Journey Alone
The next morning, Ash is packing his backpack, and Aurora asks, "So you are going on a journey, aren't you going to say goodbye to your siblings?"
Ash says, "I wish I could, but I need to go on this journey to find my true self. It is hard, but I have to do this, it is for the sake of everyone."
Aurora sighs and she knows, "I just hope you can do it fine, if possible, contact me and your family often."
Ash nods and then he leaves, with Pikachu, Arceus, and all the Pokemon by his side.
After an hour, the other five siblings wake up, and Insey says, "He should have bid us farewell, what kind of brother is he?"
"But with what happened in the past, it is no wonder that he wants to go on a journey alone." Minami says. "I just hope everything is going well."
Aurora says, "This is Ash that we're talking about, he will be fine."
Just then, the phone calls and Aurora says, "Diantha? What's wrong?"
As they look at their mother, she suddenly changes her expression and she says, "Is that so? But Ash has already left the house since he said that he wants to find himself. I will tell him if I got the chance."
After ending the call, Aurora turns to the children and says, "It seems like some of Ash's Pokemon are saved."
"What? For real?" The siblings are shocked, and Aurora says, "According to Diantha, those who make your brother miserable had joined Team Rocket, and they were tried to sell the Pokemon Ash owned until Meowth found three girls to help and they managed to get the rest back."
"That's great...but Brother has left..." Golly says. "Maybe we should tell him the news."
"Of course we should." Aurora says as she starts to dial the phone to Ash.
While Ash is resting at the Pokemon Center in Viridian City, he gets a call from his mother. Ash is confused as he asks his mother, "Mom? What's wrong?"
"Ash, your aunt Diantha gave me some good news, she has found your stolen Pokemon." Aurora says, causing Ash to be surprised.
"Really? What Pokemon are left?" Ash asks, and Aurora says, "There is Bulbasaur, Muk, Bayleef, Totodile, Torkoal, Torterra, Buizel, Gliscor, Serperior, Scrafty, Palpitoad, and Incineroar. They are all at the Hospital of Lumiose City."
"How did my aunt find them?" Ash asks, starting to get some hope back.
"Well, do you remember Team Rocket's Meowth?" Aurora asks, and he nods, "After those traitors took your Pokemon and killed some of them, their boss decided to kill Jessie and James for their continuous failures, Meowth decided to leave Team Rocket and he found three girls who are sisters to infiltrate their base and got back the Pokemon."
"Wait...three girls who are sisters? What are their names?" Ash asks, and Aurora says, "Well, they call themselves Flora, Eve, and Alice. And right now the youngest one, Alice, is by the Pokemon's side as she is taking care of them."
Ash starts to feel his face heat up, his Pokemon are saved by his love interest... which means Alice still remembers her and she is willing to come this far to save his Pokemon.
Aurora notices Ash's blush and she asks, "Ash? Are you okay?"
Ash snaps out of his trance and says, "I am glad that Alice is the one that saved my Pokemon...but since I am trying to find my true self, I probably might not be in Lumiose City...can you tell Alice to help me take care of the Pokemon?"
Aurora asks with a smirk, "Why? Because you love her?"
"Am I that obvious?" Ash asks, and Aurora says, "Ash, you are my son, and I have never seen you blush around females except for her. She is the one that you gave your locket to, right?"
Ash nods and says, "I admit, the time when I met her, I have fallen in love with her. I am sure that she feels the same way since she is also an Aura user."
"I see." Aurora says. "But that doesn't answer the question. Why can't you just meet her again and tell her how you feel?"
Ash frowns and says, "I can't...because I want Alice to see my smile when we met again, which won't happen right now..."
Aurora frowns as she remembers how Ash couldn't smile because of that incident. It takes some time to heal, and Aurora understands. "I see...so is there anything you want me to help you with?"
"Just tell her that I'm sorry, and that's all." Ash says. Aurora nods and she ends the call.
Arceus says, "Looks like the love of your life has saved some of your Pokemon."
"But that is not all of them." Ash frowns. "If they are the rest, most of them are either killed or sold out, which means I wouldn't be able to see them again..."
Arceus feels Ash's sorrow and she says "Don't worry, Ash. If you want to, I can revive them for you."
"Really? You would be able to do that for me?" Ash asks with delight.
"But sadly, you have to wait for months until the revive process is done. But for the Pokemon that were sold out...You could just buy them back from the owners, and I'll help you find them."
"That will be nice, thank you, Arceus." Ash says, "I hope everything is going well."
At the same time, Alice and the others are at the hospital, with Valerie and Wulfric by their side as well. Valerie says, "That was really dangerous to sneak into the base just like that. What were you three thinking?"
