A/N: First, I've got a pair of reviews to respond to!

Tbroome, you asked how much support Misty would be able to gather if Daisy is having trouble with it. You perfectly caught on to what I'm trying to do with that. That arc is going to be huge for Misty's character, and by extension Jay (that pair is right behind Ethan/Lyra in terms of how much I like them). Misty is going to need a very big reality check soon, and guess who's gonna give it?

LordGeo, your analogy of watching several shows at once was good. But I hope you don't mind that this chapter is pretty much all about Ethan.

Finally, this chapter is the introduction of a character that I've been excited to write since I started this story. I'm seriously thinking about calling him my favourite after just writing one chapter with him. Also, I think I might have written my best action sequences this chapter. Please leave me a review letting me know what you guys think, I'll be back with the Cerulean arc next time! Sqcircles out!


Lyra opened her eyes, glaring at the ceiling. She looked over at the prone forms of her pokemon, hearing the faint sounds of their snores, then huffed in frustration and rolled onto her side. Ever since Bugsy had taken her and Ethan into his gym, she'd done nothing but lay around and rest. Ethan had refused outright to let her help with whatever was happening in Slowpoke Well.

"Sorry Lee, but face facts." He'd told her. "We're going up against hardened thugs in a place that they've had time to fortify. I wouldn't feel comfortable bringing you into a war zone. When she'd pointed out that Bugsy wasn't more than a year older than her, he'd retorted by going through the extensive training Bugsy and his pokemon put themselves through. So that's where she found herself. Constantly pushing herself and her pokemon to become stronger. So far, her efforts had only resulted in numerous bruises from Azalea's resident master-at-arms. Her pokemon had fared little better in their sessions with Bugsy's top trainer.

She sighed an rolled back to look at her pokemon. Her sentret was curled up against her marrill's side, hugging the water-type's tail. Despite not being species built for combat, the two had made up for their noticeable lack of durability with a surprising amount of speed and agility.

Ethan had barely been around since they'd moved into the gym, constantly training in the practice yard or out on yet another scouting run. He barely slept, giving him a gaunt look whenever Lyra managed to get a glimpse of him. Their only real time together was at the few meals Ethan was actually in Azalea for. Those few meals were filled with constant updates on Lyra's progress, or any new information Ethan had managed to turn up.

It was frustrating for her. Her world had completely collapsed when New Bark was destroyed. The only part of her old life that had survived was Ethan. Now, even he was drifting away. It saddened her. Ethan was her friend, and outside of her pokemon he was her only friend. It wasn't right that she should lose the only human contact she had left. Yes, he frustrated her. Yes, he had done things she found despicable. But he was her friend, and she didn't want to lose that.

She sighed angrily and pulled the blanket up to her neck. Pushing all the painful thoughts out of her head, she forced herself to a restless sleep.

In a different section of the gym, Ethan and Bugsy were poring over the information they'd gathered so far. Ethan was studying the head scout's report with a single minded determination, while Bugsy ran over the troop numbers in his head.

Ethan looked up from the report, frustration marking his face. "Looks like the Rockets have been busy in Kanto. At least half the major cities are under Rocket control, and it looks like they've got plans to march on the others." He snorted and burst out laughing. "Oh that's rich. The Takeshi family beat back a Rocket siege and massacred a force that was camping out under Mount Moon."

Bugsy looked up from his papers. "You know them?" He asked.

Ethan nodded. "I know the heir of the family. He's a tough bastard, likes to use rock-types. I sold him a few young onix for his siblings a few years back." Ethan chuckled. "Taught me a few things about raising rock-types. I doubt that there's a person alive who knows more about rock-types than him."

Bugsy sighed. "Anything in there we can use?"

Ethan shook his head, still scanning the report. "It's a ton of information about their operations in Kanto." He paused briefly, reading quickly. "Looks like Cerulean is under martial law, some kind of massive manhunt." He looked up at Bugsy with a massive grin. "We got lucky kid. They're diverting troops out of Johto. Some kind of civil war broke out in Saffron City. It says here that they're going up against an extremely powerful psychic. From the tone of their report, she's tearing them a new asshole over there."

