Well, here we are, the next chapter. Is it just me, or is this story getting past the ridiculous word count now? That said, I do have a question for you guys. Would anyone be interested in the other version of this story? The true dark one that I originally wanted to tell? It would be rated higher than this one for violence, and all that jazz, but its also a lot more upfront about certain issues that I keep getting questions about. It is also, to my horror, a lot longer than this one, and several names/ Pokémon/ themes are different in it. I'm considering a few choices, like replacing this story with that one, or simply having the alternate version in a separate story, but I'm interested to hear what you guys think. I kind of think of them as the same, yet alternate stories. For example, in the other version, Ash fights Brock first, in this one he doesn't. In the other one, he is a dark/ dragon trainer from the beginning, though he doesn't really bring it up unless someone specifically asks, whereas here, its something he's always thought about, but rarely acknowledges. Personally, I prefer telling the story of the other one, because its closer to the story I wanted to tell when I started this, but either way, I'm not leaving this version to die. It's still going to be updated once a month, and its still going to continue on the path where its headed, so no worried to my younger readers.

Alright, I'm sure we're both done with these notes for the moment, so moving on!

On Hand:

Deino- Barastyr

Krokorok- Anubis

Vibrava- Viridios

Bagon- Megara

Gabite- Silvanus

Pupitar- Icelos

Seadra- Oceanius

(Abra)

With Professor Oak:

Froakie- Triton

Litten- Erebus

Cleffa- Pandora

Axew- Hades

Dratini- Nephthys

Other:

Fearow (With Bill)

Waking up was usually a pleasant experience. Usually, he had his team around him, with the smallest two napping either in his sleeping bag or on it. Usually, he woke up either slowly, taking his time to enjoy the soft morning light, or he snapped to awareness, mostly because Silvanus had a nightmare.

This wasn't either of them.

His head ached. It felt like a thousand Beedrill were stabbing him in the skull with their large stingers. He didn't feel the usual warmth next to him that meant Barastyr was sleeping, or the warm weight on the other side that meant Icelos had fallen asleep next to him.

It took longer than he wanted to admit for him to finally peel his eyes open. After a few seconds, his vision focused, but he wasn't sure that he was as awake as he thought he was. The room he had been placed in was very… purple. The walls were a darker color than the bed, but they had nothing on the darker purple curtains that surrounded the bed. They were so dark, he almost thought it was black instead. There were several torches around the room, lighting it enough for him to see, but not enough for it to hurt his eyes.

His mind raced, trying to put the pieces together again. What had happened when he had fallen asleep? Had he fallen asleep? Why was he here? Where was here? Where was his team?

Hands moved to his belt in panic, horrified that none of his Pokéballs were in their places. He shot out of the bed, fumbling with the sheets and trying not to fall flat on his face. If he didn't succeed, well, no one was there to judge him. As soon as he was up, he yanked the door open and started his search.

He knew his team couldn't be far, none of them ever were. He wondered if Bara or Anu had any idea where he was, or if they were simply blissfully unaware of what was going on. He wasn't sure where to start his search, but he figured wherever the corridor led was as good of a start as any. It was so strange not having any of them by his side, and he couldn't help but feel completely defenseless without them.

For a moment, he wished he had Pandora on his team before he woke up here. While it was impossible for most Pokémon to form a psychic link with their trainer, unless that was their typing, fairy types were an exception. If they had a close enough bond with their trainer, both the fairy type and the trainer they belonged to would be able to follow the connection wherever it led.

He mentally shook himself. No, he needed to find Barastyr. Nothing else would get in the way of that. His steps were quick and slightly unsteady, if only because his head felt like it wanted to explode. The corridor ended with a door, an intimidating, dark, metal one covered in some sort of ruins. Ash didn't even notice, single-mindedly focusing on getting out of here.

The door opened slowly, creaking loud enough to make him wince. There were people in the room, but he didn't even look at them, focusing on where Bara was growling at some stranger that was attempting to pick him up.

"Barastyr." Ash breathed out, relief flooding him. His starter jumped up and sprinted over to him, accidently knocking him over as he rubbed his dark head on his human's cheek. The Deino had been worried, extremely worried, about his boy. In the darkest parts of his mind, Barastyr wouldn't deny the dark satisfaction that told him his boy was worried about him before the others.

Once he was sure his starter was alright, Ash's eyes scanned the room, relaxing slightly as he recognized each member of his team. Anubis had gotten into a glaring match with another boy, one that was probably fifteen or so. Silvanus was already heading towards his trainer, clearly annoyed with the rest of the room. Oceanius just floated in place, ignoring the people around them, but still taking the time to glance over at his trainer in concern. Megara just hmphed at any attempt at getting her attention. And Icelos…

That's right, Ash reminded himself, Icelos had evolved to stop him from falling off of the roof. He made an impressive Pupitar, shell gleaming a tarnished silver color, and eyes more intimidating than they had been as a Larvitar. He had a feeling that Icelos probably wouldn't spend very long in this form if he had a say in it, if only because his rock type was too impatient to let himself be restrained by a form like this for very long. Still, Icelos was impressive. His glowing red eyes were locked onto his boy, even as his cocoon like body was still. The trainer had no doubt that Icelos wouldn't be taking his eyes off the boy any time soon.

