Last Time, Ash had his sixth gym battle earning himself the jet badge, Missile gets another mission get the other half of the Light Stone, the first half already being in Team Rocket's possession, it is too cold to fly there, so Missile has to take it by foot, but seeing an opportunity to get back Snivy, he disguises himself as Cody and joins Ash and the gang on their travels.

Ash and the gang, plus Cody, were traveling to Iccirus, but something stopped them…

*growl* "Welp you know what that means" Ash said, scratching the back of his head.

"You're hungry?" Iris said, sweat dropping.

"Yep!" Ash said, proudly.

"Does this happen a lot?" Cody asked.

"More like all the time" Cilan responded.

Cilan cooked up some food, and everyone got around to eat.

"Hey Cody we should let our pokemon out to know each other" Ash suggested.

"Well, I Uh" Cody stuttered out, that was another unnecessary risk on top of this already massive unnecessary risk.

"Come on, it'll be fun!" Iris went on.

"It's always nice to be out in the fresh air" Cilan added.

Cody was silent for a bit, but after a while. "Fine" He complied, he released all six of his pokemon, while Ash and the gang released theirs.

"This is gonna be a meeting of the times" Ash said.

The two groups were dead silent, unsure what to do. The gang's pokemon outnumber Cody's two to one, but Cody's were undeniably stronger and fiercer.

Suddenly Pikachu stepped forward. 'Hi, I'm Pikachu, it's nice to meet you' Extending a paw.

Bisharp stepped forward as well. 'Bisharp, nice to meet you too' He said, not completely sincere, but still shaking the mouse's paw anyway.

'Well, I see no problems' Whirlipede said, albeit naively, rolling up to Volcarona. 'Sorry for the battle yesterday, no hard feelings right?'

'None at all' Volcarona responded, scowling.

At this point the ice had been throughly broken, so everyone was just conversing with each other, Deino, Axew, and Braviary were talking to Druddigon. Pikachu and Emolga were having a spark competition with Eelecktross. Pansage and Excadrill were having a discussion about sandals with Gothitelle. Whirlipede, and Crustle were trying to talk to Volcarona, but she wasn't interested. Krokorok and Oshawott were chatting with Mienshao, while Servine and Bisharp were off to the side.

'Everyone's just gone off already' Servine said, a little surprised by everyone else's carelessness.

'What? Something wrong with us?' Bisharp asked, intrigued.

'Oh no, it's got nothing you, I'm pretty sure, it's just that something about all you feel so familiar'

'Really?' Bisharp said, becoming more interested.

'I don't really want to get you involved, it's kind of a personal thing'

'It's alright, we all have some stuff to hide' Bisharp said, he too could feel a sense of familiarity, but only towards Servine, and then it clicked. 'No way'

'What?' Servine asked, turning to find a look of shock on Bisharp's face.

'Oh it's nothing, just had something in my nose' Bisharp said.

'Alright then' Servine said, walking to join the others.

Bisharp looked at the sky, trying to process the new information. So that's why we're doing this, some people just can't let go can they?

Now to Oshawott, Krokorok, and Mienshao…

'So what do you guys like to do?' Mienshao asked.

'Sleep'

'Train'

'That's interesting' Mienshao said.

'Oh come on you don't have to lie, we all know that Krokorok's sleeping is nothing but him being incredibly lazy!' Oshawott said, aggressively.

'Look I said I was sorry' Krokorok replied.

'Sorry doesn't fix everything you know' Oshawott said, arms crossed.

'Do you know how I could make it up to him?' Krokorok asked Mienshao, desperation filled his voice.

'I don't know I've only known you two for two minutes' Mienshao responded, shrugging.

'I'm gonna go talk to him' Krokorok said, walking behind the otter.

'Why are trying to be so nice all of the sudden?' Oshawott asked.

'Because I feel sorry, genuinely sorry, I actual do regret all those things I said' Krokorok poured out.

Oshawott stood up and spoke. 'Look, I know you are sorry, and I appreciate it, but I still can't find it in me to forgive you' Oshawott said walking away.

Krokorok looked at the otter sadly. 'What can I do?'

'Just give him some time, he'll come around eventually' Mienshao advised.

