Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon or any such stuff.

Hello everyone, welcome to the fifth chapter of The Journey. Thanks to all who have read the previous chapters. With that being said, sit back and enjoy.

Chapter 5: Kalos...Where Dreams Reach A New Height... Part-2: The Hunt

" There is nothing to worry about", Nurse Joy assured, "There is no major harm to the inner vitals organs. And the physical injury will probably heal by tomorrow".

" Thank Arceus! ", Ash heaved a sigh of relief...when suddenly something struck it, "Wait a minute? Vital Organs? Does ghosts even have organs? I thought they are dead spirits!" .

Nurse Joy chuckled a bit and said, "That's what most people think. It's a bit complex...and you are too young to understand these things. If you ever pursue a career related to pokemon biology in future, you will have to learn how things work. It is not that simple as it looks".

"Whatever", Ash shrugged," I would like to book a room also".

"Sure", Nurse Joy replied, " Are you participating in the next Kalos League?". Ash shook his head in reply. Nurse Joy went behind her counter and typed a few keys and asked for her pokedex. Before scanning the pokedex and asked, "What kind of room you want? For you single rooms are 100 pokedollars each while dormitories are 75 pokedollars". Pokedollars is a universally accepted currency. Each region may have their own currency also, but pokedollars runs everywhere. Now the value of one pokedollar with respect to the regional currency differs from region to region, holding many factors of economy and development and etc. etc., but it isn't much of a concern.

" Single room", Ash answered. Ash came to know about a new system in Kalos. The Kalosian League participants get rooms and treatment for their pokemons in pokemon centres for free, irrespective of the region they came from. Non participating trainers who hold a valid trainer license get fifty percent discount in room charge but get free treatment for their pokemons. Rest needs to pay full fees for both the services. In Alola, trainers up to fourteen years of age only gets free services and people above the age group needs to pay the charges...which to some extent Ash agrees with.

The idea behind this system was to loosen the financial burden, a problem which most of the trainers face at the beginning of the journey. Everyone isn't some born prodigy nor everyone gets a huge sponsorship to support their journey. Inexperienced trainers doesn't win battles and earn a lot of cash right from the beginning...in fact they loose money. But they have a fixed expenditure ...and when the burden of treatment of their injured pokemons fall, many just quit training and abandon their pokemons in the wilds. To stop it, the Kahunas placed this rule to ease the headache of the young trainers. As the trainer matures and gain experience, the privilege is lifted so that the trainer can learn to take responsibilities like a man. And it seems Kalos has walked an extra mile and have more privileges to the trainers. Who knows what Kanto had planned!

Nurse Joy scanned his pokedex, deducting the balance from his trainers account and returned it back along with a key, "Enjoy your stay", she added. Ash took the key and pokedex and headed towards his room to put his luggage. Then he will be heading out towards the forest.


Ash and his company was walking through the forest in search of the swampy wetland where Goomy is sighted the most. Some of his pokemons were out of their pokeballs. Dartrix was flying above them keeping and eye at the surrounding from above. It served two purposes, one... it gave a warning against any threats nearby, two...Goomy isn't just limited to only swamps. According to sightings they could be spotted in the entire route 14. So Dartrix, with its sharp eyes could pick up any signs of Goomy nearby. He wants to get his job done as soon as possible as the latest weather forecast predicts moderate to heavy rainfall in Route 14 and its nearby areas tonight...The sky is already a bit cloudy and he does not think the situation will get better anytime soon.

Jangmo-o was walking right beside him...like some bodyguard. Jangmo-o was also keeping an eye at the surrounding, but for a different reason. He normally search for an excuse to start a fight everytime, a problem quite common among dragons with a few exceptions. But Jangmo-o is surprisingly friendly with his own teammates, he merges especially well with Trapinch. In free time Jangmo-o and Trapinch could be found chatting together for hours.

Ralts was sitting on his right shoulder, practising his confusion attacks on a pebble. Even though he joined the team two days ago, he already became friends with mostly everyone, especially Poipole and Duskull slowly becoming an active member of their gang...which isn't something Ash wants. Dealing with two of them was enough trouble.

