Ash's Just Reward Chapter 41

"Entire sentence." = Normal talking.

"Entire sentence." = Psychic talking.

"Entire sentence." = Powerful being talking.

'Entire sentence.' = Person's thoughts.


Lucario could feel the tension building deep within his core as the minutes went by, and he tried his best to negate it by performing some meditation, but alas, his mind was elsewhere, and he couldn't find it in himself to re-centre himself.

Cynthia had indeed been busy, calling all sorts of people and making arrangements with a surprising amount of clarity and precision. Although Lucario could tell she was a hyper-competent trainer, to say the least, he hadn't expected her to be so efficient at pulling so many strings. A side-effect of being a region champion, he supposed.

As it currently stood, their group were now waiting patiently for a cargo helicopter to arrive at their location, at the champions request, to transport them to a location which Tobias had explained would allow them to speak with the larger organisation he had spoke with. Accordingly, the man said he had travelled here on the back of a Latios, and so did not have transport for the large group of Pokémon to get there.

So while they waited, the group had split apart temporarily and were doing their best to kill time. Mallow and Cynthia were conversing much like they had earlier, though now the topic seemed to have shifted to focus on Cynthia and her job, a topic that normally would have caught Lucario's interest, but alas, much like with his meditation, he found he couldn't focus on it.

Tobias was sitting by the table in utter silence, typing out something onto a pad with a complete lack of emotion on his face. From a quick scan of his aura, it seemed he was doing something monotonous, not worth fully paying any attention to, so he simply did it with a cold efficiency, away from the other groups.

The other Pokémon were all huddled together, talking with one another and sharing stories, with Cynthia's Pokémon regaling their rise to the position of champion and the battles they had, while Ash's Pokémon shared some of the more ridiculous adventures they had experienced (it was highly amusing watching an incredibly powerful Garchomp and Lucario's jaws drop whenever a Legendary was casually mentioned).

Which left Lucario alone to attempt to meditate, or rather, to attempt to meditate but instead focus on the last member of their little band: The Ultra Beast.

Lucario had been uncomfortable about the entire situation with this creature, especially since the young child inside was a companion of Ash's. While Lucario knew why they supposedly did it, to enable communication between them and Ash; a vital weapon in the art of resolving conflict, that didn't offset the sinking feeling in his gut every time the creature caught his gaze.

And the more Lucario thought about it, the more it began to feel off. While the premise of why they supposedly needed the bodies made some level of sense, there was more details that just felt suspicious. Like the fact that all three of them took bodies, even though they only needed one at best to communicate efficiently. There was also the fact that, despite the time that had past, after the beach battle had ended, the Ultra Beast that had been with them hadn't been communicating with them.

It hadn't spoken a single word.

So now there was a creature with one of Ash's companions completely at their mercy for next to no reason. And Lucario did not like that.

And he was not the kind of Pokémon who sat idly by and did nothing. Not when he was serving Sir Aaron, not during the war, and he won't now.

Standing up, Lucario began slowly striding to the large group of Pokémon, his eyes remaining shut as he walked, allowing him to monitor the aura of the Ultra Beast behind him. It seemed that the creature hadn't noticed his movement and was continuing to idly isolate itself from the others.

Which suited Lucario just fine.

Reaching the group, the conversation that they were having began to die down as they noticed Lucario's presence, standing there solemnly with his eyes shut. Slowly opening his eyes, he shared a look with the rest of Ash's Pokémon, before allowing his eyes to dart to the side in the direction of the Ultra Beast.

Most of the Pokémon didn't catch on to his meaning, tilting their heads and muttering a silent 'what?' in response, especially both of Cynthia's Pokémon, who just sat there looking confused. By fortunately for Lucario, one of them did.

Torterra found his gaze briefly bouncing from Lucario to the Ultra Beast, and his eyes widened by the slightest margin as he began to comprehend the meaning of Lucario's gaze, and his intent. Nodding slightly, Torterra slowly pushed himself off the ground and nudged Donphan with his massive shell.

