A/N: I just realized that I haven't done one of these in a while. So I've got a few reviews that I've yet to answer. Withdrawnmadness, you're right. Ethan is older than Ash. I had some things in mind for him that I realized I just couldn't do if he was so young. You'll find out exactly how old he is in this chapter. In regards to the chapter length, if you feel like they should be longer, please let me know. I thought around 3000 words was good, but if you'd like them to be longer please let me know in a review.


"… So we'll have to go south and cut through Azalea." Ethan's voice roused Lyra from her half-awake state. "Were you even listening?" Ethan asked. Lyra shook her head sheepishly. Ethan let out a sigh of frustration before continuing. "I said that the road to Goldenrod is blocked right now. Apparently there's a horde of sudowoodo migrating at the moment. The last time they did this, Lance had to get off his throne and move them himself. Until he does that, we've got to cut south through Azalea." Ethan finished.

Lyra blushed embarrassedly. "Oh."

Ethan shook his head. "The pokemon back yet?" He asked.

Lyra shook her head before jumping up. The nurse was walking up to the counter, smiling pleasantly. "They are now." Lyra remarked.

"Your pokemon are in perfect health." The nurse said. "The cyndaquil in particular is impressive. They're rare enough to begin with, and seeing a young one that's already as powerful as he is is a treat."

Ethan smiled a thanks at her before taking the balls back. "It's always nice to hear good things about your work. Thank you m'lady." He handed Lyra her Pokemon back and slotted Torch's ball into the only slot left on his belt. He looked at Lyra, grinning. "Ready to hit the road?" He asked.

She nodded and left the centre, Ethan leading her towards the road to Azalea.

"I was hoping not to take this route." Ethan said. "It practically doubles our travel time, and takes us through some places I'd rather not go." He sighed, speaking with a resigned tone.

"You got your pokemon sent over from the ranch though, right?" Lyra asked, answered with a nod from Ethan. "So these places shouldn't be that dangerous right?" She added.

Ethan chuckled. "I wouldn't call them dangerous, as much as I would uncomfortable. My pokemon can handle just about anything around here easily. It's too bad that the road is blocked, you'd have enjoyed Johto's National Park."

"Oh, I know what that is!" Lyra said excitedly. "Lady Whitney commissioned it right? She had it built just after the rebellion. It's used to hold tournaments and competitions as well as also holding a wildlife preserve." Lyra finished, blushing slightly.

Ethan looked at her with a quizzical look. She blushed and shrugged her shoulders. "I've just read about it. I've always wanted to go. Whitney sounds like she's done something amazing for the community and it's all so exciting. I've heard that they even allow experienced trainers into the reserve sometimes for capture competitions." She finished her sentence, blushing even more.

"So are we a fan of the park?" Ethan asked, eliciting a nod from Lyra. "What kind of event would you go to if you had a chance?" He asked.

Lyra pondered for a moment before deciding. "Probably a competition. You hear so often about how terrible the world is. I think seeing people use their pokemon to create something beautiful would be nice."

Ethan nodded absentmindedly. "I can see the logic behind that." He stopped walking, and stepped over to the side of the road. "Well, we're out of the city. Time to let the team stretch their legs." He pulled the balls off his belt one by one, releasing a pokemon from each of them. A pair of rapidash materialized beside each other, one of them covered with bright blue flames instead of red ones. A tauros pawed at the ground, snorting challenges. Torch gravitated towards the rapidash, comforted by their fires. An altaria gently fluttered to the ground and immediately set to cleaning the cloudy feathers that adorned it's body. A xatu floated beside Ethan, eyes closed and preferring to levitate itself rather than actually fly.

"Dax, Mina!" Ethan called. The rapidash pair looked up slowly. "Come." Ethan ordered. The pair made their way over to the two humans. Ethan put an arm around the one with red flames and patted its side. "Lyra these are my two most prized pokemon. This is Thermodax. The one with the blue flames is Aurmina." Ethan smiled ear to ear. "I take it you've never rode a rapidash before?"


"This is amazing!" Lyra shouted over the wind rushing through her hair. Blue flames were wrapped around her, harmlessly licking at the air around her. Ethan was atop Dax, several feet behind her. They'd made good time on the backs of the rapidash, coming into view of Union Cave in less than half the day. Dax caught up, running evenly beside Mina.

"They need to rest. I'd rather not push them too hard, so pull off the road." Dax fell back, allowing Lyra to guide Mina off the road.

The flaming horse slowed to a walk before stopping and allowing Lyra to slip off her side. Lyra patted the pokemon's neck, earning a nuzzle for her efforts. "Good girl. You're so beautiful…" Lyra trailed off.