"We're sorry, Mother. But we can't bear seeing those Pokemon being sold or killed..." Alice frowns. "They belong to Ash and they can't take another day of suffering..."
Diantha walks towards them and says, "Right now I have contacted Ash and Delia to tell them about their Pokemon being saved, but Ash won't be able to come to Kalos for a few months."
"Then what are we going to do with these Pokemon?" Alice asks with a frown. "I mean...it has been years since we contact Ash...I don't know if she still remembers me..."
"I'm sure he does. That's why Delia asks you to take care of his Pokemon until the day you finally meet again." Diantha says to the girl, much to their surprise.
Flora says, "Wow, Alice. You are going to take care of Ash's Pokemon. That's very great."
"I think so..." Alice says as she looks at the Pokemon.
That night, Alice walks out of the Pokemon Center as she walks onto the streets, she looks around to make sure that Ash's traitors aren't coming after her, and she sighs as she sits on the bench in the park.
"These days sure are eventful...I mean, first of all, I dropped out of school because of the bullies, and now we have saved some Pokemon from Ash..." Alice sighs.
"Drop out of school? What do you mean by that?" Alice turns and notices that Meowth is sitting by her side. Alice asks, "Meowth? What are you doing here?"
"Relax, Alice. I have been with you since you bring Ash's Pokemon to the Pokemon Center with the help of the Champion. Ever since I left Team Rocket, I have nowhere to go, I was thinking if I should act like a wild Pokemon to survive, but then I realize you are a nice trainer."
Alice looks at Meowth and asks, "So you want me to capture you? Is that what you are asking me for?"
Meowth nods and says, "I feel like you are similar to Ash, who I've always been pursuing when I was still in Team Rocket."
"Is that so..." Alice says as she takes the Pokeball, but she doesn't throw it. Instead, she just puts it in her hand and Meowth slightly taps it, going into the Pokeball and getting captured. Alice then sends Meowth back out, and Meowth says, "It's not that bad being captured."
"I'm glad you didn't hate it." Alice sighs as she looks at the Pokedex. "It seems that you can learn Night Slash and Fury Swipes, though maybe you should try to learn some new moves."
"You're right about that. I never won a battle, to tell the truth. Maybe I need to learn some new moves so that I can win a battle." Meowth sighs.
"It seems like you have captured Meowth." Alice and Meowth jump as they turn around, seeing a woman walking towards them.
"Who are you? And what do you want with me?" Alice asks. "Are you with Team Rocket?"
"Relax, dear. I am not with them." The woman says, "You probably know me as one of the Pokemon: Arceus. But using a human form lets me hide from the crowd."
"What? You are Arceus? The Alpha Pokemon?" Alice and Meowth are surprised again, and Arceus nods while telling them to low down their voices. Alice asks, "So Arceus...what do you want to do with me?"
"Relax, dear. You see, ever since what happened, I split myself into two as one of my selves is here with you, while the other-self is with Ash." Arceus says.
"Ash? How is he doing now?" Alice asks.
"To tell you the truth, he is delighted to hear how you were able to save his Pokemon. But he could meet you for now because of some reasons."
"What reasons?" Alice asks with worry.
"After hearing how those traitors join Team Rocket, he vows to destroy Team Rocket and he doesn't want anyone else to suffer for him." Arceus says as Alice and Meowth widen their eyes.
"Are you sure he can do this alone?" Alice asks in shock.
"Relax, Ash is just like you, he is an Aura user, so he can take good care of himself. But if you are worried, do you want to help him out?"
"Of course I want to help him!" Alice says in determination.
Arceus smiles and says, "I'm glad to hear this from you. You see, Ash has asked me a question, do you think it is possible to specialize in all 18 types using the power of Aura?"
Alice thinks for a second and she says, "I mean it is possible, but why is Ash thinking like that?"
"You see, Ash wants to split himself into 18 copies to train Pokemon and do something else to keep his mind off battling." This causes both Alice and Meowth to get surprised. "Is he out of his mind? Won't that make him very tired?"
"That's why I have been trying to train him. Alice, I want to ask, if you are in Ash's shoes, do you want to split yourself into 18 copies and train?" Arceus asks.
Alice thinks for a second and nods, "I think I will want to do it as well. It will be good to learn about a person if I were in the same shoes as him."
"That's good to know." Arceus says. "For now, I will be there to teach you about the Aura and also some things you want to do. Is that fine with you?"
"Sure, I mean, without going to classes, I will be having a lot of free time." Alice says as Arceus nods.
Here is a new chapter, and starting from the next chapter, you will be seeing the disguises Ash and Alice will be using in the RPA High Darker Version story. I hope you like this chapter.