Poipole was definitely out of his pokeball. He was in his pokeball for past two days only coming out at night only in a close room. Poipole was flying around heartily and helping his fellow friend in training. Whenever the concentration of Ralts would break, Poipole would catch the stone from falling allowing Ralts to again focus his attention on the stone. Poipole is mischievous, but when it comes to training, he is one of the most serious pokemon in his team.

And last, Mimikyu was leading the party, slicing bushes and other obstacles with its shadow claw. Contrary to other Mimikyu's, his Mimikyu doesn't enjoy mingling with others...it isn't like he misbehaves or something, just he likes to mind his own business. But Mimikyu still loves battles, and like Jangmo-o searches for an opportunity to prove his strength.

The density of trees were getting lesser and lesser as Ash could see vast plain lands with tall grasses near to knee level...And that is a sight he could see for ages. Vast fresh green fields with small puddles in the middle, several pokemons he had never seen flying and running around...all in all, a perfect paradise for them. On one side there is a rocky terrain with several hills forming a barrier between Route 14 and Coumarine City. There is also a stream flowing through it, originating from a coastal area near Laverre and flowing down Southwards. And it is that stream that Ash is heading towards. He came to knock Goomy...atleast in its first two stages need to stay hydrated often, so logically he should find some clue there.

Ash called upon Dartrix and gave him the signal to go and check the river area for some signs. He had already briefed everything to him. If their are no signs of Goomy anywhere, it would be a total wastage of time to just walk to the stream and come back. So Dartrix will go and scan the area while he will remain here and monitor Trapinch progress to learn Sandstorm.

With that being said, Ash released Trapinch out of his ball and said, " Ok Trapinch, you will continue what you have been doing. Only you will be battling Mimikyu this time".

Mimikyu seemed to get a eager for the battle while Jangmo-o looked at Ash with concern, and Ash knows why. Mimikyu can go a bit overboard even in mock battles, but after today's loss if he goes easy with training, his pokemons will end up being softies. Ash kneeled down and patted on Jangmo-o's head, " It will be fine. You are teammates, remember ", he said and focused on the fight that was about to start.

There was literally nothing more he could for Trapinch to learn Sandstorm. The help trainers can give to their pokemon to learn a move is very limited aside from buying and using TM's. Learning moves is fully a biological phenomenon and it is beyond his control. Also he isn't some kind of pokemon that he could use his own experience to teach pokemon moves. The maximum a trainer can do is to check whether his pokemon is fit enough for learning a move, plan out training programme to meet the prerequisitea and check whether their pokemons are practising or not. And when the pokemon is close to mastering a move, all it needs is a hormonal surge to awaken the genes. This hormonal surge can be result of some motivation, emergency situation, battle excitement...anything. But the most common is to battle it out.

Mimikyu was attacking furiously with his infamous shadow claw, but Trapinch had dug a hole to escape the flurry of shadow claws leaving Mimikyu perplexed about what to do next. And to be honest, Ash also doesn't know what to do when a pokemon is underground. He just knows that Earthquake has the potential to knock out a pokemon underground, but mastering Earthquake is tough. Also none of his pokemons knows about Earthquake.

A ground breaking sound brought him back to reality. The soil below Mimikyu gave away as Mimikyu started sinking in a whirlpool of soil rather than water. Sand Tomb combined with Trapinch's Arena Trap ability can cause problems to his opponents. Though Sand Trap, which Ash likes to call it, can only trap small to medium pokemons due to its limited size. Bigger pokemons can easily muscle out of it as if it's just a small hole. But thinks are not getting the way Ash wanted.

"Stop it! Trapinch this gimmicks won't help you learn your move. You need to fight head on", Ash commanded. The vortex of sand stopped as Trapinch burst out of the ground. Mimikyu too managed to climb up the hole...thanks that Sand Trap had stopped and stood some distance behind Trapinch. "Good!" , Ash said, " Now have a proper battle. No more hiding and traping ". The last sentence he said looking at Trapinch.

Trapinch made an affirmative grunt and charged at Mimikyu with mouth filled with dark fangs, only to get smacked left and right by a pair of shadow claws which made even Ash cringe a bit. Mimikyu is really mad about the previous battle. The slaps of Shadow Claw had made deep cuts on Trapinch's face.

