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 please don't forget to leave a review they give me motivation to keep writing!

Ash was aroused from his sleep by a vibration against his wrist and a soft paw tapping his cheek. Not really remembering what happened he let out a soft groan and moved his head, but before he could fall back to sleep memories of what happened earlier filtered through the sleepy haze. Jumping wide awake he scrambled to answer his watch and placed an earbud in his ear.

"Professor," Ash murmured softly once he saw the old man on the screen. He glanced over for a moment and saw that it was quite early in the morning and that he only managed to sleep for an hour as he waited for this phone call.

"Everything good so far?" Oak asked as he took in how tired the teen was.

Ash nodded and ran his hand over his face, "Haven't heard anything since then. Pikachu has been on watch."

"I had gotten through to the Rangers near you and they are sending a team of three to get out to Rota safely," Oak said as softly as he could, "There will be two males and one female, their names are Kellyn, Jack, and Solana. I'll send you pictures of them so you know what they look like. They should be there within the next hour."

"Okay," Ash said as he gave the professor a smile, "Thank you."

"No need for thanks my dear boy," Oak said with a small smile of his own, "You shouldn't to go through this at all."

"Its fine," the teen replied shaking his head, "I've not gotten hurt, have I? Just a bit scared." He did take a look at the photo once it was sent through and memorized the people in the photo before closing the messaging app out to give Oak his full attention.

Oak let out a soft sigh, but let it go. He knew just how stubborn the boy could get. Oak stayed on the phone with him for a bit longer asking him how his pokémon were doing. Ash told him his Nidoran was getting extremely close to evolving as the poison type had just lost the last bit of length on his egg tooth making them just as short as his other teeth, and that Sandile is getting more competitive because Nidoran is close to evolving. Pikachu was still addictive to ketchup and gets moody when he can't get any with his meals ever since Ash decided to use ketchup as a treat for when Pikachu did really well during training. Horsea was getting faster in the water and his aim is getting much better with his Water Gun the little water type was just frustrated that he isn't able to fight out of water.

The Professor hummed softly as he listened to the teen and gave him suggestions to help him. He suggested that when Nidoran evolved to work on his endurance seeing as when he get bigger in his last evolution he wouldn't be able to move his heavy body so fast. With Sandile Oak had to admit he didn't know a lot about his evolution line, but he would asked Professor Juniper, the head researcher for the Unova region, what she thought of Sandile.

For Pikachu he suggested on working on his agility and his strength seeing as he was a small pokémon most would assume his main focal point of attack would be quick small hits. No one suspect a small pokémon like Pikachu to hit hard.

"I do seem to remember that I have a few shed scales from my Dragonite," Oak said a few moment after they fell into comfortable silence. Ash perked up and looked at the older man with wide eyes. "I could part with one," Oak said sending Ash a sly smile, "but I won't just hand it over. You need to prove it to me that you and Horsea deserve it."

"We will!" Ash said as a look of determination filled his eyes. Pikachu took that time to sit up from where he had laid down in Ashs' lap and looked down. It took a few moments before the sounds of footsteps reached Ashs' ears and when he looked down he saw three people standing under his tree looking around.

One of the males with light blond hair wore dark pants and shirt with the jacket and shoes he wore were red. The other two, a dark haired male and blue haired female, wore similar clothes. Beside them were a Mightyena, Arcanine, and a Pidgey that landed on the females' shoulder. "The Rangers are here," Ash said to professor Oak as he looked back at the older man on his watch, "I'll make sure to message you when we reach Rota."

Oak nodded and took a deep breath, "I'll be eagerly waiting for that message," he said as relief filled him a small bit, "Be safe. Be careful."

"I will," Ash replied before ending the call. Taking a deep breath he looked down once more before calling out, "Hello!"

Ash kept himself from jumping as six sets of eyes looked up at him. He waved down at the trio and their pokémon as one of the humans in the group laughed and scratched the back of his head. "Mr. Ketchum?" the female called up and smiled when she got a nod in response, "Need help down?"

"No thanks!" he called down before he began his descent making sure to be quick, but careful. His shoulder was really starting to start up in pain as he reached the last bit of the tree. While climbing the tree was beneficial last night his arm and side really regretted it once he had to climb down. "Hi," he said once again once he was on the forest floor.

"Hi!" the dark haired male Ranger that laughed said as he waved, "I'm Kellyn."

"Solana," the female Ranger said.

"Jack," the blond said as he put a hand on Mightyena, "Oak called and asked us to escort you to the opening gate to Rota. It's a bit far from here so we should probably get a move on."

Ash nodded as Pikachu moved from his good shoulder to his hood and nestled down for a nap seeing as his trainer had others to look out for him. The group began to make their way through the woods to get back on the path that would take them to Rota. Ash was a bit shocked to see that the Rangers had a Jeep that they would drive to the gates cutting the usual week long trip to a long car ride instead.

