Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon or any of those stuffs.

Hello everyone, welcome to the second chapter of The Journey. Thanks to all of them who read and reviewed the last chapter. The reviews have been a motivation and a big help in planning future plots. With that being said, sit back and enjoy the story.

Chapter 2: Glimpse of Past...Dreams of Future

Night time, Melemele Island, 11:17 pm AST

"Here you Go! Both of your pokemons are fully healed!", Nurse Joy said while returning their pokeballs. "But before you both go, I shall warn you...Stay safe and don't do anything stupid to anger the ghosts" , she added in a serious voice.

Ash and Gladion were currently in the Hau'oli City pokemon center, checking their pokemons before heading out. You can imagine the shock the Nurse got when two kids appeared in the pokemon centre at near midnight when most of Alola would be sleeping. She was even more shocked when she was told that they will be heading to the cemetery at midnight. Nurse Joy voiced her protest to prevent them going alone, it was understandable, they barely had a week training. She only calmed down when Ash told that Professor Kukui had sent two of his pokemons for their safety. Professor Kukui had given Ash his Lucario, who knows Foresight and Dark Pulse, and Gladion his Incineroar which is part dark type himself.

"Don't worry we will be fine", Ash assured. "It's getting late, we should get going. Thanks for your help". Nurse Joy nodded her head as Ash turned towards the exit. Gladion was already at the exit door, leaning against the wall and tapping his foot impatiently. Ash and Gladion exited the pokemon centre as they started to walk towards the cemetery. The cemetery was about 30 minutes walk from the city.

"So, Mr. Spiritual Expert, what is your research telling, where should we start looking?", Gladion asked.

Ash ignored the jab sent to him as he started talking," Your Ghastly line is most tricky to find. Litwicks are said to be found near graves or any place where something dead is buried. The literally feed on the souls. Duskull can be found near graves, but their is chance that they will be in the forest as well. Ghastly, they can be found literally anywhere. They can become invisible or can merge and hide in the shadows. So, your pokemon is going to give us a hell time finding it".

"What about yours...how are you going to find Duskull!", Gladion asked back. Ash grinned at him," Don't worry I have that covered. Actually I have read that Duskull have a habit of coming to scare children who doesn't listen to their parents. So what we will do is we will show how disobedient we are and Duskulls couldn't resist the urge to come after us", Ash said wiggling his eyebrows.

Gladion was looking at him as if he was some kind of idiot, " That... is... the... most... ridiculous... plan...ever...heard", he said, emphasising each an every word. " This is going to be super flop! ".

" Jeezz! There are no harm in trying ", Ash said trying to defend his plan, after all he had done a lot of hardwork to come up with it. "Yeah, yeah! Just remember you are not going to catch a Psyduck! You are an idiot...that doesn't mean others are idiot as well", Gladion jabbed. Ash huffed away and continued their journey silently till they reached a forest in the outskirts of the city. There was a path through the forest, leading to the cemetery...which is considered to be somewhere in the middle of it. As soon as Ash stepped a foot in the forest, he suddenly felt chill in his spine. It's like something cold is ascending through his back and trying to invade his mind. Ash looked at Gladion who also looked a bit uncomfortable, but trying his best to cover it. Without wasting a second he sent out Lucario,

" Lucario, scan the area with Foresight", Ash said. Lucario grunted in reply and focussed on her surroundings. Lucario's eyes glowed red as she began to scan the surroundings. After scanning it thoroughly, she grunted and gestured them that everything is fine.

"Strange!", Ash frowned, " I could have bet a ghost hiding". Gladion looked at him for any explanation," From your looks I can assume you felt something right? ", he's asked. Gladion nodded his head as Ash resumed, " I have read Gengar can absorb heat from it's surroundings".

"That makes sense, but looks like everything is safe. Let's get going", Gladion said. Gladion and Ash resumed their walking along with Lucario watching their back. They forest was eerily dark, the only source of light is the moon. Ash and Gladion walked through the forest cautiously, every shinning eyes caused their hands to reach for their pokeballs, every rustling of leaves and cracking of twigs perked their ears up. They as guided their way deeper and deeper into the forest, fog started appearing and getting thicker and thicker. Navigating through this fog would have been next to impossible hadn't Lucario had her aura sight. Even then Ash managed to trip over some roots of trees sprouting out of the ground. After walking for what seemed like eternity, they reached a vast clearing containing lots graves. Ash quickly released Trapinch and Rowlet as Gladion released Zorua and Incineroar. Ash took a look at Zorua, then focussed on his work, he can admire it later also.

His prediction was half accurate, there were Litwicks and normal candles near nearly each and every grave. But there is no sign of any Duskull anywhere. Well he has enough time to search, now let's catch the one in hand.

