S.R: Hi peps! As usual it's time for another chapter.

M.R: Hopefully this one makes up for the last chapter.

From the distance a barely heard shout: Don't just leave us here like this!

S.R: *Ignores the shout* Did you say something?

M.R: No, but you can think about being crazy later. We've got a story to tell.

S.R: Well then, don't you think our fair readers should continue onward?

ASH'S POV:

Yawning, I stretched slowly trying to avoid shaking Pikachu who was still sleeping on my chest. It didn't work as he blinked at me tiredly. Despite the fact it was comfortable and cozy in the sleeping back it didn't take much for the two of us to wake up and get ready for the day. Especially not after the smell of food hit my nose.

Following it, I was pleasantly surprised to see Lorelei sitting by a fire. There was a grate set up so that a skillet could be placed over the flames to cook with. From what I could see and the smell in the air, it was easy to figure out she was making bacon. The idea of fresh bacon was enough to make me drool, which caused Pikachu to chuckle at me. The sound drew her attention towards us.

"You seem to have no problems waking up. That's different from most children your age."

She commented. From the tone of her voice I knew she was happy that there wouldn't be a struggle to get up and get moving again.

"Yeah, I like to get up early and meditate."

"Oh, that's a great habit. Anyway this is the last part before breakfast is ready. Would you mind checking on Brock while you finish your morning routine? He's about a five minute walk that way," she said pointed to our east before continuing "I think he said something about testing the soil for nutrients."

"No problem."

I said as I turned and walked the way she'd pointed. As she said it was about five minutes later when I found him.

"Oh hey Ash. I was curious as to what the vegetarian Pokemon in these caves eat. I want to see what kind of nutrients the soil has that get absorbed by the grass and other plants."

Brock said with a smile.

"That's a pretty good idea. Especially since the grass only grows here and there in very small patches. I don't think I'd have noticed them if you didn't point out that one spot yesterday."

I said, happy that Brock was enjoying himself. He just nodded at my words, as he eagerly finished collecting his samples. As he did I told him breakfast was almost done. Once he was satisfied we returned to our campsite and ate breakfast with Lorelei.

Not to long after that we packed up and pressed onward. But unlike yesterday when were were swarmed almost constantly, we didn't encounter any Pokemon. It was almost as if they were avoiding the area. Something which concerned us greatly. Lorelei even mentioned the possibility of this being territory for a very strong Pokemon.

No sooner than she'd voiced the idea, did we find out it was a pack of Pokemon that had claimed the area. The surprise was the number of Pokemon in the pack. When we first arrived to the Sea Foam Islands Lorelei mentioned that she'd seen a couple of Alolan Ninetales. But the number of them that appeared before us was four.

"Ash, I know I said I'd leave the battles to you but, if my theory is correct these are trained Pokemon. The number of Ice type specialists is small enough to were I can only name two who have caught and trained an Articuno. Either one of them would have a team far beyond your current level. Leave this fight to me."

Lorelei spoke, a stern tone telling me she was completely serious. Following her advice Brock and I backed off, though we didn't stray too far as we wanted to see her in action. I mean it's not every day that you get to see a member of the Elite Four in action.

Quickly and calmly she pulled two Pokeballs off of her belt. Tossing them out in front of her, they burst open. Once the bright light from letting a Pokemon loose faded, Brock and I were treated to the sight of her Lapras, and a pink colored Pokemon. Pulling out my Pokedex, I scanned the pink one and learned that it was a Slowbro.

"Alright then you two should enjoy the show. Lapras, use Water Pulse! Slowbro use Psychic to pin them in place for Lapras's attack!"

Following her words perfectly a blue outline surrounded the four Ninetales, and they struggled to break free as they were pulled close together. Only one was able to get loose from the psychic bindings on it and avoid Lapras's attack. It launched an Ice Beam towards Lapras but it just casually moved it's head to the side to dodge the attack. That didn't bother Lorelei in the slightest as her next command was still issued calmly.

"Slowbro, let them surround you and unleash and unleash a Thunder Wave. Lapras while he's doing that I want you to use Toxic!"

This time Slowbro's attack managed to prevent all of the Alolan Ninetales from dodging Lapras's attack. The tell tale purple glow appearing on all four of them as Lapras's attack landed. Surprisingly Slowbro who was in the middle of the group didn't get touched by the Toxic attack. Either because it made a small barrier on it's own without command or because Lapras has been trained to be so careful and accurate to avoid it's allies I wasn't sure. But was still impressive to see.

As Lorelei was giving the orders for the next attack I felt a tug on my pants leg. Looking down I saw a small Alolan Vulpix. It was looking up at me with such an adorable face I couldn't help but crouch down and pick it up… Or at least try to. Just a second before my hands could wrap around it's sides it jumped back from me. A playful bark like sound told me that the Vulpix wanted to have a bit of fun.

