal in fascination. Lucario saw that the pokémon league was on and sat down on the couch to watch it with them. Then there was Kukui's sixth pokémon, the one that he hadn't used in their battle.

"Ash, this is Ninjask," Kukui gestured to his pokémon. Ninjask hummed excitedly and flew around. Kukui knew his pokémon was both excited to finally meet Ash, who Kukui had told all of his pokémon about, and Ninjask just wanted to show off.

"Wow," Ash jumped to his feet. Pikachu, who had been sitting on Ash's shoulder, leaned forward and sniffed at Ninjask. "I mean, I don't know what pokémon I was expecting, but it wasn't this,"

"I never thought I'd get Ninjask either," Out of the corner of his eye Kukui saw something on the screen. He turned and smiled as he saw what match they were showing. Ash against Guzma. "An old friend gave it to me."

"A friend?" Ash frowned slightly in confusion. When he saw Kukui looking at the match he turned to see it for himself. Understanding came to his eyes. "Guzma gave you his pokémon?"

"He trained really hard to evolve Nincada," Kukui said. Ninjask finally noticed the television and hummed happily when it saw Guzma on the screen. He landed on Lucario's lap and began to watch the match intently. "Do you know what can happen when you evolve Nincada?"

"It evolves into Ninjask," Ash said immediately. He was thoughtful for a moment. "And then I think it's old shell kinda turns into a pokémon too. Shedinja, right?"

"Right," Kukui nodded. "Guzma didn't know if he was ready to train another pokémon, so he took Shedinja and asked me to look after Ninjask." Kukui put his hand on Ninjask's head, petting it slightly. "Ninjask has been with me for years, and I know it really likes me, but sometimes it still feels like I'm just holding onto it for Guzma."

"Ninjask is yours," Ash said instantly. "Even if Guzma had it first." Ash rubbed his nose slightly. "I think Ninjask would have left or let you know by now if it didn't accept you as its trainer. In my experience, pokémon are pretty good about speaking their minds about that kind of thing,"

Kukui chuckled and scratched behind Ninjask's head, slightly under its armor, just where it liked it. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Is Ninjask good at battling?" Ash asked eagerly.

"Well, it's not all that strong," Kukui said. Most bug type pokémon weren't, but the key to being a good trainer of bug type pokémon was recognizing that strength wasn't everything. Strategy was important. That was part of the reason why Kukui had always been a little disappointed in Guzma. His friend was so determined to prove that bug pokémon weren't weak, but when he was faced with a battle where his pokémon might be overpowered, instead of coming up with a strategy, he would run away. Hopefully, after his battle with Ash, Kukui would see a change in Guzma.

"Ninjask is fast though," Kukui said. "I doubt you'll ever meet a pokémon that's as fast as it. If you know how to use that speed it can be really hard to beat."

"I wanna see," Ash said enthusiastically. "Can we have a battle?"

"Don't you think your pokémon are all battled out?" Kukui asked. Ash's pokémon may be all healed from the league, but mentally they still needed a break.

"Yeah, probably," Ash frowned slightly. "What if I use one of your pokémon?" Lucario's ears twitched and he turned to look towards Ash.

Kukui considered that. "That could work," Kukui looked towards Incineroar. Of all his pokémon, Incineroar was most at ease working with someone else, and it might be really good for Ash to be familiar with how an Incineroar battles. Before Kukui could say anything to Incineroar though Lucario got to its feet. Lucario looked intently at Kukui. The pokémon was really eager.

Kukui blinked in shock. "You want to battle?" Of all his pokémon, Lucario was probably the most solitary. It was really cautious around other people. "You understand you would be working with Ash, right? Not me," Lucario nodded, and it almost looked even more excited. Kukui grinned. "Well, if you're sure, who am I to stop you?" He stood up. "Let's go,"

"Yeah," Ash got up. He smiled eagerly at Lucario. "You ready to do this?" Lucario smiled and nodded with just as much excitement. It had been awhile since Kukui had seen Lucario so eager to battle.

When they got outside Lucario put a hand on its chest and closed its eyes. Its black aura sensors on the back of its head stood up on end. Ash closed his eyes and stood just in front of Lucario. He looked really at peace and seemed to be trying to feel for something. Finally Lucario opened its eyes, smiling. It put a hand on Ash's chest and made a questioning noise. Ash laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, I can feel it," Ash said. Kukui didn't know what he was talking about. Before he could ask though Ash and Lucario both turned towards him, ready to go. "We're ready!"