"Gladion!" , Ash said, " Just a little warning, no matter what, don't look at the flames directly ". Gladion scoffed at it," What do you think of me! Am I am idiot or what! ". Ash just shrugged and and turned towards Trapinch,

" Trapinch use Dig, and come up with bite on that Litwick", Ash said pointing towards the nearest Litwick. Trapinch gave a cry and quickly dug a hole in the ground. Ash waited patiently for sometime when the earth below that Litwick burst as Trapinch appeared under it and caught it with his strong jaws. Litwick was caught off guard as it didn't have the time to defend itself. The while it's caught within the strong jaws, the flame of the candle suddenly burnt violently as it released several clouds of hot air, but none of them but Trapinch, such was their position. Suddenly Trapinch eyes grew wide spat Litwick out and started swallowing a bunch of soil from the ground. Ash quickly threw a pokeball at Litwick which caught it instantly. It seemed like this Litwick was a bit weak and that bite made it even weaker. But Ash was worried about Trapinch, which was jumping all the place, this is not the victory dance, it seemed to be in pain.

"What happened, buddy!" , Ash cried as he ran towards his pokemon to check on it. Trapinch his mouth wide. Ash took a close careful look and saw the problem. Under the light of the moon, Ash could see the insides of Trapinch's mouth burnt.

"Biting the Litwick got you burnt", Ash said, " If I am not wrong, that must be Flame Body. Don't worry, I have come prepared ", he said as he took out a small spray bottle labelled Burn Heal. Ash sprayed the liquid inside at mouth which caused Trapinch to again start jumping in the air. Understandable, Burn Heal was never meant to be edible. It was a potion to be applied externally, but sadly the burn was in Trapinch's mouth.

" Flame Body, not as rare as it's hidden ability but also not as common as Flash Fire ", Gladion said. Ash nodded at it, " It's my fault, I should have been more careful ".

" Don't sell yourself short...Anyways, let's explore this place. I am starting to like it", Gladion said. "And I thought I was weird", Ash deadpanned. Gladion just shrugged," Well, you know the saying, you don't understand the importance of light unless you go in darkness ".

The cemetery was built as a reminder of the Ultra Beast attack in Alola. Thousands of people, including the deceased ex Kahuna of Poni Island, along with thousands of pokemons have lost their lives due to the attack.

Ash and Gladion searched the whole area together, even asking Lucario to use foresight if any pokemon would be hiding in the background. But there were no result of the search. Their presence attracted the attention of several Litwicks, but one look from Incineroar forced them not to try anything.

"I don't get it! Where is the so called Reaper", Gladion asked in frustration. "Come on, there is still a forest to search. We will find them soon I guess", Ash replied.

"Where will you search first?", Gladion asked. " I think we should split and search, remember we need to find your Ghastly also", Ash suggested. Gladion was hesitant at first, but agreed nonetheless.

Ash and Lucario headed straight into the jungle while Gladion and Incineroar went to the other side. It was promised that they will meet in the exact same spot. But none of them saw a small ghostly figure emerged out of the shadows and quickly merged back with it.

Ash was navigating his way through the woods, it became a lot easier as the fog was down quite a bit. Ash was keeping a close watch on his surroundings. The entire jungle seemed like a maze. He kept walking when suddenly he hit his head into...nothing. There was nothing in front of him, still he felt that he had hit his head into a wall.

Ash took a step forward and tried to feel if their was something or not. There was something, hard, but invisible. Is it an illusion? " Lucario, will you please use foresight here", Ash asked.

Soon that space revealed to contain a tree. Ash had actually hit his head with an invisible tree. Now there is seriously something wrong, Ash thought. Also this side of the forest seemed to be surprisingly empty, there was no life, no soul, other than them. There were atleast Litwicks near in that cemetery. A forest, even though if it's haunted, contains atleast some pokemons. But here there were none, ghost or no ghost.

Ash looked at the tree, not the last time, and turned his head...only to come face to face with a floating skull. Ash blinked for a second and jumped back, screaming in fright. And as a result, Ash hit the tree trunk once again. Last time it was his forehead, this time it's back head.

"Damm! What's today with me hitting my head!" , Ash groaned, as he rubbed the back of his head. He took a look at the culprit, who actually the thing Ash had been searching for so long. Duskull made an eerie noise as it floated around in the air. It seems to be snickering, even though the Duskull line doesn't have a proper mouth to snicker.

"Hahaha, yeah very funny", Ash said sarcastically. He should have seen this coming. Duskull loves to frighten children. But he didn't know they can conjure up illusions. Or maybe they can, it's just his knowledge is very limited and he had a lot to learn.

" Hey! Did you do this magic! ", Ash asked pointing to the tree. Duskull stopped its antics and looked at Ash before shaking his head. No... Ash thought. "Do you know who did this", Ash asked again. This time Duskull nodded his head and suddenly started to float away from them, deeper into the forest.

