Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. See my Profile for Characters I do own..

( ): Pokemon Translation
Ages:
Ash/Aaron: 14
Misty/Marie: 15
Brock/Andy: 17

Chapter 22: Uncles and Dragons

After the slippery adventure in the Ice Cave, our heroes made their way to Blackthorn City.

"Which Pokemon are you going to use against Claire?" Ash asked Aaron

"I'm not sure yet. Dragons are weak against ice and the closest I have is Croconaw."

"Hmm. I know what you mean."

"What Pokemon did you use last time?"

"Last time was a three-on-three. I'm trying to avoid using Pikachu and Charizard so the others can catch up in level, but I used Snorlax, Pikachu, and Charizard."

"I thought Charizard…"

"He was. But Liza was visiting the Dragon Den with him."

"Ah." Aaron stated as they arrived at the gym.

"But I think I'll use Bayleef."

"I'll use Croconaw."

Our six heroes entered the gym only to find it empty.

"Hello? Claire?"

Just then, a short man came running to tell any challengers that Claire took the day off. He tripped right in front of the gang.

"Are you ok?"

"Let's just say," He started, "I'm still in one piece!" he said holding a peace sign.

"That joke wasn't funny before and it's not funny now." Misty said.

"Sorry guys. But what brings you guys back?" Kaburagi said.

"Training. My brother Aaron and I are challenging the gym leaders to Trainer Battles."

"Aaron? Geez it's good to see you. The last time I saw you was a long time ago."

"That was three years ago Kaburagi." Aaron said, "Where's Claire?"

"She's off on a "date"."

"A date?"

"Yeah. But don't tell her I said that. Hehehe."

"Whatever. Where is she?"

"Dragon Den."

"Ok. We need to train our pokemon a little bit anyways. Do you know when she'll be back?"

"Not for a while."

"That's fine"

0000

"Looks like we aren't the only ones who deny love." Misty stated.

"Yeah. I wonder who the lucky guy is." Marie said

"Does it matter?" Brock asked dejected.

"What's wrong Brock?" Andy asked.

"He's see Claire before." Ash answered.

"So where to?" Aaron asked.

"Let's go to the Pokemon Center." Ash said out loud.

He later whispered to Aaron, "Then we can ditch them and head toward the Dragon Den."

"Why?"

"So we can train and talk"

0000

"I still can't believe we pulled it off."

"What? The switch or the ditching?"

"Technically, both. But I was talking about the ditching."

Ash and Aaron had actually ditched their girlfriends and Andy and Brock to do some training.

Ash, Aaron, Pikachu, and Static made their way into the Dragon Den and came out onto a beautiful field full of flowers.

0000

Elsewhere,

Claire was with a man in the Dragon Den just as her assistant had said. The man was Lance Knight of the Elite Four. He had known Claire for a while and was finally able to pay her a visit.

"That's a very interesting Gyarados Lance." Claire said. "Where did you get it?"

"Lake of Rage. Team Rocket was doing some experiments out there and this was a byproduct of one. You'd never guess who was there."

"Who?"

"Did you ever battle a trainer that went by the name of Ash Ketchem?"

"Ash? Yes. In fact, I think Ash told me about that now that I think of it."

"I bet you'd never guess that Ash's mom is my sister."

"No. Really?"

"Yeah. I bet you also didn't know that Ash has a twin brother."

"Really? Who?"

"Aaron Ketchem."

"Now that I think about it, I might have battled Aaron before. It must have been what? Three? Four years ago?"

"Sounds about right. They had their birthday a few weeks ago, so they'd be 14. Aaron lives with Daniel in New Bark, so he would have started in Johto."

0000

"OK! COME ON OUT EVERYBODY!"

Ash and Aaron found a spot near the entrance and let all of their Pokemon out. In what was then empty space, there stood 10 Pokemon.

Ash's team at the time consisted of: Pikachu (duh), Eevee, Charizard, Bayleef, and Totodile

Aaron's team was: Static (another duh), Eevee, Iglybuff, Charmeleon, and Croconaw.

"Ok Everybody. You've all met. You know about the twin thing. All we really need to do is train." Aaron said.

"Since this is the Dragon Den, it would probably make more since to train Charizard, Charmeleon, Croconaw, and Totodile, since they are the closest to dragon types and their weakness, no offense Charizard. Of course we'll let the others stay out for extra training." Ash announced.

"Wow. That's why you didn't want Brock and Misty here. You actually sounded smart." Aaron said as Ash whacked him upside the head.

0000

During this, Lance and Claire were still talking,

"So, did you hope to catch the boys?"

"Yeah. I even have some birthday gifts for them. I called Dan's place, and nobody was home. Delia wasn't at home either. I hope everything's ok."

Just then,

"OK! COME ON OUT EVERYBODY!"

Lance and Claire looked at each other.

"Can it be?"

"Too coincidental."

But they went to go check out the sound anyways. Sure enough they saw two Pikachus, a Totodile, a Croconaw, a Charmeleon, a Charizard, a Bayleef, two Eevees, and an Iglybuff.

The other thing they saw made Lance smile. There were his two nephews standing side-by-side looking like each other as ever.

"Too coincidental?" He asked Claire.

"Shhh. Let's listen."

"Ok Everybody. You've all met. You know about the twin thing. All we really need to do is train." Aaron had said.