Gothitelle had gone off on her own, and Volcarona was destroying some trees in the nearby forest.

'Not happy about this?' Gothitelle asked.

'What does it look like?' Volcarona said harshly, destroying another tree.

'Is it the cold? The other's pokemon? Or maybe Derik's overly trusting attitude?'

'How about all of the above!? I mean come on! Going through this cold is bad enough, but with them? It's terrible!'

'I know, it was pretty stupid of Derik to put us in this situation, we could have our cover blown easily' Gothitelle said.

'It doesn't help that they're outsiders, and I don't like outsiders, you never know if they're good or will stab you in the back'

'I don't think the others have the guts to do that'

'And yet you and me thought Derik wouldn't be dumb enough to do this anyway'

'Fair point, you can never really know someone's true intentions, not until it's too late to do anything about it though'

'Point is, we should all stick together and stay as distant as possible from those guys, especially Mienshao and Druddigon, they can a little too trusting at times'

'Right, Druddigon's a bit of an airhead, and Mienshao is too kind, we have to be ready to go against them, and maybe even Derik'

'For their sakes, and ours, you get Eelektross and Bisharp, I'll find a concealed place to talk, we'll try to convince Druddigon and Mienshao later'

'This is for their sakes, nothing more, okay? I don't want you roasting them all alive, and leaving a massive trail of blunders'

'Yes, it is, but just because I can't destroy them, doesn't mean I can't mess with them' Volcarona smirked, Gothitelle teleported away, and Volcarona flew off.

Back to camp…

'Come on Pikachu you got this!' Emolga cheered from the sidelines.

'Is that all you got Eelektross?' Bisharp encouraged?

Pikachu and Eelektross were seeing how much of a shock they could make, Emolga, Whirlipede, Crustle, Braviary, Axew, and Bisharp were watching.

'Oh ho ho, this is a big one' Eelektross said, gathering his electric power he shocked the surrounding area, singeing all the grass around him.

'I can do better than that' Pikachu said, discharging a massive bolt, shocking everything in a twenty five meter radius around himself.

*cough* *cough* 'Good one' Eelektross said, before plopping on the ground. 'Anyway, how's about I get a battle here? Come on I'll take anybody, Pikachu you wanna go?' Eelektross said, recovering quickly.

'Sure I do!' Pikachu responded.

'Guess I'll be ref' Bisharp said.

'Alright let's do this' Eelektross said.

'Good luck to you' Pikachu said.

'Battle begin!'

Eelektross started with a Flash Cannon.

Pikachu dodged and slammed into Eelektross with Quick Attack.

Eelektross came back with Rock Smash, smashing Pikachu into the ground.

Pikachu got up and slashed at Eelektross with Iron Tail.

Eelektross narrowly dodged the first strike, but got hit by a second one soon after.

Eelektross shot a Flamethrower which struck Pikachu, who shot forward with a Volt Tackle.

Eelektross dodged and shot a Flash Cannon hitting Pikachu.

Pikachu fired a Thunderbolt, to which Eelektross responded with a Thunderbolt of his own.

Their Thunderbolts collided and they both struggled to keep it up, but Eelektross eventually pushed forward, and struck Pikachu.

When the smoke cleared, Pikachu was on the ground, fainted.

'And that makes Eelektross the winner!' Bisharp announced. 'That was pretty close, he almost blew it, again'

'That was ages ago! Back when he had plot armor!' Eelektross said, breaking the 4th wall.

'Well, that was still a good battle' Pikachu said, now awake. 'That was the most exciting I had in a while'

Suddenly Gothitelle teleported in. 'Eelektross, Bisharp can you too come with me for a second?'

'Sure'

'Alright then'

'Well, see you guy later' Pikachu said.

'Alright, come on' Gothitelle then teleported herself, Bisharp, and Eelektross away.

Deep within the forest…

Gothitelle, Bisharp, and Eelektross teleported into an underground cavern, Volcarona was already there.

'So uh, why are we here?' Eelektross asked.

'To hide from the others, Mienshao, Druddigon, and especially Derik' Volcarona said.

'Okay then, why are we hiding?' Eelektross asked, more annoyed then before.

'Let her finish dang it' Bisharp said.

