Update: This story had been abandoned for a long time. Hopefully I can keep updating it semi-regularly now. Also I cleaned it up a bit and did some minor changes. Most noticeably I put most of the chapters in single pages now, although the content is mostly the same.

Persistence was essential to survive, Ash Ketchum knew this. He loved to take risks and test his ability to continue breathing whenever he could. Back on his home region of Kanto, having just returned from his fruitful journey on the Alola region, the experienced yet youth-exuding trainer wasted no time to embark on his next adventure. This time it had taken the form of Mt. Hideaway, the highest mountain in the Kanto region, peculiarly located near his place of birth on Pallet Town. And to consider his quick adventure successfully complete, the top of the giant rock collection must be reached, with only his most trusted companion and best friend, Pikachu, by his side.

But at the halfway-point between the deadly ground and the mountain's peak, with his body hanging completely vertical from a merciless cliff face, with both hands gripping the sharp rock above his head, while drops of sweat fell from his forehead all the way to the ground, currently located below him at a distance which would cause any other less prepared individual to crumble in fear, and be overcome with crippling nausea, Ash reflected it may not have been the best idea to start climbing with only his trusty bag of chalk tied to his waist, although, seeing as that simple bag had already served him perfectly well on many past climbing endeavors, he was certain it was all he needed to overcome the mountain.

Pikachu, also carrying a back of chalk, albeit one smaller than his trainer's, was in a similar situation, and although his significantly smaller body, better equipped to handle nature at its most dangerous expressions, made it easier for him to swagger through the rocks, a fall would likewise signify the end of his life.

Their naked hands bathed in white powder constituted the only tools with which they could cling to their lives, and yet neither of them could ever regret taking such a risk, as valuable experiences like this one were the reason behind their existence. At no point did Ash or Pikachu ever feared death, as they were absolutely certain they'd come out successful, fulfilled, and hopefully in one piece that could be carried to safety by them, or by one another, or by someone else entirely, and afterwards they'd be ready for their next adventure. Another reason as to why they were not worried about meeting their untimely end was that, if they were to enter a state of imminent death, one of their many friends, it really didn't matter who it was, would appear out of nowhere, either out of thin air or from a hole in the ground, and save them. Ash was certain of this, as such he was never afraid, never hesitant, instead always eager to move in any direction, always ready to jump into action.

With his right foot barely resting on the protruding red rock below him, and his left hand grabbing the rugged zone above his head however he could, he reached into the bag of chalk with his free hand and smeared the powder all over his palm and fingers, then he used his right foot on a feasible rock below him to impulse himself upwards and reach for the next point. Then it was his left foot's turn. He carefully placed it on a meekly protruding area and immediately felt the fragility of the zone, and that of his body, and felt an anxious bolt that started on the soil of his foot, rushed through his body all the way to his chest, where he felt it with the most distressing intensity, then ended in his head, right behind his forehead. His current path was not viable, then he saw no way to continue up or down. Ash looked all around him for some escape, his limbs were getting tired. To his right he found an almost insignificant cliff, with a viable path that went upwards right above it. He knew instantly that he'd have to jump. Ash didn't think about it twice, and Pikachu was equally resolute as he jumped onto his trainer's head. Ash softly swayed his body to the left for impulse and then he jumped with no hesitation whatsoever. For just a second his body was free from any surface, he couldn't feel any kind of safety below him, the ground was far away. With his five senses running at full throttle he managed to land on the rocky surface to his right and felt the ensuing hit subtly on his right shoulder. It hurt a bit. But he made it.

He was able to place both feet on the squalid cliff below him. He turned around and rested his back on the mostly flat rock behind him, which was tilted just enough in order for him to lean back and relax for a bit. He took a deep breath as he admired the scenery, the Kanto sun in the afternoon along with the rocks around him turned his visual field completely orange. The breeze that flowed cooled his skin covered in sweat, it felt very nice on his overworked muscles. It was a nice moment to take a needed pause from their adventure, unfortunately for Ash and Pikachu it ended abruptly. The rock below him made a cracking noise, Ash turned rigid, then his body was pulled down, just a little bit, but enough to send a disarming shiver through his spine. The rock beneath him wouldn't resist for long, and Ash would soon fall to his death along with his best friend. Before they had time to think of a way to escape the imminent fall the rock sustaining them broke into a million pieces. The pair fell down face first and screaming, they could see the ground many feet below them and, thinking they'd greet it with their faces at full force soon, both of them closed their eyes.