Trapinch grunted in pain but didn't backed down as he again went for a Crunch, this time biting one of the claws, but that didn't work out too well, the Shadow Claw literally blew right on his face. Mimikyu stumbled but still maintained balance but Trapinch for thrown back. And before Trapinch could get back, Mimikyu dashed forward and landed a solid Wood Hammer at Trapinch head, and Trapinch being a ground type didn't handle it too well.

Ash checked the time on his watch, the battle lasted barely five minutes, five minutes twenty seven seconds, " Probably it was a bad idea" Ash said returning Trapinch back to his pokeball. He had to think of some another way. One major flaw that Ash noticed in this battle is lack of moves. For Mimikyu, Wood Hammer and Shadow Claw can take care of nearly anything and also has Double Team for dodging attacks and Shadow Sneak for a fast hitting attack. But for Trapinch, there are two main tricks, Sand Trap and Crunch...and well Bite...out of which Sand Trap is what actually makes Trapinch threatening.

Sand Trap is a combined move of Dig, Sand Tomb and Arena Trap ability to trap the opponents in a pit which swallow the opponents like a whirlpool, draining it out of its stamina. The stronger Trapinch gets, the more deadly this technique becomes. Pokemons that can fly, or levitate or Pokemons which are big enough to escape the pit can survive the attack. But when this technique is prohibited, Trapinch is left with nothing. And with the poor reflexes and limited movements Trapinch doesn't pull Crunch effectively.

Mimikyu came hopping towards him as Jangmo-o was giving him a glare. Jangmo-o and Mimikyu had fought only once, and Jangmo-o had countered Mimikyu's each and every attack with Counter...totally overwhelming him.

Ash coughed to gain attention of everyone present and said, " There is still sometime for Dartrix to return. In the meantime, get some training done. Mimikyu, I have got something special for you. But wait for sometime ". Ash then turned to Jangmo-o, " You go and practice tackle, and keep practising it till you are tired. But don't disturb or fight and pokemon here", he said and turned to Poipole, " And Poipole, I don't even know what to teach you next until your full genome report comes out. So practice whatever you know".

Both Jangmo-o and Poipole gave their cries and went to mind their business in a nearby tree. That left only Ralts and Mimikyu. Ash kneeled down and asked Mimikyu, " Do you have any idea on Hone Claws? ", Ash asked. Mimikyu shook his head, so Ash continued, " It is one of the moves which not only increases your attack power but helps you track and hit opponents easier. This move needs good level of concentration to learn, so do what I say". Mimikyu didn't reply, but Ash knows he will listen.

Ash took the pebble on which Ralts was practising and said, " Mimikyu, your target is to hit this pebble with only Wood Hammer. And Ralts, your duty is not let Mimikyu even touch this stone. Use your confusion attack to move it as you wish. Think of it as a game and NO CHEATING! "

Ralts gave a sequel while Mimikyu only stated silently. Ralts eyes glowed blue he picked up the pebble with his psychic powers and suspended it in front Mimikyu like a bait. Whenever Mimikyu tried to hit the pebble, Ralts would simply move it away.

This might work, Ash thought, Practising on mobile targets would improve Mimikyu's focus. This will definitely make learning Home Claws easier.

Ash after seeing everything going according to plan went to a nearby tree, at a safe distance from Jangmo-o and Poipole's practise area and sat down at its shade. There is one thing that was bugging him, how will he teach Sandstorm to Trapinch. According to Kukui's lectures, a pokemon learns a move which he is capable of learning naturally when that particular move will help it adapt better with the surroundings. The driving force working behind this is Survival. Now what can be so threatening that will make a pokemon learn Sandstorm out of survival instincts. Also he have to figure which TM he should get next which get next.

Currently out of all the moves Trapinch is able to learn via TM, the most viable is Solar Beam. But he doesn't want that. Solar Beam has its problems, especially since it takes some time to charge up which leaves Trapinch open to counter attacks. What he wants to get Air Slash, which Trapinch is capable of learning only when he evolves to Vibrava.