" Hey! Wait up! I am not finished! ", Ash cried," Rowlet follow it! ", he ordered. Ash had kept Rowlet out of his pokeball all the time, they have excellent sight during night time. Rowlet flew into the air and kept an eye on Duskull. Ash and Lucario took off also, they had lost their sight the ghost, but still kept their eyes on Rowlet. Ash didn't know where he was going, he was just running blindly after Rowlet. He kept dodging the trees and running, but not removing the eyes from his pokemon. As he was running, he noticed something, the fog is once again increasing, it was becoming dense, reducing visibility.

After running for quite sometime, the party suddenly stopped. Rowlet looked left and right trying to track the Duskull, but there was no sign of it. Ash looked around their surrounding, the fog had become so thick, that nothing could be seen. It was like they were enveloped with some white curtain. It was dangerous to venture further in this situation. Ash decided to wait for sometime, for the fog to settle to his word, the fog indeed settling down slowly, but...

"What the hell! Where am I?" , Ash screamed, how did he ended up in a warzone...last time he checked he was in a forest just a moment ago. Ash was even more terrified as he recognised the place...Hau'oli City...or ruins of Hau'oli City.

The city was destroyed, buildings were in flames and dead bodies were rotting in the street. Survivors were running away from something...or somethings...some even passed right through him. It was all an illusion, but Ash was in no state to understand it. Her was fully frozen, paralysed in fear. His stomach churned, wanting to throw everything up. He was wishing everything was a dream, a terrible bad dream... His mind went blank, his instincts left...all he has doing was standing...without moving a muscle...just like he had been hit with an Oblivion Wing.

Among the apocalypse, he could still make out what are the citizens so afraid of...pokemons, one's he had never seen before. There were four distinct groups he could distinguish.

A Tentacruel like pokemon, but not any of their species. It didn't have a fixed head, but a bell like structure, semi-translucent and encircled with several white, star-shaped markings. There was a bright blue wavy rim of bell flaring outward. It has gelatinous tentacles which give it a vaguely humanoid shape. Several tentacles mesh together forming the appearance of cape or maybe long hair, while four shorter tentacles resemble shorter hair and arms. Two long tentacles make up the legs of the human shape. This creature seemed to be raining some toxic substance from his tentacles. The toxin was burning and melting everything on contact, living or not. Several people and pokemons were screaming as the acid slowly burnt them.

A large, anthropomorphic, parasite looking body builder like creature, with a small and flat head, with a black ridge on its center. It has two red compound eyes with two black, spherical basal joints for its red and black antennae between them. It also has a long, silver proboscis protruding under these joints. There were bulging muscles all over its body, though that appears to be sacs full of red fluid with small white bubbles inside. There were three muscles in each of its arms,two on each leg, two on its chest, and several on its shoulders and down its back. If it have to be compared to a Machamp, it's a Machamp with bug like appearance and on steroids. Around its waist are three rings of smaller sacs. The muscle in its chest and some on its arms and waist have thin grayish lines resembling tendons running across them. Had someone ripped the skin out of it? There were two arms and four pointed legs, with spikes running across its body. The portion of its body between its muscles are dark red or black. On its back there were two pairs of pale wings with slightly darker veins in them. The huge muscles creature was breaking, cracking and destroying everything within its reach, from shattering buildings with a single punch to cracking the skills of its victims.

The third pokemon didn't look menacing, but it was in action. This pokemon looked like an origami human. It appears to be folded out of a sheet of paper which is white on one side and red on the side. But it also seemed to be stiff. It's head is folded slightly inside its body and has a four sides star at its center, but no distinguishable facial features. On top of its head are two antennas or horns or whatever those are, narrow at the bottom, wider on the top. It has long, thin arms that look like katanas with a yellow sheath like structure around the upper area. The sheath connects to a red, slightly raised hexagon in its torso. Extending up and out from the base of each sheath are three yellow projections that are nearly as long as it's arms. It's legs seems to be creased with areas of red visible along the edges. This origami pokemon seemed to be gliding in the air effortlessly. Like the previous creature this pokemon seemed to be cutting everything down in sight.

The final pokemon was the biggest shock to Ash. This pokemon looks like someone had made a bug like pokemon look like Lusamine. It was a feminine looking anthropomorphic bug. It is primarily white with a thin build. It's torso is composed of five thin discs that droop slightly downward. The widest disc makes up its shoulders, the second widest its hips, and the two smallest its chest and waist. There is a good books inside the widest disc, where its long, thin neck protrudes from. It's arms and legs are also long and thin with gold joints. It's hands and feet are composed of golden claws. It has a small, semi-flattened head with a golden crown on top. The two tallest points of the crown point to its long, thin like antennae, which are white with golden balls at its tips. Attached to the back of its head are two structures which look like feminine hair or some sort of shell. These structures are nearly transparent, curve slightly inward, and reach nearly the ground. This Lusamine like bug seemed to be very agile. It was moving with surprising speed around the town and knocking everything up with its powerful kicks.

