A/N: I DID IT. Also sorry that I've been dead since like, February, I just started registration for next year's classes and I'm really working on keeping my current 4.0 all the way until the end of this semester.

So this chapter has...a lot to unpack, so I hope you enjoy!


Aaron sat cross-legged with a tin bowl balancing precariously on his knee. The dew from the night before clinging to the blades of green grass and the thin fabric of his tent. His hair was matted down with sweat, despite trying to convince himself that he was ready to make it to Pewter City and ready for his first gym battle. His dad had gone in with even less, right?

He shivered as a breeze swept through the clearing, the hair on his exposed arms standing on end. He rubbed his hands, setting the bowl to the side.

Charmander glanced over at him, snorting out little tendrils of smoke. Aaron grinned, "I'll be back in a second, then we've gotta pack up, and then we're off!"

"Charmander!"

Aaron dug through his bag, grateful for the jeans he'd ended up packing as well. He slipped his jacket over his arms, zipping it up fully rather than just leaving it open.

He ran a hand through his matted-down hair, trying to return it to some of its natural wildness as it dried off, though it didn't matter after he made sure his hat wasn't crooked.

Charmander rolled his eyes at his trainer's obvious attempts to procrastinate. The Lizard Pokemon trotted over to his heels, staring up at him with wides, teal eyes.

Aaron looked down at his partner. "Don't look at me like that! We'll go after I get this fixed and pack up."

"Char?" Charmander quizzed, looking at him with an expression that Aaron interpreted as the equivalent of an eyebrow raise. Aaron rolled his eyes and knelt down, working at releasing the stakes of the tent from the ground.

Charmander toddled over to the other side, struggling to pull the stakes from the ground. Aaron shook his head, walking over and pulling them out with little resistance, stuffing them in a small bag and tossing it over by his already packed backpack.

He ducked inside the tent and tightly rolled his sleeping bag, rolling it out to stop against his bag. Charmander jumped back to avoid it and followed Aaron at his heels as he released and shook out the rainfly.

Next were the poles, which collapsed in seconds, the fabric of the tent deflating like a balloon after a child's birthday party. He and Charmander rolled up the fabric, stuffing all of what they had just packed up into a tiny bag that clipped to the bottom of Aaron's backpack.

He interlaced his fingers, stretching his arms above his head. Charmander growled happily, falling into step with his trainer in an awkward jog. Aaron shook his head, lowering down so Charmander could scramble onto his back and sit comfortably on his backpack with a hold on the hood of his jacket.

Charmander cried out happily as Aaron finally started making his way back onto the main trail through the woods. The branches that had fallen across the path crunched under his feet, and the pidgeys in the trees sang in a broken harmony with one another.

"Shouldn't they have gone south by now," Aaron thought aloud. Charmander shrugged and offered a chirp in response.

"Don't worry about it, Charmander," he said off-handedly, making a brushing motion. "Well, we've got people to impress, so let's get going."


"Morning sleeping beauty," Jasmine said over her shoulder as she scrolled through her phone.

Brendan rubbed at his eyes, still in his pajamas and the hood of his hoodie still covering his brown hair. Jasmine glanced up at him, bringing her hand up to the crease of her eye, making a rubbing motion, which Brendan copied, flicking the bit of gunk off of his hand.

"Where's Darcy?" He asked, scanning the atrium for signs of his little sister. Jasmine turned over her shoulder, scanning the area before pointing towards a little reading nook off in the corner where Darcy had curled up.

He nodded towards her and sat next to Jasmine, "Any chance you've seen my twin sister?"

Jasmine scrunched her nose and turned to Brendan with a raised eyebrow. "You are aware that I literally met you yesterday and have absolutely no idea what your sister looks like, right?"

"I'd assumed you'd looked her up like you looked up my uncle."

"Nah. You said your family wasn't that big so looking her up would be pointless."

Brendan hummed in acknowledgment. "Who are you waiting for?"

She tucked her phone into her pocket. "Don't worry about it, just seeing if my brother is going to text me."

"Sounds like you're pretty close to him."

"I like to think I was. I haven't seen him since I was little."

Brendan nodded along slowly, "He must be busy."

"If he's still alive, he went missing a month into his journey," Jasmine said sourly. She looked up to see Brendan's confused and concerned expression and gave a half-smile. "Sorry for changing the mood so fast."

"Eh, it's fine. Sibling issues are pretty common."

Jasmine rolled her eyes. "Should we get going? If we're lucky then maybe we can catch Aaron in Pewter City."

"Sounds great. Dar-Dar!" He shouted.

Darcy's head shot up and whipped around to make eye contact with her older brother. She shook her head and pointed to her jeans and Brendan looked down at himself, remembering that he was still in his pajamas.

Brendan's face turned scarlet with embarrassment. "I'm, gonna, uh...yeah...I'll be right out." He stepped back and turned back towards the rooms.

Jasmine snickered and shook his head as Darcy made her way over to her. "That's normal?"

"It's Brendan. My dear brother does stuff like this all the time."


"Ma'am."

"You know the only two people allowed in here, correct?"

"The Champion and the upstart."

Elaine nodded, holding her hand up to the palm scanner. The scanner warbled as a line of light ran up and down her palm, giving a chime and turning a forest green to confirm that Elaine was able to enter.

The door slid open and she stepped inside, with it sliding shut just behind her. The room was large, open with walls covered with thick padding that she'd never even touched. She walked over to a small crevice in the wall, shrugging off the royal blue jacket she'd been wearing and shoving it in there, along with the old sneakers.

The chill of the room made her flinch as she took her jacket. She glanced over at her left shoulder and the sight of the mangled appearance of it. Her skin had been discolored to a sickly reddish-purple, with veins of red that reminded one of a bolt of lightning branching out across the sky during a storm. It stretched almost to her elbow and covered her left shoulder and continued almost halfway down her back.

Out of habit, she checked if the bruise, she found that to be the best way to describe it, had grown any further. Unlikely, considering it'd stayed the same size since she'd gotten it.

Elaine sighed and drew one of her pokeballs out of the pocket of her jacket, tossing it up into the air. "Lucario, time for training," she said absent-mindedly as she stretched her calves. Lucario materialized from the red silhouette and barked happily upon noticing his surroundings.

Elaine grinned. "Need to let off a little steam, you up for it?"

"Cario!"

Elaine and Lucario walked towards the center of the room. She inhaled deeply, closing her eyes and beginning to see hazy blue figures. She focused her breathing for a few seconds, the figures becoming more defined as she rhythmically inhaled and exhaled.

She could clearly make out Lucario, considering his figure was the brightest blue. She could see the guard standing just outside the door, and even the workers inspecting the halls for imperfections.

She opened her eyes, her irises glowing a royal blue that dulled slowly into her natural hazel. She raised her hands in front of her, moving one of her legs backward.

Lucario mirrored her stance, keeping his fists curled. Elaine nodded and slid out of the way as Lucario lunged forward. Elaine ducked to avoid the leg he kicked out in an attempt to try to hit her after missing the lunge he'd made at her.

