Chapter Four:

That night, Lucario led Ash to a room he could stay in for the time being. It looked a lot like his own bedroom back in Pallet Town, and he felt a wave of homesickness all of a sudden.

"What is it, Ash?" Lucario asked.

"Oh, nothing. This just reminded me of home for a minute..."

"I know that feeling." Lucario said, smiling sadly.

Ash smiled, too. "Yeah, I guess you would."

"If you need anything, Ash, don't hesitate to ask... I know you've been through a lot today. Just try to get some rest... Aaron and I will be working with you more tomorrow."

"Heh, I bet it'll be easier to sleep tonight than it was the day before I started my journey... Mom had to force me to go to bed then!"

"Your father, too?" Lucario asked.

Ash's face darkened, and Lucario picked up sorrow and longing in his Aura. Also, in a flash, Lucario had a vision of Ash's past.

"I don't have a father. He died before I was born... Heck, he died before Mom even knew I was going to be born..."

"I... I'm sorry, Ash."

"It's okay. You didn't know."

"Well, goodnight." Lucario said, closing the door.

Soon, Ash and Pikachu were fast asleep.

…

"That's right... I'm Ash! ...And now that I'm ten, I finally get to start my journey!"

Ash said as he put on first his gloves and then his hat.

The television was blaring, showing a live Pokemon battle. "This looks like the end for Nidorino... No wait, Nidorino's trainer withdrew it from battle! What Pokemon will the trainer send out next... It's Onyx everyone! Onyx is all about the attack..."

"Ash Ketchum!" Ash's mother slammed open the door.

"Wha- Mom?"

"You should be in bed by now! It's eleven at night! Tomorrow is a big day for you... You need your rest."

"But Mom, that's just it... I can't sleep..."

She sighed. "Fine. But at least watch something educational." She changed the channel to Prof. Oak's own station, where the Professor was talking about the starters tomorrows group of ten year olds would be able to choose from. "And when this goes off, go to bed."

"Okay, Mom."

Sure enough, once he closed his eyes it didn't take too long for him to fall into a deep sleep full of dreams of the adventures that awaited him after he began his journey the next day...

…

Lucario took his time returning to the main room, where Sir Aaron sat at a large computer watching the broadcasts. "What's the matter, Lucario?" Aaron asked.

Lucario couldn't help but think of the time Aaron had said that in the past, before sacrificing himself to the Tree of Beginnings. "Nothing, master. I just... Saw a vision of Ash's past."

Sir Aaron turned away from the computer, concern in his eyes. "What kind of a vision?"

"The day before he began his journey... It's a strong memory for him I guess. I probably triggered the exchange..."

"That's odd," Sir Aaron frowned in confusion. "You shouldn't be able to have seen anything. The sickness suppresses our powers. I myself should have realized something was amiss when I first came back, being unable to use Aura... But I foolishly thought that I'd just lost my powers when I came to this time."

Lucario smiled. "Master, I think it was Ash's Aura that sent me the vision, not my own."

"That would explain it." Aaron turned back to the computer. "What you told me about him is astonishing... I wonder how he never realized his true abilities before meeting you? Children with such strong powers of Aura rarely grew up without some odd events occurring around them."

"I don't know either," Lucario muttered. Then he brightened up. "But you could find out more!"

"What?" Aaron asked.

"He's an incredible trainer, master, I'm sure there must be records of what he's accomplished."

"Ah, but we'd have to know his full name to look into that... All we have is Ash."

"His last name is Ketchum. I just found out." Lucario said happily. Sir Aaron, strangely, was quiet. Lucario's brow wrinkled as he saw Aaron's face go a shade paler. "Master?"

"Ketchum, you say? Are you sure?"

"Yes, master."

Aaron stood and walked over to Lucario. "Tell me everything you saw."

…

The next morning, Ash was awakened bright and early by the sound of knocking on the door to his room. "Hey, come on, get up already!"

"On my way!" Ash called, pulling on some shoes and putting on his cap. He opened the door to see Pika standing there, grinning like a Meowth, along with...

Ash stared at the boy standing next to Pika in utter shock.

"Sammy! You mean you came here, too?"