Bugsy looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. "What does that mean for us?" He asked. "I doubt they'll pull that many men off an active operation."

Ethan shook his head, still grinning. "It explains the number of men we've seen leaving the well in the last few days. Some of them will have just been regular patrols, but I'd say that they're down at least a hundred men from their number."

Bugsy rubbed his temples. "A hundred less than what though? We still don't know how many men are down there."

"Won't know until we do some real recon." Ethan said pointedly.

Bugsy glared at him. "With only one way in, I'm not risking any men finding out what they're doing down in that well."

"Technically I'm not one of your men."

"The answer is no Ethan."

"I didn't recall asking."

Bugsy threw his hands in the air in frustration. "So you'll throw your life away in the vain hope you get us some useful intel?"

Ethan faked a wounded expression. " I really thought I was a better trainer than that." He deadpanned.

Bugsy laughed. "Even you can't take on a whole army of Rockets by yourself."

Ethan shook his head. "I'm not on my own. I've got my pokemon."

"Not my point Ethan." Bugsy stated. "You aren't going in alone."

"Then give me some men." Ethan said forcefully. "A dozen of your best, and I can get whatever intel you need. We'll be in and out of the well before they know what hit them."

"I told you no." Bugsy said, anger seeping into his tone.

"Then I'll go alone." Ethan shot back.

Bugsy sighed and dropped into silence. He waited a moment before speaking. "You know, you're more stubborn than a tauros sometimes."

Ethan smiled at him. "I'd say that's one of my best qualities."

Bugsy shook his head. "Fine then, you've got my men. Recon only though! If the Rockets hit back, you get your ass out of there as fast as you can."

Ethan nodded. "This isn't my first rodeo kid, and I doubt it'll be my last."


"M'lord, it looks like they're changing the guard. The men are ready at your word." Bugsy's head ranger said to Ethan, nervously fondling the pommel of his blade.

Ethan stood up, pulling a pair of gloves over his hands. "Help me with this damn thing." He said, fiddling with the heavy combat vest Bugsy had given him. "Fucking thing is so heavy, I don't know if I'm wearing it properly."

The ranger looked him over, checking the straps. "Looks good M'lord."

Ethan sighed. "Then I guess we're ready." He pulled a ball off his belt and released the rapidash within. "I trust you can coordinate the men on foot?" He asked the man. A quick nod was his answer. "Alright then, I'm trusting you with that." He turned to the rest of the rangers. "Who here has a mount?" Four hands raised. "Alright, you four stay on my ass. We're gonna hit the guards while they're looking the other way. We'll be in the middle of the fight, so stay sharp."

The head ranger spoke up. "Any questions boys?" Nobody answered him. "Then do Azalea proud."

The four men with mounts followed Ethan, leaving the men on foot behind. They circled the well, making sure to stay in the trees and out of sight. Finally, they stopped, Ethan releasing his xatu.

"Ethan Alexander, if you ever confine me to that dank prison again I will see to it that your mind is a puddle the next time I get out." The pokemon's bored tone said in Ethan's head. "Oh." It said, surprised. "Thermodax would like you to know that he wants an apple."

"Not now Eon. You can threaten my life after we've finished." Ethan said. "Dax you can have all the apples I can find when we're done." He looked back to the xatu. "Will you help us?"

"Very well." Replied the exasperated voice. "What does the human require now?"

"Can you distract those men? Or make us invisible or something?" We need to charge them without them noticing us." Ethan said.

The xatu bowed it's head. "There are a dozen of them." When Ethan didn't respond, the xatu sighed. "As you wish, my master."

Ethan and the rangers shimmered then faded from sight, leaving their pokemon and equipment visible. Ethan glared at his pokemon. "Eon!" He shouted.

"You must be more specific then." The xatu bowed it's head and the force faded from sight. "I would suggest moving quickly. My illusions will become less powerful the farther you are from me."

"We talked about this Eon, you're helping me fight." Ethan said with a scolding tone.

The xatu sighed. "I've told you that I cannot. My purpose is to watch the future, not to change it. I can indirectly aid your future, but direct action would pollute the visions too much."

Ethan shook his head, staring at the ground. "At least mess with their minds a little bit. Make things easier." He said.

