Ash Ketchum Z-Warrior Unleashed (Discontinued)

by pokemonrox7

When you lose, you get back up and start again. When you train to get stronger, you naturally get better. So, after Ash and his pokemon find themselves in a whole new dimension with people wielding incredible powers. What is he to do? Easy. With the great Son Goku as his mentor, Ash must train to become strong enough to face a threat that can bring both of his worlds to ruin...

6. I Have to What? Training With King Kai!

Step…

Step…

Step…

Ash had never heard such a lonely sound in his life; the sound of his lone footsteps traversing the insane length of Snake way.

His movements were extremely sluggish and his face showed that he was absolutely fed up with this stupid path. What was Goku thinking, sending him on this seemingly endless trail?

Heck, what was Ash thinking when he took Goku up on this offer?

Pikachu was no different, letting out sighs of annoyance at the tenacity of the wicked Snake Way. When King Yemma had said that it was long, he meant it.

Step…

Step…

Step…

They had been on the path for nearly half a year now, 168 days total. It was exactly as the red skinned ogre had said.

Long.

Trying.

And above all, boring.

They had no need for food or water, or any other necessities while they were travelling down the path, but as Ash saw it, this was a pretty poor substitute for actual training like he had received seven months prior.

Step…

Step…

Step…

They were nearing the deadline they set for themselves a few days down the path. When Goku ran the path, he arrived nine days from now. They wanted to beat, or at least match that seemingly absurd goal. Ash couldn't get better if he didn't try to so by outdoing his teacher, now could he?

Step…

Step…

Step…

Speaking of the orange-clad saiyan, it was at least a little heartining that he often showed up once or twice a week and helped mix thing up a bit by sparring with the raven-haired trainer.

Of course, the sparring was slightly precarious as they were fighting on a path only a few meters wide. If Ash had fallen off the path, he'd fall straight into H.F.I.L, according to Goku.

Ash wasn't exactly sure if he was serious or not, but he honestly didn't want to take the risk, Goku didn't stay around for long though, and soon enough, it was back to just Ash and Pikachu on the lonely trail.

Step…

Step…

Step…

He did see the merit in this at least. The stamina and endurance, as well as the patience and perseverance he had gained while travelling down the road had been made clear in the sparring and the time he was making.

There was one instance where he ran down the path for about twelve full days before he began to tire, and even after that, he could fly for another eight days before he finally needed a break. But even then, Snake Way just kept going on and on...

Step…

Step…

...

As the absence of the following footstep registered in Ash's head, he suddenly looked down at his feet. It had appeared that one of his feet had lost contact with the road.

Suddenly realising that the lack of balance was about to send him down into H.F.I.L, Ash yelped and stumbled backwards, onto the safety of the path behind him, Pikachu falling off his shoulder.

Ash took a moment to observe the cause of his near slipup and gasped.

It was the tail, the end of Snake Way.

There was no more path.

Upon realising this, the trainer was just about to burst with jubilation. Finally! Finally, he had conquered the almighty Snake Way! There was only one factor that kept him from shouting that out in joy.

There wasn't anything at the end...nothing...Just a light milky pink sky and soft orange clouds could be seen.

Deciding not to panic, Ash resolved to try something.

He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. He proceeded to empty his head of all distracting thoughts.

Ash wasn't a pro at this yet though, so it took a few moments to activate his ki sensing; impressive, due to the extremely short amount of time that he had been training thus far, but still not as much as his teacher, who could do so pretty much instantaneously.

Upon the activation of his sensing ability, he then began to feel all around the area, his ki being used as a detector for other signs of life energy in the radius of the endless expansion of calm, pink skies.

For a while, the only one that he could sense was Pikachu, who was looking at Ash curiously, wondering what he was doing.

"Come on…come on…you have to be here…" Ash couldn't help but repeat said mantra. If there wasn't anyone here, then…

His eyes snapped open, and he looked up at the sky, in the direction of three ki signatures, one being vastly larger than the others. With the knowledge that there was someone there, Ash couldn't help but sigh in relief.

Upon closer observation, Ash saw a strange object in the sky. It was far away, and from his position, it looked like a small moon, but unlike his own moon, it was slightly green

That was as far as Ash could make out; he and Pikachu were too far away to tell anything further. There was one thing that he could confirm though, and it was that the strange object was where the ki Ash sensed had come from.

That was when something most peculiar happened.

"Hello, can you hear this?"

A somewhat scratchy and nasally voice suddenly echoed in Ash and Pikachu's heads. Gasping in shock at the sudden strange voice, they looked around for any signs of another person, but there was no one but them as far as they could see.

"Ah, so you can hear me, you must be the ones my student told me about, Ash and Pikachu, right?"

The voice asked, again echoing in their minds.

"Wh-Who is this?" Ash asked out loud, hoping he'd get a reply. A few moments later, he managed to get a reply back.

"Why, I'm King Kai, I live up on the planet above you. I was also the one who trained Goku when he reached the end of Snake Way, I must say, I'm very impressed, you managed to arrive nine days before he did, that's no small feat, I'll tell you that." The now named KIng Kai said.

"I...did?" Ash asked in reply. Temporarily forgetting that random voices weren't supposed to just appear in his head, he let a triumphant grin stretch across his face.

"Ha ha! Alright! We beat Goku's time here, buddy!" Ash cheered as he lifted up his partner and swung him around in circles, eliciting laughter from Pikachu.

"Anyway, come up here, face to face talking is something I prefer over telepathy, not that it's hard for someone like me, mind you." King Kai said.

Hm, was that a hint of ego that Ash could hear…?

Eh, it was probably his imagination.

"Uh, you're on that greenish moon up there, right?" Ash asked. He could've sworn he heard a snort before King Kai replied.

"That's my planet, for your information, it's a small size compared to yours however, so I see justification in your reasoning. Anyway, get up here." King Kai said.

Nodding, Ash hopped up into the air and began ascending towards the planet, Pikachu on his shoulder.

The planet eventually began to grow in size as they got closer, but it still wasn't much to gawk at. It was miniscule compared to a normal planet, and that was putting it lightly. Upon closer inspection, it would seem to have a diameter of sixty to seventy meters all the way around. It wasn't even the standard length of an average Pokemon Baccer field.

Deciding to focus on other things besides the planet's size, Ash noticed a few apple trees around the area. There was also a well right outside what appeared to be a domed shaped house, and right next to that house looked to be a storage shed or something akin to that.

The final two things he noticed just by looking was the grass that covered the entirety of the planet's earth, and a white path that actually did wrap around the planet.

Those were the last things he noticed.

Visually, that is...

Suddenly, Ash felt like he weighed much, MUCH heavier upon coming into close proximity with the planet.

"Wh-What the heck!? What's happening!?" Ash thoughts ran through his head in an alarmed state.

Pikachu also felt the massive weight increase, and instantly became hard pressed to cling onto Ash's shoulder.

With the feeling of being weightless as he flew on his mind, the last thing Ash was expecting was not only to feel himself getting heavier, but also the fact that he was being pulled down.

The raven-haired trainer grunted as he tried to stay afloat, 'tried to' being the key phrase.

With his exhaustion from travelling Snake Way, his unpreparedness of the planet's unique feature, and the fact that he was simply not skilled enough in flight just yet to fully escape, he could no longer resist the pull of the planet.

Knowing this, Ash hurriedly wrapped his arms around Pikachu protectively and turned so his back faced the miniscule planet.

He could take the landing…

…he hoped.

As they fell to the small sphere below, falling at an unnatural speed, the duo managed to share a mutual thought.

Why Goku had never told them about this?

CRASH!

After the unfortunate crash landing, Ash and Pikachu lay face-up in the earth of the planet for a few moments in their own Ash-shaped crater

Ash couldn't help but let out a small grunt of pain as he hit the ground faster than he would've liked.

Thankfully he had gotten used to pain, due to all of the combat training that he had done with Goku, training which hurt way more than this.

He looked down to his chest and saw the dazed and confused form of his partner, who had seemed to also been affected by the weight increase.

Seriously…Pikachu was always light enough for Ash to comfortably carry him on his shoulder, but now? He weighed probably as much as Gabite, or Charizard!

That kind of impact on his ribs as they hit the ground at terminal velocity was…unpleasant, to say the least.

Well, it's not like Ash could talk. He felt so much heavier too, almost like he was wearing the really heavy training weights that Goku made him train with for a solid month.

Still, by looking at it, it seemed that Pikachu was ok. That was good enough for Ash…

A few moments later, they were treated to the sound of approaching footsteps. They sounded smooth and constant, not the kind of movements he was expecting with a planet that had a condition like this.

"Hmmhmm!" A strange sounding chuckle filled the duo's ears. Practically straining to even move their heads, Ash and Pikachu saw someone standing above them.

On a first glance basis, he was a weird looking individual.

He had a very short stature, a pair of cricket-like antennae on top of his head, as well as pointy ears and his skin was a calm shade of blue. He wore teashade sunglasses, white boots, a pink-red undershirt, and draped over his whole form but the tips of his feet and head, was black Kai garments, with yellow rims around the sleeves, neck and hem. Adorning the robes was a black symbol on a white background, which meant 'King'.

What really struck Ash and Pikachu as peculiar was the glowing ring above King Kai's head. It looked like a...halo?

King Kai noticed they were looking at the ring and huffed, looking up. Already knowing the question that they were going to ask, he spoke up

"Yeah, that means I'm dead. You can blame your teacher for that." The wizened Kai grumbled.

Ash and Pikachu's eyes widened. This guy was a ghost or something?

"Still, at least I have a body in this realm, so I only have the downside of being humiliated for being dead when us Kais meet." He continued, dissuading Ash and Pikachu's thoughts.

After letting out a ragged sigh, King Kai looked down at the duo.

"So, Ash and Pikachu, eh? My name is King Kai, the teacher of Son Goku, the Earth's strongest warrior!" He exclaimed with pride.

He then noticed that Ash was trying to get to his knees, but having a very difficult time doing so.

"Heh heh, it doesn't surprise me that Goku forgot to mention that this planet has ten times the gravity of yours."

"Huh…? Sorry, I-I think I misheard—"

"Ten. Times."

"…"

King Kai let that sink in for the duo.

"T-TEN TIMES!?/P-PIKAPIKA?! Both Ash and Pikachu cried in alarm.

King Kai nodded. "Mmhmm, you should probably try to get up, I'll wait." He said, before taking a seat on the reclining chair a few meters away.

Upon receiving the Kai's instruction, Ash and Pikachu tried to get up on their feet.

