Disclaimer - I don't own Pokemon or any of its characters; only the idea belongs to me.


Vs. Legendary


North to Mt Moon, 14th November, 2:00 PM

After a long argument, that Gary had to forcefully break up by telling the arguing duo, that they weren't in fact lost – they just had to climb up the mountain after the point, did the group continue their journey. The two arguing individuals had huffed and followed the Pokémon researcher, even if they still had a few choice words for the other, but that could wait for later. After travelling over the small mountain and through the valley, they reached at a cliff that overlooked the Northern Mountain ranges.

"I think we should have our lunch break here" Tracy mentioned as they reached a small clearing just by the cliffside.

"Yeah, it was a long walk" Gary agreed and dropped his bag by a tree, and removed his map as well as Pokédex to check their current location "I'll check how much further we can advance on foot and from where we can start the air scout"

"I'll help!" Goh was by his side in a second, as they both carried on comparing the map and the satellite image and taking notes as and when possible.

Leaf sighed; she knew she did not fit in their group dynamics. Even if a couple of them had met just recently, they all got along fine. She on the other had stood out like a sore thumb. Though, she admits, she did not put any efforts in getting to know others in the first place, neither does she plan to; so, she turned around and left the group on their own, walking into the dense forest. Only a pair of Viridian eyes noticed her disappering figure in the forest.

The remaining three got busy trying to fix themselves some lunch, thought that was a bit difficult with two of the trio being mad at each other.

"Tracey, tell him to pass me the twig"

"Tracey, tell her not everyone hates carrots, so don't throw them out!"

"Tracey, tell him not to mix all the Pokéblocks together, some are made specifically for a kind of Pokémon!"

"Tracey, tell her to not burn down the whole stew"

"Enough you two!" Tracey finally snapped, it was tiring to deal with grumpy a Ash and a pissed Misty as is, but to deal with their cold fire was even more irritating – especially for those around them. "If you two don't stop that right now, no lunch for either of you." He declared.

Gary sniggered from his place against the tree, even while doing his work he had his ears to the drama happening only a few feet's away.

Goh on the other hand was amused. He had met many of Ash's friends and travelling companions as well as rivals; but no one brought out the childish and irrational side of Ash as effectively as Misty did. Goh had seen Ash in more of Veteran light – one who knows what he is doing, even if sometimes that is completely out of box, but Ash can pull off the most ridiculous of strategies with precision of an Ace trainer. The Ash he had seen on road was mature, understanding and always ready to help; but this is a new face of the same Ash he had seen till now. Though his goofiness still persists, this Ash is a lot more relaxed and childish, and that is very entertaining according to Goh.

"Shut it, Gary!" Ash and Misty snapped at him simultaneously; hearing the other's same reaction, they look at each other, a silent agreement passed between the two, that turned into a sinister grin the next second. Tracey saw the sudden change in their facial expression, but thought better to not say anything.

"Lunch is ready!" He announced to the two researchers, who got up to join the trio.

"I'll get Leaf" Gary said when he saw she was still not back. "You guys continue."

It was then that the other's realised she was not present anywhere near the camp. Ash wanted to offer coming to look for her, but Gary gave him a reassuring smile. The others nodded, deciding that Gary would bring Leaf back while they started serving.

Gary made his way in the same direction he had seen her leave, passing a few trees, he came across another clearing where he found her, resting against a tree with her Espeon by her side. Feeling another human approaching, the Espeon got up, ready to defend its unsuspecting trainer.

"It's okay Espeon, he can't hurt me" Leaf said, her eyes still close. Espeon, listening to her trainer, backed down a bit, though her sharp eyes did not leave Gary, ready to pounce if he decided to try anything funny.

"The lunch is ready; Everyone is waiting for you." He informed her, coming straight to the point. That got leaf to open her eyes and sit straighter; it seemed she did not intend to move from her place at all.