As he fell, Ash's life flashed before his eyes in an instant. Every battle he had won appeared in his mind in vibrant colors, whereas the battles that he had lost appeared as a darkened, shadowy blur, but regardless of the outcome, all of his friends and family stood on the sidelines, with Pikachu and him at the center of it all in every mental image he half-consciously produced. Another image assaulted him suddenly, he remembered about a time when he was a toddler: his mom lifted him off the ground and held him in her arms. She caressed his plump cheeks, and told him that he was the most handsome boy in the world, and this made plump baby Ash really happy. Then on that same day, while he was hanging out and having fun on the playground, a rotund, cacophonous woman told him that he was an ugly child to his face, and this made tiny Ash really sad. Then he remembered the rotund woman falling into some mud even later that day. In a fraction of a second Ash mused about how it was such a weird memory to remember before dying.

He grabbed Pikachu tightly in his arms and braced for the hit; he kept his eyes closed. Still, a part of him knew he couldn't die, and he thought about how it could be possible for him to think such thing at that moment, when he was falling to his death. He also thought about how it was possible, very possible in fact, that he was in fact going to die. Then he thought about the possibility of already being dead, it felt like he was floating; perhaps such an instant death was painless, or perhaps the hyperbolic nature of the moment had allowed him to slow down time, almost freeze it. Ash opened his eyes and saw the ground getting dangerously closer to him; the latter supposition was true. He closed his eyes and panicked and held Pikachu firmly, it wouldn't take another second.

The wind was blowing fast, way too fast. At first it was audible and then it became too strong to ignore. He heard the beating of a pair wings, then a sudden and forceful change of direction; if that was death then death felt funny and bizarre, but painless. Ash felt more sudden movements as well as a pair of arms and hands suddenly embracing him, then he heard a familiar growl. An eerie sound that he had heard many times before made Ash wonder if he was still falling or not, he almost could not believe he wasn't. He opened his eyes expectant to discover the identity of his current guardian angel. The incoming light blinded him for a second and when he was able to see past it his eyes were like a jittery camera that couldn't capture anything vividly during his travel through the air. Ash and Pikachu were being carried through the sky by a flying pokemon, with the person who had saved them, surely a friend of theirs, riding on top of it. Ash looked up and stared clearly so that their identity could be revealed to him and after a few seconds of fervent visual focus he realized it was Serena. She had an expression of sudden relief and a look that he couldn't quite discern, but she was happy. Ash and Pikachu suddenly found themselves on top of Ash's charizard, accompanied by their good friend from Kalos with whom they had shared many adventures in the past, during one of Ash's many long journeys, this one specifically on the Kalos region. Charizard and Serena had just saved their lives, not for the first time, and certainly not for the last. With their appeased spirits regained, Charizard and Serena took the reckless pair of daredevils all the way to the top of the mountain, where they settled down with ease. Ash stared at the giant orange rock on which he was standing, from up there it looked even more beautiful with the clearer and wider blue of the sky. There was no way he could consider that advantageous arrival a victory, but at least he was able to ascertain that his life was no longer in danger.

"You're insane," Serena exclaimed as she gave Ash a lovingly strong tap on the shoulder. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? You shouldn't have done this."

"It's okay, I knew you'd save me," Ash replied serenely. His breathing had returned to its muted normalcy and his blood was already flowing as if he had been calm for a long time.

"No you didn't!" Serena pressed with a very peculiar insistence. Any other person who saw her there would have noticed how much she fancied Ash, who loved to test her patience with reckless abandon. But not him, who was a very dense individual, who knew about the existence of the romantic kind of love and yet he couldn't have been able to explain it, even if his life depended on it.

"I knew someone would come and save me anyway," Ash said very sure of himself, "and this time it was you out of all people, even better."

"Again, you are insane, and knowing that I'll always be there to catch you when you fall shouldn't be an incentive for you to continue doing things like this."

"And yet, by saving me you have pretty much convinced me of something I've been thinking about for a long time now."

"What's that?" Serena asked with genuine interest.

"Someone will always be there to save me."

"Well…" She couldn't refute his argument, it had happened so many times; she certainly wouldn't stop watching over him.

"It's weird, sometimes I feel like the people around me are only there because I am there, like they are pretending to be busy while in reality they are just there to observe me, and though I'd rather not think about it—it's a scary thought—it's hard for me to avoid thinking that people are focusing on me, and maybe that's not a bad thing. How come you were so close to me anyway?"

"Well, I was looking for you."

"I see. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing. Maybe I wouldn't mind it much, if that were true. Right Pikachu?"

Pikachu nodded faintly. He was still visibly shaken from the near-death experience he had just gone through mere moments ago.

