Ash stared blankly at the roof of the tent as he laid on his back, his hands folded over his stomach as he thought about everything that had happened over the past week. Not only had he been ripped away from his home to save the whole dam world once more - he was being forced to travel with three other "Chosen Ones", one of who took it upon himself to dig into the raven-haired boys past, unearthing problems Ash had long since thought he had burred deep enough to never have to deal with them ever again.

It was strange to Ash - in one way, he was extremely angry at the triplets, more specifically Zack: Who did he think he was? And what gave him the right to go digging into his past? A place in his life he found a lot of heartache and pain. In another way, Ash felt like he should be grateful for Zack's snooping: if he hadn't been so noisy when it came to the chocolate eyed boy, he wouldn't have reconnected with his lost love Dawn, or his at one time good friend Max.

Ash was torn with his emotions: not only was he unsure about his feelings towards the triplets - although he still didn't like them, he wanted to scream at them and curse them for bringing up his past, but at the same time he wanted to thank them for potentially bringing love, friendship and trust back into his heart and life.

Blinking his eyes slowly, Ash noticed that the area around him was beginning to brighten, indicating morning was approaching on him, "Dwelling on these thoughts won't bring this adventure to a stop...might as well continue on..." Ash thought - though he was torn over whether he wanted to return to solitude once the journey was over.

Sitting up slowly, Ash looked over at Dawn, raising a brow when he noticed her eyes were already open and she was staring at him, "Your awake already?" Dawn blinked and slowly sat up with a nod, running a hand through her hair, "Did you even go to sleep?" "No" Dawn replied softly as she threw back the cover of her sleeping bag and stood up in the large tent, stretching her arms slightly before looking at Ash, "You didn't either" Dawn stated matter-of-factual, making Ash shrug softly.

"I rarely sleep" Was all Ash said as he grabbed his hat and placed it on his head before exiting the tent, leaving Dawn to change in peace.

"Your awake. Good." Ash said as soon as he exited the tent and sore the triplets emerging from their tents, tired looks on their faces, "Just to bring you up to speed - You remember Max? He will be traveling with us from here on out" Whatever..." The triplets grumbled back as they began to pack their tents up. Ash just shrugged, glad their was no protest as he looked over to Max, who had chosen to camp a few feet away from where everyone else was.

"He better be awake." Ash stated as he walked over to the tent: As he reached for the zipper, it began to undo itself, revealing an awake and ready looking Max, "Ash? What are you doing?" "Making sure your awake - i don't like dawdle. Once Dawn's ready we will be leaving" Max just nodded as he quickly packed his tent up as Ash walked back over to the tent he had shared with Dawn.

Dawn emerged from the tent to see Ash standing with his back to her, the triplets just finishing the packing of their belongings and Max was stood a few feat in front of Ash, "Max? What are you doing here?" Dawn voiced her confusion as she quickly packed her tent, her eyes not leaving the boy, "He will be traveling with us." Ash answered for the blue-haired boy, who just nodded in confirmation, making Dawn blink in confusion, but shrug as a glimmer of hope entered her mind. This could be a sign that Ash is willing to give not only her, but the others who didn't want to betray him a chance.

Once everyone was packed up, they looked at Ash, "Let's go." He stated, watching as the triplets, once again, took the lead. Ash and Dawn walked side-by-side, whilst Max trailed behind them slightly - he not only didn't want to push his luck with Ash, but he didn't want to intrude on the two future lovers.

- Some Time Later -

"I can see Ike Town!" Nicole suddenly said, making Ash look ahead, where he could see a small, village like area sitting just at the base of the hill the five trainers were stood on, "Let's pick up the pace. I want to battle the Kahuna and move on as quickly as possible" Ash stated, walking ahead of the others, who looked at each other before following Ash down the hill.

Reaching the small town, Ash took a second to take in his surroundings. Ike Town seemed to be a place of tradition - what kind of tradition was unknown to Ash, but based on the large wooden battlefield, the statues surrounding the wooden houses and the flaming pillars, Ash could tell some kind of ceremony was taken place in the town.

"Hey!" A voice ahead of them shouted, making the group of trainers blink as they looked towards the source of the voice, "Nicole! Zack! Darwin! It's been a long time!" The owner of the voice - a roughly 16 year old boy with tanned skin and deep green hair.

"Hau!" The triplets said back as they brushed past Ash and ran up to the teenage boy, who bore an ear-splitting grin as he looked at the triplets, "Back for another battle with my pops? Or did you come to battle me?" The boy - Hau - asked with a cheeky grin, hands behind his head as he spoke, "Sorry Hau - were actually here to see Hala" Nicole said with a sheepish grin, which quickly turned into a flirty one, "But...we can catch up later, say over dinner?" Hau let out a loud laugh as he shook his head, "Still quiet the flirt i see" He said, making Nicole grin, "So is that a yes?"

Ash, having heard enough, walked over to them with a neutral look on his face, "Do you know the Kahuna?" Hau blinked and looked away from Nicole and towards Ash, "Yeah, i'm his grandson - are you here to challenge him?" Ash nodded, earning another ear-splitting grin from the green haired boy, "Awesome! But first you have to battle me!"

"Why?" Ash spoke monotone, an annoyed look on his face at the prospect of fighting another meaningless battle, "To see if your worthy of fighting my gramps of course! Come on, the battle field is this way!" Hau shouted excitedly, making Ash's eye twitch as he glared after the boy, "Don't mind Hau - he is an excitable guy who loves to battle" Darwin piped up, but Ash continued to glare after the boy. He had completed the first trial already, why did he njeed to prove himself anymore? But whatever, if it meant he would face the kahuna he was willing to do it.