Chapter 3:

– Ash's POV –

Ash leaned against the railing of the ship glaring at the water below. Pikachu opted for perching on the railing too rather than his usual roost on Ash's shoulder or head lest he hurt the still recovering trainer. His ribs still ached and for what felt like the millionth time he wished he wasn't where he was, if only to have an unending supply of morphine from Nurse Joy.

After Cynthia had told him about going to the plateau he'd thrown a sort of temper tantrum only to be told off by the champion (who was scarier than he'd like to admit) and so he, albeit begrudgingly, obliged and was now on his way to the Vermillion city dock, Kanto. Ash recalled the conversation that led him here, one that raised more questions than answered.

(Begin flashback)

"We're taking you to see Lance!"

Ash stared at the blonde, his mouth hanging open slightly.

"Lance? Questions? Can somebody please tell me what the heck is going on?! Shouldn't you be chasing Team Rocket and Team Galactic rather than being here and making absolutely no sense at all? And what about the Sinnoh league?! I never finished my match with Paul!" He huffed in frustration.

Cynthia glared at him ready to spout a lecture about priorities when she backtracked what he'd said and furrowed her brows in confusion "Team Galactic? It was Team Rocket who attacked the league".

Ash shook his head "No, well yeah they did but the guy who I was talking to, the one who did this" he gestured to himself and the champion held back a grimace "he was from Team Galactic. I recognized the different uniform. I'm pretty sure he was an executive of some sort as well".

Cynthia looked deep in thought "hmm… a collaboration of criminal organisations? This changes things. All the more reason to bring you in. We'll give you another day of rest then you'll be discharged and we'll head straight to the Indigo plateau".

"Wait!" Ash began to protest again but Cynthia turned on him fiercely.

"Do you understand what is happening here? The biggest criminal organisation of both Kanto AND Johto has crossed into Sinnoh's boarders and has possibly joined forces with OUR biggest criminal organisation. Do you know how much power they'll have? They already felt they could launch an assault on the Sinnoh league itself and it appears they didn't even come close to using all their resources. This could turn into a major battle even war. Do you really think the tournament would continue after an incident like this? Until this matter is resolved all other league activities will be put on hold and YOU will be coming to Kanto whether you like it or not do you understand?"

Ash gulped and nodded his head. He'd never thought she could be this intimidating, although something about getting his head chewed off by a hot tempered woman felt familiar. The older woman nodded at his submission and turned to leave. She paused at the door and looked back with a more gentle expression "…I'm glad you're ok" with that she exited the room, closing the door behind her.

(End Flashback)

"Pikapi" Ash, disrupted from his thoughts, turned his attention to his best friend who looked at him in concern. "Pikaka pi chupi" which Ash supposed meant something along the lines of 'are you still mad?', knowing what Pikachu referred to, he reached out a hand and scratched him behind his ear.

"Don't worry buddy I'm ok. I'm just confused about what's going on. I don't understand why they're taking me all the way to Kanto just to question me about the attack when they could've done it at Sinnoh like they did with everyone else. Plus Dawn and Brock keep looking at me funny, I don't like it what do they know that I don't?"

"Pika chu Pikachu pi pika Pikachu"

Ash was totally lost on what Pikachu was trying to say now but he appreciated its efforts to cheer him up.

"Thanks buddy" he smiled at his trusty partner "c'mon lets go find the others we'll probably be there soon" Pikachu nodded in agreement and jumped down, padding beside him as they headed below deck.

– Brock's POV –

Brock hummed as he cut the various vegetables he planned on making a nice stew with. The cooks on the ship had tried to explain that they do all the cooking and there was no need for him to be in the kitchen but he had insisted and offered them to take a break so he could make lunch for everyone. In all honesty the cooking was just a distraction, he knew Ash was upset at the current situation and Dawn wasn't fairing much better. She had taken to staying in her room which Brock suspected was in order to avoid both Ash and Cynthia at all costs.

Hearing footsteps approach him from behind he called out without turning around "Seriously guys you don't have to worry I can handle the cooking you guys deserve a nice break! I'm making one of my specialties so you'll really enjoy it!