Sammy grinned. "Yeah. It's been about six years since the whole time-travel incident for me, and I had just gone home to Pallet Town when Celibi appeared again, looking really worried, and brought me to this place."

Ash laughed. "Wow, really? It's been that long for me, too..." Then he did a double-take. "Wait... Did you say... Pallet Town?"

Sammy shot him a confused look. "Um... Yeah? Why?"

"That's my hometown, too!"

"Whoa! You can't be serious!" Sammy shook his head in shock. "Then... Maybe... Do you know anyone with the last name Oak?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah, my rival, Gary Oak. He's my age... And of course his grandfather, the Professor."

Pika laughed. "That's funny. That's our code-name for Sammy 'cause he's so smart."

Ash and Sammy looked first at Pika, then each other in silence. "Sammy? I never thought about it before, because I was expecting something else... But the Professor's name is Samuel."

"Yeah, but everyone calls me Sammy."

Ash grinned. "Then... Remember that Pokedex I showed you? You invented it!"

Sammy shook his head, grinning. "Whoa. Talk about a time paradox..."

Pika chuckled, "Man, this is just great. Ash, you could loan it to him, and he could..."

Sammy laughed. "No thanks, Pika. I'd rather figure it out on my own. I've already been working on a prototype a bit. Besides..." He smiled at Ash again. "Aaron was looking for you, Ash. He said he wanted to help train you in the power of Aura."

"Sounds great," Ash said, smiling.

On the inside, though, he was a little doubtful.

…

Sir Aaron was on the computers, still watching the broadcasts for any sign of Cipher's plans. But, that wasn't the only thing he was watching, as Lucario discovered when he walked in to check on his friend before Ash came by.

"Lucario, look at this."

On the screen, there were several videos and images of Ash Ketchum, showing some of his greatest moments.

"See, master? I told you he was incredible."

"And you were right... He's won so many competitions, and come runner-up in many more." There was a tone of pride to Aaron's voice.

"Master, is there something you're keeping from me?" Lucario asked, certain that there was something different about his old master. Something had changed him since Lucario had last seen him, that dark day over one thousand years before...

Aaron became quiet. There was a thoughtful look on his face. "Lucario... There is something I've been meaning to tell you... You and everyone else. But I think I want to wait until Ash gets the hang of things around here. I... I need more time to think."

"All right, master." Lucario said, smiling slightly.

Just then, there was a knocking at the door. Lucario glanced at Aaron, who hadn't budged from his seat, and shrugged as he went to open it. Aaron already knew who it would be, of course. He only had moments left before...

"Hey, Sir Aaron. You said you wanted to see me for training?"

Sir Aaron turned to Ash, smiling. "Yes, Ash. That's right. Come with me," Aaron said, standing up and gesturing for Ash to follow him out to the hall. It lead upwards, all the way to the palace, and that was where Aaron intended to take Ash to train.

Lucario watched them until they vanished around a corner, and it started to dawn on him exactly what Aaron had been keeping secret.

…

Soon enough, Ash and Sir Aaron made it to the training grounds. Aaron turned to Ash, a thoughtful look on his face. "Lucario told me that your first time using your powers was after you met him, to save the Tree of Beginnings."

"Yeah, that's right."

Sir Aaron nodded. "And you never had any strange experiences before then?"

Ash laughed a little. "Well, that depends on what you mean by that. I never thought I had special powers, but I always get into strange situations. You wouldn't believe how many times I've saved the world over the years..."

Aaron smiled at Ash, a slightly worried look on his face beneath the pride. "Oh, I would. I actually was just watching some of your more impressive feats on the computers. You've got a lot of accomplishments under your belt for a sixteen year old, that's for sure."

Ash grinned sheepishly. "Thanks, I guess that's true. It just comes naturally to me, though."

Aaron nodded. "Lets hope the same can be said of your Aura abilities, then. Have you ever used them since what happened with Lucario?"

"Yes, once." Ash said, thinking. "To help a Riolu that had been kidnapped. I could sense it's Aura even when it was far away from me."

Aaron nodded. "Good. It isn't completely new to you, then. That ability you used then is called Aura Sight. The ability to see without seeing by sensing the Auras of everything around you."