He had felt it, the disconnect that was there. Leaf wasn't mingling with their group of friends at all, she wasn't even trying. And even though he had observed that, Gary thought it was better not mentioned it; he has realised, the Leaf travelling with them now didn't resemble, in any way, the Leaf he knew from his younger days. Initially, he had chalked it off as a result of what had happened to her a long time ago, but the more he spends time with her, it's clear that's not all. Her intentions are getting a lot more dubious by each passing moment. And Gary was trying not to fall for any traps she had laid out – and knowing Leaf, she definitely has some.

"What's the matter Garebear, you are awfully silent for someone with your reputation." She smirked, not moving from her place, knowing full well that the young researcher had grown vary of her over the course of past few days. But it was still fun messing with him.

"I really don't have time to play your mind games, Leaf" he sighed, words just spilled out then after. "When you first agreed to join me in, I thought it would be like the old times when we used to explore the area around the lab. But I guess that was just my wishful thinking. I don't know what you are playing at here, but this is important to me and I would really appreciate it if you don't ruin it, for me or anyone"

"Whoa! What's with the sudden jabs, did you learn a new move?" She giggled and got up, coming in front of him, invading his personal space, she looked straight in his eyes; she was way too close for Gary's comfort, but it's not like Leaf had ever cared for that. "We have a bet remember, just like old times. Nothing's changed Gary."

He looked away, they were almost the same height, but under her gaze Gary felt small. And Gary Oak isn't intimidated by anyone.

"Let's just go, Lunch is ready" he said and turned to go back to camp. He had nothing to add to her; she was wrong saying that nothing has changed, because everything had, as much as he wished otherwise. At the moment though, he had more important matters at hand than Leaf's absurd behaviour. He would deal with it when the time comes.

As he made his way back to the camp, he was not sure if she would follow, but then he heard footsteps a few seconds later. He wanted to let out a relieved breadth – for some reason, under her gaze, he had felt extreme pressure for a second. He was just glad it was over. They soon reached the small camp without uttering another word.

"Took you long enough" Ash said, his mouth full of stew. For that he received a smack on his head from Misty, reminding him not to talk with his mouth full.

There were two bowls already filled, Misty passed one to each of the two who joined them. It was peaceful around the camp for a few seconds as they enjoyed their lunch, until –

"What The HELL Is This!" Gary yelled out, gagging and panting, looking for water and grabbing the nearest water bottle they had. Ash and Misty high-fived each other and were laughing their ass off. It took the other three another second to realise what had happened and that had Leaf snickering from her place looking at the red-faced researcher while Tracy was trying his best to ease the pain the young Oak was going through & Goh, trying to control his giggles, tried to find something sweet to pass to the victim of Ash & Misty's prank.

It took ten whole minutes, with lots of water and a few sweets for Gary to calm down. The laughing trio had also stopped at some point in those minutes, now standing a little away, least they experienced the Oak wrath.

"That was a nice one" Leaf whispered to Misty, who was standing not too far from her.

"He had it coming for days now" Misty giggled "That should shut him up for some time"

"Who would have thought, that the way to bring down the great Gary Oak was just some itsy-bitsy spices"

"He is just a big baby, that's what he is"

The two girls continued to giggle and make fun of Gary; who was glaring daggers at the girls from his place, still helping himself with a chocolate bar. Ash smiled at the two, happy they were getting along.

"You are not too bad" Leaf suddenly said

"Ehh, a compliment coming from you?" Misty smirked "You are doing good sweetie, keep that up"

"Oh, I like her!" Leaf announced to no one in particular. That's how the two began their back and forth. The boys had their mouths handing open as they saw a new friendship dynamic unfold. When they left Cerulean, no one had thought that the girls would ever see eye-to-eye on any matter, and this new development shocked them.

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Around Northern Ranges, 16th November, 8:45 PM

They had travelled the Mountainous terrain for two days, taking required pit stops here and there. When they had started to head towards the barren spot visible on the satellite, Goh had explained the others the shortest path (without many Pokémon colonies) they were going to take to reach the centre of the Northern Ranges where the big barren land was. They decided to forgo using any Pokémon until they reach the spot, to conserve as much of their energy as possible. They could then check out the area with all their Pokémon together.