She used his opening as a chance to send her leg straight into Lucario's side. The Aura Pokemon let out a yelp, mostly in surprise as it was knocked backward. He landed, still upright on the mat, nearly using his paw to brace himself.

Elaine stood with her back to Lucario, appearing unaware of the blue orb of energy that he was forming in between his paws. The Aura-sensing appendages stood on end as the orb grew. Lucario kept a trained eye on Elaine's movement, watching her shift her weight between her legs.

She slid out of the way of the Aura Sphere Lucario sent at her, letting it crash into the padding on the ground. Elaine whipped around and held her arms up, keeping her hands unclenched.

Lucario narrowed his eyes, clenching his paw and throwing another punch which Elaine narrowly dodged. She swept her leg underneath the Aura Pokemon sending him stumbling off balance. Elaine took this vulnerability to switch and send a punch just below the spike on Lucario's chest.

Lucario stumbled backward, retaliating by sending another Aura Sphere at Elaine's left shoulder. She ducked out of the way, wobbling after the sudden shift in balance.

Lucario huffed, kicking out his leg to knock Elaine onto her side. Her face slammed into the mat below her. She pushed herself up, calling the warmth she felt inside her very being to her fingertips.

She opened her palms, ignoring the small drops of blood falling onto the ground. Blue spheres formed in her open palms and she held her hands close to each other, both spheres merging into one blue orb.

Her eyes flared to a deep royal blue as she turned over her shoulder with a smirk. She sent the sphere of energy flying toward Lucario, hitting him square in the chest and nearly knocking him against the wall.

Lucario dug his feet into the mat below him to stop himself from being forced against a wall. Elaine darted towards him, jumping up and pushing off against the padding mounted against the wall. She clenched her fist and stuck Lucario in the shoulder, sending the Aura Pokemon stumbling sideways.

Sweat glued Elaine's swooping honey blonde bangs to her forehead and she gasped for breath. The drips of blood from her nose stained the collar of her tank top.

"Well well well, looks like the princess can be taken off her throne."

Elaine rolled her eyes and nodded to Lucario, signaling the end of the sparring match. She ignored the person who'd made the comment and walked over to the crevice where she'd stuffed her stuff.

"What's wrong with your shoulder?"

She froze.

Elaine tried forcing herself to move, to grab her jacket and hide the imperfection, but her limbs felt like lead.

"I don't want to talk about it," she snapped.

She could hear her guest back up slowly. "Touchy."

"Touchy huh? You try having one imperfection when the world is watching you with more scrutiny than they watch the people who actually make the world go round."

Her limbs finally obeyed her mind. She snatched her jacket and slipped it over her arms, trying to forget that that bruise even existed.

She turned to face her guest. She could see ends of brown that stuck out from his otherwise fiery, crimson hair and shook her head. "Someone didn't buy washable dye."

He crossed his arms defensively. "I never know when I'm able to get out, it makes logical sense." Then he smirked, lowering into a dramatic bow. "Your highness."

"Why not wait until next check-in; or show up earlier?"

"Because princess-"

"Call me that again and you're walking out of here with a black eye," Elaine threatened.

"Okay…But trust me, it's important."

"Important enough for Champions?"

"Yeah, but I don't have time. I'm supposed to be back in two or three hours and I need to redye this," he said, pointing to his hair.

Elaine narrowed her eyes, "Christian, are you sure this can't wait?"

Christian nodded, "Yeah. I know what these bozos are called-"

"They're calling themselves the Reformers, we know-"

"They're the ones responsible for what happened to you."

Elaine froze, staring down at the ground. Christian pressed his lips together into a straight line.

"How'd you-" she started, her breath quickening and becoming more shallow.

"Two of the more senior members were bragging about how they did it. Some stuff like 'we're so cool, we attacked a literal child' and they were ordered to do it. These people have been around for a while," he explained.

Elaine was silent.

"Should I-"

"You need to go," she said, regaining her composure. "I'll tell the Champions."

Christian nodded but hesitated before moving. "I just want to know if-"

"Jasmine, according to your parents, ran away from home, but I have a feeling she's in Viridian City if she's not already in or on her way to Pewter City."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks."

"Of course."


Mira decided against accepting the free breakfast in the hotel lobby. She'd seen it, and considering the fact that it looked like it had been sitting out there for least an hour, she wasn't keen on taking the offer.

She hadn't seen Meredith as she left the room, so there was either the assumption that her forced roommate had either left before her or was buried in the mess of pillows that was left on the bed she'd claimed last night.

Mira shook her navy blue hair out, smoothing it with her hands and raking her fingers through it in an attempt to untangle it. She slid one of her hair ties off of her wrist and held it between her teeth.

She twisted her hair tightly and wrapped it at the top of her head, looking almost like a blue cinnamon roll. Mira held it in place with one hand and removed the hair tie from her teeth, wrapping it around her hair to secure it in place.

"Was the hotel breakfast 'too mediocre?'"

Mira rolled her eyes and looked over her shoulder to make eye contact with Meredith. Meredith had changed her outfit from the tank top she was wearing yesterday into something more practical for the northern archipelago in the winter. A blue sweater and a pair of black leggings.

"Looks like the cold caught up with someone," Mira sneered.

Meredith crossed her arms tightly across her chest, "Well at least I packed everything I needed in one bag and didn't lose any of them in the flight here."

Mira narrowed her eyes. "Thank Arceus I don't have to put up with you anymore. I'm on my way to Pewter City."

Meredith's eyes widened. "Nuh-uh. No way. That's where I'm going and I'm not going there with you."

"Oh please, what would you possibly want there?"

Meredith grabbed her RotomPhone out of her pocket and walked towards Mira. She held her screen in Mira's face, too close for her to read it. Mira stepped back, her stomach dropping as she read what Meredith had pulled up.

"There's a Contest there in three days and I intend to win it," Meredith declared.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me," Mira said under her breath.

"What's that about huh? Think you and your Kalosian Showcases are sooo much better, huh?"

"No, actually. We've got the same destination. Which is just perfect," she added in a hiss.

"There's no way-"

"That's my feeling as well. Believe me."

Meredith ran a hand through her short hair. "Isn't there any other Contest you could do?"

"Well, why are you insistent on competing in the one at Pewter City?"

"Because I'm basically required to stay with my brother while I'm out of region. My parents said so."

"Sucks to be you."

Meredith scowled. "Well, maybe it's good that we're going to the same place. I can't wait to kick your butt in this Contest."

"Same here."


Aaron looked over at Charmander on his shoulder and grinned. He continued forward across the path as it slowly widened and the dirt changed to gravel which changed to asphalt.

"Charmander, welcome to Pewter City!" He announced excitedly.

Charmander let out a jubilant cry, watching the trees thin out and finally arriving at the crest of a hill that looked over the city.

It had grown, even in the last year that Aaron had been there. Now the residential areas that had been under construction last time he was here had grown into bustling neighborhoods.

Luckily, it was still a small enough town. Aaron might get some peace from the tabloids that had found some way to hide out and snap pictures of him when he'd started his journey.

