Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. I do own Andy, Aaron, Marie. There will for a fact be some other characters later on that I own.

( ): Pokemon Translation
Ages:
Ash/Aaron: 13
Misty/Marie: 15
Brock/Andy: 17

Chapter 18: Questions

Marie's birthday came and went. Partly because she didn't really feel like celebrating (it was that time of month so she was cranky). Aaron was the only one who got her a gift. (Similar to Misty's birthday). He had gotten her a book on legends which earned him a very passionate kiss.

"Here we are! Ecruteak City!" Brock announced.

"I'm going to go visit Sakura!" Misty announced.

"That's fine." Ash said.

"Aren't you coming?" Marie asked.

"I think I'll pass. I need to go to the Tower to find Morty and schedule a battle."

"Wouldn't he be at the gym?" Andy asked.

"Probably not." Brock mentioned. "He likes to spend his free time at the Tower."

"Oh." Aaron said.

"I think I want to check out the city." Aaron said all of a sudden stuffing his hand in his pocket.

"Ok. What will you guys be doing?" Ash asked his other three friends.

"I'll be going with Misty." Marie stated.

"I'll go with them." Brock said.

"Only because she has four sisters." Misty pointed out.

Brock put on his goofy grin at the thought of those four girls.

"I'm going to go see what Officer Jenny is doing." Andy told them.

"Oh no your not. You're coming with us." Marie said pulling his ear.

"Not bad Marie," Misty told her future sister-in-law, "But try squeezing tighter."

"OUCH!"

0000

With Misty, Brock, Andy, and Marie,

"Sakura!"

"Misty! Hi! What brings you here? Hi Brock."

"Ash is training for the Silver Conference again." Misty explained.

"Hi Sakura," Brock said. "Where are your sisters?"

"They're around." Sakura stated, "Who are they?"

"These are Andy and Marie." Misty introduced. "They're friends of Aaron."

"Who's Aaron?"

"You won't believe me." Misty admitted before she proceeded to tell the story.

"No way."

0000

With Aaron and Static,

"I'm telling you Static, I have this feeling in the pit of my stomach that something is going to happen."

"Pikachu?" (Then what?)

"I'm not sure."

'Hello Aaron.'

"Agh!"

'Sorry if I startled you. Celebi has informed me that you and your brother have come into the possession of some Legend Balls.'

"Th-That's right."

'If you do not mind, may I be one of your team?'

"Of course."

With that, Aaron let the large legendary pokemon into his Silver Ball that his older self had given him. It glowed a brighter silver color. (Ash's are gold while Aaron's are silver)

"ALL RIGHT! I CAUGHT LUGIA!"

"Pika! Pi" (Aaron! Shhhh)

"Sorry Static. All right. I caught Lugia." He whispered. "Hey. That weird feeling left."

0000

With Ash and Pikachu,

"Pikapi. Pikachu pika?"(Ash. You don't really believe Morty's here in this burnt up tower do you?)

"To tell you the truth Pikachu. No. Just, it's been glowing brighter lately."

"Pikachu."(Like playing Hot and Cold) "PIKA?" (IT HAS?)

"Yeah." Ash said as he pulled something out of his pocket.

It was a handkerchief. However, Pikachu knew better. Ash kept the handkerchief around the real object so that when it glowed it would catch anyone's attention. After showing Misty and Brock Togepi's egg, Ash wasn't taking any chances.

Ash unwrapped the handkerchief to reveal a glowing rainbow colored feather. (A/N: Yes people. Ash has the Rainbow Wing).

"Pikapi. Pikachu pika?" (Ash. Are you going to catch it?)

"No Pikachu. Not unless he wants me to. I just have a few questions."

"Pikachu?"(Like what)

"You'll see." Ash answered as they climbed the stairs.

Sure enough. At the top of the burnt tower, sat the Legendary Bird Ho-Oh.

'I've been expecting you' (A/N: I'm not sure if Ho-Oh knows telepathy or not so I'm just making this up)

"I'm sure you have." Ash said somberly. "I have come not to capture you, but to ask you a few questions."

'Continue'

"Why did you show yourself to me when I began my journey?"