The ground type gave him an incredulous look, which Torterra bluntly ignored and instead began gesturing with his head, making an arcing motion and then nodding toward the Ultra Beast. Donphan looked at the Ultra Beast, and then opened his mouth to silently go 'oooh', before nodding and slowly beginning to walk around the edge of the house.

Torterra then nudged Noivern and gestured for him to go to the right, in front of the unsuspecting humans who were too consumed in their own activities to notice their plotting, which Noivern did without question. He then repeated a similar gesture for Servine, though this time to the left of the Ultra Beast, which she did with a slightly raised eyebrow.

With those three moving into position, Torterra turned back to Lucario, who gave an appreciative smirk before putting on a grim and determined face, turning toward the Ultra Beast and slowly stalking toward him, Torterra following close by.

By the time that Lucario found himself in front of the Ultra Beast, it had begun to become more aware of what was happening, it's bulbous head slowly shifting from side to side as it gazed at the perimeter that had been made around it.

"What ails you, Champion of the Great Defender? Has an issue arose?"

Lucario found himself glaring at the creature, the formalities they spouted only serving to agitate him further. But he swallowed down this frustration and pressed on.

"I want you to spit out Ash's companion." He said bluntly, causing the Nihilego to recoil slightly.

"For what reason?" It asked, tentacles held up in a seemingly defensive manner, "Surely such a request will only hinder our actions going forward. How else will we work together if we cannot understand each other?"

A growl escaped Lucario's throat, surprising everyone (including Lucario himself), and he began to flash his teeth threateningly.

"Do not test me Beast! You speak of unity, yet you isolate yourself. You've failed to so much as mutter a single word of council or introspection since we've been separated from the others, and yet you want to preach about working together? I may be out of my natural time zone, but I am not a fool. Nor am I forgiving of fools."

Lucario paused to briefly take a breath, before pointing a finger accusingly at the Ultra Beast.

"As far as I'm concerned, you are not benefitting anyone with your chokehold on Ash's companion. And since there is no positive benefit present, I see only the negatives: a captive held by ones who clearly hold back some element of the truth, who then try to disarm any such arguments with honeyed words and supposedly noble intentions."

This made the Beast drop its arms for a moment, as a look of confusion appeared on the face of Serena, deep within the creature.

"What makes you believe we are withholding information from you? On what grounds, and for what purpose?"

Lucario clenched his paw, having to actively make an effort to suppress yet another growl.

"Well, there's the fact that you're capable of opening portals to travel across the globe but have failed to even suggest that as an option."

Everyone recoiled at this, and Serena's eyes widened in shock, betraying the Ultra Beast's true emotions.

"You were capable of teleporting to Alola with no outside help, just like the rest of the Ultra Beasts who attacked us. But instead of volunteering this ability to try and find Ash, you instead chose to stand on the side and watch events unfold. Those aren't the actions of someone who wished to help, but rather of an infiltrator who seeks to gather information."

A few noises of anger began to arise, coming from the various Pokémon around them, and Lucario noted in his head that all three of the humans were now listening intently, with Cynthia's hand hovering over another Pokéball while her present Pokémon began to tense up for a fight.

The Ultra Beast began getting twitchy, its tentacles writhing slightly underneath its floating form, and it began to float backward slightly.

"Hold on now Great Champion, I think you're jumping to conclusions here. Surely if such options were available, then I'd undoubtably share them with you. Claiming I'm deliberately letting the bizarre situation we've found ourselves in play out in an attempt to get an understanding of the followers of the Great Defender is surely a jest."

Lucario squinted at this, simply summoning a Metal Claw from his paws.

"I don't recall asking your opinion. I strongly recall it being a command, not a request."

The Beast was beginning to panic, its motions rapid and uncoordinated as it's gaze darted from Pokémon to Pokémon, becoming more and more frantic as the Pokémon surrounding it began to prepare moves.