It definitely wasn't easy. With the added gravity, Pikachu found himself trying to get his now sixty kilogram body to move off of Ash's chest in an attempt to get to the ground where he could regain more footing.

Ash barely fared any better as he strained to push his now over four hundred kilogram body out of the crater. Thanks to his training from Goku however, he found it a little easier than Pikachu to get onto his feet.

"Amazing! No one but Goku has shaken off ten times normal Earth gravity that easily before..." King Kai thought.

Ash staggered in place for a brief moment, trying to get into a position where he could stand without too much trouble.

He eventually settled for a neutral standing position with his legs slightly bent. He found that helped him deal with the gravitational forces the most.

Accepting the fact that this was what Ash could manage right now, King Kai walked back over to the two.

"Now, tell me Ash…Goku said you were worthy to be trained by me, but do you, yourself believe you yourself are worthy? I must warn you, I am a very exalted person and my power isn't to be taken lightly by someone like you. Your training isn't going to be easy, just like Goku's." King Kai explained.

Ash began to nod, but quickly stopped himself as he realized that would probably have some negative effects on his body. Instead he faced the Kai with a fiery determination in his eyes.

"I do...I do believe that I'm ready...please, King Kai, become my teacher!" Ash replied.

He didn't want to think of the consequences if he had actually bowed…

He was shocked however, when King Kai simply turned to look at the sky to the left.

"Hm, well, if what you say is true and you truly want to train under me, then you must pass my test..." The Kai replied.

The revelation that there was a test shocked Ash slightly, but he regained composure quickly. He had come this far, and he was not going to give up.

"Sure, I'm ready for whatever test you throw at me!" He replied confidently, tensing himself for any of the numerous scenarios he thought that King Kai would suggest.

A spar with the Kai himself?

A trial to escape the planet's gravity?

A timed race to see how fast he could get around the planet with the gravity?

Or maybe it was-

"Tell me a joke; make me laugh." King Kai replied finally.

Pikachu was sent sprawling to the ground after all the effort of trying to get up, while Ash simply stood dumbfounded.

Was this guy serious? That was all they needed to do?

"I warn you though, I am the King of Comedy, as well as a Kai, so you won't exactly have an easy time." The Kai continued.

"W-Well...um...ok, if you say so..." Ash replied, crossing his arms and closing his eyes in thought. He began thinking back to times he heard a funny joke, or at least something that could be classified as a joke. He couldn't remember any of his friends from his dimension that had told a joke that would make the Kai laugh, except for Brock's good old "Frying Pan, Drying Pan" one liner, but he doubted that would work.

Eh, what the heck.

"If you ever find yourself camping in the woods, and it starts to rain, you…uh…need not fear! For…for…um…for if you grab your trusty frying pan, and place it on your head…it becomes…"

Pause for effect…

"…a drying pan!"

A second passed.

"..."

Two seconds passed…

"..."

Three seconds passed…

"..."

And after the most awkward, kill-me silence that Ash had ever endured…

"Pfft…! Pfffft…BAAHAHAAHAAHAAHAAHAA!"

The Kai burst into untamed laughter...

"Well, that was easy..." Ash thought.

Eight months later...

The last eight months had been absolutely grueling on Ash and his pokemon. King Kai came across as somewhat of a goofball, maybe, but he was indeed a wizened Kai with strength to back up his words.

The beginning of the training sounded simple. He was to catch King Kai's pet monkey, Bubbles.

That sounded much easier on paper though…

With the gravity weighing him down, it was safe to say Ash was off to a rather slow start.

So, while Pikachu was trying to get used to the gravity by simply trying to stand up, Ash was trying to get used to the gravity by racing around the planet, trying to catch the elusive monkey.

With every passing hour, Ash trained to become less sluggish, fully determined to regain the mobility that he once possessed on Earth. All his focus was on trying to catch Bubbles; King Kai couldn't go further in training him otherwise.

As the days rolled by, Ash and Pikachu slowly grew used to the insanely unnatural level of gravity that they had been inflicted with. Ash was certainly making sure that not one spare moment was spent on not catching the ever elusive primate.

He struggled onwards every day, forgoing meals and sleep in favor of training to overcome the planet's gravity. Exhaustion and hunger were long forgotten factors, since he hadn't felt either ever since he was brought to this realm a while ago.

Ash really hoped that both didn't stack against him when he came back home. That would suck.

On the twelfth day of performing this exercise, a result was finally garnered.

"Nnnggh! Come on…!"

"Oooh-Oooh! OOOOH!" A defeated cry from the monkey announced the victor.

"Ha ha! Gotcha!

Ash finally grasped the speedy monkey cementing his status as one who had mastered the planet's superpowered gravity

This caused King Kai to almost choke on the tea he was drinking.

Ash took twelve days to catch Bubbles?!

Goku took forty!

The Kai watched as the trainer bounded around, celebrating his adaption to the gravity.

"It makes no sense. Despite such a strong desire to get stronger, resistance can only be built so fast…It would've made sense if he had the genes of a saiyan, but as far as I can tell, he's a totally normal human…" King Kai couldn't help but muse in disbelief.

Whether he chose to believe it or not, Ash had somehow transcended his expectations even more so than Goku had done. With this level of growth, it was obvious that Goku had picked a student that surpassed titles like 'talented' or 'prodigal.'

It was going to be really interesting to see how Ash's training would go in the coming months…

More time passed, and King Kai wasted no time in teaching Ash everything that Goku had been taught when he first arrived on the planet. The first thing to teach him would be the…

Ash was kneeling on the ground, panting after he had gone to level three of the Kaioken. Ash had almost torn his whole body apart as the power boost ravaged his unprepared body, before a slam to the skull, courtesy of King Kai's staff, befell him, turning his mind away from the empowering technique.

"Ash! I told you that while the Kaioken grants you great power, it is extremely dangerous should you head for levels you are unprepared for. As you are now, you can hardly handle the first stage, much less the third. Remember that before you think about practicing anything out of your reach without my supervision!" The Kai scolded.

Imagine his surprise when, not a week later, Ash had not only perfected X3 with minimal difficulties, but was working on X4 and already had plans for X5. It was hard to NOT be stunned, considering that, at this moment, Goku still hadn't caught Bubbles yet…

The Spirit Bomb came next. King Kai had called it his ace in the hole, the move to use if Ash wanted to finish a fight. Taking energy from the planet itself, along with the surrounding planets, and even the sun, allowed Ash to combine them into either a palm sized orb, or a massive ball of energy that dwarfed even King Kai's planet.

The problem there was the fact that Ash had somehow been able to create the latter when they first gauged his potential with the attack.

…Instantaneously…

…On his first try…

Clearly, the trainer couldn't help but freak as he frantically looked to King Kai for help on how to deal with this massive sphere of ki that was about eight times larger than the very planet that they were standing on.

King Kai however, could not retain his shock.

"A-A flawless Spirit Bomb…in an instant…H-How can this be? Not even Goku as he is now, can manage that…to even remotely reach that kind of efficient formation as quickly as that, the gathered energy must have been collected in one fell swoop and manifested above Ash's hands at unfathomable speeds, rivalling—no, surpassing light!"

To put it into layman's terms, that would just be like if raindrops fell in one sheet of water and hit the ground all at once.

"King Kai! Please help me!" The worried cry of Ash helped bring the spectacled Kai back to the present, making him remember that they currently had a massive energy sphere to deal with.

Calming Ash down, he then instructed the worried boy to simply push the bomb away in a random direction, where it would eventually dissipate. Ash did just as the Kai instructed, and found himself all too relieved when the attack left his hands, spirited away from the miniature planet and its occupants, pun not intended.

As the Spirit Bomb flew into the cloud covered void, where it would eventually dissipate, King Kai felt the need to contact Goku and inform him that the pupil that he had taken on was completely insane!

Gravity, power boosts, damn orbs of spirit energy that dwarfed his planet! Nothing slowed him down. A task was given to Ash, and the boy would complete it mere days after it was assigned. He was outpacing his teacher at every turn

That kind of growth wasn't only incredible, it was actually kind of scary…

It would come as to no surprise that, when Ash left this planet, he would be far stronger than the Kai; anything less simply wouldn't do.

However, this absurd rate of improvement was clearly something that no one was prepared for.

How long would it be before his power surpassed the Supreme Kais'?

Goku's?

Would even the Gods be his limit?

As Ash relaxed on the soft grass of the planet, King Kai made a mental note to try and refine Ash's training to match his growth. A difficult task for sure, but Ash was worth the time. This kind of improvement warranted nurturing to the highest order.

No one that trained under King Kai would ever be inadequately trained.

The very first thing that the Kai did was set Ash up on a daily meditation schedule. For almost half the day, Ash would be made to meditate. King Kai had explained his reasoning when Ash began.

"You see, Ash. You may grow at an extremely fast rate, much faster than I would've ever expected, but I'm afraid that there is a problem with it." He said.

"Oh really? What is it?" Ash asked, looking to the Kai as he finished his stretches.

"You see, Ash, you're still a mere child, and if you go through normal training means, you're eventually going to be handicapped by your own body; disadvantaged until you get older. You may think at a higher levelled fighter's capability, but that's ultimately useless if you can't compress your abilities within your body, as it is now." King Kai explained.

Ash regarded his current teacher's advice and looked all over his body.

Well, ever since he started to train, he knew that he was eventually build up some muscle mass, and upon inspection, that proved to be the case.

Every rock that he lifted, distance that he ran, and every second he was under this planet's gravity, he grew stronger.

His biceps bulged slightly more than they used to, and his chest felt kind of hard to hit. He didn't have something like a visible set of abs, but his waist was well-toned. Each time his muscle fibers broke down, they were built back up, stronger than ever.

And therein lied the problem. If Ash kept going like this, he was eventually going to end up becoming a musclehead!

He remembered back in his world, where people like Crasher Wake and Lieutenant Surge were very bulky. Here, that was even more so, with Goku and any one of his friends being quite muscular.

If he was being honest, if King Kai had a way to compress the fruits of his training into his body as it was now, then that would be really useful.

Hey, just because he wanted to get stronger didn't mean that he wanted it to actually show. Not only would it get enemies to underestimate him, but he just thought he looked better without being all muscly.

That was how King Kai began to teach Ash the "Pīkokku meisō-hō" or the Peacock Meditation technique.

The basis of the technique was hiding strength within his body, rather than showing it outside in the form of a muscle clad body. As he meditated, the power that he attained was stored within his body, but not by breaking down and rebuilding muscle fibers, resulting in a more muscular form.

No, it simply increased the durability of the current fibers and how much they could hold so that they could handle increasingly large levels of strain. This resulted in his power increasing, but his physical form not actually changing.