They continued on the lesser used road to cross a few mountains and valleys. By nightfall of third day, they decided to set up a camp and rest for the night. They were close enough to their target location. Having a particular direction to head to had helped cut short a lot on unnecessary roaming around the Mountain ranges. They had reached a point, that from the next day onwards they could start their inspection of the barren area.

"Isn't it strange though" Goh said, a food bowl in one hand and eyes glued to his Pokédex

"What is?" Tracey asked when Goh did not complete his sentence. The others stopped their eating, and looked at the former to continue, Goh kept his bowl down and looked at each of them as he put forth his thought process.

"We have not come across a single Pokémon since we got down from the bus" He said, "I know I said I chose a path that had least Pokémon habitats, but it shouldn't have been this deserted. We should have come across at least a Caterpie or a Weedle. Those are in abundance in every forest in Kanto."

"It sure is strange" Ash agreed, something was again creeping up his heart – a sense of dread that he wanted to shake off bad – never to think about again. So, he did what he did best, he side eyed his ginger friend as he said "Though I'm sure one of us is very happy we haven't come across them"

That only got him a smack on the back of his head from the ticked off red head.

"You don't like bugs?" Leaf raised her eyes at the other girl. The two had formed a weird rapport over the past couple of days, teasing eachother and others together; so, an added tease material was always welcome.

"Bugs bug me, okay!" Misty huffed, "But the point here is Goh is right! We should have encountered other Pokémon like Geodude or Sandshrew or other rock Pokémon at least once"

"It must be because of the Time clock or something else" Gary muttered to himself. The current situation did not align with what data he had on the terrain; it was way off the mark. That could only mean something is wrong, but they came here because he thought there was something wrong, to check that in the first place.

"We can look into that also when we scout the area tomorrow." Tracey suggested "Since its mostly barren, there should be rock / ground types nearby"

"I don't have a good feeling about this though" Goh sighed, he turned to Gary "Do you?"

"Don't know about feeling, but it sure doesn't sound logically right" Gary answered, "But we can't do anything in the dark of night, that will be only inviting trouble. We should check this out tomorrow as Tracey says"

The others agreed and soon the sleeping bags were laid. Ash was the only one having trouble sleeping that night; the dreadful feeling he had earlier coming back in full force. He knew and understood what the others were saying, but somewhere deep inside, he knew – it would be too late till the next morning.

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Around Northern Ranges, 17th November, 3:30 AM

Everyone in the camp was jolted awake with a loud screech coming from the skies. They all quickly grabbed their Pokéballs, ready to release their partners and defend themselves from whatever harm was lurking in the shadows.

They did not find anyone coming from the forest around the camp. Another loud roar had them all looking up in the sky to locate the source that had woken them up.

Up in the Sky, a very angry Moltres appeared, firing off fire spin at everything and anything.

"Get Down!" Tracey yelled just in time for everyone to avoid a vicious attack thrown their way. "Are you all alright?" He asked his companions, without removing his eyes form the Legendary bird as that could prove to be fatal. Misty looked at everyone to check for herself that everyone was okay, that's when she realised one of them was missing.

"Where's Ash?" Misty asked, checking for her friend again – he was nowhere to be found. Another screech grabbed their attention and they saw yet another fire spin being fired.

"Do you think -" Goh did not finish that sentence, already knowing the answer.

"If I know anything about Ash, then he is right in the middle of whatever is going on up there." Gary said gritting his teeth, "Though, I hope he is not literally in middle of the chaos up there, it's treacherous"

"I'm going to kill that boy!" Misty yelled out in frustration. She takes her eyes off him for a minute and he charges head first into danger.

"Look out!" Leaf warned everyone and quickly released her Espeon, and ordered "Protect"

A large barrier covering everyone from a massive fire blast was raised. Leaf was ready to take on the legendary herself, when something else caught its attention. They all looked up, Moltres had now completely lost its interest in them and was focusing on another Pokémon in front of it.

