To the west of the Island of Melemele was a small island that had been all but forgotten by time and researchers. The island was sizable, but was entirely 'wild' as humans would call it, pokémon ran free throughout the trees and sand, knowing nothing but their natural instincts. While this island was very much forgotten, it wasn't lost. Every so often trainers or scientists would arrive to explore or simply study the natural habits of pokémon on the island. It also provided a place of sanctuary to those who needed it, as one could easily disappear into the woods and not be seen for months, yet would be just fine due to the naturally occurring fruit that blossomed among trees and plants. The island had not been given a name, as everyone had their own name for it, and in a sense, the people of Alola had all agreed that this island would remain as it was. As spot for travelers to rest, or migrating pokémon to gather for whatever reason.

"Hey, who was responsible for bringing snacks?"

Well, today there was a migration like no other. At no point in the history of the known world had an event of this magnitude occurred. On this lost island, a large group of the rarest, deadliest and most powerful Pokémon had gathered. Known as the 'Legendaries' this sizable gathering consisted of pokémon who would control weather, elements, time, space and even life itself.

"Don't look at me. I got the message to meet here about ten minutes ago."

Most of these pokémon had met one another at some point, and all of them at least had heard stories about one another, and each other's powers. But to see so many of them gathered in one place was an event anyone would most likely sell the soul of the person standing next to them to see.

"I mean, I have some… but they're mine."

"Can someone tell me why we're here?!"

"Yeah, that's a good question. Why are we here?"

"I was told there was free food… Now I'm upset."

While a gather of this magnitude was unheard of, the reasoning as to why this gathering had been called was even more unheard of. This led to two major problems however. One, no one was certain they'd be able to come up with a suitable answer to the problem they were here to discuss. And two, they would need lots of snacks. Which, as it now appeared, there were none…

"Idonknoabotfud…"

"You lying stoner lizard! You're eating some right now!"

"Bttheyrmine…"

"This was a mistake…"

"Agreed."

"Some mornings I know I shouldn't get out of bed. This was one of them."

"I'm not mad, it's just if we were supposed to bring our own food, that really should've been made clearer!"

There was a mixture of cats, birds, dragons, dogs, ghosts, spirits, a giant rock lizard, a whale, a flaming turtle pokémon, one of the 'Island Guardians' and of course…

"Snom."

"I agree! Groudon, fork em' over!"

"I'll be dead before that happens."

"Snom."

"I'm not joking. Are you willing to die for this?"

"Snom."

"Okay then. I'll see you all in Hel-"

"Enough!"

All the legendaries stopped talking immediately when Giratina spoke up. Either out of respect, out of fear, or out of knowing he might be the only one who could give them an answer as to what was going on right now. Once the voices had settled down to murmurs and angered glares to one another, the only sound aside from the water and occasional wing flapping was the crinkling of the bag of chips Groudon was holding onto.

"First of all, I don't know who told you there would be free food. I'd actually like an answer to that myself." The winged-demon-dragon began. "But more importantly, there is currently a force that many of us only thought to have existed in legends, and he is very, VERY much real and among us now."

"Which is?" Someone called from the back.

"He has many names, and I don't know which legend he comes from, but he is known as the Doom Slayer."

This caused a wave or murmurs and grumbles from the pokémon. Most of the spirit pokémon (such as Uxie, Mespirit and Azelf) looked to one another in confusion, while some of the older ones frowned, deep in thought. Groudon and Kyorge looked to one another, then both shrugged, having not heard of this 'Slayer' before. Suicune, Entei and Raikou all looked to one another, having heard the legend of what had been called 'The Hell Walker', a spirit which ravaged any world it appeared in, laying absolute waste to all, leaving only a burning smoldering husk behind when it was done. Entei especially had heard the stories of the being who could walk through the flames created by the most powerful fire pokémon as if they were nothing.

"Could this be the same one I-" He began to think but shook his head. "No. It couldn't be."