His xatu's eyes glowed bright purple, then flashed back to their original green. "Their condition will not last long. That is all you will get from me Ethan Alexander. I will not change the future any further." The xatu looked down his beak at Ethan. "Now, leave me be. I must study the changes to the future my actions have had."

Ethan grinned. "Sure thing Eon. I'll be back when we're done. Don't run off on me."

"That would change the future. It would defeat the whole purpose of studying my actions." The xatu droned, obviously annoyed.

Ethan turned away from his pokemon, facing the Rockets at the well. "Are we ready to move men?" He asked. A mixed cry of four pokemon and men answered him. "I guess that's a yes. Let's move boys!" He pulled his way on top of Thermodax and dug in his heels. The rapidash shot off like a rocket, followed quickly by the rangers. They crossed the open ground in seconds, driving into the disoriented Rockets from the side.

Ethan brought his blade down, cleaving into a neck. He ripped the blade out with a spurt of blood, urging Dax onward. The rapidash reared up, bringing his front hooves down onto the head of another Rocket trooper. Ethan leapt off his pokemon's back, landing on another Rocket and impaling his sword through the soldier's chest. He looked up at the fire horse, realized he had become visible, and shouted an order. "Dax, fire spin."

The fire horse snorted and let off a tornado of flame that burst from its mane and engulfed a pair of Rockets that had begun to grasp the situation. One of the Rockets collapsed, screaming, while the other raised his blade. Dax turned and kicked with his hind legs, snapping ribs and knocking the Rocket to the ground.

Ethan abandoned his sword in the Rocket's chest, turning and blocking a sword wielded by an angry Rocket. He parried a second blow, knocking his opponent's blade away for a moment. Ethan's hand dropped to his knife and ripped it from its sheath. The Rocket recovered his sword in the time it took Ethan to grab his knife, and started raining blow after blow onto Ethan's shield. Ethan struck out with his knife, burying it up to the hilt in the Rocket's stomach. The Rocket doubled over as Ethan ripped the blade out. Ethan raised the knife and stabbed it down through the back of the man's neck with enough force to sever his spine.

Looking around to be sure there were no more immediate threats, he walked over to the Rocket with his sword buried in his chest. He took one look at the splintered remains of his shield and tossed the useless hunk of wood to the side. Ethan pulled his sword out of the Rocket, grimacing at the viscera covering his weapon. He spun, taking stock of the battle. Only two Rockets were still standing, backs against the wall as they traded blows with the rangers. He waved towards the woods, signalling the men hiding there. Turning back to the rockets, he watched the rangers back off and allow Thermodax to blast them with a jet of flame.

"Damn, Bugsy was right." One of the approaching rangers said to Ethan. "You're as good as advertised."

Ethan shrugged. "My old man taught me how to fight, so I guess the credit goes to him." Ethan paused for a moment to think then chuckled. "Somehow I do end up needing to fight my way out of situations a lot, so I end up with a ton of practice."

"Regardless, it was damn impressive." The head ranger said.

Ethan nodded a thanks, then turned towards the entrance to the well. It wasn't a well, as much as it was a hole in the base of a sheer cliff. He watched the last two Rockets fall to the rangers' weapons, then gathered the men around him. "Alright men, we've gotta move quick and quiet. The Rockets are in there doing Ho-Oh knows what. They've been killing people on the road and making Azalea unsafe for travellers ever since they moved in. We don't have enough men to kick them out today, but you can be damn sure that we'll be back with enough men to strike fear into even the Emperor's heart."

He pointed at three of the men that had ridden with him in the initial attack. "You three are with me. We're going after any records of what they're doing or reports on manpower." He looked at the other men. "Anyone have a poison type?" One of the men nodded. "Good," Ethan said while pointing at him. "You take three men and hit their food supply. Anything you can do to make life harder for them, you don't hesitate."

Finally he looked at the last five men. "You five, you're our distraction. You wait ten minutes after we go in, then give the Rockets a ring on one of their radios. Once you've done that, all hell is gonna break loose. You haul ass into the trees, and don't let them pin you down in a stand up fight." One of the rangers grunted his approval. "I'm serious. No going out in a blaze of glory. You hit them hard, then get out of range before they hit back."