Aaron took off his hat and ran his hand over her hair, letting it spike and fluff up before he covered it with his hat again. Charmander jumped off back down to the ground stretching his claws above his head.

"Yeah, glad you're well-rested," Aaron said dryly, shaking his head.

Charmander trotted at his side as Aaron made his way over the hill, following the slowing winding path down the hill. The path slowly smoothed over, the cracks that had ripped through the asphalt up at the top of the hill disappeared.

The duo ended up squeezing through an alleyway, popping out into the bustling center of the city. Cafes and shops lined the streets, that was filled with more pedestrians than cars. It was such a trainer's hub that not many people owned them unless they were required to go to Viridian City or Cerulean City.

It was also a matter of following a leader. Gym Leader Forrest was insistent on walking anywhere he had to go unless it was out of region. Aaron had met him a few times, he'd met all of the Gym Leaders at least a couple of times. Forrest was one of the ones he was more acquainted with, considering how close his father and Forrest's older brother had been.

Charmander scanned the streets, seeing all of the trainers and regular citizens with their pokemon on their shoulders or following closely on their heels.

"I forgot you really haven't seen anything like this," Aaron chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. "It's really a different world out here than the sanctuary at the lab."

Charmander cried in agreement.

A few people from the cafes had begun to whisper with one another while looking at Aaron and his Charmander, naturally they'd attract some attention. As long as a team of photographers didn't come out of anywhere, Aaron didn't mind it.

He strolled down the sidewalk, Charmander trotting at his side. A blur of blonde hair came across his vision and he stumbled backward, nearly tripping over Charmander.

"Hey! Watch- Aaron?"

Aaron regained his balance and looked up at the person he'd collided with.

"Kayda?"

Kayda brushed her hair over her shoulder. "The one and only," she said.

"I'm pretty sure that there are other people named Kayda."

She rolled her eyes. "Like there aren't other people named Aaron in the world."

Aaron shook his head. "What're you doing in Kanto? I haven't seen you in a while."

"Perks of being the child of former champions. I can go anywhere unnoticed. Unlike you apparently."

"Don't remind me. They were hiding in the foutu bushes."

"The what?"

"In the bushes."

"I know but what did you say before that?" Kayda asked.

Aaron glanced to the ground briefly, "Uh, it was something in Traditional Kalosian."

"You can speak that?! I thought it was a dead language!" Kayda exclaimed.

"So is Archipelagan," Aaron pointed out.

"Not in Johto, but that's because Johto has always been more connected with its roots."

"Isn't that because your dad actually paid attention to Johto and left my dad to inherit a massive headache?"

"Why do you think I'm Kayda Shirona and not Kayda Wataru," Kayda said with a laugh. She craned her neck to the side to see Charmander and made eye contact with him. Charmander cried out and ducked behind Aaron's leg.

"Who's that little guy?" She asked.

Aaron ducked down to wrap Charmander in his arms. "It's Charmander," he said, letting the Lizard Pokemon scramble onto his shoulder. "He's my partner."

"I would've thought you'd pick a Froakie or something."

"I'm not copying Elaine."

"Isn't she your favorite sister?" Kayda said with an eyebrow raised. Aaron just stared blankly at her with a small frown. She shook her head and looked to the side, out at the other side of the street. "Well to answer your question, I'm here to compete in the Indigo League."

"Really, not the Sinnoh League?"

"Been there, done that. Tori's dad beat my mom in a battle, I'm not messing with him."

"You came in seventh didn't you."

"Oddly specific, aren't-"

"Or was it seventeenth?" Aaron said with a smirk.

Kayda frowned, "You jerk. You were watching it, weren't you?"

"Maybe."

"You're somehow worse than my Aunt Clair. Like a little brother that I didn't want."

"Elaine calls you the cousin she didn't ask for."

Kayda's expression looked as though she'd been personally disrespected. She dramatically held a hand to her chest and gasped. Aaron let out a snicker, causing Kayda to break her character and devolve into a fit of laughter.

She inhaled deeply to compose herself and shook her head. "I've met her like three times, what is she basing that off of?"

"You keep popping up in the League Headquarters."

"Okay, I showed up there twice and that was because my dad was too lazy to do his job as a former champion. The only reason I'm not at the Johto League HQ every other week is that my Aunt Clair does it for him."

"She also said that you tried to-"

"Anything she says about me is false."

"Like that time she got stuck with you-"

"FALSE INFORMATION!"

"When-"

"LIES!"

"I was literally just talking about how she got stuck with you and ended up meeting the other former champion kids," Aaron explained, and he snickered, "What else did I miss?"

"'Other former champion kids' Blake is seven, and Parker is like four or something and I know for a fact she hasn't met either of them," Kayda said, starting to walk as Aaron fell into step beside them. "She met 'Princess Gabriella,' I don't blame her for being annoyed over it."

"Who?"

"Bless your poor innocent soul, and pray to Arceus you never meet her. She's super salty that despite the fact that she's 'the child of not one, but two former champions' nobody pays attention to her. She's even saltier that you or any of your siblings can literally blink and make a headline."

Aaron rolled his eyes. "She can have my headlines, I don't want them," he chuckled.

"It'll only get worse."

"And that's what I'm scared of."

Kayda shook her head, crossing the street with Aaron just slightly behind her. She took her curtain of blonde hair and tied it up into a low ponytail, adjusting her coat.

"It's a bit warm for that," Aaron commented.

"I've been in Alola for the past few weeks on a vacation, my cold sensitivity is thrown, and I grew up in Sinnoh. I see you're in shorts."

Aaron smirked, taking off his jacket and tying it around his waist.

"Didn't you grow up in Alola? I know the siblings grew up here or am I mixing that up."

"Nah, Laura, Elaine, and Sarah grew up kind of everywhere. I spent most of the year in Alola that I can remember, and I'd be here for the summer and in Kalos for the winter. And then after they started their journeys, I lived in Alola full time and spent summer break between here and Kalos. So I've only lived here full time for a few months, despite the fact that I'm 'the next star trainer.'"

"Haven't even beat Forrest yet."

"Nope. Is he hard to beat?"

Kayda shrugged, "He was badge number three, and he knew I had league experience under my belt so he went tougher on me than I'd imagine he'd go on you. But he's still tricky. Stay on your toes and you should have no trouble."

"Thanks."

"Hey, no problem. Anyway, I've got a train to Blackthorne City to catch-"

"Leaving so soon?" Aaron asked.

"It's a long story. Trust me. And if I sat down to explain it, I'd miss my train."


Jasmine stuffed her hands into her pockets. Darcy was leading the pack, despite being nearly a head shorter than Jasmine and Brendan. The breeze slightly moved her purple pigtails and some of the keychains she'd attached to her backpack.

Brendan kept messing with his hair, trying to comb it over as the wind pushed it back to where it was.

"I really hope you know that nature will beat you in your battle to try to fix your hair."

He glared at her, still trying to hold his hair in place.

She shrugged. "Just sayin."

"Well Arceus didn't bless everyone with naturally perfect hair," he retorted.

