"Okay Ash, step coming up." Wally said.

"I thought you figured out how to see without your eyes, why are we struggling this much?" Brendan asked, trying to make heads of where they were on the map.

"Give me that!" Ash said, grabbing the map. "Put my finger on Saffron City."

Wally helped as best he could, lining up the map.

"My senses give me a general idea of my surroundings but I still can't make out everything." Ash explained. "Like I know where you, Wally, and Pikachu are, but I can't tell if there's steps I need to go up."

"And you have the map because?" Brendan asked.

"Even blind, I know this region better than you two." Ash said. "So we got back on track in Saffron, and we should teach Lavender by dusk." Ash said, moving his finger too far as Wally gently pushed it back. "Thanks Wally." Ash added. "Anyways from there, we're heading south, we believe we already saw The Battle Dome before, so that's where we'll head." Ash explained.

"And still no word from Lucario or your multiverse counterpart?" Wally asked.

"None." Ash said. Truthfully, he didn't even know how to contact either of them just yet.

"Then, I recommend we find a better solution than this." Brendan said. "No offense, but Wally and I can't always be there if things happen."

"But what kind of solutions are there?" Ash asked. "And where would we even find someone to get us a solution without asking too many questions?"

"I might know a guy." Wally said. "But we need to go to Lavender Town."

"Then let's keep moving, the sooner we get there, the sooner we can get an answer." Brendan said.

Later that night, in Lavender Town

"Okay, I'll see if I can find him. And if he has a solution, I'll bring him here, or maybe you to him." Wally said.

"I know I can't see, but he does not seem very sure that he can find this guy." Ash commented.

"Do you want me to make sure he's okay?" Brendan asked.

"No, actually I need you to help me with something here." Ash said.

At the graveyard

"Mr. Fuji, I'm not sure if you remember me. My name's Wally, we met a while back." Wally said.

"You said the graves looked nice once they were cleaned." Mr. Fuji said, turning around. "How's finding your dream going?"

"Slow, but I was wondering if you might be able to help one of my friends with something." Wally said.

"Sure, I can try my best to help." Mr. Fuji said. "What kind of problem is he having?"

"He's temporarily blind." Wally admitted. "At least we hope it's temporary."

"If he's lost his sight, the doctor's office should have given him some options for that." Mr. Fuji said.

"Well, that's part of the problem. This is more of a mystical cause than a medical." Wally said. "I thought maybe you could help."

"I'm not sure why you thought I could be of assistance, all I did was give some advice." Mr. Fuji said calmly.

"I know, I just didn't know anyone else around here that we could ask, and that would understand without too many questions." Wally said solemnly. "Sorry for wasting your time."

Back at the Pokemon Center

"And you're still okay?" Ash's Mom asked over the video phone.

"Yeah, it shouldn't be forever." Ash said.

"I wish you wouldn't get into such dangerous situations." Ash's Mom said. "But I am glad to know your friends are doing what they can to help out."

"We'll keep you updated if anything changes." Brendan said.

"Thank you Brendan, bye boys." Ash's mom said.

"Bye mom." Ash said.

"Bye Mrs. Ketchum." Brendan said, ending the call. "So now what?"

"We hope Wally's contact had a plan." Ash admitted.

"Let's find a booth in the meantime." Brendan said, helping Ash around the crowded Pokemon Center. "Why's this place so crowded anyways?"

"Despite being a small town, it has a cave system that cuts through most of the region just north, a quick path to the center to the east, and a long road to the next city on the south." Ash said. "So you almost always will see a large number of trainers here."

"Okay, so kinda like with Mauville." Brendan said.

"That's more like Saffron, I'd say this is more like Rustboro." Ash remarked. "Any sign of Wally?"

"No, wait yeah, I think I see him." Brendan said. "I'll go grab him."

Ash waited, listening to the groups of people, sending all the auras around him.

"So my contact didn't have many ideas on how to help." Wally admitted.

"No surprise there." Ash said.

"So what now? You can't see and we don't know the region." Brendan reminded.

"We still know where the next facility is, let's just keep moving tomorrow." Ash said. "And we'll figure it out from there."

Authors Note

Short chapter, but it served as a way back into the main story.