As people kept running away in fright and the beasts continued their rampage, Ash kept praying for this dream to end. He couldn't even try to close his eyes. He kept wondering whether it is the past, present...or future. Very soon there was a tremendous roar heard as a huge vortex of flames was shot towards these alien beasts. The beasts stopped their rampage and fell back to dodge the attack. Before Ash could look to the source of the flames, the source landed in front of him. A huge, black draconic creature was snarling at the creatures with a ferocious look on its face. It's entire body seemed to be radiating power and the flame burning on its tail was burning violently. Ash showed the first signs of movement after a long time as his eyes widened in recognition,...Helios, Ash whispered.

Helios was Red's shiny Charizard. Ash had seen a lot in pictures, most were family photos taken right after his birth. Helios was extremely protective about their family. There was even a picture where Helios was carrying him on his arms, surrounded by Red's other pokemons. But what is he doing here. There was no doubt in his mind that this Charizard was not any shiny Charizard, this was Helios. But if Helios is here, where's Dad, Ash wondered. The mere presence of Helios was giving him courage, helping him back to return to his normal state.

Helios gave earth shattering roar as the flames on his tail burnt more and more furiously, his entire body glowed red due to heat. A massive vortex of fire emerged from Helios mouth and engulfed most of the beasts, this time the flames were not red or orange, it was near white. Only that Tentacruel like creature and the white bug managed to dodge the attack, former due to the ability to fly and the later due to their incredible speed. But the rest were not that lucky. As the flames died, everything was revealed. The origami pokemon were burnt to ashes while that massive bodybuilder like insect was severely burnt, they had lost their ability to move.

Ash didn't expect he had to witness this one. He battle pokemons and pokemons are injured in battles, all that's true, but he never thought of killing pokemons. This was too much for him to handle.

The survivors of Helios attack prepared to gang up on him as Helios got ready to defend himself. But a shinning comet...or meteor suddenly appeared as fast as lightning and knocked out all those floating creatures out of the sky. The white insect pokemon started moving with supreme speed, appearing like a blurr, but was hit with something which was as fast as it. A half human, half bird with huge mask like shields in its hand appeared out of nowhere, electricity cracking in its body.

Tapu Koko, the legendary guardian deity of Melemele Island was glaring at the beasts in front of him. Tapu Koko gave a piercing shrill shriek as the surroundings glowed yellow with electricity cracking at every place. As soon as Electric Terrain was set up, Tapu Koko surrounded itself in a ball of electricity and let out a powerful Discharge, frying all the creatures in one shot. All that remained are their burnt corpses and ashes.

Ash was smart enough to ever doubt an island guardians actions. Even he is still strictly against killing, he accepted that killing is like a necessary evil, he cannot do anything to change the fact. Ash was recovering from the initial shocks pretty well. He slowly found his composure and looked around, there was something very strange... Helios was standing just at a distance of barely two foot in front of him, still he was not feeling any heat, that was very unnatural for a Charizard. Also all of them are acting as if he didn't exist at all, this also shouldn't happen.

Ash saw Tapu Koko staring somewhere, he looked at the direction and saw blasts of Hydro Pump and pinkish white beams, which Ash assumed to be Moonblast flying around everywhere at a distance.

Tapu Koko and Helios prepared to leave for the area when suddenly they sensed something and spread out to dodge a building, Someone threw a building at them! Ash looked at the direction and his eyes nearly popped out of his sockets. Walking there was a huge monster, larger than the largest he can ever imagine. He couldn't make the exact appearance of it but...wait...how did it come here...and why is the ground not shaking!?.

If the Totem Kommo-o can shake the earth when it was just walking, why the hell an earthquake is not formed due to this thing. Everything was jumbling up in his brain...which is real which is fake he couldn't decide. Before he had the time to think logically, a twelve tonne beam was shot out from heaven tearing through that monsters body...and...everything became normal...

Ash found no sign of destruction, no sign of war, no sign of death...nothing, everything vanished. He was standing in the same forest he was before, the fog had settled down. Lucario was standing with its eyes glowing red, along with Duskull and Rowlet who were looking at him.

But they were not alone, they had company. A Gengar along with a gang of Haunters in the trees looking very annoyed. Their precious illusions have been destroyed, so their entertainment had stopped.

Just a mere sight of them made Ash's blood boil. Gengar is the cornerstone of Agatha's team. It reminded him of all the mocking, all the jeering , all the humiliation she had given to different trainers. The illusion gang's eyes shown again as they were preparing another illusion. Fog once again started to appear. But this time Ash was having none of it,

"Dark Pulse Lucario! Shoo them away", Ash roared. Lucario gave his own roar as a sphere of void, dark energy formed in her hands. Instead of firing it straight away, Lucario grew it bigger and bigger. Very soon the sphere exploded into a barrage of smaller spheres as Lucario shot the attack at the ghosts.