Lugia looked to Moltres, Zapdos and Articuno, all of whom were sitting in a mixture of annoyed disbelief and hesitant confusion. Of the three, Moltres seemed to be the most skeptical, while Zapdos seemed to be in the middle and Articuno seemed to be hesitant to say this wasn't real.

"I understand your confusion and apprehension, but Giratina is correct." Darkrai spoke as he floated towards the center of the meeting."I have seen this Slayer myself, he first arrived in our word on my plane of reality-"

"Me and my family have sensed him too." Tapu Koko nodded in agreement.

"Hey where's the two big guys? Dialga and Palkia?" Groudon suddenly cut in, noticing the titans of time and space weren't present. Darkrai seemed to hesitate before answering the question.

"They… they may have been responsible for releasing the Slayer onto Alola, I have asked they remain where they are and uphold the flow of time and space."

"So, all of this is their fault." Kyogre stated matter-of-factly. He wasn't in the best of moods right now, partially because he had been in a good sleep and then was rudely awoken by Groudon, partially because he was forced to spend time with Groudon, partially because he had to let Groudon ride on his back to the meeting (and that rock lizard had put on a LOT of weight) and partially because Groudon had brought snacks, and refused to give him any, despite promising he'd share some in exchange for passage here.

"No. Well, maybe. I can't say." The ghost pokémon groaned in annoyance. "Look, we can figure out who's fault this was later, right now, we have a bigger problem."

Summoning some of his power, Giratina shifted the plane of reality surrounding the island to show what he knew of the Doom Slayer. This did get a reaction from everyone, as they looked around themselves in abject horror.

"This is the realm from whence the Slayer came." Giratina stated. "This is what he spent millennia fighting in. He has survived the worst this place could throw at him, and he has risen above them, bathed in their blood he tore their plane to the ground. He is but one man, and now he walks among us."

"I have the feeling that we can't simply kill him and be done with it." Raikou spoke up, frowning as he looked around. "How many would die to accomplish that?"

"On which side? Them or us?" Heatran asked bluntly.

"Exactly."

"No, no. We aren't going to kill him. Not yet." Darkrai immediately cut in, seeming somewhat angered by the suggestion. "And hopefully never. The Slayer's violent nature seems to have been quelled for the time being. If we attack him or attempt to kill him, he may turn his attention to us. While I believe he may not be able to survive an onslaught of our combined efforts, he also seems to have power that could mean the end for a number of us."

"Okay, so… what do we do?" Zapdos asked, raising a wing in confusion. "If he's as powerful as you say, fighting him is a terrible plan. Are we going to try and talk with him? Or…"

"Do you think he'd be willing to talk?" Mespirit asked.

"…maybe…?"

"That's why I've called you all here, if anyone has any suggestions, now is the time." Giratina spoke up again.

"First, someone needs to pass the snacks around!"

"No!"

"Enough!" Came a new voice.

Everyone turned to where a purplish portal opened, Mewtwo floated out of it, followed by a trainer with long blonde hair who looked around in absolute amazement at the legendary pokémon surrounding her, Shaymin held in her arms.

"I don't believe it…" She whispered, looking around.

"Why is she here?" Someone asked.

"Better question. Who is she?" Kyogre asked, looking over from the water.

"Cynthia, thank you for coming." Giratina spoke, nodding to the champion. Uncharacteristically, Cynthia was silent, looking around at the pokémon on the small island.

"I…how…" She muttered.

"I haven't seen most of these guys in a while." Shaymin commented, munching on a cookie.

"Okay, someone herehas food, and this is kinda getting on my nerves!" Zekrom growled, electricity sparking around the dragon.

"I understand this is a strange time for you Ms. White, but we need your help." The large winged legendary continued. "We don't know if the Slayer will remain unhostile until we can find a way to send him home, and we don't believe any of us would be able to talk to him without causing issues."

