Hey Nuggies! Well I really shouldn't be doing this, but here I am writing another fanfiction since I have writers block on a few of my other ones, and because this won't leave me alone. Here is your warning this will be SLASH! Not to sure on if it'll be M!Preg or not, but at this current moment I have not thought about it.

Main Pairing: AshxPaul

Side pairing: AshxGary (One sided on Gary's part)

Rating: M (to be safe)

Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon it belongs to Game Freak, Nintendo, Creatures, The Pokemon Company, etc, nor do I write this for profit. This is for entertainment use only.

Enjoy! And don't forget to leave a review!

NarupokeeAurorafan, thank you for your review! But I had not played Sword or Shield before writing the chapter, in fact I just recently got the games. I got the egg move idea from various fanfictions that I had previously read. But, the ones most influencing this fic are, "Traveler" by The Straight Elf, "Challenger" by darkfire1220, and "Legend" by The BlackStaff and NightMarE. I highly recommend them if you want really good pokémon fanfictions to read. The updates are slow, but worth it.

If you would like to read any of them they are easily found on my favorites or on their pages.

Enjoy!

A/N: I would really like your guys' opinions on what type of pokémon you would like to see Ash have and why he should have them! I kind of got an idea of what pokémon he should have next, but still I want to see what you guys have to say! And you can include any legendaries you might want him to have/interact with or if you want any of the pokémon to be shiny! You can leave your suggestions in a review!

Ash huffed as he tried getting through the tunnels of Mount Moon, but he was met with little luck. Some tunnels were straight forward, some were blocked by fallen rocks, while others led to several different paths that were either dead ends or wound itself to a spot he had already been at. During his time in the tunnels he couldn't help but get the sense that something was wrong.

There were no pokémon.

He hadn't encountered any during his time going through the tunnels. No Geodude. No Paras. No Zubat. It was a bit eerie to him. As far as he knew the mountain should have been bustling with pokémon. After taking a few deep breaths he continued his way through the tunnels with Sandile at his feet and Pikachu on his shoulder. He only had those two out since Nidoran was tired from early morning training. It wasn't until he hit the three hour mark into his journey through the tunnels that he heard the first sounds of life with in the dark depths.

"Hey, this way! Executive Petrel wants us to make sure there aren't any more trainers around here."

Ash froze at the sound of the females voice and the sound of footsteps getting closer to his location. He felt Sandile press up against his leg just as Pikachu's fur began to stand up in a threatening manner. He reached up and gave Pikachu a small scratch behind his ear before crouching down to make himself as small as possible. He was lucky that there was a rock tall enough to hide himself behind and he silently returned his Sandile and hoped it wasn't a mistake that he did that. A moment later he held his breath as he hunkered down trying to make himself as small as possible until the person, well people from the sound of it, passed by him.

Shakily he pulled set up his Xtransceiver and started to video tape the path in front of him just as the people started walking past his hiding spot. The woman that spoke had bright pink hair under a dark hair and the two males following her had brown under their hats. They wore similar outfits of dark pants/skirt with boots that either reached their knees or over their ankle and their shirts were long sleeves with black gloves reaching their elbows. Printed on their shirts was a large red R.

Thankfully Ash wasn't spotted in his hiding spot and once the trio were past him he carefully made his way down the path where the trio had come from. If they were looking for more trainers they may have already taken the others. They may be the ones behind the silence in the cave. Ash carefully and silently made his way down the path, still taping on his pokédex, until he was greeted with bright lights and the sounds of pokémon crying out.

Slowly entering the opening to the wide cavern in the cave he was greeted to pokémon and humans trapped in cages and a large tent towards the back of the cavern. He spotted several different native pokémon in the cages as well as others that Ash assumed were the trainers pokémon, but they were knocked out or asleep since none of them moved or made a sound. In three of the cages were trainers that Ash didn't recognize. Two female and one male. One of the females were red headed with sea foam green eyes, small in stature and dressed in shorts and a tank top, and the other female was blond with blue eyes taller than the other female and wearing dark pants and a white top. The male was tall and muscular wearing a sleeveless black top and what looked like sweat pants. What caught Ash's eyes was the fact his hair was purple and his eyes were dark in color.

The dark haired teen slowly scanned his watch across the scene before letting his arm fall with it still recording it in case something happened. Not seeing anyone in the uniform like the trio earlier Ash slowly moved further into the cavern towards the trio of trainers to see if he couldn't get them free. Ash wordlessly brought his finger up to his lips in a hushing gesture as the red head spotted him and he saw her nod slightly before she pointed at the door of the cell. Looking over Ash smirked as he saw an electronic lock on the cage.