Jack took the wheel as Solana sat in the passenger seat and Kellyn got in the back with him. Just as he was going to ask what they were going to do with their pokémon that were still standing outside of the car they were recalled into their capture styluses.

They got a few minutes down the road before Solana began asking Ash a few questions. "So Mr. Ketchum," she began turning in her seat a bit to look at the teen, "What kind of pokémon do you have with you?"

Ash smiled as he spoke of his pokémon, "I have Pikachu here of course," he said pointing at the sleeping mouse in his lap. He had moved the tired creature to his lap when they got in the car. "I also have a male Nidoran, a Horsea, and a Sandile," Ash said as he ran his hand over static filled fur not caring about the small shocks that ran through his hand.

"A Sandile?!" Kellyn asked as he turned his attention to Ash, "How did you get one of them? They aren't even native to this region!"

Ash chuckled, "I got him as a gift from the Pewter Gym Leader after defeating him. Brock said he didn't have the time to take care of Sandile like he deserves so he gave him to me," he replied.

"What kind of Sandile is it? Male or female?" Jack asked but he kept his eyes on the road.

"Male with Moxie," Ash said slightly confused as to why he was asking.

"Moxie?!" Kellyn exclaimed as he stared at the teen with wide blue eyes, "That's like really dangerous especially in males!" Ash saw Solana nodding in agreement as well as saw Jacks' eyes looking at him in the review mirror.

"Sandile is actually really sweet," Ash explained, "Really competitive and protective of those he sees as family, but sweet. If he doesn't know you he'll take you as a threat, but he mellows out if he sees you're not a threat to me or the rest of his pack."

"I want to see him!" Kellyn stated as he brought down his fist onto his leg.

"Can I release him in here?" Ash asked looked between the three of them. Once he saw that he got an affirmative he put Pikachu in his hood so he could release Sandile on his lap. "I would try and make yourself as far away as you can," Ash said as he grabbed Sandiles' ball from his waist and pointed it down to his lap before pressing the button to release his croc.

Sandile let out a loud hiss once he saw the unknown male in front of him, but didn't charge at him seeing as he was sitting in his trainers' lap. He did swing his tail and bashed it against the car door as he opened his mouth to let the unknown male see how big his fangs were. He would defend his trainer to his last breath if need be.

"Settle down," Ash said as he reached to Sandiles' lower jaw and gave him scratches where he knew the croc liked it best. The croc let out another softer hiss as he settled down in his lap making Ash smile. He looked over at Kellyn as saw his eyes had gone wider.

"How?"

"Told you he was sweet," Ash said as he smiled.

"Usually if someone let their hands near a Sandiles' mouth it would get ripped off," Jack said as he saw Ashs' hand near the sharp teeth, "It has to do with their poor vision. They mostly rely on the vibrations they feel through the ground. They thrive in deserts. They're vision gets better in each evolution as the membrane around their eyes gets thinner since the eyes develop an eyelid that acts like the membrane. It helps them survive out of the deserts and during battles."

Ash looked down at Sandile, now almost boneless in his lap, the membrane around his eyes seemed really dark as the sun beat down on them, "Is it hurting him then? Being out in the sun like this without any sand?" he asked. He felt Sandile move and open in mouth with a loud long hiss.

"Nah," Jack said once the croc was done hissing, "What he did there was release heat that built inside him. Sandile can adapt once they are out of the desert. He's not hurting or anything and I'm sure he would tell you if he was."

The teen nodded as he ran his hand over the ridged scales along his back. Sandile was close to needing to shed a few of his scales. "Do you know when Sandile are close to evolving?" Ash asked curiously since Jack did seem to know about the evolution line.

"Hmm," the blond hummed, "I believe my sister said she noticed her Sandile was close to evolution when she shot up in weight and length. She said Sandile lost a few of the blunt teeth in the back and they grew back bigger and sharper. The scales started shedding like crazy leaving darker scales in place, but they were barely noticeable against the other scales since its evolution was close in color to Sandile. Her Sandile got really aggressive as well. She said buying a few toys with metal rods in them were a blessing."

"Thank you," Ash said as he took out his notebook and made a few notes on Sandiles' pages. So far he hadn't seen anything like what Jack described, but now he knew what to look for.

The trip in the car seemed to take longer than Ash thought it would, but he was thankful that he at least didn't have to trek in the forest with the potential danger of 'Cindy' in it. He was sad nonetheless. He would have really liked to explore the wilderness around Rota. It was the more unexplored bits of land in Kanto seeing as someone would need permission from the Queen of Rota to explore it.

They didn't stop once during the trip having decided to eat in the car when they got hungry and they managed to get to the Kingdom a few hours before sunset. Ash wasn't surprised at that since Jack seemed to never slow the car down bellow seventy. Once the car stopped Ash got out and bade the Ranger his thanks and goodbyes before approaching the closed gates.

"Halt!"

Ash turned and saw two people approaching him. They were dressed in clunky looking armor that look uncomfortable.

