This is the disclaimer that never ends; yes it goes on and on my friends. Yes, this is the disclaimer that never ends; yes it goes on and… (SMACK) Ouch. No, not the head! Don't pull that! Why I ought ta… Ite! Okay, I don't own anything but the plot. Happy now? Sheesh! Hey, put away the chainsaw! Mommy!

Chapter Five

Ranma sighed as he wandered around Viridian Forest. He looked to his left, then to his right.

"Sorry to use your line, Ryoga, but where on Earth am I now?" he asked as he turned to his left and kept walking.

Bast floated down to him from above the trees.

"Mew, mew mew meeew." /Ranma, you're going the wrong way. / she told him.

"Ok, then which way do I go, Bast?" he asked, slightly frustrated at being lost.

Mew just pointed behind Ranma. Ranma rolled his eyes as he turned around and headed the right way.

Ranma stopped at a clearing just as the sun was setting. He let Guardian out, as he had been put in earlier because he had gotten tired from all the walking. Raigeki just poked his head out of Ranma's backpack and jumped down, landing on Guardian's head. Guardian growled at him, but Raigeki just pulled his lower eyelid down and gave Guardian a raspberry. That caused Guardian to start chasing Raigeki around the clearing, Bast just floating around, watching the two of them. Ranma laughed as he went to work setting up camp.

"Hey, you two, get over here and help me," Ranma called out to his Pokèmon.

They immediately separated from their wrestling to go help Ranma. They went to the opposite side of the tent Ranma was setting up and grabbed the rope. Together, they managed to get the tent set up quickly. Dinner was a quiet affair; everyone was still tired from the earlier fight. After dinner, Ranma stretched and turned to his Pokèmon.

"Alright guys, I'm going to bed. Don't stay up too late," Ranma told them as he headed into his tent.

"Pika." /Okay./ said Raigeki as he pulled out his deck.

"Gruff." /Sure./ came from Guardian as he sat down next to Raigeki.

"Mew, mew mew me mew mew." /Okay, I'll make sure they get to bed. /

Nothing came from Ranma's Magikarp as she had been put away earlier. Ranma smiled as he ducked inside his tent and changed into his pajamas. He stretched and climbed into his sleeping bag, falling asleep almost immediately.

Ranma woke up the next morning with a yawn and a stretch. However, when he stretched, he felt a sharp pinch from his clothes, as if they were too small. He passed it off as he had just bought them right before he left Pallet Town. However, when he stood up, he felt a draft from his ankles, stomach, and wrists. He looked down and his eyes widened.

"What the heck?" he shouted as he looked at his exposed skin. He quickly ran out of his tent, noting in passing that his center of balance was suddenly higher. He knelt beside a nearby pond and looked at his reflection. He had definitely changed. His face no longer had any baby-fat and was more angular than before. His hair had also lengthened, but a quick visit to the barbers would get rid of that. He backed away from the pond, shaking slightly. He tried to come up with an explanation for this, this, whatever this was. He took some deep breaths, trying to calm down. As he calmed down, he compared his new body to his old one. He guessed that he had gone from the age of twelve to the age of fifteen or sixteen...overnight!

Ranma slowly walked back to his tent, his mind preoccupied.

"Mew! Mew Meww Meeww/Ranma! What happened to you/ Bast exclaimed as she floated over to him.

"I-I don't know," said Ranma as he sat down on a nearby log.

Raigeki and Guardian scampered over to him, sniffing him once they got to him. Once they were sure that it was him, they jumped onto him, knocking backwards.

"Piika Chu?" /What happened/ asked Raigeki from Ranma's chest.

"Gruff! Grr bark." /Yeah! Now spill. / came from Guardian.

Ranma tried to think of an explanation, but the only thing he could come up with was…

"The dream!" Ranma exclaimed suddenly.

"Meeeww." /Of course. / Bast said in understanding.

Raigeki and Guardian looked at each other, held out their paws, and shook them three times.

"Pika!" /Rock/

"Gruff!" /Scissors/

Guardian sat back to sulk as Raigeki turned towards Ranma with a smirk.

"Pi Pika Pi Chu 'Pikachu'?" /What on Earth do you mean by 'The Dream'/ Raigeki asked Ranma.

"Well," Ranma began as he sat up, dumping Raigeki onto his lap, "when Bast went into my mind, it was like a dream. I don't remember much, but from what I do remember, Bast helped each of the fragmented pieces of my mind merge into one whole piece. I can only speculate that that, combined with the residual magic of the mirror that brought me here, resulted in me growing in age. I am curious though as to why I only aged to fifteen instead of eighteen or even twenty."

All he got in response was shoulder shrugs from his friends.

Raigeki sniffed the air as he made his way back to Viridian City. He turned to his companion.

"Pi, Pi Pika Pikachu Pi Pik Chu?" /Hey, are you sure that we're going the right way/ Raigeki asked as they continued walking.

"Grrrr, bark bark woof." /Yeah, just keep walking. /

Ranma sighed as he waited for his friends to get back. He felt bad about sending them into the city by themselves, but he could go as he didn't have any clothes that fit anymore, and he couldn't go naked. Though he was sure that Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy wouldn't mind that much. He sat back and pulled out his staff and concentrated. Red ki claws formed around fingers and he focused some more, eventually creating one claw around his whole hand. He had some carving he had been meaning to do for a while.