Trying to get to a stage where he could comfortably maintain that meditative state was a trying challenge though. It was to no surprise that it was rather hard to get Ash into a meditative state like the Peacock.

He was brilliant in terms of physical growth…but maybe not so much in the mental aspect…

Hey, nobody's perfect.

However, within three months, Ash had finally mastered the meditation technique, and his body was in the clear. Now he could comfortably continue growing in power as if he were in his prime age.

That was a relief. Pikachu couldn't help but think of how many times that he would fall off a bulked-up Ash's shoulder…

Since they weren't on a time limit like Goku was, when Earth was under the threat of the two malicious saiyans, Ash's training went even deeper than Goku's ever did.

The next technique that King Kai decided to teach Ash was the art of instant travel. A form of transportation that allowed one to travel at a speed that surpassed even light.

Instant Transmission.

At this point in time, there were only two people outside of the Yardratians, the race that developed the technique, that knew how to perform the complex move: Goku, and King Kai.

Instant Transmission was a really useful move to have in his arsenal. The ability to warp away and reappear wherever he sensed life energy was a power that he simply couldn't pass up.

However, to master such a great technique was no small feat, even for Ash with his abnormal improvement rate. It was one of the most complex moves that Ash had attempted to master thus far. It made the Kamehameha seem like child's play. The race that created this incredible move was certainly admirable.

He had the sensing life energy thing down pat, but "jumping" to said life energy's location? Yeah, that was a bit of a roadblock for him…

It was really disorienting for him. Trying to imagine his own ki reaching out to form a "bridge" to where he wanted to go and then trying to follow it on the created path by somehow "jumping" through it…wrapping his head around the concept took two months in itself. It required total focus and intense concentration. Ash didn't even want to think of whether or not he'd be able to pull it off in a dire situation…

It took him the majority of his time training to master it, almost all of the time he was on the planet in fact, but Ash's diligence and determination to learn the ability eventually made Instant Transmission one of his own techniques.

King Kai had stated that it took Goku almost a year and a half to learn the advanced move, causing Ash to whoop in celebration and thank the Kai for teaching him.

However, the true highlight of the training trip, and one of Ash's most impressive feats was actually creating a variation of the final technique that Goku taught him before dropping him off on Snake Way, the Kamehameha.

The concept was complex, and totally mastering said move required intimate knowledge of the Kamehameha and near perfect control over it. Though that wasn't to say that it took too long, three months in fact. It couldn't be forgotten that Ash's improvement rate was tremendous. He could now move a fully powered Kamehameha anywhere in his body, including his fingertips, with which he could shoot out little superpowered beams if he wanted to.

King Kai even said that Ash's impressive mastery of the attack matched Goku's which was a huge morale boost for the boy

Of course, the Kai's impressment only grew when he had seen the technique that Ash had conceived.

It was so dangerous and impressive, that Ash requested to show it only when he was a great distance away from the planet, something King Kai was very grateful for, seeing that Goku always tore up the planet whenever he trained there.

King Kai was very happy that Ash wasn't like his teacher.

On the fifth month, King Kai gave Ash a gift. It was a folded bundle of strange garments that definitely didn't look Earthly, or even Otherworldly.

"What's this?" Ash asked.

"Hn hn! These are a gift for you. I requested them from someone very important. Go on, try them on." King Kai urged.

With a slightly bewildered expression, but soon replaced with an understanding one, Ash nodded and went inside the house to change. The clothes he had been wearing for so long hadn't been washed in ages, and they were torn and scuffed nearly everywhere. Needless to say, Ash was very grateful to have some new clothes.

As he suited up, Ash couldn't help but marvel at how comfy the clothes were, and how they didn't feel like they restricted his movements in any way.

Passing a mirror on the way out allowed Ash to take a look at himself.

His new look consisted of a black form-fitting short-sleeved shirt, along with black pants and fully closed black boots with white soles. Blue bandages wrapped all the way down from his shins to the top of his boots. The ensemble was completed with blue armbands, a flowing dark blue vest with a long backside, almost like a cape, that was secured with a blue obi tied over it at his waist.

Upon exiting the house, the inhabitants of the planet gave a grin at the new and improved Ash.

"Heh! I look pretty cool, don't I?" Ash asked.

"Pika Pika Chaaa Pikapi! (You sure do, Ash!)" Pikachu replied.

King Kai then walked up to the newly garbed trainer.

"Now, that particular gi is very special. One of the things it can do, is grow with you, so you'll never outgrow the suit. Also, it can repel attacks that you can't block or dodge, but only to an extent, so don't go taking any major blows now…" King Kai warned.

With a nod from Ash. King Kai then went even deeper with explaining the outfit.

"Now here's the special thing about this gi. It can stimulate gravity in your body, just like this planet does, but to a much greater extent.

In fact, the amount of gravity you'll be able to train under could be practically limitless.

All you need to do, is channel a slow flux of ki into that the gi when you want to raise the gravity and send a quick pulse of ki to release it." King Kai explained.

"Whoa..." Ash said in awe, looking at the outfit. If that was the case, the amount of power that he could amass would be unfathomable

Like the Kai said, Ash placed a hand onto the suit and began to channel ki into it.

In hindsight he probably should've listened a little more.

"Ugh…!" Ash groaned as he almost instantly collapsed to the ground, feeling even heavier than he did when her arrived on King Kai's planet. Pikachu gasped and ran over to help his trainer, but the electric type couldn't do anything.

"Hah…you fool." King Kai sighed and walked over, putting his hand on the gi and sending out a ki pulse to stop the effects of the outfit.

Ash grunted, panting heavily as the gravity disappeared.

"Ash, you used too much ki on the suit. I estimate that it was all the way up to ten times normal Earth gravity." The Kai said.

"B-But I'm used to ten times Earth's gravity by now…" Ash panted as he tried to recover.

"You may have gotten used to this planet's gravity, but adding multiplications of gravity on top on an already multiplied gravity zone makes for a much greater force than if you were on Earth. Right now, you must have been subjected to about a hundred times normal Earth gravity. You're lucky that you aren't dead."

Ash couldn't help but gulp.

"You are strong Ash, but don't ever overestimate yourself and go to something higher you can handle, chances are there won't be anyone there to turn the gravity stimulation off. The weaker the flux, the more time it takes to add gravity, and the stronger the flux, the less time it takes. Be careful when using this for training. Don't ever bite off more than you can chew. Remember that..." King Kai said.

Ash smiled. It was nice to see that the old guy cared. "Y-You got it..."

Curiosity struck him as he sat up. "So…how did you come across this awesome gi?" He asked.

The Kai coughed to clear his throat. He wasn't expecting Ash asking a question like that.

"Well, I'm not on grounds to say...but she owed me a favor, and she seemed really eager to do it, so I let her. I'll be sure to thank her for you." King Kai replied.

A few months prior…

In a place outside of the solar system…

The galaxy…

The universe…

In a place that was above all of that was a very special area.

Almost like a coliseum, the area housed a wonderous green field. To the place's right was a small domed house with what looked like a strange oversized bird perch attached to it, like an above average in size avian creature liked to rest there.

To the left was a crystal-clear pond, bordered by rocks, both looking more pristine then they had any right to be.

Separating the two was a wide path, paved by oversized bricks, which led to a large building that exuded a feeling of importance. Strangely, it seemed to have a massive tree growing out the top of it.

All of this lay under a giant domed barrier of Katchin, the same metal that beat the famed Z-Sword.

Soon, a woman, garbed with purple and blue-gray Supreme Kai robes, tied with a yellow belt along with a dark undertop, and pearl white boots and sleeves that reached up to her elbows exited the building. She had milky pink skin and glossy pink hair. Hanging from her pointed ears were two Potara earrings.

As she walked down the path to get to her house, she suddenly heard a nasally voice echo inside her head.

"Hello? Hello? Supreme Kai of Time?"

Almost instantly recognizing the voice, the fellow Kai looked up to the sky and began to converse

"Oh, hello North Kai. How long has it been since we talked? Forty million years or so?"

"Ho ho! Yes, it has been a while, hasn't it?"

"Mmhm, it has. So much has happened since you and I last met! We got a fully-fledged unit of warriors that are willing to help us correct abnormalities in time and help in protecting it! Now I can finally relax for a bit! I'm no good at fighting, and manually correcting time scroll by scroll is so exhausting. All those brave warriors are already hard at work correcting history, tackling tens of misshapen timelines at a time. I haven't had so much free time in ten million years! I even decided on a name as well."

"Oh? I'm very glad to hear that you're doing so well for yourself. What name did you choose?"

"Heh! The coolest name ever: The Time Patrol!"

"Not bad…self-explanatory, catchy. It's pretty good."

"It sure is! Oh, by the way, speaking of things that have happened, how's death treating you?

"…"

"Um, hello? Anyone there."

The female Kai could've sworn she heard an irritated groan on the other end.

"Ahem…anyway, while it's nice to catch up…I find myself requiring that favor from you, you know, back when all the Kais met up forty million years ago?

"Oh yeah, when you helped me catch Tokitoki. I do recall saying that I owe you one."

"Yes, I wish to collect that favor now."

"Hm…well, I think it's about time to get out of your debt. What do you need me to do?"

"Well…I need you to…make a set of clothes. Battle clothes. Preferably a kind that can repel small attacks and have some kind of training option implemented in them, like gravity stimulation. Oh, and a kind that can grow with the wearer as well."

Both sides of the line were silent as the female Kai processed the request.

After a few moments, she finally responded.

"I can certainly manage that, but you do understand that I can't make such precious garments without a good reason. Making something like that'll be tricky, even for me, and it needs to be completely made by my hands as well."

"I recall that you are quite a capable seamstress, Supreme Kai of Time."

King Kai wanted to throw in a jab at her skill with cooking in comparison, but he didn't want to lose the deity that watched over time's favor.

"Sure, I am, but I can't just make one willy-nilly. If you want—"

"I have a very good reason for asking you this…You see, I've taken on another student…"

This surprised the pinkette.

"Another student, like Goku…?"

"At Goku's request. But this kid…he's something special…I have never seen anyone with as much potential as him. Not even Goku."

The female Kai was stunned.

King Kai was a very good judge of character, perhaps the best of all the lower Kais, so making a claim so incredibly bold confirmed that King Kai himself believed in this special student of his.

"Supreme Kai of Time, there is no one else I know that could create garments more suited to him then you. I truly believe that he can do great things, and your garments can help him to get to the level that he was meant to reach…So please…heed my request…"

After a few moments of not getting a reply, it became apparent that the pinkette was thinking her answer over. Looking at it objectively, she didn't really have a reason to create her divine clothes just from his word alone.