Casting one more glance around to make sure no one was around he held Pikachu, who had thankfully stayed silent during his sneaking around, up to the electronic lock, "Pikachu, shock it," he whispered softly. Pikachu nodded and moved to place his cheek against the cold lock before surging electricity as silently as he could making it short circuit and open the door. Ash and Pikachu did this three more times until all the trainers were let out. "This way," Ash said as he saw another tunnel leading out of the cavern a different way he had come in.

Silently the four of them made their way to the tunnel and went down in it to get away from anyone that could see them. "I'm Ash. What's going on?" Ash asked once they stopped. He kept his voice to a whisper not knowing how far his voice would carry in the tunnels.

"The name's Misty," the red head said as she looked at him, "I was exploring the waters here in the cavern when I was ambushed by these people. They call themselves Team Rocket and they stole my pokémon. I need to get them back!"

"Angelique," the blond said as she introduced herself next, "I was looking for my way out when I was ambushed. They took my pokémon too."

The purple haired teen glowered at the three of them, "Paul. Same," he said short and simple as he crossed his arms over his broad chest.

Ash nodded slowly before grabbing a pokéball, "I can get your pokémon back. Do you know what they pull the balls in?"

"Brown bag in the tent, but they released some of them into the cages and knocked them out," Paul said as he looked at the smaller teen curiously.

The dark haired teen nodded once again, "I can get the balls, but you'll have to recall them. When you do it'll probably alert everyone." Ash saw the three of them nod before releasing Sandile. The croc let out a hiss when he saw the other three trainers by his trainer and whipped his tail against the rock wall as he slowly got up on all fours ready to charge at them to get them away from his trainer. "Sandile," Ash said sternly causing the reptile to look at him, "Enough. You got work to do."

Paul watched as the Sandile calm down with a few words and approach the dark haired teen. The purple haired teen had to admit that not even he had to balls to command a Sandile like that knowing how they, and their evolutions, could be in battle.

"Sandile I need you to dig under the tent and look for a brown bag. It'll have pokéballs in it. I need you to bring the bag, but Sandile you need to be careful and silent. Don't get caught," Ash said as he put emphasis on the fact his Sandile needed to be careful, silent, and not to get caught. He saw his Sandile nod before burrowing down into the dirt.

Ash and the trio stayed silent and on alert as they waited on the reptile to return.

It was effortless for Sandile to dig through the dirt. It was almost like being home again. He was being careful like his trainer wanted him to as he sensed what was above him. He could feel the vibrations of people walking in the space and above him and he determined that he was under the tent. Slowly he began his ascent to the surface and only let his nose and eyes break the surface.

In the room were several tables and a lot of people surrounding the tables. It looked at though they were hammering away at something as bits of dirt landed on the ground after someone chipped away at it. Casting his gaze around he looked for the item he was sent for and found it near the entrance of the tent. Letting out a silent hiss he dipped back into the ground and scurried his way to the entrance of the tent.

Once more surfacing he noticed he was right beside the bag so he carefully lifted his head out of his tunnel and grasped the bag before dragging it into his tunnel like he had many times before with his prey. He covered his entrance up so the people in the tent didn't notice anything was wrong before making his way back to his trainer with his catch in his jaw.

"So how did you get a Sandile? They aren't native here in Kanto," Misty asked once the silence got to her.

Ash looked over at her as he began to pet Pikachu, who was still on high alert, under his chin. "I got him after defeating Brock in Pewter. Brock gave him to me claiming that he was too busy to train Sandile like he needed to be. Of course I accepted him. I mean I didn't know it was a Sandile since Brock handed me a ball and didn't tell me what was in it, but nonetheless Sandile is part of my family now," Ash explained.

"And what happened to Pikachu if you don't mind me asking?" the red head asked a little hesitantly as she looked at the scarred Pikachu.

Ash bit his lip gently as he looked down at his starter. Pikachu let out a small chittering sound before patting his trainer's hand with his tiny paw. "Pikachu wasn't mine to begin with. He belonged to someone else before Professor Oak found him chewing on his computer wire for nutrition. When he did get him, Pikachu was in a bad shape, like really bad shape. He was abandoned by his trainer after getting attacked so badly. When Professor Oak found him Pikachu was almost dead from starvation and an infection so bad Professor Oak had to use Ditto Cells to heal him. I'm glad though that Pikachu was strong enough to pull through," Ash said as he held Pikachu close causing the mouse to let out a squeak, "I couldn't have asked for a better friend and starter than him."

Before anyone else had a chance to speak a brown bag was thrown out of the hole before Sandile emerged. When the bag landed the opening unraveled revealing pokéballs which some were shrunken while a few of them were not. Ash quickly scanned the balls with his Xtransceiver to determine what pokéball had what in it and who it was registered to. Soon enough the three trainers had their pokéballs back along with a couple of their pokémon.