Ash and Serena decided to go back to his house on Pallet Town. They hopped on Charizard's ample back along with Pikachu, then the dragonic fire-type, not quite a dragon, jumped into the clouds and flew away with them safely on top. The trip was a short one in fact it lasted just a few minutes, which were nevertheless very enjoyable for everyone involved, although Serena enjoyed being very high up in the sky the most. As she held on to Ash and rested her head on his back, she felt the cool breeze caressing her face and making her hair come alive.

Then just an instant later the quick trip through the sky was over and they were at Ash's front door, where Serena's Sylveon was pleasantly waiting for them on the ground. Ash knelt down to pet her chin for a little bit before going in, and this made Serena release a sweet giggle. They were on a good mood, which continued after opening the door and going inside into Ash's big living room. However, Ash's smile was lost as soon as he noticed the guy who was sitting at his kitchen table, enjoying a meal which surely had been prepared just for him by Ash's mom, Delia. The guy raised from his seat, he had a smug smile on his already arrogant-looking face.

"Well, well, well, look what the garbage man dragged in," Gary Oak said. "No offense directed at the lovely lady, of course."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ash said as he went to meet Gary.

"It's obvious that I mean to say you're trash, Ash. But enough of that, aren't you going to introduce me to your lovely friend?"

Ash caught the hint for once and put on a more formal, albeit still reluctant air.

"Gary, this is Serena," he said as he directed his open hand at her, "she's an awesome and famous performer from Kalos. She's very talented and has won a lot of showcases." Serena blushed; Ash continued. "Serena, this is Gary, Professor Oak's assistant and nephew. He used to be my rival when I first started my journey through Kanto, but he gave up after a while."

"Gave up? I finished it," Gary quickly protested.

"If you say so. Anyway, what brings you by? I bet you wanted to have some of my mom's cooking for free."

"Well her food is really delicious, I have to say. It is inconceivable to me how someone as nice as her is related to a miserable bug like you."

Both boys moved in front of each other and stared directly into each other's eyes for a while, without turning away. Serena sensed the atmosphere growing more tense with every passing second. Ash and Gary were completely serious, they seemed almost angry. There was a pause were both of them stood like statues and the room fell completely silent, but then out of nowhere they smiled at the same time, releasing the tension. They shook hands lightly and in a much better mood all of the sudden, then shared an effusive yet manly hug.

"How have you been you degenerate?" Gary said with a smile on his face. "You're still up to your same old tricks?"

"You know me, when adventure calls I just can't say no to it," Ash replied, also lightly.

"I guess you wouldn't be Ash Ketchum if you stopped for even a second."

"I guess I wouldn't, what do you think Pikachu?" Ash turned to his best friend, who nodded at him filled with glee, having put his sudden nightmare on Mt. Hideaway behind him.

Somebody knocked on the front door, and Delia, who suddenly appeared in the living room, went to answer it. It was a red-headed plump boy with a wild mane on top of his head, dressed in shades of green. He had that obvious trainer look, however for some reason he seemed to lack that characteristic trainer energy. Even though she had never seen him before, Serena had an eerie sensation; she knew there was something in him, she didn't know him and yet he looked familiar.

"Ritchie?" Ash exclaimed, filled with sudden joy. "Wow! What a nice surprise! You came here for a rematch, didn't you?"

"Hey! You haven't changed one bit, have you Ash?" Ritchie replied. Then he approached Ash with a smile on his face and they shared a hug, although theirs was a bit less manly than the one Ash shared with Gary.

"I guess I should introduce you too," Ash said. "Serena, this is my friend Ritchie. He started his journey at roughly the same time I did, and because of that our paths crossed a lot. We shared some adventures together long, long ago."

"Hey, it's nice to meet you," Ritchie said as he shook Serena's hand. But she remained silent, she only nodded firmly with a smile on her face; Serena took an instant liking to Ritchie.

"You've ballooned up a bit," the unfettered Ash mentioned after taking a good look at Ritchie, who had in fact gained quite a bit of weight since the last time Ash had seen him.

"Yeah, I'd say so," Ritchie replied as he patted his soft belly.

Serena understood then why she felt an instant attraction to Ritchie, as he looked like a chubby, perhaps a shiny version of Ash, and she suddenly, mildly, wanted to cuddle with him.

"I'd say you're fat," Gary intervened. "Hey Serena, Ritchie was the one who defeated Ash in the indigo league," he added, prompting Ash to direct an angry glare at him.

"Man, those were the days weren't they. I think about them every day," Ritchie mused out loud with an overly pleased smile.

"Who defeated him in the Kalos league?" Gary continued with his messing around, which, although it was annoying. came from a place of love.

"Well..."

Serena was having a hard time not wanting to respond, trying to hide her annoyance, and wishing Gary would shut up, all at the same time.