Then came the unexpected request.

"Let me see him…"

"Eeeh!?"

"I wanna judge him for myself. So, let me see this person, and let me see for myself if he's worthy."

"…Is it that important to you?"

"It is."

King Kai knew the Supreme Kai of Time, and he knew that if she was going to even consider making one of her divine garments, her requirements would need to be met.

"Very well. Conjuring visual images puts a greater strain on me then sending telepathic messages, but I suppose I'll have to oblige."

"Gotcha, I just got to close my eyes to receive the image?"

"That is correct. Allow me a few moments…"

King Kai then turned his gaze to Ash, who was going through katas that improved his focus for his training in the Kamehameha, oblivious to the godly conversation that he was having.

King Kai memorized every single aspect of Ash. His movements, his stance, his appearance and expression. Absolutely nothing went unnoticed by the Kai.

After he had fully garnered enough memorization to create a full image, he then reached back out to the female Kai.

"Alright, have you closed your—?"

"Yeah, yeah, I've got them closed. Show me who this guy is already!"

"Hmph! Your patience is astounding…Here he is." King Kai proceeded to send the image through.

The image took a little longer to send over than telepathy. One could liken it to trying to shoot a gun, but instead of using bullets, it was ice cubes. Since visual images weren't entirely meant to be sent over, it was a lot harder to receive one then it was for spoken words.

The image began to form in her head, slowly coming into focus…slowly showing the fighter that King Kai had claimed was worthy.

Finally…the image arrived in full…

And the Supreme Kai of Time's entire world fell apart…

"…"

"…"

"…huh…?"

Her entire body froze. Her mind clouded over. Everything was lost to her as her vision was locked onto the boy in front of her.

"H-He…he…"

The pinkette tripped over her thoughts, as emotions swelled to the forefront of her being.

"He…looks just like—"

"—ime! —Kai of Time! Supreme Kai of Time!"

The image disappeared, and the female Kai shot back to reality with a gasp.

"Did the image get through ok?"

"…"

"Can you hear me?"

"Y-Yes…I can hear you…"

King Kai was taken aback. The girl at the other end sounded completely different than before. Like she had just had just experienced something that crushed her reality.

Still, he did have a job to do. So, against his better judgement, he pushed further.

"Ahem! So, what do you think? I know that he doesn't look like much, but in time—"

"I'll do it…"

"Eh…? I beg your par—?"

"I SAID I'D DO IT! I'LL MAKE THE STUPID GARMENTS AND SEND THEM TO YOU! AND YOU BETTER MAKE SURE HE WEARS IT! NOW GOODBYE!"

"Aaaah!? S-Supreme Kai of Time? What is—?"

It was no use. The female Kai had cut their connection immediately after that little outburst, and he had no luck trying to reconnect with her either.

The confusion was like a great wave for the Kai. Something had shaken up the caretaker of time, and it seemed to have something to do with Ash…

…

Well, he couldn't really delve into the affairs of other Kais, and even if he could, he had a feeling that this was something that she would maybe like to keep private.

Anyway, he had accomplished his goal. He had convinced the Supreme Kai of Time to make the outfit, which would definitely help out Ash in his future endeavors.

Now all they had to do was wait until it was delivered…

Meanwhile, back at the time nest, the pinkette had taken a seat at the pristine pond, her arms wrapped around her legs which were pulled up to her chin.

"It's unbelievable…but his appearance…the way he carried himself…and that tremendously determined look in his eyes…it couldn't be anyone else…"

She listened to the soft, lapping sound of the water as memories she had long repressed tens of megaannums ago were brought back to the surface…

"Come on…can't I see yet?"

"Now, now. You're a Kai. Patience is supposed to be a thing you're good at."

"Mou…I'm a young Kai, I haven't learned that yet!"

"Ha-ha! Well don't worry. We're almost there."

She was only fifteen million years old at the time, barely having been crowned a Kai. It came with responsibilities that she wasn't prepared for, and for the first few millennia, she did horrid at her job. That was why she was crowned with the title of the Supreme Kai of Time, where her job was more focused on observing than fighting.

The problem was…she didn't really know how to do that either…

So, Daikaioh, the Grand Supreme Kai, requested the help of someone very special to assist the new Kai in understanding her job and her powers.

And right now, five years later, her training was complete.

As she woke up from a short nap today, she saw the mischievous face of the one who had helped her, urging her to come outside to show her a surprise he had for her for completing her training.

That was why her eyes were covered by the hands of that very special individual. She would've used her senses to get a hint, but he had managed to block them!

"Heh, sorry. Didn't want you spoiling your surprise," was his explanation.

She felt both of them walk for a few more minutes before they finally stopped.

"Sit down."

The new Kai obeyed and lowered herself to the ground, finding herself sitting on what seemed to be a log, or at least that's what it felt like.

"Alright, we're here. Ready for your surprise?" He asked her.

"Yes, yes! Show me already!"

She heard a chuckle from him.

"Wow, so excitable. Aren't you fifteen megaannums old, not fifteen millennia?"

The comment made her cheeks puff out in a pout.

"Shut up! You've hyped this thing up so much, I have no other option to be excited. I better be blown away by this." She said.

"Heh…I'm sure you won't be disappointed."

And then he took his hands away from her eyes.

And both them and her jaw were opened wide as she saw what was before her.

They were on top of a massive cliff overlooking an even bigger city. A city that she definitely knew had NOT been there before. Judging by how it was just floating in mid-air, it definitely wasn't an ordinary place.

The buildings were a soft white and ranged from ordinary living houses to high rise buildings that were as tall as skyscrapers. Or the trees from Malchior 7

She was not fond of the trees from Malchior 7…

They breathed fire…

"Wh-What is this place…" She asked in a state of awe.

In reply, he sat down next to her and gestured to the city.

"Well, this…it's your gift for completing your training." He answered, turning to her with a smile.

She looked to him with a gasp.

"Yup! This whole place is yours." He repeated himself, since it seemed like the Kai was in a state of shock.

The pinkette could only blink in reply before looking back at the gorgeous city.

"You may come off to some people as kind of self-centered, but I know that you care about every creature that you've been tasked to watch over, more than the average Kai. In every world, and in every timeline."

He reached a hand over and rested it on her head.

Sometimes though, the job will be more than you can handle, and timelines may suffer for it. I hate to say it, but there are those that you won't be able to save sometimes. So…the people who you can save, should a timeline collapse…"

He pointed to the massive city.

"…can live here until you fix everything up."

"Huh? R-Really?!" She asked, turning back to him.

"Yeah. Not just that, but I created this place to be totally immune to distortions in time or history. You don't need to worry about any assaults here, I made sure of it.

The Kai was speechless as she gazed back to the city once more.

"Wow…"

"Oh yeah, there's a portal there that teleports you to the Time Nest. Didn't want you sucking up valuable time and energy by needing to move from there to here, so you can travel from your home and here pretty much on a whim."

This time, she truly had no words. Travelling between galaxies was within a Kai's abilities, but it sucked as well. The only exception to this was Kabito Kai, but she couldn't ask him for rides whenever she wanted. She had her own reputation as a Kai to think about.

"So…go ahead. Tell me." He requested

"Huh? Tell you what?" She asked.

He smiled once more at her.

"Did I blow you away?"

"Eh?" The Kai asked, before remembering the beginning of their conversation.

"W-Well I suppose that this grand kingdom is adequate for the new Supreme Kai of Time Consider my expectations met!" She declared, standing up in a boastful expression.

He looked at her for a few seconds before he started to chuckle, standing up as he did so.

"Wh-What's so funny?" She asked him, shooting a small glare his way.

"Just like I said. Self-centered." He said, a smirk full of mirth on his face.

"H-Hey! What's that supposed to…mean…?"

The angry question trailed off as his hand was suddenly placed upon her head and ruffled her hair slightly.

"This city, it's my last gift to you, before we part ways…"

The pinkette was suddenly reminded of the stipulation that was always a factor when the deal to help train her was made. Eventually, he would need to return to his home after her training was complete. No matter if they liked it or not, that was always going to be a constant prerequisite.

The problem was…she didn't want that.

Years were…suggestive to the Kais and other divine beings. From their point of view, a single year could be a second to them; nothing so shocking for beings that lived for countless gigaannums.

But this person before her…the one who had stuck with her for only five years of her life…he seemed to be able to…cancel that relative perception. With him around, the seconds seemed to stretch into minutes, then hours, then days, then weeks, then months and then finally years.

What was supposed to be short had seemingly grown longer, though nothing actually changed. She should know. She was the new Supreme Kai of Time and would've been able to detect any changes in the timestream.

Ever since her very idealization, she was always a Kai first. Kai this, and Kai that. Her young self couldn't help but yearn for anything to break up the monotony. She couldn't help but wish that she was actually born as a lower being; to be normal.

She wanted to make friends. She wanted to play games. She wanted to go on adventures…

But she was a Kai. A Kai with a role that came into existence to match her. She was bound by laws that she needed to follow, whether she liked it or not…

But he changed that.

When he came onto the scene, her entire reality practically exploded out in front of her.

His main job was to train her to be a worthy Kai, to get her ready for a job that she knew barely anything about.

He had simply turned away from doing things that straightforwardly and resolved to train her in his own way.

Training…could she really call it that? It'd definitely be a stretch.

The closest thing that she could associate with training was reading a few scrolls and going through a small number of practical methods that she quickly got the hang of, despite the estimate being hundreds of millennia until a Kai would be proficient in her field.

The rest of the time, he had helped the pinkette realize some of her greatest desires.

He let her walk down streets on different planets and took her all over the universe to see sights she wouldn't have had if she was stuck on the Kais' homeworld.

She could safely say that it had been so fun, getting to experience everything that she had been missing for the first fifteen million years of her life.

It was kind of funny. She had lived for almost as long as the universe had. But…she didn't know a single thing about it.

That nights that fell upon a quiet town could be so peaceful and pretty amidst the flickering lights of stars trillions of miles away.

That all sorts of food tasted so good, which actually spurred on a recent hobby of hers: cooking.

That people could be so nice…which formed a sense of compassion and understanding within her for all pure life.

But the thing she loved about it most of all…was that he…her very first friend…was with her, helping her every step of the way…

And now…now all that fun…all those good times…

…they were all over…

"Um…hello? You still with me?"

His voice finally snapped her back into reality.

"H-Huh…?"

She saw the grin plastered on his face. The one that she had gotten used to after two years.

"You're still spacing out? Heh, looks like some things are just constants with—" He suddenly trailed off and stared at the Kai with widened eyes, prompting the girl to return the favor.

