Part 3 : The Path of Victory

Chapter 11 : Together

Dawn found Ash and Misty sleeping on the floor of a wooden cabin, three set of eyes locked on them. Two belonged to dragonair, and the last belonged to a large, old looking dragonite. Besides him, Aysen could feel his sister Syldra worrying about the one who was like a father to the entire swarm of dragon-type pokemon living around the aptly-named Dragonhorn - the great mountain that dominated the city that the humans called Blackthorn with its shadow.

The Dragonhorn tribe, as it was named, was the tribe of dragon-type pokemon that had, slowly, over the year, carved the shrine. Of course, no humans would believe it - the idea of a human believing any other creature was able to build something was somewhat ridiculous, as far as he was concerned. Of all creations, humans were probably the most self-centered beast, thinking of themselves as superior to every other species. Of course, it was obvious to anyone that the dragon were actually the superior species, but no human would ever believe that. Yet, could they have built a place such as the Shrine, infusing it with the powerful magic that would let those who dared to step inside face their destiny?

He felt amused eyes resting on his shoulders and turned to face Tairan, the elder dragon of Dragonhorn. The slender neck of the great creature rose, revealing his benevolent face and wise eyes. His golden and blue-green wings were folded on either side of his large body, and he seemed to be waiting, perhaps for the two human they had carried out of the shrine to wake up. The test they had faced was hard, and they now rested from the ordereal.

"Was it truly needful, Aisen?" the voice of the great dragon was peaceful and calm. It sounded wise, too, the voice of one who had observed the passing of time and the foolishness of the living for hundreds of years. Which, of course, was the case.

"Yes, Tairan." The smaller dragon replied, nodding. "The girl had to forget about what might have been different in the past, so that what was would stop weighting her down. And the boy, though ambitious, needed to be shown that what he wanted to do was nothing after what his ancestors had done." He shook his head. As much as he disliked human, he had not liked submitting these two to the test they had been forced to face. But there were things that just had to be, that were meant to be that way.

"Ah, I see. But still, remember that this Ash is to be your friend and companion, my descendant, as this Misty is to be the friend and companion of your sister." He looked at them both sternly. "The destiny of the oracles is not an easy path to walk, but it must be walked by someone. You two have accepted the burden, do not back down now." His eyes blazed with intent. "You serve the prophecy of twilight, the balance and the light now. The time for silly games is past for both of you."

"Yes Tairan." Aysen sighed as he nodded. The idea of having to work at the side of a human, even one as...different from most human as Ash was, one who almost felt like there was a side of him that was deeply connected to the pokemon, was just plain disheartening.

"Tairan? Why did you come?" Syldra asked slowly. "If I may ask, that is..." Her eyes were downcast.

"We must all play our part in destiny child. Mine required from me to come here, and from Raiden to assume the leadership of the tribe." The old wyrm shook his head. "My part in destiny is coming to an end Syldra, while yours and Aysen are beginning."

Without turning, Aysen could feel his sister's eyes filling with tears, tears she would not shed, but tears she would feel all the same. Tairan had been there, a solid rock, a fact of life since their birth, for both of them. And now, it seemed soon he would no longer be there.

"Don't worry Syldra. My body might be about to depart from this world...but my spirit will remain for a long time yet. A time much longer than you might think." The smile on the lips of the great dragon was thin and mysterious, the smile of someone who knew much more than he was willing to reveal.

"I believe that this Ash person is waking up." Aysen suddenly stated, watching the boy stirring as his eyes slowly opened.

On a gesture from the great old wyrm, both Aysen and Syldra slowly went to find some empty pokeball on the two trainers, activating them, and letting themselves be caught so that they would not be located right at first sight.

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Ash yawned as he slowly rose, feeling as if his jaws were about to be torn apart. Looking around him, he wondered how he had gotten back in the cabin - the last thing he remembered being trying to pick up an object on the floor.

Looking around, he first noticed the fact that a long blue cloak was resting on his shoulders, then a split second later, a blue scabbard covered with golden dragons on the floor close to him, holding a slightly curved sword, similar to the longer of Gary's two, but longer. Drawing it, he took a moment to stare at the gleaming metal, before sheathing it again, and tying the belt which held the scabbard around his waist. He turned toward Misty, and noticed with a start that she wore similar clothes, though her cloak was aqua, matching the color of her eyes and slightly lighter than her shirt - the color of a tropical sea. There was a sword resting near her as well, also in a scabbard, though her scabbard was slightly different in color and shape than his.

Continuing to look around, he finally noticed the great golden dragon resting in the entrance, and stared at it for a while. The enormous beast seemed to be sleeping, though he was not sure about that. Ash continued to stare at it. True, he had seen Dragonite before, but this one was more than twice the size, perhaps even more than thrice the size of any other dragonite he had seen in his life, and Ash could barely believe the creature had found a way in the cabin, though the door was quite large, admittedly.

"[i]So you are Ash.[/i]" The great beast looked at him as his eyes glowed. The voice rang through his mind, and Ash stared at the creature in surprise. None of the dragonite he had met so far were able to use telepathy, but yet somehow this one could. He slowly walked away from the beast, more than a little frightened by the strange invasion of his mind that was taking place.

"[i]Do not fear me. I mean you no harm.[/i]" The mental voice was somehow soothing, a calm, wise voice, a peaceful voice. The eyes of the creature seemed to glow with a soft purple light, and Ash stared at it some more.

"How...how are you doing that?" He finally asked, his eyes still wide.

"[i]I simply have been in this world for a long time, and I know more than most about the powers of the mind.[/i]".

Ash shook his head. The whole concept of a pokemon other than a psychic being able to use telepathy was still something he found hard to accept, let alone having to face one such, especially one who was as large as the one he faced was.

"[i]Now I will leave...but we will soon meet again Ash. Your destiny is too close to mine to allow otherwise.[/i]" the dragon smiled at him. "[i]Farewell, child. May the spirit of all dragons protect you.[/i]".

With that, the great dragon pushed the great door open, revealing that he could go through it, though it was a tight fit. Ash watched the great beast go, bewildered. The dragon had said many things to him, most of which he found just plain confusing, while others he tried not to think about, especially his reference to destiny. After the events in the Shamuti island over a year before he had hoped that his destiny would just be something along the line of becoming a pokemon master and living happily ever after, but something in the old dragon's words made him think that apparently fate wanted it otherwise. He sighed. After all, wasn't saving the world from destruction once more than enough for destiny? On the other hand, he reminded himself, his ancestors had done much more than that, at least as far as he was concerned.

He heard someone stirring behind him, and turned to see Misty rising from her place on the floor, pushing away the cover and flashing him a tender smile.

"Good morning Misty." He told her, smiling back and admiring her openly as her orange-red hair fell on her shoulders, a cascade of fire covering her head, and as her aqua eyes caught the light of the sun that shone through the windows, deep pools in which he felt he could drown. He looked at her again, remembering her tears in the shrine, how she had seemed like she hated herself so much.

"Are you all right my love?" he asked her softly, staring deep in her eyes. "I heard you crying in the shrine..." he looked at her, his face full of concern.

"Well...I guess I am now...I guess..." she shook slightly, and then threw her arms around his shoulders, hugging him fiercely. He wrapped his own arms tightly around her shoulders, holding her tightly.

"I had to see...they made me see how everything could have turned different...if a little thing had changed in the past...things I even wished happened another way..." She shuddered. "It was horrible...nearly all the time it ended up with you dead..." She held him even tighter than before. "Promise me Ash. Promise you won't die before me." Her eyes were full of tears.