"I'm just joking, I know it was Alain, and right on the final too. How sad."

"Oh yeah?" Ash replied. "And what have you done recently huh, Gary?"

"Hm, let me see… oh yeah, I just created a machine that allows trainers to communicate with their pokemon in their native language."

"Wow! Really?"

"Well, no. But somebody else did. And I read about it a lot and was able to understand how it worked, kind of."

"Right, so you've done nothing," Serena blurted out, out of nowhere. And her uncharacteristically harsh take-down of Gary's lack of accomplishments turned the room awkwardly silent. Serena was visibly not bothered by this, it was obvious she didn't care about what they thought of her; Gary's playful yet insensitive treatment of Ash had made her increasingly upset.

The silence continued in the house as confused grins appeared on the faces of guests and hosts alike, and although the atmosphere was not necessarily awkward they certainly didn't know how to continue after her cutting remark.

The next sound was a firm and continuous knocking on the front door, as if whoever was outside were making up a tune as they went along with their loud knocks. This time Serena went to open it, and revealed a rotund man standing on the other side, with the dirty blond curls of his hair resembling a roller coaster. He was wearing pitch-black shades over his eyes, and a light-blue, comfortable shirt with flower patterns covering his more-than-full belly, and also cargo pants. He continued moving his fist on the air well after the door was opened, it was only after he finished his imaginary tune that he went in walking with complete confidence and a lot of energy, too much in fact. He went and placed himself right in front of Ash as soon as he identified him.

"Hey Scott! What brings you by?" Ash said. "Serena this is Scott, he-"

"There's no time for that young man!" Scott boasted quick and loud. "You do not know how glad I am to encounter you while you're still in your mom's house. I feared you'd already bolted off to another long journey with that overflowing impatience of yours, listen, I have a proposition for you."

"Who's this man?" Ritchie innocently asked.

"What's this? Who am I?" Scott seemed offended. "Have you been under a rock?"

"Yes actually, for a while," Ritchie answered. "Three months ago I went to the Seafoam Islands to find the mythic creature Articuno, so that it could help the people of Kanto put out the dangerous fire that had broken out at Viridian Forest. But I ended up falling into a crevasse while walking through the caves on the islands. During the three months I spent there the seels and dewgongs kept me and my pokemon alive by feeding us with the skin they shed. It was a pretty harrowing experience, I was rescued just last week."

"What! Ah, nonsense, I'll tell you anyway, for I'm the founder as well as owner and director of the famed Battle Frontier, an almost sacred piece of land created only for the most experienced trainers who have achieved the highest status on their field, where many challenges and nigh-unbeatable combatants await, and, Ash, if you think that you have experienced all that there is to experience during the time you have indeed spent there-"

"I have, I already went there," Ash said.

"-Let me finish! Well, think again, for everything that you once knew is now gone, and the portrait you have in your mind of Scott's Battle Frontier is no more! New challenges, new paths, new combatants, same high-octane energy multiplied by a thousand, await for you now in the newly rebooted: Battle Frontier: Requiem!"

"Are you kidding me?" Ash shouted, making his hands into fists which he held in front of his chest; his eyes were beaming with excitement.

"I wouldn't dare to kid the great Ash Ketchum. You must come with me now and face your future."

Before Ash had time to give an answer to Scott's sudden proposition there was yet another knock on the door, and this time it was Ritchie who went to open it while Scott visibly and audibly lamented this. A couple went into the living room. A tall, pale boy with striking blue eyes with a hint of melancholy within them, with the curls of his shoulder-length brown hair partially covering his gaze in a wavy fringe. He was accompanied by a shorter girl who was also very pale, and who had short blonde hair and a gloomy pair of green eyes tinted with a layer of sadness, which spoke of something that had happened to her in the past. Both of them wore leather jackets, ripped jeans and boots, all of dark shades; both somber ensembles accentuated by their dispirited postures. They went in with what the others identified as low energy, and likewise directed towards Ash as soon as they identified him.

"Hey," the tall boy said with a brooding whisper. "My name is Sebastian and her name is Noelle." The girl waved her hand somberly, and her inflection made it evident she had been hurt in the past. "We are from the Arundel region, and we've come here to ask you, Ash Ketchum, to visit our region and perhaps participate in our Magenta League. If you accept, you'll be welcomed by our professor, who will grant you the tools necessary to enjoy both our regional pokemon and our land at their fullest. What do you say?"

"What's going on? And why are they only asking Ash?" Gary asked.

