Aaron was currently in the middle of Slateport City where he had sealed another portal. Sometimes a person would emerge from the portal, and if they were evil, Aaron would battle them and take their remaining weapons and gear back to his hideout. If they were good, Aaron would do the best that he could to help them, and if they came from a different world, he would send them back. People nicknamed Aaron as Vortex; the name came from the fact that he was always found near the portals. Some people considered him a hero while others thought that he was the reason that all of the portals were opening.

Aaron just finished closing the portal by Slateport City when he had another vision of a portal opening. "Another one. Something tells me that this one was forced open." Aaron thought to himself. He used the crystal containing his Xatu to teleport to the location which was in the Petalburg woods.

Aaron hid himself in a tree as he watched the portal open; he used his Lucario's aura power as he sensed someone in the portal. Out of it stepped a woman with long purple hair. She had a snake-like bracelet that covered her lower arm with a purple crystal embedded in it. She also wore a gold belt with a dark green crystal in the middle; her outfit was an Asian-style dress. "Thisss foresst shall kneel at the powersss of my poissson typess." She said smiling evilly as Aaron quickly closed the portal and jumped from the tree.

"I can't let you hurt this forest." Aaron said pointing his staff at her.

"Oh my. What a cute little boy. Ssadly I don't have time to play gamess." She said taking a step forward and shooting a small stream of poison from her bracelet which caused Aaron to dodge it and shoot a beam of purple lighting from his staff at her which made her jump back.

"I don't have time to play games either." Aaron said as he held up his glove and called out his Xatu.

"Oooh, another hasss esscaped from the void. Thissss will be fun." She said holding up her bracelet and calling out her Arbok. "Arbok, poison ssting." She called out as the Arbok began firing poisonous needles.

"Xatu, wing attack." Aaron said as it charged at the Arbok and knocked it to the ground.

At the same time…

A group of four consisting of Ash, Brock, Max, and May were currently walking through the Petalburg Woods. "Max, are you sure you know where we're going?" May asked looking down at her little brother.

"Yeah, we're almost there. The Pokenav says it shouldn't be much further." Max told her. The group of friends were currently walking to Rustboro City for one of May's contests, and there was a Pokémon breeder's convention that Brock wanted to go to. Ash was just hoping to find a battle to participate in.

The walk was rather peaceful until they heard a small explosion followed by several Pokémon flying off. "What was that?" Brock asked looking around.

"It sounds like a battle." Ash said as he ran after the source of the explosion.

"Wait up Ash." May said running after him while Max and Brock followed. They came to a clearing and saw the battle taking place.

"Looks more like a play than a battle." Max said looking at their outfits.

"Xatu, psychic." Aaron said as the Arbok was levitated in to the air and thrown causing it to faint.

"Looks real to me." Brock said looking at the fainted Arbok and crossing his arms.

The snake woman returned the Arbok to its crystal and looked over to see the spectators. "An audience, how nice." She said smiling at them.

"Hi, I'm Ash." Ash said smiling at her.

"Just stay back." Aaron said as the woman called out her Seviper.

"I wonder what his deal is." Ash said examining the hooded figure.

"Ssseviper, poison tail!" The woman shouted as her Pokémon charged at Aaron's Xatu who flew around dodging the tail lashings.

"That Xatu sure is quick." Brock said watching its agile movements.

"Teleport, then use wing attack." Aaron instructed as the Pokémon quickly disappeared and reappeared behind the Seviper hitting it directly with a powerful attack from its wings which made it faint. Aaron held out his glove and recalled his Xatu to its crystal.

"That's not a pokeball." Max said looking closely at Aaron's glove. The group then watched as Aaron walked over to the snake woman who fell on to her knees.

"Please, don't let thiss happen to me!" She said screaming as several small balls of light began forming around her and eventually enveloped her in the light until she disappeared. Aaron walked over to where she fell and picked up her bracelet, her belt, and rummaged through her bag which held a few knives that he pocketed; the bracelet and the belt's crystals vanished with her.

"What happened to that woman?" Brock asked looking at Aaron quizzically.

"She lost the battle." Aaron said putting the items in his bag.

"Yeah, but no one disappears after they lose a battle." Max blurted out.

"Not all battles are fun and games." Aaron told him turning around to walk away.

"Hey wait up." Ash called out as he ran after Aaron.

Aaron quickly turned around and blasted him back with a gust of wind from his glove. "Don't waste my time with your childish fantasies of wanting to be a Pokémon master." Aaron said as he teleported away while Brock and May helped Ash up.

"What's his deal?" Ash asked standing up.

"Let's not worry about it. We're almost to Rustboro City." Brock said pointing to the light coming from the end of the forest. Ash nodded his head as they all walked in to Rustboro City. They first went to the Pokémon center where they had their Pokémon healed. While they waited they looked at a bulletin board that had something interesting on it; it was a wanted poster. The picture was of a face with the top half covered by a white hood.

"It's that boy from the forest." May said.

"Here's what it says." Brock said as he started reading out loud.

Wanted: The boy known as Vortex is wanted by authorities for questioning concerning the mysterious portals opening and the people emerging from them.

"Maybe that snake woman was someone who emerged from one of those portals." May said.

"You think that he came from one of those portals? I mean the way he battles is kind of different." Brock said putting his hand under his chin. The group continued thinking about it as they grabbed their pokeballs and left the center.