"Good job," Ash said softly to Sandile as he gave the croc a few scratches under his jaw causing the reptile to let out a lazy slow hiss. He stood back up and looked at the others as they put their balls on their belts and bags. "Ready to get the rest of your pokémon? It'll most likely result in chaos," Ash asked as he tilted his head slightly to get his bangs out of his eyes.

"Yeah," Misty said as she nodded sharply. She was more than ready to get her pokémon back.

"Ready."

"Let's go."

Ash took a deep breath and led the way back to the cavern so the others could retrieve their pokémon. He kept his eyes on the tent as one by one the others recalled their buddies and thankfully it was quieter than Ash expected. He noticed Misty and Angelique coming his way and gave them nods as they passed him, but he wanted to stay for Paul.

"You guys get out of here. I'll wait for Paul," Ash whispered before they could completely pass him, "When you get out go straight to the police. We'll be fine so don't worry about us."

"Are you sure?" Angelique asked as she stared into his eyes. Her own blue ones conveyed worry for them. Ash gave her a smile and a nod before turning back to see if he could find Paul.

"Go," he said softly and a moment later he heard two sets of footsteps leaving the area. Letting out a shaky breath Ash moved forward to weave between the cages to find the missing purple haired teen.

Ash quickly ducked down when the trio of goons he saw earlier passed by him quickly and he watched as they went into the tent. "Paul?" he called out in a loud whisper, "We really need to get out of here!"

"Okay, let's go. I just found my Grotle," Paul said as he made his way over to where Ash was. Just before the purple haired teen got to his side he was pushed away and pinned down.

"Ooof," he grunted as he turned his head to see what was on him, but all he saw was a tall male in white and black staring down at him. His purple hair was shaped in a short mohawk along with his goatee. His piercing black eyes glared down at him with hints of insanity as his lips curled into a cruel smile.

"Well, well, well," the man said with a tinge of a growl to his words, "Look at what the Meowth brought in."

Ash tried to take a deep breath and looked to his right to find Paul in the same position he was in. "What do you want?" Ash asked as the pressure on his body got heavier.

"Hmm," the man hummed, "Well, I was told by my boss to get rid of anyone trying to sabotage this operation. So that's what I'll do." The man whistled and jutted his head to the side before turning around to walk away as the grunts rushed the two of them as the pokémon pinning them down was called off.

The grunts hoisted them up and marched them down into the tunnels away from the workers. Ash assumed it was because the guy from before didn't want whatever that was about to happen to them to be heard by others. Ash kept struggling to get out of their hold and ended up on the ground as one of the grunts kicked the back of his knee then kicked him down to the ground.

Ash let out a cry as his arm was wrenched back with a hard pop after a grunt jerked him off the ground. His belly churned slightly from the pain, but he was quickly brought to reality when he heard a very soft clicking sound. Looking up Ash's eyes widened as he saw a gun pointed at his head.

Gasping for breath Ash struggled in the hold of the grunts trying to get away from the gun not even caring that his arm was most likely dislocated and that he was already in pain. His head wrenched to the side as one of the grunts holding him slapped him hard enough to see stars making him stop his struggling as he tried to gather his bearings again. Looking back up he blearily looked at the gun hoping that at least Paul would get out of this.

He closed his eyes as he heard the click of the safety turning off. A few moments passed before he heard the loud cracking sound of the gun sounding off and a sharp pain to his side before one of the grunts holding him let go with a loud yelp.

Opening his eyes he looked down to where the pain radiated on his body and saw that part of his shirt was short at his side where the bullet from the gun grazed his side. Casting a glance behind him he saw one of the grunts that was holding him grabbing at his leg where the bullet hit him. His heart pounded as he turned and saw that Paul had escaped from where he was being held and tackled the grunt with the gun.

Quickly releasing his pokémon he got them to help Paul in securing the grunts that held them down and grabbed the gun that they grunt held. The gun shook in his hand as he slowly made his way to where Paul was. "Let's get out of here before the others come back," Ash said as he took deep breaths to keep himself from getting sick, "The girls must have already got into contact with the police. They'll be here soon."

He saw Paul nod before they returned their pokémon except for two to keep a look out as Paul got on one side of Ash to help him walk. Ash tried very hard to keep his whimpers of pain from escaping, but it was very hard to especially when he accidentally stumbled over a rock.

"We're almost there," Paul said as he saw Ash get paler after his latest stumble. In his opinion the smaller teen didn't look so good.

"Okay," Ash whispered as he heard Pikachu let out a small chitter and spark from his cheeks as they got closer to the entrance. Paul's Sneasel let out a deep growl for such a little cat as it let it's claws out. It took a few moments, but Ash was able to hear the sounds of footsteps coming from in front of them.

"That must be the girls," Paul said before hushing his Sneasel and hoisting Ash up higher so the darker haired teen wasn't sagging.