A few moments passed as her eyes met with his deep brown eyes…

Then, his vision fell to his feet before he sat back down on the log again, his expression now quite somber.

"Hn…yeah…I get it…I'm sad too."

The pinkette gasped as she realized that he had seemed to pick up on her negative emotions to their parting.

"Wh-What!? N-No! That's not true! I just—"

"—Save it. Your bottom lip is quivering, your heartbeat has slowed down by two and a half beats in the past fifteen seconds…and your eyes are all watery."

"Huh!?" The Kai cried as she brought her wrist up and furiously scrubbed away at the forming tears. It was not common for a Kai to cry, after all.

"Ca-Can you blame me…?" She asked. A good question in all honesty.

After being pried away from the normality of a Kai for the past five years, how could she be expected to go back to it…? How could she be expected to face it without her very first friend...?

"No…but I don't think that you're giving yourself enough credit here. You're much stronger than you think you are, you know?"

The pinkette lowered her arm from her eyes and looked at her friend with curiosity.

"Governing timelines, preventing distortions, keeping history safe…you're the only one who can do stuff like that. I certainly wouldn't be able to." He continued.

"But…but…you were the reason that I am strong…you're the reason that I've come this far. I'm just—"

"—the only person that could make your power your own. A seedling grows into a strong tree eventually, and it no longer needs the help it received while growing to stay sturdy."

As if to emphasize his point, a large tree suddenly burst from the ground behind, much to the Kai's surprise.

The trunk was very thick, possessing a circumference of fifteen meters around.

Branches and twigs sprouted from every which way around the tree as healthy green leaves sprouted forth, and even a few flowers strewn around the foliage.

It towered over them a good ten meters, the bark creaking as the mighty structure solidified over them, creating a pleasant shade that shielded them from the element above.

Overall, it was a very impressive tree, one that would've taken hundreds of years to grow under proper nurturing. And he had sprouted it in an instant.

"You've grown into a wonderfully strong tree, and one that I'll always be proud of."

Her vision trailed from the leaves of the tree to the face of her very first friend. A lazy breeze blew through the area, making both her pink hair, and his black hair sway in the wind.

"And no matter what happens from here on out, that fact will not change. Remember that…Chronoa."

Chronoa…

…her true name…

It wasn't a title like the Supreme Kai of Time, nor some kind of silly moniker, like the 'Lord of Time,' but instead, a name given upon her creation.

It was a name that only two people, besides her, knew: Daikaioh and him. And even then, Chronoa had requested that the Grand Supreme Kai not use her name, since it would soon be lost under her recent title.

But he was different once more. She had told him her name for no other reason than…well…he asked.

Ever since, he had used that name to constantly address her.

Chronoa…

"HEY! I told you not to call me that! Get it through your thick skull already!"

Chronoa…

"Hey…you know I don't care for my original name. Do you really have to say it…?

Chronoa…

"Haah…fine…if you insist. It's gone on so long, it'd be weird if you called me anything else now…plus…I have to admit…it has kinda caught on…"

After ages of refusing to address her by her title, Chronoa had to admit that it was kind of nice to have someone call her by her real name. That's why only he had the permission of calling her that.

….

As they both sat under the tree, Chronoa asked him another question.

"Why do you have so much faith in me?" She asked.

He turned to her, looking genuinely confused.

"Huh? I just do. Is that a problem?" He asked.

"Uh, kinda. If you don't have a reason to put your faith in me—"

"—If I did have a reason to put my faith in you, basing it on factors outside of who you are now, then you couldn't really call it faith now, could you?" He responded before she could finish her sentence.

The Kai opened her mouth for a second before closing it. That was actually a very good point.

"Just like there's sometimes no reason to help someone, and there's sometimes no reason to believe in someone, we still do it. That's one of the things that prove that we're alive. I believe in you, because I want to. That's all there is to it." He told her.

Chronoa could only nod in reply. He may be mischievous and cheeky at times, but her friend could also be very wise when he wanted to be.

A few minutes of silence passed as the two watched the rolling clouds slowly pass underneath the vibrant orange sky, an indication that it was nearly sunset.

Then the Kai heard the ravenette sigh…

"Well…I'm afraid it's time, Chronoa…you-know-who is calling me to come back. Probably wants my help to wake my lazy-ass brother up. I warned him to be awake when I came back or I was gonna pour water on him…"

Chronoa could hear him mumble something under his breath but chose not to comment on it. She had bigger things to worry about…

Her hope of him staying a little longer had been diminished. She had been dreading this day for a while, and now that it finally came…she didn't know what to think.

"If I may offer one last piece of advice, Chronoa…" He told her as he sat up from the log and dusted himself off.

"…try to find people like you…people that would want to protect history, and who are strong enough to do so. Start up some kind of organization if you can. An organization dedicated to protecting history. Trust me, having loads of people helping out will make the load much lighter for you."

Chronoa was unable to speak. Even as he was about to leave, he was still thinking about helping her. He couldn't be more selfless if he tried.

"Will…"

She tried to get the words out

"…Will we ever see each other again?!"

For some reason, she shouted the question, though, by the look on his face, it seemed like he had expected it.

Sighing once more before he let a wry smile come to his face, he nodded.

"Of course. This isn't goodbye forever. Maybe…when the time is right, I'll come back to see how much you've grown without me…it's not a goodbye at all, Chronoa. It's an "until we meet again." He said.

"B-But…"

The Kai didn't even care that tears were now streaming down her face.

"…you…you were…my very first f-friend…I-I don't want you to go! You can't leave me alone. I don't want to be alone again!" She cried desperate words from the heart.

To her surprise, Chronoa was quickly engulfed in a hug by her friend.

Due to him being much larger than her, his arms easily wrapped all the way around her small body.

"Chronoa…you know that I have to go. I have no choice…" He told her, as he let the girl sob into his shoulder.

"It's not like I want to…I'd love to have more fun with you; you're way too fun to tease!" He threw out a little joke, which may or may not have been well received due to the small groan that that he heard in between her sobs.

"Ehe…sorry. But seriously, it's not like you'll be completely alone. There's still the Kais. They'll help you stay standing if you ever think your knees are going to buckle. They're your family, and they'll always help you, no matter what. There's never any shame in asking for help."

"T-They're not…like you…though…" Chronoa pitifully whimpered as she sniffled into his shoulder.

Giving her comforting strokes through her hair, he gently urged the Kai to look him in the eyes.

"Chronoa…I promise that one day, we will see each other again. You know that I always keep my promises, right?" He asked her.

Managing to calm down a little, she managed a meek nod.

"A-Almost to…to a fault…" She replied, even managing a tiny smile at the thought.

Chuckling at the compliment…? Jab…? He wasn't really sure…he then gently broke apart the embrace, but kept one arm on her left shoulder.

"So, until then, I want you to remember this well…" He said as he reached up above their heads with his right hand.

"No matter what, I'll always be here with you. I may not be here with you in a physical form…I may not answer, even if you shout as loud as you can…but as long as you remember me, remember the fun we had, remember the times we were happy, remember the moments we were together…"

He placed a hand over her chest.

"…then I will always remain in your heart, Chronoa. Always."

He brought his arm down to reveal the most beautiful flower that the Kai had ever seen which emanated the hue of the setting sun.

With almost trembling features, she took the flower from him and stared at it like it was the most precious thing in the world. This flower was proof of their friendship…and proof of a promise that they would meet again.

The petals almost glowed with a natural ivory sheen and she saw tones of other colors too, reminding her of vague feelings.

Red, which conveyed a feeling of warmth.

Orange, which conveyed good memories.

Yellow, which conveyed feelings of joy.

And in the center of the flower…a comforting shade of auburn…

Chronoa looked up from the flower to thank him for it.

He was nowhere to be seen…

Ever since that day, Chronoa had done her very best to live up to his expectations of her. She had always pushed herself to be the very best she could be, and then went even further.

The pinkette was respected by the lower Kais, firm but kind. People always said that even though she was barely out of her infancy stage, she already had the demeanor of a fully-fledged Kai. But others disagreed.

If she was sweet enough to wear a stunningly beautiful flower in her hair, how stern could she be?

She lived for the promise that they both made the promise that one day, they'd meet each other again. Eventually, she started to structure the Time Patrol in Tokitoki City, per his suggestion.

She was determined to do the best job she could as the Supreme Kai of Time, to a point where she even impressed her superiors.

For ten million years, she forged on, not stopping in her quest to see that her duty was always fulfilled. She didn't want him to be disappointed in her once he came back…

And then…

After ten million years of her best…

The flower wilted…

Chronoa's entire being was washed over with confusion. Confusion and hurt. She initially panicked when the flower had died, thinking that it had finally reached the end of its life. But that was when the more logical part of her thoughts stepped in.

His creations weren't supposed to expire. All he had to do to make them last forever was simply will it to be so. So why…? Why did it die…?

Her answer came to her by a message that was transmitted to all the Supreme Kais. A message that she had never wanted to hear in her life.

"The balance has been lost…A half has faded…He has fallen in battle…"

Everything that he had created for her…the flower, the tree, even Tokitoki City's protection from time distortions…

His promise…

They all died with him…

At first, all she could feel was betrayal and sadness.

He promised…He promised that they'd meet again! She worked as hard as she could so he could be proud of her…And to fall in battle? Impossible! There was no one in the entire universe that could match his strength, save for beings that made Supreme Kais look like lowly ants.

But, just like he had told her, Chronoa's family, the Kais, were able to pull her out of a millennium-old slump. Just like he said.

Her knees buckled…but her family kept her on her feet.

And so, Chronoa had no choice but to go on, keep being the best Kai that she could be; she had gone way too far to just back out now.

She was the Supreme Kai of Time. Ironically, she had no time for regrets. Despite a broken promise, she needed to accept it, pushing forward, not looking back for even a second…

But now that boy…

This was really messing with her head. Maybe she should—

"Hey, Supreme Kai of Time?"

"EEEEYAAH!?" She let out a startled cry as she heard a voice from behind her.

"Whoa!?" The speaker recoiled slightly at Chronoa's sudden scream.

However, upon realising who it was, she sighed and looked back over the pond.

"Oh…it's just you, Trunks." She said with a slightly relieved voice. With all that was going through her mind, anything could've set her off.

"Um…yeah." Trunks replied. He was kind of put off by the Kai's reaction. She never seemed to be caught off guard like that.

"Ahem! S-So, I'm about to use the Dragon Balls to summon the warrior that we talked about. You wanna come along?" He asked her.

Due to countless history distortions, and the lack of manpower they currently had, it was time to call in someone who was strong enough to actually help to manage the outbreaks.