"I'll explain," Scott replied. "Seeing as Ash has become a renowned trainer all across the globe, and he has, after many adventures on many different lands, returned to his home town where he can now be reached before he leaves again, ambassadors from less popular regions have come to try and convince him to travel to their regions and compete in their leagues. But don't let these ruffians fool you Ash, the revamped Battle Frontier: Requiem, is your best choice."

Then there was another knock on the door. Ritchie unabashedly opened it.

"Oh come on!" Scott cried out.

This time it was a guy with blue hair, which was purposefully wild and sharp on the edges. He had a beauty mark on his cheek right under his right eye, and was wearing a white long-coat, rather tight and aerodynamic, with many zippers on it; purple jeans, also very tight, also with many zippers on them; shiny red shoes which were sort of swollen at the tip, almost fitting for a clown, although it was clear that they were supposed to be really cool; and an orange scarf around his neck, the tip of which reached his legs.

"What's up! My name is Jake and I am looking Ash Ketchum."

"He doesn't live here!" Scott cried out full of anger.

"That's me," Ash exclaimed, angering Scott even more.

"Cool." Jake casually went into the living room and shook Ash's hand. "I'm here personally to cordially invite you to the region of Ruston, where you'll live out an all-new, all-different adventure filled with powerful trainers and their equally powerful pokemon, you won't regret it."

"Oh wow!" Ash exclaimed. Then he bowed down filled with excitement, which he then released with a shout and a jump. "Can you believe it Pikachu? Our next adventure has arrived right at our door!"

"Right and that adventure is Battle Frontier: Requiem, right?"

Both Ash and Pikachu stopped their impromptu celebration and put their hands on their chins, falling deep into a meditative state.

"What's happening?" Jake asked.

"You're not the first one to come here and ask Ash to visit your region," Sebastian said. Meanwhile Noelle held his arm and stayed behind him, subtly glaring at Jake.

"That's right," Scott joined in. "So beat it Jack."

"It's Jake, um, excuse me, can the two of you stop this?"

"Stop what?" Scott asked angrily. "Interrupting your little presentation… Jake?"

"No," Jake replied, unfazed. "I mean stop asking Ash to visit your region, and then leave."

"What! No way you insolent fool."

"Come on," Jake continued, "I wanted to ask him to come to my awesome region, Ruston, where there are many cool places full of danger that make you feel alive."

"We all have regions to promote dude," Sebastian intervened.

"Come on, don't be a jerk, please, leave."

"No!" Scott shouted.

"Wow, you suck bro."

Jake's attitude rubbed Scott the wrong way, it made him even angrier. He then went off on the blue-haired guy, and the two started a loud argument in which Sebastian tried, and failed, to intervene, as he, with his earnest and gloomy demeanor, seemed incapable of achieving the same level of energy as the others.

Another visitor showed up. This one made everyone back away from the door, and scared them with his exuberant physicality, enough that his presence alone made Scott and Jake stop their argument and put their guards up. A morbidly pale man, with a heavy sight, with a gray streak on his otherwise pitch black hair which reached his shoulders, entered Ash's living room, wearing antique clothing, cape, belt and boots, all gritty and kind of old, as well as a sheathed sword on his back.

"Is this Ash Ketchum's house?" He spoke with a thick foreign accent.

"Excuse me." This time it was Delia who replied, likewise startling everyone in the room, albeit with a different kind of firm, but softer energy. "I really don't feel comfortable with that thing on your back, so I'm going to politely ask you to leave."

"I can assure you I come in peace," the man continued. "My kingdom-"

"You may come in peace," Delia cut him off. "But I just don't want that weapon in my house, you can leave it outside if you want."

"Never! My sword and I are one and the same."

"Okay then your sword and you are going outside."

"But I have an urgent message for Ash Ketchum!"

"Well you're not going to tell it to him while that weapon is in my house, so bye-bye."

"The fate of my region rests on my hands!"

"I highly doubt that," Delia said as she started pushing the man towards the door. "Besides, why would you want such a burden over your lonely shoulders?"

Freshly defeated and at a loss for words, the imposing man, at least physically speaking, got out of the living room and closed the door behind him.

"See Ash," Scott said while everyone was trying to recollect themselves from the situation. "Every buffoon has a gimmick these days, please mind him no more, nor the rest of these clowns, and come with me to… oh, come on."

Scott and the rest heard the man knocking on the front window, he was so tall that he had to crouch down in order for his head to be seen. But nobody seemed to care, no one even bothered to look at him. For the people promoting their regions he was nothing more than an unwanted nuisance, and the exasperated indifference and outright disdain for him could be felt in the air. It was Serena who finally took enough pity on him to go over and open up the window.