"Shhh...I'll do everything I can Misty. I promise I'll do my best to be with you forever." He held her tightly. She looked at him, brushing away the tears with the touch of an hand, a slow smile appearing on her face. She kissed him softly, her lips softly brushing against his. She then looked at him again, most of the sadness gone from her eyes.

"You Ash? What did you see there?" she asked him, her hands still wrapped tightly around his shoulders.

"That even if I manage to become a pokemon master, it'll be nothing in comparison to what the rest of my family did." He looked at her. There was no sadness, no such emotion wasted, only perhaps a slight feeling that he would never live up to what his ancestors had done.

"Really?" Her eyes were looking at him curiously.

"I got to see what they did. There was a woman who was the first pokemon trainer ever. A guy, Akira I think - he led the bunch who fought against that dark one your father was telling us about." He stopped, trying to remember who else there had been. "Aside from that, there weren't that many, outside my father." He stopped.

"And?" She asked.

"And what? He grinned at her, then his face became serious again. "My father's Lance Blackthorn - you know, Elite Four leader, Kanto chief of state, that kind of things." he shook his head. "I'd say that pokemon master isn't as good as chief of state and elite four leader."

"I guess I see what you mean. Though you DID save the world back in the orange islands...that's something none of them did - even that - Akira, was that it? - didn't exactly save the world."

"Yeah, but I didn't exactly do that alone...you helped a lot, so did Melodie and my pokemon..." he answered.

"And I'm sure Akira didn't pull off what he did alone. Lance had his pokemon too, and obviously that girl wouldn't have managed to become the first pokemon trainer without a pokemon, uh?" She pointed out, holding him tightly. "Say what you want Ash, but you'll always be the greatest as far as I'm concerned." She tightened her hold on him.

"Thanks Misty. But there's no way I'd be as great as you are." He smiled, holding her just as tightly as she held him. Their lips met again, and he stopped thinking about his worried, letting himself be filled with the feeling of their shared love.

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Gary watched the world from the top of the cliff, wondering how the world was, trying to feel for the presence of the other oracles, the nine of them. Already, the sense of their presence, though some of them were thousand of miles away from him, was overwhelming. There was once almost directly to the south, slightly to the east. Somewhat to the west of Pallet, he could definitely feel that one, though he could not say which one it was. Two were in the mountains close to him, but the sense of their presence was strangely blanked. He could feel another very slightly to the south, and directly east, probably in the vicinity of Saffron. Another seemed to be slightly north of Cerulean city, perhaps near mount Moon, and a fifth close to Cinnabar Island. There was yet another in the mountain, somewhat to the northwest of the first one, which was still to the south-east of where he was. There was another one in what felt like the vicinity of Fuchsia, the last one.

He looked again at the mark that still appeared very clearly on the skin of his hand, a wheel turning. He had no idea what price there would be to pay for being an oracle, but he knew there would be one.

Chapter 12 : Soul Gift

The wind tore around the roots of the dragonhorn, striking the lone figure that stood by the only path up the mountain, a figure clothed in black, long dark hair tied in a ponytail. A lone figure, waiting for the return of his friends, wondering what had possessed them to accept to go up there.

With a weary sigh, Damian looked away, thinking about whether or not he should make sure Claire would play for what she had done to his sister and to his friend. Already, there was little hope that they would ever come back, after two weeks. One week was the time that was usually spent up there, beyond ten day was said to be hopeless, though according to some legend Claire had mentioned, some people had survived for so much as two weeks. But those were legend, and it was hard, if not impossible to know what was false and what was true in that.

He sighed again, not willing to accept that they were both probably dead by now. Ash was one of his few friends, something they had slowly become over the year they had been travelling together. And more than that, he was also the only one of the nine Damian had found so far, and as such someone who was essential for the balance of the world. Loosing him now, before the time of destiny could take place, would be an absolute disaster.

And loosing Misty would be just as bad, if not worst, though on a more personal level. For years, she had been the only point of light in the darkness, the only one to welcome him as a human being, to be really nice toward him, to actually treat him as a friend, and a close one. Barring Elayne, she was probably the single most important person in his life, and one of those he could not afford to loose, not and retain his sanity. Already, it was only Elayne's love that had kept him from making any attempt at ending his life when he had heard of her so-called death a year earlier.

He could not accept their death, but yet, after well over a week, there was little chance that they would come back one day. He sighed, and turned, noticing Elayne walking toward him, her eyes sad.

"I don't think they'll come back." She told him sadly. "I mean, maybe they'll get lucky and come back, but what are the chances?" She said, then noticed how each word seemed to bite her boyfriend. "I'm sorry Damian...it's just...maybe you should admit it to yourself?" She wrapped her arms tightly around him. He almost pushed her away, but resisted the impulse. She was far from wrong, and he far from right, and no matter what, he still loved her.

"No. I'm not going to admit anything to myself, They have to be alive." He answered, keeping emotions out of his voice.

"You might as well admit it Damian...Claire is just waiting for you to admit it before sending the information that two young trainers died to the newspaper. And you know letting Ash get killed like that is probably going to get her fired"

"I see I'm not the only one who heard about Ash from his father." He smiled. "He isn't dead. I just know he isn't...he can't be dead." He looked at her, not explaining about the prophecies of twilight, or about how the powers would not let destiny go awry like that, not as long as they had a say in it - and he knew they still did. "One last night?" he suddenly asked, feeling very sure that they would be there by the next morning.

"I don't think it will change a thing, but if it makes you feel better, alright. I'll even wait with you." She smiled, sitting down by a rock in the path, watching him with loving eyes as he did the same. He looked back at her, wrapping an arm tightly around her shoulders as they waited side by side.

_________________________

Night had long since fallen, and Elayne had fallen asleep as well, her head resting on Damian's shoulder. As he waited, fighting to struggle awake, he felt a great shadow passing between him and the moon. He turned and watched in awe as an enormous dragonite landed by him, one who seemed from his face to have lived a thousand year, with eyes filled with wisdom.

"[i]I salute you, Seeker.[/i]" the creature looked at him. Damian nodded in acknowledgement.

"And I suppose I should salute Tairan?" He answered, looking at the dragon.

"[i]You should.I am, however, surprised that my name is remembered among your kind.[/i]"

"You are rather commonly mentioned in the tomes dealing with the last time of destiny, and I read most of them." Damian replied. "I was not aware that you were still alive, however."

"[i]As it should be. I have come to wait for your friend, the child.[/i]" he explained. "[i]His destiny and mine are deeply interwined.[/i]"

"They are coming back?" Damian asked, his heart filling with sudden pure joy. He had been right, they would be alive, and they would be back soon.

"[i]Yes. They should be there in the morning, Three oracles should be with them, although one of them has yet to find the one he is meant to guide. [/i]" The great dragon nodded, smiling.

"Oracles? As in, more than one?" Damian shook as he realized what it meant. He had known Ash was one of the nine, but what Tairan implied seemed to mean that Misty was one of them as well.

Of course, it made perfect sense, especially considered in hindsight. Ash was clearly the child of the dragon, and the prophecies spoke about one of the nine going through fire and shadow to stand at the side of the child, to be bound there by a love that would have saved her. Misty, as it happened, fit the description perfectly. He sighed, knowing the burden that this would leave on his sister's shoulders, a burden no one would take if they had the choice.

"The third oracle...the oracle of change, I suppose?" he asked suddenly.