"No, no, no. This cannot happen. I cannot let this happen. I have orders. I CANNOT RISK THIS WAR DUE TO THE PARANOIA OF A SERVANT!"

The Nihilego then struck out, its tentacles striking each of the Pokémon surrounding it, pinning them against the wall. The humans darted out of the way, narrowly avoiding the rampant tentacles, though Cynthia's Pokémon were also caught in the strike.

Lucario slammed against the wall with a heavy crack, the wall almost giving out from the force. But with a grit of his teeth, Lucario slashed out with his claws, cutting the tentacle and forcing it to recede. Pushing against the wall, Lucario propelled himself forward, darting forward toward the Nihilego like a heat seeking missile.

The Ultra Beast hissed at him, more tentacles snaking out toward Lucario, seeking to bind him. But Lucario was too quick, sliding under the first wave and diving through the next, bringing him right up close to the Ultra Beast.

With both arms raised, Lucario lunged at the beast, his claws biting deep into the creature's skin and causing some of the black tar like substance to splash out onto his arms, staining his fur. But Lucario paid no mind to that, instead focusing on pushing further inward, while also being conscious of the fragile human inside.

Some the Nihilego's tentacles rose around Lucario, purple energy appearing at the pinpricks of them, preparing to strike. But before they could, green vines appeared and snapped around them, forcing them into place. Servine grunted as she held her vines in place, commanding them while still pinned to the wall.

The Ultra Beast began thrashing under Lucario's assault, desperately trying to either throw Lucario off or free it's captive tentacles. A ball of energy then began pulling around it's head, a desperate attempt of using Power Gem to buy it some space. But before the attack could finish charging, Torterra managed to sink his teeth into the tentacle pinning him down, and then with rapid succession firing off an Energy Ball which detonated the charging attack, further throwing the Ultra Beast off kilter.

With this latest attack putting the Ultra Beast's thrashing to a temporary halt, Lucario took advantage of it, dropping one of his Metal Claws and then thrusting his arm into the beast. He pushed in further and further into the wound he had made, ignoring the slightly acidic sensation that he felt tingling his fur, until he felt the soft sensation of skin. He had reached her!

Grabbing hold tightly to the human within, Lucario began pulling back, using all of his strength to try and hoist her free. The Nihilego was practically shrieking now, and it released all the other Pokémon it had pinned with its tentacles, using the now available limbs to dart toward Lucario.

But Cynthia had pulled out a Pokéball, calling out a mighty Milotic, and commanded it to use Ice Beam, freezing the tentacles in place. With this brief reprieve, Lucario uttered a brief chant of 'The Aura is with me!' before giving one last tug, yanking Serena clean out of the Nihilego.

The Ultra Beast began convulsing as Lucario and Serena crashed to the ground, before it opened a small portal and dove into it, dragging its wounded body to safety just in time to avoid the recently freed Pokémon from grabbing and restraining it, all of whom crashed into each other as they piled onto the spot where the Nihilego had once been.

Breathing heavily, Lucario looked down at the unconscious teenager lying next to him, before letting his head drop back. He was finally able to find his centre.

For all of six seconds, as he was then poked out of his brief meditation, and he opened his eyes to see the serpentine grass type standing over him.

"Do you ever take the easy approach? Or is part of being like a thousand years old that you have to be extra with every decision you make?"

Lucario just chuckled, as he felt the tension that had been building in his chest begin to bleed away.

"No, I'm pretty sure that's a 'me' thing. Sir Aaron used to ask something similar."


Pikachu grumbled to himself as he was tightly pressed within the arms of Muk, who had taken it upon himself to hug every new arrival with vigour.

Ever since he and the rest of his group had arrived, the field behind Ash's childhood home had essentially become a giant reunion party. Between all the humans and Pokémon who were old friends, surprised but happy to see each other in however long it had been since they last saw each other, and all the others who had never met each other, it was a hub of socialisation and loud interactions.

Pikachu had been in the midst of seeing who was still here when he was scooped up by Muk, who was practically near tears.