"Shame on you people," she whispered to herself as she allowed the man to be heard. However he did not speak as he was still wary of Delia, instead he signaled Ash to come by the window with his index finger.

Delia saw him but she pretended to ignore him, as long as the sword wasn't inside her house she was fine with it, at least for the moment being. Ash proceeded to humor the man but the rest of the promoters, along with curious pair Ritchie and Gary, followed behind him to listen to what this man had to say.

"My name is Yvgeny of Nestan-Darejan, and I came all the way here to ask for your help, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town. The region where my kingdom lay is not very large, and it is difficult to reach. It rests far away, at the top of the mountains down south. Our days are colored gray and white thanks to the clouds dwelling all around us at all times, covering us from the rest of the land below. Violent fights are part of our every day entertainment, we laugh and boast at the sight of pain and blood. On the outskirts of every city malice and danger await for unsuspecting victims. And yet, life was good, our children laughed, they grew strong and became formidable opponents. That was, until it happened. The pokemon from my kingdom were afflicted with a condition we have named The Blight. It is an ailment that turns their skin green, and although it somehow increases their strength and their ability to grow more powerful, it also puts them at risk of exploding spontaneously and without any kind of warning. And that's nothing compared to what The Blight does to humans who come into contact with it… it's fatal. As such, the situation has brought famine and despair to our land."

"Oh no! That's so sad," Serena said.

"Yeah, it's awful," Ash added.

"We also have problems in my region, Ruston," Jake intervened, hoping to take the attention away from Yvgeny. "A bunch of homeless people took over the pokemon center near my house, they're actually pretty good trainers so we have not been able to force them out."

"And that's happened on all pokemon centers?" Serena asked him.

"No just one."

"Then shut up dude that's not a problem," Scott interjected.

"How about you Sebastian?" Serena asked the cheerless guest. "How are things in Arundel?"

"I'm not actually that well-versed on the current general situation there, and internal struggles matter not to whom isn't the sufferer." Sebastian creepily monotoned. "And hidden wounds won't create sympathy on closed ears."

"Oh-kay."

Ash didn't listen to anything that was said after Yvgeny finished his tale. His heart, as well as Pikachu's, were set; it only took them a fraction of a second.

"I need to help Yvgeny," he suddenly exclaimed.

"No way!" Delia said quickly, instantly feeling worry for her teenage son.

"But mom, he needs our help."

"That may be the case, however it's way too dangerous Ash, and I can't allow you to go there."

"Mom, you can't stop me from doing what's right, who else is going to save them?"

"Ash." Delia went over to her son, knelt right in front of him, and put her hand on his shoulder. "I'm certain you can help them, but I'm just so worried about you."

"Who else is there? You know I have to go."

"Oh Ash, I hate it when you're right…"

Afterwards someone else knocked on the open door. It was a red-headed guy, sort of lanky and with a bad-posture hunch, and with his short straight hair styled to the side in a nerdy way. He was wearing very thick glasses that made his pale blue eyes seem creepily big.

"Excuse me, sorry for interrupting," he said in a low voice; the multitude had startled him. "Is this Ash Ketchum's house?"

"Yes it is, are you here to invite him to your region?" Scott asked him. He and Jake, with Sebastian and Noelle behind them, ganged up on the newest visitor.

"Yes," the red-head answered.

"Right, what's your name?"

"Elyan."

"Name of your region."

"Um, Gudrut," Elyan said as he adjusted his glasses.

"Awful name, okay Elyan, what's the coolest place on your region?"

"The coolest place? Um, probably everywhere, because it is very cold for most of the year," he said with a smile.

"...Uff, anyway, what kind of pokemon can you find in Gudrun?"

"Well, do you know Unova?"

"Yes."

"Okay, well many pokemon that hail from Unova also inhabit Gudrut, and-"

"So it doesn't have all-new, all-different pokemon not found in any other region, like in Ruston?" Jake interrupted him. "Besides Ash already went to Unova so Gudrun would be less appealing to him. Great, so it's one less to worry about. At least now we know that the situation won't escalate further after the sword guy. You did terribly Elyan, Ash will never go to Gurduns."

Elyan lowered his head with his eyes closed, defeated.

"So Ash, I think it's time for you to decide which region you want to travel to next," Scott said.

"Not so fast!" Yet another couple barged in. A girl wearing big round glasses, with vibrant pink hair which she had tied into a ponytail with a ribbon of many different colors; she had a wide smile on her lively face. She was accompanied by a guy who was also wearing big round glasses, his straight orange hair was styled in a very peculiar bowl haircut. He also had a wide smile on his jovial face, his eyes almost glistened from glee. Both of them were wearing some sort of uniform from a fancy school, which included a brown hooded robe over a white dress shirt, with black vest, and red tie combo. They came in radiating upbeat energy, which clashed jarringly with the vibe inside the living room, and as the rest of the promoters were already pretty tired and upset from having their plans frustrated, the newest guests were not very welcome, and their attempt to woo the host was not well-received.