As for his Vibrava, the Pokémon had to be buzzing around somewhere. Poor V must have been extremely pissed after being held down for so…

Wait.

He scanned the room again, this time focusing his gaze towards the rafters, but he couldn't spot the yellow and green Pokémon anywhere. "Where's Viridios?" He asked carefully, shifting Bara so that he could get up. His arms felt like wet noodles and his head still ached, but he couldn't fully relax without the most psychotic member of his team.

Bara growled lowly, head turning towards another teenager, probably around nineteen or so. She had long dark green hair, pale skin, and glowing pink eyes that surged with power. It didn't take him long to recognize her as Sabrina, one of the most powerful gym leaders in Kanto.

He guessed he was in Saffron City's gym. That would explain the handful of trainers that had been trying to get his team to cooperate. There were two other boys that couldn't be a gym trainer, Wally, who was leaning against the wall, completely silent as he watched, and a boy with white hair that bled red towards the ends, Vesper, who glared at everyone with his Charizard by his side.

"Good evening, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town." A voice echoed in his head. His eyes darted to Sabrina's, unable to not see the amusement in hers.

A high-pitched whine sounded in his skull. It made the pounding of his brain amplify to the point that he almost fell over. His eyes burned, stomach turning at the sound. Golden eyes snapped closed as he fought with his body, and mind, to regain his control. Whatever was going on, he needed to deal with it. He needed to find V, then he could go collapse in a dark room. A dark, silent room, hopefully. Bara growled soothingly, but it took him a few seconds before he could open his eyes again.

He wasn't sure where the noise had come from, it wasn't Wally's Gallade who was standing next to his trainer, nor Sabrina's Alakazam that remained faithfully by her side. It couldn't be any of the gym trainers Pokémon either, most of them were either Hypno or Kadabra, which shouldn't have caused the noise. So where, he thought to himself, had the noise come from?

Sabrina's eyes darted up, inclining her head slightly in a silent apology. Ash own golden eyes followed the path of the gym leaders, stopping at the same support beams. It took a few seconds to take in the fox like figure who was carefully rubbing its head with a single clawed hand.

"I sense you are confused. I will explain what I can, but first, you must call for your Vibrava. It has been terrorizing my city for the last three hours." Sabrina told him calmly, this time speaking out loud.

Ash blinked but focused on getting the last member of his traveling team by his side. Right, V. He needed to make sure that V was safe. While he doubted his Vibrava had been in any real danger, he was fairly certain that they both needed to reassure themselves that the other was alright. He had seen Viridios trapped, stuck, and unable to do anything but watch helplessly as his trainer was almost pushed off a roof of a thirty plus story building.

She gestured at a door he hadn't noticed before and stayed silent as he walked across the room to get to it. He opened it, taking a deep, steading breath before letting out a short, sharp whistle. Leaning against the frame, he watched the skies, waiting somewhat patiently for Viridios to heed his call.

He hadn't even considered that the Vibrava wouldn't. How could he? V was extremely insane, sure, but he was loyal to his trainer now that Ash had proven himself. Most of his team was like that now. They hadn't been fond of the boy when he had first gotten them as a part of his team, but Ash had proven himself to most of them. Only Nephthys, who was just complicated in her own way, Erebus, who was too new, and Megara, his queen of stubbornness, wouldn't do anything for their trainer.

The rest of them had proof that he was going to help make them strong.

Less than five minutes later, V circled into view, easily maneuvering past Ash, who had to duck, in order to get into the gym. The trainer wasn't even slightly surprised that Viridios had blood on his face, probably from terrorizing a Caterpie or a Rattata. Even knowing he had probably killed it wasn't a surprise. That was just V, and what he loved to do, hunt.

When Viridios landed, knowing that his trainer would want to check him over, he let out a sharp hiss towards the others. Ash resisted the urge to roll his eyes as V tried to seem scary. Poor V just wanted to be terrifying. He would be, eventually, but for now, it just seemed ridiculous.

Once he was sure that his team was safe, whole, and alright, he turned back to Sabrina for answers.

"Your team has seen death." She said blandly, staring into his eyes.

Ash just shrugged. Of course they had. All of them, besides Triton and Erebus, had been there during the Mount Moon Massacre. Viridios, Pandora, Megara, Hades, and Icelos had been with another trainer who had been killed. Anubis, Oceanius, Silvanus, and Bara had been by his side when he had woken up in the cage. If he blinked too long, he could still see the pile of bodies just discarded like trash. All of his Pokémon had nightmares about it, even though Sil seemed to have more about his time before he met Ash. Triton seemed to be the most innocent out of all his Pokémon, next to Erebus and Pandora of course.

He knew that his team was broken in a way that no one could fix, but they were getting better slowly. "What happened?" He questioned, ignoring the way that the other trainers were staring at him. He wouldn't deny her statement, but he wouldn't indulge her random questions either.

"Abra." Vesper answered darkly, gesturing towards the creature hiding in the rafters. "A Pokémon like that shouldn't be in the hands of a new trainer." His Charizard huffed a breath of smoke in agreement.