That was enough to scare them away. Ash sighed and thought about those illusions, I need to talk with Professor about it very soon , Ash thought. He turned towards Duskull who surprisingly was still there, floating around cheerfully. It seems that it was enjoying their company. An idea came to Ash's mind, what's the need to fight when friendship can do the work.

Ash gave Duskull his best smile and said," Hey friend, you seem to be enjoying your time. ", Duskull floated and nodded, confirming the statement. " Then why don't you come with us! ", Ash said," We always have fun together and help each other get stronger. I also have a family whom you will like also".

Duskull seemed to be considering the proposal for a moment. She was liking this kid a lot. Also she is quite a bit lonely here, so she wouldn't mind companies. She might also get find some people to scare also. All in all, not a bad deal at all.

Duskull gave her acceptance to this proposal, as it floated around her would be trainer. Ash took out a pokeball and enlarged it, but didn't throw it. He held the pokeball in his hand as he presented it to his new would be pokemon,

"Do the honours, Duskull", Ash offered. Duskull gave the pokeball a look, she was familiar with these spherical objects. She floated towards it nudged it gently. Almost immediately, the pokeball opened and Duskull was sucked inside it and the pokeball closed. It wobbled once and then dinged, signifying a successful capture.

Ash was happy as he got both the pokemon he wanted, also he didn't have to go through a lot of fight as he assumed would be. Suddenly he remembered something, one hour is about to get over, he needs to get back. He made a U-Turn when he realised he had got lost in the woods. He turned to Rowlet and Lucario," Does any of you knows the way out? ", Ash asked.

Rowlet tilted its head while Lucario shrugged. Ash sighed at his misfortune when he remembered, the person who brought him here will guide him out. Without a delay he released Duskull from her pokeball, "Hey buddy, will you show is the way out of here...to the cemetery within the forest" , Ash asked.

Duskull did a mid air somersault as it started floating away towards the cemetery with a party following it. Ash had no idea he had come this far into the forest, he made a mental note never to run away blindly without knowing where he was going. If he didn't catch Duskull, he would have much trouble in getting out of the forest.

After walking for about ten to twelve minutes, Ash finally reached the cemetery. The entire walkthrough back was like finding a way in a maze which he wouldn't crack ever if he didn't have a guide. He was seven minutes late, but that doesn't matter much...because Gladion hadn't come back either.

Ash waited for a few minutes, one, two, five, ten, twenty...twenty minutes passed but there was no sign of Gladion. Ash was starting to get worried, and decided to go search for him, when he heard a weird laughter and footsteps approaching him.

Ash turned to the source of sound, among the darkness behind the trees two figures appeared...one was Gladion looking absolutely frustrated and behind him was Incineroar with a similar annoyed expression. Behind him floating in the air was a small, spherical mass of gas with eyes and mouth, laughing hysterically. But one thing caught Ash's eyes, water was dripping out through their entire body, they were completely drenched.

"What has happened?" , Ash asked as he tried to hide his laughter. Gladion gave Ghastly a murderous glare, " Don't ask! This little prankster happened ", he shouted, chewing each and every word.

Ash tried not to roll his eyes on seeing Ghastly, guess I have to get used to this species , Ash thought.

" This idiot had created a full illusionary area with its magic, there was a pond somewhere but it looked like solid land. We were running after it and accidentally stepped on it...and you can imagine the rest", Gladion mumbled.

Ash and Lucario rolled on the ground, laughing madly till their stomach started to ache. Gladion rolled his eyes and Incineroar tried to intimidate them making several threats and scary faces, but that didn't stop them. Instead, Lucario seemed to be taunting him in response. It was natural, Incineroar and Lucario are always fighting on the fact that who is Professor's strongest pokemon.

"You would have understood if the same thing would have happened with you! That time I would have laughed at your face", Gladion said in an annoyed tone. He was definitely not taking it very kindly.

Ash's face turned serious as he ceased his laughter and got up from the ground. Gladion was a bit surprised by the reaction, but it was only a bit.

" I have lot to tell you", Ash said, returning Duskull and Rowlet as Gladion returned Ghastly, " let's get moving...I will tell you in the way"...


Next Day, Pokemon Trainer School, Melemele Island

The school bell rung as the students rushed out of the school building. It was dismissal, some prepared to leave for their home's, some went to the field for fun battles. In one of the senior classes most of the students also started packing their bags...most...except two, Ash and Gladion. They knew very well this dismissal was not for them. Professor Kukui is going to take special classes on the working of leagues and duties on leagues. If they wanted to be worthy Elites, they have to learn all the things, both theory and practical.

"Hey everyone! Listen here!" , the entire class turned to face a girl a cheerful look and green hair, Mallow. "I am holding a small get together in my father's cafeteria tomorrow. So wanna come!", she announced.

Nearly all of they cheered and gave their consent, except the two selected students. Mallow frowned on seeing this, " You too not coming? Gladion I can understand, he rarely attends parties unless he gets dragged by his sister...But Ash? Normally you are the first one to arrive and gobble down food the most! From which side had the sun rose today? ".