Chronoa shook her head in reply.

"No thanks. But be sure to introduce us soon, okay?" She asked, standing up and brushing herself off.

"H-Huh?" She suddenly heard Trunks' surprised gasp as she turned to face him.

"S-Supreme Kai of Time! Wh-What's wrong!?"

Chronoa was confused at the lavender-haired boy's reaction until it suddenly became apparent to her that she had tears streaming from her eyes.

"E-Eh…!? Oh, it's n-nothing…Get to summoning, will ya?" She replied, raising a sleeve to wipe the tears from her eyes and face. Since when did a Kai cry anyway?

Since he wasn't about to question the Supreme Kai of Time on matters that would've actually made her cry (Since he was definitely not suited to dealing with matters like that.) Trunks could only nod before walking away, sparing one last glance at the pinkette who was still trying to clean up her tears.

After Trunks left through the portal that connected the Time Nest to Tokitoki City, Chronoa shook her head and then slapped her cheeks to regain her focus.

She then began walking over to her house, where her avian companion, Tokitoki, sat on the wooden perch attached to the house.

It was time to get started on those garments…

And so, Ash's training continued. With his new clothes, he was subjected to incredible levels of gravity almost every day. He didn't allow himself to take it off either. His body really needed to be pushed to his limit if he wanted to reach the levels of Goku and Vegeta as quick as he could.

Speaking of pushing limits, Ash wasn't the only one getting stronger on King Kai's planet.

Per his suggestion, even his pokemon began to train alongside the ravenette.

However, when they were let out of their pokeballs…

Well, putting it sensitively, practically every single pokemon was unable to stand, the gravity was clearly too much…

Unsensitively, hilarity ensued.

Seeing a pile of his fellow gravity bound pokemon struggling to even sit properly made Pikachu collapse in a fit of laughter. Unsurprisingly, he earned murderous glares from nearly everyone…

It was hard for each and every one of them. Ash's Pokemon never dealt with this kind of gravity before. Zero gravity maybe, not ten times! Training became less of a trial to get stronger and became more like a struggle of life and death for the first few months.

All of Ash's flying types weren't even able to get off the ground for the first few days, and the heavy pokemon like Donphan, Torterra and obviously Snorlax could barely move at all due to their intense weight. The first one that could even withstand the increased gravity was Gabite, and only because his tough scales and strong draconian body allowed him to move around faster and better.

Eventually, all the pokemon, with the encouragement and assistance from Ash, worked their way up to becoming used to the intense gravity. Their trainer was outdoing them after all. Charizard and Infernape weren't letting that stand.

To improve himself, and his pokemon, Ash regularly sparred with anyone that wanted a shot at him. But not a single pokemon won out.

Charizard tried taking on Ash, but was soundly beaten by the trainer's version of a Seismic Toss, funnily enough.

Pikachu was also defeated, by means of an attack from behind. Ash couldn't let the opportunity slip by, so he grabbed Pikachu, held him down, and with an all too innocent smile on his face, began to tickle the small pokemon, making the electric type squirm and laugh until he admitted defeat.

Not even Sceptile, Infernape and Lucario, all fighting together, could land a hit on Ash. It was like he could read all their moves the instant they tried to execute them. Lucario's Extremespeed/Close Combat combo, was entirely avoided, even with Infernape's Close Combat joining in.

Sceptile tried to attack with Bullet Seed, which his companions thought was a little overkill at first, but everyone was stupefied to see that Ash didn't dodge, but instead catch the barrage of pellets in the palm of his hand.

Ash dropped the seeds on the ground before he grinned and wrapped his arms around all three pokemon, thanking them for the awesome spar.

Trapped between being surprised at the unorthodox maneuver, proud at how he handled it, or even kind of embarrassed that they couldn't beat their own trainer, they could only sigh and let Ash have his moment. He did deserve it, after all.

And finally, after eight long months…it was time to go home.

By the time all the training on King Kai's planet had gone by, it'd nearly been a year and a half that he was mysteriously thrust into this dimension. Time really flew, didn't it? He briefly wondered how his friends were doing over in his own dimension.

He missed them. He missed them a lot. He missed their casual conversations by the campfire. He missed how often they got lost. He definitely missed the journey that he had set out on ever since leaving Pallet Town.

Gosh…he missed Pallet Town a lot too. He missed those sandy-colored roads, he missed meeting Professor Oak and Tracy up at the laboratory…He missed his house, his room, Mimey…his mom…

She must've been worried sick about him. Including his time challenging the Sinnoh League, his own strength seeking journey, and the time he spent here, he had been away from Pallet Town longer than he'd ever been.

Words could not describe how much he missed his mother, his friends…his rivals. Heck, he even felt a little longing for Team Rocket…

…

Delusional because of training-induced brain damage...?

Delusional because of training-induced brain damage.

He shook his head from the thought of his world. Even if he missed them, there was nothing that he could do about it. He was an entire world away. It could be decades before he could find a way back home.

He really hoped that it didn't come to that…

…He was getting sidetracked again. He needed to think of something else…like…like a memory from here! In this world! Like what Goku told him to indicate when he wanted him to return.

Ash thought for a moment to what Goku said to him…

"Return when he thinks you're ready..."

Great…that helped…

Ash was beginning to wonder if he had issues.

Because having the pressures of the entire world put upon one's shoulders time and time again, travelled to a different world without knowing why, while having a murder-happy self sealed within himself, all shoved into a young teen whose life had been turned upside-down without his consent was the perfect construct of mental health.

That was sarcasm if it wasn't obvious…

Was he getting carried away with this?

He was getting carried away with this.

Getting back to the matter at hand. King Kai had deemed Ash ready to return to Earth. He would've contacted Goku to inform him that his student was returning, but Ash stopped him, saying that he wanted it to be a surprise.

And now here they were. Ash, with Pikachu on his shoulder, stood in front of a lineup of the three permanent residents of the planet.

Ash was still clad in the gi that he had been given. He had trained under the suit's effects endlessly, as hard as he could possibly push his body. As of now, his suit was stimulating about forty times normal earth gravity. Unimpressive, right?

Well, the additional ten times multiplier that the planet provided made up for that, bringing the total up to four hundred times normal earth gravity.

Not so unimpressive now, was it? Yeah, King Kai was surprised too.

Regardless, it was now time for the hard part.

The goodbye…

"Uh...King Kai...I just wanna say, thank you so much for training me..." Ash began. He had rehearsed this in his head a good number of times, but things like that never really came out the right way if you weren't being very careful of how you spoke.

"I...uh…just came into your life all of a sudden, and stayed like that for nearly a whole year. I'm not that vain to suggest that I didn't give you any problems, as a matter of fact, I'm sure we did. So, uh I guess that I should also apologise too. So, King Kai...thank you for making me strong, and putting up with me. I truly appreciate it."

"Pika…Pika Pi Pikachu Pikapi (Wow…that almost sounded mature Ash.)" Pikachu joked.

That earned him a small rap on the head, which Pikachu did admit that he maybe deserved a little.

King Kai beamed at Ash's words. The trainer was showing indeed showing maturity beyond his years. It made the Kai especially proud of his student.

"Ash…I haven't taken on many students. Not many can brave Snake Way and make it here, less can handle the gravity, and prolonged training has crushed nearly any weak-willed hopefuls. I thought that the only one who would ever make it through every trial and excel stupendously because of it would be Goku."

He raised a finger in an explanatory position.

"…But you defied my expectations. You pushed yourself harder than anyone I've ever seen, even Goku. He may have shone bright…but Ash, you shone brighter than even him. I have done all I can for you now. The rest of your path you need to walk without my teachings. As a teacher to my student, I can only say that I am extremely proud of you."

"King Kai…" Ash muttered, almost in disbelief at his teacher's words. They were so deep, so full of meaning…so full of pride.

Ash almost felt like he was going to tear up. He did spend over half a year with King Kai. Leaving now, even though it was inevitable, would definitely be a little tearjerking.

"So, go forth, Ash Ketchum! Your path to greatness has only just begun!"

Ash could only say one thing in reply.

"Y-Yeah…I will."

King Kai chuckled once he noticed that Ash was holding back tears, trying to seem strong most likely. Ash had gained yet another bond in this unfamiliar world, so leaving it behind was saddening for the young trainer, easily.

"Ehe, it's not like we won't see each other again. You can come back at any time…just please don't turn this place into a training ground like Goku has…the only reason that he hasn't come all this time was because you're here."

The Kai put on an exasperated tone on towards the end there. Ash had learned that King Kai was actually slightly wary of Goku since things were usually always destroyed when he came over to train, most of the time not even getting the Kai's consent. It was kind of awkward to talk about when Ash had found a room filled with sandbags in the Kai's house.

The Kai wasn't one for playing favorites, but…

He'd prefer the student who left a few manageable craters to the one who left a damned trench or five every time he stopped by.

"S-So…we'll come see you guys again, yeah?" Ash asked, the Kai's comment helping to cheer him up.

"Absolutely. Just not unannounced, y'hear?" He asked Ash, who, despite his emotions, gave a small chuckle as he nodded obediently.

"...Heh. Yeah, I will…I guess this is it then…See ya, later...King Kai." Ash said.

"Pika Pika Pikachu! (Please take care!")

He then raised two fingers to his head and began to search for Goku's ki signature. Since Goku's energy was the most potent one that he could sense, that made him very easy to find.

However, before he could warp away, King Kai stopped him.

"Ash. A final question, if I may?"

The trainer turned to the Kai with a raised eyebrow.

"Huh? Yeah, sure. What is it?" He asked.

King Kai cleared his throat. This was going to be a very important question that Ash would need to give some serious thought to.

"Ash…why do you want to get stronger?"

The question came from out of the blue, and it really caught the boy off guard. Such a sudden question being asked of him spurred a thought in Ash.

Why did he want to get stronger?

To fight? Maybe. He could do a lot of good with his amassed powers. Team Rocket's, Team Aqua and Magma's, and even Team Galactic's twisted desires could have been effortlessly stopped with the power he had gained.

To convince himself that he wasn't weak? Pushing himself as far as he could possibly go in order to ensure that something like what happened at the Sinnoh League never happened again. That was plausible too.

To protect others? Heh, that was a given. He willingly did that before he had even gained his strength. No matter what happened, He would always protect both his loved ones and the world with everything he had.

But for some strange reason, he felt like there was another desire…something that he had trouble trying to recall. It was hard to explain. It was sort of like when he tried to think of the reason of why he wanted to get stronger, all thought just sorta…dissolved, specks that were thrown into the annals of his fragmented memory.