Ash's eyes glazed over as he remembered the little details that had been just out of his reach since he had woken up. An Abra? It had been in agony, unable to control itself. He had tried to help, done something stupid. Very stupid, if the way Anubis was looking at him had anything to say about it. He remembered shrugging off the clawed hand of his oldest friend, kneeling down, and talking to Abra. Before…

Before what?

He was pretty sure he had passed out, though if it was because he hit his head on Icelos' hard shell, or if it had to do with Abra losing control, though something in his brain told him that should be impossible.

"Maybe, but you weren't the one it bonded with, Cormac." Wally spewed from the corner, before slapping a hand over his mouth. Ash turned towards the other trainer, just in time to see Arthur rolling his eyes at his trainers' big mouth.

Right, Wally hadn't come with him. Instead, he had been practically dismissed by the other boy, and headed to the Pokémon center to switch out Triton for Megara. He mentally winced as he remembered the tone he used while speaking to Professor Oak. He owed the man an apology, he guessed. Wally had been otherwise occupied, leaving him to find their Pokémon.

That was when the green haired boy's words clicked in his mind. "What do you mean it bonded? With whom?"

The room went silent, making even his team look away from him awkwardly. He had a suspicion that he knew what was going on. He really, really, really wanted to be wrong though.

Sabrina's eyes glowed for a moment as she carefully considered her words. "To you, Ash Ketchum."

His mind went blank for a moment. "What?"

It made sense; he knew. It was possible, he couldn't deny that. He could feel a difference in his mind, he hadn't been entirely sure what it was, but he had known something was off from the moment he woke up in the guest room.

"Abra has bonded his life energy with yours, accidentally, whilst, bonding your soul with his as well. All psychic types process the energy around them differently to the rest of the world. You have heard of the Four Realities Theory, correct?"

He had, it had come up time and time again during his secret studies of dark type Pokémon. The Four Realities Theory was the idea that there were four separate realities at all times, intertwining together in the reality that the world knew. Supposedly, they worked like a rope of sorts, each reality twined around the other, but still staying separate enough that they could be detached from each other.

According to most professors who had studied the phenomenon, these separate realities at one time were no where near the reality that he lived in. The first, and most well known reality was known as either the Afterworld or the Distortion World. This was the place that souls lived, as well as the place where ghost type Pokémon originated from. The next one was the Mirror World, where psychic type Pokémon came from. It was known as the one that was the most closely related to their own. Thirdly, was their own reality, the one that everyone knew and lived in. Finally, as if an after thought to most people, there was what was known simply as the Abyss, where dark types had their original home.

There was more information about the Mirror World and the Afterworld than there was about the Abyss. According to most of the research he had done, that was less because of favoritism, and more because the Abyss was brutal. Nothing that ever went into the Abyss came back out.

Some people liked to think that the only people who could actually survive in the Abyss were dark type trainers who had dedicated their lives to the typing while being washed in the energy of it often enough that their aura shifted to favor the darkness.

It was said that Sabrina had spent a year in the Mirror World, enhancing her gifts to an otherworldly level, while Agatha spent a season every year, Winter, in the Afterworld to renew her bonds with her ghosts. It was terrifying to think about the amount of power those two must have in order to accomplish such things.

"The Afterworld, Mirror World, Mundane World, and the Abyss." He whispered to himself. If anyone found out about his interest in the Abyss…

To be fair, it was a strange, unique realm that had too little information for him to actually know what kind of terrors lay waiting. It was less strange to think about than some other well accepted theories, such as the fact that fairy type Pokémon came from space, and it was likely that dragon type Pokémon did as well. Personally, he wasn't sure he believed it or not. If legend was to be believed, all four realms had one Pokémon that ruled them. The mirror world was said to be led by Mew, the Afterworld had Giratina, while the Abyss was under the iron fist of Darkrai.

It wasn't something he thought about often, if ever, because there was no proof that the legends were real. He couldn't believe things like that were possible without seeing them for himself.

"Indeed. Occasionally, there is a Pokémon born here that is more of one reality than another. If it happens to be a psychic type, and its connection is stronger to the Mirror World, then its power is more intense, while its control is usually lacking. If it is more of this world than the other, then it may have less raw energy, but it does have the finesse to control what it does have better than others of its species."

Ash frowned at the words but tried to understand what the leader was saying without words. "Abra has a stronger connection to the Mirror World." His words were not a question, but a fact, earning him a slight nod of Sabrina's head.

"Abra is a child of the Mirror World." She agreed. "He is also lacking when it comes to his control. You must understand, once a psychic Pokémon decided to bond with a human, they are never able to part. They become one, such as your friend and his Gallade, or myself and Alakazam. They become a part of us, and we become a part of them. These bonds usually form over a period of weeks, months, or years, depending on the power of the Pokémon, as well as the adaptability of the human. Sometimes, though, things can go wrong."

His head tilted to the side slightly, trying to remember the moment before he passed out. "Something shattered."

