Chapter 3

"We're here, Hadwarf City." Alice is excited as she steps into the city. She first goes to the Pokemon Center as she heals her Pokemon, after it is finished, she walks outside and she sees a giant smoke and a lot of people who are panicking. "Please help!"

"What the...What's going on?" Alice also rushes towards the scene, and a woman yells, "Please! Someone do something!" "Someone put out that fire!" "Keep the children safe!"

Alice finds the trees are on fire, and she says, "What kind of fire is this..."

"Call Aster, fast!" Alice hears the name and she remembers that her mother, Serena, wants her to find a man named Aster, who is her father's friend.

"Aster, please hurry up!" Just then, the blue-haired man walks towards them. He says, "Wait, what's happening here?! Another fire?!"

He calls to the crowd and says, "Stay away, I gotta do something!"

He takes out a Pokeball and tosses it, revealing a Suicune. "Suicune! Extinguish these flames!"

Suicune does Rain Dance, which causes the rain to put off the fire, Aster says, "Excellent, my friend."

Suicune nods and the man recalls Suicune and says, "Well done, now come back."

He turns to the crowd and says, "Don't worry, folks, I've got it."

After the crowd is leaving, Alice is the only one as she is standing there. Aster looks at Alice and says, "Hm...and you are? I've never seen you around here. Yet, you have such a familiar face..."

Alice is about to say something, but Aster says, "Whatever, I'm a little busy right now. Just stay out of trouble, okay?"

But as he is about to leave, Aster suddenly rushes back and says, "Wait - you are Alice! Look how you've grown! It's me, Aster! Don't you recognize me?"

"My mom did tell me to find you...but have we met before?" Alice asks.

"Well, you were still an infant when I met you. Your father was my mentor..." Aster looks at the Pikachu and the Pokeballs on her belt, he says, "Are those Pokeballs you have there? So, Serena finally decided to spill the beans, huh?"

"Yeah...I am on a journey to find my father." Alice says in determination.

Aster says, "Like daughter like father...By the way, why don't you come with me to get that punk that almost put the city on fire?"

"You mean...you know who set the fire?" Alice asks.

"The culprit is not a normal Pokemon, you see...it's one of those mysterious "X Pokemon"!"

"X Pokemon?" Alice asks again.

"For some time now, they started popping up all over the region. Information about them is still lacking...all we know is they come from another world - the Xenoverse!"

He turns around and says, "Enough with the chit-chat, we'll talk as soon as we get there. Knowing that little punk, it might have gone to Stardust Beach. You can reach there through Route 2, the path on your right. I'm waiting for you over there!"

After he leaves, Alice says, "That sure is a lot of new information...X Pokemon...Xenoverse...I don't have a clue..."

Then they decide to walk towards Route 2 to know what is going on.

On Route 2, Alice notices a Pokemon that is strumming his tail like a guitar, Alice says, "If I remember...that Pokemon is a Bremand...it has four forms, and this one is a Guitar Form..."

Alice decides to capture the Pokemon, and she has Sparkowl uses Peck to damage the Pokemon a little, and then capturing it in the end. She also notices a Pokemon popping from the ground looking at her, and she says, "And that is a Masgot...it is just like an Arceus, it has different forms according to the types except for Bug. That might be the Fighting Type one, considering it is disguising as a Heracross."

Then she has Sparkowl does the work again, and captures the Pokemon in the end. Alice says, "I remember Mom told me that Aster used to capture a lot of Pokemon...but it is a lot of years ago when Dad and he are research fellows. Looks like I am going to be like him, huh?"

Then she walks to the beach and finds Aster there. "Wow, that was fast, Alice."

As Alice walks towards him, he says, "I cornered it. But I want you to fight it, to prove to me how much you are worth. Now pay attention."

Alice notices the Pokemon in front of her, it looks like an Elekid, but it is red, and the head looks like a bomb. Aster says, "As I told you, this crook comes from another world...so it's impossible to catch it with common Poke Balls! Therefore, I developed a special Poke Ball capable of imprisoning the explosive fury of X-species Pokemon. Here are the results of years of research!"

Alice receives a Pokeball that is red, white, and black colored that is radial. Aster says, "Let me tell you something. Studies on these Pokemon reveal that they have multiple HP-bars. Despite the troubles it made, this Elekid is not especially strong, so I think it has 2 bars maximum. As with normal Pokemon, also these must be weakened to be caught. Before we get started on this battle, let me heal your Pokemon."

After Alice's Pokemon are healed, Aster says, "Come on, Alice! Show me you're a worthy addition to Ash's researching team!"

Then Alice has Pikachu to battle this Pokemon. Even though Pikachu hasn't been battling other Pokemon for a long time, Alice trusts him to take care of this X-Pokemon. "Pikachu, use Quick Attack!"

Pikachu charges and slams into the X-Elekid, but Elekid goes for Ember, which burns Pikachu.