'Because you are destined to be the next Pokemon Master. Lugia had shown himself to your brother because of a legend. If anything were to happen to you, then Aaron would be the next Master.'

"That does make since now that I think about it." Ash admitted. "Did you tell Moltres to save me during the Indigo League?"

'I only told him that you were to be the next Master. His saving you was his own choice. Are you wondering why he attacked you in the Orange Archipelego?'

"There are days when I wonder. But then I remind myself that it was only because that, that collector," he said disgusted, "disturb the harmony of Fire, Ice, and Lightning."

'You are smarter than you make out to be. Why do you hide it?'

"I'm not sure. I guess it's because if I play dumb, I can concentrate more on figuring out that picture I found in my attic that one day."

'You will find the answer at the Lake of Rage.'

"I already told myself that."

'Time travel can be very confusing, can it not?'

"Very confusing. Thank you for your time Ho-Oh. I hope to see you again." Ash said turning to leave the Legendary Bird.

'Ash.'

"Yes?"

'Maybe sooner than you think. I would like to be a part of your team.'

"Really?"

'Yes. You came not wanting to capture, but wanting answers. That is something we don't usually see in trainers anymore.'

"Thanks." Ash said as he let the Pokemon into the Golden Legend Ball and it glowed a bright Golden color.

"That was unexpected. All I wanted were answers."

"Pikachu" (You said it.)

0000

"Did you know that anyone who sees Ho-Oh their first day is destined to become the Pokemon Master, while anyone who sees Lugia is destined to take the Master's place if anything should happen?" Marie asked the others while reading her birthday present.

"YES!" Misty shouted. "You've already mentioned that one."

"Oh. Sorry. I'm just so intrigued by this book."

Our heroes, minus Ash and Pikachu, were sitting in the Pokemon Center. Misty felt that it wasn't safe for Sakura's sisters with Brock around.

"I wonder what's taking Ash." Brock said.

Aaron smiled. He knew what his brother was up to. Ash had told him that he had a few questions for Ho-Oh.

Flashback

"So what do you think about THAT legend Ash?"

"I have no idea. I do know that I have a few questions for Ho-oh."

"But you're not supposed to go looking."

"Looking to CAPTURE. I just have some questions. Once I get answers, assuming I get any, I'll leave. I'll only capture him if he wants me to."

"I hope you get your answers. Do you have any ideas where to find him?"

"Yes. The burnt tower in Ecruteak."

"Well. We're almost there. Let's try to split the gang up so that you can go alone."

"I won't be alone. I'll have Pikachu."

"You know what I mean. Are you going to ask about the picture?"

"I'm not sure. I'll probably mention it."

End Flashback

'I hope Ash got his answers.' Aaron thought. 'I'll ask tonight.'

"Hey Ash!" Misty called.

Aaron looked up and saw his twin brother enter the center.

"Sorry it took so long guys. Morty wasn't where I thought he'd be."

"It's ok. So when's the battle?" Aaron asked.

"Tomorrow. I already filled him in on the twin situation."

"Great. That's one less time we'd have to hear that story" Andy mused.

"I think its better that we keep on hearing it." Brock admitted. "I still can't believe it."

"And how long have we been traveling as a group?" Marie asked.

"It's ok Marie." Ash told her, "There are days when I wake up and can't believe it."

"Yeah." Agreed Aaron. "When I wake up and see Ash, I think I'm having some kind of vision."

Aaron then shot Ash a 'we-need-to-talk-in-private-later' look.

0000

In private later,

"So. What happened? What did Ho-Oh say?"

"Calm Down. He said that: 'Yes. You came not wanting to capture, but wanting answers. That is something we don't usually see in trainers anymore.'"

"What was the yes for?"

"The question 'Really?'"

"Ash." Groaned Aaron. "What was the 'Really' for?"

"'I would like to be a part of your team.'"

Aaron gaped at his brother. "So now you have Celebi and Ho-Oh?"

"Yeah. Did you see any legendaries while you were exploring?" hoping he did.

"Yeah. I saw and captured Lugia."

"THAT'S GREAT!"

"Yeah. What about the questions though?"

"What about them?"