"So many people to hug." He murmured, squeezing even tighter. Despite the discomfort, Pikachu couldn't help but chuckle, patting Muk's arm with his paw.

"It's good to see you too ya lug, now can you put me down? I've got others to catch up with, and I'm sure some others would appreciate a hug."

This did the trick, with Muk snivelling as he placed Pikachu down, before stalking off in search of someone else to hug. Despite disappearing into the large crowd, Pikachu could clearly hear the protests of his next victim barely a second later.

Shaking his head, Pikachu walked through the crowd, making a point of paying attention to the new Pokémon which had come with Mewtwo who he could see. They were currently doing their best to acquaint themselves with the rest of Ash's Pokémon, but even without being able to hear their conversations that well, Pikachu could tell they had the same level of social skills as the one who had once led them.

Speaking of Mewtwo, Pikachu turned to look at where Ash and Mewtwo had gone to the side so that they could talk. Mewtwo had wanted to personally explain the reason as to why they were here, and why they aspired to join his team. And while they did that, he had allowed the others to converse and socialise, allowing Pikachu to really get to know what some of his new teammates were like.

The Rapidash was extremely energetic, feeling compelled to do some physical activity. Pikachu had seen him challenge at least three of Ash's Pokémon, including Latias surprisingly, to a race. While they had all declined, stating they wanting to simply talk for the moment, he was seemingly placated by the mention of the Tauros herd, who would love nothing more than to have a race.

The Gyarados was surprisingly timid, acting anxious even around some of the smaller Pokémon. It had taken some coaxing and kind words from Meganium to get her to open up, and she seemed to be enjoying listening to the ramblings of Dewott and Rotom-Dex, as they argued about the TV show Alolan Detective Laki, which Pikachu didn't even know Dewott liked! Though truthfully, he wasn't that surprised.

The Hitmonlee and the Scyther seemed to be getting along with the others well enough, with each of them having found some other Pokémon of a similar type and conversing about that, which made Pikachu smile somewhat.

The Seadra was talking to Kingler and Buizel, with the pair of them gesturing toward Oak's ranch. If Pikachu were to take a guess, he'd say they were talking about a body of water for them to go into, with the closest one being in the ranch.

The Meowth was currently being one of the few not trying to interact with Ash's Pokémon, instead finding himself nestled in the lap of Delia, who looked incredibly pleased by this. He was currently snoozing away while Delia spoke with some of Ash's friends, absentmindedly stroking his fur.

That left just the Pikachu and Vulpix, who were currently hanging around the idle Goodra, keeping quiet as Goodra conversed with Krookodile and Pidgeot. Deciding that he should do his part in the socialising, he began walking over to them, before a massive figure stepped in front of him.

"Pikachu! It's so good to see you!" A voice boomed from above him, causing Pikachu to strain his neck back to look up. In front of him was a towering Tyranitar, who looked practically bursting with giddy energy as he looked at Pikachu.

For a moment, Pikachu was perplexed: who was this? But after a few seconds, realisation began to bleed through.

"Larvitar?" Pikachu asked, causing the Tyranitar's giddy mood to explode as he reached down and pluck Pikachu up, and then crushing him with an eager hug. If Pikachu had thought that Muk's grip was tight, then this was borderline compression.

"It's so good to see you, I was worried when I didn't see you with Ash. How've you been?"

"Not bad," Pikachu replied, trying to push against Tyranitar's chest, "though apparently not as well as you. I don't remember you towering over me… this much."

Tyranitar burst out into a laugh, wiping a tear away as he did.

"Yeah, I've been training hard. Had to earn my spot in the team, didn't I?" He replied, though Pikachu simply placed a paw on his chest.

"You never had to, not for Ash."

Tyranitar seemed stumped by this, before he smiled and gently placed Pikachu back on the ground.

"Thanks, I needed that. Though I'll let you go now, I imagine you have a lot of people you want to speak to. We'll talk again later."