"Use Thunderbolt!" Alice commands, and Elekid is slowly losing his HP, but it goes for Leer to make Pikachu a little scared.

"Don't let it intimidate you. Pikachu. Do it again!" Alice says, and Pikachu fires another Electric move, causing Elekid to take a lot more damage.

"Now, go!" Alice tosses a Xeno Ball, and much to their surprise, Elekid goes inside and the ball starts to shake, for one, two, and finally, it is captured.

Aster smiles and says, "I knew you would have managed it easily! Time to go back to the lab!"

Once they are back at the lab, Aster says, "I have to say that you made an awesome work out there! Congratulations! I was sure you'd be able to handle this all on your own. Hahaha!"

"I think so?" Alice is a little sweatdropping.

"Anyway, welcome to my lab! This is where I run my research on X Pokemon. It's here where, only thanks to mutual respect, we conceived the Xeno Ball, the only device capable of containing the power of those mysterious creatures...We don't know how many other X-specimens are still lurking in the Eldiw Region, but one thing is sure...They are a serious threat to its balance! You have to be ready for anything! If you want to become a real Trainer, I suggest you challenge the Gym Leaders of the region."

"I am going to do that, just like what my Dad used to do as well." Alice says.

"You see, also Hadwarf City has a Gym...why don't you start with that?" Aster says as he looks at the watch, "Oh, man! I was so into this conversation that I lost all sense of time. Alice, I'd better go now, or I'd be late for the meeting. Take Care."

Alice bids Aster farewell as he leaves the lab, and Alice says, "Looks like Aster is a really nice guy when meeting in person."

She looks around the lab and she notices a giant Porygon, Alice asks, "What kind of Pokemon is this?"

The scientist notices Alice and she says, "Oh, this is a Porygon Center, a device that provides all the comfort of a Pokemon Center at the price of 500 dollars. Inside the tricky dungeons scattered around Eldiw, it's a real glimmer of hope for the Trainers! Where there's Porygon Center, there's home!"

Now that the nighttime has come, Alice is now talking to her mother using the Rotom Phone. Serena says, "I see you have already met Aster. That is great news."

"I know, he is a nice guy." Alice says. "Can I ask how did he and Dad meet in the past?"

"It is a long story, but I have a picture of the two of them when they are little." Serena says as she shows the picture. It is a 17-year-old Ash and 17-year-old Aster in the picture, and Aster has brown hair back then.

"What? That is Aster? He looks really different than he was before...why did he dye his hair?" Alice asks in confusion.

"You see, when they become Lab partners for Professor Cerise, Aster had a different name back then, and he was called Goh." Serena says. "All he cares about is capturing Pokemon and Mew is his goal. A lot of us think that he might be holding Ash back as he has been capturing Pokemon without training them, and the fact that he has seldom friends and only his wife Chloe is one of them."

"I see. But what made him change? I mean, he isn't like what you are talking about..." Alice says.

"There is one time, when your father noticed how some of Aster's Pokemon are becoming weak, and he argues with Aster that he should treat Pokemon with care and love, but Aster only thinks of filling the Pokedex and capturing Mew. This causes the two of them to be in a fight."

Alice gasps, his Dad's best friend and Dad in a fight? She can't imagine that. Serena says, "It is then a lot of Aster's Pokemon starting to leave him, some of the break his Pokeballs and runs away to who knows where. He was being abandoned by his Pokemon because of the lack of caring. Only a few, like Suicune and his Starter Pokemon, Cinerace, stayed. He realized his errors and he apologized to your Dad."

Serena sighs, "That is why your father is his mentor. He taught him a lot, and for why he dyed his hair, he just wants to be a new person, and the Legendary Pokemon Suicune stays by his side makes him choose the blue color."

"I see...I can't believe there is a past like that..." Alice says. "And Mom, thank you for sending me Swellow. I think he might be a great help if I want to find Dad."

"No problem. Your Dad's Pokemon also wants to help you find your father, as he is their trainer as well. It doesn't matter if you capture a lot of Pokemon or not. What matters is you take care of them with kindness and love."

"Okay, Mom." Alice says as she looks at the time. "Well, it is getting late, and I want to try out the gym battle tomorrow. So I'll call you whenever I got the time?"

"Okay. And take care of yourself, darling." Serena says as they end the call.

Alice is lying on the bed, she starts to think what if she becomes like the past Aster? She didn't want her Pokemon to abandon her. But she really wants to be friends with all kinds of Pokemon. Then she just closes her eyes and drifts into sleep.

Here is a new chapter, and as some of you might notice, Aster is actually Goh. I know that with the anime, Goh capturing Suicune has been angering a lot of viewers, to me, I am neutral about Goh. That's why I decide to make him the role of Aster. And I hope you like this chapter, the next chapter will be the gym battle.

New Pokemon: Trishout, Sparkowl, Yemin, Bremand (Guitar), Masgot (Fighting), X-Elekid