Before Ash can answer Gladion interrupted," Sorry, grass head! But we are busy, Ok! ", he said in his infamous edgy and arrogant tone.

" That was rude brother! ", his sister, Lillie shouted," Apologise!". Gladion just huffed and turn away. Everybody sighed, they are used to Gladion's behaviour. Ash decided to cover up the situation

"Actually what he meant is we are a bit busy these days. We have some special classes with Professor Kukui. That's why we couldn't come...we are sorry for it Mallow", Ash said apologetically.

" We knew Lillie was the bookworm, since when did you all became Professor's favourite ", Hau, the grandson of Kahuna Hala, joked. This also earned him a smack on his head from Lillie.

At the same time Professor Kukui entered the classroom and looked for Ash and Gladion. When he found them he joked," Good to see you two still here, I half expected you both to run away...".

"Your dreams would have come true if you involved this idiot also", Gladion said pointing towards Hau. "Hey!" , Hau protested as Lillie tilted her head, " Involve in what? ", she asked.

" That's a secret", Kukui winked, " Now if you would give us some privacy ", he said. Most of them groaned but didn't argue back, if their teacher didn't want them to know, they will respect his wishes.

One by one everybody left the classroom saying their goodbyes, leaving behind Ash, Gladion and Kukui. Ash and Gladion shifted to the front seats as Kukui sat at the the teacher's chair.

"Uhmm...Professor, I need to tell you something" , Ash said nervously. Kukui noticed the hesitation in his voice as he said, " Go on Ash, my ears all up". Ash looked at Gladion who nodded his head as Ash started to narrate his entire experience last night after he and Gladion went to separate ways.

Kukui's initial reaction was shock, which grew darker and darker as the story proceeded and resulted in a mixture of curiosity and worry at the end.

"If what you said is true, then this problem must be addressed immediately, Arceus knows how many people had already seem the incident. Thanks for informing me Ash", Kukui said in a worried voice. Ash and Gladion looked at each other as they were utterly confused of what is their in this to worry so much? Is it some kind of secret? Last night when Gladion heard about the incident, he guessed that it was the Ultra Beast war that took years ago, but the entire world knows about it, what's there to hide so much?

" Ahhhmmm, Professor, would you mind explaining to me why you are so worried about it? The world already knows about it? So why do secrecy?", Ash asked.

Kukui took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "There no reason to hold back now, you two are going to be future elites soon. So sooner or later, you both would have known all the things. But before I say anything about it, you both are not going to utter a single word to a single soul outside. The top employees of Aether Foundation and the Kahunas are the only other ones who are authorised to know the entire thing. Even the people of Alola have been warned about not to talk regarding this".

Ash and Gladion both agreed with it as Professor Kukui started the story,

" The thing is what the outside world knows are all cooked up stories. The actual amount of damage, casualties, information about the Ultra Beast, everything have been suppressed to the outside world. Even Red made a false report about it help us in suppressing the fact. The reason being politics ", Kukui paused for a bit as Ash and Gladion listened attentively," Look, Alola don't have a League , or some form of internationally recognisable government. It is just a group of four autonomous islands, rich forest, a variety of pokemons...ideal for tourism which will bring lots of profit and revenues. Several powerful leagues wanted to make Alola a part of their region, more than you can count. Many billionaire businessmen wanted to buy of the islands to make business. But none of us wanted to loose our independence, our culture. Their plans would have been fatal for Alola's culture, they would have destroyed the natural ecosystems and replaced with artificial ones just to increase tourism and business. Alola believes in growing with nature, respect nature, not exploit it.

When the Ultra Beast situation was brought under control, a new problem stood up. All those greedy people started spreading that Alola doesn't have strong trainers to defend itself, so for the sake of the betterment of our people, we should sell them the ownership of the islands. They will work to protect it.

But that time Red came to our rescue. At that time, Red was one of the strongest trainers in this entire world, and also one of the most feared. He created a report faking the damages to show the world that nothing major had happened and the situation had been dealt pretty well. Those bastards of course still tried different tricks to get their hands on the islands, but Red along with an equally influential and rich friend of Mohn succeeded to hush them up completely. We were saved in this journey, and that's the reason Alola is so natural and beautiful as you see today.

You can tell that it is also one of the reason why I want to setup a League as quickly as possible. Historical paintings and ancient scriptures and documents revealed that this is not the first time Alola had been attacked by Ultra Beasts. It has happened previously also. Every time there would have been a war with the Island Guardians with a hero assisting them. This time that hero was Red. We are sure there will be more raids on future. A research by Burnet showed that Ultra Beasts are attracted by the Z energy Alola emits. And that time, Red is in no position to help us. But if the League is setup, we will have a political ground to defend ourselves. This is the entire story", Kukui said as he finished telling the tale.