'We are here to discuss Derik's strange decision, Druddigon's not here for he's too dense' Gothitelle explained.

'And Mienshao would throw a wrench into this discussion, her kindness gets in the way of things' Volcarona said.

'Alright then, so what do we do about Derik's decision?' Bisharp asked.

'We must prepare for the worst' Gothitelle stated.

'And that is?' Eelektross asked.

'Isn't it obvious!?' Volcarona shouted in Eelektross' face. 'If Derik gets too close to those twerps, and especially if one of their pokemon get a little too friendly with us, our cover could easily be blown' Volcarona said.

'Ah yeah, I see where you're going with this' Eelektross said. 'Derik's hardly got anyone outside of Team Rocket close to him, now with him socializing with the twerps, they'll uncover everything, Derik's true identity, his connection to Team Rocket, he could be arrested, thrown in jail!'

'So what do we about this?' Bisharp asked. 'I doubt we could just convince him to leave'

'It's simple, we must stay as distant as possible, don't make eye contact, don't chat with them, don't be friends with them' Gothitelle said, sternly.

'And if necessary we will go against Derik's wishes, for his sake' Volcarona added. 'If it comes to it, we know what we'll have to do'

'That seems a little extreme, don't you think?' Bisharp said, knowing that Servine was the same Snivy that abandoned Derik years ago, although he didn't want to admit it, he missed her dearly. 'I mean, at the end of the day they're still just innocent kids and pokemon'

'Come on Bisharp, we've already ruined many lives in the past, and we'll do it again' Eelektross said. 'The end justifies the means'

'He's right' Gothitelle said. 'Everyone put your hands, claws, feelers, and knives in the center'

'For Derik!' They all cried.

In another part of the forest…

Excadrill was lying down on a tree.

'All these new pokemon coming is pretty tiring, think I'll just take a little nap' Excadrill said to himself, he shut his eyes and slept for a bit. Suddenly however, there was a large stomping noise, Excadrill woke up only to find that a Druddigon was shaking some trees for some reason.

'Come on, fruit get down' Druddigon said, shaking the tree as hard as he could.

'Need any help?' Excadrill asked.

'No, I'm just fine' *grunts* Druddigon head butted the tree, not a single apple fell down. 'Grah' Druddigon leaned against the tree defeated.

'You seem like you need help' Excadrill said.

'You saying I'm too weak to get some apples down from a tree?!' Druddigon roared.

'Well, yeah'

'Oh so you think you could these apples down instead?'

'No'

'Well then stop being so smug about it!' Druddigon said, punching the tree once more.

'Don't you think there's a better way to get those apples down then that? You can fly after all, don't see why you can't just pick the apples off yourself'

Druddigon's expression changed from angry, to bashful. 'Uh yeah I guess your right, I didn't think of that'

'Don't worry, happens to the best of us, I used to be like that too, unwilling to get help, trying to prove something, ramming my head into a wall thinking that'll change something, sometimes you just need to step back, think about what you're doing and approach from a different angle'

'Hmm, I guess you're right, let me try something' Druddigon flew into the trees and ripped out a branch, he tossed it to the ground and plucked the apples off.

'Nice thinking'

'You want one?'

'Sure' Excadrill took an apple, he and Druddigon sat down to eat.

Back to the camp…

"Finished" Ash said, laying back on his chair.

"Would you look at that, it's nearly night" Iris said, it was true the sun was just about to set.

"Let's bundle in for the night then" Cilan said.

"Wait where are you gonna sleep Cody?" Ash asked.

"Wherever I feel like, usually in a tree" Cody responded.

"Alright then, have fun" Ash said.

The gang went to sleep, their pokemon recalled, but Cody was still up, lying in the branches of a tree, for the past two hours he complemented just stealing Snivy and ditching the gang, but for some reason he stayed. Was it guilt? Did he think it wrong? Maybe deep down he knew that Snivy would never accept him as her trainer again. Whatever it was, he stayed put.

He noticed something odd though, there was movement in the bushes below, he kept his pokeballs locked, so it wasn't his mons, it was either wild, or one of the gang's. Curious, he hopped down quietly, and silently followed the tuft of moving grass.