Raigeki and Guardian returned two hours later with Ranma's new clothes. Ranma brushed off his staff and set it aside. He knelt down and removed the package from Guardian's back. Ranma grabbed the clothes out of the package and immediately put them on. He was glad that he had only told them to get him sweatpants and a sweater. Even then, they were a little tight. He turned back to his partners.

"Ok, time to do some shopping."

Later, after upgrading his entire wardrobe, Ranma managed to find his way to Pewter City. His immediate reaction was to challenge the Gym Leader, but he decided to go to the Pokèmon Center to let his partners get a check-up. Afterwards, he headed over to the Gym.

"Pika, Pi Pi Pikachu Pika?" / Ranma, what kind of Gym is this/ Raigeki asked from on top of Ranma's head.

"I heard that it's a Rock-Type Gym. That means that I probably won't use you as you haven't perfected your attacks against Rock-Types," Ranma told him.

"Pi, Pika Pi Chu!" / No, I want to fight/ Raigeki exclaimed, smacking Ranma on the head.

Ranma chuckled as he walked. "We'll see."

Guardian just snickered as he trotted along next to Ranma. Raigeki glared at him, but then got an evil look to his face. He pointed one of his fingers at Guardian and let out a weak shock that struck Guardian on the butt. Guardian yelped and ran a head before stopping and glaring at Raigeki who just stuck his tongue out at him.

"Growl, bark, bark gruff bark bark." /Just remember, rodent, revenge is a dish best served cold. / Guardian said to Raigeki when Ranma had caught up to him.

"Pikachu Pika Chu Pikachu Pi Pikachu." /That's going to be difficult considering that you're a fire-type. / mocked Raigeki from the safety of Ranma's head.

As Ranma stepped into the Pewter City Gym, he got a sense of strength coming from the very room he was standing in. Everything was made out of either stone or wood. As he approached the dueling field, he noticed that there were tracks on the ground that led to secret compartment on the walls of the room. He kept an eye on them as he finally saw the Gym Leader.

"I challenge you for the Boulder Badge, Brock," declared Ranma.

"Very well, if you insist," Brock replied as he pressed a button.

Ranma heard a rumbling sound and saw the compartments he had noticed before open up and release an over-floor made of stone and boulders. Ranma waited until the floor was about to crush him before back-flipping away and landing in his dueling area. He dropped his backpack before taking out one of his pokèballs. Brock likewise took out one of his pokèballs.

"Pokeball go!" they both shouted at the same time, throwing their pokèballs onto the arena floor.

Brock's pokeball opened to reveal a Geodude, the unevolved form of Graveler and Golem. Ranma's pokeball opened to reveal… his Magikarp. Brock let out a laugh when he saw a Magikarp flopping around the stone floor.

"What an amateur, using a Magikarp against anything, let alone a Geodude. You have just lost this round," declared Brock as he struggled not to fall to the ground laughing.

Ranma just smiled a knowing smile. Brock didn't know about the intense training he had given his Magikarp on the way to Pewter City. A bell rang, signaling the beginning of the match.

"Geodude, tackle that fish!" yelled Brock as he made the first move.

"Magikarp, evade," said Ranma calmly.

Geodude missed Magikarp by a matter of inches. It turned around and tried again, missing the second time, and the third, and the fourth. Now it was Ranma's turn to laugh.

"What's the matter, Brock? Can't hit a weak Magikarp?" he taunted.

Brock let out a growl as he saw his Geodude start to tire and crash into the surrounding boulders.

Ranma smirked and decided to end the fight.

"Body Slam!" he yelled to Magikarp who nodded in reply before flinging herself into the air. She started to glow on her decent and when she hit Brock's Geodude, a giant dust cloud was formed. When the dust cleared, Brock's Geodude was out cold. Unfortunately, Ranma's Magikarp was out as well, the impact having knocked her out. It was with a greater respect that Brock recalled his Geodude, Ranma doing the same with his Magikarp.

"I have to say that I'm impressed. Who would have thought that someone could train a Magikarp so well? Tell me, what is your name?" said Brock as he took out another pokeball.

"Ranma Ketchum," replied Ranma as he took out Guardian's pokeball.

"Well, Ranma, I will almost feel sorry when I beat you. Almost," Brock said as he threw his pokeball.

"Onix, go!" he shouted.

A giant stone snake appeared made out of separate boulders. Ranma knew about them as he had to treat one at Professor Oak's lab once. Highly resistant to impacts, heat, invulnerable to electricity. However, it had one weakness that Ranma could use as he didn't have any water types. It had weak eye sight. A plan formed in Ranma's head.

"Guardian, go!" he yelled as he threw his pokeball.

Ain't I a stinker? Yup, I'm leaving this as a cliffhanger. Pointedly, it isn't much of one, but it's the thought that counts. Hopefully the next chapter will be longer. If you want to send me ideas, I probably will put them into the story as long as they don't conflict with my plans for Ranma.

Love it? Hate it? Please review. Flames will be used to light my incense. (Sage, for now.)