Frowning slightly I spoke to it with my arms still out. Pikachu even climbed off my shoulder and gestured towards us and away from the battle.

"Hey, it's kind of dangerous right now. I'd be glad to play with you later, but right now it's not safe."

Yipping happily it ran in a circle before coming close again. But out of the corner of my eye I saw a streak of blue lunging towards the little Alolan Vulpix. Throwing myself forward I pitched over the Vulpix and tumbled with it tucked in my arms as we slide on the icy ground until we hit a wall. When I recovered I noticed what it was that had lunged for us. The familiar shape and color instantly reminding me of my Gyarados, though this one was far larger. And angrier. My guess was that the battle between Lorelei and the Ninetales disturbed it's rest in the nearby water.

But as it turned towards the Vulpix and I once more I saw the hungry look in it's eyes. With all the new and out of place Pokemon in the area it was probably having a hard time finding food for itself, which meant it was taking advantage of the situation. Luckily Pikachu was still close enough to hear me. As a trainer who had a Gyarados of my own, I knew Pikachu would be the best counter for the wild and rampaging Gyarados.

"Pikachu use Thunderbolt on the Gyarados!"

After giving the order I ducked and covered the Vulpix as Pikachu unleashed a massive bolt of electricity that arced through the air. When it connected with the Gyarados there was a bright light as the large blue Pokemon roared in pain. I let out a grunt of pain myself. Since Pikachu had steadily been growing stronger as we traveled through the cave system yesterday I knew his attack my reach the little Vulpix and myself, luckily the majority of the attack was taken by Gyarados so the jolt I got wasn't all that bad, though I was going to be sore and a little stiff in the back for a bit.

The moment I felt the attack die down and stop I stood back up. It was just in time to see the Gyarados turn to Pikachu with a ferocious roar. With the immediate danger dealt with I picked up the Alolan Vulpix and cradled it close as Pikachu and I battled the Gyarados.

"Now that it's focused on you let's take it down Pikachu! Use an Agility powered Iron Tail to force it into the wall. Follow that up with a Volt Tackle."

With all the training Pikachu had gotten the last few days his speed was such that after using Agility he didn't even blur. Pikachu vanished from sight entirely before slamming a glowing white tail into the side of the massive Gyarados. The recoil launching him back, but flipping he landed on all four paws. He slid on the ground for about a foot before the momentum finally stopped. Lunging towards Gyarados he built up speed again as a veil of static energy built up around him. Impacting Gyarados head on, he smashed the blue Pokemon back into the wall as it let out a groan of pain.

"Let's finish this. Use Thunderbolt once more!"

Once again Pikachu unleashed a bolt of electricity, this time with far more power behind it. The attack drove Gyarados even further into the wall causing it to become embedded and kicked up a lot of dust. When the dust settled we were treated to the sight of an unconscious Gyarados.

Walking back towards the group I noticed Lorelei clapping for our performance. Brock was pulling out the first aid kit, likely in case I was actually injured in the tumble while I protected the Vulpix in my arms.

"That was reckless Ash!"

he screamed at me as he discovered a few bumps and bruises on my arms.

"I was protecting Vulpix. If I hadn't done that, then the little one would be in that Gyarados's stomach right now."

I retorted, which brought a gasp from Lorelei.

"There's an Alolan Vulpix?!"

"Yeah, right here."

As I answered her question I pointed out the little Vulpix who was just looking up at me in curiosity. Before Lorelei could say or do anything the white Pokemon jumped up and poked at my bag. Wondering what it was doing, I pulled my bag off my back and set it on the ground, though I winced as I jostled the spot where Pikachu's attack shocked me.

Biting on the zipper of my bag the Vulpix opened it before tipping it over so my unused Pokeballs tumbled out. Nosing one of them as it rolled, I watched the small ball enlarge telling me that the Vulpix activated it. Pushing it's nose up against the button on the side once more, Vulpix was absorbed into the ball.

Normally a Pokeball would shake as a Pokemon struggled to free itself, but there was nothing of the sort. The red glow from the button faded quickly, and before anyone could blink the ding that denoted a successful capture rang out.

"Well… That was a thing that just happened."

Brock said, before rounding on me and demanding to see my back, since he noticed my flinch when I removed my bag.

Lorelei spluttered for a moment before asking "Do things like this happen often to you?"

"Getting hurt while protecting a Pokemon? No, since this is the first time I've had to do that."

"So you've had Pokemon willingly catch themselves?"

"Conan, did that after I told him how it works. On top of that, my Gengar and Scyther have been in similar situations. Gengar wanted to join us and caught herself after I pulled a Pokeball from my bag though she was a Haunter at the time, and Scyther accepted my offer to join us and was instantly caught like that after I threw a Pokeball at him."