Pikachu nodded to this, before stepping around the towering Pokémon and finding his way to the two Pokémon he wanted to see. Though to his surprise, they were now walking toward Ash, as was Lillie, all with a determined look on their face.

'This I've got to see.' Pikachu thought to himself, as he began making his way over to Ash.

By the time he got there, he was able to catch the end of their requests, and he was surprised to hear they had the same request.

"You all want to evolve?" Ash asked skeptically, with Mewtwo standing just behind him with a raised eyebrow. The three Pokémon, with Snowy in Lillie's arms, all nodded, and Lillie began weighing in as well.

"We want to help, but we're not very strong as we are. Me and Snowy have spoken about this a lot, and we've agreed that we need to step our game up. So Snowy has agreed to evolve, and we'll start seriously training. That way we can help you, and not be stuck on the side again."

The other Pikachu and Vulpix both seemed to have a similar mindset, as they nodded and began weighing in themselves.

"We just want to do our part. We want to be strong and the best way to do that is to evolve. So that's what we'll do."

Pikachu climbed up Ash's leg, getting himself to his usual spot on his shoulder (Arceus he missed that spot), as Ash responded.

"That's great, and I really appreciate the sentiment. But really, you don't have to evolve for my sake. If you want to get stronger, then I'll support it, but evolving isn't the only way to get stronger, and I just want to make sure you're ok with making this choice before you do it."

But despite Ash's words, they seemed unfazed, with fire still blazing in their eyes.

"We want to evolve." The three Pokémon responded in a monotone manner, with Lillie nodding with the slightest hint of a pout. Faced with such steadfast determination, Ash just scratched the back of his neck and chuckled nervously.

"Fair enough, let me just get my stones."

A few minutes later, Ash had gathered the stones he needed, and was currently holding them. With one of them being a Thunder Stone, Pikachu had abandoned his spot on Ash's shoulder, now standing a fair distance away.

In Ash's hands were a Thunder Stone, a Fire Stone, and an Ice Stone respectively, and each of the three Pokémon were lined up in front of him. Placing them on the ground, Ash took a step back.

"Ok, here's the stones. If you really want to evolve, then the choice is yours. Just remember that I won't care either way."

They nodded at Ash's words, but then they stepped forward in unison, each touching their specific stones and becoming engulfed in a bright light. Shielding his eyes with a paw, Pikachu watched as their bodies began to shape and contort, changing into completely new forms.

Both of the Vulpix's grew in size, their small puppy-like bodies growing in size and length, becoming leaner and taller in the process. Their tails began to grow as well, changing shape and multiplying due to the evolution. This is when the differences between the Kanto and Alolan versions of their evolutions began to appear, as their tails began taking different shapes. The Kanto Ninetales' tails became sleeker, and easy to differentiate from one another, and the mane around its neck grew in a contained manner. Whereas the Alolan Ninetales' tails became almost indistinguishable from one another, looking like a single ball of fluff and fur, and the mane being noticeably more protruding and fluffier.

While they were changing, Pikachu felt shivers go down his spine as he watched the other Pikachu begin to change and distort. He watched as their tail began to grow a long wire like extension to it, and their paws and feet becoming longer and thicker, with the general body becoming slightly bulkier as well.

After a few moments, the light faded and in place of the three cute looking Pokémon that were there seconds ago were now a Raichu, a Ninetales, and an Alolan Ninetales, battle-ready and with the power boost needed to begin wading into battle.

Not worth it in Pikachu's eyes, but more power to them.

Things were about to get interesting.


"Why are we doing this again?" James asked as they walked toward the location their GPS was directing them to.

"Cos the boss said so, 'at's why!" Meowth shouted, jumping up and slapping James round the back of his head, while Jessie just sighed tiredly.

"Sometimes I wonder how we get anything done; I really do." She muttered to herself as they walked on.

After another hour of walking, they managed to reach their destination, and they all paled in the sight of what they saw.