"Where is this pokemon going?" He asked himself, after what felt like an hour, the pokemon slipped out of the grass and into a small clearing, revealing it to be Servine, she had broken out of her ball, and gone all this way, but why?

Cody stood back, knowing if he showed himself, Servine wouldn't do anything. She focused energy, grass started to twirl around her, and she shot forward a barrage of leaves, however they dissipated before doing any damage, weakened, Servine collapsed on the ground.

'Dang it! Why can't I do this?' She asked.

Cody stepped into the clearing from the bushes, Servine turned around to be greeted by Cody, she tensed up, never really trusting of strangers.

"Hey Snivy, it's kinda late out don't you think?" Cody said.

'Okay I know me and my pre evolution look similar, but I am a Servine' Servine said, frowning.

"Oh of course, you're a Servine, not a Snivy, sorry I just get them mixed up" And also it's hard calling you Servine since you were my Snivy for nearly a decade.

'What are you doing out here at this time anyway?' Servine asked.

"I saw you roaming the forest, and I guess it was to learn Leaf Storm huh?" Cody replied.

'Yeah I guess, ever since I lost to that Servine, I wanted to become stronger' Servine said.

"Training due to jealousy huh?" Never one to back down from a challenge Huh?

'I suppose so, the only problem is that I can't do it, it always just fizzles out, doesn't help that it weakens me significantly afterwards' Servine said.

"Hey how about this? I can help you train" Derik said.

'Really? You would do that?' Servine said, visibly surprised and a little glad.

"Yeah I would, I've traveled around, I know what berries restore your stat changes, and you've seen my team before, I know how to train" Cody said.

'Well thanks Cody, alright then let's get started!'

Servine and Derik trained together for the first time in over four years, Derik got some berries from around the place, so that they could try many times, they tried many things, balance, thinking about grass, breathing heavily, but nothing seemed to work.

'Man what am I missing?' Servine asked herself.

"I don't know why you can't do it, Leaf Storm's a move normally learned by Serperior you know, learning it early takes some serious effort" Derik said.

'Gee thanks, that's reassuring' Servine said, looking less motivated.

Derik saw this, and wondered something. Is that why she left? Never thought about that, maybe I should rethink my approach. "Of course it's nothing you can't handle, you managed to beat some pretty strong opponents in the past, ones that others would've been crushed by" Derik said.

'Thanks, that makes me feel better, I guess I have taken on some pretty strong pokemon, maybe I need to focus on the good instead of the bad'

"Ooh I got an idea, how about you try to focus on something you care about?"

'Yeah, that could work'

Servine focused on what she cared about most, her friends, grass manifested around her, using her determination she shot forward a barrage of leaves, they cut down a tree, pride rushed through the snake, she stood up happily and proudly.

"Yeah, you did it Sni- I mean Servine!"

'I did it!' Servine said, before realizing the scene she was making, she calmed down as fast as she pepped up. 'Thanks Cody, I don't know how to pay you back'

"It's no problem, really" Derik said. Doing this again after so long, it's good enough, it's almost as if you never left

'Would you look at that, the sun's rising now, sorry for making you miss your sleep' Servine said, indeed the yellow light of sunrise had appeared over the horizon.

"Ah oh well, I can stay up for long periods of time anyway, come on let's go back to camp" Derik and Servine headed back to camp.

Back with Ash and the gang…

"Man that was a good sleep" Ash said, waking up.

"I forgot what it was like to sleep outside" Said Cilan.

"Hey Ash look, Cody and Servine are coming out of the forest" Iris pointed out.

"Wonder what they were doing in there during the night" Ash said.

Cody and Servine walked up to the gang. "Morning Ash" Cody said.

"Morning Cody, what were you and Servine doing?" Ash asked.

"Servine was trying to learn Leaf Storm, so I helped her, and now she can do it" Cody explained.

"Really? Can we see?" Iris asked, excited.

'Sure' Servine charged up Leaf Storm and fired it at a boulder bursting it open.

"That's amazing" Cilan said.

"Thanks a lot Cody" Ash said.

"It was a real pleasure" Cody said.

"Well let's get moving then" Ash said.

'Yeah come on, let's go' Servine said.

"Yeah, let's" Cody said, feeling a new sense of completion, or rather an old one, that he had forgotten after so long.

If only it could last…