Cynthia looked around, having been told by Shaymin about something that was happening, but she had no idea what they were talking about. Giratina seemed to notice that and looked to Darkrai, who created an image of the Doom Slayer wielding some sort of glowing sword, standing atop a horned monster's decapitated corpse. He then took off in a sort of shadowy visage of himself, slashing his way through a sea of twisted monstrosities. The legendaries all watched in utter disbelief at the power of this one man, all of them now understanding Giratina's hesitation and apprehension about trying anything that might anger the Slayer. The champion winced slightly at the images, then looked to Giratina.

"Who, or what is this? And how did he get here?"

"We don't know." Giratina shook his head. "All I know are the stories of the Walkers' exploits within their realm. As for how he traveled across dimensions, I cannot say."

"Hey, couldn't Jirachi send him home?" Shaymin suddenly spoke up, getting everyone's attention as he looked around him.

"Possibly, but Jirachi is still asleep, and I don't believe the Slayer would be capable of awakening him." Lugia answered, nodding at the small pokémon's point. "And I don't believe any of us know where he currently sleeps."

"Come to think of it, couldn't Arceus deal with him?" Ho-Oh asked, perched on a sizable rock, looking to the sea guardian.

"Yeah, where is he?" Latias asked, curious. "This kinda seems like the thing he'd need to deal with."

"We do not tell Lord Arceus what to do, he had other things he needed to attend to."

"Fair. I guess."

"Right, listen. I truly appreciate that you all think I can be of help somewhat, but… what can I do that any one of you couldn't?" Cynthia asked, still looking on in amazement at all the pokémon around her. But by now, the question was nagging at her, she was but one woman. Were these her people to save?

"You are human, this appears to be the only thing he doesn't feel an impulse to kill on sight." Mewtwo remarked, and Cynthia's eyes widened in shock, and probably (and realistically) in fear as well. She had been through countless battles and seen things no other trainer had seen, but the idea of having to go face-to-face some insane hell warrior who killed demons for kicks and apparently killed anything that got in his path wasn't something she was exactly excited to do. "As well as Lucario's powers may be able to help calm him. I understand this is a lot to ask, but until we can find a way to get him home, more than anything, we need him to understand that we're not demonic threats. We want you to try and communicate with him, be the metaphorically speaking, bridge between worlds."

"Hmm…" The blue jackal pokémon muttered, deep in his thoughts. From the moment he set foot on this island, he sensed something very wrong, but the problem was, he didn't know if it was the 'Doom' guy the others spoke of, or something else.

"Most of us…" Zapdos muttered.

"Meaning?" Suicune asked.

"Yveltal."

Perhaps it was fear of what the bird could do, or the threat he posed, or the threat of what this 'Slayer' could do to them if pushed into a fight, everyone fell silent as they took in what had just been said. In fact, to many of them, the idea hadn't even occurred to them. Now that it had, they wished it hadn't.

"Huh. Right…" Heatran frowned deeply.

"That is… that is also why I have called you all here." Giratina spoke up again, his tone somewhat uneven. "While we try to forge any sort of alliance or peace with the Slayer, we will also need to keep Yveltal as far away from him as possible. Before you ask, yes, that is why he is not present at this meeting. We cannot risk having him engage the Doom Slayer, if they meet in combat, it could very well be the end of all life in this realm as we know it."

Now the uneasy feeling Cynthia had felt from when she was told about what they wanted her to do spread to practically all the legendaries. While some of them were stronger than Yveltal, none of them wanted to have to fight him. He possessed a power that they feared, and with good reason.

"So, where is he now?" Suicune asked.

"We believe he sleeps, much like Jirachi." Darkrai answered. "And if possible, we wish to keep it that way."

"…alright, where do we go from here?" Someone finally asked.

