This is a Pokemon/HP cross. Enjoy!

Delia knew that when she married Rusty Ketchum, that it was a package deal with his older brother Aaron. The two were peas in a pod and were very close.

So when Aaron showed up with an infant, Delia knew something had happened. He had been expecting his first child with his wife after all.

"Who's this cutie?" asked Delia.

"This is Aster, my daughter. Cecelia...Cecelia didn't make it."

Delia let him in and they laid Aster in the same crib as Ash. The tiny girl immediately sought out the nearest source of warmth and cuddled with her cousin.

"What happened?"

Aaron had a pained expression on his face. Rusty came into the kitchen, and immediately went to get the liquor that he normally kept locked up ever since Delia told him she was pregnant.

"There was some sort of complication. Aster somehow got tied up in the womb and they had to do a C-section to save her. But something went wrong and despite everything they did she ended up bleeding out. Her heart couldn't pump enough blood to save her. They said that a blood vessel in her womb burst from the effort to push Aster out," said Aaron. He looked terrible. He drank the beer Rusty gave him without thinking. "I have no idea what I'm supposed to do."

Rusty shared a look with his wife. Aaron was too much of a hero to stay in one place, and would likely drag his daughter with him.

"First you're going to stay here for a while. Then we're going to work out what to do for Aster."

Aaron would stay for three months, mostly to get over the death of his wife and try to be there for Aster.

However by the fourth month, his wanderlust kicked in.

"Leave Aster with us. The wild is no place to take a newborn, and Delia and I can easily handle two kids. Besides, Aster seems to like Ash."

Which was true. Aster was only a few months older than Ash, but seemed to have attached herself to him. It was a trial to get them to stop crying whenever they were apart during naps.

Aaron seemed to debate with himself, but he honestly had no idea how he was supposed to raise an infant. And his job as an Aura Guardian often took him to dangerous places. Places where a child could be hurt or worse with far too much ease.

Seeing his little girl smile while cuddled up to his cousin decided it for him. He could handle long visits, and she would be better off in a stable home until she was old enough to begin her journey.

Five years later...

Aaron looked at the innocuous item in his hands. Under any ordinary circumstances, this would be a pleasant visit. However the news he had to deliver was anything but pleasant. The Pokémon beside him was equally grave.

Delia opened the door and Aaron hid a wince.

"I knew something had happened. The twins have been inconsolable for days."

"Delia, it might be best if you sat down."

She remained firm, but there was a hint of sadness in her gaze.

"Rusty, he's... He's gone. There was a tidal wave, and I was badly injured, so he told me to evacuate the people while he tried to divert it. He used up so much power that he couldn't make it, but by Arceus he tried."

Delia's eyes welled up with tears. She had feared something had happened. Aster had developed a sudden fever and Ash wouldn't stop crying ever since. Almost like they knew something had happened. Aster had always been rather empathetic towards those she cared about.

She felt a tug on her dress.

"Mama, what happened to Papa Rusty?" asked Aster. Ash was right there next to her.

"Your papa Rusty...he's gone."

Aster seemed to understand, because she looked sad. Then she noticed her papa Aaron. Ash immediately sought the comfort of his mother while Aster went to Aaron.

The children went to bed with tears, but managed to sleep peacefully.

Delia looked at Aaron and Rusty's Lucario.

"When they're older I'll take them to the memorial the citizens erected. Rusty asked Lucario to look over the children until they're ready to begin their journey."

Delia knew that Rusty planned to train the children when he got back. He had explained the concept of an Aura Guardian to his wife a long time ago. And how important the duty was.

Their bloodline in particular had an affinity for it...they had descended from the legendary Sir Aaron himself, which was who his older brother was named after. Rusty was named after his grandfather, who had traveled the world as a trainer with his trusty Pikachu.

Red was still rather famous in the Kanto region. Rusty's Pikachu had shared it's own life force to help him hold back the wave along with his other Pokémon. Lucario was only spared because he had ordered her to keep Aaron from turning back due to the concussion he had from one of the small waves that caused him to crash into one of the buildings. He knew how stubborn his brother could be.

Lucario was quite determined to fulfill her last duty and insure her partner's children knew how to use Aura correctly. She would guide the children and teach them how to fight with Aura while Aaron was traveling. He made a point to stop by every summer.

There was one thing that bothered him...when Rusty was attempting to stop the wave, it almost looked like there was a corona of power that wasn't aura around him. The moment it started, his aura flared to unheard of levels and it almost appeared as though he might be able to survive the wave. Then it began to weaken as the wave died before sputtering out completely and his brother had passed out.

Rusty had survived for three days...but ultimately losing the majority of his Pokémon companions and the sheer drain of holding back the wave cost him his life.

Aaron spent several weeks with his sister-in-law, and during that time helped the children adjust to the fact Rusty wasn't coming back.

It was a good thing too...Ash ended up knocking one of Delia's perfume bottles over during a minor childish spat with his sister, and both children ended up breaking out in hives. Aster, who inhaled more of the fumes than her brother, started choking.

If Aaron hadn't been there, they would have had more than a night's stay in the nearest hospital in Viridian. Apparently both children had an allergic reaction to certain plant oils found in the Oddish evolutionary set, and the company that made the perfume was known to use Gloom and Vileplume to raise the plants.

Good thing they found out early...Oddish were rather prevalent in Kanto, and it would have been a disaster if the kids found out the hard way once on their journey.

Aaron made sure that Aster and Ash had a decent grounding in how to use Aura...and understood Pokémon...before he left a year later. Lucario would teach them the basics...he could help them fine tune it once they were old enough to come up with their own unique applications of aura.