Ash nodded, and Sir Aaron went on. "All things give off Auras, but living creatures have brighter Auras than inanimate objects. And plants, though living, give off weaker Auras than people or Pokemon."

Ash nodded again. "That makes sense."

"People and Pokemon who have the ability to control Aura have the brightest Auras of all. The stronger the ability, the brighter the Aura. The elders in my time told me that my Aura was the brightest they'd ever seen, that I was a prodigy. The same can be said of you."

"Really?" Ash asked. "It's that special?"

"Yes," Sir Aaron frowned a little. "Which is all the more reason that you need to be trained properly. See, children can be born with latent Aura abilities that will never awaken unless they are trained—only a Guardian would recognize their potential skill. Otherwise these people could live their entire lives unaware of their abilities.

"On the other hand, there are children born with abilities so strong that they will manifest themselves at some point even without training. If left unchecked, they could hurt themselves or others without meaning to. The Guardians always searched for such children in the past, because it was too dangerous to leave them alone and untrained."

"So, you're telling me that I fall into the second group? The people whose powers would awaken no matter what?" Ash asked, concerned.

"Yes," Aaron nodded. "Which is why you're very lucky that you met Lucario—had he not given you the pointers he did and help you awaken your powers for the first time in a controlled manner... You could've done a lot of damage."

Ash swallowed, obviously uneasy. "Sir Aaron, why is it that I'd never even heard of the Guardians before I visited Rota and Cameron palace? If it's so dangerous to leave powers of Aura unchecked... Why did no one come looking for me?"

Aaron's face darkened. "I wish I knew the answer, Ash. Truly, I do. But it appears that the Guardians are a thing of the past. Children with such strong powers are unheard of in this time."

"Then why do I have such powers?" Ash asked. "Does it have something to do with me being the Chosen One?"

Aaron shook his head. "I'm sure that the powers you were born with affected your destiny—it's entirely possible that you are the Chosen One because of your powers—but children aren't just randomly born with such powers."

"I don't understand," Ash sighed, shaking his head.

Sir Aaron took a deep breath. "Ash, powers of Aura are genetic. Children of Guardians almost always became Guardians themselves. The reason you have such a strong Aura... Well, it's because you inherited it from someone with an equally strong Aura."

Ash stared at Sir Aaron in total disbelief. "You mean... You're..."

Aaron smiled at Ash. "That's right, Ash. When I first awakened in this time, I thought I'd lost my powers... I thought it was a chance to live a new and different life. I met someone, and thought I'd be able to stay with her... But apparently the forces of the universe had a different fate in mind for me...

"But yes, Ash... In the past, people rarely called me by my full name. I went by Sir Aaron or just Aaron... But my name is Sir Aaron Ketchum."

"Sir Aaron Ketchum..." Ash said, slowly. Tasting the sound of it. "Dad..."

Then, suddenly, Ash hugged him. To Aaron's surprise, Ash was crying.

"Son?" He asked, as unsure of the word as Ash was of Dad.

"This is awful!" Ash sobbed. "All my life, I thought my father was dead. Now that I know the truth... It's worse than ever! You're alive, you've been alive all these years... But you're dying, and there's nothing I can do..."

"Ash..." Aaron sighed, cradling him. "There's still hope, you know."

Ash sat up and dried his face off with his sleeve. "Yeah. We'll find a way to save you."

His face was all determination again, and Aaron smiled with pride. Ash wasn't ever one to be let down for too long, and Sir Aaron had to admire that.

"Come on, Ash. It's time to begin your training."

"Yeah," Ash agreed. "Let's do this!"

...

Author: Okay, this is it. The last chapter that uses text from the previous version of this story. From here on out, this story takes a new direction, which means I'll be typing from scratch instead of editing. And trust me, editing takes a lot longer... Having to double check everything and make sure the information here is relevant and not leftover from some old plotline idea I'd had that I'm no longer following... and working in the new plotlines at the same time. Yeah. Not a lot of fun.

Anyway, I'm not sure when I'll be updating this again... but it will get updated at some point in the future, I promise. I know where I'm going with this, the problem is just finding time to work on it.

Reviews are always appreciated!