"On the islands are some humans we can trust, ones many of us have had past experiences with." Mewtwo now spoke again, everyone seemed to know what he was talking about, and nodded in agreement. "We should try to reach out to them, and above all, pray to Arceus that something doesn't happen that could put this world in jeopardy. I haven't met him myself, but the Slayer seems like the kind of beast who would burn a town down if someone threw a water balloon at him…"

The group nodded, most of the legendary birds flying off to return to their regions or to try and find something that could be of use. Articuno remembered an old temple that had been built millennia ago, and wondered if he might be able to find some answers there. Zekrom and Reshiram looked to one another, their age-old battle currently put on hiatus, knowing this was bigger than both of them.

"Should anything happen, I will be there to face the Slayer's wrath." Raikou declared, stepping forward. Giratina looked to him, and then nodded solemnly.

"Your courage is admirable, but I hope you understand that it may very well cost you your life." Giratina stated in no uncertain terms. However, the legendary lightning pokémon nodded in understanding.

"If that is what must happen to stop him, so be it."

"I will be there as well." Entei stepped up next to Raikou.

"As will I." Suicune nodded.

"No, I have a task for you, one which may prove to be the make or break of this whole encounter." Mewtwo spoke, looking to Suicune. The latter looked perplexed, then nodded in understanding. While in terms of power, and authority in the hierarchy of legendary pokémon, Suicune outranked Mewtwo by a mile, he knew that the clone was a brilliant strategist when the time called for it. This happened to be one of those times, so if he had a plan, Suicune would do his best to help it come to fruition.

"Should anything twisted or monstrous come from his realm through the skies, I trust you will warn us old friend." Lugia added, looking to Rayquaza who nodded confidently.

"Indeed. If monsters follow from his world, they shall fall." He declared.

"Shaymin, you should travel with Cynthia. I understand you know some of the locals on Alola." Mewtwo nodded to the shrub pokémon, who nodded eagerly.

"Okay!"

Groudon was listening intently, trying to see if there was something specific required of him. During this, he didn't notice Kyogre wade somewhat upwards form the water, and grab the bag of chips he had, before slipping back into the water with them.

"Hey! Those were mine!" He snarled.

"Not anymore." Kyogre said, downing the bag.

"Ugh…" Giratina muttered in annoyance. The land and sea titans reminded him too much of Dialga and Palkia some days… he just hoped they weren't fighting with one another, or somehow causing time and space to be messed with again…

On their realm, Dialga and Palkia watched the meeting conclude.

"I can't believe they fell for that." Palkia remarked. "Two words. That's all it took."

"I know, even Giratina believed it!" Dialga laughed. "Did you see Zekrom?! He was furious the whole time!"

"Oh man… do you think they'll ever figure out that we lied about the free food?"

"Hopefully not…"

"Hey, what do you think that Slayer guy is up to right now?"

Meanwhile…

"Squirtle!"

The Slayer flinched ever so slightly as the multiple streams of water impacted his armor. After having Cubone tended to, the Slayer noted that his Praetor suit was both damaged and dirty. He reasoned that was how the snake actually managed to bite him, and decided he needed to get it cleaned. Not too far away from the 'Pokémon Center' (a place that amazed him with its healing technology) there was a car and boat wash, and he decided this was probably the easiest way to get his suit cleaned. As he approached, he noticed several small blue turtles looking up in confusion and wonder at him, with one of them inexplicably wearing sunglasses. Still, after VEGA explained the situation to the owner, the Slayer was led to where the cars would drive through in order to be cleaned. He was genuinely surprised when the small turtles (apparently called "Squirtle") had begun spewing water with respectable force at him, while some of the others seemed to eat bars of soap, and then spew a soapy water all over him, which was doing a decent job removing the grime, muck and 'mud' (which was actually demon blood, but they didn't need to know that) from his battle armor.

"Squirtle! Squirtle!" The Squirtle with sunglasses seemed to be shouting orders to the others, and the Doom Slayer moved forward, continuing to be hosed down by the small turtles. He noticed they almost seemed annoyed by something, and he didn't know why. The reason being that despite their best efforts, the armor wasn't coming as clean as they wanted. The Slayer kept walking forward, until he saw a large blue turtle with what seemed like two cannons on his back.