Towering in front of them were the walls of a grand city, sealed off from the rest of Alola and hiding whatever was contained within, and hovering outside the main entrance was a pair of dirty grunts, covered from head to toe in purplish paint and were currently bopping to some heavily distorted music.

As the Team Rocket trio approached the pair, they spotted them, quickly shutting the music off before grabbing their Pokéballs, hoisting their arms threateningly.

"Oi! Who're you and wha' ya want?" They bellowed, causing a vein in Jessie's head to throb.

"We're here because we're need to babysit you while you do some jobs for the boss, so if you can take us to whoever is in charge of your pathetic excuse for a gang, then maybe you might be useful."

"The 'ell you say?" A voice boomed out from within the city, causing everyone to jump, before turning toward the gate.

Walking out of the city, followed by about two dozen similar looking grunts, was a man in his mid-twenties, with messy white hair and a black jacket thrown on. They had a massive chain around their neck with a giant 'S' emblem on it, and they were wearing an overly large pair of sunglasses on their forehead. The way he walked was exaggerated, containing a certain bop to it that exuded confidence, as he strode up to the trio, who were trying their best to not appear afraid.

With little success.

Swallowing down her intimidation, Jessie straightened herself out and pointed at him.

"So, you're the one in charge? Well, we're from Team Rocket and we're here to…"

"I know who ya are," he interrupted, "and I want ya to understand one thing: ya boy Guzma don't like being told what to do. Now the only reason me and ma bois are doing anything for ya is cos the boss lady who pays us said we need to test these high-tech thingamajigs, so we're gonna do that, cos Team Skull is da best team out there."

Guzma then paused, taking another step forward and making Jessie take one back, putting her directly in front of the cowering James and Meowth.

"But let me get one thing clear missy, the boss lady may have said you need to be here, but you ain't in charge. Mess with my team, and you'll find out exactly how Team Skull rolls, 'ight?"

Jessie nodded quickly, causing Guzma to smirk evilly.

"Glad we could make that clear." With that, he turned to the goons behind him, who were carrying massive crates, each about the size of a person, and based on how it took four or more of Team Skull to actually move them, a lot heavier as well.

"Alright boys, we're moving out. The first location we need to go to are them Ruins we've scouted out for the boss lady before, so move it ya miserable gits, unless you want a foot up ya backside!"

The Team Skulls grunts shouted their acknowledgements, mostly consisting of boasting and whooping, before they began to march out, slowly heading out toward the Ruins of Abundance. Smiling in contentment, Guzma turned back to the quivering Team Rocket trio.

"After you," he gestured, hand stretched outward. With no other option, the trio hesitantly began walking, now deeply regretting their eager agreement to the mission from the boss.


Diantha sighed as she walked into her trailer, wanting to do nothing more than strip out of her costume.

She had been working for the past few weeks on her newest movie, an action-fantasy movie about one of the Legendary myths that had shaped a region. However, the movie had been going through a lot of difficulties, going through so many rewrites and reshoots that Diantha wasn't even sure which Legendaries the movie was about anymore.

Not to mention that working on the set was extremely taxing. Not only were there disagreements between the cast and crew, with the director seemingly wanting to argue with every actor and actress on the cast, but they were just asking too much of her. She may be a dedicated actress and region Champion, but she felt that an entire week of hard training with her Pokémon took less out of her than one day on this set.

Kicking her shoes off, Diantha sighed in relief. Her role had required her to wear what she considered to be the most ridiculous outfit she had ever seen, both visually and practically. It made her look like a wannabe diva and made her think she was genuinely cutting off the blood supply in her hips. And that's without mentioning the zip that was practically biting through her skin on her back.

Taking it off, she swapped out her clothing for her more relaxed clothing, her baggy pair of designer shorts and her loose vest. The relief that she felt as she changed into her comfier clothing was a sensation she couldn't describe with words.

Feeling immensely better already, she allowed herself to flop onto the couch, the intention to take a nap on the forefront of her mind. But before she could allow herself to doze off, a light knock on her trailer door started.