"[i]Yes.[/i]" The great dragon nodded, then closed his eyes, seeming to blend right among the rock, becoming somehow nearly invisible. A moment later, Damian felt his own eyes becoming heavier, as he fell asleep, is own head resting next to Elayne's.

_________________________

"Wake up sleepy head!"

The voice rang in the middle of his dreams, and for a moment he wondered why Elayne would tell him that when they were very busy doing things that had very little to do with waking up, but as his eyes flashed open, he realized it had all been a dream, and surprisingly that Elayne was still sleeping, her head resting on his shoulders. But if she had not been the one to call him like that, who had?

He looked around, only to notice the three set of legs right in front of him, looking up to see the familiar faces of Ash, Misty and Gary. Even with what Tairan had told him the night before, he still felt his heart filling with relief as he sprang to his feet, hugging his sister tightly.

"You're back!" he said, his voice filled with the relief he felt.

"Of course we're back! You really thought we'd leave you alone?" Misty answered, her eyes filled with mischief.

"No, but I was starting to be worried." He answered.

"We haven't been gone that long..." Ash stated, though he sounded unsure.

"Well...actually, you've been gone for about fifteen days Ash..." Damian watched as the information sank in.

"Fifteen...days?" Misty looked at her brother in stunned amazement. "But...it only seemed like a day or two..."

"We'll have to hurry to leave." Ash suddenly stated. "Otherwise we'll never make it to the Indigo Plateau in time.

"You're right about that Ash." Elayne stated, as they turned toward her, watching her rise from where she had been sitting. "And it's all your fault."

"Hey!" Ash protested. "Claire stole my Rising Badge and wouldn't give it back unless I went there." He explained.

"Oh, she did, did she?" Elayne muttered. "I think I'll pay a visit to miss Gym Leader, Rocket-style."

"I might just decide to give you a hand with that." Damian agreed, glaring in the general direction of the gym.

"We kinda HAVE to pay a visit to her anyway. You know, so that your sister don't get to see her own obituary - again." Elayne looked mischievously at Misty.

"Yeah. I think once was enough for me." Misty grinned, even though the last time it had happened, there had been nothing to grin about. Ash wrapped his arms tightly around her shoulders.

______________________________

Ash held Misty tightly, not interested at all in letting her go. The fact was, he had been trying very hard not to think about the events of Violet, a year ago, but Elayne's innocent comment had reminded him of that. Misty held him tightly, too. He looked at her, smiling, and she smiled back.

Suddenly, there was a yell of pain from besides them, and Ash saw a share rearing from the rock - a great dragon, a shape which he knew. Only, this time, unlike in the morning the day before, the beast seemed to be dying, or at least badly wounded.

"[i]Child...at last...you are here...[/i]" The great dragon seemed to be suffering.

"What's happening?" Ash looked at the creature, filling himself filling with panic. The fact that the great dragon was about to die seemed somehow dreadful to him.

"[i]I am dying...After...a thousand year.[/i]" The creature paused frequently, and Ash suspected it was related to pain breaking his concentration, though he could not be sure.

"But..." he started to protest, then realized it was certainly pointless.

"[i]Come...come near...me.[/i]" The dragon looked at him, and Ash approached the dragon warily, wondering what it was that the creature wanted. Yet, he walked next to the dragon, and put his hands on the head of the great beast.

"[i]Thank...you. Now, I can die...in peace.[/i]" The eyes closed, and the great beast stopped struggling, the head dropping on the ground. A white mist floated from its body, gathering around the head.

And suddenly, the mist touched Ash's arm, and seemed to be drawn inside. Startlingly, there was no pain, as Ash felt the...thing sliding within him, becoming one with him, as he felt himself weakening. He struggled to stand, watching the white mist continuing to float out of the body of the dragon and in his own.

"What's happening?" He heard Misty screaming.

"I don't know..." Damian sounded as amazed as his sister, as if, for once, he was encountering a phenomenon he had never heard about.

"Me neither..." Elayne's voice sounded just as amazed. "I...I don't have any idea what it could be..."

"Soul Gift." Gary's voice suddenly said. "My grandfather mentioned that once...a legend he didn't believe in." His friend seemed to be hardly able to believe what he was seeing.

"What is it?" He heard Misty asking Gary, her voice filled with panic.

"I don't know much about it...my grandfather mentioned it once or twice..." he shook his head. "From what I understand, the legend say that some pokemon can, when they die, transfer their soul to a human...with all their powers..." Ash could almost feel his friend frowning. "It's hard to believe, but...it's the only thing I can see..."

"I remember hearing about it once..." Damian agreed. "I wouldn't believe it either - I wouldn't even have thought of it unless you had mentioned it...it DOES look like what I heard about though."

The white mist continued to flow in Ash's body, and the young man felt as if a world was opening before him, the knowledge of a thousand year drawn into his mind, the powers that had been homed by over ten century of careful training. More knowledge, more power than he had ever thought could exist outside the knowledge and power of the various legendary pokemon, creatures who had, according to their respective myths, lived since the dawn of time.

And then, the mist was gone, and he fell himself falling to the ground, as if his body had suddenly doubled in weight, even though this was not the case. He let both of his hand rest there, his knees in the dirt, taking deep breaths.

"Ash! Are you alright?" Misty asked him.

He tried to answer, but found that he was simply too breathless to speak. He continued taking deep breaths, while concentrating. If, as Gary had said, this had been a complete transfer of power, then it would only stand to reason that he would be able to use telepathy, just like the great dragon.

"[i]I'm fine Misty.[/i]" He finally managed to say, and she looked at him in surprise.

"How...how did you do that?" she looked at him wonderingly while he continued breathing heavily.

"Remember what Gary said?" He answered, finally able to talk again. "All the powers of that dragon. Including telepathy." He smiled at her, and she smiled back.

Chapter 13 : A Matter of Names

Walking back in the pokemon center of Blackthorn, Ash and Misty felt a certain relief. They had gone to see Claire, and she had grudgingly given Ash back his Rising Badge, and they had then left without another word, not really willing to talk any more than was necessary to the young gym leader.

It was only as they entered the center and Damian and Elayne handed them back their own pokeball that Ash and Misty noticed the two pokeball that had mysteriously appeared in their bags. Drawing the one that he had found in his own, Ash stared at it, dumbfounded. Looking at it, it seemed like just any other pokeball, similar in ever aspect to those empty pokeball he carried in his bag, with the sole exception that it was obviously not empty.

Yet, as surprising as finding a filled pokeball where there had only been empty one before, it was nowhere near as surprising as the shock he felt - the shock they all felt as far as he could tell - when he opened the pokeball, calling out the mysterious occupant. A long sinuous body appeared on the ground, blue as the sky and white as pure snow, crystal jewel adorning its throat and the tip of its tail. A single pure white horn protruded from the tip of its dragonic head, a head that was the home of two shining purple eyes, a head that was flanked by a pair of white wings that seemed like the wings of an angel.

"A dragonair?" Gary exclaimed in a amazement. "You caught a dragonair?" his face was filled with a mix of emotion - surprise.

"Well...actually, I don't even know if I caught it or what..." Ash looked at the dragon, bewildered, wondering how it was that he had obtained such a powerful pokemon without ever noticing it. "I...I really just don't get it..." he mumbled.

"Great, not only do I have to have a trainer but he's a clueless idiot to boot." The dragon muttered, and Ash gaped at him.

"What did you just say?" He finally asked. It had not been a voice in his mind, unlike what Kadabra, Jormungand and the great dragon they had met earlier that day had done. It had been an actual pokemon voice, speaking in the normal language of pokemon - only this time he understood it. Not just the vague sense of understanding he usually had when pikachu talked to him, from the tone of voice and gesture, but complete understanding.