"There is usually a barrier in place, in all human minds, that keep them from becoming a part of one of the other realities permanently. From what I can feel, as well as the testimony of everyone who was on the rooftop with you, before you went to Abra, you attempted to disrupt the energy flow that Abra put out around someone you are familiar, but not friendly with. You willingly allowed dark energy into your body, and managed to have enough control over it that you didn't seriously injure Vesper Cormac. When you then decided to catch Abra, you had not yet gotten rid of the last of the dark energy, which was when Abra sent its last wave out, while being captured, the two energies fought in your mind. The barrier that keeps you restricted to this world shattered under the strain of two other realities energies."

Dread grew in his stomach as his mind whirled through what that could mean for him. Was he now not connected to this world at all? Did it mean that his lifespan had been affected? Was there something in his mind that tilted the favor of one of the other realities over the others?

She locked eyes with him, frowning heavily. "Abra's lifespan is linked to yours. His soul is intertwined with your own to the point that trying to make you two souls again would kill both of you. If I am correct, its possible for you to visit the Mirror world now, though you will need Abra to guide you. It could," Sabrina paused for a moment, seemingly uncomfortable, before forcing her way though the thought. "It could be possible that you will feel the call of the Abyss more so than the call of the Mirror, since you have spent so much time around the dark energies. I have no idea if you will be able to visit the Afterworld as well, since I know so little about it. I must warn you not to give into the call of the Abyss. Nothing that goes to that reality ever returns to our own."

"So you're saying that Abra and I are stuck together for the rest of eternity, I might be able to visit at least one other reality, and if I get dragged into the Abyss, I'm probably going to end up dead, or worse." He deadpanned. "Great. Are there any other changes I need to look out for that might kill me, or is it just the one?"

Instead of answering, Sabrina simply waved forward one of her Gym Trainers, a girl with a mirror the size of her hand. She had long, silvery hair that was twined together in a delicate braid down her back, and eyes that looked like liquid silver.

She bowed to her mistress first, then slightly higher to him, before holding out the mirror.

He peered into it, curious to see what they were so silent about. At first, he wondered if this was how Sabrina got into the Mirror World, but when his eyes met the mirror, they widened.

His deep, golden eyes had changed. They were still gold, still intense, but there was some strange specks of black that seemed to litter them. He stared in a mix of horror and confusion, before recognizing what must have happened. The energy he had gotten from Barastyr must still be in his system. He wondered if this was because of both the psychic energies and the dark ones, but no, it had to be from when he willingly allowed, and controlled, the small amount of dark energy.

He shifted Bara to one side and pinched the bridge of his nose. Great. Just great.

At least he survived.

He swallowed roughly. "Okay then." If the only price he had to pay was the corruption of his eyes, then he would pay it gladly. It could have been so much worse.

His eyes moved towards Vesper. The white-haired boy looked alright, so did his Charizard. Neither were hurt in any place that he could see. Though, he couldn't figure out why exactly Vesper had stayed and waited for him to wake up.

It was completely against the other boy's personality to stay and wait around for anyone, let alone Ash. Vesper hated pretty much everyone and everything. He didn't have a soft spot for any of the others, like Ash did for Gary or Blake did for Lillian- Rose. He had been a loner practically his entire life. Not because no one wanted to befriend the boy, but simply because he saw people as a weakness, one that he didn't need. He wasn't going to be slowed down by anyone. He had a goal, after all.

Which meant there was a reason that Vesper was still here. There was a reason that he had waited, and it probably had nothing to do with Abra.

Vesper uncrossed him arms with a silent sigh and gestured for Charizard to go over to Ash, so that they could get this over with. The great beast lumbered alone across the gym floor and shoved a clawed hand forwards, almost impaling the dark haired boy.

To Ash's surprise, his belt, with all of his Pokéballs, was in the Charizard's hand. Including, he noticed with a mental sigh, Abra's.

"Figured you wouldn't want anyone to get… sticky fingers." Vesper said, keeping his onyx eyes on the other. Ash nodded in silent thanks, which Vesper returned. "I don't plan on there being a third time, looser. I'll be strong enough next time not to need help from you, or anyone else."

Ash's lips quirked a bit. Figures that Vesper wouldn't say thank you like a normal person. "Are you staying in town tonight?"

The white and red haired boy shrugged. "Probably. I've still got to beat that stupid fighting type moron. Why? Are you looking to lose?"

Ash tisked at the other boy. "When have I ever set myself up to lose? Who was it that constantly lost in school again?"

Out of the class of forty potential trainers, they were the best. But even they had their hierarchy and used different styles to force their way past the rest of the crowd. Lillian believed battles were a thing of beauty, she fought each one with elegance and poise. Vesper was the one who believed in blunt force and being powerful enough to sweep though the simulations without strain. Blake had a strategy that depended almost completely on using status conditions of all types to chip away at anyone in his way. Gary's specialty was type match-ups mixed with super effective hits. Ash used something else entirely. His strategy usually consisted of surprise. It was one of the reasons he made sure that his team had a few created moves in their arsenal.