"Oh no, this isn't natural perfection. I wasn't lucky enough to inherit my mom's hair. There were many painstaking days where my father would walk me through the proper hair care to make sure I wouldn't have to fight a losing battle against the wind to make it look good."

Brendan glared at her, which was met with a smirk from Jasmine. She adjusted her bag, watching as Brendan finally gave up with his battle against nature. "If it's any consolation, the spikiness of it kinda looks cool."

Brendan glanced at her with an eyebrow raised. "Thanks?" He hesitated.

Darcy glanced over her shoulder at Jasmine, "Any idea how far we've got left?"

Jasmine felt around in her pockets for her RotomPhone, drawing it out and tapping the map icon. She read off the arrival time at the bottom of the screen, "We're about two hours out."

"Why is everything so far apart here?" Brendan groaned.

Jasmine shook her head, "Imagine having to book a ferry just to go to a bigger grocery store, that was my life. Being abled to walk from city to city is a luxury."

Darcy adjusted her bag as she walked, "I really hope that you get that gym badge on your first go, Brendan. I do not want to have walked this far for nothing."

"I will, Dar-Dar! It's gonna be easy!"

She rolled her eyes, tightening her hair in their two pigtails. Jasmine glanced between the siblings. "Forrest is one of the first Gym Leaders to beat, and since the new season is nearly in full swing, every trainer that's old enough is scrambling towards Pewter City if they're following the traditional order of the gyms. Even more so if you have the ones imitating Champion Ketchum," she pointed out. "Chances are he'll be swamped, we might have to wait a day or two."

"Wait, how do the seasons even line up?" Darcy asked, "Didn't the, whatever the thing where anyone can compete in, I can't remember-"

"World Coronation Series," Brendan corrected.

"Yeah, that thing. Didn't it end a couple of days ago?"

Jasmine nodded, "Yeah. Actually just," she paused, counting on her fingers, "Yesterday…? Two days ago for Galar, so the world just says two days ago. The last Indigo League was a few months ago. And the Kalos League is in the next few weeks, and I think the Alola League is like two or three months out."

Brendan nodded, impressed. Jasmine crossed her arms in response, "You learn a lot being friends with the Champion's son," she said with an air of confidence.


Aaron checked his RotomPhone again, looking up to find himself in the shadow of a massive building. The shadow it cast stretched almost to the other side of the street, shading the sidewalks of the cafes and stores.

Charmander let out a snort, gaining Aaron's attention. The duo looked up towards the doors and Aaron pat Charmander on his head. "We don't have to battle him right away," he assured his partner, "But we should probably secure some sort of spot later today or early tomorrow."

Charmander nodded slowly, grabbing at the air ahead of him to signal that he wanted to be picked up by Aaron. He rolled his eyes, holding out his arm and letting Charmander scramble up and take his place on his shoulder.

Aaron moved up the stairs that led up to the doorway, inhaling deeply to settle his nerves as he pushed open the doors. He shivered as he was hit with a cold breeze as the doors shut behind him. Even Charmander shivered, moving the small flame on the tip of his tail closer to himself.

He reminded himself that the gym had been overhauled not too long ago, though he couldn't remember what had been added. But this main room had been part of it.

There was an attendant sitting behind the desk at the back of the room, under an enlarged Pewter City Gym Badge. They had close-cropped hair, and were wearing a brown and yellow polo shirt.

Aaron cleared his throat, drawing the attendant's attention away from whatever they were doing. They opened their mouth, beginning to launch into their welcome spiel but froze as they made eye contact with Aaron.

"Are you-"

"Aaron!"

Aaron turned towards the side, cocking his head to the side as he tried to see the person who had called his name.

A bark broke the silence as the sound of claws scratching against the floor filled the air after it. A rockruff tumbled forward, barreling towards Aaron with a bark of excitement.

"Hey! Thea, heel!" The same voice who had called Aaron's name yelped.

The rockruff, which Aaron guessed was Thea, ignored whoever had called her, still barrelling towards Aaron and jumping up towards him, scratching at Aaron's leg while barking, her fluffy tail wagging back and forth.

Charmander clung to Aaron's shoulder, trying to get himself as far away from Thea.

Aaron looked back towards Charmander, not seeing Thea's trainer darting out into the entry room. He gave a half-smile to his partner, "You alright Charmander?" He asked.

Charmander growled, but not aggressively. Aaron picked it up as meaning that Charmander wasn't very fond of Thea, or that Charmander was just timid in general.

"Well, well, well, Aaron Ketchum has decided to challenge my uncle for his first Gym Badge."

Aaron shook his head. Crossing his arms as he met Thea's trainer head-on, "I'm armed with a single Charmander, Ari, so your girlfriend wasn't on my list of people to beat first," he shot back.

Ari's face turned red as Thea ran back over to her.

"Raina and I aren't even dating," she protested under her breath.

"What are you even doing in Kanto? Sarah said you were in the Orange Islands."

She nodded, "I was. But Thea and I weren't doing anything competitively, we were just exploring. That reminds me!" She exclaimed, "Do you have a friend named Jasmine? I was with her on the blimp ride from Valencia Island to Viridian City."

"You ran into Jaz?" Aaron questioned, scrunching his nose in confusion.

"Yeah, she's really cool. Why?"

The attendant that was still sitting behind the desk cleared their throat. "Ariana," they called, drawing Ari's attention. They gestured to the hallway behind Ari with a strained expression.

Ari looked over her shoulder and back at the attendant, "Sorry Avery, but could you let me know when my Uncle's done with his battle?" She asked.

Avery shook their head, "I will, Ariana."

Ari waved for Aaron to follow behind her, striding down the hall to a door on the left. She opened it, allowing Aaron to walk in first.

Aaron looked at the room, both walls covered in rock that mimicked natural formations you'd find in the wild, complete with little caves dotting the formation. He turned back to Ari, "So, Ariana-"

"Do not call me Ariana. The only people who call me Ariana are my grandparents, my aunts and uncles that I'm not extremely close with, and everyone that works for my Uncle Forrest. My parents only call me Ariana when they're mad at me," she said with a huff.

Thea barked in agreement, setting off Charmander to try to get as far away from Thea without letting go of Aaron.

Aaron shook his head, "It's alright, Charmander. Thea isn't gonna hurt you."

"She might, she bit the distortion world out of my finger cause I woke her up from her nap the other day," Ari complained, giving Thea the stink eye.

Thea barked softly, sticking her nose up in the air and trotting forward. Aaron looked back and forth on each side of the walls, seeing the occasional small pokemon poke its head out of one of the caves.

"So is this what was added in the huge renovation?" He asked.

"Yeah, Mount Moon has become a bit more treacherous with all the mining operations going on there. Apparently, they get injured pokemon coming down from there to the Pokemon Center all the time, so to help out, and I guess to add a little tribute to my dad, parts of the gym have been turned into rehabilitation centers. This area," Ari gestured to the room, "is for all of the pokemon who are in the final stages in their recovery and are prepping to head back home-" a sandshrew rolled out of one of the caves close to the ground, waddling over towards Thea- "like that sandshrew down there."