One was much shorter than the other. "What brings an outsider to Rota?" the taller person asked. Their voice held a husky female tone to it, but Ash didn't want to assume they were female under the armor.

"I'm Ash Ketchum," he said introducing himself as he pulled his bag down. Professor Oak had given him a letter to get through the gate and a small package before leaving Pallet Town that the older man wanted delivered seeing as he was going to Rota. "Professor Oak from Pallet Town asked me to drop off a package for Queen Ilene and get permission to explore your ruins." he explained as he handed the entry letter to the taller of the two.

"Any means of identification?" he was asked and he handed over his dex with his information pulled up. Once confirmed he was indeed Ash Ketchum he was let into the Kingdom. He was amazed at the look of the Kingdom. It was like he had travel through time.

The streets were cobblestone and houses littered the streets with kids running around playing with women cooking and men sitting and drinking. He noticed the women were all in dresses including the little girls while the boys and men were dressed in pants and shirts. He knew his mother wouldn't be able to stand being in dresses everyday especially on weeding day.

As he was escorted through the Kingdom he saw that most of the people that they walked by were staring at him, but he couldn't put the emotion to words. He was thankful that at least the travel to the castle was a lot shorter than the trip to the Kingdom. He was in need to relieve himself.

The castle itself was made of white stone with red roofing. There were a few towers with windows only at the top and long large staircases that took people higher into the castle. It took only moments for them to be let into the castle and Ash was quickly taken to the throne room were he was told he was going to get an audience with Queen Ilene.

Going in Ash took in the Queen who sat on her throne. She wore a purple dress that flowed to the ground like a waterfall and her blond curly hair fell down her back. Adorned on her head was a crown bejeweled in blue gems that matched her blue eyes. On her lap sat a Mime. Jr. Bowing he waited until he was told to stand straight.

"My knight tells me you bring word from Professor Oak?" Ilene spoke out disrupting the silence that fell when he walked in.

Ash took a deep breath before replying and he only hoped it was polite enough for the Queen, "Yes your Majesty, I have a package that I was directed to give to you and only you."

"Very well," she said as one of her knights approached him, "My knight here will take it and will give it to me."

"Yes your Majesty," Ash said as he slipped off his bag and dug for the item before handing it to the knight. He watched carefully as the knight did indeed give the package to the Queen without tampering it.

The Queen glanced at it for a moment before looking down at Ash, "I do believe there was something else my knight told me," she said as she set the package aside for the moment, "something about you wanting to explore out ruins?"

Ash resisted the temptation to lick his dry lips as he gave the Queen a small nod, "Yes your Highness," he said, "I am an On the Field Researcher and Trainer for Professor Oak. He had spoken of the ruins from when he were here last and he believed that I would very much like to go through them and see them for myself. I would like to ask for you permission for at least a day to explore the ruins."

Silence once again filled the room once Ash was done speaking. He kept his gaze steady on the Queen not once moving them in case it was seen as him being suspicions about wanting to visit the ruins. Tension filled the room as the Queen thought over her decision.

"Very well," Ilene said breaking the silence once more, "but you will be accompanied by two of my knights. I will give you one full day to explore the ruins, but after that you may not enter them again unless given permission once again."

Ash bowed as relief and excitement filled him, "Thank you your Majesty," he said once he straightened his back.

"You will be given a room here with a knight posted outside your room in case you need anything. Knight Handal," she gestured to one of the knights along the wall, "show him to a guest room and tell one of the maids to fetch him dinner. Captain Herris will get him in the morning."

"Yes, my Queen," the knight said as he bowed and approached Ash, "This way."

Ash nodded and followed the knight as he took a relieved breath. "First time in front of royalty?" the knight asked as they walked down the hall.

"Yes. It was really nerve racking," Ash said softly as it was getting late and he didn't know if there were anyone in the rooms they walked by.

"The first time is always the most nerve racking," the knight agreed as they stopped in front of a door that looked like every other door, "This is your room. I'll be out here in case you need anything. In the morning a maid will bring food here for you to eat before the Captain arrives to get you. Do I need to wake you up?"

Ash shook his head as he answered, "I'm a bit of an early riser."

The knight nodded before opening the door, "Someone will be here soon with food for you. Do you need any for any pokémon you carry?"

"No thanks. I have food in my pack for them," Ash said as he entered the room, "Thank you for showing me here."

"The pleasure is mine," the knight said before closing the door leaving Ash in silence once again. Not really taking in the room as he looked for a door, in which there were two, and picking one he was relieved to see that at least they had modern bathrooms. He quickly did his business and got ready for bed. He was drained from last night and he was ready to pass out any moment.

He did release his pokémon except Horsea since there weren't any tanks and he swore he would spend a bit of time in Cerulean for Horsea. He explained to his pokémon where they were at and what was happening before a knock sounded at his door. Quickly eating his food, he had also given his pokémon their food, and giving the tray back to the maid who patiently waited outside the door he flopped down onto the soft bed. He didn't even get under the blanket before he passed out.