"Blast?" It seemed to ask, looking to one of the Squirtles, who nodded. Said Squirtle then turned to the Doom Slayer, and seemed to be saying… something. The Slayer blinked in confusion, then felt like he got rammed full-force by a pinky. He just barely had enough time to dig his feet in and brace as the powerful twin streams of water surrounded him. He now realized that the 'cannons' were actually powerful water cannons. The pokémon kept the pressure on for a few more moments, then stopped. The Slayer stood up and looked down, seeing that his armor seemed cleaner than… honestly, he couldn't even remember the last time it was this clean. One might argue that clean armor is a sign of a weak warrior, as wearing the blood of demons signaled your strength and tenacity, but at the same time, personal hygiene was apparently a thing that humans really cared for. The Slayer didn't really care, it actually felt kinda nice to finally get all that stuff off, it felt like he had a new chance.

And he was gonna cover himself in whatever blood or liquid flowed through Samuel Hayden's mechanical mistake of a body!

Outside, Hau, Ash and Lillie watched through the window, all in amusement at the scene in front of them.

"Huh, who knew a warrior from hell's biggest weakness is water." Hau remarked.

"Well, hell is full of fire, right?" Ash asked. "Maybe he's a fire type."

"Cu?" Cubone said, looking up at them in confusion from where he sat on Lillie's lap. Over her shoulder Pikipek was flying, watching on in confusion.

"Yeah, I guess…" Hau shrugged. "Still, he doesn't seem invincible… Arbok managed to break through his suit with a bite, so maybe he's normal?"

"I dunno Hau." Lillie frowned. "If what VEGA's said is true, then he literally spent decades fighting monsters in another dimension. I think Arbok managed to do that simply because he hasn't gotten the chance to fix his armor."

"Cu."

"Pika…"

"Pik?"

"Pika!"

"Cu." Cubone nodded, the trio of pokémon supposedly having a conversation of their own.

The Doom Slayer walked out, water and soap dripping from his suit as he casually walked over to where a white-haired pokémon with a tree-like body stood waiting.

"Shif?" It said, almost asking: 'Sorry, you want me to do what?'.

"Squirtle." The sunglass wearing Squirtle replied.

"Shif."

"Squirtle!"

The pokémon blinked, looking to the Doom Slayer, then shrugged. It took a step back and waved its leaf-like hands in preparation, before looking over to where Ash and the others were sitting.

"Shiftry!" It said loudly, as if in a warning. The young trainers understood and backed up. The Slayer looked down at the odd pokémon, apprehension beginning to overtake him. He didn't know what it was saying, and that was a problem. He was about to move to evade or attack when a strong gust of wind surrounded him, picking up speed so quickly the Slayer didn't have time to react. He didn't feel like he was being lifted off of the ground, but rather like someone had dumped a large fan in front of him. He cast a quick glance around, confused as to where or how this sudden wind storm originated. After a few moments and no successful answer, he looked down to where the pokémon was spinning its hands about in a rhythmic pattern, and the Slayer realized that the pokémon was creating the wind. He also felt the water being blown away, and he stopped fighting it, letting himself relax somewhat. About a minute passed, and the Shiftry ceased his whirlwind. The Slayer moved his arm, feeling everything that had been coated in water was now dry, and nodded his thanks to the pokémon.

"Shif." The pokémon replied, giving a sort-of salute with one of its leaf-hands.

The Slayer walked over to where the others were, noting the small bird pokémon still clearly seemed uneasy about something. However, the Slayer didn't know what that was.

"Perhaps some wild pokémon do not form bonds with their trainers so quickly." VEGA suggested. "Cubone seemed to connect with you due to the lack of parental figure and the kindness you showed it. However, I cannot say much about the Magikarp you captured."

"Well, that wasn't the most conventional way to take a bath, but whatever works, right?" Kukui smirked. The Slayer shrugged, then nodded. "So… do you have any sort of plan for what you're doing next?"