Which just made her groan into the couch cushion.

"You should multitask, they said. You can be an actress and a Champion, they said. You can handle it with ease, they said." She mumbled to herself as she pushed herself off her couch, her body feeling as if it was being dragged down by lead. "Whose great idea was that? Probably mine, knowing my luck."

Once she got to her door, she swung it open to see two people in suits at her door, one with their hand held up to knock against the door again, and the other holding what appeared to be an incredibly thick folder.

Pinching her nose, she cursed under her breath before speaking to the two suited individuals.

"Listen, I'm sure the brand deal you wish to propose to me is a great one, but I've had a tiring day and if you try and pitch it to me now, I'm gonna shoot it down just out of spite. So, can you come back another time please?"

"I'm afraid not Champion," the first man replied, unfazed by her response, "since our being here is not something that can be postponed. Time is of the essence, and we need your assistance."

The second man stepped forward, flipping open the folder to the first page: a single picture.

"It's about a young man by the name of Ash Ketchum."

Any sense of weariness or sluggishness was suddenly washed away, and immediately replaced with a wave of dread and fear, causing Diantha to stand up straight and get a serious glint in her eyes.

"Tell me everything."


Ash smiled as he stroked Pikachu behind the ear, watching over the mass of Pokémon interacting with one another.

The arrival of Pikachu, Mewtwo, and the others had certainly caught Ash by surprise, but it was a welcome one, nonetheless. Especially since Mewtwo had come with his own gift, a number of Pokémon who were eager to battle. While Ash didn't particularly care if they were battle oriented or not, he wouldn't deny that having like-minded Pokémon made for an easy friendship, especially since he'd love getting to use them in battle.

He had said that they, much like him, felt they owed a great debt, one which they wished to repay by fighting by his side and aiding him in his goal and desire to become the greatest Pokémon trainer there ever was. While Ash wasn't completely sure what he had done to earn such a debt, especially from them, he appreciated the sentiment regardless. He had just assumed that they were also at Mount Quena when he helped Mewtwo with Team Rocket.

Regardless, he watched the interactions which were happening with a massive smile. Watching the new Pokémon make new friendships with his older Pokémon, his Pokémon with years old friendships reuniting with each other, and even just a few more natural conversations happening brought a simple kind of joy to Ash's heart.

And while he wouldn't admit it to any of the others, seeing Latias and Latios happily cuddling each other while sharing their stories of the day pulled at his heartstrings. That was just adorable.

Turning his gaze to the side, he saw his friends all huddled together, all happily talking amongst each other. Lillie, Lana, and Sophocles were sitting together, all looking a bit tired and worn by the recent craziness but with big smiles on their faces regardless. Gary and Paul were currently in the midst of a friendly argument, with Gary getting incredibly worked up over the topic, with the situation being exasperated by Paul's nonchalant responses. And the rest of his friends, all noticeably being ones who had travelled with him across regions, were all giggling and laughing amongst themselves, with Ash having a sneaking suspicion that they were laughing about him based on how they kept glancing over at him and occasionally pointing.

Probably taking the mick out of his snoring or something.

Ash sighed again, looking up to the sky. It was now getting into the later stages of the evening, not quite late enough for dinner but late enough for the sun to begin slowly setting, casting hues of orange and red across the sky. Ash smiled as he felt Pikachu nuzzle into his lap. Things were working out.

Not only had a bunch of his Pokémon managed to find their way back to him, but Pikachu had given him a crystal which was a gift from Giratina, one which allowed him to teleport across the globe. That meant that they could travel great distances incredibly quickly, which would make finding everyone else so much easier. Which relieved Ash in ways he couldn't explain.

So, as he sat by himself, slightly away from everyone else, he found a bit of peace in himself, something he hadn't felt for the last few days. Things were working out.

"HEY YOU GUYS!"

Ash was interrupted from his moment of serenity by the sound of a voice from above, causing him to jerk his head upward. And to his surprise, it was Gigalith.

And he wasn't alone.