Ash and Gary usually interchanged who was the strongest out of them. Sometimes, Gary won, sometimes he was considered the second best in the class. Vesper came in third, always third. The harsh boy had no trouble sweeping though both Blake and Lillian- Rose, but he very rarely won against either Ash or Gary. Lillian came in fourth, even though none of the people who knew the pair thought Blake was ever serious against her. It was well known that he would throw the match in her favor, which got incredibly frustrating for the rest of them.

Simulations and borrowed Pokémon aside, four out of the five had found their place, but Ash hadn't participated yet. Not seriously anyways. It had been long enough now that he was confident in his team and their abilities, whereas in the fight with Lillian, he had still been unsure.

Which, for them, meant that it was long past time to face each other across the battlefield once again.

"When do you want to lose?"

"I want to win against your stupid self tomorrow night, around sunset." Ash shot back, trying to ignore how this of all things felt familiar, safe, and normal. For them at least. "Four on four or would you rather go all out?"

Vesper gave him a deadpanned look, before heading towards the door. Seven on Seven it was then. Barastyr, Anubis, Silvanus, Oceanius, Viridios, Hades, and probably Icelos were going to get a good work out tomorrow. Good, it was going to be fun to take him down a peg or two again.

Wally let out a frustrated sigh. "How in Arceus' name do you put up with that jerk?"

"Beating him often works pretty well." Ash told him, keeping his expression as bland as he could make it. "If that doesn't work, then direct him at something else, and that usually keeps him occupied long enough to get away."

It had always been weird for people, especially outsiders, to understand the way that all five of the Pallet Town trainers interacted. It wasn't their fault, but Ash had grown up with the others. Even if he tried to tell Wally, and Sabrina since she was still here, that Vesper insulting him had been his way of saying thanks, there was a very small chance that they would understand.

Still, secretly, he admitted that it was easier to smile and snark with Vesper than it was the others. If only because the two boys had the same way of dealing with isolation, and everything else that they had grown up with. He wouldn't call them friends, it was more like… they had a mutual understanding of how things were.

Instead of actually saying anything, he just shrugged again.

"One final thing, Ash Ketchum, needs to be brought to your attention." He turned his head so that he could see Sabrina clearly instead of simply out of the corner of his eye. "I request that you leave Abra here until you return to Saffron the third time. While you are a strong trainer, strength is not what Abra needs. Instead, my Alakazam and I shall work with him until his control is meticulously increased to the point that he shall not accidently harm you or any others around you."

Ash frowned at her. "What about the bond? Wouldn't the distance hurt both of us?"

Carefully she inclined her head no. "As long as you spend twenty- four hours together every two or so weeks, the bond will adjust. The type of power that Abra has at its disposal would make it so that he has no trouble finding you and remaining with you for that period. In addition, the distance might help both of you adjust to the bond slightly quicker."

"I don't know." Ash muttered softly. He had no idea what to do, but in the end, he supposed, it wasn't up to him. His eyes flickered to Abra, who appeared to be dozing off in the rafters. "I'll talk to Abra about it tonight. We'll let you know in the morning. For now, though, its bedtime for someone, and I have a call to make, and a few other things to do."

He was exhausted just thinking about the never-ending list of things he had to take care of before he could finally go to sleep. Call the Professor and apologize, find out how traumatized both Icelos and Viridios were after their last incident, have a talk with Megara about what her problem was, check on Nephthys, reassure the rest of them that he was perfectly fine, find out what Abra wanted, maybe talk to Bill and find out how Fearow was doing, since it had been a while. Ugh, his head ached just thinking about it.

A loud beep sounded from his pocket and he immediately reached for his Pokénav. Flicking it open, he glanced at the email, which funny enough, had been from the professor. His eyes lit up in excitement and he couldn't stop a short burst of laughter from escaping.

His team looked at him strangely, but his eyes were glued on the screen. After about a minute he finally looked away. "Neph evolved." He told them silently. "Professor Oak is checking her out right now, but it seems like it was an easier evolution than we were expecting. She's grouchy, apparently, because her scars are still visible."

While he had been expecting this for a while, ever since Cerulean City, he was surprised by how she had coped. He had been worried for her, because of the scarring, and how stiff and sore she got occasionally. The Professor had warned him that when she evolved, no matter how majestic she seemed, she would still feel the aches. They had gotten incredibly lucky that she had healed as well as she had, even if her attitude could still be a problem sometimes. He turned his Pokénav so that Anubis could see and watched as the croc practically had to do a double take at the picture the professor had sent along with the message.

Her coloring had always been strange, she had always been a light, lavender color, but now, it had darkened to a color more similar to royalty, a deep, vibrant, cool toned royal purple. The scars that crisscrossed her body from the Gyarados attack had faded, leaving her with bright, almost white scarring that stood out starkly against her now darker color. Her underbelly, horn, and the two wing shaped protrusions were all the same color, a deep ruby red instead of white.

She looked both beautiful and terrifying at the same time.

As much as he wanted to be there for the evolution, he knew that it was in her best interests to stay at the ranch. Once he got the all clear, though, he would make sure that she was with him until they reached Celadon. He couldn't believe that the long, elegant creature, who might have been a little smaller than the average Dragonair, was the same Nephthys that he had rescued.