"Maybe," Ash said softly as he clicked his tongue softly to get Pikachu to chill. Ash and Paul kept going but were very cautious since they were still a bit close to the people that hurt them. It took them a few minutes, but they managed to determine that the steps they heard were indeed the girls and it seems like the did bring along cops.

After a few hushed explanations and Ash sending what his watch was able to record he, along with the girls and Paul were escorted outside of the mountain and was sent to Cerulean City since it was the nearest city with a hospital suited for humans. Along the way Ash tried not to doze off, but his eyes betrayed him since the last thing he remembered was his eyes closing and him falling asleep against something hard, but warm.

When Ash woke up next it was to the sound of soft beeping and soft sounds of pages in a book being flipped through. He could feel something small and warm between his arm and his hip as well as two other small masses on his legs. Opening his eyes he was greeted to brightness that made him groan, but instead of closing his eyes he merely blinked and looked around. Beside him was Pikachu laying between his arm and hip while Nidoran and Sandile were laying on his legs. Beside his bed was a large tank that held his Horsea and in the chair by his bed was a familiar purple haired teen.

"Paul?" he whispered softly confused as to why he was there.

Pikachu perked up when he heard Ash speak and began to let out a series of squeaks and growls as if he were berating the teen for the stunts he pulled. The squeaking and growling woke up the others in the room causing Sandile and Nidoran to join in while Horsea looked at them confused and for Paul to look at them in amusement.

"I guess he told you," Paul said once the yellow mouse was done. He put away the book he was reading through into his bag before giving the teen on the bed his full attention.

Ash chuckled and nodded before speaking, "I suppose. So Paul, not that I'm not happy you are here, but for the fact we just met each other and have no connection to one another, what are you still here for?"

Ash studied the taller teen for the few silent moments that passed between them. Paul was muscular, as he had taken his jacket off Ash was able to see more of him, and had his arms crossed making his biceps bulge a bit. His face was stoic while his eyes did betray some emotion.

"Well you did just save us and our pokémon. The girls had already left the city, but they did leave something for you and your pokémon," Paul said as he gestured to the side table, "I owe you too."

Ash shook his head and looked at him in confusion as he said, "You don't owe me anything, Paul. I just did something that anyone else would have done."

Paul's jaw tightened before relaxing. The bigger teen let out a sigh before admitting, "But someone already tried helping. They got the same thing that happened to you happen to them, but they didn't fight back like you did. They just accepted their fate."

Ash looked at Paul with wide eyes, "Oh," was all that fell from his lips. The room fell into silence as he gave his pokémon scratches to looks of praise for doing a good job. Just as Ash was about to open his mouth and speak to Paul the door to his room opened and a doctor walked in. She was average in height and had brown hair tied up in a braided bun and had forest green eyes.

"Good to see you awake," she said as she placed her clipboard on the bed before turning to Paul, "If you'll give us a moment?"

Paul let out a sigh and nodded before taking his leave, but he did leave his things making Ash assume that he would be right back in. "Now, I am Dr. Nakayami," she said turning back to her patient, "I'm in charge of your care while you are here."

"Nice to meet you," Ash said as he placed his hands on his lap while Pikachu curled back up in a ball but kept his eyes on her. Sandile let out a small hiss while Nidoran grunted in greeting and Horsea blew a few bubbles.

"Now as I am sure you are aware you were shot at by a gun, but that thankfully only grazed you," she said as she pulled her clipboard closer to her, "I had to clean it out and stitch you up with six sutures. Your shoulder was also dislocated and twisted which is now back in place and bandaged, but with a topical potion cream all you should feel is a bit of soreness from that area. I would like you to stay at least for tonight before leaving."

Ash nodded along with the explanation she was giving as his good hand ran through Pikachu's static filled fur. Ash asked question after question for the care of his wounds and was told to rest his arm as well as he could and that he needed to keep his arm in a sling for the next couple of weeks. For his bullet graze he needed to keep it clean and dry and he should keep it bandaged for at least another week. The stitches would dissolve on its own in two weeks time and she told him that he would most likely have a scar.

Dr. Nakayami stayed in the room for a few more minutes after the questions to note down his vitals and told him that if he wanted any food that he could call for one of the nurses. A moment after the doctor left Paul came back in the room and sat back down in the chair he had vacated minutes before.

"So what are you doing when you leave?" Paul asked as he leaned back in his chair.

Ash looked over at him and replied, "I got something to do for Professor Oak in Rota, but after that I'll be going after the rest of the gym badges."

"Rota?"

"A kingdom in the mountains behind Pewter," Ash answered as he pulled up the regional map on his watch, "It's about right here." He pointed at a circle between the large mountains. "It's about a week trip from Pewter," he added before putting his watch down.

He looked over at Paul and saw a contemplative look on his face. After a moment of silence he was surprised about the words that came out of the purple haired teens' mouth.

"How do you feel about a traveling companion?"