Floating above him, with the slightest hint of an energy layer around them, was Gigalith, Noctowl, Butterfree, and Corpish, who were slowly descending from the sky. Pushing himself up to his feet, Ash was just able to digest this enough to question how they were flying.

Or at least how two of them were flying: Noctowl and Butterfree flying made sense.

Before he could ponder for too long, or even get the chance to ask them themselves, a fifth presence made itself known from behind him.

"So, you're the one who helped with the Genesect?" A feminine voice asked from behind him, causing Ash to frown. He recognised the situation they spoke about, but he didn't recognise the voice.

"Erm, I guess?" Ash said, not turning around yet, "Sorry, this may be rude, but do I know you?"

"Not personally," they replied, "but I always remember a kind soul. And yours is certainly one of the more memorable ones."

No longer able to stop himself, Ash spun on the spot, and was shocked instantly when he saw… another Mewtwo.

Since when were there two Mewtwos?

Apparently, he wasn't the only one surprised by this, as many of his Pokémon had rushed over to the new arrivals, with Mewtwo himself floating up, his mouth agape at the sight of someone similar to him.

Though the new Mewtwo paid him no mind, gazing over a few of the present individuals intently. Ash quickly tried to follow the line of sight, and while he wasn't one hundred percent sure, he could have sworn that the new Mewtwo had lingered on Misty, Pikachu, Charizard, and Bulbasaur, before finally settling on Ash.

"Strange," she muttered, (Ash assumed she was a she, since Mewtwo said they didn't really have genders but instead expressed themselves as their preferred gender through their voice) as she stared directly at Ash. "I have never seen the effects of a mindwipe done to a similar level to my own from an outsider's perspective. Most unsettling."

"Mindwipe?" Pikachu asked, tail twitching and the smallest hints of sparks around his cheeks. "What mindwipe?"

"Here," she said with a wave of her hand, "let that which was buried be unearthed." And with a bright flash, memories came rushing back, leaving the small group who were affected breathless and on the verge of tears, overwhelmed by the rush of emotions which had been buried and obscured from years of being wiped from their minds.

And none felt this more strongly than Ash himself.

"I died? Because of Mew and Mewtwo?"


Hey everyone, TWoS here, back with another chapter.

Sorry for the wait, bit of a delay with this chapter but I managed to get it sorted. This chapter is one I've been wanting to write for a while, containing elements that I've wanted to include in the story for ages, but held off because it seemed better to wait. And now it has.

The Lucario segment I've been wanting to do for about four chapters now I think, but I put it off since it didn't seem to be the right time. But with that segment, the three Nihilego are now all host-less, and their captives freed. Hopefully the inclusion of Serena, the last of Ash's same-age female companions (I believe) will be something that a lot of people will like.

We also have some important evolutions, which are always fun. Pikachu's counterpart doesn't share his aversion to evolution, and Lillie wants to begin her path to becoming a proper trainer, with Snowy getting a massive powerup. And also, I wanted the Kanto Vulpix to evolve as well, since I liked the idea of both versions evolving side by side.

Team Rocket and Team Skull have now allied, which I feel should naturally be a lot of fun. They're just so different yet so whacky under the right conditions. But they're on a mission, and we'll have to wait and see how it all pans out.

We get another champion being recruited, leaving only one left if my memory is correct: Alder. Soon, they'll have amassed their support, and we'll get to see what exactly it is that ICOP plan to do with the assembled champions.

And the part I've really wanted to do, and one I know others wanted to happen as well: Ash remembers. Though I'm positive that no one anticipated this being the way it happens. How will Ash react? How will Mewtwo react? What will this lead to? The possibilities are endless.

Overall, I've had fun writing this chapter. And I look forward to seeing what you all think of this chapter. It's such an intriguing one to me, that I hope you all review to share your thoughts. Am I the only one who likes this chapter, or is it as interesting as I like to think it is? Either way, I look forward to seeing what you say. Until next time, much love and peace – TWoS.