"So this is like a giant pokemon center with a gym inside?"

"Pretty much," she answered with a shrug.

Sandshrew jumped back out of the way of Thea's playful lunge, its claws scratching against the floor causing Aaron to wince.

"Aren't you literally around pokemon all day?" She asked, noticing his wince.

"Yeah, and I love them. I just hate the sound when a pokemon with claws scratches against the floor."

Ari snorted, "Then you'd hate living with Thea." She snapped her fingers and Thea ran back over towards her, keeping just at Ari's heel as they walked through the room.

Ari opened the door to a large open area. She stood on thin metal scaffolding that weaved into catwalks in the upper reaches. She waved Aaron forwards and onto one of the catwalks that reached over the middle of the room.

He reached out and joined his friend on the bridge, the only clue to his nervousness being the white-knuckled grip he had around railings.

"This is my favorite place to hang out," Ari said, sitting down and letting her legs dangle off the catwalk. Aaron slowly moved to match her relaxed posture, still holding the rail tightly.

"Is this the main arena? Where all the gym battles are?" He asked.

"Yup. I've been up here a lot this time around, especially since we've got all the hype of the new league season."

Aaron nodded, looking down as gym trainers cleared the battlefield from the last battle.

"Ari."

Ari jumped to her feet, "Hey Uncle Forrest!"

Aaron didn't jump to his feet with as much enthusiasm but still stood up to stand at Ari's side.

Forrest shook his head at his niece. Aaron had seen the Pewter Gym Leader a few times as a child, through meetings, or the weekend he'd spent in Pewter City last year with his father. But even then Aaron hadn't interacted with him more than a brief introduction.

"It's Aaron, right?" He asked the young trainer.

He nodded in confirmation.

"I'm afraid we haven't interacted much. I believe the last time you were in my city was last year for a weekend, and even then I was more focused on my brother's visit and the check-in from your father. But, remembering how your sisters performed against me, I'm expecting big things from you, Ketchum."

He nodded again, and Charmander growled happily.

"I have an open spot this afternoon. Around four, would you be able to make that?"

"That sounds great!"

Ari raised an eyebrow at her uncle, "You have open spots?"

"I've reduced my amount of challenges, so the other gym leaders, like your girlfriend-"

"Raina and I are not dating!" She protested, her face flushed a deep red.

"-aren't overwhelmed by challengers. I had an open spot this afternoon so I'm offering it to Aaron."

"That feels like nepotism," she said.

"Nepotism would be allowing you to be up here in the first place because you're my niece. Aaron, on the other hand, happened to be in the right place before I started accepting public reservations for that afternoon battle," Forrest explained, looking at Aaron and Charmander, "But believe me, do not expect an easy fight because your father is the Champion. In fact, based on your sisters, I might have to make it a bit trickier."


"Are we there yet?"

"I expected that more out of Mer than I did out of you," Darcy said over her shoulder.

Jasmine glanced between them, "Is this some sibling joke that I'm missing?"

Brendan opened his mouth but shut it as they crested the hill they were climbing, "Is that it?"

Jasmine held up a hand to shade her eyes from the sunlight, "Yup, that's it."

Darcy looked over the city, "Smaller than I thought it'd be," she commented.

"Yeah, especially after coming out of Viridian City," Brendan said as the trio began to descend into the streets.

"Pewter City has always been pretty small, while Viridian has always been the biggest," Jasmine explained. "Not everything is big like in Hoenn."

"Hoenn isn't that big," Darcy countered.

"Don't you guys have the biggest tech corporation in like, the world?"

"That has nothing to do with the size of the cities, though," Brendan said confusedly, sticking on the sidewalk, closest to the shops and cafes that lined the streets.

"Actually, it does," Darcy interjected, earning a frown from her brother as she took Jasmine's side."The Devon Corporation employs a huge portion of the urban populations-"

"Words we can understand, Dar-Dar."

She rolled her eyes, "A bunch of people that live in big cities work for the Devon Corporation."

Jasmine held back a snort, "You're telling me you couldn't understand what she was saying?"

Brendan was taken aback, "N-no, no, I know exactly what she was saying, I just know that she gets carried away in all of the technical stuff-"

"She made perfect sense to me."

"Thank you, though I do have to add, the biggest tech corporation in the world is RotoTech, which is based in Galar," Darcy corrected.

Brendan shook his head, "Dar-Dar," he sighed.

The trio explored the city, slowly maneuvering through the streets. As the sun began to sink lower into the sky, they snagged a table at a nearby restaurant.

Jasmine and Brendan shoveled food in their mouth, looking as though they hadn't eaten in days. Darcy took a slow approach to her dinner, savoring the flavors of the Kantonian cuisine.

"So should we head to the gym next?" Jasmine suggested, swallowing her food and washing it down with water.

"I think it's a bit late to head over there."

"It's only like three-forty-five," Brendan pointed out.

Darcy shook her head, "The last gym battle for the day has probably already happened."

"Well, I mean, there's only one way to find out."


"So what you're saying is that that organization that's been gathering in the Orange Islands is connected to the people who attacked you as a child?"

"I mean, it's not that shocking. We've heard that these people aren't fond of Champions."

The arrangement was more informal than the summit that had been held the other day. It was the same table that had been used earlier, but with two extra seats. Two were filled by Elaine and Ash, and four by the Kantonian Elite Four. The remaining eight seats were filled by holographic projections of the Kalosian and Alolan Elite Fours.

"Honestly," one of the Kantonian Elite Four members began. Her short, orange-red hair was tied at the nape of her neck, and her pin, which had the Kantonian Crest in the center and had small engravings of the other league crests on two of the points. "I'm just shocked that we're hearing about this first."

Ash side-eyed her, "That makes me sound like I keep my Elite Four in the dark."

"You kind of do."

Elaine shifted in her seat, "Well, I think we should be a bit more focused on how these people have connections with people who have remained virtually unfindable to the Rangers, G-Men, and what's left of the International Police."

"Not to mention the investigators that some of us were in charge of," one of the holograms added.

"Thank you, Elaine and Lana," Ash said.

"The fact that these people have remained under the radar for this long should be the most concerning part. Team Flare wasn't detected until Lysandre jumped on top of Prism Tower, and that almost resulted in the destruction of Kalos!" Another hologram said.

"I agree with Korrina. This kind stuff, the not knowing about criminal organizations, is pretty much the reason we had the Team Plasma incident, like-"

"18 years ago," one of the non-holographic people said. Her monotone voice matched her bland appearance. Her clothes reflected little of her personality, except her preference of a dark pink and her position.

"Thank you, Sabrina. Anyway-"

"But how have they been involved with a very active organization that we've been keeping an eye on for months, and still haven't been found?"

"Aren't you the one whose husband lives between Kanto and the Orange Islands?" One of the other Kantonian Elite Four, a woman whose red hair was tied into an elegant low ponytail, asked the orange-haired trainer.

She looked around the room, earning questioning looks from people both in person and holographic. "For your information, Lorelei, Tracey is trying to repair his relationship with Raina, I haven't talked to him recently because of that."