"What? You understood me?" The dragon stared right back, looking just as dumbfounded as Ash was sure he looked. "How the...wait a minute...I feel like...there's something different with you from yesterday morning..." the dragon continued staring at him, his lips barely moving as he spoke. "Tairan. He gave his soul to you." Understanding dawned in the eyes of the little dragon, and in Ash's mind as well. All the power, and all the knowledge - including, of course, the knowledge of the language pokemon used. He nodded at the dragonair.

"Ash...what's happening exactly?" Misty asked him, looking at him worriedly?

"Oh, nothing, really. Just a little side effect of the Soul Gift." He turned toward the dragonair. "Dragonair, come back." He ordered, trying to recall the creature. However, the dragon gracefully moved out of the way of the beam.

"One thing before you recall me. My name's Aysen. Not Dragonair." The creature looked at him sternly. Ash muttered about pokemon having a temper, barely noticing the others watching him, Misty and Elayne in bafflement, Damian with the look of someone who was busy trying to figure out something, and Gary with the look of someone who knew more than the others.

"All right then. Aysen, come back." This time, the little pokemon did not dodge the beam, though he didn't seem really happy about being recalled. As he did so, a problem suddenly struck Ash, as he realized he would have one pokemon too many, and had no idea which one to send to professor Oak. He hesitated, looking at the five pokeballs on the counter and at pikachu, then at the one on his belt.

"Ash, why did you call it Aysen? Misty asked him.

"That's what he told me his name was. That's what I meant about soul gift earlier - that big dragon understood pokemon. Since I know everything he knew, I can understand them when they talk just fine now. Simple as that." He explained, smiling at her.

"Makes sense. And it's great." She smiled back.

"Now, the only thing I don't like is I have to send one of my pokemon to Prof Oak." He muttered darkly about it, calling out all his pokemon.

As soon as they came out, he was struck by the difference, as the usual undecipherable sounds that came out of their mouth as they came out of their pokeball was replaced by words he understood, concept that sounded perfectly clear to him.

"Who need a good butt-kicking?" Charizard said, looking around for a threat.

"Something you need Ash?" Pidgeot asked.

"What do you need, Master?" the voice was easily recognizable as Kadabra's.

"What is it?" His houndoom looked around warily, his eyes glowing.

"Hmmm? Why'd you wake me up?" His eevee stretched, her voice sounding like the voice of someone who had just awakened from sleep.

"Why are you calling me out again?" Aysen looked at him. Pikachu, strangely, stayed silent.

"I have to leave one of you guys behind, since there's seven of us now...any idea who?" he explained bluntly. "I'll send whichever one of you choose to go to Prof Oak, and I'll try to change who's staying from time to time." He told them, "I'd keep all of you with me, but..."

"I guess me going is out of the question, right?" Pikachu asked him, sounding just a bit worried.

"If you don't want to, you're staying." Ash replied, and Pikachu jumped on his shoulder.

"If you ask me to go Ash, I will. But I'd much rather be here, where I can fight for you." Houndoom told him.

"I will do as you say, Master. If you want me to go, I will, if not, then I will stay." Kadabra added. Ash looked at her, wondering why the psychic pokemon had so little in the way of free will.

"But I want to kick some sorry excuse for pokemon around!" Charizard protested, and Ash had to grind his teeth to avoid a fit of laughter at the way his pokemon seemed to crave fighting.

"I don't want to go away from you all, but if it's for the better..." Pidgeot said calmly, her voice sounding very much like that of a mother offering her children some privacy.

"Sorry boy. I'd like to go away from you, and even be free again, but I'm stuck with you, and you're stuck with me." Aysen told him, his face mischievous. Ash groaned, as he noticed again that the little dragon would definitely be hard to manage. As for the "Stuck with" part, he preferred to not even try to understand it for now.

"Prof Oak's place?" Eevee stretched sleepily, yawning. "Is this a good place to sleep?" she asked him. He smiled at the little creature, obviously still very young. She stretched again, looking at him sleepily.

"Yes, I think it is." He smiled back as he answered her question.

"Then I don't mind going there." She decided, and smiled at him again. "As long as I can sleep and play..." she shrugged.

"Alright then Eevee..." he raised his pokeball to recall her, then thought of something. "Do any of you have a name? I mean, now that I can understand you, calling you just by species name doesn't seem right, somehow..."

"I wondered if you'd ever ask." Pikachu smiled. "Mine's Raiken."

"And mine's Celes. Has to do with the sky and all, and it's a nice name." Pidgeot added, staring at him.

"I'm Deathwing, I guess. At least that's how they call me..." Charizard stated. There seemed to something in his eyes, remembrance of pain, and Ash resolved to talk about it with his pokemon later.

"I was Esper, at least that's the name my mother gave me." Kadabra told him. "Now I guess I'm number 229 - that's what they called me at the Rocket base." She shrugged.

"Esper. I'm definitely going to call you Esper." Ash said, starting to understand the meekness of his pokemon, more than probably the result of harsh training at the rocket base.

"I'm Fenrir. Well, she decided I was Fenrir." Houndoom stated, throwing a glance at Pidgeot.

"Hey, you needed a name, and I thought Fenrir was nice...it's not my fault..." she left it hanging, though Ash could easily guess she had been about to mention the untimely death of the young pokemon's mother at the hand of a group of Totodile.

"And she called me Ashura." Eevee smilled happily, jumping around.

"Ok then." Ash smiled. "Ashura, return!" he recalled the little Eevee, then walked up to one of the videophone of the pokemon center, activating it and dialing professor Oak's number.

____________________________________

They had left Blackthorn the next morning, heading south as fast as they could on the mountainous terrain between the city and New Bark. Fortunately, most of the road was downhill going, which allowed them to make a good time on the road. Still, it took them a good five days to reach Blackthorn, five days out of the two weeks they had to reach Indigo.

The water of the bay of Wakaba shone as the sun rose to the east, the morning after they had reached the city, it's reflection in the water like a shimmering disc of pure gold. However, to the two young men on the beach, the beauty of the scene was nothing. The chill air was nothing. There were only four things that meant something to them just then. Each others, and each other's pokemon.

"Arcanine! Attack it at your maximum speed!" Gary ordered, his face lost in concentration.

"Aysen, use agility to dodge then thunderwave to paralyze it!" Ash countered, just as focused on the battle as his friend.

The Arcanine stared at the little dragon, before starting to run at a blinding speed, her powerful hind legs propelling her forward like a rocket as she came closer to the little dragon. However, just before it struck, the little dragon simply moved his sinuous body out of the way, letting the great dog run past him. He turned, unleashing a wave of small electric bolts, nothing strong enough to harm, but definitely something that would paralyze the great pokemon with a single hit. Somehow, however, making use of her awesome speed, the great pokemon was able to dodge all the tiny jolts.

"Gary! Ash! There you are guys!" Misty's voice suddenly shouted, coming from the direction of the Elm Lab, where they had been staying for the night. She appeared soon, walking toward the two of them, still wearing her long cloak, her hand on the pokeball that held, more than probably, her own dragonair, Syldra.

"Mist! How are you today?" Ash called back, smiling at her.

"I'm great...oh, Gary, how did you get Ash to wake up that early?" She asked his friend, and Ash winced at the memory of how exactly he had been awakened.