Ash shook his head and started to think about Sandstorm. None of Professor Kukui's pokemons knows the move Sandstorm that he will directly ask him. Sandstorm is a weather based move which is mainly used for defensive purpose. Once trapped, the opponent will find it difficult to hit the user. Apart from it, Sandstorm is also used as a shield from other weather effects. Ash began thinking on various properties of Sandstorm hoping to find a way in them and slowly dozed of to sleep.


As doesn't know how long he was asleep but got a very rude awakening cal as something directly fell on his head, though it didn't hurt him. It was more like a balloon of water fell on his head.

Ash groaned as he looked up to see Dartrix flying move him. "What the hell was that!" , Ash shouted without a speck of anger in voice. He was used to these tricks now. Dartrix booted back and pointed down on the ground. Ash looked down to find what he had came here searching for. A pokemon with resembling a slug with beady black eyes was staring at him curiously. Considered to be the weakest Dragon Type ever, Goomy was right in front of him. Dartrix came flying down and sat beside Goomy and started hooting which Goomy listened and replied in its own language.

" I guess you both are already buddies? ", Ash asked raising an eyebrow at their interaction. Dartrix and Goomy both agreed at his statement giving their respective cries. "And I also guess that Goomy willingly came to us? ", he said. No sound made. Ash frowned but decided not to press the issue further sensing problems.

"Then Let'z ba...Heyy!", Ash shouted. Ralts and Mimikyu were lying on the ground either exhausted or asleep in which the what Ash think is the former. Mimikyu is not a pokemon slack off lazily.

" Looks like I have completely exhausted Ralts ", Ash said cursing himself. But still Ralts will be getting a sparing partner that's a plus. Jangmo-o and Poipole also came towards him, exhausted, but still able to continue. Kukui's regular exercise had greatly improved his pokemons stamina.

Ash returned both Ralts and Mimikyu to their respective pokeballs allowing them to rest. Ash looked at Goomy and asked, " You sure you want to come with us? ", Ash asked, just for mere formality. He would never let it go easily and will battle it if necessary to catch it.

Goomy nodded his head in agreement, so Ash took a pokeball and touched Goomy with its tip. The pokeball opened and sucked Goomy inside it in form of white energy. The pokeball shook for a bit and dinged signifying successful capture.

Ash took his pokedex and looked at the details of his new capture. The pokedex started with a mechanical voice,

Goomy: Soft Tissue Pokemon: Considered to be the weakest Drag-type Pokemon, it lives in damp, shady places, so it's body doesn't dry out. It's covered in a slimy membrane that makes any punches or kicks slide off it harmlessly. It's body is mostly water. If it dries out, it will die.

Goomy has the ability Hydration.

Goomy knows the moves Absorb, Life Dew, Water Gun and Rain Dance.

" What is this Life Dew? And how the hell it knows Rain Dance", Ash wondered loudly. He went through some options in the pokedex as it once again began.

Goomy's body is mostly made of water. If it dries out, it will die. According to the survey conducted by Kalos Pokemon Management Association in 2004, 87℅ of the Goomy population knows Rain Dance.

Life Dew is a healing move which can heal the user along with some other pokemons. The user generates waves of water energy which can heal the injuries of pokemon which comes in contact with the waves.

"Ok, so Goomy learns Rain Dance to keep itself moist, huh...Very we..." , Suddenly an idea clicked on Ash's brain, and probably this may help in his objectives.

"Ok guys let's get back quickly. I have a phone call to make" , he said returning everyone to his pokeballs and released Wyvern. Ash hopped on his back as they flew back to the pokemon centre.


"I think this should work", Professor Kukui said. Ash and Nurse Joy were in front of the video telephone talking to Professor Kukui. " Exposing Trapinch to rain will definitely make him learn Sandstorm. Also I don't see any major risk here. On the contrary, this will help Trapinch to start enduring water".

"But I am still not convinced, Professor" , Nurse Joy objected, " Ground types are weak to water, and this will interfere with Trapinch's metabolism ".

" And that is exactly what I am saying ", Kukui said, " Tolerating a few droplets of rain is much better option than getting Hydropumped right on face. Ash said that one Wood Hammer was enough to Knock Off Trapinch ".