"Oh come on! Who even are you!" Jake cried out, echoing the general vibe inside.

The newest couple ignored Jake as well as the bad vibes he and the rest of them were sending them, and continued with their presentation.

"My name is Karius," the orange-head said.

"And I am Karon," his pink-headed companion added.

"Nobody cares!" Scott interrupted, but neither Karius nor Karon let him steal their thunder, for which they had hyped themselves up minutes before going in.

"And we are from the Domerlac region!"

"Literally no one wants you here!" said Jake.

"Stop!" cried Sebastian.

"And we want you, Ash Ketchum," they continued, without letting the hate erase the mechanical smiles off of their faces. "To come with us and participate in our annual Domerlac League Tournament."

"We are tired, nobody's listening to you," Jake said.

"Okay, that's enough." Karius finally dropped his facade, he couldn't take it anymore so he gave up and got mad. "Please, Let me do my job! I came here all the way from the Domerlac region and you all are not being very helpful, so could you please be quiet and let us have a word with Ash? This has nothing to do with you."

"Yes it does," Scott replied immediately with a shameless tone.

"Hey!" Karius continued. "We didn't bother you while you were presenting your region, did we?"

"Cause you weren't here."

"You know what, screw this I don't care anymore. Come to the Domerlac region, there you will learn to use a pokemon's strength along with your own in a way you've never imagined, or whatever."

"That sounds awesome!" Ash exclaimed with unadulterated enthusiasm.

"It is, it is very awesome," Karius replied with his eyes closed and his chin up, trying to regain his lost cool.

"And all of you want me to go to your regions?" Ash asked contemplative, having forgotten, just as easily as he thought of it, of the internal vow he had made to go to Yvgeny's region and help him out.

"Yes," Karius said, "we all have come from lands very far away from here, to ask you to come with us and experience what we have to offer."

"Man," Ash said, "I haven't felt this popular ever since all my tauros rampaged through that small town, and those news-people came to interview me."

"Wait, what?" Serena asked, suddenly startled. "When did that happen?"

"Some time ago."

"In which town?"

"It doesn't exist anymore anyway so that's not important, man… I can't decide, what do you think Pikachu?"

Pikachu slapped both of his cheeks with his tiny paws, then his trainer imitated his gesture; both of them suddenly found themselves at a loss for words.

"…There's no way I'll be able to decide today, not with too many great choices." Ash then said with his hands still on his cheeks, "Which one do you think I should choose Serena?"

"I really don't know," Serena replied, then everyone's eyes turned to her. She was suddenly the center of attention, and as soon as the hopeful promoters from far away lands, and Scott, realized she had some influence over Ash's decision, they all directed eager looks and enthusiastic gestures at her in an effort to convince her to convince Ash to pick their region. Noelle and Sebastian too tried to shoot some friendly signals at her, but their subdued manners and low spirits made them come off as awkward, and desperate, although that seemed to work on their favor since Serena took pity on them and favored them above the others. However, as everyone there was waiting for her to say anything, the sheer anxiousness did not let her speak. So Ash moved on.

"What about you Mom?"

"Well," Delia answered. "I still think Yvgeny's region is just too dangerous for you dear. Why not go with Scott's revamped battle frontier? It's the closest one after all."

"What!" Ash exclaimed, almost jumping from the immediate anger that took over him; he felt betrayed. "Don't tell me it's in the same location as the last one, why would I want to go to the same place twice?"

"No no." Scott waved his open hands nervously in front of his chest, he sensed his chance slipping away; he spoke with an unnaturally big smirk on his mouth. "It's revamped! I put a lot of money into it, everyone has new suits and all, I promise you'll love it."

"Nah," Ash immediately dismissed him. "I don't want to go to the same place twice, and that's that. Which region would you choose Ritchie?"

"Well..." Ritchie, who remembered he was there, and not in a cave, paused and tightened his lips. He seemed a bit embarrassed. "The reason I came here in the first place was to ask you to travel through Kanto once more, with me."

"What? Forget it."

"Don't you want to relive the good old days?"

"The good old days? How old are you? What happened to you Ritchie?"

"What do you mean? Nothing happened to me I'm fine." As soon as he finished speaking, Ritchie buried his face in his hands and started weeping like a baby.