Barastyr grumbled at him, slightly louder, and jerked his head towards the door.

"Agreed. V, we're headed to the Pokémon center, do you want to meet us there or stay with me?" V watched him for a moment, before buzzing into the air and landing on Ash's back. His two front legs wrapped around Ash's neck, while his lower legs rested on his trainers back. His wings vibrated behind them, and his head seemed to rest on Ash's.

The boy simply rolled his eyes, but didn't bother reprimanding V. While he had never carried the Vibrava like this before, the added weight wasn't too bad, and he had no doubt that V wasn't going to be letting him go any time soon.

He returned the rest of his team, nodded to both Sabrina and Wally, before heading out. He was exhausted, more than he had been expecting to be. All he wanted was a good nights sleep, maybe with his favorite girls, then some space to just breath for a few hours. That sounded heavenly.

A snort escaped his lips as he walked past the tall buildings. There was no rest for the wicked, and he had a list to complete before he could finally fall into unconsciousness for a few hours.

"Its weird." He muttered to V as the Pokémon clung to him. "I've never missed any of my team evolving before."

V buzzed questioningly, curious as to why his trainer was focused on that of all things.

Ash shrugged, "I don't get it either. I mean, I know that the fact that you guys are changing is a good thing, its great, but Neph…" He sighed. "I don't know how to not think of her as the same helpless Dratini that looked so out of it laying on the hospital bed. I know she's fine now; I know she's growing, but I can't make myself think of her in any other way."

That was the problem, he supposed. He could use her in battles now, he had been able to for a while, but that didn't mean that he would. He was always more protective over her, and he had never bothered trying to fight down that instinct.

He wondered, if only to himself, if that was why Megara seemed to hate him so much, because she would have realized that he had a capable fighter in Nephthys, yet he rarely, if ever, used her. He needed to have a talk with her, and soon.

Until then, he thought, turning his head slightly so that he could see V out of the corner of his eye. "You know I'm okay, right?" He asked his sadistic dragonfly. He may not pick up on a lot of things, but he hadn't missed the look in V's eyes when he realized that he couldn't get to his trainer, and that Ash was going to fall off the roof, and there was nothing he could do about it. "If, Arceus forbid, something did happen to me, I've made it very clear that all of my team stays together. Professor Oak volunteered to keep you guys, at the ranch. You aren't going to be split up, and none of you are going to people you don't know. None of the others know, but just in case, I made plans months before I left. I wasn't expecting to have as many of you as I do, but since I do, I did make sure that you guys would be alright."

Ash made sure to keep his eyes forward as he walked. He didn't want to acknowledge the look of disbelief on V's face. If he did, it would answer so many questions that he didn't want the answers to. Because if V wasn't worried about him dying because he didn't want to be given to someone else, then why had V adapted to him so well in the first place? Was he… glad that his original trainer was dead?

As much as he hated to think about it, Viridios had probably had a similar upbringing to Silvanus. It was one of the reasons he rarely called V by his full name. The last thing he wanted to do was to remind V of something that he would rather forget. He had considered asking V if he wanted to change his nickname, but V had never really had a problem with being called simply 'V' instead.

He kind of understood why Viridios' original trainer named him that, even if it simply meant 'Green'. After all, now, V had stunning emerald eyes, and an almost as breathtaking green pattern on his wings. When he evolved into a Flygon, he would be both majestic, and green. Very green.

Eventually, he supposed, he would ask. If V did want to go by something else, then Ash had no problem letting him choose something, even if it was ridiculous. If he didn't want to, then that was fine too. After all, Viridios did suite him, it was majestic, and somewhat harsh. He hid a smile at the thought of his sadistic V going by something like 'Sunny' or Cloudy'. Even if it would never happen, it was still more than amusing to think about.

When they reached the Pokémon Center, Ash politely asked for a room for two nights, and left Icelos at the front counter to be looked over after his evolution, before heading to the Video Phones to talk to the Professor. He was a bit… sheepish when the older man answered the phone, but Ash, being Ash, was able to shrug it off and get a few updates on his missing team members.

After a few minutes, Professor Oak paused. "You are aware that the other four have sped past you, correct?"

Ash hid a sigh. "I know. Trust me, I know."

"Gary has twenty-eight Pokémon now, and is working on getting his sixth badge, Vesper has sixteen, and he is currently on his fifth badge, Lillian is on her fourth, while Blake just received his fourth badge. Lillian has the widest range in her team, she has thirty- eight. Blake has the least; he has eleven on his. As far as I am aware, both Vesper and Gary are going to be headed back here soon, to train up for their final three gym badges. I know that Lillian is planning on returning with Blake in the next few weeks as well. What I do not know, is when you are coming to Pallet Town."

He blew out a slow breath. "I'm leaving Saffron the day after tomorrow, and Celadon is less than a week away from here. Assuming I can beat Erika, I'll probably have Abra teleport me back here as soon as I'm done. Then, I'm headed to Vermillion. I should have both my Rainbow and Thunder badges in a month, maybe a little longer. As soon as I'm done with those two, I'll swing by Bill's house, if he's done with Fearow, then, well, I don't really know." V tightened his grip on his neck, but Ash didn't acknowledge it. He knew full well what V was irritated about, being near that stupid mountain.