The Slayer paused. Once again, he noted that unless he found some sort of dimensional-technology, he was effectively stuck here for the time being. He had to admit, he was curious as to what kinds of pokémon populated the world, as he only had a few in the National VEGA-Dex, and there were four he had heard mentioned more than once…

"What are the Guardian Deities?" VEGA asked.

"What? Oh, right. You're not form here." Hau began, but realized something. "Essentially it's believed there's a guardian spirit for each of the for islands in Alola, they protect the island and take care of those that live on it."

"Fascinating. Are they real? Or are they cultural stories?"

"At least one of them is real. I've seen Tapu Koko." Ash answered, the Slayer looking to him. "We met when I first arrived on these islands."

"Are they believed to be angelic in nature? Or simply spirits?" VEGA asked, and this time, no one answered.

"We don't know." Hau finally replied.

The Slayer looked around, thinking about everything he had learned over the past few days. He began to wonder if maybe there wasn't a way out of here, and if that was the case, how should he approach this? There clearly were law enforcement services here, but he figured he wouldn't be able to join any of them for a multitude of reasons. One being the lack of a real name, the second being his refusal to remove his helmet, and the third being shooting someone with a chain gun as a warning was something he routinely did, but figured wasn't something common in this world. So, if he was stuck here, might as well make the best of it, right?

"You mentioned Trials for each island." VEGA again spoke up. "What does it take to complete them?"

"Whoa, hold up." Ah said, eyes widening. "Are… are you saying you wanna do the island trials?!"

"That'd be awesome!" Hau exclaimed. "You can do them with me and Ash! This'll be awesome!"

"Yeah, except I think he's a bit old." Kukui admitted awkwardly. "No offence man, but your… what? Fourty?"

"By my best estimation, and taking into account the time the Slayer was sealed in a demonic tomb, the Slayer could be close to one million years old."

Everyone (pokémon included) turned in slack-jawed shock at VEGA's declaration. Even the Squirtle and Shiftry looked over, with the Squirtle raising his shades, and Shiftry blinking in a 'This guy is nuts' way.

"Okay, yeah. He's a bit old…" Ash muttered. "Is that why he wears that suit?"

"No. The Praetor suit mainly functions as armor, not some sort of de-aging device. As for how the Slayer has lived this long… I'm afraid only he knows the answer to that, and he hasn't shared it with me thus far. Regardless of the fact of him participating in the trials or not, the Slayer wouldn't be opposed to traveling with you for the time being, until he finds a way home."

"…well, that's on you three." Kukui stated, looking to Ash, Hau and Lillie. "If you're okay with him traveling with you, then he can go with us, but if he's gonna be some sort of danger magnet, I don't think it's a great idea to have him following us."

"Your concern is valid." VEGA stated matter-of-factly. "But unless some sort of demonic presence manages to breach your world, the Slayer has no reason to be violent unless attacked."

"You shot Team Rocket with a rocket like, two hours ago." Ash remarked.

"The Slayer has no reason to be violent unless attacked. Starting now."

"I mean, I don't know why he shouldn't…" Lillie admitted. A mixture of scared as to what they Slayer would do if they said 'no' but also feeling somewhat safe around him, as if he was an armoured bodyguard. Especially after what she and Nebby had been through recently… maybe she was just scared for her own safety.

"I'm all for it!" Hau declared, clearly the most excited of all of them. He looked to the Doom Slayer and added: "What say you?"

The Doom Slayer didn't reply for a moment, then gave a thumbs-up.

"Awesome!" Hau cheered. "We were heading towards the Ruins of Life! We need to finish this islands' trial!"

The Doom Slayer picked up Cubone and put him on his shoulder, and looked to the Pikipek, who hesitantly clew lover and landed his hand.

"The Slayer is ready when you are." VEGA stated.

"Alright! Let's go!" Ash grinned.