"Let's go," Kukui gestured for Ninjask to come join him.

"Use extreme speed!" Ash called out quickly. Lucario suddenly moved so quickly that it seemed to disappear. Ninjask began to flutter around anxiously, looking for their enemy, and suddenly Lucario appeared and hit Ninjask. Kukui couldn't help but grin. Ash knew that Ninjask was fast, so he had Lucario use a fast move to land the first hit. It was a smart move.

"Slash," Kukui cried out.

"Meet it with close combat," Ash grinned. Lucario dove forward and met Ninjask head on with its own attack. Ninjask's speed should have given it an advantage, but slash was a normal type move while close combat was a fighting type move. Kukui knew that sometimes when you were putting move against move, it wasn't just strength that determined which one beat out. The typings of moves helped determine how the moves did against each other.

"Use leech life," Kukui said. It wasn't an extremely powerful attack, but it could give Ninjask back the health that it had lost when it had been hit by close combat. "Follow it up with X-scissor." Ninjask's leech life had caught Lucario off guard and made it vulnerable to the next attack.

"Get out of close range," Ash called out. Lucario kicked at Ninjask to hit it away so it could move. Lucario ran down the sand and returned to Ash's side. Slash and leech life were moves that involved being right up close to the opponent. It was smart of Ash to want Lucario to stay out of range.

That was fine though. Ninjask didn't have to be nearby to land a hit. It had ranged attacks. "Ninask, use shadow ball."

Ash grinned and Lucario smirked. They seemed to be waiting for just this. "Meet it with aura sphere!" Lucario gathered his aura energy much quicker than it normally did, and Kukui's eyes widened when he saw that the aura sphere also looked larger than usual. Kukui could feel the power coming off of it even from this distance.

Just before the shadow ball hit Lucario, it released its aura sphere. Lucario's attack broke through the shadow ball, and continued on to hit Ninjask straight on. The aura sphere was so powerful that it sent air and sand flying. It took awhile for things to settle. By the time Kukui could see through the sand, it was too late. Lucario had taken advantage of how clouded things were and struck while neither Ninjask nor Kukui could see what was going on. Before they could do anything, Lucario struck with a dragon pulse, knocking Ninjask out.

"Yes!" Ash ran up to Lucario and wrapped his arms around it. Lucario smiled proudly at Ash, who laughed and scratched behind its ears. "Yeah, you were awesome."

Kukui knelt down and nudged Ninjask awake. "It's been awhile since we've battled together, hasn't it?" Ninjask's wings drooped slightly. It was disappointed. "Hey, none of that. You may be out of practice, but you still did incredibly. I couldn't ask for anything more," He helped Ninjask return to the air. Ninjask hummed and flew over to Lucario. Ash followed just behind him.

"That was really impressive," Kukui put his hands on his hips and grinned. "Lucario, I've never seen you use an aura sphere like that before," Lucario nodded and looked at Ash. The boy and the pokémon just stared at each other for a moment before Ash gave a small laugh and rubbed his nose.

"No, it's not thanks to me," Ash said in slight embarrassment. "This was all you." Lucario shook its head insistently. Kukui watched their interaction in confusion. It was odd, but it looked a little like they were having a conversation.

"Can...can you understand Lucario?" Kukui asked.

"Well, kinda," Ash grinned at Ninjask and congratulated it on the battle. "I don't really hear words, but I can sense what Lucario's thinking and feeling." Ash said this like it was a completely normal thing.

"Does this happen often for you?" Kukui asked.

"Well, not super often," Ash said. "Sometimes when I meet Lucarios and Riolus though, I just kinda connect with them. I think it's because of aura." Lucario nodded eagerly, gesturing to Ash.

Kukui looked at Ash curiously. "Maybe you have a similar kind of aura to Lucarios and Riolus." Kukui didn't know a lot about aura. He knew that it was like the inner energy that every person and pokémon had, but that was the extent of his knowledge.

"Yeah, something like that," Ash said. "I can't really make any aura spheres like Lucario can, but I can, I don't know, lend my energy to Lucario." Ash shook his head. "I didn't even try to do anything, it just felt right, you know?"