"He didn't. Azure did - with a Thunderbolt." He quickly explained. An innocent smile immediately appeared on the face of his girlfriend.

"I wonder why..." she said.

"Because Syldra told me to do that, that's why." The little dragon was muttering, but it was clear enough for Ash to hear. "I'll let you guess who put Syldra up to it..."

"Oh, Misty...you wouldn't believe that tale my little friend here just mentioned...something about Syldra telling him to do it, and you putting her up to it..." he said sweetly, his eyes looking at hers. A guilty grin appeared on her face.

"What? No,...hehe... Never said a thing about that..." She told him, trying to look as innocent as she could, but failing by far, the guilty smiles still on her lips. Ash walked toward her, and, as he got close, he tackled her to the ground, pinning her down as he tickled her relentlessly. She, of course, fought back as well as she could, and within a few minutes, they were both lying side by side on the ground, grinning, both of them breathing heavily after laughing so hard.

"I never knew you were so ticklish." Misty told him, poking him gently.

"I never knew you were, either." He answered, smiling at her.

"I never knew I was, for that matter." She grinned at him. "I think all of us should get back inside though...we have to eat and leave...Elayne and Damian are getting quite impatient."

Ash sighed, as he would have liked to have more time to train with his friend. He had to admit, however, that Damian and Elayne had a point, and that training wouldn't do him much good if he managed to miss the Indigo competition.

They left soon after, Misty's Lapras carrying them across the great bay in no time at all, and soon they were on the old route twenty-six, the route that ran alongside the cliffs that dominated the sea between Pallet and New Bark, heading east toward route twenty seven. Once they would reach route twenty-seven, they would have to turn north, of course, heading toward Victory tunnel, the great tunnel that ran upward from route 27 to Indigo itself.

However, as they walked up the road, they soon realized that there was one critical factor they had forgotten when planning their trip : while they had already taken those two roads more than once, all of them, all the time they had been going downhill, south and west, whereas now they were going on the other side, and therefore going up much more than going down. By nightfall they were barely halfway through the distance between the Bay of Bark and the meeting point of the two road.

They were a somber group as they set up camp that night, realizing how costly an oversight they had made. They slept badly, and were quire tired the next morning as they left their camp.

The next day, as if things were not bad enough, a powerful wind swept in, carrying great storm clouds from the sea, and by noon, a showering rain started falling on them.

"Great. Like we needed THAT." Misty muttered darkly under her breath. Ash, who was closest to her, trying to protect her from the wind at least, as there was no way he could protect her from the rain, heard, but he doubted any other had.

It was Gary who found a cave where, hopefully, they'd be able to wait until the storm would stop. It seemed to be quite deep, running back a distance, but they settled down in the mouth of it, not bothering to explore further. Somewhere quite far off, the sound of a waterfall could be heard. They simply settled in, not really taking out their things, as they didn't expect to stay there long, just until the storm, which seemed like one of those short and savage autumn storm, would abate.

Unfortunately, it soon appeared that someone else had different plans for them, as they soon found themselves

paralyzed and unable to so much as move a hand. Ash fought against the strange, unseen bond that froze him in place, but could not do anything more than slightly twitch a finger - and he was not even sure he had really suceeded at that, or if it had been his imagination at work.

Two shadows appeared from within the depths of the cave.

Chapter 14 : Nemesis

"So nice of you to come and visit us...we were not planning to deal with you yet, but if you want, we can step ahead of our plan..."A woman's voice slowly said. It was definitely a familiar voice, one Ash had heard before, but he simply could not tell who it belonged to, especially not frozen as he was.

"Be nice...we should introduce ourselves before issuing threats." a man voice chided her. It was definitely a voice Ash had heard before, too, but again, searching the depths of his mind for a memory to match with the voice gave no results.

"Right...anyway, thank to Hypno, they're not going away..." The woman agreed.

"Exactly. So, we should take the time to introduce ourselves." the man confirmed. The two shadows walked closer to the five of them, and into the flickering light of the fire Gary had started. Ash instantly recognized the two of them before they even started doing their motto, though it was changed.

"To plunge the world in devastation." The man smirked at them.

"To annihilate the people of every nation." The woman looked at their group triumphantly.

"To crush the goodness of truth and love."

"To obliterate all the stars above."

"Butch." He pushed away a strand of hair from his face.

"Cassidy."

"Team Rocket destroying the world at the speed of light."

"No matter what, you won't survive the fight." The two of them stepped closer to the fire, their hypno trailing behind, apparently barely even strained by having to keep them all frozen in place.

Cassidy turned toward Butch, her eyes glinting maliciously, a small knife appearing in her hand, as if by magic, though Ash was pretty sure she had drawn it from her sleeves.

"Who do you think we should kill first?" She asked him, a malevolent grin on her face.

"One of his kids." Butch said, looking at the group of them, but his eyes really locked on Damian and Misty.

"Daughter or Son?" Cassidy asked him, looking at the two of them as well.

"Any of them." Butch shrugged. He obviously did not care much who would die first, as he was quite certain they would all die.

Cassidy walked closer to Misty, and Ash looked at her, fighting desperately against the psychic force that held his whole body. He knew it was useless, and Damian, who was struggling just as much, seemed to think much the same, while Gary and Elayne struggled less, yet carried the same knowledge in their mind. Misty was, apparently, the one who fought the hardest, but to no avail either, and her eyes carried the desperate look of one who knew there was no way to escape death. The hypno would hold them until she was dead, then they would kill Damian, then each of them in turn...it was all over.

Just as he thought that, he noticed a all-too-familiar form slithering in the cave, positioning itself behind the kadabra - and an equally familiar voice echoed from the entrance, repeating words he had heard time and time again - but for the first time, he was glad to hear them.

"Arbok, poison sting." Jessie's voice came from the entrance.

As soon as the volley of little poisonous sting flew out of the snake's mouth to strike the psychic pokemon, the barrier holding them frozen in place vanished.

"You!" Cassidy roared, drawing one of her pokeball with her free hand. However, she had not realized Misty was free, and soon she was clutching the hand that had held her knife - and had been struck with an accurate kick from Misty, sending the knife flying out of the way.

"Nidoking, Nidoqueen, Umbreon, Gyarados, Arcanine, Girafarig! I choose you all!" Gary ordered, and Ash looked at him, wondering where he had obtained his Girafarig. All of his pokemon came out, soon followed by the other pokemon of the team.

"Raiken! Deathwing! Fenrir! Celes! Aysen! Esper! I'm counting on you all!" he called out his team, listening once more to the chatter of his pokemon as they came out.

"Lapras, Starmie, Seadra, Syldra, I choose you!"

"Vaporeon, Jolteon, Espeon, Umbreon, Flareon, it's up to you guys." Damian said quietly, releasing his team.

"Ivysaur, Weepinbell, Gloom, Tangela...come out now!" Elane called out her own pokemon, all grass types.

Even faced by over twenty pokemon, Butch and Cassidy certainly did not seem to feel threatened, as if they knew they had the ultimate card that would let them win without a contest.

"You just don't stand a chance." Cassidy stated, looking at Butch. "Especially..." she left it hanging, for her partner to continue.

"Hypno. Use your shield to protect yourself and all our other pokemon." Butch ordered calmly.

"Hypno!" The pokemon nodded, and a ball of light appeared around him, causing all of Arbok's remaining poison sting to fall to the ground, halted in their course by a barrier of light.

"Now...time to teach you all a lesson. Raticate, Jolteon, Sneasel , you are going out."Cassidy ordered.