"Understandable" , Gladion spoke first, " but I don't get it, why the research documents on these Ultra Beasts hidden? Surely that will not reveal the true picture to the world? ", he asked.

Kukui shook his head and said, "No it won't. That is purely security purpose...imagine what will happen if these information by chance fall in the hands of some criminal syndicate" .

Ash seemed to understand every reason, " So that's why you wanted to train us, to be elites and protect this region", Ash wanted to confirm. Kukui basically nodded lightly, "Kind of, but I have another reason, the pride of Alola is in line. And only you two can get it right". Ash and Gladion raised an eyebrow as Kukui started another tale,

Flashback

International Police Headquarters, Unova

" I am telling you professor, let us handle the situation...We will confront it better than you", a middle aged man wearing a brown coat said.

Professor Kukui along with Mohn Aether was sitting at a table in front of the Chief Detective of International Police Looker. Looker had been trying to bargain and get his hands on the files on Ultra Beasts saying it was necessary for research purpose. But Kukui was having none of it. He countered that if any research was at all necessary, the Aether Foundation is more than capable enough to conduct it.

" Sorry Mr. Looker, but my decision had been taken ", Kukui crossed, " This is Alola's internal matters, let us take care of it. We don't need any third party interference in it".

"Professor Kukui, please think reasonably, Alola is in no position to fight back these extra dimensional creatures" , Looker argued.

"And what makes you think that", Kukui asked, temper was rising inside him...But still he managed to keep his calm. This person have been bad mouthing his region from the very beginning, as if they are some helpless idiots who don't know what their doing.

" Obviously, the trainers in Alola are weak, they are not trained with modern technology. They should fight real trainers rather than fighting plants and trees. Just look at us, our League have specially trained combat forces, trained with the latest technology available to deal with situations like these, Alola has nothing ", Looker said with a hint of arrogance in his voice.

That was the last straw to be cut as Kukui was engulfed in a wave of rage. He stood up and slammed his fist on the table and glared angrily at Looker," Enough is enough Looker... Alola had lived with nature, had respected nature...and nature had offered us protection all this time. You have insulted the ideology of Alola...So today I challenge you...I am going to train such a student in our own way who is going to conquer all those Leagues which you call powerful. Be ready for that day", with that being said, Kukui stormed out of the room ignoring all the calls that Looker gave to return back.

Flashback ends

Ash is normally calm and doesn't get too agitated easily, but this time he started to see red. And Gladion, he has a much shorter temper than Ash. He had already jumped from his seat and started pacing around,

"Some nerves that idiot has! If I get my hands on him... I am going to break his neck", Gladion mutters angrily, loud enough for Ash and Kukui to hear...

" That would only show you the path to prison", Kukui said, " The real answer will be if you both can prove him wrong by two of the best trainers in this world"

Gladion calmed himself a bit as he took back his seat while Ash, who was also fuming with rage, spoke up, " And I thought Agatha was the only jerk in this world. I didn't know that the people to whom the world looks up to is so power hungry ".

" Believe me, you know nothing! You will learn everything overtime...just focus on your training for now, leave these matters to the adults. Ok now these things out of the way, today we are actually going to give a glimpse on the functioning of the League".

Ash and Gladion prepared themselves to another lecture. " Before I start, Ash, what was your reaction when you first saw the war? ".

Ash was a bit confused at the choice of question but nevertheless answered it truthfully. Kukui listened to the answer and thought for sometime, as if forming his own answer carefully,

" Quite natural from a ten year old kid...But if you want to be an Elite, or a Champion, that reaction should change. The ideal reaction should have been to immediately face the danger and help the people as much as you can...instead of being paralysed with fear".

Ash was a bit nervous on hearing it but didn't interrupt the Professor, Gladion seemed to be unaffected by the words.

" Look, the work of the Champion or Elites are not just battling trainers and holding tournaments which most think to be. They are directly responsible for the security of the region and enforcement of laws. Most of the big Leagues of some large, powerful regions can be divided into two parts, the Security Council and the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors is the government that runs the region. The league registered Pokemon Professors and Researchers are also a part of it. They make laws and everything for improving the lives of the people. Matters like agriculture, education transport fall under their jurisdiction.

Second is the Security Council, they are responsible for the security of the region, whether it is internal or external. They can also make laws for improvement in the safety of the people but are mostly involved in the enforcement of the laws. Their jurisdiction involves threat from other regions, criminal organisations operating in their regions, pokemon attacks on trainers all these things. The Security Council consists of the Champion, Elite Four, Gym Leaders, Pokemon Rangers, Ace Trainers all these people. Now you get what is expected from you Ash, with great power comes great responsibility".

Ash was feeling a bit excited within, the fact he would lead an army was quite fascinating for anyone of his age. But it was easier said than done.

"That means we need our own forces for our region", Ash asked. Kukui nodded his head as he replied," Kind of, we have already started recruitment and training them...the Aether Foundation is handling this issue ".