They saw a group of kids run by. One of them was wearing a bed sheet fashioned in to a cloak and was running around holding a stick chasing the other kids. "I'm Vortex, and I'm going to stop you portal guys." He said waving the stick around.

"I guess that guy has a reputation." Ash said watching the kids play.

An older woman saw the confused look on their faces. "Why don't you kids come with me? I might be able to tell you a little bit more about this Vortex fellow." She said inviting them in her house. They all took a seat in her living room while she came back with a tray of tea and several pastries. Ash started devouring the pastries while the others sipped their tea. "Quite an appetite young man." She said smiling at him causing Ash to smile as he swallowed the pastry that he had in his hand.

"He's always had a big appetite. So what do you know about Vortex?" Brock asked sipping his tea.

"May I first ask what you know?" The woman asked.

"We saw him battling some woman in the woods, and when he defeated her she vanished. He then picked up some of her things. Plus he didn't use pokeballs. He seemed to call his Pokémon from some sort of crystals." Brock told her.

Meanwhile…

Aaron was in his cavern and took the items from his bag and placed them with the rest of the items that he had collected. "I wonder how many more of them there are. Knowing that place, there's probably an infinite number of them." Aaron thought to himself as he made a note in one of his log books of the portals that he encountered that day and the people that he battled. After each battle, Aaron would collect their possessions, and on occasion he would find a few artifacts and tools that he could use. He found books, magical items, weapons, as well as very basic tools that he kept. In his eyes it was best to not leave anything behind; Aaron kept trunks and shelves full of the items. The ones that he was most proud of he kept on a shelf as trophies.

…

The older woman started telling the kids what she knew. "My Alakazam was gathering some berries for one of my famous pies when one of those portals opened and sucked it inside. Vortex of course was there to go in after it. My Alakazam found itself in some sort of void with its psychic powers severely weakened. Vortex found him and helped it escape the dimension. My Alakazam tried reading his mind, but in his weakened state he only got fragments and pieces. The boy was once a trainer on a journey when he was sucked in to one of these portals. He escaped somehow, but the void seemed to change him some way."

"Yeah, it made him really mean." Max said.

"Young man, that is not his fault. He did not ask to be sucked in to that void and have his whole life changed. Now, let me continue. He made a choice of some sort to regulate the actions of these portals opening. From what you have seen, he seeks to prevent evil from escaping those portals, and to prevent others from having to suffer the same fate as him. He has been seen across the world. He goes wherever the portals are."

"So he's like some sort of hero?" May asked.

"Something like that, yes." The woman said.

"Do you know anything else?" Brock asked.

"Well, after my Alakazam told me what he saw I did some of my own research and came across the legends of the Sinnoh region. Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina constantly fought each other when their worlds came in to contact. This created rifts in time and space opening these portals. Legend has it that their constant fighting inadvertently created a world that encompasses all of their powers. I assume that Vortex found himself in this world. Those who escape are usually so corrupted by the world that they find themselves insane. It's a wonder that Vortex came out the way he did." The woman explained.

"You said that he used to be from this world. Maybe we can help him get back to normal." Ash said standing up.

"I think that it's too late for that." The woman sighed. "Although if you wish to try, rumors have it that his hideout is north of the city."

"Let's go see if we can find him." Ash said running outside.

"Thank you for everything." Brock said shaking the woman's hand and going to chase after Ash while the others thanked the woman as well and left.

Brock grabbed Ash by the arm. "We can't go after him now. It's getting dark out. We'll rest tonight and go look for him tomorrow." Brock said as the voice of reason. Ash reluctantly agreed as they all went to the Pokémon center to get a room for the night.

Team Rocket had been listening to their conversation and following the group closely in the forest. "I bet Giovanni would be happy to have that boy's knowledge." James said.

"And those jewels. Team Rocket would be the classiest evil doers in the world." Meowth said smiling as he envisioned Giovanni wearing a crown and holding a scepter while the team stood at his side also covered in medieval apparel.

"You two are missing the big picture." Jessie said hitting them on the head. "If we can get in to that world we could rule it and be royalty. Why limit Team Rocket to Earth when there are worlds for us to take?" Jessie asked rhetorically as they began scheming.

Sadly for Team Rocket, several other groups had already had that idea and made significant progress. They had made several attempts at finding the portals themselves, and some even tried forcing them open with advanced technologies unknown to many. Others had made attempts at synthesizing capture crystals, but they typically broke, cracked, and/or chipped when used. These groups paid close attention to Aaron monitoring everything that he did as they tried to find answers on entering the dimension. Team Aqua sought to create a world of water, Team Magma sought to create an expansive land mass in the void, Team Galactic saw it as a way to harness the powers of the Sinnoh legendaries, and Team Plasma sought to create a new kingdom in which they would create their idea of utopia between man and Pokémon.

At one of Team Plasma's secret labs…

"Sir we almost have the portal open." A scientist said as a small portal opened and then quickly closed.

The man scowled. "How are the crystals coming along?"

"They only chip now." The scientist said behind a nervous smile.

"Your results are pathetic and a waste of time. That is why I have taken the liberty of assembling a team to scout out Vortex's hideout and find anything that can help us. As we speak, they are currently in a helicopter on their way to the Hoenn region. If their mission is a success, I will be expecting results from you." The man said coldly before walking off.