"I… I don't know if you just have some insane luck, or if you're really just that good with Pokemon."

She muttered as she shook her head at my response. After that it was quiet while Brock made sure I was bandaged up. When he was done I asked what Lorelei did with the Alolan Ninetales she'd been battling.

"I caught them. All Pokemon that aren't part of the area's natural wildlife are to be caught, so I'm not going to do anything about the fact you have that Alolan Vulpix."

"Well… I'm an aura user. If you want, I can ask the Ninetales how they got here. I've got an Aura Bond with Pikachu, so we ask a question and Pikachu can tell me what they said in response."

I offered, that way we could finally figure out what all the out of place Pokemon were doing. Lorelei didn't take much convincing, agreeing almost instantly. But because she didn't think we'd need to ask all four of the Ninetales she'd caught, only one was allowed out of it's Pokeball for us to talk to.

After explaining our idea it nodded in agreement to us, before giving Pikachu the story. As my partner translated for us, I felt sad. Lorelei's theory she'd mentioned to us when we first arrived to the Sea Foam Islands was correct.

The Ninetales didn't know much of it's trainer's past, just that he'd left his home region, and decided to travel the world learning all he could about ice type Pokemon. Ninetales mentioned hearing his trainers name was Mitsuhide, and that the two strongest and closest Pokemon of his were his Articuno and Lapras.

But while the man was exploring, he was struck on the back by a falling stalactite. It knocked him off balance which caused him to slide when he hit the icy floor. He had slide over the side of a cliff onto a small ledge where he broke several bones on impact. Which also knocked him unconscious for a while. When he finally woke up, he realized how bad his situation was, as while he was alseep on the ledge he'd caught hypothermia as well. Knowing he'd die before his Pokemon could get him to a safe place, the man decided to release all of his Pokemon, that way they wouldn't be trapped in their Pokeballs.

"I had a feeling something like that was the case, but it's still a shame to hear be true."

Lorelei spoke sadly after I explained everything to her. Nodding I agreed, I even took my hat off and bowed my head with a prayer for the fallen trainer. After a moment of silence Lorelei continued speaking.

"I want to get you two out of here first,"

she said as she looked at Brock and I. But then she turned to the Alolan Ninetales and finished her sentence.

"but, after that, will you take me to the spot your former trainer perished at? I don't doubt the story, but his remains do need to be recovered as well so we could at the very least give him a proper burial."

The Alolan Ninetales nodded with a somber face. Since Lorelei had taken a liking to it, she let the Ninetales stay out of it's Pokeball as she finished guiding us towards the official exit to Cinnabar Island.

Night time

"Here we are."

Lorelei said with a small smile as she looked to Brock and I.

"Thank you for guiding us Lorelei. It was an honor to meet you, and it was quite fun as well."

I said bowing respectfully.

"I had fun as well. I'd enjoy heading to Cinnabar with you as well, but I still have things to do here. I hope you two stay safe… Oh, and Ash. I look forward to seeing you participating in the Indigo League."

She said with a wave, before turning heading back into the caverns we'd just exited from. Brock and I waved back, but made no move to actually leave just yet. Though that was because we'd already discussed camping on the beach before leaving the next morning.

"Hey Ash, leave setting camp up to me. You've got to introduce your Alolan Vulpix to the rest of your crew."

Brock offered. Since he was right, I nodded and moved further down the beach before letting everyone free. Since it'd been a few days since I'd let Scyther or Gengar out of their Pokeballs for anything other than food, I gave them a recap of the last few days. Then I introduced Vulpix to the everyone. While they were talking Pikachu patted my check to get my attention.

Through our Aura Bond he reminded me that I still had to use my Pokedex on Vulpix. I did that while my Pokemon played.

"Vulpix, Alolan form. The fox Pokemon. If you carelessly approach it because it's cute, the boss of the pack, Ninetales, will appear and freeze you. This Vulpix is female. It's ability is Snow Warning. It knows the moves Tack and Tail Whip. It's egg move Moonblast hasn't been activated yet."

Upon hearing how few moves she knew, I realized she'd hatched recently. Calling for everyone's attention I crouched down and held my hand out to Vulpix. Since she was my Pokemon now I decided to make an Aura Bond with her.

'Hi there. I'm Ash.'

'Hi Ash! I'm Eira!'

The excited and happy Alolan Vulpix responded full of energy.

'Nice to meet you Eira… Do you know how old you are?'

'Um…. If Eira remembers what she was told, Eira is only five days old!'

'So, you don't know anything about a man named Mitsuhide?'

'Eira remembers the older guys telling her he was carrying Eira's egg. They said he wasn't feeling well and he wanted them to hatch Eira.'