" Well, I get where you are going professor ", Nurse Joy said thinking for sometime. At last she sighed and gave her consent," Fine, so whatever you want, but do be careful. I will get the things ready in case there is an emergency ".

" Thanks for your help Nurse Joy ", Ash said gratefully. "Don't swear it", Nurse Joy replied," I should get going now. There are a lot of work to be done. Good day Professor ".

Professor Kukui gave a massive grin in return as Nurse Joy walmed away to the emergency room. As Nurse Joy went away Ash turned to Professor Kukui and asked," Professor , I have a question in my mind". "Shoot", Kukui replied.

" You once said Goodra line have a ridiculous amount of fat in them", Ash started. Kukui nodded his head curiously to see where Ash was going, " So why it's ability is not Thick Fat, it should have been that according to logic".

Kukui scratched his head trying to make up an answer when Ash fired a second question, " Also the Trapinch line looks more like bugs to me than dragons. Why they are not like bug dragons or bug ground?".

"Whoa Whoa! Go slow", Kukui said, "You are keep firing like a Bullet Seed. As for your questions, there are a lot of "Why", "Let" , "If", "But" in the pokemon world which doesn't have an answer. But I will surely look for your questions. Maybe Burnet can help me in it".

"Thank you Professor, Oh!, by the way, I will be sending some pokemons to you tomorrow. If you don't mind", Ash said.

Kukui was a bit surprised by his statement," I don't have any problem. But can I know why you have suddenly changed your mind?", he asked.

"Well, I won't be able to give attention to all of them equally", Ash said, " Everyone had their own problems and tackling everyone's problems is not possible. Also it isn't that I will not catch pokemons in Kanto. If the team gets bigger and bigger it will be difficult to manage all together".

"I get it", Kukui said," Send whenever you want. I might transfer them to Aether Paradise since they have better facilities to keep pokemon, also many workers to take care of them 24x7" .

"Whatever is best. Say hi to everyone for me", Ash said. " Will do, by the way I should tell you. Gladion's Eevee evolved to Umbreon and he had acquired the Normalium -Z. He is preparing for Hala's Grand Trial now", Kukui said.

"Already!, Ash wondered, "Mann, I should step up my game. Don't worry, tell Mr. EdgeLord that I will get my badge by day after tomorrow".

" I don't think so", Kukui said. "Excuse me", Ash asked, " Nothing , you will come to know later. Get back to your job now. If you ever face problems, don't hesitate to call me". With that Kukui ended the call leaving Ash stunned for a bit.

"Well, that was weird", Ash said getting up from the phone and started walking towards Nurse Joy's counter to get Trapinch.


It was raining quite heavily, Ash was standing just outside the pokemon centre wearing a raincoat to prevent himself from getting wet. Trapinch was standing beside him shivering slightly as some rain drops fell on him. Ash looked down at Trapinch with concern in his eyes and said, " You sure you are ready. We may do it another time if you are not". Trapinch gave a affirmative cry and jumped out of the shade in the full rain and stood on the ground.

Trapinch was shivering like crazy in the rain but stood strong like his entire life is depended on it. Both fire and ground type pokemons are weak to water. But fire types endure water moves better because of the heat their bodies produce. Also powerful fire types specifically with flame body can generate so much heat that water will immediately turn into steam on contact. This is what he wants for Lampent or probably Chandelure. But ground types don't have such coverage. What Nurse Joy said was ground types are generally anhydrous with some exceptions, so water creates an imbalance in their metabolism.

Without even looking Ash could feel Nurse Joy staring at them through the glass door from her desk. Ash shrugged off every thought and focused on Trapinch keeping his pokeball ready. Trapinch kept standing in the rain like that for a solid ten minutes, still shivering and forcing himself up like push ups, but the shivering have reduced considerably which signifies two possibilities, one bad and other good. The good one is Trapinch is tolerating water better which can possibly signifies the dormant draconic genes are starting to express. This may cause evolution any moment. The bad one is Trapinch is actually losing his strength and consciousness.