" You mean those hooligans! Jeezzz... ", Gladion scoffed away. Kukui just laughed, " Come on! Now don't be so mean, everybody deserves a second chance...well, on second thoughts, not everybody, but most atleast ".

" As I was saying, the Alolan League wouldn't have those Administrative and Security distinctions, we will merge both of them. The Kahunas are the head of the islands and they are chosen by the Island Guardians, that will remain. They will obviously be a part of the league and take decisions on security as well and vice versa.

Now the other regions have gym challenges, which we will replace with the Island Trials. We don't need Pokemon Rangers, as we already have Totem Pokemons and their allies responsible for maintaining peace in their respective habitats. The only thing we don't have is the Gold Challenge, which other regions have".

"What's that?" , Gladion asked.

"All the regions have several gyms in their region, almost all city or town have one. But their are eight of the strongest gyms that are classified as major gyms. Now, the problem is, the average trainers who challenge the League are not strong enough to beat these eight gym leaders at full power. Their main team is too strong for anyone to handle, they are like the pre Elite Four challenge. Some gym leaders with full power are as strong as the Elite Four, they are considered to be future Elite Four candidates. So, the League decided to tone down their power to a fightable level for the trainers. They have different teams which are used according to the challengers level and experience, these teams are called gym teams. Any trainer who beat their gym team are awarded with the batch. Now, if any trainer challenges their main team and defeats them, they are given Golden Version of their badges, to distinguish their accomplishment from rest of the badge holders. Any trainer who have collected five of the eight Gold badges are branded as Gold category trainers. This is the deal", Kukui said.

Gladion seemed to be quite interested in this matter while Ash had stars in his eyes, "Awesome!", Ash shouted, " Have you won those Gold badges? ", Ash

"Seven out of Eight" , Kukui answered, " Blue Oak with his original team was too strong to defeat. But the fact is, we cannot create Golden Z-Crystals to award. So that is a thing we should cut".

Ash smiled with determination, " Looks like I will have to break your record".

"Don't get too cocky Ash", Kukui smiled back," By the way, we seem to have some time. So, what do you say, you all up for some training " .

"I am always up!" , Ash pumped his fist as he shouted with excitement. Gladion also nodded his head as he spoke, " Better than wasting the time. What training we will be doing today? ", he asked.

" Reflex", Kukui spoke up, " Boy's follow me", he said, as he walked out of the classroom. Ash and Gladion looked at each other and shrugged and followed Professor's trails. They were curious to see what he had in store for them.

And that wraps up the second chapter. A big thanks to those who have read and reviewed the last chapter. Now, a common question that is running in everybody's mind is will Ash catch pokemons which is beyond the ghost dragon theme? Yes he will, the number will be less, but he will. The ratio of themed to non themed pokemons is like 14:4 originally, but I planned to add one more non ghost dragon pokemon to make it 14:5. This data doesn't involve any legendary or mythical pokemons. Also keep in mind, this statistics will change as Pokemon Company and Game Freak add more pokemons and regions in future.

Now, that being said, let me answer some questions which I have received

76: Dreepy is a spoiler which I can't answer here, I am sorry. As for shipping is concerned, I didn't plan anything as it's too early. My favourite shipping is amourshipping. But it can be pulled at best in Kalos, which Ash is not travelling anytime soon. He will go to Kalos, but to catch a pokemon, only for a short time. Another shipping which I like in this fanfiction world is abilityshipping. So I need to give some serious thought to it. For now, the story will go as it is with no favouritism on pokegirls. Thanks for your review.

Lugia Moon: A gave a serious thought to Drifblim, and though it fits with the theme of the story and is a good pokemon, it's flying moveset is a problem. Defog, Tailwind, Acrobatics, Fly and Gust in USUM, these are its flying moves, which isn't that impressive. So, I decided to take the second option and give a regional flying bird pokemon, they have better moveset in flying category. Though it wouldn't appear any time soon. Also I am going to incorporate the pokemon I said, so peace ✌. Thanks for reviewing.

Guest: Well, I will not follow anime strictly, but I will try to recreate most of the events. This involves Anime, Games, Manga, also non cannon movies like Pokemon: I Choose You and Power of Us. As for cannon pokemons, there will be one or two, it maybe from original series it maybe not, but most will be non cannon. Also the none ghost/dragon type, I have already answered it above. Glad to see you are enjoying the story. Thanks for reviewing.

Poke-ranger21: Thank you for the kind words. I am glad you are enjoying the story. I wanted to do something different, so picked up Alola. Thanks for reviewing and enjoy the story.

The next chapter I will start tomorrow. Just a glimpse, it will consist of mostly training advice and training. Also, a popular pokemon will appear in the next chapter with whom Ash will bond, but not catch him so easily. Also if I am able to comeup with some good pokemon puns, Samson Oak may make an entrance, otherwise not.

Thanks for reading to everyone and please review. I will see you in the next chapter.

Fafnir Out ~~~