"Brock"

The knife in his hand froze as he recognized the voice and slowly turned around. Cynthia stood with her arms crossed, clearly intent on having this conversation whether Brock liked it or not. Reluctantly, Brock set down the knife and wiped his hands on his apron before hanging it up again. They both took a seat at the dining table and Brock waited patiently for Cynthia to explain herself but she only lent her elbows on the table and entwined her fingers together, resting them on her chin.

After several moments she began, "Brock how long have you known Ash?"

Brock looked up at her in surprise, not expecting this kind of question. "Well uhh… a few years now? Since he was 10. I met him not long after he started his first journey"

"His first journey? That was when he travelled Kanto and entered the indigo league correct?"

Brock nodded "yeah, he got up to the top 16 but during a battle against one of our friends, Ritchie, Ash's Charizaird decided taking a nap would be a better use of its time"

Cynthia chuckled at this but then her face turned serious again "Brock you've known Ash for a long time. That's good. We'll need you to answer some questions when we get to Kanto as well."

Brock creased his eyebrows "me? How come?"

The blonde struggled a bit before answering his question "Ash is… well Ash might be in a lot of trouble"

"trouble?"

"I can't explain anything to you. I don't even know much myself. Getting called in like this is highly unusual though. I wanted to keep Ash in Sinnoh, but Lance wouldn't have it. He insisted that Ash be brought to him immediately. When I asked why, he said that it was beyond either of us."

"But what does that mean? Beyond either of you?" the Pewter city trainer asked.

Cynthia appeared deep in thought, "I'm not 100% sure but if I were to take a guess the only way for it to be beyond the power of two regional champions, including a duel regional champion like Lance, is if someone above our level gave the order."

"But… who could be above you guys? You're two of the most powerful pokémon trainers in the world! Even the league board can't over rule the decision of two champions." Brock argued.

Cynthia simply shook her head. "There is someone…" she murmured ominously. Brock cocked his head not understanding what she meant but before he could ask he heard another person approaching them.

"Man I'm starving Brock! Is lunch ready yet?" Ash whined as he entered the room, his hands stretched behind his head.

Cynthia threw Brock a look that clearly said 'don't say anything to Ash or I'll sick my Garchomp on you' so he quickly jumped up and got back to his cooking.

"Sorry Ash I got distracted talking to Cynthia about her pokémon" He lied hoping that he didn't appear too flustered. Luckily Ash didn't seem to find anything wrong with his reply and instead just sat down opposite Cynthia. The raven haired boy cast a curious glance at the champion who innocently smiled back. Ash turned away, while he didn't hold any resentment toward the champion he decided she at least deserved his sulking until they got there. Brock, trying to think of something to cheer up his long time travelling companion, suddenly came up with the perfect idea to distract the younger trainer.

"Hey Ash why don't we have a battle? It's been a while and I could use the training, they have a battle field on the top deck"

Ash perked up at this suggestion although he insisted they wait until after lunch lest he starve to death which would be the only way he'd lose to Brock.

Cynthia however had other ideas, "If you don't mind Brock I'd like to try battling him."

The two boys raised their eyebrows at the woman's sudden intrusion into the conversation. Brock turned to Ash and shrugged "it's up to you man, if you guys have it I'll I can always referee"

"Alright then" Ash turned towards Cynthia with fire in his eyes, "bring it on we'll beat you for sure this time! Oh but Brock we can battle later if you still want to get beaten" the boy grinned teasingly. Brock laughed and agreed, happy that his friend seemed to be back to normal. But this distraction would only work for so long and soon enough they'd be in Kanto and finally find out what the Lance and the league wanted with Ash.

Thank you for all the reviews! Sorry if the story is going a bit slow but we'll pick it back up next chapter when we see Ash and Cynthia's battle, get to Kanto and see Lance (and possibly some other favourite characters too!) And to JB, that's a good guess! Not even Cynthia is sure what the league wants with Ash, you'll just have to wait and see!