Taking a moment to think about what she'd told me, I decided that the Ninetales had probably decided to wait for Eira to start learning new moves on her own before they taught her any new moves. I also gave a sigh, as I wondered if it was just childish fun or if it was part of her personality to talk in third person.

Gently rubbing her head, I smiled at Eira before asking Pikachu to keep an eye on her. After he nodded I stood back up, and let my Pokemon relax for a bit since this would be the last time most of them were out again until we made it to Cinnabar Island in a few days.

Walking back over to Brock I sighed.

"What's wrong?"

"Well… I'm not quite sure Vulpix knew what she was doing when she let herself get caught."

I answered. Brock just raised an eyebrow at that, so I told him what I'd learned thanks to the Pokedex and my short talk with her. He closed his eyes in thought after I was done speaking. When he opened them again he gave me his thoughts on the matter. He said the same thing I was already thinking. Which was to explain everything to her.

Glad to know I wasn't the only one that was thinking along those lines I moved back to rejoin my Pokemon only to find them all huddled around each other talking softly. Gengar was the first one to notice me. She walked up to me, and through our bond she spoke.

'We decided to explain things to Eira. Since she's still very young all she knows is instinctive. All Pokemon, even those just freshly hatched instinctively know about being caught by a trainer and growing stronger. But it's not until we see for ourselves or hear about it from older Pokemon that we understand everything that being caught means.'

'How is she taking the news? I mean does she seem to dislike the idea of being separated from the Ninetales that she was with when I first met her?'

'Just the opposite actually. Eira seems eager to travel and meet all kinds of Pokemon. She's been begging Pikachu to tell you not to release her. She's already that attached to us.'

'I try not to make you guys do things against your will. If she wants to stay with us then I'll gladly welcome her to the team.'

'We all know that Ash. It's one of the reasons we willingly follow you.'

Smiling at Gengar's words, I joined my Pokemon in welcoming Eira to the team. When she begged to stay with us, I pulled her into a hug and told her she could stay as long as she liked. After that, because of how things had been while we'd been at sea I told everyone to relax and take the rest of the night to have fun and enjoy themselves.

When we'd all finally tired ourselves out I didn't even have the energy to return everyone to their Pokeballs. Instead I just fell alseep on the ground with them all of us as close as we could comfortably be in the warm, sea breezy night time air.

Gyarados lay half in the water half out, but let all of us lean against her as a pillow. To my left Scyther was curled up, making sure to keep the blades of his arms facing away from the rest of us. Ivysaur tucked into Gyarados's side with Wartortle right next to her, the two of them being close enough that their heads were touching. Charmeleon was next to me on my right, laying on his stomach, one arm outstretched towards me. In my lap and laying on my chest were Pikachu, Conan, and Eira, though Eira was as far from Charmeleon's tail as she could get. Sitting comfortably on Charmeleon's other side was Gengar, who was the only one not already half asleep.

As a ghost type Pokemon she didn't need sleep. When I remembered that I snorted, which drew her attention. The look she gave me basically saying 'Hurry up and go to sleep! You're getting loopy!' Smiling I just nodded and closed my eyes to drift off to sleep.

S.R: From this point on we are going to try and have more chats with the Pokemon Ash has. This is so we can give them their own personalities (which is why Eira talks in third person).

M.R: As a reference for you guys who may be wondering, as of the end of this chapter it has been 5 months and 27 days since Ash started his Pokemon Journey, which means he has about 6 months till the Indigo League. Now, these last two badges aren't going to be easy to get, so don't go thinking he'll have too much free time before the Indigo League. If we did our math right, with how our plans are set up he'll have about 2 months between obtaining his 8th badge and the Indigo League.

S.R: Also, Pikachu is the one Pokemon that will never spend time at Oak's ranch without Ash. But Riolu and Alolan Vulpix will stay with him until he's ready to start his journey into Johto. Also we don't know what the egg move should be for an Alolan Vulpix that was bred from two Alolan Ninetales so we just chose one of it's possible egg moves at random (literally. Each one was given a number then we used a random number generator to choose).

M.R: Oh, and side note for those who might be interested. Eira means "snow" in Welsh. Apparently it's an old Welsh name.

ON HAND:

1. Pikachu (m) 2. Conan: Riolu (m) 3. Charmeleon (m) 4. Gyarados (f) 5. Ivysaur (f) 6. Wartortle (f)

TRAINEE FIELD RESEARCHER SLOT ADDITIONS:

7. Scyther (m) 8. Gengar (f) 9. Eira: Alolan Vulpix (f)

AT THE RANCH:

1. Pidgeot (f) 2. Beedrill (m) 3. Nidorino (m) 4. Muk (m) 5. Growlithe (f) 6. Golbat (m) 7. Apollo: Espeon (m) 8. Artemis: Umbreon (f)