"Fascinating," Kukui had heard of people that could do something like this, but he'd never met one before. "I guess that's why Lucario really wanted to battle with you," It must have sensed Ash's aura.

"Yeah, I guess so," Ash grinned. "I don't think it's a big deal though. I mean, aura is just energy. The way Lucario uses aura, it takes that energy and brings it out. That's kinda what Z-moves are,"

"Yeah, I guess they are," Kukui hadn't really thought of it like that before.

"Speaking of Z-moves," Ash looked excitedly at Kukui. There was something that he really wanted to say, something that Kukui thought might have been on his mind for awhile now. "How are you so good at Z-moves?"

"What do you mean?" Kukui asked.

""Well, whenever I get a new Z-crystal, it can take me awhile to figure out how to actually use it, even if I've used Z-moves before and had a really close bond to my pokémon. But you were able to use Gigavolt Havoc with Naganadel, and you could use Guardian of Alola with Tapu Koko." Ash said. "I kinda get it with Naganadel, because it lived with us for a long time and was part of our ALolan family, so you had a bond with it, but I didn't think you had that much of a connection with Tapu Koko. And Guardian of Alola looked like a really powerful move. I thought it would be really hard to do, but it almost looked easy for you,"

"Well, for one thing, I have more experience than you do," Kukui reminded Ash. "Actually, I thought that it would be hard to do the move with Topo Koko, but it came really easily to me," Kukui grinned. "Z-moves have always come really naturally to me. It's part of the reason why Hala decided to train me." Kukui shook his head. "I remember, when we were younger Guzma used to get really mad at me. He thought I was just showing off."

"That's awesome," Ash looked at Kukui in awe. It was a little unnerving, to be looked at like that. Kukui didn't really put all that much training into performing Z-moves. It had always come easily to him, and it felt weird for someone to be so impressed by something that he hadn't put too much effort into. He felt like he didn't deserve that admiration.

"I think it's like you and aura," Kukui said. "While it may seem impressive to some, with you and aura and me and Z-moves, it's just something we can do. No big deal," Ash grinned.

"That makes sense," Ash said. "I still think it's cool though."

"Well, I still think your aura is pretty cool," Kukui said. Lucario nodded quickly in agreement. It was really interested in Ash's ability. "Not many people can get Lucario this excited." It wasn't the aura itself that Kukui was intrigued by, but just what it could mean. It let Ash connect to some pokémon in a way that many people couldn't do, especially not so easily.

"Ash, Kukui," Burnet called to them from the front porch. "Dinner's ready,"

"Awesome," Ash's eyes lit up, like it often did when there was food. "I'm hungry," He turned to Lucario and Ninjask. "You guys ready for some food?" The two of them nodded excitedly. "Let's go," Ash took Lucario's hand and pulled him towards the house. "Come on, Professor," Ash said.

Kukui laughed. "I'm coming."


A/N: This chapter accomplished three things. I wanted to share my observation that Kukui seems to be so good at using Z-moves. For some reason it reminded me of Ash's aura connection, so I wanted to address that too. Last of all, I wanted Ash to meet Kukui's last pokémon. I spent quite some time last night going through the pokédex, trying to think of a pokémon to use. I was going to give him an electric type pokémon, but my sister reminded us that Kukui said that he didn't have a pokémon that could use Gigavolt Havoc, so chances were he didn't have an electric pokémon of his own.

I considered using either Alolan Ninetales, Magnezone, or Snorlax, as those are pokémon he has in the games, but if Kukui had an Alolan Ninetales, he probably would have recognized Snowy's egg for what it was. Magnezone is an electric type, so it was out. Snorlax was really tempting, because not only does Kukui have one in the games, but he also has one in the Pokémon Adventures manga. However, with Burnet having a Munchlax and Ash having a Snorlax of his own, it would feel weird for Kukui to have one too.

I went through all kinds of pokémon. I wanted one that wasn't a type that he already had. There were a couple of pokémon that I seriously considered, such as Quagsire, Slowking, Meowstic, Ariados, Armaldo, and a few others. I found myself coming back to Ninjask while my sister kept looking at Shedinja. We were leaning towards using a bug type, and have it be a pokémon that Guzma gave to Kukui, so using Shedinja or Ninjask, which both evolve from just a single Nincada, it just felt perfect.