Ash couldn't finish his thinking as a loud cry of Trapinch broke him out of his thoughts. A blue white light engulfed Trapinch as he began to grow. His enormous head shrinked a bit while his round body elongated into a big like structure. The four stumpy feet retracted as four new skinny legs with slender feet emerged from its side body. Additionally, four rhombus-shaped wings and two similar but smaller rhombus wings grew in its newly emerged tail.

As Trapinch was evolving, he was also creating a shrill buzzing sound which is Ash a nice headache. Even after blocking his ears he could feel the sound. Soon the light died as soil and dirt kicked up and covered Trapinch...sorry Vibrava like a blanket from the rain.

"Finally" , Ash cheered, " Vibrava get inside the centre". Vibrava stopped the Sandstorm and flew towards Ash and went inside as Ash opened the door of the Pokemon Centre.


"How's Vibrava" , Ash asked as Nurse Joy came from the observation room. " Perfectly fine", Nurse Joy said, "There will be some post evolution complexities, but it isn't something to worry about. I must say you should now get your dinner and get ready for bed. Your pokemons will be perfectly fine by morning".

Ash nodded at it and wished her a goodnight as he walked to the cafeteria. He has some homework to do tonight.


The entire map of Kanto was in front open in front of Ash. Day after tomorrow, he will be boarding the flight to Vermilion City. Lieutenant Surge has his gym there. And his gym is also one of the Original Eight. Specializing in Electric type pokemons, Lt Surge is one of the most brutal gym leaders who would punch holes in everybody's team. Several trainers actually win his badge unlike some gym leaders who barely give two three badge every season, still fighting Surge is like fighting a storm - Lightning Storm.

From Vermilion there are many routes possible. Ash also wants to visit his hometown as soon as possible without disturbing his journey completely. So one route he found is from Vermilion, he can travel through Route 11,12,13,14,15 to Fuchsia City and challenge Koga's gym there. From Fuchsia City, he can travel to Stone Town and catch a ferry to Pallet Town, dropping Cinnabar Gym for the time being. From Pallet Town he can take a normal route which most people take.

Another route which is a longer one is from Vermilion, he can take a shortcut to Celadon City. In Celadon, after obtaining its gym batch, he will travel to Gardenia Town, Carmini Town, Mulberry City, Sable City then finally Pewter City. After beating Brock, he will travel through Viridian Forest to Viridian City and from there to Pallet Town. From Pallet Town, he can take ferry to either Cinnabar or to Fuchsia and take a reverse route to Route 12, from there to Lavender Town, Silver Town and Saffron City and from Saffron City to Cerulean City. According to his calculations, this route will enable him to collect all the badges in least amount of time. But time is not a factor, he has two years. Also he want to keep Saffron, Cinnabar and Viridian for last. Kukui hadn't given him much details on Gym Leaders pokemons, especially their main teams, but had told him horrifying stories about his loss. Having a dark type pokemon like Incineroar and steel types like Lucario and Empoleon, Kukui said he managed to get the Marsh badge with two tries and the Golden Marsh Badge with six tries. Similar situation for Volcano and Earth badges, only Blue with his champion team is undefeatable. It is rumoured that even current Champion Lance does not have the Golden Earth Badge.

Also he wants to visit the famous Departmental Store of Celadon. Almost all training equipments, TMs both common and rare, all kinds of evolutionary items and etc. etc. can be bought at a price lower than rest of the region. So, according to Ash this route will be the best. He will go to Celadon and then via Cycling Road, he will travel to Fuchsia. From Fuchsia, he will catch a ferry to Pallet Town and after staying there for about a week, he will resume his journey.

Ok, so this chapter is done let's move on to the next, Ash thought. Ash had already checked Vibrava on his dex, Vibrava not only learnt Sandstorm in its elemental level, but also learnt three new moves upon evolution...or that's what the pokedex says, Screech, Dragon Breath and Bug Buzz. Now, Vibrava will no longer have to depend on only Crunch and Sand Trap.

Trapinch was the first pokemon he actually caught, and the third pokemon overall...after Rowlet and Poipole. Now with Trapinch evolving he has a team with three pokemons in their middle evolutionary stage with Mimikyu who is all time powerful, enough to counter Surge. Dartrix, Lampent, Vibrava and Mimikyu. He never felt so happy as well as nervous at the same time before. Probably he should get to bed now. It is already past midnight and Professor may had also got to bed. So, he will give the news tomorrow.