"Since this is the Dragon Den, it would probably make more since to concentrate on Charizard, Charmeleon, Croconaw, and Totodile, since they are the closest to dragon types and their weakness, no offense Charizard. Of course we'll let the others stay out for extra training." Ash announced.

Lance looked impressed.

"Wow. That's why you didn't want Brock and Misty here. You actually sounded smart." Aaron said as Ash whacked him upside the head.

"Are they always like this?"

"How should I know? This is the first time I've seen them together since they were one."

"So Ash." Aaron said, "How are we going to train?"

Ash thought and then came up with an idea.

0000

The two Eevees were chasing each other being followed by Aaron's Iglybuff. Bayleef was working on her Razor Leaf attack. Charizard was snoozing, while Charmeleon and Croconaw were dodging each others attacks. Totodile was dancing around and the two Pikachus were just playing around.

"Good idea Ash. Letting the Pokemon play is a great form of training."

"Yeah. It's just like humans. We learn life skill by playing with others."

"Good point."

"So, how was life in New Bark anyways?"

"It was ok I guess. I didn't have too many friends. Just three other kids who are now trainers last I heard."

"I'm guessing Greg wasn't one of them."

"Got that right."

"Geez. Even Gary wasn't that mean."

"So you and Gary were once friends before you became trainers?" Aaron confirmed.

"Yeah. We used to play together all the time. We would sometimes be mistaken for brothers. I'm sure we would have been quite a trio if you were with us." Ash said.

"Hmm. So what happened? Hey Croconaw! Careful!" He asked before calling his Pokemon who looked like it was about to water gun Ash's Charizard.

"Since our passions were so strong, Gary and I got more and more determined to achieve our dreams. The tension just grew to where we couldn't stand each other. It eventually died down and we became friends again."

"Sounds nice. Greg was mean to me since the day we moved to New Bark when I was 5."

"That bad huh?"

"You wouldn't believe what he did. Every time we would argue and I'd get the upper hand, he'd bring up the fact that he has a mom and I didn't."

"Ouch"

"Yeah. But I still had Vincent, Jimmy, and Marina. Even if they were a year younger than me."

"Having friends who are different ages than you is natural. Look at me, Brock, and Misty and you, Marie, and Andy. Andy and Brock are going to be 18 in a few weeks. Or at least Andy will be."

"That's right. I'm trying to decide what to get him. I'm thinking of paying an Officer Jenny to go out with him."

They both laughed at the thought of that.

"I think I'm going to get Brock the lastest breeder's kit. Have to get him prepared to become my Official Breeder."

"You are never going to let that go are you?"

"Having your Pokemon play huh? Good form of training."

Ash and Aaron looked behind them to find their uncle and the gym leader standing behind them. Apparently, Lance and Claire had decided to make themselves known.

"I see you two met." Lance stated.

"And we see you don't listen to DJ Mary" Aaron said in the same tone of voice.

"Yeah. If you did, you would know that we met, switched places, and got Mom and Dad back together."

"Really? When?"

"Oh man. It was what? Six months ago?" Ash said.

"Sounds right. Anyways, what brings you here Uncle Lance?" Aaron asked.

"We haven't seen each other in so long, that he decided to drop by. What about you two?" Claire asked.

"We wanted to battle you in a trainer battle, but your assistant said that you were taking the day off. So, we decided to train here. It's out of the way, quiet, private, Misty and Marie would have no idea," Ash started to list.

"Well, if you two would like, I could battle you here and now." Claire offered.

"Yeah. I want to see my nephews in action against REAL trainers."

"Yeah. I guess you can't count Team Rocket "Real Trainers"" Ash admitted.

"Why? They train Pokemon don't they?" Claire asked.

"More like USE them. I'm amazed that the Pokemon listen to them." Lance said bitterly.

"Well let's battle." Claire said changing the subject.

0000

The battle went well. It was extremely close, but somehow the twins pulled it off. Lance was so impressed, that he even challenged them. This time they used their Pikachus. That didn't go as well. It was still a spectacular battle, but in the end, both Pikachus were knocked out.

"You are a really impressive trainer Uncle Lance." Ash admitted. "I thought for sure I had you Dragonite."

"Imagine how I feel!" Aaron stated. "I lost to a Gyarados!"

"It's not the type Aaron," Lance said. "It's the strategy. Don't let the fact that you have a type advantage get your hopes up. Besides, Gyarados is at level 101."

"101!" Ash shouted "You've been really training it!"

"Yeah. I bring it along in all of my G-man missions. I also train it with Agatha, Bruno, and Lorelei. Not to mention it was already at a high level when I caught it."

"So you've been really working it?"

"Yeah. But not too much. Oh. Before I forget. Happy Birthday."

"Thanks" They said as he handed them two Pokeballs.

"What's with us and getting Pokemon?" Aaron asked

"Misty and Marie gave us the two Eevees." Ash explained.

When they opened their pokeballs, they got the shocks of their lives.

"Forget what I said. What's with us and getting TWIN Pokemon!" Aaron said in amazement.

There, in front of them, were two Dratini.

TBC

Preview for Chapter 23:

"Oh no! We missed curfew!"

"Great. So do we camp or wake Lorenzo?" Misty asked.

"Probably camping would be the best thing." Brock said.

Just then, bars popped up from various places cutting off all access. The way to the canal hadn't been blocked yet.

"Quick. Into the canal!" Ash yelled.

The six humans ran toward the canal, and jumped into the water just as the bars closed the way.

"That was close." Marie said

A/N: Please review. I want to know what the readers want in this story.