"Yeah. Blastoise, Golduck, Machamp, Magmar, take care of those kids."

Surrounded by glowrinf fields of light, the seven pokemon appeared, ready to strike, glaring at their ennemies, their eyes burning with an unholy fire. With a roar, the pokemon clashed, unleashing their full power.

"Arbok! Lickintung! You go, both of you!" Jessie countered as the seven minions of their nemesis arrived.

"Weezing, Victreebel, you help!" James added, and for the first time that Ash could remember, Victreebel actually attacked the ennemies, instead of trying to eat James.

Damian's eevee evolution were the first to attack, as Espeon, Flareon, Vaporeon and Jolteon concentrated all their attacks on the shield that covered hypno, hoping to get through so that Umbreon could attack. Gary's umbreon moved in to support Damian's, while his Nidoking and Nidoqueen moved on either flank to cover them. Meanwhile, Deatwhing and Celes flew high above, followed by Starmie, hovering at an astounding speed, Aysen and Syldra, floating on their pearl-white wings, followed by the enormous shape of Gary's Gyarados.

Of course, their opponents were not standing doing nothing. A roaring blast of fire from Magmar took Elayne's Ivysaur within the first few seconds of the battle, while Jolteon fired bolts of electricity upward, toward the flying pokemon. With a loud crash, Starmie and Gyarados soon fell back down, while the two dragonair avoided with ease, and Deathwing and Celes somehow managed to block off the attacks. Raticate jumped up, falling back on Damian's Espeon, biting the poor creature, causing it to cry in pain, and fall to the ground wounded.

Meanwhile, a stunning barrage of psychic assault struck Hypno's shield as Esper counterattacked, using her reflect attack to stave off the attacks of their opponents, sending them back to the source, though they were simply absorbed by the shields most of the time, when they simply did not miss utterly, flying off in the emptiness of the cave. Fenrir stood near Ash, fending off any pokemon that came too close.

"You saved me from those monster a year past, now it is my turn to save you. I will do what I must to do that." The pokemon explained his master and friend, looking at him with shining golden eyes, before jumping off, trying to get attackers to back off when they came too close to Ash. Similarly, Gary's Arcanine stood close to his master, protecting him as best as she could, while Gary held the longer of his two swords drawn, ready to defend himself if he needed to. Girafarig was trying to use his psychic powers to support Esper's attack, but neither of them seemed to have much in the way of success.

Standing closer to the entrance, Seadra and Lapras were firing their best water attack, sending tsunami-like attacks at the magmar, but to little effect. Elayne's grass pokemon similarly were trying to engage the golduck, blastoise and jolteon, only to see their vines and leaves bouncing off the strange energy shield that protected their ennemies. Team Rocket, of course, was resorting to one of its usual tactic, filling the area behind their ennemies with smog and taking advantage of the poison to try to draw in the opposition, so as to fight on a ground that gave them the advantage.

The ennemy counter attack was furious. Sneasel moved in against Esper and Girafarig, trying to attack them, and suceeding, as their psychic attacks were powerless against him. Magmar attacked Elayne's team, one by one. They would not suceed, not without some strike of good luck, and Ash looked around, trying to find somethign that could bring about that twist of fate.

"Ash!" Misty suddenly spoke from behind him. "Look at their eyes - that golduck and that blastoise. They'Re being controlled by that hypno - like in the orange island!" Misty suddenly told him very excitedly.

"Right! So, take out the hypno, they loose three pokemon and the shield!" Ash nodded.

"[i]All right everyone, on go give your best shot on the shield of that hypno, I'm sure it's going to fall if we put in all our strenght![/i]" He ordered their pokemon, using the telepathic abilities he had obtained from the great dragon and within a moment, they all seemed ready to strike.

"[i]Now.[/i]" He cooly gave the order, and a roar of flame, ice, water, thuder, psychic energy and nearly all the other types exploded, hitting the Hypno's shiled with fierce fury, causing it to flicker.

"Keep it up!" He ordered, and they threw even more energy in the attack, blasting at it with all the elements they commanded, beams of crystaline ice meeting with roaring waves and devastating blast of fire as they all struck the slowly fading shield.

To Ash, it seemed as if only one attack might make the difference, a single strike being enough to destroy the shield and buy them the victory that otherwise would not be theirs. He smiled, as he realized that there was one last aspect of the soul gift he had not tried to tap in. Searching deep within himself, he found what he sought, the one power that could in fact turn the tide of battle. He joined his hand together, focusing his inner strenght in them, and a flickering ball of light appeared in them. The ball grew, and when it was so bright and large that he could not even see his hands any more, a bright spear of light flew off the ball with a roar, growing with each passing second, enveloping the shield.

As the light faded, replaced by the oppressive darkness of the cave, so did the shield. However, all of their pokemon seemed to be spent, unable to take the final strike, except for those who had been flying above, and thus were not even in range to do a thing about the situation as was. Ash staggered to the ground, exhausted by all the energy he had put in the hyper beam he had just thrown in the ennemy ranks, and stood, gasping for air, as his mind desperately worked to find a solution...

Only to find, as he finally moved his head upward again, that there was no need of one. One of Gary's sword, the shortest, flew past them, moving with deadly grace in a spinning motion, burying itself deep in the chest of the hypno, who staggered to the ground, defeated.

The moment the hypno was dead, the blastoise and Golduck turned on their comrades, and attacked with fury. Roaring in rage, Blastoise sent roaring waves of water at the room, then the deep chasm below. Golduck struck out with his psychic powers, defeating the massive Machamp with ease. Jolteon moved to attack the two, only to be turned in a cube of ice by a pair of ice beam coming from above, as Syldra and Aysen swept in, flying gracefully. Sneasel tried to strike the two of them, only to be engulfed by a roaring wave of flame coming from Deathwing's mouth. The pokemon tried to evade it, nearly succeding, only to be knocked back in the burning inferno by a mighty gust of wind from Celes. Raticate tried to attack the two of them, only to be knocked out by the same Gust as Celes turned around, sending the rest of it to knock the pokemon away - right in the grip of the waiting Deathwing, who violently threw the creature in the chasm.

All in all, it had barely taken a minute. Butch and Cassidy looked at the slaughter, wide-eyed. Unsurprisingly, Butch drew a gun and aimed it, again falling back to weaponry where both guile and pokemon had failed. Gary moved forward, holding his sword.

"That one needs a serious butt-kicking." Deathwing stated, roaring as he threw himself forward, spitting waves of fire toward the vilains, burning them both. They drew back, blinded by the intense heat, and made the leathal step - they stepped over the edge of the cliff, falling down in the chasm. Ash hears a sound that seemed to come from the wounded hypno, and for a brief moment he could almost believe that he had seen the psychic pokemon's eyes glowing one last time, then his head fell back down, and he died. Ash sighed in relief.

Suddenly, he felt himself drawn toward the Golduck and Blastoise who stood at the edge of the chasm, as if the creatures were drawing him. He looked at himself, and realized that this was the case, associating the blue glow in the eyes of the golduck with the energy that seemed to be carrying him forward, right in the arms of the Blastoise, who seemed ready to crush him. He noticed Misty was similarly coming closer to the Golduck, being carried by psychic energies.

He closed his eyes as he neared the blastoise, not wanting to see the powerful arms fall down on him. He opened them again as he felt what did not seem at all like an attempt to kill him, or even hurt him, but rather a tight, even slightly painful hug. Ash looked at the creature again, too stunned to even speak, not understanding what was happening.