"So are we somewhat in the dark because you have a horrible relationship with your daughter?"

Ash glanced over at her, "Well I mean-"

"First of all! Raina chooses not to talk to me-"

"Misty, she literally-"

"Shut," she snapped at Ash, "Secondly, why the hell would Tracey be investigating some criminal organization! He's an artist, not a spy!"

"Then-"

Korrina shook her head, "Malva, trust me, back off."

Ash shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. Elaine looked around the room, "Lana, Mina, Acerola, Kahili, have you guys noticed anything strange in Alola?"

"Why Alola-"

All of the Alolan Elite Four shook their heads. Lana cleared her throat, "Nope. Aside from the occasional Ultra Beast encounter; Lillie has been getting better at detecting them so we clear them out faster."

"Nothing criminal?"

"Other than occasional vandalism by Team Skull, nothing. We'll keep an eye on it though." Kahili explained, earning nods from Acerola and Mina.

Ash nodded at his daughter with an impressed smile. He turned back to everyone else, "We know they're more active, and we've seen the number of Team Rocket loyalists involved with them growing more in the past few weeks. Any chance we might be able to get extra security for the Master Class and the Kalos League next month?" Ash directed the question towards Korrina.

"We could get more for the League. Master Class is up to the showcase committee, so Serena gets the final word on that," Korrina answered.

He nodded, making a note to himself.

"There is one thing that has been going on that should be of concern," Malva announced, drawing confused glances from the other Kalosian Elite Four.

Ash's brow furrowed, and Elaine shifted in her seat, suddenly feeling like there was a new weight on her shoulders. "Go ahead."

"Some of the old channels that Team Flare used to use have been in use this past week. I thought it was someone coming across it by mistake since they've been out of use since Aliana, Bryony, Celosia, and Mable joined Xerosic in prison. But they're being used for communications again."

Ash felt his skin crawl, "By who?"

"I'm not sure. But it might have something to do with our anti-champion group."

"Keep an eye on it. If you can pinpoint anything, let me know immediately."

She nodded.

Ash felt his head start to pound. A combination of stress and the lack of sleep was starting to take its toll, most likely. He stood up, mumbling something about needing air, and walked out of the room.

Pikachu, who'd been sitting on the table for the entirety of the meeting, looked on in concern for his trainer, watching as Ash left the room. The Electric Mouse pokemon glanced back at Elaine, who fidgeted uncomfortably as the attention went on to her.

Ash pushed the doors open, causing both guards on either side to flinch.

The hall felt cooler than the meeting room as he walked. The light streaming in from the windows provided a welcome change from the artificial lamps that illuminated nearly every room that he worked in.

Ash found himself staring out at the landscape of Indigo Plateau, looking out at the crisscrossing paths that sliced through the land. He felt his RotomPhone in his pocket, drawing it out and clicking on one of his contacts.

"He's been gone for barely forty-eight hours, don't tell me that you're already suffering from the empty nest," Serena said with a slight laugh in her voice.

"It's just been a while since I've had one of them out on their own. Elaine's with me almost full time, Sarah's a Ranger Cadet, and Laura is training under Iris out in Unova. They've all settled in."

There was a pause from Serena, "Is there something bugging you?"

"No, just," he sighed, "stress, I guess."

"I know that voice, what's wrong?" Serena interrogated.

"Nothing's wrong," Ash assured her, but he could imagine that she was rolling her eyes.

"Is it about Aaron, or something bigger?"

"I don't know. Both maybe?" Ash said with a sigh. He looked around to see if there was anyone around him. "On top of realizing that I've essentially failed in my one goal as a Champion and a father."

"What?! Back up, what happened?"

"Elaine's attackers are out there. Remember that anti-champion group I was telling you about, they're part of that," Ash said, his voice becoming hoarse.

Serena answered with a shaky breath that the speaker barely picked up, "And everything else?"

"What if I hadn't become a Champion? If I'd just stayed a normal trainer and passed the Alolan title onto someone else? I might've actually been able to go out there, I might be able to actually protect our kids."

"There's something else in there," Serena concluded, giving a pause.

"What else could possibly be there?"

"You're thinking about what the world did for you. Lance stood by and did barely anything during all of the Team Rocket stuff, Steven and Wallace stood by during everything in Hoenn," she said, "Cynthia actually made an effort, but Team Galactic and Hunter J were still able to wreak havoc and everything in Unova-"

Ash narrowed his eyes at the ground.

"Diantha tried but barely anyone besides Officer Jenny did anything for us with the malamars, and no one saw Lysandre coming."

"Kukui at least tried," Ash offered, "he always tried to make sure that us kids were as safe as possible when everything around us turned chaotic."

"And is that not what you're trying to do for Aaron?"

"How in the world did you get that good at reading me?" He asked with a bit of a lighter tone.

"Sixteen years of being married helps immensely. Also, I should mention, the Showcase Committee wants me in Kalos early, something about Vivienne not being ready."

"So I'll see you in two days?"

"Assuming you have time."

"I can make some. Love you, Sere."

"Love you too."


"Ready?"

"Charmander!"

Aaron scratched Charmander's head, moving towards the gym. The shadow was now on the other side of the building as the sun hung low in the sky. He chuckled at a quip he'd pieced together in his head about how it looked like the sun was setting on the gym.

He inhaled, setting his shoulders back as he walked inside.

Avery looked up from their work, "Gym Leader Forrest is waiting for you," they said pointing to a different hallway than the one Ari had led him down earlier.

"Thanks," he said over his shoulder as he walked down.

In contrast, there wasn't wild pokemon scampering back and forth like there had been in the other hall. It was more standardized, with a new, manufactured feel to it. The bright, artificial lights nearly gave him a headache.

There'd been a couple of times when he was a kid where he'd park himself in front of the TV or his computer screen, watching and taking notes on every battle he could find. It would get to the point where he'd have to be reminded to eat on some occasions.

He'd always get these pounding headaches that would drive him nuts. He could barely make out his notes sometimes. But he could spend hours in the sun and not feel a thing, even when he stared up at the bright sun that would shine over Alola in the late summer.

Sick of his mom's lectures, he'd talked to his dad about it. He'd admitted to something similar. There was something about sunlight, about adventure, he'd said, that inside lights couldn't replace. And then Aaron had been scolded for spending so much time on a screen from his dad too.

He pushed open a heavy door, leading out into a massive battlefield that looked as though it had been carved out from one of the faces of Mt. Moon. It had looked so much smaller from the catwalk above.

There was a man dressed in black and white who stood in a box that was in line with the center of the field. He gestured towards Aaron to take his spot in the trainer's box, so naturally that it looked practiced.

Aaron could describe his current self as everything but practiced. His hands shook, and his fingers twitched. His shirt collar suddenly became itchier and he fought the urge to scratch at it.

"I'm assuming this is your first battle," Forrest said as he walked out onto the battlefield.

"That's really kinda sad for the son of a tri-regional champion!" Ari's voice chimed from overhead.

"Ari," Forrest sighed. He turned back to Aaron, "Am I right?"

Aaron nodded.