"That's Dragonite!" Goh exclaimed as he recognised the Pokémon "So that means, it must be Ash!" And to prove his deduction right, the Moltres was zapped by electroblot by another Pokémon perched upon Dragonite, following the previous attack – Dragonite used Hyper beam to weaken the legendary further.

The company standing in the clearing, grabbed their remaining Pokémon, forgetting the campsite, they released their own Pokémon to join their friend.

"Flygon, come out!"

"Pidgeot, I choose you!"

"Skarmory, let's go!"

"Come out, my blue sweetheart!"

"Time to go, Marill"

The three flying types soon took to the sky while Marill and Tracey got on Gyarados to keep up with others from ground.

"What the hell is going on Ash!" Leaf asked as Pidgeot came by Dragonite. Skarmory dealt a steel wing to Moltres, pushing it back but also making it angrier.

"Leaf and everyone!" Ash heaved a sigh "I don't know! I was having difficulty falling asleep, so I decided to take a walk around the camp and loosen up some muscles; that's when suddenly I saw Moltres. He was out and fighting a man on Charizard, he knocked the man out. If I hadn't stepped in, Moltres would have burned him down to bits."

"But what is a Moltres even doing here?" Goh asked, simultaneously ordering Flygon to use Sandstrom. "Shouldn't it be on Fire Island?"

"It seems angry" Gary noticed, "you sure you didn't just rescue the person who was trying to capture Moltres" he asked Ash

"Don't know how to tell you this" Ash looked at Gary "But my gut is telling it's not that person who made Moltres this angry"

Gary huffed at that explanation but otherwise said nothing; Ash's guts did have a history of being spot-on, so he wasn't going to complain till they deal with the angry fire legendary.

Moltres – enraged & cornered by so many pests around it, was about to use Ancient Power, when a powerful hydro pump clashed into it. Hot steam soon surrounded the legendary after the water came in contact with it. Ash looked to the ground, to find Misty and Tracey showring the legendary with continuous water attacks to keep it from making any move. He turned to order Pikachu a electro bolt to finish of this fight, when out of nowhere, an aura sphere clashed into the Moltres. It was the final blow as that caused Moltres to come crashing down on the ground.

Surprised but also relieved that the immediate danger was averted, they gathered around the place where Moltres had fallen. At first they cautiously approached the legendary, checking if the bird would fight back or not; when they confirmed that the Pokémon was out-cold that they took a relieved breadth.

"You are a dead man when we are done with this, Ketchum." Was the first thing Misty snapped at him as he got off a tired Dragonite.

"What did I even do?" Ash huffed and glared her back, Dragonite nuzzled him which broke off their heated gaze, thanking her Ash returned her to take much deserved rest.

"Who fired that attack?" Tracey asked, directing their attention to more significant matters. Though they were glad that the attack took care of Moltres, the question of who did it was equally, if not more, important. Because, none of them had fired that, meaning it's either an ally or enemy.

"It was me" A smooth voice answered.

They turned to find a man in his early-to-mid-twenties coming their way, his Lucario supported him as he limped slowly towards them. "I am in your debt for saving me back there. I almost had lost my chivalry even if it is in my realm of expertise."

The man himself was wearing various assortment of clothing, including a weirdly shaped hat, a dark cape, knee high boots and gloves with strange pattern and an orb on the back of the palm. He also had a staff with various small spheres surrounding one big sphere in the middle. His face was not clearly visible to the group due to very low light, but they could still figure out his sharp features and dark hair. To the group, it looked like he had walked straight out of a theatrical setup.

"And you are?" Gary asked, confused with the way the man was looking and speaking.

"Oh, pardon me gracious" The man stood straight, leaving the support of his Lucario, and then bowed.

"The name is Aaron" He smiled as he stood tall again

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"Aaron Ketchum."


Fin