"She likes you." Ethan said, Dax poking his head over Ethan's shoulder. Ethan looked at the road, and by extension the cave it led to. "We're less than an hour from the cave if we walk. Ready to get moving?"

"Can't we sit and rest for a bit? You said it yourself, the rapidash need rest." Lyra said.

"No, we're already behind schedule. We need to cover as much ground as we can. If we're lucky, we'll be able to get through the cave before the sun comes up tomorrow. We can be at Azalea before the sun is at its peak tomorrow." Ethan said. He returned his pokemon to their balls and thanked them before looking at Lyra. "Well? Aren't you coming?"


The room that Brock had rented for the three of them was tiny. The bed dominated the room, itself not even able to fit one of them comfortably. So when a blonde haired woman stepped into the room, the three boys piled onto the bed, giving her room.

"Daisy I presume?" Brock asked.

She raised an eyebrow before speaking with a voice dripping in sarcasm. "You'd think the Lord of Pewter, with all its mineral wealth, would be able to afford a room that was bigger than a broom closet."

"I would have rented a bigger room if I hadn't had to bribe my way into the city." Brock said. "Let's get down to why you're here."

The woman leaned back against the wall and sighed. "Straight to business. I guess the rumours are true. Brock Takeshi is boring." She smirked smugly. "Well then, get on with it. Tell me why I'm here and why we couldn't have done this at my gym."

"We are here to help you. Team Rocket controls everything in this city. We want that to change." Brock said with a grin. "They're everywhere. The gym is too exposed for us to risk a meeting."

Daisy looked at him, an eyebrow raised. "Going through that much trouble to contact little old me? This has to be good. Go on, I would like to hear whatever you've got planned."

Brock smiled. "The Rockets rule through fear. The common folk see the nobility rolling over and letting the Rockets have what they want. There can't be more than a few hundred around the city. I know they have a base across the river but the Lady Kasumi had thousands of soldiers who would fight and die for her. Where did those men go? They could defend the city easily against almost any force."

Daisy frowned. "Over to the Rockets' side. Fear of what happened to my mother happening to them is keeping them in line. There's no way I can rally enough men. I can't call my banners without appearing weak."

It was Ash that interrupted her. "So all we have to do is show them that the Rockets aren't invulnerable. How many men can you rally on your own?" He asked.

"Not even as many as there are Rockets in the city. That's not even counting the men across the river. Do you see why I haven't acted?" Daisy asked.

"We could try contacting the rebellion. They could offer you enough men to turn the tide." Ash said.

"I will not risk Lance's wrath by siding with the rebels. Cerulean must do this alone. My sisters have a few hundred men that will rally to them, but you'll find that convincing them to aid you in battle will be difficult." Daisy looked at them, nerves clear in her eyes. "I just want this to be clear. I'm not with you until you convince me we can win this thing with Cerulean in one piece. Until you get me the support I need, we do nothing." She said, the force in her voice clearly making it sound like an order.

Brock looked to the other two, nodding solemnly. He looked up at Daisy and nodded. "We'll get you your support. You get your sisters on board. We'll work on your bannermen." He stood up and held out a hand for Daisy to shake. "Pewter City stands at my back. An alliance between our two cities would be good for the both of us. I'd be willing to lend any aid you might need."

Daisy stood up, holder her hand out to Brock. "I'll agree to that. Allies then?" She shook Brock's hand watching him grin and nod at her.


Misty slid Jay down on the side of the bridge, easing him onto his own weight. He slumped back, leaning heavily on the bridge for support. She looked down at him then back at the way they'd come. "Growlithe! Nidorino!" The two pokemon bounded out of the chest high grass beside the bridge snarling at something inside. Growlithe barked a jet of flames, setting the patch on fire. Misty looked down at Jay, fear crossing her features.

His eyes were closed and head lolled back. He drew in a ragged breath and opened his eyes wildly. "Help." His voice croaked. "Misty get them off me." He swung wildly grabbing hold of something invisible. "Growlithe kill it!" He shouted, voice hoarse. The dog lunged, grabbing hold with jaws dripping with black blood. Globs of thick black blood flew from an unseen body, growlithe tearing into it. Jay held of for dear life as his growlithe blasted flames into whatever it held onto with its jaws.

Misty got a faint glimpse of purple mist and a pair of piercing eyes before growlithe banished the ghost with a jet of flame. Her hand dropped to the lone ball at her side and released the pokemon inside. Her starmie appeared in front of her before spinning around wildly to face her. "We're being attacked by ghosts, can you see them?" Her Pokemon answered by immediately letting out a blinding flash that blinded Misty. When her vision returned, she swallowed hard.