Over on Ula'ula Island, Vinny sighed in relief as he finally got some pants. On their way back to Po Town, he had more than a few opportunities to get something to cover his lower half, but every time his teammates had 'motivated' him to keep moving. Namely they forced him though fits of laughter. Admittedly, he hadn't suffered the worst out of his team, and Split and Shake had their heads bashed against one another, but their pain left them quickly. He was stuck for about two days without pants.

"So, your telling me that one dude with NO POKÉMON did ALL THIS!?"

"I know it sounds crazy boss, but it's true!" J-Rock insisted. "That freak took a chainsaw to Steelix's tail! He used some sort of energy gun on Scyther as well! Heck, he knocked Machamp out with his bare fists!"

Guzma was extremely skeptical to say the least. The issue was, four of his grunts had shown up, all shaken and talking about the 'Green Spaceman' who had royally thrashed them. Add to this that there was a very sizable chunk of Steelix's tail missing, and he was having a hard time trying to think of what could've done this.

"What kinda sociopath hacks a pokémon apart with a chainsaw?" He muttered, before turning back to the group. "And you claim he was in some sort of armor? You didn't see his face?"

"No! But the dude pulled a shotgun, a chainsaw, an energy gun and some sort super-steroid out from his backside!"

"J-Roc's telling the truth." Shake nodded. "The thing just… pulled them out from nowhere, and Scyther's slashes couldn't even make a dent in his armor!"

"This… This is weird." The leader of Team Skull muttered. "Do ya think the Kahunas finally got sick and tired of us? So, they hired some sort of super-merc to take us out?"

"You really think they'd do somethin' like that boss!?" Split asked bewildered, Guzma gave him a flat, annoyed look.

"I didn't see him." He stated bluntly. "That's why I'm asking you."

"Oh. Uh… No?"

Guzma rubbed his face, muttering something under his breath. He wlake dout to the balcony of the house he used as his HQ, the members of Team Skull who were doing stuff all stopped and looked up at him.

"Okay…" He began. "So, apparently there's some sorta space warrior who thinks he can mess with us and not face the consequences. That's what I'm getting from all this. That means we need to find this guy, and show him what happens when you screw with Team Skull. And if that means breaking every bone in his body, or putting him in a hole fifty feet under, I really don't care. No one, and I mean NO ONE messes with us and walks away. You hear me!?"

"Yeah!" Was shouted.

"No, you all clearly didn't! I said, DID YOU HEAR ME!?" Guzma shouted, anger rising.

"YEAH!" Everyone shouted much louder this time, and Guzma nodded in approval.

"Alright then! So, are we just gonna stand around here like a buncha idiots, or are we gonna go out there and show that idiot what happens when he messes with the best!?"

"Who's the best?" Someone from the back called out in confusion. Guzma sweat-dropped and face palmed.

"Us!" He shouted in response.

"Okay, cool. Just… just wanted to make sure."

"Ugh… I'm surrounded by idiots…" Guzma muttered. "So, what are you all standing there for?! Let's roll!"

The Team Skull Grunts yelled and cheered in agreement, none of them knowing that they had all collectively just agreed to do the single stupidest thing any of them would ever do in their lives. To Guzma, this was just another try-hard who needed to be taken down a peg. He above all didn't realize the massive crosshairs he was beginning to put himself into, and he couldn't even begin to fathom what was going to happen because of this…

Back with the others, Ash, Hau and the Doom slayer were havin battle. Pikachu and a small owl named Rowlett were fighting Cubone and Magikarp. The slayer offered Pikipek to take the first fight but it didn't seem interested.

"…flop." VEGA said, the A.I. honestly seeming disappointed at just how pathetic Magikarp was as the fish pokémon continued flailing about on the ground. "Slayer, is there a reason you captured this pokémon? It truly seems worthless."

"That's Magikarp for you." Ash frowned. "Apparently long ago they were ferocious monsters, but now? They're just… that."