And then, it struck him. A blastoise and a golduck, controlled by Butch and Cassidy, who had turned on them the second they had been freed of the mind control. A squirtle and a psyduck, stolen by Jessie and James a year before, and sent to the one they thought were the rocket boss, but were in fact Butch and Cassidy.

"Squirtle? Is that really you?" He looked at huge little pokemon in disbelief.

"Yeah, 'course it's me, pal! Who else did you think it'd be?" The pokemon exclaimed, pulling out of his shell black sunglasses, much larger than his old ones, and putting them on.

"I'm so happy to see you again!" Ash grinned, hugging his grown up pokemon as best as he could.

"Hey, good to see you two, y'know! Still got place for me on the team?" he asked, and Ash froze. He had already been forced to send his Eevee back, and he really did not like the idea of having to send yet another of his pokemon back.

"Well..."

"I can take care of him for you for a while Ash...Even with psy...I mean, golduck, I only have five pokemon for now." Misty offered from besides him. He smiled thankfully at her.

"What do you say Blastoise? You'll be with Misty for now, and I'll make sure to swap so that we actually get to spend them together." Ash offered. The great turtle seemed to hesitate, then nodded.

"Why not...but remember to gimme a place to fight sometime!" the great pokemon smiled. "I'm sure the girl and me'll work everything out pal. Oh, remind me...you with her yet?" he asked, and Ash looked at him, grinning.

"Yes, we are together." he answered the question of his pokemon.

"'bout time." The massive creature replied, before literally jumping in the empty pokeball Misty had taken out of her bag.

_____________________________

They gathered their fallen pokemon, and walked outside the cave, to find that the rain had stopped falling for the most part. None of them even noticed the two helicopters with a strange red emblem flying away, too far for them to see, nor did they notice the creature, standing on all four, that watched them from a cliff above, eyes locked on them. Admittedly, the rain had not been as successful as she had planned, throwing them away from one danger in the arms of another, unforeseen one.

Shrugging, the creatures felt one of her teeth coming loose, falling down, looking for all the world like a small sapphire gemstone, at the feet of the red-haired girl below, who bent to pick it up as she noticed it falling. The cloaked man looked up, but was too late to see the creature as she ran away.

Chapter 15 : The Road of Victory

Now that the sky was clear and that the rain had stopped falling, the sun shone and the day was much warmer, tough still cold. To the north the last remnants of a rainbow shone in the sky over the mountains, and all the droplets of water on the ground seemed like a millions small pearls. Ash, of course, kept his eyes on Misty all the time, worried about her, and her safety. She had come close to dying again, and again there had been little for him to do to stop it.

"Thanks for helping us." Damian interrupted his train of thought, talking to Jessie and James.

"You didn't think the boss would leave you two without any protection while these two were out in the wild, did you?" Jessie answered, smiling.

"We've been sneaking behind since you left Blackthorn last week." James confirmed. "Just in case there was something you couldn't handle. Us showing up in time to give you guys a hand was exactly what we had planned." He smiled, looking at them.

"Guys, I think we have a little problem." Gary suddenly said from a bit further off, where he had called off his pokemon and was checking on them, to make sure that none of them were too badly wounded. Apparently, that was something he could not make sure off very effectively, as some of the pokemon he had called out seemed in a very bad shape.

"Gyarados is out and we really need to find a way to help him…I don't know how long he will last."

Ash froze and looked at his friend. The tone of what he had said, and the words, left very little doubt about the seriousness of the situation - it was death he was talking about.

"Misty?" Ash turned toward the girl he loved.

"I don't know how long Starmie will last either…she got hit really bad by that thunder attack…"

"Same for Espeon…that Raticate got a bad bite…she's bleeding bad…" Damian confirmed, calling out his own pokemon."

"Ivysaur is not too bad, but they're all spent - all of them. We really need to do something about that." Elayne nodded, and Ash acknowledged what she was saying. All of their pokemon had just given their best shot against Butch and Cassidy, and baring Celes, Aysen, Syldra and Deathwing, as well as Golduck and Blastoise, all of their pokemon were spent, and would not be able to do much for a while.

"We'll need to get some help…" Damian said, looking at the badly wounded pokemon.

"And here I was sure everything was fine." Misty smiled at her brother.

"That was a bit obvious, wasn't it?" Damian smiled sheepishly, looking at his sister.

"A bit." Elayne nodded from behind him. Ash watched with a small smile.

"He did have a point though. Question is, how do we get the help?" Gary pointed out to them, looking at everyone.

Ash looked around at their pokemon, especially at those few who were not spent and seemed ready for more action. He had no idea what Blastoise and Golduck could do, and did not think Aysen and Syldra would be able to help much. He them smiled, as he realized that on the other hand, Deathwing and Celes were definitely up to helping him solve the problem.

"Celes, can you fly me back to New Bark?" He asked her, looking at the majestic bird.

"I don't think so Ash. Normally, I'd be able, but even if I didn't fight as much as the others, I'm still tired…"

"It's all right Celes. Deathwing?"

"Did you need to ask Ash?" The charizard replied, looking at him sternly. "I'm not weak." He stopped for a moment, seemingly thoughtful. "Though I have to admit Celes is far from weak too. She would be a fine Charizard."

"I'll take that as a compliment." There was an amused note in Celes voice as she replied to Deathwing's comment. Deathing looked at her, one of his eyes seemingly opened wider than the other - the equivalent for a Charizard, Ash guessed, of raising an eyebrow for a human.

"If being a Charizard means spending months disobeying your trainer for no reason, then I guess it was an insult." Blastoise commented from the other side, a slight grin on his otherwise hard face.

"Raf, stop it." Celes chided the blastoise.

"Raf?" Ash asked curiously, not understanding the name. Esper brought to mind the term ESP, which was often used in relation with psychics. Celes sounded a bit like celestial, something from the sky. Deathwing was obvious, and Fenrir was a name he had selected himself after hearing it in old legends. Raiken, by the sound, invoked the crack of thunder and the lashing lightning that more often than not accompanied the appearance of Pikachu. But as for Raf, he had no idea what the meaning could be.

"Short for Rafael." Celes offered. "Something about that being the name the rest of the squirtle squad used for him."

"Rafael...you mean, like in the Squirtle Warriors?" Ash asked, his face slowly changing as he tried without much success to hold back a howl of laughter. That show had been very popular among kids when he had been younger, depicting the adventures of a band of over-sized squirtles who acted like real humans and were out to save the world from a strange bunch of vilains.

"You don't have to be insulting about it." The pokemon seemed slightly hurt.

"Sorry Raf. It's just...weird, kinda. I used to love that show." He smiled, then realized he had gotten completely sidetracked. "Anyway, Deathwing, why don't you take care of things? Celes, Aysen, Rafael, you help Misty and the others take care of the rest of our pokemon.

"Actually, no." Celes countered. "The others can do without me, I'll be going too." She looked at him. "I'm not too weak to fly, far from it. Just too weak to fly with you on my back." She explained, and he nodded. "Just in case you get in trouble." She smiled slightly. "Deathwing wouldn't be able to do much to fight with you on his back, after all."

Ash nodded, admitting she had a point. He climbed on Charizard's back, and the great dragon soon took to the skies, his powerful wings clawing at empty air and somehow managing to lift him above the ground. Once again, Ash grinned as he felt the exhilaration of the air rushing against his skin, watching the ground vanishing far below, tiny figures being all that remained of the companions he knew were there. Deathwing kept climbing, and soon, the sparkling waters of the Bay of Bark were in sight, though they were still at least a few hours away from it. Celes flew effortlessly besides them, her powerful wings held fixed, as she let the wind and the air currents carry her, using her tail feathers when she needed to steer and control her direction.