The Shamouti festival was as lively as ever. As the only trainer roughly of the right age to have made it on time, Aaron got roped into playing the 'hero' of legend.

Delia was more interested in the party, and besides this would be a good bonding exercise for the trio. As such Aaron left the next morning with Ash and Aster.

"Hey Ash, why don't you go grab the orb? The ceremony only says I have to be the one to carry it," said Aaron. He had checked with that part too...the elder was fine with it since it would encourage Ash to come back again when he was older to perform the ceremony, and they rarely got young trainers to visit for the festival.

Ash grinned, and raced up to the shrine with Aster right beside him.

He grabbed the orb...which began to glow from an internal light...and attempted to remove it.

It was firmly stuck, and it would take more force than he had in his body at the moment to remove it. Aaron chuckled as Aster helped her brother, and the two managed to liberate the orb from it's home.

The other islands were equally as interesting, though Aster brought up an interesting question.

"Where are the other Pokémon? I mean I know this is supposed to be Zapdos' island but you'd think there would be a few electric types around here or something. Even Articuno's island was missing Pokémon!"

Aaron blinked. She had a point.

"You're just saying that because you found that weird rock," said Ash.

"Actually she has a point, it is odd there weren't even any bird Pokémon on that island. And that's not a rock, it's a fossil."

Ash blinked.

"What's a fossil?"

"Ancient Pokémon that lived really long ago, but due to certain circumstances became rocks," said Aaron absently.

"That's so cool! I want to get a fossil too!" said Ash cheerfully.

As it happened, Aster would find another fossil on Moltres' island. Being a good sister, she let Ash pick which one he wanted. He picked the one she found on Articuno's island.

Aaron had to hide a grin, because he knew of a few places that could awaken the Pokémon DNA lying dormant in the rocks the kids were looking at. The only thing he could be certain of was that it wasn't the usual fossil Pokémon found in Kanto. He knew what Dome, Helix and Old Amber fossils looked like after all.

As Aaron placed the oddly glowing orbs onto the pedestal, there was a strange flash of light as the song was played by their guide.

And then...he remembered.

He wasn't just a descendant of Sir Aaron...he was Sir Aaron's reincarnation. Originally, Ash was supposed to fulfill that role, but Aaron had encountered an odd force that simply wanted to have a real childhood as opposed to the one they had before. Arceus had allowed it, so long as Aaron was willing to keep an eye on it for them.

Aaron could tell Ash and Aster had a monumental headache, likely from an influx of memories. They seemed to get over it, but he knew this was going to change things slightly.

Which was why Aster distracted him with a suggestion.

"Hey Ash, how cool would it be to play that song later?" she said.

Ash blinked, before looking at her.

"Song?"

"That song that nice guide lady played. It was so pretty!"

Ash grimaced.

"Flutes aren't really cool though."

"No, but they can be useful for trainers," said Aaron absently. Seeing he had their full attention, he grinned at them. "The most common type of flute known in Kanto is the Pokémon flute, which can awaken sleeping Pokémon. It's useful in getting a Snorlax to move. Then there are the famous glass flutes, which have a variety of effects based on which one is played. There is also rumors of a legendary flute which can summon Celebi who can travel through time."

Seeing Ash perk up at that news, Aaron chuckled.

"That's soooo cool!" he said enthusiastically.

"I'm sure your mother would be happy to get you lessons on how to play a flute properly. And if you prove diligent enough to play songs without needing to read a musical score to do it, then I'll see about getting you a Pokémon flute once you start your journey," said Aaron indulgently.

It wasn't really a skill most kids bothered to learn, but it was a nice hobby and kept Ash from being too Pokémon obsessed.

Delia was certainly happy to encourage it, even if Aster would later become so annoyed she couldn't play the flute without losing her breath halfway through a song. She would eventually take up the violin with more success.

Gary was having a dilemma. Aster's birthday was in a week and he had absolutely no idea what to get her.

Which was why he was going to ask for advice from someone likely to keep quiet.

"Hey Ashy, I gotta question for ya!" said Gary.

Ash gave him the stink eye for the nickname.

"What?"

"What sorta stuff is your sister interested in?"

Neither boy noticed the sudden intense interest from Daisy, Gary's older sister. She had been passing by and this sounded like a delightful scoop for Delia.

"Fossils, violin music sheets, certain Pokémon..." listed Ash.

"Fossils?" said Gary surprised.

"Aster found these really weird fossils in Shamouti while helping Uncle Aaron with the whole orb ceremony thing they have. Aster thought it sounded cool so she been trying to look up which ones they belong to, but having no luck about it. We just know it's not local from either Kanto or Johto."

Gary looked intrigued, but at least it gave him something to work with.

"What about Helix or Dome fossils?"

"She already has one of each. She wanted a proper set, so she asked your grandpa who to contact," said Ash shaking his head. "They're actually rather common, it's just that there's not many labs who can reconstruct the DNA of the fossil itself in Kanto."

"That's a thing?" said Gary.

"Apparently the reason most 'resurrected' Pokémon are part rock is because the technology is still relatively new," shrugged Ash.

Still at least now he had an idea of what to get Aster. Daisy was all too gleeful regaling Delia and her grandfather of the fact Gary might have an interest in Aster.

Whether or not it developed into anything was up for debate, but the fact he sought Ash out for help was a good sign. Besides, they would make a cute couple!

Aster was actually over the moon with the shield fossil Gary managed to get his hands on. It was the only thing he could afford on his limited budget, and that was after his grandfather helped him.