Those kinds of symptoms were simply not normal, and Ash knew it. But for as long as his memory of that one lone reason was unable to be accessed, he couldn't really do anything about it.

Yet another thing to add to the pile of the topsy-turvy life that was Ash Ketchum's.

"Well, I suppose I have a lot of reasons, but I guess the main one is that…"

King Kai, Bubbles and Gregory leaned in to hear his answer.

"…I can't just do nothing. I have the hopes of so many people riding on me, and because of that, I will continue to stand tall. One day will come when we can finally come home, back to our own world, and when that day comes, I wanna show everyone that I am not weak. I wanna shout with my fist raised to the air—"

As if to emphasize his point, he raised his fist into the air, just like he had described, and declared out loud with an incredible determination.

"—I have become…the very best! I want to be strong…because I don't want to let anyone down when that day that strength is needed comes."

King Kai listened in silence through Ash's entire speech, and if it was possible, his smile grew wider.

"That's a good answer, Ash." He told his student.

Appreciating the comment, Ash nodded back to the old Kai and put his fingers back on his forehead.

"Well, on that note…I should be getting outta here. Bye King Kai, Bubbles, Gregory. Oh, and…thanks again."

Giving one last glance to the three, he and Pikachu finally blurred off King Kai's planet.

Soon after he left though, King Kai's smile faded away until it was replaced by a frown.

"Good luck, Ash."

He looked up to the sky, and suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

"Because when the time comes, we'll all need that strength…"

Within a second, Ash and Pikachu reappeared in a wide-open field, shining with sunlight. They could see in the distance, that there were a few plateaus, lining the horizon.

"Wh-Whoa!?" Ash suddenly exclaimed as he suddenly felt himself stumble a bit as his feet hit the soil. His balance was off somewhat, and his equilibrium took some time to recover. Why had just…?

…Of course! He had just spent eight months under incredible leagues of gravity, of course he would be feeling kind of weird. Recently, he had been comfortably adjusted to four hundred times normal earth gravity. Going from weighing eighteen tons to just nearly two tons, since his suit was still stimulating forty times the gravity, was a little bit jarring.

He should probably try to wean himself off to the high levels of gravity, little by little, or he wasn't going to have a good time while trying to get readjusted to the good ol' 9.8 m/s².

He raised his hand to his gi and quickly channeled his ki through it. This was another thing that he had been able to master after months of wearing it.

With no issues at all, Ash brought his outfit up to four hundred times the gravity that he was used to.

Feeling the familiar weight upon his shoulders made the trainer feel more at ease, ironically.

Not so good for Pikachu, who needed to shake off his sixty kilogram mentality from scratch.

Wait a second…dial it back a bit…

Soil?

Suddenly feeling his footing shift, Ash looked down to the ground, noticing the brown soil beneath his feet, stretching out to a few meters wide, as opposed to the creamy yellow ground to either side of him. It led Ash to believe that he was standing in the middle of a freshly ploughed field.

Ash quickly jumped off the ploughed soil so he didn't ruin someone's hard work. But to more pressing matters, where was Goku?

Reaching out with his ki senses, Ash noticed that Goku's ki signature was slowly moving away from him, heading to the north.

Looking in said direction, Ash and Pikachu spotted a ploughing tractor in the distance. Smoke was spewing from the exhaust pipes on the top of the tractor as it was chugging along, tearing up the ground so plants could be grown in the soil.

Ash and Pikachu, knowing the truck wasn't driving itself, realized that Goku was the one driving it. They both shared the same thought:

"Goku...drives?"

Suddenly getting an idea, Ash took off his pack, and retrieved the cloak he hadn't worn ever since the first day he got to this dimension. He put the cloak on and pulled the hood up, obscuring his features.

"It's kind of a gamble to hope that he doesn't recognize this, but no harm in trying right?" Ash thought as he gave Pikachu a glance

Pikachu, reading Ash's face, covered his paws with his mouth to stifle a giggle and then dashed off behind a rock to hide.

Ash left his pack behind before he suppressed his energy and then began to levitate over to the tractor Goku was driving.

As he got closer, he noticed that the saiyan was not wearing his ordinary clothes, which of course came as a surprise. Since when did the saiyan not wear his normal gi?

Goku was now wearing a dark shirt under a beige green cargo vest, along with a pair of cargo pants the same color. He also wore grey boots and a white scarf that was wrapped around his neck.

Ash approached the tractor from behind, moving silently through the air and keeping his ki to a minimum. Goku still hadn't noticed him. One of the perks of his training was that he had mastered his ki control to such an extent, it was unlikely that he could even be sensed unless he was being specifically searched for. If that was not the case, Ash could sneak up on someone who was experienced in feeling ki if he was being careful enough.

As quietly as he could, he landed on the tractor roof, still keeping his ki suppressed. Thanks to the loud engine of the tractor, Ash's landing was totally incognito.

And now he played the waiting game.

After a few minutes of riding on the roof, Ash inwardly chuckled. This was the same Goku from eight months ago? He could hardly believe it. Goku was someone that wouldn't be caught dead doing something this tedious, but yet, here he was. Doing this to save himself from Chi-Chi's wrath, no doubt.

Finally, the tractor stopped as Ash heard a key turning. The exhaust pipes stopped spewing smoke and the engine's rumbling died down.

"Oh man! Talk about boring," Ash heard Goku say. "And while I'm stuck here working, my skills are gettin' rusty. Why can't Chi-Chi give me a break?" The saiyan complained.

"Don't worry, Goku. I can help with that..." Ash thought.

The saiyan stepped out of the tractor and stretched his limbs.

"And bein' crammed in that tractor isn't helping either." He moaned.

The only warning he had was his well-honed battle instincts screaming at him to react.

Goku barely had any time to put up an arm to block an incoming kick aimed at his head. Judging by the power behind the kick, Goku would've been in a world of pain if it wasn't blocked.

Before Goku could even process what was going on, he was forced to block again, this time against an attack from the front. A single punch.

Goku put up his hands to block it but was pushed back a little from the force of the punch. Goku's recoiling body was shoved into the frame of the tractor at such a great force, that it caused the ploughing vehicle to tip over on its side.

Ignoring the tractor, Goku looked at the stranger that had attacked him.

It was a completely cloaked individual, who's was reeling his fist back from the punch.

Goku jumped away from the tractor to land about twenty meters away, to the attacker's left.

Ash turned to face Goku, a small smile visible underneath the hood of his cloak.

"Hey! Who the heck are you?" Goku asked him.

Ash didn't respond, and instead, created a duo of ki orbs in his hands, causing Goku's eyes to widen. He then shot the orbs of ki at Goku, many more following the two, causing the saiyan to flip and dodge his way around them.

Goku, realizing that the stranger wasn't going to answer his questions, assumed a fighting position and furrowed his brow.

"Well, if it's a fight you want..." Goku began. He suddenly leapt forward at an incredible speed, his lips slowly curling into a grin

"...then it's a fight you'll get…!" He finished, drawing a fist back and lashing it forward.

Ash quickly brought up his arms to block the strike. With a deafening thud, the attack connected, creating a mighty shockwave that bellowed from the collision point, cracking the ground beneath them, and whipping back Ash's cloak quite dramatically.

Ash suddenly vanished from Goku's side in a display of intense speed. He rematerialized behind the saiyan and connected a roundhouse kick before Goku could realize what was going on.

Ash couldn't help but grin, as satisfaction flooded his body at being able to land a blow on his teacher. There were so many moments of his training that he desperately wanted to pay back the spiky-haired man for.

Goku reached out a hand and pushed himself off the ground to regain his movement. This time, he was ready for Ash's assault from behind. Just as he thought, a right hook was thrown at his back. Goku smirked, as he speedily turned around and slapped away the punch.

Ash was slightly misbalanced as his fist met with empty air, but he regained his footing before Goku could begin his counterattack.

He feinted a left uppercut to throw Goku off the fact that he was aiming a kick at the saiyan's left shin. However, Goku, who easily saw the attack coming, leaned right and threw his forearm down, blocking Ash's incoming leg.

Before Ash could process his next move, the wind was knocked out of him by means of a knee to the stomach of the trainer.

Ash was sent flying up into the sky, as he tried to ignore the pain. But he had no time to rest. A shadow suddenly appeared above him.

Goku had followed him, and that look on his face and the way that his leg was positioned promised a world of pain.

Now fully attentive, Ash gracefully spun out of the way of the approaching kick and launched one of his own at the saiyan's face, but once again, his attack was totally blocked by Goku's forearm.

This spurred a connection of punches and kicks that were moving at a speed no ordinary eye could track. With every collision of fists, came a shockwave that spread out around the surrounding sky. The duo's kicks were as fast as lightning, striking, missing or blocking the opponent.

The barrage of attacks continued, neither side giving in to the other's blows. The pattern of assaults became repetitive and predictable, a rhythm that they had both grown accustomed to.

Ash grinned. This was what he had been waiting for.

Ash's fist collided with Goku's shoulder, creating another burst of pressure. The high-speed fight wasn't really something one could not take their attention from. Find a rhythm and try to last until you saw an opening.

But Goku suddenly noticed his mistake of falling too far into the rhythm and couldn't see the unanticipated uppercut until it was too late.

With a cry of pain, Goku was shot up even further into the sky at a great speed, cones of sound forming behind him as he was sent skyward.

Now, a combo finisher!

Ash appeared to the right of the speeding saiyan and hit him with a roundhouse kick that sent Goku flying to the left. Ash then disappeared and reappeared just under his opponent and sent out a blast of kiai, sending Goku up higher and quicker than before.

"Nngh! Who is this guy?!" Goku managed a strained thought. This silent warrior had shown up out of nowhere and had begun to pick a fight. He was damn good too. He hadn't given him a single moment to even breathe and try to get any kind of recovery or counterattack going. At this rate he may have to resort to…

Before he could finish that thought, Ash appeared above him and hit warrior back down to earth with an axe strike to his stomach at speeds trumping any so far. Goku could hear the air whooshing by his ears and anticipated the landing of the ground below.

The saiyan let out a surprised gasp as he felt his body collide with rock, rather than earth. A small plateau. That wasn't good news, rock always hurt way more than earth.

Screw it. He was using it.

With an almighty crash, the top of the rock formation was covered in dust before the entire thing exploded into pieces.

The clacking of falling rocks hitting the ground was the sound Ash was greeted by as he landed on the ground. Watching the massive pile of rubble and dust crumble, he began to wonder if he had taken it too far.

Suddenly, a rumble shook the earth, shocking Ash as he tried to keep his balance. Many large rocks fell from the pile that was once a plateau.

Even Pikachu, who was a great distance away, felt the power in the air as well as the rumbling.