Forrest gave him a slight smile, "Well, I'll keep that in mind. But I should establish, that fire sprinkler up there," Aaron looked up, along with Ari, who sat with her legs dangling over the catwalk, "is off-limits. Just in case you hoped to reuse one of your father's early strategies."

Aaron raised his eyebrow and nodded slowly, making a note to ask his father about it later.

The referee looked to both sides and nodded.

"This will be a standard Gym Battle between Pewter City Gym Leader: Forrest Harrison, and challenger Aaron Ketchum from Pallet-"

"Actually, it's Hau'oli City," Aaron corrected.

"You were born in Alola?"

"Yeah," he admitted, "I grew up there too, and I've only lived in Kanto for a few months."

"Apologies, I just assumed-"

"A lot of people do, I'm used to it. Anyway, Hau'oli City, continue."

The referee nodded, "Challenger Aaron Ketchum from Hau'oli City. Both sides will be allowed to use two pokemon-"

Aaron glanced down at Charmander, awkwardly avoiding eye contact.

"-for this match. Substitutions will not be permitted. Do both sides acknowledge the terms?"

Aaron nodded.

"Then, battle begin!"

Forrest took out a pokeball and turned it over in his palm. "I will accommodate your lack of experience-"

There's a catch, Aaron thought.

"-but of course, there are expectations you have to live up to."

Aaron nodded.

"Geodude! Ready to rumble!"

Forrest tossed the pokeball high into the air. A red beam of light spilled out from the contraption, landing close between the middle of Forrest's half of the battlefield. The light formed a glowing red sphere, and two limbs split off from it.

The light died away as the pokemon materialized. Aaron recognized the rocky locking pokemon immediately, already working out a plan to try to beat it with just Charmander.

"Geodude!" It growled, slamming both rocky fists on the ground and kicking up little clouds of dust around himself.

Charmander looked up at Aaron, with slight worry on his face.

Aaron knelt down to make eye contact with his partner, "Don't worry Charmander. I've got a plan and I promise not to let you get hurt too badly."

His words seemed to have worked because Charmander's skeptical expression gave way to a confident one. Aaron grinned.

"Charmander, I choose you!"

Charmander leaped forward onto the battlefield, growing at Geodude and baring his claws.

"Challenger is allotted the first attack!" The referee shouted from the sideline.

Forrest gestured towards Aaron with a nod.

The young trainer took a breath, "Charmander!" He commanded, shocked by the confidence his voice portrayed. "Use Scratch!"

Charmander's claws gained a white, glowing sheen as the small Lizard Pokemon charged towards Geodude. Forrest narrowed his eyes, studying Charmander, and doing nothing for Geodude as Charmander's claws scraped against the Rock Pokemon's exterior.

Aaron found himself on edge as he saw Forrest's slight nod after Charmander's attack. "Geodude," Forrest commanded, "Use Roll Out."

Geodude tucked its rocky arms close to its sides and closed its eyes. The Rock Pokemon's entire body took on a glowing light as it began to roll quickly towards Charmander.

"Dodge it!" Aaron yelled.

Charmander just barely slipped out of the way of Geodude, grabbing his flame-tipped tail to make sure he wasn't hit.

He looked up at Forrest, who seemed impressed by Charmander's speed. Geodude was now in the corner of the field, and Charmander was careful not to turn his back to it.

Aaron found himself already thinking through strategies he heard and seen over the years, trying to find one that fits. Nothing that he'd seen used against Grant would work for Geodude. Those strategies required moves with rocks falling from the sky, not one that was charging at you.

He tried remembering back to the few times he'd watched Olivia battle in Alola, but that wouldn't work either, since Olivia and her Lycanroc were more speed based and Probopass was more focused on reflecting attacks that opponents sent towards them.

But Roll Out gets Geodude further away from Forrest, and once it's on a path it can't change mid-roll, he thought.

Forrest stayed silent, the more experienced battler in him screaming to take advantage of the opening that Aaron had provided; but the gym leader told him to wait until he made a move.

Aaron's face lit up as he finally found his angle. "Charmander, use Scratch again!"

"Counter with Roll Out!"

He crossed his arms confidently, "Charmander, jump up and try to strike from behind."

Charmander jumped into the air, letting Geodude roll unimpeded below him, and dropped to the ground, claws extended to scratch at Geodude.

The Rock Pokemon continued to roll. Finally reaching his end goal and bringing his arms out. Forrest's eyes widened as he saw a clear scratch mark had sliced into Geodude's rocky skin. Barely missing its eyes.

Aaron beamed with confidence. "Scratch again!" He shouted.

"Geodude, Defense Curl!" Forrest countered.

Charmander charged forward again. His claws gained a glow from the move and from the fluorescent lighting above.

Geodude, however, simply curled itself up. Aaron's first thought was that Defense Curl was a trick to lure Charmander in and then hit it with Roll Out. He tried remembering if he'd seen that tactic before.

Charmander's claws did nothing to Geodude this time. Barely grazing the rocky shell.

Aaron narrowed his eyes in frustration. He knew that Scratch wouldn't work for long, but he wasn't expecting Forrest to shut him down that quickly. I guess he was right about giving me a challenge, Aaron thought.

"Use Sandstorm!" Forrest called out.

Geodude slammed its fists on the ground rhythmically. Clouds of sand that rose up from the battlefield became larger. And Aaron found himself in a panic.

He knew very well that he had almost no chance in the sandstorm. It blocked Charmander's vision, his vision, and even dealt minor damage too.

He inhaled to compose himself, remembering Kayda telling him to stay on his toes.

The sandstorm slowly grew to encompass the entire battlefield, except for Aaron, Forrest, and the referee.

Aaron had almost forgotten Ari was watching from above until he heard coughing echo off the high reaches of the room.

"Roll Out!" Forrest yelled.

Aaron flinched as he heard Charmander yelp in pain. His mind ran through every solution he could use, but there weren't many. He hadn't expected to face Sandstorm this early on.

"This is probably really stupid," he muttered under his breath. "Charmander! Use Ember to light up the space around you!"

Charmander cried out, but confidently this time. Not in pain. Small areas of the sandstorm began to glow a warm orange. Aaron almost sighed in relief.

Forrest raised an eye at this tactic. He wasn't quite sure what Aaron was aiming to accomplish with it, but it was something creative. He'd seen what Aaron's sisters were capable of at similar experience levels.

"Use Roll Out again!" Forrest commanded.

"Try to see where he's coming from and use Scratch!" Aaron yelled.

The storm still obscured the battlefield, but a pained growl gave Aaron newfound confidence.

Aaron's strategy finally clicked in Forrest's head. He was impressed by the creativity, trying to remember if any other trainers had done that in recent memory.

"Now keep using Ember and light up the whole battlefield! And when you find Geodude, use Scratch!" Aaron hollered, his voice sounding scratchy from the yelling he'd been doing.

More orange glows began to appear within the sandstorm, cluing both trainers into Charmander's path, but the nature of the storm was everchanging, and neither could pinpoint exactly where he was.

Aaron knew that Charmander had hit its mark when he heard a pained groan from Geodude echo throughout the room.