Ash out aside everything and double checked Poipole's pokeball is there in the hidden pocket of the jacket and called the night off.


The rain didn't stop in the morning also so Ash is stucked in the pokemon centre. Ash was in the cafeteria for breakfast. He had already polished the plate, now only thing that was left before him is a cup of herbal tea and his pokedex...He seriously hates coffee.

Ash have decided which six pokemons he will be keeping aside from Poipole and Wyvern. He will be keeping Dartrix, Jangmo-o, Mimikyu, Ralts, Goomy and Duskull. Dartrix for obvious reason, he is his starter and probably one of the strongest pokemon he has. Jangmo-o is strong, but lack moves. So he will be training Jangmo-o. Mimikyu, well he isn't sure how much worse the matter will get if Mimikyu realises that his trainer has send him away. Ralts, Goomy and Duskull doesn't have any proper training, so they will be staying. Vibrava and Lampent he is sending away temporarily, but he will bring them back during the gym battle. Also a few days under mentorship of Professor Kukui's pokemons won't hurt them and regular checks at Aether Paradise will make sure they are healthy all the time.

The rest of the day was pretty much uneventful for Ash since it was rained till evening and all he did was locking in his room and made a list of all TM's he will be buying for his pokemons for the time being, Air Slash, Heat Wave, Shadow Ball, X-Scissor, Iron Head. This will be enough TM's for two months. Heat Wave was initially out of list, but he is now buying it specifically for Vibrava to counter the ice type attacks. It is more for a defensive purpose than offensive.

Ash had already sent Lampent and Vibrava to Professor Kukui in front of Mimikyu so that he doesn't get the weird idea that his trainer is abandoning him. But the breaking news came during evening.

The Kalos National News is showing with big headlines

Team Rocket activity detected in Kanto

A huge explosion took place today at afternoon near Mt. Moon which is close to Pewter City. Many people are suspecting it to be the villainous Team Rockets work. Though the Kanto League Board and the Pewter City Gym Leader Brock Harrison refused to comment anything about this incident. What was the motive behind the explosion is unknown. Investigation is going on and probably everything will be uncovered. This is Jose Lemos from Kalos National News.

Some people were sitting in the lobby of the pokemon centre watching the news on television. Ash was also one of them. Immediately it became the hot topic of discussion at the pokemon centre. But Ash was lost in his own thoughts. Team Rocket, he is having a feeling that this Team Rocket is the root cause of all troubles. And he had to get to the root of all the troubles. He is remembering Kukui's advice,

The first thing you need to fight Team Rocket is a pokemon that can set up barriers and can use Psychic. If possible Extrasensonary also.

Ash got up and went to his room. He have to add three more TMs - Reflect, Lightscreen and Protect.


Next Day, Afternoon

Ash is boarding the flight which will take him to Vermilion. And there his real journey as a trainer will begin. He had called Kukui yesterday and asked for some tips for the gym battle. In response Kukui said only one thing, "People think offense is the best defense. But sometimes, defense can be the best offense". This conversation dragged into the Mt. Moon incident, Kukui said that he isn't going to stop him from encountering Team Rocket...that would only make him a clueless fool who doesn't know how to tackle dangers. But still Kukui said to stay as much possible until he is ready and keep the fighting only as a Last Resort.

After about 30 minutes the plane took off as Ash watched the Lumiose City disappearing within the clouds. His only wish was he could meet Trevor for one last time. But he didn't get the chance. One day he will return and meet him once again, once he becomes a real trainer.

Goodbye Kalos...I will come back sooner than you think. And the day I will come back, I will challenge your League

And this wraps up the fifth chapter. The next update I expect to be around January. From next chapter the Vermilion Arc will begin.

As for questions,

True Master: Probably not Rayshipping. Cynthia seems to be way older than Ash. I haven't decided whether I will include shipping or not.

And thanks to all reading and reviewing. Suggestions and Criticism are welcomed.

Fafnir Out ~~~