"You fly well" Celes delivered what seemed to be a compliment, before adding "for a worm." She grinned teasingly at Deathwing as she said so.

"You talk well. For a bird brain, of course." Deathwing shot right back. Tapping in Tairan's mind, Ash could easily understand the words and their meaning, something that had been going on since the dawn of time, a war of pride between dragons, especially flying dragons, and birds. Most birds insisted that the dragons were just flying worms, and were bound to crash regularly, while dragons just shot back that with the size of their brains, birds would probably gain by replacing it with a pebble.

The two of them did not bicker any more during the long flight back to New Bark, and Ash somehow felt as if, unlike what most dragons and birds did, the bickering had not really been meant to harm but rather as a simple way to tease the other and spend the time. His two pokemon definitely were good friends, he could see that, and though they teased each others, they were obviously fond of each other. For a brief moment, an impossible idea flashed through Ash's mind, but he brushed it aside, seriously surprised that such a thought had even crossed his mind.

The sun was already low in the west as they landed in front of the office of prof Elm, and Ash raced in to warn the man of what had happened. Within a few seconds, the professor had called in reinforcements, and an hospital helicopter was under way to carry the wounded pokemon to the pokemon center. Ash, of course, was inside, his pokemon resting in their pokeball. He had considered, before leaving, taking the wounded pokemon with him, but seeing how badly wounded they were, sending them back in their pokeball without some kind of expert to take care of them would have been quite risky.

With the helicopter, they reached their campsite in no time, and soon Ash watched from the ground as the four wounded pokemon were taken away, to go to the pokemon center for treatment. The nurse promised they would be all right by the time they reached Indigo, and that they would be able to recall them, but even yet, Ash knew that many of his companions felt rather unhappy about the whole event.

____________________________

Somehow, they managed to walk much faster on the next day, making it with surprising speed to the crossroad by mid-morning, and, still walking fast, reaching the isolated house of Danea shortly after the sun went down. The light from the window was telltale that someone was in there, and it was no hard choice for Ash go to visit the woman who just happened to be both his aunt and legal guardian.

Danea opened after only one knock on her door, and as she recognized the five of them, her face, which had been slightly somber, seemed to become considerably brighter.

"Ash! I'm glad to see you!" she smiled at the young man. "And the whole group is there. You're heading for Indigo, I suppose?"

"Of course." Ash replied, smiling at his aunt. Despite having known her for barely a year, he was rather fond of her, especially now that he had finally realized why is father had chosen not to reveal himself yet, rather staying apart from Ash and letting Danea care for her - and now that he knew, had heard of the terrible events that had shaken her life some years before.

"Get in, all of you." She smiled at them, and despite what he half expected - for her to be a bit colder toward Misty and Damian - she did no such thing, welcoming them just as much as she Gary, Elayne and Ash himself.

They ate well that night, Danea proving again that she could nearly rival Brock in cooking skill, something that Ash had not really thought possible until he had first eaten her cooking the year before.

"All of you seems pretty weary, tired." Danea commented at one point.

"Well...we have been on the roads for a year, except for a short break in Blackthorn - and then, not all of us got the break - so we're quite beaten."

"You could stop here for a few days..." She offered them. "You need the rest, and it's lonely being by myself here, now that your cousin - and you - are both on the roads."

"Yeah, but we need to be in Indigo soon..." Ash explained the problem with her offer. It would be a long trek to Indigo, and they could not afford the risk of staying there for a few days.

"That's no problem, I'm going to Indigo for the competitions anyway, so I'll just take you there. That's what cars are for." She smiled.

"In that case..." Ash grinned and turned toward his friends, who were all nodding. "I think we'll accept."

They spent the next few days resting in the beautiful mountain meadow were Danea lived, taking the time to finally relax after the many events they had run in during their long trek through Johto. Ash, of course, spent most of his time with Misty, mostly sitting in the grass by the small spring, being together with the soothing sound of the nearby waterfall, a small one which had a calming sound instead of the deep roar of the larger waterfalls. The meadow was relatively warm for late autumn, and thus, ice had not yet appeared on it.

________________________

It was sometime past midnight, the sun long vanished beyond the horizon and replaced by the moon, which was in turn coming close to vanishing from their sight beyond the peaks of the silver range. Damian woke up, and, feeling his mouth dry for a reason he couldn't begin to fathom, he made his way toward the kitchen, hoping to get a glass of cold water. As he passed by the living room, he surprisingly heard voices inside, voices he knew. One was Daena's, the other was a voice that had spoken in his mind a thousand time and more in the last few years.

"You have done well. Without your assistance, they would never have reached Indigo in time, and they must." The voice spoke, to Danea as far as Damian could guess.

"Thank you, lady." The young woman answered, and as he peeked inside the room, Damian saw her, her head bowed, and another woman, whom he had heard much about, and heard much from, but had never seen in person.

Her hair was like the sky at twilight, a mix of gold, red and purple, somehow very harmonious despite the differences. Her face seemed perfect in every way, and her eyes shone, one with the fierce, glorious golden light of the sun, the other with the soft, whispering silver light of the moon. She wore a long gray dress that seemed to shine and sparkle, and a cloak of the same color hung over her shoulders. Her delicate hands rested on the table as she sat on a chair by it, with Danea in front of her. As he saw her, Damian instinctively bowed his head, knowing he was in the presence of one of the greatest being he would ever met. The woman, he knew, was Enaira, and though the many religions of the world barely knew of her, or if they knew of her, pretended her to be a lie, she was a Godess, in power and wisdom, one of the four children of the Grey one, who had made the universe and the world out of the primal forces of Nether, Void and Spirit.

"My lady." He whispered softly, entering the room.

"Damian." The woman - if such a being could be called by such a simple name - acknowledged the new arrival. As she looked at him, Damian felt himself filled with awe such as he had never felt, as the gaze of a being who had seen the birth of the world, and in all probability would also see the end of it rested on him.

"How many of them have you found Damian?" she told him, looking at him, her eyes seeming to bore into his soul.

"Two, my lady. I have found the Child of the Dragon and the Lady of Mists."

"Good. If you want my advice, seek the help of the Oracle of Change. You will not be able to use his wisdom for a long time, but for that time, you should seek his help, for he can feel his brothers and sisters, the other oracles, and unlike them, he is human." She looked at him.

"And where am I supposed to find the Oracle of Change?" Damian asked, not really expecting an answer.

"He is nearer than you think. Seek the one who is young yet old, and you will find the oracle." Her answer was cryptic, but Damian had an inkling of an idea of what it might mean.

"Thank you my lady." He kept his head lowered, and despite not seeing her, knew that Danea was doing the same.

Soon, the sense of her presence was gone, and as he let himself straighten, he turned to face Danea.

"I never knew you served Her." He smiled.

"I never knew you did, though I should have suspected, after last year...You were just a little bit too lucky during that raid, like someone was twisting things in your favor. I would never have guessed you were the Seeker, though." She admitted. Damian said nothing in reply, not really wanting to talk about what being the Seeker implied.

"You should get some sleep anyway." She told him. "We're leaving tomorrow, so..." she smiled, and Damian nodded.

"Goodnight Damian." She added.

As she had announced, they left the next day, and reached Indigo Plateau by the end of the day, just in time to register for the competition, and to hear that after much deliberation and many complaints, the gym leader and trainers would compete in different tournaments, not the same one.