He smirked, "Last one Charmander, hit him hard!"

"Geodude, use-"

There was a slam against the battlefield and both trainers held their breath as the sandstorm began to subside. Ari's sputtering coughs, along with angered barks from Thea could be heard from above.

"Thanks a lot for the sand in my eye!" She shouted.

"You chose to sit up there!"

The sandstorm died down, with the last few grains falling back onto the field. Charmander stood victorious, one of his stubby arms raised above his head in triumph. Geodude lay on its side, spirals in its eyes.

"Alright Charmander!" Aaron cheered.

"You still have one more of my pokemon to beat," Forrest reminded him.

"Bring it on!"


"What do you mean he's about to leave?"

Avery shook their head, "Sorry, Gym Leader Forrest has some business out of region to attend to. The battle happening right now is going to be one of the last one for the next two weeks."

"Well, who's he battling?" Jasmine asked.

Avery looked around, thinking for a moment. "Aaron Ketchum, actually," they said slowly.

"Aaron's already here? Dang, that was quick."

Avery raised an eyebrow, "You- you know him?"

"I'm one of his best friends!"

"Tori and Ry are my best friends!" Someone called from the hallway.

"Rude," Jasmine snapped as the person came out of the hall.

Aaron crossed his arms, with Charmander perched on his shoulder. Ari and Thea stood just behind him, and little grains of sand stood out in her dark hair like little flecks of gold.

"Okay fine, you're up there," he resolved, seeing Jasmine's glare.

"I should hope so, I've known you since I was seven," she retorted with a grin. "Hey, Ari! What's up with the hair?"

Ari shook her head, with little grains of sand falling out like a golden waterfall. "Somebody ended up making my uncle use Sandstorm."

"You were the one who sat up in the catwalks," he countered.

"Hush."

"Your uncle is the Gym Leader?" Brendan asked.

"Yup."

Aaron paused, making eye contact with Brendan, "You two are the guys that were outside the Pokemon Center in Viridian City!"

"That was you?!" Brendan exclaimed.

"Yeah, it was. Also, battling legacies aren't a thing."

"Totally are!"

"As a Ketchum," Aaron proclaimed, "Totally aren't. Also Jaz, your parents let you go?"

Jasmine shifted her weight between her feet, "It's a bit more complicated."

"You ran away from home."

"Did not! I simply grabbed the resources that were going to be provided to me but were not and used them in order to start my journey."

"So you ran away from home without telling your parents but you grabbed all the stuff they would've given had they let you go on your way out?"

"You suck," she pouted. "You knew they wouldn't have let me go otherwise."

"Fair."

"I have so many new questions," Brendan said.

Aaron looked back at him, "I should probably better introduce myself. I'm Aaron, Aaron Ketchum."

"Brendan Hayden and this is my little sister Darcy. And I have a twin sister Meredith," Brendan said, putting an arm around his sister.

"Battler, too young, and I'm guessing your twin might be a coordinator?"

"Dang, how'd you know?"

"I asked my sister about it. Said my parents knew yours. And I guessed."

Brendan nodded slowly, "Sorry to ask but, uh, are you and Jasmine staying with Darcy and I or…"

"I don't see why not."

Jasmine elbowed Brendan in the shoulder, "Can't get rid of me that easy. Of course, we're hanging around."


"Hey, mom!"

"Aaron, good to hear from you," Serena said, arranging some of her clothes in one of her suitcases.

"Are you busy?"

"No, just packing. Showcase Committee wants me in Kalos early," she said, switching out one blouse for another.

"Chairwoman stuff?"

"Joys of it, how's Pewter City. Your dad said you were over there."

"Charmander and I are good. We got the Boulder Badge!"

Serena beamed, "Really? That's amazing. Faster than your dad got it. I don't even think Laura got it that quick. What'd you do?"

"Geodude. And then a Dwebble."

"He went easy on you?"

"Dwebble was easy because of Ember. Geodude was the tricky part."

"That's new. Usually, Forrest takes out a weaker one to get his bearings on strategy first. Or at least that's what I heard from Elaine and Laura."

"Sarah never challenged him?"

"She had some struggles before becoming a Ranger Cadet. Didn't she tell you that she was a coordinator for a few months?"

"I've been lied to!"

Serena shook her head, "I'm sure she just assumed that you knew."

"But who beat him first?"

"Laura did. Laura had the headstart. She clicked into being a battler faster than Elaine did. Took Elaine about three tries to do it."

"So I beat Dad and Elaine?"

"You could say that. Any traveling companions yet?"

"Yup, Jaz, and two from Hoenn. Brendan and Darcy Ha-"

"Oh, May's kids. It's been a while since I've talked to her, probably about a year or so. Are you on your way to Cerulean City?"

"We're waiting to see if Brendan's twin sister Meredith is going to show up for the Contest in the next few days."

Serena zipped up the suitcase she had just finished packing. Patting the top of it in satisfaction. "Sounds good. Have you told your dad?"

"I'm gonna, right after this."

"Well, then. Be safe. Be careful. And good luck, Aaron. I love you."

"Love you, Mom."

"And don't forget to-"

"You're on speaker Mom!"

Serena chuckled. "I was going to say, mind your manners."

"Yes, Mom. I know."

"Call me after you beat Raina, promise?"

"Promise!"


A/N: While it was plot-heavy in the sense of Aaron gaining his first Gym Badge, and our brief scenes with Elaine and the other members of the Elite Four, I wanted to focus somewhat on the relationships between the groups and the relationship between Aaron and his family.

If anyone is curious about a complete list of Champions and Elite Fours, I finalized that a week or so ago, so I'd be happy to share if anyone asks.

We've also been introduced to our main baddies. Unfortunately, with Team Rocket long disbanded, they can't reprise their roles as the main villains. But The Reformers have aspects of their own.

Onto the review!

cricketlaxwolvesbandy - I'm glad you like them. They're really fun to write with and most of my friends in real life adore Brendan particularly.

And sorry for OOC May, I realize in hindsight she's slight OOC. I needed something compelling for the arc I wanted for the Hoenn siblings. And if you look at in-universe (while I haven't talked about it much) Contests are slowly slipping out of fashion. They're becoming less popular in Kanto, Johto, and somewhat in Hoenn. Dawn's influence has kept them going in Sinnoh, for now. And a rising coordinating star from Sinnoh has been keeping them popular in Unova (she'll be introduced later). And as for the rest of the world, Contest and Showcases have slowly mixed together in Kalos, and combinations were set up in Alola and Galar, all under Serena's oversight. May is trying to keep something that she adores from disappearing, and she's hoping that by encouraging her kids to be coordinators (even if she's somewhat doing it forcefully) that she can bring some relevance back to Hoennian Contests. (Whew, that was long).

And, it's just the kids that aren't sure who Serena is. May is well aware that Serena and Ash are married, considering she was at the wedding. And I found it natural that all of them don't keep in touch much. They're all adults and they have lives of their own. And Aaron had heard of her, it just hadn't stuck in his memory.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you guys all have great days.

-Shal out.