"ASH!"

"Ok. He basically told me that same legend that Marie keeps bringing up. Did Misty and Brock tell her that I was the one who saw Ho-Oh?"

"Not yet. I'm amazed she doesn't go around telling people the legend to see the reaction. That could tell her who the next Master would be."

Pause

"Any other questions you had for him?"

"Just one about Moltres."

"Huh?"

"Something that happened at my first league. I tried to stop Team Rocket from stealing the Flame of Moltres."

"Don't tell me. After you told them to stop, they turned up the heat and tried to burn you to a crisp." Aaron said sarcastically.

"Wow. You're good."

Yeah. I know. Wait. I was right?"

Ash nodded.

"I WAS BEING SARCASTIC!"

"What is going on in here?"

Misty had heard the yell as she walked by the room.

"Nothing. I just told him about the Indigo League Opening Ceremony when Team Rocket decided to do something very stupid."

"And you did something even stupider?" Misty verified

"Hey. It was either that or let them get away. And you know that THAT'S not an option."

"Yeah." She sighed as she left.

"Dare I ask?"

"What?"

"How many near-death-experiences HAVE you had?"

Ash started to count.

"Do I really want to know?" Aaron asked as he realized how long his brother was taking

"Probably not."

"Go on and tell me. Let's get this over with so I won't be surprised the next time you tell me."

"By near-death, how far would you go?"

"Any chance where you could have died."

"I'd say…you don't want to know."

"ASH!"

"All right." He then mumble something incoherently.

"ASH!"

(A/N: I'm not sure what your definition for near-death would be so I'm just going by my definition.)

"32. And if you include dying of embarrassment, 34. There. Are you happy?"

Aaron was silent.

"What do some of these include?"

"Nearly drowning, the incident at New island, falling off cliffs, nearly freezing,…"

"Ok. Forget I asked. Wait. Scratch that. You said dying of embarrassment?"

"Yeah. One was the ASHley incident. The other was something that was proof of how far Brock would go to get a girl."

"Tell me more."

"On our way home, just before the Indigo League, I ran into a glass wall in the middle of the road. Apparently, a Mr. Mime had decided to practice Reflect. As I was about to catch it, this girl named Stella showed and asked if she could catch it. I refused, but Brock stopped me. The Mr. Mime got away. Stella ran a Pokemon circus and her Mr. Mime wasn't cooperating. Brock promised her that he'd get her a Mr. Mime."

"He shouldn't make promises he can't keep." Aaron interrupted.

"That's what I practically said. Then he turned to me with this evil look. The next thing I knew I was in a Mr. Mime costume."

Aaron covered his mouth to keep from laughing.

"I realized why Mr. Mime decided to quit listening. She's TOUGH. And things only got worse."

"H-How?" Aaron attempted to ask.

"Well, during the performance, guess who was in the audience."

"Who?"

"Mom."

"MOM!"

"Yeah. And then Team Rocket decided that they needed a Mr. Mime."

"Oh no."

"Yep. Apparently, after I was captured, Mom realized it was me by the way she reacted when I got home. Still in the costume mind you."

"What happened? How did you escape?"

"Easy. Apparently, after Team Rocket successfully steals something, they party. So, I untied myself and took off the head of the costume. You should have seen their faces. They screamed 'IT TOOK OFF IT'S HEAD!' I then told them that I'm not a Mr. Mime, but I was good enough to fool them. Of course that's not saying very much. Then I walked out and took their balloon."

"Oh my gosh."

"When I got home, still in full costume, I announced that I was home to Mom. I then saw a real Mr. Mime on the couch. I heard Mom call out from the kitchen that she already knew. She came out and saw two Mr. Mimes in the living room. I told her that that was a real Mr. Mime. She then said that she should have known because it had good table manners."

"I'm assuming that's where the Mr. Mime at home came from."

"Right. Apparently, it took a liking to Mom."

"Life has been really rough on you hasn't it?"

"Yeah. But it's worth it."

TBC

Preview Time:

"Hey. What's going on?"

People were traveling on skateboards being pulled by Pokemon.

"Hey. It's Extreme Pokemon!" Ash realized.