If he had his way, one of his Pokémon would fly him over Mt. Moon, he did have three dragons that would be able to fly soon, or maybe Abra would teleport him to Pewter. He didn't exactly want to go through the mountain again, but he also wasn't going to be held back by anything again. He was getting stronger, and by the time he needed to cross Mount Moon, his team would be even stronger.

The professor gave him a sad but understanding look. It wasn't like Professor Oak didn't know that unlike the others, he didn't have anything waiting for him at home. Gary had his grandfather, and maybe his sister if she was nearby. Lillian-Rose had her older twin bothers, ehm, brothers, and her parents. Blake had his little sister and his big brother, as well as his dad. Even Vesper, who loathed his mother, was perfectly fine with his dad. Ash never had that.

"Delia loves you; you know. She misses you and asks me every week if I've heard from you or not." Professor Oak told him quietly.

Ash couldn't stop himself from scoffing. "Mimey might miss me, but I doubt mom realizes I'm gone. If I know her at all, you are the one who brings me up, never her."

He knew he was right. His mother… She never really got along with him, and they might never get along. But that was alright, he just wished he understood what she saw when she looked at him.

The professor sighed. "I know you don't believe me, but your mother does-"

"Can you please drop it, Professor?" To be fair, he didn't doubt that she loved him. Delia was a lot of things, but she did love her son. The problem was, she also resented him. Oh, he had no idea why she did, but he had more than one guess.

It could have been that she was so young when she had him, and Ash was the reason she retired. Several of her Pokémon were extremely not happy with his arrival because he had signaled the end of her glory days. For all that she loved her son, she loved competing more. Delia was a trainer at heart, and in his eyes, wasn't meant to settle down into a normal life so early.

It could have had something to do with the fact that he had been a weird child, a loner who liked to read. He had spent most of his time away from his mother, and curled up in his dad's office with a book. He was difficult, if only because his interests, when he spoke of them, were so out of the realm of normal that it probably effected not only Delia's social life, but her business as well.

In Ash's mind, hidden away from the rest of the world, he knew exactly why she hadn't been able to stand him. He remembered the day better than he ever wanted to, even after all this time had passed. He had been the one who found his father's body after he had cut off his connection with the world of the living. It didn't help that the police had told Delia that his dad had only been dead perhaps half an hour before Ash had found it.

She blamed him, not undeserved, because if he had been home on time, instead of staying back half an hour to ask questions and check out a book from the school's library, he might have been able to stop his dad. If he had come home at the same time he usually did, Delia wouldn't be a widow, and Ash wouldn't have had to burry his dad.

Logically, he understood that there had been nothing he could have done. He was sure that his mom understood that too, but she was hurting, and grief made people illogical. To be fair, he wasn't sure he would have reacted any differently in her position. Still, he would have done a few things once he heard that his child had tried to wake up their other parent before running off to get help and dragging the closest neighbor over in a panic. He would have at least tried to make sure his child was okay before he broke down, unlike what his mother had done.

As the years passed, he spent less and less time actively thinking about the suicide of his beloved father, but he also made sure not to think about his father at all very often. Only when he couldn't avoid it did he allow the grief and anguish to try and drown him. To this day, sometimes, he could still smell the thick, coppery scent of blood that had made him gag when he opened the door to his dad's office.

He mentally shook the thoughts away. He couldn't deal with the blame in his mother's eyes, so he wouldn't. He didn't have to anymore. If he chose to go back to Pallet Town, then he would deal with it then, but until then, he would stay silent for his mother's sake.

The professor had it wrong, it wasn't that he hated her, they didn't get along, but that didn't mean he hated her. No, he couldn't bare to see the look in her eyes when she was around, so he kept his distance in hopes that one day, she would heal.

Professor Oak gave him a disappointed look, one that Ash had long since learned to shrug off. He hated it, but he wasn't going to let it change anything. Not about this. Before holding up two Pokéballs, in one hand, and a third in the other. Ash picked two of his own team members, Oceanius, Megara, and Silvanus, to swap with the two girls, and Abra's. How the Pokémon was here, yet the Professor had his Pokéball, he didn't know. It was probably a psychic thing. Once he was certain that the Seadra, Bagon, and the Gabite made it safely, he clipped Nephthys' Pokéball, along with Abra's and Pandora's, on his belt, before saying goodbye.

He moved easily towards the front desk, nodding politely when Nurse Joy told him to make sure that Icelos got a good nights sleep, before going to the cafeteria to have some dinner. He ate without really tasting anything. His sadistic friend hovered over him, clearly still worried, if only about his lack of an appetite.

As much as he wanted to pretend that everything was alright, it wasn't. He wasn't. Sooner or later, he'd shove the memories that the Professor had unknowingly dug up back into the depths of his mind. Thankfully, for both him and his team, he was really good at it by now. It would take a bit of time to shove them back where they belonged, but once he was done, he was certain that he would feel a bit les wobbly.

He blinked, turning to V with a slightly confused expression. "I just volunteered us to stay until tomorrow night, didn't I?"