The head ranger looked back and forth between his men. "Any questions boys?" Nobody spoke up. "Then let's get in there and kick some ass."


Eon hated everything about his master. He was an insufferable fool, always pleading with Eon to change the future for him. Didn't he know that Eon knew every single thing that would happen to their world? Didn't he know that Eon had more pressing concerns than averting the death of a single idiotic human? Of course he didn't know. How could he? The human was as dense as the rest of his race, only proving to Eon that he was so far above the man who claimed to be his master.

And yet, Eon still served the man. As begrudgingly as their relationship was, Eon found the man intriguing. He was the only person he'd ever met that he hadn't seen die. Ever since Eon had evolved into a xatu, he'd been assaulted by visions of a person's life up until the moment of their death. Ethan was the only person to have their death hidden from him. It bothered Eon to no end, and he was determined to get to the bottom of it.

Eon shifted his foot slightly, and was assaulted by the wave of visions that accompanied his movement. He grunted in discomfort, frustrated with himself for moving, then went back to his meditation. He could see the future. All of it. He could see every moment of every life up until all of it ceased entirely. Eon shook his head, studying the wave of visions for every minute detail.

A rustling to his side distracted him from his study, launching him into more visions at the turn of his head. Eon immediately doused himself in the same illusion he'd put on the insufferable human, turning himself invisible. A squad of four Rockets were making their way through the brush, intently following the trail Ethan and the rangers had left Eon gawked, too afraid to move because of the visions he would be assaulted by.

"I'm telling you, they're human footprints. None of our patrols come through here, so who would it be?" One of the Rockets said.

"Maybe this is one of the other squad's piss spot? Let's just go man, the boss is already angry enough. If we're late for count, he'll have us discharged. I don't know about you, but I've got kids. I need this job." The other one replied in a pleading tone.

"Maybe, but what if it's the Azaleans?" The first man said. "I'd feel better if we followed it."

The second man sighed in frustration. "Fine, but I'm blaming you if we're late."

Eon reached out with his mind, searching for Ethan. Homing in on his consciousness, Eon projected his voice. "Master, I feel like you should know that there's a Rocket patrol still out here. I don't know why, but I could not see them in the future. It is my belief that the Rockets have some sort of psychic dampening ability."

Eon felt Ethan's shock turn to panic. "Take them out! Now Eon!" The breeder's voice echoed in the xatu's mind.

"You know I cannot. It would…"

"Change the future, I know." Ethan shot back. "I don't really give a flying fuck if the future changes. If those men discover the bodies of the guards, we're dead. Take them out Eon."

The bird sighed. "Very well. Just know that you are the cause of my headaches for the next month." Without waiting for Ethan's response, Eon cut the contact and retreated back to his body. The Rockets were standing behind him, two of them with their pants pulled down to allow them to relieve themselves.

Eon de-cloaked, returning to vision. One of the Rockets looked up in surprise at the pokemon's sudden appearance. Eon's eyes glowed a bright blue, flaring a bolt of psychic power in between him and the man. He flew backwards, meeting a tree with a satisfying crack. Ignoring the wall of visions that hit him, Eon turned and focused down on a confused Rocket. The man's brain melted inside his skull, turned to goo by the psychic pressure.

The final two Rockets realized that they were under attack. They unsheathed their blades and rounded on Eon. The xatu blinked out of sight, reappearing on the other side of the men. His eyes flashed a bright purple, then returned to their original colour. One of the men drew back his sword and plunged it into his ally's back, coating himself with blood in the process. The Rocket pulled a knife from his belt and slowly slit his own throat, the same bored expression marking his face. He collapsed next to the man he'd just stabbed, Eon releasing control.

The xatu took a breath, mind under attack by visions brought forth in his attack. He silently cursed his master, then blinked out of existence.

A/N: I have a bit of an announcement to make here. I'm actively looking for a beta, so if you're interested, please send me a pm if. On a side note, I've got some ideas and characters lined up for the next arc that I'm really excited about. Not telling what they are, so you'll just have to wait!

Edit: GO JAYS GO! ALCS HERE WE COME!

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Go about your business people.