Two more of the round ghosts that she had seen were floating, circling nidorino and taunting it with blasts of dark energy. A third ghost glared down at the battle, barely visible. It flashed a mischievous grin at Misty then winked out of sight, disappearing into the night. The two orbs followed it, disappearing into blackness. A strained grunt reached her ears, telling her that Jay was attempting to stand.

"The fuck were those things?" Jay asked angrily. "They wanted in my head. Wanted to take me." He shuddered visibly. "They were so angry. I could feel it l. It was like the fury was pulsing out of them."

Misty put a hand on his shoulder, calming him. "I don't know what they were Jay. They're gone though. I don't think they liked my starmie that much." Her pokemon let out a low happy tone at it's mention. "Whatever they were, I think they were after you." Age looked at him, eyes hard and calculating. "We're not going to get to Cerulean tonight." She plopped down beside him, leaning against the underside of the bridge. "Get some sleep." At Jay's instant outburst, she stood up again. "I wasn't asking. Get the fuck to sleep or I'll put you there myself."

Jay closed his mouth, recoiling from Misty's words. For a moment he thought about arguing, but the ache in his brain won out. "You wake me halfway to dawn. We swap out our watch then."

"I'll think about it peasant." She said with a smirk. "Now shut your eyes or I'll do it for you."


The gates of Azalea were massive wooden creations, cut from trees that were hundreds of years old. They stretched into the treetops, brushing against the leaves of surrounding trees. Lyra stared up at them, an amazed expression clear on her face.

"Identification please." The voice came from a man wearing a mottled set of brown and green leather armour. He looked down at Ethan and Lyra with a painfully bored expression from his place on the ramparts.

Ethan pulled a card out of the folds of his pocket, speaking as he did. "Ethan Alexander Gold, age twenty-seven, citizen of Goldenrod City." He motioned to Lyra. "Lyra Winters, age seventeen, citizen of..." He paused for a second, hesitating. "Cherrygrove." He said, finishing his sentence. "Is there any particular reason there's a checkpoint set up here? Azalea was open to travellers the last time I was here."

The man looked down at them, scratching their names onto the list attached to the clipboard he held. "A new study. We're just keeping tabs on people coming into town." He looked up at the two. "Any pokemon traveling with you two?" Jay's nod gave him his answer. "Alright, the pokemon centre is on the main road. You can't miss it." He waved them through, motioning for the gate to open. The doors swung open. The guardsman smiled at them. "Welcome to Azalea. Have a safe trip."

Ethan smiled back. "If you could pass my name along to your lord and ask if he could meet me before I leave, that would be most appreciated."

The guard nodded. "I'll pass it along." He turned to the guardsmen manning the winch that closed the gates. "Close it up boys!"

The man's voice faded into the background as Lyra and Ethan walked into the city. Barely a dozen people passed them on the street, every one of them giving the pair of travellers a wide berth.

Azalea was small compared to the other Johtan cities, even compared to the western frontier cities. Barely over ten thousand people called it home, most of them choosing to live outside the city walls and on the edges of the Ilex Forest. The city itself was only prominent because of its location. It served as a crucial role as the region's raw materials producer. The Ilex Forest loggers used the city as a base from which to work. The city also played host to the miners that worked in the depths of Union Cave.

Ethan and Lyra walked in silence, reaching the pokemon centre within minutes. They stepped into the building, surprised at what met them. The building was packed to the brim with trainers, all of them with the same dejected look on their faces. The nurses behind the counter were rushing about, frantically tending to the massive number of injured pokemon they had.

"Get us a room. I'll try to figure out what the hell's going on." Ethan said with a grim look on his face. He pointed at the terminal on the wall. "Check in on that. It'll let you skip the line. Use my name, and for the love of Ho-Oh please try to get a room with two beds." He patted her shoulder, frowning deeply. "I'll be back before too long."

"Where are you going?" Lyra asked.

Ethan shrugged. "I'm gonna start at the Gym, but who knows where I'll end up from there." He saw the look of nervousness on her face. "Don't worry Lee, I'll be fine. I've got my team here remember? What could possibly go wrong?" He walked out of the centre leaving Lyra alone in the centre.


A/N: Thank you to everyone who read this. As of right now, this story has his 1300 views, and every chapter brings a couple hundred more. Big thanks to everyone who left a review, I love you all. If you didn't leave one, don't worry I still love you... But I'll love you more if you take 5 minutes and tell me what you think. In all seriousness, please leave a review, it helps me know what my audience is thinking about the story, and how it could be better. Square out!