I'm bad with starting stories and never finishing them, aren't I?

Jokes aside, hi everyone! BDSP has put me in a Pokémon mood, and I'm hoping to do one of my favorite storylines justice. Hope you enjoy!

Mossdeep Space Center, 2 AM

Professor Cozmo slept on top of his desk, surrounded by computer monitors. Ever since he started working with the space center directly, he had often been on the night shift monitoring deep space phenomena. Most of the time it consisted of space junk drifting around, with the occasional comet passing by. Nobody could blame him for sleeping on the job.

"ALERT! ALERT! HIGH-SPEED OBJECT DETECTED!"

The warning system woke Cozmo up almost immediately as he jumped in his chair, knocking over his coffee. Hurriedly, he grabbed ahold of his computer and clicked the window displaying the alert, showing something he never thought he'd see in his lifetime.

A massive meteorite, headed straight for Hoenn.

Satellite scans had indicated that the meteorite's radius was about the size of an airport runway. If it hit, it would likely wipe out the entirety of Hoenn, and possibly even Johto judging by the amount of dust and chemicals it would throw into the air. Cozmo knew he had to do something, pulling out his cellphone and making a call, sighing to himself.

"C-Cozmo? It's two in the morning..."

"Birch, something massive has just happened."

Vermilion City, nine hours later

"I can't believe you guys have never had a Rage Candy Bar before!"

Currently, three friends were walking down the streets of Vermilion City, candy bars in hand: Ash Ketchum, Goh, and Chloe. The three of them worked with Chloe's father, Professor Cerise, on all sorts of Pokémon research tasks, and were now returning back to the lab after grabbing some lunch.

"Getting lunch was good and all, but I can't wait to get back to my dad's lab. What about you guys?"

Ash was still chewing away at his Rage Candy Bar, Pikachu on his shoulder, as Goh looked to Chloe and smirked.

"I'm eager to see where we're headed next. And more importantly, what Pokémon they have there!"

"Pika pi!"

Pikachu excitedly yelled as the trio arrived at the lab. As soon as they walked inside, Professor Cerise was nearby and smiling.

"Good, you three are back. I have a new research mission for you but…it's a bit of a big one."

"We can handle anything! Right Pikachu?"

Pikachu cheerfully yelled as Goh and Chloe smirked. Ash was always optimistic and it was something they admired.

"I'm sure you're ready to tackle it. I'm sending you three to the Hoenn region, or more specifically Mossdeep City."

"Mossdeep? The city with the space center?"

"The one and only. Apparently they've detected some sort of anomaly and requested assistance with it. I don't know the severity of the situation at the moment, but from the sounds of things you could be in Hoenn for some time."

"We'll be sure to help out as much as we can!"

"Yeah! And maybe catch some more Pokémon while we're at it!"

Chloe smiled at her two friends, and then started cheering alongside them. Cerise smiled in response.

"I couldn't have asked for better research fellows, or a better daughter. Now I suggest you start packing and sorting things out. Your plane leaves tonight."

Goh and Chloe immediately went to grab their things, with Ash smiling at them from downstairs. He walked into the common area of the lab, where a PC was. Dialing a video chat number, he was met with a familiar face.

"AHAHAHAHAHA!"

Ash jumped as a Rotom flashed across the screen, before being nudged away with a hand.

"That's enough Rotom…oh, Ash! Good to see you!"

Pikachu snickered as Oak pulled away Rotom, before nodding at the professor alongside his Trainer.

"You too, Professor! How are my Pokémon doing?"

"Wonderful. Bulbasaur's been keeping them in line as usual, and I think Staraptor is due to win this year's round of races. Are you looking to make a transfer?"

"I am, yeah. Cerise is sending us to Hoenn for a bit, so I figured I'd give some of my current team members a rest."

"Oh? Who were you thinking of sending?"