Ash sensed the rising of power that emanated directly from under the rubble. But before he could check it out, a great golden light shone from under the rocks.

In a second, the rubble had disintegrated by means of a large golden pillar of pure power. A sound of yelling, filled Ash's ears as he continued to sense the rising power.

That was when he decided that this had gone far enough. If Goku could bring out this kind of power, then it was doubtful Ash could win, as he was right now at least. He gulped and wiped his brow, which was lined with sweat.

This was an intense power, that was for certain. The air was thick with tension as Ash watched the giant construct slowly flicker from existence, almost as quickly as it had arrived.

"Hey!"

Ash's attention was brought back to the ground, and he gasped at what he saw.

A golden aura radiated off Goku's body. His work clothes were slightly torn and Goku himself possessed a few scrapes, but that wasn't anything compared to his current appearance.

Goku's black hair had now been converted to a golden blonde. It was standing straight up, defying gravity, a major difference to his more bedhead hairstyle. His eyes had also changed from their coal black color to a shining emerald green. The latter made Ash sweat a little as he received a powerful glare that made his body tense up.

"I don't know who you are...but I do know that you're holding back your power. Here's mine, so now let's see yours..." Goku said in a low voice as he tensed his muscles, ready to leap forward.

"Yep," Ash thought. "Definitely need to stop this now."

Ash took a deep breath, trying to overcome the intense pressure that Goku exuded. Then, he spoke.

"Actually, I think that's a good enough spar for today, Goku." He said.

The saiyan's eyes widened and his fighting stance loosened as the person spoke for the first time, but with a voice he knew all too well.

"Ash?" He asked in shock, the power disappearing from his body and his features returning to normal, his hair and eyes returning to their normal state and color.

Able to breathe a little easier now, Ash chuckled, and pulled back the hood of his cloak.

"That's right." He replied.

He chuckled at the stunned look on Goku's face as the saiyan tried to decide what to say or do.

"Wha-? B-But...Uhh..." He tried to create a coherent sentence, but all he could get out of his mouth was just confused gibberish.

Ash's smile remained as he crossed his arms. "It's nice to see you again, Goku, it's been, what, eight months?" He said, deciding to break the saiyan out of his stupefied state.

"Huh, o-oh yeah..." Goku managed to get out, still staring at Ash in sustained shock.

Ash, still sporting the grin approached Goku. This triggered the fighter to snap out of his stupefaction and wear one of his own grins.

"Heh heh, you're taller than I remember..." Goku said.

It was only when Ash got within reaching distance of him that he understood what Goku had meant.

When Ash had last seen Goku, he could remember, and remember very well, that he was up to Goku's chest. But now, that wasn't the case. Now Ash stood much taller, able to peak just above Goku's chin. Despite his training in the high gravity environments of King Kai's planet, as well as the suit, Ash was able to grow a few inches. That was a welcome surprise. Being tall was something he wouldn't have minded

Briefly looking himself over, Ash let out a small cry of surprise. This caused the saiyan to chuckle a little.

"So anyway, it's so great to see you back here. It's been so long, and kinda boring without you. Nothing has really happened...well except...Chi-Chi decided it was all peaceful and stuff, I needed to get a job."

Ash chuckled in response to that. Goku was an amazing fighter, that was for sure, but it took an even greater person to not succumb to the wrath of Goku's wife…actually, such a person may not even exist.

"Yeah...so, I do this now, but it's so borin'! You coming here was actually just the pick me up I needed. You've definitely gotten stronger at King Kai's haven't you?" Goku asked as they both walked back to the overturned tractor.

"Yeah, he was a really good teacher and a really nice person, it was worth it going through Snake Way to get to him." Ash replied.

They paused their conversation momentarily as a very well-known pokemon dashed up from the surrounding trees and took his spot on Ash's shoulder.

"Oh, Pikachu, nice to see you again too!" Goku said as he reached out and rubbed the pokemon's head, getting a cute "Chaaa!" in response.

"Heh, both Pikachu and I missed you guys..." Ash said.

This caused Goku's hand to go from petting Pikachu to ruffling Ash's hair.

"We've missed you too. Goten asks at least three times a week when you're gonna come back, and Chi-Chi missed having a 'sensible eater' at the table, as she put it. She was also pretty angry at me for dropping you off at the Check-In-Station without you even grabbing some breakfast.

The trio chuckled at Goku's misfortune with his wife.

Suddenly, Goku widened his eyes.

"Oh yeah, I completely forgot!" He cried, surprising both Ash and Pikachu.

"It's really lucky that you arrived when you did, because every year, on the day that we defeated Majin Buu and saved the universe, we have a celebration at Capsule Corp.! All my friends are gonna be there, and you didn't really get properly introduced to them last time, so, I want you to really meet them." Goku said.

That sounded pretty cool to Ash and Pikachu. They hadn't been a part of mass company for a while. It did also sound like a pretty cool way to meet Goku's friends.

"Sure! Sounds like fun!" Ash said.

Compared to being on a tiny planet with a giant cricket, a monkey and a millennia old Kai, the thought of a party really got Ash and Pikachu excited.

They reached the overturned tractor and got it back onto its wheels.

"But first...we gotta finish this..." Goku grumbled, his upbeat mood gone as he hopped in to the tractor and turned the key, starting the engine.

"Excuse me...'we'?" Ash asked.

Goku looked to him. "Well, yeah, you'll help me, right?" He said.

Ash sighed and walked over to the back of the truck. Goku had assumed that the trainer was going to pick up one of the ploughs that were resting in the back and get to work, but a large clunking sound made him think otherwise.

Looking back, he gaped to see that Ash had unhooked the large metal plough from the tractor. Before he could respond, Ash had jumped over the tractor and dug the hunk of metal into the ground.

With a smirk, he tugged on the chain the plough was attached to and began to drag it across the land at a great speed.

With a dumbfounded expression on his face, Goku watched as Ash dashed back and forth, ploughing the ground. That kid…Pure genius! He would have never thought to plough like this. It would save so much time and help him train too! He was such an idiot!

Within a couple of minutes, the whole field had been ploughed; in perfectly straight lines too.

Ash dashed back to the side of the tractor, the plough still in his hand.

Without a word, Ash attached the farming tool to the rear of the tractor and went over to the right of Goku, still looking stunned.

"C'mon, let's get back. I wanna see Chi-Chi, Gohan and Goten again!" Ash exclaimed.

"Pika Cha Pika! (Yeah, me too!)" Pikachu replied

"Uh...yeah...sure..." Goku replied as he slowly got out of the tractor.

Another thought occurred to Ash as he waited for Goku to pick his jaw off the ground.

"Oh, before I forget...Goku, how was my fighting?" Ash asked.

The conversation being brought to something that Goku was interested in, perked him right up.

"Heh, it was good enough to keep up with me, but if that's the best you could do, you still have a long way to go..." Goku replied.

With a low chuckle, Ash looked to the horizon. That was true. The main reason that he could fight Goku on such even ground was because he had taken him by surprise. He had no doubt that if Goku could get just a single moment of reprieve, he could pound Ash down into the ground quicker than he could say "K.O."

Still, that didn't totally mean that he would be helpless in a fight with his first teacher. He didn't spend all that time training for nothing after all…

"It isn't..."

Goku grinned in response.

"I thought so..."

Meanwhile in the deep expanses of space, millions of miles away from Earth, a peculiar, almost disk-shaped spacecraft shot through the infinite cosmos.

It was massive as well, big enough to classify as a voyager. No surprise considering who it belonged to.

Inside this peculiar ship there were numerous amounts of hallways and rooms. Each one had a specific purpose. There were giant vertical tanks to restore a fighter's health in a few rooms, while some of the others were control rooms to fly the ship.

But the most prominent and important room was the main control deck. While some of the minor control rooms were responsible for stabilizing the ship at times, or rerouting its course, the main control deck was responsible for the more important tasks for the ship, ensuring that it stayed on its desired path of the cosmos, and the like.

And it was in this very room that he stood.

The last of the Galactic Tyrants.

He possessed sturdy horns on either side of his head, curling up a little at the tip, looking almost demonic. He appeared to be somewhat thin, his arms being slightly less bulky than his legs were; he was even a little short for someone of his reputation, maybe only four-feet-eight.

His tail thumped the ground impatiently as he looked to one of the pilots of the ship.

"When will we arrive?" He asked, his voice deep, scratchy, and very threatening.

With a gulp of intimidation, the crew member that was in charge of coordinates looked over the screen that displayed when they would arrive.

"Since we are very close already, I'd estimate six to seven hours before we land...Lord Xero." He replied, shakily, but professionally.

"Excellent..." The now named Xero replied, looking back out the glass. A tiny blue speck was just becoming visible in the distance.

"Just you wait...Son Goku..." He mumbled venomously.

An orange haired girl trudged through the ruins of what was once her hometown. She let out a small cough at the remaining dust and smoke in the air filled her lungs. It at least distracted her from the stench of death everywhere

Her life. All her life, she lived and grew up in this city, and it was all gone, gone in a couple of moments. Cerulean City didn't even have a chance to fight back. In just a couple of moments, everyone, person and pokemon alike, was dead.

She almost broke out crying as she recalled that one of those who had perished, was her Gyrados, who had coiled himself around her, taking the blast that would've killed her otherwise.

That had been a week ago, and now, here she was, hoping she could find any survivors. She had come up empty during her entire time searching in the ruins of her city.

That was until she heard a clattering right next to a nearby chasm, dashing over, she saw something truly heartbreaking.

A tiny blue pokemon, skinny and dirty hiding under a pile of rubble, noticed the girl and receded back further, thinking she was dangerous.

"Are you ok?" The girl asked as she looked into the space the pokemon was in.

The face didn't look dangerous, it looked soft and welcoming, and it was the first friendly thing the poor pokemon had seen.

Tossing her timidity to the side, the pokemon rushed out of the rubble, and threw herself onto the girl.

She was caught by the orange haired girl's arms before the pokemon began to sob into the girl's shoulder.

"Draaaaaa! Dratiniiii!" The tears poured from the sobbing Dratini's eyes as she was embraced by the human female.

"Shh...Shh...it's ok...my name is Misty, and I'll take care of you, don't worry..." She said to soothe the crying pokemon, despite the fact that tears were leaking out of her eyes too.

Misty had found the pokemon in the Northwest district of Cerulean City, right next to the chasm. But it was shaped in a strange way, a foreboding and scary way.

If one had a bird's eye view of the city, they would see the chasm spread all across the ruined city. It took the form of letters. And what they read…

…was bone-chilling…

WHERE ARE YOU, KETCHUM?