Nobody in the living room knew what to do. Ash touched Ritchie's shoulder, however he had no idea of how continue their interaction, let alone what to say to him; situations like that were not his forte. Serena went over to try and console Ritchie and she offered her own shoulder for him to cry on. Ritchie immediately took her up on her offer and continued his little cry on Serena's shoulder.

"I need another opinion on this," Ash said, reincorporating from his maudlin friend. "Gary, what do you think, which region should I go to next?"

"I don't know," Gary replied scantily. "And I don't even care, I don't want to travel to any region anyway. Not even if they invited me."

"Would you like to come to Domerlac?" Karius stepped in and seized the opportunity. Although he seemed decidedly less interested in Gary.

"I don't know, maybe. What are you offering?"

"I'm offering to take the time to invite you dude, I mean you can come if you want to, nobody's telling you you can't, in fact nobody's even talking to you."

"Hey! Don't you know who I am?"

"Yes."

"You do?" Gary seemed genuinely surprised.

"Yes, you're Samuel Oak's nephew."

"Hey, I am my own person, okay?"

"Oh wow, no way. Hey everyone listen to this guy, he's his own person."

Something exploded outside. It didn't sound terribly loud but the floor on the living room trembled a little, at least enough to make everyone afraid. Thankfully that seemed to be the end of it.

Everyone went outside filled with curiosity. Smoke was coming out of a nearby tree, and the multitude were soon joined by Yvgeny, who was still next to the window, in inspecting the maligned zone.

They followed the smoke all the way to a small patch of grass surrounded by some trees not far from Ash's house. Their surprise and intense curiosity were matched, perhaps even surpassed, by what they found underneath the smoking tree. It was a strange vehicle, which looked like a gray compact car, very small, with a futuristic design and a pair of enlarged exhaust pipes coming from the back. It was not on fire, it didn't even look that damaged, but it was obvious the impact had been considerable, chiefly on the messed up tree.

The doors of the vehicle opened upwards, not sideways, and then a blueish-gray figure came out and immediately dropped on the ground. Ash, Serena and Ritchie rushed to help, but the figure raised nonchalantly and started dusting their clothes off with their hands before the trio reached the crash scene. The dust settled completely, the smoke disappeared and the group got close enough to take a good look at the unfortunate pilot, it was a girl with remarkably curly brown hair tied into a wild bun. She had a lively face and an unusual pair of blue eyes, with a pair of blue goggles above them adorning her forehead. She was wearing a shiny blue tank top that adjusted tightly to her skin and left her midriff bare, and blue shorts that ended above her knee, also very tight.

The girl immediately recognized Ash and her face lit up. She ran over and energetically extended her hand at him.

"Hello Ash!" She said with her high pitched yet pleasant voice. "I'm Emica, and I'm here to invite you to the technologically advanced, futuristically rich region of Kynomiral."

"Come on! Yet another one?" Scott cried behind them.

"I'm so glad I've found you Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, I was afraid I would arrive too late. That's why I—as you can see—didn't take the necessary precautions on the road."

"You did get here too late, leave!"

"Are you okay?" Ritchie asked her. His eyes were still swollen from his crying earlier but he felt better.

"Yeah, why? Oh this," Emica pointed behind her at her crashed vehicle, "don't worry, my travel pod is very safe. So what do you say Ash Ketchum," Emica said looking straight at Ash, who was confused, scared and excited all at the same time, "are you ready to come with me to Kynomiral?"

"Uhh… you bet!"

"Wait! Hold on a minute," Jake cried out. "You can't just come here and snatch him away. Ash! You need to decide bro, who's it gonna be?"

Jake pointed at Ash in an accusatory manner, to which Ash responded—or rather he didn't—by staring at nothing in particular, silently, and with a contemplative look on his face. It was obvious he was going to leave on a journey with one of them, but it was also obvious he had no idea of which one of them it would be. Just then, as they waited patiently for Ash to move and answer them, his eyes became ten times bigger, then he smacked his cheeks loudly. That whole ordeal had made Ash forget something really important, and remembering about it made him explode internally. Everyone else took his volatile reaction as signifying that he had made a decision. They were dying from the expectation.

"I just remembered!" Ash said, with everyone's expectant eyes on him. They were practically frothing at the mouth.

Before anyone could speak Delia smacked her cheeks too, just as loudly as her son did a while ago, if not more.

"I just remembered too!" she said. "Ash, you should run back to the house immediately."

"That's what I'll do. Come on Serena," Ash said. He then bolted off back to his house, with Serena quickly reaching him and running by his side.

"…you know what," Jake said. "I blame Emica for this."

"Yeah, me too," Scott added.

"I don't know," Emica replied. "I have a good feeling about this…"