Hau was about to give Rowlett an attack order, when Magikarp suddenly collided with the small owl. The three were left in surprise until they saw what had happened. Cubone seemed to have gotten fed up with its partner, and used Magikarp as a projectile attack.

"Karp!"

Cubone looked to the Slayer with a flat look on its face. Clearly it was wordlessly saying something along the lines of 'C'mon. That's all he's good for'. Unfortunately, the Slayer couldn't fully argue that point. The battle continued for a few minutes, until the Slayer felt something on his leg. At first, he assumed it was just his nerves acting up, but then he felt like something was chewing on his armor. He looked down in bewilderment and saw a small gray pokémon with a rounded head trying to eat the praetor suit. He lifted his leg up, pointing to the pokémon, and the others seemed to nice it as well.

"Huh. That's weird…" Ash muttered.

"I've never seen an Aron do that before." Kukui muttered. He then remembered the Slayer's lack of knowledge about this world and quickly explained: "That's an Aron, they're a steel-type of pokémon. They're known for their weird ability to consume metal. Melemele had an issue with them at one point, as they kept eating their train tracks…"

"Ar." The small pokémon said waggling its stubby legs as it was now hanging off of the Slayer's leg. The Slayer reached behind him and pulled out his super shotgun.

"WHOA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Kukui screamed in horror. The Slayer ignored him and opened the gun, the empty shell casings popping out. He held them up to the small pokémon, and it seemed to release its bite on the Slayer, now interested in the shell casings. The Slayer watched with interest as the small creature proceeded to eat the shell casings, looking up with a hopeful look in its eyes for more.

"Okay, so… he has the most unconventional ways for catching pokémon." Hau admitted, watching the Slayer pat the small creature's head. He then picked it up and walked it over to a garbage can, then sat it down. If followed him in response. It was clear now that the Aron wasn't going to leave the Slayer be, and the Slayer decided against repeating the Magikarp routine, simply taking a pokéball out and catching it. The small metal type didn't even seem to fight the ball. It was bizarre.

"So, he might end up with a Toucannon, a Marrowak and an Aggron." Lillie mused. "It seems oddly fitting, three pokémon known for their strength tenacity and fire power."

"And Gyarados." Ash added.

"I don't know if Magikarp will ever reach that level though."

"Fair enough."

From a distance, Cynthia White watched the Slayer interacting with the pokémon he was now training. From a first impression, she expected someone more… violent. But Lucario seemed genuinely frightened by his aura, and that was more than enough of a warning to her. But there was also something kind of sweet but weird about seeing him petting an Aron, or trying to befriend a Pikipek… Still, Ash was also with him, so she believed that might make introductions a little less awkward. She wasn't sure what exactly Mewtwo hoped to accomplish by their meeting, but she knew she had to at least try.

Just not right now. Something seemed… wrong. But what that was, the Champion couldn't say.

A.N. Hello everyone! I'm glad you're all still here with me! Now the Slayer has a four-man squad! Before you all ask, yes. They will be evolving, possibly sooner than you think… Also, yes. I know the one pokémon the Slayer HAS to have, don't worry.

Still, while the Doom Slayer may have made some traveling companions, it's hard to tell if he'd drop the F-Bomb around them ('F-Bomb' meaning 'Friend'). On top of that, it seems like Team Skull isn't too happy about the Slayer's interference.

That should end well for them.

Also, the legendary pokémon have gathered! Are their fears justified? Is there a chance for peace? Well, considering this is a DOOM story, probably not. Let's just say that- actually. How many of you know what Chekov's Gun is? The beginning to this chapter wasn't as much Chekov's Gun as it was Chekov's Chain Gun… If you don't know what I mean, stick around. It's gonna get good.

Finally, someone asked if Samuel Hayden or demons would appear in this story… Look, I don't wanna spoil too much, but let me put it like this: The Aether Foundation is gonna learn a LOT about messing with portals from the Doom Slayer… Both for better and for worse.

Much, MUCH worse…