Ash pondered for a moment on who to send over. Pikachu staying with him was a given, and he could never part ways with him. Lucario was also staying, especially since he had just got his Mega Stone. That left Gengar, Sirfetch'd, Dracovish, and Dragonite.

"I think I'll send over Sirfetch'd, Dracovish, and Dragonite. I think Staraptor needs some new competition."

Oak laughed as he nodded at Ash.

"And who shall I send over? From what I've noticed, Sceptile, Gible, and Krookodile seem to be fond of each other. Perhaps you might want to bring them along."

"You know what Professor? I will! Saves me having to debate on it after all."

Oak smirked as he walked out of the lab to collect the trio. At the same time, Ash pulled out his three Poké Balls and placed them into the PC's Poké Ball tray. A few moments later, Oak returned.

"Good luck in Hoenn Ash! You'll need it."

"Thanks Professor."

The video call ended as Ash's Poké Balls vanished. A few seconds later, three new ones rolled into the tray as Ash picked them up, smiling to himself.

"Welcome back you three."

Route 130, Hoenn

Rain poured down on a small island as a cloaked individual walked across the beach, looking around. Accompanying them was a Whismur.

"It should be around here somewhere…"

Eventually, the duo came across a small crater, where a glowing rainbow shard was. The cloaked figure picked it up and caressed it softly.

"The man in red may have taken the Megalith, but a part of it has now returned to the care of the Draconids."

The cloaked figure walked off alongside their Whismur as the rain continued to pour down on them.

Vermilion City Airport

Ash, Goh, and Chloe sat at their gate of the airport, chatting away. As they did so, Pikachu was gorging on a bottle of ketchup as Goh's Grookey and Chloe's Eevee watched humorously.

"You guys are gonna love Mossdeep. Their space center is huge!"

"Do you think they'll let us go into space? I bet there's plenty of cool Pokémon there!"

Chloe stared at Goh dumbfoundedly.

"Goh, you're not an astronaut."

"I can get trained."

"But you're still a kid! Becoming an astronaut is-"

As Goh and Chloe argued over whether or not a minor could achieve astronaut training, Ash's eyes drifted over to a nearby TV. He recognized the reporter on-screen as Gabby of Hoenn fame.

"This is HNN reporting live from Slateport City! It's been a few days since the Grand Festival had its epic conclusion, and we've managed to secure an interview with one of its quarterfinalists: Serena from Vaniville Town in the Kalos region!"

"Serena?"

Ash thought he was speaking to himself when he said that word, but Goh and Chloe managed to overhear him. Chloe was the first to speak up.

"Ash, you know that girl?"

"Know her? We traveled together in Kalos!"

Ash smiled as he watched Serena's interview on the TV, where she was recounting a display involving her Braixen's Flamethrower creating a tornado of fire as Pancham pretended to be the one in control of it. Ash seemed very invested in the interview (almost TOO invested by his standards) until Goh tapped his shoulder.

"Ash? You there?"

Ash jolted awake as he looked behind him.

"Oh, me? Yeah. Sorry about that. I haven't seen her or kept up with her since she left Kalos, so it's nice to see her again."

"I bet it's something more."

"Chloe!"

Goh moved to shut up Chloe as Ash nervously blushed to himself. Hearing those words reminded him of what had transpired the day she left.

You're my goal.

Those words roamed throughout Ash's head, in a place where he would normally keep battle strategies and Pokémon factoids. What did she mean by that? Did Serena see something special in him that-

"Air Flygon Flight H254 is now boarding."

Ash jumped from his seat as he grabbed Pikachu's near-empty ketchup bottle and tossed it into a nearby garbage can. Pikachu grumbled at Ash as he begrudgingly jumped onto his shoulder, ranting at his Trainer.

"Don't worry Pikachu, we'll get you some ketchup on the flight."

Ash, Goh, and Chloe walked through the gate, ready to take off for Vermilion.

An adventure of a lifetime was about to begin.

And so it begins! Leave a review if you liked what you read, and I hope to see you again!