The dragonfly Pokémon seemed amused but nuzzled into his shoulder a bit. He had no doubt that Bara and Anu would kill him for staying in the densely psychic powered city until tomorrow night. No, his dark types would not be pleased with him.

Still, he finally let himself wonder something that he had been careful not to since he had received his starter: Was Barastyr a child of the Abyss like Anubis was? As much as the Deino preferred to use his dark type energy over his dragon energy, Ash seriously doubted it. For Anubis, manipulating dark type energy was easier than breathing. Even before he hatched, Anubis' egg had radiated dark energy more so than the rest of his clutchmates. While physically, he had been smaller, and weaker, power wise, he had no problem taking out anything that got in his way. There had been some tantrums from his oldest friend as a newly hatched Pokémon, but each of them showed one thing: Immense dark energy that wasn't under control.

All the signs pointed to Anubis being a child of the Abyss, but his others, he wasn't sure about. With Icelos, Triton, and Erebus, he wouldn't know for sure until they gained their dark typing, but he did have his suspicions. Triton and Erebus most likely weren't. They had been young enough when he caught them that if they had been, he would have seen signs by now. Icelos was a maybe, but still doubtful. He had more of the dark type personality, but he didn't have the same drive as a child of the Abyss usually did. As for Barastyr…

No, probably not.

It wasn't insulting or anything like that. It didn't mean that Anubis was more valuable than Barastyr was, or that he adored his starter any less because of it. But he did have a control that Anubis lacked, and that alone was a sign that he was a child of the mundane.

Secretly, he was glad. Having Anubis, and all of his possible strengths yet weaknesses was more than enough to deal with. After all, Anubis was a male, which meant he was more aggressive towards outsiders, he had the ability Moxie, which meant his already fragile temper would snap with each victory while his power grew, and he had a larger reservoir of dark energy than the rest of Ash's team, meaning he needed stronger moves in order to be effective, while the rest could get by on weaker ones, but with more finesse and control than Anubis would ever hope of having.

When he finally went after his next dark types, he knew that he would hope that they didn't have the same control problems as Anubis did. Then again, children of the Abyss were rare, so it wasn't impossible that he wouldn't ever have another one on his team, even if he had thirty or more dark types. He preferred it that way, even if he wouldn't complain about the power boost another one would give his team.

Still, that was a while off, and not something he had to care about just yet. For now, he needed to focus on Abra and Megara more than any others.

Once he finished eating, he cleaned up and finally, finally, headed to his room. When he released his team, he felt his shoulders relaxing a bit. While he had to keep up a façade with the rest of the world, he didn't have to do that with his team. They trusted him, and they knew that he wanted the best for each of them.

He carefully cradled his baby Pokémon, happy that Pandora had chosen to come into his arms, while keeping an appreciative eye on Nephthys. She was beautiful, elegant, and dangerous looking, and he made sure to tell her so. While the rest of his team gathered around his first girl, he took his second to Abra's little corner and flat out asked the Pokémon what he wanted to do. Ash wasn't the least bit surprised when Abra wanted to accept Sabrina's offer, in fact, he was happy about it. He needed to work with his main team a little bit more before they reached Celadon, and it would be easier for all of them for Abra to stay here for now. But, he would be back for the small creature soon enough.

That decided, he laid down, calling Neph over to him. It was annoying to think about, but he wanted her in his main team. She didn't need to be babied any longer, hadn't for a long time, and he promised himself that he wasn't going to let his own feelings hold him back. Still, he wasn't sure about putting her in a battle against Vesper's team, not because she couldn't fight, but because he worried her scales might not be fully hardened by then.

After an annoyed look from the Pokémon, he relented. She would be in both his line up for tomorrow, and his line up for Celadon. Most likely, he would use the same team for both fights, seeing as he only really had one really powerful dark type right now, Anubis, Barastyr wasn't quite powerful enough on his own to take down an entire team yet, and the others, Icelos, Triton, and Erebus, were still exceedingly delicate. Technically, Icelos was around the same level as most of his dragons, but the cat like Pokémon and the frog like Pokémon weren't. Those two were closer to Pandora's level for now.

Team decided, he took a shower, got ready for bed, and crawled under the covers to finally get some rest, still attempting not to focus on the weird prickling feeling in the back of his mind. To no one's surprise, Barastyr curled up on one side, while Pandora became a ball of fluff laying on his stomach. The others, Icelos, Anubis, Viridios, Abra, and Nephthys all attempted to go to their respective preferred sleeping spaces. Icelos in a corner that watched the door, Anubis curled up at the floor by his boy's side, Viridios on top of the wardrobe, and Abra floating near the ceiling. The only one that seemed slightly put out was Neph, because her newly found size, at over thirteen feet long meant that she didn't fit in the tank that she preferred to rest in. Instead, she coiled up, to everyone's surprise, in the bathroom, where the shower was.

Once they were settled, sleep came ever so slowly to most of them, and only one was left awake in the dark with his thoughts. As tired as he was, Ash knew he wasn't going to be able to sleep until his mind was done sorting through the day, and simply tried to enjoy the relaxing weight of Pandora on his stomach.